Out of Character Information
player name: Annie.
player journal: ![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
succubintplaying here: None.
where did you find us? Through other RPers with muses in the game.
are you 16 years of age or older?: Yes.
In Character Information
character name: Wesley Wyndam-Pryce
Fandom: Angel the Series (Also Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
Timeline: Near the end of S1 episode 22, To Shanshu in LA.
character's age: 30
powers, skills, pets and equipment: Wesley doesn't possess any unusual supernatural abilities or powers
prior to coming to Anatole. However, I would like to give him a power which relates to his love of the written word in all of its forms. I'd like to give him the
added only for the game ability to use telekinesis, but
only on books or written texts. I'd like this power to be quite difficult for him to control in the beginning and somewhat affected by his mental/emotional state.
Wesley's greatest gift (and in some ways his greatest weakness) is his exceptional intellect. Extensive knowledge of demonology, occult and supernatural lore. Brilliant academically, with knowledge in a wide range of subjects from the classics, to history, biology, and chemistry. Expert in many human and non-human languages and dialects, including those of ancient cultures and supernatural/demonic races. An excellent researcher and archivist. Trained in various forms of combat including hand to hand, fencing, martial weapons, crossbow and firearms with varying degrees of skill. He is particularly competent with sharp-shooting and favors range weapons when given the choice. Excellent strategist when it comes to military maneuvers (although largely untested at this canon point). He has moderate skill at arcane sorcery, but largely the kind which involves extensive research and complicated rituals to perform. He is not a natural wizard, by any means.
He has no pets to speak of, and will most likely not be arriving with any sort of personal items of note. I'd like to take him right after he reads out the Scroll of Aberjiian to free Cordelia from the demon Vocah's cursed mark. Which will mean he will be dressed in a pale blue hospital gown, a dark blue robe and slippers. He'll be sporting two gauze bandages on his face, and have a bandaged left hand. He's also sitting in a wheelchair and hooked up to an IV. I'm fine with
not having the wheelchair transported if that's problematic. Wesley is holding the Scroll of Aberjian when he performs the unbinding spell. Would it be alright if he brings this with him to the game? Ironically, I just rewatched the scene where he reads out the prayer and here is a snippet:
"...But thou shalt find the sacred words of Anatole and thou shalt be restored. Three times shall thou say these words: unbind, unbind, unbind."canon history: Wesley was born and raised in England, although the exact location of where his family resides is unknown. There is a reference to Cambridge, so I have headcanoned that as a possible area of familiarity. An only child, Wesley was subjected to a strict and demanding childhood under the dominance of his overbearing father Roger Wyndam-Pryce, who is a longstanding member of the Watcher's Council and a man he never quite feels he can measure up to.
Wesley attended an all boy's preparatory school before being accepted into the Watcher's Academy in South Hampshire where he eventually gained the prestigious rank of Head Boy. Upon graduating, Wesley joined the Watcher's Council as a fully fledged member. He was assigned to replace Rupert Giles as Watcher of both Buffy Summers and Faith Lehane with little to no actual field experience under his belt. His inexperience lead to a mishandling of the situation when Faith was at a moral crossroads which ultimately led to Faith turning rogue and Wesley being sacked from the council for incompetence.
Denied financial assistance for a ticket back to England and completely directionless, Wesley decided to become an independent demon hunter, roaming the country for cases where he could apply his training and expertise and still fight the good fight. This eventually led him to Los Angeles where he met up with Angel and Cordelia and joined their cause as part of Angel Investigations. Together they attempted to fight the forces of darkness one case at a time, helping those who needed help with supernatural and paranormal problems. Wes' watcher training and his expertise with ancient languages and extensive knowledge of demons helped them to overcome many difficult challenges.
One of Wes' biggest early challenges was translating the prophecies Angel stole from the evil law firm Wolfram and Hart. It spoke of a vampire with a soul, and how he would shanshu. It took Wesley some time to decipher that it meant Angel might eventually, after many trials, gain the reward of human mortality.
Another notable event was his former charge Faith escaping from Sunnydale and coming to LA. Employed as an assassin by Wolfram and Hart, she terrorized Angel's friends, abducted Wesley and tortured him nearly to death before Angel intervened and discovered she was suffering an emotional meltdown due to guilt over her many crimes.
External links:
http://buffy.wikia.com/wiki/Wesley_Wyndam-Pryce ;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wesley_Wyndam-Prycepersonality: Wesley has the typical British reserve and isn't particularly chatty or verbose except when it comes to expounding on matters where he believes has some considerable expertise. Which is quite often, actually. He's highly educated and of an intellectual bent so that will come across in his vocabulary and mannerisms. Some may find him a touch irritating and arrogant because of this. He also possesses a rather dry acerbic wit.
Wes is cerebral by nature and largely governed by logic and reason in his decision-making processes. He is often repressive of his own emotions and personal desires, and can sometimes come across as lacking in compassion or caring when, in fact, he does feel and care deeply for others. He has a tendency towards introspection and over-thinking his own actions and those of others. That's not to say he can't react quickly and decisively to situations, but he does often dwell on things. The past, the present, the future.
Perhaps the biggest driving forces behind his personality have been his strong sense of duty and a perpetual need to prove himself worthy, to gain the approval and respect of his peers and ultimately his father. While intellectually gifted in many ways, Wesley has suffered from an underlying fear of failure which was instilled in him at an early age.
His Watcher father, an exacting and dominating individual, taught him the importance of striving for excellence, discipline and a strict adherence to rules and tradition. Unfortunately this manifested itself into Wesley being conservative and inflexible in his approach to his Watcher duties and also rather rigid in how he viewed moral issues. There's also canon evidence that that Roger Wyndam-pryce was an abusive father, locking his son under the stairs as a punishment, verbally belittling him whenever he felt disappointment in Wesley's achievements, or lack thereof. When Wesley was six or seven, he stole a scroll from his father's library and attempted to resurrect a dead bird. This was perhaps his first act of defiance against his father, and Wes' perception of self-worth as an individual has continued to be deeply influenced by what he believes his father (even in absentia) would think of his actions and decisions. This sort of desire for external validation from a perceived figure of authority has also been evident in his dealings with the Watcher Rupert Giles and Angel.
I see the pre-Watcher Wesley as a rather lonely boy who turned to books and academic accomplishments to compensate for the lack of familial warmth and support. It was also the only avenue with which he could strive to please his father. Most likely he did not make friends easily, especially with Roger vetting anyone who might wish to get socially closer to the youth. He would have developed the kind of personality in school which others probably labelled as stuck up. It would not surprise me if he earned the reputation of being a stick in the mud, a goody two shoes and a prat.
Lacking in having close family and friends in those early formative years, I can see Wesley having relied on his intellectual and academic prowess to give himself status. Thus his propensity to arrogantly pontificate and correct his colleagues on matters he felt he was an authority on. It was really his only outlet in where he had felt some measure of confidence and self-satisfaction. And even then it could be easily undermined by insecurity and doubt if he was proven wrong in his theories or decisions based upon his expert opinion.
Wesley's desperate need for respect and approval over the years has led to him becoming a bit of a try-hard. Eager to please others almost to the point of being a hindrance at times. His over-zealousness to offer aid and assistance sometimes turned him into a bit of a bumbling idiot, especially when he was in a situation which made him feel deeply insecure.
Since joining Angel's agency however, these moments of puppy-dog enthusiasm and physical clumsiness are gradually becoming a little less frequent. Maturity and having gained more field experience (plus the bonds of friendship he has formed with those in Angel Investigations), has aided Wesley into growing into a slightly more capable and valuable member of their team. He's certainly far more competent than he was back in the Sunnydale days. Through his interactions with Angel and Cordy, Wesley has finally started to gain a sense of belonging and purpose, of being a part of a family. This has been extremely important to him in terms of becoming more comfortable in his own skin and healing his rather stunted self-esteem. The insecure needy little boy within himself still remains, it's just buried a little bit deeper in his psyche than before.
At his core, Wesley is a gallant and a romantic idealist. This sometimes means that while charmingly chivalrous and rousing in his rallying speeches, he can also be unwittingly patronizing to members of the female gender, or overly sanctimonious and self-righteous when it comes to debating moral issues. But he is always well-intentioned and wants to fight the good fight, wants to believe that good will ultimately triumph over evil if one is dedicated enough to battle such forces on a daily basis.
why do you feel this character would be appropriate to the setting? Despite being a human with no extraordinary powers or abilities at his disposal, Wesley has been preparing to battle supernatural threats since before he could pick up a pen. He will be no stranger to dangerous environments or strange events which normally would be brain-breaking and horrifying to the average person. He's dedicated himself to being a 'warrior scholar' of sorts, and a place like Anatole would both give him something to focus his efforts and previous training on and pose an intriguing puzzle for him to want to unravel over time.
Writing Samples
Network Post Sample:[Wes is waking up, looking very groggy and disoriented.]What in the blazes...?
[He's surprised to find himself no longer in the psychiatric unit of the hospital. He's alarmed, to say the least. He spins around in his wheelchair, trying to get his bearings.]Angel? Cordelia?
[He's trying not to panic, but this is highly unusual. The first thought which comes to mind is that this is the work of Wolfram and Hart. Some new gambit in their quest to bend the souled vampire to their collective will. There's a device on his lap, on top of the scroll he'd just been reading from. It appears to be transmitting. Wesley adjusts his spectacles in a grave manner, takes a bracing breath and stares at what he presumes is the recording aperture. Trying to appear unfazed and intimidating in a hospital gown, while looking completely battered and bruised from a bomb explosion is not the best look, but by god he will give it a good try.]Whoever you are, this is not going to work. You will not be able to turn me against my friends no matter what devious schemes you have in play. Nor will I allow myself to be used as leverage or bait.
[He attempts to push himself to his feet, so as to appear less infirm, but only gets so far and has to ease himself back down again. So much for a display of strength. His resolve will not waver, however.]While I may not possess superhuman strength or other otherworldly powers, I can still hold my own.
So, if you would kindly return me to where I was, that would be very much appreciated. I have some rather urgent business to attend to. It's quite literally a matter of life or death.
Third Person Sample:Wesley stood outside of the Folkhaven Archival library, slight hesitation causing his hand to hover over the doorknob. He'd been informed that he needed to see it. He hadn't been able to, at first, those first few days being frustrating in terms of how much rest he'd still needed in order to recover. To even be strong enough to walk unaided. But he was well enough now and so...
He took a bracing breath and then pushed the doors open.
What greeted him made him freeze in his tracks, his breath caught in his throat. It was more than he'd expected. Beautiful, even. No matter what people said about the ease of computer technology, the convenience of having things accessible at one's fingertips, it couldn't compare to the visceral quality of being in a proper library. Every one had it's own character. Atmosphere. Distinctive scents. Wood polish, leather, parchment...
Why would one give up the tactile pleasure of turning a weathered page to see what words flowed next, or hearing the soft thumping sound of a tome being closed? No matter what anyone else said, it engaged all of the senses. For him, browsing in a library was an experience that was not stuffy and out-dated in the slightest. There was a wealth of knowledge and imagination at his fingertips and that, was utterly compelling.
His fingers practically itched to pull a book from the shelf. Any shelf. And just to see what was housed between the covers. Would he know the text? Have read it before? Or would it be something new. Unfamiliar words, facts, ideas to explore and discover.
For the first time since he'd arrived in Anatole, Wes felt in his element. He smiled and reached for the nearest text. Perhaps this adventure wouldn't be as harrowing as he'd first thought.
Anything else? Wesley is a character who constantly evolves and reinvents himself throughout his canon. Although being pulled prior to the events of S3 where he betrayed Angel in order to save his son and was shunned from the group, it should be noted that Wesley has occasionally portrayed a pragmatism and ruthlessness which has hinted at this darker turn in his persona. As the series develops it becomes clear that Wes is capable of making the hardest sorts of decisions, often at his own personal expense, in the name of the greater good.
