make it stop! * BANNER

[VALERIE CONIGLIARO]

[atrb=cellpadding,0,true][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellspacing,0,true][atrb=rules,none][atrb=valign,top][atrb=style,width:400px;background:#eee;border-radius:30px 0 30px 0;border:1px solid #e6e6e6;,true][atrb=style,padding-top:15px;][atrb=align,center] Donec gravida "I'd like to propose a toast. A toast to everyone here - our supporters, our funders, our participants - without you all, this would not be happening. My utmost, pleasurable, thankful heart - cheers!" "CHEERS!" Glasses rose up in the air, many clinking together, clasped in the delicate hands of the wealthy. Droplets of wine somersaulted in the air, dripping onto the ground, already dirtied up by the hundreds of shoes. A million colors lit up the room, flicking across the room by the microsecond. Cigarette smoke billowed up into the air, and alcohol was being ordered by the second. The loud chattering and obnoxious laughter nearly muffled the sound of the music, every shoulder nearly touching. The dance floor was only occupied by a few, while most of the crowd stood around or sat in tables. Valerie swore that things were spinning. The light was just too much, and she had to squint her eyes to prevent experiencing a very painful and unfortunate headache. Perhaps even a seizure; ha! That'd be a sight to see. The room itself was dimly lit, however, making it that much harder to see in the few moments of the light flickering off. Her long hair was initially pulled back into a messy bun, which was practically only a half one by now. Her dress was somewhat too revealing of her chest for her liking, and stuck to her skin like a leech. It was a simple silver color, but with a unique texture that refracted light in certain spots. It reached only halfway down her thighs, and was a strapless to top it off. On the back was a simple rose-shaped accessory. She would never in her life have picked it out herself, considering she felt basically naked. Though it pulled out some of her features, she still didn't like it much. At the beginning of the day, she fumbled around with it incessantly, pulling it up and down. It was short both ways, so touching the dress really didn't do much at all. Her neck was draped with an abundance of gold necklaces and pendants, as well as her wrists (but with bracelets and bangles, of course.) Her height was increased by only a couple inches, but her heels were quite comfy. As soon as the speech was over, she set her glass of wine down on a random table and plopped down the next. Her fingers wriggled around on her head until she found an elastic band holding her hair in place, which she snapped in half while attempting to pull it out. It all just tumbled down, but she left it there. All she wanted to do was go to a nice, quiet place and just sleep. Her soul was drained of any energy or enthusiasm, and the LAST thing she wanted was for someone to engage in a conversation with her. Her head was planted on its side upon the table, her eyes closed and her mind dead. The only thing stopping her from passing out was the deafening noises coming from every direction imaginable. It even seemed like it was coming from inside of her... which was strange. "Valerie! There you are, you scrumptious darling." A light hand patted her shoulder once. Oh dear god, not her manager. Her lips remained sealed, prompting him to continue saying whatever he needed. "I just wanted to say, you did an amaze-tastic job today, and now is your time to party your brains out. Okay? Okay. Holler when you need me!" And he was gone. Really, that man was a phantom, creeping around everywhere. He knew what you were doing, when you were doing it. If you tiptoed and made no sounds at all, he would hear it. Sometimes she wondered if she should look for a female manager, someone who was a bit more... normal. A deep sigh escaped from her lungs, though someone even a foot away from her wouldn't be able to hear the slightest bit of it. Her entire body hunched over in the seat, as if the table were her bed. Pulling several all-nighters in a row was the worst thing she had ever done, but caking layers over layers of makeup covered most of it up. Which was the worst part, since no one could clearly see how much she was suffering. Her life would be dedicated to her career, but sometimes too much was too much for her body to handle. As witty and strong willed a girl she may seem, her physical self could onl take so much. "Dear lord, help a poor girl out."

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words 772   tags banner   notes "RAVEE."   credit table made by greyson of ote

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[BANNER MADDOCK]

[atrb=border,0,true][bg=23201c][atrb=width,461,true] ☠☣☢ I DIDN'T MEAN TO DO IT, ☆☆ IT LOVED ME IN MY HEAD, I TRIED TO BE A CHARMER ☆☆ He loved parties. Who didn't? The energy, the music, the people. The drinks, the wannabees, the schmoozers, it was all very busy but comforting to know that there wasn't ever going to be one just like another. Unless they were one of those dull business-y parties. But what little rendezvous could be boring with him around? He'd at least make the effort to go all out if it were him throwing the shindig. He needed entertainment. He needed stimulation. So surrounding partygoers would agree with such vigorous nodding he was sure their heads would fall off. Apparently quite a few people had spotted him aways away, and in hopes to improve relations, make sure he came during the next little get together, or even recognized their company in the slightest, they had sent their little waisted secretaries over to where the man had squeezed through to sit and lounge. So many people were trying to talk to him at once, and these warbling, nervously giggling little songbirds didn't help much. Yet he kept a polite and easygoing smile, cigarette burning away as he kept up with the conversation, chatting away as if he weren't perfectly annoyed by their presence. To his left and right were a pair of ever silent waiters who he'd snatched away from their duties, nervously exchanging glances with each glass that the CEO seemed to empty easily. He didn't drink too much. He didn't really hold liquor well, either. So instead he'd gotten something different from what general wine they had been serving, where the alcohol itself was subtle and mostly covered by the biting syrup that was coke product. The waiter that was being held hostage on his right was currently being used as a cushion, of which he was leaning into heavily as a mousy-haired brunette held his partial attention. He laughed at her joke, which she had stumbled over several times and had to start over, turning the glass in his palm while he came up with a careful remark on just why the company wasn't doing more to release cosmetics for ladies with more sensitive compexions. Once there was a break in the streamline of conversations, it seemed that someone had come along to break up their bit of 'fun'. An irritable man made himself pronounced, breaking through the net of people surrounding Banner's person. The grays of his eyes just barely settled on the stranger before he began throwing irate accusations at his newly adopted cushions. "'Ow are 'e apposed to run th' kitchen if yer out here an 'oldin us up? Lookit you, not e'en por-per-ly dressed, where is your tie? Where are your-- gecher trays, ca-mon. Yell be damned lucky if I innit fir'd by to-night!" Their expressions twisted with exhasperation, as if there might be a proper excuse. Banner finished thumbing in the tail end of the nicked piece of fabric in his pocket, moving his legs down from the lap of the waiter trapped on his left. He watched, almost sulking as they left him to his own devices and all these incessantly chatty people. "Ah... That was a bit of a mess, wasn't it? I'll go pardon them on my mistake." Even though he hadn't held much of sympathy or obligation for them, it would serve as an excuse to get away from the densely crowded table. He gave them a meek, reassuring smile. "I'll be right back." He squirmed out of his seat and past the barrage of prattle towards where he thought he saw them head off to. He wasn't exactly paying attention-- as his mind was rather occupied with the tightness of their uniform. Particularly about the waist. As his mind lingered back once more, he was pleasantly distracted, following the flow of the crowd. He was shaken from his reminiscing as he suddenly bumped into a table, startling himself noticeably more than the person who had been practically lying on it. "Oh my gosh-- I'm so sorry-- Hey, sweetheart, you're not looking too good. You alright?" Not that he meant that in a you-look-like-shit sort of sense; she was beautiful and a lot better looking than the group he'd been harassed by moments before. He meant that in a just-dumped-I-really-need-a-hug-slouching-all-over kind of way. Not that he was all that experienced in these kinds of things. But he could tell when someone was stressed. It was one of those 6th sense type deals, only it wasn't as helpful in the sympathy department as it was the getting what he wanted area. But still he was concerned, alcohol influence or not, for this individual who was momentarily keeping him from the mass of mundane conversations. TAGGED VALERIE WORDS TLTC NOTES REEF - SET THE RECORD STRAIGHT CREDIT MADE BY EDWARD OF ON THE EDGE

[VALERIE CONIGLIARO]

[atrb=cellpadding,0,true][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellspacing,0,true][atrb=rules,none][atrb=valign,top][atrb=style,width:400px;background:#eee;border-radius:30px 0 30px 0;border:1px solid #e6e6e6;,true][atrb=style,padding-top:15px;][atrb=align,center] Donec gravida Valerie was looking away from the crowd, but she didn't doubt that some people were staring at her. She probably looked like a crazy wreck- no, she was a crazy wreck. Well, okay, not yet she wasn't, but soon enough her sleep-deprived mind would take over. When she was tired, Valerie suddenly grew a temper and would act like she was high, before crashing to the ground and snore like a pig through the rest of the day. In an attempt to release some aching, she stretched her limbs forward for a couple seconds. Her hand succeeded in swatting a glass (which seemed to suddenly and magically be there, somehow), which crashed onto the floor. She heard shards of glass scattering, but she suspected the loud noises drowned even that sound out. Eh, that mess could be cleaned up later. It wasn't her fault that some brain-less person decided to set it down on a table with a clearly delusional woman basically splayed across it. She cleared her stuffy throat, and was about to push herself back up into a sitting position when the table seemed to have gotten itself caught up in it's own mini-earthquake, punching her in the stomach in the process. Okay, that didn't feel so good. But as of good news, it wasn't an earthquake, and it was just some man who accidentally bumped against it. Or maybe it wasn't an accident, but that didn't matter. Valerie quickly ran a hand through her hair to get it out of her face before sitting upright and bowing a little in apology. "Oh, i'm sorry. I guess plopping myself down on there wasn't really the brightest idea ever." An awkward smile appeared on her face for a brief moment before disappearing into droopy lips. "Yes, i'm perfectly fine." She paused. "Okay, that was a bad lie. I probably look like a witch right now, hehe. I'm just tired, you know. Kind of a difficult last few days. It'll pass, though." Valerie wasn't confident in her answer at all, in fact, she wondered if it actually would ever pass. Which was a dramatic question, since, most likely, it would. It was kind of like the feeling whether you would ever feel better when you broke your bone, except less painful. Valerie quickly flopped all her hair over her right shoulder, so she looked somewhat more decent. After a couple moments of silence, she shrugged and asked him if she could buy him a drink. Which was kind of ridiculous, since she was used to being asked that question instead of actually asking it. But it was the least she could do to try to repair his probable assumption that she wasn't exactly sane. Plus, since she obviously couldn't bear drinking herself, she'd just be watching him drink the entire time, which would be incredibly awkward and uncomfortable on both sides. If things didn't go so well, she'd be convinced to have a couple beers to "ease the stress" and wake the up the next morning with a pounding headache and in bed with some random man. She was always paranoid about that, ever since it actually happened one time. That was... that was a scary and indescribable event that should never be repeated for the rest of her time on this planet. Valerie cleared her stuffy throat for a second time, sniffed, then sneezed loudly. What a lovely series of actions. Maybe a nice cold desert would wake her up, but really, she doubted they served vanilla ice cream here. words 611   tags banner   notes "lkhsdkjsdhfs"   credit table made by greyson of ote