LogFAQs > #967799235

Now, at the start of this write-up, I called Aquazon one of the two characters whove made me actively hate them thus far in the campaign. To date, the only personal conversation Pepper has had with Aquazon is enough to earn that distinction from me. Things started out pleasantly enough, with Peppers usual shtick of trying to get friendly with a fellow teen and just putting on her best Ahm just a friendly Mormon smile. But then Aquazon got down to brass tacks, with what seems to be the focal point of her character. The world is fucked up and needs fixing. I agree, and were going to fight together to take down the Society. The existing systems led to this happening. Again, no argument here. Zatanna royally fucked us, and Pepper has a particular disdain for the government, due to personal matters. Checkmate is also part of the problem. Whoa now, hold on there a second.

For those of you reading this, if youve ever wandered into the Board 8 Politics Containment topics, you may have seen lengthy arguments in which I get increasingly furious with ChaosTony; not because I disagree with the core concepts behind his beliefs, but because I often feel like he ignores reality when it comes to what is required to achieve his goals, and misplaces blame for failure. With that in mind, Scarlet managed to capture the purest possible essence of THAT kind of interaction, when Pepper met Aquazon.

Aquazons whole deal is that the world sucks, adults fucked everything up, and its time for the youth to rise up and reshape the world to be a better place. On paper, I dont disagree with that, and Pepper certainly doesnt disagree with that. Hell, while Pepper may often times support the status quo, she also only unlocked her superpowers out of defiance for the unbalanced power of big pharma, and knows firsthand the corruption of the political system of 2007 America. She absolutely agrees that changes need to be made. However, she also understands that were facing an overwhelming evil, and perhaps ensuring their defeat should take priority. Aquazon wanting to lump Checkmate in for eradication with all the rest of the status quo, when Checkmate is the ONLY real bastion of resistance, did not sit right with Pepper at all.

Its at that point that Pepper, and myself by proxy, came to realize just how similar Aquazons mindset is the most infuriating aspects of the internet progressive movement (I am very sorry for bringing politics into this write-up, but its necessary to explain why Aquazon inspired such strong feelings). As we saw in Tokyo itself, Aquazon believes that the old guard should make way for the new guard. Thats not inherently a bad concept, but Aquazons vision of what that change should bring isnave at best, horrid at worst.

In terms of the campaign, we are fighting a many-pronged war against countless enemies, so bringing up the idea of tearing down the Checkmate structure in the middle of a war against OBVIOUSLY worse adversaries just felt short-sighted. Still, up to this point, I still found Aquazon more intriguing than obnoxious, so I tried shifting the subject. She wants to enact systemic change and cause a complete overhaul of the world to fix some inherent problems? Okay. You know what? Peppers fine with that. What fixes does Aquazon have in mind? Hmm. You hear that? Sounds like crickets chirping in the background. Yeah, Aquazons argument boils down to just tear everything down and I can be the face of the revolutionand someone else can come up with the solutions. Ugh.

I may get irritated at progressives sometimes, but at the very least, they have solid concepts behind what they want. They might completely ignore the reality of the world, but at least they have a goal. With Aquazon, theres no goal. Everything about her feels performative, which makes it impossible to take ANYTHING she says seriously. She just wants to be popular, and she JUST wants to be the face of a movement, because being the cover girl matters more to her than what she stands for. And for someone like Pepper, who genuinely wants to affect change, and has taken steps to actively do so, this is infuriating. And to make matters worse, by not immediately agreeing with Aquazon, Pepper was classified as old. Like wanting to have a rational plan is something to scoff at.

To craft such a bratty character takes skill, but beyond my personal interactions, Aquazon has continued her rivalry with Canary in Zonn Zorr. Aquazon basically wants to play the role of a J-Pop Idol, developing a following that way in order to show up Canary. I think it was literally the next scene she had an extended speaking role, after her conversation with Pepper, where she was playing a charity concert for the victims of the Kobra attack on Zonn Zorr. Despite badmouthing Checkmate, she immediately kissed their ass in her speech (which she gave in English, having learned just to show Canary up), leading to questions about whether its some scheme, or if Waller got in her ear, or what. But everything is petty with Aquazon, including making the effort to learn the phrase eat my ass, just to taunt Canary, so who knows where her end goals truly lie.

One final thing though, because Ive been harsh on Aquazon throughout this write-up. Yes, shes a brat, and yes, shes largely performative, but she still has the tiniest kernel of humanity to her characterization. After Big Science Action reigned supreme over Super Young Team, she and her father had a sort of reconciliation. And since he sent her to Zonn Zorr specifically to keep her safe (putting himself in harms way to protect Japan), Aquazon definitely has some internalized guilt. Occasionally it bubbles to the surface, like when she speaks with Minerva, but even those little bits help to soften a character who could easily be one-note and strictly detestable. I think thats enough for a top fifty-two placement, even if I still dont entirely like her.

Hint for #45: Has been an occupant of a holding cell.