Some thoughts on Annie

[Phantasmagoria]

I can't shake the idea that a perfect Mr Right for Annie will be something like a younger Eglamore. You know, the strong and silent type, heroic and intense and all that. And anyone who's Annie's age will just be too immature for her.

Incidentally, (this is probably not very original), does anyone think that Eglamore could be Annie's father? That'll explain the knife, and his concern for her. Maybe this belongs in the Wild Speculation thread.

[Aspen d'Grey]

I see where you're coming from, but I don't agree. More from a storytelling perspective, a character like that would have to be, well, heroic and strong. And that's Annie's job. Eglamore is a really good fit for this because he's just close enough to be her hero, like in the end of 'Of New and Old', but not so close as to really interfere with here, like Aly did.

[mrw]

phantasmagoria said:

I can't shake the idea that a perfect Mr Right for Annie will be something like a younger Eglamore. You know, the strong and silent type, heroic and intense and all that. And anyone who's Annie's age will just be too immature for her.

The proverbial "they" always say "opposites attract", and in Annie's case I could see that being especially fitting. Her friendship with Kat is a good example. If she met someone just like her, they would never talk. Annie's a great thinker and listener - she needs someone to complement her on the social side.
But, as Aspen said, that may not fit well into the story.

Incidentally, (this is probably not very original), does anyone think that Eglamore could be Annie's father? That'll explain the knife, and his concern for her. Maybe this belongs in the Wild Speculation thread.

I think that speculation has been brought up, and it remains an intriguing possibility. And yes, the Wild Spec thread is probably the best place.

[todd]

I wouldn't be too surprised, mind you, if most of the boys in Annie's class find her a little intimidating due to that ever-so-serious-beyond-her-years tone of hers. Not to mention seeing her give one boy a judo flip and lifting another boy off the gym floor.

[mrw]

Yeah, I imagine the other boys would see her as completely out of their league.

[Mezzaphor]

A few weeks ago, I posted in another thread:

mezzaphor said:

I'm having a hard time getting a handle on Annie's relationship with Eglamore. She seems to resent or distrust him, but the only reasons she's stated for disliking him is his imprisonment of Reynardine and the poor advice he gave in ch 9. Annie seems to trust the body snatching demon who tried to kill her more than she trusts the man who saved her from said demon.

However, the revelation in today's page made me think of a similar revelation on page 104. After reconsidering that, I think Annie's distrust stems from her realization (on page 104 or soon afterwards) fact that Eglamore and the Donlans knew Surma and Anthony from childhood but never bothered to tell Annie before this point. I suspect that the adults had good reason for their silence, but Annie isn't privy to their reasoning; all she knows is that they've been withholding information about her parents.

While Annie hasn't shown the Donlans the same passive-aggression she's shown Eglamore, I suspect that Annie still distrusts them: If she did trust them, I think Annie would have considered the offer of summer lodging a bit longer than she did.

[Ed130]

She has matured before her age, its quite common due to factors in her early life (possibly looking after her mother etc) as for her "one true love" I dont know about love enugth to comment.

[Mezzaphor]

(Hooray for necroposting.)

Today's page isn't the first time that Annie's been too critical of herself. Way back in Chapter 6, she blamed herself for her father's disappearance: "He must have his reasons. ... Perhaps I did something to displease him."

We know that Annie is independent and self-reliant (being left to her own devices for most of her childhood at Good Hope no doubt contributed to this). But it would appear that she's so used to solving things herself that she kicks herself over the problems she doesn't solve, even when it's not her fault and completely beyond her control.

I'm reminded of Reinhold Niebuhr's "Serenity Prayer":

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

Annie's got courage in spades, but she may need to work on those other two things.

[Aspen d'Grey]

I'd say that Annie is pretty darned Serene, actually. She takes pretty much everything in stride, maybe that comes from knowing that we all are going to die eventuallly. She does seem to take a lot of things personally- although, that's what makes an interesting character. She's the -hero-, for gossakes.

[Mezzaphor]

I just think that poor Annie's got enough stress in her life without blaming herself for Anthony's disappearance or kicking herself for not coming up with a soul-saving epiphany seconds after Sword Girl woke her up by cutting her face.

You're right, it does make her a more interesting character, however.

[todd]

Incidentally, is it just me or does Annie seem to have a lot of paranormal canids in her life? Moddey Dhoo, Reynardine, Coyote, Ysengrin. (At least she's not likely to meet the Cwn Annwn and Gytrash.)