The 2016 Beauty Design Thread!

Sylandra

Because it has to open up at some point! Post your submissions here for everyone to ooh and aaahh.

I'll start out with my submission, which placed third (!!!) in the competition.

----

Appearance:

an antique cameo choker of crystal swans

Dropped:

Sparkling with a disquieting beauty, an antique cameo choker of crystal swans glimmers here in the 

available light.

Examined:

Whispers of sky-blue crystal accent this forgotten piece of antique

jewellery, which gracefully ensconces the neck in a high-collar, silver

filigree choker. The swirling, windswept latticework is enhanced by the

clever interweaving of several tessellating avian silhouettes, which

emerge as a flock of stunning crystalline swans. They spread their

majestic wings in flight only to brush against the tarnished silver,

forever caged within its metallic confines. Nevertheless, the crystal

swans soar in vain towards the centrepiece of the choker: a beautifully

understated cameo, depicting the visage of the Lady Jilai Clarramore,

Soul of the Nation, in side-profile. The cameo's oval shape is of a

vintage, mother-of-pearl design, strikingly rendered in white against a

midnight sapphire backdrop. Here, the famed trill's portraiture looks

the very picture of an ingenue, her headfeathers swept up and away from

her porcelain face in a dated, but elegant fashion. Yet in contrast to

the lavish beauty that surrounds her, the soprano gazes forward with a

strangely blank air, made all the starker by the alabaster shade of her

pearl profile. Pulsing beneath the cameo with a soft hum, an exquisitely

cut crystal gem bewitches the eye whilst pressing jealously close

against the base of the throat, as if seeking to capture the wearer's

voice within.

---

Share yours!

Brantas

Honorable Mention!

Item: Tattoo  Type: Back  Org: Kki  Designer: Brantas
Commodities: purpletint 33 coal 33 bluetint 40 greentint 7 redtint 10 goldtint 10
Mortal Reviews: Allowed
Tattoo Weight: 100
Appearance:
a heavily detailed nautical chart of the Basin of Life
Examined:
Expansive and detailed, this nautical chart depicts the known areas of
the Basin of Life. The land masses are oddly devoid of major detail
outside of villages and cities or communes. Instead, there seems to be
an inordinate amount of information shown in the seas; trade winds,
known sea currents, major trade routes, dangerous coral reefs and even
the occasional fanciful beast are drawn in with a careful eye for
detail. Rivers and tributaries branch out like veins and arteries across
the piece, each one clearly delineated and marked with various points of
interest. Here and there in the portrayed waters, a caricature of a
dolphin or a seawolf peeks out from the waves, with a small stretch of
the Balach Swamp bisecting the seas and running alongside the spine. The
entire piece is framed with a woven ribbon of gold and black, and a
sixteen-pointed compass rose resides in the middle of the aforementioned
swamp, central to the tattoo.

Lavinya

Way too embarrassed to share mine now. Well done guys.

Falaeron

Woooo text wall time

Short:

crystalline book of harmony, beauty, and logic

Dropped:

A book lies here, its pristine pages protected by crystalline covers.

Examined:

A large sheet of polished silver paper has been melded between two thin

crystalline plates to form each cover of this book. The hard texture of

the covers gives the book rigidity while embellishing the imagery

delicately inked onto the metallic core with the crystal's gloss. In

contrast to the matte polish of the material it is embedded into, a

lustrous piece of silver that has been cut perfectly into a sphere

serves as the centrepiece of the front cover. Intricately etched onto

the orb are radiant geometric shapes that emerge from other shapes in a

fractal pattern limited only by the practicality of brushes. From each

corner a thin strip has been cut out to leave only the crystal layers

that appear to hold up the sphere in the middle while separating four

finely detailed paintings. Standing on a cloud at the centre of the top

panel is a trill with her majestic, pale-feathered wings outstretched

with thin arms held out in front of her as she faces a violent tempest.

Wisps of clouds are viciously tossed around as erratic streaks of

lightning dance about the surface of the storm. In the distance the

faint outline of a zeppelin can be seen, floating with peculiar

stability despite the circumstances. The left panel features two

lucidians in pristine lab coats scribing illegible symbols onto crystal

pamphlets as they study a metallic lattice floating between them.

Rotating around the pair of researchers are gemstones of various hues

and sizes, all glowing with vibrancy. Depicted in the right panel is a

grand auditorium where a lucidian conductor in a midnight black tailcoat

directs his orchestra with a diamond baton. Seated in a tight

arrangement before him are countless lucidians and trills, each wielding

their crystalline instrument of choice in a scene that emanates harmony

with each musician complementing those around them. In the final sector

is a row of four trills each grasping a halberd in hand and dressed in

the same uniform of wide blue and white stripes with a silver

breastplate, their wings folded behind them. On closer inspection it

appears as if they are intended to be identical with the only point of

difference between them being an increasing blurriness in the painting

of each. Standing staunchly, they guard a crystal standard bearing a

purple banner adorned with a spectacular star encircled by twin trill

feathers. The back cover is much simpler in contrast, with the silver

sheet completely blank other than three small words elegantly etched in

gold onto the centre: harmony, beauty, logic. Binding the covers

together with the book's alabaster pages is a silver spine inlaid with

six exquisitely cut gems; ruby, emerald, amethyst, diamond, onyx and

beryl gleam in perfect harmony.

Sakaki

Submitted on an alt (created for a previous ascension which I missed the deadline on) - sadly didn't even warrant a mention.

Ingredients: grain 10 milk 6 sugar 4 eggs 3 spices 2 peep 2

Mortal Reviews: Allowed

IMPORTANT: The main noun MUST use one of these: PLATTER

Appearance:

a platter holding a cute, but complex gingerbread house

Dropped:

Giving off an enticing aroma of sugar and spice, a platter holding a cute, but complex gingerbread 

house has been discarded here.

Examined:

The quaint gingerbread house occupying this platter is nothing short of

a work of art, having been constructed flawlessly in the same style as a

house that might be found on Crumkindivia. The outer housing is made of

four solid pieces of gingerbread, holes having been carefully carved

from them to serve as windows; two more solid slabs of gingerbread serve

as the roof. Icing has been carefully layered on the roof and windows,

with globs of icing strategically piled against the lower walls; other

small piles have been scattered around the platter, to give the illusion

of a house in heavy snow. The front panel of the house is visibly set on

fragile sugar hinges; when carefully opened, a full layout to the house

can be seen within, pieces of gingerbread having been carefully

positioned like rooms within a house. Sugar peeps, gingerbread men and

liquorice people have been placed throughout the house, frozen in their

intended tasks; a small group of sugar peeps are sitting around a tiny

fireplace, one peep poking at the fire with a prodder made of a piece of

liquorice; a liquorice person can be found at a table, writing a letter,

sugary quill firmly gripped in his hand, a small drop of icing 'ink'

dripping off the end of the quill; meanwhile, two gingerbread chefs are

busy cooking in the kitchen, one is hunched over a bench, hard at work,

while the other is busy pulling something from the oven. As a finishing

touch, sugary renditions of Jolly Bundy and his solstice gnomes have

been carefully placed on the roof, ready to jump down the chimney and

greet the guests within.

Consume:

Looking over the beautiful house, you are unsure where to even begin.

Carefully setting the figures of Jolly Bundy and the solstice gnomes

aside, you break off a piece of the chimney. Putting it into your mouth,

you savour the wonderful blend of sugar and spice, still warm from the

oven. Wanting more, you start breaking down the house, devouring it

piece by piece, occasionally stopping to taste one of the sugary

inhabitants of the house. Finishing the last bite, you are a little

dismayed to find there is nothing left except a vast dusting of crumbs

that will take a lot of work to brush off your body.

Smell:

Taking a sniff, the powerful smell of sugar floods your senses, though this is complemented by the 

pleasant undertone of warm, spiced gingerbread.

Taste:

Breaking a tiny piece off an inconspicuous area of the house and tasting it, the gingerbread seems 

to melt on your tongue, the unique taste blend that only sugar and spice can bring filling your 

mouth.

Narynth

Fifth Place:

Appearance:

a dark heart of Glomdoring

Examined:

Marked upon the flesh in gradient tones of black, an anatomical heart is

depicted high upon the breast on the left side. Presenting an open

cross-section of the organ results in a startlingly lifelike

representation: the thick walls of each chamber flow into and around one

another in the perfect blend of form and life-sustaining function.

Supporting the detailed and precise rendition is an equal presence more

insightful than literal; each segment of the heart has been embellished

with symbolism partial to Glomdoring. Consuming the aorta atop the

heart and the pulmonary artery directly below is a conglomeration of

ropy vines that springs forth from their depths, tendrils of shadowed

plantlife branching out to ensnare the outermost reaches of the organ.

The left auricle is deeply enshrouded in an unrelenting application of

stygian ink that bleeds out to swarm the surrounding valves and

chambers, Night made manifest deep within the beating organ. Of singular

significance, Brother Crow is cradled within the expansive bounds of the

lower ventrical chambers. Hunched forward in a characteristically

predatory perch, the massive corvid presents a side-on stare that

captures the essence and sole addition of colour within the piece: a

dynamic orb of blood red through which He may examine all within His

sight.

Shaddus

Item: Platter  Type: Gourmet  Org: TTT  Designer: Subotai
Ingredients: meat 7 grain 6 vegetables 5 fish 3 poultry 4 spices 3
Mortal Reviews: Allowed
IMPORTANT: The main noun MUST use one of these: PLATTER
Appearance:
a sizzling fajita platter of desert delights
Dropped:
Endangering the feet of any who walk too close, this fajita platter sizzles and steams.
Examined:
This monstrous platter is split in two unequal parts; the first, larger
half of the platter is an ambrosial mixture of various meats and
vegetables. Strips of marinated steak mingle with bits of shredded pork,
prominently poised atop a heavy bed of sauteed onions and two types of
bell peppers, red and green. Not to be outdone, large chunks of chicken
and large, succulent shrimp vie for attention in this magnificent
portion of food. Heavily spiced and still sizzling from the oven, the
fajita ingredients almost overshadow the second part of the platter, a
smaller section of reddish rice and a small, warm puddle of refried
beans. At the far end of the platter is a smaller scoop of what appears
to be guacamole, splendidly green and waiting to be slathered on a pile
of provided flour tortillas.
Consume:
Not exactly sure where to begin, you snatch up a warm flour tortilla and
shovel meats and vegetables into it before stuffing your creation into
your mouth. Hot, oily juices spill down the outside of your mouth
unnoticed as you devour the fajita and pick up another tortilla from the
pile. Having assuaged your hunger slightly, you take more time with this
fajita, piling some of the spicy rice into the tortilla before spooning
more of the ingredients into the folded tortilla. Taking slower bites,
you notice hints of garlic and cumin as well as other spices, and you
lick your formerly messy lips clean. Fajita after fajita find their way
down your gullet until the platter is empty, with even the provided
guacamole finding a home in a fajita or two. Tossing the platter aside,
you sigh contentedly and release a small but spicy belch.
Smell:
Inhaling deeply over the platter, you immediately start coughing at the spices in the steam. Cayenne
and paprika mix with cumin to create a heavenly, yet decidedly piquant aroma.
Taste:
Picking up a piece of chicken, you almost drop the heated poultry before greedily stuffing it in
your mouth. Breathing heavily to cool it off as you try to swallow, you finally manage to get it
down, noticing an intricate mixture of cayenne pepper and onion in the flavour.
---
Item: Platter  Type: Gourmet  Org: Scorcook
Ingredients: grain 18 sugar 6 fruit 5 spices 2 vegetables 1 milk 1 honeycomb 2 faeleaf 1 chervil 1
rosehips 1 marjoram 1 pennyroyal 1
Mortal Reviews: Allowed
IMPORTANT: The main noun MUST use one of these: PLATTER
Appearance:
an aromatic platter of colourful frosted cup cakes
Dropped:
Resting here is a silver platter, half a dozen cupcakes arranged artfully upon it.
Examined:
Resting on a slim platter of mirrored silver are six cup cakes, each
clearly differing in both appearance and aroma. The cup cakes are spaced
equally in a circle around the edge of the platter, and in the centre
rests a small dish containing a gooey caramel sauce, twirled to form a
small peak. The first cupcake is a dark orange-brown in hue, with
frosting of a pale creamy orange. The clear outline of a fiery blaze
tops the pale frosting, filled with spices by a heavy hand. The second
cupcake smells strongly of honey and apples, and the yellowed cake is
topped with a silvery sugared frosting in the shape of a tree that holds
a strong aroma of crushed faeleaf. Next around the edge of the platter
is a simple vanilla cup cake with a dark blueberry jam spread across its
surface. Tiny white sugar sprinkles atop the jam are suggestive of stars
in a dark sky. Directly across from the first fiery cup cake is the
fourth, a dark yellow in colour with white flecks of macadamia mixed in.
The sweet scent of banana is heavy from the cake itself, while the
frosting is a pure white of crushed chervil leaves, sugar chips of
various colours scattered across the paste. The fifth cup cake is dark
yellow, black specks and the tart aroma proving it to be lemon and
poppyseed. A honey glaze has been applied liberally, and liberally
strewn over it are numerous dried rosehips, their crisp leaves a darker
pink than usual. Last of all is a sweet, pale butter cake, frosted with
a combination of marjoram, pennyroyal and sugar. The mixture is a pale,
sickly purple hue, shaped on the cake to resemble the Megalith of Doom.
A light dusting of powdered sugar has been applied to the platter as a
whole.
Consume:
Picking out a cupcake at random, your hand closes on the lemon poppyseed and honey. Quickly munching
your way through the cake, you savour the slight bitterness offset by the honey glaze, then lick the
dried rosehips that stuck to your fingers off. The next cup cake, blueberry jam on vanilla, wafts a
strong scent of sweetness beneath your nose before you eat it in several generous bites, the cake
itself almost bland under the fruity jam. Your hand has the banana macadamia almost to your mouth
before you even realise, and the sweet nutty cake nearly melts on your tongue, the mild frosting
only gaining your attention briefly for the crunchy sugar chips embedded in it. A sugary rush causes
you to briefly sway on your feet as the honeyed apple and faeleaf cake you started on next is slowly
consumed. Ignoring the remnants of previous cakes still clinging to your fingers, you slowly nibble
at the butter cake, its mild flavour almost sedative to your expanding stomach, the mixed herb
frosting aromatically sweet. With a cautious glance, you pick up the final cup cake, and slowly work
your way through it. The heavy carrot cake is rich with flavour, and tiny shreds of carrot stick to
your teeth. The cinnamon frosting is balanced perfectly between saccharine and spicy, and leaves
your palate overloaded but content, the platter now a mess of colourful crumbs to be discarded and
nothing more.
Smell:
Leaning over the platter, you slowly work your way around, breathing deeply over each cup cake. The
first smells strongly of cinnamon and spices, with a faint undertone of carrot cake. The second is
sweet, honey and apples mixing with sugar and crushed faeleaf in your nose. The third is almost hard
to smell over the others, with a plain vanilla and faint blueberry scent. Fourth is the unusual
combination of bananas and macadamias, crushed chervil and sweet sugar also blending in. Fifth is
the bold aroma of lemon and poppyseed, dried rosehips adding only the faintest hint over the honey.
The last gives off only the barest scent of butter cake under the mingling of pennyroyal and
marjoram.
Taste:
Eyeing the platter cautiously, you decide on only a tiny nibble from each small cup cake - just
enough for a taste. However, as indecision strikes, you snatch a tiny piece from each little cake
and cram it in your mouth, only stopping to consume them all at once when you have a piece from each.
Flashes of flavour dance over your tastebuds, apple and carrot and banana and lemon with hints of
herbs mixed in.
-----
Item: Vial  Type: Sorcelglass  Org: Hb  Designer: Salome
Commodities: jade 4 sapphire 6
Gold Outlay: 0
Mortal Reviews: Allowed
IMPORTANT: The main noun MUST use one of these: VIAL
Appearance:
a jade vial of glorious purpose
Dropped:
An etched jade vial in the shape of a severed hand rests here upon the ground, its lifelike fingers
outstretched to reveal a fractal blossom within.
Examined:
Constructed from the finest jewel-toned precious stone of jade, this
vial is unusually marbled with misty blossoms of fog-like striation
which are trapped underneath the surface, the stone's natural
composition providing it with a milky pallor. Reflecting as ghosts
within the stone, each whorl of paler jade has been hewn with a sharp
chisel that accentuates the jagged, meandering movements that take upon
the resemblance of frost. As one examines the surface closely, each of
the texturised lines forms the rings of the pattern of the bark of a
tree at the vial's base. Sprouting upwards the vial widens to form a
miniaturised severed hand; its tattered appearance is done with
meticulous artistry leaving no detail without its place. While the hand
possesses gnarled, coniferous-like fingers splayed out limply, each of
the digits, veins and lines of the palm are chiselled with the deftness
of an artist using a reference. With the wrist of the hand
pivoted slightly, one can see that a fractal blossom carved from glacial
cerulean-colored crystal, resembling those native to Frosticia, is
fused to the centre of the palm and elevated to be used as the vial's
spout and stopper.

Thul

2nd Place:

Appearance:

a glossy honeysap band inset with a windblown panorama

Dropped:

Perfectly smooth and coloured a warm gold, a band of polished wood gleams faintly on the ground.

Examined:

Amber-coloured wood, gleaming like gold beneath a thin lacquer, twists in a perfect circle which forms the canvas for a majestic scene depicted in carefully-inlaid gemstones. The grain traces thin lines about the ring's circumference, forming the striated sky against which the silhouette of a jagged mountain range is expressed in the inky lustre of unblemished onyx. While the rocky shapes produce an unrecognisable massif in an unbroken band across the ring's surface, the inimitable profile of Avechna's Peak looms high over its neighbours, its every crag and rise caught in minuscule detail. Opposite the Peak, a different shape emerges over the mountains: the broad branches of a cherry tree, the ebony outline of its trunk fusing into the shadow of the bluffs. Minute, twinkling flecks of pearl in imitation of blossoms speckle the tree's surface and spill off its listing boughs, which tilt as though caught in an intense gale. The loosed petals traverse the ring's face in whimsical, tapering patterns, looping high across the golden sky, dipping low to leave opalescent coils against jet peaks, and tracing a playful curlicue against the sable backdrop of Mount Avechna. The pearly patterns dwindle in size and quantity as they drift further and further from the tree, leaving a single tiny blossom to reach its windblown parent at the end of its journey. 

Didn't place:

Appearance: a sprawling monstrosity of purple prose

Examined:

Its taloned tendrils splayed across the bearer's breast, its pincered maw sagging unshut in enervated disregard, the aberrant form of some appalling miscreation spills over the flesh, its shape captured in aubergine pigments. At once, the abomination is abhorrent and apathetic, loathsome but listless, intimidating, yet inert, a freakish amalgamation concocted of the Undervault's most baleful fragments, languorous as it slouches across an invisible floor in the most undignified manner. Uncannily, the ghastly hybrid, with all its manifold textures, is entirely rendered in letters, from the high, narrow script that captures the gleaming striations of the beast's carapace, to the winding, minuscule calligraphy that darkens its gaping craw. Tracing the violet scrivenery in its protean path over the reposing, hodgepodge fiend reveals unpunctuated phrases of rambling palaver, the vocabulary sesquipedalian and bombastic. Significance and substance are irretrievable from the compact, labyrinthine mass of text, which repudiates meaning and beclouds the vision until nought but the image of a slumped horror remains.

Ayisdra

Here is the main entry I had:
Commodities: bluetint 20 goldtint 20 faeleaf 20 greentint 20 purpletint 20 coal 20 redtint 20 yellowtint 20
Mortal Reviews: Allowed
Tattoo Weight: 100
Appearance:
a united Basin of Life
Examined:
Six interlocking circles, each representing a nation, form a larger circular pattern across the back in this large tattoo. The insignia representing Glomdoring is that of the Master Ravenwood. Wisps of wyrden energy wrap around the branches of the Tree's dark brown bark while shadows cast by a new moon appear against the base as if in the middle of a dance, frozen within a moment of time. Four oily black feathers with a light red shine that are in the middle of falling fill the rest of the space of the tattoo. Each of the four feathers has small subtle details along the vanes: pictures detailing the lessons of the four Aspects. Directly across from the circle of Glomdoring is one to embody the Forest of Serenwilde. Such as with the Southern Forest, the Mother Moonhart Tree stands as the focus, taking up the most room. A full moon casts silvery moonlight through the vibrant green leaves down to the ground. Four playful stags stand around the Tree, looking up to the sky as ethereal energies shine from their antlers. Vines grow randomly outward from the base, rushing along the bottom of the circle edges. On the left side of the Serenwilde circle is Celest's disk. Composed of mostly the Pool of Stars, the section is filled with various shades of blues detailing depth of the waters. The four lords of the Water Plane look into the Pool from the northern rim; their true reflections blur in the watery mirror as their teachings take place instead. The same takes place along the southern edge of the nexus of power with the Celestial Lords and Ladies. The parts of the water that lack the reflections of the higher beings are darkened with shades of black. Continuing with the theme of opposing nations being across from each other, the Magnagoran region links on the right side of Glomdoring. The Megalith jets upward, spewing tainted mist along the tattoo section's area. Twisted mortal forms of various races dot the space in the mist as silhouettes of the Demon Lords and their morphed nature look down upon the forms, a clear hierarchy present among mortals. Etched into the Megalith itself appear the faces of the Earth Lords, their own beliefs tinted into their facial shadows. Linking the Glomdoring and Celest symbols is one for Gaudiguch: a swirl of chaos and bright reds and oranges as the Eternal Flame is mid-flicker. With no apparent order, a celebration appears to be occurring at this nexus of power. To one side of the Flame are the Flesh Pots and the teachings of pleasure of the mind and body. The Fire Lords fill the other half with more displays of unchecked freedom as a hazy grey smoke coats the upper half of the scene. And completing the design by connecting Serenwilde with Magnagora lies the Hallifaxian circle. The Matrix in bright sky blues forms just one part of this orderly area. A whirlwind of elemental power cyclones around the bottom of the area, the images of the Air Lords at the edges, appearing to be the source of the wind. In their proper order, the Spheres of Continuum are neatly aligned, not one off by even the smallest measure. By themselves, each circle is a work of art on its own, the design that of a master to create such overlapping colours and have it not look unnatural. When observed as a whole, a seventh design, one of unity, comes into focus. Aspects of each nation's designs join and link, showing that to have unity among the basin all nations are required to put in a little of themselves.

Sylandra

PS: I submitted this one by @Phoebus on behalf of the Gemcrafters cartel, and it got honorable mention!

--

Appearance:

a breathtaking circlet of ice flowers

Dropped:

An elegant circlet lies here in repose, delicate glimmers of light twinkling along the icy petals of 

its glass-wrought flowers.

Examined:

Woven bands of flat, polished silver wind gracefully from thin, curling

sides to a pointed front, their weaving pattern becoming subtly wider

and looser as it approaches the middle forehead. From this latticed

front a host of wintry flowers bloom as if bursting triumphantly through

cracks in oppressive ice. Their crystal petals unfurl into gorgeous

pellucid blossoms, perfectly transparent but for the whisper of deep

blue which suffuses their very centres. Delicate glass leaves sparkle

beneath like sun-kissed frost; dusted liberally with finely crushed

diamonds, each leaf twinkles softly with a certain gelid radiance, a

perfect backdrop to the sleek and cloudless shine of the petals above.

There is a subtle quality of motion to the piece, an invisible wind

which seems to stir between the many lucent leaves and petals. But in

truth the glass-wrought flora are ever still, their windswept state but

a scene forever frozen in the clutches of winter's frost.

Krackenor

4th place:

Dropped: An eldritch tome of the Leviathan lies here, its iron sculpt-work radiating malice

Probed: An unnatural chill permeating the air about it, this sinister tome has

been bound in a thick black leather, a tenebrous backdrop from which

terror rears. Sharp-edged strips of iron grip the edges of the cover,

their entire lengths etched with the words 'Unleashed As Many Shall I

Be' over and over in a maddening litany while tiny hinges, near

indistinguishable from the rest of the ironwork, allow the tome to be

opened freely. After noticing these minor details, however, the eye is

inescapably drawn to the aspect of Illith the Leviathan which dominates

the cover. Wrought of a dark iron filigree, Her gaping maw juts out from

the plane of the tome, rows of razor sharp teeth glittering dully down

Her throat as a single ruby eye glares balefully forward. Her serpentine

body coils and undulates across the front cover, fine latticework scales

providing texture to the malevolent effigy. So vast is Her form that it

spills off of the front cover onto the spine and sprawls across the

rear. Following Her body as it continues to twist in on itself across

the back cover, the Leviathan's scales become increasingly jagged and

pronounced. That which was fine and delicate has become rigid and sharp;

that which was once a single form reveals itself as rank upon rank of

illithoid warriors. That which was Leviathan has become Legion. As the

tail begins to taper, so too do the illithoid become larger and more

detailed. At the head of the formation, at the very tip of the dead

God's tail, glowers the visage of Cthogglogg, Avatar of the Hidden

Empress.

Irillia

Wow! Thank you very much to the divine judges for this unexpected but lovely surprise. I designed this completely for fun, so I guess the lesson here is: Enjoy what you write, and the results will likely go better than you expect they will.

--

Appearance:

a whimsical tea set depicting a falcon and pigeon army

Dropped:

A tea set of crystal and porcelain rests here, depicting a falcon surrounded by pigeon army officers and recruits.

Examined:

Forming the foundation for this whimsical tea set, a sparkling crystalline tray has been sculpted into a jewel-tiered balcony, encircled by a low-lying colonnade etched with bas-reliefs of tropical, elegantly-plumed birds. Standing jauntily in the centre of the tray, the sleek porcelain teapot is cunningly painted and fashioned to resemble the noble falcon Volucer, the companion and defender of Isune, the Aesthete. His wide, gleaming gold eyes gaze down sternly from either side of a shimmering mother-of-pearl spout, shaped like a beak wide open in the midst of barking out orders or shouting reprimands. Held authoritatively akimbo at his hips, his grey-banded, white-feathered wings create a pair of curving handles on either side of the teapot. Fine scales of blue quartz surround his eyes and nostrils as well as the base of the teapot, contrasting with the silver breastplate protecting Volucer's chest and the tall, spiked silver helm atop his ragged crest of head-feathers, which forms the teapot's lid. Posed beside Volucer is an onyx tea caddy crafted in the likeness of an enormous, inky-black pigeon with bright, beady ruby eyes, standing at rigid attention with one wing raised in salute. Dwarfed by the tea caddy, the porcelain creamer and sugar bowl are patterned after a large, pristinely white pigeon and a plump piebald pigeon, respectively, both decorated with tiny medals and shiny badges of military rank. Four delicate tea cups surround them, moulded into small pigeons covered with light grey plumage, each with one wing outstretched to hold a slender, axe-bladed silver halberd against its body. When gathered together upon the wide crystal tray, this tea set charmingly evokes a scene of strict avian military discipline, with Volucer the falcon presiding proudly over the drilling of his pigeon army.

Salome

Congrats to all of our beauty winners!

Zarialle

Was not sure I should even post since it's only an honourable mention, but here goes... 

Item: Box  Type: Musicboxes  Org: SM  Designer: Zarialle

Appearance:

a music box of dancers at the End of Time

Dropped:

Aristocratic nobility and refinement amidst a macabre scene, a music box 

depicting a waltz at the End of Time is here.

Examined:

At its foundation, this music box is a ravaged wasteland milieu of

skeletal remains of various races, decimated urban constructs, and

incendiary residue from previously living vegetation. Punctiliously

constructed from blackened steel, the decimation is absolute, down to

the wriggling, feasting maggots carved from tiny, seed pearls. Above the

nacreous worms, a few delicate, limpid glass flies arise circulating the

semi-cylindrical euphonic device along its facade. Amidst the tenebrous

expanse between the insects, miniature silver masks coalesce, only

partially revealed from the encompassing gloom, all turned to observe

the dominating dancers in the centre. Deep within the hollowed heart,

this box contains several iron cogs comprising a revolving mechanism and

platform for the two figures. At the couple's feet, burnished iron

skulls repose in aesthetically placed stacks, their macabre countenances

smiling in death. Commander of the waltz, the distinctly masculine

figure bears a regal attitude from the tilt of his head, the perfect

positioning of his limbs, and the cunning smirk on his lips. Atramentous

robes that deaden nearby light like a foreboding gloam, clothe the

gentleman and contrast handsomely with his mask of garnet, concealing

half his face. Companion and counterpart, the effeminate model clutched

in his arms is equally enigmatic in a gown of garnet splinters the

colour of sanguine claret. An exquisite specimen of femininity, her

noble aplomb is undeniable, enhanced by the austere coiffure of aureate

tresses and the gleaming, halcyon mask. Upon each figurine's breast, a

fire-infused, rubescent heart beats in time to the steps of their

private and intimate ball. The penultimate element of the apparatus is a

series of four steel feet along the bottom where the final required

component resides, a diminutive iron key crank to initiate this waltz at

the End of Time.

Anyone's guess who the dancers are. I reveal nothing! 

:-$

Nienla

I loved Narynth's dark heart so much that I got it on Nienla. It is an amazing tattoo.

Cyndarin

Beauty could me more exciting. I saw they throw all in the top 5 into a pit, armed with tea cups and and jewelry and whatever else they design, and fight it out for the top spot. 

NARYNTH HAS BLINDED SYLANDRA WITH SCALDING TEA, THIS COULD BE A GAME CHANGER.

BUT WAIT, SYLANDRA HAS PULLED  A DELICATE, FLORAL LETTER OPENER ENGRAVED WITH LILIES FROM HER SLEEVE. IT LOOKS ABSOLUTELY STUNNING AS SHE STABS IT INTO NARYNTH'S JUGULAR. THE BLOOD REALLY CONTRASTS WITH THE GREEN LEAVES OF THE FLOWERS.

Krackenor

I think I'd win...it's a pretty heavy book.