Just played this game for the first time and WOW, what an experience! This game is the complete package and some of the finest AVN material that I've ever played.
Question though, has anyone played a purely vanilla route where Ian and Lena are a couple but haven't had sex yet? My first and only playthrough so far I decided to give plenty of space and go at a slow pace and didn't jump into physical intimacy with Ian and Lena, and this apparently...made it so that Lena is wanting to actively withhold full on sex?
Not that there's anything wrong with that, she should take as much time as she feels is necessary, but it was kind of shocking after I played through to the end of the current version that if during Lena's POV in chapter 5 she didn't take Ian home, he apparently loses the chance to have sex with her even if he explicitly requests it later on, which he gets the chance to do and then get shut down (or if he presses the issue, breaks them up). This continues into Chapter 11 where Lena is consciously making Ian wait to go all the way. Interestingly, the relationship bar also never turns into a heart in this case despite the fact that they're official, exclusive, and do almost everything but penetrative sex.
Now, there are lots of variables and paths in this game and it's possible that I just picked the most virgin ones possible. If that is not the case though, the way I see it, there's two potential reasons for such a set up. The first being purely functional: if Ian or Lena's lust scores aren't high enough, then there's no full sex between them if she doesn't take him home in Chap. 5. That would make perfect sense to me since Lust is my dump stat, so to speak, and it's near as low as you can make it.
If, however, the reason is not solely mechanical/game system gated, but is a narrative thread concerning the couple's relationship development, then I am honestly kind of disquieted. At first, I thought she held back because she wasn't sure, or that she wasn't fully comfortable, and that's absolutely legit and should be entirely respected, no questions asked. However, Lena's internal thoughts reveal that this is no longer the case; she not only realizes that she enjoys withholding penetrative sex, but is now actively using it to satiate her need for a sense of control.
And I'm sure that Ian would be more than willing to play ball (or at least my Ian), if she had communicated this beforehand. Where I take issue with Lena's actions is her somewhat nebulous refusal to clearly explain to Ian why she is not having sex with him. There are common social expectations by which we all live and abide, rightly or wrongly, and that expectation plays a two-fold role in this situation: it is simultaneously expected that, if a couple is physically close, sex is a natural milestone and there's an active issue otherwise (I tend to disagree with this stance, but it is clear that the cast of the game believe so given their reactions to the couple's slow pace); it is also now an implicit understanding that if one party isn't comfortable, then the other partner should not pressure them and should be respectful of boundaries.
It is the latter part of that expectation that I am having gripes with because the reason why that expectation exists is to protect someone from feeling pressure to put out, from needing to do something they're not ok with, and not as a convenient means to gain the upper hand in a particular circumstance.
Specifically, Lena's reasons to not go all the way no longer concern the 100% justifiable reason of wanting more time to become comfortable, but is now instead the outlet for the powerlessness she feels in other aspects of her life. Like she says herself, "My life was quite a mess, but in that moment, I knew I was holding the reigns, and that made me feel great". Sex has an inherent power dynamic, and given the crappy situation that Lena lived in, it's unsurprising that she wants to find control somewhere that she is able to have the upper hand in the relationship, with the first decent guy to come along in quite a while.
However, I find it a failing in Lena's role as a respectful partner if she doesn't disclose this, even if that means admitting something very defeating and embarrassing. It also adds a layer of...moral ambiguity to Lena, which I find very well crafted and somewhat disturbing, that even on a path where she is about as good of a person as it was possible to be in her circumstances, unwavering in her principles and compassion, as soon as she feels truly safe and respected in a relationship, chooses to wield the power dynamic in her favour in a less than transparent way. Now, obviously if Ian was truly sexually frustrated, he should broach the subject with Lena in a respectful, understanding manner because no matter who feels unsatisfied, the worst you can do is to ignore it and try to forge on. I am not someone who feels a strong inclination to chase after sex, so I wouldn't care in this scenario, but Ian is not me; he is his own character and he does care, he's just kind of resigned himself to it as a necessary sacrifice to be with someone as beautiful as Lena. Again, that's not healthy and is only going to cause bigger issues down the line.
I wonder if this is a specifically dom/sub type route or fetish related route rather than a normal vanilla route for people that really want to take it slow, because from what I can tell so far, the progression has gone from "I need the slower pace to figure my self out" to "Ian's respect of my boundaries is refreshing and nice" to now "I can use this as a proxy to release my inability to take control of other facets of my life". This is not very far from an even worrying mindset of "how far can I take this/how much is Ian willing to hold back for me", because Lena clearly recognizes that Ian is starting to exhibit some sexual frustrations, but instead of addressing that or clearing the air, she's purposefully letting things simmer. Which, again, is perfectly fine, if Ian knew what was going on.
Anyways, all that overly long rambling to say, I am very curious to hear if anyone has experienced this particular path and how it compares to other variations of the Ian/Lena romance or even how Lena exhibits her comforts with romantic partners overall. What a great game this is to compel me to ponder so much about the characters' relationships!
