#LIKE TO SAY THAT THE F/F PAIRING JUST WOULDNT BE AS INTERESTING BECAUSE THEYRE MORE STABLE OR NORMAL OR NOT AS CODEPENDENT OR SOME SHIT

[arundolyn]

Feel free to hate me for this, but everything for Blazblue. I imagine you rb'd it for a reason?

i rb’d it cause i am Always Salty and it looked interesting tbh

What OTPs in your fandom(s) do you just not get?

taorag cause tao is baby

ragna/rachel cause rachel looks 12 and people are into it sexually + she treats him like garbage and its one sided

kagunoel is creepy

bang/litchi is weird cause bang is not really equipped for that kinda relationship with her esp cause of the stuff with roy and she wouldnt like. get over him that easily

kokonoe/kagura also cause like. “a woman wants to speak to you” “IS SHE HOT” kokonoe: hi kagura: never mind speaks for itself + so does “pay attention to who youre talking to before laying down your game” or whatever to that effect kokonoe says when she beats him even if its noncanon some win quotes are at least vaguely accurate sometimes

kaguhibi is Hm cause a) they might be related and b) hibiki only tolerates kagura

ragjin and ragnu and celirag and ragnoel etc etc etc cause theyre related you nasties

basically mori has a cast of 32+ (excluding mu izayoi and the kids) characters and barely anything is shippable and CERTAINLY not anything m/f cause its either weird or theres no chemistry

Are there any popular fandom OTPs you only BroTP?

makoto/kagura if thats even popular. she doesnt really like him like that anymore like she is Tired of him romantically

Have you ever unfollowed someone over a fandom opinion?

not that i can remember but probably. i dont think ive ever followed any ragjins besides like. one. but if anyone it would be a ragjin

Do you have a NoTP in your fandom? Are they a popular OTP?

ragna/rachel, ragjin, ragnu, and kagunoel are all equally all horrible to me

Has fandom ever ruined a pairing for you?

i dont think so

Has fandom ever made you enjoy a pairing you previously hated?

uhhh i think not. i never really ship much and nobody really convinces me to ship anything. i either am indifferent or dont like it unless i ship it already

Is there anything you used to like but can’t stand now?

how people baby hibiki as if hes not a grown ass man and also an assassin and also reduce ragna purely to anger and being stupid when he’s actually fairly intelligent (ive literally been told i wrote him too smart) and emotionally complex

Have you received anon hate? What about?

MY PALETTES FOR SOME REASON?

Most disliked character(s)? Why?

rachel cause shes just kinda garbage pedobait, plat for the same reason but to a lesser degree cause she at least doesnt say weird ACTUAL BDSM SHIT but i can actually like. tolerate her unlike rachel. nu for ever conceivable reason possible. terumi is just a bastard man im legally obligated to hate him. susan is incredibly overrated

Most disliked arc? Why?

MU BEING SEPARATE FROM NOEL IN CF THAT WAS SO DUMB NOEL LITERALLY JUST ACCEPTED MU AS PART OF HERSELF AND NOW SHES SCARED OF THE POWER SHE JUST RECLAIMED TO PROTECT HER FRIENDS? FUCK OUTTA HERE WITH THAT. also everyone losing their memories in the embryo to cause unnecessary conflict AND everyone wanting to kill noel to cause even more unnecessary conflict cause mori obviously wouldnt let his fuckin waifu die so the tension is dead from the start

Is there an unpopular character you like that the fandom doesn’t? Why?

people tend to think celica and noel are really annoying i guess and like. idk i like them

Is there an unpopular arc that you like that the fandom doesn’t? Why?

fsr people hate celica being the sister that raised ragna and co but like. it doesnt bother me. i dont care about celirag. its weird to me cause thats his mom and nobodys gonna change my opinion on that tbh

Unpopular opinion about XXX character?

plat and mu could really wear more clothes honestly

Unpopular opinion about your fandom?

it is GARBAGE. at least the eng fandom is. i know this opinion is shared by my friends but like. im sure it isnt by the freakos who draw porn of rachel so like. yeah

Unpopular opinion about the manga/show?

translate your fucking novels mori and also the anime sucks

If you could change anything in the show, what would you change?

i know this is like. not made for games but in the anime id change that weird scene that totally deviates from canon where ragna agrees to destroy everything with nu or whatever? garbage. id also change nu being alive in cf cause she doesnt need to be and it wouldnt affect ragnas lifelink cause they didnt die at the same time so shed just be in the boundary cause like. im sure he’s almost died before when he was fighting and she wasnt smelted yet PLUS people keep pulling her soul out of the boundary like its nothing so. yeah. also the scene where ragna goes black beast for no reason just so the embryo has a purpose. i would change a lot

Instead of XYZ happening, I would have made ABC happen…

instead of brotherly paradise getting TWO EXTENSIONS id extend the gag reel where kokonoe and relius bodyswap people instead of ragna deciding to save nu which makes little sense i would simply make him agree with hakumen and let him beat her to death. rip to mori and his waifus but im different

Does not shipping something ‘popular’ mean you’re in denial and/or biased?

not necessarily some ships just fuckin suck lmao

What is the one thing you hate most about your fandom?

the fixation on the female anatomy in the game and fandom is so tiring. esp transphobic jokes about mai

What is the purest ship in the fandom?

tsubaki/noel/makoto tbh

What are your thoughts on crack ships?

i jokingly brought up kagura/mustang fma so like. fuckin go for it its all in good fun

Popular character you hate?

SUSAN

Unpopular character you love?

kagura.....................

Would you recommend XXX to a friend? Why or why not?

yes because im fixated on it but no because its a mess u feel

How would you end XXX/Would you change the ending of XXX?

RAGNA DOESN’T DIE AND NU DOESN’T LIVE

Most shippable character?

kagura is the bi-est. makoto is a close second i think

Least shippable character?

rachel looks 12 and people want her to fuck. kokorach is the only valid ship cause theyre both old and tired of everyone so they can bitch about everyone together

#man i am salty. #broken clover #ouija board

[motherofkittens94]

tagged by @greyjoysea and @staryjoy 

GOT PREFERENCES

Do you watch the episodes when they air? usually not being a brit who doesnt have hbo  i watch like a day or two later when it airs on sky Atlantic  or on now  tv the first three i watched on dvd from a friend who had the boxset it was when we were sharing a house walked in  the logue one  Morning and she watching it and its that bit where the mountain cuts off the horses head and im like what the hell are you watching ?? i just woke up i wasnt expecting violence this early in the morning ? and then sat down and watched it with her and im like and watched the whole rest of season   one and im like what the hell is this show  ??  ....is there more ?? btw my brother said he got half way through season one and said it  was boring im like season ones the best ?? and hes like oh i dont enjoy  historical drama im not interested in medieval history and im like face palm he thinks this is historical and he also doesnt like history wtf i mean  how am  i related to this fool but yeah thats tangent  and i told him get to ep nine so he could see ned stark beheading he said maybe but if i agreed to watch stranger things with him lol :/ 

How often do you rewatch it? Do you rewatch it from season one? ive re watched all the way  it through a few times but usually would only watch my fav episodes ive seen the red wedding so many times though because wed always watch it with some friend whos just getting into and hasnt seen that one yet so we can see their reaction 

Do you rewatch the previous episode before the next one airs? Not usually on each  occasion but my aunt and uncle always do so when i watch with them i do  

Do you eat anything while watching? if so, what do you eat? not usually a proper meal but  i might have snack like crisps or popcorn unless its a glory scene 

One character that everyone seems to like that you don’t care much for hmm cersei ?? and i didnt lime petyr baelish much but he seemed popular at least among my friends  but i do agree he shouldnt had a better death scene they took all the cleverness out of him and though i hadnt liked him it was a shame in a way like the couldnt find way him to go down in a clever interesyting way so they had to dumb him right down  book pb wouldnt get caught like that people like show euron apparently me  hmm not show much to put it nicely also ave mixed feelings about stannis book book and show wise and i like jon but hes not the ultimate  hyped favourite like he is with a lot of people and perfer theon to him tbh 

Your 3 favourite pairings Throbb theonsa jon ygritte jaime brienne thats four but theres two theons so 

Favourite scene: robb getting crowded any scene where theon smiles  theons monologue  theon and sansa hug jon and sansa arya sansa hug jon and ygritte kissing on the wall jaime jumping to save brienne theons speeches both tyrions speeches both but the one in season one was really funny tyrion dragging the chair across the room when everyone is is science idk that cracked  me up bronn duelling for tyrion the one where Catelyn announces to everyone that (she thinks)  tyrion tried to kill bran cause that was the first ep id seen thats the bit that got me hooked  theon getting back up and fighting that ironborn guy pdrick saving tyrion  and i still maintain that viserys had the best death also not to be a basic bitch but that first time dany does her fire thing in season one i was #stunned 

One character you wish got more appreciation: theon duh #nomoredickjokes2018 but also meera and jojen too i suppose  and shireen and sansa and they could've (shouldve) done more with myrcella and tommen   and brienne too was underused and gendry also idk if if i like the way the tried to iron the grey parts out of tyrion and jon  and bran i wish they done brans story better and wed have got that tree scene with theon also as a disabled gal  certain comments some people make about uselessness of bran sometimes make me uncomfy tbh 

Fanfic or nah? i usually only read theon based ones and thats usually just theon robb theon sansa or sometimes theon jeyne p cause i cant do bolton heavy stuff im a whimp  but i read the occasion jon / ygritte or jaime / brienne and once i tried theon jon  but i wasnt sold soz :/ i read theon ygritte once as well  that actualy worked surprising well and theon domeric .. aha  thats mine  and @blueagia s baby  

but i guess id be open to others maybe 

Favourite quote:  from just the show ?  meeras some people will always need help that doesnt mean theyre not worth helping  also tyrions death is so final but life is full of possibilities and   mind needs books as a sword needs a whetstone if it is to keep its edge. That's why I read so much Jon Snow also sansas not a killer .. not yet anyway sansa - or maybe hell give me yours theons sy he is is theon greyjoy again also i like that quote about theons smile but obvi thats not in the show bronns this is bronn son of .. you wouldnt know him  just because it was funny 

Do you avoid spoilers? :  i do because im a blabber if i know id tell everyone omg this happens and that - i dont do on purpose really not with the intention of spoiling it for people  i just blurt it out like  i ruined he Rains of Castamere for someone once by saying oh is this one where robb dies ? and i didnt realise she hadnt seen it  yet and shes like robb dies :( :( and im  like oh umm i meant ...  rob - ert baratheon obviously ! haha whoops and i told someone else about jofferys death because shed said she seen it all  but she said later  i wish joffrey would die and  i was lil tipsey then so im like  .. but he does die ? youve seen it right? in season 4 ? hes poisoned ?  at his wedding ? to Margaery?? and shes like ....thanks beth ..... turns outs shed only  seen season 1-3 whoops again but hey i was drunk  that time so i  now avoid spoilers to avoid spoiling people and when i read the books my then housemates told me not to tell them what was different in case they wanted to read the books later on and didnt want me to spill and i did try to keep to it but i blabbed a few things tbh 

Favourite house words: We do not sow greyjoys ftw 

One character you’d bring back from the dead: ygritte shireen  robb maybe catelyn  and hoder !!

One character you’d kill, or kill sooner than they were killed balon greyjoy also ramsay but i wouldve done  it differently and theon shouldve been there or at least known about it also randyll tarly like fuck that guy ive seen people defending him and im like no offense but you are serious me and a friend had a bet on the boltons i bet against roose dying and he bet against ramsay dying we both lost lmao 

Direwolves or dragons? Dragons 

Which was more satisfying: Ramsay dying or Joffrey dying? hmm i actually joffrey probably because it was more unexpected i didnt see it coming i didnt think hed die  -i wanted ramsay to die and i wanted to like ramsay dying  and wished i had liked it more but it wasnt  done  the way i wanted it and it seemed so obvious like it wasnt a shock like joffrey dying was  i think in a way they over did ramster and just ran out f things fro him to do that he hadnt already like i was like hmm sewating nevously what can we do now ...err  kill your dad! kill a baby! kill  a stark  kill .. jon snow ...??  aye fuck it get rid of guy ay 

 i liked season six   better than season 7 or 5 but it made me lol in a way cause it seemed like they went ok ok you didnt like it last time when we killed all the women we heard you! we did ! weve changed things yes  so how about this instead ...   the woman kill everyone ! yea ? you like that ? we good now ?  sweet as ! put more women killing eveyone into season 7 dave we on the money 

Wildlings or the dothraki? Wildlings

Favourite lannister?  Tyrion but jaimes growing on me 

Favourite stark? i think sansa tbh 

Would you rather be able to be resurrected anytime, but gain scars and all like Beric, or become a faceless man? Resurrect any time like Beric

Would you rather have the rebellion tv show or the conquest tv show?  id pefer Rebellion but id watch a conquest show i think 

tagging @saltwaterwoods @whiteladyofrohann  @unamatta  @wedonnotcare @faller1344 @starkrysis @iladylittlefinger if you want to :) 

#bethans pals #personal stuff #long post #sorry i rambled on #you dont have to if youve already done this one

[viralhottopics]

What to watch in MLS this season: 22 teams, top talent and Tata Martino

Atlanta and Minnesota join the fun this year and theres plenty more besides. Our expert writers look ahead to what could be MLSs biggest and best season

Im most looking forward to

Seeing Fredy Montero back in the league. The man has a knack for spectacular goals. GP

Seeing how Atlanta United fare. Expansion sides have entered MLS with bluster and hype before, but no debutant has been so complete before theyve even kicked a ball. Atlanta have big-name players, a big-name head coach, a brand new stadium and a $60m training facility. Theyre for real. GR

Seeing Tata Martinos plan for Atlanta United. After our interview, the ex-Argentina and Barcelona manager seems eager to show the league what he can do with his fast and furious system. Hes expecting playoffs, but only time will tell. LME

Teams attempting to repeat their playoff feats are rare in MLS. A year after contesting the MLS Cup final, both Portland and Columbus missed out last season. That does not, however, feel like a sustainable pattern in the current climate. Im looking forward to a league where sustained periods of success are possible and we get to see how that changes fan culture. This years league could be an example of that. DR

Im least looking forward to

Well, seeing as its looming large, another chastening experience for MLS teams in Concacaf Champions League play. That and more non-developments announced as updates in the endless Beckham-to-Miami project. GP

More Concacaf Champions League games fragmenting the MLS season. Its bad enough that the international soccer calendar breaks up the MLS fixture schedule without the CCL piling on top. Its an ill-defined competition that brings nothing to North American soccer. Its time a new solution was found to stop MLS clubs from playing so many meaningless games. GR

Atrocious refereeing. Last season was probably the worst I have seen since I started reporting on the league and thats saying something. Lets hope the officiating tightened up this time around. LME

Complaints about the distances travelled by MLS teams. Theyre like belly buttons: everyone has one and none are really that interesting. Canada and the United States, if youre just tuning in, are large countries. Los Angeles, for instance, is quite the flight from Montreal. But planes are comfortable and teams and players know about these things, so there is no need for a wide-eyed player to pull a Steven Gerrard and discover the concept of distance again this year. DR

The new expansion teams, Atlanta and Minnesota, will

Probably have diverging fortunes. Minnesota will be hype-free, but organized and hard to beat under Adrian Heath, though it may take them time to be a sustained goal threat. Atlanta will either hit the ground running for a Seattle-style spectacular entry into the league, or they may have a more Orlando-style debut season, where they never quite add up to the sum of their parts. Depends on how quickly Tata Martino adapts to the idiosyncrasies of MLS. GP

Mark the implementation of MLS 3.0. The introduction of the two new franchises moves the league into the third phase of its history, with Atlanta United representing MLSs renewed move into big-time markets and Minnesota United reflecting the grassroots approach. The contrast between the two underlines a wider approach from MLS. They are the illustration of variety. GR

Minnesota United join their fellow United, Atlanta, in the league this season. Photograph: Glen Stubbe/AP

Both qualify for the playoffs. I mean, why not? if we are judging it based on last season, its really a testament if you dont make it. In the East, Philadelphia grabbed sixth spot with an 11-9-14 record and in the West, Real Salt Lake grabbed the last spot even though they had not won a single game since August. The playoffs are in October. Go figure. LME

MLS expansion teams do not have a particularly glorious history to this point, none of them have ever been very good in year one but Atlanta and Minnesota both look decent enough. Atlanta is stocked with attacking talent while Minnesota appears to be going for a bit more solidity. Past experience has trained MLS fans to bet against expansion teams making the playoffs, but it wouldnt be hugely surprising if one of these teams pulled it off. DR

The MVP will be

Sebastian Giovinco looked a touch piqued by being overlooked last season. He wont leave anything to chance this year. GP

Sebastian Giovinco. How could I predict that it will be anyone else? The Italian is the best player in the history of the league, and going on his pre-season performances he is only likely to get even better. The Atomic Ant wont be finished until he has carried Toronto FC all the way to the MLS Cup. He came pretty close last year. GR

Jordan Morris. Last years rookie of the year scored 12 goals in 34 appearances for the current MLS champions in 2016 and I think this time around, hes going to blow up. Morris is the perfect example of an MLS player. Hes versatile, diverse, hard-working and now that he has a better chemistry with Nicols Lodeiro, another contender, its a no-brainer. Also, dont sleep on Gio Dos Santos. LME

MVP awards invariably go to offensive players because the world is an unfair place. In which case, consider this a protest prediction for FC Dallass Matt Hedges. Some reasons for this: hes a solid defender on a good team that might finally break through this year. Moreover, as the league shifts from spending almost exclusively on marquee forwards to valuing defenders, one hopes that logic might influence the MVP race. It wont, but one can hope. DR

The top goalscorer will be

NYC FC look stronger this year, and can spread the workload around the attack. And Rodney Wallace may prove to be a telling addition for them. So David Villa. GP

Jordan Morris. The rookie scored when it really mattered as the Sounders went on to lift MLS Cup last year. He scored in both legs of the Western Conference finals, also netting more game-winners than any rookie in the leagues history. If Morris can add regular-season consistency to his game he will be the most potent striker in MLS. GR

Giovani Dos Santos. No Gerrard, no Keane, no problem. Now that the Mexican star has been able to experience a full season in Los Angeles, he will enter 2017 knowing full well what to expect. Last year, Gio scored 15 goals and 13 assists in 30 appearances for the Galaxy. Ill say he doubles at least one of those stats this time around. LME

Giovani dos Santos can pick up where Robbie Keane left off. Photograph: Jae C. Hong/AP

Sebastian Giovinco. For reasons that remain a mystery, Giovinco was not the leagues MVP last season. He was, however, MLSs best player, and can be expected to continue where he left off last season. While the leagues other scoring luminaries David Villa, Bradley Wright-Phillips and Ignacio Piatti will soon have to deal with the effects of aging, the Atomic Ant is still in his prime. DR

MLS referees are

Watching TV? Video replay experiments have been under way and MLS wont be shy about adding more gimmickry (they love their cans of spray). Im predicting psychics as seventh officials, second-guessing the un-American intentions behind every dive. GP

Poor, just like referees are all over the world. Gripes over the standard of officiating in North American soccer are legitimate. Some of the decisions made in 2016 were at best truly baffling, and at worst dangerous. But refereeing is enduring something of a crisis worldwide. Its not MLS that is suffering from a lack of top-class whistlers and flaggers. GR

Going to have their work cut out if they learned nothing from last season. As I said earlier, last year was a catastrophe. It cant get worse, can it? Can it? LME

An endless source of entertainment, but their impact is generally overstated. The league is rumoured to be after any official looking for a post-Premier League career. [Have fun in Saudi Arabia, Mark Clattenburg.] Even without foreign help to solve Mark Geigers regular brainfreezes, the fate of the league hardly hinges on PROs famous wobbles. Everything will be fine; everyone will whine about officials. It was ever thus. DR

Whats missing from MLS?

Apart from psychics as assistant referees, I do have a wish that Adidas werent the sole providers of the kits, for a little more variety in that regard. Though having seen what teams picked for themselves in the 90s, maybe uniform triple stripes is not so bad. And Id like to see the playoffs adjusted to a round-robin format giving home-field advantage throughout to the best regular-season finisher. GP

OK, Ill say it: promotion and relegation. Its baffling that this has become such a taboo subject in MLS. Sure, the benefits of a closed circuit are obvious, but lack of relegation means teams near the bottom of the table get quickly forgotten. Mobility between tiers would energise the doldrums of MLS. GR

MLS is the most diverse sports league in North America but I want to see a bigger female influence. Lets encourage more female coaches, refs, staff members to take part in the league. Adding to that, I think there should be a stronger relationship between the league and NWSL. So happy that Lifetime has picked them up for coverage. LME

Animosity. Rivalry weeks, while thrilling in concept, usually serve to demonstrate how some pairs are far more contrived than others. With time, however, the sort of enjoyable hatred and embrace of villainy that makes soccer so enjoyable may catch up with the league. For now, fans are left hoping that the few genuinely great rivalries compensate for all the rest. DR

Eastern Conference winners

NYC FC though Im not putting another flameout in the playoffs past them. And the Red Bulls and Toronto should be competitive again. GP

New York City FC. The revamp job conducted by Patrick Vieira at New York City FC last season caught many by surprise. Despite his lack of MLS experience, the former Arsenal midfielder turned the Bronx outfit into one of best sides in the league, finishing just three points off top spot in the East. Now, with the Red Bulls in something of a transition, NYC FC would appear to be best equipped to top the conference this year. GR

NYC FC. Now that Vieira knows the league and more importantly, how to play at Yankee Stadium better, the blue side of New York should be a stronger unit. Coming second in the East last year was a great achievement and they should now know what it takes to make a good play-off run. Moralez was a genius move and a stronger defensive unit coupled with a healthy David Villa should see them take the conference. LME

For the defense is overrated camp, I give you this years New York City FC. Much like last years team and the one before that, it is fielding a question mark at goalkeeper [this year hell be called Sean Johnson] and whoever is around in central defense. In other words, NYC FCs losses will be ugly but they may be able to outscore enough opponents to improve on last years early playoff exit. DR

Western Conference winners

Dallas. Last year was the year the promising young team were meant to come good, and in winning the Supporters Shield and US Open Cup they largely did so. Theyve made some good off-season signings and continue to churn out great young homegrown players. The Conference should be theirs to lose again. GP

Michael Barrios and FC Dallas can win in the West. Photograph: Tony Gutierrez/AP

FC Dallas Comfortably the most consistent side in the West last season, FC Dallas have managed to keep the core of their team together over the winter. Zach Lloyd has left for Atlanta, with Fabian Castillo off to Turkey, but other than that the Texans remain the same, also making the shrewd addition of Javier Morales to fill-in for the injured Mauro Diaz. Oscar Parejas side once again look to be in good shape. GR

LA Galaxy. I think this is the season when the Galaxy wake up. No Keane or Gerrard, to me, is an advantage as this club now belongs to Gio Dos Santos and LA fans will love Romain Alessandrini. It all depends on head coach Curt Onalfo, but given the fact that he is not a newcomer to the teams philosophy (he coached the reserves) he should do enough to take them to the top of the West. LME

The Seattle Sounders won last years MLS Cup with key players injured [see: Dempsey, Clint] and less youth and depth than the current iteration. They will probably punish me for this prediction by getting off to an awful start, but that is basically The Seattle Way. MLSs contrived parity never bodes well for repeat winners, but this could be the team to do it. That or theyll make me look like a fool. DR

MLS champions

Lets say Dallas finally go through a playoff series without a fatal 10-minute lapse in concentration, and they deliver the trophy their talent deserves. GP

Toronto FC. While Giovinco was undoubtedly the star of Toronto FCs 2016 season, it was Jozy Altidore who pushed them all the way to the championship game. Arguably for the first time, the US international found his groove in Canada, scoring in every play-off game in the run-up to MLS Cup. With Altidore in top form, supported by Giovinco and Michael Bradley, as well as an improving defence, TFC appear to be perfectly built for knockout football, as they demonstrated last year. GR

NYC FC. Yes, Im a New Yorker. Yes, I am a founding member. So sue me. The squad looks great, we have a Peruvian (Alexander Callens) and players like loanees Yangel Herrera and Miguel Camargo are going to be key unsung heroes in the middle – an area often abused by the opposition last year. Bring it. LME

Im already regretting both of my picks, and will go with NYC FC just for the fun of it. The league could use a good villain a role for which Patrick Vieiras team is suited and NYC FC would be the most fun team to go all the way if only because they are uniquely unequipped to play solid playoff soccer. Having now predicted that, they will probably ship five goals in every playoff match for the next decade. DR

Who will surprise us?

Vancouver werent as bad a team as the standings suggested last year they just got chronically unlucky with injuries at the start of the year and never recovered. Theyve got injuries to start this year again, but Yordy Reyna may be like a new signing when he gets back from injury in the summer, and in the meantime Montero is very much the natural goalscorer they lacked last year. Anyone looking past Vancouver because of last year could be in for a surprise. GP

The Chicago Fire. For so long the running joke of MLS, the Fire have enjoyed a strong off-season, making arguably the statement signing of the winter by poaching Dax McCarty from the Red Bulls. They have also added Hungarian striker Nemanja Nikolic, who has scored 112 goals in his last five seasons in Hungary and Poland, and proven MLS performer Juninho. Finally, the pieces are in place for Chicago to have a good year. GR

Maxi Moralez. The 30-year-old attacking midfielder from Argentina was one of the smartest acquisitions by any team in the off-season. In my opinion, NYC FC have their own Giovinco. Dont believe me? Youll be eating your words in October. Also, my paisano Yordy Reyna is going to light it up for Vancouver. Youve been warned. LME

With apologies to the citys fine residents, Chicago has put out one of Major League Soccers more appalling sides in recent years. The club has regularly been atop the league allocation order only for big names to go anywhere else. This year, with Juninho and Dax McCarty, the Fire has the ghost of successful MLS midfields past, and that might be enough for a marked improvement. The bar for this team is punishingly low, but those two geezers should be able to easily jump over it. DR

And finally why should we care?

Because David Beckhams honor is at stake Because Colorado Rapids vs Minnesota United Because its statistically likely that your village has put a cheeky expansion bid in Because Guardian writers children need to eat. GP

Because MLS has never been more interesting. With Atlanta United joining the league, and LAFC joining next year, the spread of top-class talent and marquee franchises has never been greater. New York and LA were once the only places that would register on the global soccer radar. This season is the greatest illustration yet that that is no longer the case. GR

Any mightier-than-thou comments from European fans need to remember something. Yes, this isnt the Premier League or La Liga, but MLS is getting better year after year and Tata Martinos arrival is another sign that if they cant compete with China when it comes to player transfers, theyll up the ante with better tacticians and youth development. A smart move that will pay off in the next few years. LME

Unless youre Andrea Pirlo, MLS is no longer a retirement league. This years squads are loaded with young talent that can actually excite and surprise viewers. Moreover, theres enough volatility to keep things exciting. MLS historical antipathy towards super-teams means that most matches are of some consequence and few are forgone conclusions. What has in the past been criticized as a recipe for mediocre boredom may finally produce a uniquely exciting, if not excellent, league season. DR

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from What to watch in MLS this season: 22 teams, top talent and Tata Martino

#What to watch in MLS this season: 22 teams #top talent and Tata Martino