hello there, I saw your sort of old post on chiyaka! I see you are also a person of taste. would you like to elaborate on how you see chiyaka?
[kicks open door] ANOTHER PERSON OF TASTE ⁽⁽ଘ( ˊᵕˋ )ଓ⁾⁾ strap yourself in cause I've had nobody other than @zhongkaetxt to talk about these two with for SO long
Something important is that I think Ayaka knows more than she lets on. She knows Ayato wants to protect her from the hardships of being a leader but she also isn't a child anymore. She keeps her ear to the ground and it's not uncommon for her to know about things even before Ayato. I think that plays into how she is when her and Childe first meet. She knows about him and likely knew of his presence long before seeing him, but she refuses to be intimidated.
They aren't quite enemies to lovers, but they aren't far off! He may simply be curious about her, but Ayaka is not quick to forget what happened when Fatui last appeared in Inazuma. There's a lot of banter, especially at first. They're coy with each other, true feelings thinly veiled by fake diplomacy. They both know they're playing with fire but they just feel so drawn to each other. I actually have a wip of their first meeting that expands on this hehe
LATER ON THOUGH!! Childe helps Ayaka learn to be herself more. She doesn't have to be the Shirasagi Himegimi at all times. He'll stop and look her in the eyes and say "what do *you* want?" He gets her to do fun things spontaneously like sliding down the halls in their socks or taking off their shoes to play in the stream. Despite his work, he is so surprisingly sweet and every time he shows it she falls a little bit more in love. (Also she is moronsexual and finds his impulsive dumbass endearing.)
Childe at first is simply curious about the small girl that can best even the most seasoned samurai. She keeps her guard up at first but he's used to that and doesn't let it deter him. When they finally duel she puts him on his ass and he's like 😳😳 but that's only the beginning!! When she confronts him on the fatui's actions and he finds out how much she was willing to sacrifice for what she believed in he can't help but admire her. Then once he starts seeing the real Ayaka, the mischievous and passionate swordmaster, he knows he's done for. Every time he sees her playful or competitive side he falls a little bit more in love too.
Sorry if this is long and a little all over the place but I just love Childe tripping over himself doting on cute girls that could kick his ass and those girls thinking his dumbassery is endearing!! I hope you like and if you want more headcanons or anything I can provide <33
(If you want to know a secret: I adore any combination of childe/ayaka/kokomi/ganyu like alongside zk they're my FAVORITE)
