Honestly Speaking, Rewriting A Story As Janked Up As Thieves In Time Is Anything But Easy.

Have some Penny.

why is this the hottest thing i've ever seen

Me looking at fanart of characters being friends who are also friends in canon: *practically in tears clenching my first over my chest* ouhgg they're so friends

Penelope: Who hurt you?

Bentley: What, you want a list?

Penelope: ...

Penelope, with her sword: Yeah, actually.

Thieves In Time Redux Meme #3

Oblivious Guilt Slinging at its finest. With a massive splash of Becoming The Mask. And it keeps going until Le Paradox reveals her secret during All Rolled Up. In case you forgot, that's the tail end of Episode 5.

Character Strengths

adaptable / adventurous / ambitious / amiable / articulate / attentive / bold / brave / calm / candid / capable / compassionate / confident / considerate / courageous / creative / curious / decisive / dedicated / determined / diligent / diplomatic / empathetic / energetic / enthusiastic / fair / faithful / forgiving / friendly / generous / gentle / genuine / hardworking / honest / humble / imaginative / independent / insightful / intelligent / intuitive / inventive / joyful / kind / loyal / mature / modest / motivated / observant / optimistic / organized / patient / perceptive / persistent / practical / proactive / reliable / resilient / resourceful / respectful / responsible / self-aware / self-disciplined / sincere / supportive / tenacious / thoughtful / trustworthy / understanding / wise / witty

Something I've been thinking about lately is the shame around writing slowly, and how prevalent it is for people to be upset about not being able to write a lot really quickly. About how so much of writing advice is "how to write more faster," and how many people seeking advice are asking how to write a thousand words a day, and how big of an annual thing NaNoWriMo is because it's difficult but there's this general vibe of condescension for those who don't participate or who don't "win."

And I used to feel ashamed too. I'd get frustrated by my apparent inability to write more than a few hundred words in a sitting on a good day. I'd beat myself up for only managing my bare minimum of fifty words, I'd try again and again at NaNoWriMo and hate myself for not being able to do it.

But I've realized that if I didn't write slowly, my stories wouldn't be what they are. I wouldn't love them so much, because they wouldn't have become what they did - because they had time to bloom.

And I've also realized that while I have had moments in time where I wrote like that - multiple thousands of words a day for days or weeks on end - that's... not something I aspire to.

I write slow! That's okay!

I'm proud of writing slow. I'm proud of having gotten to the point where I put myself and my process before what others expect of me.

You don't need to be fast. You don't need to be ashamed.

And you don't need to want to be fast, either.

I certainly don't.

Writing Trust Issues Tension

One keeps asking, “Are you sure?” and “What about…?” because they just can’t believe the other person.

Every little thing the other person says or does is met with suspicion, like, “Why are you really doing this?”

They start to open up, then stop, because they’re not sure if they can trust the other person yet.

One keeps asking for reassurance, like, “You wouldn’t lie to me, right?” but it’s clear they’re not convinced.

A tiny mistake or secret gets blown way out of proportion because the trust was already shaky.

So, i doodled some Sly Cooper because i was super needing to be an artist and JUST AN ARTIST for one day. And i got super carried away with this and i have ZERO REGRETS Just let me make perfectly clear that Sly was one of the best parts of my childhood. Also P5 cuz it was cool. (But we know which is cooler)

Sly Cooper: Thieves In Time Redux

Here's a super abridged recap of my rewrite of Thieves In Time...

Prologue: Penelope is revealed to still be behind the events of the game. She nearly gets kidnapped, foolishly tells Bentley about it in a panic, then gets roped into joining Sly, Bentley, and Murray for the whole game. She enters the game keeping a dark secret of betrayal.

Paris Tutorial: Joins Bentley in the sewers. They get separated, she gets her own segment. She saves his skin as they reunite.

Turning Japanese: Does her tasks to avoid looking sus. Tries to go rogue during Altitude Sickness. Runs into Sly and El Jefe's duel, then decides to help Sly. Also gets scolded for running off. Her secret is safe.

Go West, Young Raccoon: Manages to save Bentley's skin twice; once during Cooper For Hire, and again during Jail Break. Also gets to see Carmelita tearing Sly a new one, making her see a dark future for her and Bentley. Secret is still safe.

Clan Of The Cave Raccoon: Gets very sick, sees the error of her ways. Sees Sly and Carmelita not getting along, doesn't want the same thing for her and Bentley. Resolves to become a team player. Secret is still safe.

Of Frogs And Mechs: Sir Raleigh is revealed to be behind Penelope's botched kidnapping. She also has a robotic impostor. His men kidnap her. She mostly frees herself, and she gets to fight her impostor and Raleigh. She also gets closer to Bentley. Secret is still safe.

40 Thieves: Spends the whole episode pulling her weight and then some. Le Paradox reveals her secret of betrayal during All Rolled Up just when she's starting to feel like a true member of the team again. She refuses to rejoin the skunk. Her secret is out.

Paris Epilogue: Leads the raid on Le Paradox's blimp, then starts the final boss fight. Nearly loses before the rest of the playable cast comes in to help. Gives a speech on what she learned about friendship and takes Le Paradox down.

Aftermath: Tries to leave the Cooper Gang out of guilt, only to be forgiven. The game ends with her still on their roster. She and Bentley are also engaged.

Let's all just pretend this is what actually happened instead of the hot mess that was vanilla Thieves In Time.

Feel free to make as much fanart for this project as you want. I'm no artist; just a writer with big ideas.