Enjoyed a pretty good day, despite being the first day back to work. The biggest thing was the start of the walking program. I didn't really push it in the first two days, but I managed to get 12,925 steps which is about 6 miles. I also lost 0.4 kg at GenCon. I could have sworn I gained weight since I was off my feet so much, but apparently I actually kept my eating under control.

On the way back from GenCon, I got a chance to talk about Ranger Tom. He is partially why I added furries in my steampunk world, but he also had some good ideas on social and geological constructs for my world. I decided on a super-continent for the main world, mainly because I like the idea and it would force most of civilization to the edges of the continent. That also makes the center regions mostly deserts and tundra, perfect for a former slave race. We got to talk about the idea of furries being treated as "less than intelligent" and the implications of them suddenly given a homeland they don't want but it is the only "home" they actually have.

Yeah, I like misery in characters and in settings. Besides, if you don't have conflict, then why will people have adventures. I also don't care for perfect worlds, unless they are being broken. Probably why I liked Villains by Necessity so much as a book.

I also realized my world is too structured. My first fantasy world was pretty much a clock, which fit my ideas at the time. 10 months, 10 day weeks, 10 "hour" days, etc. This one, I wanted a lot messier which doesn't fit well with my need to have that regularity. However, when thinking about the cosmology of the teenagers from Flight of the Scions and with Mudd Fourier's traits, I realized it was too rigid. I needed less structure. While the number of people who have read Muddy Reflections can be counted on one hand, it is still one of those initial novels that sets the scene for my world so I need to integrate that with Scions and the talents in that book. In a non-neat way.

These thoughts came from talking with fightertype about her fantasy world. I find it too restrictive with too many absolutes. "This can never happen." Sooner or later, you go from "this can never happen" to "okay, this once" like when White Wolf had their werewolf/vampire crossbreeds. Also, when I get annoyed with something, I usually look inside to see why. One of my philosophies is that you don't like what most resembles yourself. So, if you find yourself getting annoyed by other's absolutes, look for that same thing in you.