Sly4 Penelope

I’ve been watching Red vs Blue’s Tumblr fandom go absolutely hogwild, making fake memes for hypothetical seasons they might have gotten instead of the highly contentious and fandom-sundering follow-up from a different creator they did get

anyway, here are some fresh memes I made about 2012′s Sly 4: Time Is A Thief

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.

Episode 1 Progress (Thieves In Time Redux)

And here's what I've been focusing on...

I don't know. You tell me how to write anything that goes on in that geisha house. And Rioichi's dialogue.

My solution is to find stuff for Penelope to do in the background so I don't have to worry about anything Rioichi does. And it's perfect because at this point in the story, Penelope's not exactly going to be a team player yet.

I don't dislike Rioichi. I just don't want to write for him.

Hmm...You know what'd be interesting? For their to be some shared upgrade pools for the various members of the Gang, you know when it's more than just the main trio. Like if there's some overlap between the characters in terms of playstyle, they could be some sharing of moves. I got the idea from that picture you reblogged making me remember that Penelope IS a Champion Boxer, so now I'm imagining her sharing some of Murray's punch based moves.

Frankly, any acknowledgement of Penelope’s boxing prowess would probably be a good idea

Is she a frail nerd or isn’t she? They really flipflop on it

Thieves In Time Redux Meme #16

Spoiler alert: Penelope is not straight up evil in this fanfiction. I don't want to reveal her motive for "siding" with him until I finish Episode 0 of the story... That would be Chapters 1-6. In case you forgot, Episode 0 covers the Paris museum heist.

Thieves In Time Redux status

Here's how it's going in a nutshell...

I can't help it if the final mission of Episode 4 is so fun to imagine. My revenge against the vanilla game is going to go so hard.

Penelope is going to come out of this one as a total badass. Who's on the right side as she was always meant to.

By the way, none of these episodes are finished yet. Not even the Paris Tutorial. The only finished part is the intro cutscene, where our four heroes get their first lines.

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)

my babies

How to Write Villains: 10 Traits to Give Your Villains That Are Guaranteed to Make Them More Interesting

They're a parent...but a GOOD parent: Gone are the days where the villain is a parent but they absolutely should not have procreated (or adopted) because wow, they clearly didn't read any parenting books. Give us a horrible, deplorable character but in another life, they were mother/father of the year.

They have a phobia that might be trivial in the face of their schemes: Your villain might be able to storm a highly secure facility and face off against their world's most armed forces and heroes without breaking a sweat, or tame the deadliest monsters known to all, but so help them if they see a roach in their lair or have to go get their blood drawn. Bonus points if the phobia totally incapacitates them.

Their middle name is "Overkill": It doesn't matter what they're doing, they always have to bump everything up a thousand notches. Their scheme involved burning down a building? Well, they decided to burn down the whole neighborhood instead just to ensure the job got done. Bonus points if they're nonchalant about it. Extra bonus points if it keeps happening without their intent.

They have an aesthetic, they're aware of that aesthetic, and they adhere to it religiously: Is your villain grunge? Or perhaps airing more on the side of cottagecore? Maybe they're giving E-girl? Whatever it is, they know exactly what their vibe is, they know how to achieve it, and fuck your hero in particular if they try to mess it up or say it looks tacky.

They'd be okay with being defeated as long as it's by one person/group in particular: Your villain might be the undefeated Big Bad McScarypants on top, but you know what? They would be content if somebody rolled up and actually had the skill and know-how to beat their ass fair and square.

They like learning about things that have nothing to do with/interrupt their schemes: Your villain could be some eons-old eldritch being that has come to Earth to cause the Armageddon, but they keep delaying their plans because they discovered Tumblr and have been doomscrolling for weeks on end and trying to learn what "blogging" is.

They didn't start out as the main villain, but eventually become worse than the main villain: This is majorly for my friends who have different acting antagonists in their stories. This villain wasn't initially the main threat, but after some solid scheming and sinning, they out-deprave the original villain and give "the devil you know is better than the devil you don't" a whole new meaning.

They scheme for gratification: Having a master plan go off and hoping for mass reactions from bystanders is to them as posting art on Instagram and hoping for a couple likes is to artists.

They constantly wonder if it's too late to go back: Their scheming is 50% building a master evil plan for world domination and 50% wondering if it's too late to just stop and live a normal life as a working class citizen.

They act a villain to protect their loved ones: Big Bad McScarypants is only Big Bad McScarypants because they're pushing away their most beloved companions. Bonus points if it's to protect them from another Big Bad.

The yappers 🐢🐭