The Windblume Festival is one of the most beloved events inGenshin Impactdue it’s fun and cheerful atmosphere in Mondstadt, the first nation players come across in the game. Although some players look forward to major events like the Windblume Festival for the primogems and limited-time gamemodes, the Windblume Festival’s limited-time story quest brings fun and entertaining interactions between theGenshin Impact’s diverse cast of characters. Version 3.5’s Windblume event, dubbed Windblume’s Breath, followed in suit of Version 1.4’s Invitation of Windblume with another joyful atmosphere accompanied by new and returning characters, such as Albedo, Cyno, and Tighnari.
Although both versions’Windblume Festivals were highlighted with both joy and festivities, this year’s story quest had a very interesting dynamic between two characters: Collei and Sucrose. The Windblume’s Breath story primarily focused on the two girls' solving a mysterious riddle Collei found, leading to a blossoming friendship between the two (who were strangers prior to this event) and the other characters as well.Genshin Impact’s players never would have expected Collei and Sucrose to interact with each other, given they’re from two different regions and have two different occupations, but their relationship produced an interesting message to players during the event.
RELATED:Genshin Impact Fans Notice Unusual Connection Between Varka and Three Characters
Background on Collei and Sucrose
What makes Collei and Sucrose’s unexpected relationship so interesting is that the two could not have been more different yet similar at the same time. Collei and Sucrose have different backgrounds, yet they, coincidentally, still share similar traits. Collei’s a trainee forest ranger from Sumeru mentored by Tighnari, a knowledgeable forest watcher, whileSucrose is a bio-alchemistassisting the genius alchemist Albedo with research. They’re both most notably introverted and timid, although both try to appear more upbeat and positive around the player. The two of them are passionate about what they do, but they’re not very great at expressing themselves sociably.
The major difference between the two is their upbringings, asCollei’s life began much more tragicallythan Sucrose’s. Referring to theGenshin Impactmanga, Collei grew up sick with the disease Eleazar, and her parents gave her to Fatui Harbinger Il Dottore to cure her, but he instead experimented on Collei, giving her sinister powers beyond her control. In the current version ofGenshin Impact, Collei has been cured of her disease and her dark powers are sealed away, but her trauma still troubles her. In contrast, Sucrose lived a relatively normal life in Mondstadt with two loving parents as she pursued her love for alchemy. The only negative part of her upbringing was when her two best friends went their separate ways in life, motivating Sucrose to create a paradise through bio-alchemy in memory of her and her friends' dream.
Collei and Sucrose’s Relationship During Windblume’s Breath
Collei and Sucrose’s relationship was a breath of fresh air for the players. Players are used to seeing joyfulcharacters in events like the Lantern Rite Festival, but Collei and Sucrose’s flawed personalities are unique. Throughout the event, the two girls made it clear that they struggle socializing with others, as their first encounter was an awkward one, with the two pausing in silence to think about what to say to each other. At one point, Sucrose asks Collei what is one wish she would like to come true, and Collei wishes for “a better personality.”
As the quest progresses, Sucrose notices that Collei seems a little depressed despitereturning to Mondstadt for the festivaland seeing familiar faces. Sucrose commits to help Collei feel better, so she helps Collei solve the riddle she found. The two work together as a duo to find the characters who fit the descriptions from the prophecy and, despite both being introverts, they worked well together for the most part approaching the other characters. But Collei struggled to choose her words and topics for conversation, as players were able to listen in on Collei’s inside thoughts and social troubles, but Sucrose overcomes her own social struggles to help Collei feel more comfortable.
At one point in the event, Collei unloads her thoughts and traumatic past to Sucrose, who listens carefully. Collei reveals how she feels unworthy to become someone likeAmber, her cheerful, outgoing role model, because she can’t help but dwell on problems and anxiety. Collei believes that she’s a problem, as she feels bad for trauma-dumping onto Sucrose, a stranger she just became friends with. However, Sucrose doesn’t mind, and she feels honored for Collei to confide to her. Sucrose claims they’re similar, as they both struggle to fit in and are afraid of saying the wrong things, but she comforts Collei. She says that it’s alright to not be perfect and that it’s okay to struggle with problems in life, but it’s always good to take moments to relax.
The Implications of Collei and Sucrose’s Dynamic
It seems as though Hoyoverse intended for Collei and Sucrose’s relationship to address the struggles with mental health and social anxiety, hoping to use their relationship as an example for players struggling with mental health problems to find a friend to talk to. That friend doesn’t have to be exactly similar, but they should be understanding and caring about the other person, just as Sucrose cared for Collei despite them being strangers. Tighnari, Cyno, andAlbedonote how it’s really considerate for Sucrose to help Collei feel more normal and comfortable in Mondstadt, as Collei’s past was void of happiness and youth.
Even Amber, Collei’s best friend since their encounter in the manga, didn’t spend a lot of time with Collei because she felt that Collei needed to make a new friend who could relate to Collei more than she ever could.Mental health is a touchy topic to address in video games, but it’s one that needs more coverage and less stigmatized portrayals.Genshin Impactcreated a wholesome and engaging way to address mental health struggles through an unexpected friendship in one of the game’s most popular events, and HoYoverse should continue to bring attention to the topic in future character stories.
Genshin Impactis now available on Mobile, PC, PS4, and PS5. A Switch version is in development.
MORE:Genshin Impact Fans Notice Interesting Connection Between Archons and Slimes
