A FEW RARE THINGS I HAVE IRL THAT Y'ALL CAN ADD TO YOUR CHARACTERS
take it from a fucking expert first off, i have every single one of these things mentioned
might update this later but I donno haha
topics:
raynaud's disease (cold hands)
club thumbs (pretty self-explanitory)
invisalinge (this is new but it fucking sucks)
below the cut!
(also READ THE FUCKING COMMENTS because some people know more abt this than me)
RAYNAUD'S DISEASE
I've had this ever since I was a kid. It's not great, but it's also not terrible.
what it is:
blood vessels in your fingers/hands/feet are WEAK so whenever you get cold those motherfuckers decide to shrink
what it looks like:
discolouration on fingertips/fingernails/toes, usually purple or (in bad cases) blue
what it feels like:
really fucking cold. like jesus christ how the fuck are human hand this cold.
other things to know/basically all of the stuff:
there's two types of this. one is 'oh shit you got this other thing and raynaud's is a side effect, you need to go to a hospital' and the other is 'haha congrats you were born with this because it runs in your family. thank your ancestors :>'. this DOES NOT apply to fit people, because their hearts are stronger. if you're a skinny lil' thing like me, it applies. a lot. it's also kinda annoying at times because it shows up when you are even a bit cold or stressed. and yes, you can feel it if you reach up to scratch your neck or something. everyone can feel your hands and be all 'oh shit that's cold'. raynaud's attacks sometimes just randomly happen. so if you're gonna write about a character with this, make sure you actually mention it if they're having a surprise raynaud's attack and either grab someone else's arm or accidentally touch themselves. most people--including yourself--don't expect your hands to be that fucking cold.
2. CLUB THUMBS
yay I like this one haha but it's kinda inconvient
(THIS IS THE BORN-WITH ONLY BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT I HAVE. WILL NOT FOCUS ON GETTING IT FROM OTHER DISEASES BECAUSE I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW THAT FUCKING EXISTED UNTIL ABOUT TWENTY MINUTES AGO)
what it is:
fucking weird thumbs? the tip of the thumb is kinda smooshed
(here's a pic I found to better show it, clubbed thumb is on the left)
what it looks like:
see above. weirdass thumbs.
what it feels like:
normal, mostly. unless your character uses them for something, like me. I play saxophone. as a result, my bones have shifted in my thumbs and they click every time I curl them.
other things to know/basically all the stuff:
okay so the scientific name is brachydactyly type D (sounds like a dinosaur haha). you're born with this, it's a medical 'condition'. thumbprint scanners kinda work...but they're harder than normal. the other fingers look longer thanks to the clubbed thumbs. this affects about 2% of the population. some other names of club thumbs are stub thumb, murderer's thumb, toe thumb, potter's thumb, and royal thumb. stub and toe thumb is because of the appearance. potter's thumb comes from the odd idea that the thumb was developed by a potter. murderer's thumb is because people USED TO think that if you had this, you were violent (false but interesting, I definitely recommend making a character with club thumbs in a story that takes place early on). royal thumb is because it happened a lot in european royal families (pretty sure it was a sign of inbreeding but hey what do I know).
3. INVISALIGN
this is my least favourite ugh
what it is:
plastic on your teeth to straighten them
what it looks like:
clear coating on teeth from up close. can't see anything except oddly shiny teeth from a small distance away.
what it feels like:
sore. sore sore sore. feels like each tooth's interior gum is sore.
other stuff/basically all the stuff:
okay so you get this put on by an orthodontist. it kinda sucks because they apply these weird bumps to each tooth that needs to be moved (the stuff they use tastes horrible) and those weird bumps scrape against your lips and can FALL OFF. so no eating hard stuff (sorry gay guys). then the invisa plastic snaps onto your teeth. swelling of the gums does happen and it sucks. soreness during the night does happen and it sucks. it's better than braces...but not by much. the time you have to wear them varies. what can happen (read: what happened to me) is that you can have pretty good teeth (like holy fuck how did you get teeth so straight, my teeth used to be straighter than ME for god's sake) and then there's only a few imperfections. you get invisalign to fix everything. model teeth. i'm on a fourteen-week plan. it's terrible and I hate it...but if i'm gonna model again for lululemon then i'm gonna look damn good.
I have genetically clubbed thumbs that are widely known as toe thumbs. They are the bane of my existence and make certain activities very difficult. For example, using a lighter.
Here is a photo for comparison (my thumb is on the left)
