Shannon

*“A speech is just something you’ve written down before you say it. How hard can it be?”*

Shannon to Clare when being told she needs to prepare a speech.

*"SHUT THE HELL UP AND PAY ATTENTION!"*

Shannon to the team, frequently.

Shannon is the overall Commander of Shamrock School for Girls Sensha-do team.

**Profile**

Shannon is a second year student at Shamrock School for Girls and Captain of the Sensha-do team.

**Appearance**

Shannon is short and well-developed. She has messy orange hair worn in twin tails. She has wide and bright emerald eyes and freckles.

**Personality**

Shannon is a friendly, bubbly character with a reputation of being something of an airhead. This, however, is mixed with more admirable traits such as determination and perseverance. She isn't the brightest button and holds a belief that all problems can be overcome somehow, but she never really has a detailed plan as to how to achieve her ends. She is content to bumble into all sorts of situations, confident that her desired outcome will be reached in the end (probably). Her lack of tactical knowledge is compensated by her enthusiasm (a bit). Shannon is a well-respected team Captain even though her experience of Sensha-do is very limited. She does have some knowledge of the sport, gleaned from all her years as a keen spectator, and the team admire her talents and perseverance outside of matches too. She is certainly no genius, but is an accomplished seamstress.

**Background**

Shannon grew up in her hometown of Yokosuka. Although a long-term fan of sensha-do, Shannon had never thought of actually participating in it. That was until she saw Miho Nishizumi win the 63rd Nationals with a school that no one had ever heard of before. Shannon was immediately convinced that if Ooarai could do it then any school could.

Shamrock School for Girls had never had their own Sensha-do team before, but this did not deter Shannon. Fired up with single-minded enthusiasm, she founded the Shamrock School for Girls Sensha-do Team and installed herself as Captain. She pestered and badgered the school's museum until they eventually agreed to let the Sensha-do Team borrow and restore the Vickers Mk D tank that had been on display there. With a new club start-up grant she was able to buy two Landsverk L-60 light tanks that had been going cheap.

Equipped with this mighty force, Shannon is convinced that Shamrock School for Girls Sensha-do Team is ready to take on the world. Bizarrely, this unfounded enthusiasm has infected most of her teammates too, who are usually confident of victory even though they have no reason to hold this belief. Their almost constant losses do not upset them in the slightest. They are convinced that it is all part of the learning curve that will one day culminate in their winning national or even international events.

Shannon managed to furnish the whole team with smart green uniforms, which she scrounged from all sources. Their dark green jackets she obtained from a disbanded brass band, then added the black collar and cuffs herself. The emerald green pleated skirts are actually from the Shamrock School PE kit. Shannon also used her sewing skills to personally make all the 'caubeen' style caps that her team proudly wear with a tall feather hackle behind their badges.

Shannon also likes collecting autographs of her favourite Sensha-do personalities. She has them from most of St. Gloriana (they were too polite to say no), Erika Itsumi and Koume Akaboshi, but she would really like to get Katyusha and the Nishizumi sisters.

**Trivia**

* Shannon's real name is Iona Yoshimura.
* Her birthday is 6th December, which is also the date of the Anglo-Irish Treaty in 1921, and the foundation of the Irish Free State in 1922.
* Her favourite tank is the Vickers Mk D.
* She has a younger sister called Emiya.
* She is 145cm (4ft 9in) tall.

Check out more about her school, team and friends here: **Shamrock School for Girls wiki**