rubestie

Season: Summer

Location: Rooftop

Characters: Jin, Tori, Hokuto, Chiaki

Hokuto: …Did that person really exist? I find it hard to believe, it just sounds like an urban legend.

jin+hokuto

Jin: Well, that’s probably a good word for it. Most of what we know about that person comes from exaggerations and rumors, no doubt.

Only the people who lived through that period of change would know how it actually went down.

In summary, it’s become somewhat of a myth, I don’t know how much of it is historical fact and how much is made-up.

But it seems that person really did exist, and his influence was large enough that it can still be felt even know.

He spent a long time as an active idol, and even after retiring, he controlled the idol industry from behind the scenes through that powerful influence. Well, this is all something like an idol legend.

Back when I was still active, he was apparently just barely still alive…

His tentacles extended to control both the overworld and the underworld, not only in the idol industry but also various other fields, from behind the scenes.

You could say he was like the Godfather of the idol industry. …Or maybe young people nowadays wouldn’t know about such an old movie?

Tori: …I might have heard about that person before. People would often mention him at the social gatherings I attended with my family. It seems he had a strong influence in the financial world as well.

Yeah. I think the timeline matches up, somehow. If this was back when Sagami-sensei was active, that means it was around 10 years ago, right?

Jin: Yeah. I retired when I was 20-something years old, so that would be right. Huh, I was pretty sceptical of these rumors even back then, but…

Thinking about it now, that otherworldly person might really have existed after all.

Either way, that was the dawn of the idol world. That was where the current idol industry took roots.

It’s like the Genesis in the Bible, when God proclaimed “Let there be light”.

“Let there be idol”, I guess. That person held a love for idols which bordered upon paranoia.

He wanted to raise idols’ social status as much as possible, so the profession would gain influence.

Apparently, he worked hard until the very end to become an existence which was acknowledged and sought-after by the public.

jin+tori

Tori: …That sounds kind of like Eichi-sama.

Jin: N? Did you say something just now, Himemiya?

Tori: Ah, no… that person you’re talking about passed away, right? So it's not like he has anything to do with us active idols nowadays.

Jin: That’s kinda true, but also not really. That person’s influence and assets were apparently divvied up and passed down all over the place… and that’s the foundation today’s industry is built upon.

There were lots of successors who inherited that person’s status as a powerful idol.

There were even rumors going around saying that the true goal behind SS was to find people who could inherit those positions.

It seems he had been looking for someone who could truly inherit his place in the industry ever since he was still active himself.

Well, by now SS has been reduced to some flashy festival that’s only held once a year, though.

Hokuto: Hey. Don’t go saying stuff that’ll dampen my motivation for participating in SS.

Jin: Ahaha. Well, SS is just as much the biggest festival in the idol industry today as it was back then…

Some of the meaning behind it has been lost, but the value of that festival hasn’t gone down at all.

Plus, the amount of fans excited for it has definitely gone way up from when that person was still active. And making our fans happy is what justice is for an idol.

Hokuto: Hm. Well, I guess that’s true.

Jin: Yup. Either way, that person… the original super idol retired and disappeared from official business.

Of course, he stayed in control behind the scenes, exerting way more power than necessary to keep everything under his thumb.

And naturally, there then came a need to find someone who could take the center stage publically in place of that person.

Someone who could become the face of the industry, the first person to come to mind for anyone when they heard the word “idol”.

In other words, they needed someone to become the next super idol.

Which is why, after that person retired from center stage, he kept establishing new super idols throughout the eras, each one replacing the last.

And thanks in part to that person supporting them from behind the scenes, those super idols have shone brightly as the sun of the idol industry through the generations.

This is how idols have been able to keep pleasing the everchanging fanbase all this time.

And those peaceful days kept going for a long time.

Days of a singular super idol rising high above the horizon before setting again kept repeating over and over.

It definitely wasn’t always smooth sailing. Of course, each and every super idol was an extremely talented person, worthy of carrying that title.

However. That original super idol was such an amazing existence, that it seems like no one was able to act as his replacement for very long.

Apparently there were several dangerous periods of time where they would end up changing his replacements several times within the same year.

jin+chiaki

Chiaki: I feel like I’m listening to a history lecture about the Roman Empire or some other ancient dynasty.

Jin: Ah, that comparison is pretty fitting, I think.

A god-like person founds an empire, and his God-given status is then passed down from generation to generation to a new ruler for each era.

Hokuto: The idea of a divine right to rule was created during the late middle ages, however… Well, I understand what you’re trying to say.

Tori: Hmm. If the idol industry is like the Roman Empire, then it’s doomed to crumble one day under the weight of its own bad policies, right?

Jin: Yup. I’d argue that’s actually happening right now, but let’s put a rain check on that discussion for now.

Either way, that’s the history behind today’s idol industry. There were both good times and bad times.

The best example of a good time for the industry would be back during Hidaka’s old man’s era.

Hokuto: …My dad’s?

Jin: Why do you make that disgusted expression every time someone mentions your parents? He’s a pretty awesome person you know, that dad of yours… you should try respecting him some more.

Hokuto: …I do respect him. At least the bare minimum amount.

Jin: Haha. Hidaka-san must really be going through it now that his only son is in his rebellious stage.

Anyways, it’s a known fact that your dad was the top idol in his age.

Hokuto: Yeah. It’s rather troublesome, actually. Even today that shine of his casts a large shadow that I have to try and escape from.

Jin: Ya know, lately you keep saying these weirdly deep things.

Well, whatever. Back during Hidaka’s father’s reign, there were no huge problems in the idol industry.

The industry was developing smoothly, the masses were happy, and everything was shining brightly.

For a while, successive generations of super idols were able to do some pretty impressive things, both big and small. Until a certain person came along.

At the very least, nothing major enough to flip the entire industry on its head went down.

The system that allowed this is something that was created by that original super idol.

But that person kept controlling the industry from behind the scenes, and the eras kept changing too quickly for the new super idols to keep up, no matter how skillful they were.

The world keeps changing from day to day, and even just media technology is developing at a break-neck pace…

Swallowed up by the turbulent waves of the changing eras, even the system created by that genius started showing cracks. The whole thing was standing on its last legs.

And that’s when the incident concerning “that Akehoshi” occurred.

Hokuto: Ah… As I thought, the “certain person” you were referring to was…

Chiaki: “That Akehoshi”, huh.

Tori: Eh, eh? “That Akehoshi”? Who’s that? Akehoshi is that useslessly noisy, annoying guy from Trickstar, right?

Chiaki: …Not that Akehoshi, no, though he is related to this as well. Well, don’t go looking into this too much. It's a thing of the past.

Tori: …?

Jin: Right. Well, at the same time as when that person met his tragic fate, the idol industry was plunged into a dark age.

It was a dark and cold time when nothing worked out okay no matter what you tried. It was as if the world was spitting at the industry and turning away from it. No one in the industry today would want to remember those days.

That’s when the curtains closed for a while on that glorious era inherited by those super idols who shone like supernovas.

The golden age of idols at this point is merely a ghost, something you can only find written about in holy tomes and history books.

And even today, the dark period still isn’t over. It’s been a long while since that incident occurred, and the torch is being passed on from one generation to the next, so people are starting to forget, but…

That system that once supported the entire idol industry has completely crumbled away.

jin