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r/uniStrength
user1
valentines is making me feel too single right now
i like this person but i cant get the guts to ask them out and i was feeling like a loser over it. then i remembered everyone else in this school is a loser too!
user2
Do you guys think the trapper guy will pull a stunt for valentine's?
I'm kind of curious to see if I'll hear about some professor being doused in heart confetti and melted chocolate. And WHICH professor it'll be.
SaberSaver
you guys care about him way too much. hes dogshit.
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RedstoneRabid
sounds like you hate fun
Ah, yes, Valentine's day; where love was in the air, heart decorations were aplenty, and university students… really couldn't give less of a shit. At least Judelow didn't. He still had two assignments due on Monday and a test on Wednesday, so Saturday morning became his unfortunate sacrifice to hopefully appease the college gods, if they even existed.
It just so happened he was a victim of the cafe theory, where for some reason the atmosphere of one can make someone ten times more productive. Unfortunately, this Saturday also happened to be Valentine's day… So here he was, trying to parse through questions as the same ten love songs blared over the cafe speakers. It was kind of funny to see Tai wearing a heart antenna headband though.
Sighing, he turned away from his laptop and eyed the front counter that was, for once, devoid of a snaking line. Making a beeline for the counter, he propped himself up on his forearm, watching as HD and Noob stared at him, Tai all but oblivious to it. It was comical; to see Tai notice the other two's strange expressions, turn around, turn back to HD and Noob who wore stubborn expressions, and run a hand down his face as he trudged his feet over to Jude.
“Hi, Jude,” he started, voice devoid of any joy he may have had. “You already got your drink, what the hell do you want?” Then a sudden shudder. “I swear, if you put one of your ‘contraptions’ here I'm gonna kill you-”
“Relax, I'm just bored,” Jude rolled his eyes. “I'd feel bad if I embarrassed you that soon after the bowling incident,” he snickered. God, he would never let Tai live that down. “Anyways, this music's starting to grate at my ears. Can't you turn it down? Like- there's no way you can stand this for another three hours.”
Tai raised a hand at him, as though blocking Jude from his vision could make this an ‘out of sight, out of mind’ problem. “I can. And have been for the past two days,” Tai muttered. “Now get out,” he groaned, pointing to… actually where the hell was this guy pointing to?
Choosing to ignore him, Jude continued. “You should play King Vo-”
A cough. “Do you guys have nothing better to do? You're holding up a line.” That- Jude turned around, gaze meeting blonde hair and mossy eyes. That.
r/uniStrength
user3
WHOS THAT BLONDIE IN HEMA
i was passing by the hema club when i peered through the glass and was GOBSMACKED BY THIS BEAUTIFUL PERSON. PLS TELL ME WHO THIS IS
RedRabid
it is just a guy with a sword
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user3
THATS A GUY? SO YOU KNOW WHO IT IS RIGHT???
loserSS
this is the 13th one ive seen this valentines week WHAT. all for this sweat of a guy.
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user3
PLEASEEEE WHO IS IT. WHY ARE YALL GATEKEEPING HIM.
“You.” Two voices in unison. Sharpness, as he was nicknamed for his skilled swordsmanship. Some European guy who got popular solely for his strength and- yea, his looks. Look, he gets it, they're in Strength Uni, afterall, a university highly acclaimed for their martial arts programs, in a mastery of many disciplines. A strange thing for a university frankly, but appealing nonetheless. Still, it was Sharpness. Though they'd only passed each other a couple times, mostly when Jude was running away from an enraged Tai, and, ok, maybe a few pranks and fights; those few interactions were enough to make Jude hate the guy, the feeling clearly mutual. He was untrustworthy, brainless, and an overall slob, well kept hair be damned.
Coming back to the present, Jude rose up from the counter, turning to fully face Sharpness. Fixing him a deadpan stare, Jude bit the inside of his cheek, “I don't see anyone lining up.” Sharpness gestured towards himself with a glare. “Right, like I said. No one.” God, Jude loved when people seethed.
“Ah! What the fuck?!” And, Jude was unceremoniously pushed aside. “You did not have to push me with that much force,” Jude hissed, a hand on the countertop being the only thing that stopped him from toppling over. Sharpness faced him with a thin smile in return. Curse those HEMA junkies.
“Right, now that this bunny's stopped squeaking, I'd like to order an espresso please.” Bunny?! The audacity of this guy.
“Hey- you interrupted a perfectly good conversation there.”
“Really? Sounded rather one sided if you ask me,” Sharpness shot back, eyeing Tai as though he would say anything. “Honestly, what is your obsession with being a nuisance?” Seeing the twitch in the corner of Sharpness’ eye had a grin tugging at Jude's lips, but he couldn't let it free just yet.
“I'm surprised you know the word nuisance,” Jude hummed. “You business majors don't exactly have a reputation for being the brightest.”[1] Jude could see Noob’s unimpressed expression from the corner of his eye as Sharpness’ grip on the counter tightened, his expression like the warning of a ticking timebomb. Ooh he should make another one of those glitterbombs soon, maybe add some glue for that full ‘arts and crafts’ experience.
Sharpness muttered something under his breath, before fixing Jude a glare. “Think you’re that much better than everyone, huh?”
“I don’t think so. I know it.”
“Prove it then,” Sharpness challenged, head tilted as he leveled with Jude. “Let’s fight. You’re not in Strength for no reason, are you?” And Jude swears he hears a whispered ‘pussy’.
“Hey, that’s not really a fair test of superiority now, is it?” Jude replies, leaning back on the counter. Getting beat up by one of the school’s top fighters doesn’t sound like a very good time, he especially doesn’t need a concussion at a time like this. “Seems like you’re just going for an easy win.”
“And if I let you choose something, how do I know you won’t just lead me to one of those ‘contraptions’ of yours and play dirty?” Sharpness said, squinting as though that’d help him scrutinize Jude better. “How many do you have lying around the school anyways?”
“Like I’d tell you,” Jude scoffed. Paranoid much? He has seventy three. All cataloged, memorized, and organized.
“How about… I decide,” HD interrupted, all purple hair and face painted skin, replacing Tai who had walked back to help Noob clean the counters. “There’s a rec center next to here soo- get going before you two really start holding up a line.”
“Nah,” Jude brushed her off, already ready to walk back to his work, the nice baiting break having stretched on long enough. “Unlike this guy, I have more important things to do.”
“Scared to go against me huh? Admitting defeat?” God, Sharpness was so easy to enrage.
“No, I’m saying I have a life.”
… “I’ll pay you five bucks to get out of here and go at it,” HD proposed.
“Weren’t you just complaining you were broke?!” Noob jumped in, voice laced with the incredulous feeling he’d been holding in this whole time. “We’re being paid pennies here bro.”
“Oh shut up. I'm not having them ruin my perfectly good day by being here,” HD rolled her eyes.
Jude thought about it. Really thought about it. And maybe he didn’t really have a life after all.
“Alright, I’ll do it.”
Five bucks and a chance to beat Sharpness? Sounds like a win-win.