#kaecilius meta

[aelaer]

☕ How do the Sanctum works. Like, do Sanctum Masters get monthly allowance? If so, how? Where does it come from? Also, how come only Wong and Stephen were in it? How come only a master seem to be enough security? Low numbers? Enough power by themselves? Do they get to decide who is in and who isn't? (According to your theories, of course) 👀

Regarding the money questions:

Dude, dudeeeee. I wrote a long-ass meta about the finances of Kamar-Taj and the Sanctums way back in July that is probably my most passionate head canon regarding Kamar-Taj society. For anyone who doesn’t want to read an over-thousand-word meta about the financial status of Kamar-Taj and how they got all that money, I’ll summarize below.

The meta assumes three things as truth:

The law of conservation of mass (mass cannot be created or destroyed) is a truth in the MCU.

The Masters of the Mystic Arts are neutral good.

The three Sanctums can be found by others.

Then it goes into the quality of the clothing of sorcerers and the type of diets necessary to maintain the rigorous training taken on by the dozens of people living in Kamar-Taj, which means needed resources, which means money. I mention that London, Hong Kong, and New York are three of the most expensive cities in the world, which means very high property taxes, which means even more money.

Then I spend 500 words explaining how the Ancient One used the time stone to basically play the stock market, save insanely rare arts to auction off later, and basically become the master of insider trading which is a small price for the world to pay for the Masters of the Mystic Arts constantly saving their reality.

Long story short, the Order is filthy rich as an organization to take care of the mundane needs of its members as well as to keep local governments happy (with taxes) but its members are nowhere near such wealth, making little to no money. You can read about it in the link if you want to know the nitty-gritty details of my headcanon.

Why Wong and Stephen are the only ones seen in the Sanctum:

Just because they’re the only ones seen there on film doesn’t mean they’re the only ones who ever travel there or room there. I’ll break it down:

The Sanctum features for about 16 minutes in the first film (about 10 minutes from London’s fall to Stephen getting himself to a hospital, then 5 minutes between his return from the hospital to the second attack on the Sanctum going into the Mirror Dimension, then a minute at the end). Even with the additional 2 minutes of the new deleted scene, that’s not exactly a ton of time.

It’s even less time in Infinity War, clocking in at less than five minutes at the beginning.

I figure that Daniel Drumm - who we do see a bit more in another deleted scene, meditating - immediately evacuated any novices or apprentices that might have been there after London’s fall, and in doing so misses Strange’s arrival. By the time Stephen sees him a few minutes later, he’s back at the front, waiting for Kaecilius and the others. He clearly didn’t have time to get any other Masters to assist him, and likely they all went immediately to London to assess the situation before realizing that wait, New York or Hong Kong may need back up.

By the time Stephen gets back from the hospital (however long that scene took in real time), Mordo and the Ancient One are in New York, there’s likely a couple other Masters trying to repair London, and the rest are with what apprentices and acolytes can fight in Hong Kong. The Ancient One would have stayed in New York, but Stephen had to piss her off and she is gone that very, very important 2 minutes it takes for Kaecilius to come back and Stephen to dump them in the mirror dimension. Then of course we know what happens in Hong Kong where we see quite a few people.

I do think that the majority of sorcerers tend to stick around in Kamar-Taj overnight, but I believe that during the day (New York’s evening hours) you’d see a lot of foot traffic from Kamar-Taj, which also allows Stephen time to sleep as there are people awake from the other side of the world. I also think that Stephen’s needed for actual mystical threat wrangling so I love the idea that each Sanctum has a caretaker or steward of some sort to take care of the day-to-day runnings. The idea I got from keshwyn on AO3 - highly recommend her series of one shots around it, her OCs are brilliant. My post-Endgame OC for this role is this 60-something Italian woman that is a master emotional manipulator (which pleases Wong and scares Stephen shitless).

So yeah, there’s definitely foot traffic. We just haven’t seen it yet. Hopefully we’ll get a little more life in the Sanctum in the sequel.

How come only a master seem to be enough security? Low numbers? Enough power by themselves?

In the first film we heard a gong go through the area when London was attacked, so clearly they have some sort of alarm system for when there are attacks like that. I think it’s rather that a Master of the Sanctum is enough of a force to hold off an attack for a minute (or less) until reinforcements arrive.

But an alarm can only go off if its not disabled. I believe Kaecilius managed to disable all those alarms with his inside knowledge. I also believe that he was actually the former Master of the New York Sanctum just due to the comment he made to Daniel Drumm in the film; it would also explain how he knew exactly where to hit the Sanctum with what spell, and how he managed to disable the alarm for London until it was too late, and how we didn’t get any intervention from anyone for both of New York’s attacks as well as the attack on Hong Kong (that Stephen and Mordo would have heard just before going there). This is also how Kaecilius knew that, despite New York not being completely destroyed, that he had managed enough damage to its seal so long as he completely obliterated Hong Kong to open a portal to the Dark Dimension.

So yeah, basically if a former Master of a Sanctum attacks the Sanctums, there are serious security issues. This must not have happened in the past before for it to be addressed. I’d like to think Stephen as his eventual Sorcerer Supreme self looks further into closing that small, but significant loophole.

Do they get to decide who is in and who isn’t? 

I think anyone who is an apprentice or higher can go into a Sanctum to visit, and outsiders are up to the discretion of the Master of the Sanctum which is only overruled by the Sorcerer Supreme.

If they’re banning someone within Kamar-Taj from entering, that’s a significant issue in a small society that needs to be addressed by either a council of Masters or the Sorcerer Supreme. It just wouldn’t work in such a small group with such major responsibilities.

[doctorstrangeaskblog]

Coming soon, Multiverse of Madness meta analysis!

(Written by the irrelevant me)

WHICH STEPHEN MESSED UP THE MOST

Btw it's funny how Stephen could have sent Kaecilius to hell in Doctor Strange 1 but he had no idea! Alternate Christine COULD HAVE! 🔥

👇👇👇👇👇

[doctorstephenvincentstrange]

Doctor Strange & Worth: MCU Meta

So this has sat unposted in my drafts for the longest time, but I’ve decided to dust her off and let her see the light of day, after all. These are just some of my thoughts regarding Stephen’s character development and journey in the Marvel Cinematic Universe film: his growth from someone who cannot see the true worth in himself or anybody else to someone whose eyes are opened to the beauty of everything. Not to mention how that eye-opening allows him to evolve from someone who cannot love to someone who loves fully and truly, and how Kaecilius plays a vital role in opening his eyes to the error of his ways.

Without further ado, let’s get into it! 

Let’s start with the beginning of the movie.

Stephen flounces around the hospital like he owns the place and flexes his overbearing, boastful personality without a second thought. Like, most people have at least a smidgen of consideration for others and some degree of self-consciousness or ‘filter’ regarding how they treat others, but Stephen has zero. He talks down on staff members, orders people around like inferiors regardless of their status, and acts as though he is God almighty and the hospital would go to the dogs without him, overestimating his self importance. He legit acted like an overgrown child that’s yet to be struck with the reality everything is not about him. Stephen seizes every possible opportunity to show off even when inappropriate, and does all he can to assert his correctness and prioritizes it. It’s clear from the get-go that Stephen has some kind of overinflated sense of self.

All this would certainly seem to indicate beyond a shadow of a doubt that he is a generic arrogant, selfish bastard 101, but let’s skip ahead a bit, just for a sec.

This line isn’t him joking around, rather, it’s the confirmation that Stephen truly thought his own behavior was endearing. As much as he liked himself, he was convinced everybody else did, too. He genuinely, sincerely was convinced that his antics were somehow winsome and charming. And of course, having been in a position of power as a Chief Surgeon and his state of world renown, there’s no way anybody would have told him otherwise. Nobody would really be frank and honest with him — I mean, yeah, sure, Christine was, but seeing as she was the only one he was on friendly terms with who he held in high regard and was frank with him (exclude Nick, and all probable others Stephen smugly thought very little of, and their opinions), there’s no way he’d take one person’s word over that of the masses. And it’s just obvious how overcrowded he was with sycophants that overfed his deluded ego and made it harder for him to wake up to his own self deception revolving the ‘charm’ he was convinced that he possessed.

Just look at the way he hits on her! Look at the denial! We did too have fun! 

You know how people say “the bigger they are, the harder they fall?” 

Yeah, this story really does live up to that.

The lie Stephen was living was cut short when he lost it all and his fall from grace leaves him at the mercy of people’s honesty. All those “people skills” he thought he had do him no favors, and suddenly anybody and everybody can speak freely to him, and he’s not getting sugarcoated responses. He’s no longer treating people as his inferiors however he pleases without lash back.

And Stephen, who only knows his worth through the reception and acknowledgement of his talent and the amazing feats he had achieved with his hands in the neurological field, now feels the weight of worthlessness crushing down upon him. There are no more CCN interviews, no more speaking engagements. In his own mind, he is useless. And without any worth, there is no reason anyone would want anything to do with him. He cannot accept, within his narrow mindset, that anybody could ever love him in this reduced state. For that reason, he insists that Christine Palmer — that unlike TV reporters or other sycophants, has stayed by his side all this time  — must only linger beside him for her own self gain and reputation. It must simply be an act of pity, because that’s how Stephen sees Christine’s acts of selflessness and her work— nothing but her looking down on other people to boost her own sense of self, as he has.

And when Stephen goes to Karmar-Taj, he’s completely out of his element and in a setting that is absolutely foreign to him, but navigates all the same, the only way that he knows how to. His thoughtless, proud tendency to view all else as beneath him really comes back to haunt him when it threatens to close the door to magic — and miraculous change and healing for him — forever. 

By the time Stephen realizes he has misjudged the Ancient One and Kamar-Taj, and that magic is indeed very real and potentially his one last shot at reobtaining his former life, it is too late. He beseeches the Ancient One to teach him the ways of magic, but she has already seen enough of his arrogance to determine him an ill fit for a pupil..

In the end, it is because of Mordo convincing the Ancient One that even a man such as Strange still has worth and he may be of use in the future, reasserting their beliefs that all life has value, no matter how misguided it may be, it need only be redirected and put on the correct path... does the Ancient One agree and allow Strange to return, for a chance at redemption and potentially salvation. 

And so, Stephen begins studying magic. And unsurprisingly, being wrong about magic isn’t enough to hamper his antics. He’s the same old Strange.

In this scene, Wong tells Stephen when he’s not ready to learn something yet, but Stephen completely challenges and opposes him, going so far as to break the rules of the library Wong protects just so he can continue with his self advancement and conquest towards superiority (and hopefully, healing). He challenges his lessons, preferring to teach himself and refusing to acknowledge that even his teachers could possibly have any superiority to his abilities. 

 And it’s so hard for Stephen to make sense of, the backlash he receives for these behaviors. He can’t understand how he’s apparently ‘made for the mystic arts’ but is also being told to mind his pace and take everything bit by bit, step by step and not just rush headlong in impatiently as he always has. In his own mind, he’s not doing anything wrong by breaking rules or pushing limits —  it’s all about the results, after all. And this, this is for the most important result of them all... his hands. It doesn’t matter how dirty they have to get, he wants to fix them.

In the medical world, when Stephen showed off, people clapped & praised him because what harm could there be in pushing the limits and crossing the boundaries to save someone’s life? It was okay if he wanted to do something unconventional and risky (like remove a bullet from someone’s brain without a visual) because the ends justified the means, and he always delivered. It didn’t matter what he had to do or how ruthless he was, treating all around him as mere tools at his disposal to achieve what he wanted, without considering what might be at stake. Boundaries were never of the essence to Stephen.

But when he pushes the boundaries of magic and tries out the Ancient One’s Private Collection just to pursue greatness and feed his own ambition, he gets retaliation from both Wong and Mordo and is reprimanded about all the consequences he didn’t think of and other lives he wasn’t considering as he never has been before. And Stephen can barely collect himself and for the first time in the film, is speechless and out of witty remarks to snap. He is just so put off because he’s never been put in that position before, being held accountable for the liabilities of his pursuits for greatness. Simply put, he had never been made to consider the eggs he was breaking to get his omelet, and now, he is.

And he still doesn’t get it. “They  really should put the warnings before the spell,” he says, because clearly it’s not his hastiness or ambition at fault, but the book.

And he doesn’t get it, and he most likely would have never gotten it or opened up to the Ancient One, Wong, Mordo, or even Christine. No, he had to see it for himself. And see it, he does; in fact, it ends up staring him straight in the face.

They didn't spend so much screen time drawing parallels between these two over and over for no reason, this was what it was all building up to. Here, Doctor Strange meets his ego’s match. Kaecilius wants to save the world by granting everyone eternal life, preventing all its inhabitants from feeling suffering ever again. A bit like "doing work that will save thousands for years to come," no? 

The influence and efforts of others finally pay off as Stephen begins to apply their thinking, and questions what the cost will be if Kaecilius does that for the whole world, and if that accomplishment would really be as amazing as doing what he can in the immediate moment to spare the/ benefit the lives of individual people... kind of like “saving one drunk idiot with a gun,” right?. And Kaecilius dismisses Strange's interjections, repeats the same words he said to the Ancient one in the beginning... they’re just insignificant specks in an indifferent universe, just sacrifices that must be had to achieve what must be done. He even tries to reason with Strange, and appeal to the very reason he’s in that mess in the first place... his hands, and his deep desire to have them healed and restored.

And for the first time Stephen is looking the devil in the eye, and sees himself.

 “Just look at your face!”  And in that moment, Stephen rejects the man he has been, and can see clearly his flaws for what they are. His ego trip may have blinded him, but in that moment, he got on his own level and saw himself for the first time the way that others saw him, and it wasn’t someone he wanted to be and he recognized the wrongs of his ways. How ambition and the conquest for betterment can consume someone completely, until they’re so blinded in their pursuit for self worth, that they disregard the worth of all the other lives and people around them — it’s all ends that justify the means. It's not actually about doing what's right. It's about accomplishing the greatest feat possible for oneself — this is Kaecellius' ego unleashed, not a sincere quest for world salvation.

And everything bad he didn’t want to become that he saw in Kaecellius, gives way for new direction in all the inspiring goodness he sees in the Ancient One, her final farewell, and her sacrifice of her life to save his and Mordo’s own.

And in the end, Stephen finally understands what the Ancient One, Wong, and Mordo, and Christine were all on about. It’s not about what change you can create for other people to benefit yourself, Stephen; it's about the change YOU can make to benefit other people, who are so many in number and so much larger than yourself. It’s not about the strength in your hands, and what they can do; but the resolve of your heart, and the strength of your will.

And he learns, because the Ancient One teaches him...

He uses his own lifeforce to fence off Dormamu from earth, because even if he suffers, everyone else will be safe. He tests the worth that the Ancient One claimed she always saw in him; that could achieve things greater than he ever dreamed, greater than his medical ambitions. The goal-oriented, ruthless man we saw in the beginning becomes someone who learns true purpose and ambition. His life that was hollow and empty, becomes truly fulfilling.

And the most intriguing piece of irony of them all?

After exhausting countless resources, plenty of doctors, libraries, and research archives seeking a way to heal his own hands, he found nothing but failure. But using only his own willpower, he who felt helpless and powerless against his disabled hands, managed to save the entire planet and all those living within it.

Because it wasn't his hands that gave him value, nor was it his work. There was something greater, but he was blind to it in himself, and everybody else, seeing all based on what they could accomplish — their educational background, their medical accomplishments  — a worth greater than him, in the world all around him that he always disregarded and failed to see. Something beautiful, precious.

And parallel to earlier events, when Stephen once again pushes the boundaries of magic, but this time, not in pursuit of greatness of for the betterment of his own hands... he is not received with a vocal reprimandation. On the other hand...

And here we are, at the end.

Stephen says it again. “You know, you really should read everything, because the warnings come at the beginning of the books.” He pokes fun at Kaecilius, at himself, at their likeness with a humility unlike yet before.

And Wong laughs. When Stephen went through so many different things trying to make Wong laugh — like he always had his other co-workers— he didn’t. 

But when he put himself and his heart into it, he did.

And no longer is Stephen on the same path as Kaecilius, surrounded by subservient followers, who only did as he told them because of what he was after and the results he promised to be able to deliver on. Now, he surrounds himself with those who genuinely care for him for who he is. No longer is Stephen so blinded by his need to be the greatest person in the room, that he can't see the worth of those around him — of love, of friendship, of companionship.

[aion-rsa]

WandaVision: What Big Marvel Cameos Could Happen?

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This article contains spoilers for WandaVision and the broader MCU.

During a recent interview, WandaVision star Elizabeth Olsen teased that we’re about to see a Mandalorian-level cameo happen in the Marvel series. Without fully spoiling the cameo she was referencing, it was a fan favorite from the Star Wars franchise who emerged in Mando’s Season 2 finale.

WandaVision featuring some notable guest stars hasn’t been a massive secret up until now, and a report that arrived way, way ahead of the premiere suggested that Evan Peters was about to enter the Marvel Cinematic Universe, though it wasn’t known if the actor would play the X-Men version of Pietro Maximoff/Quicksilver or not in the Disney+ show.

Olsen’s WandaVision co-star Paul Bettany built yet more hype around one particular addition to the series – possibly someone different to who Olsen was thinking of – and it didn’t really seem like he was talking about Peters.

“I work with this actor that I’ve always wanted to work with and we have fireworks together, the scenes are great and I think people are going to be really excited,” Bettany told the Lights Camera Barstool podcast. “I’ve always wanted to work with this guy and the scenes are pretty intense.”

Bettany also acknowledged some surprises from WandaVision had already leaked, but that the series was building up to a massive finale. “There were more special effects requirements for our TV show than there were for Endgame.”

WandaVision creator Jac Schaeffer wasn’t keen to reveal who either Bettany or Olsen were referring to, but confirmed to TVLine that “there are so many surprises left in store” and that fans should settle in “because there’s more coming.”

Let’s have a look at some big potential cameos that could happen in WandaVision’s second half. Judging by Bettany and Olsen’s comments, they could be brand-new to the MCU or returning stars.

Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Quicksilver

Though Evan Peters’ inclusion in WandaVision is practically a dead cert at this stage, the opportunity to bring Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s MCU version of Pietro Maximoff back for a cameo in the series could result in a much deeper connection to Wanda herself. The seeds of a potential Pietro return were sown in episode 3 of the Marvel spinoff series when Monica Rambeau – posing as ‘Geraldine’ – accidentally jolted Wanda out of her sitcom daze and back to reality by mentioning that her twin brother had previously been killed by Tony Stark’s villainous murder-bot, Ultron.

Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange

We’ve been told that the events of WandaVision and Marvel’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness are directly connected, so the most reasonable assumption when it comes to a big upcoming cameo is that Stephen Strange will arrive at some point to tackle the mystical wildness going on in Westview.

But since there’s been chatter about Cumberbatch appearing in the show for some time, Strange being part of the proceedings wouldn’t be either a massive surprise or a particularly thrilling reveal at the end of the day, would it?

Hugh Jackman as Wolverine

Logan was confirmed to be Hugh Jackman’s swansong as his iconic X-Men character, but how hard would Marvel Studios have to push to get him back in action as Wolverine in the MCU? Kevin Feige hasn’t really shown any signs of tackling the X-Men again just yet, nor in fact mutants in general as part of the MCU’s reality, so Jackman reprising his role here would be firmly placed in the “unlikely” column.

Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool

Could Ryan Reynolds make a tongue-in-cheek cameo as Deadpool? It does seem like a longshot. The meta setup of WandaVision is arguably the perfect place for Wade Wilson’s antihero to pop up and deliver a few fourth wall-breaking lines to camera, but the chances of Deadpool appearing so far in advance of his own MCU sequel feel fairly slim. Still, we’d love to see the Merc with a Mouth take stock of these strange sitcom scenes – where would he even start?

Michael Fassbender/ Ian McKellen as Magneto

For quite a while in Marvel Comics, Wanda Maximoff was thought to be the daughter of on-off X-Men villain Magneto, played by both Michael Fassbender and Sir Ian McKellen in Fox’s movie franchise. Wanda’s backstory has since been retconned, but there’s a sly joke about Evan Peters’ Pietro Maximoff being Erik’s son in the X-Men films. Could they re(re)retcon Scarlet Witch’s origins to bring back Magneto in WandaVision?

Er, we can likely put this on the Probably Not pile.

Mads Mikkelsen as Kaecilius

Kaecilius bid the world an unhappy farewell during the climax of Scott Derrickson’s Doctor Strange solo movie. The former Master of the Mystic Arts accidentally got his wish granted to live out the rest of eternity as part of Dormammu’s non-stop torment party in the Dark Dimension thanks to Doctor Strange’s time loop shenanigans, but fans of the actor who played the villain – Mads Mikkelsen – thought that dispatching him so early on in Strange’s evolution was a bit of a mistake. After all, why have just one injection of beloved Hannibal star Mikkelsen on screen when you can have, well, a lot more than one?

So, could Wanda messing with reality give Kaecilius an opportunity to escape Dormammu’s clutches and finally have his revenge? Hmm.

Patrick Stewart/James McAvoy as Charles Xavier

Much like Magneto, Charles Xavier has ties to Scarlet Witch in the comics, and if Wanda breaks down the walls between realities too far, we could start to see them bleed into each other, paving the way for an X-Men introduction in WandaVision. It’d be delightful to see either of these Professor X actors make a cameo during the show’s final episodes, but much like Magneto it could be quite far-fetched.

Robert Downey Jr as Iron Man

Robert Downey Jr appeared confident that he was completely done playing Iron Man in the MCU when Phase 3 wrapped up in 2019, but there could surely be no bigger surprise cameo in Disney+’s first Marvel spinoff series than an unlikely return by Tony Stark.

The question is, how could Iron Man possibly come back in WandaVision after he sacrificed his life at the end of Avengers: Endgame, and would it conceivably lead to more appearances by Downer Jr down the road?

Speaking of further appearances from someone we thought had left the MCU for good…

Chris Evans as Captain America

Deadline had some surprising news back in January when it published an exclusive report that claimed Chris Evans was in talks to reprise his role as Captain America in the MCU. It was teased that Steve Rogers could return in various future Marvel movies and shows as a sort of mentor for some of the other characters going forward.

It’s arguably way too early for Evans to show his face in WandaVision, and since Olsen and Bettany indicate that their show’s big cameos have yet to leak, Evans being “the one” should be put on the furthest backburner for now.

Keanu Reeves as Take Your Pick

We don’t yet know if WandaVision’s huge cameo will be from an already-established MCU character, though reports likening it to that of The Mandalorian’s season finale showstopper certainly indicate that it could be. This could all be a little sprinkle of distraction from Olsen and co., however, and a way to keep our minds off the introduction of a new villain who will connect the series to Doctor Strange 2.

Mephisto, Grim Reaper and Nightmare could all be nefarious additions to the MCU in Phase 4, and who better to play one of them than everyone’s favorite puppy avenger, Keanu Reeves? Reeves was close to joining the MCU in 2019’s Captain Marvel as Yon-Rogg before Jude Law landed the part. Has the in-demand actor continued to hold out for a meatier villain role?

Tom Cruise as Iron Man

Rumors that Tom Cruise has been desperate to join the MCU have been circulating for what seems like aeons. We doubt the man’s hurting for cash, but he did have designs on the Iron Man role before Downey Jr laid his claim, and there were definitely whisperings around the time of production on WandaVision that Marvel was trying to tempt Cruise aboard as an alternate reality version of Tony Stark for an appearance in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

Since WandaVision sets up the events of the now-filming sequel, could it be Cruise’s brief appearance that Olsen and Bettany are excited about us seeing? Bettany did describe filming with the actor in question as “intense” and that certainly lines up with the experiences other people working with Cruise have had to date.

Have you thought of any other potential suspects who aren’t listed here? Let us know in the comments.

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[comicsatlasrp-blog]

Character Name: Stephen Vincent Strange, MD Character Alias: The Sorcerer Supreme Identity Status: While Strange’s status as Sorcerer Supreme is not a secret within the supernatural and occult community, knowledge of that mantle is limited within the public eye. Organizations that monitor meta-humans likely know of him, but to the average person on the street he would register as either a nobody or possibly as that stupidly rich and pretentious neurosurgeon who was in a car crash years back. Character Birthday: Nov 18 Character Age: I’ve been having trouble finding an MCU age, but I would assume mid 30s, early 40s

Doctor Strange was a brilliant neurosurgeon with a massively inflated ego and a bank account to match. That career was taken away by nerve damage to his hands when he survived a car accident. Rather than accepting it as a miracle that he was even alive, and retiring to wealth and a comfortable teaching job, Strange squandered his fortune looking for a way to heal his nerves and return full use to his hands.

His search eventually brought him to someone known as “The Ancient One” who was actually the current Sorcerer Supreme and head of an order known as “The Masters of the Mystic Arts”. The order itself was dedicated to protecting our reality from outside threats, and the Sorcerer Supreme was their head. The Ancient One saw potential in Strange to be something more and so, rather than healing Strange, took him on as an apprentice. While hesitant and even resentful at first, Strange eventually took to the training with the same dedication and persistence that got him his doctorate.

Later, having spent quite some time in apprenticeship to the Ancient One, alongside many other students, Strange came to learn of Dormamu. One of the main adversaries of the Sorcerer Supreme, Dormamu longed to enter and subsume our reality, and his agents were already at work attempting to remove the seals that kept him out.

Alongside the Ancient One and Karl Mordo, Strange confronted Kaecilius, Dormamu’s current agent on Earth. Seeing that the fight would ultimately be irrelevant, Strange entered the Dark Dimension and confronted Dormamu directly, tricking the powerful being into a position where he had to acquiesce to Strange’s demands or be caught in a time loop forever.

The Ancient One perished during the confrontation and named Strange the next Sorcerer Supreme, despite the fact that Kaecilius had largely wiped out their order. Disillusioned with the Masters of the Mystic Arts, and feeling he would have been a better choice, Mordo left with the intention of finding where they had gone wrong.

Strange has since spent most of his time furthering his abilities and studying the tomes of his order, learning all he can about the threats he may have to fight in the future. He has also been making contacts in our own world and trying to familiarize himself with other supernatural beings that reside here. In essence, Strange is a strong practitioner of the idea that knowledge is power, and he wants to have as much of it as he can before he is forced into action once more.

[mianmimi]

Usually fanon is so groan worthy, but tbh? Strordo fanon actually *gasp* makes canon better. You have Nicodemus West being the token pathetic douche, Kaecilius as Mordo's problematique ex bf, Mordo loves cats (this is canon actually nvm I will fight for this), Stephen is a dog person, Mordo is the Master of the Mystic Blowjobs & TAO's favorite son, Stephen is ashamed of his scars and Mordo kisses them better, etc. I fucking love this fandom. All *counts w/ fingers* 15 of us lol

I love everything about this ^^ It’s kinda incredible how someone throws an idea in the air and the rest of the fandom just grabs it like thirsty bridesmaids going for that banquet at a wedding. Someone whispers that TAO is like a mom to Mordo and suddenly *huge stamp of fanon approval* I love it hehehe :D

I’m actually really proud that we have so much in common when it comes to how these characters are portrayed in fanon, even if it is bordering on the ridiculous. Especially for poor Nic West, all he did was make a mistake. I’m sure he didn’t mean for that patient to actually die on his watch. Stephen was the one humiliating him and yet it’s Nic that’s portrayed as the devil XD Nic is the greedy, ambitious, murderous villain who probably fucked up Stephen’s hands on purpose cause he’s just that cruel. Totally fanon interpretation but we all latch on to it. XD

Fanon Mordo has taken over my life. I can’t even begin to describe how much I love the fanon backstory for him. Kaecillius being his crazy ex is a huge guilty pleasure of mine. TAO being his mom? Yes fucking please. Poor thing needs a mom. TAO goes Mama!Bear protecting her son, I mean did you see what she did to Stephen when Karl brought him home? XD Mordo never interacts with a cat? Not a problem *fanon stamp of approval* He’s a crazy cat lady now. All the cats! He loves strays! :D He’s also a romantic, writes in journals, can sketch, and loves poetry. Then he’ll kick your ass in the next second ^^

Also Mordo kissing Stephen’s scars? Fuck yes. The thought of it alone revives me.

We truly are a small house, but a proud one ^~^ It’s so lovely to see this fandom grow bit by bit. For being something so tiny, I really do think we produce great content to share and enjoy. Our artists are great. Our writers are amazing. Even our headcanons,metas, and random failings over these two dorks are wonderful. It’s honestly the most satisfying experience I’ve had in a fandom thus far and I have to thank you all for that.

[doctorstrangekinkmeme]

OK but like the tiny strordo fandom continues to be an inspiring, adorable, smart as heck community and this prompt is inspired by recent meta.

Prompt: TAO doesn’t save the day in the mirror dimension. Kaecilius knows that Stephen is Mordo’s weakness and he wants to recruit Mordo for his cause, so he threatens to kill Stephen if Mordo doesn’t join him.

At first, Kaecilius thinks they’re lovers, but then he realizes Mordo’s in love with Stephen but Stephen doesn’t know it. Kaecilius teases Mordo like “would anyone care about him? why shouldn’t I kill him right here and now” and it breaks Mordo to the point of almost tears (think Hong Kong :’D) and he finally says “because I love him”. What happens next is up to you.

-----

(The Strordo meta mentioned.)

[aelaer]

Gonna send this separately so you can choose which ask to answer first and when. So the sorcerers have four main HQs in four different time zones and countries, all of which they can easily travel to in seconds. What do you think that means for the masters, their sleep schedule, and their nationalities? Like, do they have a fairly distributed postings (x number of masters are posted in London and must stay awake when London is, etc)? Or do they just sleep whenever they want?

This is a great question and one I’ve considered it while building out my headcanon for the sorcerers of Kamar-Taj. Here’s something of an excessive essay through a history of building out the four areas, which I think can help establish what goes on in modern day.

Because I’m a Tolkien nerd, I go overly deep into thinking about how languages come into play. Not only that, but I’m also a huge history nerd *and* I adore geography, so this gets very long and unnecessarily detailed. Regardless, I hope you enjoy it.

Hypothetical Early History - Kamar-Taj:

The films established Agamotto was the first Sorcerer Supreme and so he must have established the Sanctums and Kamar-Taj. It’s likely he was either from or very familiar with the Nepal area to establish Kamar-Taj in Kathmandu– but Kamar-Taj may not have necessarily been there since the first Sorcerer Supreme. The Sanctums protect the Earth, but Kamar-Taj is more of a headquarters, and those sort of places can move. I like to think that the first Kamar-Taj in the MCU was actually in Tibet like in the comics and had to be moved centuries ago due to Reasons. However, there is no evidence for this currently and simply remains a headcanon.

A lot of the books Stephen gets are in Classical Sanskrit, according to Wong, once he finishes several books in English as a novice (called The Book of the Invisible Sun, Astronomia Nova, Codex Imperium, and Key of Solomon). Classical Sanskrit’s more recent than Vedic Sanskrit, but it’s still a very old language. It came around about 2500 years ago and was widely used until the beginning of the dominance of Islamic societies about the 13th century. It spread all throughout Asia in its near 2000 years of prominence in learned, literary circles as well as in several vernacular circles. This includes both Nepal and quite a bit of China.

So with Kamar-Taj within Asia (there’s no reason to believe otherwise) the primary language both studied and spoken across several different cultures would have certainly been Sanskrit until the end of the first millennium AD. For any newcomer who was illiterate (of which there likely would be many) it would be the first language they were taught to read and write (and speak as needed). It would serve as the lingua franca across all four locations. But naturally each location would have picked up the vernacular languages in their region as well as other elements.

So let’s take a look at the actual Sanctums and how they would differentiate between each other before going further into how the lingua franca would change over time.

Hypothetical Early History - The London Sanctum

Let’s look at London first. London is a very old city that has history to the Roman era (called Londonium then), established by them in 47 AD. Apparently it had a population of 50,000 by the 3rd century AD, which is nuts; remember that the historical City of London is only about a square mile wide, but in modern day about 500,000 people work in that square mile. So 50,000 people can live in that amount of space easily. It only really started spilling out in the 1600s, too.

Why am I saying all this? Well, I looked up the filming location from the very beginning of Doctor Strange, where Kaecilius runs out of the library to the London Sanctum and to the city. That was filmed on Whitehall Court, which is located in Westminster and about a kilometer away from the borders of the classic City of London.

This means that the London Sanctum was not considered a part of London for some time. Indeed, Agamotto likely established it several hundred years before the Westminster Abbey and the predecessor to the Palace of Westminster were established in the 10th and 11th centuries. Before that? There was no reason for anyone to be there. So for several centuries the London Sanctum was in the middle of nowhere. There was likely an illusion spell over it to prevent any random passerbys from over the centuries to find it unless they were “meant” to find it, or whatever. You know, magic stuff. They’d probably disguise it as a small servant’s house once the village around the abbey and palace started developing (with some sort of suggestive “do not disturb” spells of various strengths depending on the political/religious climates of the decade).

The facade would change with the changing architecture in the village and likely would remain generally undocumented until Westminster became an official borough in the 16th century. With houses getting much closer and less easily able to completely hide their presence, even with subtle “look the other way” spells, this is when I really think they’d have to set aside actual budget for whatever property taxes were set by the Crown. You can hide a building in plain sight with magic if there’s enough empty space, but I don’t think you could hide it if you have buildings on each side of it unless you do the Harry Potter trick of squeezing the space out of existence for all non-magic folk. They clearly don’t do this in the film, and they wouldn’t want someone to try and build something on their very not-empty lot, thus needing to pay property taxes. But generally they’d otherwise be left alone.

Despite it not being part of London until the Greater London area was established in the 20th century, due to its closeness to the City of London I think it would have been called the London Sanctum from a very early point. London/Londonium had been around for a millennium longer than Westminster, so I don’t see them changing the name just because they’re suddenly in a village called Westminster now.

The vernacular language of the Sanctum (not to be confused with the literary language and worldwide language of communication, Sanskrit) would shift with the centuries. First it would be the Common Brittonic with Latin after the Roman invasion in order to do any business in London (which was only a kilometer away, though distance naturally wouldn’t be an issue with a sorcerer). This would eventually shift to Old English at the Roman Empire’s decline, and Latin would be put on the backburner for some time. Old English turns to Middle turns to Early Modern (which is Shakespeare), and Latin’s revival with the Renaissance does spread into the Sanctum if they pick up any well-read, learned individuals in the 16th to 18th centuries.

Hypothetical Early History - The Hong Kong Sanctum 

The Hong Kong Sanctum was built on a set for a street that doesn’t actually exist in Hong Kong so we can’t use the same trick we did for London on precise location. But like London, the area has been inhabited for millennia, with it becoming part of one of the Chinese dynasties (Qin) in 221 BC. It was difficult to find dating for the history of its name and what it was called before it became Hong Kong. From what I can find, the British, once they received the island to colonize in the 19th century, gave the whole island that name, which was the phonetic translation of “ 香港 ”, or “fragrant harbour”.

It’s very unlikely that the Hong Kong Sanctum was actually called Hong Kong for most of its history unless it was directly within the village that bore that name on Hong Kong Island. But we don’t know where the Sanctum is supposed to be; it could be on Hong Kong Island (the original British territory), the Kowloon Peninsula (in the second growth of the colony), or on Lantau Island, another island, or one of the other New Territories north of the peninsula, gained by the British in 1899. Its original name probably reflected whatever area it’s historically located in and it would not have been changed to “Hong Kong” likely until the 20th century.

The vernacular language of the Hong Kong Sanctum would have started with the Chinese/Sinitic language groups of Yue and Hakka (which are considered Cantonese by non-linguists), specifically with dialects local to the area. It looks like another dialect from the Min family also lived in the area, so that could be sprinkled in as well. I would think that sorcerers based within the Hong Kong Sanctum would be expected to speak at least two local Chinese dialects to be able to communicate with as many newcomers as possible, and that the common language across language barriers for all the hundreds of variants of Chinese would be Sanskrit, as that would be the literary and formal language used to talk with people from all around the world. The literary language would eventually change, of course, but we’re not quite there yet in this ridiculous meta.

It’s possible that, since the area was generally not very populated until the 19th century, that the Sanctum was a lot more open in its existence (with less concealment spells and the like) and that they even allowed rumours of its existence to leak out to the local villages for anyone who was looking for greater spiritual enlightenment and knowledge. They may set some sort of obstacles on the way to find the Sanctum, but it wouldn’t be completely off the map like London would have to be for most of its existence. I don’t see anything in Taoism, Buddhism, Daoism, or Confucianism that would mark the magics of sorcery as “unnatural” or “evil” as many sects of Christianity would have in Europe, but I may be wrong on this topic.

They’d not have to worry about an increasing populace until the 19th century, since Hong Kong Island only had 3,000 people when the British colonized it. The population got a huge influx of people from Canton/Guangzhou once the British took over, which would eventually shift the vernacular from several dialects of Chinese to the one the people of Canton brought with them: Cantonese. Along with Cantonese, there definitely would be an increase in English amongst those speaking the vernacular in the Hong Kong Sanctum from the 1840s onward, just as there was with the rest of the population of Hong Kong. We’ll get more into this development in another part, but first we need to cover America.

Hypothetical Early History - The New York Sanctum

Like Hong Kong, this name is more recent, though not as recent as its sister sanctum in China. Before New York City was colonized, it was populated by the Lenape people, who called their territory Lenapehoking. I imagine that the New York Sanctum was once called the Lenapehoking Sanctum, assuming that the Lenope people were able to hold that territory for the several centuries before the Europeans came over. There’s no recorded history that I could find, so we cannot be certain on that account.

Unlike the London Sanctum (and possibly the Hong Kong Sanctum), it is also possible that the religion of the Lenape people and other local tribes were open to the idea of some individuals having a greater natural connection and unusual, great powers. I think obstacles would be set for those of the Lenape who wanted to leave to find this spot of enlightenment, but at the same time I do not believe it would be viewed necessarily as a negative thing.

If they drew recruits from the local populace, the vernacular would have been largely from the language spoken by the Lenape of what is now called New York City, which is called Munsee (and sadly has only two living native speakers left). They possibly also spoke Umani, the language the Lenape south of New York spoke.

This would have all changed with the arrival of European colonizers. The Dutch bought some of the area in modern lower Manhattan in 1626 from one of the Lenape groups, but the territory only extended to Wall Street; Bleecker Street is about 2 miles north of that, so they’re still in Lenape territory. However, the next 100 years dramatically shifted the landscape. New Amsterdam became New York (and transferred back, *then* back again), and inter-tribal warfare combined with the lack of immunity from the diseases the Europeans brought over cut Lenape populations dramatically in the modern New York area. I could see a potential influx of Lenape individuals who wanted nothing to do with the business of war and disease and looked for the mysterious building that no one could ever map in their territory for sanctuary. And from there, a lot of Lenape sorcerers in the 17th century.

Greenwich Village (which is where Bleecker Street is) started as farmland with some of the Dutch in the 1630s onward. The first black Dutchmen were freed a decade later and given parcels of land there, as well. Who knows: maybe one of them, or their children, became the first black sorcerers as I’m uncertain if such an opportunity would have presented itself earlier in London and I’m not sure if they would pick up random folk who didn’t come directly to Kamar-Taj or one of the three Sanctums. That said, I don’t know what travel from Africa looked like (outside of the countries on the Mediterranean) before the slave trade really got going from the age of exploration onwards. It’s hard to say what the sorcerer recruiting process would be like, especially with the language barriers. And I’d rather not magic all language barriers away, they’re interesting to keep around.

Anyway, the area was first designated as a hamlet on paper in 1713 (as Grin’wich); by the end of the century it was a decent-sized suburb that absolutely exploded in population throughout the 19th century. It would certainly have been during the 1700s that they would have had to established a visible building on record so no one tried to build on top of them (and start paying property taxes on that, too, haha); they probably expanded their property throughout the 1800s as smallpox drove people out of south Manhattan to the fresher airs of Greenwich, then with the immigration and building booms of the rest of the century.

By the 18th century English would have entered the vernacular of the sorcerers residing in the New York Sanctum and would remain the primary vernacular language until modern day. It would likely be renamed sometime in the 1700s as well with the expansion of New York City and the further decline of native settlements.

Hypothetical Early History - Mingling With the Normals Around the World

One reason I favour Kamar-Taj in a more remote region in its earlier years rather than Kathmandu would be for sorcerers from all around the world to easily mingle outside without worry of some central Asian villager getting spooked out of his ever-loving mind for seeing his first European. And it makes sense to me that Kamar-Taj would have a large community of farmers, herdsmen, and the like doing basic things to keep people fed and shod while more experienced sorcerers did the reality protecting part of the job. They simply wouldn’t be able to do their job if they didn’t have people who were keeping the community running. And I don’t think they’d outsource it for much of their existence. I really see Kamar-Taj as a very self-sufficient society that keeps away from the rest of the world as much as possible. That would take a lot of room, and you’d need a lot of land for that. So yeah, I’m favouring Kamar-Taj as a “hidden land” in Tibet as it was in the comics until the world began to enter the modern era. And here they could mingle with anyone they wanted.

When it came to going out to the rest of the world, however, I would imagine caution and secrecy was of ultimate importance. Again, you don’t want to spook the western European villager with seeing a black person for the first time some 2000 years ago. So basically sorcerers avoided any locals as much as viably possible.

On that note, until the age of exploration I imagine that each Sanctum would be very strict with who was allowed outside of the Sanctum to their immediate surroundings. They don’t want to draw too much curiosity and scrutiny lest rumours travel to those with considerable power. This would be especially important in London after the rise of Christianity and the distrust in anything seen as magical. People that didn’t look like you appearing in your little village? Don’t want to scare the illiterate locals.

So for the majority of the Sanctums’ histories, only sorcerers with backgrounds that were native to their location would actually go outside if they needed to and there was a chance they’d come across someone. America would be the most lenient while London the strictest. These rules would be in place for precaution and secrecy.

Even when the age of exploration begins in earnest and you actually start seeing traders from Asia, Africa, and the Americas in London as the centuries pass onward, minority sorcerers still may not want to travel the streets of London due to the possibility that they may be mistreated. I’m not greatly familiar with the history of diversity and how minorities were treated in London, but if it’s anything like the rest of the world, it probably wasn’t great. And the last thing anyone before the 19th century would want is to show magic and be accused of witchcraft. I imagined they just avoided the possibility of problems happening altogether by limiting who went outside the Sanctum in certain parts of the world.

It’s not really until the 19th century that you see stringent rules start to relax a bit; Hong Kong has several European traders and New York and London have turned into much larger melting pots. By the time WWII comes around, these old rules about where people can travel directly from the Sanctums are dropped as the world has become a melting pot.

Hypothetical History Up To The Modern Era

As established, the main language of literary and cross-cultural communication would start with Sanskrit due to its prominence in Asia as a writing system first and foremost when the Sanctums were established (presuming that they were established a few centuries before or after the BC/AD shift; I don’t think the MCU uses the comic canon for Agamotto’s age). Using it for spoken language afterwards just makes sense with so many cultures present.

The lingua franca of Sanskrit wouldn’t change until Sanskrit’s decline; I don’t see it happening immediately, either. Sanskrit started declining in the 13th century, but I think it would remain the lingua franca until sometime during the Renaissance and the years of colonialism that follow. I believe there would have been a large push for Latin to be the main language of literacy and communication between the 16th to 18th centuries, primarily from the sorcerers from Europe. A good number of more complex texts from the London Sanctum would have surely been translated into Latin at this time (while the idea of writing in the vernacular, as spread with the printing press, has certainly caught on and beginner texts there are starting to be translated into early Modern English).

The Ancient One, who is now Sorcerer Supreme at this time, isn’t quite sure yet of that change. She’s getting a lot of resistance from Hong Kong in particular who think Sanskrit has served fine for well over a millennium and can serve just as well in the next. Instead she encourages more translations of beginner books into the vernacular and encourages those in the other Sanctums to learn other vernacular languages of other Sanctums as she can see the world is beginning to shrink and more places are being mapped. She, of course, can speak several languages fluently so she can talk to as many students in their native language as possible. Because the Sanctums are not within Spanish-speaking or French-speaking territories, these two languages are acknowledged as wide-speaking and at least a couple sorcerers learn the languages if there are no native speakers, but they do not come into the running as a lingua franca (just as Mandarin does not, either, as no one near Hong Kong speaks it).

Things remain in flux for the next 200 to 300 years until the New York Sanctum is largely populated by those who immigrated recently to the English colonies. And then the request starts to change: make the lingua franca English. London largely agrees with this (though things get a bit salty between a couple English natives and a couple pro-Independence colonizers at the end of the 18th century) but by the time the 19th century rolls around, there’s a lot of support for this from both New York and London.

Hong Kong doesn’t see why it should change at all, and then the Opium Wars come around, and by 1850, there’s quite a bit of English being spoken by newcomers in their area and almost everyone else is speaking another dialect of Chinese rather than the vernacular they were familiar with. They agree, albeit a bit reluctantly. English becomes the vernacular in the latter half of the 19th century and any starter books that haven’t been translated start to be translated into English.

The Hong Kong Sanctum also works on translating several starter books into Cantonese as they still want to draw from the local populace who don’t speak English; they still have plenty of the local Yue and Hakka dialects made over the last thousand years (with updates made every couple hundred years with shifting languages).

France’s fall from power with the removal of their monarchy and the defeat of Napoleon, alongside the continuous British colonization efforts and the growing prosperity from the new county of the United States, remove French from potentially becoming a lingua franca and solidify English as a worldwide language. This only increases in the 20th century after the Allied success in WWII, even with Britain giving up/losing their colonies throughout the next thirty years. English is still spoken in those territories, after all.

Hypothetical History: The Modern Era

The twentieth century saw the most change in the shape of the world than all centuries previous, and this change is reflected in policy with the sorcerers of Kamar-Taj. Before the twentieth century, the sorcerers that resided/worked in the various Sanctums were very homogeneous. London was staffed by Europeans and Hong Kong by Asians, especially of southeast descent. New York was the most lenient due to the low population in the area that was constantly moving, though individuals who looked like the indigenous peoples were certainly preferred (no blonds here). Everyone was welcome in Kamar-Taj as it was a completely closed off, secluded community and everyone was used to a very mixed population. As mentioned earlier, while London and New York saw different ethnicities, especially after the Renaissance, I don’t think a lot of people would really want to go out and about in those areas due to the prejudices of the era.

It is possible that some sorcerers came with prejudices as they were introduced to Kamar-Taj, but the amount of discipline and the ability to work together was so imperative to Agamotto, the Ancient One, and other Sorcerer Supremes (however many there were) that anyone who didn’t shed them simply wouldn’t be permitted to continue. Their tight-knit society wouldn’t be able to function if some sorcerers refused to work with other sorcerers because they looked different, practiced a different religion, or was a woman. The Ancient One being a woman of ambiguous religious practices helped get rid of a lot of people.

But as mentioned, a lot of things changed with the twentieth century. Prejudice still existed, of course, as it does today, but it was significantly less than when the slave trade was legal around half the world 200-300 years ago. The invention of photography, radio, and TV alongside WWI and WWII made the world smaller than it ever has been. And as the three Sanctum cities were much more heterogeneous than in centuries past, who presided over what relaxed.

In the 21st century, sorcerers come from all around the world over. Because their numbers are small I think recruitment still remains largely out of being lucky enough to come across a sorcerer who thinks you may be a good candidate, or to hear about Kamar-Taj through word of mouth and travel to Kathmandu (where it eventually permanently located as need for fields and fields of space became unnecessary). Anyone who doesn’t know English well (or at all) is taught to read, write, and speak the language during their novice days. As English is the lingua franca of the business world right now, no one in their right mind would turn that down, either; right now, English remains the most desired language to learn in the majority of non-English speaking countries.

Anyone can now be posted anywhere due to the heterogeneous world. Sleep schedules correspond with the local time of the location; as each Sanctum has an alarm system that goes to Kamar-Taj (and I imagine Kamar-Taj has its own), it would be easy enough to get sorcerers who are wide awake to help with an emergency. There’s probably someone keeping an eye on all locations when the locals are sleeping, even if they’re not physically there.

The majority of sorcerers who don’t have assignments that correspond with the Sanctums would remain in Kamar-Taj, and if they needed to go to any old Sanctum, it likely would be Hong Kong as Hong Kong is only two hours and 15 minutes ahead of Kathmandu. (China is one time zone when it should be at least three, but that’s another conversation altogether). That said, even if the local residents of the Sanctums are asleep, I view the Sanctums as facilities that are open twenty-four hours to the people of Kamar-Taj if they need to reference something that lives within one of the other Sanctums.

I don’t think the permanent staff of the Sanctums in the modern era would be overly large, either; there’s the Master, of course, probably another person to see to the Sanctum’s day-to-day tasks, and maybe a handful of acolytes and apprentices making a certain study of something that lives within the Sanctum or prefer to be within that time zone for some time while doing another job that they could do anywhere (such as the translations I mentioned). But because they do have that nifty alarm system, and the world is much more heterogeneous than it once was, the desire to keep sorcerers assigned to certain parts of the world appearing like people locally from there so as to draw less attention from locals is a custom that has more or less died out. And that has made the assignments much, much more flexible.

So yeah, I think in the modern era there is a bit more flexibility that wasn’t present in former eras because the world is smaller. With the alarm system connected to Kamar-Taj, which would have traffic 24 hours a day more than likely, you have a worldwide system of sorcerers with an eye on each Sanctum as well as a worldwide system of sorcerers that can go wherever they need to go to take care of dimensional issues as they come up.

[botanycameos]

Each time I get to the chat between Stephen + Kaecilius in the NY Sanctum, I always wonder what would've happened if Stephen had let him out of the CBoC. Would Kae have just killed him? From his point of view Strange wouldn't be especially useful against TAO and the others with his limited training + he could see killing him as merciful. Still, he did seem keen on recruiting Strange + oddly enough just immediately assumed Stephen had joined him when he went to meet Dormammu.

He seemed keen on recruiting Stephen, but he was also manipulating him. I don’t think he was necessarily super sincere in wanting Stephen to join him for sure. It was possibly more of a “if he joins, cool, the more canon fodder the better; if he doesn’t, we’ll just kill him” kind of deal.

Although he would probably have figured that Stephen had huge potential, since he was wearing the eye of Agamotto and defeated zealots. At best, he could be canon fodder more useful to the cause than those zealots were, hence worth recruiting too.

As for Hong Kong, that was probably more of a way to hurt Mordo. From Kaecilius point of view, even that pesky annoying new guy who kept causing him trouble seemed to have finally succumbed to Dormammu/joined them, so it was a “see, everyone is leaving you” thing to Mordo. That and Kaecilius had seen Mordo risking his life to protect Stephen in New York, so he knew he cares a lot about Stephen. Pointing out that Stephen had apparently left Mordo’s side was Kaecilius doing psychological warfare against the stronger sorcerer still left fighting him.

[doctorstrangeaskblog]

Oh, yeah, I wrote a few metas about that. Just search my blogs in the META tag and you’ll find a ton of them. I’ll try to be objective.

(MY METAS IN AO3 HERE)

The Masters of the Mystic Arts is an organization, it works pretty much like the NARUTO NINJA WORLD works. There are hierarchies, missions, specializations and many different techniques along with objects, treasures, secrets, ancient scrolls et all.

Robes: White is rookie, red/wine is intermediate and blue is advanced. After that you can choose any color and even get inspiration from how your master wears, if you have one (a special master).

The RANKS should be something like: Rookie, Intermediate, Advanced, In Training for Master, Master, Sorcerer Supreme.

As a MASTER, you can choose a function: Sanctum Guardian, Teacher, Librarian...

Sorcerers also have specializations: Combat, Diplomacy, Librarian, Organizer, Teacher...

Each specialization has...SUB SPECIALIZATIONS, like, Stephen’s specialization is clearly COMBAT, and his SUB SPECIALIZATIONS are mostly Shields, Portals and Energetic Elemental Spells. He also has to work as a diplomat and others since he’s ALONE in the New York Sanctum.

Kaecilius very likely killed everyone from the New York Sanctum, that’s why it’s EMPTY (maybe he killed the Cloak owner?). Sorcerers from the London Sanctum were killed during Doctor Strange. Stephen revived the sorcerers from the Hong Kong Sanctum and probably blacked out after that.

The sorcerers from Kamar Taj who weren’t fighters survived since Kaecilius went for the Sanctums, exploding a part of the compound only to use the place as a bridge.

The Guardian of the Hong Kong Sanctum is Tina Minoru.

The Guardian of the New York One was Stephen, then Wong when he died.

The Guardian of the London Sanctum was killed, now we don’t know who guards it, maybe a council or a substitute.

Masters organize medium and advanced students to go on missions, that vary from combat to business and diplomacy, pretty similar of how Naruto villages and ninjas work.

Stephen has zero students under the New York Sanctum, so he has to do everything alone. Kamar Taj students probably help with London missions and sometimes maybe Stephen, the Hong Kong Sanctum is the most functional one (currently) I guess since it still has students and masters assigned to it.

The Ancient One is the greatest hierarchy, but I think we can assume things are decided with meetings, like a council of sorcerers. Sanctum Guardians must have autonomy to act on their own, organize teams and request resources (or sorcerers) to form teams.

Kamar Taj is the central “headquarter”, the refugee and the place they train sorcerers, and a guaranteed home if any sorcerer needs help to eat, sleep. It provides clothes, training, materials, books...whatever a sorcerer needs if they can’t do it on their own. To reinforce the idea, Kamar Taj is linked to all the 3 Sanctums and the most precious relics are kept there, just like the Eye of Agamotto.

The decisions probably are democratic, decided by the masters. There might be inner little conflicts, such as arrogance of some, but that doesn’t get in the way of the functionality of the Masters.

[themoviestore]

Doctor Strange

Doctor Strange is a 2016 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name. Produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, it is the 14th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). 

Plot :

In Kathmandu, the sorcerer Kaecilius and his zealots enter the secret compound Kamar-Taj and behead its librarian. They steal a few pages…

[botanycameos]

Alt. ‘verse Doctor Strange (2016 film) scenario: Dormammu's servant, Kaecilius, had accomplished one of his mission. That mission being killing Doctor Strange. He achieved this without much haste while in the astral realm. Now, with Strange dead and Christine Palmer unable to revive him, Kaecilius moved on to his next objective. What horrors would plague Earth because of the zealot's murder of Doctor Strange?

Probably not much from the zealots.

No matter how misguided Kaecilius’ supposed good intentions for humanity may be (or how hypocritical, given how quick he is to viciously attempt to murder anyone who doesn’t immediately buy into his spiel), nothing Kaecilius could possibly do to the Earth would even register in the face of the total annihilation we’d get as soon as Dormammu absorbs the world into his Dark Dimension. XD

So yeah, we’d all die. Maybe be turned into Mindless Ones, and hopefully not remember/not be able to feel all the horror that would also entail. Otherwise it might be a fate worse than death... (TAO did mention eternal suffering, dunno if that would be the case just for the zealots or for everyone on Earth, if everyone would be transformed by Dormammu once he takes over...)

The Dark Dimension isn’t just like any other dimension. It used to be its own thing but after Dormammu got there, he began invading and conquering countless other dimensions, and each time they get absorbed into the Dark Dimension and, basically, destroyed. (This is from the classic Dr Strange comics, and something that has also been reiterated in more recent issues.)

The absorbed worlds keep existing but they are twisted so far due to merging with the DD that it just ends them in a way (”end of the world as we know it”), while the DD keeps growing in size and power with each new world that gets swallowed into it.

According to a quote by Dormammu in one of the recent comics:

“[...] I want you to be able to see it before you die. Truly see it.

To see what will become of your world, once the Sorcerer Supreme has fallen and I have flung wide the gates between our dimensions. 

Open your eyes, Doctor Strange, and see the fires, see the faces filled with horror. Flesh will burn, souls will be ravaged. Man will consume man. Mothers will murder babies still mewling for the teat.

The Mindless Ones will run amok. The world will be remade in my infernal image. Everything you think of as beautiful will wither and die, along with the memory that it ever even existed.”

He’s even more dramatic and cruel to Stephen in canon than in my angsty fic ideas. XD

Basically, nothing the zealots could possibly do would even register compared to the horrors Dormammu was about to unleash on Earth.

So, uh, no pressure for poor Stephen to succeed, the world will just be over if he fails. XD;

[doctorstrangeaskblog]

Not sure if you'd know this or not, but my question is why does Doctor Strange's outfit change at the end of the movie? Ex: Red belt and more colors in the arms

I’m not sure why, but I believe that between the battle against Dormammu and the end of the movie, A LOT of things happened, but they weren’t shown, so I have some ideas of what his uniform change could mean.

Before starting a meta in detail, I think some sort of celebration or nomination happened to officially promote Doctor Strange to the New York Sanctum Guardian. I believe the little yellow and orange details around his arms are some kind of homage for the zealots that died or got imprisoned in the Dark Dimension, because after all, despite being wrong, the zealots were doing what they thought it was the right thing and I’m quite sure Stephen didn’t want them to die or suffer.

So, let’s talk about what probably happened between the battle against Dormammu and the end of the movie.

1) Rebuild and revive the more you can!!!

It might not be sooo obvious in the movie, but Kaecilius caused an HUGE DEVASTATION. You WILL notice if you pay attention, but it’s not something the movie keeps showing over and over again, but anyway, think about it. Kaecilius was a very very badass master, stronger that a normal Sanctum Guardian such as Master Drumm (he killed him in front of Stephen) and Kaecilius isn’t alone. The zealots aren’t any sorcerers, they aren’t rookies, they are very advanced students. Remember how Mordo had such a hard time fighting the zealots, even in one against one battles? In fact, the zealots were powerful, their team work was absurdly harmonic, they knew how to use powerful spells and they all made a deal with Dormammu, to boost their spells even more. In other words, Kaecilius and crew first attacked Kamar Taj, heavily damaging the books, relics, killing a lot of students and masters, interrupting the doors and portals and weakening the force fields, then he destroyed all the 3 Sanctums, one by one, killing their guardians, the masters and the students, including the relics and artifacts, scrolls and book that were destroyed with the explosions and fires. By doing that, Kaecilius also destroyed the mystic barrier that protects the Earth, allowing Dormammu to enter our realm and start eating it with the Dark Dimension. But without the mystic barrier, other evil entities can attack our planet too, meaning that people who have an awakened mystic potential or a stronger than normal mystic potential might be in danger, becoming food for paranormal and mystic beings.

Considering all that destruction, Wong and Tina Minoru, the Guardian of the Hong Kong Sanctum, died too, being brought back to life when Doctor Strange used the Eye of Agamotto to rewind time in Hong Kong. After the battle, Stephen was absolutely exhausted. We can SEE how drained and mentally tired he is. He even jokes with things he normally wouldn’t joke with, his eyes are deep and almost closing, he’s injured, stumbling around, despite looking relieved because his never ending torture session is finally over, Strange seemed he could black out any moment. But still he had a lot of things to do. Strange was the only person alive capable of using the Eye of Agamotto, he re-winded all the destruction in Hong Kong, but New York and London also were in ruins because of the attacks, specially the areas where the sanctums were. Since the New York Sanctum seems recovered and many relics that possibly were heavily damaged were back to normal later on, it’s logical to believe that Doctor Strange used a portal to leave Hong Kong with Wong and went to New York, using the Eye of Agamotto to rebuild the Sanctum and bring back to live everyone he could.Let’s remember that everyone who was completely disintegrated, who was sent to somewhere else (therefore out of the Eye’s range), who was locked in the Mirrored Dimension (or who died in there) or who died way before Stephen fought Dormammu (Master Drumm and others) and that were removed from New York and taken to Kamar Taj to be placed with the other deceased (sorcerer) victims could NOT be revived by Doctor Strange because of the Eye of Agamotto’s limitations, and of course, Doctor Strange’s knowledge and power limitations. This means MANY sorcerers died and that’s a true punch against the Masters of the Mystic Arts’ stability. 

After rebuilding Hong Kong, Stephen probably rebuilt New York and then he probably went to Kamar Taj, in order to bring the students who died back to life, along with all the books and important things that had been destroyed. Kamar Taj is shown (the library they’re in) to be brand new and indeed, it’s a very important place since it has the 3 gateways to the 3 sanctums and stores the most important books. Also, the younger students stay at Kamar Taj and so many must have died when Kaecilius attacked and everything crumbled, so bringing them to life was among the highest priorities.

After Kamar Taj, Doctor Strange probably went to London in order to revive and rebuild the sanctum and the sorcerers who died there, however, I believe Stephen might have collapsed before he could use the time spell to bring everyone back and I think that because the Master of the London Sanctum remained dead even after the movie. He wasn’t brought back to life. I could be wrong, maybe Stephen managed to rewind time in London and bring everyone back and the Sanctum Guardian remained dead because his body was moved (he was the first master to die) way before the Hong Kong battle, but I don’t think that’s the problem, because we see the Sanctum corridor CRUMBLING over him (and over Strange, but he was pushed back by the explosion) and then this huge explosion swallowing the London Guardian’s body. Even if the guardian was reduced to ashes, if all the stones and ruined sanctum remained there, over him, he would have returned to life when Strange re-winded time. I doubt his body would have been moved considering Kaecilius was attacking and the Masters of the Mystic Arts were facing an emergency, I don’t think they would stop to remove all the stones to find the bodies at the time, they had to fight at all costs and they all failed to stop Kaecilius.I believe Strange collapsed for good before he could revive everyone and rebuild everything in London. Stephen possibly blacked out for DAYS after spending so long fighting and being killed and tortured by Dormammu over 2000 times and using all his remaining energy to use time spells in Hong Kong, New York, Kamar Taj and London (attempt).

2) Stephen wasn’t given the Eye of Agamotto right away. He still had to prove his valor to earn it, despite everything he did.

We see Stephen leaving the Eye in the Kamar Taj’s library. That could mean two things. First: even after fainting, no one removed the Eye of Agamotto from Stephen Strange’s neck, despite probably washing him and cleaning his wounds and changing his clothes (stripping him) because Stephen most likely fainted and slept for days after the Hong Kong battle. Second: the Eye was removed from his neck when he fainted, he was taken care of and wore the Eye once again for the special ceremony in which he was officially nominated New York Sanctum Guardian and Master of the Mystic Arts, because until then, he was just an advanced student.

3) Doctor Strange went through an official nomination in order to become the official Guardian of the New York Sanctum, including tests to prove himself worthy and get his “Master” title, officially.

Considering a lot of sorcerers died, there must have happened a funeral, an event in which the masters and students grieved those who passed away. Stephen couldn’t bring everyone back from the dead, including the London Sanctum Guardian and many others. After that, considering The Ancient One had named Doctor Strange the new Sanctum Guardian (of New York) and a Master (Master Strange), Stephen sure went through an official nomination before taking the role as a guardian. Instructions probably were given to him, as well as the property of the New York Sanctum. He probably had to read a lot of guidelines and rules before taking the role and despite The Ancient One nominating him herself, she died and it’s possible the other masters didn’t know she had given Strange the title, so wanting or not, Stephen probably was tested before becoming a Master and before he could actually be the New York Sanctum Guardian. He was considered a rookie, it was obvious how the other masters didn’t take him seriously because of his rebel attitude, probably because of his personality and as well as his hands (disability in many things), we can see Mordo and Wong talking to Stephen as if he wasn’t clever enough, as if all he has was a natural gift while Stephen had trained SO HARD in order to learn and evolve, they simply ignored that and saw only his talent, while Stephen was spending nights and nights of pure hard work. Master Drumm also treats Stephen as if he were weak in the deleted scene.

I think Doctor Strange went through a test, a special challenge so he could prove the other masters he was worthy of getting the “Master” title as well.And I really doubt Stephen didn’t suffer prejudice because he’s American. His culture is American too and he’s materialistic, he’s arrogant and his personality is strong. Of course he wore robes, but you can bet there was this huge cultural shock when Strange arrived. There were people from all over the world there, but we can’t forget Kamar Taj is in Asia (Nepal) so obviously the predominant culture there is different, including food, clothes and a many other things. Anyone from NOT ASIA in Kamar Taj had to adapt, despite Magic not being Asian in the MCU (it’s multicultural, having scientists such as Cagliostro who was Italian as one of the many minds behind it), Kamar Taj is in Asia, therefore, Stephen had to adapt and learn how to respect things that were different from his own culture. In Infinity War, we see Stephen liking sandwiches and wearing casual “American” clothes and not robes, so yeah, he has his own culture, he didn’t become Asian or “is using Asian culture” as many say. Strange became a mix of the Mystic Arts, of the doctor he is, of the things he learned with the Ancient One in Kamar Taj and of his own culture. He’s unique. He’s a rich mix that still carries of a lot of a “Goth and baroque medieval wizard”, with multicultural elements, of course.

It doesn’t end there. I bet Doctor Strange also had to prove his worth to get the “Guardian of the New York Sanctum” title. Indeed, he defended the Sanctum after its master had been killed in battle, therefore, the Guardian title is his, but I don’t think it was so simple for Stephen, considering all the prejudice against him.

4) Everyone from the New York Sanctum died.

And Stephen couldn’t bring them back to life because they probably died while trying to protect Kamar Taj and their bodies probably were moved or completely destroyed or sent somewhere else before the Hong Kong battle.

The New York Sanctum Master (Drumm) remained dead. We don’t see any other student or master wandering around the sanctum in Thor Ragnarok or in Infinity War, so where are they? The answer might be a cruel theory. They’re all dead. During the battle in Hong Kong, we see a lot of masters (and students too?) taking weapons and relics to fight (to defend the Hong Kong sanctum), so we can presume they either were already there or used their sling rings to get there, considering the portals from Kamar Taj to the Sanctums had been destroyed. Still, the Hong Kong Sanctum was full of people, while the New York Sanctum was basically EMPTY. Just Master Drumm was there. We can assume that the students and masters that used to live or train in the New York Sanctum went to Kamar Taj that was being attacked by Kaecilius (he destroyed the London Sanctum first, until then, Kamar Taj or the New York Sanctum didn’t know about the attack). 

It would be natural for all the sorcerers from New York to go protect Kamar Taj, since most students live there and since the most precious books and relics are stored there too. Since all the 3 sanctums had to fall so the mystic shield that protects the Earth would be deactivated, it’s only logical that the Hong Kong Sanctum increased it’s defenses while the New York Sanctum provided backup for Kamar Taj since they could risk losing the New York Sanctum while trying to protect Kamar Taj but at the same time couldn’t afford losing the Hong Kong Santum in order to keep the shield. (It could have happened with the New York Sanctum as the “fortified sanctum” in the place of the Hong Kong Sanctum as the “used for backup sanctum”, but well, Stephen was thrown into the New York Sanctum and the Cloak was stored there too so, luck I guess?).

5) The yellow and Orange colors wrapped around his arms are an homage to Kaecilius and the fallen zealots.

It’s as I said, despite being wrong, the zealots were doing what they thought it was the right thing and I’m quite sure Stephen didn’t want them to die or suffer. They were students too and they had friends, many zealots probably even grew up in Kamar Taj, who knows? They weren’t evil per se, they got blinded by Kaecilius’ ideals and did what they thought it was the best for the world. The red detail on his waist is probably because Wong is his master now?

Let’s not forget Stephen’s oath against killing or causing any harm. Well, because of Stephen, some zealots died or got trapped in the Dark Dimension, destined to suffer for a long time and I’m sure Stephen didn’t like the idea of that, despite being the only way to save the world and prevent EVERYONE from having that terrible destiny. We also have to consider how much Strange seems to have matured from the middle to the end of the movie. Some time passed for sure and now he knows what he wants. He wants to be a sorcerer, he decided to leave his life and his own dreams behind in order to serve a greater good, carrying a lot of responsibility on his shoulders since he might be the strongest sorcerer alive, along with Wong, Mordo and Nico Minoru (Guardian of the Hong Kong Sanctum).This was the meta guys, I hope you liked it! Make sure to like, comment and share if you enjoyed it so more people will see!   :D

[mianmimi]

I want to write so much meta for the sparring scene. That scene is so full of asdfhjshakh Something that I didn't notice in my first watch is that when Stephen asks Mordo about Kaecilius, there's something in Mordo's expression or tone of voice that makes Stephen go "You knew him" and then, of course, chokehold of love. There's a lot to unpack there. Especially the fact that Stephen asks about Kaecilius and the ritual and Mordo answers him without hesitation. For Kamar-Taj's sake, Mordo, haha.

By all means dear Nonny write all the meta you want :D I’d love to read it for sure! It’s enjoyable learning how others see and interpret things.

Ohhhh yes the sparring scene aka the scene that keeps on giving *rubs hands together* Gaaaaahhh the fact that Mordo confirms Stephen’s rhetorical question by laying out exposition is delicious. He gave a lot of backstory without saying too much. I know this is addressed in the prequel comic, which I have to get my hands on again soon.

I just wanna know more about Mordo, especially his relationship with Kaecilius cause…past Kaecilius/Mordo makes Stephen/Mordo all the more flavorful. Drama tends to do that XD

That sparring scene revealed so much about the dynamic between Stephen and Mordo and I’d totally love to read any meta about it!

[botanycameos]

What do you think the differences would be between how Khan and Stephen Strange would handle their PTSD? They would definitely have it after all they've been through. Both have enormous responsibilities on their shoulders and both I would say have trust issues (albeit for different reasons and to differing degrees). Both have been willing to endure hell to protect their charges and have a strict code of honour. But they are very different men. I wonder how they would deal with their torment?

Oh noooo, this question… XD *can’t help writing meta*

Wall of text incoming. lol

They would indeed both have PTSD, but imho, in different ways/for very different reasons. And they are indeed both extremely different people who inevitably wouldn’t handle it the same way.

KHAN

I feel like Khan’s fear of failing his people, and of them all dying because he wasn’t “enough”, would likely be worse for him than the PTSD itself (something we don’t really see in Space Seed --where he’s fresh off the ice and super confident still--, and which is at its most visible in STID, where he’s just gone through a year of being kept away from them, struggling against horrible odds to try and rescue them, and failing), although those two things would go hand in hand together, fueling one another.

Also, Khan likely has gotten PTSD since an early age, due to his life in the labs and so on. But he also would be a lot better prepared to deal with it, and his military mindset as well as life experiences (+ his extremely focused willpower and determination) would make him better able to cope with things that would have crushed a normal man. The fact that he can function at all after everything he’s gone through in his life, is proof enough of that...

He’d likely already have some degree of PTSD  at an early age and while that sucks, it also means he would have learned along the way the best ways for him to cope with it, because as we’ve seen, he’s super effective even now, so whatever methods he’s using, they are working for him, so far at least… (He managed to take over such a large part of the world despite all the past trauma, and that requires a multitude of skills that he couldn’t have been using if PTSD was controlling his daily life then. Although it’s quite possible he might have moments where things aren’t as tightly controlled.)

Khan would also likely react to some things in a significantly more proactive and even aggressive manner – imho he would actively fight his trauma, as if it was a physical enemy. (He’s a great chess-player when it comes to handling enemies, but you can’t really play the same games when the enemy is inside you.)

On one hand, it’s not ideal, because there are moments where he clearly uses wrath as a method of coping (stuff can’t hurt as much if you’re focusing on the anger instead, ergo vengeful thoughts are a way of not thinking of the loss etc. –he’s always moving forward, even when he can’t at all, it’s a form of escapism, an unhealthy coping mechanism in a way. As long as he is prepping plans to attack the conference room to avenge his crew, or trying to crash a ship etc., he isn’t having to face the void without them, or figure out how to live after that –if he was even going to consider the possibility of outliving them much longer, that is. Whatever is the what-to-do-after reasoning in his mind, the momentary violence of vengeance is a thing he chooses over the alternative of giving in to mourning and passivity).

I’m sure it’s also how Khan deals with fear. Nothing can hurt you as badly if you’re putting all of your focus on going forward and on the anger rather than the pain. In many ways, he’s like a volcano, but with extreme composure and self-control, preventing that anger erupting at the wrong time & damaging his prospects. So he only “blows up” when it can be of service to his plans (unleashing extremely effective violence like when they were making their way to the Vengeance bridge), or when he’s so lost that there’s nothing else left (like when he thought his crew was dead.)

He’s been made and brought up in a world where violence is the language spoken, and it’s one he’s mastered well, even if it’s not the one he prefers when he has a chance to chose another path. As we’ve seen clearly mentioned in canon, when he has the chance to chose peace, he does. But if he thinks that’s not an option, then he can speak the other language perfectly...

Imho, Khan bottles his problems up, but uses parts of it to fuel his anger and determination to accomplish what he set out to do (save his people, take them to safety, get them a new world) that keeps him going. Although he’s nowhere as indestructible as he appears/as he tries to make others think he is, far from it.

So in conclusion, Khan’s methods are not the healthiest but they work for him, and he’s able to cope with his pain and traumas in a way that while not ideal, helps him remain stronger and keep going.

(Though if he completely broke, he’s not necessarily the kind who can get back up after. This is what happened in TWOK, he lost it completely because of the death of his wife and so many of his crew, and madness consumed him, poor thing. But that was an event horizon of despair crossed there, like when he thought his people were dead at the end of STID. If they remain living, he likely would manage to heal or at least keep going until they’re safe.

Without his loved ones, he likely would remain lost or not survive. But as long as they are alive, he has a reason to go on, and somehow manages to pull through no matter what. He’s the ultimate survivor.) 

STEPHEN STRANGE

Stephen on the other hand, is in a far more vulnerable situation. He has none of the military training, preparedness or life experience (let alone augmented stuff), and he was a complete civilian until recently.

He too has gone through traumatic experiences over the years (the loss of all his family), but that doesn’t necessarily prepare someone for additional trauma, especially of such a vastly different nature; in fact, if you look at his life you can see that the reason why he became such a materialistic and arrogant doctor was precisely because of all the loss that’s happened in his life. That was his escape, his coping mechanism to close himself away from the pain, and it did not work. It only made things worse.

After Kamar Taj, he’s stripped of that too, as well as of his arrogance and the huge ego.

He’s now selfless and wide open, exposed. And while he certainly has learned a lot about finding peace within himself and through meditation etc., and he’s now far more in control of himself and centered, it doesn’t change the fact that he always had such high fear of failing, and now the fate of the whole world is on his shoulders. (At least Khan only has to protect his people, Stephen has to prevent the entire planet being destroyed).

“It’s not about you”, of course, but he’s still the one who has to do his best to prevent the world ending. Hence his willingness to take upon himself hardships that no one else would even think of facing.

If that wasn’t hard enough in itself, Stephen just received more brutal trauma and on a higher amount than any other hero, going through what must have felt like an eternity of agony and suffering.

That he went through that and didn’t break/didn’t give in and undo the timeloop, is truly amazing and awe-inspiring, but it does not negate the extreme damage it must have left him with.

When he came back to Earth he was so shaken still that he seemed both extremely elated that it was over (inevitable, with the horror he just got out of) and somewhat out of things, even acting weird and cracking a joke about Kaecilius’ death (something he would not normally have done, as we saw from his behavior in the NY Sanctum earlier, about the value of life. The end Kaecilius and the two zealots got was worse than death itself, and if Stephen was not totally out of it then, he would never have joked about it. He likely was later horrified by his joke, if he could remember it when he woke up).

Imho, after Mordo left, Stephen likely didn’t last much longer before collapsing, not only from all the mental trauma but also because he was extremely injured still (the stab wound alone likely required either hospitalization or better yet, whatever medical intervention they have in Kamar Taj for those cases, especially after Kaecilius ripped the stitches by kicking him in the chest during the battle. It’s likely that it was through sheer willpower and determination alone (+ the fact that he was timelooping endlessly while facing Dormammu, rather than having more time elapse) that Stephen lasted this long rather than passing out sooner.)

There’s also the fact that the life Stephen has ahead of him now is going to be extremely hard. This selfless sacrifice he’s made was not a one off. He’s been conditioned to do this (by feeling like he has to, as well as by simple lack of others to take his place – the responsibility is there, and he’s the one with the highest potential of them all, now that TAO is gone –there’s really no one else for the job of Sorcerer Supreme), feels obligated to ensure everyone’s well-being, and will put himself through countless horrors in the future also.

It was always so in the comics. He’s no longer the arrogant surgeon, and Stephen never does anything halfway: The Sorcerer’s code demands that he be always ready to die if needed, the poor thing. And then there’s also the extreme loneliness of the position.

In the comics, fairly often, things would be so bleak that Stephen would have to force himself to act cheerful because, as he said, otherwise magic might fail him, if he allows himself to become too disheartened or depressed.

At times in the comics, he was so broken that he could not even focus enough to use magic. (When his personal life fell apart even more with Clea leaving, he couldn’t even travel between dimensions due to being so depressed that he couldn’t function enough to make the magic work.)

So he has to artificially force himself to go through the motions and act cheerful etc. even when he’s not. (Something we’ve seen he has also used as a coping method for when he’s scared –cracking jokes to defuse situations where he feels uneasy, like when Wong threatened him during their first meeting– so that tendency of his will most likely keep on going).

It’s kind of heartbreaking, to imagine him so torn up inside, but still having to force himself to go on forward, to put on a brave face and force himself to smile and try to focus on not letting the depression etc. swallow him, lest he loses the ability to use the necessary magic when he has to save the day. Poor thing.

Also, the PTSD from Dormammu will likely leave him with so much trouble sleeping and so many moments of panic at random things that reminds him of it. He will likely search for so many ways to cope and try to bottle it up so much, put on a brave face etc., but hopefully Wong might be able to see through it and help him.

I wish there were so many more fics exploring this theme about Stephen. Not only the horrors he goes through as the price of having saved everyone, but also what ways he might find to get better and move forward, and the times when that doesn’t always work.

One thing is certain, this isn’t trauma you can heal from on the short run, and even once he eventually gets better, he will still have some of it with him forever. It could be years later and he will still flinch or jump when hearing something making a noise reminiscent of one of Dormammu’s piercing rocks, or have a panic attack due to something that feels too much like when he was trapped in Dormammu’s tentacles (and Stephen is a character who is constantly getting attacked by tentacles in the comics…), and so on.

It’s the most broken up characters, with jagged edges still cutting them inside, who are the most interesting and the most heroic.Especially in how they manage to still get back up and keep going, to keep helping and so on, despite the terrible damage that’s been done to them. ;-;

[botanycameos]

I have come to the conclusion that every character in the Doctor Strange movie needs a hug. Stephen needs a hug. TAO needed a hug, Mordo needs a hug. Wong needs a hug. Christine needs a hug. KAECILIUS needs a hug. THEY ALL NEED HUGS. (I'm having a case of the feels tonight...)

I agree so much, Nonny! ;-;The poor things, especially Stephen.

TAO & Mordo also, but OMG, Stephen. ;-; For everything in the past, present (the horrors of the timeloop with Dormammu), and everything he still has ahead of him. Poor thing.

Btw, sorry to the anons whose asks I haven’t answered yet, I’ve been wanting to write meta but keep not finding time lately. ^^; *also wants to finish some WIP fanarts & fanfics* Short replies are easier to manage.