#pathofstars

[cliffandthekid]

Guess who's dropping out of the cloud cover to say hello? (-pathofstars)

And perfect timing, too - nothing but empty desert and a dusty dirt road for miles around. Besides the red Autobot lazily rolling along, his human teen half hanging out the passenger side window letting her hair whip in the wind.

Cliffjumper's sensors ping from the incoming aircraft, and his engines gives a startled rev. "Well would ya look at that. Head up and arms in, kid, we've got unexpected company, and for once it's the good kind."

Sierra raises an eyebrow at his dashboard, but dutifully sits up straight to let Cliff roll up the window. "Friend of yours?"

"Sorta. Friendly acquaintance, anyway." He pulled to a stop on the dusty ground, and let the teen hop out before transforming to root mode. "You'll be able to see her in half a minute."

And then they wait.

[galaxyshuttle]

Well. This is new.

Starlane can count on one hand the number of mecha she personally knows who are taller than her; perhaps a handful more from stories or history texts.

It's a distinctly odd sensation to be tipping her helm back to look up for once.

(@pathofstars)

Beats looking down constantly. Proximity sensors from heel to knee allows him locomotion when moving in populated areas when pedestrians gawk up at him instead of fraggin' moving out of the way, but still. He missed landing pads and dock crew just unloading his hold with little pallet jacks.

Sometimes, the client wanted in hand delivered. Annoying, but depending on legality, sometimes you didn't want the dock master adding contents to the import manifest.

Which leads Deepspace, on a leisurely little jaunt through the laneways.

[peculiarwhiskers]

"Thunder had hardly slept in the days following the attack on the moore cats. All he could think of was violet. What if she had been hurt in the struggle?"

Thunder, at this point, has not had one direct interaction with violet, what the fuck is he going on about. Literally all he knows is she's pretty and has something going on with slash. His friends could've died, but he's over here stressing about a pretty lady he's seen once.

Why are the Erin's like this.

[rustyvolumedial3]

GET TO KNOW THE MUN

★ NAME: Tri

★ PRONOUNS: Your guess is as good as mine ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

★ BEST EXPERIENCE: A long and lovely thread between my first attempt at a multi-muse blog and a now-archived Skyfire account, back when I was still very new to RP and delighted by any scrap of interest in my characters

★ PREFERENCE OF COMMUNICATION: I mean. Getting communicated with at all is awesome - direct messaging works just fine, or dropping an out of character ask for a longer question. I know some folks like to RP on Discord but I have a harder time getting in the right mindset over there

★ MOST ACTIVE MUSE: Honestly? My adhd mind cycles through ideas so fast I jump around between blogs multiple times a day. This one probably sees more input from me with random posts, but @cliffandthekid gets the most activity with other people, and then @pathofstars is on the account I'm logged into with my phone, which I use to go looking for memes and aesthetic posts

★ EXPERIENCE / HOW MANY YEARS: Teeechnically four? But with, like. A two and a half year gap where I basically abandoned my original blog before eventually creating this one. So, very much a newbie, compared to some folks I've interacted with

★ RP PET PEEVES: Typos are one thing, but nonsensical prose is another, and sometimes no matter how much I'd love to interact with someone my hindbrain just can't get past sentences that don't fit or aren't translated well. No one is more upset about this than I am.

★ PLOTS OR MEMES: I am very much an author at heart who loves to write long exchanges, but memes are good too, especially with regards to breaking the ice with potential new friends

★ ARE YOU LIKE YOUR MUSE(S)?: In that Volume tends to be nervous about overstepping? Yes. The others, not so much. But that's a big part of the fun of writing for multiple muses, canon or original - I get to explore where their voices take me

Went and stole this from @codenamejudas, anybody else who'd like to join in feel free!

[wagenstung]

﹙ ｡° ➷ ﹚ᅳ @pathofstars

❝ So you're.. really into space and things like that, right? ❞ Charlie wanted to spark a conversation if possible, curious to learn more about the femme. It was awkward to be someone others knew more about and not really have anything to go off of for them, either. And it felt rude to just sit and.. not say anything.

[cosmicdreamnebula]

✨ 'Call of Destiny': Your astrological compass for navigating life's challenges and seizing opportunities. Discover your true path. 🌠

[wild-at-spark]

"Congratulations, Sherlock," Starlane snarls, one hand half-buried in the massive hole through her leg, trying to stem the energon loss. "That only took you a few centuries to figure out-!" (@pathofstars)

"Get snippy with me and I'll make sure you lose it!" The medic snarled back, arming herself with clamps from her medkit.

"Move your servo, you're blocking my view." Wild growls, pushing Starlane's servo out her way.

The medic hones in on the bleeding fuel lines, clamping them to cease the bleeding.

"How the frag did you blow a chunk out your leg?"

[caw4brandon]

- Saying Thank You’s More Often -

I’m feeling a little sentimental lately so, consider this as a little list of thank you doodles for some of the respective friends who’ve interacted with me.

I will update and provide more in the future but this is all for now~ I can’t really thank you enough for keeping Sadie company and having laughs with her so, Thank you!

@pathofstars , @usernoneexistent , @lisin-drw , @madelineorionswan , @abianeverdecides , and @chirithy564 my special thanks to you~

One final note: Enjoy this Lite-noid version of a smiling Hector

[yoselin-uyu]

Here, a gift from my part to you ♥️💙

Hope you like it, your deserve good so let my joshua give Kiara love @pathofstars

[the-al-chemist]

Further adventures in digital art, this time using @pathofstars’ Kiara Fair as a model. Lee, thank you for your beautiful art. It always puts a smile on my face. I’m so sorry that I don’t have the skills to repay you with anything as wonderful as your own work, but I hope you like this little doodle of Kiara and cat-Artemis playing with one of Kiara’s origami models 💙

[lifeofkaze]

Owl & Eagle

Even though you're not celebrating, I want to wish you a very merry Christmas, @pathofstars! You're one of the most kind-hearted, genuine, lovely and caring people I've had the honour of meeting this past year.

Every time I see your artwork on my feed - may it be this fandom or another - it makes me smile from ear to ear, and I feel in awe of your talent. You've made me so happy with the two amazing gifts you made me, so it is only right and proper to give you something back.

I'm sorry I had to spoil the surprise early for you, but you know why.

Merry Christmas! 🎄❄️

There was a cold wind coming from the East, bringing with it the smell of snow. It blew across the frozen grounds of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, making the dark surface of the Black Lake ripple in the afternoon sun.

Kiara Fair had no eye for the beauty of the frosty landscape below. She set her feet carefully on the stairs leading towards the Owlery, so as not to slip on the thin layer of snow covering the steps. Stopping to catch her breath, Kiara tipped her head into her neck, her eyes wandering over the long icicles hanging from the protruding roof of the tower above her. 

Shuddering at the thought of what might happen should they fall on her, Kiara clutched the bag of bird treats she was carrying tighter to her chest. Ignoring the burning in her thighs from making the long journey through the snow, she continued her way towards the top.

"What a great idea to get attached," she huffed to herself, her breath forming in front of her mouth and nose in clouds. "Perfect weather to go outside and feed a bird that's not even yours. Why stay by the cosy fireplace when you could freeze to death over some owl treats?"

Her muttering ceased as she took a quick step to pass beneath the icicles and dived into the dim half-light of the Owlery. As soon as she did, the howling East wind ceased, and quiet wrapped around her, only broken by the soft hooting of the owls and the occasional rustle of straw and feathers. 

Wary amber eyes watched Kiara from all sides as she made her way to the big table in the middle of the room, which was perpetually covered in feathers, bird food, and a thick layer of droppings. She sat her bag down onto it and softly clicked her tongue.

"Hello, it's me. Come on, I brought you something."

No sooner had she spoken than a small barn owl floated into view from up above. As it landed on the table before her, Kiara’s face split into a smile.  

"Hello, beautiful."

The owl hooted absentmindedly, curiously eyeing the bag of owl treats. Kiara chuckled to herself.

"It's alright," she said and opened the bag a little wider. "Tuck in." 

The little owl lost no time burying its beak in the sack of bird treats. Her lips still curved into a smile, Kiara watched it gulp down beak after beak of food, when suddenly a big shadow perched on the wooden beam above them caught her attention.

Directing her gaze upwards, Kiara froze. There in the woodwork, an eagle was sitting. It was looking down at them with mistrustful golden eyes, and even from a distance, Kiara could see how sharp its beak and talons were. She furtively moved to the side, and the eagle's eyes followed her, the only thing about it that seemed to be moving at all. Shuddering, Kiara’s eyes flicked between the happily munching barn owl and the bird of prey.

"Hey buddy," Kiara whispered in a cheerful but urgent voice. "Look, there's a great spot to snack over here. Let's move a little, shall we?"

The only reply she got was the rustle of the bag as the owl dipped its head back into it. Stifling a sigh, Kiara tugged on the sack of treats.

"Come on, we really need to go eat somewhere else now."

Not the slightest bit impressed with having its food taken away, the owl hooted in protest and flapped its wings. One of them hit Kiara in the face, and on instinct, she stumbled backwards. 

A stir went through the Owlery as more and more owls began to shuffle on their perches. Kiara swallowed heavily. If the owls woke, there would be chaos. She didn't want any of them to get hurt, so she had to get this eagle away from the Owlery somehow. She gave the bird of prey a stern look. 

"Shoo," she told it, her words accentuated by a wave of both her hands. "Shoo!"

Its golden eyes now fixed on her, the eagle remained right where it was. A frown crossed Kiara's face. If she didn't know any better, she could have sworn that it almost looked amused.

"Shoo!" she repeated, louder this time, wincing as the flutter around her intensified. The first owls were leaving their sleeping nooks and making their way outside through the openings in the walls. The eagle watched after them before returning its unnerving stare to Kiara. She gritted her teeth. 

"Shoo, I said!" she yelled, grabbing a fistful of bird treats and - under the protest of the little barn owl - hurled them at the eagle. 

Upon being hit square in the face, the eagle let out a scream that cut through Kiara's eardrums, and flapped its impressive wings. Thinking it was about to tear down on her and the little barn owl, Kiara did the first thing she could think of. She reached for her wand and pointed it at the eagle.

"Stupefy!"

The spell hit the eagle right in the chest. Its wings froze mid-motion before it went limp and dropped from its beam, hitting the ground with a dull thud. As the dust slowly settled around it, Kiara took a cautious look at the motionless bird. She inched closer, a sigh of relief leaving her lips as she saw the eagle's chest rising and falling, if only slightly.

"Hey," she said, carefully touching the bird with the tip of her boot, "it's alright. You can get up now. I'll just turn around, and you go and flutter off."

As expected, the eagle didn't react. With a jolt of worry, Kiara knelt before the animal, lifting one of its wings with her finger. When she retracted it, the wing slumped to the ground again.

"I hit it pretty hard, didn't I?" she muttered to the little barn owl, who sat perched on her shoulder and hooted in confirmation.

Reaching a resolution, Kiara scooped the eagle up into her arms. Hagrid and Professor Kettleburn were out to hunt for Christmas trees and escaped Chimaeras, respectively; that left only one person capable of helping her. 

***

Professor McGonagall was in her classroom, poring over the latest assignments of her N.E.W.T class when the door crashed open and Kiara stumbled in. Her eyebrows rose over the rim of her spectacles when the flustered Ravenclaw student dropped what she had held cradled to her chest onto the laden desk. 

"Miss Fair," she said and drew a deep breath, "what is your explanation for… this?"

She pointed at the bird, whose feathers were now sprawling over the half-corrected essays. Taking a closer look at it, she paled and rose to her feet in an abrupt motion. The eagle gave a miserable squawk as she examined it. Kiara watched her quietly. If she hadn't known better, she could have sworn that McGonagall was talking to the eagle. 

"I must ask you to leave, Miss Fair," she presently said, her lips pressed together in a fine line.

"What?" Kiara spurted out, half in fear for the eagle, half in indignation at being sent away.

"This bird requires my immediate attention. Thank you for bringing it here, but there is no further reason for you to linger. Five points to Ravenclaw."

Kiara was too confused to thank her. "What are you going to do with it? Hagrid and Professor Kettleburn are somewhere on the grounds."

"Believe me when I say that I'm perfectly able to handle this bird myself."  

She pointedly looked at the door, making it clear that it was time to go. Once outside of the classroom, Kiara paused. Not feeling like returning to the Ravenclaw common room just yet, she looked around the half-lit corridor. Something gleaming on the ground by a suit of armour caught her attention. Wandering closer to inspect it, Kiara found the source of the reflection to be an old yet well-polished key. A smile of delight forming on her features, she bent to retrieve it for her collection when the door to the Transfiguration classroom opened and someone stepped outside.

The moment Talbott Winger saw her, he froze. Kiara stared at him with wide eyes, her new key momentarily forgotten.

"Winger," she said in astonishment, "where did you come from?"

"None of your business," Talbott replied curtly. He tried to push past her, but Kiara moved in his way.

"You weren't in there when I was just now," she said, her eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Were you hiding?"

"Don’t be ridiculous."

"I'm not!"

They continued arguing back and forth until the door to the classroom swung open once more and Professor McGonagall appeared in the doorway. Upon seeing Talbott and Kiara, she glanced left and right before placing firm hands on both their backs and ushering them back inside. 

"What's going on, Professor? Where has Talbott come from?" As soon as she saw that the desk on the raised dais was empty, Kiara turned to Talbott with flashing eyes. "Where has the eagle gone? What have you done with it?" 

"Nothing," Talbott rolled his eyes. "Tell her that I didn't do anything," he added in McGonagall's direction, but she shook her head at him. 

"It's not my responsibility to get you out of the trouble you summoned, Mr Winger."

When it was evident that there was no support to be gained from her, Talbott raised his hands in exasperation. 

"Alright, Fair. Promise that what I'm about to tell you is going to stay within this room."

"I'm not promising anything," Kiara replied angrily. "What happened to the eagle?"

"Nothing," Talbott repeated. "The eagle is me."

Silence followed his words. Her mouth having dropped open, Kiara blinked in confusion. 

"Is this some kind of joke?"

"I can assure you, it’s not. I am the eagle. I'm an Animagus." 

Still dubious, Kiara looked Talbott up and down. Upon closer inspection, she thought his nose looked slightly swollen, a bruise forming around it right where the eagle’s beak had hit the ground. She swallowed heavily. 

"You really are an Animagus?"

Talbott nodded. "I'm not registered with the Ministry. No one but Professor McGonagall knows. And you," he added, giving Kiara a taxing look, "so don't go blaring it out to the whole school."

Kiara felt her cheeks grow hot, partly from his assumption that she would do any such thing, and partly from knowing that she didn't have anyone to tell such a secret to even if she wanted. As much to show Talbott that she wasn't intimidated by him as to push away the feeling of loneliness rising in her, Kiara crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"How does one become an Animagus anyway?"

"By performing the proper rites and spells."

"And how do you do that?"

Talbott raised an eyebrow. "Not like I'm going to tell you."

"Why not?"

"Because it's bad enough that I had to trust you with my secret. No way that I'm going to let you share it." 

Kiara opened her mouth to protest when McGonagall cleared her throat. "Mr Winger, Miss Fair, I believe you can continue your discussion on your way back to Ravenclaw Tower. Miss Fair, I expect you to honour Mr Winger's wish to remain quiet about his… abilities. Mr Winger, you will come and see me after class tomorrow. One more thing," she added as the two of them turned to leave. "Until further notice, both of you are banned from visiting the Owlery."

Talbott and Kiara froze.

"But why?" 

"Professor!"

"I didn't even do anything!"

"I was only protecting the owls!"

"Mr Winger, you chose to transform without need despite me telling you not to. As for Miss Fair, did you really think I didn't notice I was short an owl?"

Kiara felt herself blush. "I don't know what you mean, Professor." 

"I assure you, you are neither the first student to take a liking to an animal from this classroom, nor will you be the last. Do try to refrain from coming for the ferrets next, please. There's a reason they've been banned as pets."

"But about the Owlery…"

"Good evening, Miss Fair."

Hanging their heads, Talbott and Kiara trudged from the room. They walked to their common room in silence, where they found quiet corners for themselves as far away from each other as possible.

They did their best to avoid crossing paths for the next few days, but eventually, Kiara decided that her punishment had been enough. She missed her little owl friend, and what had she done wrong, anyway? She had wanted to protect the birds, nothing more. Surely that wasn't a reason to condemn her?

When she made her way to the Owlery, at last, her spirits lifted with every step she climbed towards the top. Once she ducked through the doorway, however, her good mood vanished when she saw who was standing at the table in the middle of the room. 

"What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same," Talbott said, narrowing his eyes at Kiara. "You're forbidden to enter the Owlery."

"As are you," Kiara raised her chin. "I could report you to McGonagall."

"Not without admitting you were here, too."

They stared at each other until Talbott dropped his eyes. "Looks like we're both flouting our punishment. How about you go and do your stuff, I do mine, and we both pretend this never happened?"

After a moment, Kiara nodded. "Fine. But no weird tricks, you hear me?"

Talbott rolled his eyes for an answer and returned to the parchment he had been scribbling onto. Kiara turned away to find the little barn owl already sitting behind her. With a smile, she ran her hands over the owl's soft feathers, trying to ignore the scratching of Talbott's quill behind her. 

They spent several minutes in silence until Talbott eventually cleared his throat.

"Thank you for not telling anyone what you saw the other day."

Kiara didn't look up from where her fingers were resting on the owl's back. Her shoulders tensed. "No need."

"No, really. Anyone else would have shouted it from the rooftops, or told their friends, at least."

"I'm not like anyone else."

"Not a gossip, you mean?"

"Not a person with friends." 

Her snappy reply was met with silence. Talbott nodded his head.

"I see."

When he didn't continue, Kiara raised her brows. "That's all you have to say?"

"What more is there? You're a loner, just like me. Nice to know there's others who prefer not to be babbled at all day." 

Despite herself, Kiara's lips curved into a smile, albeit a small one.

"I guess so." 

When Kiara packed up her things and made her way to the exit, Talbott sighed and called her back.

"Hey Fair, wait. Did you really mean what you said about wanting to be an Animagus?" 

Kiara frowned. "Of course."

"I could show you if you like."

"Really?" Kiara called out, her mouth suddenly dry. She must have spoken louder than she had realised because the little barn owl almost tripped over its own two feet. Talbott pulled a face. 

"Lesson number one - don't screech at me like a rabid owl. Once I have everything we need, I'll contact you."

He answered a few more of Kiara's questions, and by the time she was ready to leave, she was giddy with excitement. As she was about to pass through the doorway, Talbott called after her.

"Just so you know, it's not going to be easy. I hope you're not afraid of a challenge."

Kiara flashed him a grin over her shoulder. "Here’s a lesson for you, Winger. I'm never afraid of a challenge."  

[cliffandthekid]

♦️ (@pathofstars)

"Galaxy."

Yeah, there's the whole space-shuttle alt mode, and the aesthetic with stars and whatnot, but really, the word has more to do with presence. A sense of grandness that fills Laney's words and actions.

...and yeah, maybe the height factors in a little, she IS literally three times taller than Cliffjumper but shhh

[mizutoyama]

Updated the profile pic of my fic sideblog with the amazing art @pathofstars made!

I feel like that Will Smith meme

[rustyvolumedial3]

Volume, if I ever shove you off a cliff into the ocean it will be because you Deserved It and no other reason (@pathofstars)

"Yeah right."

Don't listen to her, folks. Starlane is fully capable of being a Capital-A Aft purely for her own amusement. Volume, on the other hand, is a spark of pure sunshine who can do no wrong and certainly would never antagonize a friend into being so horribly, cruelly mean to him.

...and if you belief that he's got some oceanfront property to sell you in Nevada...

[wagenstung]

[water lily]

Shuttleformers couldn't very well transform and fly off into deep space without thick armor and fully sealed cabins, now could they? Not to mention a robust temperature regulation system to avoid losing too much heat in the void.

All of which is to say, being stuck at the bottom of a lake with half a mountain's worth of displaced mud pinning her frame is an annoyance to Starlane more than anything else. She'll weather this, and get herself out.

Eventually.

(@pathofstars)

🗦 @pathofstars 🗧 ... one of our muses finds the other submerged underwater, and is left to desperately try to save them.

Charlie wasn't afraid to admit that diving was taking a bit more to get back into than she thought at first. One trip to the pools she used to practice at reminded her quick just how rusty she was ( when adrenaline wasn't rushing through her system ) and how she'd need to start from the ground up all over again.

Thus, the lake.

Sure, she had some decent sea legs. She loved swimming and surfing around the beach, especially lately, but if she wanted to re-teach herself how to dive like she used to, then she'd need some.. calmer waters. Plus, the walk through the hiking trail was nice and quiet and much needed.

There was no way for Charlie to expect to find something.. not a fish when she went diving. At first she thought maybe it was a pile up of logs or trees from storms over the years. But.. the deeper she dove, the more she could tell whatever was laying beneath mounds of mud wasn't, in fact, tree trunks. It takes her about three more dives to figure out what was beneath all the mud was something metallic, and that's when her adrenaline was kicking back into gear.

There's a bit of preamble as she prepares herself for just how deep she'd have to get herself, and how long she'd need to hold her breath for. Several deep, deep swallowed breaths in preparation and she's walking up to the highest hiking point she can find nearest that mound of mud. A few more seconds and...

Charlie dove with ease through the air and through the water, gravity taking care of the rest as she's torpedo'd through the lake, diving deep enough she can reach the muddy bottom, hands desperately prying at whatever was beneath and brushing away as much mud as possible with large sweeps of her arms. The pressure was starting to tickle her ears a little, but thankfully not her lungs- yet. Charlie knew she had at least two minutes in her for the depth she dove, breath held expertly as she does her best to remove as much mud as possible, fingers gripping and pulling on plating and parts with desperate adrenaline-fueled strength.

[cliffandthekid]

۞!

/gestures towards @pathofstars

Best way to describe Starlane? "Ironclad marshmallow". She gets kinda snarly with certain people, but way down deep underneath the insults and grumpiness I promise she's actually nice at spark.

...probably. In theory.