What’s your Love Live! story?
My Love Live! story started back in August of 2018. I’m still pretty new as you can see, but I don’t think that makes me less of a fan than the veterans. I’m not a fan of Aqours and I never got to see μ's disband. I never got to feel any bond with μ's and Aqours because by the time I had joined the community, the hype was already long gone. It was a weird time for Love Live fans, as it also felt like Aqours was starting to die down. That’s how I became a fan of the Nijigasaki High School Idol Club. TOKIMEKI Runners’ album preview had been posted on YouTube and I was HOOKED. I didn’t care for any of the girls, but I was in love with the music. One song in particular that I remember liking a lot was... Evergreen. One thing that you should know is that back then, I hated Emma. I didn’t have a reason to, but I just did. I loved making fun of her and calling her “Irrelevant Emma.” That’s why I’m blaming this past year on that song.
Within the next month, TOKIMEKI Runners had become available to purchase and my Nozomi Instagram account had turned into an Emma account. I bought the album and grew to love even the songs I hadn’t cared for earlier, but the song I listened to most was Evergreen.
A few more months went by, but I was starting to feel a bit lonely. I had all of this love for Emma and NijiGaku but I had no one to actually talk to about it. None of my friends in real life cared about it and I was too scared to talk to people. That’s when Emma changed my life: I made a group chat on Instagram. This chat was small, but the few people that were in it felt the same way about NijiGaku as I did. My real life had gotten boring and repetitive because of school and the like, but they made me excited to wake up in the morning. Talking to those people helped me talk to other people. If it weren’t for them, I wouldn’t be on Idol Story right now. Thanks to them, I’m not afraid to reach out to people and bond with them over Love Live.
Since then, my Instagram account has grown. I’ve made some mistakes, but I’ve made so many amazing friends that I talk to today. I’ve even found people in real life who know what NijiGaku is! Emma has also helped me through the worst times of the year, where the sky was always gray and every day was just the same as the day before. She always gave me something to look forward to, whether it be new content or friends to talk to. Emma makes me feel a sense of accomplishment. She feels like the character embodiment of everything I’ve accomplished in the past year, and I wish I could thank her for that.
She really did heal my minus ions.
