O, Come, Be BuriedA Second Time Within These Arms

O, come, be buried A second time within these arms

― William Shakespeare, Pericles

The sweetness of reunion is the joy of heaven.

― Richard Paul Evans, Lost December

14 associations — yiuno.

ELEMENT. Ice and Fire. In Thaumaturgy, balancing duality—of life and death—forms the basic foundation in this school of magic. While the two elements are of opposing nature, in the hands of an accomplished spell-caster, they can be turned into terrifying forces of destruction. Being the last direct disciple of the great Mhachi sorceress Shatotto, Yiuno is not a mage to be trifled with. Though he often hides his potent magical talent and sticks to his trusty blades to get his work done, those who are highly sensitive to aether may suffer sickness just by being around him for too long.

ASTROLOGICAL SIGN. The Spear. In Astromancy, this constellation is the sixth gate of the Lesser Heavens, often associated with the element of Ice. This is the reverse of the Elemental Wheel, where Ice is the first order in the cycle of Creation. It is said that “the Fury (Halone) resides in a palace of ice carved by Her own spear—ice formed of moonbeams collected by the Lover, Menphina.” As the final gate to open before the seventh, whereby attuning to the latter is equivalent to a dying wish, it is the last stand where one will be filled with the power to overcome their enemies, and gain the compassion necessary to show mercy to their foes.

GEMSTONE. Alexandrite is an interesting gemstone known for its color-changing properties under different types of polarized light, which reflects the many faces that Yiuno wears under different circumstances. To the public’s eye, an average adventurer and humble alchemist wandering from place to place. To those more acquainted with the arcane arts, a treasure hunter of ancient and dangerous artifacts. In the underworld, a ruthless assassin who pretends to be a beautiful ‘courtesan’ and seduces his targets into Death’s embrace.

NUMBER. Three. Yiuno has a twin sister, Yiuna; his alter ego, Yiune, is a feminine disguise he employs for his assassination jobs (long story short, it later becomes an actual form he can shapeshift into). However, back in the Amaurotine era, these three were originally a family of triplets.

COLOR. Monochrome—specifically black and white—is both a fitting and an ironic theme to Yiuno. On one hand, he embodies duality given his two-faced nature, and also the contrast between his public image and secret identity. On the other hand, he mainly thrives in the gray area—a Chaotic Neutral at heart.

FLORA. Antirrhinum, more commonly known as Snapdragon or Dragon Flower, is one of those flowers with double meanings. On one hand, it symbolizes grace, strength and protection, which are some of the positive traits that Yiuno possesses. On the other hand, it also represents indifference and deception, bringing out the darker, negative side of Yiuno.

FAUNA. Strix. According to in-game description: “A guardian bound to the Rare Tomes Room on the highest floor of the Great Gubal Library. Similar to skatenes, Strix is an owl which has been enchanted with heightened intelligence. Strix’s comparatively vast intellect, however, grants the creature command over spells of formidable potency.”

SEASON. Autumn and Winter. Autumn, of falling leaves and a fiery but sorrowful palette, a season where time starts to slow down as daytime becomes shorter. Winter, of falling snow that paints the landscape white, a season where time comes to a standstill and dangers lurk in the shadows of the long, long night.

TIME OF THE DAY. Dawn and Dusk. Less about the exact time of the day, but more about the changes in time that happen at that very moment—representing the shift Yiuno would experience in his life. Be it his gender identities, or the blurred lines between a blessing and curse to his immortality… It’s like the two sides of the same coin: the difference is all but a matter of perspectives. The real test is how he acts upon those perspectives.

PLACE. Though there are a few locations that may appear to be synonymous with how others would perceive Yiuno, such as libraries and graveyards, I’d say the most accurate association would be the labyrinth. Filled with many twists and turns at every corner, much like Yiuno’s long and complicated life—or, his dark and troubled mind.

SMELL. It’s really hard to pin down a specific aroma for Yiuno, partly because masking his true scent is something he pays attention to as a master of disguise. To some, he’d give off the fragrance of a finely aged red wine, brimming with wisdom and dry humor; to others, he’d probably smell like walking death, counting down to their impeding doom under his bloodied blades.

FOOD. Royal Eggs. However, given his wandering lifestyle and the need to stay undercover most of the time, he doesn’t have the luxury to eat this all the time. He has since come to view this as a self-reward on rare occasions he gets the chance to enjoy a royal meal in a quiet inn room.

BEVERAGE. Espresso con Panna, with double shot. Yiuno is a huge caffeine addict, and this is the only in-universe drink that can sate his obsession with coffee.

SONG. “Nageki no Oto” (EN. Song of Lamentation), by KOKIA. A song about war and loss, which is very fitting given Yiuno’s darkly colorful past.

The royal menagerie. ♫

ℜ𝔲𝔦𝔫𝔢𝔡 𝔞𝔟𝔞𝔫𝔡𝔬𝔫𝔢𝔡 𝔭𝔩𝔞𝔠𝔢𝔰 𝔴𝔥𝔢𝔯𝔢 𝔰𝔦𝔩𝔢𝔫𝔠𝔢 𝔦𝔰 𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔯𝔶𝔴𝔥𝔢𝔯𝔢,𝔱𝔥𝔢𝔯𝔢 ℑ 𝔩𝔦𝔰𝔱𝔢𝔫𝔢𝔡 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔳𝔬𝔦𝔠𝔢 𝔬𝔣 𝔢𝔱𝔢𝔯𝔫𝔞𝔩 𝔩𝔞𝔲𝔤𝔥𝔰 𝔞𝔩𝔩 𝔞𝔯𝔬𝔲𝔫𝔡 𝔢𝔠𝔥𝔬𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔰𝔬𝔫𝔤𝔰, 𝔠𝔯𝔦𝔢𝔰 𝔰𝔬𝔪𝔢𝔴𝔥𝔢𝔯𝔢 𝔬𝔣 𝔢𝔳𝔢𝔯𝔶 𝔰𝔦𝔩𝔢𝔫𝔱 𝔪𝔬𝔬𝔡.

2B | Granblue Fantasy Versus Rising DLC

quiz: villain type — yiuno.

Then Let Me Be Evil.

You never wanted to hurt anyone, but the world never gave you a choice. You did the best you could with what you had, but every innocent mistake you made was held against you when it counted, every crossroads led you down the wrong path no matter which way you went. No matter what you did, the odds were stacked against you. It wasn’t fair, and you are sick and tired of being told what a monster you are for things out of your control. Well, fine. They want a monster? You’ll give them a monster!

link to quiz.

As edgy as the last line sounds, this is certainly a reflection of Yiuno’s backstory. While he can’t say the same for Yiuna, his temperamental twin sister, Yiuno did get the short end of the stick ever since he was born into the world. (Or, reborn into the world if we talk about his Ancient ego, Chronos, the former Elidibus before he promoted Themis to take over.) Born a male in a matriarchal clan, where he had to hide his true gender to survive. Endowed with the gift of immortality that many would kill for, but unable to die and forced to live a life of endless suffering. Instead of reducing the weight of the curse by doing good deeds, that backfired and his sins grew with the body count piling up at an alarming rate under his blood-covered hands.

By the time the twins were hired by exiled Sharlayan scholar, I’suca Amariyo, for her expedition to the Nhalmasque ruins, Yiuno already had a fairly depressing track record. He’s almost like a personification of Death itself, for destruction follows him wherever he goes.

Not this time.

His bleak tale took a drastic turn when they discovered Sora in deep slumber beneath the shifting sands of a fallen civilization. Yiuno would never imagine the innocent, bubbly (and rather mischievous) Xaela was what he needed to escape the cycle of despair, and the frozen time for both him and this wannabe adventurer would finally move forward once more.

With the stasis that had trapped him for millennia finally broken, this unexpected freedom then challenges Yiuno’s very existence.

“Who am I—what am I? For whom do I fight? For what purpose must I live on?”

So many questions, but he may never know to answer to any. Or maybe the answers don’t matter. He doesn’t have to be a hero; he’s never been one, so he will follow his heart and embrace necessary evil.

Nothing really matters anymore, except staring into the horizon with his loved ones. Even if he must step on more dead bodies to make peace with himself.

(Re-posting old quizzes to this main blog for archiving purposes.)