Archived fic rec - The Old Switcheroo

[sakura_no_miko]

Title: The Old Switcheroo

Author: hollycomb

Fandom: Star Trek ('09)

Rating: NC-17

Pairing: Kirk/Sulu/Chekov

Warnings: explicit sex (gay), threesome, polyamory, jealousy issues, body swapping issues (although consent is given)

Other notes: kink meme fill, body swap, transporter accident

Length: 10k

Summary: Kirk and Chekov switch bodies because of a transporter accident. One thing leads to another.

My thoughts:

 

I actually had to take a break halfway through Whatever A Moon has Always Meant to switch to something that seemed less angsty.

Oh, I thought this was just a PWP. But like I said yesterday, hollycomb is one of my favorite Sulu/Chekov writers, and this is a delicious blend of sex and angst.

I admit, when I read polyamorous relationships, I really love studying the relationships and how they differ–the dynamic between Sulu and Chekov versus the dynamic between Sulu and Kirk, for example, the stress between Kirk and Chekov, the inequalities that exist. (My polyamory tag is fit to burst with stories like these–Paradise, Dirty Little Secrets, Nothing Worth Having, and Five Rules, to name a few.) I like this idea of a relationship where Sulu is having two very different needs met with both of his partners, but I also understand why that makes him feel uncomfortable, why it triggers jealousy in Chekov and despair in Kirk.

I–well, if we’re going to get in to personal details, I’m bisexual myself, so I understand that concept of seeing different things in different people. Men have some attributes, women have others, and plenty of people don’t identify as either. Yet, by and large, monogamy is still the dominant thought in my culture. You’re supposed to find that one person who fulfills all of your needs. And I think that’s somewhat misguided. If nothing else, in my experience, it’s good to have friends and colleagues beyond your loved one(s). You can love someone who, say, doesn’t share a hobby you’re passionate about, and you shouldn’t feel guilty about going out with people who do enjoy that hobby.

Granted, since this is a polyam–actually, no. No, as this fic begins, this really is about Chekov and Sulu thinking they’re monogamous, or at least that they should be monogamous. Kirk is treated as a hanger-on, which accounts for his angst, and this is about them accepting that adding a third person in is fine, and doesn’t make their relationship any less. I think it’s this idea that monogamy should be the most prized, ideal relationship that sets all the angst in motion in this fic.

But I blather on.

I do admit that keeping track of who-was-who was a little odd, since the author names by body rather than by the mind inhabiting it. I mean, you can tell Kirk’s voice from Chekov’s quite well, but every so often I’d get a line that sounded like it could go either way. Of course, that’s probably intentional.

Did I mention there’s porn and a lot of dirty talk and some delightful D/S vibes? ‘Cuz there’s that too.

Anyway, this will probably be the lightest story this week, since tomorrow we’re heading back to character death.

 

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Originally posted on tumblr on 04/28/13