#carmen sandiego season three spoilers

[historyhermann]

Spy x Family Review

Spy x Family is an action spy comedy based on a manga by Tatsuya Endo. It is directed and written by Kazuhiro Furuhashi. It is produced by Wit Studio and CloverWorks. The latter studio is known for many series, including Akebi's Sailor Uniform, My Dress-Up Darling, In the Heart of Kunoichi Tsubaki, and Bocchi the Rock!, which released this year. The former studio gained recognition after it produced Attack on Titan's first three seasons. This review will have spoilers.

Reprinted from Pop Culture Maniacs, my History Hermann WordPress blog (where it will be published on Mar. 1), and Wayback Machine. This was the seventeenth article I wrote for Pop Culture Maniacs. This post was originally published on December 31, 2022.

The plot of Spy x Family focuses around the mission of a skilled secret agent codenamed Twilight (voiced by Takuya Eguchi). He is tasked with enrolling a child in a prestigious university to spy on an important political leader as part of Operation Strix, in an effort to keep peace between two warring nations, Westalis and Ostania,  an allusion to East and West Germany. In order to complete his task, he takes on the name of Loid Forger, adopts Anya (voiced by Atsumi Tanezaki), a young orphan girl, and marries a beautiful woman named Yor Briar (voiced by Saori Hayami).

Little does he know, but Anya and Yor have secrets of their own: Anya is a mind-reader and Yor is a deadly assassin who is named "Thorn Princess" due to her deadly nature. Despite these dangers, and Loid making decisions which don't always follow common sense, he struggles with juggling the duties of being a caring father, husband, and perfect spy all at the same time.

This plot makes for an enjoyable comedy. Anya is a character that many can relate to not because of her mind-reading abilities, but her quick wit, flexibility, and love for cartoons. Hilariously, the cartoon she loves, Spy Wars, resembles what Loid actually does for a living.

In the same way that Carmen Sandiego, in the recent animated series of the same name, is shown to have human limits, Anya, Loid, and Yor are not superhuman. Anya's powers wane during a new moon and crowded places stress her out. Yor can become insecure and has a lack of social skills, leading her work colleagues to bully her. Loid can become physically exhausted from his work, including his cover job as a psychiatrist at a local hospital in the city of Berlint.

All of the characters have their own villains which makes Spy x Family an intriguing series. Apart from the country's secret police, Loid faces a skeptical brother of Yor, Yuri, who is wholly dedicated to her. Just like the protagonists, Yuri has his own secret. He masquerades as a diplomat when he is actually a secret police officer. Also, Yor feels threatened by Nightfall, a former apprentice of Loid who has a crush on him, and believes that Loid may leave her for Nightfall. At school, Anya faces challenges from fellow students and instructors.

While each of the characters, especially those in the main cast, have their strong points, Yor stands out above the others. While she only marries Loid at first as a matter of convenience, as the series goes on, she is further drawn to him, and dedicating herself to him, and Anya. She has a tough and strong nature unlike any other character, which is displayed when her assassin skills are put to use. Similar to other anime characters, she drinks to calm herself down. In an interesting twist, she can clean well, but cannot cook (unlike Loid), and can be selfless but absent-minded.

Spy x Family is unlike any other spy series I've ever seen. It does not have the combination of comedy, action, and adventure like the classic 2000s Disney series Kim Possible or similar to the often formulaic, and glitzy, spy fiction Totally Spies! This is because Anya, Loid, and Yor are all playing certain roles, either as schoolchildren or parents, to allay any suspicion from who they truly are.

The series has been positively received, with fans engaging in cosplay, and manga editions flying off the shelves. This popularity has been recognized by the show's producers, who recently renewed the series for a second season and film, which is set to premiere in 2023.

There are many themes in Spy x Family that go beyond a focus on spying. For one, human experimentation is an important sub-theme, even more than occasional mentions of it in the ongoing yuri golf series Birdie Wing. For example, Anya detests studying because it was forced upon her when she was a test subject. Furthermore, the family dog, Bond, later adopted by the Forgers, has future vision akin to Garnet in Steven Universe, and was also experimented on by humans.

The smoothness of the anime's voice acting, music, and animation make it stand out more than other series which aired this year, such as Bocchi the Rock! and Do it Yourself!. This is unsurprising since the show's director, and writer, Furuhashi, is well-established in the anime industry. He previously worked on series such as Rurouri Kenshin, Zipang, Hunter x Hunter, Gunslinger Girl, and Le Chevalier D'Eon.

The show's music is by (K)now Name, a Japanese group known for their work in five other anime, including Sakura Quest and Dorohedoro. Additionally, the show's voice actors are seasoned. For instance, Eguchi prominently voiced Kazuya Kujo in Gosick, while Hayami voiced Yuzuki Shiraishi in A Place Further than the Universe. These elements are enhanced by the show's writing.

Spy x Family doesn't have any direct or indirect LGBTQ themes, even it arguably has queer themes, but not queer representation. In this way, it is different from other spy fiction like the 2018 steampunk spy action Princess Principal, or the OVA and anime springing from the Read or Die light novel and manga. Both have some indirect yuri themes and subtext.

This series was only rivaled on Crunchyroll by the final season of Kaguya-sama: Love Is War, the third season of Ascendance of a Bookworm, and new series such as Love After World Domination, Aharen-san wa Hakarenai, and Shikimori’s Not Just a Cutie, all of which were well-animated and constructed series. However, Spy x Family was the only outright only spy fiction which began during the Spring 2022 series lineup for the streaming platform. This anime was on par with those series because of its staff, artwork, story, and plot.

Although accurately identifying which anime have the best production values can be challenging due to a lack of public information, and the fact that having a big budget doesn’t "mean that a production ends up looking great", Spy x Family is well illustrated, animated, and constructed, meaning that the production value is higher than other series. As such, it is no exaggeration to say this series has some of the best production values I've ever seen in an anime. This has attracted many fans to the series, which received some of the best ratings "among all [TV Tokyo] programs on all stations for the July 2022 season".

In Western animation, happy families are often the norm, especially in Disney series. This series stands against that norm. Yor, Loid, and Anya are only together for convenience. They are a chosen or found family, but all feel a connection to each other. This is not unique to this series.

A similar family of sorts exists in the popular isekai I've Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level. The protagonist, Azusa Aizawa, becomes an immortal witch, and has a family of sorts which includes a dragon girl, sentient slime spirits, and a ghost girl. A difference is that Spy x Family is more focused on each family member trying to fulfill their societal role, of sorts, and the family in this anime only consists of three people, rather than something larger.

This series bucks the common theme of anime protagonists struggling to do "their best" in school. Such a theme is present in the well-regarded magical girl series Cardcaptor Sakura and Sailor Moon, but is also often present in Western animations.

In Spy x Family, Anya is a terrible student, in part because of human experimentation on her. As a result, she tries to become friends with fellow students to further the "friendship scheme" rather than becoming an Imperial Scholar. Anya is just as bad at academics as Eve in Birdie Wing. However, she has the unique advantage of reading minds and a level of charm that Eve doesn't always have.

Although this series is not as absurd as the overly dramatic golf tournaments in Birdie Wing, the interactions between the characters make you invested in them, and want to watch more. This is strengthened through the many comedic moments, either between Loid and Anya, Anya and Yor, or Anya and Bond. As a result, you root for the characters, either when Loid is gathering intelligence for his next mission or when Anya is trying to make friends at school.

The second season of Spy x Family, set to air sometime in 2023, along with a film, will likely develop the growing romance between Loid and Yor, the friendships Anya is making at school, and the strained relationship that Damian has with his family. As was the case with the 25-episode first season, all of these stories will be intertwined together in some form.

The first season of Spy x Family is currently streaming on Hulu and Crunchyroll.

© 2022-2023 Burkely Hermann. All rights reserved.

[itsdappleagain]

CS Season 3 Thoughts...

Okay, overall?? Kinda disappointed, like a lot of people. Only five episodes, its been covered. Its disappointing. But lets go over them, shall we...

The Luchadora Tango Caper

Overall thoughts? Well, this season seems so....separated? Kind of out of character and disconnected. I’ll go over why at the end.

Haha, do the Cleaners do everything?? They can cook, rig explosives, kidnap people, play bagpipes, fly a helicopter...is technology really their weakness? Oops. That’s not for another few episodes.

Poor Cleo. She seems rather out of character in this season too. All she wants is to be warm. Throughout, she seems so...almost inexperienced? Where’s the sharp-tongued, sarcastic, delicate in taste and style Cleo we know? She’s there in places.....just...

They faked us out. I thought we were going to see Carmen tangoing. Also, is it just me, or is there a lot of...leg wrapping...this season..?

Ah yes, thank you, musical cues, I was worried Shadow-san had torn Carmen to pieces since Season 3. That’s her triumph score; maybe its like a “welcome back to cs” or something. Honestly, the whole “she’s been missing all summer” seems weird and unexplained, and unnecessary.

Does Veracruz exist? Yes, it does, how did that fly under our radars?

“I have his eyes” tore me to bits. Oh my gosh what a line. She’s seeing her father for the first time.

Thank you for showing us the 10 passports and giving us some pictures, we will never hear anything about Dexter or Vera after this episode again

She was an adorable baby and Carmen acknowledging this is hilarious

“Who may I have the pleasure of declining?” is another really funny line to me

This fight between Carmen and Spinkick has no suspense and its really a bad one to be honest, but holy crap Spinkick can dent stone lol

It makes a lot of sense that Catching Carmen Sandiego 101 is a class now, lol. I really want to see it. That- those fights were horrible by the way. Does Shadowsan know how to use the bolas? Because we know Carmen sure can’t.

Coach sure does like making messes and ruining tables

Ivy is so supportive this season and I am here for it. Kinda unlike Zack who is just “Hi, I hate fish and I misunderstand names” guy.

Yeah Maelstrom, what the hell did you let her walk for? Brunt easily captured her and you want to enforce sketchy psychological doubts in her mind? What?

Don’t show your face, Maelstrom says to Brunt. You know. After kidnapping a law enforcer with apparently perfect face memory recall who now has your face plastered all over wanted posters. Oh, and that Lutedor you knocked out didn’t see your face either

There is so much indirect calling Carmen good looking this season? What? I mean she is but it is so weird

Zack saying juicy steaks is so so uncomfortable

Carmen is so disengaged this season???? *Finds a link to her mother and pictures of her father* oh its another *sad sigh* link to my past. *Wow, you look like your mother, and I knew her, and her name!* Oh. Can you tell me about her.. Family is Carmen’s main trigger and source of steam in s1 and, mostly, s2. Now we get actual parts about it and she seems like she doesn’t care.

HAHA! Julia even gets her own little entrance with music and “camera” angles. And she is SO dismissively sassy sometimes in this season, I love what little we do get of her. I mean it is REALLY out of character, she hardly ever gets sassy/angry. But everyone is out of character so what the hell might as well enjoy it

“We have a fresh Carmen sighting!” Devineaux: “Haha!” Julia: *sigggggghhh* Julia girl, whats up? Please don’t leave forever. I know you said your head was in the game but your heart wasn’t, but? What? Why? Your heart seems to have been in it in season 2! Did you have a really bad summer??

Player has a space alien and a sock on his dresser and why am I not surprised

Okay, Carmen, because sitting down against a door you’re waiting to open (and you have waited for three seconds) is a great thing to do

Hahhaha Player. “I’m sorry, did you not attend a school for thieves?” Carmen is so sad though “Hey, just broke into your house, I’m your long lost daughter” and she should be sadder about the long lost daughter thing!??! It is so out of character!?!?

And so, Uncatchable Master Super Thief Carmen Sandiego breaks into an unknown house without checking it for people or weapons, after waiting three seconds to be let in. What? What?

The casual use of “mommy” and “daddy” is so, so very strange and I hate it a lot

*Snort* Zack and Ivy are doing their best but it is sot hard to see how they got caught by VILE in TSONTS

jgkjjdf Ivy just slings Zack to the floor and he can not move her an inch

I love Lupe a lot and I hope she returns

Carmen is more wholesome in this season too, it seems, probably because of this whole disengaged character shift but its cute

Devineaux *s t r u t s*

I would be concerned if Chief hadn’t made him take the driving course but I was still terrified for Julia’s life ALSO JULIA JUST. ROLLS HER EYES SASSY QUEEN

How is it that Zack and Ivy haven’t been arrested or killed yet, they have been seen so many times with her

Ah, yes. The famed roses scene. Okay, fine, fine....ugh

Julia is looking for Carmen behind because she learned her lesson with Devineaux! yes

Julia knows what is up but Devineaux gesturing at the trophies is pretty funny

Carmen just gets yoinked off her feet by Brunt and it is the most concerned she has been all season and will be all season because getting lifted off your feet in a crowded public place with strong friends and lawmen all around is much scarier than being electrocuted, kidnapped, and gagged on a plane going to an unknown location

Coach Brunt was the Imposter

“This isn’t your fight,” Carmen says, instead of accepting help from the woman who she has seen easily lift probably 300 pounds or more to help her get rid of the lady who’s tried to murder her like twice and nearly succeeded

Oh my gosh Devineaux actually spots her peeking out and recognizes her instead of blindly following Zack/Ivy and Carmen is PEEKING OUT WHY

Carmen is handcuffed and its really funny She just drags him along like later would be a much better time for her fhdgfkhdhsf Also she is much funnier when she threatens people with a bumbling idiot cuffed to her wrist, although he is much less of a bumbling idiot this season, I must say

Of. Course. Carmen has a device which just unlocks handcuffs why wouldn’t she?!

How is Devineaux not dead

HAHA SHE JUST EXAPSERATEDLY DRAGS HIM AWAY “COME ON DEVINEAUX” that is quiet honestly hilarious to me like “My god why do I have to keep dragging you out of stupidly dangerous situations involving Brunt where you get injured”

Oh? Did they rehearse Lupe jumping off Carmen’s back? Lupe had no way to know Carmen was strong or steady enough to handle that

Saira cackling at Brunt getting beat up is the best thing I’ve ever witnessed and she is drawing a thief cat oh my god

Did Lupe still win if that wasn’t her opponent and she had help from Carmen and a debatably helpful policeman

Julia my child what happened to you? Why are you like Zari now?

Devineaux just can’t keep a car in good condition ever can he? I love how Julia just stands there covering her mouth with her hands

My god Carmen are you going to tell your story and motives to every person you meet this season? Oh? Yes? Oh, okay

No, Brunt, not a single soul saw your face. Nope. 

VILE is so, so very unsinister during most of these episodes. They went from murder and trauma to pumpkin carving and nougat

Well, anyway. I’ll do more episodes coming soon.

[camscendants]

How many people do you think Carmen killed while under the mind control? I mean we saw her attempt to murder Zack, Gray, and Shadowsan in the short amount of time that we saw her. How many people did she actually succeed in killing in the time that we didn’t.

[lorgedoggo]

God i fuckign love Julia, the chief and Chase are just bouncing ideas off of each other about what nefarious activities Carmen could have been up to and Julia meekly suggests “consider: she was not committing crimes?” her faith is unshakable we stan

[beatskylar]

A broken memory, is a knife to the heart

(Spoiler alert if you haven’t seen the last season.)

AU: instead of Carmen remembering the truth, she’s captured and her friends race against the clock to remind her of who she truly is. Cannon up to the end of the show.

I hope you enjoy

```````````````

“Don’t you remember me? I’m your friend, Jules!”

“The only ‘Jules’ I care to befriend are the kind right over there.”

Carmen startles awake, sweat running down her spine despite being trapped in a cold room. It takes her a moment for her breathing to return to normal, but her heart still pounds inside her body as if she was running away from someone, from something.

“Jules.” It scares her how easy the blue coat’s name rolls off her tongue, second nature by now despite being the second time she has ever said her name. She doesn’t dare say anything else, she knows she’s being watched and right now she has to focus. She has to escape and let VILE know they’re being monitored and that Crackle... He’s a traitor to them, Gray betrayed her.

“Please come back.”

“You sold me out, Gray.”

The bed she was on creeks as she stands, the noise tugging at her heart for no reason. The only source of light is coming from the ceiling, but its dimmed to the point she can’t pinpoint any doors that could lead her to freedom, but she can guess if there’s a door, it’ll be opposite the steel toilet and sink. When she looks up and sees a camera, clearly directed at her, she smiles.

Whoever captured her thinks they have won, and she’s going to be pleased when she escapes without any of them knowing.

“You were the only loose end. Until five seconds ago when I captured the elusive Carmen Sandiego.”

She bites down the scream that begs to be released as images of her and Gray bombard her. She doesn’t ever remember being on a train with Gray, especially with him pointing his crackle rod at her as she just sits there. She would of attacked him, disarmed him in a second for being dumb enough to threaten her with his little toy.

“It’s not real, it’s not real.” She repeats the mantra through gritted teeth but with every repetition the images become harder to ignore. The feeling of the black string wrapped around her fingers, connecting her to the bag holding the greatest treasure in the world. From a caper she doesn’t remember pulling.

The slight hum of Gray’s weapon as they talk, talk about her and VILE. His cocky smile believing he won, to the fearless look on his face as she points his weapon back at him, no hum emitting. 

“Fingerprint recognition”

“They never protect the face.”

“It’s fingerprint activated. It won’t work for you.”

“Won’t it? Being VILE faculty has its perks.”

It’s too much, right now all she wants is for it to stop. She feels her tears slide down her face as she grabs a hold of the nearby wall, her legs are shaking, and her breathing becomes erratic.

“What did you do to me!?” She yells with all her might, refusing to fall back onto that creaking, uncomfortable, sorry excuse for a bed. “Gray! You... You traitor!” slowly she falls back into the bed, conscious as the pain continues to gain power. “You used to be my friend. I thought of you as a brother.” Is the last thing she whispers before falling unconscious.

```````````````

“It’s-”

“Yeah, Yeah.”

“For our own safety.”

For the second time Carmen jolts awake, breathing heavily and waiting for her body to calm down. She still has a mission to do, she needs to protect her family from those damn blue coats, Gray and... Shadowsan. He turned Gray against her, why else would he betray her and VILE? Shadowsan is going to pay for everything he’s done.

Carmen doesn’t move, not even when a bright light enters the room for a few seconds before disappearing. She waits patiently for whoever entered the room to speak. After a few minutes of silence, she looks up, grey eyes meeting black. Blood rushes through her body, reigniting the anger at the man she sees before her. “Shadowsan,” Carmen scoffs, forcing her body to attack. Quickly she pushes herself off the bed, throwing rapid punches towards the former VILE faculty, who easily counters every attack without hesitation. “I’ll make you regret ever stealing from me.”

“Are you with me?”

“To the end of the line.”

“I did not come here for the gem.”

“Neither did I.”

She continues, remembering everything Coach Brunt taught her on how to inflict excruciating pain to her enemy. Every punch and kick is evaded with ease, and yet he never strikes back. He dances around her, a song she doesn’t know forcing her to attack and hope she can land a punch on the shadow. “I do not wish to harm you, Carmen.” His voice and face show no emotion, but his eyes do: she saw a glimpse of sadness in her former professor’s eyes.

“you already did!,” three more punches followed by a swift kick finally land on Shadowsan, pushing him towards the wall. “You tried to stop me by cheating me out of a passing grade. When that didn’t work, you tried destroying the only family I knew by betraying us,” Carmen kept the distance between the two, giving her a minute to catch her breath and prepare for another blow. “If you think I’ll let you get away with murdering my father, you are sorely mistaken!”

Carmen yells, throwing her right fist towards Shadowsan’s face, who simply grabs it in his left hand, refusing to let her go. “Carmen, you need to listen to me. VILE has lied to you, I did not take his life.”

“You have been misled. I did not take your father’s life.” Anger pulses through Carmen’s veins at the denial of his actions. Why can’t he just man up, and admit he is a murder? Her attacks become rapid in pace, and Shadowsan is just as quick to avoid getting injured. He is able to counter all her moves, reading her movements before she can hurt him, they both move together as if they have practiced this fight before. “Please, you are in no condition to fight.”

Shadowsan quickly grabs Carmen’s left arm, his unmoving form doesn’t even react to Carmen as she struggles against his grips. Growling she tries kneeing him in his stomach, but none of her kick’s lands on her target. “Carmen, you need to rest. You should not be fighting.”

Shadowsan sidestep Carmen as she throws a left jab, screaming when he remains unscratched. Right, left, right jabs are thrown in quick successions which only prove to be able to make Shadowsan take several steps back to avoid her furry. A front kick to his chest pushes him to the nearby pillar with force, but she’s not done. She quickly follows it by two roundhouse kick, the second one striking him in the jaw with more power than the first. Lastly, she fires of three precise hooks to his stomach, effectively leaving him breathless. He falls to his knees, one hand clenching his stomach as the other props him from falling face first. He is left completely powerless to her.

“Normally, I’ll force you to beg for my mercy,” Her smile reflects the power she feels at besting her former teacher, former family. “But you know what they say: An eye for an eye.” A familiar crackle and green light fills the night, sealing Shadowsan to the same fate as Gray.

“Carmen-”

“Beg me. I want to hear you beg me to kill you,” Carmen chuckles at the shock and fear in the ninja’s eyes, beautifully illuminated by VILE’s color. “I said beg!” She demands after a minute of silence from him. Nothing will make Carmen feels as powerful as she feels right now, knowing she’s going to end the life of the man who tried to take everything from her.

“Carmen!” Turning around ready to strike the poor fool that dares interrupt her moment, she’s left stumbling and coughing as a gas is sprayed directly in her face. Dropping her weapon, Carmen tries to find her footing and focus on her blurring vision. “Are you okay?” The blue coat agent, ‘Jules’, ask Shadowsan as she helps him up, both refusing to let their guard down too long.

“Yes, thank you agent Arg-”

“You coward,” Carmen coughs as she falls to her knees, trying not to pass out from the gas. “Not man enough to take me out by yourself,” She can feel she’s slipping, and she knows that once she’s out they’ll take her away before she can warn VILE. “I’ll get you old man. And you too, girly.”

“I’m sorry Carmen.” Is the last thing she hears as she finally falls victim to the gas.

`````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````

Part two

[citrineleaf]

My Thoughts On CS Season 4

Spoilers because obviously

- SHADOWSAN JUST FELL OFF THE F**KING ROOF, JESUS

- “We should never allow Dr. Bellum to her Himalayan laboratory without adult supervision” I mean.. yeah lmao

- Robo Robber is n a s t y we do not stan

- my boi, my son, my little man

- Carmen is a dropout and a hypocrite, Player is a baby

- GIRL’S TRIP! With Ivy narrating!

- Wait is VILE hanging in the castle???? ARE THEY GONNA STUMBLE ON THE WHOLE VILE BASE!?

- Zack let the man rest

- Lie detectors don’t actually work, you’d think ACME would know that.

- IVY IS SAVAGE [Ivy please my little gay heart can only take so much]

- What the HELL is VATSK doing in my Carmen Sandiego?!

- Let Ivy have her chocolate

- The waste of chocolate in this episode :(

- my man so happy

- Player hates math, he’s meeeeee

- Also when your best thief friend teaches you how geography works

- I don’t trust Player’s teacher

-IVY YOU JUST HIT THEM WITH A CAR

- Ivy: I’m alright, bro

Zack: I was actually trying to knock you out lmao

- Dogs weren’t allowed in ICELAND!??!?!

- I just did research on that, CATS RULE ICELAND HAHAHAHA

-IT’S A MAN HUNT BETWEEN THREE DIFFERENT GROUPS LMAO

- That’s one turtle distraction

-ZACK IS A PUBLIC MENACE

- Free my man, he didn’t do nothin’

- JUST TOSS HIM THE KEYS! DAMN CARMEN

- Are they gonna kidnap Player?!

- Bellum with a crown, bellum with a crown, bellum with a crown-

- JULIA

- She is s a l t y 

- Why don’t they just kill Gray? It’s not that hard

- Ivy and Zack please just let Player attend school

- Get you a kid ready to back up your lies in an instant

- Zack: Player’s TINY HAHHAHAA

- THEY KNOCKED OUT HIS TEACHER ZACKKKKKKKKK

- Player, about to be pulled out of school: It's called self care, Carmen.

- NOBODY GETS TO GO TO SCHOOL!

- I’m so gay for Julia

- There’s only so many pretty women I can take, don’t add Coach to it

-SHADOWSAN IS MAGIC APPARENTLY WTF!??!?!?

- In the words of my sister “If her mom lives, we riot”

- Mimebomb is such a baby, I love him

-two secret weapons BABY

- Okay, I’m a simp for Tigress too, apparently.

- Cleo’s thirty-five? Bullshit.

-Devineaux and Carmen going to their girlfriend

- Let my girl go, she don do nothing’

- Julia but it’s the “When the next time you’ll have this kind of funding?” meme

- People are gonna start shipping Cleo X Julia, aren’t they?

- REVENGE FOR CHASE’S COAT!

-Julia, honey, focus on that fact you are currently a kidnap victim

-Tigress needs therapy

- LET MY OTHER GIRL GO SHE DON DO NOTHING

- JULIA YOUR DOING GOOD BABES, LOVE YA

-Fist bump :3

- I think both me and Tigress are gay for Villain!Carmen...

- Is that the original theme?!??!?!

- Villain!Carmen sounds a bit like a more evil version of OG Carmen

- CARMEN, HONEY, NO, STOP!

- Shadowsan please give Zack a hug

- STOP TIME SKIPPING

- Carmen stop doing the villain hand thing!

- He’s gonna fall on his car again, I’m calling it

- I AM APPARENTLY VERY VERY GAY FOR JULIA AND CARMEN RIGHT NOW

- “shut it” YOU SHUT IT HE’S DOING HIS BEST

- Gray @ Carmen: I lived, bitch

- WHERE’S MY BOI!?

- My mole and goat kids, getting their happy ending :3

- Player, my little boi, my sweet summer child

Okay, overall:

Seriously disappointed with the lack of Player content. I mean, fuck, it was the last season, would it have killed them to tell us his name?

Other people on the disc have also pointed out that Player wasn’t in the flashbacks and I mean- HE’S THE SOLE PERSON WHO PUSHED HER TO ENROLL EARLY WHICH LEAD TO MOST OF HER CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT? JESUS GUYS-

I mean, Player had ‘most of his development’ done by somebody a lot of people don’t like, so it might’ve been better in the long run, but it’s still really disappointing.

Also disappointed with the lack of the other members of TR being apart of the finale. They’re her family for godsake.

Same goes for the episode number, we only have two seasons with the typical amount of episodes for an animated show. [I’m guessing this season was rushed, again ]

In conclusion: I liked it, but there was... a lot of problems with this season.

Edit: I also don’t like the ‘there are others to lead the good fight” it just.. felt off.

[teacupfulofstarshine]

so i’ve only seen the first season and about three episodes of season two so NO SPOILERS BUT

i really, really want to make a carmen sandiego!au 

i’ve talked about this before and had logan as carmen because he’s my favorite and i love him but the more i think about it the more i want virgil to be carmen 

logan can be player, just a little 14 yo computer genius who is so happy and willing to help virgil protect and steal various things 

the boston siblings (i can only remember ivy’s name right now) can be the creativitwins because i just want to see himbo roman rolling up like I WILL DISTRACT THEM WITH MY SEX APPEAL while logan, in their earpieces, is shouting at remus not to cause unnecessary property damage (remus doesn’t listen) 

i think i want janus to be a member of vile who shows up and fights virgil periodically and is bitter that virgil ditched him (catradora vibes, anyone) so they fight each other and then they have Emotions and they ditch each other

i need to rewatch carmen sandiego but like. i want the vibes

and virgil still wears bright red but the lining of his coat is purple and so are the calling cards he leaves everywhere

[campcarmenstuck]

So I've had this terrible carmen sandiego theory and with session 3 being announced I hope to be debunked. Also interact special spoilers ahead like a lot.

Part one the interactive special takes place in this session one session two paradox in between when shadowsan was running away from vile and trying to get to carmen.

Part two in the inter activitie special during countess Cleo's part carmen goes to a fancy party where she's partnered with the agent mime bomb, during the special in order to get the good ending you need to barg into the kitchen grab the caviar and make a run for it. But for the bad ending you dress up as a waiter and take to long because you need to stop and save him from choking to death because no one notices as they just think hes miming.

Part three in time we know in season two carmen still has her crew meaning that that she stole the caviar and just made a run for it but in time that also means mime bomb still choked which means there's a 50/50 chance someone released he wasn't faking it and saved him, but running with the 50 that said no one saved him might explain why he isn't in season two. Basically hes dead. I am hoping that session three proves me wrong, I like this character.

[oneacearmy]

Red is not for love

Fandom: Carmen Sandiego

Summary: Player says something during a mission, but why is Carmen so affected 

Tags: Aromantic Carmen Sandiego, fluff. No season three spoilers. 

Word count: 778

“You’re closing to your target, Red” 

As usual, Player kept a close eye on his boss and friend; he wouldn’t let anything pass him, not since he met the girl, started working with her and discovered that nothing was more important than keeping his favourite thief safe.

“I can’t believe V.I.L.E would steal something like this” The reply was playful and had a hidden amusement in it. 

“Queen Victoria’s diary? I can see the appealing. She had an era named after her because of the changes she brought: industrial, cultural, political, scientific, and military. Did you know that her reign was longer than any other monarch who preceded her?”

She saw red’s signal, she was leaping through the roofs of England like she was one of those summer pigeons that littered the city, so elegant, so determined. He liked that about Red, so driven to follow what she believed in. He guessed that’s why they are friends, because he also puts everything on their work, even if his wicked abilities rest on a computer screen. 

“She also married his cousin Albert because she was unmarried and had to live with her mother, which she absolutely hated.”

“That’s right! She was love-struck and even propose to him! He became prince and advisor to the Queen and they lived a happy life until he died, and Queen Victoria wore black for the rest of her life. Maybe one day you and Julia could have something like that. Minus the death part.”

Carmen stopped at that and even though she tried to be quiet, Player could hear her wince slightly and sighed. Did something happened? Did she landed badly on a rooftop? (that was unlikely but still), did she saw Tigress or someone? “What is it Carms? You are awfully quiet” 

“Player, you know you are my best friend and I tell you everything, right?”

He stayed quiet, afraid to even breath and be heard

“I don’t like where this is going.”

Carmen took out her phone and transfer them to a video call, she sat on the edge of the roof and silently took off her hat and looked at the sky. Player wasn’t worried about the mission, they weren’t on a time limit but it was weird for Carmen to pause an op like that.

“Have you ever heard me talk about Julia like that?”

He scoffed a little, knowing perfectly well how she rambles sometimes about the french agent. 

“You have talked about her a lot. Not in a romantic way but this is the most interest I’ve seen you put on a person, even more than Gray” 

“Okay but, in a romantic way? Never. I saw Gray as a big brother, as I see you as a little one. With Julia, yes I see her as an ally and want to be close to her but like a friend or partner in crime, never as a girlfriend.”

To say he was getting confused is a misunderstanding, why did Carmen tough that she needed to tell him that, he was just joking about her and Julia marrying and having a good relationship, he knew their lives were too complicated for that. 

“She is a nice person and a good agent, quite clever and if you were to date her I would help you and support-”

“Player, I’m aromantic and asexual. I don’t feel that kind of romantic or sexual attraction. Just good old platonic love for me please, I don’t want that other crap even near me” 

He went quiet for a second. Had he just assumed his best friend sexuality? Like some kind of millennial? He knew about aces and aros but he never thought that Carmen would be in the spectrum. She was so passionate about everything and the way she talked and acted about Gray… he just never thought of her as anything but romanticly active. 

“Are you okay with this? You aren’t saying anything. Should I worry?”

He snapped out of it as soon as she said that

“Of course it’s alright, why wouldn’t it be? You are my friend and I’m sorry about the comment, won’t happen again now that I know not to make them.”

The redhead got up and dust herself, she ended the call and switched again to the comms. 

“Glad we discussed that buddy. So the end of that and time for action, those diaries won’t return by themselves to the museum” 

She put her hat on and that mysterious wind that followed her no matter the location of the job, blown gently for her. 

“Okay Red, you are on. I recommend using the roof entryway-

[cantpickonefandoms]

Alright, let’s talk Carmen Sandiego season 3, shall we?

SPOILER WARNING

-I was right on the fucking money with Julia, she isn’t with ACME anymore! Glad to see her sticking were her gut, one of my worst fears is that they would suddenly make Julia go against everything she believed and start hating Carmen, and they didn’t do that! I’m so happy!

-Shadowdad’s brother returned, and now he understands what Shadowsan is doing, and is supporting him, aww.

-Chase has wised up! He finally realized what Julia has been trying to tell him all along, gold star for you, monsieur.

-Roundabout was an awesome villain, he’s crafty and extremely British and I love him.

-I feel like Sonia hasn’t been given that much love, she’s so cool, I’m disappointed we didn’t see her again after the second episode, I really hope she returns so we can learn more about Carmen’s mother, and wouldn’t it be cool if Sonia joined Team Red? I think it would be.

-Troll is cool, he’s a fun villain, a good new edition to the gang of VILE operatives.

-Speaking of Carm’s mother, I’m disappointed they dropped that plotline after the first two episodes, hopefully we’ll learn more in Season 4.

-Graham was only in the season for the last few seconds of the last episode, oh well, looks like he might play a bigger role in Season 4.

Overall, I liked the season, it was kind of rushed, but I’d chalk that up to it only being five episode long (which was a bit dissapointing, hopefully they’ll make up for that in season 4), I liked the Halloween theme they had going on the first three episodes, and I adored Carmen’s goth witch costume, it was an alright season, a little fillerish, but still a fun season.

[themandylion]

2019 fic round-up

All my fic from 2019

First Initiative - 7k, JayTim. Against his better judgement (well, okay, not really), Jason allows his boyfriend to join the peewee game. Also, relationship stuff—getting to know each other, finding out likes and dislikes, learning about someone's entire secret life... that sort of thing. (Part 2 of Tales from the House of Mau.)

The Stable Master & the Diplomat - 12k, JayTim. In which Jason is the royal stable master and Tim is a draconic ambassador and there are shenanigans.

A Lonely Place for Living - 2k, gen. Batman needs a Robin. Bruce Wayne needs his son. Tim Drake needs... he needs...

Three Birds in Flight - 7k, JayTimKon. Not!fic for the sad soulmate triad Jason/Tim/Kon AOB AU I will never actually write!

Natural 20 - 19k, JayTim. Jason eats the egg, what happens after is positively magical (the sex is pretty good too). Of course, it's not all fun and games—apparently it can be very difficult to shuck off a toxic ex when they know magic. (Part 3 of Tales from the House of Mau.)

Stat Roll - 1k, JayTim. Free Comic Book Day can be a bit of a madhouse at Knight & Page. Luckily, Jason has friends who are more than willing to help him out. (Part 4 of Tales from the House of Mau.)

on vast scales - 400, JayTim. Short SPACE!mer ficlet for MerMay.

Emotional Support Trashfish - 5k, gen. Pokémon AU! When Tim finally took the plunge and brought home a pokémon of his own, none of his family understood. It could be because they didn't see the benefits of such an excellent companion, or it might just be that they lack the insight into the tricky workings of Tim's mind. (Written with the Social Isolation Gang.)

Good Boys - 7k, JayTim. A dog, two aces, and lots of cuddles. (Written with the Social Isolation Gang.)

Mark of the Jinni - 7k, JayTim. Tim frowns, hand cupping Jason's cheek as he appears to study the other boy's face. "Just because there are others doing worse doesn't mean you don't deserve better." (Chapter 2.)

May Light Shine Long and Steady - 8k, JayTim. Tim's life is in a downward spiral and he's barely staying afloat, let alone in his classes. With nothing left to lose, he figures it can't hurt to ask for a little divine help. Instead, he ends up with an overly helpful advisor of sorts.

Duckvine Intervention - 4k, JayTim. After Roy explains the purpose a rubber duck for computer programmers, Jason decides he has to try it out for himself. Granted, he's not a programmer, but he's hardly going to let that stop him, and everyone needs a little troubleshooting in their lives sometimes.

Forever and Always - 17k, JayTim. One must always be careful when it comes to swearing oaths. It is imperative that all the variables are ascertained before any words are spoken, particularly when blood is involved. If not, it could very well blow up in someone's face. Despite the unforeseen consequences, Tim doesn't regret his actions one bit. (Epilogue.)

And We Live in Dangerous Times - 2k, JayTim. Jason Todd is back and he's angry. He breaks into Titans Tower with the intention of messing with the pretender a bit. Things don't quite go as planned and it turns out both Robins II and III are in for a surprise. A dæmon soulmate AU.

Always and Forever - 4k, JayTim. Love between a potter and a painter should be a simple enough thing, but nothing is simple when you come from different worlds and there's a war on the horizon between both your peoples. Sometimes, desperate times call for desperate measures. A prequel to Forever and Always.

Rituals of Sacrifice - 22k, JayTim. All Tim's friends are dead. That's okay—he is too. PLEASE pay attention to the warnings/tags as this story deals with distressing and mature themes.

WWCSD? - 6k, JayTim. There's a mysterious thief on the loose and Stray must ask himself that ever-important question—What Would Carmen Sandiego Do? (Part 4 of Cats, Birds, Bats, and the Occasional Spoiler.)

To Sail 'twixt the Stars and the Sea - 13k, JayTim. When a message arrives saying that the Bat Clan's scout ship has been destroyed behind enemy lines, everyone knows there's no chance its lone passenger has survived. Unfortunately, someone still has to break the bad news to the scout's lover... and the child the rest of the clan didn't know he had. The SPACE!viking AU.

In Midst of Winter - 6k, JayTim. After being separated from his hunting party in the middle of winter, Jason is sure he's screwed—until help comes from an unlikely quarter. Through trial and error, he finds a new friend and possibly something more. More AOB!vikings. (Part 1 of Through All Manner of Seasons.)

Sidequest - 9k, JayTim. It's a busy week for Jason—his boyfriend's skipped town without notice, he's been left with an unlikely (and unnecessary) babysitter, and he's just been informed that that Date Night is still on and he's meeting said missing boyfriend's parents. (Part 5 of Tales from the House of Mau.)

Forth My Mimic Comes - 19k, gen. Robin and Oracle team up to take on a tricky case of identity theft.

Limbo: Next of Kin - 8k, gen. Sometimes it takes dying to learn who your family is. Also, dreams! (A spoooky ghost story for Halloween.) A sequel to Rituals of Sacrifice.

Fic or Treat - 100-word drabbles done for Halloween: - Jason and a dog - Pumpkins in SPACE (SPACE!viking follow-up) - StephTim and ninja (follow-up to Jason and a dog) - Everyone is Batman - Time-travel Tim - Smol!ghost Tim (Rituals of Sacrifice follow-up) - JayTim werecat AU

Edit: HEY! If you're about to reblog this, please consider reblogging this version instead. I forgot a bunch of fics on the original post.

[caruliaa]

TAGGING CARMEN SANDIEGO SEASON THREE TRAILERS AS #carmen sandiego spoilers BLOCK THAT TAG IF U HAVEN'T SEEN IT WARING U GUYS NOW

[sincerelyensouled]

Carmen Sandiego Season 3 timeline (spoiler free) 

Because real dates are mentioned and I want to be “that guy(tm)”

Episode One (GMT -3) Twilight, October 27th Day // Night, October 28th Dawn (~6:00am), October 29th.

Carmen spends 9 hours and 40 min on a plane, and also loses 2 hours due to time change

Episode Two (GMT -5) Evening (No earlier than 5:00pm local) // Night, October 29th Day // Night, October 30th. 

Carmen spends 2 hours on a plane

Episode Three (GMT -5) Day // Night (Midnight specifically), October 31st, Halloween

Carmen spends 11 hours on a plane, and loses 7 hours due to time change *There’s a little wiggle room here so depending on intpertantion X could be anywhere between November 1st or November 4th. The team get to rest in either location 3 for 3 days or rest after this next caper for those 3.

Episode Four (GMT +2) Day (6:00pm-ish, no earlier if X is at it’s lowest value) // Night, Day X Dawn to Early morning, Day X+1

Carmen spends 2 hours on a plane and gains 1 hours due to time change

Episode Five (GMT +1) Day (10:00 AM (I think???? They fucked up the face of Big Ben so I can’t be sure)) // Night, November 5th

[affectos]

Thoughts on the Final Season of Carmen Sandiego

There will be spoilers, duh

I was sort of let down by the final season of Carmen Sandiego.  It felt like they had a lot more planned for her, but Netflix cancelled the series so the writers were forced to salvage two seasons together along with three episode they’d already had in progress.

Starting off, I was coming into Season 4 expecting us to finally pick up with the trail of Carmen’s mother after being put aside for two Halloween specials last season.  I also knew we were going to see ACME locate and talk to Graham as well.  Problem is, it feels like this ‘VILE wanting gold’ and ‘Robo-thief’ mini-arc had no real pay off on its own.  Only Graham felt like the only real sub-plot that had any effect on the season.  

The second plot arc of the V Vaults felt like it was supposed to be it’s own season, but the writers were forced to scramble and cut it short.  I say this since they had all this lore and set-up with the forefathers of VILE and even showed us one with name and artwork.  Additionally, you could feel the groundwork for a civil war to erupt in VILE as Guntar left Coach Brunt for dead, only for her to survive and notice he was already planning on leaving the country when she stopped his taxi.

I loved these episodes as it felt like classic Carmen Sandiego games with the puzzles and globe-trotting; almost as if National Treasure was meshed with Indiana Jones.  It also showed the most growth here with Chase post-revelation regarding Carmen’s intentions and showed that he was now more competent than before.  It’s just a shame we only got three episodes on this as a whole season with filler would’ve been great.

Finally, the last two episodes, we FINALLY get back to focusing properly on Carmen’s mother... a bit.  We’ve seen in snippets that Chief upon realizing that Carmen was Wolfe’s daughter, some level of guilt for her actions in the past and is why Carmen is able to get her to find out who her mother is.  That being said, evil brainwashed Carmen was actually scary and felt like a modern version of the 90s Carmen Sandiego... up until she almost killed Zack though.

I almost was expecting Sonia from ‘The Day of the Dead Caper’ to come back and help with Carmen being Brainwashed, but was let down when she wasn’t shown.  Because of the fact they only had two episodes to tie everything up, the finale did the most heavy lifting and you could feel the rush in writing to tie up the loose ends.

While having the bookend with the Eye of Vishnu and Morocco was a great way to not only book-end Carmen’s first real outing to the world as well as the first episode, the last 10 minutes with un-scrambling Carmen’s memories, the ACME assault on VILE, and Carmen’s goodbye just felt forced.  You could’ve squeezed another episode or two out of it where they get Carmen back to her own self, but ACME uses her and her team to properly infiltrate VILE HQ to lower defenses and open up the way for an ACME assault.

As for Carmen’s goodbye to Zack and Ivy... it just felt cold.  When Carmen knew that the twins were being given a chance to go back to Boston to go after their dream they’d put on hold when they joined Carmen, she was willing to let them and told them this in person.  However, when Shadowsan gave her the file on her mother, Carmen doesn’t even say goodbye in person, and leaves them a note and implies they should join ACME.  What makes it worse to me is that at the end, we see that Carmen is still operating which makes the whole point of them joining ACME pointless.

[wall-e-gorl]

first three episodes of carmen sandiego season 4 spoilers but vague

[hikalyra]

CARMEN SANDIGEO FINAL SEASON (SPOILER ALERT)

Really this is full of spoilers, don't click it haha

It's almost 4 AM, finished carmen sandiego's final season. Why do I feel like the last 2 episodes felt so rushed ... ahahaha Is it just me or anyone else feels the same? I was hoping for more heartwarming moments in the last episode, since it is the last, the final one. I think the people working on the series think differently from me tho haha. Still, this final season was so exciting from start to finish. Tho I feel like I want more, I want to see the usual Carmen more in the last 2 episodes. Also so so many time skips in that 2 last episode lol

And that ending, Carmen finally met her mom. Also the one on the rooftop at that last scene, it could be Carmen, or it could be anyone else haha. Gonna miss the gang tho, since they are now almost seperated (mostly Carmen and Shadowsan tho). Ah yes, so player is working with ACME? And both Zack and Ivy too! The three of them are still together, now working with Jules and Devineaux. Srsly, I can't recognize player's voice after the 2 years skip, sounds so different.... Thank you for the subtitles tho lol

And thus the series I have been watching since 2019 has now ended. It kinda feels empty here in my heart now... But, It has been fun! Thank you for everyone that has been working on this series, hope you guys can deliver more good series in the future! Or if changing job, that is okay too! Haha Thank you for these 2 years 🎉