just another shitty blog

@vanillawildflower

@ginnycampbellbower88

@tryandbehappy

Belly kept running and running from “fate” — but in the end, she didn’t escape. What we’re left with is insane, passionate desire that obviously isn’t built to last, and it’s naïve to think it will. Even funnier when you realize Jere and Belly absolutely had the exact same euphoric honeymoon-phase passion, but of course we were never shown that.

It’s just ridiculous that Belly and Conrad are stuck in childhood, and the only things they can talk about are memories — not even the ones from age 16, but mostly from much earlier. The episode leaves such a bleak impression, especially when we see their so-called “endgame”: just the two of them, alone in that gigantic summer house like ghosts trapped in it, unable to leave.

No friends. No family happy for them. And in the end, the epilogue gives us just one Christmas together and about fifteen photos with the teddy bear, like they’re still kids.

The idea, apparently, is that Belly and Conrad have loved each other since birth — that it’s some kind of otherworldly chemistry, written in the stars, that they just can’t escape no matter what universe they meet in. And this is the dumb nonsense the writer, who is over 40, actually believes. Because love does not look like that.

Yeah...

The infinity necklace he uses on her every time she tries to move on from him because he treats her like shit ? Plus, he didn't even give it to her. Belly found it and then he gave it to her when, like I said above, she was trying to move on with Jeremiah... There's nothing romantic about it. Even the childhood flashback where he explained this symbol to her was not romantic. There's nothing romantic about that necklace. It's just a fucking toxic fantasy.

The one who dared to declare his feelings for the first time 2 days before Belly's wedding when he had years to do so ?

And here we are talking about an adult, we really need to stop comparing this to a 16 / 17 year old teenager who prevents two people who are not in a relationship with each other, but in a relationship with other people, from kissing.

The one who just taught her childish things like an older child usually does, as well as scolding her from time to time, while not being there for her once she's older as a teenager and adult ? What Conrad did as a child in relation to Belly wasn't particularly romantic, stop trying to pretend otherwise. Not to mention the fact that we don't measure an adult relationship by the fact that he was nice to you as a child as if that erases all the toxic behavior he's had with you since the end of that period.

And don't come talking to me about Conrad helping with the wedding planning, or going to see Laurel to convince her. Because we know that Conrad used that to spend time with Belly even though she's his brother's fiancé, and that for Laurel, yes it's nice, but in fact, he didn't say anything to Laurel that the others haven't already told him, so it just shows Laurel's enormous favoritism for Conrad as well as Conrad not giving a damn about Jeremiah's happiness because it's a secondary thought literally silently recalled by Laurel's look for Conrad to think about. Just compare that to the Jeremiah at the end of season 2 who tried to get Bonrad back together by specifying without a huge silent pause that he wanted Belly and her brother to be happy and that he was ready to step aside if that's what they wanted, namely to be together. But besides that, Jeremiah interrupts Belly's happiness with Conrad...

The one who lies to his psychologist and whose therapy consequently has had no effect / impact or change in him ?

The letters are condescending, infantilizing, manipulative, borderline racist ?

And you want to talk about candy ? We're going to talk about candy. In the book, Jere isn't wrong about Belly's favorite candy. The ones he chose in the show were indeed Belly's favorite in volume 2. They changed her favorite candy in the show, quite simply, to give Conrad a positive scene. However, indeed, at the end of volume 3, Belly's tastes changed and she preferred the candy that Conrad chose for her in season 2. And you know what Conrad from the book does in one of your beloved letters ? He makes fun of Belly for liking those candies. Little gratuitous information. And besides, I'm supposed to adore Conrad because he remembers Belly's favorite candy as if that meant anything profound while we have a whole flashback of Jere with Susannah talking about the things Belly likes, including her favorite drink and why ? Besides the fact that we saw earlier in the show that Jere knew exactly Belly's favorite pie ? Your candy argument is so embarrassing.

And we need to stop romanticizing the fact that Conrad tells Belly that he never got over her. Because it's in a context where Conrad voluntarily remained emotionally stuck as a teenager during the 6-month period when he dated Belly. There's nothing romantic about it in the context where he never tried to get better with her. Already by never talking about it to his therapist, and also by never trying to evolve in his romantic relationships. Not being able to move on romantically in 4 years while you have healthy behavior because you're trying to move on in life from that point of view, and forgetting this person without succeeding is one thing. Not being able to move on romantically because you're simply not trying to move on in life from that point of view, and therefore forgetting this person, is another. And one can be seen as romantic and the other not. And the version that cannot be seen as romantic is the one that Conrad decided to have.

@vanillawildflower

@ginnycampbellbower88

@tryandbehappy

oh and on top of everything, at the end of the day we’ll never be the fanbase known for spreading insane misogyny, degrading + objectifying views of the woman main character, being completely media illiterate, male-centered and biphobic when it serves our beloved basic white boy, which is something i can’t say for the other team. some of you are a little too comfortable talking about belly like she is conrad’s personal property and knowing the sheer amount of people walking around with this nasty kind of internalised misogyny is appalling. even if i wasn’t a bellyjere, i would be everything else under the sun before i ever supported conrad or b*nrad. “this season will make you switch teams” meanwhile i’ve never felt more justified as a team jelly / team belly girl because fuck those raging misogynists lmfao

• The cake was explained as his passion for cooking.

• He paid for the dream apartment for him and Belly where they were supposed to live after the wedding.

• He finally cut ties with his dad and found himself.

• He said everything to Conrad directly, forgave him, and even blessed him and Belly.

• He apologized to Laurel

• The cheating was softened too because they framed it as a rebound concept, a coping mechanism to move forward.

• They finally dressed him well, gave him a haircut, and he looks stunning now! (Like honestly, how did they manage to make him look so bad in the earlier episodes? As a photographer, I’m outraged — it feels like they intentionally ruined him on screen.)

• They showed that everyone loves and appreciates him, that he’s the sunshine of the group.

• Steven isn’t mad at him about the “cheating” with Belly.

• Taylor is literally drooling over him in his underwear to the point Steven had to comment, like ???

• He’s cooking for everyone and everyone’s in awe of how amazing he is.

And earlier they’d already partly destroyed some of the hate: like when people mocked the ring as trash, but then Belly spent a whole episode chasing after it, saying it was priceless.

Basically, once they kicked him out of the triangle, they stopped humiliating him and started showing how great he actually is. These manipulations in the writing drive me crazy.

She CHOSE here. She chose hin at the end of season two and all of a sudden I’m supposed to be rooting for Conrad FOUR YEARS LATER when he hasn’t even been a part of their lives properly until now ? Everyone’s always ‘oh jere doesnt actually love belly, he only wnats he becaise Conrad does’ get fucking real. Hes been with her for four years away from the eyes of his brother, so who did he have that to prove to ? Conrad only wants belly because jere has her and he’s not used to not getting his own fucking way. Everyone panders to that man.

Plus, I’m sorry but how can you be team Conrad when hes literally begging his brothers fiancé to be with him ?! When hes fantasising about her sexually ?! Bonrads misread jere looking at Denise as if he was turned on weeks ago and calling him disgusting when in realty, he was just picking up on the tension with her and Stephen. But Conrad can sexualise belly and dream of her like that when his own brother is getting married to her ? Double standards jfc. What kind of brother does that ?! They’ve been together for four years !! This isn’t some blasé relationship, they’re getting married and NOW he wants to speak up and beg for her ?! Get fucked.

Plus, all I see now from season three, is bonrads going ‘oh jere didn’t compromise on the cake’ or ‘hes letting dad have too much power over the wedding’ or ‘hes turning into him’ when Conrad has literally been the image of Adam from season one. Conrad can make belly cry and call her a baby and push her away but that’s okay because he was hurting, but the moment Jeremiah starts seeking the approval of his father and makes some questionable decisions when it’s quite clearly coming from a place of insecurity and wanting to be accepted from a man who continually puts him down, it’s suddenly ‘hes a terrible person and doesn’t deserve to be with belly’ ?!!

what belly said way back in season one is unfortunately STILL true for conrad, who is the single most unchanging character in the show. he’ll start showing up to remind her that he exists right when she’s moving on (or in the case of paris and s3, already moved on). it’s not romantic. it’s not yearning. it’s sad and manipulative. not moving on in 5-6 years – and not making any effort to move on, on top of being unable to maintain relationships with anyone – is concerning.

to have them end up together would directly contradict all the decisions belly herself has made, and all the things she has asserted throughout the entirety of the show. pursuing and choosing jeremiah in s2, her long-term relationship with jeremiah + nearly getting married + choosing him over and over, choosing paris to find her own way + telling conrad he doesn’t know who she is anymore, “whatever [feelings she has left for conrad] it doesn’t compare to me and you” “you will never be what jere is to me”, fighting against everyone to be with jere. and it would push this concerning message that belly has somehow been in delusion / self-denial all season (which is what b*nrads believe), and basically confirm that yes, actually, everyone else was right about belly’s romantic decisions – except herself (on top of justifying conrad’s disturbing behaviour). i’d like to believe they wouldn’t do that to her.

we’ve seen belly all season. she chose jeremiah, and more recently she chose finding herself, looking ahead to a new future. to somehow retract all of belly’s own choices and things she has asserted CONSISTENTLY is appalling when you remember that this is primarily belly’s story. in ep10, belly didn’t care about conrad at all. she only messaged jeremiah on susannah’s anniversary, messaged him when she was drunk, dropped everything to answer his call, vs giving a single, bare minimum acknowledgement to conrad’s letters. i would like to believe that they wouldn’t undermine belly in her own story, and that they’ll allow her to give conrad a much-needed reality check – that his warped self-made narrative is far from reality. the reality is that belly’s choosing of jeremiah back in s2 had nothing to do with conrad; she chose jeremiah already. herself. because she wanted it. not because she felt pressured by any external force to do so.

That beach scene hit the final nail in the coffin of why I could never be team Bonrad, no matter how much the show wants me to.

After Conrad found out about Cabo, his initial reaction was to confront Jeremiah, but Jeremiah was too drunk to have a proper conversation with him.

Then, when Belly went to the beach, she expected Jeremiah to be there, not knowing that he was too drunk to attend, and runs into Conrad.

Conrad decides to tell Belly about Cabo (as if that was his right) and was shocked when Belly assured him that she was aware and remained firm on her decisions.

Conrad's immediate actions that followed only showed his true motives that were buried deep inside. He didn't tell Belly about the Cabo incident because he felt bad for her or thought she had a right to know.

No, he selfishly used that as a tool to win her over and had a completely different reaction once that backfired.

Instead of respecting her choices, he once again overstepped Belly's boundaries to the point where she threatened to scream.

Then he told her that he loved her, as an attempt to win her over. A younger version of Belly would've been over the moon hearing this, but there's three big issues.

1. Belly is not a teenager anymore. She's a young lady:

I noticed that throughout the series, whenever we see Conrad's flashbacks or perceptions of Belly, he's always picturing her as a little girl or a teenager. He doesn't see her as the young woman she is because it doesn't represent a time when Belly loved him unconditionally, even at her own detriment.

2. Belly is about to get married:

Conrad decided to confess his feelings towards Belly THREE DAYS before her wedding and acted shocked when she didn't drop everything for him. Jeremiah and Belly have dated for four years, while Conrad has barely spoken to them during that time frame.

3. Conrad and Belly haven't had a proper relationship in years:

When I say proper relationship, I don't mean a strictly romantic relationship, I also mean a platonic one, too. Once Belly and Conrad broke up, she was devastated, as most people would be.

Even in the second season, Belly's main focus was to help the Fisher brothers retain the summer house. Belly and Conrad's interactions in that time frame mostly revolved around the house and Conrad's grades.

We didn't get any scenes that showed that they could have a healthy relationship as friends. The vast majority of their scenes were cordial, with the exception of the last episode of season 2.

In season 3, they've barely communicated for four years. While four years is a long time, that's not enough to determine whether someone has actually matured enough to be in a serious relationship, especially with their ex who was a teenager at the time.

The problem with the execution of this season regarding Belly and Conrad's relationship is that nothing proves that this couple would work in any realistic scenario. Although I'm aware that this show is fictional, it's set in a semi-realistic setting, not a fantasy with mythical and supernatural creatures.

OH OH OH steven clocked conrad’s shit to levels i have not seen in my LIFE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! he ATE THAT UP! bellyjeres in the writers room y’all doing god’s work he absolutely destroyed that selfish rat oh my god that ate so fucking bad. you have no idea how relieving it is to hear conrat being called insane onscreen and have his behaviour rightfully called out after us team jere/team bellys have been fighting for our LIVES all season. you called belly a clown for calling out conrad’s shitty behaviour, you called jeremiah everything under the sun for putting his foot down against conrad’s nasty behaviour, you hated taylor every time she openly criticised conrad, i bet they’ll all be hating steven too when every damn word he said was right. meanwhile there is one singular, recurring factor in all of this – that conrad’s behaviour is unacceptable and yeah, insane. y’all were just too delusional in licking conrat’s ass mode to realise it.