Welcome to my Labyrinth

Many people throw the word “trickster” around like candy, never really understanding the full implications of the word. Some think that anyone who uses pranks and witty rapport to accent their magical or combat skills deserves the label of “Trickster,” but the truth is that there’s more to it than that. What follows are the criteria that your resident adventurer here at We-Are-Trickster uses to separate a true Trickster from your average mischief-maker. 1. The Trickster is an Other

Tricksters, for whatever reason, are always a societal other. They are an outside viewpoint that looks inwards, which gives them a unique perspective and allows them to make more poignant commentary on the society they have been “adopted” into.

2. The Trickster is a Teacher

Trickster pranks are rarely played without reason. All of the best Tricksters teach some sort of lesson; sometimes the lesson is overt, sometimes the lesson is subtle. But very rarely do Tricksters have no motive or act completely randomly. There’s a method in the madness.

3. The Trickster is a Border-Crosser

Tricksters, thanks to their outsider status, have the unique ability to cross borders both mundane and magical. These borders can include things like race and class as well as planar or country-borders. Sometimes they are the only being that can cross these borders, making them unique and powerful go-betweens.

4. The Trickster Reshapes the World

One way or another, in one aspect or another, the Trickster affects some form of change on the world, literally to the point they must be acknowledged as the catalyst or designer for the change.

Hermes re-orders the Gods of Olympus through song.

Loki causes the world to die and then be reborn anew.

Raven steals the sun for humanity.

Russula Virescens & Russula Emetica A project for illustration class where I personalize fungi

The garden was illuminated by small lights that floated above everything, giving it an ethereal glow. Jareth entered through a large archway covered in ivy and watched the fae that had already arrived and begun the festivities. 

He didn’t always enjoy balls and social functions, but Beltane was an exception. It was a night for wild magic and joy and–of particular importance to many fae–fertility. This celebration wasn’t like the formal balls that required the King of the Goblins to be on his best behavior, despite his mischievous nature. 

Queen Demeter took great pains to keep Persephone by her side throughout the night, but Persephone wanted the chance to explore without her mother’s strict guiding hand and even more strict rules of conversation. Though the princess was young, she knew to keep her wits about her and did not need to be baby sat like a young girl. And all it took was a single, in depth conversation with a noted courtier for Demeter’s attention to waiver long enough for Persephone to slip away. Ducking through the rose and ivy filled trellises, Persephone moved through the throngs of Faerie creatures old and young, some beautiful and some distinctly grotesque, as she gazed through the every one of their faces. Each one was strange and new and absolutely fascinating to her.

Those who knew him better than the others gave him inviting smirks, and he answered them with a nod of acknowledgement and a sly grin of his own before moving on. Before long, he had walked the length of the garden and found himself at a small uninhabited area at the edge of the festivities with a darkened path that led between two rows of hedges. It reminded him of the Labyrinth, and he had a brief notion to take the path, though he knew it wasn’t intended to be part of the gathering space. 

Before he had made up his mind to follow it, he caught the movement of the girl at the corner of his eye. He didn’t recognize the alluring creature, but he watched, intrigued, as she lowered herself to the ground and offered her magic to the surrounding plants. The scent of spring grew even deeper as flowers sprang up under her fingers and colorful buds fell like snow around both of them. He couldn’t help himself; while making a noise as though clearing his throat, he stepped closer to her.