I'd say the sex-appeal is combination of charisma and lust, not anything that's not included here. Relation to Ian is supposed to determine whether a girl is average or not? Come on, that's nonsense. "General character" is equally vague: what's supposed to be the "general character" of these girls that makes them above average in your eyes, and what do you think is general character of average person?
And well, alright. If we're going to conclude these girls are "nothing to write home about" and completely average, then am not seeing why anyone is acting as if it's unrealistic for Ian to have relationship with any of them. Average girl and average guy get together, why is it supposedly such an unbelievable achievement for the guy, again? /s
It's not reverse, it's exactly how it works -- very attractive actresses are hired to play roles of "homely girls" . Exactly what you have here, supposed "average people" are drawn highly attractive and act perfectly socially competent, i.e. nothing like actual average.
And i have yet to see anyone in game say that Gillian was "plain and homely". Much like the others, for this matter: if Holly is supposed to be plain and homely, how comes Lena thinks she is beautiful and pretty enough to be a model?
I think you might not be very literate. I said they wouldn't be anything to write home about based on the narrow standards that are intelligence, charisma, and wit. Obviously they are above average women, nowhere did I claim otherwise.
The standards for attraction I gave were vague because attraction is always vague. You took issue with general relation to Ian as a reason for someone to be attracted to him, but that is precisely one way in which attraction can come from. If Ian met Holly at a bar or something he most likely wouldn't pick her over someone like Lena, but in the Holly route they have a connection through their job which spirals into shared interests and this leads to Ian picking Holly over anyone else. Of course the way in which you interact with someone influences how you see them, I don't know why you're acting like that is a foreign concept.
What I meant by general character is all of the attributes that do not fall under charisma and intelligence. Yeah it's vague but there must be an infinite list of character attributes that could lead to someone being attracted to somone else. To list a few, attitude, interests, confidence, honesty, responsibility, open-mindedness, how career focused someone might be, yada yada yada. Point is that there are a wide range reasons why the women in this game and women in general might be attractive to guys.
Ill restate what I meant about Ian being slightly above average as a guy at the start of the game. Ian works a decent but not great job, he was in one relationship that we know of that ended with him being cheated on. His friend circle is strictly his high school friends. He hasn't been successful with women after his break up and at the start of the game he has average stats in intelligence, fitness, and charisma. These stats are necessary for him to improve upon for him to be successful with women and for him to be the witty, intelligent, charismatic person you claimed him to be, implying that he wasn't that before.
Lena on the other hand is similarly average in intelligence and charisma, but those are not always the traits that make her attractive to the men in this game. Axel is attracted to her most likely as a result of her attractive body and submissive nature. Jeremy is purely interested in her by her looks, stating how he is attracted to her after only seeing her picture. Seymour has an unexplained obsession with Lena that probably has more to do with his own fetish than Lena herself. Mike and Mark are attracted to her physically but only pursue her after she flirts with them. This flirting can only be done after the lust that has been raised. So Lena's seductive nature which is acquired by the player is what ultimately draws them in.
To summarize, Ian is slightly above average at the start of the game in regards to his social standing, financial situation, and his sex life. He is similarly average by the standards you set. The evidence for this is in his stats card and by Eva Kiss saying Ian's stats are average. Lena on the surface is similar, but is judged by different standards and more emphasis is placed on her physical attractiveness by the men in the story. Character traits, like charisma and intelligence, are more often ignored when discussing the attractiveness of women, it's not fair but it is the way it is, and because of that Lena can have low character stats while still being way above average attractiveness.
