As an Annie main I can say I'm excited about the lore update but also a little skeptical. I want Annie to be a great champion, I want her to have an amazing concept, I want her to have a personality true to that lore, I want her to be the best she can possibly be.
With that said this post I'm about to make is pure speculation on what I predict is going to happen.
Things I noticed in the teaser:
https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RyLRbIJd5X8/WnII6-aZHyI/AAAAAAAA4Fs/gDlZ50aHUWYZulcVyGfGh46AlWJycWPdgCLcBGAs/s1600/1.jpg https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QKsEoyWCjgU/WnII9lYp09I/AAAAAAAA4GQ/UZIdTcQCwLQ06gcj8vwmnY5Woo4tdNxAgCLcBGAs/s1600/9.jpg
One thing I noticed in the Annie teaser is that they changed her Eye colour from Green to Blue. Not really a big thing honestly but it makes me wonder if maybe these changes go further then just lore, is it truly just a lore update or is she getting a visual update as well? Personally, I'd be okay with a visual update so long as they keep her true to her nature. (Not making her older, not changing her to drastically) but one thing I would love is if she got some more in-game Voice Over lines to help smooth out her nature and personality. In-game dialogue is what brings a champion to life, sets who they are and helps the players to understand who they are what they are like. Annie right now is one of those champions who has very little voice lines so if there was going to be any kind of Visual update I'd hope it'd be for her VO lines more than anything.
Friend or Sister?
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There's another girl in the teaser Annie is playing with! Is it a friend? or maybe a sister? Annie's family certainly seems to have changed beyond Warlock dad and Shadow Witch mom but its still to early to say anything. We see Annie spending a significant amount of time with this girl and the two seem to be very close. There are scenes in the teaser where the two get along and other scenes where this mysterious other girl falls and seems frightened, possibly of Annie.
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what catches my eye the most is the scene where Annie is reaching for someone or something or in a river, unable to save them or it from its demise. What makes this one really stick out is in the teaser both Annie and this other girl can be seen running towards the same river. This leads me to believe that maybe something happens to this other girl which starts the downward spiral of poor Annie's lore into the dark tale of Ashes it may become.
https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XSXcOmGCUyM/WnIJDeIhrZI/AAAAAAAA4Gc/owsnrEvF3-o3wDw1S7DO84lcIN6RiI_PgCLcBGAs/s1600/3.jpg https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8eNJ2rdh9r0/WnII_BskF0I/AAAAAAAA4GY/Px9gAwEHfQUCs0FivxBk1vi-w1ttpyrPwCLcBGAs/s1600/12.jpg
The Mysterious Man
We also see a glimpse of an older male, possibly a father figure of sorts or at least someone close to Annie, trying his best to support Annie but also keeping his distance as in one brief scene he can be seen knocking Annie's hand away from his. Whoever this individual is he seems to play a much bigger role in Annie's story than simply being close to her. In one of her art pages, we see Annie having a stare down with a man in burning forest.
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In the teaser, he seems to be close enough to hug her though. I believe he will play a crucial part in her lore.
https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5v8JPYAzmD8/WnII82tpN8I/AAAAAAAA4GI/U2nZ85JdEX4Xyvnz92UZmrBDZnfTUqcIQCLcBGAs/s1600/7.jpg
Tibbers
So where does Tibbers fit into all of this? Annie's most iconic feature about her is her bear, Tibbers, We see she has the bear early on in the teaser when she's running towards the River with the other girl and also clutching the bear in despair later on. It might be safe to assume that unlike in her old lore where she captured the bear and enscrolled it in a stuffed animal, the bear this time has a much more powerful sentimental value to it. Perhaps it was given to her by the other girl and thus she clutches it so close to her heart all the time? To early to say but it seemed like the best theory to go on right now. Regardless we can tell something happens to it as it begins to burn with fire when Annie is seen holding it and crying into it.
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With all that said, here's what I believe is going to happen lore wise
I believe Annie's lore will still be tied to Noxus in someway. Here's what I believe. Be warned, this is all total speculation!
Annie's tale will begin in the forest, hidden away from the world with her sister, possible by their parents or maybe just by her sister perhaps they ran away. Harboring a powerful magic inside of them Annie's sister knew that anyone who learned of the girl's existence, or at least Annie's would certainly look to take her away and use her as a weapon of war. With that threat looming Annie's sister took her sibling to hide them in the forest, fearing one day their power, or at least Annie's would awaken and cause destruction, or be used as a weapon.
Annie and her sister stayed in the forest, playing and living their lives the best they can, finding some way to eat and survive and just be the kids they want to be. Unaware of the dangers or the power the lurks in them. Annie's sister gives her a bear which she abruptly names tibbers of course and Annie comes to cherish this bear as her most treasured possession. Life goes on until one day, a man appears.
This man is from Noxus, and he knows all about the secret power that is inside Annie and possibly her sister. He was charged by Noxus to retrieve them so they could be used for war, and after finally finding them, he has come for them. However, fearing that power is awakening and could be turned on him, he attempts to deceive the girls into befriending him instead. Annie buys it but perhaps her sister does not. This leads the man to only one option, Remove the sister from the picture and take Annie. She's in the way, if he returns with at least Annie it might be good enough!
So he sets it up, lurking in the shadows I believe he sets up Annie's sister to fall into the river and die, leaving Annie alone and in despair and once she is he'll swoop in and offer Annie a new home and a new family in Noxus so she won't have to be alone anymore. Annie watches as her sister is swept away. And as planned Annie falls into despair. However, this despair begins to awaken the destructive power within her. The man appears to Annie again, but things don't go as plan, somehow she learns about what he did, how he took her sister away from her, and upon learning that Annie awaken. Her destructive power destroyed everything, her home, the forest, it all catches ablaze. This leaves the man with no choice. He must run, or he must fight. Surrounded by fire and with no other option he reveals he is from Noxus and offers to help Annie channel her power, he promises Noxus only did what it did because they wanted to help her, but Annie's not buying it. The name Noxus is now forever tainted to her. Her rage towards Noxus is channelled into her bear, the bear her sister gave her, and thus that rage brings forth Tibbers. The man can only stare at the remnants of the girl he killed, her last memento to her sister now prepare to end him the way he ended her.
the lore will end with the forest burned to ashes, the man nowhere to be seen, presumably dead, and Annie fully aware of what she can do with her power. With her bear clutched to her chest, she looks towards empire Noxus and began to make her way towards. All while telling herself one thing.
Noxus is the enemy, Noxus is full of bad people.
Noxus must burn.
Just a fun guess. I guess we'll see if I was close or not tomorrow.
