#identity v toy merchant

[nightwonder7]

"How is your head as dense as your body?"

Duo hunter shenanigans.

[sirenjose]

Why does Annie have an issue with Ganji?

The answer to this primarily has to do with Annie’s own experiences with her father and fiancé. Her anxiety began to form due to her strict father that didn’t truly love her. A father that saw her only as a failed substitute for her mother, who he likely also didn’t truly love except for her wealth. Nevertheless, Annie’s father didn’t accept Annie for who she was and wanted to be. He educated her in how to be a substitute muse in place of Wendy, forcing Annie to be something she wasn’t and didn’t enjoy. A father that only allowed her 1 hour of leisure time with the toys left by Annie’s mother, toys she saw as comfort and safety, and eventually formed a sort of dependence on (like a crutch I think).

Despite this, she was still kind and implicitly believed in those she trusted. This included the person she thought would be the love of her life, someone she thought would accept her as she was that wouldn’t just marry her for her money. But she was wrong. And worse, her fiancé had been working with her father, who managed to steal the inheritance left to her by her mother. This betrayal devastated Annie, likely worsening her self-confidence and anxiety, as well as caused her to develop serious trust issues. In any case, we know Annie was bad off enough to be sent to a mental facility (on top of whether she actually did have a miscarriage and had to deal with that loss as well).

So when Annie meets Ganji, she likely equates him in her head to her father.

Annie's 2nd letter describes Ganji as "He was unlike any other before him and seemed to harbor hostility toward everyone. Especially the noise he made by throwing his stuff on the table—it felt like everything would be stirred up by him."

She sees and focuses on Ganji’s irritation, hostility, and aggressive behavior, which is likely similar to how her own father acted towards her. Continuously irritated at the failed imitation of Wendy, causing him to react hostility and aggressive towards her, which could relate to Annie in her 2nd letter being said to wear a “nervous smile” and trying to control her “trembling hands” behind her back before rushing back to her room. She likely had to do the same thing with her father. Forced to smile, not allowed to show her fear, but running to the room left by her mother for safety whenever she could. And by equating Ganji in her head to her father, she also thinks of the betrayal from him and her fiancé, which is why she fears him, especially after the drugs worsen her anxiety. Her working with Aesop to take him out in her 4th letter could imply she felt she had to take him out before he did something bad (as like with her father and fiancé, she may think he could betray them too and thus needs dealt with before that happens).

Regarding Ganji, it’s a bit unfortunate Annie is treating Ganji this way, as this was the same way Ganji’s neighbors were described to feel and treat him. His “horrifying face” scared them, as did his irritability. They described him as a “thug”. But also they felt he was someone that would cause them trouble and thus needed to be avoided.

Ganji in fact is actually a kind person deep down whose personality was forcibly changed and hardened after many years of mistreatment. He is also a very lonely person, who’s been without friends and family for a long time, to the point the impulsiveness and irritability he displays is actually a result of extreme depression and anxiety caused by severe homesickness. He is a lonely boy in a foreign place left to struggle alone without support, surrounded by people who saw him as inferior and treated him only as an object or toy.

He came to England from India because he thought the invitation he’d been given was a great opportunity, but ended up being betrayed, deceived, and taken advantage of.

Despite all this, Ganji has a simple goal: he wants to go home. He wants to see his mother. He wants to make sure everything is ok.

Ganji and Annie are actually quite similar. Both suffer from severe anxiety (Annie was likely also depressed after what happened to her, and so both share depression too). Both care greatly about their mothers, but are unable to be with them at this time (Annie’s mother died before she got to know her but she still loves her based on everything she left behind for Annie. Ganji grew up with his mother but was separated without an easy way to return, even when his hometown is in trouble). Both have been betrayed (Annie by her father, Ganji by the British Royal Team) and manipulated for someone else’s own ends (Annie by her father and fiancé for her inheritance, Ganji for information about his hometown so others can profit from its “spice extraction”), and thus both have trust issues. Both also treasure toys from their mothers (Annie with the wooden toys purchased by her mother, Ganji with his sheep toy, not to mention 1 of Ganji’s likes is listed as toys, with another being “play”).  Both were originally kind and/or kind deep down (Annie was kind to those she trusted before she was betrayed, and Ganji’s original/actual personality is described as “kind”. Ganji is actually quite soft, with how 1 of his likes is listed as “flowers” and 1 of his interests is “music”).

There’s also how Annie was said to dream of the power of her “wooden wings” to “take her away to the world outside those walls” (her father’s), while Ganji specifically has 1 of his dislikes listed as “high walls” (escape the manor of the Queen’s Guard he was brought to by the British Royal Team, as well as the walls of the detention center he was put in for a time).

Unfortunately, communication is difficult for them, especially once the drugs used on Ganji and Annie worsen their anxiety and issues with their past (according to Victor’s and Aesop’s 3rd letters), and it only gets worse as the game goes on.

(I wonder, Aesop’s 2nd letter has him describe Ganji as “that cranky guy with a strange accent”, while Victor in his 2nd letter says about the note Ganji left him “The note was folded up irregularly. There were a few scribbles on it, seemingly for the girl. The surface of the paper was rugged, as if the handwriting had been altered many times”. I wonder if part of the reason Ganji had trouble communicating could’ve been because he isn’t the best with English and/or English wasn’t his 1st language, considering Aesop mentions his “accent” and Victor implies he wrote little and it had taken him awhile to write even that much.)

[foxieskull]

rlly enjoyed drawing her (ᴗ͈ˬᴗ͈)ꕤ.ﾟ

[0-pop-art]

Some ivory tower doodles

[hot-coffemilk]

Have been trying out a new artstyle for fun these last days

[circus-blades]

Scene redraw of this one Annie shot from COA6 trailer... I love she

[ashesfierybree]

Hello again anniedrew nation

[quoththeowl31]

Cuckoo Bird

(Endless Game)

Memory, Robbie, and Mockery were huddled outside in the courtyard. Every once in awhile the sound of CUCKOO would echo through the air and the children would begin laughing. It made Anne Lester all the more curious as she approached the trio.

Cuckoo

Anne wondered if they had gotten hold of a darling cuckoo clock. They would probably playing with the hands to make the bird come out and count out the time of day; a fond memory she had as a child playing with her mother's cuckoo clock. Anne also remembered how delicate clocks could be too, which is why her mother told her not to play with it.

Cuckoo

The children laughed as she approached before seeing what it was they were having fun with. She let out a small gasp; it wasn't a darling cuckoo clock, but a real darling cuckoo bird!

It was resting on Mockery's head, letting out a little call every once in awhile.

"Hi Miss Lester!" Memory greeted.

"Hiya!" Robbie waved

"Look I have a bird on my head!" Mockery pointed to the little visitor excitedly.

"I see that sweetie, looks like you've made a friend out of a Cuckoo Bird, what good fortune!"

Cuckoo

The bird called as it flew around Anne before landing back on Mockery's head. She let out a small giggle of her own; however it came to be here it was quite clearly wanting to make some friends.

"Did you know that the Cuckoo Bird is a symbol of Spring?" Anne asked.

"I thought rabbits were!" Memory piped.

"Robbie thought flowers!"

"Indeed, all of those are symbols of Spring. The cuckoo bird represents the new beginnings coming with spring."

"But it's August." Mockery pointed out. The cuckoo bird simply sat in silence on his head. Suddenly it shot up, looking around anxiously before flying off.

"Wait come back!" Mockery called as he chased after if for a brief period with Memory close behind.

"Awww, he flew away."

Anne felt a little somber watching the bird fly away; the manor felt like a cage most of the time. Maybe one day they'd be free like the birds who fly in the sky. In the meantime many of the inhabitants did what they could to make the best of a bad situation. Anne approached the two children with Robbie following behind her.

"It's gone." Memory said.

"Do you think it got scared?" Mockey had his hands cupped around his eyes similar to binoculars in hopes to see further.

"Maybe, some of us are scary looking." Anne knelt down next to them.

"Hmmm, I bet if we build a bird house, he'd come back." The kids became excited at the thought and it made Anne excited too. Maybe they could get Bane to help with carving the wood and some fine details too.

---------------------------------------------------------

Eli and Brooke were taking a walk outside when Brooke noticed something in the nearby tree. A chill ran down Eli's spine and he could sense something strange hiding in the leaves.

Cuckoo

The Cuckoo Bird flew out over Eli and Brooke. It flew towards one of the windows of the upper level of the manor. The Seer sighed in relief and gave his companion a small scratch.

"Looks like someone is trying to relay a message between here and back in the real world." Eli wondered who the message was for as he watched a window open and saw an arm reach out for the Cuckoo. It hopped up onto a finger that was offered as a new perch.

"Hmmm, I hope it's a good visit" Eli said under his breath as he and Brooke continued their walk.

----------------------------------------------------------

Miss Nightingale needed a little air, working on a new set of essences was tiring, stuffy, and she needed some natural light to illuminate her lonely room in the manor. When she opened the window a cuckoo bird immediately perched onto the windowsill letting out its familiar call.

Cuckoo

"Hm, a rather fitting form my little Cuckoo Bird." She offered her own hand for it to perch and she slowly brought it inside.

"It's dangerous to dive this far into from the waking world. I know that much."

Cuckoo

"Still, it's nice of you to visit, Johnathan."

[cinnanamii]

I KNOW I DONT USUALLY POST VIDEOS BUT OMG I HAD TO SHARE THIS???

[mulberry-mansion]

@boringiridescence

Hi! I accidentally deleted your ask, so I post this as a general post sorry😭 Ganji and Annie are so cute together! and I have one pic of Annie I can share with you!

[banquetofvanity]

Hidden and eternity are a fun dynamic

(He/him Alice they/them Annie)

[nightwonder7]

Utterly oblivious. Kinda a "sequal" to this.

[sirenjose]

Analysis of Anne (Annie) Lester

Annie’s mother came from a “wealthy British family” (likely a merchant family based on Annie’s backstory), while her father was a “nameless painter”. He was likely Czech as Annie’s original backstory mentions being either born into a Czech family or growing up in the Czech Republic.

Whether or not she actually lived in the Czech Republic, her father fell in love with her mother (Wendy), who he apparently saw as his “muse”. Based on what he says to Annie later and how he wants her to be, he apparently loved/admired Wendy due to her “ladylike demeanor”/”lady’s bearing”, “talent”, and beauty, while Annie’s trailer also uses the words “dignified, decent, elegant”.

Wendy really looking forward to Annie’s birth based on the baby room and wooden toys that she purchased for Annie. Unfortunately, she dies on November 29th due to hemorrhaging during Annie’s birth.

Annie’s father is very upset over her death, and even more so due to his view that Annie failed to adequately replace her in terms of talent, beauty, personality, and behavior. Due to this viewpoint, he likely was very strict on Annie, who he likely attempted to train and educate her on how to properly act like a lady and everything else he saw as necessary to be a lady.

This left Annie only 1 hour of free time a day. Only 1 hour where she was allowed to be in the baby room and play with the toys all left by her mother. Only 1 hour where she was allowed to “be herself”. Annie was clearly unhappy over how her father was trying to make her act and behave. Annie loved her mother but she could not perfectly replace her. She was her own person, a person that wasn’t the sort of perfect lady her father wanted her to be. But she had no choice while she still lived with her father, who showed little to no love to Annie due to her continued failure to be ladylike enough to replace her mother. So she used that 1 hour to escape from reality into her own fantasy world.

1 of the toys in that room is said to be “wings for gliding” with it seeming like “its owner was planning an escape with limited materials available”. It is possible she wanted to use these to escape her father, but for now I’m assuming she built them as part of her fantasy rather than actually used them to escape, but it’s hard to know for sure.

As Annie grew up, suitors attempted to woo her, though they were not the good type as her backstory describes them as “unscrupulous womanizers hoping to live a carefree life supported by her riches”. This had to do with the fact that, after Wendy’s death, Annie stood to inherit “50% of her estate, including property assets, when she comes of age”. They weren’t the only ones interested in Annie’s inheritance, as her own father, who likely had no real love or care left for Annie after this long, likely decided this money was the only thing of value left regarding Annie.

1 of the suitors Annie meets feels to her to be the perfect man. Considering her trailer mentions “The beautiful flowers, the adoration of the crowd, a gorgeous dress, and a seemingly perfect fiancé” as well as used the word “grandeur”. This could mean she was forced to act like a noble lady, likely including attending parties, which is where she met all these suitors, including the one she fell in love with.

Based on the fact Annie in her deductions says “He seems to know me well. Most importantly, he accepts me despite my shortcomings”, it almost seems less like Annie was interested in marrying and instead simply sought someone who offered her real love with no strings attached. Someone who loved her for who she was rather than desired her to be someone she wasn’t and didn’t want to be. After growing up under a strict father who showed her little to no love, a man who refused to accept the way she wanted to be and only showed approval if she did what he wanted, Annie sought acceptance. But this need made her vulnerable, as right now she was said to be “kindest to those she trusted and was prepared to believe in them implicitly—at least, this is what she used to believe”.

The issue with this implicit trust was that the man she thought would be the one, the love of her life, was actually another liar and scammer. Based on Annie’s deduction 8, Annie’s fiancé had been working with Annie’s father to manipulate Annie into marrying her so they could get their hands on her inheritance.

Considering Annie’s father interest in her inheritance, and based on how Annie’s deduction 2 describes Annie’s father as a “nameless painter” managing to somehow marry into a “wealthy British family”, I wonder if Annie’s father never truly loved Wendy or Annie and only married Wendy due to her wealth, just like the suitors trying to marry Annie for her inheritance now. I wonder how long he’d been planning to steal Annie’s wealth, and if he’d been thinking about it even before Annie’s birth. I also wonder if Annie’s fiancé was actually a friend of her father’s, and that could be why he was able to work with him to attempt to steal Annie’s inheritance. From how Annie says her fiancé knows and accepts her for who she is, I wonder if Annie’s father could’ve told her fiancé about Annie and her desire to give her fiancé a better chance at winning her over.

Based on Annie’s deduction 9, it seems they succeeded in getting that 50% from her. One of her backstories mentions she did get married and had a miscarriage too. Whether or not that happened, after the 2 scammed Annie out of her inheritance, and without Annie’s father financing Annie at all, her financial status fell “under the poverty level”. She also was deeply hurt by the betrayal, and it was only than that she began to not implicitly trust everyone.

Based on Annie’s 1st letter, it seems due to her poverty, she was forced to temporarily live at “Holloway Nursing Home”. While there, the mention of hoping to bring “uplifting” news helps further confirm Annie was pretty depressed after what had happened to her. Her trailer uses the words “Deceived, Manipulated and discarded, Just like a toy”, so this is likely how she felt after the betrayal, while “imprisonment” is how she felt with her father.

In the CN version, it instead calls it the “Holloway Sanatorium Temporary Ward”. A “sanatorium” is a medical facility providing long-term care (usually for treatment for people with chronic illnesses). It is possible she was sent here after her “miscarriage”. On the other hand, Holloway Sanatorium is actually a real place in Surrey, England. It was said to be “for the care and treatment of the insane of the upper and middle classes”. This implies Annie was likely sent here for reasons tied to her mental or emotional state.

She is referenced to have some pretty severe anxiety during the games which she likely developed due to how she grew up under her strict father who didn’t show Annie any love, only seeing her as a failure her whole life, with her backstory implying he made her feel “worthless”.

Her anxiety likely also ties to her toys, as these toys were said to symbolize “comfort, family, and stability, and she only feels when she is around them”. This could imply she developed a kind of dependence on them, as she may have essentially used them as an emotional/mental crutch and tied them in her mind to her mother, who Annie knew had loved her despite never having the chance to meet her, even though her mother was gone. Without any of her toys or safe room, her mental state likely deteriorates to some degree.

Besides her anxiety, there’s also the outcome of Annie’s fiancé with her father betraying her and taking the inheritance from her mother. Annie’s emotional state isn’t described anywhere, but it likely isn’t hard to imagine how this likely affected her.

Annie already had developed feelings of low self-worth, insecurity, and a multitude of other issues due to how she grew up under her father. Then when she was betrayed by someone she felt might finally accept her for who she is, this further devastated her mental state. We know, despite how she grew up, that she still trusted to some degree, and was kind and implicitly believed those she trusted, but this was destroyed following the betrayal, and she likely developed trust issues (becoming more guarded and afterwards not opening up as easily). Besides this, she obviously would’ve felt deep emotional pain, heartbreak, and betrayal after what her fiancé and father did. Anger, sadness, confusion and loss would also be expected, as well as lower self-confidence and increased self-doubts and insecurity.

If Annie had been sent to a mental facility, this could imply she, at least for a time, had extreme emotional instability, and could’ve been shifting between emotions quite rapidly, from sorrow enough to cause her to cry uncontrollably, to panic attacks, or even intense anger. I imagine it had to have been enough to impair their ability to function or threatened their well-being for her to be put there. It’s also possible she experienced delusions or hallucinations due to her distress or deteriorated mental state. At the very least, panic attacks tied to her severe anxiety (which could also reasonably put her at risk of arm) are also fairly likely. She was likely sent to the mental facility to help her stabilize.

While she was there, before she’d stabilized but was recovering, she met Nicholas Oz, an attorney appointed by Wendy to inform her that Annie’s current status had activated a portion of the will Wendy left for Annie, which gave her a different 30% of Wendy’s estate as Wendy had made Annie her “designated inheritor”. This was a 30% that had “remained unrecorded” and had included “Madam Lester's foreign assets and assets entrusted to the care of her relatives and friends, all of which will be inherited by you”. Included in the items inherited by Annie is a “brand new children's wooden aircraft”, which could be the same one she uses in game (and may have been a real life, better version of the wings she’d built herself in the past).

I wonder if Wendy potentially knew a bit of the about how Annie’s father truly was and did all this in advance for this very kind of situation. Maybe that’s why there was a condition in her will that gave Annie 30% if Annie fell below the poverty level, which could imply Wendy had potentially foresaw this happening.

In any case, Annie (now definitely not living with her father if she hadn’t already escaped him before) used the money to build a toy shop (the objects that had helped her escape her miserable reality into a fantasy world where she had real freedom) and pursue her own desires. She also hoped her store would help bring happiness to other children and help grow their own fantasy worlds. Her toyshop is successful, and is said to have helped her regain her confidence. She vows to “get back what she deserves and her dignity”.

The last thing we know is she receives an anonymous letter that promises information on the “two scammers” (aka her father and fiancé who stole her inheritance) and so she decides to go.

[yumio-avi]

[0-pop-art]

Some ladies with suit part 2

[cocoamuc]

Anne blowing kisses 💕💕