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 Posted: Fri Oct 21, 2005 6:13 pm
Calmer GAIA Plot
-- many thanks to VO, this has been Stickied, so you don't need to bump it smile --
PLEASE KEEP ALL REPLIES ON THE TOPIC OF THE GAIA PLOT. NO, "HI", NO OFF-TOPIC QUESTIONS, NO BUMPS, NO SPAM. ADHERE TO THIS OR LOSE YOUR POSTING PRIVILEGES.GAIAN USER AWARENESS SCHEME: GAIA STAFF WILL NEVER ASK YOU FOR YOUR PASSWORD. NEVER TELL ANYONE YOUR PASSWORD.
If you wonder where the plot for GAIA has come from, you might well find this thread quite helpful. The aim is to document the basics of what has occurred over the last two years in the Gaian world and we hope you will find this thread useful. We also include all the NPC avatars released thus far: should you wish to use these, you are free to, but please host them from your own image hosting account. Please note that this thread is a summary, and will not list exactly what happened in explicit detail: we provide you with the sources, but the pleasure of reading, we feel, should be your own. And that's it for the introduction! wink
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Posted: Fri Oct 21, 2005 6:14 pm
Calmer Pre-amble
The First Gaian Annual Ball: This was hosted by Misao, and the thread can be found here. It is well known that the Admins suprised the users here, giving out the Black Bow Tie and Rose Corsage (dependent on whether your avatar was male or female) to those who attended. There was no NPC involvement as far as we know.
 The First Easter Egg Hunt: A miscellaneous event by the Administrators, one could find a floating egg which would grant you either Bunny or Chickie slippers. Again, no NPC involvement.
Hallowe'en 2k3: Collecting Candy from the masked Storekeeps was the focus of this event. Jack, pictured right, would give the Users Grab Bags in exchange for Candy. There was also a forum just for the event.
Christmas 2k3: The Barton Charities. All Users were granted Santa's Gifts which contained Jolly Hats, and could donate 500g+ worth items to get Jolly Slippers (in a wrapped box) from the Barton Tree. Rina and Leon were involved in this, but not to the point of NPC interaction with Users.
The charity tree served also as some sort of slot machine, creating a frenzy among users. Most of the time one received Jolly slippers when donating an item worth 500 gold, but sometimes the tree gave out other items as well; some of the more common ones were the red-nosed reindeer masks and the rare ones were the Fairy Wings. This caused a pretty big uproar among users as everyone started to mass-throw away their gold in order to gain a pair of Wings. x3 Complaints were everywhere. x3 There were also a lot of very generous users that would sell their Wings for half the price. smile (credit to SSJ Girl; although not plot related, we think Users should remember this with fondness wink )
Enter 2004.------------------------------------------- 2004 - 1
 The First Gaian Anniversary Ball: Here, we were first introduced to the Gaian story-telling system, and an actual area designed purely as a forum for the event. Gambino's Mansion, owned by Johnny K. Gambino, the declared 'most powerful man in Gaia', was opened up for the Anniversary Festivities. Upon arrival, he graced Users with Party Favours, a Hat and a Noise Maka. Subsequently, we began to meet some of the Shopkeeps, finally in avatar form, along with another, younger, character: Gino.
   
 Indeed, Ian, Ruby and Sasha were invited to the party to enjoy themselves and hand out Gaia T-Shirts, much to our pleasure. Gino, Gambino's neglected and/or abused son also made a few appearances, much to the hysteria of the Users, who spent a long time crying out for justice against Gambino, for his malignant attitude towards Gino. The Ball ended eventually, and a few days later, Users were gifted with a "Thanks for coming" picture from Gambino, pictured right. This was the first event to feature the speech bubbles from NPC avatars that appears in the Gaia header, and occasionally Gambino would drop by and give gold to users, generally in multiples of 1000 per time.
The Second Gaian Annual Ball: A team of regular Gaians, headed by Setzer, basically did most of the themework for this Ball. The Administrators, gracious as always, provided a forum for the event to occur in. There was one small bit of NPC intervention here: Gino appeared and would give out G-Pins to Users at random, hinting that he wasn't supposed to be doing so, and suggesting they keep quiet about the matter.
 The Second Easter Egg Hunt: This was hosted by the Administrators, and can be found here. We had to click 8 little Easter Eggs, shaped like Rabbits, and then the Easter Bunny would appear. The Easter Bunny? He and his Helper are pictured left! And when Users had all 8, they were given an Easter basket, which contained either a Bunny or Chickie Hat. As with all the previous Events, there was very little plot to this.
The second half of 2004, however, was different. smile ------------------------------------------- 2004 - 2
  The Gaian Olympics:
The first real bit of NPC action we got was soon after the introduction of the then newest town, Durem. Gambino stepped up to the stage, and promised us the Gaian Olympics, with two contestants from each town, a lap race from Isle De Gambino all the way to Durem and back again. Ian and Leon represented Barton Town, Sasha and Gino, Isle De Gambino and Edmund and Moira, Durem. The race was tight, and Gambino gave a rousing commentary (which could once be found here - this seems to have been removed since then) a certain chick interfered, distracting the fastest man of the race, Edmund, from his pole position, leading Moira to a Durem victory nonetheless. There was also a forum established for the race, in which Black and White Olympic shirts were given out.
  Hallowe'en 2k4:
Just before Hallowe'en, we were suprised to discover that the Marketplace was home to a mysterious LabTechX, selling Vials of Mysterious Liquid for 100g apiece. Nothing more of this was heard for a few days though, leaving Users in suspense and not sure whether this was a limited offer. And so, on the night of Hallowe'en, Gambino invited us to his mansion once again, for the Hallowe'en Do, and Gino's Birthday Bash (strange, since Gino's birthday is apparently nowhere near October sweatdrop ).
   We partied there for a while, in the same spirit as Hallowe'ens of before, until suddenly, a crisis occured, during which G-CORP Employees streamed into the Mansion to celebrate the retirement of one of their fellows, and were instead turned into zombies by an infected "deceased" comrade who apparently knew "too much." They broke free of their confines, and began to infect the Gaian populace, whom Gambino issued shotguns to defend themselves from the undead threat. Eventually, however, the thread became uncontainable, and Gambino's head of security, someone named Bucho (read more of Gambino's journal for more Hallowe'en information) set off the "Silent Flash" protocol which involved a missile destroying the Mansion and the threatening Super-Zombies (the ex-members of G-CORP) contained within. At this point, Gino was lost, and we were introduced to Cindy Donovinh, who reports for GAIA 9 Action News - this seems to have been removed since then. Also surviving was LabTech 123, who was seemingly so dullwitted that he stumbled through the chaos without infection (his journal entries in G-CORP were also messy and late).
We were granted the Human and Zombie G-CORP Labcoats and T-Shirts for killing a certain number of either side in a fun mini-game, and at the same time, Jack returned for the second Hallowe'en. Again, the NPCs dressed up in costume, and we received Candy from them. Trick or Treating only occured at night and dusk/dawn hours, so we couldn't find the hidden Jack during the day for the purposes of collecting the entire Hallowe'en 2k4 set. The event ended a day after the destruction of Gambino's Mansion. This was probably the first major storyline event.
 Christmas 2k4:
Christmas had a storyline and a game event, much like Hallowe'en, although nowhere as complex - we suspect there would have been much cardiac arrest among the staff had they had to go through the experience of getting Hallowe'en to work again. Instead, they gave us the story of Gambino's search for his lost son Gino, which can be found in his journal (read from the bottom up). During this time, Gambino appeared on the maps, and you could click on him and wish him well on his journey, for which he would thank you. Meanwhile, we sang Carols to the NPCs in their stores, who happily gave us presents in return, which contained the Spirit Set. Ultimately, after the complete inability to find Gino, Gambino resorts to possible suicide at Durem Reclamation Facility. In the nick of time, Gino arrives and the two are reunited, only for us to discover that Gino has gotten amnesia from the destruction of the Mansion. The plot thicker, we were left hanging as we rolled into 2005.------------------------------------------- 2005 - 1
  The Second Gaian Anniversary Ball:
With the destruction of Gambino's mansion, Users were wondering where the Ball would be held. Lo and behold, enter the newest NPCs: the Von Helson Twins. They, the "two most powerful women of GAIA" offered up their Mansion in Durem for the event, and, as with the previous Ball, invited several other NPCs in to enjoy the days. Gambino arrived first, in fact before the Sisters, and caused a ruckus doing so. The party really got underway when the Twins finally arrived, and stamped down on the G-revolution. We were graced with the appearence of many NPCs, including Edmund and Liam (apparently Ian's "rival" from AEKEA town), and LabTechX returned, even more mysterious than before.
  There was a massive amount of NPC interaction in this event, with hundreds of tidbits going between the NPCs and Users. Cindy Donovinh continued to report, and LabTech123, suitably confused, appeared for the event. The Von Helson sisters began to distribute V-Pins, along with Gaia Anniversary Balloons and Hats, and in reaction, Gambino began to covertly issue G-Pins, forming factions of supporters of the two families among Users. Eventually, the Von Helson sisters called Gambino out, having captured Gino, and forced him to choose between his son and their Mansion: he could have his son back, and leave immediately, or lose Gino. Gambino made the 'right' choice, taking back Gino and leaving (much to our appreciation), and the stage was set for the next event: the Third Annual Gaian Ball!The Third Gaian Annual Ball:
Held here there was no NPC interaction, storyline or event items at this ball. SykoSilver explained that this is because this ball was a User-run event (this year, a large team headed by Razumi Yazura), and that since there are now many user-run events, focusing exclusively on this Ball would be unfair. So, if you missed the Ball, and think you're behind on the GAIA storyline or event items because of this, don't worry! smile   The Tower of Gambino:
Gambino, in all his poverty, started taking donations to fund what appeared to be the rebuilding of his mansion... and a lot more! Users gladly donated to his "Donation Drive" to bring back the Gambino mansion. However, we were very suprised when a Mansion became a Tower, adding three new maps to Gaia: the Northern Sea: North, Northeast, and the roof of the Tower of Gambino itself, where a Mansion very much like his old Mansion sat on its gargantuan pedestal. Although there was some speculation about whether or not Gambino would pay us back for our help in the gargantuan creation, and whether our donations actually helped or not, the end result was easy for us all to see. Cindy Donovinh, of GAIA 9 Action News, was hovering above the Tower in a helicopter, and clicking on that gave you a quick summary of the situation.
In quick response, the Von Helson Twins launched an anti-Gambino protest at this 'audacity', and were selling Picket Signs for 500g apiece outside their mansion in Durem. If you wanted to join the attack on the apparent abuse of your donations by Gambino, you clicked on the Von Helson Twins sprite, followed through their commentary, and when you had enough gold, clicked Yes when they asked if you wanted to buy a picket sign. You'd be given a picket sign which your avatar could hold to protest with!
Soon after, Gambino reappeared, more manic than ever, with Anti-Von Helson picket signs, at the top of his Tower, crying out to the Gaian masses to join his protest. Those who donated during the Donation Drive were awarded one free Anti-Von Helson Picket Sign, retail value one thousand gold, whereas those who didn't could buy as many as they liked from the returning 'hero'.
Easter 2k5:
This event, as with previous years, didn't include any plot action, but we were introduced to one new NPC, a robotic Easter Bunny, or rather, the "Easter Rab-bot". Those who succeeded in finding and meeting the rabbit were rewarded with either a Bani Mask, or a Chickie Mask. Good fun was had by all. smile
 April Fools 2k5:
In an event with the devastation of much of Gaia, an unknown assassin shot Johnny K. Gambino, just seconds after Gino regained his memory as to who his father really was. Users watched as Gambino plummeted from the very top of his tower to the bottom, and when he landed, his Tower felt the fall. It too began to collapse, in doing so, crashing down upon Durem and the Von Helson Twins' Mansion. Cindy Donovinh hovered over Durem with a manga style report of the event, and there was much speculation as to the reason behind this attack, and the shooter's identity.
The Manga Style Report links are as follows:
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In a "double whammy" suprise a week later, we discovered that not only did Gambino's mansion atop the Tower of Gambino survive the fall, landing squarely down upon the old Von Helson Mansion - we assume crushing it in doing so - but also, a second Gambino mansion, likely contained within the Tower of Gambino, is now standing upright and sturdy back on terra firma: the Isle De Gambino. Once again, Cindy provided a summary from her Helicopter above Durem.
------------------------------------------- The Return of Gino Gambino:
This much awaited update saw Gino Gambino - as the name suggests - recovered by Sasha, along with insight into Liam's true nature, and perhaps Ian's as well. As with the Fall of Gambino, we were presented with a manga-style story to the event, after clicking on Ian & Sasha who were at the Isle De Gambino, enjoying a day out together. Another cliffhanger! gonk
The Manga Style Report links are as follows:
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The Return of Gino - part two
In the run up to Hallowe'en, we had a nice new plot update, continuing from where the story left off. Ian's name was cleared of murderous intent for Gino with that knife, and we saw LabTech123 in his first star appearance. We finally met Bucho, Gambino's head of security who was somewhat responsible for the destruction of the Mansion last year. Liam's ladies games continued, of course, and then just when we thought it would all be alright. This was all viewable by clicking on a cute new long-haired Gino sprite on the Isle De Gambino.
The Manga Style Report links are as follows:
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Hallowe'en 2k5
Grunny Invasion
Well, this was by far the most audacious and daring event since last Hallowe'en. Bucho, finally in full avatar glory, informed us that Gino Gambino was inviting us all to make full use of the reconstructed Gambino mansion. However, before we were let in, clicking on the Mansion informed us of the following storyline update, beforehand. First off, Gino had rebuilt the Secret Underground Test Facility, but had made it plain to see: no more secrets. Hoping to bring his father's legacy to bear, he hired LabTech123 once again to head up the project, as he had field experience. That said and done, he invited Sasha around to dinner as a somewhat romantic, "thank you," for saving him. Ian was none too happy about this as the pair departed.
Cut to the UTF: LabTech123 had somehow revivified Grunny (or perhaps the fluffball somehow survived Operation Silent Flash eek ), and brought back the deadly G-VIRUS. With alarming alacrity, LabTechX, towering over him, reappeared on the scene, and set free a horde of Grunnies, which promptly found their way into the mansion. At the same time, we were finally granted entry, only to find the fuzzies rampant. Bucho requested that we capture as many as possible, and the event major began.
The Manga Style Report links are as follows:
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So what went on inside the Mansion? Well, the new mini-game was very simply based. We found ourselves set to a backdrop of a beaker, with a small amount of green fluid and a Grunny inside it. There was a scale of 1 to 5 on the side, which indicated the number of Grunnies you had collected. The different levels can be seen as follows:
Level 0
Level 1
Level 2
Level 3
Level 4
Level 5
You gained levels by posting after someone with a higher Grunny count that you, or by posting 5 times. There were five basic rewards for each level; at the first level, which required 15 Grunnies, granted you a Grunny Shirt; the second, at 35, Grunny Slippers. The items stopped here, and the next levels gave you status changes. Level 3 at 175 would give you faded skin and sleepy eyes with red irises, Level 4 at 350 would give you more red eyes, baldness, two little earlike protrusions on the top of your head, and a bulge at the back. The final level, at 500, gave you the glaring red eyes seen last year, and a true Grunny attached to the back of your head. These last three levels were particularly difficult to reach, making it a real challenge to get yourself a Grunny. Still, many persevered and were reward with the little chap. Well played to everyone who did so! 3nodding
Eventually, however, the end came (a little early, to allow Trick or Treating to begin whee ), and we were treated to another dazzling manga endgame. Gino and Sasha, dining together, noticed the smell of burning, and found that not only the newly built Facility, but also the Mansion were ablaze! Gallantly, Gino managed to get Sasha almost out of the building, but at the last minute, the roof collapsed, and Gino found himself trapped (somehow holding a bar up with superhuman strength, it seems eek ). Ian arrived, planning to finally show Sasha Gino's true nature (with the pills he had forgotten earlier), but found them in a deadly situation. Dropping said medication (near Gino... could they save him? We can only hope!), he managed to drag Sasha away from the inferno before the entire structure collapsed, potentially burying Gino. And, when the night was done, and all was quiet again, a mysterious figure, perhaps someone we know, perhaps not, picked up a single vial of the G-VIRUS. Where the Gambino legacy will end, we do not yet know, but for Gino's sake - and our enjoyment - we hope it lasts a little longer.
The Manga Style Report links are as follows:
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Miscellany & Appendix
Grunny: Grunny is the green zombified rabbit you can see sitting atop an undead LabTech's head above. There is a lot of amusement surrounding this lapine fellow, and he's very popular among the Users.
Gambino & Gino: Most Users believe Gambino to have been an abusive father, after reading his cruelty to Gino during 2004. However, it seems he has begun to reform since losing his son, to the point that he has supporters in the fight against the Von Helsons; a lesser evil, though, perhaps?
The Von Helson Sisters: Reading the descriptive posts within the Mansion, something clearly disastrous occurred therein. Vampiric traits are believed to exist within the sisters, and the similarity between their name and "Van Helsing" has not gone unnoticed among Users.
LabTechX: There is a lot of speculation about who or what LabTechX is and what he's doing. Some say robot, some say he has sinister motives, some say he's our saviour (he certainly was for the Hallowe'en event), and mostly, we can't really agree on anything more than that we don't know much about him.
The Sniper: There are hundreds of theories about just who the sniper is, and no one really knows the answer just yet. Whoever they are, it's probably a fair assumption they have a reason to shoot Gambino, but others put forward that they may have been hired and bear him no grudge; it's business, not personal.
--
The following accounts are in fact NPCs. Searching through their posts may give Users an idea of what they are like, and have said in the past:
Gambino
Gino
The Von Helson Sisters
Liam
LabTech013
LabTech062
LabTech101
LabTech123
LabTech126
LabTech137
LabTech138
LabTech247
LabTech722
LabTech909
LabTech912
LabTech957
LabTechX
Cindy Donovinh
Anna Corinne Von Helson
Marie Von Helson
--
Where can I find NPCs?
Rina - Rina used to be found, along with Leon, in the Account Creation area, and also appeared at the Barton Charities. She only featured as a background character, in nonfunctional roles, for a while after that. She's now helping out at the Barton Train Station. Lanzer loves her, but she doesn't love him back. sweatdrop Also, she has finally opened her own store! The Flowershoppe is Rina's new little place of convenience. Sweet, isn't she?
Leon - Guilds. Leon used to help Rina with account creation, but now he manages the Guilds and cowers in fear at her approach! He now also patrols the Barton Train Station, but don't give him your username and password. Who knows what he'd do with them. wink
Ian & Rufus - The very first storekeep, Ian manages the Barton Boutique along with his cat, Rufus. They also welcome you to Gaia Towns at Barton Trainstation.
Agatha - Agatha opened Barton Jewelers for the 2004 Valentine's Day.
Meredith - Meredith manages the Bank on Isle De Gambino.
Sasha - Gambino Outfitters is run by the luscious Sasha, who is rarely seen in more than a 2 piece outfit, even in winter!
Ruby & Peyo - Ruby, helped by her son, Peyo, is in charge of the Gambino Hat Rack. The two seem to be very close to Ian.
Logan - Logan runs The Ole Fishing Hole near Bass'ken Lake, and provides everyone with quality bait and rods with which to land the big'uns. He even provides bug nets, so you can go about getting rid of the mosquitoes from your neighbourhoods. smile
Vanessa - Salon D'ur Em is run by Vanessa, probably the hottest lady of Gaia (certainly by my standards! wink ), and will twist your hair to your liking in a jiffy, for a price of course.
Moira - Moira, as young as she seems, runs the Durem Depot, and enjoys the company of Sasha. She can also be found at the Barton Trainstation in Towns, full of emotion.
Edmund - the darkest sternest tallest man in Durem, Edmund makes sure everything goes smoothly in H.R. Wesley's. He has a thing for the ladies. wink
Liam - Crate & Apparel is run by self-proclaimed Pretty Boy, Liam, who was raised amongst the robots of AEKEA town, and might be able to give Edmund a run for his money in arm-wrestling, it looks like.
Josie - not much is known about Josie, but she helps set up Users' Housing in AEKEA Housing Commission.
Bildeau, Bloudeau & Ribateau - these robots all run The Faktori. Bildeau seems like a standard product, Bloudeau spends most of its time pining for heartstrings, and Ribateau seems to have a few delusions of robotic grandeur under its tin skin.
Bogie - a bug storage robot found in Gaia Towns, at the Trainstation, and beside the central fountain in each neighbourhood. Unfortunately, the poor machine detests the taste of bugs, which you have to make him, "eat," to store in your inventory.
Gambino & Gino - these two used to reside at Gambino's Mansion before it was destroyed. Where they stay now, who knows?
The Von Helson Sisters - the prestigious and perhaps infamous twins are found at their own Mansion as of this moment. They inherited it from their father when he passed away, and are relatively new to the clique of rich and powerful: it shows. sweatdrop
Cindy Donovinh - we don't know where the GAIA 9 Action News reporter operates from, but she can be found wherever something interesting is happening in GAIA.
Jack - Jack only appears at Hallowe'en. Where he comes from, we don't know, and probably don't want to either!
LabTechs - with the exception of LabTechX and LabTech123, we assume that all the LabTechs were destroyed in the Hallowe'en cataclysm. X and 123's whereabouts are unknown.
Lex - found at the Gold Mountain, Lex, with a Spade tie, is the Casino's slick, good lookin' greeter with a grin on his face at all times. You have to wonder about those red eyes though!
Becky - Prize & Joy, the tickets to winnings area for the Casino, is run by the Club tied Becky, another hit with the users in terms of followings. No bribes please!
--
This post will be edited as necessary. smile
Hope you have found this useful,
Calmer
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Posted: Fri Oct 21, 2005 6:33 pm
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Posted: Sun Oct 23, 2005 10:13 am
Welcome Calmer.
feel free to create your own thread and i will recyle or delete this one. 3nodding
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G-CORP:
