#anti bellyjere

[blues-valentine]

Now here’s my TSITP take that no one asked for but I finally caught up to it out of boredom and while I am not invested in any pairing and couldn’t care less about the endgame, there’s some things I’ve seen (particularly in this site) and surely I’m not the only one with this opinion because Jeremiah being considered a healthier or better alternative for Belly is legit so wrong.

I can understand why some people would prefer Jeremiah because on the outside he looks like someone that could make Belly happier since he isn’t “complicated” but him being painted as the healthier alternative to Conrad is like, wrong, Jeremiah has alarming red flags that are often ignored by his supposedly “golden retriever” persona and that’s often way more damaging long term.

The constant anger and resentment issues that results of him feeling inferior to Conrad, often seeing their entire dynamic like a competition that extends to Belly, that has been clear by his actions and narrative. I’m shocked people on this fandom pretend this isn’t a clear narrative choice. He often speaks about how Conrad is perceived as the smart one, the athletic one, the responsable one, and in general the favorite child. Of course, he gets annoyed that Belly might be into him too. It’s always been more about Conrad than it is about Belly. He projects a lot of the insecurities he feels towards Conrad on Belly. He constantly feels the need to remind her “he is the better option” out of not reason and it feels like he is looking for the moment Conrad fails or mess up as if he is counting the scores. Him only making a definitive move on Belly after he sees Belly and Conrad almost kissing — and then he fires a rocket to stop them. I see this being a whole comedic discourse but that’s a major red flag. He cannot possibly have a healthy relationship with her if he feels like he constantly needs to measure up to Conrad. After that 4th of July episode, it’s very easy to see him trying to manipulate and sabotage Conrad with Belly and purposefully make him run late. And he does so intentionally. He knows he is being sneaky. He knows he is inserting himself in there. And I’m not saying he doesn’t like Belly, he does, but why denying that his main motivator isn’t his own bother.

Now, I’m not saying Conrad isn’t also annoying. He was written as the early 00’s broody type of bad boy and I feel the series it’s trying to fix it by showing more of him but it lacks in writing. I feel he needed more polishing to take him out of the archetype. However, Conrad’s approach narratively makes sense. It’s not like he’s being that just by pure aesthetic. Jeremiah thought out Season 1 is living a complete different reality as Conrad. So, of course he feels more laidback and funny. He doesn’t know his mom is dying. He doesn’t know his dad cheated on his mother. Only Conrad knows that. Of course, it would affect his behavior to the point he is emotionally detached. Even the narrative itself tells you Conrad usually isn’t this emotionally constipated or disengaging, and that smoking is also a new behavior. The constant need to make him feel like a villain is so weird because he is clearly depressed and self isolating. Both in Season 1 and throughout Season 2. It’s called grieving the death of your mother. All of them have their own ways of dealing with their grief.

And the funny this is — Conrad knows he isn’t in the right mental state to be with Belly right now. He tries, cause you’re allowed to be happy while depressed but he clearly wasn’t able to handle the grieving process, so he puts Belly’s happiness (or what he thinks she needs) over his own cause he doesn’t think he can provide her with what she needs at the moment (and he is right about that!). He isn’t problematic. I am confused about this. Particularly because while I think he could be clearer with Belly, most of it it’s not his fault entirely. And I’ve been told that by the end of the series, Conrad isn’t the same person he was at the start. He is a mature and emotionally open young man with a medical career that he loves that has learned to deal with grief. And those are very qualities you already see on the show.

Mind you, Jeremiah’s anger and resentment towards Conrad is totally valid and I feel is more on Susannah’s and his dad upbringing that just created that animosity but isn’t it the reason why people perceive Jeremiah as a ”healthier” alternative more to do with the fact his “red flags” aren’t as visible and Conrad’s grieving process is not that “palatable” to audiences?

And the love triangle isn’t even about who is better for Belly — this is a journey about grief that frankly should’ve been the core of the story. The way I see it, Conrad’s grieving process is self isolation. Jeremiah’s grieving process is anger. And Belly’s grieving process is denial. And the majority of the time Belly is reading Conrad’s feelings as him not being as into her as she is — which is untrue. Conrad’s problem is not knowing how to communicate those emotions to her. And Belly’s swimming in insecurities that she projects on Conrad. And she’s also a people pleaser and that has been very obvious on her coddling of Jeremiah. At the end of the day, I will always root for the female character getting the one she truly loves and that clearly isn’t Jeremiah. He isn’t the love of her life and this isn’t some story about second love. It’s about two people not being ready to be together for specific circumstances. Jeremiah is the one that was going to lose here. He inserted himself into this mess. He knows Belly and Conrad will always exist in some capacity that he’ll never be able to measure. He knows his brother loves her. And he knows Belly’s lying to herself about Conrad. So, why is he continuing a game that he knows he’s bound to lose? I genuinely believe that he knows how it will end so it’s going to be hard for me to feel bad for him when the inevitable thing happens.

And I’m also over the whole “Conrad was away while Jeremiah took care of their dying mother!” because that’s not an objective take. Conrad was at university studying to become a doctor. He should not be fault for trying to seek some normalcy after keeping most of the secret himself for months. Jeremiah wasn’t handling those bills himself. Laurel was also legit there the entire time. And I’m sure they also hired a caregiver. Instead of putting the blame and responsibility on teenagers — you should be wondering where was their own father, because divorce isn’t an excuse to not take care of your kids. And the show would benefit from making them build a better relationship as brothers than focusing on a “love triangle” that has a very definitive endgame, hence isn’t surprising.

[canwealwaysbe]

after that episode I need to go re-read We’ll Always Have Summer so I can experience 300 pages of Belly realizing that Jeremiah outside of cousins beach is her nightmare. 😭

[emilyskinners]

"i told chuck he doesn't have my heart anymore. i realized it belonged to someone else." and "so i evict you, conrad fisher. i evict you from my heart." really give off the same energy to me, personally. and a bonus with belly and blair choosing to give their heart to guys they know won't play games with them. a Pure and Simple love, as blair said herself.

[muslimintp-1999-girl]

Remembered again why bellyjere is superior

"It was Belly's choice too."

[arlovegood]

Can we talk about Conrad and how he doesn't give a shit about Belly or Jeremiah? I hated how he was like Jeremiah doesn't take anything seriously when that isn't true at all especially hen it comes to Belly like omfg he liked to Belly that Jere was on a high and going on dates being over Belly while the truth was he was still in love with her I could write an entire essay on Jeremiah's love for Belly his love for her is so big and pure I actually wanted Belly to pine and chase after Jeremiah more Where's it's obvious to all the characters that she's in love with him.

That man doesn’t give a fuck about anyone and wants everyone to give a fuck about him. Asshole. He’s a terrible brother and it drives me insane. Jeremiah is the blueprint for golden retriever boy absolutely whipped for his girl and people need to appreciate it more, I WISH I had a Jeremiah in my life. And yeah, I do wish we got more pining Belly, but now I’m just crossing my fingers we get loads of Dating Era Jelly, because that would give me serotonin for days.

[heyyyitsmegia]

I mean... he LITERALLY did give her fireworks.

[escapismqueen]

Bellyjere love note au #1

(A continuation of the love notes that jere leaves for Belly) I imagine he leaves her these when he spends the night and has to leave for college 🥰💛I thought this would be a cute little add on to the au.

[muslimintp-1999-girl]

Con being obnoxious and annoying actually and Jere being such a sweetheart

conrad fisher being a petty king (2/?)

[neverforever09]

Dear Bonrad Stans and Other Jeremiah Antis

Just in case y’all try to pull out the “cheating” card again: https://twitter.com/bellyjere/status/1680244891253604353 

1) He didn’t cheat. They were on a break. It isn’t his fault Belly didn’t understand that. That’s regarding the book plot.

2) In the show, as it stands, Belly is more of the cheater. Sure, she and Jere didn’t spell out that they were together officially before she kissed Conrad, but she told him she would be able to return his feelings in the future when he asked in the pool and she asked him to the ball and kissed him a few times. Belly and Jere had something, some sort of commitment, before she went and kissed Conrad. If that’s not cheating, that’s at the very least insanely disrespectful and wrong of Belly. Plus, she definitely would have kissed Conrad if Jere didn’t set off the fireworks and she definitely had a committment to Cam at that time. (I’m kinda seeing a trend here with Belly. And not a good one.)

[emilyskinners]

getting the urge to block anyone who says "taylor songs are reserved for bonrad only" because like why are some of you guys trying to gatekeep music.

[muslimintp-1999-girl]

“No! Don’t you get it? You will never be what Jere is to me. He’s my best friend. He loves me no matter what. He doesn’t take it away whenever he feels like it. Nobody has ever treated me the way he does. Nobody. Least of all you."

[katmichail13]

SHE SAID FR THIS IS NOT ABOUT YOU CORNFISH YOU FREAK THIS IS ABOUT ME AND THE REAL LOML GOLDEN BOY WHOM I WANNA LICK LIKE A DAMN ICE CREAM CONE KEEP PUNCHING THE AIR CLOWTOWN AND GO CRY SOMEWHERE ELSE YOU LEWSER BECAUSE YOU'LL NEVER BE HIM ❤️

Lola Tung As Belly Conklin In The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 2 (2023)

[arlovegood]

This is probably a stupid question but do you know if this short BellyJere / Jellyfish Twitter video still exists in which they kiss on the car and then C.onrad sees them and the song goes like something something found out about youuuuu and its kinda dramatic (in a funny way) and I think the caption is 'giggling' or something xD thank you in advance whether you can help me or not.

Hellooo, first this is not a stupid question at all! But unfortunately I don’t know the answer.

Posting this to see if anyone in this lovely community know it?

[heyyyitsmegia]

I JUST LOVE HOW US JELLY SHIPPERS CANNOT DO AND I MEAN LITERALLY ANYTHING WITHOUT A BONRAD POPPING UP LIKE A ZIT ON SCHOOL PICTURE DAY! LIKE STOP! GROW UP! GET A REAL JOB! ADOPT A PET! READ THE BIBLE! DO SOMETHING, ANYTHING ELSE I'M BEGGING YOU!!!!

[escapismqueen]

Here's another Jelly edit for you all 🥰

[heyyyitsmegia]

I feel the EXACT same way. Conrad was a dick to her in the books AND in the show. Of course Conrad liked Belly. His jealously toward Cam solidified that, but, the childish remarks he made (multiple) times to Belly, really pissed me off. He was so caught up in trying to prove to Belly that he could draw her back in with, a look, a word, a drunken action… i.e: when he danced with her whilst intoxicated. Conrad treats Belly abysmally (terrible) and she takes it because, she is immensely infatuated with him. Heck, her own best friend Taylor asked if she was a masochist because of how she let Conrad use and treat her. Conrad said to Belly, "Why don't you go look in the mirror some more.". This comment right here was very demeaning and shameful and just belittling. Yes, I get his mother had cancer and that she was in a great deal of sufferment and pain, but, does that excuse his unnecessary and rude behavior? I just feel like, Conrad only wants Belly when it's convenient for him. He only wants her when she's vulnerable and helpless. Jeremiah needed her too. Not only in the books but in the show as well… and what did she do? She left him. For Conrad. The one who treated her like crap and like her feelings were nothing. Less than nothing. Like she was just another insignificant speck in the quotidian stream. Jeremiah has ALWAYS been there for Belly, while Conrad on the other hand, shut down and left her when she needed him the most. Conrad constantly makes Belly second guess herself and their "relationship". Jeremiah would never. Jere makes her happy. It's visible in the books and in the show. Conrad left Belly. Jere genuinely cared for her her whole life, never treated her unfairly, made an effort to care for her in times when Conrad did not. Conrad changes his mind all the time and treats Belly like a toy, that he picks up and plays with whenever he feels like it. I am SHOCKED and in UTTER DISBELIEF that anyone in the world could be team Conrad. After reading the books and seeing how Jere cared for her. It just baffles me. Jere is better in every aspect. Belly and Conrad (Bonrad) gives me the ick. It’s truly unfortunate that they end up together in the end. I sincerely hope Jeremiah had his happy ending. …That's all.

So update on reading tsitp book one FINAL THOUGHTS (SPOILERS)-

I went into this book with an open mind, thinking that there was a pretty good chance of me being converted to team Conrad. Especially with the way people who have read the books talk about him.However I am happy to report that I am 100% team Jeremiah through and through. I’m sorry.

Jeremiah knew about Susannah’s cancer coming back, everyone did except for belly! They still were never horrible to each other. Jeremiah was also grieving and still never unfairly took out his feelings on anyone. While I completely understand that people grieve differently, it doesn’t excuse Conrad being so rude towards belly or anyone else. Nowhere that I read in that book did it even seem like Conrad likes belly as deeply as I’ve heard people say. I’m not doubting that he likes her, it was shown on his face when she confessed to him. However, he was just so rude and nasty toward belly. ESPECIALLY WHEN HE GRABBED HER AND SHOOK HER. That was so uncalled for, and while I know that belly was kind of pushing his buttons on purpose. She never would’ve said anything like that if she knew the truth. Furthermore, Conrad had no right to put his hands on her at all. Conrad calls her a little kid for still enjoying her summer, and gets mad at her instead of explaining what’s going on. They grew up together, romance aside the fisher boys should’ve told her. He doesn’t even have to be nice about it. Or if they weren’t going to tell her then Conrad should’ve known that it wasn’t her fault. He’s mad at the world for the hand they’ve been dealt. That’s completely justified. I’ll give him that his mom is dying, but his behavior and rude comments about belly(the comment about her wearing too much makeup PISSED ME OFF) are coming off as just pure malice sometimes, especially when they were younger. I know they used to tease her and stuff but Conrad just takes it to far sometimes. They are practically family and yet Conrad doesn’t care about her feelings. Even if he never liked her back, or didn’t want to be with her, he could’ve still been her friend. I mean you cannot deny that he must’ve known she had a crush on him. It’s just ugly to read the way that his comments and coldness towards her makes her feel. It makes it seem like some of those comments are on purpose, because he knows about the crush.

Not to mention the fact that their relationship has seemingly started with her comforting him and then kissing him in this really vulnerable state. They don’t even talk about their mutual feelings for each other or anything. I’m very sorry to the Bonrad fans but I really don’t see the appeal. Belly puts Conrad on this pedestal even when he could care less about Belly’s attention. Which I cannot stand because it leads to her treating Cam so poorly. All because she can’t stop thinking about Conrad or what he might think if her and Cam did X Y and Z. I understand that he might have a hard time expressing his emotions, but he doesn’t even try to be kind/civil to her at all. She cares so much about this boy and is still there for him even after how horrible he was. Where do y’all get this narrative that he cares deeply for her? I also understand that it’s his mother but she’s practically Belly’s mother figure as well. Conrad needs to fix the way he is treating Belly and Jeremiah. I’ve lost people close to me, I know how deeply that can hurt. However, no one is responsible for another’s grief. Just because you are grieving doesn’t give you the right to treat the people who love you like shit. It’s inexcusable. I’ll continue reading books two and three but it’s not looking too well for Conrad.

This has nothing to do with Jeremiah either, if he wasn’t romantically interested in Belly I still wouldn’t like Bonrad. I honestly don’t understand how anyone could be after book one. There’s no relationship there. Like I said before the show and the cast do a much better interpretation of the characters. I actually really like Conrad in the show (still team Jeremiah)but in the books it’s hard to even tolerate him. Hopefully it gets better. On to book two.