LINK TO THE GAME. Prologue. (Around 7k words). LAST UPDATE: July 7, 2026.
Ko-Fi
After eight years in the shadows, ICARIS returns for one last flight. A farewell album. A worldwide tour. A legacy finally given its proper send-off.
Their story is told in an eight-part docuseries, Sunbound: ICARISā Final Flightāmixing present-day footage with archival clips, livestreams, concert films, and video logs. Raw, intimate, and at times uncomfortable, itās a look into the group that once soared together, burned to ashes together, and now rises together one last time.
Customize your Sparky. Design the groupās āfaceā: choose appearance, gender, sexuality, and even performance style. Will you be a playful and adorable puppy-like person or a mysterious and surly cat-like person? Were you close with your fans or were you standoffish? Were you clean or did you basically live in the tabloids?
Shape your journey. Experience the rise of ICARIS, the events that shaped their history ā some moments are inevitable; there is no saving whatās already lost. In the present timeline, however, you can navigate regrets and grief, reconnect with old friends, and influence how the reunion unfolds.
Romance across timelines. Pursue any of the five romantic options. Rekindle old flames or explore new connections.
Content warnings: realities of the industry, abusive workplaces and schedules, substance abuse, mentions/allusions to suicidal thoughts, mental illnesses, disordered eating. Possibly more.
Sparky
You were the spark that lit ICARIS, the groupās most recognizable face ā loved, hated, and dissected in equal measures. Years after ICARIS, youāre back on stage with your former members and surrounded by people from a past that seems so far now. Will this reunion bring closure, or will it reopen wounds that never fully healed?
Shin Jiwon ā romantic option. Always the same gender as idol-era Sparky.
The leader. Cold, repressed, distant ā Jiwon wielded their responsibility like a sword and their scripture like a shield. Words theyād never dared speak are scattered across ICARISā discography. Until now, they are determined to keep the ICARIS legacy alive. Burdened by regret and emotions they refuse to face, Jiwon keeps their heart locked behind walls of practiced silence and professionalism. You may have once breached past those walls, but breaking through them again will be far more challenging.
Character Introduction.
Saint Gatti ā romantic option. Always the same gender as idol-era Sparky.
Talented on all fronts ā a magnetic performer, an exceptional producer, and a delightful conversationalist. Sharp-witted, opinionated, and quick with a joke, Saint was one of the quiet pillars of ICARIS: the oldest member, the producer, the person everyone instinctively sought out during long, exhausting nights. They once knew you like the back of their hand, now even simple conversations are difficult. Can something that was once familiar be rebuilt?
Character Introduction.
Charismatic, cunning, and impossible to ignore ā Kila is the face of your rival group, ECLYPS. Their name has always been placed beside yours: to compare, to criticize, to fuel rumors. Born into a long line of acclaimed creatives in the Philippines, they pursued fame relentlessly and eventually surpassed ICARIS in popularity after the groupās disbandment, even their solo career thriving. Now, theyāve drifted back into your orbit as once of the documentaryās interviewees. You no longer understand their motives ā maybe never did. But beneath the sharp smile and playful cruelty, does the tenderness you once glimpsed at still remain?
Character Introduction.
Ethereal, serene, and incredibly unattainable ā Valentine starred opposite you as your onscreen partner throughout ICARISā second trilogy of music videos. Paparazzi shots, matching items of clothing, and bashful denials have made for one of the most popular love affairs in the entertainment industry ā too bad it was all fabricated. Behind their carefully constructed image lies a desperation for something incredibly ordinary. With their career newly revitalized and a beloved, highly public relationship now in the spotlight, would they still be willing to risk everything for what might have been?
Character Introduction.
Quiet, distant, and carefully avoidant ā Tatum was your childhood friend, the person you first dreamed big with. You were supposed to stand on stage together, side by side, taking on the world as a pair, believing in a future built on the certainty that absolutely nothing would come between the two of you. Unfortunately, a few months into training, they were cut from the lineup and sent back home. Communication had slowed over time, but every trip back home reignited your relationship. Or so you thought. Today, they want nothing to do with youā¦ except in a twist of fate (and partly their doing), their ten year old niece is now a die-hard fan of ICARIS. They really should have thrown all those albums away.
Character Introduction.
Devan Tiwari
The abrasive troublemaker, always kept on a metaphorical leash. Devan was infamous for speaking their mind without restraint, even when it came at the expense of the groupās reputation. But beneath all the noise and chaos, there is a gentle side of them most refused to acknowledge: fiercely protective of the members, and deeply committed to the safety and happiness of each one. They have stepped away from the spotlight since disbandment, choosing to spend their time managing an establishment for homeless youth.
Character Introduction.
Angel Matisse
The visual of ICARIS ā the pretty face, the one plastered all over covers of magazines. Angel was often dismissed for lacking skill, but youāve seen how fiercely driven they were to improve. Publicly, they appeared icy and unreadable, the very picture of elegance and class but privately, there was warmth, humor, and unbreakable loyalty to the group. Today, they are an award-winning actor, married to their childhood best friend, and raising two children. Time has softened their edges, replacing empty confidence with quiet self-assurance, but their words remain as sharp and direct as they were years ago.
Character Introduction.
Cloud Rattanakorn
Cloud is the kind of person people often described as ācomfortableā ā never too loud, never too sharp, never too popular. The public liked them for being the steady calm in the middle of ICARISā chaos. Accompanying that calm was an unyielding will to keep the group together. Cloud was often the one to step in, to soften the jagged edges of their members before they cut each other. Away from the spotlight, they now spend their days running their familyās restaurant, content to stay in the quiet presence of people they know would never abandon them.
Character Introduction.
Hoshino Mitsuki
The beacon of hope, the source of laughter, the sunbeam after curtain call. Mitsuki was an amalgamation of all of the older membersā personalities ā a perfect mixture of each oneās best traits and their most human flaws. Mitsuki had a uniquely unbreakable bond with each of the members, and the fans, acting as a constant presence of warmth and reassurance ā someone to lean on just as they had leaned on others. Among both the members and the fans, they has always been one clear agreement: Mitsuki is to be remembered as the warmth they all tried to protect. Nothing less.
Character Introduction.
ik you made a post answering a question a little like this one but like,, pre hiatus sparky being this beautiful woman only to transition into some dude with (maybe.) a beard.. idk even if that extreme of a cosmetic turnaround isnāt available thatās what i imagine my sparky to be like. the difference would also be a little funny to me š
i mean i always thought that people who were beautiful as a certain gender most often ended up being beautiful after transitioning too anyway. but if you mean like... a very feminine sparky with softer and more elegant features showing up looking all rugged and very masculine post transition during the reunion then i get it.
if you're asking what the fans would think, then some of those who grew up having a huge crush on sparky would likely be disappointed and a part of that group would likely resent the new sparky -- especially those who are more conservative. but a good amount of fans also grew up listening to icaris' songs about self identity and finding yourself, applied it to things like gender and sexuality and really found comfort in the group, and they're definitely much more supportive of this sparky. icaris has a pretty wide range of personalities and characters in their fandom but i imagine that due to icaris being an idol group, their songs, their advocacies, and some of the members hinting at their own sexualities throughout the years, a huge, huge, huge part of their fandom is more open minded and supportive of these things.
a sparky who went extremely private after hiatus only to show up as a transitioned sparky out of the blue for the reunion is also likely to get a lot of buzz -- both positive and negative.
quick little update: had no time to do anything for sunbound this week apart from mon-tues due to Personal Things that i had (still have) to take care of! nothing dire or whatever but something that takes a lot of time and energy. i don't know if i'll be back to writing next week yet but i'm hoping i get this all done and sorted out by end of next week at the latest so i can work on sunbound again!
going to start writing for chapter 1 today! technically already have the first few scenes written from when i couldn't do the prologue. my current process that works for me is that i write it as is and only have placeholders for choices (have one or a few choices then descriptions for flavor text instead of full writing), then i add in the choices whenever i'm done with a full scene as part of the revision process, so the scenes i'd written mostly only have placeholder choices at the moment and i'm dreading revision because i'll have to add the stats with the choices and add more choices when certain stats aren't available as much as others... writing and coding an interactive novel can be so exhausting but so rewarding.
i think going chronologically, the next scenes i'm writing are the branching scenes for when sparky can meet 2 out of the 5 ros depending on which part of the company building they go to. i'm not sure how long this will take me but i am excited to see where the characters take me on this much awaited reunion for each pair.
just writing that down has me exhausted but excited. hope i get a productive week! it's quite cold now so it's easier to just sink in bed and sleep all day but thankfully i'm not as mushy brained as previously.
i'm taking the tiniest of breaks since i posted the prologue mainly due to other celebrations irl and some responsibilities that come with them. i'm reviewing and revising the outline for chapter 1 every now and then though and a few tiny things have changed since i last wrote it. the tiniest bit, i just think i know the characters more now that i'd written their introductions and the prologue.
i'm having fun with revising the outline and playing around with the "on cam" and "off cam" moments as well as the archival footage, the interview parts, and some of the other feature articles/social media conversations that i might or might not add in chapter one.
as a little treat, here's a few choices from the very first choice (currently, might change) sparky can make in chapter 1:
As the feedback anon who mentioned the interview, that actually makes a lot more sense! I wasn't completely sure about the timeline of the interview when I sent in my feedback, but now that I know their interactions do make a lot more sense. I also really like how the fans are unreliable narrators! It feels really realistic.
Your response did come off as neutral and not rude at all, so don't worry! I too worry about the tones of my messages, and I can't always tell if they're coming off as rude or not. So I hope my last one didn't come off that way either š
thanks! it's something i'm really trying to play with. if you're interested, i did write some character introductions for the cast and it's all linked in the main post. it's written in universe by the same person who wrote the feature article. at the moment this person isn't really all that important yet, they're just someone who represents fans in general. but yes, even those character introductions can be biased.
your ask was lovely! it's certainly difficult conversing online since tones can be difficult but i absolutely loved you ask since i could explain the fan perspective thing! thank you for it!
Would it be possible for our MC to crossdress/dress as the opposite gender? If so, would that change anything with how our fans perceive us? Like a male MC dressing femininely while on stage or out in public
during icaris' 7 years and fully cross dress? no. possibly only for special occasions like a special performance or a gag at their variety show. nothing that can be treated as serious. near the end of their original run though, sparky can be a little more ambiguous. nothing too much that can't be explained away with "fashion sense" but after icaris wins against their previous management, they get a tiny bit more freedom. fans just think it's fashionable and "so gender" but a lot do not take it as something serious or as actual expression.
in present time, yes sort of. i'm not restricting the outfit choices by gender. as for the fans, it won't change how they view sparky that much unless i guess sparky was almost rigidly feminine or masculine in the past and they'd changed almost 180 degrees, then there will be a few who "miss the old sparky". some will always think it's cringe or weird but they'd be fewer than the supportive ones. just your usual from fandoms. sparky has a pretty big fandom so there will be a lot of polarizing opinions on them regardless of what they actually do in life.
I really enjoyed playing the demo and seeing all of the characters in action, despite you releasing it early. I also love your dedication to the date š
I didn't know if you wanted feedback or anything, so if you don't please ignore the second half of this message (you also don't have to publicly respond to it if you don't want to). But I figured I'd send some just in case. While I really enjoyed the entire interview, I do think that it's a bit weird that the band just goes straight back into goofing around with one another and their old dynamic. After not speaking to one another for several years, and possibly going through personality changes (and/or becoming a hermit) after Mitsuki's death, I just think it's slightly unrealistic.
thank you, i'm glad you liked it! and yes, i was very much attached to the date lol i was going to do anything and everything to get something out by 7-7.
as for the dynamics--this interview was done around midway through the entire reunion. they'd already dropped the first album and are dropping the second one, and they're done with the us tour so they're not fresh off everything.
but also! the feature article does not in any way represent how they actually are in real life. the writer is a fan who would absolutely hyperfocus on random touches and think it means the band is all good with each other. and while they're trying to be more "truthful", the pr training is so deeply ingrained in their souls that the members often have a polite face towards the media no matter what. it's also why there's a choice for sparky to say "i have nothing nice to say" about mitsuki's death and the article just goes on as if sparky not saying anything is normal.
they do not go straight back to being okay with each other, i can assure you that. jiwon had a lot of begging and manipulating to do to even convince some of the other members to join the reunion, and plenty of deep, buried hurts will still come out all throughout the book.
basically, i'm trying to play around with public personas/images and their private selves so don't take any feature article or fan comment or whatever at face value!
thank you so much though. i do like feedback and take note of them.
Are the "It depends: options in the beginning for demi romantic/sexual people?
yes! i haven't been able to make it clear since i basically just placed placeholder choices for now. which is also why if you choose a name already used by a character, the flavor text makes it seem like it's a writer/reporter making a mistake even though the start part is pretty obvious author and reader communication at the moment š
also hi author, hru doing? Random wellbeing check and also sorry for not saying hi in my fist ask!
no worries! thank you for the wellbeing check. it's been an anxious few weeks and going on months now but pushing through day by day! i hope you're doing well too, kind anon! <3
The demo is SO good, I literally fell in love and was so sad to see it end. I literally canāt wait for the upcoming chapters! Tysm. ALSO Iām pretty sure itās bc I donāt read well but can you make it more clear whoās re the ROs? Bc if Iām not mistaken one of the group members are married and they even have a kid, which brings me to my next question, is there mpreg in this world?? If so then Iām already giggling and screamingšš„¹
thank you so much!
and don't worry it's not your fault, there are currently no indicators on who the member ros are because i couldn't find the space for it on the feature article. it'll be pretty clear once chapter 1 drops because there's a part there where sparky can reunite with each of the 5 ros! but to just list them out, it's jiwon and saint out of icaris, then kila (rival), valentine (actor sparky had a pr relationship with), and tatum (childhood friend who was also a trainee, now takes care of their niece who's a huge icaris fan). the last three haven't been introduced yet but they will be there for chapter 1
unfortunately, mpreg does not exist in this world since it's contemporary š angel either has a surrogate or a sperm donor depending on their gender and they have two beautiful babies right now!
heyy i was just beginning the demo and i love it so far. but i selected i am non binary and the group is a girl band and then when they're introducing the members they use he/him pronouns?
oof, i was missing a *return tag on the they_pronouns segment and it flows into the past_he_pronouns segment! thank you for letting me know, everyone who picked they/them as pronouns probably got he/him for the other members. should work properly now!
sunbound: icarisā final flight update (around 7k or less avg playthrough).
Link | Ko-Fi
Features:
Sparky creation. Name, pronouns, sexuality, gender identity, some background, and Sparky after disbandment.
Feature article on the group before they head onto the second half of their reunion special.
Look into the pain points of being an ICARIS member and the complicated relationships between the members.
Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoy this short prologue. Let me know if you come across any bugs or issues, or if you have any questions, suggestions, or simply want to encourage me! My inbox is open and I try to answer all the questions as quickly as possible.
Other notes:
This was posted to cheat the system so the anniversary of the game is July 7 like ICARISā anniversary, so on that note happy 14th year anniversary to ICARIS too!
Start portion is a placeholder. I plan to format it in a way that fits the universe more but currently stuck on how to do certain choices.
No stat page yet. Havenāt decided on how to do it yet and there wasnāt enough stat variable changes to warrant a stat page at this point in time.
Name choices are all from known idols from western pop, kpop, jpop, ppop, and tpop!
That is all. Thank you again and I do apologize for such a short prologue š I just really wanted a 7-7 anniversary and I obviously was not going to wait an entire year.
I will now continue writing Chapter 1, which will be much beefier, much longer, maybe more dramatic, and will also introduce some of the other characters. I will be updating progress updates and might post spoilers here and there as I am writing!
are there any fun facts we can know about the ros and the band? they're all so adorable
thank you!
oof, i'm struggling to think of a different fun fact for every single one so i'll just list off what i have currently.
angel loves horror movies and always picks the grossest and longest ones when it's their turn to pick for movie night just to see the other members suffer (they definitely cackle while watching)
jiwon is a mess in the kitchen and is banned by the members to ever hold a knife, devan is the one who cooks for the members. despite owning a family restaurant, cloud actually also sucks at cooking (they're learning now!). saint cooks sometimes too but only if they're in the mood for it and there's music playing. cooking becomes an event when saint is in on it so it's for special days and most days devan kicks them out of the kitchen for bothering them.
mitsuki used to have a ranking of their members to determine who their current favorite was and while the others liked to pretend they didn't care, they'd compete for the top spot. the truth is, the ranking is bullshit and randomized and mitsuki just do it so the others would dote on them more.
kila is a great cook and is good at housework but they pretend like they're spoiled and clueless so no one can order them around. they're also the complete opposite of jiwon in terms of relationship to religion--they fucking hate religion.
valentine has never had a relationship before meeting sparky so their views on love and romance were idealistic--a surprising fact considering how cold they come off at first. they have a collection of romance books (might have some of tatum's there).
tatum takes a lot of inspiration from icaris songs to write. their writing playlists have plenty of icaris songs and you know that game where someone has an artist's discography on shuffle and someone else has to guess the song quickly? tatum will probably be able to guess all of icaris' songs in the first few seconds but no one will ever know cause they would never answer. you think their niece is the biggest fan of icaris? think again, it's actually tatum themself.
well look at that, i did get to sort of add fun facts for everyone. thank you for the ask, anon!
is ji-won also closed off/cold towards the members in the past or just to the fans?
also maybe you could give people the option to whether they want to be out or closeted during the present? you could always try and code it so that you choose your pronouns for the past and then choose your pronouns later on again for the present. if people choose that they're still closeted then maybe you could figure out a way to use the past pronouns still, but if they're out then you could use different present pronouns. either way, there are a lot of templates and resources on here that you can find for interactive fiction coding (+ you can ask other authors for help) both for choicescripts and itch.io
jiwon starts off closed off and distant to everyone, even mitsuki. they take their role as a leader pretty seriously but they're warmer during the present timeline.
the original plan was to give reader the choice to be closeted in the present in terms of both gender identity and sexuality! but then we already have two sets of pronouns for trans sparkys (present and past) and if they're closeted then i also have to code it so that their public pronouns might be different from their private pronouns but also, is sparky out to the members? because there's been distance before the reunion so it'd make sense if they weren't and they might not use the same pronouns with the members.
let's say we have past_pronouns, present_pronouns, and public_pronouns. public_pronouns can be the same as either past_pronouns or present_pronouns depending on if sparky is out or not, but they will be coded differently even if they appear similarly to readers. i can either have "public_pronouns" variable or code it as "@{trans_out present_pronouns|past_pronouns} and do the same for their name. take into account how some sparkys might be out to members and others might not be (this is currently the case for sexuality but i also haven't coded it yet), i will also have to add a switch in the code for if they use public_pronouns with members or present_pronouns, so it might look like: @{out_to_members present_pronouns|past_pronouns} every single time their pronouns are used.
it can be done, but it's a lot more code than usual that it currently doesn't look feasible since i do all the writing and coding myself.
