Fic: Starvation (Leslie POV)

[stiffleaves]

Title: Starvation (Leslie POV)
Fandom: Parks and Recreation
Pairing: Leslie/Ben
Rating: NC-17
Word count: ~10,100
Summary: My answer to the question: "How do we get from the breakup in I'm Leslie Knope to 'I miss you like crazy, I think about you all the time, so let's just say screw it' in Smallest Park?"
Notes: Written for the Behind Closed

Comments

[princess_george]

Hey, I really like the changes you've made! And you know I love this - I think the first-person works splendidly, especially for this timeframe where she was lying to herself, or at least trying to, for so much of it. Such a frustrating frustrated headspace it must have been to spend time in...

[stiffleaves]

Thank you! I actually kind of love this headspace. It is a little frustrating, because she's not very aware of many things nor at all self-aware for much of this, but in the end, I think it's such a crucial development for the character. I always thought Leslie had never seemed so mature as she does when she tells Ben "let's just say screw it".

[princess_george]

I think you're totally right about that. It's a great moment for her to stand there, on her two feet, and say that. She can be in a bit of a fantasyland sometimes (eg in Campaign Ad), and it often works for her (eg in Go Big or Go Home), but when she can ground herself and do something brave, that's even better, I think.

[missnumbat]

I'm not normally a fan of first person, but I love this. I think it's written amazingly well, and, even though I knew that it would all work out in the end, I was still feeling so sad for Leslie.

[stiffleaves]

Thank you so much! That's really great to hear.

[sunnyday678]

This is SO well done. Seriously. This is some master-class level angsty writing. First person, how you detailed her spiral downward, the scenes where she's alone in her bed... And you even had comedic moments (my favorite was how Howser is never in his office and that's why Leslie always bumps into him). Wow, I'm in awe.

[stiffleaves]

Oh, thank you so much! Wonderful. I love that you noticed some of the comedy I tried to inject, not just the full blast of angst.

[prof_buzzkill]

I never knew there could be some much PATHOS in capitalization.
My heart.

[stiffleaves]

In capitalization? I'm ... confused.

[prof_buzzkill]

Leslie's
Couldn't / couldn't
always, Always
internal debate.

I am a sucker for expressive grammatical decisions.

This piece was wonderful.

[stiffleaves]

Oh, I see! Hah. THANKS!

[neeems]

I usually dislike first person fics but it works superbly here, especially during the time where she's in denial. Several people already mentioned it, but the scene where Leslie compares herself to Shauna brought tears in my eyes. Oh, Leslie...

The whole thing is amazingly well written, but this last paragraph... Perfect.

[stiffleaves]

Thanks so much! I'm glad you enjoyed it, and especially glad you managed to enjoy it in spite of or because of the narration. Yeah, the scene with Shauna is a little nasty. But, as I said above, I think that's a very human way to think, in comparisons.