#sorry about the quality im still trying to figure out what resolutions work

[stardust-in-a-bottle]

today's doodles

[todoscript]

lilies & lilacs pt. i

SUMMARY: A dilemma with his grand charity gala brings Todoroki Shouto, CEO of Todoroki Enterprises, at your humble flower shop’s doorstep.

pairing: ceo!todoroki shouto x florist!reader

genre: eventual smut. fluff. slow burn. no quirks au.

word count: 5.6k+

warnings: none in this part, but expect sexual content in the future.

author’s note: this has been rotting in my wips for a couple of months now, but i finally decided to post it with the decision of progressing the story into parts. thank you to the lovely rosie aka @shoutogepi for initially betareading this and keeping the hype up for the fic in our chats together (love you <333)! feedback is welcomed and before you ask, im opening a taglist for the next 2 parts so just ask if you wish to be included

lilies & lilacs is copyright 2020 todoscript, all rights reserved. i do not allow my creations to be published or translated anywhere else.

The uneasy padding of her boss’ dress shoes across the floor of his office made the secretary restless. She knew the bad news she delivered would cause some displeasure to stir within him, but never would she expect his tough bearings to falter, his troubles conveyed in hasty steps and frayed skin skewing those handsome features.

During the past two years she’s worked for him, she always thought his expression was nearly unreadable. When it came to his high position, her boss was forward and direct at conducting business—calm, stoic, and a perfect representation of efficiency and strong work ethic in his field. So while she witnessed the man’s uncharacteristic distress before her eyes, she wasn’t sure how this could end well for her.

Sweat began beading her forehead at the tension creeping between each tap of his feet against the hardwood below, coming to an unnerving halt behind his desk. When her eyes found his, all she could gather in those gray and turquoise clouds was annoyance toward their current predicament.

“What do you mean we don’t have a florist booked yet?” he repeated the dilemma she relayed to him merely moments ago. Hearing the agitation in his voice caused a nervous gulp to drop in her throat. She clutched her clipboard firmly in her arms to keep herself anchored in the wake of her boss’ growing frustration. However, she was still unsure how to continue as the words remained sealed in her mouth.

“Well?” Noticing his secretary’s lack of response, he pushed forward, hands leaning against the edge of his mahogany desk. The woman urged herself to endure the obstacles by first breathing through her nose before swallowing the lump in her throat, responding quickly.

“Um, Mr. Todoroki, sir, it seems all the florists on our list have all been booked for other events for the rest of the month,” she said, but mentally scolded herself when she heard herself sputter in such an unprofessional manner. Despite that, she prayed the explanation was enough to sate even a fraction of her boss’ inner turmoil.

Shouto approached her answer with silence before that foreseeable sigh left his lips, spilling with exasperation. He turned, his back facing the secretary, gaze lined to the windows gracing him with sunlight behind his desk. Stuck in contemplation, he pinched the bridge of his nose, mouth pursed in a firm line.

Where am I going to find a florist in time for this damn charity gala? He internally griped, closing his eyes as if that would help him uncover the solution to this untimely mess.

His esteemed company, Todoroki Enterprises, had arranged a plan to hold a widely anticipated charity gala by the end of this month. The event was conducted to raise funds for all manners of different charities that would vary in the level of grandeur on display. And given that the organizing for the event would be under his very name, Shouto had the critical responsibility of ensuring nothing but peak quality to those that would attend.

His staff had long procured the venue and were managing the layout of the gala. They sought out some suitable entertainment, booked catering, and scheduled for the charity auctions and raffles to take place throughout the night. What was still needed were the decorations, and right now that was where they hit their deadend with no florist currently reserved.

And here’s the real kicker: the gala was two weeks away.

Two. Weeks.

How he allowed for such errors to occur was beyond him at this point. All that really mattered was that he found a way to correct those mistakes and fast.

As much as Shouto figured he could skip past the flowers and substitute them with some other kind of flashy decorations, he already had a clear idea of how he wanted the gala to look. The floral arrangements would compliment the theme of the event exceedingly well. Turning back on the plan would be an insult to everyone’s prepared attire for the evening, with the dress code already sent out to all the distinguished guests invited to this grandiose ball. No doubt in his mind, he needed that florist, and needed them stat.

Sure on his resolution, he finally shifted to face his secretary. The anxious expression plastered on her face greeted him, and at that, Shouto bit his lip. His guilt surfaced for allowing his emotions to affect his workspace. He knew better than to take out his frivolous thoughts on his staff, who very well had no control over the situation. So he eased the atmosphere, attempting to lift the tension surrounding his office in the dreary gray of his temper.

“Nishiyama, I’m sorry for my behavior just now,” he apologized. The secretary, in turn, was taken aback, eyes widened. Her anxiety slowly whittled away as she scampered to return his kind gesture.

“Oh no, sir, it’s fine! I’m sure you were just feeling stressed hearing the news. I surely would be if I were in your shoes.”

“No, it’s not. I was acting childish despite how much you and everyone have done so far for the event,” Shouto said, “I should be thankful for your time, considering you also have a family to take care of at home.”

While the woman stared at him, abashed by his sincerity, Shouto swiveled his chair around to take a seat. A much-needed seat to be entirely honest. His secretary was not kidding about how the bad news seemed to harrow some stress in his body. But, being accustomed to having this weight pushed on his shoulders from the very moment he was announced the head of the company many years ago, he more than anticipated the stress to come with the job.

Shouto spared his secretary one last glance before his eyes darted down between the important papers sprawled on his desk. “If that’s all the news we needed to address today then you’re dismissed, Nishiyama. Carry on with the rest of the organizing as planned,” he ordered. Nishiyama lowered her clipboard to her hip.

“R-Right. Thank you, sir.” She parted his presence with a curt bow. Shouto picked up on her heels clicking toward his office door until they suddenly stopped altogether, looking back at the man midway. “What about the florist, sir?” she asked, concerned at the unresolved predicament lingering in the air. Her question wasn’t met with an immediate reply, but Shouto eventually gave her an answer he deemed adequate of a response. His words were coated with as much reassurance as he could muster in this situation.

“Don’t worry, I’ll handle it myself.”

.

.

The task was easier said than done.

Usually, when it came to booking a florist for special occasions like this, you’d want to contact them months ahead of the scheduled date to ensure maximum efficiency and work out any problems that should arise. But there were only two weeks left until the awaited charity gala.

Shouto was certainly pushing his luck at this point and to a dangerous degree. If he didn’t find someone to arrange the flowers for the ball soon, the venue might be absent of all life and mood, essentially flopping from missing such a key element. Shouto could not allow for that to happen.

Given his word, he took it in his hands to rectify this mistake. For the entirety of the day, he sifted through the aforementioned list of florists his secretary had provided him—extended thanks to his team’s desperate search for more options.

All he had to do was narrow down the lineup. Unfortunately, those efforts may as well have been all for naught.

“Hello, is this Himawari’s Garden? I’d like to speak with the head florist there about arranging the flowers for a gala my company has been planning—”

“I’m terribly sorry, sir, but we’re currently busy preparing for a big wedding coming up next week. If you’d like, I can try and book our services for you toward the next month or so when we’ll be available?”

Shouto’s brows tightened during the exchange—a gesture he’d been repeating as of late while he dwindled the line of florists. If he kept it up, those wrinkles might be embedded into his skin permanently. He was at least grateful he managed to thwart the heavy breath of air that threatened to leave his lips and reveal his frustration to the woman on the phone.

“No, that’s fine. Thank you for your time.” With that, he hung up.

Shouto leaned back in his seat in exasperation, his weight pressed into the cushions as his eyes situated themselves toward the ceiling. The consistent taps of his fingers on his mahogany desk were all he heard amidst his deep contemplation. His eyes lidded shut in an attempt to seek a moment of refuge from the stress, but his conscience began eating at him.

Of course, what was he thinking? The beginnings of spring to late autumns were the mark of wedding season—the time where florists and other businesses specializing in decorative arrangements thrived and busied themselves with eager clients. Not only that, but it was also the month of June. The sixth month of the year was undoubtedly the most popular month among couples to hold their weddings, and he had witnessed this fact firsthand through his myriad of fruitless phone calls.

Shouto had thoroughly wrung through his rope and teetered on the edge of complete defeat. He sealed down his most recent loss at the hand of another busy floral business by striking a line across Himawari’s Garden on his list. At that, the total tallied to thirty whole flower shops. Thirty unsuccessful attempts.

That sigh he contained during the phone call found its way out of his throat in dramatic waves of displeasure

“You alright, sir?”

His administrative assistant, Midoriya Izuku, heard his huffs when he entered the threshold of Shouto’s office. He noted his boss’ hunched posture and the rare crease crinkled between his nose bridge, pressed against his hands that were clenched together above his desk.

“I’m guessing the new list of florists was also a no-go?”

Shouto didn’t offer any words, instead sliding said list—now fully crossed out—toward his assistant as his reply. Craning his head for a better look, Midoriya feigned a smile, not wanting to let the man’s defeat consume the mood entirely.

“Well... I suppose we shouldn’t be surprised… Wedding season is upon us after all.”

Oh yes, Midoriya. Shouto knew that very well. So much so that he sunk further into his desk at the reminder, head practically drooped with a gloomy rain cloud hovering atop him. The green-haired assistant fervently shook his head back-and-forth upon realizing his remark had thrown salt into his wound. “Oh, I-I mean... Don’t worry, sir! I’m sure we’ll still be able to sort out this problem in time before the gala!” he sputtered to help alleviate the despair that crept in, but it came to no avail according to his boss’ silent sulky demeanor. That was when Midoriya remembered the two cups of hot coffee held in each of his hands.

“Ah, right, I made you some coffee! I figured you could use one considering you’ve been cooped up in your office all day.” Setting one in front of him, Shouto perked up at the nutty aroma that slowly slipped into his senses. He eyed the fresh cup of coffee tentatively, the steam flitting above it in wisps.

Lifting the cup, the rich smell wafted further into his nostrils, imbuing him with that familiar peace he usually reveled in. On any ordinary day, he’d be accompanied by his classic roasted blend perched on his desk, with no problems threatening to disturb his peaceful routine. Not anything like today. Not anything like this dilemma of a desperate time crunch for a florist.

Perhaps that was what he needed. A filter of caffeine to wash away the ordeal like it was a bad morning plaguing him with baggy under-eyes and fatigue from a previous day of hard work. Though he’s sure not even caffeine could erase the headaches he developed throughout his day so far. If anything, indulgence would just make those headaches worse.

Nonetheless, he welcomed the smooth blend of flavors that ebbed down his throat through modest sips, rejuvenation quickly oozing in his veins. Headaches or not, the stimulation from the caffeine was essential if he wanted to combat the rest of the day with some drive.

“Thanks, Midoriya. I needed that,” Shouto acknowledged. He nodded at his assistant, who rubbed the back of his head modestly, saying how it was no problem at all, but the way his boss suddenly got up from his seat interrupted his words.

Shouto already felt the strong coffee going to work as his steps picked up in long strides around his desk that had the assistant’s brows knitting together, confused. “Where are you going, sir?” Midoriya asked, his voice sounding more distant to Shouto, who continued his way past him and toward the door.

“A quick drive,” was the blatant answer he gave. He downed the last of the cup before tossing it in the trash bin near the exit of his office. “Something to clear my head a bit. I’ll be back soon, but until then, keep reaching out to any businesses that could potentially be available to help us.”

“Yes, of course, sir! You can count on me!” Midoriya was prompt in replying. As expected, being Shouto’s right-hand man at the company.

With that, Shouto took to the parking lot below his building, twirling his keys over his index finger before hopping into his Mercedes and driving off.

The withering sunlight cast its glare over his car during his ride through the city. By now, the skies splayed vibrant red as the sun gandered above the horizon. He drove down the narrow and busy streets that kept the place bustling at these hours. It was likely the time when people finished up their workday and were eager to arrive home for much-needed rest.

During a particularly long wait at a red traffic light, he pondered over his predicament again. His thumb rapped against the steering wheel while he bit his bottom lip, that ugly feeling of regret seeping into his thoughts.

Maybe he placed too much faith in these flowers after all. Sure, he mentioned the vital role they played in aligning with the theme and complimenting the guests’ attires. But was it worth all the trouble he put his team through, searching through a throng of businesses already busy with their own events to organize? In a way, this could’ve been sorted out had he recognized the current times and planned accordingly to avoid the mess. But now they were trapped in this bind, crunching for anyone that could help them within only fourteen short days.

Just as he weighed the idea of calling Midoriya over the bluetooth in his car to drop the floral arrangements altogether, something caught his eye at the last second.

Shouto peered through his window, squinting at the corner, where he spotted a cart of flowers in front of a shop of some sort. His grip tightened around the leather of his steering wheel as he leaned in for a better look. Some kind of spark in him roused his anticipation the more he shifted forward in his seat, like the hope that was slowly fading inside was igniting once again.

Another inch further and he attained a better look of the shop. Its sign came into view just below the small boundary of his window—letters brushed in calligraphy on a long board of canvas with lilies painted on the edges that seamed together into a bouquet.

N… Neigh… Neighborhood Lily.

He deciphered the words, but didn’t give them much thought. All that enveloped his mind afterward was the fact the name wasn’t any of the list of thirty shops he phoned today. So the very moment the light overhead flickered to green, Shouto’s hold on the wheel tightened. His foot gradually stepped on the pedal with much more purpose.

He decided to take a brief detour from this casual little drive of his.

.

.

It was about six o’clock when you waved off your latest customer, who was leaving the shop with a basket of vibrant tulips swinging on their arm. The smile on their face was an adamant indication they were more than happy with their time here, something you always delighted in, being very passionate about your job as a florist.

“Thank you, and please come again!” The bell overhead gave a gracious chime at the customer’s departure.

With them gone, you drew your attention back to the flowers laid out on the small wooden table in the corner of the shop. Before the customer came in, you were at work arranging and crafting the blossoms you purchased from the flower market that morning into bouquets.

You’d be closing in about an hour and thirty minutes or so, but for now, you basked in the silence and the calming aroma of the flowers that surrounded you while you continued your work. A modest hum naturally sang past your lips and soothed its way into the shop that was devoid of all souls except yourself.

“Hm, you’re a pretty thing, aren’t you?” You made some small talk with the rose in your hand. It was a habit of yours to spill a few words out within your own little world, imagining the flowers were keeping you company whenever you were alone.

“And there, now you all look even prettier.” An adoring smile embellished your lips as you finished off another bouquet by tying it with a silk ribbon. Looking over the bundle one more time, you thoroughly admired the shades of pinks and reds that complimented each other in the ensemble.

Then two more bouquets down, and you already made a good amount of progress. You figured that if you kept up the pace, you’d likely finish the rest of the batch and have them ready for display tomorrow. But just as you clasped three more flowers in your hand, the bell atop the door chimed, alerting you to a new patron.

You nicked off a thorn from one of the stems before turning around and giving your attention to the visitor. When your eyes found their way to the shop’s entrance, you were surprised to meet a man of slicked white and red hair. The few strands that found their way out of the gel must have been tussled from a long day of work considering the fatigue plain on his handsome face.

Despite the few wrinkles here and there, his attire was still surprisingly pristine. He wore a simple yet compelling suit, the fit seeming tailored to the contours of his body that rendered you a tad speechless at how good he looked just standing there. The sight almost made you feel underdressed.

You hadn’t realized you were staring for longer than you deemed appropriate. You couldn’t help it, being that the stranger was a stark contrast to the regular customers you were used to. The fanciest you’ve encountered since you opened your shop were the young boys that rushed in with nicely fitted tops and jeans, frantically inquiring about what kinds of flowers were right to give to a girl for a date they had later that day. Not anything like attractive businessmen in immaculate suits and shining silver wristwatches that surely cost more than all the flowers you tended here.

Noticing you were gawking, you blinked thrice to knock yourself out of your trance and properly greet the man.

“H-Hello, welcome to Neighborhood Lily,” you said, mustering the politest tone you could give to make up for the awkward moment of wordless eye contact. You must have kept your eyes on him for what felt like a good five minutes at least. The man, in turn, acknowledged you with a small grin, much to your relief.

“How may I help you this evening?”

“I’m…” he hesitated, seeming wary of how he wanted to go about his next choice of words, “just looking for now,” he decided.

Not paying much mind to his hesitation, you nodded. “Oh, well, if you have any questions or need any help on anything, please let me know. I’ll just be around the corner!”

Allowing him to go about his business, you returned to your table of flowers and oversaw the blossoms again. However, it was difficult for you to busy yourself with the task at hand. The mere thought of the other presence in the shop was enough to hammer you out of your concentration.

He was already a compelling figure on his own, what with his good-looks accompanied by his classy ensemble that felt more than out of place here. But what you were especially curious about was what business he had at a humble flower shop like yours during this hour.

That curiosity led your eyes straying to the side, where you peeped the man walking through the small aisle of flowers. He examined the bouquets and vases on display, even showing interest in the more decorative pieces hung in pots from the ceiling.

You tried to determine what his motives were. He was showing some considerable intrigue at your arrangements, though perhaps it was pure admiration for your work, and you were letting your self-consciousness get to you.

Well, spying would just get you nowhere, you thought. One way or another, he’d answer your curiosity by either coming to you directly or leave the shop altogether. You had to admit you hoped more for the former.

Until then, you tore your gaze away and resumed gathering flowers in your hands. You assessed their compatibility with one another while you fiddled around with their placement in the bouquet. The white lilies and the blue lilacs went very well, along with another set of light violet lilacs you couldn’t help but string into the bundle. As a result, the beautiful balance of cool tones made for an exceptional well-made bouquet. You finished the piece with a matching white satin ribbon and then let the arranged flowers thrive inside a glass vase.

“Those are very pretty.”

Startled at the voice, you whipped your head around, hands braced behind you against the edge of the wooden table. Your untimely lack of words were a result from realizing the owner of the voice was closer than you anticipated.

The businessman went from lingering around the aisle of flowers in the middle of the shop, to appearing in your proximity.

“E-Excuse me?” you asked, wondering if you heard correctly to which he pointed at the bouquets laid finished on the table. “In fact, all the flowers here are exceptionally beautiful.” He gestured to the entirety of the shop. His eyes quickly roamed across all the decorative flourishes before they came back to you.

“You do excellent work here in your shop.”

Words coming from a man like him made you bashful. You subconsciously played with the hem of your apron, eyes drifting to anywhere but his face at the compliment. However, the sliver of heat fluttering to your cheeks didn’t go unnoticed by him.

“Oh, um, thank you. It’s nothing really, I’ve been arranging flowers for quite some time while at the last floristry I worked for so I have a fair amount of experience.”

After another second of fiddling with the fabric, your hands ended up falling to your sides. You sauntered toward one of the flower vases that were already set on display, dawdling around the conversation. His eyes followed you, watching you nurture the blossoms. “I opened this flower shop of mine just recently actually. Been getting a decent amount of business here and there, but I’m just glad that the people who’ve visited so far like my work,” you told him, twirling a strand of your hair. The pads of your other hand brushed against the soft, abundant petals of a yellow chrysanthemum.

The man observed your actions, analyzing your face. He distinguished the devotion hidden in your eyes as you looked upon the flower with a luster. Despite your humble character, it was more than clear to him you were very passionate about what you did, relishing in the ambiance and admiring the modest appearance of this little shop of yours, covered in the wonderful aroma of flowers.

You didn’t detect that deep breath of air he earnestly drew in as he stepped closer. So close that his proximity broke your stupor to meet his rigid expression.

“How would you feel about an… opportunity to let more of your work be known?”

“An opportunity?” you echoed. “Wait… do you maybe have a wed—”

“No,” he interjected, so abruptly that you couldn’t help but quirk a brow. Catching himself, he took a moment to clear his throat, mindful of his behavior. “I mean, it’s not a wedding. Rather, a charity gala that my company has been planning for some time.”

“A gala?” Your mouth worked faster than your mind, accidentally blurting out your thoughts. The astonishment was evident in your tone; it made the man question your reaction by leaning in.

“Yes, a gala,” he said again like you didn’t just hear his words from a foot away, without even realizing the lengths behind his baffling offer. “Is there something wrong about that?”

“N-No. It just wasn’t the kind of opportunity I expected it to be is all… A gala…” Your voice hushed around the utter of “gala”.

What the man presented so blatantly was unexpected to your ears. Galas meant a pompous party full of people decked in lavish attires, drinking quality champagne from tulip glasses. Sizing up the man again, you could only imagine this gala would only include the most important and wealthiest people in attendance.

You had to ask something, “Um, about this gala... How many people will be there?”

“Maybe about... five hundred or so? I’ll have to check in with my assistant to confirm the full count again.” He shrugged nonchalantly and yet on your end, hearing the number almost reduced your head to a dizzy mess.

Five hundred guests? It was a number you couldn’t fathom. You hadn’t even been booked for an occasion as ordinary as a baby shower, but this man wanted you to arrange flowers for his big charity gala?

As oddly enticing of a job it was to you, there had to be anyone else more experienced and capable for this.

“Sir, I’m not su—”

“The pay, of course, will be more than generous, and I’ll even provide you funding for any necessary materials for this project,” he chimed in before you could voice your protest. It was then that you began to distinguish something laced in his voice and exhibited on his face.

Desperation.

This man seemed desperate for some reason.

“May I ask when the event will take place?” Your arms crossed against your chest. A gulp formed in his throat at the question, unsure if he wanted to unveil the news or risk scaring you off. Either way, if you were working for him, you’d learn eventually. A sigh came out.

“Two weeks,” he answered.

Oh yeah, that explained it. It also answered any questions you had over the tension rigid in his shoulders. At this point, you were bound to join him in his stress because, goddamn, organizing a whole assembly of flowers for a grand ball within fourteen days? The idea was beyond daunting.

While you reflected on the intimidating pieces of information, he was gauging your reaction. Would you say yes? No? Laugh at the idea that he thought he could find a florist to work for him at such late notice? There were a slew of uncertainties twisting in his head—an act unbecoming of him, but you were his last hope. Whatever you responded with next would either be the nail in his coffin or the wings that made him soar.

You would be treading on uncharted waters at a chance like this, having never sailed anywhere beyond your little island of floristry where people came and went with your humble little arrangements. But you also thought of this as a daring opportunity to find new land. See what the world had in store for you outside of selling the general bouquets and vases you had on display. Plus, when would a chance like this ever come up again?

Though it meant encountering difficulties along the way, taking on such a big challenge right off the bat, you figured you’d be able to keep your boat afloat. You were also sure the journey toward bigger regions would be worth the struggle in the end.

“So do you have your answer?” he pressed forward when your silence became unbearable to his nerves. He thanked the fact that his voice managed to sound steady enough not to give himself away. Your arms remained crossed in front of you, your hand coming beneath your chin the only sign that you were taking his offer to heart. It kept the flickering flames of hope blazing inside him.

“I just want to ask you something,” you replied. He nodded, allowing you to continue.

“I know you’re under pressure with this gala coming up in only two weeks,” you began. Your arms unraveled, and your fingers ran to your apron again. You formed the next bit of words with uncertainty, “but are you sure I’m the right person for this job? I mean, I don’t have much to offer you in terms of skill other than what I have here.” You nudged at the range of your shop, plain as can be though with a generous amount of flourishes on display. Yet nothing you thought special enough to be graced by him and his grand proposal that evening.

“I just don’t want you to regret your decision.”

There was a pause of silence after that. The man seemed to give your words some thought—a quick reflection on the situation. You couldn’t decipher much in his face, but you happened to take some time to admire how pretty his eyes were. The individual blue and gray shades were mesmerizing to you, resembling glaciers glittering beneath the moon high in the north. Another detail you jotted in his long list of attractive features. Before you could marvel at them any further, he whisked your thoughts back to earth with his response.

“It’s true that I’m coming to you because I’m in need,” he admitted, hands slowly closing into fists like he was reluctant to confess this, “but from what I can see, I genuinely think you’re more than capable for this job. So yes, I’m very sure I won’t regret this decision.”

It was clear to you that he was sure on his stance. But to reinforce his statement, he bent his head low into a bow, weight added to his next words.

“Please be the florist for our gala.”

The gesture briefly overwhelmed you, not something you were expecting, but you managed to acknowledge it by returning the bow.

“I’ll be in your care then.”

With all things said, you were soon tidying up the exchange and trading business cards. Yours was a standard card with your number, name, and business attached with a picture of a lily printed across the paper. His, a premium slip of stainless steel engraved with his information and then some, the fancy card reflecting off the lights hanging from the ceiling. You read the name etched in ebony black over the gray material.

Todoroki Shouto — CEO

“You’ll likely receive a call from either one of my assistants or me within the next day or so about when to meet up to plan for the arrangements.” Shouto’s voice brought your head up from the card, where you watched him glide toward the door.

“R-Right, I’ll leave my cell on,” you stuttered. The fact that this whole exchange had just transpired was still kicking in for you.

Shouto nodded, extending a wave out that you mirrored while he opened the door to the shop, the bell chiming above him.

“I’ll see you then.”

After that, the resonating tinkles of the bell were the last you heard.

You stared at the entrance aimlessly, mouth gradually gaping open at the mere prospect that you were really about to arrange your flowers for a grand charity gala in two weeks!

A mixture of elation and jitters erupted in your body all at once, uncontained as you whipped your head around and strode across your shop in giddy steps. Your eyes lit up at the steel card gripped between your fingers, clenched so tightly like you were worried the card would turn to dust when you woke up from this dream. But at the wide smile that bloomed on your lips, you knew that this was reality. This man, Todoroki Shouto, was giving you the opportunity to have your true potential shown at this big gala.

Meanwhile, on his way back to his Mercedes, Shouto was clicking open his phone. The screen beamed at him in the low light of the evening turning to night while he punched a number from his contacts list. It took only the cusp of the second ring for the person on the other line to pick up his call.

“Midoriya, call off the search,” Shouto commanded into his phone. He rested his back on the door of his car, leaning against it with his phone still attached to his ear. His gaze found its way back to the flower shop he had just departed, eyeing the light emitting from the windows to the sign hanging above them. Grinning, he took in the sight of the flowers dancing in the wind around the shop’s vicinity before finding your silhouette standing in the benevolent light inside.

“We have our florist.”

[3rachad-archive]

Could you do like a quick tutorial?

yes ofc (sorry i didnt understAND THE FIRST TIME LFMAMFOAIFWNAWI) itll be under a cut- which doesn’t work on mobile so u know :~~) sorry to my followers !!!

edit: THIS GOT KINDA VERY LONG- I KNOW YOU SAID QUICK BUT FOAIWNOAWINAWO ; ________ ; theres no quick way for me to explain this fjawefaoweifawnoe :~~( i didnt want to make you confused so i included pictures and i tried my best afhfhwoeiawo so it got Pretty Long and i APOLOGIZE HAHFHAOFWINAFOw 

EDIT AGAIN: OK I FORGOT!!! I HAVE A WINDOWS COMP!!!! SO !!! MAKE SURE YOU KNOW THAT THE ‘ALTS’ AND STUFF ARE A LIL DIFF ON MAC (IDK WHAT THEY ARE BUT JFJAJFOAIW YEAH…….. i cant…. help u there…..) 

EDIT AGAIN AGAIN: i proofread this once. and its. 3;30 am so … if i said smth dumb or didnt make sense pls pls telll meeee…!!!! and like. i apologize if i missed any spelling mistakes or anythign ajfjjjawfjowaei im just a Fool!!!! 

oki dokey! its honestly p simple one u memorize the Steps! (if there’s anything you’re still ?? abt pls pls message me! im bad at typing out instructions so like jfjajfhgowigowa im scared i’ll leave u MORE confused mfmmgg) !!! 

i’ll use my lil red riding chan gif to show you!!!

1) open up the video

open up whatever video you plan on giffing !! (”file” > “navigate” > open up whatever video it is you want to gif!) 

2) cutting to the scene you want

using the snipping tool, you’ll cut the video where you want to start the gif. then you’ll let it play till where you want the gif to end! and hit the scissor icon again. now you’ll have the desired clip. 

now you’ll have 3 ‘layers’ in the layers tab. you can go ahead and delete the top and bottom layers so you only have the middle layer (the one i have highlighted)!

(side note: if you’re trying to get it PRECISE and down to the frame, using the toggles that allow you to go from frame to frame is helpful! 

this’ll let you get it down to precisely where you’d like!) 

3) getting the frames

(make sure the layer is highlighted)

so you see the four lil lines? you click on those and you’ll get a drop down menu. 

so as i’ve highlighted, you’ll click on “convert frames” and then “flatten frames into clips” 

you will now have the frames from the video! ok, now you click on the “convert to frame animation” button! (the one i’ve circled) 

now your timeline should look like this: 

now going back to the four little lines from earlier: 

you’re going to “make frames from layers” 

your timeline should now be filled with all the frames from your video! 

(side note: try to keep your gif less than 80 frames. the bigger your gif the bigger the file the more trouble you’ll have saving, uploading, etc. tumblr has a limit on size for gifs so ! be very wary ! )

4) timing

so every frame has a lil time code on it! 

as you can see, the first one is 1.27 seconds, the second is 0 seconds- i can’t speak for every gifmaker, so i’ll just say what kind of speeds i personally use. i really prefer a little bit of a slower gif- to me it feels a little smoother and is easier on the eyes, and if you’re adding text to your gif, then the reader has a bit more time to read (if your subs change in the middle or smth) 

so going back to our four lil lines 

you click on “select all frames” (or you can click on the first frame, scroll to the end of the frames and while holding your ‘shift’ key, you click on the last frame; has the same result!) now, you go to the lil drop down arrow next to the time code on any of the frames, and input your time settings! 

i use the setting of 0.07 seconds! its a little slower. some people do ‘0.05′ and some people will leave the gif at its original speed (which is ‘0′ second delay) !!!

and now you hit ‘ok’ and your times should all be the same! at this point, give the frames a once over and see if everything is running fine and you have all the frames you want, by clicking on the play button and seeing how it looks.

(side note: make sure that your looping times is set to ‘Forever’!!!)

if everything is fine then you can move on! if you think that you’d like to remove some frames then you can select those frames individually (or by the clicking and shift method from earlier) and using the lil trash icon. you can delete those frames! now you should have all the frames you want!

5) cropping + resizing 

from your tools sidebar, you’ll pick the crop tool 

in the bar along the top of the screen, you’ll see a lil drop down menu

okay, this is also another preference thing? so like, depending on the set you’re making, you might want like a different size! 

in the first gif, i used ‘W x H x Resolution’ option, whereas the second gif i used the ‘4:5 (8:10)’ ratio! so like, its v dependent on what kind of gif you’re making. for 2x2 or 3x3 sets i tend to use 4:5 while single sets i use a free ratio so i can crop how i’d prefer the gif to look! 

so with the red riding hood gif i used the ‘4:5′ ratio! 

when you choose an option, you’ll get this sort of screen 

if you click once, you’ll be given a grid and the ability to now resize!!! 

when you’re happy with your selection, you can click the checkmark i circled in the first picture, and it’ll crop your image!

yay!! okay! now you have to resize the image! so you go to the top of the screen and you choose: ‘Image���

from here you’ll choose ‘Image Size’ or alternatively hit ‘ALT + CTRL + I’ 

you’ll get this dialogue box !!! where you can now imput your width (the height will automatically resize!) 

alright so for sets, i’m not too sure about other ppl, but i resize my gifs following this usually! 

500 pixels == 1 gif

245 pixels == 2 gifs side by side

160 pixels == 3 gifs side by side 

those sizes usually look fine on tumblr and also work well with the image size limit!!! 

(i resized this gif to 245px because i was putting 2 gifs side by side!) 

after you’ve imputed the size, you can now hit okay! you’ll get this dialogue box:

go ahead and tick the ‘don’t show again’ and then click ‘Convert’ 

6) sharpening

okay, normally, you’d have to go through frame by frame and sharpen, but ; v ; your time gets eaten tf up so like… this is just the way i sharpen all the frames at the same time!! 

so go ahead and select everything in your time line, either by the shift++click method or by going to the ‘select all frames’, and then go over to the layers panel and click on the bottom most frame, then scroll to the top and while holding shift, click on the top most frame. 

everything should be selected like this! 

go the four lines again and click on the convert to video timeline

your timeline should now look like this: 

okay, now, going back to your top bar, you’ll pick ‘Filter’ 

and then click on ‘Convert for Smart Filters’ 

(side note: you’ll get another dialogue box i believe, so just tick the do not show and go ahead and continue) 

clicking on filter again, you’ll go down to ‘Sharpen’ and then ‘Smart Sharpen’. you should get another dialogue box 

these are the settings that i use! and once you put them in, you can go ahead and press okay, and your gif will be sharpened 

(side note: there’s only SO much that sharpening can do to your gif. the best scenario: you have a video thats 1080p and the sharpening will add. but if your video quality isn’t the greatest then be understanding, ps can only do so much… also !!! some ppl sharpen twice, if you think it’ll look good you can go ahead and do that!!! i prefer to sharpen once, so that it doesn’t get too grainy!!!) 

your gif is now sharpened!!! 

7) colouring 

uhh this one i can’t give you too many instructions for?? bc every gifmaker tends to have their own colouring style. it’ll really be up to your discretion and preference on how you colour things!!! 

these are the tools when it comes to colouring!!! you can like… go to town and test different colourings! i shit you not… this is what takes me the LONGEST during giffing now.. like once i had the process down?? i was like ???? what should i make the colouring??? 

this is without colouring ^^

this is with my colouring ^^ 

this is what i had on this specific gif- every video will vary and you’ll soon figure out what colourings suit what videos or lightings or etc !!! 

8) watermarking (optional) 

this is optional but like………. in this day and age…………………….

so you select the text tool and you just type your url in whatever font you want??? 

these are the settings i use!!! and then i set the ‘Opacity’ at however much i think is suitable. (darker gifs, i might make the watermark a lil less visible, whereas brighter gifs i’ll make it a lil stronger!)

9) saving to the web 

YAY! we’re done! you made the gif! pat your back!!! 

mm okay now you have to save it !! so you can either do ‘CTRL++SHIFT++ALT++S’ or!!! 

‘File > Export > Save for Web (Legacy)’ 

your gif will take a moment to render, but when it does you’ll get this screen!!! 

these are the settings you should adjust to !!! 

(side note: pay attention to the size !! 

above certain mb your gif will be too big to upload !!! and tumblr will give you an error and tell you to try sizing down!!!)

also make sure: 

that it says ‘Forever’ !!!! 

and finally !! give your gif a play by clicking on the play button! make sure everything is fine and that your gif loops, and everything looks how you want it!!!

if you’re happy with how everything looks! 

click save !!! 

you can chose where you wanna save it and name it aptly !!! 

10) BASK IN YOUR AWESOMENESS!!! (AKA: uploading your gif) 

i wont explain this but now u get to upload your !! gif to tumblr!! eee :D 

and there she is!! isnt she BEAUTIFUL??? :~~) hehe !! 

anyway, i hope i helped explain this as CLEARLY as possibelf jfjfjaowiefnaweoia lmaooo this was ridiculously long so i apologize for that :~~( but i hope i helped you out! eee happy giffing angel!!!

[keyboardio]

March 2017 update, part 1: Packaging, PVT Prep, and Piracy

TL;DR: PVT is planned for early April; Somebody tried to steal our name; A preview of your unboxing experience; Expect part two of this update next week.

Hello from Oakland!

We’re sorry this update is late

We're really sorry for the delay in this update. Since China was closed for business for about 3 weeks after our January update, we figured we were going to devote the February update to writing about the Model 01's software. We also thought that we were going to send that update just before Jesse went back to Shenzhen at the end of February. Time just got away from us a bit and we missed. Once Jesse was in Shenzhen, things were moving fast enough that we ended up deciding to delay until he was back home.

When the first half of this month’s update came in at more than 3500 words, we decided to split it in two. You should expect the second installment next week.

Schedule update

Right now, it’s looking like the first 100 units will come off the assembly line in early April. A few of those keyboards will be earmarked for things like FCC testing and taking marketing photos, but almost all of them are destined for Kickstarter backers.

The item that's currently driving that date is fixing the insides of the keycaps. You can read a bit about that later in this update.

If everything looks good, that’s when we ask the factory to start mass production. Our current plan is for them to “batch” the production run into shipments of somewhere between 1000 and 2000 keyboards spaced 3-4 weeks apart. That helps make sure that if we do have an issue early on, we can resolve it quickly and easily. It also works well with the delivery schedules for our keyswitches, LEDs and wooden enclosures. We’ll talk more about the schedule in the second installment.

PVT

We mentioned on Twitter that Jesse was headed to Shenzhen to oversee preparations for PVT. Quite reasonably, someone asked what PVT was. "Production Verification Test", also sometimes called the "pilot run" is when the factory makes a small part of your first production run using the final versions of parts on the assembly line. In the software world, the closest analog would probably be the RC (release candidate). The factory will make 100 Model 01s on the assembly line, using production parts. All the plastics come out of the injection molds. The PCBs are the final versions. The packaging is the final version, etc. The idea is that it's the time when they work all the kinks out of the production system. They make sure their assembly and test procedures are right and then we check their work. We ship out those 100 units as fast as we can to test the boxes and our shipping and delivery infrastructure. The actual PVT run should only take a day. The factory does their own internal QC, but It'll probably take Jesse a few days to test all 100 of those keyboards. As we go forward to Mass Production from there, we'll have professional test folks checking the factory's output. At first, they'll check 100% of the keyboards. If the defect rate is close enough to zero, they'll move to testing smaller and smaller percentages of keyboards until, hopefully, they're just pulling out a few random units to check that the factory's internal QC isn't asleep at the wheel. When Jesse got on the plane for Shenzhen at the end of last month, the factory thought there was a good chance PVT would happen before he came home. We didn't really believe that, but it was a really nice fantasy to cling to for a few days.

IP Theft

It's fairly common advice that if you make something that customers want, your product is going to get cloned by somebody with... flexible ethics. We've long maintained that we're not too worried about the Model 01 getting copied by a "budget" manufacturer, as they're exceedingly unlikely to copy the aspects of the design that you (and we) value the most—put another way: a crappy $30 copy of the Model 01 would amuse us a lot more than scare us.

Well, shortly before Jesse left for China, we got email from a Beijing law firm telling us that a Chinese company had registered for the "Keyboardio" trademark in China and asking if we'd like to pay them to fight it. This had all the hallmarks of a scam, so we ran it by our friends at HWTrek. They told us that they'd checked with some lawyers they know in Shenzhen and confirmed that yes, indeed, somebody in China was trying to register our trademark. There's a very specific scam that we think these folks were setting up. The way it works is that they register the trademark of a Western brand, hoping that nobody notices. Just as that company sends their first major shipment for export, the scammers ring up Chinese customs and tell them that there's a Western company infringing on their legitimate trademark. They ask the customs agents to impound the goods shipped by that Western company. At this point, the law is very much on the side of the scammers. But there's a simple, if costly, resolution. The scammers phone up the Western company and offer to sell them the trademark… for a moderately extortionary price.

Thankfully, this got caught early enough that we were able to file an opposition to the trademark filing. Our Chinese trademark lawyer tells us that the company who filed for our mark have also filed for over 100 other Western corporate brand names and that "the government really dislikes these guys." To oppose a trademark in China, you need to put together a packet of documentation showing that you were using the mark earlier than the date claimed by the other guys. In this case, the scammers claimed a first use of March 2016. Our guess is that they found out about us from this article in March 2016: https://www.toutiao.com/i6263004569421218305/ Of course, it could have been this article in 2015: http://tech.sina.com.cn/q/tech/2015-06-17/doc-ifxczqar0953559.shtml Or this one in 2014: http://mouse.zol.com.cn/480/4805284.html The documentation packet we ended up submitting included these articles, as well as a number of English-language pieces, our Kickstarter campaign, US Tax filings and some invoices and receipts with the corporate name on them dating from before March 2016. When you submit a trademark opposition in China, you need to file for the mark at the same time. In total, this is about three times as expensive as just filing for an uncontested mark. Thankfully, the total costs in China are still incredibly reasonable. The whole experience, including legal fees and all filing costs, came out to about USD 680. The amount is small enough that paying cash ended up being a whole lot more efficient than doing a wire. Since the document signing was done late in the day, the accounting folks were out of the office and the initial "receipt" was confirmed by IM. It was, of course, followed up by a formal receipt and a number of very official looking stamped documents.

We've filed our paperwork during the opposition period, so the trademark won't be automatically issued. At this point, we don't expect to hear about a formal result from Beijing before Q1 2018. 

Paying lawyers in cash was definitely a new experience for us Before writing about this, our lawyer confirmed that there was no danger to talking about it publicly. Life lesson: If you're a hardware startup and manufacturing in China, file for your trademarks in China before somebody else does. Even if you think you’re too little to be a target. It's cheap and easy.

Keycap fit issues

One of the issues we've been going back and forth with the factory about is how tight the keycaps fit to the keyswitches. There's a balance here: Too loose and the keycaps come out when you don't want them to. Too tight and the keycaps take part of the keyswitches with them when you try to remove them. As of now, getting the keycaps right is the blocker for PVT. Initially, the factory had recommended we go with their "regular standard." When we asked, they said that the keycaps should require approximately 1 kg of force to pull off the switch. That's a pretty normal number and we said we were fine with it. As the project moved forward, the factory revised their thinking. For a high-quality keyboard like ours, the keycaps should stay in a little better. They suggested that we switch to a 1.5 kg standard. We chatted with some friends who've made more of a study of keycaps than we have and, again, said we were cool with that. As sample keycaps came back from the factory, we found that they seemed to be rather difficult to remove from a keyboard. We asked the factory to have the keycap removal force measured. After some back and forth, we got a somewhat fuzzy report that none of the keycaps required less than 1.5 kg of force to remove. Pushing a little harder, the factory agreed to have formal tests run to see how much force the keycaps really took to remove.

In this report of keycap removal force, when they say “OK”, they really mean “Not OK”

The report came back, saying that no keycap required less than 2.2 kg to remove, with some needing up to 2.5 kg of force. That report, combined with our confirmation that we were able to destroy keyswitches just pulling off keycaps made it clear to the factory that they were going to have to press the keycap factory to resolve this issue. When we sat down with the keycap factory, they initially proposed asking our keyswitch vendor to change the switch design and then suggested modifying every keyswitch to make the keycap fit a bit less tight. We explained that those solutions weren't going to work for us ;) The solution, first designed by our factory's R&D Manager and later confirmed by the keycap factory is to round the corners of the keycap stems, removing just a little bit plastic. We agreed that we could accept anything that required between 1 kg and 1.5 kg of force to remove. The solution, while 100% correct, does have one pretty serious complication. The keycaps are injection molded. To make an injection molded part larger, you cut away a bit of the steel from the injection mold. To make an injection molded part smaller, you have to add steel to the injection mold. In this case, the way you do that is to cut a "plug" out of the injection mold and replace it with a precisely-sized replacement plug that has a bit more steel. We all agreed that before modifying the entire injection mold, the keycap factory should get things right on a single keycap first. Doing this for a single keycap is about a 1-2 day job. Doing it for 64 keycaps is about a 2-3 week job.

We finally went and bought our own force gauge

Before Jesse left China, he saw the keycap factory's first attempt, which took only 0.34 kg to remove.

The second attempt, which we didn't get to test was reported to be just shy of 1 kg of force. The night before he left China, Jesse saw their third attempt, which overshot slightly and took 1.6 kg to remove in our initial tests.

Last night, the factory said that the keycap supplier had delivered a sample keycap to them which requires 1.3Kg of force to remove. They’re happy with the result and have instructed the keycap vendor to modify the other 63 keycaps to match.

FCC/CE test lab

On the Friday before he left Shenzhen, Jesse visited the testing lab recommended by our manufacturer. These are the folks who will do the FCC and CE testing on the Model 01.

This is the antenna which will verify your Model 01 complies with Part 15b of the FCC rules

They also do reliability testing for a variety of products. We'll likely end up using a few of their test offerings, including the "constant temperature" (baking) machines, the UV testing machines, and the "salt fog" (corrosion testing) machines. The corrosion testing machines are used, mainly, to verify that the PCB isn't going to to suffer catastrophic failure after spending 48 hours in a saline fog. We had to be clear with them that we know a wooden enclosure will not pass an intense corrosion test like this and that the results of the test on the enclosure would be informational only. The 96 hour constant temperature test helps make sure that those of you in Arizona and Singapore aren't in for a colossal disappointment. The intense 96 hour UV aging test makes sure that the coatings on the keycaps and the enclosure aren't going to start flaking off after a short period of time on your desk. By far the coolest and scariest part of the test lab was their battery testing room. Some of their battery testing machines almost made us wish the Model 01 had a battery.

Sadly, the test lab wasn't willing to show us what happens when a product fails a test on this machine

The current plan for FCC/CE testing is that our factory will work with the test lab to perform "pretesting" with hand-assembled prototypes. These tests are a tiny bit cheaper because the testing lab isn't certifying their results and nothing is being “officially” signed off. But they'll let us catch potential issues before it's too late. Once we have PVT units assembled on the production line, a few will go to the test lab and start working their way through the formal test process. We're still doing our diligence on proper labeling and shipping requirements for PVT keyboards we ship before the formal FCC Declaration of Conformity from the lab—we want to make sure your keyboards don't get held up by a zealous customs agent.

Screwdrivers

We mentioned in a previous update that the screwdrivers the factory had selected weren't sized correctly to open the keyboard. When Jesse got to China, we talked about it with the factory and they said that they had a few ideas for screwdrivers, but didn't have samples on hand yet. (While not our favorite answer, that's entirely reasonable. Screwdrivers are a commodity item with relatively short lead times.) 

The orange screwdriver we like, along with some samples provided by another vendor

Since he was a little bit antsy, Jesse reached out to a few screwdriver suppliers from Alibaba directly. He contacted 8 suppliers at 11:30PM on Friday night. The first three suppliers got back to him in well under an hour. Two of the suppliers offered to customize samples with our logo and promised to deliver the samples locally before Thursday, the day we'd arbitrarily selected to make our final choice. The third supplier said they couldn't do a custom logo in less than a week, but that the sample would be free. Sample fees are an easy way for vendors to help weed out folks who are just trying to get a single free copy of an item. One vendor shipped us two laser-engraved orange screwdrivers for a sample fee of about $20. They arrived the following Monday. Another shipped us five screwdrivers in a variety of colors, with samples of both Pad-printed logos and laser-engraved logos for a sample fee of about $20. They arrived on Thursday. The third vendor shipped us a single screwdriver with another company's logo on it (as we'd agreed). The sample was free, but they didn't tell us that shipping would be COD until after the sample was on its way. In the end, we liked orange sample the best. Based on this, our factory say they want to try one more vendor. We're pretty happy with what we've got, but we'll have a look at their sample too.

Packaging

We've been talking to the factory about packaging for a long time. We had a detailed packaging spec in our original RFQ (request for quotation). 

A preview of what your unboxing experience might look like

The first packaging supplier the factory brought in were… not great at meeting their self-imposed deadlines. They got us a first sample, but didn't really deliver a proposal. We showed some photographs of this sample months ago. Eventually, they failed to deliver promised updates one-too-many times. While in China, Jesse worked with two packaging suppliers introduced by the factory and one supplier introduced by a friend. The experiences couldn't have been more different. The supplier introduced by a friend is… very high end. We tried to get them to spec two versions of the packaging—one a "cheap, but strong" box and the other showing off what they're good at. Their inexpensive offering was really nice, but was an eye-popping $15. Their nice offering? It was gorgeous. The slide-out drawer for the keyboard's accessories had a silk ribbon. Describing it as out of our price range does a disservice to the word "understatement." We didn't get a great vibe from the first packaging supplier introduced by the factory. They hadn't really prepared for the meeting. We spent the better part of an hour talking about what kind of foam might make sense to use inside the box and getting a quick tour of their foam-cutting operation. Supposedly, they also do cardboard boxes, but at another facility. They don't do printing, which we need for things like the manual and layout card. They promised to build up a sample, but we never saw it. The second packaging supplier came to us for a first meeting before we visited them for the second meeting. At that first meeting, they brought an initial design for the cardboard box and the foam inserts. We talked through changes we wanted, as well as what we wanted for the keyboard's manual and layout card. When Jesse asked what format they wanted the layout card and manual in, they asked for Adobe Illustrator (CS5). They actually asked about typefaces. For the second meeting, we visited their factory in Dongguan. They'd made a second sample box incorporating most of the changes we'd talked about. They'd done a first mockup of the manual, cut in the shape of the keyboard. It was about 3cm x 5cm. The text was a little bit too small to read. We talked about it and Jesse explained that we're not including the manual just because we have to—we actually want people to read the manual. The sample of the layout card wasn't quite right. We'd asked for something "laminated" and the first few things they came back with were plastic-coated, but still pretty easy to fold or tear in half. Eventually, we showed samples of restaurant menus. That got the idea across and before Jesse left China, the packaging factory delivered samples that were exactly what we'd been looking for.

Two years ago, we'd estimated the Model 01's shipping weight at 5 pounds. We've used that estimate as part of all of our shipping calculations. We thought that number was relatively safe. But we never really knew. When we put the fully-loaded package on the scale in the packaging supplier's conference room, it came out at 2.21Kg. That's 4.87 pounds. That was a really happy moment, though we don't think the factory or the packaging supplier understood why.

Simon-Claudius Wystrach (@thebaronhimself) is responsible for the layout card actually looking pretty. We based the style on a template designed by Arley McBlain (@arleym)

Before we left China, we saw two more revisions of the packaging, with further refinements. We were a little annoyed to see that the text on the back of the box at one point read "Design in Oakland, California" rather than "Designed in Oakland, California"… and more than a little embarrassed to realize that the issue was that they'd faithfully reproduced a typo Jesse made. One of the last things to change was that the supplier rotated the orientation of the corrugation of the cardboard 90 degrees to help make sure that the little locking tab doesn't fall apart as easily. It’s a tiny detail, but it’ll make the packaging just a little bit nicer.

But wait, there's more!

That’s it for today, but watch for part two of this month’s update sometime next week. Things we’re planning to talk about in that post include: Long leadtime components, keycap painting and engraving, the new baseplates (which look great), the stands, the rails and center bars, the firmware, and a few other tidbits.

<3 j+k