Maia Berkeley is a character roleplayed by extralivia.
General Information[]
Maia Berkeley is the self-proclaimed sexiest and most ruthless businesswoman alive who doubles as an undercover criminal. She's always looking for any chance she can get to hustle and make a profitable deal to rack in the cash, whether it be scamming or true business grind. She is also the proud owner of Kairos Holdings which is the parent company of her personal notable businesses such as Cool Beans Bakery and Wellness Shop, & La Vie Photography & Design. She prides herself on getting away with crime and loves to use her seemingly good looks, her sultry voice/ unique accent, sweet tongue & fashion sense to her advantage to get out of situations. She has learned a lot since her early days and loves to be a cool and calculated criminal always with a story and plan to escape the law . She is very resourceful as she has learned from her old days and has begun to dabble in more elaborate crime schemes and distractions that distract her from being seen as a "publicly known criminal". Maia also likes to maintain the image of a clean civilian around until she builds trust with people. She can be seen wearing outrageous costumes and being unrecognizable when doing some of her favorite crime activities. Maia often likes to present herself as more naive and "super nice and charming" than she actually is, in an attempt to attract money, to gain trust of influential people, beneficial crime/business connections, & upscale clientele, especially men. She is also bubbly, outgoing and you can usually find her always trying to start a conversation and always ready to get to know anyone to add to her long list of people she knows. She is also extremely self confident and thinks highly of herself, often most notably giving herself titles. Maia is very materialistic and places emphasis on having an extravagant lifestyle filled with expensive assets to attract attention with them. She usually seen as very flirty by others due to her abundance of male friends and her "unintentionally" suggestive comments. She often uses this as a manipulation tactic as well to develop closeness and build trust/ connections.
Due to her troubling past and her hard upbringing, she often finds it extremely hard to trust those around her. This has led to her always questioning people's intentions of being around her. However, those she holds close, she considers them close for life. She values trust a lot and only wants those around her to stand for her in any situation. Maia's fear of being put in a disadvantageous situation leads her to often subtly manipulate those around her that get too close with her charm to appear as an angel. She often is disgusted with people that come off more assertive than her or too forward and likes control in most situations. She is willing to sabotage others at any cost if you serve at her detriment . She can be extremely hotheaded at times and is impatient with other's stupidity. When it comes to conflict however, Maia loves to avoid issues and tell people "what they would love to hear". She has a tendency to put issues she need to confront on the back burner at all costs, even when it is necessary to resolve and discuss.
Maia can usually be found dressed in provocative classy outfits in regards to her personal fashion, even though at times she undercover dresses in streetwear casual gang fashion when doing crime or when she wants to not attract attention. She attributes her fashion decisions to her high classy life living in Little Seoul, the nature of her running her own personal business, and her life on the streets doing crime. Her high fashion sense is usually coordinated with the area of town she may be visiting in the day. She loves attracting attention no matter what and loves all eyes on her. Though often criticized by the classier in town, she enjoys flaunting her assets to attract male attention and to appear innocent.
Backstory[]
Maia had been born as the result of a teen pregnancy and had been abandoned outside of a liquor store in the busy streets of Brooklyn New York. She had been found along with a shoebox by an Australian family of 5 walking in the area. They had decided to adopt her temporarily in their home in the rural areas of New York in hopes that her real birth mom would come back to get her. Years past and she never showed as that family began to exclude Maia from their family and abuse her. She had been told growing up that her mother did not care about her even though the evidence in the shoebox said otherwise. At 16, she eventually escaped from home and began to work shifts at a local gentleman's club and selling drugs all while living with an obsessive Middle eastern ex-boyfriend. She had eventually had a baby for him and had aborted it, out of inability to take care of the baby. He had vowed to hunt her down in attempts to whisk her and the baby away across the ocean to live with his Middle Eastern drug lord family. Maia had then escaped to Italy for a few years in an attempt to throw off her being tracked. There she began to find out more about her father and found out that she was a quarter Italian through DNA test.
Since she was 22 and the years after, the search for her birth mother was always on her mind. She would periodically move apartments and squat with others every couple weeks to follow potential leads of where her birth mother could be and to avoid her ex-boyfriend. In one specific lead, she had found her own half sister, Cinna who had confirmed to her that her father was dead but no clue of information about her mother. The two fought as Cinna became jealous of Maia's appearance. Maia had also gotten into another relationship during her search in other towns. This was shortly lived as her Middle Eastern boyfriend had caught up with him and had him murdered. He had definitely been in the area and Maia knew she had to leave before the next morning or she would be dead. She had then decided in that moment that the only thing she could do left was to escape to the open highway and continue driving into the night sky to save her life. Along her weeks long journey on Route 66, she had stumbled across Los Santos and knew it was the perfect place to seek solace from the painful spiral she was on after the pain of her recent boyfriend's death and her last attempt to find her birth mother.
Story Arcs[]
| New Beginnings: ESB, Grove Street and the Food Truck |
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| Shortly after stumbling into a rundown motel in Los Santos and walking under the city lights and cold streets of the Vinewood boardwalk, a taxi driver had shown her life around the city and took her down to the Southside to the Grove Street Gas Station to meet new people. She had been surprised to see a busy gas station filled with purple cars and plenty of people. Two Arabic men named Basem Shahin and Salem Barghouthi were very welcoming to her and offered a job at the taco truck at this gas station as he had been hiring. Maia had been very grateful for the opportunity as she knew the bills in her pockets were running low and this would have to be her temporary home for now. A seemingly charming blue haired boy named Truth had moved a few weeks before helped her around things to do around this city. Maia had not been a fan of making the delicious food of the taco truck but over time this had become her favorite place to not only work but see her newfound friends. She had just become friends with a few of those owners of those purple cars, a gang she had learned was named the East Side Ballas. She had been getting to know them until the Great Material War had happened. Several weeks of gunfire at the gas station that she had known and loved had made it unsafe for work as Maia had been frequently robbed and kidnapped. She had taken a few days off in fear of her life all for her to come back to a gas station deserted of the purple gang she had known and loved. Grove Street was under new management of the HOA and they did not guarantee her a spot of whether she would be rehired at the station. Maia was now faced with the reality that she was back to being the broke girl she was when she first moved. |
| Self Discovery and CEO of "Girlfriend for Hire" |
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| After being out of a job at the Grove Street Gas Station, Maia had been working various delivery jobs around town and living her new found thrill for doing petty crime. She spent most of her time hanging out with her friends in between working. All while doing this, she had decided to visit a new part of town outside of her home in the Southside. She had stumbled across the Mirror Park subdivision during one of her friend outings. She had also met an elderly realtor, Gordon Parks who worked for Payne Real Estate. He had been showing various businesses along the street where the Mirror Park Tavern was located and was encouraging the group of friends to dream big and say businesses they would own in the future along that street if the could. Maia at first thought the elderly man had been crazy for thinking that she could be a business owner. Maia had always worked many odd jobs throughout her life so she could not picture herself as a business owner, as she didn't have the education or the drive for it. She had told Gordon that she had no experience running a business and laughed off the idea
A few weeks later, In between her shifts working deliveries, she began to really think about what the old man had said and had become fascinated by the idea. People frequently noticed Maia's flirty demeanor and a friend had told her how this could be an asset. That day she began to plot a new idea at attempt to make money. She had then posted a Yellow Pages ad about being someone's girlfriend for pay just so she could meet more men around town. A judge in town had offered to pay her 25k dollars her first time doing it. Maia had been surprised at the call as she had expected no one to call. She went in blind and realized the services she could offer were not too bad. She told her friend about the crazy experience and they had suggested that she should make it a business. She had decided to and it began to receive calls and gigs off the hook. |
| The Sahara Bachelor Event & Familial Ties (End of 2.0) |
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| Maia had moved to Los Santos under the impression her father was dead while on the search for her birth mother. All she knew was that her father was some sort of secretive businessman but was unclear about the nature of his business. Maia had later come to find out through many private investigators he had been the type to often get himself in trouble with various people over his unethical business practices, including Sahara International , an investment company. Maia had met with her half-sister through a lead a few years ago and she had quickly confirmed her father being dead..... at least she thought.
Now in Los Santos, she had only just began to find out this had all been a different story. A few weeks prior, A lawyer named Nino Chavez had been helping her improve her "GirlFriend for Hire" business. He had given her tips on how to improve and other business strategies. Most of his advice had worked and Maia had wanted a second meeting with him to discuss further. A second meeting is in order however things take a more spicier direction as Maia drunkenly and willingly agrees to have sex with him, booked through an appointment by Nino's assistants. A few more weeks later, Maia is kidnapped by three girls to participate in a Bachelor style event where the panel of judges include Nino and Ash and Mr K. Maia feels nervous at it is the first time she has seen Nino since their drunk sexual encounter and she wonders whether he remembers. She is also nervous that he remembers an embarrassing fact about her--- a birthmark in a lower sensitive region of her body. She has relieved when she finds out there are three bachelors for this event: Aleks, Mr. Kebun and Tony Corleone. The contest goes on with questions, all seemingly Italian related. Maia finds it odd but continues to answer each question with various intentional sexual innuendos all pointed at Nino, the host of the event. She manages to surprisingly win 200k and a date with Tony. At least she thinks she does. Nino agrees to get the money outside the ATM at a gas station while following Tony and Maia in a car in front. Tony drives Maia to the pier where they are to have their first date. Nino hands over the money congratulating Maia again for winning and drives off. At least she thinks he does. Tony and Maia's date continues as she hears sounds of people catcalling around them. Maia is suspicious and tries to bring it up to Tony. He seems oddly unfazed. 4 men come out of the shadows having the two of them at gunpoint. It appears to be a setup. These four men with fake Russian accents lead Maia at gunpoint to a small boat under the pier. They drive it to the yacht a miles out in the ocean. They back her against a wall as one of the masked men ask her questions about her father. Maia tells them all she knows about him being dead. The masked men think that Maia is lying and informs her that he is actually an accountant who manages accounts overseas all in which he makes unethical business moves. The masked men continue interrogating her about trips to Italy and a birthmark in her lower region. She is surprised that they know and continues to answer them terrified. She pleads with them insisting she doesn't have much information. Maia informs them that she knows about the terrible dealings and frequent fights Maia's father has with his clients and is willing to do anything to have her life spared. The masked men make a few phone calls before they finally decide what to do with Maia. They eventually all shoot her with huge AR guns as they make their getaway through a small rescue boat. Maia lays unconscious as EMS arrive much too late. Maia is now in a coma for what is almost two days with hazy recollection of events. She slowly is gaining recollection of herself and through a miraculous surgery, survives. She makes her recovery and later drives down to the pier as she tries to piece together what has happened to her. She meets with a few people including Lana Valentine, who had lost her friend Natalie Lorenzo hours before to see if there was any connection to her near death. No luck. Maia arrives at the gas station as a few people tell her there is a girl with cat ears that has been impersonating her while she has been in her coma. Maia is horrified as she doesn't want to believe it. Her half-sister, Cinna must have heard of her being in a coma and wanted to ruin her life. She had been apparently calling out Nino and blaming him for Maia's death. Shortly after, no one knows her whereabouts. Maia later finds her in a coma in the ICU, in unstable condition and unable to speak. Maia is now fearful for her life and feels at risk for being targeted. She begins to have strong suspicions on Nino but she hesitates to quite believe it. She is unsure why he would want to kill her and begins to think that her sister might be connected to this more than she first thought. She debates on whether or not to inform Nino as she risks being killed again if he is really the murderer. Her other option is revenge. Maia begins to mask up around town as she tries to figure out her next moves. She runs into Nino and his assistants at various events as Maia veils herself in an attempt to pretend that she is still in a coma. Maia begins to feel weary of the instability in her life: her lover wanting a break, her family full of unknowns and the uncertainty of her life as she is a target of a few others around town. Maia decides she needs to be away from this town but still get answers. She decides that a last minute trip to Italy is in order. She had heard her father had a business venture there as she seeks to meet up with him to find answers and regroup on her next steps in Los Santos. |
| Lost Identity and the Rebuild of an Empire |
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| A few years have now passed by and Maia felt like she had somewhat of the answers she needed after her extended stay in Italy. She had learned through her extensive research into her estranged father's involvement into the notorious company Sahara International and why he and herself had been targeted. She had now devised the perfect plan to go after Nino Chavez and had booked a flight back to Los Santos. So many questions stilll laid on the line of how she was going to see her revenge however she knew this was what was in order. On her flight back , unfortunately she had an almost death plane crash which caused her to have severe memory loss . When she returned to Los Santos later, she had no recollection of how or why she had left the city in the first place. She knew it was for something important and the city and seemed very weird and different to her--- almost foreign. The city had apparently went under a huge stock market crash and everyone in town had lost their possessions, money and assets. Maia had been devasted for everything thing she had lost and worked so hard for and it ran her in a serious depression for many weeks. On top of that, she had seen many faces and names that she recognized around town but could not remember them. She decided since her memory failed her, that she would trust her sixth sense to guide her away from troublesome people. She had required her job at the Vanilla Unicorn Strip Club after being a longtime dancer there in the past and planned to dance her way to the money. She had started to wrack a decent income doing what she loved finally and made some high profile business-crime connections with some of the elite doing iilicit crime activities in the club, and earning the trust of some including Lang Buddha. All had seemed well until the Vanilla Unicorn had mysteriously got shut down once again by the government for construction for weeks and later became months. Maia had once again found herself rendered jobless and it upset her even more.She had then wondered what to do. |
| Maia and the Rooster Rest |
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| Apart from hanging out at the Vanilla Unicorn, Maia had a new found joy hanging out in a new restaurant built in town called the Rooster's Rest. It had quickly became a place she enjoyed for food and friends and she had began to find every excuse to hangout and chill there to meet her friends.She had seen a Yellow Pages ad of Lang Buddha taking positions for a manager of the establishment. It seemed like the perfect position almost made for her so she had quickly applied. Lang had remembered her from the Vanilla Unicorn days and how Maia had washed their dirty money and bought their dirty bills in exchange for clean cash for his friends, the Cleanbois. He had decided to follow up with her as he was interested in still hiring her but maybe not as manager as initially intended and he had wanted her to prove her loyalty to the place and test out the work environment to see if she liked it before becoming a manager. She had agreed and Lang had then sent her on a mission. If she sold 10 Rooster's Rest teas for the most amount of money, she would get the job over the others that applied. She had been so desperate for this and Maia had now seen an opportunity to take advantage. She knew that she couldnt afford to lose an opportunity so good. Maia had then cunningly devised a plan to win over Lang with her "dedication". She had only been able to sell half of the teas on the street in the day time for more money as the Rooster's Rest only opened at night. Maia had then decided to put 2000 dollars of her own money to buy the remaining teas for herself, without the knowledge of Lang. She had reported back to him that all the teas were sold in the same day and Lang was impressed. He offered her the position at the Rooster's Rest and Maia began to work many tireless shifts into the dead of night to impress Lang , win over his trust and hopefully become manager of the place. She had quickly began to wrack many sales using her alluring nature much to Lang's approval. |
| Played By: extralivia |
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| Characters: Maia Berkeley • Betsey Johnston •Amy Stayke • Jessica Bays |