Carulia

Carulia is the femslash ship between Carmen Sandiego and Julia Argent from the Carmen Sandiego fandom.

Season One
Carmen Sandiego is an infamous international super thief, pursued by the international Interpol agency. Chase Devineaux and his rookie partner Julia Argent are assigned to the case. While Devineaux focuses on it with a single-minded point of view, Julia works on a profile to help her better understand the mysterious Carmen Sandiego. The artifacts and priceless treasures that Carmen Sandiego has stolen over the last year always end up back where they belong; that is, back in the location where she stole them from. No one can figure out how or why. Julia surmises, based on surmounting evidence from past cases, that "Carmen Sandiego is a thief who only steals from other thieves."

Julia has her first run in with Carmen Sandiego in Poitiers, France, in the episode "Becoming Carmen Sandiego" (Part 1). Chase is in hot pursuit of "La Femme Rouge". She sees Carmen jump off a roof, gliding away from the scene of the crime, moments before Devineaux falls off the same roof and onto the hood of their patrol car. Chase Devineaux leaves Julia behind to gather evidence at the museum while he continues to follow Carmen. Julia discovers the gem that they thought Carmen was after, safe and sound inside some couch cushions. As it turned out, nothing at all was stolen. This confirmed the pattern that Julia had seen in Carmen's file. Julia attempts to tell Devineaux what she has discovered, but Chase remains convinced that Carmen is a villain, refusing to listen to Miss Argent.

In "The Fishy Doubloon Caper", Chase and Julia are both hired by A.C.M.E. (Agency to Classify and Monitor Evildoers) to find Carmen and uncover her link to V.I.L.E. (Villain's International League of Evil). Julia continues to learn about Carmen Sandiego's character and motive, coming to find that she is likely someone who respects history, much like herself. Devineaux has led A.C.M.E. to believe Carmen is an evildoer, however, the Chief of the organization does not so readily dismiss Agent Argent's theories about Carmen. Julia is commended for spotting small details while on cases that Devineaux seems to miss; details which only further support her theory that Carmen is innocent.

Carmen and Julia finally meet in face-to-face "The Chasing Paper Caper". The Magna Carta has been stolen from a museum in Mumbai, India. While on a train to Agra, India, Carmen has another run in with Chase Devineaux. Although Carmen is in plainclothes instead of her usual red hat and coat, Agent Devineaux still recognizes her. She handcuffs him to a train seat, moving on to the next train car in pursuit of Paper Star, the real thief of the Magna Carta. In the next car, she finds Julia Argent sitting by herself. Carmen asks "is this seat taken?" inviting herself to sit across from the agent. As Julia Argent has never seen Carmen Sandiego up close or in plainclothes, she does not immediately recognize her.

Julia states that Carmen can sit with her "until my partner returns." Carmen frowns at this revelation, noticing a briefcase on the seat beside her with the initials C.D. (for Chase Devineaux), Julia clarifies that her "partner" is only her "travel partner." Carmen immediately brightens when Julia seemingly confirms that she is single, but would not be opposed to a "partner". Carmen asks her for her name, which Julia gives readily, without knowing a single thing about the stranger before her. The two seem to hit it off, with Carmen giving her the nickname "Jules" from the get-go. Carmen only ever refers to her as "Jules", and never as Julia. They discuss Julia's love of history, and how it outweighs her love of her current job.

Carmen mentions the Magna Carta, which Julia is surprised by. Carmen claims that she heard about the theft in the news, but considering that the theft is what Julia is investigating at the moment, it seems like a very strange coincidence to her that it would come up in conversation. Carmen stutters briefly when mentioning that the incident has gathered media attention, and indeed, Julia seems surprised that she has heard about it, which may indicate that Carmen was lying to cover up the fact that she could only know about the recent theft if she herself was involved.

Carmen, who has been keeping an eye on Paper Star throughout their conversation, abruptly gets up to leave, saying, "wonderful chatting with you, Jules." Julia mentions as Carmen leaves the train car that she never got her name. She immediately realizes based on context clues that she had just been chatting with Carmen Sandiego. She attempts to phone Chase Devineaux to inform him, but he does not answer his phone. Julia lets Carmen go, without attempting to pursue her.

As Carmen battles Paper Star in one scene, Julia goes to search for Chase elsewhere. She finds him just where Carmen left him, handcuffed to a seat. While going to retrieve the handcuff keys from his briefcase, Julia reenters the car where she and Carmen had first met. She finds a poster tube sitting on seat next to the briefcase, which contains the Magna Carta, now returned safe and sound.

As Chase and Julia debrief with the Chief in "The French Connection Caper", Julia is congratulated for safely securing the Magna Carta. Julia offhandedly comments that "I did not do it alone." After the meeting, Chase confronts Julia, noticeably upset that she hinted that she was working WITH Carmen Sandiego. Julia brushes off his comment, stating that Chase is her partner, indicating that she must have meant him. Chase is not at all convinced, given how Julia has spoken highly of Carmen Sandiego in the past. He calls her out, saying, "I know you were referring to La Femme Rouge, your silent partner." Julia becomes defensive at his accusation, convinced that her instincts about Carmen have been right all along. Chase reveals that he does not believe V.I.L.E. exists, displaying the close-minded thinking that has consistently led to him dismissing Julia and her theories.

Chase Devineaux is kidnapped by V.I.L.E. However, everyone at A.C.M.E. aside from Julia blame Carmen Sandiego, having no other leads to his disappearance. Coach Brunt and Shadowsan attempt to interrogate Chase, believing that he is an accomplice of Carmen. They mentally torture him for information, until Carmen shows up to free him. When A.C.M.E. finally arrives, Brunt, Shadowsan, and Carmen have all fled, leaving Chase in need of medical attention.

At the end of the season, Julia is still convinced that Carmen had nothing to do with Chase's injuries, although there is little evidence proving her guilt or solidifying her innocence.

Season Two
In "The Hot Rocks of Rio Caper" (Part 1) Julia visits Chase Devineaux in the hospital, where he is in a coma following the events of "The French Connection Caper". She seems worried about him, making several attempts to wake him, to no avail. Before she leaves, she says, "We need you to tell us that she did not do this to you." In reality, it appears as though she was only trying to rouse Chase in order to prove Carmen's innocence.

When Chase wakes up, Chief is waiting for him. He confirms Julia's fear that Carmen was somehow involved in his kidnapping and brain scramble. The events of the evening are muddled in his head, however, and Carmen is falsely accused. Chase only remembers seeing her at the scene, but she was there to rescue him.

Despite everything that Julia believes, she prepares to take down Carmen Sandiego in "The Fashionista Caper"	. She confidently confirms to Agent Zari that she is ready to take down the super thief. When they arrive in Milan, Italy, she confronts Carmen Sandiego while backstage at a fashion show, threatening her with a knockout gas gun. Although she has the opportunity to use the device on Carmen, she hesitates, allowing Carmen to swipe the gun from her. Moments later, Carmen returns the weapon to Julia's jacket pocket, stating "I need your help." Carmen trusts Julia not to bring out the gun again, not even bothering to deactivate or destroy it.

Carmen takes Julia's hand, leading her through the crowd at the fashion show. Her previous determination to take down Carmen Sandiego seems to have all melted away, as she goes along with Carmen without the slightest hesitation. They parade along the cat walk together, with Julia appearing nervous next to Carmen's calm and poised air. She makes no further attempt to apprehend her, even though they have remained close enough for her to easily take her down. Carmen explains that they need to get their hands on the priceless Medici dresses before the models can get a hold of them. The two end up beneath the fashion show stage, along with Zack and Ivy. Carmen instructs the siblings to "get the gowns to safety", adding, "Jules is in charge." Carmen trusts Julia to take care of her teammates and to protect the historic gowns. Julia seems shocked that Carmen is so trusting in her, especially since she knows she was preparing to take her down just minutes earlier. Julia frantically asks, "what about you?", indicating that she is worried for Carmen's own safety.

The models from the fashion show attempt to break through to the backstage area. Carmen instinctively throws an arm out in front of Julia to protect her from any oncoming attacks. Julia turns away from Carmen, instructing Zack and Ivy to get the gowns to safety. As the models appear, ready for a fight, Julia glances back at Carmen one last time to ensure she is still safe. Unfortunately, she must prioritize her mission and the Medici dresses, following after Zack and Ivy and leaving Carmen alone. Once the gowns are safe, Julia suggests to Chief that instead of constantly trying to hinder Carmen Sandiego, they should attempt to recruit her as an ally.

During "The Stockholm Syndrome Caper", Julia asks Chief for permission to speak with Carmen Sandiego alone. She again mentions pursing Carmen as an ally, rather than an enemy. Chief agrees to let Julia have a private meeting with Carmen. Surprisingly, it is Carmen who finds Julia first, leading her to the city of Stockholm's City Hall. Julia mentions that Carmen isn't really dressed for the weather, seeing as she is only in a hoodie and not a heavy jacket. Carmen has somehow managed to already steal Julia's A.C.M.E. communicator pen, to ensure their meeting isn't interrupted. Julia theorizes what Carmen might be attempting to steal in Sweden, "or prevent someone else from stealing", she mentions, trying to communicate to Carmen that she believes in her and her innocence. Carmen requests that Julia have the other A.C.M.E. agents back off momentarily, for their own safety. Julia assures her that "you will not see a single one of our agents. Trust me."

However, before Julia can propose that Carmen work with A.C.M.E., agents swarm the building. Julia is shocked to see another agent, as Chief all but promised that they would have privacy. Carmen backs away from Julia, feeling betrayed. "Trust you, huh?" she asks, as more agents arrive. Julia scrambles to convince Carmen that she had nothing to do with the ambush, calling out to Carmen that, "it's not what you think!" Carmen is pursued by agents, eventually being cornered and gassed by Agent Zari. Carmen still escapes, jumping off and gliding away from the tower. Julia arrives in time to watch her flee. Julia, angered by Chief's own betrayal, grabs Agent Zari's communicator pen and calls Chief, noticeably upset. She blames her for chasing Carmen away and squandering the trust that Julia had built with her.

Eventually, A.C.M.E. is able to find Carmen in the middle of the woods, suffering from hypothermia and in danger of succumbing to the cold Swedish winter. Zack and Ivy show up after A.C.M.E., but Chief allows Carmen to go with them. Carmen and Julia share one last look, with Julia concerned and saddened by Carmen's current state. Julia may even blame herself for trusting Chief, given that if she had not asked to meet with Carmen Sandiego, she would have never been put in harms way.

To Steal Or Not To Steal
In the canon path of the story (that is, the path that Netflix will automatically choose every time), Carmen finds herself at a charity ball in Monte Carlo. As she enters the gala, she comments to Player that it "looks like my favorite A.C.M.E. agent, Jules Argent, scored an invite." While dancing with the host of the gala, Carmen appears bored, and begins to daydream. She instead imagines herself cutting a rug doing a freestyle dance, with Julia admiring her from the crowd. However, this is all in Carmen's head. Following the dance, Julia Argent approaches Carmen immediately, calling out her name. She comments, "so good to see you again", indicating that they have met up or come into contact with each other following their first meeting on the train. Although the interactive episode released following season 2, its events occur prior to "The Stockholm Syndrome Caper". Julia states that she expects the artifacts from a recent string of thefts to "mysteriously appear at my doorstep", revealing that Carmen knows where Julia lives and has been there before. Julia seems perfectly comfortable with Carmen having the location of her residence, even though Julia has no idea where Carmen lives.

As she speaks to Carmen, Julia turns away, nonchalantly showing off her backless dress. She looks over her shoulder flirtatiously as she walks away from Carmen, leaving the thief to complete her work. There is an option at this stage of the interactive to trust or trick Julia. If one chooses to trick Julia, they will fail the game, regardless of any other choices made following this point. The canon path automatically has players trust Julia. Carmen follows after the agent, revealing that she is currently stealing for V.I.L.E., though she says she cannot tell Julia why. She asks Julia to trust her, and to not get in her way as she attempts to steal rare caviar. Julia reluctantly agrees, grateful that Carmen put her trust in her.

Later, Julia follows Carmen through an airport, eventually losing track of the slippery super thief. Directly after, Carmen catches up with Julia, deciding to ask her for help. Julia readily agrees, with no hesitation. Carmen loans Julia her signature red hat and coat, to pose as a decoy for V.I.L.E. The plan works. After Carmen frees Zack and Ivy, we see Julia at home. She is admiring herself in a mirror, still wearing Carmen's outfit. "I'm Carmen Sandiego, and I'm here to make your day," she says, tipping her hat to her reflection. Her doorbell rings, startling Julia from her roleplaying. When she looks through her peephole, she sees all of the items that Carmen stole for V.I.L.E. sitting safely on her doorstep. There is also a bouquet of nine red roses, which is a symbol of eternal love. Julia picks up the roses and smells them, blushing as she says, "thank you, Carmen Sandiego."

Season Four
After quitting A.C.M.E. because her heart was no longer in her work, Julia becomes a professor at a university. Showrunner Duane Capizzi said of her decision that "she couldn't spend her life trying to take down Carmen." Player reveals her new profession to Carmen, referring to Julia as "your favorite A.C.M.E. agent." While teaching a class, Julia Argent spots Carmen Sandiego among her students. She stumbles over her words when she spots her, ending her class early so she can meet up with Carmen. Though there is no on-screen resolution after the events in Stockholm, Julia and Carmen's bond seems to be stronger than ever, indicating that they have reconciled following the incident. The two walk to Julia's office together. Julia seems overjoyed to see Carmen once again. As she no longer works with A.C.M.E., she does not have to worry about compromising her job or a mission. She seems much more relaxed around Carmen, now that they are no longer forced to be enemies. As Carmen casually leans against Julia's work desk, she congratulates her on her new job, saying, "way to follow your heart, Jules" and noticing how much happier she is. Julia shuts the blinds in her office to give them some privacy. Then she responds, "you remembered", smiling at the fact that Carmen had been listening well enough to recall their conversation on the train in India months ago.

Carmen asks for her help in decrypting a historic V.I.L.E. artifact. She mentions that it's alright if Julia doesn't want to get involved, seeing as she "left A.C.M.E. to get away from all this." What Carmen doesn't realize is that the real reason Julia left A.C.M.E. was because she could not bear to be Carmen's enemy any longer. Julia is happy to help, even going so far as to comment, "who knew my two key areas of interest would ever intersect?" One of her key interests is obviously history, the other may be referring to Carmen herself. Carmen looks at Julia fondly as she studies the artifact.

Later, Carmen is leaning on the back of Julia's chair, looking over her shoulder as she attempts to read the ancient writing on the artifact. Carmen must leave on another mission, so she asks Julia to keep the relic safe for her. She trusts that even though Julia does not work for Interpol or A.C.M.E. anymore, she will not return the stolen item to the authorities just yet. As Julia questions her motives, Carmen raises an eyebrow at her, as if to say, 'you should know me better than that by now.' Julia smirks, returning the flirtatious look as Carmen departs her office.

As Carmen relies on Julia to decrypt the text on two other relics, she picks up some decoding knowledge herself. Julia comments on how Carmen is a quick study, again seeming very much at ease speaking to the thief over their video call. Julia easily predicts the next phase of Carmen's mission, leading Carmen to coyly respond, "oh, now who's the quick study?" After their conversation, it is revealed that Carmen has Julia Argent listed simply as "Jules" in her phone, with a photo of the woman smiling. With Shadowsan, Ivy, and Zack out of commission, Carmen is seemingly on her own. However, she tells Player she has "all the backup I need", referring to Julia.

During the mission, Julia is captured from her office in England. Though she attempts to play dumb to foil V.I.L.E.'s plans and protect Carmen, she is forced to finish decoding the final relic for them. Meanwhile, Carmen has been trying to contact Julia. She figures out something is wrong when she receives no response. Finally, Chase Devineaux picks up Julia's phone in her office, much to Carmen's surprise. Julia missed an appointment with him, so he came to see if she was at her office, just in time for the phone to ring, with Carmen on the other end. Chase seems surprised to find out that Julia and Carmen have kept in touch, indicating that Julia has been keeping their relationship a secret for quite some time. As demonstrated in To Steal or Not to Steal, Carmen has been returning stolen artifacts to Julia for months, so they had to have been in constant communication somehow.

Carmen tracks V.I.L.E. and Julia to Egypt, where she faces Countess Cleo and the Cleaners. She offers the third and final V.I.L.E. relic, in exchange for Julia's safe return. Julia smiles when she sees Carmen, assured that she will now be rescued. Cleo demands the relic first, which Carmen refuses, knowing that if V.I.L.E. gets its hands on it they will not hesitate to kill Julia, once she is no longer deemed useful. Carmen and Cleo end up at a stalemate, with Carmen dangling the relic over a bottomless pit, and Cleo dangling Julia over the same one. V.I.L.E. is aware that Julia is perhaps Carmen's greatest weakness, and so threatening her is the best way to get Carmen Sandiego to submit. As the Cleaners attack Carmen, Julia takes the opportunity to take a swing at Cleo. She ends up being knocked into the pit, hanging on for dear life. Carmen spots that Julia is in danger, letting her guard down just enough to be captured by V.I.L.E. Carmen manages to free herself from her handcuffs, fending off the Cleaners as she puts herself between Julia and the saber-wielding Boris. As Cleo and the Cleaners flee, Chase rushes to uncuff Julia. When they turn around, Carmen has gone, assured of Julia's safety now that V.I.L.E. has left the scene. Later, Julia sends Carmen a coded message, stating that Chief wants to meet with her. Player shows concern that it could be a trap laid by A.C.M.E., but Carmen affirms that Julia would have included a warning in her coded message if that were the case.

In "The Viennese Waltz Caper", Chief tasks Julia with a very special assignment: locating Carmen Sandiego's mother. It is Julia's job to help reunite Carmen with her long lost family.

Quotes
"So, Jules. Off to see the Taj Mahal?"

- Carmen meeting Julia, The Chasing Paper Caper.

"You're not really dressed for the occasion, but we'll make it work."

- Carmen commenting on Julia's attire, The Fashionista Caper.

"You want me to steal?"

- Julia questioning Carmen, The Fashionista Caper.

"Looks like my favorite A.C.M.E. agent, Julia Argent, scored an invite."

- Carman noticing that Julia is also at the charity gala, Carmen Sandiego: To Steal or Not to Steal.

"Jules, I could really use your help."

- Carman asking Julia to help her save zack and Ivy, Carmen Sandiego: To Steal or Not to Steal.

"I'm Carmen Sandiego and I'm here to make your day."

- Julia presenting herself as Carman in the mirror while wearing Carman's signature red hat and coat, Carmen Sandiego: To Steal or Not to Steal.

"Way to follow your heart, Jules."

- Carmen congratulating Julia on her new job, The V.I.L.E. History Caper.

"Oh, now who's the quick study?"

- Carmen video chatting with Julia, The Egyptian Decryption Caper.

Fanon
Fans love the faith that Julia has in Carmen, before and after they officially met face to face in the 2019 series. That faith and the way Julia blushed when she found the roses from Carmen, in Carmen Sandiego: to Steal or Not to Steal, had got a few fans to suspect that Julia might be a lesbian and has a crush on Carmen. The dance scene from To Steal or Not to Steal has also inspired fans to draw fanart of Carmen and Julia dancing together. Those who dislike this ship, however, has them to believe that Carman and Julia are more like business partners instead.

In the 2001 Carmen Sandiego game Treasures of Knowledge, it is revealed that Carmen and Julia had a past relationship, and worked together as partners at A.C.M.E. Fans have been shipping Carmen and Julia ever since, and their continued relationship in the 2019 Netflix series has only added fuel to the fire.

On AO3, Carulia is the most written ship for both Julia and Carmen. It is also the sixth most written ship in the ''Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego? (Cartoon 1994) tag, the third most written in the Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? tag and the most written in the Carmen Sandiego (Cartoon 2019)'' tag.

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Trivia

 * In the original, Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? game series, that inspired the 2019 Netflix series, Julia was one of Carmen's former partners at A.C.M.E. before Carmen left to become the famous thief.
 * Even though Julia believes that her former partner was one of A.C.M.E.'s best agents, apart of her believes that "everyone" at A.C.M.E. blames Julia for Carmen's decision to leave the organization to become their top need to catch criminal. While Carmen herself considers Jules to be "very opinionated" and claims that this made her "a little difficult to work with," although she never specifically states whether this had anything to do with her choice to leave A.C.M.E..