Cursed

Ranma wakes up and he decides he doesn't feel like doing his normal workout with his father. One after another things happen that would normally have Ranma reacting with anger, but this time he fails to react in his normal macho manner.

Matters worsen considerably at school when Ranma (in girl form) takes a test on ancient Chinese history and answers it in Chinese. Ranma goes to the Cat Cafe to see if Cologne knows what is happen and he sees Moose apparently happily in duck form and Shampoo in cat form.

Cologne reveals that the cursed springs are having the effect of causing the person cursed to want to remain in their cursed form permanently. The spirit of the drowned woman whose spring Ranma fell into then begins to take over more and more of his thoughts. The woman was passive, obedient, basically a thoroughly "domesticated" woman, much like Kasumi.

So it becomes a race to find out if Cologne can find a cure before Ranma-chan becomes a woman permanently.

The story is good in that it explores just what actually happened with the cursed springs and how their effect on people is not as simple as it appears to be. It also is good in that it explores, albeit briefly, the psychology behind Ranma's growing realization that he might become female permanently.

It is interesting to think, though, about the differences between the curses the other people have and Ranma's curse. All the others changed into animals, so they preferred their animal forms. Ranma's curse still left him in human form, though, so I wonder what would have happened if they would have kept Ranma exposed to hot water as much of the time as possible.

Ranma's female persona from the spirit of the drowned woman was very passive, so it is unlikely that Ranma-chan would have physically fought off attempts to change her back into male form. Once in male form, then it might have been possible to bring Ranma's male persona back to the forefront and use it to try and remain male as much as possible.

This is another of Richard Lawson's really good stories, definitely one to add to your collection of Ranma-chan fanfiction.