Hariklia

Hariklia is a true to type Gemini who can almost always see both side of an argument and so has trouble making any type of decision (she also writes some very long sentences). She is short (in stature), often prickly (in temperament) and loves ice-cream.

She is a writer, a blogger, an ex-graphic designer and for the past 10 years a mum. This last job has been the most difficult as well as the most rewarding.

Hariklia's life has been defined by growing up in a working class, non English speaking family; by her obsession with certain bands and certain musicians; and by a love of travel, art and reading.

She is currently posting entries from her (until now, hidden) diaries, for the world to read, on her blog; the irony of which is not wasted on her. She hopes to have a book of fiction published later this year.

To learn more about Hariklia and to read her diaries, visit What She Said found here.

Get your free avatar here and then send your image and story to leslieinadamsmorgan (at) gmail (dot) com. For more avatar stories, click here.

Evil Pixie

Evil Pixie is a daughter, sister, writer, photographer, consultant, PhD student, adjunct professor, London lover, cupcake connoisseur, and all-around extraordinaire (or least tries to be). She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her family, Wicked Pixie and Naughty Pixie. However, one of her goals is to move the Pixie Household to London as soon as financially possible.

When not blogging, snapping, studying, grading, or sampling cupcakes, Evil Pixie is either out exploring the great landscapes of the Pacific Northwest or plotting three of the major photography trips she plans to drag Wicked Pixie and Naughty Pixie on (photographing the U.S. National Parks, the National Parks around the World, and the Antarctica/Galapagos Islands).

This Pixie's 5-year plan is to be living in London, running a successful photography studio, and racking up the writing credits. While she would love world domination (in the form of writing and photography), she'll settle for finding the perfect pillow to sleep on.

To find out more about Evil Pixie and to see some of her photos, click here.

Danine

Danine retired to the relative quiet of surburban life after decades of writing for various corporations and nonprofits. A life long interest in time travel became reality 25 years ago when she discovered the substratum of historical reenactment groups in the San Francisco Bay area. This led to singing at Renaissance and Dickens fairs, and then to organizing events for groups in the "dress up and dance"set. A fourth-generation Californian, Danine enjoys traveling throughout the western states and making sporadic ventures to Europe and the East Coast to keep from becoming completely provincial.

Wendy

Descending into the realm of political silos and fiefdoms, Year 2005, Wendella could only image how things would be run if she were in charge. Enormous amounts of wasted energy and resources would still be available for the city projects and welfare of the people. But alas, Wendella was not in charge.

The question then became, does she cut and run to find sanctuary on a more rational plane or remain in chaos to be a beacon within that storm? Such questions always languished within her mind; the desire to exist where one remains within the tranquility of homeostasis and the competing desire to make order out of an otherwise entropic system.

A continuing battle has taken place within her somatosensory cortex; the sensing and intuitive functions constantly vying for territory within a system thought to be three-dimensional, but in reality hosting multiple dimensions. If only the tiers could agree. If not for the ability to abstract, Wendella could very well go insane.

The point of landing is the streets of Washington, DC. Whereas the exteriors of the buildings are impressive in their architectural design, the interiors are drab with encrusted dirt within the framework. Such is the reality of an economic model paid for by tax-payer dollars. To navigate such a course, Wendella has armed herself with a rolling laptop bag and a container of sanitizer. As she enters the building, she thinks of the tasks at hand. She knows she will accomplish her goals; it's just an issue of when. Advancing forward, she has a strong look of determination set on her face. Wendella is indestructible!

Kimberly

Kimberly was born and raised in Buffalo, N.Y., home of the Sabres, Goo Goo Dolls, and chicken wings. Growing up an only child, her passion for music and television intensified during the long snow-covered Buffalo winters. Fast-forward to Kimberly's college years when these two passions collided. Years of watching ‘WKRP in Cincinnati’ finally paid off for her when she became a disc jockey and news director for WBNY, an alternative rock station.

A self-proclaimed guidette, Kimberly also loves everything Italian. Her dream is to travel to Italy in 2011. In the meantime, Kimberly is working hard saving her pennies for the trip. Literally. She’ll search cars, couches, and parking lots, leaving no orphaned coins unnoticed. If you’re walking along and you drop some change fuhgeddaboudit, she was probably behind you and already picked it up.

Shawn

Documentary film-maker and bassist Shawn Sharifi, reknowned for his monumentally successful film Why Hollywood Sucks, is in the final editing stages of his newest offering, a sequel entitled Why Hollywood Still Sucks. "The working title was Who'd I Forget? More Hollywood People I Can't Stand," says Sharifi, "but nobody in Tinseltown returned my calls." "Ahh," he said "what do you expect. They suck!"

When not griping about over paid, useless celebrities, Shawn can be found playing his bass for Hot Buttered Elvis, enjoying snorts of whiskey, curing plants of what ails them, and lurking late into the night. He's also been seen around town on occasion with the band groupie Mina who happens to be his wife.

Robyn

Robyn is a hardworking 25-year old. She leads a busy life as a graphic designer for a college and a receptionist for an animal hospital. She works seven days a week without rest while she dreams of traveling the world like a vagabond. She comes from an insane family that spawned from the back wood mountains of West Virginia. Inbred you ask? Well who knows, but it’s suspected that cross breeding may have caused an onset of lunacy in her family. But in spite of all this, Robyn is a cool city chick who lives in a high-rise apartment building with her filmmaker boyfriend C.J. She hopes one day they'll move to London to escape the drama and at the same time rekindle her passion for traveling.

Eric the Dancer

Eric has a colorful past. He started traveling on his own at a young age and by the time he was 17 he was tramping across the country by freight train.

It was a hazardous life as you might imagine but it was also a great adventure. It would be easy to romanticize those times; however, they were anything but romantic. There were many dangers such as other tramps who saw a teenage boy as as easy prey and yard bulls (security) who did not always treat tramps with the respect deserving of a gentleman of leisure.

Eric learned from his tramp mentor many valuable lessons every aspiring young railroad bum should know. Eric’s skillfull boarding of a moving train while running at top speed over huge chunks of gravel without losing luggage or having his legs severed under the wheels would have scored Eric a score of 9.8 or better at the olympic games. His grace and timing were no less skillful or beautiful to watch than a dancer on the big stage. Tramps in hobo jungles across the country would speak in hushed tones filled with awe and reverence as they shared stories around the campfire about the Railroad Dancer.

But as with all mentor relationships the time comes when a young tramp must venture forth into the world alone. So alone he went, full of daring do and grand visions filled with pans of delicious hobo stew, whole cigarettes with only a little lipstick on them, bottles of thunderbird wine and a warm patch of grass in which he could lay his pallet.

Eric is an old man now and many years have passed since he rode a train, but his old heart still skips a beat and his breath quickens when the moaning of a distant train seems to beckon, calling him to dance just once more. So the next time you’re sitting at a railroad crossing watching a long slow train thundering through town ... say a little prayer and ask the Gods to stay close to the unseen "Dancers" of the world.

Post note: Eric no longer smokes or drinks and sleeps in a bed but the story ain't over til it's over.

Rob

Born in a town full of Eskimos, Rob believes in only two things: polar bears and eskimo kisses. As a lad he journeyed many moons around the small villages of Alaska with his best friend Tarka fighting the Russians and attempting to secede from America while growing massive amounts of herbal life.

In 2008, he finally looked for life outside of Alaska and made the great journey to Canada where he and Tarka took seven brides who also had seven wives and began a small religious community dedicated to the idea that god is just a polar bear who sometimes gives rough eskimo kisses. He and his small army of wives have no children of their own, but often dress up seals in baby clothes and lipstick and name them after important historical figures from Alaska.

His goals for 2009 remain the same as they have always been ... preach the word of the bear and give everyone in the world an eskimo kiss.

Jenifer

Born and raised in Brazil, the daughter of a native Brazilian mulata mother and Irish American father, Jenifer looks exactly NOT like any of her parents and always wondered if she was found in a trash can somewhere in the middle of nowhere.

She is devoted to her job in the mornings, a university student in the evenings, and a single mom of a little boy who is a mini copy of his father at night. She loves to cook and dance and hates when people thinks she's latina. If Jenifer isn't at work, at home or at school, she's causing trouble somewhere around the city!

Mina

Mina is a renaissance woman. She teaches yoga, makes jewelry, designs publications and Web sites, takes photos, dabbles in stained glass, painting and other arts and crafts, plays with kitties, drinks wine, loves to cook, and enjoys hanging with her rock star hubby, Shawn.

In previous lives she was in the banking and telecommunications industries and walked the world half asleep. Now she's elevated and awakened, thanks to yoga. To find out more about Mina, visit her daily photo blog found here. She's posting to keep us all present.

Mallory

Mallory is a fictional comic book character sometimes depicted as a mercenary or anti-hero, who appears in books published by Marvel Comics, usually in the X-Men family of titles. Created by artist Rob Liefeld and writer Fabian Nicieza, Mallory first appeared in The New Mutants #98 (February 1991).

Nicknamed the "Merc with a Mouth," Mallory is a high-tech mercenary known for his wisecracks, black comedy, and satirical pop-culture references. Like the X-Men's Wolverine, Mallory is the product of the Canadian government's paramilitary Weapon X program, although his place of birth is unknown. After Weapon X cured his terminal cancer by implementing a regenerative "healing factor" extracted from Wolverine, Mallory is left disfigured and mentally unstable.

Mallory was originally an adversary of The New Mutants and later X-Force, developing an infatuation with X-Force member Siryn. Mallory received two limited series: "Sins of the Past" and "The Circle Chase." He graduated to an ongoing series in 1997, which was known for its slapstick tone and willingness to break the fourth wall.

Mallory shares many similarities with the DC Comics villain Deathstroke, particularly in regards to the character's costumes, professions (mercenary/assassin), and real names. However, since Mallory's introduction, Mallory and Deathstroke have developed in vastly different directions. Mallory will appear in the upcoming 2009 film "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" in which he will be played by Ryan Reynolds.

Leandro: Son of ZUMA!

Born in the jungles of the Visayan Islands, he comes from a long line of Tikbalang hunters. Captured by a tribe of Manananggals during the War of the Viscera Suckers, he escaped by disguising himself as a kapre. He now lives in exile in Washington, DC, working as a mild mannered graphic designer for a local news station, waiting for the right opportunity to return to the Land of the Morning to claim his rightful place at the throne of Berbania!

Jason

Jason was born a long, long time ago in a log cabin located just outside of the Log Cabin Syrup Company's log cabin shaped factory. Taken at an early age with a love for Lincoln Logs and Canadian Maple Syrup, Jason decided to become a door-to-door vaccuum cleaner salesman. When his mother explained to him what a door-to-door vacuum cleaner salesman is and does, Jason instead decided to become the WORLD'S GREATEST DANCER.

After many years of watching such high-quality programs as Fame, Solid Gold, Soul Train, and the movie I'm Gonna Git You Sucka everyday of his life until he was 28 his parents made him move out he decided to forge his own destiny and move to the city of Nodance, KY to make his dreams happen. Unfortunately, as he later found out, there was no need for a dancer in Nodance, KY because years earlier the town had banned dancing like in that Kevin Bacon movie Footloose.

Defeated momentarily but still hoping to pursue his dream of dance, Jason moved to Breakaleg, Idaho where, after a brief and scandalous affair now known as the bologna sandwich incident, he came to work at LOU'S A-GO-GO-DANCE BARN SPECTACULAR. And it's there where you can find him six nights a week on the main stage ... after closing time sweeping the floors while dancing to Kenny Loggins and giving a thumbs up that seems to say, "Hey, I'm alright! Nobody worry 'bout me."

Melanie

A writer by day and DJ by night, Melanie is a walking contradiction. She hates people but adores gatherings. She loves animals – as both pets and for dinner. She is very disciplined and will only drink on days ending in “y.” Her favorite saying? “It could be worse. You could be on fire.”

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Go to face your manga to create your own avatar. And then send me your story and image to post online. I can be reached at leslieinadamsmorgan (at) gmail (dot) com. Your story doesn't have to be true but make it good. Fiction is fun.