So. Very busy weekend. Naturally this kind of revelation would be the sort of thing that’d set you really, right? Definitely. It almost felt like it came out of nowhere. It’s the sort of crazy thing that’d have you holeing up like a hermit for weeks.

“Composition aside sir, the boy holding the two mle. 1812’s is very interesting. It implies the subjects of the painting raided a government armory considering when this was painted.”

“...You recognize the guns used?”

“Uhh, I’m a bit of a history buff…”

The reality of exams has other plans. Even with everything going on, I can’t let my day to day life suffer. The fact that this day to day life was forced upon me as part of my job is irrelevant. That said, my mind kept wandering. Who knows what other stupid crap I might blurt out without thinking? Maybe I should just remember to keep my mouth shut and not answer the professor’s questions? 

It’s really such a shame that work has started to take over my life to such an extent. Not only am I going to school full-time, all my free time is being eaten up by work. All work and no play makes Amy a very dull girl. I can’t even take the time to appreciate the professor’s lectures on the Romantic painters. Next semester is already chock full of medieval and Renaissance related classes, so a bit of almost-modern influence in my life without the mustiness of parchment would be appreciated. 

Not every aspect of my life is crammed with dark, muldering scrolls or dusty spellbooks, but it’s increasingly encroaching into what used to be normal and mundane. Even my once completely respectable hobbies, consisting of good, old-fashioned rooty-tooty point and shooties,  are starting to take on a tinge of unpleasant practicality. Much like the cringeworthy Instagram wanna-be operators, I’m being forced more and more to consider end use rather than buying what I find “interesting” and neat. 

It’s kind of funny. The art I’m being forced to become more familiar with is getting more and more antiquated, while the firearms I need to focus on become more and more modern. It’s kind of funny. But it sucks. I want my fun hobby of buying quirky and neat historical pieces back!

Shouldn’t you be taking notes? The exam’s in just a couple weeks, and you’ve spent most of this time complaining. 

You’d let me borrow your notes, right? Besides, I’ve got very important stuff to think about. Super important. 

All I’ve heard is “I want more free time, wah wah wah.” I can relate, but if you do badly in class it will just eat up even more free time. 

I’m not too worried, I saw a documentary on this one before. The composition with Liberty looking beyond the frame out towards the world the viewer’s in to make them “part of it,” the inclusion of people of all walks of life, and her standing on the bodies of those who helped water the tree, etc. I’m more worried about Turner if I’m going to be completely honest. I like his paintings, it’s just like there’s a mental block keeping me from viewing them the same way as Delacroix.

Sounds like a you problem. Sure, the Romantic movement was pretty large and vague, but just look at The Slave Ship.  That’s like peak Romantic in matter. The sheer emotion portrayed by the painting, the terror, and the greater overall message supporting abolition. You could easily compare it to Liberty Leading the People.

Maybe I just dislike the vagueness of the term Romantic in this context. I understand, but giving vague “it’s just Romantic” seems like a surefire way to get a low grade on the exam. I can go on all I want about the rise of nationalism linked to the movement but it’s really frustrating not having a solid definition. Somehow both this painting and the Grimm’s compiling fairy tales are both Romantic? And don’t even get me started on Faust.

Differing viewpoint from differing nationalities I suppose. This was around when the Germans were really getting into the whole unification thing. 

The Grimm’s were more around when Napoleon invaded, weren’t they?

That too. What better way to support national identity than looking back at the folk tales and culture. 

Then why the fuck does Mary Shelly count as Romantic?

Why does it matter? We’re just being tested on paintings. Focus on emotion, nature and past = important. Some level of national identity = also important. How that national identity expresses itself in the piece is just highly dependent on country. England, it’s probably going to involve ships. America it’s usually mountains and rivers. France is kind of all over the place depending on if they’re an empire, kingdom, or republic at the time. German-speaking countries, it’s stories that scare the shit out of kids and/or valkyries. Oh, and for literature, emo protagonists. 

Ooooh, yeah, forgot about Werther.  In my defense, I thought it was a kind of stupid book. Goethe wrote what was practically the “13 Reasons Why” of his day, from the standpoint of social contagion.

Not just him, Faust was also super emo. Just think about it. Top of the world, practically OP, well read in everything from the occult, medicine and law, and the guy’s just insufferable. 

Come to think of it, I wonder if Sandra can summon an earth elemental like he did.

…

What?

Wouldn’t an earth elemental just be like a nature spirit?

Yes?

What kind of spirits do you think are typically associated with nature?

Nymphs, if I had to say off the top of my head. 

You do realize most people view them as analogous with fae, right? 

Oh. I mean, yes, but I never thought about it that way. 

Congrats on summoning a spirit of nature, Dr. Faustus.

I guess they’ll have to recast my role dancing on Brocken. At least we have a decent Mephistopheles in our cast.

Would I be stuck doing double-duty as Gretchen?

           “...and that should be it for today. Don’t forget to go over your notes, the exam’s just around the corner.”

Damn, I missed what he said.

“And whose fault is that?” Liah had already put away her notes, getting up from her seat next to me. “You didn’t miss much anyways. Now, do we have work next?”

“Yes and no. We need to go shopping for equipment.” I put on a heavy winter coat, ready to hit the road. Despite not remembering to take notes generally being a bad thing, it did make packing up after class easier. 

“Isn’t what we have good enough?”

I just want to see what other options are out there. You saw how little those rounds did the other day. 

I thought you said that was just because of the distance being an issue.

Call it caution, I just want to get a second opinion. And it’s not like we have to buy from a stranger.

Hmph

“We can go out for dinner afterwards, just the two of us.”

“I guess I’ll go along with you.”

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------

An hour later, we pulled up to a gunshop with steel grates over the doors and windows. On top of doing sales to various local LEO’s, enough to be able to justify their stock of post-sample machine guns, this also did a healthy business with civilian sales. They even had an indoor range, not that I ever liked them. Too echo-y.

The reason for Liah’s reluctance to come here was two-fold, and had nothing to do with the shop’s wares. The figure behind those reasons greeted us.

“Nice to see you back here Amy.” 

“What’s up, Doc?”

A weird mix of jealousy and bad memories of being clung to in her cat form gave Liah a dislike of the former corpsman, one which seemed to confuse the outgoing woman. I personally thought the standoff-ish way Liah acted towards her was cute, which probably speaks unpleasant volumes about my own personality. 

“Business as usual. And I’m hoping more business?”

“It depends. I have a few questions first.” She looked from side to side, before lowering her tone.

“If it’s about using silver or other unconventional metals…”

“Oh, that isn’t the problem. It’s more an issue of penetration.”

“What are you shooting at? Can you say?”

“Machinery. Mechanical, but brass.”

“...then why don’t you just use AP?”

“Oh. Yeah, I guess that would work.”

“I know there are a few specialty rounds out there, used by other parts of the government, but I’m sure you’d know more about that me.”

“Hahaha. I’m a librarian.”

“...right. A librarian. Didn’t I just sell several machine guns to Amy the law enforcement officer?”

“No, you sold several machine guns to the agency that employs me. You know how it is, we’re really cracking down on the quiet in the library rule.” 

“Just see about getting AP rounds then. I have a few boxes in the back I can sell you if you need any now. I’ll send the invoice to the usual place.”

“Thanks.”

She went through a door to look for the ammo. Having visited a few times since the “incident” a while back, I had gotten pretty well acquainted with the stock, but I still gave a look through the display cabinets and racks. 

“You look like a kid in a candy store.”

“Hardly. You occasionally can score a good deal in shops like this, but most of it is modern ‘tactical’ crap.”

“Isn’t that the whole reason we’re here?”

“Yes, but everything recently has just been ‘work work work,’ with no breaks. Give me a bit of time to indulge in my- oh, is this what I think it is?”

“We just got it in as a consignment.” Doc said, lightly placing a case of .300 blackout on the counter. 

“The sights, the US property marking, and the beaver-tail… mind if I see it?”

“Can’t know if you want to buy it if you can’t hold it.” She grabbed it out of the case, cleared it, and handed it over.”

“1917 dated…nice. What’s with the sweetheart grips though?”

“Guy who put it on consignment said it was his grandpa’s from WW2. Getting original sweetheart grips is pretty neat, probably made them from a downed ME 109.”

“I can’t help but notice this probably isn’t his wife’s picture under them.” 

“Not unless he was married to Marlene Dietrich. Good taste at least.”

I hadn’t been able to indulge in my collecting hobby recently. And it’s a very neat piece historically. The price is right, and if I don’t buy it someone else will.

“Thank goodness I brought copies of my C&R paperwork with me.”