Ikesoren

"When the sage died, no one would help me. I couldn’t speak. Couldn’t find food. I was dying. You were the only one who helped. You and your father. That’s why you’re my friend. My…only friend."

- Soren in his Path of Radiance A support conversation with Ike.

Ikesoren is the slash ship between Ike and Soren from the Fire Emblem fandom.

Canon
Ike and Soren are both playable characters in Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance and Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn. Soren clearly harbors an unconditional adoration towards Ike which is quite noticeable throughout both Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance and Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn. Likewise, Ike Fire Emblem responds rather well to Soren's affections, always making sure he is doing well, as well as lending him emotional support whenever he needs it, clearly worrying about him throughout the narrative. It's also worth mentioning that throughout the entirety of the narrative, Ike refuses to romantically involve himself with women and rejects every single female advance toward him throughout the games.

At the end of Radiant Dawn, should the player decide to raise their support level to A in the previous game, they will share a special cutscene together, in which they share an emotional moment and embrace each other lovingly, with Soren saying “There’s only one place for me to be, Ike… and it’s by your side.”

The official art of book Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn Memorial Book Tellius Recollection: The Second Volume (2016) further backs this up, with volume 2 stating that Ike feels love for Soren (p. 87). . Furthermore, their interactions are said to have been heavily watered down in the translated version of the games, which already reads as being pretty romantic, whereas in the Japanese ones, their love is much more apparent. It is notable, however, that Soren states in nearly every game that he appears in that the only place for him is by Ike's side.

Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance
Soren is extremely closed-off to anyone but Ike. People find it odd and even scorn that they are friends but Ike pays them no mind. He will always defend and give Soren the benefit of the doubt despite what people say or think or how he would lash out at Ike. Ike strongly believes in Soren and would accept him regardless of Soren's cynical nature. Ike even appoints him as the Greil Mercenaries' tactician.

Soren's cold and anti-social nature is due to his troubled past and heritage, and he's only nice to Ike because meeting him was the best thing that happened to him and that he practically owes Ike his life. This is revealed in the last support conversation of Soren, Ike had already met him as a child: While Soren was being used/abused, discriminated and avoided by all humans and beasts, Ike was the first and only to have given him kindness by giving him food when he was on the street starving and showing understanding towards Soren's lack of ability to speak. This encounter had changed Soren, and he went on to improve himself so he could one day meet Ike again.

Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn
The two are till part of their mercenary group during the events of Radiant Dawn. Ike and Soren are also some of the few characters to have a combined ending should they reach A support, where they set off for unknown lands together. As a bonus, when transferring your save data from Path of Radiance to Radiant Dawn you can actually get an extra scene between them in which Ike finally remembers his first time meeting Soren. This leads to Soren tearfully pouring his entire heart out to him with Ike hugging him until he stops crying as a response.

Fire Emblem Cipher
They have a paired card where they stand back-to-back in combat. Also, a number of Soren's quotes mention Ike.

Fire Emblem Heroes
Both characters appear in Fire Emblem Heroes in their base and have been paired on two Path of Radiance-themed banners: Greil’s Devoted (Valentine's 2019) and Unlikely Friends as children, although Ike was instead partnered up with his sister, Mist, as the banner's Duo Hero. Like in Cipher, a number of Soren's quotes also demonstrate his affection towards Ike. They also headline one of the game's Bound Hero Battles. They have also both won the Choose Your Legends voting event. Ike won first place in the first year, and Soren won second in the seventh.

Fire Emblem: Engage
Both Ike and Soren appear in the most recent addition to the series as an Emblem Ring and an Emblem Bracelet. Ike is obtainable in the main story, while Soren can be purchased as DLC, in which you must defeat him in a map for him to be playable. If you choose to bring Ike to battle Soren, there are quite a few moments between them. In the beginning of Soren's paralogue, he states that there is only one person that commands his loyalty, and that the player character is not him.

If you equip Ike's ring and engage in battle with Soren, they share a short conversation. Soren seems shocked to see Ike, before exclaiming that they do not need to fight anymore, implying that if Soren had known Ike was there, he would have joined the player character immediately. After the battle, they share one final conversation in which Soren asks Ike if he may resume his previous post, once more stating that his place is by Ike's side. Ike accepts, adding that he trusts Soren more than anyone else. There is also a mechanic in-game where if you use either Ike or Soren's special skill while they are next to each other, they gain a link boost, and a short screen plays in which they say each other's name.

Fanon
Ikesoren is one of the most popular, if not the most popular Path of Radiance/Radiant Dawn-related ship, with the fandom regularly churning out all kinds of fanart as well as fanfiction. It has a vast backing due to being heavily implied as canon in the source material as well as the art of book Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn Memorial Book Tellius Recollection: The Second Volume (2016). The pair currently has over 600+ works on AO3.

However, it is also known to receive a lot of hate from fans who resent its popularity. In the past, fans of other slash ships felt Ikesoren eclipsed their preferred pairings (Tibarn/Reyson, Edward/Leonardo, etc).

Fandom
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Trivia

 * Ike and Soren were featured at an LGBT gaming exhibit in a museum in Berlin.
 * Soren's Novice class support spirit in Super Smash Bros.: Ultimate comes with an Ike ally.
 * In Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn Memorial Book Tellius Recollection: The Second Volume, the scene in which Ike hugs Soren is referred to as the moment when two hearts become one. (p. 241)
 * In Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance, Ike has a bond bonus that allows him to protect Soren from receiving damage from critical hits if he is next to him. This mechanic is only implemented in Ike for Soren specifically and will not trigger if Ike is next to any other unit.