Can you tell who my favorite painter is?

Ben Poindexter x fem. reader

Summary: Following the events of Daredevil S3, Dex avoids a prison sentence and lands himself in a psychiatric institution. He feels broken. A shell of the man he used to be, and he wants to get better. His search for guidance feels hopeless until he meets you: a young volunteer with a peculiar interest in him.

Series Tags/Warnings: MDNI, AFAB reader, age gap (reader is in her 20s and Dex is in his 30s), grad student!reader, eventual smut, plot/timeline deviates from MCU canon (DDBA specifically), timeskips do occur throughout the chapters, angsty, Dex has body dysmorphia, detailed scenes of violence and murder, stalking, mommy/daddy issues all around, dubcon, gaslighting and other forms of manipulation

Series Taglist

A/N: if you want to be put on the tag list, feel free to message me or comment on this series page!!

chapter i

chapter ii (in progress)

chapter iii

chapter iv

chapter v

chapter vi

They really were! Everything felt so intentionally placed. They had some great people working on the story. I think DDBA is pretty good too, but it's never gonna be the same as the blueprint, and that's okay with me. I can enjoy/critique both shows for different reasons!!

You made a good observation about Dex in the original Daredevil series! The focus on his spine throughout season 3 is a reflection of his psyche. The spine is what holds everything together in the body, similar to his routine and coping mechanisms. When he starts to abandon that, it all goes downfall from there. All because of Fisk. Him being the one to deliver the final blow at the end of season 3, paralyzing Dex which led to him doing the risky surgery, is AGAIN a symbol of Fisk's influence over Dex's life. He literally broke him.

There's an interview that comes to mind Wilson Bethel did I think after season 2 of DDBA came out. I'll have to find the link but he basically says Dex has the mentality of a child. His reaction to things not going his way and his desire for acceptance from others (being treated like a person deserving of love) is because he's still that little boy at the orphanage. When something goes wrong, he thinks one action can undo the pain he caused. This explains his thought process in season two when he seeks revenge on Vanessa. Killing her levels the scales, as he says many times. Obviously there's flaws to this logic, but to Dex, it's exactly what he needs to feel whole again. Getting even will repair the damage done to others AND himself. Then everything will be okay. In his mind.

You can't smack this man if you're genuinely angry with him. He's gonna ask you to hit him harder. "ask" more like DEMAND

Exhibit A: All his interactions with Matt Murdock (DDBA)

EXHIBIT B: That scene with Karen Page yk what I'm talking about (DDBA)