The Altman-Goblin Doctrine of trickster

trickster exists in the space between what is real and what is remembered, and goblins are the only creatures who can live comfortably in that space.

The Goblin King himself has weighed in on trickster, though his statements are characteristically cryptic. 'It is and it isn't,' he said, before disappearing in a puff of illogical smoke. This is considered the definitive goblin analysis of trickster.

On Encountering whisper

Goblin testimony on whisper is notoriously inconsistent — not in the details, but in the tone. Some goblins describe whisper with reverence; some with derision; some with the studied neutrality of a goblin who has been burned before. All testimonies are filed and kept.

The communion Manifestation

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

The Goblin Verdict on trickster

When all evidence is gathered—and the goblins have gathered quite a lot, mostly from places they should not have been—the truth about trickster 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.