The Fruit that Divided a Fandom
One of the greatest divides in our fandom centers around the great KIWI. Many emotions surround this topic to this day and the OCS Newsletter decided it was time for an overview of the history of the great kiwi debate in the #WarriorNun fandom.
The kiwi is known in most cultures, but one thing many in our fandom learned about in early 2023 was eating a kiwi with the skin on is actually an option. From phrases to challenges to art and gifts, the kiwi has traveled far and wide in the Warrior Nun fandom. It’s a question each one of us has had to think about (willing or not) and one that can only be made on your own. Do you eat kiwi with the skin on or off?
The heart of the story sits in the hands of Jereczko @Jereczko97. Not only did she keep the campaign going with hourly, daily, and weekly #SaveWarriorNun totals but she came up with a unique way to get people to contribute to the hashtag. In the early days of the campaign, the food war, as it later became known, helped drive these numbers up.
OCS: Your history with kiwi?
My story with kiwi began in 2017 when one of my co-workers started eating kiwi with the skin on in front of me during our breakfast break. I found it strange and disgusting, but curiosity won and on the same day I bought a kiwi to try it this way and since then I can't eat kiwi any other way now. It just tastes better!
OCS: How did trying Kiwi with skin become something in the Warrior Nun fandom?
It started on January 28, 2023, it was probably our first Watch Party of Season 2, and as a person making hourly reports, I wanted the SWN of tweets to be as many as possible, and since the reach of my tweets also helped in some way, I wanted to tweet as many as possible that day to conquer popularity of the hashtag and the watch party initiative itself. And since I like to eat something while watching movies/series, and the only fruit at home was kiwi, oranges, and banana, and I only eat one of these fruits with the skin. I decided that the question whether eating kiwi with the skin is not popular everywhere or was it just me who didn’t know about it when I was younger?
I hoped it would be a good excuse to boost the hashtag. And so it was. Judging by the comments under this tweet, we gained the hashtag tweets amount but in exchange I lost the people's respect, but it was worth it 🥲 The carousel of confusion that not all fruits should be eaten with the skin was so great that on the same day I bitted the rest of the fruits with skin that I had at home (orange, banana) which started a food war.
Pietra @coeurdinosaur co-editor and creator of the special food edition of the OCS Newsletter shared her thoughts on kiwis.
Well, I remember waking up one beautiful January day and I opened Twitter, as every Warrior Nun fan does. It was the very first thing I saw when I opened my eyes and I genuinely thought I was still sleeping because what was that?
But nope, it was an actual discourse taking place with multiple people taking sides.
While it actually derailed from there, to who could create or eat stuff in the most chaotic manner, I think it ultimately became a thing of its own. It brought people together because it was a fun (while terrifying) activity that perfectly fit in our chaotic days back in early 2022. Many of us were literally pulling two shifts with our real-life work and our #SaveWarriorNun "job", so it was a very welcome break
It evolved naturally and endogenously though, it moved on from kiwi, to banana, to whatever they could put together and then it started involving more people and the cast and crew... and it just became our own inside joke. Like I said, something unexpected brought us together, or even more so. We are a fandom that clearly thrive in chaos, so it was just fitting.
Simon Barry, Kristina Tonteri-Young and William Miller joined fans on a Twitter space on the 25th of February 2023, to celebrate the campaign to save the show reaching 10 Million #savewarriornun tweets. During the Q&A one important question was presented about kiwis. "Skin off or skin on?"
KTY: "What?”
KTY: “WHAAAT?! SKIN OFF YOU HEATHENS!”
William Miller: “No, it's hairy. It's just not, it's not natural.”
Simon Barry: “Yes, it's definitely off for me. No skin.”
OCS: Your reaction to the 10 million Twitter space talk about Kiwi?
On the one hand, I hoped that the topic of kiwi would be discussed there and I kept my fingers crossed that someone would use a kiwi question from the list, but I also knew that that space had a very large reach among the fandom and beyond, and the topic of kiwi or food itself in the fandom had as many supporters as opponents and I was a bit afraid that the question about kiwi might be perceived negatively as unrelated to WN. Nevertheless, when I heard the mention of kiwi, I was so shocked that I completely failed to register what KTY, Wiliam and Simon said about it. I learned about the answers from tweets in which people were happy to announce my failure. Rude. Only after the end of the space I could calmly listen to KTY calling me heathen. Also rude. XD
OCS: What made you bring kiwis to the London Warrior Nun convention in February 2024?
KTY first found out about kiwi during the 10mln space, but she was not entirely familiar with where it came from and why. Later, she received more explanations and introductions to the topic of kiwis on Cameos. I know of two in which she was asked about trying kiwi with skin. At one of them she said that if someone will have a kiwi at the (upcoming back then) Witchbomb, she would try it, but unfortunately there was no such possibility, because... who normally goes to a convention with a backpack full of kiwis... 👀🧍🏽♀️And I don't hide the fact that I wanted the experience to see how she tries it in person, and not just learn about it from tweets, which is why handing KTY kiwi to try was goal number 1 for me. And the main goal when I found out that I would have the opportunity to be at HaloBearerUK.
OCS: Your reaction to KTY trying kiwi with skin on?
A broken heart, shattered into pieces which she later trampled on and threw into the crusher… but before that…:
I was aware that KTY knew about kiwi and the day before she tried it in front of everyone, she was asked if she would even like to try it (I complained to Gisela that I had lost the chance to ask her personally at meet and geek if she would try it, but Gisela told me that her table had asked her this question and the answer was that "if someone has it, she will try it". So all that was left was to choose the right moment and how to give kiwi to her. I lost the first opportunity when KTY announced at the end of first panel that she knows that some of fans had gifts for the cast and if they wanted to give them, they could do it now. I didn't even get up because... I panicked 🧍🏽♀️ so after the first panel I went out for a moment to think about what I could do, but with trying to avoid shouting across the whole room and a moment before the second panel I came up with an idea with writing a question on a cardboard. And then Kelsey and Lucy came to the rescue handing me over a piece of cardboard that they had from the vendor’s table. I decided that due to our 'friendly' relationship with the HaloBearersUK crew, it would be more safe if the cast themselves were interested in what was written on the cardboard, then the panel leader wouldn't disturb them either, luckily I managed to do it by finding a cardboard that wasn't too big 🤡, so everyone had to focus really hard to read what was written on it. And what was my reaction?Apart from the pulse rate of 140bpm, because everyone was focused on me, I wanted to burst out laughing when I saw KTY's reaction when she realized what was waiting for her. As the rest of the cast tried to read what was on the cardboard, we could see in her eyes the moment when her soul was leaving her body and she started to hesitate.
I had a total of 8 kiwis at the convention for each cast member (and for me as a snack of course 👀) but KTY was my main victim. So…, as I said - heartbreaking etc., but when it comes to KTY, I admit that I lost my battle there, because I was sure that she tried a good, ripe kiwi (STRAIGHT FROM POLAND 😌), she took a big enough bite, and also that she admitted that she likes kiwi very much, but she was still not convinced about it with skin. I only have hope that in the future she may be tempted to try again and change her mind, but for now I solemnly admit (although I will still remain slightly delusional) …
KTY is #TeamTraumatized
OCS: Your reaction to Jo trying kiwi with skin on?
She was sooooo confused! I'm not sure if Jo was on the panel when KTY tried the kiwi or if she was even aware of the whole kiwi thing in the fandom, but even though she reacted more negatively to the kiwi with skin than KTY, I still have more hope to switch Jo's side from TeamTraumatized to TeamKiwi BECAUSE! (I have important arguments and I am not afraid to use them👀).
Maybe she tried a good kiwi, BUT she was asked if she would try a kiwi WITH the skin, and Jo took such a small bite that she tried just the kiwi skin, so there was no way she would like it, so in her case, I don't accept my failure xD, but I'm waiting for the next opportunity for her to try kiwi again.
OCS: Some of your favorite memories related to kiwis in the fandom?
Let there be 3:
1. One of the first:
First cast member’s reaction to kiwi: David Hayter tweeting 1.5 days after my tweet that he had just Googled that you can eat kiwi with the skin.
2. The newest, i.e. on HaloBearersUK:
Witnessing with my own eyes KTY trying kiwi with the skin in front of everyone.
3. The most important thing for me:
That this one tweet, caused by a lack of ideas on what to tweet about and how to encourage others to tweet, resulted in the creation of TeamFruity vs TeamTraumatized. 9-person group of nerds whom I love you with all my heart and in which we traumatize each other every day in many ways.. (karma is real).
Posting this tweet is one of the best things I did in 2023 and I’m very happy I did it.
Kiwi changes lives. SO TRY IT WITH THE SKIN ON!
Much as been said about the kiwi in the Warrior Nun fandom. Through the kiwi challenge in celebration, bonding or protecting friends, or featured in a random article. there are many stories that continue to united the fandom in their love/hate relationship with the kiwi.
One Halo Bearer even commissioned an art piece to drive the message home. When questioned, what inspired the bold move GiuliaB @giuliab86 replied with this:
When Jereczko went to ask which one from the guests wanted to eat the kiwi with skin during the convention I was hoping nobody would agree but then KTY did it… I felt her pain and disgust 😅 honestly I can’t eat anymore kiwis since all of this started 😖but overall this inspired me…
Knowing KTY is going back to a convention and Lorena (for the first time), I am so scared they will do that again so I was like “you know what? I can’t let that happen again”
And it was also an excuse to get a hehehe original and a commission from note, I love her design! ✨😊
OCS: Have you ever tried kiwi with skin on? 👀
No and I will never do it! But just the thought of hairy things in my mouth… NOPE 🙂↔️
OCS: Your feelings on KTY and trying the kiwi?
I really think she regret it big time 🤪😂
