Crime Fiction

Crime fiction is about breaking the law: who broke it, how they broke it, how they got caught (assuming they do get caught), and what happened to the victims of their misdeeds. This literary genre is more common in Daria fanfiction than one would think. Murder and kidnapping are often seen, and quite often the perpetrators are Daria characters (see Evil Daria). These stories very rarely cross into the adventure category, and crime stories with strong horror, fantasy, or science-fiction overtones are discussed elsewhere. Stories about Daria supervillains are described in the section about superheroes.

Crime in Daria Canon
"Arts 'N Crass" is a crime story, as Daria and Jane commit an act of vandalism. Their motives are thoroughly examined and there's no question they are guilty, but they escape punishment only by deus ex machina (Helen's involvement). Quinn's stalker in "Fire!" however is only a minor sidelight to the main story. All the events in "Murder, She Snored" take place in a dream world and so cannot be considered here. Minor brushes with the law, such the arrest of Mystik Spiral in "Speedtrapped," do not fall under this category, though Daria's subsequent attempt to run over Travis the singing cowboy is startling.

Crime in Daria Fanworks
As noted earlier, crime fiction in this fandom can have any sort of perpetrator, even normally "good" characters like Daria. A vital issue here is the question of whether any characters who appeared on Daria could be considered criminals, if not thoroughly evil. Bobby Stuart is a good example of a criminal. One PPMB thread explored this topic and produced a long list of potential suspects for fanfiction ("Irredeemable Daria Characters"). See also Evil Daria and Thom.

Examples
 * Breaking Point by NomadX
 * Kidnapped by Lawndale Stalker
 * The Quiet Ones by Smileyfax
 * Seeking Trent by Thea Zara
 * Sins of the Past by Martin J. Pollard
 * Till Death Do Us Part by The Angst Guy
 * Who Shot Principal Li? by Danny Bronstein