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Takashi Shirogane

Witch

Takashi Shirogane

Age:	25	D.O.B:	February 29
Gender:	Male	Orientation	Gay
Species:	Human	Class:	Witch
Hair:	Black, white floof	Eyes:	Dark gray
Height:	6'02"	Build:	Big
Origin:	Earth	Residence:	Voltron Haus

History

oh god i'll do this later

Personality

Calm, collected, and mindful of the needs of others around him, Takashi Shirogane is the epitome of natural-born leader. Ever since his time in the Garrison, Shiro pushes himself past his limits. He's hailed as a legend to many people, and many see him as a hero and someone worthy of deep trust. For good reason, too: Shiro makes sure, above all else, that his team is the best they can be. He sees potential--specifically in Keith--and encourages them to make themselves better. When Pidge voices concern about being a pilot, he reassures her that she'll be fine. He pulls from his own experiences in order to ease her worries. And that's what makes Shiro so great: He's been through a lot, and instead of pulling into himself, he uses those experiences to help others when they are in need.

As much as Shiro is depended on by the other paladins, he depends on them quite a lot, too. Shiro deeply loves his team; he bonds with them enough that he's not afraid to act a little silly. However, there's a limit to this, but he's never too firm. It's really a measure of how much Lance respects him that, with a simple word, Shiro can get him to stop being so aggressively himself. But back to Shiro depending on his team: In the recovered video log Shiro made pre-fall of the Castle of Lions, he states explicitly that, if it weren't for him, the others would not be risking their lives. He clearly feels regret for dragging them into this, but he very much relies on them. He is, after all, the head of Voltron, and the head cannot function without being raised up by the rest. He counts on his friends and allies to have his back, and his trust is definitely not misplaced. Shiro trusts his comrades, just as they deeply trust him.

However, Shiro is pretty self-sacrificing. He's a skilled actor, especially when it counts. Most notable is when he and Matt Holt are captured by the Galra. Shiro sees that Matt is downright terrified, and he makes a snap decision: He plays the part of bloodthirsty warrior and injures Matt to keep him from very potentially dying. This is one of Shiro's weaknesses: He freely talks about possibly dying, and he's willing to do so in order to keep innocent people safe. He makes light of the fact that he might die, which upsets Keith greatly. Keith believes so fiercely that Shiro won't die, but Shiro knows the great risk of being a paladin of Voltron.

Shiro, too, is driven to a fault. Even with a serious life-threatening illness, Shiro pushes himself to his limits. He breaks records, and still, he wants more. He wants to reach his potential, follow his dreams, even if it means it'll damage him, possibly beyond repair. He even states that "the only way to succeed is to give it all you've got." It's a mantra he follows from his time in the Garrison to when he fights as a paladin. Shiro pushes his team to the brink of their potential, too; he's disappointed when, during their training and team-building, everyone seems to have given up while he's still working hard. Shiro's a model soldier: He's ready within seconds when a threat arrives, and he is willing to put everything on the line. Unfortunately, however, because of his trauma, Shiro has trouble asking for help. He's always there to lend a hand, but it's difficult for Shiro to ask for help.

He internalizes nearly all of his struggles, because he has trouble allowing himself to be vulnerable--even with Keith, when he's injured after the altercation with Haggar, Shiro is intentionally flippant in order to, as he says, "lighten the mood"... but really, he's trying to keep Keith from worrying. If he could, Shiro would burn himself up to keep others from having to worry about him, from having to save him or take care of him. Consider his refusal to go with the rest of the group to the space mall--Shiro could take a bit of time to relax and unwind, but instead, he keeps piling his burdens on his shoulders. He doesn't rest when the others do; he's always working hard to improve himself and, as in the aforementioned Space Mall episode, strengthen his bond with the Black Lion so Zarkon can't take it over. There's a point where diligence and determination becomes harmful... and Shiro frequently reaches that point.

Despite his patient and considerate nature, even Shiro has his limits. When faced with Slav--essentially a chaos theorist--he starts to lose his cool at Slav expecting the worst and telling Shiro all the possible ways things can go wrong. Shiro even resorts to threatening Slav, and he doesn't think clearly when he's at his wit's end. Similarly, Shiro has--while not explicitly stated, but extremely, heavily implied both by creators and cast--PTSD. When in the throes of a particularly bad episode, Shiro thinks irrationally, and he lets his emotions get the best of him. He's more forceful, he lashes out more, and compared to the usually level-headed Shiro, it's a stark, bleak contrast. Even so, somehow he manages to keep his trauma in check, amazingly. Shiro is not only physically strong, but strong of heart and mind. It's what makes him so reliable and such an excellent leader. More than that, though, it makes Shiro a good person. After all, not everyone could take a young kid under his wing when he himself is still practically a kid. Even so, he acted as family to Keith when Keith had no one, and he did a damn good job at it. Shiro is good at taking care of people. His patience for those he cares about is unending, which is why people listen to him so much.

And Shiro is nearly endlessly considerate. He ensures that the people around him are comfortable, and his empathy and ability to connect with others is what allows him to so naturally bond with the Black Lion. He actually has the easiest time bonding with his Lion, even if Zarkon later takes advantage of his own bond to attempt to wrest control from Shiro. Still, when Shiro realizes this, he takes the time to reach out to Black and strengthen their bond. He sees through Black's eyes, reaches out to his memories, and understands what made the second Black Paladin so great. He respects Black, and because he allows Black to have its own agency and treat it as an equal, Black respects him just as much. His relationship with Black is seamless, as easy as breathing, and very telling of his capacity for respecting those who help him and on whom he depends.

It's this that inspires those around Shiro. He doesn't give up, especially on people close to him. Shiro is a master tactician, and he analyzes people and situations well. He knows what to say in order to inspire people, and they look to him for support and direction. He's charismatic, and people genuinely listen to him and take what he says to heart. His desire to win reaches the others, and they'll do what they can in order to make him proud. Shiro will do absolutely anything to make sure his team makes it back home, even if it has an ill effect on himself. He doesn't stop until the job is done, until the mission is complete. This is one of the things that shows his resilience: Even haunted by traumatic memories, he pushes forward. When he and Allura are undercover on a Galra ship, he flashes back to his time as a prisoner. He's visibly strained, but he still pulls himself out of his fog enough to get the job done. He assures Allura that he's alright, because he doesn't want her to worry... Unfortunately, though, this means that Shiro doesn't exactly talk much about his trauma unless it's with those he really trusts. Shiro cares so much about others that sometimes, his own needs fall by the wayside. He internalizes a lot; Shiro is really kind of a private person, because he'd rather others focus on themselves and what they need to do than spend time on him.

While not applicable to Shiro at his current canon point, something to make note of is, when talking about Shiro's frankly astounding resilience and strong will, the fact that Shiro spent the better part of a year inside the endless void of the Black Lion following Voltron's fight against Zarkon. Shiro did not ask to have his consciousness preserved inside Black; Black simply did it, because it knew Shiro would be lost otherwise. The most important thing to note here is that Shiro spent what could easily have been an eternity inside the lion. Shiro is disciplined, but even he admits that without a routine, he would have lost his mind. He would have lost sight of who he was, not just from isolation, but because he wasn't even corporeal--yet he still managed to hold onto who he is.

Despite Shiro's emphasis on discipline and desire to reach higher and higher (the man went up into space even knowing his degenerative muscle disease could kill him up there), Shiro is still young. He still knows how to have fun; Shiro definitely has his silly moments, and banter with the team (especially early on in the series). He joins in on the "squishy asteroid fight," makes what he thinks are laser gun noises (apparently, they go "blam blam blam"), partakes in a stage show about Voltron (in order to recruit other planets for the coalition, but it was still ham as hell), and joins in on a game of "Monsters and Mana" (in other words: Dungeons & Dragons). Because while Shiro has been through hell and back, he's still very capable of letting loose and having fun.

Original Abilities

- Natural leader: Shiro can maintain and command his fellow paladins with great ease.
- Piloting: He's the best pilot in the Garrison.
- Skilled actor: During his time with Matt Holt and the other Galra prisoners, Shiro was able to play a very convincing role: bloodthirsty champion.
- Martial arts: Shiro is very good at fighting. He's powerful, able to take a lot of hits, and he's able to create a shield to give himself a breather.
- Galra arm: His prosthetic arm is his bayard; he can literally cut through any number of things when it activates with a nifty purple glow.
- Black Lion: As the paladin of the Black Lion, he's able to pilot it. He also forms the head of Voltron.

Bonds

Name McName

Class:	Class Here
Bond Type:	Type of relationship (platonic, intimate, familial, etc)
Song:	♫

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Name McName

Class:	Class Here
Bond Type:	Type of relationship (platonic, intimate, familial, etc)
Song:	♫

Details

Any information you want to share about the bond goes here!

Name McName

Class:	Class Here
Bond Type:	Type of relationship (platonic, intimate, familial, etc)
Song:	♫

Details

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Magic

A general summary of the character's abilities and progress with learning magic! Any general details you feel are relevant would go here.

Abjuration