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brambonius.bsky.social
Brambonius
@brambonius.bsky.social
1.8K followers 920 following 3.5K posts
Officially an Earthling, creative in several ways and possibly out of the box (is there even one?), might use English, Dutch and other languages. Beware!
Human rights and the golden rule are a minimum!
All social constructs might need deconstruction...
Posts Replies Media Videos
brambonius.bsky.social
me sona ale e ni: sina wile e seme?
January 10, 2026 at 3:16 PM
brambonius.bsky.social
Good news for those who are perpetually 'emasculated' on social media...
An article headline from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, dated January 7, 2026, titled "Castration Linked to Increased Lifespan in Mammals". The article features a stylized, artistic illustration of a large, glowing egg cell surrounded by multiple sperm cells, set against a cosmic, colorful background. Below the image, the following text is visible: "Across mammals, lifespan appears to be shaped not just by genes or environment, but by how much energy is devoted to reproduction over a lifetime. When reproduction is limited, animals tend to live longer, though the biological reasons differ between males and females. Credit: Stock"
January 10, 2026 at 12:44 PM
brambonius.bsky.social
For the #WIPsnips
Ronan and Pyra, locked up in Héva (the land were men don't exist). She's her optimistic self and he has no panic attacks anymore and has turned to reading the available literature...
He jumped from his bed. ‘This is getting boring, it’s our fifth day in Héva and they still don’t agree about what they’re going to do with us.’ ‘Oh, they’ll send us back in the end, don’t worry.’ ‘Yeah, but when?’ ‘When they find someone who’s flying from here to Nation Island I guess. It’s clear they’re not going to waste one pf their aeroplanes on bringing two kids back home overseas. They don’t have that many of them, and it also seems they don’t get visited that often either by Afropeans or Lantadans. Maybe the Ghost Town federation itself should invest in at least one of those too. It’s a lack that we don’t have one.’ ‘You’re trying ton run the world again, Pyra. While we’re locked up in a Hévan guesthouse.’ ‘Hey, I can try to give advice. And sometimes people listen to me even.’ ‘Maybe if you’re at home in your village. You’re chummy with all sorts of people indeed, but that won’t work as long as we’re stuck in this stupid guesthouse room.’ ‘Which means we should focus on other things. Tell me about the things you read in that book the guard gave you.’ ‘Oh, a lot of history and complicated politics. Quite interesting but I need to focus.’ She took the book. ‘I would think so. Seems like university level stuff. And they think you’re dumb in school?’
January 10, 2026 at 11:42 AM
brambonius.bsky.social
Well...
Also, that bird is perfect...
Top-left: A photo of J.K. Rowling with the text: "Only start creating a lore after you already finished half of the series and keep adding stuff a decade after finishing it." Middle-left: A photo of George R.R. Martin with the text: "Steal 90% of your deep lore from real life history and other authors to fill out your world map." Bottom-left: A photo of J.R.R. Tolkien with the text: "Create an entire universe with a bloody, theological history with hundreds of characters and dozens of devastating wars, then write a children's book in it." Bottom-right: A photo of Terry Pratchett with a bird on his head and the text: "All Three."
January 10, 2026 at 11:25 AM
brambonius.bsky.social
you know, 'free bird' is an irritating song actually...
January 9, 2026 at 6:27 PM
brambonius.bsky.social
Song in my head is 'housewife' by Daan. Instrumental electro stuff in layers and somewhere a guitar turns up here and there if you listen good enough...

www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAnG...
Daan - Housewife
YouTube video by Vintson
www.youtube.com
January 9, 2026 at 3:25 PM
brambonius.bsky.social
This is an interesting observation of a less-often talked about factor in successful relationships.

(Reminder also that contempt for one of the partners is one of the most certain factors from the other side that will kill your relationship)
ALT-text: A collage of two tweets and a dictionary definition related to the word "whimsy." The first tweet is from Edward A. Perin, a psychologist, dated January 8, 2026. The text reads: "I’ve worked with a lot of couples in my career, and the best indicator of health I find, more than appreciation and good sex, is the presence of 'Whimsy,' which only comes out with emotional safety. Couples can survive the greatest horrors of this world with genuine whimsy." Below the tweet, there is a dictionary entry for the word "whim-sy" (/ˈ(h)wimzē/), labeled as a noun. The definition reads: "playfully quaint or fanciful behavior or humor. 'the film is an awkward blend of whimsy and moralizing' a whim: plural noun: whimsies; plural noun: whimseys a thing that is fanciful or odd: 'the stone carvings and whimsies'" The second tweet is from a user named Rothmus, dated January 8, 2026. The text reads: "My husband just walked in and handed me a grilled cheese sandwich missing the top left corner. Every time he makes me toast or a sandwich he presents it to me with one bite taken out. He always says 'I don’t know what’s wrong with the bread you bought. It’s defective.' I haven’t had a full slice of toast or sandwich at home in almost 18 years. If there are infinite worlds, every version of me chooses defective bread in every one of them." The tweet includes two photos of a grilled cheese sandwich with a bite missing from the top left corner. The second photo shows the bite mark with a face superimposed on it, humorously suggesting the bread is "defective." The tweet concludes with the time stamp "3:16 PM · 8 Jan 2026 · 24.9K Weergaven."
January 9, 2026 at 1:08 PM
brambonius.bsky.social
So the house demon of the other site will only make deepfakes for paying subscribers for now on?

Sometimes I really cannot follow the logic going on there...
January 9, 2026 at 12:04 PM
brambonius.bsky.social
The rain has washed away the snow again...

Now that's what I call a Belgian winter...
January 9, 2026 at 11:19 AM
brambonius.bsky.social
Reminder: There are as many ways to be a (wo)man as there as (wo)men.
Gendert roles are just simulacrum cosplay and personality type chauvinism.
Just be the best version of yourself that you can be and don't bother with stupid stereotypes...
January 9, 2026 at 11:16 AM
brambonius.bsky.social
For the #WIPsnips
Ronan and Pyra and being grown-up about alcohol on a table of the summer terrace of the Square bar. She might have some impulsive risky behaviour sometimes but not like that...
(And no, Donnie, they're just hanging out as friends, it'n nothing like a romantic date)
‘And this is the infamous Square Plaza.’ ‘Ah, Elder Eliza said to go to the Square bar. It’s the one from the history books, the first one to have an unsegregated section.’ ‘I know, but I’ve never been there. I’m not the person to go drinking, you know.’ ‘I have some Nation money. Come, there’s a summer terrace. It’ll be like in the days of the revolution when they opened up the first unsegregated spot there.’ Ronan looked at the empty table and then at the menu card of the Square bar, which had a lot of drinks from beers to teas. ‘Hmm, they even have real coffee here. And Ghost Town Camelia green tea.’ ‘But that price… I you want to try those I would just come to our bar then, closer to the source, and more authentic. They buy it from us anyway. It’s one of the places we trade with. It’s no secret that Elder Eliza likes Manfred plus tripel beer… I don’t know why though, the stuff is undrinkable…’ ‘You’ve tasted a Manfred plus tripel?’ Ronan said, taking a chair. ‘Yeah, one sip. Enough to convince me it’s not for me. I think that was my parents’ plan too, and it worked. Alcohol is stupid anyway. I don’t see why anyone loves that stuff.’ ‘It makes you feel grown-up I think. But my parents are extremely strict.’ ‘Why would anyone want to feel like an adult? That’s silly. No, no beer for me.’ ‘Glad to hear that, young lady, because you seem to young for it, even with that Free Person badge. I thought those were only given to adults?’ A waiter had appeared as if out of nothing.
January 9, 2026 at 10:57 AM
brambonius.bsky.social
A reminder that duckweed is an arum species according to modern science...
January 8, 2026 at 5:28 PM
brambonius.bsky.social
For the #WIPsnips
Ronan and Pyra and being locked up in the land were men officially don't even exist, while having a panic attack as a boy from a patriarchal place (where he never was 'man enough' maybe, but he's still from there).
‘Are you okay now?’ She asked, very careful. He seemed to be better indeed, but he was still a bit pale and shaky. He sat up on his bed. ‘I think so. I’m so sorry.’ ‘You are sorry? Why?’ ‘I really screwed up, didn’t I?’ ‘You? If there’s anyone who should be sorry, it’s me. It was me who put you through all this with my impulsive plans. It’s my fault we got on the aeroplane, and I took the risk to expose us to get help. I am the one to blame.’ ‘It just happened. But I was weak.’ She sat next to him and very carefully laid her arm on him. ‘Weak? You? You just had a panic attack. Very understandable too if you suddenly find yourself in a country where men don’t officially exist, and that as a shy Nation boy…’ ‘But it’s inexcusable how I behaved. And now we’re locked up in this guesthouse thing. If I had had more self-control we might have been able to hide ourselves…’ ‘Ah, I don’t think so, that wouldn’t have worked. This world is too strange for that. I wouldn’t even know where we’d sleep or find food, or how to get a flight back. At least we have food and a place to sleep now.’ ‘If you look at it like that…’ ‘And a supposedly strong Nation man is the last thing I could use now to be honest. It would get us in much more trouble if you were an Alpha. You need to do your best to look like a harmless kid who’s impressed by their culture, not a masculine macho boy who enjoys his morning drill exercises while fantasising about killing Nation enemies.’ His breath was a lot calmer now, so she took her arm away and jumped off the bed.
January 7, 2026 at 8:37 AM
brambonius.bsky.social
Snow and a late Christmas tree on the morning of second Three King's day in Antwerp...
A snowy city scene with building and a Christmas tree in half twilight
January 7, 2026 at 8:22 AM
brambonius.bsky.social
Song for today...
No special reason...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWNO...
Within Temptation - Ice Queen (official video)
YouTube video by Within Temptation
www.youtube.com
January 7, 2026 at 8:16 AM
brambonius.bsky.social
Gelukkige driekoningendag!
January 6, 2026 at 7:38 PM
brambonius.bsky.social
Or this one is deeper than I think, or this reinterpretation of Robin Hood is a sort of peak hyper-Americanism...
January 6, 2026 at 11:44 AM
brambonius.bsky.social
We have the word 'deconnectierecht' (right to deconnect) in Belgium and I think it's EU law even...
woodo.bsky.social Woodo @woodo.bsky.social · 5d
Alt-Text Version
My American manager tried to write me up for "lack of commitment" because I leave at 5:00 PM sharp. I work in the Netherlands. I work for the Dutch branch of a large US tech company. We recently got a new middle-manager based in New York. He seemed like a nice guy at first, but it turns out he is totally obsessed with "hustle culture." Last week, we had a 1-on-1 meeting where he told me he was "concerned" about my dedication to the team. He listed his grievances quite clearly. He didn't like that my Slack status goes offline at 5:01 PM every single day. He was annoyed that I didn't reply to an email he sent on Saturday morning until Monday at 9:00 AM. And he was especially frustrated that I refused to join a "team bonding" Zoom call that was scheduled for 7 PM my time, which is 1 PM his time. He gave me the usual speech about how "in this company, we go the extra mile" and that if I want to grow, I need to be more available. I had to give him a bit of a reality check. I looked him in the eye over Zoom and told him that in the Netherlands, if you can't finish your work by 5 PM, it doesn't mean you are dedicated. It means you are inefficient or understaffed. I told him I am neither. I also reminded him that contacting me outside of working hours for non-emergencies is actually frowned upon here, and that my contract is for 40 hours, not "40 hours plus nights and weekends." He tried to threaten me with a Performance Improvement Plan. I immediately forwarded the email to our local Dutch HR representative. She literally laughed when she read it and told me to ignore him. She said she would have a "chat" with him about local labor laws. Since then, he hasn't sent a single email after 5 PM. I honestly feel bad for you guys in the US. The fact that you have to apologize for having a life outside of work is insane to us
January 5, 2026 at 6:59 PM
brambonius.bsky.social
There's something darkly funny about which posts get the extreme shadowbanning treatment on the other network....

(Screenshotted 7 hours after posting, 2 weergaven = 2 views while I'm supposed to have more than 1K followers over there...)
Tweet: Text: "Some people have weird ideas about what counts as a 'fun fact' on here..." User: Brambonius (@brambonius) Time and Date: 2:03 p.m. · 5 jan. 2026 Engagement: Weergaven (Views): 2
January 5, 2026 at 6:16 PM
brambonius.bsky.social
Close as in being in Belgium being close to meeting a wild wolf probably (we have less than 20 for the whole country mostly in places where nobody comes), and they still might be right about the closest.
Distrustful individualism+transactionalism naturally leads to extreme loneliness it seems...
First Tweet: "This is the closest a woman will come to hitting on you and you use the moment to brag to other single men online" Second Tweet: "There has been 3 instances in the past year where a girl in my apartment building (who I don’t know) asked me for help in moving heavy objects. I told them I’ll do it for money; when they refused, I walked away. This is the correct course of action."
January 5, 2026 at 5:12 PM
brambonius.bsky.social
Reminder: a 'married single mother' with a sponsor who expects sex but is otherwise uninvolved with her and their children does not signify a 'traditional marriage', it signifies a very dysfunctional family with a man who should never have married.
January 5, 2026 at 1:10 PM
brambonius.bsky.social
For the #WIPsnips, here are Pyra and Ronan again.
Linguistic and cultural evolution between now and the 27th century, and our 2 naive pure souls here...
‘As an old saying says, “the friendship is the benefits”…’ ‘Hmm, that sounds weird.’ ‘Yeah, old sayings often do. It’s probably like a reference to something else, but I have no clue what. I don’t know what could be of more benefit than friendship itself.’ ‘Maybe something like that shirt I wouldn’t have gotten from the people of the embassy if I weren’t your friend?’
January 5, 2026 at 11:29 AM
brambonius.bsky.social
For the #WIPsnips, near the end of Pyra and Ronan's trip when they're going home, which can mean very different things to different people.
‘Almost home. Back to normal life.’ Pyra looked out the truck window, where the ruins had given way to trees again. All the way from here to Seventh City it would be forests and then endless fields of crops here and there. She moved closer to him, and took his hand. Ronan sighed and moved a little closer. ‘Home… That word means very different things to both of us… We literally come from different worlds that are just a few miles apart, and now we’re going back there after stay in a different reality for normal life as you call it. I mean, you have your village and I a Nation City and a horrible school to get back to… Plus I’m going to miss being with you all the time…’ ‘Ah, that’s flattering…’ ‘It’s all your fault, you know?’ Ronan said. ‘I didn’t do anything, except for not checking when that aeroplane would depart. All the rest was done by the both of us.’ ‘I didn’t mean… I meant me falling for you. Nevermind. Well, you convinced me to escape into the city in Héva, and to cross the wilderness too. You always do dangerous things, that’s true.’ ‘But it would have been boring if we wouldn’t have done those things. And it was educational!’ She grinned again. ‘It was, and it all ended well, but sometimes you need to think before you act, Pyra. It could have ended differently too, you know.’ ‘I am good at calculating risks… And I had you as a second brain.’ ‘Or you were lucky sometimes, and you literally needed me to stop you from doing even mores stupid things.’ ‘Oh, but that would still mean we’re a good team, right?’
January 4, 2026 at 11:02 AM
brambonius.bsky.social
Don't touch the pretty snail...
What is the scariest animal that no one talks about? The cone snail. Look at that beautiful shell, covered in pretty patterns! Don’t you just want to pick it up? If you do, you’re as good as dead. They have a venomous, stinging tongue that stretches far enough to strike you no matter where you hold it from. A few microliters of cone snail toxin is powerful enough to kill 10 people, and the worst part? The stinger is full of painkillers so you won’t even realize you’ve been stung.
January 3, 2026 at 1:12 PM
brambonius.bsky.social
For the #WIPsnips
Pyra and Ronan.
Being each other's calmth and safe space can be part of any close relationship, even in a conversation about relationships.
‘I need you as a friend now. We can get to the girlfriend thing later, there’s too much I need to recalibrate in my brain for now, and I need the Pyra that brings stability for that.’ She grabbed him closer and her slow breath combined with the touch of her warm body finally calmed him. ‘I’m keeping you stable by giving you a lot of hugs. Check. Fits in both roles, so don’t overthink it.’ ‘I never thought I’d like hugging so much. The book was wrong about that too. I’m just a bit selective in who I let hug me, but I’m really getting used to them
January 3, 2026 at 12:39 PM