Disclaimer: I don't own LOK or POP. Elizabeth was a stock sue-type until she lost her grip on reality.

20060601

God of War was the last game that I bought and played, so I'm wondering where the idea for a LOK/POP blend came from. I wish that I had written down what was going through my head at the time.

I still prefer Selfishness: Ico to Selfishness: POP. I had forgotten that the first one was first person when I began thinking of the second one in third person. I felt that this one called for Raziel's thoughts and other odd details to be included, which is harder to do in first person.


Elizabeth sighed as she played through Defiance for maybe the third time. In reality, she didn't finish the game the second time she played, the ending was just too depressing for her. Elizabeth did remember the time she spent with Raziel, but her memory sugar-coated the details of how irritable he had been.

Elizabeth sighed again as she saved the game and turned off her PS2. At the moment, Raziel was running through Vorador's mansion, believing that the forger of the Reaver would be able to help him.

"You can't save yourself, Raziel," Elizabeth whispered to the cobbled mass of equipment that was her entertainment center. "I would save you. I'd keep you safe forever."

The Gamester silently melted out of the wall behind Elizabeth and slowly shook his head. For most people, once was enough. There were even those who realized just how unimportant they were without being sent anywhere. The Gamester was curious about this girl's stubborn fixation; he had thought that she learned her lesson.

"Do you think that he really wants to be saved?" The Gamester asked.

Elizabeth whirled around to face the willowy beatnik. "He's desperate." She sighed and said, "I miss him."

The Gamester pretended to be sympathetic. "I could give you another chance."

Elizabeth's eyes grew wide and she broke into a grin. "I get to see him again!"

The Gamester flinched slightly. Elizabeth's mood shift had startled him. "You do remember that he managed to outrun you the last time," he ventured.

Elizabeth stopped poinging. "That's right." Undaunted, she raced to her game drawer and began flipping through boxes. "I need a co-op game."

The Gamester hesitantly stepped forward, still nervous about the girl's attitude.

"I wonder if he'd like flying," Elizabeth said as she tossed 'Drakkan' onto the end table. She didn't wait for a reply as she started flipping through boxes again.

"One of us would have to be a rat," Elizabeth said as she stuck 'Jak & Daxter' back into the drawer. "I never got around to playing these," she muttered as 'Summoner' also got shoved back into place next to 'Summoner 2.'

The Gamester peered over Elizabeth's shoulder at the indiscriminate collection of discs. He took a moment to wonder why he had offered her the first trip into the video game world, much less offering her a second. Elizabeth's hair was no longer blue, but it was arranged into a messy topknot with a green sharpie stuck through it. Also, her shirt looked like she stole it from a colorblind hippy. The Gamester decided that Liz was an interesting lunatic, though he could've discerned that from her obsession with a naked blue vampire corpse.

"How about this one?" Elizabeth asked, triumphantly holding up 'Prince of Persia: the Sands of Time.'

"Interesting choice," the Gamester conceded.

"I'll go change," Elizabeth giggled as she dropped the box.

The world spun, and Elizabeth found herself in Farrah's chambers, sitting on Farrah's bed, and wearing Farrah's necklace.

"There's no need, I shall take care of your appearance this time," the Gamester said. He had assumed the role of the visser.

Elizabeth gritted her teeth in pain as her bones compressed and shrank. Over a third of her flesh melted away, leaving only firm muscle and flawless skin. Within minutes, a size twenty product of fast food and bovine growth hormones was transformed into a size two princess that could squeeze through tight spaces.

The Gamester nodded, satisfied with his work. He had smoothed Eliza's hair and given her makeup. She was still recognizable, but now she was somewhat pretty. Her skin tone was still too pale for an Indian princess, but Raziel's skin would also be too light for someone from this climate.

"It will take me some effort to bring Raziel into this reality," the Gamester said, "and Jafar has a betrayal to enact. I shall take care of all the details while you cross the desert."

Elizabeth smiled as she stole one of Farrah's dresses. At least Raziel couldn't blame her for not liking his form. Here, water was life, not blood. Would the Gamester make Raziel into a human?

Soon, multiple explosions rocked the palace. Elizabeth made her way to the chamber that overlooked the hourglass room. The pendant on her necklace was the key to the path for those who weren't acrobatic.

She stared at the Prince as she reflected on her thoughts about him. Liz found that she had to concentrate, as the character didn't leave much of an impression on her. He was spoiled, willful, and kept his angst on the surface, Elizabeth decided. In Liz's mind, the Prince blended into the background unless he was stripping, and she perceived the narration as separate.

Elizabeth didn't even know the Prince's name. She would've liked something proper to call him as she cussed out his unresponsiveness in the game. 'Prince Kaka.' Eliza giggled at the thought. The giggle turned to a frightened squeak as one of the Persian guards grabbed her.