Today I had a hex cast on my computer, needing me to spin the wheel again. Thus, today I want to talk about Kanoe and her hair.
Kanoe's hair is a light purple that goes down to her thighs. It looks like it's curly, but it's honestly impossible to tell because of just how fluffy it is. Kanoe's hair puts her in the pantheon of fluffballs beyond doubt when she's put next to the others. The untidy look Kanoe's hair has looks somewhat like a conifer, bringing memories of a cabin in the woods... Kanoe's bangs cover her right eye, making it so only her left eye can be seen, which seems like a trope where some wielders of magicks hide one of their eyes, though typically with an actual eye covering. It'll be elaborated on later, since this is still the hair part. Kanoe's hair accessories are intriguing, possibly being both holed for her upper whisker-like hair while also being a hairtie for her lower, more conventional tailed hair to take form. The accessories themselves look to have an outer ball of mahogany or similar red wood, with an inside that seems to be tigerseye, though it could also be some other composition of materials made to emulate Kanoe's eyes. I can't help but feel they're a gift she got from someone, done to help complement her eyes and have her outfit really come together. In the chaos of her bangs, the hair accessories define where said bangs end, but another cue is the subtle airvents she has.
Kanoe's appearance can't start anywhere else other than her eyes. I believe that when expressions are concealed one way or another, you typically get more expression from what remains. It's the same concept as a blind person having superior hearing, and Kanoe's visible eye does a great job at somewhat exaggerating her expressions, as well as the invisible eye compounding to the mystery she innately wields. Kanoe's eyes are also rare among Kivotos students in being somewhat more detailed with the only other example I know off the top of my head being Kaguya. Kanoe's eyes have a hazel outer ring, before going into an obsidian inner ring, with just the faintest hint of a blueish purple there as opposed to pure black. Gazing into the abyss of her eye reveals a lone point in the otherwise pitch black, like a star piercing the darkness of night. It's that point, as well as her forehead being shaded by her bangs, that gives her this expressiveness, though her mouth also isn't idle, either, being like the subtle movement of wind turning a day from uncomfortable heat to a good time to run, or a subtle chill having its icy fangs revealed. It's evidence of being more than the sum of its parts.
The next thing that sticks out with Kanoe's appearance is her neck. This is almost certainly a choker, with the specific stitch-like appearance likely chosen because it fits Kanoe's unique tastes, being a similar color to when blood is left on the ground for an extended period of time. Outside of that, her outfit is pretty normal, but her sleeves do little to hide her slim, possibly bony, constitution. She's likely an ectomorph, or at least doesn't eat much hearty cuisine. The Wildhunt outfit she wears is interesting in how it's patterend as a sleeveless dress on for the outer part. The skirt is also not as simple as it would seem, for when it moves inward, the stripe that goes along the length of it ends, before appearing again, much like how sewing something has the needle go over and under the fabric.
I would never forgive myself if I didn't talk about Kanoe's "shotgun". I'll refer to it as a blunderbuss when I don't refer to it by its name- Trismegistus. Trismegistus is believed to be a combination of the Greek god Hermes and the Egyptian god Thoth. The full name is Hermes Trismegistus, and with Hermes being the Greek god of interpretive communication and Thoth being Egyptian god of wisdom comes forth Hermeticism, the knwoedge of various esoteric knowledges. In Kanoe's field, that's alchemy. Her gun's hammer(?) being a yellow metal that might be brass and hopefully isn't actual gold, but that's the mundane answer. That hammer is a catalyst, and when it hits the mechanism it causes the fire-infused pellets she uses to excite themselves, naturally going through the path of least resistance. The use of a blunderbuss is intentional due to its ability to be customizable with alchemical products to better suit her purpose, though she's quite delicate with the alkahest when need for it arises. The butt of her gun appears stitched, and that's intentional, for she infuses it with earth when possible so as to land more devastating hits should the need arise for her to smack someone's head with it. Kanoe's gun is named after a Greek god that taught esoteric and arcane knowledge, and likely birthed the teachings of the Enlightenment. Alchemy, similarly, is a unique magick in how it's demonstrably the most scientific of known magicks, though modern thinking may consider some of its ideals, like the Philosopher's Stone, or alkahest, to be overly ambitious. But modern chemistry has alchemy to thank for its current progress.
Kanoe's hair and how it's used with magic is a bit trickier to accurately place, since alchemy is, again, a science, but the same could be argued for Eri's spellcasting, even if it's not as widely accepted as having any form of scientific background. Western alchemy is something I'll admit to being less knowledgable about, but if we consider that it and Eastern alchemy are very similar, then I don't doubt for a second that she knows recipes that ask for a lock of hair, being seen as a form of lifeforce. It might also be used for its view as "regenerating", thusly used for something restorative. I'm positive there's a lot more ideas of what recipes it may be used for, but they elude me.
Now I talk about Kanoe's hair care. It's something, that's for sure. At the very least, she washes it, and that I can say with confidence because it's important for reagents to be as pure as possible, and I doubt she'd let her concoction get ruined because of dirty hair. What is a lot more obvious is the lack of brushing in her hair, though this I cannot help but feel is intentional, possibly because she sees it as naught but a resource. Trying to determine Kanoe's scent is a different story altogether because she has a unique situation, being her alchemical pursuits. Yes, Saya is also an alchemist, but she is perhaps the most grounded alchemist in Kivotos. That, and the Eastern Alchemy Society appears to take cleanliness very seriously, as well as working with chemicals that would smell terrible if they lingered in the hair. Kanoe, on the other hand, likely doesn't worry as much about this. That's not because of any significant difference between western and eastern alchemy, but because she seems to use hot chocolate as her base (which is different from alkahest!). With that in mind, she almost certainly has a chocolatey scent to her hair.
A student with hair like this NEEDS to be brushed, it's almost begging me to do so. Kanoe would likely be more than willing to go along with it, and paint colorful stories about the past life she's aware of, how this brings her back and enjoying the gentle tug of the brush to her hair, not minding the rare moments where a knot eludes itself and I accidentally snag it. She'd either quiet down after a bit, listening to the gentle ambiance of the office and hair, or would continue to elucidate on past lives. After all's said and done, she'd then turn around and hug me, and we'd stay like that for a while, enjoying the warmth each other provides.