I'm a 24 year old guy who spends his time writing stories about other people's creations.

I'm trying to change who I am, but I'm not entirely sure if that is possible. I'm trying to be less dour, both in my personal life as well as my writing, more upbeat and positive. Although my fatalistically nihilist outlook on life makes this a rather difficult chore.

My family tells me that I do not talk enough, my psychiatrist that I think too much, and my professors that I am too philosophical and overly analytical. My friends, well I like to think that if they didn't like me, then they wouldn't be my friends.

As to my fanfictions, I usually write about supporting characters rather than the main characters of a series, usually because I feel that main characters are determined by the point of view of the story. In other words, in life and in fiction, everyone is the hero of some story, the villain of another, and a minor character in another. I enjoy providing a viewpoint which showcases the strengths and flaws in characters which in the original story were much more one dimensional.

Currently I am focusing on the Ranma 1/2 universe, and am updating every Wednesday.

Of my current projects, I find that Ne Me Quitte Pas is not very popular, but it is interesting to write for. I see in the Kunos a family which has gone mad for one reason or another. A sort of proto house of usher, and they can either continue on this path of madness and ruination, or they can attempt to cure their insanity, to reground themselves in reality, and find salvation for their self destructive behavior.

So anyway, thank you for being interested enough in my work to look at my profile. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please feel free to pm me.

In an effort to curb my more self destructive behavior, I've been encouraged to engage in constructive behavior. My choice was cooking, with an emphasis in baking since I enjoy carbohydrates more than I probably should.

Here is one of my more favorite recipes for your enjoyment.

l0x0r's awesome baguettes (usually yields 2 baguettes.)

Ingredients:

1 package dry yeast (I prefer packaged dry yeast to the stuff in a jar because I am lazy.)

1 cup warm water (Since I'm from the U.S. converting cooking measurements to metric boggles my mind so I'm not doing it.)

(we're talking roughly 105 - 115 degrees Fahrenheit or 40 - 46 degrees Celsius (Yeah I did that metric conversion, but that's the last one.))

3 cups flour

(flour is fun, generally I use the good old all purpose, but bread flour is great too. I've used 100 whole wheat, and it wasn't that great, but if you want to use whole wheat, use half all purpose or bread and half whole wheat. Another fun flour is white whole wheat, it has all the advantages of whole wheat, but tastes more like white. Anyway...)

0.5 Tablespoons salt

0.5 Tablespoons honey or white sugar

(optional, I sometimes use it, sometimes don't, depends if my diabetic friend is coming over or not.)

Non stick spray

(Pam is good, I use the cheapest generic I can find. Whatever floats your boat.)

Bowls

(At least 2, one for the dough, one for the yeast.)

Aluminum foil

(I use a lot of aluminum foil because I am lazy and do not like to clean counter tops or baking sheets.)

An oven

(Not one which runs on a light bulb.)

Steps for the baking process:

1. Activate the yeast.

Simplicity in itself. Simply take the warm water and put it into a bowl, add the yeast and the honey/sugar if you wish. Mix well and let sit for roughly five minutes. Some people say that this step isn't really needed, you can just throw the water and yeast into the rest of the recipe and it will do fine. And usually they are right. I just like to do this separately to make sure that my yeast is active and healthy so it will create the best bubbles it can as it consumes the sugar and creates the carbon dioxide necessary for the bubbles in the bread. The honey/sugar acts kind of like an energy drink to the yeast, making it bubble that much quicker and more fiercely, but it isn't really necessary.

2. Mixing

Every time I make something I am thankful that I have a Kenmore mixer with a dough hook. For those of you who don't, buy one. Until you do however, just put the flour in a bowl along with the salt, add the yeast mixture and use your (freshly washed and therefore immaculately clean) hands to combine the dough and yeast mixture until it is a lump of dough. If it is still sticky at this stage, add flour a little more at a time until it is easy to handle and no longer trying to fuse with your skin.

3. Rising

At this point you need to have a greased bowl. I usually use the one I mixed in, hold the dough in one hand and use your nonstick spray de choice (I use the Kroger generic brand, at a 1.79 a can it works great.) and liberally apply lubricant to the inside of the bowl. Put the dough back in, and let it sit in a warm place for about 45 minutes or until it has doubled in size. Warm being above 75 degrees Fahrenheit or roughly 23 degrees Celsius (I did it again, I know, I've lied before and I'll do that again too.) Now depending upon my mood, I'll either cover the bowl with a (clean) dish cloth if one of my friends/nomadic roommates is over and has brought their hair emitting pet. If I don't have to worry about random airborne contaminants, then I just let it sit uncovered.

4. Kneading

After the dough has doubled in size, you get to pick up the bowl, and punch the dough down. Literally. Use your hand and push down on the dough to deflate it. Just don't do it too hard or your bowl will be dented and no longer round, and you will need to get a new one at the local kitchen store for 35 dollars because your mixer just doesn't mix like it used to with a dented bowl. Anyway, once the bowl is deflated, get some aluminum foil and create a disposable workspace for yourself on a table, counter, or any other flat surface. I usually like mine roughly 2.5 feet by 2 feet (76.2 cm by 61 cm) and sprinkle some flour on it. Now place the deflated dough on the floured work surface and work it. Basically just push it and pull it, in other words knead it for a few minutes. Then separate the dough into two equal balls. Roll them out into roughly similar cylinders.

5. Proofing

Take a baking sheet and use your non stick spray to create a non stick surface. Personally I put down some aluminum foil (one of the greatest inventions of mankind) over the baking sheet for easy cleanup and spray that with the non stick spray. Take your cylinders of dough and place them on the non sticky baking sheet/aluminum foil and score the top of them with a knife. I like to spray the knife with non stick spray so it does not stick. Then leave the dough alone for another 10-20 minutes, depending upon how much you want it to puff up. During this time take an oven safe pan, 9x9 Pyrex or whatever you have laying around (which is clean. Mostly) and put about a cup of water in it, more if you'd like. Place this water filled vessel on the lower rack of your oven and set the oven for 450 degrees. The water gives the baguettes a great crust, however if you'd prefer, you can simply use a spritzing bottle to mist water over the bread during the baking process.

6. Baking

Once your oven has reached temp and your dough has proofed to an adequate size, place the dough on the top rack of your oven. Be careful of the copious amounts of steam which will arise from the opening of the door. Bake the bread at 450 degrees for 20 minutes or until the ends turn dark brown.

7. Enjoyment

Once the baguettes are finished, let them sit for a few minutes until they are cooler than 450 degrees, since at that temperature they usually burn your mouth, which is very painful. Once they are cool enough for consumption, feel free to enjoy them with butter, jelly, jam, honey, marinara sauce, water, or turn them into bruschettas. Be warned however, since these baguettes have no preservatives, they will last only two, perhaps three days, before they are all stale and capable of being used as a bludgeoning device. Personally I make new ones every morning since I'm not the only one who enjoys them. Mooching bastards.

Hopefully this recipe will work as well for you as it has for me. Once again, thanks for viewing my profile.