Personality: Yuri is, as canon underlines time and again, a lone wolf. Wild, free, and more than a little bit dangerous. The only thing he loves more than sugary food is a good, hard fight, but he is more than capable of making them friendly, especially with people he cares about. And, in spite of that "lone" up there, Yuri absolutely does have people he cares about: he got a big heaping helping of loyalty along with those other wolfy traits, and by the end of the game, he's unselfconsciously admitting that if he's strong, he's strong because of his friends. Or, perhaps more accurately, his pack.

None of which is meant to imply that Yuri was exactly the most anti-social guy even when the game started -- he already had a noticeable pack even at the very beginning of the game: the people of the Lower Quarter. It's just that Yuri tends to maintain his independence regardless, even to the point where he seems to have trouble understanding that his personal, private decisions could have an affect on the people around him -- a delusion that's made easier because Yuri never quite considers himself part of the pack he's protecting. No matter how much he cares about someone, there's still a little bit of distance there.

And this slightly "outside" position can also be seen with the people in Yuri's party; he will listen to their problems and buck them up when they need it, but he never really offers them his personal opinion -- never really lets that enter into it, never really gives advice. The word, really, is supportive. When Estelle contemplates going back to the capital, when Karol discusses starting what he no doubt considers their guild, Yuri listens and plays sounding board. He tries to help them figure out what they want to do, to acknowledge and deal with their own feelings, to follow their hearts. But what Yuri might want -- whether that's for Estelle to keep hanging around or for Karol to make it guild law that everyone has to sleep upsidedown -- we never hear. Yuri doesn't seem to think it's relevant, perhaps because he doesn't think it will really affect him. And maybe this is why he has such difficulty with the idea that his choices might affect them.

But you're pretty unlikely to notice this little bit of angst, because Yuri is otherwise very sure of himself and very comfortable with himself. What angst he has, he's pretty much always had, and learned to deal with years ago. In the game, he really only reveals it backhandedly, to one character, in one line. And while it affects everything he does, just a tiny bit, Yuri doesn't wallow. He's confident in himself, the choices he's made over the course of his life, the path he's walked down to get where he is now. "Self-down" is not really in his dictionary and he has no regrets, even when his vigilanteism starts going some very dark places. It's not that he doesn't think before he acts -- he thinks, and he thinks quickly, because he's actually very clever, in an understated sort of way. And it's not that he doesn't know what he's doing is, in many ways, wrong; but he also knows it's necessary, and he would do it all again in a heartbeat.

Still, Yuri is not a bad guy. While his cynicism is very easy to spot, partially because he makes a pretty big display of it, Yuri is also in some ways very idealistic. He left the Imperial Knights and became the Lower Quarter's vigilante Robin Hood specifically because it wasn't enough for him to build a better future if it meant having to accept suffering and tragedy in the present. And, in spite of the massive gray area he spends most of his time living in, never in danger of sliding into black.

And finally, on a lighter note, Yuri also has a very playful side. His sense of humor is keen, ranging from dry and deadpan to cheerfully dorky, and he does a lot of good-natured ribbing at the expense of his party members. But his supportiveness comes back into play again, and Yuri's humor never crosses the line into hurtful. If there's something he really wants to say to you, he'll just come right out and say it, blunt but not snide unless he really means to piss you off, and if he's taking that tone, you're probably not one of his friends. (Unless, of course, you're Flynn, whose personal choices Yuri is a wee bit more invested in.)

Abilities: Yuri is an exceptionally-skilled fighter, wielding axes and swords with equal ease, but only a few of his Artes have any element behind them and he knows nothing in the way of real spells. Which isn't to say this is a lack Yuri suffers from; his physical attacks and skills are more than enough, and he does have one technique he can use to heal himself in emergencies. Yuri also has two Mystic Artes, which he can use when in Overlimit his back is up against the wall. And an extra one, if Flynn's around.

Otherwise, Yuri is quite strong and very agile, effortlessly lifting himself up in a one-handed hand-stand whenever he gets knocked down and occasionally doing backflips after battles have ended. He also really, really enjoys battle to the point of almost seeming to feed on it a little, getting charged up after a fight instead of worn out. Looking for a sparring session?! Yuri is so there, man.

He's also largely ambidextrous, though his left hand is his default.

Multifandom Test: Willow Rosenberg, Buffy: The Vampire Slayer

Oh, does this one ever depend on when Yuri meets her.

First-season Willow especially would ping Yuri, the way Karol or Estelle did; she's really smart and really into book-learning and really, really socially insecure and hard on herself, so Yuri would give her a dose of the good-natured teasing he gives everyone else, just being there for her. Friendly, supportive. He'd try to encourage her to come out of her shell a little, and I really think she'd let him. I think she might also develop the world's tiniest lesbian crush, because people who really listen to Willow and make her feel heard are few and far between at this point in her life. Yuri would also definitely want to introduce her to Rita, so that they could talk shop together, and the motivation there would be partly because he likes them both and thinks they'd like each other, but also because he'd feel like they could use more friends they can talk to on that level.

Fifth-season Willow... well, Yuri does not do a lot of direct interventioning. He's more the kind of guy who gives you a sounding board and lets you figure out for yourself that you're on the wrong path. But he's not above giving people a firm shake when it's really needed, especially if he's invested in them, so I see... I picture a scene pretty early on in the season, before her magic-use is a super-noticeable issue, where Yuri's hanging with the Scoobies and making friendly conversation and then after the other Scoobies are out of the room, he says, without even looking at Willow, "You sure you know what you're doing?" Because Perceptive is kind of a key trait, and he knows a lot about Going Down the Wrong Path (TM).

And speaking of the Wrong Path -- Seventh-season Willow. Well. The whole thing she did, with the flaying of guys, was not really a gray area. It wasn't like Ragou and Cumore; Warren used a gun to shoot Tara, they had witnesses, and they could definitely have brought him to justice by normal means if they had tried. But I think Willow might have to push Yuri to get him to give her his opinion on the subject. Revenge is kind of a private thing, and once Willow isn't a threat anymore... Well. Again, Yuri is perceptive, and by this point in my head he knows her pretty well, so I think he'd let it go because he'd know Willow never would. And I think at this point, their relationship would be deeper; he'd be closer to her than he was in those early warmfuzzy uncomplicated days. They might talk less, but share comfortable silences more.

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Appearance: Yuri is 5'10", well-muscled but slender, with long black hair down to his lower back that he cuts himself. In canon, he wears a lot of loose clothing belted and rolled up, because he can't afford tailored clothes -- but in Marina, he wears blue jeans and button-downs and tank tops and anything else he can get his hands on. Wearing silk or any other expensive fabric is kind of too much for him, even though it's now free.