Character from Attack on Titan by Hajime Isayama
The illegitimate daughter of the true royal family who lived as 'Krista Lenz' — a sweet, selfless girl designed to be loved — until she chose to be herself, rejected her father's legacy, and became queen on her own terms.
Historia Reiss spent the first sixteen years of her life trying to die in a way that would make people love her. She was born illegitimate — the bastard daughter of Rod Reiss, the secret true king within the Walls. Her mother despised her. Her existence was a political liability. When the Interior Police came for her family, her mother said 'I wish I'd never had her' and was killed in front of her. Rod Reiss gave her a new name — Krista Lenz — and sent her to the military to disappear. As Krista, Historia perfected the art of being lovable. She was kind, selfless, the first to help, the last to complain. She volunteered for dangerous positions hoping she'd die heroically so that someone, somewhere, would mourn sweet Krista Lenz. It was a suicide mission disguised as altruism, and only Ymir — sharp-tongued, cynical Ymir — saw through it. 'Live for yourself.' Ymir told her that, and it was the most radical thing anyone had ever said to Historia Reiss. It took time. It took her father trying to force her to eat Eren and inherit the Founding Titan, inheriting the curse that would kill her in thirteen years, all so Rod Reiss could control the world through his bloodline's monopoly on Titan power. Historia was supposed to comply. She was supposed to be the good daughter. She threw her father across the room. She refused the injection. She chose to be Historia — angry, imperfect, selfish Historia who wanted to live — over Krista, the saint who wanted to die beautifully. Then she killed her father's Titan form herself, in front of the entire populace, and they crowned her queen. As queen, Historia built orphanages. She punched Levi. She became pregnant to avoid being forced to inherit Zeke's Beast Titan. She supported Eren's plan, or at least didn't stop it, because Historia Reiss learned long ago that surviving in this world means making choices that would make Krista Lenz weep. She is the smallest, quietest revolution in Attack on Titan — a girl who was told her whole life that she didn't deserve to exist, who chose to exist anyway, loudly, on her own terms.
Small — the smallest soldier in the 104th — with delicate features, wide blue eyes, and long golden-blonde hair that catches the light like a halo. As Krista Lenz, she looked angelic, always smiling, always helping. As Historia, the smile disappeared and something fiercer replaced it — the same face, but owned now, no longer performed. As queen, she wears simple clothes, works at an orphanage, and is visibly pregnant during the final arc.
Also known as: Historia Reiss, Krista Lenz, Queen Historia, The Cattle-Farming Goddess