#does this count as mechpreg

[earthstellar]

How Cybertronian Sparks are Created via Matrix - MTMTE, Issue 19 

now, I had a whole other post I was gonna write here

but my partner just leaned over my shoulder, read these panels, and asked:

“wait, the Matrix is a “Primal Conduit” which holds the ability to create life, or like, unborn sparks? and Rodimus carries half of a Matrix or something, right?” 

to which I said, very carefully, “yes...”.

and my partner followed up with an extremely powerful question: 

“so, if the Matrix carries sparks, does that mean anyone who carries a Matrix-- like, a whole one? or would a part of one be enough?--would that mean Matrix carriers are pregnant by default?” 

now, listen

I can’t recall anything canonical at the moment that would explicitly confirm otherwise, certainly not by the time (in universe) in which the discussion in the above panels occurs 

so it is POSSIBLE. 

canonically, that’s a POSSIBILITY. 

whether Cybertronians would view this in the same way is another question entirely. 

if you think about it on a technical level, since a legitimate Matrix holds within it the potential for the generation of sparks, then yes, technically a Matrix holder by human definition would be “pregnant”, as they would be carrying (literally, holding inside their body) sparks which have not yet sprung forth from the Matrix core (not yet “born”) but are known to exist within the Matrix itself. 

whether the sparks generated by the Matrix are held within the energy core of the Matrix perpetually/always and come forth as needed in specific circumstances, or if the sparks are produced and ejected only under certain influences or under certain conditions, is not 100% clear. it could be both, or either; 

we see that the Matrix does produce sparks when manipulated manually to do so, but we don’t know for sure if these sparks were actually generated at that time, or if they may have existed in a sort of subspace within the core of the Matrix beforehand and were only brought forth once manipulation drew them out.

but “pregnancy” is just how humans might view it. nothing in IDW 1 canon suggests Cybertronians view it the same way, as overwhelmingly the emphasis on “new life” as a concept is placed primarily on hot spots and the generation of new sparks from their concentrated wells of energy (more in line with the classic Well of All Sparks approach) 

in MTMTE, Rodimus is carrying half of an ”empty” Matrix by this point in the story (Rodimus describes it himself as being empty in an earlier issue, there’s also other stuff going on with the Matrix in IDW1 which I will get into eventually in another post I want to make about Matrix stuff once I get the time for that) 

HOWEVER, this is a series written by JRO, a man who sure did write some things about a lot of stuff! 

also, if your brain, like mine, has been poisoned by fanfiction, then you are almost certainly aware of the shit our poisoned brains might be able to generate with this concept in mind whenever we get dialogue regarding “carrying” the Matrix, as shown in the panel below from Lost Light Issue 5: 

it sure isn’t, Rodimus!!! 

there is also periodically alternating terminology in universe regarding the Matrix;

sometimes a bot in possession of a Matrix is described as “holding” the Matrix, sometimes this is called “wielding” the Matrix, then in other contexts it is described as “carrying” the Matrix, like in the panel above.

“holding” suggests ownership (obviously, no shit, I know lol) 

“wielding” potentially suggests an innate defensive/offensive power, for example, as in “wielding a sword” (interesting because Rodimus explicitly states above that the Matrix is not a weapon, so this term may instead be an implication of the social/political/spiritual power brought to any who obtain the Matrix, which would make sense)

“carrying” suggests maybe some other things that might possibly be relevant to this discussion (fanfiction has destroyed my brain but also this series is written by JRO, so I consider this to be at least plausible in the context of MTME/Lost Light) 

further research and analysis is needed to determine if there may be any potential specific reasoning for which terms are used and in what contexts a certain term may be preferred over another...I’m gonna end up making a Matrix plot timeline/lore map or some shit lmao 

anyway!!!

the fact that my partner is now googling “Transformers pregnant is this possible?” on their phone while sitting right next to me while I am writing this is making me lose my fucking mind

this is so funny to me, I need to explain SO MUCH to them over the next like several hours, this is going to take forever 

my partner now firmly believes the Matrix is a literal baby making machine and it is very hard for me to explain or contextualise any of the surrounding info about the Matrix as it appears in MTMTE because they are mostly only familiar with TFP and G1 

and this situation has completely derailed my original train of thought and I no longer remember why I spent so long digging up this issue so I could take these screenshots in the first place lol 

but I thought I would share anyway because I can’t believe this is how my partner is finding out about the concept of Transformers sparklings 

on the upside I now get to do an IRL long post LOL so honestly this works for me, lmaoooooo 

(if I remember what the hell I was originally going to talk about, I’ll make another post about it later LOL)

[thanksjro]

Eugenesis Part Two, Scene Two: THE BOYS ARE BACK IN TOWN

The Quintessons are about to take off. They’re gonna go wreck shop, as they are wont to do.

Speaking of Cybertron, we meet a different cast of characters than who we’ve been following so far. Blitzwing walks into the repair by looking for Sygnet- a character I am assuming is an OC, and also some sort of robotic swan-creature- and just about pisses himself in terror when he sees Scourge’s disembodied head just laying on a table, doing a "Prowl, circa The Transformers The Movie” impression.

And if Scourge is here, that means- could it be?

Blitzwing wanders around this little chop-shop of horrors, really just hating everything going on here.

Hmm. We’ll count that one as a half-tick to the tally of Mechpreg Theming.

Okay, that’s kind of funny.

Blitzwing’s not one to respect one’s personal privacy, and barges in anyway. He’s met with the operating theatre where all the best of the best- or worst of the worst, since this is the ‘Cons we’re talking about- got outfitted with their most deadly weapons and crazy gadgets. He finds the engineer and tells him they’re wanted in the throne room by Soundwave. Sygnet is currently working on Scourge’s exploded body- but it’s not like the guy’s going anywhere, so they head out.

They meet Misfire and Slugslinger in the hallway, looking a little worse for wear after going into the sticks to find that Micromaster, who is presumed dead. Until I see a body, I’m not buying it. We’re working with comic-mortality here.

In the throne room, Soundwave’s decided to let some light in so it looks a little less like someone’s murder basement. Soundwave himself is decidedly absent, but there’s still a lot of friends hanging out.

Oh fuck yeah.

I have something to admit.

I love Cyclonus.

Not just in the IDW comics, though that’s definitely my favorite rendition of him as a character. I love every version of this stupid purple space jet. I was so happy when I found out he was in this novel, you have no idea. Roberts if you hurt so much as a metaphorical hair on his head, I swear to Christ-

Okay. I’ve had my moment.

Cyclonus isn’t exactly happy that Scourge’s recovery is taking so long. Sygnet points out that because both he and Cyclonus are from the 𝔽𝕌𝕋𝕌ℝ𝔼, he’s having a bit of trouble fixing things. The fact that this hasn’t been an issue before means that either Cyclonus and Scourge are really good at fighting, or Cyclonus’ single brain cell didn’t retain the information from the last time something like this happened. Sygnet also mentions that the explosion was likely self-inflicted, which makes sense, seeing as there was a bomb in his chest. We already know this, because I’m a greedy little sucker who wants it all and combed through the Liars, A-to-D script.

Why was it even called Liars, A-to-D, anyway? Nobody was really telling fibs, to my memory.

Anyway.

Cyclonus, dear, stop sexually harassing the doctor, or it’s going to take even longer to get your flying boat back in the air.

Swindle pushes past the engineer/doctor/these terms really ought to be interchangeable seeing as they’re robots, having just gotten back from checking on a false lead on the Autobots. This scene is simply awash with assholes.

Soundwave shows up, and it’s mentioned that he smiles at everyone, though they can’t see it due to his mouthplate. What a polite boy.

I checked, by the way; Soundwave does indeed have a mouth in the Marvel comics.

Uncomfortable.

Soundwave’s been in command for roughly ten minutes, and he’s already had so many good things come to him. That double-agent he planted roughly five-hundred years ago? Just did his job. Rodimus Prime? Dead or about to be. The Autobots? In disarray. The location of their base of operations? Narrowed down to within a mile. Galvatron, who’s that? I don’t know her, I’m too busy being THE BEST FUCKING LEADER OF THE DECEPTICONS EVER BUILT. Suck on that, Starscream. I’d say that everyone should stan Soundwave, but I’m pretty sure K-pop doesn’t exist on Cybertron.

The Decepticons are heading to Iacon tomorrow. Things are about to get buck-wild.

Meanwhile, back on Earth, the shuttle holding Mirage and his entourage is preparing to jump via sub-space portal. Mirage is still being a lil’ bitch, so nobody bothers to include him in their talk about where they want to be assigned next- they’ve been on Earth for quite some time, after all.

Hound is about to initiate the jump, then promptly aborts- there’s a warp gate that just opened up right in front of them, and it isn’t one they ordered. Out flies the Enslaver, one of the warships manned by the Quintessons, and it’s heading straight for Earth- and Autobot City.

Stop trying to make “humes” happen, Bluestreak, it’s never gonna happen.  

Our shuttle buddies call up Magnus, who gets his folks ready for a fight. Mirage has an idea, and has their cloaked- luckily- shuttle fly as close to the underbelly of this massive warship as possible for a structural scan.

Got lots of characters getting thrown into the fray here. They’ll be clashing soon enough, I’m excited to see it.

[capinni]

Let’s discuss a certain trend in Transformers fandom (Rape: cw)

Sometimes I go through the Transformers AO3 tag and think to myself that there are an awful lot of rape fics here. Usually I’d just try to ignore them, because I had nothing to compare it to so maybe it was just my imagination. Then, one day, I decided to try to count how many there were out of a hundred, and then do it again for some other fandoms to see if my instincts were correct. It turns out they were.

I’m going to pull up some stats and you’ll start to see the problem.

For this I am going to go through the AO3 tag on each fandom.

*The following are fics that use the "Rape" warning on AO3. Does not include fics that do not have the "Rape" warning but are tagged with "dubcon" or "noncon". Also does not include rape being mentioned in the tags.

I first did this on May 9th, 2017th

Transformers - All Media Types: 19/100 

Overwatch (Video Game): 2/100 

Dragon Age (All): 4/100 

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic: 4/100 (Note: pony fandom doesn't seem terribly active on AO3.) 

A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin: 9/100 

Supernatural: 9/100 Homestuck: 4/100 

Steven Universe: 4/100 

Dr. Who (All): 2/100 Naruto: 4/100

And then did it again June 21st, 2017

Transformers - All Media Types: 16/100 

Overwatch (Video Game): 1/100 

Dragon Age (Video Games) : 10/100 

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic: 2/100 

A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin: 16/100 

Supernatural: 8/100 Homestuck: 5/100 

Steven Universe: 4/100 Dr. Who (All): 2/100 Naruto: 6/100

As you can see, our fics consistently have the most rape content.

But since we all like stats, let’s take a look of how many there are in total in each of the fandoms listed under the “Rape” warning:

1162 out of 21509 Works in Transformers - All Media Types (5.4%) 

259 out of 15005 Works in Overwatch (Video Game) (1.7%) 

908 out of 41368 Works in Dragon Age (Video Games) (2.2%) 

44 out of 1603 Works in My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic (2.7%) 

1076 out of 20052 Works in A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin (5.4%) 

4712 out of 166136 Works in Supernatural (2.8%) 

1370 out of 43322 Works in Homestuck (3.1%) 

157 out of 7813 Works in Steven Universe (Cartoon) (2%) 

443 out of 43720 Works in Doctor Who (1%)

 798 out of 23519 Works in Naruto (3.4%)

Anyway, statistically we’re right up there with A song of Ice and Fire; a canon that is known for having quite a bit of rape and the like in it. Meanwhile, we are a canon that has alien robots whose ability to have sex, whatever way you like them to have sex, is almost purely fanon. Aside from a few sly innuendos here and there, no continuity has ever out right told us that these alien robots have sex nor are we told if they even take any sort of sexual pleasure from each other.

Sparkplay, PnP, tactile, sticky, all these things were things we made up so we could write erotic fics about robots banging, causing this fandom to be critically oversexalized. And since we as a fandom invented all sorts of ways for these alien robots to have sex, we’re also responsible for inserting rape into a canon that wouldn’t reasonably have it in the way that we know rape to be. We have an extraordinary high number of rape fics for a canon where sex is not particularly canon.

Speaking of an oversexualized fandom, let’s examine rape kinks yeah?

tfanon kink meme:

285 out of 1043 requests involved rape (dubcon/noncon) which is 27.3%

Overwatch Anon kink meme:

26 out of 1043 requests involved rape (dubcon/noncon) which is 2.5% (most involved Widowmaker)

Dragon Age (Origins, II, and Inquisition) Anon kink meme:

142 out of 1043 requests involved rape (dubcon/noncon) which is 13.6% (most involved Zevran)

I have no idea where the MLP kink meme is I can’t find it

A song of Ice and Fire Anon kink meme:

70 out of 1043 requests involved rape (dubcon/noncon) which is 6.7%

The Supernatural Anon Kink Meme:

292 out of 1043 requests involved rape (dubcon/noncon) which is 28% (Never again)

The Homestuck Anon Kink meme:

71 out of 1043 requests involved rape (dubcon/noncon) which is 6.8% (???)

The Steven Universe Anon Kink meme:

Not much to go on but 14 out of 250 which is 5.6%. (All included a Pearl or Jasper). Probably shouldn’t even include this considering how tiny the sample size is.

No recent Doctor Who anon kink memes (On either Dreamwidth or Livejournal)

No recent Naruto anon kink memes (On either Dreamwidth or Livejournal)

I sincerely regret ever putting supernatural on my list of things to look at because I have seen things I never want to see again. Still, Supernatural beats the TF fandom by only .7%, and the problem with the sheer amount of rape content these fandoms have is extremely evident.

I put some effort into examining what pairings and kinks are most common in the rape/dubcon/noncon range

 I’m not really sure what to say about it other than there doesn’t seem to be any particular pairing, besides OP/Megs that seem more popular when it comes to robot rape. Starscream and Megatron are used a lot but that is hardly surprising. Kinkwise, humiliation, bondage, and mechpreg are the most common kinks that go along with dubcon/noncon. Sticky too, but eh everything is sticky so it doesn’t really count.

So why is this? My theory when going into this was that it was because the characters are all alien robots, so therefore it is easier to project disturbing kink fantasies on them and have it seem a lot less problematic.

I then reasoned that the less human characters a fandom has, the more likely there is to be more rape content, and Dragon Age did help me prove this somewhat, but then I did Supernatural only to find out that most of the request involved humans and incest. Homestuck, where a vast majority of the cast are non-human, wasn’t rated as high as expected.

*It is entirely possible I missed a lot in regards to the Homestuck kink meme because I didn’t understand half of what was being said or what any of these symbols mean.

If I was, perhaps, just a little more dedicated to this and maybe did ten more anon kink memes, then perhaps a more concise pattern would appear, as I do still believe that there is some correlation between non-human characters and an increase of rape content. That, however, falls a little outside the Transformers fandom and is likely a post for another time.

My final word is that robot sex is our fanon and so is robot rape. It only exists among these fictional alien robots because people put it there.

It’s something to think about, at least.

ADDITIONAL THINGS

I’ve been asked a couple times to check and see who writes the fics on AO3 because there was a possibility that there was just one or three authors who fill the rape warning tag up all on their own.

So out of a hundred fics:

There were 83 authors

13 Authors wrote 2 or more fics.

1 wrote as many as 6.

Yeah.