Astrid Hofferson

Astrid Hofferson is the tritagonist of the How to Train Your Dragon series. She is a young Viking girl of the Hairy Hooligans tribe who attends Dragon Training with Hiccup and the other Viking teens. She is striking, tough, beautiful and her determined and strong persona makes her hard to impress. Astrid is Hiccup's main love interest and the tritagonist in the film. In spite of initially not liking Hiccup or his new found friendship with Toothless, she soon has her opinion changed and helps to try and keep Toothless a secret.

Astrid does not appear in any of the books in the original series and is an original character designed for the film. It is possible she is based on the character Camicazi from the books.

Personality
"I'm more of an old-fashioned take-it-down-with-an-axe-and-then-lop-its-head-off kind of girl."

- Astrid, about herself

Astrid is shown to be determined and extremely dedicated to becoming a Viking Warrior, and intensely patriotic of the Viking way. She is generally uninterested in the other teenagers, preferring to study and train on her own to become a better fighter. She is also rather short-tempered (something which Snotlout points out) and always hits people who have angered her in some way. In the beginning, she has the most success in Dragon Training. In the film, she is shown to be serious and highly dedicated to one day fighting dragons. However, she was very kind and compassionate on many occasions and is shown to have a softer side in Gift of the Night Fury, going out of her way to bring Snoggletog joy to Berk and in The Iron Gronckle she told Snotlout that it was harsh to call Fishlegs slow because of his weight.

Regarded as the most proficient of the teenage Vikings, and possibly due to the pressure of this reputation as well as her innate pride, Astrid is initially shown in the film as being something of a perfectionist, having incredibly high standards for herself, as well as a very low tolerance for competition, as she quickly becomes jealous of Hiccup as his skills improve and is frustrated by his success over her. She later reveals her suspicious side, following and spying on Hiccup to discover his secret. Astrid also has a caring side, although this is hidden by an initial attempt at violence to cover it up. Astrid's name is North Germanic for "Divine Beauty", which seems suits her for her appearance and character role. She is also the only Viking with a name that doesn't appear to be an insult.

Alongside Hiccup and Fishlegs, Astrid is the most knowledgeable in dragons, knowing of various species' shot-limits, behaviors, and of course she specializes in Deadly Nadders, like her dragon, Stormfly. When it comes to her dragon, Hiccup and Toothless, Astrid is somewhat kinder and gentler. She cares deeply for them, and has come to love Stormfly, who in turn is loyal to her, being there to greet her in the morning when Astrid wakes up. The bond between Astrid and Stormfly appears to be very strong, especially when Stormfly allows Astrid to touch her babies, though Stormfly did allow Hiccup to touch them as well.

She often provides her form of advice called the Honey and the Hatchet (you tell someone what they want to hear, the honey part, before you hit 'em in the head with something they don't, the hatchet part). She also seems to have a great deal of knowledge of the 'Viking traditions'.

Due to her pride and rather short temper, she could sometimes be somewhat imprudent and could act before thinking things through. At these times she would put herself in grave danger despite the fact that the odds were very clearly against her, like when she fought the Flightmare which was considered so fierce, everybody in Berk had to shelter themselves in their homes.

In How to Train Your Dragon 2, Astrid has grown more mature, as she doesn't seem to be as serious and short-tempered as before, although still competitive. She seems to enjoy hanging out with her fellow teen Vikings more, but still clearly prefers to be with Hiccup. She also seems to have gained a better sense of humor, as she teased Hiccup about how he walks and talks after his talk with Stoick. She and Hiccup exchange a few kisses (one on the lips).

Background
When Astrid was little girl, she attempted to take on the Flightmare herself but her uncle "Fearless" Finn Hofferson stopped her, and told her that he himself would fight it. However, Astrid heard that her uncle froze in the Flightmare's presence, and she then attempted to take it on herself, but was stopped Gobber. Astrid then screamed, knowing how the Flightmare had shamed her family's name.

How to Train Your Dragon
Astrid is first seen at the beginning of the film during a Dragon raid, helping by putting out fires with Snotlout, Fishlegs and the twins Ruffnut and Tuffnut, while Hiccup (doing an introductory narration) introduces her to the audience. After Hiccup is sent home by his father, Astrid is among the group but does not join in their mockery of Hiccup.

She is later seen with the other students in Dragon Training, along with Hiccup. During their first encounter with a Gronckle as their first lesson, Astrid is shown to be the star pupil as the other students are knocked out of the lesson one by one. Later, in the Great Hall, the other students mock Hiccup's performance and Astrid doesn't hesitate to criticize him either.

Gobber hands the students the Dragon Manual for the group to study and Astrid is one of the only ones to have read it besides Fishlegs and Hiccup. During the student's next lesson - this time against a Deadly Nadder in a labyrinth - Astrid again comes out on top. Angered with Hiccup getting in her way, she is quick to berate him by saying that they're about to inherit their parents' war and commands him to figure out what side he fights for. That night, Astrid is listening to Gobber's stories about dragons with the others when she notices Hiccup suddenly leave without saying anything. Although curious, she thinks nothing of it.

At the next lesson, the students are facing a Hideous Zippleback in paired teams: Astrid with Ruff, Hiccup with Fishlegs and Snotlout with Tuff. Due to Snotlout and Tuff's jeers, Astrid and Ruff lose their buckets of water, which they needed to douse the Zippleback's spark-breathing head. While Hiccup loses the last bucket of water, Astrid is shocked to see Hiccup somehow frighten the Zippleback back into its cage by merely motioning to it. As the lessons progress, it soon becomes apparent that Hiccup is becoming better and better, always seeming to have a way with the dragons and exerting control over them. He soon overtakes Astrid as the star pupil, which stirs her jealousy even further. After one particular lesson, Astrid vents her anger in the forest by throwing her axe into trees when she sees Hiccup sneaking around. She attempts to follow him but loses sight of him through the foliage.

The following night, Astrid hears crash from Hiccup's stall at the blacksmith shop and finds Hiccup is "Acting weird -- well, weirder" and then suddenly disappearing, further deepening her doubt.

Not long after, Astrid and Hiccup are the only students left in the race to see who gets the right to slay their first dragon. They are faced with the Gronckle when she threatens Hiccup to stay out of her way. Despite Astrid's best efforts, she still ends up losing when Hiccup immobilizes the Gronckle in little to no time at all. The Viking Elder, Gothi, denies Astrid the right to kill the Monstrous Nightmare and instead gives it to Hiccup.

This time, Astrid manages to follow Hiccup to the cove he's been visiting after training, along with her trusty axe. Astrid then begins interrogating Hiccup on the real reason for his sudden improvements in Dragon Training as well as his riding vest which he has never shown in public. Astrid then notices the figure of Toothless which appeared to alarm her, as she pushed Hiccup down with her as she dove to the ground, but before she can recognize Toothless, Hiccup distracts her by admitting that he is "through with the lies" as well as "making outfits", which causes Astrid to twist Hiccup's arm painfully "for the lies" and hit him hard with the handle of her axe "for everything else", which finally provokes Toothless.

Thinking that Astrid is a threat to Hiccup, Toothless charges out with a loud and aggressive roar and is about to attack. Hiccup grabs Astrid's axe, casts it away and stops Toothless in mid-pounce by telling him that Astrid is a friend. After an introduction to one another, during which Toothless snarls at her, Astrid realizes that the reason Hiccup had beaten her in Dragon Training was that he had befriended a dragon, which was the hated enemy of the Vikings, and runs off in anger to tell the villagers. But in the middle of the forest, she is snatched up and placed screaming on the pinnacle of a tree by Toothless and Hiccup where he asks for a chance to explain.

She refuses to hear any explanation, yet Hiccup manages to talk her into letting him show her instead and she climbs onto Toothless behind Hiccup (Toothless snarls at her as she gets on). Hiccup tells the Night Fury to gently land. However, Toothless is not so tame as that and deliberately scares Astrid with daring flying maneuvers until she finally apologizes to the dragon. Toothless finally stops and takes her and Hiccup on an extraordinarily brilliant flight above the clouds and Berk. She gradually becomes more comfortable with Hiccup and even rests her head on his shoulder. Astrid is amazed by the flight and what she sees, realizing just how wrong she was about Toothless and Hiccup.

During the flight however, when reminding Hiccup of the oncoming event on which Hiccup "Will have to kill a dragon", Toothless suddenly flies towards parts unknown and the group soon find themselves in a flock of dragons carrying their kill and food towards none other than the Dragons' Nest. Astrid and Hiccup are shocked to discover the dragons steal and raid from the village to feed a monstrous dragon called the Red Death in order to avoid being eaten themselves.

When they get back, Astrid wants to tell the village about what they saw but Hiccup manages to talk her out of it for the time being, fearing the other Vikings will kill Toothless. Impressed by Hiccup's persistence on keeping Toothless a secret and his loyalty to Toothless, she agrees and suddenly punches him on the arm "for kidnapping her" before kissing him on the cheek "for everything else."

The next day, Hiccup has to take his final exam and is expected to kill his first dragon, the Monstrous Nightmare. Astrid wishes Hiccup good luck and agrees to make sure the Vikings don't find Toothless if something goes wrong, but adds, "Just...promise me it won't go wrong." to which he never gives an answer. She watches as Hiccup faces the Nightmare and tosses aside his weapon, shield and helmet, intending to show the Vikings the truth about dragons. But Stoick, infuriated by his son's traitorous behaviors, screams for the match to stop and strikes the handrail of the ring.

The noise frightens the Nightmare, driving it to attack Hiccup, which is exactly what Hiccup tells Astrid he's worried about. Astrid gets into the arena and tries to help Hiccup escape but ends up in danger as well until Stoick gets into the ring to help them. Astrid manages to clamber out but Hiccup ends up in the Nightmare's claws before he's saved by Toothless. Toothless fights off the Nightmare but won't leave Hiccup, thinking the Vikings are threats and almost kills Stoick in the process. The Vikings swarm Toothless and Astrid has to stop Hiccup from interfering so he doesn't get hurt. Later she hears that Stoick disowns Hiccup.

Astrid attempts to comfort Hiccup for his losses after the Vikings set sail for the Nest and the deadly Red Death which the Vikings aren't aware of. She asks why Hiccup didn't kill Toothless that first chance, saying she wants to remember what he says. Hiccup finally tells her that he didn't because at that critical moment, he saw that Toothless was just as scared as he himself was; for him it was like looking in a mirror.

Astrid rounds up the other students and Hiccup teaches them enough about riding and controlling the various dragons. Astrid stops Snotlout's attempt to grab a weapon when training the Monstrous Nightmare. Finally they fly off to rescue their tribe from the Red Death which has broken out of the Nest to attack. Astrid sits astride the Deadly Nadder and drops off Hiccup so he can free Toothless from his chains while she goes to help the others fight the Red Death.

Astrid and Stormfly nearly end up getting eaten and she's knocked off her dragon. Thankfully, she's saved as Toothless catches her, and she enjoys a heart-quaking flight upside-down. Hiccup drops her off as he and Toothless lead the Red Death into the sky where they fight it and send it plummeting to its doom in a massive, fiery explosion.

When it seems that Hiccup has died in the fight, Astrid is brought to tears at seeing the sight before her. When Stoick announces that Hiccup survived, she is overjoyed at the news. When Hiccup finally wakes up back on Berk to a new village of dragons and Vikings living together (along with his prosthetic leg), Astrid punches him on the arm again for scaring her and then kisses him on the lips tenderly. Aside Stormfly, Astrid joins Hiccup, Toothless, and the other Vikings with their dragons as they soar together into the sky.

How to Train Your Dragon 2
Astrid is first seen in the beginning of the film, where she participates in dragon racing with her friends on Berk, during which she emerges victorious. During the race, Hiccup's father Stoick happily refers to her as "My future daughter-in-law," which suggests that he wishes them to get married. After winning the race, she then almost immediately flies off to find Hiccup and Toothless, eventually catching up with them on an island in the remote areas of Berk (which Hiccup has labeled Itchy Armpit). Hiccup reveals to her that he has been avoiding his father who has pressured him to become Chief. The news of Hiccup becoming Chief makes Astrid overly excited, but Hiccup is unsure if he is ready to take on such a duty. As Hiccup begins to doubt himself, claiming he is not like his father and hasn't met his mother since he was a baby, Astrid tells Hiccup what he is searching for is not out there, but inside himself.

After discovering the destroyed fortress of Eret, Son of Eret, and hearing about the tyrannical Dragon God by the name of Drago Bludvist, they fly back to Berk to inform Stoick of what they have heard and witnessed. Stoick then orders the villagers to fortify and protect the island from a potential attack as Hiccup chases after him in a desperate attempt to reason with him, with Astrid following them. Astrid persuades Hiccup not to go back to Eret, only for Hiccup to give her a light kiss on her cheek before flying off on Toothless as the hangar doors are closing. Astrid flies off on Stormfly to catch up with Hiccup, barely managing to fly through the closing doors, seconds before they shut. They return to Eret to try to stop him from capturing dragons. Just then, Stoick and other dragon riders catch up to them, and Hiccup decides to go find Drago himself to try to reason with him. After he flies off on Toothless, Astrid mounts Stormfly as she prepares to follow him, but Stoick stops her, instead ordering her to lead the riders back to Berk before she can even take off.

Later, when Hiccup fails to show back up at Berk, Astrid thinks Hiccup was captured by Drago and his men, unaware that Hiccup is actually with his long-lost mother, so she kidnaps Eret so that he can show them the way to Drago. At first Eret declines, but Astrid drops him from a great height before getting Stormfly to catch him, scaring him into taking them to Drago. The group is captured shortly after arrival and sentenced to be executed. Eret then defects and assists Astrid in freeing Stormfly. After Astrid finds Hiccup, she is relieved and asks him where he has been. Hiccup then tells her about his mother Valka and she is surprised and in disbelief to see her still alive. Soon, Stoick is killed by Drago and his Bewilderbeast using a mind-controlled Toothless. Arriving at the scene of Hiccup and Valka crying over the dead body of Stoick, she rushes over to Hiccup and places her comforting arm on him tenderly while he is crying on Stoick's hand. Drago's Bewilderbeest then takes control of all the other dragons - including Stormfly - and heads for Berk with a much larger dragon army. Astrid and the others shoot flaming arrows onto Stoick's ship to give the chief a funeral. She then listens as Hiccup declares that he will continue his father's legacy and that they will go back to Berk, defeat Drago, and rescue Toothless and the other dragons. They fly back to Berk riding on baby Scuttleclaws, who are immune to the Bewilderbeast's control.

During the final battle against Drago and his Bewilderbeast, Astrid cheers Hiccup on as he and Toothless face off against the evil Dragon God. After Hiccup and Toothless return the dragons back to their side and defeat Drago and his Bewilderbeast, Astrid is happily reunited with Stormfly and hugs her. She walks over to Hiccup, happy to see what he has finally found, reminding him that it was inside himself what he had been searching for, as she had told him earlier. She teasingly pokes his chest, causing the glide fin on his back to pop out, and they both laugh. Hiccup then pulls Astrid into another kiss, saying, "Come here, you." After the kiss, she celebrates as Hiccup is coronated the new Chief of Berk.