Cursed Object: River’s Logs I (Ea)

“Ehem… My name is River Hart. I was born male, but I identify as nonbinary. I’m twenty-eight years old, and I stand at about five foot four and a hundred and thirty-five pounds. Both my hair color and eye color are unnatural colors, with my hair being white and my eyes being yellow.”

After they finish speaking, River clicks a button on their tape recorder. “Alright, that covers my physical appearance details, next up I need to record a brief description of my job and my special ability.” River clicks the button again and moves the tape recorder to their face.

“After three years as a forensic analyst working with the police department dealing with cases involving cursed objects, I was convinced to resign and join C.O.D. also known as the Cursed Object Department.”

“I was not hired here due to my forensic knowledge, though I’m sure it could be of use at some point here. No, I was recruited here because I have a very unique ability that makes me a vital asset to the operation here at C.O.D.”

River paused the tape again and thought for a moment before hitting the button and continuing. “When I was younger, about sixteen years old, I came into contact with a very rare, very dangerous cursed object.”

“That object, unlike any seen to date, was the source of my strange eye and hair color, but also my special ability. Every twenty-four hours, my body resets to what I call point zero, that being the version of myself I described at the beginning.”

“Basically, that means no matter what happens to me, be it that I cut my arms off, get cursed by an object, or heck, even if I perish, once twenty-four hours hits, my body seemingly reverses in time and puts me back to point zero.”

River paused the recording and couldn’t help but think of the time they tripped on the train tracks. It was enough to make them want to vomit. “It has its uses, and I’ll admit it’s saved me quite a few times.”

“I only wished it could reset my memories alongside it, but in some ways I’m lucky it doesn’t.” River paused the tap again and sat down at their desk, which had a few boxes with large warning labels on them.

“Now for how that relates to me being at the Cursed Object Department. Since no matter what happens to me, the changes will be reversed, that makes me the perfect person to test the objects out, to find out what they can do, how many times they can be used, et cetera.”

River paused the tape and turned on the camera connected to their computer. They then grabbed a small handheld Cursed Detecting Device, or C.D.D. to those who work at the C.O.D. “With my introductions complete, I will proceed to test CO-189, CO-220, and CO-659.”

River placed the tape recorder on their side and then positioned the camera so it showed both the boxes on River’s desk and themself. “Alright, my first set of tests, let’s see how this goes.” River says with a yawn as they open the first box.

Once River gets the top of the box open, they look inside it and tilt their head. They then move the box and show its contents to the camera. “It seems CO-189 is a wooden hairbrush.” River mentioned it just so the tape would know.

“I suppose we’ll see if this is a touch-activated object.” River reaches their hand inside and grabs the hairbrush. They then move the box out of the way and just hold the hairbrush for a moment. “Nope, not touch activated… Perhaps it’s a user-activated object.”

River takes the hairbrush up to their hair and brushes their hair with it. The first time they did, they noticed a change. “Interesting, it seems my hair has gotten longer.” River brushed their hair again, and it continued to get longer.

They continued to brush their hair with it until it was long enough to touch their lower back. “It seems all CO-189 does is increase the user’s hair. My hair currently reaches somewhere in my lower back region, where previously it had only gone to my shoulders.”

River put the hairbrush back in the box. “CO-189 is a Class 1B Object, and that means it causes a single transformation upon being used and can be used over and over again.” River then thought for a moment.

“CO-189 seems safe; there are no other changes that I can notice. I recommend not destroying CO-189, as such an object could bring joy to those who have lost their hair for various reasons.” River seals the box back up and makes the box safe.

They then put the box to the side and grab the next box. They open it and look inside and look disappointed. Like before, River shows the contents of the box to the camera. “CO-220 seems to be a pink bra with lots of lace, one meant for a chest on the larger side.”

River went silent as they looked at it. “I… I suppose I have to test it now… It’s my job…” River gulped, as they could guess what this was going to do, and they’d never had breasts before. After a minute of stalling, River sighed and grabbed the bra.

They then sat there with one eye closed, looking down at their hand. “Well, CO-220 is not touch activated… which means I now have to put it on.” River said as they removed their jacket. They then loosened their tie and removed it along with their button-up shirt.

River then took the bra and put their arms through it. They then pulled it up to their chest and latched it together. Moments later their entire body started to change. After a minute, the changes finished, and River looked at themself.

River then grabbed the C.D.D. and pressed it against the bra. It beeped, which told them that it was still activated. “It seems…” River stopped and touched their throat, as they noticed their voice was much higher now.

“CO-220 is still active after cursing me.” River put the C.D.D. down and thought for a minute. “It seems CO-220 is a Class 2B Object, and by that I mean it causes a full body transformation upon being used and can be used over and over.” River continued to look at themself.

“I’ve undergone a complete female transformation.” “As expected I have grown breasts that perfectly fit into the bra, but along with that, I seem to have a higher-pitched voice, a more feminine face, wider hips with a slimmer waist, and in my lower region… my manhood is long gone…”

River said, embarrassed, not because it was gone—they never actually liked it—but because talking about such things freaks them out. River took a minute to inspect their new parts and confirm they had undergone a normal transformation.

“CO-220 is use activated, meaning it can only affect someone who wears it. So while not strictly dangerous, if left around, it could cause problems. I don’t think destroying it is necessary, as a basic male-to-female transformation would be beneficial to many in my community.”

“I recommend it be sealed away and only pulled out upon request of someone who would benefit from such a transformation.” River removes the bra and puts it back into the box, then gets dressed again, leaving their tie slightly loose because they truly didn’t care.

They seal the box back up, mark it properly, and put it to the side. They were about to open the last box when one of their coworkers suddenly spun their chair around. “Hey there, Lake, I see that the rumor about you is true. You’re actually over here testing cursed objects.”

River squints their eyes. “It’s River… and yes, and I’m in the middle of work… so please leave me to it…” The guy rolls his eyes. “Yeah sure, but hey Pond, I just came to introduce myself and offer the new guy… I mean, girl, a snack.”

River puffed their cheeks. They wanted to yell at this guy for not only misgendering them once but twice, but their current situation really didn’t help them at the moment, so they let it go. Instead they looked at the plate the guy had, and on it there was a donut.

“Oh, wow, that actually looks good.” River reaches out and grabs the donut. “They are; you’ll love it. Go ahead and eat it now.” The guy says, seeming way too excited for River to do so. River felt uneasy but took a bite of it.

Suddenly River’s mind felt blank, and swirls could be seen in their eyes. The guys started to smile like crazy. “They really do put the person who eats them into a super suggestible hypnotic state. That’s awesome.”

The guy looks over River a bit and then claps his hand. “Might as well have some fun with it. Hey new girl, your name was Wave, right? How about you go into the break room and put on a show for all the guys?”

“Right… my name is… Wave… I’m more than happy to entertain you and your friends, master.” River said as she walked towards the break room. The guy who fed them the donut laughed and followed behind them. “End of River’s logs, volume one.”