#soundwave lore

[silenceofthewave]

Does soundwave use actual soundwaves? Or is the name just based on the voice?

Also opinion on bagpipes?

[Soundwave tilts its helm, considering both questions. It leaned down so the little human could read its visor. It was showing schematics of what looked to be Soundwave, but much, much bulkier. It zoomed in on one of its arms and showed a little animation of it transforming.]

[The arm turned into what looked like a cannon, much of the same caliber as Megatron's plasma cannon. However, when it shot, pulses of air rang out. Readings in Cybertronian script appeared before they slowly translated to English.]

[The readings were scientific in nature, displaying hertz, decibles, and wave forms. The blaster on its arm was a sonic cannon.]

[After replaying the animation a few times, the mech stood up and its visor turned to Youtube. It looked up "bagpipes" and played a couple of videos. It was a strange, strange instrument, but it actually found itself enjoying them. As soon as the screen turned black, it gave a firm nod of approval.]

[driftsart]

I found this comic in my computer files, I never finished it though, this is supposed to be how Soundwave found Rumble and Frenzy.

[churino]

Reboot time!, after all this time away, I've changed the image format and revamped the lore. Notably, this project now has a name, transformers from a to z! (The name is only in honor of the original idea, im no longer doing characters in alphabetical order)

Note: Pre reboot stuff (anything that doesn't use the character sheet format) is being kept around for archival purposes. None of it is canon anymore

[crystalleoi]

Made designs for Megatron, Shockwave, and Soundwave :)

[bibliophilesince2003]

Transformers One In-Depth Review

Transformers One is a must watch.

I’m tired of seeing a bad review go towards a movie that is actually extremely well done, especially if the reviewer hadn’t taken the time to watch it or considered the trailers enough content to draw a review from.

Seriously, it was so refreshing to see a new take on a franchise that has been around for years. In my personal opinion, it’s better than re-makes that offer even less room for creativity.

I am a huge Transformers fan. I grew up with Transformers Prime, and when I was older, I watched the movies. I’ve watched other shows here and there, and while I may not be a complete expert, I know the lore well enough to have been heavily, emotionally impacted by Transformers One.

I’ll start with the "non-spoiler take" followed by the "spoiler take” which will be “hidden” for those who do not want to be spoiled.

"Non-spoiler" take...

Peter Cullen’s voice is legendary. Chris Hemsworth himself acknowledged this in an interview, mentioning that the goal was to “re-create” and “do something new.” He intended to represent a “youthful, brash, and cocky version” of Orion Pax before he was known as Optimus Prime. This is a realistic representation. In Transformers Prime, Ratchet states that Optimus Prime was more like Jack in his youth. For those of you who don’t know, Jack is a strong-willed, selfless, but slightly impulsive teenager, as all teenagers should be. It is clear that Hemsworth has evaluated “hints” that other movies and shows have provided. Hemsworth wanted to “lean into” a more serious voice towards the end of Transformers One. He insisted “he wouldn’t dare mimic Peter Cullen.” I highly respect his choices, and he does not deserve the amount of hate thrown at him. Now, Orion Pax also comes across as a humble, soft-spoken character in other movies and shows. However, I can see why they would lean into his impulsiveness to better highlight and contrast the relationship between Orion Pax and D-16, especially as D-16’s true colors show. More about that in the “spoiler” section, though!

No, it would not have made sense for Orion Pax to have a deep, majestic voice. That comes with experience; that comes with hard decisions. Quite honestly, Hemsworth is pretty close to what I had imagined Orion Pax to sound like. It’s still slightly deep, and very soothing.

The character development in this movie? Oh. My. Word. Guys, as a writer, I can say that subtle character development – the best kind – is not easy to do. In Transformers One, it flowed naturally. It made me smile. It broke my heart. If you’ve seen other Transformers movies and shows, brace yourself. If you haven’t, still brace yourself. Again, more about that in the “spoiler” section.

The humor in the trailers has been re-posted so heavily I think it’s beginning to lose its effect and people, not knowing the context, are quick to judge. Yes, Bee is funny. It’s Bee. He’s supposed to be lovable, humorous, loyal, and powerful. I found no issue with most of the humor coming from him. There is more humor that is not mentioned in the trailers that is really worth chuckling over.

Finally, the fight scenes were clean, the animation was captivating, and the incredible Brian Tyler produced musical masterpieces for most every scene, some of it connecting to other movies and shows.

"Spoiler" take, now!

I expected to dislike Elita. Really, I did. I knew she was the “love interest” for Optimus Prime beforehand and expected big things from her, because Optimus Prime never struck me as having a “love interest” in the past. Not only that, but I expected her to be the female character I seem to find everywhere these days who strives to be better than everyone else without a lick of experience, complaining about the male figures in her life.

Elita, however, is ambitious. She leads. She doesn’t have to prove anything; she’s simply willing to work hard and do her job. Understandably, she gets upset with Orion Pax and the others when they interrupt her progress, though I can’t help but be amused by Orion Pax’s shy attempt to get her attention and adored his subtle acts of kindness. Sure, she’s a tad bit aggressive – she did punch Orion Pax, after all – but I really enjoyed seeing her adapt. When Orion Pax was feeling hopeless, she was there to encourage him. If she had stopped talking immediately after saying “I’m better” I would have been frustrated. Orion Pax and D-16 are the main characters in Transformers One, after all. She didn’t stop there, though. She highlighted the most important aspects of Orion Pax; his good heart, selflessness, and bravery. She told Shockwave and the others to shut up and listen to Orion Pax when they doubted his plan. She encouraged him to speak louder when others couldn’t hear him. She leaned towards the pit when Orion Pax fell.

Not only that, but Orion Pax was incredibly patient with her. He woke her up when she was unconscious and immediately took a punch to the face like a champ. He gently, subtlety smiled at her when they traveled to the surface and Elita announced "it's beautiful." He cried out her name and pushed her out of the way to save her during a battle. He listened to her. He told her to beat Arachnid “gently” when Elita managed to detain her, proving he fully understood Elita’s personality.

I’m sorry, but this kind of relationship takes the cake. If they’re meant to be a couple, I can see the signs. I love how well they work together and build each other up.

Bee is an icon. One of my favorite scenes is him eagerly saying to Orion Pax “I’m going to go cut these guys up, watch! C’MERE!” It’s like a proud kid trying to get their parent to watch. I love how loyal he is to Orion Pax right off the bat.

While they changed some lore in Transformers One, they included everything that was important. Orion Pax and D-16 are miners, but it seems Orion Pax may have been a clerk beforehand. When he broke into the archives, he seemed to know where he was going. When he ran, I can’t remember exactly, but I believe he was muttering numbers? I don’t mind the small twists and can see how they were necessary for the story; key details are kept.

Jazz and Ratchet mention! I was so excited to hear their names. Kind of wish they had shown Ratchet, maybe shouting “I needed that!” to a fumbling worker. Sorry, Transformers Prime reference.

Arachnid had an incredible design.

Sentinel is a well-written, hate-worthy villain. I… did not expect D-16 to rip him in half, though.

Also… can I just mention how epic that particular scene was? The switch from D-16 reaching his peak character development – showing no mercy – while Orion Pax reached his – making the ultimate sacrifice to preserve life and do things the right way; receiving the Matrix of Leadership. The music, the animation, the slow-motion… everything was incredibly cinematic.

Obviously, D-16 took things too far. I appreciated the fact that he didn’t just wake up one day and decide to be evil. It took time. It took motivation. Obviously, any sane person would stand with Optimus Prime, though he does make mistakes from time to time, but it was incredibly neat to actually appreciate D-16’s insight in the beginning, then notice the shift and feel every bit of emotion Orion Pax felt.

People say the ending is rushed, or that D-16’s change came too abruptly without any good motivation. Sure, the ending may be a little rushed, but movies are typically structured this way. Falling action does not have a set speed; it just needs to be well done. Bad things happen in a rush, and this leaves ample opportunity for the “good guys” to react a little too slowly. As for D-16’s motivation… even a person can take their worship of an item or figure too far. Megatronus was someone to look up to in D-16’s eyes. He agreed to Orion Pax’s plans, or at least tolerated them, but his admiration for Megatronus was his own interest. Orion Pax threatened that vision. D-16 wanted to kill Sentinel to satisfy his own needs and desires, not to liberate others. Sentinel deserved death after committing murder, yes. He didn’t, however, deserve a public execution, especially as he tried to get away and was relatively defenseless. Remember, Sentinel told D-16 and Bee that he would execute them in front of everyone. We can acknowledge his promise as brutal, so shouldn't D-16's actions be considered brutal, too? No "reason" could ever justify it.

When D-16 let Orion Pax drop, he proved he no longer cared about loyalty. The least he could do was hoist Orion Pax’s body up or break down after losing what he once called his best friend, but he didn’t.

It’s ironic… D-16 said “I’m done saving you” when in reality, Orion Pax was trying to save D-16 from doing something he knew D-16 should have regretted doing. Normally, yes, D-16 is the voice of reason, but not in this case. For once, this is where Orion Pax’s true personality shines through. His spark – the spark of a Prime – is in the right place. Orion Pax puts joking aside when serious matters arise. It seems D-16 didn’t really know his friend after all. The actions D-16 committed, my friends, are not actions you want to celebrate.

I really, really hope Transformers One gains more attention. We need the sequel! Transformers fans, tell your friends. Give an honest review, which are of more value than the reviews given by those who didn’t take the time to watch it. Hype it up and roll out!

[theangrycomet]

Does anyone know if any of the casseticons actually play music? Or are they blank tapes?

do they just find a song they like and have to go pester Soundwave to let them record it on themselves? This feels like a little kid getting temporary tattoos situation

Like- imagine Soundwave has like the imperial march recorded on Rumble and he goes to play it but Rumble's rerecorded something ridiculous on himself so now his dramatic entrance is followed by "I'm a Barbie Girl" instead

[startheskelaton]

So I got a four for one in questions about Sparkplug AU. Your AU has got me in vice grip now, and I want the know about the lore.

First: We've seen Rumble, Frenzy, and Ravage, but no Laserbeak... where is the guy at, is he okay?

Second: Since Soundblaster's design is based off of TFP Soundwave does he have is own mini-con, if so I'm gonna guess it's Buzzsaw since that's been the usual status quo with Soundblaster these days?

Third: What does Sparkplug think of the other members of Nightflyer's family like Slipstream, Acid Storm, and Airachnid did they break the cycle and become friends?

Fourth: How did the Autobots feel about Soundwave when he defected with Megatron?

1: Laserbeak is around! He’s safe don’t worry. He just likes hanging out and sitting in trees. He’s enjoying a nice retirement as of now.

2: yes!! Soundblaster’s only mini-con as of now is Buzzsaw! He actually built them himself with parts found around Skockwave’s lab. Buzzsaw is very dear to SB and he takes great care in maintaining their upkeep.

3: at first she’s very cautious and wary. She knows these bots will definitely not like her so she stays away. However post Tarn and Nightflyers death, pre Nightflyer being reborn, Slipstream and Sparkplug are forced to work together. They’re able to be honest with one another, Slipstream telling Spark about how she hates having to put on a fake smile in order to be respected by the people of Cybertron. Spark is able to comfort her and assure her that she likes the real Slipstream, brashness and all, and that they probably could have been friends if they met earlier. They still have a very Starscream and Megatron like back and forth, but it’s clear it’s all in good fun rather than hate.

4: it depends, most of them still really don’t wanna be associated with them. However those who actually got to know them, found they were pretty harmless and pretty good bots (incredibly flawed but good deep down). Jazz was the fist to accept Soundwave along with Blaster, funny enough, due to Sparkplug’s existence, Elita would make Soundwave an honorary member of the girls squad. A lot of the old heads (Ratchet, Magnus, Cup) were rather fond of Megatron’s old soul. However other then that, most do keep their distance.

[lattefo4m]

Microwave..... Microwave save me...

[sonicvoid]

Huge fan of whenever people crush Prime Soundwave with his other iterations. It's just Good.

(That is indeed Skywarp with them btw; they're a small group in the au I'm workin on and eventually Perceptor joins)

[ghostie-goo]

more older pinkwave art (self insert edition)

[silenceofthewave]

hc 🗡🎡🚬📿

- weapons headcanon 🗡️

After its reformat, the datacables became Soundwave's main weapon. The datacables' primary functions relate to its intelligence gathering role, but when its battle protocols are online, the cables act as conductors for powerful electric shocks. Soundwave can control the ampage it uses, and calibrates it based on target size, basic scans, plating and frame type. The cables' electricity can be used to kill, but it prefers to disable them than outright murder. The murder comes later.

The cables are also prehensile, so they can twist and choke and restrain; all of that is common knowledge.

It also has access to an arm blaster, but it prefers not to use it; the thing takes up way too much energy for what could be considered economical. Megatron insisted that Soundwave at least have some kind of blaster for its protection, much to its chagrin.

Before its reformat, Soundwave had access to powerful sonic cannons that were situated on its arms, much like how Megatron's fusion cannon is. These cannons elicited powerful sonic waves that were capable of disorentation, stunning an opponent, and even knocking them over if they were a lighter frame or already on unsure footing.

Soundwave has always been a little...weird, even before its reformat into its stealth frame. Its sonic cannons and datacables were as "technologically advanced" as its personal combat got. It prefers hand to hand combat, sometimes with a weapon, but usually with its servos.

Speaking of servos, they transform into talons when its battle protocols are online. What's the point of long spindly digits on a cryptid if you're not going to go full feral with them?

- hobby themed headcanon 🎡

Soundwave actually really enjoys music. All kinds of music, from Cybertronian to Earthling, to other species they have come in contact with.

Because of this, it has a massive personal database of music that it has collected.

The database is sorted several different ways, mostly because Soundwave finds sorting data into quantifiable groups, subgroups, and lists very relaxing. Some of these groups are sorted by species, types of music, musical crossover between species, instrumentals, and ambiance.

Along with these groups, it also just has regular playlists (theres a big difference between the two!). The playlists are mish mashed of all types of music, and they fit certain moods, certain tasks, whatever it desires. If it is feeling something very particular, it has at least 15 playlists to choose from. It also likes to listen to these internally whenever someone like Starscream is ranting incessantly at it, and it needs to drown out his blathering.

- bad habit headcanon 🚬

Soundwave picks at its biolights when its Especially nervous. It only does this when its alone, never in front of anyone else. It would show weakness, and that there is a person behind the visor; neither of those things suit its purpose.

But, when its alone, and things are going terribly, it will pick and pick. Sometimes the biolights will break. Theyre an easy enough fix for its internal repair systems, so its not really an issue. But it does hurt, and that brings it focus.

- faith themed headcanon 📿

Soundwave only believes in Primus simply because it cannot find any other logical explanation for the Primes, the Allspark and the Matrix of Leadership. Its a begrudging acknowledgment of the diety that forged it, but nothing more.

It hated the organized religion around Primus and the original Primes with a fervor. It was oppressive, it was intended to keep the masses in line, and worst of all, none of it was true.

It detests the way that mechs and mecha will worship the ground that the Primes walk on, as if the Primes weren't determined by the very same mechs that oppress them.

Soundwave has a complicated relationship with religion, and it prefers not to think about any of it too deeply. It's in fact grateful that with the destruction of Cybertron came the destruction of the stain that was the Church of Primus. That was possibly the only good thing that came from losing its planet.

[driftsart]

if its okay, could u explain who’s in Tarns group, who’s in Megatron’s group, and which decepticons are captured and if they are treated Kindly there?

(if u don’t get message i might like resend it just in case because i know you have loads of asks :)

Sure!

In Megatron's group as of right now, there's Starscream, Soundwave, Shockwave, Soundwave's cassettes, Starscream's seekers, knockout, breakdown, Skywarp, Thundercracker, Thunderblast, Lockdown, Swindle, Hook, and Blitzwing (before his capture)

(Megaempress and her group are another thing)

The main ones being:

Tarn's group isn't really complete yet, so far I only have Tarn and his most trusted sidekick and mad scientist, Arachnid. (I'm still working on that group lmao)

As for the Decepticons that were captured,

The only surviving one at the moment is Blitzwing, and he's not doing too well. Sentinel keeps prisoners in a hidden area of cybertron's autobot base, and it's hell in there (kinda like a concentration camp (⁠´⁠;⁠︵⁠;⁠`⁠))

Blitzwing's gets a little help from Bee, an autobot who sneaks in sometimes to give Blitzwing the necessities (like energon/food?) in return for some "truth/stories"

[sunnyashe]

A prequel to this: we might get there. maybe. just setup for now

next scene under cut! part 3:

Rumble and Frenzy both stiffened instantly. Scrap. 

Rumble side-eyed his twin, watching shock dawn to horror on Frenzy’s faceplate.

Jazz.

“Seems the terrible two are taking the party outside!” Jazz was still standing directly behind them, his grin practically audible. Fragger fed off Cassetticon fear. “‘s there a reason you didn’t pay for that engex?”

“Nope,” Rumble responded immediately, turning to face Jazz. The word dragged out, ending with a lilt, as if he was unsure.

Simultaneously, Frenzy launched into a ramble on the spot. “We have special instruction, clearance, from the Prime! He wants energon samples from across the undercity for…”

Rumble picked up the thread as Frenzy trailed off. “Because he wants to try out the local culture! The Op’s so bored of the fancy shmancy energon they keep serve’n him in that palace, so he asked us to bring him some of these commoner…delicacies!”

Jazz exaggeratedly brought a digit to his helm, miming a comm exchange. "Wow! I thought you might've been stealing for yourselves, but if you're stealing for the Prime, it must be fine!” After a beat, he sighed theatrically, “OP says he didn’t order any engex, you sure you didn’t get the wrong guy?”

Frenzy was still rooted to the spot, facing the street. :Turn around, dumbaft!: Rumble crackled through to him with comms, :Face that slag-head helm first! It’s too late to run.:

:Idiot, it’s called deniability!:

:What, like you talking to him didn’t give up the jig?:

:I was telling the concrete!:

:It’s too late, flickerbrain, grow some self-respect!:

:What, like how you respect Autobots?:

In one swift movement, Rumble dropped all of the stolen engex he was holding. He hopped in front of Frenzy, snarling, with a fisted servo extended to crack his brother’s stupid visor.

A warm, scarred servo yanked Rumble up by his backplate. Frenzy, who had unsheathed a vibroblade from who-knows-where in retribution, was also bodily hoisted up into the unforgiving air of Kaon’s industrial sector. Jazz’s rictus took on an amused tinge, “Woah there, mechs. It’s my job to keep violence off the streets, you know? You’re makin’ it real easy.”

Rumble wiggled in his grasp, limbs flailing ineffectually, “Then be glad about it, turbofox wannabe!”

Frenzy twisted his helm to attempt to bite Jazz’s servo “Yeah, you’re so great at your job! Now let us go!”

Jazz tilted his head, as if considering. As soon as he moved to speak, Frenzy plowed over whatever he was about to say with an interrogation he had little diplomatic power to execute. “Why the frag are you even here? Low-end neutral bar in the sticks? Does your job require engex overcharge or some slag?”

Rumble fought with renewed vigor, as if Jazz was diverting processing power away from his grip to consider his answer the question. “Yeah! Too scared of fighting a little crime without bein’ drunk?”

“As a matter of fact,” Jazz said blithely, ignoring them, “I was considering letting you miscreants off with a warning and a promise that you’ll give that poor bartender a sparkfelt apology.” 

Rumble glared at the underside of Jazz’s helm distrustfully, sending Frenzy a databurst comm, :Liar.:

:No slag.:

Jazz continued on, unruffled, pretending not to be hacking their private comms, “But, y’know…there’s no harm in a little catch-up. I haven’t seen you two since the war!”

“As if it’s over,” Rumble growled. Bitterly.

Jazz’s smile widened, and Rumble realized he kind of fucked up. “Anyway, how’s Sounders doing?”

Frenzy scoffed, crossing his arms while dangling a meter in the air, “Who the frag is Sounders?”

Jazz laughed a little, softly. He lowered Rumble to the ground. The Cassetticon ripped himself out of Jazz’s hold as soon as his pedes hit the cobbled, gritty floor, arm raised defensively. Maybe he was making good on that obvious falsehood from before? It wasn’t like him, at all, there was probably another trick–

Frenzy was still suspended midair. With his now free left servo, Jazz materialized two pairs of miniature stasis cuffs, lightly spinning them between two digits with obscene expertise.

“So, my mechs. Where is Soundwave?”

[rupertdriggs]

selfship kid that looks like this bc reasons...

[sphnyspinspin]

OMG, I’VE BEEN WANTING TO SHARE THIS AU FOR A MINUTE—

Meet my Magnificence Reforged AU Connie!

Though Scorponok only ever referred to her as Experiment: A9-2416 (usually in Decepticon dialect).

Her story is that Scorponok created her as an experiment to see what would happen if an organic was able to produce a set of chemicals that are deemed somewhat powerful, yet common, by organic standards but emphasized to a certain degree with the help of Cybertronian technology. Entirely inspired by the mere Earth-Human conceptual myth known as the—

Indomitable Human Spirit.

What Scorponok was able to take away from eight years of properly caring for the experiment is that these chemicals that fuel basic organic functioning can be utilized exponentially to a degree where a full grown one of these things could even rival some of Cybertron’s strongest warriors. Maybe even the galaxy’s toughest warriors wouldn’t be able to stand a chance.

It became labeled as Adrenalineregon.

(dope naming skills I know)

It turned out to be some crazy-powerful stuff once injected into a strong enough specimen.

Now why would Scorponok need to make something like this? Power? Recognition? Fun? All of the above honestly. But it’s also because in this Alternate Universe the Decepticons won the war for Cybertron, and Megatron has already built his perfect Decepticon Army to conquer the rest of the known universe, and he and the Grand Architect thought their Army of Tarn clones needed a little more pep-in-their-step.

You heard me. TARN. CLONE. ARMY.

(this isn’t a specifically cyberverse based timeline I just took the tarn army as inspo)

But what they didn’t expect was for the Tarn clones to go insane and turn on each other when being on mere drops of Adrenalineregon. Resulting in a mass extinction of Tarn Clones, with too many bodies to count, therefore being dropped on top of Scorpnok’s planet sized lab to remind him of the consequences of his actions.

EX: A9-2416 was, at the time, forever curious about the outside world, since she’s never been above the expansive laboratory planet’s surface. It always felt as if some unseen beings were trying to lead her to her escape every day since as long as she can remember. Small sign after small sign, guiding her to even bigger signs that kept getting her closer and closer to the way out. Of course, Scorponok always stopped her from getting too close.

A9-2416 always hated the amount of gruesome tests she had to do afterwards as punishment for misbehaving.

Until on her ninth birthday, A9-2416 finally made it to the exit, and Scorponok got exceptionally pissed off so much that in self-defense A9-2416 grabbed the nearest cannon she knew how to operate and blasted it through his spark. She cried a lot that day.

BUT HEY! Her life didn’t stay too depressing for long, because soon after she committed her very first act of murder, she became good buddies with the little voices in the walls that have been apparently guiding her throughout her life!

THE LOSTBOT BOTBOTS!!

(lol I’m nowhere near finished with every Lost Bot design, I just wanted to finish these couple few and make this post for the AU)

MEET THE LOST BOTS CLAN OF THE BOTBOTS!

They’ve been trapped on Scorponok’s Lab-planet-tory (im so funny) for decades along with the other Botbots who remained in hiding. But this clan was the only one brave enough to get anywhere near Scorponok’s main stomping grounds. What they didn’t expect to find was some weird sentient purple meat-potato in a makeshift industrial cradle. Turns out it was just a baby. And that baby turned out to be A9-2416. Who soon became known as Connie.

.

.

.

After A9-2416 escaped the inner dwellings of the lab and joined the Lost Bots on their little side quests up on the surface, she later changed her name to Constance, hence her more well-known nickname being Connie. The name change was suggested by her Botbot friends who knew a bit about Earth human culture and used their knowledge to help Connie have the most happy and carefree life that she could ask for.

.

.

.

Also the TEG Lost Light crew is there because I’m still obsessed with that fic 👍✨

@deepfriedhopesanddreams @viewer-of-many @celestite-caroline @asmoteeth @novafire-is-thinking @dragonsgirl572 @autistic-fool-with-ideas @mysticfoxdesigns @hyp3rfixation-h3ll

[menace-material]

Starcream (yes, Starscream minus the "s") inspecting the winter party while Shockwave does all the work (getting tea and grill the maitake) and Soundwave makes sure Organic-Ravage (let's just say that) is cozy