IttoGorou

IttoGorou is the slash ship between Arataki Itto and Gorou from the Genshin Impact fandom.

Canon
Gorou and Itto don't have any interactions in the game. However, Itto has a voiceline about Gorou, so they likely have interacted before, especially due to them living in the same nation and the offical art of them together.

Itto's voiceline about Gorou shows that he has a positive opinion about him despite their interactions being minimal, and that he views Gorou as a friend who can understand his feelings. He says that Gorou has a great fighting spirit despite him being rather small, especially compared to Itto. He says Gorou makes him all warm and fuzzy inside, as if he has understands his innermost feelings. Though he worries it might be kinda weird as he barely knows anything about Gorou.

Itto also has a voiceline about Ms. Hina, who works at the advice column at the "That's life" magazine. He encourages the traveler to try to write to her as well, as he is a big fan of hers and is looking forward to her meet and greet. In the original Chinese voiceover, he can additionally be heard sighing dreamily twice. In Gorou's hangout event it is revealed that Ms. Hina's is actually Gorou himself, answering questions in the column under an alias.

Both characters wield geo visions, Itto using a claymore in combat while Gorou uses a bow. Itto is meant to be a main dps, while Gorou is a support. They play very well together, and having both on the team gives a geo resonance buff, as well as making Gorou's skill stronger. Gorou was also on Itto's banner in the first half of 2.5. In The Games Awards entry video they are seen fighting alongside each other, likely due to being released together and their synergy in battle.

Quotes
"Oh yeah, the doggy general in the resistance. Hey, I've gotta hand it to him, he may be on the small side, but he's got quite the fighting spirit. Also, he gives off this vibe that makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside, almost as if he understands my innermost feelings...I mean, I've barely met the guy, so that's kinda weird."

- Itto's voiceline about Gorou

Fanon
The ship gained popularity when Itto and Gorou were officially announced to be released together. Many fans started to ship them together because of their similar aesthetics and color palette, and Itto's voiceline about Gorou in which he states that he makes him "all warm and fuzzy inside". Many fans interpreted this as him having feelings for Gorou or sensing the similarities between him and Ms. Hina.

Since Gorou is often read as the canonical bisexual due to the fact that his near-romantic interest in the Traveler does not change with the latter's gender, and that Itto not infrequently gets headcanoned as falling in love with the former's Ms. Hina personality, ship-themed fanfiction often follows the tropes "if it's you, then okey" and/or "mainly man x girly boy". For example, many fans like to imagine what Itto's meeting with Ms. Hina and his realization that it was Gorou would have looked like, especially since one of his voicelines already mentions a possible fan meeting in the future.

On AO3, it's Itto's most popular ship and Gorou's second most popular, KazuGorou having a larger following. On Itto's side main rival of this pairing are his het ship IttoSara, however in Western fandom this pairing seems somewhat controversial due to the ship's notorious ship war with SaraBaal's supporters who prefer to read Sara as a lesbian.

Fandom
FAN FICTION

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