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Post by Springer on Feb 6, 2009 20:42:17 GMT -5
Springer nods to Rodimus, then looks over at Arcee.
"I know of Shockwave, but who's Bruticus?"
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Post by Rodimus Prime on Feb 6, 2009 21:22:10 GMT -5
Who's Bruticus? Who's Bruticus?
Rodimus finds a chair. He spins it around so that he's facing the back, and sits down on it, arms resting on the back as he leans forward. "Bruticus is the combined form of the special team, the Combaticons," he explains, then nods towards Arcee. "Unless her reality is different than mine in that respect."
He studies Springer a moment, head tilted, then asks, "So do you not have Combaticons, not have combiners, or just not have Bruticus in particular?"
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Arcee
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Post by Arcee on Feb 6, 2009 22:23:31 GMT -5
Even Arcee finds it hard to believe that Springer hasn't heard of Bruticus. The name sends chills down her spine even now. Either he's from some early point in his timeline or... the things Rodimus just said.
"Got it in one, Rodimus," she agrees.
She finds a chair of her own, though she doesn't turn it around. "Nasty bunch," she explains of her universe's Combaticons. "Renegade Decepticons Starscream drafted in an "overthrow Megatron" gambit."
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Post by Springer on Feb 7, 2009 8:54:46 GMT -5
Huh. Another universe difference has now cropped up, and piqued Springer's interest. The Wrecker adjusts a bit to get slightly more comfortable. "The name 'Combaticons' sounds familiar, but I can't say I know of any 'combiners'."
Springer chuckles, interlacing his fingers, resting them on his abdomen. "And I've got a feeling that my home is the odd one out, here..."
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Post by Rodimus Prime on Feb 7, 2009 12:31:23 GMT -5
Rodimus studies Springer for a moment, then dips his head in a nod. Better to prep the Wrecker, just in case they end up with a full Special Team at one point.
"'Combiners,' sometimes called 'gestalts', are just what their name implies. They're teams, usually of normal sized Transformers, that can combine into a single large robot of enormous power. From what I've learned of Arcee's universe, in both of our realities the first such team was the Constructicons, with a key difference of when it happened." He gestures towards Arcee with his thumb. "Their Constructicons were independent Autobots millions of years ago. They became a combining team when they were reprogrammed into Decepticons - the Long Haul we have is her timeline, from before that happened. It was apparently a long while before duplicating the process really became common place. In my reality, though, the Constructicons are only a few decades old, and were designed as a combining team from the start by Shockwave. The gap between their creation and our copying the method was a lot smaller, too."
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Arcee
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Posts: 330
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Post by Arcee on Feb 8, 2009 14:24:31 GMT -5
Arcee nods. "Right. Our side didn't make combiners until we really had to. Before that, we had the Dinobots or Omega Supreme to deal with Devastator."
What a difference it would have made if they'd started earlier! Maybe some of her friends wouldn't be dead now...
"We only made one of our own, the Aerialbots and Superion, when the Decepticons created a second one of their own."
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Post by Springer on Feb 9, 2009 22:29:40 GMT -5
Springer, for just a period of time, stares at Rodimus. Then he stares at Arcee.
"...that... is one of the more strange things I've heard in my time here. Even more than the prospect of an evil Kup." Or Kup being alive. Or hell, this whole situation.
"Just how does such a thing work?"
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Post by Rodimus Prime on Feb 9, 2009 23:15:31 GMT -5
Rodimus Prime leans back, holding himself upright by keeping his arms on the back of the chair, and shakes his head.
"Man, Springer. If that's one of the stranger things you've heard of, you'd definitely have a hard time back home."
"Now, I'm going to assume you don't want the full technical details for how it works, but unfortunately without those the answer is really, 'it just does.' The Special Teams are built -" he pauses, looking towards Arcee and remembering her world, "or re-built with what basically works out to be a third mode - torso, partial torso, or limb. These parts are designed to connect up. The mental connections are trickier than the physical ones, and they seem to work better among some teams than others anyways. For example, the Constructicons contain multiple bright individuals - some genuine geniuses. Devastator himself is infamously slow, though, both mentally and physically. As I understand it, Superion - the Aerialbots' combined mode - works by basically shutting down or suppressing every personality bit that doesn't relate to fighting Decepticons. Bruiticus more or less lacks free will. And so on - each group's different. "
Rodimus considers all this, rubbing his chin. "So I guess the real answer to how such a thing works is, 'usually not very well,' but with all the gestalts, the raw power they bring to the battlefield is more than enough to make up for their downsides."
He chuckles and glances over at Arcee. "Boy, if combiners throw him for that sort of loop, I guess it's a good thing I didn't mention old Fort Max ripping his own head off."
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Arcee
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Post by Arcee on Feb 10, 2009 18:33:54 GMT -5
Okay, now Arcee is giving Rodimus the stare.
"He... ripped his own head off?" she manages, after a moment. "I mean, I heard that the Constructicons chopped Optimus Prime up once... But I can't see anyone taking off their own head."
Somewhere, the future is laughing at Arcee.
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Post by Springer on Feb 10, 2009 20:49:20 GMT -5
Springer is even more confused and weirded-out now.
"Physical and mental combination? That...just... Egh. I cannot imagine such a thing. That's along the lines of those queer techno-organic carapaces that Bludgeon and Thunderwing had. Just isn't right, I tell you."
He shakes his head, then gives Rodimus another look. "...I may have to tell you to stop telling me about your universe, or I may have to ask Perceptor for mental repairs along with my new leg" he says, kidding.
Mostly.
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Post by Rodimus Prime on Feb 10, 2009 22:08:57 GMT -5
Rodimus quirks a grin towards Arcee. "Yeah. Long story. And I think most of it is in the datafiles, anyway."
At Springer's continued disquiet, however, Rodimus looks a bit concerned. "I... hate to say this, but you'd better get used to concepts like that. What you call 'techno-organic carapaces,' we know in my reality as Pretender shells." Of course, Rodimus really doesn't know how bizarrely wrong Pretenders went in Springer's reality. "And those aren't nearly the farthest that some realities have gone with the techno-organic integration. With some of the Maximals, you can't even tell where one begins and the other ends. And these are teammates and to be treated as such. Understand?"
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Arcee
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Post by Arcee on Feb 11, 2009 21:00:31 GMT -5
As far as Arcee's concerned, it's the other universes that are weird. But she also knows that what's normal for her likely isn't for anyone else. (Not the least of which is the lack of gender in most of the other universes).
"I think we're all a little strange," she says, after a moment. "But we've still got more in common than not."
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Post by Springer on Feb 11, 2009 21:47:28 GMT -5
Springer gives Rodimus a somewhat befuddled look.
"I know how to deal with the strange on a professional level. It may freak me out, but I'd like to think that I can handle a situation properly."
Springer hasn't met Botanica yet.
He then looks over at Arcee, and ponders. "Yeah... Though if I had to say something strange about my universe, other than those shell things, there was the fact that Optimus Prime was willing to blow up Cybertron so Thunderwing could be stopped. Granted, it was my idea, but I never expected him to actually agree to it."
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Post by Rodimus Prime on Feb 11, 2009 23:08:35 GMT -5
"Really?" Rodimus exclaimed, startled. That's... harsher than Rodimus would expect from Optimus, really. "I've had to call a full withdrawal from Cybertron before, but that seems a little extreme even for me... although I suppose if that's what's necessary..."
It doesn't occur to Rodimus that Springer's Cybertron might be a bit less populated than Rodimus's.
He does nod towards Arcee. "But you're right about that. The amount of commonality across, well, all of the realities is pretty shocking, when you think about it."
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Arcee
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Post by Arcee on Feb 12, 2009 18:34:01 GMT -5
Arcee nods in response to Rodimus, but the things both of them say just make her sad.
"I can barely remember the last time I saw Cybertron. Ever since the Decepticons drove of all off..."
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