I was reading through the thread down below, and wanted to explain why I like Tyson. On a surface level, I'm always drawn to the character that all the other characters tell you to stay away from. Leo from Echo is probably the best other example of this for me, and maybe Tatsuki from Morenatsu to a lesser extent. What I would call "safe" characters tend to push me away because they're usually more predictable and less complex, therefore less interesting to me. I'm drawn to characters with problems because I want to know why they're like that, what made them turn out the way they are, and I want to see if their issues can be resolved somehow. It's like that old real world trope about how women were always attracted to bad guys because they wanted to fix them, even though that's usually how abusive relationships start. I think that trope applies here too, and I know I'm guilty of having that mindset even though I'm a guy too. I think characters like Tyson are popular because I think wanting to fix people is a very common thing, and a VN like this is a safe way to live out that experience.
I’m curious while that is a reason to start Tyson’s route, Tyson himself doesn’t really fall in to that category in the way his route plays out. Dave doesn’t try to fix Tyson because he doesn’t see a problem, to him Tyson’s just Tyson. It’s Tyson who wants to fix himself, all Dave does is be there for him and be in his corner. Which is perfectly fine but doesn’t really fit the ‘I can fix him’, Even Dave says things like ''he's better'' or ''he's good now'' and it's Tyson himself who has to correct him with ''i'm getting better''.
What i'm getting at is, ok thats a reason to get into his route but why did you end up liking him?
I think it's important to note that Dave and the player themselves aren't the same person. Dave might be okay with Tyson the way he is at the start of the story, but that doesn't mean that Tyson has no issues that should probably be resolved. I played through his route pretty recently, and it was clear to me that he still has problems, even if he isn't lashing out at everyone like he did when he was younger. Obviously the player can't control what Dave thinks, but they can to an extent control what he does, and I feel like just by having Dave interact with Tyson more kind of helps the latter realize that there are still things about themselves that they need to come to terms with. I guess what I'm saying is that I don't need the MC to want to fix them in order for me to want to fix them. As for why I like Tyson beyond that, I guess it's a lot of small things really. He makes fun of Dave, but you know he would probably be the first to put himself in danger to save him. He's blunt, he has a sense of humor, he has a sort of complex pre-existing brotherly relationship with Dave, and he's one of the last connections Dave has with someone important to him. He's like an onion, he has layers, or at least I think he does, and I like that in a character. Maybe I just enjoy characters that are rough around the edges because I think they're fun to interact with, I'm not entirely sure.