i know people have already dissected pretty much all of Tenna and Spamton’s dialogue connections, but i wanted to point out something i noticed that i haven’t personally seen mentioned before, and how it may tie in to their relationship. this could just be me going “i’ve connected the dots!” here, but…
these are the only instances in the game where Tenna says this specific line, and it seems like an intentional reference in the writing to parallel these moments with each other. we know Spamton is connected to and knows that jingle, because he also quotes it in his Neo fight (in reference to Tenna and Mike). it seems like it was probably an ad they made together.
many people have pointed out that the Tropic of Love was probably a special place for Tenna and Spamton, and to me, this further implies that; it also implies that Tenna was thinking about/missing Spamton in both of these moments. (and yet still tries to pretend he doesn’t miss him at all ….. )
the other evidence that the Tropic of Love is connected to Spamton has been discussed before but i wanted to put it here for clarity!
the song that plays on the Tropic of Love is called “SOUTH OF THE BORDER!!” and is the only song in the chapter to be capitalized and have multiple exclamation points, similar to the way Spamton speaks.
(i’ve also heard people say that this song and the “KEYGEN” song — when Spamton flashes rainbow colors like the trees do on the Tropic of Love — share a leitmotif, and the first few notes of both do sound similar, but as far as i know this hasn’t been completely confirmed yet? correct me if im wrong)
the only other time the phrase “south of the border” is used in connection with Deltarune is Spamton’s dialogue in the description for the “Mr and Mrs and Spamton cutting board” on the Spamton Sweepstakes page, which also feels like a very intentional reference.
and Spamton does indeed cross out Tenna with a red marker on the below page, which of course you can find linked in the “Spamton engraved wedding ring” description. there’s an implication here that Spamton bought a wedding ring for Tenna, never got to give it to him, yet still kept it for years — we know some other things found in the Spamton Sweepstakes have factored into canon in some way (Noelle’s blog posts, some questions Spamton answered on Twitter, many hidden links)
(still don’t know what went down w Spamton and Mike tbh)
basically the point here is that the Tropic of Love was almost certainly some kind of romantic getaway or memento for them — and Tenna kept it in his special version of the game even after everything that happened; he still thinks of it fondly. they both care way more than they want to let on, and still can’t get each other out of their heads (after at least a decade apart, if the hidden mailroom dialogue means anything). and, despite all their obvious anger and resentment, despite falsely believing that the other abandoned them and never actually cared at all, they absolutely still deeply miss each other. (there are so many instances i could point out that imply this but this post already took me way too long to put together! lmao)
i mean, famously bitter grudge-holder Spamton G. Spamton was overjoyed at the chance to reconcile when he realized that Tenna cares about him after all, that maybe he wasn’t only using him that whole time just to find out his secret. (“you really do care!!!”) and even after he got humiliated by Tenna yet again, Spamton wasn’t really even angry — more just disappointed and resigned. and Tenna, who thinks Spamton was just using him the whole time, that Spamton pretended to get a phone call just so he could abandon him at the very last minute, still keeps the gift Spamton gave him as his prized possession, still wishes Spamton could just be there for him at his lowest. i think all of this says a lot about how they actually feel about each other, underneath the fronts they’ve put up to protect themselves from the pain of realizing they both lost the one person in the world who might’ve truly loved them.
[as a last note: i do actually believe there is a chance for them to reconcile in the game if you keep Tenna in Castle Town. this is a Toby Fox game. the main themes present in his work are love, hope, and forgiveness — that even if you’ve been irreparably changed, even if you can never fully go back to who you used to be, even if you feel completely unloveable, there is still love for you. i think Tenna and Spamton as characters will be relevant to the overall narrative and themes of Deltarune. i do think it’s that deep. Toby is making niche pairings from ten years ago — like Burgerpants/Nice Cream Guy — canon after all this time because it will make people happy. he’s having Fangamer sell Tenna & Spamton plushies as a pair, in cuddly poses. if you think there’s absolutely no hope for their relationship… maybe, just maybe, there will be.]
