#I didn’t do the backgrounds so if you use the grid or heart or flag on it’s own there’s no need to credit me the creators made it free

[staycatcher]

New Brewgie Theme.jpegs just dropped!

[sighingstarbeam]

Spies and Gods - Chapter 10

Summary: You and Loki head out on a night on the town. But you need to make a pit stop along the way.

Word Count: 3,245

A/N:  It's finally here! I'm finished with my classes and I have some time to write. With everything going on in the world right now, I'll try my best to upload more chapters, hopefully I can pry one out every week and get a schedule up and going. Thanks for the patience and stay safe!

Chapter 9 | Chapter 11

The next hour you debated if your decision was right. Your mind kept weighing the polar opposite options yet you put on your makeup as if you already made your choice. Every time you thought about going back to Loki’s room and calling the deal off you lingered to how you deserved a night out with your friends, even if Loki was in the background. On the other hand, when you thought about how much you wanted to leave the facility, what would happen if you got caught? New York was big, yes, and you never told anyone which nightclub you were going to specifically as there were hundreds just in the city alone, but if someone saw you leave and grew suspicious who’s to say what would happen? So many scenarios scattered in your brain. That person would rat you out to the team, they’d shun you for the rest of your life, Tony would kick you out immediately, he would second guess why he let you stay in the first place, which was something you never quite fully understood. If worse came to worse, you could always move back in with Lilly and Maya. But what if they thought you abandoned them? You didn’t mean to. In fact, you were forced to leave your current living situation. They wouldn’t lea- Before your headache could grow any larger, you heard a knock on your bathroom door. Your breath hitched when a familiar voice spoke up, “It’s me,” Tony said, “I’m sorry about before, but we really need you to do this. We’ll celebrate with a restaurant, your choice, just us two to get to know each other. Maybe Pepper. No, not Pepper.” You could practically hear his head rushing with what he was trying to spit out as he hesitated, “What I’m trying to say is we’re heading out. Don’t let Loki… Honestly don’t let him do anything but breathe and blink. Steve and his squad should be back tomorrow from their mission. Hang tight until then.” You didn’t say anything, you were processing the fact that Tony actually said the words “I’m sorry” to you. On top of that he wanted to take you out to dinner and have a real conversation. Not just the chats you have in the lab about his works, but about both of your lives, something you have secretly been yearning since day one. “O-Okay.” You stammered, careful not to burn yourself on the curling rod, “See you later.” Great, now you’ll feel some guilt for sneaking out. To be fair, it was Tony’s own fault for not letting you live your life. About an hour later you were dolled up in makeup and a form fitting maroon dress with off shoulder sleeves that Maya helped you pick out a few months back. It was already 8:00 and you promised you’d arrive at that time. You quickly texted Maya and Lilly that you were heading out and you had to “pick up a friend”. Speaking of which, you needed to tell Loki you were ready. Peeking your head out of your door, purse in hand, you checked the hall if anyone was around. Your heels clacked on the linoleum tile as you crossed the few feet to Loki’s door. You knocked sharply, waiting for him to emerge. A part of you wanted him to not answer, for him to end his own deal so you could have a reason to stay home. Or you could leave him alone and go by yourself and deal with the repercussions later. Well, somebody was listening and decided to pull a joke on you as Loki opened the door. You would’ve noticed him looking at you surprised by how you were dressed if it weren’t for the fact that you were too distracted by his attire. He went with his usual Asgardian wear of green, gold, and black leather outfitted with actual gold bands. “What are you wearing?” You asked. “What do you mean?” Loki questioned. “We’re going to a party in a club, not a renaissance fair.” Loki was taken aback from your comment, “I am dressed for a party. In Asgard this was standard attire for events our family held.” You rubbed the bridge of your nose out of frustration, “You’re on Earth now. You got to own something like a suit.” In almost an instant a shimmer of gold surrounded his head as a helmet with long horns manifested on Loki’s head, “How is this?” He mused. You crossed your arms, “If you can do that, you can illusion yourself human clothes.” Loki stared you down, then sighed rolling his eyes, knowing he wouldn’t win this situation. The golden shimmer surrounded him as he changed into the black suit he wore on the first day you saw him. “This should suffice, but know this; ” He leaned in, a little too close for comfort, before hissing his next words, “this night will not grant you permission to treat me like a cornered dog. Just because this is your planet does not give you access to order me whenever you please. I am a god in this realm- and for a moment your divine ruler.” You resisted the urge to step back from his proximity, for doing so would only pin you against the wall. Instead you stood your ground, trying to match the intensity of Loki’s glare. “If you say so. But if you do anything that raises any red flags while we’re out, I won’t hesitate to drag your ass back here early.” You pulled your phone out, it was a few minutes after you were supposed to meet up, plus you needed to pick up a gift. “We gotta go. Does the divine ruler want to stop for some fast food on the way?” You asked sarcastically. Loki’s manner transitioned from his intimidating look to amused as he let out a soft chuckle. 

___

Getting to the garage was a lot easier than you expected. With practically everyone gone nobody saw you and Loki made it to the rows of cars that were perfectly lined up. When you were first moving in Tony explained to you that most of the vehicles had keys hung up accordingly on a grid wall. Most of that conversation he mostly bragged that at least three-quarters of the cars belonged to him personally, which at least gave you a wide variety to choose from. “Got a preference?” You asked Loki, perusing the key selections. Loki looked back at the cars with a sour look, “Please tell me we are not driving any of those.” You were bemused at his remark, “What’s wrong with them? I mean, sure they’re a bit pretentious like that Ferrari- and those other two Ferrari's… but there are a few cool ones we could borrow.” You scanned the row, a black car caught your eye. “How about this Tesla? I heard they’re pretty cool.” Part of you knew that taking a car that glamorous would catch a few eyes, but if you were going to break the rules might as well go all the way in style. “Whatever you think is best.” Loki responded, “Personally I would never be caught dead in any of these, but if this is the only mode of transportation, then it will be adequate for the night.” No matter what you said to the man you could never seem to satisfy him, even if it was for a moment. You plucked the key from the slot and the two of you made your way to the sleek Tesla. Simultaneously you both entered the car. When you turned the key in the ignition you expected the screen in the dashboard to show different selections, except you were greeted by the display illuminating a video of a lit fireplace. A wave of warmth flooded the car as if the fire actually gave out heat from the heating system. The speakers blasted a funky tune of smooth jazz music, and without warning both yours and Loki’s seat reclined backwards. “Well well well, I didn’t realize this was your true intention for the night.” said Loki, showing off a wicked grin. “If you wanted to go a different route, we could have stayed upstairs.” “What? No! I didn’t-” Your face went beet red. You shot up away from the reclined seat when you tried to fiddle with the controls. After a few buttons pressed and smacks on the screens the fireplace video and heat turned off as well as the music. You readjusted your seat before selecting the maps to enter in the location of the club. God I hope they cleaned in here before we got here. You thought to yourself. “We’re never going to talk about this again.” You only heard a chuckle from the god next to you, your heart was beating out of your chest. Why was it doing that? Maybe it was because you were still in shock by the unexpected romance mode the car was set to. Yes, that was it.

___

Driving in downtown New York at night always brought a sense of surrealistic peace to you. The way the lights lit the structures in the distance, the ambiance, the shadows bent in contrast, everything melded together perfectly. You have only lived in New York for less than a year, but you would consider it to be one of the only few places you enjoyed residing in. After the incident in 2012, you fled as far as you could until you reached Maine. For a year it was your shelter, then Pennsylvania for six months, then Vermont for two years, and so on. You jumped from state to state in the northeast area for five years. For even longer you knew that Tony could be your biological father. At any time you could have gone to Stark Tower, to follow the only lead you had read once in a file years ago. Yet you didn’t. Instead you hid from the past of who you were and what you were forced to do. If it wasn’t for the voice in the back at your head screaming you would have left the country the second you had the chance. When you finally had enough of the voice there was only one remedy you knew that could soothe the coarse yells that have been echoing in your ears. The moment you stepped foot in front of the tower, the voice ceased. Now you wished there was another voice to tell you what to do now. Originally your plan was to leave the country, perhaps Paris, find a cozy cottage on the outskirts of town away from the population. Maybe get a cat or two, maybe a bird. The point was to finally be free and forget the past, to finally be alone. But there was a tug in a different direction. The direction that kept you with your friends, Maya and Lilly. A chance to be part of a family with the Avengers, who’s trust you have gained from most of the team the near two months you’ve been there. Even Bucky was slowly starting to initiate conversations with you. Even with the new, unexpected life that was thrown your way, making the decision to leave it behind or stick with it was a sea of voice in your mind. For tonight however, you were going to drown out the voices with liquor, loud EDM, and dancing. All of course while keeping an eye on the Asgardian prince. Speaking of which, you thought that he has most likely never been to an earthling party. “So…” you droned out, Loki’s gaze still out the window, “I’m sure you probably haven’t been to a club on Earth before, so I’m giving you a heads up that this is going to be different than whatever parties you’re used to.” Loki cocked an eyebrow, finally turning his head to you, “And what parties would that be?” “I don’t know. I thought it was more like royal stuff with balls and fancy dresses.” Considering he was a prince and the stories Thor told you about Asgard (not to mention Thor and Loki’s choice of fashion and speech), you only assumed Loki had only been to medieval like parties. Loki smirked, almost as if he was reminiscing about the memories, “We did have parties similar to those on Asgard. However I have observed and even participated in Midgardian-like events.” “Oh yeah? When was the last time you partied or to put it in simpler terms, ‘go out’?” Loki thought for a moment, “The most recent I recall was on Sakaar. True the ruler was a clueless sociopath who wanted everything his way, but he did throw marvelous events.” “He sounds like somebody I know.” You teased, not getting a very positive response from Loki. You changed the subject before an awkward silence could interfere, “We need to make a pit stop before we get to the club.” “What for?” “I didn’t have time to get my friend a gift.” It was only five minutes later when you got to the store Lilly loved. It was a small spiritual shop that sold crystals, candles, all sorts of things that Lilly had interest in. She’s a self-proclaimed witch, which didn’t bother you, except for certain incense she burned that filled the entire apartment, nearly setting the smoke alarm off. Hopefully they sold something that Lilly would like and didn’t have. You turned off the car and unbuckled when you noticed Loki wasn’t moving, “Come on, I’m not leaving you alone.” Loki gave an annoyed look, but quietly obeyed and exited the car. The store was small but had a lot of aisles to peruse. You and Loki definitely were out of place, with it’s dark wood floor and even darker concrete walls. Actually, with Loki’s black suit and demeanor he could fit right in. But you were only there for five minutes tops, not wanting to waste any more time. Going through each aisle you took note of what Lilly would enjoy. Most of the items you knew she already had, except for a few mugs that were cheesy like “Witch Please” or “Witches Be Crazy”. The first thing you needed to do was pick out a birthday card, which thankfully the store had a small display on the side. While reading through the cheesy ones, you settled on a card that had a cat on the cover, but had a thoughtful message on the inside. Looking over to Loki, you found him perplexed at not only the greeting cards, but the general atmosphere of the store. “So this friend, she actually is a witch?” “Yeah, but she doesn’t practice a lot of spells. She mostly does tarot cards and sage burnings.” You didn’t fully understand her lifestyle, but you respected it nonetheless. Loki furrowed his brows before continuing down the aisles. After finding Lilly’s card, you skimmed down the aisle until a book caught your eye. The title read: 101 Love Spells to Spice up Your Relationship. You picked up the book, examining the cover and flipped through a few of the pages, taking notice of the more sensual spells. You actually considered buying it as a joke, until a familiar voice rang in your ear. “I didn’t realize Midgard had spell books, especially of the sultry design.” You jumped from the sudden lack of personal space. Loki was leaning towards your ear, observing the book from your hand. “I’m not buying it.” You blurted, taking a step away that ended more like a shuffle, “I mean, this is just a gag book. I wasn’t actually considering it.” If only you had a mirror to prove to yourself your face was red. You tossed the book back onto the shelf with a thud. Next to it was another book, Spells For Self Care. Flipping through the pages this was the perfect book for Lilly. D.I.Y. organic face masks, spells to calm your mind, even some advice on how to deal with stressful energies. You tucked the book under your arm along with the card, “Let’s get out of here,” you said to Loki, determined for you and him to forget about the conversation prior. The two of you checked out the items along with a gift bag and some colorful tissue paper. You were in there a little over five minutes, but you would still make it to the club in time. The drive was short, but the silence made it feel longer. You didn’t know what to talk about to a literal demigod, and small talk wasn’t your forte in the first place. If it weren’t for the traffic you would speed just a bit faster to get to the club even sooner. What else could you talk about with Loki? So what’s your favorite color? Your hopes and dreams? If you had to marry, kill, or f- “Y/N?” Loki asked. “Hm?” You were so lost in thought you didn’t realize you arrived. “Oh, yeah I’m just looking for a spot.” You pulled into a parking garage a few blocks away. The only space you could squeeze into was on the third story, and just your luck the elevator was out of service, forcing the two of you to walk down the concrete stairs in your heels. When you finally made it to the front of the club, the line wasn’t extremely long, but you remembered Maya saying something about telling the bouncer your name and you were in Lilly’s party. So just as Maya said, the bouncer pulled away the velvet rope, but not before asking about Loki. “He’s with me.” You stated. The bouncer gave a questioning glare, but let him through as well. Before you opened the doors to the club itself, you pulled Loki aside in the lounge. “Before we go in, there are a few ground rules.” Loki rolled his eyes, “I thought we already settled those earlier.” “Yes and no. First off, you’re not allowed out of my sight. If I need to go to the bathroom, my friends are in charge of you. Second, don’t try anything funny. Thor told me you like to play tricks, but not tonight. Are we clear?” He grinned ear to ear, placing his hand on his chest, “I give you my word I will not play a trick on your friends.” “Great.” You nodded, averting your gaze, “And one question, do you think anybody will recognize you?” Loki’s grin slowly faded as he tilted his head, “What do you mean?” “Your reputation isn’t exactly… favorable. I don’t know how much you made the news.” “You didn’t know who I was when we first met.” He had a point, you were a bit busy escaping with your life from actual creatures. “Not many people cared to memorize this face. I’ve been here long enough and nobody bats an eye. Now I must ask you the same question.” You tilted your head this time, “I was told of your predicament. Are you sure no one will recognize you?” To be honest, you didn’t know. You’ve been really good about keeping out of trouble, and you haven’t seen any agents in years. “I’m sure we’ll both be fine.” Loki’s grin curved its way back in, “Great.” You sure as hell hoped you sounded convincing. Not just for him, but for yourself.

[mischiefandspirits]

Iron Legion (13/?)

Never let it be said that Tony Stark ever does things by half. He might have grown up with little family, but he wasn’t about to keep it that way.

Tony Stark was seventeen when his first child was born, and that was just the beginning.

For Masterpost, AO3, and Fanfiction

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cerberus, Part 1

Tony Stark was thirty-eight when his eighth, ninth, and tenth children were born.

“What about making it so it could set itself on fire?”

Bruce frowned and looked over at Peter. “Why would we want Ultron to set itself on fire?”

“I think that one was for me,” Tony chuckled over the phone.

“Yessir, Mr. Stark,” Peter agreed, looking up from his homework. “Although Ultron being able to set itself on fire would be cool too.”

“I don’t know if Pepsi would like a suit that sets itself on fire. I’ll think about it, though. Now Ultron on the other hand -”

“How about we figure out how to make it work before giving it pyromaniac tendencies,” Bruce interjected.

“Jolly Green, the kid ruins you. You never let me have fun when he’s there. I just wanna blow things up with you!” Tony pouted.

Bruce couldn’t see him -- he’d turned down the phone Tony had offered him -- but he knew the billionaire was pouting.

“I wanna blow things up too,” Peter said, looking excited.

“No, to both of you. Tony, he’s barely twelve.”

“Exactly! He’s right at that age when kids love blowing things up!”

“We need to be good examples or Jen’s word won’t be enough for his parents to let him keep coming.”

“Dad likes you. He won’t make me stop coming,” Peter disagreed. “And Mom trusts Jen’s judgment.”

“See, we’re good.”

“I’d rather hear that from his parents firsthand,” Bruce snorted.

“We need to make up permission slips. Fri, make Peter a slip so Bruce will stop being a wet blanket.”

“On it, Boss.”

“Tony,” Bruce sighed. He’d have to explain to Jen. Hopefully, Peter’s parents could take a joke.

“So, have you heard from the others?” he asked, deciding it was probably best to get the billionaire’s mind on something else.

“Nothing from Arendelle, but I checked in on Capsicle and Fury’s kids. Bird-boy’s off the grid, taking some time to himself. After what happened, I can’t blame him. Cap and Romanoff have been running missions for S.H.I.E.L.D. Last I heard, they were in Rome to -”

“Pretty sure we shouldn’t be talking about S.H.I.E.L.D. around the kid,” Bruce pointed out.

“They’re jerks,” Peter said, turning back to his tablet. “They bug Dad a lot.”

Bruce frowned. “Peter, what does your dad do?”

He shrugged. “Mechanic.”

“Ominous,” Tony hummed. “I agree, though. S.H.I.E.L.D. are jerks.”

“Still not giving Fury that assist he asked for?” Bruce asked. He supposed the kid heard plenty of other classified information in the lab, what was a little more?

“Make one joke about how my repulsor tech could prevent further engine issues and suddenly I’m on S.H.I.E.L.D.’s payroll? Yeah, no. I finally got him to back off two months ago, and that was only because Fri went and transferred him to legal. They explained to him that the company would sue him if he kept it up. The tech patents are company property after all. If S.H.I.E.L.D. wants the tech, they’ll have to buy it and have us install the engines as is company policy.”

“I bet Fury didn’t take that well.”

“Wouldn’t know, but someone did try hacking in. Can’t prove it was them, but it’s quite a coincidence if it wasn’t.”

“They get anything?”

“Nope,” Tony said, popping the p. “Jay detected them immediately and they cut their losses when he started to return the favor.”

“Jerks,” Peter muttered.

“Yup. Legal slapped a ban on them when they heard. They’re still angry with Romanoff so they don’t care what we can or can’t prove. One of the girls told Fury that if it wasn’t them, then he should put his spies to use and figure out who it actually was. Only then will they lift the ban. Until then he could, in her words, take a flying leap into a spiked pit. I tried to talk Pepper into giving her a raise, but she said it gave the wrong impression.”

Bruce shook his head while Peter snickered.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Hey Jay, how’re the kids doing?” Tony asked, collapsing onto the couch. God, it was good to be home. Maybe he’d go down and visit Bruce later. They hadn’t hung out much since setting Ultron aside.

“Miss Nebula is busy with work. Dum-E, U, and Master Peter are playing with Peter’s LEGOs in his room. F.R.I.D.A.Y. is going through your emails. J.O.C.A.S.T.A., P.L.A.T.O., and H.O.M.E.R. started bickering again and as such have thirteen minutes remaining in time out. Would you like me to check in on Master Harley as well?”

“I’ll call him later. Remind Peter and the twins that those two need to be back in the lab before bed. No sleepovers.

“Of course, Sir.”

“Boss, I’ve got something you might want to see.”

“What is it?” he asked and an email appeared on the TV screen.

“I’m not sure.”

All that was in the email was an IP address and one word: Hill.

“Jay, trace the email. Fri, check the IP,” Tony said, getting to his feet.

Both agreed as Tony walked over to the bar, pulling out his phone.

“Stark, how did you get this number?” Agent Hill asked as soon as she picked up.

“I could ask you how you knew it was me, but those are both stupid questions.” Tony grabbed a bottle of whiskey and poured out a measure. “What’s up with the IP?”

“I -”

“Hill?”

Tony’s eyebrows rose in curiosity at the Captain’s call and he took a sip.

“I have to go. Just keep an eye on the IP. You’ll understand soon enough.”

Tony frowned when she hung up on him. “Did you guys get anything?”

“The email was sent from a coffee shop in Washington, D.C.,” J.A.R.V.I.S. said. “I didn’t have time to trace the call completely, but it came from the same general area.”

“I didn’t get anything from the IP either. It’s completely inactive,” F.R.I.D.A.Y. added.

“Keep watching it, just in case. I don’t know what’s going on with Hill, but I don’t want to be caught off guard. Jay, keep an eye on our firewalls to make sure S.H.I.E.L.D.’s not trying to sneak in again.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“BOSS!” F.R.I.D.A.Y. shouted and Tony jerked into a sitting position, his phone falling to the ground.

“Sweetie, Dad’s got a heart condition remember?” Tony breathed, grabbing his chest dramatically.

“Sorry, but the IP has suddenly gone active and… Boss, all of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s files have been posted online.”

Tony froze. “By all, please tell me you don’t mean -”

“All of them. Every single one.”

“Jay, Fri, grab them all. Scoop them up and encrypt everything!”

“I don’t think even the two of us could take all of it on, Sir.”

“Do what you can. The triplets aren’t ready for this kind of stuff yet. I’ll help as soon as I can get to the lab,” he said, snatching up his phone and running to the elevator. As he stepped inside, he unlocked his phone and paused when he saw the excessive amount of texts Bruce had sent him during the short time the phone had been on the ground. He hit the call button. “Bruce -”

“Have you seen the news?”

“News?”

“The S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters in D.C. just blew up. They’re not calling it that, obviously, but I recognize the building.”

“I guess that explains why all their files are suddenly on the net,” Tony said, slipping through the elevator doors before they were fully open and rushing to his desk.

“WHAT!?”

“Yeah, so I’ve got a lot to do. Jay and Fri can only do so much on their own.” He scowled as he brought up the file dump, seeing some copies already being made. “Do me a favor and call Pepper,” he said, getting to work. “Have her send a group from the Stark Relief Foundation to help out in D.C. and get her to tell Nebula and Happy what’s up. I’m sending them a link to the files. He and Rhodey need to set up some teams with a few friends I’ve got in the CIA and FBI and Nebula can set up some of the cybersecurity team on sorting through the files. There is going to be a lot of spies in need of immediate exfils.”

“On it,” Bruce said. “I’ll also tell Jen in case she can help. I’d offer to come, but think I’m probably better off where I am.”

“Yeah, until we figure out what’s going on here, stick to Cali. Rhodey or Haps will give you a call if they think they need the big guy,” Tony said distractedly.

“I’ll leave you to it, then.”

Tony ended the call, not looking away from the screen.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“You’re getting a call,” Peter said, rolling up to Tony atop U.

“Who is it? And get off your sibling. They’re not built to hold you like that,” Tony said, barely taking his focus off the screen.

He, J.A.R.V.I.S., and F.R.I.D.A.Y. had grabbed everything they could after hours of work, but he knew a lot of files had been copied before they could finish. Now they were helping Nebula’s team sort through the files. There were operatives that needed to be rescued before their covers were blown, S.H.I.E.L.D. facilities that needed to be cleared out before they could be ransacked, HYDRA operations that needed to be brought down before they could go to ground (because HYDRA had infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D., thanks for the update, Cap), and so much more. With all of that excluding any files that could have been destroyed before they could get to them.

“It’s legal.”

Tony sighed and took the phone. He put a finger to his lips to remind his kids to keep quiet then answered the phone on speaker. “If this doesn’t concern the HYDRA/S.H.I.E.L.D. lovechild, then I’m hanging up.”

“It does, in a sense. We just got a flag from Human Resources. Someone with S.H.I.E.L.D. on both their resume and background check just sat down for an interview.”

“Didn’t think we were watching HR,” Tony muttered, sending a file to Rhodey’s team.

“It had been set up before, when we thought they were hacking us.”

“Was probably HYDRA,” Tony noted.

“Same thing,” the unnamed legal person growled and Tony snorted. “We were going to inform HR to toss the resume, but Walters said she recognized the name so we figured it was best to check in first. HR’s pretty excited about her.”

“Name?”

“Maria Hill.”

Tony rolled his eyes. Did she think he’d take pity on her since she’d given him that joke of a heads up? “Toss it.”

“You got it, Boss.”

“Pepper’s the boss; I’m just the idea machine. You guys keep up the good work, tell Jen thanks for the help again, and remind the others they’re doing great. Now if you don’t mind, I’m trying to keep the world from blowing up.”

“Of course, Sir. Sorry,” legal said breathlessly and Tony assumed he was trying not to laugh, judging by Peter’s muffled snickers.

Tony hung up and gave Peter a gentle shove. “Didn’t I tell you to get off them?”

“U can carry five times my weight!”

“Get out of here, you monkey.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“They showed up here?” Rhodey asked.

“Had Birdbrain with them, too.” Tony opened his eyes to see his friend’s surprised face.

“They wanted a place to stay for a bit,” Pepper tisked, voice cold as she ran her fingers through Tony’s hair. They were curled up on the couch with his head in her lap while Rhodey sat in an armchair next to them.

“After that mess they dropped in your lap a couple months ago?” Rhodey huffed. “Please tell me you kicked them right back out the door.”

“I did.”

“Only because they’d find out about Peter,” Pepper pointed out with a glare.

“They wanted to stay in the Penthouse?”

“There’s nowhere else for them to stay,” Tony said, waving it off. “I’m not shoving them in a staff apartment and Bruce only has one guest room on his floor. Even if he agreed to share, there’s no way those three would bunk together in a single room.”

Rhodey chuckled at the idea. “Where’d they go then?”

“I took pity on them and booked them a suite at a nearby hotel that’s good for keeping quiet about their clientele. They really just needed a place to crash for a bit. Romanoff and Barton have decided to join Cap on his hunt for his old war buddy so they’re just tracking down a new lead.”

“There wasn’t anything in the data dump about the Winter Soldier, we checked,” Nebula said and the three turned to see her sitting at the bar, working on a tablet.

“When did you get here?” Pepper asked, looking around to be sure no one else had snuck up on them.

“Just now,” Nebula said. “I heard about those three showing up, but more importantly, so did legal. I figured I should warn you that they’re moving to bar all three of them from the premises. There’s still some debate on Roger’s behalf, but most of them have lumped him in with S.H.I.E.L.D. since he’s worked solely with them since his return.”

“I’ll talk to them,” Pepper said.

“Do you have to?” Rhodey hummed.

Pepper blinked, thinking. “They shouldn’t be banned, but having security keep eyes on them whenever they’re here couldn’t hurt,” she allowed. “They haven’t exactly proven themselves to be trustworthy.”

“They’re not that bad,” Tony muttered and Pepper patted his head condescendingly.

“Is that why we’re not putting them to use?” Nebula asked, ignoring his comment and gesturing to her tablet. “If they’ve hit a roadblock then they should help clean up their mess.”

“I considered that, and Ross agreed, but his Europol buddy we’re working with shares legal’s distrust. Apparently, she had a bit of a grudge against S.H.I.E.L.D. and HYDRA even before the reveal. She doesn’t want them brought in without someone there to make sure they don’t pull a D.C. again,” Tony explained.

“I could manage them,” Rhodey offered.

“We need you on the airforce team,” Nebula argued. “You’re our only military contact.”

“Actually, I’ve been thinking about taking them out to a couple of the more dangerous bunkers now that we’ve got the files reasonably managed,” Tony said. “I called Foster and Thor agreed to help out. They haven’t had any better luck tracking down the glow stick then we have.”

“That will make Ellis happy. His people keep asking when the Avengers are going to get involved with taking down HYDRA,” Pepper said with an eye-roll. “As if you, Thor, and Bruce haven’t been doing everything you can.”

“Is Bruce going to join in?” Rhodey asked.

“I haven’t asked, but if he does, he’ll only get involved on an as-needed basis. He’s been getting better thanks to Jen and the Breakroom, but he’s still nervous about Hulking out around others,” Tony said.

“You think Agents Ross and Drew will be okay with him in the field?” Rhodey asked.

“Veronica’s been well tested by both Hulk and She-Hulk and he’s on backup duty, so hopefully. Hulk proved himself against the Chitauri. If Bruce wants to help, he should be allowed.”

“Is Mom going to help too?” Peter asked, popping up from behind the couch.

All four adults jumped in surprise.

“You little sneak, get out of here!” Nebula hissed.

“No eavesdropping,” Tony said, sitting up. “What are you even doing up? Jay, why didn’t you tell me Peter got up?”

“He was thirsty. As he was heading right to you, I didn’t feel the need.”

“Next time one of the kids are eavesdropping, tell me,” he huffed then pointed towards the kitchen. “Drink then straight back to bed, Monkey.”

“Should I tell you that F.R.I.D.A.Y., J.O.C.A.S.T.A., P.L.A.T.O., and H.O.M.E.R. are all eavesdropping?” J.A.R.V.I.S. asked as Peter left.

“Fri is always eavesdropping. Have the babies finished their homework?”

“P.L.A.T.O. and H.O.M.E.R. have.”

“Joe, get back to work. P, Mer, good job, but don’t spy on Dad.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You know what I realized? I don't think anyone's coined onto the theming behind the names for Harley's sector of the family. I've had comments about Teresa being Peter's sister in the comics, but nothing on where I got the names for Harley, Tori, Valeria, or Frank. Aside from the obvious Harley and Keener, the rest of there names are all references, and even a bit of a hint in Harley's case.

If anyone's curious, here's the timeline I'm working with for this story (only including what's been posted. No spoilers)

[saidbyes-blog]

( FRIEND OF GRANT'S ) ebony harrison ( 24 / she/they ): demigirl & friends who seemingly clicked despite emotional distance, and acquaintance of mallory's. ( nina nesbitt ) ( PACE / 20+ / SHE/HER )

hello ! so, i’m typing this up straight after acceptance ( lmao, talk about eager ) so hopefully anything i inevitably forget, i can add between now and when this’ll actually be posted, so you actually have some decent info to work with ! but i’m pace ( which is obviously an alias but,,,, pls just call me pace ! ) and my pronouns are she/her ! and moving on to the one you actually wanna know about... 

—– ❀ okay, so !! as you can see above, ebony is a friend of grant’s ! on the surface, they seem to just ‘get’ eachother, but of course ebony is completely oblivious to who he really is and what he’s capable of. however, because ebony isn’t the most open and uhh,,, Not-Closed-Off as people, it kind of works ? in a,,,, neither of them ask too many questions kind of way ? it’s mutual, y’know ?she kind of sees him as a guy who’s Not Like The Other Guys ( while lowkey a voice in the back of her head is like ALL GUYS ARE LIKE THE OTHER GUYS ) and they just seem to Understand eachother. but ebony can be a sceptical little fuck, and she’s generally just Wary in general sometimes, but she also wants to believe that some people are good and their intentions are as they seem and it’s Pure. even if she EVER got creepy vibes from grant, she’d either be like CREEP EVIL NASTY BYE SEE YA or convince herself she’s making it up because of relationships with people in the past. but ofc, the worst part is that he’s never given her any reason to think grant is anything but just a nice, charming guy who’s maybe a little pretentious and quiet but that’s basically the worst thing about him, and if it were to happen now, she’s in too deep for it to be a red flag. yoikes. but we all know that to everyone else he just looks like a,,, Nice Guy. either way, he’s a friend, and their lack of actually being as close as they may seem isn’t that weird for her ( which i shall explain in a different bullet point bc this is long ! )

—– ❀ she isn’t a complete plum, and won’t turn a blind eye forever, but in the recent months/so far, she’s come to grant’s defence, thinking that anybody who’s pointed the finger at him is a) unoriginal and b) has clearly never met him. she thinks it’s cruel and unnecessary. like, her pov is that he lost his girlfriend, who told the story of what happened/was going to happen to her, and it’s as simple as that, in a ‘why would mallory write about that otherwise’ kind of way. she’s applying logic to it and i’m like oh,,, honey,,, you sweet summer child,,, plus, grant’s manipulative ass is looking all kinds of charming and innocent and whatever. HOWEVER, things slowly unfolding and eventually ebony beginning to question things ! yes pls ! internal conflict !

—– ❀ however, ebony also briefly vaguely knew mallory ! she attended a few of her yoga classes ages ago, and it’s a complete coincidence that ebony knew the both of them. if/when grant ever mentioned mallory to ebony, the name wouldn’t have clicked, and since she never met her outside of the classes, it took her a while to click why mallory looked so familiar when everything blew up after her death. it kind of weirds her out that someone she knew was murdered, and that it never clicked that Grant’s Girlfriend was the one who taught those yoga classes, but it’s just a complete coincidence ! 

—– ❀ TW FOR ABUSE MENTION: ebony hasn’t read the book, and doesn’t plan on it. she might one day if she’s feeling impulsive and self destructive, but because of the subject matter, she’s avoiding it. it had nothing to do with being grant’s friend ( even though most people would probably question if it’s the Moral and Ethical thing to do, that doesn’t even cross her mind -- she’s not the most moral of people tbh ) and has more to do with the fact that she’s been in an abusive relationship in the past, herself, and she’s just like............nope. ( / end of tw ! )

—– ❀ she didn’t grow up in new york, and has only called it home for for a few years. but she also travels a lot, and is very flaky, and can disappear for periods of time just to show up announced a few weeks later. it’s not weird for her to drop off the grid for a bit ( sounds safe, ebs ) and it’s not weird for her to ditch social circles and local hangouts in general and just ghost, and she’s also lived in several different states across the country. she cannot commit to anything ever, including places. it’s actually odd that she’s been in new york for so long, but she loves the energy and the spirit of the city. and it’s massive so if she tires of a certain spot, she can drift elsewhere ! plus.........plot convenience. 

—– ❀ sometimes she might feel a little out of place tbh ! she’s not an academic and she definitely didn’t come from money, and doesn’t have an abundance of it now, either. she’s a bartender, as that’s always her job when i play her lmao, but i might give her another too but i’m still flipping back and forth so..... tbd !

—– ❀ TW FOR DEATH: a bit of background: she was born in california to amelia robinson & david harrison, a young couple who hadn’t been together all that long when they found out they were expecting, but were madly in love nonetheless. david was completely devoted to his daughter, but he sadly died when she was seven. after his death, some hard truths to swallow came out about him, and her already distraught mother was even more heartbroken. life was pretty rough after his death and her mother couldn’t really cope anymore and became someone that ebs ended up not really recognising, and she became kind of cruel. she’s since forgiven her mother for who she became and therefore how she then treated her daughter, but they’re not close. ebony left cali for a few years after turning seventeen, and when she returned at twenty, she found her father’s broken watch, which she sometimes still wears now. it looks out of place on her thin wrist, especially since the damn thing doesn’t work, but she likes it nonetheless and refuses to get it fixed. in ways like that, she can be,,, a little pretentious ( again, why her friendship with grant works ) and while we’re on the subject of that..... ( / tw ends ! )

—– ❀ her personality is a little messy. she can be very........difficult ? especially as a friend ? though she’s kind-hearted and forgiving and can be very gentle, she’s also temperamental and vague and selfish. she doesn’t mean to be selfish, but she just is. it’s,,, probably infuriating to some people ? as well as the fact that she’s very easily misunderstood due to being hard to understand. yet she also doesn’t like people making the effort to try and understand. yet also wants someone in her life who does understand her. like.........she wants something, but won’t let anybody make the steps to get the thing she wants ? like.............jfc, ebs. she also cannot deal with anything, and it’s not uncommon for somebody to think that everything is going fine and they’re getting on with her great, but then shit hits the fan and the real things happen and she’s like !!! bye !!! so, again, she’s a bit of a flight risk right now. bc like...... well, a murder’s a pretty big thing, my dudes. but also, in her mind, one of her friends is going through some Big Stuff what with his girlfriend being “murdered by her ex” so although most people would be like “gosh golly i should be there for him” there’s a part of ebony that’s like “cannot............deal...............want.......................to yeet.........” but because it’s his Trauma to deal with, it’s easier for her to stay. for example, if something happened between herself and grant that was mutual ( no matter what it was ) that caused angst, that’d be more of a reason for her to Yeet because it directly effects her ? if that at all makes sense ?

—– ❀ quick thing about gender and pronouns !! gender is messy and complicated ( to her ) and she accepted that long ago, but she identifies as a demigirl. her pronouns are she/her, HOWEVER she really appreciates when people use they/them when she hasn’t explicitly stated her pronouns to somebody. she just ,,, thinks it’s the respectful thing to do, but it also makes her feel Valid. she mostly identifies with the gender she was assigned at birth, and tends to present very femininely, but that doesn’t make her any less nb, y’know ? and she doesn’t like people,,, forgetting that she’s Not A Woman ? a lot of the time she’s worried people won’t see her as being nb and even her nb friends she’s sometimes convinced will just forget she’s Not A Woman ?? however, she’s okay with sometimes being referred to as a girl, but always on her own terms. like.......her mobile header literally says ‘sad girls club’ but like..... on her own terms, y’know ? so tldr: if we could pls refrain from referring to her as like ‘the woman’ or ‘the girl’ in threads, that’d be greatly appreciated !

—– ❀ some extras if you want to see/read more about the goblin: stats, playlist, pinterest, aesthetic, old drabbles*, old about/drabble. she doesn’t have a full bio, as the last one i wrote ended up being over 7k words and honestly.........who has the time

* if you click this one, please be aware that trigger warnings apply for abuse, as well as vague/tiny mentions of pregnancy.

extra connections !!! if u want !!!! idk !!!

—– ❀ friends from out of town ! if anybody is from anywhere else in the u.s outside of ny, or they spent a lot of time somewhere else, they totally could’ve known eachother a few years ago. bc ebony has lived in several different places, i can probably wiggle things around and make it work no matter what state they’ve lived in !

—– ❀ friends ! as you might’ve gathered from the rest of the intro, ebony can be a little Difficult, but she’s still kind at heart, and can be soft, and thoughtful ! so, friends that have no problem with her, friends who call her out on her bullshit, friends who she’s ditched in the past, friends she parties with, friends who have tried to Fix her, friends she trusts more than most, etc etc ! as the great sutton foster once said, anything goes !

—– ❀ fwb/hook-ups/flings/exes ! whether they’re things of the past or kind of ongoing, it’s pretty open ! ebony likes people of any and all genders, and ( not dissimilar to mallory, actually ! ) has no problems spreading her love around. which is basically the beating-around-the-bush way of saying she has a lot of sex with a lot of people, and i support her ( ... eh, when it’s healthy ) but one night stands, friends that have no problem keeping things causal, people she dated for a while, something that started casual but Feelings happened and it’s messy, all kinds of stuff is good to go !

—– ❀ people who were also in the yoga classes mallory taught at the time ! it would’ve been a while ago but if the Yoga Peoples would’ve been there back in the day too then perfect !

—– ❀ grant’s other friends ! people who met through grant ! we all have that friend we met through a mutual murderer, right ? or someone who eb met through grant and they can’t fucking stand eachother ? someone she met through grant but then shagged and now it’s awkward ? people who were actually friends with eachother first and one of them introduced grant to the other ? people who she only met at mallory’s funeral bc they were both there to support their murderous pal ? having the two of ‘em meet unrelated and then find out casually like oh shit u know my good bitch grant ? wild ! all kinds of shit !

—– ❀ roommates ! what are the realistic chances of a group of roomies all knowing either the gal who got murdered or her boyfriend ? slim as fuck but plot convenience !! maybe two or three roomies ? ny’s expensive and ebony isn’t a rich gal !

—– ❀ tbh though i also really love just.......... throwing the characters into a situation and seeing how things go, and having people meet for the first time and stuff, but i also love pre-plotted and intenser stuff, and messy/complicated plots work really well with eb ! i love all kinds of things, i’m down for w/e. while we’re on connections though, i tend to suck with plotting and i’m sometimes a little slow with ims, but i just want to make that Known so it’s not taken personally or anybody thinks i’m not interested anymore or anything ! i’m definitely replying, i promise !

okay so if you read all of this, you’re a saint and greatly appreciated ! apologies for the rambling ! feel free to drop by if you’d like to plot or anything like that ! ps. pls enjoy the fact that i scheduled this while watching the ted bundy thing on netflix, bc it tickled me. bit too fitting huh lads. 

[f1chronicle]

Lewis Hamilton Inspires Others To Dream

On the day he was crowned World Champion for a record-equaling seventh time, Lewis Hamilton had a simple message: Always believe in yourself, and continue to dream.

In a year that has seen unprecedented challenges for people across the globe, many people have been looking to leaders to inspire them to keep pushing, something Hamilton is all too aware of as he continues to inspire millions.

Crowning Achievement One Of Lewis Hamilton’s Best

After being accustomed to starting on the front row of the grid, a tricky qualifying session saw Hamilton start from the third row, setting up a mouth-watering battle with the likes of Max Vertappen and the two Racing Point drivers ahead of him.

In the end, it was the experience gained on the road to seven titles that saw Hamilton not just claw back a deficit, but go on to record arguably one of the best wins of his F1 career.

‘I’m a bit lost for words. Naturally, I have to start with saying such a huge thank you to all the guys here and all the guys back at the factory, both our factories, and all our partners for enabling us and giving us this opportunity.

‘I wouldn’t be able to do this if I didn’t join this team and the journey we have been on has been monumental. I’m so proud of them. I want to also say a big thank you to team LH for sticking with me all these years and then to my family.

‘We dreamed of this when were young, when I was young, when we were watching the grands prix and this is way, way beyond our dreams.

‘It’s so important for kids out there to hopefully see this and know that… don’t listen to anybody that tells you you can’t achieve something. Dream the impossible and speak it into existence. You’ve got to work for it. You’ve got to chase it and you’ve got to never give up and never doubt yourself.

‘We knew coming here it was already such a difficult weekend. We weren’t massively disappointed with our qualifying position. We knew that we were kind of on the back foot and we did the best we could.

‘But then we learned a lot. This is what we do as a team. There is no blame game. We hash it out. We do hash it out. We continue to try to improve our communication so that we can make moves forwards. We don’t always get everything perfect.

‘We had that small moment at the beginning of the race with the new tyres and then I couldn’t get past Seb for a while. At that point I could see Albon pulling away and I though “Jesus, this race is falling through my fingers”. But I just kept my head down and kept believing that I would eventually just pick up pace of some sort at some stage. And that’s what I did.

‘There was a point at which Seb was pulling away from me and I couldn’t figure out at the time what it was. I was checking my temperatures. I didn’t know if it was because the tyres were overheating or they were too cold. They went through a drier patch.

‘I went through the real rough phase of the graining on the tyres and then it started to come back, the grip started to come back. The track was drying in some areas and I was improving my driving lines the whole way through the race and I started to pick up pace.

‘Then Seb pitted and for me I knew that wasn’t the right choice personally and so I decided to stay out and as the tyres got more and more slick that’s exactly what you needed. Fortunately that intermediate tyre holds temperature. If I went out on new slicks I wouldn’t have made it round.

‘I lost the world championship in the pit lane and I learned my lesson from 2007 that’s for sure. I felt like I really had it under control and the grip was feeling good and I was going to deal with the rain if it dropped… oh wow.’

Here you can watch Hamilton deliver a powerful message at the conclusion of the 2020 Turkish Grand Prix.

How Does Turkey Result Rank For Lewis Hamilton?

With many pundits and fans alike feeling the result was one of Hamilton’s best wins of his career, the 7-Time World Champion didn’t see it that way, as every race feels unique to him.

‘I’ve been racing a long time, so it’s difficult to compare! I would say that generally every race fells like it’s the first. It’s unique. I don’t compare any race to any other race.

‘I’m always in a different place in life, so I like to say they are all unique in their own way. I think for sure, this one felt like a very, very complete day on track, under the toughest circumstances.

‘With this track and the new surface here, you see people who are professional drives, incredible drivers, you saw them losing control today, that’s how slippery and difficult the conditions were.

‘This was a big test for me because you know, in the rain, you know what you normally do in the rain, but this is different, in the sense that this is ice!

‘I don’t remember having an ice race before. I feel like I achieved something different today. For sure I know that not everyone expected that. I definitely didn’t expect that, but I was hopeful that I was going to move forwards.

‘I got a good start, lost position on the first lap with those new tyres, but the more I race, the more I feel like I’m getting better. I think I’m understanding myself more. I know what I want from the car. I know what buttons to push. During a race I’m constantly tweaking my driving style.

‘It’s like trying to find the right numbers to put together to be able to get you through the corners in a way that is faster than everyone else. That mathematics, that algorithm never seems to stop. It’s always a challenge from lap to lap and I think today I was really mastering it, at least from half way in the race.’

Lewis Hamilton Made Call To Stay On Old Tyres

With the race coming to him in the second half, Lewis Hamilton was able to use his experience to make the call to stay out on old tyres – a move that paid off with the race win.

‘Obviously I got a really good start and then I lost position. I avoided getting a penalty going around the bollard. I struggled behind everybody. I know everyone was struggling but I was struggling behind that group of cars that was ahead of me.

‘Then, we saw people even like Max, who is great in the wet, spin and lose control and have to do extra stops. I was behind Seb and for a moment I was thinking I might get past him but then me and him were having this battle and it was so frustrating not to be able to get past him.

‘But also I was thinking, “you know what, Seb has had the toughest year, I would say arguably perhaps in his whole career” and I just thought he was driving so well, but at the same time I was like, “he’s doing so good, but dammit, he’s in the way, the guys up ahead are getting away!”

‘And then he started pulling away from me and I think at that point I could definitely see the win seeping away. I looked at my dash and I was on lap 30 or something like that and then I was like, “no, there’s a long, long way to go and anything can happen, so just keep your head down, keep going, keep pushing”.

‘All of a sudden I found a few things that improved the handling of the car and I started getting around in much quicker laps and I started to close on Seb, and then he pitted.

‘And I knew, for me, I was like: “There’s no way you guys are pulling me in. These tyres aren’t done and the track is in this progressive state and it’s not going to dry up fully by the end of the race.” So I knew all these things from all these experiences I’ve ever had so I was able to use history, to use past experience to deliever those laps I was doing afterwards.

‘And as soon as I could see the Racing Point’s ahead I knew that it’s game time. You’ve just got to keep your head, keep your cool and don’t make mistakes.’

2020 Turkish Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton (image courtesy Mercedes-AMG Petronas)

Lewis Hamilton Still Blazing A Trail

With the worlds microscope on racism in 2020, Lewis Hamilton has led the charge for greater inclusivity, highlighting systemic issues in the sport as well as leading the #WeRaceAsOne campaign.

‘It’s obviously no secret that I’ve really walked this sport alone: the only black person here, or the only person of colour here and it’s a really interesting point.

‘The fact is that as I’m bi-racial, whilst it’s the term of the black driver here, I’m bi-racial and I think this colourism that perhaps people should perhaps read about.

‘I think that, hopefully, shows, when I was younger, I didn’t have anybody in the sport that looked like me and, so, you know, it was easy to think that that’s not possible to get there, because nobody of your colour has ever been there, you don’t see anybody on TV, any black people on TV that are in Formula 1.

‘I think hopefully this sends a message to the kids that are watching. Hopefully they’ve seen that performance today and hopefully they can see that it doesn’t matter where you come from, I think whatever your background, I think it’s so important to you to dream big.

‘And if you are looking at places, industries that you don’t see someone of the same background as you, or the same ethnicity as you, or with the same religion, create your own path. Because that’s what we did. That’s what I’ve been able to do. And it’s been so tough. Tough doesn’t even describe how hard it’s been. I hope that sends that message. That’s the most important message for kids: to dream as big as possible and not give up.’

Hamilton Emotional After Crossing The Line

Lewis Hamilton often wears his heart on his sleeve, especially when discussing the journey he and his family have gone through to get to seven titles.

That emotion poured out as the Brit took the chequered flag in Turkey.

‘Very rarely do I ever lose control of my emotions and I think those last few laps, I remember those last few laps and obviously we’re having a discussion whether we’re going to pit.

‘I was just telling myself, ‘keep it together Lewis, you’ve got this’. I could feel it getting closer and also knowing that, if I finish where I’m finishing right now, that I’ve got this championship.

‘So, all of these emotions were running through me, and I was trying to stop it because I was thinking about my whole career. From when I was five, when I drove in the go-kart, from when we’ve won our first British Championship, driving home with my Dad, singing ‘We Are the Champions’, and dreaming of being here – it is right there, minutes away and that was a lot to take in.

‘When I came across the line, it really hit me and I just burst into tears, I think. That whole in-lap. And then I really just couldn’t get out of the car because I just couldn’t believe it.

‘I’ve been very strong but I couldn’t have done it without the great man behind me, my Dad, who, on the days when I didn’t think I was good enough, or wasn’t going to do well enough, he stood me up and kept me going.

‘So, I was thinking of him, I was thinking of my Mum, I was thinking of my step-mother Linda, my brother, who all stood by me through thick and thin. I didn’t want the visor to come up and for people to see tears flowing and all of that stuff – because I had always said that I would never let you see me cry. I remember watching other drivers in the past crying and I was like” ‘I am not going to do that’ – but it was too much.’

2020 Turkish Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton (image courtesy Mercedes-AMG Petronas)

Race Win Silences Critics

Many critics point to Hamilton always having the best car, always starting at the front, and not having to overtake.

All of these arguments flew out the window as Hamilton won a race that wasn’t his to win.

‘I want more of these weekends. More tricky conditions like this. The more opportunities like this, the more I’m able to show what I’m able to do. And I think today hopefully you can see… I think I deserve my respect.

‘I think I have that with my peers. They will know how hard today is, particularly that it is not a car thing.

‘However, I couldn’t have done this without that amazing group of people behind me – but there is another great driver who is alongside me, who has the same car who obviously didn’t finish where I finished.

‘I do notice that there are these interesting comments from past drivers, particularly. I really, really promise you, and hope that I stand by my word, when I stop in ten, 20 years from now and look back, I want to be embracing and encouraging the next youngsters that are here, whether it’s Lando, whether its George, whoever it may be, whether it’s Max.

‘I know how hard it is to do the job and I know how this world works. Of course you have to have a good team and of course you have to have a great car. There is no driver that’s ever won – really won – the Championship in the past without it.

‘It goes back the same all the way down to karting. You’ve got to have the right equipment. I remember my first championship. I raced and the kid that won was on rocket engines, which Jenson Button’s Dad had tuned. Those engines were real rockets. Compared to the cheap, crappy engine that I had which was fifth hand, there was no way I could keep up with these kids, and I remember that one weekend with Kim Bolton in 1992, 1993, and he was moving on to the next class, he was selling on these engines. I remember my Dad had to re-mortage the house to get this £2000 engine – but what we did that day was me and this kid, who’d been winning everything, we put his other engine that I was going to buy, that we were looking to buy, in my car and I was ahead of him all the time on track.

‘So, of course, you’ve got to have the equipment, of course you’ve got to have it and that’s something that will always be in this sport. But then it’s also what you do with it that really also counts – and hopefully you can see that today,’ concluded the 7-Time World Champion.

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[deverodesign]

Reading Time: 14 minutes

Have you heard about CSS grid? This is currently a very popular topics on web design scene, probably one of the most popular. It is also one of the most searched CSS features on CanIUse website. It is not a surprise. It is safe to say that CSS grid has the potential to cause a revolution in web design. In this tutorial, you will learn how to use this promising CSS feature to build your own simple layout. The future of web design arrived today. Let’s take a look at it!

Table of Contents:

Briefing

HTML

CSS (Sass)

Sass workflow and resets

Enter the grid

Defining template areas

Creating second grid

Putting it all together

Closing thoughts on CSS grid

Demo on Codepen.

Briefing

Before we get any further, let’s talk about the environment for this tutorial. Or, what will you need to get the code running? This tutorial will not use any external framework or resources. Well, except one. This will be font awesome. I used this font in order to show the icons for browser support and the heart icon in the footer. There is no other use of this font. So, you don’t have to use this font unless you want to use these (or other) icons.

Also I didn’t use any CSS stylesheet for resetting / normalizing CSS styles. This means that the only styles used are the styles you can see. The next thing are vendor prefixes. As you will notice, the CSS code contain no vendor prefixes. The reason is simple. Codepen allows to choose one of two plugins that take care about this. Then, code is prefixed automatically on the background. These plugins are autoprefixer and prefixfree.

You can see this option if you click on “Settings” button, in the Codepen header, and navigate to CSS tab. You may need to switch to “Editor view” via “Change view” button. Okay, what if you want to see the CSS code with all prefixes? Then, in “Editor view”, click on the button with down arrow (or angle) and click on “View Compiled CSS”. This will show you the Sass code compiled into CSS with all prefixes.

Lastly, let’s quickly address current support for CSS grid. Or, what browser will you need to make the code work? CSS grid will work, more or less, on IE +11, Edge +14, Chrome +57, Firefox +52, Opera +44 and Safari +10.1. Opera 43 and Chrome 49-56 require enabling “experimental Web Platform features” flag in chrome://flags. In case of Firefox 51, use “layout.css.grid.enabled” flag.

HTML

The first part of this CSS grid tutorial is about setting up the HTML structure. This structure will contain a number of blocks – header, sidebar, main block and footer. These blocks will be wrapped inside div element with class “grid”. This will be the first element using CSS grid. Header will contain only h1 tag with simple text. Sidebar (aside) will contain h2 tag with list containing six links. The main block will contain eight cards (article). This will be the second element using CSS grid.

We will use CSS grid for main block to distribute the cards evenly on different screen resolutions. Footer will contain list with six items showing current browser support for CSS properties related to CSS grid. And, footer will contain a short note. We can call this note epitaph. Below is the whole HTML structure we will need for this tutorial.

HTML:

<!-- Grid container and main wrapper --> <div class="grid"> <!-- Header --> <header> <h1>Introduction to CSS grid</h1> </header><!-- .end Header --> <!-- Sidebar --> <aside> <h2>Navigation:</h2> <nav> <ul class="nav"> <li><a href="#">Nav Link 1</a></li> <hr /> <li><a href="#">Nav Link 2</a></li> <hr /> <li><a href="#">Nav Link 3</a></li> <hr /> <li><a href="#">Nav Link 4</a></li> <hr /> <li><a href="#">Nav Link 5</a></li> <hr /> <li><a href="#">Nav Link 6</a></li> </ul> </nav> </aside><!-- .end Sidebar --> <!-- Main content --> <main> <article class="card"> <h1 class="card__heading">Heading</h1> <p class="card__excerpt"> Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit. Ex quidem quis adipisci accusantium laboriosam quae voluptatem, nesciunt dolorum labore ipsa? </p> <a href="#"><strong><small>read more »</small></strong></a> </article> <article class="card"> <h1 class="card__heading">Heading</h1> <p class="card__excerpt"> Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit. Ex quidem quis adipisci accusantium laboriosam quae voluptatem, nesciunt dolorum labore ipsa? </p> <a href="#"><strong><small>read more »</small></strong></a> </article> <article class="card"> <h1 class="card__heading">Heading</h1> <p class="card__excerpt"> Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit. Ex quidem quis adipisci accusantium laboriosam quae voluptatem, nesciunt dolorum labore ipsa? </p> <a href="#"><strong><small>read more »</small></strong></a> </article> <article class="card"> <h1 class="card__heading">Heading</h1> <p class="card__excerpt"> Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit. Ex quidem quis adipisci accusantium laboriosam quae voluptatem, nesciunt dolorum labore ipsa? </p> <a href="#"><strong><small>read more »</small></strong></a> </article> <article class="card"> <h1 class="card__heading">Heading</h1> <p class="card__excerpt"> Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit. Ex quidem quis adipisci accusantium laboriosam quae voluptatem, nesciunt dolorum labore ipsa? </p> <a href="#"><strong><small>read more »</small></strong></a> </article> <article class="card"> <h1 class="card__heading">Heading</h1> <p class="card__excerpt"> Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit. Ex quidem quis adipisci accusantium laboriosam quae voluptatem, nesciunt dolorum labore ipsa? </p> <a href="#"><strong><small>read more »</small></strong></a> </article> <article class="card"> <h1 class="card__heading">Heading</h1> <p class="card__excerpt"> Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit. Ex quidem quis adipisci accusantium laboriosam quae voluptatem, nesciunt dolorum labore ipsa? </p> <a href="#"><strong><small>read more »</small></strong></a> </article> <article class="card"> <h1 class="card__heading">Heading</h1> <p class="card__excerpt"> Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit. Ex quidem quis adipisci accusantium laboriosam quae voluptatem, nesciunt dolorum labore ipsa? </p> <a href="#"><strong><small>read more »</small></strong></a> </article> </main><!-- .end Main content --> <!-- Footer --> <footer> <ul class="footer-support"> <li> <span> <i class="fa fa-chrome"></i> <span class="browser-version">57</span> </span> </li> <li> <span> <i class="fa fa-edge"></i> <span class="browser-version">14</span> </span> </li> <li> <span> <i class="fa fa-firefox"></i> <span class="browser-version">52</span> </span> </li> <li> <span> <i class="fa fa-internet-explorer"></i> <span class="browser-version">11</span> </span> </li> <li> <span> <i class="fa fa-opera"></i> <span class="browser-version">43</span> </span> </li> <li> <span> <i class="fa fa-safari"></i> <span class="browser-version">10.1</span> </span> </li> </ul> <small class="epitaph"> Built with <i class="fa fa-heart"></i> by <a href="www.alexdevero.com"><u>Alex Devero</u></a> </small> </footer><!-- .end Footer --> </div><!-- .end Grid container and main wrapper -->

CSS (Sass)

Like in case of flexbox, there are many ways to approach this subject. There is the hard and the easy way. You can use flexbox with just a few lines of code. If you want to master it, you have to learn about a lot of CSS properties. The same is true about CSS grid. Grid, too, comes with amount of new CSS properties and values. My goal is to show you the minimum effective dose, not to overwhelm you. I want to help you get started. So, I will do my best to keep this tutorial simple.

We will be using a small number of CSS grid-related properties. These properties are grid-template-areas, grid-template-columns, grid-template-rows, grid-row-gap, grid-column-gap and display with “grid” as value. You can find the rest of all properties and values in this Complete Guide to Grid published on CSS Tricks. This guide also explains important terminology. So, if you find yourself in doubt, check this guide. You will probably find a solution. Now, back to the tutorial.

Sass workflow and resets

The first thing we will do is creating a few variables and one function to make our work easier and faster. If you are not familiar with Sass preprocessor, I highly recommend reading The Beginner’s Guide to Learn Sass Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3. This mini series will take you from basic of Sass to the most advanced topics and some tips & tricks. You will learn all you need to start using Sass at full-speed. Next, we will reset and add custom styles for html, body, a and ul elements.

Sass:

// Sass function for converting pixels to rems @function remy($value) { @return ($value / 16px) * 1rem; } // Sass variables $spacing: remy(16px); $spacing-big: remy(32px); $spacing-small: remy(8px); //- Basic resets -// html { font-size: 100%; } body { margin: 0; font: 16px / 1.414 Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; background-color: #f4f5f7; } a { $color: #212121; text-decoration: none; color: $color; transition: color .25s; &:focus, &:hover { color: lighten($color, 25%); } } ul { padding: 0; margin: 0; display: flex; list-style-type: none; }

Enter the grid

That was easy intro. Now, let’s dive right into the CSS grid. We will use our grid class to apply grid styles to the div that wraps the whole page. First, we need to set display property to “grid”. Then, we will set grid-template-areas property to “’header’ ‘sidebar’ ‘main’ ‘footer’”. Each row contains element(s) inside the quotes. So, first row contains ‘header’, second ‘sidebar’, fourth ‘main’ and fifth ‘footer.’ This basically means that our grid will contain four rows stacked on top of each other.

Next, we will use grid-template-columns property to specify how much space of the grid will each area in the row (think element like ‘header’) take. We want to keep it full-width so we will use “1fr” which stands for 1 fraction. After that, we will use grid-template-rows with minmax() CSS function to make sure the footer will always stick to the bottom. This will let the center of the grid remain flexbile and expand as screen allows while keeping header and footer at the same height.

In order to make this work, we will also need to set height to “100vh” (viewport height). Next are some styles for reducing the max-width of the grid and centering it. After that, we will use media query to target screen with higher than 768 pixels. When this happens, we will restructure the grid. From that moment, first row will still contain only ‘header’, second will contain ‘sidebar main’ and third will contain ‘footer’. We will also set grid-template-columns will to 1fr 4fr.

This means that the first area (element) inside the quotes (grid-template-areas) will cover 1 fraction of the grid while the second will cover 4 fractions. In other words, we will split the grid into two columns (fractions). One will take 1/5 (1 fraction) of the space and the second 4/5 (4 fractions). Also, the duplicate header and footer areas (‘header header’ ‘sidebar main’ ‘footer footer’) in grid-template-areas is not a mistake.

We are saying that we want these areas to fill both columns of the specific row. Or, this row should contain only header / footer and it should be full-width. Otherwise, header and footer would cover only one fraction or column. What if you want to split the grid into three columns?

Then, you can set grid-template-columns to “1fr 3fr 1fr” (or any other fractions of the space). And, you will set grid-template-areas to “’header header header’ ‘sidebar-left main sidebar-right’ ‘footer footer footer’”. Again, header and footer will be full-width. Sidebar-left and sidebar-right will both take 1/4 of the space and main will take 3/4. If you want header or footer to fill only 2 columns you will use “’header header’ ‘sidebar-left main sidebar-right’ ‘footer footer’”.

I know that grid-template-areas and grid-template-columns can be a bit tricky to understand. The best way to understand it is by trying different numbers of fractions along with adding / removing areas to see what will happen. Remember that you are dividing the grid into fractions. One more example. Let’s say you want to divide it into two halves. Then, set the grid-template-columns to “1fr 1fr”. This means that first column with take 1/2 of the grid and second will take 1/2 as well.

Sass:

//- Set the grid layout -// .grid { display: grid; grid-template-areas: 'header' 'sidebar' 'main' 'footer'; grid-template-columns: 1fr; grid-template-rows: minmax(min-content, max-content) auto minmax(min-content, max-content); margin-right: auto; margin-left: auto; max-width: remy(1170px); min-height: 100vh; @media screen and (min-width: 768px) { grid-template-areas: 'header header' 'sidebar main' 'footer footer'; grid-template-columns: 1fr 4fr; } }

Defining template areas

By now, you may wonder, how the grid knows what area relates to which HTML element? Great question! The truth is that you have to specify it explicitly. If you want to use some element with grid-template-areas as an area, you need to target this element and use grid-area CSS property set to some name for that area. Don’t use spaces or quotes. You can use camelCase or dashes. For example, grid-area: header, grid-area: footer, grid-area: sidebar-left or grid-area: sidebarRight.

In our example, we used header, main, sidebar and footer as areas. This means that we need to use grid-area for header, main, aside and footer with proper values.

Sass:

//- Define template areas -// header { grid-area: header; } main { grid-area: main; } aside { grid-area: sidebar; } footer { grid-area: footer; }

Creating second grid

There are a lot of styles to make the example for this tutorial look good. However, these styles are not necessary for learning about CSS grid. And, going over all the styles would take a lot of time. I will skip this code and stick only to what is directly related to CSS grid. Don’t worry, I will include the whole Sass code in the end. Now, let’s move to the second and last appearance of CSS grid in this tutorial. We can use grid to take our eight cards in the main area and create simple grid layout.

First, we will need to select the main element and set its display property to “grid”. We will use mobile-first approach. This means that we will use grid-template-columns and set it to “100%”. Meaning, the grid should contain one full-width column. Next, we will use grid-row-gap and to create some spacing between rows. $spacing-big variable is equal to 32px. This will be enough. After that, we can move beyond mobile screens.

We will create first media query targeting screens with width of 480px and wider. Inside this media query we will change set grid-template-columns to “auto auto” (without quotes). This means that we want two columns with equal widths in each row. We will also use grid-column-gap property and set it to $spacing variable (16px). This will create 16px wide gap between columns. Another media query will target screens 992 and wider.

Inside this media query, we will set grid-template-columns to “auto auto auto”, again without quotes. This will create rows with three cards with equal widths in each. Finally, let’s create one more media query for screen widths of 1200px and wider. This media query will change the value of grid-template-columns to “auto auto auto auto”. Yes, you guessed it. We want to have four cards with the same width in each row.

Sass:

main { display: grid; grid-template-columns: 100%; grid-row-gap: $spacing-big; @media screen and (min-width: 480px) { grid-template-columns: auto auto;// 2 cards per line with equal widths grid-column-gap: $spacing; } @media screen and (min-width: 992px) { grid-template-columns: auto auto auto;// 3 cards per line with equal widths } @media screen and (min-width: 1200px) { grid-template-columns: auto auto auto auto;// 4 cards per line with equal widths } }

Putting it all together

As I promised, here is the whole code for this tutorial. Keep in mind that it contains a lot of CSS used only for additional styling. If you want to replicate the design in this tutorial completely, use the code below. If you only want to practice with grid you can use only the snippets we discussed on the lines above. Also, if you want to see compiled CSS with all prefixes, take a look at the demo on Codepen in “Editor view” and choose “View compiled CSS” on CSS editor tab.

Sass:

// Sass function for converting pixels to rems @function remy($value) { @return ($value / 16px) * 1rem; } // Sass variables $spacing: remy(16px); $spacing-big: remy(32px); $spacing-small: remy(8px); //- Basic resets -// html { font-size: 100%; } body { margin: 0; font: 16px / 1.414 Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; background-color: #f4f5f7; } a { $color: #212121; text-decoration: none; color: $color; transition: color .25s; &:focus, &:hover { color: lighten($color, 25%); } } ul { padding: 0; margin: 0; display: flex; list-style-type: none; } //- Set the grid layout -// .grid { display: grid; grid-template-areas: 'header' 'sidebar' 'main' 'footer'; grid-template-columns: 1fr; grid-template-rows: minmax(min-content, max-content) auto minmax(min-content, max-content); margin-right: auto; margin-left: auto; max-width: remy(1170px); min-height: 100vh; @media screen and (min-width: 768px) { grid-template-areas: 'header header' 'sidebar main' 'footer footer'; grid-template-columns: 1fr 4fr; } } //- Define template areas -// header { grid-area: header; } main { grid-area: main; } aside { grid-area: sidebar; } footer { grid-area: footer; } //- Header -// header { padding-top: $spacing; padding-bottom: $spacing; margin-bottom: $spacing; background-color: #fff; box-shadow: 0px 2px 40px 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.08); h1 { margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0; font-size: 18px; font-weight: 700; text-align: center; text-transform: uppercase; } } //- Navigation -// aside { padding: $spacing; background-color: #fff; @media screen and (max-width: 767px) { padding-bottom: $spacing; margin-bottom: $spacing; } @media screen and (min-width: 768px) { margin-right: $spacing; } h2 { @media screen and (max-width: 767px) { display: none; } margin-bottom: $spacing-small; font-size: 14px; } } .nav { flex-direction: row; justify-content: center; a { font-size: remy(12px); } @media screen and (max-width: 767px) { hr { display: none; } li + li { margin-left: $spacing; } } @media screen and (min-width: 768px) { flex-direction: column; justify-content: flex-start; hr { margin-top: $spacing-small; margin-bottom: $spacing-small; margin-left: 0; width: remy(36px); height: 1px; background: #eee; border: 0; } li + li { margin-top: $spacing-small; } } } //- Main area -// main { display: grid; grid-template-columns: 100%; grid-row-gap: $spacing-big; @media screen and (min-width: 480px) { grid-template-columns: auto auto; // 2 cards per line with equal widths grid-column-gap: $spacing; } @media screen and (min-width: 992px) { grid-template-columns: auto auto auto; // 3 cards per line with equal widths } @media screen and (min-width: 1200px) { grid-template-columns: auto auto auto auto; // 4 cards per line with equal widths } } //- Cards -// .card { display: flex; flex-direction: column; padding: $spacing; background-color: #fff; box-shadow: 0 20px 20px rgba(0, 0, 0, .08); transition: all 250ms cubic-bezier(.02, .01, .47, 1); &:focus, &:hover { box-shadow: 0 30px 30px rgba(0, 0, 0, .16); transform: translate(0, -10px); } a { margin-top: auto;// Push link to the bottom of the card } } .card__heading { margin-top: 0; font-size: remy(18px); } .card__excerpt { font-size: remy(14px); } //- Footer -// footer { margin-top: remy(24px); background-color: #fff; } .footer-support { padding-top: $spacing-big; padding-bottom: $spacing; display: flex; justify-content: center; li + li { margin-left: $spacing; } .browser-version { font-size: remy(14px); } } .epitaph { padding-top: $spacing-small; padding-bottom: $spacing; display: block; text-align: center; } .fa-heart { color: #e74c3c; }

Closing thoughts on CSS grid

Congratulations! You’ve just made your first layout using CSS grid! I hope that it was easy for you to follow this tutorial and learn about this CSS feature. Are you still trying to wrap your head around some things we discussed? Use the code I wrote for this tutorial, or fork my pen on Codepen, and play with it. If you are not sure how some property works, play with it and try using different values. Also, take a look at that guide published on CSS tricks. Remember, it all comes to practice.

Thank you very much for your time.

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