What Defines An Edgy Character For You?

[Husk]

You know, I tend to wonder what constitutes an uber edge lord character for other people. When do things become TOO edgy?
I'd like to see what you guys define as edge lord characters. Throw everything at me. 
And for some side info, how does one AVOID creating an overly edgy character? 

For me, I suppose it would be a traumatic past with little to no point in the character's development. (and I say that as someone who adores tragic characters.)
What will often define an edge lord character for me is an OC that has some form of mental illness, but the author has NO knowledge into whatever psychiatric illness it may be so it looks like something pinned on just to be dark. A lot of characters with sociopathy (Antisocial Personality Disorder to be technical) seem to suffer from edge lord syndrome even though you can have an OC with this and not be too edgy whatsoever. I mean, look at Patrick Bateman from American Psycho. Same goes with characters with depression.

I have a small paranoia of creating ultimate edge lords on accident. I think quite a few of us get that fear. So, what defines an edge lord character to you? When does a character become over the top with the edge?

 

[wonderandawe]

To me, an edgy character walks the razor thin line of good and evil.  They are basically an anti-hero.  They have done horrible things in the past, yet deep down are still try to do what they believe is right.  Another character brings up a question of whether the edgy character could be redeemed.  Often the edgy character rejects the need for the validation of other and prefers to walk their own path.  Or making up for past sins defines the edgy character.  


Thus, it is less about smoking cigarettes or wearing dark clothes (though visual mediums use these as indicators of an edgy character) but a question of mortality.

 

[Husk]

To me, an edgy character walks the razor thin line of good and evil.  They are basically an anti-hero.  They have done horrible things in the past, yet deep down are still try to do what they believe is right.  Another character brings up a question of whether the edgy character could be redeemed.  Often the edgy character rejects the need for the validation of other and prefers to walk their own path.  Or making up for past sins defines the edgy character.  


Thus, it is less about smoking cigarettes or wearing dark clothes (though visual mediums use these as indicators of an edgy character) but a question of mortality.






 







 

True, true. Often a character that will never be redeemed. Another thing I have to wonder, is edgy always bad? It seems edgy has a very bad connotation. It's an interesting thing that has popped up. The kill for no reason character drives me a little up the wall. It's not usual for someone to kill for no reason. I associate that a lot with "edgy". You can do so much to give your character a reason why they KILL if you are going that route. 

 

[wonderandawe]

 Another thing I have to wonder, is edgy always bad? It seems edgy has a very bad connotation. It's an interesting thing that has popped up. The kill for no reason character drives me a little up the wall. It's not usual for someone to kill for no reason. I associate that a lot with "edgy". You can do so much to give your character a reason why they KILL if you are going that route. 

I think edgy gets a bad name because some people believe if your character smokes, has dark hair, wears a long trench coat, and trades quips with the other characters, BAM!  you got yourself a cool edgy character.


Edgy is so much more than that.  


All characters, edgy or not, should have a reason for their actions besides "the writer thinks this scene is cool."  

 

[Umbrie]

the Bad Edgelords had a Tragic Past, have absolutely no discernable personality or no character development, generally act like dicks to everyone they see, and generally try (albeit a poor attempt) to be Antiheroes when they just end up being Villains in an Antihero's clothing. they are often given powers like Demonic Magic, Shadow Manipulation, or Hemothuergy, or professions like Assassin, Bounty Hunter or Vigilante and generally lack an ability to feel or understand emotion. they generally have theme songs stolen from Linkin Park or Seether or some other popular edgelord band and in most cases have an addiction that never cripples or controls them.

 

[Tedronai]

I've never really understood this term. Is it something people do intentionally, is calling someone edgy a compliment or insult? Can someone give me an example of an edgy character from film or TV? From the descriptions above, someone like house or Sherlock would be edgy. Is that right?

 

[wonderandawe]

House and Sherlock would be edgy characters.  They are sarcastic yet brilliant assholes.


Which come to think of it, only male characters can get away with asshole personality traits.  You rarely seen a sympathetic portrayal of an asshole female character.  Unless they are well fleshed out villains, but rarely heroes.


I just thought of a Female Edgy character, Jessica Jones.  I think there may be others in Comic Books too.   

 

[call me rae]

@wonderandawe


I think your defining it more literally than most to be fair. You are talking about a character that is edgy in the sense that they are rough around the edges. They exist on the the outskirts of society.


Most people mean edgy in the sense that it is that bastard child of a Mary Sue and an OP auto-hit player insert.


So in your case your looking specifically at the character. Whereas most people are looking at the character-as-a-side-effect of someone who is immature and doesn't understand the meaning of collaboration.


Because at it's core an edgy character is simply one that doesn't fit. Done right those flaws can enhance the character and the story. Done wrong they are a flashing neon sign put up by the player saying - Notice Me! I'm Awesome!


Me I tend to define edgy specifically as just a character that doesn't make sense. A character where you can look at the CS and just see a jumble of tropes the player thinks are cool and a transparent desire that reads as  " I'm So Cool! Notice Me! ".

 

[Coward]

@call me rae hits it I think ^^ Definitely most people hear 'edgy' as a negative rather than describing characters that are interesting or morally grey. But maybe for the sake of argument we can try to get more specific?


To me an edgy RP character:

• Is designed to beat the setting rather than just play in it. Stronger, faster, prettier than everyone, and 'charming' in the mind of their creator.
  
• Is designed to attract attention through torment - 'I'm an orphan who spent my entire childhood being tortured'
  
• Has all the positive consequences of hardship (toughness, knowledge, etc.) without any of the drawbacks. Their characters don't have anxiety or PTSD or physical disabilities. If they have a scar it will be a cool-looking one (I'm totally guilty of this...). Occasionally the creator will make an effort to list drawbacks in the character sheet, but these will be completely ignored IC when they're inconvenient.
  
• Makes immoral or socially unacceptable decisions (sudden violence, unjustified snark and rudeness), apparently without expecting any consequences. The player will often complain OOC when there are consequences.
  

Optionally:

• Has a mental disorder, usually DID or Schizophrenia, but only in a way that's 'cool' or 'dramatic'. This disorder mysteriously goes away when it might reduce the character's badassery.
  
• Hits one of the Kliche Kontrast Kombos. eg. sweet little girl MURDERER, shy boy POSSESSED BY DEMON.
  

The weirdest part about edgy characters is they share a lot with sociopaths and are objectively assholes. Yet, their creators love them. They expect the group to perceive them as cool and sympathetic badasses.

 

[call me rae]

The weirdest part about edgy characters is they share a lot with sociopaths and are objectively assholes. Yet, their creators love them. They expect the group to perceive them as cool and sympathetic badasses.

Exactly I call it the Thirteen Year Old Boy mentality ( although it is also found in Girls it's just more Pretty Protagonist Syndrome, so less unrealistic fighting and more unrealistic interpersonal relationships - slash - appearance )


Basically as I said it's just vomiting up all the tropes you see in any classic action flick or all the shounen manga/animes. But what people who do this seem to fail to understand is the medium they're working with. Righting a super cool mega awesome badass character is fine - if it's a solo project. If your character is the sole source of plot momentum or the only way for the audience to move around the world than it's fine for them to be over-the-top.


But when they have to actually interact with other people who have their own agendas and are equally as important to the story they start falling apart. Because at their core - these are not characters that are meant to be interactive. They are meant to be used only as wish-fullfilment and as a way to put yourself into the story.

 

[Count Gensokyo]

You don't have to define what an edgelord is—your mind just gives you signals automatically about a character being edgy.

 

[Umbrie]

every roleplayer has had an Edgelord Phase and the majority of them need some time to Grow out of it. some need more than others. but eventually, everyone will outgrow the Edgelord Phase if you guide them on the right path and teach them to construct a character.

 

[mon dieu.]

just some things i've noticed, personally, about edgy characters -

• dead parents making up the entirety of why the character is so edgy.
  
• edgy character displays signs of an emotional/physical disability that's played completely wrong, to the point of demonising actual people that have said disability and making them seem like they deserve the strait-jacket treatment.
  
• edgy characters are almost always taller than everyone else in the roleplay for some reason, tends to be the skinniest too.
  
• if romance is involved in the roleplay, the edgy character will usually latch onto the maryiest of sues, displaying signs of unnatural agression to anyone else that interacts with their "crush" and begins to display signs of a terribly romanticized obsession, whether the other party likes it or not.
  
• edgy characters rarely make a move to start an interaction w/ other characters and the player gets mad when nobody goes out of their way to approach their walking tragedy of a character.
  

 

[Umbrie]

just some things i've noticed, personally, about edgy characters -

• dead parents making up the entirety of why the character is so edgy.
  
• edgy character displays signs of an emotional/physical disability that's played completely wrong, to the point of demonising actual people that have said disability and making them seem like they deserve the strait-jacket treatment.
  
• edgy characters are almost always taller than everyone else in the roleplay for some reason, tends to be the skinniest too.
  
• if romance is involved in the roleplay, the edgy character will usually latch onto the maryiest of sues, displaying signs of unnatural agression to anyone else that interacts with their "crush" and begins to display signs of a terribly romanticized obsession, whether the other party likes it or not.
  
• edgy characters rarely make a move to start an interaction w/ other characters and the player gets mad when nobody goes out of their way to approach their walking tragedy of a character.
  

Edgy Characters are a Disgrace to Schizophrenic, Bipolar or Autistic people and give them a bad reputation. this is especially annoying for people like myself whom have all 3 disorders and take prescription medications for the former 2 of the 3. not every Schizophrenic or Bipolar Person is an Edgelord Serial killer and not every Voice we hear is negative either.

 

[mon dieu.]

Edgy Characters are a Disgrace to Schizophrenic, Bipolar or Autistic people and give them a bad reputation. this is especially annoying for people like myself whom have all 3 disorders and take prescription medications for the former 3. not every Schizophrenic or Bipolar Person is an Edgelord Serial killer and not every Voice we hear is negative either.

i, too, have bipolar disorder. and bipolar disorder does not mean "a sweet, innocent angel" one moment and "literally willing to fucking murder a guy" the next. more like subtle waves of depression followed by high points. not really "angry to happy".

 

[mon dieu.]

pretty much exactly why the movie "split" disgusts me so much.

 

[Umbrie]

i, too, have bipolar disorder. and bipolar disorder does not mean "a sweet, innocent angel" one moment and "literally willing to fucking murder a guy" the next. more like subtle waves of depression followed by high points. not really "angry to happy".

you know Exactly how i feel, i tend to feel long not very subtle waves of Extreme Depression followed by Extreme high points that feel way too obvious. nice to find another who understands the disorder. and well, the depression does not even require an External Trigger. the Trigger could be purely internal for all the Trigger cares.

 

[Risk]

Characters with tragic backgrounds that have no use besides giving them an excuse to be a mopey, mysterious loner, or harbor some sort of mental illness that is bound to be portrayed incorrectly. There is zero character development from this state. They only open up to "the one", a.k.a. someone the character met on the second page and instantly fell in love with. Anyone who tries to help them can't, but they can faint while having a flashback of when their mother died 10 times a day while screaming bloody murder. 


I don't mind dark characters with tragic backgrounds as long as they are portrayed better than many of the one's I've seen. Edginess doesn't get super annoying to me until it prevents plot rises, or has about five character's all like the one listed above in one rp.


I think the "Hey look at me, look at me" edgy characters are the most annoying though. The writer does everything they can to bring attention to them, besides actually interacting with other characters and developing plot. Then wonders why no one wants to interact with them after they've basically just had a seizure trying to get attention. 

 

[Pontiferous]

I usually picture edgy characters as dark for the sake of cool on top of having little to no research or true effort put into them, as said a few times above.

 

[Melinoe Dark]

An Edgy character to me is a character who can never seem to be happy and not even for any good reason, they're always angry and look down on others for being happy and seeing them as stupid because "They don't know how dark the world really is" then they want to be with other characters with tragic back stories basically so they can both my miserable together.

 

[mon dieu.]

An Edgy character to me is a character who can never seem to be happy and not even for any good reason, they're always angry and look down on others for being happy and seeing them as stupid because "They don't know how dark the world really is" then they want to be with other characters with tragic back stories basically so they can both my miserable together.

edgy characters are even more one- 


dimensional than the most perfect, can-do-no-wrong mary sue.

 

[Melinoe Dark]

edgy characters are even more one- 


dimensional than the most perfect, can-do-no-wrong mary sue.

I know I really can't stand them most of the time, I especially can't stand the sad ones who purposely try to make their characters more tragic and depressing. I remember one guy I used to RP with who had a character who not only lost his parents but his brother killed his wife and when our characters got together he would start fights with my character and get super depressed for being a jerk and think about killing himself because apparently one fight is grounds for breaking up and he could not live with the thought of being without my character. Then he asked me to have my character cheat on him and I'm like dude...WTH?

 

[jinkx]

Whatever you do, just don't write a character like Ebony Dark'ness Dementia Raven Way.

 

[Melinoe Dark]

Whatever you do, just don't write a character like Ebony Dark'ness Dementia Raven Way.

Is that an actual character or an example of an Edgy name?

 

[jinkx]

Is that an actual character or an example of an Edgy name?

[gasp] You've never read... My Immortal?