Feels like Alison as a character is intentionally trying to control the relationship and keep it within a certain "phase". It's clear she desperately wants to be with Ian, her reactions to pretty much anything he does make that clear, and even her intial convos with him vs Jeremy were different(Jeremy was as well.... a dick, but she was much more cautious with Ian), but she seems to put on this front in an effort to maintain control of things. Think if their relationship can evolve Ian needs to call her out, and the weekend trip in my opinion would have been perfect:
"Ian expects more but Alison still treats it as business as usual, so he calls her out and lets her know that he genuinely wants to be with "her", which throws her off but obviously gets her thinking "doki-doki"
something similar to Cindy when she started pulling away and putting up walls. Think it could have shifted things into something more wholesome, while also creating this new sense of intrigue with seeing her in her "natural" environment(so more organic, laid back convos, learning about her hobbies, her taking a more genuine interest in Ian). I wonder if Eva is starting to lose interest in the character or has a different plan than expected.
You make a good point. I can see how it may just be Allison wanting to keep on top of the relationship and have some control there, especially because the other major part of her life - her job - is an area where she's feeling a distinct lack of control and so much frustration (mostly in relation to people taking advantage of her and her reliability, so subconsciously she's 'proving herself' by taking control of her sex life).
That
would have made sense, had the weekend or sex scene ended with Ian being clearly aware that 'something felt off' with Allison, or if he'd have thought it at any point during that time. But it didn't - they were both happy, and left happy without a single objection with anything that happened.
Ian is meant to be a very perceptive guy - we've seen a lot of it up until now. However, on this weekend he didn't give a stray thought to how uncharacteristically controlling Allison was being - which Ian up until now would have noticed, cos even if it wasn't completely obvious (to us), in the story so far he's caught on to far less obvious things. And on top of that, he certainly didn't give a second thought to anal without lube being a
horrible idea, which is so far against his personality up until now it's kinda shocking - that's more in line with something Jeremy might do simply because he was driven by lust, wanted to be satisfied and assumed his partner would like it either way because 'big dick!', it's
not in line with a thinker like Ian who's consistently considering his partner's needs and comfort, even at the expense of his own release.
To me that makes it seem more a case of 'dev under time pressure and rushed the scene' (which could well be, chapter 9 seemed like a bit of a rough time for Eva) rather then a carefully considered decision.
In line with what you said, if Ian would have noticed Allison's controlling behavior or felt bothered that something felt off, and either 1) talked to her about it after the act, as you suggested, or 2) finished the weekend and scene with Allison beaming about their little holiday and not even noticing that Ian is clearly troubled or not quite so enthused as she is - foreshadowing a potential change in their relationship for better
or worse in the next part (depending on what the player wants to do at that time) - I feel that probably would have done more for the story AND for potentially breaking down barriers and growing closer and more compatible as a couple.
And yeah, that would include Ian telling Allison that it's fine for her to just 'be herself' and that she can relax around him, even if she's defensive when he first says it, but takes it to heart - as you said.
Not that all that can't or won't happen in future anyway, it just feels like a missed opportunity for it not to have happened during that weekend (as you insinuated), and won't be able to explain away the uncharacteristic behavior on Ian's end during the trip (his complete lack of perception).
On a final note, I hope that Ian stops being a passive listener and takes some initiative with Allison's complaining, helping her find ways to take control of her job situation and be more assertive on that front. After all, Ian has been doing much the same thing with his own work (well, for most of his paths), so he may be able to give her some good advice and support with that. If she can't get recognized at her existing job, maybe she needs to find the confidence and realization to start fresh and find a place that truly deserves her.