Ido the Heartthrob

We of the Helix are here to tell you a bit about the United Netherlands, and part of that is our musical industry. When modern music is mentioned, one specific individual jumps out: Ido, a human singer with a raw voice. He is famous for his rock ballads that cover tragic events in the history of Europe in general, and the United Netherlands specifically.
Ido's performances focus on his songs, with limited instrumental support and a low amount of special effects. He mostly plays with light and shadow, making his shows a wonderful artistic thing to watch. Helped by his great looks, his voice breaks your heart and his face mends it, which is why he is often nicknamed 'Ido de Hartendief' in Dutch, and 'Ido the Heartthrob' in English.

Personal life

Ido was born as Ido Geertsma in 2040, the fourth child of six, from a deadbeat Human father and a hardworking Ork mother. He has four sisters and one elder brother. Two of his sisters were born as Orks, the rest of the siblings is Human. His maternal grandparents helped raise the kids. They originated from Friesland, where they lived before the Toxic Tide hit the United Netherlands. Their stories helped inspire Ido's debut album, "Struggle", released at age 19.
As a very private person, Ido has kept his romantic life to himself. Even though we live in an age of spydrones and more cameras than bullets, only a few suspected dates have been reported by paparazzi. He has been linked to several romantic partners, of which only two have ever acknowledged their history with him. His family also stays out of the spotlights, except for his mother, who attends all his performances.

Date of Birth

28 February, 2040

Birthplace

Zwolle

Metatype

Human

Gender

Male

Awakened

No

Augmented

Unknown

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Eyes

Hazel

Hair

Black

Height

1.74m

Weight

57kg

Discography

From his countless singles and over a dozen albums, two jump out. The first is "Struggle", a name based on the Zeeland motto 'Luctur et emergo', translated as 'I struggle and emerge'. The album's theme is all about struggles where no clear path out is visible, from romantic to wageslave to the endless fight against nature. Ido's grandparents were one of his largest inspirations for the album, and as Friesland is still covered in toxic sludge, there is no 'emerging' present in any of the songs.
The second is "The Hunger of the Beast", released in 2075. Like most of Ido's songs, the lyrics are filled with metaphors. It is, however, very clear that many of the songs are directly about GeMiTo, where the Great Dragon Alamais hunted humans. The songs cover Dragons hunting people, and the traumatic war that Lofwyr waged on Alamais in 2074. Less than twenty percent of the mercenaries survived this two-day battle, and the lyrics really drive home the despair and destruction of that battlefield. While the metaphors talk about 'The Beast and its pack' versus 'The King and his men', everyone knows exactly what "Death of the Beast" is really about.

Rumors

Ido values his privacy, and needless to say, that simply means more rumours. In fact there are so many rumours about him, that it's clear many of these are red herrings, spread to make it impossible to find out the truth. Some of us have helped with a lot of these, including all the rumours about his romantic partners. This helped Ido cover up his unofficial marriage to his life-partner, a Dwarf who is in his fourties. That's all we'll tell you about him, because we respect his privacy.
Some theorised that Ido was a Shadowrunner since the very start of his career. Due to various details in the 'Hunger of the Beast' album, this theory gained many more believers. In reality, we at the Helix can confirm to you that Ido is not, I repeat NOT, a Shadowrunner. However, his husband and three of his sisters are/were, and he also is friends with over a dozen other Shadowrunners. He has used many of their stories as inspiration for his songs, but only with consent. And yes, that includes the story from when Lofwyr went to war with Alamais. Out of respect for their privacy, we won't mention his source, but the album hit home with good reason.