#swapbusters

[ollierachnid]

Coloured renditions of my initial swapped-ghostbusters au, now featuring the rest of them!

(I will explain roles/dynamics at some point soon, I swear, but my main note is that the key aspects of the characters' personalities remain consistent with canon and so changes have been made to the narrative to fit better)

[ectoman]

the patient needs swapbusters art to survive (this is me trying to request some swapbusters art bc I think it's a cool idea)

wishing she sent walter on this one instead

[qi-mera]

I've seen this edit floating around the internet before, does anyone know who originally made it?

Also, it reminds me of your swapbusters AU, @ollierachnid

Something’s off…

[ollierachnid]

hai #busternation

[ollierachnid]

a lil wip/scribble of an idea

[ollierachnid]

first encounter (screenshot redraw, except swapped)

[ollierachnid]

Question about Swapbusters, would Peter be in the Zuul dress (when I realised that I got flashbanged with that mental image, it can’t leave my head, help) or a suit version of that get up?

I fear he does end up in a similar get up, I'm an equal opportunist when it comes to skimpy outfits. Not a one-to-one but ahuh,, this is what I've had in mind. (Bonus dog). Sorry

[ectoman]

The crowd (me) yearn for swapbusters art

Maybe swapbusters rookie and illyssa this time? (Or would it be bryan and rookie now 🤔)

YAY! Illy is still a Shandor descendant, as she retains that component of her character and so she's inadvertently causing chaos wherever the Ghostbusters go.. Dr Welsh finds it very interesting

[ollierachnid]

some scribbles and requests

[ollierachnid]

hehehe swapbusters scene redraws will be real SOON...

[ectoman]

Your drawings of Peter (specifically swap Peter) have ruined me lmao (positive)

Like why am I attracted to him now I used to only be attracted to his cartoon version

i am going to rip him apart with my teeth

My condolences boss, I did not mean to spread the infection lolol. Here's a loose swap Peter (or normal idk, it's not distinct) from a page of warm up sketches for your troubles lol

[ollierachnid]

just had a hashtag enlightened moment for GBII swapbusters. while dana still had oscar, they are not the primary targets of vigo (too busy running about the sewers). this time, vigo's is gunning for egon and little callie. and that way, janine can take up peter's mantle as the protective step-parent

[ollierachnid]

swapbusters janine and egon have a certain appeal, although that might just be because i was the one who made it, and i love combative pairings

[ollierachnid]

I’d like to know more about your swap AU! How did Walter, Dana, Janine, and Louis become the Ghostbusters in this timeline? Who invented & built the equipment? And what roles do the original guys play?

Oh yay, thank you for asking! That's very kind of you to do :]. Sorry for the slower response, I've been all over the place, lol.

Going to split into three-ish sections so it's easier to process but, a quick note is that characters still maintain the core components of their personalities and behaviour - so some of the jobs/experiences that bestowed the Ghostbusters with the capacity to perform their roles are a little altered to fit the alternative four!

I'm also going to toss it under a read-more because knowing myself, I'll go on an absolute screed, lol.

How did they become the Ghostbusters?

Okay, so initially, these characters were not interested in the paranormal (beyond Louis, later on), as all are very straightforward and logically minded and are not inclined towards supernormal explanations. However, Dana and Peck, who met in college and ended up sharing an apartment afterwards, were inspired to look into the concept after an encounter with a poltergeist in their 20s. Which caused them to lose a security deposit and kicked off their desire to both prove the existence of the supernatural and to prevent them from causing more inconvenience or harm to others. It's less out of a desire for understanding and a little more for control with them. Neither feels safe living in a world with unmitigated ghost activity, lol.

Peck and Dana (now older) conducted a lot of their first tests for their initial models on the campus for Columbia University where Dana is studying for her chemical engineering PhD, (one of her avenues of research was on the chemical composition of the supernatural and how they can be contained with man-made materials). They eventually meet Janine here, as she worked at Columbia as a sociology professor and was interested in their strange shenanigans. But their consistent use and destruction of university property got them in enough trouble to be booted from their facilities, Janine alongside them as an 'instigator' and 'enabler'.

After this, they make contact with and catch their first ghost, then the Ghostbusters form "officially" in much the same way as they do in canon.

Louis is the newest employee, a man who wanted to switch careers after becoming disillusioned and bored in his accounting position. He's very keen to learn about ghosts and is actually the member who begins to categorise and label them. He tends to be handling the PKE meter, goggles and sniffer, as he does not do swell lugging the pack about for extended periods (he does occasionally arm himself with someone else's wand, as long as they are wearing the pack itself).

Who constructed the equipment?

This one is a litttttleeee up in the air still, but I've honed in on Peck and Dana for the most part. In this little universe, they have become more technically-minded portion of the team! Peck has a degree in environmental/agricultural engineering and had a particular inclination towards the mechanical aspects of engineering, his initial plan to become an EPA officer fell through (because of his caustic personality) and so he spent his time post graduation tinkering about while working crummy odd jobs. He can jerryrig parts together with shocking ease and is responsible for most of the external components of the equipment. He's not as invested in the spirits the others are, but can construct large swathes of the technology Dana blueprints or conceptualises.

Dana, conversely is responsible for most of the internal wiring and components. As mentioned in the prior answer, she has a biochemical inclination.

What are the other four up to?

They've all filled in for the 'now Ghostbusters' four in some regard, while not exactly one-to-one they are in the same 'place' within the plot.

Peter is functionally Dana. He is haunted and possessed by Zuul, though unlike canon-Dana, he is aware of the haunting but mostly blasé about it. He is still a flirt, but the pursuit between him and Dana is kind of backwards I.E. he invites her to his house to investigate Zuul and then does his whole leering thing towards her that way. I actually have a scene concept wherein she's so sick of being invited that Peck and Louis go instead to try to ward him off a little. Much to his chagrin. "You're not Dana -" "We're Ghostbusters, you called the Ghostbusters, no?". Ray wants to be his buddy, but Peter is very smarmy, uninterested, and Venkman-esc about it. He plays double bass in an orchestra, inspired by the plucking thing he does with Dana's cello in GB2, and also teaches strings.

Ray is filling in for Louis, still socially overeager but unfulfilled. Possessed by Vinz. He's not necessarily attracted to Peter but is instead rather keen on forming a friendship that Peter does not reciprocate much. Narratively, he'd end up joining the Ghostbusters like Louis does in 2. At the time of the story, he's a bookstore employee/manager and is very passionate about his work.

Winston is Janine's equivalent, he's has a lot less of a biting/snarky personality but very much holds his own as a secretary. He decided in-universe that he wanted a break from hard work after his military stint and so opted for desk work - this does not go entirely to plan as the GB secretary job is very demanding, lol.

Egon kind of ends up as Peck. He's an EPA agent, but because his canon personality carries over, his no-nonsense and rule orientated decision-making is more out of genuine protection of the city and environment and not very ego based. He's just a strong stickler for regulation and also.., Peck rubs him the wrong way bc Peck is a vain bastard who refuses to comply with any investigation. Which is the catalyst to his intense investigation. He's very stern and (usually) less incendiary, but he will not back down when he figures what the Ghostbusters are doing is dangerous.

[ollierachnid]

Would the villains in your Ghostbusters swap AU be switched too? (Like Vigo as the god of destruction and Gozer as a sorceress trapped in a painting.) Also, what form would the destructor take, and who would imagine it?

Hi! I've been considering this for a while since it might be a key component of the AU and came to the conclusion that it technically doesn't matter a lot to me. It could work either way!

Gozer & Vigo both function narratively in a similar manner. They're both powerful entities who respectively want to destroy or take over the world, but as they don't have a lot of personality beyond their egos and destructive mannerisms, I don't think flipping them would induce much of a particular difference beyond aesthetic. I think I may keep them as they are for the most part of my narrative, as flipping them might cause me to get pedantic with swapping 'every' character, including minor one's (ie Vinz/Zuul, the mayor, the librarian, etc.) which, knowing me, would obscure my initial ideas lol. But I definitely think the concept would be fun with the right vision/person!

As for the destructor form! I'm a little uncertain, though my main avenue/idea is using 'Mooglie' (the logo ghost). Stay Puft foil? Big, white, un-intimidating logo character, who's beloved by some of the main Busters. (I was going to have it be Peck, with his ego prompting the image in his mind, lol)

[ollierachnid]

I think I asked you about this before, but it may not have gone through. Do you have any plans for the Afterlife kids in the swapbusters AU? Or is that too far ahead? (only answer if you feel like!)

You did! I'm sorry for not getting to it, I've been weighing up potential directions to determine what I liked, if I was to extend my vision that far. None of what I'm saying below is really set in stone as a result, because plots and "swaps" inevitably became a little tangled.

The Spenglers are the grandchildren of the to-be mayor. They're imbued with a little anti-Ghostbusters sentiment as a result of Egon's environmental and safety concerns. Though it is not very intense. They visit Summerville as sort of.. holiday destination. (Not 100% concrete, just need a reason for them to be there)

Trevor and Phoebe haven't swapped with each other, but have instead exchanged places with Lucky and Podcast, who start in Summerville as residents. Swap!Peck fled there for similar reasons to canon Egon, although he left no family in his wake, he was just a complete, bitter isolationist by the end. Lucky & Podcast were always unnerved by him and rumours about him, but after Peck died, they both separately went to poke around his property and encountered one another. As well as Peck, who does not take kindly to their snooping, though grows to begrudgingly accept them and guide them into fulfilling the same plan he enacted after the terror dogs are released again.