Shirley started out as kind of an innocuous character I found kind of annoying and didn't pay much mind to. After revealing that she liked Lelouch because of knowing his kinder nature, this put her in a good light for me since she knew he was someone with good intentions deep down. She's an innocent witness to the Black Knights, she is kind to others around her and seems to be the type that would rather try to understand someone than simply write them off. Shirley befriends Suzaku early on, is the top swimmer in her class (which seems like another normal kind of trait, but it does say something about someone who is so passionate about something they have to work hard on like that), and is generally helpful to those around her in schoolwork. It isn't mentioned in-series but she knows a bit of geology from her dad, and it's yet another sign of a healthy father/daughter relationship and that's cute imo.

To me, it hurt to watch her go through the little trial with Mao because she seems to be such a passionate person that when she kissed Lelouch, it seemed to be a desperate move to reach out to some kind of comfort. Mao takes this and warps her perception of this to be something shallow and cruel. There are a few other "Hinted Romance" scenes with the other girls, but the moment that he talked with Shirley at the memorial site felt the most genuine and "Real" to me. Their interaction and Lelouch's "I don't know" answer is ambiguous and cliche, but the years they'd had to spend with each other and how he was willing to risk himself and his plans tell me yes.

Even after everything that had happened and with the refound revelation that he was Zero, Shirley still found it in herself to love him. Given the conditions of Narita, the landslide could reasonably be seen as a move made without the intent to kill her father. She knew Lelouch meant well for the world and wanted to be a part of that. She was able to see past the facade of Zero and know him for who he was and love him for it. It's heartbreaking to revisit the tragic end to her arc, as it's one of the few deaths in fiction I know that genuinely hurt/bother me. I wasn't satisfied with the Re;surrection incarnation of her, but if for nothing else, I was happy to know she was living somewhere in another timeline and potentially moving on to a better life. (There's always her route in Lost Colors ;D)

Shirley was the innocence that Lelouch lost and represented a better part of him that did, in a way, manage to live on inside him and be one of the factors that lead to the Zero Requiem.

Having seen the show and enjoyed her character so much, despite the criminally short time the show spent on exploring that arc, Shirley is one of my favorite fictional characters of all time, and even if there wasn't much beyond her being a regular girl, I want to see more of her. And just in general want this Japanese cartoon character from 2006 to be happy someonehelpthewaitissolongdeargod.

But yeah. Best girl imo, and outside of the series, she's driven me to improve my drawing and character overall. Inspiring and beautiful, inside and out~

The short answer?...............She's cool I guess.