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freyayuki · 2 years

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Final Fantasy Record Keeper Japan Current Progress Part 9

Here’s a list of my current progress in the Japanese version of the Final Fantasy Record Keeper (#ad) (FFRK) mobile game.

Before that, let me start by saying the reason why I started playing the Japanese version of FFRK. It’s the same reason why I’m also playing the English version. The answer is Genesis Rhapsodos from Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII. Currently, he’s my absolute, most favorite Final Fantasy character. He’s in Final Fantasy Record Keeper, so that’s why I’m also here.

Labyrinth Dungeon Season 2 Group F Water Banners 1 and 2 Relics List

The Labyrinth Dungeon Season 2 Group F Water Banner 1 contains the following relics:

Bartz Klauser’s (from Final Fantasy V) Coral Blade True Arcane Soul Break (TASB) or Arcane Dyad Soul Break (ADSB)

Paine's (from Final Fantasy X) Full Throttle Edge+ TASB

Paine's Sword of Dark Knight Paine Synchro Arcane Soul Break (SASB)

Aria Benett’s (from Final Fantasy III) Ballad Crown SASB

Leila's (from Final Fantasy II) Danjuro SASB

Serah Farron’s (from Final Fantasy XIII) Guardian Amulet SASB

Bartz's Lohengrin SASB

Leila's Blue Armlet Chain Soul Break+ (CSB+)

Serah's Crown of Splendor Awakened Arcane Soul Break (AASB)

Tidus's Nightbringer AASB

Paine's Shock Shield Glint+ Soul Break (G+)

Aria's Luminous Robe G+

The second banner contains the following relics:

Meia's (from Final Fantasy I) Diablada TASB

Meia's Avalon Breath SASB

Tidus's Mirage Sword SASB

Famed Mimic Gogo's (from Final Fantasy V) El Dorado SASB

Meia's Lune Noire AASB

Famed Mimic Gogo's Polymorph Rod AASB

Arc's (from Final Fantasy III) Staff of the Devout AASB

Meia's Cornucopia Chain Soul Break (CSB)

Meia's Witch's Origin G+

Arc's Lambent Hat G+

Famed Mimic Gogo's Mythril Knife Legend Materia+ (LMR+)

Arc's Laurel Crown LMR+

Characters with Water Soul Breaks

My only dupe is Bartz’s Sync on banner 1. I considered pulling on these banners to shore up my water team since it’s severely lacking. My only water Sync is Bartz. My water AASBs are Paine for physical and Rydia (from Final Fantasy IV) for magical. I also have Tidus’s TASB and his physical Chain. My magic water Chains are Gogo’s and Strago Magus’s (from Final Fantasy VI).

Got a few other water relics but nothing all that remarkable or of use like, AFAIK, I have Arc’s G+, but what use is that to me if I have nothing else for him? I may have Gogo’s and Strago’s Chains but I don’t have a single BDL relic for either of them and my magic water DPS is basically just Rydia with her AASB so what good does that do me? How could I form a magic water team with only these relics?

Physical water seems a bit more promising with Tidus, Bartz, and Paine but it doesn’t seem to be enough. For Bartz, I have a few of his Glints but I don’t even know if one of those is for his water tech (he has relics for lots of elements). Having his water Sync is nice and all, but SASBs can only be used once per battle, so what’s he gonna do once the effects of his Sync have run out? He’ll be useless if I don’t have other BDL relics for him or even just an Ultra Soul Break (USB) or 2.

To my surprise, I actually have quite a bit of Paine’s and Tidus’s relics. I was under the impression the only decent thing I have for Paine was her AASB while for Tidus it was his TASB and his Chain. Apparently though, I also have one of Paine’s USBs and her AOSB and possibly a few more that I can’t remember right now. Too bad I don’t have any other BDL relic for her though.

For Tidus, I have one of his USBs, his Limit Break Overstrike (LBO) or Limit Break Over Flow (LBOF) and possibly a few more that I also can’t remember right now. Don’t have any of his Syncs or AASB though which sucks.

So when these water banners dropped, I eyed them with interest, especially after hearing how good the featured relics were. Banner 1 has mostly newly released stuff while banner 2 contains rerun items but since I only really pull on banners with Final Fantasy VII chars (especially if they include my fave Genesis), there was the potential to get something good from both banners.

Pull on Water Banners?

Was feeling reluctant about pulling though because:

The rates are so horrible here on Final Fantasy Record Keeper that I always dread pulling. More often than not, I end up with 1/11 that’s either a dupe or a relic that’s useless to me even if it might be new. I still remember that time I spent 500 mythril pulling for Cloud Strife’s (from Final Fantasy VII) TASB and Zack Fair’s (from Final Fantasy VII and Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII) SASB and failed to get either.

All that mythril down the drain for nothing. It was such a horrible experience that I don’t think I’m ever gonna forget anytime soon. It was so freaking frustrating and depressing because there was no pity system for that banner unlike in the Dissidia Final Fantasy: Opera Omnia (DFFOO) mobile game.

In DFFOO, it’s fine even if I happen to get unlucky since at least I can pity the featured weapons. So it doesn’t feel like a waste even if I end up spending lots of gems. At least I can still get what I want.

I couldn’t do that for the Cloud and Zack banner though. Even if I kept on throwing mythril on that banner, there was no guarantee that their relics would ever drop.

These water banners have a sort-of pity system although I don’t know how to feel about that. On one hand, it’s great to finally have a pity system. On the other hand, this could have been implemented better. Behold the stamp sheet for these banners:

1 Stamp: 5000 Gysahl Greens

2 Stamps: 50 of each 4-star Mote

3 Stamps: Paine's Psychic Dress Record

4 Stamps: 50 of each 5-star Mote

5 Stamps: 3 Daily Draw Tickets

6 Stamps: 5000 Gysahl Greens

7 Stamps: 10 of each Crystal

8 Stamps: 100 of each 5-star Mote

9 Stamps: 10 of each Crystal

10 Stamps: 1 free pick from Selection A

11 Stamps: 5000 Gyashl Greens

12 Stamps: 7500 Gyashl Greens

13 Stamps: 50 of each 5-star Mote

14 Stamps: 60 Rainbow Crystals

15 Stamps: 1 free pick from Selection B

16 Stamps: 30 of each 6-star Mote

17 Stamps: 90 Rainbow Crystals

18 Stamps: 30 of each 6-star Mote

19 Stamps: 90 Rainbow Crystals

20 Stamps: 1 Soul Break Honing Scroll

You get 1 stamp every time you pull on either one of the water banners. You then get the reward associated with that stamp.

Selection A includes the AASBs on banner 2 as well as the G+ and LMRs. Selection B has the new stuff on banner 1 as well as the Syncs and TASB from banner 2.

In short, you need 500 mythril to pick an item from Selection A and you need 750 mythril to pick an item from Selection B. 500-750 mythril for 1-2 banners is way too much considering FFRK isn’t generous at all when it comes to giving pulling currency. You’d need to skip a lot of events and banners to be able to “pity” a banner or 2. And you can only pick 1 relic from each Selection. What if you miss out on a lot of relics? IIRC, the stamp sheet doesn’t reset.

In contrast to that, on DFFOO, it costs 75k gems to pity an Ex, 75k to pity an LD and 125k to pity a Burst. There’s no limit as to how many times you can pity. 75k and 125k might seem like way too much but it’s really not that bad when you take into consideration just how generous DFFOO is. Seriously, the game practically showers us players with tickets and gems. The rates are pretty good too. Yeah, I’ve had to pity a few times but I’ve also gotten lucky a number of times. It all balances out.

And I never dread pulling on DFFOO. I might be miffed if I end up with a series of crappy draw results or if I have to pity a weapon, but it’s never for long, and I find that I can never really hate this game. Heck, all I need to do is remember how bad FFRK is when compared to DFFOO, and any rage I feel soon goes away. Besides, it usually doesn’t take long before I get something good on DFFOO after a bout of bad luck so it feels like it all evens out in the end.

Also, did I mention how generous DFFOO is? We get lots of celebrations and campaigns that give us multiple first free multi-draws across several banners. They’re so generous that I can pull regularly and still have a stash of resources. Ah, if only FFRK was more like DFFOO. If only Genesis was in DFFOO. Seriously, Genesis in DFFOO when? Genesis being in FFRK and not in DFFOO is pretty much the only thing that Final Fantasy Record Keeper has going for it and why I still play it even though there’s lots of things I hate about it.

Ahem. Sorry, got distracted. Anyway, where was I? Right, was reluctant to pull on these water banners because of the trashy rates. Another thing that made me think twice about pulling was the fact that there wasn’t even a single char from FF7 on this banner. I prefer to pull on banners with FFVII chars, especially if said banner features my fave Genesis.

That’s another thing too. Wouldn’t I be better off just saving my mythril in case a new banner featuring something new for my fave shows up? Genesis just got his TASB though so I was fairly sure he wasn’t gonna get anything new anytime soon although I certainly wouldn’t say no if the game decides to surprise me. I doubt it though.

I mean, if we were talking about the likes of Cloud, I could definitely believe it. Heck, it just happened actually. On the same banner that featured Genesis’s TASB, Cloud got new relics. He got his third Sync and his third Awakening and a brand new Chain Soul Break. Who cares if there are still plenty of chars who don’t even have a single AASB or SASB, right? Just give all the new tech to Cloud and all the other super popular chars, right? LOL.

I get it. Cloud’s a protag and he’s popular so of course, he’s the one who often gets relics even if he doesn’t need them because his old ones are still really good. I like Cloud too. Heck, that’s why I tried to pull for his TASB, remember? Nevertheless, can’t help feeling rather miffed about him always getting new stuff anyway. Can’t help but wish that Genesis could get more relics too. Give him a new SASB or AASB, please. How ‘bout giving him one of those new Limit Break Guardian Summon Soul Breaks (LBGS)?

So I ended up going back and forth on whether to pull on the water banners or not. Couldn’t seem to make up my mind. I was like, I don’t need these chars. Yeah, my water tech sucks, but so what? Maybe I’ll get more via free pulls (at least this game gives a few free pulls sometimes although sometimes, it also only guarantees that you’ll get at least 1 5-star relic which sucks because all the good Soul Breaks are 6-star or higher) or whenever I pull on a banner with an FF7 char and which also features these other chars.

Then I also thought about how I actually need good water tech if I wanted to take on 6-star fire Magicite Ifrit as well as water-weak Argent Odin (also known as White Odin). I need an Ifrit with 2 Empower Fire Passives and an Argent Odin with the Fire Seal to power up my fire team. There was no way I could do any of these fights without a decent water team though.

After thinking about it some more, I eventually decided to go for it. It took me so long to decide though that, by now, there were only like 2 days left before the water banners would go away. I almost wish I missed them. In retrospect, I do wish I had ended up being too late to pull on them.

Water Banner 1 Multi-Draw Results 1

I started with banner 1. Was hoping to get Paine’s tech, particularly her SASB and TASB to go with her AASB. Then I could make her Hero Ability (HA) or Unique Ability (UA). Tidus’s AASB was also welcome to go with his TASB.

Bartz’s TASB was fine although I wouldn’t mind missing it. Too bad his AASB wasn’t here. Hoping I don’t end up duping his Sync. Aria’s SASB seems nice but I don’t have anything else for her and I don’t think she’s gonna be all that useful with only her Sync so I’d rather get other relics than this.

Leila’s water Chain buffs physical attack and it’s better than Tidus’s so I’d love to get it. Then she can be my physical water Chain holder. With her Sync, she can join in the DPS after casting her Chain. Have nothing for Serah but being able to get both her AASB and SASB would automatically make her my primary magical water DPS.

Okay, so I basically want everything on this banner except the dupe Bartz Sync. Could do without the bottom half too. Like I said though, the rates here are so trashy that it seems impossible to get some, much less all my wants on this banner.

Currently, I have 456 mythril on hand. My first draw gave me 1 disco orb. Welp, looks like we’re already off to a bad start. This is gonna be dupe Bartz Sync, isn’t it? Or maybe Dr. Mog won’t even show up and I’ll just end up with one of the G+.

Thankfully, Dr. Mog showed up, turning the 6-star item into a 7-star one. He actually gave me something new. Just got Paine’s TASB. Nice.

Getting just 1 item sucks though. Wish I could have gotten more. It really feels bad to see just 1 6-star after spending 50 mythril, especially since acquiring that 50 mythril didn’t come easy at all.

And if I didn’t already have a few of Paine’s relics, including her AASB, this would have been a really lousy draw. I mean, I have Tidus’s TASB and no other BDL relic for him, so he’s not exactly usable. So, yeah, this draw could have been a lot better. Then again, it could have been worse as well so I guess this wasn’t as bad as it could have been.

Water Banner 1 Multi-Draw Results 2

You know, my plan was to only do 1 pull on this banner and possibly 1 as well on banner 2. After that, I was supposed to just walk away and ignore these banners already. But how could I walk away with just Paine’s TASB? At least give me her Sync too, right?

I shouldn’t have done it. I really shouldn’t have done it. But I ended up doing it anyway. Yeah, that’s right. Just did another multi-draw on banner 1. I regret this. I really do.

Because once again only 1 disco orb showed up. WTF is up with this? Seriously? 1/11 again? Why? Ugh. How frustrating. Even more so since Dr. Mog didn’t even have the decency to show up.

Was afraid I’d end up with one of the Glints here. Thankfully, I got one of the Awakenings instead. Tidus’s AASB2 showed up. Hell, yes! Finally, I have something to go with his TASB. The 1/11 still feels bad though.

Water Banner 2 Multi-Draw Results 1

Since I just got Tidus’s new AASB, I was like, let’s try for his Sync on banner 2. His SASB2, which was the one that’s featured on banner 2 was said to be one of the best Syncs in the game. His AASB2, which was the one that I just got, was said to be much better than his AASB1.

Good Sync or not though, I was interested in acquiring it either way so I could have another BDL relic for Tidus. Then I’d have no qualms making his HA. See, I want to have at least 2 BDL relics for a char before I make their HA. And I’m not counting a TASB for that because it’s basically just an improved version of an Arcane Overstrike Soul Break (AOSB) right down to costing 3 bars to cast the finisher (unless you max hone them, in which case they’ll only cost 2). So I’d want either 2 AASBs or 1 SASB and 1 AASB for a char before making their HA.

And so that’s how I found myself on the water banner 2 even though I should be long done with this pulling session by now. I pull and get yet another 1/11. WTF? This is the third time already. Is this some kind of joke? Argh! So freaking annoying. What’s with all the 1/11, damn it?

As if that wasn’t bad enough, Dr. Mog didn’t even appear. But wait, there’s more. Because this draw wasn’t horrid enough, of course I didn’t even get an Awakening. Nah, instead all I got was Gogo’s LMR+. Eff this game.

Water Banner 2 Multi-Draw Results 2

I was angry and disappointed and frustrated and - man, I just freaking hate this game. Why? Why? Why? Argh! In my rage, I decided to do another draw on this banner. Yeah, I’m writing this post after the end of this disastrous ordeal and I regret everything and wish these banners had disappeared before I made up my mind to pull for them. Still filled with such rage. This is like the worst freaking game ever. Sigh.

Anyway, guess what I got on this draw. If you say 1/11 again, then you’d be right because eff this game. Of-freaking-course it was 1/11 again. This is like the normal thing now, isn’t it? I hate all my pulls on these banners. Eff all these 1/11. Could I just get out of here already, please? I want to quit this goddess-forsaken game but Genesis. Someone add him to DFFOO already, please.

Oh, hey, look, Dr. Mog just showed up. Small mercy, that. I think this game really just wants me to hate it though or something.

Why? Because I just got Meia’s TASB. Did I mention that I have nothing else for her? How in the world am I supposed to use her with just this? TASBs can only be used once. The initial 15 seconds of BDL costs 0 gauges but the finisher costs 3. And then that’s it. What’s Meia supposed to do after using her TASB?

Argh! This is so freaking frustrating. Why did this have to happen? Why couldn’t this have been Tidus’s Sync instead? Heck, I’d even take Meia’s Sync or AASB. At least those 2 have effects other than just the BDL.

Water Banner 1 Multi-Draw Results 3

So I went back to the water banner 1 even though the right thing to do was to just walk away. Should have done that a few pulls ago. I guess I kept hoping that things would get better, that I’d stop getting 1/11. But that’s all I kept getting and it didn’t seem like that was gonna change anytime soon.

Was only 1 draw away from getting the 3 Daily Draw Tickets from the Stamp Sheet though so I thought I might as well go for it. In retrospect, I still regret everything.

This draw actually gave me 3 disco orbs. Was surprised, to say the least. It felt like forever since I’d seen more than 1 disco orb. Then Dr. Mog appeared and turned one of them into a 7-star item.

And I get to the draw results screen and see that quantity doesn’t always equal quality. Was hoping for Paine’s Sync so of course that didn’t show up at all.

Instead I got Serah’s AASB, Bartz’s TASB and Aria’s G+. Well at least Bartz now has another BDL relic. Now if I can just get his water AASB. Serah can go join my very few water mages. Ah, if only her Sync had shown up instead of Bartz’s TASB. That would have been really helpful in shoring up my water magic team.

Have nothing else for Aria so her G+ is basically useless. Would have been better off with her Sync. Also, it looks like I forgot to take a screenshot of the draw results screen for this pull. Must have been too disappointed. Still, it was really nice to see 3/11. Here’s to hoping I can see more. Just don’t want any more 1/11.

Daily Draw Tickets

That last pull just gave me 3 Daily Draw Tickets via the Stamp Sheet. These tickets are used on the Daily Draw banner.

These tickets are a 10-draw but it looks like you aren’t guaranteed to get anything, or maybe you’re only guaranteed at least 1 5-star. Not sure. Either way, was pretty disappointed with the results of these pulls.

The only seemingly good thing I got was an Awakening from a char in Final Fantasy IV. I think it’s Fusoya. Still too pissed by how horrid all these draws are that I can’t even be bothered to look up what Fusoya’s AASB does though. Pretty sure I have nothing else for him anyway. At least I remembered to take screenshots. Here they are:

Daily Draw Ticket 1 Pulls Results:

Daily Draw Ticket 2 Pulls Results:

Daily Draw Ticket 3 Pulls Results:

Water Banner 2 Multi-Draw Results 3

I’m down to 217 mythril now. So much for only doing 1 or 2 pulls on these banners, huh? I really should be done by now. Haven’t I been disappointed enough already? Yet here I am, about to do another multi-draw. Argh!

Couldn’t seem to help myself. I kept thinking how the relics that I just got weren’t completely enough to really shore up my water team. Just look at Meia and Serah. All I have is Meia’s TASB and Serah’s AASB. Need more BDL relics for them, especially Meia. And I’d really like to have either Tidus’s Sync or Paine’s Sync, preferably both.

So against my better judgment, I did another pull, this time on banner 2, hoping for something good. It wasn’t meant to be. Eff this game. I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating - I really freaking regret everything. Curse these goddess-forsaken banners and these game and its trashy rates.

Once again, got 1/11. Dr. Mog didn’t show up and the game couldn’t even give me something new. Nah, to add insult to injury, I got Gogo’s LMR+. Again. Ugh. Yeah, I freaking hate this game. Why is this happening?

Water Banner 1 Multi-Draw Results 4

So I went back to banner 1 instead of just stopping. Yeah, I don’t know what I was thinking back then anymore. I think I was just so angry about how horrible all these pulls were. I just wanted to get something good. Which was apparently the game’s cue to give me another dupe. It was Tidus’s AASB this time. Eff this game.

Water Banner 2 Multi-Draw Results 4

By now, I’m 7 draws deep across both banners. It feels too late to stop. It’d be even more of a waste if I stop now. So I kept going. Back to banner 2 this time. Seeing the 1/11 disco orb didn’t even surprise me anymore. Was expecting it. Still disappointed anyway.

Dr. Mog showed up, which was nice, but even this could turn out to be bad. Might just end up with another dupe.

Allowed myself to be cautiously hopeful when the “Congratulations” screen showed up and it wasn’t immediately followed by a rank up screen. At least I’m getting something new. The question is if this could be of use to me.

The good news is that yes, I was able to get something of use. Tidus’s SASB2 just came home. Hell, yes! Now I can finally make his Hero Ability. And he just became my primary physical water DPS.

Was relieved to get something good but, argh! Again with the 1/11. Why is it always like that? Sigh.

Water Banner 1 Multi-Draw Results 5

I’m 2 pulls away from the Selection A pick from the Stamp Sheet so I decided I might as well go for broke. It really was too late to stop now.

This draw gave me yet another 1/11. This time I got Paine’s G+. At least it’s new. But why couldn’t this be her Sync instead?

Water Banner 1 Multi-Draw Results 6

I’m definitely broke now though. Started out with 456 mythril. After multiple disastrous pulls, I’m now down to 18 mythril with only a few good relics to show for the loss. Don’t even have enough anymore to do another multi-draw.

Have to grind some quests to get more mythril for my last multi-draw. Just need one more pull to get the Selection A pick. Would have preferred the relics from Selection B but there was no way I could get to that now. The banners are ending. AFAIK, I’ve less than 24 hours to scrounge up enough mythril to get to 50. Getting more than that seems impossible since I simply don’t have enough time.

Don’t think it’s worth it either. Honestly, I don’t think this entire pulling session was worth it. I regret ever looking at either of these banners. Wish I could go back. Should never have pulled even once.

After what felt like forever, finally have the 50 mythril I needed for my last pull. As usual, got 1/11 because eff this game. You’d think Dr. Mog showing up could make up for that but nah.

Looks like he appeared just to give me a dupe because eff this game. Clearly, I needed another copy of Bartz’s TASB. Did I mention that I hate this game?

Water Banner 1 Missing Relics

After that horrible pulling session, I’m missing the following relics from the water banner 1:

Paine SASB

Aria SASB

Leila SASB

Serah SASB

Leila CSB

Water Banner 2 Missing Relics

From banner 2, I’m missing the following relics:

Meia SASB

Gogo SASB

Gogo AASB

Arc AASB

Meia CSB

Arc G+

Meia G+

Arc LMR+

Water Banner 1 Pulls Results List

1/11 Paine TASB

1/11 Tidus AASB

3/11 Bartz TASB, Serah AASB, Aria G+

1/11 Tidus AASB dupe

1/11 Paine G+

1/11 Bartz TASB dupe

Water Banner 2 Pulls Results List

1/11 Gogo LMR+

1/11 Meia TASB

1/11 Gogo LMR+ dupe

1/11 Tidus SASB

Water Banners 1 and 2 Pulls Results List Combined

1/11 Paine TASB

1/11 Tidus AASB

1/11 Gogo LMR+

1/11 Meia TASB

3/11 Bartz TASB, Serah AASB, Aria G+

1/11 Gogo LMR+ dupe

1/11 Tidus AASB dupe

1/11 Tidus SASB

1/11 Paine G+

1/11 Bartz TASB dupe

Looking at it like this, it’s really easy to see just how bad all these pulls were. They were all 1/11 except for the lone 3/11. What were the odds of that happening? Even ended up with 3 dupes. How utterly disappointing, depressing, frustrating, infuriating - eh, you get the point. Sigh. Eff this game.

Selection A Pick

10 pulls equals 500 mythril = Stamp Sheet 1 complete.

Now I can pick a relic from Selection A. Too bad this doesn’t include any of the Syncs. The best relics from the list are the Awakenings.

Decided to get Meia’s AASB to go with her TASB. Maybe someday I can get her SASB too as well as her other relics.

In conclusion, eff this game and these banners. Fest is coming soon and I’m at 0 mythril. Looks like I’ve no choice but to skip it. At the moment, don’t really feel like doing anything on this game anyway. Just feel so disappointed and frustrated. It’s maddening. Unless Genesis gets a new relic during fest, not gonna bother. Doubt that’d happen anyway. He just got his TASB, after all. So I guess I have nothing to worry about. Still furious though.

Notes:

pics are from Amazon.com; links shown above

screenshots are from my Final Fantasy Record Keeper Japanese game account

#genesis rhapsodos #final fantasy 7 #tidus #final fantasy 10 #paine #ffrk #final fantasy record keeper #final fantasy #games #ffrk jp #mobile apps #gacha #final fantasy crisis core #final fantasy record keeper japan #mobile games

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echidnapower · 4 years

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EP’s FanFiction Master Post

So this is something I should have done a long time ago on my previous account, but better late than never. For those of you who find me, this is going to be a place where you can find all the fics I’ve written over the years. This will be added to over time as I fight to revive my muse.

It’ll be categorized by fandom, so you can quickly find what you do or don’t want to read. Here we go.

Pokemon

A Valentines Dream Come True - It's Valentines Day, and a certain redheaded Gym Leader is finally getting to enjoy it with the boyfriend of her dreams. During their time together, they get into a little discussion about dreams, and Ash doesn't wanna tell her his! So to get him to spill, she tells him her dreams...when she finally learns Ash's dream...will both their dreams come true? - Based on a drawing from @miyatoriaka, which can be found HERE.

AAML: Diamond and Pearl Version - Follow me as I remake the DP episodes in order and in sequence, all so I can add the biggest star besides Ash himself. Misty! Watch her and Ash's love grow as they go on their journey. The absolute LONGEST story in my portfolio, and you will see my writing evolve the longer you go on. Be prepared for a massive read that even now is STILL going.

All I Want For Christmas Is You - It's Christmas time and the Ketchum household is hosting a party with all of Ash's friends. But while Ash and Misty dance around their feelings for each other, another Sensational Sister is about to find herself in a situation she never could have expected, but she'll be darned if she lets it slip through her manicured fingers. (Spinoff of @hollylu-ships-it‘s "A Christmas in Kanto" comic which can be found HERE.

Best Friend - "Why? Why did I have to be so stupid as to make the mistake of falling in love with my best friend?" - Story told in Misty’s POV.

Blessings From Heaven - I'm Ash Ketchum, and I'm getting married today! But how did this come to be? Through God's devine planning is how. Here's my story: I'm marrying Misty. - Warning for religious themes, told in Ash’s POV.

I Miss You - Misty misses Ash terribly, and it's affecting her emotionally as she's more irritable than usual, if that was even possible. But Daisy has a plan to get Ash to come and see Misty again. Will her plan have the desired effect? Or will it cause something she never could've seen coming? - Based on a trio of drawings from the long lost Simply-Nicole. The old art can be found on my dA page HERE, HERE, and HERE.

I’m Misty, and You Are? - Misty tells the story we all know and love...literally. She's telling the story. Based on artwork from the long lost Simply-Nicole, which can be found on my old dA page HERE.

Keep The Faith - This time it's May and Drew getting married, and it takes place in the "Blessings From Heaven" universe. Warning for religious themes.

Looks - It's Ash's birthday and all of his friends have gathered together in the woods to reminisce on the time they spent traveling with their favorite Pokemon Trainer. But something's about to happen that could change the way that Ash and Misty look at each other forever…the question is, is it for the better?

Lovesick - Kenny is feeling strange...he feels like he's sick...but is he really ill? Or is he just lovesick?

Madam Zara - When Misty decides to get experimental with her appearance, she finds herself in the hands of a world-famous beautician named Madam Zara. With most of Misty's makeovers ending less than ideally, will this be the one to shatter the mold? And how will Ash react? - Based on a drawing and idea from @hollylu-ships-it which can be found HERE.

Our Own Sunset - Ash and Misty watch the sunset together, but Misty's bothered by it. - Set in the AAML: Diamond and Pearl version universe.

Pokeshipping Week 2015 - My first time participating in Pokeshipping Week ever, hard to believe it was five years ago.

Pokeshipping Week 2016 - This year of Pokeshipping saw me collab with @hollylu-ships-it, you can see the art she put together on her Tumblr page.

Symptoms of Love - Ash and Tracey are hit by a Vileplume's Stun Spore, and Misty has to fend for herself in order to find a cure. But once she gets Ash back to health, Ash still feels many of the same symptoms from before. Why is that?

Tell Me I’m Pretty - It isn't easy being the youngest sister, especially when your oldest sister is getting married and you're the only one without a date for the once in a lifetime event. Misty can't help but feel like she doesn't measure up somehow, but a surprise visit from her closest friend is sure to make her feel pretty once more. - Inspired by THIS piece from @hollylu-ships-it.

The Road Not Taken - When Ash gets some bad news from home, he goes into a depression and starts doubting both himself and the choices he's made. But luckily, someone is there with him to remind him he's loved and cared about. - Based on yet another drawing from @hollylu-ships-it. Look at it HERE.

Warmth - It's New Years Eve, and the recently married Ash and Misty Ketchum are ready to host their first ever holiday party at their home together, but when a snowstorm makes it so no one can arrive safely, Misty is saddened. But will they really end up spending their New Years Eve alone? Or will surprise visitors warm their hearts?

Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go

Iron Girl - A robot girl who hates the fact she's a robot...will she realize just how important she is or will she continue to simply wallow in self-pity?

War Between the Living and the Dead - The war between the living and the dead has begun, and the Hyperforce has to go up against their biggest challenge yet. But with help from their allies across the galaxy, they can triumph! Or can they? This is my take on what Season 5 would've been, plugging plotholes and making sense out of a series that left us all hanging.

Buzz Lightyear of Star Command

Reflections of a Legend - Buzz Lightyear Personal Log - Stardate 92893.81. I don't quite know how to explain this, or what I'm feeling, so I guess I'll just start talking and tell you what's on my mind. There's someone I just can't get out of my head, and truthfully, I'm not sure I want to. - This is a first-person dive into Buzz’s character.

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Kim Possible

Angels Watching Over Me - Kim and Ron are going down a dark path that could eventually end in their own destruction...literally, not figuratively. When the Sloth dangles over a cliff that holds their fate in the balance, who will come in their time of need? How about...someone they never could have dreamed? - Based on a true story, warning for religious themes.

Busted - Hana wants cookie, Hana tries to get cookie, Hana gets caught trying to get cookie.

The Running Back - All-star Running back Ron Stoppable is about to face the biggest challenge of his life. He's got just a few seconds to win the championship for the Middleton Mad Dogs, but more importantly to him, he's got just a few seconds to make his girlfriend proud.

The True Meaning - Both Ron and Kim are well aware of the true meaning of Christmas, and that's why they're volunteering at a church's Bethlehem Revisited event to spread the word. Kim's happy to help and all, but...why is Ron calling her such a weird name? - Warning for religious themes.

Trick or Treat - Kim is pulling a trick on Ron, will it be a great treat, or is he about to suffer the wrath of Kim Possible? He has no clue, yet.

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Fillmore!

A Promising Tomorrow - Takes place immediately after the end of the episode "A Forgotten Yesterday." Fillmore's lost two of his old friends now and needless to say, he's tired of losing people to the darkness he was lucky enough to escape from. Luckily, Ingrid's there to show him that his efforts to rehabilitate his delinquent friends haven't exactly gone to waste. There's one person who's benefited.

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Miraculous Ladybug

You’re Loved - Adrien Agreste, Chat Noir, different identities but more alike than he would like to admit. No matter who he becomes at any given time, there's always something very important missing in his life. Will he ever find what he's looking for? Or is it possible he's always had it and never realized it?

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Beyblade

We Are One - Kai gave it his all battling against Brooklyn and his bit-beast Zeus. Now, after his close brush with death, Kai must summon the strength to go and support Tyson before disaster strikes the world. But there's no way he's strong enough to do it on his own...but thankfully, he won't have to, which is what Kai is about to learn. Sister story to "I Can't Lose You."

I Can’t Lose You - A week after Tyson's battle against the evil bit-beast Zeus and his trapped blader Brooklyn, the world is slowly making its way back to normal. Kai managed to survive and is recovering in the hospital, and Tyson is getting some much-deserved rest. But when Kenny comes to tell Tyson that Hilary has quit the team, he loses it, and goes to find out why. My first Beyblade story.

Save a Dance For Me - With the all new BBA launching with a gala to celebrate the occasion, Tyson finds himself in the uncomfortable position of needing to ask someone to be his date. He has someone in mind, but will his greatest beyblading rival get in his way and turn out to be his greatest rival in love?

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Teen Titans

Healing Touch - With several Titans pairing up, the lingering emotions are taking a toll on Raven's empathic senses and causing her to lose control of her own feelings. When she gives in and does something completely crazy, it's up to Beast Boy to pull her out of a dark place and bring her back to the light. - There is accompanying artwork from @hollylu-ships-it HERE and HERE.

More Than a Hero - I've learned a lot of lessons under Batman, he taught me everything I would ever need to know about being a superhero, about being Robin...but Starfire taught me how to be Dick Grayson, and she taught me how to fly. - Story from Robin’s POV, accompanying artwork from @hollylu-ships-it is HERE.

Robin Rising - Life is good for Dick Grayson, he's the leader of a team of superheroes he's blessed enough to call his family, and he's about to turn 18 which he figures will open up a whole new world of possibilities for him. But when his old mentor and "father" calls in, showing that he captured a criminal that had eluded the Titans forever, things get flipped upside-down. - Multichapter fic which is part of a much larger universe, plenty of accompanying artwork can be found over on @hollylu-ships-it‘s account. Go give her a follow and fav.

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Sonic the Hedgehog

A Light in Darkness - A small band of heroes go back in time to try and prevent a cataclysmic event that would eventually destroy all of creation as they knew it. But what is the nature of this threat? How dangerous is it? And how far will they have to go in order to stop it from viciously destroying all they hold dear? Features a deep cast of Sonic characters, and a very special OC owned by @e-vay

Anonymous - For Shadow the Hedgehog, Christmas doesn't mean what it means to his friends and the rest of the world. Instead, he has a self-appointed mission he needs to carry out. But this year, he may find something that he's never really had before, and it could change the way Shadow sees Christmas for the rest of his life.

Christmas Wishes - For ten years, Amy Rose has only wanted one thing for Christmas, and she's finally come to accept the reality that she'll never receive it. But a conversation with Rouge rekindles her hope and her Christmas spirit. Will she be let down again? Or will her one wish finally come true this year? Read to find out. (Sister story to my other story titled "Anonymous")

Comfort In the Storm - When a thunderstorm strikes and leaves Cream quivering in fright, it's up to Tails to find a way to alleviate his crush's fears, and maybe even give her a reason to enjoy thunderstorms instead of fearing them.

Cream Adventure DX: Author’s Cut - A redo of an old story. Cream finds a strange statue in the meadow, and she knows just who to go to to figure out what it is, but she gets more than she bargained for when she goes looking for him. What happens?

Dreams of an Absolution - Silver lays awake at night and reflects on his life in this apocalyptic world Iblis has destroyed...but most of his reflections revolve around a certain fire girl with lavender fur. He wants to be happy with her, but a warzone is a bad place to kindle love, and so every night he lays awake, and dreams of an absolution.

Relations - Knuckles has a problem. He's in love...but...that presents a very unique problem...or does it?

Running to the Point of No Return - Sonic is the fastest thing alive, and Amy is told that that's the biggest obstacle keeping her and Sonic away from each other. But what's she supposed to do to keep up with him, when there's NO ONE fast enough to keep up with him?

Scars - Some things that happen in life leave scars behind that go with us for the rest of our lives. For Miles "Tails" Prower, such a thing happened to him in the depths of space many years ago...the loss of his first true love...though the pain weakens and the scars fade, they never go away completely, and Tails has learned to live with and embrace that fact.

Seven Rings and Five Fingers In Hand - A redo of the final battle in Sonic and the Secret Rings, Sonamy style!

The Heart of Chao - Chao are adorable little creatures, and they make great pets for anyone who's looking for something to take care of. But there's more to chao than just being cute, they're filled with more heart and love than anyone can imagine, and that can sometimes lead to bringing others closer together. Here are just a few stories of that very thing happening to our favorite characters.

Trapped In This Machine - Sonic has seemingly fallen madly in love with Amy, but is this sudden romance truly sincere, or is it only skin deep, hiding something sinister underneath? - Inspired by a drawing from @e-vay, found HERE.

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stillinaincrad · 4 years

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Fight Like a Girl, Final Boss Fight Edition

I’ve had this wacktastic idea bouncing around my head forever to make a final boss fight RPG party out of female anime characters. Why? I mean, why not?

So, in true RPG 8-member party fashion, you’d need 2 tanks, 4 dps (2 attack, 2 casters), and 2 healers. The criteria I used was to choose characters with high individual talents but also that also operated well within a team synergy.

Saber, Fate Zero/Stay Night. TANK

Saber is an obvious tank, she is a brutalizing attacker with speed, evasion, and power. She has high defenses, and even her own healing abilities with the scabbard of Excalibur. And, most importantly, even though she can only use her noble phantasm once, it is devastating and perfect for the final phase of the fight when the boss is weakened.

Satellizer El Bridget, Freezing. TANK

While terrible at keeping her attire intact, Satella is also capable of delivering and sustaining heavy blows, has multiple special moves that allow her to move in and out of an opponent’s attacks, and like Saber, has a special attack that can only be used briefly but can inflict catastrophic damage in the final phase with her Pandora mode.

Unchou Kan’u, Ikkitousen. DPS/ATTACK

Let’s forget for a second that Ikkitousen was total fanservice garbage that I couldn’t watch after the first season. I’m focusing on Unchou Kan’u being arguably the baddest toushi of them all. Brute force is the name of her game, and she has it to spare. She has speed and great anticipation, but most of all sheer power. As someone who plays multiple roles but prefers to DPS, I can say without question that they are always the whiners of the party - “Heal me, please!” “Can I get a heal?” (seriously, they are the biggest babies lol) Unchou broke her arm in a fight and literally kicked her opponent into submission. She would be a major force for doing damage, and wouldn’t complain the second her bar dropped below 99%.

Mikoto Kusanagi, Ghost in the Shell. DPS/ATTACK

I wanted an archer or a gun user for ranged attacks, but the problem is that most have nothing else to offer - in most games the archers are kind of useless against one main target because they just don’t do much damage, which is why they have so many special shots. Likewise, bullets are great on people, but only a handful have any use on a world boss-level opponent. Kusanagi has superhuman strength in hand-to-hand combat and could close in on a boss and cause damage, as well as move out of reach and use firearms. She is a tactician and a military leader, and would likely be the one to recognize mechanics first, as well as know how to orchestrate the party accordingly.

Miyuki Shiba, The Irregular at Magic High School. DPS/CASTER

Miyuki may be soft-spoken and kind, but when she faces an opponent she is focused, powerful beyond belief, and unyielding. Her defenses are low, but her AOE freezing magics are capable of instantly taking out multiple targets at once, even an entire room full. She is the perfect caster for any adds that may appear, so that the party can keep attacking the boss without distraction. Plus, you know her gear will be in top shape because Tatsuya wouldn’t let her leave the house if it wasn’t.

Merlin, The Seven Deadly Sins, DPS/CASTER

If not for Merlin’s inabilities to defend herself or stay attentive during the casting time of some of her stronger spells, she would be capable of being a front-line fighter - she has unparalleled destructive power, having taken down many of the strongest out there already. There is a reason she is considered the strongest magician in the land - she has a vast array of attacks that are capable of insane destruction, can teleport others around the battlefield, and though limited, has some secondary healing abilities should any member become poisoned. And, as if her powerhouse abilities were not enough, she also has the ability to reflect attacks back, letting the boss do some of the work.

Yuuki Asuna, Sword Art Online. HEALER

Yes, it’s cliche as balls, and yes, I absolutely hate what someone who once was one of my favorite characters has become. None of that changes the fact that Asuna is more than proficient at healing a large party, and usually one full of people who do dumb things on a consistent basis. Healing a 4-person party is sometimes work, but a full, 8-person party? It’s nerve-wracking. Asuna would handle it well. And, as anyone who has ever been in a party with a healer who knows how to dps at the same time will confess, it is a decisive advantage. I may not like how her character went from badass to just plain bad, but she really is the ideal for a party healer.

Akiko Yusano, Bungo Stray Dogs. HEALER

Akiko, like Asuna, is fully capable of fighting, as well. But it’s her gift as a healer that comes into play - again, anyone who has ever played as a healer knows that things go well until someone dies, then you have to use up a ton of MP to throw a rez at them, and then you’re doing makeshift math trying to ration out the heals to others for a bit while it recovers. Wouldn’t it be great if someone’s power was restoring life to those on the verge of death, so that no rez was needed? Akiko would likely have her fun mocking whoever it was that needed such a saving, making some snide comment about needing some milk or slipping a ‘get guud’ in there, but she is also very compassionate and wouldn’t let anyone die out of spite like plenty of us have done with that one annoying scrub that keeps walking into obvious attacks and standing in AOEs.

So, there it is. Yes, I am a huge f’n nerd for doing this, and actually thought about so many Maka Albarns and Akames and Yourichi Shihouins before coming up with this party. But, I’d go into any boss fight with this party because these are the pieces I would think would fit together best.

Who is in yours?

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aikoiya · 5 years

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DP Alternate Timeline - Lady Nightshade AU 1

I've had an idea running around in my head for a couple years now. Remember Danny Phantom - Ultimate Enemy? With dark futures, 2nd chances, & changing the course of the future? Then later learning about alternate timelines & other such things?

Well, lets take all that & apply it to Urban Jungle. 1 of my absolute favorite episodes in season 3. More than that, what if Danny wasn't able to beat Undergrowth & Sam? What if instead of being turned into Sam's king like she wanted, Undergrowth wasn't about to take any chance & outright fed Ghost Son to his plants?

What if that 1 act set into motion a string of events that eventually lead to his ultimate demise? After all, Sam has always been a very strong-willed individual & I can see her slowly regaining her senses over time. Then, 1 day, she looks around & thinks, "What have I done?!" But by then, Undergrowth had already renamed her "Princess Belladonna."

Sam confronts him before she's ready & Undergrowth, not knowing how much is too much for a human, skewered her through the chest & pinning her to the ghost portal in FentonWorks, killing her, but something happens & restarts her heart. In that moment, she goes from quasi-halfa to true halfa. Her irises glow yellow & her sclera turns mint. It give them a sort of Chat Noir look. (If not yellow, then sort of red wine or burgundy irises with amaranth sclera.) Finally, her hair turns either platinum or silver & her skin becomes a lovely Middle Eastern tan.

When the portal exploded, it was due to Undergrowth spearing Sam because his vine peirced the filter, this is when Sam became a real halfa & it also resulted in a permanent hole being ripped in the fabric of reality. Problem is, without a set frame to contain it, it's slowly growing bigger over time & if it isn't fixed, the world will be flooded with ambient ectoplasm allowing Hereafter Ghosts to go anywhere on Earth they wish & stay for as long as they want without needing to go back to the IR, which could spell disaster for humanity.

Second problem, Sam then passes out, so rather than get a new puppet, Undergrowth possesses her again. He continued on his conquest, utilizing the expanding radius of ambient ectoplasm to slowly move south along midwestern America, wrecking havoc on his way & effectively dividing the country in half, separating the 2 coasts with a vast rainforest of dangerous carnivorous plants.

He made his way through Mexico, all-but causing the natives to go extinct. He then ventured into South America where he made his base of opperations in the Amazon Rainforest.

At some point during that time, Sam encounters blood blossoms & Undergrowth's power fades enough that she's finally able to break free again. This time, she plans to do things more carefully.

So began Sam's long & mentally taxing journey. Her & Undergrowth's relationship became as a Strangler Fig around a tree; Undergrowth the mighty tree & Sam the Strangler Fig. It was slow & sneaky, because she knew she couldn't take the old weed on yet so she lay in wait as every other week, he'd fall asleep & slumber for 12-18 straight hours & THAT was when she went in & drained more energy from him.

As this was going on, other ghosts were invading America & without someone to stop them, they ran rampant. A lot of people died & the GIW were, initially, their best shot, but now that the fight had ventured outside of Amity, it quickly became apparent that they weren't the right people for the job. I feel like the GIW aren't actually an official government recognized group & are really funded by a third party. Possibly started by the CIA with the president having no knowledge of them or Amity, let alone ghosts.

So, when people start going after the president because they say they're government funded, Hartman denies everything & starts doing research. Turns out his cabinet has been keeping a ton of shit from him.

Moving on, Sam also subtly starts training her new powers, even learning that she's immune to blood blossoms & can control them with her botanomancy due to her unique biology as a plant-based halfa.

She tends to keep one or two blood blossoms on her at all times & turns them into either a thorn whip or a blood blossom fencing foil/rapier, both dark purple in color.

Anyway, it continued on like this until Sam possessed far more power than the botanical ghost. Then, on the next day, she tried her hand again & unleashed all the fury & anger & guilt & self-loathing she'd been hiding inside herself for so long, taking what was left of Undergrowth's power for herself as she sent him to the next life by plunging her rapier through his core & causing all Undergrowth's 'children' to become docile, or at least more mundane. She then returned to Amity.

This earned her the titles of 'Queen of Thorns,' 'Lady of the Glade,' & 'Green Maiden.' Her choosing to go by 'Lady Nightshade' rather than 'Princess' or 'Queen Belladonna.'

A good 2 years had passed since Sam's world was thrown upside down for a 2nd time. Now, half the human population was plant food & Amity was deserted; overgrown with plant-life that no longer wished to devour humans. She was utterly alone... It took a long while, but she personally took it upon herself to give each & every person she could learn of a proper burial without her newfound powers. It took SO long, but she HAD to. She- It- It was her fault!

Her loved ones... They hurt the worst & Danny's... Just... numb. All over. Like a hollow ache & pressure. Almost like drowning in the deepest trenches of the ocean's floor.

Upon finally finishing, Sam used the vines in her back to scale the side of her home where she just sort of sat on top of what remained of her roof & stared out over the lush ruins of her town, a massive, swirling green rip in the air where FentonWorks once stood.

Weeks passed & she didn't move an inch, just... processing it all as she looked out at the ironically beautiful savagery that had become of her home.

Then, 1 day, she heard a voice from behind her. "Samantha? What the cheese logs happened here?!" Yup, the fruitloop bailed at the 1st sign of trouble.

Anyway, after this, Sam gets things together & becomes the defacto protector of Earth from ghostly forces because the portal was still a major problem, which gave her a far deeper appreciation for all the shit that Danny had to deal with. The good thing is that her new ghost form had a different look to it than her normal appearance, meaning that humanity didn't know that she'd been Undergrowth's puppet.

Anyway, because Undergrowth was ultimately the one responsible for Danny's death, the title of Ghost King went to him, but when Sam obliderated Undergrowth, it then went to her. When she is eventually crowned queen, the Crown of Fire & Ring of Rage change to resemble a woven laural crown & ring of blood blossom flowers with thorns. So dark purple stims with leaves & thorns & blood red roses. The crown is surrounded by a dark, shadowy aura.

Once Sam turns 24, things suddenly changed. Clockwork merges her broken timeline with Dan's broken timeline & seals him into the new product.

The 2 Earth's merged, bringing the nearly destroyed Amity of Dan's timeline to Sam's Earth. It was now overgrown & though most of the residents were dead, some still survived. Including Valerie (who lost her arm & now has to use a robotic one), her dad, Angela & Maurice Foley, Pamela, Jeremy, & Ida Manson, as well as their once head butler & Sam's new step-grandfather, Benedict Babcock. As well as a new little brother by the name of Joseph. Who seemed to be just a normal, if rich, boy.

When Sam met her parents, it was a huge surprise as they had changed greatly. Beforehand, they were always so bright & preppy & absolutely suffocating. Now, they were more subdued & melancholic. They apologized for having tried to change her & promised that they'd be better.

Sam was shocked, but broke down & apologized for being so stubborn & angry all the time too. Now having seen real darkness, she realized that it wasn't so appealing as it used to be. She was still very punk, but she seemed to finally grow out of her full Goth phase. After seeing real darkness, Goth just feels every bit as fake to her as being preppy did. Now, she honestly sees it as pretty pathetic.

Like, she doesn't reject the shadows & she'll never be froo-froo, girly, but she's also never gonna be that dark & proud of it person again.

Moving on, anyone who had managed to survive in both timelines, merged & gained a second set of memories. This included Vlad. It causes severe congnative dissonance until they were able to sort everything out.

Now, Sam is the only one who can really stand up to Dan as Vlad was far weaker than him. That didn't stop him from trying once he'd sorted his new memories out though.

Sam was able to use her powers over blood blossoms to defeat Dan & contain him.

Afterwards, he was put on trial on both Earth & in the IR. To which he was declared guilty & sentenced to 50 years enslavement & rehabilitation by Sam's prompting.

She really didn't want to, but it was the lightest sentence that she & the counsel could agree upon. I mean, obliteration was off the table from the get-go & eternal torment was out too. She also didn't want to imprison him for a thousand years either. So, she was basically forced to sentence him to enslavement with the equivalent to community service. She was at least able to change it to the Torah's definition of slavery rather than the more modern definition. One which suggested the enslaved had a debt to pay & had to work it off. Once he had, they'd be forced to let Dan go or they'd be charged with abuse of power. However, in the Torah, the longest you could have a slave is 50 years. As such, 50 years is the absolute longest he could be kept & during that time, he'd be treated fairly, yet strictly & would be required to go through therapy. He would be punished for any further misdeeds he committed, because if he wasn't, it'd reflect badly upon his Mistress, a.k.a. Sam.

While the idea of owning anyone galled Sam, she was the only one she trusted to do so & not abuse the power she had over him.

And, now that Dan is faced with someone who he believed he'd killed, he can't avoid her.

Also, he has memories via the Plasmius from Sam's timeline to sort through.

This will end up being what I've taken to calling Blood Rose, which is Danxfuture!Plant!Sam. But it'll take a while.

DP Character Masterlist

#aikoiya aus #danny phantom #dp au #urban jungle au #urban jungle bad end #sam manson #plant!sam #plant!sam au #lady nightshade #belladonna #vlad masters #vlad plasmius #fruitloop #lady nightshape it is #much appreciated <3 #blood rose #dp #dan phantom #dark danny

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klanced · 6 years

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here are all my dnd episode hot takes bc i love it so much

I’m guessing that, besides being the team’s mascot/furry, Lance also functions as a tracker of sorts.

His posture (squatting on the ground), the fact that he looks like he’s holding something (like mayhaps a scooped up bit of dirt), the way he’s looking over his shoulder as he gives the team his Opinion, the way they all seem decidedly unimpressed at his deductions considering he only sniffed dirt- Fantasy Tracker™, Babey!

Anyway, going off that, it looks like the party is trying to track something (a monster? Lotor’s character? Keith’s?).

I bet Pidge’s armor makes her super top-heavy. If she fell over, she’d look like a turtle on its back.

Also I can’t get over her CHICKEN ARMS and her BIGASS double-bladed axe like. She really is going all out huh.

I’m also digging the fact that Shiro is wearing a full-on black cloak in the middle of a somewhat sunny forest while hanging with his crew. King of wishing he stayed home! King of withdrawing from others!

I’m already in love with this episode like this is DEFINITELY going to be one of my top five favorite episodes. I feel it in my nerd loving bones.

I sincerely hope that whatever their riding is some big scary monster that scared the pants off everyone except for Allura, who immediately befriended it. Bonus points if there’s a scene where she rubs its tummy.

Maybe it’s some personification/manifestation of the White Lion? Idk, I never finished Season 5 so I don’t really know what’s up with Allura and the White Lion, but this could be a reference to that ep.

I saw a post where someone said that could be Keith’s character which is hilarious and I fully endorse.

... Y’know what? I bet whatever the team is tracking in the first pic ends up being the animal they’re riding in the second.

This is your daily reminder that I am a BIG lesbian who is in LOVE with Allura!

LIKE HELLO? THE PURPLE BODYSUIT? FLAWLESS. THE HAIR? CURLED AND FLOWING. HER EARS? POINTER THAN HER ARROWS, AND TWICE AS DEADLY. LEGOLAS SAW HER OUT OF THE CORNER OF HIS EYE AND IMMEDIATELY WENT HOME.

I love her.

But seriously, just LOOK at her. She woke up that morning and she decided that yes, actually, she IS going to be That Bitch™! She’s winning the award for best dressed, and she damn well knows it.

I’m also still not over that one curled bang like UGH. YES. And the purple theme she’s rocking?? The way they almost match her pastel glowing marks? Her arrow feathers???? Cupid lined up the shot at my heart, and Her aim was true!

Correct me if I’m wrong, but aren’t Allura’s eyes a bit bluer than normal??? Are these.... Fantasy Contacts™?

This is pure speculation, but in my opinion it looks like Allura’s character isn’t a princess. Her armory is fancy, but she lacks Allura’s usual “crown” (it’s not really a crown, but I can’t find the proper word for it lol). Which is interesting! And if true, would confirm some of my meta on Allura lol.

........... I just realized that Hunk isn’t actually bald at the top of his head, but is instead wearing a green hat. And you know what? I’ll take the Rock Lee look over the monk bowl cut any day.

He still looks like Doctor Strange took a vacation in the Earth Kingdom, but y’know what? We still stan. I mean, the beard alone is absolutely legendary, so quite frankly? Hunk’s outfit may be weird as hell, but he still looks good. Case closed! Legends only!

Hunk’s collar is popped because he’s too busy mmmmmmmmmmblockin out the haters.

His belly button is glowing. Absolute legends only.

Also what the hell, Hunk’s sideburns look so good??? His Fantasy Barber™ is a god????? Like OOF, that cut? That fade? Can he please call his barber and ask them to fix Kuron’s hair?? Lol.

Hunk lookes like he’s playing as some kind of monk/sage class, which really tickles my fancy because Hunk as a defensive magic user is (Allura voice) absolutely divine. I mean, just look at that staff! He could either heal you or hurt you with that borderline club, let’s leave it at that.

The longer I stare at his beard the more unbelievable it gets. How did he cultivate such a majestic lock of hair? He has absolutely no facial except for this single 1″ by 1″ square. Hunk is incredibly powerful.

Voltron really wants me dead, huh. Like, they want to loot my wallet from my cold dead corpse and spend my last two dollars at Starbucks. That’s the only explanation for... this.

He looks like if Kaden from Fire Emblem Fates had a baby with Odd from Code Lyoko and that baby raided the closet of Mako from Legend of Korra.

If he has a tail, I will go full on nuclear winter, mark my fucking words.

If his ears so much as TWITCH I will really lose it I am not joking. Voltron has gone TOO FAR, and I will be the one to end it.

Okay I might be imagining things but in the picture on the left, it looks like Lance still has a right earlobe/right ear, so uh. What’s up with that. Does Lance just have four goddamn ears. Are his furry ears fake? Oh my god, is Lance faking being furry kin?

If he has claws tho, I can accept that because that’s cool as hell. I’ll also tolerate Lance having sharp canines, but only if he’s constantly biting his tongue lol.

Lance is wearing quite a bit of jewelry for someone whose clothes look like shit which begs the question of how... he has them.

If Voltron makes Lance’s dnd character a thief we riot.

Also his facial markings look like Krolia’s which is either a funny coincidence, OR the dnd episode takes place after Keith reunites with the team and introduces them to Krolia, and Lance’s markings are inspired by hers. Which is cute.

I honestly cannot tell if she’s wearing a furry cape or if that’s just her hair, but either way I’m loving it. You go, you fierce little warrior you!

I JUST NOTICED THAT HER SHOULDERS ARE AS BROAD/BROADER THAN HUNK’S NOW GHSKDGHDJGSDGDS

I mentioned this in a different post but I genuinely thought Pidge was going to be a rogue or some sort of magic user, so DPS/Tank Pidge has completely blindsided me and I’m loving every second of it.

Pidge doesn’t roleplay based on her actual self and personality. No, she’s creating Fantasy Pidge™ for a Fantasy World™ which means living out every wild dream she’s ever had!!! She’s chaotic neutral bitch and LOVING it.

She has a DOUBLE-BLADED AXE and it it’s not at least 3/4 her size then what, pray tell, is the point. I want Pidge to heft her axe around like it’s nothing, and then when she puts it down it literally shakes the ground. That’s the ultimate power move.

Lance being a goddamn furry PROVES the existence of other Fantasy Races™ so fingers crossed that Pidge decides to play a dwarven character to explain why she’s so short ghdkjsghdkjs

Pidge looks so happy in the second pic. This really is the best day of her life.

(ZOOMS IN ON THE SECOND PICTURE) YO IS THAT A CROWN???? 👀👀

Okay but seriously, if Shiro’s character is a prince/king I will EXPLODE!!!! Let Shiro make a dnd character with an unnecessarily tragic and dramatic backstory!! Let Shiro roleplay as a prince on a mission to avenge his fallen kingdom and free his people!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That would also explain why Shiro is constantly wearing a black cloak and hiding his beautiful, perfect face. Because he’s on the run and has to stay undercover, bitch!

NGL, I’m a lesbian but I stared at the second picture of Shiro for a good ten seconds. Mostly because Shiro’s hair looks really, really good, and it’s a balm to my eyes after season 4 and 5.

Also, I just realized, his crown/coronet/WHATEVER is in the same place/represents his tuft of white hair! You can see this most clearly in the first pic :3c That’s so cute!

I’ll admit, I’m a little disappointed because at first, I thought Shiro was wielding a gigantic two-handed sword, which is absolutely badass and kickass. However, on closer examination I can see what looks to be a shield strapped to Shiro’s back (apparently over the cloak, which is weird lol), so Shiro most likely wields a so-called “one-handed” sword.

I won’t lie, for a hot second I thought Shiro might be wielding a club or something because I couldn’t see a sword hilt, but if you look at the left picture really closely, you can see what looks to be a black sword hilt. I did some googling, because swords are cool, and I’d guess Shiro’s sword is based off a knightly sword.

#voltron #allura #pidge #hunk #lance #shiro #voltron spoilers #long post #REALLY long post lol #image #shitpost #caps #header text #italics

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draginhikari · 4 years

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Dragin Hikari's Top 12 Games of the 2009-2019 Decade #2 Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn for PC (Released 2014)

Anyone that knows me remotely could see this one coming from a mile away. If there is any game which has defined me during the 2010s decade there can be no other then Final Fantasy XIV (Post 2.0 anyway, we don’t talk about 1.0). Most people who play Video Games are probably familiar with the base story of FFXIV development.

The original release of Final Fantasy XIV was an utter disaster, a rushed, mismanaged excuse of an MMORPG the had very little to offer and was an example of SquareEnix going off the deep end at the time. However, in order to restore the integrity of the Final Fantasy brand, the game’s new producer Naoki Yoshida and his team were sent out to do what seemed to be physically impossible: Save the game and the reputation of the FFXIV brand. Though improvements were made to try to fix the buggy broken mess that 1.0 was. Eventually, the reality that fixing the current game was impossible so they basically started over again and had to develop a new game in what seemed like an impossible amount of time. During FFXIV 2.0 development, I was an extreme skeptical of the idea, as finicky as the gaming community can be, I thought there was no way they could fix the damage done. I’ve never been so happy to be a wrong about a game.

Final Fantasy XIV story always on-going therefore I can’t fully summarize it a short review like this but I can at least provide the basic premise. When starting you are an adventurer from an unknown location venturing to one of the three main City-States in Eorzea: Ul’dah, Limsa Lominsa, or Gridania to seek new adventures in the land of Eorzea. While getting involved in local affairs and engaging in an act of heroism the Adventurer encounters a crystal of strange origin and finds himself/herself trailed by a strange figure in dark garb. This adventurer eventually receives a vision and being called upon by the Goddess, Hydaelyn, to seek out the crystals of light scattered across Eorzea to thwart the Ascians, an immortal band of beings that posses’ others in order to revive their god. As the story continues, the adventurer continues to travel getting involved in many of the world’s conflicts as a new hero and also discover many hidden truths at the core of the world and the true nature of the conflict between the Light and Dark.

After it’s rebirth, Final Fantasy follows a more modern MMORPG model via Global Cooldown (GCD). For those unfamiliar you basically have attacks and abilities that share a universal timer (Usually 2-3 seconds) while you have other abilities that do not share this time but instead have their own recast timers which can range anywhere from twenty seconds to as much as seven minutes depending on the ability. The general idea is you weave these Non-GCD abilities during the cooldown of GCD abilities using each jobs mechanics to fulfil the task at hand. As of the release of Shadowbringers there are a grand total of eighteen combat jobs, eight Crafter class and three gatherers class. The Combat classes include four tanks, three healers, four melee DPS, three range DPS, three caster DPS, and one limited job, Blue Mage. Though each job has a similar set of abilities in their category, each job has its own ascetics, system, and general feel with just enough variety to find favorites without struggling too much in the general field the jobs falls into.

Final Fantasy 14 also follows the modern MMORPG convention of ‘Theme Park’ gameplay. The vast majority of the content takes place in Instance Areas usually in parties of four or eight depending on the content. Keeping in spirit of a Theme Park there is a variety in the content ranging from regularly recurring elements such as the Story Quests, Dungeons, Harder Raid content, and Alliance (Three full party) raids. Spread out released features including PVP modes, Exploration Content, Randomized Dungeons, Additional Crafting/Gathering options, and Gold Saucer Mini-Games. Like Many MMOs there is a variety of additional seasonal events throughout the year. The quality and quantity of this content has varied quite a bit throughout the years. Like most on-going games it’s hard to judge individual content until well after its been released leading to a lot of hindsight. Some of their experiments have worked and others have failed. However, I would say they’ve had more success than failures and generally the development team does appear to make efforts to learn from their mistakes for future ideas even if the mistakes can’t always be correct after the fact.

One of the biggest downgrades from version 1.0 to 2.0 was probably in the graphic department, though this was a good thing in FFXIV case as those pretty graphics came at a price to the games ability to perform and be updated. Personally, I still think the game looks good at they continued to improve on the design process with improved cutscenes and art direction. The engine is starting to show some age but I think it’s a small point in the grand scheme of thigs. The music direction on the other hand goes into the realm of legendary to me. Masayoshi Soken and his team have created one the largest and most varied video game soundtracks I’ve ever seen on an ongoing game. I could probably spend most of this mini-review gushing about that alone but I think I’ll spare you on that.

Being one of the most played games of the decade for me you’d think this would be the top of my list. However, the game has one distinct negative disadvantage that is almost unavoidable and probably would never allow a game like this to top a list like this for. That is, as a game collector, the temporary nature of online games. One day the game will cease service and will one day be unplayable in its current state. It may be kept alive through private servers or other means, but it will eventually disappear. A sad reality but one that must be accepted regardless of the game’s quality.

Still, of all the online games I’ve ever played FFXIV currently stands as my absolute favor of all time and look forward to future of the game and the many years I still have with it.

#Video Game #Video Game Collection #Final Fantasy #FFXIV #SquareEnix #Top 12 of 2009-2019

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sage-nebula · 7 years

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yoshi12370 replied to your post: yoshi12370 replied to your photoset: ...

Like I do understand that Kanto was originally going to be a standalone series and the way it was written shows this fact, however it’s really glaring in retrospect. Gary during Kanto was just a shallow bully than a true rival for Ash and the writers didn’t really want to focus on it as a rivalry rather than comic relief scenes. Of course the series got expanded and I felt that their relationship didn’t translate too well in the transition from Standalone to Multi-Season. Not saying Ash and Gary’s relationship was bad but as you said, the bulk of Gary’s development was offscreen. He barely had any focus during his time and a lot of his achievements were informed rather than shown (tho when it was shown, it delivered). This is part of what I meant about the rivalry being one-sided, as it seemed like they had Gary be ahead just because

Oh yeah, I definitely see where you’re coming from, and for the most part I agree.

I do think that Gary’s relationship with Ash was always meant to be a rivalry from the start. However, since we don’t know exactly when they realized they were going to continue on past Kanto, I wonder if perhaps Ash and Gary were originally meant to battle in the Kanto League, only for that to fall through when they realized that the anime was going to be carrying on indefinitely. We know, for instance, that Mewtwo Strikes Back was originally supposed to end the series, but that it was rewritten when they realized that wasn’t going to happen. I wonder, then, if around the time that decision was made, they also made the decision to postpone Ash and Gary’s battle (and include a bunch of smaller ones) until the Johto League instead.

I say this because it makes sense when you think about how they basically copy-pasted the rivalry from the games. The backstory is the same (albeit a little more fleshed out later on), and Gary Oak is the most accurate adaptation of game!Green Oak I’ve ever seen, save for that little short from Pokémon Generations. People can rag on the PokéAni all they like, but the PokéAni team straight up nailed Green when they created Gary. They got him dead-on accurate. Even his personality shift later is reminiscent of how Gary acts in the GSC games (which comes across a lot more sloppily in the anime due to the anime not having a three year time skip like the games, but the PokéAni team did the best with what they had---though oh, imagine the possibilities if they had included a time skip after the Orange League!!). They did a damn good job with adapting his character, although it’s a bit of a double-edged sword since his character in the games is pretty one-dimensional.

Regardless, the point is, in the games, the rivalry between Green and Red is summarized as thus: Green and Red were childhood friends when one day Green decided to be an asshole and started bullying Red instead. Throughout the RGBY games he shows up at various points to be an asshole, battle Red, lose, act like an asshole again, and leave. This culminates in the two of them meeting at the League, Green declaring that he is “THE STRONGEST TRAINER IN THE WORLD!!!!1!!1!!!” because he became the Champion, Red beating him again, Green being scolded by his gramps, and Green stalking off, not to be seen again until he’s a more humble Gym Leader three years later. There’s not a lot of depth to that story, there aren’t many layers; Green’s just a jerkass who takes a dose of Break the Haughty before becoming a better person. He has a line or two about wondering where Red is, showing that perhaps their relationship has improved, but again, that’s not until GSC. In RGBY, Green was a douchebag from start to finish.

So when you consider that the PokéAni team was adapting that story, I would say that they definitely wrote Ash and Gary’s relationship as a rivalry from the start---it’s just that they wrote it as the Gen I games rivalry, versus the rivalries that we would come to experience later (in both the games and the anime). I wouldn’t say the scenes that we get with Gary were meant to be comic relief so much as they were meant to show that these two are rivals, and when Ash beats his ass at the League it’s gonna be so good. Sure, there are things to laugh at in Gary’s scenes due to how over the top ridiculous he is (the car, the cheerleaders), but I do think those scenes were meant to show us the Gen I games rivalry without the battles, for whatever reason---probably because they wanted to have One Big Battle™ between Ash and Gary at the League, which Ash was supposed to win, a la how Red beats Green at the League in the games. This would have worked fine, except then they realized that they were going to have to prolong the anime indefinitely, which left them with three options. They could:

Proceed with the plan as scheduled, and create a new rival for Ash after they wrote Gary out of the show following his loss to Ash at the League. (It’s possible executive meddling ruled this one out, because they had a ready-made rival in the Johto Rival that they could have used but didn’t. It’s possible that Gary was so popular that they decided to keep him on rather than replacing him with the Johto Rival, but I don’t know for sure.)

Have them battle at the League, but have Gary win, resulting in their rivalry continuing, but Ash getting booted from the League before Gary. (And also making Gary look correct for all the times he called Ash a loser.)

Have Gary booted from the League before Ash, but by someone else’s hand, and then create a new, League-exclusive rival for Ash.

In retrospect, I do think option one would have been the best option, as much as I do like Gary’s character later on. While I know they re-used the Johto Rival in DP in the form of Paul (though I hate making that comparison because I like the Johto Rival and dislike Paul but it is what it is, the similarities are there even if I don’t like it), I think it would have made more sense to utilize his character in Johto as a new rival for Ash, while letting Gary develop in the peripheral if they did decide to continue developing his character. At the very least, it might have helped make his development seem less clumsy and rushed, since all of it happened off-screen anyway.

But that said, as we know, they went with option three, which is how we got Ritchie. And I like Ritchie, don’t get me wrong! But I also feel that you can see how rushed he is in how much he resembles Ash, from his appearance to his choice in pokémon. (He’s just more polite and less snarky, which in retrospect means that he’s probably Serena’s actual Dream Guy, if we’re being honest.) Ritchie really feels like he was thrown together at the last minute when they realized they couldn’t have Ash battle Gary at the League, and it shows. I like him, but . . . well. It is what it is.

Anyway, this is getting off subject. It’s 5am. I’m very tired. My point is---I definitely see where you’re coming from and I agree, though I still think the real problem lies less in the beginning and more in the middle; they changed their plans at the last minute (I believe, anyway), and then didn’t know how to handle the transition they had to create as a result of that. I think that, had they gone along with their original plan and written in Ash beating Gary at the Kanto League like it was probably originally planned, things would have been better, even if Gary still showed up from time to time. Ash would have already secured a victory against Gary under his belt, we might have been able to actually see Gary coming to terms with the fact that Ash was the one who beat him out of the Kanto League, and if they had continued following the games faithfully, perhaps we could have even seen him become the Viridian City Gym Leader, at which point he and Ash had a rematch now that the Gym was legitimately run (instead of owned and operated by Team Rocket). Who knows. (Meanwhile, if the Johto Rival was the actual Johto Rival, i.e. was Giovanni’s son, that could have been really interesting too.)

I’m pretty sure we’re on the same page, though, even if there’s a bit of contention over where the problem stems from---and even then, I think we both agree that this was caused by the sudden decision to not end the anime after Kanto, and the decision to continue it indefinitely is absolutely what made it lose that original flavor it had in the first season. I mean, I think the Orange Islands season maintained that flavor, in all honesty, due to how much it was very much its own thing---but Johto adopted that formulaic, commercial taste that the anime would have for the rest of its run. They knew what they had to do by the time they hit Johto and it showed, whereas the first two seasons---and Kanto especially---were treated much more like an actual narrative and show rather than, “welp, this is a story we’re going to continue until long after the sun burns out, so we better keep and maintain a status quo, boys.” It wasn’t perfect by any means (my god, the OS could be called the Saga of Abandoned Subplots tbqh), but whenever I watch the anime, the Kanto season especially (but also Orange Islands) just has a very authentic feeling, whereas Johto and beyond* just . . . doesn’t, even if it’s still enjoyable to watch.

(*The Strongest Mega Evolution is the exception, because it was its own narrative story because that was the entire purpose behind its existence, hence it, too, had that very authentic feel that I honestly haven’t felt in the anime since the second season. It was literally written because they couldn’t figure out a way to show Alan’s backstory in the main anime, and so it was created for no purpose other than to just tell a story and it goddamn shows and I just---it’s one of the reasons I love it so much. I didn’t make an entry for PokéAni week, but honestly, my favorite saga? The first two seasons of the OS, and TSME. Do those really count as a favorite saga? Probably not, but see if I care, I will face Arceus and walk backwards into the Distortion World, that’s how much I care.

. . . Okay, honestly, it’s 5am, I should probably shower and then go to bed, I’m very tired. It’s been fun talking about this, though. Sorry for writing several rambling essays, hahaha.)

#yoshi12370 #//#///#////#/////#pokemon #pokeani #meta

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365footballorg-blog · 6 years

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Armchair Analyst: Frontrunners, the Pack & all 23 MLS teams by tier

February 28, 20181:17PM EST

With a tip of the cap to the great Zach Lowe, here’s my own version of his “Annual Tiers of the NBA” column, MLS-style. What follows are not hard-and-fast Power Rankings, per se, but rather something a little more loose in terms of talent level, cohesion, chemistry and all the et ceteras that make teams tick (or make them awful).

These teams are mostly in the order I think they’ll finish, but what really matters is the tier designation.

TIER I: COME AT THE KING

Toronto FC

Last year I picked TFC first, talked about how Sebastian Giovinco and Jozy Altidore were the league’s best forward pair, and how Victor Vazquez would provide the third heat in attack to make them damn near unbeatable. I worried a bit about the defense if Drew Moor got hurt, but they survived – even thrived – when he missed a chunk of time early in the season. They managed when Altidore and Michael Bradley were on international duty, and they managed with Giovinco never really playing at more than 75 percent of what he’d been in 2015 and most of 2016.

Everything went right. Alex Bono established himself as a top MLS ‘keeper, and Chris Mavinga was arguably the league’s best center back for the second half of the season. They found depth at both fullback positions, and bring almost all of it back (including what appears to be an on-paper upgrade at right fullback/wingback).

They’re also going to be a touch more flexible with their formation this year. I think it’s safe to say they won the Canadian Championship and Supporters’ Shield playing a 3-5-2, but then clowned Seattle in MLS Cup playing a 4-4-2 diamond. Greg Vanney has proved to be one of the very best coaches in the league at making tactical adjustments based upon both his own personnel and on-field match-ups.

My only worry is if Justin Morrow – who’s 30, and is closing in on 20,000 minutes – gets hurt/goes missing. Last year they had Raheem Edwards, who put up 1g/8a in 1300 minutes across all competitions, which is an insane level of productivity for a left back/wingback (and he did it in big moments, too). But “oh man we no longer have a game-changing reserve left back” is such a first world problem, even in the TAM era, that it’s not worth getting hung up on.

TFC are the favorites by a mile.

WEEK 1 LINEUP

NOTE: This might get a little squirrelly given their midweek CCL duties. Also, don’t be shocked if they break out the 3-5-2 just to mess with Columbus.

TIER II: TOP CONTENDERS

Seattle Sounders

Was Nicolas Lodeiro the same player in 2017 that he’d been in 2016? Was Osvaldo Alonso? Was Jordan Morris?

The answer across the board was “no,” but Seattle were pretty clearly the best team in the Western Conference anyway. I know they didn’t prove it in the regular season, but come on – there wasn’t much doubt. And then they absolutely waltzed through the playoffs before getting clowned by the Reds.

The fact that they survived those individual drop-offs but still did what they did is indicative of the level of depth this team was able to cobble together. With Ozzie out, Gustav Svensson stepped up. With Morris hurt (and he’ll be hurt again, unfortunately), Will Bruin found the range. Clint Dempsey came back healthy and had a good-if-not-great season, Cristian Roldan continued his evolution into a very complete No. 8, and the fullbacks were constantly productive.

First and foremost, though, this team was about the center back pairing of Chad Marshall and Roman Torres, and I expect that to be the case again. Here’s the problem, though: By mid-season, those guys will be a combined 66 years old, and there still isn’t a high-upside replacement behind either of them. If one or the other goes missing, the Sounders struggle – which they’ve showed in CCL action already. Garth Lagerwey needs to address that in the next few weeks.

EDIT: He addressed that literally as I was writing this column. The Sounders officially signed South Korean international CB Kim Kee-Hee on Tuesday evening. He will, I’m guessing, eventually be a starter.

This team will play mostly a 4-2-3-1 again (though we might see some diamond), and will be mostly very good again. I don’t think they’re too old to challenge at the very top of the league, but it feels very much like the last dance for a group of guys that’s won every domestic title available to the over the previous three seasons.

WEEK 1 LINEUP

NOTE: As with TFC, this might go a little sideways given the midweek CCL game. Also, bear in mind that I’ve got Magnus Wolff Eikrem out of position here, but this remains my best guess.

New York City FC

At this point you know they’ll build from the back at all costs, you know they’ll play that 4-3-3 almost every time out, and you know that they’re going to press higher and harder than they did when Patrick Vieira first took over in 2016. NYCFC have transformed from an old and slow group to one of the youngest and most athletic teams in the league, but obviously one that prioritizes skill over everything else.

They’ve also gone out and prioritized depth this offseason, which makes sense given how their goalscoring dried up down the stretch as the likes of Jack Harrison and Rodney Wallace faded (I still think Vieira made a mistake by not getting more minutes for Jonathan Lewis). They’re two deep at every spot on the field, and if TFC slip in the regular season – which often happens to defending champs, especially ones determined to make lengthy CCL runs – NYCFC are my pick to pip them in the Shield race.

The one big concern? There is simply no replacing David Vila from what I’ve seen or can imagine. When Giovinco goes down the Reds either slot in Tosaint Ricketts to be a field-stretching striker or bottle up into a 5-4-1, and they’ve won their share of games both ways. When Villa goes down, the Cityzens… lose. They just lose.

Maybe Norwegian international Jo Inge Berget, signed this offseason, can change that. But A) he’s already hurt, and B) isn’t that much of a goalscorer. Villa has to fight off Father Time for one more season.

WEEK 1 LINEUP

NOTE: Expect Rodney Wallace and new Young DP Jesus Medina to swap sides quite a bit.

Atlanta United

In 2017 Atlanta United had the third-best expansion season in league history, behind only the 1998 Chicago Fire and 2009 Seattle Sounders (both of whom won trophies, which is an open-and-shut argument for their superiority). They did so with relentless pressure from front-to-back, dynamic wing play, a much-better-than-I-expected-it-to-be defense, and superhuman finishing from Josef Martinez.

Pretty much all of that is back and has arguably been upgraded. I’ll admit some doubt about Ezequiel Barco being better than Yamil Asad was (ED NOTE: Barco will be out 4-6 weeks after suffering in training Wednesday), but am buying plenty of Franco Escobar stock at right back. I also expect big steps forward from second-year youngsters Andrew Carleton, who was sublime in preseason and at the U-17 World Cup, and Miles Robinson, who could end up giving the backline the dose of athleticism it lacked at times in Year 1.

There is depth and creativity and chemistry and knowhow and, look, I’ve gotta say it: There’s a big old hole in central midfield where Carlos Carmona was. The Chilean vet is gone and in his stead is Darlington Nagbe, who is a much different player. Nagbe will at times make the attack prettier, and along with Barco will be an off-the-dribble weapon the team lacked last season. He brings stuff to the table.

I worry about what he takes off the table, though. Carmona was masterful at making it miserable to receive a pass in midfield, and his distribution was both clean and early. Nagbe is not that kind of defensive presence, and while his distribution is the cleanest in the league it is almost never early. He plays at a different pace, and it showed in preseason. Add in 34-year-old Jeff Larentowicz inching close toward the light, and I’m officially a little bit worried about central midfield for the Five Stripes. They’ll still be good if those guys struggle, but that could/will be the difference between “good” and “great.”

Also, don’t expect Martinez to finish at superhuman rates again. He’s still a good bet for the Golden Boot, but if he slows down to even that lofty level we’ll see Atlanta playing from even or behind more often, and that could give this year a whole different kind of feel.

WEEK 1 LINEUP

NOTE: I’m not sure that this backline is what I think it is. Tata Martino has been using Larentowicz in Parkhurst’s place, which is… weird.

TIER III: PLAYOFF RACE (AND MAYBE MORE)

I’ve spilled so much ink on this team over the last eight months, so I’ll just say it one more time: What happened last year – the mid-season collapse – was unprecedented in MLS history. Never has such a good team become such a bad team so fast.

Instead of blowing it all up they decided to move out a couple of players, move in a few others, and move up a few more beyond that. Reggie Cannon’s the starter at right back now, and Paxton Pomykal should get meaningful minutes at a couple of midfield spots. Jacori Hayes will as well, and rookie Homegrown Jordan Cano could end up getting some real run. FCD are re-embracing their #PlayYourKids ethos.

At the same time, they went out and spent this winter like they never have before, both on the backline (Reto Ziegler and Anton Nedyalkov) and in attack (DP forward/winger Santiago Mosquera). Add in a healthy-and-balling Mauro Diaz, and a hopefully locked-in Maxi Urruti, and there is, hopefully, enough to pull this talented group back up toward the top of the standings.

But let’s face it: Last year’s collapse wasn’t about talent. It was about chemistry. Something broke inside the Dallas clubhouse, and beyond anything else, fixing that has to be Oscar Pareja’s concern.

My guess is he manages it.

WEEK 1 LINEUP

NOTE: This is not their first XI, and there’s a chance I’m being too optimistic about Pomykal and Cano in particular. But I just can’t see Pareja going with the starters on short rest in Week 1. Let Diaz ease into the season, keep him healthy, and give the kids a big of run.

Portland Timbers

For the first time in five years the Timbers enter an MLS season with a new head coach, and given Gio Savarese’s credentials it’s probably justifiable for Portlanders to be hyped. The man hasn’t done it in the top flight yet, but he’s won and managed big egos and handled locker room strife and speaks three languages and has played in the CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying meat grinder and and and and…

Savarese’s got impeccable credentials. I think he was a great hire, and the fact that he’s inheriting a team that won the (regular season) Western Conference – then added a bunch of quality-on-paper pieces to that group – suggests Portland should compete at the top of the conference again even if Diego Valeri becomes something less than the MVP. Samuel Armenteros has been especially prolific in preseason, and there’s also young depth (which Savarese will actually be willing to develop and use, if his track record is any indication) pretty much everywhere.

That all makes me high on the Timbers. But not so high that I can overlook two things.

The preferred CB combo is old, slow and injury prone.

What’s the right formation for these guys?

Liam Ridgewell and Larrys Mabiala played well together last season, but how many “together” minutes will they manage in 2018? And while I’ll happily hit “buy” at every other position’s depth chart, I’m giving center back the old side eye until I see what Julio Cascante can really do. And by the by, there’s no longer “Prime Diego Chara” in front of this group to chew up the field protecting them (his age, foot injury and lack of playing time in the preseason worries me).

So they’ve looked vulnerable, for the most part, throughout February. The times they haven’t looked vulnerable have been when swapping out of the tried-and-true 4-2-3-1 that Portland have played for 95 percent of the time since 2013 and into either a 4-4-2 diamond or a 4-1-4-1.

I’m not sure results matter that much in the preseason, but the eye test matters. Especially when you have new players, a new coach and the same old high expectations.

WEEK 1 LINEUP

NOTE: Kiiiinda just making this up to be honest. Only thing I know for sure is there’ll be four at the back.

Columbus Crew SC

Speaking of preseason results maybe not mattering… Columbus are going to desperately hope they in fact do matter, because they looked like a juggernaut over the past six weeks. Federico Higuain was at his “float around the field and control the entire shape of the game” best, the wingers were livewire and occasionally productive, 19-year-old left back Milton Valenzuela is the best young DP in this league that you’ve never heard of, Wil Trapp + Artur = HELL YES, and Gyasi Zardes is out there slotting home tap-ins like it’s 2014.

It is entirely possible that I’m overreacting to their late-season form and playoff run, as well as what they did in preseason. The defense still has the look of a group entirely capable of catastrophe, there’s probably not as much depth at fullback anymore, Higuain’s entering his mid-30s, and Justin Meram is gone. Beyond that it’s just hard to talk yourself into Zardes being as consistently productive as Ola Kamara (also gone) was.

Except… maybe? Kamara’s success was a product of his instincts and skill, but also of the system. Columbus are a big chance-generating juggernaut and have been for four years under Gregg Berhalter, and Zardes has shown an ability in the past to convert those into goals. So much of Crew SC’s potential relies upon him rediscovering that, but I’m a big “system first” guy and thus I’m gonna choose to believe in this Columbus group.

They’re not favorites. They don’t have a good enough defense or enough proven attackers to be that. But they’ve shown repeatedly that they know how to win, and they’ll obviously be playing with some extra motivation in 2018.

WEEK 1 LINEUP

NOTE: The wings will swap a ton.

Sporting KC

Speaking of “system first,” let’s go back to the banks of the Missouri River. If Columbus are the pre-eminent example of an attacking system in MLS, then SKC are the pre-eminent example of a defensive system in MLS. No matter who they trot out there, no matter how many years in a row, they lead the league in fewest expected goals allowed, fewest chances generated from Zone 14, most turnovers forced in their own attacking third and most misery inflicted upon their opponents.

Sporting play hard and fast and will continue to do so for as long as Peter Vermes draws breath.

The problem is twofold. First is that playing hard and fast every single game out has taken the mickey out of this group come August in each of the last four seasons. Vermes has to either A) become more comfortable rotating the squad to keep his most important pieces fresh, or B) figure out a different way to play from time-to-time (not gonna bet on that happening).

Second is that nobody scores, man. In 2017 they underperformed their expected goals for the fourth straight season, and for the second straight year they did so massively. And instead of bringing in a high-profile center forward, Vermes & Co. decided to roll the dice on Diego Rubio again.

Rubio’s a nice player and the underlying numbers like him, but that’s the point: The underlying numbers have loved SKC the last four years, but they keep coming up short. Add in a high-risk swap of playmakers from Benny Feilhaber to the underwhelming-in-preseason Yohan Croizet, and you’ve got potential for major problems.

The defense should still be good enough, but even that is a risk – will Ike Opara play another full, healthy season? Will age and miles catch up to Matt Besler and Graham Zusi? Cristian Lobato at left back? Really? Gonna do that with a team who had five one-goal wins and 13 draws while getting a blinder of a season from Tim Melia last year?

If not for The System™, I’d have this team two tiers lower than I do. But I’ve got to trust it because it’s worked so well for so long.

WEEK 1 LINEUP

NOTE: Pretty pretty sure that’s gonna be it.

Orlando City SC

Every year there’s at least one team that crawls up from below the playoff line into something approaching “contender” status. Sometimes you see it coming, as with Toronto in 2016. Other times it’s pretty well concocted out of the blue, as with Houston last year.

If it happens for Orlando City, it’ll be more toward the “TFC, 2016” side of the ledger. The Purple Lions have spent up and down the roster, using TAM and GAM, DP slots and the SuperDraft, Homegrowns and NASL and USL and a commitment to kicking over every rock and digging up any/every piece of talent possible, and then (hopefully) making them fit. Even if it doesn’t work out for them I love what they did this offseason because they committed in equal measure to getting guys in their prime, and getting youngsters on the come-up.

So they are now both more experienced and younger than ever before. The kids will have to fight to get on the field, and the veterans will have to fight to keep their spots. It’s pretty much exactly how I would build a team if somebody offered me a GM job.

Could all the bad things happen and Orlando City miss the playoffs? Yes, of course. There’s no guarantee there will be any chemistry with this many new arrivals, there’s no guarantee the kids will be good (though I’m betting heavy on all four of Chris Mueller, Josue Colman, Cam Lindley and Pierre da Silva), injuries have traditionally ravaged this club, I’m slightly worried about their finishing, and they need another CB.

But this was a magnificent job by the Orlando City front office. Jason Kreis, the ball’s now in your court.

WEEK 1 LINEUP

NOTE: The Lions haven’t been publishing their lineups this preseason, so some of these are guesses. Bear in mind that Sacha Kljestan’s suspended, Dom Dwyer’s hurt and Uri Rosell just stepped off a plane. Once those guys are back they’re the presumptive starters – though given this team’s depth, they’ll have to earn it.

TIER IV: DARK HORSES

New York Red Bulls

I’m maybe being a little bit naive here in that I’m not super concerned about the RBNY defense. Yes, Aurelien Collin is closer to the end than the beginning, but 1) I don’t think he’ll be asked to play every single minute, and 2) I believe in Jesse Marsch’s ability to coach young players up. We’ve seen him do it with young midfielders a bunch, and with young defenders to the on-field and financial benefit of the whole franchise. Can Tommy Redding be the next Aaron Long or even Matt Miazga? Could Fidel Escobar or Michael Amir Murillo or Hassan Ndam? At least one of them will push through, and RBNY will be fine on the backline, fine in goal, and fine (or better, depending upon how Tyler Adams develops) at d-mid.

The question, really, is in attack. RBNY shipped out Sacha Kljestan and for as long as Marsch has been the boss in Harrison his team has been helpless when Kljestan’s been off the field. I get it, though – they replaced Kljestan with Alejandro Romero “Kaku” Gamarra, a 22-year-old, high-priced import from the Argentine Primera. Kaku was legitimately one of the most productive chance creators in that league, and unlike Kljestan he is a goal threat himself. The Red Bulls got younger and, they’re guessing, better. They’ll also likely be more comfortable toggling between the 3-3-3-1 they used to such good effect last year, to the 4-2-3-1 they used in 2015 and 2016, to the 4-2-2-2 they’ve toyed with at times in the past.

If all of the above is the case, if they’re indeed both better and more flexible, they will be one of the best teams in the league. That is a massive “if,” however.

OPENING LINEUP

NOTE: Another bald-faced guess. But I figure they’ve started out the last couple of years in the 4-2-2-2, so why not make it three in a row?

Real Salt Lake

Is it still appropriate to call this team a dark horse? RSL were pretty obviously one of the two best teams in the Western Conference over the last four months, with only a historically bad start to the season keeping them out of the playoffs. They then followed that up with a productive offseason, adding pieces at spots (right back, central midfield and especially center forward) that were occasionally problematic last season, and the trajectory of their kids over the past 18 months suggests that the best is yet to come.

Bear in mind: This can go wrong. We’ve already seen Danny Acosta lose out on the starting LB job to 34-year-old veteran Demar Phillips, which isn’t a great sign, and we saw what happened to the defense last year when Justen Glad wasn’t around. Can he play 2800 minutes or so? He probably needs to.

Phillips, by the way, would only be the third-oldest starter, behind Kyle Beckerman and Nick Rimando. They’re not going to stay young forever. And while a lot of smart folks like new striker Alfredo Ortuño, he’s never really put it together for a full season, has he?

So yeah, it can go wrong. I don’t think it will, though. The RSL team we saw in the second half of 2017 is the one I expect we’ll see in 2018, and if that’s the case they’ll make their way to the top of the West.

WEEK 1 LINEUP

NOTE: This one looks pretty well locked in at this point. Your move, Danny Acosta.

TIER V: PROVE IT AGAIN

Vancouver Whitecaps

I didn’t have the ‘Caps up near the playoffs ahead of last year. I’m not going to make that same mistake twice, but at the same time I’m not expecting them to spend most of the season in the top three of the West once again. There’s just too much turnover year-to-year, not enough top-end talent and probably not enough diversity in attack. Vancouver were pure bunker-and-counter in 2017 and while that took them to the Western Conference Semifinals, it also led to them putting in one of the most feeble attacking performances over two legs in league history.

Have they gotten better in the offseason? Well, Kei Kamara’s probably not an upgrade over Fredy Montero in terms of raw talent, but he’s a better fit at center forward as long as age doesn’t catch up to him. The other big addition was veteran Mexican international Efrain Juarez, who’s probably spent 85 percent of his career at a defender but will be slotted into central midfield instead (Carl Robinson loves switching up his central midfielders all the time, and I’ll admit I don’t get it).

My big worry? Tim Parker seems to want out and given how many moves Vancouver’s made for young-ish center backs this offseason, it looks like he’ll get it. Parker and Kendall Waston were one of the most solid CB combos in the league over the past two years.

My big hope? Alphonso Davies just starts roasting fools. The 17-year-old was magnificent at last year’s Gold Cup and magnificent in this year’s preseason. If he’s not a Day 1 starter I will riot.

WEEK 1 LINEUP

NOTE: There was talk about a 3-5-2 in preseason, but it looks like back to the 4-2-3-1 that might be more of a 4-4-1-1. Not sure Aly Ghazal will be available from the start.

San Jose Earthquakes

If not for their California neighbors the Quakes would easily win the “Largest Gap Between Your Ceiling and Your Floor” award, which is pretty much exactly what you’d expect of a team that A) made the playoffs, with B) the 19th-best goal differential (-21) in MLS last year. When they were good they were really pretty good – pinging the ball around, combining nicely through midfield, generating quality chances – and when they were bad they got pounded all to hell and lost 5-0. It was uncanny.

I don’t think this team will have such wild swings in 2018. New head coach Mikael Stahre has a reputation as a solid defensive coach, and he has actual defenders he can use this year (while pushing Florian Jungwirth up to his natural d-mid slot). How those defenders will do is something of a mystery as there will be three new starters on the backline, but it looks like it should work.

The attack should work as well even as Chris Wondolowski heads into his final chapter. Stahre has a couple of goalscoring wingers to call on, Danny Hoesen is an under-the-radar pick for a big year at center forward, and this will finally be Tommy Thompson’s break-out year, I swear it!

I really do think the Quakes will be solid or better. I’m just not super eager to bet my life on it.

WEEK 1 LINEUP

NOTE: I’ll be surprised if I don’t get this one spot on.

ED. NOTE (BAER): Doyle’s wrong, Shea Salinas is going to start at left back.

Houston Dynamo

If tell me you thought, in 2017, that a backline prominently featuring Leonardo and 400-year-old DaMarcus Beasley would produce a playoff-caliber defense, I’m calling you a liar. Houston snuck on pretty much everybody last year pretty much all over the field. Yes, their attackers got most of the glory – they were fun and fast and attackers always get the glory – and yes, that midfield was way better than you think when they had everybody healthy.

But look at how that defense performed, both by the numbers and the eye test. The Dynamo were very good at the back, never gave up cheap goals, and played deep into November because of it. “First do no harm” was the mantra they lived by and it worked.

Teams across the league have tape of that now, and that worries me at least a little bit. Remember how Colorado overperformed in 2016 then came crashing down to reality in 2017? I don’t it’s going to happen quite so dramatically for the Dynamo, but I’m not emotionally capable of ruling it out.

Houston are, relatively speaking, both old and shallow, and adding “scouted” on top of that has me skeptical of their ability to recapture 2017’s magic in 2018. If they manage it, it’ll be because they’ll have added a new wrinkle – maybe they press high, or Tomas Martinez proves to be an elite chance creator from possession, or maybe something totally from out of left field.

I just don’t know what to expect here.

WEEK 1 LINEUP

NOTE: Martinez is suspended for the opener.

Chicago Fire

Chicago finally climbed their way into the playoffs – and all the way up to third place in the Supporters’ Shield standings – after years of dormancy. It was a very nice and long-awaited bounce-back for a franchise that’s mostly had a miserable decade.

They’ve followed that up with a strangely quiet offseason. The biggest news was the egress of David Accam, who was traded to Philly for a sack of GAM and TAM. It makes sense, then, that the biggest acquisition of the offseason was a winger, Serb Aleksandar Katai. He’s not Accam’s direct replacement (Accam is an inverted left winger, while Katai is an inverted right winger), but he’ll theoretically serve the same purpose once the ball is kicked: lots of goals and a little bit of playmaking.

As it stands now, though, it looks like the Fire are betting large on a cadre of youngsters. Homegrown rookie Grant Lillard maybe has the inside track on the starting job at left center back, and draft pick Jon Bakero, the 2017 Hermann Award winner, is maybe probably perhaps gonna be the playmaker this team’s fans have wanted for nearly a decade? Both guys are excellent. I love Bakero and if you like pretty soccer, you should too. But it’s a weird gamble for a team whose most important players (Bastian Schweinsteiger, Nemanja Nikolic and Dax McCarty) are all over 30.

If Lillard and Bakero and Daniel Johnson are as good as I think they can be, Chicago will have improved. If they’re not – and bear in mind I’ve been wrong maybe twice before in my entire life, so it’s possible here – they’re in trouble.

OPENING LINEUP

NOTE: Maybe Christian Dean instead of Lillard since Lillard’s nursing a slight knock? Also, the Fire don’t play their first game until Week 2, so things can change a little bit.

TIER VI: OPEN QUESTIONS

D.C. United

The big question heading into 2017 for D.C. was “Was that real?” with “that” being the 3-month buzzsaw of an attack they generated at the tail end of the 2016 season. United scored more than two-and-a-half goals per game, pushed their way up to third place in the standings, and looked for all the world like a young(ish) team on the come up.

Then Patrick Mullins got hurt, Patrick Nyarko got hurt, and Marcelo Sarvas and Lloyd Sam got old. D.C. got shutout 17 times in 34 games. In the final three months (13 games) of 2016, they scored 33 goals. In all of 2017, they scored 31.

Mullins is back, battling with Darren Mattocks for the starting No. 9 job, but the rest of those guys are gone as the United braintrust have looked for younger and hopefully more durable players. Head coach Ben Olsen has a surfeit of attacking midfielders and wingers to pick from, and most of them are proven internationally, proven in MLS, or both. Add in an 18-year-old potential stud of a d-mid in Chris Durkin, and there’s reason to think this team can become something close to what they were 18 months ago.

There is worry at the back, though. Last year’s defense was as bad as the attack, and their one saving grace – Bill Hamid – is gone. David Ousted is an above-average MLS ‘keeper, but he’s no Hamid. The guys in front of him (most notably Steve Birnbaum) need to be better than they were last year, and they have to become so while playing 14 of their first 16 on the road.

It feels like this team should be bad. But it felt that way in the middle of 2016 as well, and we know what happened then.

WEEK 1 LINEUP

NOTE: Lucho Acosta is suspended for the opener. When he’s back, expect Ben Olsen to toy around with a 4-1-4-1 if either Canouse or Moreno show they can handle the job of being a lone d-mid.

It feels like this team should be good. But it felt that way – at least a little bit – at the start of 2017, and we know what happened then. LA had the worst year in franchise history, people lost their jobs, the locker room atmosphere was reportedly poisonous and suddenly there was a crisis in Carson.

The offseason has been mostly wonderful, though. Sigi Schmid took care of most of the family business, jettisoning (most of the) bad contracts and bringing in what appear to be quality players at a number of important spots. Ola Kamara gets goals, right? Perry Kitchen protects the backline, ok? David Bingham can recapture the form that had him on the periphery of the USMNT, maybe? All of this makes sense, and even if these guys are poor, that’s still a major step up from what the Galaxy had at those three positions last season.

But woof, I will admit some worry as to this team’s ability to defend based upon what I saw this preseason. Jonathan dos Santos looked like he was running in mud when trying to track Tommy Thompson, and just look at how poor Michael Ciani’s reaction is here. Those two guys have struggled a ton in preseason, and new presumptive starting right back Rolf Feltscher hasn’t inspired confidence, either.

Schmid might have to do some early-season damage control before this team, which is talented as hell, gets pointed in the right direction. And as we saw last year, sometimes damage control isn’t enough.

WEEK 1 LINEUP

NOTE: Why yes, I too would attack the right side of that defense.

Montreal Impact

The Impact finally decided to get younger, which is something the fans have been waiting on for a while. They could end up with as many as seven starters aged 25 or younger, and two of them – box-to-box midfielder Saphir Taïder and attacking midfielder Jeisson Vargas – are supposed to be legitimate stars. There’s also a distinctly Canadian flair to this group, with Raheem Edwards, Samuel Piette, Michael Petrasso and Anthony Jackson-Hamel all expected to play big roles.

So that makes this a season unlike almost any other in Impact history. This team’s been addicted to, let’s call it “experience” since Day 1, and now they’ve turned that page. And that, of course, makes them hard to predict.

There are also the elephant in the room: Ignacio Piatti’s age. The league’s best winger for three years running just turned 33, and while that’s not the very end he’s clearly operating on a different timeline than the bulk of this roster. If this were any other league in almost any other sport, there’d be serious talk about flipping him to a top-tier contender in exchange for a collection of other assets (money, younger players, Homegrown rights, etc.).

Business-wise, MLS hasn’t really grown into that sort of league just yet. But new manager Remi Garde was happy enough to trade Laurent Ciman (and then land a few verbal jabs on him) this offseason, so it’s not out of the question that the same could happen with Piatti. What if, say, the Fire offer up all their Accam cash and a good young player sometime in the next month? Garde doesn’t slam the phone down, right?

It’s something to think about here.

WEEK 1 LINEUP

NOTE: I don’t think Vargas is going to start in Week 1, but what do I know, really?

ED. NOTE (BAER): Expect to see Raitala at center back and Daniel Lovitz at left back with Zakaria Diallo out.

New England Revolution

Based upon preseason, here’s one thing that appears to have definitely changed for the Revs: They will not be taking plays off. This very gifted group of technical players have had a habit, over the years, or tuning out for big chunks of matches. Sometimes that came in the beginning of games, and sometimes in the middle. Last year, however, it more and more took place at the end, and thus New England were probably the league’s most disappointing second half team in 2017.

I don’t think that will be the case this year. New head coach Brad Friedel has them getting “stuck in,” for lack of a better term, from minutes 1-through-90. It’s bordered on vicious at times, which is something the Revs really haven’t been for most of this decade.

Now, “hard tackling” is not an adequate substitute for “well coached” or “tactically astute” or even “prepared.” I don’t know if the Revs will be any of those things, and the Lee Nguyen saga virtually guarantees they will be a less dangerous team moving forward than they’ve been for the last five seasons unless – say it with me, now – this is the year that Juan Agudelofinally breaks through. There are a million-and-one questions, which is rare for a team that’s brought so many pieces back.

So I don’t know what to tell you here. New England’s a big old mystery.

WEEK 1 LINEUP

NOTE: Kind of throwing a dart for my pick at right wing. The rest of it I’m pretty sure of.

Colorado Rapids

I’ve spilled a lot of ink on this already, but I’ll say it one more time here: In this league, pretty much everyone has started to look to Latin America and to within, via academies, for their roster needs. We saw it all offseason as everyone from Orlando to Vancouver, from LA to Montreal and pretty much every stop in between raided leagues south of the border – and mostly south of the Panama Canal – with suitcases of TAM and GAM and DP slot.

They zigged. The Rapids zagged.

Everyone else is getting more Hispanic while Colorado have decided to get more northern European. They brought in Englishman Anthony Hudson as head coach, signed players out of the Championship and Scottish Premier League and Sweden and Germany, and are pretty obviously building a “stout at the back, kill ’em on the counter” group.

It’s not what I’d do, but at least it’s a plan. At least it’s a system and an ethos, with the idea that “Part A will function in this way because we want Parts B and C to function in these other ways.” I’m not sure that Colorado have really had that since 2013.

Who will be their best player? Ask again later. Who’s going to be their leading scorer? Honestly, you’ve got me there. Can they make the altitude work to their advantage? Let to tell you, I’m stumped. Will any of the young guys improve? No idea. Does Tim Howard have anything left in the tank? Um… I don’t want to answer that one.

I don’t expect much from the Rapids except no-frills, solid defense. As they showed in 2016, sometimes that’s enough. (But usually it’s not).

OPENER LINEUP

NOTE: Maybe the only predominantly 5-3-2 team in the league this year?

Philadelphia Union

The Philadelphia Union have been promising two things over the past several years: A true No. 10 and a youth movement. They’ve more or less failed to deliver on both promises, but – my goodness, my goodness – it looks like 2018 is the year that they’re going to deliver.

The Union signed Borek Dockal on Wednesday morning, the 29-year-old Czech international playmaker who seems destined to wear the No. 10 shirt. Dockal doesn’t have the world’s most impressive resume, but he’s been a very good player in the Czech league and in the Europa league for a long time, and he’s banged home meaningful goals against the likes of Turkey, the Netherlands and Iceland in international competition. Without having seen him play I’m going to lay money on him clearing the “Better than Roland Alberg” bar.

Him, and Accam and C.J. Sapong and a healthy Fabian Herbers/Fafa Picault platoon is not going to be the best attack in the league. But they will not have to work as hard just to create middling chances as they did the past few years. There is balance, experience, speed and creativity there.

My worry this year is on the other side of the field, at least in part because of the youth movement. Auston Trusty looks locked in as a starter at center back, and there just aren’t a ton of 19-year-old center backs who’ve ever played well in MLS. Matthew Real, another Homegrown, could end up playing lots of minutes at left back. He’s 18. If Haris Medunjanin continues to be as poor as he was in preseason, 20-year-old Derrick Jones could be the d-mid. Jack Elliott, all of 22-year-old and in his second year as a pro, is the grizzled vet in front of Andre Blake.

I’ll go ahead and admit that I love this. Let Philly be the Ajax of MLS as far as I’m concerned. I think the fans will live with a couple years of non-Ajax-like results as long as they see the ethos they were promised.

WEEK 1 LINEUP

NOTE: I think Homegrown 18-year-old Anthony Fontana will get the start in Week 1 before Dockal takes over for good. I’ve also got Keegan Rosenberry pipping Raymon Gaddis at right back.

Minnesota United FC

I’m struggling with how to be gentle here, so I’ve decided to just go ahead and rip the bandaid off instead of easing into it. So here goes: I think there’s a decent chance Minnesota United will be worse in Year 2 than they were in Year 1.

Above and beyond everything else, there were three things that really worked for the Loons last year:

Sam Cronin solidified that central midfield, making them tough to break down

The Brent Kallman+Francisco Calvo CB combo worked pretty well

Christian Ramirez banged in goals at a DP-level

Well, Cronin’s been sidelined for unknown reasons (he missed a chunk of last year due to concussions), it looks like Michael Boxall – who wasn’t great – is preferred to Kallman or rookie Wyatt Omsberg (who will likely sign before the opener), and there’s a sneaking suspicion around the Twin Cities that Ramirez will be benched in favor of Abu Danladi.

So I’m just not sure that the things that worked in 2017 will be improved upon in 2018, and so in a lot of ways that makes this feel like a second straight expansion year. Obviously the scattershot way the front office has gone about collecting talent hasn’t helped even a little, but I think it’s fair to worry some about Adrian Heath’s decisions on the sideline as well.

The good news? Everybody in this league needs wingers, and MNUFC have a million of ’em. So if they need to swing another springtime trade like the one that netted them Cronin last year, they have the pieces to do so.

WEEK 1 LINEUP

NOTE: Bear in mind that I may be waaaaay off on this.

In terms of top-end talent, I think it’s fair to put LAFC in the same neighborhood as where Atlanta United last season. Carlos Vela was a roughly Giovinco-level player in Europe, and Diego Rossi is one of the biggest young (19) stars in Uruguay’s always bright attacking pipeline. Add in Portuguese playmaker Andre Horta (if they get him, and I think they will) and Colombian d-mid Eduard Atuesta – at age 20 one of the better d-mids in his native league – and it feels Five Stripes-ish, right?

In terms of filling out the rest of the roster, I think it’s fair to put LAFC in the same neighborhood as MNUFC last season. It’s taken them forever to even get up to 20 roster slots, the midfield is a mess (from the outside looking in, mind you), and I’ll admit a whole lot of “you know, I just don’t think that’s quite gonna work” about the backline.

More to the point, though, is that they simply don’t have the depth they need if things go wrong. What if Walker Zimmerman or Laurent Ciman continue with last year’s form, or if Benny Feilhaber hits the wall? Vela just pulled up lame; what now?

Atlanta had answers to these questions. LAFC don’t, that I can see.

Beyond that, it seems pretty clear they intend to play out of everything, and to use Feilhaber as a regista, a deep-lying playmaker who orchestrates more than creates. I love the idea behind it, but also let’s all just admit that the degree of difficulty for this gambit is damn near off the charts.

Of course, the rewards would be as well. It’s LA, so you’ve gotta go big or go home. Either way it should be entertaining as hell.

WEEK 1 LINEUP

NOTE: Some injuries, some uncertainty. What the hell, man, let’s just roll the ball out and see what happens!

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