• Xe/xer, they/them

Programmer, shapeshifter, purveyor of kinks. Born in 1991.

18+ ONLY please

SFW nerdery (with occasional politics) page is @artie-codecrafter


PhormTheGenie
@PhormTheGenie
Lilium-Mortem
@Lilium-Mortem asked:

Genie lore question: are there any rules to what wishes are possible to grant? Like the classic no raising people from the dead/ no making people fall in love/ no wishing for more wishes rules? Or are there some wishes too powerful to be granted, like "I wish to be god-emperor of all reality"?

It depends heavily on the wish, honestly.

No wish is explicitly forbidden, in such a manner as to be forbidden from the word "go". But some wishes require such a massive investment of magical energy, or would cause such monumental havoc to the universe, that genies really don't like to grant them.

If you wish for such a thing from an experienced genie, you're going to get either A) A pretty thorough and patient explanation as to why that's a bad idea, or B) Get your wish seriously twisted, depending on what the genie feels about you.

Also, genies can sense your deepest desire - and the true motivation - behind every wish. They're on the hook for granting that, rather than the explicit word-for-word spoken wish that comes out of your mouth.

So if you, say, wish for the entire universe to collapse into a singularity, from which it can never be recovered, that all of creation be blighted into oblivion in the blink of an eye - she might just give you a really soft hug, a cup of tea, and lend an ear to your problems. Because maybe you just really need a friend in that moment.

Genies can also sense when the intent behind a wish is, simply put, vile. So if someone gets a hold of a bottle and makes some damned fool regressive wish, you can bet that one is getting turned around on them ASAP.

Of course, a lot of these considerations are nuanced and conditional. When you're fresh out of the lamp and going through introductions, sometimes it's just a lot easier to say "These wishes are off limits" than say "TECHNICALLY these wishes are within my power, but due to a number of reasons related to conservation of energy and causality, they are ill-advised". A whiff of deception, perhaps, but it keeps things moving along without getting too far into the weeds. Most people holding a genie botle don't care about the hoes or whys of genie-ness. They just really want their wishes. So a bit of polish on the delivery, and this method keeps everyone happy.

(Oh, and wishing for infinite wishes is, and always will be, a one-way ticket to geniefication. You set us up that blatantly? Yeah, we're gonna act on it.)


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in reply to @PhormTheGenie's post:

It’s always delightful to see your genie lore posts and also quite often thought-provoking; I am now wondering how to handle conflicting genie limitations in a crossover and hesitating between the comic book rule (whose universe is it? Or in the case of social media posts, who started the thread?) or the « each genie follows their own rules » method.

I like that your genies can absolutely go « Here’s a cup of tea, the way you like it, dear. Now what was that really about, hun? » It’s kinder than most lores, and probably explains why you’re not nearly as much into wish twisting as I am (or at least I don’t think you are?). When the universe remaining upright depends on not granting that wish as is, some skills become mandatory. ^_^

Thank you so 🩷 And I mean that genuinely! So often I fear that I come off as tiresome, trite, or contrived.

Genie cross-overs are a really fascinating thing to consider. Does each genie abide by rules of the "universe" they've traveled to? Or is their power still as it was? My gut says that the "rule of cool" is more important than any technicalities here! But that's just me.

Being a genie and granting wishes is just... Really important to me. And unless someone is going to ask for something truly heinous, I really don't want to leave them with regrets - or leave them disliking me, or genies overall! But I do love twisting wishes, even though I don't seem to get up to it much anymore. I'll twist a friend's wish for comedic effect if I know they'll take it with good nature. It's fun, and an important genie talent! But I also just... don't want to be mean, if that makes sense?

You know, I actually used to hold a weekly event called "Twisted Wish Thursday"? People would submit their wishes to me all day, and I will do my absolute best to give them exactly what they didn't ask for. Those were fun times.

(All bets are off for Teff - She's as twisty as they come.)