Chubi the Jubi @chubijubi - Tumblr Blog

May 23

(Re)Introducing ANT Tenna! A once humanoid version of Tenna who got the Gregor Samsa treatment and awoke one day as a giant larva, eventually pupating into a fully grown anTV. As an extension of changing size, he can also shapeshift a little, and uses it to uncomfortably hide most of his ant features. Tenna claims that his changes are purely cosmetic and that he's still the same TV he always was, but his constant neglect of his new body's needs makes him prone to slipping into instincts when upset, and he's terrified of them fully taking over like some sort of parasite. He's based loosely on a carpenter ant and other various insects.

Full 9k word lore dump below

This version of Tenna is also paired with my Wormton AU! If you don't know what the hell a Wormton is, don't worry, these two don't meet until Castle Town so you can probably enjoy most of this anyways

They have that feral warrior cat and kitty pet dynamic

Sections:

Biology and life cycle of anTVs

Quick timeline of events

Tenna's backstory: getting turned and larval life

Tenna's backstory: adult anTV

Tenna's backstory: the laptop and the Mikes

Events of Chapter 3 and beyond

Possible content warnings: body horror, Tenna doing something dumb and hurting himself, the TV is an all time champion of self loathing, the typical hunting and eating of maice

Biology and Life cycle of AnTVs

As often the staple of living rooms, televisions tend to manifest as boss darkners in their dark worlds, forming an entire environment for other darkners to live within. The landscape grows with them as they age from a child-like state to an adult, shaped by what their lightners use them for. All TV darkners come with a manual (representing the light world instruction manual) with instructions on early care, maintenance, and diagrams to ensure that the boss darkner can remain as healthy as possible. CRT TVs are split into two incredibly different types of darkners depending on whether or not they possess antennae in the light world.

Humanoid TVS

Antennaless CRTs manifest as mostly humanoid darkners with TVs as their heads and bodies composed of white light. Their presence forms massive sprawling film production studios in their dark worlds, including darkners based on their channels. Their height, body shape, and personality are dictated by their size and brand in the light world. They can display a variety of projected faces at will, usually used with the intent of showing emotion. In their youth, these CRTs resemble a young humanoid, though they age significantly faster than an actual human. They take on the role of producer, director, or as hosts for shows, as well as managing the business itself.

“Turned” TVs are a phenomenon where a humanoid CRT is abruptly turned into an anTV monarch after being given a pair of antennae in the Light World. This usually occurs when they are very young, giving the dark world time to adjust, as the TV darkner usually forgets what they used to be and the underdeveloped studio soon turns completely into an ant nest. However, in the rare case that the process occurs after a TV darkner's dark world has already been fully established, the transition is… far from seamless.

AnTV Appearance

Antenna CRTS, or anTVs, take on an insectoid shape with six legs, an abdomen, a thorax, and four wings. Their bodies are semi robotic, their exterior resembling a mix of exoskeleton parts and the plastic frame of a TV. They can resemble a multitude of ant species based on the brand and model of both the TV and its antennae. AnTVs grow much larger than their humanoid counterparts, getting up to 20ft in length depending on the species. Their screens don't have visible eyes, but they do have a prominent proboscis and pair of mandibles extending from their faces. While anTVs are considered sapient, their societal structure and culture is so alien that other darkners struggle to understand them. Their primary methods of communication involve pheromones and their unique infrared language, both of which are completely undetectable to the vast majority of darkners.

Colony structure

These dark worlds form a massive ant nest that the other darkners live inside. Material and composition depends on the species, but Tenna, as a carpenter ant, would've had a nest resembling a massive chunk of wood with rooms and halls dug into it. Once a TV is set up in a lightner's home, a single anTV monarch manifests, who will be capable of producing smaller, wingless “worker” ants that run the TV channels. Each worker focuses on maintaining a certain part of the nest, representing each channel, as well as searching for food. The non-ant darkners living in the dark world take care of the “TV studio” side of things. Unlike a normal ant colony, the monarch takes on a much more active role by defending the colony against what they deem as a threat using their formidable mandibles and claws. The stationary nature of a TV in the light world means that the ants cannot forage easily, and their best source of food is “invasive” darkners that encroach upon their dark world. They are carnivorous and actively seek out prey, but will also scavenge whatever else they can.

Life cycle

The colony starts out with just a lone monarch larva. Unlike the worker ant larvae, they possess short legs, claws, little mandibles, and a false head on the tail to better defend themselves before they reach adulthood. While they can hypothetically scavenge food independently, it's in the best interest of the darkners living with them to nurture the monarch, as their presence shapes the cold, desolate landscape into a much more safe nest for the other darkners to live in. Dark worlds where the monarch dies don't tend to thrive. After a few years of growing, they pupate for several months, then emerge as adults. Adult anTVs can reach massive sizes, but possess the curious ability to shrink back down into a smaller shape, perhaps to allow them to interact more safely with their much smaller subjects. Unlike normal ants, they keep their wings for their entire life due to their stationary life style and asexual reproductive process.

Workers

Once the monarch reaches adulthood, they produce small eggs that hatch into worker grubs. These larvae are significantly smaller and almost featureless, looking closer to actual ant larvae. When they hatch, they're about the size of a chicken egg. They grow fast, reaching adulthood in just a few months. They get to about half the size of the monarch, always lacking wings. The monarch actively cares for and feeds the first brood, but they are not required to after that, as the workers can take care of it. Still, they're generally very protective of their young and show parental instincts towards even those that aren't their own. Workers maintain the nest, scavenge for food, and take care of young. They may have special roles in specific areas depending on what channel they represent, with the ones watched most by the lightners in particular gaining extra responsibilities. The workers don't live for more than a few years, and the dead are taken back to the nest and consumed for their remaining nutrients, or buried if needed to prevent the spread of disease.

Special Abilities and Features

While all TV darkners possess the ability to see infrared light (which is invisible to us) because it's what TV remotes use to send signals, anTVs also use it as a way to communicate alongside their pheromones. They use their glowing screens to send flashes of light, a language only understood by anTVs themselves. Zappers cannot perceive these signals, but they can one-way communicate with anTVs by sending their own infrared light signals. AnTVs also use infrared light from their screen to hunt in what their prey would see as total darkness.

Their screens are thin stretchy membranes covered with thousands of cells that emit light and sensors that detect light, acting as eyes. The screen can display video, but the proboscis will always be in the way of it, warping the image unless seen from head-on.

Their sharp mandibles are used to tear and pull food into their mouths, while their pointy teeth are more so used to clean bits of flesh off the serrated edges of the mandibles, or to hold things in place. They don't have tongues, but the flexibility of their mandibles allows them to effectively clean their teeth.

Like humanoid TVs, anTVs do still have a cord attached to the back of their head, although it travels inside their abdomen rather than hanging freely like a tail. For the monarchs, it can extend somewhat from their abdomen and be used as an actual plug, but also functions as their ovipositor. The plugs on channel workers have no function and cannot extend.

AnTVs breathe through vents throughout their exoskeleton that act as spiracles. Their bodies include both organic parts and plastic and metal components, including some completely robotic internal structures. Many of the wires that transport “blood” are partially visible from the outside. All of their inorganic components can grow and heal like the organic ones. Their partially robotic structure makes them more hardy than their humanoid counterparts, as they can potentially have limbs reattach and heal if the wires are reconnected properly.

Only the monarch anTV has magical abilities. They commonly use electric or star type attacks, and their ability to change size is also tied to their magic. They generally use magic attacks less than their humanoid counterparts because of the natural weapons they have, including their mandibles, claws, and general strength and size.

Tenna's Backstory - Larval Life

Timeline:

1992: Tenna is “born” as a humanoid TV darkner

1994: Tenna is turned into an anTV, considered about 16 years old in TV years

1996: Pupation starts late in year

1997: Tenna emerges, considered an adult anTV now. Asriel is born soon after.

2002: Kris is born

2004: Kris is adopted

2013: Dess goes missing, Kris is 11 and Asriel is 16

2014: The Divorce™

2015: Asriel starts college. TV is unplugged.

2018: Game events take place, Tenna is 26 years old now, but considered middle aged in TV years. Kris is 16 and Asriel is 21.

Early life

Tenna first came into existence as a wedding gift for Toriel and Asgore from the Holidays in 1992. As a literal baby, he didn't have a name other than his serial number, but gained the name Anthony at some point, which was then shortened to Ant. He was created without antennae, and manifested as a humanoid CRT darkner. Tenna was primarily cared for by the weather duo, who were the darkners mostly in command, as the weather channel was the one most frequently used by the Dreemurr couple. He grew quickly, soon taking on his full-time role as the leader of TV World.

The Dreemurrs never previously had a TV, so they didn't use it a lot at first. However, they started gaining interest by 1994, and ended up buying an antenna attachment for it to get access to channels. By this point, Tenna was around 16 in “TV years.” He watched Asgore install the antennae onto his light world form, wondering how it would affect his studio. Would it expand to fit sets for the new channels? What new darkners might he meet? However, as the current shoot went on, he started to feel more and more ill. He ended up leaving early with the excuse of preparing for the new channels, but could barely think with the pounding headache in his ray tube. That night, he curled up on the bathroom floor of his room, the light of his body flickering weakly as a small pair of antennae forced their way out of the top of his casing. Flexing, twitching, organic unlike every other part of him, yet responding to touch and the pain of him trying to rip them out. Exhausted, scared, and not really knowing what to do, he crawled into bed and collapsed under the blankets after pulling them tight around himself.

That morning, when Ant Tenna woke from troubled dreams, he found himself transformed in his bed into a horrible insect. His arms? Legs? Both? No, there were more than four—twitched uselessly at his blanket as grubby claws got caught on the threads. Something moved in his mouth, like grasping fingers scraping against his teeth, flinching as the cold outside air touched them. He could still feel the antennae that had started it all, trembling in his fear. Tenna tried to scream, for help, for anything, but his tongue was gone, and nothing resembling speech came out. He could still feel the phantom sensation of tears beginning to pool, but his new body was incapable of crying.

All the other darkners heard was nightmarish screeches and chitters coming from Tenna's room. As they called his name, the sounds only got louder as they heard a dull thud of something large falling onto the floor. At the employees’ various words of confusion and fear, the sound quieted until all they could hear were sniffles that were vaguely familiar. Once someone finally found the spare key in Tenna's office and his door was opened, all they found was some horrible monstrosity curled up on the ground. It was grub-like, with a segmented body, sharp claws upon its six legs, serrated mandibles sticking out of its sharp toothed mouth, and… a CRT television as a head, in the same shades of lavender as their boss.

It took them a little bit to fully accept it as the truth, but a while of the creature being non-aggressive and a simple “once for no, twice for yes” game confirmed that this thing was somehow Tenna. Unbeknownst to all of them, he had turned into an anTV larva in the second instar stage of growth. Tenna himself was terrified. Most of his mobility had been taken away overnight, and he couldn't even speak. Strange instincts plagued him as the new parts of his body moved without input. He was sickened by his gross, bloated state, completely unfit to continue his duties.

Aftermath

Tenna did eventually learn to speak with his new mouth. He couldn't figure out how to get rid of the lisp caused by the rather annoying mandibles, but he still mostly sounded like his old self. Movement got easier as he begrudgingly adjusted to his new body. Was this his life now? His employees couldn't run his studio for him forever like this—It wasn't feasible! Though… some started to speculate that he might be a “caterpillar” of sorts, causing his mind to run wild with the thoughts of what horrible insect he might turn into. With what he already looked like, he doubted he would turn into some beautiful, harmless butterfly. He couldn't decide whether being stuck like this forever or changing into something else was worse.

The new instincts he seemed to have turned out to be more… concerning than not. He didn't even notice the sudden preference for meat until someone pointed it out. And, once he started avoiding it more, the cravings only got worse. This was what those big awful mandibles were for, wasn't it? This wasn't him, it wasn't! There was… one particular incident that haunted him. Once, a fly had gotten into his room. Its buzzing was starting to grate on his nerves, making his antennae flick angrily (Apparently he hears with them now. And smells with them. He hates it). Before he knew it, he pounced on the fly, snapping it up with his jaws and devouring it in one satisfying crunch… between his… teeth. Did he…? Why did he do that!? What was WRONG with him? He tried to spit it out, but it was already long gone. Eaten live. Why? For… annoying him? What if that was anything but a fly? What if that was an employee? He couldn't be acting like this, like some sort of terrible, awful… beast!

Despite his attempts to keep everything under control, Tenna couldn't stop, or even notice, everything. Still, just the knowledge of every part of him that was changing, even if a change was harmless, was horrifying. He started sleeping in a pile of blankets and pillows on the ground due to his bed being difficult to access, unknowingly creating a nest. He also developed a big sweet tooth, but didn't see it as worrisome as the meat cravings were. He'd discovered how nice it was to… gnaw on wood. Not to eat it, but to carve through it with his mandibles. But… he didn't really have anything but his own furniture to chew, and he really didn't want his employees to know about his weird new craving. It seemed pretty harmless, but he just tried to ignore it.

Tenna attempted to return to his duties, but he couldn't exactly do a lot in his current state. He figured out how to hold a pen again, but his legs were so short he couldn't see a thing he was writing, so it was useless. The weather duo ended up taking most of his duties despite his protests. Tenna was still technically in charge of the big decisions, but they kept the place running and functional. And honestly, with all the new darkners they were getting with the new channels, Tenna didn't really want to be seen as this shambling grubby thing, even if he knew he couldn't hide forever. So, he tried to keep relations with newer darkners limited. It wasn't the most sustainable solution, but… he wouldn't have to worry about that much longer.

Tenna's Backstory - Adult AnTV

Pupation

Tenna had molted twice since he was first turned, and hated every single second of both occurrences. He'd insisted on doing it alone so no one would have to see something so gross. Even more disturbing than molting itself was the fact that he was growing. When he'd first been turned, he'd been about 6 feet long, about where his height used to be. But, then he grew up to 10 feet, and now he'd reached 14 feet. He barely fit in his doorway, and only because his dark world had started warping in accommodation. How much bigger was he going to get?

That answer never came, as in the late half of 1996, instincts stronger than ever before overtook him. In the middle of the night, he gnawed deeper and deeper into the wall as if his life depended on it. For some reason, it felt like it did. He wasn't thinking straight, not until he had dug an entire tunnel into the wall, blocked off the entrance with his nest's materials, and slowly fell into a comatose state. After a short but frantic search, and a whole lot of guesswork, the darkners of TV World determined that Tenna was most likely pupating. Although relieved he wasn't dead and that their dark world would be okay, there wasn't much they could do but let Tenna be. They kept his room clean and frequently checked up on him to make sure nothing was going wrong, otherwise trying to run the studio as best they could. With Tenna's… condition, they were pretty used to maintaining the place almost alone, anyways.

Early into 1997, Tenna would finally emerge. The process was slow, his mind feeling like sludge as it focused on the sole goal of escaping his restrictive prison. He shuddered as the cold air embraced his form, long antennae slowly unfurling from where they were soaked against his head. As he crawled out, claws gripping at the soft blankets beneath him as his wings splayed out—as his… his……

Clarity struck him harshly as he started to register sensation. He felt nauseous, clenching his stomach, except the thing that actually clenched instead was behind him. His neck twisted downwards, far more flexible than it had previously been, letting him stare down at the pair of clawed hands holding him up, colored in the same shades of purple and violet as the CRT he was supposed to be. Gross spiky hairs branched off the back entirely like, well, an insect.

His legs felt weak as he twisted his head around, staring at the massive pair of segmented wings that had sprouted out of his back, wrinkles smoothing out as they dried. Then, the primary source of his discomfort, the large abdomen now attached to the back of him. He felt even more sick as he both watched and felt it pulsate, a feeling that only grew worse as it clenched and continued to twitch in response to his dread.

Tenna tripped over his own legs as his panic rose, starting to hyperventilate as he tightly gripped the blankets below him, antennae sniffing the fabric softener that must've recently been used on them. He still couldn't truly cry, only sob as the light of his screen flickered in distress. Every new sensation of his body brought a new wave of horror. This was worse. This was so much worse than being a useless grub.

An assortment of employees who had heard the commotion opened the door and rushed in, having left it unlocked. But Tenna screeched in horror as soon as he saw them, pulling a blanket over himself as he demanded they leave. Don't look at him! Don't look at him!!! When they stepped back out, Tenna realized they probably deserved at least some explanation. He told them that he was okay. Just… he needs a little time to adjust, that's all! No developing crisis here!

The Freshly Crowned anTV Monarch

Mostly left alone at his request (aside from frequent check-ins through the door), Tenna tried to get familiar with his new body, as much as he hated the idea. He had fingers and thumbs again, which admittedly was an improvement. He found he could walk on just his hindlegs, too, though his abdomen kept scraping against the ground. It was still better than crawling around on all sixes like an animal. His clothes were a different story, unfortunately, because he was many times bigger than the suits he wore before this all happened. He was grateful his boss darkner status gave him some influence over his dark world, because otherwise he wouldn't be able to stand up straight in here.

While isolated in his room, Tenna discovered a very weird new ability to shrink in size. He had no idea what the point of it was, but it was quite useful, at least. He was able to shrink all the way to his original height before this all started, but he found that it was difficult to maintain, like a muscle that was being used for too long. The other thing Tenna discovered was that he could… get rid of his extra features. His sheer disgust at his body and memory of what being normal was like meant that he could warp the size-changing into shape-shifting. The first time he did it, he felt like he was going to vomit as his organs got squeezed into the tiny space of his thorax. It hurt, body aching as he forced himself to keep maintaining a normal shape, but… it worked. He was undeniably changed, but maybe if he hid the right things… he could make it seem like he was himself again. The mandibles wouldn't go away, but he could hide them in his mouth! There wasn't really an option for the antennae or his long nose, but… he still looked far more normal than he had in years. And, despite everything else that came with it, he was relieved to have functioning arms and legs again.

And so, Tenna was mostly ready for his role as director, producer, and leader of TV World. He started going by his last name, Tenna, instead of Ant, because it felt almost cruel to be named that given what he now resembled. And, he needed to make a good first impression, because now his lightners had an infant. An infant who would be watching him, giggling and laughing at the bright colors displayed on his screen. A family who looked nothing like the horrid thing he had become.

Despite his efforts, there's certain times he has to let his “full form” out. He reverts back every time he falls asleep. Extreme stress also causes it, perhaps as a form of defense, and his features like to start coming out even if he doesn't revert fully. Usually, the first thing to show up is his claws. His new, specially-made clothes all have neatly hidden slits and clasps so that he doesn't shred open his clothing if the worst happens. The most time he spends awake as his full self is when he has to molt, possibly one of his least favorite things. But, he found out the hard way that they weren't skippable.

His cravings for meat got worse. Just the mere smell of it had him drooling, mandibles straining from inside his mouth against his grit teeth. Nothing ever felt truly filling, and that terrified him, because he eventually realized that his own employees were triggering the hunger, too. Unknown to him, his “ant side” couldn't understand that he was the one purposefully starving himself, and thought that there was some sort of threat at fault, making him more jumpy and aggressive. Tenna ended up completely banning meat for anyone in the studio, the only solution he could think of. The ban didn't last long, though, as the first employee he caught and kicked out of the studio into the snow was let back in maybe 10 minutes later as Tenna sobbed and apologized for being a terrible boss.

His darkners had… mixed feelings on whatever was going on with their boss. Him being a weird insect wasn't the problem necessarily; it was his clearly poor physical and mental health. The weather duo were at least able to convince him to get some protein and calcium in his atrocious diet, but other efforts weren't as successful. With so little control over what was happening to his own body, Tenna clung to the control he did have as a boss. Combined with his lack of leadership experience from spending years as a useless grub, Tenna was extremely stubborn in his decisions and absolutely hated any opposition, even from his most trusted team members.

All of this compounded when a particular staff member started arguing with him during a meeting. Whatever it was about, they had missed the increasing signs of aggression from Tenna until his claws were digging into the table and his exposed mandibles were dripping with drool. Insects didn't have pheromones for work meetings; they had them for survival, and right now his employee was registering as a genuine threat. His composure slipped into nothing as his extra limbs freed themselves and he lunged over the table. The employee tried to run, but that only triggered his instincts to chase after the threat, his hunger stronger than ever before. He sprinted on all sixes, wings fluttering with the desire to fly but in too confined of a space to do so, making clicking sounds in frustration. All forms of context were lost as “threat” turned into the prey of his very first real hunt.

Before he could get his jaws around them, a zapper managed to step in, frantically flashing the “OFF” command at him. Utterly confused, Tenna paused, watching his prey escape down the rest of the hallway. As he calmed down, he started to think, and eventually his groggy mind came back to the surface. He was horrified to see all his limbs on full display. Tenna didn't remember what happened, but… he could certainly guess. Not wanting him to freak out, the zapper told him a half-truth: that he had gotten a bit too angry during a meeting, and… just ran off. As more darkners swarmed around him, keeping a wide distance and… flinching as he moved, Tenna felt like there was far more to it. He noticed how things in the studio had shifted after that. Employees that used to argue with him started agreeing. In general, they'd been weirdly supportive of his ideas now. It would've been nice if not for the fact that nervousness accompanied it. Why were… Why were they afraid of him? After everything he'd done to appear as the same ol’ friendly TV, a single incident he couldn't even remember (he knew what must've happened. He just didn't want to think about it) had tainted his reputation.

Tenna started trying to keep things calmer. He couldn't just turn off his tendency to have outbursts, but he tried to do damage control in the aftermath. Yelling that he'll dock everyone's pay while accidentally letting his mandibles show? He'll, uh…… give everyone a raise! To exactly what their pay was originally at! Yeah! Tenma did his best to keep himself under control, because he couldn't imagine how awful it would be if the lightners… his family, the kids… saw him like this. How would they feel knowing little Asriel and Kris were in the same room as a horrible creature like him? No, Tenna was better than that. He had to be. He found the thing that helped the most was his… wood chewing obsession he had tried to ignore as a larva. It felt so calming to carve through the wood and reduce it to a pile of shavings and sawdust. They had plenty of wood scraps from building sets that normally just got thrown away, so it wasn't hurting anything, even if it was weird. Still he didn't want anyone to know about it. Tenna started taking frequent “smoke breaks” where he'd run off to his office and shred a board of wood over the garbage bin or over the balcony to hide the evidence. He even tried to see if he could carve things with his mandibles once he got used to it, but hides all his little projects from everyone else for fear of how they'll react to what he's doing.

Tenna's Backstory: The Laptop

Aside from the TV programs changing as the kids aged, Tenna's life remained mostly stable. However, around 2007, Kris would first bring the stolen library's laptop over, and with it came accessibility to the information that TV World had spent its lifespan being cut off from. Tenna himself was swamped with “diplomatic” meetings (it was REALLY hard pretending he knew what Queen was talking about at any given moment. And, did she really need to host a party every single day!?), and (thanks to his ant side) rather distrusting of the new darkners at first. However, one fateful day, his employees managed to present to Tenna a manual for anTVs, eerily similar in style to his own manual that he originally came with. Except, rather than a perfectly normal humanoid TV, it had an “anTV” that… looked almost exactly like he did now.

As it turns out, his case of transforming into a terrible insect wasn't a freak accident. Well, it was rare, but it was explainable. AnTVs. CRTs with antennae. The inevitable result of an antennaless CRT like him gaining antennae later in life. As his darkners most trusted, the weather duo were the ones to gently explain it to him. The manual was an offer, a way to finally understand all the confusing behaviors, instincts, and biology that had been forced upon him that he had lived with for the majority of his life. After days of considering it, he finally took a look. It was written for darkners taking care of their anTV “monarch,” the book his employees would have gotten had he been born with or gotten antennae sooner. As he stared at the photos, he realized the pictured larvae were the exact same as he once looked aside from having a different TV model as a head. It felt strange to have the answers he had wondered about his whole life displayed so casually.

As Tenna skimmed through the manual, though, his curiosity diminished. AnTVs didn't run TV studios, they ran literal ant hills. They didn't speak, or wear clothes, or file taxes, or host shows, or anything civilized. They were written about as if they were merely animals. Is that what he would've become if he hadn't fought against it so hard? Descriptions of an almost carnivorous diet, hunting and eating “intruders,” violently defending their nests full of a disturbing amount of smaller, yet still terrifyingly huge, worker ants. He imagined his own abdomen in horror like an egg would magically pop out of it. Maybe he just… couldn't do that because of his unique circumstances. Yeah! No need to worry! Tenna didn't finish the book. He barely looked through it, and had already seen enough. It was good he'd managed to keep his mind intact; he couldn't imagine living like that. Like an… ant colony. He wasn't anything like that! And, he was managing just fine!

THE MIKES

The laptop brought knowledge to more than just Tenna—there'd been so much questioning from employees that he outright admitted in an announcement that, yes, he is actually an anTV. He reassured everyone, like he always had, that the changes were superficial, and that he was still like any other normal CRT in all the ways that mattered. But… not everyone quite believed him, especially with the whispers and rumors of just how dangerous Tenna could be if the wrong buttons were pushed.

There was a bit of a conspiracy about what anTVs truly are, and it stemmed from the strange circumstances of their creation. The fact that TVs could keep their memories in rare circumstances implied that the antennae did not create an entirely new TV darkner, but took over the old one. Further evidence was reports of antennae actually growing out of the heads of some victims before the full transformation, like cordyceps blossoming as their brain is taken over. And, why else would anTVs retain things that humanoid CRTs have, like thumbs and the ability to speak, than if their bodies were stolen? While it remained as only a theory, that hadn't stopped regular CRT darkners from viewing anTVs with caution and fear. How could you trust something that surely must've killed and took over the body of another?

One green pippins, begrudgingly named Battat, became particularly obsessed with the concept. Why was their specific anTV so dead-set on presenting as something he was decidedly not? Was he resisting the parasite's control, or was it already too late? Regardless, it was extremely suspicious, and Battat wanted to get to the bottom of it. He recruited a zapper and shadowguy to his cause, though neither took it a fraction as seriously as he did.

Given Tenna's developing distrust for the relatively new pippins, Battat set about crafting a disguise and alter ego: Mike the microphone. However, the other two didn't really understand the plan, which led to what he thought would be disaster when all three of them separately claimed they were named Mike in front of Tenna. However, he somehow… bought it? Unknown to Battat at the time, Tenna was extremely lonely, with nothing but the weather duo that spent more time without him than with. So, he became instantly attached to someone showing any interest and kindness to him, even something as suspicious as a “shape-shifting” microphone. Tenna started using the Mikes as incredibly unqualified therapists. Pluey quickly became his favorite, a comforting presence that listened. Jongler wasn't mean, but just didn't understand what Tenna was trying to convey most of the time. And, Battat, well…

He frantically scribbled notes as Tenna spoke, observing behavior, pushing Tenna to spill more details. It wasn't hard—Tenna had spent so long isolating himself that it was easy to get him to start rambling, though it was difficult to get something more specific out of him. It became quite clear that Tenna was afraid of his own self. That, while he definitely had the potential to be dangerous, he clearly didn't want to be. It seemed to only strengthen Battat's theory that it was a parasite trying to take control. Was there any possibility of getting rid of it for good?

Eventually, Battat ended up bringing up the concept, which was almost… a little too convincing. Tenna was eager to separate his “ant self” from the rest of himself; he practically already saw it as a parasite in the metaphorical sense. And, although his body would always be stuck as it was, maybe he would finally be able to get rid of all those pesky instincts! Tenna was eager to try whatever it took. The first thing Battat expressed interest in was natural ant repellents like citrus, mint, coffee, and cinnamon. Tenna realized those were all things that he had gained an aggressive allergy to after being turned. Unlike his attempt to outlaw meat, his employees did actually make an effort to limit their consumption of the things he was allergic to given Tenna couldn't even handle smelling the stuff without his body freaking out. But, that was just the parasite freaking out, right? A sip of orange juice wasn't going to kill him!

…Whether it was actually poisonous or not, the allergic reaction was dangerous enough. It felt like all of his senses were burning as he coughed the entire jug of juice back up. He was found laying on the floor of his room, groaning in pain, but otherwise safe. To his dismay, the stress had caused his ant features to come back out, and they decidedly did not want to go back in. The schedule that day was hastily replaced with reruns. Tenna tried again with far lesser amounts, but all it really seemed to do was make the instincts worse as his body reacted. Battat encouraged Tenna to take it slow, because, no matter what, their dark world would be far worse off if their TV darkner died. He didn't particularly care about how unhealthy Tenna was treating himself by doing it as long as Tenna lived. Still, nothing ultimately came of it aside from Tenna's new “coffee” addiction. He loads up his drinks with so much sugar, creamer, syrup, and milk that to call it coffee would be like calling the ocean a grain of sand. Still, the fact that it wasn't giving him an adverse reaction convinced Tenna that it was somehow attacking the “parasite,” not making the connection that it was just the sugar calming him down.

The disappearance

Tenna's endeavors with Mike abruptly came to an end with the sudden disappearance of Dess. He spent most of his time looking into the light world, unable to do anything but watch as the two families he loved were torn apart. He hoped that his shows could provide some comfort to Kris and Asriel, but his volume was never loud enough to drown out the screaming matches in the other rooms. The two started to watch less and less, until they never powered him on again. After months of watching him sleep on the couch, Asgore left for good. And then, Toriel, the only one who even used the living room anymore, fully unplugged him. Tenna remembered crying, screaming, smashing furniture and sets, repeating in a never ending cycle of grief. The days blended together. He was the most powerful darkner in his realm, but… he couldn't even speak to his lightners. He was completely and utterly powerless as everything he knew crumbled before his eyes. He struggled to keep his extra features hidden, and it became easier for his mind to slip. In his constant anger, he became extremely controlling of his dark world, ignoring even the Mikes’ attempts to calm him. Especially Battat, who got a special real world experience of how it feels to be hunted by a pissed off, stressed out, and starving anTV. Tenna felt awful every time something like it happened, but… at this point, he couldn't bring himself to care.

As reality set in, though, anger turned into despair. Three years of being unplugged, and nothing had changed. All his employees had was their god-awful boss, and all he had was nothing. How long until they got sick of looking at him and he finally got thrown out? He was getting old, screen showing signs of burn in and dust caked into his vents. Even his darkner body looked worse. His constant years of hiding his mandibles in his mouth had caused them to slowly push his front teeth out to the point that they were always sticking out of his mouth even when it was closed. He was extremely malnourished from avoiding meat and having a terribly unbalanced diet in general, unable to maintain a height larger than his usual 10ft when he was supposed to be at 20. He didn't know how to fly, and had no motor skills with his second set of arms because he never used them. After every single molt, he purposefully filed his mandibles and claws until they were dull in an attempt to make himself “safer.” He had to hold his mandibles in place with his hands as they fought against him with each scrape of the file.

Events of Chapter 3 and Beyond

So, when Tenna was finally plugged back in, and Kris, now physically there in the dark world with him, told him about the Knight's plan, he quickly accepted. The events of Chapter 3 proceeded mostly as normal. His old fears of appearing as presentable as possible, especially in front of Kris, made Tenna do his best to resemble the normal humanoid TV he was always meant to be. The group did once accidentally catch him frantically destroying a block of wood into nothing but dust over the trash can in the corner of the room, but didn’t see his mandibles. Tenna was horrified, anyways, immediately putting up a technical difficulties screen and bolting. Aside from that, his claws come out a few times, as well as his mandibles peeking out, but he managed to mostly contain things, even during his fight. Susie's speech moved him, and a flower bloomed from his nose as he felt genuinely optimistic for the first time in years. And then…

Pain. Pure, white hot pain as numerous blades of pure darkness sliced through him like nothing more than paper. Tenna's vision crackled and soon went out completely as nothing but a garbled tone left his mouth. He fell to the ground, the weight of his body feeling off-center as he rolled down the hills of snow. His extra parts came out in a panic, wings buzzing as the arms he still had left uselessly pawed at the slippery wet ground. He was surrounded by his own pheromones calling out for help, pheromones that had no colony to listen to them. And so, Tenna sat there, slumped into the snow, occasionally twitching. His heat wasn't enough, and soon he felt the coldest he had ever been in his entire life. His body started to slow down in response, perhaps a good thing given how much pain he was in, and he lost consciousness.

Of course, Susie didn't give up on Tenna. She tore through the snow, barking orders at every darkner in her line of sight to continue searching for him. And, eventually, they found what was left of him. She feared the worst for a moment, but heard a tiny pained squeak from him as she prodded his cheek. Tenna's repairs were a blur of activity as his darkners raided the medical drama set for old stretchers and carefully pulled him out and back to the studio. Using the diagrams and schematics in the manual, the darkners who worked on the technical aspects of sets were able to use their knowledge to reattach the proper wires to hopefully fix Tenna's arms. The cells of his face grew fast, meaning that the stimulation of healing magic was enough to seal the cut slashed across his screen. Unfortunately, his dangling, barely-attached antennae couldn't be saved—it was almost fully organic, so they had no hope of healing it at that point, and ended up amputating it at the bend.

When Tenna eventually woke up, the first thing he noticed after the pain was Susie looking down at him. He didn't remember much aside from initially getting attacked, but it must've been bad given her relief and how terrible his body currently felt. Tenna freaked out when he realized his true self was on full display, but Susie wasn't bothered by it. If anything, she was kind of annoyed he had been hiding something as cool as having wings AND four arms. It took Tenna a bit off-guard. She… liked him better… like this? Gross twitchy abdomen, hairy limbs, segments, and all? She thought it was incredulous that he hadn't even tried flying. Regardless, Tenna was given the run-down of what happened, and was shocked that his arms had been completely severed, but even more surprised that they managed to reattach them fully, even if his shoulders were in a lot of pain. He supposed… if he was still his old self before the antennae, he wouldn't have arms anymore. He probably wouldn't even be alive. Being an anTV had technically saved him. He… didn't know how to feel about that, but… he was glad he was still here. Relieved that he wasn't going to be thrown away.

…

CASTLE TOWN!

A little what-if scenario of how Wormton and Ant might meet, given that I think they'd get along really well. Nothing super serious or concrete here, just a couple of ideas for fun!

(Do keep in mind their relationship is more so queer platonic because these guys are both asexually reproducing bugs that physically can't feel romantic attraction)

Castle Town was an adjustment from the moment Tenna got there. As a boss darkner, it felt like a part of him was missing now that his dark world was completely severed from him. His employees—err, former employees, had already started to move on now that they didn't need him. Physically, the worst part was that he was stuck in his true form, his body not wanting to get compressed when in a state of both injury and stress. Tenna supposed having extra arms was useful given he wasn't supposed to strain his upper ones, but… his lower arms had practically no fine motor skills due to their lack of use. He'd rather continue pretending they weren't there. And, even though all his former employees now knew what he really looked like, he didn't want any other darkners to find out. His reputation was already ruined enough; he wanted to at least keep some of it. But, he couldn't just hide in his room for the rest of time. Susie mentioned looking for someone who could keep him, but… he doubted anyone would want something as old and broken as him.

So, Tenna decided he'd just sneak outside at night. He did have good “night vision” that consisted of using only the infrared light of his screen to light the way. The color definitely wasn't red, but he supposed the ones who named it literally couldn't see it, so he couldn't complain. It let him hide in what looked like complete darkness to other darkners as he carefully explored the town. However, Tenna wasn't paying the most attention to where he was actually going, and soon got lost. His vision wasn't terrible, but he couldn't see far distances as well as he could when he was humanoid, and couldn't figure out what was the fountain and what was just the street lights, especially over the tall, curving buildings.

…

During his nightly hunting session, Spamton discovered Tenna walking around and decided to stalk him. He's curious about Tenna, because he could tell that he had the soul of a boss monster, but also that his soul was incredibly weak despite that. Eventually, he confronted Tenna, who struggled to figure out where Spamton was given he couldn't pinpoint sounds when he only had one antenna. He eventually spotted Spamtom on the roofs. Tenna freaked out over the creature saying vaguely murderous things to him, and took out the foam can, but didn't end up using it. The two had a very awkward sniffing session as they both smelled the only pheromones they've ever encountered outside of their own. Spamton abruptly offered to show Tenna the way back to the castle, not explaining his sudden change in interest. Tenna figured he'd have better luck following than trying to find his way back on his own.

Tenna asked questions about who Spamton was, getting his name. Spamton noted that Tenna doesn't know what he is, not elaborating why he was interested in that. From the weird glitches, Tenna was able to guess that Spamton was from Cyber World. Spamton said he was an “email,” and Tenna pretended to know what that was. He realized that a darkner who didn't know about him or his show was actually a good thing; he wouldn't have to worry about upholding his not-ant reputation to someone who just met him! Not that Spamton seemed like the type to judge given he was also some sort of… creature.

At some point during the walk, Spamton bolted off and Tenna chased after him. All he could do was stare in horror as Spamton lunged at some sort of mouse and snapped his teeth around its neck. Tenna’s functioning antenna twitched as the smell of blood entered the air, saliva starting to pool in his mouth as he grit his teeth. He'd… he'd… never smelled what it was like when… fresh. It wasS… SsssooOoO much worse……

Spamton was curious why Tenna was backing away from the maus in his jaws like it would explode when he also so clearly wanted it. He was intrigued enough to offer it just to see what happened. Tenna was just barely able to keep it together, sprinting away from Spamton and back to the castle now that he could see the fountain. He locked himself in his room, horrified that he was still drooling over the thought of eating that poor animal. He thought he had better control! Was it because he was stuck with all his limbs out? What was wrong with him?

…

Tenna got an unfortunate surprise when Spamton showed up in his window the next night and invited himself in. The two started to bicker, and it didn't take much prodding for Tenna to spill his life story. Spamton didn't see it as a good enough excuse to starve himself of basic nutrients. He knew what it was like to be treated like scum, to be trapped in a world that hated you. The answer wasn't to try and fit in; no matter what you do, they'll always know you're different. And, if they won't accept you, make them. Why are their lives any more important than yours? Why wouldn't you also deserve to be happy?

Over time, Spamton gets Tenna to at least try to embrace his new body. He doesn't admit it to Tenna, but the reason he's so invested is because the two had things in common he could never get out of the addisons. They were seemingly the only two sapient “bugs” in the entire dark world, and it'd be nice to be able to share things, like hunting prey, for the first time in his life. Unfortunately, he'd taken on quite the investment given how much Tenna needed to work on. He started out by introducing Tenna to processed meat to start working towards feeding him real food. He'd climb up and onto the rooftops, forcing Tenna to use his claws or even wings to follow. Tenna was… exceptionally bad at flying, but managed to kind of figure it out after shrinking to a size where crashing into a wall wouldn't cause severe property damage. Tenna never thought he'd be in the skies, but it was actually quite exhilarating. Spamton, of course, was primarily interested just so he could hitch a ride himself. Eventually, Spamton managed to get Tenna to eat a tiny bit of fresh maus, then a whole one, then multiple. Getting Tenna to actually try hunting something himself was another story, but he had still progressed a lot from where he started. Tenna was worried about what his employees might think of him doing this, but… this was probably the best his body had felt since he was first turned. It… it wasn't hurting anyone. It was just the cycle of life, like Spamton said. For once, he didn't have to worry about his mind slipping, because both sides of him had finally aligned into one.

When the time for Tenna to finally molt came, he was happy to not be spending it alone. Previously, Spamton had found out about Tenna's routine of filing his mandibles and claws and had already thrown out every last file from Tenna's room, but Tenna didn't find himself missing them anymore. Even as his shoulder wounds healed and his severed antennae grew a little in length with the molt, for once he wasn't looking forward to hiding his features again. And so… he didn't. He commissioned new clothes that embraced his real self, with more than two arm sleeves and strategic metal clasps so that he could put them on over his wings and abdomen. If his previous self found out that this would be his new normal, he would've been horrified. But, all current Tenna felt was optimism for a world where he was finally starting to feel like he belonged.

Although Spamton still wasn't fully honest about everything, it was the most someone had really cared about Tenna in a long time. The weather duo were nice but… of course they were; he was the boss darkner, and they wouldn't exist if it weren't for his studio. Mike was… perhaps not the greatest giver of advice, even if he was nice when he was in a Pluey mood. Spamton didn't have any previous connection, though. He just… genuinely liked Tenna for who and what he was. And also as a personal heater, apparently. Not that Tenna minded. He started inviting Spamton to places, and Spamton in turn showed Tenna his nest. The two laughed together as Tenna played commercial clips for Spamton to copy back, the novelty of it never wearing off to Tenna. He had been through a lot since that pair of antennae was first installed. He'd tried so desperately to cling to what he had, but, in the end, fighting against his body made it worse. And, here in Castle Town, he felt better than he had in a long time. He could never be a humanoid TV again, and he'd never be a proper anTV either, but that was okay. He was just… himself. Whatever that entailed.

Ah welcome to the bottom my friend I do not know how this got so long but I've rewritten it three times and am happy to finally be free

chubijubi

YESS I LOVE THIS!!!!

I see the idea of tenna being an ant in media and its awesome, but its even cooler to see it portrayed as some sort of repressed side to him. Hiding what is so obviously there and an inherent part of oneself and fitting into a mold too small for yourself, to the point it harms yourself and others around you.

Only to find someone else who had the same experience being part of a species that have been dehumanized by the masses and find love (platonic or otherwise) in one another by apreciating those traits. It makes embracing those traits all the better in the end.

#deltarune #mr ant tenna #cool stuff #i think im supposed to put something funny or extra ik the tags #uh. The trope of monsters forcing themselves into a human mold is neat and serves as a cool allegory for repression of non typical traits #(like being part of lgbtq #or really any other group that isnt popular/well viewed by media)#Similarly it helps to find solace in others of the same group to know that youre not alone and explain with similar but not the same #experiences and helping each other grow and break previous notions #which could mean nothing

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