"Yeah, like I said, not focused on seeing it past 'blurry area' and weird. But having been there - it was kind of hard to figure out exactly? He and I were both focused on insulting Artie, then we all focused on getting out." Claudia had also been rather focused on seeing Joshua, in-person, for the first time in so long. A disembodied form wasn't exactly substantial so much as worrying, haunting, and sanity-questioning.
But it was something to talk about besides the fictional state of some people, including themselves. With the candy bar freshly unwrapped, Claudia stared down at it instead of looking at H.G. "People that we know as fictional are real here. Or - rather, real in their own universes. And the same is true of us elsewhere." Claudia was rather tense, to say the least, as she waited for the reaction. There was something added in telling an author or author-type person that fictional characters existed elsewhere.