puzzle #89: repeat stuff (themed)

I don’t know if RUTHLESS DUPE is as common as a phrase as I thought it was when I started making this puzzle, but I definitely use it all the time when talking to people like Paolo or Adam. This particular puzzle was inspired by my most recent Patreon themeless, which has a pretty bad dupe that I acknowledge in the grid. I’m not super proud of it, but I’ll take theme inspiration where I can get it.

Assorted notes on entries/clues

• 17A/18A: I really wanted to clue BABY and SHOWERS together as BABY SHOWERS but I didn’t want that distracting from the theme. I can’t tell if it’s more distracting if I don’t acknowledge their proximity in the grid. Is it? Is that just “constructor brain” talking?
• 27A: I don’t know why I keep putting LARP in puzzles. It is impossible to try to clue it without using the words “live,” “action,” “role,” or “play.”
• 35A/28A: Olive Brinker (creator of “RAE the DOE“) is one of the trans webcomic artists whose work I enjoyed even *before* coming out. Alongside her, I was also a reader of Julia Kaye (“Up and Out” and “Super Late Bloomer”) and Pseudonym Jones (“Fanlee and Spätzle”). Their works endlessly inspire me, and I’m even friends with Pseudonym now! Funny how life works. Support independent artists!
• 26D: If you don’t know about the little LAD who loves berries and cream, you were not on TikTok in 2021. Here’s one of the Starburst commercials for that ad campaign.
• 40D: Whenever I have ASMR in a grid, I think about the first themeless grid on this blog, which contains the entry ASMROTICA(!!). In hindsight, the grid is kind of a bummer, with entries like POLICE VAN, ANTI-TRUMP, and the horribly-aged VOLDEMORT. That being said, I have to give Erik Agard props for letting me share a byline with him all those years ago. Incredibly cool of you, Erik!