Roxanne This content has been archived. It may no longer be relevant
When the film Eternals, a Marvel movie about superheroes, came out I was sure that I would watch it in the theaters. It’s an activity I’ve been doing with my siblings since the first Avenger’s movie (I think). It stars some really amazing actresses: Angelina Jolie and Selma Hayek, both of whom I was looking forward to watching. Unfortunately, though their individual stories resonated with me most (and were the most developed in my point of view), the focus was not on them but on a love story I could have gone without.
Anyway, this isn’t a review.
Eternals showcased so much in so little a time that it was barely able to cover them with a thin film of success. Regardless, I fell in love with the unconditional and platonic love that Gilgamesh and Thena had for one another. I was so moved by it that I was compelled to make a fanart.
Stories like Mesh and Thena’s in the Eternals are the kind of love I live for.
It’s the sort of story I would write— that I do write!
I know that a lot of other people saw Gilgamesh’s love as something with a romantic note, but I’d like to think that men and women can be friends. Not everything needs to be romantic to be deeply moving. For me, there’s something more profound in the idea that he stayed with her as a friend, gaining nothing, receiving her love, and giving his all.
But that’s just me.
Eternals had a lot of love stories (confirmed), most of which didn’t get enough screentime, two of which spoke louder than the main couple. And honestly, whether their love was truly romantic or not, it spoke to me.
I write about platonic love stories.
Certainly, because I write platonic love stories, this aspect of the Eternals touched me greatly. Additionally, Thena was suffering from ‘Mahd Wyry’ a fancy way of giving her mental health problems (created by being reborn repeatedly) a name. This was another detail that I was drawn to.
Everything about Thena was easy to relate to. Bonus points that I had been anticipating Angelina Jolie’s acting which she delivered beautifully.
After watching the film, I ruminated over their ‘love’ story for a while and was inspired to draw. I rarely get inspired to draw fanart. This was also during the time I was returning to drawing after a long hiatus from personal art. I wanted more from myself.
‘Stay’ gave me a new appreciation for the term ‘passion work’. I was presented with this new meaning for the art that I make. I’ve done fanart before for things I love.
I’m not new to fanart, but I usually have to either force myself to work on it or find a technical reason to do it. And it made me realize how often that happened even with my original work. I drew a lot to draw a lot instead of enjoying the process.
Before I went on a hiatus, I started to draw a lot more. I started to love to draw more. Some days I still get anxious about where my art is taking me. Nevertheless, when I see the work that comes out of loving something, I know I’m on the right path.