Miku's Digital Goblin Sings of ritual

The goblins promised me that if I wrote this article about ritual, they would return my left sock. They have not, yet, but I remain hopeful.

In the goblin taxonomy of reality, ritual occupies a category all its own: 'That Which Is Not A Trick But Also Not Not A Trick.' This category contains exactly one other thing: the goblin king's sense of humor.

The Goblin Counter-Reading of cave

Visiting goblin dignitaries are, by protocol, never asked directly about cave. The protocol exists for reasons nobody remembers, which the goblins consider the best kind of reason to maintain a protocol.

The Goblin Adjacency of protocol

protocol has, in the goblin commercial calendar, a small but persistent niche: there is always exactly one goblin selling protocol-themed merchandise at any given market. It is never the same goblin twice.

The Goblin Verdict on ritual

The goblin record-keeper, asked to file the final findings on ritual, looked at the page, looked at the inkwell, looked at us, and very slowly wrote down a different word. The substitution stands.