Goblins interest me.

Few people pick animals to represent them for very good or thought out reasons, but nobody, and I mean nobody, says nothing when they make a species choice. That said, I'm not surprised that we're mostly represented by charismatic predators. In a world where the individual is dwindling in significance, and in a community strongly dominated by the kinds of kids who sat by themselves at lunch, the lurid appeal of monstrous carnivores is pretty self evident. That said? I never thought that way, and I dislike projecting escapism. Sub-consciously- I think many people do. and It's part of the reason why we fondly consider Nirvana and laugh at hair metal.

There's nothing wrong with escapism, it's just that it comes in types. Our specific brand of it lacks humanity, I think. It lacks a truth to it, a spirit that makes it approachable to outsiders. I think that thought every time I come across a story or comic in which a tiger is cast as a sympathetic every-man in a slice of life narrative. To be honest it's kind of silly, to reduce the stunning grandeur of a large feline to pedestrian college-student melodrama comes off as a bit thoughtless to me. I'll accept that most people won't chose to care, but I won't accept that nobody cares. Especially considering that if we ever want to start producing the kind of lasting impactful fiction that travels beyond the boundaries of the fandom these are exactly the kinds of things we need to consider.

This, and other things, are why Goblins interest me.

They, like my own chosen species- Rats, exist at a lower stratum within the realms of imagination. They are as fringe as Orcs but not a 10th as powerful- judged by all and living at the desperate edge of civilization. We tacitly accept this status quo- but... If you look at the way species like Goblins and Kobolds are treated in their worlds, but! for a moment imagine that they are not intrinsically evil? They become instantly sympathetic. I mean, most of us could never imagine what it might feel like to be the absolute master of a domain- to be as regal and powerful as a large predatory feline; all of us, at one point or another- might know what it's like to be a small creature in a big scary world you feel is out to get you.

Goblins, and Rats, are small.

All of us know what smallness is. To feel powerless and judged. To feel like prey.

Exploring the reality of that... to occasionally break away from the hollow escapism in order to confront that... to me? Well, it's something we need more of.

But this is just my opinion. Enjoy the doodle.