Considering how the previous game ended, there will be Cindy endings in which everything reasonable turns out.
If Ian is exclusive to her from the beginning and mainains their relationship constantly, he and Cindy end up as a happy couple (of course with Ians friends not being pleased with it on various levels).
If Ian just fucks her as a sidepiece and doesn't give her exclusive attention (which the non-love path roughly forces him to by excluding the best options), Cindy will threat him the same and the relationship likely falls off, with her finding better men (at the very least what she perceives as better) like Axel etc. who give her more attention and offer more than Ian.
EvaKiss isn't the developer who leads the player on unfair, cruel paths in which you have to compromise and deal with the loss (unless one picks the most ruthless or demeaning choices). The drama is tame compared to other games in which love interests die, try to murder you or whatever.
I see your point, however the way her route is and the way her character is presented right now make me question if there's gonna be a good ending with her at all.
About the drama, I would argue that it's very much there although in a subtle way, especially in this one as opposed to the first game where every choice was clear cut.
My impression of Cindy is that she does care about Ian, and it's something of a new development for her (it starts around the early game, where you can team up with her for the pool games and then go out for drinks afterwards) Her perception of Ian shifts from "just some average guy who is a friend of my boyfriend" to "a guy who is actually pretty interesting and fun to be with".
Note that Cindy's interest in Ian isn't guaranteed: you can very well bungle it with poor choice of options and damage your relationship rather than improve it to the point where she actually wants to spend time with Ian.
I'll be more than happy myself if she and Ian get a good ending. The thing is, their relationship is too onesided at the moment. Sure she likes him but it in a superficial keeping him at a distance kind of way (emotionally speaking). She'll have to prove herself more to him and finally dump Wade to gain more trust.
Again, depending on your choices, Cindy can either love Ian or if Ian is non-commital and casual himself then yes I agree, something may happen with Axel.
As to projecting, people do not get 'desentisized' to being treated properly...like seriously, wtf dude?
There must be some kind of misunderstanding here. I didn't mean that it's absurd that she wants to be treated properly, I meant that she wants someone who makes her feel validated in an unhealthy, selfish kind of way cause that's the kind of person she is, egocentric. You get me now?
