I hope I’m not too late (＞＜)

My love live story is nothing special but here we go. It started in the July of 2014; I was browsing an anime forum on a whim, when I came across a topic about the game Love Live! School Idol Festival. I took a look at it, and since I was looking for more mobile games anyway, I downloaded it. I had heard of Love Live when the anime aired; I didn’t watch it because I thought it would be your typical moe blob show, something that I don’t think I would have enjoyed at that time. Because of that, I didn’t really think I’d enjoy the game. I was wrong; Love Live became a very big part of my life. I played it almost daily, to the point where playing it became somewhat integrated into my daily schedule. I watched the anime a couple months later and to my surprise, I really enjoyed it! I think that was when I really started liking the series and began playing the game more often. When Muse decided that they were going to take a hiatus, that was when I realised truly how much this franchise meant to me. I was really going to miss them; at that point, they had been an important part of my life for almost two years. I graduated high school a few months after Muse’s final live, so for me, it felt like they were graduating with me; that we were each going to start a new journey.

I never really felt that attached to Aqours as I did to Muse at the beginning; I think part of that was because I didn’t have a best girl that was really attached to like in Muse (Kotori is my best Muse girl, but I love all the girls to bits), and because a lot of people were still sad about Muse. During and after watching the anime, I was pretty indecisive about who my best Aqours girl was, because they were all just so GOOD. It switched around a lot, but eventually Chika became my best girl. However, it wasn’t a while later that I realised how much Chika meant to me.

I think most people who know me well know that I love Chika a LOT (or well maybe my nesos because I show them a lot of affection and no one knows their names LOL). She has very much changed my life for the better; a lot of her struggles have taught me how to overcome my own, things that would still be binding me down if not for her.

I’ve generally not been mentally well for the past couple of years, and I’ve only gotten the help I needed recently, so I think, in a sense that Chika saves my life; I really owe her a lot! Her smile always encourages me, and she really is my shining light.

Through Chika, I came to love Aqours a lot more. It’s not that I didn’t love them anyway; I really did! I loved all their songs and I loved all the characters. But I think seeing how much Chika treasures Aqours, her radiance, made me love them a lot more too; every single member has something about them that just...shines.

One of the best days of my life was when I went to Aqours 5th live earlier this year; I honestly thought it was something that would never, ever happen in my wildest dreams, but it really was a dream come true; and it’s honestly still unbelievable. Being able to see Aqours in person (I was quite close to the front) was honestly such a treat, and it still feels so weird thinking about how that actually HAPPENED. That was probably one of the first times I had been in a place with so many love livers; people who also loved this series, and Aqours, just as much as I did. The rainbow is something that’s permanently burned into my memory; turning around and seeing a rainbow made out of penlights with so many people, whose hearts were united in our love for Aqours, is something that I’ll never forget.

Without a doubt, my life would not be the same without Love Live; it was the first time I’d ever felt so attached to a group of characters, and without it I probably wouldn’t be into any of the other mobage I play. And it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that I might not even be here if it wasn’t for Chika and this series! It really does mean a lot to me.