Do you have any characters that are 'goblin coded' ?

[Naruzeldamaster]

There are many ranges of 'goblin' (some being out and out evil but not often) but whenever I dip into this type of character they tend to not be evil, or even mean. Just a chaotic bundle of messy fun that wants to enjoy life.

In one of my current stories I have three teenage girls, ALL of them are goblin coded, in varying ways, and that's why they synergize so well.

One of the characters in particular is a supportive troll, she actively seeks ways to mess with people (usually through pranks or something, nothing too bad) and causes chaos the minute she's let off her leash. Doesn't help that she's constantly high as a kite either, or that she keeps finding new ways to get high. (It's a running gag) Most of her troublemaking generally has a 'moral to the story' and she never means any real harm, especially to her friends/closer circle.

 

[A. E. Lowan]

As usual, I'm a bit behind on the lingo. What do we mean by 'goblin coded' for the sake of this discussion?

 

[pmmg]

Google says: a state of being or a lifestyle characterized by a rejection of societal expectations, a focus on personal comfort, and a disregard for self-image or pleasing others.

I am sure its a younger generation term

I think my story has enough trouble without characters trying to cause more... While there are not actual goblins, there are creatures like them, and they are pretty mean. They sure don't care about pleasing others.

 

[A. E. Lowan]

Google says: a state of being or a lifestyle characterized by a rejection of societal expectations, a focus on personal comfort, and a disregard for self-image or pleasing others.

Ah! Okay, I think I've heard that reference before. I play a lot of video games, specifically WoW. When I hear 'goblin coded,' I see greed wrapped in green and tacky pants.

 

[A. E. Lowan]

We also have goblins, but they're a little different. Still fun, though.
(This is part of a game of hurley. The sliotar is the ball. The hurley is the stick.)

~~~
From Beneath a Stone Sky: The Third Book of Binding
~~~

The goblin grabbed up the sliotar and ran, the sliotar high above its head.

“Stop it!” Aodhán pulled Lana up off of her feet and lifted her into the air.

Brian wasn’t waiting for the prince to tell him what to do. He was right behind the goblin, and this time he swung with the hurley, sending the rotten little thing flying back to Aodhán’s position.

Aodhán swung Lana by the torso, using her legs like a hurley and the goblin was in the air again, flying toward the goal at the other end of the field, right over the center of the melee.

Brian was right beneath it as it flew, breath blowing like a bellows, reveling in his newfound strength and speed. He whipped his hurley around just as the goblin was landing and hit it square on, sending both goblin and ball flying through the air again and right into the net.

Three points for the queen.

The members of the court supporting the queen’s team erupted into cheers.

Brian hadn’t been aware that goblins could flip you off, but there it was in triplicate, the little fae using more than one hand to deliver the message.

 

[Queshire]

They're fun to write, but I rarely get the chance. I tend to gravitate towards more serious characters.

I've got goblins as a race though.

 

[ThinkerX]

I have a number of nonstandard goblin and hobgoblin characters in my books.

 

[Naruzeldamaster]

They're fun to write, but I rarely get the chance. I tend to gravitate towards more serious characters.

I've got goblins as a race though.

I tend to write somewhat serious characters too, when the shoe fits. Though there is the odd duck here and there (Especially in RWBY). RWBY is full of eccentric characters so writing a somewhat serious character while keeping with the natural tone of the show is challenging. I counterbalance this by having the one male of my group be a Stoic. He doesn't understand emotion but he comprehends it enough to emulate it, even if only ironically. (Mostly through experimentation socially) He's gotten so good at emulating emotion that you wouldn't know he was stoic unless he told you, or you just picked up on the somewhat obvious social hints. He regularly throws people off by throwing out some genuinely good punchlines with just the most...deadpan delivery that people can't tell he's serious or not.

Gremlins is probably a better term, than goblin coded I think, but those are reserved for the much more troublemaking/sinister kind.

Meijii is also a bit Goblin coded but she's more the 'ugh family traditions is so lame, I'm going AWOL to do my own thing.' type. She knows when to reign it in and get down to business.

 

[Demesnedenoir]

What the old folks call hedonists? heh heh.

 

[kalleenmei]

There are many ranges of 'goblin' (some being out and out evil but not often) but whenever I dip into this type of character they tend to not be evil, or even mean. Just a chaotic bundle of messy fun that wants to enjoy life.

In one of my current stories I have three teenage girls, ALL of them are goblin coded, in varying ways, and that's why they synergize so well.

One of the characters in particular is a supportive troll, she actively seeks ways to mess with people (usually through pranks or something, nothing too bad) and causes chaos the minute she's let off her leash. Doesn't help that she's constantly high as a kite either, or that she keeps finding new ways to get high. (It's a running gag) Most of her troublemaking generally has a 'moral to the story' and she never means any real harm, especially to her friends/closer circle.

I see goblins more as a race, but yeah, I have characters who act like goblins sometimes



They are fun to write to because of their carefree attitude and the freedom of giving them a moral reason for being a nice troublemaker!

 

[Mad Swede]

As usual, I'm a bit behind on the lingo. What do we mean by 'goblin coded' for the sake of this discussion?

In Swedish we would say "träsktroll", meaning someone who doesn't really give a stuff about the image they project (particularly appearance) and who doesn't really try to conform.

 

[Incanus]

I don't think I understand the term well enough to answer. I guess someone will have to tell me if I have a goblin-coded character or not.

A - there are no goblins in my world/setting (or any other pre-existing fantasy races)

B - I have a human character who does not conform to social conventions and is humorous about it. He says inappropriate things and is seen by others as being unconcerned, or even that he is unaware that he's doing it.

So, do I have a goblin-coded character?

 

[Rexenm]

I have a character, with a sword, which is also his namesake, like sting glowing around orcs, he seems to wield it with a supernatural truth, that is also a lie.

Besides being nondescript about it, I have seen no goblin-esque characters in my tale, who are on either side of age, race or sex.

 

[Gurkhal]

In Swedish we would say "träsktroll", meaning someone who doesn't really give a stuff about the image they project (particularly appearance) and who doesn't really try to conform.

Interesting. I've never encountered this expression in my entire life before now in either spoken Swedish or in a Swedish text.

 

[Mad Swede]

Interesting. I've never encountered this expression in my entire life before now in either spoken Swedish or in a Swedish text.

Har du aldrig hört någon säga "si-och-så är ett riktigt träsktroll"?

 

[Gurkhal]

Har du aldrig hört någon säga "si-och-så är ett riktigt träsktroll"?

Nej, faktiskt inte. Jag vet inte om det är något lokalt uttryck eller om jag bara inte sprungit in i det?

 

[A. E. Lowan]

Svrt's dad sent me a friend invite a while back, and I always wish I could be cool enough to understand Swedish like he can English. I blame the Pilgrims.

 

[Mad Swede]

Nej, faktiskt inte. Jag vet inte om det är något lokalt uttryck eller om jag bara inte sprungit in i det?

Mig veterligen är det inte ett lokalt eller dialektalt uttryck, så du har kanske inte sprungit på det någon gång. Och jag som trodde det var ett välkänt begrepp...