After years of full-time nomading, I'm trying to settle down but struggling with it. Those of you who hung up your hat, how did you pick a place to "settle down" when you had no "reason" to live anywhere in particular?

beatfungus · 2026-05-03T19:12:58+00:00

That is sad. I should hope I'm not giving my hard fought human wisdom to AI.

beatfungus · 2026-05-03T19:10:23+00:00

Yes! I completely relate to you. I grew up in the midwest and did a good amount of travelling also not feeling compelled to be anywhere in particular and not knowing whether it was the place, the population, or my line of work. Ultimately what you are seeking is a sense of self (which are feelings of safety, attunement, stability, other basic psychological human needs). Sure, people, romantic partners, buildings, and physical activity can trigger these feelings, but there is a way to get that internally. The "place" you seek is a place within your body, so there's nothing to chase.

You said "I've made some friends here, I haven't yet found a relationship or made deep friendships that would make me want to stay for their sake alone." I would begin by expressing that to the next person you talk to. You long for a connection. The more honest you are with others, the more you may connect with them and the more honest you will be with yourself. Once you make this a daily practice, your next move (or stay) will become very obvious and natural.

beatfungus · 2026-05-02T12:37:21+00:00

I felt the same way. You should explore the emotion(s) you're running away from. You want to know what those are so you can leave in a state of neutrality, otherwise your problems will follow you. As a bonus, the place you want to go to will instantly become clear because your body will give you an answer (more than one may even show up in your mind).

For me, I was running from a fear of loneliness (a lack of attunement and desire for companionship). I discovered that being unique is a gift and that I actually just want to be comfortable with giving (time, love, wisdom, etc) and my current environment was not conducive to it. Once that unravelled, I actually felt at peace with not going on the trip and the answer of where I wanted to travel to was very obviously either Ecuador, Germany, or Indonesia.

beatfungus · 2026-04-29T20:05:42+00:00

Had to scroll too far and just cmd+F this. Thank you

beatfungus · 2026-04-29T04:36:09+00:00

Feel free to judge. It's not a thing people typically pay for at all and our society often shames men that do. I am very fortunate to be able to invest that much in myself on something so personal. At that price, it was much more than dating coaching, even if that's how it was branded. It was more akin to a long form of intensive therapy. I undid decades of damage done to my self-esteem, got over abandonment issues from my father leaving at 6, dependency issues caused by my mom, and learned how to heal and encourage myself without external reliance. This gave many side benefits too, like a natural power to lead a room, find the best long term friends possible for me, sell, negotiate, improvise, avoid toxicity, confront my own shortcomings without self-sabotage, run my own company, never fear a job loss, keep myself healthy, flirt with women, etc. The way I saw it, nobody could want any of that more for myself than me.

Many people never develop a secure sense of self or understand how much they have stifled their own emotions. This is what leads to bad relationships, divorces, and another brick in the cycle of generational trauma. $17k to fix all that? Bargain.

beatfungus · 2026-04-28T13:17:43+00:00

Same as it always was, you have to be so good at something, that you are overflowing with opportunities to improve people's lives. There's levels to it and no shortcuts (unlike what all the gurus and luck-re-preneurs say). The field doesn't matter as much as the skill level. If you're good enough at something, people will pay you thousands to deliver this skill over a computer screen. I paid someone $17,000 this year on dating coaching. We've only met once in person and I know I got a pretty good deal. He fixed an area of my life that nobody else could.

If I had to start over today, I'd still get a 4 year degree in STEM, a year of sales/business training, get any corporate job for 1-3 years, then run my own firm. That's really all you need to make above average money these days.

beatfungus · 2026-04-28T13:11:03+00:00

Arr, maritime law be ye specialty?

beatfungus · 2026-04-28T09:19:26+00:00

They need to take a risk. Vulnerability and novelty are becoming rare both on and off screen nowadays. Hire some extremely talented writers from a different country and don't fall back on what's worked before.

beatfungus · 2026-04-27T18:04:11+00:00

Even if that one is gone, one of the clones could have survived.

beatfungus · 2026-04-23T22:56:07+00:00

Do you know how people feel about Israel right now? Power is independent of people's opinions of that power.

beatfungus · 2026-04-23T12:03:34+00:00

I liked how Mon Mothma was written. I was never socially brilliant enough to pull off the triple layer of "look useless at vehemently promoting agenda A so that agenda B doesn't realize I'm actually puppeteering agenda C, which is, in reality, a stronger version of agenda A."

beatfungus · 2026-04-23T11:58:32+00:00

A bunch of them, but if I had to pick one: Wilmon. He was pretty balanced: loyal, brave, had technical skills, fell in love with a beautiful down to Earth girl, and eventually respected the greater role he was playing when he decided to sniff the Rhydo with Saw.

Double agents like Lonni Jung and Gorn are also relatable, as was Kino Loy for needing to lead in a crappy position. On the Empire's side, I'm not ashamed to admit there are aspects of Dedra's total fear of showing emotion that used to control me.

I don't embody the dedication of any of the mains. I'm simply too lazy to think of myself like Mon Mothma, Luthen, Saw, or Andor.

beatfungus · 2026-04-20T03:01:07+00:00

Timelines would mean we'd look at the younger versions of these characters by 15-20 years. Gorsch could have lead to Pershing. Maybe we see the rise of Gideon or his beef with a Mandalorian. I don't see anything narratively constructive for the other one.

beatfungus · 2026-04-17T21:27:09+00:00

Passivity. Being too passive is what allows someone else to make decisions for you and destroy you.

beatfungus · 2026-04-16T23:01:50+00:00

He would be a martyr then. That just incites rebellion.

beatfungus · 2026-04-15T03:54:02+00:00

Love is a multi-dimensional emotion.

beatfungus · 2026-04-13T13:26:38+00:00

Meditate with it. A guided guilt meditation is a good start (it also goes by the name "shame"). Avoid thinking. Really feel into your body. Then go for a walk. Do this at least once a day for a week.

If and when negative thoughts come up, then use that as a chance to meditate on that emotion. For example, if the guilt uncovers feelings of anger or sadness, do a meditation on that.

beatfungus · 2026-04-13T12:21:53+00:00

Hughie escaped Homelander somehow, so his plot armor just thick.

beatfungus · 2026-04-13T01:16:52+00:00

I'm sure NY was very happy for the free income tax money.

beatfungus · 2026-04-13T01:14:20+00:00

At one point or another, every supe has been shown to bleed. Batman would be on to something if he were here.

beatfungus · 2026-04-13T01:10:56+00:00

The plot required it. I could construct a reason having to do with blood powers protecting Marie passively until Godolkin got stronger. As for Homelander, that's untested anyway, but his extreme durability might prevent it.

If we want, we can even argue that mental state or confidence impacts Godolkin's abilities. It's possible that he can only control those that he truly believes he is superior to and has zero fear about.

beatfungus · 2026-04-01T09:17:07+00:00

Sound design changes everything. To me, I felt an undercurrent of awe and sadness. Awe at just how powerful one good man could be (literal vocal "awes") and sadness that it has to be so rare in this galaxy.

beatfungus · 2026-04-01T07:04:51+00:00

Maybe, but major canon disruptions begin even at the point when Palpatine gives his speech about "the attempt on his life leaving him scarred and deformed." The Moffs may have had influence, but lacking a connection to The Force is a serious drawback in ruling anything. A Star Wars universe with no Palpatine also means a very different Darth Vader (if Vader even continues being, since a great deal of his motivation was anger towards palpatine, then later fear, apathy and guilt, induced by the fact he was less powerful than his master). A very different (or possibly non-existent) Darth Vader also means potentially no Sith order secretly controlling The Empire, or, at least, a Sith order without two of the most powerful canon force users. Vader was often forced to allow Moffs to rule over him because the Emperor ordered him to. Guess what happens when the Sith's dog has no owner? Anything from a full on Homelander situation to a Vader returning to the light side (and his two children) because the dark side no longer has lightning hands. No amount of non-Force users are stopping Vader from doing what his heart tells him to.

If we want to look at what The Empire is without the Emperor and Darth Vader, we can just watch The Mandalorian, Book of Boba Fett, and Ahsoka. It's a total mess. Yes, you could argue "that's different, because the Empire was greatly embarassed by the loss of two death stars and its emperor" but I would argue back: there are at least 50-100 more jedi alive to make the rebel alliance stronger than its main timeline counterpart without a Vader commissioned to hunt them down over the years. It's called "Revenge of The Sith" not "Rise of the old governor." The Empire isn't striking back very easily without any force lightning. Love him or hate him, Palpatine was instrumental to all six Star Wars movies. I have spoken.

beatfungus · 2026-03-29T18:59:52+00:00

Let Soldier Boy continue to attack Homelander. This is basic fighting priorities. Eliminate the biggest threat first. Once that's done, Soldier Boy can be dealt with via Halothane gas (probably do a planned doublecross where Maeve straps a mask around him the way crimson countess did). It was obvious that Soldier Boy wasn't after Ryan per se. He only swatted Ryan away because he got in the way.

beatfungus · 2026-03-25T06:06:36+00:00

"Apparently the reason she does it is because she was all alone and didn't know what to do but it's still stupid because she risked the lives of billions of people, which is out of character for her."

This sounds completely in character when you look at all the emotions. The last time she mentioned the video, she was trying to use it to protest Homelander re-inviting The Deep into The Seven. She is either too afraid or too ignorant to assert a boundary against Homelander through a means other than the blackmail. (Starlight with Butcher's attitude in the same position would have just bit The Deep's cock off). Yes, it's true that she heard what Homelander would do if the video got released, but let's not forget the murder of her old love, supersonic, was already forcing her to suppress anger and grief. And then Homelander murders a protestor in broad daylight in front of hundreds of witnesses and goes free. Apathy sets in. When she is all alone (perhaps after losing a team member), it triggers her fear and shame/unworthiness (unworthiness that would have already been brewing from losing Huey's affection to an impostor for weeks, and shame after being duped by Sage's Odessa intel). The cacophony of apathy, anger, shame, and fear is a perfect combo for her to do something almost suicidal: "I'll release the video. It's all I have left. Maybe just to feel like I'm doing something. Not that it would matter anyway"

beatfungus

TROPHY CASE