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jtl07 · 2 months ago

Note

Prompt! Flowers 💐

anon i'm taking advantage of this to noodle an au i had in my head recently

"princess beatrice?"

beatrice pauses - the voice is coming from the balcony. a place inaccessible save for her room. the room that she has been occupying for the last several hours since that horrible argument with her father -

she takes a breath. refocuses on the sound of shuffling that is indeed coming from the balcony.

the voice sounds faintly familiar but she still palms one of the knives she was gifted while she'd been studying abroad just in case as she steps towards the curtains leading to the balcony. "who's there?"

"it's me. princess avalin. i just - i was hoping we could talk?"

beatrice barely keeps herself from rolling her eyes. "there's nothing to talk about. especially not to someone who's trespassing." a breeze stirs the curtains - not enough for her to see outside (which also means it's not enough for anyone outside to see inside either). but it brings a scent she remembers; perhaps one of the only comforts she has, now.

"you're right."

beatrice blinks. a suitor, giving up so soon? (then in the back of her mind: a suitor, actually listening?) she hears more shuffling and finds herself edging closer, curious. (wanting to know how she got here, is what she tells herself, nothing more)

"i'll leave you alone. i hope you have a good night, princess."

beatrice flicks back the curtain just in time to see avalin vault over the balcony railing. "wait!" she cries out before she can help herself.

"what?!"

avalin's head pops up over the edge of the railing, eyes wide - as if it wasn't her who'd scared beatrice out of her mind.

"how - how are you doing that?" beatrice asks, stepping closer. it's as if avalin's hovering in mid-air. then, to her utter astonishment: avalin rises higher, standing atop a carpet. a carpet levitating in front of her, in the open air, four stories above the ground. (what the fuck, her mind supplies as her jaw drops)

avalin shrugs, but it doesn't hide the childish joy - glee, even - as she hovers closer. "it's a magic carpet."

"magic - be serious," beatrice scoffs, her mind already turning over the puzzle in front of her.

"i am serious! don't you believe me?" avalin and the carpet move in a lazy circle around her, and that's when beatrice sees it, the source of familiar, comforting scent: a bouquet of flowers. almost the very same that she had found in the marketplace, had talked about to the kind street urchin with the wide smile and warm hands - who'd asked her the very same question, in that same voice.

she turns back to avalin, takes in that grin, that face. avalin's expression is so open, an earnestness that beatrice has seen only once before. but she knows too much to cast it off as something as simple as coincidence; as magic. (no, she thinks as she allows herself to step closer, there's something more)

#a very rough attempt at an #aladdin au #idk there'd be a lot i'd want to change but like #instead of the genie #it's a somewhat sentient halo?#just a little thought-noodle #avatrice #also i have no idea what name ava would take on - the closest thing i could think of was “avalin” because it was kinda close to “aladdin”??#writing shenanigans with jt

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letoasai · 2 years ago

Text

Wishes

Things were overly complicated, this was no exception despite how it could have been mindlessly done without thought at all. I didn’t remember picking the bottle up, or how I instantly knew it was more than it seemed. Light as a feather but holding immeasurable power.

The magic lamp. The home of the genie. Was there more than one? Did that matter when I already held it in my hands.

It was pretty, but plain. Gold with little engravings etched into the metal that caught the light just right. There were no gaudy gems or impractical sized diamonds encrusting its shape. It was a magic item already, it didn’t need to appear to be worth more than it was when it was already priceless.

It was done on a whim, mostly believing it wouldn’t work with only a tiny voice inside me wishing it were real. No one was more surprised than me when I rubbed my hand against the lamp and a mist actually appeared.

At least I assume that was the case since I’d done this silly thing alone in the privacy of my own room. I watched the mist seem to move and twist and dance until a person was just there standing across from me. Their clothes flowing and somehow nothing I could have imagined while their body remained fit and their face just simply pretty. I couldn’t tell their gender from their androgynous features alone and somehow they were all the more lovely for it.

“Greetings temporary master who has discovered the key. Count your desires and make wishes three.”

Their voice was just as nice. It was the kind of thing I’d like to listen to often. The temptation to comment on them doing voice work for audio books was almost too great but I swallowed it down. That was likely a terrible first impression.

I was bad at first impressions. I talked too much, forgot other peoples names, laughed awkwardly. No, commenting on their voice first thing was probably weird.

“Hello.” I offered instead, sitting on the edge of my bed awkwardly, half wondering why I wasn't hiding inside my closet over the sudden magical display. This wasn’t the kind of thing that happened all the time but I was rooted to the spot. It was likely too late to run away anyway.

The genie just blinked, trying to figure out what was going on but they were supposed to be ancient right? They’d probably come across every response possible. It was the same thing I told myself when calling customer service somewhere and being afraid I sounded like an idiot. Those people had to have heard everything already.

“Hello…” The genie answered slowly. “You good or do we need to like… call someone?”

“I think i’m good. Haven’t freaked out yet so that’s a plus. How are you? Is it nice to be out of the lamp?”

After a beat the genie shrugged. “Kind of just is what it is.” I was half glad that they didn’t rhyme everything they said, that sounded exhausting. The greeting was enough, that part was cool.

I nodded, relieved on their behalf. “Okay. Do you like…want a drink or something? I have no idea what counts as manners when you accidentally summon a genie even when you were sorta trying to do that on purpose.”

“Okay, this is gonna be a long afternoon, i can tell.” The genie said and dropped down to sit beside me. It was weird, but only in the sense that they might have been the coolest person I’ve ever seen and what was I supposed to do now that we were sitting side by side.

“Sorry?”

“Nah, don’t worry about it. You still got three wishes, so what’ll it be?”

My mind was blank, a sea of absolutely nothing and the places where thoughts once lived was vacant. “Dunno.”

I felt a little less like an idiot when the genie shrugged. “That happens a lot. Being put on the spot and all. Take your time but like, not forever, okay?”

“Right.” I agreed because what else could I do? “This is so weird. I probably have thousands of wishes but here you are and I got nothing. Nothing feels right.”

“Does it need to?”

I shrugged. “I mean I guess not but this is one of those once in a lifetime opportunities, right? You can’t just ask for a sandwich or something.”

“Pretty sure someone has before.” The genie commented after a moment of thought. “They were an idiot.”

That thought went back to the genie probably having already seen every response before. My goal now became, not being an idiot in the genie’s eyes by the time they left.

“I’m sure magic sandwiches are awesome, but it’s not exactly what I'm going for.”

“Fair.” The genie agreed, playing with a bracelet they wore to pass the time. “What kind of wishes have you wanted in the past?”

“Well…” I folded my feet under me as I sat, turning a little to face them. “Can I give you a couple examples without it being like… haha, there’s your wish?”

The genie snorted. “Yeah, it’s kinda late and I'm not in the mood for word games so sure, we’ll confirm before calling a wish legit.”

I nodded again, thankful for an understanding magical genie of the lamp and not one bitter about the job title. “I’m willing to bet the biggest wishes are personal ones. Money. Health. Expensive stuff.”

“For sure.”

I make a face at that one. It would have been nice to be wrong. “I can’t lie and say that’s not appealing but this is three magic wishes we’re talking about. You can’t just wish for a billion dollars, can you? Does the wording matter? Would it be better to wish to always be financially stable? To never be in need of money again? That last one sounds like it could be taken the wrong way too. I dunno what kind of clarity wishes need.”

“Clarity?” The genie glances at you.

“You know, like in cartoons where some guy wishes for a million bucks and gets a million caribou instead.”

That made the genie snort. “As hilarious as that would be, wishes are about intentions. They’re your desires, I'm just fulfilling them.”

I sighed, knowing that just complicated matters. “I don’t think wishes are that simple. Spending a wish on myself feels selfish but trying to spend a wish on everyone seems like it could backfire way too easily.”

“You’re an over thinker, aren’t you?”

“Yes.” I confirmed with another nod. “Like what if i wished for no more cancer? That sounds incredible but what about all the innovations we’ve had as a society from that research? How many other things have been cured? I’m sure i’m not the first person to get magic wishes and no one before me ever thought to do that? I dunno if i’m that optimistic or that conceited.”

“Probably just an overthinker.”

“Probably.” I agreed. “But what if that somehow just made things worse? Like what if a thousand years ago there was the ‘whatever’ disease and someone wished it away and that was freaking amazing. It was gone and everyone was happy but science and biology was like, hey that’s not cool, now we gotta come up with something else and that’s how cancer started.”

The genie shifted to get more comfortable, putting a pillow on their lap to lean on. “I get where you’re coming from but that didn’t happen.”

“Oh sure, I'm just saying I can barely give someone a compliment without freezing. I don’t know if I could handle the added pressure of trying to do something nice for the whole world only to have it backfire so spectacularly.”

“No one would really know it was you.”

“I’d know and I can't have that on my conscience.” I grumbled.

“Fair enough.”

“Then there’s things you hope for and wish for and you can’t just get them easily.”

“Like what?” the genie asked. “Magic is pretty freaking sweet.”

I hummed, a small smile pulling at my lips. “Like what if i wished for global warming to be fixed before we totally ruin our own planet? If it was just fixed the world would freak out because… how!? Then all the people who don’t even believe in global warming would be insufferable.”

“Is this over-thinking something you’ve had to deal with a long time?”

“All my life.”

“Hm, intriguing. Go on.”

I shifted a little, fingers clasping and unclasping. “Then there’s you.”

“What about me?”

“I dunno? Is this some kind of Aladdin thing where you're trapped? Am i supposed to free you? I could not have that on my conscience either. Not freeing someone if i had the chance but like, i don’t know the genie origin story, i don’t know if freeing you is objectively a good or bad thing.”

They held up a hand. “Well, let me stop you there. This is just kind of a job. I get how it looks to you and that is my lamp and all but i don’t live in there twenty four-seven. This is just like a side thing that happens every now and then. It’s not a big deal. Usually it’s just a minor inconvenience before I get on with my own life.”

“Oh, sorry…” I couldn’t help but wonder if I messed up their plans with some other mythological creatures. A movie night, or a bowling club of magical beings.

They shook their head. “Nah, I rarely get this kind of introspection, it’s kind of amusing to listen to. You can go ahead.”

“Oh, okay…” I mumbled. “I’m just not trying to be on the list of like… top ten worst people you ever had to grant wishes to.”

The genie snorted and actually gave me a rather fond look I didn’t know what to do with. “You wouldn’t even make the top one hundred. What else you got?”

“Uh…” I scrambled to think of something. “The selfish stuff that couldn’t be explained. I could wish to lose weight but would that just be temporary? I like cake, you know? I could wish for good health but that would just enable bad habits. I could completely wish for things for other people but I know deep down I'd resent not doing a little something for myself. I could wish for books but it seems lame to wish for something I could go get myself.”

“I almost wish I could look in your head and watch how you get from one topic to another.”

“It’s the anxiety.” I hummed at that. “It’s not even a habit to plan for the worst case scenario at this point, it’s just a way of life. Anxiety blows but I'm not sure what I would do without it anymore.”

“I don’t really get anxiety.”

“I admire you for that one. Just take my word for it, it sucks. That said, I'm aware of my flaws. Dunno if i could just magic them away or magic them better.”

“What kind of flaws?”

I could list them off immediately. “Anxiety. Self doubt. No motivation. Fear of loneliness. Fear of change. Procrastination. Hoping things I don't like or want will just go away when I know they won’t.”

The genie rested their chin on their fist. “That’s a lot to be aware of.”

“Yeah well, change is hard. There’s also a fear of being too annoying. Am I annoying you? Do you have somewhere you’d rather be?”

They shrugged. “Not annoying and time is kind of a different concept for me than it is for you. Don’t worry about that. There’s nothing wrong with you trying to work out your wishes. More people should.”

“Probably easier when people can just do it immediately without putting too much thought into it.” I sighed.

“Meh,” The genie shrugged again. “Maybe easier but that doesn’t mean the wishes always work out for those people. They might consider you the wise one for over-thinking.”

“Doubt it but that’s kind to say. A lot of wishes come back to money. Things I could just do or get myself if I had money. They say money doesn’t buy happiness and I think that’s true, but it does buy hobbies. It buy’s your rent and your groceries. It buys you the security to not be constantly worried about every little thing. I’m not so sure unhappiness and money really go together at all. It’s not money’s fault that people who have it are unhappy. With money they could do anything. Travel or buy stuff, or support causes they like.”

“All of that is true.”

“True, but greedy. I try not to be greedy but there’s a difference between greedy and in need. I could make money as easily as I could go buy my own stuff but it’s hard.” I muttered. “The system is hard and it applies to everyone but I feel like too much pressure has me cracking long before everyone else.”

“You’re not alone with that feeling.”

That was true enough. “I know. I’m not the only one who feels that way at all, but that still doesn’t mean I know what to do with it. You can’t escape being an adult and all the stuff that comes with it.”

“It’s part of growing up.”

“Wish sucks as much as anxiety.” I said. “There’s a part of me who’d like to wish for magic of my own but what does that even mean? I wouldn’t be able to show anyone. I’d either be an internet sensation or a lab rat for defying the laws of…whatever non magic falls under. Is there a point in having something you can’t use all the time? How would I explain it? I can’t just throw you under the bus and say a genie gave me powers.”

The genie laughed. “There would be an uptick in people looking for us for sure.”

“And that makes me wonder what the hell other people even wish for? Is it always personal wishes that go unnoticed? I don’t even know how a person would wish for a car and then explain where it came from to their insurance.”

“People don’t usually think that far ahead.”

I flopped back against my bed with a sigh. “Normally these kinds of things feel very… fictional protagonist. You know? Find the genie, make an impossible wish and now there’s some kind of domino effect of adventure that awaits them, but i’m not protagonist material. I’m more…someone the protagonist walks past in the first episode, never to be seen again.”

The genie relaxed beside me, hands behind their head. “Would be a better story if the protagonist met you though. Sometimes they’re dumb and need someone who over thinks on their team. It would probably save them a lot of time.”

That pulled a laugh from me. “What would you wish for?”

“It’s a lame answer after all this but I just have magic, you know? I’m not particularly bound by it. Sure I gotta answer the summons when I'm called but it’s not under lock and key or anything. I guess you could just think I take wishes for granted when I can answer my own at any time.”

“Nah, I bet you know your limitations. I doubt you’re breaking your own rules and raising the dead.” I paused. “That is against the rules right? Raising the dead?”

“Yep.”

“Thought so.”

The genie snickered. “Well let’s take a look at the big picture. You do have three wishes. It’s okay to be a little selfish with one of them, and maybe help out some people you know with another. No one’s putting ‘solving world hunger’ on your shoulders.”

“That’s true. If wishes could solve everything we’d be living in some kind of perfect world, and even then someone would probably find a way to mess it up with a different wish.”

“I think you have a wise grasp on humanity. Good intentions are still good intentions though. You wanna give a wish a shot?”

I heaved a sigh and nodded. “Yeah, i guess i have a few in mind. You wanna hang out when you're not doing the wish thing some time? You’re a great sound board.”

The genie looked surprised for only a second and chuckled, “Sure, why not? This has been unexpectedly fun. Why don’t you focus on yourself for the first wish?”

“Okay.” There was still so much oddly placed dread swirling in my gut but how badly could I mess things up? To the best of my knowledge, wishes hadn’t wrecked the world before. My harmless ones would probably do very little in the grand scheme of things. “Okay. I wish…”

#story one shot #i did this instead of sleeping #Genie #magic lamp #Introspection #over thinking #Three wishes #Anxiety #What would you wish for?#A genie probably would be the coolest person ever

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