@xinjinmeng Excuse me, why do I deserve to be called out like this?

(♥️)

Follow

@Phorm This reminds me, I was pondering Genie Metaphysics the other day after another horror-fantasy binge, and I was wondering what would happen if someone just grasped the nettle and wished: "I wish we could just all have something nice for once without some cynical asshole screwing it up," leaving the granter to deal with the implicit callout.

Doesn't really apply to you, because it's more for the Cruel Twisted Genies, not the Fun Peril Genies like you, but I still wanted your feedback...

Too much djinnformation 

@zebratron2084

I am immediately reminded of the conclusion to "Roadside Picnic", wherein the final words of the story are the wish "Happiness, free, for everyone, and let no one be forgotten!"

Though that might be a bad comparison, really, given the mechanics of that story.

Hrm, were I to wager how my ancient malevolent Djinn forbearers were to interpret such a wish, it would be along the lines of dismal hope.

Everyone would get something nice for once. And then it'd be over, and gone, and we'd all be that much more miserable for having experienced how things COULD be, and struggle desperately to go BACK.

Standard human stuff, really. Turns out you don't need to do elaborate twisting most of the time. Humans do a good job of twisting up themselves.

. . .

Now if -I- got that wish, depending on who's making it, there'd be a worldwide geniefication orgy. With some amount of latex, gender warping, dronification, etc. thrown into the mix. We'd all fall down the bottle for a day, then just go about normal life the day after feeling refreshed and boy wasn't that a wild dream I had last night...

re: Too much djinnformation 

@Phorm See, this is why I'd only accept wishes from you or your protegés...<3

re: Too much djinnformation 

@Phorm Also, that's a good solution/warning! I think the wish-bearer giving something nice and then cruelly taking it away _themselves_ would violate the "cynical asshole" proviso (and I'd have to retain a wish lawyer!).

BUT... all they'd have to do is calculatedly give us something nice that humans have a long history of enjoying and then corrupting and then ruining, (Skekses-style, if you're watching DC:AOR). And the genie could give it to us with all good wishes that we wouldn't fuck it up this time, even genuinely hope that we won't... and just leave it up to us, thus totally abiding by the wording of the wish.

So... they could give us just about anything really. Look at what they did to that nice Jewish carpenter kid with the long hair. >__<

re: Too much djinnformation 

@zebratron2084

Yuuuup. Quite agreed. Realistically, without continuous enchanted engagement, humanity is going to fuck it up somewhere. Give 'em limitless energy, for example. Don't even hook in one of those 'dark awful catches'. No need for it to be powered by the tears of a child or anything. They'll find a way to exclude people from it, make it artificially scarce, and/or just use it to vaporize their brethren with different pigmentation.

Really, I like my plan better, even long term. Better happy mindless drones serving ascended racoons, than a global scourge.

(Also, much ♥️ for the question! Always love getting these.)

Sign in to participate in the conversation
Awoo Space

Awoo.space is a Mastodon instance where members can rely on a team of moderators to help resolve conflict, and limits federation with other instances using a specific access list to minimize abuse.

While mature content is allowed here, we strongly believe in being able to choose to engage with content on your own terms, so please make sure to put mature and potentially sensitive content behind the CW feature with enough description that people know what it's about.

Before signing up, please read our community guidelines. While it's a very broad swath of topics it covers, please do your best! We believe that as long as you're putting forth genuine effort to limit harm you might cause – even if you haven't read the document – you'll be okay!