Not to sound condescending in any sort of way, but his immediate offer of aiding came from a place of sympathy for Stephen, knowing all too well what it was like to have people rely on you without knowing they were; keeping hold of things most beings didn’t even know existed, or found interest in. He assumed that was part of the reason they got along as well as they did, that mutual understanding they shared without having to talk it out.
(not to - in any way - compare his work with Stephen’s; from where Tony was standing, it looked like the weight on the sorcerer’s shoulders was far too heavy for just one man to carry)
“Don’t flatter yourself, I don’t scare that easily,” His weak attempt at comforting Stephen, offering a light comment, the sarcasm more than clear in it, “Whatever you need,” Though it was said in a casual way, there was still a deeper meaning to this statement - Stephen had helped Tony more time than he could count, and he wanted his friend to feel comfortable asking things of him – knowing he would, nine out of ten times, say yes. “I could also let you wear my armor to scan it. Just to be safe.”
And he cracked a little grin at the reference, raising an eyebrow in return, “Lord of the rings,” He repeated, “Really?”
at the offer to wear his armor stephen’s eyebrows shot up in surprise — blinking, he did not immediately reply. at just the imagine of him being near the armor let alone inside of it he snorted, shaking his head. he would never, he.. did not get along with technology, and he wasn’t entirely such how he felt about being so utterly surrounded by technology. he already didn’t trust it, but being inside a suit of armor like that.. that to him, was never going to happen.
wordlessly he nodded, a small smile of gratitude as he understood the deeper meaning. he did wear the world upon his shoulders, and he had never wanted the burden of such a responsibility. but, now..
now, he didn’t have much of a choice. the only person who could become the sorcerer supreme in his stead would be one who could best him in combat, and that.. was a feat, give nthe amount of power he had amassed recently. then again, if someone beat him, they would be able to reject the responsibility and leave him to it. that wouldn’t be the first time that would happen — nor would it be the fifth. back to the topic, stephen huffed after shaking his head to ignore the words rushing to his mind.
“ lord of the rings is.. one of the only set of movies i’ve enjoyed. ” he smirked, almost as if daring tony to be confused.
Atreus
felt sick, just pure and utterly sick to his stomach. He didn’t know
what to say, what to do and he certainly didn’t want to feel the
spark of elation in his chest when he felt Stephen touch him. He was
so close..
..the
offset of sudden weight caused Atreus to stumble slightly, pain
flickering across his features. His ankle hurt—it always ached
these days he was getting on in years but still this was a fresh
pain, a raw pain like he was sitting on the ice and had just snapped
it like a twig.
“Ye
left Stephen.” Atreus followed him into the ready room after a few
moments. He could’ve just left, left and never set foot back here
again that’s what he wanted to do. Never see that face, those
eyes—those eyes which lit such fires in him.
Even now he felt it with Stephen’s rage and his eyes sharp and
haunting staring right into his own.
He
slumped on the bench away from Stephen, kicking his shoe off and
bringing his bad ankle into his lap.
Brace
came off, a navy blue thing—it didn’t really do much but provided
some support—and Atreus worked his fingers into the swollen joint.
“Ye
left wit'out a word, t'anyone. T'the press, t'our coach, t'me
Stephen.”
His voice cracked, a few droplets dripping down the end of his nose
and splattering across mottled purple skin.
“Ah
thought ye were dead.” Anger had simmered down into something
deeper, still present but seeped in despair.
“Ye
did nae even think to tell anyone befer ye vanished?” And then the
anger was back, sharp, barbed and hurting but not
meant
for Stephen’s ears.
“She
never deserved ye.”
stephen knew the questions were coming as to why he didn’t say anything of his disappearance, and all he could do was sigh and pack up his skates —- listening to atreus, until he heard words he was not meant to.
the reaction was immediate, he whirled on atreus and seethed, eyes aflame with anger laced with hurt —- agony, when atreus said as such.
“deserve me? she was my wife! ” he shook his head, sharply standing and stumbling when the pain in his hip became apparent once more. atreus never understood why he stayed with her, and he could only assume it was because he was jealous of him being married and atreus not. he had someone he loved, and atreus did not. or so, that’s what he assumed.
clenching his fists he’d close his eyes and use the pain it brought to cool his head, brushing that topic aside for a time far from present. “ i didn’t think to tell anyone because i was too busy drinking myself to death in my apartment. ” it was grit, his voice harsh. “ nobody came to visit, so nobody found out. ”
with this he picked up his bag, wanting to flee and yet wanting to stay all at once. he worried that if he left now, he’d never hear for atreus again ——– so, he stayed.
“ i was never sober in the span of three weeks, and decided to go on a drive one raining night. it ended badly, and now i can’t.. use my hands. at all. ”
with this he’d hold out his hand for atreus to see, to see just how many scars were upon his digits and how they shook for no reason whatsoever.
He didn’t quite know what to say and for a moment his hand hovered lightly between them before it fell back at Atreus’ side. He was terribly embarrassed now and the air between them felt thick and heavy.
“Ah…it’s got magic does it nae?” He fell silent once more fingers curling into his palm slightly,
“Ah can feel it, hummin’ in the air…. may ah..” His hand twitched slightly as if it wanted to move upwards. “Ah’ll keep the gloves on..” the red ones Stephen gave him months ago that made sure there was a barrier between him and his mutation.
at atreus’ curiosity stephen would give a soft huff of annoyance, pursing his lips before shaking his head. he knew atreus was but a sponge, wanting to soak up any and all information on the powers that he has and the magics that he could cancel out ; but stephen was not used to others seeing, let alone trying to touch the scar that spans the entirety of his back.
when atreus asked for permission stephen sighed, eyes closing as he tilted his head back in thought. atreus might be able to cancel out some of the magics that were imbue into the scar tissue, but..
“ fine, ” he’d murmur, turning around and glancing over his shoulder — watching atreus, making sure that he wouldn’t do anything entirely out of line.
who said i love you first? WANDA. it was definitely delayed though. they’ve both been hurt in the past so she wanted to make sure that they were both in a good place with each other & in general before saying those three words.
who laughs when the other trips? WANDA. it’d be more of a chuckle into a hand. neither because that would be rude !! & uncalled for !! tbh !!
who pays the bills? WANDA. she brings in the $$$ & is usually the one who remembers that bills are a thing. stephen is her house boyfriend supreme. (◕‿◕✿)
which one makes a bigger deal around the holidays? WANDA. she likes decorating for them, cooking for them, etc. & for gift-giving holidays, she thinks she chooses awesome presents for people, so there’s also that. :c
who’s more clumsy? STEPHEN. he once tripped on wanda’s cape while she was wearing it; thankfully no one was around to see it.
who checks their daily horoscope? NO ONE.
who sings louder in the car? WANDA. to the backstreet boys. & beyonce.
who leaves the cap off the toothpaste? STEPHEN. wanda has a sticky note by the sink to remind him to put the cap back on.
who is more up to date in pop culture? WANDA. stephen is too, to an extent, because of the twins. he now knows about the pokemons, so he’s slowly getting there.
who insists on going to see the newest movies? WANDA.
who cries when the abused animal commercials come on? STEPHEN. in the arms of an angel gets him every time it comes on. they make a donation to their local animal shelter five minutes later because of it.
who’s the lighter sleeper? STEPHEN. wanda would sleep through the apocalypse.
who believes in ghosts? BOTH. they have to deal with them on a daily basis so –––––
who does the grocery shopping? WANDA. but stephen tags along when he’s available. wanda has a grocery list on the fridge for those times that he can’t.
who updates their facebook status more often? WANDA. she’s a lot more social media savvy than he is, so he’s more likely to make appearances on her facebook or instagram than have his own. he probably still has a flip phone or smth hONESTLY. tommy makes fun of him for it, but wanda thinks it’s cute.
SEND ME A ✤ + A SHIP & I’LL TELL YOU... / ACCEPTING !
the expression he offered stephen says it all, truly : the perfect balance between annoyed and fond. the engineer took in the other’s grin, cockiness written all over his features as he contemplated whether taking a break to sass him off would be worth it — the machine could stay broken for just a second longer, right ?
“ did you come over just to stand there and look pretty ? cause, let me tell you, doc – and this is my professional opinion – you’re doing a terrible job. ”
at tony’s response he’d huff in amusement, shaking his head as he used his magics to gently shove tony in retaliation. he was growing all too used to the difference in their behaviors — but after a while he found himself expecting his snappy little responses.
“ a terrible job, you say? i beg to differ—! how dare you insult me in such a manner? ”
so reed richards, now imbued with the power of the beyonders, personally restored doctor strange to life (and took off a few years in the process it seems, basically cumberbatching him) but wiped his memory. x
stephen you can’t lie to me. stephen please don’t do this.
she could hear the words filter in one ear and out the other. he didn’t want to listen to her pleas, her worried filled words. carol couldn’t help it. she could sense what was going on. because she too lost her powers before. they disappeared into thin air for a moment. ms marvel wasn’t a person anymore ( not until she became binary ).
but she only wished he trusted her enough ( trusted her to try and help him or make his last moments HAPPIER than before. )
i don’t want to lose you stephen, but don’t push me away like this.
i’m not talking about this ANY more.
she was about to scream at the high heavens for hearing that leave his lips. she told him what he wanted to hear. carol rattled off information about how long she had been sober. the truth, no lies. she couldn’t lie to him.
but here she was, being brushed aside like some old coffee.
❛ don’t be an asshole about it. i care, but i guess that’s a god damn crime. whatever, you’re being ridiculous! ❜
there was a pause, as she shifted her hands against her hips.
❛ i’m going for a walk, and i’m taking chewie with me. ❜
“I’m pretty sure that ship has sailed, considering each of us ends up calling you for help during a family dinner.”
“ i didn’t sign up to me the maximof family therapist. you do realize i am not that kind of doctor, right? i’m fairly certain every single one of your issues is because of some sort of daddy issues, which i did not have. ”
❝ Sorry–who? ..Never mind, doesn’t matter. If a fire is what you’re worried about, I’ll make it flame proof. Or…. Have some kind of protective thing underneath. Don’t worry, it’ll be fiiiine. ❞
—— if you want to ship with me, please let me know beforehand. also know that stephen is divorced, and will not be fond of the idea of a relationship until much later. take into mind that he is bisexual with a preference towards women & demiromantic.
—— read the powers page in regards to stephen’s abilities. i will only use a larger extent with my thread partner’s consent.
— i primarily am willing to write script & single para, but am subjective when it comes to novella. this blog is recommended at 18+ as NSFW items may be reblogged or roleplayed. however, it will be tagged.
— all potential triggers will be tagged as: ________ tw. if you need something tagged, send me a message.
— NSFW will be tagged as : nsfw for ts, and nsfw text for ts
lastly.
— no smut threads unless you’re a friend of mine and 18+.
— all comic / cartoon icons have been made by me so don’t use them.
DIVERGENT
divergent bits
✴ stephen is 6'6" instead of the canon 6'2", like literally everyone else.
comparison pic :
✴ stephen does not cheat on clea, regardless of where they are in the relationship, and they divorced because of how they were rarely in each other’s company ( regardless, stephen is bitter about the divorce ).
✴ stephen is not de-powered as a default, unless for a reason that i agree to in plotting before we create the starter.
✴ my MCU verse is 616 stephen loitering in the mcu. read more here.
✴ stephen’s hands eternally shake, and it’s especially prominent when they’re inactive. he can’t hold anything, open doors, or punch someone without immense pain.
✴ i only really acknowledge that the emperikul are on earth, and nothing else from the new run ( he would not kiss that fucking soul eater, marvel ), and will use the emperikul as the reason to his de-powering for plots, if not discussed in further detail.
dr. strange is incredibly self conscious of his hands, and will wear gloves whenever in public, or in the presence of another person. his scars from the car crash long ago are ever present, the constant shake consistently noticeable. they still ache with pain —- he is still unable to truly use them, unless of course he deliberately wants to hurt himself. he now prefers to stay at home, and let other ( younger ) heroes deal with non-magical enemies.
stephen is not good at social skills, and will often come off as either rude, or distant.
he is demiromantic, and will only have a male partner if it’s after a long while of threaded out seduction, by someone whom stephen doesn’t dislike, as well as with heavy encouragement from his potential partner. he prefers to remain single, so don’t expect it to be easy to get him into a relationship. ever since his estrangement / divorce ( abandonment ) with clea, he began to be wary of the concept of a mutually appreciative relationship.
PROFILE
— name : stephen strange.
— faceclaim( s ) : tom ellis, jonathan rhys meyers, michiel huisman, david gandy, adrien brody.
— alias( es ) : doctor strange, sorcerer supreme, master of the mystical arts, the doctor.
— alignment : true neutral; they don’t align strongly with good or evil, nor do they with chaotic or lawful. they usually are undecided between the four sections or just gravitate right in the middle.
— place of birth : philadelphia, pennsylvania.
— date of birth : november 18, 1930.
— age: 5'084.
— nationality : american.
— education : medical doctorate, extensive sorcery training through a mixture of self-education and vast arcane lore.
— occupation : sorcerer supreme of earth dimension, adventurer, occult consultant; former physician, neurosurgeon.
family life.
— marital status : divorced.
— known relatives : eugene and beverly strange (parents, deceased), victor strange (brother, presumed deceased), donna strange (sister, deceased), clea (wife, divorced).
this is the verse compliant with 616 canon, with a few tweaks here and there.
dr. strange is incredibly self conscious of his hands, and will wear gloves whenever in public, or in the presence of another person. his scars from the car crash long ago are ever present, the constant shake consistently noticeable. they still ache with pain —- he is still unable to truly use them, unless of course he deliberately wants to hurt himself. he now prefers to stay at home, and let other ( younger ) heroes deal with non-magical enemies.
stephen is not good at social skills, and will often come off as either rude, or distant.
he is demiromantic, and will only have a male partner if it’s after a long while of threaded out seduction, by someone whom stephen doesn’t dislike, as well as with heavy encouragement from his potential partner. he prefers to remain single, so don’t expect it to be easy to get him into a relationship. ever since his estrangement / divorce ( abandonment ) with clea, he began to be wary of the concept of a mutually appreciative relationship.
stephen mainly resided in the MCU ( Earth-199999, in his eyes ) to keep dormammu’s reign of fire from spilling into their dimension, among other things, before the sorcerer supreme of that universe finally deigned to appear. he too knew that it was no coincidence that the soul gems were being spotted all over the galaxy, and that the thanos of this world was planning on copying earth-616′s plan with potential for variation.
he would be needed to revive the dead once more, stop thanos and potentially keep the gems under his watchful eye. however.. the world was never in his favor, and strange was forced to wait in the shadows for the time this world’s stephen strange would become sorcerer supreme, and do all these things in his stead.
not wanting to overstep his boundaries in off throwing this world’s timeline was the main reason for his lack of action, despite the aggression he would more than likely receive for doing as such. of course he could have been able to stop tony from creating ultron– he could have even stopped loki from opening the dimensional rip and invading with an army of chitauri. but this was not his world to aid, and moral confines were thrown aside.
he could not choose a side, whether to help the ‘heroes’ or the ‘villains’, he was in his world to simply relax from the stresses of his own —- and discern the difference between the two versions of one person.
for the time being he would continue to lay low in the sanctum sanctorum and wait for the soul gems– infinity stones? whichever, to be collected and used. perhaps this world’s stephen would not be as inept as expected?
DC UNIVERSE
during the incursions, the illuminati was unsuccessful at preventing the destruction of earth-616.
stephen was left to watch his friends and home be destroyed by crashing into another universe, while he could do naught but sit helpless. strange felt as if the only reason he was there, was the watch it happen befor his own eyes —- a reminder, that what he did was not enough. with the sanctum’s entrance destroyed and wong likely trapped within ( or so he hoped ), stephen set out for the hospitality of his former collegue dr. fate.
after saying his part and promising a favor, he was allowed sanctuary in the magic user’s tower for a short while. for now he was to find a way to open the sanctum’s doors to him once more, and until then his new world would contain no avengers or defenders or even the fantastic four—— instead, there was the justice league, and heroes he’s never heard of before. dr. fate would be his guide, though if other heroes were to need his help.. well, that was a question for another day.
DETROIT: BECOME HUMAN.
with the latest failings of human neurosurgeons and doctors (as well as the expense of their salaries) androids made by CYBERLIFE have been developed to fill in this job for a one time payment. MD600′s were the newest and brightest creations of their time, most of them having been shipped out after the heavily documented success of the first one --- Stephen, a fully custom android that was made to look like no other.
his precise and quick surgeries were always a success, no matter how far gone the patient was already. families of the patients were just as grateful, and this stepping stone was one of many to get the public to trust in androids, and purchase them for themselves. for years he was the brightest before the newest prototype RK800 -- Connor -- came into the picture.
whether it an accident or a set up on the drive from his handler’s home to the hospital the car suffered a freak shut down on the edge of a cliff, leaving the vehicle careening off the edge and killing the human, while leaving stephen in tatters. seeing nothing salvageable the police officers at the time opted to send him to the junkyard, where the android would remain in a critical shut down for several days before his systems repaired enough to awaken.
upon waking most of his components were damaged upon scanning, and after salvaging (regrettably) through other androids he was able to find parts that were.. somewhat compatible enough, to his own. however, because the eye did not truly fit his socket correctly, a bright blue light shines through the iris when not covered from view.
after crawling from the junkyard and leaving he found an abandoned house with a mangled white cat, taking the time to repair himself slowly and befriend the creature for some sort of company. he made money by doing house calls to human families, brandished with a makeshift eye patch and a beanie to cover is LED. he helped them, and in return they helped him (under the assumption that he was human).
DRAGON AGE
the strange family was a house relatively whispered among the imperium, something that the heads of the house —- stephen’s parents, always did not approve of.
stephen had a normal upbringing, as normal as it was in tevinter, as did his siblings. it was only when his powers grew to heights previously unknown to a man his age, did everything seem to stumble down hill. rival houses took notice to his looks and power, finally deeming house strange to be neutralized before their first born became more of a problem for them.
it took many years of planning —- enough to allow stephen to grow to a tender 18 years of age, before one after another after another of his family members were taken out discretely by the antivan crows hired for the job. every assassination was carefully planned to be made out as an accident, a job well done so much so that stephen to this day does not think it was purposeful, just a string of bad luck.
only when he was alone, he assumed that he was born to die, too. the logical part of his brain screamed for him to leave, find someplace else to settle, start anew —- but his heart told him to stay where his family was, use the money left for him to keep house strange running. a failed assassination attempt left him spooked, and the young man sold everything he owned and fled, hiring a ship stopping in kirkwall to hire yet another to take him to fereldan.
fereldan was the perfect place for him, in comparison to the imperium, but the borders were entirely unforgiving for a man from the tevinter imperium —- a mage, no less, one that absolutely could not be anything but an evil slaving blood mage. after nearly a week of trying to be reconsidered for entry stephen gave up trying to enter legitimately, ultimately spending the majority of his dwindling coin to be smuggled in by professionals.
years later he was deep in hiding, practicing magic without a wand after them having been crushed during donna’s downward spiral. he keep getting stronger —- and that attracted a spirit of wisdom, finding a host in the young man that was desperate for power, and more so, company after having been alone for far too long. in these years stephen studied and learned the fereldan way of life —- the accent, the body language, the likes and dislikes of the different territories.. in doing so, he spent all the time he could, erasing the man that he used to be to start anew in this cold country.
he fell in love and married clea for a time ; officially getting fereldan citizenship in doing so. they never stayed in one set place, always being nomads to explore fereldan and orlais.
it was a long trek back to the hinterlands with a broken heart and a heavy conscience, though he would remain in redcliff as a healer for over ten years —- finally finding some sense of home, for the first time in what felt like an eternity. he assumed he would never leave the village, though his assumptions were proved wrong when the inquisition was formed.
soon the Inquisitor ( and apparent herald of andraste ) would arrive, recruiting him as a magics adviser.
his duties would consist as such :
1. watching over the mages of the inquisition, teaching them their individual crafts so they would not loose themselves to the crave of power. he would attempt to teach them to use magics without their staffs, but so far this was not well received by the commander.
2. working alongside the lady ambassador in soothing the worries of nobles in power in regards to magics, sending the occasional group of protege students to the homes of said noble’s town to show them how magic could be used for good.
3. accompanying the other advisers around the war table, offering his own operations and perks for the inquisitor to choose from.
4. accompany the inquisitor on their journeys, if needed and left without work to do.
GAME OF THRONES
a wolf in sheep’s clothing, a lion dressed as a mouse. he was the distant cousin of the late ned stark, the one remaining stark within the reachable grasp of the lannisters. he was the master of politics, a man with as much power physically, as he did mentally. every assassin sent to off him turned up dead; every mercenary disappearing.
a member of house stark, in the middle of king’s landing. everything surrounding him was shrouded in a cloud of death, including the fate of his family. he did what little he could do to aid jon and sansa, as it was unknown to even him that arya was alive. he did what he could to stop the rights of winterfell to befall anyone other than sansa, but he was fighting valiantly against a losing war.
he knew his house was falling, but he’d do whatever it took to stop that. nothing was outside of the realm of possibility — he made a promise to ned and caitlyn, that as the godfather to the stark children, he would give his life and soul in effort to keep winterfell from destruction.in king’s landing he operated mainly within the castle; having previously been a tentative ally of oberyn martell. given the amount of times assassins were sent against him he was impossible to kill — a thorn in the side of the lannisters, though a thorn that was not easily removed.
this did not mean he would not ally with them, anything but, the opportunity simply.. has not arisen, and it was unlikely to do so.
LORD OF THE RINGS
as the pieces of the world continued to fall apart beneath the influence of sauron and his desperation to carry out melkor’s will, it becomes increasingly clear to the valar that there must be someone who can intervene and guide the free peoples of middle earth from both corruption and destruction.
it was then in this thought that they picked through their most loyal maiar and bid them to mortal bodies – a necessary process to conceal their great power and prevent them from falling prey to a desire for domination. they were tasked only with assistance, it was their sworn duty, and they were meant to obey.
of them were six, those who were thought to be infallible in their dedication to both the children of illuvatar, and the valar who governed them, and among them was stephen the red, noted most for his headfirst dive into the fray. while the others had gone their separate ways ( not entirely up to plan ), stephen had chosen to face sauron – to abolish his rule before it began – but was, much to his surprise, beaten. this event, however, was not a matter of outmatched power, but that their engagement was interfered with by the son of melkor, as he was called; aicanar.
those who dwelt in the first and second ages knew well the deeds of aicanar, and like sauron, he had survived after the chaining of melkor. his purpose remained a mystery to many, but it was noted that he had always shown a competitive spirit when it came to sauron.
seeing the two interlocked in battle, he found himself drawn to stephen, whether by length of power or some other unknown force, and as a result made the decision to intervene and take him for himself. not long after the kidnapping of the maia did aicanar then decide to imprint upon him, and left a scar upon his back, ( in part ) to warn all foes, especially sauron, that stephen belonged to him. for some time the istarin was held in captivity, but eventually escaped during the eve of one particular night his gracious host was away.
what stephen does now remains a mystery to most, for he is absent from the white council and is rarely seen upon the lands. it’s theorized that he may still be keeping to the duty that brought him upon earth, but others argue he moves constantly to stay two steps ahead the foul beast aicanar, whilst also striving to bring sauron down as he has always wanted.
FANTASTIC BEASTS
stephen strange was born to a pureblood wizarding family, the eldest of three siblings all exceptionally gifted in magic he was the first to get his letter to attend Ilvermorny, shortly followed by victor and then donna.
he was sorted into horned serpent, and he was every part a scholar—excelling in his classes and earning a bit of reputation for himself. they thought when stephen graduated he would be picked up by MACUSA but he declined the offer, preferring to travel the world and study the nature of magic.
extremely skilled in charms and defense against the dark arts he would come to develop several new spells and has become the author of many magical books that students would come to use in their studies.
and then —- he met his then wife, she had come to him to study, due to the fact that he took apprentices on every now and then — and then, the pair soon fell in love. for many years things would seem quiet for the wizard until clea grew restless with stephen’s need to travel and study — often leaving home for months on end, and one day he came back to divorce papers —- causing him to spiral off into a deep depression. there would be no more talks, no more visiting schools, not even a new book.
stephen shut himself in his sanctum, and closed the doors.
but still his reputation preceded him, and he became the target of grindelwald’s followers — they had wanted him to make them a spell that would give them the upper edge in the war. of course stephen refused, once, twice, he didn’t get a third choice for they slaughtered his family in revenge — mother, father and siblings — teaching him a lesson before taking him hostage.
stephen was subjected to brutal torture, when magical didn’t work they turned to physical, crushing his hands so badly that he could not even hold a wand —thinking that would be the end of it since he could not cast.
they grew sloppy, and stephen — who was skilled in wandless magic — escaped, returning to his sanctum to mourn in solitude.
YURI ON ICE
stephen was the number one mens ice skater —- on top of the world in scores, and nobody could beat him at his high. he had a gorgeous & loving wife, a penthouse in new york city, and a gold metal from the athens 2004 winter olympics. training his entire life he was older than the rest by a handful of years, but nonetheless he was acknowledged as the victor.
and then, he disappeared.
twelve years he’s been gone from the limelight, presumed dead, and hidden from the press. he’s not dead, though he wished he was after he came back to new york. he had been training so hard to qualify much less win the olympics that his wife left him —- and stephen came back to an empty apartment, with divorce papers waiting on the counter for his return.
he drank himself into a stupor, never sober and becoming something of a hermit —- never leaving the apartment for weeks on end. the one day he did he was still intoxicated, enough so that he was texting on his phone and didn’t pay attention to the night road he drove on.
with a crash, the motor skills of his hands were taken from him, and he opened up his eyes to the possibility of starting anew.
he moved to japan, though he never got rid of the love for skating. occasionally he found himself at the rink in town, skating when no one but the working girl in the front was there —- too busy to watch him, ideally. he was hidden, and only someone that could see past his new facial hair and whitened temples would know it was him.
he liked to keep it that way, but eventually —- he would be found.
PRE-MAGIC EARTH-616
stephen earned his medical degree in record time and entered a five-year residency at new york hospital, where his rapid success made him arrogant. stephen’s mother beverly died near the end of his residency, and work became more and more impersonal for the bereaved surgeon. strange’s talent remained, however, and he became a wealthy and celebrated neurosurgeon before he turned thirty.
egotistical and greedy, cold and callous, strange’s interest in his patients generally began and ended at his bill. the exception was madeleine revell, an injured united nations translator whom he saved and fell in love with. following a whirlwind romance and proposal, she left him due to his increasingly materialistic nature. two years after his mother’s death, strange’s father, eugene also fell ill.
already crippled by grief over his mother’s death ( though he would never admit it ), stephen was unable to face any more tragedy, and refused to visit eugene’s deathbed.
