#flowawa69

[altraviolet]

Oh! I just remembered something about your story I’ve been meaning to ask. I noticed maybe.. 3 times that some bots beginning to explain something to soundwave, and then instead say something like “Ah, you don’t care anyways.” Soundwave always responds in his mind “You don’t know how I feel.” I could be wrong but I don’t think that was ever fully addressed in your story. Like, soundwave just lets it slide. Why exactly? Also even after some people get to know him somewhat they still assume that?

ahhh the "you don't know what i care about" line. one of my favorite recurring threads throughout the fic :D

it's not so much "soundwave just lets it slide," it's that Soundwave Cares About Rodimus, and the three times that line is used, he cannot/will not expose this secret of his to the person he's talking to.

First time:

[Rodimus] “Can I come in?” Soundwave stepped aside. Rodimus slouched on his bed. He looked up at Soundwave. He glanced at the poster of them on Enceladia. His spoiler went down. “You don't care about anything, right?” ?? you don't know what i care about “Well?” “Incorrect. Several... things are important to me.”

Here Soundwave is talking with Rodimus, so he's obviously not going to say anything. It's far too early in the fic for that. The phrase combined with "several things are important to me" is a signal to the reader that Soundwave cares about Rodimus.

Second time:

“That's what I felt during the gray years,” said Drift. He reset his vocalizer. “That's why Rodimus couldn't fix it. He tried so hard to make me happy again. He was so happy when we- I mean, he and I-” Drift's eyes flashed. “Never mind. You wouldn't care.” you don't know what i care about, thought Soundwave as Drift hurried away. His processor chewed on Drift's words, repeating them over and over. “That's why Rodimus couldn't fix it. That's why Rodimus couldn't fix it.”

Here Soundwave is talking to Drift, and he's extremely not going to tell Drift what he cares about.

Side note: these paragraphs tie up the gray years from Soundwave's point of view. The reason Rodimus couldn't fix Drift's hurt is because Drift didn't love him the way he loved Ratchet. The only thing that would've made Drift feel better is Ratchet.

Third time:

Swerve held up the data pad and whistled. “Wow, there's a lot of really specific requests on here. Things I haven't served since...” His gaze moved to a model replica of the Lost Light behind the bar, surrounded by a few dusty, empty bottles. “Since... never mind. You won't care.” you don't know what i care about

Here Soundwave is talking to 0001 Swerve back in the 0001 dimension. He wouldn't waste his time correcting Swerve's assertion. Swerve assumes Soundwave wouldn't care about the Lost Light. He does, but he can't say why without having to answer a ton of questions. Also, shortly after he spots 0001 Rodimus. There's no reason to engage in conversation with this Swerve, whom he will never see again.

Another side note: Soundwave stating openly to himself that he cares about something, in defiance of assured statements by other characters, shows how he's changed since the very beginning.

So this isn't an unaddressed, loose thread. It's a deliberate demonstration of Soundwave's character change and a realistic portrayal of how he would react in those situations: he often defaults to silence.

[naffeclipse]

How is thou today? Please have three flowawas for my prolong disappearance! 🌺🌸🌻

(I know you’re understanding of my absence but I must give the most gorgeous writer my deepest apologies anyway! How can I forgive thyself for not sending the most excellent author flowawas everyday!)

It's alright!!! I hope you're doing good and taking all the time you need ♥ Thank you so much for the beautiful flowawas!

I'm doing good today! Took it easy, I was just loafing around which was really nice for a recharge for this week and hopefully getting the next part of CS out soon!

[altraviolet]

Hello! I’m not sure if your still doing asks for TEG but I was curious.

So what would’ve it been like if the emotion suppressing protocols never collapsed for soundwave?

What would’ve it been like if TLL met soundwave in the TFP universe when he was still controlling the nemesis? How would Rodimus see him?

Hi! Yeah :D now's the time for TEG asks, before I forget all the background knowledge in favor of making brain space for new stories x3

This is a cool question! No one's asked this before.

>So what would’ve it been like if the emotion suppressing protocols never collapsed for soundwave?

If they'd never collapsed and he was still in the shadowzone, I do think he would have eventually made his way out of it. Perhaps even in a manner like RID2015- taking advantage of people in the real world messing around with stuff to escape. He would still be incredibly loyal to Megatron and would work to locate him and bring him back. Were Megatron to be dead, I thiiiiink Soundwave would assume control of the Decepticons as best he could and strive to work towards those ideals. Which, to RID2015's credit, is what he did in that show. However, my god, it was just so... idk man, I didn't like the humans in that show (except Brother Gunter. he's the best human), and a lot of the Autobot banter grated on me. Anyway.

>What would’ve it been like if TLL met soundwave in the TFP universe when he was still controlling the nemesis? How would Rodimus see him?

The emotion-suppressing protocols were what kept Soundwave's outlier power in check. If, say, he never went into the shadowzone, or somehow made his way out of it and returned to the Nemesis, he would have command of the Nemesis in a straightforward, realistic way (rather than in the galaxy-spanning 2938 Megatron way). He would be the Mythological Soundwave.

The Lost Light is at a disadvantage, suddenly appearing in the TFP universe with no idea what stage of the war it is in. They would do everything they could to avoid the Nemesis, or to avoid conflict with it: they have something of an isolationist approach to interacting with dimensional natives. The most important reason for this being, of course, that they can't heal damage to their ship or their bodies easily.

An emotionally suppressed Soundwave, with full control of his faculties and the Nemesis, is an incredibly dangerous force to contend with. I don't think Rodimus would even have the opportunity to meet him in person, let alone have time to ponder what he might be like, or if he had potential to become a better person. Rodimus would see him (and the Nemesis at large) the same way Megatron, UM, and Drift would: a threat to the LL that's much better off not engaging with.

It's worth remembering how Rodimus met SW in TEG: the mech was absolutely and demonstrably starving with no recourse. Rodimus saw someone he could help, someone with potential. Someone who he could 'save,' which appeals to his particular personality. A totally healthy Soundwave in a Nemesis is pretty much the exact opposite of that: competent, powerful, self-sufficient and dangerous.

Thanks for the ask :)

[altraviolet]

Ah okay! It’s times like these where I’m really reminded the massive difference in how we perceive situations and how others do. Like, as you stated before, we mostly see everything from Soundwaves perspective. So we are privy to his thoughts and feelings and know what is the truth of the matter on what he wants or is thinking of.

The rest of the crew doesn’t. Even Rodimus has a hard time and he’s the closest to Soundwave. One thing I loved most about your writing was the switch in perspectives to Rodimus’s or Drift. Because it gave a new view on the situation, a different story being told by someone else. I remembered getting annoyed by Megatron everytime he constantly kept suspecting soundwave of doing this or planning things he wasn’t actually doing. Like, hasn’t he shown through his actions enough?

It wasn’t until coming here (and reading some asks and responses) that I got slapped with the fact that Megatron is actually right to suspect those things. He almost killed most of the TLL crew and stole the haven where they all reside in and nearly ruined his reputation he so painstakingly built. Soundwave remains silent most of the time and when speaking about things he cares about, he only responds with crystals. That’s not exactly reassuring because what happens when those are gone? What reason does he have to align with the ship further than that? Additionally, Soundwave has proven his capabilities when given the bare minimum so I can see his hesitation in giving him free access to the ship.

Megatron knows more than most how dangerous Soundwave is and this one especially may be the most dangerous. So, in a sense, he’s right. I don’t like it, but he’s right to constantly suspect soundwave. I guess what I’m saying is I love and hope you write more differing perspectives in the future. It’s always nice to see!

Thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed that aspect :) writing different POVs is really fun but you have to be very careful with how you use them. I don't have any POV changes for the next fic planned yet, but there are plenty interesting ones to choose from

[altraviolet]

Oh! Thanks for replying to my ask! It made me consider an idea that I would love to have your personal take on! How would it plot-wise turn out if SOMEHOW soundwave (with all his soundwaviness) manage to accidentally send himself back in time into the past as he was before. All his memories are intact but no one else’s is and is simply thrusted back into the shadow zone? What would he do differently? Would he stay and wait for Rodimus again? Escape earlier to meet him in better conditions? Behave better if he returned to the lost light? Have different perspective due to protocols? Vice versa if Rodimus did the same what would he do differently? Acclimate soundwave better earlier on? Expose him to the crystals? Talk with him openly about the situation? And, of course, ultimately how would both feel about their sudden situation?

The answer to all these questions would be a whole nother fic xD

[altraviolet]

Okay! Sorry about the late response (school sucks) but I will keep my questions strictly about the story! Was there anything hobbies you thought of for soundwave that you wanted to write but didn’t? Besides occasional romance books or playing harp as I recall?

Nope, just the crystals. I made the decision for his hobby to be the crystals surprisingly late in writing the fic (ch 9?), which sounds impossible, but writing can be surprisingly flexible.

[altraviolet]

My apologies! I’ll ask only two questions. How would they feel? And what is one thing they’d do differently?

These seem like simple questions but they're quite complex. I really don't have answers for you. I'd have to sit down and think through all kinds of things to get you a satisfactory answer.

The first thing we'd have to do is establish whether them changing their minds about something changes the actual timeline, which in turn would change their own personal timeline, which would change how they changed, which would mean they may no longer end up in the situation you have described. See what I mean xD

One does hope that a SW getting a second chance on the Lost Light wouldn't've caused so much trouble, but then again, if he hadn't, he wouldn't have been able to save them from the supernova. The dark energon he made was put into the shield and it was then strong enough to resist destruction. So... what's his recourse there?

One would hope that a Rodimus who knows he's "fated" to have a Soundwave would be able to free himself from the feelings he hides. But what are the consequences from that?

Honestly I'm not trying to be a pain about your questions. My brain works like a branching tree: there are too many options. None of them are right, and none of them are wrong. Which means all of them are wrong, and all of them are right.

I do much better with questions about the story itself, rather than hypotheticals we didn't see. Those types of questions I can give concrete answers to 98% of the time.

[naffeclipse]

How is thou today? Please take two flowawas for my disappearance! 🌷🌼

(Ughh been working on something and it’s taking up most of my timeeeee sryyy��☹️)

this is how angy I am.

It's okay!!! Don't feel pressured or guilty if you need time for yourself, it's alright, I've got your flowawas to keep me company so don't worry about it ♥

I'm doing alright! Had a weird day but got lots of work done ♥

[naffeclipse]

How is thou today? Please take two flowawas for my disappearance yesterday! 🌸🥺

(My autocorrect no longer tries to correct flowawa but it’s now trying to correct “yesterday??”)

It's okay!!! Thank you for the two flowawas ♥ ♥ (yesterday is a secret menace, apparently!)

I'm doing good! I'm back home and working on something that I'm really excited to share! I'm also making really good progress on the next Cryptid Sightings episode ♥

[naffeclipse]

How is thou today please take this beautiful flowawa for a beautiful writer! 🌼

(Also, if you play Minecraft, what is your favorite mob? Mine would be the Warden. No judge. 😝)

Aww, thank you! ❤️

Ahaha, what if I told you I haven't played the latest update yet in minecraft?? I really need to though ;-; But! I love the Enderman! From the sounds they make to them just randomly stealing blocks and getting pissed when you make eye contact alsjflasdf They're a funky creature design! (They also kind of remind me of a certain jester.)

I'm doing good! I'm chilling, taking it easy and enjoying life ❤️

[naffeclipse]

How is thou today? Please take this flowawa as I consume my food from Taco Bell! 🌺 🌮

(My stomachs reaction to me eating it knowing it’s gonna destroy me in more ways than one later.)

What do you get from taco bell?? I gotta know!!

Thank you for the flowawa! ♥

I'm doing good! Very sleepy, gonna catch some zzz's! ♥

[naffeclipse]

How is thou today? Please accept this bouquet of flowawas for the beautiful person behind the gorgeous writing! 💐

(Also seeing this image made me think of how cryptid Sun and Moon would drink tea XD)

Awww, you're too sweet ;-; Thank you!

PFFFFFFFT Sun/Moon casually sipping tea with Y/N aljsdflasjfd I love this lol

I'm doing so good today! I'm feeling so good and I finally started eating again without any nausea so I'm happy about that ♥

[naffeclipse]

How is thou today? Please take this flowawa to add to the shrine! 🌻 (I have a question! Do you play stardew valley?)

I have the most beautiful shrine of flowawas ♥ I don't! It looks really cute though!

Mmm, mouse frosting :D

I'm doing good! A bit tired but I'm happy to see all the reactions/comments from the latest CS chapter! I'm going to wait one more day before answering spoilers ♥

[naffeclipse]

How is thou today? Please take two flowawas for the lovely update on one of my favorite fics! 🌷🌼 (So excited to read!)

Ahhh, enjoy! ♥ Thank you for the flowawa!!!!

I'm doing good but I'm so, so sleepy. Gonna hit the hay now! Goodnight, babes ♥

[naffeclipse]

How is thou today? I see someone is attempting to run away with the flowawa I gave you. Well I can’t just let that happen. Come my fellow comrades! We must retrieve the precious flowawa stolen from our majesty!

CHARGE! FOR THE FLOWAWA! (oh my gosh that image PFFFFFT)

I am so sleepy, ngl, but I'm doing good today! I'm so glad it's the weekend ♥

[naffeclipse]

How is thou today? Please take this flowawa in hopes you get better in light of the recent incident! 🌹 (Seriously I hope everything gets better after this! ❤️)

Thank you, babe, you're very kind ♥

I'm doing a lot better. My mom is home and we're very grateful it wasn't worse. Today was a bit stressful but I'm feeling much more steady after everything. I'm going to stay home from college tomorrow and help her as she can't use her dominant arm/hand while it heals and requires several medications. I'm hoping she'll have a speedy recovery. Again, I have to thank everyone for their kind words and well wishes, it means so much to my family and me ♥