Welcome to another round of W2 Tells You What You Should See, where W2 (me) tries to sell you (you) on something you should be watching. Today's choice: 镇魂/Guardian
Guardian is a 2018 drama about an underfunded government agency that investigates escaped ghosts aliens, the bisexual disaster that runs said agency, and the ghost king alien emissary posing as a mild-mannered professor who has loved him for a very, very long time.
I had to do this rec because Guardian is my favorite c-drama ever. I love it with every fiber of my being. I have seen it a stupid number of times. It brings me endless amounts of joy to contemplate. It is both a legitimate piece of art and a complete train wreck.
Before we start, you have to realize this about the show: It source material is an explicit gay romance, so of course the adaptation had to scale everything back to friendship. More than that, the original source material is about deities and reincarnation, which was never going to fly, which meant the filmable concept had to trim those concepts into a time-travel thing and half-invent an antagonist. Then the show had its budget dry up after it had already splurged on the score, to the point where many of the characters' outfits came from the actors' own closets. Then, after filming everything, the censors said, you know how your show is all about ghosts? Yeah, you're not allowed to have ghosts. They can be aliens, though! Now go back and redub all the lines about ghosts to be about aliens, but don't worry about matching the sound quality; I'm sure no one will notice.
There are a thousand reason you should not watch this incredible mess. I'm going to give you five reasons you should.
1. The Ship
Are you sick of mere tepid bromance? Do you want to watch two beautiful men who are completely unhinged about one another, played by two actors who absolutely knew what they were doing?
Aired in mid-2018, Guardian snuck in juuuuuust as crackdowns on the gay shit started to get real cracked down. It is of course not nearly as gay as the source material, but it goes about as close as it can. You can censor individual moments all you want, but you can't stop the whole thing from being a love story -- and you can't make the two of them stop looking at one another like that.
The pairing goes like this:
Zhao Yunlan: canonical (in the book) bisexual, ADHD king, absolute trash gremlin, terrible boss, nepo baby, questionable cat owner, the absolute worst at taking care of himself -- this is a man whose life is held together with duct tape and hideous instant ramen. In the book he's a heavy smoker, but the show has to replace that with a lollipop habit, which is honestly much cuter. Exhausting man. All the Daddy Issues. Parks like an asshole. Infuriatingly kissable.
Shen Wei: mild-mannered professor of some sciency shit for a local university, but secretly an astonishingly powerful thousands-of-years-old being from beyond the stars who doesn't have a cell phone, but can be summoned by burning some very nice incense. Easily flustered. Hopelessly romantic. Marginally bad at being a real human person. Always just about to McFreakin Lose It.
A huge amount of how incredibly well this pairing works comes down to the talented actors, who are both kinda playing themselves? Which is to say that Bai Yu is a charismatic gremlin and Zhu Yilong is an ethereal creature who interfaces with the real world awkwardly, and they make good use of their natural tendencies to create chemistry the likes of which I have hardly seen before or since.
(Also, no joke, Zhu Yilong is the most Understood The Assignment Actor that has ever lived. My favorite story about him from the set of Reunion is that he insisted on spending an extra hour in the makeup chair every day, because he had read the entire book series and knew that his character had a throat scar, and despite how that scar is not once even acknowledged in this installment of the franchise, he was not going to chance that the camera might catch a glimpse of Wu Xie with an unscarred throat. The fact that he has gone on to have a critically acclaimed career is to me no surprise.)
I cannot stress enough to you how meaty and delicious this love story is. These two freaks are Not Normal about one another on a nigh-unimaginable scale. 'I would die for you' meets 'how about you live for me instead, jackass?' except that it goes both ways. I cannot say anything more about it without running the risk of spoiling you, and you should go into this as unspoiled for the progression of this romance as you can be. The payoff is so worth it.
2. The comfiest goth
I have already written at length about how much I love Chu Shuzhi, aging homosexual, but here's the short version:
This terrible scary ex-convict is the old man of the main cast, and by "terrible scary" I mean that he puts up a rough exterior to hide his incredibly tender heart. He's the kind of attack dog who will kill without hesitation to protect the people he loves, and then will turn around and growl at the people he loves because he doesn't really know how else to show affection.
He has also Been Through It. His tragic backstory is pretty fucking tragic. (It's also very muddled and not written super-well, so you never entirely know What Really Happened, but whatever it was, it was rough.) I haven't counted, but I'd wager he cries more often than any other character in the show.
He is half of a gay ship that not only is great on its own, but actually manages to get away with being so much more textually affectionate than the main pairing (on account of both being a side pair and having "they're like brothers!" as a deflection). You won't believe how much they get to hold hands and emotionally grip one another's faces. If you lose your shit when the grumpy one loves the sunshiney one, then you are in for a treat.
He's also stupidly hot. Like, damn.
I also have to say: I love his voice. I love it so much. Whatever you are expecting his voice to be, you're wrong. It's just delightfully incongruous with how you expect they'd choose to dub such a Tough Guy. Like, imagine the baritone you'd give him if he were an anime character -- that's the voice he doesn't have. He has the actor's real voice, which is a somewhat nasal, slightly bitchy tenor. The first time I heard it, I laughed aloud with surprise. It makes me so happy.
Oh yeah, and he's got a puppet. God, I can't believe I nearly forgot to mention the puppet. He is a grown-ass man who carries around an inexplicably size-changing puppet like it's normal. It's absolutely unhinged. Imagine the scariest man you've ever met, and he's tenderly brushing the hair of some fucked-up off-brand American Girl doll. You would piss yourself. And you'd be right to.
He's just so unexpected in every possible way. I once wrote a whole post about how he is one of those gays of a certain age that @dngrcpckwithmurdericing turned into a podfic. He is quite possibly my favorite character in any c-drama, period.
It's so hard to play favorites, though, because of how much I love...
3. The whole damn found family (derogatory)
Guardian's is not precisely an ensemble cast, but much of the show focuses on the SID crew and their interactions, so you're going to develop a (sometimes grudging) affection for the whole bunch.
Ordinarily my objection to workplace found families is, don't you people have lives outside of your job? Well ... no, a lot of the members of SID don't, and for good reason. Two of them literally can't leave the building, and a third basically doesn't anyway. More than half of them are in some way nonhuman. Those that do try to pursue interests outside of their weird secret alien-hunting careers just wind up getting dragged back into the world of magical fugitives regardless.
So yeah, sometimes all they have really is each other. And sometimes that's fucking messy! There is a one-sided romance that becomes a real problem at one point, as well as some betrayals and tragedies -- be warned, this show has a body count. It's a family in the sense that you love people even when you don't like them, and you sometimes want to kill them but you definitely don't want them to die.
And it's not just the SID crew! Are you a sucker for demi-villains who have solid reasons for what they do and who can be convinced to join the good guys when those reasons run out? Great, there's plenty of that too. The above picture, left to right, features a snake, a flower, another snake, Zhao Yunlan, a cat, a crow, and two DILFs in a trenchcoat. About half of them have been mildly to moderately evil at one point or another. But wouldn't you know it, Zhao Yunlan is just so charismatic that even the bad guys can't help taking a liking to him.
The show has a huge cast -- the first half is kind of shaped like a police procedural, so there are plenty of people who show up for their little story arc, then disappear afterward. Except when they don't! There are actually lots of characters who come back in multiple stories and/or rally at the end for the big boss battle! And then you're like, oh, hey, it's that guy! Which is always a fun feeling.
Guardian is often very funny, too, and much of that comedy comes from group scenes and multi-character interactions. There's all kinds of goofball moments that really shine from a bunch of people who feel safe enough around one another that they've largely stopped being nice. So when I say found family, stop picturing saccharine Hallmark heteronormative perfection, and start picturing a bunch of ill-behaved littermates who show love through chewing on each other's tails. That's the way the Guardian crew rolls.
4. Pure '90s low-budget TV trash scifi aesthetic
I'm going to post some screenshots now so that you can laugh. Go on now, get it out of your system.
We good? Okay.
Please note how the creatures and wigs and backgrounds and effects in these images are not conceptually bad; the exact same shots, with sufficient money, would have looked fine. The ideas behind the production are generally solid. The execution is ... well.
I have tried to sell Guardian to friends of mine who did not spend the '90s watching Star Trek and Babylon 5 and Xena and Buffy and their ilk, and to those friends, it can be a hard sell. And I get it. When you're used to speculative television that doesn't look like shit, it's hard to not be repulsed immediately by the aesthetic.
So if you grew up on Odo blobbing back into the Great Link and the Mayor trashing Sunnydale High after his evil graduation speech, then you will have no trouble watching this. In fact, it will feel warm and nostalgic. This section is here for you. All those images up there, they were all for you. Honestly, you can just skip the rest of this rec post and jump down to the links at the end that'll tell you how to watch it. You're welcome.
I'm talking now to the rest of you. If you are not already primed to enjoy things in spite of (and sometimes because of) this kind of bargain-barrel bullshit, then yes, the cheapness of the production quality will likely be a barrier to entry. You may have to just rough it through the first couple episodes until you start to get the vibe of it. And you will eventually get the vibe of it, because despite how damn near everything was made on the shoestring-est budget possible, it somehow manages to be an incredible show, and that is because this entire drama is, from start to finish...
5. A chaotic labor of love
Are you sick of consuming things nobody wanted to make? Media where everyone, from the creators to the performers to the production team, seems to have been phoning it in? Anodyne garbage where the finished product looks like it was designed by committee to be appealing to everyone and therefore wound up being appealing to no one?
My friend, Guardian is a sight for your sore eyes.
It is obvious that everyone involved in this production threw their whole Dixingussy into it. Now, does this mean they were all good at what they did? Oh, heavens no. As alluded to earlier, the screenplay is at times incoherent even without the censorship. Many of the minor actors are community-theatre-grade at best. Props are shoddy and Mod Podged to hell. Some of the outfits literally make no sense. The set designers were all maniacs. Every one of those sound engineers should find a different line of work immediately.
And yet.
In an age of playing it safe, you have to love an audacious failure. Guardian is like someone attempting to build a Porsche from popsicle sticks, where you know it's never going to succeed, but fuck, whatever they do wind up building, it's going to be interesting. As a show, it is trying to do something different. Censorship and budgetary restrictions were always going to doom it from the start, but damn it, it's going to try.
I am on record as loving low-budget disasters that are so much better than they had any right to be (e.g., Legend of Fei), and that is because the only thing that can elevate a cheap production is love. You can feel the love through the screen. Sometimes it is a befuddled, blundering, catastrophic love, but it is love nonetheless.
Look, I have spent [redacted] hours of my life staring at screenshots from this show, enough to the point where I had to create an entire blog for it -- that would be @dragoncityinteriordesign, though please, beware of spoilers -- and every time I look at them, I discover something new. There's just so much detail that went into the production that it deserves to be savored. The batshit maximalist aesthetic of Dragon City alone is worth the price of admission. This is a show that flipped off Coco Chanel and put on thirty more things before leaving the house. Do those thirty things go together? Absolutely not. That's what makes it great.
I love how if all you had to go on were the screenshots from this post, you would have no idea what this show is about. I love it so much.
I'm not going to spend time here listing all the problems with the show. No one in this fandom believes this is a flawless show. But (most of) the problems are interesting. They bring character. They are the problems of a thing punching far, far above its weight class -- except for how, son of a bitch, it almost works? It should have been a pile of smoldering, unwatchable wreckage, except that a handful of incredibly talented people brought their A-game anyway and elevated about half of it to an amazing place.
I'm always very hesitant to recommend Guardian to people, because my basic pitch comes down to this: If you can ignore everything that's terrible about it, it's spectacular.
Many people cannot ignore the terrible. Maybe you will not be able to ignore the terrible. I know I'm going to get at least a couple people commenting on this post about how they tried to watch Guardian but bailed because it was just too clunky, and, like, I get it. I do.
And yet.
In the midst of everything that goes wrong, here's what it does right: It creates a powerful, complicated love story played by two talented actors, surrounded by an incredibly endearing supporting cast, set in a beautiful, crazy world that has never ceased to be fun to look at. It makes you laugh, it makes you cry, and it makes you sit around and think about how the hell it got made. Odds are good you will finish the last episode and go immediately back to the first to rewatch with new context. You will never skip the opening song. You will feel feelings. And you will never see anything else quite like it.
Want to see this beautiful disaster?
Well, here's the problem: It's not easy. It used to be easy! It used to be everywhere! Then Some Damn Thing happened a couple years ago, and its availability evaporated overnight. So for a while, all you were left with is KissAsian, which is a not-unsketchy site, and Youku's YouTube playlist, which is missing 13 of the 40 episodes. Neither is ideal! And so, I sadly left this rec post half-finished for nearly two years, because I wasn't going to get folk all excited about something they plum couldn't see.
But wait! Youku's now got it all up on their site! That means that if you subscribe, you can watch Guardian to your heart's content! (Also you can buy it on Amazon -- but it's missing an episode? I can't even tell which one, because the synopsis of every episode past the first one is "Continue watching the evil who bears no small resemblance to Shen Wei. You'll see if the heroic duo's unique talents - and special bond - help them outwit the forces of darkness." So don't do that.)
And when you're done watching, go read the book. It's similar enough that you'll enjoy the familiar characters, but different enough that it'll feel like a whole separate adventure. Besides, the last extra that priest wrote for it is in direct response to the show and its ending. So, you know, if you feel like doing something about that.
I'm not going to get on Team Censorship Can Be Good, Actually!, but I will say that censorship forced the show to make a number of changes that actually worked for it. Zhao Yunlan is more endearing as a serial lollipop addict than as a chain-smoker. Chu Shuzhi is better as a futch goth MMA fighter than as an emaciated jianghshi. Love him or hate him, Ye Zun is a way more interesting antagonist than Gui Mian. SID is more charming when it's just ten weirdos housed in what's maybe meant to be a Ghostbusters-referencing decommissioned firehouse. I cherish Da Qing's boy mode. And I actually like the goof-ass time-travel love story better than the reincarnation one, there, I said it, sue me.
When I win the bajillion-dollar lottery, I will commission an American remake that sticks closer to the book but keeps all the good decisions that the show made. So, you know, look forward to that, I guess? But in the meantime, watch the show as it exists now. I can't guarantee you'll fall as hard for it as I have, or even that you'll fall for it at all. All the jank might, in the end, be too much. You have to admit, though, that in an age of Instagram filters and AI-generated slop, there's something nice about being able to see the fingerprints in the clay, the smears in the paint, the strings holding up the little rubber bats. It makes everything feel a little more, well. Human.
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A massive THANK YOU to everyone that participated by voting and/or sending in a rec to share!
Recs are sorted by length. Tried my best to tag the creators based on their known Tumblr accounts, but I couldn't find everyone. If anyone does know an account for the ones untagged, drop a comment and I'll edit the post!
ON WITH THE RECS!
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📚 rational economic actors by @yellowfork
Explicit | 8k words | 2025
Rec'd by @the-forbidden-forest: This is Draco Malfoy in all his best unhinged glory. I love him and I love Yellowfork.
Additional major tags/themes (via reccer): Coworkers, Draco Malfoy is obsessed with Harry Potter (and his new forays into gay sex), First time bottoming
📚🎨 Spoiled Little Brat by @fastbrother (art by @appleslightning)
Teen | 9k words | 2024
Rec'd by @suzieburself: Hogwarts professors with the perfect petty relationship. The dialogue is crisp and the characterization is perfect. If Draco doesn’t make you want to laugh, cry, and punch him, is it really Draco?
📚 The Venice Job by nishizono
Explicit | 25k words | 2007
Rec'd by @scarredsnake: Auror fic with fake dating, drarry who act like they hate each other guts (they're smitten with each other and just don't know it yet) and a harry who is definitely not gay! (he doesn't have internalized homophobia, he just ""isn't gay""). I loved this fic because it's so drarry in a nutshell, and draco is hilarious, annoying and a little shit overall. Also it's a good case fic!
📚 Hissy Fit by @dysonrules
Mature | 28k words | 2010
Rec'd by @ira-dunfort: Parselmouth Harry is an Auror, Draco is not, but a registered snake Animagus. They are ordered to work together to solve a series of crimes, for wich Harry does all the legwork while Draco hangs around his neck, talking his ears off.
📚 Rookie Moves by peu_a_peu
Explicit | 75k words | 2023
Rec’d by @its-the-allure: The funniest thing I have ever read, ever, fic or trad pub or anything else. This is a must read!!!!
📚 Socratic Methods by @thecouchsofa
Explicit | 79k words | 2025
Rec'd by Anon: Couldn't get enough of the back and forth between the two of them (especially during the first "event"), and the sexual tension they're dancing around makes it that much better.
A second rec by a different Anon: The banter in this one needs to be studied! I laughed out loud so many times and I loved how the relationship progressed
📚 From Clouds To Rain by @shewhxmustnxtbenamed
Explicit | 106k words | 2025
Rec'd by Anon: From Clouds to Rain is one of my all time favorites for banter! It’s a cozy Muggle AU where Harry is filling in as Draco’s assistant. It’s just SO MUCH BANTER, and all of it is SO CUTE and I just AH I love it. Draco is so soft, even when he’s trying to be cold and stoic and just their dynamic is AWESOME
Additional major tags/themes (via reccer): Trans!Harry, angst and fluff and smut, angst with a happy ending
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Reminder to consider all tags and warnings before engaging with a work, and hit that back button if at any point you become uncomfortable with the content. Don't like, don't read!
QOTD: What’s your favourite book with a trans MC or by a trans author?
Transgender Day of Remembrance marks the end of Trans Awareness Week so today I’ve got another rec list.
We remember trans lives by celebrating trans lives and sharing trans stories
[instagram]
Contemporary Romance:
- Make Room for Love by Darcy Liao
- Under the Mistletoe With You by Lizzie Huxley Jones
- Second Chances in New Port Stephen by TJ Alexander
- Love and Other Disasters by Anita Kelly
- Single Player by Tara Tai
- The Pairing by Casey McQuiston
- Pit Stop by Ellis Mae
- Graceless by Ruby Landers
- The Prospects by KT Hoffman
- Sing Anyway by Anita Kelly
Paranormal Romance:
- The Full Moon Problem by Kay Claire
- The (Most Unusual) Haunting of Edgar Lovejoy by Roan Parrish
- Rules for Ghosting by Shelly Jay Shore
Historical Romance:
- A Gentleman’s Gentleman by TJ Alexander
- Something Spectacular by Alexis Hall
- A Lady for a Duke by Alexis Hall
Fantasy:
- The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo
- Her Majesty’s Royal Coven by Juno Dawson
- These Vengeful Gods by Gabe Cole Novoa
- The Sapling Cage by Margaret Killjoy
- Dragonfall by LR Lam
- She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan
Sci-fi:
- Of Monsters and Mainframes by Barbara Truelove
- A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers
- Unexploded Remnants by Elaine Gallagher
Horror/Mystery:
- What Moves the Dead by T Kingfisher
- The Affair of the Mysterious Letter by Alexis Hall
Graphic Novels:
- Genderqueer by Maia Kobabe
- Strange Bedfellows by Ariel Slamet Ries
- Mooncakes by Suzanne Walker and Wendy Xu
- Ash’s Cabin by Jen Wang
- Evil-ish by Kennedy Tarrell
- I Shall Never Fall in Love by Hari Conner
- The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang
- Stars in Their Eyes by Jessica Walton
- Paper Planes by Jennie Wood
- Lunar Boy by Jes and Cin Wibowow
- The Tea Dragon Festival by K O’Neill
- A Song for You and I by K O’Neill
YA Romance:
- Leaving the Station by Jake Maia Arlow
- The Passing Playbook by Isaac Fitzsimmons
- Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender
- Most Ardently by Gabe Cole Novoa
- Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas
- Okay, Cupid by Mason Deaver
- Out of the Blue by Jason June
YA Fantasy:
- Witchlore by Emma Hinds
- Devil’s Like Us by Lin Thompson
- A Dark and Hollow Star by Ashley Shuttleworth
- This Fatal Kiss by Alicia Jasinska
- The Sunbearer Trials by Aiden Thomas
- The Wicked Bargain by Gabe Cole Novoa
- The Mermaid, the Witch and the Sea by Maggie Tokuda Hall
- Foul Lady Fortune by Chloe Gong
YA Horror:
- The Honeys by Ryan La Sala
- Compound Fracture by Andrew Joseph White
- Hell Followed With Us by Andrew Joseph White
- The Spirit Bares Its Teeth by Andrew Joseph White
YA Contemporary:
- Lakelore by Anna-Marie McLemore
- The Many Half-Lived Lives of Sam Sylvester by Maya MacGregor
- Out of Blue Cones Green by ME Corey
- Honeybee by Craig Silvey
- The Evolving Truth of Ever-Stronger Will by Maya MacGregor
making a post with info about what kind of switches i've made or intend to make to stop using tech that overenshittified, became evil, etc.
(i originally included it as an addition to another post, but since i know a lot of people are rightfully pissed off about google right now and looking to make some changes, i thought i'd post it separately too to make it easier to find.)
Replace: Netflix etc.
kanopy - available through public libraries and universities. check if yours has it. if not, ask them what they do have for streaming, and/or ask if they can look into joining kanopy!
beamafilm
hoopla - another library-related service, also with audiobooks and music; suggested by @shiveringsoldier
internet archive - have a look around. there are tonnes of good classic film options! i have some good stuff bookmarked, hmu if you want links
also yeah, do go to your local cinema! 📽️🍿
Replace: Audible/Amazon eBooks
available through public libraries:
libby
borrowbox
cloudlibrary
freely available to anyone:
project gutenberg - the GOAT!!! over 75,000 free public domain ebooks!
gutenberg.net.au - PG's australian sister site, which has books that are still under copyright in the u.s., as well as a wealth of australiana, australian history, and australian records
faded page- same idea as PG. this one is canadian so this is where you can also source public domain canadiana and canadian history.
librivox - the audiobook version of PG (free public domain audiobooks read by volunteers). it's a great concept, but be forewarned that the app's interface is really, truly awful.
Replace: Google search
there are a lot of lists out there, like this post i recently reblogged, so the good news is you have lots of options! remember that google still makes most of its $ from its search function, so making the switch is absolutely worth it even if you still use their other services.
anyway, the post i linked goes way more in-depth, but here are a few i've tried and liked:
qwant - my current go-to
4get- i intended to try this one but forgot, adding it because i think it'll be good
mojeek - it's like using google from 2005 (/pos)
marginalia search - it has a smaller pool of sources so you won't always get results, but you can find older, text-heavy websites, with commercial content filtered out.
Replace: Chrome
i think we all know this one but just in case...
firefox!!! 🔥🦊 with ublock origin installed as an ad blocker
Replace: Google Suite (Gmail, Google Drive, Docs, etc.)
proton - it has mail, docs, sheets, storage, etc. see if you can share a plan with someone or join with your family because there are two-person and family plans that are more affordable.
otherwise, you can split it up and use multiple services, e.g. tuta for email, sync for storage, ellipsus for docs, etc.
Replace: Google Maps
organic maps
your public transport org's website/app
Replace: Facebook, Instagram, Tiktok, etc.
tumblr, lol.
"but how will i stay in touch with my friends?"
talk to your friends. message them and say, "here's my email address, here's my phone number, here's my mailing address, what's yours? i'm leaving the app and i'd like to stay in touch." then, do that. make sure to reach out to them and invite them to hang out or just start a conversation using one of the above methods.
"how will i find out about what's going on near me?"
genuinely, read posters on lampposts and community billboards.
see if your city/area has a website that shows upcoming events and keep an eye on it.
find orgs/venues/galleries/theatres near you that do cool stuff and sign up for their mailing lists.
ask people for recommendations.
go for a walk through an interesting neighbourhood. have a look around.
"but i need more human connection! i like feeling connected to people i don't know and hearing all kinds of different perspectives."
postcrossing!!! i love it so much! send and receive postcards to and from different people around the world 💌
get a penpal! there are different penpal finding websites and subreddits out there, like global penfriends and r/penpals.
tandem for language exchange
"what about facebook groups?"
i get it, if you're already in a group you want to participate in it's a bit tough because you don't want to ask the group to relocate just for you. but fwiw, meetup and butter provide similar functions.
"what about facebook marketplace?"
yard sales
charity sales
op shops
whatever website equivalent exists in your area (kijiji, gumtree, etc.)
Replace: Spotify
this is a switch i haven't made yet. but from what i've heard, qobuz or deezer are good streaming alternatives.
support artists by purchasing music through bandcamp
also support artists by buying merch from their websites.
Replace: Goodreads
storygraph - i think it's pretty well-known, but just in case!
Replace: What's App
signal - even if you can only convince a couple people to move over and you still talk to other people on what's app, that's still a couple more conversations zuckerberg doesn't have his grubby little hands on. also, the more people make the switch, the more people will follow.
Replace: YouTube
newpipe - @aximili came in clutch with this one. it's an android app that's basically an ad-free, tracking-free youtube. i haven't tried it yet but i'm stoked about it because i despise youtube but didn't know any alternatives for it.
Replace: General mindless scrolling
ok, here's what i do.
download one of the aforementioned ebook apps (libby, borrowbox, cloudlibrary, or else open up project gutenberg if you can't get those) and take out an ebook.
when you find yourself scrolling endlessly on some social media app and you realise you want to stop but you just can't seem to get off your phone, switch over to your ebook app and read instead. (this will work best if you choose light but interesting ebooks that won't feel like a massive cerebral leap from passive media consumption, at least to start with).
even if it's just a couple of pages, it'll feel more productive and break the cycle of endless scrolling.
Parting words
it's a marathon, not a sprint. don't try to switch a bunch of stuff at once or you're setting yourself up to fail. take it one small step at a time. build new habits. figure out what works for you. i'm currently about two months into transitioning off of gmail/google suite and i've still got a while to go. i have over a decade's worth of files and photos to transfer over, and god knows how many accounts and contacts linked to my gmail. that switch doesn't happen overnight. you just gotta start and it takes as long as it takes. but the payoff is regaining control over your data, mental health, and spare time ✌️
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Eternal Brotherhood - season 2. Why you should get on the bandwagon
My most anticipated yet despaired of cdrama is about to drop its second and final season on Friday and I am here to convince you why you should watch.
Eternal Brotherhood is a criminally underrated low fantasy set in a quasi-feudal world which released its first 24 episodes last year - it was filmed at a go and was supposed to be 48 episodes as one drama but then the rules limiting ep count per season were set and the makers refused to cut, so they had to split it into two with a minimum of a year in between. The only reason part 1 was not my favorite drama of 2024, was because Joy of Life 2 and Fangs of Fortune also aired that year and narrowly edged it out.
It was a string budget (but incredibly gorgeous) labor of love starring actors who back then were not big names. Luckily for its airing prospects, both Yang Xuwen and Liu Yuning became a big deal after it was filmed so it was let out...
Anyway, why should you watch it? Other than gorgeous men in armor?
Eternal Brotherhood is gorgeous visually (it has some of the best cinematography I've ever seen) and has some of the best acting I've seen in a while, but it's also adult and dark in a way cdramas rarely commit to nowadays including in its politics and traumas. But it's not cynical - if there is one dram it makes me think of it's Novoland Eagle Flag in its recommitment to caring not despite but because of the darkness of the Universe. Keeping bonds is a form of rebellion.
What is it about? EB follows three very different but devoted sworn brothers and them trying to cope with a world at war and in turmoil.
Here are our PROTAGONISTS:
Zichuan Xiu (Yang Xuwen) - in a role that would have fit young Hu Ge, YXW is the definition of trauma sunshine. The baby of the siblings, Xiu drinks and jokes and cares about nothing - or does he? What hides under his demeanor is strong will, damaged but undestroyed idealism and so much damage there is no end of it. Xiu was adopted by the late city lord but after the latter was assassinated, he was sent to guard and fight on the border and acquired a lot of battle skills and even more trauma.
Di Lin (Liu Yuning) - the dad of the group. If your dad had a giant sword and was terrifying as fuck. Di Lin is the oldest brother; pretty much most of anything I would say would be spoilery, so all I am gonna say is Di Lin is dark and ruthless and acquires enough damage to rival Xiu's as season 1 progresses (though he bathes in blood, he yearns for peace), but he loves his brothers and his wife more than his life.
Si Yi Lin (Zhang Mingen) - the middle brother and a boyscout and sweetheart, SYL is a competent idealist who has not yet been damaged and his honor and his quiet decency are going to break my heart more and more as the narrative progress. You know that "cinnamon roll too good for this world too pure" meme? That's him only 6ft tall and hefting a giant spear.
The Ladies Who Love Them:
What are damaged knights in tarnished armor without ladies fair to make things better (or worse?)
Zichuan Ning (Li Mozhi) - the late city lord's biological daughter, she and Xiu grew up together and she's had a thing for him since the city lord brought a strange boy in for mysterious reasons. She is unabashed in adoration, sunny, and has no idea about Xiu's damage or complexities, neither does she truly understand politics and war (her uncle shelters her; whether for good or bad reasons you will form your own opinions as the drama progresses.) This a relationship that is doomed and shot through with longing. Xiu loves her desperately as the reminder of his happy childhood and happy world before it all fell apart; but he loves her precisely because she's sheltered and cannot comprehend his darkness - she's the keeper of his deepest traumas because he knows she won't understand. It all makes sense and it is all equally impossible - the very reasons he loves her are the reasons that they cannot work.
Lin Xiujia (Tao Luoyi) - if Di Lin is the dad of the group, his wife Xiujia is the mom. She is smart, strong, a domestic goddess and desperately refusing to acknowledge the darkness Di Lin wreaks outside their doors so she can stay in her peaceful garden paradise. Her character really shows the horrors of that type of world - the woman has a loving husband, no family issues, status, and yet it is so clear at any moment it can come crashing down and she can be held hostage or killed by her husband's enemies despite anything and everything in that dog eat dog world.
Ka Dan (Cai Zhuoyin) - a hostage princess of the enemy kingdom, she is ladylike, honorable and she and SYL have a gorgeous yet clearly doomed love affair. If you are sucker for princess x bodyguard, come right in.
OTHERS
Lord Ge and Lord Yang - two generals who used to be sworn brothers with the late city lord, now they are on opposite sides. Lord Ge is too honorable to really succeed and is Xiu's mentor. Lord Yang now rules the city as with current city lord (the brother of the murdered one) as the figurehead. The previous generation of sworn brothers and their endings does not promise much happiness for the paralleled younger generation.
The City Lord - the actor is amazing and the character is in the running for the most terrifying and hated character of 2024. To say more would be spoilers.
Bai Chuan - Xiu's most capable subordinate who I love because there is no hint of romantic feelings from her to Xiu or vice versa.
There is a bunch of others but my fingers are beginning to tire out so...
And in conclusion, I will leave you with this banger from the soundtrack:
Recs of mostly Heated Rivalry mostly podfics from our Heated Alliance for Voiceteam.
[Podfic] Authentic by @meggiejolly
T – 9:17 – Hayden & Shane
The joyful energy of the characters is perfectly captured
[podfic] measure of a man by @schitthappens
M – 10:07 – Shane & Rose
The character voices are great, and Daira's tone fits the situation perfectly
[PODFIC] circle back season by YouAreAKitty
T – 1:06:43 – Shane / Ilya
The premise, the voices, the acting, the accent...
[Coldread] pain killer by the_abster
G – 23:17 – Shane / Ilya
The airy tone of Shane high on pain killers... *chef's kiss*
Unlikely Friends by @djemsowhat
T – 5425– Scott & Hayden
I like how the anxiety about doing/saying something too much is conveyed
[Podfic] Shane Hollander's #1 Fan by @aliascelli
T – 33:06 – OFC / OFC
Just perfectly captures the energy in both roles
something in the water by @xianvar
T – 9946 – Shane / Ilya
I very much enjoy Shane being very skilled and competitive in things other than hockey and xia wrote it so well
keep you up all night by rockinhamburger
E – 1483 – Shane / Ilya
Love the competetiveness this conveys <3
[Podfic] I can see it, your face is glowin' by sisi_rambles
T – 28:28 – Shane & Hayden
The way Sisi can convey the assurity Hayden has in his misconceptions is marvelous
[podfic] relentlessly by @fullsundiall
G – 13:26 – Bart / Tim / Kon / Cassie
DCU (Young Justice) – This is a great choice of soulmate AU. Character voices <3
[podfic] Midwestern Nice by @hullomoon
T – 13:49 – Rose / Svetlana
Capturing way of speaking
[podfic] all eyes on me by gurlsrool by @zoozoocala
E – 40:18 – Shane / Ilya
Janeson has bery great energy and acting in this
Ilya Rozanov gets traded - an oral not!fic by edible_chemistry
G – 23:33 – Scott & Ilya
Very educational about hockey
In which Hawkeye down not put his bodyparts in the right places by coffee_mage
T – 1184 – Clint Barton / Phil Coulson
MCU – Very lovely crack
