[Imperium] Dek's Fifth Aedile Report!

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[Imperium] Dek's Fifth Aedile Report!

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Some of you may have already noticed. Some of you may have not. Currently, Imperium is without a fully functioning Quaestor. Mako has decided to resign due to personal reasons. It’s an unfortunate event to have to resign. And we wish it weren’t so soon. However, we have to push forward. I'm happy Mako was able to be here with us for the time that he chose, and I respect his decision and his wishes to leave us at this time.

I’d like to first take a moment to thank all of you for being here. With everything that’s been going on, you’ve all had reasons to leave. You’ve all had reasons to swap Clans. Yet here you are. I thank you for that.

I think about the members in Imperium a lot. I’ve now been an Aedile of three Quaestors. I’ve also been a member of Imperium since 2015. That’s a little under three years. I’ve seen a lot of members come and go. I have a lot of memories, and I’d like the share some if you don’t mind.

Darth Aeternus:

We only just met recently, but I’ve known about you for awhile. Part of me wondered why you chose Imperium out of all the places to go. But I’m glad you’re here. We recently discussed the ACC and the old times you had here. You have tons of memories of this place, and I’m sure a lot of nostalgia. I remember when I first joined back in 2006. It was definitely a different time back then. I’m glad for most of the changes, but I sure wish I could relive some of those old DJB memories.

Kell:

We’ve informally known about each other for awhile, but have never really talked. The oldest memory I have of you was back when I used to be in CSP awhile ago, you were in the Imperial Directorate I believe, with Devani. I also remember trying to discuss some of the stuff on Judecca with you, such as the adult joint that you owned on the planet, and wondering why it existed in our system. I know you put a ton of work into the old CSP. And that’s why I have eternal respect for you. You were also leading Imperium when I first got here.

Lex:

Oh, Lex! We’ve had quite a few memories together. Most are positive, one or two not so positive heh. But there are too many memories to count. Whether it was us trying to knock out a governmental document, or trying to work a vision into what Imperium would be, I remember them. I remember our personal discussions with you dealing with your work and me going through job searches. I remember complaining to you how you should have an Aedile, and wanting to help more than I could. I hope I can help you get back into a position that you were once in, and I hope I can one day help you realize the dream you once had for leadership.

Rayne:

I used to go by a different name, and in that name I worked with you, Rayne. We both were fairly antagonistic towards each other. We fought over who created certain BTs, how leaders should lead, and ideas for House Caliburnus. Back then I was a lot more immature, and also known as Luciferus. I apologize for that back then, and I hope you are willing to stick around further and give us all a second chance here.

Reiden:

Oh, Reiden! You’ve been here awhile. I’m glad you’re still here in CSP and Imperium. I know many times you think you haven’t succeeded at something, but I’ll always think of the gold novae you took in the GJW. I’ll also think of the help you gave me during the early stages of Crucesignatis Imperialis, and also when I tried to convince you to join Shadow Guard. I feel as though I let you down then, and I want to apologize for that. But I’m glad you’re BTL now, because I think the members have a lot to learn from you. You set such a good example for others. You admit your weaknesses, and work on them while allowing your strengths to shine through. If there is ever a day I leave the DJB again, I’ll probably never forget you.

Eether:

Like a few others, we never really talked to each other in depth. But I remember when you were Proconsul of CSP. You lead well, and tempered a Clan that needed gentle guidance, which you so aptly provided (or so I’m told). I hope that we will get to participate in future events soon enough.

Jason Hunter:

Like a few others, I have not gotten the chance to know you well, but I’m glad you chose CSP and Imperium as your place to be. I was happy to see you taking it upon yourself to dedicate your time to helping future leaders within our House. It’s means a lot to someone such as myself when the older generation is willing to step up and help lead the younger generation into a new age.

Ulfsark:

I’m happy to have someone such as yourself here. I don’t believe I’ve had a non-positive conversation with you ever. You also represent a rare breed of South American members here, which I don’t know if there are any others. I remember talking about your country with you and potential places to visit in the future. There is not a week that goes by that I don’t think about it. I’m so happy you’re here, Ulfsark. I’m happy to have you in Imperium as well.

Wagglehorn:

Through thick and thin, I think I've been there with you in most of it (at least in the post-2015 days). I know you as my fellow Ohio friend who I’ve yet to meet and as a guardian of what is part of Imperium. I remember times when we’d be discussing things happening in and around Ohio, as well as personal stuff involving our lives. I promise you too, that we will see each other at some point. You’re an hour away from me, and that means that we can technically be half an hour away from each other. We’ll make this happen soon.

James Malum:

You have a tenacity that comes so rarely here. I know you want to be here, and I know it’s difficult with your insane schedule, but I’m glad I was able to meet you and I hope you’ll able to become more active in the future. I remember having a few discussions with you on your schedule outside of the DJB. Whether you’re here or not, you’re definitely going places.

There are many more who I have not had the opportunity to meet with yet, but I hope that changes: Drake
Lucan
Mol
Pidnimayet
Arron
Elad
Antar
Ayden
Flelm

There are also others who I remember whom I wish were able to leave under better circumstances, such as Jurdan and Calindra.

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Expansion

Week 1 of Expansion is over. I myself participated in 3 events. I think this is our time to show that we aren’t defeated by recent events. It’s time to show that we can pick things up when we need to.

We're taking our Clan to new islands beyond Caelestis City! Caelestis City is located on Ragnath (Seraph's moon) for those who may not know. We conquered it before the war with The Collective sprung out.

The main competition is here:

https://www.darkjedibrotherhood.com/competitions/13534

However, here are the main Phase 1 competitions:

Flash Game - https://www.darkjedibrotherhood.com/competitions/13549

Trivia - https://www.darkjedibrotherhood.com/competitions/13565

Word Search - https://www.darkjedibrotherhood.com/competitions/13566

Wiki Hunt - https://www.darkjedibrotherhood.com/competitions/13564

Graphics - https://www.darkjedibrotherhood.com/competitions/13555

Poetry - https://www.darkjedibrotherhood.com/competitions/13557

Fiction - https://www.darkjedibrotherhood.com/competitions/13550

These competitions end on the 19th.

Other competitions include:

Gaming - Of Fire and Earth https://www.darkjedibrotherhood.com/competitions/13504

Raiju mentioned in an email the importance of participating in these competitions. As mentioned, it’s no secret that CSP wishes it had more time in the fictions. But we can’t ask without doing anything about it. Hence why I’m not afraid to share my idea of what I did today. Who knows? Maybe one of you can expand upon it. My idea will be shown at the end of the report. It ties into one of those weird DJB-life lessons I always try to include.

The Collective Chronicles - https://www.darkjedibrotherhood.com/competitions/13376

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New Transfers in:

Antar Locke joined us from the Rogues! Glad to have you here in Imperium! Transferring in, he’s made his 3rd Pindayand officially been a Gray Jedi on the Gray Path for 2 years!

Ayden Dane joined us from the main reaches of the Clan! Glad you’ve decided to join Imperium! Back in January, Ayden celebrated his 12th Pinday!

Flelm joined us from the Rogues! Thanks for joining Imperium! He’s recently spent 9 years in the Dark Path!

Rewards:

Antar Locke
1 Topaz Crescent

Ayden Dane
6 Clusters of Fire

Ulfsark
3 Clusters of Graphite
1 Sapphire Crescent

Jason Hunter
1 Emerald Crescent

Eetherbiail
Recently celebrated 7 years in CSP!

Reiden Palpatine Karr
4 Clusters of Ice
Won his first ACC match!
Celebrated 7 years of being in CSP!

Rayne
Back in January, she celebrated her 11th Pinday!

Lexiconus Qor
1 Sapphire Crescent
Served a whole year as Appeals Panelist!

A lot of awesome recognition going around! A lot of Pindays and Path celebrations! We’re getting old!

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Positions, positions, positions

There are quite a few positions opening up. Firstly and obviously, the Quaestor position for House Imperium is open. Applications are due by the 25th to Eli, Raiju, and Mune.

CNS has positions open for Rollmaster, Quaestor of HSD, and Aedile of HSD. Applications for that are due by the 29th to Sang and Bentre.

State of Imperium

Some may say our House is going to collapse. That ain’t happening. We’re still going through growing pains and identity issues. Imperium doesn’t have solid backdrops to pull from currently and people consistently find themselves questioning their role in the House. That doesn’t mean we all are failing. It simply means that we all don’t feel like we belong here. As the current acting Quaestor, I want to start a discussion on what keeps you here and what brings you Imperium. Check out the mailing list soon enough for it. I also want to know what kind of future you’d like for Imperium.

Awhile ago Raiju and myself held a survey that included possible futures for Imperium. That was August or September sometime. We’ve had struggles with that fictional backdrop. We’ve been a bit slow on that. But now we have a lot of newer members and a lot of people who’ve chosen to stick around. I’m not entirely sure of what the future holds for us, but what I do know is that we’ve got to learn to steer the boat.

With the next Quaestor, whomever it is, we’ll be working on things to get the ball rolling on this. It should be our first priority to establish an identity for the House, to update our House history, and to have the members in on the process the entire time.

Life Lesson Moment(s)

A lot of people are fumbling for ideas these days when it comes to fictions and the ACC and such. There is a lot of desire, but a lack of ideas. My two cents? Don’t be afraid to break the mould and do some stuff that may not fit the system well. The worst that happens is that it isn’t used, the best that happens is that you’ve made something work for you. Basically, try something new.

I also made a fancy chart to help you develop four key areas of writing: theme, plot, characters, and setting. I added some general rules in the middle.

writing help

I’m also going to post some YouTube channels. Back when Raiju and myself had some writer’s block, we looked at some interesting channels to help us understand story better:


Just Write:

“I’m obsessed with the question 'How does someone become a great artist?' Many of my videos cover the fundamentals of storytelling, but they're not all about technique. Becoming a writer is so much more than learning how to write plot twists, so I want to encourage us to adopt a kind of 'creative mindset' that will lead both of us toward artistic fulfillment. For me, that means being observational, critical, and self-reflective. It means engaging with the world as much as possible. “

Video examples:
Game of Thrones: Or the Pain Of Falling Out Of Love With A Story
What Writers Should Learn From Batman Begins
How to Pun Like the Masters


Lessons from the Screenplay:

“I believe that a more informed audience raises the bar for storytelling. That examining the techniques used to tell great stories makes your own writing better and your appreciation for the stories deeper. With Lessons from the Screenplay, I make videos that analyze movie scripts to examine exactly how and why they are so good at telling their stories. Part educational series and part love letter to awesome films, Lessons from the Screenplay aims to be a fun way to learn more about your favorite films and help us all become better storytellers. “

Video examples:
The Dark Knight – Creating the Ultimate Antagonist
Rogue One vs. The Force Awakens – The Fault in Our Star Wars
Arrival – Examining an Adaption


Storytellers:

“We strive to extract meaning from story through symbolical and cultural film analysis.“

Video Examples:
Rogue One: The Birth of Hope
How to Be Creative: Steal Like Tarantino
How Guillermo del Toro Deals With Trauma


ScreenPrism:

"ScreenPrism is where you go to understand more about the movies & TV shows you're watching. We create entertaining, insightful video essays analyzing, exploring and commenting on a wide range of topics. Think: Endings Explained, Meanings & Themes, Inside the Scene, Hidden Messages & Symbols, etc."

Video examples:
Rick and Morty: Has Rick Changed?
Game of Thrones Symbolism: The Targaryens
Mad Men: Joan Holloway, A Subversive Venus

So why am I going through all of this? Because I want you to feel inspired by stories around you. We have a tendency to always write a “Star Wars story” with other elements crawling into it. But maybe you should leave C3PO at the door, go start writing a story and simply have the setting be within the Star Wars universe. Think crime drama with a Force-user as a detective. Or a war satire involving an over bloody mercenary. Or a romantic novella between a member of Clan Taldryan and Clan Scholae Palatinae. Don’t be afraid to open your mind to new stories within this universe.

We seem to have this idea that these things will be frowned upon. However, from what I’ve found personally, much of the pushback comes from doing the impossible or not writing a flawed character (mister perfect dark Jedi that never seems to fail the escape from failure). And of course, if the prompt is an escape from a downed starship and you’re writing about something that veers far from the prompt, then maybe you need to rethink what someone is looking for out of your story.

I hope this has helped you all in some way. Anyways, my idea for the Collective Report? Pull from what I kind of already know and with what we know about our current enemy. I used the former Royal Clan moniker we had and placed it into The Collective. There could be a sub-faction of former Royalists that escaped and plotted revenge from afar. Eventually they found a common ally in The Collective, purged the FUs from their ranks, and became a working sub-faction of The Collective.

Of course, I expanded upon it. I definitely gave them flaws (nepotism, corruption, revisionist history, etc). This idea may not be liked. Other CSPers may not like it. But I attempted to use the two things I currently know about and make them into an idea. I know a decent amount about the old CSP system. I also know a lot of our current members have nostalgia for those older times with the older stories. Why not create an enemy that people may feel nostalgic towards befriending? It adds controversy to the enemy.

Anyways, take from it what you will.

I hope you have enjoyed reading this report. We’ll work together to make our own futures.

Glory to the Empire!

Dek Ironius II
Aedile of Imperium

This is an awesome report. I love the personalized touch for each member, and appreciate the tools you've provided for writing!

Well done, Dek..! Good stuff in there! IE: thanks for the tutorials!

Good luck Imperium!

Thanks Cali and Sparky. I hope to provide future tutorials on different things according to what problems people are facing in Imperium.

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