L: Hello! I’m Lynn Reynolds [she/her], the Production Manager of RubicOnline.
E: And I’m Evan Reynolds [he/him], the Assistant Editor in Chief of the Yearbook
L: And this is … TWINSTINCT, a podcast where Evan and I will talk about whatever’s going on in our minds. Will we have telepathic connections or will we disagree like siblings are supposed to? … I don’t know! In this episode, we’re going to talk about random questions that people ask when they figure out that we’re twins. Um. Yeah. What’s a question people always ask you when they find out you have a twin sister?
E: I always get, like, “How much older is your twin? You’re older? Whose younger?” stuff like that.
L: … What’s the actual answer?
E: Well I’m older by four minutes of course.
L: Are there any interesting stories that come with that?
E: Not off the top of my head, but I know you don’t think I act four minutes older sometimes.
L: That’s true. You’re also supposed to say the story when like, I say something and you say something, or like, you say something and I’m like what? And then you’re like, you’ll understand in four minutes.
E: Nah, you would have to say that.
L: No, you’ve always said that.
E: No you would have to say that though, I’m not bringing that up.
L: Like. Okay okay okay. So, what’s another thing that people ask us? Do we really have twin telepathy?
E: Um. Yes. We do.
L: Should we try it right now?
E: Nah. We definitely don’t have twin telepathy. I don’t think that’s real, but when we were younger and people were more gullible we used to pull that trick.
L: Yeah, I don’t really know why people believe in twin telepathy. Maybe they’re just saying that as a joke, but I don’t think it’s that funny anymore. What about you?
E: I feel like it can be real. I’ve heard stories about people will know when something bad has happened to their twin, like, across the world. Like an intuition.
L: Oh yeah. I used to watch these videos where it was, like, this twin got in a car crash and a couple of seconds later the other twin died of something too.
E: Yeah.
L: Do you think that will happen to us if one of us gets in a fatal incident? Do you think its likely?
E: No. Probably not. A lot of interesting stuff comes with being a twin, like, I feel like branching out more. To some people, you’re known as Evan, but with other people, you’re known as Lynn’s twin or Lynn’s brother. It’s the same for you as well I would say. Do you have any thoughts on this?
L: Yeah. I feel like, ‘cause everyone’s like, it’s so cool being a twin, and it actually kind of is. I have a built-in B-F-F. But it’s kind of weird. I feel like we know everything that goes on, you know, I feel like if one of us was older, then maybe we would be more rebellious teens, you know?
E: Exactly. Most people who are an only child, they’re like, Oh my gosh, it’d be great if I had a twin, but the reality is that most twins probably won’t get along. I guess I’m just lucky to get along with my sister. We don’t really even share common interests, it’s just like, we get along. I feel like that’s rare. It’s definitely nice having a twin sister for me. In general, people really hype it up.
L: Yeah. Sometimes I wish you were older. It’s kind of cool though, we get to go through the same stuff, you know? We can ask and look at each other’s homework and stuff, but I feel like it’s kinda nice having an older sibling because college and experiences you’ll be able to know about already. We’re going in blindly together!
E: It’s different in that way. I can’t get any guidance, you can’t get any guidance from me. We’re the same age. As you said, we’re going through the same things at the same time. If I had an older sister, or you had an older brother or something, it’d be a different story. We’d be shaped in completely different ways.
L: Mhmm. Do you have any questions that you really hate people asking you?
E: The dumbest question is “Are you guys identical?”
L: Yeah, you gotta be… stupid to ask that question. It’s obvious. Identical only- you can only be identical to someone if they’re two of the same gender.
E: I’ll just mention, oh I have a twin sister, and they’ll be like, are you guys identical or something?
L: It’s so annoying. I’m sorry.
E: If they really knew me they wouldn’t ask that, but…
L: A conversation starter.
E: Having a twin, you just think, if someone says they have a twin, automatically you’d think that they’re the same gender.
L: Yeah, because like, twin; they’re literally the clone of you.
E: … People automatically assume I have a twin brother, but in reality, I’m fraternal.
L: It’s kind of like a recognition symbol, I don’t know if this is the right word, because I work at a supermarket…
E: Oh you do?
L: … And sometimes people come by with two children. I’m trying to think of stuff to say, you know, I gotta be friendly and stuff, so I’m like “oh are they twins?” and they’re like “yeah!” and I’ll be like, “Oh I’m a twin!” I can use that sometimes. It’s kind of weird. I’m glad we’re fraternal though. Because I don’t know if is this is not something I should say on a publication, well I don’t know, because I just feel kind of bad for people who are identical, you know?
E: Nah.
L: I know sometimes we feel like we’re tied to each other like what we were saying, like “Lynn’s brother,” and “Evan’s sister,” but they’re actually. I just feel like they can’t have an identity separate from each other (as children who still live together…). Identical twins feel free to comment.
E: I definitely wouldn’t feel bad…
L: Yeah, it wouldn’t be bad, it would be kind of fun.
E: I don’t feel bad for people who are identical…
L: Oh! Not like bad…
E: I’ve seen identical twins that look pretty different from each other.
L: Oh different styles and stuff?
E: No, like actually look different.
L: That’s not identical! You can still be fraternal
E: Lynn. Stop. Lynn. Stop. Identical twins are just the same gender.
L: No no no no! That’s not exactly what it is. I’m just saying, like hypothetically if we looked really similar, I mean I don’t know if we look similar or not – I guess we do, you can’t be identical if you’re a girl and a boy. You can still have girls and girls and boys and boys who are fraternal. It’s rare.
E: So you’re telling me a boy twin and another boy twin can be… fraternal?
L: Yeah. I swear. I swear that’s true.
E: How?
L: I just know that’s true.
E: Alright. I think it’s just the gender thing.
L: No no no! One time I was talking to someone. I know that’s true.
E: I guess we’re twins we should know all the facts but, we don’t.
L: Except all the twins I can think of who are the same gender are identical. I don’t know actually. Maybe. Yeah. I think that’s it’s pretty nice being a twin.
E: If you had a twin that really looked like you, that’s the type of stuff that’s in a movie. The basis of a move, right? You’d definitely be seen as really tied to your twin counterpart or whatever, but that’s a one in a billion chance.
L: It’s cool to think about how unique that stuff is.
E: It’s just a crazy chance to be a twin and much less have an identical twin that looks like you. If I had an identical twin, I wouldn’t take that for granted because that’s crazy.
L: Yeah, that’s true.
E: I think it’s pretty cool.
L: It’d be nice. I think we have different subject interests, so if I could take this chemistry test for you, if we were identical, you know? And then you could take whatever you want to take of mine.
E: Facts.
L: That’s what I always think [when I think of identical twins]. I remember there were these identical twins in sixth grade, and I always ask them “Yo, do you ever take each other’s tests?”
E: Oh. Yeah. There are some twins that I know where I actually can’t tell them apart.
L: I don’t know how I feel about that.
E: They’d have to wear different color shoes so people know who it is.
L: I’m sure that no twin has the exact same interests. I feel stylistically, there must be ways to distinguish them.
E: Yeah.
L: I don’t know. Thank you for listening to our first episode. Do you have any closing words?
E: Thank you for tuning in. More episodes are on the way. We’re going to cover a variety of topics.
L: Not just twins, this is our introduction ep.
E: So, yes. Stay tuned.
L: Happy …. quarantine.