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Witty Dabbler

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I've been on this site for over two years now. What I love about this site is the great myriad of options for customizing one's avatar, and the various events, games, communities, and best of all, storylines to bring the NPC and Gaia to life- all which keep the users engaged.

When I first came here, I also like to see various cultures present in the various areas of zomg, clothing, as well as the NPC's themselves. However, as I've come to see in various events, comics, and items, certain characters are given more attention- almost to the point of being an unofficial spokesperson for the site, while other, fall by the wayside, little more than token, 2-bit characters with little to no...character at all.



I'm talking about Josie.
User Image - Blocked by "Display Image" Settings. Click to show.



You might be thinking, "Who is Josie? What has she ever done?" or "Look, no one even cares about her- she doesn't even have any fans, like Ian, Rufus or Moira. They are such funny or cool characters."

That's because she hardly has a presence on Gaia. She has not been given enough of an opportunity to develop her personality and character. One of the more popular characters, say Ian, could easily be in her place. If he'd only appeared in the events, manga, or otherwise had a scant appearance, people wouldn't know much about him either. He could have threads commenting on how rare he was and would be further ignored because no one knew (and as a result, care) about him.


What I've come to see is this: she is either absent from the events or only given a minor role. Save for Pie Hard, in which she was a contestant, not in the last two Christmas, Halloween, New year, Thanksgiving, nor Valentine's day events did she participate in any way. In fact, she was notoriously absent from the most recent Valentine's Day event- she's not even included in the list of NPCs to whom you can send a valentine.
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I've done some research. Her last Manga appearance was the 2009 Gaia Christmas event comic, and last event appearance was in the 2009 School Survival Guide. However, even before these events, her appearances were few and unimportant. In fact, most of what I knew about her I gained from researching her at the Gaia Wiki.


When shop updates come around, she hardly gets anything new. (as in the most recent gold-shop update about early Feb- where many of the shops got recolors of at the very least 2 items, and all she received were four colors of the same boots.) In addition, she has been absent from the manga for at least two years. But even upon going back to the comics she made appearances in, she played a small role.
Most all of the shop owners- even if they don't make major appearances in the events or mangas, they have other important duties. (e.g.: Logan was last seen in a mini-comic related to a chance item a year ago, but he is in charge of fishing and an exchange in Gaia).


But since Josie is just a shop owner, its unfair for her not to play a role, not to get any attention elsewhere like the other shop owners. Even Carl- the elk shop-owner of "Junk in the Trunk"- has played a larger role that her; he was a ship captain (albeit a terrible one) in Frontier Skies and had a cameo in the Old Pete Christmas story.


This disappoints me. Having some diversity in your characters does not count for much if they are little more than differently colored place-holders present simply for the fact they add visual 'variety', Gaia. You need to treat your characters equally and give all of them- especially Josie- their time to shine. And not simply as some random obscure character with a 2-bit part.


Sign the petition for Josie to play a larger role in the Gaian story. Let's show our friend some love. smile To sign, simply post "I sign", and I will add you to the list of signatures. Constructive criticism and opinions are welcome. smile Also, I ask that you please spread the word about this petition so we can find Josie- let's give her a fair chance!

[EDIT: I recently found that I can sign my own petition. Therefore, I, Infinite_Randomness, sign the petition to save Josie from obscurity, and to give this great person a chance in the Gaian story.]

EDIT: MARCH 23, 2012-
There is yet another shop update she has been excluded from- this one containing new items and uniforms for various jobs. Her shop could have easily been given some items to carry, such as jobs from different cultures. [I will add pictures and examples soon.]

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EDIT: June 15, 2013
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BANNERS!

Thanks to a special someone, Colors of Undead Froggy, we now have BANNERS! Go forth friends! Wear your "I Love Josie" Shirts with pride. Soon, we will add more banners so that you can show your support in for Gaia's most potential filled character, and love for her cause!

For the Banner Codes, just copy the code for the desired banner and paste it into your signature to show your support for our cause! emotion_awesome

Quote:

Green shirt:
User Image
[url=http://www.gaiaonline.com/forum/petitions/where-s-josie-the-petition-for-our-global-imports-friend/t.77896145/][img]http://i923.photobucket.com/albums/ad73/Kdrg/greenjosieshirt_zps3cf324dc.png[/img][/url]

Purple shirt:
User Image
[url=http://www.gaiaonline.com/forum/petitions/where-s-josie-the-petition-for-our-global-imports-friend/t.77896145/][img]http://i923.photobucket.com/albums/ad73/Kdrg/purplejosieshirt_zps7c3f4e26.png[/img][/url]


Blue shirt:
User Image
[url=http://www.gaiaonline.com/forum/petitions/where-s-josie-the-petition-for-our-global-imports-friend/t.77896145/][img]http://i923.photobucket.com/albums/ad73/Kdrg/bluejosieshirt_zpscb1a1f97.png[/img][/url]

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EDIT: Jan 4, 2014 We are on our way!

Josie has an Evolving Item called User ImageJosie's Journey! It is going to detail her personal adventures as well as her fashion influences. I'd love to see how this turns out! =====================================================================

February 7, 2014

Josie's Journey has just finished it's evolution- and I am here to say- it is resplendent! Here is Josie's story as outlined by her item:

1) Ever since she was just a little girl, it was always Josie's fondest wish to travel all around the world. She may be a happily settled shopkeeper now, but when she was younger Josie loved nothing more than exploring wherever she could. She spent her teenage years roughing it in the wilds of her homeland, trekking across the country and having some pretty crazy adventures! And, of course, discovering all the incredible clothes that would later influence her beloved Global Imports and her signature fashion sense. Want to learn more about Josie's amazing journey? Then stay tuned!

2) Josie grew up in a crowded, dingy city. Even though she'd always wanted to travel and see the world, Josie spent most of her younger years studying at home -- she had never even left the city once! Her heart yearned for adventure and exploration, but instead Josie focused on her college applications like the hardworking student she was. However, while out picking up some groceries one day, Josie spied a pop of bright color out of the corner of her eye. A fashionable jacket was being displayed in the window of a small boutique, and Josie fell in love with the trendy, vibrant coat instantly. It took weeks of saving and scrimping, but Josie finally managed to buy that jacket right off the mannequin. Inspired by its flashy colors and unique features, Josie decided it was finally time to follow her dreams and travel as much as she could! After all, there was a great big world out there. And Josie planned to see it all!

3) Josie carefully gathered up her belongings as she prepared to start her journey, making sure to pack as light as she could. After all, she didn't have a car. Or a bike. Or anything to travel on, really! It seemed she'd be enjoying her journey on foot -- at least, for a little while. Maybe she could find a used junker in a village somewhere? Either way, Josie was determined not to be deterred. She left a note informing her parents that she was pursuing her dream of traveling outside of her city, took a deep breath, and finally set off.

After what felt like an eternity of walking, Josie turned around and stared at the city she had now left behind her. From this distance it was just a darkened silhouette, a conglomerate of blocky buildings outlined against the blue sky. In front of her was a seemingly endless strip of a road, surrounded on either side by a flat expanse of land. No buildings, no homes -- no civilization. Nothing. For a moment Josie hesitated, a pang of early homesickness twisting her gut. But Josie knew she had to do this. She squared her shoulders, held her head high, and marched onwards. It felt almost as if something was calling for her out there, and she was going to find it.

4) Josie continued to plod along the path, her feet growing more and more sore as she wandered. The occasional small town dotted the road she walked, but they were so few and far between that Josie could barely muster the energy to get excited for them. Maybe she just hadn't traveled far enough from her city yet? Just as Josie was beginning to question her decision to leave home, a sputtering engine and flash of metal rocketed past her. Josie coughed in the dust it raised in its wake, waving a hand in front of her face to clear the air, when she realized something: her bag was gone! Infuriated, Josie set off after the moped at breakneck speed.

No matter how much the thief gassed the engine, he simply couldn't escape Josie's wrath. She easily caught up to the bike and grabbed the thief by his collar, tossing him off as if he weighed nothing at all. Wide-eyed, the thief apologized and begged Josie not to beat him up, offering her a ride to the next town in exchange. Josie considered this for a moment, eyeing her would-be assailant carefully. He seemed just a few years older than her, with spindly arms and legs and not that much muscle. Josie knew she could easily take him down if he tried anything funny. And so she agreed, although she warned her new partner that she was a deadly shot with her earrings if he attempted anything even remotely suspicious. She hopped on the back of his bike and the pair set off to the nearest town, still several days away.

And although neither Josie nor her new friend were aware of it, this was how Josie met her first true love.

5) Josie and her new traveling partner introduced themselves to one another. His name was Rudo, a lonely young man as desperate for adventure as she was. In pursuit of some excitement, Rudo had foolishly tried to join a gang who promised to initiate him if he stole from a traveler. Unfortunately for him, he'd picked Josie as his first target -- that hadn't exactly worked out in his favor. Still, Rudo seemed relieved, and the more time Josie and Rudo spent together the more she realized how similar they truly were. He'd been a bookworm, just like Josie had, yearning for something more before studying abroad. Hadn't her own journey started in a very similar way?

Together, the pair traveled on Rudo's teal moped across the sweltering hot country, visiting different villages and towns. Josie had completely fallen in love with traveling, and she found the architecture of each new location to be absolutely fascinating. And the clothes! A vibrant mixture of traditional and modern, just like the buildings themselves. This helped spark Josie's interest in architecture and fashion, which eventually led to her career in Housing and Global Imports in the future.

6) After a summer full of travel and sightseeing, Josie realized that her journey finally had to come to an end. She and Rudo had spent the entire season roaming across the country, exploring everything their small part of the world had to offer. But Rudo insisted there was one more stop on their trip: his palace. Although he'd kept it hidden from Josie, Rudo was actually descended from a long line of wealthy royals. He spent his entire life cooped up in the palace, unable to experience life outside of its decadent walls, until he finally made a decision to run away and see what the world had to offer. Perhaps he'd been a little naive at first -- trying to join a gang, he realized, was probably not the smartest move -- but traveling with Josie had truly opened his eyes. And although Josie was initially shocked and reluctant to have Rudo spoil her, she eventually relented and allowed him to give her a magnificent gown. The prince's return home was celebrated with a lavish ball, and Josie and Rudo spent the entire night dancing together before finally parting ways.

However, the two of them promised to always keep in touch and eventually travel the world together. Unfortunately, Josie's years at her university and then running Global Imports keeps her fairly busy. Although their busy schedules are rarely in sync, Rudo still finds ways to help Josie where he can. As a traveling business man, he flies around the world looking for new fashions and clothes to export to Global Imports. And while Josie hasn't achieved her dream of exploring the globe yet, she knows that one day she'll travel and see everything the world has to offer. For now, though? Josie is more than happy where she is, providing Gaians with the beautiful clothes from the places that she longs to one day visit.
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EDIT: November 25, 2014:
Hey! Have you all seen Josie's new look? User Image - Blocked by "Display Image" Settings. Click to show.

Looking Good Josie! Also, I see that her shop has some new items, many of which are Russia- as well as some items for animals! Way to go, Gaia! emotion_awesome Keep up the good work!

**[Suggestions for the thread Josie will be posted here]**
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EDIT: May 3, 2015

Hey- I've noticed that this new event is a throwback to Gaia's heritage and history. In the event forum, I came across a thread which spoke about tribute items for the NPCs

I thought a cool item for Josie might be an (earring) throwing pose/arm mod. And while I noticed that she got 4 milady items in 3 different recolors, I'd be nice to see a larger shop update for her. However, I'm glad that she got an update. I have some more pressing questions to ask tomorrow on "Ask the Staff":

1) Will there be a tribute item for Josie?
2) Will she get a chance to play a positive role/experience ongoing character development in this event or related posts?
3) How about a relationship to the other characters?

I'll see you guys at Ask the Staff tomorrow! biggrin
lol i feal bad for josie thats awesome that u saw that

Witty Dabbler

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Petition Signatures
1. Dunneh
2. DancingOnTheBlankCanvas
3. Porcelain Toilet
4. Miss-dark8607
5. Hell_Tutor
6. Esdella Vie
7. Horace von Sterling
8. Colors of Undead Froggy
9. Infinite_Randomness
10. Clown_Countess
11. Coffins_for_Kids
12. Leaden Disintegration
13. Saved By Childhood
14. Fujita_Makos
15. Duriono
16. Lurking Lady
17. DarkRybrin
18. Nightmare Rabbits
19. Saved By Childhood
20. Karen_Fleet_Foot
21. rabid raccoons (changed to brokenhearted silver)
22. Ice_Bird Bloo
23. seriouscat_25
24. Wolf-keybearer
25. j e l l y p o p l u v
26. The Master Yana
27. Different...Very
28. epc-cy
29. Alphoria Nemesis
30. Captain Silas Manner
31. Menou Rontu
32. samm ravenblood
33. Kitcat6363
34. Lineoleum
35. Knight Selene
36. Pnyuu
37. MeMyselfAndEye
38. Nananohumugae
39. Idaten Nine
40. Pure Whisperlings
41. Rotten Odor
42. Marinda H
43. Isis in Paris
44. OtakuKat
45. Vanna1994
46. Tabiala
47. mewnola
48. Zweizi Galon
49. Epic Pyro Bunny
50. Margravine Vittoria
51. BlackSplash
52. Fractale
53. Wuppa Wuppa
54. NocturnalLilith
55. Alexander Patrish
56. jaTo blerone
57. Epic Pyro Bunny
58. Formidable Dusk
59. Kitalpha Hart
60. Shannon Kyra Liannanon
61. Dark_Lady_Jade
62. Nevv Jersey
63. sweetkittycupcake
64. pirhan
65. Lyndes
66. Vintage Promiscuity
67. De-C
68. Stardragon
69. S4pphire_Sky
70. Nights-Rune
71. Kinbee
72. Lockoko
73. s t r a n cl
74. Steeple333
75. KinaMorii
76. nefret2011
77. Misteltein
78. GS Sailor Dione
79. Akasha Heartilly
80. SaSa Plays Red
81. _winterdawnn
82. Simply Gordon
83. Jong Kook
84. Sheba De Cruor
85. l Sailor Centaurus l
86. E.Beth
87. Singing Seraph
88. TwistedButterfly137
89. Effingo
90. xx I met my fate xx
91. Samanthai
92. Nhyarlothatep
93. November Days
94. Darkangel70002
95. Great Lakes haze
96. Rock_hard_yo
97. - - asphyxiated xx
98. Mimaku
99. epc-cy
100. Czhe
101. Heiress Eclair
102. TlRA MlSU
103. Sylve0n
104. NocturnalLilith
105. Fluffy_socks
106. Rei Torano
107. Magical Nepeta
108. Saronei
109. Bella Doe
110. D1ary_of_the_Vampz
111. Wingbutt
112. i Iike your face
113. Sherlocktopus
114. Clumsy apocalypseArisen
115. Kimura Mitsu
116. Liet_Owari
117. Punktz
118. honeypunch461
119. GenorisPregnant
120. Has A Cunning Plan
121. DHMIS Paige
122. TheLightestVillain
123. Arinsa
124. Hope Legacy
125. Ray Rukh (Bitway Ozrock)
126. Niki-Senpai
127. Midoriko-Senpai
128. Romeigh
129. cybermagical
130. teh F L A M I N G O fairy
131. crystalpraise
132. The Blood of Adonis
133. Honesty Kruse
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Personally I love Josie. I would have loved to send her a Valentine at least. I would love to see her hook up with someone too. ♥_♥ That would be awesome. To me she's infinitely more interesting than Sasha, yet Sasha got all the cool story lines and guys fawning over her. Josie needs some love.

Someday someone needs to make a Meredith petition too. She gets no love whatsoever.

/sign

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Josie fans unite! i would honestly love more Josie stuff!
I SIGN! c:

Lady Mas's King

Vicious Lover

I sign. She should be getting more attention.

Witty Dabbler

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Thank you all who have signed so far! Let's keep it going so we can show our Josie some love! She deserves her time to shine! biggrin

Lonely Phantom

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On a vacation far away...

Witty Dabbler

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A personal tribute smile

User Image - Blocked by "Display Image" Settings. Click to show.

Dangerous Visionary

Even though its too late for the event.

Miss-dark signs. They need to use her more and not just for Token'ism sake.

Tenacious Hellhound

Where one Gaia is Josie Sandiego?

Tenacious Hellhound

Also, I sign this.

Witty Dabbler

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Revised Tribute. User Image - Blocked by "Display Image" Settings. Click to show.

If anyone has any personal thoughts about or Fan-Art of Josie, please feel free to post.

Nekimi's Senpai

Friendly Haremite

She was in Pie Hard as well, but I sign! From what we saw of her in the unfinished prom update from years ago, she seems to be a pretty cool chick. (And has an amazing ability to use those earrings)

Witty Dabbler

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Esdella Vie
She was in Pie Hard as well, but I sign! From what we saw of her in the unfinished prom update from years ago, she seems to be a pretty cool chick. (And has an amazing ability to use those earrings)


I know- and I was glad to see her and to see she stuck around as long as she did (I thought she was going to be eliminated quicker because she wasn't as well-known as the others, but I was fortunately wrong). And I liked what I saw in the comic too- the fact that she's able to throw her earrings like could easily provide an interesting story in itself. Thanks for signing. smile


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