hello hello~~ so this is my first proper blog post! These are gonna be much longer than my normal journal entries and more picture heavy too. I hope to do these more often!

So let's get into this, I started fixating on yaoi paddles in about 2018. I had seen them online quite a bit as a kid but never saw one in real life, I only started going to cons in 2011 and by then they were already banned from most cons. I remember talking about old anime com memories with a friend and bringing up yaoi paddles and I thought it would be fun to own a 2000's relic, but I realized I couldn't find any for sale.. I thought maybe I could just make one, but would all the effort be worth the joke?
Over the next 6 years I would on and off fixate on this idea, and over that time it turned from something I thought would be funny and "cursed" to own to an earnest desire to have one. I could never find one for sale, nor could I find a paddle I was completely satisfied with (blade was the wrong shape, too short, too long, grip was weird, etc, etc). I still haven't found one I'm completely satisfied with! I plan on still searching for either the perfect base or the real deal! But this post isn't just about my struggles to find the perfect paddle, I finally bought a paddle with my birthday money! ＼(^▽^) Although it wasn't perfect, I was happy enough with the shape, size, and wood that i thought fuck it, it's been long enough let's do this!! And how perfect a time as I had just gotten my new camera (which I need to gush about at some point) a few days earlier so I can document the process!

It arrived on the 12th and it looked absolutely perfect


Around midnight as the clock ticked over to Valentine's day I settled down with a monster and the paddle and began my little project
I started out by printing this lovely stencil by kumagoro-ryuichi on deviantart! (very big thank you!! saved me quite some time^^) I printed it on cardstock as well as layered some painter's tape on the back, I can't stand when stencils are flimsy -,-


I needed something to watch while I was working so I decided Gravitation would be fun and on theme for the night! I hadn't watched it since I was just getting into anime!


After an episode or two I was finished with cutting out both stencils


As I was looking for the washi tape I wanted to use to attach the stencil to the paddle I found a box of pocky I had forgotten about on top of my craft supply cart! I was having an absolutely perfect crafting night!!


With the 'Hardcore Side' main lettering penciled in I started trying out different methods for filling them in. (god all of the blue paint from trying to make the perfect color for a painting earlier this month @,@)


I ended up liking the posca pen for filling in and a micron pen for edging best so I gave up on the paint. And with that the first side was finished! I think it turned out pretty good even if I messed up a bit


Now we move on to the 'Softcore Side' and with the experience from the fist side I'm ready to make this side look even better ( • ̀ω•́ )✧ I decided to start with outlining the letters before filling them in this time (I have no idea why I didn't do this on the first side)


I filled in the letters and was so overwhelmed by how much I loved it I was losing my mind!! But I had to carry on. While coloring and frequently getting distracted by both my cat and Gravitation, I was trying to figure out how to write 'Hardcore/Softcore Side'. The rest of the lettering is obviously done in comic sans, but it's small enough that I can't cut out a stencil like the 'yaoi' lettering. I'm not bad at freehanding stuff, but all of that would be too much for me. Then I had the idea to use the print outs and absolutely cover the back of them in pencil lead, tape it to the paddle and carefully trace each letter to leave an impression in lead, then use my micron pen to fill in the letters!!


I started with the hardcore side but wasn't super happy with the results (I plan on fixing it soon), my method wasn't the problem, I had just done a poor job of leaving the pencil impressions. The softcore side turned out MUCH better. I used a blunt metal yarn needle to leave strong clean outlines and it worked much better than the pen tip I was using before.


With that done and the last episode of Gravitation playing I finished the blades of the paddle!! I'm so happy with how it turned out!! It feels like a dream come true! I am still unsure on whether I want to put lettering on the shaft of the paddle, the part that says "official Hen Da Ne initiation paddle" on the original. I am thinking of putting "unofficial initiation paddle" on it but with the shaft of mine so thin I worry it would just look bad. I also want to put a clear coat on it once I am fully done with it but when I went to get my can from the garage in preparation I saw it had broken and leaked everywhere... at least it wasn't in my room...



I cannot express how happy I am that this is something that I own now!! I'm thinking of hanging it on my wall even if it isn't done yet just because I want to look at it all the time. Thank you if you have read this far!! I want to write more of these Proper Blog entries in the future, but I'm not sure what I'll write about between now and April... so tune in late April for the Aoba cake saga!

Oh! I almost forgot look what kept bothering me during this process..