Yeagerists

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Yeagerists
Name	Yeagerists イェーガー派 Yēgā-ha
Alternate names	Eldian Army (エルディア国軍 Erudia kokugun?)
Information
Occupation	Defense of Eldia against the threat of the outside world
Notable members	Rico Brzenska Hitch Dreyse Louise? Wim? Holger?
Notable former members	Eren Yeager† (symbolic leader) Floch Forster† (de-facto leader)
Debut
Manga	Counterfeit

	If we win, we live. If we lose, we die. If you don't fight, we can't win. Fight. Fight.
— The Yeagerists' new slogan

The Yeagerists (イェーガー派 Yēgā-ha^?) are a rebel faction supported by civilians and soldiers from the Paradis military. Their initial goal was to reunite Eren Yeager with his half-brother Zeke, in order to ultimately assist the former in the activation of the Rumbling and to create the "New Eldian Empire" (新生エルディア帝国 Shinsei Erudia Teikoku^?),. In the month following the Raid on Liberio, the Yeagerists conducted a military coup and took power within the Walls. By the year 857, the Yeagerists were reformed and merged into the Eldian Army.

Ideology

The Yeagerists came to exist due to the belief the belief that Eldia is on the verge of destruction and only they could save the island by dedicating themselves to Eren Yeager. The rebellious faction claims those who subordinated themselves to the outdated ideals of the current Royal Government will only watch as they would be devastated by the outside world.

Multiple Yegaerists, as most of the Eldian population on the island, have adopted a very xenophobic mindset towards the outside world, resulting from the universal anti-Eldian hatred shared by all nations beyond Paradis Island, Marley's numerous acts of aggression on the island's population since the Fall of Wall Maria, as well as the world's desire to eradicate all Eldians, especially those from Paradis, who they consider to be "island devils".

The Yeagerists and their supporters on the island have been inspired by the Liberio's Eldian Restorationists, a group in which the man who produced the books that made the island's population finally know the truth about their identity and history was a part of when he still lived in Marley: the desire to bring back the Eldian Empire in order to get revenge on the world and subjugate the different nations and peoples beyond the island.

After having learned of the true state of the outside world and their ancestors' history, many Eldians on Paradis Island soon started to name their country the "New Eldian Empire" instead of simply calling it "Eldia", clearly demonstrating their desire to create an imperialistic nation, which caused many tensions on the island regarding whether they should attack other nations or not.

This imperialistic desire resulted in the most extreme Yeagerists adopting the same racial supremacist mindset exhibited during the golden age of the Eldian Empire, believing that Subjects of Ymir are a superior race destined to rule over others. Their hatred for the outside world is specifically more intense towards those who hail from the continental mainland of Marley.

During the Rumbling, many Yeagerist soldiers and civilians unanimously celebrated Eren's decision, justifying the Eldians who died due to living close to the Walls when they fell by describing their deaths as "noble sacrifices". They organized massive celebrations in which they hailed Eren as a liberator and emancipator, and the Yeagerists themselves as his noble followers.

Despite their racial supremacist, xenophobic, imperialistic, and genocidal beliefs, the Yeagerists are shown to be able to collaborate with individuals who are not Eldians nor Subjects of Ymir when it serves their interests, often exploiting these relationships for strategic or political gain. For example, they worked with the Zeke and Yelena until Eren took the upper hand, despite their final goal being the "peaceful" eradication of the Subjects of Ymir. They are also able to overlook the extreme anti-Eldian hatred demonstrated by some of the people they cooperate with in order to further their goals, like when the fanatically hateful Griez berated his Marleyan colleague for having befriended the Eldians too much for his liking in front of the Yeagerists without them reacting to it.

The group is also shown to be willing to accept people from enemy countries as their own. For example, the then group's leader Floch Forster proposed to the Anti-Marleyan Volunteers the option of joining the Yeagerists as fellow Eldians in the new empire that they would create, despite them not being Subjects of Ymir, after detailing how their homelands were all going to be exterminated during the Rumbling, though he made it subtly clear that they were going to be living as honorary Eldians.

This is one of the many examples demonstrating how the Yeagerists did not shy away from copying Marley's radical methods of subjugation and militarism, despite them considering them as their biggest enemy, like when they separated the Eldian soldiers from the former military regime who had drunk Zeke's wine in different groups by giving them varied colored armbands regarding their consumption of Zeke's poisoned wine.

Following Eren's death at the expense of 80% of the world's population beyond Paradis Island, the Yeagerists focus on strengthening Eldia's military power in fear of retaliation from the remnants of humanity that survived the onslaught.

Structure

Initially, the group was known to consist of over a hundred members, many of them from the Survey Corps. However, the true extent of their influence is unknown with many soldiers and civilians vowing to devote their hearts to Eren Yeager. Around 500 soldiers connected with the Yeagerists are present in Shiganshina District at the time of Marley's invasion. It is said the Yeagerists effectively control everything inside the Walls. In the days following the activation of the Rumbling, the Yeagerists' de facto leader Floch Forster officially declared the faction's rule over the entire island, including its military. Following the Battle of Heaven and Earth, the group focuses on increasing the island's military power in fear of retaliation from the outside world.

Story

Marley arc

The initial formation of the Yeagerists was around the time Eren informed Floch Forster about his intentions to use Zeke Yeager to grasp the power of the Founding Titan. Afterwards, Floch began gathering comrades in secret to help Eren with his plan. Later on, Eren would continue to act on his own while defying the military that intended to feed Zeke Yeager to Historia Reiss upon his arrival to Paradis.

War for Paradis arc

After Eren's infiltration of Marley and the resulting Raid on Liberio, he was arrested for his actions which resulted in the deaths of several Survey Corps soldiers. Word starts to spread about his imprisonment and the ones who leaked the story are arrested as well. Meanwhile, protesters start to gather and demanding that Eren be released from his confinement.

At some point, even more people began to reveal that they see Eren Yeager as their savior who could save the Eldian Empire.

Meanwhile, Yeagerists within the Survey Corps would begin covertly working with Zeke's trusted follower Yelena and procure wine for the soldiers detaining Zeke within the Titan Forest. This wine was taken off the captured Marleyan ships and is tainted with Zeke's spinal fluid; it was also instructed to be given out to many senior heads of the Military to neutralize them as possible threats.

Eren meets with the Yeagerists

Eventually, several members plant a bomb in a chair belonging to Commander Darius Zackly and place it in his office. They later trigger the bomb, killing Zackly and several members of the Military Police. At roughly the same time, Eren uses his newly granted powers of the War Hammer Titan to tunnel his way out of his cell and seals his escape route so he could not be followed. While this happens, the other members free Eren's allies and escape the prison as well. Regrouping elsewhere, Eren meets with his followers and declares he will locate Zeke.

After Eren's escape, the top military officials meet with Dot Pixis who believes the Yeagerists will target anyone who knows where Zeke is being held and then capture Queen Historia, who could act as a replacement for Zeke. Pixis then declares they will negotiate with Eren using Zeke's location and grudgingly decides to disregard their assassination of Darius Zackly in order to avoid more deaths, stating it is a cheap price to pay. However, this is just a ruse of the commander to abduct Eren and steal the Founding Titan from him. The Yeagerists would somehow receive word of the proposal, but it is rejected by Eren who refuses to entrust Commander Pixis with the fate of the island.

The Yeagerists storm a restaurant

The Yeagerists later storm into a restaurant to attain the location of Zeke Yeager from Hange after receiving word from a Marleyan. The Yeagerists then capture those present at the restaurant including several officers of the Survey Corps and the Blouse family before departing to the Shiganshina District.

While in Shiganshina District, the Yeagerists interrupt a 109th Training Corps exercise in an attempt to seize control of the division. Floch is able to quickly drum up support from the sympathetic trainees, and rebuffs Keith Shadis, who he has the trainees beat to prove their loyalty to the Yeagerist cause. After praising the Yeagerist affiliated division, Floch once again demands that Hange take them to Zeke's location.

En route to where Zeke was being held, Floch and the Yeagerists accompanying Hange hear a loud rumble and wonder what it could be; following the sound, they discover a demolished wagon with a small Titan nearby. After Hange discovers the body of Levi Ackerman, the Yeagerists become startled when the Titan begins emitting steam and a fully healed Zeke Yeager emerges from the Titan's stomach; Hange then escapes with Levi's body, causing several Yeagerists to chase after them. At the same time in Shiganshina, Eren goes to the prison cell where a captive Gabi is kept, only to be ambushed by Pieck, a Warrior from Marley who infiltrated the Yeagerists.

Many armed soldiers join Yelena and Eren on the roof of the jail when Pieck supposedly prepares to divulge the location of Marleyan spies. Galliard, who had also been posing as a Yeagerist, transforms inside the compound and begins a battle with Eren. Concurrently, several airships fly over the district, parachuting in Marleyan soldiers who take the upper hand in a firefight with the Yeagerist forces.

The Yeagerists pursue the Cart Titan

As the Yeagerists scramble to fight the forces from Marley, the Beast Titan arrives and begins destroying the airships from atop Wall Maria. Eventually, the imprisoned Survey Corps soldiers are released and head towards the other imprisoned Eldians; after a brief scuffle, the others are freed as well and the two groups reluctantly join forces to fight Marley.

As the conflict continues, a squad of Yeagerists ambush the Cart Titan. After the Titan is seemingly defeated, Floch remains skeptical but is caught off guard and forced to retreat with the other Yeagerists when Marleyan soldiers open fire from the Cart Titan's carcass. Aside from Floch, all of the Yeagerists in the group are killed in the attack.

In the aftermath of Eren beginning the Rumbling, the Yeagerists join their former prisoners in killing the Titans that Zeke had created in the battle. After all the Titans are eradicated, Floch joins the survivors at the military headquarters, and orders the Anti-Marleyan Volunteers be gathered and restrained. Once they are present, Floch issues the Volunteers an ultimatum. He offers to accept them as Eldians if they agree to cooperate with the Eldian Empire, though disagreeing would have them face execution.

In the following days, the Yeagerists gather to proclaim the end of Eldia's persecution from the outside world, and begin celebrations. Later at the military HQ, a group of Yeagerists gather to witness the execution of Onyankopon and Yelena, who refuse to side with the Empire. Before the executions can be carried out, the Cart Titan suddenly attacks, eating Jean and the two Volunteers. The Yeagerists attempt to follow them, but are unsuccessful.

Anticipating that Jean and his allies will try to use Kiyomi Azumabito's flying boat to reach Eren, Floch mobilizes a group of heavily armed Yeagerists to occupy Paradis's harbor. They are able to get there quickly by the use of steam engine and take Kiyomi hostage.

Floch alerts the Yeagerists

Following an attempt by Armin and Connie to get to the flying boat, Floch decides to execute the Azumabito mechanics to keep them from posing a threat in the future. However, he is caught off guard and disarmed by Kiyomi. Before Floch's comrades can help him, Mikasa bursts into the building and incapacitates them as well. With no one to help, Floch flees the building and alerts the rest of the Yeagerists that they are under attack. The Yeagerists fire Thunder Spears into the building, before being caught off guard by the appearance of the Armored and Female Titans.

The Yeagerists desperately attempt to kill the two Titans along with the fleeing Azumabito service crew but many are swiftly slain by their former allies from the Survey Corps. As the situation becomes dire, Floch deduces that their adversaries will escape using the Azumabito's ship and rallies the Yeagerists to stop them. The Yeagersits are soon unable to accomplish their objectives due to the arrival of the Cart and Jaw Titans along with the sudden loss of their reinforcements. However, Floch is still able to target the ship but falls into the ocean after being shot by Gabi. As the Azumbaito's ship departs, the remaining Yeagerists pursue a Marleyan and another Paradis soldier into a cruiser which self-destructs shortly after.

Determined to stop his opponents, Floch latches on to the fleeing ship and pursues them all the way to Odiha where he sneaks into a hangar and opens fire upon the flying boat. Despite his efforts, Floch is fatally wounded and with his dying breath he begs his former comrades not to stop Eren.

The Yeagerists yell out as one

Over the years since Eren's death, the Yeagerists continued to grow in size; by the year 857, they eventually reached the point where they incorporated the three former military branches into one, forming a new army in order to protect Paradis Island from any and all future threats.

Members

Rico Brzenska

Hitch Dreyse

Surma

Wim ?

Louise ?

Holger ?

Eren Yeager †

Floch Forster †

Samuel †

Daz †

Oliver †