Kiss the Ghoul

Welcome to Paranormal Singles: a dating app for those interested in paranormal activities to come together on romantic encounters! You're an average single young adult, using this app in hopes of finding someone you can relate to, someone who can really appreciate you. You scroll through a couple profiles before finding someone that catches your interest. [[Kimmy]] [[Braiden]]

Kimmy Age: 24 Interests: Tarot, crystal healing You contact Kimmy, and go on a date at a local cafe. You order your drinks and sit at a small table opposite each other. You notice she wears a pink crystal around her neck on a necklace, and it dangles slightly when she brings her drink to her mouth. She seems nervous, and hasn't said much more than polite greetings yet. [[Ask about her crystal]]

Braiden Age: 22 Interests: ghost hunting, film This guy seems really into ghost hunting with his friends, and his profile says he has a “Boo-tube” series of their adventures! You follow the link and watch a few of his videos, which mostly consist of alot of heavy breathing, bad lighting, and jerky camera movements. His last upload is from a few months ago, and an update in the comments states he hasn’t been able to record due to some bad [[insomnia]].

She puts her drink down and seems to perk up. She tells you it's a rose quartz crystal, and it's supposed to be good at healing heartache and attracting love. She hesitantly explains that she just got out of a bad relationship, and doing Tarot readings and learning about these crystals have really helped her cope, and gave her the courage to try to find love again. She says all this without meeting your eyes, but finally she offers a smile and sips her drink again, at least looking more relaxed now. You pass about an hour chatting, and move from the table to sitting beside each other on a soft leather sofa. She suddenly apologizes and asks if you're bored. [[You're having a great time, ask for a Tarot reading->Ask for a Tarot reading]] [[You're kind of bored->Bored]]

She gets her cards from her purse, which she keeps neatly in a cute tin case. She shimmies a bit closer to you, and sets up a three card spread on her lap, leaning slightly you so you can see. Your knee touches hers when she finally flips the cards and reveal your [[future]]

You get THE LOVERS, JUSTICE, and THE DEVIL She summarizes what it all means, saying it's a very powerful combination of cards to appear in a reading. She gives an overview of what each card means, but you're curious about one card in particular, and you think it's time for the mood to change a bit. You ask about [[THE LOVERS]]

She blushes a bit says she usually likes to interpet this card as showing personal growth through the relationships you can make. You nod, and take her words to heart. You think about 'personal growth' and what kind you may get from her, what she may have gotten from her last relationship. You hope you can help her as you lean in, preparing for a deep [[kiss]]

She seems to stiffen up a bit, and you pull back. You ask if she's okay. She apologizes, twice, and says she's just really nervous. You tell her it's okay, and you apologize for moving too fast. But you need to kiss her. For her [[own good]].

Congratulations! You've just excorsized a demon from a Paranormal Singles user. The app user's profile will be evaluated and stored, and your experience will be cataloged and shared with the OTHER admins of your Paranormal Singles app! You were born with a unique talent, the power to exorcise demons by kissing! You've tasked yourself with a divine purpose in life: to rid the world of EVIL, one kiss at a time! You've managed to find a rare few individuals with exorcising abilities, and brought them together to develop "Paranormal Singles", a data app which serves as a tool for you to find possessed people! Demons tend to be attracted to those with interest in the paranormal, so this app is a handy way for you to save people! How about going on another date? [[Braiden]] [[Kimmy]] [[I already went on dates with both of them->Juan]]

You and Braiden end up at a bookstore together. You hang out in the paranormal fiction section, and he complains about every other young adult book he sees that “they totally have the wrong idea, that’s not how ghosts are in real life!”. He claims he could write a way better book, if he weren’t so busy with being a paranormal investigator and running a successful Boo-tube channel, maybe you’ve heard of it? He gives you a [[business card]].

You can see this guy is trying really hard to be noticed. [[Tell him hes being annoying]] [[Ask about something personal]]

Through the kiss, the hidden figure haunting her is revealed. Her eyes aren't simply bloodshot, they have changed from humanoid to demon-oid. The demon possessing her growls angrily, and you're glad no one else can see or hear it or someone would surely freak out. You hold the girl by the hands tightly. How will you handle this? [[Fight]] [[Flee]] [[Kiss it again]]

You find a profile on the app you almost missed! Juan Age: 21 Interests: Dogs, reading His profile doesn’t say much about his paranormal hobbies, just a quote saying his "future’s so bright, he's gotta wear shades". You figure he wound up on this app on a whim, and has no actual interest in paranormal stuff. Nevertheless, he’s obviously possessed, as his profile pic of he and what you guess is his dog (both wearing sunglasses) has a dark aura in it. [[Contact him]]

You meet at the dog park, and he brings the dog from his profile (this time with no sunglasses.) You learn he is actually legally blind, hence the sunglasses, and his dog is a service dog. You're feeling a bit drained from the last two dates this week, and your heart isn't really in this one. You're just honestly pretty tired emotionally. Juan seems to notice. He asks if you're feeling okay. You assure him it's nothing, but he doesn't seem convinced. He says you're being quiet, and asks if you wanna talk about anything, because he's a really good listener. You really shouldn't. It wouldn't do any good. You say not really. He says you don't have to talk if you don't wanna, and says you can just relax and listen something. He gives you one of his earbuds, and puts one in his own ear to listen to music together on his mp3 player. He even lets you pet his service dog, and the animal is soft and warm and you can tell he's a very good boy. You're glad he and Juan have each other. You're envious of this dog, and you're sorry this date is all a [[sham]]

You don't have it in yourself to kiss Juan on that date after all, and you and he go your seperate ways after the date, but he texts you the next day saying that "Miles really seemed to trust you yesterday, would you like to hang out again soon? :)" You figure, what the heck, and agree that would be nice. You meet up with him again over the weekend, and he thanks you for your help with his dog. You say [[what do you mean?]]

As you sit together, he eventually says that ever since he lost my sight when he was a kid, he could always kind of see a little bit. In real life, he's only been able to see paranormal entities, weird stuff that wasn't quite human. It always used to scare him. He'd always be afraid I'd see someone or something, and they'd be dangerous. [[But..."]]

He lifts up his dark glasses and looks directly at you, locking onto your [[eyes]]

"You don't scare me at all.'' TRUE END

When your lips touch the labrador's soft golden fur, it gives out a whine and the familiar black vapor starts being released from it, dissapearing into the air. You're really surprised, you didn't realize animals could be possessed! Juan has a funny expression that you can't read, and gives the dog a pat. That was strange. You exorcised a dog! Who knew it was even [[possible?]]

You take her hand instead, and gently press it to your lips. She stares for a second at your chivalrous action, and you notice that, like her cheeks, her eyes have become [[bright red]]

Your lips meet his, body pressing close together. Your eyes are closed when the growling begins, a low, dark sound vibrating in his chest. You open your eyes and see his appearance has changed, just as you expected. His eyes have turned blood red, his teeth grow sharper, and a dark aura surrounds him, revealing the true form of the demon which posseses this young man. He hisses, and you're pressed against the bookshelf behind you. How should you handle this turn of event? [[Fight]] [[Flee]] [[Kiss him again]]

You try to match this monster in a test of physical strength! Unfornutately for you, your soft fleshy body is no match for this manifestation of malevolence, and it easily knocks you out. Too bad! You thought the date was going well. [[Play again?->Start]]

You are way too intimidated by this beastly image, and high tail it out of there, essentially abandoning your date to this evil spirit. You feel really bad about it, since no human can survive long being possessed by a demon. Maybe next time you'll make a more rightious decision. [[Play again?->Start]]

The monster in the girl's body thrashes a bit, but in vain, as your power is too strong. A black vapor rises from her body and dissapears , as she goes limp in your arms, exhausted. She blinks for a bit, confused, saying she feels really tired, but that she had a great time and would love to see you again. She gives you a kiss this time, on the cheek,and heads home. You knew you could help her! You sigh in satisfaction, mission accomplished, and consult your app. [[CONGRATULATIONS]]

You use the power you were born with, mutter a quick incantation, and kiss the monster/boy right on the lips, causing the demon to be exorcised in a violent display as it struggles for power. Ultimately, a black vapor is released from the human's mouth, and rises up to the ceiling, dissapearing. Braiden seems super disorientated, and says he's sorry but you'll have to cut the date short, he's feeling exhausted all of a sudden. You say no problem and give him a fist bump goodbye. He texts you the next day stating he’s had his first good night’s sleep in weeks! He can’t wait for his next adventure to show his followers, and promises to give you a shoutout. You aren’t surprised when he doesn’t, but thankfully from watching his new video, he seems to have gotten a tripod, making his video quality a lot better. His series actually seems decent, so you give him a follow on Boo-Tube. You mostly notice that he looks alot healthier since your date, and see he actually does have good charisma on camera. You hope he'll be appreciated someday. [[CONGRATULATIONS]]

You've been on so many "dates". You never tell anyone about how coercing people into kissing them to save them from demons is harder than it sounds. While seeminglsy so cute as a concept, faking intimate gestures and feelings for people for a life or death situation is really taking it's toll on you mentally. You can't remember the last time you gave someone a true kiss because you liked them. You wonder, not for the first time, if your gift is just a curse. If making this app is even helping when so many people are being possessed left and right. You wonder when this became such a chore for you, and if you'll ever be in a relationship and kiss out of love rather than desperation. You wonder if you even want to. [[You are so tired->evil]]

You learn he had a prediction of your arrival, and knew that you would be able to save his dog from something that was hurting him lately. He reveals he’s had a tendency to have prophetic visions that come true all his life. His goal is to help people and as much as he can with his gift. He says he can tell you're the same way. He was able to see you when you helped Miles. He knows you have some kind of magical app, thinks anybody who would go so far to help others has gotta be a good person. You feel very warm inside. Even with the other exorcists you work with on the app, all who have different abilities than you, you've never made a true connection with another psychic individual. He says he's glad his vision came true, and maybe if it's okay, you could hang out more, and be friends? He's blushing as he says it, and you notice he has dimples in his cheeks. You didn't know you found that charming. You say you'd love to be friends. You've never had one before. You’re surprised this guy is actually legit, in both ability and in his emotions, and have found a kindred spirit through the power of [[dating apps]].

Eventually you stop thinking at all and just enjoy the feeling of Miles' velvety ears in your fingers, and listen to his happy panting. You're glad Juan is patient, and doesn't mind the silence, and you start to feel better as you pet his dog. You end up feeling more relaxed than you have in awhile. You take Juan's hand and just hold it, then you reach down and give Miles a little peck on the head. Such a [[good boy.]]

You tell her you're feeling a bit stiff from sitting and talking for so long, and to be honest you aren't very good at talking. This date has mostly been her talking about her interests and you muttering affirmatives and negatives and trying not to actually look bored. But she does seem to talk a lot once she starts to get comfortable, and you tell her she's just throwing alot at you all at once, and you don't get out much. That's a lie, you tell yourself, you've probably been out too much, but she doesn't need to know that. She deflates a little bit, and doesn't talk much after that. You're on edge, and impatient, and you want to do what you came to do, so you take the initiative and try to [[get a kiss]]

You tell him you really don't like people who brag too much, and he's kind of giving you a headache from talking to fast and too loud, and you remind him you guys are in a library. He tells you sorry for existing I guess, and that he could be just as great as these proffessionals who write books and make movies and how nobody ever gives him a chance to prove himself, and if they did they'd realize-- You tell him to shut up and just [[kiss him->kissbraidenBADEND]]

You ask him how he got into ghost hunting. He looks like he's gonna tell a joke, but fails. He tells you noone really payed attention to him when he was growing up, since he had two older brothers who were good at their own things. He just wanted someone to talk to, someone to listen to him. A prospective captive audience of dead people who'd love to have anyone to talk to had an amazing appeal to a kid who's parents sometimes forgot to get him breakfast. So he started with a ouija board in his bedroom when he was 8, and it was scary, but it thrilled him like nothing ever had before. He felt like he was special for the first time. He felt valid, and liked, and he never wanted to lose that feeling, so he started a new goal to gain the attention of millions of people on the internet, and learned everything he could about ghosthunting and started up a Boo-tube channel with his friends and an amatuer video camera he got a Radio Shack. You tell him he doesn't have to try so hard to impress you with his knowledge of ghosts and stuff like that, because you already like him. He says it's really nice to have someone like you to talk to. You say no problem, and lead him behind a bookshelf, hidden in the children's section. A safe place. His lips are dry and warm when you summon your will and [[kiss him->kissbraiden]]

He pulls away from you, and tells you he thought you'd be different, and that maybe he should just go home, cus he's gonna be pretty busy tomorow. You falter, not expecting him to walk away and leave the library. You are [[honestly upset]]

A few weeks pass, and you check his profile, and see nothing has been updated since your date. You assume the worst, and the demon that was possessing his body must have been too much for him, and he's probably dead by now. If only you could have kissed him, he'd still be alive. You mourn him awhile, like you mourn every failed date, every failure to make use of your powers. Maybe you'll do better on your next date. There's always a next date, for you. BAD END- BRAIDEN

She recoils and ask what are you doing? She says this isn't going the way she hoped, and she doesn't feel too well anyway, so she's going to just go home. She leaves a tip on the counter for the drinks, and leaves the cafe, and you. You sit there, [[actually really upset]]

You've failed this date. You check her profile a few weeks later, and see there's been no updates or log-ins from her. You assume the worst, and are filled with guilt. The demon possessing her must have gotten the better of her by now, and no crystal or tarot card alone would have been enough to save her. If only you could have kissed her, she would still be alive. You mourn her, like you mourn every failed date. Maybe you'll do better next time. BAD END- KIMMY