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brensey — Sly 3 Epilogue: 'Time to Talk' (1 of 3)
Published: 2014-04-16 08:30:07 +0000 UTC; Views: 3503; Favourites: 30; Downloads: 0
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Here are the links to the other pages:page 1 [you are here]
Link to page 2
Link to page 3
Special thanks to sonicsora and sariels-hope for helping with ideas and artistic inspiration. This comic was REALLY hard to do because I know drama isn't my strong suit. But these two muses made it a bit easier.
ARTIST'S RAMBLINGS:
----This is basically my head-canon for how Carmelita and Sly handled the amnesia thing right after the events at the end of the third game. This is what I always assumed happened between them. And I thought it would be fun/interesting to put this theory out there (even though it's disputed by the most recent game).
Speaking of Sly 4, this is also my way of addressing one of the biggest plot holes in that game. Specifically, the idea that Sly kept the amnesia ruse going for YEARS. And that he not only fooled Carmelita with that bullcrap, he also fooled ALL OF INTERPOL!
Uh, no. Even if I could swallow Carmelita being so stupid and/or desperate for a boyfriend that she would go along with it, I just can't buy Sly being able to get a job with Interpol when he's a wanted criminal. Even as a kid playing the game for the first time, I figured Carmelita worked out a probation deal for Sly because that's logically the ONLY way she could have had a relationship with him that didn't involve visiting him in prison (or secretly keeping him locked in her apartment like a house-pet).
----Also, I imagine Sly throwing the "I gave up EVERYTHING for you" bomb the first time he and Carmelita have a serious fight (and Carmelita having none of it). I really struggled with how angry to make Sly's reaction in this comic. I didn't want him to come across as violent or out-of-character. But I figure that the shock of Carmelita actually doing her job instead of behaving like his "romantic fantasy girl" might make him so upset that he would overlook the fact that she worked out a sweet probation deal for him.
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Comments: 18
Even if Carmelita did fall for Sly's Amnesia shtick, I doubt it would have lasted this long before Carmelita's conscience made her come clean about Sly's actual past.
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Yeah. Lying to him and keeping him from his "brothers" would be WAY too unethical for someone like Carmelita.
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I think it would have been interesting if they pointed that out in the game, or a least have her feel angry not just from Sly's lie but the guilt of lying to him in the first place.
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Its not often that I see Sly getting angry Carmelita
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Something I noticed when going over this is that Sly looks very... "Hippy." Like he has a pear or gourd body-shape. Combined with his fluffy, neat (for a change) hair it kinda looks like he's been genderswapped in some panels. (It's something people brought up in my comic too, that sometimes Carmelita looked masculine in panels).
Ahh tempers flare. (I like her rebuttal in the following page) It's kinda weird that even though their relationship is deceptive they still trust each other implicitly in some areas and feel betrayed when that's broken. We both kinda did that XD;
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The idea was that Sly's shirt was being pushed up by his tail. But now that you point it out, it does kinda look like he has big, girly hips. Oops! LOL
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That's what I figured you were going for, but I couldn't unsee him having this amazing ba-donka-donk 
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LOL. Extreme pear shapes are pretty much my default when drawing characters. I have to try and consciously turn it off when I draw men and/or super thin characters. Clearly, I need to keep working on that. ^_^;
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Yeeeah, I need to diversify my character body-types as well. It's kind of hard to do though when most of the time my characters are "athletic." But then again, there are many different kinds of "athletic" bodies, so it's still no excuse >___<
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IM REALLY HAPPY WHERE THIS COMIC IS GOING-
Caplocks aside, man, it's nice to actually see them talk about this. Be it, Carmelita trying to find a way to ensure justice/her job is being done. She's always be a damned fine police officer and likely isn't going to give Sly a 'break'. She loves him, but she can't play pretend on his behalf. It isn't fair to either of them.
I know fo sho, I didn't address this issue in my own fanfic since I wasn't sure how badly Sly would/should get punished. I erred on the side of caution via- they know and live with it but try to keep the general public out of their lives. (along with Sly SO not being a cop, much less Carmelita's partner or something along those lines.) Carmelita being- you know, an ACTUAL cop though is fantastic.
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I based a lot of this on the characterization of Carmelita that we got in the Sly comic books. Specifically, the scene where she tells Sly that his "honorable thief code" is a bullcrap excuse for what he does.
Yeah, as much as she loves him, I don't think she would feel right letting him escape punishment entirely just because he's more "noble" than the average crook (or because he has a special relationship with a cop). So I think her working out a probation deal is the only plausible way that those two could have an open relationship.
The only way Sanzaru's explanation makes sense is if Carmelita hid him in her apartment like a pet. Which, while kinda funny, is also really stupid.
I know fo sho, I didn't address this issue in my own fanfic since I wasn't sure how badly Sly would/should get punished. I erred on the side of caution via- they know and live with it but try to keep the general public out of their lives. (along with Sly SO not being a cop, much less Carmelita's partner or something along those lines.)
I've seen VERY few people address the glaring plothole of "How did Sly avoid going to jail after the end of the third game?". That was part of the reason I opted to finish this comic.
I honestly can't see Sly willingly taking a job with Interpol either (though I like the idea of him being a consultant instead of Carmelita's partner).
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The comics are pretty much such a solid foundation for Carm. Hell, we get waaay longer with her in them (a few pages at least in both) compared to what we get in game.
I can definitely believe that, Carmelita wouldn't let her love cloud her judgement that much, not when she knows how much Sly has done. She wouldn't just give him a free pass because LOLZ HES TOTES MAH BOYFRUND or some dang thing.
Sanzaru's explanation pretty much made him Carmelita's secret stay at home husband (which would be cute in a NORMAL context minus the whole cloudy bs that surrounds it). Did they even mention the police thing at all-? I can barely remember by this point. Them brushing over it isn't any better.
The biggest problem with handling this issue is the fact it- honestly pulls the rug out of under the whole 'sly cooper mythos' and makes you really rethink who Sly actually is. All the charm and 'magic' you felt when playing is called into question, which is kind of cool and jarring. You really get sucked into this 'honor among thieves' spiel. (Aka why everyone takes Sly's side most of the time.) Seeing the other side is hard when we're so dang used to being Sly. If the games were told from Carmelita's perspective it'd be a REALLY drastic change. You pointing out you- LOGIC is really nice. A good change from this weird limbo fandom awkwardly is in.
This comic at least gives me a really strong idea of what to do with Sly. I'm definitely stealing the consultant bit. (it doesnt help i've been watching a lot of CSI & Law and Order recently, haha whoops) Maybe figure out what else he can do since, wow the narrative REALLY wants you not to think too much about this.
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The comics are pretty much such a solid foundation for Carm. Hell, we get waaay longer with her in them (a few pages at least in both) compared to what we get in game.
Agreed! I just wish Sucker Punch had incorporated more of that character development into the actual games. IMO, Sly and Carmelita's hook up at the end of Sly-3 kinda feels like it came from nowhere because they had so little positive interaction in that game. And I wish they had given us more insight from her POV during the parts where the player controls Carmelita.
Sanzaru's explanation pretty much made him Carmelita's secret stay at home husband (which would be cute in a NORMAL context minus the whole cloudy bs that surrounds it). Did they even mention the police thing at all-? I can barely remember by this point. Them brushing over it isn't any better.
I don’t think Sanzaru ever brought up the whole “Constable Cooper” thing. It just showed him and Carmelita cavorting at cocktail parties. Maybe they rolled with the “Carmelita kept Sly as a pet so he wouldn’t get arrested” theory.
The biggest problem with handling this issue is the fact it- honestly pulls the rug out of under the whole 'sly cooper mythos' and makes you really rethink who Sly actually is. All the charm and 'magic' you felt when playing is called into question, which is kind of cool and jarring.
And I think this is why Sucker Punch opted to end the franchise at the third game. The Doctor M storyline did a good job balancing the fun and glamour of the Cooper legacy while still addressing the negatives. Sly himself says that he feels bad for being a jerk towards Carmelita and wishes he could have a REAL relationship with her. And the narrative implies that past Coopers -including Sly’s father- might not have been as noble as he thought they were. And the ending made it clear that Sly and his friends were perfectly happy to give it up and move on with their lives. It was a very mature ending for a kiddie game starring talking animals.
But Sanzaru crapped all over it by having Sly open game #4 by announcing, “gee whiz! This posh lifestyle with my hot girlfriend sure is boring! I’m so glad that I have an excuse to go steal a cool Japanese artifact. Who cares if doing so might endanger Carmelita’s career and end our relationship? And who cares that Penelope is missing (and possibly dead) because of my family baggage? I get to pull off a heist again! WHOO HOO!”
This comic at least gives me a really strong idea of what to do with Sly. I'm definitely stealing the consultant bit. (it doesnt help i've been watching a lot of CSI & Law and Order recently, haha whoops) Maybe figure out what else he can do since, wow the narrative REALLY wants you not to think too much about this.
Feel free to steal the consultant idea!
Honestly, I think Sly and Carmelita would go nuts if they had to live AND work together. And Sly would probably be uncomfortable having to deal with legal red tape instead of just tackling problems head on. So Sly being on-call for special cases just makes more sense.
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Not that this isn't a good idea and I'm not just pissing on your Cheerios here but....this would raise alot of questions.
Unless INTERPOL in Sly-verse operates under the the anthropomorphic animal equivalent of Judge Dredd, Carmelita is making alot of promises here that she can't keep.
Her supervisor can't determine sentencing. He is a cop. Not a judge and jury. He can offer the courts a deal, but he can in no way enforce it. Ultimately, Sly's fate would be in the hands of the native courts of the
lands he stole from. Courts which may laugh at the idea of letting a near legendary felon go free. A felon, who need I remind you, has assaulted their richest citizens and politicians (the kind of people that can bribe courts to control outcomes and make sure that not only does Sly get convicted, but that he gets a brutal sentence).
Furthermore, bear in mind that some of nations that Sly stole from were expys for real world nations. Nations which, to this day, enforce the death penalty for even petty theft so Sly would be facing the chopping block for sure.
Of course, this is actually a really good idea for the lead up to Sly 4: Carmelita, naively believing in the justice system, watches helplessly as federal goons haul away Sly as a local court passes sentence on him. Sly, not being one to go down without a fight, escapes from jail. Now the game takes place with Carmelita chasing down Cooper, all the while her illusions about her job fall to pieces around her.
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I'm not saying my theory is perfect. But it's still a hell of a lot better than the canon explanation of "Sly avoided jail time because he claimed to have brain damage".
As for the "realism" of Carmelita and her boss being able to arrange a deal....the games are never clear about how Interpol works in the Sly universe. So I assume they're some sort of international law enforcement agency with some leeway when it comes to determining punishment
Also, Carmelita is implied to be pretty high up in Interpol. So I'm assuming her boss would have more authority/power than "just some random cop"
A felon, who need I remind you, has assaulted their richest citizens and politicians (the kind of people that can bribe courts to control outcomes and make sure that not only does Sly get convicted, but that he gets a brutal sentence).
Furthermore, bear in mind that some of nations that Sly stole from were expys for real world nations. Nations which, to this day, enforce the death penalty for even petty theft so Sly would be facing the chopping block for sure.
When has Sly ever "assaulted" anyone that important?
I'm assuming agencies like Interpol exist to counterbalance nations that would enforce outrageous sentences for crimes like petty theft. People much worse than Sly get deals like this in the real world. So I don't think it's that hard to swallow Sly getting some sort of probation/consulting deal in this fantasy cartoon-land. Again, it makes more sense than him getting off scott free just because he CLAIMS to not remember committing any crimes.
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The guy has stomped drug kingpins and leaders of paramilitary groups, the kind of people who don't get to their positions without making very powerful friends.
I'm not saying your idea is bad, I'm just saying that it opens up many questions about how the "system" works in the Sly-verse and , basing on the real world
INTERPOL's impotence in effectively countering that level of brutal sentencing in the 21st century, there is a good chance that Carmelita may be overstating the
righteousness of her organization.
But yes, your idea does make more sense than Sly's "mental scrambled egg defense".
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I think Sly 4 actually might have taken place only about a year later due to Sly and Carmalita's interactions, but yeah they could have been done a lot better. My main gripe with the game was the writing and Penelope. All I need to say is Penelope. Not only was she well loved by fans, but her character derailment created a giant black hole in the plot that sucked all probability out of the story.
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