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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.

"Because I, along with everyone else I'm sure, hated Penelope's betrayal, I got a better idea: It's Raleigh The Frog as The Black Knight; He kidnapped Penelope and forced her to help him build it, the boss fight is at first pretty hopeless until Penelope appears, having broken free, and tells Sly and the gang where the weak points are and how to break the armor of the Black Knight. What do you think?"

Confessed by: tyler2706 

(I think we would take literally anything else at this point. -Mod)

Penelope’s relationship advice

This was a quickie comic I did in about 15 minutes (that’s why the panels are uneven) This scene is something I imagine would have happened in Sly 4 if it hadn’t been written by people who suck at character writing (specifically FEMALE character writing).

Sly 3 Comic: “A Girl in the Safe House”

Did you ever wonder how the Sly Gang adjusted to having a girl in their Man Cave for the first time ever? Well, now you know! I can totally see Murray going over the top to try and be welcoming/friendly to her, Bentley being all awkward in trying to court her, and Sly being the poor schmuck caught in the middle.

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

yo are we going to just ignore the fact that penelope has years of training in boxing??

My usual sketchy tomfoolery

Murray, dancing around covered in glowing radioactive oil: Look, Sly! I’m glowing!!

Me, alarmed: Murray, honey, no….

Thieves In Time Redux Progress Meme

Because the fun stuff is in the later episodes.

I'm still working on Paris. Just... at a slower rate than before.

But who should the villain responsible be? Sir Raleigh, of course. He escapes from prison, kidnaps our heroine, and has her impersonated as part of a revenge plot.

How does he know to target her? Was he hired by someone? We don't find out until later...

And the impostor herself... She can get under Penelope's skin, taunting her every time they meet. She's holding that history of betrayal over the real one's head. And if any of the boys are around, she can get very crafty with her words without revealing a thing, amplifying our heroine's guilt.

With that, we'd have both a villainous Robo-Penelope and a heroic Penelope at the same time; the latter of whom now wants to redeem herself.

Let's also have our heroine engage in increasingly reckless behavior, especially after her reveal of betrayal. She'll think that risking her life is the only way to atone for her treachery. Don't worry; she won't actually wind up dead.

Forgot to mention. For this to work, Penelope would definitely need to have second thoughts either during blimp development or during her confinement as a kidnapping victim.

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. 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.