Why not once more

Seeing Kirk, something he prepared for, he’s 99.9% certain he can handle:

And then McCoy is suddenly there, happy to see him, and he’s is wholly unprepared:

Not divine, not mechanical, it’s human.

Maybe one of the things that makes us human.

From the earliest days of blowing pigment over our hands against the walls of our cave homes, of singing into the accoustic spaces we found, of telling tales around flickering flames, humans have made art to say ‘I’m here’. To say ‘this is my experience’. To say ‘this is what I feel, what I know, what I believe’. To say ‘I want to share this with you through time.’

Art—in all its forms—can be practiced, finessed, explored, enriched by training and technique. But the instinct, the drive, the desire to make a mark is in us from the earliest moments, from long before we learn to colour inside the lines or how to hold a pen.

THIS SHOW CONTINUES TO RIP MY HEART OUT OF MY CHEST.

I love this so much, seriously. I love that the Fujiwaras notice how Natsume is so eager to please and so afraid of dsappointing  them or asking too much of them. They know how tense and scared he is and they realize it’s the result of being abuse and trauma at the hands of previous guardians.

So when he forgets to call home and tell them he’s going to a festival?)hat’s a sign he’s starting to feel safe, that’s he’s starting to trust them. He isn’t so terrified of disappointing them that he can’t relax. He isn’t repeating their every instruction in his head over and over because he’s terrified they’ll throw him out on the street or hate him if he doesn’t do absolutely everything right. He knows he’s allowed to mess up, he knows they’ll still love him if he does.

 And Shigure recognizes that and sees how great it is. Because Natsume should be allowed to make mistakes and know that his family will love him anyway. That’s what family is supposed to be. You can make mistakes, you can disappoint each other, you can make each other angry, but at the end of the day you have to know that you will be loved and your family has your back and wants what’s best for you, especially your parents. And so, if Natsume is selfish and inconsiderate occasionally because he knows he’ll be loved and supported anyway, that means they’ve developed the trust and love needed to become a true family.

And Natsume really did genuinely just forget. This isn’t like when he snuck out because there was curse on him and he was worried for them like last time, it genuinely just slipped his mind to call them because he was so into hanging out with his friends, which means yes, he really is beginning to trust them and realizing he doesn’t have to worry about them throwing him out.   And I think it’s telling that the Fujiwaras can tell when Natsume is sneaking out or acting out because something is wrong and he’s panicking and worrying about them.and when he’s just being an irresponsible kid who forgot to check in today. They didn’t see the big sneakout as a milestone because they know Natsume was not trusting them there and was worried about going home- but they realize that this is different. And it’s great that they pay enough attention to him to know him that well

(It does make me wonder WHY Touko and Shigure think Natsume snuck out. They realize Natsume sees things other people don’t see sometimes, as revealed in a later episode, but I don’t think they would ever think “oh a demon put a curse on him”. So I wonder if Touko thought he was testing to see if she would notice or care, or that he was struggling with some emotional thing he didn’t want them to see)

It took less than 5 minutes to switch to a ProtonMail account, less than 2 hours to download and/or offload every byte of data from my Google account, and less than 3 days to change every single account or service I've ever signed up for to the new address.

As of today, the only single one I have that's still tied to it is YouTube. It's the only thing I'd lose access to if I deleted my Google acount entirely.

They really, really want you to believe that it's a hassle to switch to a different email system. But it's not. Most websites and/or services allow you to change the email address associated with it.

You can and should switch to a free, encrypted Proton email account. You also get all of the below perks. For free. There is no trick. It is paid for by the people with paying plans. I am one of them. The (completely functional) free tier is there to entice you into getting a paid account with even more perks. (It worked on me.) But there's no penalty or pressure for staying with the free account.

Also get your stuff off the google drive and put it on Proton's drive. It is encrypted. Only you with your password can access it. Not even Proton can see what you put in there.

What you should know

Mamdani administration has secured more than $8.5M in restitution since taking office 

[Note: To be clear, that's just between January 2026 and March 2026.]

...over YouTube Live while eating a Crunchwrap Supreme, Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani announced the filing of an enforcement petition against QSR Management LLC, a Dunkin’ franchisee that operates locations in Staten Island, seeking monetary relief for workers and civil penalties. The petition alleges that QSR Management LLC and managing corporate officer Ronny Nader violated the rights of approximately 1,000 workers under the Fair Workweek Law and Protected Time Off Law. The Mamdani Administration also announced settlements with two companies that will provide more than 830 workers with more than $1.8 million to resolve violations of the Fair Workweek Law. In addition to restitution, Dunkin’ & Taco Bell franchisee Salz Management LLC and premium fashion retailer Theory will pay more than $176,000 in civil penalties and costs... “Today’s settlements are about more than financial compensation for working New Yorkers —though that relief matters. At their core, these actions are about restoring dignity on the job. Every worker deserves a predictable schedule — something stable enough to plan a life around, to care for family, to show up for the people who depend on them,” said Mayor Mamdani. “This city will not tolerate any corporation or franchisee that violates our Fair Workweek laws, or any of the labor protections that workers fought for and won. We will keep enforcing those laws, so that every New Yorker knows their rights and can count on this city to defend them.” ... The Mamdani Administration is urging all workers who believe their rights have been violated to file a complaint by visiting nyc.gov/workers or by calling 311. Since Jan. 1, 2026, the Administration has secured more than $8.5 million in restitution for New York City workers, including more than $500,000 for freelancers ripped off by production company Splashlight and nearly $5 million for Uber Eats, Fantuan and HungryPanda delivery workers.

-via The Official Website of the City of New York, March 24, 2026

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Your rights in Mamdani's New York City under the cut

This, too, is a trashed bathroom; young queer people living through hell and having precious little control over their circumstances or the world in which they exist can affect something by using the language of social justice as a cudgel on their would-be allies, as well as getting a brief feeling of power over someone else by doing it.

Why did the instructor tell this story to a group of student volunteers?

Sure, they don't want their students to trash metaphorical bathrooms. It's a good lesson to be able to recognize when you're acting out, when the release of action is self-serving but ultimately counterproductive. Part of growing up is the (often imperfect) exercise of self-control.

But this isn't a lesson about how to grow up. It's called 'service learning' because they want you to learn how to serve. The instructor is telling this story, because when you go to work at the community center and you see the person who you know is going to wreck the bathroom -- that is the person you are there to help.

Sometimes that person needs a kind word, some empathy, someone to connect to. Sometimes that person needs help 'writing a resume' so that they can move forward. Sometimes that person needs help you can't or don't know how to give. But one thing they're always going to need is a clean bathroom - and shaming them or turning them away won't make them feel more in control, or get them the help they need.

And so part of your job is cleaning the bathroom, even when it's been wrecked by someone who "should know better."

So if you're in your teens, your 20s, your whatever-age-you-are, yeah, don't trash the community bathroom.

And then when you're a little bit older, or a little bit wiser, clean the community bathroom after some desperate person has trashed it again. You might not be thanked for it. You don't have to be excited about needing to do it again. But (this is a metaphor) other people cleaned up the bathroom after you were there. And everyone's better if the bathrooms are clean.