Cynonari

Cynonari is the slash ship between Cyno and Tighnari from the Genshin Impact fandom.

Character Story Profile
Tighnari's character story 4 mentions how he first met Cyno during his days as an Akademiya student. He became very popular amongst the students, causing all kinds of students to come up to him wanting to collaborate. Cyno as the General Mahamatra, who's duty is to enforce the Akademiya's rules and regulations, saw this as Tighnari forming factions and gathering forces, which he deemed as harbingers of academic corruption. However, after Cyno spent time observing and spending time with Tighnari, he realized the student had no ill intentions and while he was willing to collaborate with others, his focus was on his own studies. Cyno deemed the threat as resolved, but due to the pure impression Tighnari had on him he ended up letting down his guard and they became friends. This also led to Cyno later entrusting Collei in Tighnari's care.

Archon Quest
In the Sumeru Archon Quest Act IV, Tighnari is brought up by the traveler and Paimon briefly while talking about incense with Cyno. Cyno makes a note about them knowing Tighnari, to which Paimon asks if they are friends. He responds with a yes. Paimon then asks if Tighnari lectured him as he had with her and the traveler, and Cyno says there's no need for him to. Cyno asks if they first smelled the incense at Tighnari's house, to which traveler says no.

Cyno's Story Quest
At the end of Cyno's story quest, they make an appearance together for the first time in game at Caravan Ribat. Cyno had just finished single-handedly apprehending 300 criminals, which Tighnari scolds him for. However, Cyno discusses his anger towards the criminals for the role they played in an old friend's death and Tighnari drops it, saying he understands. Tighnari then offers Cyno a trap he designed using plants, saying he can use it to aid him in battle while also help collect test data on it. It is then revealed to the traveler that Tighnari came to Caravan Ribat to find herbs for a child Cyno had met earlier in the quest and also to check for any physical injuries Cyno may have. Tighnari then mentions how lonely Cyno looks, and tells him he should relax and play some Genius Invokation TCG. He mentions that Collei is wary of Cyno due to his serious expression, which prompts Cyno to ask how the girl is doing. Tighnari responds talking about her growth and studies, and says he's tasked her with giving lectures in Sumeru City. He asks Cyno to watch over her, to which he agrees.

Genius Invokation TCG
One of Cyno's favorite hobbies during his free time is playing Genius Genius Invokation TCG. It is also shown that he plays it together with Tighnari, as at the end of his profile story "Cyno's Genius Invokation TCG Deck Box" it mentions him wondering if Tighnari would be available to play at the moment. In the daily commission King of Invokations, Fukomoto tells the traveler that he was tasked with writing a book about Genius Invokation TCG and was told to use Cyno and Tighnari as inspiration for the book. It can assumed that Cyno and Tighnari are both well known for being good at the game in order for them to be considered for inspirations.

Matra's Encyclopedia of Plants
In the lore descriptions for several plant furnishing items used in the Serenitea Pot, it can be found that Cyno sought out Tighnari's help for writing on a manual guide on different plants in Sumeru. Many of these descriptions show other matra wondering who the General Mahamatra could have found who is so knowledgeable on plants, while one item called No Jumping, No Tramping mentions a matra coming to ask Cyno a question about the manual. The matra finds him having dinner with Tighnari, and Cyno promptly answers his questions with two jokes that only confuse the matra more. Tighnari jumps in before Cyno can start explaining the jokes so the conversation would end quickly, possibly because he knows that Cyno's explanations for his jokes can become very long.

Quotes
"A message for you. I brought back a specialty from the desert, two packs of honeyed dates, which helps to replenish your energy, whether in the morning or at night. Thank you for your patience in teaching and taking care of Collei. Good luck with your work and best wishes for Collei's studies."

- Cyno's letter to Tighnari

"Many researchers at the Akademiya fear that the General Mahamatra will interfere with their research. However, it seems that they are worrying about nothing. Most of them do not produce results worthy of his visit."

- Tighnari's reply to Collei asking about Cyno

"You want to see Cyno...? Well, firstly, a word of caution: if he ever comes chasing you down for work-related reasons, prepare for the nightmare of a lifetime. Other than that, General Mahamatra is a high-ranking position, so it usually isn't easy to find him. But he does occasionally go to Gandharva Ville to see Collei. As much as he might want to stay unnoticed, he can't fool my ears, heh."

- Tighnari's voiceline about Cyno

"Tighnari is different from other scholars I've met. He has the same wholehearted dedication to knowledge, but he will never cross the most important boundaries. Some scholars see themselves as gods within their own laboratories, but not Tighnari — he has always shown the same respect for every form of life. I've heard that he even declined a position in the Akademiya, and I support his decision."

- Cyno's voiceline about Tighnari: Knowledge

"Tighnari once told me not to tell jokes at the dinner table, insisting that my jokes weren't funny at all. I did not share his opinion, so I told three of my best jokes in a row, and explained the premise of each in great detail. By the time I was done talking, my food was cold."

- Cyno's voiceline about Tighnari: Jokes

"Tighnari and Collei never said it to my face, but they found Kaveh's personal anecdotes far more entertaining than the jokes I had prepared... I could see it on their faces. Hmm? What did I think about that? Well, I thought it was funny that they could laugh at such a situation."

- Cyno's voiceline about Kaveh

Fanon
Cynonari is both Cyno's and Tighnari's most written for ship on Archive of Our Own, with 274 works between slash and gen works.

The ship rose in popularity upon Tighnari's Official Character introduction, where a quote from a letter Cyno sent to Tighnari was used. Cyno thanked Tighnari for taking care of Collei, and he left a pack of honeyed dates for him. This led to people shipping the two of them together due to them appearing to be close friends and having close relations to Collei, who they both care for. Many people see Cyno and Tighnari as father figures for the girl, and headcanon them as a family.

Many fans find the relationship between Cyno and Tighnari to be very wholesome, as they are often shown to care for and trust one another. Tighnari, who is said to rarely leave Avidya Forest, traveled all the way to Caravan Ribat to lend his aid to Cyno at the end of his story quest. Fans also hypothesize that the matra mentioned in Tighnari's profile voiceline talking about Karkata is Cyno. Research on mechanical lifeforms is prohibited by the Akademiya, but Cyno has trust in Tighnari and very likely would have faith in Tighnari claiming he only intends on using Karkata as a research assistant and would do no studies on the robot itself. Cyno is someone with a great sense of judgement and shows little to no mercy for those who break the rules, so his complete faith in Tighnari's actions and decisions shows how big of an impression he has made on the Mahamatra.

Many fanworks depict Cyno as more relaxed around Tighnari due to their close friendship and Cyno letting down his guard around him. Cyno often tells jokes, which annoys Tighnari who does not find them funny. They are portrayed as partners who care deeply for one another, offering aid when possible.

Fandom
FAN FICTION

TUMBLR

TWITTER

Trivia

 * In Cyno's web event, Trial of the Scorching Sands, one of the items you can pack in Cyno's bag are Candied Ajilenakh Nuts. The description of the item mentions bringing some for Tighnari and Collei.
 * Both Cyno and Tighnari had a quote for each other used in their official introductions.
 * Many fans have noted how Cyno's voice becomes much softer when talking about Tighnari.
 * They often eat dinner together, with Cyno traveling to Gandharva Ville to spend time with Tighnari.
 * Both of their designs have canine-like elements. Tighnari has the ears and tail of a fennec fox due to him being a hybrid, while Cyno wears a hat based on the god Anubis who has the head of a jackal.
 * Both jackals and fennec foxes are monogamous animals.
 * In Tighnari's Interesting Things voiceline, he mentions some plants using honey to lure their prey and then how it feels like he's not talking about plants anymore. This combined with the fact that jackals prey on fennec foxes and Cyno gifts Tighnari honeyed dates may allude to the idea of Cyno luring Tighnari in with honey.
 * Their normal attack strings are very similar, despite them using different weapons. They both have four attacks, with a double-hit on the third attack. They also rotate their bodies in a similar manner.