Stand Not At My Grave by Glau (42k, complete.) Time & Twilight complicated secret-keeping and mentorship angst (with a happy ending)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/31766734/

Malevolence by theScrap_Witch (40k, complete.) Hyrule-centric. Fun Times With Malice Infection, Personal Issues, and Unreliable Narrators, with lots of bonus Twilight whump.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/27869809

Fractured by theScrap_Witch (17k, complete.) Four gets stuck in the Palace of the Four Sword and finds a chilling glimpse into his future.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/26526211/chapters/64655026

My Heart's Forsaken Me by sister_dear (48k, complete.) Time picks up the Four Sword, and it has some Effects. Then everyone falls into a dungeon. Things get a tad bit messy from there.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/30179451/chapters/74356713

Call Them Brothers by wutheringmights (WIP, 444k (!) and counting.) Warriors-centric fic ft. Engie, past!Warriors’s terrible moral compass, some fucked up shit, and a lot of really neat worldbuilding and character dynamics. Be warned for heavy angst though. This is a really dark fic, and goes some very fucked up places both physically and psychologically. (<3)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/30748547

Come Again? by Kotanto (WIP, 32k.) Wind-centric fic playing off the fact that the WW timeline appears to have a totally different spoken language from the other versions of Hyrule. Really fun comedy and fluff. There is semi-accidental sheep acquisition. Probably abandoned at this point.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/26273914

Untitled Goose Fic theScrap_Witch (3k, oneshot.) Exactly what it sounds like. Sky's sacred beast, it turns out, is a goose.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/32589523

Hey There Demons, It’s Me, Ya Boy by Ariandre (2k, oneshot.) Legend has some very interesting housemates.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/31930993

Greenhorn by HoneyHunny (8k, oneshot.) Warriors-centric fic set during HW, meeting an older Wind and a younger Time. More LU-adjacent than strictly LU, but definitely a fun ride. Slightly shaky SPAG ,but functional enough.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/30636737

Mermaid’s Cenote by Salt00 (9k, oneshot.) The Legend mermaid tail fic. Good comedy and shenanigans.

(https://archiveofourown.org/works/18756988)

Linked Regiment by Sinnatious (13k, oneshot.) Genderbend fic to the tune of Sweet Polly Oliver -- or, more accurately, to the tune of Pratchett's Monstrous Regiment. Period-typical attitudes for gender and outing are very much present, which is why I might not rec this somewhere like tumblr, but it's a guilty pleasure favorite of mine.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/27931870

Clearing The Air by Sinnatious (12k, oneshot.) Time & Legend huddling-for-warmth fic exploring the implications of the fallen hero timeline.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/24841504

Colour Theory by theScrap_Witch (52k, complete.) Triforce Heroes AU starring Red, Blue, and Green from Four Swords Adventures (Manga). There's a reason they don't have a purple one. Expands wonderfully on the TFH game, and full of fun and angst with a happy ending.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/28281198

Adopting The Enemy by Glau (80k, complete.) A far future Ganondorf, hoping to subvert the usual heroic cycle of reincarnation, steals and adopts a very young Link, intending to raise him as a servant of evil. Instead, he gets dragged slowly but surely into something resembling a redemption arc. Really good worldbuilding, and well-done autistic!Link and complex character!Ganondorf.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/26049073/chapters/63349246

Moblin Simulator 2019 by safflina (11k, complete.) A fun and comedic fic from the POV of a Moblin wrangling his underlings into line and trying not to get permanently killed by a bloodthirsty passing hero. The narrative voice and 2nd person style gives off huge Homestuck Intermission vibes, and I love it.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/19420393/chapters/46216579

The Legend of Zelda: A Novel by Lleu (Gyffes) (50k, complete.) A novelization loosely following the original 1986 game, with heavy embellishment, OCs, and various divergences from canon for the sake of a more format-fitting story. Extremely well-written, with very clear, clean prose, interesting plot and interpretation of canon, and a wonderfully distinctive and memorable Link characterization.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/19338007/chapters/46002808

Breath of the Wild - FFS (series) by DyraDoodles (195k total, split semi-evenly into 2 works, complete.)

https://archiveofourown.org/series/985128

Where Song Lies Still by Seebright (141k, complete.) A full game-length Everyone Lives AU, featuring Extra Unlocked Hornet Friendship Levels (and Hornet Being Mean And Then Sad About It), fascinating adventurer!Ghost characterization, lots of worldbuilding and canon expansion, and all around a really good time.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/22748380/chapters/54357046

Broken Open Revealing Hollowness And Vibrance by JaxxCapta (154k, complete.) Hornet-centric postcanon fic based on a mixture of Godmaster and other endings, with focus on rebuilding, reconnection, grief, and various messy parts of growing up.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/19934050/chapters/47201080

Will Terribly, If You Will At All by Payasita (57k, complete.) Fix-it fic in which the infection mysteriously recedes, leaving the Pure Vessel and others to grapple with the consequences. Great plot, and a delightfully fluffy ending. There is Babey Hornet.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/25518199/chapters/61911733

Hoops, Strings, and Other Placebos by BubbleBtch (193k, complete.) A SI fic about a human who ends up in Hallownest and slowly but surely stumbles ass-backwards into divinity. Obvious major YMMV warnings for Self-Insert/Canon Character (specifically, SI/The Hollow Knight) and very shaky SPAG, but the worldbuilding is really fun, and the plot and characterization moves surprisingly well. The SI character starts an ordinary person with no meta knowledge and only gets very mildly Sue-ish near the end (and it's really not much worse than a lot of published novel protags, honestly), and the author's unabashed horniness is downright endearing.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/25481752

Stag Beetles and Broken Legs by Aryashi and relationshipcrimes (66k, complete.) Pretty sure most of the fandom knows this one, since it's literally the fandom's top fic by kudos, but, y'know. I think it deserves that reputation. The fic that launched the good ol' ship LemmQuirrel. Wonderful writing, good comedy, and a good old emotional wreck of a time. Lemm's grumpy personality is a joy to read, and some of the eccentric writing choices are just delightful.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/17400464/chapters/40956125

Threadcutter by CourierNew (61k, complete.) Hornet-centric postcanon fic, set after the Dream No More ending, with a focus on moving on from tragedy and leaving the past behind, featuring an OC antagonist and some fascinating mindscrew. It's a heavy read, but the quality and feel is comparable to a published novel. Be warned, though: it's not afraid to upend the sandbox and break the toys to make its central message clear, and the overall theme is hopeful but bleakly, deeply bittersweet.

Truth be told, I consider it like sort of a counterpart to Broken Open, in the sense of having a similar starting point (post-canon Hornet, longfic, recovery and moving on), but taking things in a wildly different direction -- where Broken Open explores the past and allows a softer world of second chances, Threadcutter leans hard into the canonical character death and just keeps going. (I guess adding in The Persistence of Endlings makes it a trinity, of sorts? I don't have the brain for a venn diagram right now, though.)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/25297246/

The Persistence Of Endlings by Seebright (216k, complete.) In which Hornet survives the Dream No More ending to find two shades she can suddenly understand, an encroaching abyss sea, and a steadily worsening illness of the voidy variety. She promptly gets dragged into an arc of learning that she's allowed to want to be happy, actually, and maybe there's more waiting for her and her siblings than oblivion and death. Beautiful themes of struggle, stubborness and survival, great angst, delightful sibling banter, and OCs I want to hug (but they're very cold and life-sucking so I probably should not.)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/30213867/chapters/74449422

It's All Well Above Wonder Anyway by bugbee (WIP, 37k.) A fun time-travel fix-it fic centered on the sibling trio. Slow to update, but presumably ongoing.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/22913191

One Step Back by Pinkrhin0 (WIP, 68k.) Ghost, having ascended to Shade Lord after the Godmaster ending, tries to establish contact with their friends and ends up accidentally possess/sharing a body with Quirrel. Chaos ensues.

Currently on hiatus.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/20602832/chapters/48916892

Drained of Light (Into the Welcoming Darkness) by BSplendens (WIP, 391k.) Slowburn recovery fic with heavy focus on the author's OCs assisting in helping the Hollow Knight heal after the events of the Dream No More ending (well, a "Ghost Lives" variant, anyway.)

Normally I don't read fic with the author's named OCs as the primary focus, but these ones are both well written and well integrated into the setting, and share the spotlight comfortably with canon cast. (That, and this particular kind of outsider POV and injury-recovery fic is also a hit straight to my id, haha.)

Until Dawn Shall Break by ruthlesslistener (WIP, 161k.) Canon divergence in which the Hollow Knight defeats the Radiance and ascends to godhood on their own. They are still not convinced they count as a person at this point. Also, some other vessels are still around and really pissed at PK. Consequences and complications ensue.

Not Too Late For Second Chances by ruthlesslistener (WIP, 44k.) In which the Radiance is reborn as a helpless, furious little caterpillar, and Suffers and grumbles and gripes her way through being faced with the idea that maybe, just maybe, she fucked up. Hasn't updated in a while, but probably still going.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/21475696/chapters/51180808

Elegies, Memories, Things That Never Were by JaxxCapta (77k, oneshot collection.) A bundle of oneshots by the author of (but not necessarily in the universe of) Broken Open Revealing Hollowness and Vibrance. Lots of fun stuff, mostly set pre-canon, plus a few focused on the author's Wyrm OCs who are decently interesting.

oak and ash and thorn by ruthlesslistener (5k, oneshot.) Oro slowly and begrudgingly adopts the stroppy teenage vessel who keeps breaking into his house.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/25951309

The Source and the Sound by Kithara17 (1.8k, oneshot.) Absolutely gorgeous Myla fic. I am in love with this prose. The author's other work is mainly poetry, and that influence and skillset shows.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/29503062

spinning the dragline by starmadeshadows (1.4k, oneshot.) An extended take on the Grave In Ash sequence, ft. slapdash communication methods, Ghost being a creepy void baby, and Hornet getting attached.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/25800895

Notches by the Door by Payasita (3.8k, oneshot.) Fluff about growing up, set in a vague Everyone Lives AU, ft. the sibling trio and Grimmchild.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/25829884

sweet child of mine by ruthlesslistener (13k, oneshot.) PK takes care of his tiny infant daughter. Emotional agony and unspeakably cute fluff ensues.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/26654482

a song, synaptic by Druddigonite (WIP, 13k.) Hornet/Lace, slowburning enemies to lovers, with lots of fascinating speculative lore and plot. Currently at 2/5 planned chapters.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/29806959/chapters/73331664

The Blood-Stained Knight Of Beforus (series) by LostOzian (546k total, split evenly into 3 works, complete.)

Huge expansion on the unknown Beforus ancestors, spawned from a kinkmeme prompt for age-gap GamKar. Really cool idea for what could have been, and a compelling and interesting secondary/later plotline involving the dreambubbles and the three year's meteor journey, with Karkat as the focus character. The first fic, A Home for the Stars, is set entirely on Beforus, while the second two fics, Missing Links and Mind Game, are set with chapters alternating between Beforus flashbacks and modern meteor stuff.

Courtesy warnings for underage (pale) romance in the ancestor parts (the kinkmeme part was very much baked into the premise, and the extreme underage aspect is a focal point in A Home for the Stars), plus later manipulative/abusive!Gamzee with canon GamKar.

https://archiveofourown.org/series/334450

Refuge In Oblivion (series) by adjourned (224k, complete, split evenly into 2 currently complete works.)

Godstuck, but with the trolls and alpha kids reincarnated as regular people, and only the beta kids as actual living deities. The first fic, You Are A Refugee From An Omnicidal Empire, covers Karkat as a college student majoring in Sburban studies, and Dave is a mysterious stranger (read: accidental god in disguise) at his university. Fic #2, You Guard The Pyres Of A Stillborn Universe, functions as a semi-standalone prequel explaining how exactly Dave and the others got here in the first place.

(Note: the series is marked as incomplete and the second fic is 20/21 chapters, but it is actually complete. I think the author just forgot to update the metadata.)

https://archiveofourown.org/series/1569664

breathe on the ashes by elliptical (106k, complete.) Ancestor fic, canon divergent (in a complicated way.) The Psiionic knows what's coming, and tries to figure out how to cheat fate. He's more than willing to betray his best friends if he thinks if will save their lives.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/7866772/chapters/17964976

Like One Sundered Star by oriflamme (1.5m, complete.) AKA the longest fucking fic I've ever read, but holy shit was it worth it. Originally a spinoff of a popular superhero AU fic (Real Men Wear Tights), but quickly begins to derail and merge toward canon, introducing SBURB elements and eventually going to the game proper. Gave me a sense of satisfaction Homestuck never quite managed, in its genuinely satisfying and emotionally resonant ending, and full of interesting and novel takes and plot twists that work just... really well. Also has lots of love for the intermission characters and exiles, which I appreciate.

My only real complaint is that I wish the chapters were broken up more, because they could be literally 100+ pages on my ereader, in an already incredibly long work, even without counting sidestories.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/869819/chapters/1670205

(they flow from form to form) by OtherCat (WIP, 61k.) Eldritch god!Beta and Alpha kids, cultist!trolls, and terrified teenager in a horror movie!Karkat. A recipe for horrifying fun! Probably started on a kinkmeme; endgame appears to be some flavor of Beta+Alpha kids/Karkat OT9. Updates slowly, but still chugging along.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/7208528/chapters/16356674

Don't Forget The Sun by Weevilo707 (WIP, 204k, discontinued.) In which Karkat escapes Alternia to crashland in the closest thing Dave has to a backyard in rural Arizona, E.T. style. Angst and shenanigans ensue.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/4121041/chapters/9289132

Of Heaven And Earth by Weevilo707 (WIP, 181k, discontinued.) A ghosts-and-ghost-hunters AU. Karkat wakes up as the fresh new ghost in the neighborhood, just trying not to get exorcised. The choice of having the Prospit dreamers as the villainous ghosts instead of Derse was a fun idea I wish was more common.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/3065705/chapters/6652670

Manzanilla Olives Stuffed With Blue Cheese by Rag (2k, oneshot.) Lovely WV and Dave meteor fluff (with really good WV characterization. Let him be the Davekat supportive grandpa!)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/13232676

surf where white bones twist by oriflamme (17k, oneshot.) No-SBURB AU wherein Roxy kills the Condesce and, by Alternian law, inherits her throne. Features Sad Mind Control Girl Trio palemance and lots of angst with a comforting undercurrent of very subtle whumpy fluff.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/7621027

Random Walk by orphan_account (Northflowo) (20k, complete.) Survivor and Monk fic, exploring the source themes of reincarnation and cycles.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/45488053/

Her Ascendance by orphan_account (18k, complete.) Worm Off The String fic, in which Survivor takes Moon to Five Pebbles. Heartwarmingly bittersweet, like many things about Rain World. I think is the same author who wrote Random Walk, but I'm not 100% sure?

https://archiveofourown.org/works/42021663

The First Annual Slugcat Talent Show by Ihc (6.3k, complete.) Crackfic set in sort of vague everyone-in-one-timeline-alive scenario. I recommend you do not drink water while reading.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/48069664

Assembly by spontaneite (55k, WIP.) Worm Off The String, experimental identity-fuckery edition. Another worldbuilding-heavy one, focusing on Seven Red Suns and No Significant Harassment figuring out a way to try and travel out of their cans and maybe help their friends out in the distance - but don't let that description fool you, there's lots of slugcat worldbuilding happening here as well! The SRS and Spearmaster dynamic is a joy to read. Plus: fun with themes of self-discovery and funky transhumanism. (Trans-computerism?)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/47424541

to reflect on regrets by eternal_aegis (29k, WIP.) NSH-centric fic set post-Rivulet, featuring some of the best suspenseful mystery fic I've read in this fandom, and also, with great effort and shenanigans, Worm Off The String. Lots of really interesting worldbuilding expansion and a lot of fun with minor iterator OCs. The chapters are short but intense - one of those fics you just can't quite put down.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/46325065

where the wheel flower grows by tls1314 (28k, WIP.) Iterator centric time travel fix-it AU, with some fun interpretations of the cycle and very good iterator characterization.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/46325065

Untethered by FangFury (58k, WIP.) Canon divergence featuring some OCs, lots of Local Group shenaniganry, and some ouchie ouchie canon agony.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/46076389/chapters/115986787

Reincarnation Roulette (series) by KazooConcerto (4.8k, WIP.) Oneshots focused on the iterators in their slow decline and death. Beautiful and brutal.

https://archiveofourown.org/series/3803953

to the branches, paw in paw (series) by Flickering_Ember (9.5k, WIP.) Series of Survivor and Monk focused oneshots that really lean into the existential and psychological upfuckery aspects of the vanilla game. The mark of communication and echoes, something something cosmic horror of the ant comprehending the circuitboard...

https://archiveofourown.org/series/3781513

You were in the lost and found, so I'm reaching in again by Flickering_Ember (25k, WIP.) AU where Gourmand find Survivor and Monk as abandoned pups. Artificer is also there. Really good and interesting slugcat POV and worldbuilding. Currently on hiatus but marked 'complete'.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/50790382/chapters/128305846

a string of new pearls by starryeyedgiant (4.4k, oneshot.) A Moon character study turned something a little more hopeful ;). Written pre-Downpour.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/17356760

Measure the silence of a house by Beans_Mcgee (2.9k, oneshot.) "Moon and Pebbles play supercomputer chess on a very small iterator discord, for a long time." Really good iterator worldbuilding and very painful feels.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/48204520

Disjointed by distanceseventeen (45k, complete.) Pre-canon Kris and three cases of possession. Written prior to Chapter 2, but really plays up the presence of the player and a game context as cosmic horror story in creative, fun, and interesting ways! By which I mean, terrfying, horrific, and painful ways. Kris is having A Time. (It gets better.)

Courtesy warning for some major misgendering and dysphoria stuff (mainly for cosmic horror reasons, not trans reasons, though.)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/16787143/

Slouching Toward Hometown by wordbending (41k, complete.) Another good speculative pre-canon Kris study, this time with a more religious-trauma angle. Heart-wrenching, eerie, and full of difficult feelings and cosmic horrors.

But what great beast, its hour come at last, slouches towards Hometown to be born?

https://archiveofourown.org/works/17188268/chapters/40413614

Incidence by Jungledragon (WIP, 494k.) An AU with a more openly manipulative red SOUL, a slightly more cooperative Kris, and rapid-onset canon divergence/derailment, starting with "Noelle ends up in Susie's place in Chapter 1" and getting increasingly wild from there. Updates pretty regularly, though I haven't kept up since the first major arc... but I'll get back to it someday!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/34531036/

Our Friends Do Not Look Fine by CourierNew (2k, complete.) A slow, indirect pre-Chapter 2 study of Hometown. Gorgeous prose, and lots of environmental storytelling and evocative imagery.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/16514696

Oh, Great Sights by CourierNew (2k, complete) A pre-Chapter 2 character study of Kris and Asriel, told through photographs. Haunting, eerie, delicate, and somber, like many of this author's works.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/18465298

Honey And Vinegar by cthchewy (29k, complete.) An absolutely delightful Good Omens fusion set after the events of the book (and written before the TV series, mind), featuring Sollux and Eridan as terrible demonic servants and angelic apprentices respectively, Bees, Karkat as Jesus 2.0, and the Horrorterrors and Woegothics as the source of the next oncoming apocalypse.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/1965171/chapters/4252170

DCstuck by Vinnocent (WIP, 149k.) When a fic starts off with blackmailing Batman, it's generally a sign it's going to be good. One of the best Homestuck crossovers I've read, and a formative influence in my early fanfic years. The fic was abandoned for a while due to the author's real-life problems, but has recently resumed updating in early 2021.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/6986443/chapters/15920023