I swear it's only because Infinite is on an indefinite hiatus right now, but I really did not mean to spiral into Astro as quick and as hard as I did.
Now I don't want to get into why I love them (even though I already have a list on my Listography comparing them to Infinite, because apparently my loyal ass can't love another group without psychoanalyzing the parallels they have to my ult group), but know that I got into them enough to make (?) the subconscious (?) decision to collect photocards and albums (only ones that I like though, I'm not into them like I am with Infinite to the point where I accidentally collected all of their Paradise and Man In Love photocards, even though I don't even have those albums)
It's been about 2 months since I've started stanning all because of that Iconic™ Moonbin Tweet that one of my IRL mutuals who I met at Exo'luxion retweeted. That tweet was posted on June 11th and I remember scrolling through Astro's twitter page just to find that photo, so I might've gotten into them a couple days after. He isn't even my bias at this point but Moonbin's cute ass face was all that I could think about when I decided to go onto YouTube to search for Astro things.
*If you guys know anything about me, it is that I don't take the whole "ult group" thing lightly; I barely even look at other groups since Infinite and no other group can captivate me with their visuals/variety/talents/personalities like Infinite can. When I say that Infinite is my ult and that As*ro might be a contender for that position, I feel like kicking myself for being unloyal smh.
*Update: I went through my tweets and apparently my first Astro related tweet was me RTing a fansite photo of Rocky on June 18th. I'm pretty sure it was a Rocky selca that also made me want to stan but for some reason I can't find it? Maybe it got deleted but whatever.
Less than 2 weeks later on June 30th I impulse bought a signed Astro's Winter Dream Special Album with Rocky's PC from a seller on Facebook. I saw another seller selling Eunwoo's Winter Dream PC and by then his cute visual face and endearing personality had already wormed its way into my heart, making him my bias, also making him the reason I dropped extra money on a photocard that'll just go into a binder.
I've only listened to Astro's music on Spotify, so "Should've Known Better" hit me immediately as That Song; maybe it's because of the R&B vibe or the fact that it's more of a mature concept compared to the Spring Up and Summer Vibes title tracks, but that song really resonated with me.
I am a little disappointed with the smudging and the streakiness of the signatures, but after posting in some Facebook groups, apparently it's a very common occurrence with Mwave signed albums. The quality of the signatures makes sense given that the idols probably have to sign upwards of 300 albums in one quick sitting. I was also told that the albums are then stacked on top of each other immediately after signing, meaning that the ink doesn't have time to dry. It is partially my fault for not asking for closer photos of the signatures.
I've bought other things since then but since they haven't arrived, I won't be talking about them.
On July 20th, I decided to buy Eunwoo's Dream Pt. 1 Day Photocard. Since I refuse to listen to an album if I've pre-ordered it, I still haven't even heard Dream Pt. 1 in its entirety even though the era is over. Thank god for album teasers right? I ordered the Mwave signed version through a Group Order, and as of August 7th, the GOM is sorting through the photocards for everyone's picks. I don't even remember who I put 2nd and 3rd in my priority since my bias list is always changing (after Eunwoo of course).
But @pocketjinwoo on Twitter was selling the Day version of the photocards and I had ordered the signed Night version. The two versions of the album have 2 different sets of photocards too. It's a little odd to be receiving a photocard before an album, but you can either call me an opportunist or an impulsive shopper to be quite honest.
Since the transaction was international, the photocard just got to me today, August 7th, even though it was shipped over 3 weeks ago. I'm not going to lie but my time as a GOM has made me increasingly paranoid of scammers and of people who just run away with your money, so imagine my relief when finally after 3 weeks of waiting I've received the card.
@pocketjinwoo is very kind! In addition to receiving the card that I wanted, she also threw in 2 freebies, Astro's postcards from their Autumn Story album (which I am actually in the process of comparing prices before I buy LMAO.
I'm still unsure of whether I should go for:
A) a second hand album and get 1 Eunwoo and 1 Moonbin PC for $17 shipped from a seller on Facebook or
B) a brand new album with 2 random PCs, 1 random ID, the pre-order posters, and the 1 regular poster for $24.60 shipped from Kpoptown. I honestly just really want the pre-order posters but even though I love all of the Astro boys, I'd still rather get my biases PCs since it makes it easier on me if I'm trying to collect.
Might I just say that Eunwoo is honestly so cute. I don't think that the photocard really suits the theme of Dream Pt. 01 but he still looks so so so cute. He really does look like a mix of Shin Hyesung (Shinhwa) and JB (Got7) which sometimes still throws me off, even if I do look at his face a good portion of the day. I can't get over how soft Eunwoo looks, like there's Myungjun soft and then there's Eunwoo soft and I'm really not sure what to do with myself tbh.
*Looking at these photocards (and EXO's and BTS's) made me wish that Infinite's photocards would be like selcas instead of photos taken quite obviously with a photoshoot and a theme in mind. There's just something so personal about official photocards looking like candid selcas that you could keep in your wallet (and I do keep one of Woohyun's polaroids in my wallet to be quite honest).
It was honestly the most pleasant surprise to receive official freebies from someone too. When I first opened the letter, (while it was soaked from being in the rain and my mailbox must've caught some of the water when it was opened by the mailman) the first thing I saw were the two postcards in plastic wrap. I got really confused because I hadn't ordered anything Autumn Story related yet so I was honestly just... confused. But after opening the plastic wrap, the photocard fell to the ground LOL and then I realized it was the right purchase.
Maybe it's because I've never had too many official goods and I usually only buy second hand Infinite fansite goods from people, but most people just include fanmade stickers/photocards/etc instead of actual official postcards which have some resale value.
Overall, the entire transaction was pleasant! My paranoia that maybe the stamped letter had gotten lost might've been mitigated if I had gone for tracked mail, but we all know how expensive international tracked mail can be.
Now I don't want to get into why I love them (even though I already have a list on my Listography comparing them to Infinite, because apparently my loyal ass can't love another group without psychoanalyzing the parallels they have to my ult group), but know that I got into them enough to make (?) the subconscious (?) decision to collect photocards and albums (only ones that I like though, I'm not into them like I am with Infinite to the point where I accidentally collected all of their Paradise and Man In Love photocards, even though I don't even have those albums)
It's been about 2 months since I've started stanning all because of that Iconic™ Moonbin Tweet that one of my IRL mutuals who I met at Exo'luxion retweeted. That tweet was posted on June 11th and I remember scrolling through Astro's twitter page just to find that photo, so I might've gotten into them a couple days after. He isn't even my bias at this point but Moonbin's cute ass face was all that I could think about when I decided to go onto YouTube to search for Astro things.
*If you guys know anything about me, it is that I don't take the whole "ult group" thing lightly; I barely even look at other groups since Infinite and no other group can captivate me with their visuals/variety/talents/personalities like Infinite can. When I say that Infinite is my ult and that As*ro might be a contender for that position, I feel like kicking myself for being unloyal smh.
*Update: I went through my tweets and apparently my first Astro related tweet was me RTing a fansite photo of Rocky on June 18th. I'm pretty sure it was a Rocky selca that also made me want to stan but for some reason I can't find it? Maybe it got deleted but whatever.
Less than 2 weeks later on June 30th I impulse bought a signed Astro's Winter Dream Special Album with Rocky's PC from a seller on Facebook. I saw another seller selling Eunwoo's Winter Dream PC and by then his cute visual face and endearing personality had already wormed its way into my heart, making him my bias, also making him the reason I dropped extra money on a photocard that'll just go into a binder.
I've only listened to Astro's music on Spotify, so "Should've Known Better" hit me immediately as That Song; maybe it's because of the R&B vibe or the fact that it's more of a mature concept compared to the Spring Up and Summer Vibes title tracks, but that song really resonated with me.
I am a little disappointed with the smudging and the streakiness of the signatures, but after posting in some Facebook groups, apparently it's a very common occurrence with Mwave signed albums. The quality of the signatures makes sense given that the idols probably have to sign upwards of 300 albums in one quick sitting. I was also told that the albums are then stacked on top of each other immediately after signing, meaning that the ink doesn't have time to dry. It is partially my fault for not asking for closer photos of the signatures.
I've bought other things since then but since they haven't arrived, I won't be talking about them.
On July 20th, I decided to buy Eunwoo's Dream Pt. 1 Day Photocard. Since I refuse to listen to an album if I've pre-ordered it, I still haven't even heard Dream Pt. 1 in its entirety even though the era is over. Thank god for album teasers right? I ordered the Mwave signed version through a Group Order, and as of August 7th, the GOM is sorting through the photocards for everyone's picks. I don't even remember who I put 2nd and 3rd in my priority since my bias list is always changing (after Eunwoo of course).
But @pocketjinwoo on Twitter was selling the Day version of the photocards and I had ordered the signed Night version. The two versions of the album have 2 different sets of photocards too. It's a little odd to be receiving a photocard before an album, but you can either call me an opportunist or an impulsive shopper to be quite honest.
Since the transaction was international, the photocard just got to me today, August 7th, even though it was shipped over 3 weeks ago. I'm not going to lie but my time as a GOM has made me increasingly paranoid of scammers and of people who just run away with your money, so imagine my relief when finally after 3 weeks of waiting I've received the card.
@pocketjinwoo is very kind! In addition to receiving the card that I wanted, she also threw in 2 freebies, Astro's postcards from their Autumn Story album (which I am actually in the process of comparing prices before I buy LMAO.
I'm still unsure of whether I should go for:
A) a second hand album and get 1 Eunwoo and 1 Moonbin PC for $17 shipped from a seller on Facebook or
B) a brand new album with 2 random PCs, 1 random ID, the pre-order posters, and the 1 regular poster for $24.60 shipped from Kpoptown. I honestly just really want the pre-order posters but even though I love all of the Astro boys, I'd still rather get my biases PCs since it makes it easier on me if I'm trying to collect.
Might I just say that Eunwoo is honestly so cute. I don't think that the photocard really suits the theme of Dream Pt. 01 but he still looks so so so cute. He really does look like a mix of Shin Hyesung (Shinhwa) and JB (Got7) which sometimes still throws me off, even if I do look at his face a good portion of the day. I can't get over how soft Eunwoo looks, like there's Myungjun soft and then there's Eunwoo soft and I'm really not sure what to do with myself tbh.
*Looking at these photocards (and EXO's and BTS's) made me wish that Infinite's photocards would be like selcas instead of photos taken quite obviously with a photoshoot and a theme in mind. There's just something so personal about official photocards looking like candid selcas that you could keep in your wallet (and I do keep one of Woohyun's polaroids in my wallet to be quite honest).
Maybe it's because I've never had too many official goods and I usually only buy second hand Infinite fansite goods from people, but most people just include fanmade stickers/photocards/etc instead of actual official postcards which have some resale value.
Overall, the entire transaction was pleasant! My paranoia that maybe the stamped letter had gotten lost might've been mitigated if I had gone for tracked mail, but we all know how expensive international tracked mail can be.
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