THE LORE.
Once upon an aeon, in a faraway galaxy, there reigned a Queen named Annie.
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The star upon which she lived—a very small star, no bigger than a thimble—was called Annieland.
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Orbiting Annieland were a thousand tiny planets, each no larger than a drop of dew, and each with a single resident. They were known as Annietians*.
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The Queen’s magnetism had to be significant in order to keep all the little planets gravitating towards her. She had golddust-glittered skin and a sparkly jewel-crusted crown, and her giggles pealed across her universe like windchimes. She loved to dance and drum and dress in shimmery royal raiments.
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Because her home was the source of all light, anything she did sent her shadow playing across the surface of the planets that circled her. And because Queen Annie was almost perpetually in motion, her fluttering shadows were constant companions, like feathery kisses, for everyone in the realm.
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Still, the Annietians were isolated from one another, and so the Queen invented bridges to connect them in their dreams. In order to journey on the astral plane, Annietians donned magic metallic costumes designed by the Queen herself. Then they could visit and frolic and revel together, to their hearts’ content.
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And the Annieland universe was a happy place indeed.
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One day as the Queen was tending her garden of faux fur flowers, which she used to adorn costumes, a large gleaming ring hurtled through the sky, just over her crown. Annie reached up and grabbed hold of it.
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The ring glowed in her hands and a voice said: “I am the ring of an enchanted planet. If you step inside me and spin me around your body, I will sing songs of the celestial spirit.”
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So the Queen stepped into the ring and spun it around her. The brightness of Annieland increased by several magnitudes, and the universe was filled with singing so sweet that every Annietian gazed up in wonder at their breathtaking dervish Queen, their hearts so full of joy it felt like they might burst.
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Annieland blazed brighter and brighter as the celestial singing swelled louder, and then there was a mighty shudder in space as the star system disappeared.
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One day, aeons later, a girl on the planet called Earth stepped into a gleaming ring known as a hoop and spun it around her. She began to glow and giggle, and her ears filled with ancient otherworldly music, and visions of shimmering clothing flowed into her mind’s eye.
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The girl’s name was Annie.
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Today, she presides over the creation of a celestial line of raiments for hoopers, astral travelers, and lovers of life.
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* Annietians rhymes with Venetians.
