AU Theme Rec: The World's Translated Thus, Orion, & Red Letter Days by Abyssal1
Title: The World's Translated Thus
Author: Abyssal 1
Continuity: G1 AU
Rating: M - author rating, M+ (femme's rating)
Pairing: Starscream/Optimus Prime, Starscream/Perceptor,
Status: Complete
Warnings: (from the author) THIS STORY IS FOR MATURE READERS ONLY. NON-CON, DUB-CON, LANGUAGE, ANGST , VIOLENCE
Author Summary: Inexplicably drawn to their not-quite-prisoner Starscream, Prime must overcome the limitations of his culture and his past before he can save a dying planet.
Femme's Warnings: Contains a very different kind of intimacy that does not involve spikes and valves, but which, may, nevertheless, trigger those who do not care for a more "organic" style of intimacy between TFs, or may, in turn, trigger those who find things that are highly alien and strange to be disconcerting. Also...lots of angst. You have to be in the right head space :)
Femme's Summary: This is one of those stories that readers either seem to love and not be able to stop until they are finished, or one that they never get into in the first place. I'm one of the former. Even though I'm not shipper of this particular pairing, I LOVE the way Abyssal writes Starscream and Prime. The story has a bit of everything for me:
In addition, Abyssal has written two prequels to TWTT.
Title: Orion
Pairing: Orion Pax/OC
Rating: M
Warnings: Smut (Spark), Violence, Character death (of a sort)
Author Summary: Something big is brewing in the sunless streets of the Cybertron Underplanet - rumors of a war between two great cultures, of a dying Prime, and of extreme meaures that must be taken. AU, Prequel to The World's Translated Thus
Femme's Notes: More amazing world and culture building from Abyssal, including a very different take on Ariel and Orion. I...would not have wanted to be Orion. This is again, highly AU - set in Cybertron's dark side in more ways than one. This is a good one to start with if you aren't ready to take on all 44 chapters of TWTT. It is 6 chapters, complete.
Title: Red Letter Days
Rating: M
Warnings: (Femme is doing this by memory, others who've read, help me out please) Violence, torture, Smut (spark & tactile?)
Characters: Jazz, Prowl, Optimus Prime
Summary: AU: Prequel to Translated Thus. Jazz wishes only to meet his Prime and God, and Prowl wishes only to be done with his duty. But when Jazz befriends an injured temple slave, he may be closer to his dream - and his nightmare - than he can even imagine...
Femme's Notes: This story is from Jazz and Prowl's point of view, when Prowl is a burnt out General given dubious honor of minding the new Prime, and Jazz is a brand new candidate for the Academy which is likely to wash him out, like it does any mech not of the proper caste and background. More great world and culture building, and an awesome take on the beginnings of Jazz and Prowl's devotion and duty to Optimus. This story is incomplete, and the author had a baby in the last year, so it may be incomplete for awhile, but I dearly hope it gets continued because, IMO it is the best of the three.
Author: Abyssal 1
Continuity: G1 AU
Rating: M - author rating, M+ (femme's rating)
Pairing: Starscream/Optimus Prime, Starscream/Perceptor,
Status: Complete
Warnings: (from the author) THIS STORY IS FOR MATURE READERS ONLY. NON-CON, DUB-CON, LANGUAGE, ANGST , VIOLENCE
Author Summary: Inexplicably drawn to their not-quite-prisoner Starscream, Prime must overcome the limitations of his culture and his past before he can save a dying planet.
Femme's Warnings: Contains a very different kind of intimacy that does not involve spikes and valves, but which, may, nevertheless, trigger those who do not care for a more "organic" style of intimacy between TFs, or may, in turn, trigger those who find things that are highly alien and strange to be disconcerting. Also...lots of angst. You have to be in the right head space :)
Femme's Summary: This is one of those stories that readers either seem to love and not be able to stop until they are finished, or one that they never get into in the first place. I'm one of the former. Even though I'm not shipper of this particular pairing, I LOVE the way Abyssal writes Starscream and Prime. The story has a bit of everything for me:
- Superb world and culture building at a level that, imo, that is on par with the very best I've read in the fandom.
- Autobots that are not, by any stretch of the imagination, the "good guys", and vice versa with the 'Cons. In fact, though I have a high degree of sympathy and empathy for the Ark-Autobots in this story, the ones back on Cybertron are...pretty despicable.
- A Starscream characterization that is multi-dimensional and feels very plausible in canon to me. You really are never quite sure about him until the very end, and I won't give away what you become sure of in the end. As much as he is victimized in this story, he is never a victim.
- An Optimus Prime characterization which one can both empathize with and despise. Once you truly understand him and what he has gone through to become the Prime he is, it is very difficult not to respect him, though you will definitely not always like him, or find him noble. I appreciate this because it makes me think and reassess my own assumptions. Above all, because he is the bearer of the matrix, he is very, very alone.
- A very unique take on TF eroticism that is shockingly alien, disturbing, and very hot imo.
In addition, Abyssal has written two prequels to TWTT.
Title: Orion
Pairing: Orion Pax/OC
Rating: M
Warnings: Smut (Spark), Violence, Character death (of a sort)
Author Summary: Something big is brewing in the sunless streets of the Cybertron Underplanet - rumors of a war between two great cultures, of a dying Prime, and of extreme meaures that must be taken. AU, Prequel to The World's Translated Thus
Femme's Notes: More amazing world and culture building from Abyssal, including a very different take on Ariel and Orion. I...would not have wanted to be Orion. This is again, highly AU - set in Cybertron's dark side in more ways than one. This is a good one to start with if you aren't ready to take on all 44 chapters of TWTT. It is 6 chapters, complete.
Title: Red Letter Days
Rating: M
Warnings: (Femme is doing this by memory, others who've read, help me out please) Violence, torture, Smut (spark & tactile?)
Characters: Jazz, Prowl, Optimus Prime
Summary: AU: Prequel to Translated Thus. Jazz wishes only to meet his Prime and God, and Prowl wishes only to be done with his duty. But when Jazz befriends an injured temple slave, he may be closer to his dream - and his nightmare - than he can even imagine...
Femme's Notes: This story is from Jazz and Prowl's point of view, when Prowl is a burnt out General given dubious honor of minding the new Prime, and Jazz is a brand new candidate for the Academy which is likely to wash him out, like it does any mech not of the proper caste and background. More great world and culture building, and an awesome take on the beginnings of Jazz and Prowl's devotion and duty to Optimus. This story is incomplete, and the author had a baby in the last year, so it may be incomplete for awhile, but I dearly hope it gets continued because, IMO it is the best of the three.