Seattlite

I'm extremely impressed by the effort it took to create this puzzle. A truly astounding achievement. There were a lot of proper nouns I wasn't familiar with (including the nonsense song), so this was a tough solve, and I ended up turning on autocorrect after hitting a wall for 20 minutes. I thought for sure the character with an opening line was ISHMAEL! I don't always do Thursdays due to gimmicks, so no surprise this wasn't my cup of tea, but I still have mad respect for the creator!

Loved the Joplin clue! I really struggled on the right-hand side, especially the bottom right. I had to reveal two letters in the top middle as well. I had PpI instead of PSI, DOH! A fun puzzle, even if it broke my steak.

I thoroughly enjoyed the first 2/3 of this, just delightful fill and remarkable cluing. The last 1/3 was a bit of a head scratcher as I tried to figure out exactly how to work the gimmick in. "Oh, that's a FIR tree, so they're FIRS[tlady]? Hmm, that crossing makes toady, which is a rather rude thing to call Abigail Adams!" A very fun puzzle, well done!

I think there are only 5 stages of grief, but I only know that because of a gag. I once jokingly offered photos of someone going through all 7 stages of grief if they were outbid in an auction. No one did, but I learned that I'd have to make up two of my own! (Sort of--some people split the standard 5 into more granular phases, but 5 is most common by far)

What a fun solve! I chopped 45 seconds off my previous best for a new Wednesday PR of 6:50. Lots of misdirects to keep things fun!

Brilliant puzzle overall, though the NW corner was an absolute bear to figure out. I don't hold a grudge when the theming is that strong, though I'd have never gotten there on my own. That's OK by me - I'm not too proud to give up a streak.