there's a huge difference between "I need to dominate something so I will dominate bread" and "I need to submit to something so I will submit to bread" especially given the symbolic weight of bread in Valjean's life and Javert's relationship with him, and I don't really see either of them as the kind to need to assert dominance that desperately, either.

I AM DYING. THIS PARAGRAPH. IT'S LIKE SOLID BREAD GOLD.

I love this fandom and you are awesome.

Yeah, I kind of figure that all Valjean/bread stories are going to be crack AUs, though. (And I think fandom in general is waaaaay more fixated on bread than Valjean ever was in canon, unless the canon is Shoujo Cosette [official Tumblr tag: "everything is bread"].)