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Annie -Origins

Bezzerk··4 votes·1,086 views

Why are you turning Annie into the next Amumu? I was here before preseason 1 and this lore change came out of no where. Annie is a playful girl with a strong lineage of dark magic. You can even hear in her voice lines in the game itself

"You wanna play too? It'll be fun!" "Play time!" "Eeny, meeny, miny, burn!"

She didn't have a dark past other than when her parents were outcasted for practicing dark arcane magic. The appeal to Annie was that she was just an ordinary little girl with an insane amount of arcane power. And this brings me on to Tibbers.

Annie was a girl with immense magical power so she bound a shadow bear as her slave. This showed how much power this little girl had:

" At the age of two, Annie miraculously ensorcelled a shadow bear - a ferocious denizen of the petrified forests outside the colony - turning it into her pet."

However, in this story line, her mother just creates a stuffed bear by stitching it:

"..Amoline—now heavily pregnant, she passed the time sitting near the fireplace, creating a toy version of the protective creatures. Just as she finished sewing the last button eye on the stuffed bear.."

You can see in the trailer that she didn't infuse a shadowbear with the teddy bear. This takes away the appeal that Annie was naturally gifted.

I'm not saying that Annie shouldn't have discovered her powers through these tragic events -I'm just saying that there needs to be some consistency. This new lore feels like it was meant to tug at the heartstrings rather than how she was originally intended to be.. a normal little girl with an immense amount of power.

Side note: "Annie & Tibbers' names respectively come from a Riot Games Inc. Gameplay Producer's girlfriend and her favorite teddy bear." Does this back story mean that they've broken up? Discuss.

18 Comments

KyleTheConqueror3 votes

I think what RIOT is trying to do is fix the consistency. I just read what a RIOTER said from another post, and how there was a different between "complexity" and "consistency." For now, we probably see some "inconsistency," but I'm sure that will change as the Universe grows.

I totally agree with you on her voice over in game. It doesn't match the new lore, and it most certainly does need to be fixed (I posted the same question a few minutes ago).

I personally like the new take on Annie, since I don't think it's fair for a little girl to be evil or provoked by nature. Come on, can a girl who is 5-9 years old be evil for no reason? This story reimagines her as who she is and why is she who she is rather than saying who she is and how special she is. Every champ is special already, can I just know why and how they became special? I hope I stated a clear argument. Point is, she is being made more consistent and concise.

Bezzerk4 votes

I see the path that RIOT is taking with Annie, and I agree with what you said about how we'll need to wait and see until the story line progresses further. People fight on Summoner's Rift for a lot of reasons (political, etc.) and it wouldn't make sense that Annie was put on Summoner's Rift for no reason. I want to see why she got put in the Rift, but I disagree with the approach that they're taking with her. I'd rather see the argument of whether people are "naturally good or evil given power" as that would be far more entertaining than Annie preparing bandages to wrap around her heart, ready to be sunken into the Tomb of Shurima (Amumu reference).

HonestJohnTheCon2 votes

Er... Summoner's Rift isn't canon anymore (well, maybe it is. But the Institute of War definitely isn't). It's kinda like Overwatch: the events in the game itself are non-canonical, although the characters and locations are (except for some events, of course).

Bezzerk3 votes

Ahh thanks for that! :D

Whyte Lyon1 votes

I really really dont believe that "inconsistency" is related to this Annie update, in fact I'm hesitant to even call it a traditional update. It's definitely a continuation (despite being an origins story) of exactly what old Annie was, with very minor tweaks between original edit and this recent one.

I totally agree with you on her voice over in game. It doesn't match the new lore, and it most certainly does need to be fixed.

Okay so you and OP both seems to have misunderstood the point. Annie's depiction within the Origins story is different from in-game, but the idea is that from Origins does she grow into the in-game version. There literally is no inconsistency between the two as one naturally progress into the other. Y'know.. character building.

Bezzerk3 votes

How can it be that they would naturally progress into each other? Clearly in the video, Annie is around the age of 6 or 7 and her lore starts before she was even born.

Annie's Mom stitches the bear in the new lore and in the video, Tibbers comes out from being torn. We can TRY to connect it to where Annie binds a shadow bear at the age of two into a teddy bear and she somehow forgets all about it and forces Tibbers out because he was about to be torn. Inconsistencies:

In the old lore, Tibbers was her pet. You can see in the video, the stuffed bear was just an ordinary bear. It isn't likely that Annie would forget how to summon her pet when she originally bounded Tibbers to be submissive to her in the very beginning. She could have summoned TIbbers to save her friend in the stream but she didn't. Why? Because in the new lore, Tibbers wasn't a bound shadow bear. He was just a doll. In the new lore, Annie TURNED the stuffed bear into a fire shadow bear.

"The girl’s terror grew to an unbridled rage, releasing her latent and powerful pyromancy, and the stuffed bear was brought to life in a maelstrom of protective fire."

This implies that Tibbers was an ordinary doll and Annie had created him out of rage.

Continuing on inconsistencies, Annie grew up in the Grey Order. The Grey Order were people that were political and social outcasts that wanted to practice arcane magic in peace. Annie's parents were the leaders of that very Order. They were VERY powerful and their lineage contributed into what Annie currently is. A powerful little girl. Why would her mother even attempt to rip Tibbers? WHY did they have no powers? Those are HUGE differences and cannot be a continuation.

Could it be that Gregori was powerless to begin with? Nonsense, he was titled "The Grey Warlock." Unless titles mean nothing, I don't see how he could have been so weak as to die from a magical house fire.

What about the original colonists of the original Grey order? Why would the people of the Grey order have no one to take care of Annie? They were all powerful magicians too. How come no one told Leanna that Tibbers was a shadow bear? That would be something to tell new colonists because they might accidentally provoke a potentially dangerous threat. It all doesn't make sense.

They are not continuous story lines. And if they are, they've missed a lot of big details that need to be established.

GreenLore3 votes

They explained they wanted to give an explanation for how Annie became this messed up. In her old lore,she was kinda implied(mostly by her VO) to happily murder and burn people despite living an otherwise normal life with her parents. That really feels a bit out of place.

This new lore tries to show how she got so messed up in the first place and why her parents don't try to prevent that kind of behavior from her. She is not meant to be an innocent girl that causes others suffering by accident like Amumu,she is supposed to be a messed up girl with too much power at her disposal.

Bezzerk3 votes

In her old lore,she was kinda implied(mostly by her VO) to happily murder and burn people despite living an otherwise normal life with her parents.

From what I got from her old lore, she was a pyromaniac that loves playing with fire. Children can naturally not know the consequences of their actions so her original lore would still make sense. A child with too much power, but with a playful twist! From her perspective, she doesn't have the concept of right and wrong yet. When a child slaps another kid for the first time, they're not taught to do that anymore. But with Annie, she'll burn whoever gets in her way. No one can teach her right and wrong so we're now witnessing a free roaming child with no teacher and an incredibly immense amount of power. This backstory would make more sense for having the Annie that we have now, not her tragic back story one.

There didn't need to be a tragic past for her to start happily burning people. Her voice over especially doesn't imply that she had a tragic past to begin with. She was just, and I do say this a lot, a child with too much power.

GreenLore3 votes

And where lies the big contradiction to this new lore piece? Her lore still makes her out to be exactly that.A child who doesn't understand right from wrong,who will burn people to death when they provoke her.

Really the only thing that seems to be bothering you is the fact that she has a tragic backstory. But you know,just because someone experienced something traumatic doesn't mean they have to go around brooding over it the whole time. This is essentially the first chapter of Annies story,but the annie that we have in the game is essentially the one from chapter 2 or 3,she is eventually what lore-annie will become. Its like seeing how Batmans parents died and then complaining that Bruce Wayne was different at that time.

Bezzerk4 votes

There are a few contradictions to the story and her upbringing.

  1. She isn't from a lineage of great sorcerers. The only thing that was mentioned in the new lore is that her parents can survive in the wilderness.
  2. She isn't naturally gifted other than the fact she has magical fire abilities (from Lord knows where, I can tell you it wasn't from her father in the new lore). Let me explain further. Magic and sorcery exists in this world. She has the ability to create fire, but no where is it mentioned she's gifted in the least. They've lowered the standards of her and everyone around her so that her magical abilities can stand out. Compared to me and you, a girl that shoots fire is like a god. But in this world, her mother and father and others in the Grey Order could have easily overpowered her because the village where she was at, was where great magicians and sorcerers go to practice arcane magic outside of Noxus society. In her old lore, she tamed a shadow bear and made it spell bound into a teddy bear. In her new lore, she created a fire bear from a stuffed animal. She did not tame an animal at the age of two in this new world. She manifested it out of anger and despair as can be seen here:

"The girl’s terror grew to an unbridled rage, releasing her latent and powerful pyromancy, and the stuffed bear was brought to life in a maelstrom of protective fire."

They've dumbed her down and the people around her. THAT is what bothers me the most. The tragic backstory is needless to say the least and doesn't highlight who Annie is. No where in the lore does it say that Annie is gifted, but you can take an educated guess by this quote:

"Annie may be one of the most powerful champions ever to have fought in a Field of Justice. I shudder to think of her capabilities when she becomes an adult." - High Councilor Kiersta Mandrake

And how can you say that the Annie that we have currently is "for the next chapter?" Without showing a hint of a tragic past in ANY of her original concepts, VO's or anything related to her? That's just lazy assumption work.

-At least Batman stood for justice after his parents got assassinated. Annie? Well, I guess she loves burning people after she killed everyone she loved around her. That doesn't make any sense at all. Wouldn't she want to tame her fire? Or vow to never use it again so that she can start looking for new friends? Or did she become bitter and decided to go on a rampage? That doesn't seem like the personality that the new lore portrays.

GreenLore1 votes

The thing is you previously said that this

A child with too much power, but with a playful twist! From her perspective, she doesn't have the concept of right and wrong yet. When a child slaps another kid for the first time, they're not taught to do that anymore. But with Annie, she'll burn whoever gets in her way. No one can teach her right and wrong so we're now witnessing a free roaming child with no teacher and an incredibly immense amount of power. This backstory would make more sense for having the Annie that we have now, not her tragic back story one.

Which would be completely different from her previous lore(After all her parents were powerful mages themselves in the old lore,so they would have been able to teach Annie right from wrong).

  • As for your "contradictions": 1.Annies mother was a witch and a magic user.The one you saw in the animated movie was her stepmother,not her biological one.And in the end we don't know if Annies mother came from a line of magic users or not. Heck for all we know,Gregori could have been a mage whose magical abilities were simply usesless during the fire.

2.The new lore doesn't make any comparisons to others.We don't know if Annies magic is far stronger than that of an average mage or not,as Annie has not dealt with any mages that we know of.Her taming a shadow bear never made sense in the old lore either,as she was specialized in fire magic,so how did she turn a bear into a plush?And could she turn others into plushies as well?

  • As for the chapter2 thing: We know that the annie in the game is essentially what the annie from the video will become because rioters have actually confirmed that already.But you didn't even bother to go around the boards and read up what rioters had to say about the video,you just started complaining and expected the rioters to come to you.

https://boards.na.leagueoflegends.com/en/c/story-art/a8iX7Axv-annie?comment=000800020001

  • And now the batman thing: You do realize that a lot of villains also have tragic backstories?Just because something tragic or traumatic happens to you doesn't mean you become a better person.

Annie likely blames her stepmother for all of this.After all if she hadn't described Annie as a monster,none of this would have happened.And now Annie has to survive all on her own,without anyone to guide her. She doesn't go around killing people for no reason,but if they antagonize her,she will retaliate just like she did with her stepmother.

Bezzerk3 votes

"Annies mother was a witch and a magic user.The one you saw in the animated movie was her stepmother,not her biological one."

I've said my contradictions assuming that the mother disappeared. I only talked about the father because her mother somehow went missing. I never said anything about Leanna other than she was a non-magic user that moved in. My previous comment:

How come no one told Leanna that Tibbers was a shadow bear? That would be something to tell new colonists because they might accidentally provoke a potentially dangerous threat.

And:

Her taming a shadow bear never made sense in the old lore either,as she was specialized in fire magic,so how did she turn a bear into a plush?

She came from a lineage of powerful mages. Fire wasn't the only thing she could do. IF you really wanted to go that route and go with what you previously said about her mother, she inherited fire powers from her mother and spell binding from your father. Even so, her father was grossly under powered in this situation.

And in the end we don't know if Annies mother came from a line of magic users or not.

I don't think you've even read the original lore.

http://leagueoflegends.wikia.com/wiki/Annie/History

"sought to leave their neighbors in peace as they pursued dark arcane knowledge."

They WERE magic users.

And now the batman thing: You do realize that a lot of villains also have tragic backstories?Just because something tragic or traumatic happens to you doesn't mean you become a better person.

Yes, I'm well aware of that. You can see me write it again

Wouldn't she want to tame her fire? Or vow to never use it again so that she can start looking for new friends? Or did she become bitter and decided to go on a rampage? That doesn't seem like the personality that the new lore portrays.

Now, I am well aware of what RIOT said:

Her current VO was actually a contributing factor to this origin story: the team asked what Annie would have had to go through to find burning other people fun and playful, and decided there was probably some real trauma there. Which means that ANNIE: Origins really is just that - the first spark that leads Annie to develop the personality we see and know in-game.

This is the community challenging their stance saying that it was not well made and that the voice overs do NOT contribute with this past that they have created. Instead of having a "Oh, RIOT said this so I must follow like a sheep" approach, why not banter a little?

But you didn't even bother to go around the boards and read up what rioters had to say about the video,you just started complaining and expected the rioters to come to you.

Annie is a character that I am passionate about. I would enjoy if she had any other past, however, this one feels forced and unnecessary. Most of what the RIOT team says is, "Oh yes, it makes COMPLETE sense that she had trauma in her past!" But as you can see, many, such as myself, disagree about it. That is all. This is a discussion of if you think the backstory was appropriate or not. I know that Annie's backstory is now canon because RIOT themselves posted it.

Try to contribute to the discussion. I will no longer be responding to you as you did not do your research on Annie's past and from your comments it looks like you rather call me a complainer rather than contribute to the discussion.

Iceborn Pippin2 votes

{quoted}

And where lies the big contradiction to this new lore piece? Her lore still makes her out to be exactly that.A child who doesn't understand right from wrong,who will burn people to death when they provoke her.

Really the only thing that seems to be bothering you is the fact that she has a tragic backstory. But you know,just because someone experienced something traumatic doesn't mean they have to go around brooding over it the whole time. This is essentially the first chapter of Annies story,but the annie that we have in the game is essentially the one from chapter 2 or 3,she is eventually what lore-annie will become. Its like seeing how Batmans parents died and then complaining that Bruce Wayne was different at that time.

Well, its like the difference between: "She had a normal upbringing and nobody died, the end." Compared to: https://youtu.be/0Ufmrn7BCuA

Der Lindwurm2 votes

It's similar to the Flanderization that occurs with TV show characters. A playful, smartalecky and highly talented girl with an affinity for fire fit right in among the rest of the cast in League of Legends back in 2009. Now, however, that's just not hamfistedly epic enough. Nooooooooo we'd never have someone who's merely talented in the League of Legends now; it needs to be a TRAGIC tale of WILD magic OUT OF CONTROL! RAAAAARRRGH! Sort of like how Gangplank couldn't just be some random pirate who knows the true power of oranges anymore. They had to make him into DREEEEEAAAAAAAAAD CAPTAIN GANGPLANK. How else will these characters fit in among the gods and forces of nature who make up an ever increasing percentage of the cast?

Bezzerk4 votes

Yeah, I disagree with the tragic approach, especially with Annie. Why couldn't she be naturally mischievous with an immense amount of power? The next thing you'll know, you'll have Annie's voice over naturally start crying when you press her ult button.

lolipopevelynn1 votes

annie is no where near the feels levels of amu, not even close. not even in the same league. annie can still make friends and get a family and potentially redeem herself. Amumu cant ever hope to be near ANYONE or ANYTHING that is living, so he is destined to be forever alone. and since this is a curse amu cant be saved, and to make things worse he is just a innocent child(yordle?) that inherited the curse from his past generations. hell, amu cant even make ENEMIES even if he wanted to.

also, i know people hate retcons and everything, but leagues old lore of champions consisted of one-two paragraphs tops. some are even one-two sentences long like Jax . expanded lore is better in the long run even if it retcons the old lore.

Bezzerk4 votes

Haha of course :)

I crudely compared Annie to Amumu because the new lore as if they were trying to tug at our heartstrings. Annie doesn't need to have a tragic past to have the current Annie that we have now. I'm glad that they're adding lore to champions, but for Annie specifically, this lore feels a bit too forced.

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