hey, so if you don’t know me I’m mechanic. I grew up working in my dad’s auto shop and now I make video games and do electrical work. I also read a lot of transformers erotica, and I write a bit too. Well, sometimes I can’t help comparing porn to its real-life equivalent. So I’m starting a little mini-series about the science of the hardware behind transformers sex and This is kinda the test run.
Today’s topic:
Plug and Play; Gendered Cords!
So let’s talk about cord genders.
To cover the basics this post will specifically be covering the type of cords usually covered in plug and play transformer/robots sex. Surprisingly the science on this one is pretty solid usually, though there are a few misconceptions that have been spread about it.
We can start with what the fandom gets right.
Cables meant for exchanging data or power are gendered! Usually, you have a male end and a female end, and as the fandom would have you believe the male end plugs into the female. The terms here are even usually right!
Just because I’m familiar with it, we’ll use microphone cords (XLR) as an example.
male
both ends are male here, as they both plug into another port in order to transfer data. (The one end is a three-prong XLR cable while the other is a quarter inch jack)
female
female ends are generally used to receive data (This is the receiving end of an XLR cable)
This brings us to where the fandom gets some plug and play fics, maybe aren’t wrong but are a little off
Generally in fics people generally keep to the “Male ends send data to female” idea, which is 100% correct but not always the case in real live.
SO LETS TRY SOME NEW STUFF SHALL WE?
I have to emphasize here that it’s only USUALLY that the male end sends while the female receives data, NOT ALWAYS.
one of those weird exceptions to the rules is actually headphone cords. While your phone contains the female end it’s the end that sends data through the male end of your headphone cords. (Or sometimes they’re hermaphroditic but we will come to that)
There are a lot of those odd exceptions, each with their own benefits and downsides.
so let’s talk about Hermaphrodites!
Hermaphrodite cords are super cool because they can send AND receive data
The most common one?
USB’s!
Instead of pronged connections Hermaphroditic cords (Or sometimes called non-gendered cords if you would like) use smaller, more delicate metal strips (Like the ones you see on game cartridges) to send and receive information (Usually digital rather than dialog, but that’s another story for another time).
Another thing I have seen in this fandom is gender changers. speaking electrically a gender changer is a fastener you place on the end of a cord to change it’s gender OR change it’s type entirely.
I mean…guys. where’s my plug and play transgender fics at? there’s a lot of possibilities here just from the science.
in the end, I’m just pointing out scientifically we could get a lot more creative here if we wanted! SO be free with the new knowledge!!
TL;DR- Cords are a spectrum just like human genders and identities
HUEHUEHUEHUE as someone who knows their way around a patch bay I am 100% here for this lmfaooo
I wanna think that Decepticons value a partner who is strong and will protect you. Who can also overpower you.
They’ll have “play fights” where one Con wrestles the other into submission and fucks them.
Outsiders might not understand because the struggling would seem real.
On Twitter I saw a scenario where Rodimus assumed Drift’s con ex abused him after memory linking with him, because the sex was so rough.
(what kinds of signals Cons would have that advances really aren’t okay?)
I suspect it can honestly get ambiguous sometimes. Like, I think the assumption would be that if a ‘Con really doesn’t want it, then they would overpower their suitor, esclating the fight if necessary – using their inbuilt weaponry, usually.
Buuuut there’d be times when a ‘Con couldn’t do that, or didn’t want to risk real damage by using weapons, or the other combattant didn’t realize that by esclating the fight they wanted it to stop rather than just keep on going until they were overpowered…or, y’know, didn’t care enough to pay attention to the signals that this wasn’t a happy sexytimes playfight.
Another signal would probably be to just refuse to fight back. It’d risk looking like a surrender, but usually ‘Cons expect their ‘defeated’ companions to participate in the interface as well as the fight. Still, though, it’d depend on the other ‘Con realizing something was wrong and caring enough to back off.
*jumps in*
I did something like that in an RP. (I think it was an RP…. Don’t think it was a fic???) where yeah, if the Con REALLY doesn’t want to clang, he lies limp under his ‘attacker’ and turns his face away. It’s not submission to the other ‘Con, it’s ‘look how uninspiring you are to me, you’re not worth putting my hands on even to shove off’.
It was a fun concept to play with, (and by fun I mean oh dears gods the DRAMU) because the Autobots did NOT know this was how to say no, except for a critical few, who were, of COURSE, hiding their cross faction affairs. ^_^
I haven’t made a colored pic of the Crocodile Kiss Plugs yet so here you go! Of course I chose characters who have very different chest types for this. I tried.
((Been wanting to do this headcanon for a while. Pretty much a compilation of the various methods on interfacing used in the Transformer’s universe, as I know some people are a little confused on how some of them work.))
As promised, here’s my interpretation of what Plug and Play might look like! I didn’t look up any references, my only knowledge about PnP are the very basic idea of it (cables, plugs, non-sticky) and one or two pictures I’ve seen at some point. But this is what my idea of it was when I first heard the term. Now, because I don’t know shit about PnP, I don’t know how common this interpretation is and/or how similar it is to other ideas (I do remember one of the few pics I saw had the cables around the chest area, which was basically my thought of it as well).
This thing basically consists of four cables, two with plugs and two with receivers for each bot. They’re kept inside the chest, the smaller two can be extended through two small openings on the underside of the main chest plate. The bigger two cables can only be used when the whole chest is opened, which only happens for the more intimate spark interfacing. In that case, the main chest plates either fold back into the side of the chest or can be disassembled and reveal the inside which is made of several, insect-like platings that are usually intertwined and shield the spark. These platings now fold up and intertwine with the partner’s to resume a shield for the sparks so nothing from the outside can hurt them (there’s gaps for the cables to extend on the underside). I’d have to draw some variations on that too, you can choose how snug together the chests are for this.
Yeah that’s basically it, I don’t know how basic and common this interpretation is but this is my pretty much non-influenced take on it :’D
y oooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO YOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Oh man would you mind if others drew this???
OH SHIT no I wouldn’t mind at all!
Feel free to use this headcanon as you please, I am very honored if you like it enough to do something with it! By all means, go ahead and have fun with this!
Thinkin about plug and play/tactile interfacing toys.
Data chips which run simple sensation programs, which can be inserted to give the feeling of ticking all over your frame, tingling jolts in set and random patterns, the experience of overheating without the danger.
False firewall programs, entirely separate from actual security, for those who get off on the idea of their partner overpowering their systems but don’t want to actually risk getting viruses.
Socket adapters for interfacing multiple partners at once.
Switchboards with different voltage and current for electroplay.
Adapters that magnify, reduce, distort, delay the signals from your partner.
Programming data chips with specific sensations, emotions, thoughts, etc and sending them to your long distance partners so you can essentially interface them from across the galaxy.
Sets of magnets placed on key locations of the sensornet to disrupt and alter electronic signals, induce temporary paralysis, produce pleasurable hallucinations.
Devices that generate small electromagnetic fields swept over bodies, numbing and restoring sensornet functions.
External harddrives filled with various programs and data packets that essentially work like interactive sex dolls, artificial partners. They come in many varieties for specific kinks: dominant type, submissive type, sensual type, rough type, bondage type, cross faction type. Harddrives patterned off of pornstars or what they think famous cybertronians would be like in the berth.
Programs that simulate “heats” for those that get off on the idea of being overwhelmingly desperate for interface.
Data chips that suppress overload, programs that aid multiple overloads.
Rounded finger caps for cybertronians with claws who want to avoid scratching their partners, sharpened caps for those without claws who want to scratch and be scratched, vibrating varieties of both.
Sensory deprivation programs that allow bots to offline auditory, visual, tactile sensors.
Sound generators producing auditory signals that increase arousal.
Cybertronian Database 