Of course, it could have been at any time, but I'm inclined to think that it was after the Master was trapped in the '30s. I can't imagine the Master going to the wilds of California much before the prophesied time to open the Hellmouth, which would have been in the 30's, but I like the idea of Darla coming later, and trying vainly to free him for a few decades. I've got fic!
I'm basing my opinion on that Darla liked a view and mixing, and messing, with humans, as well as wearing her human face. From this I suspect she spent a bit of time with Spike and Drusilla after Angelus left the second time, but would no like to be a third wheel in any relationship, so probably not very long before branching off on her own.
I would think she would keep in contact with The Master as well, and probably visited him. The reason I picked 1980's was that by the time of BtVS she had time to extend her position as The Master's favourite, and use it to her advantage.
I picked the 1030's because that's the decade The Master was trapped underground. I would imagine that Darla was there when it happened but was lucky enough to not be trapped with him. But I don't believe she'd have stayed exclusively in Sunnydale throughout the decades-although I do think she didn't roam too far from California.
IMO, it was his. He fully believed in prophecy and things of that nature but Darla never struck me as the kind to put much stock in that sort of thing.
I'm also of the opinion that Darla was involved in the Master's attempt to open the Hellmouth, and that's when she came to California.
Before then, I think she'd have wandered around the world, increasingly dissatisfied, trying to deny the huge hole that Angelus's absence had left in her heart. I think she'd quickly dump Spike and Dru, though - too many painful memories, plus I think she really only ever tolerated them for Angel's sake.
It's also my personal canon that she was in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914, mind you. :-)
ETA - I don't think she stayed in Sunnydale all the time from the 1930s till the 1990s, mind you - I think she travelled around quite a bit in the interim. Possibly working on cunning magical schemes to free the Master, although Darla always struck me as a survivor rather than a planner. She'll attach herself to the person with the Big Idea and enjoy their power vicariously, then betray them once she gets bored with them.
I wonder how she got on with Luke, who appeared to be the Master's main deputy and as such acting-leader of the Order of Aurelius in his imprisonment? Rivals? Lovers? Co-conspirators? All three?
Darla always struck me as a survivor rather than a planner. She'll attach herself to the person with the Big Idea and enjoy their power vicariously, then betray them once she gets bored with them.
I wonder how she got on with Luke, who appeared to be the Master's main deputy and as such acting-leader of the Order of Aurelius in his imprisonment? Rivals? Lovers? Co-conspirators? All three?
Oooh, interesting question. I tend to think they weren't quite rivals, but they didn't really get along. Luke is clearly the one in charge, and while I don't think it would bother Darla much to have someone else calling the shots (she let Angelus do it), I don't think she'd take kindly to being ordered around. Likewise, I think there's probably a bit of resentment on Luke's part, because Darla's still the Master's favorite - even though HE was the one who was loyal and stuck by the Master all those years while she was flitting around the world enjoying herself.
Her attitude towards Drusilla seemed to be mostly exasperation and faint contempt to me. Mind you, for vampires that might qualify as affection. :-) That doesn't mean that she and Dru couldn't have fun together - see icon - but as i said in my ETA, Darla is a person who's spent 400 years Getting Along With People and Making The Best Of It as a survival trait. She was a successful prostitute; her main job skill was fooling her companions into thinking she enjoyed their company...
there till there was a realistic plan and prospect of releasing the Master. I can't visualise her tying herself to a one-horse town with way too much sunshine for decades before that. She may well have visited the Master before he was incarcerated, but I think she's much more likely to have roamed world troublespots, making temporary alliances with other vampires but never allowing herself to get close to another. I can certainly envisage her active in the Spanish Civil War, Nazi-occupied Europe, Korea etc.
I voted 1950, but could be 60s/70s too - enough time to get well set up by the time we see her. The Master didn't treat her like a newcomer.
Essntially, I think Darla would have loved the extremes of Europe in the 1930s (I refuse to write Nazi fic, but she could fit in there very well), and anywhere traumatised in the 1940s (too many choices. Partition India would be a great religious war for her, and the whole Middle East too). After that, I think she'd have become disenchanted with being a free agent in the world, and eventually turned back to the Master. I can't readily place her in society in the 1980s, for example, whereas Spike has no trouble! (And Dru doesn't really see the present day).
Huh. Everybody has smarter answers than me. Basically, I'm going off Jesse's line in Welcome to the Hellmouth
Jesse: Darla. You know, I haven't seen you around before. Are you from around here?
In a small town like Sunnydale, it's unlikely that Jesse would have never seen her before. Unless she was keeping a low profile up to that point for whatever reason.
I ventured 1930' for the Master's big ceremony, but I assume that as soon as he was trapped she found someplace else to be at, and went back only when there were rumors that he was starting to reemerge.
What a lot of other people said - she first came to Sunnydale with the Master in the 1930s, but she left after he got trapped, traveled around, and then came back in the 1990s when the Master was close to reemerging.
She was the Master's minion and he was trapped in Sunnydale for a long time. On the other hand, she hardly lived in The Master's pocket, nor had she for a very long time (until at least the early 1900s). So, I'm guessing that she may have visited Sunnydale several times over the decades, but I don't know that she ever actively 'moved' there.
I don't think she necessarily stayed in Sunnydale the whole time the Master was trapped, though. She could easily have taken a few decades off to travel.
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So, what did she do in the meantime? Was she with Spike and Dru? By herself? With the Master?
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I would think she would keep in contact with The Master as well, and probably visited him. The reason I picked 1980's was that by the time of BtVS she had time to extend her position as The Master's favourite, and use it to her advantage.
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So, was it his idea to open the Hellmouth? Or maybe hers?
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Before then, I think she'd have wandered around the world, increasingly dissatisfied, trying to deny the huge hole that Angelus's absence had left in her heart. I think she'd quickly dump Spike and Dru, though - too many painful memories, plus I think she really only ever tolerated them for Angel's sake.
It's also my personal canon that she was in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914, mind you. :-)
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I wonder how she got on with Luke, who appeared to be the Master's main deputy and as such acting-leader of the Order of Aurelius in his imprisonment? Rivals? Lovers? Co-conspirators? All three?
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Yes, this. Exactly.
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Oooh, interesting question. I tend to think they weren't quite rivals, but they didn't really get along. Luke is clearly the one in charge, and while I don't think it would bother Darla much to have someone else calling the shots (she let Angelus do it), I don't think she'd take kindly to being ordered around. Likewise, I think there's probably a bit of resentment on Luke's part, because Darla's still the Master's favorite - even though HE was the one who was loyal and stuck by the Master all those years while she was flitting around the world enjoying herself.
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Really?
I'd say that she actually enjoyed Dru's company, at least, for the most part.
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Essntially, I think Darla would have loved the extremes of Europe in the 1930s (I refuse to write Nazi fic, but she could fit in there very well), and anywhere traumatised in the 1940s (too many choices. Partition India would be a great religious war for her, and the whole Middle East too). After that, I think she'd have become disenchanted with being a free agent in the world, and eventually turned back to the Master. I can't readily place her in society in the 1980s, for example, whereas Spike has no trouble! (And Dru doesn't really see the present day).
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Jesse: Darla. You know, I haven't seen you around before. Are you from around here?
In a small town like Sunnydale, it's unlikely that Jesse would have never seen her before. Unless she was keeping a low profile up to that point for whatever reason.
So I'm going with 1990s.
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I think the majority consensus of 1930s for a little bit then off to see the world makes sense.