Hi hello-
I wanted to share with you a bad ending concept au for your O'medusa fic, if you'd like to hear it. If not, just ignore this- It might be a bit morbid at most, buuuut 👉👈
Concept: Gorgon Eclipse is beheaded during some event/battle/something and Briar manages to keep his head.
Assuming that the head still works in turning people to stone even after being slain, then maybe Briar still uses it to defend against intruders or more monsters that come near the temple (Eclipse is still protecting them one way or another…). Though, how long this works out for them, I don't know.
Briar would be incredibly grief stricken and maybe go a bit insane with guilt and paranoia not long after Eclipse's sudden beheading, leading to them isolating themself in the temple just to be safe and with Eclipse.
Maybe Briar would try to compensate for the loss and continue to serve Eclipse despite him and his snakes being despondent.
They still cannot look each other in the eyes, of course, so Briar finds it more appropriate to slip the blindfold on Eclipse instead… (I don't know if it works that way, but eh-)
Meanwhile, Briar would busy themself and tend to the garden for Eclipse and continue to keep the temple clean, maybe even have a small one-sided conversation with Eclipse. If only to keep themself useful...
I suppose Briar would've, in some twisted way, gotten what they had wanted from the beginning: Being able to take Eclipse anywhere with them, as long as Eclipse is properly covered up. (Though, I doubt Briar would ever do such a thing even in a bad state of mind. It's disrespectful-).
And yeah… Originally, it started off as an “evil Briar” au, but Briar is wayyy too sweet for something like that- (and Klyta would've most definitely left Briar to the monsters if they felt any sort of evil in their heart or soul or whatever-) So we have a very Greek tragedy kind of thing instead. :,)
I have some messy doodles of what an au like that might look like, so here's one of them if you've read this far:
My heart is breaking!!! Thanks!!
Ohhh, that would be wretched for poor Briar! They can hardly think of being without Eclipse, but having him in some way is better than not at all, right? He's their protector. Briar needs him! Briar will keep serving and taking care of all the things Eclipse would want them to, and they'll chat a little bit. It's not much, just an update on the garden and how clean the statues in the main chamber of the temple are now that Briar gave them another scrubbing.
I would, imagine, however, a perfect ending to such a tragedy that Briar decides one night, after talking and hearing no one answer, that they should at least see what Eclipse's eyes look like. It's been so long. They're so lonely. They've served and served, and they just want to see Eclipse again. So they lift the blindfold and smile for the first time in years.
And a statue holding a gorgon head is kept safe and sound in the temple.
