I read the bi fantasy book, again

[@RedTailedSmeargle]

I'm on my phone, and I know this is over a year old but still. Blpoc writer chiming in on Nox. Nox's whole deal is the result of a form of racism, called Coloriwm. Rather, the WHOLE thing of placing intrinsic value on someone due to how light their skin is, while taking away all agency from those of darker skin even if they're related, is a whole ass thing. It's far more disgusting then you realize/described because the skin tone differences are slight, but Nox's whole character arc is to die on the cross for the other, greater, more powerful light skinned being. If nothing else, this reveals the authors biases, which makes the whipping scene being an allegory for corporal punishment also come into question. Even if they had a bipoc editor, if that person was also light skinned and/or hadn't experienced colorism themselves (it is a thing in communities of color as well due to institutionalized racism), then it's no wonder so much was missed a when it comes to Nox. Thata my read on the whole thing anyway. Another good vid on how colorism affects world views, especially when it comes to Ya Novels for some reason, is the video 'When Rue turned black'

[@ReadswithRachel]

Hey! No this video is only a few weeks old, this is the newest version of the book that came out in september this year, so you're not late at all. Think this is a super important comment so I'm going to pin it at the top for people to see. Thanks for explaining this!

[@RedTailedSmeargle]

@@ReadswithRachel gotcha, thank you. Other things, since I can't seem to edit my comment. Its 'When Rue Became Black' Colorism also includes making someone weirdly sexual/exotic based on their dark skin, and the fetishism is tantamount to that on display. There's also the notion that PoC (especially female PoC) are hardier than others, leading to them getting tortured/hurt more. Another example of this is would be someone like Oscar from RWBY getting the lions share of torture scenes. The author probably didn't consciously mean it, but again it's all there. None of this is meant to sound accusatory.

[@quirkyblackenby]

Yup I caught that. Colorism is so deeply embedded in society that often people don’t realize they have such a bias.

[@laobozu549]

Yes yes and yes. It's so not it to me that Nox's whole personality was based on being sexual and being obsessed with the main character who happens to be a perfect, pure, white girl, for basically no reason. Especially since she doesn't give a damn about her. That is really reductive to me. I think people pressure themselves so much to try to write a non white character that would be a great rep that they end up writing actually extremely harmful things. It's unfortunate because that does not mean they have to stop, but learn and listen and that's ok. I think forgiveness, understanding and patience is very much needed in this case, because if they don't try nobody will get it good, and wanting to put diversity in your creation is already a step. Now this step is only valuable if you are willing to work on it but most importantly LISTEN both before and after putting your work to the public to what more of a few concerned people have to say, which this author seems to not be eager to do. (Same situation for authors of 'a little life' on handicap and 'the boy in the striped pajamas' for Jewish people, which are 2 cases of authors not even doing research and not accepting criticism on the harm they actually do for these communities while thinking they act good. I'd recommend you go through these subjects if you haven't it's really interesting) My advice would be : do not try to write black (or any other groups btw) characters, try to write characters Which happen to have dark skin. So that you won't forget to make them human in the process because you are so focused on them being black. I feel like the author wanted to show so much that she was ok with white people that she wrote her main character to have a romantic relationship with one, but since that wasn't a character to begin with but a way to prove a point, she basically messed up everything else. I'd recommend "a lil bit mads" video about the book, if I remember correctly she makes points that relate to your comment but in video and it's well treated. She makes a lot of statements though so it's about halfway through the book :)

[@marynraven]

Colorism is so bad in Latin America. I've seen it in my own extended family. I've heard that other cultures also have this issue. Some even push skin whitening or lightening treatments.

[@mikankitsune0440]

The author published a poorly re-edited Cinifer Witcher FanFic and thought we wouldn't notice, but we did. Also, as a bisexual woman who is married to another woman, yes, we bisexuals are sapphic.

[@taylorgayhart9497]

I blame Fifty Shades of Grey. I feel like that book made people think that just changing a few details was enough to turn fanfiction into publishable work.

[@cyrlizardboots878]

Fr, and it gives fanfiction a bad name. Stand-alone books and fanfic are completely different mediums. You wouldn't just have characters read out a book and call that a movie. People think they can just publish fanfictio without axtually adapting it for a different medium with different needs for the reader.

[@beeaggro2593]

Cassie Clare too.

[@standdownrobots_ihaveoldglory]

I blame 50 Shades of Grey for absolutely everything. The setting of the book changed randomly, and that turned out to be the least awful part lol... side fact: my friend lived on a farm before her divorce. She and a new beau were discussing some light bondage...she brought rough farm rope to "play." Her ex found out and couldn't stop laughing 😂

[@zvikomboreromukamba3389]

​@@beeaggro2593😂literally was about to mention the first culprit an HP fanfiction about incest

[@lilym9523]

This makes SO MUCH SENSE! I think people are just scared to write what they want to write. Like they story they want to tell us dictated by already popular (published) stories. I really think this author has so much potential, it’s just she’s comparing herself to other authors instead of using her own voice.

[@Aro_dynamic46]

I hate when bad books have good titles. “The Night and it’s Moon”? Love it I think it’s pretty The actual book? Doesn’t deserve a title like that

[@zi2651]

Same. It's so annoying when a bad book has a good title. Like, the title is so lovely or cool but you chose to tell THIS story? I also hate it when a good book has a bad title 😔

[@summerb5153]

I was thinking about the same thing!

[@Duhgel]

I felt this one for "handbook for mortals", good title, atrocious or boring story

[@asteridshydrangea-jt2hf]

@@zi2651a lot of the time the author doesn’t actually get to pick their own title so in some of these cases someone pulled out their A Game to try and make up for how little the book had to offer

[@BOOcketMan]

piper started out self-published. she chose her own titles. @@asteridshydrangea-jt2hf

[@EVILIMPproductions]

What gets me is that I don’t think Piper actually knows what a trope is. The secret special girl that is half human and half something else is a trope. But when she has white hair, hunts monsters and has a scar under her eye…that isn’t a trope. That is just Siri. Tropes are simple on purpose to convey to readers what the story might be about. A book shouldn’t even be made of nothing of tropes that is boring. But even if a book is made up of tropes, the more detail you add to them the less tropy they are. Usually, that is a good thing. But not when the details you are adding just turns your trope into a plot or character made by someone else.

[@altmilk2605]

I'm convinced The Night and Its Moon is Ciri x Yennefer fanfiction that Piper CJ wrote at some point and decided to publish. Also, as a woman of South Asian descent, i'm so offended that Nox is the stereotype of an "exotic" and sexualized brown woman.

[@morganwentworth2041]

Yeah at first when Rachel talked about it being a Witcher ripoff I was waiting to hear about how Nox was Yennefer as well

[@astrothsknot]

you wouldn't be the only one. A quick google brought up nearly 500K entries that wondered the same thing and trying to find the original fic.

[@MortMe0430]

Eeeewwww. Not saying I don't believe you, 'cause I thankfully haven't read this, just, ya know. Edit: "Eeww" not for f/f but because Ciri is a child / young teen when they meet and Yen is like waaay older and experienced af since mages don't physically age. And Ciri seeing Yen as a teacher/mentor.

[@clarabrandaog]

The title is very fanfic-y, tbh

[@afckingegg7585]

In the books, Ciri has a romance with a girl much closer to her own age called Mistle. I'm hoping the author read the books and that's who Nox is based on. It would make sense as well, since Ciri's arc in the later books parallels Nox's a bit.

[@owlskulls]

"You're engaging in mean girl behavior!!!!" I say as I make multiple accounts specifically to harass one singular person over a slightly negative opinion that isn't even personal in any conceivable way

[@ReadswithRachel]

THANK YOU

[@TheresesNook]

Ngl if i was piper, i would be MORTIFIED if my best friend was essentially stalking and harassing a creator 💀 like says a lot about her character with the company she keeps and the stuff she allows her fans to do

[@ReadswithRachel]

Therese if you only knew the shit going on behind the scenes!!!!

[@TheresesNook]

@@ReadswithRachel 👀👀 …. I wanna know zee tea 👀👀

[@elaw7109]

@@cosmicwoodtuft Fun fact, it is. See, as big, published, well known creator, when your rabid fans start attacking people, you will hear of it. You'll be tagged in conversations, you'll hear it from your friends etc. It would be real fucking easy to make a statement like "Hey, stop harassing people on my behalf. You don't even fucking know me. And if you DO know me and think I would be in any way okay with this, we're through." It's common sense, and yet... white authors who get called out for shit like this never seem to have that basic set of skills. And you can pretend that maybe they don't know or they're too anxious to condemn harassment. But then you're left with three choices. Your author buddy is 1) inept 2) a coward or 3) wilfully ignorant and happy about the harassment of their critics. Take your pick.

[@kurapikakurta3863]

@@ReadswithRachel I also am in need of the tea 👀

[@lesliehammonds29]

That friendship would be over for me.

[@yoaf7026]

I live in Poland (the country the Witcher comes from, both books and games) and I can confirm - no, The Night and Its Moon has nothing to do with Slavic mythology. The witchers themselves were invented by Andrzej Sapkowski, only the monsters and culture of the lands are something that can be called truly Slavic. In fact, I doubt Piper C.J. knows anything about Slavic mythology, because if she did, she would be able to distinguish it from the author's imagination. (English is not my first language so sorry for all mistakes, I just wanted to add a few words from myself.)

[@zuzannawikar5479]

Even the cultures of the lands in the Witcher saga are not described as Slavic, maybe some villages, the rest is much more Germanic or Celtic

[@yoaf7026]

​@@zuzannawikar5479 Not all of them, but some. Lyria and Rivia, for example, have much in common with the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. And of course, Lithuania is a Baltic country, but the Slavic influence is also noticeable.

[@myoldaccount2553]

I am Polish too, i haven’t played Witcher though i can agree on the fact that the author misrepresented slavic mythology. She could’ve easily done better for her book by just doing some research

[@yoaf7026]

@@myoldaccount2553 but the author of the witcher is a guy

[@yoaf7026]

@@myoldaccount2553 but the author of the witcher is a guy

[@kirameki]

I love your version. What a great twist would it have been if Nox didn't have friends and her only goal was Amaris, but at some point she meets someone who does become a friend and confidant and her feelings shift and she finds out what she felt for Amaris was obsession and this new person was actual love. But because of her history, she originally conflated the two feelings.

[@JulianGreystoke]

Wait she ADDED stuff? This book did not need MORE words! 💀

[@bro.that.is.adorable.2633]

Whenever a book’s lore has all kinds of gaps, I always imagine the writer explaining the gaps in person to the editor and the editor just saying “oh okay” without suggesting the writer put that IN the book 😂

[@simplesimply3753]

This is what keeps me from turning my interesting dreams into books. There’s to many gaps I don’t know how to fill.

[@bro.that.is.adorable.2633]

@@simplesimply3753 try it anyway! You never know

[@Drakochannojutsu]

​@@simplesimply3753 no harm in giving it a shot! Maybe it will come to you while you're writing or you can bounce ideas off a trusted friend and they may be able to give a suggestion that helps you close the loop

[@skylarkblue1]

Sometimes it just takes someone to proofread it and ask the questions. I don't write books, but when I write game design documents and get those proofread, it's quickly uncovered what is missing, doesn't make sense, etc.

[@bebella9005]

the optics of the poc character being LITERALLY WHIPPED to save/protect the white character... yikes. the optics in the descriptions of the different skin colors too. like the poc character being described as rough while the white character is described as soft and pure or whatever. i just... YIKES YIKES YIKES

[@illyanarasputin6987]

In regards to the sapphic thing, I think Piper genuinely just didn’t know bisexual women were included and instead of admitting she didn’t know that, just tried to twist the situation as her being right and just misinterpreted.

[@ReadswithRachel]

At this point, I’m so unsure and can only just… shrug at her

[@humanthetooth]

i think the demand for the separate categorization was because she needed to insist she was special

[@DawnOfDaravaja]

I have to say: people insisting that a character is one way is just another sign of bad writing. If a character is bi, not a lesbian, that should be apparent in the writing. It's on the author to communicate in the story, not to expect fans to chase the information down elsewhere.

[@user-wc7mo2io9z]

Hard agree. Canon is what happens on page not what the author says elsewhere. I suspect Piper intends for Nox to identify as strictly wlw in the first book but then realize she’s bi and have a male lover in the second one. I think this is also where her fear of people calling the series sapphic comes from.

[@gem9535]

The fact this is controversial…

[@ghostinyourcloset]

agreed! its so easy to either show the character not having any romantic involvement with men (if theyre a lesbian) or even mention that they exclusively like women. why do people insist on having to say it elsewhere when the book is supposed to be canon? dont add shit later on because you didnt think of it until years after your publication.

[@Coyoteari]

To be fair, the folded paper analogy is how most irl scientists in the related fields describe hypothetical teleportation & faster than light travel. Not so much an overused metaphor as our best current understanding of how the phenomenon could happen! :>

[@nebaidossarkans3306]

The author should've just written fanfiction.

[@cakt1991]

Bloom Books is the imprint EL James co-founded, and I have side-eyed it ever since. I’ve liked the indie books other publishers have picked up, but Bloom seems to specialize in platforming (mostly) mediocre white lady romance.

[@moustik31]

Ah-HA, the plot thickens. I was wondering, what kind of publisher was mercenary enough to cash in on rac1sm AND plagiarism. Ofc. it would be the queen of problematic and unflattering fanfiction herself. I suppose, that Bloom is to publishing what Passionflix is to streaming.

[@jaime_lynn]

Oh, I remember when EL James founded Bloom. Then again, I remember when 50 shades was called, "Master of the Universe" and was a twilight fanfic. AND I remember when she faked out everyone by pulling MotU before she finished it and was like, "to find out how it ends, buy all my books!" 😂 Omg Miss Ma'am. MISS. MA'AM. 😂😂😂

[@Drakochannojutsu]

This explains so much

[@PulseOfTheMaggie]

just read through the last comment around 41:45 using Piper's neurodivergence as an excuse for her behaviour. first of all, as an autistic person, I absolutely HATE that we are "humans", "folkx" (k AND x? really??) and "individuals", but never "people". this is typical dehumanising ableism (yes, even with "human", as it sounds like we're a separate species) that even comes up with people who are allegedly trying to support us and it's exhausting. second of all, I get RSD, but it doesn't mean she's immune from getting constructive criticism on her book, and it definitely doesn't excuse the rest of her behaviour. it kind of reminds me of when a certain KZbinr wrote a "poetry" book and blamed criticism of that on her neurodivergence. even though the main critic was also neurodivergent. and also named Rachel, interestingly enough.

[@cruisevampire]

Your disclaimer about nox's sexuality at the end was a super generous & cordial thing to do imo. Because responsibility falls on the text to communicate those nuances. Not the author clarifying smthn in a TikTok. If after reading the book /twice/ you didn't have a clear grasp on her sexuality apart from baseline sapphic (either a cemented label OR intentionally ambiguous) that's the book's fault. And if that wasn't the focus of the book sexualities being unclear wouldn't keep anybody up at night. But when it's a marketing point? AND fans are throwing it at you to discredit your reading comprehension? I think it's important to point out that it's the text's fault for not being clear to being with. And it is not a valid criticism of your reviews.

[@Lecoelho12]

i know this is supposed to be """"inspired""""" by ciri/yen reimagined where yen is actually ciri's love interest but this all sounds iffy to me not just because of the PLAGIARISM but the fact that yen and ciri have a mother/daughter relantionship 💀

[@alchemy3368]

Right!!? 🤨🤨

[@cindy3933]

Nox and the Brothel owner’s transaction feels very similar to Yennefer being bought by Tissaia in the Witcher Netflix as well. There’s unfortunate implications from that as well (Yen never had a good home life, but the implication of her being sold for less than the price of a pig as a woman of color is not great) but also Aretuza was a magic school and not a brothel. I’m guessing the whole matriarchal religion is supposed to be Melitele’s Temple from the Witcher? Which is where Ciri went to school briefly but it’s a regional religion on the Continent and not the only one. But wow. She really wrote Mom/Daughter fanfiction but not and instead of putting it on ao3 and she published it for actual human money.

[@TheSkepticalCat]

I think Piper is just not ready to write a published work. I think that plagiarizing things that you love is a phase that writers go through before they learn more about the craft and realize how to tell their own stories without that type of crutch (I know a lot of my early writing was like that, and it was very uncomfortable for me at the time when people pointed it out to me, even though now I look back and laugh). I also think she's just very young. We're fed this aspirational story of the brilliant young author, but honestly your writing will only get better as you learn more about yourself and about the world and have more interesting things to say about it. Lots of my favorite authors are/were older; think Octavia Butler, Terry Pratchett, Ursula K. LeGuin, etc. I think we (writers) all need to relax and give ourselves time. There's no cutoff age for publication, but lots of drama like this can happen if you aren't ready.

[@Teajay21]

@@TheSkepticalCat Yes! This felt like the fanfic phase many writers have as well, which also isn't bad but is a way to play in the sabdbox of other writers snd creators while they work out the kinks in their style and find their own. I think she likely saw the success of people like Cassie Clare, EL James, and more recently Ali Hazelwood and thought that she could do the same

[@jo4370]

I love that you use open dyslexic font for the screenshots of pages, I always struggle to read them quickly enough in other fonts

[@ReadswithRachel]

Open dyslexic has SAVED ME it’s the only way I can read ebooks!

[@jo4370]

@@ReadswithRachel same! it's been my favorite for years!

[@genericspectator3094]

when i saw this pop up, i audibly said, to no one, "AGAIN?!" very silly times were living in

[@kitcat6352]

SAME!! And I'm here for it!

[@ReadswithRachel]

Lmao thank you guys for the support. Yeah I figured everybody would be like wait again? Which is why that was like the first thing that I addressed because I figured most people would be like why would you torture yourself twice?

[@KathyTrithardt]

I appreciate you reading things I won't want to so I can learn so much from your experience. The whole "I don't want to call it sapphic" but leaning on getting a guy interested via the "women being sexual with each other" but calling it bisexual "because men will know what that means" is FASCINATING.

[@invadernav3422]

I keep seeing this book at my local target already on sale, and every time I see the cover I just think back to your first review.

[@ReadswithRachel]

So to be fair, I believe that what target does typically is Marks up their prices and then slabs on a 20% off sticker. So that really has nothing to do with the quality of the book itself I think that that’s just typical target behavior.

[@invadernav3422]

@@ReadswithRachel I actually did figure that, because I see it on a lot of books. I always suspected it but never looked up the reason, so it's nice to have that confirmation.

[@erinlewis6901]

It's these kinds of reviews I value so much as a writer.

[@TheKrystina62]

The baby giggles in the middle of this are everything 💖 also love your reviews!

[@HowToPnP]

My conspiracy theory on why this is marketed as a "bisexual fantasy" and not as "Sapphic" is because of marketing. Sapphic relations exclude men, so it's a pretty clear "no boys allowed" situation. But bisexual means that men have a chance! So women will still do all that sexy stuff with each other, but you (as a male reader) still totally have a chance to get into a threesome with these fictional women. Sounds dumb, but it's an actual marketing tactic.

[@ReadswithRachel]

Oh no no. This is not dumb at all. I’m pretty sure that’s exactly what is going on here.

[@gosia4473]

The funny thing is everything that she took from Witcher is... Well not slavic lore. Idk how anyone can defend the author with that. Generally... Witcher is not as slavic as a lot of people make it out to be lol

[@kamilasadko5324]

Yeah I was trying to figure out what Slavic lore was there, I think people assume there’s more Slavic lore in the Witcher because Sapkowski is Polish

[@daria_r2784]

@@kamilasadko5324 And even Sapkowski claims that The Witcher is not slavic. It takes some elements from slavic folklore but it is also inspired by many other cultures.

[@blaisehaddow1137]

It's even funnier when you think about how Geralt/The Witcher has been accused of being plagiarized from Moorcock's Elric

[@syds5122]

16:54 pretty sure this concept is in A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L'Engle written in 1962 😭 This trope is so old it is receiving a yearly prostate exam

[@rightsarentpolitical]

YES! My first thought as well. Also, there's a great episode in Stargate SG1 that played with this too, where Daniel (human) is trying to understand how this other species whose representative is absolutely against sharing technology with species who 'aren't ready' travels across the galaxy, and he does the 'is it like when it folds' explanation and the character just looks at him blankly and goes, "No." It was a fun nod to those so familiar with that explanation without having to handwave a 'science' reason.

[@standdownrobots_ihaveoldglory]

Just a note on "clout": while "clout chaser" is def very modern, I keep seeing things that suggest "clout" is a word that wasn't used much before the advent of social media. I've gone to so many fundraising workshops on identifying & partnering with people with "clout." It's still a regular term, and offline refers to people who can influence major decisions and revenue dispersals at major companies. It cracks me up how obsessed people are with online clout, which really doesn't get a person much, vs community clout, which gets 💩 done in every town...

[@victorianmelodrama]

15:10 That's the dumbest description of crying I've heard since Twilight's "traitor tears betraying me"

[@KiriCallaghan]

Totally understand why you want to hear something different regarding teleporting, but in case you wanted a little background of WHY this is the popular explanation is because it's a simplified version of the Einstein-Rosen Bridge theory which was trying to tackle how wormholes could be possible. Should there be variation? Absolutely, but this is why you probably see it so often since it's a clear and simple metaphorical example of explaining a complex theory in physics.

[@kaytaymay1212]

I do believe Piper has stated both Nox and Amaris are bisexual, but definitely not gonna go through and try and find that. What I will say is, I do honestly think it's okay for her to prefer the term bisexual fantasy rather than sapphic fantasy. I don't think she should be completely shut off to the term sapphic like she is, but she feels that the bisexuality is important and that is fine. I am a lesbian, and my characters are lesbians most of the time. If I ever published a book I would specify lesbian romance. With the word lesbian specifically, we have had to work so hard to get people to use that word to describe their lesbian characters. Lesbian has a history of being treated like a bad and dirty word, to the point that so many people refuse to even use the word to describe themselves and just say gay, because the word lesbian feels weird. (I was one and respect the people who do, I get it, but also encourage people to really dig into their discomfort with the term and see if it's based in societies rampant lesbophobia.) So often we see specifically lesbian characters have their identity erased and just refered to as sapphic, because that word is more digestible to most people. Lesbian have had to push to get people to use our identity when it's accurate. When both characters are lesbians, it's literally so amazing to call it a lesbian romance! To call it a lesbian fantasy or sci fi or contemporary. Sapphic is also accurate, I'm not saying it's not. It's a great umbrella term to give reference to different types of sapphic books at once. Like a rec list that includes bi and pan and lesbian and anything else in one list. But within that list I do appreciate a breakdown of exactly what type of sapphic characters to expect. All this to say, sapphic identities are not interchangeable. A lesbian and a bi woman do have different experiences. We have a lot more similarities, but the experience of attraction to men vs lack of it is significant. And, with as much work as lesbians have done to get people to use our label, I'm not going to disparage a bi woman for wanted to specify her characters are bi. I think the reasons she gave are kinda weird. Like not wanting a lesbian to be shocked about m/f sex presented with a sapphic character. But the overall idea, of wanting to use the label bisexual fantasy, I honestly think is fine if she wants to be specific with the identities. If she wrote bi characters and is proud of that and wants to make sure it's known that these characters are bi. I don't know if she did a good job. I also am not defending anything she wrote in that book, I haven't read it and with what I know I have no plans to. But like, if she wants to call it a bisexual fantasy, I don't get the push back. Again, once she gave her reasons, yes I get the pushback. But idk why anyone cared enough to question her to begin with.

[@ReadswithRachel]

I appreciate your perspective!

[@beeaggro2593]

I think it's because just the phrasing is weird because 'bisexual fantasy' kinda harks on a porny image than what she probably intended.

[@jessem.4214]

(Apologies for replying to a months old comment, but) I do feel like the original criticism that was more focused on the way the label was worded was something I could more readily agree with. Because If it’s important to her to label it as bisexual, (especially for something that was originally self-published) I don’t really think going with a conventional label is more important? Assuming she’s even familiar with the usual labels to begin with. …but once you get past that, there are certainly better ways to word it than “bisexual fantasy”. Because, yeah, it sure doesn’t make you think that fantasy is the genre. Though I guess it did make it memorable enough to end up in video titles, so that’s… something?

[@piperfixated]

It's so weird to hear my own name in a video so many times haha. But I also completely agree with you. I found this book completely in the wild without hearing about it on social media and I picked it up and WOW all the points you said are really putting words to my feelings. I only played the witcher after reading and it is so obvious after a single play through

[@LastGleaming8]

I'm so here for the Laini Taylor praise, I just finished Muse of Nightmares and I was shocked at how stunning the writing was.

[@panzergarcia4619]

After creep deep diving your content for the past week I am now in the crisis point of possibly needing your patreon LMAO

[@ghostoyster]

this can’t be good for your well-being but it’s great for mine so don’t stop

[@TheSnakeh]

I'm trying to write a fantasy book and can't help but beat myself often on the quality of it. But then, I see that books like this got published and I feel better lol I mean, if this has rabid fans defending it, surely, somebody's gonna like my crap. Anyways, love your make-up! It's lovely ❤

[@morganwentworth2041]

It's not a coincidence that I'm binging rant reviews when I'm not chipping away at Nanowrimo

[@haileybrookee]

SWITCHING BETWEEN TOLKEIN AND MY IMMORTAL😭😭 i’m crying

[@BoredBookworm]

The Night and its Moon 2: Electric Boogaloo

[@ChaoticDumbAce]

The whole video was great. But those few seconds were you were playing with your kids was so cute.

[@lady-celestius]

Having read the first couple chapters of the self-published book, I was really enjoying it. A lot of the criticisms I saw initially were without context and by people who hadn't read the books, so I disregarded them. However, I have come to greatly respect your opinion. I know that your reviews always come with an amount of research I wouldn't expect from anyone and I appreciate that you present things fairly, even if they are also with a large helping of sass. From your reviews, I can see now what I wasn't seeing before. So thank you!

[@ReadswithRachel]

Thanks for tuning in!

[@abigailsalmanac]

I had a memory resurface as I watched this video. My mom read Narnia to me when I was 7 and I was so obsessed with it that I began creating a story that was virtually exactly the same, down to the children entering a fantasy world to the Asian-type character. Complete plagiarism. Then when I was about 9 or 10 it occurred to me that it was ridiculous to do that, and I should create original stories, so I scrapped it. 😅 It’s just crazy to me that someone in their 30s is still insisting that they’re not plagiarizing when it’s so obvious that they are.

[@zuzannawikar5479]

The thing that always makes me laugh about many Witcher fans that don't really know the original story (Sapkowski's books) is putting it into "Slavic lore" xD The only things that are Slavic in Witcher are the names of some monsters, like strzyga, poroniec and some others. Sapkowski took a lot from arthurian myths, Germanic and Celtic mythology, fairy tales, stories of real life people (Polish, German, French etc) and made a parody of a lot of it, there is very little completely original content in Sapkowski's story. His whole thing was making his world and storyline a mosaic or a patchwork of other stories, retelling and twisting them. The lore is all over the place, descriptions of locations are all over the place, so the reader can't pinpoint it to any particular history period (some places are described as early Middle Ages, some are renaissance, etc). So this is pretty ironic that Piper CJ plagiarized his work, when she could make it an homage to it and his style, the same way he did it in the Witcher Saga with other stories. I'm Polish btw., also into mythologies and arthurian myths.

[@moustik31]

This. The 1st Witcher's book was a retelling of Grimm's brothers collected fairytales.

[@HazelGEvans-eb1ig]

The "it's just Slavic folklore" argument is very funny to me specifically because she makes videos about different pieces/elements of folklore, and all of them that I've seen are either extremely basic to the point of oversimplifying things, and/or just straight up gets things wrong, so even if it was just Slavic folklore it would probably be quite off in some way

[@ReadswithRachel]

Recently I got a dm from someone who says they’re positive she just picks a topic and googles it and gets her information from whatever link pops up first rather than utilizing her degree. And I told them that after reading her book twice… that level of research being her norm would not shock me.

[@ReadswithRachel]

I have her blocked so i can’t actually comment on her folklore stuff but I take yalls word for it

[@lidaw.5145]

not to mention that the idea of “slavic folklore” is just… weird in western media? i’m czech from my mom’s side, and our mythology is very rich and varied and delightfully weird at times, but whenever something is marketed as “slavic,” it’s just maybeeee 4% slavic watered down and hacked into caricatures/made unrecognizable

[@BooksToAshes]

I was just binge watching the 1 star series when this popped into my sub box. I’m blessed!! ❤

[@maskedmanofthepast]

I'd be so upset if a close friend of mine was telling a stranger about my mental health. As someone who does suffer from RSD, or Rejection Sensitivity Disorder, it is not other people's responsibility to walk on eggshells around me just to avoid hurting my feelings. I can feel rejection just from someone's tone, even if they aren't mad at me. And I'm not about to start tone policing people. That is something that I need to work on so I can better take criticism. And I'd be more heartbroken if someone were dishonest with me to spare my feelings, rather than being completely up front. Please, always was be honest, I'd feel worse if I knew I was being treated like a child that can't handle the truth.

[@mplbooks]

The word you're looking for is "imprint." (A publisher that is a subset of a larger publisher.)

[@ReadswithRachel]

IMPRINT!!!! Fuck that was driving me bonkers. Thank you.

[@gabrielle6071]

I’m really glad you pointed out the weirdness with how she marketed it. I clicked on this book review expecting it to be a love triangle story where the protagonist had to choose between a man and a woman, so I kept expecting the shoe to drop and the geralt rip off to ALSO be a love interest somehow. If someone says bisexual fantasy, as a bisexual I know that doesn’t mean inherently that the protag will have love interests that encompass all of the facets of their sexual orientation, but it’s kinda more what I’d expect though because lots of bisexual books with wlw rep are just marketed as sapphic so I was just expecting this to somehow be a bisexual love triangle but then nope it wasn’t lmao

[@JulianGreystoke]

Currently deep diving into this book on my channel and I'm devouring your videos about it!

[@ReadswithRachel]

You’re doing deep dives?! SAY NO MORE IM RUNNING

[@JulianGreystoke]

@@ReadswithRachel I call them read alongs, but they're actually deep dives into the books

[@SavageMinnow]

@@ReadswithRachel 🏃🏃wait for me!!! 😁

[@ReadswithRachel]

I am already obsessed and smashed the subscribe button

[@JulianGreystoke]

@@ReadswithRachel I am honored! I love your channel! I legit stop watching other videos if I see you've posted a new one.

[@missdragon5892]

Sorry to hear about the piper stans, been loving your content recently. Slay queen.

[@mauricenun2]

another banger. genuinely you make the best content to study/game to.

[@ReadswithRachel]

Glad to hear it!

[@laurenr4768]

The Gotthard umbrella diagram was such a jumpscare 🫨🫨 love your work and so so appreciate you tying these elements together.

[@astrothsknot]

I giggled with the kid. Kids' laughter is so genuine.

[@missyroberts8197]

Those giggle oh my gosh. Also, I waited until the END of a video to comment. Love your videos, and the parenting interlude is the best.

[@ReadswithRachel]

Thank you so much!

[@ellafletcher7126]

I've seen so many book reviewers getting hate and honestly your my favourite book reviewer just because you so in-depth into books. Please continue being your awesome self

[@mercycunningham2813]

I'm afraid Piper, again, hasn't gotten an editor who is familiar with the witcher fandom. I'm only familiar with the books, and that was a long time ago but so I probably wouldn't catch a lot of things. It's just I know to well, if I have seen it, read it or heard it somewhere I notice it as a reader. And the moment I catch a wiff of a fandom I know I'll google it or look it up. Jenna M's "shield-jump-scene"? I could picture it to well. Why? It was as seen on TV. (Spartacus Blood and Sand) It can happen by accident. Once. (Wasn't once there either.) And I wouldn't mind as much if the author could be bothered to do their own worldbuilding. (Not expecting Tolkien Level at all but a little that isn't borrowed from someone.) It just doesn't seem to be envouge with booktubegramtok authors. It's hard work. And I know people who can imagine a world out of the blue. (Most of them are RPG Storytellers and historybuffs.) I really wanted to like the book and I'm very sorry if Piper had a hard time growing up but I can't like a book just because I'm sorry for someone.

[@greyves_]

I used to get Piper's videos on my feed a lot around 2020 and she always opened with mentioning her master's degree in folklore, so not surprised she leans on the folklore excuse. Her info was always sketchy so I blocked her after a while...

[@squinnk]

I couldn't help but notice The Witch King on your shelf, I read it a few months ago and absolutely loved it! Also I recently discovered your videos, and love them so much!!!

[@ReadswithRachel]

Thanks so much for watching!!

[@holyfreakinBLEACH]

The "folding" metaphor for time travel is originally from "a wrinkle in time" I believe :3

[@nancyjay790]

The same concept was used in the original series of "Quantum Leap", but called "string theory". I believe "string theory" is being studied by quantum physicists, however.

[@ninteldazelda]

The misogyny from the witchers in Kaer Morhen thing is more a Netflix thing, it's not really in the books much. They immediately take her in as family which makes the show aggravating cause they decided to change it.

[@MortMe0430]

Hmm. Makes me wonder what other instances of misogyny were added by show-writers, then. Was wondering if I wanted to venture into the books, whether they'd be a "product of their times" what with being started in the 80's.

[@ninteldazelda]

@@MortMe0430 they are certainly a product of their time at some points, but also the story is deeply rooted in medieval culture and a more authentic portrayal so it's more gritty but not without addressing the problems of how women were treated during that time. It's not perfect, nothing is, but I find characters like Yennefer and Triss and Ciri and a lot of other female characters are praised rather than held back for their female characteristics. There's an entire scene (very mild spoilers) where Triss encourages Ciri to assert that she will not do training on her period. Periods were not and still aren't really mentioned in literature like that so I was surprised. Yennefer herself is already a strong female character so her changed are very headscratching. She has a very genuine motherly relationship with Ciri that was changed to be a lot more shallow. Where Geralt encourages a more "masculine" lifestyle, Yennefer teaches her to thrive in her feminity. The text doesn't teach that one is better than the other, if anything Ciri becomes more rounded by the coexistence of these values. I have not read the whole series but those are my impressions so far. Very rarely are women seen as not having the same capacity as men (at least by the narrative, just as in real life, there are people who are misogynistic but almost always they are portrayed as "wrong").

[@bluester7177]

​@@ninteldazeldait also makes sense for witchers not to be misoginistic because they are outcasts themselves and have more similar experiences to women like Geralt being sexualised and objectified.

[@lauraelaineallen21]

I can tell you from the experience of being a writing tutor, the tendency to use words that ALMOST make sense, that have ALMOST the meaning that the author thinks it does, comes from spending too much time with a thesaurus and not enough time with a dictionary.

[@aishakare_]

Gosh I was hoping to read the re-published book and see improvements, but it’s so sad that it didn’t change! 😢I still really like piper’s folklore content, but I will not be reading the new version thanks to this review. Thank you for pointing out all the things I originally thought were wrong with this once again (ie: glorifying whiteness, making Nox an afterthought/only valuable in the story bc she’s obsessed with Amaris’s safety rather than her being an individual being - tokenism- , comparing skin colours for dramatic effect, using sapphic interactions for the male gaze/enjoyment, and the Witcher plagiarism). I truly wish Piper the best in regards to learning from this and growing as a writer, but I will not be reading this work at all

[@ReadswithRachel]

Wish I had better to report on the book but I’m glad her folklore content is enjoyable content for you still, at least! I wish her success in it.

[@Ivymyoungwrites]

It took my second watch through when you said All Mother. That’s Horizon Zero Dawn. They have a goddess…they call the All Mother. WHAT?! Seriously?! THE ALL MOTHER IS A MOUNTAIN

[@LadyAhro]

Oh god, I'm not surprised

[@kyuubisgirl3232]

I, personally, could not defend a writer so enthusiastically with such blatant plagiarism pointed out to me. The writer and her friends who are attacking you and others should honestly be very embarrassed. If you want to write Witcher fanfic, just do it! Fanfiction doesn't need to be tweaked and have new names slapped on characters to be considered laudable writing. Piper should've just kept it fanfiction until she can really find her writing voice and learn to world build effectively imo.

[@dantalione]

man, i have to say, your critiques are fantastic but every single time i watch a video of yours i am completely taken out by how fantastic your hair is. do you wear extensions?? it's FABULOUS. no shade you're just absolutely slaying the hair game.

[@ReadswithRachel]

That’s so nice of you but I gotta tell you: it’s a wig! I have the absolute worst hair and it would take me 3 hours minimum to get it to look like this. I got tired of wasting time on it, bought a wig, and never looked back! Saves me so much time that I can spend reading lol

[@katymaurer388]

I would love to hear your thoughts on Grace Year. I love this book from a feminist perspective and am intrigued by the brief few thoughts you gave about fundamentalism

[@ReadswithRachel]

This is the motivation I needed to do a reread and review of this book. I loved it but I read it like almost 2 years ago at this point and I would love to do an in-depth review of it

[@katymaurer388]

❤️

[@kaijuhunting]

am i the only person who hated the grace year...? oops ksnjfskj

[@ReadswithRachel]

No a lot of people I know hated it! I wonder if I’ll still like it upon reread.

[@PinkCatsy]

@@kaijuhunting i also didn't like it but that's b/c the main character made me really angry and i hated the romance

[@lorddrievion1527]

I found this channel randomly and I’ve watched like 20 vids and I can’t stop watching 😂. The reviews and informative and HELLA funny. I love it, subbed!

[@VickiWeavil]

One thing that's extremely odd to me is that Bloom (a Sourcebooks imprint) did not commission a new cover for the trad. version. The original version is nice enough for an indie book, but it doesn't look professional enough for a trad. book. Just my opinion, of course. (But typically, new covers are used for new editions, even for mass market or audiobooks vs their hardcover or trade PB versions). This screams to me that the publisher's thinking was along the lines of --"We're just going to make some bucks off of this book with our wider distribution channels; we're NOT going to actually invest much time, thought, or money into it."

[@kcesca]

Same. The cover is fine, but staring at it during this video I pulled apart all the elements in my mind and concluded that, as an untalented amature cover designer, I could more or less re-make it in under 15mins in Canva, using public domain assets. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate any cover that is more than either A. A random girl in a pretty dress. B. Cartoon people. C. A random picture (A.K.A, THE snake) with huge typography, but this is still a lazy cover.

[@thatsmalltowngirl4]

They did the same with A Touch of Darkness. She was self published until Bloom picked it up. Same covers. I had both editions.

[@moustik31]

Well, they cant, Piiper CJ doesnt accept constructive criticism: her book is perfect from bottom to cover.

[@learning2live_brokeninchro157]

I’m a bit late to the party… I just finished the book, prior to watching your video. Let me start with saying, I love your review. You were critical, thorough, yet completely honest and fair. However, I also enjoyed the book. Was it the best book I’ve ever read? Nope. Was it maybe due to my Traumatic Brain Injury and the fact I can’t read books in the traditional sense and now listen on Audible that I didn’t see all the errors (grammar, spelling, wrong words used,etc)? Probably. I am new to reading fantasy books. So I didn’t catch all the stolen ideas. So thank you for sharing that information. I can understand if there are light references or nods to other stories, themes, plots, etc. It is impossible for writers to not be influenced by outside sources. However, what you explained is a considerable amount more than a reference or a nod. Which is really too bad. There were parts I found to be clever and original, but now I doubt them all. When we have such vast imaginations, It is a shame to just steal ideas you’ve already seen and regurgitate them as you own.

[@anagsom376]

About the potrait of sexual work in a possitive way, I remember some episodes of Firefly where I was surprised about how they handled that with Inara's character. But their take on it is more in the high-class geisha/courtesan trope than in the modern sense.

[@thenyctophiliaphantasmagor8643]

Gah. Please tell me you say this while knowing geisha are not sex workers, but are merely commenting on vestur world stupidity?

[@abt97]

Omg love your videos. I finally came out (to myself after years of denial) and wanted to find a queer fantasy book so I went to my local bookstore and saw TNAIM. Just finished the book and i feel so disgusted that I actually paid money to read it. Next time I’ll look on your channel before just randomly picking something! I kept on reading thinking it would get better and it just got worse…learned my lesson. Here’s to finding quality sapphic fantasy! If you have any recs for folks new to the genre would love to hear!

[@ReadswithRachel]

Hi! Thanks for watching! I have several sapphic fantasy recs. You looking for YA, adult, or both?

[@ken-fh9sy]

Check out Kushiel's Dart for a different take on sex work! Neither the sex workers nor the clients are depicted in a negative light.

[@MermaidSecrets]

OMG I KNEW THE MAKEUP WAS INTENTIONAL. anyways. fantastic video! you did super well with this! i enjoy your videos and your reviews. thank you for your hard work to break this down!

[@Kez_h]

What was the make up inspired by? 😕 Idk make tingz lol

[@Aarkwrite]

The umbrella analogy is weird. If God covers everyone then husbands don’t need to cover wives. Everyone is equally sheltered by God. Unless they think God’s umbrella is full of holes. Is that why God is holy? (Hole-y get it 😂)

[@Persephone_Personified]

Love the Witcher. Hate the Bitcher. (Which is what I call this book) yes I am quite lame. Love ya girl. BTW That gigglin baby made me smile on a very very tough day when I hadn’t smiled for days.. weeks maybe? Thank u for all the work you put into these videos ❤

[@hollypeno.pepper]

Thank you Rachel! Excited to get feedback! I know you'll be straight with me and love you're videos!

[@katherineeaster5799]

I think it's interesting that, until yesterday, I had never even heard of My Immortal, and an hour after I finish watching a recap video (there were a lot of breaks for the sake of my sanity), you mention it.

[@TheDearRosemary]

Its so kind of Bloom to pick up trash, but like stop this is not the eco queens that we want

[@ReadswithRachel]

10/10 comment

[@dirtydove]

I love down the street from BJU and I hear horror stories from ex and post graduate students who are people of color and queer. One of my good friends had grown up in that community since preschool and they had so much to heal from.

[@mbs.writes]

This is so clearly plagiarism. She can’t even claim it to be a retelling if she tried. There’s a difference between using common tropes in a story and taking entire ideas but only changing names of things. Like with ACOTAR, yes it’s a beauty and the beast retelling. The tropes are him being a beast, taking her captive, and they fall in love. But things are changed enough that it’s not stealing the OG idea. Giving her a paint room/gallery instead of library. They’re cursed to wear masks forever, rather than him being cursed to be a beast and them furniture. There is enough twisting that it becomes an OG idea to the story itself. Piper literally took entire details from The Witcher but only changed names… that’s plagiarism. It would have been fine if she had her MC look like Ciri and that’s the only similarity. But to take sooo much from the Witcher - that’s just lazy writing, lack of creativity and definitely stealing.

[@lucrativesequel2002]

I know this is an old video and I’m not sure if this is an “unpopular opinion” or not, but I feel like authors expecting readers to know info about their characters based on what they’ve said on social media has to be some kind of effect of parasocial relationships. I shouldn’t have to follow an author online or scroll through hundreds of promotional TikToks or even know the book was marketed as a “bisexual fantasy” to figure out a character is bisexual. It should be IN THE BOOK. I think “word of God” is a fun concept and I definitely think it’s fun for creators to use social media to supplement ideas or fill in minor background concepts for their fans. But for the casual reader or fan, if it’s not IN THE BOOK, it does not exist for an intents and purposes. Considering you’ve read this book twice now and still walked away thinking the character was a lesbian shows an issue in the writing. The work should stand on its own.

[@SatraninaLane]

I almost bought this book the other day based on the cover art but I changed my mind and wanted to look for reviews on it, I'm so glad I stumbled upon this video and your channel.

[@ReadswithRachel]

Glad you’re here!

[@lysstenup]

This was a fantastic review. I’m about 100 pages from the end and am thinking a lot of the same thoughts writing-wise. Though I’m not familiar with the Witcher, you laying out the plagiarism aspect is so important and more people should be talking about it.

[@rachelcdmatthews2891]

Thing is, I guess it’s natural for authors - particularly lesser known/indie authors - to want to watch/read reviews of their work. I get that. HOWEVER, if you are an author who is an adult and a professional, then you have NO business hounding reviewers because you dislike their opinions, and you most certainly can’t go about encouraging others to harass people who dislike your book. I feel like this is common sense?

[@taylorgayhart9497]

She literally said “I self published because I can’t handle any feedback or criticism”, did she expect every single reader to love it and give it 5 stars??? I’m just confused because I LOVE to write, but I never show anyone because I’m afraid of criticism, so the LAST thing I would do would be PUBLISH IT! The logic is nonexistent there.

[@beeaggro2593]

@@taylorgayhart9497 Yeah I'm the opposite. For my writing, I want all the feedback and criticism. It'll suck but I want that bandaid off. I want to know what's great and what needs fixing

[@quantummowser]

I am glad you did these reviews. I was contemplating purchasing these books and this has deterred me from wasting $30 CAD on essentially a Witcher fan fic. Thank you. - Former Piper CJ simp

[@ReadswithRachel]

Omg please don’t waste that amount of money! If you’re still interested in it, go the second hand route! No paperback is worth $30

[@quantummowser]

@@ReadswithRachel I am not. Your review was one of the first things that popped up on Google. I don't want to associate myself with her audience.

[@ReadswithRachel]

Totally understand 💕

[@lrae9519]

Jacqueline Carey's kushieline series might interest as a bisexual fantasy world with a sex industry that is important to their religion

[@j.m.808]

Is she saying her emotions were made of tentacles and she shoved them into a box?? Those images don't even work together lmao.

[@ReadswithRachel]

I truly do not know what that idea was but it certainly wasn’t rooted in sense

[@SarahAbramova]

35:53 considering that I remember my cringy mentality back when I was a kid, probably. Want to give a character empowerment? Make them kill something! Want to show that a character is strong? Make them kill something! Want to show how a character has changed throughout the story? Make them kill something!

[@allyzorahvasnormandy9511]

i love you rachel. your videos and reviews help me when it comes to finding new stuff to read. i’m sorry you’re going through what you’re going through. it’s so gross, unprofessional and cruel 😢❤

[@ashman49]

rewatching and i STILL cannot believe nox's whole thing is "THE DARKNESS OF NIGHT' "SHE IS THE NIGHT THAT SURROUNDS THE MOON SHE'S SO DARK DARK DARK DARKNESS'' and then you see her faceclaim... and homegirl is the color of a manilla envelope at best. she's a light skinned woman of color. even when obsessed with darkness, white authors can not bring themselves to empathize with dark skinned people enough to write them as MCs.

[@tarynbookconfessions2]

I read the arc on Netgalley too and I struggled to finish it but I wanted to read it myself and find out if it was as bad as everyone said. I think you're right in that this could have been a good story if piper and her editors really worked on it and cut A LOT but it was apparent that was not done. And the flagrant plagarism of the Witcher was so obvious it was ridiculous.

[@pip7365]

A Goodreads review mentions that it's repeated over and over that Nox smells like plums and cinnamon. Is that true? One of Yennefer's key identifiers is her smelling like lilac and gooseberries. A very distinctive scent that Geralt remarks on quite bit. If true, the specific mix of two smells associated to the character is just another point for the Nox=Yen theory ahaha

[@ReadswithRachel]

dont get me started but YES nonstop talking about her smell of plums and cinnamon

[@pip7365]

this truly is a yen/ciri fanfic lol

[@milchreis9554]

Lilacs and gooseberries = interesting ingredients, unique, not a combination I hear of often. Plum and cinnamon = waffles??

[@ReadswithRachel]

Well now I just want waffles. Thanks!

[@randomskyguy]

34:54 it sounds like you’d say to an ai chatbot so it would remember the skin colours of the characters being talked about without just adding something like “and his skin was tan.” At the end of it.

[@justanormalfish]

I just got recommended your channel after watching a lot of book review videos. I don't usually comment but I have to say I have a lot of respect for you right away for the things you said at the end. I cannot BELIEVE that authors' friend came for you like that. Ridiculous and super inappropriate behavior. I appreciate you for telling it like it is and not being meek about it when they're not giving you the courtesy of basic manners.

[@rachelMB]

I found you recently & have been binging like a mf. Even tho I’m not as much of a reader as I used to be (I have a literal “to read” **PILE** on my bedroom floor… 😅😩) I truly enjoy hearing your perspective & usually have a good laugh while learning about books I may or may not eventually read. This video though… it finally made my brain wires connect & turned the lightbulb on upstairs and illuminated exactly who you remind me of.. You’re the book version of Nick DiRamio! 😂😍 I love that you both [when breaking down your preferred media] are able to playfully poke fun, point out major missteps, talk about flaws, but _ALSO_ dole out truly helpful & constructive criticisms. Like, “what I would’ve done…” or “perhaps you could’ve added x, y, z…” and give perspective from the _consumer_ of said media on what you’d like to read/see. It’s witty & entertaining, while also being helpful & enlightening. Anyway, just wanted to throw that out there. 😅 if you haven’t already, I definitely recommend checking out Nicks channel (specifically the clip break down segment he does) bc I think you (and your subs) would very much adore him! 🥰 Much love! 🤍✨

[@talismanontargett]

jesus, when you said the brothel owner "looked like a witch, but what does a witch look like?" i immediately knew there was going to be antisemetic descriptions and then right after, of course, she's a lizard-person (or has a lizard hand???) which is highly antisemetic

[@ReadswithRachel]

Oh SHIT I didn’t even pick up on that

[@talismanontargett]

@@ReadswithRachel I'm converting to Judaism so I've been reading up on the low-key dog whistles that have been baked into everyday society slash used to flag down others who think the same way. It's unfortunate, but a lot of well meaning people use stereotypes or dog whistles when they don't even know that they are stereotypes or dog whistles!

[@thenyctophiliaphantasmagor8643]

I’m not saying there isn’t anti-Semitism in the history of witches, but there is a higher connection in England and the US of witches to Quakers than to anti-Semitism. Though anti-Semitism IS tied into the wizard/sorcerer’s half