| Kanon | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Played by Person | |
| Fandom |
Umineko no Naku Koro Ni |
| Canon Point |
Before Ep 1 |
| Age |
16 |
| Race |
Furniture |
| Gender |
Male |
| Status |
Active |
Skills[]
Kanon's skills are multiple... he's 'handcrafted', meaning as with normal 'furniture' that he's very 'good quality'. As a servant, he is capable of anything a normal houseboy should be able to do: he can dust, mop, sweep, cook, garden... generally, whatever the master needs, he can do it. Sometimes he only does things halfway, but that's his choice. He's strong enough, probably more than most people his age or size. As for supernatural powers, he's inhumanly fast: can move about twice as fast as a normal human when the situation requires. He's also shown himself to be able to jump at least eight feet in the air, which is probably a special power. As a servant of the Ushiromiya family, what less could be expected?
Besides those more common abilities, he's also got his weapon. It's an instrument of defense and for the defeat of his master's enemies: a glowing red sword-esque weapon that he can generate almost as a part of himself; it floats above his right hand securely. It's part of him, so knocking it from his hand is out of the question. He's very adept with this tool, and as it's razor-sharp it's quite the impressive weapon. He can even cut through metal with it. But he can also readily be killed by anything that would take out a human, from asphyxiation to dismemberment to poision to being stabbed in the heart with stakes. Also, while it might not be considered either a skill or a weakness, Kanon seems to see things in monochrome: asked to describe any color, he'll say it's black.
Personality[]
To a casual spectator, Yoshiya is something of a sullen chap. He doesn't speak unless it's important to do so - except to people close to him, such as his 'sister' (they're not blood siblings, but he generally calls her his sister) Shannon. He'll pretty much ignore the person who's speaking unless it's to say his favorite phrase, "I'm just furniture". He does his tasks quietly and without complaint... he's been a servant most if not all of his life, so it's to be expected. He's rather submissive, to people and to his fate. He knows very well that it's extremely possible that he'll spend the rest of his life in his current state and is resigned to it - which isn't to say that if possible he wouldn't fight that fate, he just knows it would be fruitless and doesn't prefer to spend time in useless pursuits.
Kanon's deep desire is the slightly clichè one belonging to many people less than human: he wishes he could become a real human. Of course, it's not that hard to want something like that: he has the weaknesses of a human and none of the strengths. Any 'heart' for love of beauty has been trained, programmed out of him. By himself. While it's possible for him to feel emotion and display it, this is rare. Practically the only emotionally notable thing in his whole personality is a bad temper. Devotion to his 'sister' doesn't come under that category... one reason he'd like to be human is so that he could love her as a little brother (even a fake one) should instead of simple devotion. Any emotions he may feel or have felt in the past are carefully repressed to the point of nonexistence: it's not even like it's something he thinks about in introspective moments, it's just not there. Like many another teenage boy, he can't understand emotions in others... only this is far more acute, since it's not even something he can try to do.
But he does have devotion programmed deeply into him. For his masters, mistresses and their families he's prepared to die if need be. However, he was designed so that he doesn't have to die, only protect. It should be noted that he does have some more 'normal' personality points - he has some tastes that are personal to himself, such as that he dislikes being in crowds, loud noise, and nonsense. Sometimes he's ashamed of his social status, another thing that's developed over time. He also seems to show special care for people he sees as more helpless, like children. He's claimed that he has forgotten his real name (which is Yoshiya... there's a possible romanization as Joshua): Kanon is the sobriquet he was given as a servant and the only one that he goes by. As stated earlier, he has the habit of calling himself furniture chronically, which occasionally annoys people.
Appearance[]
Kanon's appearance is that of a teenager around sixteen years old. He's around 5'8, very thin, and the clothes he wears tend to accent his rather feminine build. His eyes are very bright blue and his hair is a similarly 'unnatural' shade of silver-blue. It's shorter in the back, but he has it longer next to his face and he has uneven bangs with a cowlick on his right side. He has a young-looking face even for his age and has been described as 'cute' in a little-boyish way. His clothing (his uniform, actually, but he always wears it), though he lives in the 1980s, is rather Victorian in style. His black blouse has sleeves - which are puffed at the top but narrow to the shape of his arm before the elbow and end in white cuffs - and a very narrow waist with a flared 'skirt' that has four projections: two short in the front and two mid-calf 'tails'-esque ones in the back. The collar, a large, floppy white one, has the Ushiromiya crest embroidered on it: the one-winged eagle, half of a golden bird. He also wears dark red trousers that are cinched beneath the knee; a very light purple 'stock' tie with a violet pin; tall striped black and white socks; brown shoes and a floppy dark red berét.
Relationships[]
Train Heartnet - They've worked together in the past. Kanon does care for Train, but he wouldn't call him a 'friend'. Kikuri - Kikuri is one of the few people in Pandora who've managed to really annoy Kanon. So that's not quite a friendship either. Flonne - Coming soon~
History[]
The past is ambiguous to most people involved. The only thing we really know is that there was a man by the name of Kinzo Ushiromiya who, after his mistresses (one of whom was very squickily his daughter) died, involved himself heavily in the occult. He was a magician of some skill, and somehow began experimenting in summoning and creating life forms. These were known to the Magic world as 'furniture', and every Witch, Sorcerer, or Magician worth the title had them. They served whatever master or mistress had created or summoned them for the entirety of their life. Because Kinzo was a human, his furniture was also more human-esque and mortal.
Kinzo's creations were three: first, Genji, designed to be the perfect butler, never displaying emotion which he lacked anyway. The second one was named Sayo, a girl who had been created with a 'heart' - emotions - a rather loving young girl, who was 'hired' as the maid of the Ushiromiya family from a young age. The final one was a boy named Yoshiya, who also had a 'heart' which didn't quite turn out as well as Sayo's and was distinctively less emotional, the houseboy.
Sayo was given that name by her creator, yes, but she changed it for looks: most maids didn't use their own names, so she was known as Shannon. Yoshiya was known as Kanon to the servants and in the years of his employment also nearly forgot his real name. He formed a deeper relationship with Shannon than with anyone else on the island, referring to her as his sister in conversation, thought and actions. The other inhabitants of the island were the two servants besides the Furniture - normal humans; the family heir, Krauss; his wife, Natsuhi, and their daughter, Jessica.
Jessica was two years older than Kanon, and by the time she was about sixteen it was impossible for most people not to notice the girl's growing affection for him. By any rule, that sort of romance was forbidden: Jessica, as the next head of the household, was obviously supposed to grow up and marry wealth and name for the sake of the family. Still, a girl's heart is an amusing thing, and Jessica preferred Kanon to anyone else. Even if he hadn't been oblivious to her affections, it was of course impossible for Kanon to marry her. No matter his feelings toward her.
During his years of effective service (when he was actually able to do things) other things happened. Rokkenjima, besides being home to the Ushiromiyas, was the dwelling-place of a Witch who lived in the forest. She was rumored to be Kinzo's old mistress, but now a Witch. Still, she couldn't revive completely (she'd died, after all) until after a specific ceremony was completed at the end of a time alloted to Kinzo. The witch, Beatrice, remained invisible to humans, but the servants could see her full well. Kanon only met her under adverse circumstances - he interpreted her actions towards Shannon as hostile, and she probably would have killed him then but for Shannon's intervention. As a result, the relationship between the houseboy and the witch was... strained, to put it lightly. Not that a murderously-intentioned Witch ever got along with anyone.
He was pulled into Pandora around the time of the Ushiromiya's annual conference in the year 1982. This year was special for several reasons: one, it was known both medically and magically that it was definitely Kinzo's last year on earth; two, Kinzo's second son Rudolf was bringing his son along for the first time in six years and three: Beatrice was finally going to be resurrected to her position as the Endless Witch. The ceremony involved sacrifices! Suffice it to say that Kanon got stabbed in the heart about six or seven times at various times. Except that he didn't, because before the beginning of the first loop, he came to Pandora.