I don't care about philosophical debates over whether photons hitting your retina counts as "indirect processing."
If someone swings a hammer and hits your thumb, your brain will process signal pulses through your nerves.
You can write an essay explaining that your access to the hammer is "indirect," but your body will still scream, your blood pressure will spike, and your thumb will swell.
Physical reality is the pressure, pain, swelling, and physical limits of the organism.
The mental fantasy is the 300-word paragraph you typed to convince yourself that the hammer hits and your internal theories are the exact same category of illusion.
The practical difference is that I can ignore a theory about a "spiritual realm" or "simulation matrix" for 50 years and my life continues unchanged.
But if I ignore the physical reality of a oncoming bus or a lack of water because it's "just indirect sensory data," my physical organism dies.
Physical reality has consequences; mental stories just have arguments.
You want to debate epistemology.
I'm interested in living in my body.
Stay in the debate hall in your head. I'm already out on the porch enjoying the fresh air.