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: ICARIS’ Final Flight—mixing present-day footage with archival clips, livestreams, concert films, and video logs. Raw, intimate, and at times uncomfortable, it’s 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 group’s “face”: 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 — some moments are inevitable; there is no saving what’s 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 group’s most recognizable face — loved, hated, and dissected in equal measures. Years after ICARIS, you’re 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 — romantic option. Always the same gender as idol-era Sparky.
The leader. Cold, repressed, distant — Jiwon wielded their responsibility like a sword and their scripture like a shield. Words they’d never dared speak are scattered across ICARIS’ 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.
Saint Gatti — romantic option. Always the same gender as idol-era Sparky.
Talented on all fronts — 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?
Charismatic, cunning, and impossible to ignore — 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 group’s disbandment, even their solo career thriving. Now, they’ve drifted back into your orbit as once of the documentary’s interviewees. You no longer understand their motives — 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 — Valentine starred opposite you as your onscreen partner throughout ICARIS’ 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 — 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 — 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 you… 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.
Angel Matisse
The visual of ICARIS — the pretty face, the one plastered all over covers of magazines. Angel was often dismissed for lacking skill, but you’ve 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.
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 group’s 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.
Cloud Rattanakorn
Cloud is the kind of person people often described as “comfortable” — never too loud, never too sharp, never too popular. The public liked them for being the steady calm in the middle of ICARIS’ 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 family’s restaurant, content to stay in the quiet presence of people they know would never abandon them.
Hoshino Mitsuki
The beacon of hope, the source of laughter, the sunbeam after curtain call. Mitsuki was an amalgamation of all of the older members’ personalities — a perfect mixture of each one’s 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 — 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.
【 ✦ 】 a term for when one and their partner are bound, linked, or intertwined together by being under the sun / bounded together by the sun. this can mean whatever to the user
[PT: Sunbound. a term for when one and their partner are bound, linked, or intertwined together by being under the sun / bounded together by the sun. this can mean whatever to the user. ]
✦⠀Coined by The Prince.⠀Self—indulgent.
✧⠀no spoons or pt for flag IDs. providing or help much appreciated ⚔️
✦⠀Notes⠀⋯⠀Icon(link)
✧⠀tag list . @cheonsua @radiomogai @io-archival @kaetria @abyssblooded @erveinangel @jesteroftheangel @goregender @shwys @castodust @shiftedbug @minesung @evanyao @dollpvince @moriitch @just-aguara @pupsflags ask to be removed or added
Hey y’all, sorry for no posts today, semester 2 just started and I am overwhelmed with work already!!
But I have a RedactedASMR lore question for y’all, does anyone know if the Elementals and Energetics are bound to the Sun or the Moon? Same with D(a)emons, are they bound to Sun or Moon?
I’ve been rewatching the Solstice videos and I realized the only sun/moon bound mentions were of the Werevolves and Vamps being Moonbound, meaning their powers peak around Dec 21st, and Freelancers being “freebound” where their powers fluctuate through the day on both solstices.
Kinda wanna know in case I start a solstice fic,,, but, I’m just curious in general.
The au @queen-of-ice101 wrote for me has given me an excuse to draw something I have wanted to draw for a long time. A LONG time!! RHEN AND DAMEON AS CHILDREN!!! BEIN FRIENDS!!!! Before all the tragedy, when they can be just innocent and happy and explore Aveyond together AND MAKE FLOWER CROWNS!!!!
They do all those things anyway but I really like drawing babies. And c'mon, they make such cute babies!! Look at their little faces!!! I want to squish their cheeks. Asagldfajr!!!!
Looking back on the rise, the fall, and the enduring mythology of the group that once burned brighter than the sun.
There was once a time when the world thought ICARIS’ light would never dim. Since their earliest days, people who saw them recognized the incandescent blaze within them.
Imagine this: seven wide-eyed teenagers donned in an odd mix and match of cheap pieces of clothing, all trembling and bursting with a mixture of excitement and anxiety. They smile for their audience of twenty — a few of which are family members, friends, and staff. And, when asked by a gracious interviewer what they wanted to achieve as a new and risky idol band, the leader — straight shoulders, clenched fists, steady voice—declared, “We want to conquer the sun.”
Ridiculous. Audacious. Icarian. And yet when they performed their debut title track, “Dive” — with its bold and youthful chants of being “born for the burning light” and finally facing the sunrise after spending their whole lives in the night — the handful of strangers in the crowd simply knew. These were not ordinary teenagers chasing an impossible dream only to burn themselves out in the process. These were seven teenagers carrying their own furious, ferocious little suns, and they were, without a shred of a doubt, one day going to conquer the sun.
The rest of the First Light trilogy — Soar and Burn — continue their tales of their quest to reach the sun, to burn brighter than the sun. While real-world events did not exactly mirror these lyrics — “Burn” has a famous lyric of ‘dancing with the sun and we’re here to stay’ but at that time, they were barely selling half of their small theater venues for their very first tour — the members believed their end goal so much that it felt like they did achieve their goals. There was a confident, cocky look to them whenever they performed, a surety in their movement and their lyrics. It was difficult to ignore.
And somehow, those delusions turned into reality when the now legendary video of one of the members — nicknamed Sparky by the media because they lit the blaze that was ICARIS — dancing “Burn” went viral on YouTube. Audiences, craving a new era of idol bands and celebrities to obsess over, desperately looked for more. Previous performance videos were shared everywhere, Tumblr fan accounts popped up to share GIF-style recounting of their content, and the company’s decision to give them weekly vlog uploads and a seasonal variety show quickly paid off as episodes began racking up millions of views. The small but terrible fandom called Solace spread these clips — funny, played up arguments in their variety show, shipping fuel from their vlogs, clipped livestream moments — and within weeks, ICARIS was the talk of the town. They were just so lovable, so real and unbothered by the usual expectations on celebrities and idols. They were authentic in every way — from their lyrics to the way they’d speak to fans. At the heart of it all, they felt like seven friends who had somehow stumbled into becoming idols. The last stops of their First Light tour sold out quite quickly afterward and the reviews couldn’t stop singing praises about them — it wasn’t just Sparky who performed like that, it was everyone. These people were the real deal. They were everything the entertainment industry was missing — truthful, talented, tenacious.
This was only the beginning for our seven suns. Their next trilogy — Golden Hour, which consisted of albums Heatwave, Mirage, and Fever — marked their most emotional era yet, an era of some of their highest of highs and some of their lowest of lows. Solaces always say this was their hungriest era. They were quickly becoming the world’s newest obsession, and they still weren’t content. They broke records that had remained untouched for decades. They were on every billboard on every highway in every major city in the world. They were inescapable; they were inevitable. They got their very first Grammy nomination for their Mirage album and were selling out stadiums for their tour. But fame that big came with its own price to pay — a vicious, endless wave of hatred and criticism from people who decided they did not deserve any of what they had. Every conversation was nitpicked, every unflattering angle was spread around, every voice crack was “criticized” (heavy on the quotation marks) to death. The rumors piled up — this member was dating so-and-so, they didn’t really like each other, they were horrible people who burned babies weekly as a deal with the devil for their popularity and success. On top of that, they called themselves idols, which made a few people who already looked down on idols even crueler.
And what did ICARIS do? They released “Fever”, the ender of their second trilogy, and proudly declared that they did not care — they had “swallowed the sun” and it burned hotter inside them than the hate they so relentlessly received. To top it off, or perhaps to prove it, they spent their Golden Hour tour just… going crazy. Close to four hours of nonstop dancing, singing, and letting loose. Some people expressed their worries — at times, it genuinely seemed like the members were dying on stage — but they finished the tour with delirious smiles on their faces and newfound respect from even some of their biggest critics. They had survived one of the biggest hate trains in the entertainment industry through sheer will, passion for the art, and love for each other and their fans.
Their last trilogy — Crimson Tide, which featured albums Sunset, Campfire, and Ashes — was the raw truth under all their bold declarations. It is their most truthful — most uncomfortable — era and the one that marked the end of their careers. This was when they went from idols to true artists in the eyes of the public — they were human beings who were brave enough to share their most intimate thoughts in their songs and in their interviews. Critics to this day claim their Ashes album is one of the best albums in recent times, citing the bruisingly bare lyrics and the hauntingly hollow sound of most of the songs as its strongest points. Looking back, there were moments during the final trilogy where the members seemed exhausted in ways Solaces struggled to explain, but no one truly believed the group was in any danger of ending. If anything, the members seemed more devoted to one another than ever. Which is why no one truly expected what happened during the final encore concert of their Crimson Tide tour. When the members stood on stage with solemn expressions and livestreamed their closing remarks across all their social media accounts, few viewers were prepared to hear them announce an indefinite hiatus. And yet, still, true Solaces weren’t truly scared of the hiatus lasting — in fact, most expressed their relief that the members, who’d run toward the sun tirelessly for the last six and a half years, were finally getting their well-deserved rest.
To this day, I believe they never truly wanted to end. But tragedy struck a few months after their hiatus announcement and their youngest member perished in a house fire. I struggle to write more about this — which perhaps explains the abruptness of the sentence before this — so I will instead skip ahead to the part where, months later, Aurora Entertainment released a single announcement on their social media accounts that ICARIS would cease all group activities, effectively disbanding the band. They posted this on the company’s account, leaving the the ICARIS Twitter account frozen in time. Its final post remained a retweet from the youngest’ last message from the group’s informal fan-facing account — a space they had once used to speak more freely with Solaces. It was a heartfelt message to the fans and to the members thanking them for the years sent together, ending with excitement over the “inevitable reunion”.
Over time, ICARIS became less of a group and more of a cultural ghost. Their music remained unavoidable — overplayed in karaoke rooms, covered by rookies, mentioned routinely by people who “grew up with them” — even as the members themselves drifted into vastly different lives. Some stayed in the spotlight and thrived in solo careers, others chose to go back to being private citizens and take back the normal life their job had stolen from them. None of them ever mentioned ICARIS or the other members at length ever again, deftly avoiding questions with polite responses before eventually ignoring them altogether. And as the years crawled by with not a single public interaction between the members even though they still drifted in similar circles — most of them still had shares in Aurora Entertainment and the soloists still released music under this same company — hope for a reunion had slowly… burned out.
Six years later, on a seemingly ordinary Wednesday, Aurora Entertainment revived the ICARIS Twitter account and announced Ember Dawn, a one-time reunion album and a world tour to commemorate their 15th anniversary and to finally formally close off this chapter of their lives. A documentary series will cover all the events of this reunion — from the planning process to their last encore — with members rumored to speak about their seven years of ICARIS in greater depth than ever before. ICARIS had always released documentary series per trilogy. Their first, Sunborn, chronicled their pre-debut days and their under-appreciated First Light era. The second, Sundrunk, covered their highly-controversial Golden Hour era. And the final one, Sunfall, was released after the group’s disbandment. Each consisted of eight episodes, forming an unflinching portrait of their lives as idols, and as mythologized figures in the public’s eyes. Solaces are expecting this next documentary, titled Sunbound, to be just as devastating.
This project marks the first time the members will appear together publicly in eight years. Reactions online have ranged from excitement to apprehension, particularly among fans unsettled by the idea of re-“meeting” a “new” ICARIS. Fifteen years after the group first vowed to conquer the sun, the question returns — just who is ICARIS? And will we ever truly know them?
