I'm a disabled person with chronic physical and mental health issues. Something that I find interesting about Genshin Impact is the way that it discusses chronic illness/mental illness/trauma compassionately, and these themes seem to run through the whole game rather than just coming up every now and then. It hit me fully during Freminet's event, because I really wasn't expecting such a heavy-hitting representation of mental illness, but in hindsight it's been there for a very long time.
Dunyarzad is a character who really spoke to me as a chronically ill person, and as someone who lost a friend to terminal illness. I really enjoyed the focus on her in the story, and I believe her story was the first part of Genshin to make me cry, haha.
It's honestly been surprising to me, as most of the more mainstream media I engage with isn't as respectful when it comes to these topics as Genshin is. But it's really comforting to see these compassionate representations. I'm currently bedbound due to my illness, and I've been spending a lot of my time playing Genshin, so it feels very meaningful to me :)
I also love that Neuvillette uses a cane! I hope that we'll get a wheelchair-using character in Genshin one day. That would mean so much to me!
I'd also love to hear anyone else's thoughts on this topic.
EDIT: Thanks for all of the replies! It's been really nice to read through what everyone's saying! I just wanted to edit to talk about some common things people are saying.
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Yes, I know a wheelchair-using playable character would be unrealistic (notice in my original post it doesn't say anything about a wheelchair-using playable character...). I'm still allowed to want whatever I want, and to want to see myself represented in a game I play. It's a bit annoying and hurtful to have people replying saying that it's actually unrealistic to want to see people like me in Genshin.
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I am also aware that Neuvillette's cane is for aesthetics. I actually considered mentioning that in the main post, but I under-estimated Reddit's need to correct people... even though the purpose of the cane is for aesthetics, it still makes me happy to see, due to the fact that canes are still mobility aids, and the fact that he has one opens up the opportunity for alternate readings of his character. (Also, everyone saying he doesn't use it to walk: he actually does in some cutscenes. This doesn't change that it's there for aesthetics, I'm just pointing it out)