Official Description: Bella prefers the virtual to the actual, but feels herself being tugged from the safety of her online realm into the world of a rough edged Edward. This time she’ll write her own story. Collab with astilbe13 AH/AU

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So, earlier this week I was sitting in my chair, lurking around twitter and I saw Kassiah ask if anybody read Paper Cutouts, and I literally bounced up and down because heck yeah I do and I love it. Epically. I’ve been getting the alerts since twistedcoincidence and astilbe13 started posting at the end of May, but I only started reading it this past Saturday, and I read the entire thing in one sitting. Their storyline has completely sucked me in and I am consumed by the characters they have created; one who I can relate to and one who I wanted to, ahem, ‘relate’ with.

Bella is stuck in a dead end job as a *whispers* telemarketer, living a safe and predictable life with her online friends until the fateful day she looks out her window and sees a story written on skin. Suddenly she wishes she her own story had more excitement and wishes she were braver…until she remembers that she’s safe being mundane. Still, the spark has been lit. Edward is a bartender, keeper of the secrets and desires of his regulars and if you ask me, he’s one of the hottest ‘wards’ to come into the fandom in a long time. He is laid back, a bit on the touchy-feely side and most definitely flirtatious, he also totally has Bella’s number from the moment they meet. He knows how to push her buttons, and no that is not a metaphor, at least not yet. At first glance they appear to be complete and total opposites, but peel away the layers, get underneath the surface and you see that both have need to be noticed, the need to belong. To something, to someone, to anything.

Edward is playful, Bella is awkward and they are most definitely attracted to the each other, but that’s where the ever-present lack of communication sets in, but not like you might expect. There is no friendship first or interwoven past to interfere, just an unmistakable attraction between two people. While neither of them secretly pines for the other, they are worlds apart in how they handle their growing relationship. Bella just isn’t sure what to do with it or how to read him. She fascinates him, but she doesn’t realize it; He flusters and frustrates – ‘flustrates’ if you will – her and he loves it.

“You want my shit so badly girl,” he smirks. My mouth falls open. This seems to only amuse him more. I shake my head and try to gather my senses back to me. A deep breath through my mouth and it feels fury. Oh everything holy and sweet. I grasp my hand over my own mouth and dart my eyes around. My purse is sitting in a chair in the corner and I glare at him as I crawl off the bed. It’s an enormous bed. And obviously much more comfortable than a futon, but that’s beside the point. I hit a stuffed bear at the end and look back at him and he shrugs offering no explanation.

“You are so….so…..” I can’t even find the words as I dig through my purse. My hand grasps my toothbrush and I pull it out clutching it to my chest. I glance back at the laughing man on the bed and he points towards a door. I march through it and slam it behind me for good measure.

Once inside my heart goes into overdrive. What is going on here? This is not part of my story. Things go along slowly, steadily, mind numbingly for me. Bumps like this are avoided. But when you wander into strange bars looking for men who shouldn’t attract you, everything apparently goes to hell. I turn on the faucet and stick my toothbrush under. I hesitate before using his toothpaste, but my oral hygiene wins out.

Ungh, their whole dynamic is delicious and I can NOT get enough of these two. I am dying to know what’s going to happen and while I tried to get some answers from twistedcoincidence, she’s making me wait. Le sigh.

I’ve loved everything twistedcoincidence has written, so it was not surprise to me that I am digging her collaboration with astilbe13. They update regularly, they’ve written ahead, and did I mention that Edward is simply yummy, ‘cause he is. Now, add all that to the brilliant back and forth, the UST and the overall chemistry between Edward and Bella and Paper Cutouts becomes a definite must read and one I can promise you won’t regret.

So yeah, I don’t pay much attention to shit because earlier this week, I saw Kass tweeting about this and I’m all “Ooh, I’ll check it out!” — then I realized it was on our list for this week. So yay! And let me just say, after spending my entire night reading: I am absolutely in love with this story. What could be better than a stronger-than-she-thinks Bella and a tattooed Daddyward with not only the most adorable son, but a cocky flare and a good sense of humor. Oh, and one with a love for kissing, back scratching (who knew that could be so freaking hot?) and oreo’s.

Not much!

Bella is a telemarketer with a degree in art history, desperate for something. To start her story. She spends her days on the phone selling pills that she claims don’t work—to women who believe they are magical—and her nights attached to her laptop. Until one day… she notices something. Someone. She’s intrigued and curious by the tattooed man who appears outside the bar across the street from her office window. She takes a huge step, deciding to do something other than spend her evening on Facebook and goes to the bar across the street.

Only… It doesn’t go so hot. She ends up being carded—by him—and somehow ends up banging her head on the bar. Lucky for her that his dog likes boobs, because after she runs away—they seem to find each other again.

“Sorry about Walt, he likes boobs,” he states. Seriously? That’s his apology. I shake my head and rip my other ear bud out.

“Your dog likes boobs? How would you even know that? Do you let him watch porn? God that’s wrong,” I reply.

After he invites her back to the bar… and serves her a few pink pussies, I mean ‘La Bella’s’ she’s feeling good and starts to talk up one of the regulars. Harold.

“Why’re you talkin’ to me when you’ve got a pretty girl sittin’ right here wanting to talk to you?” he asks with a shake of his head. “I swear to god, you’ve got no skill, Edward.”

Edward refuses to let her go home alone after all of the drinking she’s done, and insists on her sleeping at his house.

“I haven’t had a sleepover since the 7th grade and I hated it. They froze my bra and wrote on my face with lipstick,” she says and frowns up at me.

I smooth her hair back off of her face. “The only thing I’ll ever do with your bra is take it off of you,” I say with a small smile and kiss her cheek.

We learn that Edward is a single father who owns a bar. Much of his story remains a secret, but there a little things that he lets loose as the chapters progress. And it will only make you love him more.

I’m not a serious relationship type of person. I’ve got Finn, my parents, and Emmett and that’s where any and all long term relationships stop.

But I want this fucking girl around all the time. Literally. It’s so bizarre.

And Finn? (Who Edward refers to as Huck) – his three year old son… Absolutely ADORABLE. Seriously I just want to hug this kid and read him Harry Potter forever.

“Okay. I hafta say bye to Walt.” He pulls his hand from mine and walks over to where Walt is now lapping up water noisily. Finn puts his hand on Walt’s head and pats him. “We’re going to get dinner, Walt. Don’t be afraid by yourself.” Then he leans down and kisses the dog right on top of his head. “I love you. See you soon.”

Edward takes a HUGE chance, introducing Bella to Finn. And their relationship begins to progress even further, almost a whole month of seeing each other every day… and they’re getting really close. In not only emotional, but uhm, physical ways… You should know by now that I have a weakness for the dry hump… sigh.

“Right there girl,” he pants near my ear and I swallow thickly. The knots in my stomach argue whether they are from shock or the need to uncoil slowly. His hands knead my boobs again and I bite the inside of my cheek to fight the moan that wants to pour out from me. I clench my eyes shut and fight off the need to push back again.

Apparently I don’t need to push back because Edward presses forward, his hips circling and pressing and urgent. One of his hands reaches up and turns my head towards him just enough that he can cover my mouth with his. And then I’m swallowing his moans. As much as I want to be shocked. As much as my mother would want me to be horrified, I open my mouth and take in his moans willingly.

But not everything is as it seems… and not every bubble is perfect. Sometimes there is someone waiting to poke it… But somehow, these two keep finding their way back to each other. No matter what happens.

You’ll find yourself completely invested in these characters, and hoping for nothing but the best… and then maybe you’ll even become as pathetic as I am and actually leave a review that contains the words: update soon! Trust me when I say you’re missing out if you’re not reading this story. So go. Leave these girls some love and then come and find me on Twitter so we can flail together.

As soon as I finished reading Paper Cutouts, it immediately went on my favorites list. Then my little heart shattered when I read that it was marked as Romance/Angst. *sob*

astillbe13 and twistedcoincidence have created a set of characters so real, that you can’t help but fall in love with them.

My eyes search for the noise and when I find it, I’m frozen. A large truck is backed up into the dark storefront across the street. The back is open, revealing row upon rows of what I think are kegs. None of that is important. My eyes can’t leave the man attempting to right a fallen keg which has somewhat exploded, soaking him in beer. His hair is matted to his forehead, his shirt suctioned to his body. My eyes wander, taking in the dark stains on his skin, which is all I can make out of what must be tattoos.

The oddest thing is that he’s laughing. There’s beer everywhere, spilling into the gutters and staining the sidewalk, and he’s laughing. Head thrown back, mouth wide. My eyes flutter over to the driver who is yelling and running in a circle like a wind up toy.

Again, the urge to run down to the street tugs at me. But this time, for a very different reason. My phone rings shrilly and I look out the window one last time before turning back to my reality.

This fic continuously makes me giggle, and then squeal at the cuteness…

“I haven’t had a sleepover since the 7th grade and I hated it. They froze my bra and wrote on my face with lipstick,” she says and frowns up at me.

I smooth her hair back off of her face. “The only thing I’ll ever do with your bra is take it off of you,” I say with a small smile and kiss her cheek. The girl is sad. I know only because that vacancy, the loneliness, in her eyes is something that I used to be extremely familiar with. It’s what being misplaced looks like—being somewhere where you don’t belong and having no one to belong to.

I wish I could say that this story remains cute and fluffy, but it doesn’t. There is definite heart fail, and I can only assume that there will be more to come. But I will say that even with the bits of angst, this story is so incredibly worth it.

If I was fic diving for myself, I don’t think Paper Cutouts is a story I would have normally picked out, but once Kassiah began telling me about it, I knew I wanted to read.

One of the things she pointed out, and what I completely understand, is the aspect of Bella living a life so dependent on her internet friends. I like that it’s something many of us in the fandom can relate to. Perhaps not everyone finds themselves in the extremes that Bella is, without any real life friends or social life, but the understanding is still there. How many of us, within our fandom and online community, find ourselves closer to some of our Twi friends than people who live in our own towns and even our homes?

What I like in this story is that Bella and Edward find balance in one another. Edward sees that Bella has lost herself and needs to get out a little more, but he doesn’t really judge her on it. He just knows that he’s captivated by this shy, strange girl, and he wants her around more and more — so much so that he allows her to develop a relationship with his son.

And on Bella’s side of things, she doesn’t judge Edward for being a single father or a bar owner or a tattooed hottie (okay, maybe a little) — she just sees him as someone who makes her want to step away from the computer and enjoy life a bit.

Edward is a mystery and Bella is a mess, but together, they compliment and bring out bright spots in one another that other people and experiences haven’t. They’re a roller coaster and they hurt one another unintentionally with their differences and quirks, but when it comes down to it, neither truly wants to walk away. Whatever they have will take some effort, but they’re slowly peeling away the layers of their armor and allowing each other in. To me, that is what makes this collab such a captivating, unpredictable read. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have!

I love this story. That is all.