#michael shelley headcanons

[silly-tma-headcanons]

had michael shelley not been a lamb to the slaughter with the Spiral, I like to think he would've been an avatar of the Lonely.

the way he speaks to gertrude, despite being skittish and jittery, is not the way you talk when you have a surplus of friends, family and generally just people in your life close to you.

#the magnus archives #the magnus archives headcanons #the magnus pod #the magpod #tma #tma headcanons #michael the distortion #michael shelley #michael the distortion headcanons #michael shelley headcanons

[vieramars]

I love this wet bedraggled cat of a man with all my heart

#vieramars art #gerard keay #gerry keay #tma #the magnus archives #tmagp #the magnus protocol #michael shelley #michael the distortion #doorkeay #gerrymichael #and they have a cat! #the cat's name is frankie #short for frankenstein #not my idea i'm pretty sure i read it in a fic somewhere #celia ripley #i should draw gerry with a cane more #headcanoning him with chronic pain helped me figure out my own

[thermodynamic-comedian]

allowing myself one (1) angsty post cuz i already wrote a whole fic about this idea.

so, "the eye as the fear of being outed" this is known. but have you considered "the spiral as the fear of living your entire life closeted"

michael was chosen by the spiral because of how much of his life was marked by madness. his old friend from school, him seeking out the eye as an antidote for his own doubts and confusion, and, finally, the betrayal that led to his death.

but what if helen was chosen by the spiral because of how connected she was to the idea of lying. what if she'd been lying about something her entire life, to the point where her entire life was an elaborate lie, yes, of course i love my job, of course i trust my friends, of course i'll get a husband, just give it a few more years. she lived her entire life like this, and it was never her fault, it was a situation she was forced into. she could never be honest. the spiral marked her an excellent liar.

#they're both so tragic like that. michael died deep in his doubts and helen died deep in her lies. #tma #the magnus archives #tma spoilers #tma headcanons #michael distortion #michael shelley #helen richardson #helen distortion #helen the distortion

[starsh0ck]

MAG 101 - another twist

#fanart #art #tma #tma art #tma fanart #tma podcast #magnus pod #micheal distortion fanart #micheal shelley #micheal distortion #tma distortion #tma spoilers #tma headcanons #michael distortion #michael shelley #mag 101 #the magnus pod #the magnus archive fanart #the magnus archives #the magnus archives fanart

[cherryzlem]

Tw// eyestrain, because these are the best type of michael fanarts

Mmh the silly ever <3

#artists on tumblr #procreate #digital art #tma #tma michael #tma fanart #tma podcast #tma headcanons #michael shelley #spiral #the spiral #the distortion #michael distortion #hyperpop #neon colors #tw eyestrain #digital artist

[nucifraga]

so... who was going to tell me that my estimates of the tma characters' ages was WAYYY off??

and i know jonny probably meant it to be that way so that there'd be leeway for creative interpretation of the characters and all, but my brain wants them pinned down. so. here's a mini-list/research rant of my favs. presently the list consists of:

Jonathan Sims

Martin Blackwood

Sasha James

Timothy Stoker

Mike Crew !

Oliver Banks

Michael Shelley

Gerard Keay

Three disclaimers – (i) The TMA timeline is a trainwreck. Many assumptions have been made. At least half of them are probably wrong (especially where University is used as an age marker) and also my maths ability sucks because I haven’t done maths in two years, so where there are glaring issues, so feel free to correct me and I will edit accordingly :’) (ii) This is by no means definite. See above. Honestly, attempting to decipher them feels like trying to understand the Spiral. But I’m doing it anyway, because as both a fanfic writer and an academic, I want to at least try. (iii) SPOILER WARNING!! SO MANY SPOILERS! I think the only seaosn that isn't spoiled is maybeeee S5 ???

With that, let's go! [Ages are approximate & as-of 2016 / S1]

Jonathan Sims Age: 28 Birth year: 1987-1988 There seems to be a general consensus on this one. MAG81 appears to be one of the key clues here – ‘Jon says that he was about 8 during the events of the statement and that it happened a year or two after Leitner's library ended, which was in 1994. So he's born around 1987-88.’ [source: reddit]Of note is the fact that he lied about his age and pretended to be older, which is hilarious, and leads me to believe that he’s the youngest of the Archives crew – or at least, near there.

Martin Blackwood Age: 28-ish Birth year: 1988 Has worked for the Institute since at least 2009. He’s lied about having a Master’s in parapsychology, so is likely old enough to feasibly be able to have one. As all institute staff have to at least have a Master’s in something archive-related (iirc), all of them must hence be at least 22/23, assuming the Master’s courses are 1 year long. Jonny has, however, stated that Martin is either a bit older or a bit younger than Jon, and I’m tempted to believe it’s the former (see above).

Sasha James Age: 28-34, 30-ish? Birth year: 1981-1987 There’s like, nothing on Sasha. I’m assuming she’s at least older than Jon, because that might be why he began faking his age. The only possible marker would be that Sasha’s worked in Artefact Storage (for 3 months), Research (for longer, I assume) and long enough in Archives to be considered as Gertrude’s likely successor. So, definitely more qualified, and also older than Jon.

Timothy Stoker Age: 30-ish Birth year: 1986? Tim has a degree in Anthropology from Trinity College (I assume this to be Oxbridge, rather than Ireland or something, since he resides in London), and spent 5 years working at a publishing firm. This puts him at 26 (18+3+5) in 2013 when Danny was taken. As he says he began working for the Institute shortly after, I would assume that this is when he stopped working for the firm. I’ve added a bit of buffer because nobody’s birthdays are given, ever, and also there might have been a bit of time between leaving university and joining the firm and/or leaving the firm and finding the Institute. So – 30.

Okay that’s the core staff, onto my other favs.

Michael 'Mike' Crew Age: 37-ish Birth year: ~1979 My #1 avatar! I did a double-take after I worked out his entire timeline, but here’s the highlights: He was a uni student during late 1997-early 1998 when he went looking for Ex Altiora in Lion Books. I’m assuming he was a first year, because generally uni students stay in the sameish area for the whole course and I don’t see him missing out on an opportunity to Leitner-hunt just because the store was in a slightly out-of-the-way part of town. So! This puts his birthdate at around 1979-1980.

Oliver Banks Age: 28-ish Birth year: ~1987 Oliver Banks’ timeline during & post-Uni makes NO SENSE. Fortunately, we do know that he moved to London around 2005 to do his undergraduate degree at the London School of Economics. Which puts him at around 18 in 2005, and his birth year can be worked out from there. Quick rant about Oliver’s timeline: Oliver is working at Barclays by 2007, and he was recruited after graduating. Which means he both began and subsequently completed his undergraduate degree between 2005 and 2007. That’s literally impossible for a standard 3 year course. Plus, by around 2007, he’s been working for nearly a year at Barclays, so he started in 2006… so apparently he began his degree and completed it in under a year, since the academic year starts in September??

Michael Shelley / Michael the Distortion Age: 31 / 49 / early 50s (but canonically 92 at all points in the timeline) Birth year: ??? I didn’t do the research on this one, so here’s my source because I don’t think there’s any more I can add.This mess is truly Spiral-worthy, which could have been intended, but also may just be the TMA timeline wonkiness at work. There’s also been some speculation that he was hired at even younger than 18, but equally it’s possible that he was hired older, which puts his age squarely into the [I don’t have a fucking clue] range.

Gerard Keay Age: technically 32 Birth year: ~1984 Gerry was born in the 80s, and given that the above source states he was in his ‘late teens’ in 2002, this tracks. Making the assumption that he’s 18 in 2002, I’m going to place his birth year at around 1984. However, he died in 2014 (I’m assuming late-2014, given that he had time to encounter Leitner in London & travel a bit with Gertrude before his death) in the USA, putting him at around 30 at the age of his death. Since he’s dead, he doesn’t really age, but he is ‘aware’ enough to be in existential pain so I’m going to go with Descartes on this one and say he’s ‘alive’ enough to continue counting his years of existence. Poor guy. Doesn’t even get to actually die til August 2017 either.

Part 2 ft. the 4 Grandpas of the Apocalypse here

#character ages #the magnus archives #tma #magnus archives #tma spoilers #jonathan sims #martin blackwood #timothy stoker #tim stoker #sasha james #michael shelley #mike crew #michael crew #gerard keay #gerry keay #oliver banks #michael the distortion #i don't know how to tag i don't use tumblr nearly enough for this #tma research #tma headcanons #tumblr keeps destroying my formatting how do i fix this

[southpark-trashfactory]

Phew, this took me so long, but I'm really happy with how all these came out! There's a couple oddballs in these line ups, so I'll just go ahead and explain some less direct headcanons: So Tara is just the name I gave to that one random background goth girl in season 8 episode 7, cause I thought her design was really cute and I wanted to draw her, and then I thought since Stan's goth name is Raven, I could name her Tara and now I have the dumb little headcanon that Stan and her wrote "My Immortal" (Since that fanfic was written by two girls named Tara and Raven) I also headcanon her as Michael's younger adoptive sister who he doesn't let hang out with his friends cause he thinks she's a poser. and Alexandra Cartman is Cartman's cousin from Season 2 episode 16, I really like the idea of her meeting and being friends with Shelley and Kevin. (I also headcanon her as trans cause I like to think she told Cartman about transgender people before "The Cissy" and that's why he had some accurate information despite clearly not really knowing much more than surface level stuff, and then she pushes him into a snowbank for the stunt he pulls ) I also drew the goth kids (and Ike, Karen and Tricia) WAY before the PC specials came out, so their designs don't really have any influence from their canon adult designs. Which is kind of a shame cause I really liked Firkle's post covid design being a big beefy tatted up punk, but I'm too attached to my little rat version of Firkle to make any changes lol.

#south park #my art #fanart #oh god so many tags ahead #sp goth kids #pete thelman #sp michael #henrietta biggle #firkle smith #ike broflovski #karen mccormick #tricia tucker #shelley marsh #scott tenorman #kevin mccormick #alexandra cartman #kyle schwartz #bradley biggle #ref sheet #headcanons #sp henrietta #sp firkle #sp pete #sp ike #sp karen #sp tricia #sp shelly #sp kevin

[hrabraport]

☺(😵)

#tma fandom #tma fanart #tma art #tma headcanons #tma #michael distortion #michael shelley #tma micheal shelly #tma michael #tma micheal distortion #the magnus archives #hrabra art

[esttillie]

*'Michael' beating the absolute-living-shit out of a Lietner User*

Gerry: *completely ignoring the fight while trying to burn the Lietner User's book*

Random Archive employee: *glaring*

Gerry:... What?

RAE: You're not even going to try and stop him?

Gerry, turning to look at Michael: ...

Gerry: *Whispering in the most monotone voice ever* oh no, Michael, please stop, violence is never the answear etc, etc...

'Michael', not even listening: *door violence intensifies*

RAE: ...

Gerry: Welp. I tried.

#they're so silly #Michael doesnt have a motive to beat the Lietner User #he just likes to help his bf #gerry is very gratefull #the magnus archives #the magnus Archives incorrect quotes #gerry tma #gerrymichael #gerry keay #gerard keay #gerard keay tma #michaelgerry #michael the distortion #michael distortion #michael shelley #michael tma #doorkeay #doorkeay headcanon

[silly-tma-headcanons]

Hmmmm...Michael Shelley liking dinosaurs a lot. Dinosaurs and space being his two special interests...he wanted to become a possible museum worker (or whatever its called) before he lost his best friend to the spiral and joined the institute. he also used to ramble to Randy (? i think that's his name) about dinosaurs a lot before the Spiral took him.

I haven't the foggiest as to who randy is, so I'm assuming you mean eric? I could be completely wrong, so please correct me if so lol

with this headcanon, i imagine he would've loved to be a museum tour guide, or something similar, at the natural history museum, he would be too jittery to do that much talking, especially with kids. I'd imagine he visits a lot, though. he thinks the exhibits on dinosaurs and other extinct animals are cool as shit.

#ask!!! woop woop!!! #the magnus archives #tma #the magpod #the magnus pod #tma headcanons #the magnus archives headcanons #michael shelley #michael shelley headcanons

[clairebearsparkles]

What if Michael's door had a window?

#This is a very sad idea #Gertrude could definitely watch Michael as he got taken #it's a frosted glass window hence the blur #the magnus archives #the magnus archive fanart #the magnus pod #the magnus institute #tma vague #michael distortion #tma headcanons #tma art #tma #tmart #distortion michael #michael shelley #the spiral #clairebear art

[thermodynamic-comedian]

i think im losing my mind does everyone else live in a universe where michael had more screentime than helen...where is all the helen content...i will start hitting people if i dont see more helen content

#be honest. it's because michael's a twinkifiable white boy isn't it. be very very honest with me tma fandom #i try so hard not to make controversial posts unless they're headcanons cuz i don't wanna get in trouble but. i have to speak my mind rn #helen stopped michael from killing jon. and yet it's far more common to hate helen than it is to hate michael in this fandom. #everybody go home and reflect. #tma #the magnus archives #helen distortion #helen the distortion #helen richardson #michael distortion #michael the distortion #michael shelley

[vvanillavveins]

Waiting for them to go on their next coffee run and mention meeting a cheerful blonde guy in the café drawing little swirl patterns on his napkin and humming along to Poe's 5&1/2 Minute Hallway.

If it's Alice, she'll laugh at his nervous jokes, probably compliment his fashion sense, and tell him something about standing up for himself at work, and with that i will feel truly alive again

#i can dream #michael shelley #tma michael distortion #the magnus archives #tma #the magnus protocol #tmagp #tmagp vague #tmagp headcanons

[c0l0re]

Tbh I think it'd be really interesting if Doorkeay was less just a romantic ship or more of like… at first they were uneasy allies since they had both been wronged by the same person and had some bitterness and anger about it, so they had a common opinion of "fuck the Magnus Institute" even if they didn't necessarily trust each other yet

Slowly, the two spend more and more time around each other, planning things, discussing discoveries they've made, seeing if either has made any progress in figuring things out, and they start to move from uneasy allies to actual friends. They no longer only keep their meetings formal and purely goal-oriented. They find themselves slipping into friendly banter and casual conversation, even when it's not what they came for

They end up realizing they have a lot more in common than they could've ever thought, and that they actually make a good duo and appreciate each other's company after everything both of them have gone through

Michael doesn't try to hurt or deceive Gerry at any point. It doesn't only care about him as a vital ally, but also someone it actually, genuinely cares about

Gerry goes from being wary and suspicious of Michael to valuing his abilities and insights, to actually also seeing him as a friend, and someone he, too, genuinely cares about

They aren't lovers, but they have a bond deeper than others could have ever imagined either of them ever having with anyone. They are important to each other, and they won't let the other go

#tma #the magnus archives #tma headcanons #gerard keay #gerry keay #michael distortion #michael shelley #doorkeay #colore speaks #this can be read as either platonic or queerplatonic either one works lol #but yeah. i am a sucker for non-romantic character duos and dynamics #what if i just want these two to try and figure shit out and end up becoming friends while trying to numb their own pain of lonliness #and also trying to rebuild their senses of trust after being betrayed by the people in their lives that should have cared about them #what if i just want some deeply broken and traumatized people to try and find a way to rebuild their lives. even if its not permanent #even if it barely lasts any time at all

[beastwhimsy]

the distortion has a fantastic fashion sense by the way. it told me so itself in an indignant tone of voice after I snickered at its rhinestone studded high heels as it dragged me through its twisting corridors

>>> reblog to support my art!! likes are appreciated but do nothing ))):

#I’m gonna add an ID once i’m off mobile!! but if anyone wants to add one in the meantime feel free and thanks!! #tma #the magnus archives #michael distortion #michael shelley #tma fanart #tma headcanons #the distortion #the spiral #michael distortion fanart #ALSO NEW WATERMARK!!!!! #if you want to use this for something dm me!! if I’m ok with what youre going to use it for i’ll send you a version without the watermark #artists on tumblr #magpod

[eye-catching-tma-headcanons]

hc that michael, after becoming the distortion, fucked up the dates on all the important documents just to fuck with gertrude and jonah

yes this is my desperate attempt at explaining the fucked up tma timeline in canon

Force me into becoming the Distortion? Distort these dates, bitch

#the magnus archives #the magnus universe #tma #tma headcanons #tma micheal distortion #michael the distortion #michael distortion #tma michael #micheal shelley #michael shelley #gertrude robinson #tma gertrude #jonah magnus #jonah tma #tma jonah