Today I want to talk about Hoshino and her hair. Hoshino has straight pink hair that goes down to her knees, the color being close to strawberry milk. Her normal hairstyle's pretty mundane, all things considered. It's a bit messy and looks like her bangs have little wings like Natsu's, but that's more indicative of Hoshino sleeping a lot. The ahoge she has feels very nostalgic, but again, there's not much in base Hoshino's hair.
Hoshino's swimsuit does do something different in how she's tied her hair into twintails with balled hairties.
In true Hoshino fashion, her hair hasn't really changed aside from this, and this change is likely so that way if her hair gets wet it won't be on top of her and getting her or her jacket wet while she lounges. The sunglasses she wears are a nice touch, but are probably used so she can more easily get some rest in more than anything.
Hoshino with a vest ties her hair behind her in a single ponytail that is reasonably high up, likely so she can more easily maneuver in combat without having to worry about her hair getting in the way. Ironically, though, her bangs still have the wings and she still has the ahoge.
Hoshino as a first year is Hoshino but with neck-length hair. Funnily enough, even when she's young she still has the ahoge and little wings, implying that this is just how she's always been. Her second year hairstyle is like her with a vest on but shorter, going down to her mid-torso when it's let down.
Terrornashi Hoshino's hair is a weird way to get a haircut. It's essentially her first-year hairstyle, only it has no ahoge, perhaps being done as a metaphor that Terrornashi is stuck in the past. It could also be meant to indicate that she has quite literally cut herself off from the rest of the world in insanity.
I talked about Shiroko's mahjong appearance so I will do the same with Hoshino. Hoshino's bond hairstyle is actually pretty radical for the normally lackadaisical Hoshino. It's like Swimsuit Hoshino, but the hairties are lower (and yellow/blue puffballs instead of simple red balls), because she's loosely braided her hair from where the swimsuit's hairties were down to the new position. Not only that, but Hoshino put hair accessories in her bangs. A star hairpin on her upper right, and below it are two hairpins with three circles; the upper one is just a bit down-left of the star, the lower one starting where the last circle of the upper one is. In left-right order (for the viewer), the upper one goes purple-blue-yellow, and the lower one goes white-yellow-orange.
Hoshino's base outfit is just base Hoshino with bread in her mouth. The mahjong skin, however, is an interesting take on how Hoshino would style her hair in that her hairbuns are being held with fluffy hairbands and look to be somewhat haphazardly made. Her hair is also going every which way in such a manner that can only really be described as "sprawled all over the bench". On her left side are two star hairpins in a less cartoony style than her bond style.
Hoshino without the mahjong has 6 outfits, with it that becomes 8, and then there's the dozen variations that comes from her holding different weapons while vested. It really makes me emphasize with her lazy nature.
Hoshino's normal outfit is a long-sleeve white shirt and black plaid skirt with socks that go up to the midcalves, and dark blue, almost black, sneakers. Hoshino's skirt gives the illusion of being see-through in how her right side is folded in such a way that it looks like it's tracing her leg, but that's just an illusion, much like a desert mirage. Her shirt fits very loosely over her, but is held somewhat snug with her straps (I forget the exact term for these). Even her tie is held firm against it, though only where the strap meets. The tie itself is worn crooked, as is the collar that is supporting it. The entire outfit looking like it could use some ironing out indicates that Hoshino has definitely slept in her school uniform more than once and is going to do it again. Her fingerless gloves provide a subtle edge to her despite all this, indicating that she's quite knowledgeable with how to hold herself and her weapon.
Hoshino's swimsuit is an interesting but relatively plain white piece, leading to it being cute. It's a relatively modest two-piecer, not quite a bikini. The top has frills at the bottom part of it and the bottom has frills at the top of it, making both appear somewhat skirt-like. That, and the alternatives would look silly. Above her swimsuit is a sky-blue jacket that's a really close color to her sunglasses (which reflect her ahoge, I forgot to add), and it's probably that Hoshino is wearing the jacket as a makeshift blanket. I call it a jacket because while it is a hoodie, Hoshino's hair would make wearing it like a hoodie impractical, as well as Hoshino likely just not using the hooded part of her jacket. She clutches an inflated whale floatie with a carefree expression that fits Hoshino, almost like the two of them have found a kindred spirit in the other. Her sandals are rather high up which implies that she's not too interested in getting wet which makes sense considering what Hoshino would like to do on the beach. The blue and white color scheme completes the outfit by complementing it very well. Finally, her shotgun is kept in a protective case to prevent deterioration while also having a long strap allowing it to be anchored should such a thing be needed, once again indicating a hint of Hoshino's preparedness.
Hoshino the action figure has, again, variants for if she's holding certain weapons. The shoes are the same, but are shown to be close to blue steel as opposed to a blackish blue. Her socks have been pulled up, showing that they actually nearly reach her knees as opposed to naturally being at the midpoint. Aside from that, it's Hoshino, wearing a combat vest and having her sleeves pulled up to just beyond her elbows. Weirdly, the skirt has a slightly wider pattern than her normal outfit, implying that Hoshino changed her skirt while gearing up, which makes no sense.The manner in which Hoshino ties her hair together is a simple black hairtie which is made of some strong stuff considering that it's thin enough to not be seen anywhere outside of her chibi, yet holds her hair in place. Some food for thought before moving on: If base Hoshino's EX is her pulling out her shield, does that mean that Hoshino-Defence Forme is perpetually using base Hoshino's EX? Is this what it means to go even further beyond?
Hoshino's first year outfit has very similar sneakers to her modern version, but these are shorter and more sneaker-like than modern Hoshino's. Her skirt seems to be the same as her action figure form which is hopefully just some trick of the light and not something ridiculous like Hoshino putting on a skirt that brings back memories when she gets serious. Aside from that, her gloves are the same as her battle form which are basically the same as her normal gloves, just with the knuckles being a lighter color. She wears an armband on her left arm, suggesting that the Abydos of the past was quite a different school from how it is now. She also wears elbowpads, but interestingly, no kneepads. She has a vest that seems to be closer to a camping vest instead of a combat vest, likely intentionally done so she doesn't get too lost in the desert. Her shirt also seems to be different, having straps for her elbowpads to fit better and sleeves that accomplish a similar effect with her hands.
Hoshino's second-year outfit is wildly different from every other outfit, though that's probably because she was only seen wearing this in the winter. Her sneakers are now a cream-white instead of dark-blue, her socks are now stockings, and she wears a navy-blue coat, familiar blue scarf, and a gray sweater. Underneath this is her tie which suggests that she's only wearing this because it's cold outside, and if the temperature is warm enough she'll take some of it off.
I really don't like the blinding pink and black aura going on. Feels way too familiar to another game that does this exact thing and also makes my job harder. Hoshino with her third eye awoken ironically has both her eyes glowing in such a way that it suggests that she might be blind. Her face being entirely blackened gives the idea that Hoshino feels as though she's a coward who couldn't, and still can't, face her problems. Her outfit itself is a black coat that vaguely looks like Hina's, though it's really hard to tell because of the glaringly bright pink in the area making it hard to look for an extended period of time. Right below her collar is a triangle pointing down which seems to be metallic in how it reflects the light very well. Her gloves are now just gloves, and she seems to wear a tight-fitting long-sleeve shirt under her coat. Her skirt is very confusing since it seems to be multiple skirts. Both have the same relative exterior in being black with a gray line about an inch from the end of it. The inner one has an opening in the middle, showing her legs and her wearing what might be stockings, or might be the same article of clothing as hinted at her shirt, implying herself quite literally closed off. The inside of her skirt is magenta. Her boots have big cuffs on them before being brought together with the same triangle pattern as on her chest. Throughout the entire design, scratches are present here and there.
Hoshino's bond mahjong outfit, to me at least, feels like how Hoshino sees herself in her dreams. Yes, I am claiming the "real" Hoshino is the image behind this Hoshino, but this is off-topic. Bondjong Hoshino rides a much bigger and opaque version of her Swimsuit whale's floatie, with ribbons being loosely draped on her. One is a white ribbon with a pink stripe, with a star near the end of both. The other is a much bigger and simpler yellow ribbon. A sleepy cat-face follows the duo's journey in dreamland, as shooting stars whizz by and small puffballs that are likely meant to be clouds lazily float along. Hoshino herself wears what seems to be a mix of sneaker and dress shoe, this one being white with a gentle red stripe, like her socks. She wears a loose, short-sleeve shirt with a hole near the end of it and a wave pattern, and wears baby-blue overalls that have been rolled up to her upper thighs. A purse follows with her, with a white strap and four tiers of circles, each with a different color. From top to bottom, they're purple-blue-yellow-orange, with a hidden fifth tier showing tan. There's also three circles on the purse itself which are from a mahjong tile, but I'm not familiar with that specific tile/tileset.
Hoshino's mahjong costume has her in a qipao, but a much simpler one than you'll see in Shanhaijing, being a simple white with gold edges. There's also some cloth where normally there isn't in Shanhaijing students, suggesting that the mahjong table is a more modest environment. Hoshino wears two different armbands. On her right arm is a jade-colored band next to the face, likely meant to subtly suggest to the viewer that Hoshino is a jade-like beauty. The other armband is an off-white, subtly pink piece that seems to be fluffy like what she lays on. A thin cloth is draped over her, likely meant to mean something but, unfortunately, I just don't know what it means. Hoshino is positively glowing, though, which is pretty amusing. She lies on what seems to be wool, with a red pillow in front of her with that black cat from before accompanying her, this time with a red ribbon on its left ear. Hoshino holds a fan loosely, with said fan having a pattern of flowers on it. Lotus flowers and petals adorn the scene, and behind Hoshino is a window that has a view of some mountains. The entire costume's rather detailed despite fundamentally being plain. Normally I don't talk about the scenery in these, but I figured it was worth trying in this co