Genies in Stories?

[CalWBrook88]

I've noticed that while vampires, ghosts and other supernaturals get the limelight, it is not very often that we see genies take their place as a major contender. I know they are fairly hard to insert because of their usually omnipotent nature and reality altering powers, but they are just as important to the literary world as any other supernatural creature. This is especially true for gay characters, although I have come across a couple of titles which include them, such as the Dragon in Training series by Emily Carrington.

 

If you include genies in your stories, in what capacity do you use them? Possible options could include:

• Comic Relief
• Deus Ex Machina
• Possible Love Interest
• Random Inclusion
• To Progress The Narrative

Edited February 16, 2015 by CalWBrook88

[Renee Stevens]

You know, I never thought about using a Genie in a story, but now I have an idea forming.... *groans*  I really didn't need ANOTHER idea!!!!

[CalWBrook88]

You know, I never thought about using a Genie in a story, but now I have an idea forming.... *groans*  I really didn't need ANOTHER idea!!!!

 

You can never have enough ideas.

[Kitt]

Sure you can if they start colliding inside your head!

[CalWBrook88]

Sure you can if they start colliding inside your head!

 

That's why I have a whiteboard.

[Renee Stevens]

You can never have enough ideas.

 

I only have a dozen (maybe more) stories in various stages of completion on my computer.... what's one more...

[CalWBrook88]

I only have a dozen (maybe more) stories in various stages of completion on my computer.... what's one more...

 

Indeed. I've probably got at least half a hundred scribbles.

[Cynus]

 

I've noticed that while vampires, ghosts and other supernaturals get the limelight, it is not very often that we see genies take their place as a major contender. I know they are fairly hard to insert because of their usually omnipotent nature and reality altering powers, but they are just as important to the literary world as any other supernatural creature. This is especially true for gay characters, although I have come across a couple of titles which include them, such as the Dragon in Training series by Emily Carrington.

 

If you include genies in your stories, in what capacity do you use them? Possible options could include:

• Comic Relief
• Deus Ex Machina
• Possible Love Interest
• Random Inclusion
• To Progress The Narrative

 

Although because of an agreement I have with the site moderator on the other website where I post I will not post the story here, I have used Djinn in the past. However, the setting for the story in which I used them takes supernatural creatures and tries to bring them to a less mythological level.

 

So, the Djinni do have magical powers in my story, but their omnipotence is really more of a legend than actual fact. Propaganda to make them seem more powerful than they actually were. 

 

 

[Sasha Distan]

That's why I have a whiteboard.

 

I would need a whiteboard that was a whole room. Trust me, it is possible to have too many ideas.

The idea of using genies is cool, but then, there are plenty of other sidelined supernatural creatures. Werewolves and vamps get the attention because they are easy to work with - people know what to expect even if you change the lore a lot. When was the last time we saw someone fall in love with a selkie?

[Kitt]

Psssst - Sasha - Maybe you should tell em selkies are Scottish shape shifters that split time between a seal like shape and human?

[Drak]

I've noticed that while vampires, ghosts and other supernaturals get the limelight, it is not very often that we see genies take their place as a major contender. I know they are fairly hard to insert because of their usually omnipotent nature and reality altering powers, but they are just as important to the literary world as any other supernatural creature. This is especially true for gay characters, although I have come across a couple of titles which include them, such as the Dragon in Training series by Emily Carrington.

 

If you include genies in your stories, in what capacity do you use them? Possible options could include:

• Comic Relief
• Deus Ex Machina
• Possible Love Interest
• Random Inclusion
• To Progress The Narrative

I've avoided djinn due to lack of familiarity with their culture and history. Other than their having loose-fitting, brightly-colored silk (?) garments, a scimitar, and the ability to fly, turn invisible and grant wishes, and a strange vulnerability to getting trapped in bottles, I don't know much about them.

[Sasha Distan]

Psssst - Sasha - Maybe you should tell em selkies are Scottish shape shifters that split time between a seal like shape and human?

I do expect people to be smart enough to do their own research... Sometimes I am disappointed...

[comicfan]

KC used a djinn a few years back in his anthology. Selkies are fun as well. However, I was an English major who loves myths and legends from around the world.

[khasidi]

Here's what I know about Genies or Djinns. The Persian word, jinni is related to the Sanskrit word, jiwa or jiva, which means spirit. (The human soul is also considered to be a kind of jiwa.) It is also related to the English word, genius, originally a Latin word that also means spirit. In Persian the word is used to denote angels and demons, as well as other spirits. The singular in Arabic is jinni (djinni), and the plural is jinn (djinn).

 

Wikipedia says,

"Jinn: (in Arabian and Muslim mythology) an intelligent spirit of lower rank than the angels, able to appear in human and animal forms and to possess humans.

 

"Jinn, jann or djinn (singular: jinnī, djinni, or genie; Arabic: الجن‎ al-jinn, singular الجني al-jinnī) are supernatural creatures in Islamic mythology as well as pre-Islamic Arabian mythology. They are mentioned frequently in the Quran (the 72nd sura is titled Sūrat al-Jinn) and other Islamic texts and inhabit an unseen world called Djinnestan, another universe beyond the known universe. The Quran says that the jinn are made of a smokeless and "scorching fire",[1] but are also physical in nature, being able to interact in a tactile manner with people and objects and likewise be acted upon. The jinn, humans and angels make up the three known sapient creations of God. Like human beings, the jinn can be good, evil, or neutrally benevolent and hence have free will like humans and unlike angels.[2] The shaytan jinn are the analogue of demons in Christian tradition, but the jinn are not angels and the Quran draws a clear distinction between the two creations. The Quran states in surat Al-Kahf (The Cave), Ayah 50,[3] that Iblis (Azazel) is one of the jinn."

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jinn

 

There is a belief or folk tale similar to folktales about the Rusalka in Eastern Europe that, I have read, is ubiquitous in the lands of the Eastern Mediteranean, that certain djinn will take on the form of a man and have sexual intercourse with unsuspecting young men that wander off alone. Once so seduced the young man will be filled with the desire to be anally penetrated and will no longer find heterosexual intercourse satisfying. I read about this belief some time ago and have never been able to verify it. I would love to find out if such a folktale actually exists.

 

In the West, we think of djinn or genies as living in bottles. This goes back to the legend that Solomon (the Wise) captured destructive djinn and imprisoned them in containers to prevent their intrinsically destructive natures from wreaking havock.

 

Anyone interested in writing about djinn might also be interested in the "demons" called rakshasas (Feminine: Rakshasi) in the Vedic (Hindu and Buddhist) mythology, particularly those in the Ramayana. Rakshasas seem to be quite similar to Djinn. It is clear that Rakshasas can be good or bad, though it is generally agreed that they all like to eat human beings, though some refrain. They also practice sacrificial activities such as fasting and pilgrimages in order to gain spiritual power and virtue.

 

None of this sort of spirit resemble the Christian Devil, they are not satanic in the way Christians have come to see demons.

 

The fantasy novels of Jonathan Stroud feature a jinni called Bartemaeus. These are excellent stories and, though they don't deal directly with gay relationships, it is clear that the demon, Bartemaeus, does come to love the hero.

Edited April 16, 2015 by khasidi