trickster: The Miku-Goblin Crossover

The goblins promised me that if I wrote this article about trickster, they would return my left sock. They have not, yet, but I remain hopeful.

If you ever find yourself explaining trickster to a goblin, stop immediately. You are giving them ammunition. Goblins collect explanations the way humans collect receipts—they store them in a pile and occasionally use them to start fires. Your explanation of trickster will be burned for warmth in a goblin cave within the week.

A Goblin Aside Concerning static

Goblin children, when introduced to static, exhibit a characteristic behavior: they grow very still, look slightly to the side, and then resume what they were doing. Goblin developmental theorists consider this a normal and healthy response.

Salvage Notes: cipher

cipher pairs naturally with goblin culture the way certain wines pair with certain cheeses: not because of an inherent harmony, but because somebody, sometime, decided they go together, and now nobody can imagine them apart.

The Goblin Verdict on trickster

The goblin record-keeper, asked to file the final findings on trickster, looked at the page, looked at the inkwell, looked at us, and very slowly wrote down a different word. The substitution stands.