On the One Sixth Action Figure Board, Mlatch221 asked how the action figures' personalities were formed. Here's my response:

A few years ago, a company invented living action figures, but how they did it is a closely guarded corporate secret. Everyone assumes that it's advanced technology like nanites or something, but it's actually spiritual. Living action figures are creatures of spirit in plastic shells.

When the living action figures are manufactured and placed in their boxes, they’re in stasis. When the owner releases them from stasis, the two action figures imprint on the two most dominant aspects of the owner’s personality. For example:

--I am mom-ish and kind, but I’m also bold and aggressive. Lisa is my light side, Jane is my darker side.

--My husband is quite brainy, but he’s also very playful. Brian is brainy, Alex is playful.

(You don’t have to buy living action figures of your own gender, the imprinting will still work.)

The imprinting gives the action figures their basic personality, but their life experiences shape them from there. They come out of the box with the ability to walk and talk, but they need to be taught how the world works and what your house rules are.

In the world of Action Figure Diary, living action figures are treated as pets, not little people. I think that’s how it would actually happen if technology gave us beings that were not flesh (lifelike robots, etc.).

There you go. That's my concept.

@Trish: Thanks for the comments about action figures.

@Alex: Again SuperAlex :)