#I’m articulating that his experiences and expressions parallel childhood neglect

[ilovetenna]

One of the most interesting things to me is Tenna’s ability to change size (and shape, though that is considerably limited). This ability isn’t the most consistent thing in terms of its context and application, so this is trying to make sense of it beyond simply “it’s just funny.”

First of all, Tenna’s size changing is dependent on his emotions. I feel this is relatively clear considering what happens in Ch3, but I think it’s worth reiterating since there are some confusing things involving his emotions and the fun meter.

Now, at first glance we could argue that his size is dependent on this fun meter. And I feel that on the surface this tends to add up. Generally, the higher the fun, the bigger he is, and the lower the fun, the smaller he is. But there are some variations in this that show he isn’t fully bound to the fun meter, and instead is more dependent on his overall emotions. A good example of this is the dead fun meter during the doom board sequence.

As you can see, he is full size. However the fun meter is fully depleted for obvious reasons. I feel that this shows the fun meter is separate from him, like a show prop of some kind. Though I still like interpretations that bond him to the fun meter, it can make for some silly jokes.

Nevertheless, this raises some questions. If his size is dependent on his emotions, then what emotions specifically make him larger or small?

The answer, from what I can tell, is that all strong emotions will make him bigger, but sadness and hopelessness are the ones that make him shrink.

The moments in which he is at his smallest always show him despairing. Whether it be a silly despair like in his introduction sequence, or after his fight, it’s still sadness nevertheless, and once he lets it consume him, he shrinks into… A tiny ant.

This is an important distinction to make between negative emotions and sad emotions. If he shrank with all negative emotions, then fear would also shrink him, and I don’t believe that to be true. During the whole TV world situation, he can be seen experiencing various forms of fear, like when he is trying to find Kris & Co. after they escape, or when he is begging people to not leave him. It is very clear that he is afraid in these scenes, as he talks frantically and misses details going on around him in order to fixate on one goal. If these emotions shrunk him, he would be much smaller way more often.

So now that we have narrowed down what technically makes him shrink and grow, let’s talk about why this is narratively interesting.

I have seen a variety of jokes about Tenna being a child of divorce. While I feel that is only one interpretation of his character, it is something that I find to be… An accurate description nevertheless. Not to get personal, but I am also a child of Divorce, and I can see very clearly how the impacts of fighting parents are reflected in Tenna. I think that this reading of his character is also supported by his size changing ability.

Think of it this way: When Tenna gets sad or upset or hopeless, he shrinks. He looks pathetic. He, intentionally or not, becomes small and vulnerable. He almost becomes “childlike” in that vulnerability, which parallels the idea of a child despairing through splitting parents. In his intro sequence, he very vocally expresses his distress to Kris & Co., but was surprised when they actually wanted to play with him. His smallness is trying to express his loneliness and despair so that maybe, just maybe, someone will care. However, whatever happens, he becomes complicit and follows along even if it means certain despair. His associations with childlike fears, emotions, and wants is something that, I feel, should not be ignored.

Considering Deltarune has a lot of themes about childhood neglect, abandonment, etc., Small Tenna’s behavior is not there for nothing. In a way, in those moments, perhaps he represents a Susie who wasn’t able to get over despair and make a friend. Perhaps he represents a Kris who was isolated and lonely during the divorce. But that’s getting into fanfic territory, and is stepping away from simply pointing out some observations on the source material.

When Tenna is large, we can see that he is much more capable of handling and managing complex things. He can run a show, even. But his smaller self does not want for grander things, and does not wish to make these larger things real. He wants simple things; love, attention, connection. If you are familiar with psychology, you may recognize these as “basic needs” in some models of thought.

That’s preeeetyyyy much all I have for this one. TLDR: Tenna Small = Sad & Hopeless Tenna. Tenna Large = Any Other Emotion Tenna. His mood is very visible and I feel that his sadness parallels other character’s struggles too.