#don't mind me with my tf headcanon of Soundwave being trained as a beast tamer in the Pits before getting slotted as a gladiator

[witchofthesouls]

Just a cute lil headcanon idea since we are talking about Dad! Megatron, how about Uncle! Soundwave?

TFP Megatron would never allow his human child to have a pet, at least in the earthen animal verity. So to combat this, her and Soundwave go to animal shelter and fawn and gush over their favorite animal; cats.

The closest thing to a pet Megatron would allow in his child's vicinity would be some strange (and possibly unholy) science experiment whipped up by Shockwave's years of forced isolation and Starscream's nightmares.

The kid took one look at its development in the growth chamber tubes and immediately barricaded herself under her bed. Poor thing just wanted something to cuddle with her when Megatron is too busy or can hide her backpack during school. Not see their "pet's" manifestation of their internal mechanisms and organs...

Soundwave is the one that managed to fully coax her out with a stroll to a cat cafe and owl cafe. The spymaster utilizes a holomatter to properly blend in (and interact) with the settings. Soundwave will never say it, but the kid can pick up the mech's wistfulness with the creatures.

Eventually, it graduates to them have "outings" where they spend a day volunteering inside a no-kill animal shelter.

Soundwave thinks it's appropriate for the kid to understand the full undertaking of an animal that's fully dependent on a carer. Plus, it's good stress relief for him. Not only he gets to be around animals and do some mindful physical exercise with the simple goal of caring for the creatures, but he gets to clown on assholes that shouldn't be in charge of the place. Depending on his mood, he does it in full public to destroy their entire reputation or does it on the sly to destroy their personal lives. The sweet Energon wine of it all, it's all their own actions! Soundwave didn't have to dig hard or generate false evidence. In fact, he does a few exercises with the kid to get her feet wet in his line of work.