Mark, our favorite helium based gas person, decides to relax in his pool after a long and warm day. Everything is perfect in the Dogean Capital city. All is warm and bright. The city is mostly quiet because many citizens have gone on vacation. It’s that time of the year.
Mark had been feeling really lonely but had decided to treat himself with a nice swim between some other good gestures. Sometimes giving yourself a little something can soothe the lonely soul.
Lore
Mark lives alone in his mansion, if we exclude the mansion stuff (butlers, cleaning crew, etc.). It is a warm evening in the Dogean Capital and also a rather quiet one.
Mark has been struggling with loneliness a lot, and in this Fragment he is treating himself with a leisurely float on top of his own pool, after feeling like he had nothing else to do.
It is an enjoyable summer experience for him, as the texture of water against his rubber skin feels relaxing and makes him forget his problems, at least for a while.
Personal meaning
This comic was inspired by my own loneliness, specifically the quietness that exists when something is changing in your life and your social cycle is shrinking.
I experienced this because in July and August of 2026 I for real started drawing what made ME happy, without caring about metrics or engagement, while also posting less frequently.
Obviously, this made people react less to my art. Back then, Instagram was one of my main sources of connection, and the drop in activity made me feel lonely.
Yet, drawing what I really wanted gave me a really warm and satisfying feeling, even if it was lonely.
In a way, Mark swimming in his own pool and feeling better about his loneliness, illustrates this blissful feeling of quiet self care.
Facts about this piece
- Golden hour is my favorite time of the day, and I thought that there’s nothing more relaxing to draw than a golden hour scene.
- The OGs will know that Mark wears the same swimming trunks in this comic as the ones seen in a couple of Mark’s Travels photos from 2022.
- Mark has no sense of temperature (even if his body is weak to high temperatures), so this comic could have theoretically been set in winter too.
- I didn’t know how to draw water ripples when drawing this comic.
- An AI kisser on DeviantArt commented “At first sight, first glance really, it looked like a guy doing a face-plant into something that *looked* like a pool of water. First impressions can be so misleading.” to this comic.