#(designs of them as human + them being more animalistic)

[am-i-tho]

revisiting an old sketchbook and it's so weird seeing so many interests compiled in one place like this

[yakutarts]

Nightmare and Dream but feral, non-skeletal body!

For the love of god PLEASE click on the image for better quality + close ups and clothed version under the cut!!

Would you kiss them?

Video process:

I made these using a specific context

A while ages ago I drew and posted a drawing of Nightmare and Dream on their light ball form but with some alterations/personal headcanons.

On the post, I expressed my desire to draw the twins in a universe were Nim didn’t need to give them bodies, and just let them grow naturally. And specifically give them an animalistic appearance, instead of a humanoid one like most artist do.

You can see on the process video that it took me 1000 sketches to make something that looked good and I was happy with, the video is obviously sped up, the total time it took me to make this was 28 hours and 15 minutes.

Now explaining some things:

Why are they so big?

I read on a post made by Joku that Nim, before giving them skeleton bodies, tried to make them human ones, but the pure amount of magic and power the twins had made the human bodies explode or some shit. So she picked skeletons since the magic could flow freely through the bones without being confined by muscle and flesh. That made me think if their power had physical forms, it would be gigantic. So I gave them gigantic forms to better represent their status of strength and power, beings made from raw magic to serve as guardians of all emotions throughout the multiverse, of course I needed to make them big and intimidating!

Why the horns?

Artistic design choice, I gave them little horns and a chubby tail in their light ball form to purposefully make them more animalistic, wanted to keep it while making these. Also just giving them a smooth head with nothing much going on looked weird and boring.

Why the draconian look?

Dragons had been created and depicted as symbols of pure power above humanity and worshipped as deities throughout several cultures around the world, different depictions of dragons has been one of the only things present among almost all cultures, like a default folklore creature. While I tried to incorporate other mythical creatures in the design, the draconic body plan felt more right due to the influence of dragons on human beliefs, and their representation as magical and powerful beings beyond human comprehension. Plus I just really love drawing dragons.

Why the clothing choice? Also why is Dream half naked while Nightmare has everything covered?

While designing the clothes for Nightmare, I used as reference clothing that usually royalty would wear, Nightmare has a really big ego and sees himself as a king, so he uses fancy, expensive clothing and jewelry, adapted and designed for his anatomy. Not practical for battle, but his corruption can go through the fabric without damaging it, and most people and monsters just run when they see him, so he doesn’t worry about it getting dirty or tearing, Nightmare just expects every soul to instantly submit when they see him, so he never worries about getting into a battle and getting dirty he has that big of an ego.

Dream is the opposite, his style of clothing much more practical for running, jumping, flying, fighting and general exercise. He has 4 bags in total, 2 on each side, inside them he keeps several items, be it healing food, magical artifacts, first aid kit, gifts he receives, stuff he buys or random things he finds and wants to take home with him. Dream’s crown is now a colar couldn’t figure out how to make it work with the head shape and horns, his cape is from his official design, but changed to white, was planning to make it yellow but when I looked at it my eyes hurt because there was too much yellow everywhere. I made Dream’s clothes with the intent to match his official design, I didn’t to the same for nightmare because a turtle neck with a hoodie on a dragon would make him more huggable than intimidating. Plus I like to think that the leg warmers was a gift from Blue, and the ring on his horn a gift from Ink. Didn’t add more stuff on him because I couldn’t think of something that would look good and match Dream’s vibe, the rest of his clothes on his official design didn’t translate well here. Oh, while I was drawing this, I drew the colar and the leg warmers first, without the cape, Dream looked like a twink with a pet play kink.

Side note; neither Nightmare or Dream see the use of clothes as a necessity or as decency. For them clothes are nothing but pure decoration and to show off status for Nightmare, they can wear full body suits, partial clothing, just jewelry, or nothing at all, which is what they usually go for when at home, wearing or not wearing stuff doesn’t make that much of a difference to them at all.

Do they act as animals or do they have human intelligence?

Despite me using the word “feral” all the time to describe them, they do not actually act as animals. I’m only using “feral” to describe their body/anatomy, Nightmare and Dream are fully sentient and have human level intelligence/awareness. They are capable of speech and have opposable thumbs on their front paws, they can grab, write, hold… do anything a human can do with their hands with dexterity. But they do have to use only hand one at a time, and balance themselves with the other. To use both hands, they have to be sitting, or be supported by something, they can balance themselves on their wings if they have to.

And now contradicting what I just said, they have some animalistic behaviors. The twins can growl, purr and roar. Despite Nightmare being able to use his tentacles and Dream being able to shoot magic arrows out of his wings, they to also scratch and bite while fighting. Since they are big and heavy, they can easily crush bone under their weight and their bite force is strong enough to split someone in half. If you need a reference, just use Smaug from The Hobbit, he has more or less the balance of animal behavior and human intelligence I’m looking for.

Expanding more on this, the twins stretch just like felines, and often sleep in positions usually cats sleep in (they don’t actually need to sleep but do anyway). Dream likes to go fishing, and by fishing I mean jumping in a lake and chasing the fish underwater. He finds it more fun than sitting around and waiting for the fish to come to you instead.

I guess you count their lack of necessity to wear clothes as animal logic too?

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If you have any more questions about them, I will be happy to answer!

And yes, I do plan on making more drawings of Nightmare and Dream on this form!

Dreamtale belongs to @jokublog

Feral concept/design by @yakutarts (me)

[wakebymoonsleepbysun]

Dogday!! Trying to figure out a way to send a Y/N in there to help him.

Rambles under the cut.

(I drew my sona in these cuz self-indulgent, but if I ever write anything it'll be a reader insert with little to no canon design.)

Design notes: Took some elements from his game model as well as his cartoon design. I think when we see him, he is emaciated and/or stretched out, the way CatNap is said to be able to stretch. Don't know if that's an ability all Smiling Critters have though. For now I'm saying it is SOMEWHAT but CatNap is the better at it by MILES. In any case, that's why he's not quite as lanky as he is in game, and is also a bit shorter.

I also he can be bipedal or quadrupedal, much like CatNap seems to be able to switch back and forth. A bit more animalistic than his cartoon counterpart, but part of that is just him not wanting to tower over the children and employees all the time, so drops down to all fours quite a bit.

The fur texture on his ears in the game cave him a floofy cocker spaniel look so I went with that instead of the less floofy ears he has in the cartoon and his original plushie.

The white pupils being absent when we see him I believe is a sign of how weak he is. When healthy, all the Bigger Bodies Smiling Critters have them, much like CatNap does.

Trying to actually keep his huge open-mouth smile at all times, unlike with my FNAF stuff where I give them more of an ability to emote. That said trying to get him to look angry or sad was a challenge. Sad I think worked okay but the one where I meant him to look angry he looks more cocky or smirky than mad. Tender moments are a bit harder too, as keeping that huge grin with more tender eyes results in him looking either drunk or horney or just like he's not taking the moment very seriously, haha.

And the story? Not sure yet, bouncing around a few ideas, though I don't think I'll have the reader and the player be the same person. Reader might be someone who came up in PlayCare alongside Dogday. Perhaps they knew each other as kids when Dogday was still human. Haven't decided how much of this Dogday remembers or at what point the reader realizes Dogday is their old friend who got "adopted".

Reader grows up the Playcare and is given a job once they're an adult. (Something something starting the brainwashing and normalization of bullshit early to make employees who are more willing to look the other way?)

Dogday somehow kept them hidden during the Hour of Joy and the reader's been living in the caves ever since. (The caves open up so much possibility for people being hidden in the factory. Much easier to say there's an unknown offshoot of a natural cave system than an unknown part of the factory.)

How are they staying fed? Uhhhh...cave mushrooms? Trips to the surface? Moss? Stale vending machine candy? I don't know yet.

Not sure how to pull a happy ending out of this horror but I'm trying. Maybe the reader convinces Dogday to leave after Ch 3 because he'd be too weak to help anyway or something? And uh...I'm just gonna pretend since he's kinda a plushie he can be sewn back together even though I'm PRETTY SURE canonically the inclusion of blood and guts makes that...not a thing.

Just remember guys...all winds blow away...eventually.

[ctwinsduo]

woe cwilbur be upon ye. as promised here are my designs for every cwil era/stage/what have you + my reasons behind each design. design breakdown will be under the read more :>

as a disclaimer going forward: these designs are heavily informed by my own headcanons (namely the nature spirit headcanon, which i will only briefly explain here- if you want more of a background on that here's where I first shared the hc and explained it a bit) i'll be honest idk how much of these hcs/analysis abides by canon? so if you prefer to closely abide by canon this may not be for you. having said that, let's get into this. So one question that may initially come to mind when looking over this is "Why a nature spirit?" which is a reasonable question all things considered. I've already gone over the Watsonian explanation in the past, so instead I'll cover the Doylist take- which is more interesting as it pertains to these designs. Wilbur, as I see her, is a character that has many faces- she warps and changes to embody the view of herself she sees as necessary for the situation, whether that be the revolutionary or the villain. Simultaneously he has this core that's deeply eccentric and often difficult for the characters around him to grasp- this can come in the form of benign weirdness to the struggles with mental illness we see him go through throughout his various arcs. There's this push and pull between the person they want to portray and who they are fundamentally that's always at play.

Them being a nature spirit embodies this to an extreme. As a nature spirit their physical form is informed by their self perception (the one that's warped by the role they feel they need to take) and their own mental state, both aspects of the character that are foundational.

Another question that may arise upon reading all of this is "Why not just make him a shapeshifter?" which is also a valid question. Truthfully this one is rooted heavily in my own ideas of the character, so you'll have to take that with a grain of salt. I am, unfortunately, prone to making shit up /lh With that in mind however, the reason I choose nature spirit over shapeshifter is that, the way I interpret it, it's much more... animalistic? Let me explain: the way I tend to see shapeshifters portrayed is either a. having a base form that's relatively humanoid and then multiple other forms or b. having no base form but still presenting as generally humanoid. As a nature spirit Wilbur has a natural (ba-dum-tsss) tie to well... nature, and all that lives within it.

She's this manifestation of the wilderness whose form isn't even naturally human, yet she shapes herself into something presenting as such. As a nature spirit Wilbur occupies this weird nebulous space between human and beast, never fully embodying either. I find this incredibly interesting for a character that wants to feel and to be treated as human so badly, one that also clearly resents being seen as monstrous (despite leaning into that perception of themselves)

TLDR; Wilbur's 50 contradictions in a trenchcoat (literally) and being a nature spirit gives these contradictions/masks/ect. a physical manfiestation Now that we're 500+ words of analysis in, let me breakdown each individual stage :3 /lh

Pre-SMP + L'manburg

The most "human" Wilbur ever gets here- technically these two are different designs/eras but they have similar design notes so I'm lumping them together here

During this stage of his life Wilbur has a fairly good handle on his shapeshifting and is consciously choosing to look more human

Small details like the fangs, pointed ears, claws, and pupils allude to an inhuman nature. I like to think there's something uncanny valley about them- they look human but the longer you look at them the more small discrepancies you notice

Both look relatively generic appearance wise, if you can't tell this was Wilbur's "I am a Normal Human Man era" but with slightly more gender /lh

Decided to stick Wilbur in a different outfit Pre-SMP than the actual skin most people reference, mostly because I thought it'd be fun. The trenchcoat follows her throughout her development

Lots of goofy ass patches and pins on the coat

I personally hc that Wilbur always has some sort of oversized clothes on because it's a bit like a security blanket for him, very grounding and all that- anyways that's what the trenchcoat is here

Limited notes on L'manburg era- main thing is the glasses; they got cracked in conflict and they just never bothered to fix em

Pogtopia

As a result of stress (and personal perception) Wilbur lost control over his shifting entirely

Wilbur views their nature as inherently monstrous, thus when they think of themselves as monstrous or evil they lose most of their human appearance

Much taller in this form than usual, this reflects both how she feels she's perceived and how she perceives herself (monstrous, scary, inhuman, ect. ect.)

Their height also serves to emphasis the claustrophobic nature of the ravine and especially the button room

Eye color changes from brown to red, yet again another thing which reflects his self loathing

Coat is the same one worn pre-smp, just with some adjustments

Pins & patches removed from the jacket (my friend suggested it saying that he "ripped them out because they were too happy" and I find that mental image particularly silly so it stays)

Covered in stains, partially because the ravine is just. awful. and partially because this thing is not taking care of herself even a little bit

Lenses are even more cracked than they were during the revolution

Ghostbur

This section has a lot less points then the others on account of Ghostbur being fairly self explanatory, but shhhhhh

Reverted to "base form" post death, form is extremely fluid as a ghost- she tends to shift depending on the topic of conversation or the person she's speaking with (Explain being: whenever she talks about "alivebur" she becomes more human)

Less of a note and more rambling: fox ghostbur is especially fun to me given the hatred Wilbur has for Ghostbur. Ghostbur physically reflecting the parts of Wilbur that they hate the most in themselves

For Wilbur their base form- just a normal widdle fox- represents vulnerability. It is quite literally a small, fuzzy animal with little means to defend itself and it is also the culmination of everything Wilbur is running from. Ghostbur embraces this form fully yet is seen as more palatable by the people around her than Wilbur ever was

Constantly leaking a jammy, blue substance from his eyes and the cut in his chest, yucky

Especially long sections of "fur" like their tail and the back of their neck are constantly "dripping" little wisps like rain

Post-Revival

Post-revival his shifting is still fucked up (thank the mental illness for that) but he's got a slightly better handle on it, enough to look semi-human

Eyes have reverted back to brown but their lenses are tinted red anyways (often looks red)

The coat makes a comeback, edges are all fucked up from the explosion

That funky little overcoat/cloak/ect. got yoinked by Niki

Disheveled appearance meant to reflect her rancid ass mental state- namely the hair and the facial hair. Hair is grown out because she can't be bothered to cut it (you bet that shit is full of knots)

Nasty awful smeared eyeshadow as a treat <3 (I just think he deserves to be a little cunty yk?)

Got a little tired near the end here which is why the points got a bit sloppy, maybe I'll add more at a later date who knows. If you made it this far I hope you at least enjoyed reading all of this :>

[jealousmartini]

A little crazy ideaa I just scripted because I am an attention wh!re (don't tell anyone I'm putting you guys on this tho)

   ── .✦  ┆  𖤐  ┆  ␥ 

THE PHEROMONE PERFUME EFFECT

But first, what is a pheromone perfume, Keesh? 💭

Googled definition :: “The idea is that these fragrances are designed to mimic human pheromones which are ultimately used to attract others,” says Jérôme Epinette, renowned French perfumer and creator of Sol de Janeiro’s famed Cheirosa 59 Perfume Mist. “They bring a sensuality…something a bit more animalistic, that carries a bit of drama.”

My idea that I scripted was that my stage presence/aura has that pheromone perfume effect on people. Like, yknow how men act up when their girl has that perfume on? Yeah, THAT effect. I personally tweaked the effects of my aura only slightly to match my charisma. For example, i scripted my stage presence/aura as effortlessly attractive, irresistible, teasing, pretty, magnetic, addicting, playful, and exciting.

And then I scripted the effects my aura has on people. For example, I make people awe, excited, nervous, flustered, hyped, enticed, addicted and infatuated. Idk about "animalistic" yet cus I'm not tryna get attacked on stage for being hot cus someone couldn't contain themselves, but I AM tryna make people go a little cray cray for me lol.

I did also highlight that my aura does affect more than just fans but also idols too because I can. Like yes, I am trying to make male and female idols alike hesitate to make eye contact and sweat around me! some more than others but ignore that☺️

Anyway here's like the actual attention wh!re scenarios I've scripted:

✦ | I easily make hearts melt and hands sweat just by looking at them. My presence is undeniably breathtaking, and it's difficult for people to take their eyes off me

✦ | How does a sweet heart like me manage to make people nervous? Is my beauty just that intimidating? They can't seem to get a sentence out without folding.

✦ | Even idols can't get enough of me. I make girls wonder if they wanna be me or be with me and I make men's mind blank

✦ | Idols who I like always seem to like me more. Like, what do you mean you've been meaning to get my number but didn't know how?

✦ | Literally, the tiniest skin contact with me makes people panic. But yet they crave something they are petrified of? Just a little touch won't hurt you

✦ | gonna add some more later :3

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[ Inspired by this tiktok I saw just now ]

[the-twst-cast-needs-therapy]

Honestly, I think it's unfortunate that the Octavinille trio does not have more animalistic features. I get that they drink potions to have human features, but I'd like to believe that they keep more than just the teeth. Savannahclaw and Diasmonia have cool animal eyes, why can't Octavinille have them as well?

I am also a big fan of making the Tweels look a lot more terrifying in their merman forms. I need these mfs to look like they're chomping on shipwrecked humans like a 5 course meal. I need them to be creechur.

Anyways, slight redesigns for the Octavinille trio:

A design breakdown:

Azul:

-Pointy ears: I honestly don't know why, but I felt like giving him some! I also think his chibi sprite has them, which still confuses me.

-Octopus pupils: If other dorms can have cool animal eyes, so can Octavinille!

-Skin: the skin around his cheeks is a soft yellow and has a kind of ring pattern, that can be found on some octopus species. I thought it would add some flair. On top of that, his hands and feet also have some darker colouring to reference his octopus form.

-his octopus form is close to the cannon one, but I thought colouring his hair tips to resemble a pen dipped in ink would be a nice detail (as well as adding the iconic shell necklace)

Tweels:

-i love love love their fin ears, there definitely keeping them as humans. They're a little bigger in their mer forms (one of Floyds ears got bitten off during an altercation with a stranger), their ears are transparent

-a lot of their cannon mer form elements, such as the markings on the face and their blue hue have been kept for their human design. I think their mer forms are pretty, but as stated previously, some animalistic features would have been nice. I love the idea of the tweels looking more terrifying in ther human forms and being even scarier in their mer forms. I changed their eyes to look more animalistic in their mer forms. I definitely wanted to keep the heterochromia and had to depart from the usual Moray design for eyes.

-their teeth are sharp, but I think they're even more defined in their mer-forms. I think their jaws also open quite wide in their mer-forms

-contrary to the cannon, I don't think the Tweels would be super fit in their mer forms. I'd imagine them to be quite lanky and bony (to up that horror factor)

-im a really big fan of them having webbed hands! I think they'd have them (to a reduced degree) in their human form too!

[melancholic-minx]

ᴿⁱᵇᵇᵘⁿ ᵂᵉᵉᵏ ᴰᵃʸ ᴺᴼ. ⁵| ᵀʳᵃᵍᵉᵈʸ

﹫𝐌𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐜♤ ₘᵢₙₓ

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♥︎ 𖤂 ⭟ ːː

﹫𝐌𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐜|♤ ₘᵢₙₓ

Hello.... I know I'm late....by about four days... I'm sorry (´ﾍ｀；) I was delayed due to this drawing specifically. There wasn't any issues, technically, just didn't want to do it. Because coming up with a design for abstracted gangle was HARD, and I didn't have enough practice with the actual abstracted designs Goozeworks had canonically designed. Who knew that drawing onyx jagged multi-sided pillars would be so difficult? Not me! But perhaps next time, I'd try my hand at 3-D modeling, it would make the process leagues easier.

The reason why this was such an issue is because I was in internal conflict with paying homage to Gooseworks's vision and my personal interpretation of the Abstracted. Canonically, the Abstracted have no unique or discerning features from one another, completely removed of personality and individuality due to their minds etched away into basic animalistic instinct, something something maybe that's due to their time in the circus and their cartoonish bodies slowly stripped them from all human habits and unconscious patterns of a mortal being.... I don't know, I'm being stupid. Abstracted Gangle!!

Internally, I already have a basis of an abstracted design for every character in TADC (the players, anyway), but how I imagined Gangle to look was never head-on, if that makes sense. It was always from a profile view. She was deer-like but also wolfish, with narrow almond eyes, a narrow upturned snout, gangly (heehee) legs, and branch-like antlers, with those tufts of spiky fur at the cheeks of wolves and some domesticated cats ( I don't know what they're called and nobody will tell me. Keep your secrets...) the features of a snake, or a cat would make a lot more sense, I suppose, but I was pretty inspired by the animal designs for gangle by vvickydisc.

For how much time I spent on this illustration (12 hours) it doesn't really show. It felt like simultaneously I was spending too much time on it, and not enough. Hopefully it won't be the case for the next, I fully intend on finishing ribbunweek, even if it's over.

[vvickydisc]

actually devouring the designs of the abandonware AU (i desperately need more)

i am also curious if there'll be any designs for any abstracted characters from the show in the AU? 👀

AHAH im glad youre enjoying my designs!!! and actually yes i do! i like the animal aspect of the abstraction! like, a "default setting" on a human is obviously gonna be primal so them being animalistic in a way makes sense to me im also going to try and lean more towards their fear as well presented in the abstraction! heres a couple of concepts i thought of but i may revamp em up' im guessing you can tell who the two characters are being presented here

[katyahina]

The 'haired' helmets are strange..

It IS odd how we get to wear the characters' hairstyles, as it is just really unlikely they're scalps! I suppose the explanation is the same as why we are able to completely change upon looking into a mirror at Roundtable's Hold; as long as the Tarnished is guided by Greater Will, they'll have its aid and be transformed into whatever they see fit to keep carrying on! So I think the implication here is that we do, physically, grow the hair of the demigods (or champions) upon trying to tap on their power! I think if GW abandons a Tarnished, or if they abandon it, they lose this 'ability', which our playable character never does, so..

I am not sure whether it is Maliketh's own long mane or also a decoration! I'd like to think the former, in which case, same logic as with hair of Malenia, Godfrey and Radahn applies! Vargram's "hair" definitely is a decoration, and specifically for the purpose of imitating shadowbeasts:

Ensha's armour goes even further and not only gives us a hairdo, but makes us a skeleton:

We even get his power of slight regeneration, similar to Erdtree's normal powers:

All implications considered, I really doubt that this is just how armour looks, especially considering no change in size. We are not 'wearing' the skull, we ARE the skull now fhhsfd And this time the NPC data inside simply exists because Ensha does use NPC code and mechanics. So, we turn into a corpse! Again, should not matter much since as long as we're carried by GW we don't need to eat or sleep or... anything, really. (I'll also die on the hill of the theory that Ensha was one of the deceased Marika's offspring whose Mausoleum crashed and what was left from him crawled out but that's another story fdhfhds)

Here are other instances of hair simply decorating a helm:

Niall is that one guy we fight in Castle Sol, so similarity in this case ALSO checks out! Also cute idea: what if decoration for the helmets of Godrick's Knights IS his own hair? ;-;

That could also be speculated about Redmane Knights, but I feel like it'd be more appropriate for Godrick's. Radahn would be stingy about his amazing lion mane whereas Godrick can not only take body parts but also give them XDDDD yeah yeah terrible whatever

The black hair on Night Cavalry's helmet can be removed, also confirming that in this case it is a decoration. This hair does have interesting flowing animation though! Maybe it IS the hair of Night Cavalry themselves, still having their shadowy energy, but cut and attached again to their own helmets (kind of like Ciaran from DS1 decorated her helmet with her own braid!)

Another case of hair not being actual hair but part of the mask; the way hair is placed, it'd had to grow from like, eyebrows level and face itself or something fdhfdsdfh Maybe this style with braids and grey hair was intended to refer at Godfrey's? Alternatively, what IF their faces are actually furry/animalistic despite otherwise human build, so the hair doubles as fur? We don't see them behind the mask, after all? A food for a thought lol

^ More of 100% 'mask' types of these

The water dancer in blue gave the sword to Malenia's teacher, the blind guy that once sealed the God of Rot himself, and these warriors in blue appear to be following the same philosophy of "ever running water preventing stagnation, so, rot itself" as him! Although this head piece imitates just a follower and not the man himself (as far as we are aware....), perhaps the sentiment is strong enough to give us the hairdo too x) Again, funny enough, it seems to resemble the Lady of the Lake fairy herself!

I suspected the case of 'sharing hair' with Cleanrot Knights too, but upon closer look I can tell it is supposed to be some fabric/rags, rather than hair or hairlike accessory! Probably more efficient to imitate the look with rags rather than something hairlike tbh, considering the lenght of the thing! So I think the design is more meant to represent Malenia's own unhappy fate, with short tuft being the "hair" and the longer tails being the "wings" :

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In conclusion, it is kind of easy to deduce which hair become our actual hair for the time being because of golden grace 'reshaping' us and which hair is just decor! But it is really interesting stuff to think about all the way!

[really-burnt-toast]

Uhhhh designs!

Ok so, I thought of this totally cool and innovative thing of giving them each an individual aesthetic LOL - I did stay extremely close to the game designs tho

P03 is the most modern looking- based very loosely on y2k aesthetic, but I mainly just wanted a modern style whilst keeping "old tech" accents if that makes any sense. I am playing with the idea of giving P03 a thick tv screen face (think old tvs) instead of a thin screen face he has in game... tho it'll be top heavy sooo idk. I grew up with one of those TVs (and old tech in general), so Im a little biased aesthetic wise. Yeah, yeah, it works with futuristic tech but LISTEN, old x new is cooler.

Magnificus is just based on fantasy aesthetics - he's a wizard in a wizard tower, he didn't change much, let's be frfr. Think for him having a fantasy medieval aesthetic.

Grimora was based on Victorian mourning dresses but with a more casual everyday wear twist. Big sleeves added because fun. I wanted her to look motherly and huggable. Also, she's half skeleton now.

Leshy deserves to be set on fire because I can't draw him for shit even though I love him. Gave him a camera bag because if he's gonna be chasing beasts around to capture them or just move around in general (since he's a beast himself) I thought he probably wouldn't like his camera being even more cracked than it already is. I debated putting him in a tunic, but I'm not convinced on it as it would make him seem more "human" than beast - and I wanted to keep him looking as animalistic as I could. He was based on other arts I've seen, and the only difference I added was the branches being more antler, like how I did with COTL Leshy. His arms are covered in those tree mushrooms, but I got frustrated, so I just smached those on him without putting in effort.

Listen, drawing Leshy, no matter WHICH Leshy - it frustrates me.

[ereborcore]

i very much enjoy depictions of oromë with animal traits. i think that is a very cool design choice. oromë is my favourite vala and i always love to see art of him. HOWEVER... i would like to provide a perspective i rarely see acknowledged: that oromë is a god who symbolises man's stewardship over the natural world. depictions of him as a very human figure, with all the trappings of civilisation, make a lot more sense to me, considering his role.

oromë's association with animals is all about domestication. he rides a horse, he keeps trained hounds, and he even has cattle. the hunter-god identity could be animalistic; obviously animals hunt. but oromë hunts with weapons, and trains animals to serve him. therefore he has dominion over beasts, rather than being himself beastlike. this dominion is peaceful, not abusive or controlling or unnatural. domestication is seen as good and natural.

on the wilderness as his domain: oromë is called 'the lord of forests', and loves trees, and the lay of leithian calls him 'the forest-god'. but he doesn't live in the forest! he rules over the forests, but he lives in a house; the book of lost tales says it's in the city of valmar (a city can be seen as the opposite of the wilderness). it's full of spears and bows and knives and hunting trophies: all signs of civilisation.

most interesting maybe is the living trees that grow inside. this blends oromë's house into a mixture of the forest and a structure: peaceful cohabitation of nature and civilisation.

the women oromë is associated with also have this theme of peaceful harmony between the wild and civilisation. nessa his sister runs in the forests with deer, but returns to valimar to dance on lawns (lawns that oromë himself 'culled' from his forest glades- hmm!) vána his wife tends to gardens, and picks flowers; we could see this as the feminine version of dominion over nature. oromë is the master of animals and tames them to his will, while vána turns wild flora into cultivated gardens.

so when i think of oromë, i think of furs, leathers, and arrows, not teeth, claws, and antlers. he symbolises a belief that mankind (using this word as a catch-all for non-divine beings) should live in peaceful dominion over the natural world, so he must be man-shaped. hunting is part of that dominion, even though it is associated with death and predation.

after all, oromë's role as huntsman only becomes threatening when morgoth lies and tells the elves that the dark rider will hunt and eat them, not the animals that are his sanctioned prey. and what prey is celegorm hunting when huan, hound of oromë, leaves him for good?

[amateur-flamingo]

On the day the cosmos opened up, humanity united its forces to protect the Earth. While fearless pilots fight in enemy territory in the vastness of the stars, the guardians of our planet become bigger, better, stronger.

I'm really into @keferon mecha au. I wanted to finish my concept before the New Year, but so much stuff piled up during the holidays that I didn't have time. Nevertheless! I'm happy to share my thoughts on the Stunticon team in this setting >:) I don't claim canonicity, so this could very well be just an au au.

Menasor is a human project on par with other "combiners". They are significantly larger than normal mechs and require much greater resources to both build and pilot. To operate such a colossal robot, several people are needed at once; which is, in fact, unthinkable, given how precisely one must perform actions and navigate within the machine. Eventually, "Mind Melding" was developed, which involves pilots sharing impressions, feelings, and thoughts with each other. To achieve greater efficiency, each member of the team must be in closer relationships, reducing the likelihood of systemic problems occurring during the merge.

Being the second combiner created, Menasor is far from perfect, including because of its pilots. Its components are a team of Stunticons - former road bandits, after the trial sent in a "good direction" for the benefit of all mankind. A choice without a choice, but in the end none of them were against participating in the experiment. Each of them is responsible for a separate part of the robot's body, in fusion they really provide sufficient efficiency to fulfill the assigned mission - fighting the incoming monsters.

I won't hide that I was greatly inspired by the piloting methods in Pacific Rim and Evangelion. For my concept, I use the "drift" system, the merging of the consciousnesses of two pilots; as well as the capsule system for the pilots from Eva, each of which is placed in a separate limb of Menasor. Also! I am absolutely delighted by the existence of the "berserker" form in Evangelion, and, frankly, I can't help but add it here.

The imperfection of combiners lies, among other things, in the imbalance of human minds. At the moment of failure - technical, emotional, any other - there is a possibility of awakening the personality of the mech. When the consciousnesses of the pilots merge, leaving no room for each one separately - a berserker appears, acting on his instincts alone. The components stop responding to requests, and the only way to stop the combiner is either running out of energy or fighting him.

Menasor was the first combiner with a recorded case of mind fusion. Due to some fragmentation of the Stunticons, as well as their psychological problems, the mecha went out of control and stopped communicating with the control center. More animalistic behavior during the battle with the alien, and then the destruction of more than a third of the abandoned city before the batteries died, forced the responsible persons to temporarily stop using Menasor in missions until the circumstances were clarified. The Stunticons were subsequently sent for a second medical examination, each assigned a personal specialist, and the same was done with the members of the other teams.

Nevertheless, everyone appreciated the effectiveness of destroying the enemy in the form of a berserker. The risk, to some extent, was worth it, so the program was not terminated, soon returning the combiners to duty.

Probably, if the concept eventually works out, I'll also make full-fledged designs for the Stunticons x) I already have an idea, I just need to put in more effort for it.

[cheesycatz]

The Worm's Apple

(Spamton AU reference sheet) 1 2

Text ver and close ups below

This version of Spamton claims to be a spam program, but his credibility appears to be dubious. Covered from neck to toe and wearing a strange mask, the little of him that is visible doesn't quite match. But, the only thing more hated than spam is malware, so what reason would he have to lie?

- He walks stiffly. His torso barely moves, his legs don't bend, and his arms hang limply when he attempts to look normal.

- He purposefully wears baggy clothes to hide the abnormal shape of his body and limbs.

- While he attempts to make his legs look plantigrade, the actual digitigrade shape of his legs often shows through his pants.

- He keeps his long tail curled tightly behind him. However, it often unfurls when he experiences strong emotions or feels comfortable.

- His neck is unnaturally long and flexible, as though it lacks vertebrae.

- Not beating the cat allegations

- Spamton often hisses and spikes up his fur when angry or threatened. His suit limits his senses, physical defenses, and mobility, so he resorts to many threats.

- Even when alone in the city, Spamton usually leaves his suit on until he can bring it home. However, he won't pass up the opportunity for a meal along the way.

- (Tiny comparison of a real spam program, an addison, and Spamton in the bottom right corner)

- Spamton actually keeps himself as clean as possible, even if he can't clean his clothes. Regardless, he likes performing his self cleaning mechanisms as a stim, even while wearing his suit. He rubs his nose and rubs his arms together in the same way that insects clean dust off their antennae and legs.

- Spamton's hands are quite small, and his relatively long fingers often show up through his mittens. The fabric is damaged from the numerous holes that his claws have poked through them.

- He's around 5 ft (~150 cm) tall, with a 7ft (~215 cm) long tail

-----

I'm no character designer (Spamton's suit here is literally just the miniature outfit I made for my spam plush), but I like what Disguised Wormton has become over the past two years. While completely accidental, the five-petal shape and yellow thread of his button/pin perfectly represents an apple tree blossom, a nod to his symbolism. The rest of his attempt at an outfit is "hide as much as possible, but still look good doing it." ...as good as he thinks an untucked shirt and clothes ten sizes too big look. He's meant to appear incredibly uncanny when he puts effort into "being normal," looking more like a shuffling zombie than anything natural. I think the round and wide shapes of his suit contrasted with the long, thin, and sharp points of his only visible features adds to the untrustworthness he radiates. His animalistic tendencies look worse when performed by something trying to look humanoid. Even if it's more comfortable for him, the incorrect bend of his legs, the perpetual raptor arms, the absurdly long tail, and his awkwardly long neck highlight the concept of something trying so hard to look human (or humanoid in the case of Deltarune) yet always failing. That's what I was going for when designing him, at least. After writing like 50k words about disguised Wormton, he honestly might be creepier than normal Wormton. I'd rather deal with the obscure cryptid that hisses and runs away than be approached by this kidney stealer lookin mf trying to sell used cigarettes or something. He's definitely grown on me, though. In a "I would never want to be locked in a room with any of the characters I like" kind of way.

[magua-vida]

SLAY THE QUEEN THORN

I was inspired by Abby's sketch of a hypothetical Queen version of the Princess, so I tried my hand at it with a few vessels, including this one. I... ended up drawing something akin to a fashion design concept art rather than a practical design that won't be tiring to draw over and over after a handful of sprites later. I also had to use a bit more artistic license growing unnatural poppies on the dress and the thick twirly prickly noodles.

some explanations behind the process

For the "mended" Thorn, I pretty much just removed the foreground thorns and added the dirt.

rambling/fangirling/screenshots below:

The Thorn is one of my favorites. If I had to choose only five vessels to offer to Shifty and there's no replayable feature, she'll definitely be one of them. I'm one of those suckers who's into Hurt/Comfort stories. Almost like a masochist for those fics, you could say. If the climax to an Action-heavy story is the defeat of one party, then the catharsis of Hurt/Comfort is when the two characters... well, comfort each other- either due to hurt from each other or someone else. In The Thorn's case, she started off rather innocently, Damsel-like, but not quite. She still had caution. It was until she was literally stabbed in the back that she learned that it was a mistake. And when Long Quiet offered sincere regret and admission of fault, she stabbed him... but she didn't feel the relief she thought she'd get from it. I think many relate to having been betrayed and/or betraying someone they trusted, and the scratches are felt by many players.

The thorns curve inward, as if it's more painful to leave her than it is to approach her.

Poppies grow around along the bramble. Many mistook them for roses because they're red and there are brambles (tbh, I actually dunno if they're brambles or briars, I looked them up and I got confused, forgive me, plant enthusiasts ;.;) that grow around the patches of those poppies. Death and romance~

This brings back to Chapter 1 where Hero was kinda-sorta-maybe-definitely crushing on the Princess and wants to give her the benefit of the doubt, not only because of feelings, but for a reasonable cause of wanting to rescue someone who possibly may actually be a victim of circumstance.

Look, I have reasons why Thorn route is one of my favorites and it definitely doesn't have anything to do with both characters having massive trust issues and the capability to change themselves for better or worse and the emotional moments hitting me like a lovely diamond-dusted dagger. Both of them are rather cat-like with pointy ears too.

I appreciate that you're still given the options to leave or stab Thorn, as if the situation isn't pitiable enough. Even her tiara looks like a crown of thorns. It's as if she views the thorns as both a form of penance and a defence mechanism to protect herself from being hurt again, even though she's hurt by her own making this time.

I chose for the Long Quiet to save her and leave the cabin together.

This part stabbed me the most. Even when shown genuine help, she shrinks back.

This part burns a bit of the jadedness away. Trust is a scary thing, so is love. How can you be so sure that you won't be hurt by the one you love again? But just like what The Prisoner says, it's about trust- blind trust. Thorn looks more human than her previous self- less animalistic, softer. A part of The Damsel returns, even in the music.

I recall weighing on whether I prefer the version with the Voice of the Cheated or Voice of the Smitten. I vaguely remember wondering if there was an option to ask her if it's okay to kiss her. I guess the ideal would be is to have that choice, but I suppose the climactic moment calls for it and she doesn't mind it, at least. It's like the option to hug Astarion from BG3, but you're not sure whether he'd be comfy with it after being hurt so much. He gave approval for it too~

As much as Thorn is one of my favorites, I'm not attracted to her and any of the vessels. Instead, I ship her with the Long Quiet- the character himself. I don't really see myself AS the Long Quiet, more like choosing what actions on what he does and I separate myself from him a lot for many reasons. It's a bit like the Harry situation from Disco Elysium in terms of seemingly blank-slate protagonists.

Instead, I kinda put myself into her situation to feel how she felt in this route. The poppies not only felt symbolic of her nature as part of the Shifting Mound, but also specifically the end of the mutual treachery you've inflicted on each other, potentially beginning anew on a path of healing.

==============ramble-bramble over===================

[lirational]

Bait

Eldritch AU Path to Nowhere inspired by this image.

Monster!Shalom x Reader

Warnings: Dark content, dubious consent, general monsterfuckery, implied breeding, questionable anatomy, questionable science ethics or honestly ethics in general. DEAD DOVE: DO NOT EAT

SMUT UNDER THE CUT, MINORS DO NOT INTERACT

—

“It seems that they take a particular enjoyment to observing both of us.”

A statement, not a question. You were used to observing beings that are not of this world, captured by unknown means and now kept here to minimize their danger to the world at large. Monsters. You hesitate to call them that, as the term implies they were driven by familiar, animalistic instincts much like creatures of this world, while they seem to operate less on instinct and more on an unfathomable logic that you, and most human beings, lack the capacity to comprehend, a phenomenon which you and everyone here would witness whenever any of them deigned to entertain themselves with your reactions.

Perhaps, you should count yourself lucky that even after the higher ups captured them and shoved them in this facility designed as a cage, most of them were willing to adapt to parameters acceptable to humans. You’ve seen the ease of which some of them ruin lives when agitated, remembering that hapless scientist who tried to debate S-087 about the true nature of the universe and ended up being a little less, ah, comprehensible after she witnessed a glimpse of something not meant to be seen. You shudder, lost in the thought of the fate of your colleague after that ordeal instead of entertaining the monster in front of you with a response—

A cold feeling interrupted your thoughts, slender fingers wrapping on your wrist as the monster directed your hand to touch her cheek. She was now only centimeters away from your face, her fingers playing with your hand as she asked, “Your thoughts seem to be wandering away. What is it in your expression, ah, penny for your thoughts?”

She paused, letting her words sink in. In that brief moment, the triangular symbol in her eye seemed to flicker and flash.

“I cannot say I like being treated as if I’m not present.”

“S-017, I only wanted to record more information about that World of Mania you mentioned. Your thoughts about the research procedure is irrelevant,” you answer, the fake detachment all too evident to you. A part of you dislike treating her in such a cold manner, but this was one of the most basic things they drilled in your training manual. They are not people, there is no need to treat them as such, and don’t show your fear to them, for they might - and on occassions, have - take advantage of it.

“It’s Shalom,” she responded, her smile unfading, face close enough you could feel the warmth of her breathing. You have been warned about this, read the case files about how Sha— S-017 presents a veneer of perfection in each of her movements, and only when you pay very close attention you can see traces of her inhumanity. Every single part of her seems to be sculpted without flaw, from her porcelain skin to her doctored expressions, down to the vivid shade of maroon hair that faded into white as they tickled your skin and pooled on your lap from your proximity. Some of your colleagues have theorized that her perfection was meant to lull, to decrease one’s wariness towards her and lure people’s eyes from her less human traits. About the only part of her that gives away her true nature was the triangle in her right eye, but you suspect that if she didn’t want to show that part of her, you won’t even know it was there. “Perhaps it is irrelevant to the scheduled questioning we’re having right now, but I’m sure you are familiar with scientific curiosity.”

In that moment, your senses tinged a little as cold, vivid blue invaded the edges of your vision. A warning? Even if Shalom didn’t mean it as that, you’d rather not push it into a situation where being smashed into bloody pulp is the least undesirable fate. Many of your colleagues have theorized that the creatures held here merely stayed because the facility provided a measure of entertainment or possess something they want, and if any of them has a shred of determination to escape, the facility would be gone without a trace in the time it took for you to blink.

“I’m sorry, Shalom, may I ask you to elaborate about the World of Mania you mentioned in our last session?” You indulged her.

“Mhm, that’s more like it,” she hummed, clearly pleased. “Sure, I don’t mind, maybe I’ll tell you later.”

In your overstuffed armchair, you could feel something slither onto you, her stare anchoring you in place as the foreign tendril slides up your leg. More joined to trace your arms, and you glance at the camera stationed nearby, wordlessly pleading for the scientist watching the whole thing to get up and get help. It didn’t take long for Shalom to use another of her tendrils as a lithe finger to tilt your chin back to her, drowning you into her unmoving stare, “I will tell you, but in exchange…” she let her words sink in for a moment, “Won’t you entertain me?”

There was no need to be a, well, rocket scientist to understand what she was getting at. Her words carried a certain cadence to it, and you squirm in response, your head turning to look at the camera to scream for help, the monster’s feelings be damned. However, she was faster, one tendril rubbing circles on your clothed clit, the other teasing your lips, before holding down your tongue to render your plea ineffective. For a moment, blue flooded your vision, and when it subsided, the space around you has been warped, the door out of this room buried behind layers and layers of walls as the space itself warped to form a dark, foreboding maze. Did they not see what happened to you? Did they decide to dispose of you as punishment for something you weren’t aware of—?

“Again, what is bothering you? Ah, let me guess, are you bothered by the eyes trained on us?”

“S-017, I’m not here to, in your words, entertain you. You’re crossing and breaking several— ah, facility rules we are both bound with,” your voice was shaking, the authority and distance you tried to imbue into it fading as you gulp at the feeling of another tendril slipping past the band of your undergarments to play at your shamefully wet core. Your back was pressed to the stuffed chair, your movements limited as the tendrils around your limbs started to tighten, not enough to hurt, but enough to disallow you from moving even an inch without her permission.

From your files, S-017 seemed to be the rational sort, and you hoped the appeal to her rationality would allow you to escape this horrifying predicament. Even as your body started to ache and quiver with need from Shalom’s teasing touches, you still have enough of a mind to remember that both of you are being watched and recorded. At least, you would buy another few precious seconds for the security squad to come barging in, hopefully distracting her—

“Frankly, your rules hold no relevance to me,” Shalom answered, mismatched eyes glancing at the direction of what seemed to be a wall she erected herself by warping the space. “I’m sure you are familiar with the concept of bartering, hm? You get information, and I get a little bit of entertainment while I’m cooped in here. It’s a win-win for both of us, hm?”

Each word from her lips seem to infuse the air itself, thickening each breath you take in and eroding your reason to stoke your desire. Shalom stood up, taking a step back while she snapped her fingers, engulfing the chair you sat on with a gelatinous substance before the object disappeared into the darkness. Now, you were only held up by her tendrils, helplessly hung in the air as she drank in your appearance. Four more tentacles, two sliding out from somewhere on her back and the others from behind her legs, move towards you and made quick work on your clothes, the articles left to drop in a haphazard pile on the floor.

“I’m not here for you, or anyone else to have sex with. I will forward the request for approval to the facility if you want something of that nature, but—“

In that moment, the symbol on her right eye seems to bore right into your soul, then she stroked your cheek, voice soothing, tickling the air and making you gulp. Was it fear or anticipation? You could no longer be sure. “What got you so frightened? You will not share the fate of your colleagues, or come back as anything else but a normal, living person. Does it count as killing you a little if you come back out perhaps a bit exhausted?” She mused, practiced amusement sliding into her tone. “Don’t worry, I’ll make it pleasurable for you, too.”

Another couple of tendrils engulfed her clothes, and you were left with the sight of her naked body. Just how many did she hide behind that human appearance of hers? Regardless, like what you had always seen, every part of her was sculpted to perfection, any blemish and flaw hidden, or perhaps, she never allowed any to mar her. A few of your colleagues had theorized she made her own body, or perhaps, stole one from an unsuspecting person before she came to be imprisoned in the facility, but regardless, S-017 - Shalom’s perfectionism was well-known among your fellow researchers, to an unsettling degree.

“Does this body appeal to you?” The question snapped you out of your own reverie, not helped as she emphasizes her words with a rough pinch on your nipples. She sounded amused, sitting on thin air propped with her own alien limbs. This was the first time you had ever gotten a proper look of them, the tendrils starting with a vivid maroon of her hair, before fading to white and glowing in a bright, luminescent blue at the tips.

“Answer me,” she demanded, tendrils forcing you to look at her eyes. A lulling blue glow flooded your vision for a moment, and when it fades, your mind felt hazy, cloudy, your inhibition loosening as approval tumbled down from your lips. It felt good, it felt good as she smiled, and at least, even if the facility won’t send anyone, you can take comfort in the fact that the monster before you seem to be fond enough of you. The limbs propping you up shifted and made you lean forward, ass up in the air, another tentacle invading your puckered hole, only leaving your mouth free.

“Service me, and I’ll see that you’re returned, more or less unharmed.”

Accompanied with a flash of blue in your vision, her order seeped into your mind in a more direct way compared to a verbal command, an easy pleasure invading your body as you leaned as close as she allowed you, to the dripping slit between her legs. Hesitation screamed at the edge of your thoughts, yet, you could no longer process it, your tongue lapping at her with the fervor rivalling one induced by addiction. Your reward came in the form of pleasure as the tendrils nestled inside you start to move in tune with your movements, brushing that spongy spot while unnatural glee washed all over your body. It was as if each of the monster’s words carry a hidden reward, one that would be released as flashes of happiness as you obeyed her.

As your climb ever closer to your peak, Shalom released two more tendrils from her back, covering your eyes until all you could feel, could hear, could taste, was her, her moans of pleasure that sends happiness jolting straight into your quivering body, and the feeling of her tendrils invading deep, deep into you as if to prevent you from knowing, perceiving anything else. In the darkness, your senses felt sharper, each brush becoming tenfold in its intensity as you felt yourself thrown and engulfed in the throes of pleasure.

Everything was heightened, sharper. As you reached that sweet release, you tasted her release right at the same time, only for it to be snatched in an instant as you taste the monster’s lips on yours. You were far too distracted, unaware as foreign objects settled deep in your body, only feeling the oddity for a moment before you were dragged back to feel the full force of pleasure. She swallowed your screams, leaving you dripping, out of breath, and hung suspended in the air as the tentacles covering your eyes start to shift away, allowing you your sight again, to see Shalom looking especially pleased with herself. In contrast to the mess you were in, she had already dressed herself, no proof of the pleasure you had shared could be seen on her.

A contrast to your messed-up state.

While propping you up, she lowered you and let you stand, and in a flash of blue in your vision, you were already dressed.

“That completes the deal, as for my end—“

A tentacle probed into your head, not at all painful, yet there was a strangeness to it that you couldn’t put your finger on. As it reached a part of your mind, you saw images, information engraved directly into your memories. It felt like an eternity before she released her hold on you, and when she did, the room has returned to its prior state, no trace of the maze in sight.

“Huh…?” You mumble, dumbfounded. “Did no one see that, or was that just a—“

“Dream? Of course not, they have been pretty busy, I might add, but they can’t reach both of us in the corner of an ever-shifting maze. I would estimate it will take them around a century to find the exit, if they keep searching the entire time,” Shalom smiled at your dumbfounded expression, “Don’t worry, once you open that door, they’ll be transported back somewhere in this building. After all, I want you to be able to come back here without suffering any consequence, but…”

Her smile turns hungry.

“Come back in time, otherwise, you’ll be in for quite an amusing experience, alright?”

[fantasy-anatomy-analyst]

How do you feel about the idea of “Evil species” in fiction in general? I k ow it’s a highly controversial topic in the Fanatsy community about the use of all evil creatures and if they should even exist at all? I’m curious as to your idea on the subject about the existance of evil being and how/ if they can even be used correctly in media?

For me personally I do beliving they have a place in storytelling and can be done well, it’s just most franchises don’t seem to think it through. The best examples of an all evil species I can think of are the demons of freiren and the orks of Warhammer. Both are evil in a sense of “they are actively incompatible with human life” and not the “mindless sadist for no reason”. Both having lore and narrative reasons that make them evil by human definition of the concept.

The demons of freiren are magical apex predators who evolved to mimic humans in-order to prey on us more efficiently. They are cruel and predatory towards humans as we are their food, not because their mustache twirling super villains. The orks of Warhammer are bio-engineered weapons built to wage endless war, however they outlasted their creators and where never programmed with an “off-switch” and run rampant as a result.

I think there are ways to do it right! I mean, my goodness, I've been playing Legend of Zelda since I was a kid and it's still my favorite video game series. I think "all of these creatures are evil because they were literally formed from evil energy and/or were crafted for this purpose and have no true sapient free will" is a reasonable explanation for cannon fodder monsters. "they're natural predators of humans" is also something I think works but I don't consider a type of Evil, per se! wolves can't help that they're the natural predators of deer. nor can they help that chasing down prey and killing it brutally is a torturous way to die. nature is just like that. it may seem to the humans that their natural predator is uniformly evil, but that's just a matter of perspective! and I think stories that explore the nuance in matters like that are fascinating (I'm in that boat myself, with my orcs and centaurs).

but "these creatures are fully sapient people who are just Evil because it's an inherent natural trait, and also they're brutish and ugly" is a lot less acceptable to me. It frequently devolves into tropes and designs that taste of racism if they're not outright racist. and it's mainly the addition of "since they're all evil, we're going to make them Look Evil" and then the designs copy tropes from previous "these people are all evil because we said so" and the trail goes back far enough that oh whoops turns out these design tropes have racist origins! like squinty eyes, certain nose shapes, hair types, skin tones, clothing styles, etc.

and for evil creatures that don't look any sort of humanoid, you end up with that "the more evil they are, the more grotesquely animalistic they look" trope and I also have a problem with that! because I think it does a disservice to the diverse weirdness of real life animals.

I know these tropes remain common now because they've been around for so long, and shape language in design is important and we've been conditioned to view certain design choices as "evil", so those shapes keep getting used!

but I do think there are better ways.