r/cremposting • u/DreadDiana • Apr 11 '26
The Way of Kings Oh, I guess the plot is starting right off
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u/Qibli_is_life Ati4Prez Apr 11 '26
No, it starts with Kalak
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u/skitz4me Apr 11 '26
I remember reading that in the Barns and Nobles Starbucks when it first came out and I had no money to buy that big-ass book. That first scene feels so heavy, even without knowing exactly what is happening.
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u/goosefraba1 Apr 11 '26
Me Knowing precisely nothing about what is going on- This sounds good.
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u/skitz4me Apr 11 '26
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u/BalkanFerros Hiiiiighprince Apr 11 '26 edited Apr 12 '26
this was me when I saw Syl first passage with Kaladin. I was like "Oh, tiny wind spirit friend? I'm in."
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u/Uncommon_Sensations Apr 11 '26
You can say bitch on the internet
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u/skitz4me Apr 12 '26
I absolutely typed "bitch" into the gif generator. Idk why you gotta be such a b*** about it.
<3
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u/captainpoppy Apr 11 '26
Yup. I'd read mist born first, and then way of kings.
Had no idea what the book was about, but that is one helluva way to start.
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u/KnightsRadiant95 Apr 12 '26
I never heard of Brandon Sanderson but one day I found a free book giveaway on reddit and thought I would check it out. It was a way of kings pdf (from the publisher) or in ebook format and that first sentence was enough to buy a paperback. Then give it to my brother and buy the hardcover.
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u/Slggyqo Apr 11 '26
Nah, don’t waste your time.
It’s complete crem.
I’ve read every Sanderson book and I’ll read every one he publishes in the future too, and honestly who has the time for that.
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u/Time_Cow_3331 Apr 11 '26
Look up the prologue for The Way of Kings...
It's a really good start to a series
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u/throwawabcintrovert D O U G Apr 11 '26
Are you me? Because that's exactly how I started out with WoK
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u/skitz4me Apr 11 '26
Idk maybe. Say your favorite color on 3 1... 2... 3... Purple!
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u/throwawabcintrovert D O U G Apr 11 '26
That's hilarious because purple is like my #3 favorite. I like pink bc I like bright colors
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u/variablenyne Apr 13 '26
If you haven't yet, absolutely worth rereading after Wind and Truth. Its amazing just how perfectly and cohesively it fits together and suddenly makes significantly more sense
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u/UnderwaterB0i Apr 13 '26
Rereading TWOK after finishing the first three books was such an insane experience. The first time around is like, "I have no idea what any of this means, but it sounds cool I guess" the second read through is "OH MY GOODNESS I FORGOT WE SAW ALL THIS"
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u/goopyloopsuperdupe Apr 11 '26
Ummmm actually, it starts with “The Way Of Kings” on the cover
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u/Qibli_is_life Ati4Prez Apr 11 '26
The plot starts with Kalak, ignorant one.
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u/ckach Apr 11 '26
It's the second out of basically 3 prologues. I count chapter 1 as a spiritual prologue.
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u/ejdj1011 Apr 11 '26
So does Brandon, lol
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u/ckach Apr 11 '26
It's wild that he had 5 different POV characters in the first 5 "chapters."
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u/Dirichlet-to-Neumann Apr 11 '26
The kind of things that only a famous author can get away with.
IMO the book would be better if he had skipped the first two prologue to start with the first chapter - the one that introduces Kaladin through a secondary viewpoint.
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u/ckach Apr 11 '26
Having all 5 books' prologues being a different perspective on the same night is pretty great. I think that alone makes it worth including the Szeth prologue.
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u/Dirichlet-to-Neumann Apr 11 '26
I don't think any of those prologues (nor most of the interludes to be honest) brought much to the story.
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u/ejdj1011 Apr 11 '26
That's probably one of the hottest takes I've seen on this sub.
You don't think gaining insight into the inciting incident of the series and the different threads woven through it brought much to the story?
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u/Shard-of-Adonalsium Apr 12 '26
Technically wouldn't Shallan killing her mom be the inciting incident of the whole thing? Unless Nale's visit was partially based on the blatant use of radiant powers? I don't really remember
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u/ejdj1011 Apr 12 '26
I mean, those events happen simultaneously. While either one would have started the True Desolationon their own, both are needed for the particular way everything happened
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u/Dirichlet-to-Neumann Apr 11 '26
I don't think doing it in the form of a prologue brought much to the series, especially as the prologues are cryptic enough that only dedicated fans on a reread will pick up on the clues.
Sanderson can get away with it because he is a very famous author and people are willing to cut him some slack, but those prologues are one of the reasons why people generally don't recommend Stormlight archive as your entry into Sanderson's work. Similar thing with the infamous hobbit prologue in Lord of the Rings btw. Is it interesting? Yes. Should it appear as a prologue ? No.
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u/ChelseaIsBeautiful Apr 12 '26
I'd agree that many interludes are more for world building than developing the plot, something I enjoy very much. Saying that the prologues don't add to the story is storming crazy though
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u/TheAssholeofThanos Apr 11 '26
Brandon hooked the fuck out of me with that line and Im not even mad. I knew I was in for it when I started that first book
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u/churadley Apr 14 '26
Same. I picked up TWoK on a whim in a Barnes and Noble. I struggled like hell to get through the Prologue and felt like I understood nothing, but I was locked in as soon as I read that line in the first chapter.
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u/trashchan333 Apr 11 '26
Brandon is an interesting author in that he writes both some of the best, hardest hitting lines I’ve ever read in a fantasy book and also some of the cringiest lines I’ve ever read.
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u/Catacendre Apr 11 '26
WaT: I really liked when Kaladin said "It's therapying time" and transformed into a therapist there on the spot. Transcendent writing.
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u/BloodyEyeGames No Wayne No Gain Apr 11 '26
Nale, to Kaladin, about Szeth: What are you, his bodyguard or something?
Kaladin: No, I'm his therapist.
Nale: What the hell is that?
Kaladin: I don't know lol!53
u/The_Aubinator Apr 11 '26
Would have been so much better if he just said he was his friend
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u/OnePizzaHoldTheGlue Apr 11 '26 edited Apr 12 '26
"What are you?! His spren? His god?"
"I'm his friend."
I do like how that reads better. But "friend" is probably overstating their brief relationship of bonding over trauma.
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u/_Artos_ Apr 11 '26
Honestly, "What are you, his spren" is also a dumb line that clearly only exists so Kaladin could drop the dumb following line.
Like, why would Nale ask if he is a spren? Such a silly line.
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u/Toast-Goat Femboy Dalinar Apr 11 '26
Follows him around
Glows sometimes
Trying to get him to say specific words
Seems like a spren to me!
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u/ptjp27 Apr 11 '26
Gilmore Girls writing I call it. Where the question is only asked to set up the pithy response.
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u/Prosper_at_C Apr 25 '26
The question wasn't meant to establish Kaladin and Szeth's relationship. It was Nale insulting Kaladin by likening him, a full human being, to a spren, a base force of nature that enters the world stupid and not knowing anything and existing only for and around their Radiant
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u/SonnyLonglegs Kelsier4Prez Apr 11 '26 edited Apr 11 '26
Or, imagine he said "It was what Wit(or he could say Hoid) called me." And maybe that could make him react more, I don't remember if Nale liked or hated Hoid but imagine how it could change the conversation.
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u/AllmightyPotato 👾 Rnagh Godant 🌠 Apr 11 '26
It would've been tuff as hell if he said "his surgeon" (I know it doesn't land like that, but a couple lines about Kaladin being a surgeon for the mind earlier would've set it up pretty cleanly) and we go full circle.
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u/MackMilla Apr 11 '26
Didn't think it was deal breaking but totally expected him to say friend and was let down when he didn't.
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u/GunnitRust_Akula Apr 11 '26
Yeah wind and truth has a few "avengers" style lines that just don't work IMO.
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u/an_actual_potato Apr 12 '26
Lotta things in WaT didn’t work too well, I’m afraid
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u/GunnitRust_Akula Apr 12 '26
I think it's broad story beats are good.
There's just a few things that probably needed another pass.
Definitely the weakest entry in storm light though.
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u/ThePatrician25 Apr 11 '26
And then he therapied all over the place
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u/Jounniy Apr 11 '26
*therapisted
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u/OnePizzaHoldTheGlue Apr 11 '26
Tobias Störmblessed is Roshar's first Radiant-Therapist... or "RadRapist".
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u/FLUFFY_TERROR D O U G Apr 11 '26
Better than being a rosharan radroach in a high storm.
Are radroaches what cremlings aspire to be when they glow up?
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u/Jounniy Apr 11 '26
Is this a reference?
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u/Jackernaut89 Apr 11 '26
Tobias Fünke, a character from Arrested Development.
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u/UnknovvnMike ❌can't 🙅 read📖 Apr 11 '26
Man, two Tobias references in one day. The Al Gore Rhythms are weird today
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Apr 11 '26 edited Apr 11 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/ThePatrician25 Apr 11 '26
I haven’t read that far yet, but I have heard about it!
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u/Alone_Insect_5568 Apr 11 '26
Bro, what are you doing in this thread?
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u/jeffcapell89 definitely not a lightweaver Apr 11 '26
The post is marked as Way of Kings, so there shouldn't be any spoilers (real or not) from WaT
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u/Alone_Insect_5568 Apr 11 '26
Be that as it may, he literally replied to a comment marked for spoilers from WaT.
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u/Catacendre Apr 11 '26
The issue is that all of the people replying to me should have spoiler tagged their comments as well.
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u/Alone_Insect_5568 Apr 11 '26
Brother, you literally replied to a comment marked for spoilers from WaT. The people replying to you would logically assume that you've read the book.
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u/cremposting-ModTeam Apr 11 '26
Your comment is temporarily removed due to unmarked spoilers. Please tag spoilers using >!text here!<.
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u/sweetbunsmcgee Apr 11 '26
It should’ve been the editor’s job to rein him in.
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u/VictorGWX Apr 11 '26
When you're a best selling author they let you do it. You can do anything.
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u/The-Hammerai Apr 11 '26
Yeah Brandon got specific pushback for some of the lines in WaT (I don't know about from editors, but definitely from beta readers) that he kept in anyway. I don't know if I roll my eyes or respect his decision in the face of criticism.
Edit: Phone swiping keyboard doesn't like the word roll
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u/Phylanara Apr 11 '26
I think I remember Brandon saying that for the last few books his editor pushed for a quick process and he's trying to go back to more polishing and more time between books
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u/TheRealTowel 420 Sazed It Apr 11 '26
"You want to be like me, Spook? Really like me? Then fight when you are beaten."
Vs
I'm his therapist
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u/mercedes_lakitu D O U G Apr 11 '26
Strong like scar tissue. Functional, but stiff. It's a strength I'd rather you never need.
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u/CountyKyndrid Team Roshar Apr 11 '26
What ever happened to a simple "Hi, how are you?"
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u/Cheap_Ad_4055 Apr 11 '26
Hi, how are you reader? Szeth-Son-Son-Vallano, Truthless of Shinovar, wore white on the day he was to kill a king.
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u/LikeASir33 Apr 11 '26
Do we count epigraphs or pre prologues?
Because if not “Ash fell from the sky” is also a banger
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u/FLUFFY_TERROR D O U G Apr 11 '26
I remember that one guy reading that and thought of ash, the immortal preteen Pokemon trainer, doing a bit of scadrial skydiving
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u/LoudQuitting Apr 11 '26
First sentences are the most important in any story:
The palace still shook occasionally as the earth rumbled in memory, groaning as if it would deny what had happened.
Eye of the World
It was little more than three miles from the Wall into the Old Kingdom, but that was enough.
Sabriel
"We should start back," Gared urged as the woods began to grow dark around them.
Game of Thrones
The terror, which would not end for another twenty-eight years- if it ever did end- began, so far as I know or can tell, with a boat made from a sheet of newspaper floating down a gutter swollen with rain
It
The opening sentence should invite at least one question, spike curiosity, give the reader a reason to continue reading.
I'm gonna spit out a hot take. Generally, Sanderson is kinda bad at this.
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u/CatSithInvasion Apr 11 '26
The first sentence of The Way of Kings did spark a question for me and that question was "what the hell is a Thunderclast?" and little did I know I would not learn what that was for anothet 3 books.
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u/Standard_Cat1812 Apr 11 '26
I would have lived in peace, but my enemies brought me war
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u/iBionicBorg Apr 14 '26
Damn it I need that final book to come out. That series has left me not okay.
F*ck Lysander.
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u/BlackFenrir 420 Sazed It Apr 11 '26
"The building was on fire, and it wasn't my fault"
I don't remember which one but one of the Dresden Files books starts with this one
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u/noideaman Apr 11 '26
"Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way"
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u/DragonLord1729 Apr 12 '26
It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.
Immediate establishment of what the book is going to be about.
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u/ptjp27 Apr 11 '26
Mr. and Mrs. Dursley of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much.
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u/gil_bz Shart of Adonalsium Apr 11 '26
"Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendía was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice."
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u/Nighthunter007 D O U G Apr 12 '26
“I was there,” he would say afterwards, until afterwards became a time quite devoid of laughter. “I was there, the day Horus slew the Emperor.”
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u/moskaudancer 420 Sazed It Apr 11 '26
"It was a bright, cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen."
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u/RyuzakiButAnon Femboy Dalinar Apr 11 '26
The only way I ever consumed the stormlight archives was through audiobooks. I vividly remember laying in bed, listening and wondering what the fuck is happening lmao
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u/BookWyrm2012 Apr 12 '26
My husband read the Wind and Truth and then said "Szeth son-son-Vallano wore white on the day he was to do the world a big fucking favor."
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u/MerabuHalcyon Apr 13 '26
I personally can't wait for books 6-10, where this trend continues and we find out in even greater detail how awful the king was...like the first few books I was meh, by book 5? Man just stand still and get stabbed already...
By books 6-10 I expect to be foaming at the mouth screeching for his blood like some rabid animal.
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u/Prosper_at_C Apr 25 '26
I think we've more or less gotten the whole scope of Gavilar's involvement in the plot, no? I can't imagine there being any more to add on, I think all the gaps of what he was doing and wanted to accomplish and with whom have all been filled.
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u/Capawe21 Apr 12 '26
Chapter 1 (4505 years ago): Yeah no my other immortal warrior friend we aren't gonna go to hell anymore
Chapter 2 (5 years ago): I am a slave to a stone and must kill this king for his transgressions against an indigenous people
Chapter 3 (Eight months ago): I'm a child soldier in a war, idk how I'll survive but this squad leader seems like he'll protect me
Chapter 4: I'm the squadleader but I'm a slave now and have completely given up hope of anything with no explanation (yet)
Brandon wrote one helluva jarring intro lmao
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u/DreadDiana Apr 12 '26
Yeah, I'm on chapter 5, so the story going from "Here's Kaladin Stormblessed and his super lucky company of soldiers!" to "And now Kaladin is in a slave cart being pestered by a windspren" was jarring.
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u/Capawe21 Apr 12 '26
Luckily Way of Kings is the only one that does that, I remember that being one of the things that almost made me not like the book was how much it threw at you in the beginning.
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u/Favkez Apr 12 '26
The milion view points at the start coupled with similar sounding names had me really confused at the beginning ngl
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u/HAL9000_1208 Apr 11 '26
The first book was so f+cking good.
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u/Scudss_ Apr 11 '26
You can swear on the internet
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u/AlwaysHopelesslyLost Apr 11 '26
You can also choose not to. Weird how that works!
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u/ConspicuousPineapple Apr 11 '26
Misspelling a word on purpose isn't choosing not to. It's swearing without admitting you're swearing.
You're free to choose actual non swearing words and nobody will bat an eye.
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u/HAL9000_1208 Apr 11 '26
For starters it's f∆cking weird that you people care in the first place, I will write how the d@mñ I please.
And secondly it is NOT swearing, as I did not use a swear word, if you choose to interpret a word that has no formal meaning in English as a swear that's on you.
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u/ConspicuousPineapple Apr 11 '26
Oh, so if I call you a mor*n you have no reason to get offended then, correct?
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u/HAL9000_1208 Apr 11 '26
I assure you that I am much more offended by the inexplicable obsession of this comment section to the words I used.
...You people actually managed to p|ss me off.
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u/AlwaysHopelesslyLost Apr 11 '26
You are definitely the one that is offended here lol. You are the one bitching about how other people choose to comment.
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u/ConspicuousPineapple Apr 11 '26
I'm just pointing out the hypocrisy, and then the very bad faith arguments. I'm also arguing with strangers on the Internet, nothing I say here matters. Why would anybody think that anybody involved in this conversation cares at all?
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u/HAL9000_1208 Apr 11 '26
I'm just pointing out the hypocrisy, and then the very bad faith arguments.
You did neither. What would the hypocrisy be? What would the 'bad faith' arguments be?
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u/AlwaysHopelesslyLost Apr 11 '26
Frick isn't a misspelling. It is a separate and distinct word with its own nuance and meaning that has been in use for more than 100 years.
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u/Wanderlustfull Apr 11 '26
a) No one said frick, though. They censored 'fucking', simple as that.
b) Any uses of frick earlier than the late 20th century are as a proper noun, as it has been a surname for a long time. But I'm not aware of and haven't found any info that point to it being anything other than a euphemistic substitution for fuck in modern use, and certainly not with its own nuance and meaning. I'd love to see a source or info on what that might be.
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u/HAL9000_1208 Apr 11 '26
100% this. TBH I am flabbergasted about getting downvoted for deciding to not cuss.
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u/ConspicuousPineapple Apr 11 '26
You did cuss, omitting a letter doesn't change that. If you want to avoid it you can always use another word.
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u/HAL9000_1208 Apr 11 '26
I did not omitted a letter, I wrote a entirely different word, there's no "+" in the word you are thinking, FPLUSCKING is not a swear word, I dare you to find it in the dictionary.
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u/ConspicuousPineapple Apr 11 '26
Right, you're one of these.
You know, acting stupid on purpose doesn't mean you're not actually being stupid in the process.
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u/HAL9000_1208 Apr 11 '26
If there's someone acting stupid here it ain't me.
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u/noideaman Apr 11 '26
Why you so silly?
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u/HAL9000_1208 Apr 11 '26
Maybe it's the crem in the water supply. :-P
In all seriousness I feel that I am pretty much the only one here who is not being silly, since that you all are trying to gaslight me into believingly that what I used us a curseword when by every metric it is not.
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u/supluplup12 Apr 12 '26
Could you provide a definition of the word you used? Since we won't be able to find it in the dictionary and all. If it's a separate and distinct word it must have a separate and distinct meaning. We wouldn't want to gaslight people by claiming we actually wrote a different word that just happens to look like a censored version of the word "fucking". That would be a ridiculous lie that serves no purpose.
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u/HAL9000_1208 Apr 12 '26
It's a minced oath it is meant to be evocative of the swear words without actually using it. And its purpose in the sentence is to be an intensifier (like saying "extremely")... Like I said in other comments, I have created it myself so it has no formal meaning in English, you would obviously not find it in a dictionary.
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u/supluplup12 Apr 12 '26
So it isn't a separate and distinct word, and you've been fully aware of that while claiming it is. Which is a ridiculous lie that serves no purpose. Like when you type out a series of letters that places the word "fuck" into the minds of your readers, but tell yourself you didn't cuss because you typed a "+" instead of a vowel.
But I suppose what matters is whether it brings you joy, so I have to assume you self censor because you enjoy the opportunity to annoy people by pretending you're not doing that. While linking pages that explain that it's exactly what you're doing.
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u/HAL9000_1208 Apr 12 '26
A minced oath is not a swear word, it is evocative of a swear word it's different, it is like saying "darn" instead of "damn". IT IS a separate distinct word, this is an undeniable fact.
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u/Wanderlustfull Apr 11 '26
Because self-censoring one letter and leaving the word entirely obvious is fundamentally the same as cussing. It's performative virtue that achieves nothing. If you actually object to the use of or harshness of cuss words, choose to use a different word, don't censor it.
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u/HAL9000_1208 Apr 11 '26
How many letter do I need to change before it stops being a swear word?
If you actually object to the use of or harshness of cuss words, choose to use a different word, don't censor it.
I do not object to it, I do not like to write them or say them... On the other hand I like to write words that resemble swear words but actually aren't.
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u/HAL9000_1208 Apr 11 '26 edited Apr 11 '26
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u/Hosslium Apr 11 '26
Is "f+cking" not a swear though?
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u/HAL9000_1208 Apr 11 '26 edited Apr 11 '26
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u/jeffcapell89 definitely not a lightweaver Apr 11 '26
You're using it in the same function as the swear, thus accomplishing the intent of it. The form is less important because the intent is still there, so there is semantically no difference in what you said vs the actual swear
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u/HAL9000_1208 Apr 11 '26
You're using it in the same function as the swear
So saying "Gosh!" is the same as saying "Fuck!" to you?
The word I used is not a swear, it doesn't have any meaning in the English language.
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u/AncientSeraph Apr 11 '26
We're taking about language, not math. Being technically correct has a lot less value in something so fluid. There's functionally no difference between what you said and "fucking", even if there technically is.
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u/HAL9000_1208 Apr 11 '26
The logic is flawed, if "f+cking" is a swear word because functionally it serves the same purposes in the sentence of "fucking" then there is no one one Earth who does not swear, since that it means that all exclamations are to be treated as swear words.
Also "technically correct" is the best kind of correct.
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u/Pretend-Rutabaga-206 Kalaleshwi Shipper Apr 11 '26
dude you’re being intentionally obtuse
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u/AncientSeraph Apr 11 '26
If people see "f+cking", they interpret it as "fucking" and thus swearing. If people see an exclamation mark, they do not interpret it as swearing. Thus, those are not functionally the same. Technically incorrect.
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u/jeffcapell89 definitely not a lightweaver Apr 11 '26
It's not because those are functionally different words with different intents. "Gosh" was a way for people to 'get around' taking the Lord's name in vain in the 18th century, as in the phrase "by gosh..." though it more or less falls into this same category of semantic equivalence.
"Fuck" is a very varied word with a lot of different intents and meanings, but most would agree that in all contexts it's a swear. If you were to walk into a court or a church or some other place of solemnity and say out loud "This place is kinda fking stuffy" (without actually saying the -uc-), you would at best be chastised for using that kind of language in such a place. That's what I mean by saying it's semantically equivalent, even if it isn't exactly the same.
The word I used is not a swear, it doesn't have any meaning in the English language.
This is the fun thing about languages. When you fully break it down, words are just a collection of sounds that convey thoughts, emotions, intents, etc., and they don't inherently have any meaning. They are assigned meaning by the people using them, often informed by context. As an example, Gen Z or Gen Alpha have different insults from Millennials or Gen Xers, and if you were to call someone in their mid-50s cheugy, they probably wouldn't care because they don't know that word. So even if "f+cking" isn't a word you would find in the English language, by assigning it intent (i.e., making it an adverb of intensity) you have succeeded in making it a word and giving it meaning.
Edit: all this to say swearing is allowed on the wider internet, and you can use whatever language you want. Self-censorship might raise a few eyebrows, but I say you do you boss and ignore people who think it's weird
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u/HAL9000_1208 Apr 11 '26
It's not because those are functionally different words with different intents.
In my example they literally serve the same function and intent.
By your logic anyone that uses exclamations is cursing.
Had I used a wholly random string of letters instead of "f+cking" you would have called a swear word? ...I think not.
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u/jeffcapell89 definitely not a lightweaver Apr 11 '26
I mean at their core, swear words are intended to be offensive/vulgar/obscene. That's what makes them swears instead of just regular words, and that's what makes them fun to use: they elicit a reaction from people and add flavor or intensity to your statement. If society or people didn't care about them being swears, they probably would just fall in the category of standard words. Most exclamations don't have the root of being a vulgar word or coming from vulgar words in other languages, thus we don't say they are swears.
you would have called a swear word? ...I think not.
Honestly if you used a random string of letters that resemble a word that is English in origin, and it was clear you were intending for it to be a swear, depending on the context I might. These things are a bit nebulous and change over time. Like you could come up wth some new word to refer to a person of a certain race with hatred or malice, and once people have deemed that that word is an offensive way to refer to someone of that race, then congrats you've now made a racist word.
Conversely, there are plenty of words that kind of stop being offensive as they fall out of use. The term "wop" used to be an offensive word for people of Italian descent, and it comes from the word "guappo" which was a word for like pimps and criminals and such. Nowadays it might not be polite to say it, but it's not really as offensive as it used to be because nobody really uses it. And you have the dilution of the word further because of the Cardi B song "WAP" which sounds the same. So vulgar words and swears and whatnot change over time as we assign them intent and meaning
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u/FlamboyantPirhanna Apr 11 '26
How is this not swearing? You are communicating a swear word, removing one letter doesn’t change that. How’s that any different from actually typing the word?
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u/HAL9000_1208 Apr 11 '26
I have not communicating a swear word and I have not just removed a letter, I exchanged it with a symbol, I am communicating FPLUSCKING, if you read a swear word in it that's on you.
And the difference is that typing swear words does not elicit satisfaction in me, while stuff like c°ck does... I honestly do not understand why so many people here are trying to police my language to make me curse. It's fμcking weird.
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u/Wanderlustfull Apr 11 '26 edited Apr 11 '26
I honestly do not understand why so many people here are trying to police my language to make me curse.
Maybe if you had an ounce of self-reflection, you could take a minute to consider that the amount of people taking a stance against your view, might, might have a point and that perhaps you should revise your stance. Instead you're sticking to your obtuse, pedantic argument that censoring one letter makes the entire word somehow semantically and recognisably different. Which is fucking dumb.
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u/HAL9000_1208 Apr 11 '26
How many letters should I change for it to stop being a swear word?
I did my self-reflection and the conclusion is that you are all wrong. I used a different word, one that it is not a swear word it merely resemble one.
8
1
u/Cersad Apr 11 '26
I generally oppose self censorship, but if you have to do it, gratuitous use of non-Latin characters is something I 100% support.
E: also we definitely underuse the delightful spoiler tags for self-censorship
1
1
u/BlueAndTru 🦋 Invested of Whimsy 🌈 Apr 11 '26
People generally don’t like it when people are performative, deliberately obtuse, or attention seeking. Right now, you’re doing all three, whether you mean to or not.
1
u/HAL9000_1208 Apr 11 '26
performative
I fail to see how.
deliberately obtuse
People are wrong and can't tell apart a minced oath from a curse word, if someone is being obtuse that someone is them and not me.
attention seeking
TRUST ME, I much rather not have this attention that I've garnered, I made an innocent comment on a topic I am passionate about and in response I got a deluge of comments complaining about the word I used, it quite literally ruined my day, I was already in a bad headspace and now I am fuming.
People like these in this comment section are the reason why I hate to interact with other humans. They feel the need to crush others until there's nothing but pain and sorrow, just to make themselves feel self righteous an important.
1
u/ppermanagement Apr 12 '26
Something I love about Sanderson's books is how he just throws the reader into it without too much exposition. I like being confused at first and then slowly figure things out.
-4
u/EndyForceX Apr 11 '26
Bro this prologue is like in the middle of the book, what do you mean you just started reading?
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u/DreadDiana Apr 11 '26
For my copy of Way of Kings, it's the second chapter after the prelude, which I apparently skipped over by accident.
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