Arkos

old battenna stuff

yyyyeah

tenna can change sizes when he's sad/angry/happy, but unless the emotions are overwhelming he can usually supress the size changing abilities (although it feels uncomfortable and leaves him either with pent up energy or extremely tired), which he frequently has to do when he's working as Friend

size shifting takes energy, and while that energy can come from tenna's emotions it usually comes from his need to perform. how is he supposed to put on a show if the short folk in the backrows cant see him? so he hypes himself up and gets as big as he needs.

ah, elnina and lanino. these guys. yup. they sure are, something

i have also been doing them dirty, barely giving them the time of day, but they ARE essential to the story

theyre pretty much the same as their cannon counterpart. that is to say: there isnt much to say

theyre kind, in love with each other, they'll always do their best to support tenna, theyre a impulsive, dramatic, bit egotistical, bit insecure.

they started the Friend thing just to help tenna out, because they saw that Friend WAS actually a net positive on the casino, and if battat were to find out there'd certainly be hell on earth. but eventually they started enjoying it almost as much as tenna, they also love holding a certain amount of power, being the center of everyone's eyes, putting their acting skills to good use

madam and mister friend arent very different from elnina and lanino, theres no carefully constructed persona like tenna has with cat friend, theyre mostly working off what cat friend's persona. they have a flair for theatrics, try to give off a mysterious aura, theyll always do whatever battat says, i dont have much to say to be honest

NOW what i DO have to say. onto the polycule: the weathers and tenna might have some queerplatonic stuff going on but theyre not a in a polycule

they do have a little crush on him, and they have tried to invite him to join them, maybe he even joined them in a test trial at one point, but it didnt last.

theyre very prone to dramatics, loud and big displays of love followed by a week broken up because of some silly misunderstanding. theyre immature in that way.

theyre off and on, whenever theres some stress on the relationship they break up and make it everyone's problem, incluiding tenna's. on periods where theyre broken up they'll try to hog tenna to themselves, and they throw huge fits when they perceive tenna is giving more attention to the other rather than them.

these periods make tenna highly anxious, he still has some divorce trauma after all, and tenna always does his best to set them up together again while not interacting directly with one of them, since theyre usually either nasty about the other, or very sad crying about how much they miss the other. tenna will usually pull double shifts as Friend so he can avoid them until they work it out.

(he'll also usually pull double shifts when theyre broken up because he learned that when theyre broken up, theres a chance that as madam/mister friend they'll flirt with BATTAT)

im kinda doing them dirty lmao, theyre not the kind of couple you roll your eyes and say "geez just break up already", tenna just happened to be there to watch the couple times it did happen and it made him too nervous to ever try joining the dynamic.

the long stable periods are very stable, and the short volatile periods are extremely volatile, and thats just a bit too much for an old TV with attatchment issues like tenna.

this is so funny to me on a meta level, because if he gave that impression is because im giving cat friend all of my love and left only crumbs for actual tenna. which is an actual theme in the au of tenna getting ignored and overlooked while as Friend he's the star of the show lmaooo

uhh anyway, tenna is still the same old upbeat and energetic and deeply insecure TV we know and love. but since in the au he works on a dark and lonely security room, away from everyone's eyes and company, he can rarely let out that boisterous side of himself. so most of the time when he's by himself he's small and silent, which is how he got his nickname, Ant, which is how most of the casino world knows him as

elnina and lanino are his best (and only) friends, the only time he's bigger than a pippin when he's not performing is when he's hanging out with them. theyre his biggest supporters, his partners in crime, the only ones who he lets his walls down around. theyre also the only ones who know about tenna's size shifting abilities, which is why they were able to tell right away that friend was actually tenna

(old ass doodle... ive been doing the weathers dirty as hell i barely draw them)

they were kind of a package deal, since they became darkners through tenna, since he's a tv and they are... you know, tv things. but their friendship were kind of colleague-y, since tenna always felt like they were already a perfect duo, and wouldnt need a third person. only once tenna started the friend gig, got found out by the weathers who then decided to help him out, they became good friends

friend was a impulsive passion project by tenna, he was going a bit mad from isolation, the lightners were using him even less than they usually were, he was always watching the trouble going on in the casino floors, mr battat snapping at everyone and stuff not getting done, and he could never do anything besides watch and watch, and he had enough. he decided to put his improv skills to good use

the friend persona was what tenna thought battat would want/need in a friend (big and strong to be able to handle whatever battat throws at him and inspire respect from others, reliable and friendly since... well, his name is literally Friend, mysterious and cryptid so battat cant just ignore him etc etc) and also what he would like to indulge in (someone big who everyone could see even from the backrow, someone friendly who people would like, someone mysterious who caused intrigue and drew others in, someone who stole the show in every way)

tldr: tvs were meant to be watched, not to just watch others. he's at his happiest, biggest, and most animated when he has an audience. no matter how big or small

Ant does not, in fact, have 4 arms when he's outside of his FRIEND role.

Ant finds his extra arms pair of arms unseemly. He tries his best to look approachable and friendly so he's never shown them to anyone or used them in public. He doesnt use them in his job either because its not very hands-on. Before the FRIEND gig he rarely used them.

He still finds his extra pair of arms creepy-looking as FRIEND, but he needs them to handle all the work Battat throws at him. when he's not actively using them he usually keeps them tucked behind his back or laying at his side under his cloak. Same thing applies to his tail; he finds it uncanny but still has it out when disguised as FRIEND.

Those things also help change his body/silhouette so Battat doesnt trace it back to Ant and realize its just him in different clothes lmao, no one (besides the weathers) knows Ant has a tail or extra arms (or can change sizes, for that matter).

Ant's shot in the dark somehow accidentally hit a bullseye, bc the real image_friend does have weird extra limbs and a tail lmao, but his ass did not know that.

fun fact: Since ant rarely used his extra arms or tail before the FRIEND gig, his lower arms are lankier and weaker, and he cant control his tail very well, which can bite him in the ass.