I personally think that Childe's first spark of interest began in a similar fashion as it does for any strong character he meets, but there's a key difference in how the relationship evolves.

Based on his first voiceline for Zhongli, which were his thoughts prior to learning Zhongli's true identity, he could already tell that Zhongli was a strong character, and was curious about the full extent of that strength, so I imagine that this hidden strength is just part of what caught Childe's attention. But here's what held that attention.

We learn very, very early on that Childe, for a long time, has grown used to keeping a wall between himself and others. In the Liyue archon quest, after he rescues the Traveler from the Millelith, he eventually says: "Maintaining a distance between strangers is probably a good idea. Either way, I'm already used to it at this stage."

This line is never mentioned or revisited again, but it's the smallest moments of vulnerability—whether it's via his expressions or brief, offhanded comments—that lend nuance to his character and tell us more about his current psychological state. And so with the aforementioned voiceline in mind we can assume that Childe, in the beginning, erected a large wall between himself and Zhongli with the expectation that nothing would break it down...except something did. And as simple as this might sound, the first brick to be knocked out from this wall was due to Childe being treated like a person.

At his core Childe believes himself to be a weapon, as well as a pawn in a larger game. And this core belief has only been substantiated by the events and others in his character arc. Whereas other characters' stories eventually overturn that character's belief and challenge what they thought they knew, Childe's belief has yet to be opposed (the narrative does challenge him to a degree in the Labyrinth Warriors event, but that's for a separate conversation). Since the age of fourteen, he has been continuously used. He has duties, both to his family and to the Tsaritsa, that has required him to smother his own identity in favor of donning a more "pleasant" one, one that meets the expectations of another, whatever those might be. The cold, unflinching soldier and weapon of the Tsaritsa, the friendly and diplomatic "Childe", the responsible big brother and ever successful toy seller—all of these identities are inextricable from himself. They are all, in a sense, him, but the "Ajax" underneath essentially goes unaddressed.

And that's where the wrecking ball comes in.

Zhongli, with his numerous stories to tell thanks to the thousands of years he's lived, is also dubbed "The Listener" and this is also reflected through his behavior. He can often be found at Third Round Knockout, listening to exaggerated, and sometimes even false legendary tales from a past he has already seen for himself. A storyteller, a listener, and a pillar of quiet strength—his personality strikes a balance with Childe's more chaotic inner nature, and he possesses qualities that invoke a sense of safety and familiarity for Childe. Having been raised by a father that told him heroic tales and stories of adventure, Zhongli's vivid stories about Rex Lapis and the Adepti felt like being home, ice fishing and waiting for a fish to bite that might never will.

Along with this sense of being home, Zhongli treats him not like a Harbinger to be feared, but instead like an ordinary person (and this is something they both appreciate in each other, but this is about Childe's POV so I gotta stay on topic). He diligently listens to Childe's mundane stories about his siblings, remembers details that Childe expected him to forget or care little for, and they can lightly tease one another without offense. This is someone who smiles at him despite knowing the archon he serves, who jokes with him, casually invites him to join him for lunch, and looks him directly in the eyes without a trace of fear or hatred. This is someone who treats him like a human.

But not even Childe himself is aware of what separates Zhongli's company from others. It just feels pleasant, warm, natural. It's the most normal, close relationship he has had with anyone in years.

And so that's why I think Zhongli became such a "close associate" (as that Fatuus described Zhongli). It was his strength, his stories, his kindness and attentive nature, his humor and casual treatment that made like Childe feel like a person. And following the knowledge of Zhongli's identity, it is all of these things, plus their similarities Childe had not known before: the burden that comes with being a leader, the life of being a weapon, the struggles that come with being forced to hide your true self underneath a cold mask.

Hope this wasn't too lengthy...I just really enjoy discussing this lol. And I hope I was able to answer your question well!

It's difficult to ascertain just how true or false that leak was, but I would personally refrain from treating it as truth unless we hear it from more reliable or official sources.

Genshin is currently in a controversial era. Many players are dissatisfied with varying aspects of the game at the moment, related mostly to Natlan as well as the infrequent release of male characters, and the current atmosphere is perfect for exacerbating tensions. We have to be careful not to believe anything without a proper source.

With that said, however, let's first tackle this question from a broader angle. Some of our other relevant/major characters include:
- Venti
- Dainsleif
- Kaeya
- Albedo

While Dainsleif isn't currently a playable character, he was confirmed to be a future release years ago. All four of these characters are regarded as indispensable to the main story, and all four of these characters are male.

From a writing perspective, it would be an unwise decision to retcon these major characters simply because they're male; it would permanently damage the story and confuse almost the entirety of the player base. Venti himself even has a leitmotif that comes directly from Genshin's opening theme, serving as an additional, larger hint that he will play a major role in the story's future.

While they certainly could change Venti's relevance, it would compromise the quality of the entire story. Replacing him would be an extremely unprofessional decision. This same sentiment applies to all major male characters; Childe's story is no exception.

There's no telling which details of Childe's story have or have not changed over time, but what I can say for certain is that Childe has always been an important character, and his relevance only increases as time passes. They're not phasing him out of the story...quite the opposite, in fact. Instead, they've been gradually building toward his story for the past several years, in some ways people wouldn't even expect.

Even Fontaine, despite its flawed execution of Childe's role in its archon quest, was essentially significant foreshadowing for his future story. This goes for the archon quest, select world quests, and even one of Fontaine's flagship events.

So when you put it all together, think of it this way: with the addition of Snezhnaya, Childe will have appeared in three archon quests in the future. That's more archon quests than any other character will have ever appeared in. And every bit of his lore implies that he's destined for something greater. I could never see a character such as this being removed from the central plot, nor do they seem to be taking that direction.

As I tell any fellow fan of Childe when this topic arises, Childe will remain a part of the core plot, and always has been. Never allow anyone to sway you into believing differently. He is one of the most major characters in the cast. Not simply because he's a harbinger, because his importance extends well beyond that, but because almost every road leads back to him.

To the first question: Absolutely. It must've been jarring for everyone to see how much his personality changed upon his return. And it's a pretty normal reaction as well. A shy, sweet child goes missing for several days, is found again, and can suddenly bring down men twice his size and age? It's a confusing, strange situation for those on the outside. And realistically, there'd be numerous stories spawning from a phenomenon like this; people would surely accuse of him being possessed, being replaced by a demon, etc.

As for the second question: I think people were terrified of him. I imagine it a bit similarly to Naruto, if you've ever seen it.

In case you haven't, Naruto had a nine-tailed demon fox sealed inside of him when he was a baby. Because of this, he was isolated from both other children and adults alike. His entire village feared him, hated him even. Parents would swiftly pull their children from the playgrounds, businesses would deny him service...he was essentially mistreated by almost everyone.

This is mostly how I imagine things went after Ajax returned to his village. Parents probably kept their kids away from him, adults possibly shunned him, and other young villagers may have avoided him of their own accord. Any friends he might have had prior to his fall most likely avoided him as well, or were advised to do so.

So in short, I think he experienced extreme isolation, and that it played a significant role in how he behaves now as a young adult.

So sorry that it took me a million years to get to this omg.

That lore drop was so delicious. Childe having a connection to one of the five sinners had to be one of the most insane discoveries ever. I always semi-joke about Childe having major protagonist energy (it's really not a joke at this point), but when it comes down to it he is connected to so many things:

• The Abyss
• A powerful woman from outside of Teyvat that trained him
• A "sinner" from Khaenri'ah
• A gigantic planet-devouring narwhal
• Two gods
• The hero Ajax of the past, whose name is used as the title of a play about DESCENDERS (and this detail is glossed over far too much, especially in light of Simulanka)

And SO much more. This isn't even exhaustive, just a few examples.

Also I'm glad you brought up Dain and his lack of reliability, because for a while now I've been thinking about Genshin's style of storytelling and how "truth" is actually such a hard thing to come by, all by design. Whether it's the characters perceiving the world from a biased and/or limited perspective, or lore and information colored by the Traveler's knowledge of Teyvat or lack thereof, Genshin rarely ever presents solid facts. And this is made more complex by how memories can be tampered with: deleted, twisted, fabricated. It makes it impossible to put full trust into the information you're given, and I think that makes examining it so much fun.

That quest taught us that not even Dain, one of the only characters we can rely on for firsthand information about Khaenri'ah, can have his memories tampered with in such a way that not even he can see it coming.

As for the sinners, there's a huge chance that there's far more nuance behind their actions than what we're being told, so I'm definitely withholding my judgement of them until we get more info. I mean, at this point, I suspect there's even more they're not telling us about the era of the dragon sovereigns and their nature, but that's just my own personal speculation.

Hoping the next Dain quest really delivers!

There are a couple that I have on the brain!

1. Childe will get a new transformation. Since Childe's strength and skill has constantly increased over the course of the story, it's only a matter of time until he gets an entirely new transformation altogether. I have my own personal vision as to how that transformation will most likely look, but since it ties into larger theories I'll have to keep that tidbit to myself lol. In any case, maybe if we'll lucky, that potential new version of him could even end up being a playable unit...who knows.

2. Skirk will acknowledge Childe's strength and deem him worthy. This particular one is both a prediction and a wish, one that I've had for years. In Childe's voice line about Skirk, he mentions how he hopes that he can get her to use both of her hands to beat him someday (implying she only ever had to use one). Ever since then, I had an ongoing prediction that we'll eventually get an on-screen spar between Skirk and Childe, where Skirk is forced to use both hands during the fight. Not only would it be a wonderful and exciting indication of Childe's growth, but it would also positively impact the dynamic of their relationship.

3. Teucer will witness the Foul Legacy Transformation. Childe's act I story quest served as massive foundation for his future character development as well as heavy foreshadowing for his future role in the story, but it also set the course for the relationship development between Childe and his family, especially Teucer.

The majority of Childe's story quest entailed "protecting" Teucer from the true, darker nature of his position as a Harbinger, by playing the role of a "toy salesman". He goes to great lengths to prevent Teucer from learning the truth, and it eventually ends with consequences for Childe himself, injured heavily from having to undergo a second transformation...while still recovering from his previous transformation during the events of the Liyue archon quest.

There were strong implications sprinkled throughout the story quest that Childe wouldn't be able to hide the truth forever; even the consequences of his actions delivered via the narrative appear to reflect this. Childe's ideal to protect childhood dreams and innocence -- especially Teucer's in particular -- is only a temporary solution to prolong the inevitable. The story quest even teases us, in a way, by creating the scene where Teucer turns around, only to find broken ruin guards, while Childe had already quickly hidden himself where his little brother couldn't find him.

But Teucer uncovering the truth, either by accident or by Childe's own admission, wouldn't be a bad thing. In fact, it'd be a step in Childe's own development, while also strengthening the bond between him and Teucer even further. After all, there are significant, blatant parallels drawn between Childe's Foul Legacy transformation and "Mr. Cyclops", Teucer's beloved toy. He'd love Childe's transformation, that much is clear; he'd get those starry eyes just like in his official art. And my prediction within a prediction is that Childe would not expect a reaction like that at all. Going by Childe's behavior and his determination to hide it, he presumably thinks Teucer would most likely be afraid...and doesn't want to risk finding out the reaction. He most likely assumes that his little brother would no longer idolize him after learning the full truth. Getting that opposite, positive reaction however, will show Childe that he can be a bit more honest around the ones he loves, without the fear of losing them completely. In other words, he'll have the opportunity to experience the beauty and warmth of unconditional love.

1. Childe will play a significant role in saving Teyvat. This one's a bit of a loaded prediction and I won't go very deep into all of my reasons for this since it connects to certain major theories, but there are about 100,000 reasons as to why I'm absolutely convinced of this and just sitting back waiting for it to happen. What I will say, though, is that this ties back into my previous statement about Childe's act I story quest, and the heavy foreshadowing it contains about Childe's future role. Outside of the factory, Childe and Teucer had a brief conversation:

Teucer: "Brother...someone was saying that Mr. Cyclops is a killing machine..."

Childe: "Were they, now? What a silly thing for them to say...And you shouldn't go repeating it either, Teucer, you're far too young to be talking about such violent topics."

Teucer: "Yeah, I knew that they were lying anyways. Mr. Cyclops is here to defeat the bad guys and protect the world. He's my favorite toy!"

Note how Teucer's belief is that Mr. Cyclops will "protect the world" (What's even more hilarious about this blatant foreshadowing is that several months ago, we received an announcement that Childe's Foul Legacy would be getting a real-life purchasable action figure. As in Foul Legacy is becoming a toy. That's so fitting that I could scream. I did scream). Between Childe's hero coding, the implications of his story quest, and the curious foreshadowing delivered through various parts of Fontaine, it's definitely safe to predict that he'll play an integral role in saving Teyvat...that is if the planet isn't already lost.

1. Childe will have a second boss fight. This one's due to the implications of Childe's voice lines, as well as his line to the Traveler in his act I story quest. Many of his voice lines advise the Traveler to stay alive, because they can't exactly fight him in a "battle to the death" if they're dead. Then there's the SQ line, where he says, "Let's not forget our promise, now. Let's have a rematch when we get the chance. This time, with my honor as a Harbinger on the line."

I imagine that this potential boss fight would also lead to a shift in the Traveler and Childe's relationship, though the way in which it would change isn't something I can presently envision with clarity, since it'd be highly dependent on the circumstances surrounding the boss fight.

And that's about it! Technically. I have more than that but I'll save those lol. Hope these predictions give you something to brainrot about :) that is if you're not already brainrotting about all of these things.

Oh this is so hard...

And you're right, there's so many things I love about his character that it's impossible to pick just one aspect. I just love him in his entirety 😭 but I'll do my best to explain.

Childe falls into a character archetype that I've always enjoyed, the character that appears innocent and is far from it. He's constantly underestimated due to his age and innocuous appearance, whilst actually being extremely formidable. That's just one of the things that makes him so entertaining to watch.

The second thing — and maybe this is my absolute favorite thing about him, who knows — is that Childe constantly subverts expectations. Just when you think you understand him...you realize that you got something wrong. He's written to be unpredictable, and that unpredictability is executed extremely well in the story, from the very beginning that he's introduced. That unpredictability, paired with his paradoxical nature, makes him an exceedingly human character.

In fact, Childe is so human that it hurts, and that makes his self-dehumanization all the more painful. He's one of the most human characters in the cast.

The way I see it is this: Childe is a messy bundle of flaws, in the most beautiful and natural way possible. Someone who claims he wants to be feared but hates being distrusted, whose fierce loyalty puts both himself and others in danger. He has his own ideals and sense of justice, and has ended up in a position that directly conflicts with those principles. But even while in such an environment, he still does his utmost to adhere to those principles, as much as the situation allows for it. And all of these contradictions and more make up who he is, and serve as proof of his humanity, because humanity is not just about the good; it's about the flaws, the weaknesses, the mistakes and regrets. All of these things can be found in Childe's character, in both small and glaring ways.

And it's amazing, really, how Childe is caught between two worlds, successfully representing both the extraordinary and the mundane, darkness and light. He encountered the incomprehensible in the Abyss, is implied to have witnessed the fate of the world, wields an otherworldly power that even he does not understand, and for unknown reasons can awaken all manner of monsters with his presence alone...but it isn't all he is. On top of being a harbinger, a soldier, a wielder of Abyssal powers, the eye of the storm — he's also a loving, protective older brother. He loves cooking, he loves fishing and using it as an opportunity to reflect and meditate, he's a dancer and performer.

And as an ending note, I'd like to add that his character theme, Letter From Ajax, depicts the nature of his character and his many masks perfectly. Beneath the bravado, that electric guitar, the drums, the chants, is just the persistent looping of a gentle piano tune, even until the very end. Throughout the chaos, battles and bloodshed, that tune stays strong. And I think that captures his essence beautifully.

I hope I explained this well 🙏🏾 and I'm sorry it took so long to answer. I had a lot going on and I was like "How the heck am I gonna answer this in a coherent fashion bc I love him too much" but hopefully this answer was worth the wait!

Yes! A friend of mine and I always end up discovering new small details from the earliest parts of the story, and the level of foreshadowing that goes into building Childe's arc as well as the story of Genshin as a whole is staggering. I don't think people realize just how much they already planned ahead of time. Every detail matters, even the most seemingly unimportant ones that are written off as excess dialogue.

As for how things will play out for Childe in the future, I've always considered him the most capable of shaping his own destiny and breaking free from fate.

I'd mentioned this before in the past, but Childe is strongly associated with "destiny", and fate and destiny aren't necessarily interchangeable. In fact, they're slightly different concepts of predetermined futures. Destiny is a future that can be changed based on the decisions and actions you make, while fate is set in stone, even for the gods. It's quite possible that HYV is taking advantage of the slight differences between fate and destiny for Genshin's story and Childe's character.

Also, back during the 4.2 patch, I pointed out a significant parallel between Childe and Furina, and that's the "endless performance"

(Found here: https://twitter.com/BananaMilkBunni/status/1723082616075645332?t=tIIroLdqFbThs_wJME57DA&s=19)

One of Childe's boss themes is titled "Never-ending Performance", and his passive talent is even called "never-ending", and I definitely don't think it's a coincidence that they used the phrasing "endless performance" for Furina. For that reason, along with other evidence, I think it's safe to say that Childe's "never-ending performance" will be instrumental in saving Teyvat.

Also, it's wonderful to hear that Childe is your comfort character! :) He's certainly mine, too (though I suppose I make that obvious daily lol). I can't say too much atm, but you can look forward to some great things from our favorite character! There's lots in store.