Angst Lords

A term used in Daria fandom that refers to those Daria fan authors whose works are consistently or especially dark, pessimistic, or tragic (i.e., angst). Despite an ongoing belief that a writer is designated as an Angst Lord, the reality is that (much like in the correct manner of knighthood) a specific writer is in fact recognized as such by others of that ilk for their specific works, which need not necessarily be limited to the area of fan fiction. (An example of this is the former fanfic critic CINCGREEN; were he still active in the fandom in this capacity, he would probably have been recognized as an Angst Lord.) It is also believed that Brother Grimace is the sole person to decide who gets the term, as well as the creator of the term 'Angst Lords'; this is not true.

The originator of the term 'Angst Lords' is currently unknown, and other Angst Lords have simply not thought about passing along the title (to date). When the term first appeared in the Daria fandom, it was used as a term of derision towards writers of angst-based fiction. It is not known how the term came to garner the status/notoriety it has at present.

Current Angst Lords are:

Brother Grimace once gave an off-the-cuff description of each of the Angst Lords, based on their writing styles and preferences for story outcomes. These descriptions are:

Angelinhel – The Narrator of The Twilight Zone
The Angst Guy – The Watcher
Brother Grimace – ‘Q’
Hey – Kyp Durron
Renfield – the Custodian of the Total Perspective Vortex
Scissors – Cthuhlu’s Last Bite of Dinner

Unrecognized Angst Lords?

There are a number of writers who also have written angst-based wsorks and are considered by some to also be Angst Lords. Some individuals have forwarded Devilkitty as an Angst Lord because of his work Just the Sun at Night; this segment believes that fic to be not only be the angstiest fanfic ever written (as well as arguably the finest) but that Devilkitty is not only the Father of Angst, but the Lord of All Angst Lords.

There are also rumors of one other writer in the Daria fandom who is also considered to be an Angst Lord, although this writer prefers to remain hidden. Known to most of the other Angst Lords as 'The One', the writer is usually described as 'he who carries a scarlet lightsaber up his sleeve.'