Cooper_

I'm not really one for spin. It makes me dizzy. On the other hand, I'm a big fan of speaking the truth, and I think all of the statements I made oblige with that. If you have evidence to the contrary of what I said, I welcome the discussion. Looking at your response, I feel like you're just playing semantics or maybe it's just nonsense. We're not hella-huge, but we're huge? Swamp is large, but we're a different large? What does that even mean? I can't respond to vague definitions that don't have any logic or data backing them up. I mean this whole narrative has been vague. My thinking is it's vague because going into specifics would make it easy to scrutinize the narrative. I've already given you statistics that show Swamp being larger than Quack by a significant margin as well as outiering above and below us. You've told me what kind of huge you think Quack is. That isn't really a fair equivalency. Unless someones starts giving me a valid definition of what a hegemony actually is and then proves how Quack qualifies under those conditions, all of these arguments hold no water. We can dance around on rhetoric, but in reality there's zero substance to these claims. Thus, I will continue to suggest that this hegemony narrative is nothing but a political mask for opportunism because that's what the hard evidence suggestions. Finally, I have a real problem with quality critique. This double standard is always leveled against TKR. I don't understand why we have to be handicapped by some notion that we're competent. Yeah, we put a lot of effort into training our members and gov, and it pays off. That should be expected, and we take pride in it and our community. Your metaphor is a bit off as the competency advantage tops off pretty rapidly. The wars against IQ numbers and our quality demonstrated that nicely. And I think that's pretty insulting to Swamp who has a lot of promising gov (and many old guard) in T&, TI and TFP, especially. As an aside, it's nice to see you around, Kev. I hope @Pika and you are doing well. I didn't get to say good bye when y'all left last time. Stay well, friends.

Hi Kev, I'm having a bit of trouble following some of the logic here. You say we didn't go hella-huge, and yet you also imply we deserve a check and balance. Can you go into why Quack specifically needed a check? I keep hearing this hegemony narrative without any backup. People keep saying "oh Quack is a hegemony," but they are having trouble saying why that is. Unfortunately, there are no wars or really statistics to point to. And if that's true why doesn't Swamp, the bigger sphere, need that same check? Why is the the anti-hegemony Hedge Money working with the biggest sphere twice in a row to dogpile other spheres?

I think it's hard to make an apples to apples comparison. I also haven't been around long enough to know enough about Orbis intimately to make such a claim. What I will say though is that I think there's a substantive difference between being called a hegemony and acting like a hegemony. It's hard to make that point because a lot of decisions, especially negative decisions are thrown out when you make tiering comparisons in a vacuum. I mean I'll say Quack has had multiple opportunities to hit other spheres, which it has turned down due to a combination of factors including fairness of the war and impact on the meta. On top of this, Quack has actively cut down on it's treaties (TI, T&, Soup, and others) as well as rejecting many other potential ties. When the NAP began, we were at the size of TcWsphere, and the only thing that changed was that we grew faster than the rest. Should we get penalized for recruiting better and growing faster? I'm not sure. I also mean to contend the fact that Quack even qualifies as a hegemony. There are currently 4 principal spheres, and Quack makes up about ~30% of cities with another sphere, Swamp,, making up 35-40%. From what I understand, the hegemony narrative's strongest point is the TKR-T$ tie. Something about our competence makes us the end-all-be-all of Orbis. I get the idea that competence makes a large difference, but as we saw with IQ even the best fighters can't really do better than 1.3:1, 1.5:1, maybe? 2:1, and most of Quack isn't TKR-T$. I suppose the final point people make is control over a single tier, but that just isn't there on any level. I think all of these conditions of hegemony failing are why the claims are so vague here. It's just an accusation of hegemony with no backup. Part of the problem is that actors see hegemony narratives as a means to an end because it has worked in the past. If you want to roll someone opportunistically, then you call them a hegemon and can fudge the rest. It's a crime of existence not a crime that exists. This isn't the first time that it's been used successfully against TKR. And they can be effective politically, but that doesn't make them true. It's usually a bit more complicated with that in backrooms, but you probably understand better than I, buor, how powerful hegemony narratives are. Admittedly, this is one of the poorer narratives I've seen, which is why we were a bit surprised by the other spheres also entering. It's a bit funny that the "hegemons" are usually the ones that get hit 2-3:1 instead of the other way around. If you want to know my take, I was expecting to go to war with Swamp and HM. We couldn't realistically take on both, so we blitzed what we could and hoped for a slow counter to merge our blitz front before Swamp could fully mobilize. We weren't sure whether we could win (50/50 at best), and I thought we were going to have among the most balanced wars in recent times. Result either way was likely going to be the breakup of Quack. Now, I have no idea what will happen with the ensuing political isolation we'll experience. I imagine the meta commentary will be more refined as we see things evolve, but I think that fairly responds your question. Hi, we didn't do any plotting. We responded to the dice Orbis gave us. This war was never our intention nor our idea. It was either now or in mid-November. There's no if. Only when. We chose to do it on our terms with clearly established Orbis precedent.

You just made me laugh out loud, literally. I appreciate the trolling. You keep me on my toes ❤️

I do earnestly believe that making IQ comparisons is wrong. I had no intention of a personal insult as that is never my style. Do forgive me good sir, but I do think that qualifies as toxicity to be gaslighted in such a way. And you can be serious without it getting personal. That's what I meant by it's a game.

I just reran the numbers by sphere. I also updated some of the alliances involved, so the numbers changed marginally. Swamp is the largest sphere by a non-minor margin (roughly 40% of HM ahead as a comparison). They alone out-tier us in everything below C21 and above C35. Anyways, I'm around for more data-driven discussion. My inner Nate Silver is just waiting to come out! Hello, Akuryo! Pleasure to make your acquaintance. The narrative you're throwing out here isn't correct. We have logs as Partisan previously posted for everyone to see. We were going to get hit by y'all, and it wasn't really a secret y'all had been gunning for us for months (probably since the beginning of the NAP). Maybe it's my memory playing tricks on me, but I sure remember starting the NAP with a bang with folks from your sphere starting hegemony narratives right off the bat. And then we had months of rumors coming out of nowhere talking about Quack's plans to hit enemy spheres, which somehow never materialized. We were privy to a lot of information, much of it was probably suitable for a declaration of war. The months of spinning y'all had going didn't fall on deaf ears, and I find this to be important context which you don't reference. But if only one point gets through, this was was going to happen either way. We've confirmed that all parties were planning on entering in November as the logs say. To say anything else is a lie, and you know that. Only thing we did here was choose how the war went down. We were expecting Swamp to counter, and I was looking forward to it. I thought a Swamp/HM war with Quack would've been loads of fun and relatively even with asymmetric tiering advantages. Alas, one can hope. I suppose one can also appreciate the irony of an anti-hegemony "hedgemoney" starting two dogpile wars in a row. Anyways I think you'd get better responses if you were nicer to people. Spreading the toxicity of the OWF isn't a good thing. I feel like every time I log on to this god-forsaken place I see you yelling at someone and having no patience for anyone who might disagree with you. It's a game y'know, and being rude to people doesn't make it anymore fun.

This just isn't cool or funny. We spent 9 months under NPO and IQ's boot, fighting harder, longer and louder than virtually any other alliance. And I'm damn proud of our community for doing what it did. Now, you're going to call us IQ/NPO? Take a step back man, and get some perspective. We're freaking TKR. On a more general note, I really think we need to practice better hygiene with how we post. Calling people you don't like IQ is just wrong and clearly lacks any understanding of context. A lot of us suffered a lot during that war, and it minimizes it when you just flippantly throw it around. And in reality, it doesn't take a lot of brainpower to come up with a better byline for your narrative. Do better. Be better.

Reposting

Hi there, I heard you've got complaints about the quack hegemony. For your viewing pleasure:

Off to war we go! Good luck everyone.

I have no sympathy for Pantheon, but isn't this a standard thing–to counter for an attack on anyone on an AA? That's always been our policy too. Since Nova, there's no doubt they deserve this from my view, but I'm iffy on setting the precedent of escalating from what could be considered a valid counter. Anyways, blood for the blood god! Have fun burning the pixels. I'm jelly :3

I overall like the changes, but I'd suggest rebalancing the costs of the Spy Satellite and perhaps recouping costs to anyone who invested in it. It's pretty expensive, and its ability to control a spy war just got significantly nerfed. I can still see the value in having them, but it's lower than what it was. I imagine there's also some derived demand for space program because of spy satellite, so that also got weaker. Suggestion: 25% cut in money and resource costs, and a refund of that amount of to players who have space program. A corresponding 10% cut in costs for space program.

Congratulations guys on picking out a new gov. That said, I would like to say that @Redarmy is a treasure, and you will be missed. I've had the opportunity to become friends with you over these past months (almost a year now?), and I'm really happy I did. I know I speak for everyone in TKR when I say this because whether it was in CoS/Val (RIP) or later in ASM, you were a great friend and person throughout all of the tough times. I'm sure that almost everyone who really knows you thinks the same. There's really not many people who are as genuinely kind to as many people as you're. I didn't intend for this to get that sappy, but I really mean it. There's always a spot waiting for you to chill out with us whenever you like. Enjoy your retirement because you deserve it. And please don't be a stranger. Obligatory: RIP Chaos. I miss you ❤️ It's dark and full of terrors. I think Ben sometimes forgets to feed us.

Finally making me proud to say "ayy lmao."

a Knightly Association: Radiant Empire Notification Preamble The Knights Radiant and The Imperium enter into this treaty of mutual defense, to be referred to as K.A.R.E.N. Article I: That’s So Fetch! The Knights Radiant and The Imperium, referred to hereafter as the Signatories, come together to proclaim that “Fetch” is made an official word of both the Empire and Roshar. All followers of the sacred slang shall be granted Pax Romana such that no hostile actions are taken. Any disagreements on how and when “Fetch” should be said will be handled through the local oathkeeper. Article II: I’ll Speak to the Manager Both Signatories agree to share all relevant information, even complaints about the feckless employees. It is agreed that no whining nor passive-aggressiveness shall be included in the exchange of gossip on the size of that gurl’s assets. The Signatories are also encouraged to share technological and monetary techniques, including but not limited to roads, winemaking, and surges of adhesion. Article III: Isn’t my Haircut Great? Should either Signatory come under attack, the other Signatory pledges to do whatever it takes to help them get their way. Yes, even if that means we have to deal with people “who are just doing their job.” A Signatory does not have to send the radiant legions if this call is due to a Signatory's other obligations towards, or actions undertaken on behalf of, a third party. Article IV: I’m No Basic B*tch Should either Signatory wish to show their true colors, the treaty may be canceled at any time with the proper displays of privilege to the other alliance, followed by 72 hours of going to successively higher levels of management. After the 72 hours have elapsed, K.A.R.E.N will no longer be an official meme. /s/ The Knights Radiant Queen of the Heralds: BennyBoop Princess of the Heralds: Revolution’s Harbinger Herald of Foreign Affairs: Boops Herald of War: ARRROOOOO Herald of Growth: Shroominator Herald of Internal Affairs: The Wise L /s/ The Imperium Emperor: Fake Boss Regent: Shopping Cart Manager Primarch of Milcom: Babysitter Primarch of Internal Affairs: Felix Arvid Ulf Kjellberg

Not trying to start something here, so I'm just going to clarify. I made no judgement on the character of Dwight or his alliance. I experienced the same events as y'all, and I have opinions. Frankly though, my comment had nothing to do with SF rather it had to do with Rose. This is now the second time that Rose has countered for an ally in an unenviable position where they probably could've gotten away with not helping out. First with the KT hit that GGFU didn't counter and now this. To me, that shows a bit of consistency in principle, and that's what I was appreciating. It's a viewpoint that I share: you sign treaties then you reasonably honor them. That's all I was saying as a fellow adherent of the honourgland.

It's not the first time Rose has stood up for someone who others wouldn't. Recalls KT right after NPOLT. Respect for that. Honor, amirite!

I just wanted to point out that the rest of Orbis was watching you folks as the first war in the post-IQ environment, and I just wanted to express my appreciation for how all parties handled this war. This has been a personal dream of mine for years–to see a quick, short, and in-good-faith war–and it finally happened. Kudos. Now, let's make this the expectation not the exception!

I never thought I'd see the day where someone gets declared on by @Menhera. Oh how times have changed in the FAmily. Best of luck to both of y'all. Really looking forward to Vader & Lossi Smash! They grow up so quickly... cries.

This is just how I show @evilpiggyfoofoo my love. A prank on a personal level because piggy do be piggy. #CaleopeBetterThanPiggy I had no other intention in mind.

Or... even pixel-hug properly. Look at those wasted production bonuses. 7/7/5 mines instead of maxing out at 10 for the +50% sighs. Imagine not even just not fighting back, but failing at that as well.

If anyone is interested, in tiering comparisons.

Honestly, this. I mean in its past 3 wars, TKR eventually got rolled all three times. We're stronger because of it. Mostly everyone here has made mistakes, and–to some degree or another–mostly everyone has paid for them in some way. A large part of accepting responsibility for actions is also accepting the consequences. If you do get rolled and you bounce back even stronger, you'll earn respect and have new paths open up to your FA. And I'm unaware of anyone who would subject you to what we were subjected to last war. A few weeks and a decent bit of pixels destroyed. This is also why I think the original post rings so hollow. I understand that y'all claim the timing is simply unfortunate, but, given your history and position, y'all don't really deserve the benefit of the doubt. I'm not sure what you expected Orbis to think besides that this is a naked move to protect your hides, the SAME sort of behavior that got UPN in trouble in the first place. Pixel-hugging is antithetical to what I'd want to achieve if I were in your shoes. Now to be clear, this isn't an open endorsement to roll UPN, but I thought the context was important enough to add. The first steps towards taking responsibility are quitting with the pansy "shoulda-coulda-woulda" excuses, starting to acknowledge what you did wrong, and showing the rest of Orbis how you plan to fix it. You didn't accomplish any of that here. And maybe that gets you rolled, but you'll come out the other end with your community intact and a whole potential future to explore. I mean it wasn't that long ago that most of the world had issues with TKR and decided to hit us in KF. I like to think that we've learned a lot since, and I know we're in a much better spot from an FA perspective despite having made missteps. There are many other alliances that have similar stories. It is up to you guys to make it happen and turn over a new leaf. Until that point, you can damn expect that you'll be subjected to intense scrutiny. Fix it and be better. Maybe then we can talk. That's about the extent of the good faith I have to offer you guys. I was going to ignore this as I don't really care what you have to say about me. My reputation speaks for itself. I don't have the time of day to worry about someone getting salty about having his one-man AA denied protection. But insulting a leader of one of my protectorates goes too far. Having worked with him for months, I can say that all of us in TKR are proud to have Citrus and Oceania as a protectorate. He, along with the Oceania team, have done great work in a building a community, and that's everything I ask of them. I have no desire to get into the specifics of your troubled history or to see this exchange continued. Desist and bring your comments elsewhere. Say whatever you want about me, but don't f@#k around with my allies. I take that seriously, and I'm not as easygoing when it comes to protecting them.

In the meantime, I'll take a NAP. Sorry, I'll show myself out.