Here's what I want you to do: I want you to imagine that you have a refrigerator.
[[Okay, I have a refrigerator|have fridge]]
[[I can't imagine something like that|no fridge]](set: $fridge to 0)Great! I hope you like your refrigerator.
(display: "fridge description")Look, work with me here.
(display: "fridge description")Either way, there it is. Your refrigerator. It's useful, for <span title="like keeping food cold">refrigerator-type things</span>. And <span title="barricading your door against mountain lions">other things</span>, I guess, but it's not really designed for those, so they won't be in the manual. You'll have to work those out on your own.
Right now, though, the main thing it's doing is making a noise. A buzzing noise, or maybe a rattling noise. Some kind of noise outside the usual noises you expect from a refrigerator. What are you going to do about it?
[[I'm gonna fix it|fix fridge]](if: $fridge > -4)[
[[I'm gonna kick it|kick fridge]] ]
[[I'm gonna let it slide|allow fridge]]Fixing the refrigerator seems like a decent idea. The noise could mean that something is keeping the refrigerator from working as well as it could be. Maybe the temperature is wrong, or it's using more power than usual. Those things all need fixing.
Who's going to fix your refrigerator?
[[I'll fix it myself|self fix]]
[[I'll ask someone else to fix it|other fix]]You're not the kind of person who does things in a complicated way. You're the kind of person who fixes machines by kicking them. So that's exactly what you're going to do.
(display: "multikick")The fridge is making an unusual noise. You know this, because you can hear the noise, and you usually don't hear the noise. You are okay with this situation. Things make noises all the time, and sometimes, those noises change. It's not a problem. And if you later find out that you're wrong, you can worry about it then.
You go back to doing whatever you were doing before.
(display: "the end")Fixing the refrigerator yourself seems like the best plan. You won't have to pay anyone, and besides, if you want a job done right, you should do it yourself.
You do know how to fix a refrigerator, don't you?
[[Of course|self fix confirm]]
[[It can't be that hard|self fix deny]]You're not going to fix that refrigerator. There's a decent chance that you don't know how to fix a refrigerator. Asking a friend or trained professional to fix your refrigerator is a much better plan than poking around in there yourself. You'll have to pay them, of course, but that's a fair trade to get your refrigerator to stop making that awful noise.
[[Call your friend|friend fix]]
[[Call a professional|professional fix]]Wait, seriously? You have a friend that knows how to fix refrigerators?
[[Definitely|friend fix confirm]]
[[UhhhHHH|friend fix deny]]Calling a professional is a good policy when it comes to appliance repair. You look up the names of a few different refrigerator repair services. You find three that all appear to be equally good choices.
[[Call the first one|first pro]]
[[Call the second one|second pro]]
[[Call the third one|third pro]]Sweet deal. (set: $person to "your friend")(set: $payment to "a dinner")
(display: "other fix results")Yeah, I didn't think so.
(display: "professional fix")You call up $person to come over and fix your refrigerator. They do a great job! You pay them with (print: $payment).
(display: "the end")**THE END**(set: $person to "the first repair service")(set: $payment to "some money")(display: "other fix results")(set: $person to "the second repair service")(set: $payment to "cold hard cash")(display: "other fix results")(set: $person to "the third repair service")(set: $payment to "more money than you expected")(display: "other fix results")Oh, right. You learned how to fix a refrigerator yourself for an excellent but unspecified reason. Well, it's time to put that skill to use!
[[Fix the refrigerator|self fix done]]Fixing the refrigerator stops being a good idea at around the same point that you start not knowing how to fix a refrigerator. Which is now. This is a bad idea. You need a new idea.
So, what's your new idea?
[[I'm gonna have someone else fix it|other fix]](if: $fridge > -4)[
[[I'm gonna kick it|kick fridge]] ]
[[I'm gonna let it slide|allow fridge]]Well, it took all day, and you got a little banged up in the process, but you've managed to successfully fix your own refrigerator. Turns out the (either: "compressor","coolant valve","recirculator","temperature monitor","fluid adjudicator","power converter") was (either: "a little rusty","too tight","too loose","misbehaving","worn out"), but it wasn't any trouble for you to deal with. It feels good knowing that you solved your problem with your own knowledge and strength, and it'll be easier to solve this problem if it happens again.
(display: "the end")You kick the refrigerator.
(set: $fridge to $fridge + (either: -1, 1, -2))(if: $fridge > 3)[(display: "kick success")](elseif: $fridge < -3)[(display: "kick failure")](elseif: $fridge < -1)[The noise from the refrigerator sounds even more dire than usual. Maybe you should back off and re-evaluate your options.
(display: "kickactions")](else:)[It's still making that noise.
(display: "kickactions")]Maybe kicking a heavy and expensive appliance over and over in the hope that the more or less random forces you are applying will cause the refrigerator to resume normal operation isn't a great idea. Maybe you want a new idea.
So, what's your new idea?
[[I'm gonna fix it|fix fridge]]
[[I'm gonna let it slide|allow fridge]][[Kick the refrigerator|multikick]]
[[Try something else|stopkick]]Somehow, you did it. Your repeated attacks against the refrigerator have fixed it, or at least made it stop making that noise.
All in a day's work.
(display: "the end")Your relentless assault against your refrigerator has resulted in what is, in hindsight, the most likely outcome: an even more broken refrigerator. No amount of kicking is going to get you out of this one. You need a new idea.
So, what's your new idea?
[[I'm gonna fix it|fix fridge]]
[[I'm gonna let it slide|allow fridge]]