#anyway. this post brought to you by found a bunch of glowing recs for my exes' fics i had completely forgotten in my dusty AO3 bookmarks

[angorwhosebabyisthis]

one reason i'm grateful a) to have been getting into treating my meta as An Art Form as much as fanfic/art/etc, and b) that there's an import function for that on AO3, is that i write very little prose these days, and Actually Having Substantial Things to Post helps me get past the stumbling block of 'well there's nothing much worth going to the trouble for anyway, is there' to the 'alright let's address all the other baggage that makes using AO3 so emotionally fraught for you bud' step (staircase.)

[robbiwrites717]

Master list of my Davekat fic recs. This is long so keep reading for the entire list. Also, unless a fic was explicit I included it on this list so be aware and still read the tags! I wanted to include my thoughts about each fic but it’s been well over a year since I read most of them and it would have been exhausting to read back through all of them so i just included the authors’ summaries instead. I have major respect for every fic and author on this list, seriously they’re amazing <3 Happy Reading 

A Bump in the Road - by leopharry - Daycare AU (teacher Karkat/gaurdian DAve/kid Dirk) - Ch 1/1 - 10260 words

After earning his Master's degree in education, Karkat can't find a teaching job, so Kanaya gets him a job as a toddler teacher at a daycare, much to his chagrin. Dirk is his quietest and most behaved student; in fact, Karkat has never heard him speak, and he's curious. What kind of person could raise such a child? And just how long will Karkat's patience last in a room full of two year olds?

Alpha Rats Nest - by sicklekind - Meteorstuck - Ch 1/1 - 9911 words

Dave and Karkat have a long overdue, late-night discussion about the upcoming final battle (and lots of other things, too). 

AMC Gremlin - by PeachBriseadh - Coffee Shop AU - Ch 1/1 - 2267 

A drive through window is probably not a good place to confess your feelings to the boy of your dreams, particularly when said dream boy is working it.

Apple Juice, Chips, and Bandages - by Weevilo707 - Humanstuck/Convenience Store AU- Ch 2/2 - 5338 words

Every time he comes in he gets the same three things. A bottle of apple juice, a bag of chips, and bandages.

Astronomy in Reverse - by PunkZucchini & sicklekind - Pen Pal AU - Ch 9/10 - 53857 words

Dave and Karkat are intergalactic pen pals, originally paired together for an extra credit school outreach project. Now, three years of correspondence later, they're best friends... and Karkat is finally immigrating to Earth.

Blood Dragon - by Corvid_Knight - Fantasy AU - Ch 8/8 - 11609 words

Fantasy-set homestuck AU in which Dave has a shit life, but he just managed to rescue a dragon...who also happens to be a nice guy. Now he's just got to keep his brother from finding out. Good luck with that, Dave.

Breathe - by Lilith_In_The_Garden - Highschool AU - Ch 31/? - 54700 words

Your name is Dave Strider, and there's nothing good about John and Rose changing schools.Without your twin sister and best friend, you've been left socially crippled at school, and barely coping at home. You're nearly certain that your mental health has been slowly spiraling downhill. You have no clue how you'll last the year to high school graduation. In all this, there's just one single ray of light.Your name is Dave Strider, and there's nothing good about John and Rose changing schools. Except for meeting Karkat Vantas.

Book Covers - by me ( cuz im an egotistical asshole) = College/Guardian AU- Ch 28/28 - 136611 words

Karkat has had a shitty life and has had to bust his ass for everything he has. He has no patience for spoiled, delusional, lazy people and this is exactly what he thinks Dave Strider is. They get paired up together for a project in their college English class and when Karkat accidently learns that Dave is fighting to keep custody of his younger brother Dirk, he learns that he may have been completely wrong about Dave and shouldn't have judged a book by it's cover. A story of two damaged boys coming to each others rescue and growing as people. <3

Broken - by Aurellyn - Pale Romance/Moirallegiance - Ch 1/1 - 18911 words

This has been an increasingly common occurrence recently. Maybe it’s because you’ve got so much time to just sit around and really think, maybe it’s because you don’t really have anyone to talk to, you don’t know, but you’ve been feeling literal oceans of insecure.It’s like someone ripped a bandaid off of an old wound, or broke the dam or some shit, because lately all you can think about are things you never wanted to think about literally ever again. You’ve been thinking about your Bro, your life before the game, and it was only yesterday that it really, truly dawned on you that you’re actually really scarred by it all. The strifing, the constant tiptoeing around the one place that you should feel safe, paranoia of being stalked by a God damn puppet.It haunts you, and it’s maybe had more of an impact on you than you want to admit.

Cold Desert - by gidgit - Neighbor AU - Ch 7/? - 48493 words

Curiosity killed the cat.It probably just wasn't as good at being nosy as Dave is.

countdown until the end of the world - by divingred - Alpha Session/Memories AU - Ch 6/6 - 17291 words

You’ve seen them before, in countless dreams like this, but this is the first time they’re so clear. They’re so big, they seem almost inhuman, not to mention their color. Deep black pupils against golden, almost glowing, sclera. Even though they’re nothing like a pair of human eyes, there’s a softness there. This is someone who cares about you. You don’t want to look away.Your name is Dave Strider and you feel like you’re forgetting something important.((au where alpha dave picks up a certain troll))

Demon Eyes - by Corvid_Knight - Demon/Hunter AU - Ch 28/28 - 84335 words

In which Dave goes in to kill a demon for his bro, and things...don't exactly go as planned. Really, absolutely nothing goes as planned, but that's...somehow okay. Mostly.

Don’t Forget the Sun - by Weevilo707 - stranded Alien AU - Ch 23/?(DISCONTINUED) - 204539 words

Karkat Vantas always accepted the fact that he was not going to live past nine sweeps. It was just a certainty of his sad, miserable life. At least, that was until his friends found out and decided to hatch a plan to get him out of the Alternian empire. A plan that actually worked.Now, he was stranded on an alien planet, at the mercy of some strange creature that was either trying to help him or going about some freaky ritual of flirting with your food before you eat it.Also, aliens have sunglasses.He was better off dying on Alternia, wasn't he?

falling in love's a struggle - by divingred - college AU - Ch 4/? - 7784 words

“What. The. Fuck,” You manage to spit out, “Kanaya, did Terezi just bring a human?”Who the fuck is this guy anyway!? You stare daggers at the guy. He’s tall… pale, with light hair, wearing an obnoxiously bright red jacket and black skinny jeans. He’s even wearing sunglasses at night, what a complete fucking douchebag. The complete opposite of you.--or alternatively titled; falling in love with your ex-girlfriend's new awful boyfriend

File It Down, Polish It Up - by introsquirrel - Ch 1/1 - 20713 words

Trolls have some weird priorities. They can’t bring themselves to invent conditioner, but they have automatic manicure kits and gossip about which blood caste produces the best in claw hygiene. Dave has never really given much thought to the state of his nails. His time is better spent memorizing lame movie quotes and actively *not* flirting with the grumpy troll version of the Second Coming.On an unrelated note, being a teenage boy is hard. Literally. (Insert dick joke here.) It’s hard and having a hot sister doesn’t help in the slightest. Not that Dave finds his sister attractive in any way.Nope, not going there.

Fortuitous - by Java_bean - meteorstuck - Ch 21/? - 111066 words

Dave and Karkat build a pillow fort and an unexpected chain of events occurs.

Hard To Stay And Watch You Walk Away - by LandofMistandSecrets - Meteorstuck - Ch 1/1 - 7502 words

I thought too hard about scenes that happened in the GO timeline that we never saw the retcon version of and then this came out. The "will we still be able to be best bros" conversation re-imagined for post-retcon. Somehow Karkat is even more insecure. Also I always wanted Rose and Karkat to talk in canon so hey have a bunch of them too, thanks.

hey there bright-eyed mister melancholy - by attentionmerrymakers - Meteorstuck - Ch 1/1/ - 2338 words

This is why you are sitting in Can Town making your fifty-sixth scale replica of a sheep.

how...did you tell your friends - by sburbanite - post sburb/sgrub - Ch 4/4 - 7906 words

Unfortunately, you don't fancy your brother's suggestion on how to break the news to John...There's no other way out of it, you're going to have to just tell him.

If I Lose Everything In The Fire - by HexMeridan (myrainbowshoelaces) -  pacific rim AU - Ch 20/22 - 108975 words

The Kaiju - or Horrorterrors, as the trolls call them - first invaded Earth through a transdimensional rift at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. Serving the Condesce in her quest to add Earth to the Alternian Empire, these monsters have terrorized humanity for twelve years. With the help of rebel troll factions and the adaptation of Alternian mind integration technology - The Drift - the Interspecies Defense Program has fought back as the last line of defense between the Kaiju and Earth.Karkat Vantas was a Jaeger pilot, fought for freedom in the Assault on the Breach that brought trolls to Earth. The loss of his co-pilot left him bitter and full of rage, but desperate times have lead to him being recruited to join the fray once more.Dave Strider is the best and brightest the Interspec program has to offer. Jaeger Restoration Project Head, highest simulation score on record, and younger brother of the Deputy Marshal - except he's not allowed in a Jaeger.Nobody expects them to be Drift Compatible

Improvidence - by biodigitaljazz - Meteorstuck Series - Four separate multi chapter fics 

Part 1 - Your name is Karkat Vantas.Your life is unnecessarily complicated. Part 2 - Your name is Dave Strider.You’re the baddest MC this side of the meteor and damn do you know it. Part 3 - Your name is Karkat Vantas.And you are the most beautiful and superlative specimen of complete and total relationship failure in the history of everyone and everything. Part 4 - Your name is Dave Strider.You really wish you could remember everything.

Locked Up - Weevilo - Meteorstuck - Ch 1/1 - 9272 words

Dave had always been the one best prepared for the game. He was able to handle the shit it threw at them and push it down a lot better than everyone else could.It might have fucked up everything else about him, but that didn't matter.He was fine.He was always fucking fine.

Love in the Time of Juggalos - by sburbanite - Alpha timeline AU - Ch 37/37 -  80521 words

Alpha-Dave has everything anyone could want: fame, fortune, legions of adoring fans, and a shitty hatchback car.

But behind the shades is a man who knows the world is ending, and who wakes each morning expecting to see a lover who isn't there. Someone he's never even met. 

M.C. Escher that’s my favorite MC - by Unda - Soulmate AU - Ch 42/? - 587474 words

Dirk has a plan, when he's 18 he's going to take Dave and get him the fuck out of their terrible lives and start over. Until then being the barrier between Dave and Bro is his only job, his soulmate is just going to have to wait goddamnit. Dave has a plan, it involves getting internet famous and not going gay, easy right? Karkat also has a plan, to repeatedly track down his dumb as rocks soulmate and get him to actually talk to him for fuck's sake.

Palisades, Palisades - by magicites - Summer Camp AU - Ch 4/4 - 46,422 words

In your memories, you see Dave Strider, fourteen-years-old and made up of lean muscle and awkward limbs that he would still need a few years to grow into fully. Crows surround him, all cawing impatiently, vying for the chicken sandwich in his backpack. He swears loudly as he swings a stick at them, trying to get them to leave him the fuck alone.“Stupid feathery assholes,” he’d always complain once he finally shooed them away.You tear yourself out of the memory. You miss him, and you hate yourself for it.

Perspective - by MsGeekNerd - Meteorstuck - Ch 85/85 - 63833 words 

In which Dave Strider and Karkat Vantas are Bored as Hell and Eventually Grow Close to Each Other in Multiple WaysKarkat wants nothing more then to be entertained, Dave can supply that entertainment.A story of friendship turned crush between my favorite dorks

Purrbeast - by wittykitsune - Meteorstuck - Ch 1/1 - 1140 words

Dave takes a dare to pet the grumpiest troll on the meteor. Instead of violence he is met with a very different reaction.

Reclassify - by notwest - Meteorstuck - Ch 1/1 - 2917 words

warning: this is a highly cliched, self indulgent first kiss meteorficyou know you love it though

Songs Made on the Meteor - by apocalypticTaco - Meteorstuck - Ch 3/6 - 11752 words

Once the train of aimless tree blabber has left the station, you remember why you agreed to meet up in the first place. Leaning forward to sit up properly, you turn to Dave.“So,” you say, “what did you want to show me?”“Oh! Yeah, I forgot about that, sorry. The topic just fucking strayed from me like some kind of toddler seeing a candy store and waddling away from mom. Chubby little bastard gets me this time. Here.” He plops out one of those music tables onto his lap, and motions for you to come closer.

(It's music, and along the way they fall in love.)

Sun - by mintboy - highschool Au - Ch 8/? - 14205 words

I’ll never be able to do what other teenagers get to do. When the world robs your health from you, robs your face from you, they rob from you everything else you’ve ever wanted. Because people are fucked up. And all they see is what’s on the outside.Inspired by the book Wonder by R. J. Palacio.

The Calm is Terrifying When the Storm is All You’ve Known - by happikatt- no-sburb AU - Ch 39/39 - 178722 words

There were two kinds of trolls who went to Earth: rich shitheads with too much money and free time, and desperate assholes who couldn’t survive on Alternia, even with the best efforts of the young Condesce. Karkat hated the planet almost immediately, but with his home planet too dangerous for mutants, he really didn’t have any choice but to hide out on this weird little diurnal planet. At least he’d be safe. Or so he thought, right before blundering his way into an accidental friendship with the son of an anti-troll terrorist.Slow burn, shifting perspectives; romance really isn't the focus here but it'll still play a significant part; extra content warnings will be posted with each relevant chapter

The Highlights of being a Split End - by Introsquirrel - Meteorstuck - Ch 1/1 - 7381 words

On the list of "Things Karkat Needs to Remember To Pack for Surviving This Fucking Game, In Order of Priority," hair styling utensils fell somewhere between "rubble that crushed my lusus" and "last sweep's decomposable trash, recently unburied from the back lawnring, along with all those bodies of the undead I had to kill." In other words, somebody needs to give that boy a brush.

The Lucky Ones - by daniomalley - Stowaway AU - Ch 10/10 - 51182 words

Lost and stranded on a ship millions of miles from Earth, Dave wants nothing more than to stay hidden from the crew until he can get somewhere safe. But then he runs into another fugitive and suddenly things become a lot more complicated.

the sun coming through - by astrogyaru - College AU - Ch 11/? - 98804 words

You're not sure what to expect when you go to college out of state, in a place that you've never been to before and where you only know one person. Awkwardness, definitely, and a little bit of homesickness, too. Falling in love with your internet buddy's best friend that you kind of hate, not so much, but somehow it happens anyway.Or: Dave and Karkat fall in love, from both of their perspectives.

Time Travel and Troll Grubs - by Corvid_Knight - Earth-C - Ch 16/? - 24723 words

AU in which Dave has An Idea and follows through with it, leading to him and Karkat raising a shitton of grubs.

“Truth or Truth?” - by assumare - Meteorstuck - Ch 1/1 - 4799 words

Dave and Karkat kill time on the meteor together and play a human party game to learn about each other's lives before the game and prepare for what may come after.The meteor was not a place you could spend time alone. At least, not out in the open.

Waffle House - by notwest - humanstuck - Ch 4/? - 15487 words

Dave Strider is almost 18 years old. His hobbies include avoiding Bro and eating at Waffle House.In the worst moments of his life, Dave finds comfort in a run down restaurant, the family he never knew he had, and in one particularly cranky waiter.

What To Do When Your Boyfriend Is Too Hot - by ayyyy(RosaAquafire) - Earth C - Ch 1/1 - 6846 words

Moving to a new universe and a new paradigm brings a lot of changes. And Dave kind of likes the way things were before, back on the Meteor, when he had Karkat all to himself and didn't spend sleepless nights waiting for the shoe to fall.

Within, Without - by reinkist - Meteorstuck - Ch 37/37 - 78311 words

Dave just wants to be left alone. What's the point of anything when what's broken can never be completely fixed?This is the story of Dave Strider and Karkat Vantas, on the longest journey of their lives.

Your Interpersonal, Intergalactic Relationship: A Beginner’s Guide - by sicklekind - meteorstuck - Ch 1/1 - 8342 words

A beginner's guide to playing hopscotch, overcoming internalized homophobia, and falling in love with your alien best friend.Disclaimer: results may take up to three (3) years to appear.