So A Movie Came Out...

I can't help but start by touching on this awesome new movie that's out now. It's so cool, it's got a talking bull who seems to like china shops!

....

Oh, yeah and some Last Jedi thing came out too. Now I know we're all super excited about the movie. A number of us (myself included) have already seen it. I know y'all are not spoiler sports, but I do want to make it clear, the DB takes this stuff super serious. People have been CoJed for spoiling and it's pretty clear that they'll do so again. So quite simply, don't talk about The Last Jedi (or Ferdinand for that matter) in any public DB channel or email list save the dedicated Telegram Channel. If you do, well, I'll be highly annoyed and:

One other note on the movie that kinda ties in to the rest of the report. There's a very good chance that while you're out seeing said movie there might be some people around you that might be interested in this DB thing we do. Please, talk us up, tell people about all the fun stuff we do. Just don't forget to give them your PIN so they'll be sent to Plagueis. Once they're here, well, perfect segue.

Engage!

So after the War, as you well know by now, we've made a couple changes in the leadership structure. Most relevant to this report is the fact that the Circle has been disbanded and it's members moved to the houses. To this end, I will now serve as the primary point of contact for all Novitiates and a secondary point of contact (after Masters and House Summits) for all Journeymen. As part of this shift, I'm going to be rolling out a couple new tools to help aid the process of engaging with new members.

One of the big challenges when engaging new members is figuring out what they're interested in. This is a key bit of information that helps us guide them to the right sorts of activities and match them up with the right master down the line. To this end, I've worked up a new intake survey that will go out to our new recruits once I've heard from them as well as to all our current Novitiates in the next 24 hours or so. I'm not going to link it here, but if you want to see it, I'll be happy to share it privately.

I'm also going to be making a slight tweak to our master/student matching process. Namely, prospective masters are now getting their own form to fill out. The new Master Survey needs to be filled out by anyone who wants to take on a student. This will give me the data I need to make sure the right combination is made. I've said this before, but I'll emphasize it again, I don't make assignments based on any seniority or priority list. I make them entirely based on fit. So if you're willing and able to take on an apprentice, fill out the form!

Important Stuff

Go Read This

• First thing in this section isn’t a report this time, it’s fiction. As you might have heard, Plagueis’ “Alpha” team (Selika, Laren, Teylas, Ronovi, and myself) won GJW 12’s run-on, defending our title from GJW 11. Much like the Run-on in 11, this one will form the basis for Plagueis’ storyline for the near future. So, if you haven’t already, you might want to go read The Chronicles of Reg. To pre answer a question, Reg will be joining our ranks as an NPC, so expect him to show up again!

• Our illustrious Grand Master hands out some promotions, shinies, and new jobs in his Mini Report

• My former underling delivers his first report as AED of Karness Muur and Kelly gives an uncentered report from Ajunta Pall

Do The Thing

Now that the war is over, we can get back to doing some fun and less stressful stuff. There’s a number of fun and engaging competitions out there now that don’t require the purchase of loot boxes (I swear!).

• First, let me plug my own little event which challenges you with pitching Great Jedi War 12: The Movie. I’m really interested in seeing what people come up with for this one.

• Before getting inundated in the pile of new stuff he’s going to have to add to possessions after Last Jedi, Evant has offered us a couple events. One requires you to write an aspect for a porg where the other wants you to come up with an attachment for a droid.

• Qyeria poses an interesting dilemma in a fiction comp, what would you do if your character got snowed in (even on a planet like Tatooine).

Closing Thoughts and MoZ

When a new Star Wars movie comes out, things tend to get a little exciting around here and this time has been no exception. I for one have gotten a jolt of creative energy from the film that is going to probably lead to some more exploration of Arden as a character. Can’t say more of course, that might spoil something, but I know I’ve been sparked.

Also this morning I was actually reading an article about movies that have opened opposite a Star Wars movie. Many weren’t particularly noteworthy, but there have been some classics, like the Shining. For today’s Moment of Zen, I leave you with the trailer for the latest one to attempt this feat, Ferdinand. It has John Cena, as a talking bull. Nuff said.

Keep it evil mes aims!

~Arden