It's sometime in 2016-2017. I'm an active member of the English Show By Rock!! community, having just discovered mobile rhythm games in a time where I was in and out of jobs and kind of depressed. Someone I didn't really talk to just messaged me out of the blue, talking about how cool the new Aqours single Happy Party Train was and how excited they were for it to come out.

I was....kind of blown away. I listened to the short snippet of HPT (and loved Koi ni Naritai Aquarium so much I tried desperately to look for the full version). I went from not knowing much about it to being like, Huh, Love Live seems kinda cool.

Fast forward a few months later. I'm bored at work, and I see "Ashiteru Banzai - Maki Solo Mix" in my recommended. I say "hey, I already exhausted all my other bored music, why not" and it just Hit me. Pile's voice was crazy...it was like magic. I didn't look for too much music on my own after that--I went to go get School Idol Festival.

Why go straight to SIF and not watch the anime? One, I just really like rhythm games and a few people in the SB69 community seemed to like SIF too. Two, I don't really like watching anime? Or rather, sitting down and watching TV is hard for someone with ADHD symptoms like mine. Even things I've wanted to watch just seemed....hard to sit through. So I got the game!!

I was hooked right away. I remember u's story not being as interesting to me as Aqours' side, but both had cute enough characters. I fell more in love with Pile's voice and Maki's character, and grew to like You--I grew up in California and being an ocean and boat fanatic was something that hit a nostalgia sweet spot for me. I ended up liking more Aqours music than u's, and just played Koi ni Naritai as much as I could before I got tired of it.

Fast forward a bit more. My wife and I move, I come out as nonbinary, and I'm unhappily working fulltime at a job that causes my disability to act up and I'm constantly misgendered. Things are busy and I'm usually p tired. I picked up a few new mobile games (Bang Dream, Cookie Run) and don't play SIF as much. On a whim, I try watching the Love Live anime. But Sunshine first. I like Aqours more, okay??

I actually am able to watch a TV show for once, and I love it. Aqours' story is beautiful, and Chika is inspiring. I wish I could of felt the same magic watching SIP (honestly the washi-washi gave me some Bad Vibes), but Sunshine...really hit me hard.

Seeing Chika follow her dream despite constant struggle and constant failure touched me really hard. It reminded me of my old dreams...to act, perform, and to work my butt off on the stuff I loved too. After a decade of shoving that dream in the closet, I signed up for Casting Call Club. I also started playing SIF again.

While searching around for voicework to do, I noticed a lot of Love Live cover groups. I thought, "Oh hey!! Maybe I could try some of those." I didn't have too much singing experience except being in a few school productions as a kid, but I love to try my best!! I noticed a lot of them were English covers too, and even though I loved what I heard of 9 Mermaids, I wanted to take my own crack at writing singable translations too. How hard could it be?

Over time, I grow. I work harder and harder at acting and land a few roles, I get the courage to talk to an old ex and be friends with him again, and he shows me the world of making Youtube content. I support my wife Rosey more and more, and we both grow out of our shells and start steaming together, and we've never had so much fun in years. And I get more into Love Live.

I don't have the money for merch or cosplay (besides a couple of bootlegs I accidentally buy), but I play the games more and get really sucked into the music. I read the comics, and the short stories. I grow an appreciation for u's, and make a video about how SIF was one of the big reasons I realized how magical they were. I get Rosey to watch the dub of Sunshine with me, and we make in jokes. Whenever I get nervous, I listen to Yuuki wa doko ni; whenever I wanna hype myself up I listen to Wonderful Rush and sing along to the rap breakdowns. I sob at all the emotional beats in Sunshine, the BokuHika live performance, and Riyako joining in Omoiyo live.

Love Live became part of my life when I needed it most, and Aqours story inspired me to chase my own dreams and work hard to get there. The music sticks with me, and the characters are all wonderful and charming. I hope I can be part of this community more, and hope to keep these girls in my heart forever!!!

(And thank You All for the time to hear my story and just Be Around...I love you all!!!)