#another niche thing

[shortystack75]

Another very niche post about Stars Align / Hoshiai No Sora

This one is in regards to the characters' worldviews and mindset, based on a few very specific factors and things I noticed while rewatching it for the 5th(6th?) time.

Long post so its all under the cut

Random people who know nothing about Stars Align can also read if you want to see a loser 21 yr old lose their mind, I explain everything so you'll only be a little lost

Teirlist graphic to grab your attention and more easily show you:

So as you can see im basing it off of 2 main axis, one with 2 points and one with 3. I'll give a brief little overview of what I mean by each category and then go into why I think each character is in each category. Solitary vs Inclusive refers to how they center themselves in the world, this does NOT mean whether or not they are self centered, it refers to how they view themselves and other people IN the world and whether or not they believe other people can be outside of their mindset, i'll explain more later. "Me vs the World", "Me vs Them" and "Us vs the Them" refers to how the characters view 'sides'. Do I think that character is likely to think of themselves as as singular? than they fall under one of the "Me vs" categories. Do I think the character perceives a specific crowd/type of person to be a 'side' or do I think the character perceives everyone as the opposite side until proven otherwise? that denotes the "vs Them" or "vs The World" part of the mindset I'll start from the bottom up, left to right for anyone who doesn't know the characters or cant remember the names.

Starting with Maki Our main character, I put him as Inclusive "Us vs Them" because of a few key reasons we see throughout the anime. For the Us vs Them mindset, we consistently see Maki being a team player heavily in regards to not only the tennis team, but people he identifies or gets along with. Before he ever gets to know Yuu and before they're part of the club, Maki has already mentally categorized Yuu as part of his "Us/We" the same goes for Mitsue after they get along in class. We can actually see him interact with Mitsue before he categorizes her when he bumps into her. He apologizes and makes sure she's alright because he's a good person, but otherwise is off-footed towards her. She's not a "Them" in his mindset, but she's also not yet "Us/We". The main part of his Them" is of course his father and anyone who goes against his "Us/We" such as the bully Itsuki hit with his racket "He had it coming" Isn't something he would say about just anyone. As for the Inclusive or Solitary part, there is NO shot Maki was ever going to be Solitary. He's inclusive because of what i've already said about how he interacts with Mitsue ^. He doesn't just see the world as "Us vs Them" he knows not everyone is against him and his, and therefore not everyone should immediately raise his guard, it's why he's so casual in the first episode while not being necessarily friends with Toma yet. Toma isn't included in "Us" yet. at the start of ep 1, the only ones in "Us" is Maki himself, his mom, and Shou, but he very easily and relatedly lets his "Us" grow throughout the anime. I didn't even mention Arashi but he's another great example showcasing Maki's mindset.

Rintaro So most of the rest of these guys in this category will have a much shorter section than Maki's, mostly because we see less and I have to explain less. It's pretty easy to see that Rintaro doesn't view himself as an island and does his best for the club and his parents. This is all in his small actions and ease around the tennis club, it's hard to say whether or nor Mitsue or Arashi are included in his "Us/We". Similar to Maki, Rintaro clearly has no guard against people other to him and doesn't believe everyone not in his circle is against him.

Yuu I'll be honest I almost put Yuu into the Solitary space, mostly because of their (rightful)fear, but realized that Yuu hadn't put the club or Maki into the "Them" category immediately. While cautious with Maki upon being approached, they quickly categorize Maki as "Us/We" when he is open and kind to them, and when with the Tennis club nearer to the start, it's clear that they don't think of the club as "Them" OR "Us/We" yet. At the start of the anime, the only people in Yuu's "Us/We" besides themself are Toma and their sisters, but much like Maki, at the end the entire Club and Mitsue is clearly included in their "Us/We"

Taiyo Taiyo is mostly a repeat of things I've said about Rintaro, we don't see very much of Taiyo at all but what we do see I've determined to be in this category, and as 3 other people will probably read this I doubt any of you will fight me on it, but you would be welcome to! Even 5 years in the future.

Onto Shingo As the first and only part of our Solitary "Us vs Them" grouping, he kinda makes this category. While having a similar mindset to our other "Us vs Them"s, he doesn't really see people outside of those two categories. As shown with how he interacts with people outside of the club and his family, other people are kinda the enemy to him. He was slightly(not like Ituki and Tsubasa) antagonistic to Maki when he joined to club but swapped him over to "Us/We" seemingly easily, doing the same to Yuu when they become the club's manager. While he has an Solitary "Us vs Them" mindset, he doesn't come across as overaggro to others because he's not a naturally aggressive person, just loud and protective. As a good example, the two boys who appeared in the club room and started to mess with Yuu, their manager and part of Shingo's "Us/Them". He's he first to intervene and does so easily and calmly, Yuu is part of his "Us/We" and these boys are not, making them "Them" automatically.

Up to Istuki Itsuki is in a really interesting spot as an Inclusive "Me vs Them" By having an inclusive mindset, he knows that not everyone is against him and some people are just chilling. He does not have an "Us/We" mentality but he still has friends and people he cares about, shown how along with Shingo, he steps in when Yuu is being harassed. He does it in a more antagonistic way, calling them names with no remorse. Yuu may not be "Us" because there is only "Me/I" for Itsuki, but these two idiots have still come into Itsuki's space, his club room, and are messing with his club member, his manager. Anything like this becomes personal because he's "Me/I" centric which is why he reacts slightly more aggressively than Shingo. However. He doesn't see these as attacks, just slights, because they were against Yuu, not himself directly. The racket incident, were clearly attacks. When two bullies come up to him and bad talk his homelife, he has no hesitation. He talks back, responds once or twice, these are warnings to back off, to reason. These bullies instantly were painted as "Them" as soon as they opened their stupid mouths but Itsuki would have let them go, but they kept talking, kept insulting, kept attacking him. So he strikes to defend himself, with his racket. He feels no remorse, in his mindset this jerk deserves it(kinda did but the racket was a bit much i agree with Maki). We didn't get to see much else of his mindset throughout the anime except maybe how he feels about Nao's mom ("Them").

Onto Arashi! Starting off our Inclusive "Me vs the World" off strong with our dear walking contradiction! To easily sum up his Inclusive part, he isn't actually antagonistic to anyone unless they've recently slighted him, seen as him snapping at Sunaga(his doubles partner) but soon realizing he was wrong to do so and apologizing. While Arashi is very much "Me vs the World", it's not active in his brain at all times. While everyone is against him in a general sense, he doesn't believe they are constantly against him all the time.

Toma! Most of what I would be saying about him is a repeat of what I said about Arashi^ you could argue he's Solitary "Us vs Them" but I just don't see him like that. From how he talks when at the bbq to his surprise at Maki telling him he's having fun playing tennis with Toma, etc etc he's a very lonely boy surrounded by people he doesn't think are on his side and expects one day to be against him.

Up to Tsubasa!!!!!!! I love analyzing Tsubasa he's like a little angry bug to me. Tsubasa has a solitary "Me vs Them" mindset, which means once he's placed you into the "Them" category he doesn't really let you out of it, and upon meeting you he expects you to prove you're not automatically in the "Them" category. Despite not everyone being in the "Them" category, he does not touch a "We/Us" category with a 10 foot pole. Nobody is on his side and he's afraid his own actions will cause people to choose to be in the "Them" category. He didn't look for help from his mom or brothers when his father pushed him down the stairs, he ran. He ran because he had to get away from the "Them" he found his way to Shingo's house, the closest person to an "Us" he's probably ever had, but freaks out upon Shingo actually seeing him and trys to run. He's not running from Shingo himself, he's running from the prospect of Shingo no longer being a neutral, safe, space for him. He's running from Shingo seeing Tsubasa crying and hurt and seeing any reason to slide into the "Them" category. He doesn't know he's part of Shingo's "Us/We" he can't know that. He's used to testing people and see if they leave or push back, he's used to seeing people either fail or not fail. He's not used to people actually winning.

ONTO NAO!!! If Tsubasa is the bug i study, than Nao is the salamander i begged my dad to keep in a lil fruit cup as a kid. Do i know how to care for him? hell no. Do i want him anyway? yes. Nao's mindset knows no neutrals or positives. Everyone is against him in someway including himself. His mother is actively against him, his father is there and does nothing, possibly making everything worse by being around but not around, therefore his mind has taken neutral presences to also be bad. Nao is all about appeasal, about prevention. If he can appease people he meets before they know him than maybe they will just be passively against him instead of actively against him. He lies to Maki and the others to try and appease them, to tell them what he thinks they want to hear. He lies to his mother, in body and mind, tells her what he thinks she wants to hear and pretends to eat he food she makes while he stares into nothing, likely tasting nothing but ash. Taiyo tries to comfort him? He reacts in a way he thinks Taiyo wants, because to Nao he himself is broken and having other people realize this is dangerous and he wants to minimize it. Most of all he lies to himself. He may not even realize he is doing it, like with the infirmary incident, where he convinced himself he didn't know where Shingo's younger sister was. Because he views everyone as against him, he doesn't get them all laughing it off and forgiving him. To him he's messed up again and shown them a broken part of him. He, like Tsubasa, doesn't understand Shingo on an intrinsic level because to Shingo Nao is part of is "Us/We" and Shingo doesn't see Nao as an enemy, as an outsider.

Mitsue :) Lastly Mitsue, Similarly to Nao but with less delusions and mental illness, she views the world to inherently be against her. Unlike Nao, she isn't against herself(most of the time) Maki and the club are good friends to have for her because she keeps convincing herself they're all stupid and incompitant. Whenever Yuu mentions Mitsue actually thinking of Maki as a friend, she always shuts them down and spouts off something negative, putting on a tough front. In her mind they won't become actively against her as long as she is either useful(helping them spy on Joy) or as someone disconnected.

Anyway, if you're one of the 3 people to have read all of this, feel free to argue any of these i'd love to read or debate about it.

[clowfish]

am I the only one who was stuck watching those eggshell peeling livestreams on tiktok that they NEVER peeled all the way

[orengejoshi]

I think you like paper hat…but idk🤔/j

an astute observation anon

here's a warmup sketch that I will literally never touch again in any way

[druidposting]

Jonas Spahr and the cat that he doesn't have but definitely should. Cant take credit for the idea, that comes from this post from @captainofthetidesbreath

IMPORTANT INFO UNDER THE CUT

He'd definitely have a long haired tabby. Something something the phenomenon where owners end up with pets that look like them

He dresses it in the stupidest, most over-the-top bullshit bows and ribbons (the cat hates this)

That look of despair in the cat's eyes is indeed very real JONAS YOURE HOLDING IT WRONG it has never been so disgraced as it is right now

[blumoontf2]

TF2 x Poker Night Headcanons

Support Class

YOU KNOW THE DRILL ‼️‼️‼️ WE’RE TALKING ABOUT POKER NIGHT AT THE INVENTORY!! We’re talking, Sniper, Spy and Medic this time!!

Spy

For Night 1, I can’t see Spy getting along with anyone particularly. Maybe Tycho for a period but again he says some… things that would put him off. This is excluding Heavy ofc. Night one he would be the definition of ‘thank god i’m the only normal person here’.

For night 2, Brock and Ash Williams. Claptrap would be like Scout to him. He’d have to warm up to his person before he’d start liking them. Probably gets half-along with Glados on account of she’s pretty chill. Brock because he comes across as a private man much like himself. Ash because he’s a very capable man but appears pretty inexperienced (he would like taunting him). The three of them would have ‘smart guy’ conversations.

I already mentioned Glados. He would like her quips except when they’re directed at him. He would still respect the wit though

Pleasant conversations with Reginald. You kind of have to be on good terms with the Host. Also Reginald seems to have some common sense to him… unlike everyone else in Night 1…

Sniper

Same as Spy I feel like. He’d just be kind of. Chill with everyone? In a very neutral way? Probably Tycho…? But in a ‘you’re kinda like Scout’ way (which is an insulting comparison to make but I think it’s fair). Maybe he’d be on good terms with Moxxi because he’s quiet at the bar and also wrangles demo when he needs to.

Night Two, hmmm Brock? And Sam? This one is also partially difficult. Sam sort of professionally - or as professional as Sam can be - and then Brock for the same kind of efficiency when you kill mindset. This is going off how Brock presents himself in game because in the series he’s from he’s very messy when he kills lowkey.

Glados would freak him out too… I think it would take him a long long time to get used to her, and even then he’d jump the most when she’d appear. Same as Scout, really.

Gets along with Reginald Van Winslow as much as one does when you barely talk.

Medic

Anyone who’s scientifically interesting to him. Night one would be Max - ‘Oh my gott, talking rabbit!’ - and probably Strong Bad - ‘your boxing gloves are infused to your skin…’.

Similar to Heavy Night one, kinda freaks everyone out. Yknow with Heavy being ‘wrench is shoved down his throat! He cries for mommy,’ and Medic being ‘haha! And that’s how I lost my medical license!’

Night 2, Sam for the same reasons as Max and also Ash for the arm. Probably has very pleasant conversations with Winslow.

Medic would… I guess he’d be pretty neutral with Glados? Positively neutral if that makes sense. He’d like when she pulls up psychology related things like the whole ‘people with a bad conscience react worse to loud noises’ thing.

Like I said, probably has pleasant conversations with Winslow. Probably talks black market with him and ‘back channels’ yknow. Otherwise, Winslow would be a ‘do not involve me in your medicine…’

[cosmos-fudge]

mmmmmm. Jon, Martin, Nastya, Jayce, and Viktor all end up in the same somewhere else.

that somewhere else?

being teachers/assistants at Aguefort Adventuring Academy

[artsekey]

Hey op, art therapist here, responding to your comic about your first ever session in therapy-

And oh my *GOD*- I am SO sorry that was your first experience. I’m absolutely dumbfounded the therapists behavior. And to find out in notes she was 15 minutes late?? I sincerely hope you have found or find a better therapist. That is absolutely ridiculous

I see a therapist and my therapist LOVES when I come in with a list of things and reasons why I think it’s going on. As a therapist- i know it helps you develop better self awareness when you write down what’s going on in the moment to help reflect on it (as someone with ADHD its primarily to help me remember lol.) So that initial response from that therapist was super weird and to say “it’s not my process???” For insight- UM!!!?!? WHAT’!?!? THATS YOUR JOB IS TO GIVE INSIGHT!?!?

As a therapist I’m so upset for you that’s just so ridiculous. You coming in knowing exactly what you wanted and with everything ready is honestly every therapists dream. It’s okay to not have a goal yet or ever- but it just shows how “on it” you are and how you want to be an active member in your treatment. Good on you op seriously.

Sorry to rant in your ask- I just fuckin love my job so much and seeing other therapists fuck around like this makes me livid. Keep doing you op! I hope you found/find a better therapist!! You got this!!

Thank you for this! Honestly, I'm really glad I posted that comic. I'd been thinking about going for years just to "tidy up", as it were-- I firmly believe that therapy can be good for anyone, no matter the scope of the problem. A lot of people have encouraged me to keep looking, and that's largely why I think I will-- It was a lot for me to make and go to this appointment, and because I have no other perspective on therapy, the whole experience reaffirmed my suspicions that what I want to work on might be "too small" to bother with (and/or too niche). I really can't overstate how her last comment about the fact that I put my needs aside contributed to a "net good" would've obliterated me a few months ago!

I'm not going to get into the weeds about it because at that point it's personal, but the comics honestly don't do it justice; it was like she took every one of my concerns, ignored them in favor of what she thought was the direction we needed to go in, blew past every "exit" sign I put on the road to get us back on track. It was infuriating.

[brutal-nemesis]

after all these years i have a fucking Rock Job im so so hyped oh my fucking god i will have money

[securityholograms]

[noheteroexplanation]

Chapters: 4/4 Fandom: Wicked (Movie 2024) Rating: Explicit Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Elphaba Thropp/Galinda Upland, Fiyero Tigelaar & Galinda Upland Characters: Galinda Upland, Elphaba Thropp, Fiyero Tigelaar Additional Tags: Lesbian Galinda Upland, POV Galinda Upland, Established Relationship, Shiz Era (Wicked - Schwartz/Holzman), 3+1 Things, Fluff, Minor Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Kissing, Smut, First Time, Top Galinda Upland, Bottom Elphaba Thropp, Food Issues, (minor but it is mentioned in chapter 4), galinda really loves elphie's muscles, galinda ropes fiyero into helping her get stronger so she can pick up her girlfriend Series: Part 2 of you felt secure (that's called a home) Summary:

There are many highlights of being in a relationship with Elphaba Thropp. She is sweet and caring and gives Galinda all of her attention. Galinda gets to fall asleep in the security of her arms with her heartbeat drumming in her ears and she gets to see her wake up in the early light of the morning. In those moments Galinda gets to appreciate all the details of her. The way freckles cover her cheeks like constellations. The way she scrunches her nose before she wakes up. The way the gap in her teeth shows when Galinda makes her laugh. But during those early mornings as Galinda is held in her arms, she finds what she appreciates most is the feeling of safety. And she has to admit that feeling is reinforced by the strength in those arms.

Or: Three times Elphie carries Galinda and one time Galinda returns the favor.

[italyveneziano]

Happy 10 year anniversary to the platonic America and England Lullaby For a Stormy Night AMV i made back in 2014 🥳

[npdkondraki]

i should submit kondraki to that aretheyqueer poll blog . you actually wouldnt believe how long ive been thinking about this

[noctishy]

[sugarhaii]

new official art dropped in sparkles magical market so you KNOW i had to make paci edits of them... with color picked agere flags. of course.

[eosofspades]

i admit i only really notice this because it's just one of my favorite niche tropes but i think it's fun how strickler multiple times refers to trolls he dislikes as dogs. "not a very good guard dog, is he?" abt draal, directly "you are a dog, and this [the ring] is your leash" to angor rot, etc

[faksyan]

Oh to open a ship tag only to find out that not only there isn't much there but also nobody sees The Vision