A while back I had the Mojo modded and hooked it up to another computer as a DAC, so the laptop has been without a portable DAC lately. Figured I’d pick up something cheap as a replacement. The requirement was to get charge-and-play working as much as possible, instead of the Mojo dying on me every other minute. And the bar for sound quality isn’t that high either — just needs to be a real step up from the laptop itself, ideally without too much hiss. Obviously none of this compares to the high-end demands of mystic audiophile tycoon Wu Lao’er, who runs desktop amps straight into Xiaomi hybrid IEMs — the very setup that pulled him out of the Philips fan camp and got him hooked as a proud Miboy. Given my lowly requirements, I thought it over and went with a Japan-import CYBERDRIVE USB DAC. This CYBERDRIVE USB DAC thing is made by a Taiwanese company, ran a crowdfunding campaign on JD.com, and went for 240 or 300 RMB there, can’t remember which. Claims to be USB-stick-sized and decode DSD.

As a total novice in the audiophile mysticism scene, I inevitably had to go consult a master. So I tracked down Wu Lao Er. Wu Lao Er is the ultimate veteran audiophile — he knows more mystical buzzwords than TFBoys has released singles. I asked Wu Lao Er if he could recommend any earphones, preferably comfortable ones, for lying in bed. “Xiaomi Circle Iron.” Wu Lao Er didn’t even hesitate. “Xiaomi Circle Iron, the ultimate endgame pair. Buy it and you’ll be as free of worldly desires as I am… oh right, what do you listen to?” “I don’t really listen to music. I’m mainly buying them to listen to eroge.” “Then you should want the Xiaomi Circle Iron even more!” Wu Lao Er’s voice went up. “The Xiaomi Circle Iron… the vocals are forward, the mouth shapes are big, sibilance is low, the soundstage is wide but controlled, the mids are fairly tight, leans warm, and there’s a whiff of rosin to it. Perfect for a vocals person like you.” “But my budget is only… 20 yuan.” “What the hell are you gonna buy with 20 yuan, you dumbass? You gotta add some money!”

Lately I’ve been really into pure-love confession games. Probably because pure me is just too pure. Watashi ga Suki nara “Suki” tte Itte! (私が好きなら「好き」って言って!) is exactly that kind of confession-raising game. To borrow the words of the well-known bishoujo game voice actress Kyoka, this one’s a “恋愛シュミレーションゲーム” — a love simulation game, basically. I’ve played a few of those before. The deal is that it isn’t structured like a novel; the heroines’ affection shifts dynamically based on what the protagonist does, and at the end whether you end up dating depends on how much affection she has for you… That’s the formula from Purely X Cation, Pure X Connect, and the older Fureraba. No real story, just pure romance — and school life, of course. But If You Like Me, Say “I Like You” has a couple of things that set it apart: the story and the system.

Tearjerker stories, everyone thinks they’re so moving. So the moment you say tearjerker, naturally someone’s gotta die. There are a thousand ways to kill someone off, but the handiest is terminal illness. Blaming it on terminal illness is super convenient—everyone can just curse how unfair the heavens are. So of course visual novels use terminal illness too. One fairly well-known one was Dekinai Watashi ga, Kurikaesu.. What did I think of that game… one word: trash. So the same staff went and made a new one, still about terminal illness: Inochi no Spare I was born for you. What did I think of this one… still trash. Actually, it’s even worse than the last one…

HanaHime * Absolute! was announced back in 2014, then delayed, delayed, and delayed until now. Nobody’s heard of the developer Mira, but if you look at the intro and OP, you’ll get a strong sense of déjà vu. Where have I seen this before? That’s right—Twinkle Crusaders (ティンクル☆くるせいだ). Same artist, same system, same coloring style, same OP animation director, same OP music… basically this is the spiritual successor to Twinkle Crusaders (I’m using “spiritual successor” correctly, right?). And since it’s a spiritual successor, you know Twinkle Crusaders was a game built around its combat system, so HanaHime * Absolute! is also combat-focused. As for the story? Who the hell cares…

I’m tired of saying whether LASS should just die already… I’m a bit conflicted. On one hand I want it to croak pronto, on the other I still think it should at least finish Liber 7 before kicking the bucket. Anyway, for now it’s better if it doesn’t die. So this “won’t-die-when-you-want-it-to” LASS has a new game out, and it’s a sequel to that old nukige series. Turbulent Snow, Moon, and Flower Moonlit Lewd Dance, Oath of Madness

A while back I bought a Meizu EP51 Bluetooth earphone, and a few days ago it broke. It broke out of nowhere. I got home from a run and the right earbud just kept hissing noise, the thing stopped responding, then it got hot, then it was dead. I’m guessing some part of the waterproofing wasn’t done right. But I bought the mainland China version, so I figured I’d take it to the local Meizu place for repair. Their attitude was actually fine, it’s just that you have to wait in line.

People gotta treat themselves, sure—but you also have to factor in the possibility of gifts. So how does a Xiaomi hater like me end up with a Xiaomi Sign Pen?

I was feeling pretty empty yesterday, then I saw an imouto game got a fan translation… and after looking it up, it seemed like the playtime was only an hour, so I figured I’d play it to relax. The Chinese name is 《妹妹的朋友与我的日常》, but that translation is already off. The original is 《妹とその友人がエロすぎて俺の股間がヤバイ》, which should really be “My Sister and Her Friend Are So Fucking Horny That My Dick Is in Trouble.” Of course, a name that dirty probably got sanitized—daily life it is, I guess… But as a fan-translated game that’s only an hour long, playing it was more exhausting than the fucking Japanese version. The whole thing felt like taking an exam… I guess that’s where the “educational value” comes in…

Every so often on some SNS or other, I run into people who claim to know me. I don’t know them, of course. No idea how they found me. “Oh, Mr. Li, I’m a fan of yours.” That’s what some stranger who messaged me on Telegram recently said. “I really love reading your blog, especially the eroge impressions.” Well, that brightened my day a little. Most of the idiots who claim to like my blog all say they enjoy watching me self-deprecate, and the moment they see eroge impressions they announce they skipped it—some even act like my constantly writing about eroge is an eyesore. It’s my own damn turf, I write whatever I want, and these guys strut around like they own the place demanding I serve dishes to their taste. Give me a break. “Is that so?” Usually I don’t bother with people who harass me, but this one said something I didn’t expect, so I decided to reply. “Yeah! Though the recent eroge impressions aren’t as good as the old ones.” Honestly, I had to agree. Lately I just roughly retell the plot, say “good” and “bad,” and call it a day. I can’t even be bothered to think up titles anymore. “The old eroge impressions were really great, especially the little intros you wrote at the front.” “Intros?” “Yeah, the ones before the boring game plot summaries. Your memories of the past, and those little skits about getting dumped in arranged marriages lately—those were fantastic! You don’t do them anymore, it’s just boring game introductions now…” I don’t know what he said after that, because after I blocked him I couldn’t see the chat log anymore… Everyone’s time is precious. It’s not worth wasting on boring idiots. In this day and age, when the prologue of a single galgame can take at least 4 hours, having a super-fast-paced galgame should feel like a breath of fresh air…