The Fabric of the Cosmos

Fandom: Stargate Atlantis
Pairings/Characters: Rodney McKay/John Sheppard
Rating: Explicit
Length: 22,349 words
Creator Links: lamardeuse on AO3
Theme: Food & Cooking

Summary: Author's Summary: In which Rodney is a famous TV chef and John is a lobster fisherman. I am not even kidding.

Reccer's Notes: This is a complete SGA AU featuring Rodney, John, Ronon, and Teyla as the only SGA characters, surrounded by a community of OCs, most of whom are women. The writer notes, "[This is] Pure AU crack. You have been warned. Based on my forty-second reading of the back cover of a random Harlequin and my internalization of romantic comedy conventions through innumerable films and books for the past thirty-odd years."

And the story is exactly as advertised: a light-hearted, rom-comical, persnickety fish-out-of-water meets laid-back fisherman romance.

Fanwork Links: story on AO3

Fandom: Hockey RPF
Pairings/Characters: Sidney Crosby/Evgeni Malkin
Rating: Explicit
Length: 10,281 words / 1hr podfic
Creator Links: thehoyden on AO3, exmanhater on AO3
Theme: Food & Cooking

Summary: Unlike Nealsy, Evgeni can cook his own food when he has it. He’s perfectly capable of making breakfast. His kitchen is well-equipped, and he’s got some good basic cooking skills down. In short, he is not going to starve to death if left to his own devices.

None of this seems to matter to Sid.

Reccer's Notes: This is a story about seduction by breakfast. As the title says, there is a clear game plan at work here -- possibly more than one. Much of the charm of the story is in how oblivious the determined seducer is to the effect he is having and how bewildered his target is that it's not clear how willing he is to be seduced.

Bonus: the descriptions of the ever-more-elaborate breakfasts are fantastic.

There's an accompanying podfic by exmanhater that is a delicious listen as well.

Fanwork Links: story on AO3, podfic on AO3

Fandom: One Direction
Pairings/Characters: Harry Styles/Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan/Zayne Malik
Rating: Explicit
Length: 81,459 words / 9.5hr podfic
Creator Links: hattalove on AO3, frecklebomb on AO3
Theme: Food & Cooking

Summary: Louis couldn’t be prouder of his bake, but there’s something—there’s something. Something about Harry Styles and the earnest way he measures, pours, mixes, scrapes. Something about the tip of his tongue poking out of his mouth as he knocks the air out of his batter.

Or, a Great British Bake Off AU in which Louis cares about winning and winning only, Harry is made of sunshine and rainbow sprinkles, and Niall sticks his nose into other people's business. Also featuring Liam as Louis's best friend-slash-concerned mother, and Zayn as a macaron connoisseur.


Reccer's Notes: I love GBBO AUs to pieces and this is one of the very best I've found. This story features characters in their early 20s who love baking for a variety of reasons. They are mostly charming but can be very stressed and vulnerable. They find joy in being good at what they can do with batter and dough, but can also be tough on themselves as well as others. IOW you've seen these characters on the show itself at times. : )

There's an enemies-to-lovers progression happening for one half of the main pairing that is exasperating and very human until it reaches the point where it's also very hot and very fun. The writer deserves a cake stand and a big bouquet for managing to weave all these elements together into a very satisfying story.

There's a marvelous podfic version of the story by frecklebomb as well. It's one of my favorite listens.

Fanwork Links: Leave It To the Breeze by hattalove, podfic by frecklebomb