Academic Punk

Fraser/Kowalski Fanfiction
Title:	Academic Punk
Author(s):	The Hoyden
Date(s):	2004?
Length:	57 KB (file size), 19K words
Genre:	slash
Fandom:	due South
External Links:	at AO3 at theburrow (archived)
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Academic Punk is a Fraser/Ray K story by The Hoyden.

It was podficced by Luzula in 2008.

Summary

"After suffering a crushing professional and personal disappointment, Professor Fraser is hired by the University of Chicago."

Reactions and Reviews

The author has a very good grasp of Fraser and Ray's characters, and the transference of their personalities into the world of academia is superbly done. The explanation of why their paths diverged from the canon ones we know is very plausible, and despite how ingrained being a Mountie is for the Benton Fraser we know, the reader doesn't feel as if there's something lacking. Ray - SR Kowalski - effortlessly overcomes Fraser's emotional barriers, and Fraser becomes the famous modern American novelist's first real friend. All in all, The Hoyden's version of their duet is compelling and a pleasure to read.

Possibly my favorite in the whole fandom.

Having taken some English lit classes myself during my stint at university, I love reading about professors and students and TAs. I reminds of the good old days. ;) I especially love the portrayal of Ray and Fraser in this take on an alternative academic setting. The characters are spot on and so endearingly real that it makes you fall in love with them reading this story. The Hoyden always writes great stories but this one is particularly dear to me. An amazing story from a great writer.

If people like SR Kowalski actually existed in real life, I might have stayed in academia. At the very least it makes me VERY nostalgic for my days as an English student ;)

It really works for me as an AU, it's very in-character despite being such a far walk from canon. So many lovely touches. I'd quote my favourites but that would probably not fit within the character limit.

It's also possible that the sex scene is one of my favourites ever.

In short: I really, really love this. I'm glad you wrote it and I'm glad I found it.

Thanks so much for sharing this story.

I was intrigued by the premise. AU's can be a delight or rather hellish so it was with some trepidation that I tackled this despite the lovely idea of it's setting. I can only say that I was nothing short of gleeful after reading this. You handled these characters so gently and with such surety that I was at ease through every phase of the work.

I adored all of your own characters, they were vivid even when they were only walk-ons. As to Ray and Benton, it was lovely to see them so very much in character and so subtly masculine all the while being devoutly passionate and emotional. Not an overload of angst, not without some smut, and a smartly enacted plot, even a warm fuzzy ending, there really are no places in this story for point deductions. This judge really does give it a perfect Ten.

I came here by a twisted set of circuitous recs and other authors but I'm stopping my shopping spree in order to check out your list of works. If they're anything like this I'll be stopping by frequently to see what your latest and greatest is. Many wishes for happy writing, may you always find ease in being prolific.

No matter what other fandoms I stray to, whenever I want some good, solid dS, this is one of the stories I come back to. That said, somewhere in the transition to AO3 some of the formatting on this got lost, making it a bit hard to read. There's a lot of missing dashes and periods, as well as a few missing spaces. Perhaps a re-upload is in order?

So, I've only been reading due South fics for a few weeks now, (though I have been devouring them like mad) and I think this might be my favorite one yet. I loved the slow build up in this: the tiny smiles and small gestures, the cozy dinners and the spot on Fraser's desk just for Ray and the shouting at each other through their open office doors--it all felt real to me. This whole story was a delightful and completely satisfying read.

This is a strange, strange place for these characters to go - and yet they fit beautifully. Of course Ray would be an academic punk, and of course Thatcher would be a department head, and of course Victoria would have screwed Fraser over that way. This is great!

Pure genius, and wonderfully in character, despite the transposed universe. Nice slow relationship build, and all sorts of nerd-a-licious literature references.

There are several fine extremely AU stories out there, but this recent one is my current favorite. I mean, academic banter! Literature! English department politics! If you've resisted this story because of the length or alternate reality recasting of RayK and Fraser as English professors, you've been missing a heck of a good story. Also, I selected this story because I think it would appeal to people in other fandoms: don't let not knowing the show dissuade you from reading this fic. As to divergence from canon--well, there are significant differences in their personal histories, but there are enough similarities and personality traits in common with canon Fraser and Kowalski to feel like this is just them in another life.

This is one of the best AUs in the due South fandom, in my personal opinion. Boy, did I resist taking Ray and Fraser out of their canon universe for a long, long time. Academic Punk was one of the stories that turned me into a lover of good, true to character AUs. In this one, Ray is a very well-known professor at a Chicago university, and Fraser is a visiting professor from the University of Guelph, whose evil ex (Victoria) screwed his academic career and sent him running. Ray and Fraser are still very much themselves, and I loved watching their relationship develop. And I can’t help but confess a soft spot for a brilliant Ray.