graycardinal (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
graycardinal) wrote2019-10-31 12:34 pm
graycardinal) wrote2019-10-31 12:34 pm
Dear YuleWriter 2019: Here We Go Yet Again
A good deal of this text has been largely ported from prior letters, including a couple of recurring requests. This is because I tend to write long letters and am often in a hurry when writing them.
Greetings, O YuleScrivener, and welcome! And also, thank you! Where Yuletide is concerned, I am nothing if not a Requester Of The Seriously Obscure. Thus I am always amazed when the technomancy of the matching process succeeds in finding a writer who shares my appreciation for said obscurity, and delighted on Christmas morning when a wonderful and wondrous story from that writer's (metaphorical) pen lands in my AO3 gift-folder. We may just be setting out on this year's journey, but I know there's a happy ending to come, and I am grateful for it already. Your work is (and will be) appreciated and valued, and I look forward to seeing its fruits.
These letters aren't getting any shorter, so while I've got detailed material farther down, I think it's only fair to give you the list of fandom requests up front. So, those would be:
* Carmen Sandiego (2019) [Carmen/Black Sheep, Julia Argent, Player, Shadow-san)
* Diana Winthrop series – Kate Chambers
* Jacqueline Kirby – Elizabeth Peters (Jacqueline)
* Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego? (1994)
* Young Wizards – Diane Duane [Carmela, Dairine, Roshaun]
General likes and dislikes
Feel free to wander backward through this journal and my fic on AO3 (linked to your left) to get an idea of my interests; what I write is very much also what I like to read – and has, over time, added up to rather a variety of fandoms. My past Yuletide letters (and those for other exchanges) are tagged "dear santa" herein; see the "Yuletide" tag too, if you like.
To summarize, though: text-driven pluses for me include effective use of wit (aka banter aka snark, etc.), as well as strong characterization & dialogue. I value both respect for and clever use of canon (including well-developed AUs -- the plot-driven kind, not the baristas/highschoolers/alt-species kind). I thrive on UST (heavy on both U and T), and am neutral where gen/het/slash is concerned; if the pairing is well-developed, I'll read with an open mind.
I am also a sucker for the well-executed crossover, whether via oblique allusion or head-on fandom collision. Yuletide being Yuletide and Optional Details Being Optional, I have absolutely no expectations along this line...but I have included an EXTREMELY OPTIONAL BONUS POINTS section in each of my requests, because I live in hope, and because I can’t resist this sort of opportunity. Take these in the spirit in which they’re given, or set them aside as you prefer.
None of my requests call specifically for mature/explicit content. This doesn't mean I don't appreciate sizzling erotica/smut/porn; it's just that my fanfic-reading interests and my e/s/p-reading interests mostly don't tend to intersect. That said, if your muse happens to take you into explicit territory in the context of one of these requests, I'm generally willing to follow along for the ride. I have few outright personal squicks save for noncon, incest, or adult/child kinks so long as a given relationship is age- and canon-appropriate.
Character matching and prompts
Where I request single characters, it's not because I'm opposed to relationship-fic or multi-character stories – far from it. My goal is to give you greater flexibility in introducing additional characters, whether from those nominated or from wider canon. Even where I supply relatively specific prompts in a request, I want you to be able to shape the story; my suggestions are meant as springboards, not outlines.
This year, though, only one of my requests is for a single character. In part, this is because I've managed to request several canons where the stories really rely on the ensemble as much as the nominal leads to drive the narrative. And in a couple of cases, where a lot of characters were nominated, I wanted to narrow the focus in a particular direction.
Having said that, though, I'm not at all opposed to stories more tightly focused on one or two of the nominated players, and I've made that clear in the individual requests. Either way, you're also entirely welcome to bring in any additional canon characters (or OCs) you feel should be involved given the demands of your plot.
The specific requests:
Carmen Sandiego (Cartoon 2019) (Carmen | Black Sheep, Julia Argent, Player, Shadowsan)
A story featuring any one or more of the listed characters will satisfy this request.
ETA: Per a discussion in the DW Yuletide admin community, I'm modifying Shadow-san's name to more properly reflect use of Japanese honorifics (and I hope that anyone writing for me will do likewise).
NOTES: I admit it; as a major fan of the 1990s animated series about Carmen, I was very nervous when the new series was announced. But now that I actually have Netflix and have inhaled the first two seasons like so much movie-theater popcorn, I am totally and enthusiastically on board. This show is emphatically not that show -- and yet, the cues that it takes from the '90s series (and indeed, the PBS game show before it) are cleverly and ingeniously integrated into this version
PROMPTS: Back story for any of Player, Julia, and/or Shadowsan -- we have some details about Player and Shadowsan, but very little about Julia as yet. While Player has clearly taken a pretty strong interest in Carmen and her agenda, one gets the impression that he may well have other projects and protégés under his wing. And Shadowsan clearly has more secrets in his own past than we've seen -- his level of skill strongly implies a mentor outside VILE's orbit, and his cultural palate is too well tuned to have come from associates the likes of Coach Brunt or Countess Cleo.
For Carmen, I'm curious about how she's gone about setting up and overseeing her charitable operation (not least to avoid the problem of someone she and Player have hired to do the day-to-day oversight turning out to be crooked themselves, a problem not unknown to real-world nonprofits). Or show Carmen in actual doing-good mode (does she maybe have a totally different ID built for talking to the media? maybe she comes across a kids-in-danger situation that she can't ignore?).
Feel free to bring in any and all of the rest of the ensemble needed to make your story work, or to go in a different direction entirely -- and absolutely feel free, if you're familiar with it, to draw on the '90s series for further inspiration, character updates, or plot twists (although oddly enough, I find myself resisting the idea of crossing the two series and their respective Carmens openly with one another).
EXTREMELY OPTIONAL BONUS POINTS: Oh yes, indeed, here's another series ready-made for my inner crossover geek. Player, on reflection, reminds me sufficiently of Wade from Kim Possible (the cartoon; I've not yet seen the live-action version) to make me think the two youthful reclusive genii must know one another, if only electronically. Alternately, Carmen's heists might well attract any of the NCIS teams' attention, or that of an amateur sleuth (Jessica Fletcher, Rick Castle). I'd just as soon not get Carmen involved with the MCU or with the larger DC comics universe,
Diana Winthrop series -- Kate Chambers
A story featuring any one or more of the nominated characters will satisfy this request.
BACKGROUND: The Winthrop books are a teen-sleuth series (six slim paperbacks from the mid-'80s) set mostly in New York and New England, with "Kate Chambers" being a pen name for versatile writer Norma Johnston -- a fact I didn't learn till much later. The individual mysteries are dedicated to (and often cleverly plotted in the style of) various classic and then-famous mystery authors, the characterizations are much more nuanced than is usual for this category, and there’s a strong ongoing ensemble cast (including a major and well-rendered secondary character who’s blind).
NOTES: As obscure as this series is, I've evidently managed to sell at least one or two new readers on these books over the past couple of years, so there are now more actual prompts in this request than there used to be. Nonetheless, this is what I tend to describe as an "Oliver Twist" request -- what I really and truly want most is simply more, and I am pretty much guaranteed to be delighted whether or not you actually follow any of the prompts given.
PROMPTS: One of the really nifty things about Diana's adventures was the multi-generational family dynamic, and that's a big reason that in addition to Diana herself, I chose Jacintha (who's clearly an adult here, though clearly pretty new-minted; I see her as mid-twenties at the outside), and Lydian Sinclair (who looks likely to become part of the Winthrop clan ere long) to represent the ensemble. I'd like to see more of the familial texture here, whether in the context of a case/adventure or in a more personal sort of tale. A writer should feel free to bring in others from the extended cast as appropriate, and to look for story ideas both from Diana's past (the Boston contingent as kids? Diana's original "acting" days?) and future (what does she end up doing career-wise -- and what role does Brad Ferriers end up playing in her life?) as well as in the series' present.
EXTREMELY OPTIONAL BONUS POINTS: The crossover junkie in me points out that Diana's NYC/Boston home base and detective interests make for plausible run-ins with a great variety of other source canons, including at least one of my other current requests, and someone (other than me!) has already nudge-winked a connection between Diana's Ross cousins and a certain family of MCU military and espionage professionals. More generally, see (1) my works and gifts received on AO3, and (2) all entries tagged “Dear Santa” in my DW journal, and assume that any fandom represented therein is welcome.
Jacqueline Kirby - Elizabeth Peters (Jacqueline)
NOTES: It's not that I don't greatly enjoy the Amelia Peabody or Vicky Bliss series (I do, very much indeed), but my very first Elizabeth Peters heroine was Jacqueline Kirby, by way of The Murders of Richard III. And as time went by, I bonded further; she and I are both serious about books, enthusiastic about Shakespeare, amused by the eccentric ways of professional writers, and not at all hesitant to jump in at the deep end of the pool when our enthusiasms warrant. Fortunately, though, I have not adopted Jacqueline's habit of falling into the orbits of actual murderers.
PROMPTS: A number of obvious questions arise that deserve thoughtful and entertaining answers: What happened to the father of Jacqueline's children? Have any of her kids inherited her sleuthing gifts? What are the legendary origins of The Purse? What has she written beyond what we've seen (is there perhaps a series character)?
I am also somewhat fascinated by Jacqueline's ability to charm without being charmed, as it were. She ends several of her adventures with a man in tow who is then Never Seen Again, and insofar as we know, she's still on speaking terms with most of them. This is intriguing, and I'd be interested to see how it works. And then there's casefic: I note that in The Seventh Sinner, Jacqueline is more or less the guest sleuth in someone else's story – it would be entertaining and satisfying to see a further adventure of that kind.
EXTREMELY OPTIONAL BONUS POINTS: I have for years held the private theory that Jacqueline could very well be the unnamed editor of the Emerson papers forming the basis of the Amelia Peabody series. (It really can't be Vicky Bliss; John doesn't seem to have inherited that particular archive.) A story riffing on that theory would be totally welcome...and if Jacqueline should encounter Vicky and John in the course of her editorial duties, one can but imagine the potential for fireworks.
Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego? (Cartoon 1994)
A story featuring any one or more of the nominated characters will satisfy this request.
NOTES: Yes, I'm requesting both animated Carmen shows this year. I am absolutely delighted with the new show, but I am also still very much in like with this one -- and the differences between the two are a large part of that fascination.
PROMPTS: I'd be very interested in something ACME-centric this time around, whether set pre-series or in the show's nominal present. I've also remarked before that one of my great fascinations with this series is the bond that develops between Carmen and the detectives as the show progresses; at times there's what I'd call a slightly maternal quality to Carmen's interest in Our Heroes, and I'd enjoy seeing that idea considered. I also can't help thinking that it's interesting that canon gives us essentially no information about Ivy's and Zack's parents...which might be because they're utterly ordinary, but could also have to do with some tragic past event -- or the fact that technically, Ivy and Zack are computer-generated avatars.
OTOH, if deep familial musings aren't your cup of tea, I will also be greatly pleased with rapid-fire casefic (infoscans optional) or a straightforward snark-and-action encounter. One thing, though: I'd prefer strongly *not* to see a Carmen/Ivy romantic pairing; that one pushes a button for me.
EXTREMELY OPTIONAL BONUS POINTS: I have often noted that this series, with both time travel and C5 portal tech on the table, is a crossover junkie's dream (indeed, I've written one or two of those, and had one of them remixed in brilliantly cracktastic fashion).
Let me make one caution, though; as tempting as it might be, I'd actually rather not see this series and its successor interact directly with one another. I think one of the strengths of the new show is that it stands so very well on its own, even as it re-interprets elements introduced here. So rather than have new!Carmen and classic!Carmen meet one another, let's focus on the characters as drawn here, and move on from there.
So: go serious/epic (I've previously suggested Carmen/SG-1, whether setting Carmen against the Goa'uld or doing a thief-vs.-thief riff with Carmen and Vala). Go full-on comics mode (Batman, Black Widow). Or see just how far afield she can roam (Time Lords, Star Trek captains, Miraculous Ladybug...). There are just so many possibilities -- and where I'd rather not cross '94-Carmen with '19-Carmen, I do find myself thinking that '94-Carmen might find it amusing to tweak her Player by stealing Rockapella from the PBS series....
Young Wizards - Diane Duane (Carmela, Dairine, Roshaun)
I would strongly prefer a story featuring at least two of these characters, but a story featuring any one will satisfy this request.
NOTES: I chose Carmela and Dairine both because I like them individually and because canon gives us so very little that puts them together with one another -- which I find surprising, even granting the age difference. I would very much like to see how they interact given an excuse and/or opportunity. I've added Roshaun for this round because whether he's present or not, his relationship with Dairine (whatever form it may eventually take) is very much in play wherever Dairine is present. Additional characters welcome but not required.
PROMPTS: With Games Wizards Play out, we have many of the answers we've wanted relative to Dairine and Roshaun, so I'm no longer deeply worried about excessive angst arising from that quarter. OTOH, it strikes me that Dairine may find it easier to talk to Carmela about Roshaun than to have the same conversation with either Nita or Roshaun himself. And of course Roshaun himself may have an opinion about the nature of his feelings...even if he isn't ready to tell anyone what it is yet, possibly including himself.
Other possible tacks: Dairine getting one up on Nita with Carmela’s help, or the girls and the Alien Study Group having an adventure (I’ve seen a fair bit of fic in this line set in the Crossings, not so much here on Earth). I would also be very much on board for quality father-daughter bonding -- no matter which father/mentor figure(s) is/are involved.
[Canon notes: I'm equally at home in the original and New Millennium timelines, and have read all the shorter and e-only material up through Games Wizards Play (except for The Big Meow and the latest post-Play ebook).]
EXTREMELY OPTIONAL BONUS POINTS: As always, my crossover radar is in play here; given my requests this year, I can't help but think that either of the Carmen Sandiego franchises is overdue for wizardly invention, but there are lots and lots of other prospects..
####
Greetings, O YuleScrivener, and welcome! And also, thank you! Where Yuletide is concerned, I am nothing if not a Requester Of The Seriously Obscure. Thus I am always amazed when the technomancy of the matching process succeeds in finding a writer who shares my appreciation for said obscurity, and delighted on Christmas morning when a wonderful and wondrous story from that writer's (metaphorical) pen lands in my AO3 gift-folder. We may just be setting out on this year's journey, but I know there's a happy ending to come, and I am grateful for it already. Your work is (and will be) appreciated and valued, and I look forward to seeing its fruits.
These letters aren't getting any shorter, so while I've got detailed material farther down, I think it's only fair to give you the list of fandom requests up front. So, those would be:
* Carmen Sandiego (2019) [Carmen/Black Sheep, Julia Argent, Player, Shadow-san)
* Diana Winthrop series – Kate Chambers
* Jacqueline Kirby – Elizabeth Peters (Jacqueline)
* Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego? (1994)
* Young Wizards – Diane Duane [Carmela, Dairine, Roshaun]
General likes and dislikes
Feel free to wander backward through this journal and my fic on AO3 (linked to your left) to get an idea of my interests; what I write is very much also what I like to read – and has, over time, added up to rather a variety of fandoms. My past Yuletide letters (and those for other exchanges) are tagged "dear santa" herein; see the "Yuletide" tag too, if you like.
To summarize, though: text-driven pluses for me include effective use of wit (aka banter aka snark, etc.), as well as strong characterization & dialogue. I value both respect for and clever use of canon (including well-developed AUs -- the plot-driven kind, not the baristas/highschoolers/alt-species kind). I thrive on UST (heavy on both U and T), and am neutral where gen/het/slash is concerned; if the pairing is well-developed, I'll read with an open mind.
I am also a sucker for the well-executed crossover, whether via oblique allusion or head-on fandom collision. Yuletide being Yuletide and Optional Details Being Optional, I have absolutely no expectations along this line...but I have included an EXTREMELY OPTIONAL BONUS POINTS section in each of my requests, because I live in hope, and because I can’t resist this sort of opportunity. Take these in the spirit in which they’re given, or set them aside as you prefer.
None of my requests call specifically for mature/explicit content. This doesn't mean I don't appreciate sizzling erotica/smut/porn; it's just that my fanfic-reading interests and my e/s/p-reading interests mostly don't tend to intersect. That said, if your muse happens to take you into explicit territory in the context of one of these requests, I'm generally willing to follow along for the ride. I have few outright personal squicks save for noncon, incest, or adult/child kinks so long as a given relationship is age- and canon-appropriate.
Character matching and prompts
Where I request single characters, it's not because I'm opposed to relationship-fic or multi-character stories – far from it. My goal is to give you greater flexibility in introducing additional characters, whether from those nominated or from wider canon. Even where I supply relatively specific prompts in a request, I want you to be able to shape the story; my suggestions are meant as springboards, not outlines.
This year, though, only one of my requests is for a single character. In part, this is because I've managed to request several canons where the stories really rely on the ensemble as much as the nominal leads to drive the narrative. And in a couple of cases, where a lot of characters were nominated, I wanted to narrow the focus in a particular direction.
Having said that, though, I'm not at all opposed to stories more tightly focused on one or two of the nominated players, and I've made that clear in the individual requests. Either way, you're also entirely welcome to bring in any additional canon characters (or OCs) you feel should be involved given the demands of your plot.
The specific requests:
Carmen Sandiego (Cartoon 2019) (Carmen | Black Sheep, Julia Argent, Player, Shadowsan)
A story featuring any one or more of the listed characters will satisfy this request.
ETA: Per a discussion in the DW Yuletide admin community, I'm modifying Shadow-san's name to more properly reflect use of Japanese honorifics (and I hope that anyone writing for me will do likewise).
NOTES: I admit it; as a major fan of the 1990s animated series about Carmen, I was very nervous when the new series was announced. But now that I actually have Netflix and have inhaled the first two seasons like so much movie-theater popcorn, I am totally and enthusiastically on board. This show is emphatically not that show -- and yet, the cues that it takes from the '90s series (and indeed, the PBS game show before it) are cleverly and ingeniously integrated into this version
PROMPTS: Back story for any of Player, Julia, and/or Shadowsan -- we have some details about Player and Shadowsan, but very little about Julia as yet. While Player has clearly taken a pretty strong interest in Carmen and her agenda, one gets the impression that he may well have other projects and protégés under his wing. And Shadowsan clearly has more secrets in his own past than we've seen -- his level of skill strongly implies a mentor outside VILE's orbit, and his cultural palate is too well tuned to have come from associates the likes of Coach Brunt or Countess Cleo.
For Carmen, I'm curious about how she's gone about setting up and overseeing her charitable operation (not least to avoid the problem of someone she and Player have hired to do the day-to-day oversight turning out to be crooked themselves, a problem not unknown to real-world nonprofits). Or show Carmen in actual doing-good mode (does she maybe have a totally different ID built for talking to the media? maybe she comes across a kids-in-danger situation that she can't ignore?).
Feel free to bring in any and all of the rest of the ensemble needed to make your story work, or to go in a different direction entirely -- and absolutely feel free, if you're familiar with it, to draw on the '90s series for further inspiration, character updates, or plot twists (although oddly enough, I find myself resisting the idea of crossing the two series and their respective Carmens openly with one another).
EXTREMELY OPTIONAL BONUS POINTS: Oh yes, indeed, here's another series ready-made for my inner crossover geek. Player, on reflection, reminds me sufficiently of Wade from Kim Possible (the cartoon; I've not yet seen the live-action version) to make me think the two youthful reclusive genii must know one another, if only electronically. Alternately, Carmen's heists might well attract any of the NCIS teams' attention, or that of an amateur sleuth (Jessica Fletcher, Rick Castle). I'd just as soon not get Carmen involved with the MCU or with the larger DC comics universe,
Diana Winthrop series -- Kate Chambers
A story featuring any one or more of the nominated characters will satisfy this request.
BACKGROUND: The Winthrop books are a teen-sleuth series (six slim paperbacks from the mid-'80s) set mostly in New York and New England, with "Kate Chambers" being a pen name for versatile writer Norma Johnston -- a fact I didn't learn till much later. The individual mysteries are dedicated to (and often cleverly plotted in the style of) various classic and then-famous mystery authors, the characterizations are much more nuanced than is usual for this category, and there’s a strong ongoing ensemble cast (including a major and well-rendered secondary character who’s blind).
NOTES: As obscure as this series is, I've evidently managed to sell at least one or two new readers on these books over the past couple of years, so there are now more actual prompts in this request than there used to be. Nonetheless, this is what I tend to describe as an "Oliver Twist" request -- what I really and truly want most is simply more, and I am pretty much guaranteed to be delighted whether or not you actually follow any of the prompts given.
PROMPTS: One of the really nifty things about Diana's adventures was the multi-generational family dynamic, and that's a big reason that in addition to Diana herself, I chose Jacintha (who's clearly an adult here, though clearly pretty new-minted; I see her as mid-twenties at the outside), and Lydian Sinclair (who looks likely to become part of the Winthrop clan ere long) to represent the ensemble. I'd like to see more of the familial texture here, whether in the context of a case/adventure or in a more personal sort of tale. A writer should feel free to bring in others from the extended cast as appropriate, and to look for story ideas both from Diana's past (the Boston contingent as kids? Diana's original "acting" days?) and future (what does she end up doing career-wise -- and what role does Brad Ferriers end up playing in her life?) as well as in the series' present.
EXTREMELY OPTIONAL BONUS POINTS: The crossover junkie in me points out that Diana's NYC/Boston home base and detective interests make for plausible run-ins with a great variety of other source canons, including at least one of my other current requests, and someone (other than me!) has already nudge-winked a connection between Diana's Ross cousins and a certain family of MCU military and espionage professionals. More generally, see (1) my works and gifts received on AO3, and (2) all entries tagged “Dear Santa” in my DW journal, and assume that any fandom represented therein is welcome.
Jacqueline Kirby - Elizabeth Peters (Jacqueline)
NOTES: It's not that I don't greatly enjoy the Amelia Peabody or Vicky Bliss series (I do, very much indeed), but my very first Elizabeth Peters heroine was Jacqueline Kirby, by way of The Murders of Richard III. And as time went by, I bonded further; she and I are both serious about books, enthusiastic about Shakespeare, amused by the eccentric ways of professional writers, and not at all hesitant to jump in at the deep end of the pool when our enthusiasms warrant. Fortunately, though, I have not adopted Jacqueline's habit of falling into the orbits of actual murderers.
PROMPTS: A number of obvious questions arise that deserve thoughtful and entertaining answers: What happened to the father of Jacqueline's children? Have any of her kids inherited her sleuthing gifts? What are the legendary origins of The Purse? What has she written beyond what we've seen (is there perhaps a series character)?
I am also somewhat fascinated by Jacqueline's ability to charm without being charmed, as it were. She ends several of her adventures with a man in tow who is then Never Seen Again, and insofar as we know, she's still on speaking terms with most of them. This is intriguing, and I'd be interested to see how it works. And then there's casefic: I note that in The Seventh Sinner, Jacqueline is more or less the guest sleuth in someone else's story – it would be entertaining and satisfying to see a further adventure of that kind.
EXTREMELY OPTIONAL BONUS POINTS: I have for years held the private theory that Jacqueline could very well be the unnamed editor of the Emerson papers forming the basis of the Amelia Peabody series. (It really can't be Vicky Bliss; John doesn't seem to have inherited that particular archive.) A story riffing on that theory would be totally welcome...and if Jacqueline should encounter Vicky and John in the course of her editorial duties, one can but imagine the potential for fireworks.
Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego? (Cartoon 1994)
A story featuring any one or more of the nominated characters will satisfy this request.
NOTES: Yes, I'm requesting both animated Carmen shows this year. I am absolutely delighted with the new show, but I am also still very much in like with this one -- and the differences between the two are a large part of that fascination.
PROMPTS: I'd be very interested in something ACME-centric this time around, whether set pre-series or in the show's nominal present. I've also remarked before that one of my great fascinations with this series is the bond that develops between Carmen and the detectives as the show progresses; at times there's what I'd call a slightly maternal quality to Carmen's interest in Our Heroes, and I'd enjoy seeing that idea considered. I also can't help thinking that it's interesting that canon gives us essentially no information about Ivy's and Zack's parents...which might be because they're utterly ordinary, but could also have to do with some tragic past event -- or the fact that technically, Ivy and Zack are computer-generated avatars.
OTOH, if deep familial musings aren't your cup of tea, I will also be greatly pleased with rapid-fire casefic (infoscans optional) or a straightforward snark-and-action encounter. One thing, though: I'd prefer strongly *not* to see a Carmen/Ivy romantic pairing; that one pushes a button for me.
EXTREMELY OPTIONAL BONUS POINTS: I have often noted that this series, with both time travel and C5 portal tech on the table, is a crossover junkie's dream (indeed, I've written one or two of those, and had one of them remixed in brilliantly cracktastic fashion).
Let me make one caution, though; as tempting as it might be, I'd actually rather not see this series and its successor interact directly with one another. I think one of the strengths of the new show is that it stands so very well on its own, even as it re-interprets elements introduced here. So rather than have new!Carmen and classic!Carmen meet one another, let's focus on the characters as drawn here, and move on from there.
So: go serious/epic (I've previously suggested Carmen/SG-1, whether setting Carmen against the Goa'uld or doing a thief-vs.-thief riff with Carmen and Vala). Go full-on comics mode (Batman, Black Widow). Or see just how far afield she can roam (Time Lords, Star Trek captains, Miraculous Ladybug...). There are just so many possibilities -- and where I'd rather not cross '94-Carmen with '19-Carmen, I do find myself thinking that '94-Carmen might find it amusing to tweak her Player by stealing Rockapella from the PBS series....
Young Wizards - Diane Duane (Carmela, Dairine, Roshaun)
I would strongly prefer a story featuring at least two of these characters, but a story featuring any one will satisfy this request.
NOTES: I chose Carmela and Dairine both because I like them individually and because canon gives us so very little that puts them together with one another -- which I find surprising, even granting the age difference. I would very much like to see how they interact given an excuse and/or opportunity. I've added Roshaun for this round because whether he's present or not, his relationship with Dairine (whatever form it may eventually take) is very much in play wherever Dairine is present. Additional characters welcome but not required.
PROMPTS: With Games Wizards Play out, we have many of the answers we've wanted relative to Dairine and Roshaun, so I'm no longer deeply worried about excessive angst arising from that quarter. OTOH, it strikes me that Dairine may find it easier to talk to Carmela about Roshaun than to have the same conversation with either Nita or Roshaun himself. And of course Roshaun himself may have an opinion about the nature of his feelings...even if he isn't ready to tell anyone what it is yet, possibly including himself.
Other possible tacks: Dairine getting one up on Nita with Carmela’s help, or the girls and the Alien Study Group having an adventure (I’ve seen a fair bit of fic in this line set in the Crossings, not so much here on Earth). I would also be very much on board for quality father-daughter bonding -- no matter which father/mentor figure(s) is/are involved.
[Canon notes: I'm equally at home in the original and New Millennium timelines, and have read all the shorter and e-only material up through Games Wizards Play (except for The Big Meow and the latest post-Play ebook).]
EXTREMELY OPTIONAL BONUS POINTS: As always, my crossover radar is in play here; given my requests this year, I can't help but think that either of the Carmen Sandiego franchises is overdue for wizardly invention, but there are lots and lots of other prospects..
####