Now that the series is officially over, can we admit that the ending was dogshit and rushed? Doyak herself said s3 was supposed to be the longest, but it ended up the shortest. She did a 2 year timeskip instead of closing out all the story plots that dealt with Big Teddy, Jamie, TJ saying he owes Jo his life, figuring out who sent Ian's old subordinate to kill him, why TJ was arrested and what he was arrested for, the fallout of the wedding massacre, etc. All of that build up for.... a two year timeskip? Atp we gotta admit that the only reason tj is endgame is because doyak got tired of this story :/ he was never redeemed, he never said sorry... he never even said "I love you" to Ian... like, hello??? Jo, he'll be fine because he is a good person who has a great support system and will find love again, but the real loser here is Ian.... poor Ian.
They assassinated his character. All that growth and development took a nosedive when Ian somehow healed 20 years of trauma in 2, all while working his ass off to buy a house for him and TJ? What was the point of his being in chicago for Toby just to ditch her and go back to NY to settle with TJ? Even tj stans have to admit how dumb this all is. And if anything, tj fans should be even more pissed because tj never even redeemed himself and your endgame ended up becoming reheated joian nachos. Even the art looked rushed in the last two chapters. Oh brother, this series had so much potential, then it ended out to be an utter mess, even the locals are making fun of how bad it is.... I dont know if doyak just got burnt out, or if the tj stans got to her and made her undermine her own writing, but oof. Even though Im a jo and ian fan, this ending was objectively bad and tj fans should be just as pissed, but theyre probably not because they never really cared for anyone else beside tj either way. Doyak, please never pick a pen up again lol
So as I expected, Ian does end up back with his abuser what a typical way to end a love triangle BL... wish I could say I expected better, but I kind of saw this coming and was hoping doyak was a better writer than that. Oh well, onto the next story!
Oh I'm not trying to bash her as a writer! I'm just calling it like I see it. Doyak's writing in season 3 has objectively been poor compared to the writing and pacing in seasons 1 and 2. The stakes feel extremely imbalanced as Ian and Jo actually felt like they had something to lose, whereas TJ had everything to gain. TJ, as a main character, hasn't faced any real consequence, and those two years in prison doesn't even begin to make up for the years of objective domestic abuse (manipulating Ian and hurting him emotionally, financially, keeping him stuck) Ian had to endure under TJ. It's very formulaic since so many other stories also make the abusive old flame the endgame while leaving the objectively better second choice out in the rain (same thing happened with Cain in yours to claim). I'm just acknowledging that this ending is very rushed, contrived, and typical of a cliche bl instead of one that actually sticks to the narrative crescendo of a story to give it real depth and meaning. Also, it seems in really poor taste for the ending to be the abuser winning, yet again lol. Happy that the tjian fans get to celebrate this moment, I just see it as yet another instance where an abusive partner gets rewarded for being abusive ╮( ̄▽ ̄)╭
i agree, the writing hs gotten so bad at the recent chapters no character development in tj's part, he hs been honest with himself ONCE after those 20 years and he gets rewarded, its truly insane to me.. also to add on how ian says he wasnt going to go back to the past, but then te next chapter he goes back to tj like make it make sense hello
You're getting defensive over a work you have no involvement nor stake in. This world is full of people with opinions and rights to those opinions. If you feel so deeply affected by what I say to the point where you feel the need to comment on it instead of scrolling, then that is a personal problem my dear and I hope you get that sort out quickly<3
I haven't started diamond dust yet but its om my list! I've been rereading shutline to remember what a good gang plot is actually supposed to look like (lmao) but there are plenty of better manhwa out there. My faves backlight and master-peace are currently on season break, but guarantee that im counting down the days of their return. Also waiting for shutline to come back too but its been on hiatus for forever so I just gotta settle for the reread
I haven't even blocked them either lol. I think they posted something then noticed a typo on it and deleted it themselves, then tried to play it off like I was the one who deleted it... you can tell when kids come on the internet way out their depth because they pull excuses out their ass and think other people are dumb enough to fall for it bless their heart tho
After 20 years of bullshit and manipulation why does TJ finally want to prioritize Ian right when Ian is chosing to prioritize himself? Jo showed this man what it means to respect your partner and TJ panicked... this is so pathetic I am sorry lol. TJ had this man going through it for 20 years and only wants to make things official when HE is ready, this whole confession is still extremely selfish and I'm not buying this redemption. Ian meeting with TJ before Jo gives me hope that Jo is still endgame, but the whole idea of TJ even being a contender just feels so gross because he hasn't even properly apologized for everything he did yet to Ian to keep him close. A broken leg, prison time, debt, lying about his ptsd... this man is an abuser and has yet to face a consequence for all his actions, he does not deserve Ian at all. Ian is a former addict and I feel like TJ is yet another addiction he needs to purge himself of.
20 years and the most consistent thing about TJ are his whole “me, me, me, I, I, I” requests & selfish monologues with a significant lack of remorse and apologies towards Ian but also huge disrespect for openly guilt tripping (once again) through his constant lying. He let himself be waited upon for so many years but still feels entitled to the possibility that Ian would come and be like “back then” although Ian’s countless requests to him have fallen on deaf ears all these years or have even gotten him punished.
It’s all so ironic to me how TJ is allowed to take these steps at his own pace (grown ass man btw) even if it means sacrificing the wellbeing and progress of his oh so loved one (+ the double standard for Ian to be there when TJ finally feels like committing )
TJ's always a coward when it came to Ian. Now that he knows Ian's sights are somewhere else, he's desperate. He knows that, while he will always be important to Ian, he's no longer a priority. He's scared of this Ian because he's the one who let go of his own leash and he's a free man. Ian can live without TJ, but TJ can't survive without Ian.
But, he's just too late and there's so much between them. If Ian chooses to stay with him, personally, I don't think it's because of love and more about familiarity and concern. Both are addicted to each other..
So when TJ pushed for Ian to serve 2 years in prison instead of just getting off with self-defense, that was prioritizing? Or when Ian was on his knees begging Jason to leave K35 and TJ told Jason not to make him leave and to instead tie him down with debt just so he can buy himself time to keep Ian close to him, that was prioritizing? Or perhaps when Ian asked TJ to leave with him and start fresh and TJ told him that he'd be nothing without his money or power so he wouldnt leave with him, that was prioritizing? At what point are yall going to acknowledge the fact that TJ has been selfish, manipulative, and abusive towards Ian for 20 years?
Going as far as even lying about not being able to drive for over a decade is fucking insane. TJ is an abusive partner and yall think because he has done nice and helpful things for Ian and laid down some good dick suddenly obsolves him from all the wrong he's done. Ian is extremely forgiving of TJ because he loves him and has a codependent relationship with him, but that again doesnt erase the harm and dysfunction of their relationship. It's fine to have a problematic ship, but stop trying to whitewash the obvious toxicity of their dynamic. Get a grip lmao
and where did i whitewash it exactly? i did say “regardless of outcome” meaning not all of that stuff was positive but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t for him. let me remind you that if youngwoo left organization he would have people after him (as we see in the current timeline), same as if he got away with the murder. it’s not all rainbows and shooting stars and tulip flowers in their world. reading comprehension is dead atp
that’s cause he did lmao just cause what TJ did wasn’t what Ian wanted doesn’t mean that he wasn’t doing it for him and that he wasn’t a priority. While Ian wanted to focus on the present, TJ wanted to build a future for Ian where he wouldn’t lack anything and be protected and that was his main focus the whole time. i’m not saying he’s a saint or perfect (his ass is clearly toxic but that goes for all of the characters in wet sand, that’s the beauty of it) but that doesn’t revoke what his intentions were in the first place.
I hate to be the one to break the news but you lack media literacy although it looks like he only cared about young-woo, he actually would put him in harms way and manipulated him for his own benefit multiple times, he took him for granted, he acted selfishly with the excuse of “this is for youngwoo”, so you understood the surface level aspects of the story but failed to realize the deeper aspects of their relationship dynamic, which is toxic and manipulative
Are you ragebaiting? Acting as if Ian being sent to prison was still in his favour, as bad as it is, is simply an incorrect take. You’re talking about reading comprehension but the entire reason as to why TJ decided to make Ian do time in prison (mind you, Ian being an ex-addict being thrown in such an environment by the person that “wanted the best for him”) was purely out of desperation to chain him along for longer after TJ saw how bad Ian is struggling in that environment (his breakdown in the hotel room) and was scared of him potentially quitting (+not to mention the whole protection money to tie him down further; I’m just trying to make a point to what you said so I’ll keep it short)
Nothing was implying that Ian would’ve had people coming after him for that event, maybe leave headcannons out of what actually happened. There was literally no other interest at heart and neither is it secretly implied. I’m sorry but that is just a very hard cope on your part to sum up, wether this was good or bad for Ian (from your POV), it didn’t benefit him in any way at all
Literally not a single person would have been after Ian had he left the gang. The only person that would have been a possible exceptional is Jamie and the thing is, the only reason why Jamie hates Ian so much is because TJ killed his former boss Jang as an initiation into the gang that Jason sent him to do. Also, you say people are after Ian in the currently timeline, but why is that? Hmm, maybe its because TJ kidnapped Jamie's brother and Jamie's boss took that as a good opportunity to kill said brother and frame TJ for it, causing Jamie to want to get revenge by killing Ian! I need you to be so fucking serious. And in this same breath, you're saying that people would be after Ian had he left, but how is this any different now if TJ not only left K35 and therefore means he no longer has their protection, and both he and Ian are now in the palm of Big Teddy's hand? You birds love throwing around "reading comprehension" as an insult like its the vocabulary word of the week without actually internalizing the complexity of the story if it does suite your ship... gtf
So... for you, what's the possible explanation for TJ sending his men after Ian and them breaking his leg then? What was TJ trying to protect or prevent if 'the end justify the means' aside from secure his own selfishness, ego and insecurities?
Remember Ian's a well trained killer. He can defend himself, he really doesn't need TJ. He allowed to be vulnerable because of feellings.







The stakes are definitely getting bigger and I absolutely love the direction this story is going in. The problem has become much bigger than Shin and Jay can truly handle on their own, and to be quite honest, I don't know if these guys will be able to win or even make it out alive. Scaling out from complex gang warfare to systematic political corruption tied to federal authority? This shit is so good. I'm really curious to see how this plot unfolds and what more we'll be able to learn about Jay.
Feel the exact same way! The story is so thrilling. I really hope the story keeps being this good. It makes me excited to see what will happen and the ending of it all will be. The anticipation is killing. ┗( T﹏T )┛