Official Description: Isabella Swan is finally ready to face her past. That is, of course, until she winds up sitting next to it on an airplane. A lot can change over a decade—goals, careers, aspirations, locations. Love? Extended as a FGB piece for Elizabeth440.
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When Caren asked me to do write up a rec for ‘Fall to Ruin One Day’ (okay, that is not entirely true. I told Caren to tell Kass that I WANTED to write the rec when it came up on ‘Fictionators’) I was so excited. I’ve written two other rec’s on here before and both of those fic’s have gone down as two of my most favorite. I’m thinking that, ‘Fall to Ruin One Day’ by sleepyvalentina will be added to the list of mine too. Recommended and Most Favorite.
‘Fall to Ruin One Day’ comes to us from author, sleepyvalentina, the author who brought us ‘Art After 5′,’Counterpoint’ and several other loved and well-received fic’s. She slipped by my radar with her previous fics, but when I saw several people talking about ‘Fall to Ruin One Day,’ I had to take a peek. And oh my heart…I had no idea what I was in for.
The story begins with Bella at O’Hare airport in Chicago, leaving her home, to visit her best friend and former college roommate Alice in Washington D.C. We know from Bella’s thought process at the airport it has been ten years since she’s seen her best friend. We also learn the reason for her long absence has to do a with a man still connected to Alice. As fate would have it, Edward Cullen, the man she has spent a decade trying to get over, is on the same flight. The awkward first exchange gives way to just how palpable Bella’s pain toward him is…
Fifty feet away from me might stand a man with lips I’d kissed and a body I’d clung to in my sleep, but that’s where all similarity ends. As much as I want to believe otherwise, I’m not breathing the same air as the man I love, whom I’d spent the past ten years missing beyond all reason; I’m merely occupying the same space as his ghost.
They are seated next to each other on the plane, a covert move on Edward’s part after seeing Bella at the airport, and the first exchange they’ve had in years commences. We see Bella fight through a range of emotions during the conversation, most of which revolves around pleasantries and ‘what have you been up to?’ talk. He is fulfilling his dream as a U.S. Senator and she is a Sommelier at a swanky Chicago restaurant. It all seems very nicey-nice at first but, the underlying current, the deeply wounded words they share at times let us know this was breakup of emotional devastation.
The rest of the story so far is following a present day scene along with a past flashback. We see how their relationship began with an innocent flirtation between Bella, who was crushing on Alice’s older brother, Edward. When Bella has no place to go during a week’s long Thanksgiving break from school, she’s invited to stay with Edward at his home. Almost immediately, there is an intense attraction that gives way to undeniable physical attraction. Although Bella is inexperienced, she knows there is more to what she is feeling besides what he is just doing to her body.
His kiss has a rhythm that my hips take it upon themselves to replicate. My shirt rides up and exposes my underwear, and the next thing I know, I’m on on my back. He’s on top of me with his tongue in my mouth, his hands in my hair, and his hips between my legs. It doesn’t matter that he’s wearing pajama pants and I’m wearing underwear, I can feel that part of him against that part of me. Though he’s physically closer to me than anyone has ever been, it’s not close enough. I wonder if any such thing exists. I think about this long after he’s fallen asleep with his arms wrapped tightly around my waist. Something tells me I could have him inside me, and I’d want him to be even closer.
Make no mistake, this story isn’t pure smut. The lovin is hotter than hot, yes, but there is so much more going on. It’s not quite talked about yet, but we can tell by where they are in present day, that this relationship progressed much further than the physical, and for an extended period of time. This is what makes this fic so good. For anyone who can relate, having that one intense, immediate and life-changing relationship that maybe didn’t make much sense, couldn’t be explained, is the one that changes us forever. Then one day when it ends, we spend years trying to make ourselves feel whole again. We may never get there. That person can come back into our lives, much like Edward did with Bella, and you are right back where you were years ago. All the same feelings with the only difference being years of separation and a breakup you have questioned for years.
At one point I tweeted, “Bella…You are so stupid! I’d do the exact same thing though.” She may be stupid to be entertaining the thought of allowing him back in her life after such a debilitating breakup, but I ask you, if faced with that one person, the one person was your Edward, could you say ‘No?’ It’s why canon Bella couldn’t, and my suspicion is FtROD won’t either.
Sleepvalentina’s writing is real and honest. Her Bella is one of the most refreshing one’s I’ve read in a very long time. There is a very fine line between writing a naive, inexperienced, but smart Bella and writing a naive, inexperienced, but dumbass Bella. Bella can be young and slightly immature without being stupid. Unfortunately many fic writers can’t find this balance, but Sleepyvalentina does is brilliantly. Bella is intelligent, goofy and often misplaces her ‘think-before-speak’ filter, but these are things that makes her so endearing. It’s the exact reason Edward falls in love with her. And while we are on the subject of Edward, he is solidly placed. He is very smart, very focused and very intense. He wants Bella, and he goes after her without regard. While some may view this as dickheaded move considering her age and experience level, it’s written in such a way that there is such a painful honesty behind his take-charge attitude. Again, I suspect, this clash of personalities will prove to be an issue in the future, but I would expect nothing less. This story shows us a candor that is both equally lovely and painful…just like real life.
And oh my…this story updated just as I was writing this. Did I mention that she updates frequently? At least once a week? I didn’t? Well, she does.
So, yes, run and read ‘Fall to Ruin One Day.’ It will suck you in and you’ll never look back. Plus, I met Sleepyval at ComicCon this year and she seemed like a sweetheart to boot. What more can you ask for?
I’ve been a longtime fan of sleepyvalentina‘s work, and though I’ve loved everything of hers I’ve read – I have to say, this one’s my favorite.
I’d even go as far to say it’s quickly earned a spot in my top five fics of all time.
sleepyvalentina has created characters that are real and raw. The tension and emotion she manages to convey with so few words literally jumps off the screen. Almost every chapter has the power to send me from either extreme tummy flutters to epic heartclenches to tears in the blink of an eye.
The story begins with a flashback to 1999, when a much younger Bella finds herself at the airport seeking to start a new life. We find out very soon the reason for this…
As I make my way to the ticket counter, I can’t help my awareness that it is the first day of the rest of my life—a life without Edward Cullen.
In every chapter that follows, we get a glimpse at the past, a snippet of the future, or both. And after ten very long years, Bella has finally decided to return home to visit friends for the Thanksgiving holiday. To say she’s unprepared for what she finds before she can even leave her new home state of Illinois would be an understatement. She’s unprepared to deal with her past so quickly colliding with her future, but she handles it well – on the outside at least.
“Hello, Isabella,” he says as he slides into the seat beside me.
His smile makes me weak, and if there was any question as to why I’d put so much effort into avoiding him over the past ten years, I now have my answer. His affectation of formality notwithstanding; in his presence, I lose myself.
I acknowledge him with a curt nod and respond to the tone of his greeting in kind. “Senator Cullen.”
With the progression of each chapter, we get to experience first love and the way it can take hold of us like no other. Along with this now being on of my favorite stories of all time, I have to say this Bella is probably one of my favorites too. I absolutely love the innocence of her younger self and her inability to filter absolutely anything from Edward and his oh-so-bubbly butt.
His back is to me as he pulls a pair of boxers out of the top drawer. I don’t know what he does with his towel; I just know one minute it’s covering his ass, and the next it isn’t. I think his butt cheeks might be like the sun—that I’ll go blind if I look at them directly—but I can’t help myself; they’re too perfect. Then he steps into his boxers and I get a glimpse of something even more fascinating than his ass crack. There, dangling between his thighs, I see the back of his ball sack.
“Doesn’t that get in the way?”
He pulls on his boxers creating what I can only describe as a total eclipse of the ass. When he turns to face me, he’s laughing.
I squeeze my eyes closed and scrunch up my face. “I said that out loud, didn’t I?”
“Yes, you did,” he says. “And no, it doesn’t.”
“I can’t believe it,” I mutter under my breath.
“Why? I’ve been working with it my whole life; I’m used to it.”
“I meant I can’t believe I said that.”
There’s laughter in his voice. “I can.”
In the future, we get to see how much she’s changed and grown. She’s older, wiser and much less naïve than she was in the past. Though, she may be just a tad more jaded… I fistpump hard seeing how strong she’s become, because something tells me she’s going to need that strength in the future to overcome what’s about to happen. Not just with her return home, but learning the truth about what’s happened since she’s been gone.
Like I said before, every chapter is a rollercoaster of emotions and you’d be crazy not to jump on the ride. It’s worth it, trust me. If you haven’t already, go check out this story so I have more people to discuss it with!
(Yeah, I’ll forgive you for cheating on me and Fictionating with someone else, Mel…)
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