#Thena and Gilgamesh DO talk about her emotions later

[eternalowl]

Gilgamesh: Wanna talk about your emotions?

Thena: No.

Kingo: I do! :D

Gilgamesh: I know, Kingo.

Kingo: I’m sad 😔

Gilgamesh: I know, Kingo.

[softquietsteadylove]

I have a Thenamesh AU request if it’s alright?:)

Let’s say they got Gil back and his memories too. But Thena has a hard time to accept him since she saw him die and can’t really believe that’s him. She keeps a distant to him and avoids him as good as she can on the domo. So what if Gil does something that really proofs that he is real and he really came back? Where Thena finally believes it?

Would be a very emotional request and a bit soft in the end :)

"Dinner is served!" He turned to them with a bright smile, "get it while it's hot!"

The rest of the Eternals clambered to get some of the delicious and lovingly made food for themselves. Especially those who had been held captive in the World Forge, adapted to human life and missing the small comforts.

He eyed the doorway, "there's more than enough-"

Thena left.

Gilgamesh sighed, looking down at his pot of stew. She hadn't spoken a single word to him since his return. It was so dire that even looking at him was an improvement in her acknowledgement of his presence.

"Hey," Kingo said gently as he came up for his serving. "Don't let it get to you. She's...well, you know."

He did know; he knew better than anyone, in this life or the next. He nodded, giving Kingo a smile. Once everyone had a helping, including a very different looking Sprite, he dished out two bowls and walked out with them.

She didn't make a sound, she didn't leave any trace. But he would always be able to feel that pull to her.

The door swished open for him, sensing its users presence. Perhaps it was kind of her to not lock him out of his old room. "Feeling nostalgic?"

"These are my quarters."

He smiled, walking in cautiously and placing down the two stew bowls. No matter her reluctance to be with him now, it still warmed his heart that his room had brought her more comfort than her own. She always did sleep better in here with him.

Or maybe all she had done was come in here and mourn him.

Gilgamesh frowned at her, sitting rigid and folded around herself on his bed. Her legs were crossed, her arms folded, just staring at the far wall. "Thena."

"What do you want?"

"I want to talk?"

"Anything else?"

He supposed he should be grateful to get this much out of her. If his Thena truly didn't want to talk, not a force in the universe could pry those perfect lips open.

Thena looked up at him as he pushed the bowl of stew into her line of sight. Unstoppable force met immovable object, and finally, she accepted it from it.

Gilgamesh sat down beside her, giving her enough space not to feel imposed upon. They took slow bites, listening to their breathing, their chewing, the clink of the spoons in the bowls.

Thena stirred hers around, taking it in as she swallowed.

He looked at her. "Is it how you remember?"

She didn't bother answering him.

Maybe questions about her memory weren't the best ice breaker. He shifted on the bed and cleared his throat. "It is a little different from our recipe at home."

At home; the words made her flinch, as if he'd lashed out and cut her.

He was slow and gentle, though, like the first times he'd had to lure her out of her room after an episode. "Can you tell what's different?"

She looked at him, finally, if only to express her annoyance. But she looked at her bowl again, her lips pursing faintly as she moved her tongue around in her mouth. "It's missing...something."

He was honestly impressed she could tell that much. "What have you been eating?--while I've...been away?"

That was a risky question to ask, but it would have to be asked sooner or later. Thena took her time answering, which was just fine with him. "Druig would make food."

But had she eaten it, was the question. It wasn't as if she could starve, and all she would need was a bite here or there to keep herself going. But it always made him sad to think of her letting herself go without the simple comforts of food for that long.

Gil set his half empty bowl aside, angling himself more toward her. "I'll give you a hint. It's-"

"Mushroom."

"Okay," Gil nodded as Thena stopped his little game dead in its tracks. She took another bite, though. "You've gotten better at that."

"You don't have bay leaf here on the ship so you used mushroom to make it more savoury," Thena murmured as if on autopilot. Another bite.

"I guess you would know if it was any different."

"It's his recipe."

"It's my recipe."

Her eyes shot to him, smooth and swift and lethal, just like the rest of her. He didn't startle from it, letting her eye him with annoyance and disdain and poorly veiled hope. Those eyes always told him everything he needed to know, whether she liked it or not.

"It's my recipe," he repeated softly. She let him pull the bowl away from her, his hands lingering against hers. If she didn't want him to, she could push him away. She could snap even his bones if she really wanted to.

He had never used his Cosmic Energy against her outside of an attack, and he never, ever would.

"Everything else was the same," he began, her hands - slim and light and delicate - resting in his.

"Beef, onion, carrot, flour, broth," Thena listed off, her eyes horrifically distant as she watched the process of it being made in her memory.

Gilgamesh chuckled, moving their hands slowly. She watched him do it, letting him slide their fingers together until his palm could meet hers. "What's the first ingredient?"

Her eyes hardened. She was fighting so hard to protect herself.

Just this once, he wouldn't let her. "What's the first ingredient of everything I make for you?"

"Love."

Gil reached forward, brushing away the deluge of tears suddenly flowing from those stunning eyes. "I'm sorry, Sweetheart. I've been gone for too long."

Any time would be too long apart from her.

"It's you," she whispered, every fibre of her being fighting not to come unwoven permanently.

"It's me," he promised, understanding of what she needed from him. He brought her palm up to his cheek. "I'm here."

She shook from head to toe, looking at him as if they were in that forest again--as if he had a hole in his neck and was breathing his last breaths. "I see this sometimes. And it's not real."

How cruel. How wretched and unfair Arishem was to make his beautiful Thena endure that. He turned his head to kiss the palm of her hand, "I'm real."

She shook her head again, even as she both pulled him closer and moved closer herself. "No."

"I'm real," he whispered as she climbed into his arms, the way she would at home. The way she would in Australia, wounds on both of them, her dress tattered and trailing behind her. She would settle herself into the safety of his arms and find there as much rest as she could.

"How do I know?" Whatever she had been through in his absence had shaken her to her core. He could ask her about it later, slowly, a little bit at a time. Or never, if she truly didn't want to tell him.

He tightened his hold on her, resting his cheek against her hair. "You'll just have to trust me."

She had nothing to say to that, at least not yet. But she remained in his embrace. She pressed her face into the side of his neck, feeling the pulse of his blood in his veins. "Gil?"

How he had longed to hear that. That one little sound, from her soft little voice. Just for him. "Hm?"

The rumble of his chest against her helped her unwind a little. His hand pressed flat over her back, offering warmth and the promise of his support. It helped her anchor herself to him.

In Australia, if she woke in the night, she would call to him like that. To check if he was there, if he was awake, if he was safe--if he was real. Any number of things. And he liked to believe that even in the depths of sleep, he would respond that same way.

Thena buried her face in his chest, undoing his vest and slipping her hands around him. The closer her hands could be the more sure she could be that he was within her reach.

He would combine the rest of their bowls later, make sure she got enough food in her. But for now, she needed this. He did too, to a degree. He would always need his Thena, and she needed time with just him like she needed air in her lungs.

"The others?"

"Who cares," he chuckled, lying back on the bed with her in his arms. The little pearls in her ears touched her cheeks, and her cardigan was soft to the touch. But this was undeniably what he had been missing in that state of suspended animation from which they had woken him.

[har-rison-s]

visitation hours

a/n: hi! another little something i thought of while rewatching eternals last night. hopes this resonates with some people. there's something i just couldn't get enough of from the domestic scenes between the eternals, when they're eating at gilgamesh's and then in ajak's house later on... i just needed to write about it, and incorporate druig into it, as well. so here it is! happy fluffy reading:)

my paypal (would be much appreciated since i’m saving up for uni next year :))

mcu masterlist

series masterlist

warnings: nothing! pure fluff because we all need it:)

A knock comes to Gilgamesh's door that rises suspicion. Thena never knocks on the door, she just comes through without warning. And no one else has visited them in a very long time. It might be Druig, Gilgamesh thinks, since he recently got in touch with Druig to help him out with Thena. And perhaps it is Druig.

When Gilgamesh walks over to the front door of his house and opens it up, he's pleasantly surprised by what he sees. It's not Thena, it's not Druig. Instead, it's Y/N. And she looks as happy and radiant as ever. “You guys sure chose a nice place to settle down.” She quips at him with that grin of hers, and sunglasses on her eyes to shield them. Gilgamesh laughs.

“Y/N!” He exclaims before pulling her into a tight hug. Y/N embraces him right back, loving the feel of her friends' arms around her, and realising she's missed it a lot. “What are you doing here?” Gilgamesh pulls back, looking over her for any sign of trouble. “It's been so long...” he regretfully admits. 

Y/N shrugs. “I wanted to check in on you guys,” she says and then playfully pushes her fist against Gilgamesh's bicep, imitating a battle sound afterwards, “had missed you.” She admits, then, her big heart and emotions always floating up to the surface. 

“Awh, I've missed you too, big girl,” he says and then motions for her to step inside his house, “come on, come in, I'm just finishing up on lunch.” Gilgamesh smiles. Upon stepping through the door and closing it afterwards, Y/N immediately hears a radio playing tunes from the 50s in one of the far corners of the beautiful little house. “I made this new stove for myself--well, an oven--where I can cook bread, pies, pizzas--anything I want. Pfastos would be proud, don't you think? I'm making a kitsch and desert right now. You'll want some?” Gilgamesh looks to Y/N. 

And he finds her marvelling in the sight of his house. She doesn't need to ask to know that he built every inch of it himself, and she loves it. The house has the sense and way of Gilgamesh, it's so warm (even without the heat from the sun) and cozy. Full of love. Walking into the house, however small it may be, feels just like receiving a hug from Gilgamesh himself. 

“This is so nice,” she tells him, finally back to reality, “I'd love some.” She nods to his question.

“Great! How long are you staying?” Gilgamesh questions as he continues preparing the kitsch, like he was before she came. He's just putting the finishing touches on the top part of the dough, and then it's ready to bake. 

Y/N shrugs. “However long you'll have me.” She responds. She takes off her jacket, revealing a colourful linen blouse with a beautifully embroidered neck line that is very stylish nowadays, Gilgamesh knows that. “I'll set the table. Will Thena be joining us?” 

Gilgamesh turns to Y/N slowly. “She's been very unfriendly lately,” he admits in a quieter voice, “won't eat, won't... won't even talk to me.” He sighs. Y/N can feel the anguish inside Gilgamesh and flashes her eyes silver to make part of the hurt go away for him. 

“You can talk to me about that, Gil,” she says and the two lock eyes, “just us two for now.” She gives him a smile. Gilgamesh nods with a smile of his own and leaves the kitchen with the ready kitsch and desert in his hands, heading for his diy-ed oven. Y/N smiles sadly to herself and gets to searching for plates and cutlery around Gilgamesh's kitchen.

Gilgamesh turns out to be a masterful chef, and it's a surprise to Y/N that he hadn't cooked for the whole team beforehand and demonstrated these skills. The kitsch has everything in it that one could want, and all the ingredients make an incredible combination. The desert, which is a berry pie, is just as good. Y/N nearly bites off her fingers while eating.

“You eat this every day?” She asks in disbelief, her stomach full already as she keeps nibbling on the pie and its stuffing. 

“Uh-huh,” Gilgamesh responds, “kinda got around to cooking ever since me and Thena moved here together.” He shrugs. “I mean, it's always something to do, something new to explore and find--combine different flavours and such.” 

“Well, you make a great chef, Gil,” Y/N compliments, patting the chef's hand, “you should get one of those apron thingies, though, all your clothes will be ruined otherwise. See?” She pats a red patch on his shirt. “You've already got jam on you.” Gilgamesh looks down.

“Eh,” he moves his hand in a careless way, “I can always get more.” He shrugs. “But an apron would be nice, that's true. Would fit me, I think.”

“It would.” Y/N agrees. “But with something funny or cheeky on it.” She suggests with a chuckle. Gilgamesh laughs, too, and gets up from the table. He takes his and Y/N's plate to clean them, and wants to take the pie away, too, but Y/N whines. “No, no, leave it. I'll finish it.”

“Whatever you say, big girl,” Gilgamesh shakes his head, leaving the pie and Y/N be, and walks over to the sink. Y/N chuckles and rests her head on her arm, resting it sideways on it, and continues picking the pie apart piece by piece with her fork. 

“Since when do you call her 'big girl'?” Comes a voice Y/N certainly wouldn't have expected to hear for a long time. Her eyes look up to its owner, her head still laying sideways, causing everything in her vision to appear much the same. She squints her eyes.

“Hey, Dru,” she greets him softly, but with suspicion as she eats two berries off her work masterfully. Druig gives her a slight grin, one of expectancy, and nods.

“Always have, always will,” Gilgamesh responds to Druig's question, “nice to see you, Druig. Have some pie while I clean up.” 

“Don't mind if I do.” Druig responds and takes a seat directly across from Y/N at the table. He picks up a fork and looks at the girl before diving into the other side of the pie. 

“What are you doing here, Dru?” Y/N asks him languidly, knowing by Gilgamesh's behaviour that Druig's arrival was expected. She just wonders why. Y/N watches Druig as he devours the very tasty pie, and she waits for his answer.

“Gilgamesh asked me to help out with Thena,” Druig mumbles, “put her to sleep while he takes some time off.” He answers. 

“Oh, you're going on vacation, Gil?” Y/N looks to the chef, and he nods. “Where?”

“Fiji.” Gilgamesh answers with a smile. “I've always wanted to go there. Humans compare it to one of the Seven Wonders of the world.” He laughs. 

“Oh, do they now?” Y/N laughs with him. Her and Druig's pie eating from each side has unconsciously turned into a race--who can eat more, and who can eat faster. 

“What are you doing here, Y/N?” Druig asks and tilts his head so it'd be in one line with her tilted head. Y/N smiles softly at her fellow Eternal. “Aren't you supposed to be therapizing people in France?”

“Therapists can take vacations, you know, Dru,” Y/N retorts in the kindest of manners, all the while smiling softly, “I'd missed Gil,” she admits, “wanted to see how he was doing. And Thena.” A sad look crosses into her eyes. “Gil tells me she's not been so well.” 

“That's what I'm here for,” Druig nods, “so this is almost like a reunion. We're one missing from half of us being here.” He says in a louder voice so Gilgamesh could hear, too. Druig grins while he speaks. Y/N smiles herself as she hears Gilgamesh chuckle. 

“How's the cult going, Dru?” She teases, licking her fork clean with a grin still on her face. Druig shakes his head. 

“It's not a cult, Y/N, and you know that,” he responds.

“Do I?” She raises an eyebrow. Druig raises one of his, too in response. 

“It's quite alright.” Druig answers. “There've been no intrusions, everything's going smoothly.” Y/N listens to the tone of his voice as he speaks, and she squints her eyes slightly. She never did fully agree with Druig's taking over the whole babylonian civilisation and keeping them locked away from the rest of the world. But it seems as though it's what he really wanted, and still does want, therefore he looks pleased with himself. But she knows he can be better than this. “I'm ready when you are, Gilgamesh.” Druig says, turning to look at his friend. 

Gilgamesh sighs. “In a second, Druig,” he responds as he's still busy with dishes. 

“Let me help you, Gil,” Y/N reaches out, standing up for aid immediately. Gilgamesh looks to her, his eyes asking if she means it wholeheartedly, “come on, I'm not entirely a guest. And you already made the food, so just let me clean everything up.” Druig watches her as she stands next to Gilgamesh now, smiling kindly at him. Gilgamesh nods and dries off his hands, giving the dish-cleaning mantle over to Y/N. He goes to sit down next to Druig. Y/N keeps the water running slowly so that she can join the conversation, if necessary. 

“I don't know how your whole mind thing works, but,” Gilgamesh starts to say to Druig, whose eyes are flickering between Gil and Y/N, much to her unknowing, “you'll still have to keep an eye on her. I don't want her here alone.” 

Druig rests a comforting hand on Gilgamesh's shoulder, “don't worry about that. I'll be here as long as you need it.” Druig assures, and is happy to see Gilgamesh smiling at his words. 

“How long will you be in Fiji, Gil?” Y/N asks him. 

“Three to four weeks,” Gilgamesh answers, turning in his chair to look at Y/N, “why do you ask?” Druig has the same question in his mind as he looks to Y/N again. 

She shrugs. “I can stay here with Dru, help keep Thena safe,” she suggests and then turns off the sink water as she's done with cleaning. She dries her hands in a near-by towel and turns around to face both men, her hips leaning against the sink, “you never were one good with boredom, anyway, Dru.” Y/N says, crossing her arms over her chest and grinning at Druig. He smiles faintly, knowing that it's true. 

“You sure you can have that much time off?” Gilgamesh makes sure, and Y/N nods. 

“I'm sure,” she responds. Her month of vacation off work will be rightly spent if Gilgamesh agrees to her staying here with Druig. She didn't have a solid plan for what to do during this month, anyway. She just wanted to see Gil and Thena, and do whatever she wants afterwards. Except, there's not really anything she wants to do. Her work is her life, and so is her Eternals family. But that family has fallen apart. 

“Okay, then you're both staying,” Gil decides, “just don't burn my house down when you're making food.” He advises as he rises from his chair. Y/N laughs, pats Gil's shoulder and the man leaves for the other room. To pack his bags for Fiji, Y/N guesses. 

She and Druig lock eyes. They both also grin almost simultaneously. “This is gonna get interesting,” Druig says, rubbing his hands against one another in anticipation. Y/N licks her lips and chuckles.

permanent tag-list: @hallecarey1​ @gabiatthedisco​@v0idbella​@destiel-stucky4ever-loki-queen @ur-gunna-h8-ths​​@betweenloveandfire​ @but-legendsneverdie​ @rottenstyx​@deardeacy​​ @mavieesttriste16​​ @intrrverted​​ @the-freak-cassie-131​​  @beverlyparkerr​​ @gasbomb69​​

part two????

[agentem]

Eternals, initial thoughts

I saw it. Spoiler cut.

I've been posting about ETERNALS for weeks and I started to feel a bit guilty, like I was a corporate shill. What if I didn't like it? And it was as bad as some reviewers were saying.

I'm pleased to say it's fine.

I don't think it's "the worst" Marvel Studios movie. (I still think that's Incredible Hulk, which I had trouble connecting to.) I don't think it's "the best" either. (Probably Black Panther but the ones I rewatch the most is either Thor Ragnarok or Iron Man.)

This does have a huge villain problem. In that the Deviants are not individualized. I thought perhaps Kro would be more, but he's not. He's just sort of the biggest Deviant.

And of course the Celestials as the ultimate bad guy (spoilers I guess) is very difficult because they are huge space gods and there isn't much there there.

I'd put it on a Guardians Vol 2 level of "I don't care about this bad guy"? Maybe?

I thought Gemma Chan was great. She's definitely the lead and I'm so happy we have our first WOC lead actress.

I, of course, loved Salma Hayek. I read one review that said she didn't get enough to do and they wanted her to be more Salma Hayek-y. When I read that I thought it was racist and they wanted her to be a Latina stereotype. And after seeing the film, it's racist and they want her to be a Latina stereotype.

She was so Salma Hayek. But not the funny, loud Salma Hayek. This is the Salma Hayek who has rescued nine stray dogs she was worried were going to die on the street, adopted a pet owl and who knows how many random animals. I'm so glad we get to see that side of her on film because she is a humanitarian and someone who is a protector. (She is also gorgeous and funny and smart and a good writer. Women can be lots of things!)

I had sort of guessed from the marketing (we never see her at the end battle) that Ajax would die. I was prepared for that. I wasn't prepared for Gilgamesh. I need time to process that.

I loved Kumail as Kingo and Brian as Phastos. Of course I loved Phastos. No one clapped with me when Phastos kissed Ben. I really wished we got to spend more time with Phastos, Ben and Jack. I'm worried about Ben and Jack now that Phastos is gone!

Oh, no now I'm thinking about Ben and Jack seeing Phastos taken away like Dane saw Seresi taken away. I'm going to be worrying about this for years, I suspect. I had been so worried something might happen to Ben or Jack, I wasn't worried about Phastos enough!

PROTECT THE GAY FAMILY.

The one element I expected to connect to that I didn't was Thena. I was very emotional when I heard she had mental illness and something like PTSD. I have depression and anxiety and have suffered PTSD from a sexual assault. And I know Angelina Jolie has dealt with mental illness in her life as well. But it felt more like a plot contrivance that kept her weak at convenient moments. I kind of would've liked her to fight at the end with the white eyes, sort of just let her go nuts (like the Hulk). Sometimes that is what you want.

But perhaps if they explore it more that she has real memories of previous planets and they have traumatized her, I could get on board.

What else?

Oh regarding the post-credits scenes, everyone told me Harry Styles was in it but no one told me PATTON OSWALT was in it. I'm a nerd, people. You are burying the lede.

Also was that Jeffrey Wright's voice at the end? Is the Watcher talking to Dane?

ETA: Chloe Zhao has confirmed it is Mahershala Ali. See later post.

[ghostswillunderstand]

Eternals

Directed by Chloe Zhao

 I generally don’t engage too much with the MCU fanbase these days, I generally like the majority of the films but there is definitely a slight disconnect between how I see the films and how the more ardent fans seems to. 

I first noticed this with the response to Thor: The Dark World, not a particularly great film or anything but the negative reaction to it was so confusing to me as it seemed about on the same level as its contemporaries, and it even had a couple of laudable elements(cinematography, Loki’s scene where his cell is trashed), but everyone treated it like it was some blight. The same thing happened with Iron Man 3 to even sharper effect, that film is easily one of the best films in the MCU still and yet there is a not insignificant number of fans who will decry it as one of the worst.

So when Eternals came out to a rather tepid response I did initially wonder if this was because the film was lacking or maybe the fanbase was once again rejecting something great for reasons I will just never understand.

Eternals is so good. Even going into it with some hype growing in the back of my brain(always a bad idea) I was just so enamored with this film, with its visuals and characters, with its focus on said characters finding meaning(or not) in their neverending lives, the action(when we get that prolonged moment of a Deviant constantly slamming Ikaris’ face down into the ground so he can’t eye-blast it during the big jungle fight, so good. Everything with Makkari, even better.)

Once aspect I loved and it made so incredibly happy was the rhythm of the film. I’ve complained about this so many times but superhero films(not all but certainly most) have a very real problem of reaching their crescendo in the middle of the film instead of at the climax in the third act. The need to up the stakes more often than not leads to bloated cacophonous nonsense in the end. CA: The Winter Soldier has the great freeway sequence in the middle of the film and then for the finale it is basically a disaster movie and a less than stellar showdown between Cap and Bucky. Black Panther has a lot of cool stuff in the middle, including the dramatic duel between BP and Killmonger, but then the film ends with a large messy war and a lackluster showdown between hero and villain. Having the hero and villain throwdown...just to then do it again 30 minutes later is a tricky thing to pull off well.

Eternals, by actually have a strong narrative core to it, doesn’t need to give us a first fight before the final showdown, thus allowing the climax of the film to be the big fight we want while also making it the emotional climax for the characters. It all peaks together, everything comes to ahead when it should.

I could talk for ages about the look of the film, so many images and shots that are just perfect. There is a moment where Thena is standing in the river after Gilgamesh’s death and the shot is mainly the river and its rippling and just Thena’s legs/dress. Seeing that moment was maybe the most shocking thing in the whole film, shots like that don’t appear in the MCU, if a visual like that would show up it would be used to show the reflection of a character in the water, because how can you not show your movie star every single possible moment?

But here it was a moment of pure aesthetic power. Nature and grief and time.

And there are just so many little things the film does so well, like despite the Deviants being purely CGI the film has them constantly interacting with physical space and objects(the jungle sequence is the high point for this). Or the way that even though they all care for each other none of them really understood what Sprite was going through and that her ‘betrayal’ is as much a philosophical one as it is a direct response to the way she felt cast aside. Or that Kingo stands up to Ikaris but then tells the rest that he does actually agree with Ikaris’ stance and that he won’t help them...and then he doesn’t come back for a big hero moment in the end. Or some of the edits. Gilgamesh’s ashes to Hiroshima. The volcano to the painting.

Eternals is so good. And the reaction to it is so disheartening. Like post-Matrix Revolutions Wachowskis, this is blockbuster cinema done right.

I wish the average fan cared about the filmmaking craft of what they are watching half as much as they cared about the minutiae of comic book lore.