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fandomtrumpshate · 2 months

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Unlisted Fandom Challenge

Two days ago, at our last Unlisted Fandom Challenge update, we had a 3-way tie for first. Today? One of those fandoms has taken the lead AND a new fandom that hadn't had even a single signup before has jumped all the way into a 4-way tie for second. Your fandom could do the same, in the hours still left before signups close!

At present, our leaderboard looks like this:

7 Danny Phantom

5 Carmen Sandiego (2019) 5 For All Mankind 5 Tortall 5 Yu Yu Hakusho

4 Ace Attorney 4 Alan Wake/Remedyverse 4 Formula 1 RPF 4 Ted Lasso 4 The Goblin Emperor Series - Katherine Addison 4 The Stanley Parable

3 Greek Mythology/Religion 3 Buffyverse 3 Bungo Stray Dogs 3 Call of Duty 3 Detective Conan 3 Dragon Ball 3 HBO War 3 Kingdom Hearts 3 Persona Series: 3-5 3 Professional Wrestling 3 Realm of the Elderlings - Robin Hobb 3 Shades of Magic - V. E. Schwab 3 The Mummy films 1999-2008 3 Undertale

Given the way Carmen Sandiego came from *nowhere* to tie for 2nd place, a single signup really can shake things up! And for the next few hours, signups are STILL OPEN! Do the thing!

The rest of our unlisted write-in fandoms under the cut for length -

2 Ghosts (TV) 2 Black Sails 2 Cosmere 2 CSI 2 Cyberpunk 2077 2 Dead Friend Forever 2 Death Stranding 2 Dice Punks (podcast) 2 Dimension 20 2 Donten ni Warau / Laughing Under the Clouds 2 Dracula 2 Dune 2 Firefly 2 Glee 2 Guardian/Zhen Hun 2 Hermitcraft/The Life Series SMP 2 Imperial Radch Series 2 Inception 2 JoJo's Bizarre Adventure 2 Mob Psycho 100 2 Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury 2 Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint 2 Ordem Paranormal Quarentena 2 QSMP / Quackity SMP 2 Riverdale 2 Saw 2 Slow Horses (TV Show) 2 South Park 2 Stormlight Archive 2 The Bear (TV) 2 The Empyrean - Rebecca Yarros 2 The Folk of the Air (Holly Black) 2 The Radiant Emperor Series 2 Venture Bros 2 Voltron 2 Wolf Pack 1 1670 1 A Court of Fey & Flowers 1 a league of their own (TV series) 1 A Plague Tale (Videogame Series) 1 American Gods 1 Among Us 1 Bandom RPF (Bad Omens) 1 Bandom RPF (Lorna Shore) 1 Bandom RPF (Motionless In White) 1 Beastars 1 Bendy (and The Ink Machine/Dark Revival) 1 Horror 1 Bioshock 1&2 1 Blue Beetle 1 Blue Eye Samurai 1 Books of the Raksura 1 Boondock Saints 1 Breakfast With Scot 1 Bunny - Mona Awad 1 Buzzfeed Unsolved/Watcher Entertainment RPF 1 Cabin Pressure 1 Cats the musical 1 Charlie's Angels (2019) 1 Cherry Magic 1 Chronicles of Narnia 1 Cobra Kai 1 Coffee Talk (Video Game) 1 Criminal Minds 1 Death Note 1 Devil May Cry 1 Dexter 1 Digimon 1 Discworld - Terry Pratchett 1 Disney Theatrical Animated Universe 1 Divergent 1 DMBJ (Grave Robber's Chronicles) - Xu Lei 1 Dream SMP 1 Dungeons and Daddies (podcast) 1 Endeavour/Morseverse/Inspector Morse (ITV/Dexter) 1 Ensemble Stars!! 1 Fallout Video Game (Bethesda) 1 Falsettos 1 Fargo FX 1 Farscape 1 Fire Emblem (4-10, 13, 14, 16) 1 Five Nights at Freddy's 1 Friends at the Table 1 Game Changers Series - Rachel Reid 1 Grantchester 1 Green Creek 1 Grey's Anatomy 1 Grimm 1 Gundam (see below for details) 1 Hatchetfield 1 Hawaii 5.0 1 Hello From The Hallowoods 1 High School Musical 1 Higurashi no Naku Koro ni 1 Hollow Knight 1 Honkai Star Rail 1 Horizon Zero Dawn 1 Infinity Train 1 IT (Movies - Muschietti) 1 Jeff Satur - music videos 1 Julie and the Phantoms 1 Kushiel's Legacy 1 Law and Order 1 Legend of the Galactic Heroes 1 Live Free or Die Hard (Die Hard 4) 1 London Spy 1 Lovecraft Mythos 1 Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic 1 Magnificent Seven 1 Mary Grant Bruce's Billabong series 1 Mrs. Davis 1 My Little Pony 1 Nancy Drew (CW Series) 1 Narcos (TV) 1 Nine Worlds Series - Victoria Goddard 1 NU: Carnival 1 Omori 1 One Direction 1 Orphan Black 1 Outlast 1 Paranatural 1 Phantomarine 1 Re-Animator 1 Resident Evil/Biohazard 1 Sex Education (TV) 1 She-Ra and the Princesses of Power 1 Simon Snow Series 1 Skins (UK) 1 Slam Dunk 1 Starry Musical 1 Succession 1 Sunless Sea 1 Super Sentai 1 Sweeney Todd 1 Team Starkid 1 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 1 The Adventure Zone: Balance 1 The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across The 8th Dimension 1 The Adventures of Tintin 1 The Artful Dodger 1 The Good Place 1 The Greenhollow Series - Emily Tesh 1 The Hollows - Kim Harrison 1 The Last Kingdom 1 The Left-Handed Booksellers of London - Garth Nix 1 The Lunar Chronicles 1 The Mechanisms 1 The Pairing (Casey McQuiston) 1 The Saint of Steel 1 The Shadow Campaigns - Django Wexler 1 The Terror (TV 2018) 1 Three of Hearts 1 Tin Can Bros 1 Tower of God 1 True Detective 1 Twilight 1 Vorkosigan Saga - Lois McMaster Bujold 1 Wayfarers (Becky Chambers) 1 Weak Hero Class 1 1 Westworld (TV) 1 Yellowjackets 1 Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters

#fth 2024 #fandom trumps hate #fanworks charity auction #unlisted fandom challenge #signups are STILL OPEN!#do the thing!

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vileacademyofficial · 3 months

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Vile, there is one thing I think you are continuously asking yourself:

Where in the world is Carmen Sandiego?

Like, here's what we know-

-Well she sneaks around the world from ~Kiev~ to ~Carolina~

She's a sticky-fingered filcher from ~Berlin~ down to ~Belize~

She'll take you for a ride on a slow boat to ~China~

Tell me where in the world is Carmen Sandiego?

Steal their ~Seoul~ in ~South Korea~, make ~Antarctica~ cry ~Uncle~

From the ~Red Sea~ to ~Greenland~ they'll be singing the blues

Well they never ~Arkansas~ her steal the ~Mekong~ from the jungle

Tell me where in the world is Carmen Sandiego?

She go from ~Nashville~ to ~Norway~, ~Bonaire~ to ~Zimbabwe~

~Chicago~ to ~Czechoslovakia~ and back!

Well she'll ransack ~Pakistan~ and run a scam in ~Scandinavia~

Then she'll stick 'em up ~Down Under~ and go pick-pocket ~Perth~

She put the Miss in misdemeanor when she stole the beans from ~Lima~

Tell me where in the world is Carmen Sandiego?

Oh tell me where in the world is... Oh tell me where can she be?

Ooh, ~Botswana~ to ~Thailand~, ~Milan~ via ~Amsterdam~,

~Mali~ to ~Bali~, ~Ohio~, ~Oahu~...!

Well she glides around the globe and she'll flimflam every nation

She's a double-dealing diva with a taste for thievery

Her itinerary's loaded up with moving violations

Tell me where in the world is Carmen Sandiego?

i know this is the OG version but did you know that originally i had a recorded part in this dance but they cut it out because i sucked at it so bad 😔 nobody appreciates intern caramelldansen

#asks #vileacademyofficial #ANYWAY YOOOOOOOOOOOOOO #carmen sandiego #carmen sandiego 2019 #carmen sandiego netflix

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pacificwaternymph · 3 months

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Hey so um. Surprise?

I know this differs a lot from my usual content but if you want something done right you do it yourself ig-

Anyway, platonic Gray and Carmen for the soul <3

CH: 1/1

CW: Talk of death, talk of attempted murder (past)

Word Count: 5016

Rating: Gen

Relationships: Carmen Sandiego | Black Sheep & Graham Calloway | Crackle

Characters: Carmen Sandiego, Graham Calloway, Zack, Ivy, Player

No Archive Warnings Apply

Summary:

…She should leave him. He’d get picked up by the authorities, sure, but VILE would have him out in no time. Trying to drag him with her would only slow her down, and she couldn’t afford to be slow right now. She had places to be, things to steal and heists to ruin. She didn’t have time to feel bad about a person who would have dragged her back to VILE without a second thought had their positions been reversed.

By the time Chase Devineaux reached the train, all he found was an empty compartment.

Carmen doesn't leave Graham on the train to Paris. It changes... well, not everything. But certainly a lot.

#carmen sandiego #carmen sandiego 2019 #graham calloway #graham crackle #gray calloway #my writing #cs crackle #cs carmen

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toxicruins101 · 1 month

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Too much for the soul to take.

(commission, feel free to ask in DM's or pinned post for a commission)

Tag: @wishlist022

Carmen Sandiego and Gn! Reader

Tw: character death, angst, hyperventilating, existencial crisis, funeral.

Rear at your own risk.

Everyone knew it was a risk.

That it might be too much this time around, yet they pressured on.

And look at the consequences.

Carmen yelling and crying, player trying to comfort her over the comms.

The twins stayed silent while tears fell, not saying a single word.

Chase and Julia hadn't been told yet, granted they wouldn't have such a heavy reaction as the others, but it still hurt.

And you? You stayed silent, saying nothing as Carmen yelled at you.

You should have done more she exclaimed, her hurt voice booming around the bases walls as she did so.

It all started with a simple stealth mission, get in, get the information, and get out, but the universe has a tendency of messing up things that aren't supposed to be messed up.

The alarms blared, the white walls stained with red from the flashing lights.

Carmen and you ran as fast as possible to get out of there.

The yelling of urgency from everyone was almost too loud to hear and understand, but the fear in their voices was more than audible.

Carmen managed to run out the gates as they were being forced down, you weren't as fast as her, guards running after you.

You heard a gun shot, missing you just by an inch of your hair. It took you by surprise, your feet stumbling on each other, making you fall to the ground with a harsh thud.

The sound of rapid footsteps and someone helping you up was the only thing audible to you right now, your vision blurring in and out.

You blinked a few times, you were so close! So close to the outside.

Just as the person who was helping you stepped foot outside the barrier, you both came crashing down.

Gasps surround you, slowly blinking your eyes open at the feeling of a warm runny liquid staining your skin and clothes slowly.

Your vision un blurs.

"Shadow san.."

You whisper shocked, the gate had closed down, leaving you and the team alone in the silence.

There he laid, dead, in a pool of his own blood and it was all because of you.

A month had passed, yet the tension was obvious.

It was a shiny day on the wrong occasion, you watched as they carried out the casket, and put it underground.

Player even flew out to the team in order to mourn Shadow san properly, guilt clouded your heart and sadness your mind.

Nobody said it, or mentioned it, but they didn't need to. Their cold looks told you everything you needed to know.

That if you had been faster, quieter, more skilled, Shadow san wouldn't be buried 6 feet underground as you mourned.

People dressed in black surrounding you, familiar and non-familiar faces alike surrounded you.

White roses, each slowly but surely dropped into the casket until it was finally Carmen's turn.

She walked up, her steady pace slowed down with hurt. She took the only red rose and laid it with the others, right in the center.

The casket was covered up again, and it was done, everything was done. Shadow san was officially gone.

Carmen broke down, falling to her knees but refusing for anyone's help except Players.

You felt so bad, so so bad.

To know the death of such a loved person was caused by your recklessness, your stupidity. If you had known you would've never tagged along for this mission.

Yet you did, and not even a God could fix this now, if you repented for all your sins and found the holy light, nothing could fix this.

Nothing.

"you have to understand, Carm is..."

One of the twins start out, trying to help out like they could.

It had been two months since the funeral but everything was just too cold now, to empty.

"Mad? Yeah I figured as much. I killed her only family. There's not much I can say to make it better."

You say with a sigh, looking down at the ground.

"Just give her some time yeah? Maybe she'll understand eventually. This is hard for her like it is for all of us, let's go inside, mate. It's freezing out here."

Their voices ringed in your head, lies, all lies.

"they are useless! What happens when they screw up another mission huh?! When more lives are lost because of their idiocy!!"

Carmen yells angrily, her voice booming off the walls as she yelled back and forth with a nervous Player on the comms.

Tears brimmed your eyes and you ran, not knowing where to or when to stop, you just ran.

You panted, looking around at the secluded part of the city, you looked down at the floor and your knees buckled under you.

You held in a sob and wrapped your arms around yourself in an empty embrace.

You just wanted to be reminded what it felt to be loved again, to be part of a team, but then it got messed up, and there's nobody to blame but yourself.

You sobbed on the ground, desperate to scream and yell.

Breathing un-tense and useless as you wailed on the lonely ground, slamming your fists down in sadness and anger until you bled.

You doubted your existence, if not even Carmen could see your use, what were you good for?

Maybe she was right, you think.

You shouldn't be on the team, more death will surely follow your unlucky path and anybody that crosses it.

Your tears ran cold against your face, the on-coming cars seemed almost invisible as they edged ever closer to your shivering frame.

It isn't anger or happiness that makes the soul breakdown, most of the time it's pity for oneself or the pity towards others.

At the end of the day,

Sometimes guilt is just..

Too much for the soul to take.

#writing #fanfic #reader insert #gn reader #angst #carmen sandiego #carmen sandeigo 2019 #carmen sandeigo netflix #x gn reader #x gn y/n #character death #x reader

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fedorah-the-explorah · 8 months

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Graham:

Player:

Graham

Player:

Graham: I--

Player: --Kill yourself.

#carmen sandiego 2019 #carmen sandiego netflix #incorrect carmen sandiego #player carmen sandiego #i like to imagine player is harsh on the people carmen naively puts blind faith in #like someones gotta be the voice of caution #and they have to know their place #respect is EARNED #no but seriously #carmen isnt naive so to say #but she'll recklessly believe something if she wants to believe it #player is constantly like #girl.#slow the fuck down #UGH i feel like they'd have such an interesting friendship just from what we see on their capers #and it KILLS me that we never get to see them just hanging out and being dudes

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the-ghost-17 · 2 months

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This is Ghost!

I made a vilesona

Her name us Ghost

She goes by she/they pronouns but doesn't mind just she/her

Her code name is El Lovo, but everyone calls her El lovo Muerto because of their skeleton themed suit

They were part of the same class as paperstar and has a rivalry with her

Their favorite teachers were dr.bellum and maelstrom, she is Sairas protégé but is a bit of a disappointment due to her lack of a hand at mechanics

She is a skilled con-artist with a great sense of how the mind works but is a bit slow and doesn't pick up little things quickly

After an accident with a shipment of acid where they lose partial sight in one eye they decide to leave vile and pursue the elusive carmen sandiego to join her team, but having little luck and being constantly hunted by vile agents, she decides to settle down in a little coffee shop in Argentina where only month's after her quest ended would she finally meet the great carmen sandiego.

They enjoy boxing and scientific arguments / debates

She will fight you on any matter she cares about that you might speak I'll of

#carmen sandiego oc #vilesona #carmen sandiego #self insert #vile

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scattered-winter · 2 years

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the best kind of enrichment a creature like me can get is a piece of media with such complex worldbuilding and themes that I could spend literal weeks exploring it all. I’m sitting here in my enclosure with theories and headcanons and thoughts about The Narrative and the curse that comes with being a hero with a sworn unkillable enemy

#i'm jumping from hyperfixation to hyperfixation like a madman because otherwise i will experience a Thought #never fear carmen sandiego fans who got pulled in by the last 3 days of brainrot! i am not finished!#see i'm like a fuckin squirrel. i get into 4 different hyperfixations in the span of a week and they all take turns being microwaved #some are constantly on the slow cooker (like comics) and others come and go quickly #but they don't leave until i have exhausted every tidbit of canon and headcanon that i can #i'm squeezing the hell out of this worldbuilding which is GREAT because there's so fucking MUCH #YES i am rewatching and re-hyperfixating on bnha in the year of our lord 2022. what r u gonna do about it #listen it's superheroes except there's no vigilantism. which both removes the nuance from the genre and adds an entire new plethora to it #one of these days i'm gonna drop a ramble with all my thoughts so far. one day #i don't read the manga and it's been YEARS since i've watched the show so some of my analyses and predictions are probably already canceled #out by canon #but consider this: what if i'm right about everything ever #like. ugh this show makes me insane w all the themes and parallels and shit #one for all is a curse that was forced onto the first bearer and every holder since #because they all die VIOLENTLY at the hands of afo (as i'm assuming since afo is still alive even after all the ofa holders who have faced #him #which leaves one possibility in my mind w my limited knowledge: he killed them before they could kill him #which means that every new bearer is just the most recent victim of the Narrative Curse #and by gathering their strength and fighting the unkillable enemy and inevitably passing the power on to the next bearer they're just #making the Narrative Curse claim them all the faster in the end #and i haven't even gotten INTO hero killer stain's whole shtick #he's such a fascinating character because he's what the superhero genre is originally about! he's a vigilante fighting for his own terms in #a world where it's illegal to do so. he's literally a superhero in the fact that he embodies the genre the show is based out of.#the Narrative strikes again #and yet he's a murderer who actively hunts down heroes and kills them.#but even that just makes him all the more fascinating because HE HAS A MORAL CODE.#he believes that heroes shouldn't be paid. they shouldn't be celebrities. if a hero gets paid to do their job #then they're just a glorified cop and we all know how paying people with power to have authority and resources over others turns out #and i fully agree w stain on that count because while its true a lot of heroes in that society genuinely want to make the world a better #place....positions of power always attract the people who most abuse that power.

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frozenwolftemplar · 8 months

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Writer's Month Day 18: Free

Fandom: Carmen Sandiego (Netflix)

Rating: G

Word Count: 2,730 (just dawned on me to include this, lol)

Summary: Carmen and Player have some time to themselves before meeting up with the others, and Player has a fit of inspiration for a fun way to spend it. After all, a park lawn presently being watered by sprinklers is basically an open invitation.

Author's Note: Someone in this fandom (not sure who) formed the headcanon that Player takes a gap year when he turns 18 and travels the world with Carmen; this fic makes use of that. Happy readng!

+++

“So:” Player didn’t look up from his phone as he walked, tapping and swiping through windows with practiced speed. “Shadowsan should get here later this evening, and Ivy and Zach tomorrow. Their ACME job just wrapped up in Seoul, so they’re good to hit an early flight first thing. Provided the plane leaves as scheduled, they should touch down sometime around ten-thirty, we all swing by the hotel to drop their stuff off, and then we should be good to get started on some sightseeing. Sound good?”

Merry lines crinkled around Carmen’s eyes as she looked over at Player, walking alongside her. He used the same clipped efficiency she remembered from the briefings that flowed through her comms before countless capers back when they were taking down VILE, and hearing it again caused something warm and comfortable to stir in her chest.

Was this what nostalgia felt like?

“Red?”

At the verbal nudge, Carmen blinked back to the mostly-empty park they were walking through and met his questioning look with a grin. “Perfect. It’s almost like you’ve done this before.”

“Who, me?” Player blinked up at her- he’d grown taller since she first saw him in-person, but she still had a good two or three inches on him- with obviously feigned innocence. “An expert in booking flights and scheduling rendezvous? What do I look like, some kind of tech genius to an incurable globetrotter who still can’t figure out how to book her own airline tickets?”

Carmen chuckled. “Something like that. And hey,” his footsteps broke out of their steady rhythm as she nudged him playfully with her shoulder. “I’m getting there. I booked our tickets to Osaka myself, didn’t I? And the train tickets to Matsumoto?”

He answered with an impressively flat look.

“Okay,” she amended. “Mostly by myself.” Because no matter that she was the one operating the touchpad and clicking the appropriate buttons, the feat would have been impossible without Player perched next to her in the hotel, coaching her through each screen and patiently pointing out where to click.

“That’s more like it. But hey, a few more cities, and you’ll be a pro. Maybe not as good as me, of course...”

Carmen huffed a laugh.“I can live with that. You said we’ve got time before meeting up with Shadowsan?”

Back down to the phone Player dove, pulling up and scrolling through windows with a speed Carmen’s eyes never could keep up with. “Just checking for any delays or traffic slow-downs...” he muttered as Carmen, at the rapid pattering of a jogger coming up behind them, took ahold of his elbow and steered him onto the grass (they’d already nearly been bowled over by her twice and what kind of master thief nearly had the same accident three times?).

“About half an hour.” Player slid the phone back into his pocket, matching his stride to hers as they stepped back onto the pavement.

Carmen hummed thoughtfully. Not much time, relatively speaking, but after a couple of months traveling together, they’d gotten remarkably good at making the most of even the briefest length of time. “We can work with that. Anything you want to-”

A sharp hissing sound cut her off. They both stopped and looked towards sprawling emerald-green lawn the path bordered, where an army of sprinkler heads had just popped out of the ground and were busily filling the air with misty plumes of droplets, sprayed out in wide, sweeping arcs over the grass. Player whipped towards Carmen, grinning wide, eyes alight with a sudden idea.

Carmen tilted her head in confusion, brow arched in incomprehension. They were just sprinklers, nothing to get excited about.

“It’s a hot day,” he said in a leading tone, nodding towards the lawn. “Want to cool off a bit?”

Carmen blinked.

....He couldn’t be serious.

Her confusion must have showed (not that it would have made a difference if it didn’t; she’d never cease to be amazed by just how well he could read her), because now he was looking at her with disbelief. “Don’t tell me you’ve never ran through sprinklers?”

“Uh...no?” Carmen looked over his shoulder at the grass being subjected to a localized rain shower, brows furrowed. Run *through* them? Was this a Canadian thing?

“Seriously?” Player looked at her quizzically. “No one, like, ever set up sprinklers to water the Academy lawns?”

She shrugged flippantly. “Never needed to. It rained a lot.”

“And your mom?”

“Artificial turf. She said she gave up on grass a long time ago.” Because apparently, grass did not mix with dozens of kids stampeding over it day in and day out for a decade plus.

”Uh-huh...” Player nodded slowly, letting her answer sink in. The second it did a grin burst across his face, impossibly wide and bright enough to cause Carmen to fight a squint. “Then this is perfect! I can finally show you something cool!”

The uncomprehending brow was arched higher. “Niagra Falls doesn’t count?” Because from where she stood, thousands of gallons of water rushing over a cataract was definitely a more impressive sight than urban lawn care.

“That’s different.” Player waved a hand, brushing aside one of the natural wonders of the world like it was as pedestrian as a rain puddle. “This is a summertime tradition. Every kid does it at least once. You *have* to. It’s the rule.”

A smirk answered him. “Even if I got hung up on rules-“ (they both knew she still didn’t), “I’m pretty sure they don’t apply here. I’m twenty-two.”

Player shrugged, unbothered by the technicality that was age. “So? Better late than never.” He crossed his arms and looked at her archly. “Don’t tell me the great Carmen Sandiego is afraid of getting a little wet?”

Carmen huffed through her nose. “Of course not.”

“Then...?”

“It’s just...” she chewed her lip, rolling her eyes upwards, away from his quietly expectant face to search the cloudless sky for words, then shrugged lamely. ”I’m just not used to doing ‘kid stuff?’” A pathetic answer, she knew, especially since she knew Player knew what an average day at the orphanage looked like for her, but playing tag with the kids in her mom’s yard or even Marco Polo with Zach and Ivy at a hotel pool (an old mainstay during their travels, one she’d never tired of and was frankly looking forward to once they finished sightseeing tomorrow and returned to the hotel; now that Player was here, they were going to try teams) just felt...different from what Player was proposing.

She supposed VILE was to blame for her hesitation, at least partway. She *was not* a part of them, but their old lessons were still a part of her, from protecting the face to perfecting the featherlight touch that was a master of stealth’s perennial pride to more delicate lessons in criminal comportment, memories tinted with the posh, perfumed scent of Cleo’s classroom. A professional thief, per the haughty echo that still rang in the back of her thoughts, always carried themselves with dignity while out in the field, a mantle of aloofness that precluded any unsavory questions from passers-by being an indispensable part of any outfit. Accordingly, when she’d taken up her own mission of bringing VILE to its knees, her modus operandi had, by habit, included the attitude of abstaining from any public displays of spectacle.

So, yes, VILE had a hand in her hesitation, but...not fully. Part of her sensed that even if she had grown up as her father intended, ignorant of them and away from their clutches, she’d still be wearing the mantle, albeit out of nature. She just...wasn’t that sort of person, she supposed, to spontaneously run through sprinklers in a public park, saving those indulgences in ‘kid stuff’ for more private venues; a mirror of sorts to how Zach and Ivy never did share her enjoyment of high-class galas (both far preferring the street fair fundraisers they frequented back in San Diego which, she could admit, held their own charms).

Player’s expression softened as he listened between the lines. “I get it, Red, but look around.” She obediently did, scanning the park in all of a second. The day, even as it slid towards evening, was too hot for most people to brave the outdoors, and the only person in sight that same laser-focused jogger who had eyes only for the pavement speeding under her Reeboks.

Player followed Carmen’s gaze as she tracked the woman and, in answer to her knotting brows: “I doubt she’d notice.”

Carmen didn't. True, the woman had proven to have commendable tunnel vision, but two definitely-not-kids running through sprinklers making a spectacle would likely be the exact sort of occurrence that would *force* her to take notice of her surroundings.

Hence her opinion remained unchanged: no way

But when she looked back at Player with a disagreement on her lips he was holding out a hand, hopeful, eager. “Please, Red? It’s fun...”

She supposed she should be embarrassed at how little it took for her to capitulate to puppy-dog-eyes and an enticing sing-song, but, well, what else could she do when such a request came from her best friend? And, well, when she looked at the sprinklers, still chkk chkk chkk-ing away, the sound oddly enticing, she couldn’t ignore the fact that a part of her really did want to.

She offered one final rebuttal, but the smirk curving the words robbed it of any purpose beyond their old, familiar banter. “I doubt getting soaking wet in your clothes is fun.”

"Oh, just wait."

The second she set her hand in his, he tightened his grip and bolted onto the lawn, darting through the jets of water and dragging her after him. Droplets laughed against her skin, splashing and tickling her with a cool so sudden she gasped. Then the laughter was seeping into her, causing a light, tripping feeling to bubble up in her chest. Ahead of her, Player tugged left, taking Carmen in a zig zag path, not missing a jet of water, laughing loud as she shrieked at each spray they crashed through, the giddy, wheeling sensation in her chest at last spilling over into a rush, wild and without reserve, of girlish giggles.

The sound spurring him on, Player banked sharp to a right, heading for a sprinkler head whose fan shaped plume was arcing high, unfurling straight into the air. A wild light blazed in Carmen's eyes as she saw his intention, and she summoned a burst of speed so she was no longer being dragged behind him, but running alongside, then ahead, strides long and pounding as she gathered herself and leaped through the spray, elegant and unfettered to cause the roe envy. She kept her speed as she landed, heading for the next jet to the soundtrack of Player racing not terribly far behind, whooping in a way she hadn’t heard before and cheering with abandon as she flew, arms spread out wide behind her, through spray after joyous spray, a wilding set free.

Crud, she would always be amazed at how good it felt to just play, no constraining rules or machinations for victory; no confining chessboard or suits of diamonds or spades to pen you in; just her and Player running through sprinklers, getting absolutely soaked for the fun of it. It was exhilarating in a way the capers never had been.

“There!” Player, bangs dripping into his eyes, laughed when they at last came to a stop on the far side of the lawn. “Told you it was fun!”

Carmen pushed a tendril behind her ear. “Yeah,” she panted, grinning wide, a lightness somersaulting joyously in her chest. Really, it was more than fun; she couldn’t explain how, but the sensation of racing through the jets coupled with the feel of her decidedly damp shirt clinging to her skin was oddly freeing, unlatching a door inside her she hadn’t realized had been shut and loosing all manner of coltish, frolicsome impulses she never knew were hidden inside her. She grinned slyly over at Player. “But you know what would be more fun?” Not giving him time to answer, she tapped him on the head. ”Tag!”

“Wha-“ he blinked after her as she bolted through the sprinklers again, fleet as the wind and completely heedless of the jets, shouting, over her shoulder, “You’re it!”

For a moment he stared, wondering how in the world Carmen, who’d needed an explanation for ‘Simon says’ when her mom asked her to lead the littler kids in a game, knew what ‘tag’ was (the possibility of Shadowsan teaching her back on the Island both did and did not make sense), then threw off contemplation in favor of, with a cry of “La Femme Rogue!” that would have had Zach and Ivy in stitches and Julia trying very hard not to be, taking off after Carmen.

“You will not escape this time!”

Such a bold statement very nearly came true as his quarry nearly doubled over laughing as she stumbled to a stop, hands wrapped around her middle (crud, that was a terrible impression).

“Ah ha! She has a weakness!”

“Not fair!” Carmen panted as she straightened and resumed running, albeit with a smaller gap between pursuant and pursuer than before.

“All’s fair in- WHOA!”

Proving that even in imitation she held the advantage over her old adversary, Carmen pivoted on a dime so Player’s reaching hand armed with ‘Tag!’ completely missed its mark and, being propelled by its owner’s momentum, proceeded to cause said owner to topple towards the ground. Player hastily tried to correct his balance, slow his fall, and regain footing in the slick grass, but ultimately his efforts proved futile, seeing him faceplant heavily- Thud! -on the ground.

A candle attacked by a bucket of water was doused slower than the sprightly mood that had glistened over the lawn.

“Player!” Carmen darted to kneel by her friend, breathing heavily but otherwise motionless. She moved to grasp his shoulder to shake, then thought better of it, leaving her hand hovering uncertainly in midair. “Player, I am so sorry, are- can you-“ Crud, she much, *much* preferred being the unconscious one. “Can you even hear me?!?”

“...Red?”

Carmen breathed out a sigh of relief (small relief, he could still be concussed or paralyzed or a dozen other grim possibilities). “Player, thank goodness, are you hurt or-“

“M’fine, Red. Just...”

She bent closer as he trailed off to hear better, completely missing how one of his hands was scuttling towards a sprinkler jet.

“Yeah?”

“YOU’RE IT!”

Grasping the head, Player shoved his thumb over the jet so it sprayed directly at Carmen.

“AUGH!!!” She fell back, spluttering and trying (uselessly) to shield her face from the spray with her hands as Player leapt to his feet, front smeared with mud and grass but eyes wild with fun. “That doesn’t count!” she managed once the water was back on its normal trajectory. “You didn’t tag me!”

“Eh,” Player shrugged, unrepentant. “A technicality. Besides, I thought you didn’t get hung up on rules?”

“Fair point,” Carmen, after some deliberation, conceded with a slow, thoughtful nod. She stood, idly brushing some blades of grass from her thighs. “And since we’re playing that way...”

She glanced up at Player, and he gulped, catching the way the sun snagged on the mischievous glint in Carmen’s eyes. “Uh oh.”

“I’ll give you a head start.”

On her next circuit, the impossible happened and the jogger paused, running in place as she watched the pair frolicking in the sprinklers, the earlier game of Tag having devolved into a tickle fight. A smile blossomed across her face and she turned to a man who had just materialized beside her, also watching the pair. “Nice to see young people enjoying themselves.”

“Yes.” The man nodded his concurrence, the years melting from his weathered face at an especially wild peal from the girl as the boy attacked an unusually ticklish spot on her ribs (no regrets on divulging that secret to him, that was certain). “It most certainly is.”

And none, Shadowsan thought with a grin as the jogger moved on and he turned back the way he came, letting Carmen and Player have this moment to themselves, the laughter frolicking at his heels lifting the corners of his mouth, deserve it more.

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