#bruh my dumbass accidentally backspaced on this and wiped EVERYTHING

[regrettablewritings]

Might i request numbers 2, 11, 16 & 28 for Doctor Strange?

I sincerely hope that it’s fine that I’m only working with knowledge plucked from Doctor Strange, Thor Ragnarok, and Infinity War because that’s literally all I have to work with 😅😅 Stuff’s below the cut!

2. Who is the most insecure and what makes them feel better?: There have been very few times in his life where Stephen has actually felt particularly sorry for himself. Hell, the most recent had been when he felt he wasn’t making any progress during his training in Kamar Taj. But all that quickly changed: He was able to become sure of himself, trust his instincts, and use his wits and skills to gain the upper hand. He wasn’t his old egotistical self anymore, however: He had emerged more humble, more aware and mature.

You were far from terrible, you knew this much. You were smart, funny, hard-working, and able to listen while also thinking for yourself. You had to be: Otherwise, Stephen wouldn’t have looked to you as his pupil, much less his lover. After all, Stephen himself was a man of some kind of standard. He would have to be, wouldn’t he? He went from world-renowned doctor to magic-user to Sorcerer Supreme, capable of wielding the Time Stone with ease. He helped to save the world on two separate occasions!

. . . And then there was you: You didn’t come from a particularly stellar background; you’d worked hard just to get to New York and stay afloat; you almost wanted to consider it fate or sheer dumb luck that you had not only come upon the Sanctum, but fell into its guardian’s good graces enough for him to not only offer you training, but his rather elusive love as well. And for that, you were thankful! . . . But also anxious.

Sometimes, the imposter syndrome would hit you hard. Sometimes, you felt you just weren’t able to connect with your Sling Ring properly, or focus enough to properly meditate. Sometimes, you swore that Stephen could see right through you and realize that that beautiful tapestry of potential he thought he saw in you all that time ago had a string loose. And all he would need to do was pull it to unravel and reveal to him that you weren’t anything special or anyone worth investing his precious time into.

There would even be times where the two of you would be enjoying each other’s company, sharing tea and baked goods he grabbed from the nearby deli, and your thoughts would go something like, “Wow . . . I can’t believe he’s my boyfriend . . . Wow . . . I can’t believe he’s my boyfriend . . . Wow . . . I can’t believe he’s . . . my boyfriend . . .” And suddenly, the romantic reveries would crumble into dust, leaving in their wake a trail of insecurities and questioning as to whether you actually belonged here, with him or in the Sanctum.

The blessing of having Stephen Strange as a boyfriend is that for such a snarky guy, he’s quite introspective. The curse of having Stephen Strange as a boyfriend is that for such an introspective guy, he’s not always the best with words. Soft words, that is. He does try his best, of course, but Strange just frankly isn’t the best for the soft-hearted. He may consider or actually go ahead and contemplate the different paths he could take before deciding on the proper words to say or actions to take. But eventually, he does make his move:

“Did you know that you’re my favorite person?” he asks you. You blink. The cuddling session was honestly more than enough to startle you, given that between the two of you, Stephen is the less physically forthcoming. But for him to say something so . . . sweet? You’re downright stunned! You contemplate what you should even respond with. Thanking him would be too weird, arguing would be ridiculous --

“You literally know a bunch of people who saved the world,” you blurt. You can’t see it, but you can definitely feel that cocky smirk of his.

“Mhm. I also know plenty of people and beings from across the galaxy. Different dimensions, too. And yet! You’re my absolute favorite to be with.” He gives your middle a squeeze. “And you know I don’t take that lightly; so always remember that.” He punctuates this statement with a kiss. Admittedly, part of you wants to continue snarking at him, to continue dwelling in what you’re positive must be the reality of your situation. But then it click with you: This is the reality of your situation: Stephen wanting to be with you, as you are, is reality. And there’s no other one he’d rather be in. And frankly, neither would you.

“So how often did you manipulate time just to get this right?”

“Don’t worry about it.”

11. What do they hide from one another?: It’s not exactly hidden, but it’s not exactly spoken about, either. You always suspected that Stephen would sometimes manipulate time or his ability to see into alternate realities to bring about the best outcome. Of course, he does them when it’s absolutely necessary such as in dangerous or complex situations. Thankfully, those don’t happen very often.

However, every so often, Stephen will use it for more mundane situations. He used it once to help win an argument and he honestly felt guilty about it and decided to go back and just let things progress as they were meant to, even if he wasn’t particularly excited about the outcome. The alternative was to just look into the multiple ways a situation could play out, but he still keeps quiet about this as it can still come across as cheating.

As said before, you have your suspicions but don’t talk about it. You don’t really know how to even bring it up to him. Thankfully, he seems to be doing this less . . .

(For a less serious thing he hides, rumor has it that Christine has video evidence of Stephen being forced to do karaoke at the annual holiday party. He’s buzzed enough to want the attention, but sober enough to not enjoy the means through which he must get the attention.)

As for you, it’s simply a little place you found. Nothing major, just a nice, foresty area where it’s not too warm, not too cold. Just plain pleasant and calm. You found it while using your sling ring after getting into an argument with Stephen; you just thought of a place to calm down and voila! A lush, green woodland area, quiet and away from civilization, became available to you.

You know it’s nothing serious if Stephen were to know -- you were certain he would respect your space enough to just let you have this. But for some reason, there’s a sweetness added on by it being a secret. Like it’s just completely your own little hideaway, granted to you by your own efforts and not by Stephen directing you to think about it or go there. Sure, there are times where you’re sitting along the bumpy and knotted roots of a large tree and you’re wishing it was Stephen’s softer, warm lap. But until you’re ready to bring him here and break the pureness of the forest further, this will be your Sanctum away from the Sanctum.

16. When the zombie apocalypse comes, how do they cope together?: If a zombie outbreak hits, your powers are going to be kicked into overdrive. Stephen would likely try to use his powers to open portals to other planets that you two could perhaps survive on, but in the event that that’s not doable and you must remain earth-bound, you’ll both be using your sling rings to hop from place to place as necessary. Once you two get somewhere safe enough, he’s prone to attempting meditation so that he can look into alternate versions of where the two of you could possibly head. He informs you a lot more about what he sees than he did before, your input definitely mattering.

Meanwhile, you’ve always been better with defensive magic than conjuring or multiplying. If Stephen needs to focus on something, you’re not afraid to act somewhat as his bodyguard, though he’s more than capable of doing so himself. Which he is unafraid to remind you of. . . . Okay, you’re actually afraid. You’re very afraid. But you can’t let him know that. You want to be strong for him, for him to see you as competent enough to give him one less thing to worry about.

All the while, he’s trying to be even more calm and composed. This should be easy, right? He’s been through far worse. He’s literally been on a nearly endless loop of death, has actually died, and it was all good! But this . . . This, he’s not too entirely certain about. He can’t use the Time Stone and expect very many outcomes, much less ones that go perfectly in your favor. But he can’t show weakness; not now. He’s got to be there for you, you’re all one another has now.

You two can survive this, but to say there won’t be some tough decisions and potential arguments ahead would be lying.

28. Why do they get jealous?: Your jealousy doesn’t stem from how other women interact with Stephen -- he’s hardly ever even around other people in general, much less a particular type who wouldn’t respect the boundaries of another’s relationship. You’re actually jealous of his power: The fact that magic seems to come so easily to him, that he seems to need to only glance at a page of whatever and immediately have all the knowledge he needs, it’s all just frustrating to you!

Interestingly, it’s actually Stephen who gets on the defense if he thinks someone’s coming around flirting with you. He’s not insecure about his smarts and ability to hold your attention, but he does know that sometimes he can be an acquired taste even to you. So sometimes when the two of you are out for a walk or grabbing groceries are just on a simple date, he can’t help but stare down that guy whom he thinks is getting a little too chummy with you. You’re vibing way too easily together and he’s not enthused at the idea of some common schmuck putting the moves on his woman.

Of course, all Stephen needs to do is pause time for a little bit, restart it, and suddenly the dog on its walk will suddenly be at the guy’s pants, shoving his nose up his butt, looking for a hotdog wienie that just suddenly appeared in his underwear.

“What a weirdass,” Stephen will mutter as he grabs your hand, leading you away to enjoy the ice cream cone he’d just returned to you with. “Who just keeps an extra wiener in their pocket? You think he likes dogs in a weird way?”

You scowl, giving his hand an upset squeeze. “That was rude, Stephen!” you scold. But the Sorcerer Supreme is unfazed. If anything, the smirk on his face is more than amused.

“Oh, please,” he says. “You loved it.”

You grumble, deciding to focus your attention on your ice cream cone. You know it won’t hide your smile, but you can’t go feeding his ego by letting him know you like it when he gets like this over you.

Thank you for asking and for your patience!