Are headmasters a thing on this cybertron? And if yes, do they work like how they do in America or Japan?
Mmmmmm hmm hmmm this question makes me smile bc juicy worldbuilding but also spoilers
BUT, i’ll give you some unknown in-universe lore, as a treat ;)
Headmasters are a boost-support type of spark forged with the ability to powerlinx (that is, combine with another in order to augment and empower them, as opposed to multibody individuals with mitotic sparks or gestalt combiners), specifically by replacing a person’s head. Most often, a headmaster will have a modal frame, with a sphere or blocky shape for their alt mode, shifting into the other mode of a helm when powerlinxing. They can mass shift, they have a subspace pocket where the host’s normal head is safely suspended outside of reality while conjoined, and their helm mode will alter according to their host to better exemplify the augmented person the two of them have become. They are, like all -master sparktypes, their own autonomous Cybertronian person, and have equal say in a powerlinxing bond as their host.
Powermasters are another powerlinxing boost-support sparktype, with the ability to boost energy levels and efficiency, strengthen the frame, and often lend certain powers that the host doesn’t naturally have. Like headmasters, they’re modal frames that can mass shift, but they take more varied forms than just a helm, often forming integrated tools like jetpacks, extra limbs, or bulky defensive armor around vital areas. Occasionally their alt modes are tools or defensive weapons like shields. If something goes wrong during forging or early adolescence, causing spark trauma and energy fluctations, the Powermaster’s ability can maladapt and turn back on them, warping them into sparkeaters, anywhere from mildly vampiric to feral and horrific.
Targetmasters are the last and most varied boost-support sparktype, with a more limited ability to upgrade their host but a much broader application. They always have tool or weapon alt modes; in fact the vast majority of weaponformers are Targetmasters. Powerlinxing gives the host an integrated weapon with quicker reflexes, greater power and strength, and sharper than natural senses. Even non warframes are decent in a fight with a Targetmaster partner. As with the other two boost-support sparktypes, a maladapted form of Targetmasters are minicons, where, instead of a powerlinx bond between two equal partners, the host receives all the power and upgrades at the cost of the minicon’s autonomy. Host and -master partners are a team of equals, but host and minicon partners can easily be skewed into owner and object.
Titanmasters are a command-support sparktype with the ability to safely powerlinx with a Titan. Instead of physically integrating with a Titan to augment it like boost-support sparktypes would, they become a Titan’s tertiary processor, remotely taking on a piece of its processing, feeling the Titan’s frame as if it were their own, and effectively becoming its face and voice among other average-sized mecha, since it’s difficult to properly communicate otherwise. Given the fact that they’re literally part of the Titan’s processor when bonded, even if not physically part of it, their personality and decisions can have great impact on the Titan, although the inverse effect is not as strong, and the both of them must act as one to be an effective team. They’re usually forged Mutacons (although not all Mutacons are Titanmasters) and can adapt to augment a small part of the Titan’s frame when needed. Though these sparktypes are already rare, and it’s even rarer for one person to be multiple -master types, Titanmasters are the ones most likely to be an additional sparktype.
Cityspeakers are another command-support sparktype with similar abilities to Titanmasters, but their version of powerlinxing doesn’t donate power or upgrades to their partners, and does not require a singular partner. Instead of taking on some of a Titan’s processing like a Titanmaster does, they dictate their own thoughts, feelings, and even lifeforce in a wide broadcast. Normal unliving areas can be made animate under the touch of a cityspeaker, and under the onslaught of their full focus, normal individuals can be temporarily overwritten and controlled as pieces of the greater whole that a cityspeaker commands. After all, when they speak, everything must listen. This sheer force of will was meant to direct Titans and keep entire cities full of people working together, unified and safe, but using this power to manipulate regular objects and subsume the will of normal individuals is also possible. They have no typical frametype, but usually have distinct biolights.
Loadbearers are the last command-support sparktype, with a very self-contained set of abilities. Their form of powerlinxing is subtle but powerful, essentially making sure that the loadbearer is solid and strong enough to be the partner that others need. They can take multiple -master partners where others could only take one, they’re often automatically compatible with combiner teams who need a temporary stand-in member, they can take on donated powers and extend their own to a greater degree than a normal individual, and they’re very resistant to harmful environments or abilities. They have no typical frametype, but are always oddly strong and durable, have less need for recharge, and can adapt to extreme frame augmentation with ease. Without deliberately checking, it’s easy for a loadbearer to go unaware of their particular sparktype, as their abilities have little to no influence over their surroundings, just themselves.
Isn’t it odd that these terms aren’t widely known and their powers all but forgotten as long lost myths? Surely there couldn’t be a reason Cybertronians are losing and forgetting what they were once capable of...
