We're nearing 2/3 of the way through the series, and Christian is still being Christian. Even as Ana agrees to marry him, he finds a way to be annoyed at her about giving him what he wants. Luckily we breeze right past that and into a sex scene, and rounding out the chapter with the reveal of Ana's final birthday present - a sexy surprise that we'll see used in the next chapter. So stay tuned to see how that goes.

Content warnings for this chapter: fear of a partner, poor sexual hygiene, jealousy/possessiveness, trauma response, child abuse/neglect mention, discussion of toxic friendships.

Stella's non-sw work: allmylinks.com/leighcartist

Stella's sw-related work: allmylinks.com/candikitten 

Find this podcast elsewhere: allmylinks.com/thecurdledpod; patreon.com/thecurdledpod

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In this, the most fillery of filler chapters that we've encountered in the series so far, Ana is worried sick about Christian going missing...until he walks in the door and drops that plot thread like last week's garbage. After a teary reunion, Ana gives Christian her answer to his marriage proposal, and you'll never guess what she says.

Content warnings for this chapter: jealousy/possessiveness, sexism, and just staggeringly bad writing.

Stella's non-sw work: allmylinks.com/leighcartist

Stella's sw-related work: allmylinks.com/candikitten 

Find this podcast elsewhere: allmylinks.com/thecurdledpod; patreon.com/thecurdledpod

Logo by Rhys Jones tearlessrainart.tumblr.com

Just gonna be a little sporadic with posting for a bit, thanks as always for staying with me through it! This chapter starts with Christian showing Ana the house that he's already decided he's going to buy for them to live in together, and ends with a cliffhanger that I'm sure will be resolved two pages into the next chapter. In between, Christian leads Ana through a semi-public scene that he did not negotiate first, and Ana finally gets to interact with some humans that are not her boyfriend. So....yay?

Content warnings for this chapter: overwhelmingly inappropriate Grand Romantic Gesture, child abuse mention, traumatized attachment in a relationship, short temper, poor consent-getting, non-negotiated public sexytimes, sexual coercion, discussion of weight, jealousy/possessiveness, pressure to marry, searching through a partner's belongings (and immediately regretting).

Stella's non-sw work: allmylinks.com/leighcartist

Stella's sw-related work: allmylinks.com/candikitten 

Find this podcast elsewhere: allmylinks.com/thecurdledpod; patreon.com/thecurdledpod

Logo by Rhys Jones tearlessrainart.tumblr.com

Oops, missed my mid-June posting date. But I'm back! In this chapter, Ana's Specialest Girl Powers™️ get her ahead at her job, and that evening they go to see Christian's therapist together. Dr. Flynn is not a great therapist, and Christian is his usual overly-controlling self throughout.

Content warnings for this chapter: control of eating habits, general controlling behavior, massive condescention, threat of interfering in a partner's career, pressure to marry, jealousy, terrible therapist, poor understanding of kink.

Stella's non-sw work: allmylinks.com/leighcartist

Stella's sw-related work: allmylinks.com/candikitten 

Find this podcast elsewhere: allmylinks.com/thecurdledpod; patreon.com/thecurdledpod

Logo by Rhys Jones tearlessrainart.tumblr.com

Ana manages to escape Jack's clutches...and of course runs right into Christian's instead. This chapter takes quite a journey, from a near miss with Ana's creepy boss, to a bit of a sex ed lesson in Christian's playroom. Because of course, we can't linger on any non-sexy plot points for too long.

Content warnings for this chapter: threats of sexual assault, physical violence, verbal abuse, alcohol mention, controlling behavior, jealousy, kinkshame, unhealthy coping mechanisms.

Stella's non-sw work: allmylinks.com/leighcartist

Stella's sw-related work: allmylinks.com/candikitten 

Find this podcast elsewhere: allmylinks.com/thecurdledpod; patreon.com/thecurdledpod

Logo by Rhys Jones tearlessrainart.tumblr.com

In classic 50 Shades fashion, this episode starts with a consent violation and ends with Ana's boss being full-on cartoon-villain creepy. He's leaving for New York without her, so he's damn well gonna take that out on her every chance he gets. And meanwhile Christian is...well, being Christian at her. This girl needs a vacation from men.

Content warnings for this chapter: consent violation/coercion, child abuse mention, pressuring into marriage, jealousy/controlling behavior, ableist language, workplace sexual harassment, sexual assault mention, discussion of abusive relationships, fundamentalist religion, patriarchal gender roles.

Stella's non-sw work: allmylinks.com/leighcartist

Stella's sw-related work: allmylinks.com/candikitten 

Find this podcast elsewhere: allmylinks.com/thecurdledpod; patreon.com/thecurdledpod

Logo by Rhys Jones tearlessrainart.tumblr.com

What does it take for Christian to actually shut up long enough for Ana to articulate a thought? Trigger him bad enough that he goes into sub mode, apparently. They do actually manage to have a bit of a conversation about all their many, many issues in this chapter...but of course, the result is far from ideal.

Content warnings for this chapter: Kinkshame, ableism, grooming mention, poor communication and consent-getting, trauma/physical abuse mention, "Mommy issues", major mischaracterizations of kink/kinksters, toxic romance tropes, toxic monogamy culture, purity culture.

Stella's non-sw work: allmylinks.com/leighcartist

Stella's sw-related work: allmylinks.com/candikitten 

Find this podcast elsewhere: allmylinks.com/thecurdledpod; patreon.com/thecurdledpod

Logo by Rhys Jones tearlessrainart.tumblr.com

Lucky chapter 13! And oh boy do I feel unlucky to be talking about this one. This one gets pretty heavy, so please do check the content warnings. Ana confronts Leila, but when Christian swoops in and uses his Dom Powers(TM) to save the day, it brings up all of Ana's insecurities about her abilities as a sub. And EL James handles it all....somehow even worse than I'd come to expect.

Content warnings for this chapter: ableism/saneism (so, so much ableism), gun, kinkshame, jealousy, monogamy-normativity, alcohol, controlling behavior, toxic levels of bad communication.

Stella's non-sw work: allmylinks.com/leighcartist

Stella's sw-related work: allmylinks.com/candikitten 

Find this podcast elsewhere: allmylinks.com/thecurdledpod; patreon.com/thecurdledpod

Logo by Rhys Jones tearlessrainart.tumblr.com

Here we go! I just wanna say thank you to everyone who stuck it out while I abandoned my podcast for a bit <3

In this chapter EL James shows her utter lack of kink knowledge (as well as utter inability to properly wrap up a plot point). Elena shows up, and brings up all sorts of negative emotions for Ana, which Christian of course does nothing to help with.

Content warnings for this chapter: cisheteropatriarchy, statutory rape mention, extremely mishandled kink scene, kinkshame, controlling behavior, poor communication, gun mention, manipulative behavior, blackmail mention, boundary crossing, punishment without pre-negotiation.

Stella's non-sw work: allmylinks.com/leighcartist

Stella's sw-related work: allmylinks.com/candikitten 

Find this podcast elsewhere: allmylinks.com/thecurdledpod; patreon.com/thecurdledpod

Logo by Rhys Jones tearlessrainart.tumblr.com

We're back! And I'm really hoping I can get my release schedule somewhat back on track this year. In this chapter Christian and Ana fight over whether it's safe for Ana to go to work while Leila is still at large, and Ana learns that bargaining with her boundaries works...unfortunately.

Content warnings for this chapter: poorly done kink, controlling behavior, heteronormativity, career sabotage, stalking, inappropriate touch, manipulation/bargaining in a relationship, possessiveness, alcohol mention, childhood trauma mention, kinkshame, discussion of possible sapphic-phobia, assault mention, misogyny/patriarchy. And a partridge in a pear tree!

Stella's non-sw work: allmylinks.com/leighcartist

Stella's sw-related work: allmylinks.com/candikitten 

Find this podcast elsewhere: allmylinks.com/thecurdledpod; patreon.com/thecurdledpod

Logo by Rhys Jones tearlessrainart.tumblr.com