Part 7: The Show

The Show: Linda got a letter in th

So welcome to the beginning of month two. We are now a third done with the game but there’s still a lot of time to change the ultimate outcome. Now on with The Show.



The month is over and Linda is done with her painting. So she just leans it against the wall next to a blank canvas while she works on her newest creation...



Moldy Public Bathroom Wall. It's unique subject matter, at least.



Here we see Tommy’s disused toy car.



And here’s Dan’s thoroughly used running shoes. Speaking of Dan...

DAN




So, as we saw last time, Dan’s relationship with his agent is on thin ice right now. Dan seems to be ducking his calls, too. Dan is really good at dealing with responsibility, I’ve seen.




So it seems like Dan was trying to help his wife get an agent too, but it backfired. He also mentioned basically having a panic attack so Dan is just swimming in shit this chapter.




Jesus Christ. Does Dan even really want to be a novelist? He seems to absolutely hate everything involved in it. Is it even worth it to help him carry on down this career path at this point?



There’s Dan’s workstation with his Ogburn Whiskey and trashcan full of crumbled up papers. Honestly, if he just used a laptop or something he’d save a lot of trees and time, but I’m not going to question his process. I don’t want passive aggressive notes written about me.



So Dan even though is freaking out over his schedule, he still planned a family day. It only took a month of ghostly mind control to make him act like a decent dad.



... gotta be harder, stronger, better ...



Hey, what’s wrong?-Linda
*sigh*-Dan

This game wants to make it crystal clear to you how stressed Dan is. It kind of strives to always make you see who you’re hurting with your decisions.

Also, I attempted that pose Dan’s doing and it's super uncomfortable.



Oh, this is a picture from Dan's concept album. How did this get in here?



So, thanks to compromising with him last time, it seems like Dan’s figured out how to drink responsibly while keeping up with his workload. That, uh, kind of contradicts the rest of the notes in the chapter, though.



So the ultimate decision this time is how Dan spends his time this weekend. He’s pretty far behind on his book so concentrating on that seems reasonable, but let’s hear the rest of the options first.

LINDA




Just like in previous chapters, Linda’s trying to decide if she wants to go back to painting full time. Well, it would help support her family if Dan never finishes his book.




Hell, Linda does not waste any time pussyfooting around. She’s in a gallery and she’s invented a really flowery way to say she drew a bird in a cage. What a multitasker!




I’m not sure why they’re asking the visiting artist to do their marketing for them. Still, this isn’t really an option. She’s just being told to do ads by the gallery she's visiting.




If Linda has a gallery coming up and is about ready to finish a piece, does that mean she’s been painting off screen? I wonder how many watercolors of her failing marriage she’s made.



So she needs to talk about it? Has she organized a gallery showing without telling Dan? Honestly, putting it together so quickly and keeping it a secret is kind of impressive.



What is it, Mommy?-Tommy
I don’t know yet.-Linda

Oh, thank god I’m not the only one.




Because she won the last vote, Dan got in shape and their marriage improved. She really had the most selfless choice last chapter.



And now that selflessness is gone. She wants to get Dan to help her with the marketing of her gallery. Which neither of them should really have to do, but let’s not question that.

TOMMY



Tommy has been drawing his fantasies again. This time he dreams of going the beach with Dan. Which should be super easy because the beach is visible from their kitchen window.

Also Tommy kinda doesn’t want to hang out with his mom at all, I’ve noticed.




Man, Tommy draws a lot of his dreams. When I was his age, I was inventing monsters that looked suspiciously like Digimon.




Ahh, and here’s the conflict. Dan promised to take Tommy to some very vague adventure. And of course Tommy wants to redeem it the same weekend that Dan is going to chain himself to his typewriter and Linda is having an art show. What a coinkydink.



It’s good to see that he’s still friends with Davey, even though he stopped drawing fan art of him.




Aww, even though he lost last time, he still loves Dan and his giant cantaloupe hands.



Right down there…-Dan
Cool! Can we go?-Tommy

Oh, so it seems like Dan actually kind of promised to do this with him, or at least suggested it. Goddamn it, Dan.



So that’s Tommy’s solution. We have our three choices now: Dan’s, locking himself alone with his type writer; Linda’s, having Dan help with marketing her gallery; and Tommy’s, going to the beach with Dan. You know, they could probably work together and do Linda’s and Tommy’s options before the end of the day but communication is a huge issue in this family.