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actually lady stoneheart is azor ahai bc her eyes r as red as the comet and her name is stone and shes salty and robb is clearly her nissa nissa and oathkeeper is her lightbringer. get woke

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My artistic rendition of what Alicent Hightower looks like in every episode of HOTD

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Hello! I really enjoy reading your Dex headcanons so I thought I’d ask for some more😁

Do you have any ideas about Dex’s time in the fbi? (Work habits, dynamics with coworkers, why he became a fed, his experience at quantico, etc?)

hello. thank you so much, i’m really glad you enjoy my headcanons. i definitely have thoughts about dex’s time in the fbi, probably too many honestly. here’s a bunch of them!

after leaving the army, dex didn’t have much of a plan. he’d spent years following orders in the military and felt completely untethered once he returned to civilian life. after a year at the suicide hotline, which overwhelmed him emotionally, dex’s military record likely drew the attention of federal recruiters. his sharpshooting scores, precision, and discipline marked him as ideal swat or tactical material. the offer to join the fbi was probably framed to him as an opportunity to serve again, to belong to something structured. that mattered to him. dex didn’t join because he believed in justice, he joined because he needed someone to tell him what to do next.

dex entered quantico in his early twenties, maybe 23 or 24. he lived in the dorms in virginia like other trainees, though he kept to himself. he wasn’t the type to bond over late-night studying or grab drinks after drills. dex stuck to rigid routines. running at the same time every morning, eating the same food, meticulously maintaining his gear. in his downtime, he’d watch the other trainees from the edges of common spaces, not out of malice, but confusion. he didn’t know how to join in. social dynamics were a puzzle he couldn’t solve. masking only took him so far. he mimicked speech patterns without understanding context, leading to moments where others realized he was parroting them. his dorm room was stark and meticulously organized. his bed always made perfectly. personal items nonexistent besides the odd baseball memorabilia, a small radio he kept for white noise at night, and his therapy tapes. every belonging arranged with exact precision.

i headcanon that dex met j.lim at quantico. they’d be paired up during drills sometimes, sharing silence more than conversation. dex categorized lim early as “safe,” simply because he wasn’t hostile or confrontational. lim once offered dex a casual “good job” and a pat on the arm during training once and dex latched onto that for months, viewing him as an ally even when he didn’t think much of the moment herself. no jokes yet. he wasn’t capable of initiating casual interactions then.

dex excelled at marksmanship and tactical procedures. breaching drills, hostage rescues, tactical clearances, he could execute everything flawlessly. in classes he always listened intently and asked and answered questions precisely. instructors praised him. failing wasn’t an option for him, not because he cared about winning, but because failing disrupted his internal sense of order.

he thought this was where his life was supposed to stabilize. he had structure again. a purpose. but emotionally, he was still empty. he dissociated through large parts of training, running drills without really feeling present. at night, he sat awake in his dorm, staring at the ceiling, trying to convince himself he was normal.

when he graduated dex didn’t have felt pride. maybe confusion, or a sense of displacement. his next assignment, the field, was just another set of instructions. another set of routines. after graduating, dex requested placement in new york city, not because he wanted to return home, but because it was familiar. routine. maybe even subconsciously trying to retrace the geography of his past.

stationed in nyc, dex and lim saw each other more often. being around lim regularly, dex started learning his behavioral patterns. slowly, he grew comfortable enough to initiate basic, scripted social exchanges, things like “morning” or a flat “thanks.” over time, he’d attempt small attempts at humor, parroting phrases he heard from other agents. lim, being easygoing, responded positively, which reinforced it for dex. their joking in s3 didn’t come from natural social ease, it came from routine. he’d practiced enough by then.

dex was obsessively thorough. his reports were always clean, structured, and precise. never late, never messy. it wasn’t pride driving that, though. it was routine. following protocol gave him control, and control kept him grounded. paperwork was like ritual. as a sniper for fbi swat, dex was unmatched. he wasn’t just good, he was unnervingly good. headshots, non-lethal shots, shots under pressure he could do them all without blinking. but to dex, it wasn’t talent. it was math. angles, timing, distance. clinical. his shots weren’t emotional victories; they were solutions. fieldwork was where he felt useful but not connected. dex preferred solo assignments within swat operations, always volunteering for sniper overwatch or perimeter control. roles where he could isolate himself physically from his team while still being valuable.

coworkers saw dex as the classic “good at his job, weird as hell” agent. unsettling but effective. he was treated as an outsider even before his breakdown in s3. not bullied, not shunned, just left alone. the kind of person people didn’t ask about. his exemplary performance record didn’t reflect popularity or leadership. it reflected a man who excelled alone. supervisors noticed the red flags, his refusal to work in teams, lack of emotional intelligence, and rigid work style, but chalked it up to personality quirks rather than deeper psychological concerns.

his reputation centered around his precision and professionalism. he was known for his near-perfect aim as an fbi swat sniper and his meticulous attention to detail in investigative work. his official reports described him as “exemplary” in terms of technical performance, but noted serious concerns regarding his ability to work in tandem with others. dex rarely volunteered for leadership roles or team-based assignments, preferring structured orders over collaboration (canon). despite that, agents like ray nadeem viewed him positively; nadeem considered dex dependable and professional enough to assign him to high-risk operations, such as the transfer of wilson fisk in season three. nadeem saw dex as quiet but trustworthy, someone he could count on to follow through. if nadeem could choose anyone to be on his side, it’d be dex.

nadeem definitely trusted dex, even if he didn’t fully understand him. he saw dex as steady, maybe not warm, but reliable in a way that mattered when lives were on the line. in nadeem’s mind, dex wasn’t just a coworker, he was the guy you picked when you needed the job done without hesitation. he tried to draw dex out in small ways, inviting him to fbi barbecues, chatting casually in the field, bringing up seema’s cooking or how his kid played baseball, hoping the familiarity would help dex feel included. but dex, without realizing it, shut it down every time. polite refusals. averted eye contact. soft “no thanks.” dex recognized the kindness, though, he saw nadeem as someone safe and good. like julie, nadeem was “good,” but unlike julie, he could handle violence. dex respected that. nadeem could be gentle and still pull the trigger when necessary.

lim thought the same about dex, lim had the closest thing to a casual dynamic with dex. their coworkers would call dex and lim “friends” but even that was a stretch. having met at quantico, lim and dex developed a professional camaraderie over years of working together. by season three, dex was comfortable enough to exchange jokes with lim in the field, a rare sign of his limited social trust. lim, in return, viewed dex as competent, focused, and generally easy to work alongside, if emotionally distant.

lim understood dex better than most people at the bureau, even if neither of them would’ve said it aloud. i headcanon lim as having adhd, so he was used to the odd rhythms of neurodivergent people, the silences that weren’t coldness, the strange routines that weren’t rudeness. he picked up early on that dex operated differently, maybe not knowing the exact reasons why, but recognizing the shape of it. lim saw dex’s rigid structure and emotional flatness not as intentional distance, but as someone trying his best to function in a world that didn’t accommodate him. their quiet understanding built over years; by the time of season three, lim felt comfortable joking with dex, reading the small signs when dex was open to interaction. their dynamic was subtle but solid. a kind of unspoken respect, with lim maybe looking out for dex more than dex realized.

higher-ranking agents like hattley viewed dex more clinically. while appreciating his efficiency, SAIC hattley saw him as a potential liability due to his difficulty engaging with team dynamics. internal memos might have flagged dex’s isolation and emotional flatness as concerns for long-term suitability. however, without concrete incidents, there was little reason to formally intervene.

agent alvarez and dex had a quiet, functional working dynamic. she was one of the few people at the fbi who didn’t treat him like he was weird, or dangerous, or someone to avoid. sometimes he’d glance at her and give a small, almost confused half-smile, which for dex was basically a full conversation. after everything that happened in s3, alvarez looked back and pitied him. not out of condescension, but genuine sadness. she’d seen the exhaustion in his face before anyone else noticed. she’d known something wasn’t right. and when he fell apart, she probably wasn’t surprised. disappointed, yes. hurt, maybe. but not surprised. SSA agent markham’s fear of dex seen in season three would have been shaped by dex’s eventual breakdown under fisk’s manipulation. prior to that, markham found him unsettling, like most of his coworkers did, but not overtly threatening. just a colleague who kept to himself, did good work, and left no impression beyond discomfort.

as for the rest of the bureau, nadeem shut down a lot of the casual cruelty dex never noticed. coworkers joked behind dex’s back, calling him “robot” or “rain man” or some other ableist nickname, nadeem would’ve stepped in. he wasn’t the type to let that slide. he saw dex’s social awkwardness, but didn’t view it as weakness. in nadeem’s mind, dex was just wired differently and introverted, and that didn’t make him less of an agent. if anything, it made him valuable. when others were second-guessing or hesitating, dex acted. steady hands, no hesitation. nadeem respected that, even if he knew dex carried his own kind of turmoil beneath it. overall, dex was considered an excellent individual agent. skilled, methodical, and unnervingly quiet. to his coworkers, he was a mystery they learned not to question.

even during his most “stable” years at the fbi, dex still had bad days. the structure helped, deeply. the rigid rules, the clear expectations, the defined roles, they gave him something to hold onto when his brain felt like it was fracturing under the surface. but that didn’t mean he wasn’t still struggling. there were nights he didn’t sleep at all, lying awake in his apartment staring at the ceiling fan for hours because his thoughts wouldn’t stop circling. he’d show up to work pale and drawn, dark circles under his eyes, running on muscle memory. people noticed, agents like alvarez definitely noticed, but most just shrugged it off as “dex being dex.” the guy who always showed up, always got the job done, even if something about him seemed off. when alvarez says “again?” in episode six, it’s not just a throwaway joke, it’s muscle memory too. a pattern. dex blaming his sleep deprivation on “the neighbors” was probably a go-to excuse, easier than explaining that he’d been awake all night trying to force himself not to break down.

for dex, he viewed the fbi like he viewed the army. structure, rules, clear expectations. a system that told him who to be. he liked being an fbi agent because it gave him identity. it told him where to stand, what to wear, what to say. the badge made him real. he didn’t understand camaraderie. the few times he tried to interact more naturally, the results felt hollow to him. so he stopped trying. working at the fbi wasn’t fulfilling. it was functional. being useful kept him alive.

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well, dex question here i suppose. i know there are plenty of fics out there with dex involved in them in many sorts of ways; focual point, as a side or a background character, ect. but as someone who is constantly worried about mischaracterisation in their own writing, do you think you’d ever be down to try and create some type of easy to go over whenever needed, 101 of dex’s characterisation that one could use as a reference point for writing? if any of that makes sense.

(and if somehow by some chance you recognise any of the inflections here in this anonymous ask, and you peg who exactly is asking. for the sake of my ego, no you do not.)

hello. this is such a thoughtful and important question, and i’d be so happy to help you (and anyone else who might use it) feel more grounded when writing dex. characterization missteps can be anxiety-inducing, especially with someone as layered as dex, and it’s totally valid to want a reference point. i’ll break this down into:

1. a bullet point “dex 101”. his foundational qualities across both daredevil season 3 and born again

2. then a seasonal breakdown. how he differs between s3 and born again

3. and a “little things that make him him” section. mannerisms, behavior, voice, and stuff pulled both from the writing and wilson bethel’s performance

4. my personal opinion on dos and don’ts

and don’t worry about the inflection comment. you are safely anonymous here lol.

DEX POINDEXTER: CHARACTERIZATION 101 .CORE TRAITS :)

𖣠 universal, foundational traits (season 3 and born again):

these traits are consistent across seasons. they’re the bones of his character and should be preserved even when the tone, plot, or age varies. this is what makes him him!

• hypercompetent but deeply unmoored. dex is a prodigy. his aim, instincts, and physical control are nearly supernatural, but he lacks emotional grounding and was never taught how to build one.

• intelligent and tactical. dex is smart. not just good at throwing. he’s strategic, manipulative when needed, fast-thinking under pressure, and goal-oriented. comic bullseye was known for being “brains and muscle,” and dex fits that too. he’s not a dumb brute.

• emotionally dysregulated and deeply reactive. dex feels a lot all the time, often intensely and suddenly. he doesn’t have the tools to handle emotional input, so it builds until it explodes, or gets shut off completely. his violence is an attempt to control internal chaos.

• suffers from diagnosed and untreated mental illness. dex canonically has BPD, and that should never be erased. traits like black-and-white thinking, idealization/devaluation, intense fear of abandonment, lack of stable identity, and emotional splitting all affect his actions. he is not just his diagnosis, but it shapes nearly every part of his behavior and relationships.

• a defining trait of dex, in both shows, is his intense fear of being abandoned, which plays out through splitting, idealization, and black-and-white thinking. these shifts aren’t “character changes” they’re consistent with someone with BPD who hasn’t learned emotional regulation or trust. he needs someone to be all good or all bad. nuance is unsafe for him. abandonment is one of his greatest triggers. even moments of perceived rejection create internal collapse.

• deeply autistic-coded. routines, scripting, stimming, sensory sensitivity, strict moral logic, monotone speech, meltdown shutdown cycles, and profound black-and-white thinking.

• attachment-starved + obsessive. his brain doesn’t do “mild.” he fixates, idealizes, and disassociates from pain until it overwhelms him. he clings to people who give him structure or safety.

• goal-oriented and highly focused. he doesn’t kill randomly. he acts with purpose. once he sets a target (a person, a job, a fantasy of love or belonging), he will not be stopped. this focus can look like obsession, but it’s not chaos, it’s direction.

• masking + mimicry. dex doesn’t know who he is outside of performance. he plays roles. he scripts behavior from media and others. when his mask slips, he becomes terrifyingly unpredictable.

• emotionally repressed. he doesn’t have the words for what he feels, so it leaks out sideways (violence, stalking, obsession, compliance, withdrawal).

• needs rules and structure to function, but hates being controlled. he needs guidelines, but crumbles under manipulation. he thrives with structure, but he resents coercion. a brutal contradiction.

• self-loathing and shame-driven. the core of dex is “there’s something wrong with me, but if i try hard enough, maybe i can be good.” this belief defines most of his choices.

• lonely, even when surrounded. he considers himself a loner even though he desperately wants to belong, but can’t figure out how.

• extremely dangerous, even at his worst. dex is never not lethal. it’s in his bones. no training, no meds, no outlet, and he’s still one of the most physically terrifying people alive.

• unpredictable and dangerous, but not sadistic (just yet). dex is capable of incredible violence, but it’s rarely premeditated cruelty, he reacts with lethal precision. he doesn’t prolong pain. he just eliminates threats. it’s not about making people suffer, it’s about control, or survival, or snapping.

• sensitive, awkward, funny, weird. underneath the violence and pain is someone who is a little dorky. literal. has a deadpan, weird sense of humor. doesn’t know how to relax but wants to.

• dex’s identity has always been fragile, shifting, or undefined. he clings to roles or relationships to shape who he is. whether it’s being the “good kid,” a dedicated FBI agent, or fisk’s weapon.

• when left to define himself without external cues, he struggles. even in born again, he directly asks matt, “is that what am i to you?” a question that shows how confused he still is about where he stands and who he is. it’s not about morality or guilt, it’s about positioning. dex only knows how to be what someone needs him to be, which makes his identity situational and dangerously dependent on others.

• desperate to be seen, understood, and loved. everything dex does comes from a place of craving connection. belonging, identity, purpose. if someone gives him the illusion of love, he’ll be loyal to a fault. not because he’s naïve, but because he’s starving for it.

• his childhood records (dr. mercer’s notes) and comic bullseye’s lone wolf metaphor both show that he has a fundamental belief that he’s other. different. detached. he has never had a secure sense of “i belong here.”

• dex is extremely intelligent and strategic, even if emotionally unwell. people often mischaracterize him as stupid or unaware because of his meltdowns, but that erases the intentional, careful manipulations he pulls off across both shows. in season 3, he gets what he wants. to go back to work, by deceiving the psychiatrist, pretending to be stable, showing practiced body language and eye contact. he knows how to perform health. in born again, he manipulates matt into helping him escape. slamming his head against the table was an impulsive from matt, but for dex it was leverage. dex was in control of that moment. he created the illusion of powerlessness so matt would act. dex may be volatile, but he’s calculating. he doesn’t lash out unless he thinks it will serve a purpose. if he snaps, there’s usually something beneath it, pressure, fear, or loss of control.

• dex wants to be a good person. this is core to his self-perception, even if he doesn’t understand what “good” looks like. he performs politeness, respect, restraint . especially in season 3, because he knows he has to be palatable to be accepted. dr. mercer wrote that he “wants to be a good kid” but gets angry too easily. that duality is visible in every version of him: he’s thoughtful and courteous, but can’t control the spike of emotion underneath. his wanting for goodness is more important to him in s3 than it is in born again. born again dex wants his own autonomy back, in whatever way he can.

• dex was never taught how to exist emotionally. his parents failed him. not just through trauma, but through absence of teaching. he was never given tools for emotional regulation, coping, or connection. he had to parent himself.

• dr. mercer says he’s “independent,” not by nature, but because he had to be. no one showed him how to be otherwise. he built his emotional habits in a vacuum.

she also notes: he’s deeply observant. he’s focused when praised (positive reinforcement wires deeply for him). he lacks a filter when emotional, and doesn’t realize hes doing it. he wants to connect but feels something stops him. hese early observations carry all the way into adulthood. they are foundational. the reason love doesn’t “fix” him is because the absence of it formed him.

• dex is a walking contradiction. kind and cruel. polite and brutal. reserved and explosive. this isn’t inconsistency, it’s fragmentation.

• incredible at masking, until he cracks. he can appear calm, polite, even robotic. but he’s holding back so much under the surface. his spirals are often internal until he explodes. if you’re writing dex in a social situation, remember: he’s always performing, unless he feels safe (rare).

• he doesn’t know how to integrate his feelings. instead, he swings, dissociation or destruction. he’s emotionally stuck in developmental stages no one helped him grow through.

• naturally gifted with precision, but he trained for control. his throwing isn’t just a quirk, it’s a skill he honed obsessively. it gave him control when everything else felt chaotic. it’s a comfort mechanism and a killing method, and it’s his.

• violence becomes his only reliable outlet. dex was never taught healthy coping. no one helped him sit with anger or sadness or loss.so when he finally does feel something, it overwhelms him. violence becomes a shortcut to relief. and relief feels good. so his brain wires that connection: “when i hurt, i kill. and then i stop hurting.”

• his life is shaped by suffering, and he knows it. dex isn’t oblivious to his own pain. he doesn’t think he’s normal. he feels cursed, broken, and like he destroys everything he touches. but he also knows he’s exceptional. there’s a bitterness to him, and a resignation.

i asked people on twitter what they felt were the core aspects of dex poindexter. what makes him who he is. their answers were thoughtful, emotional, funny, and spot-on. some were single words, some were entire essays. this section collects those responses and builds on them, organizing them into overlapping themes so that if you’re writing dex, you can return to this and remember what’s underneath everything he says and does.

• duality & internal conflict

“the turmoil of wanting to do/be good vs his inherent behaviors & circumstances beyond his control morphing him into who he is now.” —@devilondisplay

“the weight of who he could have been, or who he wanted to be.” —@carnorings

dex is built on contradiction. he wants to be good, but he was never taught how. he wants to be loved, but pushes people away or idealizes them. he wants control, but loses it. he wants purpose, but doesn’t know who he is without being used by someone else. his entire arc is a struggle between the self he tries to construct (loyal fbi agent, calm and composed professional) and the self that keeps rising up underneath: the one shaped by grief, pain, compulsion, manipulation, abandonment, and rage.

he’s either desperately clinging to structure or he’s burning everything down. there is no in-between.

• identity & self-perception

“fear of being forgotten or irrelevant.” —@ mrspoindexter

“a fear of being known.” —@imlesbia

“being looked at as a weapon instead of a person.” —@spookyxbird

dex doesn’t fully know who he is, and that terrifies him. he’s deeply afraid of being seen. not just physically but emotionally. being known means being vulnerable, and vulnerability means rejection. at the same time, he’s terrified of being invisible, forgotten, or discarded. so he swings between craving intimacy and hiding behind masks. that’s part of what makes his bpd representation feel so raw. he needs people, but connection feels unsafe.

he was raised to be useful, not loved. to perform, not rest. that never leaves him.

• perfectionism & control

“his strive for perfection and understanding.” —@fleur_de_halys

dex believes that if he can just do everything right, he’ll finally be okay. if he hits every target, never breaks routine, follows the rules, cleans his apartment, checks all the boxes, nobody will leave him. his perfectionism is a trauma response and a form of masking. he craves structure because chaos has always meant danger. so when things slip out of his control, when julie or fisk pulls away, when he makes a mistake, when his schedule changes, it shakes his entire sense of self.

• neurodivergence

“autism and i’m dead serious.” —@butchsabretooth

dex is canonically mentally ill (bpd, ptsd, depression), but many fans, including me, also read him as autistic. it’s one of the things that makes his character so layered. his routines, sensory sensitivities, emotional dysregulation, intense focus, black-and-white thinking, scripting, mimicry, and rigid thinking all point to it. this doesn’t mean his violent actions are excused, but it does mean they’re more comprehensible. when someone is pushed past their limit for years, it makes sense that they might snap under pressure.

he’s a bad person but he’s not evil. he’s dysregulated, emotionally stunted, and never given the help he needed.

• pain & tragedy

“tragedy and pain and suffering and anguish and hurt and misery and heartache and eternal torment.” —@wilsonbethelem

dex is a tragedy. the horror of his story is that he almost made it. almost recovered. almost had a future of being good. there’s always this ache around him, this sense that he could’ve lived a different life if someone had stepped in sooner, if he’d been given the support, if someone had stayed. when you write dex, you have to hold that tension: he’s terrifying, and he’s devastating.

he’s not an evil man turned tragic. he’s a tragic boy who was never allowed to become a man.

• intelligence, observation, danger

“his resourcefulness & observations are a huge part of his character.” —@devilondisplay

“throwing stuff.” —@that_dude_2

dex is extremely intelligent. people often write him as purely reactive or feral, but he’s strategic. he reads people. he maps spaces in his head. he understands tone, subtext, pressure points. that’s what makes him such a terrifying opponent. he doesn’t just throw things. he calculates how to throw them, what to use, when to strike. every move is exact. it’s not instinctual chaos, it’s precision. and it’s paired with intuition: he notices when someone is lying, when someone is afraid, when something is off. his brain is a weapon and a burden.

• purpose

“his need for purpose.” —@fangurlatheart

dex needs something to live for. he’s always needed it. as a child, it was baseball. as a teen, it was structure. as an adult, it became the fbi. and when he lost all that, fisk offered him a new purpose: to be useful. to be seen. to belong. dex without purpose is terrifying, because he’s unmoored. when he doesn’t know who he is or what he’s supposed to be doing, the intrusive thoughts get louder and the emotional dysregulation gets sharper.

purpose is the only thing that’s ever made him feel real.

• sexuality & repression

“homosexuality.” —@lcthalist

dex doesn’t understand desire. especially his own. he doesn’t know how to want things in a way that feels safe or human or mutual. everything he’s ever wanted has either slipped away or been turned into an obsession. love, connection, closeness, it all becomes warped, unreachable. it’s easier to fixate than to feel. easier to copy what others seem to do than admit he doesn’t know how to begin.

dex has always been queer-coded. not always explicitly, not always kindly, but it’s there. in the comics, in daredevil s3, and in the way he’s constantly othered by both narrative and tone.

in the comics, it shows up loudest in how bullseye is written as a foil to matt: he’s campy, theatrical, over-the-top, and obsessed. his obsession with daredevil reads romantic in its intensity. it’s intimate, personal, driven by a need to be seen by him, hurt by him, understood through him. they dance like lovers and fight like scorned exes. the line between lust and rage, between violence and longing, blurs constantly. bullseye’s entire identity becomes entangled with matt’s. he’s flamboyant, vain, expressive, and often portrayed with a kind of feral, seductive energy that echoes old-school “villain queerness” tropes, while also inviting sympathy. he never quite belongs anywhere, not even among other villains. he’s unpredictable, excessive, beautiful in the way a car crash is beautiful.

in the show, he directly says that he has no romantic or sexual interest in julie. people love to erase this, but it’s canon. he isn’t stalking her because he wants her. he isn’t in love with her. he wants to be like her. calm, grounded, moral, steady. julie is a symbol of the person dex thinks he could’ve been if he had the tools, the help, the chance. her gender is coincidental. she’s a mirror, not a romantic object. the idea that dex being fixated on a woman automatically means he’s straight is lazy and misses the point. he doesn’t even seem to think in those terms.

dex’s queerness isn’t flamboyant or loud, but it’s there. it’s in the subtext, the detail, the way he behaves when he thinks no one is watching. it’s in his emotional intensity, his repression, the yearning to connect but not knowing how. it’s not about labels. it’s about the energy. the aching desire to be seen, understood, wanted.

he’s queer-coded in the way so many emotionally intense, identity-fractured men in media are. especially in the comics, where bullseye’s interactions with matt murdock are loaded with homoerotic tension, fixation, and obsession. but in the show, dex’s queerness is quieter, more repressed, but deeply felt. it’s in every lingering glance, every studied outfit, every misplaced longing.

𖣠 S3 DEX VS. BORN AGAIN DEX

season 3 (2017):

• he was on meds, in a strict routine, trying so hard to be normal. his goal was to be a “good guy.” he worked at it like it was a job.

• still trying to be good in his own way. he’s clinging to structure, morality, and the idea of a “normal life” and the concept of becoming effortlessly “good”

• still mimicking morality. the concept of julie is a crutch and a fantasy of healing, not a person. his actions at the fbi are mostly performance. he’s never emotionally honest.

• desperate to be good. dex is trying so hard to stay on the path. he’s white-knuckling morality. he thinks if he sticks to routine, if he follows rules, if he does the job well, he can suppress the darkness he knows is in him.

• extremely repressed and shameful. still trying to prove he’s not a “psycho.” his violence is kept secret, private, shame-drenched. he believes he’s evil and hates himself for it.

• hyper-aware of his own instability. he knows something’s wrong. he’s afraid of losing control. the violence terrifies him as much as it tempts him. he’s not in denial he’s just fighting it every day.

• completely emotionally volatile at this stage, dex is so easy to manipulate. fisk gives him fatherly attention and structure, and dex folds into a weapon. he’s desperate to belong.

• terrified of abandonment. his entire breakdown is rooted in the idea that people keep leaving him. julie, dr. mercer, wilson fisk. even ray nadeem feels like an emotional trigger.

• masking constantly. he’s always performing. calm, charming, dry humor, professionalism. he wears politeness like armor. only when he’s alone does the mask crack. the pacing, the staring, the spirals. he hides the storm.

• mask slipping = danger. dex is terrifying not when he’s loud, but when he gets quiet. when he drops the fake smile. when he stops pretending.

born again (2027):

• feral, dissociated, vengeful. this is a dex who has nothing left to lose. his moral mask is completely shattered. he has no coping mechanisms left. but he still deeply yearns to belong and find himself, whether it’s through goodness or acceptance of his darkest impulses.

• still restrained, but colder. ironically, he’s calmer in some scenes now. he doesn’t have to fake being a person anymore, so he’s quieter, more focused, and even more deadly.

• intelligent and strategic. he’s not a mindless killer. he takes his time. he plans, observes. he’s still obsessive, but it’s honed.

• embraces his violence as part of his identity. he’s not a killer because he’s mentally ill, he kills because that’s how he expresses pain and control. he knows that now.

• completely alone and unmedicated. eight years in a psych ward left him raw. he’s likely in pain all the time, mentally and physically, but he’s using that pain as fuel now.

• still has boundaries. he hasn’t fully given into the bullseye part of himself just yet. he doesn’t kill willy-nilly. there are moments (like not immediately killing karen at josie’s) where you see control. that restraint is scarier than chaos.

• dr. mercer’s impact runs deep. even in born again, after everything, he still clings to what she taught him. order, routine, cleanliness. she was the only one who gave him structure and care. even when he’s killing again, you can see pieces of her still in him. the way he lines things up, the way he keeps himself clean, the rituals, the obsessive control over his environment. her lessons didn’t save him forever, but they’re engraved in him. they shaped how he survives.

LITTLE THINGS THAT MAKE HIM DEX 𖣠

• scripting speech. if you pay attention to season three, you can notice he recites lines verbatim from other people later on in the season or clearly rehearses how conversations should go even beyond his “i’m sorry that sounds hard.” his sentences often feel “prepped.”

• quiet stimming. fidgeting with his hands, blinking rapidly, tapping, rubbing his palms, bouncing his knee. he bites his nails when he’s spiraling. in scenes where he’s overwhelmed, watch his body language.

• his body always tells on him. if you understand him, you can read him without him saying a word. he’s all body language and microexpressions. clenched jaw, twitchy hands, stiff posture, darting eyes. the way he stims when he’s nervous, paces when he’s spiraling, holds his breath when he’s trying to mask. he doesn’t know how to regulate feelings internally, so they show up externally. he’s expressive even when silent. that’s why wilson bethel’s performance feels so raw. you can see the emotions hit before the violence does.

• confused sarcasm. dex takes things literally. his humor is dry, awkward, often not quite right. it’s very funny and very sad.

• can be deeply kind in his own way. he’s not cruel by nature. he just lacks tools. when he is kind (e.g. his behavior with julie before the spiral), it’s touching and stilted.

• obsessively clean and ordered. his apartment is sterile. everything has a place. that’s not just military precision, it’s a trauma response.

• comfort with violence. he doesn’t flinch at blood or bodies. he’s calm in chaos. his aim is a coping skill, not just a tactic. the moment he’s allowed to let loose (like the bulletin massacre), he’s eerily calm. like he’s finally breathing.

• affection-starved touch. when dex reaches out (like shaking vanessa’s hand in ep 12), it’s painfully vulnerable. it’s him asking to be liked.

• eye contact is rarely sustained or extremely intense. flits around a lot. stares when fixated. avoids when ashamed. wilson bethel plays this beautifully. lots of looking away when he’s unsure, then darting back to scan people’s reactions.

• one of the biggest misunderstandings about dex is the idea that he’s cold or unfeeling, a blank, emotionless killer. but that couldn’t be further from the truth. dex feels everything to a level where it’s unbearable, and he always has.

• he’s not numb. he’s overwhelmed. dex’s baseline is emotional chaos. he doesn’t lack feelings, he drowns in them. his downfall in season 3 doesn’t happen because he’s some calculated psychopath. it happens because he feels too much and doesn’t know how to live with it.

• being seen makes him uncomfortable but he still craves it. dex wants connection. he wants to be known. but when someone actually sees through his mask, he panics. he’s not used to intimacy that isn’t conditional. he fears being seen for what he really is. broken, messy, dangerous, and rejected for it. and yet, he’s desperate for it. for someone to say “i see you. and you’re not too much.”

• he’s full of contradictions and that makes him real. dex is loyal and manipulative. he’s composed and impulsive. he’s gentle and violent. he’s confident and deeply lost. he wants love but pushes it away. he wants to belong but never feels like he fits. these aren’t inconsistencies, they’re human contradictions, especially for someone with BPD and trauma. his instability isn’t bad writing. it’s accurate.

𖣠 DOS AND DON’TS

(this was from another ask so i thought i should answer them here too lol)

• don’t: turn him into a hypermasculine, dominant, controlling “top” fantasy

this is the most common mischaracterization i see in fics, especially in slowburn or sexual tension stories. dex is not the type to corner someone against a wall, throw them around, growl possessively, or act like some sexually aggressive alpha. he’s not that guy. and that’s not to shame people’s fantasies, fiction is fiction, but if you’re looking to stay in character, writing him like that completely erases who he is. it’s literally a different person.

he’s not dominant in relationships. he’s not suave. he’s not confident. he’s deeply submissive in interpersonal dynamics, especially around people he wants to impress or be liked by (like fisk or matt or ray). he doesn’t even understand his own desire fully. it’s tangled up in self-loathing, mimicking behavior, and seeking replacement attachments. he doesn’t pursue others in a sexual or romantic way. even with julie, his fixation was never about wanting her. he basically tells her to her face “you’re not interested in me, i’m not interested in you.” it wasn’t a crush. it was about becoming “good.”

so don’t write dex as a power-wielding dom unless your whole story is about him learning how to pretend to be that. otherwise, it feels like flattening him into a stock creep/stalker role when that’s not who he is at all.

• don’t: say “ben” or “benjamin”

this is small but important. he hates the name benjamin. he corrects dr. mercer immediately after they first meet when she calls him that. he introduces himself as dex every time. when other people say “benjamin,” you can see the discomfort in his face and body language.

some people like to use “ben” or “benjamin” as a term of intimacy. like their OC or love interest is the only one allowed to call him that, but i personally believe that just doesn’t line up with who he is. if anything, someone who truly cared about dex would call him the name he chooses.

• do: write him as intense and misunderstood

dex has a very specific kind of intensity that stems from his neurodivergence. he’s often perceived as “off” by people, even when he’s not doing anything wrong. there are studies that show neurotypical people can “sense” neurodivergence within 10 seconds. that they instinctively judge autistic or ND people negatively, just from their eye contact, tone, or behavior. dex has felt that judgment his whole life. that’s why he’s so desperate to be “good” because he’s been treated like he’s broken just for existing.

when writing him, let his intensity show up in both scary and soft ways. he can be terrifying when he spirals but he can also be deeply vulnerable, sweet, attentive, funny, awkward. he’s rigid, but not robotic. he has a personality, not just a diagnosis.

• do: explore how his BPD & neurodivergence shape his worldview

black-and-white thinking doesn’t just mean “rules.” it means he flips between extremes. someone is either safe or dangerous. loved or hated. himself, or no one. he has no inner compass unless it’s someone else’s. his north stars (julie, fisk, matt, dr. mercer or even ray for a time) are the only things tethering him to stability. he mimics them, studies them, wants to be around them constantly, because he thinks if he watches them long enough, he’ll learn how to be them. how to be “normal.” how to be good.

that’s why he stalked julie. not out of lust or entitlement but because he truly believed if he observed her enough, he’d unlock something inside him. a missing piece. he knew it was wrong (he literally jokes with her in episode 5 about how it sounds like she’s stalking him), but he didn’t understand why it was wrong, because his intention wasn’t harm.

this doesn’t excuse the behavior but it explains it. dex always knows the rules. he just doesn’t always understand the meaning behind them.

• do: let him be smart

he’s not dumb. he’s not just “crazy.” he’s methodical, strategic, a tactical genius. he understands people. he learns from them. he manipulates when necessary. people confuse “emotionally dysregulated” with “incompetent” and that’s just wrong. dex is unwell, but he’s highly capable.

• do: reflect how he changes between season 3 and born again

in season 3, dex still believes that if he’s good enough, he’ll finally be accepted. that he can earn love through perfection. he spirals when he realizes that’s not true. by the end of the season, he’s not just trying to be good he’s trying to please. to avoid abandonment at all costs. his entire rampage in episodes 8–13 is about making fisk happy. because he thinks fisk loves him. because that would make him real.

in born again, things shift. he’s still deeply fractured, but he no longer believes in the illusion of goodness. now, he just wants autonomy. revenge. justice, on his terms. if being good gets him what he wants, fine. but if being bad works better, so be it. he’s not chasing love anymore. he’s chasing himself.

he’s at the beginning of his prime. finally unmasking. and that’s what makes him so dangerous now.

that’s my take on it all. this is just how i see dex, how i interpret him, how i understand him, and how i approach writing him. i’m not saying this is the One Right Way or that everyone has to agree with me or follow a strict rulebook. but i do think my perspective holds some weight. i’ve spent a long time thinking about him, analyzing him, loving him, and trying to understand every inch of how he works, because he matters to me. i think writing dex well means really sitting with his pain, his contradictions, his vulnerability, and his intelligence. and if anything i said helps you get closer to that in your writing, then i’m really glad. thank you so much for asking. it meant a lot to me, and i hope this helped.

[a-dagger-named-fluffy]

my craziest theory about ironheart is that NATALIE was magic all along. Mephisto saw a way to manipulate Riri by making her think she'd cloned her best friend.

That's why Zelma's magic, designed to fight dark magic, destroyed NATALIE. That's why Riri couldn't create her again from a brain scan.

[a-dagger-named-fluffy]

Elodie Yung as Elektra Natchios in Daredevil (Season 2)

[a-dagger-named-fluffy]

benjamin “dex” leonard poindexter aka bullseye official prop from daredevil season three

[a-dagger-named-fluffy]

benjamin “dex” leonard poindexter aka bullseye official prop from daredevil season three

[a-dagger-named-fluffy]

benjamin “dex” leonard poindexter aka bullseye official props from daredevil season three

[a-dagger-named-fluffy]

lazyy

[a-dagger-named-fluffy]

I call this gifset 'would not want to meet Fives on the battlefield'

[a-dagger-named-fluffy]

my procreate crashed about 20 times when i was trying to fix the colours

[a-dagger-named-fluffy]

CHARACTERS THAT HAVE SUCCESSFULLY CLEARED TASK 1- “DO NOT GET FUCKING STUCK IN THE RIVERLANDS” (non-exhaustive) (only applies to characters who have actually been to the Riverlands):

Tywin Lannister- despite hanging out in Harrenhal for a hot sec, I must concede that it was not the Riverlands that got him. He got got by The Cycles. Many would say “Oh he got killed by the Harrenhal curse” and while that was in the water, it was not what killed him. Blaming Harrenhal for Tywin is like blaming your prostate cancer for a gunshot. Separate issue.

Tyrion & Cersei- Cersei and Tyrion have definitely been to the Riverlands but evidently they’ve been quick enough about it that they’ve never been caught by it. Don’t worry, though. The Cycles are coming.

Ned Stark- passed through the Riverlands multiple times, seemingly without issue. Fell victim instead to the Stark variant of Task 1- “never go south”, “and definitely don’t go TWICE”, “and CERTAINLY you must never go to King’s Landing if you can possibly help it!!”, “(that place is full of wickedness!! Better to stay at home instead and prepare for winter)”, “(for real, though. Do you know how many beets you have? Go check.)”.

Sansa Stark- an interesting case where her dog/the sacred manifestation of her soul in the form of a very sweet dinosaur puppy/etc was murdered, and this seems to have been enough for Sansa to escape the Riverlands unimpeded. Thus far she has avoided re-engaging with it by traveling via boat. Compare with Arya, whose soul dog survived and is now roaming the Riverlands, thus tying Arya back to the Riverlands on top of spending two books there. Unfortunately, Sansa has fallen victim to the same blunder as her dad (see above), but I’m holding out hope for her.

Walda Frey Bolton- Walda Frey, displaying more circumspection than any of her relatives, has employed the ingenious tactic of marrying out of the Riverlands. Thus far, it seems to be working. Her other relatives who’ve gone north have not met with her level of success! But! WATCH THIS SPACE. As we know, marrying out did not save Catelyn. Returning home is highly unadvisable. Also, Walda married Roose Bolton, which puts her in the immediate orbit of Ramsay, who is not noted for his kind treatment of innocent women

Aegons 4&5- okay I don’t remember off the top of my head whether 4egon ever actually went to the Riverlands but I’m assuming he did because at least three of his mistresses that I can remember were from there. 4egon actually dodged basically every curse hurled at him it’s quite impressive. Egg, meanwhile, definitely did go to the Riverlands and even married a Riverlander! And he didn’t get killed by the Riverlands at all! Just, you know. The Targaryen prophecy bullshit. Still, good job guys 👍

Betha and Aly Blackwood (accepting nomination on behalf of all the Riverlander ladies who’ve successfully escaped by marrying out, not that there are many)- these two are historical examples of the Walda/Cat strategy: if you marry out of the Riverlands, you might just escape it. This is a big gamble, as Cat’s case demonstrates how it can horribly backfire on you. But, to the best of my knowledge, Betha and Aly’s eventual deaths had nothing at all to do with the Riverlands, probably inspiring many little Riverlanders to do the same 🖤 role models!

Gregor Clegane- despite pillaging the Riverlands, setting up shop in the black hole of Harrenhal, and later dying, I do begrudgingly have to give the Mountain his due by saying that his death was not the Riverlands’ fault. Interestingly, despite not actually being a Lannister, he’s actually very clearly under a Lannister-type curse of The Cycles, and as we’ve established, that’s a whole different kettle of fish

Bloodraven and Bittersteel- actually. You know what, I’m not actually sure that these two idiots have cleared it. Bloodraven and Bittersteel did escape the physical sphere of influence of the Riverlands by going as far north and east as it was possible to go, respectively. However, 1) they got into a Blackwood v Bracken feud which is one of the classic Riverlands sinkholes right after Harrenhal and I don’t know that they ever got out of that, and 2) apparently we don’t know where the Redgrass Field was?? And if it’s technically in the Riverlands then I’m afraid they did NOT clear the task because these two are stilllllll there. Yes, that’s right, dead-ass Bittersteel is stiiiiillllll there and tree-ass Bloodraven is DOUBLE still there. George I need to know these thingsssss.

Nettles- the one, the only, the peerless and matchless Nettles, rider of Sheepstealer, who was shacked up in Maidenpool (Riverlands) with Daemon T for a hot minute, and unlike him, she got clear free of the Riverlands and fucked off forever!! Never got caught and never looked back!!!!! That’s how it’s done!!!!!!!!!!

👑 Howland Reed- now HERE is a man who knows how to avoid a malevolent curse. “But Vi!” you may be saying, “Howland is clearly still affected by the Tourney! Just like the rest of his generation!” Ah, but there you’d be mistaken! Howland Reed’s experiences with Harrenhal have not gotten him killed, unlike everyone else in the Rebellion generation, which suggests to me that Howland used the whole Harrenhal thing as a kind of inoculation against the Riverlands. Either that, or being from the Neck gives you a natural advantage. Either way! Employed canoe travel.

Conclusions: marry out of the Riverlands if you’re a Riverlander, and consider marrying a Riverlander if you’re not one (to be clear, if you live in the Riverlands, it’s hopeless). The best defense against the Riverlands is to never go there at all, followed by being from the Neck. And last, if you’ve got a separate curse, such as Targaryen Prophecy Bullshit, Lannister Cycles, or Stark’s Snowmelt, then you might manage to avoid getting stuck in the Riverlands, much as being dead already might save you from being killed by a barracuda. If none of these options avail themselves to you, we recommend boat or dragon travel and/or other travel speedrun (must be outsourced to writer). Good luck and travel safely!