shellphones | Text || Curses

The kind that changes you into something you don't want to become.

The body, or the mind?

Body. The mind still stays the same as their original form.

Who cast the curse?

No one did. They got it from falling into a spring that was cursed. Whoever fell into one of them would be cursed to take the shape of whatever drowned there centuries ago whenever they're doused with water.

Where are these springs, then? Perhaps they can be purified.

Back in China. In my world, at least. Don't know if purifying them works or if that even removes the curses.

Excluding the source of the curse makes this seem a nigh impossible task.

Though, I have seen the impossible made possible more than once.

There is little more advice I can offer without meeting this person and better understanding how this magic works.

[...]

Do you really gotta meet with them and see for yourself? Can't I just tell you how it works?

You speak as though curses are problems to be solved like simple arithmetic.

Magic is not something to merely be explained. It must be felt. Known. Were the source within grasp, then that would garner my attention first, but as you have mentioned, that is no option.

Even with every bit of knowledge to one's favor, some curses simply cannot be conquered. They can have a life of their own. Yet you expect someone to understand it through your written word alone?

A tall order.

[Give him a minute Vanessa, he's currently giving the longest sigh a grumpy teen could possibly muster. Why did he think it'd be that easy? It takes him a minute, but he finally comes back to acquiesce.]

Alright, fair enough. You're the expert here, I guess. More than me to say the least.

[And he's gotten cursed multiple times at this point.]

Meet at the dock in Eltrut where all the ships dock.

I am no expert when it comes to breaking them, I assure you. As I've said, and I'm sure your friend has experienced, they are no trifling matter.

But if such a thing does prove beyond by ability, there are other ways I may be able to help until they find a more permanent solution.

I only say this so you understand I can make no promises.

If this is acceptable to you and your friend, then I shall meet you there, as you like.

At this point, I'll take just about anything I can get. Meet you there.

[Ranma would be long already at the pier, sitting on a crate swinging his legs back and forth. Given his raven-hair braided into a pigtail and the red silk shirt, he stood out clearly amongst all the sailor men leaving to and fro ships with cargo in tow. Sitting there patiently, waiting for any new arrivals that weren't going to the ships docked here.]

[ Names and appearance would have been wise to ask after, but Vanessa is one to follow instinct as much as anything else, and hers often come with a supernatural sense.

And there is, of course, the red. It does draw the eye.

On approach is a pale woman draped in a paler dress that trails behind her, with dark hair falling loose past her waist. The only sign of color is the light blue of her eyes, visible once closing the distance. Her steps fall silent even to the keenest ear, as though walking on air instead of a damp wood. Even her quiet breaths are slower—lesser—than most others milling about at this hour.

Once halted several feet away, her voice is low—creeping—but ought to be heard as easily as if she were standing just next to him. ]

You are the one in need? For your...friend?

[ She never thought there was a 'friend', but she has been surprised...countless times before. ]

[In retrospect, he should've asked for a descriptor or even a name too. Thought with the pale figure approaching, that might've not been necessary. The ghostly form juxtaposed the lively men full of fervor. When was the last time this lady had been in the sunlight, he mused to himself. For once actually clamming up, given this woman actually agreed to help.

The uncanniness didn't unnerve the martial artist, at most getting him to scratch the back of his head.]

Uh, yeah, that's me. The friend. [Still going to act coy about it. He gave a light wave.] Ranma Saotome. Appreciate you showing up...

[ It takes her a moment of consideration to recount which name she offers. ]

Vanessa Ives.

[ Naturally, she can't help but glance to the water spanning beyond the docks before returning her attention to him, walking closer to slowly scan.

A boy. A child, in her eyes, but anything she might think of this remains absent from her neutral expression.

No matter any other curiosities, only one focus is pertinent to her summoning. ]

The curse, then. Am I to better understand it here, or elsewhere?

[ Anonymity had seemed important, for some reason, and there is little privacy to be found here. ]

Straight to business, aren't you? [It wasn't like he wanted to waste time chitchatting either.] To be honest, I kind of just thought of this place in the spur of the moment since it's easier to meet in the middle ground.

[It might not be entirely private, but looking around, anyone else here were either minding their own business or hard at work concerning with boarding ships or delivering cargo. As long as neither of them attract unwanted attention, it should be fine. If they need to move somewhere else for Vanessa to do her part, they will.]

Besides, I need water to trigger the curse, and what better source of water is there than the pier? Just... Feast your eyes.

[With that dryly humorous tone and barely any other indicator of what he's going to do, he took a casual saunter over to the edge of the pier and kept walking. Right into falling straight down in the water with little fanfare.]

[Seconds later, hands grabbed the wood of the docks to pull up. Smaller, daintier ones at that. The reason for that being as Ranma returned out of the water. Not in the same shape as before. Every strand of raven-colored hair tied up in a braided pigtail had shifted to a crimson hue, he had lost nearly an entire foot of height, and most tellingly...

He was now a she. A girl.]

Ta-da...

[Ranma weakly waved her hands in a faux-performer manner like it was the grand performance of a magic show.]

Edited 2024-04-21 00:30 (UTC)

[ Well, that is not at all what she expected from such a curse. There's almost a touch of disappointment that he didn't turn into something monstrous. She has encountered a number of curses by now, but this one seems the most...benign. He should be glad he didn't suffer such a curse in Victorian London, but perhaps his own city and time is no kinder to women.

This world, at least, doesn't seem to have those constraints, but she can still see how this would be...troubling, especially with water all around.

She stares, yet to blink, then steps closer to hold out her hand. The memories may offer a clue that this one wouldn't have thought to mention. ]

Give me your hand.

[It's monstrous to him... And while not as bad as Victorian-era London's treatment of women, to say Ranma hadn't fair well with creeps and degenerates due to his curse would be an understatement, amongst other issues. By now, Ranma's almost a little relieved there wasn't an intense reaction or baffled stammers of 'what the hell' upon seeing him swap sexes. She blinked her eyes, a little confused by the request, but shrugged it off and held out her hand.]

You're the boss.

[ The remark almost summons a half smile, quickly sobered on taking the offered hand.

Her thumb ghosts over the knuckles while sensing for the magic to cause such a change. It isn't a glamour; it's far deeper than that. A curse of transformation is not to be taken lightly. The last time she encountered one, it was only cured through the mercy of the one who cast it. ]

Look into my eyes.

[ While remaining aware of their surroundings for now, this request is something that may take both of them out of the moment and into the past. It could invite danger, should someone manage to sneak up on them, but unless resisted, it shouldn't take long.

Her own unblinking gaze is one that can usually capture others, to hold them in something of a trance with the guidance of her voice. Feral beasts and demons have often been unable to resist, but she is quite aware of how different things can be in other worlds, and how complicated people can be.

Compliance makes all things simpler, and help was requested in this case. Even if it may appear as an invasion.

Should it work, then Ranma will not be alone in feeling the memory. If not, it may bring about confusion and frustration. ]

Can you remember how it first happened? How it felt? Show me.

[The feeling of Ranma's hand alone was enough to confirm it wasn't mere smoke and mirrors at play here. The curse placed on the martial artist changed her down to the biological level. One'd be forgiven for thinking that Ranma could've been female all her life if they weren't made aware of the hex.

Ranma didn't disobey, looking into the older woman's irises as instructed. Somewhere in her gut was telling her that this woman was probably going to be picking at her memories, something she's normally not a big fan of. But if it gets her cured, Vanessa can take this trip down memory lane as long as she wants. Not that it'd need to go that far, right?]

How can I forget? Pop found out about this battleground in China he thought would be the perfect finale to my training. We swam all the way there from Japan and spent days hiking up the mountain where it was located. No big deal for us, plus we met a guide that could get us there. When we made it to the top, me and my old man jumped onto some bamboo stalks that grown from out the cursed springs. We didn't listen to whatever the guide was yapping on about, and before I knew it, I kicked Pop into one of the springs.

[Assuming this is truly memory reading, Vanessa would see visions of the past. Of a valley comprising of a plethora of springs with bamboo stalks. Ranma and another, an older man with glasses and a bandana somewhere in his fourties-fifties, took footing on the poles and began duking it out. The spar didn't last long, for with a swift kick, the older Saotome fell into one of the springs below creating a mighty splash.]

Before I knew it, this giant panda came jumping out pissed as hell. Something Pop didn't know was the place was cursed. He was too lazy to find out more of the place other than where he can find it, or learn how to speak or read a lick of Chinese. And while I was listening to the guide, the moron punched me into one of them. When I resurfaced, well... You can guess.

[As Ranma told, the memory showed exactly that. A large black-and-white bear leapt from the water roaring furiously and returned to a stalk effortlessly despite its size and bulk. And while the teenage boy was trying to listen to the guide, he only caught a glimpse of the paw swiping at him that knocked him off and into the cold waters of a spring.

The wavy blue surroundings became clearer again, as the coughing and gasping feminine voice got less muffled. Somewhere out of her vision was another man, most likely the guide, proclaiming 'Oh, too bad! You fell into Nyannīchuan, spring of drowned girl! Now whoever fall in spring, take the body of a girl'. Sure enough, when Ranma in the memory looked down, any masculinity had been stripped away to nonexistence with the cursed teen in question screaming at the new figure.]

How it felt? Mortifying, I guess. It'd be the same if you fell in one, came out and looked down to see a dick on you.

[Vanessa I am so sorry, she's a little crass and has no sense of modesty when it comes to speaking maturely.]

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CW to be safe of vulgar talk, Ranma's not good with social cues