beta
Ok let’s get this straight cause I’m sick of this narrative that TJ dragged Ian into the gang life.
Ian was an abused and neglected boy by no fault of his own. His mom was a drug addict that overdosed and ended up in jail. Which lead Ian to enter the foster system. He went from foster family to foster family. And eventually ended up under Mr. Jang who went around collecting orphan children like they were Pokémon (Ian, Jaime and his brother plus all those other kids that were a part of Jang’s gang)
TJ meets Ian at 15 years old and was captivated by him. He sat there on the stairs waiting for Ian’s gaze to fall upon him. So what does this dumabass do, he left his decent foster family to follow Ian into Jang’s gang! It was TJ’s choice but Ian was his reason. Again he was 15 years old. A young dumb kid!!!
3 years under Jang’s gang, we know he dealt with drugs and illegal fighting ring. TJ made him a lot of money through sports betting and caught the attention of Jason who thought it was a waste to have TJ working for Jang. While Ian caught the attention of David Kim. In their initial meeting with David, David expressed interest in Ian and dragged Jang away to discuss him. Jang even said, no boss not him, he’s a good worker. Because he knew what David was capable of. And Jason confirms this by thinking about the last kid David fucked up. Jason knew Ian was going to have it rough before anything even happened. They are both around 18/19 years old at this point. Legally an adult and officially aged out of the system and deemed old enough to survive on their own. How many 18/19 year old do you know who are capable of living on their own in America? We still got people in their 20-30s living at home with their parents but I digress.
Anyways at some point Jason approached TJ to join his gang and he declined. Because he was living and working with his best friend/crush./family. Why would he abandon ship when things were going well. But all of that changed when David got his hands on Ian and drugged and raped him and passed him around. Jang who is their boss and leader didn’t protect Ian. He basically gave David the green light to abuse Ian. Now we have a problem. We have two powerless kids whose safety and survival is not guaranteed under their current boss. What can they do? Run away together? Where would they go, how much money do they even have? Where would they live? Who’s renting to 2 kids with no education and no jobs? TJ is talented in MMA fighting. There are pro coaches coming to his matches to possibly scout him but nothing set in stone. Even if he got scouted would they provide him with money, food and shelter right away? What about Ian? This option isn’t ideal because there’s too many uncertainties and the clock is ticking. If time wasn’t a factor TJ’s life trajectory would’ve been different.
Ian went to rehab to get clean. He’s safe from Jang and David for now, but he’ll be discharged soon. What’s going to stop David from continuing to abuse Ian once’s he’s back home and under Jang’s rule? Nothing! Ian will be coming back into the tiger’s den and TJ is powerless to stop that from happening. So what can his 18 year old self do? He remembers that Jason asked him to join his gang. He goes to Jason and asked if the offer was still valid. Jason asked him why he changed his mind all of a sudden?
The truth he didn’t vocalize (I need to protect my best friend and family from being drugged and raped when he gets out of rehab)
The half truth/lie that he spoke (I want to make a lot of money) Because he learned that having money also meant having power. And David Kim made TJ understand how little power he had. And how much power David had because he was rich and famous.
Jason knew TJ was lying but he got who he wanted TJ and agreed to accept Ian too, but TJ needs to prove himself first. He needs to make his first kill.
Can you imagine how hard his resolve had to be to agree to kill someone? He was 18 years old!!! This isn’t peddling drugs, this isn’t fighting in a ring. TJ needs to take someone’s life to ensure that both he and Ian can survive when he is released from rehab. So he gave up on the fight that wouldn’t changed his life for the better to choose to make sure his best friend and only family can survive to have a future to live.
Who was already in a gang when they met? Ian
Who did TJ join Jang’s gang for? Ian
Who did TJ join Jason’s gang for? Also Ian
And you can’t drag someone into the gang life if they’re already a part of the gang! They just joined another gang!
And that is the reason why Ian feels indebted to TJ. Because he knew TJ followed him because he likes him. He knew TJ forfeited his mma career for him. He knew TJ had to join Jason’s gang to protect him from Jang and David.
Ultimately these were TJ’s choices but Ian was his reason and Ian KNOWS this.
If Doyak had written the story in chronological order this wouldn’t be hard to understand.
Personally I think Jason is a bigger villian in this story and a lot of people doesn't ever talk about it. Ultimately it was TJ choice not Ian dragging him but since Ian is aware that TJ did so because he had feeling for him, he feels guilty and they both didn't have parents and the adult were exploiting them. Jason wanting to groom TJ into what he wants and him trying to separate them and basically also pushing TJ into stuff like marriage. Ngl when they fuck at his funeral I was cheering so hard.
This and argument about sabotaging ian's career by accidental leg break situation and putting him in prison with debt for murdering subordinate. Never excusing tj for any of these but it was mentioned that jason pushed ian for motocross career because he said no homo to tjian ian did not really wanted a motocross career he had chance to go for it after 1 year of rehabilitation from his leg surgery but he never left tj and that's his own decision. Both tj and ian sacrificed their careers and choose each other. For that latter part , putting him prison and debt ian would have gone to prison for killing there was witness but lawyers said they could argue during trial hence we don't know what would be the outcome of that trial and how many years of sentence he would get . Ian knew all of these but still actively continuing their 20 years of toxic cycle so it is more than jobum stans avg. argument of black and white abuser victim scenario .
Totally agree. I never liked Jason. He made a comment about Jang surrounding himself with kids and mentioning him taking advantage of them, but in the same breath wanted TJ for himself. Sick bastard! Even though it looked like Jason and Jang were on friendly terms, Jang is still a rival in the gang world and he used TJ to get rid of him. They should’ve fucked in his grave and cum on his gravestone.
Oh the illiterate stan will still continue to spout that TJ ruined Ian’s motocross dream/career when it was just a hobby. An accident gets twisted into him purposely breaking his leg. Like these people are reading Dry sand and that’s why they will never understand wet sand and why Ian loves TJ and will continue to choose TJ over and over again.
And let’s get another thing straight. Ian killed his subordinate in cold blood without any remorse and in front of a witness. Jail time is unavoidable. And anyone with a basic understanding of the law (btw Google is free) will tell you what Ian did is NOT SELF DEFENSE. When a perpetrator is fleeing, he is no longer deemed a threat. If he was actively trying to kill you yes it is self defense. But Ian literally dragged that man back inside in front of a witness and killed him. So that argument wouldn’t stand in a court of law. Ian would’ve gotten way more than 2 years in jail. And again Ian knows this. How can he kill someone in front of a witness and expect not to do any jail time. If there were no witness then yeah he could’ve gotten away with claiming self defense.
Also Ian begged to leave the gang in front of everyone.That’s considered the biggest betrayal. This is what I hated most about the story because Doyak made it seem like Ian can simply ask to leave the gang and he would be allowed to. Hey Boss I’ve saved up enough money so I’ll be putting in my two week notice now. Again Google is free. Go ask how easy it is to leave a gang. It’s not easy!!! So Ian made this big show of kneeling and begging to be let go. You’re not longer a part of our gang, our family so you are no longer privy to our protection. Why should we protect a traitor in jail. You left us. You’re on your own unless you pay us. This is the consequence of his own actions. Which no one wants to hold him accountable for because he has a sad backstory.
Man this whole conversation is great, It helped me clear some doubts lol thanks guys
This was my review I wrote on RIDI when the story ended back in April. I don’t care what she had to say about Ian loving Jo. I will never believe that he was romantically in love with Jo. Because what was written in the story doesn’t reinforce that at all. You can read my breakdown under the topic CONFUSED.
And I’ll reiterate this again, Jo knew best what Ian’s “love” for him amounted to, when he expected it to have an expiration date!
Wet Sand has some of the most beautiful art I've seen in a manhwa, and honestly, the artwork is what carries the entire story and what kept me reading. No one can say Doyak is a terrible artist. 5/5 for the art alone. Writing wise, ehhh I never thought it was particularly strong, but it had the potential to be something good. I'm not a fan of love triangles so I avoided reading this story for 2 years, but I was drawn in after seeing TJ's face repeatedly on social media. He became the reason I kept reading despite some unrealistic moments in the story such as Ian asking to leave the gang like it's that simple or claiming that Ian could use self defense to get out of doing any jail time when he deliberately dragged someone back into his apartment to kill in in front of a witness. Anyone with any knowledge of the law would laugh at how little time Ian had to do for voluntary manslaughter. But having TJ be the one to say give him two years place blame on him and turn the readers attention away from Ian who could have easily let the man go, but decided to kill him in cold blood. Surface level readers took this and dragged TJ's name through the mud. I was able to predict about 80% of the plot, which tells me the story wasn't as layered or as cleverly written as some fans claim. The 20% I didn't predict wasn't because it was brilliant. It was because the author took directions that felt more like poor choices than meaningful twists. Sentimentality aside, I didn't think Ian was that stupid to go back to retrieve his couple's jewelry with TJ. The author literally had to dumb down all her characters to give Jo a moment to come in and save Ian. The writing all of season 3 was crumbling for me, but that moment was truly where the writing starts to fall apart. The biggest issue is that this story never should have been marketed as a love triangle. A love triangle requires mutual emotional tension and believable romantic pull between all parties, and Wet Sand simply didn't deliver that. We followed Jo and Ian's “relationship” from start to finish, and Ian showed minimal affection and care towards Jo. I couldn't feel any mutual romantic love between them. There was no longing, no spark, no sense that Ian was ever truly torn between his choice of TJ and Jo. All things pointed to TJ from beginning to end. Even when agreeing to leave with Jo, he had to tell himself he was also doing it for TJ. If TJ hadn't up and disappeared, Jo would've never had a chance to practically move in with Ian. It felt like Jo became a comfort blanket for Ian when TJ left. When do we ever see Ian seek out Jo other than to apologize on TJ's behalf. Jo was literally just there. A replacement because of the true love of his life left him lonely and rejected. If the author intended to convince readers that Jo was a genuine romantic contender, then she failed miserably. On the other hand, even with the crumbs we were given of TJ and Ian,Their scenes were consistently emotionally charged. Despite how little screen time they had together, I could actually feel the love between them. That's what makes the story so frustrating because the potential was right there. But instead the author chose to deprive the readers of the moments that mattered most. Once TJ and Ian crossed the line into romance, we barely saw anything except conflict and emotional smut. Where were their soft and tender moments? As a TJ/Ian fan, it felt like we were expected to endure seasons of buildup only to be denied the satisfaction of never seeing their entire journey together. And further planting seeds of doubt for the other side of the fandom to cling on to. What makes it worse is that I had no doubt since Season 1 that TJ was endgame. I kept telling myself to be patient, assuming the author would eventually provide the missing emotional foundation, a flashbacks, heartfelt conversation, or at least insight into their first two years together. Something, anything!!! But she gave us nothing. Even the secondary couple's breakup felt like it received more attention and care than the actual main couple finally getting together. The lack of emotional pull from the secondary couple throughout the story got dumped all at once in chapter 98 and I'm supposed to believe it was something more substantial than what was written from chapter 1-97? It was truly laughable. And this was the first time I believe the author was pandering to one side of the fandom. On top of that, the story introduces multiple plot points that never receive proper conclusions. Too much time is spent on scenes that don't move the story forward. It truly feels like the author was more interested in dragging out ambiguity to fuel fanwars than in delivering a coherent, satisfying narrative. Instead of focusing on what actually mattered, the love between the main couple and tying up loose end. She continued to force a “love triangle” that didn't exist, and it ultimately hurt the pacing and execution of Season 3. The ending especially felt insulting in how little effort was put into TJ and Ian's final payoff. There was time for meaningless fillers like Destiny shooting her shot with Jo, but not enough time for TJ to say “I love you” back, not enough time for a real proposal. We never got to see them go to California!!! After everything, the emotional reward was shockingly minimal. TJ and Ian's 20+ years journey to finding happiness deserved more than that. It was such a disappointment. Ultimately, this feels like a case of an author biting off more than she could chew. The gang subplot was underwhelming, the romance was underdeveloped, and the overall execution was disappointing. Wet Sand had the potential to stand out as something truly memorable,but instead it chose to rely on baiting readers with a false love triangle and dragged out ambiguity rather than delivering a properly structured story with meaningful payoff for the main couple. It felt like a slap in the face. It's a shame, because the story could have been good, maybe even great. But with so much wasted potential and such an unsatisfying conclusion, I can't justify rating it higher than 2.5/5. Do better next time Doyak or just stick to drawing.
All this and you read it illegally.
You blabbed so much you might as well do a story yourself
that last line IM GAGGED with that being said the gang war arc was a massive letdown ,seeing how much better the fan theories were that's when I knew she fumbled REAL BAD but by that point, reading ts just felt like a sunk cost fallacy.
did you miss the part where op said they wrote this review on official platform ridi ?doyak's strap must be good huh?
Isnt that too narcissistic lmao. To post your review for the author to see and to know your feelings is fine but to go on and post it again on another aite is bonkers lol.
And yes Doyak’s strap does fucking feel good, she was able to put out this greatwork and had the guts to portray complex characters and how life is all about the decisions you choose and you don’t. Sorry you can’t process it well enough (⌒▽⌒)
what exactly is narcissistic about this? a consumer has every right to criticize the media they consume especially when they spend their actual coins on. trying to shame someone for sharing their review on a piracy site is straight up classist and racist and it's kinda ironic how you are on the same site trying to police other readers for having an different opinion than yours. maybe listen to your own advise cause you blabbering too much for op to gaf about your same recycled takes on 'complex characters' instead of sucking on doyak's strap and snorting coke like the junkie you stan.
I’m a legal and illegal reader. I buy official books and merch as well. I have a monthly subscription to manta, and account on ridi, bomtoon, tappy, tapas, and toomic. when Dindin stopped uploading on bato I was buying, translating and sharing chapters with my group of friends even after Bato shut down up until the last chapters.
I posted my review here because of the recent discourse about whether Ian loved Jo. Because dumb bitches wanna act like it was written in the story when it wasn’t. And I gave my breakdown in another post. And explained my reasons why in my review.
If this was a better written story then there wouldn’t be so much divide in the fandom. Unless you got something constructive to say about my review, then stfu. Doyak probably has never recieved a penny from you.
I loved season 1-2 of wet sand so much, that’s why season 3 and the clearly rushed ending was such a let down. TJ is such an amazing character and she under utilized him to prop up that useless character and that weak ass “love triangle.”
I’ve read your recent posts and I share in your frustration about the writing, but I don’t agree with your assessment of Ian’s character or calling TJ a cuck. Like I said in my review this story could’ve been a masterpiece if Doyak actually spent time delving deeper into the gang subplot and giving us the entirety of tjian’s relationship. She didn’t give enough evidence of their love and allowed those illiterate stans to drag her endgame. Ultimately she’s the biggest opp to TJ and Ian’s love and why this fandom is so divided.
it's okay if you don’t agree with me, I only replied because I appreciated how honest you were . Moreover it's rare to see taejoon shippers talking shit about how ts was handled, because most are either doyak's lapdogs or just simply scared to get jumped by youngwoo shippers .However, in the bl fandom you will get absolutely crucified if you dare to criticize the bottom may be cause mostly straight fujos view the bottom character written by straight woman through a strictly heteronormative lens so that's why they get defensive similarly to what happening rn apprantly I can't shade his disloyal ass cause love triangle maybe proper tag would have saved me frustration ps. I have nothing against people who are into poly or practice it cause I'm a queer person myself but also an unapologetic monoshipper with few exceptions what truly infuriates me is seeing youngwoo solos larping as youngwoo shippers shading taejoon and trying to rationalize falling in love with two people , completely failing to realize that we actually have no problem with youngwoo falling in love with joseph as long as he doesn't end up with taejoon,going back to him after all of that is the ultimate disrespect, especially because taejoon's heart has always been purely loyal to him. don't even get me started on how their 20-year situationship was watered down just to please both sides and it's clear doyak is still dragging it out just to keep the cash flow going. Frankly, the way this story is written can you really blame me calling it cuckoldry fetish? I just happen to use it as insult whenever I get pissed at wetsand fandom tbh taejoon was until he finally let go of youngwoo during the power struggle but the biggest cuck in all of this is definitely joseph cause wdym this guy was literally having dreams about the two of them going at it? doyak was straight up serving cuckoldry .Anyway, sorry for the long rant. I could probably yap about this forever but what's done is done can't really do nothing about it
I am glad that you said that shaming illegal readers is racist and classist. The reasons we real illegally is because most of us don't have the money to spend on countless mangas and webtoons, and we refuse to support fascist corporations.
I feel the same way about the Doyak glazer calling this a masterpiece when it clearly isn’t. She left a lot to be desired But I have to ask you. Did you feel that Ian was in love with Jo? Cause I sure as hell didn’t. And yes Jo is the biggest cuck of all the cause he knew damn well Ian’s heart was somewhere else and he kept pursuing him knowing damn well his ass was going to get dumped. Like what an idiot.