Dirk makes such a face at Steven it's almost out of the bounds of his rigid characterisation; in an ideal universe, Steven might remember the symbolic and minimal way Homestuck's characters are traditionally rendered. Of course, this is far from the ideal universe. So there's a very good chance the weird face Dirk is making at him looks better suited to a situation in which Steven had jammed a live sea cucumber in Dirk's mouth.

Then again, maybe that's just the way Dirk feels about Steven's conscious assumption that he and Connie will exchange words ever again. Or that Connie will ever credit Dirk for anything but a scoundrel and a creep.

"I don't think that's going to matter," he deadpans even as his voice ices over.

"But I ain't told no one yet. It's not what I do."