Experiences Edginess will always be monumentally annoying in rps.

[SophiaWilliams677]

There's been a recent influx on trying to half-way defend "edginess" in writing, mostly because these are teens who are writing, but its honestly still weird and cringe-worthy.

No, your character isn't 'cool' if he/she punches and kills anyone who badmouthes him. No, I don't like how your character 'doesn't care about shit' it makes them look like an asshole.

And before ye accuse-eth me of casting the first stone sinless, I shall have thee know, I too indulged in this wretched art known as "edginess" and I too hate-eth my old self.

If you're gonna make a character that's extremely edgy, just write a sociopath. That's probably easier and will actually make you look like you know what you're doing.

 

[sycamore.trees]

Or sometimes you just have to embrace the edginess and let it consume you! What can make or break characters isn’t necessarily what they do, but how the world responds to them. Just look at Lego Batman. Hard not to love that dark goof!

 

[Steve Jobs]

Don't diss my girl Ebony Dark'ness Dementia Raven Way.

 

[sycamore.trees]

Don't diss my girl Ebony Dark'ness Dementia Raven Way.

Now craving Prep x Ebony RP. Thanks Obama

 

[Jannah]

It has its place, but it does get tiring when it's in literally every RP.

 

[nerdy tangents]

I would say it’s the aspirational element that throws me off. If I think you want to emulate your characters shitty behavior or you think the behavior should be praised?

Nope. I’m too old and too tired to handle those kinds of shenanigans.

If however you just want to go buck wild and make the most out of pocket person possible for the drama. Have fun, I don’t mind.

 

[Cogwork]

Personally I find edgy characters to be rather fun.

Can they be annoying? Sure, but show me the trope that can't.

If you're gonna make a character that's extremely edgy, just write a sociopath. That's probably easier and will actually make you look like you know what you're doing.

I don't see how writing a sociopath would be easier or better than just writing an extremely edgy character.

Sociopathy is a rather complex mental health condition so it'd at the very least take some effort to portray somewhat accurately.

And if you're not going to portray it accurately and instead take an already extremely edgy character and just slap the condition on them, in what way is the character improved by it? They'd still be equally "weird and cringe-worthy", right?

 

[SophiaWilliams677]

Personally I find edgy characters to be rather fun.

Can they be annoying? Sure, but show me the trope that can't.


I don't see how writing a sociopath would be easier or better than just writing an extremely edgy character.

Sociopathy is a rather complex mental health condition so it'd at the very least take some effort to portray somewhat accurately.

And if you're not going to portray it accurately and instead take an already extremely edgy character and just slap the condition on them, in what way is the character improved by it? They'd still be equally "weird and cringe-worthy", right?

Yeah admittedly I shouldn't have said that, but my original point imo still kinda stands.

 

[GrumpySwallow]

A RP where everyone makes an Edgelord Murderhobo PC sounds like it could be a good amount of stupid fun, thinking on it.

I've made a character I intentionally tried to pass off as an Edgelord at first glance: they're untalkative, have scary stoic features, and sit in the corner while refusing to join the group. Then later I reveal that they're actually shy and introverted, and they sit in the corner at the bar because they like people watching.

 

[April_Fools]

What you're describing just sounds more like some kind of power fantasy or wish fulfillment character than anything.

You can absolutely have a well written edgy character. But you can't just imitate Sephiroth and Dante and expect to pull it off unless you good environment and cast to support him. High powered characters are very tricky to write and exceedingly so in an environment you can't control like group RP. There are edgy characters that can definitely be more multi-faceted, have complex character motivations, and tread an off-beat path that can be fun to see explored in a fictional character. Anti-heroes are great!

Not being fond of edgy characters is perfectly valid regardless of how well-written though

As for me? I love me some pizza cutters. The edge is the point!

 

[Daisie]

I totally used to be this person too!
But I wouldn't go as far as to say I HATE who I was. I was literally a kid when I was writing that stuff, you can't exactly expect a kid who's probably dipping their toes into character writing and storytelling for the very first time to understand what makes an angsty character emotionally investing and nuanced. No one is good at it the first time - don't hate the novice for not being able to paint a Van Gogh! Even if that artist is yourself.

 

[Jannah]

What you're describing just sounds more like some kind of power fantasy or wish fulfillment character than anything.

You can absolutely have a well written edgy character. But you can't just imitate Sephiroth and Dante and expect to pull it off unless you good environment and cast to support him. High powered characters are very tricky to write and exceedingly so in an environment you can't control like group RP. There are edgy characters that can definitely be more multi-faceted, have complex character motivations, and tread an off-beat path that can be fun to see explored in a fictional character. Anti-heroes are great!

Not being fond of edgy characters is perfectly valid regardless of how well-written though

As for me? I love me some pizza cutters. The edge is the point!

Semi-related, but I was in a RP once where my partner made a really ridiculously over-powered NPC. I was like "Oh no, this is going to ruin the story", but in the end the character was actually an interesting addition and led to some important plot development. My partner was very careful about how the character was portrayed and it was clear once I found out the character's motives that my partner had carefully planned it out from the beginning. My own character was weak and had the odds stacked against her, which I had planned from the beginning as it was the sort of story I wanted to tell, but this one really powerful NPC allowed her to survive despite the odds. The character was meant to survive, but I admittedly didn't have an immediate way of making it happen. This powerful character died in the end because she wanted to. She got tired of being used as a pawn by the powers that be.

So yes, I think powerful and/or edgy characters can work if the players know what they're doing. There should also be a place for them to fit into the story as well, otherwise don't include them. Not every story needs to be edgy or even can be, depending on the themes and plot at play. It's very much a case by case basis. Different writers have different messages they want to convey through their writing, if anything at all (skipping all the commentary and writing for the sole purpose of having fun is perfectly acceptable too!).

 

[sycamore.trees]

A RP where everyone makes an Edgelord Murderhobo PC sounds like it could be a good amount of stupid fun, thinking on it.

I’d sign up for Angstmongers Anonymous in a heartbeat!

 

[April_Fools]

Semi-related, but I was in a RP once where my partner made a really ridiculously over-powered NPC. I was like "Oh no, this is going to ruin the story", but in the end the character was actually an interesting addition and led to some important plot development. My partner was very careful about how the character was portrayed and it was clear once I found out the character's motives that my partner had carefully planned it out from the beginning. My own character was weak and had the odds stacked against her, which I had planned from the beginning as it was the sort of story I wanted to tell, but this one really powerful NPC allowed her to survive despite the odds. The character was meant to survive, but I admittedly didn't have an immediate way of making it happen. This powerful character died in the end because she wanted to. She got tired of being used as a pawn by the powers that be.

So yes, I think powerful and/or edgy characters can work if the players know what they're doing. There should also be a place for them to fit into the story as well, otherwise don't include them. Not every story needs to be edgy or even can be, depending on the themes and plot at play. It's very much a case by case basis. Different writers have different messages they want to convey through their writing, if anything at all (skipping all the commentary and writing for the sole purpose of having fun is perfectly acceptable too!).

That's awesome you were able to trust your partner and the story they wanted to tell! I know that powerful and edgy characters can be kinda iffy for a lot of people because not a lot of them do them well. But that payoff when the person manages to get it off... Just *chefs kiss*

If I can share my own anecdote: I got pretty lucky with a partner a few years back with a god-like level character because I wanted to explore a story about the consequences of an immortal life for a mortal whose psyche wasn't built for it. He had his flaws and wasn't without weaknesses. There were also some actual heavy consequences involved. It was such a beautiful, magical, and dramatic story we got to tell that we were writing exclusively with each other for years. We had art commissioned, we did an IC exchange diary(Which I still have), and I drew so much art of the two together it's ridiculous. We still break them out time to time just to have some cute fluff.

Roleplay is a cooperative writing experience in the end. Both parties have to be hyped for the story being told. Edgy characters and power fantasies just another tool in the toolbox and not all tools are one size fits all. Or in many cases it's just about having fun and if having fun means playing that power fantasy, winning the girl or guy for your dreams, and becoming a God and your partner wants that same popcorn fiction then hell yeah!

 

[SophiaWilliams677]

Okay, I think I see what I've done wrong here because I think I assumed everyone rps like I do, with like deep intricate plots, complex characters and story lines, etc.

I apologise! Sorry, lmao. Obviously it's perfectly fine to have a normal popcorn rp that's just for funsies.

I still hate when violent edgy characters are glorified in a way. It just puts a sour taste in my mouth. I think it's because I'm a moralistic person at heart.

 

[nerdy tangents]

SophiaWilliams677 in fairness I think it’s two distinct situations.

1. Is when people overly identify with their characters bad behavior. So the player that makes a edgy character unintentionally.

2. Is when people make a character for in universe drama but do not endorse the characters behavior. So the player that makes a edgy character intentionally.

I think your more complaining about the first situation not the second. As that is the situation where the characters behavior is glorified versus treated as campy fun in a silly scenario.

 

[Steve Jobs]

Okay, I think I see what I've done wrong here because I think I assumed everyone rps like I do, with like deep intricate plots, complex characters and story lines, etc.

I apologise! Sorry, lmao. Obviously it's perfectly fine to have a normal popcorn rp that's just for funsies.

I still hate when violent edgy characters are glorified in a way. It just puts a sour taste in my mouth.

I don't think overly edgy characters and complex stories are mutually exclusive. As everyone has noted, things are about execution rather than a particular trope. There are as many well written edgelords as shitty ones. Unless you only define edgy characters as murderhobos who DGAF about anyone else.

It is a matter of how well written the character is and how they are treated within the world. The cringe factor tends to happen more when the edgy character is a power fantasy/self insert than a full person with no self-awareness imo.

 

[Werepunk]

Okay, I think I see what I've done wrong here because I think I assumed everyone rps like I do, with like deep intricate plots, complex characters and story lines, etc.

I apologise! Sorry, lmao. Obviously it's perfectly fine to have a normal popcorn rp that's just for funsies.

I still hate when violent edgy characters are glorified in a way. It just puts a sour taste in my mouth. I think it's because I'm a moralistic person at heart.

Ahh, sorry, but I've got to respectfully disagree with you on that first sentence. Edgy characters can be well-written and complex, so long as that character is well-rounded and that edginess is balanced out with other traits.

Granted, I'm quite biased as I'm a big fan of edgy characters, while also still gravitating towards complex character-driven stories When I want to play an edgy character, I do my best to make them multi-faceted so that the edginess is just one side of them.

But your last statement about glorifying violence is valid-- if that certain kind of character make you uncomfortable, there's nothing wrong with avoiding them. It's just a matter of preference!
---

Also (not a direct response to anyone) I think setting plays a bit part in whether or not a character is *too* edgy in a way that becomes annoying. In some settings it makes complete sense for a character to have a tragic backstory and a rough personality, and in others it can just feel out of place and over the top.

If you're roleplaying in, say, a gritty post-apocalyptic setting, it makes total sense to have a hard-ass violent character with a horrible backstory... But if you dropped that same character into something like a school setting or a casual slice of life roleplay, they'd probably seem really weird and off-putting.

 

[GojiBean]

Hoyo!

Personally, whether or not I would tolerate or want an edgy character in my roleplays (as I'm a GM 99% of the time) comes down to one burning question:

Is their edge artificial, or is it intrinsic?

For a trait to be "intrinsic" means that it's a natural and/or essential piece of who the character is at the start of the RP. This is easiest to accomplish by giving them a well thought out and well-written backstory wherein which the events they live through have no other choice but to lead them to this point. When characters have a well thought out and well-written backstory which leads only to this point in time for the character, they cease to be "edge lords" and become actual "characters" whom others can understand, empathize with, find likable even if not everything about their personality feels like it should warrant a positive analysis, etc.

For example: Let's say we have a young man who grew up the son of noble parents in a well-rounded household environment. He's well educated, taught proper manners and etiquette, how to be a social butterfly, etc. The perfect young noble gentlemen. However, a side of his family which he was never made aware of destroys his way of life overnight. His parents are murdered by someone else within the family (for the sake of examples we'll say it's your character's long-lost sibling whom the parents were forced to give up for adoption during a dark period of their younger lives), their fortune is stolen, their assets are seized by the state, their reputation is destroyed through a massive propaganda attack, etc. By the next morning your character is homeless, broke, and exiled from the city of his birth and upbringing.

What's next?

(Shameless plug, "what's next" is an essential question to keep asking yourself if you want to give "meaning" to a character. For more about "meaning" and how to provide it, see my Tutorial! Now, back to the character!)

He is forced to move to a new city which is not necessarily dilapidated, but definitely a far cry from the pristine and well-to-do city he grew up in. He's immediately mugged upon arrival and beaten to a pulp and left to cry in the dirt. People pass him by and don't help him despite his pleas. He's left to wallow in self-pity, shame, and pain into the night as he shivers from the icy chill of the night breeze without a roof over his head. He finds a nice spot the next morning to rest and try to recover from his beating, but as it turns out the spot is "claimed" by a group of ne'er do wells who literally throw him out forcing him to move on. He moves to a new spot, same thing. Everywhere is "claimed" by someone else, or a group. He can't find food. He can't find new clothes. He can't find clean water. He's running out of options.

Finally, he catches a break and a middle-aged man who initially brushes him off like everyone else takes pity on him and drags him to a well outside of town for a much-needed drink. Over time he befriends this man and they work together to help each other survive. This is a lifestyle he never knew existed back home. This sense of helplessness, isolation, desperation, and driven by a cutthroat drive to hold onto whatever little you possess at an almost feral level. How could people live like this? Why didn't his parents teach him about this? Why did nobody acknowledge the issue? Why didn't they donate money to this place to help repair it and bring the city back to life?

These questions are never answered. But his friend gives him a rather cryptic piece of advice: "Don't look for strength outside of yourself." What does he mean? Who knows? He's always been cryptic, in a way. Eventually, this older man succumbs to both age and their circumstances which leaves your character, once again, alone. Life goes back to the way it was before. He's driven from the home they built together, loses what small monetary savings they'd collected, and is once again homeless. He finds another "friend" who betrays him and leaves him for dead after viciously attacking him late at night as they're traveling to a new "safe place." The character is subjected to several such betrayals, and eventually stops looking for help and resolves to help himself by getting the fuck out of this wretched place. He moves to a new city which is much better off than the one he just left... On the surface, at least. But once again betrayal and the base human instinct to survive at any cost robs him of everything he'd just started to regain in the new life he'd been building for himself.

Today, he's still trying to reestablish himself and build a stable life. But whereas he was always looking to someone else to guide him forward before, such as his friend, he's now doing so by himself and with a massive chip on his shoulder. All of the selfishness. All of the violence and feral animosity. All of the betrayal. All of the negativity at every turn hidden behind the smiles. And the last words of his departed friend ringing in his ear to not look for strength outside of himself have turned him into a hardened survivor who now takes nothing for granted, fights for every last scrap even if he knows he can't win, and doesn't trust anyone enough to let them out of sight for even two seconds unless he's damn certain he's safe from them, as those two seconds were all it took for him to pay the price in times past.

Not to toot my own horn, but despite being off the top of my head I would say that THIS is an edgy character I could sink my teeth into, empathize with, understand why he has the edge, and invest in his future development and want to see more of in the RP.

This isn't just an edge lord.

It's a character.


Contrary to the above example, a character with artificial traits would look something like this...

A thief who's a total social outcast, doesn't trust anyone, works alone, and otherwise "never" speaks unless spoken to. But when you read their bio in the CS it says they grew up a fairly normal kid, and after leaving home when they came of age (which was around a year ago since almost all of these characters are still in their teens) they basically became homeless and now they are who they are.

Like... I'm sorry. But, you bleeding what, mate? How do you go from a "normal" person to someone like that just because they went homeless after leaving the nest when they came of age? Especially when the time between them leaving home to now is a year or less, in most cases?

What sort of psychological trauma could they have possibly endured in such a short period of time which completely and utterly destroyed their ability to trust other people, destroyed their desire to work with others, destroyed their desire to be social, destroyed their desire to love or be loved, etc?

This kind of character design has zero credibility and makes it impossible to suspend our disbelief that this character's current personality and behavioral traits are legitimate or earned.

If I may be perfectly candid about this kind of character design... I think it's lazy, contrived, boring, and a waste of everyone's time.

As a long-time GM, my honest opinion is that you may as well have not even created them if their sole reason for existence was to occupy a trope or specific trait rather than being a complete character.

For those who have ever in their lives created an edge lord who started the RP on the opposite side of the tavern, the opposite side of the market, the opposite side of the school, or locked away in their room barely paying attention to online chat forums while everyone else's characters were interacting with each other direclty, and then wondered "why is nobody noticing my character or interacting with them and helping them get pulled into the action?"...

Well, what did you expect?

With this kind of character design and in-world behavior, the idea anyone would notice your character or want to go out of their way to interact with them is unrealistic and simply not how real human beings think or behave.

Human beings are naturally social creatures. When it comes to who we want to interact with we look for positive or otherwise appealing social cues such as eye contact with a smile, a nod of the head, some kind of gesture of greeting, etc. When we see someone lurking or sulking in the corner or across the room our first instinct isn't to go say "hi" and get them involved in something. Our first instinct is to avoid this person because they're giving off "don't talk to me" vibes. If you honestly expect your character to act like a social outcast and still be approached by another character to get them pulled in with the main cast, then I'm sorry but you're expecting too much out of the rest of us. Our characters are more likely to see your character acting like that and think "Ooohh... That person's staring at us. It's kinda creepy. Maybe I should ask a security guard to keep an eye on them, or ask the owner of the place to politely request that they leave the building."

Your own character design and choices in their behavior to avoid being physically in the same area and having them act uninterested or otherwise unapproachable have put them in a no-win situation where their only realistic option is to get ignored and written out while everyone else goes on the adventure together.


Pro Tip for anyone wanting to write an edge lord: Make their edge come with meaning (again, see my previously linked tutorial for more info).

Ask yourself, "who is my character right now?" and "how did they get to this point?"

If you can't answer those two questions then you don't have a character, yet. If you can answer those two questions, follow up the second question with "why did these events and experiences make them who they are?" If you can answer that question, ask yourself "what's next for the character now that they are this way?" This is, arguably, the most important question to answer for yourself. If you can't answer this question, then your character doesn't have a story to tell. Why? Because all stories, without exception, have a beginning, middle, and an end. If you can't answer "what's next?" then you have no middle. If you can answer "what's next?" then your final question is "who do I want them to become?" If you can't answer this question, you don't have an ending.

If you can answer all of those questions (the more thoroughly the better) then you have more than just an edge lord. You have a complete character!

Have care, caution, and forethought with the edgy characters and how you design them. If you don't give everyone else a reason to care about them, or a reason to at least understand why they're edgy in the first place, then guess what? We won't care about them either IC or OOC. We'll be more turned off than anything which is more likely to make us consciously avoid trying to get our characters involved with yours while posting. And that carries a greater risk of your character going completely ignored and left out of the RP entirely.


Anywhoosle!

Edgy characters are all well and good to me if they're well-written and have some genuine thought and substance behind them.

But an edge lord for the sake of being an edge lord? Nah, mate.

Give me a character with a compelling and interesting backstory over the embodiment of a thoroughly overused trope any day of the week.

Cheers!

- GojiBean

 

[Spoiled Bread]

Edgelord by itself is fine, but when all 7 players play Shadow the Edge hog and each sit on the corner of the room brooding alone while one upping each other tragic backstory in their mind then the RP is doomed.

 

[Perpetual Zen]

Edgy characters end up cutting themselves the deepest
Gah, I think we've all been there and have learned and grown
An edgy player has its place but that's why I tend to steer towards thriller, drama, rather than combat too much edge

 

[Jet]

Edginess is fine in a vacuum, but it should be written with both positives and negatives, not presented as an awesome way of life. If you have a maniac who doesn't take any shit, is too cool to care about anything, and hates sunshine and rainbows, then present the truth of that reality. They should be distant and lonely with poor social skills. They should be nihilistic and question the point of their existence, even lost in a depressive fog. They should be spiteful and despise when others are having fun, perhaps a jealous streak that explodes when people have a good time.

My issue with edginess is when it's not actually edgy. When it's an edgelord badass who kills like it means nothing, doesn't care about anyone, acts like an asshole, but there are no drawbacks. There are no ugly truths lurking below the surface. Like when rich kids wore black makeup in 2007.

It must come from the idealization of edgy characters, where all "good" traits are perceived and appreciated by the reader/viewer, while the bad is handwaved and ignored. Then you've got writers who won't take any risks. They write an edgelord but want them to be popular with the cast, so their characterization is contradictory.

 

[Edric Blight]

Don't diss my girl Ebony Dark'ness Dementia Raven Way.

Best fan fiction ever written

 

[Scoobie]

To be fair edginess is kinda hard to pull off. Even professionals make it look lame. But if I think about it, from the top of my head, it's kinda hard to find something truly edgy that's actually well written.