Okay people, I seriously have no clue what's gone on before...Gaara's joining, pretty much.  So if those who've been around longer want to help, that'd be great.  I really wanted to get the Shukaku Escapes plot up.

Gaara joins DDD for communication and intelligence purposes.

Matsuri joins around the same time to make friends.

And Temari joins soon after to keep an eye on her little brother.

For a week after Gaara and Matsuri join, everything's pretty much sunshine and roses, in spite of Temari's quarrel with Tenten.

Then Shukaku shows up.  (Warning for those who don't know Shukaku's posting habits: he has a disability that prevents him from linking to anything besides pr0n.  The "google" link does not lead to google.)  Gaara starts on his "Shukaku is my responsibility, I will face him alone" schpiel, which annoys just about everyone who cares about him. Tsunade warns him that if he goes alone, he'll be dragged back by ANBU.

The threat works.  For the moment.

Shukaku looks around DDD and decides to prod not only Gaara, but his friends as well.  At the same time, Gaara's initial reaction to Shukaku is to tell him off just about every time he talks to one of Gaara's friends thus prompting Shukaku to do it more.  This results in a rather heated post in his friend Johnny's journal that ends with Johnny having to sign off because his Malice, fueled by anger and hate, is starting to mess with his head.  Johnny's failure to lock one particular comment triggers Shukaku taking an interest in him as a potential puppet.  At this point, Gaara has told pretty much everyone he knows not to bother talking with Shukaku, but this doesn't stop Johnny and Shukaku exchanging quite a few arguments and tauntings, all locked from Gaara.

Johnny makes a post asking about Akatsuki hideouts--just for curiosity's sake, of course. Konan tells him off.

THEN she makes her intro post.

Shortly after, Gaara and his mun completely ruin their Friday workdays by asking the community for thoughts on atonement.  (Srsly, more popular than thoughts on yaoi.)  Besides the moral and ethical arguments presented in some comments, a huge source of distraction is Matsuri telling him some of what Shukaku has said to her in an attempt to break them up.  Gaara ends up having to leave work early for once, too enraged by Shukaku's antics to calm down.

Quite by accident (srsly, hadn't been planned by the muns), Gaara finds out from Mewtwo about Johnny asking about the Akatsuki.  With his "trust issue" buttons firmly jabbed, especially since Matsuri is currently staying at Johnny's place, Gaara asks Johnny exactly what he's up to--and finds out Johnny was planning to follow him if he ever went to find Shukaku.  Despite the epic comment conversation that follows, Johnny fails to ever tell Gaara that he already has a very general idea of where Shukaku is.

The day before the tied-up virus, Johnny makes a incoherent, nightmare-induced post as the fear of his Malice overwhelming him grows.

When the virus starts, Gaara and Matsuri get tied together, as well as Temari and Johnny.  Being tied to a girl he barely knows on another world does not really help soothe Johnny's worry over possibly hurting other people while berserk.  Nor does it really help when his friend Shania shows up and gets harrassed by Shukaku.  Especially not when Johnny's just finding out that Shukaku's planning to make a breakout and could soon be making his sick fantasies realities.

Meanwhile, Shukaku shops the demon housing market.

Johnny warns Tsunade about Shukaku's locked post.  He asks her not to tell Gaara that he told her, unaware that Jack Frost is already telling Gaara about it.

That same night, Johnny finally cracks and decides killing Shukaku on his own is a wonderful idea--and asks Gaara for directions (after he's gotten a head start).

Instead, Gaara warns the community about the possible danger and pursues Johnny; but he's too late to stop Johnny from weakening the seal, allowing Shukaku to create sand clones in the outside world.

...it was a very busy month for all of them.

And the calm has passed, leading into the storm...

Jordan, possessed by Caneletto, has just released the seal and now Shukaku is free. OHSHI-

Spitting and cursing his way in, Kankuro chooses an excellent time to join the community.

After realizing his freedom, Shukaku continues to sit inside the statue like a nice, well-behaved little sand demon. ...NOT! 

Back in Suna, Gaara makes battle plans for his village.