🧷 The Dropout Files Lexicon

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🧷 The Dropout Files Lexicon

Compiled by L. Wren using scribbled flyers, cassette inserts, DJ rants, and the inside of a torn Static Static bag. Some entries added anonymously in the margins.


“If you’re new here, this probably won’t help. If you’ve been around, you already know half of it by heart.”
— Luna


🎙️ Scene-Specific Terms

Wallshine
A person or thing in the background that somehow steals focus without meaning to. Also used for someone who glows from being near others.
“He’s pure wallshine. Always there, never noticed — but it matters.”

The Spill Test (n.)
If your band can finish a set after the power cuts out mid-chorus, you’ve passed. Flashlights optional. Glory not.

Bench Ghosts (n.)
Whispers from Graveline Park’s carved benches. Song inspiration or mild hallucination? Either way, bring a Sharpie.

Rail Hum (n.)
That low, cursed buzz found on tapes recorded near the tracks. Some call it feedback. Others swear it’s a voice.

The Loop Glow (n.)
The amber haze that floats over Bayfront Loop at night. Tends to show up in lyrics, breakups, and final takes.

Spill Session
A live or semi-live show held at The Spill. Also used for any gig where no one knows the lineup until soundcheck.

VHS Showers (n.)
Rain bouncing off static-lit TVs in Dropout Alley. If you know, you know.

Stacked the Stacks (v.)
Played an unsanctioned show at Whispering Stacks. Often ends in splinters, applause, and ghost rumors.


👕 Style + Subculture

Pallet Punk (n.)
Local fashion meets forklift salvage. Think patched-up overalls, rusted belt buckles, and at least one improvised layer.

Cassette Blackout (n.)
When all your hand-dubbed tapes sell out at the Rail Market before noon. Instant cult status.

Patchplate (n.)
A patched jacket panel, usually cut from denim or canvas, overloaded with local band patches. Can double as armor.


🤐 Cultural In-Jokes

“Don’t eat the chili.”
Rail Market food bus warning. No further explanation. Everyone still tries it.

“Downvent broke the bucket.”
The night Downvent cracked a Draught Bucket tom from sheer volume. Used to describe chaotic sets or broken gear.

“It’s Tirefire certified.”
Played twice in a row on NBR 101.3. DJ Tirefire Tommy doesn’t do favorites. He does vindication.

“Welcome to the End.”
Standard greeting/farewell near Pierless End. Sometimes scrawled on mixtapes or muttered before the first note hits.


📼 Tape Culture & Pirate Lingo

Bootlog
A handwritten log of which shows were recorded, who has copies, and what’s missing. Often inaccurate. Never complete.

Tape Ghosting
When a song from a bootleg shows up distorted on another recording. Sometimes accidental. Sometimes deliberate. Sometimes spiritual.

Deadsceneline
The moment after a scene dies but before anyone admits it. Often confused with reunion season.

Noise Before Sunrise
Can refer to:
(a) The Static Static compilation
(b) The time of night when you’re too tired to stop playing
(c) That thing Derek said once that made everyone sad for 10 minutes

Dropout Achieved
The moment someone gives up something everyone expected them to pursue. Considered a form of graduation in Nayasa Bay.


📝 Voice Memos & Crooked Lyrics

“Grunge never died. It fell asleep behind the sawmill.”
“Tune it wrong. Play it loud.”
“If it’s raining, the gig is real.”
“The Spill doesn’t book — it absorbs.”


[← Back to Lore & Myths] • [→ Next: Bootleg Culture]

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