please mom, they're coming for me [ABAX APP]
player information.
name: Ace
are you over 18?: AH AM TEN. PLUS TEN.
personal lj: aishlin, but I rarely use it these days...
email/msn/aim/plurk/etc: paintedbench at gmail dert cerrrrm, vworping on AIM, moikay on plurk!
characters in abax: Nobody!
in character information.
name: Galen Howard
age: 28
sex: M
race: Human
height: 5'8"
weight: 140lbs
canon point: Galen arrives a few months after his ordeal with Sanjal and the nightmares. The media freakout surrounding the mysterious mass-unconsciousness at the Counter-Curse’s final show has finally started to die down, and Galen has finally started to get back into the groove of things. He’s working with his radio station in New York City (albeit part time, at the demand of his co-runner, who still thinks he needs to stop working himself so hard) as well as working regularly with his bandmates on their fourth album.
previous cr: Noooooope.
physical appearance:
(In addition to the description I’m about to give, you can also direct yourselves to my art tag! There’s something about drawn Galen that his PB doesn’t quite emit.)
The first thing one notices about Galen (especially after first seeing him through concert footage, music videos, etc.) is that in real life, he doesn’t look intimidating at all. Stage Galen and Real Life Galen are almost two completely separate entities.
We’ll start with the general appearance: Galen is short for a guy his age, at five-foot-eight, and fairly lean from years on stage. His hair, which is usually kept around shoulder length (although it’s been shorter AND longer, however his bandmate Daphne will never allow the latter again, if she can help it) is such a dark brown that it might as well be black. It’s generally fairly lifeless and unwashed, as Galen often gets distracted from showering. He has weirdly small teeth, a nose that has earned him the nickname ‘piggleface’, and hazel eyes. There isn’t a whole lot to be said about the rest of him - he has slender hands and feet, can’t grow facial hair to save his life (another thing his bandmates are thankful for) and nicely shaped legs that never see the light of day. No comment from Galen on that part.
Real Life Galen likes to dress in comfortable clothes, which usually means hoodies, skinny jeans (he’s worn then so many times that they’ve practically form-fitted themselves to his ass, so they’re comfortable as hell), t-shirts, sneakers, and the like. He does get dressy when the mood hits, though; the right tie, vest or jacket comes along and he’s all over that shit. He spends a lot of time holed up, working, though, which calls for comfort, so comfort is what he goes for.
Stage Galen is all about Galen… well, not wanting to be Galen. The ties, jackets and waistcoats come out (a change from the beginnings of Stage Galen, when Real Life Galen couldn’t rub two bucks together to even buy a tie or suspenders because why the fuck would suspenders be thirty bucks), as well as some dramatic makeup, care of Terri. The stage makeup can range from liberal and theatrical application of eyeshadow to full-on skull paint (which is a hit during the Halloween covers of Skeletons on Parade, buuuut I digress). Stage Galen loves combat boots, too, as well as rolled up sleeves, fingerless gloves - anything that fits Galen’s personal idea of ‘badass’. There’s an attitude that comes with it, too, which is playfully evil, but this is the appearance section aaaand I’ve already talked too much.
Tl;dr: He can go from grunge cupcake (gently iced, get it, HA HA) to curbstomper in 2.0.
world information: This world isn’t much different from the world we know and live in today. It’s present day. Obama is the president. Terri can get married in six states. Ghosts may or may not exist, depending on who you ask - and the same goes for demons, monsters, and other creatures of the night. If they do, Galen has never encountered them - or most of them, anyway.
The important part of this world is how dreams work. For most people, dreams are just dreams, as we know them. There are certain people, however, who are special, in that they have a certain presence that makes them a little more visible to whatever lurks inside of dreams - a bit like working at a butcher’s all day and then going into a forest where wolves are known to live. Your chance of interaction with wolf teeth just went up about ten percent.
Galen is one of these people. He doesn’t know how it works (or even know that it’s a thing, really), nor does anyone else; he just knows from his experience with a sentient nightmare that he, for some reason, was chosen to be gradually ‘primed’ to host a particular nightmare that used him to access the waking world, and that these people, despite getting chosen for being the most ‘compatible’, still have their bodies worn out by this weird sort of possession - just not as fast as other people.
This doesn’t happen often, though, and it just considered another one of those creepypasta urban myths. While other things still hold the possibility of being real, Galen knows for sure, at least, that this particular thing is. And it’s fucking terrifying.
history: Galen has a fake Wikipedia entry, but it's generally unhelpful aside from the little info nuggets.
Galen was born in Yonkers, New York, just outside of New York City. He was raised by his dad, an undertaker and funeral director. Galen's mother, who was on maternity leave from work (as a high school drama teacher), suffered from headaches and hallucinations that increased in severity in the three years following Galen's birth, and one night - whether accidentally or not, although the Howard family prefers to see it as an accident - Patty Howard overdosed on sleeping pills and passed away in her sleep. This has had a major impact on Galen's life, growing up, and unfortunately this - in addition to Galen's dad's job - became bully fodder as he got older.
Galen's father kept his family life and work as separate as possible, but, of course, Galen was naturally curious about what his dad did for a living. Nathan, never one to want to over-shelter his child, would talk to Galen about what he did and everything it entailed. This has given Galen an interesting outlook on death; discussions about Nathan Howard's job often led to many a long, speculative discussion about what happens after the body dies. This is both a good thing and a bad thing: Galen doesn't necessarily believe in Heaven or Hell, and therefore is open to most beliefs, but the sense of "if not that, then what?" has proven to be a little distressing at times.
Growing up, Galen was an imaginative, playful kid, captivated by science fiction, ghost stories and all sorts of creative (and often morbid) things. Instead of playing with most other kids, he spent the majority of his days after school dragging his closest friend, Jeffrey, around and proposing all kinds of adventurous scenarios to avoid the bullying he was prone to from his peers. He made and kept a handful of friends as he grew up, however it didn't make school any less difficult for him. Galen did a lot of his growing in middle and high school, and wouldn't be the driven, I-don't-care-what-people-think-anymore person he is today without experiencing the crap he went through in those years. Near the end of high school, the bullying started to die down, but it had made its mark.
When Galen turned sixteen, he was given his father's old Gibson Les Paul Studio from his college days; a big deal, in Galen's eyes. He had an aptitude and an interest in music, and while learning to play the instrument was a frustrating and time-consuming experience, Galen never gave up. He eventually won a contest to play a song he'd written at his graduation, and ignoring the fact that he ad-libbed a hearty 'fuck you' to his tormenters in the middle of the song, it was a good showcase of his talent and only the beginning of his journey into music.
He went to community college, wanting to stay close to his dad, but hoping to find a career in something other than the family business. Galen took courses in business as well as media studies, hoping to find work in the music business. He worked at the campus radio station on the side, moving up from crew gofer to having his own hour-long spot on the air on Thursday nights. Galen enjoyed having the freedom to talk about and present his own taste in music - and his own demos, occasionally - and felt driven to pursue his career even more. He was already in a band with a few friends, but as time went on, it got more serious, until Galen decided to drop out of college to get the band - a budding The Counter Curse - noticed by the world.
It almost killed them - Galen especially, who never knew when to quit or even sleep, some days - and they almost got to the point of packing up and going home, but they were eventually signed to a label, working their way up the ladder the same way Galen had in college. It was another few years until they made it big, and make it big, they did: a world tour, a million albums sold, and more press coverage than Galen knew what to do with. It was stressful, and it almost dragged Galen down, but his dad, his friends and his band wouldn't allow it.
The band continued to make music and tour without any major setbacks. They had their ups and downs, their shitty crew members, their oh-fuck-food-poisoning in Atlanta, their cancelled shows, their fan drama, their one summer on Warped where Galen smashed his face on an amp like a genius, and other such band adventures. Galen teased his dad a lot about being sweet on a woman down the street, and at this point, still isn’t sure if dad is considering asking her out or if it’s just not a relationship that’s going to happen.
Anyway, in the final few weeks of touring their third album, Galen started suffering from nightmares. They weren’t outright nightmares, at first; they were just unsettling dreams, but these dreams had one constant: there was a dark figure on the horizon, and with every dream, it seemed to be getting closer. Galen didn’t think much of it first, and certainly didn’t want to burden the band with it, so he left it alone.
They continued to get worse.
As the figure in his dreams got closer, the nightmares started to worsen; they went from bland and creepy to outright nightmarish. The words ‘let me in’ were prevalent in these dreams, and he would find himself saying them without intending to. Soon, a nightmarish version of himself would appear, mocking him, saying those same three words, as the figure in the distance continued to get closer and closer. The closer it got, the worse the nightmare-self would seem, until Galen finally found a way to fight back - but once he did, it was too late. The figure had caught up, and the next time Galen went to sleep - which was after keeping himself awake for nearly two days straight - the nightmare took him over.
The band wasn’t completely clueless, though. In the couple of weeks leading up to the final blow, they’d been paying attention to Galen’s state, and managed to get some info out of him, little by little - enough to start looking for help. They were told that on occasion, a nightmare would slip free of its own volition, like this, and hungering for power - without necessarily knowing why - it would look to the waking world to drag dreamers into its very own kingdom. It had happened before, and trying to prevent it this time was a gamble, so the woman they went to for help - known only to the band as Rhi - told them to let it happen, but gave them something so that they would enter Galen’s dream, rather than the nightmare’s domain, when they were pulled in. Willing to try anything to help Galen, they did it; the show went on that night, and Galen, who was clearly not the same person he was when he went to sleep, eagerly took the stage. With a snap of his fingers, all four thousand concert goers - and the band - fell asleep, with no guarantee that they would wake up.
While this was happening, Galen was shoved as far into the corner of his dreams as possible, harrowed and convinced that everything he remembered from real life was a dream, and everyone he’d known had been imaginary. This had been done to ensure that he wouldn’t interfere with what Sanjal had done - because in the end, even though Sanjal had taken control, he (or it, I should say) was still a nightmare in Galen’s head, and one he could take control of.
The band found him that way, after fighting their way through his dreamscape: curled up in the bedroom of his childhood home, confused, scared and sure of absolutely nothing. All was not lost, though. It took some convincing and some retelling of old memories, but they managed to pull Galen back out of the dream confusion, and bit by bit, the Galen they knew returned.
From there, they left, and went to find Sanjal. It took some more fighting through nightmares, but this was a good thing; Galen learned how to take control of his own dream to give himself and the others the upper hand. This, essentially, is what allowed them to beat Sanjal, and when they did, everyone who had been pulled into the dream was returned to their rightful place: on the floor of the arena, confused, and with no real recollection of what had happened.
This, of course, caused an uproar in the media that saturated all of the press coverage and interviews The Counter-Curse had for the next several months. In addition to this, Galen spent a lot of time mentally healing from what had happened; it wasn’t impossible, but it was hard, for a while. He was jumpy, and at times concerned about what exactly was real and what wasn’t - not a good thing, considering his already prominent fear of developing schizophrenia, like his mother. The nightmares never returned, however, and thanks to work and music being a distraction and his own willpower, he worked through it, and everything gradually went back to normal. People stopped asking them about it in interviews - “no, we don’t know what happened, it was a fuck up with the ventilation or something, can we talk about the music” - and the band at least had a lot driving their next album. (Galen could never quite get over his kneejerk, frightened reaction to the words ‘let me in’, though; at least, not in those following months)
It’s at this point that he arrives.
personality: Galen Howard is very much an entertainer, and that shows in his personality. He's rather sociable and is able to talk and make friends fairly easily -- this has helped in both his radio and musical aspirations. He genuinely cares about people, and has good intuition. He can think quickly, and he's articulate when he needs to be -- which, of course, doesn't exempt him from swearing like a sailor in casual conversation. He's a good listener, though, which makes him easy to talk to, and his need for everything to go smoothly - bordering on perfectionism - makes him eager to help others when he can. Sometimes he can get wrapped up in this.
Galen is a hard worker, almost to the point of obsession -- at least, when it comes to his music. He'll work himself into exhaustion until things are just right, which has affected his health and well-being in the past, and while it usually results in good work, in the end, from him, it's a continuous worry for the rest of the band.
Growing up in the wake of his mother's death, and then dealing with bullying, Galen garnered a certain amount of anger as he got older. It's something he's aware of, and he channels it into his music, but it isn't always easy to control. Galen, when put in a bad mood, can fly off the handle and become unapproachable. He gets sarcastic, irrational, and usually lands himself in an angry pool of self-pity without even realizing it. At this point, it's best to just leave him alone; argue with him and he'll have a lot of shit to apologize for once he's calmed down enough to think properly.
Another important part of Galen's personality can be summed up in a word: Gryffindor. He has his prejudices (mainly with anyone who reminds him of the people who gave him a hard time in school) and absolutely has his tendency to disregard the rules and put himself in danger for the sake of others -- even when it's something as minor as withholding his problems from people close to him so that he can deal with them on his own (which only occasionally works out, as it definitely didn't in the case of the nightmares).
There is a thought constantly haunting Galen's mind, and it has been for a long time: his biggest fear is developing schizophrenia, like his mother, so he's often concerned that some of the things he sees and hears aren't really there. The increased risk of schizophrenia is actually mainly what has kept him out of drugs. He already has a genetic predisposition, he doesn't want to play with fate any more than he already is. He drinks occasionally, but not excessively; Galen doesn't like the idea of being out of touch with his higher thinking. It would also interfere with his work, so yeah -- no thanks, bro.
Galen is very much a martyr. He's always leaving himself all over the stage for the fans, and doesn't hold much regard for himself -- like with the way he works himself into exhaustion for his music. He'll take a bullet for a friend, get into danger for the greater good, offer up his last cigarette if he thinks you deserve it. He's that kind of guy.
He has his downfalls, like anyone else. He's kind of obnoxious, especially when he's in performance mode. He teases people, and while it's good-natured, sometimes he can take it a little far. When he thinks something is wrong, he will be loud, and you will know about it. And sometimes he doesn't know when to stop talking. He also tends to overthink things if he's left alone for too long, which is why he and his bandmates are such a good team; they force him out of some of his overdwelling perfectionism.
abilities/powers: Galen has a very well-developed musical ability; he can play guitar, piano (to an extent) and sing. He writes music, too, but all he knows about theory is stuff he taught himself and picked up from other people over the years. He can also lucid dream pretty extensively, now, after finding the right 'muscle' to control his dreams, before, but that's hardly useful for anything practical (unless, of course, any other nightmares wanted to come at him bro). Another thing is his intuition, which I guess is worth mentioning -- it's not like some crazy psychic clairvoyance, but he just gets vibes about things sometimes. That's all. And sometimes they're right.
first person sample: [ When Galen wakes, it's with a start, and with a gradual realization of his surroundings. He curses, then closes his eyes, but the dream doesn't change... probably because it's not a dream. His voice is quiet: ]
Fuck. I'm awake?
[ Oh, hey, it's drafty in here -- probably because of the paper slip. The toe tag is the next thing he notices, and while the phone in his hand briefly distracts him as he leans down to look at it, he's determined to see the tag first... Fuck. Of course, the first thing he associates with a morgue might sound strange: ]
Dad? Dad! What the hell? Where are you? [ Beat. ] Dad?
[ No answer. He checks the phone, then, praying for some kind of 'ha ha, punk'd' message, but... nothing. He starts flicking through it, wary of the flickering lights in the room, and that's when he notices the little camera light... dangerface. ]
Alright, this is not fuckin' funny. I'm so not in the mood for dicking around, so somebody better get their ass in here and explain. It's freezing, I can't feel my hands, and I have a headache the size of fucking Texas.
[ Time to... get off of this table? GOD THIS PAPER SLIP IS... PAPERY. HIS DIGNITY! He looks at the camera again, then at the toe tag, expression turning a little more wary. ]
Someone just tell me what the fuck is going on?
third person sample: An image came to life on the screen, and Galen could finally see the weirdly cheerful-looking face of his dad there to greet him. It was kind of cute, thinking of dad using Skype. He wasn’t totally a failure at modern technology, but he had his moments. The cute part was probably the fact that he always seemed so proud of himself when he figured out how to work these things.
“Hey,” Galen greeted. His dad gave him a little wave in return.
“Hey. Haven’t slept this week, by any chance, have you?”
Galen snorted. “Dad, it’s my job to look like death warmed over. And for the record: I have.”
Dad rolled his eyes and took off his reading glasses (fucking hipster glasses, Galen didn’t care what dad called them). “Sure. So how’s it going? According to my calendar with cute little stickers, you’ll be home a week from tomorrow.”
“You bought stickers? Are we experiencing some empty nest syndrome?” Galen had to try not to laugh at dad. It was difficult.
“Actually,” dad began, “they’re left over from your potty training calendar. I believe the correct word is recycling.”
“Oh my god.” Dad. Why. “The calendar’s on the fridge and you use it as a conversation piece when you have guests, don’t you.”
Dad laughed his ‘I look like I’m quietly amused but I’m laughing out loud on the inside’ laugh at that. Galen was totally right. Totally right. “Yup. So - you didn’t answer me. How’s it going?”
“Fine,” Galen shrugged, repositioning the laptop. “The last few shows’ve been as great as ever, nobody’s burnt out yet. We got some pretty cool swag from some kids outside Memphis a few days ago. Brad’s collection of me plushies is slowly and creepily growing, uh - yeah, I can’t believe we’re in the home stretch.”
“Time does fly,” dad said. “You think ending a tour is crazy, you should have seen my expression when I found those stickers.”
“And I’m still not potty trained,” Galen joked. Brad happened to walk by the door at that exact moment, and gave Galen the most quizzical look he could muster. What timing.
“Ooh, are we talking to dad?” Brad asked, like there was any question. Of course Galen was talking to his dad on Skype on a Sunday evening. It was a thing.
“Hi, Bradley,” dad called, although there was no need; Brad launched himself onto the couch next to Galen, unbalancing the laptop and landing his head in Galen’s lap, where said head was almost knocked in by said laptop’s corner. Brad sat up, however, and Galen fixed the laptop as dad pretended to be motion sick from the whole scenario. It was things like this that made him feel like he was a high school student again; Brad being a goof, dad humouring him, and Galen mediating the entire thing.
“What up, daddy-o?” Brad slung an arm over Galen’s shoulders so he could lean in closer, which basically meant taking up the entire screen. “You been hitting on any more hot old chicks since we last parlayed?”
“I can’t keep them away, actually,” dad replied, very matter-of-factly. “You know, it makes going to work very difficult.”
Brad gave dad the suggestive eyes. “I bet they wanna be on your table, if you know what I’m sayin’ -“
“Oh my god, shut up.” Galen reached over and shoved at Brad’s head, forcing that image right the fuck out of his mind. Ew. Ew. “This? This is why you’re not allowed to talk to anyone.”
“Your dad loves me,” Brad argued, pushing his way back into the camera’s line of sight once again. “Don’t you, dad?”
Dad chuckled. “Like one of my own, Bradley.”
“See?” Brad started playing with the hair accessible to the hand he had around Galen’s shoulder. “By that logic, I’m totally just as much of Howard material as you are. What say you, Mister G-How? Scorn my jokes further?”
“Always, because your jokes suck.” Grinning, Galen rolled his eyes and tugged his head a little away from Brad’s hand, but it didn’t do much.
“So how are you doing, Bradley?” Dad played with the light next to the computer monitor, making the picture freak out for a second.
“I am excellent, thank you for asking,” he said. “Working the mothershit off of my ass, as per usual.”
Galen narrowed his eyes. Mothershit?
“Yes, I’ve seen some of the professional photos from the last few shows,” dad said knowingly. “It’s a wonder you manage to stay vertical at all.”
“Magic, my friend,” Brad said, shaking his head. “Pure magic, I can’t explain it any other way. This showmanship was bestowed - “
“Unto you by the god of rock,” Galen and dad finished together.
case no: 02-03-82
It would be really cool if Galen's toe tag could say 'Nathan Howard' on the Funeral Director line... because I'm terrible. If not, that's fine! I thought it an appropriately disturbing addition for him, since that's what his dad does. Mua ha haaa?
name: Ace
are you over 18?: AH AM TEN. PLUS TEN.
personal lj: aishlin, but I rarely use it these days...
email/msn/aim/plurk/etc: paintedbench at gmail dert cerrrrm, vworping on AIM, moikay on plurk!
characters in abax: Nobody!
in character information.
name: Galen Howard
age: 28
sex: M
race: Human
height: 5'8"
weight: 140lbs
canon point: Galen arrives a few months after his ordeal with Sanjal and the nightmares. The media freakout surrounding the mysterious mass-unconsciousness at the Counter-Curse’s final show has finally started to die down, and Galen has finally started to get back into the groove of things. He’s working with his radio station in New York City (albeit part time, at the demand of his co-runner, who still thinks he needs to stop working himself so hard) as well as working regularly with his bandmates on their fourth album.
previous cr: Noooooope.
physical appearance:
(In addition to the description I’m about to give, you can also direct yourselves to my art tag! There’s something about drawn Galen that his PB doesn’t quite emit.)
The first thing one notices about Galen (especially after first seeing him through concert footage, music videos, etc.) is that in real life, he doesn’t look intimidating at all. Stage Galen and Real Life Galen are almost two completely separate entities.
We’ll start with the general appearance: Galen is short for a guy his age, at five-foot-eight, and fairly lean from years on stage. His hair, which is usually kept around shoulder length (although it’s been shorter AND longer, however his bandmate Daphne will never allow the latter again, if she can help it) is such a dark brown that it might as well be black. It’s generally fairly lifeless and unwashed, as Galen often gets distracted from showering. He has weirdly small teeth, a nose that has earned him the nickname ‘piggleface’, and hazel eyes. There isn’t a whole lot to be said about the rest of him - he has slender hands and feet, can’t grow facial hair to save his life (another thing his bandmates are thankful for) and nicely shaped legs that never see the light of day. No comment from Galen on that part.
Real Life Galen likes to dress in comfortable clothes, which usually means hoodies, skinny jeans (he’s worn then so many times that they’ve practically form-fitted themselves to his ass, so they’re comfortable as hell), t-shirts, sneakers, and the like. He does get dressy when the mood hits, though; the right tie, vest or jacket comes along and he’s all over that shit. He spends a lot of time holed up, working, though, which calls for comfort, so comfort is what he goes for.
Stage Galen is all about Galen… well, not wanting to be Galen. The ties, jackets and waistcoats come out (a change from the beginnings of Stage Galen, when Real Life Galen couldn’t rub two bucks together to even buy a tie or suspenders because why the fuck would suspenders be thirty bucks), as well as some dramatic makeup, care of Terri. The stage makeup can range from liberal and theatrical application of eyeshadow to full-on skull paint (which is a hit during the Halloween covers of Skeletons on Parade, buuuut I digress). Stage Galen loves combat boots, too, as well as rolled up sleeves, fingerless gloves - anything that fits Galen’s personal idea of ‘badass’. There’s an attitude that comes with it, too, which is playfully evil, but this is the appearance section aaaand I’ve already talked too much.
Tl;dr: He can go from grunge cupcake (gently iced, get it, HA HA) to curbstomper in 2.0.
world information: This world isn’t much different from the world we know and live in today. It’s present day. Obama is the president. Terri can get married in six states. Ghosts may or may not exist, depending on who you ask - and the same goes for demons, monsters, and other creatures of the night. If they do, Galen has never encountered them - or most of them, anyway.
The important part of this world is how dreams work. For most people, dreams are just dreams, as we know them. There are certain people, however, who are special, in that they have a certain presence that makes them a little more visible to whatever lurks inside of dreams - a bit like working at a butcher’s all day and then going into a forest where wolves are known to live. Your chance of interaction with wolf teeth just went up about ten percent.
Galen is one of these people. He doesn’t know how it works (or even know that it’s a thing, really), nor does anyone else; he just knows from his experience with a sentient nightmare that he, for some reason, was chosen to be gradually ‘primed’ to host a particular nightmare that used him to access the waking world, and that these people, despite getting chosen for being the most ‘compatible’, still have their bodies worn out by this weird sort of possession - just not as fast as other people.
This doesn’t happen often, though, and it just considered another one of those creepypasta urban myths. While other things still hold the possibility of being real, Galen knows for sure, at least, that this particular thing is. And it’s fucking terrifying.
history: Galen has a fake Wikipedia entry, but it's generally unhelpful aside from the little info nuggets.
Galen was born in Yonkers, New York, just outside of New York City. He was raised by his dad, an undertaker and funeral director. Galen's mother, who was on maternity leave from work (as a high school drama teacher), suffered from headaches and hallucinations that increased in severity in the three years following Galen's birth, and one night - whether accidentally or not, although the Howard family prefers to see it as an accident - Patty Howard overdosed on sleeping pills and passed away in her sleep. This has had a major impact on Galen's life, growing up, and unfortunately this - in addition to Galen's dad's job - became bully fodder as he got older.
Galen's father kept his family life and work as separate as possible, but, of course, Galen was naturally curious about what his dad did for a living. Nathan, never one to want to over-shelter his child, would talk to Galen about what he did and everything it entailed. This has given Galen an interesting outlook on death; discussions about Nathan Howard's job often led to many a long, speculative discussion about what happens after the body dies. This is both a good thing and a bad thing: Galen doesn't necessarily believe in Heaven or Hell, and therefore is open to most beliefs, but the sense of "if not that, then what?" has proven to be a little distressing at times.
Growing up, Galen was an imaginative, playful kid, captivated by science fiction, ghost stories and all sorts of creative (and often morbid) things. Instead of playing with most other kids, he spent the majority of his days after school dragging his closest friend, Jeffrey, around and proposing all kinds of adventurous scenarios to avoid the bullying he was prone to from his peers. He made and kept a handful of friends as he grew up, however it didn't make school any less difficult for him. Galen did a lot of his growing in middle and high school, and wouldn't be the driven, I-don't-care-what-people-think-anymore person he is today without experiencing the crap he went through in those years. Near the end of high school, the bullying started to die down, but it had made its mark.
When Galen turned sixteen, he was given his father's old Gibson Les Paul Studio from his college days; a big deal, in Galen's eyes. He had an aptitude and an interest in music, and while learning to play the instrument was a frustrating and time-consuming experience, Galen never gave up. He eventually won a contest to play a song he'd written at his graduation, and ignoring the fact that he ad-libbed a hearty 'fuck you' to his tormenters in the middle of the song, it was a good showcase of his talent and only the beginning of his journey into music.
He went to community college, wanting to stay close to his dad, but hoping to find a career in something other than the family business. Galen took courses in business as well as media studies, hoping to find work in the music business. He worked at the campus radio station on the side, moving up from crew gofer to having his own hour-long spot on the air on Thursday nights. Galen enjoyed having the freedom to talk about and present his own taste in music - and his own demos, occasionally - and felt driven to pursue his career even more. He was already in a band with a few friends, but as time went on, it got more serious, until Galen decided to drop out of college to get the band - a budding The Counter Curse - noticed by the world.
It almost killed them - Galen especially, who never knew when to quit or even sleep, some days - and they almost got to the point of packing up and going home, but they were eventually signed to a label, working their way up the ladder the same way Galen had in college. It was another few years until they made it big, and make it big, they did: a world tour, a million albums sold, and more press coverage than Galen knew what to do with. It was stressful, and it almost dragged Galen down, but his dad, his friends and his band wouldn't allow it.
The band continued to make music and tour without any major setbacks. They had their ups and downs, their shitty crew members, their oh-fuck-food-poisoning in Atlanta, their cancelled shows, their fan drama, their one summer on Warped where Galen smashed his face on an amp like a genius, and other such band adventures. Galen teased his dad a lot about being sweet on a woman down the street, and at this point, still isn’t sure if dad is considering asking her out or if it’s just not a relationship that’s going to happen.
Anyway, in the final few weeks of touring their third album, Galen started suffering from nightmares. They weren’t outright nightmares, at first; they were just unsettling dreams, but these dreams had one constant: there was a dark figure on the horizon, and with every dream, it seemed to be getting closer. Galen didn’t think much of it first, and certainly didn’t want to burden the band with it, so he left it alone.
They continued to get worse.
As the figure in his dreams got closer, the nightmares started to worsen; they went from bland and creepy to outright nightmarish. The words ‘let me in’ were prevalent in these dreams, and he would find himself saying them without intending to. Soon, a nightmarish version of himself would appear, mocking him, saying those same three words, as the figure in the distance continued to get closer and closer. The closer it got, the worse the nightmare-self would seem, until Galen finally found a way to fight back - but once he did, it was too late. The figure had caught up, and the next time Galen went to sleep - which was after keeping himself awake for nearly two days straight - the nightmare took him over.
The band wasn’t completely clueless, though. In the couple of weeks leading up to the final blow, they’d been paying attention to Galen’s state, and managed to get some info out of him, little by little - enough to start looking for help. They were told that on occasion, a nightmare would slip free of its own volition, like this, and hungering for power - without necessarily knowing why - it would look to the waking world to drag dreamers into its very own kingdom. It had happened before, and trying to prevent it this time was a gamble, so the woman they went to for help - known only to the band as Rhi - told them to let it happen, but gave them something so that they would enter Galen’s dream, rather than the nightmare’s domain, when they were pulled in. Willing to try anything to help Galen, they did it; the show went on that night, and Galen, who was clearly not the same person he was when he went to sleep, eagerly took the stage. With a snap of his fingers, all four thousand concert goers - and the band - fell asleep, with no guarantee that they would wake up.
While this was happening, Galen was shoved as far into the corner of his dreams as possible, harrowed and convinced that everything he remembered from real life was a dream, and everyone he’d known had been imaginary. This had been done to ensure that he wouldn’t interfere with what Sanjal had done - because in the end, even though Sanjal had taken control, he (or it, I should say) was still a nightmare in Galen’s head, and one he could take control of.
The band found him that way, after fighting their way through his dreamscape: curled up in the bedroom of his childhood home, confused, scared and sure of absolutely nothing. All was not lost, though. It took some convincing and some retelling of old memories, but they managed to pull Galen back out of the dream confusion, and bit by bit, the Galen they knew returned.
From there, they left, and went to find Sanjal. It took some more fighting through nightmares, but this was a good thing; Galen learned how to take control of his own dream to give himself and the others the upper hand. This, essentially, is what allowed them to beat Sanjal, and when they did, everyone who had been pulled into the dream was returned to their rightful place: on the floor of the arena, confused, and with no real recollection of what had happened.
This, of course, caused an uproar in the media that saturated all of the press coverage and interviews The Counter-Curse had for the next several months. In addition to this, Galen spent a lot of time mentally healing from what had happened; it wasn’t impossible, but it was hard, for a while. He was jumpy, and at times concerned about what exactly was real and what wasn’t - not a good thing, considering his already prominent fear of developing schizophrenia, like his mother. The nightmares never returned, however, and thanks to work and music being a distraction and his own willpower, he worked through it, and everything gradually went back to normal. People stopped asking them about it in interviews - “no, we don’t know what happened, it was a fuck up with the ventilation or something, can we talk about the music” - and the band at least had a lot driving their next album. (Galen could never quite get over his kneejerk, frightened reaction to the words ‘let me in’, though; at least, not in those following months)
It’s at this point that he arrives.
personality: Galen Howard is very much an entertainer, and that shows in his personality. He's rather sociable and is able to talk and make friends fairly easily -- this has helped in both his radio and musical aspirations. He genuinely cares about people, and has good intuition. He can think quickly, and he's articulate when he needs to be -- which, of course, doesn't exempt him from swearing like a sailor in casual conversation. He's a good listener, though, which makes him easy to talk to, and his need for everything to go smoothly - bordering on perfectionism - makes him eager to help others when he can. Sometimes he can get wrapped up in this.
Galen is a hard worker, almost to the point of obsession -- at least, when it comes to his music. He'll work himself into exhaustion until things are just right, which has affected his health and well-being in the past, and while it usually results in good work, in the end, from him, it's a continuous worry for the rest of the band.
Growing up in the wake of his mother's death, and then dealing with bullying, Galen garnered a certain amount of anger as he got older. It's something he's aware of, and he channels it into his music, but it isn't always easy to control. Galen, when put in a bad mood, can fly off the handle and become unapproachable. He gets sarcastic, irrational, and usually lands himself in an angry pool of self-pity without even realizing it. At this point, it's best to just leave him alone; argue with him and he'll have a lot of shit to apologize for once he's calmed down enough to think properly.
Another important part of Galen's personality can be summed up in a word: Gryffindor. He has his prejudices (mainly with anyone who reminds him of the people who gave him a hard time in school) and absolutely has his tendency to disregard the rules and put himself in danger for the sake of others -- even when it's something as minor as withholding his problems from people close to him so that he can deal with them on his own (which only occasionally works out, as it definitely didn't in the case of the nightmares).
There is a thought constantly haunting Galen's mind, and it has been for a long time: his biggest fear is developing schizophrenia, like his mother, so he's often concerned that some of the things he sees and hears aren't really there. The increased risk of schizophrenia is actually mainly what has kept him out of drugs. He already has a genetic predisposition, he doesn't want to play with fate any more than he already is. He drinks occasionally, but not excessively; Galen doesn't like the idea of being out of touch with his higher thinking. It would also interfere with his work, so yeah -- no thanks, bro.
Galen is very much a martyr. He's always leaving himself all over the stage for the fans, and doesn't hold much regard for himself -- like with the way he works himself into exhaustion for his music. He'll take a bullet for a friend, get into danger for the greater good, offer up his last cigarette if he thinks you deserve it. He's that kind of guy.
He has his downfalls, like anyone else. He's kind of obnoxious, especially when he's in performance mode. He teases people, and while it's good-natured, sometimes he can take it a little far. When he thinks something is wrong, he will be loud, and you will know about it. And sometimes he doesn't know when to stop talking. He also tends to overthink things if he's left alone for too long, which is why he and his bandmates are such a good team; they force him out of some of his overdwelling perfectionism.
abilities/powers: Galen has a very well-developed musical ability; he can play guitar, piano (to an extent) and sing. He writes music, too, but all he knows about theory is stuff he taught himself and picked up from other people over the years. He can also lucid dream pretty extensively, now, after finding the right 'muscle' to control his dreams, before, but that's hardly useful for anything practical (unless, of course, any other nightmares wanted to come at him bro). Another thing is his intuition, which I guess is worth mentioning -- it's not like some crazy psychic clairvoyance, but he just gets vibes about things sometimes. That's all. And sometimes they're right.
first person sample: [ When Galen wakes, it's with a start, and with a gradual realization of his surroundings. He curses, then closes his eyes, but the dream doesn't change... probably because it's not a dream. His voice is quiet: ]
Fuck. I'm awake?
[ Oh, hey, it's drafty in here -- probably because of the paper slip. The toe tag is the next thing he notices, and while the phone in his hand briefly distracts him as he leans down to look at it, he's determined to see the tag first... Fuck. Of course, the first thing he associates with a morgue might sound strange: ]
Dad? Dad! What the hell? Where are you? [ Beat. ] Dad?
[ No answer. He checks the phone, then, praying for some kind of 'ha ha, punk'd' message, but... nothing. He starts flicking through it, wary of the flickering lights in the room, and that's when he notices the little camera light... dangerface. ]
Alright, this is not fuckin' funny. I'm so not in the mood for dicking around, so somebody better get their ass in here and explain. It's freezing, I can't feel my hands, and I have a headache the size of fucking Texas.
[ Time to... get off of this table? GOD THIS PAPER SLIP IS... PAPERY. HIS DIGNITY! He looks at the camera again, then at the toe tag, expression turning a little more wary. ]
Someone just tell me what the fuck is going on?
third person sample: An image came to life on the screen, and Galen could finally see the weirdly cheerful-looking face of his dad there to greet him. It was kind of cute, thinking of dad using Skype. He wasn’t totally a failure at modern technology, but he had his moments. The cute part was probably the fact that he always seemed so proud of himself when he figured out how to work these things.
“Hey,” Galen greeted. His dad gave him a little wave in return.
“Hey. Haven’t slept this week, by any chance, have you?”
Galen snorted. “Dad, it’s my job to look like death warmed over. And for the record: I have.”
Dad rolled his eyes and took off his reading glasses (fucking hipster glasses, Galen didn’t care what dad called them). “Sure. So how’s it going? According to my calendar with cute little stickers, you’ll be home a week from tomorrow.”
“You bought stickers? Are we experiencing some empty nest syndrome?” Galen had to try not to laugh at dad. It was difficult.
“Actually,” dad began, “they’re left over from your potty training calendar. I believe the correct word is recycling.”
“Oh my god.” Dad. Why. “The calendar’s on the fridge and you use it as a conversation piece when you have guests, don’t you.”
Dad laughed his ‘I look like I’m quietly amused but I’m laughing out loud on the inside’ laugh at that. Galen was totally right. Totally right. “Yup. So - you didn’t answer me. How’s it going?”
“Fine,” Galen shrugged, repositioning the laptop. “The last few shows’ve been as great as ever, nobody’s burnt out yet. We got some pretty cool swag from some kids outside Memphis a few days ago. Brad’s collection of me plushies is slowly and creepily growing, uh - yeah, I can’t believe we’re in the home stretch.”
“Time does fly,” dad said. “You think ending a tour is crazy, you should have seen my expression when I found those stickers.”
“And I’m still not potty trained,” Galen joked. Brad happened to walk by the door at that exact moment, and gave Galen the most quizzical look he could muster. What timing.
“Ooh, are we talking to dad?” Brad asked, like there was any question. Of course Galen was talking to his dad on Skype on a Sunday evening. It was a thing.
“Hi, Bradley,” dad called, although there was no need; Brad launched himself onto the couch next to Galen, unbalancing the laptop and landing his head in Galen’s lap, where said head was almost knocked in by said laptop’s corner. Brad sat up, however, and Galen fixed the laptop as dad pretended to be motion sick from the whole scenario. It was things like this that made him feel like he was a high school student again; Brad being a goof, dad humouring him, and Galen mediating the entire thing.
“What up, daddy-o?” Brad slung an arm over Galen’s shoulders so he could lean in closer, which basically meant taking up the entire screen. “You been hitting on any more hot old chicks since we last parlayed?”
“I can’t keep them away, actually,” dad replied, very matter-of-factly. “You know, it makes going to work very difficult.”
Brad gave dad the suggestive eyes. “I bet they wanna be on your table, if you know what I’m sayin’ -“
“Oh my god, shut up.” Galen reached over and shoved at Brad’s head, forcing that image right the fuck out of his mind. Ew. Ew. “This? This is why you’re not allowed to talk to anyone.”
“Your dad loves me,” Brad argued, pushing his way back into the camera’s line of sight once again. “Don’t you, dad?”
Dad chuckled. “Like one of my own, Bradley.”
“See?” Brad started playing with the hair accessible to the hand he had around Galen’s shoulder. “By that logic, I’m totally just as much of Howard material as you are. What say you, Mister G-How? Scorn my jokes further?”
“Always, because your jokes suck.” Grinning, Galen rolled his eyes and tugged his head a little away from Brad’s hand, but it didn’t do much.
“So how are you doing, Bradley?” Dad played with the light next to the computer monitor, making the picture freak out for a second.
“I am excellent, thank you for asking,” he said. “Working the mothershit off of my ass, as per usual.”
Galen narrowed his eyes. Mothershit?
“Yes, I’ve seen some of the professional photos from the last few shows,” dad said knowingly. “It’s a wonder you manage to stay vertical at all.”
“Magic, my friend,” Brad said, shaking his head. “Pure magic, I can’t explain it any other way. This showmanship was bestowed - “
“Unto you by the god of rock,” Galen and dad finished together.
case no: 02-03-82
It would be really cool if Galen's toe tag could say 'Nathan Howard' on the Funeral Director line... because I'm terrible. If not, that's fine! I thought it an appropriately disturbing addition for him, since that's what his dad does. Mua ha haaa?