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I thought it was her eyes that you're not supposed to look at
Oh
The original story's medusa was cursed so anyone would turn to stone when looking at her (in general not just her eyes)
He looked her in the brown eye.
Allegedly she was so hideous that anyone who gazed upon her would be petrified. It was her contrarian personal aesthetics that killed. Lethal vanity.
It's very Lovecraftian. Maybe its a Color Out of Space sort of thing.
Basillisks sometimes had to lock eyes to petrify, though the cockatrice version spit extremely corrosive acid. I suspect there's a link by storytellers unifying their world building.
I know of some women who have practiced a withering stare that can paralyze with fear or shame. I seek to master such techniques.
Allegedly she was so hideous that anyone who gazed upon her would be petrified. It was her contrarian personal aesthetics that killed. Lethal vanity.
See, mom? I'm not anti-social, I'm a hero protecting the masses!