GUEST: zombiekittiez

[quinnpriv1]

GUEST: zombiekittiez

PROFILE RATING: E/18+

BIO: I’m zombiekittiez — been writing fanfiction since we still sent them around via mass email newsletters and thus also have written for many fandoms. Recently, I have written Alien Stage and Ace Attorney fics. Thanks for having me!

PREVIEW: Don’t worry if there are times when all you can do is read or when all you want to do is create. Fandom should always be fun and if you aren’t having fun, take a breather.

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GENERAL QUESTIONS

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[Quillifer: What is the first fandom you remember being involved in? What drew you to this fandom / community?]

This is literally the most embarrassing thing on the planet, but it was RPF (roleplay fanfiction) for the band Hansen when I was an absolute baby. Angelfire used to let you have your own little fan pages and they linked together. I surfed from fansite-to-fansite and got completely fascinated. Back then, getting involved was like…signing a guestbook, so it wasn’t terribly interactive.
 

[Quillifer: How long have you been involved in fandom?]

I was probably ten when I found out people writing fic and fanart was a thing, but I really got into it with Gundam Wing when it was on Toonami, so that would have been middle school for me.
 

[Quillifer: Do you do research? If so: how much and how in-depth is it?]

It sort of depends on the fandom. There are things I have dabbled in where I never even finished the series, but there are times when I will look up transcripts, artbook extras or freeze-frame videos just for a passing mention. I like to have the option of canon and then disregard it blatantly and deliberately.
 

[Quillifer: If you were to go to trivia night, which category do you think you could sweep?]

Watership Down by Richard Adams — lore, publication history, supplementary side stories, the whole shebang. I reread it at least once a year. Also, the 1996 Mount Everest disaster.
 

[Quillifer: What are your hobbies / what do you do outside of fandom involvement?]

My hobby is having hobbies. I like movies, reading, anime, video games, etc. Recently, I’m really into perfume and low budget ARGs (Alternate Reality Games.)
 

[Quillifer: Can you tell me more about ARGs? I’m not familiar with this term.]

[ARGs are] interactive storytelling websites, videos, puzzles, and social media accounts really interest me. I was really into the Cloverfield ones, but nowadays when companies do it, it’s almost always viral marketing and kind of uncool.
 

[Quillifer: What kinds of technology do you use to write and for everyday life? (iPad, laptop, phone, etc.)]

I consume fandom via mobile phone and create fandom via laptop. I think the shame from reading spicy fanfic on the shared family computer in the living room means I prefer reading fic and admiring fanart/comics on a small screen I can shove in my pocket even now as an adult. I have an iPad I noodle around on for silly drawings, but it’s a hobby I am cheerfully bad at, so it doesn’t get much use.
 

[Quillifer: What is your advice for fellow creatives / people interested in getting involved in writing fanfiction?]

The best advice I can give is to consume and create. Don’t worry if there are times when all you can do is read or when all you want to do is create. It’s fine to go through phases. Fandom should always be fun and if you aren’t having fun, take a breather.
 

[Quillifer: How do you want people to remember you? What do you want them to remember you for?]

I’m crazy overthinking this question, so maybe I don’t mind if they do or don’t.
 

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WRITER-SPECIFIC QUESTIONS

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[Quillifer: What are some of your most commonly used words/phrases/etc.?]

Oh noooo… I live in fear of noticing these. I delete the knowledge from my hard-drive so I can write with impunity. Maybe a lot of plurals and long, rambly sentences leading to emphatic fragments? I use qualifiers a lot, but I like them.
 

[Quillifer: What do you want readers to take away from your work? What is your favorite type of comment/feedback? (I.E. what makes you honored for people to point out when they read your work?)]

I tend to write because of ‘what-if’ scenarios. “What if this AU scenario?” or “What if this scene goes like A instead of B?” Et cetera.

My favorite kind of comment is one that is like, “I have never thought of this, but you are so right—it would go like that.” I also do obscure character deep-dives, so I’m happy to meet other mob character fans and/or convert them to my cause. I’m happy about all my comments, even just emojis.
 

[Quillifer: Are you the type to outline your work or do you just go for it? What does your drafting/editing process look like?]

I like to do a really rough and loose outline and then not follow it at all. My process is to just start writing, probably delete it and start over, think I’m a hack and stew for a while, change three words and decide it’s fire and post before I change my mind.
 

[Quillifer: What are the easiest and hardest parts of writing?]

Writing is the hardest part of writing. You have to put words down in sequence in a way that makes for sensible reading and you can’t panic and delete it all or snap your fingers and see it finished. To persevere, I suppose.
 

[Quillifer: What are some of your major media influences? (Books, movies, music, etc.)]

Music is important to my writing, but I have pretty pedestrian music tastes. I nearly always make some playlist for writing even if I tune it out. I think I listened to one cover of Zombie by The Cranberries during my entire Danganronpa fandom era.

I love books and I read voraciously when I’m in proximity to books. L. J. Smith’s Night World Series was a huge thing for me. (Superior to Vampire Diaries!) I adore fairytale retellings like Robin McKinnley’s Beauty and Kissing The Witch by Emma Donoghue. I’m also a huge fan of short fiction collections. The Count of Monte Cristo is my favorite classic novel.
 

[Quillifer: Was Vampire Diaries based on a book, or was it just vampire media that came out around the same time? I don’t know anything about this series, ha ha.]

Oh, wow. So, LJ Smith started writing Nightworld first and then wrote Vampire Diaries, which was turned into the hit show — but she continued to write books in the series that obviously diverged from the show canon and had sold such loosey-goosey rights to the show that the network vetoed her books and gave the series to a ghost writer.

…Also, Amazon sold this weird official license line where you could write digital-only kindle books about certain franchises and sell them legally — which included Vampire Diaries. LJ Smith got on there and started writing officially-not-official fanfic for her own franchise. Because of the drama, she never finished Night World leaving the series at the cusp of the apocalypse battle and it is my Game of Thrones: Winds of Winter. I would kill a man to read the finale.

As to why it is better, there is a more cohesive central overarching plot plus soulmate ties are the theme of the series and I love that kind of obsessiveness that more or less ruins all of their lives.
 

[Quillifer: What is your dream story to write? Who are some of your favorite authors (fanfiction or published)?]

My writing goals are usually kind of immediate — like, I want to practice action scenes, or something more explicit, or writing a certain POV. Is it glazing to say I want to write ash quillifer sex scenes and yamscooper humor?
 

[Quillifer: Yes, it IS glazing, LOL — you are too kind. I know what you mean, though. I long for Mei’s (petitfive’s) horndog irreverence. The way they string words together drives me crazy in the best way.]

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[Quillifer: What makes your writing stand out from the crowd?]

I actually have a bit of aphantasia, so I don’t picture things in my mind. It might make my writing a bit more direct — I guess it can be somewhat surprising. Since I don’t follow my own outlines, we all get surprised at times.
 

[Quillifer: Do you like your old work? Why or why not?]

This is a hard question. I feel like I’m always doing better with more practice through different fandoms/life stages, but when I actually go back and read through old stuff, I’m usually pleasantly surprised. However, I do snap-delete things on occasion and I never keep a repository of old works, so maybe that is hater behavior.
 

[Interview hosted on May 10, 2026 via Discord. Edited & Posted by Quillifer.]