𝗗𝗢𝗖𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗩𝗘𝗡𝗞𝗢. an independent, semi-selective + wholly dedicated blog for the ghostbusters’ 𝗣𝗘𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗩𝗘𝗡𝗞𝗠𝗔𝗡. writer is entirely versed on canon film, animation, comic and novel interpretations. do not attempt to copy what you see here, as this is nine years of progress—loving and being invested in dr venkman! recasted with bill paxton. written by chet, she/her + twenty5.
DO YOU REALLY BELIEVE IN THE PARANORMAL, PETER? WELL, I'VE ALWAYS FANCIED MY CHANCES WITH THE UNCANNY... I MUST BE THE ONLY HIGH SCHOOL DROPOUT WITH TWO PhDs. GHOSTS SHMOSTS, YOU KNOW? AS LONG AS YOU BELIEVE IN THEM, THAT'S WHAT COUNTS. AND THEN YOU KNOW WHO YOU GOTTA CALL.
oooh boy! any recollection of this come tomorrow and she'll be strangling herself with her own hands. peter knows her well enough by now. dolores' tacky paws take pete by the shoulders and he looks into her starry eyes with vague amusement, sitting at the opposite end of the spectrum to her. as in, he's not giving anything. it is truly god's guess what is going through peter venkman's head right now. out of respect for her, he'll be (for once) entirely professional about the situation. but perhaps that's more telling than anything.
just imagine, what if he felt the same? that he doesn't know what he'd do without her. now wouldn't be the time for it. taking advantage of dolores' state of total ectoplasmic euphoria would be a dick move. peter brings his hands to rest on dolores' upper arms, squeezing her, “never thought i'd say this without there being anything in it for me, but-” he pulls a hand away from her, with it a dramatic string of thick goop stretching and stretching until it gives way and hits the floor with a squelchy thud. “you seriously gotta undress. and hit the showers. and throw that suit out.”
INBOX: "I'M REALLY GLAD YOU BROUGHT ME TO THAT BAGEL SHOP AND THAT Y'ALL WEREN'T JUST A BUNCHA CONMEN." DOLORES LOOKS UP AT PETE WITH STARS IN HER EYES AND HER HANDS, STICKY AND STAINED PINK LIKE THE REST OF HER, COME TO REST ON EITHER SHOULDER. AT LEAST SHE'S LUCID ENOUGH NOT TO TOUCH HIM. "I DON'T KNOW WHAT I'D DO WITHOUT YOU AROUND." @duran-duran-esq
meeting @doctorvenko because i'm a sentimental sap, but more specifically that first scene we wrote together on discord. neither of us i think fully understood what we were cooking at the time sticking dolores and pete in a room together, but that shit is gourmet. because of chet and her awful little man, i came back to writing on tumblr and got to meet so many wonderful people <3
ok 5 days late. i suck. but flaca!!!!!!!!!!!! perhaps you will never know how much it means to me that we met n made our barbies fight and smoosh faces. reblogging this because i actually want to acknowledge how much you've helped my portrayal of pete grow <3 and i have loved watching dolores grow too. she's one of the coolest characters i know and it's because of your absolute commitment to the bit - and the fact you're just a very talented storyteller and artist! love ya friend :)
not me just this second clocking that 2026 is the year that the t-800 was canonically built and mass-produced by skynet.... and then tearing up about it in the library.
"wouldn't dream of it, muchacho." his fist thumps at the fleshy part of pete's arm where it meets his shoulder. real chummy-like. "tell me somethin'. that autogyro behind you, real beaut. she yours?"
“yeah,” he rubs at his arm, brows knitted. he's feeling a little incredulous. like he's met his match. “she's mine alright.” pete then takes a moment to size murdock up from head to toe, in his usual manner that manages to be both discreet and blatantly obvious.
“why, you fly? president of the whirlybird fan club?” bold talk from a guy who used to attend a model train club himself, but no one has to know about that. ever.
one of the funny side effects of having written as a character for so long is that you forget that not everybody knows the headcanons inside your head. on that note, here are some peter hcs that everyone should know.
⠀✱ ⠀PETER LOVES CARTOONS.
this brooklyn kid practically grew up in the movie theater, and was raised by the casts of looney tunes and merrie melodies. on a saturday morning, it is very likely that you will find peter not only awake before 10, but chowing down on a bucket of cereal while watching the morning 'toons. anvils falling from the sky will never not be funny.
⠀✱ ⠀HE'S AN IDLE SINGER.
peter loves to sing. i didn't say he was good at it (he can carry a tune, averagely), but he'll sing anyway. when he's showering, typing up emails, printing off invoices, reheating leftovers for dinner, even walking down the street. the only time he isn't singing is probably when he's smoking. one of his favourites to sing is pennies from heaven by louis prima.
⠀✱ ⠀HIS EXPERTISE IS IN POSSESSION + EXORCISM.
we still don't know how peter got his two PhDs, and part of his magic and charm is the inexplicability! but i do believe that peter is quite knowledgeable on possession + exorcism. why? i'm glad you asked. a) peter comes from a psychologist scholarly background, as whilst as parapsychologist, which puts him squarely in the intersection between the mind and the metaphysical. b) peter is a social chameleon, which takes a lot of observing and a lot of understanding others' actions and thought processes. he knows the mind not only on an academic level, but on a personal level. c) peter doesn’t need to drown in data to get the shape of something. he listens to the little things that seem off. hence when someone’s possessed, it’s often peter who notices first. d) any study with the wow or shock factor is bound to gain peter's attention. e) ... he has been possessed before.
⠀✱ ⠀PETER IS A CARNY KID.
jim venkman was a carnival barker. peter venkman, his son, was born in a hospital just a few miles out of the carny lot in asbury park nj. and when he was thirteen, peter and his father re-joined the same carnival & peter would follow in his footsteps. no wonder dana likened him to a game show host, because peter spent almost every day for 3 years shouting STEP RIGHT UP! or IS IT ALIVE? IS IT DEAD? IS IT YOUR EX-GIRLFRIEND? he eventually left the carnival for high school, but i doubt the carnival ever left him.
Speaking of frustration, Dolores quickly looks Venkman up and down before turning her attention away with a roll of her eyes. Is it the song choice? Some lingering resentment from the slow response? Is the fact that she can't whistle is adding salt to the wound? Who's so say. Regardless of the what and why, she returns to her attention to her work.
"First of all that's an occupation, not a feeling." The crisp sound of paper forcibly snatched out of the pile cuts through the sound of the fan slowly turning overhead. "Second of all, I wouldn't call someone who spent his time debating on whether or not to answer the call a 'knight-in-shining-armor'." More like a mercenary-in-dull-jumpsuit.
She tucks the document away and absently reaches for the next, a quiet eugh slips through her teeth as she pulls out a much slimier and heavily chewed on file. It's quickly tossed to the floor to join the rest of her ruined work with a wet plop. It's probably salvageable... Probably.
"Look, I'm tired okay?" Tired and hungry and stuck chipping away at a mountain of bureaucratic bullshit. "So unless you plan on sweeping up my broken window or scrubbing goop off the walls, I have things to--"
Mrow!
"Ay Cabronita..." The little traitor finally comes out of hiding and what does she do? She trots right over to Peter and brushes up against his leg, purring and chirping like nothing happened.
cats flock to peter venkman. maybe it's because they both share bitchy qualities. either way, he's crouching down to give basura the love she deserves and she's lapping it up. trash on trash quality time. “hi sweetie,” pete draws out his words, talking in such a sickly tone. not as if mere moments ago, dolores had been tempting with the fate of kicking him out for being an idle bastard. “she mean to you too? oh, i know. it sucks, you poor thing,” he gives her one last pet and gets back to his feet, smiling at dolores in a way that's too much. like he's proving a point.
“alright, where do you want me?” pete crosses over to the wall behind her... which is, as she said, covered from floor to ceiling in ecto-shit. he stands with his arms folded. not devising a plan as such, but rather thinking whether he could stomach a thai or not this evening. some of the gunk falls and hits the floor with a wet thud, and all he's thinking about is: red or green curry? maybe not green tonight. pete sighs, “we could order thai.”
true that. pete thinks this guy's one tomato short of a salad judging from the way he shakes hands. “thanks,” he replies, amused. with the guy still janking his arm, there's now clearly something offbeat about him (like pete's the one to talk). he eventually snatches his hand away, “jeez. you don't have to pull it off.”
INBOX: nice firm handshake. i like that. tells a lot about a man. @choicescreen, murdock.
it's somewhat normal by now. pete partially ignores the statement, pulling on his jacket and adjusting his collar. he runs his hands through his hair, tousling it. is it unfair to say he's a little tired of this? yeah pete, you asshole. that is entirely unfair. but it doesn't change the fact that it's true.
he almost doesn't want to ask what dana thinks she has seen. gozer is gone, peter watched it happen. alas, he finally turns to dana. hungry and ready to leave, he asks, “what?” pete watches her for a moment, before crossing over and putting a hand on her back. to lead her out of the apartment. “i think you're just hungry,” he smiles at her, it's faux, “how about we get somethin to eat, huh? mmm, deli food.”
