When theorizing fanworks as a genre of its own, it is always interesting to look at works that are not transformative in their nature but they are related to fandom in some way. That’s why I was excited to find this remark in this 2003 work about the history of yaoi:
These amateur fanzines (sold at Tokyo Comic Market) include both ani-paro (…) and original compositions, despite the fact that the English term “fanzine” may suggest only the former.
Mizoguchi, Akiko. 2003. “Male-Male Romance by and for Women in Japan: A History and the Subgenres of ‘Yaoi’ Fictions.” U.S.-Japan Women’s Journal, no. 25, pp. 55. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/42771903. Accessed 10 Jun. 2022.
This section refers to a connection in publication (the same zines, the same convention) and in genre. There is a presumption of interest of the ani-paro fans in original yaoi works implied in publishing them together and there is a recognition of similarity implied in grouping them under the same genre names (yaoi, BL etc.)
What kind of paratext makes you recognise an original work as part of fannish culture? What are your thoughts?
Certainly a very subjective topic. For personal example, I have two original pieces posted to AO3 that I personally feel fall under the “fannish” umbrella, but I’m certain not everyone will agree. One of them is a short piece I wrote with the intent of capturing the sound and feel of Golden Age Science Fiction from the 50s and 60s. For a certain age/interest group, that era of work has a distinct feel with regard to how technology is engaged and also in the themes of exploration and discovery that were so prevalent at the time. We had not become so jaded quite yet. But I acknowledge that for someone whose engagement of fandoms and fan culture doesn’t include that era, it’s distinctiveness as a fan destination may not be at all apparent. The other story is a kind of inverted zombie trope, and the zombie trope is certainly present in many different franchises. Again, I feel that the distinct aspects of the zombie trope, the themes and concepts it attempts to engage with respect to what it says about the human condition, are certainly “fannish”, but (again) I’m certain there will be those who disagree.
In short, add -ish to the end of any descriptor and you create a very broad zone of interpretation.