#MY FIRST BEST FRIEND * PETER VENKMAN

[shelbgrey]

My MasterList of Stories

Master List part 2

~request are open

Grey's Anatomy

The Sopranos

Codes:

Smut=❤️‍🔥 Fluff=💕 Angst=💔 Funny=💖 Horror=🫀

🔬Bones💀

Dr. Lance Sweets:

Smut Alphabet❤️‍🔥

Caught in the act ❤️‍🔥

Dating Lance Sweets HC💕❤️‍🔥

Adventures in babysitting💕

You belong with me💕

Lance Sweets as a Dad headcanons💕

Dream Warriors💔🫀

Bones Halloween Special🫀💖

Code baby Part 1 💕

Let me take your pain away💕💔

Dr. Jack Hodgins:

Can't buy me love💔💕

Jack Hodgins Having a little sister💕

What's it gonna take to get you out of his lab?❤️‍🔥

Agent Seeley Booth:

Dating Seeley Booth Headcanons💕❤️‍🔥

Being Seeley Booth's Best friend HCs💕

Friends to Lovers Headcanons💕

The day we met💕

In the name of love💕

Agent James Aubrey:

Falling in love with James Aubrey after losing Lance 💔💕

Falling in love with James Aubrey after losing Lance Sweets part 2💕❤️‍🔥

Smut Alphabet❤️‍🔥

Unspoken desire❤️‍🔥

Dr. Wendell Bray:

Witchy Squintern HCs💕

Dr. Camille Saroyan:

who broke the coffee pot?💖

The Squinterns:

Adventures in babysitting💕

Being Hodgins sister and being a goth Squintern💕

Dr. Zack Addy:

I've got your back💕

Who's got him smiling like that?💕

❤️‍🩹Grey's Anatomy🩺

Dr. Derek Shephard:

Halloween special💖🫀

Injured💔

The Ballad of Jayne💔

Stuck in the middle💔💕

Stitches💕

This is Why I Don't Go To The Gym💕

Baby on the brain💕

Dating Derek after he broke up with Meredith💕

Love at first sight💕

Dr. Mark Sloan:

November Rain💔

Faithfully💔💕

We are family💕

Christmas Special💖

Dr. Owen Hunt:

Trauma 101💖

Dr. Jackson Avery:

Love Story💔💕

Dr. Alex Karev:

Heaven💔

Dr. Miranda Bailey:

Your my favorite💕

Dr. Nick Marsh:

Secrets out💕

🗡️Once upon a time🍎

August W. Booth:

Hidden secrets❤️‍🔥💕💔

Killian Jones:

Smut fic with Killan Jones❤️‍🔥

Prince James:

Hysteria💔💕

🩸Twilight🌲

Cullen family:

Fire safty💖

Going to the zoo💖

Cats in the cradle💕

Being Carlisle and Esme's daughter and having the Volturi wrap around your finger. 💖💕

Cullens:

Emmett McCarthy Cullen:

Next to me series💖💔💕❤️‍🔥

Forever now💕

Being Emmett and Rose's daughter HCs💕

Carlisle Cullen:

Being Carlisle and Esme's youngest daughter HC💕

Carlisle as your husband HCs💕

Jasper Whitlock Hale:

Jasper dating Bella's sister HCs💕

Edward Anthony Mason Cullen:

Dating Edward Cullen HCs💕

Crushing on Edward Cullen HCs💕

Rosalie Lillian Hale:

Being Emmett and Rose's daughter HCs💕

Denalis:

Eleazar Denali:

Glory of love series ❤️‍🔥💕💔💖

Dating Eleazar HCs❤️‍🔥💕

Garrett:

Voice of an Angel💔💕

Being Carlisle and Esme's youngest daughter and dating Garrett HCs💕

Wolf pack:

Seth Clearwater:

Perfect 💕

Volturi:

The Volturi:

Being Carlisle and Esme's youngest daughter and having the Volturi wrap around your finger💕

🧫Ghostbusters👻

Peter Venkman:

When unspoken rules are broken💔💕

Dr. Egon Spengler:

Hold on, I love you💔

Two Nerds falling in love headcanons💕

Ray stantz:

Dr. Jelousey❤️‍🔥

Something strange💕💔

🦁🐍Harry Potter🐦‍⬛🦡

Draco Malfoy:

Say Something💔

Dance the night away💕

Just keeping an eye out💕

The truth doesn't always hurt💔💕

George Weasley:

Welocm to Gryffindor💔💕

You belong with me - part 1💔💕

Fred Weasley:

Being a Potter twin and falling for Fred💕

Neville Longbottom:

Your Breaking My Heart💔

Weasley family:

Being adopted by the Weasleys💕

⚔️Supernatural🌘

Gabriel "the Trickster":

Hyper girl💕

The Winchester and the Trickster💕

Love of a lifetime💔

Dean winchester:

Dating Dean Winchester Headcanons💕❤️‍🔥

Castiel:

Being in a love triangle with Dean and Cas💕💔

🎶Elvis Presley🎸

Austin!Elvis Presley:

Love me tender💔💕

💥Marvel🦸

Scott "Cyclops" Summers:

Dating Scott Summers💕❤️‍🔥

A not so White Wedding💕

Clint "Hawkeye" Barton:

Secrets out💖

Whatever it takes💔💕

Tony "Iron man" Stark:

All of me💔💕

Bucky "winter soldier" Barnes:

Treat you better💔💕

Howard Stark:

Time In A Bottle💕

Dr. Stephen Strange:

I won't say I'm in love💔💕

Avengers:

Ohana means family💕

Six avengers and a baby💔💕

[rig0rm0rbid]

I would just like to sit here and analyze the shit out of Peter and Egon for a second. Thanks.

Disclaimer! I know there is some disagreement on Mr.Venkman'e name. On the Ghostbusters fan wiki, they call him Jim. I personally have seen him called Charlie more consistently so I'm sticking with it.

Peter and Egon have been friends the longest (canonically) seeing as Peter introduced Ray and Egon later on in college. So of course Peter and Egon have this sort of unspoken understanding and special understanding of each other.

Like, I especially like to look at the "angstier" episodes of RGB (yes I know RGB and GB1+2+Afterlife+Frozen Empire are different canons but just let me cook here.) Specifically, any episode involving Charlie Venkman (Peter's father.) We know that Peter has a... rocky relationship with his father.

In the episode "Cold Cash and Hot Water", Peter and Egon are a lot less obvious but still fairly present in their relationship. Egon is the first to inquire about the phone call between Peter and Charlie. When they're leaving Alaska, Peter says goodbye to his dad. And while he has to clear his throat to get Egon to stop talking to his father (and Egon of course takes the hint to wait in the plane) we see him waiting at the door, watching for Peter.

There are plenty of other instances I could go into, how the two have inside jokes, the fact that Egon will consistently mess with Peter but rarely the rest of the team, the entire segment where Peter gets up in the morning and mumbles incoherently and the joke is that Egon translates, etc etc. Peter and Egon are more consistently in physical contact and overall tend to communicate the best.

Honestly, I could go on and on about them. My friends already know this (Milo you poor man) but I'll call it here for this post. Definitely will continue to post more about them. I have screencaps and what not that will be talked about more in depth, don't worry.

[ewsean]

As an active validation seeker, I wanted to post my current WIP for an upcoming Ghostbusters cross Spiderman fic? I've never once written Fanfic before (at least that I can remember?) and I wanted to take it to Tumblr to get the general community opinion. Fic Intro / Snippet Below !! (Is this something you'd be interested in reading? Feel free to ask question about it too ?? I'm just here to share my shit really LOL)

Raymond Stantz was your normal New York student. No really, he was! He attended Columbia University, went out on the weekends with his friends, worked an honest part-timer down at a Comic Book Store about a subway’s stop away from his dorm. He was all completely normal- normal bar one thing.

He was New York’s one and only Spiderman.

And while you’ve probably heard that a lot before, Ray Stantz really was New York’s one and only Spiderman, and had been since he was 15 when an unfortunate incident had happened during an after-school science experiment that had gone wrong. He’d told himself to never feed untested food to insects without studying the ingredients, but curiosity got the best of him, and the rest was history.

It was less than ideal, really. It wasn’t like he had chosen this life. It was almost like destiny, or fate, as his close friend Peter would tell him. That was another thing that was less than ideal- Peter’s involvement. Ray had sworn to himself to never tell anyone, not even his parents, out of fear they thought he was absolutely nuts, or worse, got affected by his status as a ‘Hero’. Friends had been hard to keep throughout his High School life, despite his outgoing and bubbly personality. College wasn’t any different, until he hit the jackpot with one Peter Venkman. Peter would claim Ray attached himself to him, but truth be told, it was the other way around.  They found themselves as roommates in the first year and grew closer as friends the longer they spent together. It was hard to keep his secret identity hidden from his incredibly nosy friend, and it was only a matter of time before Peter found him out. All he could do was pray it wasn’t anytime soon. It was probably because Ray didn’t believe in any higher power that his prayers did not get answered, and three months into their friendship the bomb was dropped.

“Didn’t take you as a midnight bachelor, Stantzie.” Came Peter’s smooth and sleazy voice in the dark. Ray froze in his spot, one foot halfway through the window of their bathroom. It may be dark, but Ray swears he can see the mischievous twinkle in Pete’s eyes as his shit-eating grin expands, “Nice costume. Wanna tell me where you’ve been?”

Part of Ray thoroughly believes that if he stands still long enough holding his breath, Peter will get bored of waiting for an answer and fall back into his bed to sleep the night away. There’s no luck in this though, as his best friend’s voice carries through the air, accusatory, “Stop holding your breath, idiot. I can see you. I’m not mad.”

That was a good thing, at least? Ray was clutching at positives here, because in this very moment, all he could see was negative scenario after negative scenario. He always had had a problem with acting impulsively and dreading to deal with the consequences of his actions afterwards. “Stantz.” It’s met with silence. “Ray. Raymond, hello? Come on, you’re going to fall over.”

Well, if Peter wasn’t going to let this slide, he might as well let his body fall with the sweet release of gravity, finally pulling his other leg inside the building from the window and collapsing onto the floor in a large heap, softly groaning out at the abrupt hit of the ground.

“You’re a moron, you know that, right?” “Yeah .. You tell me every few days, Pete. I can’t forget.” Ray responds, though his words are muffled and it causes Peter to strain his hearing, finally getting up from his bed to pad into the bathroom where his friend laid, defeated. 

For a moment, they sat on the bathroom floor together, each contemplating what to say next. There were a lot of words that needed to be exchanged, but neither man could quite figure out how to get them out. For once in his life, Peter Venkman was stunned into silence. Ray would not be the first to speak first, subconsciously zip-locking his lips and throwing the key away into some dark cavern of his brain. The burden fell to Peter to speak once more.

And speak he did.

“So … I gotta’ find a new favourite Hero now that I found out mine was you after all this time.” 

Why was he like this .. ?

“Spiderman’s your favourite?” Ray asks, hopeful, chin tilting upwards just enough to peer out from the crook in his arms that he’d buried his head previously into to avoid Peter’s expectant look. 

“Was. Remember, I just said I needed to find a new one.” Ray knows Peter’s only joking, because he says it with that light tone of his and his eyebrows soften, a look Peter reserves for Ray and a handful of other people. With a study pat on his shoulder, Peter is up and hauling Ray to his feet, “Alrighty, pal. Let’s get you to bed. Seems like it’s been a rough night.” Ray can only snort. If Pete had any idea what he’d gone through. 

“Yeah. Thanks Pete, we’ll talk more about this in the morning.”

But they never did. Not like Peter hadn’t tried; In fact, it had become almost a daily occurrence. Ray couldn’t leave the dorm room without being asked where he was going, who he was seeing, or what trouble New York City had found itself in. Even waking up for class early, or to go study with a few of his classmates, Peter was hot on his tail, ready to catch any action that arose. The action never arose, though, at least not in Peter’s vicinity. And at least, not for a good three weeks.

[circusgoth-dotcom]

I Said It First!

Ship: Egon Spengler x Ferris Hutch x Peter Venkman

Word Count: 994

Summary: THE PROPOSAL FIC. IT'S HERE. After having Egon and Peter listed as my fiancés for a few months now. The boys didn't coordinate this beforehand. 😅 CWs for brief alcohol mention.

Tag List: @canongf @futurewife @rexscanonwife @dudefrommywesterns

Ferris had been enjoying a wonderful evening with his boys. It was like something out of a movie, from tickets to a ballet performance to dinner to a walk through a light art exhibit. He expected this sort of thing from Egon from time to time, taking a breather from all of the ghost work to appreciate their non-professional relationship, but Peter... well, his date ideas could range from a nice dinner to making out during a movie. He put in the effort when he felt like it and Ferris had accepted that.

“I’ve never seen you two act like this,” Ferris couldn’t help but comment when they were in the back of a limousine, heading who knows where. “How did we afford all this?”

Peter put a finger on their lips. “Shh. You don’t need to worry about that, babe. Venkman’s—”

“And Spengler,” Egon interrupted with a look. Peter cleared his throat.

“Yes, of course, Venkman and Spengler have got it covered. All you need to do is relax and enjoy the evening. Right?”

“Right.”

Ferris sighed and shook their head, sinking further into the vehicle’s cushy seats. “I hope Ray and Winston don’t miss us too much.”

“Whaat? Psh, they’ll be fine, why’re you bringing them into this??” Peter asked jokingly. Ferris put its hands up defensively.

“Alright, alright, I’ll shut my trap.”

Egon’s hand rested on top of its. “Just until we get where we’re going.” He smiled at it and it smiled back. It was just a bit longer until the limousine came to a stop. Ferris had felt it climbing a hill and gave their boys a questioning look as they got out of the car. They gasped when they looked around. A beautiful lookout point rising over the lights of New York City.

“Isn’t she glorious from here? Our own Big Apple,” Peter announced as they walked toward the railing for the best view.

“Hey, what’re you complimenting her for?” Ferris joked.

“Well, I—”

“New York’s mere glitter can’t compare to your constant shine, Hutch,” Egon complimented smoothly, wrapping his arms around them from behind. Ferris looked up at him from under his chin, surprised.

“That was beautiful, Egon,” He praised breathlessly. He shook his head again. “What’s gotten into you two, did they put something in the water supply at the firehouse this morning??”

“Not in the water supply, my dear, but in our hearts… God that was cheesy,” Peter placed an extra dramatic hand on his chest to emphasise his point. “Ferris, we’ve known you and loved you for some time now… one might say you’re the greatest thing to happen to us. After the fame and fortune of becoming Ghostbusters, of course.” Peter knelt in front of them as Egon’s arms loosened from their middle. Behind them, his expression was one of confusion. “But even then, if you wanted us to give it all up… not that I think you would… I would. I would do it for your happiness in a heartbeat.” He retrieved a small velvet box from his pocket and opened it, presenting a glittering ring. “Ferris Hutch, will you m—”

“Hold on a second,” Egon interrupted, much to Peter’s annoyance. Completely shocked and pink-faced, Ferris turned to face him. Egon knelt… and presented his own ring in embarrassed silence. Now it was Peter’s turn to be shocked.

“You were going to--? Wait, what???”

Ferris covered his mouth. For a second, only the chirping of crickets could be heard. Then Ferris snorted before all of his giggles escaped him at once. “Oh my-- Oh my gosh-- You didn’t-- You didn’t coordinate with each other??? Beforehand???” He gasped between laughs.

“What? No, I had no idea he was also going to propose! I would’ve let him go first!” Peter was still staring at his friend and coworker.

“That’s very generous of you, Venkman,” Egon slowly stood and Peter followed suit. Ferris waved his hands up and down.

“Wait, wait, Egon, what were you going to say? Please, propose to me,” He insisted. Egon’s ears were pink. He shook his head.

“Forget it, the moment’s over.”

Ferris took a few breaths, then held Egon’s free hand, looking up at him with glossy eyes. “Please?”

Egon considered it for a moment. “Only if Venkman gives us some space.”

“I’ll be at the limo if anyone needs me,” Peter quipped as he retreated. Once he was a smart distance away, Egon spoke.

“Hutch, you are… an incredible man. Before you, I wasn’t sure if romantic attachment was something I was capable of feeling. I was content to accept that dating wasn’t in my nature and that I’d be married to my work. But you came along, and something… clicked. These feelings aren’t just some scrawlings of letters, numbers, and lines on a chalkboard to me anymore. They’re as real as my mind can permit them to be.” Egon knelt a second time, opening his ring box once more. “I love you, Hutch. And I want to spend the rest of my life with you. The most significant way I can symbolise that is by proposing, so… will you marry me, Ferris?”

“Yes,” Ferris whispered, taking Egon’s face in their hands. They kissed him softly before calling over his shoulder to Peter, “Yes! I’ll marry you both!”

Egon stood and Peter rushed over.

“Hey, that’s great!” Peter clapped his hands enthusiastically and kissed Ferris’ cheek.

“But how??” Egon asked, brow furrowed. “Polygamy isn’t exactly legal here in the States…”

“Well, it doesn’t have to be legally documented… or at least, I don’t care if it is. I’ll call you my husbands anyway.” Ferris happily kissed them both. “Unless one of you wants to have a proper wedding…?”

“We can talk about it more later. Let’s buy some champagne and tell Stantz and Zeddemore the good news!” Peter cheered, leading them back to the limousine. Ferris kept them glued to his sides for the rest of the night.

[fuckinuhhh]

Architectural Finds, 06/24/2023

My walk today was a brief 20 minutes, I was meeting up with a friend from upstate for some chai who had come down the night before to stay with some other friends. We met up at the Chai Spot on Mott St. (which I definitely now recommend) and we relaxed in their backroom lounge with our chai's for 45 min or so. She eventually had to leave to catch her bus back upstate & I walked her to the subway stairs hugged her and said goodbye. Feeling the warm weather on my skin and the caffeine in my veins I decided to walk up Broadway, here were some of the architectural highlights.

This cute turret room on the top of the building on the NE corner of Bleecker & Broadway. Doing the smallest ammount of googling I am finding out this was Peter Venkman's (Bill Murray) apartment in Ghostbusters 2???? ok.

It just looks like it would be such a whimsical little tower to hang your hair from, idk.

Building Facts: Built in 1891 as the Manhattan Savings Institution, also known as Bleecker Tower. Architect Stephen Decatur Hatch.

Built in the Romanesque Revival style with arches and ornaments, as well as the red sandstone and signature rough cut stone of this style on the base of the building (definitely why it caught my eye, I love Richardson Romanesque/romanesque revival).

The tower on top eludes my brief internet search, but if anyone has pictures of the inside please direct them to me.

Next up we have this lil copper cutie who looks like it just got a face lift judging by the shiny copper facade on top. It is currently a FootLocker so hopefully they're treating her nice.

Building Facts: (obv) Built in 1889 by Architect Alfred Zucker.

The menacing gargoyles are cute.

(maybe more of an opinion than a fact, but) there used to be a bookstore called Shakepeare's on the bottom floor and the top floors were 1-per-floor studio spaces for artists to live/work in, & I wish that was the case today, not footlocker and high rent.

MOVING ON, we've got this pair of cuties. Don't they look like the best of friends holding hands ready to face the world side by side? These guys are 734 (left) and 732 (right) Broadway.

734: Built in 1872 by Architects David & John Jardine in Cast-Iron Neo-Grec style. Until ~2015, the facade had become a rusted brown/black mess until they cleaned and repainted it.

732: Built in 1854 by unknown.

This little building has a complicated past but ill try and summarize the small dig I just did on it. Originally it was a 3.5 peaked-roof building as a set of 3 houses for wealthy sisters (daughters of John Mason) from 732-736 designed by an undocumented architect. It underwent large renovations twice in its life, and one small renovation adding the Treffurth's sign on the roof cornice. The first renovation happened in 1885 by Henry Janeway Hardenbergh (god write a romance novel already would you) and allowed the introduction of E. A. Mac's bookstore to take the place of the earlier saloon on the bottom floor. It was then renovated in 1900 by Bruno W. Berger to the Cast-Iron more or less Renaissance Revival facade we see today.

-

Im going to keep these next ones brief because I'm beginning to lose steam :)

1 Astor Place

Built in 1883 by Architects Starkweather & Gibbs (they also designed the Potter Building). Brick & Terracotta above Cast-Iron ground floor facade.

Originally it was used as a hotel and boarding house with ground floor stores. The harsh vertical motifs on the exterior caught my eye, and I was drawn in even more by the harmony of the design elements and color choices.

10 Astor Place aka 444 Lafayette St

Built in 1876 by Architect Griffith Thomas to the same owner as the above building, Orlando B. Potter, who seemed to have impeccable taste in architecture.

I love the ornate implementation of the painted white Cast-Iron in the arches and pillar ornaments on this one. As well as the eye-popping contrast of the white paint on dark red brick, kind of a juxtaposed take on themes seen in the building above with the way the red and black elements seem to blend in together in harmony.

21 Astor Place aka Clinton Hall

Built in 1891 by George E. Harney.

Originally a Library for the New York Mercantile Library. I love the classic industrial look its such a strong look while they still tried to give elements of the facade some artistic nuance like in the arched windows and dark banding.

Only Caught the side of this Collonade building but doing more research on it, it's owned by the Blue Man Group????

Built 1831 by Seth Greer and historically home to family member's of the Astor & Vanderbilt families, it is the oldest building I took note of today.

And of course, how could I not be drawn into the Cooper Union Foundation building's charm. It stands seemingly so alone in the heart of Manhattan, close to a modern miracle.

Built in 1859 by Frederick A. Peterson in the (what I'm finding now to be called) Rundbogenstil German neo-Romanesque style.

I didn't realize it at the time but this picture also seems to be the back of the building. Still just such ornate and well-balanced design!

HONORABLE MENTIONS: This house on top of this building and the cute lil mansard moment next to it, which I searched and searched for but I cant seem to remember where it is.

Edit: I found it, there were street signs in the picture whoops. The one with the cottage is 203 E 13th Street also known as Pear Tree Place. And the little guy with the mansard roof is 109 3rd ave, both of them resting above Kiehls 3rd ave.

DISHONORABLE MENTIONS: This NYU Alumni building. Who designed you, they should be ashamed. What is going on with your offset, unbalanced terraces in the back? Awful. What was the point of all of these different colored brick patches?? Uncomfortable, awful. It looks like a neutral-toned Duplo set.

Built in 1986 and I cant even find the architect so you know they weren't very proud of it.

[reigen-hurtcomfort-palooza]

I had an epiphany over the winter break that possibly one of the many reasons I’ve latched on so hard to Mob Psycho, and Reigen in particular, can be traced all the way back to the first ship that caught my teenage eye. The very first ship that made me go, “but what if they KISSED” was way, WAY back in the 90’s with Peter Venkman and Egon Spengler from The Real Ghostbusters cartoon. 

No, not the movie Peter and Egon played by actual treant Bill Murray and holy saint of comedy Harold Ramis. The animated ones, with the color coded uniforms and even gayer subtext. My best friend and I bonded over this cartoon and imagining these two in particular as an endgame couple, Janine’s presence be damned. 

Ok, back to Mob Psycho. What’s the connection? 

Peter, Egon, Slimer. 

Reigen, Serizawa, Dimple. 

All are self made business men and said businesses aren’t seen as legit by most of society. Both businesses deal with the elimination of otherworldly forces but conveniently keep one green spirit around as a friend. One member of each duo is seen as the mouth of the company, a mouth has gotten them into & out of trouble on the regular. They’re also seen as a supposed conmen or the son of a conman, and both have a tendency to sacrifice themselves in defense of their respective ‘found families’. Both pairs have a gentler counterpart to reign them back in when needed and would in turn do anything for their heart-of-gold rat men. Both pairs are friends with benefits who after being in more life and death situations to count have got to see each other as more than just… co-workers.

Is there some greater knowledge to be gained from this? Nope! Did it make me feel better to finally get this out of my head! Yes it did! Has this lessened the grip these fictional idiots have on my brain? HAHAHAHA

[newwavesailor]

Thoughts on the upcoming Garfield Movie (2024) [SUPER LONG POST]

Chances are, unless you've been living in a remote cave in the mountains, you are aware that there's a new Garfield movie coming out in 2024. Yes, that's right. Twenty whole years after the disastrous live-action movie, and seventeen years following that film's sequel, and we are treated to the fat cat's antics on the big screen once more -- In full animation, no less.

However, you're probably aware of another quite notable aspect of this upcoming popcorn flick. An aspect of the film that has drummed up endless controversy, and it's the fact that the titular feline is voiced by none other than the internet's favorite punching bag, Chris Pratt.

Now, something like this isn't new. I remember when The Super Mario Bros. Movie was in the works, and they announced the cast, hearing the fact that this far-from-Italian man was going to be playing one of the most prolific video game characters of our time no doubt turned many people off. (It certainly didn't help that the trailers for said film showed him speaking in a so-called "normal voice") But once the film actually came out people had already started to warm up to him playing Mario.

But him playing Garfield somehow broke the entire internet, and it looks like people aren't going to be warming up to it the way they warmed up to Mario.

I personally think it boils down to the fact that Chris Pratt is already an pretty well un-liked name in the movie industry. First and foremost, there's his political controversies. I'm not going to go into too much detail, as I like to avoid talking about politics on my Tumblr, but Pratt has a well-documented history of racist actions. In 2019, he once wore a Gadsden flag on a T-shirt, a flag designed during the American Revolution which has been co-opted by white supremacists. He has also worn a Betsy Ross star baseball hat, which although not widely considered as racist, has been tied to other racist controversies, most notably one with Nike that same year. And let's not forget that Chris' brother, Cully Pratt, may be a member of the far-right supremacist militia Three Percenters, and Chris himself has alleged ties to the Zoe Church, a church in Australia that practices anti-LGBTQ+ conversion therapy.

So, yeah. He's not exactly what I would call a clean individual. On top of all this, he's seen as a rather boring individual by some, and upon reading up on these controversies, it sort of soiled my enjoyment of his other films, such as the aforementioned Mario and the Lego Movie.

Going back to Garfield, the other thing I would like to bring up is the fact that Garfield really only has two genuine voice actors (or three depending if you consider the live-action movies canon)

Without a doubt, the most well-known voice actor for Garfield was and still is Lorenzo Music, who portrayed the cat in numerous animated TV specials and the animated series Garfield and Friends. (1988-1994) He is the voice most people think of when they think of Garfield, but sadly, he passed away in 2001 at the age of 64. He also played other roles such as Peter Venkman in the The Real Ghostbusters, and Super Pac-Man in the Pac-Man animated series.

But it was Garfield that gave him stardom, and to this day, there are some people who say Garfield just doesn't sound the same unless it's done by him. But here's the kicker - He's been dead for 22 years. So, we need to find replacements.

Garfield's most prevalent voice actor for the past few years (while not the only one) has been Frank Welker, a voice actor who has acted in countless cartoons, but is easily best known for his long-running role as Fred Jones in the Scooby-Doo franchise, as well as voicing Megatron in numerous iterations of the Transformers franchise. Welker's role as Garfield has also been the source of controversy; You either love him or hate him, so I'm told.

Long tangent over. Back to the movie. What do I think? I'll give you my thoughts in the form of a checklist.

✅I like the trailer.

✅I don't like Chris Pratt's voice. (Or, just him in general.)

✅I think this film may will still be somewhat decent.

One of the defining (and probably most jarring) bits of the trailer to me is unfortunately, Chris Pratt's voice. As someone who grew up accustomed to hearing either Lorenzo Music or Frank Welker coming out of Garfield, hearing this distinctly human-sounding voice seemed rather odd. It worked with Mario, I think, because Mario himself is a human. Garfield is a well-fed tabby cat with the personality of a grumpy old man. And hearing Chris Pratt's rather upbeat voice coming out of him sounded rather jarring.

But in a way, I kind of liked it... at first. I thought it sounded not too far off from Frank Welker's Garfield voice, just with a slightly higher pitch. So, what made me change my mind?

Hot take incoming!

I think it may have had something to do with me learning about Chris Pratt's racist past and right-wing ties. That might have soiled it for me. Don't get me wrong, I'm still probably going to see the movie. But I feel that if you do go out to see this movie, at least be somewhat aware of who you're giving money to. I know the people who watch Guardians of the Galaxy aren't necessarily bad people because they watch Chris Pratt as Star-Lord. But they need to be somewhat aware of the kind of people getting royalties.

So now, whenever I hear Chris Pratt's voice coming out of one of my cartoon icons, all I can really think is "This guy is a piece of crap in real life." And it's a shame too, because there's one part in the trailer that shows Pratt can deliver a decent, Garfield-y sounding voice.

In the part where Vic (Garfield's father, played by Samuel L. Jackson) asks if Garfield has ever jumped out of a train, Garfield responds with "I've never jumped." And this phrase is delivered in a deep monotone that sounds perfect for Garfield. I figure if the entire trailer had been done in that voice, it would have had a far less negative reaction from fans.

As for the rest of the trailer, it honestly looks good. I particularly like the character designs, and yes, Baby Garfield is just precious. Forget Baby Yoda, this one wins the award for cutest marketable character.

I'd also heard some people complaining about Odie's design. I previously made a post talking about how Odie's design may have been based on his original 1978 version, so I won't bring it up here.

Personally, once you can get past the confusing mess that was Chris Pratt's vocal performance, you get what looks like a decent film. I imagine it will end up a lot like the Mario movie -- Not a real critic pleaser, but I'm sure fans of the franchise will like it okay.

So, to put if brief, I'm somewhat excited. But I'm also in a conflict of interest. I honestly don't mind other people doing the voice of Garfield. I personally believe that people can be so bound to their nostalgia that to hear something that looks familiar but sounds different can come across as somewhat uncanny.

I grew up with Garfield. I had the Garfield and Friends: Behind the Scenes DVD as a child. I loved that DVD, and the free mini Garfield plush that came with it. So growing up, I knew Lorenzo Music as Garfield, despite being born after his death. So hearing Lorenzo's voice is nostalgic to me. But I refuse to let nostalgia get in the way of criticism. Just because something's new doesn't instantly mean it's bad.

With that being said, Chris Pratt as Garfield isn't terrible. He's just not a great Garfield. If the folks at Alcon Entertainment could replace him with a better voice actor, that would be great. But sometimes, it's not that easy. We are so close to May of 2024, and by then, the film will already be out. It would take a good while for them to scrounge a new Garfield voice. The first Sonic the Hedgehog movie had to be delayed a good few months to tweak the character design, and I imagine it would be the same if they were to find a new Garfield.

So in closing: Chris Pratt as Garfield? Big, fat hairy deal.

(Edit 1/1/2024: I reworded part of the ending to reflect my feelings about the voice a bit better.)

[criticalfai1ure]

( 001 ).   hi, i’m alex🔪, 30+, she/her.   ( 002 ).   welcome to #criticalfai1ure : a semi-selective and slow roleplay blog for a multitude of characters, many of whom you've seen me write elsewhere on this hellsite. ( 003 ).   you must be 18+ to interact.   ( 004 ).   my inbox is always open and memes never expire, send something today! ( 005 ).   like i said above, i am slow. this is with ic responses and many times with ooc too. i do my best but i'm a mom with a full-time job and i appreciate your patience more than you know. ( 006 ).   blogroll : @pizzatheif, @mirafirstmate, @sniperwithasmoke, @wallyclarkmemorial. ( 007 ).   most active muses in my brain : hugo ; august ; max ; diego ; basher.

est. april 2023    —    dash only.    beta editor. memes. google site. alt verses. interest tracker. incomplete gdoc.

MUSE LIST : ( updated 9.13.24 )

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA

karl “helo” agathon. ( private / plotted only )

BULLET TRAIN

tangerine - arthur [redacted] junior. formerly TANGERINESOUR

DUNGEONS & DRAGONS

edgin darvis. ( d&d : honor among thieves ) - human bard. chaotic good.

hardwon surefoot. ( naddpod ) - human / half-elf fighter. neutral good.

neega “neenee” axeslinger - half-orc bard. chaotic good.

basil “baz” silvertongue - half-orc warlock. chaotic neutral. character sheet gdoc.

lady favour of vawdeen - tiefling bard. chaotic neutral.

FALLOUT

hank maclean.

GHOSTBUSTERS formerly WHOYAGCNNACALL

peter venkman.

winston zeddemore.

ray stantz.

egon spengler.

janine melnitz.

GRISHAVERSE

ivan medvedev. formerly BEARTSAR

matthias helvar. formerly DJELVAR

pekka rollins. formerly KAELISHKINGPIN

jan van eck. ( private / plotted only )

jarl brum. ( private / plotted only )

KAOS

eurydice “riddy”.

LUPIN

benjamin ferel. ( testing )

MISC. / ORIGINAL CHARACTERS

hugo van houten - pizza fiend, petty thief, dumb of ass. formerly PIZZATHEIF

sebastian maximiliano “red”/“max” rojas - pilot, first mate, doomed by the narrative. formerly MIRAFIRSTMATE

leland sleight - scientist medic, traitor, bringer of the second apocalypse. affl with STORYSCRAWLED

thadeus p. louton - empath, scaredy-cat, paranormal investigator. formerly DISCOUNTEMPATH

herbert montgomery “monty” mustard. ( headcanon based ; clue ) - colonel, war profiteer, murderer?

jacques “jb” fèvre - art forger, liar, thief. formerly CONTREFACTEUR

kiyajara “kiki” sepúlvida - jb’s best friend, a better thief, the stabbiest.

ser bérénice “bernie” du bouclier - knight of the realm, right hand to the prince, lady of the shield. formerly TRIOMPHANTE; affl with WARSRAGE

felix hwa - army medic, heart of gold, in over his head. affl with GRAVEWALKS

oscar archibald ricketts - lighthouse keeper, keeper of the souls lost to the rocks, wraith? ( but too good at his job to bother replacing ).

silas “slightly” guthrie. ( headcanon based ; peter pan ) - ex-lost boy, current pirate?, still lost.

bernardino garcia “bear” - tattoo artist, brass knuckle brawler, assassin zookeeper. affl with CHAMPAGNEPROBLLEMS

oswald “oz” o'síoráin - bass guitarist, mummy's boy, number one hype man for his bandmates. affl with RICHMND

taylor barbaira - teen sleuth, lost in the woods, doomed by the narrative ( but eldritch ). affl with the MYRTLE SPRINGS DETECTIVE CLUB

MISC. PIRATE MEDIA

august van de hoek - dutch privateer turned pirate captain, teetotaller, the foothold of a legend that no longer reflects its source material.

fergus byrne. ( potc / ride based ) - navigator, helmsman, harbinger of death. formerly HELMSRNAN

john “calico jack” rackham. ( black sails ). formerly SICUTCANIS

james norrington. ( potc + headcanon based ).

jack the monkey. formerly JACKTHEMONKCY ( private / plotted only )

joshamee gibbs. formerly SUPERSTITIOUSSAILOR ( private / plotted only )

MISC. SHERLOCK HOLMES MEDIA

colonel sebastian “basher” moran. ( moriarty : the devil’s game ). ( private / plotted only )

colonel sebastian moran. ( elementary ). pending me watching the show.

sebastian a. "basher" moran. ( modern hotd/acd ) formerly SNIPERWITHASMOKE ( yes i have a problem, pls do not perceive me ).

NIMONA

ballister boldheart. ( movie based / comic influence ). ( testing ).

STRANGER THINGS

jim hopper. formerly HOPALONGJIM ( private / plotted only )

TED LASSO

roy kent. formerly FUCKINGKENT ( carrd )

THE BIG DOOR PRIZE

dusty hubbard. ( testing )

THE ROAD TO EL DORADO

tulio.

THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY

number two “diego” hargreeves. formerly FIGHTKNIFE

WYNONNA EARP

john henry “doc” holliday. formerly LUNGSLINGER

john henry holliday ii - legacy, sharpshooter, sidekick.

[auxiliarydetective]

Eros and Psyche AU - Part 2!

This technically still belongs to Day 29 of the OC Pride Challenge (which you can find here) but since there's no real prompt for day 30 and I had to split this into two parts, I figured I might as well post part 2 today.

Charlie returned the next day. And the day after that. And multiple more days to come. Every day, there was a different experiment where Charlie got to make Egon happy with the simplest tricks in his book. Throughout these various days, Charlie found himself befriending Egon and the other Ghostbusters, even the perpetually sarcastic and annoyed Peter Venkman. After a while, it wasn’t just experiments either. They would ask Charlie to help with some equipment, organize some data, or just make some coffee. Little by little, Charlie became part of the team. Sometimes, he’d even spend his nights at the firehouse, cleaning the uniforms or just watching over the Ghostbusters in their sleep. Not that he hadn’t been doing that since coming to Earth, but now he was there officially. He was sure that the Ghostbusters never even noticed when another ghost came to assault them in the middle of the night. It happened every now and then. Probably a result of them catching so many of their fellow specters. But whenever it happened, Charlie was there, warding off the ghosts with arrows of light. Eventually, Charlie really became a part of the Ghostbusters and it went down as follows:

Charlie came into the firehouse with a smile on his face. Ecto-1 was there, that meant everyone had to be here too.

“Morning, Janine,” Charlie said, coming up to Janine’s desk first, as usual. That had become tradition by now.

“Morning, Charlie,” Janine greeted back.

“How’s the situation, are there many calls?”

“Oh, the usual.”

“Do you think anyone’s sleeping?”

“No, I don’t think so.”

“GOOD MORNING!” Charlie yelled up through the hole of the fire pole.

“Morning, Charlie!” Ray shouted back. “Come on up!”

Charlie flashed another smile at Janine, then hopped up the stairs. When he reached the top, he paused. The Ghostbusters were lined up behind the little dinner table, waiting for him to come upstairs.

“Did I do something wrong?” Charlie asked, looking fully perplexed.

“No, don’t worry,” Winston said.

“Not at all,” Egon agreed. “Come closer.”

So, Charlie did. That was when he spotted a bundle on the table. A flight suit complete with patches, elbow guards, a belt, some sort of pouch, boots and a camera. Venkman came strolling around the table and threw an arm around Charlie, pulling him closer.

“Today is a great day, Charlie,” he said, “because today, my friend, you have the chance of becoming part of the glorious Ghostbusters.”

“Who, me?” Charlie gasped.

“Yeah, you,” Ray confirmed. “We couldn’t think of anyone better suited for the job.”

“You’re not scared of ghosts, are you?” Venkman asked.

“No, not at all, I am a ghost,” Charlie said before realizing what he had said and correcting himself to: “Y’know, with my ESP and all that.”

“Your ESP is part of the reason why we chose you,” Egon explained, completely ignoring Charlie’s slip-up. “We’ve been wanting to document the various specters and beings we encounter and that includes taking pictures. But since we’re always too busy fighting the ghost, we need someone else to do it for us.”

“And that’s where you come in,” Ray concluded. “If you’re up for it that is.”

“Sure!” Charlie called out. “I’d be honoured!”

Quickly, Charlie took the various items from the table and got suited up. Now he stood there in front of his friends, a proud Ghostbuster. Well, assistant Ghostbuster. Ghostbusters cameraman. No, he was a real Ghostbuster. Only a few minutes later, they were off to a call. Charlie sat in the back of Ecto-1, so close to Egon that he could faint.

The call was an easy one, according to Egon and the others. But Charlie could prove his worth immediately. While the others trapped the ghost, he had his camera pointed at the specter constantly, trying to get the best angles and shots possible. When they were done trapping the ghost, they went outside again. But now, a team of reporters waited outside. Immediately, Venkman greeted them as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Egon answered the technical questions. He described the supernatural in words that Charlie found mesmerizing, giving his world a whole new perspective. But then, suddenly, the reporters were focused on Charlie.

“What’s your name and what is your affiliation with the Ghostbusters?” the reporter asked, almost shoving the microphone into Charlie’s face.

“Well, uh, I’m Charlie Drake,” Charlie stammered, “and I work for the Ghostbusters. But all the credit goes to them, I just take the pictures.”

“So you’re a reporter?”

“No, not at all, I-”

Luckily, Egon was there to the rescue. He wrapped an arm around Charlie’s shoulders protectively, making Charlie’s heart beat even faster, though for a different reason.

“Charlie takes our documentation and research pictures,” he explained. “He’s also an ESP extraordinaire and paranormal expert. But if you’ll excuse us, we still have a lot to do today. If you want an extensive interview, make an appointment.”

With that, he led Charlie back to Ecto-1. Once they were back in the car and Ray started driving, he told him:

“The reporters can be a bit pushy. You’ll get used to it eventually but it you don’t, just redirect them to someone else.”

“Yeah, Venkman always likes talking to those guys,” Winston remarked with a smirk.

That was the first call with many more to follow. Between calls, Charlie developed the photos. Sometimes with Ray and Egon, sometimes just with Ray and sometimes just with Egon - which was obviously the best constellation. Charlie liked Ray, he liked him a lot in fact, but he loved Egon and even the littlest moments alone with him were pure gold. He loved listening to him talk about what they found in the pictures, about the classifications, about the different forms of aura, their strength, the tiny occurrences Charlie had managed to catch.

That had been the first call. But there was another that stood out. This particular one took the Ghostbusters to the aquarium. A few days earlier, Charlie’s equipment had been upgraded to include a first aid kit. Just in time, too. It had been an emergency call, made by the frantic aquarium director who said his visitors were in great danger. The culprit, he said, was a huge octopus. So, all five of the Ghostbusters hopped into Ecto-1 and raced to the aquarium, sirens blaring. When they reached the aquarium, a group of reporters with a camera was already there, as well as a large crowd of evacuated visitors. By now, Charlie was a little more used to reporters, though a camera crew was something new. He helped the others put on their proton packs, then - after Peter had gotten his share of attention - they went inside. Using a flyer as their map, they made their way to the exhibit hall where the octopus had been sighted. They had barely gone far into the building when they already walked on wet floors.

“The creature must have smashed the glass of one of the tanks,” Egon theorized.

“How big do you think it is?” Winston asked. “Is it just a big octopus or is it a huge monster?”

“I dunno,” Peter murmured. “With normies you never know.”

They kept walking, constantly looking around for signs of the beast.

“We’re getting close,” Charlie announced after a while.

“Can you sense it?” Ray asked.

“You better believe it.” Charlie shuddered, a grin on his face. “Makes my skin crawl.”

Ready to shoot, Charlie held the camera up to his face. They were really close now. Just one more corner to turn. Ray saw it first, gasping audibly.

“Wow!”

“It’s a kraken,” Egon remarked.

“How are we gonna get something this big into the trap?” Winston murmured.

“Well, only one way to find out,” Peter declared, grabbing his particle thrower.

Quickly, before he could shoot, Charlie got a photo in. But the moment the camera flashed, the kraken woke up. Quickly, the Ghostbusters all grabbed their particle throwers, stepping into the main area of the exhibit hall. It was a circular room with multiple pillars holding up the ceiling and tanks all around. Soon, it turned out that the proton packs only did very little damage. The kraken only let out pained screeches. But when Egon managed to hit its eyes, that was when it happened. In a fit of rage, the Kraken slammed one of its fleshy tentacles through the room, smashing one of the pillars. Winston was quick enough to duck away, but Egon wasn’t. The tentacle hit him and swabbed him off the ground like a fly, sending him crashing into one of the tanks.

“Egon!” Charlie cried out against the loud rushing of water spilling out through the broken glass.

He started running, slipping across the ground and dodging the various sea creatures now wobbling across the floor. Egon had been swept out of the aquarium, lying motionless on the ground. Raw panic eating at Charlie’s nerves, he fell to his knees next to him. Immediately, he checked his heartbeat. Thank the gods! He was still breathing.

“Egon!” Charlie hissed. “Hey, Egon!”

Egon groaned quietly, then started moving.

“Take it slow, don’t push yourself.”

“It was a good call to make the proton packs waterproof,” was the first thing Egon said once the disorientation wore off.

“Yeah, that was a genius call,” Charlie agreed with a smile.

He had spotted a wound at the back of Egon’s head and was now digging through his medkit.

“Take off your glasses for a second, I need to put a bandage around your head.”

“I don’t like being blind,” Egon mumbled, but he did as he was told.

“Don’t worry, I’ll make it quick.”

So, Charlie hurried with his medic duties. He made sure to be gentle, carefully holding Egon’s head. Once he was done, he patted his cheek and smiled.

“There we are. But you probably shouldn’t jump into battle straight away again.”

“Egon!” Peter yelled from across the room. “Egon, use that large brain of yours and come up with a plan! We need a plan!”

At the same time, Ray was grabbed by the kraken and lifted off the ground.

“Charlie, are you getting this?!” he shrieked.

Out of pure reflex, Charlie held up his camera and snapped a picture. Peter and Winston pointed their particle throwers at the arm the kraken held Ray in, prompting it to let him go.

“Now would be a good time, Egon!” Winston called.

But Egon just sat there, looking around the room, trying to find some sort of solution.

“I have a plan!” Charlie suddenly gasped. “Until now, we’ve only tried capturing it, but how about we try fighting it with its own weapons?”

“You know how to do that?” Egon asked.

“Of course! Give me your proton pack.”

Quickly, Egon slid the proton pack’s shoulder straps off and picked the heavy equipment up off the ground, putting it on Charlie’s back. In return, Charlie handed over his camera.

“Guys, try keeping it in the middle of the room!” Charlie shouted.

Then, he pointed his particle thrower at the ceiling. He started burning sigils into the concrete above the kraken, careful not to mess up the perspective or shape. It wasn’t that easy after all. But finally, the sigils started to glow, bright light raining down on the kraken. Charlie cheered, but he cheered too early. The kraken’s arm shot out to grab him, snaking itself around Charlie and the proton pack, pulling him into the light. Immediately, Charlie felt nauseous, the world started spinning, he felt like he was dissolving. Then, everything stopped and he fell down, into the void. From then on, he barely noticed anything happening. He caught a glimpse of bright light, possibly from a trap, felt himself be picked up and covered beneath some sort of fabric, heard the siren of Ecto-1, bits and pieces of conversation… But after a while, it all stopped.

Egon and Winston carried Charlie out of Ecto-1, his body covered by a banner from the aquarium. It had been an impulse decision because they hadn’t wanted the crowd and the reporters to see what had become of him. Now, looking back at it, it might have been a stupid decision, considering it looked like they were carrying a corpse. Janine shrieked when she saw this.

“My god, what happened?!” she gasped, running over from her desk.

“Charlie got in contact with a surge of psychokinetic energy,” Ray said as Egon and Winston carried him towards the stairs.

“Is he dead?!”

“No, he’s alive. He’s gonna be alright. I think.”

“You think?!”

“We’re sure,” Peter lied. “Just… get back to your desk, alright? We’re gonna take care of him. For now, he’s asleep and we’re gonna see how he feels when he wakes up.”

“Okay… whatever you say…” Janine murmured.

Upstairs, Egon and Winston put Charlie into Egon’s bed. They pulled the banner away and stared for a few seconds. Before them lay a creature that looked like the Charlie they knew but also wildly different. This creature had long, twisted horns that had been quite the obstacle while carrying him, pointy ears, fluffy white hair and light blue skin. A bow and a quiver with various metallic arrows were swung over his shoulder.

“It’s the silhouette we saw on the Aura Video-Analyzer,” Winston remarked. “What do you think happened?”

“Whatever sigil Charlie burned into the ceiling must have weakened him,” Egon theorized. “Just like it took the kraken’s power away and shrunk it, it must’ve destroyed Charlie’s human disguise.”

“Do you think we should figure out who he really is?”

“Maybe. For now, I’d like to know about the sigil he painted. - There should be a book on one of the shelves in my lab, a lexicon of runes and sigils. Would you get that for me?”

“Sure.”

As Winston left, Egon stayed behind. Carefully, he pulled the quiver and bow off of Charlie’s shoulder and leaned them against the nightstand. Then, he pulled the blanket up to Charlie’s collar. He wanted to leave, but then his attention went back to the bow and quiver. Curious, he pulled one of the arrows out of the quiver. It seemed to be made entirely of rose gold.

“Egon!” Peter called from outside the room, causing Egon to jump.

Before he knew it, the arrow’s tip was nudged into his fingertip and dissolved into sparkling dust. At first, Egon felt no different. But then, when he looked at Charlie again, his heart suddenly beat faster and he felt all warm and fuzzy inside. It was almost like a feeling he knew, like when Charlie had had his hands on his cheeks before, but a lot stronger.

“Egon!” Peter called again.

Reluctantly, Egon left the room and closed the door behind him. As it turned out, the proton pack Egon had worn hadn’t been fully waterproof and would have to have some parts replaced. Quickly, Egon got to work. Once he was done, he headed back to the bedroom to check on Charlie. But when he opened the door, Charlie was gone, along with the bow and quiver. Egon started to get a horrible feeling. Could he have lost his connection to this realm entirely? Did that mean he had just dissolved? Was he, perhaps, really dead? No, he couldn’t be dead. According to all the measurements they had taken, Charlie was a demon or demigod and that meant he couldn’t die. But what if he did? And if he hadn’t, would he even come back?

Three days went by and there was no sign of Charlie. In the meantime, Egon went out of his way to research who Charlie really was. Maybe it was invasive, but he had to know. Perhaps Charlie needed help to get back to the human realm and that was why he wasn’t back. He had to want to come back, right? They hadn’t done anything wrong, had they? Either way, Egon needed to see Charlie again. He found himself thinking of him even more than usual, in situations where it was really less than practical. One thing was clear: Egon would be more than willing to summon Charlie if necessary. Or Chandrah, as he had found out. A demigod capable of strong spells of love. But then did that mean… that Egon was in love? No, that couldn’t be. He barely felt any different from before the arrow had touched him. Or maybe that was exactly the point. Had he always been in love? Either way, he would have to see Charlie to make sure.

On the fourth day after Charlie’s disappearance, the Ghostbusters had yet another emergency call: Apparently, the museum was being terrorized by a mammoth. As it turned out, this job was even harder than the kraken job had been. Within only a few minutes, the Ghostbusters were all on the ground. The mammoth came stomping towards them with an aggressive cry, ready to crush them. Egon crawled backwards frantically, the heavy proton pack wearing him down. Suddenly, a beam of light shot through the hallway, hitting the mammoth right between the eyes, causing it to stumble backwards and fall. Egon turned around and couldn’t believe his eyes.

“Charlie!” Ray cried out, scrambling to his feet.

“Sorry to keep you waiting,” Charlie said with a smile.

He stood there in his demon form, quiver over his shoulder, proudly holding his bow. As everyone else got to their feet, Egon stayed down, motionless in shock. He only started registering what was going on again when Charlie held his hand out to him to help him up.

“Charlie, you came back,” Egon gasped, cupping Charlie’s face in his hands.

“I’m sorry I left,” Charlie stammered, “I was scared, I was-”

He was suddenly quiet when Egon pressed a kiss onto his lips.

“Woah, lovebirds!” Peter shouted. “Can you wait ‘till after we have this ghost locked up?!”

It was just now that Egon truly realized what he had done. He cleared his throat awkwardly.

“Right.”

[fandomlovingfreak]

It Was Written on Their Wrists in Stars (ch9/?)

Egon Spengler/F!Reader

Ch1. Ch2. Ch3. Ch4. Ch5. Ch6. Ch7. Ch8. Ch10. Ch11.

Rating: General Audiences

Includes: Soulmate marks, soulmate fic

Word Count: 1328

MasterList Link I AO3 Link I Wattpad Link

Summary: Ever since you were a child, you had dreamed about getting your mark and finding the perfect person. When you finally got your mark, a quarter-sized star on the inside of your wrist, you were delighted! Your fairytale romance was just getting started.

Egon didn’t believe in fate. He didn’t believe that a mark on your body meant something just because it matched a mark on someone else’s body. When he woke up one morning and found a star on his wrist, he brushed it off. Moles could be star-shaped, he supposed.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Ghostbusters (sad, I know). This work has not been created for profit or financial compensation, and is a transformative fair use work in accordance with Section 107 of the United States Copyright Act.

Notes: Thank you for being patient for this update. I am having the worst writers block bc of stress from my job rn! I genuinely just wanted to get this out and am so sorry if it’s like 0_0 ya know ugh! Anyways, thanks for always being lowkey cool people who say nice things when I struggle with writing<3 I appreciate it

Enjoy

The sunlight cascades through the large windows of the hole-in-the-wall cafe. We sit across from each other on the beat-up couches, exchanging little more than looks. 

I have little idea of what to say to Egon. Do I admit out loud that I didn't even want to be with Peter in the first place? I'd spent so much time now convinced to settle for less than I wanted. Peter was fine, he was a good person even, but he was never the person I wanted.

Continuing to gather my courage to speak, I sip my coffee, cooled with a dash of heavy cream. Egon had ordered black coffee but had all but ignored it since the barista had handed him the disposable cup.

"So," I try to break the silence between us, "Um-- I don't know what I'll say to Peter."

"I'll talk to him."

It's sweet, but I don't need a knight in shining armor. I can fix the problems I've created. "No, I will. Peter doesn't know you're involved yet, and it doesn't make sense to get you involved until you have to be." 

He remains unreadable, something I'm sure I can get used to with time.

"What will you say?"

An excellent question. I wouldn't lie, as it would make the long term uncomfortable. The last thing I wanted to do was be in the middle of some dramatic fallout or ruin a friendship. The best outcome for all of this would be for me to be with my soulmate while keeping Peter and Egon's friendship intact.

"I'll tell him the truth. He'll find out eventually, won't he?"

Egon nods, "Venkman will get over it. He moves on quickly from all his brief romances."

He must notice how my face falls over this declaration as he quickly tries to remedy the accidental hurt, "You know what I mean. Peter is... he's Peter. He'll survive."

He looks at me. Yeah, Peter was Peter. He could be sweet, but like Egon, I felt that he truly would be fine.

I sigh, "He will, but it doesn't make breaking the news any easier."

"I can be there with you if you'd like."

"As much as I'd like that," I say with a smile, "I think I need to speak with him first. I don't think he'll take it too well that I'm breaking up with him to date his friend."

Pink rapidly blooms on his cheeks, making me feel self-conscious over saying we're dating. We aren't technically but-- I mean, I assumed!

"Oh, I thought--" I look away to hide the embarrassment.

"I want to be with you. Romantically." He blurts out.

"You do?" 

"Yes. I'm obviously not great at this, but if you have patience..."

My smile returns to my face, "I want to be with you, too. But I won't put labels on it right now if it makes you more comfortable."

"I'd prefer a label."

"Okay. Once I've spoken to Peter, we can decide on that label then."

Egon nods, a small, rare smile on his face, "I'd like that."

***

I feel lighter when I leave Doctor Leinonen's office. Despite our lunchbreak being heavy, a path had been semi-cleared for my soulmate and me. I felt electric like you were supposed to feel when you found your person. Even if it wasn't the instant connection I had dreamed of, it was our beginning, which made it special. Heck, it may even be a bit funny in a few years.

The only thing that could dampen my mood was the eventual talk I would have to have with Peter. Two dates weren't a lot in the long run, but Egon and I had kissed minutes after my date with Peter ended, and that made me feel like I'd done something wrong. Add in the part where the man I went out on a date was one of my soulmate's closest friends, and it ended up sounding like a movie.

If I could preserve their friendship, I would feel better about everything else. Besides, Peter had to understand, right? Egon and I were destined to be together. It wasn't anything he did! He had to understand under these circumstances.

I close my apartment door, running straight into Monica.

"You're home! I'm making dinner right now. Do you want some?"

Grinning, I toe off my shoes before following her into our small kitchen.

"You're smiling awfully big. Did something happen at your internship? Or maybe you went out with Peter again for lunch?"

The smile falls from my face, "Uh--"

Monica frowns, "What did he do? I'll--"

"Mon!" My laughter comes out awkwardly, "He didn't do anything. I should... I have to be honest about something."

Her frown deepens as I lead her towards our small kitchen table, "If he did anything to you..."

"He did nothing, but this is about him. Sort of."

"Don't keep me in suspense."

"You know my friend Ray, right?"

Monica nods, "I do."

"Well, he's got this friend, Egon--"

"Why are you telling me about your friend's friends?"

"Let me speak, Monica Gabarro!"

Monica puts her hands up in surrender, "Sorry, continue."

I wait a couple seconds to make sure she's committed to letting me speak before continuing, "I met his friend before finals in the library, and I accidentally saw that he had the same star as I do on my wrist," Monica's eyes widen. Still, she doesn't interrupt, "but he made it incredibly weird by pretending it wasn't a match mark, so I let him, right? How can I force someone to be with me, right?" Monica nods along, "And then, I met Peter at the bar and found out that Peter and Egon are friends! And by this weirder twist of fate, I ended up working with Egon at my internship! And get this! He got all weird and jealous over Peter and me and kissed me!" 

"What!" Monica's eyes widen.

"Right! And now I have to break things off with Peter because it's the right thing to do, and Egon told me he wants to be with me and I really really want to be with him. Is that crazy? To break up with Peter over this?"

"Uh, no?" Monica grabs my shoulders, shaking me lightly, "Your match mark said they want to be with you. And I could tell you didn't feel that spark with Peter after the first date. Heck! Even at that bar, when you met him, you looked tense. When are you going to speak with him?"

"Soon."

"Soon! Give me a time, a date!"

"Monica! This has already been an extremely stressful couple of weeks--"

She interrupts, "The sooner you break it off with Peter, the sooner you can be with your soulmate. If I had a match mark, I would do anything to be with them."

I shake my head, sighing dramatically, "I feel horrible for leading Peter on."

"Oh, please. Joyce remembered why she knew that name, and I had planned to tell you tonight why! Her roommate Vivian, you know, the short brunette, was dumped by the same guy. He's a total jerk."

Part of me had sort of suspected Peter to be a player, and Egon's words at lunch only furthered the suspicion.

"Oh god, Mon. I am such an idiot."

"No, you are not. You thought your soulmate rejected you. You know I would've done worse if I were in your shoes."

I smile, "You would not. You wouldn't have gotten yourself in this position in the first place. If you were me, you would've told Egon the moment he lied and said the mark was a star-shaped mole."

"Oh my god. Are you for real? A star-shaped mole?" She snorts.

"I know, it's ridiculous." We laugh for a moment over the absurdity before calming down enough to get words out.

"I am so talking about this at your wedding," she says, pulling me into a hug.

[shelbgrey]

Hello 👋

I was wondering if you would write something for ghostbusters Peter venkman with 2 and 4 from the prompts list?

I hope it’s ok, I’ve never requested before😖, I hope I requested correctly and it’s not weird.

Hope you have a wonderful day

When unspoken rules are broken(Peter Venkman)

Paring: Peter Venkman x Stantz!Reader

Summary: y/n is ray's little sister and is unspokenly off lemits to the other Ghostbusters, all the boys know it. Peter Venkman is well aware but he can't help but fall for her, even if they can't 'stand' each other.

Prompts:

0.2) “You are the reason that I'm still breathing”

0.4) “Why can’t I breathe whenever I think about you?”

A/n: yay, my first Ghostbusters story, I hope you like it. Send in more Ghostbusters request!

MasterList

It was an unspoken rule between the three boys that y/n Stantz was off lemits. She was Ray's little sister and just as smart as her brother and friends, she was also fearless and wasn't afraid to get up in a ghost's face. There's many reasons why the men of the group fell head over heals for her. They all at one point had a crush on her, well a side from Egon, so really it was only Winston and Peter with the crush. Winston got over it though and just realized how lucky he was to have her as a beast friend.

Around they're first years of colloge Peter Venkman started to fall for her. He was... To put it delicately, a man whore. He had away with the ladies and it annoyed her, she would be lying if she said she wanted nothing to do with him but he always had some girl on his arm, it's been like that all through out college.

What she didn't know is he had this obsession with her that he kept buried deep in the darkest part of his heart, and it was all for Ray's sake. Him and Egon both knew how important y/n to Ray and Peter never really thought about what his feelings for y/n would do to his friendship with her brother, he didn't start thinking about it until Egon brought it up. Her and Egon had been best friends for as long as the group could remember, one time their friendship was confused for being something more and that's when the unspoken rule was born.

“it wouldn't be wise to be in a relationship with Raymond's sister, especially considering how close we all are...just imagine the rage he'd feel if he found out about one of us feeling inappropriate things for her” Egon once said.

He regrets it, but the only way Peter could deal with the feels he was advised to keep bottled up, was to always tease her and get into small arguments with her. And for awhile it worked, but when the Ghostbusters was formed and Winston was told about the unspoken rule, it's started to get harder and harder to keep his feelings locked up like one of their ghosts.

~~~~~~~~(.......)~~~~~~~~

“easy case... Probably Slimer again” Ray told us as we walked into the fancy hotel. I nodded and quickly switched on Egon's proton pack for him and he did the same for me and Winston.

“we should split up” Egon said, Winston nodded and went up the first flight of stairs with him.

“I'll go this way” Ray said, I usually went with my brother but when I tried to follow Peter stoped me. “let's go together this time”

I raised an eyebrow as he simply shrugged and led the way. It was unusual for him, usually he'd wave me off or have some kinda smart-ass comment. I would be lying if I said I wasn't thrilled, I kept my cool and follow the blue-eyed ghostbuster.

We went down a couple of hallways in silence, it wasn't awkward like expected instead it was kinda nice. But the peaceful silence was ruined by the sounds of munching and slobbering, Slimer was a nasty eater. We don't really know why he never put him in the volt, he was never really a danger to the town so we captured him and he'd find his way out and leave a few days later.

“Ew, look” I said to Peter as we turned the corner, he looked up and saw the green, slimy ghost stuffing his face like crazy. Peter slowly held up his walkie-talkie and called for my brother.

“did ya find him?” Ray said on our walkies.

“We’re looking at it right now”

The ghost, Slimer charged towards us, Peter screamed and pulled my body infront of him, I flinched but didn't feel any pain…just slimy and grosse. I quickly backed up and gave Peter a dirty look. “Really?”

His lips went straight and he held his hands up but refused to touch my slime cover body. I didn’t want to move a muscle, everytime i did it just felt squishy and gross. I’m gonna kill him one of these days.

“Damit Slimer” I sighed and wiped my eyes carefully.

“Peter, sis, Where did he go?” Ray came running towards us, he went to place his hand on my shoulder but immediately flinched back when he saw my condition. “Ew”

“I have slime in places slime shouldn't be” I grumbled. Peter let out a chuckle and quickly hid it behind his hand when I shot him a dirty look. “Hey, at least you got actual contact this time, he usually doesn't let us get this close”

“I’ll show you contact” I growled and reached to touch his face with my slime covered hand. He flinched back and tried to grab my wrist, he did but i just jumped forward and whipped my free hand across his face then his chest. Ray rolled his eyes and pulled me away by my proton pack.

“Will you calm down? We have a job to do” Ray said, trying to hide his smile. I rolled my eyes. “Fine, I'm gonna help Egon”

At this point I didn't care about the wet, squishy feeling I felt every time I walked, I just wanted to get the job done so I could go home and get cleaned up. When I walked away I didn't see the sad look that fell across Peter’s face, he looked down and watched my figure walk down the hallway. Ray elbowed him when he noticed Peter looking a little too hard and a little too long.

~~~~~~~~(.......)~~~~~~~~

We got Slimer like usual, it didn't take to long which was nice. After we got take-out we headed home.

“I'm gonna take a shower” I grumbled setting my bag of Chinese food on the table. “stay out of my food Raymond” I yelled back into the kitchen as I left.

I quickly shedded my slime covered uniform by the lockers we kept them and grabed some fresh closes out of the drawers in the quarters we slept. With our home being an old firehouse our shower was an old tiled room with a bunch of shower heads and cubicles. Mine was on the far end, none of the boys used it and it was were I kept all my nicer products like body soap, conditioner, and other stuff.

The hot water felt nice on my achy muscle, caring a protonpack that was probably about 50 pounds maybe more will do a number on your back and shoulders. I don't know how we do it, especially Egon with how tall and lanky he is.

The once soothing shower soon turned frustrating after I soaped up and risned about three times and there was still slime. I sighed and just decided to stay under the water and soak for awhile, it's Peter's fault if the other boys have no hot water. After awhile the hot water did help and I was completely clean, I still smelled like death but there was a hint of lavander from my body wash.

I quickly drived off and put on the old flannel I stoll from Winston years ago, there's a peark to being so close to a group of guys, you get to steal there clothes and they won't complain. It might seem weird to new eyes, but that's how we live and we're comfortable like that, Hell Winston steals my peppermint body wash everytime it's in season.

I left the shower room and dried my hair off as walked into the erea where we slept. I hid my face in the towal to bask in it's warmth, I let fall off and I immediately jump.

“Jesus!” I placed my hand over my heart when I saw it was only Peter. He held his hands up in defense. “sorry, didn't mean to scare ya”

I smiled softly and threw my used towel in the laundry basket, as well as Egon's used slacks and Winston's flannels. The boys weren't very tidy at all.

“we have a laundry basket?” Peter said looking at the pile of laundry that was at the bottom of his part of the closet. I chuckled and set at the foot of my bed, I grabed my brush and untangled my hair as the room fell silent. It felt weird to be alone with Peter, it was a rare thing.

“I'm sorry about the slime thing” he spoke roughly, he cleared his throat and turned to me. I shrugged and saw his eyes held nothing but the truth he spoke.

“it's no big deal, it happens to all of us” I said, trying to drop the subject. Peter wasn't gonna budge though.

“it's not okay” he quickly said, I was suprised at his sudden out burst. I looked up and saw his walls slowly breaking down. “Peter...”

“I know how slime and ectoplasm irritates your skin” he said softly and nodded towrds the light tent of red that masked my arms and hands. It was nothing to worry about, I'll just be scratching everywhere for a couple of days.

The more he panicked and paced, the more confusing the whole situation was, since college he's done nothing but teas me and start arguments. It wasn't harmful to either on of us, but it was so weird to see his softer side.

“it doesn't matter Peter” I stated fermly, Hell I've always liked him but he can't just turn on a dime like this.

“then.. Why can’t I breathe whenever I think about you?”

I looked at him with wide eyes, did he really just say that. Did this mean he's always liked me... Or was I just an easy lay... Another notch in his headboard. I looked into his blue eyes and didn't see lust or anything un- innocent, just love. What he was saying was genuine.

“you don't relize how much I care about you... Do you?” he asked setting down next to me.

I don't know what possessed me but I turned to him and planted a quick kiss on his lips. Peter's eyes widened and slightly pulled back. I gulped feeling I made a big mistake.

“I'm sor-” I was cut off as his hand cupped the back of my neck pulling me closer. Our lips coiled in feverish kiss.

I grabed the collar of his shirt and pulled him closer as our lips locked. His hands fell and grip my waist, our eyes locked as I move my hands to the back of his neck, running my fingers though his hair. His hands moved the the back of my neck pushing his lips harder to mine. His toung gently touched my bottom lip asking for entrance. I granted him entrance as my hands slid down his chest.

“Wait” he sighs lowly, grabbing a hold of my hands before they are able to unbuckle his belt. I planted one last kiss to his lips and he slowly pulled away with fear in his eyes, the once cocky lady's man was gone. “we shouldn't do this”

I gave him a confused look and he continued with nervousness. “your Ray's little sister, your basically forbidden fruit” he quickly said, I scoffed and moved out of his arms, after all that and he still can't get off his high horse.

“y/n...” he started, stoped and turned around “I'm sorry” he whispered, I looked at him and his face drop. I'd never seen him so remorseful and I almost believed him. I opened my mouth to speak, but the alarm went off telling us we had a case... The second one of the night. I heard Ray and Winston groaned from upstairs.

“let's just work the damn case” I said left the bedroom and jogged to the fire pole. I slid down it and that point I couldn't even think about how much it scared me to go down it, no matter how many times I did it.

“what do we got?” I asked quickly taking off Winston's my flannel so I was in my tanktop. My locker was next to Egon's so I quickly moved next to him and got one of my clean uniforms on.

“some rich boy mansion, ghost haunting it” Ray said. I chuckled, trying shead some light on my evening. “the usual”

“you got that right” Winston chuckled then looked up the firepole as Peter slid down. “Pete hurry up!”

~~~~~~~~(.......)~~~~~~~~

As I walked around the abandoned pool, the EMF reader starred going off like crazy. “hey guys, I think I got something” I said through the walkie-talkie.

“hang on, I'll head your way” Egon said through the walkie.

I knlet infront of the pool and studyed it. It was decent size, covered in moss, mold, and slime. I'm pretty sure it would be considered gray water by now. No way I'm taking a dip in this freaking pool.

I scanned it one last time then set the meter down to get a sample for Egon. I got the slime infested water in the container and put in my pocket. I sighed at how quite it was, between Egon's on going experiments and Peter's strange behavior the quite was nice.

I couldn’t even see my reflection in the merky water. “N/n, we're on our way hang tight” Winston said through the walkie-talkie.

“Roger that” I said softly, I shook my head and stood up to wait for the boys. When left for the door the pool started to bubble, I quickly stepped back when steam and hissing started the leave the area.

“Boys!” I ran towrds the door but didn't get to far, I felt my feet get swept from underneath me. Between the protonpack on my back and the broken bricks I fell on, all I felt was pain. I looked over my shoulder and saw a dark blue slime wrapped around my ankle, pulling me towrds the pool.

“RAYMOND! PETER!” I shouted as I hung on to anything could, I couldn't even reach for my proton-gun in fear if I let go of the brick I'd get pulled under.

I was about to shout for my Boys again but this time no words came out. The slime grew to size bigger than me and leped over me like a blanket. And pulled me under, I tried to swim to the surface but I was pushed under and water and slime filled my lungs.

---( Peter's pov )---

I rolled my eyes when I saw a ghost the size of a small little girl peak around the conner then run off giggling like she was playing tag with me a Ray.

“creepy ghost kids... Seen it already” I replied, getting bored. Ray chuckled and charged up his proton pack while he went into the same direction as the ghost kid.

I started to make childish noises as I followed Ray but the painful screams coming out of our walkies made me stop. I knew her screams which made is so much worse.

“RAYMOND! PETER! HELP ME!”

me and Ray shared wide eyes glances then immediately ran to the pool room where she was at.

“somethings wrong with y/n” I hear Winston say on the walkie next. I ignored it and continued to run down the many halls of the mancain. I don't know how many doors and stair cases I passed, all I knew is nothing was gonna stop me from saving her.

“y/n!” I shouted to her and ran the last corner into the pool room.

My heart dropped when I saw her drowning, I threw my protonpack off and jumped in after her, Ray followed behind me quickly. The first time we tried to grabed her the ghost jerked her away. I pushed my self towrds the deep end where it took her and quickly grabed her hand.

She was small in stature but between the pack and the ghost tugging on her with all her might, I almost didn't have the strangth. Ray then came behind her and snapped off the straps with his pocket knife and pushed her towrds me. I put her limp arms on my neck and held her close to me as pulled to the surface.

“you son of a bitch” Winston growled. him and Egon shot their proton-streams at the ghost as I layed her on the ground.

“come on y/n” I said touching her cheek, she wasn't moving. I started to panic and started CPR, I've never done it in my life and only saw it in the movies. That made it so much more terrifying, what if I can't save her?

“come on, Baby... Don't leave me” I said pushing on her chest then quick connect our lips to give her air. I did the proses over and over, as I did I only panic more.

I let out a sigh of relief when she left out a painful cough. The rest of the boys sighed with relief as she started to breath. “thank god” I mumbled pulling her to my chest.

“your alright, I got you” I said, placing a kiss on her forehead. Ray nodded with tears in his eyes as he grabed her hand.

She only nodded then looked up at Winston and Egon, she smiled softly. “let's get out of here, we got the damn thing” Egon said while he pulled y/n soaked protonpack out of the pool.

“come on, let's get you home and wormed up” I said, picking up her chattering body. She nodded and snuggled closer to me for warmth.

~~~~~~~~(.......)~~~~~~~~

“all get the heater” Egon said quickly shutting Ecot-1 and running to the storage room, the rest of us ran to the bedroom and layed her chattering body on her bed.

“here” Ray said, wrapping a quilt around is both. She gripped my suit and pulled me closer for warmth, I rubbed her arms quickly trying to get some heat on her body. “relax, you'll be warm soon” I whispered.

She peaked her head from my chest and smiled when she saw Egon plug in the small heater we had. “I lost the sample from the p-pool, I'm sorry egon” she spoke softly.

I wanted to scoff, thst was the first thing she says since her almost-sudden-death? Egon smiled softly and shook his head. “don't worry about it, your life is more important”

He left and the others followed so she could rest. “I'll heat up your food and send it up to ya later” Ray said softly and padded Winston's shlulder signaling him to follow.

“thanks Ray” she said, once they left I grabed the quilt and got her to lie down on my chest. I pulled the quilt over the both of us as she snuggled into my chest.

I smiled at the feeling, I never experienced a feeling like this. It felt so nice to have her in my arms. “I love you, ya know?” I said softly as I ran my fingers throw her damp hair. “I don't care what anyone else says... I almost lost you tonight and I can't do that”

She looked up at me, man I loved her eyes. They were the prettiest tent of (e/c), so round and beautiful. She smiled softly at me, but her expression held a dash of uncertainty. I hated myself for causing that, I never wanted her to question her worth or how much someone I loved her.

“You are the reason that I'm still breathing” I said truthfully and it wasn't lying. I'll joke around and annoy my buddies to no end, but I'd never lie to her. She made my life worth living and I wake up every day happy I get to the greatest job in the world with her by my side.

She scooted up the bed so our faces were level and she placed her lips to mine, it was so soft and a bit chill from her time in that God awful ice bath. I didn't care how cold it was, I just felt so sweet to have her lips modeled perfectly with mine and this time there was no fear or uncertainty, just two people who finally woke up and realized they we're perfect for each other.

[jazy3]

Ghostbusters: Afterlife Review

!!SPOILERS AHEAD!!

If you saw my ‘Favourite Movies this Year’ post, you’ll know that Ghostbusters: Afterlife was right up there! Free Guy was my favourite movie of 2021, but Ghostbusters was a close second! Initially my best friend was more excited for this movie than I was. We first saw the trailer for it back in 2019 and to be honest I’d pretty much forgotten about it before the trailer appeared again in 2021. But her enthusiasm was infectious, so I looked up the trailer again and wound up falling down a Wikipedia rabbit hole researching the movie and its production and from then on, I was hooked! In preparation we decided to re-watch the original Ghostbusters movie from 1984 and I recommend everyone else do the same if you’re interested in seeing this movie. It’s on Netflix and since the last time either of us had seen the movie was back when we were teenagers it was good to have the refresher and get into the spirit of it.

You can watch Ghostbusters II from 1989 or skip it. I looked up the plot on Wikipedia to jog my memory, but you don’t need to re-watch it to get Ghostbusters: Afterlife. You do however need to re-watch the original Ghostbusters movie if you haven’t seen it recently because there are a lot of references to it in the new one. While I think I would have still enjoyed the film if I hadn’t watched the original recently, I definitely think I enjoyed the new one way more because I did! Ghostbusters: Afterlife is the answer to the question, ‘What would the original Ghostbusters movie look like if it was made today with updated special effects and timeless humour?’ You may not have asked the question, but you got the answer and it’s great!

This movie is a riot from start to finish! It’s action packed, there are ghosts and ghouls galore, and the comedy is on point! Fan favourites Bill Murray, Dan Ackroyd, and Ernie Hudson are back as Dr. Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz, and Winston Zeddemore to clean up the town once again and the spirit of Egon Spengler and Harold Ramis are alive and well throughout the film. In this latest installment we are introduced to a new younger cast of characters for the audience to relate to. Finn Wolfhard of Stranger Things fame plays Spengler’s grandson Trevor, McKenna Grace from the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina plays his granddaughter Phoebe, and Carrie Coon of Avengers: Infinity War plays their mother and Spengler’s daughter Callie.

Paul Rudd plays high school science teacher and Callie’s love interest Mr. Grooberson and newcomers Logan Kim and Celeste O'Connor play Phoebe’s new friend Podcast and Trevor’s friend and love interest Lucky Domingo. In this long awaited sequel, set thirty-two years after the Ghostbusters first defeated Vigo the Carpathian in New York City we learn the fates of the original Ghostbusters and meet single mother Callie and her teenage son Trevor and eccentric daughter Phoebe. When Callie, who’s facing eviction, learns that her estranged father Ghostbuster Egon Spengler has died she moves her family to Summerville, Oklahoma and they take up residence in the old farmhouse Egon left them.

Once there Trevor gets a job at a local dinner after developing a crush on Lucky, one of the carhops, and Phoebe enrolls in summer school where she finds a kindred spirit in Mr. Grooberson the science teacher. While at summer school Phoebe befriends another student, who goes by Podcast, and as the movie progresses the kids learn that their grandfather was one of the infamous Ghostbusters and that something very strange is happening in Summerville.  The movie features lots of great call backs to the original film. We see Phoebe, Podcast, and Mr. Grooberson tamper with a ghost trap, the Muncher ghost reappears to wreak havoc on Summerville, and Ivo Shandor returns! We also see Phoebe restore the Ghostbusters’ original proton packs and Trevor finds a dilapidated Ecto-1 in the garage and fixes it up. It was previously thought that a third installment of the Ghostbusters franchise would never happen as Bill Murray and other original cast members had made it clear they were not interested and would not sign on.

However, after the death of Harold Ramis in 2014, Jason and Ivan Reitman reimagined the long furloughed sequel as a tribute to Ramis and his beloved character and approached Murry and the other original cast members about the project once more. This time everyone agreed, and the project moved forward. It’s worth noting that prior to Ghostbusters: Afterlife being made the rights to the franchise were renegotiated in a deal that made sure that the original cast and their families were taken care of and would not have to want for anything financially for the rest of their lives. This is what allowed that disastrous all female Ghostbusters reboot in 2016 to be made, but it also paved for Ghostbusters: Afterlife to be made following Ramis’ untimely death.

I think perhaps my favourite thing about this movie apart from the humour is that it’s a touching tribute to an actor and character that so many of us, and our parents, grew up with made by the people closest to him, his friends, and colleagues, and you can really see that in the film. The original actors aren’t acting when they mourn the loss of their friend. The characters mourn Egon as their actors mourn Harold. Something I really loved about the movie was how the ghosts and poltergeists our heroes fight throughout the film and the mission that they are on can all be seen as an allegory for battling disease and the loss of a loved one.

What’s most interesting to me is that this allegory that stuck out so strongly to me was likely unintended as the film was shot in 2019 and wrapped production the year before the COVID-19 Pandemic hit. Nevertheless, I couldn’t help but see the similarities. In the opening scene we see Egon Spengler running from a powerful ghost alone which he attempts to trap using an elaborate set up of ghost traps on his property only for the traps to fail when the power goes out. This leaves Egon defenceless, the ghost attacks him, and he suffers a fatal heart attack.

Watching this in the fall of 2021 two years into a global pandemic that had left over a million dead at that point I couldn’t help but see the similarities between the effects that ghosts, poltergeists, and similar entities in the Ghostbusters universe have on their victims and the way disease can ravage the body and leave those suffering feeling helpless. When a powerful disease takes over those suffering often feel alone and isolated and a heart attack or brain aneurism are common causes of death when someone dies after battling a disease.

In the wake of Egon’s death his daughter Callie and his grandchildren Phoebe and Trevor are left to pick up the pieces, pack up his house, and try to make sense of what he left behind. His friends and fellow Ghostbusters are left feeling remorse and regret for not keeping in touch, for not believing him, and they are left wishing they had more time. All of which will be familiar for anyone that’s lost a loved one to disease whether it was sudden or slow. I found this particularly poignant in the time of COVID-19 and it’s a heartfelt reminder of how fragile we all are and how precarious and precious the lives we lead truly are. While the filmmakers would have had no idea how close to home the movie’s portrayal of loss would be for so many us, I find it fascinating how good art can speak to things that haven’t even happened yet.

The filmmakers weren’t trying to speak to an audience that was living through a global pandemic and watching loved ones die they were simply expressing their own loss over the death of their friend. I think because this depiction came from a genuine place of love and grief for those involved I found it deeply moving and it’s one of the many reasons Ghostbusters: Afterlife will take its place on my list of favourite movies and comfort films that I’ll watch again and again for years to come.

On a lighter note, I have to say I really enjoyed how funny the film was! I thought the humour throughout the film was well timed and well played and the younger actors they cast did a great job of giving the film the levity it needed to make it fun and balance out the heavy themes of loss and regret. It’s fitting that they cast Mike from Stranger Things to play Trevor. Afterall, the show is largely responsible for the eighties’ classic coming back into the public consciousness. While the original movie never really fell out of public awareness the iconic Ghostbuster Halloween costumes from Season 2 of Stranger Things reawakened interest in the original movie and streaming rates skyrocketed as a result. The series is full of references to the franchise.

One of the first thoughts my friend and I had when we walked out of the theatre was that were probably Stranger Things references, we didn’t get yet because of the delayed release of both the movie and the new season. Ghostbusters: Afterlife and Season 4 of Stranger Things were both supposed to premiere within a few months of each other and since Finn Wolfhard appears in both it’s likely that tie ins were planned for both projects. But unfortunately, the release of the film and the actual filming of the show got delayed, pushed, and interrupted by the onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

To be honest having watched both the film and the new season of Stranger Things I expected there to be more references and tie ins than I was able to spot. However, this is likely because such references were most likely edited out as they no longer made sense or were never filmed because the release dates had been pushed back considerably and it was unknown when either project would be released for quite some time. For instance, in Ghostbusters: Afterlife you can tell that there’s a cut when the characters are looking at the dates on the tomb wall because of the movie’s release date being pushed from 2020 to 2021.

If you look closely you can also see that the writing on the tomb wall has been edited in post-production to match this as moving the release date to 2021 throws off the original timeline. In Season 4 Vol. 1 of Stranger Things when the Hawkins gang enters the Creel House and Dustin drops his backpack on the floor you can see an ‘I got slimed’ button with a picture of the Muncher ghost on it. I’d love to know what other references and tie ins were originally planned for both projects and if any other eagle eyed fans managed to catch references I didn’t.

Until next time!

[dominustempori]

I DID IT! I WROTE A GHOSTBUSTERS FAN FIC!

Wow, I actually wrote a story. Like, over the years I toyed with fic ideas for the other fandoms I wholeheartedly love and obsess over (for the curious: Doctor Who [particularly the 12th Doctor and Clara Oswald] and Phantom of the Opera)

But damn, wasn't it the continuation of the first movie I EVER watched, that's been a big part of my life since, and that ONE scene that made every GB fan cry, that inspired me to finally write a fanfic.

I hope you like it.

No Regrets

It was finally over. Leaving his old friends and colleagues all those years ago, stealing all the traps and packs and other ‘busting equipment, moving to a crumbling old farmhouse in the literal middle of nowhere that his research pointed to as Gozer’s ground zero...all his work and builds and studying to prevent the Sumerian destructor god from returning more powerful than ever in 2021…it was done. Not even his death would get in the way of saving the world again, not when it came to his family – blood-related or otherwise.

The ghost of Egon Spengler watched on as his young granddaughter ran to the dirt field to check on the traps. He remembered his own first trapping…that gluttonous green Class 5 FRV at the Sedgewick Hotel. All of his and Ray’s theories had held true in practice. Egon felt even more relief that his trap field for Gozer DID truly work after all.

“I thought you might turn up.”

Honestly, Venkman, I wasn’t quite so sure myself. This “crossing over” is all still fairly new to me.

“I’m sorry…I didn’t believe you.”

Egon turned to face his best friend as he apologized, then gave a soft smile and subtle nod.

Then Winston spoke up. “I should’a called. I miss ya, my friend.” Egon gave a slight shrug and looked away for a moment.

It’s all right, Winston. Your monetary assistance for all those years was invaluable.

All four Ghostbusters watched the aftermath of the battle: Callie running from the porch to check on her daughter, Trevor dashing from Ecto-1 to pull Lucky out of the carbonized remains of the terror dogs, wondering why there was so much white goo splattered on the car’s windows…

Peter walked over to his fallen colleague, his eyes focused on Callie and Phoebe. “So...you’re a grandfather, huh?” Egon couldn’t help the sad smile and downcast eyes in response. Peter continued on, looking at his friend steadily in the eyes. “It’s OK, Spengs. You had your reasons. But, you know, you should be proud of them, of ALL of them. I mean, carrying on the family tradition of saving the world and all…”

I’m beyond proud, Peter. No words can describe how proud I am of them.

Peter offered his hand to Egon, which he firmly clasped in his own ghostly hand, then clapped Peter’s shoulder with his other one.

Venkman let go of his ethereal friend, cleared his throat, and then said “Well, I’d better go introduce myself to them, being a founding member and everything.” To which Egon rolled his eyes at. Peter looked at him one last time, saying “See you on the other side, Egon.” Then he walked over to where Phoebe was being fiercely hugged by her mother.

Then Ray came up to Egon.

“Oh Spengie, I…I don’t know what to say, I…you were my, my BEST of friends and I…”

Ray couldn’t go on, not with the tears starting to roll down his careworn face, and choking up with years of sadness and frustration welling up inside him.

Egon knew what to do. He leant towards Ray, to lift his chin with his index finger, getting him to look Egon right in his ghostly eyes. He then grasped his old friend by the shoulders with both hands, firmly. Once Ray was a little calmer, Egon pointed to himself with his right hand, then slid his right fingers along the palm of his left hand, then pointed at Ray.

Ray’s eyes went wide and he gasped.

“You forgive me?”

Egon smiled and nodded.

Ray laughed then grabbed his old buddy into a bear hug for the first time in their long history.

You came through in the end, Ray. That’s all that matters. Egon closed his eyes and sighed happily.

They parted from each other, and then Ray started to sniff the air. “Say, listen, do you smell burning marshmallow? I should check that out, you know, just in case.” Egon just shook his head, still smiling. “Nice working with you, Doctor Spengler.”

Ray headed over to Ecto-1 to find the source of the now slightly-cloying sweet smell that the prairie winds were wafting all around the dirt field.

Egon turned slightly as Winston then approached him.

“Your grandson’s the one that patched up old Ecto, yeah?” Egon nodded in response. “Smart kid, that one. Then again, I really shouldn’t be surprised; runs in the family and all that.”

Egon gave a slight shrug and smirk at that. He couldn’t help it.

Winston went on. “Don’t worry, Egon. We’ll look after all of them for you, I promise.”

He then held out his hand, palm facing up. Egon gladly slapped his own hand down on top of Winston’s in classic Ghostbusters’ style.

After a moment, Winston gave a little cough and said “Although, now I think of it, I might just have to look over Ecto-1 myself, ‘cause, well…”

Egon just shook his head again and smiled.

Before Winston walked over to check the banged-up Ectomobile, he gave Egon one last salute and said, “Good luck, my friend.”

Standing aside, watching all the action going on around him, Egon could feel his spirit lifting, and not just figuratively. He knew how anchored ghosts could slowly break their earthly chains, if they chose to. Some were angry and vengeful enough to stay on the physical plane with no thought of going on to the other side. But Egon Spengler, he knew he didn’t have to stay any longer. The Ghostbusters, both old and new, had stopped the world from ending. His daughter, grandson and granddaughter would be all right and be taken care of, and just maybe carry on his legacy.

There were just a few more things to do.

He walked over towards Lucky and Trevor, who naturally was a little hesitant, but Egon just fixed the collar on his old jumpsuit, and placed his hand gently on his grandson’s shoulder.

You were brilliant, Trevor. Never forget that. Egon nodded at his now-grinning grandson.

He saw Trevor turn to look around, then looked for himself, and saw Phoebe slowly coming toward them.

Oh Phoebe, my brave and clever girl…

Egon knelt down to Phoebe’s level, and couldn’t help to brush one of her unruly Spengler curls away from her eyes. His granddaughter just looked at him with such awe and wonder…he smiled harder than he ever had in a long time. His eyes and smile said it all…

I am so, SO proud of you.

Then Egon saw something move in the corner of his eye. He turned and saw Callie looking on, her face caught somewhere between sorrowful and hopeful.

He slowly stood up and gazed at his daughter, wishing he could just SAY something…anything. So many years had gone by, had been lost. How could she ever forgive him….WHY would she ever forgive him?

He watched as she stepped a little closer, watching him intently, still not saying anything.

Egon could see the questions in her eyes now, those sad but beautiful eyes of the little girl he left behind so she could grow up in a world that wasn’t in danger. He kept looking straight at her, raised one spectral eyebrow, hoping to convey to her all that he wanted to explain but couldn’t.

Callie gave the slightest, little upturned smile, then, to Egon’s surprise, ran into his arms and hugged him with all her might.

All Egon could do was close his eyes and pull his daughter in as close as he could, resting his head on hers.

Callie…you were my world, my heart, my reason for going on…I’m SO sorry I had to leave, but I’m SO glad you now know why. It was all for you, my sweet girl. Remember that, and remember me. I love you.

Though Callie kept holding on to her father as if for dear life, Egon could feel himself growing lighter, fainter, and knew it was time.

He closed his eyes tighter, preparing himself. He could go on to whatever afterlife awaited him, and best of all, he thought…with no regrets.

[Author’s Notes:

1) This was inspired by that final, EMOTIONAL scene at the end of Ghostbusters: Afterlife.

After some hard thinking after watching the movie 3 times, then looking at replays of the clips that somehow thankfully got onto YouTube…sure we see some of what happened when things calmed down, heard some great lines from all the characters to bring it all home, but I kept wondering…there’s NO way Egon was just, like, STANDING there not doing anything but watching on in silence. So…what could’ve been going through his mind in those 2 or 3 minutes of screen time? This is my take on that idea.

2) Without going into any hard core debate about how canonical “Real Ghostbusters” is in regards the movie-verse, there’s one episode where Egon uses ASL to get a ghost to “trap itself” as a way to keep it calm (it HATES any noise.) And Ray is able to translate what Egon signs. I think movie!Egon would also be fluent in American Sign Language, undoubted genius that he is. Hence how Egon says he forgives Ray in this story.

3) I’m just going with the whole “It was way easier and a better choice story-wise to NOT have Egon have any verbal dialogue” as the reason he doesn’t speak in this. Who knows how ghosts really work, anyway?]

[inevitablemoment]

Okay, I seem to have attracted some attention with my post about my potential headcanons about Callie’s mother, so...

It’s all under the cut.

TRIGGER WARNING: Bullying, Antisemitism, Roman Catholicism upbringing, fertility issues, miscarriages, alcoholism, ovarian cancer, character death, canon character death, parental abandonment, depression.

Cathleen Anne Paige was born on January 2, 1945 to William and Colleen Paige. She is the third of four sisters. Her family practices Roman Catholicism and is of Belgian descent on both sides.

This is what I imagine Cathleen to look like:

She loves performing and writing stories. By the beginning of her story, she’s performed in a few of her church’s concerts, and even played the Virgin Mary in the Nativity play one year.

She spent the first twelve years of her life growing up in Madison, Wisconsin before her family moved to Cleveland, Ohio.

On her first day at her new school, some rotten kid pushes her bike, causing her to fall on top of Egon Spengler.

She gets pretty scraped up on her knees and elbows, and Egon shyly offers to walk with her to the nurse’s office, which she agrees.

While they wait for the nurse to come in, she begins talking about the stories that she writes, and he tells her about the experiments that he’s been working on.

He’s surprised when she listens to him intently, and even mentions that to her.

They quickly become best friends; Egon’s family is relieved (”He’s finally doing something the book said he would!”) and love inviting her over, but Cathleen’s family is very reluctant due to him being Jewish.

Not to mention, Cathleen found herself taking some crap from the kids who bullied Egon.

Prior to the beginning of their first year of high school, one of Cathleen’s two older sisters gives her the whole “men and women can’t be friends” spiel.

I haven’t exactly worked out what made them get together romantically, but they begin a romantic relationship on Halloween.

Egon graduates two years early, so their relationship was long-distance until Cathleen graduated and joined him in New York so she could study at Julliard.

While Egon studies for his second degree-- this time, a degree in parapsychology at NYU-- he meets Peter Venkman and Ray Stantz.

Cathleen is also part of their friend group, having finished at Julliard and is now studying creative writing at NYU.

Egon and Cathleen marry on May 7th, 1974.

This is what I imagine Cathleen’s wedding dress to have looked like (sans the necklace):

Both Peter and Ray doubled as the best man (though, let’s face it, Peter probably took the reins on planning the bachelor party) while one of Cathleen’s theater friends and her younger sister were her maids of honor.

Soon, Egon and Cathleen made the decision to start trying for a baby.

Cathleen became pregnant almost immediately, but suffered a miscarriage before she was even aware.

This experience shook her, and she asked that they wait to try again.

In 1978, Cathleen becomes pregnant again, but miscarries when she’s eighteen weeks along.

She’s told that it’s unlikely that she could ever carry to term, sending her into depression.

She takes up alcohol to cope, but after an incident where she throws a bottle of scotch onto the kitchen floor during an argument with Egon, and she slips and falls into the debris, she begins to sober up.

Egon and Cathleen briefly relocate to Cambridge so he can pursue a doctorate in nuclear engineering.

Once again, Cathleen gets pregnant, but they approach the situation with cautious optimism.

On January 21st, 1981, Callie Violet Spengler is born (Random tidbit: “Callie” was chosen because in her drugged-up stupor, Cathleen suggested naming her “Calliope” after the muse in Greek mythology).

When Egon returns to work from parental leave, Cathleen struggles with taking care of Callie without his help, with him coming home one day to find her in tears.

Cathleen is eventually cast in a new role, but suddenly finds herself having difficulty leaving Callie at daycare.

Around Callie's first birthday, Cathleen begins to suspect that she's pregnant again.

But during her doctor's appointment, she learns that she has ovarian cancer and that it’s already metastasized.

While she begins chemotherapy treatments, she accepts that her time is coming.

The family returns to Cleveland because Cathleen wants to spend her last days with her in-laws.

Cathleen Spengler dies on March 9, 1982 in the early hours of the morning.

She’s buried back in New York.

Upon returning to New York, Egon attempts to adjust to life as a single father, but Callie is inconsolable without her mother.

Even with the help of his friends, he still struggles.

Cathleen's parents arrive to visit, along with Egon's family, as Passover and Easter intersect that year.

Cathleen's parents always disapproved of Egon, both because of his eccentricities and his Jewish heritage.

They stay over during the Seder dinner, and continually criticize Egon's parenting.

Eventually, Egon has had enough and suggests to them that maybe they should try raising Callie.

They actually take the idea seriously, suggesting that Egon is an unfit father.

Having spent a month wallowing in depression and grief, Egon believes them and relinquishes custody of Callie to his in-laws, despite his side of the family protesting.

Egon makes occasional visits to Cleveland throughout the year, visiting Callie.

After Callie's second birthday, the Paiges relocate to Chicago without telling Egon.

This is what convinces him to stop wearing his wedding ring, leaving it at Cathleen's grave.

Over the course of the second movie, while interacting with baby Oscar, Egon has flashes of memories of Cathleen and Callie.

He tries to call Callie after the defeat of Vigo, but his mother-in-law says that she doesn't want to talk to him.

Meanwhile, now eight-year-old Callie bounces in, asking if her father called like he promised.

Her grandmother tells her that he didn't.

After the events of Afterlife, Egon is finally able to reunite with Cathleen.

I’ve also created an alternate universe where Cathleen is alive during the events of the films, and Callie stays with them.

While Cathleen’s main focus is on her acting career, she is pretty much a Ghostbuster.

In “The Real Ghostbusters” and “Extreme Ghostbusters,” she would be voiced by Melissa Fahn.

Unlike the other characters, her cartoon self is pretty similar to her live-action appearance, except she has green eyes instead of grey.

In Ghostbusters II, Cathleen is pregnant again.

After the defeat of Vigo, she goes into labor.

She gives birth to a baby girl that she and Egon name Marie, breaking her side of the family’s tradition of giving the girls “C” names.

This is how I image Marie to look like in Afterlife.

While Callie still becomes estranged from Egon in this ‘verse, Marie absolutely idolizes her father and wishes to follow in his footsteps.

This is a point of contention between the two sisters, as Callie believes that Egon loves Marie more than her.

Marie did try to stop Callie from running away to Chicago, but Callie refused to listen to her.

After Egon’s death, Cathleen was suspected to have dementia due to her constant insistence that he was right, but she is quickly vindicated.

In this universe, Marie and her love interest (I haven’t named him yet, but I imagine him to be played by Jeremy Jordan) are possessed by Zuul and Vinz.

The two sisters are able to reconcile with each other and with their parents by the end of the film.

[chushanye]

This is a Michael "Mike" Wheeler rant post. If you like Michael "Mike" Wheeler this maybe isn't for you.

First, something that was thankfully addressed by the narrative: during the entire run of s2 and s3 Mike was controlling of El. He, unintentionally at first, but then entirely consciously in s3, exploited her lack of social skills to make her completely dependent on him for social interaction. And then when she breaks out of the cycle he gets mad and acts like a dick toward not only her but Max as well (a repeat of s2 where he was being rude to Max for daring to be a woman who entered the vicinity of his friend group). As a direct reaction to that situation, he calls women a "species" and him and Lucas just go into the whole "we can't possibly understand girls" talk. The whole thing is just...blatantly misogynistic but as I said, it does get addressed by the narrative. (Even though that arc is ended by him asking El "does your species like chocolate" in an M&M's product placement scene .💀)

How in s1 when El defends him from his bullies, he fully applauds and welcomes it but when she defends herself in s4 he screams "what did you do?". And I've seen some people claim that "El lied that her and Angela are friends so he didn't know" my brother in christ he was THERE he SAW what happened. El being violent and protective is only okay when it serves his needs, but not when she has to defend herself.

And then there's Mike's treatment of Will. Now, I will approach this from the "Mike is bi/gay" point of interpretation, which might explain that he's projecting his insecurities, but doesn't excuse any of his actions.

In s3, he repeatedly made Will feel stupid for wanting to be around his friends. He makes him feel like a child for still being into DnD. He makes him feel like he's being clingy for wanting his friends to be around (even though he literally just went through the 2 most traumatising years of his life). He explicitly puts that guilt on him when they fight in the garage. I'm gonna get to the line "it's not my fault you don't like girls" in a second.

In s4, when Will asks why Mike is talking to El but ignoring him, Mike responds with "because she's my girlfriend, Will." Now, pointing out the obvious. He's been ignoring Will for a year. He also forgot his birthday. A person he supposedly cares about, he is completely neglecting. Which like, whatever the reason, dick move. And second, Mike is insecure about his own relationship and "heterosexuality" and taking it out on Will by making Will feel guilty. The line implies that Will is asking Mike to treat him like his significant other by LITERALLY JUST ASKING HIM TO NOT IGNORE HIM. He is using Will's sexuality, which he KNOWS is something Will is insecure about, to hurt him. He is implying that Will is somehow crossing a boundary and acting weird for simply wanting his "best friend" to talk to him. This is not even the first time he does it, because, in the garage scene, he also implies that Will is somehow placing the blame for his loneliness on Mike, and Mike says it because he KNOWS it'll hit him where it hurts. Similarly, he calls Eleven a monster because he knows that's what she's insecure about.

He is so self-centred and lashes out at people when they don't go according to his plan. He knows what makes his friends tick, and he uses it against them. In s2, he narratively went through the arc of learning he is not the main character. Throughout that whole season, he grapples with not being the centre of attention anymore. The fight he has with Lucas over who is going to be Peter Venkman is symbolic of that. Mike is mad that Lucas thinks he can overshadow Mike and be the main character (speaking of that scene makes Mike look racist as hell). That arc was good, except it didn't wrap up in s2. It feels like this arc just kept going and going and they just tuned Mike into a whinny and unhelpful bastard. It feels like he still hasn't learned he's not the centre of attention, and he still views the people around him as sidekicks.

Also, I dislike him for less constructive reasons, such as he's just generally and unexplainably annoying.

[sporesmoldandfungi]

Flip City - Blackout

"I don't even know what I'm doing anymore. How lousy does a husband have to be for his wife to go behind his back." Peter said, taking a large swig of beer.

Genevieve followed suit, slurping her beer. She put a sympathetic arm on Peter's, "She probably didn't want you to worry."

"Well, now I'm worried and getting shitfaced on a Monday night, think it would have been better if she came to me."

"Why don't you just go home and talk to her? You know you're an ass when you're drunk." Genevieve asked, taking another sip.

Peter groaned, "Because, I shouldn't have found out this way. It's my way of dealing with it as well as showing lovely Dana that I am indeed pissed at her. I mean, Oscar's my son too. Maybe I'm not as "loving" or "paternal" as people may like, but he's my kid, I'd do anything to protect him."

"Peter, one of the things I love most about you is, you would do anything for someone you love. Everyone who is close to you knows that, that includes Dana. She didn't tell you because she thought you wouldn't care, she didn't tell you because she probably knew you would freak out more than she would. You have to admit, going to Egon and Ray to find out if it's really something to worry about before telling you is probably for the best." She finished her beer, slamming the cup down. "Besides, you think I'm thrilled she went to Egon first? I'm her best friend for crying out loud, so I can imagine how you must feel. But you have to realize, she didn't tell you a reason. The best thing to do is to go home and talk to her about it. Getting shitfaced and going home drunk is not the way to go about this."

Peter sighed deeply, giving Genevieve a small smile. "You're right, you always are. You know, I really hate that about you."

She laughed, "Yeah, yeah, whatever Venkman. Let me get you a cab so you can go home to the missus."

He reluctantly stood up and the two made small talk as Genevieve hailed Peter a cab. He got inside the cab, about to close the door before he leaned out to say one last thing to Genevieve.

"You would pick me over Ray to be your third right?"

She closed the can door, flipping him off as he drove away.

She didn't notice how late it was, seeing the time from the clock inside the bar. Egon was either dead asleep right now, or keeping himself awake until her return. Realizing she had just used her cab fare to buy herself a beer, she began walking home.

Crisp, cool air rushed by her, blowing her hair in her face. As she tried to move it all out of her eye-site, she realized how tipsy she was. Genevieve hardly ever drank, the only exceptions being the occasional glass of wine at dinner that Egon normally finished for her or getting shitfaced on New Year's. So, two beers and one tequila shot was enough to get her pretty plastered. Her legs wobbled as she became more aware of her declining state. Luckily, she lived close by and could see her front door two blocks away.

Time moved slowly as she tried her best to steadily walk as well as look sober enough to the men walking past her, so she wouldn't seem vulnerable in any way. Eventually, her heels clacked up her short staircase and she fumbled with her keys, struggling to unlock the door. The door swung open, making Genevieve lose her balance in the process. Egon's arms stabilized her, pulling her into the warm house.

"Looks like you and Venkman had fun." he commented, taking off her jacket.

"Not really, we mainly talked about Dana." she hiccuped, kicking off her shoes. Genevieve looked up at her husband, giving him a drunken smile. "You really are sweet, Egon."

Egon smiled back, "Let's get you to bed, Mrs. Spengler. It is way past our bedtime."

The morning brought bright sunlight into the Venkman's apartment, as well as a minor headache for Peter. The curtains were wide open when he awoke, making him groan as his eyes adjusted to the harsh light. He rolled over, extending his arm across the bed, expecting  to feel his wife's sleeping body. He was met with a cold mattress instead.

Oscar's cries from the other room fully awoke him, making him sit up and walk out of the bedroom. In the living room, Dana was feeding the baby, scooping some mashed peas into his mouth. As Dana raised a large spoonful to Oscar's lips, he refused the green paste, turning his head in disgust.

"How are the mashed peas working out for you? I told you we should have gotten the carrot instead." Peter said smugly, walking past the two to grab a cup of coffee.

"So sleeping beauty is finally awake. Where were you last night? You didn't come home until late." Dana said, ignoring her husband's comment.

Peter poured himself a cup, leaning on the refrigerator, "Genevieve and I went out for a few drinks. I needed her advice on some things."

Dana's head perked up, "Huh, you two haven't hung out in a while. What did you need advice on?"

"Well, I heard through the grapevine that Oscar had a little incident on First the other day. Wanted to ask our only married friend how a husband should ask his wife why he wasn't informed that his son was almost ran over by a bus."

She sighed deeply, setting down the baby food. "I was going to see what Egon thought of the whole thing before I told you. I didn't want to worry you."

Peter walked over to her, taking one of her hands in his. "I know that, so I'm not going to be mad this time. But, seeing as I'm one half of Oscar's DNA, I would like a little more warning next time."

Dana nodded and leaned up to kiss Peter.

"You should thank Genevieve later, if she hadn't calmed me down and talked me through it, I would have been a lot angrier about this."

Across the city, Genevieve and Egon were into their morning routine. Egon sat at their dining room table, reading Tobin's Spirit Guide while Genevieve made a pot of coffee.

"I'm going to come home late tonight, I'm meeting with Dana to examine the spot where Oscar's carriage stopped. Ray and Peter are joining me, would you like to come?" Egon said, setting down his book in the process. 

"I'll pass, I don't know if I want to examine a spot in the middle of the road, but thanks for the offer." She poured herself a cup of coffee and took a long sip, "Who's watching Oscar?" 

"They have a nanny to watch him." 

"Oh. Well, how late do you think you'll be gone?" 

"Shouldn't take too long, I'll probably be home by dark." 

Hours later, Genevieve stared up at the ticking clock in the living room. It was almost midnight. 

"Should be home before dark my ass." she grumbled to herself. 

Sighing, she got up from the couch and finally started to make her way to bed. Suddenly, the power in her house flickered for a moment and then went completely dark. The pitch blackness that encompassed her house limited her vision, making her almost trip on her cat as she walked to the phone. She mumbled an apology and picked up the phone and quickly dialed Dana's number. The phone rang for a moment before Dana picked up. 

"Hello?"

"Hey, Dana. It's Genevieve, I was just calling to see if the boys were with you. I wanted to see how Egon was doing, especially because of the blackout." 

"They've been gone for hours, I thought Egon told you?" Dana said, confusion laced in her voice. 

"Huh, no he didn't tell me. Do you know where they are?" Genevieve asked. 

Dana began to speak but was caught off by Oscar's cries coming from the nursery. "I don't, I'm sorry Genevieve, I have to get Oscar. I'll call you when he's back asleep." 

"Don't worry about it, I'll call you in the morning, take care of the little guy." 

They said goodbye to each other and Genevieve hung up the receiver. Not even a minute later, the phone rang again. Genevieve sighed and picked up the phone again. 

"Dana, I told you, I'm fine. Just worry about Oscar and I'll handle the guys."

A deep voice responded, "Is this Genevieve Spengler?" 

"Uh, yes, who is this?" 

"This is the NYPD, we have your husband."