Cylou

Cylou is the het ship between Cyno and Nilou from the Genshin Impact fandom.

Canon
Cyno and Nilou are some of the first released Sumeru characters and major characters in the Sumeru Archon Quest, in which they interact quite a bit. Nilou is a dancer at the Zubayr Theater, while Cyno is the General Mahamatra of the Akademiya and leader of all the Matras.

Nilou praises the people involved in the plan on Jnagarbha Day, including Cyno, calling them "the bravest and most passionate people of Sumeru, well, that... I've ever met!". While they appear many times throughout the Sumeru Archon quest, they don’t exchange conversation until Chapter III, Act V. Cyno returns to his position as the General Mahamatra, and Nilou asks him if he will be happy with that life, expressing worry for him. He tells her it isn't about being happy, but she tells him he should keep his spirits up and try to be happy. He thanks her and says he will keep that in mind. Paimon also mentions that Nilou had wanted to throw a celebration feast for Cyno getting reinstated as the General Mahamatra.

In Nilou's voice line about Cyno, she says she generally dislikes Akademiya student's because of their dislike of the arts. However, Cyno seems to be an exception to this as he admires her dancing and is appreciative of her enthusiasm for it. She also expresses surprise at the fact Cyno enjoys playing Genius Invokation TCG as students of the Akademiya generally have a reputation of being overly serious and only focused on the pursuit of knowledge.

Quotes
"I can sense her enthusiasm and passion for dancing — it has become an integral part of her being. I hope that she will always be able to use the art she loves to bring happiness to other people.."

- Cyno about Nilou

"I don't really like interacting with people from the Akademiya because they don't view the arts too kindly. I often wonder what they do when they're bored... Huh, Cyno plays Genius Invokation TCG? I can't believe it..."

- Nilou about Cyno

"I... I can't believe my ears! You are truly the bravest and most passionate people of Sumeru, well, that... I've ever met!"

- Nilou to Cyno in the Sumeru Archon Quest Chapter 3, Act 5

Fanon
Cyno and Nilou both had banners in the same update patch, leading to a surge of content from the two. However the origin of the ship seems to come from fake leaks spread before the two were released, implying that Cyno had a crush on Nilou and was attempting to win her over. While these leaks were quickly observed to be false by the fandom, that didn’t stop people from entertaining the idea of the two having a romantic relationship, and the popularity of the ship grew. The ship is popular on social media sites, and currently has 84 works on AO3. They were both seen in the Sumeru Promotional Video and the version 3.1 trailer.

Many people in the fandom have taken notice of the fact that Nilou dislikes the students of the Akademiya, due to their contempt of the arts. Cyno, however, doesn’t seem to dislike the arts at all, even praising her “enthusiasm and passion” for what she does and hoping she will bring happiness to other people with it.

In addition, with the lore revolving King Deshret and Nabu Malikata, the Goddess of Flowers, many people in the fandom have theorized this two used to date as well and, after their deaths, reincarnated in both Cyno and Nilou or are at least a representation of how this two were in life.

Cylou is a fairly popular ship in the fandom for both characters, being Nilou’s most popular, and Cyno’s second most popular after Cynonari, though it is also occasionally rivaled by Cytham or Aelou.

Fandom
FAN FICTION

FAN ART

TWITTER

Trivia

 * In Kaveh's demo, Cyno can be seen watching Nilou dancing at the Zubayr Theater.
 * Cyno and Nilou are paired together in a Genshin advertising cylinder in Japan, with Nilou on one side and Cyno on the other.