I forgot about my Thieves in Time Rewrite ideas so Imma just post them here:
The story will have three major plot points: the first is the disappearance of Inspector Fox, the second is a robbery of the time travel technology by the Villains - which Sly is framed for because his calling card was left at the scene, and the third is the erasure of the Thievious Raccoonus.
Sly is obviously distraught by all of this, but Bentley, Penelope and Murray break him out of jail.
Penelope betrayal arc is scratched. Instead she helps them by staying in Paris.
Bentley recruits the original creator of the Time Travel technology, Dr. Paradox. A disgraced genius scientist and historian who was robbed of his plans by the Villains. He is going to be a crow.
The Villains are an organization simply called The Plague. You'll find out why they're called that eventually.
El Jefe is scratched. He is replaced with a japanese rabbit named Usagi.
Toothpick is kept, but he is from America instead of Russia, and has a western accent. He also doesn't get large when he's upset. That was just odd.
The Grizz is kept, he is just moved to Medieval England. Also he isn't an artist he's just a former rapper who didn't make it big.
Decibel is scratched, she is replaced with a female fennec fox who goes by the codename Oasis. Her motives are unknown, but it is rumored she was formerly with Interpol.
The levels go as followed: Feudal Japan, Old American West, Ice Age (yes I'm keeping it, you'll understand why later), Medieval England, Ancient Arabia, and back to Paris. I'm debating adding a bonus level, or making the rewrite also end on a cliffhanger and then writing a part 2.
Riochi is the same, Tennessee is the same, Bob is renamed "Kuba" (seriously? Bob? Unoriginal), Galleth is the same, and Salim is buff and younger by a few decades like the Thievious Raccoonus depicts him.
There's a huge plot twist (hint: it's an unexpected betrayal), and it's followed by another reveal.
These are the final titles of each Episode:
Episode 1: Samurai Away (play on Spirited Away)
Episode 2: Unrest in the Old West
Episode 3: The Land Before Crime
Episode 4: Kings and Thieves
Episode 5: Arabian Heists
Carmelita does reappear eventually, but NOT in the Old West. And I'm not telling you yet because Spoilers.
I don't know when I'll start this project for sure. It's going to be a huge undertaking, and once I'm done with Pillow Talk I'll probably focus on it more.
Penelope!
OMG I love her ^_^
Why I like them: Adorkable, nerdy, sweet, smart, kind of witty in her own way
Why I don’t: Does not fight a lot, I understand that her forte is RC gadgets, but she gets in trouble a lot.
Favorite episode: Flight of Fancy, China episode (names escape me) and Dead Men tells no Tales
Favorite season: Spring
Favorite line: “No one touches that turtle, but me…”
Favorite outfit: Her typical yellow sweater and overalls, pirate dress and lab suit in the new game
OTP: With Bentley. Love them 8-ever
Brotp: Hhm, she gets along nicely with the gang, probably Murray, he’s the friendliest :)
Head Canon: Sanest of the couple (i’d imagine Bentley getting too egotistical), stays quiet and acts grumpy once a month. Her last name is “Benneke” (I looked up Dutch last names)
Unpopular opinion: Probably that early after Sly 3’s release, she wasn’t very well liked by the fans back in 2005.
A wish: Not much except her to be back and more involved (does not have to outshine the gang)
An oh-god-please-don’t-ever-happen: Forever disappeared or forgotten or demoted to extra or breaking up with Bentley
5 words to best describe them:
My nickname for them: Penny, Mrs.Wiseturtle X) (let this be canon in the future)
a gift for murray!
“i never thought you’d be the one to betray me.”
“after everything we’ve been through, this is how it ends?”
“i told you my deepest secrets, and this is how you repay me?”
“you’ve broken my trust, and I don’t know if I can ever forgive you.”
“i thought you were different, but you’re just like the rest.”
“i wish i could turn back time and see the truth sooner.”
“i don’t know if I can ever look at you the same way again.”
“you’ve shattered everything we built together.”
“was any of it real, or was it all a lie?”
“you were the last person I expected to hurt me.”
“i trusted you more than anyone else, and you broke that trust.”
“how long were you planning this? how long have you been lying to me?”
“you’ve left me with nothing but questions and a broken heart.”
do you have any tips for writing in-character fanfiction?
Fan Fiction - a type of writing that responds to something else like a book, a TV show or a film.
People write fan fiction typically because they are big fans of their chosen story, and want to create more of it.
They might imagine what happened before or after the story's main events or imagine other scenes in the lives of their favourite characters.
Fan fiction is a great way to get started with writing, because a lot of the work has been done for you. Characters, settings and plots are already there to be customised, changed and adapted. The possibilities are endless.
Fan fiction usually falls into 2 big categories: in-universe and alternate universe (AU).
In-universe fan fiction takes place in the same general setting and plot line as the original story. It could be, for example, a prequel or a story that follows characters that aren’t focused on as much in the main plot.
Alternate universe fan fiction explores different settings or plot lines for characters within a fandom. This can be anything from a fanfic where a character who dies in the original story lives or an alternate setting where all of the characters work at a coffee shop. AU fanfics are great for if you want more control over your storyline or want to explore an entirely different setting with characters you already love.
Know the Canon. In fan fiction, the original story, characters and world you are responding to is called the canon.
Know the story you're responding to.
Read it a few times and make sure you have the detail straight.
Make your story make sense for the existing story world.
If the protagonist can't swim in the original story, don't start yours with them doing the front crawl across the British Channel unless you can explain when and where they learnt the skill (and how it's relevant).
If characters act out-of-character, or the world has changed in your version, make sure there's a good reason for it.
Consider the Past. You aren’t inventing new characters, and you can’t change the lives they’ve already lived unless you’re writing a prequel. So, you must be familiar with the lives your characters have already led and can work their lived experiences into your story. It can be helpful to ask someone who is also a fan of the series you’re pulling characters from to read your work before you publish, as they’ll be able to let you know whether you’re on the right track when it comes to sticking to the story’s canon.
Consider a New Approach. While it can be fun to dig into the lives of everyone’s favorite characters, fanfiction can take an exciting turn when the writer provides context for the behaviors of a not-so-beloved character. For example, describing a character’s difficult home life can help readers understand why they act in an undesired way in the original story. This doesn’t just help readers engage with the material you create – it can also help them to see their favorite stories and characters in a new way.
Ask "what if"? Fanfiction is, by its very nature, speculative, which means that every piece of fanfiction starts with this very simple question: What if?
What if this happened?
What if this didn’t happen?
What if this character and this character got together?
What if everything changed?
What if we knew what happened next?
Ask yourself “what if” questions about your chosen media, and follow the most interesting answer.
Once you’ve picked your favorite simple version of the question, start asking questions again.
Think about how the answer to that “what if” affects the rest of the story - do the characters change? Their relationships? The setting?
This will help you build out your plot more effectively.
Identify the Gap. Many fanfiction writers choose to focus on aspects of the story that were left unexplored in the original work. Look for gaps in the plot or characters of the story that you can use as a jumping-off point for your own story. Typically the concept for a fanfiction will be some gap you see in the source material’s story—or just something you’d have rather happened.
Revise, Revise, Revise. When you write an excellent fanfiction story, it can be tempting to publish it immediately, especially if you have an eager audience to read your work. However, taking the time to revise is critical. After you finish your work, take a day away, and then come back and reread it. Don’t just keep an eye out for spelling and grammar mistakes. You’ll also want to ensure that you don’t have plot holes, facts that go against canon, or characters acting in a way that won’t make sense to your readers.
Get a Beta Reader. Fan fiction writers often work with other fans called beta readers, who read their work before they post it online and edit it or suggest changes or improvements.
Reading your own work aloud to yourself or others is a good idea; alternatively, ask a friend to read it through for inconsistencies or points that need clarification.
Doing either (or both!) of these will help make your writing the best it can be before you post it on a fan site.
Out of Character: Make sure you keep true to the personalities of the cast. Even if something about the starring character is being changed, it should be changed accordingly. Also, even if the canon characters never do anything to contradict their personalities, if they never do anything distinctive to their personalities, that's generally a bad sign since it makes them seem too generic.
Interact with Your Readers. You’re going to get plenty of comments when you publish a fanfiction story that becomes popular. Interacting with your readers is key to keeping them coming back for more. Engage in conversation, ask them questions about what they’d like to see next, and remember – your readers are there because they love the characters just as much as you do.
"Original Flavour" - a Fanfic that attempts to emulate the tone, atmosphere and style of its inspiration as closely as possible.
The goal of the Original Flavour fic is to seem as though the original production team could have thought it up.
Even if it heads off into previously unknown and unexplored territory for that property, the story will emphasize the use of existing gimmicks and devices rather than introducing totally foreign ones.
If you are writing an Original Flavour fic, you (usually) don't introduce or kill core characters, revise continuity, or do anything that is non-canon beyond the events of your story.
To an extent, it is possible to pull these off and still maintain this trope, but only if it's in a way that the canon itself could have evolved (as opposed to anything drastic). Original Flavor is exactly like writing a spec script you could submit to the showrunner, but not necessarily in script form.
Examples for inspiration:
Alice Through the Needle's Eye is a Fan Sequel to Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland that perfectly mimics Carroll's style.
Peter Pan and the Only Children is a Fan Sequel to J. M. Barrie's Peter Pan, that perfectly mimics Barrie's style.
Zootopia: A Tail of Two has been regarded as having the definite feel of the original Zootopia movie.
Sources: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 ⚜ More: References ⚜ Writing Resources PDFs
Hope this helps with your writing! Do go through the sources for more information and examples I wasn't able to include here.
I've found quite a few Thieves In Time rewrites over the years. I can't help but imagine how some of them would play out if my premise (Penelope joining the adventure against her will) were introduced...
This is on top of all the other "What if?" scenarios I came up with on my own...
Whoa, Sly Cooper designs be upon ye. Sly, Penelope and Carmelita, of course. Then Sly and Carm fankids, and Sly's folks!
I've been busy, UwU.
I did another thing.
That one meme, but with a wholesome twist.
Basically it's Penelope's character arc, but super abridged.
a legal necessity before i get back into single handed things.
p.s. i have never religion'd in my life.
soldier, poet, king ; the oh hellos
the whole gang is here :]
this analysis isn't gonna be below a cut because it's really just me assigning these idiots their lines.
There will come a solider, who carries a mighty sword He will tear your city down, oh lei, oh lai, oh lord.
starting with the soldiers - Murray & Penelope
though my b team & cooper brother parallel brain wants to make pk the soldier to match murray, i simply think that king works better for the, yknow, panda king. and though penelope seems to be a poet at first glance, i think she's much more down to physically fight someone rather than verbally so.
...she's also the only one who actually has a sword.
There will come a poet, whose weapon is his word He will slay you with his tongue, oh lei, oh lai, oh lord.
the poets - Sly & Dimitri
hey, at least these two match up! bentley and penelope may appear the poets at first glance, being the smart ones and the wordy ones, but i think sly & dimitri are the only two who would really use their words as weapons. er, by the third game, anyway. thievius raccoonus is a different story.
There will come a ruler, whose brow is laid in thorn Smeared with oil like David's boy, oh lei, oh lai, oh lord.
and finally, the kings - Bentley & the Panda King
bentley is the leader of their team, regardless of what Sly says, and therefore the ruler. he's also not gonna slay you with his tongue he's gonna use bombs. despite my lack of knowledge, i gotta admit, the Panda King certainly does seem pretty laid in thorns. dunno what that means but the guy's got it.
Bentley’s First Mission (Disco Demolitions) Appreciation Post
Sly: How’re you holding up out there in the field?
Bentley (obviously not fine voice): Fine, fine…I’m just fine.
One of my favorite Sly 2 missions is Disco Demoltions, because it’s at once adorable and just so funny. And BEAUTIFUL just look at the pretty colors and all the neat design details, like how the spiral in the middle of the dance floor is designed to look like Dmitri’s tail! But a Sly Cooper Trilogy level being Really Pretty is sorta just…that’s just how Sly Cooper Trilogy levels be
This mission is the first time you ever play as Bentley. But if you’re an 8-year-old who’s nervous about playing as Bentley–it’s his first real solo mission, so Bentley is also very nervous about playing as Bentley!
It takes place in a building Specifically Designed to make Bentley uncomfortable. If someone asked you “where would a nerdy awkward turtle feel like he Really Does Not Belong” the correct answer would be “the dance floor of a funky disco.” Like… imagine how much this mission’s tone would Not Work if it took place anywhere else…it wouldn’t be hilariously anxious/awkward if you were bombing Dmitri’s wine cellar. It HAS to be a disco dance floor
Your goal is to bomb the pillars and shake the disco ball loose. But this nightclub isn’t guarded by the little guards, but by the Giant Scary Flashlight Guards™– who tiny Bentley stands no chance against in a fight. And because there’s basically nowhere to run you have to sleep-dart them before they catch you or you’re pretty much dead.
But if you miss a sleep-dart shot/misplace a bomb, the Giant Scary Guard™ will spot you… so the mission is always one tiny mistake away from disaster. If you have bad aim/have never done it before (like if you’re a kid playing the game for the first time) a Giant Scary Guard™ WILL catch you and you will have to frantically RUN and BOMB and RUN!!! It’s a series of nerve-wracking explosions and “I GOtta hURRY and BOMb him BEFORE HE WAKES UP” as Bentley’s gameplay animation looks utterly anxious and terrified….
But
But all the while that funky disco music is playing
So its like.
BLAM! BOMB EXPLOSION! (Guard shoots you, Bentley screams) *funky nightclub music goes ‘’Ooh-OOOOOOOOOOH”*