#fun challenge

[friendlyfoxpal]

So uhhh i saw this post some time ago

So thought it be a funny challenge if i drew one of my giants in that fashion. Ended up choosing Owen.

Hehehe. Good lad but just looking a little spooky like this.

[transcendental-butimmental]

@merthurmicrofic

Wordcount: 1,780 (sue me)

Prompt: Shadow Bingo Squares: First Person POV, Episode Fix-it, Magical Object, Magic Reveal, Hurt/Comfort(Emotional)

He is a shadow of a man I once respected. A mere spectre. And yet, even faded and ghostly, he's overpowering in his aura. His mere presence, the shadow of his presence, looms over me. It still sends a weakness to my legs like it has since I was but a boy. But I am no longer. The delicate little horn hangs like a loadstone from my belt, but my fingers stall. I need to know. Damn me, but I need to know.

"Why are you doing this?"

My voice bends but doesn't break, that at least is a point of pride. I do not understand. Camelot must come first, that's the oldest lesson he taught me. Why now, does he seek to destroy it? Everything I've built in his absence, everything I've accomplished - have yet to accomplish? Was this not what he raised me for?

"I did not spend my entire life building this kingdom to see my own son destroy it."

I haven't, I want to shout, I've improved it! I've tried to improve it. Shouting never did any good when he was alive, and now, somehow, he's even more intimidating. Attempting to kill Camelot's Queen, my Queen, is his answer? That alone is destruction!

"You tried to kill Guinevere."

My jaw sets. It helps to keep the waver from my voice, the burn from my eyes. Curdled love wars with fresh disgust in my gut.

"For your own good. How can a serving girl understand what it means to be Queen?"

Even in death, dismissive. Cutting. Even in death, it spurs my tongue before I've thought it through carefully. The rush of injustice tastes just as bitter as it ever did.

"Guinevere is wise, and strong. And I trust her more than anyone."

I should feel proud, my words don't bow to him. My voice is steel. But instead, it's a cold indifference. He's never approved, I've never been enough, my Queen will never be enough.

"And that is your weakness." that hateful voice, so smug, so sneering, so... is that how I sound? When Merlin says I'm being a prat, is that how I sound? A sobering thought. "You put too much trust in other people. You, and you alone, must rule Camelot."

"I would rather not rule at all, than rule alone."

Defiance chills me to the bone, but yet... it's bright, and growing.

"Your whole life I tried to prepare you for the day you would become King. Did you learn nothing?"

And there it is, the needle, the blade. I swallow down the shame of the wound as best I can, because to fall apart will mean losing even the pretense of a conversation of equals.

"I watched you rule." I say lowly, and perhaps he can hear the ire in it, for the sneer on his face deepens, "I learned that if you trust noone, you'll always live in fear-" he moves to speak but the words have to come now, before my courage flags, "-your hatred came from fear, not strength."

I've enraged him now, I know it. It quivers like a bowstring under my skin. My- Uther's ghost gets to his feet, and I've know the hate upon that face all my life. It's terrifying, and freeing, and nauseating all at once to kindle his fury willingly.

"How dare you."

"I loved and respected you, but I have to rule the kingdom in my own way. I have to do what I believe to be right."

"I will not allow you to destroy all that I built!"

No. No longer will I fear him. He is dead, his time is gone, and Camelot is mine to rule, mine and Gwen's, and Merlin's, and Leon's and-

"Then you'll have to kill me." The flippancy comes surging up at the thought of Merlin, his seemingly abundant insolence. What a place to find guidance from, in this of all things. "I'm not you, Father. I can't rule the way you did."

It hurts, still, to admit. But it's the truest thing I have said in too long a time.

"Camelot must come before all else."

It's too great to absorb, the level surety in his tone. It dawns, horrifically slowly, like a lake monster emerging from the shadows below the surface. All else.

"Even you."

No.

The impact resonates, like an echo, coming much later than the darkness. My ears ring, my mouth tastes of copper and salt. My every muscle is weighted and impossibly heavy. Am I... drowning?

Get.

       Away.

                    from Him,

                                                              Uther.

The air feels heavy with heat, the sounds around me are confused, swirling together, watery in my ears, then flitting away in fragments like fish from a lure.

                                          -enough harm.

-don't                                                                  -here                                                    -caused

                     -belong -

I breathe in, and it feels like shadows. I am tired of shadows. Of the shadows of men who would tear down my kingdom, my reign, and inflict upon my people more of the pain he poisoned Camelot with when he was alive. Things are changing. Things will change. They must.

                                                                                                                                   -return

-other world-                                       -serving boy!                                                                                  -drive me from it?

                                                                                    -nothing but-

                                        -MY Kingdom-                                           -more than that.

And for them to change, for the brave new days of prosperity to come upon us, I too must brave the dark.

     I am-                                                                -you!

                            -Magic!                                                                                                                 -much more-

                                                                                         -don't belong-

I rise from the murk slowly, the stone beneath my aching head cool and solid. A steady tether as my mind spins and my stomach heaves. He's out there, I can hear it, he's come across some poor-

  I WAS

              BORN

                         WITH IT!

Merlin.

I'm straining against the clutches of that space between awake and not, but it drags me down no matter how I try. Merlin. Uther has Merlin in his sights and if he- if anything happens to- I'll kill him. Dead or ghost or- I'll kill him over. The swampy murk sinks further into my ears and blurs the sounds of life further but-

    - I made you-                                                    -wrong!-                         -were King-                              -about so much-

                     -Arthur's-              -heart-                                                                         -poison my-

 -Camelot                                                         -sorceror-                      -will not allow-                                      -wrong!-

                     -your kind-                                                              -Magic-

It's too hard to hold on, the voices, the words, they swim around and around like water down a drain and I cannot grasp anything to hold onto to stop myself from being dragged down with them.

Arthur is-

That. I will hold tight to that, my name, Merlin's- Merlin's voice. As solid a handhold as any I've known-

- a better and more worthy King-

It's slipping again. And the darkness is here.

-ever were.

I don't remember waking, it's a blur of movement, the driving need to stand, to seek, to hunt. Dread and knowledge, time running out and-

"Father!"

Merlin, locked to the wood with spears, and Uther. Sword in hand, he looks every inch the man- No.

"Arthur."

Merlin... Merlin looks wretched. His eyes fly straight like true arrows to find me, and incredibly, he looks more heartbroken than I am.

"No. Please."

I hold the horn up like a shield, no more will I waver in the face of this- this Shadow. I cling tightly to my reserve, damn the burning in my eyes.

"Whatever I've done, I've done for Camelot."

No. That isn't true. I hold tighter to that knowledge. Merlin meets my eyes, and suddenly, I understand. And yet, I know, as surely as I know myself, that his unshed tears are not for himself. That handhold, again, against the swirling tide.

"You've had your turn."

My breath has run dry, but it has to last. Just long enough, it has to last.

"Now it's mine."

And it doesn't matter that my voice is breaking. It doesn't matter that my eyes are leaking and my heart is pounding. It matters that Merlin will not face that blade, that Camelot will remain mine. Remain ours.

"Merlin has-"

The horn sings with what feels like the very last of my breath, and Uther is gone.

The moment hangs, horrible, glorious, sickening. My arms move instinctively, yanking the embedded spears, freeing him. He has no words, that's how strange this moment is, no words. He stares, and I cannot meet his eye. Not yet, not while this awful, gushing mess of fear, of freedom, of the earth shifting beneath me still rushes through my blood.

"A close call." he whispers eventually, when we're almost to my chambers once more, and "Thank you."

The words are in my throat, I need only let them free. And yet at this moment, the need to know has fled me. I swallow.

"I heard."

I cannot see him, a pace behind me, but I feel the shift. Tension in the air, the minute hitch as he stops breathing. I'm correct. That mire of sound, those snatched, fractured pieces. Dare I? The shadows have been lifted, and yet trepidation quells my courage.

"Arthur, I-"

"A better King?"

His confusion is loud. Tentative relief apparent when he speaks again.

"My lord?"

And I look at him, wretched, teary-eyed still, almost afraid, and there's so much that I cannot voice. But there is a familiar, easy path I can choose, and easy sounds wonderful right now. My mouth twitches.

"More worthy?"

His pale face reddens, and his eyes drop, but there's something, something playing along the edge of his mouth. It is decided. The rest is a conversation for tomorrow. Today has been enough already.

"Surely my ears deceived me, for a 'Prat of a Prince' couldn't possibly do better than-"

"He can." he breathes softly, and when I glance back he's looking once more, and his face is soft and his eyes almost glow with conviction, "You can. You have, already."

The retort dies swiftly on my tongue, and heat burns abruptly in my chest, chasing away the pain of my Father's visage.

"Thank you." comes out instead, painting bemusement on Merlin's brow, "For... Well."

His answering expression is too gentle for a grin, too fragile for a smirk. Our shoulders bump as he draws level with me, and I feel instantly more at peace than I have since summoning the spectre of a dead King.

"Anytime." he answers, and there's almost a trace of his usual cheer in it.

I clear the emotion from my throat, dispersing it.

"Remind me never to call upon Uther again. He is as unpleasant as I remember."

Merlin's startled snort is pleasant in the silence around us. I smile, and it is real.

"Never again, entirely unpleasant."

Not even my warning glance can stop his grin, and my courage is renewed, in part.

Tomorrow.

Tomorrow there will be no more shadows between us. Never again.

[cdsillyposting]

It is hilarious how easily disproven that whole pugs/anime girls thing by just looking at the slate of 2020s anime. of course, it's likely the OP was doing a bit of ragebait, but Lily means it 100% and it falls apart by just pulling up any 2020s anime and looking through its female cast. Semiu was already a great example of this, but let's throw in a few more for fun. * Himeno (Chainsaw Man) * Maki Zenin (JJK, especially her appearance post-Shibuya Incident) * Seiko Ayase (Dandadan) * Beatrix Amehauser (Zom 100) * Marcille (Dungeon Meshi)

I didn't think of Zom 100, really towing the line there, on the edge I feel, but thats just my opinion, pretty sure Beatrix would make CD sick tho lol, shameless wish fulfillment right there, not necessarily a bad thing, not like the show promised anything else:

Ah man that could be fun, actually LETS keep going!

So for some self imposed rules:

Unique Looking Female Characters

Just like my Japanese animes (They have to be from an anime)

If both men women and nonbinary characters all look the same it doesn't necessarily mean they aren't suffering Pugs syndrome

If from an adaptation (manga) the anime is not exempt if it has changed the art style

If an anime changes designs overtime to be more pug-like in a single show it is invalid, simplifying the arts not great.

Funny Faces. Exaggeration for a comedic moment doesn't disqualify anything.

Gotta get a variety, So 1 character per show.

Anything past the 2000s.

individuals over shows, character design is a art form and will say different things, doe eyes for a more innocent characters etc etc.

They have to be a major character if not a main character, reoccurring with speaking lines.

I think thats plenty of rules.

Oliva Armstrong, FMA:B 2009-2010

Rui Hachiouji, Code:Breaker 2012

Noi, Dorohedoro 2020

Abigail Jones, The Great Pretender 2020-2024

Minare Koda, Wave, Listen to Me! 2023

Revy, Black Lagoon 2010-2011

Mey-Rin, Black Butler 2008-2009

I sorta wanted to go through my list of things I could recall and tbh Mey-Rin is pushing it a biiiiiiit but her nose (when not in glasses) is well defined in most shots and her face is well balanced enough I think to not be pug face. Also its just really funny to be able to keep using black fucking butler as proof over and over again when talking about how wrong CD is easily proven, all the time.

I don't even like the show all that much I think its kinda a mess!

characters I wanted to include but didn't because it felt like for one reason or another they didn't fit the spirit or felt like I was dancing to much on one of more of the rules for various reasons

Michiko from Michiko and Hatchin, she has everthing that feels right but her face has a lot of odd shots and kinda blends at times in a way that felt like cheating

Panty & Stocking both are so stylized they break the conventions of the typical "anime style" almost exactly what the pug face is except... again styleization. but rules is rules

Anyways fun game. I still disagree that most anime has gone through some kind of wicked transformation and more its the super cutesy styled ones that have done some hilarious things to anatomy of character faces

I coulda done more but this post is already kinda a gag in and of itself

[spacebubblehomebase]

NOTE ART:

Drawings made in my phone's Notes app! ^v^ I just wanted to prove that you can draw in anything. All these characters were chosen based on the suggestions of my followers on Instagram stories. Hope ya like! Join me on Insta for more updates cause I'm just way more active there! =P -Bubbly💙

https://www.instagram.com/space_bubble.arts?igsh=OGZkZGQ2cXd4cDhx 🧡🧡🧡

[natsuki208]

Thanks to @instantpeachrunaway on Twitter, I’m allowed to do this fun challenge which they did themselves - go check it out!

Feel free to participate for mine. ^^

[silli-illi]

Redraw :)

Abyss group photo

Iykyk um please don’t find the old one

[truths33k3r4]

Ok @indieyuugure challenged me to do this little challenge where you post the last fictional character saved in your phone, and that character has adopted you.

I screenshot this so I can use it for reference when I make fanart later of @phoebepheebsphibs OC Peaches! :) I legit have no idea how it would go to be adopted by her.. She seems super sweet! Kinda gives me “fun auntie who always has candy in her purse” vibes. :)

Ok here’s the tags for the next people I challenge!

@allyheart707 @poetique823 @nyaboshi @exhaustedwriterartist @jasminegazer