Post by arbitran on Oct 28, 2012 3:51:05 GMT -5
At the age of six or seven, I discovered that the sun began to appear more powerful than it had before; my eyes often couldn't adapt, and I would squint severely when everyone else would be perfectly fine. My skin was very warm and uncomfortable in direct sunlight; though in shade it felt very natural. After a year or so, I found that after having been in harsh direct sunlight for long periods of time, I developed a very severe sunburn; one that extended over my entire body, even parts which were never touched by sunlight. I have never tanned in sunlight.
The sunburn began to peel very severely, with pain, and yet with such a sensation that I was compelled to peel it off manually, in as large of patches as I was able. Eventually, effectively the entirety of my epidermis was shed, and this same has never occurred since; my skin is noticeably paler after this ordeal as well. It is worthy of note that my uncle and cousin have experienced the same; my cousin, however, having developed mottled dark patches on his arms and neck, where the burns were most severe, and appear to have permeated and remained permanently.
My canine teeth have been noted as being unusually long, strong, and sharp. I have, since the same sunburn-experience, developed a compulsion to -- when I am not eating actual meat -- bite and tear the skin from my lips. I have never experienced any pain from this. I have also tended to have an unfortunate habit of nail-biting; my fingernails, though partly translucent, are quite sturdy, and grow quickly and rather sharp if left untrimmed.
During the day, when outside, in direct sunlight, I am extremely uncomfortable, and lose energy very rapidly; I can become genuinely ill from these effects after an hour or two without shade. For this reason I elect to stay indoors most often. At night however, I appear to exhibit superior nocturnal-vision, and I am overtly comfortable (this was far from the case prior to the sunburn ordeal). I usually am awake almost all night, and when I do eventually sleep, it is typically for rather long periods, and I seldom dream (though when I do, they are extremely vivid, and often prescient).
My senses have been described as superior in nearly every respect; my vision is evidently keen, my hearing and auditory memory superb, my tactition sharp enough to be unsettled by extremely minor stimuli (which can often lead to incessant discomfort; particularly outdoors). The only sense I appear to lack in is smell: I cannot detect a range of various scents which are described as perfectly perceptible, some even strong, by others; though there are a few exceptions, such as salt, which others describe as scentless, which I can detect quite powerfully.
I also experience notable reactions to fires of reasonable scale; when I am in close proximity to campfires, I feel significant sensations of what can only be described as burning throughout my entire body, principally in my skin. The sensations can grow to be extremely unpleasant, and only dissipate once the fire has been extinguished.
The scent and taste of blood is also noteworthy. Even very small quantities of blood (so much as a single drop) can yield a very noticeable and nearly intoxicating smell and taste to me, though others do not appear to experience the same (apart from my uncle and cousin). The sight of blood has always fascinated me, inexplicably.
So, what am I? Am I really a vampire?
The sunburn began to peel very severely, with pain, and yet with such a sensation that I was compelled to peel it off manually, in as large of patches as I was able. Eventually, effectively the entirety of my epidermis was shed, and this same has never occurred since; my skin is noticeably paler after this ordeal as well. It is worthy of note that my uncle and cousin have experienced the same; my cousin, however, having developed mottled dark patches on his arms and neck, where the burns were most severe, and appear to have permeated and remained permanently.
My canine teeth have been noted as being unusually long, strong, and sharp. I have, since the same sunburn-experience, developed a compulsion to -- when I am not eating actual meat -- bite and tear the skin from my lips. I have never experienced any pain from this. I have also tended to have an unfortunate habit of nail-biting; my fingernails, though partly translucent, are quite sturdy, and grow quickly and rather sharp if left untrimmed.
During the day, when outside, in direct sunlight, I am extremely uncomfortable, and lose energy very rapidly; I can become genuinely ill from these effects after an hour or two without shade. For this reason I elect to stay indoors most often. At night however, I appear to exhibit superior nocturnal-vision, and I am overtly comfortable (this was far from the case prior to the sunburn ordeal). I usually am awake almost all night, and when I do eventually sleep, it is typically for rather long periods, and I seldom dream (though when I do, they are extremely vivid, and often prescient).
My senses have been described as superior in nearly every respect; my vision is evidently keen, my hearing and auditory memory superb, my tactition sharp enough to be unsettled by extremely minor stimuli (which can often lead to incessant discomfort; particularly outdoors). The only sense I appear to lack in is smell: I cannot detect a range of various scents which are described as perfectly perceptible, some even strong, by others; though there are a few exceptions, such as salt, which others describe as scentless, which I can detect quite powerfully.
I also experience notable reactions to fires of reasonable scale; when I am in close proximity to campfires, I feel significant sensations of what can only be described as burning throughout my entire body, principally in my skin. The sensations can grow to be extremely unpleasant, and only dissipate once the fire has been extinguished.
The scent and taste of blood is also noteworthy. Even very small quantities of blood (so much as a single drop) can yield a very noticeable and nearly intoxicating smell and taste to me, though others do not appear to experience the same (apart from my uncle and cousin). The sight of blood has always fascinated me, inexplicably.
So, what am I? Am I really a vampire?