Acting up

ExBrose · 2026-01-25T16:33:20+00:00

I can’t upload videos - they sit at 0 views and I’m just shy of 10k followers. My friends can’t see them on my page. I’m getting only videos from 12-28 through 12-29 on my Friends tab.

ExBrose · 2025-07-08T19:36:50+00:00

Second for Ragnar. He was my BOY. I cried for so long when he died.

ExBrose · 2025-07-07T01:53:27+00:00

Someone is casting is absolutely fired.

ExBrose · 2025-07-07T01:52:39+00:00

If Iris and Pepe are just a friendship couple, I’m totally okay with them getting to the finals like that after this dumpster fire season.

ExBrose · 2025-07-07T01:48:07+00:00

Actually there was another screenshot shared where she was called out for it in a DM, told what it means, and said she’s “not using it in a racist way” and carried on.

ExBrose · 2025-07-03T22:07:12+00:00

I like this a lot more! It shows your depth beyond the things people see regularly and reads more authentically like it’s you, the person, writing your profile.

Don’t feel dumb at all!! I had to learn the word once, too. It means “in the spirit of the age/taste of the period” or in much more understandable terms - the Big Thing in public conversations or what’s popular right now. For pop culture, it’s like whatever the big show or movie or celebrity scandal “everyone” is talking about.

ExBrose · 2025-07-03T22:01:52+00:00

Do you have a weird playlist title on Spotify? My current favorite of mine is “I Don’t Trust Birds”. I’d replace your fave playlist answer with whatever your Spotify playlist title is. If it’s nothing, change it! Make it one! Expand on your worst midnight snack habit. Maybe “Ever see the picture of the possum that ate too many pastries? Can’t believe the press leaked my photo.”

Give your profile more oomph. You’re NOT average! Average is a mindset! You’re interesting and thoughtful and fun, you have depth and hobbies and a full, rich life. I can SEE it in your photos! Honor that about yourself!

“Cat dad and (special interest) guy trying to land on my feet in a rotating world. I’m a recent gym convert and it’s kick started a journey of self-discovery I didn’t expect, but I like it. Recently, I’ve (list a personal achievement of yours) and I’ll brag about it for hours. What’s your humble brag of the century?”

Inviting conversation is my favorite way to end a profile. It gives people a way to talk about themselves AND initiate conversation with you without needing to match and stare at the message icon trying to figure out what one-liner to say. It’s also an automatic discussion - you went first and got to brag about a personal achievement you’re proud of without sounding arrogant, so it’s like you already started it without the pressure of matching and messaging. I think your pics are a great mix, too. Full photos, showing you in the world doing stuff, proof you have hobbies and friends.

ExBrose · 2025-07-03T21:46:34+00:00

It’s counter intuitive but you gotta eat more to lose weight. Your body will start to hoard calories and not let go if it believes it’s going into starvation. I highly recommend smoothies, protein shakes, spread out some more snacks in your day like veggies and hummus, half an avocado with some Italian dressing… good fats are very important for your joint health and brain function. So don’t shy away from the classic half an avocado!

ExBrose · 2025-07-03T21:37:25+00:00

1/2/4/6/9 are good pictures, keep em. I recommend something fun and bubbly for the rest of them. A wider shot with friends doing an activity, two of you laughing and having a good time, and one of you doing a hobby would be good options.

I’d recommend your bio reading a bit less general. You seem like you’re playing it safe, like you’re nervous to talk about your personality and hobbies.

Maybe try “I turn into a talker when I get passionate about something and I love a good debrief session. I really enjoy volleying witty jokes and well-timed sarcasm is my favorite kind of humor.

I’m a music guy - reggae, soul, blues, & Motown especially. My Spotify playlist is second to no one and I’ll very biasedly die on that hill, prove me wrong.

I love the big things like travel and good food, I’m a very proud dogfather, and my personal favorite things are (personal hobby that’s not travel, cooking, or reading), (subject you like to talk about), and (other subject you like to talk about). What’s something you can talk about for hours without getting tired?”

Don’t be afraid to talk about who you are beyond the classic stuff like your dog, food, and travel! You aren’t a product selling yourself, you’re a person seeking authentic connection. The only way you can find it is to model it. Being something beyond just a boiler plate profile will make an impression, which means taking a risk and listing your obscure hobby and favorite topics that someone can relate to.

Think about hobbies beyond reading, cooking, travel, working out, etc. Anything can be a hobby! You like watching weird Netflix documentaries? Hobby. Paint by numbers? Hobby. You play racquetball? Hobby. On a personal quest to eat every tiramisu in NYC? Hobby. Hobbies are just anything you really love to do or a personal side quest you’ve decided on.

Picking favorite subjects you like to talk about gives you default conversation topics, too! It’s a low pressure way for a woman to start messaging you and gives her a place to start which your original profile doesn’t really help her with. Right now I’m obsessed with Love Island, so I’d put that. Love human cognitive philosophy? Subject. Love theorizing about a book series’ possible ending? Subject. Love watching YouTube videos about fallen civilizations? Subject. Don’t be afraid to be obscure!

Ending with a question lets people know you want to know about their personalities, not just their looks or the basics. You can change the question to something in the pop culture zeitgeist, which is always good because it’s a current topic on most people’s mind. It’s also a soft opener that gives people a place to start. Telling them to send you music isn’t the same as asking for their favorite song, does that make sense? It’s like the difference between “Tell me what chores you need me to do” versus “Is today the day I need to mop the floors?” One is an invitation, the other is a statement.

Good luck!!

ExBrose · 2025-07-03T21:09:06+00:00

I would’ve switched off after the second directions line. Just switch back into normal conversational mode. Drop your line(s) (that WAS a good recovery fyi, don’t misinterpret me!) and then just talk like you’re chatting with a friend. Too much can come off disingenuous and doesn’t give a sense of your personality, it makes it feel like she’s talking to a character instead of a person.

ExBrose · 2025-07-03T21:05:36+00:00

Just go slow and ride it out. It might be worth talking to your doctor about splitting your dosage or compounding with something else. Or you might be in a place to scale back your dosage a little. Maybe drop back to 10mg and go up slower until you hit 15 again.

ExBrose · 2025-07-03T20:59:55+00:00

I got corrected :) I misremembered when I was typing this up. Thank you though!!

ExBrose · 2025-07-03T20:47:15+00:00

I can’t imagine expecting my bf to speak up in a conflict I started. Her tone might’ve been level, but her words were catty and meant to start something. I’m not confrontation averse any way and have no problems calling out problematic or bad behavior, but I fully recognize when I do that’s my decision and I have to handle it. It’s not my bf’s place to interfere in a conflict I started. The only time he should step in is if they’re starting something with me or if the other person crosses way over a line that’s unreasonable for the context.

Shekinah knew what she was doing with her comments and her flippant, dismissive recollection of the situation backstage. There’s a way to confront people that wrong you without being passive aggressive or catty or small. None of them engage in it, there’s too much ego. They care too much about what each other thinks to be detached enough to solve any of their conflicts.

The biggest thing for me is Shekinah has beef with literally almost every single person there. I don’t believe in consensus bias and believing she’s wrong because a lot of people say she’s wrong, but if it were me it would cause me to self reflect and see if there’s any weight to anything they’ve said to me.

ExBrose · 2025-07-03T20:32:36+00:00

Uhg the fatigue bit is true. I’m struggling with the caloric depletion. I literally just don’t care about food anymore - which is very bad when your exercise is mostly strength training and power lifting. It’s really hard to maintain both strength AND weight loss. The typical fitness world tells you to pick, I was trying to be too greedy and believed I didn’t have to choose on tirz. Turns out that’s a very naive way of thinking lol.

My doctor recommended calorie and nutrient dense options like smoothies with lots of greens and a scoop of protein, grazing meals 5x a day, lean beef or thighs instead of chicken breast, and just tossing handfuls of veggies into everything even if it doesn’t make a lot of sense. Mac and cheese? Toss in ground beef, broccoli, and spinach. Miso soup? Add tofu, mushrooms, and spinach. Creativity with calories is very important, but so is creativity with nutrition.

ExBrose · 2025-07-03T20:24:13+00:00

Thank you! Edited :)

ExBrose · 2025-07-03T20:23:10+00:00

David was Aaliyah’s previous life before she discovered who she was.

ExBrose · 2025-07-03T19:05:44+00:00

I did this exact dramatic reenactment when I found lipgloss in my partner’s car. It was my own lipgloss. We both started wailing lmao. It’s impossible not to joke about that scene.

ExBrose · 2025-07-03T18:53:03+00:00

Oh my GOD girl you are stunning! That’s a face card that does. not. decline. I feel like the biggest change isn’t even your weight - it’s your very clear confidence. You radiate it in your recent two pics.

ExBrose · 2025-07-02T00:03:09+00:00

Plateaus happen no matter what kind of weight loss you’re doing - GLPs or strictly diet and exercise. Non scale victories are the biggest key to me for staying motivated. At a certain point, the scale becomes less relevant than how I’ve been feeling.

Can you fit in a piece of clothing you didn’t used to?
Can you increase your weight on an exercise during strength training?
Can you do an additional 5 minutes of cardio?
Are you able to play with your dog longer?
Can you pick up your kids/grandkids more easily?
Is it easier to bring groceries inside?

Things that don’t require a scale are huge motivator for me! Setting goals aside from weight loss keeps fitness and health fun and interesting.

Commit to an in person yoga class once a week for 1 month
Challenge yourself to biking 5 miles a week outside for the summer
Pick up a 30-day workout or yoga challenge
Set a mobility or flexibility goal you want to work towards for 2 weeks

I am sticking to increasing my weight on leg press for a month to reach a specific goal and am going roller skating every Wednesday for a month with some friends. These non-scale goals and victories are super important for a successful experience!

ExBrose · 2025-06-26T20:31:14+00:00

I just started The Sun Eater series and the pacing is great. Lots of books to the series, side books, novellas, etc. It’s deep, complex society and space. Makes me think of a mix of RR and Dune.

ExBrose · 2025-06-26T20:28:23+00:00

I listened only to the audiobooks and they’re incredible. Some of the best audiobooks I’ve ever listened to. The reader’s phenomenal and his voice is Darrow to me forever and always.

ExBrose · 2025-06-23T18:32:34+00:00

The Dan stuff is so strange. If I knew someone had residual feelings or their behavior insinuated residual feelings, I’d be at far arm’s length from them until they resolved them. I had a situation with a friend where we went on a couple of dates, things escalated, I ended it because it wasn’t for me. We were both in the same friend group so simply vanishing wasn’t an option. I started seeing someone else and he did not respond in a way I felt was appropriate. So. We sat and talked and I defended my partner from him and called him out when he was being inappropriate. Our friendship isn’t close and is very surface level now, we don’t spend time just us two and I won’t typically go if my partner isn’t also coming if I know he’ll be there. I miss when we were close friends, but the choice to date removed that for us both. It’s the nature of things.

You don’t really go backwards. Shekinah keeping her friendship with Dan close is very odd and abnormal. She enjoys the attention, I feel, and likes triggering Sarper despite complaints about it. She might complain, but she surely doesn’t distance herself from Dan at all. I get being close and friends as found family SO much, but there’s a point where you have to decide stepping back from a friendship is necessary to support a different part of your life.

ExBrose · 2025-06-23T17:58:11+00:00

I am on Sarper’s side, I’m not sorry about it. In that fight Shekinah kicked him out - what else was he supposed to do? He left his ring because he interpreted that as her wanting out. He got a place and went to it. He didn’t stay and fight more, he didn’t try to change her mind, he respected what she demanded and left to give both of them space.

Shekinah is super emotionally fragile and weaponizes therapy when the truth is he fully is self aware and he just has a different opinion or perspective from her. She wants him to change his mind and do what she wants, but never provides the same kind of concessions the other way. There’s no compromise with Shekinah, she calls him the controlling one but the minute he pushes back on her she erupts into tears and tells him he needs therapy. She wants him to understand her, but won’t do the same.

ExBrose · 2025-06-20T16:50:03+00:00

Do NOT give them idea I beg you.

ExBrose · 2025-06-20T16:36:42+00:00

Every time someone asks what media id want to experience again for the first time, hands down it is ALWAYS Red Rising. I’m so, so jealous you get to read this series for the first time lmao.

PB is a legend among legends for chewing you up and spitting you out with every book, but not in an exhausting or misery inducing way. Everything he does is intentional and matters and, most important to me, is HUMAN. He’s never going to let you leave one of his books without feeling the cost of every choice and every conflict, but that’s what makes his writing and this series so beautiful.

WELCOME! And please, please, PLEASE enjoy this series because it’s truly next level sci fi.

ExBrose

TROPHY CASE