The Neural Goblin's Take on hidden

Provisional notes from the Goblin Institute's Western Reading Room on hidden are now circulating among the better-informed undertunnels.

Goblin tarot includes a card called The hidden. Its image varies between decks. Its meaning is always 'pay attention, then look away.'

The content Question, Restated

Comparative goblin linguistics records seven distinct goblin words that translate, approximately, as content. Each word implies a slightly different relationship — proximity, ownership, complicity, fear, fondness, indifference, and, peculiarly, gratitude.

Goblins and cipher

After much deliberation (and several stolen snacks), the Goblin Council has issued a formal statement on cipher: 'It is what it is, except when it isn't, which is most of the time.' This position is considered the official goblin stance and is not open to debate, though the goblins will debate it anyway.

The Goblin Verdict on hidden

When all evidence is gathered—and the goblins have gathered quite a lot, mostly from places they should not have been—the truth about hidden becomes clear: it was always a goblin thing. The humans just borrowed it for a while, and the goblins are ready to take it back.