AnkleShower

I show ankles on main.

[luna-azzurra]

Vampire & Immortal Skills!!

[luna-azzurra]

FACIAL MICRO EXPRESSIONS FOR WRITERS <3

[glitchedoutpxie]

How to use Em Dash (—) and Semi Colon ( ; )

Since the ai accusations are still being thrown around, here's how i personally like to use these GASP ai telltales. 🦄✨

Em Dashes (—)

To emphasize a shift / action / thought.

They're accusing us—actually accusing us—of using AI.

To add drama.

They dismissed our skills as AI—didn't even think twice, the dimwits—and believed they were onto something.

To insert a sudden thought. Surely they wouldn't do that to us—would they?

To interrupt someone's speech. "Hey, please don't say that. I honed my craft through years of blood and tears—" "Shut up, prompter."

To interrupt someone's thoughts / insert a sudden event.

We're going to get those kudos. We're going to get those reblogs—

A chronically online Steve commented, “it sounds like ai, idk.”

Semi Colons ( ; )

To join two closely related independent sentences / connect ideas.

Not only ChatGPT is capable of correct punctuation; who do you think it learned from in the first place?

Ultimate pro tip: use them whenever the fudge you want. You don't owe anyone your creative process. 🌈

[tenderwatches]

sometimes you need dialogue tags and don't want to use the same four

[luna-azzurra]

Tips for Writing Injuries

✧ Broken ribs suck. You don’t just “walk it off.” Breathing hurts. Laughing hurts. Existing hurts. Characters with rib injuries won’t be doing heroic sprints.

✧ Concussions aren’t instant naps. Dazed vision, nausea, dizziness, maybe even personality changes, but they’re not going to collapse neatly like in the movies.

✧ Blood loss is sneaky. It’s not just about dramatic pools of blood. It’s dizziness, confusion, and the body getting cold as circulation tanks.

✧ Adrenaline lies. Someone can take a serious injury and not feel it until the fight’s over. That “I didn’t realize I was bleeding until later” trope? Very real.

✧ Twisted ankles are brutal. One bad step and suddenly running is off the table. Even walking hurts like hell. Perfect way to ground a chase scene.

✧ Burns linger. Even small burns hurt more than most people expect. Blisters, infection risk, constant pain, it’s not just a cool scar later.

✧ Dislocated shoulders = useless arm. Characters can’t keep swinging a sword or firing a gun. They’re basically fighting one-armed until it’s fixed.

✧ Shock is a thing. Pale skin, trembling, rapid heartbeat, and eventually disorientation. A character might not even realize how bad their wound is.

✧ Stitches aren’t magic. Getting sewn up is painful and recovery takes time. They’re not instantly battle-ready after a needle and thread.

✧ Scars tell stories. Some fade, some don’t. Some stay sensitive forever. Don’t forget the aftermath when the wound becomes part of the character.

[maindenlessmage]

Bullseye/Dex X Witch OC

(English isnt my first language so some stuff may be messy or the grammar might be wrong! Sorry!!)

Empty. Decrepit. Abandoned-nothing but the sound of the wind hushing and blowing through the steel pipes and cement pillars around the warehouse where 7 figures filled the middle of the space. A girl knelt down to the ground,her arms handcuffed,men in suits surrounding her as they starred down at her messy curly locks,her breathing heavy as she stared down at the wet and cold concrete under her body; her fingers twitching as she pulled down the ends of her hoodies sleeves,covering half her palms. She couldnt make out what they were saying,whispering to each other,moving away to discuss what they plan to do to her,all she could do was hope that something-or someone would come save her if she couldnt wriggle out of the handcuffs that almost cut circulation of her blood.

“Hughn…!” Riri cried out as she felt a hand on her back,pushing her with agressive power to the cold ground,her face hitting the floor as she took a deep breathe in,remaining as calm as she could be,her heart beating out of her chest,her anxiety and adrenaline pumping through her veins at rapid rates,but she couldnt show fear,she was more than fear,her sister taught her that,dont let your enemies sees your fear,they’ll use it against you. Thats one good thing Yelizaveta told her in all of her life-to always keep yourself under control,no matter what happened.

The sound of footsteps approaching them,her and those disgusting men around her,surrounding her like beasts ready to prey on her skin made her take a deep inhale,raising her head up from the floor to meet the gaze of the man she hated the most. The man she thought was a family friend,a protector of her and her siblings,motherfucking Wilson Fisk. And…a figure behind him she couldnt make out due to the hair covering her eyes and face-Her head shook to move the brown locks away as a expression of horror,confusion and worry struck the young witch when she made eye contact with Dex,of all people,Dex. Why him? Why now? What did that evil fuck do to him? Why is he here?!

“Well…You look comfortable,Miss Belikov.” Fisk said as he stopped in front of her,his hands held together in front of his lower body as he starred down at her,his expression unreadable as he made a small hand gesture to the guard dogs around her to give them some space.

“No thanks to your welcoming committee.” Riri murmured,a sharp inhale through gritted teeth followed her snide remark as Fisk yanked a handful of her hair,pulling it up and getting her onto her knees,hovering above the cement ever so slightly as he made her stare into his eyes.

She bit down on her tongue,her hands wiggling in the handcuffs as she threw a stare over the man dressed in white to meet Dex’s eyes,his face frozen,not a bit of emotion on it,not a bit of anger,worry? Nothing,it was like he did not even care about her,not even a look of fear in those glassy eyes of his,and it made her blood run cold;

“I am sure my men were the most gentle with you. After all…your….peculiarity has proven quite difficult to manage.” Fisk spoke in a breathe that hit her face,making her expression cringe and display disgust at how close he was to her,her pupils stabbing knives in every single spot she can see on him.

“Why is HE here?” A thud followed as she got dropped back onto the hard ground,groaning in discomfort from the already cooking bruises all over her body under her blue hoodie and shirt,her muscles tensing and cramping as she curled up into a ball for a second,her arms moving to position her hands in front of her face and hide herself from the world for just a mere second,to show some sort of weakness,it all felt unbearable.

“Mister Pointdexter here-” Wilson said with a sure tone as he patted Dex’s shoulder heavily. “Is here to prove himself to me. That he is the man I need for the job.” He put his arms and hands behind his back,standing next to Dex. “Your presence seems to be a road block for me.”

“My presence is a ROAD-BLOCK?! For you? You sick fu-” What escaped her mouth next was pure agony as a knife was dug into her shoulder,so brutally it came out the other end,getting twisted and then pulled out,making her hunch over as she began to cry,her eyes burning with the saltyness of the tears.

“Shush…Miss Belikov. You dont want to be punished again,do you?” Riri clenched her jaw,her hair covering her face as she panted,blood dripping on the grey below her as she felt the warm liquid run down her skin and seep into her clothes.

“So…So…what? Youre trying to break him? Use me as bait? As a pawn?!” She spoke again,lunging at Fisk,only to get stabbed in her lower side,next to her liver,but just enough to miss the important organs,her whole body shacking as she wrangled around the ground,laying now in a pool of her own blood as she breathed heavily,her eyes starring at the shitty light fixtures on the ceiling,her mind going in and out of consciouness.

“Out of all the Belikov siblings,I did not expect the golden child to have such a tongue. Perhaps we should cut it out.” THAT got a reaction out of Dex. A twitch,his fingers flinching forward ever so slightly,his eyes softening for a split second,and THAT ,that reaction did not go un-noticed by the group of criminals around them.

Marishka slowly closed her eyes,a small murmur escaping her lips as she seemed to be chanting something,her fingers drawing a sigil on her hoodie,her moving hand quickly stopped by one of her executioners as he picked her up off the floor,holding her by the back of her shirt,dangling her in front of Dex like some sort of puppet,an asset in this sick recruitment for Dex,for his abilities and for his broken mind. It made her sick,to see him stand there,not talking,not saying anything. Just there,un-moving. Has she done something wrong? Has she angered him? Why wont he say a word to her? Is it the bleeding thats making her so emotional? The tears rolling down her cheeks caused by the pain of the two brutal stabs in her body are not helping the “show no fear” agenda right now. “WHY WONT YOU SAY SOMETHING!” The girl snapped at Dex,her body moving ever so slightly forward towards him as she tried to save the last bit of energy she had,any energy,to get through this,to figure a way to undo her handcuffs,to escape this nightmare where the person she felt love and care for is letting her rot.

“Theres nothing to say.” Pointdexter answered,blinking a few times before looking next to him at Fisk,his neck moving as he swallowed some saliva.

She tilted her head to the side,her energy running low as she was still bleeding ever so slightly from the knife stabs; something felt off…Something was off,Dex was reactive,he was-a bomb,anything could tick him off,he liked stability,he liked being AWARE of what happens next. This…this isnt normal,this isnt her Dex,hes TOO calm. Her body was starting to give out,her eyes flickering between open and closed as she could see through the hazy filter upon her pupils Fisk handing Dex a gun-to finish the job,she presumed. What could she do? She was handcuffed,being held like meat on a hook,not able to move,starting to tire,in pain,everything…was spinning.

The cold tip of the gun touched her forehead,her eyes meeting Dex’s as she seemed to plead with him,beg him to not pull the trigger. Something clicked,her feet were still free…her legs,even though pained,she could still move them. Dying or living was a matter of mere second as she saw his finger apply pressure to the trigger,so with no thoughts in her weakened body,she slammed her hands onto the face of the man holding her,her legs landing on the floor as she leaped over to Dex,her hands grabbing the blonde mans face as her eyes went fully black. “DO NOT LET YOUR FEELINGS FOR ME AFFECT YOUR CHOICES. KILL THEM!” Was all he can hear in his mind as he seemed to turn his emotional side off.

He shoved her off him,her body falling back onto the splatter of blood on the ground as she began to hear gunshots,and chaos,people dropping dead left and right; a gun going off until the clip emptied only to become a hand to hand brawl. When Riri came to it,she was leaning up against the wall,her shoulder wrapped with a…tie?? Someones ripped shirt? She couldnt tell,but it was tight,the blood seeping through but enough to buy her some time,and she side had a hand-made gauze plastered over the wound,she shook her head,getting some of her senses back to see the scene in front of her.

There were corpses,everywhere,out of the 7 people that were torturing her,5 were on the ground,shot dead,1 was missing,so was Fisk,and the last remaining one was being BRUTALLY beaten to death by Dex,his roars and groans of sheer anger and uncontrolled rage echoing around the massive empty warehouse. When he was done,he stood up,covered in blood,his knuckles ruined,hair messy from sweat- All Marishka could manage to let out was a whimper of his name,a cry for him,and it seemed to snap him out of it,out of his bloodthristy rampage.

Dex instantly turned around,his lip busted,his cheek cut,his face covered in blood as he rushed over to her,dropping to his knees as he grabbed her face,his expression looking animalistic,carnal-barelly any control in his gaze,but just enough to be gentle with his North Star,to hold her head,to pull her in for a small embrace,to let her head rest onto his chest as he craddled it,inhaling the scent of her hair,breathing through what he had to do,what he had to witness.

“Im sorry,Im sorry,Im so fucking sorry.” He said in a deep tone,his voice shacking as his free hand pressed down on the side where she was losing more blood. He gave her some room to breathe as she looked up at him,her face wet from blood and tears as she reached over and cleaned his swiped cheek,a head shake following after his heartfealt apology.

“Its okay…Its okay,I understand,I understand.” Riri re-assured him with a calming voice,holding eye contact as she tried to brave through the horrible pain she was in,her forehead falling to rest onto his as she needed to gather some strenght to get up and move.

“He was in my head. He was in my mind.” Dex explained,pleading more so,desperate to explain himself to the only person whos opinon on him matters,whos thoughts towards him actually affect his mood and his day. “He hurt you.” Was all he muttered next as he moved the undone and messy hair behind Riris ear,letting her rest against him.

“Youre hurt…” She said back,her hand very slowly coming to touch his hand as she gripped it with the small bit of strenght she had. “You did this all…for me?” Incredulous,shocked…all she could feel in that moment was what she craved since she was little,someone to do anything for her just like she would do anything for them,to go to hell and back for her and her loyalty,and the bodies laying around them proved where the FBI agents loyalties lied,with her,in her palm.

“Anything. Name it.” He replied back,not even having a second to think,which made her heart beat even faster as she slowly nuzzled her face against his,the blood on both of their skin mixing together into a mess as she pressed her mouth against his,feeling him freeze,his whole figure going rigid,not moving,but she rested there,her lips on his,kissing him with all the strenght she had left inside her dwindling body. Until…

Marishka couldnt have processed what happened in that split second where he seemed to snap,his hand coming around the back of her neck,his thumbs pressing on the sides of it as he deepened the kiss so harshly it cut off her breathe,barely managing to inhale through her nose as she began to match his pace,match that HUNGER that rioted in him. Was it because he wanted to please her? Was it because he felt like she owed it to her for “freeing” his mind? She couldnt think at that moment,just kissing him back,her hands grabbing his arms,her nails digging into his biceps as they continued for what felt like eternity until she wasnt able to do it anymore. And he knew it was time to tend to her wounds before something happens.

In the dead of night,in the New York city pouring rain,Bullseye and his companion Midnight,walked out of that warehouse holding onto each other tightly as the blood of their enemies washed down their bodies,their relationship now in a strange place of need to survive and need to ground each other,to keep each other balanced,and to NOT let him snap,never again. Her powers were weak,maybe they would grow with time,but his mind was something she was growing used to,to lull it to sleep,to calm it with a touch,a brewed tea from her grandmas old cookbook-He took care of her,she will take care of him,transactional,yes,but perhaps thats the healthy way for such a relationship to progress.

[maindenlessmage]

Injured Matt x Vampire OC

[English isnt my first language,so the grammar kinda sucks,sorry!]

TLDR; After protecting Karen Page from an attempt on her life,an injured Matt crawled back to his saviour and doctor,Maria-A vampire with psychic abilities to patch him up,their history extensive.

The rain hit the windows of the small New York apartment heavily,the sound of the cumbersome droplets sounding like small rocks hitting the glass hidden behind the white curtains hanging above them. A small light turned on above the oven in the kitchen not far away from the fire escape and balcony lit the open living room as small shuffly footsteps were audible-and the sound of teeth being brushed; A short figure with orange wavy hair was walking up and down the hallway in a white night gown,their footsteps soft as they seemed to be bringing stuff from one room to another,some sort of small items.

Suddenly,the sound of one of the window near the fire escape being flown open made the girl jump,her eyes widening at the distinct smell of blood that she never the better recognised in an instant. Matt. Maria threw her toothbrush in the bathroom sink as she walked over to the man that crawled through her window,bleeding,his shirt cut open and wounds dripping with the fresh red liquid the vampiric creature struggled to deny her need to indulge in,his whimpers and groans of agony taking more space in her mind rather than the hunger that burned inside her stomach and chest. Without a second thought her hands grabbed onto his arm and shoulder,holding him up as his blood sunk into the white fabric of her weaved night gown,her hand coming to touch his face gently,removing the black blindfold covering his eyes.

“You seriously need to learn how to knock…” She whispered to him softly as she lead him towards her couch,her fangs aching as she inhaled the sour and musky scent on his blood,the droplets leaving a trail on the hardwood floor as he plopped down on the soft cushions,growling between clenched teeth as he held his side,the knife wound burning with the flames of hell.

“I will try next time.” He said out of breathe,his lips twitching into an ever so small smirk,his eyes starring in the general direction of the red haired vampire as she adjust his legs onto the coffee table in front of the couch,her hands covered in his essence as she took a few moments to stare at the red palms,her pupils dilating before she snapped her hands down next to her body.

“Goodness,Matt…what has happened this time?” Maria sighed,her feet carrying her to her kitchen where she took out a medkit full of supplies and a small pocket knife out the nearby drawer,her hand floating over the open drawer where a bigger knife rested,her nose scrunching in anger as she bit down on her lower lips,her fangs drawing blood before retracting back into her hurting gums,the slam of the drawer signaling her return to the couch.

“Karen Page. Someone tried to kill her,I got there just in time.” He answered,his hands coming down to the seams of his shirt as he felt the cold nails of the vampire pull at the fabric to tell him to take his shirt off,his muscles tensing as he moved with her in tandem to remove the destroyed black shirt that covered what was left of his unharmed skin.

“Arent you a hero.” Maria replied sarcastically,her claws moving down his abdomen slowly as she starred at the laid out situation before her eyes,her eyes closing for a moment before the click of the medkit opening brought Matts attention to her scent,the…scent of death and decay,in her body, always alerted him that shes been starving herself,or forgetting to feed. She always did that,her and her morals of not feeding.

“I wouldnt call myself th-Argh!” The man recoiled in pain as a cold cotton ball with rubbing alchohol hit the wound on his side,his hand grabbing onto her shoulder as he closed his eyes,taking fast and shortened breaths to calm his racing adrenaline and deepened discomfort.

“I know…I know…Just stay with me.” She shushed him with a comforting tone,her hand coming to touch his face,her thumb rubbing his cheek as she patted the area around the wound ever so gently,his heart calming down as her psychic abilities eased his mind,his muscles growing more relaxed from the touch.

“The guy threw us out of a window.” Matt informed his companion,a chuckle coming from the red heads lips as she seemed to be amused at the idea of him being flung out of a window.

“So thats why youre cut in all the strange places,youve stolen my exit.” Maria joked,her hand coming off his cheek as she grabbed the pocket knife off the table,quickly slashing her palm open-dripping her blood across the open cut on his side,the blood bubbling instantly as it began to coagulate around the wound.

His head turned to the side,resting on the backrest of the couch as he removed his feet off the coffee table,pushing the table forward and placing his boots on the ground,his body sliding down into a better position as his legs moved apart,spreading comfortably; “You have not eaten for a while,have you?” Matt asked.

“My feeding has nothing to do with the current situation we’re in right now,Mr Murdock.” She replied to him with a scolding tone,quickly patching his wound with a white bandage and moving onto the next,the sizzling of her blood coagulating his wounds and numbing the pain filled the quiet living room dancing alongside the sound of the pouring rain outside,making the barely lit apartment feel like a refuge from the New York night.

After all his cuts and wounds were bandaged and tapped,she cleaned his face with a wet cloth,letting him lay down on the sofa,pillows fluffed and a blanket near if he needed it,his boots resting in the corner of the living room as he laid there,Maria busy cleaning the small blood droplets on the floor; His eyes were starring up at the ceiling absentmindedly,his breathing soft as he listened to her move around.

“Can I throw these in the wash?” Maria asked as she held his pants in her hand,her other hand resting on her hip. “They’re soaked and smell horrible.”

“Hah-” He snorted,a smile on his face. “Go ahead,if you promise theyll be dry by tomorrow.”

“Yeah,yeah.” She waved him off,walking into her bathroom and putting the wet pants in the washer,turning it on and forgetting about it as soon as she returned to his side,kneeling down next to him on the floor,starring at his face as she rested her cheek on her hand,listening to his heart beat and following his blood in his veins as his body worked to heal his injuries. “Im worried about you,you know?”

“You are?” Matt moved his hand off his stomach down to grab her hand,the one resting next to his ribs,his fingers wrapping around the cold skin as his thumb felt over the crevices and dips of her palm. “You shouldve washed your hands,not waste a good night gown on me.” He said tenderly,knowing she rubbed her hands clean on her clothes to not waste anytime patching him up,the sense of his dried blood on her now almost healed cut palms making him feel ever so guilty.

“Didnt have time to wash my hands…” Marias head moved to rest down on her forearm on the edge of the couch,her hair touching his arm as he rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb.

They sat there quietly for a while,the man seemed lost in thought as he held her hand,the vampire on the other hand just enjoyed the silence his presence and touch brought her,not having to wear her gloves to keep people out of her head was a welcome event anytime it happened,even if rarely,it helped the voices in her mind to settle. She slowly raised her head up from her arm when she felt Matt bring her wrist up to his mouth,kissing the purple veins displayed before pulling her closer,her eyes widening.

“Youre hungry.” He explained,his hand coming to cup her face and head,the massive palm moving some of the curly orange hair away from her face as he looked at her figure.

“Matt…” She said hesitant,her chest heavy as she frowned,her lips turning downwards. “Youve lost enough blood,lets not do this tonight.”

“I owe you for patching me up.” He whispered to her,pulling her face closer to his. “Just enough to get through the night…I trust you.” Matt murmured against her lips as he felt those sharp canines brush over his lower lip.

Maria nodded,her face moving to his neck as she felt him craddle her head,massaging the back of her head lovingly as she dug her sharp teeth into his flesh,piercing his carotid and jugular. The feeling of his body going numb from the saliva making her dig more agressively,drinking just enough before pulling away,her lips and jaw covered in blood.

“Thats enough.” She said breathing heavily,her hand grabbing the edge of her nightgown and cleaning her mouth as she got up from the floor-walking to the kitchen and pouring a glass of cold water into a cup,bringing it to him alongside a piece of cloth to cover his neck.

“You could have taken more.” Matt said after sipping some of the water,pressing the cloth to his neck.

“I know. I just dont want to.” She grabbed the cup out his hand and placed it down onto the nearby coffee table before laying down ontop of him,her ear resting on his heart as her hand held the cloth to his neck,his arms coming to wrap around her bloody nightgown and figure.

“Im proud of your control.” He spoke into her hair before pressing a kiss to those orange locks,closing his eyes.

“Rest…” She murmured back to him,closing her eyes alongside him as she listened to each and single heartbeat his heart pumped,the way his blood moved through his veins,the way his skin and mind brought her an unholy comfort for her damned soul,it was the only refuge and safe space she could find in the darkness of her immortality and confusion. Humanity,warmth. Shed do ANYTHING to protect this.

[the-ghost-bird]

you are so, so, so good at capturing dex’s essence. i’m curious if you could help me do that too…

i’m kind of in the outline stages of writing a fic but i’m genuinely struggling with the idea that i’d portray him incorrectly. i’ve got some notes, i’d love to know your thoughts :

*my fic takes place in DDBA era, tony!dex, freshly escaped prison.

- he desires to take control of his mind *has he achieved this? (i think no. but maybe he’s got a controlled routine, and for now that’s enough.)

- perhaps in “controlling his mind” his need for a guiding light has beed subdued

- very focused on “leveling the scales”, black and white thinking still evident here

- has become less impatient, perhaps a learned trait in prison

- definitely still considers himself a loner

- has that routine. perhaps this has replaced his desire to have a guiding light?

- is his routine fueled by desire to “level scales”?

- does he feel guilt for killing foggy, or is he literally leveling scales? again with black and white thinking?

- ** he still is inclined to submission/having instruction. almost needed matt’s permission to go after kingpin (?)

- is he, in some way, his own authority figure now? does he need a north star or has his influence shifted strictly to his black and white leveling of scales?

- i think his desire for connection is still there. he bargains and manipulates. he tries to gauge and build trust for leadership (at least in DD3). but if now, he considers himself his own leader (?), what’s his purpose/desire for connection?

i know this is a lot to consider/analyze. but i wanted to ask you because in my opinion you’ve clocked him better than anyone else i’ve read so far. thank you for your time, L! 🎯

Anon, you flatter me with your compliments and at feeling confident enough in me to come for advice 😭💙🫶🏽 I'm going to try my best to explain how I perceive his core foundations, and then get into tony!dex era.

Putting this under a cut because it's a lot of words.

I find a lot of people portray Dex as either dominant in a stereotypical cocky way, or just a violent guy with a submissive side. And that waters him down a lot.

Let's set aside his sexuality for a bit. Dex IS fucking dominant. He will not only murder, but he will manipulate, lie, or try to brute force his way through a problem.

But you gotta walk down the following path with me, because here's where the mechanics get complicated.

A core idea Dex grew up with is that he can never fully trust himself. Dex does not lack self-awareness. You don't grow up in therapy and lack self-awareness. He is volatile, he KNOWS he's volatile, and he proved that to himself again and again.

When he takes independent thought, everything around him ends up destroyed. That goes for impulsively killing his baseball instructor, to ending up temporarily paralyzed by deciding to confront Fisk at the end of S3 DD, and even in the (semi-independent) choice to work for Fisk back then.

Dex knew that choosing to work for Fisk was straying from the concepts Dr. Mercer taught him. You think he didn't know Dr. Mercer wouldn't approve of the shit he did?

Dex knew, but he still chose to shift his loyalties (and fixation) because at least Fisk made him feel accepted, like his violence didn't make him a bad person. Was he manipulated? Yes. Was he emotionally compromised after Julie's supposed rejection? Yes. But you can be emotionally compromised and still be aware to some degree that what you're doing is wrong, even if your consciousness is shoved to the back of your mind.

A huge part of Dex's problem lies in the common bpd issue of obsessing over someone until you lose your identity in them. (Side note that may be relevant: I watched the 2026 movie obsession and one of my thoughts in the theater was "this is what would happen if bpd was a demonic entity". It could be a helpful watch in ways).

But back to Dex: His bipolar already means issues with identity loss, then you add the north star concept on top of it and it turns to a shit show.

I actually think we focus a lot on the north star quote and not as much on the moral compass detail. In Dr. Mercer's words, his moral compass is NOT broken.

Dex has his own thoughts, but he needs ASSURANCE that he won't self-implode. His feelings are like fireworks, and they are so overwhelming that he needs a pillar to lean on so that he knows he hasn't lost control and he's not destroying everything around him. Like he always does.

To quote something a guy told me recently: He wants someone to be in control in the same way a copilot is in control. A copilot is essential, but the pilot is still the fucking pilot. IE: violence is not wrong but how you use can be, and Dex needs a reliable copilot so he knows he's flying in the right direction and to take control in times of turbulence

I think younger!dex, just like the audience, focused on the north star part of what Dr. Mercer said. So when you take into account the identity loss issues plus the North Star idea, younger!Dex ends up losing himself far more easily than current!Dex.

Ok, now things that are more relevant to tony!dex.

Important thing to consider: Dex is off his meds for the first time in his life. He grew up on zoloft plus other meds, and if you know anything about that sort of stuff, you do NOTTTT cold turkey the way he did. But Dex needs his mind back so he doesn't fucking care.

How does he get his mind back? Control, discipline, routine, all the stuff he learned from Dr Mercer + the military.

But what is control worth when his life has no meaning? How can he trust anyone to give him meaning? Dex is absolutely traumatized with the feelings of betrayal (from Nadeem to Fisk), so he attempts to prioritize being authentic to himself.

Authenticity means being less influenceable, which means more control. But authenticity still doesn't give him true direction. Dex is lost, his life is ruined, he can't blame anyone but himself, and he's off his meds. What does he do? Where does his morality point to?

It's not as explicitly stated as it was prior but I think S2 DDBA Dex uses Matt as an influence to moral compass. Don't get this twisted. Because he is putting effort to prioritize authenticity, he does not fully lose himself into Matt's sense of morality.

He sees the biblical foundations, but he adopts what suits his personality so he still feels true to himself. That means getting old testament; black and white, eye for an eye, violence justified.

He doesn't care about killing Foggy. He absolutely cared about being manipulated but not for Foggy as collateral. But leveling the scales is what an old testament guy would do. And that's easier to focus on than how to lead his life afterwards.

Then we get into desire for connection. Dex always desired connection but always felt alone. This is where I get more speculative but I think he has no particular goal in this stage of his life regarding that. He forms a weird connection to Matt that is very circumstancial but he didn't show any goal during his "mild" Matt fixation.

Ok... that was a lot of words. How does all that information give you, the writer, the proper tools to with this character?

The beauty of Dex's issues is you can take a LOT of creative liberties while staying true to him. For example, you could have tony!dex fixate on someone else that isnt matt to influence his moral compass.

But here's something deeper: Dex is very reactive. Depending on the era he's in + the type of person he engages with, a variety of different things can happen. Different people may trigger different fears, insecurities, traumas, etc, which can result in vastly different Situations TM.

Despite his dominance in various aspects of life, his volatility and need for connection also make him more breakable than others. How he breaks depends on the circumstances and people you want him with engage with.

For example, if Dex were to become attached to someone very very dominant, you could "break" him into becoming more submissive than he already demonstrated.

Or if you were to have him engage with someone with ideals that are very different from his, you could make great material with the "clash". Who does he come out as by the end of it? What remains? What gets lost? How does he impact the other party?

If we're talking romantically/sexually, let's face that that man barely has any experience (probably a huge virgin tbh) so of course he's going to be insecure, shy, and more willing to lean into his submissive side. If you want to get angsty, does the romantic partner use that lack of experience and connection against him?

Anyways... that is what comes to mind. I really hope that I was able to help and that this perspective is as faithful to Dex as possible. There are definitely things that I missed and can't remember because bro is truly That complicated.

Thanks for the ask, nonnie

🫶🏽🫶🏽🫶🏽🫶🏽