Right. Before I get started, allow me to excuse explain this particular spiel, or at least the reasons behind it.

I've been reading a lot of ATF-verse fic lately (All hail the awesomeness that is Mog) and the particular fics which brought this one were the 'Denuo' series, which I ran across on Blackraptor, and 'More than One Kind of Hero', which was recced on mag7ficfind.

For those of you who haven't read the series, or who need reminding, in one of the fics in the series Chris is diagnosed with leukaemia. And in MTOKOH, Ezra and Buck have to be tested for HIV.

I'd also been reading OW fics, and it occurred to me that in the OW-verse, many relatively common disorders wouldn't have been recognised or even known of. So I watched S1 again with that thought in the back of my head, and the more I watched, the more convinced I became that Ezra has Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome.

Now I realise that few (if any) people will have heard of it, so allow me to explain. Ehlers-Danlos is a genetic defect which affects collagen production. Symptoms are many and varied, but some of them include: unusual flexibility, tendency to frequent dislocations (particularly of the hips and shoulders), very soft skin, slow healing, tendency to scar easily, low blood pressure, dizziness, fainting spells, resistance and/or adverse reaction to painkillers and sedatives...you get the picture.

The important ones here are the dislocations, the soft skin, and the reaction to drugs. These are some of the most common symptoms, but more importantly they're all characteristics that Ezra has.

Soft skin for starters. "Tactile sensitivity". I rest my case.

The major one is the dislocations. In 'Ghosts of the Confederacy', Ezra dislocates his left shoulder. I've watched the scene over and over again, and the only way a fall that minor could have caused an injury like that is if the joint was already unstable. Also, his surprisingly controlled reaction leads me to believe that this isn't an infrequent occurrence. A dislocated shoulder is agony. How well he deals with it is a fairly sure indication that he's had to do so on more than one occasion before.

Hmm... I've just realised that my 'drugs' point is actually fairly weak, since I genuinely can't remember if Ezra's consistent refusal to take laudanum is canon or fanon. But if it is canon, then this is a valid point.

Oh well. Cease babble. I don't know if rants need to be declared open or closed like universes, but if anyone is crazy enough to use my waffling as a plot bunny, feel free.</lj>