#pokemon Insurgence Rewrite

[fangaminghell]

On the idea that Taen and East are brothers:

There's exactly a 9 year age difference between the two

If I go with the " East's family used to be rich before falling into ruin" idea, East being the oldest probably had a lot of expectation on his shoulders. Taen probably often saw East working, even at a young age.

I still think East cared for his brother, but in general was incredibly busy.

I think East's parents were....not the best people. Probably had shady dealings with the underground, and were more focused on maintaining their status than their children.

However, when they did pay attention to their children, it was usually bc they were of some use to them. East was the heir to the family name, and Taen was growing to be a scientific prodigy. Their goal was to mold them into something useful.

This goal grew as their status started to decline - they were desperate, and needed their sons to be something spectacular.

Okay, this slightly contradicts my last point but another idea: What if Taen was a bastard child? And the only thing that is keeping him in the mansion was that he was a science prodigy. Of course, he was hidden from the public because that would be horrible for press. Not that it mattered. But maybe they blamed Taen for their downfall.

Continuing this train of thought: East was probably the only one remotely kind to Taen, but like I said before, his parents were trying to mold him into the perfect heir, and thus was taken away from Taen for a time. Still, East tried to be there for his brother. Tried to, anyway.

I think at some point, Taen runs away.

When the family was finally, truly in ruin, the parents pretty much ran off, leaving East to clean up their mess. If Taen didn't run away before, he definitely would have done so then.

The reason that I thought of Taen being East's half brother was their eyes. Sure one parent could have had golden yellow eyes, but I think it's interesting if those eyes were someone else's.

Plus, if Taen was well known already, it would make him joining Reukra harder, as in it could bring some unwanted eyes. But if he was the bastard son of some rich family that was kept hidden - then yeah, I think it would be more compelling and easier to hide.

East does not know what happened to his brother. Maybe he finds out when trying to conduct business for Jaern, but overall, with the position he was placed in, East couldn't really afford to look for Taen.

As for Taen - I imagine he would be in his teens when he first meets Reukra, who would either still be in college or freshly out of it. Taen would have also known Harmony and Anastasia, though was much more loyal to Reukra who he felt understood him most.

Taen kinda sees Reukra as a father, but knows it isn't really reciprocated, and is generally okay with following orders, wanting to impress the older man. As he gets older, his dreams become a bit bigger though.

Aaaaand....yeah! I like this idea, and adding the half-brother's bit was pretty fun. Thoughts?

[the-new-torren-region]

also ok i’ve actually realised what made the insurgence cults not hit as hard as they could have

like. ok. they don’t really act like cults?? especially the leaders. they act just like evil teams who really want a specific legendary. i think this is really exemplified by jearn saying

“come forth and serve me!” to rayquaza.

i think it would have hit a lot harder if they properly worshipped their legendaries. with jearn i understand if he more just wanted rayquaza’s power, but with persephone for example, nothing about her personality or fighting style screams darkrai

idk. bit of an incoherent ramble but it’s something i wanna implement more

[fangaminghell]

I'm still working on East's design for my au overall, but here's one that I like!

Work and off work ig :P

[fangaminghell]

Fr tho I wasn't expecting East to become a character I would latch on to. Like months ago he was a character I had no idea for and he's my poor old blorbo who's just trying to get his job done, while also being in a abusive.... relationship? With Jaern who only holds things that East holds dear above his head, and East himself still having just the tiniest feelings for. All of which he only ends up getting sacrificed to Rayquaza, despite all of his efforts to stay on Jaern's good side, despite trying so hard to survive. Like this poor man.

Please get this man on vacation. I don't think he's ever been on vacation.

[fangaminghell]

I keep giving Jaern all these relationships man.

Jaern - Adam: One sides love/obsession/ hatred.

Jaern - Zenith: Weird homoerotic " I am smarter and better than you" but Zenith honestly has more of the sauce than Jaern will ever will and loves to taunt him about it.

Jaern - East: Honestly just abusive. Jaern has all the power here and knows it.

[fangaminghell]

Rewrite! Nora and that mysterious non canon oc I keep thinking about ( will she get out of purgatory and become canon? Who knows...)

Fun lil fact: for the majority of the rewrite Nora has her hair in a ponytail and her face tends to hide behind her cap. For practicality and making herself feel more hidden. Though at some point she realizes she doesn't have to hide anymore - mainly bc the cult leaders now know who she is and she has to face them head on anyway. So she ends up ditching the hat, allowing herself to wear something more bright. Still something practical and easy to move in, but also something to show how far she's come - not letting her own paranoia and anxiety get the best of her. She's not alone anymore! She has people she can trust and rely on! They will save Torren! And yeah! That's when she starts wearing her hair down more akin to her canon design, though very much not having the glaring The Girl issue.

Tangent time: I feel like Nora's canon design doesn't fully tell us what her character is like? Yeah, she kinda looks like Celebi with the colors, but what is she like! Like she looks like your standards girly girl, which is fine, but the plot of the game never really showcases that? It could have been fun " I look like this, but there's a lot more to me than that" story line. But they don't , alas. And to be clear, I don't hate how she looks canonically, nor do I think every character design has to be super intentional - sometimes to want a character to look cool. But with the context of Nora throughout the story, it becomes glaringly obvious that she's The Girl of our main character trio. Damian is able to have a character design change as he grows as a character, but Nora doesn't? What about her design reflects this smart, albeit competing girl that takes her role seriously? Again, it's not bad that she's designed the way she is, but the design and how Nora actually acts is kinda disconnected imo. Of course, that's just me, and I am by no means an expert here.

Rewrite! Nora's first design was pretty much made with her changes: she's a much more experienced trainer, and has been training for years now. She is VERY aware of the danger she could be in, hence why wears muted colors and wears her cap the way she does. Her outfit is meant for traveling and laying low- however, one thing that kinda breaks that is her ankle warmers. They aren't exactly the most practical thing out there, but I when designing her with picrew I genuinely just thought it was cute and gave her design more shape. So why not that be the reason for Nora? She thought it was cute, so she wore it. It isn't that outlandish to have eyes on her anyway. All in all, her initial design is meant to be very closed off- obviously of someone who has things to hide and of someone who is a bit more experienced. Nora is someone who feels like the weight of the world is on her shoulders, and for so long has felt alone in her mission. Even when she finds more people like her, she's still wary, hell probably even more stressed bc she doesn't want the two newbies to get caught ( especially Damian). She doesn't really allow herself to indulge in things she likes bc it means not focusing on her own survival. I cannot stress how stress this girl is for the majority of the plot in my rewrite. She is stressed. I think a very simple way of saying it is that Nora's first design is pretty much showing how she's surviving but not living. That's what happens when you're 16 and the world is on your shoulders.

Man, I was not expecting to ramble about Nora here. I kinda feel bad for our mystery of, but uh. She doesn't even have a name sooooooooo. She'll be fine.

Picrew used ( not an invitation for a reblog chain)

[fangaminghell]

What do you think of Nyx/ what did you change?

Nyx is interesting bc I genuinely enjoyed her character in the base game of Insurgence. My reading of her was that she was a leader who was simply trying to give her people a better life. Of course, in doing that, she would have to destroy another, but the way her dialogue is worded, to me, she seems like this is a burden that weighs on all of them, not just her. I think she was pretty well written for what very little we got from her, and what was supposed to be the villainese pulling the strings from the very beginning. Also just the fact that her people didn't really do anything wrong, and yet were punished, is a big injustice that drives her. To me.

In my rewrite, I simply amplify the way I saw her in the base game. Nyx is a leader, one that only wishes for her people's suffering to end. But despite her powers, she can't exactly do that on her own- Giratina knows she tried. The most she can do is pierce through time and space just enough for her own influence to be known, but again, never enough to really do anything for her people. And thus, she does what she does best: Manipulation. Zenith was her main puppet, a fool who blindly agreed to her deal, not even thinking of the possibility that once he does what she wants, he will die. But hey, it worked out for her. Years later, when Diana and Peresphone's mother dies, The Oracle died with her.....until Nyx picked them up, and made them part of her plans. Throughout history, Nyx had a hand in something. Or at least that's the plan. I need to flesh out her powers better because uh. She brought Zenith back to life with powers, she brought The Oracle, a magical being, back to life despite their real Creator being dead. And in a moment I'm going to talk about an idea that isn't fully canon to this rewrite, but something i'm still fond of- she ( potentially) has the ability to enter dreams and converse with people there. Nyx is powerful, so I'm trying to figure out what exactly she can do- what her people can do, and what are the limits. The limits are very important.

Going back to that idea I mentioned, I will say this. Nyx is a leader. She can be and will be cruel and calculating. Her heart is for her people and their lives, and she will do anything to get them their due happiness. But Nyx is also kind. Maybe a bit maternal. For all her manipulation, she is someone you can have pleasant conversation. She is someone who listens and offers advice, or do what she can. Despite knowing what she's doing is wrong, she pities the child before her that has to stop her. Because it's not fair, is it? None of it was ever fair. For that, she is sorry. And alllll of this is shown, well, I hope to show, but there's no guarantee, in her interactions with Nora. Nora in my rewrite is very different that the Nora in canon, and I don't want to spend too long gushing about her, but know this. She goes through a lot. She lost her parents, is the oldest of the Damian and Yancy( my protag), not to mention having been a Chosen One the longest of the three. She is stressed beyond herself, especially as things start to ramp up. While she isn't the one who ends up stopping everything, Nora is a girl with the world on her shoulders, and is so close to breaking. And then she has a dream. A dream with what she believes is a woman- her physique is literally nothing she ever seen before. Nora is suspicious, obviously, but can't exactly seem to will the mystery woman away. So the two chat. Nyx's goal was to manipulate Nora into joining her, as Nora has a big sense of justice, and is, to be blunt, someone more reliable compared to Damian and Yancy. But the more they talked, the more things changed. Nora, once suspicious, grew lively, and....kinda saw Nyz as a mother figure. Nyx, who simply wanted to manipulate Nora, grew fond of the young girl. They would talk, debate, or Nora would just rant about her day. it was....nice. Very nice. But again, Nyx isn't the type to deter from her goal. But her fondness of Nora made her heart ache more, knowing what she would end up in when Nyx succeeds. When the time comes, Nyx tells Nora everything. Everything. All to give Nora a choice. Help and join her people, or fight for her home. Nora, who hates injustice , but loves her home, chooses to not help Nyx. That's when the dreams end. And yet despite that, despite Nyx losing in the end, she can't help but be proud of Nora. She thinks Nora's mother would have been proud to see the person she has become. She really, truly means that.

In general, if I continue with this idea in the rewrite, Nora and Nyx's relationship would be so fascinated. Both are people who would do anything for those they love, those who have their respective worlds on their shoulders, all accommodating into this loving yet tragic mother daughter relationship. Nora having to grapple with the fact that Nyx was the cause of everything, the domino effect leading to the death of her parents, or so many others....and yet being someone she could have confided in, someone she looked up to. All wrapped under the injustice that Nyx's people, before everything, before the manipulation, literally did nothing wrong. That injustice rippled across time for centuries, and Nyx, in all her cruelty , was simply responding to it. And honestly, I think that complexity of Nyx's character made her so fascinating.

ANYWAY YEAH, I like Nyx, she's more of a background presence, but I still want to give her depth outside of a third act villain.

[fangaminghell]

Things that i doubt the creator if insugence would want that i'm doing in my rewrite:

Damien not being a complete punching bag

Nora having a more compelling character arc outside of being the "smart girl"

Zenith being a queer genderfuckery icon

Doomed Yaoi ( Adam and Jaern)

The player's mom actaully existing and being relevant

Insight on Reuka, Sylvan, Harmony and Anastasia's past together

Doomed Yuri ( Anastasia and Aubrey)

Family Drama more in depth

The oracle not being Some Guy paid to do a job and rather an actual magical being

3/4 of the elite 4 having a criminal past

2/4 of the elite 4 being trans ( one is canon, the other is fanon)

The plot actually taking it's fucking time.

Nyx being shown as a tragic character.

edit: i should say the game in canon is pretty queer friendly, at least it presents itself as such! but from what i've heard the creator is kinda a dick? so this is somewhat to spite him lol

[fangaminghell]

Okay so, I’m an idiot who’s obsessed with Zenith.

What’s he like in your AU?

Hi :)

Oh Zenith, there's a lot going on with him, and hopefully I remember everything cause I haven't touched his stuff in a while.

So basically - Zenith was born and raised in the Infernal Cult. The infernal cult has been around for. A loooooong while, not exactly around the time that the region was created, but definitely somewhere along the line there. Zenith's story actually takes place in the 19....20's? Yeah the 1920's. Details aren't fully realized, but at that specific time, he was the head of the infernal cult, right after his mother. And at that specific time, he had a rival- the chosen of meloetta, Riya. There was a confrontation between the two, and Riya took Zenith's life ....in exchange for her own. With Zenith dead, the infernal cult pretty much crumbled without it's leader, despite the efforts of it's even most devoted followers. The story would have ended here, a tale of a hero dying to rid the world of another evil.

Would have ended.

See, Zenith did die. And he honestly thought he was a goner until he got a visit from none other than Nyx. And Nyx had a deal for him. She would bring him back to life, even give him a bit of power akin to his old rival, in exchange for his service to her. He would collect the crystal shards for her,and then give them to her when the time comes. Zenith agreed without even thinking. So then and there, Zenith was able to crawl back up from the dead, and revive his cult from what little it has become. Oh and he's also basically immortal. This deal was really enticing you can see why Zenith didn't even think before agreeing. That's the backstory.

In modern times, Zenith is still a librarian.....in his spare time anyway. But his main cover up is actually being the Torren regions most beloved idol. Turns out Zenith had a knack for singing and showman ship- something that actually caused his rivalry with Riya I bet- she was a singer dancer in the 20s. As for the power that Nyx given him, like I said it was essentially a bit of Riya's. He had the power of voice. While he couldn't fully mind control people, he could still slightly influence them/suggest to them via his voice. Hence why he honestly has such a big fanbase. The details are iffy for this part, but his biggest goal is to use the crystal(?) to amplify his voice powers to the masses. Taking it from subtle suggestion/ influence to full blown mind control. Also he most likely doesn't use his real name lol. I imagine Zenith had plenty of fake names over the years, hence why he was able to stay underground for so long. That and just being sure to keep his looks hidden unless he can hide it well, like as Zachary or whatever his idol persona name is.

Zenith in my au is also pretty loyal to Nyx, seeing her just as much as a god as Groudon. That being said.....if he were to be able to get the upper hand on her and take her out, he probably would. The guy really likes power, and if he can no longer be on a chain to someone else, he would. Still, I see him as being pretty devoted....even when Nyx hardly gives him anything after that lmao.

God, can I talk about him and Jaern for a second? They both are so similar but are so different in one big way. Both have this public persona of someone that is beloved and kind and charismatic and has the public's best interest at heart. But even with that persona.....Zenith knows who he is. He knows he wants power, he knows he enjoys the feeling of having people under his thumb. He knows that. But Jaern is convincing himself that what he is doing is in the name of justice, in the name of making the world a better place, when the reality is, he just wants to feel powerful. I haven't fully figured out how they would interact in the plot, if at all, but if they did, it would be so interesting bc I know Zenith sees the right through Jaern's bullshit. It's why he both kinda Jaern amusing and an insult. Because he's not owning it. Being a cult leader, to Zenith, is owning what you want while fooling the masses. If Jaern doesn't believe that what he wants, simply put, is power,then what is he doing. Who is he trying to fool, himself? Please. So as his idol persona, Zenith loves just picking at the guy whenever they have the chance to meet. I don't know if Jaern knows that Zenith the idol is Zenith the cult leader, I haven't fully fleshed that out, but man, I just love to imagine the power dynamic they have. Zenith has been a cult leader for a long time, so while technically, Jaern has the power of law by his side, he is honestly pretty helpless to the raw power that is the Infernal Cult,and they both know that. It's just. Fbghftbjvedhyg, I hope I'm making sense here.

But yeah. That's Zenith from what I can remember. If I didn't make it clear, I think he's a little fruity. He lived too long to give a shit about gender norms and who likes who, he's literally going to take over the world, who cares ( spoilers: he still dies bc lol Nyx never mentioned his immortality was linked to how much she needed him, so once he failed, he was good as dead).

[fangaminghell]

Remember the Lati siblings I did a while back? For my insurgence rewrite? Yeah here they are again. Latios is emo now. I don't know why I did this.

[fangaminghell]

hey!! how come east needs a cane in your ver? is it for a permanent injury, a condition or for aesthetic reasons? :)

I have not fully figured that out yet! I don't think it's for aesthetic reasons ( though he did customize it bc he likes it to be fancy), but I do think he actually gonna need it! Just unsure the reason right now.

[fangaminghell]

any stuff abt adam and jearn? i remember writing abt them, they were fun

Finally getting around to this: sorry for the wait!

Outside of what i already stated, not much. Insurgence haven't been on my mind lately, so a lot of stuff is slipping for me.

I do remember that Jaern had a one sided attraction to Adam- not that Adam himself even knew. While it wasn't the main reason for Jaern's hatred (?) for Adam, it played a factor. Now, Jaern doesn't hate Adam's wife, Bree. In fact I would even say they were friends! But I would be lying if Adam rejecting him without even knowing it, while rejecting him again in his efforts to make Adam more hard on the cultist instead of offering help that they won't take - yeah, it's no wonder Jaern did what he did, at least from an emotioanl stand point.

I remember, also, trying to figure out how exactly Jaern and Adam met. I still don't know actaully, but i had the idea of Jaern actually being from Oranos town, since the town was named after the greek god of the sky and....ya know. Sky. Sky Cult. Yeah. That's at least something I can work with I think.

As for Adam, he genuinely trusted Adam with his life. They were best friends, once upon a time. I joke about in another timeline, they could have been a couple, potentially polyam with Bree, but honestly they could have! I dunno how Yancy would exactly feel about it, but it would be funny!

Again, sorry for this ask taking forever to get to lol. I'm rusty on everything insurgence atm sooooo. Gotta check my notes!

[fangaminghell]

Trying to visualize Nora's parents and Nora again. I'm on the fence about Nora's mom ( the own with the long skirt) hair color, but given how Gale is Nora's cousin in this rewrite, I think it ties them together well enough.

You can see Nora takes a lot from her dad lol. Juno, her older brother, has a bit more of his mom's complexion and eyes, but his hair is just an ever so slightly darker version of his dad's ( and not in a ponytail). Toby, her younger brother, shares more of his dad's complexion ( just a tad lighter than Nora) and eyes, but his mom's hair color.

The backstory of Nora's parents are still unclear tbh. I know Nora's mom is Gail's aunt, and they both of Nora's parents were prooooooobably scientists????? Also they're both dead.

[fangaminghell]

The context of this is unclear but I wanted to write the last time Reukra and Sylvan seen each other until the main game. Please note that not everything is canon here, as the timeline of events are still wonky.

~~~~~

It wasn't the first time she saw Reukra in such a state. His hair a mess, eye bags heavy under his eyes, his clothes no longer in such detailed symmetry that Sylvan almost is unsure if this is her Reukra. Almost. This isn't the first time she has been Reukra so disoriented…..and she doesn't think it will be her last. But it feels like her last. She….she just can't do this anymore.

Harmony was the first to leave. As resilient as she is, she can only handle so much of what this….. organization was doing. She was always kind, like that. She swore to not say a word and she kept on that promise. Then Anastasia left which, if Sylvan was being honest, was bound to happen. Anastasia always had a strong personality, and would often clash with Reukra over ideas and projects. Her and Harmony probably were what kept Anastasia from ripping Reukra’s head off- not that the friendship wasn't there. Just that Ana and Reukra were…..a lot. And this project of there's was A Lot. So soon after Harmony left, so did Anastasia, swearing to never want to see Reukra again. It was…rough. Sylvan couldn't get in contact with her for a while, and even when she did, Ana was colder than usual. It hurts, it really did. Her dear friends leaving, her best friends deteriorating mental state…..it was all so much.

And now ….now it came to a head.

She thinks Ana and Harmony leaving are finally taking a toll on Reukra. It was foolish not to - she knows her friends. She knows he cares, even just a tiny bit. And outside of that, well. Harmony and Anastasia were both pretty vital to their operations. Them leaving had made progress stagnant, and for as patient as Reukra can be, no progress meant no perfection. And that's why he’s here. Panicking. Fumbling with papers, trying push out more than he could manage. It hurts to see. It hurts so bad.

“ Reukra,” Sylvan starts, keeping her voice even. Reukra looks up at her, dark eyes so broken and panicked- she hasn't seen that since they were kids. She tries not to grimace.

“ Sylvan,” he answers, getting up and slowly walking towards her. She gulps, stealing herself.

“ Reukra, I think-” she's cut off when Reukra place his hands on her shoulders. He grips hard, staring at her, his eyes begging.

“ I need this, Sylvan.” His grip gets tighter, “ I need this. I need it to be real,”

‘Please tell me it can be real’ is what his eyes plead, and for a second, she forgoes her original plan, wanting nothing more than to comfort her best friend. For a second.

“I….” she tries to gather her courage, “ Reukra I love you,and you're my bestest friend but I…I can't do this anymore. So I'm going to go,”

Reukra doesn't respond. He just looks at her and for the first time in a long time, she can't tell what he's thinking. His eyes, his usual tell, has lost its light and he just stares. He’s blocking her out. He’s blocking her out.

“ Okay” was all he said, letting go of her shoulders.

Just like that. Years of friendship. Gone. Just. Like. That. She knew this would happen! Why wouldn't it happen, she's leaving and she knows he's too far gone! The logical part of her is scolding herself for getting emotional about the inevitable. Her emotional side just wants to cry.

“ Okay,” she whispers. She turns around and starts walking. Nothing the click clacking of her heels and the shattering of her heart. She stops at the door. She turns around, hoping for miracle.

“ Is there anything I can say to make you come with me?”

Reukra didn't go back to his work. He watched her walk. A blank stare.

“ No……I don't think you can”.

Sylvan smiles. It's tense, and she's afraid if she lets it go she'll break down then and there. She nods her head, as if she understands.

“ Goodbye, Reukra”

She walks out the door. And that's that.

[fangaminghell]

The Cults in my version of Insurgence works a bit differently than how the og game does. In terms of lore anyway. I cannot stress that all of these ideas aren't really finalized. But they were what I got so far and what I'm working with until further notice.

So the basics of it is this: the infernal, abyssal and sky cult have existed for a long ass time. Back then they were the main three, if you will. I do think the space and time cults existed back then but currently I haven't really had a use for them, so they're being put in the background for now.

The main three cults lived in relative harmony with each other, though it was clear that the Sky cult was considered the head honcho of the three. For many reasons, the infernal and abyssal cults weren't exactly pleased with this, but they didn't really do anything about it. Until Nyx started to interfere with them. Specifically the infernal cult. Some "gifts" and manipulation later, the infernal cult and abyssal cult decided to form an alliance to go against the big bad Sky Cult. Which they did. And they won, causing the Sky cult to crumble entirely. And soon they were just the main two. Until in modern times,where Jaern decided to revive the dead sky cult. I'm currently trying to think of how and why, plus if he had any ancestry within the cult or not. But that's the gist of it.

The Darkrai cult was formed off the rage of a young Peresphone ( I imagine she was like. 18 when she started out) and over the past 7 or so years( she's prooooooobably 25 or higher in this rewrite/au. She seems like one of the younger cult leaders) has made a name for herself.

The perfection cult is something I'm not completely sure about. Reakra as a character is someone I'm still working on. Though there's a chance that it existed before the Darkrai cult? Again not sure.

Both the abyssal and Infernal cults have lineage based leadership. As in Audrey and Zenith inherited the right as cult leader from their parents. Zenith is. A peculiar case. He may or may not be immortal. Or somewhere close to it. We'll see.

And I think that's it? Yeah there's the damned cult but they're less of a cult and more of an entire civilization. So I'll probably talk about this later.

Edit: I forgot to mention that the infernal and abyssal cult still have an alliance in modern day though not as strong.

[fangaminghell]

I don't know if I would consider these "romances" cause uh. Some of these are toxic, even when the people involved aren't even together. and some of these couples are already broken up for one reason or another. So...

Adam x Bree: Where in the process of getting divorced. They don't end up back together, but are simply happy that they're still in each other's lives. Arguably the healthiest outcome of everyone here.

Diana x Calreath: Calreath dies sorry. They had a good relationship, though Diana at times didn't open up much.

Adam x Jaern: One sided love/ hatred/ obsession. Jaern fell hard for Adam at one point and that just spiralled. Doesn't really hate Bree, I think, is generally more focused on Adam. Adam genuinely saw Jaern as one of his closest friends. Maybe in another universe, they've gotten together, but 1) this isn't that universe 2) unless Jaern chilled the fuck out I don't see their relationship being healthy.

East x Jaern: Do I even call this a relationship????? Jaern knows East has some feelings towards him, and uses that against him. East knows that he knows and hates how his emotions - the thing he knows would never become a reality for a loooong time now - is being played with. Like yeah, East had feelings for Jaern at one point, and those feelings sneak up on him sometimes, but above all else, East does not want to be in any relation with Jaern outside a loyal member of his cult/ right hand man. And yet, Jaern just loves to poke at him. He hates it. He wants to run away. But he can't. And Jaern knows this. It's. Very bad. Just an abuse of power and emotions.

Jaern x Zenith???????: Honestly kinda made for each other in the worst ways lmao. In canon Zenith is what Jaern wishes he could be, and Zenith will make sure Jaern knows it. That is, of course, if I have them actually know each other on a cult leader to cult leader status. Outside of that I still think there's some playful bitterness between the two. Jaern loves being the center of attention, loves having influence, and here comes Zenith in his idol persona, who also loves that, and thus is actively competing for some sort of public dominance. Though to the average person, they seem like good acquaintances.

Anastasia x Audrey: Childhood friends to one sided crush( Ana developed feelings towards Audrey when they were younger) to sworn enemies. Nowhere near as crazy as Adam n Jaern, but man. What could have been.

Reukra x Harmony: They dated in college before breaking up. Harmony genuinely liked the man and thought he was Forever, but Reukra....simply didn't feel much. He likes Harmony as a friend, and he thought that dating someone like her was expected but....nothing. At the time, they broke up on good terms. They were still friends at the end of the day. But sometimes harmony looks back at those times and wonders where things went wrong and if she could have done more.

Eduard x Yuki: OKAY THE ONLY HEALTHY COUPLE SO FAR SORRY ADAM N BREE. We love a t4t couple in this household. Anyway, they aren't together for the majority of Insurgence, but they are very clearly in love with each other and are too shy to really say it. Kayla is scrolling through her phone as they awkwardly flirt with each other while London is just happy he got new writing inspiration for his next book ( oh and happy for them too).

Juno x Xavier: I already said this story so long story short: Juno, Nora's older brother, used to date Xavier when they were both rangers. They've broken up- all bc of Xavier- and Juno has no plans of taking Xavier back. Xavier acts like it doesn't affect him but will ask about Juno whenever Nora is around, much to her annoyance. Bro, he's not gonna date you, move on.

Bonus: Silly and Self Indulgent but most likely not canon.

Adam x East: I don't think East would want anything to do with Adam after everything - no real fault of the man, East has just spent way to long with Jaern and by proxy, way too long hearing about Adam. But if East does try to interact with Adam, I think it would be funny if East said to Jaern that he's going on a date with Adam just to spite him. And then the man actually goes on a date with Adam. The only other problem is that it will be very weird for Yancy, who had to fight for their life against the East, who suggested Yancy to be sacrificed btw, and then proceed to watch East die. So. Yeah, maybe. Maybe not. It's still very funny.

Yancy x Damian: To be very clear, these two relationships don't really hinge on whether it's romantic or not. They mean a lot to the other, and that's what's important. But goddamit, they would be cute. And so awkward. So so awkward. Like I need you to understand the tension that's there when Damian comes back, changed and more self assured, putting up boundaries but also just distancing himself a bit vs Yancy who is trying to show more affection, trying to be the friend Damian needs, but bc of their nature they're just so awkward about it. To be clear again: This is going to happen regardless of if it's romantic or not. God their friendship is going through it. But the self indulgent part of me thinks a romance between them could be cute.

Nora x ????: This is very much not canon bc ??? Isn't even canon at all but I love the idea of a Carmen Sandiago esc relationship with ??? Being a ruins thief that likes teasing Nora and Nora actively trying to stop her. Que bickering and " why the fuck do I have a crush on her of all people". This is probably a good time to mention that Nora is an ace lesbian in this rewrite 👍