Thieves In Time Redux: Rewriting The Tutorial
Thieves In Time Redux: Rewriting the tutorial
You guys likely already know how Thieves In Time Redux begins. Penelope gets dragged into the events of the game against her will. Let's go over how she does during the story's opening...
We open near the museum, same as in canon. The only difference? There's four figures instead of three. The opening exchange now includes Penelope.
I'll just go ahead and show you the entire thing...
"Okay, you three remember the plan, right?"
"Of course! My mind is like a steel cap!"
"Uh, that's 'trap', Big Guy. And everybody relax! We've been over it a million times. What could possibly go wrong?''
"Famous last words! Look, we're only going to get one shot at this, so we can't mess up!"
"Alright, no messing up allowed. Now stop worrying! This is gonna be a piece of cake!"
"Question. Is it too late for me to back out?"
"I'm afraid so. You're coming with me, remember?"
"...Fine."
"We won't be out here forever, Sis! All we gotta do is take that dagger, do our thing, and clobber some fools into next week!"
"...Right. I'll keep that in mind."
"And with that, I'll see you all inside. Now let's get going!"
Penelope will be joining Bentley in the sewers. Before the opening, she had been targeted by kidnappers. She told Bentley about them in a panic, and... that's why she's here. She doesn't get enough time to vanish without a trace. Oh, and her blueprints for Le Paradox's blimp went missing.
Spoiler alert: They were stolen.
Sly's section is identical to canon, save for a few new lines. Same deal for Murray.
Bentley's section is changed up to accommodate Penelope. She'll only be following him for now... at least until her segment begins.
Just like in canon, Bentley falls deeper in the sewers... and gets separated from Penelope.
"How's that security system coming, Bentley?"
" Uh... Great! Perfect! I'll be done in a jiffy! *moves forward, only to realize he didn't land where he was supposed to* H--how did I...?"
"I thought you said 'no messing up allowed', old friend."
"I'm... taking the scenic route tonight!"
"Uh-huh... *short pause* You haven't forgotten Penelope, have you? Aren't you supposed to be watching her?"
This leads to a tutorial section for our favorite mouse girl. Her objective is finding Bentley. She's also given a title: The Wild Card.
"Sorry, I'm a little nervous. Nearly losing you to kidnappers does that."
"'A little', you say? You've been a nervous wreck ever since we left HQ."
Since this happens to be Penelope's very first solo outing, poor Bentley is freaking out. Penelope, meanwhile, isn't nearly as uneasy. She's just annoyed that she's been dragged into this adventure against her will. Not that she can tell Bentley why...
She instead tries to reassure him that yes, she can take care of herself... only to immediately follow that up by trying to run off. Bentley, of course, thinks she got lost and turns her around. She plays along and evades suspicion.
Since running off is no longer an option, Penelope goes off to find Bentley... When she does, he's in the process of almost getting jumped by a guard. She responds by knocking said guard out... because nobody touches that turtle except her.
Now reunited, they move onward to the same control room from canon.
Everything after that is nearly identical to vanilla. Yes, even Murray's segment. And yes, even Carmelita catching Sly in the act of thieving around.
The only difference is Penelope now being in the van with the boys as they all drive into a time portal.
Not a bad intro, huh? I've already talked about everyone's character arcs in previous posts, so here's a quick recap...
Sly learns that maybe ditching his friends on Kaine Island wasn't the best idea.
Bentley learns that he needs to not be overprotective of Penelope, but rather supportive.
Murray... doesn't go through much of a arc. He's focused on being a good older brother towards Penelope.
And Penelope? She's got a lot to learn about friendship. I bet you can't wait to see how she goes from distant and not wanting to be here to willing to take responsibility for what she's done. Because yes, she is still responsible for the Le Paradox incident in this rewrite.
I won't be writing Penelope as a sociopath, but rather as someone disconnected from her friends and what she actually needs.
I kind of neglected to mention that since Penelope is still behind the events of this game, she's going to be a bit confused about how Le Paradox's evil plan has gone ahead without her.
Lastly, I want to address how long it's been since the end of Sly 3. It's been roughly 19 months since Sly started faking amnesia.
At the beginning of this rewrite, Sly and Bentley are 22, Murray is 23, Penelope is 21, and Carmelita is 25. No clue about Dimitri or the villains.
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Let me spell out the first act of this episode. This would consist of the first two missions.
Our three heroes tail a certain "mouse" to a place called Conquest Island. They find out she's found a new boss: Sir Raleigh, who escaped from prison a while ago. The boys don't know what their plan is, but they're going to stop it.
It's Bentley who tails this "mouse" into Raleigh's fortress, only to make a shocking discovery. He's been following a robot this entire time!
Raleigh, thinking he's already won, brings out the real Penelope to gloat to her. Turns out she's been kidnapped and impersonated.
And that impostor? Turns out it was her our heroes fought back in Medieval England. It was her who broke up with Bentley. And her who built that blimp for Le Paradox. The real Penelope is innocent.
It also turns out Raleigh has an entire Robo-Cooper Gang at the ready, and he's hoping to have everyone eventually kidnapped and turned against each other.
The villainous frog basically goes "Your name's been thoroughly ruined! Those friends of yours hate you! Why not work for me?"
Only to be told to stuff it. The real Penelope says she only wants to work for one person; that being Sly Cooper. She also hasn't forgiven her impostor for breaking Bentley's heart. She says these things knowing full well she might never be allowed back in the Cooper Gang.
Bentley, who witnessed this entire scene, orders an immediate rescue mission. When the boys find her, Penelope is terrified (thinking they're here to kill her), but she does agree to go with them after a tearful reunion.
After having Penelope reinstated, our heroes swear revenge against Raleigh for what he did to her. Bentley also takes her back.
Penelope has her life back, but... something is seriously wrong with her. And she's not talking about it.
Second act coming soon.
I want to believe Penelope was kidnapped and impersonated. She still designed the blimp. Her impostor (an evil robot) did everything else. Even her motive was fabricated.
Here's something that could happen in Sly 5.
When the boys (Sly, Bentley, and Murray) eventually find out and take her back, she's going to be a guilt-ridden mess hell-bent on destroying her impostor and her creator for breaking Bentley's heart and making everyone hate her, with several measures of self-loathing for nearly doing the same thing herself.
The reunion scene would need to happen early in the episode in which this story takes place, during the second mission, and no later. That way, the player can get used to her being fully playable for the first time ever before the boss fight.
All three boys, while elated to have Penelope back, will quickly notice that something is seriously wrong with her. They think her impostor did everything, including designing the blimp. When they ask her what's wrong, she refuses to elaborate.
Bentley is especially concerned, but incredibly proud of his reinstated girlfriend for her enduring loyalty.
Cue Penelope pulling her weight several times over during her return episode and defeating her impostor, only to be consumed by all the guilt and confess to none other than Bentley about her treachery by the end. The only thing she doesn't reveal is her motive, saying it doesn't matter because what she did was wrong.
And because I love a good, happy ending, she will be forgiven. She's already spent the entire episode proving herself in spades. As for Sly and Murray's reactions? I'll leave that for you to decide. Would Sly drive himself crazy over not knowing her motive? I think he might.
I realize she will need a very sympathetic motive for this idea to work.
How 'Sly Cooper 5' should start....
This scenario is the ONLY thing that could persuade me to purchase Sly Cooper 5 if Sanzaru ever makes it. Because it is pretty much the only way to salvage that mess of plot holes and character assassinations that made up Thieves in Time.
P.S. For those of you who are too young to get the “Dallas” reference, here’s the scene that my comic is stealing from spoofing.
Extremely Intelligent RC expert, Ace Pilot, Buff Fist-Fighter & very flirty mouse, Penelope, hanging out with one of her fans~! . Yet another for the cartoon crushes series! Always adored this girl in Sly 3 & need to write an essay on how they dropped the ball with her in Sly 4
I honestly and truly believe all good AUs should be a little “”””ooc”””” in the sense that good characterisation involves understanding that changes a characters backstory and circumstances will have an effect on how they respond to the world around them
Good characterisation isn’t about creating a perfect 1:1 canon replica it’s about understanding why a character is different in your work and about grounding the changes you do deliberately choose to make in canon character traits
Thieves In Time Redux Meme #18
I know, this one's a bit overdone.
I decided to draw the smartest girl in the universe
Reblog if you write fan fiction
Doesn’t matter if you write in a frequent basis, or once in a blue moon, just how many of us are there?
Sly4 AU where Penelope is really missing, and there's a jealous doppelganger.
Penelope Fan Service. Wink wink nudge. hehe
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