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@kiwi8fruit6.bsky.social Oct 10, 2026, 11:46 AM

As an aside, one of the foundations of the #ADealNotTakenAU is that Alastor hasn't seen Vaggi as a threat to his plans for Charlie.

We've already seen that subverted once in ADNT, with Charlie turning down Al's deal. And the AU is going to explore that theme significantly more as it goes on.

@kiwi8fruit6.bsky.social Oct 8, 2026, 12:23 PM

last September i thought i could finish the whole of #ADealNotTakenAU within the few weeks before Season 2 dropped

ADNT is probably gonna run to 100,000 words. at the time i thought it’d be only 50K

now that was delusional of me, and i clearly still have that issue

@adealnottakenao3.bsky.social Oct 7, 2026, 11:04 PM

#WIPWednesday #ADealNotTakenAU #chaggi #angst

ake by the door slamming open right next to her. She cursed herself for her lapse in attentiveness, as always, and the little scolding voice in her mind sounded vaguely like Lute, as it always
did.
She hurried to clear her head and take up her spear. Then she realised it was Charlie standing there, just outside the threshold of their room; and letting her guard down was suddenly
the farthest thing from Vaggie's mind. For just a moment Charlie had looked startled at Vaggie's presence, maybe even alarmed at the way she'd reached for her spear - but that vanished just as quickly. She folded her arms and didn't say anything. Her gaze was cold, harsh, in spite of the puffiness of her eyes and the half-dried tear tracks down her cheeks; and the chill of that gaze - the guilt of knowing she was the
cause of it - settled heavily in Vaggie's stomach.
Awkwardly she got to her feet, her weapon left abandoned on
the floor. They both knew full well it was an angelic weapon. Vaggie had dropped it when Lute had cut out her eye, three years ago, and in her shock and agony she hadn't thought to pick it up again, even in self-defence against her superior-now-tormentor. Hadn't been able to think about anything aside from the pain and horror and betrayal. She'd left it, wherever it was, as she staggered from one
alleyway to another; the one where Charlie would find her.

But a few weeks after they'd met, the day after they'd settled on Vaggie becoming Charlie's bodyguard because Charlie wanted to go public with their relationship and Vaggie didn't want the spotlight on her, Charlie had said she had a gift to help with her new position, and she'd produced an angelic spear from behind her back that Vaggie recognized all-too-well. How had she been able to
hide the guilt and revulsion she felt picking it up again?
Charlie hadn't known its history. Maybe now she did. There was still silence between them, and that, to Vaggie, was the wrongest thing of all. Charlie's chattering; her singing; her beautiful voice ringing out with ideas and melodies and hope in a terrible world was a beacon Vaggie clung to, as much as Charlie's inopportune and sometimes counterproductive bursts of song frustrated her. Her silence felt like that light was being denied to
her.
At last, Charlie opened her mouth.
"When were you going to tell me."
It didn't sound like a question.
Vaggie swallowed back dread at her girlfriend's tone. "Charlie, I
know, I am so sorry-" "Three. Years. Vaggie." Charlie cut in, voice quivering with hurt. "Three years I shared my whole life with you. I've shared everything about myself," she started counting off on her fingers, more aggressively with each finger she ticked off, "my hopes, my
dreams, my insecurities, my embarrassing habits... what fucking

DEODORANT I like! And you kept... this? Something as big as this
from me?"
"I - I.." What could she even say to that? It was the ugly,
unvarnished truth. "Were you even going to tell me? Ever?" Charlie looked stricken, revolted at the thought of it. "Were you just planning to
go on for years hoping that I wouldn't find out?"
"N-no, I - Charlie-" "I trusted you, Vaggie!" Vaggie felt just as tortured as Charlie sounded. "We're supposed to be partners, and you - you hid this
from me!!"
"I'm sorry, Charlie! I knew it was wrong, I was trying to make
up for it; if I couldn't tell you, then I could at least—"
'It doesn't! That makes it worse!"
"Then please, please, Charlie, tell me how I can fix this!" Charlie didn't answer at first - scrubbed at her eyes, turned away and stormed down the stairs. Vaggie followed, because what
else could she do?
"You shouldn't have to ask!"

@kiwi8fruit6.bsky.social Oct 7, 2026, 10:51 PM

for my first #WIPWednesday in a long while… I’m making this sneak peek of #ADealNotTakenAU Chapter 4, the start of the real serious Chaggie angst, public! 😈

Vaggie only realised that she'd dozed off when she was jolted awake by the door slamming open right next to her. She cursed herself for her lapse in attentiveness, as always, and the little scolding voice in her mind sounded vaguely like Lute, as it always did.
She hurried to clear her head and take up her spear.
Then she realised it was Charlie standing there, just outside the threshold of their room; and
letting her guard down was suddenly the farthest thing from Vaggie's mind.
For just a moment Charlie had looked startled at Vaggie's presence, maybe even alarmed at the way she'd reached for her spear - but that vanished just as quickly. She folded her arms and didn't say anything. Her gaze was cold, harsh, in spite of the puffiness of her eyes and the half-dried tear tracks down her cheeks; and the chill of that gaze - the guilt of knowing she was the cause of it - settled heavily in Vaggie's stomach.
Awkwardly she got to her feet, her weapon left abandoned on the floor.
They both knew full well it was an angelic weapon. Vaggie had dropped it when Lute had cut out her eye, three years ago, and in her shock and agony she hadn't thought to pick it up again, even in self-defence against her superior-now-tormentor. Hadn't been able to think about anything aside from the pain and horror and betrayal. She'd left it, wherever it was, as she staggered from one alleyway to another; the one where Charlie would find her.
But a few weeks after they'd met, the day after they'd settled on Vaggie becoming Charlie's bodyguard because Charlie wanted to go public with their relationship and Vaggie didn't want the spotlight on her, Charlie had said she had a gift to help with her new position, and she'd produced an angelic spear from behind her back that Vaggie recognized all-too-well. How had she been able to hide the guilt and revulsion she felt picking it up again?
Charlie hadn't known its history. Maybe now she did.

There was still silence between them, and that, to Vaggie, was the wrongest thing of all. Charlie's chattering; her singing; her beautiful voice ringing out with ideas and melodies and hope in a terrible world was a beacon Vaggie clung to, as much as Charlie's inopportune and sometimes counterproductive bursts of song frustrated her. Her silence felt like that light was being denied to her.
At last, Charlie opened her mouth.
"When were you going to tell me." It didn't sound like a question.
Vaggie swallowed back dread at her girlfriend's tone. "Charlie, I know, I am so sorry-"
"Three. Years. Vaggie." Charlie cut in, voice quivering with hurt. "Three years I shared my whole life with you. I've shared everything about myself," she started counting off on her fingers, more aggressively with each finger she ticked off, "my hopes, my dreams, my insecurities, my embarrassing habits... what fucking DEODORANT I like! And you kept... this? Something as big as this from me?"
"I-I.." What could she even say to that? It was the ugly, unvarnished truth.
"Were you even going to tell me? Ever?" Charlie looked stricken, revolted at the thought of it.
"Were you just planning to go on for years hoping that I wouldn't find out?"
"N-no, 1 - Charlie -"
"I trusted you, Vaggie!" Vaggie felt just as tortured as Charlie sounded. "We're supposed to be
partners, and you - you hid this from me!!"
"I'm sorry, Charlie! I knew it was wrong, I was trying to make up for it; if I couldn't tell you, then I
could at least_"
'It doesn't! That makes it worse!"

@kiwi8fruit6.bsky.social Oct 4, 2026, 11:29 AM

That's right – A Deal Not Taken Chapter 4 has a firm(ish) posting date – October 21st!!

Which may or may not be because of a relevant whumptober prompt 🙊.

Mark your calendars, and prepare your hearts for the Stolitzification of Chaggi to begin in earnest 🌈😢🎀

#ADealNotTakenAU

Black text with a green glow on a purple-red-yellow gradient background.

Text reads: 'A Deal Not Taken Chapter 4 Coming October 21st 1pm PST'

@adealnottakenao3.bsky.social Oct 4, 2026, 11:15 AM

#ADealNotTakenAU

@kiwi8fruit6.bsky.social Oct 3, 2026, 12:13 PM

i’ve said it before, probably

but one of my goals with the #ADealNotTakenAU is to show that you can make Chaggi feel deeper and more narratively important (like Stolitz) just by spending more time with the canon material we‘ve been given for their relationship – without radically changing anything.

@kiwi8fruit6.bsky.social Sep 24, 2026, 2:20 PM

I'm making a commitment. #ADealNotTakenAU