• Published 21st Aug 2016
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Dressed to Steal - Tatsurou



Coco Pommel balances being the daughter of Sly Cooper and a member of the Cooper Gang with not disappointing her Law Enforcement mother, Inspector Carmelita Fox.

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Professional Opinion

We met with Mozzie several times over the course of the next few weeks, and he asked lots and lots of questions. He seemed to know what he was doing, so I answered all his questions to the best of my ability...and at the end of it, he called Mom and Dad to meet with him alone. Neither of them ever talked about the outcome of the session, but it left them both a little disturbed...


Mozzie leaned back in his chair as he stared at Sly and Carmelita. "Well, I've thoroughly analyzed all of you, and I can say that most of your family is surprisingly healthy - mentally speaking - all things considered. With everything you've all been through, I fully expected a great deal more to have to deal with, especially where Coco is concerned. I think that's mostly due to you two. As parents, you're to be commended."

"We...we did our best," Sly offered modestly, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment. "Neither of us were exactly ready for parenthood..."

"But we couldn't exactly turn our back on her, either," Carmelita concluded, clutching her left elbow in her right hand nervously.

"Yes, but that brings me to the actual issue that I feel might threaten your family's well being...and it comes down to the two of you," Mozzie continued. "Specifically, in how you see each other."

"Eh?" Carmelita asked curiously.

"How so?" Sly inquired guardedly.

"Simply put, in the eyes of each other, you each have three distinct identities," Mozzie explained. "Sly, in our talks you sometimes referred to the suit here as Carmelita, sometimes as Miss Fox, and sometimes as Inspector. As I've been able to determine, you see her as three different people: Carmelita is the girl you have strong feelings for, and want to romance; Miss Fox is Coco's mother, working with you as a parent to raise and protect her; Inspector...well, I believe that's self explanatory."

"That's who she is when we're 'on the job' and she's chasing me," Sly deduced. "I hadn't really thought about it...but yeah, I see your point...but not the problem."

"I'm getting there," Mozzie explained. "I prefer to lay out all the pieces before showing how they should fit together. The suit here sees you similarly." He turned to Carmelita. "In our one on one sessions, you referred to him as Sly, Mr. Cooper, and That Ringtail. While I don't normally like such derogatory terms, I can tell there's nothing specist about it. I'm sure you're clever enough to put together what each name refers to without me explaining it."

Carmelita grunted, turning away to hide the red tinge in her cheeks from Sly. "Mr. Cooper's Coco's Dad, and Ringtail is him as the Master Thief," she explained.

"And Sly?" Mozzie coached. "It's important that you face and admit to your feelings."

Carmelita grumbled under her breath, then sighed. "Sly the person, who - if he weren't also the thief - is someone I'd consider romancing without hesitation or regrets," she concluded, causing Sly's eyes to pop open in surprise.

"And there we see the problem," Mozzie explained softly. "As you've worked together to raise Coco, you've both seen sides of yourselves - and each other - you never expected, and it is causing problems in how you see yourselves and each other. This boundary you've erected in your own minds - the triple identity of the other - it isn't healthy. At the moment, it helps you both deal with the situation - you more than Sly, Carmelita - but in the long term it can be a major problem...especially if you allow the other's perspective of you to start to define your interactions. That could lead to a self imposed SPD. Not pretty."

"And...what do you recommend?" Sly asked worriedly.

"Simply put, you both need to think about how you stand with each other," Mozzie detailed carefully. "You need to find a way to rationalize this triple view of each other, and find a way to see past that so you only interact with each other's true selves. And that's where the difficulty lies...as it comes with a very difficult choice for both of you. And I don't know if there is an answer that solves things for all of you."

"Choice?" Carmelita asked, homing in on what she felt was the important point. "What choice?"

"Simply put...family or duty," Mozzie explained. "You can each either go by duty - Carmelita as an Inspector catching criminals including Sly, and Sly as a Master Thief - or go by family, raising Coco. As things stand right now, I cannot find a way the two can be rationalized healthily. I hope the two of you do, as it's the only way I can see you all finding peace with yourselves and each other...for Coco's sake." He slowly stood up. "Besides, if you do...maybe that original suggested solution I offered would actually be possible."

He glanced back and forth between the pair, who were plainly lost in thought. He then shrugged his shoulders. "I'll leave you two to talk things out, or not. But for right now, I promised Coco I'd take her to get some bubblegum ice cream."


The ice cream was surprisingly delicious. I'm not sure what I thought it would taste like, but I enjoyed it...at least once I was able to get high enough with it that Uncle Murray couldn't swipe it.

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