Writings From A Field of Roses

A little corner for my writing as well as other essentials.

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Jewelverse: Cooper Gang

My broader take on the Sly Cooper universe is titled the "Jewelverse." This focuses on events before and during the first three Sly games, the rewritten "Thieves In Time," "Heist Across The Hourglass," and finally the next generation of the Cooper Gang and their allies.

As such, the Cooper Gang, additional members, and allies were as follows before the trio turned themselves in after their second time-traveling adventure. The moment Sly was arrested, he disbanded the Cooper Gang to allow Annette to live a civilian life.

Main Members

Sly Cooper: Master thief and founder. Currently living in London, England as a museum curator. His associated color is blue and his associated symbol is a spade.

Bentley Wiseturtle: Mastermind and later the leader. Currently living in Lyon, France with Penelope while tipping off Interpol anonymously. His associated color is green and his associated symbol is a club.

Murray Austin: Enforcer and getaway driver. Currently living in Kilkenny, Ireland as a construction worker. His associated color is fuchsia and his associated symbol is a heart.

Additional Members

Guru of the Stone: Shaman and supernatural specialist. Currently teaching his successors the ways of the Dreamtime in Yuendumu, Australia. His associated color is indigo and his associated symbol is a Concentric circle.

Penelope van Muis: R/C vehicles expert, had to be rescued from brainwashing before re-integrating into the Gang. Currently living in Lyon, France with Bentley while working as a college professor. Her associated color is lavender and her associated symbol is a butterfly.

Panda King: Full-time demolitions expert. Currently living in the Kunlun Mountains in China as a farmer. His associated color is red and his associated symbol is a flame.

Dimitri Lousteau: Frogman and informant. Currently living in Bordeaux, France as a treasure hunter looting underwater ship wrecks for a living. His associated color is purple and his associated symbol is a music note.

Annette Leparine (OC): Archer and lock-picking specialist. Currently living with Carmelita as her ward in Provins while attending the International School of Paris. Her associated color is periwinkle and her associated symbol is a star.

Allies

Detective Carmelita Fox: Initially an Interpol Inspector. Resigned to become a private investigator. Currently living in Provins while caring for Annette as her legal guardian. Her associated color is gold and her associated symbol is a diamond.

Jing King: Initially needing to be rescued from General Tsao. Currently the protector of her village in the Kunlun Mountains of China. Her associated color is red-violet and her associated symbol is a flame.

Andrea Leparine (OC): Initially unable to communicate effectively due to her spiritual nature. Found some tether to the living world right on time for the final push to save history. Currently the guardian of this timeline. Her associated color is orchid pink and her associated symbol is a star.

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Missing Pieces: Submission

Although Murray built up confidence in between the events of the fall of Clockwerk and the start of the Clockwerk parts job, the self-assurance he displayed back then was newfound. So, when Neyla double-crossed everyone near the end of "Operation: Wet Tiger," it was the first time "The Murray" had felt so helpless.

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Sessions with the Contessa brought back memories of the time his family abandoned him. From the early days of his life, they viewed him as no one important. He tried to be tough in a bid to fit in with some bullies at the orphanage. Once they realized how easily he jumped from fear, they pushed him around.

And those meals laced with illegal spice made him feel "kind of strange" while he was doing time in Prague.

He did everything possible not to cry or show fear. The hippopotamus couldn't break down in front of the prisoners who rough-housed him. But the Contessa proved manipulative in the end. After being thrown in solitary confinement, he was rendered twitchy and bug-eyed when Sly and Bentley moved to break him out.

Once those hypno-boxes smashed apart, Murray had to regain his bearings. He asked if he was in heaven when he snapped out of it. For a moment, he thought he died in more ways than one.

Sly: Sorry, pal. You're no angel.

Bentley: Just take a few deep breaths and try to center your thoughts.

Murray: Okay.

There was one good thing that came out of this mess, however. The hippo kept the other half of the Clockwerk Heart hidden from the Contessa by any means necessary.

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An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Sly Cooper (Video Games) Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Sly Cooper/Carmelita Fox, Cyrille Le Paradox & Original Female Character(s) Characters: Sly Cooper, Murray (Sly Cooper), Carmelita Fox, Cyrille Le Paradox, Original Anthropomorphic Animal Character(s), Rajan (Sly Cooper) Additional Tags: Headcanon, Missing Scene, Songfic, Fan Characters, Deception, Rare Fandoms, Rare Characters, Rare Pairings, Rare Relationships, Sly 2: Band of Thieves, Tango, Embedded Video, One Shot, Original Character-centric, Predator/Prey, Minor Sly Cooper/Carmelita Fox Summary:

Ever since Cyrille Le Paradox approached her, Andrea believed that what she feels for the skunk is love.

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An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Sly Cooper (Video Games) Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Murray (Sly Cooper) & Original Character(s) Characters: Murray (Sly Cooper), The Guru (Sly Cooper), Panda King (Sly Cooper), Jing King (Sly Cooper), Original Anthropomorphic Animal Character(s) Additional Tags: Headcanon, Post-Prison, Reunions, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, No Romance, Post-Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time, Post-Canon Fix-It, Post-Time Skip, Canon Rewrite, World Travel, Rare Characters, Rare Relationships, Rare Pairings, Rare Fandoms, Het, Drabble, France (Country), Fix-It, Friendship/Love, Brother-Sister Relationships, Ireland Summary:

"Well, it's a long and awesome story."

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An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Sly Cooper (Video Games) Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Sly Cooper/Carmelita Fox, Bentley/Penelope (Sly Cooper), Jing King/Murray (Sly Cooper) Characters: Sly Cooper, Bentley (Sly Cooper), Murray (Sly Cooper), Carmelita Fox, Penelope (Sly Cooper), Original Anthropomorphic Animal Character(s), Other(s) Additional Tags: Teasers & Trailers, Dreams and Nightmares, Sly Cooper-centric, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Post-Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time, Side Story, Trains, Love Confessions, Victorian, German Folklore, Inspired by Fanart, Inspired by Tumblr, This Is Not Going to Go the Way You Think, Paris (City), Pictures, England (Country), Worldbuilding, Normal Life, Work in Progress, Marriage Summary:

"I love you, Carmelita."

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Sly 5: Side Story: Lotophage Railway

Before the group get started on "Operation: Highland Shadow," Annette's friend, Eloise, tells the group about a frightening tale she's heard recently.

Newspaper reports detail missing passengers who hopped aboard a locomotive called the Oberon. Police sent a few officers to investigate, but there were no reports back. Bentley believes it's best to resolve this crisis before going into the operation.

Especially since one of the stops is Doncaster. That city is the base of operations for Simon Le Paradox and Alvard Lupus.

Thaddeus has Eloise return home and stay out of trouble. Despite wanting to help, the deer is afraid of the possibility of Alvard being onboard the train, ready to garrote her. She complies with his instructions.

So, Sly, Bentley, Murray, Carmelita, and Annette accompany Thaddeus to the London North Eastern Railway. They get tickets from a courteous raven and get onboard the Oberon.

Little did they realize that during the long trip, a spell was cast on the passengers once their tickets were punched. The mastermind is an Alp while those working with them are Mares.

The missing passengers were hunted by an incubus.

Once the Cooper Gang, Carmelita, Annette, and Thaddeus fall asleep, the Alp bestows them idealistic dreams. Meanwhile, six insomniac passengers are given a taste of their power. They have to kill those associated with the Cooper clan in their dreams. In exchange for their deaths, they'll be able to sleep soundly at long last.

For Sly's sanctuary, he lives that happy life with Carmelita in Le Havre. There's a photo of two of them with Bentley, Murray, and Annette on their nightstand. Even Penelope is with them in the family portrait despite everything. She's no longer in that yellow jumpsuit, the mouse having rebooted a connection with the turtle.

When Carmelita embraced Sly after a bad dream that night in bed, he realized something. They're no longer in relationship limbo. It feels like he can finally say "I love you" to her after so long.

The raccoon is blissfully unaware of the danger coming for him with his guard down. They have to wake up soon. When someone dies in the dream world, they die for real.

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Missing Pieces: Ferocious Beast

The found family known as the Cooper Gang spent several grueling weeks apart after Neyla betrayed them near the end of "Operation: Wet Tiger."

The Contessa, Interpol's most renowned "prison warden," was put in charge of Sly and Murray rehabilitation. All the while, Bentley spent weeks dodging law enforcement, learning how to drive a stick shift, and pulling off sleepless nights of data crunching to find them in Prague.

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The first few sessions Sly had with the Contessa caused the trauma he suffered when he lost it all as a child smacking him full force. That, combined with being subjected to an electric chair, shut him down emotionally. In his stupor, he didn't respond to anyone. Not even the Contessa when she tried to force him to reveal where his family stashed their fortunes.

The Contessa thought the illegal spice he consumed had interesting side-effects...at first.

There was an Akita inu prisoner who loved to rub his failure as a "master thief" in his face. She viewed him as little more than her personal plaything (and got into and out of trouble for that).

For a time, all he did was endure her mistreatment of him.

Deep inside, the raccoon was a ticking time bomb. As Bentley said once before: eat too much illegal spice and you'll succumb to unbridled rage. That dog eventually called Sly's father a "deadbeat" while bragging to those associated with her.

That was enough for him to abruptly break out of his stupor. Everyone learned the hard way about how easy it could be for Sly to become a monster.

He jumped her and started a prison brawl that got bloody. No one was killed, but that event landed him in "the hole." The raccoon was at the end of his rope. At the time, he felt he had nothing to lose.

(Is it any wonder why Sly said he spoke from experience when he told Murray to get into a big enough fight to throw him into solitary confinement back then?)

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Cutting Room Floor: Maquillage

Before Carmelita could help Thaddeus during a job in Victorian England, the master of disguise got a mischievous idea for Sly, Bentley, and Murray. Sly gave off a devious grin once he heard it.

Apparently, his ancestor had an idea on how much he loved to mess around with Carmelita.

While Murray got himself into position, Sly looked over at the Interpol inspector with a charming smile.

Sly: Carmelita, Bentley needs you for a job with Thaddeus. My pal's got a favor to ask beforehand, though.

Carmelita *with her back turned to the others*: Let's hear it.

Bentley: Great! Stand by for makeup.

Carmelita *confused*: Stand by for what?

Murray *with a huge powder puff in hand*: Makeup!

The moment the vixen turned behind her, Murray slapped the powder puff in her face. The aftermath of her pink powder-covered upper body was one for the photo album.

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Missing Pieces: Anything For Family

After Murray rejoined Sly and Bentley following Don Octavio's incarceration, they took the time to catch up and pull off some heists. This included an attempt to steal an antique gold watch from Muggshot's flying fortress. That watch ended up with Inspector Fox in the end.

At first, it was just like old times. The Cooper Gang was back in action! More importantly, these three brothers were having a great time after being apart for so long.

As the weeks went by, Murray couldn't put his heart into it. Without the Guru's blessing to drop out of his Dreamtime training, he didn't truly feel comfortable returning to Sly and Bentley.

Early one morning, Murray was the first one awake. This was despite everyone opting to sleep in after a night of video games and good food. His fists were shaking while he tried to put his Australian fossil necklace around his neck. It was a protective charm from his Master.

Today, he considered it a good luck charm. And he needed all the luck he was going to get.

Thankfully, Sly woke up and asked him what's going on. It wasn't like him to be the first one up in the morning. After learning that he needed to see his Guru again, the raccoon decided to wake Bentley up. The turtle's response?

Bentley: No need to. I'm awake. And I heard everything.

They knew they needed to help him out. They're a team. And they all have each other's backs. So, they packed their bags, whipped up disguises, and traveled to the Australian outback by plane.

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Cutting Room Floor: Head Crash?

Annette's first conversation between her, Bentley, and Penelope (through video communication) started with a simple question. What's it like to fall in love with someone?

Annette: I tried asking Murray and Mr. Lousteau earlier, but some things didn't really make sense to me. How do you know when you've fallen in love?

Penelope *through communications*: Explaining it would include a whole curriculum in human physiology. We could just tell you how we came together for the Cooper Vault job.

The lop rabbit got settled into the chair she was sitting on.

Annette: Let's hear it.

Bentley: It began when I realized my R/C skills weren't going to be enough.

Both Bentley and Penelope reveal how they first interacted: through a tech chatroom focusing on remote vehicle work. Back then, Penelope was moonlighting as the Black Baron to get past the strict age and gender requirements for dogfights. Once Team Cooper won ACES, she proved true to her word and joined the Gang.

Penelope initially had a huge crush on Sly, which impacted Bentley negatively. It came to a head during their time in Blood Bath Bay. When Bentley lashed out at his closest friend due to his insecurities, Sly punched him in the face when the turtle brought up his "Casanova" father. The strike was so hard, it knocked him out of his wheelchair and threw his glasses off.

Bentley *remorseful*: The regret and tears came in quick succession for both of us.

Penelope: But that did help clear the air in the end.

Bentley: True, but we still consider it a bad memory.

Penelope recalled that she always longed for someone who can keep up with her intellectually as a romantic partner. She found her match in Bentley near the end of "Operation: Reverse Double-Cross." Dimitri considered Penelope's feelings for Bentley a "head crash" back then.

Annette *stroking her muzzle from thought*: So, it's like a kick to the head, right?

The rabbit got an answer when Carmelita kicked Sly out of the room she was changing clothes in, sending him flying. He crashed onto a bodhrán (read: celtic frame drum) for doing that without knowing she was inside.

Penelope *wincing*: ...Well, there's your visual demonstration.

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Cutting Room Floor: Big Red Button

While fine-tuning his wheelchair, Bentley has Annette help him out with the engine equipped to it. He wants to test the Adrenaline Burst Plus by having her press a red button on the control panel.

Annette: Is it this button right here?

Bentley: The large red button on the right, Annie.

She pressed the emergency throttle (though not on purpose), which is also a large red button. The moment the Adrenaline Burst kicks in, Bentley's wheelchair speeds through the Victorian England hideout. He's struggling to get some form of control, forcing Carmelita to dive out of the way.

Murray: Turn left! Turn left!

The turtle does just that, crashing into some nearby cushions made from down and feathers. Everyone quickly rushes to the scene of the accident once the dust clears.

Sly *alarmed*: Bentley?!

Annette *in total panic*: I'm-sorry!-I'm sorry!-I'm sorry!!

Bentley *disoriented, to Annette*: You're never doing that again.

Those were the last words he recalled before briefly blacking out. The rabbit was thankfully given a lecture, but the turtle clarified he should have been more specific back then.

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An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Sly Cooper (Video Games) Rating: Mature Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Clockwerk & Sly Cooper, Bentley & Sly Cooper & Murray, Conner Cooper & Sly Cooper, Sly Cooper & Carmelita Fox Characters: Sly Cooper, The Fiendish Five (Sly Cooper), Dr. M (Sly Cooper), Conner Cooper, Sly Cooper's Mother, The Contessa (Sly Cooper), Neyla (Sly Cooper), Rajan (Sly Cooper), The Cooper Gang (Sly Cooper), Carmelita Fox Additional Tags: Headcanon, Night Terrors, Nightmares, Psychological Horror, Sly Cooper-centric, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Post-Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time, Deconstruction, Canonical Character Death, Ancient Egypt, Missing Scene, Worldbuilding, Minor Sly Cooper/Carmelita Fox, Rare Fandoms, Rare Characters, Rare Relationships Summary:

The biggest reason why Sly mask was fragile? The raccoon tried to forego sleep, but failed.

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Cutting Room Floor: Bugle Raccoon of Company B

During the early stages of the World War I operation, Otto van Cooper was called upon to get everyone up, including the soldiers the Cooper Gang were helping in the army. The general gave him a simple job: wake everyone up at dawn.

Otto's means of an alarm clock? A cannon firing blanks outside of their hideout and the barracks.

As the American flag was raised by one of the frazzled soldiers, Otto heralded the notes of the Morning Reveille on his bugle. He was unaware that Carmelita had to be held back from giving chase to the Dutch raccoon inside the hideout for that wake-up call.

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Sly 5: Best Laid Schemes

Annette has another encounter with Penelope at the Richmond Theatre. This time, Penelope is assigned to interfere with Murray and Annette's job by Le Paradox. Knowing full well that Annette's the newcomer, the mouse corners her first.

Big mistake. Annette is not fooled by Penelope's attempts to get her to believe that Bentley's the villain of her story. All the while, Bentley was recording their conversation from the Safe house. He also has Murray get to Annette's location, though his attempted "rescue" of Annette was the hippopotamus's plan all along.

When Bentley hears Penelope having an argument with herself, the turtle realizes something's not right. He has Annette try to "deprogram" the mouse's arguments. And by deprogram, he has her use thought reform in a bid to figure out what really happened.

The lop rabbit was getting somewhere in getting Penelope's more innocent self to break through when...

Murray *from above them*: Here I come, Annie!!

Murray's idea of saving the day is swinging down from a chandelier and smacking down the perpetrator. It backfires when he crashes into a glass window and gets thrown onto the ground. The hippo thankfully erected his Astral Guard before the fall or the lacerations could kill him.

Penelope takes advantage of the chaos to retreat.

Annette *rushing to get to where Murray is*: How do you guys stop him from doing crazy things like that?!

Sly *from communications*: The short answer? We don't.

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Sly 5: Sweet Leparine's Ghost

When the Cooper Gang, Carmelita, and Annette arrived in Victorian England, it was very late. After establishing a Safe house away from the public eye, almost everyone turned in for the night.

Bentley burned the midnight oil to get their new recruit, Annette, prepared for future jobs. As the night went on, he thought back to Penelope looking out for him during their relationship. How she usually made sure he got rest and didn't overwork. And yet, as much as he wanted to consider her an enemy now, part of him felt he shouldn't do so.

After an e-mail to ThiefNet regarding supplies and equipment for Annette was sent, the turtle was on the verge of going offline. He ducked into his shell and collapsed onto the pillow stuffed within. Just before dozing off, Murray tucked a teal blanket around his shell.

Murray...he's always looking out for everyone.

It was Bentley's last conscious thought before snoring along with the others, wearing nothing but a white tank top and blue-green briefs on his body inside that shell.

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The foggy, yet cool night stretched on within Kingston Upon Thames, and the hideout was dead still. Bentley's laptop was powered down and security measures were online to ensure safety. Candle light illuminated the bottom floor, the only source of light left over in this part of the area. It was calm before the storm. Everyone got a moment to sleep following the Ancient Egypt operation.

Amidst the sounds of snoring from Sly, Bentley, and Murray, an orchid pink breeze blew out the candle from a slightly open window. The area was blanketed in a comfortable darkness. Most everyone's clothing and equipment were off and set aside for the night.

The ghost of a rabbit older than Annette passed through the wall of the hideout. Despite their similarities, her gentle gray eyes were a contrast to Annette's brown orbs. This was Andrea, Annette's mother.

Andrea checked on the others while they were dead to the world. Bentley had long since crashed within his shell. Murray had passed out onto his bed and snored peacefully, a white blanket draped over his body.

One floor above them, Carmelita turned over to spoon Sly without waking in their bed. The raccoon felt her touch, but didn't wake up. He simply sighed and snuggled under the white covers they were tucked under.

Andrea eventually found her sleeping daughter on the last bed in the alcove. Both Annette and Sly didn't recall the comforts of a decent bed until now. It takes some effort, but the ghostly lop rabbit stroked the lavender tuft of fur on her head. Though Annette was dead to the world, she recognized her mother's touch and eased into it.

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As morning broke upon England, Andrea felt that her daughter would be in good hands. She was wary of Annette sticking with the Cooper Gang and Carmelita at first. After seeing Sly forge a genuine friendship with the younger rabbit and Murray extending an invitiation to join the Gang himself, their compassion touched her heart.

She knew Annette would be in good hands until the adventure was over.

The ghost was wondering if she should wake everyone up as time passed. The outside world was beginning their day, after all...

The twelve bells of the All Saints Church resound in the area moments after she considered that. These woke everyone inside the Safe house with a start. Once the bells stop ringing, they all take a moment to reorient themselves.

Sly: Bentley, this is the last time we ever set up a hideout near a belfry.

Bentley: It was also the first time.

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An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: プリキュア | PreCure | Pretty Cure Series, 名探偵プリキュア！| Meitantei Pretty Cure! | Star Detective PreCure! (Anime) Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Akechi Anna | Cure Answer & Kobayashi Mikuru | Cure Mystique, Howa Kurea | Cure Eclair & Moria Luluka | Cure Arcana Shadow Characters: Howa Kurea | Cure Eclair, Akechi Anna | Cure Answer, Kobayashi Mikuru | Cure Mystique, Moria Luluka | Cure Arcana Shadow Additional Tags: Recovered Memories, Magical Girls, Tags Contain Spoilers, Spoilers, Perfume, Butterflies, 1990s, Partnership, Amnesia, Reunions, Fairies, Drabble Summary:

The blunette didn't realize the PreCure Anna and Mikuru were searching for was her all along...until now.

[crusherthedoctor]

Do you think the term “one man army” applies to Sonic since he was at first ready to solo an entire Egg fleet in his base form in the opening scene of Sonic Unleashed?

Don't see why not. He's plenty powerful.

People who think Eggman is harmless because Sonic always beats him underestimate how strong and resilient Sonic is. A lot of other heroes would have a considerably harder time with him, which is one of the few things that the fandom is slowly becoming more aware of. Well done fandom, here's a gold star.

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Given who Shadow is and how he was created, that also applies to him. Silver, too, but I'm not sure how much of that is shown off...