application for theposthumans
Player Name: Eely
Personal LJ: otilu
E-mail: ellie[dot]savell[at]googlemail[dot]com
AIM: Got Materia
Other characters currently in-game: None
Who referred you to the game?: Squeak
Character Name: Dr. Stephen Strange/"Doctor Strange"
Canon source: Marvel: Doctor Strange
PB: n/a.
Personality: As Doctor Strange, Stephen is a surprisingly even-tempered, good-humoured man. Some of the time. Or when the forces of evil aren't knocking on the door to our reality, which, admittedly, happens quite frequently in his universe. He has a tendency to order those around him, rather than ask - though he is at least polite whilst he's telling you to close that door so the Mindless Ones don't get into the kitchen now - and is teeth-gratingly knowledgeable about a variety of subjects. He is, despite this, both the mentor and protector of any particular group rather than the offensive force - he defends and restores rather than destroy, and offensive spells are generally his last resort.
"You call yourself the Sorcerer Supreme and you say you used to be arrogant?"
His failing as a doctor has only partly carried over to his life as a sorcerer: his fatal arrogance has been, if not greatly diminished, redirected into more worthwhile causes. What there is of it now has been well-earned, considering that it normally manifests as statements of fact regarding his considerable powers. However, he can be self-depreciating in the same breath as long as he's in a good mood; simply put, he is very much aware of his power, its limitations, and how well he will fare against any foe or situation. He has been around for decades, channelling the energies of beings that could obliterate a good deal of the world with a snap of their intangible fingers. This can come across as arrogant or blasé to those who know less about him. 'Last week, I saved the universe from an omniscient being known only as the Hidden One, who could have erased me with a thought had I not bluffed it into believing doing so would also erase its spawn and the better part of reality' is fairly difficult to say in a way that doesn't sound like boasting. In fact, he tends to carefully choose his battles - with a universe to protect, it's very necessary to prioritise, decades of working with the Orb of Agamotto aside - and whilst he can appear merciless or unrelenting, it is perhaps better to say that he has such overwhelming experience in the fields he operates in that he has never had to consider the opinions of those he works with other than answering any bewildered questions they might have. Like 'why did you just teleport me from my office to help you battle Dracula?', for example. He is very much the privileged rich guy who took the non-stop lift down to humiliating failure and had to build back up from there, but you don't always get that impression from him. The exception to this rule is his servant, Wong, who is far too used to him to blink at even the strangest happenings around his master and has dealt with his behaviour for long enough that he now just ignores him during the more shouty moments. He will also step aside for an older or more experienced mystic, and primarily acts in a support capacity when he is not operating in his admittedly narrow field of expertise.
Sometimes he can get overbearing or controlling, especially around people he feels responsible for, and if crossed he can become pretty damn angry or vicious. These moments last right up until someone snaps him out of it, and are rare due to his pride and his usual deadpan, sarcastic demeanour of a veteran magician.
He can seem overly dramatic, prone to sweeping statements and dramatic entrances and being, well. Himself. This is because he is overly dramatic. It's his style, from the tip of his heavily ornamented semi-sentient cape that could make three normal capes to the fact that every gesture trails Magical Light in a variety of colours. Upon losing his title he has toned this down somewhat, but he is still highly visible the moment he starts incanting.
After giving up his title and role recently due to the influence of dark magic, Strange had to face up to the fact that he had made too many mistakes to regain it again so soon. Having finished tutoring Brother Voodoo - now Doctor Voodoo - in the mystic arts and the duties expected of a Sorcerer Supreme, Strange found himself with a lot more free time. Being primarily a learner and an academic, he used the time to refresh his knowledge of the smaller magic at his disposal, which he was previously unable to experiment with due to his responsibilities and lack of leeway within his role. Although he is now back to his full strength and on yet another campaign to save his home dimension, the lessons he learned during his downtime have stuck with him, and he is somewhat more humble for it.
History: OH BOY. I'm actually going to refrain from too much detail because. Yeah. Even Strange is a little sketchy on it. He's gone from a creepy user of Dark Magic to a moral mystic relinquishing his title for fear of becoming corrupted; he's split himself into three beings (technically) for entire arcs to find new power sources after the Vishanti, his usual sentient power sources, threw a hissy fit at him; he's been kidnapped into millennia-long wars waged between godlike beings that took barely four months on Earth; he's faced and accepted Death and thus achieved the ability not to age; he's been married to the rightful ruler of the Dark Dimension and had to deal with her leaving forever to rule there; he's had to stop a ridiculous number of plots that involve impregnating a human woman with either a demon or a baby that will become the vessel or gateway that lets a near-omnipotent Dark demon into his reality. Alternatively she might just be a demon herself. Take a shot every time an issue contains a corrupted or pregnant woman!
No, really.
I mean, this is an AU so I could avoid all of that, but the hassle is outweighed by being able to randomly reference an unbelievable number of magical escapades so we'll just have to live with it.
Let's summarise.
Stephen Strange was born and raised in the USA, and due to a slightly traumatic childhood experience decided to go into the medical profession when he finished school. His aptitude and talent meant that he was successful rather more quickly than some of his peers, and he became an established neurosurgeon fast enough that he became absurdly arrogant, taking cases only if they paid well. LUCKILY he got into a car accident and lost use of the majority of the nerves in his hands. Thus rendered useless as a neurosurgeon, he sank into depression. He sought a cure with any number of doctors, and researched quite a few decidedly non-medical cures, but all in vain. Eventually, he journeyed to Tibet to seek the help of a mystic known as the Ancient One.
In Tibet, he was taught control exercises to master the energy within his body and mind. To Strange's surprise, after some time the Ancient One pointed out that what he'd actually been teaching him was the use of magic. Surprise! Just like his medical career, Strange had turned out to be naturally gifted in the mystic arts, but after his time in the Himalayas, he had gained stability and a far more positive perspective on his life and future. He continued his training, and eventually took over the Ancient One's role as Earth's Sorcerer Supreme in a battle before the Vishanti, nigh-omnipotent energy beings who served as a source of magical power. As Sorcerer Supreme he became the guardian of reality and the go-to guy for the majority of weird magical events on Earth. He moved to a concealed house in Greenwich Village, the Sanctum Sanctorum, which stood sentinel over the Nexus, the gateway to the multiple universes overlapping our own, and with him came Wong, a servant sworn to defend and obey the Sorcerer Supreme.
Shenanigans ensued, see opening paragraph. Strange has met nearly every recurring character in his universe, as well as being a member of the secret hero cabal the Illuminati, and other hero groups such as the Defenders, who he's still covered by for medical care. After over forty years as Sorcerer Supreme, Strange drew too heavily on Dark magic and subsequently gave up his title and role to another sorcerer on Earth. Freed of his heavy responsibilities, he resumed his studies of magic and, entirely by mistake when trying to rescue a baseball team from demons, found himself an apprentice: a spoiled, sarcastic college girl called Casey Kinmont.
Here is where the AU steps in.
How does your AU differ from canon? Unlike canon, Casey wasn't put on a soulless tragic bus at the end of their short adventures, and after a number of escapades that got them back into the public eye and allowed Strange to regain his magical powers, they were joined by Billy Kaplan, when the Avengers got twitchy about a kid with that much raw power and a soul tied to that of the Scarlet Witch running around New York untrained.
And Strange is clearly a FANTASTIC childminder.
Or not.
Anyway, as Strange had inevitably regained his magical abilities during a long and confusing adventure in another dimension during which he found a new power source and a new direction (This happens at least once every decade), he returned to the hero scene, although he continued mentoring his two magic brats for several years.
BUT THEN ON ONE DREADFUL DAY the world exploded into a boiling mass of dark magic and howling souls. Caught flat-footed along with every other magician on Earth, he only managed to break a small fragment of the Sanctum Sanctorum away from the mass before it too was consumed, thus saving only himself, Casey, Billy and Wong. Together they set off on a MAGICAL JOURNEY through the remaining dimensions to find a way of saving the billions of Earth souls which had been claimed by the Queen of the Death Dimension for safe-keeping. Brother Voodoo managed to send him a number of artifacts and his old title before he lost his own soul, and for now Strange is Sorcerer Supreme again - albeit without a world to be the Sorcerer Supreme of - until he can restore Earth.
They haven't met Vincent van Gogh yet but it's probably only a matter of time.
In terms of personality changes Strange is perhaps a little more resigned and prone to firm mentoring than he is in the current canon (more like his previous incarnations), but the magical exposure to constantly changing dimensions balances that out with new and interesting things to see and fix. He spends a lot of his time totally intrigued by facets of the dimensions they visit, to the exasperation of his companions.
Strengths: Strange is the premier magic-user of Earth, and has been for decades. His knowledge of the mystical and magical is peerless, at least for his own universe, and whilst he has been faced with losing and regaining his powers on multiple occasions, he is nevertheless so used to wielding phenomenal cosmic powers that he doesn't even flinch at events that would give a less eccentric hero a blinding logic headache. Simply put, his willing suspension of belief is so high it was pulled into the sun's gravity well years ago.
This is a man who has performed magical metaphorical brain surgery on the universe.
Think about that, but not for too long.
Magical expertise aside, he's an accomplished surgeon and doctor, despite his damaged hands, and his strengths lie in the theoretical and the intellectual more than the physical. He can also be pretty suave if he wants to be, and knows basic martial arts (see Weaknesses)
His magic allows him to do nearly anything as demanded by the plot - in this case, whatever is required and permitted in the RP (and conversely, he will be unable to do anything that isn't allowed, and I encourage people to be like OKAY NO STOP THAT if I overstep any boundaries without noticing) - but the skills he usually retains in all incarnations without the need for incredibly long incantations are the following:
- astral projection, including possession or visitation of another person's mind
- conjuration of non-living matter
- wards and shields
- telepathy
- telekinetic-type spells
- energy blasts and magical missiles
- invisibility
Generally his mastery comes from him combining mid-level magic with extensive knowledge in order to outsmart his enemies, rather than raw power, and he has taken to minimising the amount of outright magic he has to use in public. This comes from most of his foes being towering demonic forces who cannot step into Earth's dimension without tearing huge holes in the collective consciousness of the population and putting sensitive people worldwide into comas. Since he's usually horribly outmatched, he's used to being the David against any number of Goliaths, instead of the master of magic that he appears to be to those on Earth.
Weaknesses: Living so long in an undying body with only a faithful servant and the odd apprentice for company has left him on the kooky side of the social scale. He often makes the wrong call in relatively normal situations or puts his foot in his mouth because of a culture clash. His hands are permanently crippled from a bad car accident, and thus he lacks the ability to perform any task that requires dexterity or muscle strength in his hands, including things like pulling the trigger on a gun or performing surgery. Whilst this problem can be temporarily negated through sorcery, it forces him to rely on others for a great many things.
He's not quite a squishy wizard-type due to his martial arts training, but anyone with above-average fighting ability will find him to be no challenge at all. At best he can fight equally against another normal human for short bursts.
During astral projection, his physical body is totally defenseless and he generally needs to find someone trusted to guard it lest an enterprising foe stab it repeatedly or lock it in a lead box.
Preferred drop-in point: I'm not picky. Wherever you need more people!
What are some of your plans for this character in their new environment? SHENANIGANS.
Seriously though, he'll easily step into a support role if needed, and he'll continue to watch over Billy Kaplan and any other magic kids who happen to meet him and trigger his mentor senses. Investigation and restoration will be his main focii.
First Person Journal Sample: Greetings to all of you here in this reality. My name is Doctor Strange; I suspect a number of you will be familiar with both myself and my abilities, which should make introductions go a good deal more smoothly. For those who have not had the previous misfortune of meeting me, I am the Sorcerer Supreme of my Earth, a master of the mystic arts, and I hope an ally to you for the foreseeable future.
I would like to meet with those of you familiar with the magical realms as soon as is feasible; there is much to discuss and, I sense, not nearly enough time in which to do so.
Third Person Sample: From beyond the one functioning window of the Sanctum Shard came the oppressive, soul-twisting noise of a million typewriters.
Or certainly that was the sole impression Stephen Strange could gather whilst still in another room, as he caught snatches of Billy and Casey's discussion of the new world. He generally tried to give them some privacy, but when your realm of influence had shrunk to three rooms and an indeterminate number of warped reality fragments clinging to the various walls and portals in what used to be a perfectly good magical building, it was difficult not to hear them. He had increased sympathy for Wong having to live with him for so long, if nothing else.
As if summoned by that stray thought, his faithful companion ducked out of what had originally been the kitchen before the screaming tentacle pit had replaced the floor, brushed off a few tenacious magical tendrils, and handed Stephen a plate of scrambled eggs.
"Thank you, Wong." He glanced down at his breakfast reflexively to determine that it was no more magical than any other part of the Shard, and turned to accompany his servant and the three remaining plates into the main room. His two apprentices looked up in the same second, Casey with a raised eyebrow and Billy with the guilty expression of someone caught arguing in front of a teacher. Which was, in fact, the case, so he would excuse it.
"Ah," he changed direction mid-step and went to the window instead of his armchair, in order to get a better look at the orderly rows of creatures on the ground below them, "I was here once before, if I recall correctly. It was meant to be an inescapable prison for me until Satannish could deal with the Sorcerer Supreme personally, but he miscalculated and I was able to escape with the aid of those steady beings you see there. It was open rebellion, for a few short hours."
A quirked smile, and he crossed to his seat, basking in the familiar confusion of the others and the patient humour of Wong. "All I had to do was introduce the concept of overtime."
Personal LJ: otilu
E-mail: ellie[dot]savell[at]googlemail[dot]com
AIM: Got Materia
Other characters currently in-game: None
Who referred you to the game?: Squeak
Character Name: Dr. Stephen Strange/"Doctor Strange"
Canon source: Marvel: Doctor Strange
PB: n/a.
Personality: As Doctor Strange, Stephen is a surprisingly even-tempered, good-humoured man. Some of the time. Or when the forces of evil aren't knocking on the door to our reality, which, admittedly, happens quite frequently in his universe. He has a tendency to order those around him, rather than ask - though he is at least polite whilst he's telling you to close that door so the Mindless Ones don't get into the kitchen now - and is teeth-gratingly knowledgeable about a variety of subjects. He is, despite this, both the mentor and protector of any particular group rather than the offensive force - he defends and restores rather than destroy, and offensive spells are generally his last resort.
"You call yourself the Sorcerer Supreme and you say you used to be arrogant?"
His failing as a doctor has only partly carried over to his life as a sorcerer: his fatal arrogance has been, if not greatly diminished, redirected into more worthwhile causes. What there is of it now has been well-earned, considering that it normally manifests as statements of fact regarding his considerable powers. However, he can be self-depreciating in the same breath as long as he's in a good mood; simply put, he is very much aware of his power, its limitations, and how well he will fare against any foe or situation. He has been around for decades, channelling the energies of beings that could obliterate a good deal of the world with a snap of their intangible fingers. This can come across as arrogant or blasé to those who know less about him. 'Last week, I saved the universe from an omniscient being known only as the Hidden One, who could have erased me with a thought had I not bluffed it into believing doing so would also erase its spawn and the better part of reality' is fairly difficult to say in a way that doesn't sound like boasting. In fact, he tends to carefully choose his battles - with a universe to protect, it's very necessary to prioritise, decades of working with the Orb of Agamotto aside - and whilst he can appear merciless or unrelenting, it is perhaps better to say that he has such overwhelming experience in the fields he operates in that he has never had to consider the opinions of those he works with other than answering any bewildered questions they might have. Like 'why did you just teleport me from my office to help you battle Dracula?', for example. He is very much the privileged rich guy who took the non-stop lift down to humiliating failure and had to build back up from there, but you don't always get that impression from him. The exception to this rule is his servant, Wong, who is far too used to him to blink at even the strangest happenings around his master and has dealt with his behaviour for long enough that he now just ignores him during the more shouty moments. He will also step aside for an older or more experienced mystic, and primarily acts in a support capacity when he is not operating in his admittedly narrow field of expertise.
Sometimes he can get overbearing or controlling, especially around people he feels responsible for, and if crossed he can become pretty damn angry or vicious. These moments last right up until someone snaps him out of it, and are rare due to his pride and his usual deadpan, sarcastic demeanour of a veteran magician.
He can seem overly dramatic, prone to sweeping statements and dramatic entrances and being, well. Himself. This is because he is overly dramatic. It's his style, from the tip of his heavily ornamented semi-sentient cape that could make three normal capes to the fact that every gesture trails Magical Light in a variety of colours. Upon losing his title he has toned this down somewhat, but he is still highly visible the moment he starts incanting.
After giving up his title and role recently due to the influence of dark magic, Strange had to face up to the fact that he had made too many mistakes to regain it again so soon. Having finished tutoring Brother Voodoo - now Doctor Voodoo - in the mystic arts and the duties expected of a Sorcerer Supreme, Strange found himself with a lot more free time. Being primarily a learner and an academic, he used the time to refresh his knowledge of the smaller magic at his disposal, which he was previously unable to experiment with due to his responsibilities and lack of leeway within his role. Although he is now back to his full strength and on yet another campaign to save his home dimension, the lessons he learned during his downtime have stuck with him, and he is somewhat more humble for it.
History: OH BOY. I'm actually going to refrain from too much detail because. Yeah. Even Strange is a little sketchy on it. He's gone from a creepy user of Dark Magic to a moral mystic relinquishing his title for fear of becoming corrupted; he's split himself into three beings (technically) for entire arcs to find new power sources after the Vishanti, his usual sentient power sources, threw a hissy fit at him; he's been kidnapped into millennia-long wars waged between godlike beings that took barely four months on Earth; he's faced and accepted Death and thus achieved the ability not to age; he's been married to the rightful ruler of the Dark Dimension and had to deal with her leaving forever to rule there; he's had to stop a ridiculous number of plots that involve impregnating a human woman with either a demon or a baby that will become the vessel or gateway that lets a near-omnipotent Dark demon into his reality. Alternatively she might just be a demon herself. Take a shot every time an issue contains a corrupted or pregnant woman!
No, really.
I mean, this is an AU so I could avoid all of that, but the hassle is outweighed by being able to randomly reference an unbelievable number of magical escapades so we'll just have to live with it.
Let's summarise.
Stephen Strange was born and raised in the USA, and due to a slightly traumatic childhood experience decided to go into the medical profession when he finished school. His aptitude and talent meant that he was successful rather more quickly than some of his peers, and he became an established neurosurgeon fast enough that he became absurdly arrogant, taking cases only if they paid well. LUCKILY he got into a car accident and lost use of the majority of the nerves in his hands. Thus rendered useless as a neurosurgeon, he sank into depression. He sought a cure with any number of doctors, and researched quite a few decidedly non-medical cures, but all in vain. Eventually, he journeyed to Tibet to seek the help of a mystic known as the Ancient One.
In Tibet, he was taught control exercises to master the energy within his body and mind. To Strange's surprise, after some time the Ancient One pointed out that what he'd actually been teaching him was the use of magic. Surprise! Just like his medical career, Strange had turned out to be naturally gifted in the mystic arts, but after his time in the Himalayas, he had gained stability and a far more positive perspective on his life and future. He continued his training, and eventually took over the Ancient One's role as Earth's Sorcerer Supreme in a battle before the Vishanti, nigh-omnipotent energy beings who served as a source of magical power. As Sorcerer Supreme he became the guardian of reality and the go-to guy for the majority of weird magical events on Earth. He moved to a concealed house in Greenwich Village, the Sanctum Sanctorum, which stood sentinel over the Nexus, the gateway to the multiple universes overlapping our own, and with him came Wong, a servant sworn to defend and obey the Sorcerer Supreme.
Shenanigans ensued, see opening paragraph. Strange has met nearly every recurring character in his universe, as well as being a member of the secret hero cabal the Illuminati, and other hero groups such as the Defenders, who he's still covered by for medical care. After over forty years as Sorcerer Supreme, Strange drew too heavily on Dark magic and subsequently gave up his title and role to another sorcerer on Earth. Freed of his heavy responsibilities, he resumed his studies of magic and, entirely by mistake when trying to rescue a baseball team from demons, found himself an apprentice: a spoiled, sarcastic college girl called Casey Kinmont.
Here is where the AU steps in.
How does your AU differ from canon? Unlike canon, Casey wasn't put on a soulless tragic bus at the end of their short adventures, and after a number of escapades that got them back into the public eye and allowed Strange to regain his magical powers, they were joined by Billy Kaplan, when the Avengers got twitchy about a kid with that much raw power and a soul tied to that of the Scarlet Witch running around New York untrained.
And Strange is clearly a FANTASTIC childminder.
Or not.
Anyway, as Strange had inevitably regained his magical abilities during a long and confusing adventure in another dimension during which he found a new power source and a new direction (This happens at least once every decade), he returned to the hero scene, although he continued mentoring his two magic brats for several years.
BUT THEN ON ONE DREADFUL DAY the world exploded into a boiling mass of dark magic and howling souls. Caught flat-footed along with every other magician on Earth, he only managed to break a small fragment of the Sanctum Sanctorum away from the mass before it too was consumed, thus saving only himself, Casey, Billy and Wong. Together they set off on a MAGICAL JOURNEY through the remaining dimensions to find a way of saving the billions of Earth souls which had been claimed by the Queen of the Death Dimension for safe-keeping. Brother Voodoo managed to send him a number of artifacts and his old title before he lost his own soul, and for now Strange is Sorcerer Supreme again - albeit without a world to be the Sorcerer Supreme of - until he can restore Earth.
They haven't met Vincent van Gogh yet but it's probably only a matter of time.
In terms of personality changes Strange is perhaps a little more resigned and prone to firm mentoring than he is in the current canon (more like his previous incarnations), but the magical exposure to constantly changing dimensions balances that out with new and interesting things to see and fix. He spends a lot of his time totally intrigued by facets of the dimensions they visit, to the exasperation of his companions.
Strengths: Strange is the premier magic-user of Earth, and has been for decades. His knowledge of the mystical and magical is peerless, at least for his own universe, and whilst he has been faced with losing and regaining his powers on multiple occasions, he is nevertheless so used to wielding phenomenal cosmic powers that he doesn't even flinch at events that would give a less eccentric hero a blinding logic headache. Simply put, his willing suspension of belief is so high it was pulled into the sun's gravity well years ago.
This is a man who has performed magical metaphorical brain surgery on the universe.
Think about that, but not for too long.
Magical expertise aside, he's an accomplished surgeon and doctor, despite his damaged hands, and his strengths lie in the theoretical and the intellectual more than the physical. He can also be pretty suave if he wants to be, and knows basic martial arts (see Weaknesses)
His magic allows him to do nearly anything as demanded by the plot - in this case, whatever is required and permitted in the RP (and conversely, he will be unable to do anything that isn't allowed, and I encourage people to be like OKAY NO STOP THAT if I overstep any boundaries without noticing) - but the skills he usually retains in all incarnations without the need for incredibly long incantations are the following:
- astral projection, including possession or visitation of another person's mind
- conjuration of non-living matter
- wards and shields
- telepathy
- telekinetic-type spells
- energy blasts and magical missiles
- invisibility
Generally his mastery comes from him combining mid-level magic with extensive knowledge in order to outsmart his enemies, rather than raw power, and he has taken to minimising the amount of outright magic he has to use in public. This comes from most of his foes being towering demonic forces who cannot step into Earth's dimension without tearing huge holes in the collective consciousness of the population and putting sensitive people worldwide into comas. Since he's usually horribly outmatched, he's used to being the David against any number of Goliaths, instead of the master of magic that he appears to be to those on Earth.
Weaknesses: Living so long in an undying body with only a faithful servant and the odd apprentice for company has left him on the kooky side of the social scale. He often makes the wrong call in relatively normal situations or puts his foot in his mouth because of a culture clash. His hands are permanently crippled from a bad car accident, and thus he lacks the ability to perform any task that requires dexterity or muscle strength in his hands, including things like pulling the trigger on a gun or performing surgery. Whilst this problem can be temporarily negated through sorcery, it forces him to rely on others for a great many things.
He's not quite a squishy wizard-type due to his martial arts training, but anyone with above-average fighting ability will find him to be no challenge at all. At best he can fight equally against another normal human for short bursts.
During astral projection, his physical body is totally defenseless and he generally needs to find someone trusted to guard it lest an enterprising foe stab it repeatedly or lock it in a lead box.
Preferred drop-in point: I'm not picky. Wherever you need more people!
What are some of your plans for this character in their new environment? SHENANIGANS.
Seriously though, he'll easily step into a support role if needed, and he'll continue to watch over Billy Kaplan and any other magic kids who happen to meet him and trigger his mentor senses. Investigation and restoration will be his main focii.
First Person Journal Sample: Greetings to all of you here in this reality. My name is Doctor Strange; I suspect a number of you will be familiar with both myself and my abilities, which should make introductions go a good deal more smoothly. For those who have not had the previous misfortune of meeting me, I am the Sorcerer Supreme of my Earth, a master of the mystic arts, and I hope an ally to you for the foreseeable future.
I would like to meet with those of you familiar with the magical realms as soon as is feasible; there is much to discuss and, I sense, not nearly enough time in which to do so.
Third Person Sample: From beyond the one functioning window of the Sanctum Shard came the oppressive, soul-twisting noise of a million typewriters.
Or certainly that was the sole impression Stephen Strange could gather whilst still in another room, as he caught snatches of Billy and Casey's discussion of the new world. He generally tried to give them some privacy, but when your realm of influence had shrunk to three rooms and an indeterminate number of warped reality fragments clinging to the various walls and portals in what used to be a perfectly good magical building, it was difficult not to hear them. He had increased sympathy for Wong having to live with him for so long, if nothing else.
As if summoned by that stray thought, his faithful companion ducked out of what had originally been the kitchen before the screaming tentacle pit had replaced the floor, brushed off a few tenacious magical tendrils, and handed Stephen a plate of scrambled eggs.
"Thank you, Wong." He glanced down at his breakfast reflexively to determine that it was no more magical than any other part of the Shard, and turned to accompany his servant and the three remaining plates into the main room. His two apprentices looked up in the same second, Casey with a raised eyebrow and Billy with the guilty expression of someone caught arguing in front of a teacher. Which was, in fact, the case, so he would excuse it.
"Ah," he changed direction mid-step and went to the window instead of his armchair, in order to get a better look at the orderly rows of creatures on the ground below them, "I was here once before, if I recall correctly. It was meant to be an inescapable prison for me until Satannish could deal with the Sorcerer Supreme personally, but he miscalculated and I was able to escape with the aid of those steady beings you see there. It was open rebellion, for a few short hours."
A quirked smile, and he crossed to his seat, basking in the familiar confusion of the others and the patient humour of Wong. "All I had to do was introduce the concept of overtime."