#or maybe this’ll flop too and I made all this fuss for nothing

[quibbs126]

“Perhaps now, a new dawn can finally approach…”

Here, have some of your dosage of Cookie Run art by me

The idea was basically of Dark Choco getting that Lava Sword, and then heading out to find a new lease on life

I want his Ovenbreak redemption really badly, or at least an update following him and that sort of story, as unlikely as that is. I mean, he seems to be pretty friendly at the Sun Tournament, so he’s not entirely unsaveable. But I also sort of see why he doesn’t get one, namely that he has one in Kingdom (sort of), and reappearing Ovenbreak characters generally get boiled down to their tropes, and a redemption would mean that they have to change his tropes

But yeah, at least in AUs/fanfiction

His shoulder pads are missing because the idea in my head was that he’s getting rid of his old outfit, to symbolize him starting anew, but then I also wanted the cape but was too lazy to add the shoulder pads back in, so now they’re the only thing missing from his design. I still don’t feel like putting them in though

Background’s still not great, but at least there’s an actual setting this time? I don’t really know how to improve on that front

I put the clouds in to sort of symbolize him leaving the control of the sword, as the clouds are now supposed to be dissipating. But I also don’t really know how to draw clouds, so they don’t look as great as I’d hoped

…All right, I’m gonna be honest, this drawing was cynically conceived. I made it because I was upset that this week’s drawings haven’t been doing so well, particularly last night’s drawing. I can acknowledge most haven’t been great, but I put a lot of effort into that last one and I think it turned out a bit better than usual, but it’s barely gotten any attention, outside of some mutuals and followers that’ll like my non-Cookie Run stuff as well. And it’s gotten nothing on Twitter, despite not having the tag excuse tumblr might have as to who sees it

This was made because I’m convinced that it’ll do better than yesterday’s drawing, as well as the art I’m posting on Sunday which I busted my ass over and have been waiting to post, just because it’s Cookie Run, Dark Choco, and what most of you signed up for

The above art isn’t horrible, and I do feel kind of bad for tying it into my own personal bitterness over what was probably inevitable, but this also is not my best work. I made it in 45 minutes while in class, it’s sort of just fine. But I guarantee you it’s going to do better than those other two pieces, things I put real passion and effort into (the latter piece more than the former though), just because of what it is

I would like to be proven wrong, and for that Sunday picture to actually do good and get the attention I want it to (which isn’t much, it’s mostly just double digit likes and at least one or two reblogs with someone’s thoughts), but I feel like that won’t be what happens, and that I’ll see more of this in my activity instead

[whatarubberchicken]

Adrinette April -3- Fencing

@adrinetteapril

Chapter 1 - Chapter 2

(There’s a nod to the other meaning of the prompt in here, if you care to find it!)

Chapter 3 – Fencing

This. Was. Torture.

Adrien tried to stop fidgeting. He did. But every time he got the least bit distracted from holding himself down, his knee would start bouncing again. He was currently clenching and unclenching his fist slowly, trying to focus on it instead of what was happening downstairs.

You’d think with years of modeling under his belt, he could freaking SIT STILL!!

He took a calming breath and counted down from ten.

Nathalie and the Gorilla were here, asking Marinette questions about whether or not she’d seen him lately. Apparently, his father was too proud to go to the police. Or he was afraid they’d search the mansion first… Adrien snorted. Yeah, that wouldn’t be good.

He hoped they didn’t question Marinette too harshly. He was sure she’d stick to “nope, I haven’t seen him since the last time he was at school” for her story, but… as Alya had once said, she didn’t have a very good poker face.

Please don’t let her give me away, he silently pleaded. Please, please don’t let her give me away!!

The bolt of fabric hiding him suddenly lifted away.

“Hey—”

Adrien yelped.

(It was a very manly yelp, he would insist later. And Marinette would, of course, agree. But again, her poker face….)

Marinette giggled. “It’s just me, scaredy-cat,” she teased. “Your father’s evil henchmen have left. I think they bought it. But geez, you’d think I was dealing in stolen goods with all the questions they had! I even let them look at my messages to prove you hadn’t tried to contact me. It’s not my fault I didn’t know you didn’t have your phone on you,” she added innocently.

Adrien breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you,” he said fervently.

She waved it away as nothing.

“Nathalie said she and your bodyguard were going to try the Kubdels next,” she said. “So, we should be okay for a while.”

Adrien smiled. That meant it might be safe for him to go outside! Because, while he was grateful to Marinette and her room for shelter, it just wasn’t the open space he was used to.

“Will you be all right here for a bit?” Marinette was asking him before he realized it. “Alya’s organizing a search party for you, and it’ll look suspicious if I don’t go join them for a while. Don’t worry, I’ll pretend I’m ‘sick at the thought of something happening to you’ or something,” she added with a wink.

His stomach dropped a bit at the thought of her leaving again. Her being gone for school was bad enough. Right now, Marinette was his only contact to the outside world. Adrien gave her a pouty face.

Marinette laughed. “Sorry, but I’ve grown immune to puppy-dog eyes, Adrien,” she teased, tweaking him on the nose. The playful contact startled him, and he smiled at her.

“Fiiiiiine,” he said, flopping in his chair and imitating Plagg’s best exasperated drawl. “But you’d better have some good snacks for us when you get back!”

“Deal,” Marinette said, already heading down the stairs.

Alone again.

Adrien gave one last pouty sigh, and then rolled the chair over to Marinette’s computer. Might as well pass the time by checking his email. He hadn’t done it in a while.

Messages from his father, demanding he come home. Deleted.

Messages from Natalie, pleading with him to come home. Deleted.

Messages from his Chinese tutor, telling him to keep up with his homework, even while he was away. Deleted, with a few spoken words in Chinese that he wasn’t supposed to know.

Messages from his friends, asking if he was okay. He’d answer those later.

An automatic notice from his calendar, reminding him that his fencing class was going to be learning a new move today—AWWWW!!! He’d been waiting all month for that!! It had looked so cool in the video M. D’Argencourt had showed them too!!

Adrien grumbled and sank into his chair. He was so tired of being inside all the time!! He felt trapped. Claustrophobic. Surely there was some way for him to—

Wait. Maybe he could make this work.

Fencing!

As long as he kept his mask on, nobody had to realize it was him! He’d just stick to the back of the class and not talk! Simple!

“Kid, are you crazy?” Plagg said, as soon as they got up to the balcony.

“I’m getting there, doing nothing all day,” Adrien said as he eyed the distance between the two buildings, looking for the best place to land.

“So, go for a run as Chat! Don’t you need to call Ladybug again any—”

“Claws out!” Adrien called firmly, ending the conversation. “I’ll call her later,” he promised the kwami currently trapped in his ring. Right now, his mental health was more important.

He bounded over to the school, sucking in the fresh air delightedly. Fortunately, akumas didn’t really have a time schedule, so he’d taken to storing extra fencing gear in lockers and spare spaces around the school, in case he had to make a quick change someday.

Well, today was that day, he thought to himself as he cheerfully released his transformation and changed. He plopped the mask on his head and presented himself to Plagg, who looked considerably less than impressed.

“Oh, come on,” Adrien said. “This’ll work! I just have to be quiet and subtle.”

“Yeah, because you’re so subtle…,” Plagg drawled, rolling his eyes.

“Fine, just wait for me in the locker.”

“I’ll just be eating my cheese…, waiting for disaster….”

Adrien slammed the locker shut on his unhelpful kwami.

He strolled into the fencing lesson nonchalantly, whistling. Whistling was the ultimate sign of innocence, right? Nobody would suspect him of anything if he was whistling innocently—

“Hey, Adrien!” one of his teammates greeted him easily. “You missed class today. Isn’t your nanny gonna go ballistic?”

“Wha—uh, I’m not Adrien!” he protested, coughing and trying to make his voice lower than it actually was. His teammate laughed.

“Yeah… Okay, man. Whatever you say.”

Adrien gaped. How had his brilliant plan failed already?? He was wearing a mask!!

“Adrien!” a sharp voice off to the side made him jump and then cringe. He looked over to see Nathalie striding towards him, looking supremely unhappy.

Crap. The Gorilla wasn’t with her. The Gorilla was always with her! He’d been Chat Noir long enough to recognize a pincer move. He quickly looked around. Probably the side door. He might be able to make it out of here if he ran for it… but the big guy could move pretty quickly when he wanted to. Sooo....

Instead, Adrien raised his sabre in a salute and fell into a ready stance. Nathalie stopped short, blinking at him. Then she smirked.

“If I win, you return home with no fuss?” she offered.

“And if I win, you tell my father you couldn’t find me,” Adrien said.

She nodded in agreement and accepted a mask, sabre, and padding from M. D’Argencourt, who was always eager to see a duel of honor unfold. Now, the man was nearly bouncing. As she got ready, Adrien felt himself growing nervous at the easy way she handled herself. Nathalie knew how to fence?

“En garde,” D’Argencourt called. “Prêts? Allez!”

Crap, Nathalie knew how to fence!!

Within moments, Adrien felt himself being pushed back by a flurry of attacks that had him scrambling to keep up. He barely dodged a particularly good thrust towards his ribs. He attempted a riposte, but was stunned to see her dance away from him, her movements fluid and effortless.

Damn. Why had his father never let him practice with her??

He was gonna lose…

She had him backing up again, nearly to the stairs to get away from her relentless attacks. Then—THERE!—he saw an opening and dove for it, hitting her neatly below the heart.

YES!! He’d won!! The fight was his!! M. D’Argencourt and his teammates were cheering on the sidelines—

The Gorilla grabbed him from behind.

End Chapter 3.