Introduction

Hello, lovelies! Welcome to the next Arcona Clan Report! This one is a bit off our schedule and overlaps slightly with the update earlier in this month that touched on leadership transitions and our move to Discord. We'll be focusing more in depth on that now, as well as getting to the rest of the Clan goodness.

Get a drink, snuggle up, take a breath — have you eaten and rested yet? You can always come back to this, go on, shoo. Now. Let's get going.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. On Discord
3. News
4. Clan Fiction Update
5. House Discretionary Funds
6. Competitions
7. Ask Atty
8. In Closing...

On Discord

While we'll get to everything from the Clan level and up and down and around shortly, the biggest thing right now, is, obviously, the DB transitioning its main and official communications platform to Discord. This is real important, so we have done our best to prepare and help you guys along.

Look, some of you will be very happy with this, having loved Discord already. Some of you have no feelings. And some, admittedly like me (I haven't been quiet about my dislike, for which I partly apologize, if only for the negativity) hate it. Some have had bad experiences, which are super valid, or don't know how they'll keep up with talking when Discord is easier to get lost in in a chat and you already get lost on Telegram. We hear you. We're sorry, and we're gonna try as much as we can to make it better for you.

We have a main Arcona chat that is public to the DB, but we reserve all rights to kick folks out. All our other channels are hidden/private and will have less traffic. For those in the busy ones, I suggest hanging out there and seeing if it works any better, maybe moving the DB Server to the top-ish of your server list.

We will be maintaining some of our Telegram chats until the New Year, in order to help stay in contact with everyone and keep easing the transition, as well as to allow for communication to members who can't or won't use Discord yet. Personally, I'm going to be keeping TG anyway because it's both how I keep up with my husband/mom/some friends and where I like to write to myself instead of using a notepad, heh.

All that said, we present to you a Discord Transition Guide

An immense thank you to Wally for this guide as well as his two other guides on setting up two factor authentication and on authorizing with dbb0t on the DB server as a new join, and a thank you to Aru, Zuza, Kris, anyone who's tried to offer solutions and group chattings and features, and everyone across the DB who has been working to smooth this transition along.

Sunsetting Telegram

Telegram has been the primary chat platform for the Brotherhood since 2015. For some, it grew beyond just the chat platform for the club, but a way to communicate with family and friends. For Arcona, it’s been a place where many people formed bonds, relationships, and gone through major life changes with the support of each other. You probably also have years of photos, videos, accidental audio logs and messages you probably don’t want to lose.

With this in mind, we’re going to quickly spend a little bit of time showing you the different ways you can archive chats to better retain your Telegram chat history and media.

Archiving Old Chats

Instead of deleting or leaving old chat rooms, the best way to retain but better focus on the chats that matter is to use the “Archive” feature. This will remove the chat from your list, but you can always pull it back up at a later time.

On Desktop, you can do this by:

1. Right click on selected chat(s).
2. “Archive”.

On Mobile, you can do this by:

1. Press and hold on a single or multiple chat(s)
2. Press the square with a down arrow icon to “Archive”.

Viewing Archived Chats

To see your Archived chats on mobile, you can pull down from the top of Telegram until it lets you release and shows you all your “Archived chats”.

This should lead to “cleaning up” your Telegram chats so that if you plan on keeping the application, you can worry less about keeping up with the official DB and Clan chats and focus on using it for personal use.

Going Forward

A few of us will still be hanging out on Telegram for non-club reasons. We will leave Arcona Chat in place, but the Arcona Summit, along with the rest of the Clans, Society Chats (Fiction, Gaming, Art), and the club leadership (Dark Council) is going to be moving to Discord. That means this is where we will be focusing our attention when it comes to events, competitions, memes/giggles, and eventually future RPs.

The following chats will be archived by the Arcona Summit:

• House Qel-Droma
• Voidbreaker
• Etc.

Discord 101

If you don't have Discord yet, you can get it here. It'll work on browser, desktop, and mobile apps.

This is the join link for the DB server.

So, let’s talk about Discord. If you haven’t made the switch over yet, you can follow this guide that Wally made which covers joining, authenticating with the bot, and getting access to Arcona’s channels.

A reminder that we have updated our chat policies to account for Discord. You can find the Arcona Chat Policy in PDF form here including chat rules, actions for warning and mediation policies.

The policy is fairly straightforward. Arcona’s community is our lifeblood. We are a very diverse, strange bunch of weirdos that have banded together to form a family and have carved out a place on the internet where we feel like we can be ourselves. We are happy to share our culture with our friends and fellow clubmates, and welcome anyone that is open-minded to our shenanigans to join us. If there are too many rainbows and dog pictures for you, however, we’re sorry-but-not-sorry.

In the interest of transparency, however, we want to make it very clear that any member that has said or done things to make our members feel uncomfortable (whether they be in the past, present or future), the Arcona Summit is behind me in making and maintaining bans. Words have meaning, accountability matters, and our first priority will always be to protect our members' health, happiness and enjoyment.

Mute /Hide Chats

Discord doesn’t let you leave a chat, but you can mute it, and then hide it. To mute a chat:

1. Select the chat you want to mute.
2. Right click →* Notifications* → and select “Nothing”.

To Hide muted chats, click on the “Dark Jedi Brotherhood” text for the server, and select “Hide muted”.

That's all, folks. Thank you again, Wally. We'll see you all on Discord. We're all still learning, but we'll manage together. It's gonna be okay. Wherever we go, we're still our family, still this ohana, if we're with each other.

(Hi, James. Love you. It wouldn't be me if this report didn't have at least one gif.)

News

DB Wide Updates

As for some miscellany news in case you missed any of it, the Voice staff has rotated, and your new Magistrates and Praetor have been chosen. Best of luck to both Iddy and them, and many thanks, both personally and professionally, to Ori and Q for their work as Magistrates for these many months. It was an honor to work with you, and we're grateful. To the new staff: we look forward to bombing you with CSs and RP word counts.

Additionally, FIST of the Brotherhood was open for applications. Evant et al are currently reviewing their lot and we'll have a new selection soon, so keep an eye out for that!

The most recent Herald report showed off the new custom dossier graphics for the Faction Rewards from the Rite of Supremacy! You can also see the usual batches of awesome robes, warbanners, and weapons by the staff, and see the updated policy for the Discord Art Chat.

Arcona News

As you all hopefully know, our new Consul Rhylance/Aiden/Ben has put out an update about his selection for Proconsul going forward — congrats to Q! — and about how while we get some things settled, I'll be the Proconsul in the interim — oh no.

To that end, to cover the fictional side of things, I'm going to be using my Alt Character that some of you know, Ruka, for the Proconsul role in-character. You can read below about how that's going to start shaking out.

I have some plans in mind to do more short fictions expanding around this, like Lucine and Rhylance plotting Lucine's retirement and Rhylance's ascension in and of itself, as well as follow up to it. I also want to generally do these "ficlets" in order to keep the Clan (and possibly House) stories fresh. Rather than having major updates every so often in events or reports, I want to release small snapshot fictions of the Clan folk doing plotty things on the mailer, weekly ones being the goal. These would be things I can probably write on my own with approval between reports and more major updates.

This is kind of a stretch goal I have, and something I wanted to do if I got Voice, but can try here instead. Ideally, I'd be doing ficlets showing plot as well as just showing member features. The member features would be first come/first serve via people replying to the email or commenting on the report something they learned from the report, much like back during the Rite lead up to get a doodle.

The list looks like this, in no particular order, so far:

• Rhy and Lucine plotting
• Q and Ru's conversation, or the ceremony where Rhy announces Ruka's appointment
• Lucine doing studying artifact things
• The gods plotting/bad things happening elsewhere on Selen
• Membership focused stuff
• Faction stuff! As in the Collective, SP/TR, the new evil dudes. These would be more tying the Clan in than about macro plot stuff, that's for the big bosses
• Etc

Now, as for things to expect otherwise! Both the Houses have put out their reports, and you can find Galeres' right here and Qel-Droma's hereThe Clan "event" calendar remains roughly the same.

• September: break/transition time, the Houses have some small events/RPs going
• October: free slot for Houses to use for mini events if they like, expect some casual spooky themes all over the place, House, Clan, DB
• November: A quiet month in order to plan for holiday times and outline the next Clan event
• December/January: The next major installment of the Arcona vs so called Gods event, with a wintery theme as trouble brews on Selen's coldest continents. To accommodate the sheer $##@%^@%^ that is the holiday season essentially from late November to late December, this one will stretch out to six weeks into January rather than try to cram in while everyone is getting ready for the holidays. Should also leave time for that semester winter break.

More details and more fiction to come, but for now, here's this little bit of sneakiness, and all the goody comps and such you can find around the DB right now below.

Fiction Update

The Citadel

Selen, Dajorra System

39 ABY

The invitation — the order? — summoned him to the Consul's office.

He hadn't known they had an office.

It made sense, he supposed. There had to be somewhere to do everything that wasn't the huge, fancy, intentionally intimidating throne room, but he'd never had a reason to go there. He had only even been in or out of the throne room in passing, when Vasano and her court held their large parties in a bunch of different rooms in the Citadel and he and Cora were obliged — well, Cora was excited — to show up and thank the Arconans some more for their hospitality.

The throne room had extremely fancy doors, and extremely tall ceilings. It, the whole Citadel, was like other mansions and palaces he'd visited before to work; rich people loved to waste space in rooms instead of actually using it.

The office had a fancy door and a high ceiling too. The furniture was dark. He had no idea if it was nice or not. Cora would've known. Probably would've already been gushing to Lucine about it, smile blinding.

Ruka shifted awkwardly where he stood. There wasn't anyone else in the office, but there was a tea set on a cart and datapads all in stacks. The Summit Guardsmen that had escorted him in had left him there.

He was just starting to wonder whether or not his being called in was a prank or not when some previously unseen door opened around the back of the room and out came striding a tall, slim Chiss in a lab coat, followed closely by a noble redheaded woman.

"—darling, you really must let me have the designers make you some new robes. It is gauche to wear your work around with you, and you are not a scientist anymore. You are a Shadow Lord, now."

"My dear, you can have your pets make me whatever clothing you like, but I will never not be a scientist. Ah. Tenbriss. Good."

"Ruka, darling," Lucine purred, and smiled at Ruka across the desk. It was a very perfect smile.

"Lady Vasano," he said, a little surprised, spine prickling warily. He bowed properly at the waist like Cora had taught him over the years. "I didn't know you'd uh, be here. The note said the…Lord? Rhylance? Wanted to see me. Not that you— can't be. Sorry. Just. What can I do for you? Ay, both of you? Or...?"

Lucine only laughed lightly. "Relax, darling. Yes, we wanted to see you. Sit. Rest. Would you like some tea? I have had Tabriss brew this especially for your visit. It is an herbal blend from Mirial. I am told it is quite spicy, as you prefer, no?"

The butler himself melted out of, Ruka was absolutely sure, an actual, literal armoire closet right there. Did Tabriss just hide in there, waiting to be called on? Geez.

"Um." What would Cora do? "Sure, ay. Thank you." He didn't sit, though. It didn't seem right, because no one else was sitting. Tabriss poured drinks. Rhylance was taking off his lab coat. There was a small stain on the sleeve, and the Mirialan was fairly certain it was either blood or ink. The Sith straightened fully with a bracing breath and nodded to the two heads of state. "So, ay, what can I do for you?"

"Have your tea, dear, please." Lucine sipped hers.

Ruka barely choked back a grumble and took his own cup, then set it down. "Is this about the carpet in our apartment?" he pressed. Sven had gotten anxious the other night and clawed up the tapping while they sat breathing through it, right by one bedroom doorway. "Because I'm going to fix that. I done maintenance most of my life, promise."

It couldn't be about the carpet? Right? Even if it was a Citadel apartment. That wasn't important enough. But then again...these people did have that artifact Sith magic chair that spied on everything. But no way was it important enough even if they did know.

The Chiss scientist-now-overlord looked at him like, well. Like he was an idiot. Ruka was familiar with that expression, at least. It was sort of grounding, when everything else about this was strange. "What? No. Nothing about that."

The Mirialan winced, wondering if he had just inadvertently gotten them into trouble. He pushed the thought aside and pressed on. "Uh, ay, sorry. Is it about Karran? And everything on Mos Kenny?"

"No."

"Sera?"

"No, stop guessing, you are terrible at it. Enough niceties, I will get right to it," the new Consul went on. His mannerisms were brusque, and Ruka noted that he wasn’t drinking any tea either. Lucine shot the Chiss an exasperated look, as though she thought he should make more small talk. Cora sometimes looked at Ruka the same way when he was really pained by him being anti-social.

However, the thought was driven from his mind by Rhylance’s next words. “I want you to be my Proconsul.”

A beat. Ruka stared at Rhylance with a furrow in his thick brows like he was hearing an unfunny joke, a bit of a sneer and a rising of his shoulders towards his ear, defensive like he was being mocked. That expression slowly dawned into something more and more like horror.

"I'm sorry, what?"

---

You can read the rest of the fiction here.

House Discretionary Funds

Oh look, monies! Well done to both our Houses. Enjoy your piles of credits.

Competitions

• LOREFEST: September 2021 - This monthly Voice-sponsored (read: bonus Cluster-giving!) competition is running for a few more days. The first prompt is ** The Variant: Joining the Brotherhood**. Tell an alternate tale of what would've happened to any of your characters if they had never joined the DB. Would they be happier with a lost family somewhere? Bored at a dead end job? Dead in a ditch? Still a slave? Running their own business? Many possibilities! Ends in 2 days.
• Law & Droma - These light comps for Qel-Droma gives y'all some more chances to develop the House, Ol'Val, and some shiny new assets. Get some easy comp credits and have fun. Ends in 2 days.
• A Horn In a Haystack: Epilogue - Following up on the events of the recent Qel-Droma/Clan-wide RP Session where Arconans and friends went to Tattooine to rescue one of their own, Karran, this fiction gives you a chance to wrap up your writing or to get involved if you didn't have a chance during the RP! Summary included, all characters welcome.
• Uncle A-Aru's Big Load of Puzzles - You've seen this majesty around the block by now, still ongoing, many more to come! Current puzzle ends in 12 days. Excellent, easy participation.
• Represent the Brotherhood 2: The Old Republic - Gaming competitions for ToR, as it says on the tin. Ends in 2 days.
• "A Good, Old-Fashioned Cluster Race?' - Exactly what it says! Clusters! Of any kind, for any DB game. Ends in 2 days.
• Good or Evil? - Depict a Star Wars character as the opposite alignment. Handsome hero Palps? Wicked "Step On Me" Sith Obi-Wan? A happy Jedi Anakin? Up to you! Ends in 5 days.
• Star Wars animals puzzle series - Puzzles with Star Wars animals. The next, the mynock, will be running for a week starting tomorrow.

Ask Atty

Y'all were shy bugs, so only a couple this time.

Turel asks: #AskAtty Want to do a sis-con collab event before you leave the position?

• 9000% all my yes, which movie should we do this time?
  

Wally asks: Wassing of the where with the doing?

• Wassing of the ups with the doing in the where.

Xenna asks, * How is our nuclear weapons program coming along?*

• /me looks at SW tech on the high end and all our fleet armaments I'm going to say...good? Post-nuclear, even? How do plasma weapons even work? Either way you can destroy a planet sooo. Not that we're into destroying planets. We specifically took the super awesome cloak for our fleet, because we are not evil jerks that do planet destroying, geez.

Skar asks, #askatty Just as a heads up I'll be taking one or two of the prisoners from the Selen jail to my lab no need to worry!

• No. Ruka says no, Qyreia says no, Sera says no, the Geneva Convention says no. :P Skar can be as brainwashed as he likes but unfortunately for him all his direct bosses have morals now, and Rhylance probably couldn't care less whether Skar gets to play with prisoners or not. /me gets the spray bottle and also the stun cuffs

Aru asks, Can Aru—

• No. Literally to anything finishing that sentence, whatever it is, no. -Ruka

Rayne asks, How many night elven druids does it take to get a cat out of a tree?

• I just liked this joke so I'm including it, #nelflyfe. Three! One to be the cat, one to be the tree, and one to get the cat down.

In Closing…

That’s it for this month! As always, if you have concerns, ideas, recommendations or a general need to chat, we are always here for you. If you need to get a hold of either of us, we are on Telegram (@AidenLD and @RainbowPhoenixDJB), Discord (Atty#3546 and Rhylance#7156) or by email at [Log in to view e-mail addresses] and [Log in to view e-mail addresses]