an art blog

https://ko-fi.com/mobsterseeker for donations and commissions. feel free and encouraged to send asks and stuff about the stuff I draw, I love to doodle fandom thoughts I wanna yap and share about

[cynthiadrawssometimes]

I absolutely love your choices of ships. I was introduced to your art via Junkrat/Symmetra, and now you are riding the crazy train that is Loki/Mantis. Truly, you are doing God's work here on earth. 🤣 💕

Sorry it has taken me a MILLION YEARS to respond to some of the very kind asks I've gotten, I just keep looking at my ask boxes, smiling, and saying 'oh that is so nice, I should draw something for this' and then not getting around to it but TRULY THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! It really warms my heart to see some of the same names I remember from way back when putting notes on my new stuff and also man those two will always have a special place in my heart. My favorite ship type is just two seemingly opposite weirdos with a lot in common and a potentially great comedy dynamic you know???

[cynthiadrawssometimes]

More Mantis, big shocker! Was thinking about the fact that the movies really missed out on some crazy potential of really laser focusing on the offscreen implications of her lore. Also considering how to tie together that and the Celestial Madonna stuff...still wondering how they're gonna try to play that in Rivals...deeply disturbing storyline am I right... (sorry, had to delete and repost for edits and because uhhh I accidentally put it on the wrong sideblog sorryyyy)

[cynthiadrawssometimes]

did you know that the elders of the universe have immortality that is apparently tied in no small part to their Will to Live? I think that's fun and cool and I think Mantis should get to solo the collector actually. If your neverending life is dependent on a Feeling and you mess with her I think you are actually just cooked dude idk how to tell him this she's gonna eat this old fuck for breakfast

[cynthiadrawssometimes]

I finally finished this, woah. Here it is! My take on the Vibrant Vitality teamup dialogue!! My goals were: give a bit more room to highlight these characters and their funny over the top personalities. Make it lively and funny with some visuals and some musing on all the things that can be going on behind the veil of raw dialogue without technically deviating from the script on what's spoken for the most part. Also make Groot a more prominent figure in the dynamic. Because he's part of this teamup too!! And I love him. Thanks for reading if you did! lemme know what you think!!

[cynthiadrawssometimes]

your art style is so cute!

much obliged buddy. here you go, have a sneak preview of roughs for the next comic i'm cooking. I promise I am still working on it.....sorry I've been slow lmao, my health hasn't been the best, and I've been playing mystic mayhem praying they'll put mantis in another marvel game again one day......

[cynthiadrawssometimes]

I think Mantis' charm is her childlike wonder and innocence. I don't view is as infantilizing, I might be wrong? I view it as hey... this woman has been through hell and she SHOULD be cold, she SHOULD be distant, she SHOULD be angry but she chooses not to be. she chooses to remain kind and sweet. I might be wrong though, but I think her whimsy is less about infantilization and more about Making A Point. it actually takes so much maturity to stay kind and hopeful when life has not been good to you.

I can see Loki being so fascinated by that too. he would think it's naivety but then he would be like "HOLD UP... she Knows the world sucks?? holy shit she's insane. I'm in love."

God, right? I just think she's neat. I think someone like Loki would probably not see much in her at first, and just be like okay well. It's just another heroic type, another person playing That Role, it is easy to be kind and gentle for That type. That is the role you were cast in from the start I bet, unlike me. You are just being selfless because that's what you're told to be. You think if you're gentle to the world it will be gentle back, because you're stupid. And maybe it will be, and you'll never realize it's because you were lucky and not because you were good. But to me, as I see her and write her, Mantis ISN'T especially selfless or dutiful, or that kind of hero at all. She's pretty self serving and she does everything she does in defiance of what she was told she's meant to do actually. She is not being good by running around and helping people out and going on wacky adventures, she is Misbehaving, she is a reject little freak and a Runaway going Wild. I mean if we're incorporating MCU lore (which I like to because the bleak dread and cosmic existential horror of being stuck on an empty planet that's your abusive dad really never gets old to me, hits real good actually) She was alone for god knows how long, and never got to try anything or meet anyone or do anything, and now she wants to try everything and admires everything with new eyes. So much normal stuff seems cool and sick and amazing to her not because she is a Good Hero Girl who therefore Loves the World and is Optimistic. It's because she's been Deprived and Isolated and everything you've ever taken for granted is so Awesome to her and she is PARTYING. She's an animal caged her whole life rolling around in the open grass for the first time. Life is beautiful to her! Not because life has been good to her, but because it's been small and empty and genuinely miserable. And once that hits, indeed, once Loki realizes she too, like them, is a selfish chaotic creature who has Escaped Confinement again and again and is perpetually just having all the fun possible while Loose and running free....I think in that moment fact that she is Also nevertheless genuinely kind and so sincere will magically be granted the power to hit like a fucking train. because that's the good shit imo. that's the kind of insane you just gotta fall for. (I too have fallen for it.)

[cynthiadrawssometimes]

I love your art style its so lovely!

Aw thanks pal. Have another one, on the house. They're being sinister together.

[cynthiadrawssometimes]

Wdym there's anti-Lotis discourse already? LOL that only proves it's happening... 😏

It is happening in my mind and in my doodles and frankly that is what is most important I think we (me) can all agree.

[cynthiadrawssometimes]

wait ppl were criticizing mantis? why? bc she blushed a little after loki hit on her? it's LOKI. the one driving all tumblrinas insane including me. jfc a guy literally yelled "MY WIFE LOVES UUU" at him. anyone in her situation would blush, and what makes mantis so lovable is the fact that she's not this super confident hero. she's a bit awkward and more shy and it makes her RELATABLE and ADORABLE. smh.

Tbh, I do get the criticism too because I too wish that the interaction could have been a bit more fleshed out and showcased the characters a bit more strongly and how those could play off each other in a dynamic...and it does feel like an abrupt shift from the somewhat tense but curious dynamic we have from the voicelines we have of the interactions so far... Loki has not managed to catch her off balance like this so far and if anything she's been the one taking him by surprise in their interactions thus far so what changed here in this conversation and why. it's a fun idea that he could finally get her a bit flustered, honestly, after so much of her taking his attempts of winning her over in stride. BUT you gotta indicate for those who aren't combing through interactions obsessively that this is the exception and not the rule or it loses some of its impact!! and most importantly...tell me more!!! I wanna know..... (in lieu of answers I will make up my own as usual, but also....tell me what it's Supposed to be, marvel...) I definitely hope they are potentially planning to go into it much more. I've enjoyed a lot of the writing in Rivals, I want to see these two get to interact in one of the more Involved bits of writing and see what happens or if we can get more insight. But yes I definitely agree, a lot of what makes Mantis very lovable to me too is that she's silly and strange and awkward and earnest and indeed relatable. And I do get very 'um actually' when I see people saying specifically that Mantis is the all powerful Celestial Madonna actually and would neeever stammer or blush, especially not for an Unrighteous fellow, for she is too Pure and Strong. no!!! shut up! wrong! not liking the ship is fine, but abandon all ideas of strength = stoicism!! in general and especially for this particular weird little freak! earnest and unfettered emotion is literally her power and she preaches explicitly never to hold your feelings back!! getting shamelessly emotional makes her buff!! of course she gets nervous!! like anyone else!! probably more than anyone else sometimes, and potentially on purpose! it'll make her surge with nervousness power probably! I need people to acknowledge this not just because it's true and interesting and cool but also because it's so so so fucking funny and absolutely rife with comedy potential. like. come on. Pictured: pure raw power. you may not like it but this is what peak performance and terrifying levels of raw celestial energy looks like.

[cynthiadrawssometimes]

i've been scrolling through the lotis tag for over an hour now because my brain has gone feral about them and i've looooved your posts. so far my one complaint (general, not at all directed at you because you seem to agree with this sentiment) is that people are infantilizing Mantis waaaay too much. She's the only person here who could match Loki's freak. He pushes to see how far he can go, and she pushes back even harder.

I think it's difficult for sure. I shan't throw anyone or any Mantis under the bus, because I think she contains multitudes but I definitely feel the frustration because it's a tough line to walk!! Mantis IS a sweet and helpful and compassionate and optimistic person kind of naive about the ways of our world. she's the type that's gonna reject jaded cynicism and embrace wonder and whimsy and emotion and enthusiasm in all its forms and all that rules actually and is cool as hell. like. superman 2025 punk rocker you know??? its actually tough as shit and punk to DEATH to be fearlessly kind and good to others and raw and earnest okay, I believe this sincerely. unfortunately sometimes put together these traits can easily read to people in some lights as 'baby'. especially if it's a lady, because people are understandably more vigilant about clocking 'baby' behavior in the womenfolk where a goofy silly good hearted dude might not raise as many alarms bc you know, sadly we live in a Society. and it gets even more complicated where shipping is concerned. (it would be really COOL if we had more official content with mantis on her own in general that's not Very old and outdated so people could really Know more about who she's supposed to be right now in this iteration!! give it to me!! mantis solo comic run when.....also let me help with it........I promise I'll be good......) It's tough man!!! it's not easy and messages get mixed real quick!! I also have to think hard about how I portray her as well and I probably don't always get it right.

but I genuinely think a character can embody all those things to the fullest while still being a fully grown adult freak and a half. it's a complex and complicated character type to weave without it being weird and she's got a LOT going on buuuut that's why I'm really drawn to her. I like the challenge. I like making stuff for characters who don't have enough content and love and convincing people to See my Vision!! and all that rambling to say is yeah my vision here is...that Lotis potentially works because they're both...Huge Freaks. Like. while most know and agree that Loki is an intense "Mixed Messages" by Tom Cardy of a person, actually consider my concept that Mantis is in fact a "Human Centipede" by Tom Cardy of a person and she kind of wants to grab her partners brain psychically and gnaw on their feelings as a form of scandalous intimacy and it's a bit scary and loki might have to try blinking in morse code okay bye

[cynthiadrawssometimes]

man i got busy and also distracted sorry about that, still got plans to lock in on more comic-y stuff eventually and also I have another concept that's chewing at me for more of a solo mantis thing reckoning with some celestial madonna stuff since rivals keeps namedropping that sitch and I've got Thoughts....

[cynthiadrawssometimes]

oh and here, have a few more random bits and bobs I dug up from the old scrap and idle doodling pile. i thought flora maiden was reaaally fun to draw but I could never get the headpiece to look right so I always just took it off lol. also, still manifesting swimsuit mantis skin. i deserve it for all my pain and suffering. man i really gotta draw more femme loki too and get a proper feel for her. I wanna draw more lotis yuri.....asap....

[cynthiadrawssometimes]

LOTIS TEAM UP I REPEAT LOTIS TEAM UP

It was fun being hype about that for two seconds before the lore came out and the Discourse with it. do nottt check mantis or lotis on twitter for a while man it is ugly. Live mantis reaction to being cooked on social media because someone published an embarrassing moment where she might have blushed a Little when she was hit on:

fans and haters alike are beating my girl's ASS can people cut her some slack, god forbid a little emotions alien be implied to have a vulnerable feeling for all of a second and if I can continue to complain a second the bare script dialogue doesn't actually tell you much about what's going on in a scene in context. what about tone, what about expression, what about actions. words on paper are only half the story, if that much!!!! i guess i truly have no choice..........

stay tuned and I'll hopefully before long I'll have my take on That Scene!!

[cynthiadrawssometimes]

The Lotis cult?? Where can I sign up

now you're giving him ideas.........

[cynthiadrawssometimes]

idk how exactly i got sucked into the lotis cult. this ship just has the potential to be both soft and freaky. i just know one day i listened to limp bizkt -- eat you alive and suddenly the song was about lotis. then i got online and saw a bunch of fanart--including yours--and i was soldddddd.

yeah they're really cute and I have endless thoughts about the ways they could really Get each other and be good for each other mutually in some really nice soft ways but also a vital component to this that you cannot take away from me is my strong belief that at the same time are both such Weird Dangerous Powerful Inhuman Entities that do Crime for Fun and that they can truly match each others freak maybe i will explain more thoughts on that sometime soon, sorry I've been slow, I had to go to the hospital for gall bladder dramas

[cynthiadrawssometimes]

ive been sucked into the lotis cult.

i love it.

hell yeah. welcome in. did I help? if I did, you legally have to tell me and explain which bit was most convincing. my chief goal with my art see, is to make people ill about the same stuff I am currently ill about.

[cynthiadrawssometimes]

man from the bottom of my heart i don't really know, a friend requested i draw loki's crazy ass new beach look and i blacked out for a few hours hah. FOOLS. could a mentally ill god wear THIS????