We the Little Bitch Slayers.

Now that the scene is set, let's talk strategy.
This entry is a little scattered, but trust me we've got a lot to talk about on this series lolol.
Get in, loser!

As I write those words, I am sitting in my apartment (who needs a good deep clean), waiting for my friend to finish her 9 to 5 so we can have our bi-daily 4h marketing call.

Well, it's more of a marketing/bitching/shitposting-but-orally/hyperfocusing girlies call. It's fun. And exhausting. And it makes you see God sometimes. Or the fabric of the Universe. Dealer's choice.

But today we can't really do all that, for today is a special day.

After a wait of over 2 years, within which took occurence 3 career changes, 4 breakups, 2 apartment moves and 1 full-on pregnancy, we are finally uploading our app.

Here is a little backstory.

In 2016, my friends (whom I only met a few years later) started an app called Kpop & Love stories. Yes. Your read right. Also, I lied. The very first name of this app was another one, but you are not ready for this level of cringe yet lolol.

And it worked really well! Until Covid hit and it messed up the personal alchemy in the group (more on that later, maybe). It affected the minds all cloistered in apartments, it threw all our plans out of the window. But the time for building everything back up had finally come.
That's when I met my friend, that we're gonna call A.L. We worked at the airport together, and were the essence of so many shenanigans that I might share once the prescription period will have ended ^^
(Spoiler: they had to change the security bylaws because of us).

*clears throat *

Anyways we met in 2019 and she tells me about this app, where they write original & interactive stories, only the characters are Korean idols. And they needed a horror writer.

I got immediately involved, and this was years before t/horror.

We sat down and I gave birth to a story called Holistic Corp.
It takes place in a fictional world very close to ours, only there are demons and otherwordly entities harming innocent people. Fortunately, some individuals are born with a gift: they can either hear, talk to, see or fight those entities. After running a few tests (story choices), you discover your gift and go on missions in the country, protecting the population against several types of menaces. But of course, nothing is ever that easy...

If I remember well, there has to be around 4 storylines with each at least 3 different endings! And that is without counting the "main" story, which is longer and is meant to tell another journey, uncovering the truth behind Holistic Corp itself! All created by your beloved nerd :)

So, why am I telling you this, exactly?

Because today, if everything goes according to the plan (which changed about a thousand times already), today we release the 2-year-pending update. With dozens and dozens of new stories, literally hundreds of different endings, new design and branding. Everything changes today. Or maybe tomorrow. TBD.

Also (and my friends don't know this exactly), this k-pop-story-whatever journey has pulled me out of my darkest times. Because there were days, where everything fell apart, where I got scammed, where my ex broke up, where everything went to shit, and we'd still have that marketing call. Well- not without our 2/3h bitching-sipping-tea session. First we bitch, then we market.
For over two years, we did not see the end of the tunnel. And when we finally saw it, it still was not within our reach.

It was so frustrating. There was even days, where my mind would start spiralling out of control and I'd find myself thinking that none of this was real. That the app never existed, that my friends were not in fact, my friends, that it was all for nothing, yet again a failure. That I'd eventually give in, go back to the 9 to 5 and start digging my own grave. Because a life without meaning is not meant to live. because the 9 to 5 was, for me, the first grave-shovel I'd ever hold in my hands. or maybe it was already back at the university. Who knows, really.

As it turns out, all those fake-dragons were, in fact, just that: fake-dragons. Smoke. The app were there, my friends did not abandon me, I was still capable and there was still a future for me. Good friends make fake-dragons disappear.
And the process was, at the same time, worse than we'd hoped for and yet better than we'd fear.
I find that to be true for many such situations.

On other notes, I have not stepped outside today but I kept busier than usual so I'd take that as a win. Physical exercise will be integrated slowly into the Arc in order to prevent myself from pushing weights for like a week everyday, then stop all together. You know what I mean.

My next horror piece is also, I'd say, 70% done so i have to work on it for the next few days and Friends Who Write S3! I work alongside my dear & beloved teammates, if you want to try reading some horror pieces I invite you to check them out! By the way, we'd love your support in the Horror Territory (we have cookies <3).

And yeah! That's where I am at for this 2nd day of the Winter Arc. Feel free to take part in the challenge as well, there are lots of ressources available all over the web. This is the essence of the Winter Arc: you get in hoping to slay your dragon, only to turn around and discover a whole village behind you.

No matter the weather
We stand strong together
And if your torch is out
Your neighbor will light it bright.

We're in this together,
We the Little Bitch Slayers.

Love,
Sheeban.

21:12 update: THE APP IS LIVE.