Ryan Conklin And Girls

In episode seven of The Real World Brooklyn, most of the air time is devoted to Devyn Simone's two-timing with multiple boyfriends and to the adventure that might be called The Great Rat Caper. However, the most interesting part of the episode was snuggled in near the end and only amounted to a few minutes. It was the visit by Ryan Conklin's girlfriend Michelle ("Belle"). It provided another little insight into Ryan's personality and his persona. Though the view was brief, it showed some important characteristics.

Ryan was shown talking to Belle on the phone about her impending visit to Brooklyn. It was clear that he was happy that she was coming. He talked with her about some ideas of what they might do together while she was there. She said she wouldn't mind just sitting and staring at him all day (so I can tell right off that she and I have at least one thing in common). He replied, "Freak," as he suitably picked his nose and looked at the result and tossed it to the floor.

Belle continued her affectionate remarks with, "Ryan, I haven't seen your beautiful face in so long." Ryan in Ryan-like fashion let her know (playfully and with a smile), "Oh my God, you are going to make me throw up. Shut up!" Ryan may not like to hear comments like those but he is willing to suffer through them for another person's sake.

Some time later, Belle arrived at the doorstep. Ryan gave her a friendly hug and then showed her around the grounds. In an inserted video clip, he said "Belle is like my best friend. It's like hanging out with one of the guys, but it's a girl, and it's my girl-friend." In other words, she's a friend that Ryan can be affectionate with and touch, but not feel awkward about it like he might be with his buddies.

He also said, "I'm just glad that she's here. I feel more comfortable." That's because, despite having made new friends in the Real World house, Ryan still needed someone around that he knew he trust implicitly and who represented the kind of people he missed from back in Pennsylvania.

Ryan introduced Belle to Baya Voce. Baya showed a excruciatingly broad smile as she ran to hug Belle and tell her how happy she was to see her. The reaction probably was a way to ease any guilt that Baya felt from even creating an impression that she had been coming on to Ryan, which he had previously accused her of.

Belle and Ryan ended up going to Coney Island, with JD Ordonez acting as chaperone. In spite of any bravado about being a man of the world, Ryan still preferred to act as a gentleman with his lady.

Ryan confessed, "She's the first girl that I said that I love her. And I really true feel that way."

During the car ride from Coney Island, Ryan talked about the Inactive Ready Reserve, which he is still part of. He said that up until September 10, 2010 he could still be called back to active duty. Belle told him not to worry about it because she believed that it was not going to happen. Ryan considers the possibility but doesn't dwell on it. He claims to live in the moment. On the other hand, if it were to happen he believes it would be very tough on their relationship. He didn't state explicitly why he felt that way.

And so Belle's visit came to an end and she got ready to leave. She became tearful and Ryan gently told her to stop. In inserted video he said, "I'm just like a robot when it comes to emotions. I'm not the one that weeps and cries. I'm just not that person."

This is very strange because physical conditions that prevent tear production are not very common. Also, it is not something that can be controlled by will. Crying is an involuntary physical reaction to a sorrowful situation. You can't will yourself not to cry just like you can't will yourself not to sweat if you overheat. The absence of tears instead would indicate that you aren't experiencing something that you find sorrowful enough. Assuming that Ryan doesn't have a defective "sensitivity chip", he must just have a high threshold for what makes him sad. When something bad enough happens, Ryan will cry.

There is a final embrace between Belle and Ryan in the car. He said, "You know I hate goodbyes. It's see-ya-laters, remember?" Ryan gave her a good-bye hug, but he is not comfortable with touchy-feely embraces. He endures it for her sake.

From what we know, let's look at what Ryan needs in a girlfriend. Here is a list of requirements:

1) She has to be like one of the guys. Ryan wants a girl who is a buddy and who likes to go do buddy things with him, not someone who would rather play house.
2) She needs to be a lot like him. I thought of the episode of Seinfeld where Jerry finally met someone who he was willing to marry. It was because she was just like him. Granted, eventually Jerry decided that he couldn't stand being around someone like himself, but in Ryan's case I believe it would be longer lasting.
3) She has to be someone who is supportive of Ryan. Ryan is a free spirit and needs someone to gently encourage him to find productive ways to follow his dreams and not someone who would criticize his ideas or try to hobble him.
4) She needs to be someone who is not overly emotional. It makes Ryan uncomfortable and can only be a negative.
5) She has to be someone that Ryan feels that he can trust completely and be someone he knows will be there to lean on as he deals with his bottled up feelings.
6) She has to be someone who is understanding of Ryan. She has to know that he can only show as much emotion and care as he can, but she also has to realize that that doesn't mean he doesn't feel more than he can show.
7) She has to be someone with the same sense of humor, but not a bigger joker than he is. He's proud to be the king of comedy and isn't looking for competition.
8) She has to be someone who doesn't worry excessively about things. That would be too much of a mismatch with Ryan's "live for the day" mentality.


So does Belle fit the bill? It looks like she fits 1, 2, and 7, and possibly 5 & 6. On 3, 4, and 8, it looks like a mismatch, especially on number 3. Ryan was very disappointed that Belle didn't support his desire to be cast on the Real World and that cast a pall on their relationship.

Another thing is that Belle is a pharmacy major. Would that work, paired with a person like Ryan who favors something in the creative arts? Don't know.

From her brief appearance on RWBK, it can be seen that Belle is a really nice person, who sincerely loved Ryan very much. However, as readers of Ryan's comments on iamonmtv.com know, he and Belle are no longer together. As sad as any break-up may be, for two good people it's better to end it sooner rather than later once it becomes clear that it's not a perfect match.

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Now back to The Great Rat Caper.

The roommates discovered that their home was infested with mice. When they are spotted, JD jumped onto the countertop and Sarah onto a chair. Ryan remarked that it was just a mouse and that it was ridiculous to see how some people reacted. At the same time it was apparent he was gleeful to see people jumping.

There was ongoing bad blood between JD and both Devyn Simone and Sarah Rice. They mutually treated each other like crap, although Devyn and Sarah were much better equipped to handle it than JD. JD resented that the girls refused to acknowledge that they were mean to him, so he devised a plan for retribution. He decided to buy a rat from a pet store and put it in Devyn's bed.

He knew that he would be unable to place it in Devyn's bed surreptitiously because he would not be able to keep from laughing. For this reason he engaged Chet to help. Chet and the other straight guys were already appalled by Devyn's having two boyfriends at the same time. They felt that according to the guy code that they should do something to show their displeasure, so they were happy to join in the plot.

The "covert op" with Devyn was a success. Later, Ryan wanted to get Sarah too because he just didn't like her and wanted to see her have a bad reaction to it. He took the rat and placed it under her bed covers.

At some point Sarah turned back the covers and saw the rat droppings. Strangely, she emphasized that she has not slept on those sheets yet, as if to stress that the doo-doo pellets were not her own. She accidentally flung the rat to the floor but when she saw it she jumped onto the bed and into the rat poo. She then ran out of her room with her fecal feet to tell everyone. Ryan pumped his arms victoriously. Another triumph for Ryan and another example of what Ryan regards as having a good time with girls.

Highlight of the week: RyanConklin lying with Scott on his bed while wearing shorts, a double dose of hot maleness. Love those Ryan legs.