Penelope Doodles. 

until we get a sequel sly 4 isn’t canon

penelope doodles!! she definitely awakened my love of techy ladies

trying to find a consistent way of drawing her with … some limited success?? in my sly she looks basically the same as her sly 3 design but she’s kinda scrappier and also probably has adhd because i must project

breaking through loooong art block and experimenting with a looser line art style (a bit inconsistently here) and i think i might not hate it actually

still gonna set up that discord group i’ve talked about btw!!! just been struggling with bad internet and some health stuff hhhhh

Sly4 Penelope

Both her in game and cutscene alts.

She has very baggy pants

These were originally posted on kofi months ago. if you'd like to see more content, or support me in general, feel free to check ii out HERE!

Thieves In Time Redux Characters: Deep Dive

Time to dive deeper into each of these character arcs. Namely, the lessons our four heroes will need to learn by the end of the story.

I don't need to remind you how poorly written Thieves In Time was. What a storytelling trainwreck.

If Sly 3 was about a seasoned gang of thieves pulling the heist of the century, Thieves In Time Redux is now about a less experienced member learning the ropes and building on her foundations. With, of course, a helping of betrayal mixed in.

Note that Thieves In Time Redux is an AU where Penelope gets dragged into the events of Thieves In Time as a playable character.

First up, Sly.

In canon, Sly jumped into this time travelling adventure because the "old itch" hit him like a truck. We can do better than that. Let's have his initial motivation instead be more about him missing Bentley and Murray. He can still have the itch. But no way is that going to be his number one reason for coming back. Also, when he starts thinking about Penelope now being on the main roster, it leads to him regretting how he ditched all his friends back on Kaine Island...

And when Carmelita comes back for Episode 2, let's just say things won't be pretty... I'm sure you can guess what he needs to do.

Bentley's turn. With Penelope now dragged into the adventure, our favorite turtle now gets a new character arc to navigate.

Bentley is perfectly fine with Sly and Murray risking their lives on the regular... but Penelope, his beloved girlfriend? Not so much. At the beginning of this story, she doesn't have a whole lot of experience yet. The fact that she was nearly kidnapped during the prologue doesn't help. This leads to Bentley being overprotective, but only towards her.

Long story short, Bentley will need to learn to let go of all that fear and let Penelope soar, because spoiler alert! She's actually a badass. It might even save their relationship...

Time to talk about Murray.

Instead of Murray feeling useless from out of heckin' nowhere, he... doesn't have much of an arc to follow. You'd think he'd now have nothing to do, but since Penelope is here for the ride, guess what? Murray has been seeing her as a younger sister. He even goes as far as only calling her "Sis". His focus is now on being a good older brother.

While Murray doesn't get a lot of development here, he does end up being incredibly wholesome.

Which brings us to our main protagonist, Penelope.

I'm not going to reveal her motive here. But I did change it from canon. No longer is she after "something something fame/money/power". As she spends time with our other heroes (and sees how much they care about her), she realizes that her motive isn't worth chasing after.

The lesson she needs to learn is obvious. And it's all about friendship.

I don't even know how to begin covering the ancestors and villains... That'll be for another day. And Carmelita? She's in the same boat.

Thieves In Time could have been so much better. So here. Here's one way it could have gone without ruining the characters.

Thieves In Time Redux has a lot of firsts. For example, I've never seen other rewrites...

…have Penelope be responsible for the story happening while joining the boys for the adventure from the beginning.

...have Sly feel bad about not only faking amnesia, but ditching his friends on Kaine Island.

...have Murray only refer to Penelope as "Sis".

…have Penelope participate in Jail Break with Carmelita and Tennessee.

…have the boys be confined separately during Jail Break.

…have someone (Penelope) get sick during the story.

…have Penelope participate in The Grizz's boss fight.

…make one of the heroes (Penelope) deal with an evil impostor.

…have Sly give up on his future with Carmelita.

…have the boys discover Penelope's involvement in Le Paradox's scheme during Episode 5, later than in canon.

…have Penelope start (and end) the final boss fight with Le Paradox.

…have the entire gang fight Le Paradox together.

Thieves In Time Redux Mission Recaps #2

Here is everything Penelope does in each mission... This includes who is assigned to each mission. You'll notice some of them were reassigned from canon.

Check out what happens in each mission here.

Bold: New mission

Italics: Reassigned

Paris Tutorial:

Sly's Segment (Sly): Nothing.

Bentley's Segment (Bentley): Follows Bentley through the sewers.

Penelope's Segment (Penelope): Tries to find Bentley after getting separated from him. Saves him from a guard's wrath.

Murray's Segment (Murray): Nothing.

Turning Japanese:

Photo Op (Sly): Nothing.

Breakout (Sly): Nothing.

Sushi House Startup (Sly): Nothing.

Something's Fishy (Bentley): Helps Bentley and Murray advance further in the fish caves. Also snoops around for information, but only hears ill words about El Jefe.

Pretty In Pinker (Murray): Nothing.

Tiger Tail (Penelope): Convinces Bentley to follow El Jefe instead of her. Goes snooping around the geisha house for information, but only hears general grievances against El Jefe's boss.

Spiked Sushi (Rioichi): Nothing.

Altitude Sickness (Sly): Joins the group for the mission. Tries to go rogue in pursuit of the blimp. Runs into Sly and El Jefe's duel, then decides to help Sly via aerial support. Also gets scolded for running off, mostly by Bentley.

Go West, Young Raccoon:

Under Arrest (Sly): Nothing, though she does convince Sly to take out some of Toothpick's men.

Jailhouse Blues (Bentley): Nothing, though she does have a lengthy chat with Bentley about her running off last episode.

Cooper For Hire (Bentley): Helps Murray protect Bentley from a bed of scorpions.

Saloon Bug (Sly): Snoops around Toothpick's office, then opts to move further ahead for more information. She finds very little apart from Toothpick's men complaining about their boss.

Blind Date (Tennessee): Nothing, though she does gain permission to stay behind while the boys try to fetch Carmelita.

Jail Break (Penelope): Joins Tennessee and Carmelita to free the boys from jail. Focuses on freeing Bentley.

Grand Key Larceny (Murray): Wins at a mechanical bull riding competition in disguise.

OP: Gold Digger (Sly): Placed on van retrieval duty with Murray. Also provides aerial support during Toothpick's boss fight.

Clan Of The Cave Raccoon:

Stone Age Reconnaissance (Sly): Nothing.

Unexpected Ties (Sly): Nothing.

Getting Stronger (Bob): Demonstrates events for Bob. Falls ill after the mission is cleared. Placed on bed rest for several missions.

Going Up (Murray): Nothing. Bed rest.

Starving Starving Hippo (Murray): Nothing. Bed rest.

Ice Ice Bentley (Bentley): Nothing, though she does gather enough strength to check up on Bentley. (No, she does not go in person.) Bed rest.

Duty Calls (Sly): Nothing. Released from bed rest after this mission. Has seen the error of her ways by the beginning of the next mission.

OP: Jurassic Thievery (Penelope): Placed with Murray and Carmelita. Provides aerial support for Bob. Gets roped into The Grizz's boss fight with Murray. Helps Murray with the boss fight, even dealing the final blow.

Of Frogs And Mechs:

Shopping Spree (Sly): Nothing.

Juggling Act (Sly): Nothing.

Cane Swipe (Penelope): Helps Sly distract the Black Knight's guards so he can steal back Sir Galleth's cane via aerial support.

Eye In The Sky (Sir Galleth): Nothing.

Mechanical Menace (Sir Galleth): Nothing, though she does offer Sly advice on salvaging his broken relationship with Carmelita.

Short Supply (Murray): Helps Murray out in the tavern.

Untitled SSH (needs new name) (Penelope): Follows the Black Knight around instead of Sly. Bentley joins her in the blacksmith's. Sir Raleigh is exposed as the villain of this episode, alongside his creation Robo-Penelope.

Hard Target (Sly): Gets kidnapped after mission is completed.

Princess Out Of Distress (Bentley): Escapes from said kidnapping situation. Runs into impostor and fights her. Bentley helps her defeat said impostor. Also includes a double love confession.

OP: Frog Trap (Sly): Impersonates impostor in order to severely weaken Raleigh and free Sly from the villain's clutches. Declares loyalty to Team Sly. Helps everyone finish the villain off.

40 Thieves:

Lost And Found (Sly): Nothing, though she is stated to have helped Bentley perfect some new technology for Sly.

Open Sesame (Sly): Nothing.

Rug Rats (Salim): Sends her car into the tower to help Salim free one of his allies.

Up In Smoke (Bentley): Helps Bentley during his portion of the mission.

Copy Cats (Murray): Joins Sly and Murray in person, then gets trapped in with Murray. Manages to get Murray out of the caves safely, but not before helping Sly find another of Salim's allies.

Heavy Metal Meltdown (Rename?) (Salim): Submits an EDM track for use in the mission, which turns out more effective than in canon.

Untitled New Mission (Penelope): ?????????

All Rolled Up (Sly): Finds an alternative to Carmelita having to belly dance, though the cop does still have to stay behind. Joins the boys for the hangar raid, pulling more than her fair share of weight. Gets outed as Le Paradox's ally, then refuses to rejoin him. Helps defeat Miss Decibel.

Paris Epilogue:

Deja Vu All Over Again (Penelope): Leads the blimp raid. Starts the final boss fight. Refuses to rejoin Le Paradox again. Also ends said boss fight and wins, even saving Sly one final time in the process.

My biggest tip for fanfic writers is this: if you get a character's mannerisms and speech pattern down, you can make them do pretty much whatever you want and it'll feel in character.

Logic: Characters, just like real people, are mallable. There is typically very little that's so truly, heinously out of character that you absolutely cannot make it work under any circumstance. In addition, most fans are also willing to accept characterization stretches if it makes the fic work. Yeah, we all know the villain and the hero wouldn't cuddle for warmth in canon. But if they did do that, how would they do it?

What counts is often not so much 'would the character do this?' and more 'if the character did do this, how would they do it?' If you get 'how' part right, your readers will probably be willing to buy the rest, because it will still feel like their favourite character. But if it doesn't feel like the character anymore, why are they even reading the fic?

Worry less about whether a character would do something, and more about how they'd sound while doing it.

As I may have already said, I'm a sucker for a good redemption arc.

I'm always on the hunt for more.

Showing 'Anger' in Writing

Clenched fists and knuckles turning white.

Eyes narrowing to slits, brows furrowed.

Jaw muscles tensing visibly.

Speaking through gritted teeth.

Taking deep, sharp breaths.

Pacing back and forth, unable to stay still.

Pointing a finger accusingly.

Voice raising to a shout or a growl.

Kicking or punching nearby objects.

Lips pressed together in a thin line.

Rapid, agitated movements.

Slamming doors or throwing objects.

Standing with arms crossed tightly.

Glaring intensely without blinking.

Face turning red or flushed.

Breathing heavily and erratically.

Snapping at others for minor things.

Shaking with barely contained rage.

Muttering or growling under their breath.

Eyes blazing with fury.

Thieves In Time Redux: Rewriting Episode 3

Listen to Toad Town - Blue Streamer Removal while reading this.

When it comes to rewriting Thieves In Time, one episode I can't wait to get to is Clan Of The Cave Raccoon.

I get it. Clan Of The Cave Raccoon is nobody's favorite episode. But I believe I know how to fix it.

Many things will stay the same. Our heroes being stranded in prehistory, Carmelita storming off, Bob being the ancestor in need of saving, and The Grizz being our arc villain.

One thing that won't be the same (besides Penelope now being part of the adventure) is how Murray is treated.

I stated earlier that Murray won't be going through much of a character arc in this rewrite.

While that's still true, he will fall into a bit of a depression right after the events of Getting Stronger. Not because of Bob, but because of Penelope.

You see, she's going to be sent out to demonstrate all the things Bob has to do during Getting Stronger. There's just one tiny issue... She's feeling under the weather. Still, she pushes through long enough to get it all done. After the mission is cleared, though... she passes out. Turns out she's not just a little under the weather. She's very sick.

This places our heroine on bed rest for the next several missions as per a very worried Bentley's orders.

It's understandable, then, that Murray would feel partially responsible because Penelope (or Sis as he's been calling her) passed out on his watch.

On Penelope's end, being stuck on bed rest gives her the time she needs to really think about what she's done. I'll briefly go into what leads into her change of heart...

She's seen what her treachery has led to during her journey across time.

She's also seen what her dishonesty could lead to through Sly and Carmelita, especially if she still has the gall to defend herself if she gets found out.

And finally, the boys taking care of her while she's sick ends up being the final push she needs to see the error of her ways.

Oh, and she gets better in time for OP: Jurassic Thievery.

I already spoke about how Sly and Carmelita are doing in this post. They're... worse off than in canon.

Now for the main reason I'm looking forward to this episode... The boss fight.

I've already mentioned the premise in earlier posts: Murray and Penelope team up for a boss fight. Helps that the latter has just gone through her change of heart, and without anybody knowing.

I'm also using the opportunity to follow up on a few things that happened in Episode 2. One of those things is how Bentley has progressed in his character arc.

Last episode, we saw our favorite turtle promise to tone down his overprotectiveness towards Penelope after the events of Jail Break. Before this boss fight starts, we get to see him decide not to interfere. Although maybe letting her (and Murray) fight a giant-ass ice skating bear is a bit much...

Thankfully, his faith in her pays off. But let's go over his thought process throughout that entire scene...

"She can't do this!" "He's going to snap her in half!" "She's doomed!" "Why did I bring her along with us?!"

"No. She can do this." "This amazing woman broke me out of jail and fought off a career pirate!" "She'll be fine." "Why am I doubting her?"

"I promised her." "She deserves my respect." "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't still worried, but… I need to let her soar." "Penelope, show that guy exactly why you're our secret weapon. Our Wild Card. And make me proud."

At around the same time, we have our Villain Of The Week, The Grizz, recognize Penelope. She's shaken, but is able to convince Murray not to believe the villain.

(Not looking forward to writing that scene, BTW. Mainly because of a certain bear's dialogue...)

Seeing Sly, Bentley, Carmelita, and Bob watching this, she convinces Murray to let her finish The Grizz off. He agrees. Now cue what may be one of the biggest missed opportunities in the franchise.

I have to say... This Murray/Penelope boss fight might just end up being my favorite of the lot. I've got a basic outline of how I want the fight scene to go, but actually finishing it might take a while... And yes, there will still be ice skating. From both heroes and our villain.

Anyway, the boss fight ends with Penelope finishing The Grizz off, with help from Murray.

Funny how right when Bentley is learning to let go, Penelope is learning to ask for help when she needs it.

The end of this episode has our heroine, after the van gets fixed, get her chance to return home to Paris. Out of a sense of guilt and responsibility, she refuses, wanting (and perhaps needing) to see this through to the very end.

Our five heroes then set off for their next destination, with Penelope now game for anything this wild adventure has to throw at her.