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Wow… Been a minute, but it’s good to be back, Citizens!

Let’s take a second to soak it all in–the 2021 debacle, the suspension of the finals for athletic clubs, graduation–but even with all of that, the most shocking thing to have occurred last year was the character development of Jude from the Bruton Coven.

You all know him: the popular, handsome, aloof vampire. Captain of the Mad Howlers basketball team, co-captain of the Magic Striders football club, and… That was it. That’s all most of us knew him as for the better part of three years.

And then Caricia de Ardo enrolled in the Academy, and the senior vamp’s popularity took a dive.

After the two had a confrontation in view of the majority of the student body, it became apparent that Jude was using his compulsion to take advantage of a sophomore. Though he was already a loner due to his standoffish persona, he became somewhat of a social pariah on campus. He was suspended from club activities for a short while, but the school seemed to move on without him. It would be months before the truth would be revealed: Jude had no intentions of harming Galiana Franco, the underclassman he had compelled, but rather was told to cull a reaction from Cari. His harsh method worked; she used her telepathy with dozens of witnesses, proving that she was capable of a feat only rumored in ancient texts called “wordless magick.”

Now, you already know all of this, dear reader. You’re aware of everything that transpired, and why–and you know that, after the truth came out, Jude’s popularity soared again as he reentered student life. He even joined the bisexual division of the LGBTQIA+ Alliance as an organizer, effectively coming out to the entire Academy. Live your truth, Jude!

That being said, his resurgence in popularity has reminded those of us with an eye for detail why Jude was so popular in the first place. The guy is drop-dead gorgeous (pun most certainly intended) and carries himself with a sexy confidence that makes his peers melt. He had admirers before, but now that he’s seen as more approachable, some classmates have openly confessed their feelings for him! Nereus Pierson the merlad, Sarina Jimenez the werewolf, Meirong the jiangshi, and Cassia Lang of the Naismith Coven are just a handful of attendees at AOA to confess to the vampire before graduation.

However, rumors indicate that Jude has turned down every potential suitor, citing personal reasons. Could the Haunter have his dreamy brown gaze fixed on one person in particular? Or could he have another excuse for these rejections? As the Gossip King of AOA, I made it my duty to get to the bottom of this dish. Surprisingly, Jude accepted my request for an interview, despite being dodgy in the past.

Please note that the following interview took place in January 2022, the day before graduation.

Jude: What did you say this was about again?

Arion: You rejecting every classmate that has confessed to you in the past month.

Jude: … Oh, that.

Arion: What did you think I meant by, “an interview revolving around your greatest love”?

Jude: I guess I expected questions about the basketball team or football club–you know, something actually relevant to me.

Arion: Wow. I thought you rejected everyone because you had a secret love interest or were punishing yourself for the first half of the school year, but I guess you were actually just oblivious to their advances, huh?

Jude: Where the hell do you get all these theories?

Arion: I have an active imagination–and you didn’t answer my question.

Jude: Form one that actually makes sense and I will.

Arion: Okay, then: were you aware that classmates were confessing their romantic feelings for you, and were you aware that you were rejecting those feelings?

Jude: Yeah, I’m not an idiot. I’ve been around a long time, okay? I know when someone’s professing their love to me.

Arion: Interesting. What about the theory that you reject all the students who have confessed to you because you’re punishing yourself for your actions this past year?

Jude: *annoyed* No, I’m not punishing myself. Do I seem like the kind of guy who’d reject people for no reason?

Arion: Actually, yes.

Jude: I– *scoffs* Wow. Rude.

Arion: Hey, I believe in speaking honestly or not at all.

Jude: …

Arion: So, if you’re aware of your classmates’ feelings for you, and you’re not punishing yourself, then why did you reject them all? You didn’t consider a single one of those kids–

Jude: You just answered your own question. “Kids.”

Arion: …

Jude: …

Arion: Ohhhhh.

Jude: Jeez, it’s not rocket science! I was twenty-three when I died. Me having to attend school is embarrassing enough–you expect me to be a pedophile on top of that?

Arion: How… Uncharacteristically noble of you.

Jude: If you find it uncharacteristic of me, then that’s probably because you don’t know me.

Arion: You really didn’t find any of the classmates who confessed to you attractive? Most of them were eighteen.

Jude: *visibly cringes* Is that supposed to make it better? I want adult fun with adults, not kids–and yeah, I don’t care what the law says. If you have “teen” in your age, you’re too young and emotionally immature to make good decisions.

Arion: What do you consider an appropriate age for you to date?

Jude: I don’t know, twenty? No, maybe twenty-three. They’d have a better understanding of life by then.

Arion: …

Jude: … What? Why are you being so weird about this? Isn’t an adult not wanting to lead on kids a good thing?

Arion: I mean, yeah, I just–I guess I’m just confused.

Jude: About?

Arion: Aren’t you from the 1800s? What was the age of consent for that time? Like, fourteen?

Jude: *cringes again* If even that. We didn’t really have anything concrete.

Arion: Okay, so…

Jude: You’re forgetting that we typically didn’t marry until we were in our twenties, and that sex before marriage was considered a sin before the Victorian era took off. There were way too many ideas floating around after that, a lot of conflicting information on the subject.

Arion: Okay, and you were twenty-three when you died, so–

Jude: But I was nineteen when the war started.

Arion: … The what?

Jude: The American Civil War? The conflict between the Union and the Confederacy over slavery? It started before I hit marrying age.

Arion: Don’t they say it was over “states rights”?

Jude: The only people who say that are idiots. I was there. It was about slavery–an argument could be made that it was about “a state’s right to continue practicing slavery,” but that’s a stretch.

Arion: So you went to war before you were ever married, so that means you…

Jude: ..?

Arion: … Died a virgin?

Jude: Seriously? I thought your generation was trying to eradicate the use of that word.

Arion: Eh, not really. Well?

Jude: *sighs* No, I did not die a virgin.

Arion: Oh? Who’d you lose your virginity to?

Jude: A couple of soldiers in my unit.

Arion: I see! So you’ve always identified as bisexual.

Jude: I guess?

Arion: I was just wondering, since you didn’t come out to the school until this year.

Jude: I didn’t think I would need to.

Arion: That’s a fair point. So, you rejected all those potential suitors because you consider them too young–you sure there’s nothing else? No other reason, no secret lover–

Jude: …

Arion: … Jude?

Jude: *sighs again* Okay, I might have started seeing someone this past year–

Arion: *gasps* Oh my gosh! Who? How old are they? Do they attend a school? Where’d you meet–?

Jude: Chill. The. Hell. Out.

Arion: Sorry, sorry! I’m just so excited–you know how much I love gossip!

Jude: Well, too bad. I’m not comfortable giving you all of that.

Arion: Aw, c’mon, Jude! Give me just a little bit. Whatever you’re willing to share.

Jude: … Fine. I’m only going to tell you their name, and that’s all: Justice Vazquez.

Arion: *gasps bigly* You mean the Justice Vazquez, next in line to lead the Vazquez Coven? They’re the most powerful and influential witches in New York!

Jude: Yeah, I’m aware.

Arion: Well, I think that’s all the questions I had. Is there anything you’d like the readers to know?

Jude: Yeah, don’t be nosy like Arion. Mind your own business.

Arion: Hilarious.

Looks like we managed to get to the bottom of another rumor! I’d say that this was just in time for graduation, but you’re all well aware that graduation was a couple of months back. I just wanted to share the findings of my final interview with you directly, instead of handing them off to my successor.

Speaking of which–if you haven’t read any other articles this week, then you might be unaware of the fact that this is my last article with The Arcane Citizen! Now that I’m no longer a student at AOA, I’ll be taking a year-long break to travel the world before I enroll in a university of my choice and set out on my quest to become an investigative journalist. Fear not, Citizens, because I have chosen a worthy successor: Angel Wang, the unicorn from the infamous Wang Herd! Follow TAC and show their future Rumor Has It blogs some love~ 💖

As Aspen already laid out, Angel isn’t the only new contributor to our digital newsletter, and there will be a new schedule to coincide with these changes. Make sure to read about it all here.

These last four years have been a wild adventure, and I can’t wait to see what comes next. Enjoy your time as a student at AOA, reader–it won’t last forever.

Show me how much you’ll miss me by leaving a like, a heartfelt comment, and sharing this article with everyone you know. Love ya, kisses~

Arion Floros

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