#finding their place as the alphas Unempowered mate…..

[angel-bubbles]

everytime theres a pack meeting angel always find the mates (baabe, sweetheart, and sam) + darlin to either bump their forehead on them, give them a kiss on the cheek, or hug them then force to carry them around

angels love language being physical touch is so real to me, it’s how they show them all that they care about them (also darlin absolutely gets flustered by their little shows of affection… which angel finds really entertaining)

[brainrotcharacters]

Must be wild being an elder wolf of the Shaw pack and watching David grow up.

You live a life at the front of the pack when you're moving as a group. To set the pace. And your instincts tell you Gabe Shaw is on the back end of that line, monitoring everyone. Gabe is reliable, and familiar, and you're positive the mating bond between him and one of the females will click soon.

It does. David is born. Perhaps even born to succeed Gabe. Gabe doesn't mind. The pack knows David is his new priority now. You all don't mind. Gabe starts calling him Davey.

Davey is barely as tall as Gabe's knee when they're both in human form. His chubby face is frowning and serious when Gabe is being alpha. He watches Gabe as closely as he could; his young attention span, plus the other toddlers Asher and Milo, distract him often. It frustrates little Davey.

As soon as the meeting is done, Gabe sweeps up his son in one hand and nuzzles his fat cheeks. David protests, but you see him giggling. Gabe messes around with Asher's dad, and if you look close enough, Asher is also poking David until he's pissed enough to bolt into a run and chase Asher down. They crash into little Milo in a yelping pile of puppies. Their dads egg them on. The pack is full of idiots.

David's mother dies of illness.

As pack elders, Gabe confides in you of his grief behind closed doors. The pack meetings continue. Gabriel Shaw keeps things intact, because of course he does. David's human form seems to get taller everyday, his wolf form larger. He is encouraged to find his mate. He himself pulls away from Asher and the others. Asher forces himself to smile, "Give him time. He knows where to find us." Asher could be a wise pack elder someday, you realize.

Gabe dies.

You've never seen David more furious than when he glared at cars. Otherwise, he stares at nothing. Only one other wolf showed such trauma so young. You still lead the line when the pack moves from place to place, but it's David Shaw at the back of the line now. Was Gabe so darkened before he met his mate? You struggle to remember.

David's grief becomes grumpiness. Asher is his second in command, and his mediator to the rest of the world. The pack is more successful than it had ever been before. You know David's parents would be proud.

One day, David introduces a human. Angel.

And you've known David his entire life. He refused to invest in any relationship with a fellow wolf, or an empowered, for a list of reasons. As pack elder, you're more lenient in his choices to fix up the paperwork that would register Angel as an informed unempowered. David knows you'd give Angel the benefit of the doubt.

Outside of official pack business, Angel doesn't care about their reaction when they want to kiss David. When they want to hug David, human form or otherwise, they do it ferociously. Genuinely. You watch David smile at Angel, and you blink. David's mother smiled at Gabe just like that.

Oh. Oh.

Angel visits the pack another time and they're covered in David's scent. The pack knows Angel is David's priority now. None of you mind it.

The one time a crime punishable by death had happened, Angel had dealt the killing blow. The criminal put David at risk. No one stopped Angel that day. You asked David to relay that you're proud of them.

Angel visits the pack another time with a ring around their finger. David is laughing again. He's messing around with Asher, Milo, Darlin, and their respective mates. They guide the pups how to walk in either wolf form or human form, and when you blink, you see David's parents teaching him when he was a child.

And you wonder if Gabe and David's mother really left you. They're right there, in the love and the mating bond between David and Angel. And things are okay.

[fuzzy-melonlord]

Alright, chapter 3 of the body swap au! This time staring Darlin! A lot of people actually guessed correctly the swap for this one. and ngl this one was surprisingly hard to write despite it being the first idea I had. Most of it was probably because my brain just couldn’t decide how these two wanted to interact in this situation. So, i’m not super satisfied with it, but if I don’t just post it i promise i won’t ever lol. This will be our last time for voting, we still have Angel or Sweetheart!

Paring: Mentioned Sam/Darlin WC: 1.9K TW: Anxiety, mild violence Genre: Bodyswap au! Chapter 1 ● Chapter 2  ● Chapter 3  ●  Chapter 4  ● Chapter 5  ● Chapter 6

“Come on, you can’t sleep in all day when you were the one who wanted to spend my entire day off with me.” 

Tank knew that voice, the low gravelly sound resonating in their tired brain. Despite the recognition the only words that seemed to hit them were that this person wanted them to wake up, and that was unacceptable. 

“Fuck off, ‘m sleeping.” They muttered, rolling over and pulling the thick blanket over their eyes. The person didn’t respond for a moment, and Tank thought that they had been victorious, their scathing words had sent away the potential threat to their sleep. Oh how wrong they were. 

“Oh, so that’s how it’s going to be?” The voice sounded…oddly playful and yet somehow still serious. It was a strange combination, but one that Tank didn’t really have time to question. Since as soon as the words had left the man’s lips, the blanket was pulled off of them and they were being lifted from the mattress. Feeling the man’s hands on their bare skin, Tank’s instincts took over and with swift movement, they had elbowed their assailant in the face and gotten out of their grasp.

When they landed back on the bed, they finally took a moment to look at the person who had been speaking to them all morning. Only for them to find David Shaw standing before them, clutching his nose. He honestly looked more surprised than injured, which was strange. Tank knew their own strength and even with David that blow should have hurt more.

“Alright, that’s new.” David groans, rubbing his sore nose. Fixing Tank with a confused look that made Tank even more confused than they had been before.

“Well what the hell do you expect me to do when you suddenly pick me up out of bed? What the fuck David?!” They retorted, practically growling at the man. Growing up with David they remembered that he was an early riser. Hell, when they were growing up and Tank had stayed over at the Shaw house, it had usually fallen on David to wake them up. But he had never tried picking them up before, and quite frankly they hated it, and they would be damned if David didn’t understand that. 

“David? You…called me David?” David stared at them for a moment, his gaze calculating as if he were trying to read past the surface of the words that had been thrown at him. 

“Yeah that’s your name…what the fuck else am I going to call you?” Tank let out an irritated groan, “Did you hit your head or something? And why the hell am I in your house? I didn’t pass out in a meeting did I?” 

Silence. 

David simply stared at them for a moment, which only furthered the irritation Tank was feeling. With a sigh, David ran a hand through his stark white hair.

“You’re right. That is my name. Must not have slept very well last night…can you do something for me? Go look in that mirror and tell me what you see.” His request was strange, gesturing over at the large body mirror placed on the other side of the room. 

While Tank was still frustrated, but feeling they had already ignored enough requests and orders from their Alpha they decided to humor the extremely strange request. Keeping an eye on David they paced over to the mirror per his request. But the person they saw in the glass was not who they expected to see.

Instead of their usual frame, they were met with the face of the unempowered Angel, their dear friend and their Alpha’s mate. For a moment, they wondered if it was just a trick mirror being affected by magic but…not many members of the pack really knew any magic that could be able to do this. 

Lifting a hand to their face to touch the skin of their (?) cheek, eyes locked onto the mirror with intense confusion. They barely even realized when David walked up beside them. When they did recognize his presence, their head snapped in his direction with wide eyes as they shook their head. 

“David, I’m not An-”

“Not Angel, yeah I figured out that part for myself, Tank.” He cut them off with another frustrated sigh, somehow already two steps ahead in the situation. Meanwhile, Tank felt like they were struggling to keep up, barely able to comprehend the fact that they were…Angel. Or in Angel’s body. It was confusing. Reading the obvious confusion on their face, he continued.

“You might look like Angel right now, but you still talk like yourself. We’ve been around each other long enough for me to know how you are.” He explains, which unfortunately does make sense. And they had obviously known his name, so they had to have been someone he knew. It was still just frustrating to Tank. Just like it had been when he had figured out they were in town instead of in Washington. 

He was too smart for his own good, and because of their history he was always able to figure out what they were planning before they did it. It was irritating, but they couldn’t flat out say that to his face. 

~~~

Getting punched in the face definitely wasn’t what David had expected to happen when he went to wake up his Mate this morning, and yet here he was. Sitting across from Tank, in the body of his mate, scowling down at their breakfast. At that moment he realized that he absolutely hated it. He could deal with a lot of things life had thrown at him. But having one of his oldest friends trapped in the body of his mate with seemingly no explanation was something new and entirely terrible. 

“So, you went to sleep like normal last night? At your place?” He questioned, one hand massaging the bridge of his nose. He was trying to get as much information as he possibly could before getting D.U.M.P involved. Which was going to be yet another headache. So much for a relaxing day off.

Tank nodded in confirmation. 

“Yeah, Sam had come over to check that my wounds hadn’t reopened...and when he left I just went to bed,” They explained. They hadn’t wanted to mention that Sam had visited them the night prior, but they knew that David needed all that he could get right now. Not to mention that if this happened to them, it could have also affected Sam. 

“And nothing strange happened? Nothing out of the ordinary?” David let out an involuntary growl when they shook their head in response. Just as he was about to continue his barrage of questions he was cut off by the generic ringing of his cellphone. 

Tank was certain that if David sighed anymore today then he was going to pass out or some shit. Their proof being the fact that his grumpy face had stuck after all these years after Gabe had teased him once about it. 

“Yes, Milo?” 

They watched as David answered. Waiting for him to speak and watching his face somehow get more serious than it already had been. They weren’t even aware that was possible. He let out a few hums of affirmation. 

“Bring them here,” his eyes flickered back over to Tank as he spoke, “I’m dealing with a similar situation right now….yeah…yeah, Tank is here. I’m not sure where Angel actually is. And your mate?” 

Listening into half of the conversation, Tank could piece together that Milo’s mate was also missing. Swapped with someone else just like they had been, but it wasn’t Angel who was there with him. 

“We’ll find them, Milo.”

And just as soon as it had begun, David was ending the phone call. Setting the device back onto the table and just staring at it. It made Tank wonder if that last phrase was for Milo…or for himself. 

Tank hadn’t know Angel long, but they did know that David was wrapped around their finger. They had never seen David like this before, this in love with someone. Sure, he had dated a few people back when they were teens. David being the one of the group to have a steady partner for a few years before the two came to a mutual break up. But even then, he was never like this with any other partner. He was probably beside himself with worry, his mate could be anywhere and there was no guarantee that they were safe in whatever body they were in. 

Tank could only hope that it had been an even swap, that Angel was safe and alone at their apartment. Maybe they would even be getting a phone call from them soon. Tank hoped for David’s sanity that that was the case. 

“We are gonna find them, David. There’s no way in hell that this is permanent.” Tank knew they were…not the best at comforting others. Especially not David, but he was still one of their oldest friends and just sitting here felt wrong. 

David’s gaze finally broke from his phone, looking up at Tank. They could see it in his eyes, it was hard for him to look at them like this. Knowing that he was looking at the love of his life but the person looking back at him…wasn’t them. If they had been almost anyone else, they probably wouldn’t have noticed the pain in his eyes hidden behind his usual harsh gaze. 

“We have to. This isn’t just about Angel and you anymore. Milo’s mate has been dragged into this, as well as a D.A.M.N Student,” he explained. Bringing the situation into perspective. They had no idea just how many people this incident was affecting, and at this point going to D.U.M.P seemed to be the best option. Even if neither David nor Tank really wanted it to come to that. 

“You call Sam, make sure he hasn’t gotten swapped as well. I’m going to contact Asher.” 

David didn’t give them a chance to respond, exiting the kitchen and most likely going upstairs to his office. So Tank did the only thing they could do. Found the house phone. 

Out of everyone, David was the only person Tank knew that still had one of these, and before today they had thought it to be dumb. Even laughing a bit at the idea of having a landline in this day and age, but right now it was something of a comfort. They didn’t have to try and figure out if Angel’s phone had a number code, or if it was a fingerprint (and if it was a fingerprint, then which one. Angel was far too eccentric for it to just be their index finger). They were also grateful for the fact that their stupid simping ass had memorized Sam’s number.

The ringing hit their ears, their heart practically beating in time with the rings. The only thing that quelled their anxiety was when they heard the familiar southern drawl of their mate. 

“Doc? Is that actually you?”

The line was silent for a moment, and their heart dropped. What if he had also been swapped? What if he was in danger? All at once they felt all the things they had thought David had been feeling before. The fear of the unknown settling in despite their usual attitude. 

“...Darlin’?” 

[starlitangels]

No Way Out

Asher’s ValenWeek video said he doesn’t like enclosed spaces and that they kinda get to him. I had some thoughts. Some Asher Inversion Introspection, if you will. 1.2k words

—

Asher bounded over the stadium grounds in wolf form, heading for the west side of the safe zone. Alone. David needed someone he could trust on this side, so this side was where Asher would go.

Ash had spent his entire life in a pack. He didn’t know anything other than following Alpha’s Orders.

This wasn’t that.

This was Asher following his best friend into danger because he believed in him.

When he got to his spot on the west side, he settled down on his haunches and waited. David was out of the link’s range—which was usually so much farther that it made Ash twitchy to know how limited their communication would be with each other—so after a few moments of silence, Ash shifted back into a human. His Shaw Security T-shirt was already torn in several places from shades’ claws.

Behind him, the containment ward thrummed. There was so much magic being poured into it that this close, the air seemed to vibrate with energy.

Asher flinched every time the thrum changed pitch.

His wolf instincts were howling at him. No way out—no way out—no way out!

He tried to shove them down. To no avail. That part of him wouldn’t be silent. No way out—no way out—no way out...

Shut up, he thought.

He cast his mind back to almost two years ago. A stuck elevator. A friendly stranger. Those same instincts barking at him—the wolf’s fear of being enclosed. Asher’s fear of being enclosed. He’d had that friendly stranger to ramble to, back then, to distract his brain.

The friendly stranger who had—inexplicably—become his mate. Ash still couldn’t believe that, sometimes. If some Seer had been outside the elevator doors when Asher got off on the floor of the title office and told Asher that the unempowered human he’d just held the hand of to calm their nerves was going to become his mate, Asher would have laughed in that Seer’s face and wandered off.

He didn’t deserve his mate. He knew that. They were way too good for him—something Milo liked to point out playfully when he and Ash were giving each other a hard time. But he was grateful every day that they were in his life.

Now... now there was a possibility that he wouldn’t leave this containment ward alive. There was a possibility—no matter how slight—that his mate would have to grieve for his loss and, hopefully, move on. Find someone else who could make them happy. They were so happy and bright, they deserved that from someone else, if Ash wasn’t around anymore to give it to them.

He sighed, pushing a hand into his shaggy black curls to brush them out of his eyes.

“I wouldn’t have made any other decision,” he told the dirt decisively.

Thankfully for Asher’s sanity, the dirt didn’t reply.

Asher swallowed and cast a look over his shoulder. Across the safe zone. He could pick out David in the distance. David was nearly impossible to miss over open ground. Tall—taller, even, than Ash and Ash towered over most of the pack—broad-shouldered, powerful.

Sometimes it was hard to remember the fact that David used to be smaller than Ash when they were kids. Of course, they’d been very little at the time. But where Ash had been bigger-than-average his whole life, David had started smaller than average and then shot up to the size of a damn tree within a couple years. But, to Ash, David’s personality had always made him seem bigger and more intimidating, even when he was shorter than Ash.

David was talking to some Energetics who still had magic left, by the looks of things. Asher caught a flicker of lightning over a palm. David gave the Energetics a firm nod and the small group trotted off to take up positions.

A born leader. Ash had known David would be the best damn alpha Dahlia had ever seen from when they were teenagers and David first manifested. He’d been very defensive about that belief through their adolescence. Christian had been 18 when Asher was 13 and manifested, and had joked that Asher was a sheep in wolf’s clothing for having blind faith in other people with no proof. That was the first time Asher's wolf exploded out of him without conscious control and he’d had Christian’s shoulder in his teeth before his mind caught up with his actions.

Asher never would have made any other decision but to follow David into the closing ward.

Asher would follow David into the jaws of Hell if he asked.

Hell, David didn’t have to ask.

Asher would follow David into jaws of Hell whether David wanted him to or not.

And Asher knew David. David wouldn’t want Ash to follow him into the jaws of Hell. David would want to go in alone so no one else would have to get hurt based on a decision he’d made. But David needed someone to back him up. And Asher would always be there to fill that role. Not just as David’s beta. As his friend.

The ward thrummed louder. Somewhere nearby, some shades were slamming against it. Ash could feel their death energy from his distance.

He shifted back to wolf form, grateful for the return of his night vision.

A pair of Elementals jogged over. A ball of water over one hand, a ball of fire in the other’s. Asher nodded at the both of them. They nodded back.

A swarm of shades rushed from the darkness near the stadium. Not enough to warrant sending the entire group of defenders who still had energy over to the west side, but enough that it would take Ash and these two Elementals pushing themselves to handle the swarm.

Asher leapt at the shades at the front, the sheer bulk of his wolf form bowling several of them over.

He was in the jaws of Hell. There was no way out. The ward went underground to form a sphere. His wolf instincts were still reeling with the fear of being enclosed. His conscious thoughts were reeling with the fear of what might happen if one shade was faster than him. His heart was terrified of what would happen to his mate if he didn’t make it out of this.

But even with no way out, even with fear clouding his rationality—his self-confidence in how good of a fighter he was—even with the ache settling into his heart that there was a chance he’d never see his mate again... never call out to them from across the apartment with his drawling, “baaaaabe!”...

Even with all that, Asher would never have chosen to stay outside the ward.

He was in the jaws of Hell with no way out, but David needed him. So he would follow.

He would follow, and he would rip every shade that came close to him to shreds for forcing a decision like closing the ward onto his best friend.