Tenna in the battenna swap au feels.. apathetic? When he’s not cat friend does he just bottle everything up and be apathetic cuz in his surveillance guard form he seems/looks pretty apathetic.. maybe he uses the cat friend form of his to be more expressive and emotional? (That’s definitely not healthy…) I imagine that lanino and elnina are people he actually opens up too and lets himself be expressive around them is this true or nah?
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
uuuuh anyway, tenna is not apathetic in general, but even if Friend WAS him at his most emotive/expressive self itd still wouldnt be him, because all he does and all he says has to go through a filter of deception. he mantains a constant poker face to never let anyone know what he's truly thinking and only shows what he wants them to see
