Remove ads

Herding Cats [FoZ/???] [SI]

Created
Status
Ongoing
Watchers
153
Recent readers
0
Threadmarks
2
There is a system built around us. It governs us and protects us. It keeps us from knowing the...
Threadmarks
Reader mode
Remove ads
Prologue
  • Threadmarks
    • Anon̦̦

    Anon̦̦

    [Verified Girl]
    Location
    '̸̛͘͢;̶̧̕'̴̨͝͠;̢͡-̶͘-̴̀͟͟'́͘͟͟͜;̨̀/̷̧͏̴̢'̴̢̕;̸̛͟͢
    There is a system built around us. It governs us and protects us. It keeps us from knowing the real world. It manages to let us live in our small isle of ignorance in the midst of black seas of infinity, to live in the yoke of physics and reality.

    Coming back from college, I did not expected anything unusual to happen. The day was beautiful, it was not hot nor cold. In fact, there was a small parade going trough the center of the town. The Matachines were marching on the street -as they have been doing all Easter- gleefully dancing and playing their drums and flutes with vigor.

    Yet as I stared at the sight beyond me -A literal crack within reality, an insight into the insignificance of the fragility of the Human race and it's place inside the Universe itself- all I could think is what the fuck is my cat thinking as she ran towards the starless eldritch void.

    "Niña! come back here!" I exclaimed as I ran to intercept her.

    Surprisingly, I managed to catch her by the scruff of her neck, and then hugged her tightly against my chest as the darkness swirled inches besides me. I dared not to look back at that thing.

    Then my other cat looked at me.

    "Don't you dare..." I hissed at him as Bastet -the female cat in my arm- dug her claws into my shoulders and attempted to get free.

    "Orion!" I shouted, as he gave a step towards me. He hesitated for a moment before running entranced towards the hole. I crouched and barely caught him using one arm before Bastet slipped from my grasp. Her claws dug into my backpack as she used it to pivot herself from my one handed grip on her and jumped into the void.

    "Goddammit!" I muttered as I firmly held Orion with my two arms as I stumbled back into the void.

    Darkness became my everything, only the small visible figure of Bastet in the distance being something else against all reason. But I wasn't alone, The Darkness rippled. Tore. Moved. Shuddered. It danced to the fading tune of flutes and drums, the only remaining thing from reality.

    It was all around me, and it stirred in ecstasy.

    Orion in my arms had become strangely limp, his eyes wide open and I could see no response from him. And I could only see Bastet get farther and farther away, entranced by some strange force. Then she stopped. And as I reached her and struggled to catch her and hold both of my cats in my arms, I could see it.

    There was nothing beyond me, yet there it was. Unconceivable, spaces beyond time and space. Maddening beating of vile drums and the thin monotonous whine of accursed flutes sang in a majestic crescendo. Impossible, blasphemous forms, maddening to the senses, beyond my comprehension danced before my eyes.

    I wished there was a way out of here. Anywhere, and thus I ran, I ran as fast as I could, but there was nothing behind me. Nor in front of me.

    Until there was.

    The silhouette of a man behind a strange, shimmering veil nodded to me, and I knew that I needed to cross the Gate. I didn't knew which one, or how I even knew of a gate, but I knew and I opened it.

    There were thousands, millions of universes. Being created by the dreams of mad gods, fading away by the ravages of times, being destroyed by the uncaring whims of eldritch beings. And there were cracks, gates, to the beyond. Just like the one I used to enter into this place of madness.

    And as I looked at them, they spread around. They became more numerous, shouting at me of impossible possibilities. I looked at them, I looked beyond them into them and then trough them.

    My mind could not handle it, so I did the only thing I could do.

    I jumped into the nearest crack. Galaxies, Stars, Infinite worlds, Infinite possibilities passed trough my mind. Brimstone and fire, seas full of life, endless markets of wonders, beaches of ivory, dreams within dreams. They were all beautiful, but I could not concentrate on any of them as wails and screams of untold horrors resonated within my mind.

    The pain caused by my two flailing cats was the only thing keeping me barely coherent, a welcome feeling among a sea of unknown reality. I refused to let them go, even as their claws and frenetic hisses pierced my being.

    Suddenly there was reality. The screams had stopped, I could feel the dirt beneath me, the fresh air of the mountains, the murmur of voices.

    Then I jolted up in worry of my pets. There was a cloud of dust around me, but I could still fell them on my arms. They were unconscious, unmoving, yet from what I could gather alive and relatively unharmed. No broken bones in sight, no blood and no real wounds.

    Goddammit, these smug bastards better appreciate what I do for them.

    Carefully setting them down on the ground I tried to look around just in time for a wind to lift the dust cloud. A very cute girl greeted me. She had very light strawberry blonde hair, pale skin and pink eyes.

    I blinked.

    She blinked. Then she jogged to a nearby adult and started yelling at him. At this, I noticed my surroundings, and I pinched my arm. This must be a dream of some kind. A castle, kids, dragons, magic eyeballs. And was that a Charmander? It took me second to process everything, until only the impossible could be conceived. This was Tristania wasn't it?

    For a moment I sat there stunned until I heard the murmurs of the student.

    Est-ce que la Zéro vient tout juste d'invoquer un roturier?
    Hé, regarde! Il a deux chats avec lui!
    Seule la Zéro pourrait invoquer un familier et en même temps son propriétaire!​

    It sounded French... I could recognize some simple words and phrases thanks to my three years of high school French classes, but it wasn't exactly French as I recognized it. And even if I always got A+'s I didn't knew how to talk french. I must admit, after seeing the impossible, I couldn't care less. So I went with the flow.

    The little girl and the bald man came back... was she Louise? Was that Colbert the PTSD riddled mage? Still, the little girl looked a little miffed as the man started speaking, "Bonjour, je suis désolé pour ce qui vient de se passer, mais vos animaux..."

    "Pardon, je ne parle pas francais," I interrupted him to explain that, no I don't speak French. I tough for a second before continuing "Est-ce que vous parlez anglais, espagnol ou japonais?"

    The man looked confused for a second before shrugging, "Chat, feline." he slowly stated while pointing at Orion and Bastet, "Familier, magique serviteurm." he continued while pointing at the girl.

    I knew what he meant, but fuck If I let anyone drag me trough space and time and then steal my cats. "Les Miens. -Mine" I stated while glaring at the girl.

    Then the man sighed and I started floating. Fucking Wizards! I flailed around unceremoniously mid-air as the girl approached the felines.

    She did some swish and flick with her wand, said some words and kissed the cat.

    Nothing happened.

    The crowd laughed quietly as the man told some words to the girl. She then repeated the process with the other cat. Nothing happened again.

    This time the crowd started to clearly mock the girl. She started discussing something heatedly with the bald man, until he sighed, and made me fall into the ground.

    "Fuck you too" I muttered as started to stand up, but then found the girl in front of me.

    Huh, she was small. Like, 5 feet tall. I'm 6'3. And I hadn't really appreciated it, but she was really cute, and beautiful on the petite kind of way. "Ce est un grand honneur-" she started muttering, as her face became bright red. And I didn't knew why I didn't move away. Her voice continued to drone, ah, so she is Lousie after all. "Pentagone des cinq éléme-" she continued as I tried to kneel from my position if there was one thing that I could agree is getting superpowers. After that, find out what the fuck is going on.

    Then she kissed me.

    I knew it was coming, but it surprised me. The kiss was clearly hesitant, but the softness of her lips brought my every tough to a halt. Her smell hit my nostrils and awoke a burning desire I didn't knew I could posses. It awoke something deep withing me, and made that passion burn.

    No, really. It burnt, and it hurt as hell. My whole body heated itself to the point my skin was smoking, and my right hand burned as I clenched my teeth. Nordic runes started grafting themselves into my skin as eldritch energies and alien information attempted to pierce into my mind.

    I barely managed to stay conscious as it occurred.

    Moments later the pain subsided, but my sight was blurry and my senses dulled. Still, I could feel the man approach and look at my hand. "It appears the Contract Servant spell has been done properly."

    With that the man turned to the crowd, and the said, "Let us return to the Academy, class is over." As the professor and the students walked into the castle, a menagerie of strange beasts followed them. I do not know why, but their presence snared me more than anything.

    "Well?" the girl -Louise- suddenly interrupted my pondering. "Are you going to stand up any time soon, familiar?" she said disdainfully. I frowned.

    Huh? Why could I understand them now?

    Anyway, I merely frowned and stood up, before turning towards my unconscious cats with worry. The little brat can go frack herself for the moment I wasn't really happy at the moment and my cats are more important. I heard the girl mutter something in anger, before she sighed as I crouched next to Bastet.

    She looked fine, I tried shaking her a little with no avail.

    Suddenly, her ear flickered. Then it did it again as she jumped away with a hiss.

    "Where am I, who are you!" She screeched in panic.

    I froze in confusion before she turned to me.

    "Dad?" she whispered warily looking around, before approaching to sniff me.

    I could only reply with a:

    "What."
     
    Last edited:
  • Threadmarks
    • Ugh. I hope this one takes care of the mindfuck aspect of the familiar contract asap. So many FoZ fics gloss over what is essentially mindrape slavery just because that brat louise is 'uuu so pwetty.'
     
    That is an reoccurring problem. Problem is that there usually isn't anyone to point it out and the inherent magic of the runes enforces loyalty rather thoroughly. IE the mindrape slavery. Given that he has cats that may or may not let him know there are deviations of his usual behavior, it becomes a matter of whether he wants to live with a roof over head or in the woods being hunted like an animal.
     
    thatavidreader said:
    Ugh. I hope this one takes care of the mindfuck aspect of the familiar contract asap. So many FoZ fics gloss over what is essentially mindrape slavery just because that brat louise is 'uuu so pwetty.'
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    Scrumptious Egoi said:
    That is an reoccurring problem. Problem is that there usually isn't anyone to point it out and the inherent magic of the runes enforces loyalty rather thoroughly. IE the mindrape slavery. Given that he has cats that may or may not let him know there are deviations of his usual behavior, it becomes a matter of whether he wants to live with a roof over head or in the woods being hunted like an animal.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    You guys do realize that according to canon all it did was suppress homesickness, right?

    Fanficiton tends to play it up more than it should.
     
    It kind of suppresses things that would invoke homesickness, leaving a curious state where one's identity is skewed. Sure the personality is there, you're capable of introspection, but chunks of who you are is suppressed if it invokes feelings of homesickness.
     
    Meh. People overappreciate the sanctity of one's mind.
    A very interesting start.

    Ia ia crossover?
     
    Last edited:
    Damn.
    Just noticed I posted the wrong version and I think I erased the file from the PC on my house. There should be a few more Pragraphs there and some fixed mistakes...

    Oh well. That is what happens when you rush something your Muse is shouting at you at the same time your cat is trying to sleep on your keyboard to get some tummy scrachtes and you need to leave to work.
     
    Sounds like one of your overlords is demanding your attention, probably a good idea to obey before more consequences befall you.
     
    thatavidreader said:
    Ugh. I hope this one takes care of the mindfuck aspect of the familiar contract asap. So many FoZ fics gloss over what is essentially mindrape slavery just because that brat louise is 'uuu so pwetty.'
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    You know what? This.

    Just, this.

    In the books, Louise basically willingly enslaved a human being because of two reasons.

    One, dignity, in the face of her classmates who don't respect her anyways.

    Two, he was a commoner, and commoners do not matter.

    Then, when she gets this "familiar", which is clearly sentient and sapient, what does she do?

    She fucking beats him.

    For not obeying her ultaniums.

    I don't know about you guys, but I don't see this behaviour coming from a heroine.

    I would expect this level of villainy from a fucking Disney villain, the sort that does evil for evil's sake.

    That girl is a bitch, through and through.
     
    The original series is humor you retard. It's not supposed to be taken seriously. It's like with these morons that suddenly super-analyse Harry Potter and deride it for all the inconsistencies whilst calling out on the hundreds of plot holes, without seemingly realizing that the books are fairytales for children. Narrative convenience is a thing.
     
    Last edited:
    There is a fundamental difference between injury and anime injury.
    Injuries, like those sustained from the duel with Guiche, take days to heal, are expensive to treat, and are harmful both physically and psychologically.
    Anime injuries, like those sustained from being "beaten" go away as soon as the scene is over, are never more than an inconvenience, and are treated more like being yelled at then being injured. They are not harmful physically, and are only rarely harmful psychologically.
     
    Talking cats.... Talking cats that regard you as a father figure... Its awesome! As far as the ZnT side of it goes, I'm siding with Esran here. The mental effects are often distorted by Fanon and the actions of the characters in ZnT would not be regarded as realistic.
    We can expect the characters to be more mentally balanced... Well most of them anyway. \[T]/
     
    Anon̦̦ said:
    For a moment I sat there stunned until I heard the murmurs of the student.

    Ne le zero simplement convoquer un roturier?
    He, regardez, il mene deux chats
    Hah! Seul le zero pourrait invoquer un familier et ce est le proprietaire!
    It sounded French... I could recognize some simple words and phrases thanks to my three years of high school French classes, but it wasn't exactly French as I recognized it. And even if I always got A+'s I didn't knew how to talk french. I must admit, after seeing the impossible, I couldn't care less. So I went with the flow.

    The little girl and the bald man came back... was she Louise? Was that Colbert the PTSD riddled mage? Still, the little girl looked a little miffed as the man started speaking, "Bonjour, je suis désolé de ce qui se est passé, mais vos anima-"

    "Pardon, Je ne parle pas francais," I interrupted him to explain that, no I don't speak French. I tough for a second before continuing "Est-ce que tu Parlez anglais, espagnol ou japonais?"

    The man looked confused for a second before shrugging, "Chat, feline." he slowly stated while pointing at Orion and Bastet, "Familier, magique serviteurm." he continued while pointing at the girl.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...


    In the name of the French language, it is my duty to correct these errors.

    ''Had the Zero just summoned a commoner?'' => ''Est-ce que la Zéro vient tout juste d'invoquer un roturier?''
    ''Hey, look! He has two cats with him!'' => ''Hé, regarde! Il a deux chats avec lui!''
    ''Hah! Only the Zero could have a familiar like this.'' => ''Hah! Il n'y a que la Zéro qui pourrait avoir un familier comme ça!''

    - To say to summon something and own it would be redundant. But it would be translated like this. => ''Seule la Zéro pourrait invoquer un familier comme ça et en être la propriétaire.''
    - We are not supposed to say ''la zéro'' in French. The number zero is used like a male noun ''le nombre zéro, ou le zéro'' but Louise is a girl, so since it's a nickname you would use ''la Zéro'' instead of ''le Zéro''.

    ''Bonjour, je suis désolé pour ce qui vient de se passer, mais vos animaux.....''* What you wrote wasn't completely wrong, but it's clearer this way.
    - In English, it is ''An animal, and animals.'' In French, it is ''Un animal, et des animaux.''

    ''Pardon, je ne parle pas français.''* Except for the cap on the ''j'', the sentence is correct.

    ''Do you speak English, Spanish, or Japanese?'' => ''Est-ce que vous parlez anglais, espagnol ou japonais?''
    - I know every English speaker has a problem with the translation of you. Either in ''tu'' or ''vous''. ''tu'' is for equals, friends, and close people, while ''vous'' is for strangers, very polite people, and people socially higher than you, like your boss. ''Your Majesty'' is translated for example in ''Votre Majesté''.

    ''Chat, félin.''*
    ''Familier, serviteur magique.''*

    ''C'est un grand honneur.''*
     
    Ando Owen said:
    - To say to summon something and own it would be redundant. But it would be translated like this. => ''Seule la Zéro pourrait invoquer un familier comme ça et en être la propriétaire.''
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    Thanks you! I really appreciate it, I'd rather not butcher French if possible.
    Just one thing, I meant here that she summoned her familiar [obviously they would think one of the cats, not the person at this point] and it's owner a.k.a. the human.
     
    Anon̦̦ said:
    Just one thing, I meant here that she summoned her familiar [obviously they would think one of the cats, not the person at this point] and it's owner a.k.a. the human.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...

    Oh, sorry.

    It would then be. ''Seule la Zéro pourrait invoquer un familier et en même temps son propriétaire!''

    Or ''Seule la Zéro pourrait invoquer à la fois un familier et son propriétaire!''
     
    They're fucking adorable, though not as much as if they were kittens. Still, adorable.
     
    I ferkin' lurv kitteh katz!

    ...I must now commit sepukku, that was painful to write.
     
    Reader mode
    You must login or register to reply here.
    Remove ads
    Back
    Top