But in fantasy, you can make a complete break, and you can put people in a situation where they are confronted with things that they would not confront in the real world.

So when I got out of the military, I went back to school in biology, and earned a biology degree at the University of Texas, and then did some graduate work in it.

Everything in my life that I value has been gained at the cost of not saying what I really think and saying what they want me to say.

Having to struggle gave me the chance to demonstrate strength of character.

Normal' is a dryer setting.

You can also make explicit certain social problems which, again, would be prejudged or not encountered at all in real life, because people have set up defenses against it. Fantasy allows you to get past defenses.

Empress of the Universe would be way too much work. I'd have to wear fancy clothes, probably including lady shoes with pointed toes, and could no longer slouch into the study in PJs and slippers. Someone would (avert!) straighten my desk. Someone would reorganize my yarn stash...in fact, they'd assign someone else to knit my socks, thus depriving me of an excuse to rest my brain while pretending to accomplish something useful.