#where is jinn in aladdin

[adorner061-blog]

Interview With A Muslim Jinn 👹 Sufi Meditation Center

[ninja-muse]

August is over! My reading month felt like it took forever even though otherwise, the month flew by. I blame this half on my top two reads of the month, which I was only reading in short snippets, and half on a number of lackluster reads and DNFs. I'm hoping to get back into my usual habits in September.

I did do better on reading off my physical TBR though! Even though one book was a "aw man, what do I read now?" and two more were, "I'm behind on my goal, quick, read something fast!" Plus the T. Kingfisher, which was graciously provided by my work, as was Running Close to the Wind. (Finally a month where I didn't spend money to add to my library!)

As for my top reads, The Salmon Shanties would be near the top of my list even if there wasn't a degree of reverse-nepotism involved. Absolutely excellent poetry collection, very layered and complex. If you're into Canadian poetry or poetry-of-place, pick it up! And Rose/House, once I got it back from the library because my Libby hold ran out, was absolutely fantastic! As was the quality of the French translation, because it sounded like Martine. So very, very glad I had the nerve (and linguistic ability) to read it. Super-creepy and I'm glad Tor's picked it up so I can hype the heck out of it next year. And then there's Jinn-Bot, which I wrote an actual review for.

On the other end of the list, sigh. I DNFed one book for feeling kind of trite, and another for being too predictable, and probably should have DNFed Voyage of the Damned for being uneven but I needed to know who the killer was. The Library Thief I'm also counting as lackluster—very good book, just wasn't for me or what I was expecting. Still deserves a 7.

Lula Dean, on the other hand, was surprisingly good! Fun and satirical and just plain entertaining. Read it in a couple days and it would likely be higher on my list except my reasons to be "glad to have read them" this month are less about quality and entertainingness than usual. I can't put "really liked this" above "finally I get to read a new book by X!", for instance. Or necessarily above "learned stuff!"

You might notice a distinct lack of any other news, and that's because there is none. September may be marginally more exciting, we'll see. (I know there'll be a bigger book haul.)

Anyway, on to September now, and in the meantime, here's my list everything I read this month, in the rough order of how glad I was to have read them.

The Salmon Shanties - Harold Rhenisch

A collection of poems centered on and celebrating Cascadia in all its facets (or taking it to task, as the case may be). Out in September.

10/10

🇨🇦

warning: mentions racism, colonization, genocide

digital reading copy

Rose/House - Arkady Martine

There is a body within Rose House—two, if you count its architect, who ordered the house shuttered with his passing and left to its AI. Only one person is allowed to enter now, and she’s accounted for. And yet there is a body within Rose House….

9/10

🏳️‍🌈 author

warning: descriptions of a dead body

library ebook

The Jinn-Bot of Shantiport - Samit Basu

Lina and Bador want freedom: from surveillance, from power structures, for their city, for all bots, or just for their family. This might come from cunning, or revolution, or a lost ancient artifact, or an underground bot-battle, or swaying a visiting space hero or the Not-Prince. Much more than an Aladdin retelling.

8/10

🏳️‍🌈 secondary characters (multisexual, achillean), Indian-coded cast, Indian author

warning: discusses colonization and oppression, references police violence

reading copy

Unwritten, Vol. 8 - Mike Carey with Peter Gross, Dean Ormston, Yuko Shimizu

When Tommy Taylor learns that Lizzie is trapped in the land of the dead, he goes to rescue her—but he’s unprepared for his adventures there, or the wider implications.

8/10

Indigenous Australian secondary character

off my TBR

All Quiet on the Western Front - Erich Maria Remarque

Paul Bäumer recounts his time serving in the German army in WWI.

7/10

warning: war, death, animal death, gore, injury

off my TBR

A Sorceress Comes to Call - T. Kingfisher

Cordelia’s terrible mother has decided to marry a squire. Cordelia knows he and his sister don’t deserve that—but how to stop her, when she can do magic?

7.5/10

warning: child abuse, torture, murder, animal cruelty and death

finished copy received through work

A Man and His Cat, Vol. 4 - Umi Sakurai

Kanda gets the courage to make a new friend and revisit an old situation.

7/10

Japanese cast, Japanese author

off my TBR

A Gentleman from Japan - Thomas Lockley

The true story of a Japanese man who was brought to the court of Elizabeth I and influenced early modern English science.

7.5/10

warning: slavery, orientalism, war and violence

library book

Lula Dean’s Little Library of Banned Books - Kirsten Miller

In Troy, Georgia, the fight for public decency is kicked off by Lula Dean, who craves attention and loves her Southern history—and her fencepost library, where someone’s put wholesome jackets over books she’s tried to ban….

7/10

ensemble cast including Black, 🏳️‍🌈 (gay, lesbian), and Indo-American POV characters

warning: Nazis, anti-Semitism, anti-Black racism, homophobia, rape, suicide

reading copy

The Library Thief - Kuchenga Shenjé

Florence talks her way into a job repairing a lord’s library, but is quickly drawn in by the mysterious death of the lady of the house. A gothic novel centering race, gender, and other marginalizations in late Victorian England.

7/10

Black British main character, Black British secondary characters, 🏳️‍🌈 secondary characters (trans woman, sapphic), Black British author

warning: racism, including slurs; rape, abuse, misogyny, queerphobia

library book

The Voyage of the Damned - Frances White

A grand state voyage is upset by murder and it’s up to the lowly, non-Blessed Ganymedes to catch the killer before they dock. Goddess help them all if he doesn’t….

5.5/10

🏳️‍🌈 protagonist (multisexual), fat protagonist, 🏳️‍🌈 secondary characters (nonbinary, ace, trans man, sapphic, achillean), Indian-, African-, and Japanese-coded secondary characters

warning: murder, injuries, blood, colonial thinking, attempted genocide, suicidal thoughts

reading copy

DNF

Remedial Magic - Melissa Marr

Safe and ordinary Ellie meets a mysterious woman in her library, and is whisked to a fantasy world where she’s probably a witch—and almost certainly in trouble.

🏳️‍🌈 protagonist (sapphic), 🏳️‍🌈 secondary character (sapphic), 🏳️‍🌈 author

reading copy

Casket Case - Lauren Evans

Garrett stops to ask for directions at Nora’s casket shop and they hit it off. Unfortunately he works for Death…. Out in September.

African-American secondary characters

reading copy

Currently reading

A Natural History of Dragons - Marie Brennan

A memoir by Lady Trent, renowned natural philosopher and adventuress, but covering her childhood and first expedition, to the mountain highlands of Vystrana, and the troublesome dragons encountered there.

library book

Music from the Earliest Notations to the Sixteenth Century - Richard Taruskin A history of early written European music, in its social and political contexts. The Penguin Complete Sherlock Holmes - Arthur Conan Doyle Victorian detective stories.

disabled POV character (limb injury), occasional Indian secondary characters

warning: racism, colonialism

Monthly total: 11 Yearly total: 70 Queer books: 1 Authors of colour: 3 Books by women: 6 Authors outside the binary: 0 Canadian authors: 1 Classics: 1 Off the TBR shelves: 4 Books hauled: 2 ARCs acquired: 3 ARCs unhauled: 6 DNFs: 2

January February March April May June July

[darkspellmaster]

I also think Aladdin would've been greatly improved if he had more competition for her hand. The only source of conflict in that whole movie, outside of Aladdin's self esteem issues, is Jafar, who wants to use him to get into the Cave of Wonders and then only wants him out of the way when he's disguised as a prince. By adding in another good option like a version of Jafar who's the same age as her, it would add more personal conflict for Aladdin and make him need to actually prove himself to win her over. As is, it does seem like Jasmine picked the best option out of the shitty hand that was dealt to her and Aladdin just needs to go to therapy instead of trying to get another partner. Again, that's just me.

Well the series did allow for a few. The most well known was, of course, Mozenrath, (favorite of mine, not gonna lie, Rip Johnathan Brandis), who sometimes flirted with her and clearly had a thing for her, but also lusted after power, so there was that. And then there was Daru Tavelevil, who was this conman like dude who came off as cultured and impressed Jasmine a bit with it, turned out to be selling iron to one of the other villains. Prince Wazoo was a snooty guy who tried to win her over, but, um...he was more of a joke character, and some people have shipped her with Arbutus, who was a kind of cross between Beast in personality, and Poison Ivy.

In the original Arabian Night's story there was a small conflict in the form of Aladdin, using his Jinn to beat the son of the Vizier who was an option for the Princess to marry, though, depending on the retelling if she was into the guy or not. Some versions have him a clown, some have him a threat, others just have him as like, parents wanted them to marry because. From what I've read and seen of the making of Aladdin, there was going to be more to it. Aladdin's mom was going to be in the movie, being the moral voice to her son with the Genie, helping him to see that he had to make it up to the princess, and be better for her. Basically, what you're saying is Mozenrath should have been in the original movie. XD I mean, given what Iago said about how strong he was in magic, and then later we see what he does when he brain washes here, I can see where people would want that to happen. I do really wish they would have kept his mom involved somehow, it could have helped with some plotting beats, but at the time, most animated movies were between 89 and 93 minutes long. You didn't have the 2 hour plus run time some of them get now to expand on dynamics, so the songs had to do the heavy lifting. Could it have made for more drama, yes. But I'm not totally sure it would be as needed in this case, as the romance, while important to the story, was more about the growth and bonding between Genie and Aladdin. Showing how their friendship allows him to become more honest and true to who he is. And while I'm all for the romance in the story, I'm okay with it being the B plot of the relationship dynamic. Opposed to Beauty and the Beast, where the Romance is A plot, and everything else is B plot. Aladdin was a shift from that formula at the time.

Same kinda with Hercules, Mulan, and Hunchback. Family and Friendships took the mainstage, and romance moved to the back. Aladdin kinda was a bit of a start of that.

It's fun discussing these sorts of things. Ps. if you ever get the chance, and you can find it (since Disney still doesn't have it up on Disney Plus) look up the Aladdin series episode The Secret of Dagger Rock. It's the one where Jasmine fights Mozenrath to free Aladdin. (Additionally for Evil Jasmine, look up Forget Me Not, where she gets tricked into thinking she's a famous villain and totally leads the hell out of a team of baddies, forcing Abis Mal to ask for help to stop her from Aladdin. It's where her black outfit first shows up)

Hope the answer is good for you.

[deusvervewrites]

Inhumans question: how is it that Yaoyorozu's mom is a genie? Just asking because the idea of genie comes from Aladdin's tale being translated in French in the early 1700s and the readers not having the cultural context to realize the extraordinary thing was that two jinn had been bound to objects and forced into obeying whoever held said objects.

(cont) The cultural context of Jinn is that, according to Islamic lore, they are another sapient species, just with often weird morals compared to humans and having superhuman abilities that are at times so vast to be mistaken for supernatural by those who don't know their truth - hence why some talked humans living in their same area into worshipping them as gods. They exist all around the world, just with different names according to local traditions (in the British isles they'd be the Fair Folk, in Japan Kami and Yokai, and so on). Humans are usually better off staying away from them if they can, as while some Jinn are helpful others may play pranks they don't realize harm the humans and others are downright malicious. At times however there's some cunning humans who, when dealing with a hostile Jinni, can trick them into being trapped (such as the fisherman that found a bottle, uncorked it, and out came a very angry Jinni that offered him a choice in how he'd be killed, and the fisherman talked him back in the bottle and stoppered it), and some people with extraordinary knowledge of the arcane can find ways to chase them off or even command them (such as Solomon, who made a ring that allowed him to command Jinn. He used them in his army, and enslaved evil ones to build his Temple so they'd do something good). That was the extraordinary part with Aladdin's Jinn, someone had bound a pair of Jinn to a lamp and a ring and just left such powerful objects around.

You know, I had wondered where in pop culture Genies had split off from Jinn.

I'm actually familiar with Solomon, both because of his association with the Ars Goetia (relevant to various pop culture media) and because the Bartimaeus books fucking slap.

I'm loosely familiar with actual Jinn mythology, and Extra History just posted a video about that specific Jinni myth a few days ago. I'm also aware that the singular is Jinni. I alluded to some elements of Jinn myths with that ask about Momo's specifi limits when I mentioned that she's not a reality warper (yet) and has to physically accomplish the wish she's granting

All of that being said I'm not entirely sure that I understand the question of how her mother is a genie. The idea of the genie in pop culture has somewhat drifted away from the original Jinn roots, but even so, they still hold the idea of a powerful, magical shapeshifter so I don't see why one couldn't hook up with a human.

I could further make a case of genies deliberately binding themselves to lamps or rings or jars or whatever in order to preempt someone else doing it to them and thus gaining control over them

[liketwoswansinbalance]

A Ramble

The idea of a Black Swan event in relation to Rise’s ending is so poetic. Because, the ending and revelation are unforeseen like a black swan once was.

Also, from the iconic Rock Scene, the creation of the symbol, their School crest, was perfect! The duality. It was just purely beautiful and fascinating. And, the concept was so clever! I was so ridiculously proud of Rafal then!

And, that reminds me of something from an interview from the bonus content at the back of book 1 where Soman said he liked to ask which is more beautiful: the black swan or the white swan? The white swan is classic, like Good. But, the black swan is rare and mysterious. So, is it beautiful as well, or is the white swan more beautiful because it represents the standard of beauty? Is it more beautiful to fit an ideal, or to be uncommon and thus beautiful because of that quality? It was an interesting line of thought as it reminded me of Rise’s plot twist.

The prose in the final scenes was beautiful, if I recall correctly. I love the comparison of Rafal being summoned by Rhian "like a genie out of the bottle." (This is paraphrasing.) This brings up the idea of opening a can of worms. They can't be replaced. The truth is out. It’s like a Pandora’s Box, or the invention of the atomic bomb that transformed modern warfare. There’s no going back from that. You regret you ever probed further and made the decision to open it. But, it's too late and always will be. It's an incredible discovery, yes, but so damaging to the world.

We’ve already seen Aladdin’s sinister genie, and originally, the concept of genies (the jinn) was that they were evil spirits, demons, known to have a reputation for manipulation, mischief, and malevolence. I wonder if a genie related to the monkey’s paw idea will possess one of the brothers in Fall?

⸻

Context and other resonant ideas:

"While jinn could be known to be friendly, or at least reclusive, the beings also have vampiric abilities. In addition to absorbing the essence of food, or eating while in human form, they derive nourishment by sucking energy from living things. That can include draining a human soul. According to lore, some jinn want to do their own thing, and have no interest in humans. Others get their kicks by hanging around humans. But it can be dicey to be around a jinn considering some want to toy with us, and choose to torment us or exact revenge for being cast out. They are also said to be able to bring about illness and bad luck. 'While some through the ages have tried to bargain with them, to do so is always a dangerous gamble since they are notorious tricksters who, for the most part, do not like humans,’ said Weatherly. ‘They can dwell in abandoned buildings, in the deserts and forests, even in rocks, statues, jewelry and other physical items'" ("A History of Genies in Folklore and Pop Culture").

⸻

"A Black Swan event is an event in human history that was unprecedented and unexpected at the point in time it occurred. However, after evaluating the surrounding context, domain experts (and in some cases even laymen) can usually conclude: 'it was bound to happen.'" ("What are Black Swan events?").

⸻

"black swan event, high-impact event that is difficult to predict under normal circumstances but that in retrospect appears to have been inevitable. A black swan event is unexpected and therefore difficult to prepare for but is often rationalized with the benefit of hindsight as having been unavoidable.

"[...] All swans were presumed to be white because all historical records of swans showed them with white feathers. The term black swan was thus used to describe any impossible event or circumstance. But in 1697 the Dutch explorer Willem de Vlamingh encountered swans with dark plumage in Australia, a land largely unexplored by Europeans at that time. The black swan thus came to be a metaphor for the reality that just because something has not happened does not mean that it cannot occur in the future. The metaphor is analogous to the fragility of any system of thought and a testament to the fallacy of assumption. A set of conclusions can be undone once any of its fundamentals is proved false. In this case, the observation of a single black swan negated the long-held presumption about the species. Any logic that followed the assumption that swans must be white was also invalidated by the discovery.

"[...] while human beings are good at turning environmental stimuli into meaningful information, they tend to be narrow-minded in their beliefs about the world. Being dogmatic about beliefs makes humans blind to concepts that fall outside what is accepted as true. This creates a vulnerability to surprise events called black swans, which necessitate a change in worldview" (Encyclopaedia Britannica).

⸻

What an understatement. I'm sure the brothers will have to do more than just change their worldviews. Their world and potentially every perception they've ever had has been turned upside-down. And, their fallacy of assumption about their souls—it could all be construed as the Storian's fault for not correcting them.

[enddaysengine]

Janni (Paths Beyond)

When I was a teenager, cracking open the 3.0 Monster Manual for the first time, the Janni didn't excite me. Two decades on, however, they get my vote for the best genies in the d20 games. Why? One of the reasons I appreciate the Janni is they are much closer to the typical benevolent jinn with nary a wish in sight. While jinni in folklore have magical powers, they don't grant wishes; they use other magic to complete their tasks. 

The genies from ʻAlāʼ ad-Dīn's ring and lamp are by far the most famous wish-granters. There is, however, an entire thing about whether the Aladdin stories are genuine or Antoine Galland's inventions because we have no textual evidence for their existence before Les mille et une nuits. There is a wish-granter in the oldest extant version of ʾAlf Laylah wa-Laylah, but the ifrit in The Fisherman and the Jinni is extremely old and desperate. It certainly isn't magically compelled to grant wishes to anyone. 

The Janni are great because they avoid that old orientalist trope entirely and match up well with more modern tales of the jinn too. These genies live alongside mortals on the Material Plane but are often invisible, using their magic to hide from prying eyes. While the elemental planes don't exist in Arabic folklore, there is a belief that other worlds exist and that the jinn have their own kingdoms on those worlds — so janni possessing the plane shift power makes sense. 

Speaking of that plane shift, janni are an easy way to get low-level adventurers onto the planes and back again without portals. They are limited in where they can travel, but they aren't restricted to the Elemental Planes either; remember that the Astral is a valid target for janni. The stat block backs this up; janni are trained in the Arcana skill. This tells us a bit about how they look at the world. They take the approach of philosophy, metaphysics, and intense study — which conveniently loops back around to folklore. Jinn are best known as shapeshifters and tricksters, so get ready to crack out your jann wizards specializing in illusion and transmutation!

Adak the Thunderbolt is one of the premier wizards in the astral city of Yulgamot. While the janni is no slouch with evocation, in reality she is an illusionist — her epithet comes from her bold and decisive mannerism, not out of any affinity for lightning. From Yulgamot, Adak studies the relationship between the Inner Planes and the Astral, hoping to unlock the arcane secrets of matter and mind. She regularly hires adventurers as bodyguards for her expeditions across the planes and she is willing to mentor those who impress her.

The qareen are a Janni lineage who plane shift not to the Astral Plane but to the Ethereal and the Dreamlands. Every qareen has a spiritual double, a mortal on Golarian born at the same moment as the genie. Traditionally, the qareen serve as invisible guardians to their doubles, but many are mischievous pranksters or even sadistic torturers who infiltrate their twin's dreamscape to wreak havoc. When a qareen outlive their mortal counterpart, they join wandering military bands on the ethereal plane, ensuring the dream world and the mortal realm remain separate. 

Janni can only persist on the Elemental Planes for about two days, forcing them to keep on the move. The Opine Vault is one of the few places they can take up permanent residence on the Inner Planes. Upon her ascension to the Peerless Empire's throne, Sultana Ashadieeyah bint Khalid received a flawless moonstone from the reigning Kelish Padishah Emperor. She enchanted this gem to create the Settled Jewel, making the Vault a safe haven for Janni on the Plane of Earth. Janni now serve as administrators and bureaucrats throughout the city, but the Fossilized King Ayrzul plans on stealing the stone and using it for his own purposes. 

Further Reading

El-Zein, Amira. Islam, Arabs, and the Intelligent World of the Jinn. Syracuse University Press, 2017.

Irwin, Robert. The Arabian Nights: A Companion. London: Tauris Parke Paperbacks, 2010.

Lebling, Robert W. Legends of the Fire Spirits: Jinn and Genies from Arabia to Zanzibar. London: Tauris Parke, 2014.

[princess-ibri]

If Solomon is a major backstory concept for Jinn in the Aladdin sub-series, then are certain aspects of the Judeo-Christian Scriptures also part of the Disneyverse?

Yeah! Kinda

So we know from Elena of Avalor there's already basically Hanukkah in the Everrealm, which in how my DisneyVerse works came over from Our World due to the places/times when Our World and the Everrealm were more closely linked. So events/stories from both worlds can be referenced in the other, even though History might only be Story in one world and vice-versa.

Our World is of course a fictional version of the real world where magic actually exists and certain mythical events really took place, like Solomon binding the jinn to his bidding.

How I've imagined it is that in his attempts to bind the wicked Jinn who were causing trouble, he ended up binding Jinn across time and space (so including the Everrealm) and some of those Jinn were actually benevolent, like Genie and Eden, and just got caught up in the binding by accident.

Our World more or less follows the real world history, so Judaism/Christianity/Islam ect all do still exist. Whatever that really means cosmology I don't really touch on. There is a Greater Good out there over everything, Our World and the Everrealm to contrast the great evil that is embodied in Chernabog but that's as far as I've speculated.

(The Greater Good does have angels/angelic beings working for it, and Windwalkers are the children of those beings, in my inner DisneyVerse cosmology)

[alatismeni-theitsa]

Do you have any passing interest in mythology that's not greek? Like Egyptian or Aztec or Mesopotamian? If you do, what's one of your favorite stories? And do you have a favorite fairy tale from anywhere in the world?

I've been delaying this because I was trying to think of a favorite myth and tale!

I remember being very fascinated by the story and power of Osiris!

Osiris was killed by his brother Set, who wanted Osiris' throne. His wife, Isis, finds the body of Osiris and hides it in the reeds where it is found and dismembered by Set. Isis retrieves and joins the fragmented pieces of Osiris, then briefly revives him by use of magic. This spell gives her time to become pregnant by Osiris. Isis later gives birth to Horus. Since Horus was born after Osiris' resurrection, Horus became thought of as a representation of new beginnings and the vanquisher of the usurper Set.

As for my favorite tale... Greeks are very familiar with the story of Aladdin and the Jinn from One Thousand and One Nights (not because of Disney but as a culture I mean, because of proximity to the Persian empire, and we have the concept of "Khalima's tales"). I'd say that the story of Aladdin is my fave! Just the concept of having three wishes and then doing amazing things with them, getting a palace and a princess and battling an evil wizard, was always my favorite concept!

As for mythologies, "give me any mythology and take my soul" as the Greek phrase would go. I love them all! Each time I learn something new about any mythology, I go starry eyes 😂 I know that's not a very specific answer but I really couldn't choose one!

[books-to-add-to-your-tbr]

Title: The Forbidden Wish

Author: Jessica Khoury

Series or standalone: series

Publication year: 2016

Genres: fiction, fantasy, retelling, romance

Blurb: When Aladdin discovers Zahra’s jinni lamp, Zahra is thrust back into a world she hasn’t seen in hundreds of years...a world where magic is forbidden, and Zahra’s very existence is illegal. She must disguise herself to stay alive using ancient shapeshifting magic until her new master has selected his three wishes. When the king of the jinn offers Zahra a chance to be free of her lamp forever, she seizes the opportunity...only to discover she is falling in love with Aladdin. When saving herself means betraying him, Zahra must decide once and for all: is winning her freedom worth losing her heart?

[amliyatkamaster]

https://www.amliyatkamaster.com/how-to-call-jinn-for-help/

How to Call Jinn For Help, “Friends, whenever you think of help, the thought of Jinn comes to your mind, then it must have come at least once. Because since childhood you must have heard the stories of aladdin’s magic lamp and the jinn that emerged from inside it. Some people keep searching on the internet about How to Call Jinn For Help. Today we are going to make your search easier.

The age of a jinn is much longer than the age of a human. In reality, the age of the jinn is more than 400 years. Jinn’s wife is called jinni. And their daughters are called devilish angels.

Before taking help from Jinn, it is very important for us to know about Jinn. Just as you cannot drive a bike or car without learning. Similarly, you cannot call a jinn and take help from him.

Where did the jinn come from, first of all we will talk about it. Most people associate Jinn with Islam. Because jinn has been clearly mentioned in the Quran.

[rhetoricandlogic]

A Tale as Old as Time: The Jinn-Bot of Shantiport by Samit Basu

Mahvesh Murad

Wed Oct 18, 2023 3:00pm

A ring. A lamp. A storytelling bot that gathers all the narratives as they unspool. An idealist, her bitter mother, her monkey-bot brother. A not-Prince. A crime lord after world domination. A city that exists against all odds. And a story that refuses to die.

Samit Basu’s The Jinn-Bot of Shantiport is a fun, exuberant romp that’s being pitched as Aladdin meets Murder-bot. Which is pretty much what it is. It’s smart, bursting with ideas and novel concepts; fun, full of snappy dialogue and humour; complicated, with plenty of political, post-colonial commentary. It is also chaotic, info-dumpy at times, tells a lot more than it shows, and can feel like a detailed TV series treatment, or elaborate RPG bible.

The titular Shanitport is a vibrant, chaotic city, falling apart but bustling, inventive but disastrous. Violent, loud and torn between rival political parties and megalomaniacs and oligarchs and thugs. The city is quite literally drowning. The rich live in palatial homes and the poor suffer in the mud; a huge economic disparity is accepted as the norm. Surveillance is rampant, and bots are commonplace yet mostly considered second-class citizens, even though many are sentient. Everyone says the world is ending, so those who can are jetting off to other lands while those who can’t are surviving as best they can until the inevitable complete decline. Shantiport may hold on to ancient stories and clans and alliances, and it is both the future, and the future apocalypse coexisting in a shared chaos.

Anyone from a major city in the Indian subcontinent will be familiar with this scenario; we’ve lived like this for years, in collapsing cities trapped between hungry, corrupt powers who “may have their own differences, but always somehow manage to work together in the end.” What these powers always overestimate though, is the sheer will of the citizens, and their desire to be more than the city allows them to be. And that’s where Lina comes in. A local tour guide, she carries the heart of the city in hers, with a great love for Shantiport and its people. Lina’s parents, both raised in opposing clans, were joined together not just in their love for each other but also for their city. As young idealists they hoped to create revolutionary ways to improve Shantiport, but when Lina’s father vanished suddenly, her parents’ plans were abruptly discarded. Now, though she has been raised to stay under the radar, Lina wants to bear their torch onwards and is in search of an artifact her father had left behind—tech that could help lead her to improving the lives of everyone in Shantiport.

Her monkey bot-brother Bador has delusions of Bollywood hero-style grandeur, and mainly wants to get off this rock so he can make his heroic fortune across the galaxy, but while he’s stuck here in Shantiport, he is helping Lina with her search. It is during one of his searches in the mud, muck and rubble of the city that he finds Moku, a floating sentient storybot who is actually the narrator of the whole novel. Moku is very much a character too, and grows into himself during the course of the book. It can be a little distancing to always only hear the story from the storybot’s perspective.

We don’t ever really get inside Lina or Bador’s heads, and are always in Moku’s, with his bot-thoughts and perspectives. And Lina tends to hold back from sharing too much with Bodor and with Moku; she’s secretive and has her reasons for this, but it does make her journey a little harder to connect with, though it’s easy enough to write off her motivations to a generic saving-the-world-before-bedtime idealism.

It can also mean that there is, again, a lot of telling going on. Moku’s the storybot who tells the story, which could be fun, if we didn’t end up having to hear him—literally—tell the story quite so often.

Conversations can get long, entire debates are presented as is (albeit about important topics; Basu isn’t going to shy away from heftier topics), and there is a lot of banter—fun, but also a little grating at times, as it takes on the pace and cadence of a snappy superhero movie a little too well, a little too fast. Same can be said for the plot—some quick inferences that are a little too convenient, many cinematic action sequences, huge scale bot fights and chase sequences, some dramatic sudden plot twists that are just aching to be a penultimate episode of a TV series.

There are so many things going on, all the time, at the same time, that it may feel as overwhelming as cities like Shanitport could be. There’s a leaner novel in here, or if fleshed out into multiple episodes, a very fun TV show. That does not take away, though, from the sheer aplomb with which Basu has built and explored this world of fables and ancient cultures and futuristic possibilities, its people and their desires.

[quirkycatsfatstacks]

The Jinn-Bot of Shantiport ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Ahhh! I cannot express how much I loved The Jinn-Bot of Shantiport. I think I fell in love with it in the first chapter. And I stayed in love through to the end. This was such a fun book to read, with unique and compelling characters.

I mean it, too. This book has three primary characters: our primary perspective (a unique bot who only wants to record for his masters), Lina, and Bador. And boy, these characters could not be more different from one another if they tried. Frankly, I loved those differences. I also love that my feelings for them evolved and changed over time. Much like the situation within the city (though perhaps in reverse order?).

Samit Basu did a brilliant job creating a rich and disturbing world. This world is where surveillance is king, bots are becoming more sentient by the day, and the world is possibly on the brink of death. It's a lot, and I loved hearing every little detail.

There's a lot to love about The Jinn-Bot of Shantiport, from the characters to the Aladdin references and everything in between. I won't say that this book is perfect for MurderBot fans (as it is a very different world), but it made that little part of my heart sing happy. So take what you will from that.

Highlights: Science Fiction Dystopian Science Fiction Bot Rights Aladdin References

[annachum]

Some of my ideas for a Disney Magic Flute :

. It's gonna be like a bit of Wizard of Oz and Encanto in some ways

. So a young lad ( around 18 ) in mid 1940s Egypt, after WW2, is helping his family in Cairo to recover the traumas and stuff after WW2

. He eventually stumbles upon an Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic mirror presented to him by his grandfather, that was in the attic

. And he stumbles upon a wondrous and magical fantasy land that has influences from Olden Egypt ( like, from Ancient Egypt to 19th century Egypt )

. The music defo be using Mozart's Magic Flute score

. And then similarly with Mozart's original idea, the Sun Pharoah and the Night Queen are embroiled in a bitter custody battle that eventually led to war

. The Princess Pammenes is gifted with solar and lunarkinetic powers, and is a free spirited and charming woman who wants something more of the Royal life she grew up in ( and honestly wants to get away from her narc mom )

. And then turns out Papageno is smitten with Papagena for some time and while Papageno ( who is a magical jinn bird catcher in that idea ) helps Tamino for that quest to join in the Comradeship of Sun, Tamino also helps his jinn friend to win the heart of Papagena, who is a lady in waiting of Pammenes in that adaptation.

. And then at the end, Papageno and Papagena got married

. Oh and guess what?

. Tamino and Pammenes started dating AFTER the Night Queen is defeated

. And they have their first date exploring the streets of Cairo in the 40s at the end ( since Pamino also wants to explore Tamino's world too )

. It is implied that Tamino and Pamina plan to marry after Tamino finishes college in Cairo University

. But for now, Tamino and Pamina ( who was 17 then ) are a happily dating pair

It's a little bit like the Nutcracjer Prince and Clara's case in The Nutcracker in spades

Where Tamino and Pammenes eventually adopt their human personas in Cairo while still carrying out their Royal duties in the Pyramidus land

I know the libretto of the Magic Flute says it sets in ' Ancient/Olden Egypt '

But it didn't say WHEN in Olden Egypt

So I thought of setting Disney's Magic Flute in post WW2 40s Egypt out of sheer creativity

FYI Freemasonry originally came from Ancient Egypt

And it's still a practice in Egypt after the Pharonic Era of Egypt ended

So it must be so amazing for Disney's Taminos, who aspires to be a cultural curator one day, to embark on a land that has influences from Olden Egypt - from Pharonic Eras up till 19th century Egypt

Srsly Disney's Tamino x Pammenes be kinda like Aladdin x Jasmine, Glinda x Oscar ( Oz the Great and Powerful ) and also Marc x Layla in some ways

🤩🤩🤩🥺🥺🥺🥺

[rh35211]

Ally or spiritual protector?

First danger: Bourre confuses ally and spiritual protector. These two concepts are mutually exclusive because they come from too different cultural horizons: the spiritual protector comes from Christianity in its historical practice in Europe. It is primarily the guardian angel, who watches over the believer at every moment of his life. Or it is the patron saint, who plays the same role but more punctually, on the request of the believer through prayer. And finally it can be the confessor priest, the director of consciousness in the 19th century way. Such characters are foreign to Native American culture.

On the other hand, the term ally clearly refers to Castaneda. The ally is an entity from another plane of reality, the one esotericists call the infra-world. The nagual Don Juan Matus, benefactor of Castaneda, tells the meeting of the sorcerer with an ally. It’s very physical. The ally comes from a world based on electricity, and its sizzling touch is very unpleasant for us creatures of a world based on water. In a grueling clinch, the wizard has to subdue his opponent, a phase that Castaneda calls: harnessing the ally.

Once calmed, the ally transforms into steam and enters entirely into a small gourd that the wizard has prepared for this purpose before the meeting, and that he will carry all his life to his belt. My benefactor had one where he held his ally the Gray Man shut up. Strangely, as he seldom left it, his gourd was invisible, appearing only when he needed it. The ally in the gourd evokes the tales of the Arabian Nights, with the jinn in Aladdin’s oil lamp.

[writer59january13]

Akin twin invisible presence coaxing...paranormal

Action across ouija board

herald Faustian bargain as fingers of left hand appear to move planchette of their own accord... inexplicably, silently, and verily along a barely traceable minuscule chord dance, with some spatial force from outer limits, perhaps dimension unexplored twilight zone, (where spirit of Rod Serling dwells) horizontally, linearly, and peculiarly unmoored hashtagging, kickstarting, and zigzagging

while just barely hoovering with maybe a hair breath of space to afford

between alien world and terrestrial

plain playing field, when oh my lord... (this premature ejeculation from an atheist sword like cross my heart and hope

to die a martyrs death), thee paranormal shenanigans witness movement toward, and away from death still participants mouths agape with bated breath until last letter scored

which message... uh...ah...cannot be revealed yeah...yeah...yeah...due to HIPAA laws...

...Without explanation,

there gets heard clangorous din along with whooshes of ice cold air brushing against my chin

analogous to some unseen genie i.e. and/or jinn freed

from the lantern by Aladdin, then,...how odd...

a deathlike stillness one could hear a pin drop pervades painfully quiet

as if sound got vacuumed in to a void of parallel universe...

...Though I don't dabble in black magic, nor nothing linkedin with the occult,

yours truly titled poem

to "grab" attention fast as Usain Bolt, he dashes off runners block

blinding earth shattering jolt

faster than speeding bullet, a praiseworthy athlete

with no win tent to insult, but merely chose his name out of thin air (in accordance with abracadabra) and flimsy rhyme that did result...

But, aye beg (bribe

with wealth of Midas)...please believe me you, this rather cheese zee poetic endeavor got

wrought eyes wide shut

(for all intents and purposes eyes closed), where gentle force did cease

phalanges asthma southern paw

of righteous honest to dog gone guy with pennywise

and pound foolish sixth cents sees dead people as like miniature floaters (in my eyes with ease) poised and struck unbeknownst to me computer laptop black keys!

[writingwithcolor]

Using Jinn /Djinn vs Genie in story

Anonymous asked:

Hello!

I want to write a story where the main character unknowingly makes a wish, the wish granter well-intendedly grants it, but the MC lives to regret the wish. (Note: MC isn't Muslim I learned Islam and Magic are not compatible from other posts)

From what I've researched it seems that wishes granted by Jinn are more like deals with the devil. The wish is granted in exchange for a piece of your soul. I want the exchange to be more like the Genie from Aladdin.

Should I use the term Genie? I think this would make it clear that the character is abiding by western genie abilities/limitations, and I thought it would distinguish that I'm not referencing real life Jinn. Would a Genie be seen as a completely separate mythical creature or would the concept of a Genie just feel like a culturally appropriated Jinn to Muslim readers?

Furthermore, would it be appropriate if the genie appear as an Arab person to acknowledge the cultural roots? Would this be considered good representation or is that harmful? Would it be okay or better to subvert the trope and make them another ethnicity?

Please be blunt and tell me if I should think of another way to accomplish the wish fulfillment!

Thank you for your time

Note: Niki isn’t Muslim and is speaking on the topic of cultural appropriation only. 

You want your story to feature a wish-granting character, and you want to base this character on the Genie character in Disney’s Aladdin in order to avoid appropriating Arab/Muslim jinn. Here’s the issue: the Genie in Disney’s Aladdin is already an appropriation of jinn.

The word “genie” is an anglicization of the word “jinni” (جني) which is the singular form of “jinn” (جن). It was coined by Antoine Galland when he translated The Thousand and One Nights from Arabic to French in the early 18th century*. The Thousand and One Nights, a collection of mostly Arab and Muslim folk tales, quickly gained in popularity in Europe and was re-translated, back-translated, retold and adapted multiples times over the next couple of centuries. Disney’s Aladdin is probably the best-known of those retellings, and it certainly did a lot to popularize genies in Western media.

But despite having been absorbed into Western popular culture, genies remain firmly associated with orientalist stereotypes and are frequently portrayed with vaguely “oriental” characteristics. For example, in Neil Gaiman’s October Tale, the genie first appears wearing a turban and “pointy shoes.” Genies may feel like a part of Western mythos by now, but they clearly retain cultural markers that tie them to their origins.

In my opinion, calling your character a genie to avoid having to deal with the cultural and religious context surrounding jinn is not an appropriate solution to your problem. 

You have two options:

1) Call your character a jinni

Call your character a jinni and do your best to portray them as accurately as possible to their culture of origin. 

This includes faithfulness to the way jinn are portrayed in Islam, and specificity to the national or ethnic group you’re drawing on, as there are variations in different cultures. 

You will need to do quite a bit of in-depth research to ensure your portrayal is respectful, accurate, and doesn’t rely on orientalist tropes. 

You will also probably need to give thought to the context surrounding the jinni’s presence in your story. 

How did they get here? 

What circumstances led your human character to encountering them? 

And what are the implications for the backstory and future of your characters and world?

2) Alternatively, call them something else entirely

Alternatively, if you would like to have the freedom to use this character as you please, call them something else entirely. There are plenty of wish-granting beings in Western folk tales and mythologies that you could use instead.

Caveat: I’m not Muslim and would strongly recommend seeking out additional advice from Muslim sources if you decide to go with option 1 and portray jinn in your story. You can start by reading the posts by our Muslim mods on this topic: Djinn tag on WWC

- Niki

*A note on The Thousand and One Nights: Antoine Galland’s translation took many liberties with the source material, interpreting and altering some stories, and adding several others which weren’t part of the original Arabic manuscript. Aladdin’s Lamp is one of them. It is believed that these additional stories were written by the Syrian writer Hanna Diyab, who shared them with Galland when they met in Paris. Galland included them in his published work without crediting Diyab.