This Art Fight comic was perhaps one of my favorite ones that I ever made. It was another one that I had drawn for Rodney, and it has various personal meanings from our friendship again.
Rodney had a noticeable impact in my life that time, he had genuinely helped me unlock doing things for fun, after spending multiple years worrying about “productivity” on social media and being a content machine for pleasing an audience when I was making my Demotivational Comics [INTJ Edition] comics in the 1-2 years prior to meeting him.
He was unapologetically enjoying simping for the Swat character from Skibidi Toilet, unironically, and drawing things almost exclusively for it. This was very, very brave in my eyes. It was inspiring.
It was affecting me positively to be with him and enjoy exploring our interests with freedom and pleasure without guilt. To enjoy having feelings for a fictional character, Professor Emilio in my case (my OC), was liberating. It was allowing me to draw and even ANIMATE things and increasing my skill level with creative methods/tools without the stress of making something easily digestible for a public eye.
I had the MOST fun that summer because of Rodney. I am VERY sure things would have been vastly different, and honestly, sadder.
The comic illustrates this collision of two autistic worlds that learned to have fun fearlessly. One happens to have helium, and the other has toilet mutants.
And they can coexist.
In fact, they can thrive.
Here is a part of the private note I attached to my comic, directed to Rodney, that I think is worth to share with you too after explaining the story behind it:
Since the beginning of our friendship I was really fascinated by how you’re able to experience such deep feelings for Swat and it was magnetic. I really enjoyed (and still do enjoy!) seeing you simp. Sure, you’re called “motivated_simp” and you simp, and it’s like hearing a cow go “moo”. But being with you really gives me this beautiful perspective of pure passion and autism on things.
What really did it for me was our recent experience from a few days ago where I had started being open about my Emilio thing for a few weeks. All the jokes we made about me resisting simping and making an actual story about it was really something that hit me. Genuinely. I found THERAPY (outside of the therapy I already go to irl) in this story. I was INVESTED. Rod trying to get Mark to embrace his simping? That was one of the FRIENDLIEST GESTURES OF YOU EVER. Like a friend has to be truly there and trusted to be able to do that. And yet you did do that.
And the finale? Where we had Emilio himself walk in? Where he squeaked “Losing control is the best part~”, the whole scene, the monologue. I FUCKING LOST IT. I will never regret staying up until 3am that night with you, Rod. Something changed inside me since. I feel as if I have been able to breathe through my soul. And I am not saying this to make you happy or whatever.
Mark of 2025
Rodney’s Revenge
Rodney obviously felt touched by my comic and appreciated it greatly, so he drew something that fits the same timeline and experience:
He made a comic showing his own perspective of what it felt like “teaching me to simp” for my Emilio character – the act that helped me unlock making art for no reason other than my own enjoyment. His support of simping-assisted freedom.
Behold, his masterpiece Boss’ wingman:
I liked this comic so much that I printed and laminated it to remember it. It’s somewhere inside the storage pouch of one of my diaries/journals now.
Some comics are just so personally important and memorable, representing a time in my life that was so careless and fun despite not being in an actual relationship.
This comic is one of them, and I’ll always cherish it and remember my time with Rodney that year under a good light.
People MASSIVELY underestimate how therapeutic it is to allow yourself to be into something or someone (whether fictional or not) openly and freely without worrying about being productive all the time.
It should genuinely be considered one of the major human needs to simp or to at least be obsessed with something just because it’s pleasant to you.
Rodney was my mentor and he DESERVES this credit.