st_aurafina (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
st_aurafina) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
poi_fanworks2020-01-01 08:48 pm
st_aurafina) wrote in poi_fanworks2020-01-01 08:48 pm
Entry tags:
Bookclub Discussion Post: January 2020
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
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.
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.
no subject
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:
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
no subject
(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...)
no subject
no subject
Idk how gif making works, but they’re so magical. Looking at them feels like the fic is coming to life!
no subject
^^^ 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.
no subject
no subject
no subject
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!
no subject
no subject