#icarus orduña

[idreamonpaper]

Character Intro: Icarus Orduña from Those Lovely Cuspids

Icarus' backstory is veiled in mystery. Sure, he might say vague comments here and there, but you'll never get the full story from him. As far as anyone knows he's a fun-loving party animal and that's the only way he wants to be known. Now that the some of the veil has been lifted, he's desperately trying to pick up the pieces.

At 21, he had just moved out of his dad's house. Meeting Sandro came entirely by chance when Icarus responded to his advertisement requesting a roommate. The two got along from the first moment they met and the rest is history. After that, Dakota and Miri came into their lives, expanding their friend group. Icarus met Elio by chance and dragged him into their little group without giving him much of a choice on the matter.

Icarus is the one who brought the four friends together to make a band 3 years ago. It was all done in good fun. No matter how small their audience was the important thing to them was having fun.

Role: Protagonist, Point of View character

Pronouns: He/Him

Age: 26

Gender: Trans man

Sexuality: Bisexual

Excerpt from Chapter 1:

Icarus stares at the clock mounted on the wall in front of him, and the clock stares back. 

It’s one of those old-fashioned ones you only see in the movies; a black cat with a wide grin, a clock on its stomach and a swishing tail that moves in time with the eyes. Every time the eyes flick from side to side it makes a soft ‘tock, ‘tock, tock’ sound. Usually that kind of repetitive sound would piss him off, but he can’t be too upset when it’s the only sound interrupting the heavy silence. 

Besides, poor cat hasn’t done anything wrong except exist. It’s the only splash of personality in this office aside from the picture frames on the desk, and the plants here and there which Icarus is sure they’re fake. 

If he were to look up ‘psychiatrist’s office’ on the internet right now he’s sure this office would be the first to pop up.

[idreamonpaper]

Best sentence you've written recently - go!

(Or if it's spoilers, one you remain fond of!)

I've been reworking the first chapter of Those Lovely Cuspids 3.0 since I didn't like the last one. Not so sure how I feel about it yet but here's my favorite sentence thus far!!

Icarus' glass is half empty-or half full, whatever-when a steaming plate of fries is set down in front of him. The styrofoam plate squeaks against the sticky counter, a sound he feels in his teeth.

TWO SENTENCES FOR YOU!!

[idreamonpaper]

Camp Nano Update

Because I'm utterly insane, I set my word count goal to 40,000. I've been chugging along, and though it hasn't been easy I'm 10,000 words away from reaching my goal! The story is near its climax!

04/17 Progress Update

Current Status: Second Draft

Word Count: 30,329

Completed Chapters: 7

Snippet:

“What do you think, Icarus?” 

Ah, shit. 

“Sorry, I was zoning out. What do I think about what?” He tears his eyes away from the TV he hasn’t been watching, turning to Kyra instead. 

Red rolls his eyes, his arm draped over the back of the couch. Kyra is a lot more patient though, and she happily repeats her question. 

“I asked you what you think about moving to Vegas.” She asks, waiting patiently for his answer. 

“I think that’s the best idea.” Icarus grins, squeezing her knee affectionately.

Her leg jolts, and a snort is torn from her throat. He moves his plate out of the way before she can knock it to the ground. Okay, so Kyra is ticklish. He’ll keep that in mind. 

“Isn’t it?” She sighs wistfully, leaning further against Red’s side. “None of the concerts we’ve done have taken us to Vegas before, but I want to go so bad.”

“Red and I have been there before.” Icarus flicks his fingers between the two of them. “My last tour ran through Vegas, and Red’s first tour started in Vegas.” 

“Lucky.” Kyra groans. 

“I didn’t really get to sight see, too stressed about the tour.” Icarus mentions, hardly remembering his time in Vegas. 

The crowd was lively, but it always is. He remembers the lights, and the fountains of Bellagio. That’s where his memory ends. It was quite a while ago. 

“We could go.” 

Icarus and Kyra stare at Red, wondering if they heard him right. 

“Huh?” Icarus is still unsure if that really came from Red or if it came from the TV. 

“We could go. To Vegas.” Red says it slowly, savoring every syllable as if he can’t believe it himself and he needs to say it slowly so he can really hear the words himself. 

“Really?” Kyra jumps on the opportunity while Icarus’ mind is one big loading bar.

[idreamonpaper]

Icarus Pride Mood Board

I hope everyone has been having an excellent pride month! Here is a mood board for my trans masc bisexual disaster, Icarus!

“I won’t waste your time any further, I’m sure you’re all wondering why I’ve brought you here.” Marcellus gets right into it, going through with his promise immediately.

Icarus’ eyes immediately wander, sliding down Marcellus’ neck and settling on his clavicle. Ever professional, Marcellus always wears button up shirts to meetings. He leaves the top four buttons undone, giving Icarus a nice view of the moles scattered over his fair skin. 

Bria’s heel bumps against Icarus’ foot. She doesn’t need to look at him to know his attention has strayed.

He forces his eyes away from the very distracting sight and makes an effort to look at Marcellus’ face. His polite grin has tilted slightly, bordering on mischievous. Clearly, he also knows Icarus’ attention wandered.

Icarus should be ashamed about getting caught checking out his boss. Should be, but of course, he isn’t. 

[idreamonpaper]

Find the Word Tag Game

I was tagged by @drabbleitout to find the words: Worth, Protect, Share, and Behavior. Thank you for the tag!!! 

I’m going to leave this as an open tag for anyone who wants to share some of their writing to find the words: Unlikely, Blank, Perfume and Morning

Here’s where I found the words in the third draft of Those Lovely Cuspids!

Worth

Sticking to metal allows all their skills to work in tandem: Sandro and his talent with an electric guitar; Dakota and her drums; Elio and his beloved bass; Miri and their ability to tie it all together with their guitar.

Icarus doesn’t think his voice is worth much, but he knows his way around writing a damn good song. 

Protect

Of course, because he chose to dive into Elio’s room, forgetting he has legs to brace himself, the laws of physics once again work against him. He lands face first on Elio’s bed, conveniently placed near the window. It’s a perfect position for main character moments like gazing outside wistfully while it rains. 

It’s also a great placement to protect Icarus’ face from the floor.

Share and Sharing

(This one appears twice in this tiny snippet!)

“Here I thought you were a good Christian man. Using the Lord’s name, for shame.” Icarus shakes his head and is swiftly cut off by Sandro’s elbow digging into his ribs.

“Hey, you nearly made me drop my dinner. I will take away your sharing rights.” Icarus points with a fry, a drop of cheese falling to the sidewalk between them. 

“That’s what you get for accusing me of being a Christian.” Sandro plucks the small golden cross, dropping it back into place inside his shirt.  “You know I only wear this because my mom gave it to me.”

Regardless of what he said, Icarus tilts the plate on his lap for both of them to share. 

Behavior

Icarus takes the seat next to hers, not willingly but there isn’t much he can do about it. Bria likes Icarus right next to her. Not because he has anything important to say in meetings like this. This way she can make sure he’s on his best behavior through the age-old method of stomping on his foot under the table.

[idreamonpaper]

Happy Storyteller Saturday!

Are there any places, objects, or even people in your stories inspired by or directly borrowed from your real life?

Share a snippet if you like 💜

Happy Storyteller Saturday to you too!! Thank you so much for the ask!!

Plenty of my characters have pieces of my favorite people! Little quirks and speech patterns come from what I've heard from my friends as well as borrowing my own qualities. One thing I wrote recently is borrowed from real life! I have a really tall friend who will fold themselves up when sitting at a table across from someone. Very considerate, but very uncomfortable. One time I jokingly put my feet on top of their knees and told them they could stretch out now, and ever since then it's become a thing! Here's a snippet inspired by that!

Icarus doesn’t have much height to boast, he’s an average 5 feet and 8 inches. Sandro on the other hand stands at 6 feet and 4 inches, quite impressive. He’s all legs, there’s no where he can sit where he can stretch his legs without them brushing the other side.

Polite, considerate, Sandro folds himself away like a lawn chair whenever he’s sharing a table with anyone. Takes as little of an amount of space as he possibly can.

With Icarus things are different.

Icarus refuses to let his closest friend fold himself up for the sake of his comfort. Besides, this is pretty damn comfortable. His ankles are resting on Sandro’s knees which aren’t bent to fit for once. Sounds shaky and faulty, but they make it work.

[idreamonpaper]

gimme a run down on icarus pls i barely remember anything about him anymore

I will always gladly talk about my boy!!!

I'll give you a quick run down because I could talk for hours about my boy. He's a 26-year-old transmasc disaster who will absolutely dye his hair instead of facing his problems.

He's our protagonist in Those Lovely Cuspids. He's the front man to his band, State of Mind. It's a band he made for funsies with his friends. They never expected it to take off, but now here they are at the peak of their career. However, while his popularity rises his mental health declines steadily. He's been enjoying the ride thus far until he's stuck with court mandated therapy.

But of course because he's Icarus he will absolutely not talk about his problems. Ah yes, and his sharp teeth. He definitely doesn't want to talk about those.

[idreamonpaper]

Seven Snippets, Seven People

Tagged by @drabbleitout a while ago but this sounds too fun to not do!

Rules: Post 7 snippets than tag seven people

I will preface this by saying, I have no clue who to tag so take this an open invitation to anyone who wants to share some snippets of your stories!! For now, here’s some snippets from Those Lovely Cuspids!

Trigger Warning for some drug mentions!

“Did you just come out of the hospital?”

Icarus barely hears the shout over the loud rock song filling every nook and cranny of the bar. Bartenders have a way of making themselves heard though. He pauses his noble quest, catching the bartender’s eye. She’s holding a tall glass of beer, staring at the white wristband Icarus has been picking at. Her grip on the glass is loose, but her fingers twitch. 

Clearly, she’s debating how good of an idea it is to surrender the glass to him. 

“This?” He gestures to his wrist, plucking at the white wristband that’s dyed pink under the strobe lights. “Nah, I just came from that knockoff county fair.” 

Her shoulders loosen, releasing the tension from her posture and her expression. She flashes a small grin and places the glass within Icarus’ reach. The imprint of her fingers lingers on the thin layer of condensation covering the glass. 

Icarus presses the wristband on the glass, hoping the moisture will quicken the process of getting this thing off him. 

It doesn’t.

---

“Nothing to see here but another artist bending under the pressures of fame.” Icarus gestures to himself, letting his hands drop onto his chest.

“What does that look like for you?”

It’s an acid-fueled nightmare is what it is: constant chatter from bossy managers, expectations from a record label that can drop anyone without warning or reason, grasping hands clawing at his legs with demands for more on the parched lips of fans, and the weight of eyes crawling on every inch of his skin. 

Worst of all is the dread: putting any form of art out there for the public eye is nerve wracking. 

Will it be mocked ruthlessly? Taken out of context and turned into something else entirely?

Not everyone will understand nor will they like the music Icarus and his band creates. It isn’t realistic to assume so, but it doesn’t erase the fear.

The artist might not be tortured when they create their masterpiece, but they sure will be after it’s in the grimy hands of the public.

---

Icarus had no intentions of befriending Dakota because she’s disgustingly rich, but it is a bonus.

She’s spoiled rotten and her room looks like it came out of Barbie dreamhouse. Pink and glitter everywhere, arranged to look like an adult room instead of a toddler’s room. Designer brands and names make up her closet and every piece of furniture she owns. 

The benefits of having a lawyer for a mom and a neurosurgeon for a dad. He’s personally never seen Assad and Esperanza Baker, and he never wants to meet them. Icarus is still on the fence about whether or not they’re real or a pipedream.

Rich parents who aren’t emotionally absent and just as generous with their love? Sounds fake.

Whether or not they’re real, they did raise a daughter whose smile outshines the goddamn sun.

Icarus would die for her without a second thought.

Even when she’s putting all her weight on his back.

---

“You’re late.” Bria points out, typing one more thing before snapping her laptop shut. 

“Terribly sorry about that, time is quite unforgiving.” Marcellus’ voice is soft, pulling everyone’s attention towards him. 

Bria hums, she isn’t pleased but she’ll accept the answer. Icarus desperately wants to tug on the rebellious curl that’s escaped from her bun. Her large sunglasses act as a headband, perched atop her head, but even then some of the smaller curls that frame her face find ways to escape.  

“I won’t waste your time any further, I’m sure you’re all wondering why I’ve brought you here.” Marcellus gets right into it, going through with his promise immediately.

Icarus, being the useless bisexual he is, lets his eyes fall from Marcellus’ face to his collarbones. A thin silver chain decorates his fair skin, and there’s a mole resting on his clavicle.

---

“I can’t believe you!” Sandro doesn’t bother taking the keys out of the ignition, and the engine rumbles softly in the background. 

“I turned my back on you for one second to talk to the nurse, and poof! You vanished into thin air without any of your shit except for your wallet and your jacket. I drove around, hoping I would find you and here you are five whole blocks away-” 

Icarus zones out, staring at Sandro’s scuffed boots. He keeps telling the guy to replace them, but Sandro will wear something until it’s falling apart before he considers replacing it. Where did he get those anyway? They’re a few years old if Icarus remembers correctly. No, he didn’t get them for himself; they were a gift. Birthday gift? Christmas?

Sandro stomps his foot, sending loose bits of gravel flying. He shields his fries from the spray of dirt, turning his body away. It would be childish on anyone else, but Sandro knows Icarus very well. He knew he lost him in thoughts about his boots. 

“-and now you’re not listening to me.”

“Nope.” Icarus shrugs, scooping up a fry with a mountain of green chile, cheese and bits of bacon on top of it.

---

“I always knew Elio liked you the most.” Dakota sighs wistfully, settling back down.

“You did basically force him to be your friend then threw him to us.” Sandro’s hand settles on Icarus’ shoulder, a solid weight instead trying to shake answers out of him like a dog with a squeaky toy.

“His name is Elio! Spanish version of the name Helios, Greek god of the Sun. Mine is Icarus, of course I forced him to be my friend!” He happened to hear his name by pure chance, and Icarus pounced.

It was too perfect to miss the opportunity. Not that Elio much appreciated it, but he’s desensitized to the lot of them. Whether he likes it or not they’re friends now. He needs to hang out with more people aside from his parents anyway. 

“Also, I know this is a very severe subject change, but my binder is seriously squeezing my ribcage, get off.” His friends scramble off him, dispersing like the Red Sea. 

---

“Are you sure I’m not keeping you up?” Amancio finally gets the balls to break the silence, speaking so softly Icarus isn’t sure if he heard him right.

“Nah.” Sleep comes to him in small fits and bursts, hardly lasting for more than an hour or two before he’s ready to go again.

“O-oh.” Amancio pokes at his burger, it’s the first time he’s touched it since the waitress plopped it in front of him.

“And you don’t want anything to eat? I-I’ll pay for it.” He’s avoiding looking at Icarus, and yet he can’t keep his eyes from roaming over his face every few seconds.

It’s like he's searching for something and he keeps coming up empty every time. His eyes will flick back to his burger. It’ll hold his attention for a little, but then he’s right back at it. Don’t even get him started on his hands, they’ve been fluttering around nonstop. The guy has bees in his hands, Icarus swears.

[idreamonpaper]

Those Lovely Cuspids Aesthetics: Icarus Orduña

“The disappearing act isn’t cute.” Red’s voice comes through the other line, disgruntled and concerned all at once.

“I’m the cutest thing on this fucking planet, I’ll have you know.”

Is it the best time to tease? No, but Icarus doesn't care.

"You're a menace is what you are."

[idreamonpaper]

ok im getting several people with this one, it delighted me too much not to copy n paste: who's your saddest, wettest character?

*WHEEZE* MY SADDEST, WETTEST CHARACTER?

I present to you, my boy Icarus! Dump a bucket of water over his bleached hair, it'll probably hydrate that fried mess! He's also very sad, but in a fun "let's party instead of facing my problems" kind of way!

[idreamonpaper]

best character of yours to chew on, go

AN EXCELLENT QUESTION!

Hmmm, if you want someone patient and squishy then Dakota is your best choice! She'll laugh, and joke that so long as you don't take a chunk out of her you can stay as long as you'd like.

If you want someone that's also patient then Sandro is also your best choice. Will just let you cling on to him and keep doing laundry and ask if this means you want a snack.

Do Not chew on Icarus, pls he will Bite

[idreamonpaper]

[answer whenever] happy blorbo blursday, grey! sorry for barging in your inbox this way. for any character: How has your character's personality changed from childhood to adulthood? sending good ~~ vibes ~~ and good luck to ya! 🍀🍀🍀 - ✨ (@enchanted-lightning-aes)

HELLO!!! Never apologize for barging into my inbox @enchanted-lightning-aes !! Everyone is welcome! Have a cup of your favorite drink and sit down for a bit! Take off your shoes and get comfy because this answer will be long.

First of all happy belated blorbo blursday to you too!! I meant to get to this ask yesterday but I got busy, my bad! I'm sending the good vibes and the good luck right back to you!

Anyway, I'll go with my boy Icarus for this question as I usually do! I would say the biggest change is his social levels.

As a child Icarus was very shy, didn't really make a lot of friends. He was mostly kept at home and even home schooled by his dad. Having his sharp teeth, he couldn't exactly have a normal childhood. Still his dad did his absolute best to make it a good childhood!

When he did meet children his own age he would hide behind his dad, and talk very softly. Now if you meet a 26-year-old Icarus he'll introduce himself first! He'll sling his arm around your shoulders (if you're comfortable with that) and talk your ear off. Always the life of the party and the first to start conversations, an adult Icarus is quite different from his shy tiny self.

Also as a child he was quite imaginative and creative. Quite the artist, he picked up hobbies like painting and drawing. Now he doesn't really have the time to indulge in his creative hobbies anymore. Icarus has to focus on his band and writing songs which takes a lot out of him. It leaves him burnt out with hardly any energy to pick up a paintbrush. All his energy goes towards meeting the demands of the record label he has a contract with.

Lastly, another big change is how reckless he got as he grew up. You couldn't convince a tiny Icarus to get on a bike without some tears and stomping feet. Now you have to plead with an adult Icarus to please put on a helmet before he gets on his motorcycle. Tiny Icarus thought skipping the last step on the stairs was deadly, now Icarus will skip three steps for an adrenaline rush.

That's about all I can think of for now! Thank you for the ask!

[idreamonpaper]

Happy STS! Which of your OCs can cook and which is banned from the kitchen?

Hello, Happy STS to you too!!

In the cast of TLC, the best cook is Elio! He threatens everyone that he'll let them all go without dinner when they piss him off, but everyone knows he doesn't actually mean it. Icarus is Banned, with a capital B, from the kitchen after trying to make something and ruining one of Elio's best pans. He bought him a new one, but Elio still hasn't forgiven him for it.

[idreamonpaper]

Camp Nano Progress Update: Day One

First day of Camp Nano! Woo! I started early today for once because I was excited! I hope everyone else has been having a good first day of April and an excellent first day of Camp Nano! (This is absolutely an invitation to tell me about your project 👀) Here's my progress thus far!

Current Status: Second Draft

Total word count: 3,833

Chapters Done: 1

Excerpt from my favorite part:

“Yeah, I’ve got a terrible nail biting habit. Turns out it’s more self destructive than I thought and I’ve come here to see the errors of my ways.” It’s not technically a lie, one look at his hands confirms that.

Sandro paints Icarus’ nails for him because if he does it on his own his nails will look like a toddler’s art project. He does it in the hopes that it will discourage the biting, and for the most part it works. Sometimes Icarus decides to be gremlin anyway, and he bites through the nail polish.

It’s never a good experience when he does but he’ll never learn from his own mistakes.

Dr. Vyas doesn’t find it very amusing, and Icarus summons the will to turn his head. The corners of her mouth are pinched almost imperceptibly, but the lines around her mouth deepen, unable to hide her displeasure.

She has so many smile lines, and the corners of her eyes are lined with crows feet that no doubt come from a life full of laughter and delight. It’s odd to see those lines morph, no longer showing years spent smiling through life.

It’s a reminder that she’s a person too. Dr. Vyas didn’t choose to have Icarus here laying on her couch with his bitchy attitude. They’re both victims of a court mandate, Icarus might as well let Dr. Vyas do her job. Plus, it’s either talking to the nice lady, jail time or getting sent to a psychiatric hospital.

He’d rather not do either, but ‘choose the lesser of two evils’ as they say.

[idreamonpaper]

Icarus...... my babygirl Icarus..... the man ill give all the money in my wallet to.... the man I have to kill because I can't flirt with him so he has to die..... the man I want to see better but I also want him to go through the horrors....

The man we've killed off multiple times for our own entertainment <3

HE'S JUST VERY FUN TO WORK WITH!

You can give him nice things or make him suffer, it's a good system!

[idreamonpaper]

WIP: Those Lovely Cuspids

General Information

Summary: Popular band, Rage Against the Machine, has been rising in the music industry for the past year. When their new album is nominated Best Album of the Year for the annual Rhythm Awards they can’t wait to celebrate. However, as the celebrations begin their lead singer, Icarus, goes missing. He’s less than happy about the nomination, insidious secrets held tightly to his chest. As they start slipping from his grip, eroding the once strong connections with his band mates, he shatters under the growing weight on his shoulders. As they stare at broken pieces of what was once a beautiful man, his band mates are left with one question: 

Where did it go wrong? 

Genre: Urban Fiction, LGBTQA+, and Low Fantasy

Current Status: First Draft Completed back in January, Prepping Draft Two

POV and Tense: Third Person, shifts between characters, and present tense

Main Characters

Icarus Orduña: Protagonist and POV Character. 26-year-old disaster, He/Him. Lead singer of the band Rage Against the Machine, he and Nashoba built this band from the ground up. Once upon a time music was his passion, but now he can’t bear to sing without wincing. A complete disaster with secrets galore.

Sandro Huerta: POV Character. 25-year-old, He/Him. Lead guitarist, he and Icarus have known each other since childhood and built this band from the ground up. To this day he’s still Icarus’ closest friend, but even he doesn’t know everything about him. He would apologize if you poured hot soup on his lap. 

Celio Baker: POV Character. 21-year-old ball of energy, They/Them. Your friendly neighborhood drummer, they’re the peacekeeper of the group. In a way they’re the glue that keeps them all together. They’re also the baby of the group, much younger than the rest of the members. If you need a laugh, Celio is perfect for the job. 

Elio Auilino: POV Character. Constantly exhausted 29-year-old, He/They. Bassist who just wants a long nap. Go with the flow kind of person, you can always find him laying down somewhere idly strumming his bass. He’s got a reputation for being apathetic, but deep down he cares a lot for his fellow band mates. He just wants the best for them, and he hates feeling helpless when it comes to their wellbeing. 

Kane Hopkins: POV Character. Here’s the not so friendly 27-year-old, Xe/Xim, but don’t let that scowl fool you, Kane is actually a softie inside! Rhythm Guitarist. From the first moment that Icarus started acting strange, xe had a feeling he wasn’t doing alright and xe tries everything to help. This band is everything Kane has, xe isn’t sure what xe would do if it slips through xrys fingers.

Other Important Characters

Vernice Montes: Minor Confidant Character. 26-year-old, She/Her. Icarus’ closest friend, but unlike Sandro she actually knows what’s happening with Icarus. Soft hearted, she tries to help in any way she can. 

Bria Ricci: Minor Character. 33-year-old, She/Her. Rage Against the Machine’s manager, she does her best to ensure the band’s popularity. Has been with the band since their rise to fame, doing her best to make sure they adjust to all these changes. 

Terrance Reeves (Red): Antagonist. 28-year-old lead singer to the rival band, Loveless. Both have many achievements under their belts, but Rage Against the Machine is higher in popularity. Has a special hatred for Icarus and would sell him to the devil for free. Would do anything to ensure his downfall.