Meet Polly

Polly is creative, intelligent, and has a personality that can flip on a dime. If it weren't for the fact that Spooky is gay, and financial reasons the two of them would probably be married. Polly is also good friends with Neal and Audacious Deviant and is the only one stern enough to stop Shackled Alice dead in her tracks. Polly is also the only one who has ever made Shackled Alice cry. She loves gardening, nature, photography, art, good design, good food (she was a Chef at one time), good movies, and good conversation. Polly is a very loving, passionate person but you don't want to step on her toes.

Meet Amelia

Amelia is intelligent, witty, loves to laugh, and is understanding of Spooky and Neal, she gets along with Audacious Deviant most of the time but occasionally they but heads. She doesn't really like Shackled Alice and the few times they've encountered each other it comes close to nail clawing and hair pulling. When she needs to be she can be stern but in a compassionate, loving way. She is married to a guy in a foreign country but because of immigration laws they can't be together for awhile. Amelia is pagan, shares Spooky's love for crystals, candles, incense, and thirst for knowledge of a spiritual nature. She loves it when Spooky shares the things he learns about other religions and the true nature of the mind. Neal, Spooky, and Audacious Deviant have all enjoyed some really good times with Amelia. Shackled Alice tries to avoid her.

Meet Hope

Hope is a sixty-eight year old woman who has never really grown up. She is Neal's Aunt. Hope, along with Neal's Grandmother, raised Neal. She is married and settled down, is in pretty bad shape physically, and finds comfort in prayer,her Bible, and her Chihuahua named Diablo. Hope's part in this story mainly takes place in the past when she was thirty-two and Neal was eighteen. At that time Hope was as wild as a buck and a wide open partying redneck queen. She loved her beehive hairdo, her plum colored AMC Javelin, and her long dresses split up the side with hot pants underneath. She is the only one who has ever actually encouraged Shakled Alice to come on out and do her "thang..." Now that she has converted to Christianity she has become a loving and forgiving soul. She has met all of Neal's personalities.

Meet The Guard

The Guard is the one that tells Spooky, Neal, Audacious Deviant, and Shackled Alice what they can and can't do. He is the voice of reason and ruthlessly compassionate. Most of the time Shackled Alice bucks his authority and does what she wants which drives The Guard crazy. There have been times when Spooky doesn't listen to him but The Guard is more understanding with him and tries to counsel him. Neal always does what he is told. Audacious Deviant does what the guard says most of the time, but does it grudgingly. The Guard wears a uniform and makes all four stand at military parade rest when they are standing.

An Introduction

"If there is a fear of falling, the only safety consists in deliberately jumping." Carl Jung

Meet Neal

Neal is the host. Shackled Alice, Audacious Deviant, and Spooky all inhabit his, all but ordinary, terrestrial body. Needless to say, he has a difficult time maneuvering through his already complicated life without the added influence of a cast of characters seething inside him. He has always tried to fit in and sometimes thinks he does. However, One of his "underlings" always says something, does something, or exerts their influence in such a way as to change everything. Sometimes this is to Neal's benefit...because sometimes Neal doesn't really know what he wants out of life...Neal loves to learn and research and is very intelligent.

Meet Spooky

Spooky is the thread that binds this cast of characters together. He is a thirty-three year old gay man. He has always had the desire to help everyone that needed it, even if it was just an encouraging word. Spooky feels that everything that happens is for a reason and that he is here in this life to learn something. He just can't seem to figure out what it is. He has a strong, eclectic, spiritual side and feels a deep connection to the "other side." This is why all his friends call him Spooky. At times he has had some pretty profound insights and has told people things that have frightened them or that have been eerily coincidental. He is the controlling personality and the one the world sees.

Meet Audacious Deviant

Audacious Deviant - Audacious was born a boy but now identifies as genderqueer. He never really felt like a boy, but she never really felt like a girl. It was always easy to flow into either role. Originally from a small southern city in the United States, Audacious is thirty-three years old. A writer trying to write about Audacious runs into a problem when trying to decide what pronoun to use. I think, for the purpose of this story, Audacious would prefer I use "she" since most of the antics I will be writing about involve her feminine side. She likes to act like Meryl Streep's character in The Devil Wears Prada, but inside she feels like trailer park trash. She loves a good glass of wine which sometimes leads to a bottle or two...

Meet Shackled Alice

Shackled Alice is a twenty-five year old, tough, street-smart, heterosexual female. She has a very strong personality and is very opinionated and outspoken. Uncompromising to say the least, it's either her way or the highway. No questions asked. She is maliciously witty and has the quick ability to cut people to the bone with words without them even knowing. She rarely shows any emotions other than anger and disdain. When she expresses her sense of humor, it is often viscious. She tends to favor black clothing and accessorizes with tattoos, piercings, small bells, and chains. She is the personality that loves to get high.