Cyno/Tighnari

Cynonari is the BL relationship for Cyno, the General Mahamatra that leads the Matra in the Sumeru Akademiya and Tighnari, a forest watcher that lives in the Avidya Forest from the Genshin Impact fandom.
== Fandom ==
Both characters were introduced in the game in the 3.0 version of the game, released on August 24 2022. The pairing became popular after it was stated in the storyline they were close friends. As of January 2023, there are more than 1200 works tagged as Cyno/Tighnari on AO3.
Even before the release of version 3.0, the couple already had some fans. This is because the information leaked or teased in the new update brought details about the type of relationship that Cyno and Tighnari were going to have. In particular, Tighnari's introduction was accompanied by a message written by Cyno, where he presented him with a box of honeyed dates and thanked him for taking care of Collei. When a fan explained that Cyno's note contained puns in Chinese that were not translated into English and that according to the information released about him, he only makes these kinds of jokes when he is very close to someone, fans began to speculate and the ship was born. There are around fifty cynonari fanfics in AO3 released before version 3.0, with fans filling in the gaps in the story they didn't know about yet and in the personality and context of both with headcanons.
In late August 2022, some fake leaks about Cyno and Nilou being a canon ship made Cynonari shippers worried about the potential toxicity and ship wars that this could bring along. The rumor was quickly debunked and nothing happened in the end.
In February 2023, one of Tighnari's lines in the leaked material for the 3.5 patch started discourse about whether Cynonari was now "a proship ship". In the leak, Tighnari refers to his relationship with Cyno an Collei as "being like siblings". When trying to explain what that really means in East Asian countries, some Chinese players got harrassed by non-Chinese players, trying to speak over them on the matter. Some said it was a mistranslation, while others said it was not a mistranslation, just people scared of antis reaction and recommended Westerners to learn about different cultures. Kaeluc fans wished this made people finally realize that having to characters say they are like siblings doesn't mean it is "proship" or incest.
The ship entered AO3 top 10 in January 2024.
=== Events ===
* Cynonari SFW Week -- (November 2022)
* Cynonari Love Week -- (February 2023)
* Cynonari Seasonal Week -- (December 2023)
== Common Themes ==
* Friends to Lovers: Since they became friends through an investigation that Cyno was doing on Tighnari, it is common to see in fanworks this friendship going a step further.
* Found family: Both characters care deeply about Collei to the point that some fans see them as father figures. In some modern AUs she is their adopted daughter.
* Some fanworks revolve around the fact that Cyno tends to make bad puns.
* Tighnari's fox-like traits, which include mating/courting rituals, wagging of his tail when he's happy, ears position depending on his mood, among others.
* Double Dating with Haikaveh. Especially after the release of the TCG cutscenes where the four of them appear together.
* Smut: Including sex pollen, caused by Sumeru's exuberant vegetation, in-heat cycles caused by Tighnari's animalic traits, research sex etc
* Fluff
* Domesticity
* Modern Setting AU
* Before version 3.0, fans used to headcanon Dori and Cyno as close friends and she'd give him love advice. After the release it became clear that they are incompatible as Cyno takes his job too seriously to be friends with someone that sells illegal items, but those early fanworks still remain.
== Example Works ==
=== Comic ===
* Hurt and Comfort by Akichiart. (2024) Tighnari goes missing. Cyno rushes to look for him but when he finds him-
=== Doujinshi ===
* Welcome to Avidya Forest あつまれアビディアの森 (December 2022, C101) - Marked as Comiket 101 best seller in Otaku Republic
* Yumeyume Nigeru Koto Nakare ゆめゆめ逃げることなかれ (December 2022, C101) - Sold at Comiket 101 and Comic City 123
* Early in the morning, late at night 朝ははやく、夜はながく (December 2022, C101) - Marked as Comiket 101 best seller in Otaku Republic, also sold at Comic City Tokyo 148
* Kitsune no Yomeiri きつねのよめいり (January 2023)
* Ryōyaku wa tsukuri gatai 良薬は作りがたい (February 12, 2023) - Sold at Tokyo Fes. February 2023
* Mate ga Dekinai 待てができない (February 14, 2023) - Sold at Tokyo Fes. February 2023
* Nanji, eichi o Atae uru mono to nare 汝、叡智を与うる者となれ (February 14, 2023) - Sold at Tokyo Fes. February 2023
* Gekika han'nō masshigura! 激化反応まっしぐら！ (February 22, 2023)
* Asa kara tafuchīn wa sasuga ni omoi. 朝からタフチーンは流石に重い。(February 25, 2023)
* Kimigasukida to tsutaetai 君が好きだと伝えたい (March 2, 2023)
=== Fanfiction ===
* Your Warmth by AriNess - An example of fanfic written before the 3.0 update. Because of this, the author warns in the notes that it is mostly headcanons and highly OOC.
* What if I Told You That I've Fallen? by stillalosturl - Meet Cute and pining story, that the author modified after the 3.0 update taking into account new canon information.
* we all begin having no knowledge by AppleSharon - Written before the 3.0 update but taking into account all the leaked info up to date. Cyno falls in love with the student he is investigating.
* Strum a Tune for a Drunk Man by ExoticAlmonde - Example of how in some fanworks, both prefer each other's company rather than large crowds of people. In this case, they spend the Subzeruz festival singing and drinking. Contains smut.
=== Fanart ===
File:Lumenxoscynonari.jpg|Cyno and Tighnari in modern clothes, fanwork made for Tighnari's birthday on December 30th 2022 by Lumenxos
File:Cynonari3d.jpg|Cyno and Tighnari fanmade set for 3D printer by GrayWorldCorp
* Based on 2023 Sumeru Extravaganza Festival where Tighnari suffers a sunstroke in the desert (2023) by duelking9
* Fanart vs Game (2024) by Akichiart
=== TikToks ===
* Cyno may eat an aphrodisiac fruit but he still cares about Collei's wellbeing by alikuarso (2022)
* no context cynonari I just wanted to draw them bc im obsessed by fram (2022)
* Two cosplayers in Cyno and Tighnari costumes ice skating by neon.meds (2022)
* Cyno mesmerized by Tighnari's toe beans by Elic.x (2023)
* Cyno's voice actor, Alejandro, says "I love you Tighnari" in Cyno's voice (2023)
=== Zines ===
* Gilded Bonds (2023) SFW zine
* Viridian Sands (2023)
* Maison D'Etre (2023) Cyno x Tighnari + Collei anthology. Released for the 17th edition of Comifuro
* fabled gardens (2024) cottagecore themed zine
== Links ==
* Cyno/Tighnari tag on AO3
* Cynonari tag on Pixiv
* Cynonari article on Shipping Wiki
* Cynonari Mains Discord server
* Cynonari Impact: A Timely Cynonari - Twitter account for news and art reblogs.
* Timely Cynonari on Bluesky
== References ==
Category:Genshin Impact Relationships
Category:Yaoi Pairings
Category:Interracial Pairings
Category:Boys' Love Pairings
Category:Slash Pairings
Category:Social Media Feature-Ship Sunday