#birch tar

[parfumery-wiki]

Lao Oud (extrait de parfum) Bortnikoff

Woody amber

I have made many compositions with oud: each of them has its unique character. However, the note of oud in my fragrances had never been so powerful and animalic before the release of the new Lao Oud. Six months ago, a magnificent oil from Laos fell into my hands: it smelled of honey and flowers with a characteristic animal note.

I have been lucky enough to visit Laos more than 20 times. This is a beautiful small and hospitable country, where time seems to have stopped at the end of the 19th century. Therefore, remembering numerous trips to Laos, I almost immediately found the main harmonies for the composition, which was based on the oil of Lao oud. This oil smells extremely close to Indian, but it is much softer. I supplemented it with the notes of beautiful Lao coffee, frangipani flowers, the smell of incense that comes from many ancient monasteries in Laos, and fresh spices — cinnamon and pink pepper. So the new Lao Oud appeared — a walk through Vientiane, an ancient city on the Mekong River — the most oudy, and coffee-like animalic fragrance in the Bortnikoff Parfums collection.

Top notes: Pink pepper, Magnolia Heart notes: Beeswax, Cinnamon, Chamomile, Peru balsam, Cacao Base notes: Laotian oud, Tonka bean, Crocodile wood, Coffee, Indian oud, Vanilla, Birch tar, Guaiacwood

[amazingmagda]

Me to Ross: "Birch tar is basically an exctract of the soul of a birch tree 0.0"

December 2022

[crazysodomite]

my people believe tar soap to be the only skincare product you will ever need. also can be used for like 1000 different purposes.

[museum-of-artifacts]

A well-preserved Neolithic knife, the blade was made of flint and fastened with birch tar in a handle made of wood. From the pile dwelling settlement at Wangen-Hinterhorn, Lake Constance, dating 3800-3500 BC.

More: https://bio.link/museumofartifacts

[head-in-the-shrouds]

366 Prompts For 2024:

One word prompts for 2024 (all 12 months) and some alternatives. These are mostly horror / fantasy aimed.

January (31):

Behold

Justice

Oak

Weave

Hook

Waggon

Torch

Jinx

Prey

Must

Lit

Keep

Vanquish

Yarrow

Intended

Tomb

Marsh

Leather

Blanket

Kin

Lordling

Promises

Heath

Rot

West

Under

Sworn

Rusted

Transformation

Quest

Pond

February (29):

Midwinter

Oath

Croak

Blush

Nimble

Malady

Deal

Roots

Willow

Orders

Moss

Lantern

Portent

Lovelock

Mourning

Horned

Keys

Earn

Remedy

Bog

Yearning

Lace

Trunk

Coiled

Linger

Soothsayer

Revenge

Oleander

Revered

March (31):

Metal

Pride

Gunpowder

Inheritance

Master

Brandish

Enchanted

Path

Sacrifice

Tailor

Crypt

Remain

Toad

Understanding

Legacy

Archway

Mirror

Omen

Home

Fur

Dust

Bow

Necklace

Sly

Permanent

Grin

Aim

Nest

Hex

Church

Valour

April (30):

Masonry

Inquiry

Ledge

Years

Hospitality

Clay

Priestess

Sunken

Lavender

Trust

Waters

Guilt

Dusk

Protection

Musket

Castle

Flee

Ancient

Value

Charm

Fever

Penance

Silk

Foxhole

Ornament

Tradition

Meld

Hare

Well

Pest

May (31):

Moonrise

Sea

Wander

Absolution

Bark

Ridge

Crackle

Sacred

Bind

Frozen

Thatch

Naming

Elder

Wealth

Dappled

Reading

Father

Cathedral

Tent

Grey

Payment

Enshrine

Tales

Velvet

Cell

Guide

Dawn

Mines

Riddle

Falling

Clock

June (30):

Vixen

Stolen

Worth

Tar

Alchemy

Fickle

Barrell

Harrow

Pyre

Chest

Worship

Steps

Armoury

Tear

Den

Ladder

Ruins

Bargain

Snake-leaves

Corn-doll

Garnet

Eccentric

Telescope

Antler

Stone

Break

Laden

Tower

Chain

Rook

July (31):

Masquerade

Pines

Mother

Herbs

Limb

Prize

Rescue

Scales

Melody

Shore

Tempest

Appease

Queen

Hermit

Separated

Bear

Righteous

Chimney

Storm

Manipulate

Boots

Apple

Rings

Crafted

Trail

Bleak

Dear-heart

Sanctify

Feast

Gathering

Door

August (31):

Luck

Display

Greed

Autumn

Found

Wildfire

Sleep

Grandfather

Watch

Hidden

Lookalike

Whimsey

Thicket

Runes

Horseshoe

Smoke

Awaken

Gargoyle

Wig

Poison

Thousand-fur

Shatter

Barrow

Tempt

Flag

Mercy

Web

Beast

Candle

Hunt

Serpent

September (30):

Belladonna

Magician

Birch

Reflection

Sight

Elaborate

Captive

Rope

Glass

Decades

Blade

Sorrow

Finickity

Carving

Stag

Fairy-tale

Spark

Blackthorn

Mountain

Century

Fury

Question

Claws

Fangs

Decay

Gift

Shipwreck

Blessed

Harvest

Crown

October (31):

Troll

Vines

Scattered

Prayer

Hatchet

Coat

Fireside

Grim

Sealed

Walled

Healing

Cobbled

Secure

Forest

Blind

Constellation

Shroud

Regal

Helm

Shadowed

Ward

Sinking

Hills

Goldsmith

Silver

Entwining

Soldier

Courtship

Guest

Defy

Crone

November (30):

Bones

Fear

Talisman

Song

Witness

Cloak

Plague

Hearth

Returned

Testament

Ceremonial

Yearning

Written

Silhouette

Gilded

Boundary

Hunger

Stranger

Fiend

Dungeon

Huntsman

Want

Birdsong

Wish

Hierophant

Favour

Dreaming

Coal

Brother

Fields

December (31):

Bottles

Curse

Horizon

Supplies

Wallowing

Hodge-podge

Thorns

Wisdom

Trinket

Warmth

Timber

Honest

Ritual

Welcome

Branches

Disguise

Bound

Gallows

Shield

Window

Finality

Tinder

Starlight

Winds

Bridge

Fortune

Tracks

River

Guardian

Summon

Warmth

Alternative Prompts:

Cunning

Puppet

Hound

Brambles

Eldritch

Garden

Eldritch

Cosmic

Bells

Tainted

Sleigh

Sect

Glowing

Coven

[bonefall]

Could a more advanced clan use tar as a glue replacement? It's made using wood from what I heard.

It's possible, but only for an advanced Clan. It might even be a little beyond what BB cats are capable of.

What you're thinking of is probably birch pitch, though pine can be used as well. Birch is better though, it makes a finer tar, but if you have English Clans they may want to use pine pitch because it's one of the few uses for the detested sitka.

(Also "pitch" tends to refer to more viscous material, where "tar" refers to thinner, more watery liquids.)

There's two things that makes it hard to collect. First, and most importantly,

TREE OIL IS FULL OF PHENOL. Your cats CANNOT breathe in the smoke or aroma that's going to be produced by making this. It is a deadly, toxic gas to cats. In humans, we're so resistant to this that we've used it as an antiseptic, dumped it right into our wounds. Cats CANNOT ingest or smell this without getting sick. Phenol causes a LOT of poisonings because of the popularity of essential oil.

Think of it as the kitty equivalent of lead paint. We used it for years because it's cheap, easy, and works good... and never realized that it was lead in the water and walls giving people brain damage.

And, secondly, what also keeps it hard to get is that it needs to undergo dry distillation. Basically, it needs to be sweated out of the wood, drained, and then processed a second time..

So only a Clan that has FIRE and POTTERY SKILLS will be able to do this. At bare minimum, you will need THREE POTS and CONTINUOUSLY BURNING KINDLE. Here's a basic diagram for you;

[ID: 3 pots, labelled and color coded. Pot 1, the green pot on top, has a lid. It rests inside of Pot 2, which is the largest one and has fire burning inside it. Pot 3 is purple and underground, below the others.]

Pot 1 and Pot 2 have holes cut in the bottom, for the liquid to leak out. This could work with just flowerpots, but historically, special structures are made for this purpose so you collect all the oil.

Also protip stand the bark upright and against the sides of the pot, not laying flat down. This isn't a sauna, stand up birch.

ONCE YOU'VE DONE THIS, YOU HAVE OIL. You do NOT have tar or pitch yet. The liquid you have collected is OIL.

Oil can be used as a water-repellant when applied to leather and wood, a heavy-duty cleaning agent (but watch out), and birch oil specifically can repel gastropods.

So now we need to turn that oil into pitch. This is the most dangerous part for a Clan cat, as it involves a LOT of smoke. If your Clan could make a gas mask, it would be helpful here

[ID: A cat with a gas mask sits next to a burning pit with toxic smoke rising out of it. Like the diagram above, Pot 1 is green and nestled within Pot 2, which is red and contains fire.]

Oil is reduced to pitch through evaporating the moisture out. Toxic fumes are BILLOWING out during this entire process, and there is a point in this process where you've gone too far and just burnt it into useless carbon.

So if your cats can create a gas mask then that's very helpful. Otherwise... you'd better do this on a windy day.

(I made this mask based on the P-helm of WW1 and Plague Doctor masks, feel free to run with it... but you will need Glassworking Skills unlocked for it, something BB cats don't have.)

Once you've done this, you have pitch or tar, depending on the thickness you reduced it to. This can be used for MANY things, and is the best adhesive that Clan cats could naturally access. It's especially useful for weaponry, keeping blades on shafts or sticking extenders to claws, but it's also VERY useful for preserving leather and wood as well.

So as you can see, this is a pretty high-tier process! BB Cats will very, very rarely do this. I imagine it was briefly popular while they were trading with BloodClan, but fell back into disuse. As a water-repellent, they prefer beeswax.

[krscblw]

ghoul perfume associations pt. 3!

more ghoul perfume associations bc ghost and perfume are my two main hobbies! all of these are indie/niche perfumes because those are the types of perfume i'm mainly into. these lists are really fun for me and i would love to hear what people think!!

also, jsyk: because this post is so long, some of the text might get cut off on mobile. it should be okay on desktop if that happens (i don't know how to fix it, sorry :/)

Aeon

Notes: non-sweet chocolate, linen, lavender

Perfumes:

Autumn Morning - Pulp Fragrance

hot chocolate, slightly spiced oatmeal, carnations, a cozy blanket

Twice To Tea - Poesie 

strong earl grey tea, lavender absolute, vanilla syrup, a splash of milk

Aether

Notes: bourbon, amber, vanilla  

Perfumes:

Not A Deer - Little & Grim 

cedarwood, chestnuts, sandalwood, maple, oak, tonka, suede, clove, spiced vanilla, amber, tobacco 

Loggia - Solstice Scents 

“High above the village, a castle sits shrouded in a heavy gray mist.  Muted moonlight illuminates its upper terraces. Thick with incense smoke, the loggia swells with invited guests, each heavily cloaked and masked. Laughter, violas and a harpsichord fill the night. Wine flows from never-ending mahogany vats. Exotic spices drape the air in fragrant bouquets. A bell rings from the archway, and all in attendance fall silent as the master of the night creatures crosses the paving stones...”

mahogany, sweet amber, musk, dark incense, deep vanilla bean, sandalwood, cardamom, black pepper, cognac and allspice

(i have this one and it's great, perfect for aether imo)

Alpha

Notes: leather, smoke, gunpowder

Perfumes:

Spiritus Fumosus - Alkemia

volcanic basalt, smelted metal ores, amberwood, smokey birch tar, old leather, galbanum, white oud, gray amber, petrichor, wet sand, bergamot, sichuan peppercorn, gingergrass, white patchouli

Deus ex Machina - Alkemia 

“An olfactory portrait of industrial decay and the fallen gods of age of disruption, innovation, and technological revolution.”

fire-hardened steel, rusted iron, motor oil, wet cement, burnt copper wires, gray amber

Cirrus

Notes: dark fruits, musk, heavy florals, honey

Perfumes:

Virgo - Deconstructing Eden   

dark amber, bulgarian rose absolute, lavender maillette, orris root, benzoin, dark fruits, bourbon vanilla

Eglantine House - Deconstructing Eden 

honeyed roses, mahogany, plums, amber accord, champaca flowers, eglantine roses, white musk

Cumulus

Notes: lilac, magnolia, jasmine, sugar, cold air

Perfumes:

Midnight Garden - Alkemia 

night-flowering white flowers – tuberose, lily, honeysuckle, gardenia, moonflower

Calliope - Alkemia 

clementine, orange blossoms, white orchid, sugared currants, tonka, and vanilla musk, cotton candy, saltwater taffy

Dewdrop

Notes: berries, smoke, spices, metal

Perfumes:

Unrequited - Deconstructing Eden

black sandalwood, raspberries, bitter orange, black pepper, smooth silky musk, dark amber, smoky patchouli 

Lightning Storm - Nui Cobalt Designs 

Petrichor, ozone, electrified metal, cold musk, bergamot, lime zest, cracked pink peppercorn, copal smoke, myrrh, teakwood

(this one represents dew as a water ghoul – citrus, spices, ozone, and metal. sweet, cold, and a little bitter)

Ifrit

Notes: black tea, incense, spices 

Perfumes:

Tasseomancy - Nui Cobalt Designs 

black tea spritzed with orange, incense smoke clinging to heavy velvet curtains, fireplace embers, cinnamon, clove

Tasseomancy - LVNEA 

bergamot, black tea, lapsang souchong, honey, spices, milk

(yes they are both called the same thing. he's a guy with a brand i don't know what to tell you)

Mist

Notes: water, herbs, ice

Perfumes:

Eisheth - Deconstructing Eden 

seawater, herbs - rosemary, mint, clary sage, bergamot, hyssop, lemongrass, and verbena, white tea

Blackwater Lake - Osmofolia  

“Short-needle pine branches hang over mossy lake rocks, radiant white water lilies soak in the sun, the surface of the dark lake water ripples above submerged northern watermilfoil, and a chill in the air warns of impending autumn.”

pine needles, cold wind, northern watermilfoil, white water lilies, moss, stone, lake water

Mountain

Notes: vetiver, plants, earth, mushrooms

Perfumes:

Poor Farm - Little & Grim 

“Overgrown grass, tangled undergrowth, wildflowers, the memory of fresh linens, and distant, greener pastures.”

moss, sage, ferns, sweet grasses, green wood, and chamomile

Mycelium - Treading Water Perfume 

“Rounding the corner it came into view, the being that had terrorized the village for decades. It sat terrifyingly still on top of natural rock formation that resembled some strange amalgamation of an altar. An altar not made by human hands but as if created by the forest itself to honor this being. The being was here long before the village and it will continue to be here long after we are gone.”

soil, mushrooms, patchouli, black currants, hinoki wood

Nimbus/Aurora*

Notes: peach, rose, earth

Perfumes:

The Lover Tells Of The Rose - Alkemia 

wild roses, lemon verbena, white pearl tea leaves, delicate white patchouli, new greens, wet moss

Apothecary Rose - LVNEA 

rose gallica, rose de mai, damask rose, tarragon, violet leaf, apricot, labdanum, myrrh

*i headcanon nimbus as a earth/air multi

Omega

Notes: wood, amber, tobacco

Perfumes:

Danse Macabre - Fyrinnae

sandalwood, amber, labdanum, vanilla, woodsmoke, smoldering logs

Leo - Deconstructing Eden 

frankincense, myrrh, benzoin, amber, liatrix, blood cedar, blond tobacco absolute, sweet spices, honey

(i have this one and i love it, it's very warm and resinous)

Rain

Notes: seawater, ozone, vanilla

Perfumes:

Ambre Gris - Alkemia 

“A rare blend of proprietary perfumery ingredients carefully oxidized by sunlight, sand, air, sea salt, water, and ocean minerals. The result is as changeable and morphing as the ocean... earthy, sweet, musky, saline.”

gray ambergris, ocean minerals, sea salt

Cerulea - OSMOFOLIA 

“A synesthesia perfume inspired by a color. Sapphire ocean blue with flashes of turquoise and glistening white.”

osmanthus, ambergris, sea salt, ocean water, tuberose, cucumber

Sunshine/Stratus**

Notes: strawberries, citrus, vanilla, spices

Perfumes:

In Love with Everything - Imaginary Authors

“This extremely versatile (and genderless!) fragrance is great for any time of day and any time of year but the blast of energy it possesses is ideal for whenever you’re feeling low or looking for a little boost of bliss to keep your body moving and your lungs laughing long into the night.”

raspberry, citrus pulp, coconut palm sugar, madame isaac pereire, sandalwood, tropical punch, stardust

(i have this one! it's very fruity, you definitely get the fruit punch, but it still has a good amount of depth)

Eos - Fantôme 

“Eos is named for the goddess of dawn—who beckons the daybreak with her rosy fingers. This perfume smells like the color of the sunrise; pink and gold light breathing life into the morning dew.”

tart lemonade, raspberries, candied rose petals, wild berries, a hint of ginger

**i headcanon sunny as a fire/air multi

Swiss***

Notes: smoke, musk, patchouli, incense

Perfumes:

Black Heart - Spirit & Venom   

dark patchouli, clove, caramel pipe tobacco

Scorpio - Deconstructing Eden

“The fixed water sign of the zodiac, Scorpios are sensitive and intense, complicated and multi-layered. This blend is deep, still water, with notes of humid air and just the barest touch of mud.”

white and pink lotus absolute, orris root, myrrh, patchouli, gray musk, still water

***i headcanon swiss as a fire/water multi

Zephyr

Notes: dust, ozone, faint sweet musk, mint, cool air

Perfumes:

Walking with a Ghost - Spirit & Venom 

“Light & ethereal musk, fresh harvest pear, a whiff of perfume from a loved one long passed.”

Aquarius - Deconstructing Eden 

air, an undercurrent of water, sparkling aldehydes

if you made it this far, thank you for reading! and i would love to hear your thoughts!! (/gen - do you have any recommendations? do you agree/disagree? i love talking abt this) (also thank you sm to @midnight-moth for recommending lvnea!!)

[princesssarisa]

Cinderella Tales From Around the World has now taken me through Finland, Estonia, and Russia.

*The Finnish Cinderella stories come in two main variations:

**One version starts out as a "Kind and Unkind Girls" story and then turns into a Donkeyskin/All-Kinds-of-Fur type of story. The heroine and her two sisters set out to seek employment at the king's palace. (Although in one version she's not related to the mean sisters, but just a beggar girl seeking work at the same time.) Along the way, they meet a sheep who asks to be fleeced, a cow who asks to be milked, and an old man who either asks them to wash him or louse his head, or who has fallen into a ditch and asks them to help him out. (Sometimes an oven that asks the girls to take out its bread is also included, while one other version has only the old man.) The sisters refuse to dirty their hands, but the heroine does, and the old man gives her a magic wand that will bring her finery whenever she strikes it against a rock. At the palace, the sisters are hired as ladies' maids, but the heroine is forced to be either a swineherd, a poultry-maid, or a scullery maid. But either she goes to church dressed in finery on Sundays, or just privately dresses up and walks in the garden sometimes, and the prince spots her. Either way, she loses a shoe, and the story ends in classic Cinderella style.

**In the other, the stepmother – though i'm not sure if she can be called that, since she never legally marries the father in this version – is really an ogress. She turns the heroine's mother into a sheep, then takes her shape and replaces her, fooling the father and abusing the heroine, who knows the truth. Then she asks the father to kill the sheep, and he obeys. But a birch tree grows either from three drops of the sheep's blood or from its bones after the daughter buries them, and the mother's spirit speaks to her daughter from the tree. When the prince gives a three-day banquet, the tree provides the girl with finery and a horse to ride. During the banquet, the orgress's own daughter – whom she had before she took the mother's place or is the heroine's half-sister – sits on the floor, and each night, the heroine throws a bone at her, breaking her foot, then breaking her hand, then putting out her eye; when they get home, the ogress lies that this was "foot-favor, hand-favor, and eye-favor," a sign of goodwill from the prince. (In one version, the ogress herself is the victim, not her daughter, and in Andrew Lang's bowdlerized retelling in The Red Fairy Book, the daughter is accidentally kicked by the prince and other guests.) Each night as she flees, the heroine loses something: first her hat, then a glove, and then a shoe. Every lady has to try on each of these things, and the ogress cuts her daughter's head, hand, and foot to make them fit. But in a proactive twist on the familiar foot-cutting plot line, the heroine herself (rather than a bird or a dog) calls out the truth. She marries the prince and gives birth to a son, but then the ogress turns her into a reindeer and has her own daughter take her place. But the reindeer comes back each day, and briefly takes off her skin to become human again and nurse her baby. Her husband soon finds out and breaks the spell by burning the reindeer skin, then has a pit filled with burning tar, covers it with cloth, and tricks the ogress and her daughter into stepping onto it, so they fall and burn to death. (Andrew Lang's version cuts this ending and just has the ogress and her daughter run away.)

*** I find the detail of the mother becoming a sheep especially interesting, because in Cinderella stories from many countries, the heroine gets her finery from the grave, bones, or body part of a dead companion, but it varies whether it's her mother or an animal. This version combines the two traditions.

** The two Finnish variants are sometimes combined, with the heroine abused by an ogress stepmother, only to be rewarded when she helps the sheep, cow, and old man.

**In Variant #1, the heroine more often works as a swineherd than as a scullery maid, so there aren't many versions where she has a nickname related to cinders or ashes. In just one version, where she does work as a scullery maid, is she called "Poropüka" ("ash-maid"). In another version where she's a swineherd, her name is Tüna, which looks funny to an English speaker, though of course it doesn't mean "tuna fish," it's a Finnish nickname for "Christina."

**In the handful of versions where the heroine is a scullery maid, she's sometimes expected to cook dinner by the time everyone comes home from church, but cruelly given only a single pea and grain of corn as ingredients. Nonetheless, when she gets home, a full dinner is magically waiting.

*This book also includes one Estonian version of the tale, Tuhka-Triinu ("Ash-Katie"), which is like a cross between Perrault's version and the Grimms'. Triinu's dying mother urges her to plant a rowan tree over her grave. In this tree on the night of the ball, a tiny "witch maiden" appears, and she turns an egg into a coach, mice into horses, a beetle into a coachman, and butterflies into footmen; but the magic only lasts until the cock's third crow at sunrise. The stepsisters also force Triinu to pick lentils out of the ashes, but the chickens do it for her.

*Moving on to Russia: while the most common Russian name for Cinderella is "Zolushka" ("ash girl"), a few regional versions give her other nicknames, such as "Chernushka" ("black girl," for the black ashes that cover her) and "Zamarasshka" ("dirty girl").

*There don't seem to be as many distinctive Cinderella stories from Russia as there are from other countries. Maybe it's because of the French influence in the Russian court, but the few Russian versions included in this book seem obviously based on the Perrault and Grimm versions. In Chernushka, the magical helpers are two doves, while in Zamarasshka, there's a fairy godmother. That said, a few of the Finnish versions with an ogress who replaces the heroine's mother are also told in Russia. There are other well-known Russian tales about abused stepdaughters too, although they don't follow the Cinderella pattern of magically-given finery and a lost shoe, but have their own unique storylines instead. For the sake of completeness, the book does include The Baba Yaga and Vasalissa the Beautiful, though I personally wouldn't describe those stories as versions of Cinderella.

@ariel-seagull-wings, @adarkrainbow, @themousefromfantasyland

[worstvideogamesong-poll]

Worst Video Game Song Tournament Masterpost

The tournament has begun! We are currently in round 4, and each poll will be open for a week. I will also be reblogging each poll 12 hours after it is posted so that people in different time zones are able to see them more easily. If you don't want to see these reblogs, block the tag #12th hour reblog. There will be a total of 8 polls in this round. 4 polls will be posted a day for a total of 2 days.

When you vote, I would recommend listening to as much as you can of each song before voting, but how you choose is up to you. Remember to be civil in the tags and replies! Some posts will have propaganda included with the songs, but feel free to add more propaganda in the tags and replies, or send it to me in the ask box and I'll try to share it as soon as I can!

View the bracket, make predictions and more on Challonge here

View the spreadsheet of submissions here

View the original introduction post here

Read the FAQ here

Listen to the full playlist on YouTube here

Full list of polls under the cut:

Round 1

Match 1 - Lavender Town (Pokémon Red/Blue) vs. Vs. Odd Yo-Kai (Yo-Kai Watch)

Match 2 - K.K. Synth (Animal Crossing New Leaf) vs. Bad Feeling (Mad Rat Dead)

Match 3 - This is Where You Are Caucasian Destination Boy (Project Sekai: Colorful Stage! feat. Hatsune Miku) vs. Morpho Knight (Kirby and the Forgotten Land)

Match 4 - Track 6 (The Ring: Terror's Realm) vs. Fallen Down (Undertale)

Match 5 - Rodeo Time! (Yo-Kai Watch 3) vs. The Fade (Dragon Age Origins)

Match 6 - Rivers in the Desert (mito Remix) (Persona 5 Dancing in Starlight) vs. Birthday Cake (Jet Set Radio Future)

Match 7 - Let's Start the Killing Game (Danganronpa v3: Killing Harmony) vs. You've Got to Eat Your Vegetables! (Commander Keen 4)

Match 8 - Venus (Doom Troopers Sega Genesis) vs. GB Hunter Theme (GB Hunter)

Match 9 - Know What I Mean? (Mario Party 2) vs. Boss Theme 1 (Sonic Superstars)

Match 10 - Area 4, 8, & 13 (Santa Claus Saves the Earth GBA) vs. The Yoshi Clan (Yoshi's New Island)

Match 11 - Bomb Rush Blush (Remix) - Splatoon 2 vs. Mansion Basement (Resident Evil Director's Cut)

Match 12 - Monkeys (Nancy Drew: Ransom of the Seven Ships) vs. Vacation Music 1 (The Sims 1)

Match 13 - Hazy Lane (Yo-Kai Watch 3) vs. Central City (Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood)

Match 14 - Mumble Blues (Armed and Delirious (Dementia)) vs. Crazy Bus Title Screen (Crazy Bus)

Match 15 - Striptease (Persona 4) vs. Professor Birch's Laboratory (Pokémon Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire)

Match 16 - Oppression (Cave Story) vs. Spookwave (Undertale)

Match 17 - Nocturne (Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood) vs. Ancient Chozo Ruins (Metroid II: Return of Samus)

Match 18 - Diggity Dog (WWF No Mercy N64) vs. YZAP (Yo-Kai Watch 3)

Match 19 - Versus (Sonic Eraser) vs. Neo-Opportunist (Mad Rat Dead)

Match 20 - 50m (Donkey Kong '94) vs. Black Tar (Xenoblade Chronicles X)

Match 21 - Shadow World (DE DE MOUSE Remix) (Persona 4 Dancing All Night) vs. Mushroom Road (Tales of the Abyss)

Match 22 - Fest Zest (Splatoon 2) vs. Survival Instincts Kicking In (Bravely Default II)

Match 23 - Drawbridge Dilemma (WarioWare: Get it Together!) vs. Fight Theme 1 (Omikron: The Nomad Soul)

Match 24 - Thrifty Megamart (Pokémon Sun/Moon) vs. Metal Gear MS DOS Soundtrack (Metal Gear MS DOS)

Match 25 - NLA (Night) (Xenoblade Chronicles X) vs. Spooktune (Undertale)

Match 26 - Namco Arcade 80's Retro Medley (Super Smash Bros. for Wii U) vs. I Love Beijing Tiananmen (Hong Kong 97)

Match 27 - Stage Theme (1942) vs Red-Green-Yellow-Yellow (Mother 3)

Match 28 - Din's Power (Harp) (The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword) vs. Wildfire (Honkai: Star Rail)

Match 29 - Midna's Lament (Remix) (Super Smash Bros. Ultimate) vs. Tired of Life (Lady of Beestmeel Bro)

Match 30 - Holy Orders? (Guilty Gear XX) vs. Burning Men's Soul (Persona Trinity Soul)

Match 31 - Built to Scale (Rhythm Heaven Fever) vs. Main Theme (Beverly Hills Cop)

Match 32 - Just Leave Me Alone (OMORI) vs. Denegul (Lagoon)

Match 33 - Now or Never! (Remix) (Super Smash Bros. Ultimate) vs. Crown Dungeon (The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages)

Match 34 - Heart and Soul (Cutscene) (Sonic Frontiers) vs. Dungeon Man (EarthBound)

Match 35 - Resetti's Theme (Animal Crossing: Wild World) vs. Rise & Shine, Ursine! (Danganronpa v3: Killing Harmony)

Match 36 - Belly Flop (Splatoon 3) vs. Lemon Jelly (The Sims 2)

Match 37 - mmm yess put the tree on my pizza (Pizza Tower) vs. The Moving Gigantic Ship (Tales of Xillia)

Match 38 - Comin' at ya, My girl (Yakuza 5) vs. Track 7 (Frozen Fruits)

Match 39 - Battle (Field) (The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild) vs. Title Theme (The Adventures of Rad Gravity)

Match 40 - Emphasis on Scat (BattleBlock Theater) vs. Shipwreckin' (Splatoon 2)

Match 41 - Tem Shop (Undertale) vs. Character Select (Marvel vs. Capcom 2)

Match 42 - Title Screen (Tagin' Dragon) vs. Path of Pain (Hollow Knight)

Match 43 - What's Your Name? (San Fransisco Rush) vs. Pathetic House (Undertale)

Match 44 - Mine: Zew (The Void/Tension) vs. Chocobo Theme (Final Fantasy 2)

Match 45 - Versus Giegue (EarthBound Beginnings) vs. Dragon's Den (Pokémon Gold/Silver)

Match 46 - Great Bay Temple (The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask) vs. Sagat's Theme (Street Fighter 1)

Match 47 - Chocobo Theme (Final Fantasy X-2) vs. Honeylune Ridge (Super Mario Odyssey)

Match 48 - Close in the Distance (Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker) vs. Shrimp Shuffle (Rhythm Heaven Fever)

Match 49 - Desert (Super Mario Bros.) (Super Mario Maker 2) vs. National Anthem (Double Dribble Arcade)

Match 50 - Dubble Bath (DIY Remix) (Splatoon 2) vs. Fun House (Spider-Man the Animated Series)

Match 51 - Options (Sonic Spinball) vs. Welcome to Mario Cars 2 (Mario Cars 2)

Match 52 - Twilit Battle (The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess) vs. Confusion (Digimon World 3)

Match 53 - 25m (Donkey Kong) vs. Buying Goods at Palmira (Evergrace)

Match 54 - Crazy Shuffle Theme (Action 52) vs. Joke's End (Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga)

Match 55 - Treasure Caves (Wild Woody) vs. Long Elevator (Undertale)

Match 56 - Conspiracy (わるだくみ) (Muv Luv) vs. Opening (Sonic Blast 3D 5)

Match 57 - Digital Roots (Deltarune Chapter 2) vs. Lying in the Darkness (Tales of Graces)

Match 58 - Victory Road (Pokémon HeartGold/SoulSilver) vs. Title Music (Manic Miner)

Match 59 - Donut Plains (Super Mario Kart) vs. Nightclub (Sabotaged) (Payday 3)

Match 60 - Credtrap (Nancy Drew: Secrets Can Kill) vs. Cole Train Rap (Gears of War)

Match 61 - Tragic Prince (Castlevania: Symphony of the Night) vs. Theme of Stardust (Yakuza 2)

Match 62 - Vital (Fornite) vs. Title Screen (Ballz 3D)

Match 63 - Emblem Engage! (Fire Emblem: Engage) vs. Sub-Tree Area (Kirby Super Star)

Match 64 - Maximum Power (After Burner (Amiga)) vs. Imp's Song (DOOM)

Round 2

Match 1 - Lavender Town (Pokémon Red/Blue) vs. K.K. Synth (Animal Crossing: New Leaf)

Match 2 - This is Where You Are Caucasian Destination Boy (Project Sekai: Colorful Stage! feat. Hatsune Miku) vs. Track 6 (The Ring: Terror's Realm)

Match 3 - The Fade (Dragon Age: Origins) vs. Birthday Cake (Jet Set Radio Future)

Match 4 - You've Got to Eat Your Vegetables! (Commander Keen 4) vs. GB Hunter Theme (GB Hunter)

Match 5 - Know What I Mean? (Mario Party 2) vs. The Yoshi Clan (Yoshi's New Island)

Match 6 - Mansion Basement (Resident Evil Director's Cut) vs. Vacation Music 1 (The Sims 1)

Match 7 - Central City (Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood) vs. Title Screen (Crazy Bus)

Match 8 - Striptease (Persona 4) vs. Spookwave (Undertale)

Match 9 - Nocturne (Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood) vs. Diggity Dog (WWF No Mercy (N64))

Match 10 - Versus (Sonic Eraser) vs. 50m (Donkey Kong)

Match 11 - Shadow World (DE DE MOUSE Remix) (Persona 4 Dancing All Night) vs. Survival Instincts Kicking In (Bravely Default II)

Match 12 - Fight Theme 1 (Omikron: The Nomad Soul) vs. Metal Gear MS DOS Soundtrack (Metal Gear MS DOS)

Match 13 - NLA (Night) (Xenoblade Chronicles X) vs. I Love Beijing Tiananmen (Hong Kong 97)

Match 14 - Stage Theme (1942) vs. Din's Power (Harp) (The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword)

Match 15 - Tired of Life (Lady of Beestmeel Bro) vs. Holy Orders? (Guilty Gear XX)

Match 16 - Main Theme (Beverly Hills Cop (PC)) vs. Denegul (Lagoon(SNES))

Match 17 - Crown Dungeon (The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages) vs. Dungeon Man (EarthBound)

Match 18 - Resetti's Theme (Animal Crossing: Wild World) vs. Belly Flop (Splatoon 3)

Match 19 - The Moving Gigantic Ship (Tales of Xillia) vs. Track 7 (Frozen Fruits)

Match 20 - Title Theme (The Adventures of Rad Gravity) vs. Emphasis on Scat (BattleBlock Theater)

Match 21 - Character Select (Marvel vs. Capcom 2) vs. Title Screen (Tagin' Dragon (NES))

Match 22 - What's Your Name? (San Fransisco Rush) vs. Mine: Zew (The Void/Tension)

Match 23 - Versus Giegue (EarthBound Beginnings) vs. Sagat's Theme (Street Fighter 1)

Match 24 - Chocobo Theme (Final Fantasy X-2) vs. Shrimp Shuffle (Rhythm Heaven Fever)

Match 25 - National Anthem (Double Dribble Arcade) vs. Fun House (Spider-Man: The Animated Series)

Match 26 - Welcome to Mario Cars 2 (Mario Cars 2) vs. Confusion (Digimon World 3)

Match 27 - Buying Goods at Palmira (Evergrace) vs. Crazy Shuffle Theme (Action 52)

Match 28 - Treasure Caves (Wild Woody) vs. Opening (Sonic 3D Blast 5)

Match 29 - Lying in the Darkness (Tales of Graces) vs. Title Music (Manic Miner)

Match 30 - Nightclub (Sabotaged) (Payday 3) vs. Credtrap (Nancy Drew: Secrets Can Kill)

Match 31 - Theme of Stardust (Yakuza 2) vs. Title Screen (Ballz 3D(SNES))

Match 32 - Emblem Engage! (Fire Emblem: Engage) vs. Imp's Song (DOOM)

Round 3

[shanelemagne]

A well-preserved late Neolithic flint dagger found in Allensbach at the Lake Constance, southwest Germany, dating 2900-2800 BCE. The blade was made of flint from Monte Baldo in northern Italy. It was fastened with birch tar in a handle made of elderwood

[parfumery-wiki]

Classica (extrait de parfum) Bortnikoff

What is a perfume tradition? How important is it for the perfume art? I know like no one else what a rich palette of olfactory colors oud can bring to the composition it is used in. It is a fragrant material that the peoples of the East have valued for millennia. European perfumery is a bit younger — it is hundreds of years old. It is documented that the first compositions in Europe were created in order to decorate the fragrance of leather. A lot has changed since then: leather fragrances have not lost popularity, but definitely have lost their strength and power. Today I want to present you an ultimate leather fragrance that draws inspiration from traditional European formulas.

Meet Classica, the uncompromising traditional fragrance of Peau d’Espagne, Spanish leather by Bortnikoff, created without regard to modern restrictions, but with an eye to the great perfume tradition of Europe and the recipes of the masters of the past.

Top notes: Bergamot, Lemon, Neroli Heart notes: Orange blossom, Rose de Mai, Heliotrope, Iris, Sandalwood, Olibanum Base notes: Labdanum, Castoreum, Birch tar, Patchouli, Vetiver, Rosewood, Vanilla, Tonka beans, Ambergris, Musk

[the-suns-a-tube]

First up, Nastya Rasputina.

City, Moscow by OsmoGenes Perfumes

"City, Moscow by OsmoGenes was launched in 2021. It's a fragrance for women and men.

Top notes are Asphalt, Ozonic notes, Leather and Violet Leaf; middle notes are Motor Oil, Concrete, Carrot Seeds and Rose; base notes are Birch Tar, Suede, Vetiver, Cedar and Guaiac Wood"

[tunastime]

Cream of Turkey and Wild Rice, by VintageBeef

this is a gift for our lovely 🍂 anon, of whom i learned was their birthday today! i learned this yesterday. from laurie. thanks laurie. anyway—i hope you enjoy!

(1886 words)

(read it on ao3!)

Etho huffs out a warm breath and he can see it in the air in front of him. There’s a blanket of frost covering nearly every surface of the spruce forest he’s found himself in. The snow in the banks below is knee deep, and it covers the top half of the trees above him. Wedging the last of the brown mushrooms free from the coarse, gravely dirt below him, Etho stands. He brushes falling snow from his shoulders, pulls his hood a little further over his head. Luckily, his face is covered by a patchwork-colored scarf, tucked around his head and ears, a warm barrier between the cold and him. Bdubs insisted on it—it still smells like the pine tar soap he used to wash it.

Trekking out of the treeline, Etho makes his way back through the packed snow, careful not to punch his boots through anything loose. The bag on his hip is full of brown mushrooms and wild onion, the few bits of wild garlic he was able to find, chicken of the woods, bundles of pine straw for kindling. He marches back through the snow, reaching a ridge where he slides down, onto frost and dirt, rather than more snow. In the distance, over the patchy field and hills, he can see the monolith. The sun’s still 3/4ths of the way through the sky, with a bleak, white cast through the clouds.

The monolith is a warm shape against the horizon, despite it being stone. Maybe it’s the off-white shade of aged and weathered diorite, the flecks of other minerals intermixed. It fills his chest with something just as warm as the idea of stepping into the foyer of the house. He crests another hill and tries not to crush viola or primrose under his boots. The field along the edge of the birch forest usually hosts lily of the valley and tulip and daisy, but the snow’s all but snuffled them for now. In the spring, Bdubs’ll want to plant more. But for now, he points out the purple flowers every time he passes, and Etho stops to look.

Finally rounding the backside of the monolith, Etho stops at the threshold of the front door. He knocks the snow from the bottom of his boots, shakes it from the hood of his jacket, and pushes open the door.

He was right. The warmth floods him almost immediately, sinking into his bones.He unwinds his scarf, feeling the warm, dry air hit his face. No mask–the scarf had been enough as is. Plus it’s only Bdubs here, right now. He shrugs off his jacket, hanging it on the rack. His bag stays on the floor until he’s unlaced his boots enough to toe them off. As he does, he calls up to Bdubs.

“Bdubs?” he says.

“Etho?” Bdubs’ voice carries down the stairs. “I’m in the kitchen!”

“The kitchen?” Etho repeats. He cocks his head to the side, as if Bdubs can see it.

“Yeah!”

Etho snorts.

“Why?”

Bdubs sounds a bit defensive when he replies. Etho starts up the winding stairs, tracing the banister with his hand that isn’t supporting the bag.

“What’s it to you?” Bdubs says.

“What’cha makin’?” Etho asks as he pauses at a threshold. “Smells good.”

“Well come up and see!” Bdubs taunts. Etho rolls his eyes.

“Okay!” he calls up. Then, quieter, to himself, laughing a little. “Okay…”

He winds his way up the stairs, following the curve, until he meets the shrouded kitchen. He pushes past a particularly friendly vine and into the kitchen. Bdubs is standing at the stove, brow furrowed over a large pot on the burner. It smells fantastic. Onion. Chicken. Some other spice he can’t place. He sets his bag on the counter, rubbing his hands together to warm them.

“Hey, stranger,” he says. Bdubs turns. His face lights up all at once, softening as he sees Etho. Etho pretends like a pang of longing doesn’t stab through his chest. He laughs it away. Bdubs sets the spoon in the soup.

“Hey, you,” he says, smiling as he wanders over. Etho’s smiling, too, eyes crinkled at the corners.

“‘S cold out there,” he jokes. Bdubs snorts.

“Don’t I know it, sweetheart. C’mere—”

Etho draws himself closer to Bdubs. Bdubs’ hands come up to cradle his face, slotting around his jaw. Etho’s hand falls to Bdubs’ hip, the other gracing the back of his head. Etho leans down to kiss him. Just once, rather quickly. But he stays when they pull back and smiles at him and scrunches up his nose.

“Hiya, B.”

Bdubs laughs. He pulls away, patting Etho’s cheek.

“Hey,” he laughs, drifting back to the stove, but not without his hand around Etho’s wrist, pulling him with him.

“So,” Etho says, peering over his shoulder at the pot. He swears his stomach grumbles. “What’re you makin’?”

“Hm? Oh, it’s Beef’s recipe—” he gestures to an open cookbook next to the stove. The pages have all been handwritten, handbound by Etho and Bdubs themselves. Some of the older pages are starting to come unsewn, and they’re clipped in with pins and paperclips. Etho glances over.

“It’s not his pumpkin soup he stole from me, is it?” He reads it over, just a cursory glance. Carrots, onion, oil, celery–it’s not, not that he knows of, unless it’s changed that dramatically.

“No, no,” Bdubs shakes his head. “It’s chicken and manoomin.”

“Oh—” Etho blinks. He has a memory of sitting in a clear patch of snow, canvas tarp pulled taut next to a tree. Pause is sitting next to him by the fire. Beef is asleep under the tarp, burrowed in his bedroll. Pause is writing on the back of a scrap of paper, spoon in one hand. He waves it a little.

“What’s in it?” He asks. “Chicken, milk, that wild rice we found…”

Etho hums. “Broth.”

“Well duh, Etho—”

“Onion and parsley,” says Beef, voice heavy with sleep.

Etho snorts. He leans his head on Bdubs’ shoulder.

“I remember this one.”

Bdubs shrugs. Etho’s head moves with him. Bdubs turns his head and his nose bump’s Etho’s cheek. He laughs a little, especially when Etho leans into him and buries his face in his shoulder. His arms coil around his ribs. Bdubs leans back into him reflexively.

“I knew you would,” he says, patting Etho’s hands around his sternum. “That’s why I made it.”

Etho laughs against his shoulder.

“Ah, you caught me,” he says. Bdubs laughs, too.

“Get the kettle down before you get comfy, okay?” He gestures to the cabinet with his spoon. “I want a cup of hot chocolate ready before I go anywhere with you while the soup finishes.”

“With me?” Etho says, lifting his head. He unclasps his hands as Bdubs beckons him forward to try the soup. Let me know what it needs, it says. It’s good—more flavor than Beef ever put into it. He wonders if it’s sauteing the onion that helps? More salt and pepper than Beef would use? He hums, frowning.

“Yeah,” Bdubs says, not about the soup, but to answer Etho. “I always figure you have some idea in your head.”

Etho snorts. “It needs more parsley. It’s missing the base flavor.”

Bdubs nods, eyebrows raising. 

“Snowball fight?” Etho says, after a beat. He’s moved to fetch the kettle, filling it in the sink. He sets it on the stove-top and makes sure the burner isn’t on. He’ll put it on when they come back, himself triumphant, and Bdubs covered in snow.

“Of course you would–” Bdubs snorts. “Yeah, yeah, alright.”

Etho watches him untie his apron and set the ladle next to the soup. When he meets Etho’s eye, he grins, then shoos him off down the stairs. Etho bolts—he can’t help the excitement that’s just decided to chug through his veins. He skips a few steps, but he makes sure Bdubs is following him as he trails down. 

He’s halfway to putting his coat on when Bdubs finally gets down. Bdubs moves around him, pulling on his coat, lacing his boots. He steals Etho’s colored scarf, twisting it around his neck, before he finds another, and motions to Etho to lean down to wrap it. He tucks it around his nose and mouth. Effectively masked.

Etho smiles at him from under it. Bdubs takes his hand. And now he’s pulling them out the door and into the backyard of the Monolith, where the snow cover is a bit thicker. He leaves him for a moment to trail a few steps away, so that his vantage point is better. He’s making sure not to step on any flowers peeking through the snow when—smack.

Snow falls down his open collar. He yelps.

Bdubs is laughing.

“Bdubs!” he gasps in mock offense. Bdubs snorts.

“Gotcha!”

Etho gapes at him. Then he leans over, packs a snowball, and chucks it. It whizzes by Bdubs head. Damn it!

Bdubs yelps in glee.

He’s packing another one. So is Bdubs. Bdubs throws and misses him by a long-shot. Etho throws and just barely clips his shoulder. He sprints side to side, trying to get him to miss. Bdubs is giggling like nothing in the world could be better.

They keep missing. Nothing’s really colliding aside from the one Bdubs managed to smack into the back of his head. They keep ducking at the opportune time. Etho’s fingers are pink with cold, starting to stiffen as he rolls another snowball in his hands. He peers with his good eye, tongue caught between his teeth, aims, and throws. 

It hits Bdubs smack in the chest, enough to catch him off-guard at the least, before Etho dissolves into laughter. Bdubs falls over backward, dramatically, as the snowball hits him, falling into the half packed snow with an oof.

“Etho!” he drawls, his complaint full in his voice. Etho giggles. 

Bdubs pulls him down. He flails, swinging his arms and legs out before he collapses next to him, nearly face first into the snow bank. Bdubs cackles, swatting at him as Etho’s arm and leg pin him in place. He sounds like he can barely breathe. 

“Etho!”

“Bdubs!” Etho says, incredulous and out of breath. He’s laughing, too, unable to unstick himself from his wedged place next to him. Bdubs thwaps the back of his head.

“Ow!”

“That’s what you get,” Bdubs says, but his expression softens as Etho weasels his way up to kiss his cheek.

“Sorry, B,” he says, apology dripping with triumph.

Bdubs snorts. Then he kisses him, still covered in snow. His lips are cold.

He lies there for a moment, still pinning Bdubs into the snow, when Bdubs shivers, and Etho feels the snow in the back of his hood start to melt down his neck. Ick.

“Can we go eat soup, now?” he asks, mostly into Bdubs’ cheek.

“Only if you help me up,” Bdubs complains, whacking his shoulder. Etho giggles.

He does. And he helps him knock the snow off his shoes, and he helps stick paper into them so they dry, and he helps finish the soup (and definitely doesn’t taste it again), and he sits across from Bdubs at the table, his heart full to bursting.

There’s still snow in his hair. He decides he doesn’t care.

[fromthedust]

A well-preserved Neolithic knife, the blade was made of flint and fastened with birch tar in a handle made of wood. From the pile dwelling settlement at Wangen-Hinterhorn, Lake Constance, dating from 3800-3500 BCE.

[qvincvnx]

and on THAT note the neanderthal fucking post is going up on a high shelf. perhaps one fastened to the wall of our cave with birch tar.

[enchantedliving]

Kupala Night: A Vibrant Slavic Holiday and Its Magical Rituals

BY LENA LENARD

upala Night begins with lighting the “holy fires” in forest clearings as well as on the banks of rivers and lakes. Participants strike fire from ash, birch, or oakwood. In sacred places, they drive birch pegs into the ground and place ash hubs on them—that is, wheels with spokes wrapped in tarred straw. They spin the wheels so fast that the friction causes them to burn. They roll the burning wheels to nearby piles of wood and straw—symbols of home and hearth—and flames burst into the sky, sparking and roaring, symbolizing a new, clean home and hearth. At the same time, there’s singing and dancing. Women collect magical herbs and flowers. They weave wreaths and gird themselves with wormwood.

It’s a night of celebration and erotic awakening, with all-night revelries among the smoke of bonfires and the intoxicating smells of a summer night outdoors. In the past, marriages were arranged by the head or the elders of the family and matchmakers… but for the young women who had not yet been engaged and wanted to avoid the usual form of mating, here, among the flame and flowers, was a chance to win a loved one. A boy might even “kidnap” a dancing girl from around the fire and try to woo her.

CONTINUE READING HERE