Hide your face so the world will never find you

HOZIER SENTENCE STARTERS

          “Tragic. Are you fucking  kidding me?” Manic laughter erupts but the heightened volume contends with the dull albeit persistent ache threatening to split his skull apart, a small wince from the villain as he tries to find a comfortable means of personal equilibrium. Beck’s pain ( or rather, what it could potentially represent ) would never be a topic for open discussion ( over his dead body… heh ), opting to digress onto the matter seemingly at hand.

                   The apparatus nestled around his ears is promptly tugged away and carefully placed onto the coffee table that centres the room of the plush apartment - a deft hand emphatically gestures towards an original Willem de Kooning hanging from the wall, sunlight streaming from windows embedded within a lofty ceiling illuminating the area. “I see nothing tragic about how I’ve built myself up to be able to afford and procure this. If you want to talk about tragedies, we don’t have to go very far - that Tower with its band of misfits—  they’re practically Shakespearean.” 

taken from hozier’s first album & his ep from eden. feel free to change pronouns, etc!

TAKE ME TO CHURCH

‘ you’re the giggle at a funeral. ’ ‘ i should’ve worshiped you sooner. ’ ‘ if the heavens ever did speak, you’re the last true mouthpiece. ’ ‘ the only heaven i’ll be sent to is when i’m alone with you. ’ ‘ i was born sick, but i love it. ’ ‘ i’ll worship like a dog at the shrine of your lies. ’ ‘ i’ll tell you my sins, and you can sharpen your knife. ’ ‘ let me give you my life. ’ ‘ if i’m a pagan of the good times, my lover’s the sunlight. ’ ‘ that looks tasty. ’ ‘ there is no sweeter innocence than our gentle sin. ’

ANGEL OF SMALL DEATH & THE CODEINE SCENE

‘ we’re shaking the wings of our terrible youths. ’ ‘ i lurched like a stray to the arms that were open. ’ ‘ with your sweetened breath and your tongue so mean, you’re the angel of small death and the codeine scene. ’ ‘ i lay my heart down with the rest at your feet. ’ ‘ it’s bloody and raw, but i swear it is sweet. ’

JACKIE AND WILSON

‘ so tired trying to see from behind the red in my eyes. ’ ‘ you found me just in time. ’ ‘ i never felt young. ’ ‘ you’re gonna save me. ’ ‘ call me ‘baby,’ run your hands through my hair. ’ ‘ we’ll steal a lexus, be detectives, ride around picking up clues. ’ ‘ it’d be great to find a place we could escape to sometime. ’ ‘ i’m happy to lie back, watch it burn and rust. ’ ‘ i tried the world; good god, it wasn’t for me. ’

SOMEONE NEW

‘ you knew who i was with every step that i ran to you. ’ ‘ would things be easier if there was a right way? there is no right way. ’ ‘ i fall in love just a little bit every day with someone new. ’ ‘ there’s an art to life’s distraction. ’ ‘ some like to imagine the dark caress of someone else; i guess any thrill will do. ’

TO BE ALONE

‘ i never feel to good in crowds with folks around. ’ ‘ all i’ve ever done is hide. ’ ‘ when you kill the lights and kiss my eyes, i feel like a person for a moment of my life. ’ ‘ you don’t know what hell you put me through. ’ ‘ it feels good to be alone with you. ’ ‘ now at last the worst is over. ’ ‘ i know you hate this place. not a trace of me would argue. ’ ‘ we should run away. ’

FROM EDEN

‘ there’s something tragic about you. ’ ‘ there’s something so magic about you. ’ ‘ there’s something lonesome about you - something so wholesome about you. ’ ‘ get closer to me. ’ ‘ you’re familiar. ’ ‘ idealism sits in prison; chivalry fell on its sword. ’ ‘ innocence died screaming - ask me, i should know. ’ ‘ i slithered here from eden just to sit outside your door. ’ ‘ there’s something wretched about this. ’ ‘ there’s something so precious about this. ’ ‘ to the strand, a picnic planned for you and me - a rope in hand for your other man to hang from a tree. ’

IN A WEEK

‘ i have never known peace. ’ ‘ i have never known hunger like these insects that feast on me. ’ ‘ we’ll lay here for years or for hours - thrown here or found, to freeze or to thaw - so long we become the flowers. ’ ‘ they’d find us in a week. ’ ‘ i’d be home with you. ’ ‘ i have never known colours like this morning reveals to me. ’ ‘ you haven’t moved an inch; such that i would not know if you sleep always like this, the flesh calmly growing cold. ’

SEDATED

‘ just a little rush, babe, to feel dizzy, to derail the mind of me. ’ ‘ my veins are busy, but my heart’s in atrophy. ’ ‘ you and i, nursing on a poison that never stung - our teeth and lungs are lined with the scum of it. ’ ‘ free and young, and we can feel none of it. ’ ‘ i’m somewhere outside my life. i keep scratching, but somehow i can’t get in. ’ ‘ i’m a slave to any semblance of touch. ’ ‘ i should cool it, but i love it too much. ’ ‘ don’t you stand there watching, won’t you come and save me? ’ ‘ don’t you join in, you’re supposed to drag me away from it. ’

         Following on from his exercise routine and early morning tasks, Quentin spent the rest of the day running through practice simulations, continuing to fine tune the implementation of elaborate projections, taking the time to address certain facets of his code. The system was adequately adaptive, drones capable of following algorithms to respond to external stimuli and consequently react as required with a combination of display and reverb. And yet ‘adequate’would never be enough for him, the engineer  wanting  needing the entirety of the setup to be foolproof, obsessing  over minutiae that others scarcely noticed such was his scrutinising attention to detail - hardworking members of his team had reached a point in their progress that they would often favour a laissez-faire approach, content in accepting things as they were such was the heightened degree of development. But that wasn’t how Beck rolled, looking beneath the surface of all they had achieved to take things to the next level.

                   Such is his commitment, the developer almost forgets the conversation in which he and Whitney had been maintaining earlier in the day, a significant delay having drawn out until he absentmindedly notices the notification on his phone. Eyes narrowing with the mention of Potts, there’s a look of distaste that filters over his features - the brunet had accepted over the years the fact that he was incapable of thinking of the strawberry blonde in that  manner, an amalgam of deference and bitterness intermingled in a heady mess of emotions. Beck’s response is brief, all he was willing to divulge at this moment in time to anyone who wasn’t within his immediate team regardless of the number of times in which she or other parties would enquire.

» From the inside :)

         Quentin’s brow creases a little with the news of Parker’s limited contacts - it seemed decidedly unhealthy ( not that he was a particularly good judge ), raising further questions for the engineer. Settling himself at a spot of grass near a number of cordoned off tennis courts, Beck takes a moment to briefly catch his breath and carry out some stretches, the rhythmic thuds of rackets making contact with balls echoing across the space. He wasn’t often this talkative when it came to discussing ‘work’ but there were a limited number of people the developer could talk to, opting to keep discussions purely project-driven between himself and certain members of his crew.

                   Some would argue that it was a professional means of distance ( once bitten, twice shy ) however, in truth, their respective functions had been compartmentalised to a certain degree, mostly of a technical nature. Having worked with Victoria the longest, she would often be his sounding board… and yet there was only so much in which the man felt he could unburden himself of - she had her own life, fragments of which the developer knew nothing about ( he often preferred it that way ).

» Always the romantic » The way you previously spoke about it » I was under the impression it was a tale for the ages, as opposed to a fling » As true as that may be, I think it’s time to remind him that that’s the case » Iron Man and the Avengers need to be taken down a peg.

» I’m not a robot, Beck. Deal with it. » One person’s arbitrary is another man’s necessity.  » Doesn’t appear to me. One is at MIT, the other Harvard. A small fortune of laundered money might have been spent at Saks’ for a therapeutic afternoon. The handful of small bags didn’t hide from the fact that a small mountain was being couriered over to her apartment. Errands were run, exercise was completed, business transactions were current and she was officially a free woman to return home and relax.

Masque sighed as sat in the town car on her way home. Stark could have been something amazing with her, someone who wouldn’t have put down the weapons industry side. There was a part of her that knew he could have gotten on board with HYDRA, especially back then. But that was here nor there. 

         There are a number of paths in which Quentin can take within the park, cement embedded within grass veering in different directions - he opts for the route that predominantly consists of dog-walkers, the closest he comes to appreciating pets at a safe distance these days. Beck loved dogs ( despite finding the company of cats to be more fulfilling despite their fleeting ambivalence ), but they didn’t necessarily feel the same way about him - this occasion was no different as a Pomeranian completely loses all inhibitions and commences a prolonged series of yelps in his direction. Inwardly groaning, the man’s body tenses as the chain of barking begins to travel with him, every other canine encountered having to be restrained by their respective owners. There’s a distinct delay between his next batch of messages, opting to wait for his surroundings to grow quieter as he jogs towards a more secluded area.

» A quote-on-quote better version of me, someone whom he’d listen to » I have the feeling he doesn’t necessarily have anyone to talk to about that side of his world. It might get lonely. » You and me both.

                   There’s a pause, the engineer considering how that may sound, brow creasing as beads trickle down the side of his visage - he loathes the prospect of giving the wrong impression regardless of his thoughts on the topic.

» The bitterness, that it. » Not the… other things that the two of you used to get up to.

         Not for a lack of misguidedly trying on an ill-timed occasion, a decision that Quentin had regretted due to it being ultimately far too late in their drawn out relationship - if anything, all it did was make the subsequent argument at their demo all the more agonising. The developer hated thinking about it but, moreso, he hated the sense of unwanted vulnerability that came with it regardless of the moment itself or its mere memory ( never again ).

» You’re not that a bad, Beck. Even I can see that.  » Surprise, Beck. That’s what a therapist is at the end of the day. Someone you talk to about your issues.  » The kid does seem a bit lonely. ESU just sort of keeps him in the same habitual patterns. His call logs point to two friends both appear from his high school days.  

All she wanted to do was focus on finding the most ridiculous shoes in the department store. And yet her phone kept going off. Beck was suprizingly chatty, but she wasn’t exactly in the mood of going down memory lane with him. Contrary to popular believe, she didn’t hate Stark. He had changed a lot over the years, but she never hated him. Everything was business to him and that was that. 

» I screwed him for a week in the early 90s, Beck. I don’t cry too hard over lost dick. There are plenty of them in the sea. » Contrary to popular believe, the world doesn’t revolve around Tony Stark. End of story. 

         Veering his journey back to the park, Beck breaths a sigh of relief as he jogs away from the seedy area, the distinct alteration in his surroundings bringing the man some comfort at this early hour. Fingertips reach up to tuck a long loose lock which had fallen by his temple behind his ear ( he should have worn a hat ), considering how he was in need of a haircut. While the engineer was used to having it predominantly slicked back, he had been considering a small change with his future plans ( a little volume could be a good look?). With the increasing number of people nearing the grassy area, Quentin side-steps a series of obstacles before passing through the large open gates, his pace soon picking up in speed.

» Now who’s talking from experience » Speaking of, you never really told me what went on with the two of you » Not me per say. Someone like me? Perhaps » Dot dot dot.

» You act like my goon squad is all entirely a group of pussies.I just know how to keep a firm grasp over them.  »  404: does not exist.  Common decency is a dying on the vine.  » You’re also a snore. Whatever. I’ll keep the scaring to the barest of minimum. No more need for therapy than what the kid already needs.

Mentally she tried to take stock of what had to happen today. She needed to check in on the China Town operation. Make a call to a certain senator to push once more. Plenty of things. Also she was about due at Barney’s to look into the spring collection. Just because her love for leather and latex, didn’t mean she didn’t adore normal things too. Sighing as she put the phone in her workout bag. 

» Shit. » Sorry, that wasn’t aimed at you. Ignore that. » I’d wager it’s the latter. » No one can be that upbeat and not have a secret that big. » Please remember the terms of your contract. » You’re to watch him, not dispose of him like common trash. » I don’t want a single hair on his head to be touched. Got it? » I prefer playing the longer game. Trust me.

                   Beck’s gait freezes to jog on the spot as Whitney’s subsequent messages come through, his expression growing more austere as warm breath leaves parted lips - his comments on Stark had been an inadvertent slip of the tongue and it begrudgingly catches the man off-guard, now lost in detrimental thoughts. No doubt they were rife with the potential of analysis tied in with nonsensical and pathetic psychobabble ( had he in fact latched onto the pseudo-mentor due to his distinct lack of parental figures at the time..? ). An unsettling wave of revulsion transcends his form, the engineer shaking away the notion as the propensity for self-loathing threatens to kick in.

» Wishful thinking, it’d probably require a little more to take him out. » My experience is irrelevant to this discussion. » I’ve tried dissuading the kid from getting his hopes up but I think my approach was too subtle. » Maybe I need to add a little pressure to the pot. Kick things up a notch. » Maybe he needs a new parental figure to look up to. Someone more dependable.

» k » I mean the kid has zero reason to be as upbeat as he is. Pretty tragic home life from surface reports. Dead parents. Dead uncle. Left with an overworked aunt. » Did I strike a nerve?  » No, a bright pretty boy like that. I could do much worse things than kill him.  » Plenty of little techies that are very well paid in the Maggia.  » Oh snooze. You remind me of this idiot guy, I know. Long term planner too. Or at least he says. 

» Being in good shape is a good indicator of heroics but it isn’t necessary » Power can come in all shapes and sizes » Funny you should mention Spider-man » Parker is taking out a patent for synthetic spiderwebs » Make of that what you will.

                   While the siblings were still in the process of setting up for the day, they give him a welcoming wave, gesturing to a board that they were updating with liquid chalk, gluten free Matcha cupcakes being one of today’s specials. Quentin raises a finger with a broad grin - he always asks for one of any of their baked goods but would inevitably be given two, the result of months of playful flirting with no real intention of being followed through. On the occasions in which one of the pair would attempt to instigate a pass, the developer fell into a pattern of comically escalating excuses ( ‘I’m washing my hair’ evolving to ‘I have a hostage situation scheduled’ ). They didn’t mind, growing accustomed to his brand of avoidance through humour.

» Stark has a habit of taking people under his wing who need guidance or a parental figure » He takes advantage of their trust in him to use them » Until there’s nothing left but a husk to be discarded to one side » I almost feel bad for the kid.

Honestly Giulietta’s day was fairly ordinary by most standards and almost appeared business like. Except that her gym routine was a lot more intensive then the average Manhattanite. Yes, her cliental took her every which place, but her heart was the family business of crime. Ensuring that the right underlings made sure the money was laundered, the drugs were pushed, and the whatnot. It wasn’t a proud or boastful living, but it was hers and it entirely forced upon her If anything the head of the family role gave her more leeway to give them legitamte avenues of business, she simply didn’t have the same personality type as the usual obnoxious start-up that most in New York did.

»Yeah, yeah. I know don’t discriminate against the scrawny kid. »Hm hm hm could be either two things. He’s the source of the webbing for the bug or the actual bug itself. »I wouldn’t be averse to taking care of the kid if he turns out to be the bug. He’s been disrupting some of my usual supply chain for my normal operations.  

The Maggia was also involved in your typical day to day crime operations. New York City was amongst one of the most corrupt cities in the world, there was plenty of stiff competition and the faint hearted never would make it here. Operations tended to be littered with her skilled under 40 crowd that were more technological based. She dreaded dealings with Wilson Fisk from time to time as the man was hell bent on unifying the families to have some domination on the east coast crime scene. Usually that also implied pushing the Nefaria family out. 

She sighed as she left her mid morning training sessions with her personal trainer that genuinely believed she was just a professional stunt double. 

» I know he doesn’t look the type but » I have a sneaking suspicion that he may be one of the city’s caped freaks. » I’m trying to pinpoint which one.

                  Slipping on a set of bone-conduction headphones while adjusting the music on his phone, Quentin heads out of the hotel room and leaves his key with the front reception for safe-keeping, opting to choose an energetic playlist for his early morning run. The developer heavily grimaces with Whitney’s turn of phrase as he veers out of the building to be met with the commonplace sound of traffic, offering the elderly doorman a curt nod.

» Gross. Never use that phrase with me ever again. » I’ll pay you extra.

Her on going investigation of the boy was interesting. On the surface there didn't appear to any sorta deviant behavior. The boy diligently went to school, studied and completed whatever he needed there, seldomly hung out with the very select circle of friends. There was no frat parties. There was no extracurricular activities that even really made the assumption that he was doing the traditional college experience.  He then lived perpetually at Stark Tower doing god knows what with Stark. 

The only interesting thing was the gaps of time where she couldn’t trace him. It was almost like he knew he was being followed and shook her and her men. After a few weeks it was frustrating.