I have a personal theory that if there's even the same system of fears, the OIAR would be serving the web, not the eye
Just something that feels right considering how totally uninterested in the statements everyone but Sam (and partially Gwen, although her motivation doesn't look like curiosity to me at this point) is and how the organization is taking real active action
Idk. I'm not sure if the fears are gonna have the same pallette even, or if they'll merge into new shapes
But there's a feeling of being dragged into a conspiracy rather then passively observing until you get caught peeping
if i'm being absolutely completely totally honest i think that "it wasn't you" doesn't go far enough in absolving someone of the guilt of being the subject of a brainwashing or mind control plot. because at the end of the day, it was you. it was your body, your mind, potentially even your soul, being stripped of its autonomy, intimately violated and turned against you as much as anyone else. it's a kind of assault, and should be treated as such, especially in more mature narratives. i think that "it wasn't your fault" and "your shame at being made helpless and unable to control your own body and mind's involuntary responses is understandable, but you are not in any way irredeemable or unforgivable because of what was done to you" are also necessary reassurances. and i think that there should be lingering resentment in spite of words of forgiveness and miscommunication and long-term post-traumatic consequences also.
agh fuck the idea of having a finger be wooden and the roots entangle with the palm of my hand is such a fucking unfathomable “need” in my life like that would fix me in so many ways. meld me to the earth itself yesssss i need this as badly as becoming a lighthouse keeper