Both of Keke Palmer's worlds are expanding these days.
That would be the real one, in which the Nope star is expecting pregnant with her and Darius Jackson's first child, and the virtual one with her new Meta series Are We There Yet?
"It shows you all that's out there, the different things that you can do, how you can impact and tell different stories," Palmer exclusively told E! News' Francesca Amiker about the show, which finds her sitting down with leading creators to explore the endless possibilities of the metaverse.
For Palmer, who was already a longtime fan of simulation games like Meta Horizon Worlds, doing the show reminded her "of what technology can offer when we actually spend time in the space and we use the resources there. The things that we can do are incredible."
But that's only the second-biggest reason why Palmer is excited about the future.
The 29-year-old confirmed she was expecting in December by debuting her baby bump mid-monologue while hosting Saturday Night Live, and a month later she nonchalantly shared that she's having a boy while talking astrology on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
Palmer says she hasn't had much in the way of weird pregnancy cravings since her little Pisces-or-Aries came onboard, but she has rediscovered her childhood love of pickles.
"When I was little I used to drink pickle juice, so I don't think that's that unique," the Illinois native said, adding with a laugh, "It's very country of me. So I would say I've gone down memory lane with pickles. But other than that, everything has been normal and I have not had anything crazy."
Palmer has been getting more tired than usual, adding, "So now I'm feeling myself be a little bit more like, 'Oh, I could take a nap dead-set in the middle of the afternoon, why not?' Where before, it might not be something that I would usually do."
While the actress has opened the floor to social media commentary on a few occasions, such as when she gleefully revealed last month that she was newly blemish-free, she's also found a wellspring of support among the celebrity mom set.
"Tamera Mowry and Lauren London both have been just like, 'My door is open,'" Palmer shared. "That's the thing that I've seen from most other people who work in the industry and have families, just how happy they are for me and coming to me with open arms. They've all been very encouraging."
And once she's a mom in this world, she doesn't expect her interest in the metaverse to wane.
"Who knows where we're going?!" Palmer noted. "You might find me in the gaming world."
Where, incidentally, not even the sky is the limit.
"I think one of the biggest things that excites us with Are We There Yet? is all the opportunities that people have to create new careers," she said. "Whether it's graphic design, gaming, storytelling—the list goes on, because this is a space that is still new. The more we continue to talk about it and let people know about it, the more that we can get different faces in there to actually be a part of it."
And, ultimately, she added, "really just change and evolve the world."
Watch the first two episodes of Are We There Yet? on YouTube now.