ABSTRACT
The chapter argues that, due to its interest in the individuality of fictional protagonists on the one hand, and the fulfilment of the fan community’s affective needs on the other, fanfiction approaches its characters in ways that can be inscribed into a biopolitical spectrum stretching from bíos—the life of a specific subject, to zoē—universalized features of organic life. The presented reasoning considers that aspect of fanfiction in terms of a dynamics between recognition and operationalization of individual identity. The analytical part of the chapter demonstrates the bíos–zoē interplay on the example of selected fanfics about Commander Shepard from the Mass Effect trilogy of digital games.
