Hello for the last time, my loves. The news in this report will be brief, as it hasn't been long since my previous one, and as this one is...less of a report, and more of a farewell.

Settle in, come along, stay awhile and listen, if you like...I'm going to talk for a bit, should you care to hear. If not, that's okay too; all company is good company.

So one last time, away we go.

Let me tell you what I wish I'd known, when I was young and dreamed of glory—

Brotherhood News

Nomination of a Grand Master

Per our laws under the Covenant, a standing Grand Master may only serve a three-year term at one time. That long watch has ended for Sarin/Pravus, whose time to retire has finally come.

That means we need a new Grand Master, and that means a nomination, a vote, and ratification!

Sarin has nominated his DGM Mav for the position, and no other nominations have been given. In the meantime, Mav has been collecting questions from the membership via their Consuls to answer member concerns and deem him worthy, or not, of a vote in his favor. There were lots of questions submitted, many from Arconans and several about Arconans, and they're all worth reading for you to know what to expect of our club leaders for the next several years.

Read Mav's introduction, statement to the electorate, and answers to the membership so far.

The vote will be called officially to the DC and Consuls shortly, so be ready for the start of a new age! And, of course, many, many thanks to Sarin for all he has done these years as our Grand Master — the club would not be as healthy as it is without him.

War Fiction Finale

As mentioned in my last reports, we were awaiting the finals chapters of the GJWXII fiction updates, and here they are! Go and read them, dears; or at the very least the summaries provided for each, to keep yourselves informed.

• Chapter 5: Riposte
• Chapter 6: Finale

(I really do suggest reading them though...I loved writing the arcou portions, and I think the consequences there could be just juicy.)

Look out for an epilogue from Sarin in the coming weeks that should further detail the attacks on the Clans and the Collective's current plans!

To Whom It May Concern...

Between your fiction and GM address reading, you can also check out several open job postings!

The Voice staff is currently looking for a new Magistrate. It's a great job, and you'd get to work with a great team. See the newspost for further details, but know the deadline is coming up fast on the 18th! Get those apps into Wally and I before they close.

Similarly, Clan Scholae Palatine is looking for a new Proconsul. If you're interested in that, go check it out and get your application done by the 28th! I'd also like to thank Braecen for his work in both aforementioned positions; you're always a star to serve alongside.

In addition, a shout-out to the newly hired Praetor to the Headmaster, Seraphol! Applications just closed, and I'm confident Sera and the HM team are gonna do awesome things.

You have no control who lives, who dies, who tells your story...

Clan News

What comes next? You've been freed, but do you know how hard it is to lead?

So, Atty is retiring today. Yeah. Whoa dang.

But that's not the important thing, my loves. The important thing is what's beginning. Heads up. Eyes up. Pay attention. The war is over, a new reign is beginning, and a new time for Arcona is here.

It is my gift and honor today to cede my throne and welcome Kordath Bleu to the position of Arcona's Consul after application and selection by our Grand Master Emeritus and Grand Master Elect.

It is further my honor to present to you your new Proconsul, as selected by Kord and approved by our Grand Master Emeritus and Grand Master Elect, Terran Koul. I'll be letting the boys tell you about the rest of the ongoing summit shifts in their upcoming report.

Now, though, I want you all to join me in congratulating and thanking both gentlemen for their willingness to serve, and show them the same respect, candor, and camaraderie that has made me so fortunate as your Consul all this time. As my one-time hero Trouty would say:

<BOW>

DRINKS ARE ON YOU BOYS, TONIGHT! ARCONA INVICTA!

</BOW>

Arcona Wiki Revamp Project + Selen Development Project

Stolen from Vic's latest Quaestor report: the Clan is still working on updating all of its Wiki pages. This work has been progressing slowly but steadily, however we could really use more volunteers to help out the current, smaller crew that's been tackling this insanely huge job. If you have any interest in world-building and want to help out not just your current peers, but new members who might join in the future, please contact Kord and I. Grot has been great to have on this project already, but we still need you!

Hand in hand with this, we're using the Selen Development Project, which Kord points out in his report to finally flesh out our home planet! Many of the previous two phases' entries have already been added to the Wiki, which you can check out in all its detailed and worldbuildy glory here on the Sinchi Ring page.We've now added twelve unique military installations too!. I'm really proud of all of you and hope y'all keep enjoying having a hand in making our house a home!

Also totally completely awesome, Rhylance has been working on a rough draft of a map of Selen to help us all visualize some things as we continue to add to it. While some names may be subject to change, check out what we've got so far!

Selen, Dajorra System

We're really doing great developing our system and planet here, so let's keep it up and get involved fictionally too!

Arcona Fictional Breakdown

See previous report for larger TL;DR to any newcomers in order to summarize pre-War events going back ~2 years..

See these reports for War and post-War fictions and summaries.

So, what now, for Clan Arcona? What comes next? In-character, months have passed as the Clan took her people to War, and during that time, Port Ol'Val was still piecing itself back together after its near destruction and Estle and Selen were still recovering from the plague and famine that had left the city tense and at the edge of riots. These problems have continued to fester, made all the worse by the distraction of the Collective and their propaganda and the lack of Arconan presence. Eldar's population is dead, and the planet is only useful now as a source of mining and natural resources for Dajorra. After the Resistance moved against Pravus and co. only to be interrupted by the Collective, Atyiru died, and the Clan had to face its new enemy under a new banner.

Last we left off, Consul Satsi was driving the Clan through the War to and on Nancora, eventually deciding the fate of the Brotherhood alongside Turel Sorenn. Whatever the epilogue holds, we will return home bloodied.

So, what else? Well, we await more details on the wrap up of the War itself, but I can discuss some things in the meantime. Back during the War, I had debated releasing a short series of Arcona ficlets continuing our internal story/showing cruel war tactics implemented under Satsi. Just something for us to continue telling internally even if the larger updates were more geared towards the whole club that really leaned hard on our Dark path side. These ideas included things like:

• Gas masks become standard issue/required for all ops at all times. Gas weaponry is popular against FUs and cyborgs both, and is a common NFU tool, so is used against us and by us.
• Start interrogating people with the Force one by one, using Terror, Mind Trick, Telepathy, or any other torture application (can you say who needs human rights? Hypocrisy is delicious)
• Bombs in combat suits and space suits/on persons of anyone going onboard an enemy ship or into enemy encampment
• Mined bodies/corpses and mined high traffic areas found on Nancora
• EMPs. So, so many EMPs. Even if they can't short out cybernetics in our system, at least there's the factories.
• Release viral agents or infect the mortally wounded who must be left behind
• Gang war tactics? War crime tactics? Fear tactics? The Collective are heavy on suicide bombers and cybers, they don't care about their bodies or lives, don't have civvies with them. Possible example, take a Collective agent and Dominate Mind him into hurting himself, show the Collective that we can do it.

I decided not to write these ficlets eventually on account of a) time management, war participation, school, etc had to come first and b) deciding to let things lie and not do an injustice to these topics. However, I still maintain that some of them, and generally ruthless tactics of their ilk, were standard operating procedure for Arcona during the War under Satsi. Whether or not your character followed those orders is up to you. Might give you all something to protest or play off of, even.

What's Estle like currently? Selen? Ol'Val? Dajorra?

Well, as we said, we spent months away and at War, fictionally, while our home city sort of just got sicker and sicker. Thanks to a bit of brainstorming, we've started a for-fun Run-On to explore some of these events from on the ground in Estle City as its citizens carry on, some functioning normally, others consumed by riots and anger or grief. We'll be focusing more or seeing this powder keg explode in the next Sins episode, but for now, while we run our VD events and head towards our joint event with COU, get engaged and involved in this RO!

---

From Donny/Uji/Maaz:

Goooood evening, Arcona. Thanks to my twisted tormenting of our Consul earlier I got the idea for something to do and came up with a Run-On open to all members of Arcona, Odan-Urr and anyone who would have business/consider themselves an ally of Arcona (or anyone wanting to play villain, please feel free to contact me and we can work you in as taking advantage of recent events in Arcona). The Run-On is for anyone to explore the stories taking place within Estle City, whether from your characters perspective or an NPC/Alt's.

Feel free to craft your own stories, work with others and tackle the objectives laid out in the opening posts here.

Estle City is the political, cultural, and financial center for the Dajorra system and its inhabitants. By far the largest city in the system, ownership of Estle City grants massive strategic advantage to whoever holds it. It has often been said that whoever controls Estle City controls Dajorra.

Estle City is built along the south face of a large mountain, named “Doto Peak”, with the Arcona Citadel built directly alongside the mountain. The Citadel is a fortress from which Clan Arcona administrates its holdings and the personal seat of power for the Consul. Forward of the Citadel is a large open area perfect for ceremonies and parades, and a long causeway which provides scenic views of the city and countryside.

The city itself consists of a number of tiered “rings” carved into the mountain and descending downward from the Citadel. The highest of these rings, the Huascar Ring, houses the city’s libraries, universities, and archives. Below this is the Sinchi Ring, which serves as the primary entertainment and commercial center of the city. At the very bottom lies the Capac Ring, home to the common workers and civilians and industry.

Quite frankly, the city has seen better days. Recent months had seen plague, war, open conflict between Arcona’s factions, leading to riots and worse. Many portions of the various rings are nearly uninhabitable and, though reconstruction efforts are underway, this has created a new conflict with the citizenry. The rings closest to the Citadel have received priority for aid and reconstruction while the lower rings continue to suffer from deprivation.

To make matters worse, the military has been absent in quelling the public unrest and unable to assist with relief efforts, as the conflict with the Collective has drawn the majority of their forces abroad. In these difficult days, it has fallen to the citizenry and a few outspoken individuals to try and restore order and well being.

But there is always an underbelly to these situations as well. Others are taking advantage of the situation, using the lax security in the lower rings to make a profit; raiding, looting, and worse continue to affect the citizenry day by day.

What part do you take in these events? Get writing with each other!

---

Dem Factions Tho

Reminder as ever for our ideological factions, different schools of thought that draw different people together and lead to certain goals and actions in Arcona. They're a useful little tool for sketching characters and thinking about how every Arconan "aligns" themselves.

These “factions" have long been developing amongst all our individual characters and in the stories we as a Clan have told, and they’ll be our device to further establish ourselves and develop now! They’re our boats to help us along in the fictional sea of the New Order storyline, its eventual War wrap up, Sins of the Past, Aftermath, everything from DB to BT level, and more.

They've been edited to be generalized away from any too specific characters, so hopefully that helps!

It’s still a very big chart.

If you want to go back over the specifics and thorough details of all the factions, refer back to my previous report on the topic.

Reminder that some of the standing Summit and Arconae have all declared their factions to help out as a reference. You can check them for an idea of who’s who, where, doing what — just bear in mind that while YOU know these allegiances, your characters may not.

• Atyiru: Champions
• Satsi: Operatives
• Uji: Operatives
• Timeros: Shadow Hearts
• Kordath: Wild Karrdes
• Terran: Wild Karrdes
• Zujenia: Champions
• Lucine: Wild Karrdes
• Wuntila: Shadow Hearts
• Sashar: Shadow Hearts
• Strategos: Shadow Hearts

We saw movements from all of these groups over the course of the last year with its many events, and will continue to see them as a starter framework for reference. What’s next for all these groups? How will the events of Sins affect them, and each of you? How will your stories continue to build now that we move to meet a new enemy of The Collective?

Go find out.

So remember from here on in...

Other News, Reports, and Happenings

• Headmaster Report 18
• Praetor to the Fist Report
• Master At Arms Report 8

History has its eyes on you.

Sometime before February 23rd, 2015, Sarin approached me about Consulship.

I read his simple message ("how do you feel about arc CON?"), sat bolt upright in bed, stared, and then turned to Vic and proceeded to freak the hell out for a good ten or twentyish minutes. Things along the lines of "is he joking? I can't tell if he's joking." and "oh my God, OH MY GOD WHAT IF HE ISN'T **** ING JOKING" and "holy **** ing **** I can't be consul are you ****ing kidding me?!" and "what. What."

You know, totally in control and cool. :P

We talked awhile, Vic and I. He mainly asked me if I wanted to be Consul, if I thought I could handle it, helped me think about the time constraints and demands and my abilities/qualifications. He encouraged he'd support whatever I decided to do. And so, I said I'd consider it. There were so many factors at the time: Wally stepping down, Legz was supposed to be Consul, my position as Aedile and what my Quaestor would do and his feelings. Etc etc.

But I decided, yes. I would try. Because it meant I could help, and because my clan needed me.

On March 3rd, 2015, I posted my first report as your Consul. It was a lot shorter than I expected, looking back. :P And my headers were not centered (I'm sorry, I was wrong, I learned). I hadn't yet fallen into my format/theme habits, and #AskTheAtty questions were still coming from IRC! (It was a long time ago). But what stood out to me was that for as much as was different, so much had remained the same. Three years ago, I left you with the following message:

"My friends, my family, we walk now into a new age. For over two years now, all we have known is War. For some of us, that’s been our entire Brotherhood career. For others, it's been a unique epic in a much longer journey.

Peacetime is our time to build, to have fun, to foster friendships and relationships. Chat up your Battleteam members or get a G+ Hangout going with them! Do some spare competitions if you feel like it. Join another Clan’s IRC channel and find some new faces - they won’t bite. Xen over there leading CSP is one of my new favorite people for his ability to quote along to Firefly with me.

It’s our time, Arcona. We earned the title of First Clan, but these next months are when we’ll make it mean something: when we come together, united and strong, and make our stand on our own two feet. It’s not just those big, fancy milestones that define us. It is what we do with the time we’re given in between. It is what we do on every single normal day. That’s what makes or breaks us.

Journey before destination.

And my friends? I couldn’t be more excited for our journey! Arcona Invicta!"

In May of 2015, I proposed to COU, newly clanned, that we run a joint event between us, which we later called Tides of Change. Three years later, we're preparing a ridiculous but awesome event in March to celebrate that anniversary with our allies and friends who have become the First Clan. Yeah, they won the title off of us, they won the War. Never let time be what determines your expectations, never look at a legacy or history and think that's all that defines something or someone; you MUST look at who you are, who they are, today, here, right now. Because that's where your answer is. That's how you have to take this journey, one day, one moment, at a time.

Over the last three years, I have had five different Proconsuls, a rotating door affixed to Galeres' House summit and Qel-Droma's Battleteams, several Rollmasters and no Rollmaster, and a myriad of helpers, volunteers, advisers, newbies, and veterans, some of whom were stable and productive, some of whom were not. It's a freaking mess, guys. Don't ever think it's not just because we all put on our PR faces and present a united front. That's literally Summit 101, on all levels from BT to DC: present a united front together publicly even if behind closed doors you're screaming and there's a pineapple and everything is on fire. I say this mainly to remind that your leaders, for all they're your leaders, are still humans just like you volunteering to do this shizz. They're fallible, and imperfect, and will make mistakes and bad choices. They'll also make good ones. And you have just as much potential to help your community as any of them ever did.

And most of all, over the last three years, I have made mistakes, and flailed, and broken down...and had fun, and found a voice in my writing, and made friends, and had the privilege of taking some care of y'all here in our little corner of the internet, and it has all been amazing.

"There will come a time, you'll see, with no more tears and love will not break your heart but dismiss your fears. Get over your hill and see what you find there — with grace in your heart and flowers in your hair."

That's Mumford and Sons. It's what I used to listen to on a loop until 4am, staying up in Hangouts as Aedile only to nap before school in the morning. It's what I'm listening to right now as I type this, and it still makes me happy, and strikes me especially in this moment for its message. I know a lot of you feel scared or insecure or disappointing a lot of the time, when you can't participate much, or are worried to try something new, or are first being inducted into our cult of crazy. I also know each and every one of you is a beautiful, depthless human being with so much potential and so much to give not only the world but yourselves, nevermind this club and clan. I want to tell you that, as I've tried to tell you every day. Nobody is looking for perfect, loves. They're just looking for themselves, like you're looking for you, and all we can give each other is what we are, is our best version of ourselves. That's gonna come with bad, and it's gonna come with great, and we are gonna be here for every piece of it.

We're on this journey together, and it's not the destination that matters. It's the time we spend completing it, side by side, hand in hand.

Thank you, all of you, so much, for the last three years. For the last five. For the many to come. I can't tell you how much it means to me that the journey I'm on has all you in it. Thank you for being you, thank you for existing, and thank you for doing both with me.

Here's to us, and to today and tomorrow, and all the adventures yet to come.

Thank you.

Ask the Atty

Y'all nerfherders and your five pages of questions. Alright. Here. We. Go.

Lucine asks, #asktheatty 1) What are your post-Consulship plans?

• Atty: /gets down on one knee Plan a wedding, if COU will marry us.
• (Note: that doesn't mean we won't kick them around, have more VD submissions than them, and eventually get our First Clan title back — yes, I am calling y'all out. Ohana means family but oh honey you better believe I will climb atop my brother's and mother's corpses to win that Longest Road in Catan. ARCOU is a partnership, not a merger. :P)

2) How much wood would a woodchuck chuck?

• Atty: As much as hechuck or shechuck wants.

3) What is Satsi's favorite Valentine's Day gift thus far?

• Atty: she's pretty fond of the bite of candy Sammy let her have the other day. Best gift. Who knew someone taught the babu to share? (Cause Satsi sure didn't).

4) Having recently transitioned characters, what are some aspects about Atty that you miss?

• Atty: Oh Lordy, lol. A lot, I've found recently. Her hope, her positivity, her friendliness. Her love, most of all. Satsi is probably my most beloved character, but I think Atty was everyone else's, and I've come to feel her loss very acutely through the reactions of the people and characters. It's this real, tangible grief every time Lucine wanders further into the dark or Uji is lonely and lost or Zuji is in despair and Kord is falling apart or Kelviin is mourning or Marick is broken — I've always been very empathetic with what I read and write, so it's kinda killing me softly over here, haha. I miss her smile and her acceptance, her forgiveness, her care, the way that she stood up to defend everyone, no matter what, because it was right.
  

5) What are some aspects about Satsi that you enjoy?

• Atty: Many. I don't know what it is, but as some friends most experienced with reading my writing will tell me, I really do love Satsi — it's apparently obvious in the text? But she is very raw and, despite her very, VERY strange relationships and extreme reactions and circumstances, I like to think she's also very relatable; I try to put a lot of small, human detail in her. Any time I write her, she's either displaying a crippling flaw or ****ing something up (intentionally or otherwise). I adore how passionate and fiery she is, her sass and vitriol and violence (it's very, very fun to write breaking bones in excruciating but short detail), but most of all just how much care and desperation she's got under all that. She is a very, very lost girl who has finally found her home and is very, very scared of not being able to hold onto it, either because life has shown her it will be taken from her, or that she will be left behind. She's like a cake made of snark, aggression, and insecurity with a gooey melty chocolate sweet center all iced in Pure Raw Frak You.

6) Any words of advice for people to step into leadership?

• Atty: For people just stepping in? Don't be afraid and be ready to learn! If something isn't working, speak up. Communicate, communicate, communicate! Invest time in your members to learn about them and care for them. The Markdown courses and the Preview Button are your new best friends. Champion any mistakes, it looks better if you do and you feel better if you do. Learn from them. Be really careful when forwarding emails or messages, always check who you're CCing, and keep it clean in public. Oh, and did I mention communicate? Also please don't email the GM to ask about a comp or a report. Don't email the DGM either. Use your Chain of Command. ALWAYS USE THE CHAIN OF COMMAND. Thank you. :P

7) As you look back on your tenure, what are some things you are particularly proud of?

• Atty: Immediately making the Arcona Chat logo and Voice Staff chat logo rainbow as the literal first thing I did on the job with each hiring respectively. Making our entire fleet rainbow with a custom aspect. Making Jon/Sam/Wally/the old folks who taught me and who built Arcona as the shadowy dark underdogs-turned-victors they became see that I painted everything rainbow. Watching their souls die a little bit in their eyes. Communicating exclusively through stickers in GIFs and making people who hated them watch. Seeing their souls die in their eyes. Reading the Best Practices page for Reporting on the wiki that DCers and co are to use and seeing one of the first bullet points is "no GIFs" but then looking at the frakton of GIFs in all my reports and the pile of Crescents I have for Best Unit Reporting next to them — and commenting to Mav about it, to watch his soul die. You might be sensing a theme here. Things like that. :P

8) What are some things you wish you could have done better?

• Atty: Obviously I needed more stickers and GIFs.
• More seriously though, I've made every mistake in the book and felt the shame rise in me, and while I do wish I had done better on more things than I can really list, I nonetheless don't regret those experiences. I've learned from them.

9) Will the forbidden love between Satsi and Lucine ever be?

• Atty: I would call it neither love nor forbidden. More like open enmity underlaid by the unresolved sexual tension born not of actual attraction, but of the competition for dominance between the two. :P

10) How are the rats?

• Atty: They are just fine, thank you very much. /smiles through gritted teeth For context to any readers, Satsi loves rats — had a pet one as a kid — and Uji got her a litter of them for their birthdavesary. They got named after people the twins hate: Morgan, Cethgus, and Wuntila for Uji, and Aurora, Lucine, and Selika for Satsi, and Pravus for them both.

11) Can I have my teeth back?

• Atty: Sure. They won't all be filled with cyanide or a poison that slowly leaks through the synthetic dentin and enamel or anything. Open up.

Zuji asks, #asktheatty #2 What advice do you wish to impart upon the leadership left rising in your wake?

• Atty: Remember, they're yours. Even when they're at their worst. Protect them from outsiders, each other, and importantly, themselves. Remember that they'll do the same for you, and none of you are perfect. Admit your mistakes. Own them. Be honest. Be discreet. Be humble. Show grace even in anger. Don't blame others for your problems. And screw anyone who puts you down just for the sake of meanness. That's important too. Oh, and screaming only works if you can do it louder than everybody else, and that still doesn't mean you're right, so learn to talk. Don't assume respect — earn it. And always show it.

#asktheatty #3 What advice do you to leave with the clan, your fellow clanmates?

• Atty: Lots of the above applies to everyone, not just leaders, but I'll specify a couple things in particular. Be patient, be welcoming, be forgiving. Everyone around you has wants just like you, and wants just as badly as you do. Never think you are entitled to something, but be proud when you have earned it (especially if you don't think you did because you like to question your own worth :P). Communicate, communicate, communicate. Talk, make friends, find a niche. Talk, confide worries or frustrations, find solutions. Nothing can be done for you if you stay silent (not that silence doesn't have its place). And I'm sure you've heard this before, but remember to have fun. It's what we're all here for — some of us being deeply emotionally and mentally invested in this place and others not really giving one hoot — so either way, respect the common goal of enjoying our club.

#asktheatty #4 What is the first thing you look forward to doing when you step down?

• Atty: I'd say sleep but I'm an anxious-depressive insomniac regardless of what job I have so, to be perfectly honest, probably having a Hangout and sitting back with a cup of hot cocoa or a glass of wine and laughing, probably chanting "never free, never free" and singing this. Beyond that? So much doing nothing but Pinterest and talking about character stuff.

#asktheatty #5 will we expect a massive influx on the amount of gayliens' content?

• Atty: Oh hells yes.
• 

#asktheatty #6 Ship sailing Senpai, how many wax adhesives does it take to get one floating again?

• Atty: It will be alright, dear. A bit of work and loving effort and all things can sail again. Can you imagine?

#asktheatty #7 What is Ishvasaur (can't spell, the cythraul) doing with Atty gone?

• Atty: Lol it's cool. Ivoshar is probably pretty screwed up, with his master and partner being gone — first his packmates and now this? I imagine he's taken to wandering around the places she did, sitting outside the medcenter until chased off, going by the orphanages and letting the kids pet him and climb on him. He probably stays outside her old apartment, from back in her Aedile/BT days. Sad wolfdoggo.

#asktheatty #8 what is the one question you could ask yourself about your run as Consul?

• Atty: Was it worth it? And yes. It absolutely was.

#asktheatty #10 What cradlesong does Satsi sing to Sammy?

• Atty: "Сause you are loved / You are loved more than you know / I hereby pledge all of my days / To prove it so / Though your heart is far too young to realize / The unimaginable light you hold inside…"
• Light by Sleeping at Last. Many of their songs are my feels for Satsi/Uji/Sammy's dynamics, including I'll Keep You Safe, Turning Pages, and Dear True Love. Saturn is more from Sammy to a departed Satsi and Uji.

Tali asks, #asktheatty Vhy do badt things happen to goodt people? Vhy is darkness the absence of light, but light not the absence of darkness? Vhy do the children of the vorldt veep black tears of despair? How can it possibly get any vorse? Has it truly come to this? Vhat are the launch codes? Vhen vill 'The Device' be completedt? Vill lekinsurance policies still be respectedt by the new administration?

• Atty: Okay, one take, here we go. /inahles Because good and bad are constructs of sentient society that have no influence over the course of events in the universe, because light is a physical presence of particles/energy whereas darkness as we think of it is just a void, aka a lack of matter such as light (the presence of something cannot be the absence of nothing, but the absence of something can be the presence of nothing), because something is obviously wrong with them, they may have a very concerning amount of carbon particulates from smoke or the like in their bodies if their tears are blackish, it can get worse because it can always get worse, there's infinite possibilities, it has come to this if this is the exact moment we are living, it depends on what the launch codes are to, the Device will be done when it's done, annnnd lekinsurance is a question for the next admin, not me.

Ernor asks, #asktheatty so you're gonna be DGM?

• Atty: Ask Mav if he wants me.

Sang asks, #asktheatty Why?

• Atty: Because.

Lucine also asks, #asktheatty FMK: Rhylance, Marick, Skar, all characters

• Atty: Ouch. Okay, uh. Atty: Marry Marick (he's her bae), frak Rhylance (he deserves affection too), kill herself to save Skar because this is a very disturbing game but you're forcing her hand. / Satsi: Frak Rhylance (meh, why not), marry Marick (political power move and they're both pragmatic so neither would need to touch the other and could easily dissolve it once usefulness passed), kill Skar (very, very violently). / Ruka: Lol this is really cruel to him yknow. :P But uh, marry Rhylance (he'd probably be fooled by him into thinking he's a decent dude and doctor), frak Skar (eeugh, ugh), kill Marick (he wouldn't want to but considering he's a Lotus knight they're probably be put at odds, and he's probably been told Marick is dangerous).

Wally asks, Can you one up Turel's Hamilton references in your exit? #asktheatty

• Atty: I'm writing like I'm running out of time!

Donny asks, #AskTheAtty - Of all the adventures, of all the struggles, all the joys and disappointments, what is a memory within the Club that sticks out to you as being either a moment or event that made you realize that for all you've gone through as Consul it was worth it?

• Atty: Damn, son. Hrm...I have to wrack my brain for this, the time kind of blurs together, and the things I most vividly remember as milestones aren't necessarily ones that made me think "worth it". Those are smaller moments. Zuji's happy greeting of people, Lucine's making friends, Julie's being ready to repost a report link as soon as someone asks a question before I can even blink. All of them getting Knighthood. The moments I've gotten to stay up late talking to members — from noobs to DCers — and found them happy, or, if sad, willing to have a hug. When I see friendly banter and inside jokes between Arconans and other clans, when people actually use us as an example of a positive and welcoming community. It's the little moments when people just seem...not even great, but okay, that make me feel like it's gonna be okay too, that all this time accomplished something.

#AskTheAtty - You've had more Proconsuls during your team then any other Consul in Arconan history (also with having the longest reign this isn't necessarily unexpected). Out of your Proconsuls what did you learn from them? what did you hope to impart on them? I'd ask who your favorite was, but we all know it was Lego.

• Atty: 1) I hate you. So much. 2) I learned, mostly, to be tougher. To stand up for what I thought was right or wrong and actually fight it even in the face of being screamed at, derided, slandered, etc. Through all my PCONs, they made me stronger, and they made me harder. Found the warrior under the soft exterior, as it were. That might sound not great, but I am a really gentle soul at heart and I hate conflict; unless I am actively angry, I didn't argue things, and it took a lot to get me angry. Angry Atty is a cold and morally offended, righteous b***, the one who drops *essays on people to tell them just how badly they've screwed up. But she was also, you know, angry, and that means somewhat irrational, and I needed to be able to tactfully eviscerate someone or at least be firm and make my point without having to be pushed all the way to a very rare angry. I was too soft. Through all five of my PCONs, I always looked for someone more calculating and more callous (born of logic or antipathy) than myself (which wasn't necessarily hard). That was how me and my little brother worked, actually. I was the bleeding heart, he was the logical mind. So, I always sought that, and I relied on having someone to push me to be an actual authority figure (not that that was limited to my PCONs, I relied on Vic constantly and my other advisors as well).
• As for them getting something from me? I never really thought about that. Like, in a way that wasn't just me teaching them the ropes of how to be a PCON and not stick their foot in their mouth in public or in DC chats. I always felt that I had nothing to teach or give to my PCONs/team. That they were just helping me out of the goodness of their hearts. I don't know if I ever taught them, inspired them, or otherwise changed them in some way; if I did, I just hope it was for the better, heh.

#AskTheAtty - Now that your term is coming to an end, what advice would you give to the Aedile a few years ago who was being asked to step into the role? what warnings would you give? what would you prepare her for?

• Atty: Hahhahahahahahaha. Hahaha, hahah, hah— /breathes — hahahahahahhahaaaaa! Oh God. Ahem. I would tell her to talk more and smile less. Stand for something. Be non-stop! Kinda echoing the above that it took me so long to steadily learn, I'd tell her to be ready to make hard choices, to be ready to hate the choices she makes at times and hate everyone that lead to that choice being made but to realize that the best choice of several bad choices is still the best choice. To be ready to fight tooth and nail and to not be afraid. I wouldn't caution her; she had enough caution and care to last her all the way to me now and beyond. I'd tell her that some of her events will fail badly, that people will be bored of and complain about them and what she writes no matter what she does, that while she already knows you can't please everyone, it's really true. That there are gonna be times when she makes an ass of herself, but that she can learn very deeply from them.
• Most of all, though? I would tell her "you're making the right choice, go for it!" She was scared. I was scared. But I'd do it again and again if I could and I'd do it smiling.

#AskTheAtty What is one event you either ran personally or contributed to that you would have changed some aspect of? or ran differently? why? and what would you have done different?

• Atty: Uhhhm. From Consul reign, Aftermath, that threeway we had with TAR and PLA. Our joint team for that had a lot of communication problems and didn't get fiction done promptly (chronic issue for me with event launches in particular). It really suffered from those communication issues, and I think we did our members a disservice in not giving them the best event possible. So, a lot more pre-planning and open talking and all of us being on the same page would have been great.
• From the before time? I ran my first RO as Gal AED, wherein Atty got shot and we got invaded by some One Sith remnants. I'm still proud of that RO actually, because people went crazy for it, the thing had nearly 90 posts in the span of a month and a half ish? But the execution was awful, and being clan-wide, the story just ran and ran away from me and I couldn't get a handle on it, haha. Then, after it was over, we never wrapped up the story, just left it hanging mid thread with no conclusion.

#AskTheAtty - Are you coming home to Galeres?

• Atty: Satsi's coming back to the Nighthawk, biznatches. /kicks up boots on the captain's console, while being glared at by the captain (All my love to QD, and Satsi might fit better there, being a gangster and all, but Gal needs some TLC more.)

#AskTheAtty - You've seen a number of characters perish throughout your history in the Club, if in your last moments as Consul you had the chance to bring one back, who would it be? (PC, NPC, Whomever).

• Atty: Does Kira count? :P (Marick's cythraul). Otherwise probably Nath cause I miss her and I think S'nar needs to stay dead because he's too good as a ghost trope.

Xenna asks, #asktheatty you are locked in a room with a spoon, what do you do?

• Atty: Try to use it to unlock the door, probably fail at that, then fiddle around with it because I'm a leg-jiggler/pen-clicker/clutch-snapper/glasses-twirler and need to have something in my hands when I'm bored and sitting in a room with just a spoon.

Blackhawk asks, #asktheatty How will you handle retirement fictionally? Are we about to see ghost Atty II? Also, if it hasn't been done already, will ghost Atty pop up in fiction?

• Atty: Atty may make an appearance or two in some dreams or out of body experiences...but who's to say that's really her, or her ghost? More likely just what those missing her wish were there. As for fictional retirement, that will depend on what my summit and fellow members are willing to write with me.

Kelly Mendes asks, #asktheatty how would you compare Arcona's current fictional situation to the one you inherited when you first became Consul?

• Atty: Vastly different. It's gone from darkity sable black black to a monochrome rainbow! I'm deeply pleased with the progress we've made in developing consequences for all our fictional actions, past and present, with the alliances we've forged (and possible rivalries we could yet forge...wanna go, Plag?) and with the factions we've developed; they've all created a wide breadth of character arcs and a large landscape to play in with something for everyone, I think, from alcoholic or dorky mercenaries to warriors of light to deeply-delving Force sorcerers bent on edginess.

Aiden/Rhylance asks, #asktheatty sooo what kind of adventures are Turel, you, and I gonna go on?

• Atty: The kind where three retired Consuls sit around drinking mimosas and not dealing with jack all.

How do I get cool apprentices like you have?

• Atty: Step one: find Arconan newbie. Step two: wraps your arms around their legs/ankle. Step three: don't let go. Step four: you've worn them down eventually! success!

Will you come visit SIMASS from time to time?

• Atty: Of course. Satsi will want to keep updated on how "their" projects are going.

How do you really feel about Rhylance's chipping habits?

• Atty: Me, or my characters? Me, I'd say terrible violation of human/alien rights and privacy and his blue bum needs locked up. Atty? Similar reaction but with more rehabilitation efforts. Satsi? If he tries it on her or anyone else in Arcona ever again, she will shoot him between the eyes without blinking. Ruka? Don't let him find out, he may set SIMASS on fire.

Vyr asks, #asktheatty Honestly: How relieved are you to pass the torch after so many years and focus on you and your own "stuff" (stories, art, etc.). Addendum: what now?

• Atty: [Laughs in Anxiety] I'm relieved but also really sad in turns? And it's stupid and illogical, but I've got this tiny voice nagging in my head going "how will I matter anymore? what am I if I'm not Consul?" It's been such a big part of my daily life and stresses and thoughts, constantly, for three years, I feel lost without it. Now, I know I am still me and still a leader in this club, and an Arconae, and a friend, etc. But right this moment as I write this and these last few days and probably a few to come, I waver between giddiness (hahahah **** it I'm free) and fright (what now? there's so much! a million things I haven't done and so many I still have to do and I don't have it ready and I'm retiring and and and...WHAT). I'm sure I'll settle soon, kick back, and write/art a lot.

Kelly also asks, #asktheatty I feel like you might have explained this somewhere but if not, what inspired your decision to step down?

• Atty: It was time. Over a year and a half ago, I was really straining under the combined stressed of Consulship, a very volatile time for our summit, and my falling grades in college. At that time, Vic spent awhile talking to me that I should set a tentative retirement date. I didn't have to stick to it, but I should set one so I had something to hold on to, a deadline to do things by and a goal to get to. Now, I didn't make that date. I stayed on an extra year after it :P A large part of this was that we felt I never had a suitable replacement — often my PCONs didn't feel suited for Consul or grew too strained and tired with the work to stay on any longer, let alone move up. So it became a lot of "staying the course" as we trained newer leaders, had others leave, etc. It's really over the last year that I've seen the growth of what I call "Newcona" in my head, the next generation now that me and mine are officially becoming "old folks" (compared to the newbs, not compared to the relics like Mav and Sarin :P hey boss). A lot of pieces fell into place about the time of the war, and we decided: yup, this March, that's it, for real this time. Then we moved that up back a bit so that the new Consul and Proconsul could be the ones voting for the new GM, and boom, here we are.

Len Iode asks, #asktheatty two questions: Are you pleased with the RL and fictional connections forged in your time between Arcona and other Clans? What is the one thing you wish you could have done differently early in your leadership career with your knowledge you have now?

• Atty: I'm really pleased. I don't think I can say that enough. I've met my partner, my best friends, my brothers and sisters in this club. People I take care of, and who take care of me. And fictionally, these last three years and the changes in Arcona's identity and our closeness as ARCOU is one of the things I'm proudest of in all my works. I wish I could have deepened some of our ties to Tar before their closing, and also formed some rivalries, but the larger club fictional direction had put us all on a very "work together vs the DC" thing so I think we'll get more breathing room for that now. I'm excited to explore that with the friends and IC relationships I've made in my time.

Blade asks, #asktheAtty after 3 years at the helm, are you ready to be a lazy title holder? What will your cane look like?

• Atty: I don't know why you think I need a cane. :P And no, I'm not. I'm ready to be a smartass, advice-giving, humble title holder chilling on my bench made of ever-more Clusters of Ice. I'm not going anywhere. I've got a new generation to nag and learn from.

Laren asks, #asktheatty Will this actually be your last ever #asktheatty? Also more seriously, do you have advice for newer members on how different methods they can use to get involved in Clan projects?

• Atty: It will be the last ever one for my reign as Consul. Might reuse the hashtag if I get another job where I do reports. As for advice to new kids, communication and research. Talk to your clanmates and leaders to see what there is to be worked on, and then go study it. If you want to do wiki work, actually go find and read the wikis, try to get an understanding of the current system, and respectfully and thoughtful build off of it, add to it, fix it. Don't say it's terrible. Nobody likes to hear how much you hate everything they worked to build or maintain. Nobody wants to work with someone on a team if they're constantly stubborn or completely unwilling to admit fault or compromise. You will not be brought on for a project if you can't be managed or work with the team actually running that project. Mind your audience, mind your manners, don't be passive-aggressive or even directly aggressive, for the love of God. If you want to help or change something, show you care, show you're willing, show PATIENCE even when annoyed at slow progress; then make a plan, do the work, and together, with the people around you, implement it. This is the best advice I can give for anyone who wants to be hired, contribute, or is dissatisfied with something in the DB or their clan currently.

Sarin asks, If you were gm for a day, what one imitative/project would you implement. What one current thing would you change? #asktheatty

• Atty: Oh woo boy nobody is gonna like this answer, haha. While one day isn't enough to do anything on such a scale, if I was #GMAtty for a day (don't you think about it, Elevator Cult) and implementing a project, I totally wouldn't spend my time writing a gay love story in the SW universe and trying to sell it to Disney as canonical Young Adult fiction to draw in a new generation of fans. Nope. Ahem. But really, I would want to target interclan relations most. It's hard to call that a project because it's nebulous, but I would really want to address any unhealthy attitudes towards other clans perpetrated by any one clan (eg publicly talking about how "x clan sucks" in a clan or db chat or "the acc is only for x and y"). That's not good for us, it's not good as a club and it is especially not good for new joins. What person today looking to sign up to nerd about Star Wars wants to spend their very limited attention in which we have to catch their interest reading about how some people hate some other people when they don't even know who's being talked about? Hell with that. No, I want to be on the ground as a GM/leader and working with my clans to foster those relationships between them, both alliances and rivalries and general best practices. I don't mean that as in homogenizing anyone or asking anyone to participate or talk less — all those are ludicrous. But I would want to really engage so that our attitude as a club overall is friendlier to each other, so that competitiveness is the prime aggressor, never prejudice or dislike. We have come really far as a club in making strides that way, in becoming less insular, less mean, more welcoming, and more diverse (more female leaders, more mixed offices, more clan v clan feuds). I don't want that to stop just because we've shaped up some, I want it to keep going. So, that'd be my pet undertaking. Aggressive socialization? :P
• As for what current thing I would change…Clan structure. By which I don't mean internal positions, I mean downsizing — so there's only three clans, one to center on each Path (perhaps one is L/L/G, another G/G/?, the last D/D/G). I would hope that this would take the smaller rosters we have scattered about the current six and make a large, active body of members in each new clan, so that we have a) aforementioned active body to generate and consume content and create communities, b) a much smaller number of leadership positions while retaining the clan leadership structure as is — which I think is very important and works best compared to other options. Having been an Aedile and relied very heavily on my Proconsuls and RMs, etc, I think that level of middle management working closely, on the ground with their members and training BTLs is critical. Meanwhile, upper summit handles managing the middle leaders and faces outward to the club for larger issues and DC representation, their most important role. I think these changes would greatly help the dearth of leadership candidates we have, because there'd be fewer spots to fill but still lots of people to train, lead by example, and stand on retainer for future leadership (maybe I'd implement term limits...two years for Consul, perhaps 12 months for PCON/RM/QUA, 15 for AED.BTL, the idea being plenty of time training but stable upward motion and rotation).
• One of our worst problems in the DB and to the club's health right now is that there are too few members capable of leadership and too many positions to fill. For the entire three years as Consul I've only ever seen personally and discussed with other Consuls a real struggle to get more than 3 applications for any given position — yet, as Praetor, I've seen 6 apps minimum each time we've opened Magistrate positions. People seem to flock to these skilled DC positions that require specific project or systems work over leadership. Additionally, there's the specialized DC positions and Ps and Ms that are nearly impossible to replace — hi, Herald and Seneschal offices. These spots require ungodly amounts of very specific practice and skill honing, even more than other jobs, where basic English ability and knowledge of our systems is enough; a Voice office worker need not have perfect syntax to know how to read and approve or remand Character Sheets. These jobs are good jobs, and I don't actually think we should downsize those positions, I just think we should rotate them more or implement more term periods with Magistrates to create possible future replacements for the less specialized DC offices: MAA, Voice, HM, Regent. JST is already built in, thankfully. FIST requires some serious gaming plans, but still also doable, whether or not consoles or games are owned.
• But back to the clan-level leadership thing. People are often either scared of leadership or intimidated by it, feel indifferent to it, or are really eager for it (whether because they want to get that next EQ promotion or because they just want to help). Of that group of people, some are more suited to it than others. Leadership can be taught, but some qualities help and are more valuable than others. Writing, communication, award processing, reprimands, management, all can be taught, provided the person can learn and there is someone able to teach with the time to do so. We have very little of that right now, because of aforementioned dearth of willing applicants and shortage of knowledgeable leaders with time and willingness on their hands to train. As a Consul running three years, and an Aedile for...two? before that, I can tell you that I am tired. You bet your butts there have been days when I would rather have bashed my head on a wall than explain to my new Quaestor why they couldn't "talk to the kids that way" or something. Systems stuff is even more tedious. Now, in our summit we delegate that out to the House leadership, and they train their AEDs/BTLs effectively, and we eyeball other members with potential...but it is all so much strain with the sheer workload of day-to-day. We need fresher people. We need teaching. We need more bodies to fill fewer positions.
• And THAT, long story short, is why I would condense the club. Would it hurt? Uh, yeah. People will be heartbroken to lose the clans they know, and people hate change. Does that mean it wouldn't be a good idea? You be the judge. Fact is, while we have a fairly steady rate of membership as compared to, say, seven years ago (these are stats I've worked with a lot while arguing on the Dark Summit :P) but we also aren't getting as many new joins as we once did and are seeing very little influx even after the movie releases. We've got six Clans, ten DC offices with Praetors and Magistrates, a Society Leader with Judges, two Tribunes, and lots of blank spaces on the rosters between all of them. Leadership of a unit is going to work best for that unit, and shouldn't be forced into some universal mold: these theoretical three clans may not want an RM, or may not use an AED, or may have 3 BTs where one has only one. But I think they'd be a little better off, with our membership more concentrated, our leaders less strained, and, juuuust maybe, our future generations a little more prepared so that not every GM has to run two terms and half the position-holders don't get soldered to their chairs while the younglings look on, wondering if they will get a chance or get to learn. /spiel

Warp asks, #asktheatty Any plans for after you stand down? Also, where will all the rainbows go?

• Atty: The rainbows will never die. They are eternal. I will spend my retirement reminding you all of that. ;P

In Closing

There's not much left to be said at this point, dears, so I am just going to take a deep breath and shout the words that have found me my home. One last time as your Shadow Lady:

Arcona Invicta!