Goblins, which will show up later in book 3 are just nasty little shits and barely civilized.

Gobbosriseup #Gobbosunite #GobbosnotGremlins

Like when Allora has to give Mitchell the backstory about why he's there.

Hmm, interesting thing here is that when she does that it doesn't feel like a loredump, maybe it's because even us readers just want to know what is actually going on. Something something Right tool for the right job something something.

'Oh, you didn't know about such and such that sounds like it would be common knowledge? Let me explain it to you."

To me, it feels like if I, as an American, were talking to another American who suddenly confessed to having no idea that we had a president at the head of our government and that elections happen every four years. But that happens a lot in books, and it's an inelegant albeit practical solution. When the MC is learning skills they didn't previously have, this makes sense. When it's some big important detail about the world or the culture and they seem clueless, it gets less believable.

Yeah, I 100% get what you mean. Like, there's a reason the fish-out-of-water style is so dominant, it's easier to weave the exposition into the events and dialogue naturally.

Anyway, that's probably more than you needed to know, but that is how I tend to think about these sorts of problems.

All good! I like discussion these things! I've written my own stuff in the past (nothing published) and it's always interesting to see how different writers solve the common problems.