Name
Ki'te Roth
Appearance
Art done by the fabulously talented Nuriko-kun!
Age
18
Rank
Private
Background
Ki'te is the youngest child of Batto of the Gora clan, and younger sister to Koto. Everyone in the village was expected to pull their own weight and for women it was no different. Genders scarcely dictated what one's role could be, there were as many women who were warriors as were men and some of the finest artisans were women. However one needed a particular talent to create and Ki'te sorely lacked that, and any more intricate tasks she lacked a particular attention span for. In need of some way to contribute however her elder brother Koto took it upon himself to help her find her place. Like him and their father Ki'te was trained to be a hunter, and with a fair lay of the land from many years of playing she knew the perfect spots already. Of course her skill as a hunter was... Wanting, to be generous. Yet her brother practiced as much patience with her as he did with his craft and after much trial and error she became a capable hunter all her own.
Unfortunately her time as a hunter was limited as was their time with their beloved village. Upon returning from a hunt both Koto and Ki'te were greeted by a pair of unusual looking men dressed in strange clothing, as large as some of their biggest warriors and made of just as stern stuff. Battle was nothing new to their people and they had encountered Titans occasionally but none of their warriors wore the expressions these men bore that day. Utterly hollow, more like walking corpses than actual living beings. After roughly being escorted to the village center their people were given the ultimatum of a lifetime: help in eradicating the Titans or see their village razed to the ground and raided for their supplies. Never before had the village been visited by outsiders nor did anyone recognize the strange equipment they carried, and none dared raise a hand against these men, lest they bring misfortune upon their village. It was with heavy hearts then that the villagers elected to help, and Chieftain Ghiri was informed they would take children to train into soldiers.
No doubt against his own wishes his own daughter Samara had been the first selected, and shortly thereafter Botto's two children, Ki'te and Koto, were selected as well. The youths were easier to train and break than older warriors set in their ways, the men argued, and with but three children the village would be spared. No less than an hour after the decision was made did they depart, bound and carried on the backs of some of the swiftest beasts they had ever seen. Horses they were called, beautiful and yet terrifying creatures for all of their speed and strength. They rode down the mountains and into the valleys, across fields and farther than Ki'te ever thought possible. A tense night was spent in the open under constant alert for Titans, and the following day as the sun rose high above their heads they arrived.
The tall, foreboding presence of the walls had terrified Ki'te at first, more so than the ever-present threat of Titans had in the fields. To her they screamed imprisonment - living freely without any walls to hold you back had not prepared her for this - and her stomach sank as they passed through the gates. Houses pressed so tightly together it was a wonder people could walk between them, cobbled roads, more people than 10 villages combined, so this was how the other people lived. Their lives as they had known them had ceased to exist now, they would spend the rest of them, however brief that may be, bound within these walls. They would be soldiers, forced to fight for a people they did not know and unable to help their village survive. Ki'te's will broke that day and were it not for the presence of Koto and Samara she may well have taken her own life at first chance.
Unfortunately her time as a hunter was limited as was their time with their beloved village. Upon returning from a hunt both Koto and Ki'te were greeted by a pair of unusual looking men dressed in strange clothing, as large as some of their biggest warriors and made of just as stern stuff. Battle was nothing new to their people and they had encountered Titans occasionally but none of their warriors wore the expressions these men bore that day. Utterly hollow, more like walking corpses than actual living beings. After roughly being escorted to the village center their people were given the ultimatum of a lifetime: help in eradicating the Titans or see their village razed to the ground and raided for their supplies. Never before had the village been visited by outsiders nor did anyone recognize the strange equipment they carried, and none dared raise a hand against these men, lest they bring misfortune upon their village. It was with heavy hearts then that the villagers elected to help, and Chieftain Ghiri was informed they would take children to train into soldiers.
No doubt against his own wishes his own daughter Samara had been the first selected, and shortly thereafter Botto's two children, Ki'te and Koto, were selected as well. The youths were easier to train and break than older warriors set in their ways, the men argued, and with but three children the village would be spared. No less than an hour after the decision was made did they depart, bound and carried on the backs of some of the swiftest beasts they had ever seen. Horses they were called, beautiful and yet terrifying creatures for all of their speed and strength. They rode down the mountains and into the valleys, across fields and farther than Ki'te ever thought possible. A tense night was spent in the open under constant alert for Titans, and the following day as the sun rose high above their heads they arrived.
The tall, foreboding presence of the walls had terrified Ki'te at first, more so than the ever-present threat of Titans had in the fields. To her they screamed imprisonment - living freely without any walls to hold you back had not prepared her for this - and her stomach sank as they passed through the gates. Houses pressed so tightly together it was a wonder people could walk between them, cobbled roads, more people than 10 villages combined, so this was how the other people lived. Their lives as they had known them had ceased to exist now, they would spend the rest of them, however brief that may be, bound within these walls. They would be soldiers, forced to fight for a people they did not know and unable to help their village survive. Ki'te's will broke that day and were it not for the presence of Koto and Samara she may well have taken her own life at first chance.
Name
Stella Brandt
Appearance
Art done by the fabulously talented xXSada-chanXx!
Age
29
Rank
Captain
Background
Much has to be sacrificed when fighting a threat like the Titans. Soldiers are thrown into battle almost as whimsically as a gambler rolls the die, countless resources are pooled to support expeditions, and for what? Had Stella been asked shortly after enlistment then she would have wholeheartedly answered "For humanity's future!" Having been enamored by Commander Erwin Smith's vigor and his unwavering belief humanity would triumph, Stella would have gladly given everything she had to further the Commander's dream. Now? You'd be lucky to get so much as a single coin for the effort.
Like it or not however she was a soldier, abandoning her post was out of the question and so too was trying to have Erwin removed from his place in command. The Survey Corps had known more success beneath Erwin than any other commander and yet it was still not enough. Too many lives spent, too many fat, sheltered pigs within the walls willing to throw money at them and demand they march forth. For what? To kill a handful of the seemingly endless Titans? The Commander might be able to spin a positive out of each expedition and indeed they learned more of their enemy day by day, battle by battle. But they would run out of bodies to fight before they ever came close to achieving victory. After half a dozen excursions beyond the walls Stella's once glowing enthusiasm had been reduced to little more than embers, hope replaced with a deadening nihilism; humanity was dead, they just didn't know it yet.
Her disdain for the expeditions and lack of faith would invariably lead to insubordination on Stella's part. On her final excursion she demanded that her people withdraw early and refused to sacrifice lives for a seemingly lost cause, and as a result two squadrons were torn to shreds in what was one of the Survey Corps' most devastating battles to date. Regardless of intent the fact remained clear: countless were dead due to Stella's orders, countless soldiers whose lives should never have been lost. Though she possessed the rank of Captain it meant little in the face of the Commander and the King, no amount of authority she carried could outweigh their word. Most people who had done what she had would be executed without trial after being branded a coward, probably have their corpse paraded through the streets or defiled, humiliated and degraded. Yet Erwin had known that despite her folly she had talent, talent far too crucial to waste. At the same time however punishment was needed and he had just the idea in mind.
As a result of the Survey Corps' losses, criminals, conscripts and people who lived beyond the walls were brought in to train and fight. Most would go to the regular ranks, Erwin explained, but some would be set aside for another purpose - a purpose which made Stella's gut churn in anger - and yet one that was utterly necessary. She would retain her rank despite all that had transpired and she would continue to command troops, only now in a much different capacity.
No contingent like the 72nd Expansion Brigade had existed before, at least not officially. Nor would this iteration of it, lovingly dubbed the "suicide unit" by those in the know. Former criminals and some of the conscripts who showed promise would be sent to this unit under Stella's command and they would be assigned missions deemed too dangerous, too risky for even the likes of the Survey Corps. For a woman who loathed to place her troops in undue danger there could be no greater punishment and yet duty demanded she carry out her orders. Bitter, betrayed and furious she went to her new post to watch over the recruits that would one day be her soldiers, determined to learn each and every one of their names before they'd even graduated. If Erwin and the others thought they would all die in some blaze of glory then they'd be damned, she'd see that each and every member of her squad came back alive, no matter what.
Like it or not however she was a soldier, abandoning her post was out of the question and so too was trying to have Erwin removed from his place in command. The Survey Corps had known more success beneath Erwin than any other commander and yet it was still not enough. Too many lives spent, too many fat, sheltered pigs within the walls willing to throw money at them and demand they march forth. For what? To kill a handful of the seemingly endless Titans? The Commander might be able to spin a positive out of each expedition and indeed they learned more of their enemy day by day, battle by battle. But they would run out of bodies to fight before they ever came close to achieving victory. After half a dozen excursions beyond the walls Stella's once glowing enthusiasm had been reduced to little more than embers, hope replaced with a deadening nihilism; humanity was dead, they just didn't know it yet.
Her disdain for the expeditions and lack of faith would invariably lead to insubordination on Stella's part. On her final excursion she demanded that her people withdraw early and refused to sacrifice lives for a seemingly lost cause, and as a result two squadrons were torn to shreds in what was one of the Survey Corps' most devastating battles to date. Regardless of intent the fact remained clear: countless were dead due to Stella's orders, countless soldiers whose lives should never have been lost. Though she possessed the rank of Captain it meant little in the face of the Commander and the King, no amount of authority she carried could outweigh their word. Most people who had done what she had would be executed without trial after being branded a coward, probably have their corpse paraded through the streets or defiled, humiliated and degraded. Yet Erwin had known that despite her folly she had talent, talent far too crucial to waste. At the same time however punishment was needed and he had just the idea in mind.
As a result of the Survey Corps' losses, criminals, conscripts and people who lived beyond the walls were brought in to train and fight. Most would go to the regular ranks, Erwin explained, but some would be set aside for another purpose - a purpose which made Stella's gut churn in anger - and yet one that was utterly necessary. She would retain her rank despite all that had transpired and she would continue to command troops, only now in a much different capacity.
No contingent like the 72nd Expansion Brigade had existed before, at least not officially. Nor would this iteration of it, lovingly dubbed the "suicide unit" by those in the know. Former criminals and some of the conscripts who showed promise would be sent to this unit under Stella's command and they would be assigned missions deemed too dangerous, too risky for even the likes of the Survey Corps. For a woman who loathed to place her troops in undue danger there could be no greater punishment and yet duty demanded she carry out her orders. Bitter, betrayed and furious she went to her new post to watch over the recruits that would one day be her soldiers, determined to learn each and every one of their names before they'd even graduated. If Erwin and the others thought they would all die in some blaze of glory then they'd be damned, she'd see that each and every member of her squad came back alive, no matter what.
