[Souls of Paranoia]Kim's House - Research Time [Week 21]

[Miz]

Spinning in her desk chair, Kim let Sam use her laptop. Both of them sat at the desk in her room. Apparently they were supposed to be looking up stuff to help Daniel reach closure. However the two of them had done little of the sort: they had only watched two videos and shared a few funny pictures.


School had just gotten out and the two of them rushed to Kim's house. Both Vivian and Anthony wouldn't be home yet, so Kim thought it would be a perfect time to hang out with Sam. They had only done this once before but Sam had to leave early. She hoped this time it wouldn't be the case and she pretended to be interested in helping Daniel to keep Sam there.


"So I got a YouBox video for you to watch. It was linked to me on my Stumblr," she said to Sam, reaching over the boy to type on her keyboard. At first Kim was trying to keep Sam distracted but now she was actually distracted by the wonders of the internet.

 

[Pineapple]

After class ended, Sam and Kim rushed off to her home. Vivian was out, and her brother didn't get out till an hour after they did which meant they would have privacy for a little while. They had planned to look around about Daniel's past, maybe try to find his family, however they soon found themselves side tracked. They were watching a bunch of videos and images that Kim had seen that week on her Stumblr. When she mentioned she had another video she quickly opened up YouBox and wrote in a search and clicked on the video.


As the video buffered Sam looked over at Kim and spoke out to her. "You can sit on my lap you know," Sam's attention was drawn once the audio started on the video. It was a short video sketch. Sam missed what was said at the start, but when he looked at the screen there was a man laying down with his mouth wide open as another guy poured cereal and milk directly into his mouth. "What the..." Sam wondered just as the milk and cereal mixture burst outwards splattering his face. Sam laughed slightly, he found it amusing, not incredibly funny. however Daniel grew bored.


"We're suppose to be finding my family. Shouldn't we be out looking?" Daniel complained with a long sigh as he tossed Sams head back over the computer chair. "A computer wont help us."

 

[Miz]

Kim was amused with her choice of video and Sam even gave a chuckle. However Daniel wasn't so impressed, in fact he was just annoyed with Kim's and Sam's video sharing. Kim wanted to roll her eyes at the remark, mainly because getting Daniel upset was kind of her plan all along. Still she remembered what Felix told her about closure and about how Daniel was a bit erratic when it came to his family. So she decided it would be best to settle down and try to please Daniel for at least a little bit. Maybe then she would get some couple time with Sam.


"Actually Daniel," she said. "A computer will help you," Kim moved herself closer to Sam before opening up a new tab on her FlameDog internet browser. "Time to get to work, for real, I guess." Kim gave Sam a light kiss on his cheek. "After this we will do something more fun."


Kim turned her attention to the search browser. Looking up people wasn't too hard, you just had to use the right website and have the right terms. "So Daniel, what's your full name, when did you die, also where did you die?" Kim said trying to see if she could find Daniel's information.

 

[Pineapple]

Kim was the first to intervene once Daniel had spoke up and complained about the computer, quick to explain that the computer likely would help him if they knew some basic information first. "I don't see why that would matter?" Daniel said questioning what Kim was getting at.


"We can search your name and find you, and maybe through that find your wife?" Sam said as he grabbed control of his body and started to type away into the search bar. "I just need to know the year you died and where it was." Sam explained.


"I guess... 1967 at North New Town." Daniel said.

Search:

Daniel Nicolaus Volz 1967 North New Town

After Sam hit enter, the very first returned result was Daniel obituary, scanned from an old newspaper which Sam promptly opened to view. "How did you find this?" Daniel wondered as he too read what was written.

August 1 1946 to November 17 1967, Daniel Nicolaus Volz, beloved husband to Susan Volz died tragically moments after his own wedding. The funeral will be held at the North outlook on November 25, 1967 New North News

 

[Miz]

Daniel was almost shocked when Sam could type in Daniel's information into an internet search and results came up. "How did you find this?" he said as Sam slowly got closer to the screen re-reading the same paragraph of text over and over again.


"Its called the internet," Kim said. "All the computers in the world connect to it, you know?" Kim felt like she was talking to one of her grandparents or something. It was unbelievable to her that Daniel, who has technically been alive for so long didn't know about such a device.


"You aren't that old, Daniel. You should be a bit more informed about these things. I mean even Felix uses this laptop daily," Kim remarked as a taunt to the Soul. It was true, Felix did use the computer regularly. But Felix liked technology, he read sci-fi novels and actually enjoyed what a computer could do. Granted he more read the news on it than anything, but Felix was starting to understand Facefolio more. "Its not that hard to understand: someone at the newspaper must have scanned up at least the obituaries. We can search them and find who died when and such," Kim said explaining the tool to Daniel. "Now the question is, whether your wife is still alive or not?"

 

[Pineapple]

Daniel just grunted at Kim's reply to Daniel's amazement. She didn't seem to have much sympathy for his lack of computer knowledge, reminding him that it was used for a lot of things, and that even Felix knew how to use it. "I didn't know it had anything like this on it." Daniel said as he reread the lines over and over. He never read his own obituary before. It was bland, but it meant he got a funeral, and likely Susan wasn't up for writing it herself, so he couldn't really expect much.


"I only really see this thing looking at those people-book site things as well as videos of cats and... other things." Daniel remarked passively, choosing to be vague about Sam's computer habits. Sam's body however blushed at the remark because of Sam's feelings at the moment. Sam however quickly clicked back to the search ready to enter the next command.


Sam forced a cough out loud before saying something. "Anyway, that Doesn't matter. We will assume she is alive unless we discover otherwise." Sam said as he just quickly typed into the search engine.

Search:

Susan Volz North New Town

As the search results were being typed in and loaded Sam decided to ask about comic-con. "So Felix, are you excited for Comic-Con?"

 

[Miz]

Sam was quick to just do the actual search for Daniel's wife. Though Kim had to wonder if her last name would remain the same. Were they even actually married? Kim remembered Sam or Felix explaining once that Daniel died on his wedding day. Kim wondered if that counted as marriage? Likewise, how long had Daniel been alive? How would Sam or Daniel know whether she had gotten remarried and took another fella's name? She was going to question Sam but Sam seemed to want to talk about Comic-con to Felix.


Kim was a bit irked about the conversation change speaking she was only entertaining this Daniel thing in order to hang out with Sam. So the idea she was going to be butt out of a conversation was frustrating. Kim didn't intervene though, she gave control to Felix as if a passive aggressive gesture.


Sam had badgered Felix about Comic-Con a few times now. It sounded pretty cool to Felix but he also didn't know that much more about it and Kim didn't seem that interested in explaining it. So when asked if he was excited, Felix just said a calm, "Yeah." He knew though that wasn't a good enough answer so he spoke up. "Yeah, I can't wait to see what its all about."


"Also," Kim said jumping in, "Before I forget, I have to go to Jennifer's birthday party on the 21st."

 

[Pineapple]

Just as the page loaded Kim dropped a huge bomb onto Sam, she was going to Jennifer's birthday party on the 21st - the day of comic-con. "What?" Sam exclaimed in shock at the comment. "But comic con is on that day!" Sam almost whined to Kim, however despite all of this, Sams body remained focused on the laptop in front of it, as Daniel was letting Sam mouth off about whatever he wanted.


He was trying his hand at using the computer, he saw Sam use it, so he figured he could. Daniel moved the mouse and watched the cursor react as he tried to position it over the first hyperlink in the search results then clicking on it a few times to try and open it. It took him a couple of extra seconds and he found the mouse awkward to use.


When the page loaded there was a short newspaper scan, it was a wedding notice, for his own wedding. He remembered now, his family had put out an article in the news about the wedding between the two and pre-emptively changed her name. 'Daniel and Susan Volz' written together in unison. "This is no good, just my own wedding. How do I get back from here?" Daniel asked as he started clicking on things, digging himself deeper into the site before he eventually clicked on a popup and it brought him to a site offering free tablets for surveys. "What's going on?" Daniel wondered very confused.


"You're going to cancel with her right? I had plans with Felix already." Sam said over Daniel, more focused on the Comic-Con then whatever it was Daniel was clicking into.

 

[Miz]

There was just a sudden surge of chaos in the vicinity of Kim's boyfriend. Sam was upset about Kim's statement about Jennifer's birthday and Daniel was trying to figure out how the computer worked. The transitions were not fluid and by how they acted, she felt like she was watching two people do something in the exact same spot. This was because Daniel didn't care about Kim's rejection of Comic-Con and Sam didn't care about Daniel's frustration with the computer.


"You're going to cancel with her right? I had plans with Felix already," Sam said upset.


"Yeah, you had plans with Felix," Kim said at first a bit spiteful of Sam's tone. She felt he was being childish but she tried to calm down. "Listen, I am sorry, its my bad but I can't cancel on her. I might be the only one going and Red, well Red didn't necessarily ask me to go. She more just kind of told me where I was going." Kim spoke more apologetically now. "I didn't realize it would be a problem, I was actually going to invite you to the party."


She got quiet for a second and for a little bit she felt bad. She didn't mean to make Sam upset but at the same time, she didn't really care about Comic-Con. Kim was being ignored by Sam when it came to the convention, so she just ignored any details about the thing. "I can try to cancel though," she said scaling back her remarks. "I just made a mistake that's all. But I don't know how easy it will be. Red is... well Red after all."

 

[Pineapple]

Kim was quick to snap at Sam when he asked Kim to cancel on Jennifer. She emphasized that Sam invited Felix, not her. She then went on to explain that it was Red, her soul and a mob boss that told her she was going. However, Kim was willing to try and cancel for Sam. "Alright then," Sam said once Kim had finished talking.


However everything was interrupted when Daniel yelled over all of them. "Shut up with the fucking bickering!" Daniel said as he slammed onto the table. The laptop was flashing with adverts and windows crowded a screen. Sam just started to realize what a mess Daniel had made. "I'm trying to find my wife! The bickering can wait." Daniel said angrily as he tried to calm down.


Sam was on edge suddenly and concerned. "We're done, were done." Sam said internally trying to soothe the man.


"You're a real idiot you know that?" Daniel said inwards to Sam. The boy who cried that his girlfriend was trying to appease a powerful mob boss over her boyfriends pretty interests and feelings, however he knew Sam wouldn't understand that. Daniel wouldn't hlep him either, he could deal with it himself.


Sam however just ignored Daniels comment and closed all of the windows and tabs before starting a fresh session. "Ok, I'll try to find something new..." Sam said as he started to type away with various combinations of Susan, Volz, North New Town, Daniel and anything else he could think of, but he wasn't finding anything.

 

[Miz]

The sudden frustrated outburst by Daniel made Kim lose almost any interest in helping the man inside her boyfriend. The soul was hopeless with technology and extremely impatient. Yet she could feel Felix's calming presence on the situation. She knew what Felix would say on the matter but closure or not, Daniel was somewhat of a problem and like the tabs on her internet browser, a complete mess. "Is this what not getting closure turns you into?" Kim asked.


Felix was silent for a time. It wasn't until Sam started closing tabs on the computer and apologizing that he gave a response. "Every soul, like every person is different. The route to closure affects us all differently," Felix said trying to sound wise. Kim could pick up on his uncertainty though.


"Sounds like an excuse for him being an ass."


Felix didn't necessarily disagree, but he did take control of Kim's body briefly. "Well instead of searching by Volz, why not search by her maiden name. Its possible she kept it or that she got remarried. Stuff like that happens," Felix said trying to sound as close to Kim as he thought possible. He didn't particularly enjoy Daniel's company when he got like this but his frustrated both made Felix sympathetic but nervous around the soul. He was already suspicious of the man enough.

 

[Pineapple]

When Kim asked about searching by her maiden name, it rather upset him. He was about to lash out towards Kim, but Sam was there holding him back. "Just reason for a moment - maybe she did, maybe she didn't. But we wont know if we don't check!" Sam tried to reason with the man, however it hard hard to keep back his anger at the girl.


"I married her, she's my wife!" Daniel exclaimed. "She wouldn't have kept her maiden name!" Daniel finished rather quickly, but instead of raging further he simply grew silent. Sam was hesitant to say anything about it or do anything at first, but Daniel seemed to be calming down slowly. Sam started to type away into the search bar himself but Daniel didn't interrupt him. He wondered if Daniel was still in there.

Search:

Susan Kane North New Town

The first result with a birth record, and suddenly Daniel was back in full force. "Click it. I have to see." Daniel said as Sam moved and clicked onto the hyperlink. It was a short article about the birth of a girl, a "Caroline Volz, born to Susan Kane."


Daniel was amazed by what he was seeing, and as Sam scrolled the page there was a photo of a woman with a baby in her arms. The woman looked very much like Xandra, with the exceptions being that the woman had no freckles, and her hair was cut shoulder length. Sam was sucked, but it also made sense to Sam finally with how Daniel acted towards Xandra at times.


"Felix..." Daniel muttered at he put Sam's hand on the screen. "Felix, I have a daughter."

 

[Miz]

Daniel seemed offended almost by what Felix was offering. Felix immediately became worried that Daniel would lash out towards Kim. An action that he felt would spur the girl away from the upset husband for weeks to come. He however seemed to somewhat calm down or Sam was able to exert control. Regardless, the emotional shifts were starting to make Felix weary. He wasn't use to so many in one conversation. Well he wasn't used to so many when people were just relaxing at home. War was a different matter all together.


Daniel though seemed to become optimist once they found records of his wife. However it wasn't her records, it was in fact his daughter. Daniel was elated the moment he found out he was a father. His expression showed vividly on Sam's face. He grinned and even gave a bit of a chuckle. Kim felt better with Daniel this way. But it was an emotion she couldn't understand. Being a father, being a parent of any kind. She couldn't imagine that kind of feeling or what weight it would have, she wanted to be happy for Daniel about such an accomplishment... Yet she couldn't. She still felt some anger towards the man she wasn't willingly to let go at this time, even for the happy news of a daughter who was perhaps older than her.


Felix though could reach out in some way. He had a body that had been a father (even if the body was estranged), he also had a body that was a mother. So the feeling wasn't that hard for him to understand. He may not have ever experienced the emotion first-hand but he had witnessed it and could empathize. So Felix nodded before making Kim smile. "That's awesome," he said. "You have a daughter... It's a riot, its only a shame you didn't know that earlier" Felix continued with disbelief but he was quick to turn to Sam. "Good job on finding that Sam. Your a live-wire at this kind of stuff."

 

[Pineapple]

Daniel was caught up in the old photo on the screen, and wasn't even listening to whatever Kim was saying, however Sam was listening and he could tell it was Felix by his word usage. Very old time-y. It was one of the ways Sam could tell who was talking in her body. Sam was confused how the mother had her maiden name still, but the daughter had Daniels. what happened between Daniels death and this Caroline's birth? It must not have been a secret that it was Daniels daughter, the name proved that much. Was it to honor Daniel? But why did she keep her maiden name then? Daniel was too worked up in the picture of his daughter to be caught up in the details that made Sam wonder about the situation.


"I wonder..." Daniel muttered, never blinking or diverting his eyes from the photo on the screen. "I wonder where she is now." Daniel had Sam sigh. "I never got to see her crawl, I never saw her get up and walk." Daniel said. "I never saw her on the first day of school. I'll never get to see her giddy about her first boyfriend or see her off to her prom." Sam's eyes began to gloss over with tears as Daniel spoke. "When she's sad or lonely, I was never there, she never knew her father loved her."


"She's the most important person in the world to me. All I wanted was to be there for her, and raise her, and she'll never know that." Daniel finished as he wiped away Sam's eyes with a sniffle. "That's why I'm doing this. so she can know her daddy loves her."


Sam stayed back from control at the moment. He didn't know what to say or how to react, choosing instead to wait it out until Daniel thrust Sam back into control.

 

[Miz]

Daniel continued to get emotional. Tears began to form in Sam's eyes. It was an unusual sight to behold at least for Kim, the idea of Daniel having any emotions beyond just frustration. She knew they had to exist but Kim never believed she would see anything like this. However it was his comments not his face that strung a cord in Kim. Something about a father missing out on his daughter's life, a chance to try and make up for it.


This was different though. Daryl, Kim's father (if she could dare call him that), chose to be gone. He ran away from his family, his responsibilities but more importantly Kim. Daniel on the other hand didn't choose to die. He would have been present in his daughter's life or at least Kim hoped he would if he had survived. Yet there was a part of her, perhaps just a bias against men like Daniel and her father, that made her doubt that was truly the case.


She thought about what to say. She couldn't say what was on her mind. Instead she turned her head downwards. "I am sure your daughter got by without you," Kim said solemnly. She spoke up in such a fashion more speaking about herself, less about Daniel or even his daughter. "Though, I am also sure that she missed you," Kim added in at the end of her comments. More because she felt like it was needed not necessarily because he was true.


Felix caught the vibe and quickly took command. "Yeah, I am certain she was able to accomplish all of that stuff in a jiffy. She is after all, your daughter. An apple doesn't fall far from the tree"

 

[Pineapple]

"Maybe..." It was the only thing Daniel said in response to Felix and Kim's comments. Afterwards Daniel just seemed to shrug internally and tossed Sam into control of his body once more. It left Sam unsure at the moment and he moved the mouse and closed the window. Sam had felt that Daniel had enough for the day.


More then that, when Sam looked over to Kim, she didn't look frustrated or angry. She didn't look happy or cheerful. She looked very sad. Sam knew that Kim used to live with her mother, and that her father was absent for a long time. He didn't know much else, Kim didn't talk about it too much. It was assumed by Sam that maybe what Daniel had said stuck a chord in Kim.


He slowly got up for his seat and went behind Kim and hugged her tightly. "So," Sam started as he nuzzled past the girls wavy hair to find her neck. "What do you want to do now?" Sam asked as he pulled her towards Kim's bed.