![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Open Review: A Box of Pearls by amanda91
Sep. 14th, 2012 02:07 amA Box of Pearls: FFN link | AO3 link
amanda91's profile: FFN | AO3
Jun from Avatar: The Last Airbender is hands down one of the coolest characters in the show. Not only is she a more than capable fighter in her own right, she also has a unique sidekick and asset in the form of a shirshu (an Avatar-style chimera that stole the snout from some poor star-nosed mole) that can find anyone in the world with its sense of smell.
She seems to enjoy Korra-levels of strength, emphasis on "enjoy."
Perhaps her defining characteristic, though, is that the lady don't give a damn. The backdrop and central problem in the show is a world war, a war that most of the cast is invested in one way or the other, but that's none of her business. She gets her money and lives her life, and that's enough for her. She helps out both sides of the conflict in "Bato of the Water Tribe" and "Sozin's Comet" arc respectively, and mostly for selfish reasons. She wants money in the first instance, and in the second, she presumably doesn't want to burn to death in Ozai's genocide (and was probably promised money). She's a Lovable Rogue much like Han Solo in the Star Wars movies, but unlike Han she doesn't get a character arc that puts her firmly on the side of the White Hats.
Enter![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
amanda_violet's one-shot fic A Box of Pearls and character arc with a vengeance. Pearls is an ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
atla_crackfic exchange story that Amanda wrote for amyraine, and I don't know about you but for me these two names by themselves are enough to catapult any project into the awesomesphere. It is also a Jun/Piandao story, which I'm guessing was Amy's request because Amy herself has written a story with that pairing called Can't All Be Heroes.
The strengths of Pearls lie in Amanda's skill in developing the central character in a believable and sympathetic way, giving the character new dimensions while keeping the qualities that make her interesting. Before I go into more detail I should note that I have kept the review spoiler-free, sticking to the content of the summary, but it may make more sense if you read the story first.
( Your mission, should you choose to accept it... )
Overall, I found A Box of Pearls to be a fascinating read about an interesting but unexplored canon character. The unusual pairing is also believable and made a part of the main character's development. Pacing and story structure need some work, but the story does a solid job of portraying character development and the struggle for healing in the post-war world. I highly recommend it.
amanda91's profile: FFN | AO3
Jun from Avatar: The Last Airbender is hands down one of the coolest characters in the show. Not only is she a more than capable fighter in her own right, she also has a unique sidekick and asset in the form of a shirshu (an Avatar-style chimera that stole the snout from some poor star-nosed mole) that can find anyone in the world with its sense of smell.
She seems to enjoy Korra-levels of strength, emphasis on "enjoy."
Perhaps her defining characteristic, though, is that the lady don't give a damn. The backdrop and central problem in the show is a world war, a war that most of the cast is invested in one way or the other, but that's none of her business. She gets her money and lives her life, and that's enough for her. She helps out both sides of the conflict in "Bato of the Water Tribe" and "Sozin's Comet" arc respectively, and mostly for selfish reasons. She wants money in the first instance, and in the second, she presumably doesn't want to burn to death in Ozai's genocide (and was probably promised money). She's a Lovable Rogue much like Han Solo in the Star Wars movies, but unlike Han she doesn't get a character arc that puts her firmly on the side of the White Hats.
Enter
amanda_violet's one-shot fic A Box of Pearls and character arc with a vengeance. Pearls is an atla_crackfic exchange story that Amanda wrote for amyraine, and I don't know about you but for me these two names by themselves are enough to catapult any project into the awesomesphere. It is also a Jun/Piandao story, which I'm guessing was Amy's request because Amy herself has written a story with that pairing called Can't All Be Heroes.The strengths of Pearls lie in Amanda's skill in developing the central character in a believable and sympathetic way, giving the character new dimensions while keeping the qualities that make her interesting. Before I go into more detail I should note that I have kept the review spoiler-free, sticking to the content of the summary, but it may make more sense if you read the story first.
( Your mission, should you choose to accept it... )
Overall, I found A Box of Pearls to be a fascinating read about an interesting but unexplored canon character. The unusual pairing is also believable and made a part of the main character's development. Pacing and story structure need some work, but the story does a solid job of portraying character development and the struggle for healing in the post-war world. I highly recommend it.
