Unbetitelt

Or when people rec songs/shows/fics and you suddenly know everything you need to know about who they are as a person?

*shyly peers around a corner*

You may have… inspired me… to do an Art Thing.

It’s more gloopy than blobby and a little scribbly besides, but I hope you like it. Ceratinly put my Gasenfude through its’ paces, haha.

*gently slides drawing across the table then scurries back around my corner*

!!!!

*GENTLY HOLDS YOUR FACE IN HANDS*

I LOVE IT!

OH MY WORD this is amazing!! it’s fantastic! I love the contrast between the colors and the black and white moose and i love all the details you put into it! its amazing!

I want you to reblog this if you believe that two people can be very close and physically affectionate with one another, but still have a completely nonsexual, non-romantic relationship. 

Even if the two people in question are capable of being sexually or romantically attracted to one another. 

and this is the result of a culture where choosing an identity label that ends up being wrong is far worse than never exploring your identity in the first place. it’s the same reason people freak out about trans kids, because what if they decide they aren’t trans after all in the future? it’s also why i’ve run into multiple callouts on this site that include things like “10 years ago they called themself a ‘lesbian with an exception’ for a couple of months,” because trying to reconcile old identities with new experiences is seen as a threat.

it was valid of me to stop identifying as male and start identifying as a girl again, it was valid of me to start questioning again despite already “being wrong” once, it’s valid of me to identify as whatever abstract shit i am now without needing or wanting a solid label for it. and if that changes, that’s valid too.

I'm making a reasonably large batch, so I am using approximately 28-30 fluid ounces. Which is roughly two and three quarter cups if you do not own a set of measuring scales.

The thermometer I am using in this instance is a wired one with a probe on the end, but you can also use one of these bad boys:

Just make sure it's intended to be used for the high temperatures of candy, as not all food thermometers are made equal.

Step one pour your desired amount of maple candy into a heavy set pot. I am using a 4 quart pot for this, as this amount of syrup can bubble over easily.

Next set your pot on a medium heat. Not high. Medium. We’re in this for the slow burn.

Make sure to monitor the heat of your candy at all times. We are aiming for a boiling 235’f (or 112 in Celsius) anything below that it won't harden, anything above that you'll either turn it into hard candy and burn the shit out of it and your pot and may need to explain to your local fire department why you're making candy at 1am. Don't ask me now, I know this.

It goes without saying, but please be careful handing this mixture. Hot sugar can be extremely dangerous and the burns quite severe so please take your time and don't panic. It the pot burns the pot burns. It's better than burning you.

Stir often to help increase the granulation process. It may not look like much is happening at first but you will soon start to see some activity on the surface.

The heat will soon start to pick up rather quickly at this point and it should start to look something like this:

Keep stirring and don't be alarmed if it starts to rise up the side of the pot, it's meant to.

You can if necessary turn the heat down to keep it from overflowing, but I find keeping up a steady stirring pace helps to keep it in the pot.

Once it hits 235’f let it sit there for a hot minute, all the while keeping an eye on the thermometer.

If it starts hitting 236’f remove it from the heat and allow it to cool until it reaches 175’f or 79’c.

This will take approximately 10-15 minutes, or in my case the time it took eat a gluten-free cornbread waffle cause it's now 1:20 am, and I'm hungry.

Bone Ape Petite. 💀 🧇 😘👌

Once it's cooled to approximately 175’f, it's time to start stirring like a court bard with gossip to spread. I'm short so I had to move to the kitchen table to do this so my arms wouldn't fall off.

Before you do that though, take your thermometer out. And there's a little trick, you'll know you had the mixture hot enough if it's already starting to form a skin like this:

And also if it clings a little to the thermometer:

Mmmmm viscous.

Now start stirring. It's going to take approximately five minutes of constant stirring. Yes I'm serious. This is a workout. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the pot. We wouldn't want to lose any of the precious syrup. It will start to lighten in color as you go. So here are the stages it may look like:

It's time to pour that delicious mixture into your candy mold. Do not attempt to film this step one-handed or your significant other may wake up from a dead sleep demanding to know with inhuman instincts for dangerous shenanigans ”what bullshit you're up to”

If you left it a little too long cause you're trying to take pictures on your own, don't worry, the mixture should still be malleable enough to smoosh out with your spatula. If you have accidentally solidified it into a substance harder than diamond and can't get it out the pot, you can return it briefly to a low heat until it remembers the primordial state of ooze from whence we all came. Leave it to cool, throw some warm water in your pot to dissolve the sugar you couldn't scrape out even with a chisel.

When you can press lightly against it without leaving a dent, your mixture is cool enough to pop them out of your mold and into a preferably airtight storage container.

Lament that you took this picture the wrong way round, but concede it is now 2:22 am, and you don't care enough to fix it.

And there you have it, maple candy! They should last approximately four weeks in an airtight container. But, if you are anything like me, you are already halfway through them and careering not-so-gently towards a sugar-induced ADHD blackout because nothing else is helping you focus, you're a week behind on a deadline, and you can't have caffeine any more, so sugar is your only hope.

Remember, kids, eat sugar responsibly and do as I say, not as I do.

but if I may, for anyone who might see it:

Be careful using a rubber spatula when stirring hot sugar. It might not be able to handle the heat, and you might, oh, lift it out of the pot and find the top third melted away. (Gremlin Brain might tell you to eat anyway, but Adult Brain says Do Not.)

When possible, a wooden spoon is preferable for working with hot sugar, because not much can happen. Might not scrape as much from the sides but also won’t need to potentially throw it all out.

(This is my Professional Advice (tm).)

Those can look pretty similar (to me anyway), so that’s probably how I mixed that up, back then.

I'm making a reasonably large batch, so I am using approximately 28-30 fluid ounces. Which is roughly two and three quarter cups if you do not own a set of measuring scales.

The thermometer I am using in this instance is a wired one with a probe on the end, but you can also use one of these bad boys:

Just make sure it's intended to be used for the high temperatures of candy, as not all food thermometers are made equal.

Step one pour your desired amount of maple candy into a heavy set pot. I am using a 4 quart pot for this, as this amount of syrup can bubble over easily.

Next set your pot on a medium heat. Not high. Medium. We’re in this for the slow burn.

Make sure to monitor the heat of your candy at all times. We are aiming for a boiling 235’f (or 112 in Celsius) anything below that it won't harden, anything above that you'll either turn it into hard candy and burn the shit out of it and your pot and may need to explain to your local fire department why you're making candy at 1am. Don't ask me now, I know this.

It goes without saying, but please be careful handing this mixture. Hot sugar can be extremely dangerous and the burns quite severe so please take your time and don't panic. It the pot burns the pot burns. It's better than burning you.

Stir often to help increase the granulation process. It may not look like much is happening at first but you will soon start to see some activity on the surface.

The heat will soon start to pick up rather quickly at this point and it should start to look something like this:

Keep stirring and don't be alarmed if it starts to rise up the side of the pot, it's meant to.

You can if necessary turn the heat down to keep it from overflowing, but I find keeping up a steady stirring pace helps to keep it in the pot.

Once it hits 235’f let it sit there for a hot minute, all the while keeping an eye on the thermometer.

If it starts hitting 236’f remove it from the heat and allow it to cool until it reaches 175’f or 79’c.

This will take approximately 10-15 minutes, or in my case the time it took eat a gluten-free cornbread waffle cause it's now 1:20 am, and I'm hungry.

Bone Ape Petite. 💀 🧇 😘👌

Once it's cooled to approximately 175’f, it's time to start stirring like a court bard with gossip to spread. I'm short so I had to move to the kitchen table to do this so my arms wouldn't fall off.

Before you do that though, take your thermometer out. And there's a little trick, you'll know you had the mixture hot enough if it's already starting to form a skin like this:

And also if it clings a little to the thermometer:

Mmmmm viscous.

Now start stirring. It's going to take approximately five minutes of constant stirring. Yes I'm serious. This is a workout. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the pot. We wouldn't want to lose any of the precious syrup. It will start to lighten in color as you go. So here are the stages it may look like:

It's time to pour that delicious mixture into your candy mold. Do not attempt to film this step one-handed or your significant other may wake up from a dead sleep demanding to know with inhuman instincts for dangerous shenanigans ”what bullshit you're up to”

If you left it a little too long cause you're trying to take pictures on your own, don't worry, the mixture should still be malleable enough to smoosh out with your spatula. If you have accidentally solidified it into a substance harder than diamond and can't get it out the pot, you can return it briefly to a low heat until it remembers the primordial state of ooze from whence we all came. Leave it to cool, throw some warm water in your pot to dissolve the sugar you couldn't scrape out even with a chisel.

When you can press lightly against it without leaving a dent, your mixture is cool enough to pop them out of your mold and into a preferably airtight storage container.

Lament that you took this picture the wrong way round, but concede it is now 2:22 am, and you don't care enough to fix it.

And there you have it, maple candy! They should last approximately four weeks in an airtight container. But, if you are anything like me, you are already halfway through them and careering not-so-gently towards a sugar-induced ADHD blackout because nothing else is helping you focus, you're a week behind on a deadline, and you can't have caffeine any more, so sugar is your only hope.

Remember, kids, eat sugar responsibly and do as I say, not as I do.

but if I may, for anyone who might see it:

Be careful using a rubber spatula when stirring hot sugar. It might not be able to handle the heat, and you might, oh, lift it out of the pot and find the top third melted away. (Gremlin Brain might tell you to eat anyway, but Adult Brain says Do Not.)

When possible, a wooden spoon is preferable for working with hot sugar, because not much can happen. Might not scrape as much from the sides but also won’t need to potentially throw it all out.

(This is my Professional Advice (tm).)

*sounds of things crashing and breaking in the background*

a-HA! Behold!

Which is accurate.

This is totally random but I’m rereading this for the umpteenth time so I shall rec it. Even though it’s unfinished. And hasn’t been updated since 2015. But like- it’s a cool take on the time-travel Cloud thing and it’s got Zack being adorable and words cannot describe my love for this fic okay? It’s much more lighthearted then some other ff7 time-travels but it’s not crackish (at least not to me) and I have a blast rereading it every time I get into a ff7 mood.

So yea, if you haven’t read this one I DO highly recommend giving it a shot, unfinished tho it may be.

Also, if the fic author of this thing happens to, by some random miracle, see this post, then YOUR FIC IS AWESOME. THANK YOU FOR POSTING AS MUCH OF IT AS YOU HAVE. It brings me joy.