art and whatever my 3 remaining brain cells come up with lol
I go by Fluffy or Ryder! They/them Main fandom is Carmen Sandiego 2019 My art tag: fluffy's art
writing tag: fluffy writes Do not use my art or writing for AI.
This idea has literally been rotating in my head like a rotisserie chicken for at LEAST a year and half (like august 2021 was the first drawing of it I made lol)
And I am finally writing it down lol. Also kinda writing a prequel centered around Dexter Wolfe in the same werewolf universe, Iâll uh post about it when I finish the first chap tho. Eventually.
Anyway lol
First chap is up on AO3. It has art. Iâm really proud of it lol
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the
Organization for Transformative Works
Happy Motherâs Day in advance! May I take this time to ask what your headcanons are for Carmenâs mother, both in canon and in your AUs, please?
omg i love carlotta sm prepare yourself.
(I also had a similar ask back in 2024, about both Dexter and Carlotta! it's here if you're interested! its got some individual headcanons as well, so i'll try not to repeat anything!)
For Canon (usually can be applied to most AUs also!)
obviously looks very similar to Carmen. Just from the few glances we actually get of her she looks sooo much like her daughter ;-; one look at the two of them standing together and you can TELL they're mother and daughter, lol
building off that, while Carmen seems to have gotten a lot of behavior and personality traits from Dexter, some of her expressions are 100% Carlotta. Say something stupid in front of both of them and you will receive identical glares.
i cant decide who between the three of them (including Dexter) is introverted and extroverted, bc i think it'd be really funny in any scenario. maybe it's situational, lol. Carlotta watching with mild intrigue at Carmen bounding around a foreign country and greeting the locals; meanwhile at a neighborhood barbecue or something, Carmen's hiding in a corner praying for her mother to stop introducing her to people XD. The doorbell rings and they both duck behind the nearest piece of furniture (it's just a particularly chatty neighbor, but they'd rather not be trapped in a conversation about the weather for the next 45 minutes).
i think i mentioned it in the other post, but I think she's got a fairly large extended family that she lost regular contact with when baby Carmen disappeared. Maybe some occasional visits from them. once Carmen makes it home, though, one of these visits happen and suddenly EVERYBODY wants to meet Carmen, lol. Carmen and Carlotta both end up hiding in a bedroom for a few minutes during the reunions, as a break from getting swarmed and "interrogated" (Carmen's words, though Carlotta doesn't disagree)
absolutely heartbroken for what Carmen had to go through, though she's so proud of her and knows that Dexter would be too.
Glad her daughter made friends, of course, though she has mixed feelings on Shadowsan. And Tamara, too. Probably not too much of a stretch to assume that her partner's killer and would-be killer (and the one that brought her daughter to the very place Dexter was running from) are not high on her list of favorite people.
In the case of Julethief, she would adore Julia. I think it be cute if they could bond over always seeing the best in their respective superthieves <3. not to mention, I think Carmen would all but yell from the rooftops that it was Julia that finally found Carlotta, and I think the fact Julia was the reason Carmen came home would automatically win Carlotta over.
with the rest of Team Red, those are her extra kids now. She lost one, gained her back, and she came with three bonus kids lol. Doesn't matter that all but Player aren't minors, or that Player has parents. They're within her daughter's age, that's close enough for emotional adoption. (besides, Dexter would do the same)
Now for some AU specific ones!
Last Wolf
I don't wanna spoil too much stuff, but let's just say that Henry's beef with Carmen in Last Wolf is more than just because she's a werewolf. Though if he didn't want his house broken into, maybe he should've considered not hoarding a bunch of lycan artifacts and such.
Despite that, Carlotta would have no issue with Julia, and by extension, Carmen and Julia's relationship. If anything, just concern for both of them that he'd hurt them over it.
Hates getting her fur wet in wolf mode. Dexter and Carmen have no such issue, and in fact love the rain and swimming.
She was also a thief in Last Wolf. Though, mostly through little tricks and street scams. Occasionally she'd go for bigger prizes if she needs to, which is how she meets Dexter! She also tended to get into trouble when she would come across any piece of lycan culture somewhere it shouldn't be. wink wink nudge nudge.
Thief's Guide
Before the apocalypse, she was a veterinarian! (this is important for the story, and also I like throwing in a vet character when I can ;) )
uhhh some lore and Carmen backstory stuff happens that i dont quite want to reveal publicly yet, BUT just know that for the last fifteen-ish years or so, she's been helping run an orphanage while acting as a town's healer/vet.
She's also done a little bit of traveling to nearby towns to help (and to find more supplies), but tends to stay put most of the time for two reasons: 1) hiding from acme; and 2) waiting for someone (or two, but she's pretty sure one's dead.)
kinda like i mentioned before in the general headcanons, Team Red very much is now her bonus kids. Even more so now, considering that they're actually kids, and in such a messed up world. Heck, Zack and Ivy grew up in an ACME orphanage, Player lost his parents not long before meeting Carmen, and Julia's parents are...uh..okay we don't need to unpack that right now but let's just say Jules has been pretty independent for a while. They're kind of in need of an actual adult that's a decent parental figure.
New Teeth
She's a bit less fleshed out in New Teeth, but I do know a few things:
she's a witch! Dexter's the lycan parent, Carlotta's the witch one :)
I haven't quite settled on how witch culture/families/covens work just yet, but I imagine falling in love with a lycan and producing a forbidden child with him put a strain on her relationship with her family at best, and at worst, might've even gotten her kicked out/exiled.
she knows Carmen is out there somewhere, and has not stopped looking. Though, magic helps, it can only do so much when you don't know anything about someone or have any of their possessions (I imagine that stuff Carmen doesn't remember doesn't work, as she wouldn't count it as 'hers' if she doesn't know it exists). Luckily, news of a lycan-witch hybrid tends to spread quickly, so surely it's only a matter of time.
or alternatively to the magic solution: maybe getting in big trouble like this results in magic abilities being significantly weakened, taken away, or "closed" (like, still there inherently but magic is blocking them from use). She still would have all her knowledge and could help and teach others, though! And hey, maybe someone with more power than a normal witch could help unlock her magic again ;)
Dexter had lost his pack when he was young, so once he met Carlotta they didn't exactly have a pack to run to. Otherwise, I have no doubt that the lycan pack would've taken in the whole family and protected them, regardless of any ancient laws.
Hey, have you ever heard of Brandon Sanderson? Because the Mistborn series especially might be up Carmenâs alley, given that the protagonist is part of a group of thieves in a rebellion against a tyrant with incredible magic powers.
oooo I haven't, but that sounds so cool! that does sound right up Carmen's alley. Either that or it hits too close to home XD
I knew youâd like having the Carmen x Julia Star Wars AU stuck in your head like it is mine, especially if we get art of them, lol! I didnât know about that bit about orange lightsabers, but I can see it. And of course sheâd probably have a couple red ones she stole and uses to throw people off her tracks if needed, or at least uses until she can get a personal saber she made herself. Maybe she figures out how to purify them and turn the red ones white like a certain Togruta did before she makes her own? Maybe Player has some kind of cybernetic enhancements, a bit like a certain clone from the Bad Batch cartoon? Oh, and have you ever heard of the LEGO Freemaker show?
Beware the Revenge of the Sixth!
The thought of Carmen just collecting lightsabers is so funny for some reason?? Like she has to go to an ACME/Rebel camp or something and they tell her to put all her weapons on the table and she just keeps pulling out more and more lightsabers, much to the bafflement and horror of ACME lol.
Ooo purifying them would be cool! I don't know much about Star Wars lore, so I'll take your word for it! Player with cybernetic enhancements could be cool as well.
Never seen Lego Freemaker, it looks interesting tho!
Hihi im still going insane about New Teeth AU this week :P its fun to play around in this AU bc I can really show off lycan behavior/culture that Carmen doesnât know about in Last Wolf :) anyways enjoy these two idiots & happy pride <3 (also feat kitty Player that is 110% Done with them lol)
This is not a new discovery; the lycan-witch didnât exactly have the most typical upbringing, even by supernatural standards. Julia also suspected more often than not that Carmenâs âquirksâ could also be attributed to neurodivergency, whether Carmen herself knew it or not.Â
Now, all that considered, this particular behavior was new.Â
Or it had at the very least heightened over time.Â
And really, Julia was probably overanalyzing things. The behavior change could just be due to the two becoming closer friends and Carmen becoming more comfortable.Â
As long as theyâd known each other, Carmen had always been friendly, helping Julia navigate her newfound vampirism with tips and a bit of magic to help her hide it in normal life. Sheâd also gotten the New-Fang an assortment of little trinkets: rocks, figurines, pins, even a couple of plushies after sheâd found out Julia liked them.Â
In the back of her mind, a rather self-deprecating part of her told her that it was all out of pity, or maybe even fear. Julia tried her best to ignore that voice most days, but she also had a habit of getting trapped in her own head.Â
Julia had observed Carmen interacting with her other friends, trying to compare the new behaviors.Â
Carmen didnât tend to initiate physical touch in non-life-threatening situations, save for the occasional high five or fist bump. She seemed perfectly content to sit on the other end of the couch, the floor, or another chair, as long as everyone was in one room.Â
But lately, and Julia noticed this was only when it was just the two of them (and Player, of course, considering he lives with Carmen as her familiar), Carmen did the exact opposite.Â
Not that Julia was complaining, but it seemed like the âaccidentalâ touches had increased tenfold. She found their knuckles grazing each otherâs as they walked side-by-side at least once whenever they were together. If Julia was on one end of the couch, Carmen was on the other, stretching out so their legs just barely touched in the middle. Alternatively, if they were watching something together, Carmen sat closer, letting their knees touch. On a few particularly chilly evenings sheâd even brought out a blanket to share.Â
Carmen wasnât the best cook, but Julia had been teaching her a bit. Many times during the process, however, the lycan-witch would slide past her, playfully hip or shoulder-checking her as she went.Â
Then there was that time Julia was showing her something on a laptop, and Carmen leaned over her shoulder to watch. Julia knows for a fact Carmen is very particular about her face being touched or people being near her face.Â
Once, theyâd just gotten back from hunting, which Julia still felt weird calling it, and were waiting on Carmenâs food sheâd ordered. Carmen had switched on some music in the background, and theyâd just talked and joked around for a few songs. Then Carmen stood, offering a hand. Julia had tilted her head, and Carmen tugged at her gently.Â
Dance with me? Sheâd asked.Â
And Julia had taken her hand, and theyâd swayed to the beat, making up the moves as they went, getting more ridiculous and extravagant with each step. By the end of the song, theyâd both been laughing so hard they could hardly breathe, doubled over with almost silent laughter and gasps for air. They likely would have kept dancing had they not been interrupted by the doorbell.Â
Then againâŚ
On one of those aforementioned chilly nights, Julia was tired from the day and just rested her head against Carmenâs shoulder. Sheâd heard Carmenâs breath hitch and heart start racing, and Julia internally panicked.Â
That messed up part of her brain started up again, telling her that her friend must have some deep-rooted fear of her.Â
After all, who would put their complete trust in a vampire?Â
.
.
.
<So are we ever going to address the giant mammoth in the room?> Player meowed.Â
Carmen barely looked up, too preoccupied with trying to translate her newest old spellbook. âI have no idea what mammoth youâre referring to.âÂ
Player jumped onto the back of the couch, looking at her with an unimpressed ear-flick.Â
<So youâre not trying to court Julia the lycan way?>Â
Crud.Â
Thatâs exactly what she was doing. And Player knows. She sighed through her nose, leaning her head on the back of the couch and glancing over at the cat.Â
âIs it that obvious?âÂ
<To anyone that knows enough about lycan behavior? Yeah. But to Julia?> Player waved a paw, contemplating. <Seems like a no.>Â
Carmen groaned, flopping backwards to sprawl over the couch like a dramatic Victorian lady. âUgh.âÂ
<Why not just ask her outright to go on a date?>Â
There were a handful of reasons for that: first and foremost being that Julia is working for the organization that wants to track Carmen down (and, for the record, would be working to do the same to Julia if they knew of her curse).The second being that Julia just had a horrible, crazy thing happen to her and Carmen doesnât want to throw another complicated thing into the mess. Third, and she resented this reason in particular, Carmen is scared to do so.Â
Her familiar could probably guess most of those, including the last one, but Carmen chose to deflect anyways. âWhen have you ever known me to do something outright?âÂ
Player couldnât argue with that, but still. <There has to be a better way to flirt,> he said.Â
âNope, this is all Iâve got.âÂ
<Isnât this the definition of insanity?> He asked, crossing the couch to jump to his cat tree.Â
âNot if it eventually works!âÂ
And it hadnât been getting the same result, which means that it is not insanity, thanks very much. She was pretty sure she was making progress!
Now it was Playerâs turn to groan and flop dramatically, halfheartedly banging his forehead against the wall repeatedly.Â
Without looking away from the ceiling, Carmen called, âYouâre going to hurt yourself.âÂ
<If I get a concussion from dealing with your dumbassery, itâs your fault.>
She's almost done I have to get pipe cleaners for the her ears. And then she's done. I tried to put eyebrows on her but she kind of looks like a grumpy won't Grandpa who's mad that his neighbors won't shut up
oh my GOD im gonna CRY SHES SO CUTEEEE
her little face ;-;
accidentally making something look grumpy by adding eyebrows is so funny and also very accurate XD
im soso excited to see this she looks so good already!!
people who overly baby Julia HAS to be some sort of microaggression because sheâs asian and happens to have a very small frame, like are we forgetting she is pushing her 30s đ I was watching a Julia comp the other day and literally every SINGLE comment was like âoh my godd shes a precious babyyyy shes a little angellll, she is so adorableeee shes just a babyyyyâ
And I see this pattern a LOT with asian characters, esp east female asian characters with and the horrendous infantilization of them đ And knowing Julia as a character, I highly believe sheâd absolutely hate it if someone treated her like that, because sheâs someone who wants to be respected and taken seriously, and treated equally. We had a whole arc about thisâŚ
Sheâs a grown woman with a license and of drinking age like come on guys đđđ
Warnings: blood mentions (vampire au), mentions of harassment (no details, just vague), and suicidal ideation(?)
Wow finally a glimpse at the New Teeth AU lol. Basically last wolf! werewolves + a bunch of other supernatural creatures. Newly turned Vampire! Julia and Witch/Lycan hybrid! Carmen. Anyways enjoy this snippet of Julia struggling to hunt and Carmen helping lmao
The would-be âblood donorâ started to panic, but Carmen tossed some of that amnesia-powder-magic-stuff into their face as they turned to run. They looked confused for a moment, forgetting the last fifteen minutes, and Carmen gently steered them back in the direction they were going, telling them to go home.Â
Once they were out of earshot, Carmen returned her attention to the New-Fang.Â
âHey, that try wasnât half bad!âÂ
Julia groaned, burying her face in her hands and sliding down against the wall of the alley.Â
Carmen sat next to her, eyes reflecting silver in the dim light. âYou almost had it. Donât beat yourself up over it.âÂ
That was the problem, though. Every time Julia got close to feeding on someone she froze. She couldnât do it. Part of her was glad she couldnât; that nobody was getting hurt.Â
The other part was hungry.Â
She tried to ignore it.Â
It didnât work.Â
Carmen had gotten almost scarily good at reading her over the last few weeks of knowing each other, and could apparently sense when Juliaâs thoughts went in that direction.Â
âLook, I know this canât be easy. Your entire world was flipped upside down last month, but none of it was your fault. Besides,â Carmen bumped their shoulders together, getting Julia to look at her. âIt proves that youâre still âyouâ. I wonât pretend to know everything youâre going through, but I do know that if you donât get fresh blood soon, itâs only going to get worse.âÂ
She was right, Julia knew that. She could feel it getting worse. Eventually she was going to have to bite the bullet (ha) and figure this out. She canât survive on Carmenâs stolen blood bags and animal blood from the butcher forever. And she already felt bad for the couple times Carmen had had to offer her own blood.Â
Carmen had explained that those solutions would stave off the hunger, but were only temporary fixes. They didnât have enough of the correct proteins, or something, she couldnât remember. Fresh, human (or close to it) blood is best.Â
But Julia was done for the night. She wanted to go home and burrow under all the covers in her bed and sleep for a week. Or more.Â
â..âm tired,â she mumbled, leaning her head on Carmenâs shoulder.Â
âYeah, thatâs the hunger talking,â Carmen nudged her, standing and offering a hand to help her up. âCâmon, I think weâve got enough time for one more try before the sun comes up.â
If it were anyone else, Julia wouldâve told them to piss off, but one look at Carmenâs reassuring smile and the softness of her eyes had her dig into any remaining energy and take the outstretched hand.Â
Tempting as it was to simply lie down and wait for the sun to come up and end the issue once and for all, thatâd probably make Carmen sad, and the thought of causing that kicked puppy face was enough to get her legs moving.Â
.Â
.Â
.Â
âI have an idea,â Carmen said, pulling Julia into an alley with the bar they found still in view across the street.Â
Julia watched as Carmen shifted her hands to paws, using sharp claws to scratch lines and markings into the pavement. It must not have been a pleasant feeling, given that the Lycan kept pulling a face and shaking her hands out periodically.
âThere,â Carmen finished with a circle and some symbols Julia was starting to recognize as Wolfspeak in the center, stepping away to admire her work.Â
âWhen we find someone, weâll lure them here, and this,â She tapped her foot near the center, careful not to touch it and start whatever spell sheâd drawn. âWill help keep things quiet.âÂ
Julia mustâve made a panicked face, because Carmen quickly clarified, âItâs a cone of silence, basically. No sound should escape the outside lines I drew.âÂ
Julia nodded, understanding, but was still wary of the whole thing.Â
How could she not be?
Being dragged into an alley in the middle of the night had been how she wound up in this situation! Who was she to inflict that on someone else?Â
A surprisingly soft touch on her hands and a soft voice snapped her out of her spiral.Â
âRemember, if it goes sidewaysâwhich, I have a good feeling it wonât this timeâitâll be okay. Iâve got healing stuff, memory-wiping magic, all that,â Carmen tilted her head, dipping a bit to get Julia to look her in the eye. âYouâre not gonna lose control. And if you do, Iâm right here.âÂ
Carmen gently squeezed her hands. âOkay?âÂ
Juliaâs eyes flicked up to meet Carmenâs.Â
She squeezed back.Â
â..Okay.âÂ
The lycan-witch smiled, and Julia hoped Carmen couldnât hear her heart skip a beat.Â
They turned their attention back to the bar, watching patrons slowly exit, stumbling down the steps, hailing Ubers and trying to find the most sober among them. At first, Julia had been unsettled by the fact Carmen had searched for a bar, as this seemed pretty messed up to go after people that were already impaired.Â
But Carmen had simply grinned, canines glinting in the moonlight, and explained it wasnât necessarily the drunks they were after.Â
Carmen whispered, âJules,â and pointed her attention to the curb, where it looked like a group of friends, probably waiting on a ride, was approached by a man they didnât seem to know.Â
Juliaâs hearing had gotten an upgrade since the Incident, but Carmenâs was far better. Julia only caught bits and pieces, and could guess what was going on based on the girlsâ body language. Carmen, on the other hand, looked absolutely disgusted, but had a look of determination behind her eyes.Â
Now Julia understood.Â
They werenât after hammered bar patrons.Â
Alright. One more chance.Â
Without saying a word, they nodded at each other.Â
Carmen approached the group, placing herself between the other girls and whoever that was, effectively shutting the guy up.Â
He stalked off, miffed, but noticed Julia on the other side of the street, leaning against the wall of the building, looking disinterested at her phone.Â
The girlsâ ride arrived, they thanked Carmen, and drove off.Â
She crossed the street, casually stepping over the spell line into the alley where the guy was currently trying to stand over Julia, and stomped a paw into the center to activate it.Â
.Â
Safe to say, they figured out that a Lycan âpackâ hunting style is much more effective than a solo vampire.
they are sexually mature at ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS OLD.
their (live!) young gestate for. wait for it. eight to eighteen (??) YEARS. can have up to 10 at a time. good grief.
longest lifespan of any vertebrate, up to five hundred years
toxic flesh
has giant eyes but is usually blind because of a weird little crustacean that's evolved to live on and eat their eyes. this doesn't seem to bother them much.
lives in deep cold water and has the lowest swim speed and tail-beat frequency for its size across all fish species. just generally lives life in extreme slow motion
largest genome of any shark
eats everything including moose and polar bears
ma'am you are delightfully strange and I'm privileged to share a planet with you
