Tailsco

Tailsco is the het ship between Tails and Coco from the Sonic the Hedgehog and Crash Bandicoot fandoms.

Canon
As of now, the Sonic the Hedgehog and Crash Bandicoot franchises haven't had an official crossover with each other. Due to this, Tails and Coco have never officially met. Despite that, both characters have been noted as having a significant amount of similarities that result in the two being seen as equals to each other.

The first big similarity is their relationship with the main heroes of their franchises. They are often depicted in their home series as the primary sidekick for their respective heroes with an almost inseparable friendship and a staunch loyalty towards them. These relationships particularly see Tails and Coco acting as a voice of reason for their respective heroes, trying their best to keep them from rushing too far into danger despite being younger while at the same time being comforted by said heroes when need be. In this regard, Tails and Coco both share a bigger/smaller sibling relationship with their heroes, figuratively in Tails' case and literally in Coco's. This close bond can also be attributed to another similarity that Tails and Coco share, which is that their first appearance in their respective franchises was in the second main entry.

The other big similarity between the two is their primary skillsets. They have both been described as "kid geniuses" and have seemingly proven this in many of their appearances. The two have been shown to have aptitudes in machinery and code, having been able to fix machines with ease and being able to hack the computers of their respective franchise's mad scientist villains, the result of which often proving to be a vital component to helping their heroes defeat them and saving the day. This similarity has extended into both also being inventors that even have their own personal laboratories and often carrying a small computer around (Tails' Miles Electric and Coco's laptop, respectively). Additionally, they've also shown skill at operating vehicles, particularly planes and other aircraft.

Besides those two large similarities, there are a bunch of smaller ones. For instance, they both have a small quadruped companion commonly associated with them (Tails' robotic companion T-Pup and Coco's pet tiger Pura). Also, when their respective franchises went through a style change (the Sonic Boom sub-series and Crash's "Radical Entertainment" era), Tails and Coco both ended up becoming taller and gained an outfit that included a set of goggles typically worn on their foreheads to further highlight their inventor personalities.

Fanon
Despite the similarities between the characters and its general acceptance, the actual popularity of this ship is questionable. While Crash Bandicoot and Sonic the Hedgehog fan content is relatively popular, there is very little material about Tails and Coco exclusively – let alone as a couple. It is unclear why this is the case, although it could simply be that the other Tails and Coco pairings within their respective franchises are more popular. Those wishing to find fanart tend to struggle, as much of it was uploaded without any search tags. A common theme in most fanfictions for Tails and Coco is for the pair to bond over technology and/or science, as it's an area that both are known to be experienced and knowledgeable in.

One of the most notable fan-artists for the pairing initially was bluefirerocker, who during the early 2010's drew a lot of artwork of the two together. However, they haven't uploaded any further fanart of the pairing since 2014, and as of 2021 their account has been disabled. At around the same time, an unrelated user by the name of started to upload fanart and eventually fan-fiction of the pairing themselves, and is regarded as the one responsible for drawing attention to the pairing.

The first instance of the name 'Tailsco' being used to describe the ship was on a deleted image by bluefirerocker. Following their exit from DeviantArt, Clok-Roo began using the name out of respect and it has since become the preferred portmanteau by fans of the ship. It has, however, generated some confusion; the name shares a similar spelling and pronunciation to 'Tailsko' - the fan-popularized term for a female Tails - with the latter often being misspelt with a C instead of a K.

Fandom
DEVIANTART

FAN FICTION