My original point was that Ian 'starts' the story average or slightly above average and through player input rises above that. In the actual game Ian isn't good, bad or average. He is what the player plays him to be. Sure there are solid traits that the player can't change but generally he is very malleable. I would say Eva intended Ian to have been previously been average, evidenced by the stat cards that are based on the start of the game. Your issue with not seeing Ian being average in the game is my point, however you play is how he is.
As an example of Ian being average through player decisions Id say early on the scene at the Shine bar where he first meets Cherry. Ian can end up sleeping with Alison or Cherry. Alternatively he can completely fumble and lose relationship points with Cherry because of the questions he asks her. You can play it in a way where he chats up Alison, but promptly shifts focus and tries his hand with Cherry only to fumble her as well. The night ends with Jeremy taking Alison home and Perry getting close to Cherry. I wouldn't expect an average guy to pull away from this getting action, they could but wouldn't always, not every night out results in action, but a higher tier man absolutely could pull here, evidenced by Ian being more charming and pulling either Cherry or Alison.
In a lesser game the option to choose Cherry or Alison would come down to one decision and regardless of choice the MC would always come out looking like a gigachad. That's the nature of these power fantasy porn games, but in ORS the choices define the character and the interactions. For this to work the game has to start out with the main characters being a little bit bland.
