Darla (Buffyverse)
| Character | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Darla |
| Occupation: | vampire |
| Relationships: | Angelus (lover & childe); the Master (sire); Connor (son); Drusilla (grandchilde & sire); Spike (great-grandchilde); Lindsey McDonald (lover) |
| Fandom: | Buffyverse |
| Other: | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Darla is a recurring character in the Buffyverse. She's played by Julie Benz.
Canon
The matriarch of the Order of Aurelius, Darla is the sire of Angelus, and thus the grandsire of Drusilla and great-grandsire of Spike. Darla is a contender for the Most Deaths in the Buffyverse. As a human she worked as a prostitute, and was dying of syphilis when she was sired as a vampire by the Master in 1609 Virginia. Her human name is unknown.[1] The first vampire to appear on the show, she's one of the Master's minions in Buffy the Vampire Slayer S1 and is killed by Angel. She's resurrected as a human by Wolfram & Hart at the end of Angel S1, only to be re-sired by Drusilla, as she's still dying of syphilis. She thanks W&H by murdering a bunch of lawyers in a wine cellar, including Holland Manners. After a night with Angel, she conceives Connor; influenced by the baby's soul, she stakes herself to allow him to be born, and subsequently advises him as a ghost.
Fandom
Indri complains Darla is a much under-used character, unless she's stalking around as a member of the Fanged Four or slapping up Angel.[2] Bookishwench describes her as perhaps one of the most overlooked female characters present in the fictional universe of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.[3] Little was written about her before she was resurrected on Angel.[4] In fanfiction, backstories are common, exploring her 150-year history with Angelus; Darla is particularly popular in Fanged Four stories that depict Darla, Angelus, Drusilla & Spike in the period before Angel was cursed with a soul. She only rarely gets written solo. Her four deaths and her decision to commit suicide to allow Connor's birth are examined in a little fanfiction & meta.
Her most popular pairing is her canonical one with Angel(us), but the Fanged Four are often assumed to have sex in all combinations, so there's also plenty of Darla/Drusilla, Darla/Spike and assorted threesomes & foursomes. In het, Darla/Lindsey is moderately common and there's a little Darla/the Master. Femslash is fairly popular; although Drusilla is her most common partner, Darla has also been paired with Buffy, Cordelia, Willow, Faith, Dawn, Joyce, Fred & Lilah.
Example Fanworks
Fanfiction
- Whore by Te. Retrospective, after her second siring; Darla/Drusilla (2001)
- Expectations by Christina Kamnikar. Darla's pregnancy (2001)
- A Winter's Tale by Coquette. Widely recommended Fanged Four story (~2002)
- Affectations by Chrystler. Darla in NY during 'Are You Now Or Have You Ever Been' (2002)
- The Sleeper Wakes by Syn. Dark Darla/Gunn vignette (2002)
- The Haunting, Hunted Kind by Selena. Darla & Connor (2003)
- Making an Angel by Seersha. Darla's perspective on siring Angelus (2006 or earlier)
- Devouring Time by Quinara. Darla on safari; a rare piece of backstory without any of the Fanged Four (2009)
- Venus and Mars by Glassdarkly. Darla, Drusilla and a clueless OC. (2009)
- I Come To You by goddessdel. What if Darla got ressurrected... again? Angel/Darla (2013)
- In Imbolic by duh_i_write. Darla, Dru & Spike, after Angel's departure (2014)
Fanart
- Fanged Four: Darla - Digital by fanged4ever. Pencil portrait, digitally coloured (2007)
- Darla by jeminabox. Digital portrait of Darla from 'Becoming' (2011)
- Darla by Whitewolfheathen. Stylised vampire-Darla from BtVS; digital art (2012)
- Darla and Dru by Viscountess-Vesper. Edwardian Darla & Drusilla; coloured drawing (2012)
- Darla - Buffy The Vampire Slayer by Kalumis. Historical Darla, not based on Benz; digital art (2013)
- Darling by atlantiss505. Pencil portrait of Darla from 'Becoming', with Liam (2013)
- Darla, Buffy the Vampire Slayer by youngclerks. Coloured drawing of vampire-Darla from 'Welcome to the Hellmouth' (2014)
Vids
| Examples Wanted: Editors are encouraged to add more examples or a wider variety of examples. |
- The Fragile by Nicole Anell. Angel(us)/Darla (2004)
- Evil Angel by Luminosity. Angel(us)/Darla (2004)
- Too Hot for Drumstep by quinara. (2010)
- Howl by shoopdancer2504. Angel(us)/Darla (2010)
Meta
- Darla: The Matriarch by vylit. Idol Reflections essay (2004)
- "What Fools These Mortals Be": Darla’s Changing Views on Relationships and the Reality of Love by bookishwench (2004)
- Why Drusilla’s More Interesting than Buffy by Laura Diehl. Essay on Drusilla & Darla (2004)
- Show Me Your World by calliopes_pen. Angel/Darla essay for The Shipper's Manifesto (2006)
- Darla, souls and emotional codependence by darlas_mom (2007)
Archives, Recs & Resources
- Darla: New, Improved, and Revamped Darla archive
- Something Wicked Darla auto-archive (offline)
- The Last Time I Saw You... Angel/Darla archive (founded 2002)
- Seductress Darla femslash archive
- Beautiful Madness. Darla/Dru archive & fansite (offline)
- Celebrity Skin Darla/Lilah archive & fansite (offline)
- She Did It Her Way: The Darla Ficathon, moderated by Shapinglight (2009)
- Darla recs by Doyle
Communities & Lists
- dearone discussion LJ
- darlarevamped fanfiction LJ
- _ties_that_bind Angel, Darla & Connor LJ
- the-fangedfour Fanged Four LJ (friendslocked)
- LastTime Angel(us)/Darla YahooGroups
- fangedfour Fanged Four YahooGroups
References
- ^ Very little about her human life is known; Bookishwench points out that she could not have been born in Virginia as the colony was only established in 1607.[1]
- ^ Blood and Weetabix Recommends (accessed 16 September 2015)
- ^ bookishwench: Essayathon Entry: Darla's Views on Relationships and Love (accessed 16 September 2015)
- ^ selenak: Fanged Four Dynamics revisited (accessed 16 September 2015)