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hi zerose! i will have a small number of zerobaseone and boys planet zines with me at TCAF 💙

these zines are artisanal risograph printed labours of love that feature 3 years of zerose fan experience poured into 3 books! if you are a zb1 fan in Toronto please come and say hi!

#omg these are so cool!#zb1

loonylunes

Pick me pick me up!

Hi, hello there, welcome back. Today we’re talking about a whole different type of pick-me-girls and pick-me-boys.

If anyone is keeping up with kpop, it’s not hard to receive the news that there's a new Korean idol group survival show that just got announced. Carrying on the spirit of the Produce series (which got scrapped, due to unfortunate circumstances), CJ ENM, or Mnet, came out with a whole new Planet series, and as of 2026, they’ve just announced Girls Planet 2.

Now, I am also a victim, I mean, an enjoyer of such idol group survival shows myself, my favourite being the Produce 101 Japan series and the Boys Planet series. I consider myself an active member of these fandoms — I had my fair share of experiences when it comes to voting, streaming, debating rankings, and bonding with other fans online.

Back in 2016, when Produce 101 was released, it was revolutionary. It opened markets, business aspects, and so, so many opportunities in the idol industry. And 10 years later, the market now is so saturated with these survival reality TVs that I’d comment as “getting a little out of hand”.

Let’s start off with the term “fan”. The term "fan" has been used continuously since the 19th century, and the term "fandom" dates from the turn of the 20th century. Fan and fandom originally referred to fans of sports clubs and, shortly after, the rapidly expanding science fiction fan bases, like the Marvel comics, or the Star Wars franchise, you name it. Right, and have I yet to mention that, organized fan communities existed prior to these groups? Wayyy back in the 1800s, readers of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's stories, for instance, corresponded with his fictional creation and lamented the death of Sherlock Holmes (Littlejohn & Foss, 2009). In every case, whenever we say someone is a 'fan' of something, it almost always hints at some or all of the following: 1. they're into it as an amateur (not professionally), 2. they have a real fascination and emotional investment in it, and 3. they're often actively engaging with it, usually alongside other people as a fun leisure activity.

Being a fan is fun, coming from a person just cannot be casual for anything. It's an amazing experience to have when you genuinely like something, and not just want to be a casual consumer. Some showmakers lure into that idea, and they come up with reality TV that allows you and many others like you, to engage with the show, and dare I say, prove your love to it.

According to Henry Jenkins (2006) in Fans, Bloggers, and Gamers, participatory culture is where fans don’t passively consume media but actively participate, create, and influence outcomes. The format of reality TV itself is designed for this kind of engagement too. Metz (2007) notes that reality television blends real-life drama with strategic editing to generate strong emotional investment and audience loyalty. When combined with social media and voting systems, it creates an addictive loop of participation. In addition to that, Busse (2009) adds important context that fandom involves deep emotional investment, communal engagement, and amateur creativity. Media fans, especially of television and pop culture, often sit at the center of media convergence, where producers and audiences blur together.

We can link this back to reality survival shows like Produce 101 and many others; in these shows, viewers are encouraged to vote, create fan content, trend hashtags, and build massive online communities that directly impact which trainee will debut. This turns fandom into a digital participatory practice. A recent article in The Korea Times (Pyo, 2025) highlights why these K-pop survival programs remain popular despite declining TV ratings. Much of their appeal comes from fan participation. In Produce 101, viewers are called “national producers,” giving fans a real sense of ownership and responsibility to choose the final debut lineup, and this “viewer nickname” tradition still goes on even today. This builds deep loyalty and turns the viewing experience into a narrative fans can invest in emotionally (the “dopamine chase” of discovering and supporting trainees). Even with lower viewership, groups like ZEROBASEONE (from Boys Planet) proved that strong fandoms built through these shows drive massive album sales and long-term success.

In my experience, it was always a contest; not in a bad way, but it was clear that some trainees have more love from the audience than others, and that was reflected on weekly rankings of the show, sometimes even regardless of how the producers try to, in our words, “rig” the rankings. It was a standoff of your love and support for your favorite trainee, based on how many votes you were willing to give them, or did you participate in support groups outside of the show. It was a bloodbath, I’m not going to lie. But was it enjoyable as a fan? Well, I suppose so.

Though sometimes it makes me wonder; Are we truly participating freely, or are we being skillfully guided into free labour for entertainment companies?

What do you think?

(P.S. I am still SO not over ZB1's disbandmentㅠㅠ)

Reference List:

Busse, K. (2009). Fans, fandom, and fan studies. In S. W. Littlejohn & K. A. Foss (Eds.), Encyclopedia of communication theory. SAGE Publications. https://sk.sagepub.com/ency/edvol/communicationtheory/chpt/fans-fandom-fan-studies

Jenkins, H. (2006). Fans, bloggers, and gamers: Exploring participatory culture. New York University Press.

Metz, W. (2007). How reality TV works. HowStuffWorks. https://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/reality-tv.htm

Pyo, K. (2025, July 17). What makes K-pop audition programs so popular? The Korea Times. https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/entertainment/k-pop/20250717/what-makes-k-pop-survival-audition-programs-so-popular

#ooooh love this!!#tbh my experience watching boys planet reminded me a LOT of when i'd watch american idol as a kid #i got so invested because you participated in voting #like back in the day i actually boycotted the show because my favorite was eliminated lmao #also love the points about rigging bc screentime is basically how they rig it now #trainees that were eliminated early are no less deserving of fan's attention or content #i mean just look at kuanjui's screentime in boys planet towards the end #or to an even more extreme example (also currently in xlov) haru!#boys planet

i can't believe that 3 years later and i'm just about to start re-watching boys planet again......

#in this for LIFE #at this point #i've been getting nostalgic with all the xlov/and2ble/zb1 interactions :(((#one day i will retire and spend my time writing an academic essay on boys planet and how it's the best reality show to have ever aired on t #like seriously none of it is thanks to mnet #but all the trainees were SO good and like genuinely care about each other esp g group #and the groups that have come from boys planet are just truly wonderful

#saw that no one had posted these yet so here u go~#absolutely LETHAL #zhang hao #and2ble #it feels weird to not tag zb1 :((((((((

okayyoureacab

Hexagon Quilt

rumade

This is the second time I've seen a video of this technique and this explanation is so clear! It does use more fabric than English paper piecing (EPP) but you end up with a double sided hexagon so don't have to source fabric for the backing.

I'm doing EPP at the moment but I have a hole punch to make the papers and just use leaflets and junk mail, so it doesn't feel wasteful. I don't think it's difficult either- in the video she mentions it's not for beginners, but I don't have that much experience with hand sewing or EPP and I've been finding it pretty easy so YMMV

lindstromm

I saw this video yesterday and was seized with the need to try it out immediately. Lookit my cute lil' hexagon baby!!

Here is what the backside looks like. OP notes this takes more fabric than paper piecing, but that excess fabric makes it already triple-layered. Besides not needing backing fabric, I don't think you'd need batting for this quilt at all. It's already thick and soft just from folding all that fabric into a hexagon.

lannamichaels

Hexagon quilt tutorial video by tiktok user camelscrafts. Method:

Each hexagon begins as a 6" circle. camelscrafts does this by creating a paper template using a compass. According to the video, a 6" circle will create a hexagon that is 2.5 inches tall.

These hexagons are hand-sewn. Thread the needle.

With the fabric right side facing, find the center of the circle by folding it in half right sides together, then folding it in half again (wrong sides are facing). The top of the triangle shape is the center of the fabric circle.

Make a small stitch into the center of the fabric. The wrong side is still facing.

Unfold the circle. There will be a small stitch in the center.

Now the hexagon is created by folding the circle into itself: Take the needle to one of the edges of the fabric (it doesn't matter which one). Pull the needle through and pull the thread tight. This will fold down the fabric and create an edge of the hexagon. Crease the fold with your finger.

This fold has two corners, one at the top and one at the bottom. Put the needle into one of the corners and pull the thread taut. This will create another fold.

Continue this going around the circle until all of it is folded down, creating the hexagon. camelscrafts notes that the last corner pulled in may be a little bit "wonky" (no precise point in the corner) if the corners were not done precisely. However, that corner is pulled into the back, so is not visible from the front.

The hexagon is now formed. Sew around the folds in the middle of the circle to hold the folds in place. Tie off and cut the thread.

Attach hexagons to each other along the sides. With right sides together, whip stitch the sides together.

#oooooh #maybe one day when i start crafting again i'll try this #i want to try quilting again but don't have the space and/or sewing machine #ffr