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#Audi Field
pernillecfcw · 27 days
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That winning feeling 🖤🩷💛
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istandonsnowpiles · 7 months
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Stadium Lighting
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keiteay · 2 months
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Been following Celtic since the Naka days, and finally got to see them in person on Saturday 🍀⚽️
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baddawgsports · 18 days
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Washington Spirit Midfielder Croix Bethune to Miss Remainder of 2024 Season with Injury
Bethune had successful surgery to repair torn meniscus Huge blow for the Washington Spirit midfielder Croix Bethune has been placed on the season-ending injury (SEI) list and will miss the remainder of the 2024 season as she rehabs a knee injury, the club announced today. Bethune suffered a torn meniscus away from training last week and will remain with the team throughout her recovery, working…
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menslifedc · 2 years
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DC United's Audi Field adds a sensory room
DC United’s Audi Field adds a sensory room
Audi Field, home of Major League Soccer Club D.C. United, has partnered with KultureCity to make the venue and all of the programs and events that the stadium hosts to be sensory-inclusive. This initiative promotes an accommodating and positive experience for all guests and fans with sensory sensitivities that visit. The KultureCity Sensory Room, which has been generously donated by the…
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l1veleak · 3 months
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endurance racing is literally just this
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prophecyofgray · 2 months
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started daydreaming about financial stability before bed last night and literally lulled myself to sleep because it was so peaceful. Anyway cross ur fingers and toes that i get an interview for [redacted job opportunity] that would erase all financial worries for the next year of my life 🤞🤞🤞🤞🤞🤞🤞🤞
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falsamoneda · 1 year
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Me @ DC United when their ownership group partners with the new super league.
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pernillecfcw · 28 days
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Millie just spitting the truth 💙🤷‍♀️
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istandonsnowpiles · 1 year
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INOVA
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keiteay · 1 year
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This is the XFL 🏈🍺🥳
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baddawgsports · 3 months
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Spirit Head Coach Jonatan Giráldez Arrives in DC Following Historic Success in Final Season With FC Barcelona Femení
Giráldez will transition into the Head Coach role in the coming weeks, while Andrés González and Toni Gordo join Spirit Staff Press release from Spirit plus our thoughts mixed in below. Five months after the Washington Spirit announced Jonatan Giráldez as its new Head Coach, Giráldez has arrived in Washington, D.C., the club announced today. The arrival comes shortly after Giráldez led FC…
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jenjen4280 · 5 months
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Been a long time coming, but last night the Hot Wife and I got out for date night. Ran into another pair of butch4butch folks on the metro down to Audi Field. Gave each other the look and nod of acknowledgment. At the soccer game fans were waving a lot more rainbow flags than usual.
Happy Lesbian Visibility Week!
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meazalykov · 2 months
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Could I make a request for Obi please?
They already have a established relationship.
With her recently getting injured, could it be something along the lines of Reader got injured a few months before the World Cup and had to miss it, but Obi mostly was there for Reader. Now with it being the other way around this time, Reader feels conflicted about going to the Olympics as see knows those first few weeks are the hard but she won’t be there to support Obi.
my home is with you
lena oberdorf x uswnt!reader (requested)
authors note: i'm sad about her injury :( I wanted to see her at the olympics and start with bayern soon.. I know she will come back stronger ❤️ here's your request! normally i wouldn’t decide to write about this because it’s so soon, but i do requests (unless it’s too dark & much) so i hope you like :)
warnings: many injury mentions, very long chapter.
being back in your hometown gave you a sense of peace and warmth.
you haven't stepped foot in washington dc since 2018. you left your childhood club to go play at gotham for a year-- before moving to lyon (2020-2022) and then bayern afterwards.
waking up in the morning, you wished obi the best of luck against her game against austria. yes, she will be your competitor in the group stages against germany, but she is still your girlfriend of 2 years.
afterwards, you put your phone on dnd and put it in your adidas bag that you will take to the audi stadium. on game days, the captain (lindsey) highly discourages the players being on social media before games.
as the second captain after her, you agreed to follow that rule. social media can be toxic.
if someone really wanted to reach out to you for an emergency, they can do it through lindsey, emma, or your sisters who came to the game to support your send off to paris.
that's exactly what happened. while you were getting ready in your hotel room-- lindsey got an emergency call from sara dabritz, her lyon teammate who played for the german national team.
sara isn't on the german roster for the olympics, but alex popp asked her to call lindsey-- since she needed you to know of the news as soon as possible.
"sara?" lindsey's eyebrows knitted together. sara calling her during international break and the off-season has never happened before.
"where's y/n?" sara asked, ignoring lindsey's confused tone.
"I haven't seen her since this morning, she might be getting ready now. what's going on?"
"the entire german team is trying to get ahold of y/n. lena went down pretty badly during todays game-- it was her knee." sara swallowed.
lindsey was sad to her about the news. nobody likes when another player goes down with a *possible* acl injury.
however, she was scared on how she was going to tell you the news.
hours later at audi stadium, you walked into the stadium alongside trinity and hal. both of them play on this field for washington spirit, and the three of you bonded over the last few days-- knowing washington dc so well.
trinity and hal stopped at a water fountain to fill up their empty stanley bottles with water. your owala bottle was filled with cold ice water already, so you continued on with walking into the dressing room.
as you turned the corner into the room, you hear your coach Emma, say something along the lines of "well we can't tell her until-" before lindsey stopped her with her finger pointing at your entrance.
you were the first to arrive before the rest of the team, surprising to the captain and coach talking in the room.
"hey!" you smiled, unaware of what they know.
"hey y/n, ready for the game!?" lindsey casually says with a smirk on her face.
the poker face of the lyon player is perfection. something could be wrong but as the main captain, she can't let her emotions take over her logic.
as the second captain of the team, you had every right to question what emma and lindsey were just talking about.
however, you didn't. you were too excited to play in your hometown again. many uswnt fans came just to see you play on your turf again.
"I'm so pumped! my family came just for the send off to paris. some of them talk about "oh we can't never see you play since you're in germany." but now they're here so-" you rambled as you giggled.
for a moment, emma frowned at your happy sight. lindsey turned around to look at the coach with a guilty look, hating that they both agreed to not tell you *that news* until the end of the send-off.
"that's exciting. I'm positive we have a great game ahead." emma says.
your happy mood became a miserable one at halftime. being nil-nil against costa rica was not motivating since you wanted to impress your hometown community.
in the 70th minute, you scored off of a set piece shot by mallory swanson. the crowd screamed as they've realized that it was you, their fellow dc native, that scored the goal.
the game ended with a 1-0. you knew that the team needed tons of things to work on if you wanted a chance at winning gold in the olympics, but that will come with time.
after the send off ceremony, lindsey asked if she could personally talk to you in one of the empty conference rooms.
you agreed. at first, you thought that she was going to discuss olympic matters and what will drive the team to win gold once you reach france. since she is the first captain and you're captain whenever she isn't-- along with alyssa naeher.
however, lindsey was very tense as you sat down beside her in one of the wheel chairs. she made sure to close and lock the door as well-- this is when your heart started racing.
she is your friend and hates to give you the bad news.
"I need to tell you this before you go on your phone and see it in the locker room in front of the other girls." lindsey speaks.
your eyes widened, confused.
"what's wrong?" you start to panic.
"alex-- alex popp-- said that lena went down during the game against austria. it's her knee, y/n."
your heart shattered into a million pieces. you looked away from lindsey as you took a few deep breaths.
the blonde understood why you couldn't say anything after that moment. you thought about lena having a possible acl injury.
you panicked knowing that you weren't there to help her.
"I need my phone!'" you jump up from the wheel chair.
"here." lindsey said, pulling your phone out of her jacket pocket. she made sure that she had your phone on hand-- in private-- so none of the other girls were alarmed about seeing you so upset.
after you switched your iphone off from dnd, you had nearly 200 notifications.
the first is lena's parents-- asking you to call them whenever you had time before or after your game.
others came from lea-- updating you on what's going on with obi. she understands you were playing a game and couldn't answer right away.
some messages were from other footballers in the community that you're friends with, asking you to send well wishes to lena on their behalf.
is this how lena felt back in 2023?
back in april 2023, you were a starter in the second game against Ireland.
you weren't feeling the greatest, your friend mallory suffered a bad injury in the first game and you knew she wouldn't see the pitch for a very long time.
in the second half as the ball was coming from the air, you jumped up to head the ball. at the same time, an Irish player's foot went up in the air to get the ball.
the sharp part of the boots kicked at your ribs extremely hard. your breath was caught in your throat and you landed on the ground-- injuring your ankle by landing awkwardly.
the irish player received a red card, but you were struggling to breath as you needed medic immediately. alex and kelley stayed with you as you couldn't even sit up without squealing in pain.
your ankle was on fire and your lung felt like it was beaten in. torture would've been an understatement.
lena finished playing the game against brazil when jule pulled her-- harshly-- to look at the tv in the dressing room.
the german girl watched in horror as she seen her lover on the grass, you were crying your eyes out as you balled yourself together.
she noticed your hands going back and forth between your torso by your right lung, and your left ankle, as the medics tried their best to figure out what's wrong.
"what the fuck happened?" lena said angrily, in english-- confused as she rushed to grab the remote and turn the tv up.
"this isn't good for the united states before the world cup-- mallory went down on the first game against ireland and now *reader's last name* can barely move without a reaction." a german commentator speaks.
the entire german dressing room looks in horror.
your bayern teammates looked horrified as jule tried her best to comfort a stressed lena.
a replay of the injury happened on the tv a second later. everyone could see quinn's cleat harshly kick your ribs-- the landing on your ankle afterwards made some of the dressing room cringe as if they could've felt it themselves.
"yeah, I don't think we will see her in the world cup after this one." the woman commentator on the tv speaks when a stretcher takes you off the pitch moments later.
lena was quick to immediately call your mom and sisters, since they were there and she wasn't.
she knew how excited you were to play in your second world cup after winning the first one at age 17.
when you got back home to germany, lena was there for you. you suffered with a broken rib and grade 2 ankle sprain.
obi helped you stand up most days and picked up heavy things, since you couldn't even breathe without feeling pain for the first three weeks. lena did your chores at home, helped you with showering (your ankle made that hard to do), she did your hair. she did everything to make sure that you were okay.
you couldn't go to the world cup and watch her play, but you were still so proud of her-- even if she got eliminated in the group stage.
the injury that happened to you made lena fully committed to wanting to marry you. even through your bad injury-- you were there to comfort her once she was back from australia after a failed world cup campaign.
back in the conference room in dc, you rushed to call lea.
she answered in a heartbeat, you were surprised since it had to have been 5:30am in germany while 11:30pm back in washington dc for you.
"lea?" your voice cracked. you hated this for lena, more than your own injury from a year prior.
"how was your game?" lea tried to calm you down.
"it was fine, now what happened?" you ask.
lea didn't take offense to you wanting to know what happened. this reminded her on how lena was with you.
being her closest friend at bayern, and the one that put lena onto you, she understands the bond you have with your girlfriend better than anyone else.
"lena tried to tackle and get the ball away from a player but her knee popped. I think you need to watch this for a better understanding." lea speaks.
on the FaceTime you can see lea typing on a few things on the phone.
you looked up at a confused, yet guilty lindsey. she felt bad for you since you were far from your home in germany.
the notification on your phone showed that lea sent a link to a twitter video. you clicked on it and watch the whole thing play out.
its hard to tell at first, but slowly you could see obi's knee pop out.
this made you sick to your stomach.
after talking to lea for a few more minutes, then waking up lena's parents to talk to them (they didn't mind, they really wanted to hear from you), then laura, then klara-- you were exhausted.
you were allowed to go on the bus early and choose if you wanted to sit alone on the way back to the hotel.
lindsey told all of the girls that something happened- she explained the situation which caused the girls to feel bad for lena and your situation.
you called lena, in private, once you were back in your hotel. she sounded so hurt which caused your eyes to let out tears (quietly) as she talked about her medical scanning tommorow.
many people would do anything to participate in the olympics. you were grateful to be a bronze-medal olympian already heading to seek gold-- but you wanted to go home to lena in munich.
the best player on the uswnt was you, no debate. after scoring in the 2019 world cup final at 17, winning two champions leagues with lyon, being the second best-player now in the bundesliga with bayern, and carrying the national team to bronze in the last olympics-- the team looked up to you.
the girls let you have your space for a while. even on the plane on the way to france.
tierna, your closest friend on the national team, sat beside you. she was quiet as she watched movies while you anxiously looked at your phone to receive some kind of news.
after the plane landed, the girls were quiet as they headed out. you realized that you couldn't sit in pain waiting for the day that you will get home to munich-- that will affect the team chemistry.
as you were in your hotel room, lena called you.
"hallo liebe." you spoke softly.
you heard lena cough before a few seconds of silence started.
the fact that lena called you instead of facetiming you, you knew it was bad. the three letter injury is something u feared for lena as your eyes widened.
"its both." lena mumbles.
"its both?" you question softly as you request to switch the call to FaceTime.
lena accepts and you see her in the hospital room, tears dried down her cheeks as her red face is covered by her hands.
"acl and mcl." she breathed out as she looked at you through the camera.
you frowned as reality hit.
lena couldn't start a bayern next month.
lena won't go to the olympics.
she will have to sit out for at least eight months.
you know she will be okay, since she has the team and medical doctors to help her heal.
however, you were sad that you couldn't drop everything to go back to munich.
"obi." is all you could say.
"I already know what you're thinking-- and don't." lena randomly says.
your eyebrows knit together in confusion as she looks at you with a unreadable look.
"don't leave your team just to come here. they need you-"
"but you need me a lot more." you cut lena off.
she knows you're right, but she can't be selfish-- even with her injury.
"you will be home soon liebe, I know you love me and will care for me as soon as you can." lena says.
"once I'm back in munich, I will be there for you. you aren't going through this alone-- we will fight through this together and you will be stronger." you gave a sad smile as lena smiles for the first time since she went down on that grass.
"Ich liebe dich" she whispers.
"Ich liebe dich auch" you say back.
"when is your surgery scheduled?" you ask.
"we don't have an exact date yet, but they said it might be the week of the 29th." lena says as she lays back in the hospital bed in her black shirt and black shorts.
you didn't respond as lena flipped the camera, showing you a closer look at her knee.
"I am so sorry." you say.
"its not your fault." lena says.
"I know- but again-- I just want to be there for you."
"and you will soon, don't abandon your team." lena made it clear.
"okay, I won't" you sigh.
of course you felt bad that you didn't want to be in france, but in germany instead helping lena. however, you were sad about the group stage match against germany.
lena and you talked about that match as being one of the last moments where you will be "rivals" before she joins you in the season for bayern. now, neither will happen.
days later, the united states plays germany in the group stage after beating zambia 3-2.
you were in the starting lineup. emma needed you for this match, making sure that you talked to a sports psychologist before this match-- just so you were mentally prepared.
you knew how the germans played, so you would be a key to winning the group stage match.
as the teams were going to take their starting eleven picture, you see the germans hold up a shirt in honor of sydney and lena-- who were injured and couldn't be in the olympics.
you sadly smiled at this, happy that they're remembering them.
however, you got your act together fast. lindsey wasn't in the lineup so you were the captain of the match.
at halftime, it was 1-1. trinity rodman scored a goal in the 10th minute but klara equalized in the 34th after an error from #3 on the USWNT.
in the second half, you scored a golazo in the 55th minute after dribbling around sara doorsoun and alex popp.
unfortunately, lea equalized in the 88th minute.
the game ended 2-2 and you weren't happy or sad about it.
all of the german girls greeted you immediately with hugs and kisses on the head. you accepted them. you missed them dearly and they were the closest thing you had to lena right now.
"lea love!" you sigh in relief when you hug her tightly for thirty seconds. the cameras capture the beautiful sight as most know the significance.
"I wish obi was here right now." you lean your head on lea's shoulder as she kissed the side of your head, above your left ear.
"I do too. I hate how fate works." lea speaks through her german accent.
"same." you roll your eyes. not in anger, but in disappointment for the situation and how things can play out for the worst.
"how are you?" lea asks.
"can I be honest?" you ask. lea nods her head.
"I want to be with her. I am so grateful to be here for a second time but I can't imagine her being alone without us." you whisper into her ear.
you didn't want any of your teammates to hear you. lea is your closest friend so you know she won't tell on you.
"she's not alone, she has her parents-- but I totally understand. she will be okay." lea smiles lightly as she pulls a piece of hair of yours behind your ear, a piece of hair that fell out of your ponytail during the match.
lea is right, lena's parents are staying with her at the new house you both own until you can go back to munich-- which could happen in a few days or weeks depending on the outcome of the olympics.
"I know. she's a fighter.' you smirk.
"and a lover." lea winked at you.
lea loves the way that you and lena respect and are in-love with each other. being the third wheel is annoying sometimes (when she has to hang out with y'all instead of her own girlfriend) but she is happy for the both of you.
after multiple matches of the olympics, the united states is awarded silver after losing against france 2-1 in the final.
you were the one that scored against france.
if you said that you weren't in a rush to get home to munich, you'd be lying.
lena's surgery was pushed back to this morning. so you took the uber straight to the hospital from the airport.
the taller german was asleep as you quietly walked into the hospital room. obi's parents hugged you and congratulated you on silver.
knowing that they've been with their daughter for many days, you offer them a break.
"you guys should go down to the cafe and grab lunch for yourselves, please don't take offense to this but ihr seht beide sehr müde aus." (you both look very tired) you whisper since you didn't want to wake lena.
they loved you like their own daughter, so it didn't take them much convincing for them to get a break-- knowing their daughter was in safe hands with you.
when they shut the hospital doors behind them, lena woke up from the noise.
you took out a blanket from your carry on luggage, your back faced towards lena so you didn't see or hear her wake up.
"liebe?" you turned around quickly when you saw lena awake.
she had the same tired look that you're used to seeing when you wake up beside her, but she was smiling at your sight.
you pout in happiness as you walked up to hug her upper body.
"my sunshine, I'm so happy to see you awake." you kissed the top of her forehead as her head pressed against your chest.
lena closed her eyes in comfort, she missed you the most.
"to see me awake? omg I didn't die." lena laughed.
"oh lena shut it, you know what I meant." you giggled back, happy to see lena cracking a joke through her pain.
you look down her body to see the scar on her knee peak out from her hospital gown.
on the inside, you felt terrible. you hated seeing lena in pain. you'd rather it be yourself than her.
on the outside, you looked at lena as she gave you a peak on the lips.
after that, you saw the ponytail of her hair tangled.
"hold on lena." you pull yourself away from her arms and reach into your tote bag.
"no don't leaveeee!" lena says
"I'm not I'm just going to help you with your hair-- it will help you relax."
you pulled out a soft brush from your bag, refusing to use a comb and risk pulling on her hair after she had surgery.
"you're so sweet" lena looks at the brush in your hand and turns her head to the side, so you have better access.
"anything for my baby." you tell her as you kiss the right side of her temple.
"i'm just glad to be back home." you mumble as you start brushing through obi's hair, getting the tangles out slowly and softly.
"isn't washington dc your home?" lena giggled, joking and teasing about the game you played in dc almost a month ago.
"nope, my home is with you."
I hope you're happy with what I wrote from this request! #comebackstrongerlenaoberdorf ❤️🙌
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scribblesofagoonerr · 1 month
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howdy, america! | buddy & monkey: double the trouble
my favourite fic to write. it did start out as a sick fic but then it turned into well, this.
pairings: leah williamson x reader!buddy x reader!monkey
summary: preseason has kicked off in america and it's chaos all round!
double the trouble masterlist
thank you @alotofpockets for the help with this one! there's also a special appearance from @lvnleah character Rory as well.
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“Nana, it’s too hot!” You whine, not a fan of this hot and sticky weather in the middle of August, “I don’ like it!”
“I know sweetheart,” Amanda sympathises with your fussiness that you’re not entirely used to being in another country as she adjusts the little sun hat on your head, “How about you try and drink some water to see if that helps at all, hm?” She suggests.
“Okay,” You shift restlessly in your seat as you take small sips from the bottle that you’re handed, “I don’ feel good,” You whimper, unhappily.
You are so excited to watch the game, you love it usually. However, today's a bit different with the fact of the unbearable heat in America is that you’re not at all used too, it makes you feel all icky inside.
You don’t like it, not one bit.
You're sitting in the stands with your Nana as you watch the football match unfold as Arsenal take on Washington Spirit in a preseason game at the Audi Field. The sun is blazing down and the stadium is packed with fans all eager to see their favourite players on the pitch.
Donned in your own Arsenal football shirt as you sit perched on your Nana’s lap, with a pale pink sun hat on the top of your head to keep the sun out of your eyes but it didn’t help the fact that you felt uncomfortable with the newfound heat you weren’t all that familiar with.
“I don’ like this heat,” You whine in discomfort, continuing to get fussier as the minutes draw on into the first half of the game, “I feel icky!”
“Oh sweetheart,” Amanda coos, doing her best to comfort you despite the fact you’re just getting more restless by the second as the game goes on, “I know it’s a lot to handle. Shall we see if we can find a spot in the shade?” She wonders.
“I wan’ Mummy,” You whine upset, looking out to where Leah is standing on the pitch with her usual stern expression she always has.
“I know you do, but Mummy is still on the pitch at the minute,” Amanda explains, taking control of the situation to bring you into a more shaded area with hope that you might feel a bit better, “It won’t be long until you can see her, sweetheart.”
“Too hot Nana, I feel icky,” You continue to whine in discomfort, thrashing around in the older women’s arms as you feel a pain in your tummy, “I’m gon’ be sick, Nana!” The tears brim your eyes, wanting nothing more than to be in Leah’s arms again.
“Oh no, sweetheart,” Amanda furrows her eyebrows as she prepares for the worst case situation, “Just a little longer sweetheart. You can see Mummy soon, I promise,” She tries to keep you calm for the rest of the first half of the game.
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Despite her best efforts to keep you hydrated and in the shade away from the sun too much, the heat only seems to make you feel worse. 
Amanda is more than thankful for the whistle at the end of the first half to be able to signal to Leah, who’s just finishing up with a small interview.
“I wan’ see Mummy now,” You murmur with a pout on your face, not entirely understanding why you can’t have her straight away.
“Hang on sweetheart, let’s see if we get her attention,” Amanda lightly sways with you in her arms, “Leah!” She calls out, trying to catch the blonde before she dips off into the changing rooms for the half time talk with the rest of the team.
Leah looks over straightaway, concern immediately crossing her face when she takes in your flushed cheeks and drooping posture, “Hello my little bubba,” She jogs over to the sidelines and gently brushes a strand of hair away from your sweaty forehead, “What’s the matter?” She questions, her worry evident for you.
“I don’ feel good, Mummy!” You immediately reach out for the blonde as your bottom lip quivers.
The blonde doesn’t hesitate to scoop you up into her arms and hold you close to her despite the heat, “Oh it’s okay, my little bubba. I’ve got you.” She murmurs, pressing a kiss to your forehead.
“I feel icky, it’s too hot!” You whimper in her arms, snuggling into her embrace despite the blazing heat that there currently is right now, “I gon’ be sick,”
“I’ve got you. You’re gonna be okay, bubba,” Leah kisses the top of your head and holds you in her arms, “It’s very hot here, isn’t it? It’s no wonder why you feel sick,” She adds.
“She’s been fussy the whole of the first half. It might be a good idea to take her indoors for a bit out of the heat,” Amanda suggests the idea, “I know you might need to go back on, so I can take her?” She offers.
“No, it’s fine. I’m not going back on if my little girl is feeling sick,” Leah declares without a second thought, “I’ll go and take her inside myself for a little bit, I just need to let Jonas know Buddy’s not well,” With a quick word passed over to the coaches about being subbed off for the game, you’re heading inside in Leah’s arms to a more secluded area where there is air conditioning available.
“I don’ like this feeling,” You whimper tearfully, “I wan’ watch Monkey though!” You mention your favourite person, you always like to watch her play football and now you couldn’t while you’re inside.
“I know you don’t,” Leah coos, settling down on a chair as she cradles you in her arms while the air conditioning works wonders to cool you down, “We can go and watch Monkey if you want too as long as you don’t feel too sick still?”
“Wan’ watch her,” You murmur quietly.
“Okay, that’s fine. We can do that,” Leah replies in agreement before she stands up again from her seat and carries you in the direction of the changing rooms, “How about we take a little quick shower first to cool you down and then we’ll go back out, hm?” She suggests.
“There’s my favourite little Buddy!” You hear your favourite person speak up as you turn your head and give her a small smile, “What’s wrong?” She asks, concerned.
“Buddy’s not feeling that great at the minute with the heat,” Leah informs the girl, brushing another strand of your hair away from your sweaty face.
Monkey’s eyes widen in concern as she sees you nestled in Leah’s arms, your small frame seeming even smaller as you clung to her and normally, you would be bouncing with excitement to see her, eager enough to run into her arms but today was a completely different story.
The heat had drained all of your energy, leaving you feeling icky and weak.
“Oh no,” The girl frowns, stepping closer towards you as her playful demeanour is replaced with worry, “You’re not feeling well?” She asks.
“Too hot,” You murmur, your voice barely above a whisper as you still hold on tightly to Leah.
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Monkey pouts at your fragile state she’s not used to seeing you like, “I… I can stay with her if you need to go back on and play?” She offers, turning to look at Leah.
Leah shakes her head in disagreement, “It’s okay, I’ve been subbed off and I am going to sit with her,” She pauses, “Besides, little miss wants to watch you play when you get subbed on.”
“If you’re sure?” The younger girl offers, her usual energy subdued as she watches you with careful eyes, “I don’t have to play today. Buddy’s sick!”
“No, you’re going to play,” Leah replies against the idea, “Buddy will be fine, I’m going to be with her the whole time. Now, go head back out there and we’ll see you out there in a bit, okay?” She encourages Monkey to go back and join the rest of the team that are still sitting on the bench.
“Urgh fine,” The girl huffs reluctantly and shuffles out of the changing rooms in a sulk.
“What is she like, eh? Silly Monkey,” Leah laughs lightly and shakes her head about Monkey’s sudden mood change as she walks over to the shower and turns it on to a lukewarm temperature, before carefully placing you down in the shower as she lets the cool water spray over your body, “There we go, bubba. Does that feel better?”
Despite her teasing Monkey about her mood swing, her focus never once wavers from you as she takes care of you.
“Uh huh. Better, Mummy,” You nod as the water washes away the discomfort.
“Good, I’m glad,” Leah says with a warm smile, reaching for a towel to wrap around you as she turns off the shower, “Let’s get you changed into some fresh clothes and then we’ll go sit back down with everyone else.”
“Sit with Auntie Beth?” Your wonder, curiously.
“Yeah, I think Auntie Beth has been subbed off as well,” Leah confirms, her hands working quickly and efficiently to get you dried off and into a fresh set of clothes, “It’s a good job that I packed spare clothes, isn’t it?”
You scrunch your face up when you realise that you won’t be able to wear your own Arsenal shirt now, “I don’ get to wear my Arsenal top no more,” You mumble, a hint of sadness in your voice.
“It’s okay, I know that you’re still my little cheerleader, Bubba,” Leah kneels down to your level as she smiles reassuringly at you, “For now, it’s between one of these ones,” She says, holding up a couple of options for you to choose from.
You take a moment to decide before you finally point to one you like more, “Green one.”
“Green? Oh that’s a good choice, Buddy!” Leah praises, helping you into the t-shirt along with a pair of white shorts, and you were more than happy to go back out to find your aunties, “Ah, ah, not so fast. You still need some more sun cream on, little miss.”
“No, I don’ like it,” You grumble in protest and try to pull away from her, “Don’ like it, Mummy. it’s icky!”
Leah chuckles softly, her hands already applying the suncream despite your reluctance, “Oh I know, but it’s better than looking like a lobster now, isn’t it, hm?”
“Icky,” You mutter, making a face even if you know she’s right about that, but it still doesn’t mean you have to like it.
You definitely do not like sun cream.
“I know,” Leah agrees with a sympathetic smile as she finishes applying the sun cream to your squeamish body, “All done, see that wasn’t so bad, was it?”
“Gross,” You whine in response, shaking your head in disagreement.
“It’s not that bad,” Leah smiles in amusement, “Shall we go and see which of your aunties we can find now then?”
“Yeah, watch Monkey play!” You declare, your earlier excitement starting to return now that you’re feeling better.
“Yeah, she’ll be playing soon,” The blonde agrees with a fond smile, holding her hand out for you to take as you make your way back to the bench where you spot a familiar face sitting there, “Look who it is, it’s Auntie Beth!” She points out the blonde woman.
“Hi, Buddy!” Beth greets you with a small wave as she has Rory, sitting on her lap looking grumpy.
You’re not sure if it’s the heat or the fact that she’s missing Viv, but she’s definitely not having a good time in America.
You do miss Jordan while you’re out here though but you’ve been able to FaceTime her, Blu and Tater-Tot as well.
You’re excited to be able to see them when you’re home!
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“Hey, pipsqueak!” You hear the familiar Australian voice of Monkey’s best friend and partner in crime, Kyra, “Where’s your Arsenal top?” She jokes.
“Couldn’t wear it no more,” You pout in disappointment, your fingers touching the hem of your new t-shirt which isn’t as cool as your own Arsenal one.
“Aw, no. That’s a shame, but don’t worry you still look cool in that one!” Kyra notices your glum expression and gives you a sympathetic smile, “And hey, you’re wearing green now!” She winks, trying to lift your spirits.
“Yeah, you’re reppin’ leprechauns’ colours now!” Monkey jokes as she chips in on the conversation, although you're not entirely sure who she is talking about.
“Oi, I heard that,” Katie chimes in, rolling her eyes playfully.
Monkey just laughs, “Good, you were meant to,” She says before she ruffles your hair knowing it’ll wind you up, “Glad that you’re feeling better, Buddy!”
“Monkey, stop!” You do your best to perfect the glare that is almost identical to Leah’s.
The girl holds her hands up in mock surrender, “Oh, now I know you’re feeling better if you’re scowling at me like Mum does,” She jokes, sticking her tongue out at Leah for good measure.
“Oi, watch it you," Leah fires back with her own stern look, though there’s a hint of amusement in her eyes, “Go on, go start warming up, Menace.”
“God, you’re always so bossy,” Monkey remarks, rolling her eyes dramatically but not without a smirk.
“Go on, go, Menace,” Leah says, pointing toward the sidelines with an exasperated shake of her head.
Monkey huffs dramatically but gets up from her seat, dragging her feet a little for the show, “Fine, alright, I’m goin’ now,” She mutters, throwing one last playful glance over her shoulder as she finally makes her way to the pitch.
“That girl sometimes, eh?” Beth chuckles amusedly after she watched Monkey’s theatrical exit from the seats.
“Tell me about it,” Leah replies, adjusting the sun hat on your head to keep the sun out of your eyes, “She’s a pain in the butt sometimes, but we love her, don’t we, Buddy?”
“Monkey’s my favourite person,” You declare confidently, snuggling closer to Leah.
Beth dramatically gasps in outrage, clutching her chest as if she’s been mortally wounded, “What? I thought I was your favourite person!”
“No, that’s me,” Katie pipes up from the other side of Beth, her tone playful.
“No, you’re both silly!” You giggle at the pair of them, “Monkey’s my favourite!”
“I’m offended,” Beth continues to faux upset as she keeps one arm around Rory, who’s still grumpy because she misses Viv, “I’m your favourite, right, Roo?” She asks her daughter.
“Yeah,” Rory agrees quietly, fiddling with the hem of her own Arsenal football shirt that had Beth’s name and number on the back of it.
“Well at least my daughter agrees,” Beth jokes, trying to lighten the mood, though she sneaks a glance at Rory, who’s clearly not her usual cheerful self.
Leah notices the exchange and leans a bit closer to Rory, “You know, Roo, I know you’re missing your Mamma but she’s going to be so happy to see you when you’re back home. I bet she can’t wait to hear all about your time here.”
Rory looks up to Leah with a small smile at the mention of Viv bringing her a bit of comfort, “Really?”
“Oh, absolutely,” Leah nods, her voice warm and reassuring, “And just think of the big hug she’s going to give you when you see her again. She’s going to want to hear every single detail.”
Rory’s smile grows a little wider, and she finally relaxes a bit against Beth, “I miss her,” She admits softly to the blonde.
“I know, sweetheart,” Beth says gently, rubbing her daughter’s back, “I miss her too, but Auntie Le is right. Mamma is going to be so excited to hear about everything that you’ve been up to.”
Leah gives Rory a warm smile before she looks between the two of you, “I think I might have an idea to cheer you girls up after the game,” She pauses, “I think we should get some ice cream! What do you think?”
“Ice cream!” You squeal in excitement, you sure do love ice cream a whole lot.
Beth laughs at your enthusiasm and peers down to look at Rory, “Oh ice cream does sound good, doesn’t it, Roo?”
Rory’s face brightens a bit at the suggestion, “I like ice cream,” She tells Leah with a small smile.
“I know you do,” Leah says, giving Rory a soft smile, “And you know who else likes ice cream? That big kid over there,” She gestures onto the field where the subs board is being changed for Monkey to go on to the pitch along with Kyra, Steph and Caitlin.
“Monkey likes ice cream a lot!” You reply in agreement.
“Yeah she does, so we’ll have to make sure that Monkey doesn’t eat it all before we get there.” Leah jokes, playfully.
“No, Monkey can’t eat it all!” You whine in protest, knowing that Monkey also likes ice cream as well, “You have to stop her, Mummy!”
“Don’t worry we will,” Leah laughs in amusement, “Look, she’s about to go on the pitch now so you can watch her,” She points with her index finger to where Monkey is racing onto the pitch.
“Go, Monkey! Go!” You shout enthusiastically, waving your little hand in the air in support of your favourite person.
Monkey spins around and looks over in the direction where you are and quickly waves back before she gets her head focused on the game, running all over the pitch with a burst of energy that matches her whole personality.
“Mummy, you and Auntie Beth look silly!” You can’t help but giggle at the current way that Leah and Beth both have the brightly coloured yellow bibs on their sun to protect their heads from the sun.
You don’t have that problem though, since you’ve got your own pink sun hat to keep your head safe.
“It’s the only way to keep us from getting too hot,” Leah tells you as she laughs, “I’m not fortunate to have a sun hat like you do, bubba.” She explains.
“Yeah, where can I get one of those lovely pink hats?” Beth chips in, her tone playful as she nudges you slightly.
“Mine,” You giggle at the blonde’s playful antics.
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“I can’t see her,” You whine in protest, losing track of seeing your favourite person running with the ball.
“She’s over there, see?” Leah gestures to where Monkey’s running on the pitch with the ball under her feet, “Do you see her now, bubba?” She questions.
“I do! I do!” You squeal in excitement and clap your hands enthusiastically.
You find it hard to keep up with the rest of the match, the heat was relentless and despite Leah’s best efforts to still keep you cool and comfortable, it’s not long before you feel agitated again with it so your enthusiastic mood dips once again.
“It’s hot,” You whine pitfully, shifting around in discomfort.
“I know it is, bubba. It won’t be long until the match is over now,” Leah tries her best to reassure you, using a programme that she got her hands on to fan you and keep you cool again, “You don’t feel sick again, do you?”
“Nuh uh, just hot,” You grumble in disagreement with the heat. 
You miss home and the terrible weather, it’s not always hot there like it is here.
There’s a quick water break and you notice as Monkey comes bounding off the pitch, her energy still high despite the intensity of the game, though she spots you squirming in Leah’s lap and immediately notices your discomfort.
“What’s wrong, Buddy?” She jogs over, her face flushed but she still has her usual bright smile, taking the towel that she was just handed over to Leah to give to you as she knows you’re more in need of it right now, “This might help a little bit.”
“Thanks, Monkey,” Leah thanks the girl appreciatively, adjusting the damp towel over your shoulders to help you cool down.
“Anything for my favourite little buddy,” Monkey shrugs her shoulders, taking small sips of her own water bottle as she gets her usual mischievous glint in her eye, not thinking twice before she sprays a little cool water over you from the bottle, “Gotcha, now gotta go. Buh-bye!” With that, she drops the bottle and rushes back onto the pitch to carry out the rest of the game.
“M’ wet now,” You pout up at Leah, who chuckles softly and shakes her head.
“Monkey is a menace, isn’t she?” Leah asks, her eyes twinkling with amusement, “Don’t worry, you can get her back when she least expects it.” She adds, playfully.
“Yeah, I’ll get her back!” You smile cheekily, snuggling against Leah as you attempt to watch the rest of the match play out with the opposing team.
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You’ve never been more grateful for a match to end as the heat is unbearable and once the final whistle blows, you peer up to look at Leah with hopeful eyes with the idea in mind to seek out Monkey on the pitch, and get your own back with the water bottle, “Can we go see Monkey now?” You ask.
“Come on, bubba,” Leah replies in agreement, taking a hold of your hand as she carefully helps you down the big steps that lead out to the pitch, “Do you see her?” She asks.
“Yes!” You spot her straight away as she has also spotted you and starts to race towards you, “I see her!” Letting go off Leah’s hand, you run towards her.
“Ah, my favourite little Buddy!” Monkey grins and lifts you up into her arms before she proceeds to spin you around, “Did you like the match?”
“Lots of goals scored!” You nod enthusiastically.
“Careful or she’ll be sick,” Leah states wearily as she finishes high fiving with the other team before she makes her way back to you both, “And then you’ll be the one to deal with it.”
“I know, I know. I’ve got her,” Monkey replies, holding you close to her as she walks back to join the post-match huddle with the team, standing on the other side of Leah.
“Proud of you out there, my girl,” Leah tells her, giving her a quick kiss on the forehead.
“What about me?” You ask, pouting at her.
Leah smiles and gently prieses you from Monkey’s arms, “I’m proud of you too, my little bubba,” She says, keeping you close as she listens to the post-match talk with Jonas and the rest of the team.
“Get down now please,” You ask politely, wanting to run about and kick the ball on the pitch now the match is over, you’re not so keen to listen to all the grown ups talk about stuff that you’re not sure about and maybe now Rory would play football with you?
“Don’t wander off,” Leah murmurs protectively, kneeling down to place you back on the floor, trying to pay attention to the post-match chat but more concerned about you wandering off somewhere unknown, though there’s a high chance of that happening when there’s a lot of staff here.
“Kick the ball with me, Roo!” You ask your cousin, who agrees with you and the two of you wander off to the stray football on the pitch, “Kick it, Roo!” You exclaim, pointing to the ball.
“I can’t believe you’re playing football without me,” Monkey gasps dramatically, making way to join your football game as you guess the chat must have finished now.
“I wanna join as well!” Kyra chimes in, joining the makeshift game with you, Monkey and Rory.
“Looks like your mini-me’s are putting you both to shame,” Caitlin jokes with Leah, seeing you put the ball in the back of the net before Monkey chucks you up on her shoulders to celebrate the goal.
“That doesn’t surprise me,” Leah laughs, shaking her head in amusement before making her way to greet her friend and follow England team mate, Esme Morgan.
You want to continue to kick the ball around, but your attention has been diverted to the white and red Gunner branded cowboy hat that Leah’s been handed, and so has Monkey’s as well.
“Howdyyyyy!” You hear Leah shout loudly from the other side of the pitch.
“Ooo, I want it!” Monkey bolts in the direction to where Leah is standing alongside Lia and Amanda on the other side of the barrier to block off the pitch.
“Wait for me, Monkey. I got little legs!” You whine and run after her, not wanting to be left out.
“Mine, I call dibs!” Monkey shouts aloud, trying and failing to reach for the hat on top of Leah’s head due to her short height, “No fair, gimme. I want it!”
“But it’s mine,” Leah retorts with a laugh, amused to watch Monkey try and get it from her, “Get your own hat, Menace.”
“No fair, I want it though– It would look better on me!” Monkey grumbles, doing her best to still and grab a hold of the hat, jumping and stretching her arms up.
“Fine,” Leah rolls her eyes with your favourite persons persistence and takes it off her own hat to plonk on her own, “There you go, Cowgirl.” She teases, patting her on the head.
“Thanks, Malfoy. You’re the best!” Monkey grins, happy with the hat for a few seconds before she shocks everyone around her and takes it off to gently place it on top of your own head, “Howdy, Cowgirl.”
“Cowboy hat!” You squeal in excitement.
“That was kind of you. I didn’t think you’d be willing to give it up so quickly,” Leah tells the younger girl, momentarily taken aback by Monkey’s sweet gesture to give it to you instead,
“It’ll help protect her from the sun,” Monkey tells her, trying to not make a big deal out of it, “Oh I’ll be back, I hear someone calling my name.” With that, she dips in the direction of a group of fans calling over to her, asking her to sign their shirts.
“Superstar on the pitch and fan favourite,” Lia jokes from where she stands beside Leah, speaking to other fans as well, watching out of the corner of her eye as one of the fans gave Monkey a white plush jellycat bunny.
“More like Menace,” Leah replies in amusement, taking the time to chat to Amanda in the stands as she lifts you into her arms so you can see her as well.
“Are you feeling better now, sweetheart?” Amanda questions in concern, not liking to see you so unsettled in any situation.
“Better now,” You nod in agreement, snuggling up closer to Leah while keeping the red and white cowboy hat on your head.
“It’s just a very hot day isn’t it,” Leah coos, doing her best to protect you from the harsh sun, “We’re going to get ice cream after this to help with the heat, aren’t we?”
“Ice cream!” You reply enthusiastically.
“Whoa, ice cream? That sounds great,” Amanda exclaims with a hint of playfulness in your voice, “You had better make sure that Monkey doesn’t eat it all.” She jokes.
“I heard my name,” Monkey pops up with the newfound white rabbit clutched in her hand, “Here you go, Buddy. This is yours,” She hands the rabbit to you.
“Thank ‘ou!” You take a hold of the fluffy rabbit and snuggle up closely to it.
“Hang on a second,” Leah says, shifting you to one arm while she uses her other hand to rest on the back of Monkey’s forehead, playfully pretending to check her temperature.
“What’re you doin’?” Monkey asks, confused, trying to bat Leah’s hand away from her face.
“Checking if you’re not coming down with something,” Leah responds, laughing slightly as she pulls her hand away, “Since when do you willingly give Jellycats away?”
“I’m just being nice!” Monkey insists, shrugging her shoulders, “It’s not a big deal, Buddy’s not having a great day and I thought it would cheer her up.”
“That’s really sweet of you to do something like that, Monkey,” Amanda states, kindly.
“It was,” Lia chimes in agreement.
Although Leah isn’t all that convinced, “What’re you after? If this is your way of trying to get out of being grounded after that stunt you pulled at home, think again,” She states, reminding the girl of what happened prior to your trip to America.
“It’s not I swear, I just… I thought it would cheer her up,” Monkey admits, looking sheepishly as she doesn’t know if anyone else is aware of what happened with the TV back home but she’s not about to tell anyone about it, regardless.
Leah eyes her for a moment longer before her expression softens, “Alright, I believe you. Now, how about we go and get that ice cream, huh?” She wonders.
Your own eyes light up at the mention of ice cream and you nod enthusiastically, “Ice cream!” You exclaim, clutching a hold of your new bunny, “Auntie Beth and Roo coming as well?”
“Course we are,” Beth pipes up from where she walks over to you all from the other side of the pitch with Rory in tow, “We wouldn’t miss out on the chance to get ice cream now, would we?”
“Ice cream!” Rory repeats enthusiastically, bouncing up and down on her feet, eager for the sweet treat.
Leah laughs at the enthusiasm, “Alright, ice cream it is. Before we go, we need to get changed out of our kits first,” She gestures between herself, Beth and Monkey, “We don’t want to be sitting in these sweaty clothes while we eat.”
Monkey groans playfully, clearly impatient, “Can’t we just go as we are? I want ice cream now!” She whines, dragging out the last word in complaint.
Leah chuckles at the younger girl’s impatience, shaking her head, “Come on Menace, it won’t take that long,” She reassures her, taking her by the arm and leading her back toward the changing rooms, with Beth and Rory following close behind.
You stay outside with Lia and Amanda, who keeps you entertained while you wait and it doesn’t take long before Leah, Beth, Monkey and Rory reemerge, now dressed in cooler, more comfortable outfits.
“Now we get ice cream?” You ask eagerly, practically bouncing on your toes.
“Yes, bubba, now we’ll go and get ice cream,” Leah confirms with a smile, ruffling your hair gently.
With everyone ready, the group heads off to find the nearest ice cream stand. You race ahead with Rory and Monkey, all of your excitement infectious as the adults follow behind, chatting amongst themselves.
“Ooo, I want mint chocolate chip!” Monkey calls out eagerly, practically bouncing with anticipation.
“Strawberry,” Rory chimes in, her eyes already scanning the ice cream options as you approach the stand.
Leah smiles down at you as you look at the bright menu in front of you, “How about you, bubba?” She asks, her voice gentle as she watches you contemplate the choices.
You glance at the colourful display of flavours, each one more tempting than the last, “Ummm… chocolate,” You start, then spot the bubblegum and your eyes light up, “Nuh uh, wait– I wan’ bubblegum, Mummy!”
The blonde laughs at your excitement, “Bubblegum it is then, bubba,” She says, giving your hand a gentle squeeze before checking what everyone else wanted in the small group and placing the order.
“Mm, this ice cream is great,” Lia says, savouring the treat.
Amanda nods in agreement with the Swiss woman, “Are you enjoying that, sweetheart?” She chuckles as she watches you dive into your ice cream with enthusiasm and end up getting it all around your face.
“Messy bubba,” Leah teases, wiping away some of the ice cream with a napkin as her tone is filled with affection.
“This has gotta be the best ice cream I’ve ever tasted!” Monkey exclaims, eyes wide with satisfaction.
Beth laughs and nudges her slightly, “I swear you say that every time you have ice cream,” She teases as she peers down at Rory, “How is it, Roo?”
“So good, Mummy!” Rory replies with a big smile, “I like it!”
“That’s cos’ it’s the best ice cream I’ve ever tasted!” Monkey states as a matter of fact, “Can’t prove me wrong on that one!”
“Alright, menace. It is good ice cream,” Leah rolls her eyes and laughs in agreement with your favourite person, taking another bite of her own treat as she enjoys the moment with everyone around her.
It was only the beginning of preseason in America, but she is determined to make it fun for you.
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© scribblesofagoonerr
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