#and might have a slightly more prominent dialect; being as she's mentally significantly younger than him.

[miraclespin]

There are two facts about Shadow/Cyan that I feel like is a little bit overlooked in fan creations, be visual artwork or writing:

According to the first of the two CD dramas, Shadow apparently practices his diction religiously in front of the mirror, presumably as a part of whatever daily routine he maintains.

While a specific nationality is never mentioned (par for the course for all but a very few of the characters of this series, actually), something that is true for all adaptations of the series as we know it is that Cyan and his sister are from some smallish, backwater sort of town with very little contact with the outside world. In short, he's a bumpkin.

We already knew that a lot of how he presents himself is an affectation; the practice with his articulation really isn't that big of a stretch, given what we already knew about him. He's probably somewhere between "refined villain" and "rough antihero" archetypes, as per the sorts of media he seemed to enjoy (I wonder if the village procured bootleg DVDs for the children's entertainment, or something?). Him behaving as a showy (and let's not forget, edgy) character for his own gratification is utilized fairly well by the fan base, I reckon. But something that hasn't been tapped, even if it has been acknowledged in a few places, is that he came from a small town; an isolated community that probably relied on farming and livestock.

Thusly, I propose a couple of things with regards to how people can approach writing his character:

Give him his moments of proper articulation, a little to the point of excess, depending on how powerful/enigmatic/important he is trying to make himself appear. (Or if he's just in an exceptionally good mood, already feeling kind of cool, etc.)

Have this facade slip sometimes; whether it be because he is tired, relaxed, or suddenly surprised and/or taken aback, give him some kind of country vibe. If I was talking really hardcore, you'd have him speak in whatever native language you headcanon that he speaks, but specifically a suitable rural regional dialect; giving him anything from an exaggerated written country drawl, to a noticeable yet moderately informal dialect would do, though. I get that it'd be awfully hard to accurately depict what you've never heard before, and might not be very well documented.

All of this is just for fun, mind. Generally speaking, it's something that I'd like to do myself, provided I can remember to do it, and that the opportunity arises to insert it into one of my stories.

#Kaitou Joker #Mysterious Joker #Cyan/Shadow #Shadow Joker #((don't forget that some of this applies to Rose as well- she's from the same place as him #and might have a slightly more prominent dialect; being as she's mentally significantly younger than him. #this is kind of like the Akai rhyming his riddles/quizzes thing that I absolutely did not notice until an article mentioned it #even if I listened I probably wouldn't be able to tell... it's such a shame that it doesn't carry over in translation very well! #it would've been such a fun detail if I had picked up on it... it's a pity I don't like Akai as much as the others; I don't really want to #write him very often. beyond very specific AUs; anyways...))