Sailor Dakota

1. The Trauma

The most important and necessary factor for DID is childhood trauma, and Angel 100% has a bucketload of that. It’s already implied that he had a bad home life/abusive father, but on top of that he was

-in the mob

-Italian American in a time when they faced prejudice

-Queer

-Growing up post ww1/during the Great Depression

Home life aside, it’s already a guarantee he’d be traumatized. If anything, having a bad home life on TOP of all of these other factors could mean that his childhood trauma was ongoing, constant, without much room for escapism, thus, the perfect environment to develop DID.

2. Canon Disassociation

In Poison Angel sings the lyric “I disassociate, Disappear” in reference to the sexual abuse he endures because of Val. Of course, Disassociation isn’t exclusive to people with DID, but in an environment where you have to act enthusiastic, present, and energetic despite your disassociation, it would be extremely difficult. If Angel had DID, it would make for these moments to switch with an alter whose job it is to handle that kind of situation.

This + the idea of disappearing to cope with repetitive trauma can also be read as switching.

3. His Amnesia

When Angel was revealed to have been hypnotized, Vox asked him if there were any late night jobs he couldn’t quite remember, and as it shows, this hypnotism wasn’t just during the nights, it happened during the day too.

Despite not remembering, this would imply Angel had likely accumulated HOURS of lost time in essentially a short span of time. Interestingly, Angel never really stopped to comment or even seemed to notice if he was losing time beforehand. If he had DID, it would be probable that he was used to losing time and thus wouldn’t even notice it.

4. His Unexpected Triggers

Angel’s trauma is a daily occurrence, so he’s likely learned to expect it and mentally prepare so it doesn’t affect him. That’s why when he goes to work and comes home, his biggest negative emotion is commonly annoyance.

However, when he’s confronted with triggers he’s not expecting, he reacts quite differently.

Examples: Being outed as his father’s killer, confronting Val at the bar.

In situations like this, Angel suddenly gets a lot more confrontational. He often yells, gets defensive, and doesn’t seem to think about consequences.

For instance, when Angel confronted Val, he was a lot braver with Val than he ever is. He didn’t seem to think much about Val’s threat to make him pay for it the next day.

That scene, and so many other scenes remind me of a persecutor or protector alter fronting to confront an abuser without regard for consequences because they won’t be the alter to receive those consequences.

These are the big reasons I headcanon him with DID, as for system specifics, here’s how I imagine it.

Anthony - Host - Went dormant shortly after signing his soul away to Val. Gradually comes back out throughout the show as his friendships deepen and the Hotel proves to act as a safe space.

Angel Dust - Separate alter from Anthony - Sexual Protector - Possibly split specifically to handle life as a porn star, maybe is even the new host or at the Very least a cohost. The fact Angel got upset when Husk dared to call him fake may have been this alter feeling a threat to his identity, because he exists to authentically be this sex symbol character.

Caretaker - Less frequent, more calm and rational, would have been the reason they got Fat Nuggets and the one who handled drunk Niffty at the bar.

Protector - Someone who fronts to handle non-sexual violence of a physical or verbal nature. Someone who fights back, disregards consequences and relationships, and prioritizes being heard and physically safe. Would front during fights, facing Val, etc.

I also have no evidence necessarily to include this, but I imagine him having an inner child alter, probably around 12 years old who exists to maintain the last remaining bit of innocence. Entertained by simple, more wholesome things, like Blobfish.