#importantly

Usually, she can't look at it directly for too long, even like this. There's too much going on. Focusing on one detail reveals ten more she never noticed before-- and ten more besides. Until mere observation becomes too labyrinthine to escape. She has no such trouble now. She just sees it, feels it there as if it's physically present, given a weight its species hasn't possessed since a time when her own was still debating if it wanted to be one cell, or two. Seeing her seeing it, it greets her with a cozy rumble. Wind and thunder given melody.

(slightly modified) Excerpt/WIP illustration from the ongoing B5 fix-it fic I've been kicking around.

Designing what the Vorlons must have looked like before they 'ascended' into beings of pure energy was a very fun exercise, and one I enjoyed doing quite a bit. I hope to have the above illo done soonish.

You can touch absolutely everything, take pictures (no flash) of anything you want. There were a few dozen rooms with various themes, all of them with interactive mechanics, and half of them had puzzles as well. This is what I think people expected that Willy Wonka disaster of an event would be, or something similar anyway, but Otherworld actually delivered really well!!

You get your wristband at the door and then you can take one of several entrances, but all the rooms are interconnected so it doesn't matter which. If no one's told you, you don't necessarily realize there's going to be puzzles, but I realized something was up by the end of our first room, and figured out what it was by the end of the second room, so it's very easy to catch on to, I think.

If you can solve the right puzzles, you can activate the end mechanic for a light and music show! Unlike an escape room, you're not locked in, you can leave at any time, but it very much had escape room vibes. I had a TON of fun figuring out what we needed to do, and watching other people try to figure out what to do.

There was one group of kids (young teens it looked like), who were trying to figure out one of the puzzles and after watching them for a bit, we offered to give them a clue since it was one we solved already. They were so excited to find out it actually WAS a puzzle with an answer. I just pointed out one of the panels to watch and let them go from there and they solved it with a lot of yelling. I hope that they continued solving the rest of the puzzles- we went in the opposite direction, because of the yelling.

In fact, all the kids we saw were having a blast. There were also plenty of adults wandering about. Because of the way tickets are sold by time slots, it should not ever get super crowded, and there were hand sanitizing stations all over, and staff lurking to clean stuff and assist as needed if someone struggled with a puzzle. They were happy to tell you whatever you wanted at the entrances and exits, so you never had to stay stuck if you didn't want to. They've also named the creatures you see.

There was also a Rick Roll in one of the rooms, which was hilarious.

found her injured from saving others - just the confirmation from greyson that zayne went to where we were made me fold, HARD. ♥️

horror movies to get closer but opposite effects - (୨୧ᵕ̤ᴗᵕ̤) hahahaha, honestly that’s the real motive. hold me doctorrrr kekeke.

found something special of our own - can’t wait to reminisce again 50 years from now while drinking tea and snuggling close. oop. ( •⌄• )✧

went grocery shopping together - my kind of date truly. it’s the domestic little things that they do together. hngh. ( ๑‾̀◡‾́)

I know you’re a very famous author now but I will literally never be over it. I walked into a somewhat unfamiliar Barnes and Noble to pick up your book, wondered in what part of the store I would find it, and saw a sign beckoning me forward. (I wanted to preorder but my spring went up in actual smoke because time is fake.)

Other things!

Last year I was in the (terrible) security line at the airport, and the woman in front of me had a copy of One For My Enemy! I pointed and made a sound—quite possibly a word or two but who can say—and we both agreed we were happy to meet another fan. Masters of Death, which is what I had with me at the time, obviously holds a special place in my heart but One For My Enemy makes an argument for my favorite.

When I went into the bookstore to order The Atlas Complex the woman I spoke to said she loved the series and that you meant a lot to her.

Grow Your Own Optimist! got me out of a reading slump.

I guess I’m just throwing my thoughts at you, sorry. But! Thank you for continually being a source of joy in my life.

💙💙💙💙💙💙💙

omg 😭 this really tickled me, first of all ("I pointed and made a sound" was really good narratively, what worldbuilding, what a stage!) and also I don't consider myself "very famous" in any meaningful way, but then again it's true that this is all statistically unlikely and probably a simulation I'll wake from at any moment

in any case, I'm really happy you told me these other thoughts as well; I really appreciate hearing about that interaction with the bookseller (🥹 the sentiment of my writing being meaningful to someone is sometimes less believable to me than the "fame," because one is a real emotional connection and the other is honestly just marketing resources and publisher money; yes, the latter was extremely difficult to get, such that I often forget how little I believed it would happen, but the former seems somehow even MORE impossible...?) (and now I'm just throwing my thoughts at you) and I'm really happy you enjoyed optimist! (! exclamation point)