Hello, friends, and welcome to this week’s EarperView!
I have heard the phrase “she’s the best of us” tossed around a lot in reference to Earpers, and I have to say that unless you’re talking about Lynn Rachels, you’re wrong.
Lynn is truly, unequivocally the best of us.
Hello, friends, and welcome to this week’s EarperView! Today’s is extra-special exciting for me, and I’ll tell you why. A couple of months ago, some top-shelf Earpers did a fundraiser for RAICES, and there were prize drawings for people who donated. I jokingly offered an EarperView, thinking no one would actually want one, and Jill and Sarah took me up on the offer. Much to my surprise, it was not the last one chosen!
I started these as a way to get to know people in the fandom and began by strong-arming my friends into agreeing to fill out my stupid survey questions, and it just is such a wonderful feeling to know that people enjoy reading them.
Our lucky winner was @HaughtDoc, AKA one of the Merediths. I had the pleasure of meeting her at EH Con, and she was just a lovely human being, and all of her cosplays were amazing. I wish I had that level of creativity in my brain.
Anyway, Meredith, thank you so much for choosing to be EarperViewed!
Tell us a little bit about your non-Earper alter ego.
I am born and raised in Virginia, leaving briefly for college. I went to the Naval Academy and majored in Oceanography. I was in the Navy for 5 years before leaving due to bad knees. If you ever see me walking around a con you will see my bulky knee brace but there are pictures out there where I am totally Maverick in my officer’s uniform. I then went to law school and now I am a prosecutor in a small county at the Southern edge of Virginia. I live with my fiancee, two dogs, and my cat. In another life, I played roller derby under the name Hofosho and was a NCAA D1 rower in college. I am an avid soccer fan (Orlando Pride) and am the biggest Boston Bruins fan on the planet.
How did you find Wynonna Earp and the fandom?
I followed Dorothy Snarker on another Twitter account. I saw she tweeted a lot about this show Wynonna Earp and its positive LGBT representation. Then I saw that the first season was on Netflix and convinced my fiancee that we should check it out. I think we binged it in two nights. Luckily, it was right at the beginning of the second season, so we jumped right in.
Is this your first fandom?
No. Actually I was pretty active in the Rizzoli and Isles fandom. I made a bunch of friends on Twitter through that fandom and they are my original Twitter family. They are now getting into Wynonna Earp, which makes me super excited, except for they don’t follow my Wynonna Earp Twitter so I have to switch back and forth. I actually met my fiancee when she commented on a Rizzoli and Isles fanfic I wrote. I proposed to her at the spot that inspired that fanfic. [ Editor’s note — why is it raining on my face? ]
What is your favorite fandom memory?
My favorite fandom memory is probably when we went to Boston Pride this year. It was just a whole weekend of amazing times with some great Earpers. Talking to people on Twitter is great but then actually getting to meet them and laughing, dancing, stealing light bulbs, accosting people near the bathroom to spread the gospel of Earp, and just having an amazing time is something that can’t even compare.
What is your favorite con memory?
There is a tie for my favorite con memory. The first one was at DragonCon. I was lucky enough that I got the opportunity to win a ticket to Emily’s writing workshop. We were all waiting outside when they called all the winners to come inside to meet Emily. That meant so much to me. Then while we were standing there, Melanie Scrofano walked in and we got to chat with her as well. I then hit the trifecta because I got the chance to brainstorm writing ideas with Sensitive Pigeon, who is brilliant.
The other great con memory was at Clexacon during Cocktails for Change. I have bad social anxiety so I tend to not engage with people until I am comfortable. But the other Meredith (@beerandcrosswords) wasn’t allowing that. We met up beforehand and walked around the whole time going up to different actresses saying “Hi, we’re Meredith.” I don’t think I will ever forget the confused look on Dominique Provost-Chalkley’s face. That’s also where I earned the title of Emily’s Favourite Meredith. Her words. Not mine.
What is your favorite Wynonna Earp/Earper activity?
I don’t know if I can pick just one. Meet-ups, talking on Twitter, cosplay, conventions, my wood burning, and writing/reading fanfiction are all activities that have brought me so much happiness.
What has Wynonna Earp come to mean to you?
Love, friendship, and acceptance. My favorite show moment that sums up the whole fandom is the season 2 finale when Jeremy tells Nicole he stayed because he doesn’t fit in, but no one asked him to. He’s allowed to be him. Well, that’s me. I’ve never really fit in. But this fandom doesn’t ask me to. I can be my weird self and it’s ok.
Are there any pictures you would like to share of your Wynonna Earp experience?
I usually hate taking pictures but here are a few I don’t hate.
These are from the Boston Pride Earper meetup, me being a total goober with Emily, Cast photo at DragonCon complete with me in cosplay as Doc and my fiancee (Tim and Michael totally stole the guns out of my holsters for this picture), and me and Meredith with photo evidence that I am the favourite Meredith.
Sweet potato or Yukon Gold potato?
Definitely Yukon Gold. I am a pale Irish girl who loves her potatoes.
On a scale of 1 to 10, how much do you Fandras?
I wanted to say something witty about these going to 11 but that just doesn’t seem to sum up my level of Fandras. Let’s just say my blood type is Fandras positive.
Describe why Fandras is a thing is 7 words or less.
Because it is. Don’t question it.
What is your favorite Earp sisters moment?
I would have to say my favorite Earp sisters moment is the entire first episode. The relationship between Wynonna and Waverly often reminds me of me and my older sister. She’s definitely the Wynonna. She never ran with the Bandidos, but she has been less than perfect in her past. I’m the nerdy one that got over educated and most people in our hometown like me. But I still love and look up to my older sister. So I love the interaction between the Earp sisters when Wynonna returns. Doesn’t matter where Wynonna was or what she did, Waverly is happy that she’s back.
How have you Earped your life?
I spend my free time writing about Wynonna Earp, burning wood in Wynonna Earp themes, getting ready for conventions dealing with Wynonna Earp, tweeting with Earpers, making Wynonna Earp themed cosplay, and watching Wynonna Earp. So not really Earped that much. Although I do wear a hat that say Haught on it everyday and the people at work often talk to me about “that show I watch”.
What’s the Earpiest thing you’ve ever done?
The Earpiest thing I’ve done is probably bought a last-minute plane ticket to Boston so I could hang out with a bunch of Earpers. Either that or spend about a month building a suit of armor out of foam so that I could cosplay with a bunch of other Earpers as the 12 Days of Haughtmas at Clexacon.
If time and material weren’t an issue, what is the ideal Wynonna Earp woodburning project you would like to do and why?
Have you ever seen Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey? (If not you aren’t really missing anything.) At the end they realize that they are still horrible musicians and can’t play their instruments. So they use the time machine to do a 6 month intensive training (which does not match with the rules of the first movie but I digress) and they come back able to play ‘90’s KISS. Well if time and money weren’t an issue I would do that first. My family is very science and math oriented so we never were really encouraged in art. I really wish I could take the time to better learn to draw. After my 6 month Bill and Ted course, though I would love to burn the entire cast in wood. I have started trying some and have done a decent Doc, but would love to do the rest at a level that I actually felt comfortable showing people. I love wood burning and I love Wynonna Earp, so I would love to do something really detailed to show my love and appreciation. I’d also like to do something for an Earper who wanted one.
Thank you so much for playing along, Meredith! Enjoy your day, everyone!
Hello, friends, and welcome to another EarperView! We are so blessed as a fandom to have such a wonderful production company behind our little shit show, and Paige is the lovely human behind the Twitter account (amongst about a million other things). Each time I’ve had the pleasure of interacting with her, she’s been kind, funny, smart, and just super awesome.
Accounts like this make it easy to love our show, you know? But there’s more to her than just the Twitter handle, so I was lucky enough to get her to agree to do an EarperView. Sit back, grab some sexy pink fog and a cigarillo, and let’s all learn some more about Paige, shall we?
Tell us a little bit about your non-Earper alter ego.
Well, at work, my non-Earper alter ego actually works mostly in Development, which means I work a lot on shows that haven’t been greenlit and may never be greenlit. It’s really, really fun working with creative writers and reading their material, and my colleague Jessalyn Dennis is an amazing person to work with. She’s super intelligent and really intuitive and creative. I love working in Development with her. I studied cinema studies and playwriting in University, so reading work in Development and even production drafts of scripts (once I watched Wynonna 207 and followed along with the final production draft of the script — it was so cool!) is always an awesome learning opportunity for me! When a show like Wynonna Earp or Heartland is in production, I mostly prepare/execute contracts and work on lots of stuff related to music licenses. I’m also in charge of submitting all the shows for various awards throughout the year, so that really keeps me busy. I take it really seriously, because I know firsthand how hard all the artists on all of our shows work. They deserve a ton of recognition. At work I also chug tea like it’s my job, and I drink three-four litres of water a day because Alberta is arid as HECK.
Outside of work, I’m an obnoxious cinephile on a one-woman mission to tell the world that Jennifer’s Body is a masterpiece of feminist allegory and deserves a cult following. If I’m not at the movies or bingeing a TV show, I’m cross-stitching a ton, maybe hitting up hot yoga, and using the public library (the Calgary Public Library has like, every movie in the Criterion Collection! Can you believe!?) and eating brunch. I’m a pretty big fan of figure skating and follow it very closely, but that’s about as into sports as I get. As I’m sure you can tell from the S24 Twitter, I am a big fan of emo/pop punk music and may or may not have a Fall Out Boy tattoo.
How did you find Wynonna Earp and the fandom?
I started at Seven24 almost exactly two years ago (at the time I’m writing this) and they were like, “Yeah, the fans are really into it. Can you run our social-media accounts?” I logged on to Twitter and was just…shocked. This show had only been on for one season and it had a podcast!? After that, everything just snowballed. I really wanted in on the action, because it looked like so much fun, and I didn’t think there was any reason the production company Twitter account shouldn’t be as passionate about the show as the fans are, so I just jumped in. Lucky for me, Earpers are rad as heck and are willing to interact with the S24 account!
Is this your first fandom?
It’s not, but I’m reticent to say much more about fandoms I’ve been involved in, for fear of my old (terrible) fanfiction being discovered. [ Editor’s note — tell us more, Paige. Tell. Us. More. ]
What if your favourite fandom memory?
Oh, man, it’s so hard to pick just one! I’d have to say when Kevin, Bonnie, and Bridget went to visit the Wynonna set, it was pretty fun to see it all unfold online. I loved listening to that podcast episode. I also love seeing how much you guys support each other, it honestly brightens my day so much. Whether you’re raising money or using #EarperSupport, it’s just a constant reminder to me that there is good in the world and it means so much to me on a personal level. The S24 account is like a refuge of positivity for me. Even when fans are critiquing the show, it’s always thoughtful and passionate. That’s all you can really ask for.
ALSO I love sending Earpers presents, and I love seeing your reactions when you receive them. I have an Earper Treats master spreadsheet. It is VERY important to me. I get reined in a lot because I would blow the entire budget of the show on postal fees.
What is your favourite con memory?
Oh, my god, Docstache meeting Tim at San Diego Comic Con. Hands down. And the “SEASON FOUR” chants this year were pretty breathtaking, and so was Kayse’s truck cosplay!! Honestly, whenever the Earpers can meet Emily and the cast, it really makes me so happy. I know how good it feels to meet people you admire and I’m just always thrilled to see everyone’s pictures.
And it wasn’t technically a con, but attending the Wynonna panel at the Calgary International Film Festival was amazing. I couldn’t believe how many people travelled to see the panel!! And I got to meet a couple Earpers, which was amazing!
What is your favorite Wynonna Earp/Earper activity?
Hmmm, besides tweeting? I love it when Earpers do fanart, whether it’s stitched or digitally painted or sketched. I love seeing how creative and thoughtful you guys are! Honestly, if I wouldn’t get in trouble for using up all our printer ink, I’d just plaster my walls in that fanart. #Earptober was unreal!!
What has Wynonna Earp come to mean to you?
Wynonna Earp means an insane amount to me. First of all, I’m always ridiculously proud to be involved, even tangentially, with a show that has a female showrunner (the fact that BOTH Heartland and Wynonna have female showrunners is huge). It’s a privilege to watch this show unfold behind the scenes. I said it earlier but I learn so much from the amazing artists working on the show. I’ve always loved movies and TV but this has given me…such a deep appreciation for what it takes to get something onscreen. And when it hits the screen and Earpers connect with the material, it’s just magical. When we finally revealed Melanie’s pregnancy, I spent like…a whole day crying at my desk, in awe of the response, and in awe of the amazing crew that put the show together. That picture of her holding Peacemaker, leaning against the bar, looking so pregnant and amazing was my desktop background for like six months. I still get chills thinking about that day.
Like, yeah, Wynonna Earp is a big part of my job, but the community really sustains me on a personal level. It’s impossible to state how much it means to me. Honestly, I wish I could hug every Earper and pay off all your student loans.
Are there any pictures you’d like to share of your Wynonna Earp experience?
Yes!!
One is of me on my only set visit to Wynonna (at the end of S2 because the set was empty and I’m WAY too shy to talk to any of the cast/crew/writers) checking out the iconic Purgatory sign (sorry, I had to redact a bit of stuff). And you’ll notice I have a big box under my arm – it’s a wine holder shaped like a dragon motorcycle I got because we weren’t using it on the show. It is very ugly and very good and proudly resides in my apartment. I named him Bobo Del Rey.
One is also of me, Cat and B. Dailey from the CIFF event!! Look at that big smile!! I make it daily reading Earper tweets!
I also wanted to include a picture of my Earper Hall of Fame cork board and some of my desk (Sorry, I did have to redact some stuff). Every time you guys send something to the office I put it up in my office so passersby can find out all about what you guys are up to! Everyone at S24 just adores the Earpers and I love sharing your exploits with my coworkers.
Sweet potato or Yukon Gold potato?
Hands down, sweet potato (which is different from a yam but is the same as a yam honestly). Number one, because they are packed full of vitamin A. Number two, they taste like candy. Sometimes for dinner I bake a sweet potato and then crack an egg in it and it’s like a fried egg sweet potato breakfast cup. It’s really, really good. Also yams are huge, one of them feeds me for like three meals!!!!
On a scale of 1 to 10, how much do you Fandras?
Sorry, the scale is broken because I Fandras that much. Emily is so cool I always break into a cold sweat when I talk to her, which I hope she never notices but I’m sure she does. Also, she introduced me to Tim and was super nice and stood there while I like, STAMMERED about Tommy from Instant Star. She is a hero.
Describe why Fandras is a thing in 7 words or less
(I’ll take more than seven) Emily is an amazing leader on Wynonna. Besides being such a talented and creative writer, she remembers everyone’s name, and notices everyone’s haircut. Small stuff like that means a lot (especially to someone like me, who is always trying very hard not to be noticed!!), I have so much respect for her.
What is your favorite Earp sisters moment?
God, so many. But probably that shot from 212 where they’re just lying in a field holding each other and it’s framed so gorgeously. That kind of intimate physical contact just embodies to me what it means to have a sibling you love so much.
How have you Earped your life?
I literally talk about Earpers like they are my children. I meet with my friends and give them updates about all of you, using your first names. I show everyone pictures of Chance EVERY SECOND I GET. I have beautiful prints from Nathalie and Taylor hanging at home, I have a pin from Jordan on my jean jacket (also a Wynonna set castoff), Meg stitched a tiny Gerard Way for me and it’s hanging in my craft corner. I’ve Earped my life so much I think it’s impossible to un-Earp it at this point.
If the WE cast and crew were zoo animals, what would they be and why?
Oh man, I mean…I think on some level every single one of them is a very sexy jungle cat. Every cast member, every crew member. They’re ALL very good looking, and sleek and cool. They are all jungle cats. And like, cats of the Savannah. And some of them are those wild cats that look like house cats. Except me, I’m a Quokka. Just happy to be here, and also slightly terrified of all these jungle cats.
Thank you SO MUCH, Paige, for playing along. I hope that we get to meet someday, because I think one of the tacos my wife has crocheted would look great in your Hall of Fame.
Hello, friends, and welcome to another new EarperView. This week I’m featuring Nikki, who I have known (read: followed on Twitter) for several months know.
Nikki is always the first example when I think of kindness in the Earper fandom. A few days before ClexaCon, I realized that I had forgotten to order pins in the new Liszewsbian design that we had in our merch shop. I was too late to order them on Etsy, but I knew Nikki was a pin-maker in her spare time, so I messaged her. She agreed to do up some pins real quick for me to pass out, and I practically had to beg her to let me pay her for them, although I’m pretty sure she charged me barely anything. Our first “introduction” was passing each other in the lobby of the Tropicana, quickly exchanging pins and dollars. Later on at the con, she passed by me wearing some of my podcast merch and loudly proclaiming it was her “favorite podcast,” a fact which endeared me to her immediately.
Nikki is just an all-around lovely human who feels that she was put on this Earth to try and fight for what’s right, and I think that’s something we all could aspire to these days.
Tell us a little bit about your non-Earper alter ego.
I like to describe myself as a hobbit trapped in a tall lesbian’s body. I work in a cubicle all day, but most of my time is spent with my awesome dog and cat, hiking, carving, reading, or cooking.
How did you find Wynonna Earp and the fandom?
OH, BOY. WELL. It was the article Kat Jetson wrote about the similarities between Buffy and Wynonna Earp (It’s important to note that at this point in time, I didn’t know who wrote the article, or who KJ was) My local comic-book store posted that article on their Facebook page. I read it, went home, and dove head first into the first season on Netflix. Fast-forward to next morning, me with no sleep, purchasing the second season, and sneakily watching it at my desk. I could not get enough.
Is this your first fandom? It is my first fandom. I’ve lurked other fandoms, but the toxicity usually kept me from engaging. I remember when I created a Twitter account specifically for this fandom, it felt like a huge thing to do. Turns out, it was a very significant turning point in my personal life.
What is your favorite fandom memory?
Probably when OHMYGOD IS THAT DRUNKHAUGHT FROM TWITTER!? followed me. Or that one night I thought it was a good idea to get wine drunk and play Spice Girls songs on my guitar and post them to a thread that was already 500 replies deep. I may have been in my underwear? Idk, man.
What is your favorite con memory?
This question is woefully unfair, as there are at least a top 5 list (one of which includes having my picture taken with the There’s Something in the Heir crew). However, one does stand out.
It was one of the only panels I made it to during ClexaCon. I can’t remember the exact name of the panel — Power through Fandom maybe? I feel horrible that I can’t remember the name of it now. At any rate, Kat Jetson was on that panel and started talking about her experience with the Wynonna Earp fandom. She brought up the aforementioned article that she had written about WE and Buffy. So at this point in time, I obviously know who Kat Jetson is, because like we’re friends. However, I had NO IDEA that she had written that article. So the realization of it, hit me like a ton of bricks. It hit me so hard that maybe I teared up a little in the front row. It’s fine; everything was fine. There I sat, several months after creating a fan Twitter handle, sitting next to my gf who I met through this show, listening to my friend talk about what this show means to her and how she is totally the reason I got into it. I was a little emotional.
What is your favorite Wynonna Earp/Earper activity?
Traveling around the globe to hang out with the most important people in my life under the guise of attending cons.
What has Wynonna Earp come to mean to you?
I just…it’s beyond words. So much of the show is about chosen family. And so much of what the show has helped me find is my chosen family. It also gave me the courage to not accept the things in my life that weren’t bringing me happiness. It helped pull me out of the tail end of a deep depression. What my life is now, I owe much of that to this show.
Are there any pictures you’d like to share of your Wynonna Earp experience?
[ Editor’s note — I’m gonna add one, too. ]
Sweet potato or Yukon Gold potato? While choosing a favorite child is frowned upon, Yukon Gold.
On a scale of 1 to 10, how much do you Fandras?
I dissembled your piteous scale and threw it out the window. My Fandras cannot be measured numerically, but it can only be measured in double rainbows. So like…25 double rainbows.
Describe why Fandras is a thing in 7 words or less.
We didn’t even have to ask her.
What is your favorite Earp sisters moment?
I’m the only child of parents who didn’t want me….so family stuff, especially sibling stuff is a mystery to me….but it seems like something that probably feels pretty rad to have. When Waverly finds Wynonna after the AU debacle. Wynonna being a little pissed, but also just so….loving. It hit me in the feels, that hug, ugh. I’M NOT CRYING.
How have you Earped your life?
How have I NOT Earped my life? So much of my daily revolves around this beautiful, crazy group of people. But probably convincing @bk_edwards to be my neighbor was a pretty big one.
What’s the Earpiest thing you’ve ever done?
Met a girl from England on Twitter talking about a show, fell in love, and decided to make our own happily ever after. (psssst, it’s @iddstar, go look at her awesome artwork while you’re at it.)
What position would each of the characters in Wynonna Earp play on the Purgatory quiddich team?
I have OPINIONS about this.
Wynonna: Obviously a Beater
Doc: Again, obviously a Beater
Dolls: Chaser; He would also be the Team Captain, no matter how many times Wynonna insisted that she is in fact, the Team Captain.
Waverly: Chaser
Champ: Chaser. Don’t @ me, you have to have at least one asshole scorer that Wynonna may or may not miss Bludgers for.
Jeremy: Seeker; with those moves and smallish frame, he’s our dark horse.
Nicole: Keeper….because something something, she’s so protective.
Emily Andras: Ref, duh.
Thank you so much for reading along, friends, and many thanks to Nikki for playing along. I owe you a beer or an awkward, stiff handshake, maybe.
I’ll see you all next time.
lesbiyinzer 