Ran Quest Overtime: A Z-Machine Sidestory

[axman36]

>"Hmm... so you think we should get her to write about her art in place of the other article?"
>"Does Aya keep her art with herself or does she have it on display elsewhere?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"Hmm... so you think we should get her to write about her art in place of the other article?"
>"Does Aya keep her art with herself or does she have it on display elsewhere?"

>"I don't think that would quite do it," says Momiji. "But you're welcome to try it. And she keeps a gallery in her home, I'm sure she would be thrilled to show you; she loves it when someone takes an interest. I don't think you would be disappointed, either, she's really quite a genius."

>_

[axman36]

>"Heh, well, was worth a thought I guess. Do you think you might know anything else that Aya may find interesting?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"Heh, well, was worth a thought I guess. Do you think you might know anything else that Aya may find interesting?"

>"Not enough that you'd dissuade her from printing the truth, no."

>_

[axman36]

>"Alright, thanks for the help then! Is it possible I can make an appointment to see Aya?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"Alright, thanks for the help then! Is it possible I can make an appointment to see Aya?"

>"Oh, you don't need an appointment," says Momiji. "Just go knock."

>_

[axman36]

>Do we know which way to head to Aya's place?
>If not, then ask Momiji for directions.
>If so, then give Momiji our farewells and head that way.

[Hello Purvis]

>Do we know which way to head to Aya's place?
>If not, then ask Momiji for directions.
>If so, then give Momiji our farewells and head that way.

>You don't know precisely, and get them from Aya.
>"Just go to the North once you get into town, then east. You'll see a sign."
>With these directions in mind, you say farewell to Momiji and follow her directions.
>Flying up the side of the mountain, you can see the tall buildings of the tengu town in the darkness. Tall and thin, few boasting less than two floors and all of them bristling with balconies, landings, and upper story entrances, their buildings give the distinct feeling of leafless trees. You can see a few tengu flying about in the night, and many of the buildings have lights in the windows, but otherwise it is pretty quiet right now. At the peak of the mountain, you can see the Moriya Shrine. Were it not for that shrine's presense and the influence of its deities, you would not have been allowed to come this far without a fight.
>Following Momiji's directions, you soon find a house that doesn't really stand out from the rest of the town, save for a sign that boasts "Home of the Bunbunmaru News!"

>_

[axman36]

>Examine the house.
>Knock on the door.

[Hello Purvis]

>Examine the house.
>Knock on the door.

>It is a three story home, with balconies on the second floor allowing access to people who can fly. Off to the side, you see an number of small perches and little houses, presumably for any birds that might be about. You can hear a kind of mechanical tapping sound inside.
>You knock on the door. After a couple moments, it opens and Aya steps out. "Oh, I didn't expect to see you," she says. "Is there something I can do for you?"

>_

[axman36]

>"Hello there, I heard from throughout about your renown artwork and I'd like to know, is it possible I may be able to view it?

[Hello Purvis]

>"Hello there, I heard from throughout about your renown artwork and I'd like to know, is it possible I may be able to view it?

>"Certainly!" she says, "Come in, come in!"
>Aya practically grabs your arm, and drags you inside. You enter a small, cramped living room and barely have time to kick off your shoes before she half-leads, half-drags you up a flight of stairs. "It's far too rare that I have anyone here to see my works," Aya says along the way. You don't really have time to register what is there, aside from a strange metal device with a number of buttons, sitting on a desk and flanked by sheets of paper.
>She leads you up to the third floor, which is a single large room with an A-shaped roof. the walls are covered with framed pictures, taking up practically all of the available space. "Would you like to view alone" she asks, practically bouncing on her heels. "Or would you like me around to comment?"

>_

[axman36]

>"By all means, comment away! I'd love to hear about your motivation and inspiration behind your art.

[Hello Purvis]

>"By all means, comment away! I'd love to hear about your motivation and inspiration behind your art.

>Aya nods. "Certainly. Well, I'll give you the first hint. All of these pictures? There're not really individual projects. You have to look at the whole thing."

>_

[axman36]

>Examine the pictures.
>Is it possible to get them all in our view all at once? If so, try and back up to do so.

[Hello Purvis]

>Examine the pictures.
>Is it possible to get them all in our view all at once? If so, try and back up to do so.

>You examine the pictures. They are about as you feared, you find they are all upskirt shots of the various residents of Gensokyo. Literally dozens upon dozens of them. They are arranged so any one person's shots are grouped together. Oh look, there's a few of you...
>You can, but you wouldn't be able to make out any individual details.

>_

[Seian Verian]

> "...When did you get those?"
> Point toward ones of us.
> Are there any of Yukari? Or, god forbid, Chen?

[Hello Purvis]

> "...When did you get those?"
> Point toward ones of us.
> Are there any of Yukari? Or, god forbid, Chen?

>"Here and again," says Aya. "I take them as the opportunity comes up, once in awhile I go out on a run." You think you recall a couple of these; your face gives away you knew what was happening. Others, you don't seem to be aware that you were being photographed.
>There are a few of Yukari, both with and wituout clothes. In most of them she seems aware and faintly amused; and there's one or two where you'd swear she's outright posing for it. There's one, though, where you are pretty certain she wasn't aware of it.
>There are a couple of Chen, as well. It seems like practically every known youkai in Gensokyo is here, though you've not had time to go through your mental checklist and be sure.

>_

[Seian Verian]

> Ponder if we would be able to get away with making Aya suffer horribly for the pictures of Chen

[Hello Purvis]

> Ponder if we would be able to get away with making Aya suffer horribly for the pictures of Chen

>You probably wouldn't be able to just beat the shit out of her and get away with it; at least not here. But there's all manner of revenge schemes of varying convolutedness you could theoretically apply.
>The trick would be to pull it off and not be blamed for it, as Aya would then have even less of a reason to keep that story secret.

>_

[axman36]

>I fear we may need to contain our anger for Aya's pictures until after we fix the whole issue with the article of Yukari first. Priorities sadly...
>"I... see... this is... part of a series... isn't it?"

[Hello Purvis]

>I fear we may need to contain our anger for Aya's pictures until after we fix the whole issue with the article of Yukari first. Priorities sadly...
>"I... see... this is... part of a series... isn't it?"

>"Yep," says Aya. "It's all one big work. Just keep looking at it, and it'll hit you."

>_

[axman36]

>What order do the pictures go by?
>Are there any sort of obvious patterns?

[Hello Purvis]

>What order do the pictures go by?
>Are there any sort of obvious patterns?

>There doesn't seem to be an order or pattern, aside from people's pictures being grouped together. You see Remilia, who looks especially pissed, beside Hina and Rumia, Mystia sandwiched between Kanako and Sakuya...
>About the only thing that's really in common is the upskirt nature of the shots; though in Wriggle and Mokou's case it's more of an angle while they were changing due to their choice of clothes.

>_

[axman36]

"Well, so far I can see that they're pictures of people caught within some of their most embarrassing moments as it seems..."

[Hello Purvis]

"Well, so far I can see that they're pictures of people caught within some of their most embarrassing moments as it seems..."

>"You're on the right track," says Aya. "Keep going."

>_

[MysTeariousYukari]

> Are the pictures in an order similar to notable incidents?
> Point out the one or two pictures that showed Yukari practicly posing, "I-is she actually posing in these? How did you manage that, I never thought she would volunteer for an artistic display of this nature."

[Hello Purvis]

> Are the pictures in an order similar to notable incidents?
> Point out the one or two pictures that showed Yukari practicly posing, "I-is she actually posing in these? How did you manage that, I never thought she would volunteer for an artistic display of this nature."

>They don't seem to be in any kid of Incident-related order, either.
>"Oh, those? Yep, she posed for a few." Aya shrugs. "Usually she'd catch me in the act, and do it. Ruined a few excellent shots. To be honest, I wouldn't even display them, but she kind of insisted, and I guess they fit the method, if not the message."

>_

[Seian Verian]

> "The message? And what would that be? That privacy doesn't exist?"

[Hello Purvis]

> "The message? And what would that be? That privacy doesn't exist?"

>She laughs. "You could say that. But look more closely. Everyone is here. Exposed. Vulnerable. From the greatest to the meekest. Is meekest a word? Who cares. But do you see now? The message should be clear to you now. Everyone, youkai, human, god, ghost...everyone is vulnerable sometime. Whether we like it or not. Whether we hide it or not. We're all the same."

>_