Forlorn Doll (New Willow's skin): A Theory about Willow's past

[FreyaMaluk]

So.. after the video on Willow's abilities there are still some questions that are unclear. One of these unanswered questions relate to Willow's time before the orphanage we saw in the video. I believe the new skin provides a lot of clues about this time and this what I'm gonna explore here.

First of all, "forlorn" is a very telling word in itself usually refereed to abandonment and misery

"Some say, that Rauens foster forlorne children, The whil'st their owne birds famish in their nests: " Titus Andronicus, Act II, Scene III 

forlorn doll and children describe many times abandoned children, abandoned and miserable dolls... and this is precisely what we see when we look at the description of the individual pieces of the "Forlorn Doll" set

1. Let's start with the "head"

there are very interesting elements here: once-sweet, abandonment, bitterness, resentment

this is Willow's underlying emotional state. She feels alone, thrown away like an old doll noone want's to play with anymore, full of bitterness and resentment

"Why did you leave me?" --- We don't see this in her video... but it is clear there is someone in her past... Who is this person she is talking about here? We are gonna talk about this in a later point, for now let's move to the next description.

2. Now the frock.

The red brooch is probably an allusion to her "fire" power... something that cannot be missed... something big and beautiful as fire can indeed be... I'm not quite sure if the brooch is supposed to refer a red gem.. again a nice "fire" reference... but the brooch from the portrait to the actual skin is a bit different and the red gem's form is a double diamond rather than this..     so I'm not so sure... but the fire reference is probably more prevalent

3. the sleeves' description

This is probably the most telling of all the pieces. Some elements of importance here: late grandmother, must legally be

This is probably the person who in Willow's eyes "left her." Most probably her granny died of old age and then she was placed in an orphanage as children with no relatives "must legally be"

Maybe she even wandered around in the house like a haunted doll chased by Shadow Creatures in the attic before she was found and sent to the orphanage...

Probably in Willow's eyes she feels that her grandma didn't wanted to take her with her... and "once-sweet" Willow feels the abandonment and sorrow of her granny's passing and her solitude grew even more when she ended up in a place that made her feel like a forgotten, unwanted old doll.

There is indeed some evidence in the game of her grandma in a very brief mention: Lesser Glow Berry- "It feels like grandma's hands." So now we know.. it was that person she calls after... her dead old granny

4. And finally her shoes

Probably an endearment term grannies use to refer to small children, specially girls... "porcelain doll" to indicate a very beautiful and "once-sweet" little girl

 

So there you have it... old granny dead... Willow sad and miserable..  and now alone in an orphanage with people that clearly don't love her...

You went dark with this one Klei.. Poor Willow T_T

No wonder why is she was been chased by Shadow Creatures... and why she wen't kaboom...

[Tapirus]

Well, maybe Forlorn Doll skin is actually a reference to Mandy? 

She´s a haunted doll (like the well know Annabelle), placed in a museum of Canada. And apparently, the woman who had this doll said Mandy belonged to her grandmother originally. 

Spoiler

I give you a link talking about it, as example:

http://www.theparanormalguide.com/blog/mandy-the-haunted-doll

[FreyaMaluk]

2 hours ago, Tapirus said:

Well, maybe Forlorn Doll skin is actually a reference to Mandy? 

She´s a haunted doll (like the well know Annabelle), placed in a museum of Canada. And apparently, the woman who had this doll said Mandy belonged to her grandmother originally. 

  Reveal hidden contents

I give you a link talking about it, as example:

http://www.theparanormalguide.com/blog/mandy-the-haunted-doll

this is pretty interesting stuff... it makes indeed for another idea... maybe you could explore it a bit...

IMO "haunted doll" for Willow is more like a metaphor in DST... cuz she is literally haunted by Shadow Creatures and the supernatural fires... but It's an interesting point indeed

[Tapirus]

25 minutes ago, FreyaMaluk said:

this is pretty interesting stuff... it makes indeed for another idea... maybe you could explore it a bit...

Well, Mandy is a old toy made more or less in 1920 (curiously, the time of DS/DST) and some people claimed hear strange sounds like cries and talks, strange stuff like her eyes following you sometimes and something like shadows surrounding the doll.

Another link mentioning Mandy, as example:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haunted_doll

[minespatch]

22 minutes ago, Tapirus said:

(like the well know Annabelle

[Geeris]

Great post!
It showed us that the skins pieces reveal something that hasn't been shown in the video and maybe this will happen, in the future, with upgrade to other characters.

Poor Willow... Your life seems so sad. 

 

[FreyaMaluk]

15 minutes ago, Tapirus said:

Well, Mandy is a old toy made more or less in 1920 (curiously, the time of DS/DST) and some people claimed hear strange sounds like cries and talks, strange stuff like her eyes following you sometimes and something like shadows surrounding the doll.

Another link mentioning Mandy, as example:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haunted_doll

 

13 minutes ago, minespatch said:

it would be so completely wow if this was something remotely true lol

can you imagine Willow being Wendy's doll? omg totally bananas xD

on a serious note tho... I think the "haunted doll" was probably more on the metaphorical side to indicate the mental and emotional unbalance that in a way lead the shadow creatures to haunt her ...  and later to the situation when Willow ended up in the Constant...

But I think this could make a nice research post on Willow if you wanna explore more on this aspect @Tapirus 

[Tapirus]

18 minutes ago, FreyaMaluk said:

But I think this could make a nice research post on Willow if you wanna explore more on this aspect @Tapirus 

I'll keep in mind, thanks.

One thing more: 

The museum of Canada where Mandy was put is located in British Columbia, the same place of Klei´s Headquarter. So, the coincidences calls the attention.

[Zampano]

I'm assuming Willow went from living in an orphanage to panhandling on the streets (because she uh, burnt it down), and then grew up and somehow ended up in the Constant? Am I off-base?

[FreyaMaluk]

2 minutes ago, Zampano said:

I'm assuming Willow went from living in an orphanage to panhandling on the streets (because she uh, burnt it down), and then grew up and somehow ended up in the Constant? Am I off-base?

that's the basic assumption... I have the sneaky suspicion she probably encountered another survivor before getting into the Constant...  but we will see with the next character updates

[Zampano]

Just now, FreyaMaluk said:

that's the basic assumption... I have the sneaky suspicion she probably encountered another survivor before getting into the Constant...  

"Flame Consumes New York Library"... hm.

[FreyaMaluk]

Just now, Zampano said:

"Flame Consumes New York Library"... hm.

yes... there are a lot of inexplicable fires that might be connected to Willow but we don't know for sure...

Probably is Wicker the other character she meets before getting into the Constant...

[4 Da LOLs]

4 hours ago, FreyaMaluk said:

"porcelain doll" to indicate a very beautiful and "once-sweet" little girl

porcelain is just what old dolls are made out of

also i want to note some oddities in the trailer

1 the shadow creature had several closer victims to it why Willow?

2 the shadow lunges then a weird noise that sounds like the oil of a tractor being kicked over then a glow of fire happens did the creature posses her or somehow empower her? it would make sense for why she is immune to fire

[The 2C3D]

6 hours ago, 4 Da LOLs said:

the shadow creature had several closer victims to it why Willow?

Presumably, she was the most insane.

[FreyaMaluk]

7 hours ago, 4 Da LOLs said:

porcelain is just what old dolls are made out of

also i want to note some oddities in the trailer

1 the shadow creature had several closer victims to it why Willow?

2 the shadow lunges then a weird noise that sounds like the oil of a tractor being kicked over then a glow of fire happens did the creature posses her or somehow empower her? it would make sense for why she is immune to fire

I think its clear my approach is on the metaphorical side. Not the literal side. 

A doll doesn't feel anything and yet there are a lot of feelings describing Willow's emotions starting with the name of the collection. There us no coincidence u find so many feelings in the descriptions. 

I don't understand that much your comments about the trailer. This is not what OP is all about. It's about how the Forlorn collection reveals something about Willow's past. That's it. Not about the trailer. 

37 minutes ago, The 2C3D said:

Presumably, she was the most insane.

Yeap I mean... The Trailer is not really the focus of this thread... But it's clear Willow is a very traumatized child with a lot of boiling emotions... 

This is what I belive the collection is about.. It's to show why Willow feels the way she feel before the fire... And to show her grandma was probably the person she had to keep her emotions balanced. 

The loss of a parent or the person taking care of you is indeed devastating to any child. There us no coincidence the abandonment theme is so strongly represented. 

[Mooagain]

The broach kinda looks like the old lifegiving amulet

[FreyaMaluk]

2 hours ago, Mooagain said:

The broach kinda looks like the old lifegiving amulet

Not really... Live giving amulets reflect exactly how red gems look like... 2 diamonds

And the brooch has a different shape

In the middle is pretty much like an elipse (elongated circle) ... Not a diamond

[Mooagain]

1 minute ago, FreyaMaluk said:

(snip)

I said old amulet

This is what they look like in beta or something.

[FreyaMaluk]

1 minute ago, Mooagain said:

I said old amulet

This is what they look like in beta or something.

OH.. Yes indeed.. The "old" one

It's not quite the shape but pretty close.. Good catch

[YouKnowWho]

here's something I just remembered. Maybe it's useful here?

[FreyaMaluk]

9 minutes ago, YouKnowWho said:

here's something I just remembered. Maybe it's useful here?

Indeed. I think Willow is gonna show up in the future in other fiery "incidents" but this is for now a waiting game. 

The Willow that appeared in the Constant isn't really the Willow in the trailer... Some time has passed in between...

I hope the devs are gonna tie the knots together between the cinematic ending to her entering DS ... 

[Terra_Zina]

It's very subtle, but that makes total sense for the character.

Willow always struck me as the type that'll say "its fine" nomatter her situation. She could be limping, with a broken ribcage and be coughing blood and she'd still say "it's fine" because she don't want to make a big deal out of it. She don't want to be weak.

She's like Wendy, in a way, but also so different. She don't talk about her emotions, feelings or thoughts. And she'd rather be moving foward than staying in the past.

But some past events will never leave you, nomatter how hard you try.

[Wunderwaffle]

I figure that Willow once came from a very wealthy family with her grandmother as her last remaining kin (or her most beloved family member), hence the referral to the size of the jeweled brooch on the dress.

I do wonder if there's a subtle darker meaning behind the set portraying her as a lifeless doll, whether the loss of her loved one i/e:grandmother rendered her into a comatose state from grief or perhaps maybe the grandmother (or whoever her caretaker was that came after the grandmother) treated her like a doll, something to be dressed and admired but not to be played roughly or heard or giving any freedom.

[Dynamix_Roxx]

On 2019-05-07 at 9:25 PM, Tapirus said:

Well, maybe Forlorn Doll skin is actually a reference to Mandy? 

She´s a haunted doll (like the well know Annabelle), placed in a museum of Canada. And apparently, the woman who had this doll said Mandy belonged to her grandmother originally. 

  Hide contents

I give you a link talking about it, as example:

http://www.theparanormalguide.com/blog/mandy-the-haunted-doll

Yikes! This needs more warnings!! I’M SCARED!! 

[Fuffles]

Wow, so this skin actually relates to the origin story of Willow, but it's written inbetween the lines, well congrats and it actually makes sense,

As to why she's chased by the Terrorbeak and why she combusts in the Closet, well we can't tell for sure. All we can do is speculate.

But some evidences from the video show that the Terrorbeak can't cause real Damage to the enviroment, even if it seemed like such, check the video, we get a look at the Floor after Willow is found by Round Olga and Googly-Eyes Hilda (Not Canon, but should be) there is no Damage which the Terrorbeak caused to the Floor.

Spoiler

As to the Combustion, Willow was in the Corner of the Room, and probably paralysed with fear, the Shelves on the side had a Lighter and Bottles (I don't assume Alcohol but MAYBE, yet there were Art Supplies so I have doubts and its just a Supply Closet)

Spoiler

but I dont think she could overcome the fear. and then again if you look at the door you can already tell the combustion doesn't happen immidiently. we get a spark, then no light, and then the combustion. Also another thing to notice, if Willow already had her supernatural Talent, why wouldn't she burn the Orphanage earlier? Like really, Olga and Hilda seem to abuse her fairly often given by the reactions of them and Willow.

As a side Note, I think we can already tell what the Maxwell Short will be about. We know a lot about W. Carter already, so I think it will be a short about how Maxwell managed to get everyone into the Constant