probably you should already know this

by problemsloth

Summary:

Sometimes Dirk reminds you of someone else you once knew.

There's something deeply wrong with Dirk Strider.

That's the theme of all your conversations with him; the perennial favorite topic. The two of you have made a game of it. You play the role of psychoanalyst, prying his cracks open with needle-sharp wit, digging around in the viscera of his soul for every weakness you can find. Dirk, for his part, is a challenging, challenge-ing patient. He confesses brazenly to perversions that would make de Sade blush while shielding every vulnerability behind iron curtains of irony.

Warning bells go off in your head sometimes during your sessions with him—the same ones that sound when you take a sip of wine and feel a sudden yearning to drain the glass and make for the bottle next.

Because Dirk reminds you of another scintillating opponent you once had. His veneer of cool confidence; his knack for turning your words back around on you; his habit of weaponizing shocking truths to hide the deeper lies beneath... it all takes you back to that endless April day when you felt young and invincible, convinced you could conquer bad men with nothing more than the incisive light of your cleverness. And you were so, so clever.

But of course, in the end, Ol' Scratch played you like a fiddle, duping you and dropping you, crushing you with the realization that you were no better than any other foolish girl who falls for a charming man's treachery.

It's different this time, though. These days, the tapestry of fortune unfurls before you, exposing every potentiality to the light of your divine gaze. Who could catch a Seer of Light unawares? Why, to do that, someone would need to sink hooks into your heart, tug your foresight astray, peer through your eyes and sidestep your visions.

And so there's no danger from Dirk, no chance that you'll once again let a captivatingly terrible man charm you with boorish witticisms and grotesque mystery; lure you into his covetous depths with the siren song of a problem to be solved. After all, you'd have to be pretty stupid to fall for the same trick twice. And if there's one thing you stake your self-worth on, it's that you're anything but stupid.

So don't look for my strings tightening around your limbs. Ignore the gloved hands dancing you across the stage. You don't need to know.

And Rose: I only want what's best for you. Trust me. Would I ever lie to you?

Notes:

Partially inspired by strilondism's Rosebot lyricstuck, from which I also borrowed the title. Thanks also to the anon who prompted me to consider the parallels between Dirk and Doc Scratch in more depth. There's a lot more to be said on the subject, I'm sure, but I'm glad to at least have said a little.