Merl, don't let yourself be manipulated so easily. Of course you can multitask.
[Val shakes her head. Really now.
Still, she has to be careful not to overplay her hand, and she lets her genuine annoyance show. No one is gonna believe she's the more-in-sorrow-than-anger type.]
Look, Dipper, it's a simple calculation. Merl and I are intellectual peers. Messing with each other is as near to zero-sum as a game gets in the real world. Effort he devotes to annoying me is effort lost to our long-term goals. I've seen how that plays out with my Dad and Uncle Doom. I'm willing to sacrifice a few candy bars to keep some stupid ego-driven feedback loop from establishing itself and distracting us from what's really important.
[She's well aware this exchange is public and is playing to the adult crowd. It helps that she believes what she's saying enough to convince herself as she lays out the argument. Eyes on the goal, not on stupid boys.]
no subject
[Val shakes her head. Really now.
Still, she has to be careful not to overplay her hand, and she lets her genuine annoyance show. No one is gonna believe she's the more-in-sorrow-than-anger type.]
Look, Dipper, it's a simple calculation. Merl and I are intellectual peers. Messing with each other is as near to zero-sum as a game gets in the real world. Effort he devotes to annoying me is effort lost to our long-term goals. I've seen how that plays out with my Dad and Uncle Doom. I'm willing to sacrifice a few candy bars to keep some stupid ego-driven feedback loop from establishing itself and distracting us from what's really important.
[She's well aware this exchange is public and is playing to the adult crowd. It helps that she believes what she's saying enough to convince herself as she lays out the argument. Eyes on the goal, not on stupid boys.]