#rec:september2024

[beatlesficrecs]

Fic: On our way back home

by kathleenishereagain (no tumblr that i know of

Summary:

Here's the short version from ao3: Summer 2019, 77-year-old Paul wakes up feeling surprisingly good. One tiny problem: he is back in December 1965.

Why I like this fic:

This fic is SUPER popular, I wanted to be the first one to recommend it on here because it is genuinely my favorite beatles fic Ever. Paul somehow time travels back to 1965 and gets to be a beatle all over again. Most importantly, he gets to see John again, and say the things he never got to say :) It ripped my heart out the first time I read it and sewed it all back together again. I laughed, I cried, I aww'd, I got angry, everything! It is a Very long read (over 360k.. in like sixty some chapters) but ALL of it is worth it. The world building, characterization, the smut, all of it is a 10/10 across the board. Every beatles fan that hasn't tackled this monster yet deserves to read it!

@purechocolade

[beatlesficrecs]

“Under The White Magnolia Blooms” by @buttahpie is heart wrenching. literally a classic already.

i think a lot of people take a stab at time travel fics in the mclennon genre but no one has done it like this. it’s so well thought out and has really well developed rules for time travel (i think it’s based off of groundhog day, which i’ve never actually seen but i need to watch now that i’ve read this fic!).

plus it’s hot. like some of my favorite mclennon smut i’ve ever read.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/57850384

Link to fic

[beatlesficrecs]

(You’ve got to pick up) every stitch

https://archiveofourown.org/works/21288626

By @unchaineddaisychain / Unchained_Daisychain on AO3

Summary: John hates Halloween, but he loves making his ex jealous. And if he uses a total stranger to do it, well…what’s the harm in that?

I love this fic because it’s so perfectly seasonal. I personally have been drunk in a bathtub at a college party, and there’s something so cozy and familiar about Halloween college parties. This fic has that, as well as scorching hot tension between John and Paul. Oh, it’s also amazingly well written. I think any John/paul fan would love this!

Link to fic

[beatlesficrecs]

The Jumper by @merseydreams

Summary: During the Beatle years, John left a jumper at Paul's house, and Paul kept it and started to wear it. Now, in 1979, John sees a picture in a magazine of Denny Laine wearing the jumper. HIS jumper. John decides to go meet up with Wings to get it back.

Why I love it: All of merseydreams fics are comfort re-reads for me, but this is probably the one I go back to the most. John and Paul are both somehow acting totally crazy and perfectly in character. Some of it is so funny and clever and the misunderstandings between them are very frustrating and then it becomes very sweet and romantic.

highlights for me: Ringo being hilarious and supportive; John watching Paul perform with Wings; an extremely entertaining scene with Denny Laine; a cathartic conversation at the end (MD trademark)

:)

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[beatlesficrecs]

the end by monkberrymoon

the end by monkberrymoon

LINK: https://archiveofourown.org/works/58484038

SUMMARY: A screenplay-style fic set in New York, Autumn 1980. John hears from a friend that Paul is in town, and goes to visit him at his hotel. A long-overdue conversation is had.

PAUL John… Do you think it could have played out differently then?

JOHN Nothing ever can, right? Besides, I wasn’t looking at the bigger picture - so self-centred - but we were in the fucking Beatles.

PAUL Right, I mean, that’s what we- that’s what we said… At that time… the whole word was watching.

JOHN Yeah, it was - I just couldn’t think past- but you were right. It wasn’t the time.

PAUL Mmm. And now?

NOTES: a kind of “what if they communicated” AU, which has a super realistic view of what might have actually happened if John and Paul had had a chance to talk about what went on between them. reads almost like a scripted sequel to the film, “two of us”. it’s also written in such a unique way - has that really compelling freshness that comes from being outside the norm of usual fanfiction tropes and styles.

also has a really good grasp of character voice, both the emotive seriousness, and the playful in-jokes are incredibly well-pitched. and considering what we know of how little John and Paul talked about their issues, this is a really fascinating case of “he would not fucking say that” reworked into “well, what would it sound like if he did”?

[beatlesficrecs]

Title: You Didn't Run

Author: @adriennefrombrooklyn (carolynhidthecake on AO3)

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/59193949

Summary: "The U.S. '66 tour looms ahead, and John is shaken by an aggressive reporter at the airport. If it's a portent of what the tour has in store for them, then Paul won't let him face it alone."

Why i like it:

The prose. "As far as he was concerned, a crowd was a mob, and a mob by any other name was still out for blood." And "for a stretch of time everyone had refused to go gentle into that shit night."

Their connection. "Paul was right beside him, pushing between him and the microphone and all the hostile bodies. And as quickly as it had come, the panic was gone . . . . And there would always be another bastard with a microphone. A constant. But there was also Paul, settling into his seat and giving John a half-smile. It’s okay. It’s going to be okay."

The dialogue. "John, only if you want to…” Paul’s words melted into another sigh, rougher, shakier this time, like he was fighting it. [] "I always want to,” John said, as sure of his words as he’d ever been. Maybe I shouldn’t talk unless it’s to Paul. That might do the trick.

The smut. "Paul, John’s prick fully in his mouth and going deeper, eyes closed and watering at the corners, hand on his own cock and pumping so slowly it seemed to pain him. The thought that Paul could reach this level of desperation so soon after getting off just from having John in his mouth"

Link to fic

[beatlesficrecs]

Fic: What Happens in Cheshire

by cloudy_blue

Link to fic

Summary:

Sometimes, when they get like this – John, mostly, but Paul too if he drinks enough – filthy and suggestive, innuendos so pointed it feels almost like flirting – well, Ringo does wonder.

Forty-five minutes in New Brighton, October 1962. Or, five conversations in a night.

Why I like this fic:

A very sweet and funny glimpse into a night out with the Beatles while Brian and George try to deal with all that John and Paul business, Ringo tries to get used to being in the band, and Paul obsesses about whether Little Richard will show up

I love the way the 5 POVs show different glimpses into the evening - especially George’s. We need more George POVs.

“Well, George knows and he doesn’t mind –”

“I do mind,” George says, but they ignore him.

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[beatlesficrecs]

I Need You Darlin' (So Come Go With Me)

By @beatlessideblog

Link

Summary

John Lennon is no-one's idea of a proper omega. Paul McCartney is a complication. Set 1956-1958.

Why I like this fic

This is as close to married mclennon (without homophobia thank God ) as we can get in this fandom and let me tell you there aren't many officially "married" mclennon fics out there . The way this universe's John and Paul show affection through subtle actions is so great . The way paul always looks out for John ,always being one step ahead in knowing what John needs before he even realises he needs it is ARGH PEAK married mclennon behaviour I say. Both of them being each other's comfort bear is an added bonus too . Honestly the entire series (with all of it's 10 parts ) is a treasure trove of great mclennon fics , I highly recommend it !

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