A quick sneak peek of a lil’ something I’m working on. Twiphase3468 on DA suggested such a fun idea for the Darknut enemies I had to incorporate it into my headcanon! I dunno exactly what I’ma do with them yet but I have ideas, so here’s a quick snippet of what I have so far:

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-Darknuts are the direct result of dogs becoming corrupted with Demise’s dark magic. They’re morphed into a more humanoid-like shape and given armor, the corruption instilling the knowledge needed for them to be able to wield tools and weaponry. The helmets they wear help keep them under the control of the Demon King: of all the animals, dogs are the hardest to keep under control, particularly when they had owners, because they are so devoted to their companions that not even the demon king can warp their minds with a fell swoop. If the helmets are kept on long enough the Darknut will eventually succumb fully to the corruption and is undyingly loyal to the Demon King. However, many have managed to escape his influence or even broken free from the influence, particularly after the fall of The Calamity.

Those who did escape hide in forests and mountains, gathering together to form small packs in order to survive (and for companionship). They may have gained more intelligence due to the corruption but they aren’t as smart as the major races of Hyrule. They’re able to build simple shelters and tools for themselves, perhaps have even learned basic farming and able to talk in stunted, child-like sentences, (the only thing they have exceeding knowledge on is the usage of weaponry and armor) but overall they’re still just… dogs. Mutated dogs, but dogs nonetheless.

I kinda wonder if the Darknuts understood that Demise and Ganondorf are two separate entities; like, animals are supposedly able to sense when something’s wrong, so maybe they sensed Ganon was possessed while they were under Demise’s command? Hmmm. ‘Cuz I really like the idea of them seeing Ganondorf as their king (a residual effect of their corruption), and their understanding of it could make is so they even see him as a sort of demi-god. The one who escaped Demise, just like them. I dunno, we’ll see. o3o

At any rate, the bottom pic is an exploration of that: a Darknut meeting Ganondorf as a child and kneeling, much to kid Ganon’s confusion.

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I gotta explore the idea more before anything becomes concrete but I figured it’d be nice to post somethin’ up, so here it be! <: