// TW: Eye trauma.
I just discovered that there is a condition called “Phantom Eye Syndrom”, which is basically the eye version of phantom limb syndrom. I found this definition: “The phantom eye syndrome (PES) is a phantom pain in the eye and visual hallucinations after the removal of an eye (enucleation, evisceration).” I mean, it would completely make sense for Ana to suffer from it, and I think it sheds an interesting light on a few things.
Not only did she lose an eye, but she also apparently refuses to let Angela replace it? She says she’s “comfortable with who she is now”, but more importantly that it’s “a good reminder” - a good reminder of the day she failed at her job and made a mistake that cost her everything? I choose to play Ana as a resigned old soldier who decided to stay in the shadows, follows Jack around because the poor old man can’t take care of himself - and somewhat drifted from canon probably by having her reunite with some of the OW crew and occasionally stay at the base and help out if one of their operations matches her goals with Jack. She likes to think that she doesn’t care about the war - but really I want to play her as someone who forbids herself to care because she feels like she doesn’t deserve to? As in, this fight is not her fight anymore - she already lost it, time to let better people bring back peace, since she wasn’t good enough to do it.
She passed for dead five years ago but something truly died in her that day, and not just her eye. Experiencing pains in her missing eye would be the reminder much more than the missing eye itself - and she could refuse to let Angela go through with a procedure because the pain is the punishment she receives for hesitating when she faced Widowmaker. A burden, as well as a motivation not to fail again.
I dunno, just random thoughts, may or may not go through with this idea, but it could be quite interesting to develop in rp, especially with a Mercy.