this is petty as all hell but im bored at work and i figure i should go out with a bang in regards to my interactions with the bear fandom.
anyway. seeing how many people in the fanbase still call natalie "sugar" despite the show basically phasing it out and showcasing that it's a meanspirited nickname makes me so annoyed. i have a family nickname that i hate, and i cant help but empathize with nat on that aspect. it's not as if they had a plot about her reclaiming sugar as a nickname (partially because this show doesn't care about women), it's just the meanspirited nickname. also, they've showcased in the show that it's being phased as people grow and change. richie and donna both stop using it basically all together, as does jimmy (i believe), and the only person that does use it on a regular basis is carmy. the one that's still stuck in his ways and hasn't had proper growth to acknowledge his errors.
yes, carmy was probably never alive to know her as anything but sugar. but basically every other character has made the effort to stop calling her sugar and call her natalie or nat. i personally don't think we as a fanbase should be following carmy's lead on this.
also if you tell me im just being sensitive and reading too much into it, this is the "reading too much into it" show. sugar isn't just some cutesy nickname because she's sweet as can be, it was a mistake she made as a child that follows her well into adulthood.