Joseph
Hm, so this ritual had been organised to create magic. Another god seeking to spread their influence across all realms, sadly including his own. Well ideally, this 'Majesty' would be as amiable to a compromise as Vivienne was when she was attempting to create her dreams. But even though Mr Bones didn't really want anything to do with magic, he still had a vested interest in ensuring that others had more or less even access to it. And what Majesty was suggesting was nowhere close to even.

"First of all I would like to say that I do not want this magic in my realm. When it is unleashed, I would enjoy the same privilege I had during Vivienne's dreaming ritual, having the effects of it ignore my land and its people. I will still lend my support, but in return I expect this minor concession. However. I must agree that the source of the magic being from your realm is troubling, to say the least. If, when, a divine conflict occurs can we trust you to stay neutral? If a race that relies on magic to exist finds itself opposing you, will they be able to rely on your good graces to continue existing? I don't know enough about you to say you're untrustworthy, but I also can't say that you're to be trusted. If we are to go ahead with this system it should not be tied to a single god, or even a group of them. If a mortal wishes to use magic, then the god or gods they worship should supply it. Anything else would be unfair, what of our brethren who have not yet arrived at this meeting? What of the gods who have not been born yet? What if you, Majesty, fade away like so many others have? What would we do then?"

Firm but reasonable. Most gods seemed more concerned with what magics they would create than who would supply it. A token few cared about Majesty's plan though, which was good. Even one more god would make the skeleton's concerns significantly more valid. Now he needed to see how much Majesty cared about her theoretical monopoly on magic.
Daniel
Ah, familiarity. Gods were a finicky bunch, and rituals always threatened to overturn the status quo. What little of it there was, at least. Some would agree with your vision, some would nitpick things, and some would want to throw things out completely. As it was with dreams, as it was with seasons, and as it was here. Vivienne listened silently as the plan was detailed, and as the responses came pouring in. A small cup of energizing tea materialized from shadow in front of her, courtesy of a fragment of herself from Hypnagogia. Something she'd need if she were to stay awake for all of this. All in all, this was rather... Expected. Many of the deities here had good points, and others... Less so. Perhaps it would help if she cut through some of the confusion right here. 

"I would like to clear something up first." The insect-like witch spoke up after a moment. "It being a part of her demiplane would not necessarily make all of magic under her control. When these rituals occur, the demiplane grows beyond the influence of their creator. Mostly." There was a small pause as she took another sip. "As the creator of Dreams, I can excise *A* Deity from the demiplane, or *A* Mortal, but I could not bar off the demiplane from all mortals or all deities. Likewise, were I to die tomorrow, the demiplane would not die with me. Under similar circumstances, I'd presume the same would go for... Our dear sister's demiplane."

"That being said, it's possible for the ritual to turn out differently. I do not begrudge our siblings for looking out for their own best interest. I myself would also be partial to a more shared cost, as, well..." She leaned back in her chair, and crossed her arms. "I *Already* Shoulder the burden of my own realm's magic. Asking me to change to this system as proposed would be asking me to cede influence over my own realm for no real gain. Or rather, at a net loss. The mere trickle of power from a demiplane could not hope to match the flood of energy that washes over my realm."

"To that end, I find myself agreeing with the little goddess. Underneath all the insane ramblings, her suggestions are quite solid." A small glance was cast towards Nach, accompanied by a light smile at her friend. "Let magic flood across the world as it does Hypnagogia. Let all who desire it play with it. I do not mind if this comes with a price. Even my children must contend with my magic crystallizing them. However I do agree that the price Wyrd suggests is much too steep. Why widen the gap between 'weak' and 'strong' when even the 'weak' have their role to play. One 'strong' ant alone can't haul a corpse, but a thousand 'weak' ones will. Give the thousand an extra tool, and they will do far more together than the one will alone."

"That should cover everything of vital importance I have to say, but I do have one last aside..." With a flick of her wrist and a swirl of magic, suddenly a new cookie appeared in her hand, which she promptly tossed across the table down to Nach. "Could we add incantations to that last suggestion of yours as well, Nach? Saying the name of the spell is fun and all but I'm quite fond of magic chants."
Terri
The immediate cacophony of voices that rang out from the other gods in an instant was enough to drive Keres mad. She wished her ill-tempered, maggot-brained siblings would quiet down like the good little rabbits they were meant to be- No, that was Pursuit clawing her way to the surface of Keres' mind, the violent mind of her most potent aspect affecting her physical appearance as the horns moved backwards on her skull and curled into those of a rams. Her feet turned more into paws and the muscle on her body thickened, her bones cracking loudly as she grew. When she opened her mouth to speak, the ground beneath them shook gently. Even speaking as gently as possible to avoid destroying her own throat and deafening those around her, each word boomed out like thunder. "My siblings, those whom I've met and those who I have no recollection of yet, I believe Her Majesty has a splendid idea. But some of you draw valid concerns and some of you have inane, useless ramblings that serve no greater purpose than to muddle the mind and make mockery of this beautiful potential. I agree that one source, owned by a single god is asking for trouble, I believe we should all have stake in this plane and create it jointly that no one god holds full dominion over it."

◼️

She looked to Wyrd then and spoke. "An ambitious idea but I do believe as others have said, if I understand correctly that is, that magical potential should be measured separately from physical potential. Surely that would give some of our mortals an unfair advantage in addition to what they already have." Her head then turned back to the group at large. "The idea of magic flowing freely is quaint one but one that could not work, were magical energy not to be locked to a shared plane then what is to prevent a mortal from finding some way or from being so fervent in their beliefs that they, if even temporarily, ascend to our level of power. What damage could they do that we might have to fix or potentially be unable to fix."

"In this scenario, what is to prevent a mortal that reaches this level of power even from killing one or all of us while they have it. I think a demiplane, shared by all present and all to come in the future would be a much easier thing to govern." Keres gestured broadly with her wings of smoke and shadow to every god in the room. "The intricacies of a demiplane are ones we can finetune to our whims. But a demiplane of this magnitude should, I will reiterate again, be shared. No single being should own it. If we each have equal stake then we each can only influence it that much. Every new god born and old god that dies changes how much each of us holds but it makes sure that we are all always equal." Her wings retracted into a cloak once more and with a great gesturing of her arms, she added one more thing before finishing. "I would also like to say, perhaps we hold off on our pitching of domains and certain other aspects of this until we have fully agreed upon how we will go about handling and creating the energy."
Kelly
Silly had been doing a lot of thinking lately. Even at the cupcake party, Vivienne has felt distant. She enjoyed the company of her divine siblings. She enjoyed the company of her mortals. She enjoyed looking over her creation. And she felt oh-so-much enjoyment watching over the travelling carnival. Yet, something felt off. Something was missing. It was hard to truly put her toe on it.

Then... The magic ritual began, and it all clicked. She was jealous. She wasn't needed, and so she was jealous. Others at the picnic enjoyed the cupcakes, but those cupcakes were not hers. They were Larry's. Sure, she could wave her hand and make the biggest cake in the whole world, but that wasn't impressive. That was boring. It was expected. She was a god, and so she could do anything. Her achievements... What did they matter? It was the expectation and weight of her being. 

And, she wouldn't give it up for the world. She loved existing to bring smiles and laughter to her mortals, but she wouldn't force the same burden upon them. For her, the role was expected. The purpose was demanded, even. For a mortal, they possessed that choice she lacked. It was impressive, and she felt great proudness upon her mortals going above and beyond.

She was a fool, but she wasn't a fool. She knew how her presence about Larry was recognised, and how incoherent she appeared at times. That made the man just that much more astounding to her...

... And giving him magic, the tools to do anything he so willed, would ruin that. She was thankful for Majesty's approach towards this power, this gift upon the world, but others all seemed to taint it, to push too much, or treat it like a double-edged sword in all the wrong ways. To simply grant strength was destined to have it taken for granted. To punish for it was worse. To trade... Perhaps.

Her-ness, games, and fun, there was a careful science to it. And as the inscrutable black box that was Silly perched about the far edge of the ritual, she finally, *Finally*, made her move to enter. Head held high (at least for her usual short form), and long clown shoes clapping and squeaking and honking with every step, she sauntered confidently into the room, circling about the participants one by one.

"Wrong!" She started with Onesifi, pointing her finger assertively at the god. With speed, she whipped her hand back, sending turbulent air currents brushing against the nose she almost touched. "You're wrong. Bad god!"

Then she moved on to the next, Bea. More sympathetic this time, she crouched a little. "You're wrong," She repeated. "But your spirit is commendable." Silly maintained an odd air of authority about herself. Unfounded.

As before, she continued, approaching Rav'nixander. "Wrong! Bad god! Very bad-bad-bad!" She huffed, lifting herself onto the tip of her squeaky clown shoes, jingly jester bells jangling with each little movement. Her arm lashed out as before, pointing to emphasise her argument, yet not quite touching.

"Wrong! You're wrong!" With a pirouette, she spun and twirled towards Soldr. "And I had such high hopes," She let out a melancholic sigh.

Still circling, having half-cartwheeled to walk on her hands now, she pointed to Ethros with the tip of her foot, before flipping back upright. "Wrong-wrong-wrong! Bad god." Her spiel continued, losing her faux authority and shifting steadily towards a tantrum.

Her face reddened, and just as it looked like she was about to scream at the next god, she turned her head to the corner of the room, facing seemingly no one. "Oh, hi Aphot! By the way- we need to party sometime! You better come to my birthday! I don't know when it is, but you better be there! There's cake! I think... And-"

Turning her head a full two hundred degrees, she twisted her neck with a crack, facing Wyrd. Her body twisted, turning afterwards, and she skipped towards him. She jumped, reaching her arms out as if for a hug, only to stop short with a glare. In a quick flurry, she reached into her jester cap, plopping a fluffy red ball at the end of every little point of his antlers, just as she had when they'd met long before. Only once she finished did Silly smile once again. A soft serene smile.

"You are wrong."

Her next target was Agraothrust, but she held herself to no special demeanour, merely walking past, speaking the word "Wrong", and dismissively waving her hand.

Briefly glancing at Triticea, she continued past silently. Quiet, and without a word. Well, she would have been quiet if her shoes didn't squeak with every step, and moving on the tips of her toes only made that noise louder. 

Past Triticea now, she jumped, landing square in front of the new Suzuhime. "Wrong." 

Turning, zig-zagging, and skipping part of the group, she ran to Mr Bones next. Briefly, she waves her hand in front of his face to see if the bone man was still being a big bony meanie no-pants who was ignoring her, only to realise he didn't have eyes. For better or worse, she went about her words anyway: "Super Wrong!"

"And a super-duper wrong to you too!" She pointed at Keres assertively.

Finally, finally, she turned back to the Nach whom she'd ever so rudely neglected. Speaking nothing, she stumbled forward with all the swagger of a cat walking on its hind legs and reached out with an iconic gesture. One who only the real ones would understand. Palm flat, arm outstretched, she swung by for a godly high five.

***Honk.***

The clap echoed out, yet Silly's hand *Honked* Upon the contact. Continuing her spinning motion, she twirled until her back faced Nach, and her body looked upon the room. Inexplicably, a microphone had appeared in her hand, and before bringing it to her mouth, she stuck her tongue out at Vivienne.

"Wrong! You're all wrong!" White noise rang out as she slammed the mic onto the floor, and jumped onto it with a bouncy honk. "You understand nothing! You're stupid! You're dummy-dummies! Aaarrrrghhhh!" She screamed, falling back onto Nach and bursting into confetti as she did so. Before the remnants hit the ground, her rant continued, head popping out of Vivienne's hat.

"You give mortals *Tools*, not power. You give them knowledge, not discoveries. The greatest pranks are the ones you see through to the end. The best performances have pause. You're selfish and weak. You're monsters and malicious. Or you're just fools. And now I've got to babysit you!" She crossed her arms, then rolled forward, landing in front of Vivienne. "What praise can you give one who merely waved their hands and brought about cake? NONE! You're boring and it SICKENS me."

And with her rant reaching its end, the many words not forming the arguments she envisioned, she turned back to Vivienne and lifted her arms. A silent motion for 'Silly want ups'.
```
I know I referenced a lot of people. Just assume Silly is zooming or something. She's Silly, after all. Also, this is obviously all in character. Nothing against anyone here.
```
Sidney
Yes, the gods had a shadow- a shadow that lied in silence, watching all that occurred in these congregations of increasing frequency. Familiarizing each face, observing each ritual in detail, absorbing all that went down as a mirage that never faltered until interacted with.

Aphot would, perhaps, be among the first to admit he had a strong selfish streak. He would not participate in what did not benefit or interest him, and thus far, no ritual following the first had- this one included. His mortals already had their own "Magic" At their disposal, and he did not feel particularly inclined to so freely lend his power to those who were not his and had not earned it; ultimately, he was not asked, and so none received.

A wisp of air twirled and twisted into a disembodied Cheshire smile that silently greeted Silly as she addressed the unseen specter in the room. He did so enjoy his most chaotic siblings, as he did all things that he found most interesting.

As Silly's fleeting attention span moved on to its next target, the insidious god materialized further, inky wisps coming together to form a most curious being: a long, dark trenchcoat rolled out into existence, topped with the fanciest of hats that harbored the skull-less head of an oblong, curved obsidian mask that tapered out to a fine point. The individual lifted their head and hollow eye sockets peered at the divine mass with an air of devilish glee, a sense of unheard laughter somehow present beneath the exterior.

The entity- a *"Plague doctor"* By any other name- strolled forward as if he personally owned the hall itself, a wine glass filled with a fizzy blue liquid occupying one of the mysteriously gloved hands. How was he meant to drink this? Well, they'd just have to wait and see, wouldn't they?

Whatever opinions he had on the matter went unsaid; just like his purpose for being here. He flung himself down in a chair that had totally been there the entire time and propped two mirror-shined boots up onto the table, briefly raising the glass in a wordless toast to the chaotic antics that were happening and their ever-imaginative perpetrators.