Bookclub Discussion Post: January 2020

[st_aurafina]

Welcome to the Person of Interest Book Club! Your mods are st_aurafina and livenudebigfoot and this year we're hoping to read all of the 2018 Big Bang fics. Each month I'll link a new fic, and then towards the end of the month, I'll post some discussion questions in the hope of kicking off a conversation.

All fics are linked by permission of the authors, and the same goes for the art. (Thank you, creators!)

Let's kick this reading challenge off! Our first fic is "I think you're so good (i'm nothing like you)" by mulasawala, with art by bliphany seen below.

ETA: This fic is part two of an ongoing series, so if you haven't read learning to fall (don't try this at home), you might need to.



i think you're so good (i'm nothing like you) (20659 words) by MulaSaWala
Chapters: 18/18
Fandom: Person of Interest (TV)
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Harold Finch/John Reese, Grace Hendricks/Nathan Ingram, Harold Finch & Nathan Ingram, Harold Finch & Grace Hendricks, John Reese & Nathan Ingram, Grace Hendricks & John Reese
Characters: Harold Finch, John Reese, Grace Hendricks, Nathan Ingram, Jessica Arndt
Additional Tags: Romance, Dark John, or at least, as dark as I can make him, alive nathan ingram, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Angst, Mutual Pining, Podfic Welcome, I'm Bad At Tagging
Series: Part 2 of sometimes things fall apart (so better things can fall together)
Summary:

Harold was there when they first met, was in fact instrumental to the situation. After all, it had been his machine that pointed Grace out to them, to Nathan.

Not even a year later, he stood as best man to their wedding, wondering if he'd ever find someone to spend his life with.

Go forth and read! Here are some questions to bear in mind while you read:

1. What was your initial reaction to the fic? Were you immediately hooked, or did it take you a while to get into it?
2. What themes or style choices did you notice as you were reading the fic?
3. In what ways does the fic feel like canon? In what ways does it differ?
4. What was your favourite scene?
5. Which character did you relate to most and what was it about them that you connected to?
6. Did the fic change your perspective on an aspect of canon or a character?
7. Share a favourite quote or excerpt.
8. What did you think of the ending?
9. What are some questions you have for the author?


I'll check back in on the 14th with a reminder, then again on the 21st to start some discussion. I'll post the questions again in a shareable text box in that post. Then on the 1st of February, all going according to plan, we'll do it again with a new big bang fic.

Go forth, read and enjoy.

Discussion is now open!

Here's a handy-dandy box where you can cut and paste the questions. And don't forget to comment on the fic itself to let the author know you enjoyed it.

1. What was your initial reaction to the fic? Were you immediately hooked, or did it take you a while to get into it? 2. What themes or style choices did you notice as you were reading the fic? 3. In what ways does the fic feel like canon? In what ways does it differ? 4. What was your favourite scene? 5. Which character did you relate to most and what was it about them that you connected to? 6. Did the fic change your perspective on an aspect of canon or a character? 7. Share a favourite quote or excerpt. 8. What did you think of the ending? 9. What are some questions you have for the author?

Comments

[enemyofperfect]

1. What was your initial reaction to the fic? Were you immediately hooked, or did it take you a while to get into it? I'd say that the fic picked up for me with Grace's proposal, and then again when John and Harold finally met. I was never not interested, but those were moments when it drew me in more!

2. What themes or style choices did you notice as you were reading the fic? I really loved that it alternated between all four points of view -- it was fun to see different angles on the different characters, and on their mission too! As for themes... perhaps unsurprisingly, a lot of the emotional weight of the fic revolves around questions of happiness and romantic love. Can Harold give Jessica and John a "normal life" together? Is Harold's love for John reciprocated, and vice versa? There's even a fun contrast between how slowly they take their relationship, versus how quickly Grace and Nathan became an established couple.

3. In what ways does the fic feel like canon? In what ways does it differ? Hmm... it's like canon in all the great character moments where I can practically hear and see the characters saying their lines, and unlike canon in its greater focus on relationships rather than suspenseful plots of the week.

4. What was your favourite scene? I think I have to say just all of John and Harold's interactions when Harold is concerned about John after their fraught first meeting. So many feelings! John feels so awful about what he did, and Harold doesn't even realize that John is worried about Harold being out in the cold! It's so good!

5. Which character did you relate to most and what was it about them that you connected to? Definitely John, which isn't a surprise, since he's been the one I overidentified with pretty much from the start. But Grace also deserves a mention for her amused fondness for her boys and for being... in some ways the most peaceful or civilian out of the bunch, I guess.

6. Did the fic change your perspective on an aspect of canon or a character? I really enjoyed the way that this fic and its prequel explored aspects of Nathan's past that I'd never even really thought about! He totally seems like the son of privilege who grew up with certain expectations, and I love the particular way this fic sketched that in. The same is true of Grace -- in canon, we eventually learned a little bit about how deliberate a choice her optimism might have been, and I feel like this fic does a great job of building on that.

7. Share a favourite quote or excerpt. It's so hard to choose, but I think maybe my very favorite is:

But instead, Harold visibly relaxed, letting out a breath.

"It's you," Harold said. Like it was a good thing and not a nightmare made real.

Not saying a word, John continued to stand there, looming menacingly beside the bed, watching as Harold fell back into an easier sleep.

John didn't leave Harold's side for the rest of the night.

John is still thinking of his presence as inherently threatening! Even though he just saw Harold calm down when he saw him! But even though John is clearly having trouble wrapping his head around this, he understands enough to stay there the entire night in case Harold needs him again! It's such a great combination of self-loathing and absolute devotion.

8. What did you think of the ending? The marriage proposal is sweet, but I think it's the omake that I love best. Names have power in Person of Interest, and letting John be the one to name Harold Finch is such a unique way of expressing their love. ♥

9. What are some questions you have for the author? There were a couple of moments in the fic that made me wonder if they were notes left in from the editing process -- or rather, the first one, "(find another word for friends)", I thought was a really interesting stylistic choice, but then with the second one, "(achieved? gotten? I'm looking for a word that sounds like intended)", I wondered if I'd misunderstood. Which time was I right?

Digging a little deeper, what parts were hardest or easiest to write? And were there any scenes you were especially looking forward to writing, or the opposite?

Also, if it's not too annoying to ask, are you still planning to write a third fic? :D

ETA: This doesn't exactly tie in with any of the questions, but I have to say that the constructed reality gifs were so awesome too! It took me a little while to even realize how cleverly pieced together they were to fit the fic, which I think says something about how natural and well made they are. So well done bliphany as well as MulaSaWala!

[st_aurafina]

Oh, yes, the art was fantastic - Bliphany picked the scenes so carefully, it gave such a good feel for the atmosphere of each scene. So good!!

(Shall I put some questions in for the artist next month? Or maybe relating art to fic? I didn't think of it till now...)

[enemyofperfect]

Ooh, I do like the idea of having some questions about the art! Some people will probably have more to say about words than about pictures or vice versa, but the relationship between art and fic could be really interesting to explore...

[talkingtothesky]

It's such a great combination of self-loathing and absolute devotion.
^^^ Yes, this. Oh, Reese.

Also YES I forgot to mention how absolutely fitting bliphany's gifs are. They give me a taste of the utter magic of having Nathan and Grace in the same scene, which we never got from canon, and then the gif of John holding the photo of Jessica...oooof. Just layers upon layers of feels.

[livenudebigfoot]

I meant to get more into this in my own discussion post and totally failed to but yessss re: Grace's Proposal and the goodness of it as an early event. It's instantly charming, it sold me on Grace/Nathan right out of the gate and it sets the stage for Harold's own emotional state.

[enemyofperfect]

It's so simple and sweet and so Grace, and Nathan just falls even more head over heels for her in that moment. I love it.

[mulasawala]

There were a couple of moments in the fic that made me wonder if they were notes left in from the editing process -- or rather, the first one, "(find another word for friends)", I thought was a really interesting stylistic choice, but then with the second one, "(achieved? gotten? I'm looking for a word that sounds like intended)", I wondered if I'd misunderstood. Which time was I right?

Omg, yes, those are leftover notes from writing / editing! I don’t know if anyone remembers the time when we were posting these, but it was really photofinish for me! Had to ask for an extension and barely made it even then! A bunch of scenes also had to get cut, etc. you’re looking at a very streamlined version, and it was thanks a lot to my beta that i finished at all!



Digging a little deeper, what parts were hardest or easiest to write? And were there any scenes you were especially looking forward to writing, or the opposite?

Oh yes! You might say that those scenes came to me first, and the rest of the fic had to be built around them. In much the same way, this fic was in my head first, before the prequel of Nathan and Grace getting together! I can’t remember the specific parts now, but one of them was the scene in the subway, where John think Harold was the one who killed Jessica!

Also, if it's not too annoying to ask, are you still planning to write a third fic? :D

There is one in the works! I think. Idk how long it will take new but for now it’s still in my plan to write it!

[enemyofperfect]

Oh wow, I'm even more impressed now I know you were in such a rush to get it finished. And omg, that scene in the Subway was so intense, no wonder you wanted to get to it! ♥_♥ I'm so thrilled you're still hoping to write a third installment, too!

[st_aurafina]

1. What was your initial reaction to the fic? Were you immediately hooked, or did it take you a while to get into it?
I got right into it - Nathan's easy-going teasing of Harold was great, and the novelty of Nathan being so smitten by Grace was a good hook to make me keep reading.


2. What themes or style choices did you notice as you were reading the fic?
Mula tends to jump ahead in the plot and skip extraneous moments, so that by the time you've loaded the next chapter, the plot is galloping ahead really fast. It made for a really energetic pace of story telling.


3. In what ways does the fic feel like canon? In what ways does it differ?
For all the changes (Nathan and Jess live, Grace is actively involved in the numbers), the characterisation is really strong, and the conversations felt very aligned with canon that way.


4. What was your favourite scene?
I was very into the scenes where John has gotten involved with the numbers - he's so appalled by the amateur efforts. He and Grace prod Harold into doing actual rehab. YES GOOD. (Also - "Resting serial killer face" omg)


5. Which character did you relate to most and what was it about them that you connected to?
I think Grace? I trust Mula to write an artist character well, and we had a lot of little peeks into life as an artist. I loved it when Bear ate the paintbrush that had just been broken in right - it's little details like this that flesh out a character, and Mula nails it with Grace.


6. Did the fic change your perspective on an aspect of canon or a character?
It definitely made me more positive towards virgin!Harold - his extreme over-preparation was so ridiculously in character. Ahahah. Poor John.


7. Share a favourite quote or excerpt.
I did like that Nathan almost had to call his child Wilhelmina. That was a crack up. But most of all I loved the moment when John realised that this was his family. I am a sucker for when John realises that people actually love him and want to protect him.


8. What did you think of the ending?
I could do with more? Especially new dad Nathan and Will's strange but loving uncles. But it finished in a very happy place, and that was extremely satisfying.


9. What are some questions you have for the author?
Hey Mula! Did being an artist make it easier to write Grace, or give you some extra insight into the character?

[enemyofperfect]

I'm just reading through your comment like yes, yes, yes. The AU characterization is great, John's horror at their amateur operation was hilarious, the bit about the paintbrush being broken in was such a good detail, Harold would absolutely include dental dams in his safer sex kit! And aww, now I'm so wanting young Will with his weird uncles too...

[st_aurafina]

Harold would absolutely include dental dams in his safer sex kit!

Right? With only the most theoretical idea of how they could be used, too. He is such a completist.

[mulasawala]

John absolutely was horrified! Canon Harold does a great job hiding this i think, because he’s just so secretive in general, but like, I thought John assumed that Harold had more agents before he got to know Harold? Idk :P

[talkingtothesky]

It definitely made me more positive towards virgin!Harold

Teehee! I enjoyed this exploration of that headcanon too. Poor Nathan being used as their stop word, though. He'd rather be the opposite!

[st_aurafina]

Right? Nathan would rather be a go word than a stop word!

[livenudebigfoot]

Mula tends to jump ahead in the plot and skip extraneous moments, so that by the time you've loaded the next chapter, the plot is galloping ahead really fast.

Thank you for putting this into words; as I was reading the fic I was like "OH THIS. THIS IS WHAT I SHOULD BE DOING." It's such smart, economical cutting of faff, and it made for a really awesomely-paced story

[st_aurafina]

It definitely was a lesson! I have to remember that it doesn't matter how the charaters get to where they need to be for the next stage. I can be a bit more cinematic, and smash cut to the next scene like mula has.

[mulasawala]

Hey Mula! Did being an artist make it easier to write Grace, or give you some extra insight into the character?

Hello also!
Yes! Writing Grace was a challenge for me, because there’s so little canon to lean on, and i felt a lot of the time that i was projecting too much ahaha

The brush thing was a thing that happened to me in real life, actually! And i thought it would be funnier if Bear did not have a taste for high priced books, but high priced art materials! Harold and Nathan can buy new ones, but to Grace, it’s not the saaaaaaame

[talkingtothesky]

1. What was your initial reaction to the fic? Were you immediately hooked, or did it take you a while to get into it?

I was very excited when I read the premise in the summary in Mula's Big Bang sign up, and when I read a snippet while she was working on what turned out to be Chapter 8. On full read through...I think I'm just really pleased and comforted by this version of events. The three of them handling numbers, and being exposed to some violence, but not haunted by huge personal tragedies. I still find it a little odd for Grace to refer to 'her husband' and mean Nathan, not Harold, but knowing we'll get Rinch later more than makes up for that. The moment I realized I was hooked was a brilliant scene in Chapter 5 when Machine PoV appears and starts reorganizing Harold's candidates, then identifies Casey as the common factor needed to bring Reese and Finch into each other's orbits. After that I was especially looking forward to John entering the story - from a plot angle as well as for shippy reasons.

2. What themes or style choices did you notice as you were reading the fic?

What the title ('you're so good') seems to hint at is a perceived inequality within the couples? This self-doubt of course turns out to be baseless when it's clear that everyone just has different strengths and weaknesses. This goes hand in hand with Rinch and mutual pining. The overall series title ('better things fall together') becomes especially apparent in Chapter 9. Jessica seeing what CIA Reese is capable of and hardly recognizing him. John/Jess is over, John/Harold have just met. I might have wallowed in the angst there, but Mula chooses lightness, and the tone grows ever brighter from that point on.

3. In what ways does the fic feel like canon? In what ways does it differ?

It borrows from canon quite a bit! I love when AUs do this. We get Leon and Bear (2x01), then Number Crunch, then Identity Crisis, then High Road. Reordered, so the relationship arcs work with this alternate first meeting. The thought that's clearly gone into having all that make sense is one of the coolest things about this fic. 'What kind of progression do I want to see, and how can I use canon to explore those emotional landmarks', is how it reads to me. It differs in the way it uses tropes more overtly than canon might.

4. What was your favourite scene?

I'm predictable, but it has to be Chapter 15, drugged Harold mistaking Nathan for John and trying to sit in his lap. This heartbreaking moment from canon is reframed so it's completely hilarious. Best line from this scene: John tried not to let the sight of Harold cuddling the folded blanket like a plush toy distract him. Adorable.

5. Which character did you relate to most and what was it about them that you connected to?

I expected to answer John or Harold to this question, but it was Grace.

Grace continued to be too busy petting Bear to be bothered.

That is me. If there is a dog in the room, I have filtered out all conversation around me and am shamelessly giving all my attention to said dog.

6. Did the fic change your perspective on an aspect of canon or a character?

Yeah, John! It made me wonder how truthful Reese is being when he says to Quinn in 3x10 "I didn't like them suffering."

In Chapter 9 we get: he was toying with his captive, relishing the fact that he'd started to cry

And that made me think of the blowtorch scene in...S1, I think? Where he burns that guy's money? And dangling people off rooftops with a grin? There must be more examples I can't think of right now. If we could see inside John's mind during those scenes, what would we find? How similar to Kara can he get?

7. Share a favourite quote or excerpt.

(If John enjoyed putting Nathan through hell, well, that was just his secret, wasn't it? It was just so fun to listen to Nathan gripe, sweat pouring down his forehead, because "I'm not joining the army John, jesus christ,")

I am so happy with any scene that has Nathan and John talking to each other, and I could hear Nathan's voice so clearly. He gets a lot of great lines in this fic, but this one was my favourite.

8. What did you think of the ending?

!!! I am absolutely in favour of John changing his last name to Finch. All the squishy good OTP feels.

9. What are some questions you have for the author?

Are there plans for Part 3 of this series in 2020?

[st_aurafina]

The three of them handling numbers, and being exposed to some violence, but not haunted by huge personal tragedies.

Yes, I liked that too - they were a really strong team together, and about the best amateur problem solvers I could imagine. Happy team!

I loved the training scenes too - Nathan's voice was excellent!

[enemyofperfect]

What the title ('you're so good') seems to hint at is a perceived inequality within the couples? This self-doubt of course turns out to be baseless when it's clear that everyone just has different strengths and weaknesses. This goes hand in hand with Rinch and mutual pining.

Oh, this is so true and so well said! I also love your point about the deft handling of canon events to serve the arc of the fic. And the Machine's priority of introducing John to Harold really was so good.

[mulasawala]

Don’t know about 2020! If January is an indicator, the year promises to be extremely packed! But when i was writing the initial notes of what would turn out to be a large project, i had a trilogy planned! So there are some Part 3 notes in my gdrive :D

[livenudebigfoot]

1. What was your initial reaction to the fic? Were you immediately hooked, or did it take you a while to get into it?
I fell into it pretty quickly. I haven't read the first fic in the series, so I didn't quite have context for what was initially happening, but the emotional landscape is really accessible from the very beginning. Nathan and Grace are together and happy, Harold's feeling alone, and while all three of them are committed to the mission, they feel outclassed and ill-equipped to take on the threats they're facing (hence the need for John). I thought it flowed really well.

2. What themes or style choices did you notice as you were reading the fic?
Sky also touched on this, but the theme of characters trying to be better people for their partners was one that stood out. Everyone - from Nathan and Grace in their stable and happy relationship, to John and Jess in their already-kind-of-over relationship, to John and Harold in their new, uncharted territory relationship - is consumed with the question of whether they're good enough for their partner. Also, from a stylistic perspective, I found the occasional switch from standard narrative to choppier sections that are closer to third person omniscient to be very interesting.

3. In what ways does the fic feel like canon? In what ways does it differ?
This feels a lot like canon! As an AU enthusiast (enthAUsiast?), I read a lot of AUs from slight canon divergence to full character and setting transplants, and this almost feels like a straight-up remix. Even though the characters are in such different situations, the character elements are all there and the fun is in how these familiar things - people, settings, events, dialogue - are rearranged and reflected in the context of this new normal. And that carries all the way through to Bliphany's gifs, which re-purpose scenes from canon to bring the fic to life in such a clever way.

4. What was your favourite scene?
The one where Harold runs down the street after John in just a coat. I really when an extremely dramatic scene has an element of absurdity or silliness to it, and that scene really did it for me.

I was also really charmed by the scenes where John and Nathan are Workout Buddies; I thought they had adorable chemistry and would have enjoyed seeing them hang out more.

5. Which character did you relate to most and what was it about them that you connected to?
Definitely Grace. She was my MVP for this fic, no question, which was a really fun surprise because Grace isn't a character I usually feel much kinship with. She feels out of her depth, but she really wants to help, she's confident in the people around her, and she's eager to evolve as the situation requires. Also, her little asides are often really insightful, charming, and funny. "Resting serial killer face" got me good.

6. Did the fic change your perspective on an aspect of canon or a character?
Piggybacking off my last response, Grace isn't a character I'm drawn to in canon, but I loved her in this and I think you tapped into a proactivity that was already present in the character, but never got much screentime in canon. On a similar note, Nathan/Grace wasn't a relationship I'd ever considered before, but their relationship was very sweet and they had great chemistry; I'm totally sold on them.

7. Share a favourite quote or excerpt.
The next morning found a Harold who wanted to crawl into a hole and die. Mortification paralyzed him, rendering him unable to move. Maybe if he was very quiet, John wouldn't see him. Like a fictional dinosaur.

tee hee

8. What did you think of the ending?
Happy and upbeat! The idea of Reese taking Finch's name is pretty darn adorable. Also, I somehow totally missed that nobody called Harold "Finch" ever in the whole fic before that point so I was like WHOOOOOOOOA.

9. What are some questions you have for the author?
Hiiiiii Mula! My questions are: What is your favorite scene in the fic? What is the most important scene in the fic? Are they the same?

[talkingtothesky]

As an AU enthusiast (enthAUsiast?)
:DDD I think you just coined a new word! Very useful word.

you tapped into a proactivity that was already present in the character
Oooh, I love that. She can counter Harold's indecisiveness.

I loved the Reese-as-dinosaur moment too! So many funny lines, omg.

I also did not notice nobody used 'Finch' until I read enemyofperfect's comment.

[enemyofperfect]

The one where Harold runs down the street after John in just a coat. I really when an extremely dramatic scene has an element of absurdity or silliness to it, and that scene really did it for me.

And Harold was so scandalized by himself, too! Harold, I can't believe you're showing all of New York your delicate ankles!

I can't believe that I forgot to comment on how adorable it was for John and Harold to share their new last name. I have a secret weakness for guys changing their names when they get married, and John really, really would.

[mulasawala]

Hi Bigfoot! <3

I’m so happy you like Grace in this, since she’s the one who we knew about the least, i felt like I was going into OC territory! Which is not a bad thing in a fic, just not an area I am usually comfortable with, particularly when that character is a central one to the fic!

I FELT SUCH SATISFACTION WITH THE FINCH REVEAL. I realized that he wasn’t Finch yet at the end of the first part of the series, I’m think, and I was like. Omg, that’s it, that’s going in as part of the ending of the second piece.

It’s super hard to pick a favorite! But one scene I enjoyed was turning the drugged Harold scene from something sad into something fun and happy. Nathan as a safe word happened organically while i was writing it, and i thought it was absurd and funny and I’m glad i kept it