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AUs:

Through A Glass, Darkly by fizzingwhizbee (rated T)

it's an Over The Garden Wall AU!!!!!! and it's soooo good

RE: RE: RE: Your Secret Mysterious Poet Identity by gallantrejoinder (rated G)

Sam is a gardener by day and an anonymous poet by night. Frodo is a college student who's writing his master thesis about said anonymous poet.

incredibly fun and well written, i love this one so much!

A Second Cup Of Coffee by mangostrawberry (rated T)

coffee shop AU and just about as cozy as it gets :)

(the first of many mangostrawberry's recs because they're genuinely my favorite fanfic author of all time)

Down On The Slopes by fizzingwhizbee (rated T)

Frodo goes to the mountains to find some peace and quiet so he can finish his book (- cit) - ends up meeting a handsome ski instructor and his friends instead :)

PRE-QUEST:

Divarications by Lobelia Sackville-Baggins (rated M)

heartbreaking and incredibly well written, i think about this fic a lot

Oddity & Honesty by mangostrawberry (rated G)

Young Sam and Frodo pine for each other, Bilbo teases them.

feels like if jane austen wrote YA novels, very sweet :)

MID-QUEST:

Ten Thousand Starlight Nights by lunar_laurel (rated T)

Frodo gets stuck in a time loop at the Crossroads

Heavy by Jamfro9 (rated T)

Frodo manages to take a break from carrying the Ring - the Ring tries to tempt Sam (again)

POST-QUEST (Frodo leaves):

starting off strong with the samfro fanfics of all time, i think:

All That I Had by Elenya54 (rated E)

i've read this twice and i am still in awe at the amount of effort that must have gone in writing something like this, truly amazing work but also oh my god so so so painful </3

both the prequel and sequel to this are also incredibly good and i usually read them along with the main fic :)

In All The Ways There Were by mollyknox (rated T)

i mean, of course this one had to be in the list - one of the best introductory fics in my opinion, especially for those who have only seen the movies

technically both mid-quest and post-quest

also, directly related to this fic are two one-shots:

Habits & What If We Tried To Have Everything (i have a soft spot for Frodo with little Elanor, so i really love this one)

and a prequel :)

Call Off Thoughts Awhile Elsewhere by Anonymous (rated G)

Sam and Frodo find that readjusting to life in the Shire is harder than they thought, so someone decides to help them.

i am so in love with this one, truly one of my favorites ever.

Chae ar' I'ear (Earth And Sea) by Rakshi (rated G)

Sam is preparing to leave the Shire, but there is someone who doesn't want him to go.

this fic changed me, i think. i love everything about it: the idea, the writing, the creativity - it's so moving and romantic and sweet and and sad and hopeful and-

Where Late The Sweet Birds Sang by Teasel (rated E)

beyond heartbreaking, only 2k words but it felt like a punch in the stomach

Endurance Beyond Hope by Frayach (rated M)

Sam visits Merry at Brandy Hall fourteen years after Frodo's departure.

i think about this fic all. the. time. so it's kind of canon to me at this point

POST-QUEST (Frodo stays):

(this section is mostly mangostrawberry's post-quest fics because i love them too much!!!)

Haypennies by mangostrawberry (rated T)

Frodo has to decide who will inherit his fortune.

so. sweet!!!

Ghosts That We Knew by objectlesson (rated M)

one of the first fics i've ever read and one of my favorites since then, also the author said in the intro notes that "growing things and cooking things and farm life and gay love are the only true healing forces in the world" and i think that sums up samfro perfectly :)

Apply Compression Gently by mangostrawberry (rated T)

Frodo struggles while recovering in Minas Tirith. His friends help him come to terms with things.

i cried a couple of times while reading this one, it's so special to me <3 the frodo fanfic of all time!!

Love Again Soon by mangostrawberry (rated T)

again, one of the first samfro fics i've ever read and i think this one really set the tone for all other fanfics for me, especially for the post-quest ones. no notes, just perfect and incredibly sweet

Twilight by swagonit4today (rated M)

to be fair, it's not specified here if frodo ends up staying, and given the tone of the fic i wouldn't be surprised if he didn't. probably the angstiest (?) fic in this list, very bittersweet

Impressions Of A Morning Glory by mangostrawberry (rated T)

saving the best for last. my favorite of all time, period.

it has everything: it's the perfect length, the writing (as always) is flawless, the characterization is exactly right, it's sweet and it's painful and it's comforting, it has magic and family and love.