Here it is folks! The rundown on Chapters 25 & 26. Included is a mini-rant from me on why Christian is such a piss poor Dom. Stay tuned next week, when I will publish 50shades of Theft, The Final Countdown.

Chapter 25, the chapter of a thousand typos. Seriously, this is the chapter that makes it clear that this book was not copy-edited AT ALL. But for the purposes of the blog, that is neither here nor there. It just really pisses me off.

Random Note & possible Plagiarism Point I become aware that once again the only empty seat is beside me. I shake my head as the thought crosses my mind that Christian might have purchased the adjacent seat so that I couldn’t talk to anyone. I dismiss the idea as ridiculous – no one could be that controlling, that jealous, surely.

No one you can think of? Not even the guy who stalks you, glares at all of your male friends, and throws a hissy when you make a phone call? Okay, whatevs…

But I can’t help but think about Twilight here, when Bella went to go visit Renee in Florida; there were two tickets for the round trip, one for Bella and one for Edward. I just feel like this had to be included, that Christian had to purchase the seat next to Ana, because I dont think EL James would have thought of this if it weren’t for Bella’s ticket having the companion ticket.

Plagiarism Point He tastes divine, hot, sexy, and his scent – all body wash and Christian is so arousing.

Hey itsrane! New Axe Body scent: “Divine, Hot, Sexy, But Not A Vampire!”

Random Note He lets go with a deep growl, and he buries his head in my neck as he buries himself inside me, groaning loudly and incoherently as he finds his release.

I was so hoping that by “he lets go” she meant that he dropped her. Damn.

Random Note “Anastasia, I wouldn’t dream of interfering in your career, unless you ask me to, of course.” He looks wounded.

Bug asks that we all remember this line as we move into books two and three…

And guess what: this eventually turns into a Plagiarism Point. So keep that in mind, dear reader.

Plagiarism Point “My friend José’s photography show is opening Thursday in Portland.”
He stills, his hands hovering over my breasts. I have emphasized the word ‘friend.’
“Yes, what about it?” he asks sternly.
“I said I would go. Do you want to come with me?”
After what feels like a monumental amount of time, he slowly starts washing me again.
“What time?”
“The opening is at 7:30 p.m.”
He kisses my ear.
“Okay.”
Inside my subconscious relaxes and then collapses, slumped into an old battered armchair.

So does everybody remember how Bella had to get permission to hang out with her friend Jacob? This.

Also, does everybody notice how she’s scared of his reaction when she asks about visiting a friend? That’s some of the domestic violence shit that we’ve been talking about.

Random Note Car, phone, computer… clothes, it’ll be a damn condo next, and then I really will be his mistress.Ho! My subconscious has her snarky face on. I ignore her and make my way upstairs toward my room so, it is still mine… why? I thought he’d agreed to let me sleep with him. I suppose he’s not used to sharing his personal space, but then, neither am I. I console myself with the thought that at least I have somewhere to escape from him.
[…]
Examining the door, I find that it has a lock but no key. I wonder briefly if Mrs. Jones has a spare. I’ll ask her.

Notice the wording here. She doesn’t say that she needs a seperate place for some privacy, she specifically says that the room will be a place to “escape” him. This is a problem.

Random Note Closing my eyes, I try to calm myself down, to connect with my inner sub. She’s there somewhere, hiding behind my inner goddess.

We’re waiting for all the voices in Ana’s head to start having a dance party.

Nope Nope Nope  I have to man up and take whatever he decides he wants, whatever he thinks he needs.

lol wut? Okay. A musical interlude, not what I was expecting. Does he ever do what I expect? Jeez, I hope it’s not rap.

Her main concern is that it not be rap..?

Bore us to tears… “It’s called Spem In Alium, or the Forty Part Motet, by Thomas Tallis.”
“It was… overwhelming.”

It was boring. Really. I looked it up. This is not the song to get down to.

Chapter 26

Plagiarism Point He’s concentrating, playing beautifully, lost in the melancholy of the music.

I’m going to go ahead and call it: Edward trumps Christian when it comes to the piano. Why? Because Christian is obsessed with name-dropping famous composers to show how smart and refined he is, while Edward actually writes his own music.

Hold on a second here “Only you would start a course of time-specific birth control pills in a different time zone. Perhaps you should wait half an hour and then another half hour tomorrow morning. So s eventually you can take them at a reasonable time.”

Did Christian just make a reasonable and intelligent suggestion? I don’t know how to handle that.

Plagiarism Point “Besides, we’ve been in the playroom twice now, and you haven’t run screaming for the hills.”

Oh Edward, always waiting for the running and screaming from Bella.

Plagiarism Point “I have been in danger since I met you, Mr. Grey, rules or no rules.”
“Yes you have.” He pauses, and his brow furrows slightly.

See Edward: “Your number was up the first time I met you.”

The fuck, girl? “Well… no,” I reassure him. Jeez – that’s how he feels about people touching him? “No. I feel ambivalent about it. I don’t like it, but I don’t hate it.”

Uh no, you do hate it. You keep thinking how much you hate it. Don’t back track now to spare his fragile feelings.

Random Note “Show me,” I whisper.
“Show you?”
“Show me how much it can hurt.”
“What?”
“Punish me. I want to know how bad it can get.”
Christian steps back away from me, completely confused.
“You would try?”
“Yes. I said I would.” But I have an ulterior motive. If I do this for him, maybe he will let me touch him.

Okay let’s be clear here. She is giving him her consent, but we all know that she doesn’t really understand “punishment” vs punishment. This will be important after this next scene when she realizes just how much punishment upsets her.

Random Note “Five.” My voice is more a choked, strangled sob, and in this moment, I think I hate him. One more, I can do one more. My backside feels as if it’s on fire.
“Six,” I whisper as the blistering pain cuts across me again, and I hear him drop the belt behind me, and he’s pulling me into his arms, all breathless and compassionate… and I want none of him.
“Let go… no… ” And I find myself struggling out his grasp, pushing him away. Fighting him.
“Don’t touch me!” I hiss. I straighten and stare at him, and he’s watching me as if I might bolt, gray eyes wide, bemused. I dash the tears angrily out of my eyes with the backs of my hands, glaring at him.
“This is what you really like? Me, like this?” I use the sleeve of the bathrobe to wipe my nose.
He gazes at me warily.
“Well, you are one fucked-up son of a bitch.”
“Ana,” he pleads, shocked.
“Don’t you dare, Ana me! You need to sort your shit out, Grey!” And with that, I turn stiffly, and I walk out of the playroom, closing the door quietly behind me.

This is one of those areas where people like to defend that the book is not abuse, it’s BDSM and in this instance I have to agree. I agree here because when I mention abuse in this book, I’m talking about his control, his emotional manipulation, his use of threats and inciting fear outside of BDSM context, his stalking, the way he isolates her from her friends, etc…The real problem with this specific scene is that he has not helped a novice understand what she is getting into. He is diving into this headlong based on her assertion that she can handle it even though she has never attempted anything so severe. This is another one of the big problems that I have with this book, because, as I said, in this specific instance this is not necessarily abuse, but it is BDSM play gone far wrong. This is Christian claiming to be an experienced Dom, and then doing everything an experienced Dom would NOT do. This scene gives readers the idea that you can suddenly jump from being a novice to going into a full fledged punishment scenario with no lead up, no practice, and no experience. Adding to this problem, readers aren’t just taking this as fiction, they are taking this as a manual, in much the way EL James has been marketing it. And as a direct result of this, people in real life are getting hurt and have no recourse because “they gave consent.”

Random Note Oh, his distraught look as I left. I was so cruel, so shocked by the savagery… will he forgive me… will I forgive him?

Plagiarism Point “You’re right. I should let you go. I am no good for you.”

and:

“No,” he breathes as if I’ve knocked the wind out of him.
Oh no.
“You can’t love me, Ana. No… that’s wrong.” He’s horrified.

…..says Edward to Bella..

Plagiarism Point I fall onto my bed, shoes and all, and howl. The pain is indescribable… physical, mental… metaphysical… it is everywhere, seeping into the marrow of my bones. 

__________________________
Closing Notes:

Follow us on twitter   @aka_kody   @BexlyP

Other good follows:

@Jenny_Trout and her blog, Sweaters for Days,  where you can follow the train wreck that is 50shades to its illogical conclusion without melting your eyeballs.

@EmmaTofi, @katjevanloon, and @Sageling and the Fifty Shades is Abuse Blogring with links to stories, articles, and other posts of interest.

@50shadesabuse

@itsjustahobby  and the blog It’s Just a Hobby which she posts in tandem with her Dom, shows a regular, real world example of BDSM (not the misrepresentation of it as seen in 50shades). *Not safe for work*

The History of BDSM has put together The Curious Kinky Person’s Guide to Fifty Shades of Grey in which a person 20 years in the scene gives a rundown of how 50shades measures up.

The big-ass BDSM disclaimer that nobody bothers to read: THIS PART IS IMPORTANT!!! When Bug or I (or many of the people who comment on this blog) talk about abuse, domestic abuse, or domestic violence in regards to Fifty Shades of Grey, WE ARE NOT TALKING ABOUT THE BDSM ASPECTS. We have repeated this ad nauseum, yet still hear the “you just don’t understand BDSM” arguments. We aren’t talking about that. We are talking about Christian’s manipulation of Ana (emotional, mental, psychological, etc… examples are the “I’m fucked up, and you are the only one who can fix me” spiel), the way Christian assumes 24/7 control and overrides Ana’s choices and decisions (even though Ana agrees to being his sub ONLY on the weekends; this control continues even after Christian declares that they will have a “normal” relationship), Christian’s use of alcohol to coerce Ana’s consent, Christian’s habit of stalking Ana even when she asks him for personal space, the fact that Christian isolates Ana away from her friends, the way he punishes her (be it the initial spanking that she was arguably not okay with, or the honeymoon bruising to make her too ashamed to sunbathe, which she was clearly not okay with), and so many other things wrong with his treatment of her, but also this really important fact: SHE IS TERRIFIED OF HIM AND HIS REACTIONS, AND CENSORS HER OWN WORDS AND ACTIONS BECAUSE SHE IS SCARED SHITLESS OF WHAT HE WILL DO TO HER IF SHE ACCIDENTALLY MAKES HIM ANGRY. And if your argument is “we don’t know that she’s scared,” well stop right there, because in the text, in her incessant inner monologue, she says as much, many, many times.