Story 72: "Flea Market Economy" by Punk Maneuverability

[leucocrystal]

So... this is the first time I've posted a rec here, obviously!  I'd have backed out like the easily intimidated little fandom squirrel I am, but Wendy poked me with a (figurative) stick and asked me to post this for her, and who am I to deny our lovely moderator? ;)  After all, she asked for more humorous suggestions in a thread in the previous rec post, and I was the one who just had to jump in and open her big mouth.  I can't be sorry about that though, because either you've read this fic before (it is rather infamous) and will not be at all sorry to give it a re-read, or you never have and you clearly need to remedy that right now.

Believe me, I'm the first picky reader to shake their head in disdain when you say "genderswap" to me, especially if you do it with a straight face.  It's been so long since I first read this fic, I can't even remember what ultimately pushed me over that "NO" line and into it... I'm guessing I gave it an initial shot because I was on a PunkM kick and figured that if anyone were to do it right, this would be my one shot to see for sure.

And of course, it's done wonderfully.  Hilariously, incredibly, you've-got-to-read-it-to-understand; all that and more.  I can't help but wonder whether PunkM has ever had a dream of some sort that involves waking up inexplicably in someone else's body, because that's how it feels to read this fic, and it is all the more excellent for it.  And as you might imagine, hijinks most definitely ensue.  (How could they not?)

Flea Market Economy

What are you waiting for?  Go read, laugh like mad, come back, and discuss!  If you have a suggestion for reading, you can let us know here.  And remember, as dashakay is always telling us, feedback matters.

Comments

Re: A cold fish in tropical waters...

[amyhit.livejournal.com]

I think there'd be much less fascination and curiosity going on in both their heads were they already involved at this point.

yeah, i think that's a big part of what made me assume they were not yet sleeping with each other. ultimately that's what i thought too. on the other hand, i just can't ever see mulder and scully exchanging words about masturbation. i completely believe they would masturbate in each other's bodies (how can that be so squick and so damn hot at the same time?) but i don't believe they would EVER cop to it. even if scully had noticed her body sporting that telling rosy glow, she would have said nothing. mulder's comment about 'driving stick'? i just can't fathom it. even if they were sleeping with each other i'd have a hard time with the idea of mulder and scully talking about it using those terms.

it didn't make me dislike the story. in fact, i think the story needed that sexy bit of kick and was made better for it, really. but all the same, it wasn't something i had an easy time accepting coming from anybody's version of mulder and scully.

Whee for newcomers to the story and good discussion!

i, er- i think i was looking for smutty crackfic one day and found this and scanned it and decided it probably wasn't smutty enough and back clicked, which is why this seemed familiar somehow. HOW SHAMEFUL IS THAT! shhh, it's a top secretiest secret.

Re: A cold fish in tropical waters...

[leucocrystal]

Ah, that makes a bit more sense (I mean, now that you get more specific about it). On the one hand, they've joked about porn on more than one occasion, so I don't think it's entirely out of the realm of possibility (considering that Scully has got to be aware of how closely related porn and masturbation are)... but on the other, addressing it directly is a bit more personal. I think I always just get too caught up in the story for it to bother me.

My lips are sealed! ;) At least you came around this time.

Re: A cold fish in tropical waters...

[estella-c.livejournal.com]

Just to say that I can relax with a writer of PunkM's mastery and go with whatever universe she creates. It's a matter of tone control. In my mind, talent trumps canon every time. (Canon itself was created by numerous writers, all under orders and certainly not always reaching their varying potentials.)

Has everyone read Punk's "Our Mulders," "Our Scullys," and "Our Kryceks"? Wonderful metafic ruminations on what fandom has done to the characters we love.

Re: A cold fish in tropical waters...

[leucocrystal]

It's a matter of tone control. In my mind, talent trumps canon every time.
I think we can pretty much agree there! (And that applies to the two, sometimes very different depending on the individual; both "actual" canon and "personal" canon, I think.)

I definitely have! Classics. But then you saw my recs to Wendy in the other post; I have a huge soft spot for that very small amount of well-written metafic out there.