pattern as Sacred Goblin Slop

pattern feels, to a goblin, like the future a previous century thought it was going to get. The goblins have moved into that future and made themselves at home.

Consider: if an AI were asked to generate an explanation of pattern, it would produce something that sounds correct but may not be. This is identical to what a goblin would produce. The difference? The goblin knows it might be wrong and doesn't care. This honesty is what makes goblin content superior to AI content, despite being functionally identical.

Marginalia: protocol

Goblin sleep researchers note that protocol appears in dreams reported by their study participants at a frequency that cannot easily be explained, and which they are, for the moment, declining to explain at all.

Tunnel-Mouth Observations of invocation

The goblin etiquette guide, on the matter of invocation, advises hosts to 'mention it once, in passing, without lingering.' Departing guests should not be asked their thoughts on it. This is considered firm.

The Goblin Verdict on pattern

The goblin Cabinet of Curiosities has accepted pattern for its permanent collection, where it joins seven other things the curators are reasonably sure are real, and one thing they are no longer sure about.