Game:

Genshin Impact (2020)

Duration: 1:19

118 views

12

Well. Since I somehow already managed to put together an edit for Kaveh/Alhaitham-- which, in hindsight, is a pairing that does not have enough cinematic cutscenes to work with--why not try editing other genshin pairings while I'm at it? xDD I used to hesitate doing this because of the lack of footage, but now that I realized it's not completely impossible with Kavetham... I think I'll start editing more stuff like this soon lol. Maybe something for Honkai Starrail as well.

Anyway, Zhongli/Childe, if I recall correctly, was the first popular ship in Genshin Impact. The massive influx of their fanfics on AO3 was lowkey one of the reasons why I got into the game lmao. Not because I was purely intrigued by their dynamic, but because of the way the characters are portrayed in the fic. I was wondering why people described Zhongli in such an ethereal sense, and Childe as some kind of agent of chaos-- and after playing the game, I now understand why XDD. The in-game terms being used in the fics, such as the locations in Liyue and the word "Archon", too, was what pique my curiosity.

Aside from that special reason though, while I don't think these two are as close or canon as most people make them out to be, it's ironically the ambivalence that makes them so amusing. Even as "friends'', you cannot deny that Zhongli and Childe have such an unorthodox relationship. Childe attempts to drowns Zhongli's nation, steals his gnosis, and is technically with the enemies, yet Zhongli, (aside from the deception with the gnosis), still continues to treat him in such a nonchalantly amicable manner. He knows all of Childe's motives but hangs out with him anyway, buys him chopsticks as gift, and goes as far to say that he will hang out with him again, even after everything. And don't get me started on how he uses Childe as his wallet/sugar daddy lmao. I do find it kind of endearing that Childe indulged Zhongli alot, and yes, while it's probably to distract Zhongli from thinking he has ulterior motives, I don't think he has to go to such an extent to win his trust. After all, the "Zhongli '' he knew before the big reveal was only a funeral consultant, not an Archon.

I also liked how well their relationship fits with the overarching theme of genshin as well, with the whole the strength of humans vs the divinity of the gods. That's something most of the fanfics seems to expand on, and it adds alot of depth into the writing of their dynamics and characters.
Now with Childe travelling everywhere else in Teyvat, though, they seems to have less interactions. I'd would've like seeing him having some kind of callbacks to Zhongli or vice versa, since him (and us, The Traveler) are probably the only canon friends he has. Their idiosyncrasies was just too interesting to think about, romantic or not.

Anyway. I know I capitalised on the "amusement" factor of this pairing in the description; but the edit itself is actually all about angst and unresolved (sxual) tension lol. Enjoy!

Fandom: Genshin Impact
Song: Young Gods - Halsey
Coloring: My own
Editing Program: Sony Vegas Pro 15

*This edit and its audio is heavily inspired by @asorti495's amazing and atmospheric edit of Michael /Mallory from AHS. Check it out here:
https://youtu.be/acqzvc2ppuw?si=hBUEN1uQy_kqfhkS

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