Hi ultra! I was wondering do cat!Jon and Martin ever get turned back into people? Or are they just stuck like this forever?
I wanted it to be lighthearted and fun little adventure so I say yeah! They turn back eventually!
I was playing with few different ideas how they turn back, one was inspired by Slavic fairytale I read as a kid but uhhh… It’s quite drastic?? It also MIGHT require small changes, so the name of the leitner would hint on it. But in that version the solution would be to get rid of cat’s tail to return to normal (this is a soft version bc in the fairytale you burn it alongside the…. Head…)
But @coworkerjonathan is dead set on making me miserable and trying to change my story into most depressing cat adventure of all time so we will see
The Leitners don’t have a turn back switch once you read them. These are the fears. You either feed them or be consumed by them - and they’re clearly long past the first step.
I also enjoy the slowly-becoming-a-real-cat part of it, it’s so tragic.
Of course there is my favourite: Martin accepting his fate after realising everyone seems better off without him. And no one ever noticing.
But I enjoy the other version too.
John realizing too late that this is Martin, when he has already turned fully cat. Beating himself up about how scared and alone Martin must have felt. How Martin felt so pressured and afraid of John scolding him, that he tried to “work” even after becoming an animal.
That being said, there’s a special place in my heart for your Slavic fairy tale. John bonding way too much with cat!Martin, finding out things about him in his research that make him reconsider his colleague, make him see a Martin who makes him feel things. Not saying it out loud but determined to confess once Martin is back to human.
The panic, that drama of John trying to find a cure before time runs out, as the man he’s just learned to truly appreciate loses his humanity in front of him. Finding that ritual by researching Leitner. Being appalled, but sure that this ritual, cutting off head and tail, is the real thing. It must be. You tried everything else.
Martin is too far gone, so you have to make the decision yourself. Telling yourself that the horrid things you’re doing will be worth it. “I’m sorry Martin, this is the only way. Please hold still, hold still, Martin …”
And then, the ashes cool down. And there is nothing coming back.
Because it was just a fairytale. Your research was faulty. You trusted the wrong source. This is your fault. And with your own hands you just killed your colleague … Your friend … Your …
Holy. Fucking. Shit.
Why do you do this to me.
I hate you so much oh my god. OH MY GOD THIS IS HORRIBLE.
You are not allowed to comment on my AU EVER