So when Netflix Marco Polo came out I was an enormous fan. If I remember right it was one of Netflix big successes in making their own content.
When I first watched Dr Strange in the movies, I recognized Benedict Wong right away.
Now, not having watched Marco Polo in a very very VERY long time and eager for anything to sate my fangirl appetite I started watching it again and I’m realizing how /much/ of Khan has bled into Wong without me realizing it.
I think a lot has to do with the voice. The accent/voice Benedict Wong has crafted for Khan and Wong are very VERY similar but Khan’s is deeper and more regal, articulate and that’s how I hear Wong in my head. Which is probably why my Wong is so damn wordy compared to his MCU counterpart.
The intelligence, the want to consume all knowledge, I really love Khan and the more I watch, the more I find pieces that I’ve accidentally merged into Wong.
I’m not sorry for it XD it’s just funny how our brains mash things together when we’re not looking .
If you have Netflix, I highly recommend Marco Polo or at least the first season.
(If nothing else, for the ear porn that is Benedict Wong’s voice *chef kiss*)
Something I thought I had already written in my headcanons, but I can’t seem to find anywhere so I’m jotting it down here. This is my own personal and private headcanon. I always reserve the right to change/alter it depending on any new information or media that I find.
Kamar Taj does not raise it’s children in a western traditional sense, or perhaps even in an earthly one. The majority of babies and children have always been low, given that Sorcerers are not always long lived and are expected to give their lives to the cause of protecting reality. Love and marriage are not shunned or discouraged, but it is expected to come second to duty.
Most children are either high ranking babies from the other Kingdoms of Heaven, sent over to train and then return back to their homes, or they are young ones who are abandoned on the steps of Sanctums or the monastery in Katmandu.
Natural born children are very few and far between. Those that are are seen as special and full of promise, gems of Kamar Taj. The mother’s of these babies have a choice whether to tell the midwife the father of their baby. If they decline to, the child will simply never know who their father is. Around the age of two, the mother gives their child to Kamar Taj where the baby goes to a nursery. They stay there until they are around four-five and can begin the process of learning magic. Here they will move into dormitories with their peers. From here, until thier apprenticeship they are a Youngling. They stay with their dorm mates the majority of their youth, unless they show great potential and need to be put in a higher class.
When they reach the age of 12, they will either be assigned an apprenticeship with a Master and begin a more private tutelage or, if they have the skill, could come under the wing of a Sanctum Master or even the current Sorcerer Supreme. They will remain under this apprenticeship for the foreseeable future until their Master believes them to be fully taught and then will return them back to the Sanctum to receive their rank and “assignment”. Some Masters wander the world chasing threats, others are assigned to protect different Kingdoms of Heaven and become their Sorcerer Supreme, some become guardians of Sanctums and other sacred places, and others simply settle down in Kamar Taj to help maintain their home and look after the next generation.
Wong is one of the few natural born sorcerers. He doesn’t remember his mother and was never told who his father was (I am aware this deviates from the comics), He grew up in the tradition and was very talented, ascending the ranks of his peers. He had great potential and was promised an apprenticeship under the Ancient One to become her assistant. He had a close friend, a Youngling from a neighboring Heavenly Kingdom, Baron Karl Mordo. They were inseparable. Mordo was an apprentice under the Ancient One as well and expected to become a Sanctum master in his Kingdom or even a Sorcerer Supreme.
Wong never feels his childhood was lacking. He loved his Masters like many parents and Aunts and Uncles and many of his classmates he saw as siblings. He saw many come and go as he settled into his apprenticeship and began to teach Younglings himself when he wasn’t helping the Ancient One with her tasks, as did Mordo.. He recalls his childhood with great fondness and had done his best to make sure any current Younglings have a childhood as enriched and fulfilling as his. He frowns on the traditions of certain Kingdoms like K’un Lun that are incredibly harsh on their youths to “make them stronger”. He believes children should be children and holds fast to the rules of his own upbringing to keep the Younglings from growing too fast in a harsh world.
Wong’s path changed when Stephen Strange came to Kamar Taj. The Ancient, sensing her own end was coming soon, tasked Wong with becoming the assistant to the new Sorcerer Supreme, which would be Stephen. She’d hoped to have enough time to train Stephen fully herself, but that wasn’t to be. Wong never expected to one day see the title of Sorcerer Supreme to land on his own shoulders believing it would pass to another. He works hard to keep the integrity of the title and position.
Wong takes mental health very seriously. One has to have a strong mind to study the mystic arts. He meditates daily and enjoys taking in quite moments to try and just decompress whenever he can (which currently is not often, but he tries). He is actually very good at Sodoku and gets frustrated when Stephen steals the newspaper before he can finish it.
A/N: This is a meme that can be found here These are all based solely on my own headcanons. I have done some research into comic!Wong and am up to date on all MCU!media (Sadly there isn't much for the man although I am aware of the storyline of him being betrothed and falling for Dr Strange's secretary. Since my Wong is more MCU based, I don't really acknowledge this storyline). For clarification my Wong is Pansexual and is not opposed to poly relationships. If you don't intrepret him that way, please remember these are my hcs are are intended only for my fanfics and for my thread partners who want to use them. I won't force anyone into any sort of ship/relationship in our threads they would be uncomfortable with
A : AFFECTION. how does your muse show affection? Wong shows his affection for his loved ones in a lot of different ways. His strength is he likes to learn his partner's love language and show his affection that way. If his partner likes to be physical, he is perfectly find doling out petting and hugs and hand holding; if his partner enjoys verbal feed back or quality time, he enjoys talking and listening to whatever his partner's hobbies are. (ex: Cherry isn't always physical, but he knows her love language is to take care of her partners through small acts, so he reflects that, making sure she's eaten when she's trying to constantly make sure everyone has seconds or making sure her tea and coffee is warm at breakfast while she's busy making pancakes ect)
B : BOUQUET. does your muse like flowers? which ones are their favourite? Wong tend to like greenery more than actual blossoms. He likes ferns, bamboo, eucalyptus, succulents, although if pressed for a flower, he likes orchids and peonies
C : CHOCOLATE. does your muse like chocolate? which one is their favourite? Considering that Wong states his favorite Ben & Jerry's is
I'm going to say yes. Definitely has a sweet tooth so he leans more towards milk chocolate or every style of chocolate all crammed together.
D : DATE. what is your muse’s ideal date? where / who with / etc? Wong likes to take his partners to out places of beauty, especially if they're non-magic, he likes to take them to the different heavenly kingdoms and show off his home and his knowledge. He also likes to take his partner to places they enjoy. He doesn't really do big gesture restaurant's, dropping money, all eyes on them dates because to him it has no meaning. He wants dates to be special and quality time
E : EMBRACE. does your muse like hugs? what are their hugs like? Wong enjoys hugs a great deal. His hugs are firm and sheltering, and he enjoys playing with partner's hair or rubbing the small of their back. Wong tends to smell of a sandlewood based cologne, soap, and occasionally ozone and slightly of burnt hair, especially if he's being a lot of magic before the hug.
F : FLIRT. is your muse good at flirting? how do they flirt? He's a horrible flirt, meaning, he does it pretty often. He doesn't do much overt flirting, but likes throwing double entendres and subtle things in conversations and getting his partners flustered while pretending not to notice
G : GIFT. is your muse good at gift - giving or do they struggle to get it right? He loves to give gifts, especially if he's able to give something useful like knowledge, a book, or tool; something he knows will the other and think of him while using it
H : HEART. is your muse quick or slow to give their heart away? Wong, despite his stony exterior, develops bonds rather quickly. He enjoys different partners and being around people. He has a lot of flings and easy going relationships.
I : I LOVE YOU. does your muse find ‘i love you’ easy or hard to say? Hard. Growing up as a sorcerer and then becoming Sorcerer Supreme, Wong has a tendency to choose duty over his heart. Growing up in Kamar Taj it was understood and duty over love was expected. Loyalty was more valued than romance. When does give his heart though he is utterly devoted.
J : JEALOUSY. does your muse get jealous in a relationship? Yes. YES. and YES. When he finds /the one/ that's it. It's done. they're his and he doesn't like anyone encroaching on what is his.
K : KISS. is your muse a good kisser? why / why not? He is a very good kisser. He's had lots of practice and different partners.
L : LOVE. who does your muse love? In my Canon; Wong is in love with Cherry Hobbes, and in my threads is working towards a thruple with @doctorottooctavius and Cherry. Wong is very open to poly as long as the chemistry and everyone in it is comfortable.
M : MOONLIGHT. what is your muse’s ideal date? where / who with / etc? See Date. Not sure why this option is here twice…
N : NAUGHTY. what is your muse like in bed? He is both dominant and tender. He likes taking charge and leading how things go, but doesn’t need the night to be about him receiving. He loves spending a good portion turning his partner in a complete mess and making sure their needs are more than well met. He is more of a vanilla lover, he doesn’t have many “kinks”. If he’s feeling particularly spicy he does like to use magic to amp things up in the bedroom.
O : ODE. does your muse have a way with words? Despite being of few words when someone first meets Wong, once you get to know him, he is clearly well educated and very good with words.
P : PARTNER. what does your muse look for in a partner? looks / personality? Wong usually goes with chemistry. He lives very much by the motto "there is no forbidden knowledge". In Kamar Taj, he was never into anything serious. As a sorcerer, you didn't know when your next battle was or what would be your last day. He's had a variety of partners and just enjoys being in the moment. When he does find 'the one' he becomes very loyal and is very much a ride or die.
Q : QUESTION. would your muse ask the big question or expect their partner to? If Wong felt his partner was "the one" he would want to be the one to ask. It would take a long time to get there, again, because of his duties. He truly feels that he couldn't be a good "husband" or "life partner" material because being Sorcerer Supreme has to be his very first priority. He feels asking to tie his partner down to him would be cheating them of crucial relationship milestones since he can't always be there for dates or anniversaries and such.
R : ROMANCE. is your muse a romantic or a cynic? If you get past his stony exterior, Wong is a complete romantic
S : SWEETHEART. did your muse have a childhood sweetheart? He's had a myriad of crushes through childhood, but no actual sweetheart
T : TRUE LOVE. does your muse believe in true love? He does. There's lots of lore and magic to back up this belief. He believes it is incredibly rare and one of the truest and most pure forms of magic and one of the most powerful.
U : UNREQUITED. has your muse had their heart broken? Once when he was in his late teens. He fell in love with a young sorceress only to find that she was betrothed to another in a different Heavenly Kingdom and he was in his lessons of learning under the Ancient One. He'd hoped that maybe she'd find feelings for him, but even if she did, there was nothing they could do.
V : VALENTINE. how does your muse feel about valentine’s day? There was no Valentine's in Kamar Taj so it was very tacky and gaudy to Wong at first. He warms up to it though, liking the idea of having a special day to be with your loved one. He just doesn't agree with needing to finance your soul to show your affection to someone. (his favorite is after Valentine's is over and he can go buy all the discounted chocolate)
W : WEDDING. would your muse get married? why / why not? Yes. If he felt his partner was truly the one and understood what they were getting into by being with him. It would take a long time to get there. If they did, it would be a Kamar Taj hand binding and not a Western biblical white wedding.
X : XOXO. does your muse use / like pet names? He only uses pet names when he is absolutely serious about the other person (He doesn't start calling Cherry "darling" until after they confess their feelings to one another in Madripoor even after living together for some six years)
Y : YOURS. does your muse get protective easily? Yes. Wong is a warrior and a sorcerer. His job is to protect people. He doesn't just get protective of his partner, but of his friends and vulnerable people, especially children.
Z : ZZZ. how many people has your muse slept with? Honestly, he hasn't kept track. He's had a very fluid love life in his youth and hasn't believed in anything serious until the Blip happened.
@silvergryphon @diaryofawriter @kakashibabe02 (if you'd like me to tag you for headcanons/prompts/writing let me know!)
The closest thing Wong has to traditional parents are the Masters in Kamar Taj. He is particularly close to Master Hamir who was training the Younglings when Wong was a child and continues to do so. When he has doubts or problems he can’t solve, he tends to lean on the venerable sorcerer.
Cherry tends to not speak of her family often. She keeps their memory private and to herself, especially those of her younger sister, Flora.
Ridiculous headcanon
Wong has a soft spot for junk food. He loves street food, sweets, and comfort food.
Cherry loves kitschy things, although she doesn’t indulge as much as she wants as she’s a little worried about being made fun of
Happiness headcanon
Despite what people think, Wong finds happiness easy. He enjoys simplicity and small things. He’s just guarded around people he doesn’t know and tends to come off as cold and aloof.
Cherry finds her happiness in other. She doesn’t do well on her own and with her own thoughts, so she’s always happiest when she’s with others.
Stress headcanon
Nothing and no one stresses Wong out more than Stephen. Period.
When Cherry stresses, she panics, and becomes very insecure and emotional
As the title states just some musing for my ideas on Norman Osborn becoming Sorcerer Supreme
(Edit: this is wrong, I kept adding and it became a whole damn origin story, you’re welcome. Triggers. Alcoholism, abuse, death. This all a summary so nothing is in detail but it’s still there)
Posting for now so it’s out of my head. May come back and clean it up later. Enjoy!!
Norman suffered through his childhood with a horrible drunk of an old man. This already cause a fracture in his psyche that would later result in his “goblin” persona. (Not necessarily a split personality, much like Rami!Norman, my Norman is well aware of what his Goblin self does. Unlike Rami!Norman though, my Norman doesn’t have many qualms about it, willing to feed people to his darker side to sate it)
Ambrose Osborn nearly bankrupted Oscorp before Norman inherited it through drinking and gambling. It was with his fiancée Emily’s help and the help of a friend and amazing accountant Sabaastian Hobbes that Norman began to build his empire back up.
However, during the pregnancy of their first son, Emily’s health declined and after birth she slipped into a coma. Neither she nor the baby made it. Norman searched through science for a cure and when that failed and he lost them both he began searching through the occult for a way to get them back.
During dark periods with his father Norman took an interest in the occult and dark arts but thought them nothing but fantasies, something to help him escape his old man’s torment.
With her death, he loses himself in his search of getting her back. He is ruthless seeking this knowledge. He pays and strong arms and hoards every magical artifact and document he can before learning of the Ten Heavenly Kingdoms.
He is turned away by all but K’un Lun. If he is strong and completes their training, he may stay. Their training is brutal but Norman takes it. He learns and they discipline and he advances learning what he must
K’un Lun is about fighting though, not the mystic arts unless you happen to become the iron fist. Norman was nearly successful, defeated in the last round and thrown from the holy city. However, K’un Lun gave him something he didn’t have before. An understanding of the heavenly cities and their cultures. He returned to Kamar Taj, prostrated himself before the Ancient One who decided to take a chance on him. There was the possibility that Norman could become the greatest Sorcerer Supreme there was and there was a darker, equal chance he would become the most feared and hated. Either way, he would be great and she believed she could steer him to the light. Norman’s goals slowly turn from resurrecting his wife and baby son to gaining power and becoming the Sorcerer Supreme. He believes this path is Emily’s last gift to him as he wouldn’t had been put on it without her death.
By this time, Norman would have long acquired his assistant, Cherry Hobbes. A pitiful, meek young woman, the daughter of the man that had helped his company, who he never let out of his sight. Her family had perished in a terrible gang related bombing, her father lost in debt to try and save his own family’s business so Norman took the girl to erase the debt he owed her father. She was his lab rat. When he learned a new spell, she was the one he tested it on. When the goblin needed sated, she was the one who felt his hunger. She was both disposable and indispensable to him.
Things were going fine until he realized she was leaving him for too long. Usually her absence was between getting him books.
Of course many of the residence of Kamar Taj took pity on the young girl; many unable to prove exactly what Norman did to her, but it was obvious in her stuttering speech and mannerisms.
None took more pity on the girl than the head librarian Wong and his ambitious apprentice Steven Strange.
The fledging friendship was short lived as Norman discovered the books and notes of courage the two were feeding her whenever she visited the library. Her punishment was severe as it suddenly terrified Norman he could lose her. He was thrown out of Kamar Taj for this the Ancient One no longer able to turn a blind eye to exactly what Norman was, but he technically had broken no laws. Cherry was implored to stay, but Norman’s hold on her was too strong. She left with him.
The terror of losing control, losing Cherry, his addiction to what she gave him, after all this time he couldn’t stand. He hunted high and low for something to bind her to him and he discovered a spell that would do that. A spell that would allow him to feed off her (he could do it slowly or quickly but the faster he did, there was the greater chance of killing the host), their essences bound she couldn’t leave him and that’s when he discovered it. When he leeched off her, his powers were stronger, stronger than anything he had ever experienced the clarity, the amplification, but it was short lived. He devised a plan then, that with her, he would overthrow the 10 heavenly kingdoms, he would destroy them for the slight against his power and intelligence.
With what he learned, he hunted down the most forbidden black art he could buy and find, he turned back to his own treasure trove he’d gotten when he’d first taken an interest and buried in it he found the Erlkoing. He knew immediately he had to have this dark creature. He laid the plans and summoned it and using the spell he had learned for Cherry (only this time doing it quickly. As it was a creature of power and magic, the power was ever generating and now a part of him, permanent), usurped it’s powers, making him truly the Green Goblin.
His time had come and one by one, sapping the young woman before each battled, saving Kamar Taj last. He took the essence from each kingdom, their guardian beasts, their leaders. Even then, he found his greatest power came from the girl, something about her amplifying the powers he gained no matter how much he already had.
He made a mistake though, as the battle with the remaining three sorcerers, the ancient one, Wong, and Stephen strange took more than expected. He drained Cherry too much, too fast in his last battle, and while he was victorious, he ended up killing her.
Yes, he was the most powerful of the mystic arts, the mantle of sorcerer supreme falling to his shoulders, but he had grown addicted to the high Cherry gave him and she was his outlet. Without her, he found his perfect composed mask cracking. He scoured the burning library of Kamar Taj and discovered the books on the multiverse and now his goal was clear. He could go to each universe and find the girl, with her, he could gain more power, when she burned out, he would simply find more. With this he had the chance at ultimate power…he only needed to learn the spells…
A headcanon that’s been sitting in my drafts for months so here you go. It’s short and rough and maybe one day I’ll make it into a proper ficlet.
I wrote it shortly after Watching SM:NWH and realized that Cherry and Peter now have this awful connection through Norman. I also have the headcanon that Cherry takes over FEAST because… well Peter can’t and no one remembers him and even if he wanted to he isn’t exactly in a position to.
***
Peter goes out of his apartment and nearly runs into Cherry. The young woman has set up a table with some cocoa and flyers as she announces the reopening of feast.
Peter becomes reflective as he remembers a conversation he had a long time ago with Tony about Cherry’s past. She’d lived with Norman, that monster, for years before Tony freed her. Peter didn’t know how she did it and how she remained so happy and selfless.
Peter takes a flyer, thanking her, and Impulsively hugs the young woman. Cherry stiffens for a moment and then is surprised herself that it feels familiar. She hugs the young man back and they exchange names before Peter goes on his way.
