[ etraya application ]

[halfshit]

⏵ player information
name and pronouns: Emm (she/her)
age: 30s
contact: sprucemoose / sprucemooses@discord

⏵ character information
name: Shirley Dander
canon: Slow Horses
age: 30-something
canon point: Immediately following her exit at the end of season 4.
history: Wiki link.
abilities: Shirley is an MI-5 agent and thus has the standard "spy in an action show" array of skills: guns, hand-to-hand combat, tailing people, pickpocketing, lockpicking, etc. She rates about a solid B/B- in most of these skills (except guns, she's actually a really good shot).

personality: (CW: GAMBLING ADDICTION, DRUG ADDICTION)

The first thing to know about Shirley is that she punched her case officer. Twice. Hard enough that he didn't get up after the second time. She has difficulty controlling her temper, and tends to lash out, either physically or verbally, when aggravated. In combat, this translates to recklessness and ruthlessness. Her small stature and relative lack of field experience put her at a disadvantage in most situations, but she never lets that stop her: when she's not throwing herself at professional assassins three times her size, she's hitting mercenaries with a car or throwing a grenade down a hatch to kill them in a confined space they can't escape, or threatening to shoot a defeated, handcuffed man (albeit one who did just kill her best friend). Coe, a former member of MI-5's psych evaluation unit, suggests that Shirley's anger issues stem from self-loathing, which she takes out on other people by relentlessly criticizing them because it's easier than confronting the things she doesn't like about herself. Her reaction to him saying that suggests that she knows there's truth in it, as does how quickly she is to turn any mention of her drug addiction into a criticism of Marcus's gambling addiction.

However, part of Shirley's criticisms of Marcus probably come from genuine hurt over not only the fact that her efforts to help him overcome his gambling addiction have failed, but also that he lied to her about it. While her abrasive personality makes her a poor prospect for friendship – and there's no indication she has any friends outside of work – she is unfailingly loyal, and cares deeply about Marcus. Even Roddy Ho, who she can't stand, she'll risk her life to save.

After losing Marcus, Shirley becomes more than loyal; she becomes hyperprotective, unable to cope with the idea of losing anyone else. She also becomes, if anything, even more reckless and impulsive than she was before. Prior to Marcus's death, she does thinks like break into Donovan's flat seemingly out of pure boredom when she's supposed to be staking it out. Afterwards, she starts stalking her coworkers to keep an eye on them, punches a random delivery guy and steals his bike to chase after a car, runs after a fleeing assassin and only stops when she's had her face bashed into the pavement a few times.

She also tends to be unprofessional and irresponsible. She whines about the busywork she's assigned. She does things like put her feet up on the dash of Marcus's car while they're driving, complains about being bored on a stakeout, and mocks Ho when he's handcuffed to his exercise equipment rather than helping him. She also, at one point, decides to do cocaine while on the clock (with an implication from Marcus that it isn't the first time). However, despite all evidence to the contrary, Shirley takes her job very seriously. When it becomes clear that there are real stakes, she's quick to stop screwing around. She also has a genuine moral compass, ranging from minor things like backhanding Ho for insulting Louisa to putting her life on the line to save River and Louisa even after she's been fired and has no professional obligation to them.

She's also smarter than others might give her credit for. She's quick to notice when Marcus is acting off and figures out he's gambling again. Multiple times she's able to memorize license plates after only a quick glance, and she puts together that someone is stalking Ho when no one else suspects anything. Her smarts also show up in combat: because she's usually at a physical disadvantage, she has to use her surroundings in clever ways to gain an advantage.

samples: top level with 1, 2, 3 threads