Some Requiem Series updates

I’ve spent some time considering what I want to do with my newsletter. It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything but updates, mostly due to chronic illness and autistic burnout. I’m still in it a bit, but last night, one of my head fam (my affectionate term for my alters and spirit guides, who are part of my plural family — I have DID, for those unaware) inspired me to pull up his playlist, and then guided me to open the document for Book Three (untitled still) of the Requiem Series that I’d started a few years ago.

Byleth really, really wants me to get to work on it. Part of it is probably because he gets to be front and center again, but it’s in a way you likely wouldn’t expect. If you’ve read Everything Is Wonderful Now, you’ll be familiar with him. You’ll also be familiar with Gabriel, the one angel that was dedicated to Byleth until it came time to stand by him. Gabriel did redeem himself a bit by doing something for Sean I won’t reveal in case you haven’t read, but the angel will also feature heavily in Book Three.

In fact, Byleth and Gabriel will be in a lot of it together, as they were in a side story I’d written years ago before Everything Is Wonderful Now. I decided to include a lot of it in Book Three, although many of the scenes will be different because it was initially off the scale with spice levels 🙈 Book three will have some of that spice, of course, as the whole idea is that Byleth wants Gabriel to fall, and in the process, they grow closer in ways the angel struggles with heavily.

As Byleth is polyamorous, of course he’ll mention all of this to Sean. Sean would be on board with this, of course. Gotta keep healthy communication in there to balance out the absolute deviousness Byleth is going to display. Remember; although Byleth loves Sean and is sweet to him and Darokin and Zagan, he’s still a devilish fallen angel who has quite the ego. You’re going to see a side of Byleth that you haven’t before. I wanted to add in more of the ‘real’ him, the him that loves the idea of making an angel fall for purely selfish and devilish reasons.

I’d like to share a scene here from chapter three of Book Three. (Admittedly, I stopped writing after this scene because my mental health went straight to hell and I couldn’t feel the more uplifting vibe of the book for a while.) Hopefully sharing it will get the inspiration flowing again. You can also find a ‘first draft’ of a playlist based on my notes and plans for the story here.

Here’s the scene.

* * *

“You’ve never had a drink?” Byleth mused as he watched Gabriel swirl the amber liquid in his glass. The angel truly was innocent in every aspect of the word, but that would change soon enough. They both had to keep their head in the game and remember what they were searching for, and to do it quickly, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t work on other things at the same time.

Like Gabriel’s descent.

The angel took a hopeful swig before grimacing and coughing. “This tastes foul!” the angel said with a strained voice. “Like chemicals.”

“It mostly is,” Byleth teased and took a drink from his own glass.

The burn always felt good when he decided to indulge, but Byleth usually had more refined tastes. Although it was a cheaper liquor, he figured he’d start Gabriel off on something that would be easy to forget much sooner. He had to admit, too, that it would be hilarious to see the angel inebriated just once. The guy really needed to loosen up.

Gabriel swirled the drink again. “This is what humans do for fun? This is enjoyable?”

Byleth nodded. “Oh, soon enough it’ll be your favorite drink. Try it again.” His red eyes flashed deviously.

Gabriel took a deep breath before closing his eyes and taking it all like a bitter medication.

Byleth bit back a smile. He hadn’t meant for Gabriel to just down it in one gulp, but he was an angel. Gabriel would be fine even if he did end up drinking more than his constitution would allow.

“Pace yourself, boy,” Byleth teased before taking another drink. “Unless you want to do shots.”

Gabriel’s voice broke as his eyes watered. “What are… what are shots? They sound unpleasant.”

Byleth held up a hand, mentioned he’d be right back, and then headed to the bar. He returned with four shot glasses full of whiskey. Setting two in front of himself and the others before Gabriel, he lifted one of his own. “I won’t lie, this will burn like hell, but it’s worth it.”

Gabriel lifted one of the small glasses and eyed Byleth with uncertainty. “I fail to see the enjoyment in this. It doesn’t taste good and it burns going down. What is it supposed to do?”

Byleth chuckled. “Just down the first one with me. You’ll find out soon enough.”

Gabriel watched Byleth throw his back without a reaction, and then followed suit, squeezing his eyes shut as the burn caused him to cough again.

“First one down,” Byleth said. “Well, technically your second.” He lifted the other shot glass. “Ready?”

Gabriel eyed the second glass like it would bite him if he touched it. “I’m not sure. I think I need a moment.”

Byleth shrugged and downed his anyway. He required a good amount of the stuff to really hit him hard, and he knew Gabriel needed just a few more minutes to really feel what he’d already consumed. After that, the fun could truly begin. He had the afternoon planned and was glad Gabriel had agreed to at least spend some time relaxing. Especially if the angel wasn’t heading back to Heaven any time soon.

Or ever. They’d talked a bit on their way into the city, and it was clear that Gabriel had made up his mind despite being too afraid to say anything for certain out loud. It would just take a little push here, another there, and Byleth was sure Gabriel would be standing at the edge and ready to drop over soon enough. Gabriel didn’t want to become a demon, which Byleth assured him wouldn’t happen. He would remain in control of his appearance, save for a set of horns.

It wasn’t like Gabriel would lose his wings, either. Without God around — at least, until they found him — Gabriel could do a trial run.

“You know, I told you if you wanted to go back to being God’s lapdog after all this is said and done, it’s whatever,” Byleth said, a little more loosened up after a third shot. “I’m telling you though, once you’ve sinned, you’re never gonna be the same again.”

“That’s not really that comforting,” Gabriel said with narrowed eyes. It was clear that the pleasant fuzzy feelings had set in, and he smiled as he looked around the bar. “Humans really are interesting creatures, aren’t they? Everyone’s just having a good time. They have no idea.”

Byleth followed the angel’s eyes and noticed a group of friends at a corner table, all laughing and well past tipsy. “I mean, ignorance is bliss.”

Gabriel nodded. “I feel like that applies to me, in a way.” He sighed and returned to Byleth. “I wish I hadn’t started this…” He grew uneasy despite the drunkenness settling in. “This…”

“There doesn’t have to be a word for it right now.” Byleth reached across the table to take Gabriel’s hand, but the angel merely stared at the claws. Finally, he wrapped his fingers around a thin pale hand as it slid onto his palm. “Free trial, no risk guaranteed.”

Gabriel sputtered a laugh, and Byleth knew the alcohol had finally done the job.

The angel took a deep breath and leaned back, leaving the fallen king’s hand alone on the table. “What am I doing, Byleth? This is all so serious. Umabel wants to destroy everything in his corruption. He wants to hurt you. He wants to hurt Sean, to put it politely.”

Byleth wished he hadn’t said anything. It was too sobering for the moment, but he knew Sean would be okay. He’d already told the others that he was a call away and he’d be there in a flash. Besides, Darokin and Zagan had gotten Sean through quite a bit when he was a teenager, and even as an adult. It would be okay. It had to be.

“You seem to care about Sean a lot,” Byleth said. “Even before now. You’re the one who told him about his truth.”

Gabriel smiled. “Yes, I did. Despite the darkness within him, I could tell that he was good. I knew what his purpose would bring, that he would start to spread a different message from what God wanted.” Gabriel looked at the bar. “But it felt wrong to put him in harm’s way, to let him be destroyed by Umabel. I suppose I’m a little like you in that way.”

“You want peace?” Byleth mused. He waved at the bartender, who already knew what he wanted. Two more shot glasses came to the table within minutes. “I don’t really give a shit about all of that anymore. I just care about Sean and the ones he cares about. That’s as far as my idea of ‘peace’ goes now.”

Gabriel grabbed the shot glass without a second thought and downed it, humming into the burn as he set it back on the table. “I think you’re fibbing about that,” he managed.

Byleth downed his glass, figuring it was time to close the tab out. That was good enough, if not more than he’d intended for the angel to drink initially. “What do you mean?”

Gabriel chuckled. “I mean, Byleth, that you like humans. You have a hard exterior and you want to play the devil—”

“Keep talking like that and we’re getting a room,” the fallen king teased.

Gabriel snorted an undignified laugh. “What I mean is that you are kinder and more good than you think.”

It was ironic to hear the angel say such a thing, considering what Byleth’s plans for him were. His intentions definitely weren’t pure with the angel, and he knew Gabriel would be all over the place with his emotions in the process, but he couldn't stop himself. Whether he didn’t want Gabriel to leave again, or it was just a bit of harmless revenge, he certainly wasn’t being good in any sense of the word.

“I think I’m itching to get you out of here to do something more interesting,” Byleth said flirtatiously, which caused Gabriel to hide his face behind his hands.

The angel moaned in embarrassment. “Why must you say such things?”

Byleth stood from the table and prepared to close the tab at the bar. “What’s going through your mind? I meant a live show or a movie or something. You sure there isn’t a devil under there?”

Gabriel sighed loudly and flopped back, clearly inebriated. They wouldn’t be going into any venue that didn’t serve alcohol like that, so a walk in the park was probably a little better. Byleth had to admit that he’d overdone it by pushing more alcohol on the angel, but he’d be lying to himself if he said he regretted it.

Gabriel had to learn to chill out and have a good time. The fallen king was all too familiar with the restrictions in Heaven and just how stuffy and boring it could be. Granted, you’re not aware of that while you’re there. It definitely hits when you’re gone.

Gabriel just needed a few more bites of the forbidden fruit. He’d never go back then, not even if — or when — they found God.

* * *

If you enjoyed that snippet but haven’t read Everything Is Wonderful Now, you can find more info on the book’s page here. I’m glad to get back to the themes of the first book in the series after a diversion in the second. I hope the third book makes it clear why the diversion had to happen for Sean. His story couldn’t properly proceed without confronting all of that bad stuff and growing as a person through it, even if it was dark and messy and, at times, disturbing.

I’m not sure when Book Three will be finished, but it is on my mind again and it has a plot fully planned. I just gotta write the thing. It’s going to be a big project that requires a lot of time and attention to detail. It’ll likely be the ‘end’ of the series as far as a narrative that strings together, but there will be other books in The Requiem universe as standalones to explore Zagan’s story (I’ve already released a short BDSM erotica with him and another of our head family, as well as a SFW gothic short about him and another of us), and possibly Darokin’s story, whenever he’s ready to let me tell that. I may also write more with Byleth, too.

(Another side note; all of my short stories are now free on Kofi and Itchio with a suggestion to donate at least $1, which will show as ‘pay what you want.’ That includes the ones I mentioned above 💜)

Thanks for sticking with me 💜

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