Cassie

Probs too old for tumblr but fuck it. All my ships are here

[impvlsivee]

How did you first become a fan of The Summer I Turned Pretty? 

For me, it was from being on tumblr in 2012. I was 22 years old and came across the book 3 excerpt where Agnes asks Conrad how in love he was on a scale of 1 to 10. So I actually ended up reading book 3 first, because I found a free iBook download and read it on my phone lol. Needless to say I was very confused by the flashbacks and different POVs but of course immediately I was team Conrad. It wasn't until I had finished it that I went back and read books 1 and 2, but again, team Conrad all the way. I remember thinking they would make great screen adaptations, whether it be movies or shows, but I never really had any "fan casts". I reread them a bunch over the last 13 years, especially any time I was in need of some comfort reading. I also read the "To All the Boys" trilogy shortly after, and again when their movies were announced, I always thought of TSITP. I think it was maybe early 2021 when I came across an article that the books were going to be a show, and immediately I was SO excited. I hoped for 3 full seasons, and was also kinda glad that the cast was all new actors. I binged the first season in two nights when it dropped at once, and personally I love a weekly release format so I love that s2 and s3 have been that way. I can't believe we're down to the final two episodes now, and I'm in my mid 30s. I never imagined the show would blow up the way it has, and even though I'm going to miss it so much, it'll be nice to have them all to rewatch. I wish it was possible to watch only Belly x Conrad scenes and anything relevant to them, lol.

Hello! I’m sorry this took me awhile!

I didn’t start as a book girly, though I wish I did because when I read them after watching the show, it kind of changed the dynamic of the characters for me. I saw a commercial for the show coming up back in 2021-2022 And I was a little bit like, “this seems like a very young show”, and then because I am a SUCKER for teen romances, say what you will I am also in my 30s, I watched the first season and I was OBSESSED. I have this wild fascination with misunderstood, broody men. I feel like their characters are so interesting and there’s so much depth to them. The layering done in this show on Conrad was fantastic. I was immediately a Conrad girl from the moment I saw the commercial where he is staring at Belly in the mirror.

S2 was so hard for me because Jeremiah rubbed me the wrong way ALL the way through the series until the last episode of S3 where he finally found his footing and became his own person too. So I just rewatch Belly/Conrad scenes hahaha.

To All The Boys I Loved Before, is my JAM. You cannot convince me that it isn’t one of the cutest most heartwarming romcom trilogies of this decade. It makes me so happy and I rewatch them once every year.

All in all, I usually find shows before the books when it comes to this sort of genre. But I always try to make sure I read the books so I have a more in depth understanding of the characters than just what we’re shown on screen.

I’m glad I’m not the only one in my 30s having a grand ole time with these shows!

[lukreziaaa]

Okay, Belly said she put up with way worst for him because she loved him more and because of that whatever he did was more hurtful than Jeremiah literally cheating on her twice. I get that.

But imagine you’re Conrad Fisher.

You’re Conrad Fisher and you are 18 years old and you find out your mother is dying. And you do it on accident, so you don’t tell anybody that you know and bottle it up, to protect yourself and your brother and your best friends and the girl you’ve always looked after.

And then you find out that your dad cheated on your mum, when she was struggling with her illness. So you decide that you’re gonna fuck up every single aspect of your life that he is proud of, because you can’t stand him being even slightly proud of something you do.

Then you finally kiss the girl you’ve been in love with for ages, and she tells you you can’t be together because she almost had a thing with your brother, a thing you didn’t know about.

It’s your first year of college, your mother is dying but you’re finally kind of dating the love of your life. But you can’t even hold her hand because your brother is hurt, so when you two can be in the same room you have to basically act like you don’t like each other.

You tell your brother that it’s physically painful to not love Belly like you want to and beg for his approval. But your mother is dying. And as much as you want to be with her, you cannot help but feel like a disappointment towards Belly. And you want to give her a good prom, but your mother is dying, and you can’t dance and party and maybe have sex and pretend everything is fine. Because your mother is dying.

And your girlfriend breaks up with you, because you’re being distant, because you want to go home instead of having a panic attack in the middle of the prom of a highschool you didn’t even go to. And she tells everybody and acts like you were the one to break up with her. On prom night.

And your mother is dead. You have another panic attack at her funeral and Belly sees your ex helping you, and tells you to go to hell. At your mother’s funeral.

And school is shit. You just don’t care anymore. Your mother is gone. Your Belly is gone. And the summer house is also going away. So you drop everything, go to the last place that has a strong connection to your mother, and do everything you can to save it. And you do. You and your brother and your best friend and the love of your life and, surprisingly, your father.

You and Belly have a devastating conversation, she tells you that she didn’t even know you cared about her. But you do. So much. And that if she knew she would’ve fought for you.

Maybe things will be good.

But you almost threw the opportunity to go to your dream school (your mother’s dream school) out of the window, because “fuck school, I don’t care.” But you do. So you stay up all night with your brother and best friend and love of your life and you get into the car and drive and take the exam and pass it and you’re happy and giddy and ready to tell the love of your life that you love her and want her and will fight for her.

But she’s kissing your brother. On your car. In your sweatshirt.

And you learn that they have a thing, two months after your breakup, two months after the death of your mother. And you promised your mother you would always protect your brother, so you take a step back. For him. And for her.

Because nothing matters to you more than Belly’s happiness.

You have their relationship shoved in your face, and it hurts so bad you stop coming home. Being on the other side of the country, far from everything your mother ever loved, is easier than being next to them.

Maybe it will pass.

It doesn’t.

It’s been four years, two of not going home. You have a friend, you go on runs, you go to a therapist. But it’s not enough. Because you’ve ever only been in love once. And you can’t get over her. Probably never will be able to.

It’s your mother’s memorial, and your brother and Belly drop a bomb, their engagement. You just lost your job, you just lost the love of your life forever. But it doesn’t matter, as long as she’s happy.

You help her with wedding planning, with wedding shopping, with wedding everything. You even get confused for the groom. And it kills you. But it doesn’t matter, as long as she’s happy.

But she’s not. She’s not even Belly anymore. Because she gave up Paris. Because she’s marrying the person that cheated on her twice, that betrayed her twice. You find out and run to tell her, but she already knows. She’s getting married in a country club, to a man that cheated on her. You don’t recognize her anymore. It shouldn’t matter as long as she’s happy, but she’s not.

So you confess. You bear your soul to her. You’re crying, you’re begging, you’re trying everything you can.

And you get told that you put her through worse. That you being depressed because your mother was dying was worse to her than her boyfriend of four years and best friend of life cheated on her.

You get told that you two never had anything real.

How are you supposed to feel?

[impvlsivee]

You know it’s bad when Redbird says “you were away from Belly for all of 2 seconds?”

[thatonekimgirl]

And I'll still see it until I die You're the loss of my life

[impvlsivee]

PLEASE Conrad talk to someone, let someone help you. Protecting Belly is a beautiful thing, but you’re HURTING and you need someone to hug you.

[impvlsivee]

The truth coming out about how Jeremiah ACTUALLY was in Cabo is so vindicating. Locked his friends out of the room? BOY. And they did it twice?! I haven’t read the books in awhile, so I can’t remember if that scene happens in them, but it just makes it all so much worse.

[etoilesdeglace]

I fucked up four years ago. You remember that night in the motel? When I told you I still wanted you? I couldn't sleep that night. I loved you. I know I did. But i knew that if I kept you with me... I would hurt you and so... I couldn't have that. I knew it. And I saw you and Jere together and- and I- I saw how happy you guys made each other and so, I tried to let you go. But then this summer... being around you again.... and- and talking the way that we used to... and you looking at me the way that... you used to. I just, I see you again, and all my plans go to shit. I love Jeremiah, he is my brother, he is my family, and I hate myself for doing this but, when I see you guys together I- I fucking hate him. Belly... Don't say it.

[impvlsivee]

I feel so bad for the both of them because Belly is SO scared. She’s scared to be wrong, she’s scared that she fucked up 4 years ago too. There’s a certain heartbreak that comes with acknowledging that maybe your relationship wasn’t everything you thought it was, that you were wrong and I don’t think Belly knows how to handle that. She’s never really grieved Conrad and she’s held on to this bitterness in her heart towards him for 4 years. That’s a long time to blame someone. And she can’t see the reality which is that, things didn’t just get hard, Conrad and Jere lost their mom. She can’t understand that grief played the biggest role and she villainized Conrad for being emotionally destroyed, which I understand, again she was very young. However, Jere iced her out too. He didn’t talked to her for a year, ignored her attempts to make amends, but she understands that. Because Jeremiah is the safe choice. There’s no stake in the game the way there is with Conrad. And she has pushed out of her mind that BOTH of the brothers disappeared on her because if she doesn’t make Jeremiah good, then that means everything she believed for the last 4 years, is wrong. And that’s a lot to reconcile at 21 years old. And just a little piece from my defensive brain over Conrad, it sucks to watch Belly repeatedly punish him over his grief, over losing his mom, over trying to heal. Again, I know he didn’t verbalize all of that, but Belly isn’t stupid and it also isn’t fair to put all the blame on Conrad when Belly knew what was going on. There’s a level of responsibility that she has here too.

Conrad, fuck my poor Conrad..this was a hard episode. He has put all of his needs, his happiness aside to make sure the wedding happens as smoothly as it can. And I get it, he hears how Jere fucked up and he’s like okay well since we’re just laying the cards on the table, then I’m laying mine. It’s the first time in the entirety of the show that Conrad actually pursues what he wants. Just because Belly “forgave” Jere doesn’t mean he deserved it and Conrad is just outside their relationship enough and knows both of them well enough to see the train wreck coming once the reality of the wedding and all that comes with, finally hits. Watching him telling Belly how much he loves her, was devastating. Because there’s nothing in it for him and he knows that. He didn’t say it because he thought it would change her mind in the moment, he said it because he needed her to know. It was underhanded for sure, and not the best time considering he’s been spending all summer with her, but there’s an illusion that’s been shattered for him and now he’s seeing just how much Belly has lost herself and how much he’s lost himself trying to protect this image of her the same way Belly is trying to make him the bad guy.

Im so excited for the resolution when Belly finally breaks out of the denial and desperation for safety and finally starts living her life the way she should be at 21. I’m excited for her and Conrad to reconcile little by little. It’s just so hard to watch her defend Jere and this wedding at every single turn when EVERYONE knows her heart really isn’t in it. Because if it was, no one would have to remind her that Jere is the one, she would just know that.

[clara-oswinoswald]

Jeremiah actively wanted to sleep with Lacie way before spring break. I mean, that fight was a joke. No one breaks up over something like that if you are in such a long relationship. He wanted to sleep with Lacie guilt-free.

[impvlsivee]

Okay I’m glad someone else is saying it because what? Breaking up and having sex two days later with someone else is bad enough because he had every intention of getting Belly back, but to do it a SECOND time?? No. He wanted to go to Cabo and fuck Lacie so he didn’t have to feel bad. Also, when was he sitting in the shower all depressed about it? After the first time? Or after the second? These are all CHOICES he made. He wasn’t forced to do any of this, he CHOSE to. And for anyone saying “they were on a break” I can promise you, if you “broke up” with your significant other of 4 years and two days later they fucked someone else and you found out, I PROMISE you, the “on a break” bullshit wouldn’t even be on your mind.

[impvlsivee]

The more I rewatch episode 5, the more I am ready to throw hands with Jeremiah.

Well all know the issues and the character that he presents in this episode, but it’s just the insidiousness of his actions that is really bothering me. I understand the desperate need for approval from your parent, but if you are old enough to get married, you’re old enough to tell your dad no, and to stand by your fiancée.

But Jere didn’t have enough confidence to stand up to him. And listen, I get it. Especially when you’re young and you just want to be seen. BUT, the part that’s bothering me is that he KNOWS he’s going to get his way with Belly if he leans into the “my dad doesn’t try or pay attention to me”. HE KNOWS THAT. Now, we can sit here and say “he’s young and his dad is an asshole”, yeah okay?

Again, if you’re old enough to get married, you should be old enough to push back. ESPECIALLY for your wedding day.

My issue is that Jeremiah fucked up royally, with intention to do so, proposed to Belly to put a bandaid on it so they didn’t have to ACTUALLY fix the issue and because he didn’t want to lose his second mom, then he decided to put all the planning on Belly while not being willing to compromise, and took away the parts of the wedding she wanted by guilt tripping her with his dad and this bullshit line about what his mom would’ve wanted.

Jeremiah right now wants nothing more than his dads approval. He wants to be seen and heard and he wants to be better than Conrad and that’s ALL he’s focused on. Which is fine, dude needs therapy but it is what it is. The problem isn’t him working and giving for and into his dad. The problem is, he made a commitment to someone, a HUGE commitment and he isn’t holding up one single end of his side. Belly is carrying all of it.

And he has the audacity to act like the victim ALL THE FUCKING TIME when really it’s Belly. Jeremiah and Belly need to be single for awhile because it’s painfully obvious that neither really understands themselves or understands the other.

Okay rant over…. For now

[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 is not a coincidence either. It’s like he wanted to her ahead of something before him. 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 stumble. And he does so intentionally. He knows he’s being sneaky. He knows he’s inserting himself in there. And I’m not saying he doesn’t like Belly, but why deny that his main motivator isn’t his 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 S 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’s 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. Conrad being like that isn’t his natural form. It was brought out by the circumstances he was living, so the constant need to make him feel like a villain is so weird because he’s clearly depressed and self isolating. Both in S1 and throughout S2. It’s called grieving the death of your mother. All of them have their own ways of dealing with grief.

And the funny this is — Conrad knows he isn’t in the right mental state to be with Belly. He tries, because you’re allowed to be happy while depressed but he clearly wasn’t able to handle his own 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’s right about that!). This 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 by the end of the series, Conrad isn’t the same person he was at the start. He took the right measures to ensure he deals with his mental issues. He’s 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 at this point.

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 story. 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 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 for over a decade now.

[impvlsivee]

Quite literally

[foolishlyfloatingwraith]

There are times I think I’m done than I remember I’m not cause Cabo will forever hunt my subconscious

What do you mean Jeremiah had a whole plane ticket before Belly found out?

What do you mean the whole thing comes to light just cause Belly was there when the conformation email arrived?

What do you mean he immediately became defensive and escalated the situation beyond what it was meant to be?

What do you mean he was blaming Belly for him not telling her about the whole vacation?

What do you mean Belly thought he was going to be with his dad and that THEY ARE GOING TO MEET UP?

What do you mean he broke up with her over nothing as she wasn’t even mad just confused and the whole thing felt so heat of the moment?

What do you mean he didn’t reach out to Belly before Cabo and try and smoothed out the whole thing and have a proper conversation where they aren’t fighting? But sit down like adults before he left for Cabo?

What do you mean he has horizontal discussion with another girl like a week after this not once but TWICE?

What do you mean he came back, brought a cheap bracelet as a sorry gift and started ‘I was so mean. So bad. Woo is me!’ The moment Belly stepped in?

What do you mean that when Belly told Jeremiah they weren’t broken up actually he didn’t say, ‘No, we were actually’? CAUSE EVERYBODY SEEMS TO JUST NOT ACKNOWLEDGE THE FACT THAT BELLY SAID AFTER CABO WHEN THEY FIRST MEET THAT THEY WEREN’T ACTUALLY BROKEN UP AND HE NEVER CORRECTED HER!

What do you mean she learns about Lacie months later? At a party?

[impvlsivee]

😬😬 I meeeeaaannnnn where is the lie here? Taylor said it best “you were broken up for all of 2 seconds”. None of it was a mistake, it was all choices he made. And then got scared he was gonna lose his second mommy

[yearnerray]

I've always had this feeling that Jeremiah uses his inferiority complex to justify being selfish and to excuse his self indulgent behaviour. He always has this attitude as if Conrad has always gotten preferential treatment from everyone in his life and he has been second choice, when it is his made up reality.

In reality, the only preferential treatment Conrad has gotten was from Adam. In every other social settings Jeremiah has always been ahead. He was the more cheerful one, had more friends, was liked by almost everyone and also had more romantic interests. The only sectors in which Conrad excelled over Jeremiah was not due to preference but due to merit and excellence. Like education and sports.

People may say, "Laurel had her favourite." Having a soft corner for someone and giving them preferential treatment is different. Because Conrad has always been the parentified child and Laurel herself scolded Conrad when everyone else got in trouble. In season one we see multiple instances when Conrad is helping around the house, cleaning but Jeremiah isn't expected to take such responsibility. Don't bring steven or Susanah being team Conrad into this because contrary to popular belief, Steven has a closer friendship with Jere than with Conrad. Steven, like Belly has admired Conrad and loves him for BELLY. But Steven's closer to Jere. Susanah also had a tiny little bias towards Jeremiah but wanted Conrad for Belly.

The only other person that preferred Conrad over him was Belly. This is where shit gets messed up. The moment he realises that Belly prefers Conrad over him and they might become something, he starts pursuing belly. Even though Belly gets with Conrad at the end of first season, Belly cares about Jeremiah, so she doesn't want to hurt him. But Jere can't accept it so he makes it everyone else's problem at thanksgiving. The hypocrisy is so real because in s2 Belly and Conrad were not even allowed to hold hands at the table but in s3 Jere tries to force pda onto Belly when she's clearly uncomfortable. (In ep 1 flashback) The irony of this situation is Belly and Jere had a fling for a few days and Belly and Conrad were together for 6 months.

Even in Belly and Jere's relationship the moment Belly disagrees with him or he can't have anything he likes her pulls out his "I'm sorry I'm not Conrad card" and Belly is forced to give into his whims. Even after getting Belly he still can't get over this made up rivalry. Until and unless he gets his father's preference he'll keep acting like everyone in this entire world treats him like an interior to Conrad when in reality he is the one who does it.

[impvlsivee]

This is so well put. It’s constantly about how Jere is less than, isn’t good enough, etc. but realistically, no one feels that way. Jeremiah is separate from Conrad, he is his own person, with his own dreams and goals. Everyone else sees that. But Jere consistently places Conrad on a pedestal that Conrad will never be able to reach. Jeremiah has to take him off of it in order to find himself and find his own purpose. He isn’t ready to stop blaming Conrad for everything wrong in his life, and because of that, Jeremiah is the one putting the distance and the strain in and on their relationship.

Belly is his only out, his only one up, and he uses her to elevate himself above Conrad and to look better in Adam’s eyes. And that can’t work. When he goes to see Laurel to try and convince her, his exact words are “Belly chose me”. And that right there tells me everything I need to know about what really matters to Jeremiah.

I also REALLY need Belly and Jeremiah to stop saying “this is what Susannah would’ve wanted” because no. They have to consistently use her to try and justify their relationship and engagement.

Jere is a good kid, and he has so much talent and charisma and it’s a damn shame that he can’t see past his grief and jealousy to find himself and all his wonderful qualities.

But he needs a reality check, and I’m very much looking forward to seeing him and Belly break up so they can both grow up and find themselves.

[impvlsivee]

The amount of time Belly spends trying to convince the audience that Jere is the one in response to Conrad being constantly part of her inner monologue, is ridiculous. Like… who ya trying to convince?

[winteroroctober]

[impvlsivee]

THIS. This all fucking day. It’s the hypocrisy for me. That is my biggest gripe with Jeremiah. Everything else, we can discuss, but THIS SHIT, this is vile.

[blues-valentine]

I’m gonna be the one to say it. Jeremiah cheating and being irresponsible is not out of character. Jenny didn’t ruin him for the sake of Conrad. He’s always been written like that. Most of you have created this version of Jeremiah that doesn’t exist. A lot of you guys love the potential of the partner that he could be and it’s not who he is in the series because he isn’t quiet there yet. There’s things he needs to heal from that he hasn’t yet.

First of all, you cannot ruin a character you wrote over a decade ago. Jeremiah is Jenny’s character! Him and his arc have existed since 2009. The things you love about him are also things she wrote. You can have an opinion but ultimately that’s what she wrote years ago. You just deluded yourself into thinking she was never gonna do it for the show despite her dropping the seeds.

From the get go, the show introduces you to a Jeremiah that flirts with everyone, that sleeps with everyone, is always partying and as opposed to Conrad isn’t interested in school or a hobbie. There’s a literal scene on the show of Jeremiah bragging to Steven about all the people he slept with from Cousins. Show!Jere just as much as Book!Jere would 100% join a fraternity if it means partying. She isn’t selling you an idea of him that hasn’t been already pre established in the show.

If anything the show does a better job than the books at establishing the differences between both brothers. Jeremiah’s the fun, social and laid back brother that doesn’t take things too seriously while Conrad does what he’s supposed to do and always feels like he needs to be responsible since he got put on that baggage. It’s the most older sibling vs younger sibling dynamic there is. The show even doubles down on how S1/S2 Conrad isn’t his usual self. S3 Conrad is his normal self but in therapy. I’ve already spoke about this (X).

The show and the books not only just tell you that Jeremiah has an inferiority complex and feels like comparing himself to Conrad which brings the fact he needs to feel validated but that he seeks his father’s approval. Those very two things are his downfall. Adam is a terrible person that cheated on Susannah and Jere still seeks his validation and would put him on a pedestal while Conrad does not. And I don’t fault Jere for wanting a relationship with his father at all but his actions and motivations are often conditioned by either Conrad or his father, and his insecurities for both.

Belly was just another thing he needed to feel validated about but you aren’t ready for that yet. Jeremiah 100% pursued her to win over Conrad.

I don’t think Jeremiah is a terrible person but not wanting to acknowledge that he has major flags does a disservice to him. Jeremiah is not and has never been “the golden retriever boy” – it was a facade. I don’t think he is in love with Belly either, I think both of them conditioned their love for each other because of Susannah’s death (and Conrad) and are now stuck in a romantic relationship that isn’t satisfying or fulfilling for either of them cuz they’ve never been compatible romantically. And most of you refuse to see it because you’ve been seeing Jeremiah and Belly’s dynamic solely based on their potential and not what’s there on paper.

I think Jeremiah sleeping with Lacie has a very definitive emotional reason and Jeremiah ending up similar to his father is a very interesting case. It’s almost like you become what you seek. Jere still doesn’t know how to handled his mother’s death. And I hope this is handled better on the show than how it was in the books. That Jeremiah recognizes a lot of the privileges he’s been born into, that he finds a better outlet to grieve which he has not done yet, and goes to therapy as well to see if he can fix the internal issues that stops him from creating a healthy relationship with Conrad and ends the series in a better place. I do wish the best for him in that, I actually really do.

But mind you, Belly’s not and never has been responsible for making Jeremiah feel superior or valuable over Conrad. And she wasn’t the one who strained their sibling relationship – it was Adam!

[carylmeanslove]

I💯% agree with this & I will add that Jeremiah has also been a bad influence on Belly. Compromising her own needs/wants. She is losing herself in the relationship with Jeremiah just like her mother fears she would. She is lying to herself & due to what Rain said in an interview about not lying to yourself, I believe she will wake up to it all & rectify it all.

[impvlsivee]

Factual. It’s easy to get lost in potential, which is what Belly did. But potential doesn’t make a relationship. Jeremiah isn’t a bad guy, he’s young and he’s been through a lot. He’s a typical 21 year old, and that’s the point right? To make mistakes, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t consequences and whatever reasoning there is for why Jeremiah behaves the way he does, doesn’t excuse it. And it doesn’t suddenly make him perfect for Belly.

Belly and Jere were a good lesson for each other, they will take away so much from this relationship, and they should. But there isn’t hope for it if they don’t grow, and they don’t want to grow together, they want to be frozen in time. Adult problems, bills, a home, school, work, MONEY, are all important and bring to light stark differences and how good you are as a team.

You cannot handle that at 21, especially married and on your own.

All this to say, I wouldn’t be against Belly and Jere if there was potential for growth, but there’s just not.

[highwaylife]

THE SUMMER I TURNED PRETTY | 2x05 vs 3x01

[impvlsivee]

I am so frustrated with this. Belly walks on EGGSHELLS, even putting her relationship on hold with Conrad just to make sure Jeremiah isn’t all upset and hurt. Conrad goes with it, and then finally reaches a point where he’s so in love with this girl, he just wants to tell her.

Jeremiah spends the entire time ignoring Belly and Conrad and throwing a hissy fit over them being together and how hurt he was and how unfair it is, and all the bullshit. But when Belly and Conrad broke up, guess who was up Belly’s ass?? Yep, Jeremiah.

THEN to make matters even worse, THEY THROW IT IN CONRAD’S FACE the entire time even after Conrad told her he still wants her.

I don’t like Jeremiah and Belly because Jeremiah guilt tripped Belly into being with him and used her and Conrad’s breakup as a manipulation tactic to get with Belly.

Not to say that they couldn’t absolutely grow into a healthy and mature relationship. But that’s not what this is, and that’s not what it is going to grow into, regardless of Conrad. Belly and Conrad don’t even get together right away in the books.

They’re using each other to deal with issues that come from traumatic experiences, and let me tell you, that NEVER works. Length of relationship does not outweigh unresolved trauma and self imagine issues; it highlights them.

That’s why Belly and Jeremiah don’t work. That’s why I’m so annoyed with how they behave. They’re children, acting like children.

[impvlsivee]

I’m honestly just tired of shows killing off characters people love just for shock value. If the best you can do when an actor wants to leave, is to write a death for that character that deviates from their core and from the core of the show, then they aren’t inventive and creative writers.

Sometimes it makes me feel like these writers either don’t think we as viewers are smart enough to catch the massive deviation, or if they just don’t give a shit about character assassination.

JJ’s death would’ve been easier to swallow, if they just paid the fucking respect to the character that was owed. They created this person and had people fall in love with him, and then had him murdered just so they didn’t have to work at it.

Regardless if Rudy wanted to leave, which I have my own opinions about, it’s the job of the writers to take care and put in effort.

But sure, spit in our face and tell us we were standing in the wind.

I’m so fucking over it man.

[impvlsivee]

Blackbox – refreshingly oppressive puzzles

Blackbox is a tribute to being different. Learn what your phone is capable of, explore your world, and solve puzzles upon puzzles without to