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SotheStrid is the is the het ship between Astrid and Sothe from the Fire Emblem fandom.
Canon[]
Astrid is a former noblewoman from Begnion's House Damiell, who escaped her life of nobility to live her life freely and on her own terms, despite growing up in a sheltered home and being naiive about the outside world. The driving point for this was when Astrid was arranged to marry the sinister Lekain of Gaddos, a man more than twice her age. Sothe is a young, impoverished citizen of Daein who took to thievery in order to survive, and resents the nobility for never needing to struggle like he has. Both of them eventually end up in Ike's army in his war against the Mad King Ashnard, and can potentially interact via support conversations, though this is entirely optional.
Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance[]
C Support[]
Astrid, inexperienced with combat, approaches Sothe as he is tending to his weaponry, and asks to speak with him. Sothe obliges, prompting Astrid to compliment Sothe's skill with daggers, before asking him what weapon axes work well against. This is met with mockery from Sothe, who scoffs at her question and is left in disbelief that a mercenary like Astrid doesn't know such seemingly basic knowledge. Astrid, apologizing for her "ignorance," states that she has only been a mercenary for a short time, and besides that was only experienced with bows. Sothe then asks Astrid who she was before she became a mercenary, only for Astrid to dismiss the question by saying she did nothing. This causes Sothe to figure out that Astrid was nobility, citing her "poncy" language as an obvious hint to it, before criticizing that Astrid "couldn't tell a hatchet from a pot of rat stew!" He then asks why a "soft-hand" like Astrid is fighting in the first place, which Astrid responds to with silence, causing Sothe to dismiss the thought and say she was alright as long as she "feather[ed] some Daein scum."
B Support[]
After suddenly passing out, Astrid wakes up to find herself in a tent with Sothe nearby, who tells her that he thought of leaving her behind, but figured it would leave a bad taste in his mouth, prompting him to take her to safety. Astrid apologizes for this, prompting Sothe to ask if she is perhaps pushing herself too hard, stating that she has a hard time keeping up with the rest of the army. Realizing just how cruel and unforgiving war can be, Astrid admits that she can't even sleep at night out of fear of a surprise attack, a painful reminder to Astrid of just how frail she really is. This causes Sothe to admit to Astrid that nobles aren't meant for war, as they have no servants or any other luxuries on the battlefield, inquiring that she likely has a lavish and free lifestyle back home. Although Astrid agrees that he previous life was luxurious, it was certainly not free, as she had no freedom, much to Sothe's confusion. She further explains that her parents had arranged a marriage with a man thirty years older than her without her consent, and had volunteered to join the Knights of Begnion to live her life on her own terms, which her parents were strongly against but allowed because they believed Astrid would eventually come back to them. However, she refuses to give them that satisfaction, causing Sothe to react with nothing but silence, before stating that he wasn't trying to pry and was simply curious. Astrid replies that she was aware of this, but thanks Sothe nonetheless.
A Support[]
After approaching Sothe once more, Astrid thanks him for the other day, which Sothe admits is nothing work thanking him for. Astrid, however, insists on thanking Sothe, as their conversation made her feel a lot better than before. This causes Sothe to admit that Astrid is much different from other nobles that he knows, saying that most nobles trample the commonfolk just to elevate their status and live in luxury, spitefully adding that they have never known a single day of work or sacrifice in their entire lives and asking Astrid if she ever knew how lucky she was to live that lifestyle. Astrid, however, replies by reminding him that she had no freedom, as while her brothers were the pride of her noble house, her sisters and Astrid herself were treated like commodities to be traded between potential fiancés. She further states that her sisters were miserable and never know love, and would send her letters that were warped and stained by their tears. This causes Sothe to realize that Astrid wanted to avoid their horrible fate, which Astrid affirms, stating that was the reason why she wanted to see herself through the war to the very end. Sothe restates again that Astrid is different from other nobles he knows, admitting that she's worked hard like the rest of the army and apologizing for treating her like just another "pampered noble." He then tells Astrid to "keep up the good work," and to never allow anyone to take her freedom away, which Astrid further affirms.
Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn[]
Between the events of Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn, Sothe is able to find Micaiah in Daein and becomes her close ally, while Astrid becomes a knight of Crimea, assisting Queen Elincia in suppressing Duke Ludveck's rebellion. Through the machinations of the Begnion Senate (ironically led by her former fiance Lekain), Daein and Crimea are forced into war with each other, making Sothe and Astrid enemies.
Part 3 Endgame: From Pain, Awakening[]
During this chapter, Sothe and Astrid have a pre-battle conversation that can be initiated by the player via having Astrid attack Sothe. In this conversation, Astrid immediately recognizes Sothe, admitting that she hoped she would never see him on enemy lines, which Sothe concurs. Astrid further admits that she knew Sothe was part of the enemy army, but had hoped that she could pretend it wasn't true if she never actually saw him. However, she then states that she was now glad she was able to see him, admitting that he has grown significantly in the three years since she last saw him, and adding that he looks like a "true soldier" now. Sothe replies that he wasn't the only one who grew, complimenting Astrid by stating that she looked every bit like a true knight, which Astrid thanks Sothe for, stating it meant a lot to her. Despite already knowing the answer, Sothe asks if Astrid will fall back, asking if they really have to fight, prompting Astrid to admit she was about to ask the same, admitting that she didn't want to fight Sothe. Admitting he suspected as much, Sothe promptly apologizes to Astrid, which she reciprocates, before the battle begins.
Fanon[]
SotheStrid is one of the more obscure ships in the Fire Emblem fandom, owing to Astrid's lack of popularity and Sothe being heavily shipped with Micaiah in Radiant Dawn, whose marriage to Sothe is arguably canon. In the same game, Astrid is heavily shipped with Makalov, a lazy gambler who is one of the most disliked characters in the entire fandom, and is the only person Astrid has a paired ending with. The fact that neither of them have a paired ending with each other in either Path of Radiance or Radiant Dawn also contributes to its obscurity.
However, despite its obscurity, the ship still has a sizable fanbase. Fans of the ship praise it for averting the various problems inherent to their "canon" pairings, MicaSothe and MakaStrid: Micaiah's relationship to Sothe is treated as familial for most of Radiant Dawn, and there is also a significant age gap between them due to Micaiah being a branded. Moreover, the fact that Micaiah essentially raised Sothe as a child before marrying him as an adult makes some fans uncomfortable, creating unsavory implications in their eyes. Meanwhile, Astrid's relationship with Makalov is seen as toxic and harmful to Astrid's character due to him taking advantage of her for gambling money and in Radiant Dawn, Astrid's character being reduced to Makalov's fawning fangirl when even he tells her himself he's no good. Their paired ending especially drives this point home by stating that Makalov never improved himself no matter how hard Astrid tried to help him.
In contrast to the above, SotheStrid features a much smaller age gap with no unsavory implications (Sothe and Astrid are around the same age) and Astrid's interactions with Sothe are more positive and keep her character intact. Fans also consider their support conversations in Path of Radiance some of the best in the game, as it reveals several aspects of Astrid's backstory and character, while also revealing some details abut Sothe. Overall, the ship is seen as a wholesome pairing by its fans, and its fans agree that they should have had a paired ending in Radiant Dawn, even if it was optional.
Fandom[]
- FAN FICTION
- Sothe/Astrid tag on AO3
