One of the posters on this thread referenced the Faye/Angus comic where they were at dinner discussing their childhood goals and why they never achieved them. Quite frankly, achieving dreams and goals can be hard-too hard for some people.
For example, Angus mentioned wanting to become a comedy actor, and going to some auditions then quitting after getting no roles out of them. Meanwhile, think of your favorite movie/TV star, and their biography. It's most likely going to involve years of struggling in obscurity in minor, even uncredited roles, having to take a waiter job or something similarly low paid while waiting on a paid acting gig, and subsisting on Ramen during those years of struggle, until finally getting the role or roles that made their careers. Can you blame Angus for looking at this likely path and saying "forget this, I'm doing something else"? Especially since achieving stardom, or even just steady acting work, is by no means even close to guaranteed?
And even after you achieve your dream, then what? Assuming your able to hold on to it of course-how many famous entertainers have torpedoed their careers with drug and alcohol abuse and other stupid lifestyle choices? And how about the ones who stopped getting calls for gigs because they got too old, or fat, or something like that?
And you don't even have to be striving to be a famous entertainer to risk losing your dream-how many people in this recession seem to have achieved their American Dream of the rising career, house in the suburbs, marriage and family only to lose it all after being downsized? I believe a poster in this very thread has mentioned going through something like that. That happens to you, or maybe you're a young person growing up seeing that happen to your parents or friend's parents or other adult relatives, and you start to question whether the Dream is even worth trying.
Marten and those in his circle may end up as "cold timid souls" who haven't achieved much in life by many poster's standards, but then again they don't have much to lose either. Sometimes, just being able to support yourself, and maintain a small circle of friends, is enough. Tai said as much to Marten several strips ago, and the only difference between then and now is Marten doesn't have the girlfriend anymore. Which, considering the trouble romantic relationships can bring into one's life, might not be such a bad thing.