Welcome to Gaia! ::

How the store was discovered...

Necessity is the mother of Invention, and Imagination is its consort. But sometimes, it takes a pinch of Fate to really make things happen.

It all began with a letter declaring Huni to be the new owner of an old stationery shop located somewhere in Barton. In spite of the suspicious circumstances surrounding this news, Huni had always been a trusting person. With little more than an overnight bag, Huni ventured off to Barton to see what sort of shop she now owned.

It could have been a quaint little store, if the display window wasn't covered in grime, and the doors weren't rotten from age and neglect. Still, there was something about the shop that Huni couldn't resist going inside to explore.

With the outside looking so run-down, it came as something of a surprise that the lights still worked. Although the bulbs did threaten to burn out any second. Hastily, Huni gave the shop's first floor a quick scan. The floor creaked whenever Huni walked on them, and the walls looked ready to fall apart. There were some writing tables and wooden chairs, and a couple of empty bookcases. And like the floor, they were all covered with a thick layer of dust.

A staircase that led to the second floor caught Huni's attention, but as she began to ascend, the lights started to flicker on and off. Aside from being trusting, Huni had always been something of a scaredy cat. And not wanting to get stuck upstairs in the dark, Huni decided to explore the second floor some other time. As she descended the stairs, something brushed against her foot. Whether it was a rat, a cockroach or some other vermin wasn't important. All that mattered was that it sent Huni into a blind panic. A shriek, followed by Huni's natural instinct to make a run for it, sent the red head careening for the door.

Unfortunately, it was also when Huni's clumsy nature chose to surface, and she tripped over one of the boxes. She ended up crashing against one of the rotting walls. After the world stopped spinning, and the lights stopped flickering, Huni groggily sat up. She gave a small yelp at the Huni-shaped hole that was gaping in the wall.

But as she peered inside, she gave a small gasp. Behind the wall appeared to be a study of sorts, and it seemed to have been sealed up for years, judging by the layer of dirt. Faded landscape paintings hung on the walls, and an old bear skin rug lay at the foot of a writing table. On the table were some sheets of yellowing paper, some fountain pens and inkwells, and beside the writing instruments was a thick, leather bound tome.

With the lights glowing steadily, and no sign of any movement coming from the study, Huni decided to go inside and give the tome a look. Written on the first page was a poem:

Tell me a story
Any story will do.
Long or short it matters not, or at the very
Least little, neither if it's real or untrue.

Tell me a tale
Anything out of the blue.
Let it be a question or an answer of
Exceptional significance or sheer nonsense
So long as it comes from you.

Huni wasn't sure what the poem meant, and decided to shrug it off as she scanned the rest of the pages. She found it odd that the owner of the book used just the top line, and wrote only one thing althroughout:

Why?

"Why, what?" Huni muttered. After staring at the pages for a few minutes, she found herself reaching for one of the fountain pens. After dipping the pen into an inkwell (and getting ink on her fingers), she added some words to the question and answered it.

As soon as she finished writing, the lights began to flicker again. This time, it burned out completely, and a cold wind blew into the shop. The wind seemed to swirl around Huni, knocking the tome out of her hands. Needless to say the red head screamed her head off at this odd occurance. The sheets of paper scattered into the shop's front and settled at the very center in a small mountain-shaped pile.

Visibly spooked, Huni exited the study back into the store. Once her heart stopped pounded, and the lights stabilized, she proceeded to pick up the papers.

"I didn't realize there were that many sheets." Huni sighed. Just then, a small hand emerged from the pile and grabbed the red head by the wrist. Once again, Huni released an ear-splitting shriek. Her own scream was echoed by the muffled wailing of what sounded like a baby. Huni stopped her screaming, and began parting the pile. Under all the papers was an infant, who was crying his eyes out in fear.

"Oh, oh, shhhhh, shhh." Huni cooed as she gently carried him into her arms. The moment the infant found himself in Huni's embrace, he ceased wailing and contented himself with soft whimpering. "Where did you come from?" she asked, the question directed more to herself than the infant. He gurgled a bit and reached out towards the direction of the study.


What's so special about the Study and the Tome...

With the baby in her arms, and the lights burning steadily, Huni re-entered the study. Her first thought was to bring the leather bound tome outside to read in a better lighting condition. But no matter what the red head did, the tome refused to be brought out. And by refused it would grow extremely heavy, or impossibly slippery, or appear to be glued to the writing table.

"What on Gaia?" Huni panted, feeling herself grow tired. In frustration she flipped open the tome and attempted to write a rather... nasty message. But even that proved impossible for as soon as she wrote anything onto the pages, the ink just drained away.

"Darn you!" she found herself yelling and angrily slamming the tome shut before pushing it off the table. There was a strange satisfaction in hearing the dull thud of a heavy book falling against the floor and seeing its pages splay apart. So you can imagine her surprise when she found another tome lying atop the table.

Huni stared at the second tome for a few seconds before her gaze reverted to the first tome on the floor. This went on for a good five minutes before she accepted that she wasn't hallucinating. Upon closer inspection, she saw the second tome was the same hue as the infant's hair. On the cover, embossed in gold leaves were the words


"Linneas?" she found herself uttering. And the baby in her arms seemed to answer back in gibberish. "Linneas?" Huni repeated, this time looking at the infant. He reached out to her and smiled as if in affirmation. "Oh so that's your name, Linneas is it? Well Linny, let's see what else this book knows about you." she suggested as she flipped the tome to the first page. She quirked a brow at the sight of her handwriting.

Why are things the way they are now?

And below the question was the answer.

Because it's all your fault.

"This was what I had written earlier... So what happens next?" she asked.

And as if in response, the pages turned into a blank sheet and the words "It's up to you" faded in. Instinctively, Huni stepped away from the writing table in case some evil spectre chose to appear at this point. But after several minutes of nothing, Huni decided to bring the book out of the study. While she had no difficulty in removing the second tome, it no longer replied whenever she asked it questions. Apparently, she had to figure this one out on her own.

Once she opened the shop, Huni realized just what was so special about the Study and the Tome. Whoever wrote a response to the Tome's question ended up with an infant and another tome. But what exactly do these new ones signify and what the original tome wants to accomplish is still a mystery.

Will you help Huni figure things out?

Simple truth, or the toddler stage. All stories, no matter how weird or fantastic have some truth behind them. Or perhaps there is a certain truth as to why this particular story was created. As Simple Truths, the true nature of the Tale is not yet evident. In fact, your Tale won't even know he or she isn't an ordinary infant/animal/creature. Their age ranges from 2-6 years old




Embellished, or the adolescent stage. As a child grows, he or she begins to develop his personality more. In the Tale's case, the Simple Truth is given more details, a little bit more information here, some additional thoughts there and viola! The Simple Truth becomes Embellished. At this point, the vagueness of the Tale's true nature lessens, maybe he or she becomes a little more aware, but it is still an unsure thing. Their age ranges from 7-14 years old.




Likely story, or the teenager stage. The Embellished gets a little more exaggerated, and becomes a Likely Story. Your Tale is becoming more and more aware of who or what he or she is. Though he or she won't be completely certain, what once was fuzzy during the earlier stages will become clearer once they hit Likely Story. Hormones have also started to take effect, though some might be late bloomers, and some might be a little more advanced than others. Their age ranges from 15-20 years old






Tall Tale, or the adult stage. Any other information is unknown.




[spacer goes here later, yeah.]


AS A NOTE: Your Tale will not grow unless you PM the form below to the mule. The staff will then review your journals to assure that everything is in order. THEN the growths will be worked on. Please note that the form is the same for custom/semi-custom/flat sale/event Tales -- Please also note that costuming etc is done at the ARTIST'S DISCRETION. They will do their best to assure your Tale looks the way they need to, but keep in mind that everything included in the form may not make it into the final art (it's a sanity issue guys).


Growth Requirements:
Below you will find a set of minimal growth requirements that must be met before your Tall Tale can progress to the next stage. Authors can complete these requirements as quickly or as slowly as they are comfortable with - also, you do not have to PM the form to the mule just because you have completed the requirements. As previously stated, these are the bare minimum for growth. They MUST be finished before sending in the growth form for the next stage so that we know your Tale is recieving the appropriate level of mental, emotional, and physical development before progressing.

Also, as many of the artists for the Tales have exceedingly pressing offline lives, there will be growth slots until such a time as they are not needed.
Please do not PM the mule with your form unless you have one of the slots.

**NOTE** - 'Dear Diary' entries may be substituted for solo RPs if you find that more comfortable, or visa-versa.

Simple Truth-to-Embellished Truth -- Your Tall Tale must have been a "Simple Truth" for at least three months. You must have at least three dear-diary journal entries, two playdate RPs, and one group RP (Three or more characters interacting not counting authors) -- RP can be solo or done in a public thread but must be documented in your journal.

Items Required: 3 books, 1 plush, 1 "learning toy" that will give them a skill (paints, bead kit, playing cards, etc)

Embellished Truth-to-Likely Story -- Your Tale must have been an "Embellished Truth" for at least four months. You must have at least five dear-diary journal entries, two solo RPs, fufilled a quest (Please PM the mule for your quest), and two public RPs to be completed in a public thread and logged for the journal.

Items Required: 5 books, 2 "toys", 1 item that goes with their base concept (IE - Jiro might get a weapon, Elena may get a telescope - Ameretat a lighter O_o)

Likely Story-to-Tall Tale -- Your Tale must have been a "Likely Story" for at least four months. You must have at least eight dear-diary journal entries, three solo RPs, two closed/private RP to be carried out on AIM or in its own thread, and two public RPs to be completed in the main thread and logged for the journal.



Growth Form:
Please PM this to the Tall Tales mule (_Tall_Tales_) when you have completed at LEAST the minimum requirements and are ready for your Tale to grow. ONLY PM us this form to grow your child - this is not a custom form. If we review your child's journal and find that a requirement was not met, we will PM you about it.





Growth Slots:
Syrie: **Please note that due to MP Sy will be PMing YOU for growings**
01. Victor
02. Sylvester
03. Lance

buta-chan:
01. Adonis
02. Closed
03. Closed

Klaine:
01. Lyris - 90% done
02. Angelus

Streycat:
01. Closed
02. Closed
03. Closed



Form layout, etc used WITH PERMISSION from Karma_K's Fourth Wall shop. Thank you Karma!





Here are a few things that need to be considered before any breeding can commence:

1.) The breeding option MUST BE OPEN, and the artists will ALWAYS have the final say if breeding slots are open.
2.) The two Tales must both be at least Likely Story (teens) in age.
3.) There must be a valid relationship established between the two Tales.
4.) There must be a logical reason why the Tales would want to 'breed' and this must be seen in RP's.
5.) Female/Male, Female/Female, or Male/Male pairings are accepted.
6.) Each couple is only capable of creating TWO new Tomes.
7.) More will be added if we think of any.

Let's suppose the pair meets all requirements, so how will breeding work exactly? Well, your Tales don't have to... unf... but don't let us stop you from RPing it out (so long as it's not in the thread or in the guild, you're always free to link it elsewhere XD). The Tales must rip out just one page from their Tome and bring it to the Study. Together, the pair will merge their pages with the original Tome.

A new Tome will be created, and a question will already be written on it. The Tales must then choose who will become the next Author. Now there are guidelines about the question:

1.) The New Question must not already be in existence.
2.) The New Question must begin with the same word as one of the parents'. Example: If Tale A's Q begins with a Why and Tale B's begins with a What, then the new Tale can begin with either Why or What.

There are several ways of becoming a Tall Tale author. Flatsales, Auctions, Contests, Raffles, Auto-buys and Pet trades. For more details on pet trades and auto-buys, please refer to the next post.


Flatsale Procedures: First and foremost, be sure to read the Rules post. Prompts will be posted and you will have at least 24 hours to respond to one prompt by PMing it to the mule account. Please include your preferred Question, the Answer, three physical qualities (hair, eyes, and skintone are included) and an explanation of your concept in the PM.

Sample Entry:
The response to the prompt goes here. It can be long or short, but it must be formal/narrative. So no "*watches her baby leave* or -Tale jumps out of the window-" type of responses. First or third person accepted and if you can manage to pull off a second person perspective without god moding then I applaud you O_O

Name: The Tale's name
Author: The name of the Author that will appear on the cert
The Question: Who stole the cookie from the cookie jar?
The Answer: A fuzzy blue demon
Concept: This Tale is about a hyperactive demon, one who is on a perpetual sugar rush. He loves anything sweet, whether it be food or a fellow Tale with a sweet personality. He has a soft spot for candy bars, particularly the milk chocolate kind and won't think twice about stealing yours if you aren't paying attention.
3 physical qualities: Blue fur covers his skin, dark blue horns and a long blue tail

Upcoming Flatsales: None

Flatsale Prompts: None yet



Upcoming Auctions: Several Guest Auctions around May to June-ish

Auction Procedures: The starting bid is 15k, and a minimum incriment of 1000g for any future bids. The auction will end in one to two weeks, and yes, there will be a twenty four hour anti-snipe. Meaning on the last day, any new bid made will extend the auction by a full 24 hours. Or until someone autobuys.

Auctions are always going to be a full custom, so you get to decide everything. From the question, to the answer, to the appearance, everything.



Upcoming Contest/Event: A writing Contest some time after the Metaplot

Contest/Event Details: N/A

Contest/Event Procedures: N/A

Contest/Event Tips:



Raffle Procedures: Raffles will be conducted in certain occasions. In the event a raffle is going to be held, there is a minimum amount of 100 slots at 500g per ticket. A person can buy as many tickets as he/she can afford. And no, you may not choose your ticket number. Raffles may or may not be a custom.

Upcoming Raffles: None Currently

Raffle Details: Will last anywhere from two to three weeks

General Rules
1.) Read the rules. If you don't want to read the entire front page fine, but read the entire Rules post. It just makes life a lot easier for everyone.
2.) Be nice, we'd like the thread to have a happy, healthy environment. It goes without saying that flaming, harrassing, and/or making a nuisance of yourself is a huge no no.
3.) No stealing of art, Syrie, Klaine, and Buta-chan work hard! Anyone who breaks this rule will automatically land in the blacklist, be banned from the shop and reported to a mod.
4.) Respect the owners, this is our thread and our rules. We're nice people and would love to hear feedback, but don't abuse our kindness and/or spam our inbox. Breaking of this rule will be dealt with in a manner similar to rule three.
5.) No mega quotes, meaning more than three (3) large quotes in one post. Exceptions to this rule would be if you were Roleplaying with more than three people are once.
6.) These are RP Intensive pets, so if you just want something to sit in your sig and look pretty I suggest you Auto buy with the price listed in the Custom Slot post or go elsewhere.
7.) Realize real life takes precedence over Gaia. While Gaia is fun, we do have real life issues to handle. We respect and understand that you aren't online 24/7, so we expect the same from you.
8.) Do not PM asking when the next flatsale/contest/auction/AB slot opening will be. This shop is not about the money, as much as we'd love to keep making gold by having hundreds of flatsales, we still have to think about growings and whatnot.
9.) Refrain from picking on just ONE Tale. It has come to our attention that certain tales keep getting picked on, whether it's IC or OOC. As stated in rule 2, BE NICE. I know it can be fun to sometimes tease another person or Tale but don't do it EVERYTIME you see them unless they're comfortable with the idea. Some authors don't visit the thread anymore for the reason other Tales/Authors pick on his/her Tale. They're like our children and we won't like it when other people pick on our own kid right?
10.) Refrain from PMing about growths or arrivals. We know other Tales have already arrived/grown and we're sorry that it's taking so long. But Huni commissions the artists with RL money and she pays up front. It's beyond her control that the artists have lives of their own and are not able to draw 24/7.
11.) Please, please, please do not ask Huni or Syrie to give you or your friend a Tale. We know you mean well, and we know we can give a Tale to anyone we want, but PLEASE stop asking. Tales will be available when they are available. The last thing we want is to come off as money-hungry bastages, when we simply can't afford to give a Tale for free. Syrie has a lot of Tales to keep up with, and Huni isn't rich enough to commission hundreds of Tales by Klaine or Buta-chan or Lowell.
12.) One Tale, Per Author. You cannot get another one even from Auctions or "breeding." The Tale you have now is the only Tale you'll ever get.


OOC Rules
1.) NO KICKING OF THE THREAD! You can maim it, burn it, bite it, eat it, chew on it, gnaw on it, cut it, burp it, feed it, tickle it, poke it and whatever else you can think up. Just no kicking! You kick the thread and a swarm of fuzzy bunny penguins shall descend on you and dance all over your tummy for two fortnights and a day! xd


Custom Rules
Concepts such as "What is your Dream <insert already existing breedable pet here>?" will never be accepted. And while "What is your Dream Tale?" entails this shop, we'd prefer a more... creative question.

Sales Rules
1.) Flatsales will cost 15k unless stated otherwise.
2.) Once the question(s) and prompt(s) is/are posted, you have 24 hours to respond to it/one of them by PMing your response to the mule account.
3.) You may not edit your response once you've sent them. Doing so will land you in the graylist, and your entry rendered null. Exceptions can be made depending on the circumstance.
4.) Do not discourage, threaten, or make others feel guilty for trying out. The same goes for being rude, mean or bitchy if you lose.
5.) Send all trades to the mule account, any trades sent to Huni Pi or Syrie will be considered as a donation.
5.) Include the phrase "Tell me a story" in your PM. This is just to see if you read the rules n.n


RP Rules
1.) No God-Moding or Godly characters. While your Tale may have special abilities and powers if you so choose, please bear in mind that they will still have limits and imperfections.
2.) Formal/narrative roleplay only, either 1st or 3rd person perspective is acceptable.
3.) Informal/general chatter must be done in brackets, whether or not an RP is going on.
4.) The Study has a mind of its own. It will let only those it chooses, so no matter what you do, unless you're an Author or Author-to-be you will not be able to enter the Study.
4.) As an Author/Guardian, you are required to post at least once a month in your tome. If you have to go on a hiatus, please, please either post or PM us saying so. If you're going to be gone for a long time, assign someone to take care of your Tale in the meantime.
5.) You don't need a Tale to RP in the shop, just RP formally as yourself and you'll be fine.
6.) Non-Tall Tale pets are welcome in the HQ, but please limit yourself to at most two (2) non-Tall Tale pets.
7.) Whether in IC or OOC, please do not ignore newcomers. We were all new once, and while we don't expect you guys to just shower them with love and affection, don't ignore them altogether as well.


Auction/Raffle Rules will be in the auction/raffle threads.

Q: What exactly are Tall Tales?
A: Tall Tales are beings that come from a person's natural instinct to create a story. It's the same thing as lying, we make up stuff to keep ourselves out of trouble. In this case, Tall Tales are based on a response to a certain question.

Q: So do the Tales know what they are?
A: It would depend on how you handle the roleplay. But until they reach their teenage stage, the most they'll have is an inkling. They may question their existence, especially if you tell them how you got them.

Q: Do we get to create our own Tale?
A: Yes, you do. But realize that in flatsales, your concept is limited by the question we will provide. It is only in auctions, contests, pet-trades and auto-buys will you get to decide the question along with the answer.

Q: Will our Tale have special powers or magical abilities?
A: If your concept involves them having certain abilities then yes. While you may also have your Tale learn magical skills, this should be done through roleplaying the process over a period of time.

Q: So how long can the answer/question be?
A: The answer or the question cannot be longer than one sentence.

Q: Is there a limit to how many Tales we can own?
A: Yes, one Tale per Author.

Q: If I win can I give the Tale to someone else?
A: If it's an auction or a raffle, then yes, you may give the opportunity to be an Author to someone else. But if it's a flatsale or a contest, then no as the decision is made based on your response.

Q: How do I get a Tale?
A: Please see the availability post.

Q: Where do we roleplay?
A: In your tome and the thread. Any RP done outside of gaia must be documented in your tome n.n

Q: How often do we have to roleplay?
A: At least once a month either in your Tome or the thread.

Q: Do you do Pet trades?
A: Yes, but we reserve the right to say no if we simply can't afford to do one. It's not so much as we don't like your pet or your art, but our artists and their RL comes first. If they're swamped, we can't force them.

Q: What sort of pets are you interested in?
A: Syrie can't afford any more RP intensive pets, other than for a Fa'e or an Aduthule, he'd prefer non-RP required ones. Huni doesn't have the brain power for any more RP required pets either, she'd prefer non-RP ones as well. But if it's a yuri-themed shop, or a cosplay pet, you can easily tempt Huni XD

Q: Will you ever take our Tale away?
A: Yes, but only if you land on the blacklist or have not logged back onto gaia for at least six months without any prior notification.

Q: What do I do if I suddenly have to go on a hiatus?
A: Send the mule account a PM of your hiatus or post it here in the thread. You will then be granted a 'writer's block' period. If you need more than that, assign someone else to temporarily care for your Tale until you can come back.

Q: Why do you have three (or more) artists?
A: Because we'd like to give everyone a better chance at getting one n.n we love you guys heart

Q: Why isn't this section called the FAQs? Everyone else calls them that.
A: It serves the same purpose and honestly, if you're a breedables regular, you don't really ask these questions frequently. XD