#honestly them in a youthful phase is so much interesting and intriguing

[cessmaga]

nah y'all have no idea I love cageblind and the movies, and I'm just so disappointed that they are not in the same universe and timeline and barely have any contents of them, like they have so much potential as a duo 😭😭

maybe the fact that two people are getting their bond stronger and working with their flaws as the time went is so interesting to me 😭 (ngl johnshi actually sounds good in paper even before the mk1 timeline??)

I know I'm always mourning that I always ended up in the rarest of the rarepairs but omg I'm getting frustrated that these two don't barely any contents I'm yearning man 😭😭

[joeymozzarello]

Pen to Paper

Chapter Two

Summary: A simple thesis on a simple book she’d read. That’s all she needed to do. She knew it would be at least a little bit arduous but she didn’t think it would cause this much trouble.

Pairing: Tim Murphy x original female character

Words: 1,589

A/N: i got the idea for this in the american natural history museum where i found a note to a Julie T from a Dr. Com on a bench near the t-rex room.

//

Tim Murphy didn’t consider himself a people person. Sure, he was charming and got along with virtually anyone but he found that he rarely met someone who understood him, so his friendships usually felt synthetic. There were few people he felt he could actually trust, so this walk with the unexpected newcomer, Julie Trenton, was a little bit uncomfortable for him but he thought he was playing it off well. “This is the reading room, most meetings happen in here and if you want coffee you gotta sneak it in because Amanda doesn’t like drinks in the library.” Julie only hummed in return. Tim had heard her sigh a couple of times, he thought maybe she was bored or felt as awkward as he did but every time he turned around to look at her, her eyes were wide and gleaming, excited. He found that surprising, he didn’t know why, she was just like every other college student that passed through here, so he shrugged it off.

A couple of minutes had passed since the last words of the conversation had been spoken and Tim thought he should probably say something, maybe ask a question, show some interest in her. He just didn’t know how invested he should get if she was only going to be here for a week and then he’d never see her again. “I read your book, you know,” she beat him to it. He stopped in his tracks, making Julie who was following close behind bump into his back and stumble a bit. Tim straightened his shoulders a little bit and he turned to her. She was around his height so their eye line matched perfectly and her eyes held the slightest bit of confusion in them. She cleared her throat. “I thought it was,” she paused. “Interesting.” Why did she pause? Tim’s heartbeat picked up slightly and as Julie begin walking again he couldn’t help but rush to follow her. “You hesitated,” he was now quickly pacing next to her trying not to look too eager. Her eyebrows twitched as she side-eyed him and kept walking. “I didn’t,” but she did, he wanted to know why. “I just thought it was a bit - short.” He blinked. “Maybe I’m a quality over quantity kind of person,” he was trying not to sound defensive, all of a sudden he wished he knew her, he wished he could understand what her expression meant. Julie didn’t seem phased, she shrugged. “Maybe.” But she didn’t sound convinced. Tim didn’t say anything, too caught up in his own head to form a sentence. “So what do you do on a normal day?” He didn’t answer right away, he was still confused from what just happened but still he powered through. “I study, I write, sometimes I organise stuff, it’s all very thrilling work,” he said, not meaning to sound as blank as he did. “You sure make it sound like it,” she chuckled. “So this expedition? Where are you going?” “All over the place. I think we’re starting somewhere in the Amazon, I don’t know yet, we’re getting briefed in two weeks, maybe?” He thought perhaps it was his turn to ask a question, he didn’t really know what to say, though, and if he asked about his book again she would definitely catch onto his bravado slowly crumbling. “Um, how long have you been in New York?” He waved at a colleague as they passed each other in the hallway, the smile disappearing just as fast as it appeared. “I noticed you’re not, uh, American.” Julie couldn’t help but laugh. “I got here two nights ago, I locked myself in my hotel room for the first day and a half because I was trying to battle jet-lag. It didn’t work.” They turned a corner, now nearing the food court and Tim felt he’d been lazy in his words. “So you’ve been wondering around awake at 4AM trying to figure out if it’s truly light outside or if it’s just the streetlights that are blinding you?” He asked. It felt like such a natural question, it didn’t take Julie long to realise he was speaking from experience. Tim knew that. “I’m a fellow insomniac,” he chuckled, the first real laugh tumbled out of him and he saw Julie’s expression light up, she seemed to finally relax. “I’m glad I found a 4AM buddy.” “Call me anytime,” he winked. It was only after he did that when he considered maybe it was weird or inappropriate, that maybe she wouldn’t get the joke but to his relief she laughed. “Alright, smart guy,” she shook her head playfully. “Maybe I will.” That’s when they landed in the food court. It was full of men in suits, women in tight pencil skirts and a couple of college students typing away on their laptops, a usual Monday afternoon. “So where’s the best place to eat around here?” He looked at her with a sigh. “Honestly?” Julie nodded, amusement in her face. “Anywhere but here. I recommend the Pret-a-Manger down the road, best sandwiches, good prices.” “Yeah, we have those in London,” she looked around, seemingly inspecting everyone so closely, people Tim had never really looked at before, he was sure she would know them all better than him by the end of the day, and what was embarrassing was that he’d been working here for over three years. “So, its really that bad, huh?” “Yep, although breakfast on Thursdays isn’t bad - but you gotta get here before eight or else everything is cold and then it’s not worth it,” Tim scratched the back of his head. “But! We move on. I’m pretty sure Janet is gonna make us eat the soggy pizza, that’s her favourite,” he twisted his nose. “And she puts lettuce on it - some people have no taste.” Tim’s frown prompted Julie to start asking him about what he actually liked and Tim began to babble on about his love for Reece’s Pieces. “They’re just classic, I don’t trust anyone who doesn’t like Reece’s Pieces.” Julie said she’d have to try them sometime.

Just as Tim had said, Dr Connors made them eat at the soggy pizza place. He’d ordered a sandwich, something pre-made that couldn’t be messed up and watched Julie subtly poke at her pizza, trying to figure out if the mozzarella was real or if it was plastic, a question he’d decided was better left unanswered a long time ago. Janet didn’t seem to mind, she just ate her lettuce-covered pizza with a satisfied smile on her face and kept talking. He didn’t understand it.

Janet and Julie had been talking about London for just over ten minutes and the conversation hadn’t shifted to him once which was a little insulting if he said so himself. His mind kept wandering back to the expedition, the thing he’d been striving for since the beginning of his work here. Maybe he’d finally get the chance to make his own discovery, needless to say he was excited. 

“Oh, look at him, lost in his own brain again. You still with us, Tim?” Janet said amicably. Dr Connors knew Tim better than anyone here, she was a close family friend. He knew she was close with his grandfather in her youth but he didn’t remember why, maybe her father was friends with him. He couldn’t remember. What he did know for sure was how grateful he was to her, Janet was like a mentor to Tim, from the moment he entered college to every day since he graduated. He owed her everything. “Timothy Murphy-Hammond, it is rude to ignore people.”

He snapped his gaze back from fuzzy. “Sorry, sorry, what’s up?” He noticed his eyes felt tired, the coffee buzz didn’t seem enough today and the half-worried look on Janet’s face confirmed his suspicions. He hadn’t slept enough and Janet knew that. He was gonna be in deep shit. “It’s not my fault I’ve never been to London!” He tried to distract from all the attention that was suddenly on him.

“You haven’t?” Julie’s eyebrows shot up. “Let me paint you a picture - it’s like New York but everything is lower down and it smells a lot better.”

There was something sarcastic about Tim’s tone. “Sounds like a dream,” he narrowed his eyes. “Sounds like you aren’t enjoying the city.”

“Does it?” She blinked, flicking her fringe out of her eyes. “No, I like the city. It’s just, there’s a lot of up and too many people looking down.”

Tim had never thought of that. Maybe it was because he was one of those people. His nose was always in a book, he bumped into people everywhere he went because he was so distracted. His eyes didn’t leave hers, her gaze didn’t falter.

“O-kay,” Janet broke off their stare-off. “So, Julie, tell me about this theses,” she turned towards her newest protégé with her chin on her fist and an intrigued leer at the pale girl that sat next to her. That’s when Tim spaced out of the conversation, only partly interested but too full of pride to engage. When did this become me? He wondered. It wasn’t a harsh judgement on himself, just an observation. A sudden flash of a memory of his youth, running around with his sister, when he used to read books because he wanted to and being able to just let go. Those were impossible standards, he knew that. Kids have no worries because they’re kids. I haven’t been like that since ‘93.

Master List!

[manoharis]

A Year in Review: Telugu Movies!

You can’t pay me to watch these (aka watch me roast them in 10 words or less)

Dictator - a Bala Krishna movie without animals in the title!

Krishnashtami - wyd Sunil.

Terror - the title aptly describes my feelings about this movie.

Guntur Talkies - lets just not. more like gun-to-ur head after watching this.

Attack - this wins for having a director and actor that Idc about!

Edo Raakam Ado Raakam - edho raakamaina torture.

Thikka - ee cinema choosaka vacchedi adhe

Jaguar -  just when you’ve thought twood’s exhausted the possible feline comparisions

I really really dont care:  Savitri, Raja Cheyyi Vesthe, Abbayitho Ammayi, Killing Veerappan, Express Raja, Naruda Donoruda, Hyper, Speedunodu, Garam, Nayaki

Nenu Sailaja -I had a lot of expectations for this movie because it was said to be “fresh” but there was really nothing new here. I loved Ram’s look, some of the comedy and most of the songs. Worth a watch but nothing ground-breaking. 

Nannaku Prematho -  A for effort? I just couldn’t connect to the film because I felt like the emotion was kind of artificial and didn’t really pull me in. I couldn’t get behind a lot of the “logic” in this film. Also there disruptive bgm in every scene which made it really hard to focus on the film. 

Soggade Chinni Nayana - I feel like this movie was targeted towards middle aged aunties lol. I love Nagarjuna and Ramya Krishna but there were one too many scenes where I was hiding my face from embarrassment. On the plus side, all the sarees in the movie were gorgeous !

Lacchimdeviki O Lekkundi - messy because of all the back and forth plot twists. Horror comedy is literally my least favorite genre so I didn’t like this.

Seethamma Andalu Ramaya Sutralu - below average; I don’t have much to say about this. If I hadn’t watched it, this would belong in the ‘I really don’t care’ list.

Krishnagadi Veera Prema Gaadha - I think I was drowsy when watching this (not because of the movie) so I honestly don’t remember anything but the beginning portion which was really funny. I need to rewatch this.

Malupu - I always love a good thriller but it could’ve been better. Aadhi Pinnisetty’s voice tho !!

Kshanam - FAVE !!! This was so good! again always down for a good thriller. Super gripping and just the right pace. I loved how in this the love story was relevant to the script. It was very well written, acted, and taken as well in terms of technicalities. I can definitely see it getting awards next year.

Kalyana Vaibhogame - The first half was loud and messy which made me almost stop watching it. With a premise like this, the story is extremely predictable, as in you knew the lead pair would fall in love eventually, it was just a matter of when. I thought the second half was pretty cute though.

Shourya – I know this is biased of me but I can’t remember the last movie of the Manchu brothers that I’ve seen because the kind of movies they make are just so not my type. However, when this movie came out I did hear some positive talk for it on twitter. But then it wasn’t talked about at all after like a week? So I’m not exactly sure how successful it was. I may watch it eventually but I’m not dying to see it lol

Run- This was the remake of Neram by Sundeep Kishan (side note: I really like Sundeep, so I was annoyed that he was doing a remake). I didn’t hear much about this either after the first week so I don’t think it did that well. However, I do want to watch it because I’ve been trying to watch Neram since forever but I could never find it with subtitles so I guess this is my chance to watch it, but a lesser version ofc. Although one of the main reasons I wanted to watch was for Nivin and Nazriya so this doesn’t really do much more me lmao

Oopiri – I haven’t seen the original so I really liked this! S/o to Nagarjuna for realizing fairly quickly that its time for him to more age appropriate roles (take notes @ chiranjeevi). This is why the Akkineni’s are my fave! (my bias is showing so much in this post but do I really care). anyways, I loved the chemistry between Karthi and Nagarjuna cause lbr their bromance was the real love story in this. Shriya’s appearance made the childhood shipper in me super happy. Overall, an enjoyable film with some great performances. 

Sardaar Gabbar Singh – The amount of hype this movie had, jfc. Tbh I don’t have anything major against Pawan Kalyan. He’s just not one of my favorites, and ngl I liked him in the early 2000s phase (i.e. before Gabbar Singh which is when his fans went to piccha peaks). His fan base is literally one of the worst. I just think they’re super extra and very disrespectful, esp at audio launches. So yes, I was happy that it flopped because one it put the pk fans in their place who were hyping this to no end. Also he wrote the story and screenplay for this and reading some reviews about that gave me life lmao. If you want to hear something good about this movie, Kajal looks stunning in all her princess-y clothes and a few of the songs are pretty good. 

Sarrainodu – I actually haven’t seen this yet but I do want to. Here I go being biased again lol. If this starred anyone I didn’t care for, I would have no interest in this movie but because it’s the fave, Allu Arjun, I have to watch it. I like a lot of the video songs and the music actually grew on me when I was forced to listen to it A LOT in India over the summer. Also he looks hella good, I’m sold, bye. 

Supreme – Ok this movie was huge in India over the summer. Everyone loved it and ngl I used the phrase “its amazing zing zing” about a thousand times among my cousins without even having seen it. I tried watching it once I got back and it was just too much loud comedy for me to handle and I never finished it. 

Brahmotsavam – oh lord. TOO SOON. Jk, I’m over it. Easily the biggest disappointment of 2016 in terms of what was promised and what was delivered. I literally followed this movie since it was even rumored to be happening because Mahesh and Sreekanth Addala. Then Mickey J Meyer was brought on and then Samantha and I was just so hyped. I think the fact that I was dying to watch this in theaters and then I didn’t even want to watch it once it was online, says a lot. I was just really shocked that everyone, fans and non-fans alike panned it especially when it involved sooo many people. The second hand embarrassment is too real. But I did eventually watch it and what the actual hell. There was literally no story, no coherence, and way too many irrelevant characters. Mahesh has a pattern of delivering blockbusters after massive flops so here’s hoping the best for his next!

A…Aa: I have so many feelings about this movie. Trivikram is one of my most favorite directors/writers and has been for a long time. With Attarintiki Daredi, I was pretty disappointed that he went full on commercial and I thought he lost some of his touch. That changed a bit with Son of Satyamurthy (but I feel like a majority of the reason that I liked that movie is bc of Allu Arjun lol). But yeah anyway, A…Aa is still a very commercial movie, its not in any way niche. However, I think Trivikram finally struck the balance of substance and commerciality which made it an entertaining movie while also leaving you with something to think about. The story was actually very simple and something that’s definitely been done before, but the screenplay had Trivikram’s name all over it. It was apparent in every single dialogue. He also pulled out some spectacular performances that were subdued but well done. I remember Samantha saying in an interview that because this is Trivikram’s third movie with her, he knows when she’s reusing an expression which forced her to improve her performance. When the movie was announced, I was kind of disappointed that Nithiin was in it because he’s never been a favorite of mine but I fell in love with him after this. I think in a lot of his movies he tries to do the typical commercial hero act and its obvious that he borrows heavily from Pawan Kalyan’s style. But in this his characterization was very subdued and painted him as  a common guy which made him a lot more likable. It was also easier to ship the lead pair because the star aura tends to overshadow the chemistry but here I was really able to see the characters instead of the actors behind them. I just wished the story was more unique but otherwise a really good movie!

Okka Ammayi Thappa - Sundeep really needs to promote his movies more because they always seem to go under the radar. I was actually really excited for this because Sundeep & Nithya as the lead pair. I’m pretty sure its one of those movies that takes place in the span of a single day which I love bc if you can stretch a day into a full film, its gotta be one hell of a day. Not sure if this was a hit or not but I definitely want to check it out once its online.

Gentleman – (Spoiler Free). This was pretty good! A nice balance of romance and suspense. The story was intriguing and the performances were well done. I didn’t like the comedy though. The situational humor was fine but I hated the comedy track and I felt like it made the movie so much slower than it needed to be.

Oka Manasu - I was so hyped for this cause I love Naga Shourya and Niharika but apparently this was very slow and boring. I hope this doesn’t discourage Niharika from doing more movies because tollywood really needs some actual telugu actresses. (Side Note: Allu Arjun’s speech at this movie’s audio launch !! He basically called out the PK fans in a long 10 mins lecture and it gave me lifeee)

Pelli Choopulu - FAVE!!! Truly a new age rom com. I watched this in a theater in India and I loved it! The story was fresh, engaging, and hilarious. I loved how the characters were very realistic and reflective of actual youth and not hero-like at all. Also s/o for the strong female characterization !! You go Chitra! I think it did an amazing job of combining comedy, romance, social issues, and emotion into a very believable and enjoyable film. And not to forget the music which is so so good. Also, I’m gonna quote this movie in my grave. 

Manamantha - I looove movies that have multiple inter-related stories. The four characters and their respective stories were written well with each character tackling a unique situation. Overall, I liked it, but it definitely could have been better.

Srirasthu Subhamastu - I watched this in India and it was nice to see it on the big screen because the best part of this movie was the grandeur of production. Starring in a movie produced by your father clearly has its perks. I don’t really care about Allu Sirish but he’s still pretty new so to be fair he was pretty good in this. The story is very very routine and predictable but I remember liking the dialogues

Babu Bangaram - I don’t think this was a hit? But fiiinally, Venky in a movie that’s not a remake, which ofc didn’t last long cause his next is a remake smh. 

Janatha Garage - This movie was apparently the biggest hit of 2016 in terms of box office and imo its not deserving. The trailer for this movie made it seem really good but it was a disappointment in the end. The thing with Koratala Siva’s movies is that he always has a good social message but then commercializes it way too much. I understand what he’s trying to do but I wish he’d cut down on the violence and focus on the actual issue. This couldve been a really amazing movie about environmentalism but it turned into something really routine. Im also annoyed that a stellar cast of NTR, Mohanlal, Samantha, and Nithya was wasted on such a mediocre movie.

Jo Achyutananda - This was pretty good. As per the director’s style, it was very simple with life-like characters. The story was very interesting but I thought it was pretty anti-climactic and definitely could have been taken to another level. S/o for Nani’s cameo towards the end which sadly was the only male eye candy (sorrynotsorry).

Majnu -  Even though this is Nani’s movie and I usually have high expectations for his movies, I didn’t expect much from this. The movie didn’t offer anything spectacular. The plot started off pretty interesting but then went the routine rom- com path. It gets a fair share of laughs and the music is fabulous but otherwise underwhelming.

Abhinetri - I haven’t seen this yet and I don’t really care tbh but I’ll probably watch it eventually.

Mana Oori Ramayanam - This seems really interesting from the trailer. Definitely a niche film and I don’t think it did well commercially but I want to see it.

Premam - What do I say about this that won’t get me hate lmao. I haven’t seen this yet but it received pretty good reviews as well as commercial success. I don’t support remakes ofc but I know I’ll end up watching this eventually. I’m glad that Naga Chaitanya is back on track again ?

Saahasam Swasaga Saagipo - I really want to watch this because romance + thriller is my faaave. I don’t think this was that big of a hit but Im still excited to see it. The album is amazing and I assume the bgm will be as well. Also s/o for Naga Chaitanya’s look in this movie which is his best yet imo. Is it just me or has he become so much more attractive now that he’s unavaible lol.

Ekkadiki Pothavu Chinnavada - I haven’t seen this yet, but heard that it was really good! Seems like another Karthikeya-type movie? Who would’ve guessed that Nikhil would be most successful actor from the Happy Days gang (besides tamanna ofc).

Jayammbu Nishchayambu Raa - same as above ^, haven’t seen, heard it was good.Other than that, I’m glad a small film got acclaim.

Dhruva - How much credit can you give to a remake ? I haven’t seen this or the original but I know I’ll probably like it. 

Overall I think 2016 was a pretty good year for movies with many of the successes coming from small budget films which seems to be an increasing trend in Tollywood. The fact that Sardaar Gabbar Singh and Brahmotsavam were total box office disasters even though they starred arguably the two biggest stars in TFI shows that the majority of audiences crave content over star power which I’m all here for!