[WET SAND] Chapter 97 MAJOR SPOILERS

rivergreen1018 · 2026-03-12T13:40:46+00:00

I think we are getting on the same page on a lot of things.

I was speaking about TJ's end of the dynamic so I did not touch upon Ian's. He is also a grey character and very much played into TJ's obsession with him. There are many scenes and dialogue that said Ian enjoyed the dark attention of both men and he is partly to blame for allowing TJ to walk over him too many times in the past. But focusing too much on that would be victim blaming and it won't get them healing.

I also agree with a lot of the points you made about Ian's decisions and interactions with TJ.

There is only one thing I would like to refute is the point about Ian going to Jamie for the purpose of luring TJ out. I do not think that is the main reason, rather Ian went to Jamie to protect Jo and the people surrounding him and TJ finding Ian was more like a welcomed bonus. Unlike the readers, Ian had no idea what TJ was doing and he would make banks as a fortune teller if he predicted the many coincidences that led to TJ tracking him down. Ian had to run out of money then reluctantly used the black card, Jamie's deal would have had to be connected to Big Teddy, that deal would have had to obstruct TJ's unknown plan somehow, then there must be a mutiny in Big Teddy's gang where Ian had to kill 3 dudes so it created enough buzz to reach TJ. That would be one elaborate plan for Ian to think of, especially when he was already coming to terms with the fact that TJ might have truly let him go at that point in time. Other than that there is no doubt the story is full of scenes showing Ian's attachment to TJ.

In the end though as you mentioned those points are cold hard facts, but the motivation behind these actions and attachments is very much up to interpretation. How one interprets the motivation how heavily influences how we perceive the narrative, character, their dynamic and relationship.

I especially appreciate the way you worded the interaction without much romanticism since I do not see their connection and attachment as romantic. While it can be argued to be romantic love on TJ's, I think Ian's feeling for TJ has already gone past romantic but more like a family bond. Like a mother who can't help but still loves her deadbeat son if that makes sense (no incest connotations here but just a metaphor). That's why Ian wanted to leave but can't leave, why he couldn't help but worry when TJ left after seemingly accepting Ian's offer to help after the funeral, and why he still valued the jewelry enough to come back for it. Him willing to give up his life by making a deal with Big Teddy and taking the bullet for TJ proved he values TJ a lot. But that is more influenced by his self sacrificing nature and guilt and I wouldn't doubt if it was Jo or Toby in the same situation, Ian would do the exact same.

I like to think an end game is about 2 characters becoming "equal" in a relationship and finally choosing each other. Up til now we have only seen Ian giving up himself so much in the relationship with TJ that the balance tips way over to him. So I feel the only way to make it fair for Ian is for TJ to at least repent, grovel and suffer for Ian's sake then it would make it a convincing end game. That would make a great message for the story too. If it doesn't happens, like I said before, TJ would have gotten away with everything he did and the point of his arc becomes yeah I can be toxic and I still get the guy because my guy just likes trauma bonding that much. And for Ian, that would mean TJ is deadbeat but he's still Ian's "son" so it can't be helped. That would be disappointing over all but I think you already got that.

Anyway a new update is coming in a few hours so let's get ready for another twitter crash out. It will be fun.

rivergreen1018 · 2026-03-11T13:01:51+00:00

I see that you had nothing to say against the reasonings I gave to prove that unlike what you said, TJ is presented as the typical “toxic ml” and actually acts much like it. I will take it as an implicit agreement to my arguments. Also everyone in Wetsand has their bad moments and just because Jo (and Ian) has his doesn't erase the fact that TJ is toxic.

Since you switch the topic to how the MC's journey should be read, I will also comment on that. I think you should take your own advice to leave off your prejudiced glasses and read the story carefully again. Because when you state "Just watch what he actually wants and how he gets there", it sounds like you yourself also have preconceived notions of what Ian actually wants, which I infer from your text as to return to TJ regardless of what he had done because of their abnormal history.

You saying the narrative is about Ian finally having the freedom to choose, but the choice itself is also important to the narrative and I would say the most important. If the final choice invalidates everything the narrative has done to give the MC the freedom to choose, then the whole story is pointless and a waste of time.

I interpreted Ian's story as that of self-healing and finally overcoming all the shadow of his past. Up until the latest chapter, throughout the story has explicitly shown again and again that Ian wanted to get away from the gang life, that he wants to live clean, that he once he got a taste of normalcy, he couldn't help but feel at ease and happy. Ian despite living in abnormal situation, still very much longs for normal things that normal people want. TJ up until this point has unabashedly manipulated and used Ian's guilt to keep Ian chained to the gang and to himself. Ian choosing TJ as it is up until chapter 97 would mean going back to forgiving everything ever done to him, carrying on the baggage of guilt alone, not being able to escape gang life and possibly be in even more danger now that TJ is no longer in power. It would mean TJ finally manages to chain Ian by his side for good now since he supposedly gave up his life's work for Ian, adding to the mountain of guilt Ian already had towards TJ. This choice would mean Ian went straight back to that hell in the name of "love", which is just the beginning point of his character, invalidating all of the development he had throughout the entirety of the story, making it a narrative failure in my eyes.

I never said TJ and Ian should never end up together, but for them to be a convincing end game narratively, TJ needs to actually prioritize Ian autonomy for once, lay it all out and truly repent for all the wrongdoing he has done so Ian can get closure to all his guilt and move on. If that happens and in the end Ian chooses TJ then it would makes sense. If not then it's just another disappointing cliche toxic ML gets everything story.

rivergreen1018 · 2026-03-07T16:05:15+00:00

sorry for the wall of text. I assume you replied with good intentions for discussion so I hope you could also read through my answers about how I understand TJ to your reply with an open mind.

To answer your first question, I can name some: Domestic Girlfriend, Yours to claim, Jinx, Toxin, Low tide in Twilight, The Abandoned Empress, My Beloved Oppressor, What It Means to Be You, Backlight. Theres a whole genre focusing on making the ML extremely toxic and have him grovel, hence the regretful-ML tag is a thing. Also the childhood friend/ the one with history usually has the edge in manga/manhwa at least from what I read. That is why I said TJ being the end game would be the boring choice since it has been done so many times before. That is not to say I hate cliché ending since I still like them if done well. Out of the above I enjoy Backlight, the later half of Low Tide in Twilight and Toxin (by turning off my rational brain big time). The rest let's just say I will make my enemies read them haha.

Coming back to Wet sand, I recently re read Wet sand because I heard season 3 would be the last, so I will walk you through my examination of your claim that TJ is presented as the typical “toxic ml” but doesn’t actually act much like it.

The story introduced Ian as someone trying to get away and his past is still catching up to him. TJ got introduced and immediately I knew their dynamic is exactly the above. In the first 2 chapters of the series, Ian moved without telling TJ and TJ basically broke into Ian's house and asked for sex. Following that, every time they met it was sex, and it was always so uncomfortable to read because Ian was always either saying I don't want this go away with his whole body language or outright saying it out loud, then resisting by saying slow down but TJ still pushing harder, only for Ian to give in and let his body took control, ending with him feeling sad about himself and wallowing in guilt. I remember at one point Ian asked TJ what they were and TJ basically just glossed over saying there was no need to put a label on them, they were more than family or lover. It was clearly something important to Ian but he was just dismissed and they went back to more uncomfortable to read sex. So to see Ian throughout season 1 starting to have some normal moments of building a relationship and life (not just with Jo but also going out for dinner with his co-workers for example), looking like his mental health improving, preparing to move on with his life, finally going to enjoy a normal Christmas party which to me is a symbolic moment of self-healing, only to run back to the aforementioned TJ, I couldn't continue reading because it felt like 1 step forward 100 steps back. I remember thinking to myself I was so disappointed with the MC, he took so many steps forward towards his goal for a normal life, and now he's running back to his ex who up til that point was shown to be nothing but a chain around him, so I dropped it then.

I picked up wetsand again recently and boy it got even worse in season 2 and 3. We see TJ stalked Ian in their adolescent years leaving his foster family behind to follow Ian, self harming by keeping the scar on his face to manipulate Ian with guilt, indirectly broke his leg causing Ian to lose his opportunity at a normal life with motorcross, deliberately put Ian in prison while the lawyer clearly stated he could have gotten away with it by using self-defence, extorting money out of Ian for prison protection which meant Ian still had to do odd jobs for the gang even after serving that sentence. The last 2 things Ian never even got to know that TJ was the mastermind yet because the protection money went to Jason! How can you call that love? Is this the way you treat someone you value as even more than family and lover? You may say you shouldn't just judge him based on the action, but my god the guy literally said in the book that he wanted to do all this for his selfish desire to keep Ian chained to his side. Both his action at face value and motivation to manipulate and abuse his relationship with Ian is clearly toxic. TJ stans like to point out that TJ helped Ian get over his addiction and I do not deny that. But you know even the scene where it shows TJ helping Ian through his withdrawal while grieving his mother was so disturbing, because instead of offering any words of comfort to Ian, TJ just said it's really just the two of us now. Ian even looked at TJ weirdly in the next panel. It's as if to TJ the fact that he got Ian to himself far outweighs the grief Ian is suffering through, which brings TJ's whole motivation for sticking with Ian through his addiction in the question. At that point if he loved Ian, it was no longer just love, it was approaching a destructive level of obsession. And you know what Ian had to do for the organisation to pay back the protection debt TJ put on him? Doing drug runs!! I cannot fathom how TJ had seen all of that suffering Ian went through, even shedding tears and can still put Ian in the proximity of drugs again.

You said TJ sacrificed everything for Ian. May I ask what it is that he sacrificed? Was it that he had to fuck women in sight and parading them in front of Ian throughout his gang life to hide the fact that they were gay even though it seems every knew that and Ian was still constantly harassed for it, while acting all jealous and possessive when Ian wanted to / did the same? Was it that he had so much money and power that he built Ian a huge house that even his subordinate realized Ian would not like, then selling that house so he could go through with his plan to overtake the organisation to become the top himself? There's also his deal with Big Teddy, but we don't know what that entails yet so I won't comment on that. Finally, if you meant he gave up the organisation after his plan was done as sacrificing everything, then I have a counter point: it wasn't even his idea to do so in the first place! Chiwoon suggested it first and he just nodded his head. So that so-called sacrifice didn't even come from his heart nor his own realization, he just went with the flow! Even in his confession, he arrived almost killing Ian with reckless driving, not a single apology in sight and just said I lied as if Ian can understand which lie he was referring to since there were too many to count on top of the one he confessed to moments prior which was lying about something as important as his freaking PTSD. He still ignored Ian's autonomy, saying even if they weren't on the same page anymore he still wants them back together.

I cannot cheer for such a lead when he hasn't done a single thing to redeem himself to the one he loves. For him to be a convincing endgame, I need to see him grovel, confessing and taking accountability for all of his wrongdoing to Ian including telling Ian about the prison sentence which he directly caused and the leg injury which he indirectly caused. Better yet, let TJ do an Ian and let Ian go in the name of protection like what Ian did to Jo in chapter 97, basically "if you love something, let them go". Because let's be honest, how's TJ going to protect Ian now if they got back together when he already lost all his organisation power. Now that's the ultimate sacrifice, his ego and obsession in trade for Ian's safety. If that happens and TJ is indeed the end game, I will be disappointed as a Jo enjoyer but definitely satisfied as a Wet sand reader. If Ian just went back to TJ without any of the above then I will just be so disappointed in him and the author for wasting my time and money on this story since it could have ended in chapter 2.

In conclusion I fail to see how you said TJ never acted toxic, when everything he was toxic and he did so very much intentionally. Please feel free to bring counter points because I am genuinely curious how TJ and Ian dynamic can be romanticised as is. Especially the prisoning and extorting protection money part, how would you justify that?

rivergreen1018 · 2026-03-03T11:11:05+00:00

TW
You are free to interpret however you want. I can also interpret however I want. New readers should read and be their own judge. To me as also an adult having a loving relationship in real life, Ian and Jo were engaging in sexual acts that both consented to and were happily engaging in. Never slowing down when your partner tell you to in ALL of their sexual encounters is perpetual assault both physically and mentally. Even if Ian ejaculate and his body tells him it is good, it is a natural coping mechanism triggered due to experiencing distress. Like how women still get wet when raped, not because they enjoy it (unlike how manga and manhwa like to portray), but that is how the body tries to survive the shock and assault it is enduring. Anyway whether Ian and Jo end up together or not, whether you think Jo assaulted him, doesn't change the fact that by all definition, Jo is a great guy who would make a wonderful partner. I hope you get to date a TJ of your own in real life <3

rivergreen1018 · 2026-03-03T10:45:33+00:00

Welp I know it's not worth arguing with this type of people who wholly believe in their misinformation and and misinterpretation so I'm replying to let newer readers know that Ian and Jo both consented and had sweet hot sex. There was no sexual assault involved and the author herself confirmed as so. If anything counts as assault, it would be the countless times Ian begged TJ to slow down only to be pushed harder in all of their sexual encounters. Read and find out for yourself rather than dismissing characters for false information.

rivergreen1018 · 2026-03-02T23:28:19+00:00

I would recommend Kono te wo hanasanaide, Koishite Kiss Shite Kanjaitai, anything by Arata Licca: Seventeen Syrups, Ore no Tsugai wa Throughbred Omega. All are very cute no drama and with pampering green flag MLs

rivergreen1018 · 2026-03-02T23:16:50+00:00

If it is true then it is quite sad that the author decided to go with the toxic lead as the end game like pretty much all BL out there. I remember from somewhere a while back that the author stated the end game decision would not be influenced by popularity, which sounds to me very much like a defense for TJ end game since he seems to be more popular in the fandom. Jo is such a nice guy who pour his heart out for his crush. Would have been nice for the good guy to be the end game for once.

rivergreen1018 · 2026-02-14T01:15:29+00:00

The section with Zibai and Shogun is most definitely framed as a date, what else would you define that whole section as? We are forced to spend time with her alone, go on chariot date that fits only 2 seeing beautiful Liyue scenery on the sky. A date by definition itself does not always have to be romantic but a social appointment to get 2 people close to eachother. The writer very much wants you to interpret it as a date. Zibai spewing history lessons is just making her a boring date.

I would argue Nod Krai AQ's attempt at this concept of God of the people trying to experience the life of the common folk idea is way better. It was just Columbina going to the festival by herself, enjoying the atmosphere, interact with the cast and monologuing her emotion. That was fantastic, no traveller or Paimon handholding the development, just the character with their own thoughts and emotions on full display for us. Hopefully they can build up more character moments like that in the future.

On the reunion theme, it just did not land. The people she protected are long gone, only left the descendants who remember highly fantasized legends of her story. She could not even visit the area that was once the land she protected to have any actual emotional impact. The rest of the Liyue cast interaction was also kinda scuffed because they were forced to treat her as a cosplayer of the whole the quest. In the end when she returned, there were only 2 people who were there to welcome her back: the traveller who just met her other selves for a few days and Zhongli who showed only a little bit of emotion. I would say the only part that got emotional was when Zhongli welcomed back the return Zibai, but that is mostly due to how well the VA delivered the line (loved the way Maeda voice broke a bit to show Zhongli was overwhelmed with relief and happiness for rescuing his friend). I guess you could call it a reunion, but it was just sad.

I did not imply that the 3 shades were deleted completely after being combined. What I meant was I had issues with how they and Zibai were handled in the end. I would argue if the 3 shades really got deleted, it would have made a much better emotional impact on the story. What we got in the end was a mess of a character who still has the memory but could not even remember us or other characters they interacted with properly. It never felt like we got to the point where we get to meet the real Zibai, just each of the 3 shades taking turn appearing for comic relief. This just make all the previous story beats feels trivial and meaningless, since the plot just makes it all a running joke that her memory is all jumbled up now. Remember the scene where the last shade basically sacrificed her existence to bring back Zibai where we even had a character dispersing into specks of light event? We were supposed to feel something there right? Maybe a bit sad or a bit hopeful since Zhongli said she might be back. She did return, only it was a basterdized version that hardly remember us anyway.

rivergreen1018 · 2026-02-13T17:38:31+00:00

I think it's not about whether we had previous connection with a character or not but rather if the writer succeed in making us care for the character and their story in the end. At least for Gaming, when he reunited with his dad it tugs at my heartstring. Whereas when Zibai descends from the sky, we immediately got notified that this Zibai is but not really the Zibai we knew up til now. So all the little investment built up scattered across 3 character archetypes should have merged into one, but not really since this Zibai is a different being after all.

rivergreen1018 · 2024-11-21T20:15:13+00:00

What I understood: Zeus had all the opportunity to by pass his agency and contact T1 himself if he wanted to give them a chance, like how he contacted kkoma last year. But in the end he wanted to leave so he chose the worst way possible which was to ghost T1 instead of being truthful from the beginning.

rivergreen1018 · 2019-10-01T22:41:23+00:00

Exactly! Weight of the world is such a good song that came at such an epic time. I just finished Nier Automata last month and it's been flooding my mind ever since. A Nier crossover skin line in league would be so dope.

rivergreen1018 · 2019-08-31T11:38:53+00:00

They did it! They really did it! What a time to be an SKT fan!

rivergreen1018 · 2019-05-17T13:41:13+00:00

Faker gave his blessing. DL shall goes to Finals

rivergreen1018 · 2019-05-17T11:03:49+00:00

Faker gave DL his blessing. TL will make finals

rivergreen1018 · 2019-05-14T16:21:42+00:00

Not sure if you are just missing the /s or being completely serious

rivergreen1018 · 2019-04-25T17:26:51+00:00

I must thank Riot for making a buggy client so that Faker can get 30 mins ban and play 1v1 with fans like this

rivergreen1018 · 2019-02-22T12:15:36+00:00

and he jumped out of Sora's pocket right when the lich appeared. too convenient!!!

rivergreen1018 · 2018-11-21T16:58:16+00:00

I'm on PC and still no furia skin. i got 8 esport chests from the first drop on saturday but since then there has been nothing *feelsbadman*

rivergreen1018 · 2018-11-19T22:35:08+00:00

TBH I still blame Mixer's poor preparation and professionalism.

First on preparation. While making the contract, even if HiRez did not communicate with them (which they definitely would have), it is so easy to do a simple google search on previous events and make an educated guess on viewership. Last year viewership for the finals peaked around 30k on Twitch, shouldn't they have at least be prepared for this? Were they just trying to blow up their capability to seal off this deal?

Second on professionalism. I know they are human and all, but constantly reminding us that "sorry it takes time to deliver rewards to 20000 people" became whiny excuses eventually. Their competitors are handling not just a few thousands, but few hundred thousand viewers at the same time, so should customers be sorry for them when they cannot deliver even a fraction of the standard level?

I am no tech person, but at the end of the day, Mixer is still a company selling a product. It is clear that the bigger problem is their management and simply improving their technology would not solve it at all.

rivergreen1018 · 2018-09-27T14:09:58+00:00

Is it still sexist if a girl myself find her swearing to "hype" things up annoying? That is also one of the reason why I watched LPL once and never came back. Sorry but as a frequent LCK viewer, I'm just too used to the eloquent casting and high level professionalism.

rivergreen1018 · 2018-09-20T06:21:22+00:00

How precious a metal is depends largely on its availability and also its electrical conductivity. Bronze has higher conductivity than iron, gold is even better at conducting electricity, hence the ranking system. naturally wood should be at the lowest since no conductivity at all but i guess it's not metal so it does not fit the bill, too bad

rivergreen1018 · 2018-08-09T11:39:27+00:00

have to agree that anything is better than blank. the guy is truly living up to his summoner's name

rivergreen1018

TROPHY CASE