#╰ ––––––– ✦ ⧽ 𝖉𝖔𝖓𝖆𝖙𝖊𝖑𝖑𝖔 › hcs ❨ ˢᵗᵃʸᶦⁿᵍ ʷʰᵉʳᵉ ⁿᵒᵇᵒᵈʸ'ˢ ˢᵘᵖᵖᵒˢᵉᵈ ᵗᵒ ᵇᵉ ❩

[gnosticreign]

donatello: before the cataclysm here's where i link his encounter w the heavenly principles and all that also, 3.2+ spoilers are going to be ahead.

thousands of years ago, donatello had stumbled upon the world of teyvat, landing in sumeru as rukkhadevata's stint as archon was pretty much in its heyday, prior to the goddess of flowers' death. it was a strange thing, to be taken under the dendro archon's wing, but the logical donatello soon found his stride beside rukkhadevata's wisdom. both were intelligent, but in their own ways.

eventually, rukkhadevata gave donatello immortality, as he practically belonged within sumeru at the time.

when the forbidden knowledge began to spread and taint sumeru, though, donatello would wonder if this was his own fault. "i came from a much more advanced world, maybe this is some sort of sign?" this was quickly quelled by rukkhadevata's assurances, that this was not an earthly affliction, but an abyssal one.

the goddess of flowers would fall, and soon, king deshret would sacrifice himself to halt the flow of forbidden knowledge. however, this still wouldn't be enough, as the cataclysm would eventually be at hand.

rukkhadevata knew what had to be done, and yet, donatello insisted that she shouldn't be the one to sacrifice herself. gently, she insisted, he should return to his own world, as a new age would be coming. she plucked the purest branch within irminsul, and promised that if he returned, there would be a place for him in teyvat.

...unfortunately, she didn't tell him that there was no further place for herself, either.

on donatello's attempt to return home, he was halted by the heavenly principles, who immediately threw him back into teyvat. it's unknown if she had taken his memories, or if he had landed within the ruins he'd found himself in and lost his memories at that point.

after the sumeru archon quest, donatello stays in sumeru in order to help nahida set the nation in order, as well as being able to see what had taken place when he was in sumeru previously.

however, he is still able to remember rukkhadevata, speaking to the traveler about it while referring to her as "RD" for short, keeping it only between the two due to the former archon's wishes.

[crownedeath]

♔ –––– DONATELLO: genshin impact

the vague memories of flame and darkness, of a woman glowering at him with golden eyes, of red cubes swallowing him whole ---- these events, like a nightmare, would send donatello sitting up in a cold sweat, before he would realize something.

the place he had woken up in appeared to be a ruin, plants and trees growing around him. indeed, he had apparently been sleeping upon flower petals, a pile of them graciously placed as if to make him a bed. ( or, perhaps, a final resting place. )

while he didn't seem injured, his dimensional gauntlet was not only damaged, but broken. the terrapin would be stuck in this dimension for a long while, unless he could get the required supplies. not a great start to a new (?) world, but it wasn't the first time he'd had to fix his gauntlet in another world, either.

it didn't take long for him to find a disguise amidst the ruin's treasures. in fact, everything seemed to have been designed for him, including gloves that fit his three fingers. curiouser and curiouser. a wide-brimmed hat that would fit in his sensei's day and age concealed what little the rest of his clothing didn't cover. there was also some sort of jewel, an ice-cold trinket that he instinctively brought with him.

now thoroughly disguised, nearly indistinguishable from a human, he found his way out of the ruins. the desert that greeted him was not too surprising, although the disguise also helped to protect him from the worst it had to offer in terms of natural consequences.

that being said, he wasn't sure what to make of the automatons that prowled the desert, or of the hilichurls that gathered in tribes that littered the sands. yet, for as many answers as he received, more questions would begin to surface.

due to the lack of an akasha terminal on donnie's person, he retains the ability to dream in sumeru. however, he doesn't remember what had happened before meeting with the unknown god, or how he had ended up placed within one of the scarlet king's ruins in the first place.

the most he has is the disguise that was placed in the ruins for him, as well as a (sumeru) cryo vision that he can use quite proficiently despite his lack of memories. he's also obviously a spear-user.

honestly i do have some thoughts about him befriending nahida and seeing himself as a big brother figure to her, especially seeing her insecurities about being an archon. it reminds him a lot about himself, especially surrounding the topic of what would happen after he gets his revenge on the shredder.

i do think donnie would be a sub-dps when getting into his role, but can function decently as dps himself with the right party.

[crownedeath]

donnie tags!