Yuri (Doki Doki Literature Club)

"The light flickers. I flicker back."

- Yuri

Yuri is one of the five main characters in Doki Doki Literature Club!, one of the five members of the Literature Club, later replacing Sayori as the Vice-President in Act 2 after she was deleted by Monika in Act 1, and one of the three characters for whom you can write poems.

Yuri joined the Literature Club out of her interest in fantasy and psychological horror novels. In Act 2, she acts as its vice president.

Apperance
Yuri has long, straight, purple hair that reaches her upper thighs, along with unkempt bangs and two forelocks close to her face. She wears two shiny, purple/magenta barrettes, one clipped on each forelock next to her head, though often, only the left barrette is visible to the player. Along with Monika and Natsuki, Yuri’s forelocks form arches on top of her head which slightly resemble cat ears. Her eyes are purple, and are narrower than the other members'. Yuri blushes easily and turns away when embarrassed.

Yuri has a more mature figure than Sayori, Natsuki, and to a lesser extent, Monika. The main character describes her movements as surprisingly elegant due to her long legs. Yuri prefers sitting on the floor to read because her large bust causes back pain that is exacerbated by hunching over when using the desks. According to Natsuki, Yuri began padding her breasts in order to impress the main character after he joined the Literature Club, though Yuri denies this.

During the weekend, Yuri wears a gray-beige turtleneck and black yoga pants/leggings.

In Act 2, her face often appears scrambled. Her eyes, usually a bright orchid, will widen when she's highly stimulated, and sometimes turn a duller shade of purple, taking on a hyperrealistic appearance and moving independently of the rest of her sprite. One of her early Act 2 glitches gives her a "dragon" form, where her hair is black, her uniform blouse bright red, and her eyes a darker red with slit pupils.

Personality
Though usually very shy and overly apologetic, Yuri can be very talkative and enthusiastic when it comes to her favourite subjects, such as writing strategies and books she has read. For this reason, Yuri has trouble making and keeping friends, as she tends to come on too strongly. Yuri eats lunch alone at school, but claims she has company in the characters in her books. To that end, Monika warns the player that they may have trouble pursuing her, as Yuri probably has a fictional boyfriend. On weekends, Yuri prefers spending time with one or two friends, doing quiet activities at home, rather than going out.

The player learns her favorite genres are fantasy and horror, because she enjoys stories with a well-crafted and absorbing universe. Yuri also likes watercolors and aromatherapy, and sometimes makes oolong tea during club meetings using materials she keeps in the classroom. The other club members consider her the most talented and artistic, and Monika assigns her the task of preparing decorations for the school festival due to her beautiful handwriting.

Yuri's poetry makes use of figurative devices and somewhat sophisticated language. She values diverse vocabulary and believes word choice is important in conversation. This often leads to arguments with Natsuki, who prefers a more honest and accessible manner of writing and speaking the others often deem childish. However, despite their different rhetorical styles, Yuri and Natsuki often touch on similar themes in their poetry, such as respecting the interests of other people, even if they are unusual. Yuri's poem The Raccoon touches on this subject, specifically her affinity for ornate knives, which she admires for their "combination of craftsmanship and feeling of danger."

She keeps at least one of these knives on her person, and it is implied when she visits the main character's house in Act 1 that the full length sleeves she always wears may be hiding evidence of self-harm. In Act 2 she admits to cutting herself with her knife collection, and claims to use every knife an equal amount so that none of them are "lonely."

Ordinarily Yuri tries to stifle her emotions and is incredibly bashful about her romantic interest in the protagonist. In Act 2, Monika amplifies Yuri's obsessive tendencies in order to make her seem less attractive. Yuri finds herself increasingly excitable around the main character, and several times begins cutting herself when overstimulated. Monika suggests she may do this for the endorphin rush it provides. Given Yuri's unusual description of and reaction to Portrait of Markov in Act 2, it's possible she may derive sexual gratification from blood, knives, or sadomasochism (in other words, sexual feelings from sadistic and masochistic situations) in general.

Throughout Act 2, Yuri sometimes becomes self-aware, recognising that something is happening to her and that her comments and behaviour may be inappropriate, such as when she mentions masturbating to the main character's poetry using his pen, but is ultimately unable to control her obsessive outbursts. After pushing Monika and Natsuki out of the classroom in the final chapter of Act 2, she confesses her desire to commit herself fully to the protagonist and stabs herself to death after her confession and the response after from feeling either too excited or from not being able to handle her rejection.

During Act 3, Monika claims that Yuri is an example of the yandere character archetype, but this is debatable since Yuri never harms anyone except herself.

Trivia

 * On the second day of the game, Yuri describes the book she lends to the protagonist, which also happens to foreshadow the dark events that will happen in the game.
 * Yuri suffers from frequent back pains. The protagonist assumes (or possibly, pretends to assume) the cause to be her "bad reading posture." Previous conversations with Yuri, as well as her awkwardness leading up to his assumption, imply that it is due to her large breasts.