Tyrus
| Pairing | |
|---|---|
| Pairing: | Tyrus |
| Alternative name(s): | CJ, Cyronious |
| Gender category: | Slash, M/M |
| Fandom: | Andi Mack |
| Canonical?: | Yes |
| Prevalence: | Popular pairing on Disney Channel's Andi Mack |
| Archives: | |
| Other: | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
T.J. Kippen/Cyrus Goodman is the relationship between two male characters on Disney Channel's Andi Mack [1]. The ship, commonly known as Tyrus, gained its popularity around early 2018. Cyrus Goodman is the first main gay character on Disney Channel. After a one-sided crush on his classmate, Jonah Beck, Cyrus grows closer to T.J. They mutually benefit each other and imply romantic feelings many times throughout the series. On July 26, 2019, Andi Mack made history once more as T.J. and Cyrus finally got together, confirming their feelings when they held hands.
Development
T.J. is first introduced as the rude and arrogant basketball captain. Cyrus' best friend, Buffy Driscoll, joins the boys' team despite being a girl. T.J. does not like this and makes it clear. The first words Cyrus ever says about him is "I hate T.J. Who's T.J.?" When it's revealed that T.J. is failing math, Buffy is enlisted to be his tutor. In fact, Cyrus and T.J.'s first interaction is when Buffy tells T.J. that he must get her friend a chocolate chip muffin in order to be his tutor. T.J.'s haughty expression immediately vanishes when he faces Cyrus, and he tells him how to get what he wants. When people boo Cyrus for this, T.J. tells them to back off as "he's with me." This shows how T.J. is the first person to get Cyrus out of his comfort zone.
Their iconic interaction takes place on a swingset T.J. finds Cyrus swinging alone and they properly introduce themselves. They swing together and show their remarkable ability to bond despite only knowing each other for a short time. Soon, Cyrus helps T.J., who turns out to have dyscalculia, a learning disability that is causing him to not perform well in math. Once again, this is a groundbreaking moment on Andi Mack and Disney Channel as a whole; learning disabilites have never been discussed before. Cyrus assures him that there is nothing wrong with his brain, and that the teacher cannot fail him for having it.
As time goes on, T.J. becomes a much nicer person, properly apologizing to Buffy and cheering for her. A lot of this is due to Cyrus, who brought the best out of him in many ways; for example, when T.J.'s friend, Reed, brings his father's gun to use recklessly, he tells the police before Cyrus can. Although some tension is caused due to the gun, they reconcile by their swingset. They get into a small argument before T.J. tells Cyrus, "You know what else you are?...The only person I can talk to like this."
Although their relationship is strong, it weakens when a girl named Kira asks T.J. to do a costume with her for a spirit day at their school. T.J. declines as he already got Cyrus to do a costume with him ("somersault," an inside joke between them as T.J. taught Cyrus how to do one). However, she says, "So you'd rather do a costume with Cyrus than with me?" This leaves T.J. upset and he ends up doing the costume with Kira instead of Cyrus. It's not clear what her motives are, but most speculate she is using T.J.'s internalized homophobia to her advantage. However, he eventually overcomes it during the final episode, snapping at Kira and telling her to stop making fun of Cyrus' dancing. Kira counters that he would rather pick Cyrus than her, which turns out to be very true. T.J. plays the opening to "Born This Way" by Lady Gaga on the piano, which is known to be a LGBTQ+ anthem. The cast all sings this together and it eventually leads to Cyrus accompanying T.J. on a wooden bench outside. Cyrus asks T.J. his full name, which is he embarrassed about and has never revealed to anyone outside his family before. However, he tells it to Cyrus; his name stands for Thelonious Jagger, named after two musicians. This leads to the two asking each other if there's anything else they want to know. Both respond with yes, and T.J. grasps Cyrus' hand after his admission, hence becoming Disney's first main gay couple.
Significance
Andi Mack is known to be a groundbreaking show, addressing many topics Disney never has before. Cyrus' coming out storyline is a big example. Showing that two middle school boys can have the same relationship as any straight couple is truly revolutionary. The show got canceled after 3 seasons, which is causing many fans to be upset; they will not be able to see the Tyrus relationship progress. Movements such as #uncancelandimack and #renewandimack might be made possible if Disney agrees to a fourth season or another channel such as Freeform picks it up.