The Powers That Be (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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synodiporia_ooc2014-01-27 01:49 pm
powersthatbe) wrote in synodiporia_ooc2014-01-27 01:49 pm
CHARACTER RECLAIMS
From now until endgame, Synodiporia is closed to new applications. However, players who dropped or idled characters but who do not have a behavioral strike against them may reclaim characters at any time. Dungeons and app windows are no longer necessary. Simply comment below with "I'd like to bring [character (username)] back!" And we'll take it from there. Players already at 3 characters who wish to bring back a 4th or 5th may do so so long as they're current on AC. Players wishing to bring in characters above 5 may request special mod permission. If you are uncertain if you qualify to reclaim, please email us at synodiporians@gmail.com and ask! |
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And really, that’s not far off from Yuri’s base personality as it is. He’s had a bit of time to grow up and gain an understanding of how some of the things in the world around him work — politics, class disparity and most importantly, where he stands on these situations. He may not have always had a great understanding about life outside of Zaphias, the intricacies of guild culture, and many other things, but Yuri definitely knows what kind of person he is and how he elects to present himself. Despite looking like a slacker, he’s the sort who cares deeply for the people around him, whether he knows them or not. When people need help, he finds a way to do the best he can for them, and he has a very low tolerance for injustices being done to people. The motivation for leaving Zaphias was to recover the stolen aque blastia from the lower quarter — something they needed to get by. It extends far beyond this, saving kids, saving kids parents from dangerous and corrupt situations brought about by the empire. Even in the most dire of situations, where lives spanning the world have been sacrificed, Yuri is quick to state it simply to his foe: “I don't give a damn what you're doing this for. But you're making a lot of people cry.” It’s all about simple morality to him, no matter how he tries to hide or sugarcoat it at times. He can break it down as simply as knowing that people are suffering, and that’s enough for him.
It’s because of this inability to turn a blind eye to that sort of behavior that Yuri leads the life he does. He, alongside Flynn Scifo, had joined the Imperial Knights in an effort to change the corruption and injustices of the Empire from the inside. But Yuri learned rather quickly that following that set of rules wasn’t going to cut it for him at all. That method forced him to watch and see all of the things up close, and required the patience to move up the ranks that he didn’t have. So he left, while Flynn stayed and did just that. It causes an interesting split in ideals between two friends: ultimately, they want for the same thing, but they disagree on how to go about it. For a while, Yuri did very little to make those changes. He continued his life as a civilian, friendly and amiable (albeit sarcastic) with those around him, but also largely alone. Until he begins to travel with Estelle, there aren’t many people he confides in at all — he had the trust of his dog, Repede, but that’s about as far as it really went.
As a result of that, it makes what development Yuri gets through the game very much so centered on putting his trust on those who rely on him, and not shouldering burdens all his own.
That centers on the fact that Yuri does have a much darker side, one he doesn’t want to share with the people around him. Because of his inability to sit idly by, Yuri is more than willing and capable of taking matters into his own hands; at times, this means doing things that wouldn’t be seen well in the eyes of the law. After learning that two corrupt officials of the empire, Magistrate Ragou and Cumore, a member of the knights, would be let off for their heinous crimes with little more than a slap on the wrist, Yuri led them both to their deaths in the darkness of night. It isn’t something he does without moral struggle; he knew all along that the path he was taking wasn’t legal, and a dangerous path that could not only break trust, but lead him to a dark place of no return. Fully aware of it, he does so anyway, all the while trying to keep it hushed from his traveling companions. Eventually, it does come to light, and he’s reminded and told over and over that he can’t do things alone.
Especially since by that point, he’d become a member of the guild Karol started, Brave Vesperia. One of their policies is to always act in the interest of the guild — something Yuri’s vigilante murders did not fall under. While Yuri does agree to not go it alone, he stands firm in his policy of doing the jobs that need to be done, including the ones nobody wants to do. Whether that means acting as the second in Union leader Don Whitehorse’s honorable suicide, or taking down a friend who poses a severe threat not only to them, but to the world… it’s a burden Yuri is willing to bear. That’s the important thing about Yuri. He does the hard things, the painful things, and the dangerous things so that others don’t have to dirty their hands. He does wrong things to that right things will be brought to light, and he makes efforts that will ultimately shape and change the future of the world and society they live in. It’s a truly thankless job — nearly all of Brave Vesperia’s more heroic actions are completely unacknowledged by the world at large, making Yuri and his friends some of the greatest unsung heroes of Terca Lumireis. And he doesn’t mind that, either. His actions are carried out fully knowing that Flynn and the Knights will get all the glory, while he’s viewed as little more than a common criminal to the many knights he once worked along side.
He cares about the greater good, and about others more than himself. He’s the type to constantly look out for others. He encourages Karol and helps him with leading the guild, he constantly reminds Estelle to choose her own path in life — he’s incredibly supportive of his comrades. He’s not the type to force; even when they learned that something they would have to carry out would cost the lives of Ba’ul’s friends, Yuri was adamant that he would never do so by force, even if it was for the greater good of the world. He can very often see through people’s veneers, even if he doesn’t understand why they’re put up to begin with. He was able to forgive Raven’s betrayal (and consequential sacrificial action to save them) with a condition, he understands that beneath Rita’s prickly exterior, she’s kind and caring for all their compatriots, and he respects Judith’s wishes to keep her status as the blastia-destroying dragon rider a secret until it all comes to light. With Patty, he expresses his concern and willingness to help her in recovering the Maris Stella — and her memories in turn… despite being off-put often enough at her passes at him.. Even with Flynn, he’s good at being the reminder that he has to be everything Yuri isn’t.
When Estelle’s safety is at risk, and Flynn is expected to uphold his duty to the Knights, Yuri states plainly that Brave Vesperia will be the ones to save her. In return, Flynn requests to join Brave Vesperia — prompting a reaction from Yuri that’s telling on it’s own. The Empire and the Union are two separate entities, and Yuri knows that joining a guild means abandoning the Empire for the Union. So he’s blunt with Flynn, telling him that not only can a Knight not join a guild on principle, but that Flynn isn’t suited for such a thing. He’s blunt and quick to remind Flynn of where their ideals differ, though he ultimately lets Flynn travel and take part in the fight with him, stating “If you want to come with us though, I won’t stop you.”
More of a listener than an advice-giver, Yuri is pretty good for being there for his friends, even if he’s not very good for returning the sentiment and sharing his deeper concerns or worries with anyone else. For Yuri, it’s easier to pretend that an attempt to help a stranger was coincidental, or that he doesn’t have much to struggle with aside from the very obvious. For him, a snappy remark, some sarcasm, and maybe a joke or two at the expense of someone else is a lot easier than burdening others with his problems. He shoulders a lot, though he doesn’t always realize just how obvious that can be.
Some of the other things that shine about Yuri are much less deep and dark. He cooks often for the party, and though he lays claim that it’s not something he particularly enjoys doing, it’s clear he excels at it. He picks up recipes a fair deal quicker than many of the others, and the care he puts into preparation goes noticed by those who eat it. But one of the things Yuri enjoys most is fighting. He may wield his sword for justice, but there’s little more that’s obvious than how much he enjoys battles. He finds them fun and invigorating, and likes having any excuse to hone his skills and come up with new artes and techniques to incorporate. Things like the coliseum melee challenges are fun to him — a stark contrast to Estelle, who much prefers nonviolent means whenever possible. In their group, he and Judith are the ones most likely to get wrapped in a discussion about how much fun their last monster battles was, especially when they end up being a challenge.
In that regard, Yuri can be considered something simple. Unlike his friends, who have a wide variety of interests from art and figurines to blastia, research, and… women, Yuri’s just a simple downtown boy with his sword and his dog. His relatively collected nature means that that not much gets under his skin beyond the world’s corruption. He’s not easily angered, or even genuinely annoyed. Equally so, he doesn’t get flustered very much either, though it does happen on some very rare occasions with a certain scantily clad Krityan who wears her figure very proudly.
When push comes to shove, he just wants to make the world a better place. Yuri wants people to be able to live peacefully and happily, even if they don’t have the riches and luxuries of the nobles; he wants those will less to live without suffering and having to catering to whims of the upper class. He wants to eliminate the toxic corruption that plagues their world — the very same one that ends up threatening their existence as a planet. Even as a simple journey to recover a blastia turns into saving the world from the greatest possible catastrophe they could ever see, he never loses sight of those ideals. “Do what’s just.” is the way he believes, and he sticks by that. Even if what’s “just” means taking a life, or doing something else that doesn’t fall under law-abiding. He’s dedicated to the right outcome, though his decisive nature means sometimes he takes the “wrong” path to get there. They say the road to hell is paved with good intentions, and a statement like that almost seems to exist with Yuri Lowell in mind.
POINT OF DEPARTURE: N/A
ABILITIES:
He uses a combination of artes that he learned during his time as a knight (with some creative modification to give it a personal twist), as well as new techniques created and modified from the length of time he’s spent fighting since leaving Zaphias on his journey. Most of his artes are straight-forward strike and slash abilities; some a combination of the two as well as punches. Some of Yuri’s artes do have elemental attributes to add to their strength:
Azure Edge, Final Gale, Azure Storm, Lone Wolf Storm, Frigid Blast all have a wind attribute
Destruction Field, Pyre Havoc have a fire attribute
Crushing Eagle has an earth attribute
Frigid Blast has a water attribute
Guardian Field has a light attribute
Artes fall under three categories: Base, Arcane, and Altered (with Altered being just what it sounds like, an altered version of another arte).
In addition to this, there are a few other things Yuri can do. In Over Limit, he can perform Burst Artes, which are stronger and have higher knockdown probabilities. While in Over Limit mode, he’s also capable of performing Savage Wolf Fury, a multi-strike mystic arte, and the most powerful attack in his arsenal. He also has a fairly keen understanding of exploiting openings and weaknesses allowing him to make Fatal Strikes — instant kills on most enemy monsters, or a strong hit on more powerful foes.
In addition of his arte arsenal, he’s also able to learn weapon skills. These are abilities crafted into weapons that are unlocked by capable wielders. His skills allow for a variety of things, including attack and defensive properties, skills to alter artes, and even ways of getting stronger. A full list of Yuri’s artes can be found here, and his skills here.