• Etterra@discuss.onlineEnglish
    28·
    3 days ago

    Here’s some options.

    • The genie is a slave: it resents being used for its abilities by punny mortals, so it screws them over however it can.
    • The genie is alien: it doesn’t understand what humans actually mean, so it takes them literally when it interprets their wish.
    • The genie is malicious: it wants to hurt you and probably escape its confinement, or sees you as a tool to do evil.
    • The genie is a pedant: it deliberately only grants the letter of the wish, regardless of consequences, for whatever reason.
    • The genie is a dick: he doesn’t like you and enjoys goading, trolling, and generally fucking with you for its own amusement.
    • The genie is just following the rules: whatever force traps the genie requires it to be like this. Maybe whatever trapped it decided, or the rules of god, its society, or its nature force its behavior.
          • Comment105@lemm.ee
            3·
            3 days ago

            I guess I should defer to a native speaker but I personally don’t think the word fits, in the same way I wouldn’t call a sick person lazy.

            But on second thought, an American absolutely would call a sick person lazy.

            Especially the current majority of their democracy.

            • samus12345@lemm.eeEnglish
              1·
              3 days ago

              You’re correct as to the negative connotations of “jackass,”, but it should be noted that TV Trope names are just that and don’t necessarily apply to every trope that fits them. A genie might be intentionally twisting a person’s words to make the outcomes bad for them, but for good reason - they still fall under that trope. Perhaps it needs a name change.

              • Comment105@lemm.ee
                2·
                2 days ago

                I see no reason why “hostile” wouldn’t be perfectly accurate, so that might be a contender.

  • DaddleDew@lemmy.world
    109·
    4 days ago

    I heard that in some cultures genies are enslaved demons and malicious compliance is the only way they have left to fight back

    • synae[he/him]@lemmy.sdf.orgEnglish
      7·
      4 days ago

      I thought it was a morality tale about how people should not be greedy and instead find happiness in their life via their own means

      • ricecake@sh.itjust.works
        3·
        3 days ago

        There are a lot of appearances of them in stories dating back to pre-islamic middle eastern times, so there are a lot of stories.
        In one, a man finds a lamp in the sand and rubs it to wipe the dust off. This wakes the genie who is pissed to be woken up, and decided to kill the man and his entire family. The man freaks out, on account of getting himself and family killed, and in a moment of desperation asks the genie how someone as great and powerful as they are could fit in such a small lamp. Genie scoffs at the mans ignorance, says he can turn into smoke, like this, and just zip in, like ^so. The man stuffs a cork in the lamp, trapping the genie. The genie demands to be let out, and the man agrees on the condition that the genie swears to spare him and his family. Genie agrees, and the man lets him out.
        In another, a man sitting under a tree throws a fruit pit over his shoulder, and then a genie appears saying he’s gonna kill him because the fruit hit his invisible son and instantly killed him. The man is rightfully ‘wtf’ about this, but the genie is very serious, throws the man to the ground and pulls out his sword. As he’s about to be killed, the man exclaims that he has a family, children, people he’s responsible for, and that if the genie lets him go and arrange his affairs so that they’re taken care of and don’t suffer he swears he’ll come back and let the genie do as he wills. The genie says that’s fair, and tells the man to return on the first day of the new year.
        Man goes home, settles his affairs, spends time with his family and generally does what one would do knowing you’re gonna die in a specific day. Day comes around, everything is prepared and ready, the man loads his burial clothes in his backpack and heads out. Gets to the tree and is sitting there crying when a scholar comes along leading a gazelle on a leash, and he asks the man’s story. Hearing it, the scholar swears to stay with him until the end. Another scholar comes past as they wait, this one with two majestic dogs. He too swears to wait with the man. A third shows up with a mule, same story.
        Finally, as the man is almost crazed with fear and grief, the genie shows up and demands the man stand to be killed. He does, and as the genie prepares to strike, one of the scholars asks the genie if he’ll give him 1/3 of the man’s life debt if, upon hearing the story of him and the gazelle, he’s amazed and delighted. Story told, it’s amazing, and the genie continues to collect his 2/3 life debt when the same happens with the scholar with the majestic dogs, and then again with the scholar with the mule until the man’s life debt has been satisfied. Genie leaves, man profusely thanks the scholars who explain that it’s all in a days work for three old scholars wandering around with an eclectic collection of animals.
        In large part, it’s intended to serve as a framing story for the scholars.

        They serve a lot of purposes that are also often filled by fairy, leprechauns, or demons, so twisted wishes are just another iteration of careful wording being required when talking to strange powerful beings who offer you something being fun to think about. Over time, it twisted from needing to think through what you wish for and you’ll be fine, to Amelia Bedilia style hyper literal interpretation, and then to downright malicious compliance bb b

      • pyre@lemmy.world
        13·
        4 days ago

        genie is the djinn, it’s just an anglicized version of the same word. they’re not demons and the enslaved part is mostly just fairy tales. culturally the djinn are just unseen people, living in some sort of parallel state of being that doesn’t affect humans and vice versa. some believe they can sometimes interact or appear as well.

        just like humans they are supposed have free will, can be good or bad people, believe in god or not, and even face judgment after death like humans as well.

  • CarbonIceDragon@pawb.social
    46·
    4 days ago

    I had usually seen it explained that the genie is somehow magically enslaved into the whole wish granting thing and, as one might expect, quite resentful of that, so finding ways to twist wishes they’re forced to grant into something undesirable to the wisher becomes a way to rebel

  • PunnyName@lemmy.world
    33·
    4 days ago

    I want a novel about a genie who tries to work with you in breaking down a wish to be as specific as possible to get your desired outcome. But then you and the genie start to uncover how difficult it would actually be to get the specifics of your wish without it causing massive problems in the world around you (the genie effectively provides simulations of how it plays out before actually granting the wishes). Like a lawyer / pedantic genie or similar.

  • FlapJackFlapper@lemm.ee
    7·
    3 days ago

    It’s an old story: be careful what you wish for—and to whom:

    • King Midas (8th century BCE)
    • One Thousand and One Nights (13th century)
    • Doctor Faustus (1592)
    • The Monkey’s Paw (1902)
    • Robert Johnson (1938)
  • ArbitraryValue@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    24·
    4 days ago

    If you could grant wishes and people kept bothering you, how long would it take before you started messing with them just because it was funny?

    If I were a genie, I would grant people’s wishes without any twists (usually) but then I would also turn the people into funny animals. It’s not what they wished for but who said I can’t do anything except grant wishes?

  • hraegsvelmir@lemm.eeEnglish
    6·
    4 days ago

    Genies are probably just super bored stuck in their magic lamps, have to get their entertainment when and where they can.