Yuri Lowell

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For those who know or learn his history, even before the start of the crime accusations, they quite like to emphasize that while Yuri used to be a knight, he sure as hell doesn’t act like one. (It’s up for debate if he ever had before, since he himself is a little bothered everyone finds it so hard to believe; but judging from the Yuri they see now, it’s hard to blame anyone for being in disbelief.) It starts of course with Yuri’s impoliteness. Not necessarily in the sense that he is rude to whomever he meets, but more in that he won’t be taking most seriously. From then, it could escalate into an occasional snide remark. Needless to say it got him into trouble often; more times than he cares to remember. He doesn’t even give a damn how many times he’s lectured, he admits to not paying attention. Yuri always was a shameless delinquent even in his childhood, but since then he’s matured into picking fights with those who deserve it rather than raising hell for no reason whatsoever.

Growing up as and with those less fortunate in the royal city of Zaphias, he grew a distaste for the haughty power-hungry nobles, who had no idea how grateful they should have been for what they already had; considering there was an entire community doing back-breaking labor while they complained about how their luxuries weren’t enough. It’s not that Yuri is envious, but he just wishes they could humble themselves to help the poor side of the city. They were just there, with nothing to lose than a bit of their time. It baffled and disgusted him that they could be considered higher up in society with their behavior. So, ironically, he has the habit of looking down on them. In sharp contrast to the selfish nature of the Zaphias aristocracy, Yuri has been described as a friend as unable to turn a blind eye to suffering, to the point of sacrificing his own well-being for others’ sake.

Despite his compulsions to assist others, Yuri’s no saint. He’d scoff at the thought of it, especially given his rebellious streaks. Neither is he a people-pleaser, as he can reject any wishes his friends have if he personally doubts it wouldn’t be any good for them, or it would be more troublesome than it was worth. It’s something of a protective, concerned attitude, in his own odd way. He cares more about those he considers family than anyone else in the world, and won’t take any abuse against them sitting down. Instead of just giving his support, he notches it up by eliminating the problem in the first place. Yuri knows and expects that in his extremities, there would be consequences, but it would be worth it for everyone else, as stated before. He easily associates pessimism and worst-case scenario with likelihood, which is rather sad, but even then, there is a faint idealism in his methods. “Making the world a better place” would be a cliché stretch that he’d deny, but in retrospect he really is working towards that, albeit at a smaller scale.

Past the impressions that he is a cold and sarcastic lone wolf, friends and the most perceptive are able to see that while Yuri is simplistic and blunt, he’s caring and supportive on the inside, just not the obvious cheerful way most would appreciate. He enjoys teasing and is capable of pointing out flaws with a straight face, but not in malice. Rather, in hopes they’ll be able to improve themselves, knowing so. This made him something of an older brother figure to his 12-year-old boss, Karol; and to some other members at a lesser extent. His hard-earned friendship gives birth to an absolute loyalty, to which Yuri finds himself forgiving and trying to understand even those that he has to cross blades with.

His intentions are misunderstood by anyone who only hears of his actions, leading him to carry a bad reputation, which he doesn’t bother to fix. Most if not all his heroics become accredited to a noble knight: his best friend Flynn, who later confronts him about it, having never felt comfortable receiving Yuri’s glory in the first place; and was understandably worried about all the misunderstandings and false charges. Holding onto his own stubborn response, Yuri said that he really doubted he could ever be a good role model, and insisted that he never cared about public reputation. All the backhand insults and slander about him would be fine if it meant he could achieve changes from below; conclusively stating he would want society to glorify someone better.
 

✓ Experienced with a sword, Yuri is unique in that while he received knights' training, he likes to include his own flair into the fighting style, to accommodate punches and kicks, and to take a generally speedier and unpredictable style of swordplay than what was traditionally taught knights. He was skilled enough to learn a famed Imperial Knight’s technique on the first attempt after reading the details from the book, which was more than what could be said for the Knight’s apprentices.
✓ He is also able to wield axes, which provide more solid, powerful hits, in sacrifice of speed. Though, obviously, they’re heavy, and given Yuri likes to flip and spin his weapon around often, as well as only being pictured with swords in official art and cutscenes, it’s inferred he prefers to use the lighter of the two weapons.
✓ Yuri’s an excellent cook, having learned from a kind motherly innkeeper, who let him stick around despite... Yuri being Yuri. He’s good enough for some to suspect he uses a secret ingredient, but other than bluntly saying he added “love”, he claims he didn’t put anything special in the first place. He also admits part of his reason for learning was to avoid Flynn doing it.
✓ Due to growing up poor, he’s used to several hardships, such as hunger, being broke, etc. and won’t complain or worry as often as most people would about them.

✗ While fairly tall at a height of 5’10/180cm, Yuri’s also thin and ridiculously underweight at 53kg/116pounds. As such, it can be concluded that despite expectations, there are going to be some things too heavy for him to lift with ease, and conversely he will be somewhat easier to pick up or throw off his feet, if ever caught off guard.
✗ Yuri may be judgmental to an extent, at least during awkward introductions or if he already had misgivings about the other person. For example, towards Rita, whom he suspected was a thief, he constantly reminded her that as long as her name wasn’t clear, he would take the liberty to treat her as a criminal. And towards another person who went by the name Raven (who, in Yuri’s defense, everyone found suspicious), Yuri was watchful, rather rude, and generally dismissive of whatever he said, until he was fully convinced that he was a man worth calling a friend, many complications later.
✗ Early in the game, Estelle questions why Yuri doesn’t use magic despite owning a blastia, to which he responds he can’t, simply because he’s never bothered to learn magic theory, and that he doesn’t have the knack for it. In summary, Estelle concluded he wasn’t good at studying, to which he replied was right, more or less.
✗ Lastly there’s his detachment in general, especially whenever something troubles him. He may not mean any harm, but his friends simply don’t take it well when he insists on suffering alone; just as whenever he blatantly disregards his own well-being more often than not. It’s not so much 'weakness' as a trait others don’t appreciate.

[If you’d like to see his different in-game techniques, here, have a combo video.]
 

 

- In and out-of-series, Yuri sometimes gets mistaken for a woman. The below may be the reason why he doesn’t particularly mind it.
- Women receive the same treatment from him as men. It’s led to the conclusion Yuri doesn’t have an understanding of females’ sensitivity or whatnot.
- Yuri is ambidextrous, with a preference for his left hand.
- He refuses to use a sword and an axe at the same time.
- Unexpectedly, he has a sweet tooth.
- Hanks, a man who had watched him grow up, had joked that if Yuri ever had to save the world, it would only be for the people he cared about.
 

[ Questions? Comments? Concerns? ] :
I uh, accidentally deleted the entire personality portion at some point and didn’t realize until after I opened the document the next day. Retyped from memory and added some stuff. … Hope it didn't become mediocre. Also decided that instead of doubling as Repede, I’ll be waiting for someone else to RP him. It’ll be funner that way!