my top ten mclennon fics of all time as someone who’s bookmarked over 100 in a year❤️ (in no particular order):
my very long list of HMs: i dream to riot (oh you should try it) by takomtrmou (only reason it’s not on the list is bc it’s not finished yet), the future tense of joy by mynamesbetty (mpreg paul my beloved 🤤), the edge of the universe by thehuxler (genuinely harrowing to read), under the white magnolia blooms by buttahpie, arrow through me by inspiteallthedanger, going nowhere by inspiteallthedanger (old man yaoi epilogue ❤️), nobody can deny that there’s something there by moonjocky (i like modern aus) and the birthday party by merseydreams (a classic)
1. on our way back home by kathleenishereagain (363k, 56/56 chapters): this is the first beatles fic i ever read, which was good and bad bc it’s absolutely incredible and got me into the fandom but is also so good that i have yet to find anything like it 💔 this is THE mclennon fic imo, and it’s clear that most agree as it is the most kudos-ed and bookmarked mclennon fic on ao3. if you somehow haven’t read it, read it. it’s a paul time travel au and it’s magical 🙏
2. starving (‘til i tasted you) by oopshidaisy (54k, 5/5 chapters) : newest addition to the list and it is phenomenal. mclennon competitive chastity vow goes very wrong and paul realizes he likes men too. read it, it just finished (and so will you while reading 👅)
3. love is a finder, always by takomtrmou (31k, 1/1 chapters): this fic left my jaw on the floor cus of how class it is. i was doubting my enjoyment cus the concept didn’t have me hooked and i hate oneshots but this is actually peak. hamburg era, where everyone in the universe has little daemon guardian angel things and johnpaul realize certain things about themselves. it’s incredible
4. ways to love you by tikk (23k, 4/4): perfection in 4 chapters. i remember being so mad that i had to stop reading halfway due to biology class. paul essentially marries john to stop the beatles breakup and its CLASS!!
5. brother dearest by javelinbk (76k, 17/17): oh javelinbk…how i love your fics (no glaze). please don’t be scared off by the slightly risqué concept cus you’d be missing out on peak! 🥰
6. whatever fate decrees by thisbirdhasflown (62k, 4/4): i actually cried while reading this. it’s so elegantly written i just love it. john pursues art, paul pursues music, and they try to pursue each other. it’s great!
7. your lucky break by milaway (17k, 3/3): im truly just a gooner at heart and younger bottom fanny paul is my weak point. go get that old man king!
8. heart of glass by javelinbk (108k, 20/20): holy peakkk this is javelinbk’s best fic. i remember avidly checking my emails every single day in hopes of a new chapter when it was still updating. 80s non famous au where johnpaul are neighbors and having a torrid affair. and since its an 80s au i get to imagine them in two of their finest eras 🙏🙏🙏 i love this
9. take a sad song, and make it better by javelinbk (69k, 21/21): i’m lowk a glazer of their work….but this fic warmed my heart. i haven’t actually read the fic this was supposed to be an alternative ending for, mostly bc it’s an angst no happy ending fic and i actually can’t do that, but this just puts a smile on my face. paul moves john, his ex, into his house in 1980 and they get a second chance. im just a massive fan of this genre of mclennon fic
10. i can only speak my mind by paisana (48k, 9/9): one of the first mclennon fics i ever read and it still hits ever mfing time 🙏🙏🙏 someone steals some of john’s old diaries and sells them to the papers. diaries of course containing hundreds of words of him pining over paul. it’s fantastic of course, not much else to say.
i’ve read so many fics that making this list was genuinely hard 💔
snowghoul
theartofmadeline
