Thieves In Time Rewrite - Blog Posts

So do you have any name ideas for Penelope and Carmelita's parents?

Carmelita? No.

I do have a name for Penelope’s father, but I’m not ready to reveal it yet.

Me: Writing up Episode 0 is too hard!

Also me: I think I'll try to work on Episode 6 tonight...

That Penelope/Le Paradox boss fight is just too tempting not to start up...

I say that, and yet the only thing I've got is... "She made the first move."

The hardest part of that scene isn't how the fight plays out, but rather the dialogue between our heroine and villain.

Are Penelope's parents still alive and if so, do they approve of Bentley?

Her parents have not met him yet.

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...

I thought I'd skip ahead and work on Episode 2 for a bit (specifically Jail Break), but I've got a question for you, readers.

Is there an official name for the prison at Cotton Mouth Bluff? The one where Tennessee (and later, the boys) gets locked up in? If not, I'd love to hear name suggestions.

If you must know, the mission Jail Break contains a bit of a deviation from canon (aside from Penelope now being on the rescue team). The boys are being held in jail separately. Our three heroes (Penelope, Tennessee, and Carmelita) are going to split up to save them. Penelope's going to free Bentley, Carmelita's going after Sly, and Tennessee's stuck with Murray.

I'm thinking about how they're all going to pull this off, starting with Penelope freeing Bentley. The only catch with Penelope's part is I don't want her just using RC vehicles. She's going to actually fight guards. She'll start by picking a guard's pocket to get the key to Bentley's cell, then... she'll clean house.

Why is she doing it this way? She's trying to show Bentley she's not a helpless damsel. Spoiler alert: It works.

So, since Murray calls Penelope "Sis", Does that technically make her and Jing sisters?

I'm not planning on shipping Murray and Jing.

It's not off the table... I just haven't planned anything for them yet.

so seeing how Sly doesn't get stuck in Egypt, how does it end?

Well, of course our four heroes end up staying together. Beyond that, I'm not sure where to take them.

Sly and Carmelita? Sly has given up on a future with her. Does Carmelita want to make up with him? Maybe.

Bentley and Penelope? They're engaged. A very well deserved reward after she took down Le Paradox and led everyone to victory on his blimp. She's been forgiven, though she is having trouble with forgiving herself.

Do you have any Ideas for Murray's character development?

As I already said in multiple posts, Murray won’t have much of an arc to go through. He’s more focused on being a good older brother towards Penelope, or “Sis” as he always calls her.

Hey there. Just found your TiT rewrite. Love what I’ve seen. One question tho. Everyone has like idle animations in The safehouse in all the games but what would Penelopes be? And would they change possibly depending on how far in the she gets

I can see her reacting with surprise when the player selects her. But right before OP: Jurassic Thievery (Episode 3) and onwards, she'll be ready for action.

Perhaps she'll become more alert and comfortable as the game progresses, though I'm not sure exactly how to word out everything she does.

I think I'll also have Bentley react with panic if the player selects her when she doesn't have a mission assigned during Episodes 1 and 2. He stops doing that after the events of Episode 2's Jail Break.

As for her field animations... I'll think of something eventually. Yes, I do have a weapon setup ready for her.

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.

I can't provide many estimates on how much of Episode 0 (Chapters 1-6) I've got left to finish. I do, however, have most of the dialogue written. Though most of it comes straight from the vanilla game.

Most of the new dialogue, of course, has to do with Penelope now joining the boys for the adventure. And most of that dialogue comes from Chapters 3 (Bentley's segment) and 4 (Penelope's segment).

The main challenge, as you might guess, lies in writing up Chapter 4. Should be fun.

I went ahead and made a tier list. This one's sorted by how much I can't wait to write each character's lines in my rewrite of Thieves In Time.

I'm especially dreading The Grizz, though I can't wait to write up his boss fight.

Heck, I could say the same thing about all five bosses. Still don't know what to do with Miss Decibel...

Sir Raleigh (the new Black Knight), Robo-Penelope, and Le Paradox? They're going to be the most fun...

I haven't pinned down Le Paradox's exact wording yet, but he's going to have quite the conversation with a certain mouse during his boss fight...

As for the ancestors... Not looking forward to Rioichi, Bob, or Salim. Tennessee and Sir Galleth? Slightly more so.

No, I am not writing any lines for Dimitri.

Lastly, there's our main protagonists: Sly, Bentley, Murray, Carmelita... and our lead, Penelope.

Of course, I'm easily going to have the most fun with Penelope... for fairly obvious reasons.

Honestly speaking, rewriting a story as janked up as Thieves In Time is anything but easy.

For those of you who have liked my little behind the scenes blog, thank you. I really hope I can do these characters justice, because Sanzaru sure didn't.

2024 saw me bring these four together for the events of Thieves In Time...

I'd actually been working on it for 10+ years, but 2024 was when I finally decided to turn that story into a full length fanfiction.

Thieves In Time Redux: Full Story Preview

I thought I'd repost one of my full story previews from DeviantArt. A few months back, I posted this there. It's set during Episode 0, during Sly's portion of the tutorial in Chapter 2. We open just after Sly's little accident crossing over to the museum building...

It wasn't too long before Sly happened upon a small rat guard with a gas mask. Somehow he looked familiar upon a close inspection… Sly brushed it off and picked his pocket before taking him out. "Nah… It couldn't be." Just a coincidence, right? He didn't dare tell Bentley. What would he think?

Almost immediately afterwards, Sly started hearing voices coming from inside the museum. He could hardly make out what they were saying, but he did see shadows in the window. Among the figures he spotted was a strangely familiar… skunk? He didn't bother staying long enough to hear what they were talking about. There was a job that still needed completing.

Sly almost swore he could have heard a squeak coming from Bentley's end of the line, followed by a splash. "Something happen in there, you two?"

This time, it was Penelope, the mouse, talking. "No need to worry about us, Sly. We're fine! Just a literal rat!"

A smile escaped from Sly, followed by a small chuckle… "First-timers are the best, aren't they?" He pressed onward, happy to have someone other than just Bentley and Murray on the main roster for a change. He fondly remembered Bentley and Murray's first time way back in Cairo… Those two had come so far since those humble beginnings…

But whenever he recalled that memory, he couldn't help but remember Neyla, the traitorous Interpol officer/Klaww Gang member… Things were different now. She was purged from this world. Surely he'd never meet anyone like her again, right?

As it happened, Penelope had never been on a full scale adventure like this before. Not from the very beginning, at least. Her experience level easily dwarfed everyone else's. Not that it was her fault. Sly had the gall to retire before she could gain any real experience as a full time member.

He started to regret that decision as he kept going… How could he do that to someone he recently hired? Still, Sly looked forward to seeing what Penelope could do beyond what she had initially been hired for. Better later than never, he thought.

Thieves In Time Redux: Why Toad Town?

Check this post out for context.

You may be wondering why there's so much music from Paper Mario: The Origami King associated with this project. This was actually a decision I made quite recently.

For now, I'm only talking about Origami King's Toad Town.

I started work on Thieves In Time Redux long before Origami King ever existed. It was just a massive stroke of luck to see OK's Toad Town of all pieces work so well together with the progression of my little story. Or more specifically, a certain mouse girl's evolution into the true hero I know she can become.

Take Toad Town Ghost Town, for instance. It's assigned to Episode 1, the beginning of our heroes' time traveling adventure. Not only is it perfect for Feudal Japan, it's also perfect for the beginning of Penelope's character arc.

Might as well talk about each step in the music's progression. Toad Town - Red Streamer Removal is assigned to Episode 2. Perfect for a wild west town, is it not? Here, Penelope is beginning to understand the consequences of her actions, mainly through what happened to Sly and Carmelita.

My favorite, though, is Toad Town - Blue Streamer Removal. Assigned to Episode 3, that's when Penelope undergoes her change of heart. It happens after she gets placed on bed rest and needs the boys to take care of her.

Then there's the more heroic shift in tone that comes with Toad Town - Yellow Streamer Removal. In which our heroine successfully strikes down her own creations without being discovered as their creator.

Episode 5 gives us Toad Town - Purple Streamer Removal. Penelope's nearing the end of her character arc, and the boys are proud of her. Too bad Le Paradox outs her as his mole at the end of the episode.

Toad Town - Green Streamer Removal gives us the end of her character arc with Episode 6. After her journey across time, Penelope has changed for the better, she's been found out, and she's willing to take responsibility for what she's done.

How in the heck did freaking Toad Town manage to retell my entire fanfic so perfectly? Even I have no clue... But I'm so glad it turned out that way.

Long story short, I love how the music progresses to its final form.

Here's an incomplete list of tropes attributed to Penelope in Thieves In Time Redux...

Adaptational Heroism

Affectionate Nickname

Becoming The Mask

Contrasting Sequel Main Character

Dual Wielding/Morph Weapon

Gadgeteer Genius

Good All Along

Jack Of All Stats, Master Of None

Promoted To Fully Playable

Regretful Traitor

The Atoner

The Drag-Along

Took A Level In Badass

Violently Protective Girlfriend

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.

Yes, Thieves In Time Redux is still in the works.

Yes, it is incredibly challenging to write.

No, I'm not looking forward to writing the villains' dialogue. Or the ancestors. The worst part is improvising their existing lines from the vanilla game. And giving them new lines.

Thieves In Time Redux Meme #19

I did another thing.

That one meme, but with a wholesome twist.

Basically it's Penelope's character arc, but super abridged.

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.

sex is fine but have you ever thought about all the ways you’d rewrite a flawed piece of media that shaped your life and holds a special place in your heart despite its unfulfilled potential

So my rewrite of Thieves In Time is full of awesome and wholesome moments, like the following...

Penelope teaming up with Carmelita and Tennessee to break the boys out of Toothpick's prison, and gaining Bentley's respect after she personally frees him. (Episode 2)

The boys taking care of Penelope when she's sick, and it being the last push she needs for her change of heart. (Episode 3)

Murray and Penelope fighting The Grizz together, and Murray letting her finish their opponent off. Also Bentley deciding not to interfere with that boss fight and let Penelope take care of herself. (Episode 3)

Sly apologizing to Penelope for ditching everyone on Kaine Island. (Episode 4)

Penelope escaping from that tower all by herself, even jumping a guard several times her size to get her weapons back. (Episode 4)

Bentley and Penelope finally doing a proper love confession after defeating the latter's impostor. (Episode 4)

Penelope impersonating her impostor to save Sly and succeeding. Also her declaration of loyalty during the same scene. And making it through the entire episode without getting found out. (Episode 4)

Penelope finally recognizing Murray as her older brother. (Episode 5)

Penelope taking charge as mission leader before the blimp raid (and nearly cracking under the pressure). Also the boys promising to forget about her upcoming expulsion if she succeeds. (Episode 6)

Penelope fighting Le Paradox. The entire fight scene. (Episode 6)

I know some of these scenes weren't documented in the abridged version. The full story, if it's ever finished, will contain them.

Even more so if you want to talk about it.

Here's a link to it in case you somehow missed it.

Here's a few lessons you might learn from reading Thieves In Time Redux...

-Love Redeems. So does friendship.

-People do strange things when they panic.

-They also do strange things out of both love and hate.

-Faking amnesia is a bad idea.

-There's no shame in asking for help.

Thieves In Time Redux: Full Story Previews

A few months back, I posted a few previews of my full Thieves In Time rewrite on DeviantArt. I thought I'd repost them here.

All of them are set during Episode 0. You know, the museum heist.

I can't wait to fully explore these relationships that Thieves In Time vanilla completely ruined...

Preview #1: Link

Preview #2: Link

Preview #3: Link

Preview #4: Link

Well, this was a wild election year. Please excuse me while I continue onward with rewriting Thieves In Time...

Thieves In Time Redux Boss Fights

I haven't talked much about the boss fights yet, apart from Le Paradox.

For those of you who haven't read my little fanfic yet, I managed to rope Penelope into all six of them.

I wasn't sure how to rope her into the El Jefe or Toothpick boss fights at first... then after some thinking, I put her on aerial support for Sly.

How many other rewrites have both Murray and Penelope fighting a boss together? None? Great news: They both get to fight The Grizz. Let your imagination for that run wild.

We can't have our heroine be the boss of Episode 4, so I thought I'd bring back an old villain: Sir Raleigh.

Miss Decibel's boss fight... isn't finished yet.

Then there's Le Paradox... Here's a link to that recap.

Thieves In Time Redux Meme #18

I know, this one's a bit overdone.

Thieves In Time Redux: Why Toad Town?

Check this post out for context.

You may be wondering why there's so much music from Paper Mario: The Origami King associated with this project. This was actually a decision I made quite recently.

For now, I'm only talking about Origami King's Toad Town.

I started work on Thieves In Time Redux long before Origami King ever existed. It was just a massive stroke of luck to see OK's Toad Town of all pieces work so well together with the progression of my little story. Or more specifically, a certain mouse girl's evolution into the true hero I know she can become.

Take Toad Town Ghost Town, for instance. It's assigned to Episode 1, the beginning of our heroes' time traveling adventure. Not only is it perfect for Feudal Japan, it's also perfect for the beginning of Penelope's character arc.

Might as well talk about each step in the music's progression. Toad Town - Red Streamer Removal is assigned to Episode 2. Perfect for a wild west town, is it not? Here, Penelope is beginning to understand the consequences of her actions, mainly through what happened to Sly and Carmelita.

My favorite, though, is Toad Town - Blue Streamer Removal. Assigned to Episode 3, that's when Penelope undergoes her change of heart. It happens after she gets placed on bed rest and needs the boys to take care of her.

Then there's the more heroic shift in tone that comes with Toad Town - Yellow Streamer Removal. In which our heroine successfully strikes down her own creations without being discovered as their creator.

Episode 5 gives us Toad Town - Purple Streamer Removal. Penelope's nearing the end of her character arc, and the boys are proud of her. Too bad Le Paradox outs her as his mole at the end of the episode.

Toad Town - Green Streamer Removal gives us the end of her character arc with Episode 6. After her journey across time, Penelope has changed for the better, she's been found out, and she's willing to take responsibility for what she's done.

How in the heck did freaking Toad Town manage to retell my entire fanfic so perfectly? Even I have no clue... But I'm so glad it turned out that way.

Long story short, I love how the music progresses to its final form.