I don't think he's abusive. A bit strict, possibly, but not abusive. Also, that wasn't the reason that Childe's father had him conscripted. According to Childe's official character stories:

• "In the eyes of his father, that third son that he had so worried about had changed for the worse, bringing much uncalled-for havoc to the seaside village of Morepesok."

• "Ultimately, after a huge brawl was pacified with some difficulty and with some near-fatal misses, his father had no choice but to hand his beloved son over for conscription into the Fatui."

• "He hoped that the strict military training of the Fatui could hone his son's temper..."

In other words, young Ajax had returned from the Abyss as the "eye of the storm," chaos revolving around him at every turn, and this sudden change in personality from a timid boy to one who reveled in violence and discord, put his father in a tight spot. He most likely knew of no other possible solution for his son's situation, and seemed to view it as a behavioral issue rather than a supernatural one, since it's implied that Childe never told his parents what happened to him.

However, this portion of his character stories is strange in light of the lore from Ballad of the Fjords as well as Simulanka, and so the question still remains as to how much knowledge his father has, and what hand he's had in shaping Childe's fate. Did he truly know what would happen when he named his son Ajax? Was it his own personal motivation, or the motivation of another individual or larger group? We have no way to say for certain at this point, and can only speculate until we receive more information.

Now has never been a more perfect time to answer a question of this nature.

Before I end up most likely writing an essay though, someone else asked a somewhat similar question, specifically about whether Childe is happy, and if he's content with his isolation. Since both of your questions would have similar responses, I figured it'd be a great idea to address them all here. So let's hop to that!

Firstly, this response will contain spoilers from Mizuki's story quest. If you haven't played it, I wouldn't recommend reading this yet. But if you're okay with spoilers, then you can disregard this.

In Natlan's interlude AQ, we get a small look into the effects of the Abyss on the Natlanese fighters. Many were experiencing severe trauma, hallucinations, and intensified negative emotions such as grief and feelings of worthlessness and/or helplessness. This is because the Abyss preys on the weaknesses of the individual, as we witnessed with Kachina's situation. The Abyss Lector stalked her throughout the Night Kingdom, attempting to break her down by capitalizing on her worst fears and darker thoughts.

Now, we have Mizuki's story quest, which does a stellar job at exploring emotion, the connection between them and nightmares/dreams, and the importance of negative emotions. In fact, it covered many things that a friend and I had already been discussing together extensively, so we were very excited about this quest prior to its release.

In any case, Mizuki's quest emphasizes the danger of suppressing your emotions, as well as the effects that this can have on the human subconscious. If this is left to fester, then these suppressed emotions will manifest as nightmares. However, these emotions are not inherently a flaw. All of our feelings—sadness, anger, fear, etc—are a part of our identity. We aren't solely our pain and suffering, no, but that pain and suffering is an inextricable piece of us. It can determine our dreams and goals, it can help us grow and learn, it can foster empathy and compassion. Pain is part of being human, and pain can be our strength.

The division on the topic of Childe's trauma and overall psychological state is understandable; after all, much of our characterization in this area comes from observation, interpretation, and our own headcanons to fill the spaces that the story has yet to fill. But I believe this division stems from more than simply lack of canon information. It is partially that, but I also believe it to be this: there are people who have created a strong, infallible version of Childe in their heads.

This is not necessarily a bad thing, because it's exactly what the writers want.

What I find fascinating is that the perception of Childe in the story, and the perception of him by an overwhelming majority of the fanbase, is shockingly similar. He is heavily underestimated, disregarded, isolated—but most of all, his humanity is seldom taken into consideration, his strength and role as a weapon heralded above it and all else.

Take Fontaine for example, where it quickly becomes apparent that this is a serious, and even deadly issue. Most of the characters involved in the investigation of his disappearance were more perplexed than concerned, ultimately convinced that he was more than capable of taking care of himself. While this confidence can be positive in a different context, it is primarily detrimental to Childe. It served as an example that he lacks human bonds and connections, that so long as his image is a competent, strong character, other characters will feel little urgency to help him and provide support. And this lack of support nearly resulted in his death, a month-long battle of survival with only himself to rely on.

And this is absolutely a purposeful narrative decision. Note how in each region's AQ the Traveler has never truly fought a battle by themself. In Mondstadt, they had Diluc, Venti, and Jean in the fight against Stormterror. In Liyue, it was with the Qixing and the Adepti. In Inazuma, it was with the numerous wishes of those who sought to abolish the Sakoku decree, as well as Yae Miko's advice and intervention. In Sumeru, it was Nahida and the collective wisdom of the people. In Fontaine, it was with Neuvillette. And finally, in Natlan, it was with Mavuika, the six other chosen warriors and the souls of the dead. The key themes in Genshin, and mostly all of Hoyoverse's games (unsure of ZZZ as I have not played it), have always been the right to choose your own fate, and the importance of humanity coming together.

Childe, who is the "pawn" as he has described himself, lacking in any bonds/connections, is essentially being used by the writers to explore and demonstrate the consequences of not having these bonds. Can a person truly fight alone? The juxtaposition between the Traveler and Childe's positions in the story is a result of the writers answering this question. And so, for that reason, Childe is alone. But is he lonely? Does this isolation affect him to a degree? And if so, how? Is he truly happy?

This is where an extremely crucial detail comes into play: Never-ending Performance.

I've mentioned this in the past, but this is a much, much more important detail than it is given credit for. Not only is this the title of one of Childe's boss themes, but it is also the title of Kaeya's second constellation, and a phrase similar to it, "endless performance," is used when describing Furina's role in tricking Fate and saving Fontaine from the prophecy. However, this isn't solely about the phrase/concept itself, but about the characters it is attached to.

Kaeya is implied to be a lonely, and even depressed character. He does not have a sense of belonging in Mondstadt, and tends to hide his true personality under a mask of confidence. The calm, collected, outgoing and charming Favonius knight is, in reality, actually a shy and reserved character struggling with his past and his loneliness. Even Razor, in the past event "Of Ballads and Brews, describes Kaeya as the "...Grown-up with the fake smile," (and I never could forget that). And Furina, as we had seen in the Fontaine AQ, had to put on a "performance," pretending to be the Hydro archon, smothering her true self for the sake of her people, crying alone and forced to carry a heavy burden by herself with no one to turn to. And in one scene, she hadn't even realized in the moment that she was crying. This five-hundred year performance left her exhausted and traumatized, to the point she nearly walked away from the stage for good, until she made the decision to take the stage once more and received her Vision.

Note how both Furina and Kaeya have both experienced extreme loneliness. They don a particular persona, hiding their true feelings and massive secrets from others. While Furina was eventually freed from the "performance," the same cannot be said for Kaeya. And additionally, the same cannot yet be said for Childe.

By drawing thematical similarities between these characters, we can, by extension, draw a similar conclusion for Childe. He too is in his own never-ending performance, presenting different masks to different people. For his siblings, he is the "bestest big brother" and the "toy seller" for Teucer, and for the sake of diplomacy he is the friendly and charming "Childe," but he is also "Tartaglia". He is the weapon of the Tsaritsa, he is unpredictable, he is chaos. And all of these identities are simultaneously separate and melded into one. But I believe he ultimately seeks companionship. He simply has not been given the tools to do this in a healthy manner.

Back in the Liyue AQ act 3, Childe says this: "Anyone who strives as I do to grow stronger shall be called a friend, even if our friendship can only be shown in battle against one another."

Believe it or not, this quote is actually just one example of how Childe's time in the Abyss affected him. And more specifically, the time he spent training with Skirk.

In the Fontaine AQ, we learned that Skirk spoke very little with 14 year old Ajax due to his not being strong enough, and even in Arlecchino's story quest, he says, "...Unless Master feels the need to meet with me, she's not going to be found. But, that problem has an easy fix. I just need to become stronger..."

This is someone who ties his self-worth to his strength, who seeks connections through battle. Every request for a spar is a request for human connection. It's quite literally become his own language, and the one he is most confident in. If he's strong enough, then the people he admires and/or seeks to befriend will acknowledge him. This sentiment applies to Skirk, to Capitano, to the Traveler—to anyone he sees as a potential friend or an admirable figure. And this is because everyone in his life has particular expectations for him, because nearly every relationship has been formed based on his strength and his usefulness. Even Pulcinella had been drawn to him because of his strength. And his pursuit for strength in and of itself was because of the Abyss.

This isn't just coming from the parallels between him and Chasca, who was marked by the Abyss, but also because of the very conditions of the place itself. He was a 14 year old with a timid disposition and no experience in combat, forced into a position where he had to fight to survive in a dark, unfamiliar environment crawling with all manner of otherworldly creatures. His only choice was to fight or to die. But because of his desire to be seen as a strong warrior, Childe does his utmost to hide his more vulnerable side. He doesn't want to be seen as weak, he doesn't wish to be pitied—because if it ever came to pass that he was deemed as weak, what else would he have left? Without his strength to bridge the gap between himself and other strong fighters, what would he do? What would he be?

TLDR: Childe is not as happy as he appears, is not necessarily content with his isolation because he frequently seeks out human connection via combat, and has indeed been affected by his time in the Abyss as displayed through the aforementioned social behaviors.

End note: If you'd like a thread that further dissects Childe and his relationship with his past, I highly recommend my good friend Lucian's thread. He does a magnificent job analyzing Childe's behavior down to the letter, from the subtext in Childe's words to his micro expressions. Here's the link: https://x.com/wormlandalice/status/1779058365261398296

(I really wanted to add even more moments to this ridiculously long essay, but that would've just been...even more lengthy. Even this is way too long lmao)

Anyway, I hope I was able to answer both you and the other anonymous narwhal's questions well! Even if this was way too long. And I hope that I was able to provide at least some insight into Childe's character and his hidden struggles, because it's truly a topic near and dear to me.

Noo don't worry, you're welcome to share wholesome and fun zcl thoughts too! Doesn't have to be lore or theories only <3

And this is such a cute thought. The current activities really are great for Childe, and he really would put so much thought into his card for Zhongli, and for all of his siblings too!

Speaking of the last thing, I have an HC that Childe wakes up extremely early, while Zhongli sleeps until at least mid-morning. An absolute nightmare for Childe in the beginning when he realizes he's fallen for a serial cuddler with an iron grip because he prefers to get up and move, but over time he grows to appreciate Zhongli's alternate lifestyle slowing him down, and most of all the warmth he feels whenever he wakes up.

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.