Welcome to Gaia! ::

Well, here it is. Gaia's much-needed resource for sorting through the rumors and misunderstandings that surround the site and the plot.

This is by no means a complete list of the rumors out there, so I'll need your help! If there's a rumor you keep running into and you're just not sure if it's true or not, send it in to me, preferably with link(s) to where you found it. I'll figure out its status and put it up here. And you'll get your name in the credits for helping me out!

Keep in mind that the status of some rumors is my best guess, since I can't go up to the admins and say "Hey, people are saying (x) about (y). True or false?". I think, however, that with logic and a little common sense, my appraisals of most rumors are at least mostly accurate. XD

This is the first of seven posts in the FAQ. The post assignment is as follows--





1. No spamming. By spamming, I mean: advertising (user-run) events or threads, and meaningless or irrelevant posts. (Conversations are fine. Info you've dug up is loved. Telling me about Super G-Man's appreciation week is not.)

2. If I ask you to leave the thread, you will do so.

3. Be nice.

4. Generally, don't act stupid or n00bish. Gemini has a very low n00b tolerance. D:

5. First offense is a warning. Second offense is a stronger warning, and I may ask you to leave the thread. Third offense gets a mod called.

I don't wanna be a hardass about this, so we'll all be nice and follow rules, right? heart

Rumor: Ian and Liam are brothers

Status: Unconfirmed

Reason: It's certainly looking pretty likely. Their hair colors are very close, they have similar facial structures, and they're clearly both players. XD

Gemini's Opinion: Personally, I think this is right. The closer you look at the two of them, the creepier the resemblance gets. Also, some things said by both Liam and Ruby lead me to believe that the admins are hinting in this direction. So even though I can't say yes or no with any authority, I agree with this rumor.


Rumor: Liam is gay

Status: False

Reason:

It doesn't get any more debunked than that. XD

Except, possibly, for the extra debunking from the newest update.

Gemini's Opinion: Not that that's going to deter slash fans or anything... domokun Just remember it's not canon. ;D


Rumor: Gino is gay

Status: True Unconfirmed

Reason: Not enough information. The admins probably aren't going to go in this direction, though.

Gemini's Opinion: I'm kidding! KIDDING! XD;;


Rumor: Gino got a sex change and is now actually a girl named Gina

Status: False

Reason: Oh, man, I hate to have to defuse this one, but a lot of people do get the wrong idea on this. XD
Gina_Gambino, who you may have seen around in the Secret Underground Test Facility and the Third Annual Ball, is a user account. She was created in response to the proliferation of unlikely and OOC rumors about Gino's whereabouts that sprung up between Halloween and Christmas; she was never intended as a fraud, but rather as a joke and a fun RP. Her player has described Gina as an "interactive fanfic".

So if you see Gina around, don't think she's the real Gino; but don't waste your time trying to tell everyone else she isn't, either. We already know. Just relax and have fun with it. domokun

Gemini's Opinion: I've had the chance to interact with Gina, and she's tons of fun to RP with. biggrin I love the idea behind her and her player is one of my heroes. XD

(6/16/06: Admittedly, I don't see much about this one anymore, but... it's Gina. XD


Rumor: Ian is Peyo's father

Status: Unlikely

Reason: It looked possible; Ian and Ruby showed some indications of possibly being together, and Ian was holding Peyo in that picture from Gambino's Christmas journal.

New information from the Trial of Ian makes this seem unlikely. If Ian had fathered her child, it seems likely that Ruby would have brought this up when she was questioned, but she did not. It seems that they're just childhood friends, and that Peyo just gets along well with Ian.

Gemini's Opinion: I never really thought Peyo looked like Ian anyway.


Rumor: Gino is a clone

Status: False

Reason: If Gino were a clone, Gambino would have had no reason to think that giving Gino an extra dose of his DNA with the G Virus would have had any effect at all - because if Gino were a clone, then he would be genetically identical to old Johnny K. And Gambino is probably intelligent enough to realize this.

Gemini's Opinion: Gambino has ego problems. The end. XD


Rumor: Moira and Sasha are lovers

Status: False

Reason: Well, it sure looked possible for a while there, but as the story stands now, it's definitely not what's going on.

Gemini's Opinion: It's a pity. crying


Rumor: Gino is 17

Status: True-ish

Reason: The admins seem to have more or less confirmed this. They've said that while the NPCs will probably never appear to age, it's fair enough to go by the official birthday of any NPC who has one. So, yes - there may not be a set number on Gino's age, but it's safe to say he's in his mid-to-late teens.

Yes, I am aware that his profile lists his birthday as May 13, 1988. But Gambino said that H2K4 was also a birthday party for Gino. As of yet there is no explanation as to why that was, so I have to consider Gino's date of birth uncertain.

Gemini's Opinion: This kind of raises questions about how old Sasha and Ian are, but anyway.


Rumor: LabTechX is LabTech123

Status: False

Reason: They were both seen at the Anniversary. You can't tell me this guy was running around randomly taking off his cloak and hiding his vial, alternating between mysteeeeerious and doofy. That's just absurd. They're different people and that's that.

Furthermore, as of H2K5, unless 123 has a Jekyll-and-Hyde-esque split personality and extremely solid hallucinations, he is not LTX. XD

Gemini's Opinion: Well, I really liked this theory way back when it looked like it might be slightly plausible. XD


Rumor: Gambino was physically abusive to Gino

Status: Unlikely

Reason: Please note - I qualified that with 'physically'.

After the Olympics, there's no doubt that the Gambino household was not the most warm and fuzzy place. I'm still trying to reconcile my support of Gambino with some of his commentary. I personally have no doubt that Gino was emotionally damaged from neglect and poor parenting skills on Johnny's part. But there is no evidence that he ever actually beat Gino. In fact, I think there's more evidence to support the idea that he didn't.

Gambino is fricking huge - not actually all that tall, but very large and loud and intimidating. Gino is short and disturbingly underweight. Physical abuse from his father would probably just about kill poor little Gino. And all things considered, Gambino would honestly not even have to raise a hand to him - he could pretty much make his point just by raising his voice.

And, most obviously, I really doubt the admins would have one of their major characters beating his son behind the scenes.

None of which means that Gambino was ever eligible for the Father of the Year award, of course. I just don't find it likely that he physically abused his son.

Gemini's Opinion: My personal theory is that Gambino's mistreatment of Gino started out, years ago, as simple tough love. Gambino wanted a son more like himself, I think, and Gino... really only takes after his dad in hair color and eyebrows. It's not too hard to imagine that Gambino probably started pushing his son to try harder and do better, with all the best intentions at the start, and that this degraded over the years into the outright mistreatment we saw at the Olympics.

This is what I'm HOPING is the case, anyway, because that does leave open some possibility for real reform. Assuming Gambino ever finds his marbles again, of course.


Rumor: Edmund is Labtech X

Status: False

Reason: In that case, Edmund would now be dead (or at least MIA). Since he isn't, clearly he cannot be LTX. XD

Gemini's Opinion: Ah, Gaia. How your plot shifts and changes.


Rumor: Lex is the same Lex as in the clothing items

Status: Unlikely/False

Reason: Since the Lex from the Lex set (Lex's Dark Gloves, Lex's White Top, etc.) was a female criminal who was executed, it seems safe to say that our decidedly alive casino employee with sideburns and a pronounced Adam's apple is not the same person. Zombification is apparently a fairly recent development in Gaia, and a zombie would not look as fresh as Lex does. And he looks too male to be ex-female. XD

Gemini's Opinion: The only reason I'm not labeling this straight-out False is that it amuses me, and because of the L0cke Factor. Personally, I think the admins just like the name Lex and forgot they'd already used it.


Rumor: Lex and Russell are somehow related to the Gambinos

Status: Unconfirmed

Reason: Reddish eyes, sideburns, blond hair, similar fashion sense... There is some resemblance there. Of course, Lex's outfit is probably just a casino uniform, and he's missing the trademark Gambino family eyebrows.

Russell's actually a closer match, but doesn't have the reddish-purple eyes like Lex does. So, really, I think it's just coincidence. Not ruling anything out, of course.

Gemini's Opinion: I have to admit, when I first looked in the Casino, I looked at Lex and went "Buh-- that's not Gino, is it?!" XD


Rumor: Natasha is actually a man

Status: False

Reason: Ling says so. whee

Gemini's Opinion: Yes, scary women with piercings and facial tattoos DO exist, my friends. Let's try and take things at face value once in a while. XD


Rumor: Bucho is Labtech X

Status: Unconfirmed

Reason: He's a match for Bucho in sheer size, and the skintone is almost identical. It's looking to be surprisingly likely, actually, but nothing is confirmed yet.

LTX now seems to be dead/MIA... it remains to be seen if we hear anything about Bucho being mysteriously vanished.

Gemini's Opinion: I'm officially reserving judgement on any and all "who is LTX" speculation now.


Rumor: Gino is really Johnny K.

Status: False (but also bizarrely True)

Reason: Well, that was definitely Gino the whole time... but it was Gino after merging with his father thanks to the G Virus. So in a weird, crazy, only-on-Gaia sort of way, we were all right.

Gemini's Opinion: Admins... I love you. I love you and your CRACK.


Rumor: The Von Helson Sisters are dead

Status: True ( crying )

Reason: Unfortunately, this has been confirmed by the admins in an interview with SykoSilver at Fanime. They're pushing up daisies.

Gemini's Opinion: I'm sorely disappointed by this. As much as I hated them, I loved hating them. Their conflict with Gambino was awesome. They had so much potential. sad

Rumor: The mods run the site

Status: False

Reason: This shouldn't even have to be pointed out, but I keep seeing it. The mods do not run the site; they enforce the rules and help people out, and some of them - not all - help Gaia as programmers. It is the admins who run the site, who create the NPCs, and who direct the storyline.

Gemini's Opinion: I wish I didn't have to correct this. sweatdrop


Rumor: The mods get paid

Status: False

Reason: Modding is volunteer work. The admins don't really make enough money off Gaia for themselves, let alone to pay all the moderators. Mods mod out of sheer love and dedication, devoting by choice their time and energy to moving threads, answering abuse reports, and generally keeping the peace and making Gaia a cleaner, happier place for you. Not because they get paid, because they don't.

Gemini's Opinion: Be kind - Hug a moderator today. 3nodding


Rumor: We will have weapons and a battle system on Gaia

Status: True

Reason: Several weapons have already been released through donation letters, and it does actually look like we might get the battle system sometime before 2008. XD

Gemini's Opinion: Patience is a virtue.


Rumor: There is a secret store discount in Ian's shop

Status: False

Reason: No. Rufus is joking. XD

Gemini's Opinion: You know, I think everyone actually knows this by now, but here it is for the sake of completeness. XD


Rumor: Jakobo is female

Status: False

Reason: Jakobo is a male administrator with a female avatar. He had to change his avatar as the result of losing a bet on the Olympics, and was obliged to keep it that way for a month. However, because he has "a really bad shopping thing", by the time the month was up he had bought so many new clothes that it was too expensive to change back. XD So he decided to keep his avatar female and keep Ling company so she wouldn't be the only admin with a girl avatar anymore. domokun heart

Gemini's Opinion: Jakobo, if you see this, I tease because I luff. XD


Rumor: The user Bunnipop is a hacker/was going to be used in the Easter event

Status: False

Reason: There was a database corruption. Something got out of line somewhere and showed poor Bunnipop's posts in almost everyone's egosearch. She's not a hacker, and the admins weren't plotting anything strange. Bunnipop was just as much a victim as everyone else, really - possibly more because all of a sudden half of Gaia thought she was a hacker.

It's fixed now, and all we lost was a couple days' posts in our egosearches. We can all go on with our Gaian lives, and Bunnipop achieved insta-fame. XD

Gemini's Opinion: .... heh, I'm a member of the "freaked out and changed my password before I realized I wasn't hacked" club. XD; Thought it was funny as hell once I figured it out, though.


Rumor: Blue links

Status: False

Reason: Not sure if anyone's actually fallen for this, but I'll put it up anyway.

No. False. Someone just made a screencap edit of an ordinary pinklink. XD

Gemini's Opinion: Of course, given the way blueboxes were introduced, I wouldn't necessarily be surprised if the admins did implement a bluelink. But as of now it's just a screencap edit. XD


Rumor: The G Pin descriptions changed

Status: False

Reason: Ever since the Second Gaia Anniversary, people have been complaining that the G Pin's description was changed to identify it as coming from that ball. However, this is not the case. Looking at two G Pins, one from before the Anniversary and one from the Anniversary, they both have this description:

A gold pin with the letter G emblazened on it. Why are these pins being given out at the 2nd Annual GAIA Ball? Could Gambino himself have something to do with this? O_O;

Please note: It says 2nd Annual GAIA Ball. There's an important distinction here. The 1st Annual Gaia Ball took place during Gaia's first year and was a user-run event. At the beginning of Gaia's second year, the First Gaia Anniversary was thrown by the admins to celebrate Gaia being around for a whole year. Shortly afterwards, the users threw the 2nd Annual Gaia Ball, at which Gino handed out the first G Pins.

The pins were handed out at the 2nd Annual and 2nd Anniversary balls, which took place in separate years. The pins still make reference to the FIRST ball they were handed out at.

Annual =/= Anniversary. 3nodding

Gemini's Opinion: Really, it seems so straightforward to me, I don't know why people are still confused... should've addressed this one earlier, I guess.


Rumor: Backwings will be a donation item

Status: False

Reason: Angel wings. Demon wings. We've been begging for them since the beginning of Gaia. Month after month, we hope that when we open up that next donation letter, a shiny pair of backwings will pop out. But that day is not to come, and here is why.

The admins have said that angelic/demonic wings will NEVER be a donation item.

Think about it. Not only would such an item be really special, but it would also be the most wanted thing on Gaia. The admins don't get a kick out of screwing us over; they like spoiling us rotten and keeping us happy. Think how disappointing it would be if they released the most asked-for items on Gaia as donation items, which are always limited items with a finite quantity. Hundreds, thousands of Gaians would be forever unable to get the wings they so craved.

That's why the admins are planning to release the quest system to give us our wings. The idea is to have the angelic/demonic wings as the reward for a long and difficult quest, so they would retain their specialness - but never have to be limited. The quest would always be available, and the wings would always be at the end of it.

That's what the admins are planning. So quit waiting for backwings-by-mail, and be patient for the quest system.

Gemini's Opinion: In the meantime, just sit back and enjoy the numerous faux-backwings they've given us. XD


Rumor: You can get sootfaces/become an Invisibob

Status: False

Reason: Both the sootface and the Invisibob condition traced back to the April Fool's exploding bluebox joke from 2004. You cannot obtain them now. The Solar Headdress has a pose that resembles the sootface, but that's as close as you can get.

Gemini's Opinion: It's too bad, but such is life.


Rumor: Bug inks will be used in the tattoo parlor

Status: True

Reason: As far as I know, it's been confirmed. (By all means, please correct me if I'm wrong.) It's been implied that we can also use them to make contacts, so that'll be something to look forward to as well.

Gemini's Opinion: Yay customization!

Watch this space for more general information.

I STALK.

End of post.

Well, maybe not.

Okay. Now the post is ending. 3nodding

Nyar. Posting so this'll show up in egosearch. Since the subscriptions are STILL BROKEN.