#gladiator tenth anniversary

[seyaryminamoto]

Gladiator's Tenth Anniversary

Against all odds... we have made it! Not only is it crazy that we've managed to keep going for ten years... it's also really crazy that my internet survived over 12 hours worth of uploading the project. I was very much terrified that it would collapse at some point, but somehow it didn't, and thank the universe for that.

While I'm definitely rejoicing in Gladiator's big milestone... I also admit I'm grieving a major setback that was dealt against me and my life plans earlier this week. It felt bad enough that I nearly lost all my drive to finish what I was doing... but I didn't spend the last months working non-stop on this project in vain. So, as hard as the road ahead might be, I'll keep going in the hopes of finally finding a better future for myself and my family in due time. Gladiator can keep me somewhat sane in the mean time, I hope (?)

I'm really stoked to have endured the hurdles and challenges that have run parallel with my telling this story (as well as the challenges within the story itself, too...) so that I could be here today to say... that I'm really grateful that I chose to go all in on this journey ten years ago. Gladiator has changed me and built me up, perhaps more than anyone knows, even myself. I'm not quite where I want to be in life yet... but Gladiator has fulfilled some of my most ambitious dreams as a writer, far sooner than I ever imagined it would. I'm really glad I've come as far as I have... and I'm also grateful to all of you who have accompanied me on this journey so far. It has been an extraordinary experience, one that many aspiring writers dream of but aren't always lucky enough to live through. I certainly was fortunate to find my way to this story when I did, knowing I was making a huge commitment and knowing that, as long as I gave it my everything, I wouldn't regret it.

Thank you for sticking by me as I carry us forward through Gladiator's Part 3, all the way towards what I hope will be the most epic conclusion I could bring to this massive story. I hope you enjoy the video <3

(... also, all the new art in the video shall be posted, at full resolution, in my Patreon in due time, in case anyone wants to see it in better detail... :'D)

[bestreasonstowriterecordreviews]

✰ BEST REASONS TO WRITE FUCKIN’ RECORD REVIEWS IN 2017 ✰

✰✰✰✰✰  5th ANNIVERSARY  ✰✰✰✰✰

It’s time to feast from the grapevine of 2017 with 103 (+ 171 more) of the…  

✰ BEST REASONS TO WRITE FUCKIN’ RECORD REVIEWS IN 2017 ✰

(all long playing records unless otherwise noted; also, this list was created with links to every item, but the links aren’t appearing, so you’ll have to direct your web browser searches the old fashioned way)

✰✰  TAIWAN HOUSING PROJECT Veblen Death Mask  (Kill Rock Stars) ✰✰

✰  HAND & LEG  Hand & Leg (Black Gladiator)

✰  MARCIA BASSETT & SAMARA LUBELSKI  Live NYC (Feeding Tube) 

✰  CHROMASTHETIC  Gold Sound cassette  (Time Release)

✰  ANTIETAM  Intimations of Immortality (Motorific)

✰  girlSperm  gSp (Thrilling Living)

✰  CHUCK JOHNSON  Balsams (VDSQ)

✰  RODENTICIDE Rodenticide (Self Sabotage)

✰  ANGIE Shyness (Rice Is Nice/DERO Arcade, Australia)

✰  BLOODY SHOW Let America Pay cassette (Superdreamer)

✰  MICHAEL BEACH  Gravity/Repulsion (Spectacular Commodity)

✰  ANTHONY PASQUAROSA  Abbandonato Da Dio Nazione (VDSQ)

✰  ALBERT DEMUTH Corporate Rights 7″ (self-released)

✰  MOUNTAIN MOVERS Mountain Movers (Trouble In Mind)

✰  X-POP  Alphabet Cereal ep cassette  (Chemical Imbalance., Australia) 

✰  DANA Dana (Heel Turn)

✰  GOSPEL OF MARS Gospel Of Mars (Amish)

✰  PRIVATE SORROW  Fake Lions (Mystery Plane, U.K.)

✰  JUDY & THE JERKS  3 Songs cassette (Earth Girl) &  Alive At The Skatepark cassette (Earth Girl)

✰  PIERRE & BASTIEN Musique Grecque (sdz, France)

✰  XETAS  The Tower (12XU)

✰  JAIMIE BRANCH Fly Or Die (International Anthem Recording Company)

✰  STEFAN CHRISTENSEN Shake Off The Village (C/Site Recordings) & Open Day 7″(I Dischi Del Barone, Sweden)

✰  LISE BARKAS & LISA KAÜFFERT Lo Becat cd-r (Soleis Bleus, France)

✰  USA/MEXICO Laredo (12XU)

✰  PREGNANCY Urgency (Emotional Response)

✰  FULLY GLAZED Full Glazed cassette (The Loki Label)

✰  DARK TEA  Dark Tea cassette (self-released) & Bright Flame��(bandcamp DL) 

✰  SYLVIA COURVOISIER & MARY HALVORSON Crop Circles (Relative Pitch)

✰  KAY ODYSSEY  What’s A Woman To Do? (Little Bit)

✰  THE DOLL/STEFAN NEVILLE  1974 8″ lathe (stabbies etc, NZ)

✰  CLARINETTE The Now Of Then (Feeding Tube)

✰  ERIK KRAMER A House, Floating In The Middle Of A Lake cassette (Anthropocene Recordings)

✰  AKI ONDA/TASHI DORJI/CHE CHEN ‘HAZ-,BINS cassette (Black Pollen Press)

✰  KATE CARR The Story Surrounds Us cassette (The Helen Scarsdale Agency) & From A Wind Turbine To Vultures (And Back) cassette (Flaming Pines, U.K.)

✰  BLACK TRUMPETS Blue Blew It cassette (Ikuisuus, Finland)

✰  SUSPIRIANS  Ti Bon Ange (Super Secret Records)

✰  YEAR OF BIRDS White Death To Power Alan (Odd Box, U.K.) & Stanhill Wonder 7″ (Third Uncle)

✰  DAVID WEST with TEARDROPS Cherry On Willow (Tough Love, U.K.)

✰  WILLIAM PARKER QUARTETS  Meditation/Resurrection double cd (AUM Fidelity)

✰  the CAVEMEN Banned In B.C. 7″ (Weirdly)

✰  MICHAEL FOSTER & BEN BENNETT In It cassette (Astral Spirits)

✰  PLATES OF CAKE Let’s Not Deprive Each Other cassette (Unblinking Ear)

✰  ZAÏMPH  Transverse Presence cassette (No Rent)

✰  WURLD SERIES Air Goofy cassette (Melted Ice Cream, New Zealand)

✰  HEADROOM Head In The Clouds (Trouble In Mind)

✰  LORDS OF THYME The Future Of Things Past (Feeding Tube/Shagrat, U.K.)

✰  SEX TIDE  Possession Sessions (Feeding Tube)

✰  MARAUDEUR Maraudeur  (bruit direct disques, France)

✰  LES FILLES DE ILLIGHADAD Eghass Malan (Sahel Sounds)

✰  BRANDY Laugh Track cassette (self-released)

✰  LEILA BORDREUIL & ZACH ROWDEN  Hollow cassette (No Rent)

✰  RAYS  Rays (Trouble In Mind)

✰  ANDY REPTOID & THE HUMANOIDS Refridgerator 7″ (Total Punk) & Kill The Comma 7″(Emotional Response) & Pee-Pee EP (Goodbye Boozy, Italy)

✰  GUN SHY Gun Shy cassette (Cheat Prick)

✰  MARK EITZEL  Hey Mr. Ferryman (Merge)

✰  E42. A8 Niobium cassette (Tanuki, Belgium)

✰  BLAU BLAU Kiss Kiss (bandcamp DL)

✰  THE COWBOY The Cowboy (Fashionable Idiots)

✰  MARCELO DOS REIS & EVE RISSER  Timeless cd (JACC, Portugal)

✰   LIZ DURETTE Four Improvisations On Electric Piano (Ehse)

✰   MIDNIGHT MINES Since My Baby Left Me cassette & We Are The Primitives Of A New Era cassette (both The Loki Label)

✰  JENNY & JADE  Day Release 12″ lathe ep (stabbies etc, NZ)

✰  FEMME Chroma (bruit direct disques, France)

✰  PRIVATE ANARCHY Private Anarchy cassette (Round Bale Recordings)

✰  ERIC ARN  Orphic Resonance (Feeding Tube)

✰  PILL Aggressive Advertising cassette (Dull Tools)

✰  GAMARDAH FUNGUS Fairytales cd (Flaming Pines, U.K.)

✰  JON COLLIN Water And Rock Music, Volume I cd-r & The Nature (both Early Music, U.K. )

✰  Killed By Meth #2: Rust Belt Rockers comp (It’s Trash!)

✰  the TERMINALS Antiseptic (Ba Da Bing)

✰  SOURDURE  Mantras triple cassette (Standard in-Fi, France)

✰  The Hired Hands: A Tribute to Bruce Langhorne double cd (Scissor Tail)

✰  GLEN SCHENAU Addressing The Scar cassette (Tropical Cancer, Australia)

EKIN FIL Inflame: Original Soundtrack cassette & Ghosts Inside (both The Helen Scarsdale Agency)

✰  TARA CLERKIN Hello (Stolen Body Records, U.K.)

✰  LEE KONITZ  Frescalalto cd (impulse!, France)

✰  the STROPPIES The Stroppies cassette & It’s A Hit 7″ (Hobbies Galore, Australia)

✰  DELPHINE DORA & MOCKE  Le Corps Défendant (Okraïna, Belgium)

✰ QUIN GALAVIS  The Battery Line (Super Secret Records)

✰  HOUSE AND LAND House And Land (Thrill Jockey)

✰  C.I.A. DEBUTANTE  We Will Play For Spirits cassette (sdz, France)

✰  AILBHE NIC OIREACHTAIGH Oreing (Fort Evil Fruit, Ireland)

✰  the BISCUITS Albatross 7″ (Ilk Ither, New Zealand)

✰  SYLVIA MONNIER Stock Shot & Addictive Sling cassette (Sacred Phrases)

✰  the GOLDEN BOYS Better Than Good Times (12XU)

✰  PALACE LIDO  Concrete cassette (Czaszka Records, U.K.)

✰  MARK FEEHAN  M.F. II (Richie Records)

✰  OBNOX Murder Radio (ever/never) & Niggative Approach (12XU)

✰  ALEXANDER Alexander (self-released) & ROB NOYES/ALEXANDER split 7″ (C/Site Recordings)

✰  TRIO 3: ANDREW CYRILLE/REGGIE WORKMAN/OLIVER LAKE Visiting Texture cd (Intakt, Switzerland)

✰  BARON SATURDAY Concrete Poetry cassette (Mystery Plane, U.K.)

✰  NINA HARKER Nina Harker cassette (Le Syndicat Des Scorpions, France)

✰  DAVID NANCE Do The Negative Boogie (Ba Da Bing)

GOLDEN PELICANS Disciples Of Blood (Goner)

ÆTHER JAG Amaranthine Stretch cassette (No Rent)

GAD WHIP In A Room (ever/never)

YANNICK DAUBY Magicien Rouch cassette (Tanuki, Belgium)

MAX LODERBAUER & JACEK SIENKIEWICZ  End cd (Recognition, Poland)

VÁR  By Ghost And Tape (Home Normal, Japan)

ANGELICA SANCHEZ TRIO Float The Edge cd (Clean Feed, Portugal)

LECH NIENARTOWICZ Nici cassette (Dinzu Artefacts)

EKMAN & OWEN Ekman & Owen 7″ (Goodbye Boozy, Italy)

POU  Dimonis  (Metadona, Spain) 

HANS CHEW  Open Sea (At The Helm)

DALIA RAUDONIKYTÉ WITH Solitarius cd (New Focus Recordings)

GŪTARA KYŌ  Gütara Kyō  10″ (Slovenly/Mondo Mongo)

TUCKER THEODORE  Lady Hope cassette (Antiquated Future)

MIA SCHOEN Golden Hour (Albert’s Basement, Australia)

THE STRANGER The Void (bandcamp dl)

LAKES Silver Thorns 12″ EP (Paradise Daily, Australia)

Horrendous New Wave comp (Lumpy)

CHRIS FORSYTH & THE SOLAR MOTEL BAND Dreaming The Non-Dream (No Quarter)

TASHI DORJI & DAVID GRUBBA  Fixed Entrance Derivatives cassette (Sky Lantern)

SAMUEL TRUITT Thorns cassette (Melters)

HELTA SKELTA  Nightclubbin’  7″ (Deranged, British Columbia, Canada)

UV-TV Glass (Deranged, British Columbia, Canada) & Go Away 7″ (Emotional Response

HASH REDACTOR  Demo Tape 2017  (self-released bandcamp DL)

LEE NOBLE  The Hell You Come In cassette (No Kings)

PRETTY PRETTY Demo II cassette (Superdreamer)

AGUSTÍ MARTÍNEZ/EDUARD ALTABA/QUICU SAMSÓ On The Nature Of Will (Discordian bandcamp DL, Spain)

the TRENDEES  We Are Sonic Art (Melted Ice Cream, NZ/Albert’s Basement, Australia)

GREG ASHLEY  Pictures of Saint Paul Street (Trouble In Mind)

DAVE REMPIS  Solo cd  (Aerophonic)

TIN FOIL Tin Foil (Almost Ready)

HACO Qoosui cd (Room40, Australia)

PETER LEWIS Just Like Jack (Shagrat, U.K./Hookah)

PROSTITUTES Live At Cookout  (TRAM Planet)

ANTENES Shifting Zones 12″ (Silent Season, Canada)

LOFT Three Settlements Four Ways 12″ (Wisdom Teeth, U.K.) & Turn My Built Dances (The Astral Plane)

NEUTRALS  Promotional Cassette 2 cassette (Neutrals)

JOE MORRIS/BRAD BARRETT/ERIC STILLWELL Value (Glacial Erratic  bandcamp DL)

DARLINGCHEMICALIA Off Blonde (self-released bandcamp DL)

WV WHITE House Of The Spiritual Athletes (Anyway)

CHAVEZ Cockfighters 12″ (Matador)

RYAN GARBES  Living Ether cassette (Post-Materialization Music, Russia)

TRAMPOLINE TEAM Drug Culture 7″ (Space Taker Sounds/Pelican Pow Wow) & Trampoline Team/Mama split 7″ (Giveaway)

LAURA BAIRD  I Wish I Were A Sparrow (Ba Da Bing)

MAREIKE SAUER The Tension and the Body of the Woman of Mystery cd (Karl Schmidt Verlag, Germany) 

FNU CLONE Binary Or Die (Total Punk)

DAN MELCHIOR  Road Not Driving (ever/never)

$UN $KELETONS GET IT UP YERS TRIO R.I.P. Music & Absolutely Fucked In & Rust Belt UK cd-rs (Double Dot Dash!?, U.K.)   

VIOLENCE CREEPS Ease The Seed Bag 7″ (Drunken Sailor, U.K.) & The Gift Of Music + Singles cassette (Total Punk) & Northwest Tour Tape 2017 (self-released)

ERIC COPELAND Courtesy, Professionalism, Respect (L.I.E.S.)

WIREHEADS  Lightning Ears (Tenth Court, Australia)

DANIEL LEVIN  Living (Smeraldina-Rima, Belgium)

the COWBOYS Vol. 4 (Drunken Sailor, U.K.)

IRENE KEPL SololoS cd (Fou, France) & Superstring Theory bandcamp download (SoundOut, Australia)

VIDEO DUCT Small Pets And Kitchenettes cassette (Maple Death, Italy)

SCUPPER Some Gauls (Blue Cheese Toothpaste)

MOSQUITOES Mosquitoes one sided 12″ (self-released, U.K.)

BLUE CHEMISE Influence On Dusk (Gravity Ventilator, Australia) & “The Music Lesson”/”Watcher At The Window” 7″ (I Dischi Del Barone, Sweden)

CONTRIBUTORS Contributors (Monofonus Press)

NICOLE MITCHELL Awakening II: Emerging Worlds cd (FPE)

KALEIDOSCOPE  Volume 3 (Feel It Records)

Ladyfest Boston 2017 cassette comp (Ladyfest)

BRIDGET HAYDEN  Incantations From Yin Valley cassette (Fort Evil Fruit, Ireland)

MIKE COOPER Raft (Room40, Australia)

MAZOZMA Heavy Death Head (Feeding Tube)

SUSS CUNTS Suss Cunts 7″ ep (Emotional Response) & “Newby” (Suss Cunts bandcamp DL)

MATT JENCIK  Weird Times (Hands In The Dark) 

somesurprises serious dreams cassette (Eiderdown Records)

CIGGIE WITCH Mad Music (Lost & Lonesome, Australia)

SUN VALLEY Black Canyons (bandcamp DL)

MORDECAI Abstract Recipe (Richie Records)

JANTAR Panisperna (MIE Music, U.K.)

SARAH DAVACHI  All My Circles Run (Students Of Decay)

KÜKEN  Küken (Drunken Sailor, U.K.)

ULAAN PASSERINE The Landscape of Memory (Worstward)

MY TEENAGE STRIDE Living In The Straight World cassette (Unblinking Ear)

SLOW TONGUED BEAUTY  The Absolution Of Royalty cassettes (No Rent)

DAVID FIRST Same Animal, Different Cages Vol. 3: Civil War Songs (for Solo Harmonica)  (Fabrica)

REBEKAH HELLER  Metafagote (New Focus Recordings)

DIANETICS Booked Learned 7″ (Weirdly) & And Psycho Horse cassette (Gut Freak)

SPARROW STEEPLE Steeple Two (Richie Records) & A Aardvark (ever/never)

WEATHER WEAPON II (self-released bandcamp DL)

KRISTY & THE KRAKS  Snakes On The Phone 7″ (Fettkakao, Austria)

STEPHAN CRUMP/INGRID LAUBROCK/CORY SMYTHE Planktonic Finales cd (Intakt, Switzerland)

NAG “Motorcycle Blue” + 2 7″ (Third Uncle/Chunklet) & False Anxiety 7″ (Total Punk) & No Flag + 2 7″ (Space Taker Sounds)

ROSS MANNING  Reflex In Waves (Room40, Australia) & 

Both Sides of the Cocoon cassette (Chemical Imbalance., Australia)

DANIEL LEVIN QUARTET Live At Firehouse 12 cd (Firehouse 12)

RAKTA Oculto Pelos Seres 7" (La Vida Es Un Mus Discos, U.K.)

MARBLED EYE EP II 7" (Melters/Digital Regress)

RIK & THE PIGS Blue Jean Queen 7″ (Feel It) & A Child’s Gator  (Total Punk)

US WEEKLY  US Weekly (Night Moves)

KEN IKEDA + DAVID TOOP Skin Tones cd (Home Normal, Japan)

L$D FUNDRAISER Drones On Lap Steel (self-released, NZ) + like, 30 others

MDOU MOCTAR  Sousoume Tamachek (Sahel Sounds)

CHIHEI HATAKEYAMA  Mirage (Room40, Australia)

the DREAM SYNDICATE  How Did I Find Myself Here? (Anti-)

DAY CREEPER  A Mirror To The Fire (Heel Turn/Superdreamer)

LITTLE MAZARN Little Mazarn (Self Sabotage)

BAUS Secret Bathroom Recordings (self-released bandcamp DL)

MARK CONE Now Showing (Neck Chop)

LÉONIE RISJETERRE Tresseterre cd (Soleils Bleus, France)

ENDLESS BOOGIE  Vibe Killer (No Quarter)

MCHY I PORØSTY Hypnagogic Polish Music For Teenage Mutants cd (Recognition, Poland)

DAG  Benefits Of Solitude (Bedroom Suck, Australia)

ANGEL DUST Excavatum cassette (Dinzu Artefacts)

MAXIMUM ERNST with DANIEL CARTER  Maximum Ernst cd (ever/never)

BALLISTER: REMPIS/LONGBERG-HOLM/NILSEN-LOVE  Slag cd (Aerophonic)

RABBIT U.S. Rabbit U.S. lathe 7″ (Third Uncle)

INSTITUTE Subordination (Sacred Bones)

RUBBER MATE  Cha Boi  7″ (Total Punk) & Tour Tape MMXVII cassette (self-released)

MARY LATTIMORE Collected Pieces cassette (Ghostly International)

VERY MENTAL (Total Punk)

UNITED WATERS  The Narrows (Drawing Room)TYSHAWN SOREY Verisimilitude (Pi Recordings)

A GIANT DOG Toy (Merge)

DREAM WEAPON RITUAL The Uncanny Little Sparrows (Boring Machines, Italy)

SMALL WORLD EXPERIENCE Soft Knocks (Tenth Court, Australia)

DIRTY & HIS FISTS Dirty & HIs Fists 7″ (Feel It) 

ABBY LEE TEE  Hebert’s Archive cassette (Dinzu Artefacts)

BLANK STATEMENTS  Signs Are Rampant cassette (Hobbies Galore, New Zealand)

NOTS“Cruel Friend"/"Violence" 7″ (Goner) &  Live At Goner Records (Goner)

LEA BERTUCCI  All That Is Solid Melts Into Air cassette (NNA Tapes)

SICK THOUGHTS Songs About People You Hate (Neck Chop)

MOHLAO Landforms (Silent Season, Canada)

ISOTOPE SOAP Piñata Chaos 12" (Levande Begravd Records, Sweden) & The WOW! Signal EP 7" (Levande Begravd Records, Sweden)

JIM HAYNES Tiny Portraits 3″ cd-r (Flaming Pines, U.K.)

ISS (Endless Pussyfooting)  (Erste Theke Tonträger, Germany)

PREENING Beeters 7″ (Digital Regress)

MIKE MAJKOWSKI  Days And Other Days cassette (Astral Spirits)

RANGERS Texas Rock Bottom cd (Doom Trip)

KNOWSO Look At The Chart (Neck Chop)

CIRCUIT DES YEUX  Reaching For Indigo (Drag City)

WHIT DICKEY/MAT MANERI/MATTHEW SHIPP Vessel In Orbit cd (Aum Fidelity)

SWEET APPLE Sing The Night In Sorrow (Tee Pee)

LEDA ‎Gitarrmusik III-X (Förlag För Fri Musik, Sweden)

TROPICAL TRASH  Decisions' Empty Nest 7″ ep (Sophomore Lounge) &  A Dent In The Forever Can  cassette (The Loki Label)

GUILHEM LACOUX  La Traversée double cassette (Standard in-Fi, France)

IAN WILLIAM CRAIG Slow Vessels 12″ ep (130701, U.K.)

MOZART Nasty 7″ep (Iron Lung)

TREASURE HUNT with DENNIS WARREN’S FULL METAL REVOLUTIONARY ENSEMBLE  Space Jam cassette (Moon Glyph)

CENTURY PALM Meet You (Deranged, British Columbia, Canada)

GATE  Highway Ghosts (self-released, New Zealand)

the FEELIES  In Between (Bar None)

SCHIZOS  Fuck Iggy Pop 7″ (Neck Chop)

VIOLENT QUAND ON AIME  Violent Quand On Ame 7″ (Le Syndicat des Scorpions, France)

HONEY New Moody Judy (Wharf Cat)

ANXIETY  Wild Life 7″ (La Vida Es Un Mus Discos, U.K.)

EARTH GIRL HELEN BROWN  Mercury & Mars & Saturn cassettes (all Empty Cellar)

the BLINDS The Blinds cassette (Hobbies Galore, Australia)

FRENCH VANILLA  French Vanilla cassette (Danger Collective)

HEAVY METAL  LP 2 (Static Age Musik, Germany) & LP 3 (Harbinger Sound, U.K.)

fEEDTIME  Gas  (In The Red) 

REESE McHENRY w/ SPIDER BAGS Bad Girl (Sophomore Lounge)

BEST REASONS TO WRITE FUCKIN’ RECORD REVIEWS IN 2016

BEST REASONS TO WRITE FUCKIN’ RECORD REVIEWS IN 2015

BEST REASONS TO WRITE FUCKIN’ RECORD REVIWS IN 2014

BEST REASON TO WRITE FUCKIN’ RECORD REVIEWS IN 2013

From November 2017: A LIST OF WORTHY CAUSES TO WHICH YOU MIGHT WANNA THINK ABOUT DONATING...Coalition To Stop Gun Violence, Save DACA Lives  via Here To Stay, Planned Parenthood, The Trevor Project, National Abortion And Reproductive Rights Action League (NARAL), Southern Poverty Law Center, Emily’s List, etc....

From November 2015: FUCKIN’ RECORD REVIEWS HOLIDAY SHOPPING GUIDE WITH EMPHASIS ON THE LEGACY OF THE FUCKIN’ RECORD REVIEWERS FEATURED HEREIN - and associated small biz combustibles! 

✰  2018 PREDICTION: LONG HOTS! ✰  

[seyaryminamoto]

Fic-to-Art #39: Gladiator's ELEVENTH Anniversary! (+ BONUS: Fic-to-Art #36...)

And here we are! March 26th arrived and I did not forget about it, but I paid for my ambitious madness with my wrist and forearm. Somehow, I finished my intended pieces on time, but I do not advise that you ever try to make 9 artworks in 3 days. No, sir. Bad life decisions, that's what that was... but this fic, as anyone knows, moves me to do things I never thought possible, starting with writing the fic itself!

It's really crazy every time it hits me that I've been doing this for as long as I have. It's been a complicated, chaotic journey, with its many ups and downs, but ultimately, it has been our journey. For some people, this is just one more fic in the pile: for me, it's been the best adventure of my life so far. Everyone who has ever been touched by Gladiator, who has ever cherished this story, who's looking forward to the big conclusion, who wants to see how the chaotic war is going to end... you're all part of this crazy adventure along with me, and I can only thank you for joining me.

This year, I had no time to make as big a project as I usually go for. Thus, I did a sort of free-for-all edition of Fic-to-Art over at Patreon and challenged myself to draw as many scenes as I could, out of their suggestions. I even sprinkled in a few scenes I impulsively wanted to draw because I loved writing them or because I look forward to writing them... and this is the result!

In order, the scenes are as follow:

Sokka combing Azula's hair, a common occurrence throughout the story.

Azula watching over a convalescing Sokka in the Chase of Jeong Jeong arc.

The outcome of Sokka's final battle in the Superior Gladiator League, namely a moment where Sokka and Azula more or less gave away their relationship's true nature to the public by raising their hands towards each other...

And now, spoiler territory! Some were by my choice, some by Patreon requests:

An important moment shortly after Sokka and Azula reunite.

Azula confronting her father, with a LOT of backup.

Xin Long's long-awaited freedom.

The aftermath of the final battle.

The full-blown confirmation of their relationship to the general Fire Nation populace.

Sokka, Azula and Hotaru's first night together

And the big final one is ACTUALLY Fic-to-Art #36 but hahaha woops I didn't post it here on time because it was super hard to finish since I had a LOT of things going on... but here it is now! :'D it's a glimpse VERY far into the future of this fic's timeline!

Alright, that should be enough talking and explaining. Some things are vague, some things aren't, but ultimately I really hope you guys will be looking forward to the scenes you haven't seen yet, and to Gladiator's eventual outcome.

So now... with all this being said and done, I'm gonna go take a trip down memory lane and watch my Tenth Anniversary video once more! Feel free to do the same thing if you'd like to commemorate the fic, I think it's a good way to experience Gladiator all over again, hahaha.

Thank you if you read all this, and if you read all THAT: 5 million word landmark, here we come! Thanks for hanging out with me across ELEVEN years of Gladiator!