Takashi Shirogane - Blog Posts

space dad core af 🖤🦁

Pt.4 of Keith, Shiro, and Adam's relationship :)

(Let me know if any of these belong to y'all, I'll tag who I can)

@xfifiartstuffx20

@a-zzurra-blog

Part. 3 of Keith, Shiro, and Adam's relationship

If any more of these are yours lmk and I'll tag you :)

@star-lance

@azphen

Pt.2 of Keith, Shiro, and Adam's relationship

If any of these are yours, lmk and I'll tag you :)

Credit (for those that still have usernames attached) to:

@incorrect-adashi-quotes

@genocidal

@shiro-centric

@validslav

Pt.1 Of Keith, Shiro, and Adam's relationship

If any of these are yours lmk and I'll tag you :)

I started and finished Vld about 3 months ago and I refuse to shut up about it so I've decided to make it everyone else's problem. (This isn't turning into a Vld fan page but I will post memes about it in between my Mcr posts)

Also I don't know who made these so if you made these and want credit hmu and I'll tag you asap :)

Space mom

Shiro, championed.

He is a tale, he knows. But he doesn't feel like one, he is way too roomless, way too thoughtless, only a tablespoonful of a something.

The tale should be fractured, he thinks. It shouldn't be about victory, it should avoid being this spurious. It should have stones. Bricks. Maximal damage. Minimal effort. He wonders if pain should bring him clarity. Yes; the tale can have this too. How creaturely he feels when in pain.

He is on his stomach, the cheek on the table half closing his eye. They have taken his spinal fluid again.

''Don't you have this already?'' he asks, voice unsmooth, the heavy door creak of it. ''You've taken it yesterday.''

They look surprised. They say something in a language he doesn't know, and don't do anything. Not anything in response to what he said.

He looks at the suited figures, feeling himself hazing. He wonders if he has missed some essence of their subjectivity – he has only been thinking of them in a plural way. Do they hesitate? Do they worry? Feel individual things? Maybe pluralising them is unjust. But then his mind clears up one more time: he will wake up in one of the small square rooms, where he has been waking up lately. Roomlessly, thoughtlessly, creaturely.

*

He has been having recurring daydreams. And wanting, recurringly, in a compromising way, in the way of wanting being his single antibody.

*

Four years from now, Shiro will watch coffee grounds swish around his french press. He will feel content at the uneventfulness of it, and call it laziness, call it something slow and nice, like a sleepy cat.

''That's fine,'' Someone will say, ''more attention to a french press than to me. That's fine.''

Shiro will walk around the counter and plop down into the couch. He will move uncaringly. He will move caringly in the right way.

''My cushion balance,'' Someone will complain. ''You disbalanced me.''

''It doesn't bother you,'' Shiro will say.

''It doesn't,'' they will admit immediately. Then, tone joking: ''I just think it's funny that—'' They will smile, with mouth corners turned downwards.

Shiro will nod a little at the joke, then scoot closer, with one leg over their legs. He will cover their eyes with his palms. Then breathe. Get close. Hover close. Breathe into their jaw.

A hand will tangle in his hair. It will make him feel wild with possibility; some tangled nerves pulled separate into their fitting paths, re-sparking. He will feel lightheaded, but not in a dizzying way. In a love way, perhaps.

''I was joking. It wasn't funny,'' Someone will murmur to clarify, opening the palm in Shiro's hair, then closing it again, tugging at Shiro's content. Shiro will make a mhm sound, the vibration of it, and place his closed lips to the corner of their mouth. He will wonder if it's expectation alone that sustains him, feeling both their breaths do billowy things on his eyelids. It would be understandable, he will think, consistent: sometimes he takes a single sip of coffee and it makes him feel much better immediately. He shakes hands with placebo.

''My heart,'' Someone will say, whispery and squealy – good, like dying for a good cause. Moving lips to talk will make them kiss; make them kissed, make them the passive subjects of kissing.

*

They don’t talk back to him.

''You don’t talk back to me,'' he says, and thinks he sounds pleasantly non-accusatory. They talk to each other, he knows. He wonders if this is his humble sacrifice for humanity, if humanity, thanks to him, knows about aliens, if it has gone father than ever before. If that guy whose video he watched got to walk on Europa, if the icy surface really did creak underneath his feet, if he really could hear it cracking, tidally stretching, when he placed his head to the surface.

Maybe he should be living mindfully, now. Maybe this will uncatastrophise his life.

He thinks about his perceptions. He feels thirsty. Maybe dehydration will hit the pacemaking cells of his heart and he will die. He focuses. He watches things that glisten. His knuckles are cold and his heart feels warm. A warm creature that bites. He thinks he shouldn't call himself warm-hearted. It's wrong. This is wrong.

*

Four years from now, Shiro will place his hand over Someone's chest.

''Your heart. My eyes, if only you could see what I'm seeing. My heart. My lungs. My spleen'' Shiro will say, and Someone will hook their arms under Shiro's, fingers pressing onto the muscle on his shoulders, and it will feel nice, and Shiro won't mind leaving his thoughts somewhat unfinished. Now his lips will be pressed on their cheek under the uncovered eye.

He will remain motionless, to see is something will boil. To explore the peculiar properties of the two of them. Eyes closed, he will feel their breathing faster than it was. He will feel good about that.

''I could start hiccupping from the emotional stress,'' Someone will whisper, hooking arms around Shiro's body, hooking and not snaking, expressing some crushing liking. Their flirting won't snake, serpent-like.

''No stress allowed,'' Shiro will whisper back.

*

Maybe he is wrong and he'd rather be less present. Daydream more. He has been having a recurring daydream.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/27387220

Parasite, Paradise

So, @emsawards just went and took the two things I obsess about the most at the moment and put them together into one, thrilling, amazing fanfiction. I couldn’t be more happy!

(For the designs, I picked a little from the manga, a little from the movie, the paladin armor, their normal outfits, Keith’s space pirate outfit and of course a good part of @v-0-3 artwork of Shiro that started it all. Though I changed Shiro’s haircolour to white in the end, because I love the contrast to Keith.)

[2am]

I had trouble sleeping again lately, so I decided to put the thoughts and feelings that kept me awake on paper. The only rule to myself was to draw what my hands felt was right, not what my head thought was.

It feels ... good. And it helps a lot too.

Tagging as NSFW for nudity, but honestly, nothing was intended to be sexual in any way.

(Also, seems I was wrong when I said, I’d never post any Voltron fanart ever again. I didn’t think I’d fall this deep into it. Please, be kind, Voltron fandom ... )

here's the part 2 gift for @veilofemptyspace

so this is sangria shiro and xuo keith

sangria- A poison creature that is similar to a witch/wizard and a bat when a human got covered or got poisoned after it was merged with a sangria it becames part sangria part human and it has the ability to squirt colorful slime aslong as the black diamond stay's on it's chest (by the way when shiro turns into one his right arm grew back and he still got his legs except purple)

Xuo- A fire creature that is similar to a dragon and a flareon when someone gets burned by the fire at any amount after being merged it turnes into a xuo (keith still has his legs but wolf like legs with red and orange skin)

And about paraloxia lance

Paraloxia- A water creature that is similar to a jellyfish and a spider,paraloxia's are lived in the water and land when in sits,lie down or squat the spider legs are bendable for any movement and the tentacles under it's head it squirts salty and toxic water and fresh water but when someone touches salt or toxic or any non fresh water after being merged it turnes into part paraloxia and part human (lance still got legs but blue skin and his arms are noodle-ish and round but he can turn his paraloxia arms to normal arms if he wants) and if anyone redraw this ask me with credit okay

If you cannot read it properly

shiro:............ 

Rianna/Insanity:......

Shiro:Are your eyes buring kid?

Can any one other than Rianna or Insanity get the fire extinguisher please?

P.S. Rianna or Insanity’s hair color is blue and purple striped hair,pale skin,silver earings,and a purple tanktop

I (most likely) found out what shiro’s unnamed disease is through the sheer power of autism and free will

(A fuckass medical analysis on Shiro VLD)

Yeah you read the title right. Buckle up kids because I genuinely don't know what prompted me to figure this out, but you’re all about to be hit with a doozy of medical information and it might make your brain hurt. I even included his cybernetic arm in this as an extra little challenge.

I wanted to make a disclaimer first off: I am not a medical professional in ANY way shape or form. I just have a huge special interest in neurology and psychology (as well as vld) and I am disabled myself (my brain sucks), however please don’t trust this as an actual medical source, there’s a very large chance my research could be completely inaccurate. This is a tumblr post, not the DSM-5. I did look through sources to steer my research on the right track, however I didn’t go to medical school for this, I'm just insane. 

Shiro was mentioned to have a disease Season 7 Episode 1 and it was literally never brought up again or explained ever. I decided to try and do some detective work to figure out what it could most likely be. 

So let's dig into this whole analysis. If you didn’t watch the show or don't remember well, I gotchu. At this point in time we are at Season 7 Episode 1, and while Shiro is comatose in a healing pod, we see flashbacks showing him and Keith meeting.  After a hoverbike race in one of these flashbacks, Shiro suddenly panics as a device on his wrist we did not see prior starts rapidly beeping.

Its my apple watch dawg i forgot to take my steps today trust

Keith proceeds to ask what this device is, to which Shiro responds that they’re “some electrostimulators to keep my muscles loose”. He clearly hides information from Keith, jokingly claiming that “this is just what happens when you get to be an old timer”.

Later on, Keith overhears a conversation between Admiral Sanda, Shiro, and Sam Holt regarding sending Shiro on the Kerberos mission. During this conversation, Sam brings up that Shiro has “cleared all his physicals”. Sanda responds that “I don’t care what the doctor says, this man is sick, and shouldn’t be sent away on a mission as far as Kerberos.”

Keith then later confronts Shiro about this, to which he says the sentence, “I have a disease, and it’s getting worse. I’ll only be able to maintain peak physical condition for a few years, after that…”

Shiro trails off at the end, and after explaining that basically everyone and their dog doesn’t want him going on the mission (save for Sam, as shown) that he’s going on the mission anyway.

ALRIGHT CAMPERS, let's unpack.

Misconceptions and Assumptions

Right off the bat we don’t exactly know what “keeping his muscles loose” means. We do immediately understand that this is a disease that affects his muscular function. The immediate assumption from that, however, is that it’s DIRECTLY related to his muscle strength, and therefore degenerative in some way. As in, it's only related to his muscles

From what I've seen with fanon assumptions as well as headcanons, one of the most common names people make for Shiro’s disease is muscular dystrophy, specifically Becker’s Muscular Dystrophy, or BMD. 

Source: Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA.org)

Here’s a few doubts I had in regards to this, however.

It was one in the morning on a nice night last December when I suddenly was hit with the panic inducing thought: Wait a minute. Takashi Shiro Shirogane never said his disease was terminal. 

BMD, according to Cleveland Clinic, is said to cause a shortened lifespan of around 40 to 50 years. Shiro’s exact age is kind of a funky thing, however we know that unofficially through the books he’s 25, despite the fact that at the beginning of the show the Paladins are all referred to as teenagers in the description of the episode/season (but that kind of got ambiguously thrown out the window). Shiro in this case *has* to be 18 to around 23 once he meets Keith and once we get mention of his disease. (Around the time of the flashbacks, once the plot presents him as a mid 20’s adult during the events of Voltron, we can assume that Shiro is around 20-23, somewhere along those lines. If we go the older route, assuming Keith talked with him a few months before the mission, a year away in space, plus the “months” to get to Kerberos as confirmed by Pidge, would make him around 25 semi-canonically for the chronological timeline of the series when he gets back to Earth.)

I don’t exactly know what the Garrison’s standards are medically, if they would outright kick out Shiro for being diagnosed with a disease progressively affecting his motor function, or if they held onto him since he’s “their best pilot”, said by Admiral Sanda. So that’s also a bit muddy. That however, adds to our timeline, which we’ll talk more about later.

However, the main thing is that Shiro doesn’t actually say he’s going to inherently succumb to his disease. This is implied when he talks to Keith and trails off after he only has “a few more years of peak physical function”, however there ARE many diseases that can disable you to the point of not being able to keep up with physical activity, exertion etc, but that won’t inherently cause one’s death.

For example, Multiple Sclerosis is a disease that causes breakdown of the protective covering of nerves which can cause numbness, weakness, trouble walking, vision changes and other symptoms (Mayoclinic.org). However, isn’t inherently defined as a terminal illness despite minimal decrease in average lifespan (Multiple Sclerosis Trust, mstrust.org.uk).

From the conversation, there is a chance that Shiro’s disease is terminal. However, he could also just be implying that he wouldn’t be able to work for the Garrison anymore, or go on missions, something VERY dear to him considering he broke multiple international records, has a disease and still wants to ricochet himself to the moons of Pluto despite it.

That’s very up in the air in general. Seeing as Shiro does say to Keith season 2 that if anything does happen to him, he wants  him to pilot the black lion. To be fair, however, we don’t exactly know if Shiro’s disease was an officialized plot point from the writers at this time.

Additionally, we seem to understand that his first symptom is something relating to his hand/arm. BMD wouldn’t specifically target that area, from what I understand from the sources, it would more be located in his upper arm muscles. Which brings us into our first major element:

The Device (And Shiro’s Cybernetic Arm)

First element to note: the electrostimulator device. We get a very vague description about this device: keeping Shiro’s muscles loose. 

If we (logically) assume that the muscle electrostimulator would only work locally (not sure how advanced medical technology is at this point in time but I'll go from technology we have now), the main issue is regarding his wrist/hand/some of his forearm. 

From what we can assume, this is reminiscent of a TENS device, or transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation unit. It's a device that delivers small electrical impulses through electrodes on a person's skin. Research hasn't proven that it works, however it is used to relieve pain (Medical News Today).

Shiro’s disease could be, at first, affecting his right arm muscle. We don’t really see anything inherently happen regarding his hand, however it doesn’t seem to be weak in any shape or form, nothing like a continuous rigidity or paralysis of his hand (especially at rest). Instead, it could very well be that his hand issue is more paroxysmal, rather than constant, meaning it's something that comes and goes, maybe subtly and even only for a few seconds at a time, at least at this point. Whatever issue is happening, it could very well be that it causes him pain. Earth’s technology is more advanced in Voltron but still relatively “primitive”, so I don’t think this would be directly reaching his brain, just his hand muscles.

This is when I noted that there’s a very high chance Shiro is experiencing dystonia in his right hand. 

"Dystonia is a movement disorder that causes muscles to contract. This can cause twisting motions or other movements that happen repeatedly and that aren't under the person's control" (Mayo Clinic)

Shiro would be experiencing what’s known as focal dystonia, aka dystonia that affects a singular region (for example his hand/wrist) (Mayo Clinic).

There are studies out there that claim something like a TENS device emitting an electrical current to affected muscles has been showing to supposedly help patients with their symptoms. Take a read if you want (Source: Neurology.org (linked))

I don’t think the device works as a scheduled dosing mechanism, rather, it could be used anytime Shiro needs it. One major component of dystonia is that it can sometimes only really be triggered through physical action, similar to certain types of tremor:

"Some types of dystonia occur only while doing an activity over and over, such as writing or playing a musical instrument...Symptoms don't usually happen when the arm is at rest." (Source: Mayo Clinic)

When did we see Shiro’s device go off? 

Well, after riding a motorbike, which we see is a physical activity, which involves the use of a twisting motion of one hand one of the controls on the handlebar. Hmm. Peculiar. 

This is obviously going to make him being on the mission a larger concern. Going past Pluto isn’t really a walk in the park, and you gotta be at your best. If you have a disease putting not only you and the mission but also your crewmembers at risk, it’s going to be making the Garrison a bit more agreeable in this scenario.

Fun throwback: The official cause of failure for the Kerberos mission was pilot error. Obviously Shiro didn’t do it, but that’s a pretty low blow (if his disease was canon at the time) by the Garrison to basically blame it on Shiro’s insistence to be on the mission despite a condition he has. Ouchie.

Anyway, note the positioning of the device again: It’s on his right arm. Many people also did note that this is the same arm as his cybernetic prosthetic is on.

 The Guy ™. That arm could probably snap bedrock in half

A lot of people have made the assumption that whatever disease Shiro has, it was cured by replacing his arm. I’ve always had a lot of beef with this take because this isn’t inherently how neuroscience works. If a human has a disease affecting your neurological function (and in this case, a muscle) it's not really like a skin infection– it's stemming from your brain, or just a whole body thing (since many diseases we don’t know the inherent cause for them or why they happen) which controls ALL your nerves/muscles, which is one huge system that isn’t just “cut off” like skin or bone if it's within the nervous system itself (I hope this makes sense). Meaning, depending on what you have it could just spread to other muscle groups over time. Especially for something like a muscle wasting disease progressively stemming from your brain, those diseases can’t be stopped by amputating an affected portion of your extremities (seeing as its assumed he had BMD), since it's your brain/entire system being affected basically. However, there’s also something significant related to dystonia (would like to clarify, not a muscle wasting disease) with the information on dystonia above: 

"Although [focal dystonia] tends to remain in the single area, it may spread to a neighboring area of the body." (Source: Mayo Clinic)

Haha. You fools.

That’s also something we have to take into account: Shiro had his arm amputated and replaced with a cybernetic, for whatever reason, which is implied to be to make him a stronger Gladiator during his time in the arena as a Galra prisoner. This was before he crash lands back on Earth around a bit more than a year after the Kerberos mission launch.

What I assume is that, if we’re looking at this from the idea that Shiro’s disease was always a thing (whether intentionally canon by the writers or not), they amputated the arm that was an issue to Shiro being able to be a strong gladiator in the arena. His hand would probably get in the way of fighting, since you know, it's a disability rendering it more difficult to use his right hand, and not very helpful for fighting monsters like 30x the size of you.

Focal dystonia isn’t really a “progressive” singular condition in itself (more of a descriptor for a dystonic symptom/location), however if its localized to a singular limb, I assume that getting rid of that limb (or a portion of it) and replacing it with a sort of cybernetic Voltron technology could inherently “fix” whatever’s happening in Shiro’s case for the time being. I don't think the Galra who took Shiro’s arm and forced him to fight in a gladiator arena inherently wanted to understand how the human brain works, or better yet what muscular diseases/disorders we can have. So, maybe the Galra arm was their, albeit brutal, way of “curing” him or getting rid of his issue to make him a stronger fighter. I don’t think the cybernetic arm would contract in the way his human muscles would (maybe it like. Is programmed not to do that, or maybe it can filter out those brain signals, idk I dont work with Galra tech)

Prognosis and Progression 

One strange thing is that we see Shiro fighting before he receives a cybernetic arm. This means that his progressive condition is still relatively mild at the time of first fighting, even if he doesn’t have the electrostimulators on his arm as treatment, seen pictured below. 

 Man. Couldn’t keep the Apple watch 

He was in space for a year as a prisoner, meaning that any disease that he supposedly has would probably have progressed in that time, and he wouldn’t have been as strong as he could be to survive being chucked in an arena with monsters. Even if he did make it past that by what can only be theoretically explained by sheer fucking spite and an Unkillable Homosexual trope, he probably wouldn’t have lasted long as a member of Voltron once he got there. He literally said (at this point) around 2 or so years ago that he has only a few years left of peak physical condition.

Here’s the thing: a progressive muscle wasting disease wouldn’t really give him that time if you think about it. If he had something that was progressive in that manner, Shiro would basically continue getting worse from the point of diagnosis and not have any real windows of “peak physical condition”. If it's a terminal disease directly affecting his muscles, it's going to keep affecting them more and more.

The timeline of his disease progression points less to something that’s inherently terminal and more towards a condition that isn't inherently just something that targets his muscles. Shiro in all honesty wouldn’t be able to be sent on Kerberos if that was the case. He could have been completely fine at the point of launch, but who knows how he would be by the time he gets to it?

Additionally, this opens up the idea of him probably having more symptoms than just ones affecting his motor function, making Sanda’s want for him to stay off the mission even more valid. If we look away from the idea that this is supposedly specifically a muscular wasting disease based on our evidence, there’s many conditions that affect motor skills that also have cognitive counterparts that match with Shiro’s timeline better. I think what I’m trying to say is that Shiro doesn’t have a muscular wasting disease, per se. The Garrison probably wanted him off the mission despite him “passing all his physicals” (most likely checking his muscle strength and neurological function, and I would assume his cognitive function as well)  because of concerns for his cognitive capability: If you can’t be a quick thinker or remember information as much as you’re supposed to, especially in deep space, you’re as fried as radioactive bacon. 

Shut the fuck up nova. What does he have

Okay, wrapping up the info we have: 

Shiro’s first symptom is what we can assume to be a paroxysmal symptom like dystonia that comes and goes in his hand. 

He doesn’t have any cognitive decline at this point.

He has a window where he’s pretty much fine physically before inevitably declining.

His hand is his only apparent symptom.

He has a device to help muscles in that area be looser, which leads us to assume this is about spasticity/rigidity.

I already went over why I don’t think Shiro has BMD. Ruling out some other progressive neurological conditions:

Huntington’s Disease A condition that causes nerve cells to decay in the brain over time. (Source: Mayo Clinic) Early symptoms include difficulties concentratimg and planning on tasks, memory issues, mental health issues (depression, anxiety etc) changes in behavior (impulsivity/mood, etc), small twitching or jerking movements (chorea) and clumsiness (Source: NHS uk)

A disease like Huntingtons has a relatively slower progression, however the symptoms would be *there* and continue to worsen. Alongside this he’d have cognitive decline and just get worse. There’s just no way anyone would agree with him going on the mission.

Shiro only presents with one symptom early on, and we don’t see any cognitive decline.

Shiro passed all his physicals. He would most likely not be doing so, and would continue to decline from there. He would probably have to resign from the Garrison.

ALS:

"Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (a-my-o-TROE-fik LAT-ur-ul skluh-ROE-sis), known as ALS, is a nervous system disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. ALS causes loss of muscle control. The disease gets worse over time."

Source: Mayo Clinic

More associated with muscle weakness and wasting

Not associated with dystonia. Despite being associated with muscle spasticity, this isn’t a constant thing Shiro is experiencing. It would spread to other parts of his body probably by the time he’s in space.

Too short of a timeframe for him to “be at peak physical condition for a few years” (see below)

"On average, the life expectancy after an ALS diagnosis is three to five years. An estimated 30% of people live five years or more and 10% to 20% live at least 10 years. Your life expectancy can vary from these statistics, so talk to your healthcare provider to learn more about your situation."

Source: Cleveland Clinic 

Stiff Person Syndrome

"Stiff person syndrome is a rare autoimmune neurological disorder that most commonly causes muscle stiffness and painful spasms that come and go and can worsen over time. However, some people experience other symptoms such as an unsteady gait, double vision or slurred speech. SPS symptoms are thought to be related to which type of SPS a person has.

Stiff person syndrome most often causes painful muscle contractions and spasms that often begin in the legs and back. Spasms can also affect the abdomen, and less often the upper trunk, arms, neck and face."

Source: Hopkins Medicine

"In most cases of stiff person syndrome, the first symptom you’ll experience is muscle stiffness in your trunk (abdomen, chest and back muscles). The rigidity causes pain and an aching discomfort. These symptoms can fluctuate (swing) in severity without a clear reason or trigger. They can also affect your arms and legs. As stiffness increases, some people develop an abnormal posture that can make it difficult to walk or move."

Source: Cleveland Clinic

(Supposed) muscle spasticity is specific to his arm at first, already not the common start to the condition’s symptoms

Although this condition also has triggers for symptoms, there isn’t really anything related to specific movement. SPS usually has triggers relating to sudden loud noise, physical touch, changes in temperature, and stressful events (Cleveland Clinic)

I admittedly couldn't find much on the prognosis/timeline for this condition. However, I assume it would definitely start affecting his other muscles by the time he’s part of Voltron, and not really be feasible. Cutting off his arm, once again, wouldn’t fix something like this, even if his arm was affected.

I was going to throw out that there’s a chance Shiro has Multiple Sclerosis (fun fact, this is a condition that’s on the radar for my own issues). I’m honestly too lazy to type this but basically its more of a condition that comes and goes (depending on how you have it individually), at least at the beginning for most people. His symptoms also don’t line up, because major things related to it are nerve issues (sensation, feeling etc) and fatigue (Mymsaa.org)

***DISCLAIMER***: Everyone is different and experiences things different related to medicine and different conditions. Please do not use this for medical advice. Seek a professional or ask people who really experience these things if you’re concerned. Again, this is a tumblr post.

So what does he have?

I found an answer by sheer coincidence from looking around. This is my best guess and could very well be wrong, however:

Shiro likely has Young-Onset Parkinson’s Disease.

"Parkinson's disease (PD)

A neurodegenerative disorder that affects predominately the dopamine-producing (“dopaminergic”) neurons in a specific area of the brain called substantia nigra."

Source: Parkinson’s Foundation

Parkinson’s is a progressive neurodegenerative disease causing many different motor (and cognitive) symptoms. However, the disease often has an average age of onset of 70 years old (Mayo Clinic). When it’s diagnosed younger than 50, its considered Young-Onset, and has a slightly different presentation of symptoms and other factors than the traditional onset.

"What’s Different About Young-Onset Parkinson’s

The age of diagnosis matters for a variety of reasons, from probable causes of early cases to symptoms and treatment:

Genetics. As with any case of Parkinson’s disease, the exact cause is usually unknown. That said, young-onset cases of Parkinson’s disease are, on average, slightly more likely to be familial or genetic.

Symptoms. In many patients with YOPD, dystonia (stiffness or cramping in a muscle or limb) is an early symptom. People with YOPD also report more dyskinesia (involuntary body movements). They also tend to exhibit cognitive problems, such as dementia and memory issues, less frequently.

Progression. Patients with young-onset Parkinson’s appear to have a slower progression of the disease over time. They tend to have a milder course, staying functional and cognitively intact for much longer."

Source: Hopkins Medicine

Remember how I mentioned Shiro might be experiencing dystonia in his hand? If he was starting to develop synonyms of (young-onset) Parkinson’s, this would make a lot of sense. 

"Dystonia:

Dystonia can be a symptom of Parkinson's and some other diseases and is a movement disorder on its own. Painful, prolonged muscle contractions cause abnormal movements and postures, such as a foot turning inward or the head tilting sideways. The symptoms usually begin in one body region — neck, face, vocal cords, arm or leg — and, in some cases, may spread to other parts of the body. The severity varies from person to person."

Source: Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research

"How is young-onset PD different?

People diagnosed with YOPD have a more frequent family history of Parkinson’s disease and a longer survival. People living with young-onset PD may experience:

Slower progression of PD symptoms over time, staying functional and cognitively intact for longer duration

Less frequent cognitive problems such as dementia

More side effects from dopaminergic medications, such as more frequent dyskinesias (involuntary body movements)

Earlier and more frequent dystonias (cramping and abnormal postures) such as arching of the foot"

Source: Parkinson’s Foundation

Dystonia is a symptom/condition in itself, and wouldn’t mean that he experiences this issue constantly.

Also noting that he would have a slower progression of symptoms, giving him more time to work from the Garrison and go on missions, as well as less cognitive issues, at least right off the bat.

Note that Shiro doesn’t appear to have any sort of resting tremor (that at least we can see) meaning that this is likely not a symptom he experiences. Not everyone with Parkinson’s experiences tremors, and some don’t experience it as their first symptom (Hopkins Medicine).

The whole thing with Kuron (groaning from crowd)

I’m tired so I'll just say this: Shiro’s disease could potentially have spread. His dystonia symptoms could have spread to other parts of his body, or maybe his Parkinson’s started to cause a decline in his health. Maybe they fixed his condition within his brain when cloning him (whether with genes, chemical imbalances, etc) so that he wouldn’t be affected with the new body. Idk. 

Whoa okay so like that kind of makes sense maybe. Wouldn’t it be cool if we saw this in the show more??

As noted, this mention of any disease disappears chronologically or from the episode on out. Personally as a disabled person, I think it would have been kinda cool to explore how this impacts Shiro’s ability to lead Voltron, and what choices he makes related to it. (I have doodled stuff related to this hehe)

I also think it would have been cool to see TV representation of an interabled couple, if we got to explore things related to Adam more. Adam seemed like kind of a jackass in the whole *ahem* scene with him, focusing less on the idea that Shiro could die out in space and more on the idea that Shiro was leaving him (though don't get me started on what can be considered a flaw on Shiro’s part regarding that whole episode. Put the pitchforks down, I’m just throwing out ideas).

Anyway, in conclusion, 

Just like my other content, I have no idea how or why I cooked this. I'm assuming they did not have a neurologist on board for this show, and this is why you should fear a girl with a special interest

Also, suffer at the sight of my tab bar

Another voltron au

A frozen au were allura is elsa with lance as Anna and it's pretty much similar to frozen so allura had ice powers and lance like Anna has that weird strength to do things like toss a heavy marble statue bust and cut a thick rope made to hold people in one swing anyway her and lance used to be really close untill the accident that lance doesn't remember, Lotor as Hans of course the smooth talking hottie that turns out to be bad, maybe sendak as weasel town , Keith as Kristoff the loveable outcast whos not to good with people interaction who helps out the , Shiro as Sven the closest to Keith who helps him out, Hunk as olaf the cute warmhearted one who helps everyone, Coran and the Holts as servant family's that have been with the royal family for generations, The Holt children refer to him as Uncle an honorary title of course because everyone in the castle knows if you have something wrong or just need to talk go to Uncle Coran and even if he can't help you'll always feel better after talking to him and everyone also knows that little pouch he keeps on his belt is full of little wrapped chocolate for the really bad days the story follows the brother and sister for most parts but mostly lance but it's a slower story then frozen so theres more home to show how there lives are affected by everything and give more "screen time " to the other characters such as coran or maybe pidge and in the end it's still lance/Anna that throws themselves in front of the sword instead of kissing, and i love lance being girly as much as the next but i don't want it to be his man factor because I've seen a lot of fanfic using the fact Lance is bi to have him wear perfume and make up with crop tops and short shorts or skin tight clothing or even just leggings and a large sweater and like all the other characters as soon as they see the other side of lance like hes doing dance or a singer and its like how can this loud, obnoxious and annoying person that flirts with it as long as theres a pulse be the same person and im not completely against these things i just feel like if you make him all about that and acting like that you take away so much of who lance is and what kind of person he actually is but I've gotten off topic all because i wanted to say i think lance should havemore of a princely looking thing going on the a girly princess because i think it would fit with just making the two siblings even more different from each other but in the end it doesn' matter but ultimately i wouldn't care because like if i don't write it, its up too the writers personally taste for Lance but i know I'd like it no matter what

What i really want but don't have the talent to do fanfiction like other people is a Voltron au thats mostly about Keith and his galra mark except in this au it's something he has all his life as a birthmark so when he's younger he gets made fun of because of it and becomes how he is in cannon from all the bulling and starts wearing makeup at a young age to keep it covered and never goes anywhere without some sort of cover up and the only person who knows about it is shiro who has been his brother as long as Keith can remember and he ends up moving in with him because of stuff that happens with the parents and it's shiro, allura and matts finaly year and keith is now a junior along with hunk and lance and pidge a sophomore and coran is alluras uncle dont know what he should do anyway keith and lance don't get along at first because of a whatever reason and end up together because honestly im klance trash but i dont want it to be the main point of the story what i want to happen is that they all become friends with keith and lance as semi rivals and there at like pidges house because she has a pool so everyone is swimming around or in swimsuits exept for Keith because he likes his new friends but because of the bullying he's terrified of showing any one but maybe lance and hunk are rough housing near keith and he gets pushed in ruining the makeup covering his birthmark and he panics and runs away but shiro won't let anyone chase after him even though lance tries too and Keith avoids everyone even shiro and then lance confronts him and ends up being the person who helps Keith out the most because he understands on a personal level how Keith might be feeling over something like this himself originally from Cuba so lance like i already said but also the rest of them help keith slowly accept himself and his birthmark he doesn't have to stop wearing makeup or anything like that maybe not till a few years go by or something like that because its a story of being able to love yourself in a way you couldn't before

My favorite thing about that conversation between the two is that one of the last things Shiro saw Keith do before they got sucked into the wormhole was decide he could successfully 1v1 immortal space Hitler.

Like my man really saw Keith do the most stupid and impulsive thing he’s ever done and went “yeah that guy could lead Voltron”.

keith: shiro when you told me ‘be the leader’ i actually thought you were delirious with pain why the quiznak do u think i should lead :/

shiro: bc i know what you’re capable of :) also if you’re gonna be the leader you’re gonna need to completely change every aspect of your entire personality

ig / twi

oh my goodness gracious they are finished at laaaast

Shiro and Hunk from Voltron: Lgendary Defender :D these took a good while and while I unfortunately do not have any prints/stickers of them in time for Realmscon, I will have the originals for sale.

Shiro progress :D

Marigold, marigold, marigold~🎶 Shiro from Voltron, stapled and drying. Might print Hunk tonight too.

OH! Well, thank you @equalskiersten and @olkarianprincess for the chance to spread more of that quality Shidge content around. 

But be warned, my rating system is hella weird. (And a very long post ahead)

Black, Green and Everything in Between - By Diamond (I think they have a Tumblr, but I'm not sure where...)

Definitely the OG Shidge fanfic I think. Just about everyone who likes Shidge seems to have this on their list! And for good reason to, I'm a sucker for jealously and Pidge being treated good, so this fic is the best medicine after dealing with angst all day. 

Rating: Like having your favorite meal in your favorite coffee shop as you write/sketch for fun while catching your crush staring at you all puppy-eyed

Golden Madness - By Yours Truly (I SWEAR I’LL UPDATE THIS SOON MY DUDES) 

What can I say? It has Shidge, angst, MAJOR CANON DIVERGENCE LIKE HOLY CROW, angst, Lotidge, pretty dresses, angst, and music.

...did I mention angst?

Rating: You go to your crush’s wedding and the two of you share a look that would’ve been helpful before the whole “I Object!” thing. Yeah, too little, too late. You then proceed to get drunk off your teary butt.

Left Hand of the King - By @olkarianprincess (This fic or any of her other works tbh, it’s all amazing)

BLESS. THIS. FIC. Just - yes. A million times yes. Complete, wholesome, and just...I LOVE IT??? SO MUCH??? Also has Lotidge, so hopefully you like that. But, yes, this is a full 13 completed chapters and each one is glorious. The story, as a whole, is just really satisfying! 

Rating: Ditching some fancy pants party, shoes in hand, as you and your crush run through the sprinklers. Laughing and grinning like idiots even as your parents make offended gasping noises.

Nightmares in Arms - By running_with_luck (A oneshot that packs a punch!) 

I’m also?? Just a sucker for mutual comfort??? And quality love and support??? The angst in here just serves to make the comfort all the better and, as a whole, this fic brings a smile to my face every time I read it. 

Rating: Falling asleep on the couch as your crush pets your hair. Wearing your favorite sweater while rain pours down relentlessly outside. 

Hand-to-Hand Training - By ElfGrove (A shot of adrenaline in written form)

GIVE ME BAMF PIDGE OR GIVE ME DEATH! Death I say! Death! I dare you! Seriously though, I don’t really get to see a lot of Pidge kicking butt and taking names. And in this one she does both...to Shiro. Who DEFINITELY has a thing for girls who can kick his butt. The subtle feels are just too much for my heart to handle and I adore this fic with every fiber of my being. 

Rating: Walkin’ into the club with your favorite outfit on, Beyonce playing in the background,  and you look hot as hell. Which causes your crush to trip over their own feet and land directly into your awaiting arms. Let the swooning commence.

Lions Make Decent Wingmen - By @galacticlee (bc GOSH DARNIT WE NEED TO GET HER IN ON THESE THINGS)

Can I just say??? That??? Her art for this fic is gorgeous??? And??? You all need to see her Instagram??? But this fic is absolutely amazing. Still ongoing and well worth all the wait. The author has a really clear understanding of the characters. Its just so nice to see them portrayed so naturally and, generally, at ease. GOOD AND PURE AND WOULD DIE FOR.

Rating: First date at the movies. Really nervous but also really excited. Your crush tries to do the whole yawn-and-put-an-arm-around-you thing, but fails miserably. But the two of you laugh anyway and settle for holding buttery popcorn hands instead.

Thank you for sticking with me and hopefully you find something you like @grbgcn2! 

Question: Voltron

Can someone recommend me some Shidge fanfics? Please and thank you!

I’ve waited long enough...

I’ve waited long enough for good Kuron/Pidge material to appear and low and behold Season 5 practically gift wraps it for us.

We just gotta look closely.

Let me explain...

Can we just take a second to acknowledge just how out of control Kuron is getting after Haggar activates “Stage 4”? Boy full-on lashes out and threatens mutiny with the team.

BUT is still willing to hold Pidge back from Zarkon. Protecting the small angry tech nerd despite this “Stage 4”

Furthermore, they totally looked like an annoyed couple picking up Pidge’s dad at the airport after his flight was canceled.

Kuron was also incredibly upset during Pidge and Lotor’s argument. Dare I say, conflicted between his feelings (Pidge) and his programming (Lotor)?

During the part where they all nearly SUFFOCATED TO DEATH who was Kuron passed out next to?

Pidge

She also definitely looked rattled/offput by all kuron’s outbursts...she and lance need to have a talk...

Kuron never got close to Commander Holt, who was, supposedly, a well-respected colleague of his??? And no hug????

Pidge just seemed...off this season. Way more on edge and aggressive, maybe she noticed a thing or two but doesn’t want to accept it??? i.e.

She spending a lot of time away from Kuron.

Pidge just doesn’t seem as comfortable around Kuron anymore.

My conclusion: Kuron BEST step off my kids, someone needs to name this ship, and let’s get some good Kuron/Pidge content out there for rarepair’s sake.

Thank you all for coming to my ted talk.

GUYS I NEED HELP!!!

So, as you all know, Golden Madness is my baby and when I'm not stressing out about college/senior year, I'm working on that.

And now the Retrace Arc is done.

BUT HOLY HECK-A-DOODLE do I need your help!!!

What I need from you guys is to tell me if there was anything you guys found confusing or want me to talk about in the Retrace's End announcement.

Thank you!!! ❤️❤️❤️

Angsty Kuron/Pidge - Part 2 (Warning! Slightly NSFW)

Pidge Ship Week: Bonus Day 8 - Free Day

Which means that I gotta do some good ole fashioned Smutty Angst.

===

He knew he shouldn’t be doing this.

He knew he shouldn’t be this close to her. His mind screamed at him to stop. Begged him to not do anything stupid.

Anything like this.

Anything that consisted of holding Pidge in his arms. HIS arms that is, not Shiro’s, where she THOUGHT she was. Anything that included pressing their lips together. Or following her to her room. But it was easy to do these things to her.

Heartbreakingly easily.

She let him in her heart with little resistance. So trusting, it made him sick and, at the same time, dizzy with glee. But…the hard part was convincing HIMSELF that the one she wanted was HIM, not the man he looked like. 

That she wanted him, Kuron.

That the one who was supposed to feel the thin legs wrapped around his waist was actually HIM and not Shiro. The one who she wanted in her bed was HIM. HE was the one Pidge loved.

Not Shiro.

It was cruel to think otherwise. So Kuron chose to lose himself in her, in his lies. To lose himself in the way they dove down on her bed. In the way they moved together. 

In the way the little woman before him peeled off her baggy shirt. Pale, freckled skin bare for him to see. Smiling against the vibrant blush on her face. Gold eyes shimmering in such a way that seemed to beg him to touch her. 

He had to lie to himself then, that she loved him as he ran his hands along her skin. But God…did he love HER.

“Pidge.” Was all he could pant out as he rocked against her wet warmth. Hours, maybe minutes later. Naked in every way except the truth. His head buried in her hair. His voice practically BREAKING with need. Hands holding onto her like dying life.

“Oh God…Please…” Let him drown in her. Let him forget. Let him break and crumble underneath her gentle touch.

Let him be real in Pidge’s arms.

Let him fool himself in thinking that the one she was so eager to have between her legs was HIM. Let him lie to himself and say that the one she wanted in her bed was HIM. That the hands she wanted touching her chest were HIS.

Not Shiro’s.

She cried out, blunt nails scraping down his back. Catching on fabricated scars. Legs tightening around him. Shuddering and sobbing. And he tried not to think about how he deserved so much more pain for the lies he told her. For what they were doing right now.

She clung to him.

Kissed him.

Moved with him.

He didn’t last much longer after that. And, for once, he wasn’t riddled with guilt. Everything was just bliss. White-hot and gold. Everything was just her.

Pidge.

“I love you. I love you. I love you.” Even his whimpers were broken as he pressed kisses onto her neck, bare chest, and soft lips. Secretly, Kuron was happy. Ecstatic. 

She was HIS now.

Not Shiro’s. Not Lotor’s. HIS. He finally had something to his name, something he could hold on to…

She smiled at him.

Skin slick with sweat. Glowing brighter than a candle. Bangs clumping against a damp forehead. She was a mess in his arms.

She was the most beautiful thing he ever saw.

“I love you to.” There, that look in her golden eyes. That’s what broke him. With her hands on his face, its what made him dive down to claim her lips once more.

It’s what made him forget.

Forget who he was. What they just did. He felt real. He felt like a normal, actual human wrapped in the arms of the woman he loved. God, if there even WAS one, let him stay like this. With her. With her love in his artificial heart. Let him be human with her. Their lips slotted together, messy and lazy.

Happy.

“Shiro…” Pidge breathed softly as her hands rubbed the red welts she left on his scar-riddled back. He stilled. Something vital draining out of him.

He broke.

Make no mistake, Kuron didn’t facially react. He just stared at the small, smiling woman below him. With the golden eyes soft with love. With the honey-hued hair sprawled all around her pillow. He traced the line of her bare shoulder.

His heart bleeding.

He should’ve known. Should’ve recognized that he could never be happy. Not when Shiro was all Pidge could see. Not when he wasn’t human in the way that mattered. Who was he kidding? She could never want HIM. She could never belong to HIM, despite what they just did. 

Shiro still in her heart.

But for a second, a moment that will always haunt him, he had believed she had loved HIM, wanted HIM. Kuron looked down at the woman he loved. Who didn’t love him, not truly.

Not knowing whether to kiss her or kill her.

There was always a distance between them. A bridge that, no matter how hard Shiro tried, he could never cross. She was always moving, making, creating. She was getting ahead of life faster than he ever would. But it still wasn't enough. It wasn't enough for her to join them. To come with him and her family to unknown territories. Time was, and always will be, the killer.

Pidge Ship Week: Day 1 - Trust

===

He had hurt her.

“I trusted you! You promised me! You promised…” Sobs, loud and ugly, over took the Green Paladin’s small body. Her heart hurting too much. How could he? How could he? Was the only thing she could repeat in her head to keep her sane.

- Golden Madness, Chapter 7: Beloved, You Are

=== Sorry guys! I had to! ;)))))

CHAPTER 15 IS OUT! 

I REPEAT!

CHAPTER 15 IS OUT!

First Chapter-related post on Tumblr, so I honestly don’t know what to say except…SUFFER.

HAHA I’m joking! (no…not really)

So @lotidge @galacticlee @olkarianprincess @risingpheonix527 (people I know who have DEFINITELY read GM) Enjoy! 

Ok but how about some Angsty Kuron/Pidge???

He knows.

He knows how much the person he's SUPPOSED to be, the person he is to Voltron, loves her. Loves that cunning little firecracker of a woman. He knows. He understands.

Because so does he.

But when she looks at him with those gilded gold eyes, how can he not want to break down then and there? How can he not want to grab her, shake her and tell her to look at HIM. Not who she thinks he is. Because every soft look, every smile she gives him...they aren't his.

They're Shiro's.

The man he looks like, sounds like, walks like, breathes like. The man everyone looks up to. The man Pidge loves. The man whose lucky enough to be the recipient of such precious affection.

And he can never be him.

No matter how much he wants to be.

why is lance's only trait being allura's boyfriend??? everyone, even allura's own dad, thanked lance for choosing her and loving her but like what about lance???

what about the things he had to sacrifice becauee he accidentally became a paladin??? he had to leave his family behind and i bet every single day he misses them, his mom, dad, sister, niece and nephews but he hides it behind a smile because what else can he do??? hes in the middle of nowhere in space and hes got responsibilities on his shoulders because hes a paladin, what about when those responsibilities become too much for him??? hes still a young boy, about 16 or 17 im gonna guess. what about the numerous amount of times he felt insecure and unworthy and unloved and undeserving??? how come no one told him that they are proud of him for the things that he did and how deserving he is of the love and care from others???

do they all see him as the boy who fell in love with allura at first glance who then accomplished his dream of being her boyfriend???

like im sorry but this is a hate crime

first of all the relationship was one-sided from the beginning. allura never saw lance as a potential partner material. the only thing that happened between them was lance's huge crush on her. allura never noticed it nor did she care to. thats it.

you cant just tell me she went and fell in love with lotor and then found lance when she was looking for a replacement. if that did happen, thats pretty disrespectful to lance but also allura would never do something like that.

i was actually quite shocked that the writers made them a couple. they literally have no chemistry together whatsoever. even allura didnt deserve this. i mean, lance is a great guy and is a great partner but allura had so much more development to do i just -

ahhhh!!!