OWP!

new fandom word: OWP = One Wicked Pairing

I hereby nominated OWP as an easy & convenient way to describe any person's unconventional OTP (one true pairing). For example, if you are both into Buffy/Spike and Buffy/Giles ::shudder::, then Buffy/Giles can be your OWP. Or, Buffy/Giles could be your OTP and Xandrew could be your OWP. Whichever.

For myself, Spike/Buffy is my OTP and Spike/Angel is my OWP.

For another example, Naruto/Sakura is my Naruto OTP. Kakashi/Kabuto is my Naruto OWP, because theirloveissogreyhairedandsordid.


Of course, most of y'all are probably going to ignore this post and never use this term. Such is the fate of being a fandom toady rather than a shiny, cool, fandom master. But I have a fondness for the phrase anyway, and maybe it will catch on.

Naruto, episode 80

This is probably going to go down as one of my favorite Naruto episodes, though there is zero action in it. And the episode is better for the lack, I think.

The animation was particulary good for this episode-- the dark color palette matched the mood perfectly, and all the characters looked especially attractive. Iruka, who always fell somewhere in the middle category on bishounen status, not good or bad, was hot in this episode. And Naruto, too, looked cute, and given the extended close-ups we got, I think we're suppose to see that he's going to be a hottie when he gets older. He reminded me yet again of the 4th Hokage's picture, which I still have multiple theories about. I think part of Naruto's unusual appearance in this episode was the fact that his ninja plate was around his neck, resting on his collarbone, instead of in his hair. It made him look much older.

Once again I am blown away by what I'm watching. But a totally different kind of blown away than the previous episode-- which was ALSO one of my favorites. I'm just acquiring more and more favorites the further we go into the show, aren't I? ( ep80 spoilery comments )

One of the most interesting things about this episode (it was also noticable last ep, but even more so now), is the use of silence, sound, and music. This episode has so little dialogue, and yet it's quite powerful and emotional. The periods of silence were powerful, and the quiet, slow music was powerful.

This was, for all intents and purposes, a transition episode. But it's one of the best transition episodes I've seen done in quite a while-- it didn't feel like one at all, not until I thought about it after the fact.

I cannot gush enough about this series. It's not perfect, but I love it so. I hope it never ends.