Devil's Due
| Fanfiction | |
|---|---|
| Title: | Devil's Due |
| Author(s): | Laersyn |
| Date(s): | January 1997 |
| Length: | 5 chapters, approximately 4,000 words each |
| Genre: | Horror, Deathfic |
| Fandom: | X-Men |
| External Links: | Devil's Due on Wayback |
Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Devil's Due was an (in)famous X-Men fanfiction story by Laersyn in which the Marauders systematically kill off every member of the X-Men. The story ends with teenage Jubilee's rape and murder.
Laersyn said that he was "basically blackmailed" into writing the story by Kielle:
"I wrote it mostly on the fly. I really wasn't trying to make it dark and evil-because at that time I was writing things that were far, far worse. I was getting these e-mails from people going, "<falsetto voice> Ooh, this is so terrible." I was like, "Huh? Oh, really? <innocent voice> Really, the only point was to do the exact opposite of what Marvel says... that the heroes don't always win. If I'd written it as more of a realistic story, I'd have them have a Pyrric victory. I mean they would have gotten out, but I just wrote it to prove to people that these heroes are basically mortal." [1]
Kielle had her own perspective on the story:
Here's the scoop, folks: "Devil's Due" was actually born while I was deep in the throes of madness while plotting out "Vertigo: No Way Up." I was firing off random ideas at Laer (we carpool and co-write IRL) and we got on the subject of why bad guys are so lame in the MU. Why? Because of course the good guys always have to win in the end. (But we LIKE bad guys! Foul! Unfair!) That got the two of us off on the subject of a roleplaying game that Laer had once been in, under a very good (and very sadistic) GM who pitted them against the Marauders (my babies! ;) and actually showed the baddies at their best potential. Laer & I agreed that the Marauders had the potential to utterly wipe out the X-Men if they were allowed to act intelligently for once...and thus Laer's wheels began to turn...[2]
There was a sequel set after Marvel's Onslaught storyline. The other X-teams and the rest of the Marvel universe were similarly killed off by the Marauders. There were also three other "unofficial sequels", by Contrail, Ben Church and Leary. The full set can be found on Kielle's Marauders fan site Blood In The Gutter.
Laersyn talked about Devil's Due after the story was included in the CBFFA's Hall of Fame:
DD is a story I am glad to be associated with and yet have never felt entirely comfortable around. It was never written for public consumption. Had I known it would be viewed by so many for so long...well, I would have put more than a single weekend into it.It was written for friends, people whose buttons I know how to push. That a lot of scenes were written purely for shock value is obvious. People have said I went too far, and they were right...they just didn't know I had done so deliberately.
DD was what gave me identity in the community, and notoriety. It put me in a select group of horror writers, which was odd since I've never been a horror writer. He added that "I'm not really connected to the story, especially not after all this time, but I can sit back and admire it for what it is." [3]
Awards
- 1998 "Best Mature" and "Best X-Men".
- 2002 "Fanfic Hall of Fame".
References
- ^ Spotlight on. . . Kielle! (with special guest Laersyn) (Accessed April 1, 2010)
- ^ META: Re: How 'bout those fanfics. Wow! ACFF google group, May 1, 1998
- ^ catching up, posted 2002-03-22. (Accessed April 1, 2010)