tehexile (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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anythingdrabble2020-04-09 05:03 pm
tehexile) wrote in anythingdrabble2020-04-09 05:03 pm
Entry tags:
challenge #133 'Good', Aladdin, Double Edged Knife
Title: Double Edged Knife "Genie? Um," he scratched his head, wondering if he needed to specify that it was supposed to be a relaxed conversation and not a command to give him information. Well, maybe not relaxed, given the topic of conversation, but he didn't want to have to use up a Wish unless it became a true emergency. The Genie didn't usually bother unless someone really rubbed his lamp the wrong way, so to speak, but Aladdin knew from experience that the spirit could lie, be pedantic, twist words, omit truths, even refuse to answer questions that weren't Wishes. Dealing with Genies was exhausting work. Jasmine said it was good practice for when he became a Prince and had to deal with courtiers.
"Say you were asked to do something really, really bad. Like, I dunno, kill people. Would you still do it?"
"I was commanded to end the world, once," said the Genie, "And I really had to try and do it. Even though I really don't want to, on account of I kinda exist in the world when I'm in a lamp, sort of. I'm allowed to tell other Genies what I'm doing, though, so someone else summoned a couple to stop me. The fight still wrecked an entire town, mind you. That kinda thing happened a lot in those days."
He laughed at the horrified expression on the boy's face, "We're not good or evil, kid. Remember that. We're tools, like a knife. You could stab someone in the heart with a knife or slice carrots with it. It depends who we end up with as a user - and we can't really control that."
"Someone needs to go and check up on that, to stop it going badly wrong!" announced the boy.
"Yeah, you wouldn't be the first to try."
Fandom: Aladdin
Characters/pairings: Aladdin, The Genie
Word count: 300
Rating: PG-13/Gen
Tags: backstory, worldbuilding, headcanon, fandom chosen at random
Summary: The Genie can do bad things if he's ordered to. Fortunately, a lot of really bad things are against his interests, and he can twist words almost as well as a politician.
"Say you were asked to do something really, really bad. Like, I dunno, kill people. Would you still do it?"
"I was commanded to end the world, once," said the Genie, "And I really had to try and do it. Even though I really don't want to, on account of I kinda exist in the world when I'm in a lamp, sort of. I'm allowed to tell other Genies what I'm doing, though, so someone else summoned a couple to stop me. The fight still wrecked an entire town, mind you. That kinda thing happened a lot in those days."
He laughed at the horrified expression on the boy's face, "We're not good or evil, kid. Remember that. We're tools, like a knife. You could stab someone in the heart with a knife or slice carrots with it. It depends who we end up with as a user - and we can't really control that."
"Someone needs to go and check up on that, to stop it going badly wrong!" announced the boy.
"Yeah, you wouldn't be the first to try."