Nunning it up in the Warrior Nun Fandom - Interview with Sister Kayla

Kayla aka Those Darn Nuns formerly on Twitter as @ThisOrTheNext has been a project champion and cheerleader of the Warrior Nun fandom for years. But more than that she became a hero to many, by sharing her truth and journey with all of us. The OCS Newsletter wanted to shine a light on her time and projects in the fandom, but we went one step further to show her what she means to the Us as well. Feel free to share your thoughts to Kayla in the comments section.

Messages from the fandom

OCS: A little about yourself

I’m Kayla/ThoseDarnNuns/@thosedarnnuns.bsky.social. A couple of years ago I watched a show about fighting nuns, and with the help of the (overwhelmingly queer) community that formed around the show I learned and accepted that I was a trans woman. My coming out moment - the first time I knew for sure and accepted this about myself, was in fact a tweet (with daily phrase hashtags, of course). Because of this, you could say that Warrior Nun and its fandom have a very special place in my heart - I quite literally would not be who I am without them. Beyond the above, I’m a fan of most things sci-fi, cooking (and eating), sports (biking and running), and music (mostly guitar). 

OCS: How did you discover Warrior Nun?

In mid 2022 during the Covid pandemic, in a period of boredom, I googled ‘shows like Buffy’ - and got a result for a ridiculously titled show called ‘Warrior Nun’ on Netflix. The show ended up resonating with me for some reason - I didn’t know why, at the time - and six months later I remember eagerly awaiting the second season to be released (I watched it on a fifty hour plane journey on my phone).

OCS: What made you want to fight to save the show?

Although I had enjoyed various shows before, I’d never particularly cared about one and I was surprised at the emotional reaction I had to the cancellation. Later, I read about the twitter campaign and created an account just so I could make one #SaveWarriorNun tweet and say I’d been a part of it. But the phrases and the campaigns were so much fun that the next thing I knew I was scheduling hourly tweets, and then the next thing I knew was that I had friends. From that moment on, the campaign to save the show wasn’t just for me, it was also for them.


OCS: Will you talk a little about the appreciation/importance of the character Chanel and actress May Lifschitz?

It’s kind of funny, but the first time I watched Warrior Nun I didn’t have any particular feelings about Chanel. But as I’ve been on my own journey to ‘figure out who I am’ I've come to appreciate more about her, particularly in the way she takes Ava - someone who is just beginning this *new* version of her life - under her wing. And as for May herself, she is an absolute delight, and during her livestream interview she shared some things about her own journey that stayed with me and helped me along with my own. Obviously, both May and Chanel look amazing all the time too. I’m still working on my own fashion sensibilities!

OCS: As far as Warrior Nun projects you are one of the top contributors. Can you list some of them you have been involved with?

- WN GARLIC BREAD/MEATBALL/CHEESECAKE/ETC PARTY

- Warriorvision Nun Contest / #FreePalestineRadio

-  #WHTTVS / #HaloFiles (Buffy / X-Files group watches/spaces)

- WarriorNunRun / NunsRunTheWorld / NunRunWorldTour

OCS: There are many in the fandom that love to talk about food including some traumatizing food related events and even a cookbook. You have led many food related parties and movie nights. Can you talk about how the idea started and then developed? Anyone else involved with development?

First event WN GARLIC BREAD PARTY April 17, 2023.


The food and movie parties started, as pretty much all of these projects, with dumb conversation on twitter. It might have been @WarriorNun123 and I who used to talk about garlic bread (gotta get those tweet numbers up) and in the heat of some of the more intense periods of tweeting I thought to do something silly and make a ‘fun’ day of garlic bread recipes, memes, photos, etc. We ended up having so much fun that it’s now a semi-regular occurrence (the most recent was WN APPLE PIE PARTY) and we often have a space to watch a movie together and hang out (the first movie we watched together was ‘Sor Citroen’, the old movie with nuns in it  playing in the theatre scene in season 2).

OCS: Can you talk about the WN Cultural Exchange Program and the fandom participation?

I don’t remember if the first garlic bread party was before or after the Warrior Nun Cultural Exchange Program (WNCEP) started, but either way the WNCEP was a reason (excuse) for worldwide fandom members to post things (mostly foods) from their regions or to otherwise explore and appreciate each other’s cultures. Maybe my most cherished memory from the active WNCEP days was making Bulgarian ‘Panagyurski’ eggs and Greek ‘Strapatsada’ eggs - recommended by @nun8208280996 and @hella_kit. And a recommendation by winterlorn (Tumblr: winterlorn) started my journey into home brewing (spruce beer, apple cider, etc…)

OCS: Which one was your favorite food related event?

If I had to pick one I’d say the WN CHEESECAKE PARTY, because I think it was the first one that the fandom really got excited for, and it was also the first time I ever made cheesecake and it was AMAZING.

OCS: What was the Warriorvision Nun Contest?

The Warriorvision Nun Contest was an imaginary Eurovision style song contest, where the fandom nominated and selected a historic Eurovision song that was appropriate for each character. When we had the songs selected, we had a space where we played all the songs, and then the listeners voted for them, Eurovision style (we may have gotten excited about Eurovision that year 😅). The idea for the contest, again, came from a random twitter discussion with some of my #TeamLoopy friends, and together with @NunsAndTheirDr (graphics, video, actual Eurovision knowledge - you might remember her Adriel’s brandy video) the contest admin was a two person effort.

Beatrice was deemed the winner with Lucie Jones’ ‘Never Give Up On You’, and there’s a link to a recording of the space and more information here.


OCS: There have been references to you being a member of Team Loopy. Can you talk about how this group developed and the members?

#TeamLoopy is a decentralized cadre of like minded individuals who bonded over our collective unhingedness (hence the name) as well as our strong opinions about herbs (it’s a long story that I don’t fully remember, but suffice to say that Rosemary is the best herb and anyone who has a different opinion is wrong). At its core #TeamLoopy consisted of @nohwth, @NunsAndTheirDr, @SullenNarwhal, as well as winterlorn and code_and_tea (Tumblr: @winterlorn, @gardening-tea-lesbian). Many of the ideas for various project started here, including Warriorvision Nun Contest and the What Happened To The Vampire Slayer crew (#WHTTVS).


OCS: What made you want to start the Buffy rewatch party?

The Buffy rewatch party also started as a #TeamLoopy conversation - there were a few people there who hadn’t seen it, and given its obvious influence on Warrior Nun - and it being part of how I myself came to be on Warrior Nun Twitter - it was a joy for me to share it with some people who were less familiar with it. For the record, it has held up amazingly well, and Anya is and always will be the best character (fight me!).

OCS: The fandom had several WarriorNun exercise projects going at the same time. One thing they seemed to have in common was your behind the scenes work. Can you tell us your involvement with the WarriorNunRun and how that development to include the NunsRunTheWorld and NunRunWorldTour? Can you explain what each was about as well?

I think it was @RKCsyd and @franzi3145 who had started the initial 24 hour Warrior Nun Run idea, and given that it sounded like an awesome idea I got involved with some behind the scenes logistics type stuff, google sheets and pdfs and what not. That event (and all the nun run events) have been really cool in the way they’ve started organically, without any specific leadership or ownership, with people just helping with whatever skills they have.

Elise (@dchn_elise) came to the nun run admin group with the idea for #NunsRunTheWorld (let’s run the circumference of the world together) and then together we figured out how it could be done. Initially we had planned to do it via smartphone fitness apps (many of those can have teams or groups) but when it was rightly pointed out that downloading an app is not something most people would want to do we came up with the idea for the logging page, which I then built as kind of a practice project for my work.

The #NunRunWorldTour, as you might by now expect, started with a random conversation on Twitter, and at some point @RKCsyd and I got the ball rolling by printing the batons (art by @HiredHandStudio!) and planning what it actually entailed, and since it got started it’s been mostly @jax_214 and rj (@beasbuttonup.bsky.social) who’ve been facilitating it. It involves two physical batons (#TeamAva and #TeamBea) travelling the world from halobearer to halobearer (often with snacks in the box!). They’re pretty close to travelling the world now. Oh and a special nun run shoutout to @HaloBea_22 for creating ‘The Halo’, the nunrun newsletter!

OCS: Your feelings about the overwhelming fandom participation and reaction at the end of the first around the world trip in NunsRunTheWorld?

Our ‘best case’ scenario for the first season was that we’d have the world ran in a year, so imagine our surprise when it took half that time! And then to have the second (double length) season to be done in the same time, that blew our minds again (something to do with the competition between #TeamAva and #TeamBeatrice, maybe?). But what makes me happiest about the participation is the tweets and the pictures. That’s surely the greatest success of the whole project. I posted a summary of the project here.

OCS: You posted about your meet-up with a couple of Warrior Nun fandom members in Nov 2024. Can you talk about how that developed and what the experience was like?

I forget exactly what order everything happened in, but we had been talking about a potential meetup with @jax_214 and @RKCsyd while I was visiting my family in Australia, and then what sealed the deal was that there was a Women’s A-League (football/soccer) game played between Sydney and Brisbane while I was in town. 

Because I was going to be meeting people who’d only ever known me as a woman it was natural that I’d meet them in person as one, so this was also my first time dressing and appearing feminine in public. As a 190cm (6’3) tall person, I tend to stand out regardless of how I dress, so there were some nerves associated with this, but it all went wonderfully and the halobearers I hung out with were of course wonderfully supportive.

Aside from the football match (Brisbane won!) we ate (several times), hung out, kicked a ball around, and talked about Warrior Nun (and sometimes not about Warrior Nun) I was pleased to also meet @notanotherwn, @birds4_little, and @Maple_Jaxon! Maple kissed me!!!

OCS: Why was it important to you to make the Warrior Nun fandom aware of #FreePalestine?

There was a phrase that circulated widely in the early days of the genocide: ‘If you’ve ever wondered what you would’ve done during the holocaust, you’re doing it now’. I couldn’t in good conscience do nothing at all, and since videos and images from Palestine were all over my Twitter feeds, it felt like the natural place to act. The fandom has been hugely supportive of all things #FreePalestine, particularly in the nun-run community where we raised over a thousand dollars for the UNRWA last year.


For Vaticon we had a new #FreePalestine fundraiser - there were a couple of #Avatrice pins with custom art by @noooooo_te for those who participated! And even if you didn’t make it to Vaticon you can make a donation here and I’ll mail you the pins (North America only at the moment, EU likely in April!).

OCS: What was your experience like in the Warrior Nun fandom convention VatiCon?

It was wonderful! I went mostly to meet friends, and that part was wildly successful. What maybe surprised me a little was not just how much fun I had meeting people I already knew, but how many new people I met who I quickly became friends with. It’s amazing how much you can cram into a single weekend! I didn’t go home entirely empty handed, however. I got my picture taken with Olivia - who was lovely - and came back with a suitcase full of gifted goodies from the fandom.

OCS: What stood out to you the most and your feelings afterwards?

The strongest feeling I had coming down from Vaticon was gratitude. Gratitude about Vaticon, about the fandom, about the show. While we’re obviously all here because we wanted to #SaveWarriorNun, what I’ve found in the fandom is - I think - infinitely more valuable than a third season of Warrior Nun would’ve been (at least for me). With that in mind, I’ve kind of made my peace with how Warrior Nun ended (for now). We might never know for sure how S3 would’ve gone but I think we’ve made our own story here out of its ashes.

OCS: What has kept you motivated to keep going with your Warrior Nun related projects?

I had to think about this one for some reason, but the very short answer is - I like doing them! I’m not a person who likes to sit still (metaphorically speaking) so finding cool things to do in a fandom I love that other people will also appreciate has kind of just been a thing that happens almost by accident.

OCS: What does the #WarriorNun fandom mean to you? How has it changed you?

Through the fandom I’ve made lifelong friends as well as broadened my horizons as far as shows in particular and storytelling in general go. As far as changes - I literally would not be the woman I am today without finding my way into this fandom, and I am forever grateful that I did, and to everyone who I’ve met along the way.


OCS: Any message you would like to send to the fandom?

“A nazi, a transphobe, and a misogynist walk into a bar. The bartender looks up and says “What can I get you, Elon?”

Come to the good place :)

As a surprise to Kayla, to accompany her interview, we have collected messages from some members of the Warrior Nun fandom to her. Please feel free to add a comment to the blog and/or Social Media Post if you would like to share a message. 

To Kayla, my beloved Stik Fren, 

Thank you for channeling your insane project energy into fun fandom events! Timezone chaos has so far been keeping me from participating in any of the watch spaces, but I still hope to join one day! 

The project I've been most impacted by is #WarriorNunRun. I am a runner in only the most euphemistic sense (MY KNEES OW OW OW OW OWWW). By framing it as a general fitness challenge, you and the team opened it up to much wider participation across the fandom. I intend to continue logging (nowhere 😭) and sharing on twt and bsky. I hope others continue to do the same. 

Just…thank you for being there for us. 🩵

In this life and the next, 

Hitmeeh @hitmeeh.bsky.social

Kayla has been a key building block in the WN fandom. Her constant flow of ideas for online events (food-related parties– the best kind of parties!,TV show/book discussions, etc.) paves the path for the WN community to keep that connection alive with each other. Stemming from my own experience, I’m grateful because Kayla is one of the fundamental reasons why WN Run existed and why Nuns Run the World continued to run for so long (yes, pun intended).

Also, Kayla’s efforts towards the Free Palestine movement are inspiring. Aside from spreading important news and bringing attention to the issue, currently she is also selling Avatrice buttons as a fundraiser to help.

There is more to say, but one important thing I’d like to share is that, all in all, I also feel honored to be a small part of her journey. Since the early days of the fandom, she had shared bits here and there about herself, and I am so thankful that this fandom got so lucky to have such a wonderful and sincere person like Kayla.

RJ @beasbuttonup.bsky.social

I'm grateful for everything Kayla has done for the fandom, especially her part in NunsRunTheWorld. Without her dedication, fun ideas and website-making skills, NunsRunTheWorld wouldn't even have been possible. If you're reading this Kayla, I'm proud to call you my friend . 🩵

Elise @dchn_elise

Kayla is such a wonderful gift to this community. The nun run gave me a way to reconnect with exercise - I would post my little half-kilometre swims alongside these super athletic runners and bikers from all over the world, and everyone cheered me on and encouraged me just the same. It had a huge impact on my life. I feel like every time a new, lovely party pops up on my timeline, Kayla is at the heart of it. Thank you, Kayla, for sharing your journey and your friendship with us. I’m so glad to know you.

Amy Noseworthy @HiredHandStudio

I like Kayla’s courage to tackle the real difficult conversations and make a safe space for people to come together and talk about it.

Their conviction is very inspiring and I learnt a lot by being included in the Free Palestine Book club.

Also they are a really lovely down to earth person and meeting them when they came to Australia not so long ago was lovely.

Melinda @birds4_little

"Heeyyyy Kayla!

THANK YOU for your time, and effort you have put into Warrior Nun Run. Not just the technical aspect of it (w/c is amazing btw, you legend!), but also for your comments and posts that have inspired and encouraged this fandom to run the world 3 times!!!

Truly grateful to know you, in this life 🩵"

xo, Jax & Maple @jax_214

Dear Kayla, I would like to thank you for being a motivating, inspirational, friendly and fun person to share the internet space with. From the projects you are, or were part of, it's the warrior nun runs project, that was and still is close to my heart. Thanks to this project I've met a person, who's close to my heart and met many other kind people in the fandom. I have seen the world and got motivated to move more. Thank you for everything, your hard work. Your versatility is admired and your good spirit appreciated. Stay happy and healthy.

@tiredhumanbeing.bsky.social

Celebrating Kayla and the NunRun Project

Kayla, also known in the Warrior Nun fandom as ThoseDarnNuns, has been a driving force in creating and nurturing a strong sense of community through her various fandom projects. One of the most impactful initiatives she's led is the NunRun project, which has not only provided a platform for fans to stay motivated in their fitness journeys but also brought people together across the globe in ways that go far beyond just running or walking.

I had the privilege of participating in both the NunRun seasons and the Nuns Around the World Race, and it’s incredible to reflect on how these events have shaped my experience within the fandom. Through Kayla’s dedication and creativity, the NunRun project has created a unique space where exercise becomes more than just a personal goal—it becomes a shared adventure. Whether it was setting personal milestones or contributing to the team’s collective progress, the motivation to keep moving was always there, driven by the camaraderie Kayla fostered.

But it wasn’t just about the fitness aspect. The beauty of these races lay in the connections that emerged between people from all corners of the world. Through shared pictures, stories, and even recipes that showcased the diversity of cultures, we got to learn about each other in ways that transcended our screens. From tasting new cuisines to discovering traditions from different places, the NunRun project became an educational journey as much as it was a physical one.

Beyond NunRun, Kayla’s commitment to bringing the fandom together shines through in the international film watch parties she organizes. These events are always a blast—recent ones like the Apple Pie Party and Garlic Bread Party have added a fun twist by pairing the film viewing with a cuisine aspect. It's always so interesting to see how fans from different countries interpret the theme and create their own versions of the dishes. The reactions to both the films and the food are priceless, and it’s moments like these that continue to strengthen the sense of community within the fandom.

Kayla’s leadership and tireless enthusiasm for these projects have made a lasting impact. It’s thanks to her that through these projects, friendships across borders flourish, and we’ve learned to embrace not only each other's cultures but also the shared joy we find in Warrior Nun. The NunRun project and the watch parties aren’t just about fitness or films—they’re about building bonds, learning from one another, and celebrating what makes us unique.

Thank you, Kayla, for creating such beautiful spaces where we can come together, get active, share delicious food, and celebrate our love for Warrior Nun in so many meaningful ways.

Ilenia Ilenia.bsky.social

Hey Kayla!

What a journey it has been! Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would be kicking a ball in Brisbane with some tv nun friends while definitely still a bit concussed. But I guess we are both a little adventurous, and under the auspices of Ava, patron saint of chaos, we were brought together to initiate the nun running nuns.

Nun of this would have happened without your endless enthusiasm for crackpot (aka fun and very sensible) ideas and willingness to get things moving on your own steam. An individual certificate for all the original nun runners? Inspired. An ever-evolving and forever-inclusive logging page (transformer outfit )? Dedication. And of course a level head when the headless chicken to adult ratio is a bit off.

Looking forward to seeing more of #WarriorNunRUN projects and trying to keep up with the other outrageously fun things you are always up to!

Sister Rachel @RKCSyd

Ps Sydney Forever

Hi, I think my message will be short, because there really aren't the exact words to express my gratitude towards you Kayla. Everything you've done and still continue to do to keep the fandom alive is impressive. All the time you take for all of this, I know it's not easy and you do everything with passion, but still it's not something that anyone would do and that makes it more admirable.

But the most important thing for me is to say that you inspired me to come out to my brothers. I finally took that very important step for me, your bravery and this fandom inspired me to do something I was afraid of my whole life and I'm happy for that, everything worked out. On the other hand, you added for me "thinking about playing soccer" in warriornunrun, that was so funny and I truly loved it. I kept complaining about how much I wanted to play and I never did and one day you mentioned it. A part of me thought you were joking but you did, thanks for that, maybe you don't remember it but I really loved that detail on your part.

As I said, saying "thank you" doesn't really express how grateful I am to you, but "THANK YOU KAYLA FOR EVERYTHING" Lots of love for you and may life reward that huge heart you have. 🩵

With love SaC @sankrystal.bsky.social

Hello Kayla!

Just wanted to say thank you for always keeping up the spirit on this fight we went thru as a fandom, uk trying to get our show back, thank you for putting me in horny jail and allow me being friends w you, ur initiative on doing projects and making them true is amazing and inspiring. (just as de WNCEP )

Keep it up! U are amazing!

Quiin_cem @cem_less

"i remember the heresy threads and how they could spiral out of control in minutes, we've had so much fun thinking up the wildest and funniest headcanons with kayla and others (team loopy represent!), not to mention, something of a spinoff of other wars, the spice wars. i still think about it whenever i have something that has rosemary on it lol. and how could i forget the buffy marathon project! i kinda fell off pretty early on but i could excitedly see how a small community was quickly formed out of a beloved show that informs so much of our love of warrior nun.

and to Kayla: thank you for all your efforts in making our community a more human and more empathetic one. i know i'm not alone in saying you're a beacon of joy and hope in the midst of all the nonsense around us, and an example to follow on how to build long lasting bridges around the things that we love, and the world we hope to live in one day. much love "

Nohwth

Kayla is a blessing upon the #WarriorNun fandom. She has kept people, like me, engaged with her #WarriorNun questions, her witticisms, and all of the various projects that undoubtedly was a huge investment of her time, effort, and patience. I truly am grateful for her leadership qualities, her endless supply of gifs, and her undaunting spirit. The things I admire most about Kayla is her sense of humor, her strength, and her ability to project positivity with uplifting, thoughtful, words. Kayla, if you don’t already know this then allow me the honor of telling you: you change lives for the better and that, my friend, is the true definition of a hero.

7pointstar @32A1Petc

Kayla, I hate to break it to you but Beatrice will always be better than Camilla But let’s get to business, never would I have thought our banter over the warrior nun games would lead here. You are so amazing and I am so happy to call you a friend. Thank you for always bringing people together. You have done so much for this fandom and have given dark times so much light. Your food parties are iconic! (Please have a cookie one soon)

Olivia @WarriorNun123

Kayla is one of my biggest friends in the fandom. We had so much fun trying to save the show. Telling ourselves funny stories, exchanged pictures of beautiful women. Went to jail a few times. She is a part of our WN Cultural Exchange Program gc.

She is a beautiful person. Smart and funny.  A great friend everyone should have.

Her questions during the fight were hilarious. The comments too. Of all her projects this is my favorite one

Well, the WN run too. This somehow united us even more. And I know it's a huge motivation for a lot of people.

DesiTo @nun8208280996

During the height of the campaign, there was a lot of anger and frustration about the loss of the show, which was easy to get caught up in. Sister Kayla was always a bright spot of positivity and fun. There was always something to laugh about, and she always followed along with even the whackiest of discussions, always ready with the best gif. Heresy always made me smile big, the long-standing, epic herb debate still makes me laugh, and, even though I wasn't able to attend all the Buffy rewatch spaces, I always enjoyed listening back to them. I may not be as active anymore, but I really cherish the community I found (on twitter dot com of all places), of which Kayla is an essential part.

Disgruntled Narwhal @SullenNarwhal

I met Kayla the first few months I joined the fandom

We were at the Warrior Nun Cultural Exchange Program (WNCEP) and from there we started the food/ movie parties

A couple more project were NunRun, the rewatching of Buffy... currently we rewatch The X-Files, the reading of a book about the Palestine/Israel history and probably a couple more

Kayla, I consider myself lucky to be your friend and I'm truly honored and grateful to be a small part of your journey to... Kayla

@hella_kit

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