Diff anon hhh Id love to know what your headcanons about the hoshibros are:) Or any thoughts based on canon. Those would be nice too! I read in your older posts that the two older siblings kind of neglect the two younger ones. More so with takumi than sakura, i guess. (atleast, thats what it seems like based on some facts in the game). Do you think the nohrians are closer than the hoshidans? Or vice versa? Or are the two families equally close/distant with their own siblings? Sorry this got long
First off, sorry for taking so long to answer this. I’m currently stretched a bit thin. haha;;
I am hesitant on making calls as to who is “closer” since that is often taken as a kind of value judgement on which family is “better” than the other. I already expressed a bunch of my thoughts in my answer to the ask from yesterday, so I will try to stick to your last few points.
Now again, it’s difficult to make some kind of comparative judgement here, since both these families are very different from each other in both background and personalities involved.
I am probably going to step on some people’s toes when I say this: The Nohrians often don’t seem that “close” on an individual basis. Like, Camilla is honestly surprised that Xander knows so much about her and the other siblings. She’d been thinking he cared little about such things. Leo’s family relationships are a bit of a mess on the whole. He’s kinda similar to Takumi in the sense that he too craves affection from his family. In his case, it’s mostly that he doesn’t want to appear vulnerable, yet knows his siblings won’t recognize his needs otherwise. He feels inferior to Xander (and things can become very tense between them as seen in the drama CD) and has to hide his incestuous crush on Camilla.. Elise has a very different personality to him, and he often finds himself exasperated with her. Elise herself loves all her siblings, but often can’t quite relate to their struggles, since she was mostly sheltered from them.
Now, before my inbox gets invaded by angry Nohr fans: The game does a very good job in showing that they love each other despite all this. We get a lot of scenes of them working together as a family unit, playing off each other well no matter all the interpersonal issues between them. At the end of the day, there can be no doubt that they care a lot for each other.
We don’t get the same sense with the Hoshidans, because the game neglects them a lot. Even aside from the writing errors surrounding Ryouma, we don’t really see any family scenes between the Hoshidans that aren’t focused almost exclusively on Corrin. There is no real sense of group belonging to be found.
But we do get the sense of two very close relationships within that family unit. Ryouma and Hinoka play off each other very well in their support, as well as the Rev cutscene. As aggravating as the lack of reaction to Sakura and Takumi’s fates is, Ryouma completely freaking out at the news of Hinoka’s “death” conveyed a lot of care for her. They seem to have this very uncomplicated relationship, where they know they can rely on each other and just be themselves with no pretensions.
Then there’s of course Takumi and Sakura. Those two just really seem to understand each other so well. Their personalities are very similar in core areas, so they have an easy time relating to each other. It’s just very heartwarming to watch them interact when you know about how much they often struggle otherwise.
I’m pretty sure Intsys official stance on both families is “they all just love each other very much”. Still, from what we are actually presented with in-game, I’ve come to think of it as more complicated. The Nohrians are a family of very different individuals, who nontheless have forged themselves into a very tight-nit unit. The Hoshidans seem more distant, but at least two individual relationships between them are incredibly strong and supportive.
Ok, I hope what I’m about to say is understandable.
I like Ryoma well enough as a character but I hate how the game’s narrative presents him and how a lot of the fandom sees him aka Flawless Lobster Bro Who Does Everything Right.
He’s actually really flawed as a person, which makes him much more interestinng imo but lots of people like to ignore this.
Favorite moment:
Him backflipping into the sunset for almost all of the routes while poor Saizo and Takumi search all over the kingdoms for him and end up involved in wacky shenanigans.
Ryoma going off to play tourist in Nohr during Birthright (I’m over symplifying this ofc but it still makes me laugh).
Ryoma waiting patiently for 20 turns for his revenge.
Ryoma saying his hair is his pride in japanese My Room.
Idea for a story:
Stories that actually explore Ryoma’s flaws and how these flaws affect his family and retainers.
Unpopular opinion:
His love for Corrin is pretty unhealthy and manipulative and he’s not a great big brother to Takumi. He’s much better with his sisters, though.
Favorite relationship:
Him and Hinoka have a really cute brother/sister relationship.
He had no reaction to Takumi’s death during conquest but learning of Hinoka’s is what sent him into a rage. It’s rly sweet how much he loves her.
His support with Elise is also really really cute (only from C to A tho ;-; I hate that he can marry her).
Your post about ryouma being neglectful towards takumi and sakura came as a huge relief to me, tbh, because i've always thought the same but everyone else seems to see him as this perfect big brother when the canon implies here and there that all might not be well
I guess it’s because he isn’t supposed to be neglectful, and we are told repeatedly what an amazing big brother he is. The thing is, there’s a reason “the Hoshidans don’t feel that close to each other” is something even those who aren’t fans of them have been saying. (with the notable exception of Takumi and Sakura) Still, I kind of like this flawed version of Ryouma, even if it wasn’t intended. It gives him complexity.
*screams* The Hoshidans are amazing!! Sakura summoning a firing squad with her staff is genius. I am gonna main all four members of this badass family!
Could you translate the Hoshido siblings' japanese museum melee lines? Thank you very much!
Sure thing!
Ryouma: Well, come at me already! This might only be an event, but that does not mean I shall go easy on you. By outmaneuvering the other participents, I will be able to gain even better weapons! … But I should also be careful not to get Raijintou taken from me.
Hinoka: A weapons contest, huh… This is my first time taking part in such an event. If possible, I’d like to return with weapons that Kamui is pleased with. However, I can’t quite tell what kind of weapons these guys are carrying. I guess I’ll just start by striking down the one in front of me and find out!
Takumi: Guess it can’t be helped.. Since I am taking part in this, I can give no less than my absolute best.Still, I was really hoping I could take a closer look at the exhibits… …uh, don’t tell anyone what I just said. Do I really look like someone who only wants to fool around?
Sakura: I d-don’t think I am suited for an event like this weapons competition… Talking this out… doesn’t seem like an option. Y- yeah it’s no use, it just wouldn’t work…Since we have to give up on talking, please let’s at least strike each other gently…
(same anon) Yes, and I honestly think that besides anything relating to Kamui, Hinoka and Takumi have a lot of similarities. They think they're useless outside of fighting, along with difficulty to communicate their emotions to others, and aggressiveness really makes me think as a teenager Hinoka was probably a lot like him, but unlike him lacked a parental figure. All makes it more sad that the supports don't address this. To be honest though, they do need more than 3 supports to communicate.
Yes, there are, anon. But for analyzing Hinoka you have to really dig deep into her supports, because her presence in the story is so limited. It’s a real shame. Besides Takumi, the Broshidos are very hampered when it comes to bonding moments even in Birthright. Their own route actually ends up focusing more on the Nohrian family dynamic ironically.
Likewise in Conquest, there is barely any development for the Hoshidan family to show their dynamics. They certainly never get any private focus scenes like what happens with Elise and Xander, which is probably another reason that the latter’s deaths are more universally mourned than either Takumi or Ryouma’s deaths.
So I actually think the Broshido’s supports with each other are fine as they are. What they needed was more focus in their own damn story and as the tragic opponents they are in Conquest. (Though the latter was probably focused on less because it would have undermined the “CQ!Corrin is the perfect hero, never mind the razed villages and innocents killed.” narrative they had going there.)
