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...

[wendelah1]

I have no idea why but I was assuming this was taking place in season seven. I made that up because I went back and looked and there is no mention of a time frame anywhere. Maybe because I was also reading a fic that was set in season seven? Season six works for me.

I agree, they are not involved sexually at this point. In fact, Scully thinks to herself in the shower scene that she had imagined herself doing what she was doing to Mulder's erection, but using her own hands not his. She wasn't masturbating, she was just washing up. He notes while gazing at himself in the bathroom mirror that he had seen her breasts before, thanks to those decontamination showers, just not up close. Definitely not sexually involved. I think their reactions to their new sex organs are very in character. Scully is in denial for as long as she can possibly maintain it. Mulder just wants to put his fingers where they don't really belong. Mulder is pretty open about sexuality, and he enjoys teasing her and making bad jokes. She doesn't rise to the bait. So to speak. Mulder is also more open to extreme possibilities, and seems to be enjoying the situation, apart from missing his dick. He is convinced that they'll solve the case (don't they always?) so he is mostly relaxed, once he ditches the pantyhose and high heels. Scully, not so much. Remember in Small Potatoes, when Mulder asks her who she would want to be, and she first answers herself? She can't even imagine wanting to be anyone else, let alone another sex.

Re: A cold fish in tropical waters...

[leucocrystal]

Ack, that entire second paragraph! Leave it to Super Wendy to sum my thoughts up more articulately than I managed to. ;) (In short, that's pretty much exactly what I was trying to say, but I stumbled over it a bit up there. I think this is why I feel the entire thing is very much in character, not just in PunkM's universe, but the one I recognize in my own head and on the screen.)

Heh, Mulder sticking his fingers where they don't belong. Was there any other icon I could possibly have used?

Re: A cold fish in tropical waters...

[amyhit.livejournal.com]

Mulder is pretty open about sexuality, and he enjoys teasing her and making bad jokes.

I’ve always seen mulder’s sexual humor and his vague come-ons as being protective, nay preventative, of ‘the real issue’. Not dissimilar to a class clown making a fool out of himself because he doesn’t know the answer to the real question. When, in the fic, he was making sex jokes while they were largely unfounded (‘i’d let you sleep with people in my body’) that seemed in character to me, but when he has actually seen Scully touching his/her penis (with some interest), i don’t believe he would be comfortable bringing it up. i see mulder’s capacity for denial to be just as deep as scully’s when it comes to he and scully's sexual (non) relationship. the denail just manifests differently in his case.

I think their reactions to their new sex organs are very in character.

I think their reactions to the organs are in character. I just don’t think the way they broach the subject with each other was exactly in character. Maybe in character within the fic.

You’re absolutely right about them not having had sex yet though. It’s pretty obvious once you go back and cite the sources. I guess it was just that brazenness they showed with each other that kept distracting me from the obvious.

And leucocrystal? That is positively the only icon you could have used. (i feel so crass;)

Re: A cold fish in tropical waters...

[leucocrystal]

I’ve always seen mulder’s sexual humor and his vague come-ons as being protective, nay preventative, of ‘the real issue’.
That I can see, but only up to a point (if that makes sense). I figure that after that many years, he's going to reach a place where he might (at least subconsciously) wish to try and almost provoke Scully into some form of action, if only because Mulder is almost always the aggressor in any steps forward they take. Still, I can see the other side of that too, of course.

Re: A cold fish in tropical waters...

[amyhit.livejournal.com]

Mulder is almost always the aggressor in any steps forward they take.

this is a bit off topic, but i'm so glad you happened to say this. I've been fretting with some character enneagram typing in the last day, and one of the things i was trying to understand for myself was that dominant/proactive vs. submissive/passive aspect of each of them and then how it related to their relationship. just hearing someone else call mulder the aggressor suggests i wasn't completely off base, because it is such a dicey subject.

I figure that after that many years, he's going to reach a place where he might (at least subconsciously) wish to try and almost provoke Scully into some form of action

there's such a wide array of ways that fanfic represents this potentially provocative period in mulder and scully's relationship arc. i'm not sure if i ever felt like mulder and scully reached that point, exactly, but there is certainly a precedent for it in fanfic, and i'm sure it could easily be argued that such (subtle) provocation was evident in the show. i'm not sure i've ever seen this subject adequately discussed in fandom, but i'd love to.

Re: A cold fish in tropical waters...

[leucocrystal]

It is very interesting, isn't it? As to enneagram typing, the very best breakdown of that sort (well, not exactly that type, but close -- rather, Meyers-Briggs) that I've ever seen of Mulder (who is a solid INFP) was done by bardsmaid, and you can read it here. I revisit it often.

That said, it is very interesting when you consider Mulder and Scully's relationship, and try and pin down who's dominant, who's submissive, and if one of them ever remains fixed in that position or not. I will point out a few obvious things, just in case: Scully, that we've seen in canon, has never initiated a kiss (though she comes close in The Truth). In FTF, she waits, absolutely still, and looks as though she's anxious, but will still allow Mulder to kiss her. Mulder is also the aggressor in Millennium, and in The Truth (when he walks to her and reaches for her).

I've always found this pattern quite interesting, considering Mulder's tendencies for self-flagellation and lack of self-confidence as to his worth as a friend, partner, and likely as something more. Then again, it is still in character, I think; Mulder is prone to leaps, both of logic and faith, and it seems that translates to other passions as well. ;)

Re: A cold fish in tropical waters...

[amyhit.livejournal.com]

i should mention that i did read bardsmaid's essay. i've been hearing about her fab meta since i first got into fandom and somehow have yet to check it out, so this essay was my first. it was very well supported and clear. i was impressed, and i think she's very right about mulder's character on almost all accounts. i'm not nearly as smitten by the MBTI as i am by the enneagram. something about the enneagram just clicked with me instantly. then again, the enneagram actually says that it will almost definitely be appealing to 5s, so there you go. there's such huge opportunity for extrapolation and interpolation in the enneagram, which is mainly what i love about it. i've been fretting with scully's type though. some time ago she was deemed(by myself and a few others) to be a 1, but... well, i still think she's a 1, i guess, but i see so much 6 in her. hmmm.

Re: A cold fish in tropical waters...

[leucocrystal]

I'm glad you enjoyed it! I do so enjoy her commentary. I can wade around in her site for hours sometimes, if I'm so inclined. She has a rather unique perspective when it comes to the (still) active part of the XF fandom, which is definitely refreshing to read at times.

As to MBTI vs. enneagram typing, I'm not partial to one over the other. (In fact, I'm not even sure what my own enneagram type is...) I do remember this particular essay about Mulder really clicking with me though, because it helped explain to me in another way why Mulder as a character comes so naturally to me and why I identify and sympathize with him so easily -- I'm an INXP (split literally down the middle between INTP and INFP), which is pretty much as close as you can be to Mulder's type without being quite the same.

Re: A cold fish in tropical waters...

[wendelah1]

I think my Enneagram typing is spot on, but my MBTI not so much. Since I took the full length version of the latter, and the internet version of the former, I would have expected the opposite.

As for Scully, reading through the section on misidentifying types, I think I would have to go with One.

Re: A cold fish in tropical waters...

[amyhit.livejournal.com]

between INTP and INFP

i'm an INTP! well, possibly and INTX, as the description of INTJs is very fitting for me as well.

I think my Enneagram typing is spot on, but my MBTI not so much.

my MBTI was pretty much as spot on as my enneagram was, but my MBTI didn't tell me anything that wasn't already obvious to me, versus my enneagram, which made sense of all kinds of eccentricities and anxieties and, and, and. i haven't taken the full versions of either though. one of these days, maybe. as to scully...

reading through the section on misidentifying types, I think I would have to go with One.

i was 99% positive when i was just reading that one website's descriptions, but then i took a few enneagram books out of the library and they went into more depth and had some differing perspectives on the types (not drastically different, just minor things) and suddenly it was almost an even tie between the two types. the thing that keeps me coming back to her being a 1 is the website's description of the relationship 1s have with 4s, because i've never heard anything that more exactly describes the mulder/scully relationship. the first time i read it my jaw literally dropped.

Re: A cold fish in tropical waters...

[wendelah1]

I totally agree. The One-Four relationship description is dead-on for Mulder and Scully, although the character that was confirmed for me in that was Mulder. What is interesting to me about the Enneagram is how complex it is and how it takes into account that people do change, for better or worse, and cope more or less effectively with adversity, at different points in their lives. The three directional part just makes so much sense, as does the idea of a wing. It's not that the MBTI is wrong, exactly, but it seems much more limited in its usefulness. Also, I much more resembled an INFP as a child, but am now closer to INFJ as an adult. This does not make sense, but the continuum described in the Enneagram does, and it's theory also fits why I have such a hard time settling on a description of myself in the first place. This is totally off-topic, isn't it (looks around to see we are at book_club, not a personal journal)? Sorry.