Wish/Matthew/Steakhouse/Mind Control
"I've actually thought about wishes, how to word them, and how to manipulate that wording to go against the wisher for much of my adult life," you say. "I'm a bit of a D&D nerd. Just give me a bit here." You look around for something to write with and on, and finally resort to grabbing the coloring book and crayons. You start to work out the phrasing of the wish.
"I really wish you hadn't told me that," says Allorah. "It's like you laid down a challenge; but I really don't want to mess with your wishes."
"Oh sorry," you say wincing, "I didn't mean it as a challenge. I'm just good at so few things that I have a tendency to brag over the few things that I can do well."
"I'll try to not mess with your wish too much," she says with a giggle. "Just because you're so cute."
You take the next ten minutes or so to eat a bite or two of food as you narrow down on the wording of the wish. Finally, you think that he have it.
"Alright," you say, "here goes nothing: Allorah, I wish to instantly and irrevocably gain the ability to perceive, understand, and manipulate the thoughts, emotions, memories, and skills of any being through an act of will on my part without detrimental effects to myself."
"That is pretty good, master," says Allorah. "I guess you got me there. As you command, so shall it be." She doesn't make any special gestures or fanfare, just simply saying: "It is done." You glance at your ring and see that one of the diamonds has gone dark.
"I don't feel any different," you say. "I suppose I should try it out . . . but there is no one here. I know, I'll try it on myself!"
"Oh no," says Allorah with a pout.
"What," you ask, "what's the matter?"
"Well master," she says with as she sways a bit in her chair, emphasizing her youth, "the only way I could keep detrimental effects from happening to you was to not let you be able to use the power on yourself; otherwise you could accidentally hurt yourself." She has the 'I'm so innocent' look down to a tee. You laugh deep and long, and before long Allorah is joining you.
"You aren't mad, master?" she asks.
"Of course not," you say, "I have discovered over the years that no matter how well you word a wish it is always possible to manipulate it against the wisher. If the only thing you did to the wish was to make it to where I can't use it on myself I should be thanking you, not blaming you. Thank you Allorah."
"Ummm, you are a strange master. You're welcome I guess?"
Your phone rings again, and looking at you smart watch you see that it is your best friend Daniel. You fish your phone from your front pocket and answer it.
"Hey, what's up?" you ask.
"Good, you're alive," he replies with a breath of relief. "We can't have you dying before you make out your will." It's an old joke that you would usually laugh at, but it seemed like he was really concerned that you may have died.
"Why wouldn't I be alive?" you ask.
"Where have you been?" he asks. "I can see the smoke from my house. The entire area around your place went up in flames. It's the biggest forest fire in the area in the last seventy years. I mean it doesn't compare to the fires in California, or real forests . . . but it's all over the news." Of course, you should have expected this. Your house was surrounded by twelve foot tall weeds instead of a yard, and that was surrounded by woodlands. The possibility of a wildfire should have been obvious when you left your house to burn. You might not care about the house; but the property was another matter. It was nearly thirty-seven acres of beautiful wooded valley that had been in your family since your grandfather. You love that property; and now it's burning to the ground.
"Shit," you say, "I didn't know. I've been . . . dealing with something. Something pretty amazing actually. I was going to tell you about it when I saw you for the game later."
"If you need a place to stay, you know you're always welcome, man."
"Yeah, I know. Thanks. I'll have to assess the situation and get back to you."
"Yeah, it says on the news that they almost have it out."
"I just hope nobody got hurt."
"I'm just glad you weren't in your house . . . you're always in your house. I was freaking out."
"I'm fine, Daniel. I'll see you guys tomorrow, but I should find out how bad things are back home."
"Alright, I'll let you go. Stay safe."
"I will," you say, "see you tomorrow." You close down the call and listen to your voicemail. Apparently the authorities have been trying to contact you, and you've been sending them to voicemail. You quickly call them back and take care of all the particulars while you finish your lunch with Allorah; apprising her of the situation in the meantime. When you finally have everything resolved, you put away your phone.
"Well, it's a total loss. The whole property is a cinder. At least there are no fatalities so far."
"You could always wish it away," says Allorah; "but you haven't even tried out your mind control."
You could just wish the effects of the fire gone, but that would be a one-off. You always try to get wishes with life-long lasting effects, not one-time benefits. Maybe if you went to see the damage you could come up with something better? Then again, you don't have to go there right away. You probably aren't going to be allowed to return to your place right now anyway. Maybe you should have a little fun with your new power. Brandy is a cutie . . . but she is older that your favorite ages. Definitely fuckable, but there is a park nearby that likely has a lot of cute little girls in it.
What's the next step?
- Wish the effects of the fire gone.
- Go see the effects of the fire before you wish.
- Try your Mind Control on Brandy.
- Go to the Park.
| Reflexes: | 5 | Strength: | 7 | Resilience: | 12 |
| Dexterity: | 5 | Speed: | 6 | Stamina: | 9 |
| Health: 84% | |||||
| Perception: | 10 | Knowledge: | 15 | Willpower: | 10 |
| Logic: | 11 | Wit: | 13 | Focus: | 11 |
| Intellect: 93% | |||||
| Empathy: | 5 | Presence: | 7 | Confidence: | 10 |
| Charisma: | 5 | Rapport: | 6 | Influence: | 8 |
| Sanity: 60% | |||||
- I wish to instantly and irrevocably gain the ability to perceive, understand, and manipulate the thoughts, emotions, memories, and skills of any being through an act of will on my part without detrimental effects to myself. (Due to wording he cannot use the power on himself.)