So Chapters 7 & 8 of Fifty Shades of Grey, or as I like to call them, “The Big Reveal” and “The Most Boring Sex Scene That I Have Ever Read,” don’t have a whole lot of plagiarism in them, because, if you remember, Edward and Bella actually didn’t do it until after they were married. Even so, there is still some there.
But first, previous NAME THAT NARRATOR!!! answers:
Quote 1:
“He tucks a stray strand of my hair that has worked its way free from my ponytail behind my ear.” – Ana Steele, Fifty Shades of Grey
Quote 2:
“He pauses to catch a stray lock of hair that is escaping the twist on my neck and winds it back into place.” – Bella Swan, Twilight
So the first thing I noticed when reading Chapter 7 is the fact that it is “The Big Reveal.” How, you wonder, could this be plagiarism at all? Edward didn’t have a Red Room of Pain to show to Bella. Let’s look at the timeline, shall we… Twilight: Edward saves Bella from her would be attackers, on the next “date” they hike to the meadow (which was originally supposed to be a trip to Seattle, but sunshine), and then Edward gets “The Big Reveal” where he lets Bella see his true nature, all sparkly dazzle and super speed, super strength, and so on.
So I really feel like ELJ has a Twilight timeline hanging from her wall showing her what has to happen next. Christian saves Ana from José’s unwanted advances, on the next “date” they fly to Seattle, and then Christian gets “The Big Reveal” where he lets Ana see his true nature, all whips and chains, red leather and canes, and so on. It doesn’t matter that Red Room of Pain does not equal sparkly vampire. The point is that Edward, and by default Christian, had to have “The Big Reveal.” And of course it’s just coincidence that they happen at sequentially the same time.
And then this in the RRoP: “There is a large wooden cross like an X fastened to the wall facing the door. It’s made of high-polished mahogany,” and like everything else in the room, it’s all shackles and chains, blah blah blah. Christian Grey makes bondage sound boring, you guys.
Just sayin…
So for Chapter 8, which really is the most boring sex scene I’ve ever read, I will gift you with the Bug/Kody commentary, but first:
NAME THAT NARRATOR!!! Edward vs. Christian (because Christian still can’t stop being Edward….)
Quote 1:
“I prefer brunettes.”
Quote 2:
“I like brunettes.”
This is me trying to make it through this sex scene.
Kody: “He steps out of his Converse shoes”
I LOLed
Bug: IDGAF what brand of shoes he’s stepping out of, as they are now irrelevant.
K: “He’s so freaking hot.”
I LOLed here too
This is the first sex scene and I’m never gonna get thru it if I can’t stop laughing
B: Just don’t imagine her with an eye patch like I did.
Wait shit, now you will. Sorry.
…..
K: Backside behind backside behind…. For the love all Romance, just say ass
B: No kidding. Or even rump just to break up the monotony
….
K: “I am so wet.”
I’m just not gonna make it thru this
….
K: “Two orgasms… coming apart at the seams, like the spin cycle on a washing machine, wow.”
She has a fucking amazing washing machine.
B: I know right! I’m going to have to start importing my appliances.
K: Round 2: “You’re so wet, so quickly.” Um, you *just* had sex….
B: That happens a couple of times. No shit she’s wet. I think this guy thinks her body just shuts completely down after he’s done with it.
…..
B: You know, I’m not super appreciative that he refers to her virginity as a problem to be rectified. It’s her virginity, it’s up to her when to lose it.
K: Yeah that was kinda creepster. The only reason it didn’t totally bug me was that she was at least on board for the regular sex
B: Yeah that part at least I was cool with.
__________________________
Closing Notes:
Follow us on twitter @aka_kody @BexlyP
If you want to follow the train wreck that is 50shades to its illogical conclusion without melting your eyeballs, follow the blog of @Jenny_Trout.
If you see abuse in 50shades, or want to understand what domestic violence survivors are talking about, @EmmaTofi, @katjevanloon, and @Sageling are putting together a blogring with links to stories, articles, and other posts of interest.
You can also follow @50shadesabuse on twitter.
If you want just a regular, real world example of BDSM (not the misrepresentation of it as seen in 50shades), check out the blog of @itsjustahobby. *Not safe for work*
akaKody 
Vampires and BDSM : power to destroy mankind. Duh duh dunnnnn!
This cracked me up! —> “B: Just don’t imagine her with an eye patch like I did.
Wait shit, now you will. Sorry.” Ana will forever have an eye patch in my head, now. Thanks! 😀
I ❤ this blog. You are brilliant; please keep going!
As a writer working hard at the craft and attempting to get published, only one thing makes me madder than bad grammar, antifeminist heroines, Mary Sues, plot holes, deus ex machinas and general misogyny. And that thing is…plagiarism.
I've noticed out the more general plagiarised points of 50 Shades (the search/replace on all the character names but them still having their original Twilight personalities, for one), but I honestly never realised how much of it is word-for-word Twilight until I saw your 'guess that narrator' section! This is appalling; I cannot believe an editor let this through! I bet Meyer isn't suing because, like in the George Lucas and Christopher Paolini situation, she's only making more money from the fuss about 50 Shades being a fanfic. It's free advertising for her own series, and because 50 Shades has a different demographic it isn't even stealing her audience. So she's probably just laughing about the whole thing on the way to the bank!
SMeyer is in the US, Erica is in the UK, and the original publishing house is in Australia. If she sues now that a US company is still printing, it won’t stop the proliferation of this crap. Worst that would happen in the end is an unenforceable monetary award that spends years in appeals and Erica goes back to having the Australian company print and ship them. This whole court process would also bring a lot of negative attention to SMeyer and further tie Twilight to FSoG. Remember she is so anti-R (and higher) that she wouldn’t agree to selling film rights unless she could get it in the contract that the ratings wouldn’t be higher than PG-13 so she could watch it. I don’t think she wants to further tie her books to something so against her religion. The prudent thing to do here is to let it go.
I’m sure Meyer doesn’t want to associate with 50shades. The reason I’m keeping on with this is because there are people who keep telling me “I just don’t see it.”
Also I was accudes of plagiarizing SMeyer’s ideas and writing fanfic based solely on having a vampire, a werewolf, and a human girl. No love triangle, the werewolf is blatantly abusive, the vampire is a good guy, and an entirely different storyline in every single way. Yet vampire, werewolf, human, now means stealing from SMeyers.
Same person is a big fan of FSoG and doesn’t see the similarities and think that Erica only claimed it was fanfic after writing it to get some attention.
Okay, that’s just…..
Let’s get real here. Stephenie Meyer was not the first person to think, “hey let’s put vampires and werewolves and humans all in the same little world.” It’s kind of been going on for forever. Recent example: I’m pretty sure Underworld predates Twilight.
I read that first Name that Narrator quote 5 times trying to envision this ponytail behind her ear. At which point, I realized he’s tucking the stupid hair behind her ear. If I can’t read a sentence in a fluff book once and get it, I’m not bothering with the stupid book. Surely she could construct better sentences!
“B: That happens a couple of times. No shit she’s wet. I think this guy thinks her body just shuts completely down after he’s done with it.”
This is Christian to a T! I think we know who he voted for in the last election.
Explains why he’s so angry with her when she gets preggers.
“DAMMIT, ANA, I thought your body had ways to shut that whole thing down!”
Woo, I was correct on last post’s Name That Narrator!
My guess for this one: quote 1: Christian; quote 2: Edward.
And the Bug/Kody conversation = win.