Beatrice

I don't know why Occam has a RAZOR, but all the crosses work, so either that's the answer or this is an unusually tricky Tuesday puzzle. I guess I'll go with the simplest explanation. 🤷‍♀️

Your bell pepper did not rot in vain. That was a really fun theme!

Waow, based!

Thank heavens for state capitals with short names! It would have been a lot harder to find a common phrase containing EESSAHALLAT.

ARO (aromantic) people don't experience romantic attraction, but they can certainly feel sexually attracted to others and enjoy sex. It's ACE (asexual) people who prefer platonic relationships, which could still be romantic but not sexual.

If Mr. Werfel would like another creative hobby, he could try life as a romance novelist. Who else would have 49-Down and 50-Down stand proudly like that?

Santa ROSA was also the home of Myles Callum, a very generous crossword constructor who encouraged my first attempt (filled without software!) and even shared his private wordlists with me. I remember him fondly.

35D should have been [♯ ♯ ♯], not [# # #].

24D was hilarious. I’m not convinced that too many of them involve ringing someone with a voice call, though.

Kudos for the clue on 57D. I'm glad to know she's being recognized for her award-winning work!

To whoever chose the clue for 31-Down: water tribe out.

Pardon me, I couldn't help but overhear. I would like to have a civil conversation about your statement that a SEA LION barks.

It's just as well Damon didn't use MUK! [On-camera meal], as a recent tragedy would likely have delayed publication.

I don’t mind most marine mammals in crosswords. But SEA LIONS? I could do without sea lions.

39-Across had me for a long time. I figured ATLANTA was a city, like Mecca, where sci-fi and fantasy fans go annually for DRAGON Con.