FF: Hand Me Downs (Part 2)

[cypanache]

Title: Hand Me Downs
Characters/Pairing:  Ann, Ben, Leslie; with some Ben/Ann and some background Ben/Leslie
Word Count: ~9,300 (this part); 30,000k+ total
Rating: R over the long term, PG13 this part
Timeline: Post 'Lil' Sebastian'
Author's Note: For those of you who've been reading this over on nbckink the new stuff will be posted in the next part

Comments

[lunamystik]

Ann is a character that I now realize is unfairly glossed over in the P&R fandom - at least in most Leslie/Ben fics I've read. She *is* often relegated to the sassy sidekick role, and your character study here proves that this is wrong. Ann is a rich character all on her own, and I really appreciate what you're doing with her here. Ben has been explored a lot more, but I'm a big fan of the way you portray him - so much so that I'm yet again rereading Snapshots...

[cypanache]

Thanks. Even though I'm pretty sure I started writing this because I had a story I wanted to tell for Ben in relation to the breakup but couldn't devise a Leslie/Ben storyline connected to it that didn't feel like a regurgitation of Snapshots, the more I worked on it the more I discovered there was really serious potential for character-story for Ann that wanted to be told. I've gone back and done a lot of rewatching of season 2 and 3 to find her voice and I feel like I'm meeting her as I'm writing her. There's so much to her that I actually think a lot of women can relate to, and I've been enjoying finding her.

[synecdoche]

Oh my goodness, you know how sometimes you just love something so much that there are no words? I'm in that situation now. I love how you've written Ann, here; she's such a rich character, the way you've presented her, and I love how you allow us to discover all these things about her with Ben. And, can I just say how incredibly you write Ben? He's just the right balance of conflicted and angry and yet the adorkable guy who is so easy to love.
Thank you so much for writing this -- I can't tell you how much I'm enjoying it. ♥

[cypanache]

Awww thank you, and thank you so much for reviewing. Whenever you write a unpopular pairing story like this it's always kind of a crapshoot whether anyone will even read it, let alone enjoy it. So your feedback means a lot. I've really been enjoying meeting Ann as I'm doing the character research for this story, and trying to find those aspects that she and Ben would connect over. And of course I always love writing Ben (as I said in my response above, I honestly started this because there was a post-breakup story I wanted to tell for him; meeting Ann like this has just been such a bonus)

[imabianca]

Ann is the best. I'm happy to see her here.