An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
It's my take on how these two met during Spamton's Big Shot Era!
Also, the way I wrote the both of them leans more on that “Spy vs. Spy” idea from Toby. I’m a sucker for the idea of two sleazy characters growing soft for each other over time! 💖
Don't worry, though! These two will still be silly, I swear!
(Also for two people who don't like each other, they can't seem to stop finding an excuse to talk to each other...)
Still working through proofreading and editing! In the meantime, have a longer snippet of the opening part of the chapter!
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He was fine! Right as rain!
He was the finest fine he could ever be, he thought, marching down the halls of the studio. He repeated those words with every other step and repeated them right up until he kicked open Public Relation’s double doors.
Nearly every darkner inside jumped, including Mike, who’d been standing only a short distance away. The poor man had leapt several feet in the air in fright, only to land into much larger arms.
“Mike, my good man! What are you doing up here so early in the A.M.?” Tenna asked, swaddling his assistant like an infant.
“What?” Mike's face reddened, fidgeting uncomfortably. “Didn’t ya say ya wanted to meet with the team after work? I was just givin’ them a heads up.”
“Oh, yes, but the kiddos are off to school and the ‘rent-a-roonies are off to work! So, I figured: why not now, right?”
Leery, Mike tried to steer him away from the idea. “Are you sure you’re up for it, sir? Maybe you should—Maybe you’d rather… It's just that you usually don't take—”
“Yep, that’s great, friend!” Tenna quickly set the mic down, causing his PA to stumble a bit before finding his footing. “I think I’ve got this covered! Be a pal and run some preventative maintenance checks or something around the studio, wouldja?” He ordered, sliding the smaller man back out the door. “Thank you!” Before Mike could get a word in, Tenna pulled the doors closed behind him.
He.
Was.
Fine.
“GOOD MORNING, EVERYONE! It’s Tuesday o’clock! Who’s ready for a SURPRISE MEETING?” On a set of tippy toes, with enough balance and grace to vex any ballerina, Tenna twirled his way to the front of the room. He came to a stop in front of a massive CRT TV embedded into the wall as his unwilling audience groaned. “Is that a resounding ‘YES,’ I hear? EXCELLENT!”
After another spin, he stopped to point towards the stupefied crowd. “NOW, WHERE'S MY DC?!”
“Present, Mr. Tenna.” Holding up their hand, a taller darkner pushed themselves off the far wall. A newspaper come to life that towered over their subordinates, but couldn’t even reach Tenna’s chest. A busy body with the perfect amount of the lack of self-preservation needed to fulfill the role of TV World’s Director of Communications—“DC” for short. They acted as the keeper of Tenna’s image—both as a ruler and as a celebrity. “What’cha need us to do for ya this time, boss?” Their body was made of newspaper, printed words commanded to morph into repeats of their question.
“Glad ya asked! As my lovely assistant was just about to tell you: BIG THINGS are happening and I need your help to ease the transition.” Clicking his heels together, sets of tiny wheels extended from his soles. The carpet in the room turned into wood, allowing the TV star to skate around freely. “For everyone: a copy of Spamton’s report!” Pulling out a stack of papers from the interior of his trademark tailcoat, Tenna hand delivered each darkner a copy. Returning back to the front, he waited as confused looks searched for the aforementioned cyber darkner. “Oh yes! Spamton won’t be attending our meeting today. He’s comfortably back in his world for the time being!”
And for some reason, they all stared at him as if he’d grown another head! They—just as Mike and his favorite duo had before—fell back in shock. They scrambled back to their feet, regarding their leader with trepidation.
“You let him g—ow!” The department head quickly elbowed their neighboring subordinate, effectively shutting them up before they finished anything with offensive implications.
“His time with us is over?” The director appropriately corrected.
“Not at all.” Tenna’s smile was tense, but he decided not to comment on the slip. “He had to go back, so he could serve as the main point of contact for all things Cyber Worldian! That’s RIGHT, ladies and germs! It’s official! We’re partnering up with Cyber World, and I need your help to get the public on board with the upcoming changes!”
“Oh no…” The DC sighed, pinching their forehead. “Sir, that’s going to be a bit tricky, considering your very public denunciation of the place when Queen first showed up?”
“I…” Oh god, he definitely— “Don’t remember that.”
Straightening their vest with a disgruntled sigh, the director walked over to a lever adhered to the wall. Pulling it, the wall detached with a hiss, breaking into two large panels as they turned. Halfway, they came to a stop, exposing a large room filled with rows upon rows of carefully preserved film reels. Stepping onto an absurdly tall rolling ladder, the director traversed the media library in search of nothing good, Tenna was sure. His DC’s memory was frightfully superb. They remembered everything that’d ever passed through their desk. As proof, they’d tracked down evidence of Tenna’s misdeeds in a dauntingly short fashion. Hopping off the ladder, they set up the tapes in the quadruplex. The large reels started turning and behind him, the room filled with light as the massive CRT was brought back to life. As the image filtered in, becoming more and more clear with each passing second, Tenna’s antennas dropped, deep creases projecting onto his screen under where eyes would be if he had them.
“Okay, next question!” It was his voice. “Uh… Oh! You there! Yes, you!”
The TV darkner turned to look upon a slightly younger version of himself. He’d been dressed in yellows and gold—an outfit permanently retired after Queen not only called him a banana, but also wouldn’t let the joke go the entire time he was with her!
Furious and ego bruised, he’d stormed back home, demanding a press conference immediately—media training be damned!
Similar to his director, another newspaper darkner spoke up from the crowd. “Oh, yes! Mr. Tenna, sir? Recently you announced your customary visit to the new world! The people wanna know! Are we lookin’ at possible competition here? What should TV Worldians expect from the coming of the ‘digital age’?
“Pfft! Competition?! That place?! PLEASE!” The younger him slammed his hands around either edge of the podium, claws digging into the sides. “That place is nothing but flashy GARBAGE, ya hear?! It’s just a fad! Surface level entertainment that will fade before the decade’s up! To say I was disappointed would be an understatement!” He slammed his hands down again. “No color, even! Just a visual mush of gray!” Tenna snorted, giving a dismissive wave. “Nothing to write home about! Barely worth a headline! So, rest easy, dear viewers! Cyber World’s got NOTHING on good television!”
Tenna couldn’t help but mourn the past him’s brashness.
That beautiful, handsome, fool…
“And just why do you have that?” He hissed, watching from the corner of his screen as the DC stopped the recording. They were careful, but familiar, when removing the reels. They returned them to their rightful place…
When that damning film deserved to go into the incinerator, instead.
“Don’tcha remember?” They asked, idly looking for another set of reels. “You left that stage huffin’ and puffin’—oil pressure through the roof—when I tried to tell you why your use of charged language could come back to bite you in the ass one day!” Back off the ladder, they put the new reels in place. “And what did you say?”
Click!
It was Tenna again. He was backstage and still steaming from his colorful performance. His screen was flushed and antennae buzzed in agitation. A Shuttah hovered close by, waiting to escort him to a photoshoot as the celebrity tried to fix himself up,
His perfect attendance for his obligations was in jeopardy and his emotions were already running sky high. So, it was poor timing when the director chose then to intercept him. Past Tenna turned up his nose before snapping his fingers at the nearby camera darkner. “You! Are you getting this?”
They were, obviously. They’d been busy recording behind-the-scenes footage for Tenna's annual release of “Behind the TV Timez.” Part documentary and part mockumentary, it was a series that'd been going strong since his first full year with the Dreemurrs.
At the Shuttah’s confirmation, Tenna turned back to the director. “I stand by what I said! I will never, ever, work with Cyber World! EVER! And you can QUOTE me on that!”
Click!
The recording stopped.
“Working with Cyber World and Queen now would give the public the impression that we need them to stay afloat.” The newspaper darkner argued, crossing their arms.
Tenna’s screen went black. “Which is why it’s your job to spin it in a way that doesn’t give off that impression! Isn’t that right? Think of it like a fun challenge!” The floor shifted, acting as a conveyor belt as it brought the director closer to him. Looming over them, his smile was wide and uninviting. “This news will come as a shock for people and the last thing I want is to cause a panic! So, do what you have to, understand? Make. Magic. Happen.”
“Mr. Tenna, what you’re asking for is a miracle.” They held up a finger before the monarch could protest. “But, I do love making miracles!” Yanking the pencil floating next to where an ear would be, they began madly chewing on the end as their mind got to work. The poor utensil was riddled with various bite marks. A horrible habit they’d picked up to try to kick their nicotine addiction. “This will be a delicate process, but I’m sure if I don’t sleep tonight, I could draft up a plan by the morning! Off the top of my head, I’m thinking we’ll need a multi-phase drip campaign to slowly turn public opinion before we drop the news that—”
“Uh huh, yup! That’s great!” Features returning to normal, Tenna applauded them. “Oh, I just KNEW you’d have a plan! You’re top of the line for a reason, DC! So, anyhoo, how long are we talking here, friend?”
“But,” They deflated. “I wasn’t finished…?”
Tenna stared, honestly lost. “Finished with what, now?”
The director deadpanned. “For lightner’s sake—Whatever. In summary, we’ll need two months, at least.”
Tenna’s face went blank before nodding enthusiastically. “EXCELLENT! You have a week!”
The entire team went pale as their boss bit straight through their pencil. They choked, spitting out the other half before it got lodged in their throat. “A wha—A WEEK?!” They wheezed.
“That’s the spirit!” Tenna cheered, throwing his hands up in celebration. “So, come on then! Chop! Chop! Get to it! The first round of equipment will be hitting our soil around that time, and we’ll need to be prepared for questions!”
“But—”
“And really, it’s more than a week if you count—!”
“But, sir, we—!” The other staff looked desperate as they tried to reason with higher authority.
Tenna tutted, suddenly popping up in the middle of the group to drape both arms across all their shoulders, dragging the director with him. “Listen, I know this is a lot to ask, but I believe in you guys! And hey, I trust your judgement! Spin it however you like! My only requirement is that you make me look GOOD! And if you do a great job, then there might be a sweet bonus at the end of it! Any questions?”
In dejected unison, they all slumped. “No, Mr. Tenna…”
“Great!” He slowly turned to their leader. “DC?”
Tucking the remaining half of their pencil away, the media darkner stared into the void, eyes minutely flickering back and forth. They audibly swallowed, taking out a cigarette. “I…I mean if I don’t sleep for that whole week, then yes—”“TV-TASTIC! I KNEW I could count on you! Then, what are we waiting for?! Let’s get STARTED!”
I come bearing a new one-page Spamtenna comic! In full colour? Somehow?? I got posessed by demons while making this...
As always, you get my whole process under the cut!!
I had the idea of drawing Tenna sporting some of my ties - and this idea was born!! I love me a silly tie but sadly don't own the ones depicted here </3. As usual, the sketch didn't change that much - I only moved some poses around and decided to keep the camera still like we were a mirror (which caused Spamton's pose to change)
I am a Firm believer of brush theory. It took me a long time to find a sketch brush I liked, and it makes my roughs so much more organic and fluid than when I sketch with my inking brush!!
Spamton's expression stuck as this little smile until the end where I decided to make him cheekier (also thank the heavens I always send wips to other people because I stupidly deleted my roughs)
Then comes my favorite part I think... The inks!! I don't know how I did it but these are my favorite Tennas I have EVER drawn. Ever. He just looks so much like himself and I am so incredibly proud!!! I was still thinking of just using halftones for this at this point but well. The ties would be much sillier and clearer in colour... (Also I added the title as a fun homage to old comics! It's a little out of place in the rendered piece)
(The little kiss was so much fun to draw at every step... It was what caused my spamtenna kiss meme drawing from a couple days back)
I don't have any wips of the colouring because I went insane and did it all in one sitting. Wow. The demons posessed me once again.
I also sorta maybe kind of hurt my wrist a bit from drawing so many hours without stopping+the Apple Pencil always hurts my hand... Take breaks kids. Fight the demons.
Thank you for reading!! As a gift, have a cropped kitty Tenna <3
This could be a standalone comic or work as a follow up to the last one lol. Either way, haha point and laugh 🫵🫵🫵🫵 His attacks aren’t attacking haha 🫵🫵
Did Tenna actually fall first or did he just seem like it because he is more open? Who fell harder?
tenna started to become attatched sooner and even recognized he was kinda into the mailman earlier, so he had a head start
but i think spamton fell harder of the two when HE realized he had gotten tennas attention and was being treated more like an equal for a change. I dont think he was even aware that tenna liked him genuinely until the little dinner date
