Info
In Character Information
character name: Angel (sometimes Angelus under... uh... conditions)
Fandom: Buffy the Vampire Slayer / Angel the series
Timeline: The VERY ASS END of the last episode of Angel. Like, when the credits start.
character's age: 277 by the end of the series, give or take an extra century in Hell (time dimensions HOW DO THEY WORK)
powers, skills, pets and equipment:
Powers: Hooboy, okay. First off, being an especially old vampire means really super everything: strength, reflexes, senses, healing (in particular), jumping, constitution, you name it, he's got it and it's better than human, and even most demons. While he still gets injured as easily as anyone else, he can take much more damage without slowing and is effectively immortal unless you go with the traditional staking, beheading or immolation. He's also fast, stealthy, with extra points in sneaking up behind you without you even knowing he's there (he does this a lot. It helps with the stalking.) He shows a tentative psychic link with those he's sired, and can in theory turn others, but he probably won't. Vampires are naturally sensitive to blood, and can instinctively identify humans and other vampires. Being technically dead they don't age or get sick, or breathe except by reflex, so any issues with choking or drowning won't affect him, but certain toxins can, although they won't be fatal.
And while he does drink blood, he's on a strict no-human diet and can survive for months without it, but going without for that long will probably cause brain damage, which is bad.
Traditional weaknesses apply as well! Invitations must be issued before entering a residence. Exposure to direct sunlight will give him a severe case of bursting into flames, and Christian-based religious symbols will damage him, although he is generally enough of a badass to withstand them. There's also the small, unique issue of being cursed by gypsies - they imbued him with a soul, but experiencing a moment of "perfect happiness" will rip it out of him, leaving him as a vampire who can do all of the above but without a conscience to hold him back. Which is also bad. In fact it is worse, and it goes by the name Angelus.
Luckily the soul can be replaced with some powerful magicks, because souls totally work that way.
Angel also does not cast a reflection, so in all likelihood his hair probably isn't supposed to look like that. For some reason this makes him immune to telepathy? I don't know. Moving on!
Skills: Angel is very old, very smart, and knows how to do a lot of crap. He's an exceptional fighter in a variety of styles and with a variety of weapons (favoring medieval melee, but he's no stranger to guns, or fists, or just straight up improvising) and against a vast variety of enemies. He's experienced in spellcasting! Good for him. He knows a shitload of languages, history (having. lived through it.) and demonology. Thanks to his time completely ruining Europe and much of Asia, he's skilled at manipulation and torture, and displays an aptitude for leadership and strategy. And did I mention stalking? Because he is really good at that. He has a photographic memory, impressive artistic skills and the fashion sense of a gay man, but for the love of god don't ask him to sing.
And just in case I missed anything other nerds will have noted it here. In Anatole, he will gain a glorious immunity to sunlight. Everything else is fair game though.
Pets: NOTHING THANK CHRIST. Although he should probably get a goldfish or something to keep himself company.
Equipment: Just his delicious broody self. And a broadsword. And possibly a cellphone that he barely knows how to use anyway, so fuck it.
canon history:
Yeah I'm gonna go ahead and link that one.
personality:
JESUS WHERE DO I BEGIN So. Angel's MO is actually a very simple one: fight to save people, no matter what. While he might not technically be a part of humanity any longer, that fact doesn't make him any less their protector - literally, a Champion, chosen by the Powers That Be to defend humanity against the scourge of Pretty Much Everything Else. It's a tough fight to be sure, and sometimes it's more difficult than others - sometimes it's hopeless - but it makes little difference to Angel. Just the cause of holding back the evil tide for a short time is as noble as outright defeating the enemy, and in the end, it isn't ever about winning or losing. It's about making a difference in the world, no matter how small or temporary. He can sometimes be seen answering the question "why fight?" with "because we have to," and an epiphany considerably below sea level revealed to him that while the world is undeniably imperfect, it needs people to live in it as though it were, just to show it that it can be.
The concept of the unending fight, of doing the right thing for the right thing's sake, is an ideal distilled down after many, many years of struggling with himself, his nature, and the nature of the world. In some ways Angel needs that ideal as much as anyone; initially his hope came from the search for redemption, later combined with its very own prophecy that promised a return to humanity. But in the end (as of his canon point, anyway), his hope had been transferred away from his own personal fate. He quite literally ended up signing that promise away in order to take on a nearly omnipotent enemy from within, and now seems to be content with doing good Just Because.
As for why he needs something to hope for, well, you try being a murderous psycho for a century and then get hit with a big fat sack of regret, and see how you fare.
Because of his soul, Angel has a capacity for human emotions that most vampires just don't have. This sometimes leads to good results, like the above, but it can also do considerable damage to his emotional and mental state. The worst of the bunch is the aforementioned regret - coupling his soul with a picture-perfect memory of every one of his victims as Angelus, and he can have quite a lot keeping him up at night. (I am leaving that pun in idefc) And that in fact was the idea to begin with: to torment him eternally, to never let him know a moment's peace. Which has been more or less successful. But there are other side effects as well, such a really severe depression. This is a fun one, since it causes Angel to withdraw into himself (even more than he already is) when he feels his actions are worthless, or initially after the curse took hold. The result can be anything from complete isolation to a dangerous form of apathy - which also results in isolation, natch - such as turning his friends away without warning or leaving some of the dreggier dregs of humanity to be slaughtered by demons. That one happened twice.
Speaking of which, let's go into what a bastard he can be, shall we? Even with a soul and the best of intentions, Angel is especially good at cloaking himself, cutting himself off when practicality demands precedence. The long stretch of time in between reconciling being neither human nor demon taught him how to disconnect, and lead to several situations where a tentative reach into well-meaningness backfired on him horribly, reinforcing the desire to just sit things out. While he's since learned how to better deal with his fuck ups, it isn't inconceivable that this darkness still emerges. Angel can be cruel, sometimes even to his friends (although this will often be an act with some greater purpose - he's an amazingly good actor when a less direct solution is needed) and can and will be downright vicious to his enemies. His behavior changes slightly during this time as well; normally he's pretty stoic, alternating between commanding and straight up awkward, but when the situation demands a little more pressure to be applied he breaks out the quips, the stalking, and the threats of violence. It's the most obvious sign that Angel and Angelus aren't entirely separate, as much as he might sometimes imply they are.
(On a less asshole note, he's also known to be petty when he gets jealous, which isn't exactly uncommon. Generally a perceived insult to his alpha maleness will bring this up, or... just being Spike will do. He's a good guy in general, but he's not above throwing insults when he decides he doesn't like someone.)
It's pretty impossible to talk about Angel without mentioning his former self, the pure vampire form called Angelus, so let's get right to the point: Angelus is probably a sociopath. It's repeatedly implied that he cannot form emotional bonds the way most people (and even vampires) do, and he's quite open with his love of sadism. While he was devoted to his sire Darla for a very long time, he would also leave her in a proverbial heartbeat if the situation looked grim, only to return sometime later as if he hadn't left her to die. This is more or less how vampires operate normally, but like everything else Angelus took it to an extreme. He was more vicious, more cunning, more evil than any vampire then, or since. Even the Master was impressed by the depths of his cruelty. He knew just how to maneuver his way around his victims, exploiting their weaknesses and sometimes turning them against each other with some careful phrasing - Cordelia described this as "lying with the truth". The talent of toying with his victims, of drawing out their terror and suffering, is Angelus' greatest weapon as well as his favorite past time. It also gives him quite a bit of an ego. You can tell, because he really doesn't shut up when he feels like talking (much to Spike's dismay) which is almost always. Entering a room will immediately give him alpha status, either by his demands or by reputation alone, and even if he should deem someone worthy of being his ally, there's no guarantee he won't turn on them the instant he gets bored. And remember that thing about being a good actor? Unfortunately, that applies here, too. He plays for fun, and enjoys it, and without a higher purpose behind his actions it can make him more than a little unpredictable.
In short, Angelus is kind of a huge douchebag. There may be plenty of swagger in his step, but it's never a good idea to underestimate him because of it - he is, literally, one of history's greatest monsters. It's no wonder Angel prefers to keep him hidden away, and needless to say, the Angelus persona has quite a bit of resentment about the whole deal. Even while dormant he's still aware of Angel being in charge, ruining Angelus' day with those gross emotions and saving puppies and whatever. Memories from one will transfer over to the other (although the actual casting of the curse itself will disorient Angel for a short time.) It's not quite a split personality - more that the demon inhabiting his body is its own self, the human soul (probably best attributed to Liam) another, and Angel is the existential-crisisilicious result of the two being forced together.
Angel himself is wholly respectful of the damage that Angelus can cause, with good reason. No one on earth knows better than him what the monster is capable of, which makes him determined to keep it locked down at all costs. Only once did he willingly give up his soul to gain some critical information that only Angelus had, and only after taking extreme measures to keep everyone else safe (which of course failed because drama.) Generally speaking though, this won't happen with his endorsement.
In any case, what we end up with is a man with good intentions. He didn't always have them, but he does now, and he makes them count even if he occasionally tries too hard. For a guy with some shitty social skills and a perpetual case of the broods, Angel makes a good friend - he will go to any lengths to protect his "family". He even altered reality to give his son a better life! It was temporary, but the point is he tried. When Angel finally allows someone into his circle of caring, there isn't very much that can eject them out of it short of ill-intended betrayal. But even while he values his loved ones and the support they offer, he still occasionally has the habit of taking everything on himself; he's been accused of projecting an image to distance himself from others, and it would be kind of an understatement to call him a loner. But he does care, even if he needs to break out the harshness once in a while. It's also worth noting that he does have a sense of humor, but if it ever veers away from dry sarcasm it plummets straight into corny and everyone ignores it accordingly. He's much better suited to playing the straight man. He's also super stingy with his money, as befitting an old fart.
tl;dr stalking and brooding and saving puppies and I am done writing about this.
EXCEPT NO I'M NOT because because there is one last thing that has had a dramatic effect on Angel's personality: Buffy Summers. While this section mainly covers Angel as he is now as well as a general overview, the role Buffy has played in bringing him here can't be understated. She is effectively responsible for setting him on his path in numerous ways, the most notable being his first encounter with her - from the shadows, of course, what you think he talks to cute girls face to face on the first date? - that caused him to be determined to be someone better. And by better I basically mean worthwhile. Others have added in their significant share over time, but Buffy's essentially the catalyst for this chain reaction. And as an added bonus, she's pretty good at settling him down in case he goes feral, apparently. Their relationship has gone through several complex and angsty stages, together and apart, but the word love continues to apply, and he has in recent history dropped everything he's doing to go help her. He... really has a thing for blondes.
Unless you're Spike.
Okay I'm really finished now.