Minerva scene was pretty basic, especially compared to her last scene. It is an option now to have her help with the book contest. I wonder if you blew her off she will interfere with the results?
Jess got some content, though she doesnt seem thrilled with it. If you didnt sleep with her Ian can be quite friendly with her in the morning. Seems like there will be two minor routes with her, one where she is used by Ian as sextoy and one similiar to good Jess route in GGGB.
Ian can express his concerns over Axel and Cindy. If he is too aggressive or direct she will fly off tthe handle and he can tank his relantionship with her. I wonder what the better option here is: say you trust her (heart option) or saying she needs to figure her shit out (witts option). Obviously the former keeps Cindy happy, but the latter seems to make her actually reflect. Either option still lets Ian give her the necklet, but the latter it is a little awkward.
I did notice that some (not all) of Minerva's scene used recycled images, which is not good. I'm frankly just glad we got a scene with her at all, because I think she's one of the more interesting women in Ian's storyline. And I agree: if Minerva just hates Ian without the sex, will she throw her vote against him automatically in the book contest?
I was torn about the Bad Jess content. Being nice to her does lead to some good dialogue in the morning - and if I'm seeing it right, I think her hairstyle at that point is the Good Jess hairstyle? I don't know that there will be more sexytimes for Ian with her if he sleeps with her this time, though. She seems to be putting up with the sex rather than enjoying it, which would be entirely in her character as it stands from the end of GGGB if she doesn't end up with Ashley or Dave. And I wouldn't be surprised if, when she disappears before Ian wakes up in the morning, that's the last he sees or hears from her if he fucked her.
I was glad to see those options for Ian expressing concern to Cindy about Axel. Lena could try at Blazer in ch11, but realistically there's no way Cindy could be expected to take her warning seriously. Ian might get through to her - or maybe not, depending on how forcefully a player's Ian expresses his misgivings. EK knows her characters well; of
course Cindy will overreact to any critical viewpoint someone else has about her, even Ian. It was very telling to me that, in the worst overreaction, she accuses him of treating her like Wade does, which is obviously false. And I think EK has set up some really good options for herself with the story moving forward. If Ian trusts Cindy and doesn't say much of anything, she could possibly be faithful, or cheat and break his heart. If he expresses mild suspicion, she's still left where she's been for two chapters now: unsure of what she wants long-term, not wanting to deal with it, and an increasingly frustrated Ian debating to himself whether to jump ship. And if they get into an argument, she basically kicks him out, the door is wide open for her to pursue Axel (or allow him to pursue her), and Ian pretty much indicates he may be done with her anyway. Even though Cindy is far from my favorite character, I do think the way Eva's been telling her story has been quite strong over the last few chapters.
