Fic: Derivative

[ziplockbaggy]

Title: Derivative
Author: ziplockbaggy
Pairing: Leslie/Ben
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: ~2,030
Summary: Ben's thoughts and memories as he struggles post-breakup with Leslie, leading up to Smallest Park. There are times when his brain won’t quiet down and the only solution is to think back to his freshman year of calculus.
A/N: Ginormous thanks to bowlsohard for beta-ing

Comments

[americnxidiot]

oh this is so lovely. i love how you worked calculus into a fic and managed to make it very sweet and sad and ultimately romantic. i also love that andy not only ruined a waffle iron but made it potentially unsafe haha. thank you!

[ziplockbaggy]

Thank you so much! Calculus has always seemed oddly romantic to me so I was excited to try and work it into writing!

[bowlsohard]

I am so happy to see this surface! I would have been lucky to be the only one to read this, but I am glad it is being shared with the world! I think it is so sweet and smart. And also it is something I haven't already seen a variation of. Its truly unique. And I love nerds, so being able to step into the needy mind of Ben is just the best thing ever. Thank you fir sharing this!!

[ziplockbaggy]

Ahhh, thank you!! I got so busy with work and then of course I got nervous because I had never posted a Leslie/Ben fic and you guys are all such wonderful writers, that I just kind of gave up. But of course I love writing and I couldn't move beyond this idea so now that I've finally posted it my brain can think up some new ideas (hopefully!)
I can't resist going into the mind of nerdy Ben, it's definitely my favorite POV. Thank you so much!! Hope you don't mind if I poke you for BETA-ing if I come up with any other ideas. :')

[sullen_aquarian]

Sadly, the only thing I remember from calculus is the quadratic formula (the formula itself, not what it's used for). So I can't comment on the math, but I absolutely love that you included a sadness bath. Season 4 angst fic is my favorite fic of all, especially when it includes a lovely ending, like here.

[ziplockbaggy]

Oh man, I have definitely forgotten the majority of my calculus, so kudos on remembering that formula!! If I could incorporate a sadness bath into every story I write, I would. I'm a sucker for a sadness bath. And thank you so much!

[fickery]

I haven't read any Parks fic in a million years bc there's TOO MUCH and I have NO TIME, but I just marathoned S5 to catch up and this caught my eye. This is bittersweet and poignant and completely believable, and this sentence encapsulates perfectly how Ben's experiences have shaped him: Numbers don’t have feelings and numbers don’t exile you for making mistakes.

Lovely fic.

[ziplockbaggy]

I so understand that! There's so much great fic but so little time! I definitely feel that math would have been a great escape for young Ben post-Ice Town, so thank you!!

[courtknees1]

Aww this is great! Calculus has never given me feelings before, so that was quite an achievement on your part. It's nice to revisit some delicious angst, as great as it is to see our two favourites people happily married. Nice insight into Ben's sadness baths - and Orin taking April and Andy on an all night event = excellent. I'm sure whatever trouble he gets them into would be a whole different story.

This was lovely, thanks for sharing :)

[ziplockbaggy]

Wow, thank you so much! To know I made someone feel something other that hatred for calculus makes me feel proud. I always make myself sad writing angst, so I love to remind myself that they're happily married by marathoning some s5 episodes. :')