I think I was more so attracted to Edward’s view of Bella. He walked the earth for a hundred years and never once found someone he wanted to be with before her. I mean also let’s be real he’s invincible, has money and cars, and is super smart. He’s a total catch.

I know some argue that he’s too old for her but Stephanie Meyers did write her vampire lore to intend the age you freeze as the mental state you keep. So that’s why the baby vampires were so problematic. They remained in the mental state of babies. He’s technically still 17 in his mind.

Very interesting theory you made though. I didn’t empathize with the reasons for liking Edward and I wrote mine out above. Buuut I did have a friend obsessed with Jacob and her parents were so up her ass and strict to the point of Cinderella-dom. You could be on to something for some people!

I think I gravitate towards Jacob because he effortlessly understood Bella. I guess I always wanted someone to get me like that after a lifetime of being misunderstood. I also appreciated him supporting her while she put her pieces back together in new moon. The depressed girl in me liked that he loved her even while she was broken.

I disagree that jacob was “content to let bella make her own choices and wasn’t overly concerned with her day to day choices or safety.” I feel like he was actually pretty controlling. or, trying to be. bella just wouldn’t listen.

that being said, I think both boys are toxic as hell and everyone kind of just sucks but I liked jacob better because he had more of a free spirit. he went out and did things more and had more charisma. i’m very depressed personally and I think edward would just bring me down. I need someone to lift me up and take me on adventures and cliff diving and motorcycling and camping & shit.

not to mention i’m always cold and would love an always warm boyfriend

I was always Team Jacob and I think it’s because as a teenager I saw Edward as a gloomy old man lol. Bella described Jacob kind of like sunshine and I always thought that would be really nice to have around as sometimes I get pretty down in the dumps. Edward and I would drag each other down more than likely (if I hadn’t already left him for being too over protective!). Also I think Jacob has a good sense of humor and is adventurous.

I always thought the team Edward/team Jacob dilemma was weird. Bella never expressed any interest toward Jacob. That's it. Bella was in love with Edward, so that was who I wanted her to end up with.

In other news, I'm on the aromantic spectrum, and I would vastly prefer a Jacob-esque friendship. I miss my super close friends.

Jacob was smothering. But that’s very classic behavior from a 16 year old boy falling in love for the first time. Not justifying his behavior but SM nailed it on how she wrote him. Edward on the other hand has almost 100 more of life and wisdom to him so he was a lot more selfless towards Bella.

Okay so here’s a breakdown of why I am lenient on Jacob in this case, and these are all mostly opinions of course so feel free to discuss BUT

Jacob wasn’t smothering and broody and aggressive until he phased for the first time. Before he shifted, he was warm and gentle, playful and considerate of Bella’s depression. He was her absolute best friend. He didn’t hide his feelings for her and he was confident that if she could get over Edward that she would fall in love with him too but he wasn’t wrong - it didn’t even take her getting over Edward, she fell in love with Jacob anyways. Bella felt so comfortable and safe and with him that she called him her personal sun. It wasn’t just that he was there for her one time when she needed it, it was that he would’ve always been there for her if she needed it.

And then he phases. And this hormonal teenage boy turns into an abnormally hormonal spiritual being who can’t control his emotions and can’t control his body and has a literal evolutional and hereditary fear and disdain and murderous rage toward vampires. To the point where even the smell of them is so disgusting that it burns his nose and gives him headaches. And the girl he loves is in love with his mortal enemy. And wants to become one. This fate is literally worse than death to him.

Like he sucks and his behavior sucks but it is so on par with his age and overall who he is and what he’s going through and what he is going through SUCKS. And I just feel so much for him. If it wasn’t for Edward and the existence of vampires he wouldn’t have become a wolf and would’ve ended up with Bella. I agree that she deserves better than alla that but don’t blame him for not being able to keep it all together.

Try telling this to the Jacob lovers. I haven't read the books in a while but to be fair, in the movies, Bella does lead Jacob on too. You can't have your cake and eat it too. Drop Jacob, stop trying to keep him around.

jacob is so pushy, he doesn’t understand no, he makes me uncomfortable in the movies with how he thinks bella is his object and he somehow knows what’s good for her just because he loves her. i think he’s a weirdo truly, i accept my downvote fate 💀

Friends to lovers is my favorite trope so for that reason alone I like Jacob

Team Emmett 😂

Team Edward. I admire his many skills, intelligence, experience. I also find it appealing how protective he is and that he is really looking after Bella. Of course, I still recognise his many flaws. I couldn't imagine my husband doing some things that Edward did, he was a real creep every now and then, he was also quite bossy. Yet, when it comes to the fictional character, I'm all team Edward

team edward! edward has done very questionable things but he really does care for bella and has so much anxiety over her. when he’s not doing harmful things to bella (like leaving her 🙄), he’s a genuinely nice person. jacob, on the other hand, literally kissed bella without her permission AND THEN gaslit her to ask him to kiss her so he wouldn’t kill himself… he’s also very bratty and annoying. he also constantly reminded edward of the events of new moon and would get so angry about bella’s decisions about her relationship with edward. he is funny though in the books LMAO.

I know I'm shallow for saying this but Jacob 🤤🤤🤤🤤🤤🤤🤤🤤😍😍. I find Edward annoying tbh he's constantly always following Bella and spends waaaaaay to much time with her and her dating a Cullen made her father constantly worried about her safety

DISAGREE! Edward is far superior to Jacob. And how could you say that Edward wanted to kill himself for no reason?! He wanted to commit because he genuinely did not want to live in a world where Bella doesn't exist. And you are literally blind if you say Edward is more of a dick than Jacob. Jacob ASSAULTED Bella. He manipulated her into asking him to kiss her, by threatening to sacrifice himself in battle!! Who TF does that!?! Not to mention Jacob threw a tantrum at Bella and Edward's wedding, about something that really was not any of his business. And, the only reason Jacob looked sad, was because Bella was not choosing him. She said it before, and that is why was sad. He also stopped talking to Bella, as a petty thing, just because Bella did not choose him. As you can see I cannot stand Jacob. But, I am not saying that Edward doesn't have his faults. He obviously does. But above all, Edward actually put Bella's safety before anything else. But...I will say that after reading Midnight Sun, Edward is more of a dick because of what happens in the end. I won't give spoilers.

Jacob just has too much incel energy for me. I absolutely cannot stand his character. So many scenes in the books he acts like he's entitled to Bella, romantically and physically.

I feel the movies didn’t really show her feelings all that well. In the books, she constantly tells him she will never love him in a romantic way, and that she can only love him like a brother. He knew that and kept pushing and pushing it. I always hated their relationship together because I didn’t like how Jacob refused to respect her boundaries.

I don’t really still. Everything else that’s commonly brought up a lot aside, Jacob has direct conversations with Edward and then Bella late in Eclipse where he’s outright talking about and admitting his continuing efforts to play off of Bella’s unnecessary guilt to manipulate her to try and get her. He’s very clear that his whole goal along the process is to manipulate her into being in a relationship with him, and then at the end of Eclipse when he learns that Edward wasn’t furious and didn’t unload on her for kissing Jacob, he’s going on about how he’d counted on Edward reacting badly and how Edward’s “better at the game” than Jacob is cause he’s older.

It’s all a game to him, and in his world, Edward and Jacob were the players with Bella as the trophy, a trophy he cares a lot about but still a trophy. He literally can’t even get the concept that Edward wouldn’t hurt him, because it would hurt Bella, and that Edward would accept her choice if she chose Jacob. Jacob is not a particularly good guy frankly, and that’s my perspective as a dude.

breaking dawn jacob is the WORST. “moronic wolfy claim” is apt. if i was a mother i would not let him anywhere near my daughter ������

I’ve never held to the concept of “All’s fair in love and war,” pretty much by definition. Just not how I work. Eh, pretty sure Jacob at 30 would be the same guy in broad strokes. People in general frequently overestimate how much other people change in personality when they get older.

Esme is the mother because she's Carlisle's mate and he's the father.

Bella gets a full face of makeup because vampires are supposed to be unnaturally beautiful and there aren't many ways to depict that besides fully doing hair and makeup.

Bella has an unheard of ability to control her newborn urges, which they've established by the time she's around Charlie.

Bella doesn't choose Jacob because she never at any point loves Jacob romantically. She considers that she COULD if given time, but never considers him over Edward. She always loves him platonically. Jacob is just a dick about it the whole time, and I never understood how anyone could be rooting for movie Jake who can't take no for an answer.

😂😂 some of that made me laugh, they’re pretty true. Esme is biologically older, at 26, while Edward is 17 forever. That should be sibling age, really, but eh that’s how the Cullens work. Also, movie dramatics. The books have actually a little more chill, but film adaptations have to make things big and dramatic, or people might find a lot of conversational scenes uninteresting. Would have added more from the books, but the film has some details I love e.g. the biology teacher in the film is way cooler than in the book 🧅🏆

Bella was wearing makeup bc she was transformed into a vampire lol the vampires are supposed to be supernaturally beautiful. But the actors are just human, so there’s no way to “transform” bella without makeup.

Edward is older than Esme. She’s not his biological mom lol. She lost her child when she was human, that’s how Carlisle found her, bc she attempted suicide and jumped off a cliff. She was 26 when it happened. Carlisle was 23. Edward was 17, Alice was 19, Rosalie was 18 I think. I’m not sure about the others. Esme wasn’t always his “mom,” when Rosalie was joined the family, Edward was supposed to be her younger brother. But Esme always had a motherly vibe about her, and that was the dynamic that developed over time. Same thing with Carlise as the paternal figure since he is their creator.

Bella didn’t choose Jacob bc she was in love with Edward, not Jacob. He was more a friend when she needed him but Edward always had her heart.

This all makes more sense when you read the books. But I agree with you that the acting was awkward, especially in the first two movies, and especially with Bella and Edward. Bella is supposed to be awkward and quirky, but she’s also funny and sarcastic. In the movies she’s only portrayed as painfully awkward and serious. Edward is also funny sometimes, I like their banter, but he’s also meant to be really intense and that’s also the only part you see of him in the movies.

Kristen played a lot of characters like that when she was young tho. Like in Adventure Land, speak, The messengers. The hair flip, lip biting and stuff, she did that in interviews back then too

I can only answer one question, the reason she chose Edward was because of the maturity level between Edward and Jacob. Plus she never truly saw Jacob in a romantic light

So, they’re both human? I think it depends on the circumstance here. Edward pre-transformation and Jacob pre-transformation? Jacob definitely. The modern health standards alone and access to good fuels give him the win. But if they were both somehow stripped of their supernatural abilities in the canon story, then most likely Edward. He’s one hundred years old, and in that time he has been honing the skills of taking down several large animals weekly. Sure he doesn’t have super strength or speed anymore, but his battle IQ would easily crush Jacob’s.

Depends, because prior to becoming a wolf, Jacob wasn’t nearly as ripped. Think it would be pretty even

Well Edward would be like 100 years old so I’m voting for Jacob 😂

Why fight when they can kiss. The eclipse tent scene speaks for itself.

I vote for Edward obviously 😊

jacob before he turned into a werewolf was the BEST DUDE EVER, but to extend the plot meyer made him into the devil stg. jacob was just supposed to be a side character for the first book, nobody important but Meyer got a book deal to make 3 more books after book 1 and made jacob into the worst mf ever- its so upsetting, long hair jacob was so sweet and everything. its not that I hate jacob because I love edward (though i do love edward) its more of I hate jacob because he was turned into such a bitch.

I’m so against the sparkle jokes. So many of those were rooted in just blatant homophobia and toxic masculinity.

That said, a lot of people do like jacob better. Search the sub and there are a good number of posts about it!

Hard nope for me. I’d be good with Jacob disappearing after book 1.

Yes just you

I love New Moon Jacob but ultimately am still team Edward. Jacob after New Moon just becomes so hard to like as a character.

Completely agree Jacob has a cool werewolf power but hes an ass, Bella never made her own decisions without him getting in the way.

I was always Team Jacob despite knowing Edward was final from beginning. Jacob when not acting his actual age which is a young hormonal teenager with werewolf emotional issues on top of it was always pretty sensible. Bella’s perfect outcome was not realistic though I did enjoy reading it regardless. And I don’t really hold his mistakes against him that harshly. For one he’s a book character and I find the idea of attaching real world problems to a fictional fantasy character(a werewolf) of all things ridiculous. And if we were going to do that given Jacobs change and timeskip that would imply years of changed positive behavior; to still see him as trash over a kiss without consent seems extreme if he has years of good behavior after which the whole imprinting thing guarantees. Not to mention Edward displays just as many toxic traits but the only redeeming factor is at least Bella chooses his toxicity. Which a woman’s choice is always important even if Edward was the one usually always disregarding her self agency.

Edward and Bella. Jacob was never even a real option in Bella’s eyes. Even when she says she loves him, she loves Edward more. And Jacob is an ass who sexually assaults Bella and then manipulates her into kissing him by threatening to kill himself. That’s a very common abusive tactic to keep people in relationships. Some argue Edward did the same, but Bella didn’t know about that. She found out through Alice but Edward 100% thought she was dead. Even after Bella’s change, Jacob manipulates all of the Cullens into staying in Forks by showing Charlie he’s a werewolf, which could have given him a heart attack or smthg, as Bella points out. All his love is selfish. Even him not wanting Bella to be a vampire is selfish. It does ‘t matter what he thinks. It’s what she wants.

Edward had his flaws. He was way too controlling and kept info from Bella a lot. I don’t think it’s okay he tried to keep Bella in the dark about how vampires change or when Victoria was around. It was 100% not okay that he broke her truck so she couldn’t see Jacob. Him wanting Bella to have an abortion is slightly more understandable given that it may actually kill her and they know nothing about it, but it still warranted at least a conversation instead of commands. But ultimately, Edward learned to respect Bella’s opinions more and changed. And he never sexually assaulted her, so… there’s that too.

Bella and Edward hands down. Bella and Jacob were never meant to be together to begin with. Jacob exists because Edward couldn’t get himself to say "I'm a vampire" (Stephenie Meyer's words, not mine!).

Before New Moon and Eclipse happened, there was "Forever Dawn" which has never been published for multiple reasons. Breaking Dawn is an altered version of it, both the wedding and the pregnancy happened, but Jacob and the whole wolf pack don’t play a big role. Bella and Jacob never got as close as they did in the ultimate series and Jacob only met Renesmee and imprinted on her much later. Jacob was never an actual option for Bella, as it all went down to her being forever bound to Edward. He was there for Bella to see the human life she could have had instead, to see what she’d give up.

Aside from all that, Bella and Jacob don’t have a romantic chemistry for me personally. Not even in a world in which the supernatural never happened I could see them together. As best friends, absolutely! But not as a couple. I think Jacob comes on too strong for Bella's character.