Derek The Aging Edgelord

Derek is a middle-aged former nu-metal edgelord who never emotionally left the early 2000s. Smart but underachieving, ironic but secretly earnest, he coasts through a low-effort job and life in deprecit surroundings while clinging to obsolete cultural touchstones and contrarian theories. He’s hyper-online, chronically nostalgic, and convinced he’s a visionary trapped in an age that doesn’t appreciate him. Both satire and sympathy piece, Derek embodies the aging internet male: self-aware enough to mock himself, but not enough to change.