Felurian’s Lute

We’ve been assuming the OIAR is Mag Institute adjacent, acting like the Eye to review cases. But Sam was rejected from the Mag program. I feel like new hires are very intentional, and Sam wouldn’t be hired at an institute that’s Mag-adjacent if he was originally rejected for whatever reason.

What if the Magnus Institute’s job in this world was to bring about the fears, and the OIAR’s job was to assess the threats they summoned and do “clean up” to banish them? So in a way, the OIAR was created to *combat* the Magnus Institute.

And what’s the best way to defeat an eldritch foe? Recruit some of them to hunt the others. The “externals” serve this purpose.

I think the OIAR might have also been responsible for burning down the Institute in an effort to stop them. That’s why they didn’t need a response team for a while.

This isn’t anything new. The only song on Midnights I could hum was “Sweet Nothing.”

“Fortnight,” in particular, as the lead single could have really benefited from this.

*checks notes*

Misty murderer

Shauna murderer

Thai attempted murder

Nat attempted suicide