don’t forget to ask about extra ketchup

• Gets an absolute kick out of it when you two wear matching sets. It could vary from accessories to clothing. One day you both walked out and wore strikingly similar outfits, although it could’ve been easily passed off as a coincidence the smile that crept on his face stated otherwise.

• Checks on you periodically throughout the day. His long nose will round the corner before he comes into view and asks if you need anything. “I saw that you didn’t have breakfast this morning so I brought your favorite. Courtesy of Mike.” he’ll hum, setting your lunch aside with a smile.

• When he’s overwhelmed by joy, he jumps up and clacks his heels together. He’s a loser, what can I say.

• Adopted toriel’s compassionate and loving nature. He’ll mirror some of her mannerisms without even realizing it. He’ll smooth out the wrinkles from your clothes with his big gloved hands and gently pick out strings of loose thread before you head out, bombard you with inquiries about your day as a means to strike up a meaningful conversation, smother you with kisses despite your protest. He makes me sick.

• When you’re upset, his instant response is to cheer you up. He’ll crack a joke, broadcast your favorite channels, find an activity that he knows you love, anything to keep you distracted. It’s not in the pursuit of avoiding emotional intimacy or to force positivity, it’s a default of his. Entertainment is his prowess after all so he’s simply doing what he does best. Some instances, it can be effective while others— not so much which is why communication is pivotal with tenna. Tell him, “I just need to be held,” and he’ll listen.

• Kiss-ahlolic. Any excuse to muster a kiss out of you. A good morning kiss, a goodnight kiss, a pre show kiss and after show kiss, he’s relentless. It gets him all giddy and amped so who are you to deny him?

• Hyper vigilance. He’s constantly over analyzing and scrutinizing your body language, your actions, your intentions and even your words like an intensive surgeon on an operating table. If he senses something is afoot— regardless of how irrational it may seem, he’ll spiral. A shift in your tone will cause him to flinch. When he asks about your day and you look distracted, his smile will falter and he’ll grow clammy. If you cancel your plans on him, he’ll instantly assume the worst. There’s been plenty of times where he’s showed up on your doorstep completely unannounced with visibly shaken hands and tears cascading down his screen, asking where he went wrong and then pleading and begging for you not to leave him. He’s especially fragile during moments like these, and requires a copious amount of patience, understanding and reassurance so please be gentle.

• His claws. An attribute of his that we all know and love. Sometimes they’ll retract on their own, either getting caught in something or accidentally inflicting damage on innocent by standers (furniture). You’ve thrown away plenty of good sweaters because of him. Arguably, they are incredibly convenient for head scratches. You don’t even have to ask, just lay your head against his lap and he’ll oblige with a smile.

• You entrusted him with your spare key shortly after you two began dating. Albeit shy, he would pop in randomly under the influence that he left something behind, “I uh.. forgot my socks! They’re my lucky pair. Don’t go anywhere without ‘em! But while I’m here..” and then purposely linger. Now he visits quite frequently, not that you’re complaining. When you walk in, you’ll either find him in the midst of tidying your place up or hunched over your kitchen counter with an apron neatly wrapped around his waist as he prepares dinner for the night. Make sure to demonstrate your appreciation when you get the chance. (Domesticated tenna am I right)

• Very touchy. He loves to pinch at your fat, pull your cheeks, poke and prod at your ribcage, the whole nine yards. Given that he is artificial, flesh and muscles and tendons is completely foreign to him. So naturally, he’s curious.

• Definitely the type to twirl his finger around the cord of a landline phone.

Baby

fresh from the box!!!! one of various gifts received at the Dreemurr wedding

imprinted on the Dreemurrs like instantly there was no hope for this guy. saw limited use in the early days, but got more and more attached from there

super naive about lightner's perspective of him and other darkners at first. developed fear of abandonment as he saw it happening to other darkners over the years

gets literally whatever he wants if he pouts about it enough

Debut

started regular broadcasts in a small studio

limited range due to the limited audience. primarily focused on newscasting. sometimes dabbled in cooking shows and western films

early employees included the weather duo, shuttah, battat, jongler, and pluey

was originally involved rather closely in production. gradually shifted production responsibilities to employees as the spotlight drew him in

Rising Star

Asriel's birth marked a significant shift in his work ethic. somehow even MORE invested in the Dreemurr's than he already was

Broadened scope for the new viewers. Transitioned more to gaming and family movies

Studio expansion + stricter contracts. Gotta put on a good show for everyone after all

Big Shot

"holiday movies" era. peak of his career

working with a certain "business" partner helped boost his performance

kind of snippy and perfectionist about how the studio's run since he's made it big, kind of becoming an ass in the name of making the Lightners happy

literally the best time of his life. couldnt be happier if he tried

Decline

"the family's fighting again"

gradual decline in viewership as things fell apart

desperation to keep things together lead to The Phone Incident which did not help

overcome with insecurity and dread of being thrown out

tendency for emotional outbursts/lashing out got much worse

eventually unplugged and left catatonic. just watching and waiting. hopeless

Chapter 3

we all saw how that went

please god look at him

but dont look at him too close hes all dusty

Chaper 4+

at a loss for what he's supposed to be doing now

tense relationship with former employees. very awkward

injuries from the knight still give him trouble and make him even more self conscious about being broken

please find someone to adopt him

Closeups

꩜ loves when you fix his antennae for him, even though, again, he could bend them himself. he sits very still, like a kid getting their hair brushed. and let me tell you, Tenna always PRETENDS to need an antenna adjustment just to get you closer to him

꩜ + just in general he always lets you play with his tie / antennae / fangs / even fingers, because they are definitely bigger than yours

꩜ what if i say that he copies your mannerisms without realising. if you cross your arms, suddenly so does he. if you tilt your head, he’s mirroring you within seconds

꩜ doodles on his scripts during breaks. your initials, sketches of you, your smile, and many many hearts nearby but he hides the second you glance over

꩜ begs you not to leave after dates, hugging you tight and whispering “five more minutes, my star, just five more!!” until you give in

꩜ practices his lines with you but deliberately messes up so you’ll correct him

꩜ insists on carrying your bag / purse / anything heavy, because “no no no, sweetheart, stars don’t lift things, let me do it!!” such a gentleman

꩜ so awkward he practices saying “i love you” alone in his mirror until he gets it right, then blurts it to you mid-date with zero warning

꩜ insists on helping you rehearse lines or speeches but turns it into him making you laugh until you can’t finish. for Tenna, your laughter is the best sound

꩜ constantly asks for reassurance “you’ll still be here tomorrow, right?” “you like bein’ with me?” “youll love me if i were a worm?”

꩜ insists on opening doors for you everywhere, especial studio doors, ALWAYS bowing dramatically pretending he’s escorting royalty. “★ VIP ★” is shown on his screen when you walk through

꩜ gets so emotional and excited AND SUPER PROUD OF YOU watching you do completely normal things (reading, tying your shoes, sipping coffee)

꩜ always says “good luck” or “i’m proud of you” before every performance, test or important day

꩜ listens so intently when you talk that he unconsciously leans closer and closer until his nose is nearly bumping your face

꩜ loves to surprise you with flowers, but his nose does all the work for him

꩜ screen flickers little hearts when you compliment him, and Tenna tries desperately to cover it with his hands or tilt his head away

꩜ for some reason, loves to kiss your shoulders from behind

꩜ when you’re upset, Tenna scoops you up with no warning and carries you to sit in his lap, insisting on rocking you gently until your breathing steadies

꩜ absolutely loves when you hold his face, well, screen between your hands. goes completely still. you often sit like this for hours

꩜ gets so excited to see you that he literally waves both hands like a little kid spotting their parent at a school play idk i hate him

꩜ i don't know where i get this headcanon from, but my brain tells me that Tenna likes to play childish games with you. like, rock-paper-scissors, thumb wars, guessing games. most likely, he did all this with Kris and knows that this is a good way to distract people. also pretends to sulk dramatically if he loses, then beams if you kiss his nose to cheer him up