NAME: Terra

CONTACT: sevenhelpings

AGE: 18+

OTHER CHARACTERS: N/A

CHARACTER NAME: Takashi Shirogane

CANON: Voltron: Legendary Defender

CANON POINT: S1: E1. Shiro will be pulled from his time as a prisoner to the Galran Empire (basically an alien species that took over a majority of the universe).

AGE: 25

HISTORY: Wiki!

PERSONALITY:

What impression does your character give when meeting someone for the first time? How does the first impression differ from your character’s true nature?

Through his considerate nature, he connects easily with others almost immediately. He’s a genuinely kind soul; one who is filled to the brink with patience and empathy. No matter what he himself is going through, he’s never too tired or too busy to lend an ear, a shoulder, a hand. He’s sensitive to the struggles of others, perhaps as a result of his own trials in life and as such, he wants the people around him to be comfortable and happy.

He does not do well about having this mirrored back at him, though, and this is where he differs. He’s far more stubborn than he lets on. Outside, he has the perfect facade of stability, but inside? He certainly isn’t as put together. Despite this, he has a very set mindset of being self-sufficient and as such, he internalizes a lot of his troubles and traumas. If asked, he usually shrugs off the concern with a dark, ill-timed joke or a flat out denial. That stubborn nature that prevents him from showing weakness is what has propelled him through life: from rising in the ranks at Galaxy Garrison to surviving the gladiator pits. He learned early not to show too much vulnerability and instead, has always set his mind to a goal, gritted his teeth, and made it a reality, despite the obstacles laid out before him.

How does your character handle stress? What do they do in an emergency?

Shiro is, in a word, disciplined. Patience yields focus afterall. Furthermore, he is extremely practical. He has a tactical mind and a pragmatic military background, making it easier for him to make the tough ( sometimes unpopular ) calls. So when the chips are down, Shiro doesn’t allow himself to become flustered. He keeps a level head and goes through a mental check-list of options. He’s very much the type to always defy the odds and turn an otherwise hopeless situation around on its head. He doesn’t quit; he fights until he physically can’t fight anymore. Nonetheless, he does see reason. Once it settles that a particular fight is over, he cuts his losses with a compromise or a retreat on the idea of living to fight another day.

What are your character’s fears? How do they hinder or challenge your character?

Shiro has been taken prisoner of the Galran Empire, where he is forced to fight as a gladiator in deathmatches as entertainment, unwillingly earning himself the title Champion. Body laden with scars and hair gone partially white from stress, Shiro feels somewhat disconnected from who he once was, especially now that his right arm isn’t even his own. Haggar and her druids experiment on him in-between matches and at some point, replaced his right arm with a cybernetic prothesis. Haggar boasts that she “made him stronger” and while Shiro, regretfully, acknowledges that there is usefulness to be found in having an upgraded arm, he hates how his consent never came into play. He’s been forced into becoming a human weapon and he’s yet to make peace with that.

Besides that, aside from the near daily fear that he’ll be killed, there’s also the mind-numbing anxiety that the Galra will inevitably conquer Earth. He needs to get back. He needs to warn Earth somehow. That is the big motivator that keeps him going day in and day out. It isn’t just an intrinsic desire to survive for his own sake, it’s also for the foolish hope that maybe, just maybe, he can escape and get back to Earth in time.

SKILLS/ABILITIES:
Hand-to-Hand Combat: Well, for starters, he does have a hand up ( heh pun ) in close combat, because his right arm has been replaced with a piece of tech ( we’ll get into that ). Aside from the upgrade, he’s built like a brick house ( a year playing gladiator in an alien ring and ultimately becoming “the champion” has a way of building the stamina and strength better than any old gym would ). Physically strong, surprisingly fast on his feet, and equipped with a tactical brain, he’s lethal.

Upgraded Right Arm: He lost his right arm during his captivity with the Galra ( it’s not entirely clear how he lost his arm, but he does make an off-hand comment in a flashback about how “they already took his arm” while he’s strapped to an operating table ). Either way, he’s been fitted with a cybernetic prosthesis mid-bicep on his right arm. It packs a punch. The increased strength is only the beginning though. Activated, it emits a purple glow and if he focuses the energy, he can actually cut through walls, doors, droids, most anything. He can also focus that energy to burn hotter and melt substances, such as steel. Furthermore, it can work as a power source ( he powered a control panel of a Galra cruiser that crash landed on a planet, by activating his arm and placing it on the panel ).

Piloting Skills: He’s the Garrison’s Golden Boy. One of the few people who can out-fly him is Keith. He trained in the fighter class and eventually became an astronaut.

NERFING: He doesn’t have any magic abilities with the arm, so at 20% it would simply be dialed back to 20% of the enhanced strength shown in canon. It can’t punch through walls ( but can leave hefty holes ), it can’t burn hot enough to melt steel ( but can certainly give someone some sore, blistered skin ), it can’t act as its own reliable power source. I’m thinking that it’ll simply be a mech prosthesis, marginally stronger than a flesh arm.

WEAKNESSES: N/A

>> Sample one:
[ these days, with him being dressed in gray and showcasing two golden stripes on his shoulders, there isn’t much reason for shiro to walk this particular stretch of hall. his cadet years are well and truly behind him, due to both his rank as junior officer and his unofficial title as golden boy. neither are quite so fantastical. junior officer grants him some leverage, but he’s still low enough in the ranking system that he’s saluting with yes, sir, yes, ma’am right on par with the cadets. and golden boy? more like glorified errand boy.

truth be told, he doesn’t buy into the hallmark slogan of inspiring the youth and fostering the dreams of those who wish to see the stars. galaxy garrison isn’t the organization to facilitate wide-eyed wonder. it’s a militaristic business with deadlines, budgets, and hard-nosed rules. it’s not that shiro doesn’t care about the kids he inevitably winds up recruiting into the program, it’s just that he has his own time-table and his own schedule that’s perpetually slammed with sims, flight runs, grading, medical tests. there’s a boyfriend in there, too, as well as exercising, studying, eating, and sleeping. point is, shiro’s schedule gets even more hectic any time he’s sent out to inspire tiny teens and he simply isn’t as mild-natured as he pretends to be to not be the slightest bit annoyed by how terrible ninety-five percent of the would-be recruits are. in short? he’s never been inspired.

– until keith.

that kid is an absolute shit, of course. who the fuck highjacks a military vehicle for a joyride? the apology that came later, only after shiro dropped the charges and walked him out of juvie, was just about as defensive as anything could be. and the inquiries? i don’t get it. i steal your car and you respond by helping me out? actually, that's fair. shiro can’t blame him for being confused. shiro’s a little confused by his own actions, too.

it’s not so much that keith has a natural skill for flight. he flies like a dream, true, surpassing level five like it was nothing. shiro has no doubt he would’ve passed level six, seven, maybe eight, but then there’d been a data pad in his hands and a discipline case being said for anyone to hear. shiro doesn’t have the time or energy to pity anyone. discipline case may very well be fitting anyway, considering what that kid inevitably did with shiro’s jeep. it’s not pity, but… empathy. shiro knows what that’s like, to be written off as a ticking time bomb of liability. after all, his garrison file has a bright orange sticker on the front with one word: medical.

right. he’s passed all his medical exams but he’s got a bracelet at his right wrist and a file that makes sure the brass never forget that his future is only bright for so long.

i don’t think he’d necessarily fit in with the rigid garrison culture.

yeah, well, some could say that about him. and you know what? screw the garrison’s expectations. in that moment, shiro went a touch rogue, too, all of it accumulating to the action of him handing off a card to keith. be at this address tomorrow at 0800 hours. he saw keith, briefly, at the entrance tests months ago, but he missed him in all the chaos of orientation, with the new cadets getting packets and uniforms and dorm assignments. it’s fine, though. his megawatt smile comes in handy when extracting details on a certain someone’s dorm number.

a-55.

as he makes a right at the t in the hall, shiro thinks again that he really doesn’t have time to, well, care about anyone else’s career when he has his own to worry about, but even with reason working against the direction of his feet, his strides never slow. this isn’t fraternizing and this isn’t care, this is him simply being a decent person sparing five minutes of his day to make sure his most recent cadet is settling in. so when he reaches the right door, already ajar, he gives it a soft rap of his knuckles. ]

Hey, Keith…? How's it going in here?

>> Sample two:
[ coming to is an odd experience. his eyelids feel heavy; his body more so. a groan slips through first and then the bedding rustles as he shifts over the comforter. he doesn’t have the consciousness for it, but it’s… strange, this sluggishness. sleep is a rarity. he doesn’t sleep well. never deep, never long, and when he does come to, it’s with an alert, active mind, strangely honed to anticipate… – what? aliens. gal… ra? right.

he lifts those ridiculously weighted eyelids and stares through the thickness of his eyelashes, seeing nothing, yet feeling everything. everything hurts. the drugs still hazing his gaze and leaving his mind murky have numbed some of his perception for the rigid soreness of his body, but one full breath in the waking world and he feels it: ah yes, that’s right, he crash landed. and then he was pulled from the ship by hazmat suits, while familiar uniforms watched from the periphery.

he’s back? he’s on earth?

there’s a sound then and shiro startles, although little of his body language demonstrates this. he’s got his left hand to the mattress and he’s pushing himself up in the next moment, but just as before, he’s slow on his comprehension. whatever the garrison pumped him with lingers, leaving him part wondering if any of this is real. he’s disjointed, feeling like he’s stuck in the backseat of his own mind, simply going through the motions of a reality he holds no grounding to.

shiro, it’s me.

it’s odd hearing that name. iverson used it… however long ago that was. even that is hazy. i’m shiro. right. not prisoner. he’s not a prisoner on an alien ship and he’s not a prisoner to the galaxy garrison. he’s shiro. and that’s –

keith.

he stutters on a breath, still having such a fucking terrible time with finding his bearings but that voice, that boy, that’s as good of an anchor that he’s going to get. desperately, he tries to focus his eyes on that outline in the dark, voice thick from forced sleep and unfiltered emotion. ]

Keith? [ he hasn’t dared say that name in so long, but fuck, it feels good to wrap his mouth around that one syllable. he pushes himself up further, ignoring the throb of his head as he swings his legs, getting himself seated there on the edge of the bed, only wobbling a little. he goes no further though, half afraid to bridge the distance because: ]

Don’t be a dream. [ voice low, it’s little more than a murmur. ] Please.

>> Sample 3:
Text w Adam @ Bakers

>> Sample 4:
Text w Vash @ The City TDM