[ID: View of the sunset over a river with a curved bridge in the background while POV is standing next to a long line of red, large containers]
Ren had always been the weak one. Even at their birth, this truth was as clear as day the moment he came tumbling out of his mother’s womb ten minutes after his sister—only to be revealed as smaller, frailer. A tiny, red, ugly thing with more breath to wail, than sense to keep it in and sustain itself. He had seen the photos and videos, he knew how much it needed it.
A twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome, was what his mother called it one night as she recounted stories of his and Lin’s childhood over dinner. It had been a month after the divorce when she began telling stories of her own, the large vacuum that sucked all the sound out of meals those past few weeks perhaps too much even for her. The steady, rhythmic crunch of apples cleaving into two was the only other accompaniment in the silence of the room as Ren sat at a table too big for two and listened. Twins are always born smaller than single children but, sometimes, you can have one be even smaller. It could be because the womb wasn’t able to provide enough oxygen or nutrients to the both of you, or maybe even because the other just happened to be in a place that had better access to those nutrients, but… You were born so small, Ren. When I first saw you, I was so worried that maybe you might not make it. But I guess I didn’t need to, huh?
Her hands, worn down from years and years of constant, rough work till they became as smooth and raw as glass from the sea, reached out to touch him. It was with her clean hand, but even still, she flipped it over to the back and lovingly rubbed his cheek, her knuckles warm and comforting against the chill of his skin. He leaned in and sighed.
So, even in the womb, Lin could still find ways to thrive where options were scarce. Maybe it was indeed by chance, that it was her and not him, but in an odds of 50-50 where the chips were down and anyone could be chosen, he wasn’t at all surprised that it was Lin. It was both comforting and agonising, knowing that nothing could change them.
It was unbearable, yes, yet also not at all.
When they were younger, Ren was slower at everything. From walking, to tying his shoes, to doing his homework, to opening up his ethra pores, Ren was a perfect study of what would happen if a tortoise reincarnated as a human. And the results were, frankly, pretty sad and pathetic. He needed Lin’s help all the time. Everything he did, she supervised. Everything he did, she could do better.
He remembered one time, in primary school, she did well. Extraordinarily well. So well, that by Primary 2, she was better at the basics of ethra than all of their schoolmates and most adults. Even their teacher. He could never forget what she said when, a month into the new school year, their teacher asked her whether she wanted to join the P.E. class of the year above them.
She had been pulled away from the school field for a quiet discussion, but her voice still carried over to the rest of the class when she asked, after a long pause, whether Ren would be able to join her. He hadn’t looked up, focused entirely on his ethra and the barrier flickering above him, but he could still feel the sudden stilling and awkward shifting of his classmates as they quickly glanced at him, wondering, thinking, their stares burning him without even a single touch.
He was the only one in their entire cohort who had to take the re-test for activation the year before. It had been the easiest of the basics to master, but he still failed anyway. Just like he failed every single other ethra test for the past year and a half.
He couldn’t hear their teacher’s reply to Lin, but the outcome was obvious. Their classmates looked away as she settled on the grass next to him. When he finally worked up the nerve to quietly ask her why she rejected him, she simply just shrugged and said, “Why should I? You’re not there.”
You’re not there.
He was speechless. What? Just because of that, and she didn’t want to go? What difference would have his presence made? Even during their extra training back at home, she was in a different skill group from him, placed all the way up with their cousins several years older. She was fine then, what was the difference now?
What was the difference between them now?
In the end, he said nothing. Next year, he knew, the school would begin segregating everyone into classes of different calibre, even beginning subject banding. Him and Lin would not be together in any single one of them. He did not tell her any of this, however. Just simply asked for help in fortifying his barrier again. And Lin, like always, extended her hand out readily for him.
This was not the only time it happened.
There were countless, countless more where Lin would win at a clan competition and drag him up onto the stage with her, or give a speech at school and cited him as her reason why. Or even when she ran out of bookshelf space to keep all her trophies and medals and asked for a glass case for the both of them to share—but all of it ending up as hers anyway.
It was unbearable, yet also not.
It was painful, yet also not.
It wasn’t as if he was mad, or even jealous of her. Lin would be Lin no matter what he did, there was no use getting upset over what she does and doesn’t do.
It’s just.
He wanted to be stronger. He wanted to be truthful. He didn’t want to stand on the same stage as her, pretending that they were the same when they clearly weren’t.
He didn’t want to be her precious baby brother, he wanted to be her equal.
The differences between them had always been stark, beating out even the contrast of light and shadows, night and day. Where she was loud, bold, and carefree, he was quiet, unassuming, and rigid. If it hadn’t been for that one fertilised egg splitting apart deep in their mother’s uterus all those years ago, there’d be absolutely nothing connecting them together. Except for chance.
He hated leaving things up to chance.
It didn’t matter who he was or what he was like, as long as he was her twin, she’d love him anyway. If he was just a random classmate of hers, she wouldn’t look at him twice, much less become friends.
He couldn’t stand that. He absolutely hated knowing it had nothing to do with him and everything to do with blood.
Lin always told him that no matter what, they had each other, but she could never understand what it was like standing next to her knowing he could never measure up no matter how much he tried, but still making the attempt anyway.
His whole life was just a series of trying and never reaching.
Aren’t you tired? He wanted to ask. Aren’t you tired of pretending? Of always helping? Of dragging me around, hoping that I can one day drag myself?
But maybe he was the foolish one in the end. After all, wasn’t it him who, every single day for nearly all his life, still found his way to the starting line and prepared himself for the run?
“I want to become a Zodiac! I think I could do it, don’t you, Ren?”
Maybe he really was a masochist. Or maybe he was just that hopeless.
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Rules: Congrats! Your book has been adapted into a movie or show! What background character are you going to play for your cameo? And what visual medium would best suit your book?
Ideally, I'd want The 13 Zodiacs to be adapted into an anime, maybe by Bones Studio, KyoAni, Production I.G., Mappa, or Ufotable. As for who I'd cameo, I'd love for my character to be one of those random Singaporeans Ren passes by while shopping in the wet market
Tagging @justahalfling, @hearteyeswrites, @kittensartswriting, @slightlyunderokayartist, @booksnotbookies, @sheabutterskyes, @fleetingfictions and whoever else wants to jump in ^w^
The lights were stark in their brightness against the backdrop of a cloudless night sky. Hung beneath rows and rows of lines anchored across post to post, a multitude of lanterns swayed in time to the clash of cymbals and beating of drums down below. At the very epicentre of the Yang Clan’s courtyard, a lion soared through the open air. Landing neatly on their feet, the crew of lion dancers snaked their way across the square to where a trail of fruits dotted the ground. Peering down at a particularly bright orange in curiosity, the lion blinked once before swooping down to gobble it whole. A round of laughter, whoops, and cheers rang across the open grounds.
Up above, where two dark shadows could be seen sprinting across tiled rooftops with lanterns resting atop their heads, one of them paused briefly to chortle at the sight, before quickly straightening up when overtaken by the other. Grinning fiercely, the two continued their rapid race across rooftops with renewed vigour. Leaping from building to building, spinning over dragon ornaments, and zigzagging their way beyond each other's grasps, they vaulted over the final hurdle and into the garden awaiting them below. Dropping into a barrel roll, the two bowled one after the other over the perfectly manicured lawn and right into the expectant feet of their parents. Snapping up, the two twins shoved their lanterns straight into open arms and quickly stepped back, awaiting the results with bated breaths.
But even before their parents could peer through the holes and check the flames, Ren already knew that he lost. @tate-lin
When Ren was still 12-years-old, he could only think of how small the world was. In this tiny universe of his where the sun always shone no matter the day or month of the year, only him and his family existed in this effortless paradise.
Living in a quaint temple seated atop a hill where Singapore ends and the sea begins, he and his many cousins would spend lazy weekends chasing each other across courtyards and undertaking expeditions through the leafy evergreens of their backyard forest, pretending that they were brave adventurers roaming the wilderness, searching the unknown. And every evening, as the sun’s rays began to fade into a velvety indigo sky, their bruised feet, dripping mouths, and rumbling bellies would find their way back to the temple and into the warm, cramped dining hall where happiness awaits.
It was a simple, peaceful existence, only broken by very few events.
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Jogo 13Z inspirado em Genshin Impact tem playtest liberado
O jogo 13Z, inspirado em Genshin Impact e nas lendas do Zodíaco, tem seu playtest global liberado, permitindo que jogadores explorem o jogo.
#13z #indiegames #playtest #genshinimpact #gaming #mixedrealms #steam #gamer
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Mixed Realms, el estudio independiente responsable de juegos como Sairento VR y Gordian Quest, anuncia su nuevo título en desarrollo, 13Z. Este juego de acción y aventuras roguelike, inspirado en la rica tradición de los zodíacos chinos, cautivará a los jugadores con su combinación de combates de ritmo rápido, personalización profunda y un mundo inmersivo impregnado de mitos y leyendas.
En 13Z,…
