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[ashtver]

For the Rest of My Life - 30 minute time limit

     “Excuse me?”      “You heard us right,” says the red, horned genie.      “One of us will grant the wish exactly as stated,” says the blue one with the wings.      “One of us will grant it how you want,” says the green one with the cobra-like hood.      “And one will twist it as much as he can,” finishes the red one.      “But I get one from each, yeah?” I ask, folding my arms. The trio nod in unison. “So I gotta be real careful about who I ask for wishes from.” I turn to the blue one. “Let’s start simple. I wish for a nice car. Nothing too wild – an Audi. Oh, and the key.”       The blue one nods and waves his hands. Mist swirls in the space in front of me. It parts, and there sits an Audi SUV – not the Audi I would have asked for. The key falls at my feet. “I would have wanted a different model, but I see I wasn’t specific, so you gave it to me exactly as stated.” The blue one nods.      My eyes dance between the other two genies. “So one of you will twist my wish as badly as possible?”      “Who knows?” they both boom.      “Right.” I point at the green one. “You. I wish for one million dollars. In my bank account please, I can’t carry that much money.” The snake genie nods and waves his hands. Mist fills my pockets, then fades.      “One million dollars has been deposited into your bank account.”      “And I won’t get into trouble?”      “Not at all. I have ensured no one will ask you about where the money came from.”      “So exactly how I would like it?” The snake genie nods. “Then you,” I glance at the red genie. “You’re going to twist my wish to make it as bad as possible.” He shrugs. “Okay then. I wish to be happy for the rest of my life.” The red genie cocks an eyebrow.      “Are you sure that’s what you want?”      “Absolutely. I’m not sure how you can twist that.”      “So be it.” The red genie waves his hands and a thick mist swallows me. A weight is lifted off my shoulders, the same way a headache you didn’t know was there leaves after a hearty meal or a dose of caffeine. I smile. Before I know it, I appear back in my loungeroom. I look out the window – the Audi is there. I stand up and walk out, thumbing the key. The car beeps and clicks, and I sit down in the driver seat.      “Life’s gonna be good. There’s no way they can twist my desire for happiness.” I stick the key in the ignition and turn. In that instant, I smell the tang of gas and hear the rumbling of flames, and I finally understand what happened.      I never specified the model of the car, and yet I was specifically given an SUV – and I didn’t specify its quality. Something hisses under the bonnet. A red glow washes over my face, and I’m smiling as the car explodes.

You encounter a group of 3 genies, and they each grant you one wish. One genie will grant your wish exactly as stated. One genie will ensure it’s cast exactly how you want. The final genie will twist it to ruin as much as possible. But you have no idea which genie is which.

[ashtver]

Hello World

New to Tumblr. I’m Liam Delane, an author and voice actor, but I’m mostly here to post tidbits of writing. If I do a writing exercise - like doing a 30 minute piece with a writing prompt - I’ll probably post it here. If I decide something I’ve written in books is worth posting about, I’ll prolly do that too.

[ashtver]

Rock, Paper, Scissors, Wizard, Fork - 30 minute time limit

“Staves increase your casting power tenfold!” Archibald said, waving his oak rod around in circles as if preparing to cast a conflagration spell.

           “What, and lose manoeuvrability?” retorted Trish, pointing the tip of her ash wand at his chest. “Archie, if I cast a repulsion spell from here, you’re not gonna have the time to put up a barrier, and no way can you dodge with that hefty thing.” She flicked her wand and the end of it flashed. Archie flinched and did indeed attempt to put up a shield. Nothing flew from the end of Trish’s wand and she cackled.

           “With an orb, you have a lot more control, I guess,” piped up the shy Oswald from the corner. He stared into his crystal ball. “I-I’m afraid I’d make the wrong thing explode with a staff or a wand.”

           “You definitely would. Keep your orb, Oswald, let the professionals use wands,” Trish teased. She yelped as something solid tapped the back of her skull.

           “That’ll be enough out of you,” said their senior, Fareeha. She waved her book, as if threatening to whack her again, before heaving it under her arm. “Once you kids get to third year, you’ll realise how important having a grimoire is. Beats having to memorise every spell you learn. I have one hundred and twenty nine spells in here – and counting – and I can open to any of them whenever I want.”

           “NERD!” was the resounding reply from Archie and Trish. “You don’t need every one of those spells, do you?” continued Archibald.

           “I mean, sure, some of them are very specific, but I never know when I’ll need them.”

           “Excuse me,” squeaked another voice, and the whole room turned to peer at them. A small girl holding a fork stared at the ground.

           “Oh, Violet, I didn’t notice you,” Fareeha greeted her. “How can we help?”

           “Well, I overheard you, and I know I’m new but I thought I could add to the conversation?”

           “I’m not sure there’s much a first-year could add but-“ WHAM! Archibald’s staff collided with Trish’s abdomen and she was silenced.

           “Let her talk you bully,” he warned her and tapped the end of his staff against his open palm.

           “Well, for a very long time, my family has used forks.” The room fell silent. Oswald pointed at the object she held.

           “So that’s your magic focus?” he asked. Trish laughed, and even Archie and Fareeha couldn’t hold in a snicker. Violet’s lips set into a frown and she struck the fork against the back of the chair beside her. A sharp ringing exploded across the room and silence fell once more. The ringing receded, then warped, went quiet and was replaced by the sound of electrical crackling. Bolts of energy arced between the prongs of her fork. She raised it, and a ball of lightning manifested around it.

           “Woah,” was Trish’s only response.

           “Only orbs can hold onto a spell like that,” Oswald gasped.

           “But that’s way bigger than anything my wand could produce,” mumbled Trish as she rolled her focus in her hands.

           “And it only takes one hand,” Archie lamented.

           “That is incredible. Too bad you have to memorise each spell you learn,” Fareeha replied smugly. Violet angled her fork, just enough that the ringing started again, but drove deeper, and the lightning burst into flame, then with a whirl, she extinguished it. She held the fork to her chest.

           “If you can memorise every word to every song you’ve heard, then it’s even easier for me to memorise each note my fork adds to the song of my magical power,” Violet whispered, her resolve hardened. “One single song. Three hundred notes. All different tones, cadences and lengths.” Fareeha blinked.

           “Three. Hundred?” she wheezed.

           “Maybe,” called a voice through the doorway. It was Mr. Knox, “if you just listen once in a while, you’ll learn something from the younger generation.” He continued down the hall, presumably to prepare for his first class. Fareeha took a knee in front of violet.

           “I’m sorry I doubted the versatility of your focus. Do you think you could teach me a thing or two about using one?”

           Violet swayed and looked at the ground as she thought. “Only if you can teach me a couple of the spells in your book.”

           “You’ve got a deal.” Fareeha held out her hand, which Violet gladly shook.

           “Me too! I want a fork!” Trish said as she scrambled over the chair.

           “Just a second ago you laughed at her,” Archie groaned, but he smiled anyway. “I like my staff, but maybe it could use a little music too.”

           “I’m good with my orb, thanks. I couldn’t control a fork,” stated Oswald. Violet turned and approached him. She glanced at his orb, then her fork, then held it out to him.

           “Try it,” she said sweetly. He hesitated, but wrapped his hand around the handle of the dining implement. He struck it against the bookshelf, the chair, his orb and listened for a tone he recognised. He settled on a sharp, long one that reverberated through the air.

           “Shine bright and banish the dark, Starlight Flare!” he enchanted as he held the fork aloft. Fareeha reached out, a moment too late.

           “No, not that-!”

           From afar, what could only be described as a beacon of radiance pierced the heavens for a week after that. Oswald never used a fork again.

A bunch of the wizards’ college students are arguing about which magical focus is superior. Staffs, wands, orbs, books, nobody agrees on anything. Then the newest student offers a rather unusual alternative.