#Best Social Media Management Software

[foodmato]

5 Best Restaurant Management Software Reviews for 2025

Are you looking for the best restaurant management software?

In this tech-driven era, utilizing feature-rich restaurant management software is crucial for small businesses to stay ahead of their competitors. To keep pace with the constant technical advancements and ever-evolving customer preferences, most restaurant owners rely on restaurant management tools that not only streamline their restaurant operations but also help improve sales.

Managing day-to-day restaurant operations can be challenging. However, for many years, restaurants have been struggling with manual logs, lots of spreadsheets, and ordinary point-of-sale systems to keep things in order. This results in missed orders, poor task management, and lots of stress.

If you, too, are dealing with the same issue, this article will be very helpful for you, as we have shared 5 of the best restaurant management software reviews here to help you pick the right one for your business and modernize your restaurant management system.

What is restaurant management software?

Restaurant management software or a restaurant POS system is designed to automate all restaurant operations, order & delivery tracking, generating invoices, storing customer details, offering discounts, food menu management, restaurant reviews, and more. In simple words, it creates the foundation of your restaurant business. A good restaurant POS system will drive your sales and give you a lot of opportunities to grow your restaurant business.

If you still do not use a restaurant management system, let us tell you why your business needs it.

Why do you need restaurant management software?

Best Restaurant Management Software automates major restaurant operations, offering you a stress-free business management experience and happy customers.

Other benefits of using restaurant management software include:

Order management: Starting from accepting orders to processing them and tracking delivery, the entire process is automated with a restaurant management system.

Table booking management: You can easily manage table reservations, table availability, seating arrangements, and more to optimize space and increase revenue.

Handling customer data: When customers place orders with your POS system, it automatically saves crucial information that you can utilize to offer personalized experiences to them.

Improves user experience: With online ordering, payment security, a loyalty program, and systematic task management, your customers feel satisfied.

Data-driven marketing decision: A POS system offers useful data and reports on your sales and evaluates your overall restaurant performance to help you make data-driven decisions.

Menu management: Add a striking menu and easily add, edit, or delete food items from it.

Cost optimization: Proper menu management, loyalty program, and simplified order management help optimize costs.

Reduced errors: Tech-driven order, delivery, and customer data management reduce the chances of error and provide you with an accurate picture of your restaurant’s performance.

These are the basic advantages of using a restaurant management system. When you choose the best for you, your business will experience more benefits.

Selecting the best restaurant management software: features to look for

Best restaurant management software features

When you search for the best restaurant management software for your restaurant, you will find an overwhelming number of options that are sure to confuse you. So, how to pick the best one? The answer lies in the features of a restaurant POS system.

Find out the must-have features for a restaurant management system:

Security

Your restaurant POS system regularly deals with confidential customer information like their payment details, contact information, etc, and ensuring their security should be a priority to build trust and credibility. Ensure that the restaurant software you choose has end-to-end encryption and a secure payment system.

Speed

One of the most important factors of the best restaurant management software is its speed. It must be able to work efficiently during rush hours when the order flow usually doubles. If the system slows down or crashes, then it could pose a serious challenge to your operational efficiency and business reputation. While scrutinizing event management software, do not forget to check its speed and its ability to handle pressure.

Scalability

Scalability is extremely important for a restaurant management solution to stay aligned with the changes that take place. Whether it is about managing restaurants from different locations or adding new features, your software must be able to deliver that without affecting the performance.

Mobile Accessibility

Make sure that the restaurant POS system you choose offers you the flexibility to manage your restaurant operation through your mobile phone. Opening a desktop for minor works can be a hassle. Tracking orders, deliveries, customer data, table registration, and more through phones is extremely beneficial and convenient.

Table booking management

Table reservation is a crucial part of a restaurant, and that is why, while filtering restaurant management software, look for a restaurant management system that offers a table booking system.

Order and delivery management

A restaurant POS system is incomplete without an online ordering and delivery management system. Search for a restaurant menu software that provides you with 100% admin control over the orders and delivery management.

Technical support

Technical support ensures that everything runs smoothly. Opt for a restaurant management system that offers technical support when required. This is important because if you face any technical issues, they can solve them promptly.

Reporting and analytics

Reports and analytics help you measure the performance of your restaurant. It throws light on sales, employee performance, and customer preferences to help you make major decisions for growth.

5 Best Restaurant Management Software Reviews

We have picked the 5 best restaurant management software after evaluating them on the basis of the above-mentioned points and reviewed each of them to help you understand them better and choose the most suitable one for your business.

1. FoodMato

FoodMato is one of the best restaurant management software programs that you can rely on for your small, medium, or established restaurant business. It is an all-in-one restaurant POS system that covers everything from online ordering and delivery to menu management, marketing, and an easy-to-use mobile app to manage the entire system at your fingertips.

Key features of FoodMato

Restaurant website creation and branding.

Seamless order management and delivery tracking.

Stress-free restaurant reservation system.

Creation of food menu and its management.

Freedom to handle multiple restaurant operations from a centralized platform.

Reports and analytics on restaurant sales, orders, and overall performance.

Google Maps integration to display restaurant locations.

Loyalty program for customer retention.

Restaurant marketing with social media community management.

Restaurant review system to increase credibility.

Sincere and timely support.

Third-party integrations.

Restaurant gallery to showcase your restaurant’s ambiance.

The best part about FoodMato is that it covers all essential restaurant management features, and it can be customized as per individual business requirements.

Pros of FoodMato

Offers a comprehensive solution

Affordable pricing.

Prompt response from the support team.

Offers full control to the admin.

A wideegtecccg3grvfcrv array of features.

Amazing reviews.

The FoodMato team works according to unique business needs.

No technical knowledge is required.

Cons of FoodMato

Not many reviews are available as it is a newly launched software.

2. OpenTable

The second in our list is the OpenTable software, which is known for its excellent restaurant reservation system. The POS system offers a vast array of services to restaurants, including table reservations, table management, restaurant booking, inventory management, and more.

Key features of OpenTable

Organize private dining events with enhanced visibility.

Restaurant management with a mobile app.

Restaurant reservation system with tags, booking, and waiting list facilities.

Offers guest data security.

The online waiting list is for guests to avoid congestion at the restaurant front door.

Reports and analytics.

A restaurant direct messaging system to allow customers to directly interact with restaurant representatives before stepping in.

Pros of OpenTable

Vast features.

Superior table booking system.

CRM integrations for better guest management.

Positive reviews.

Cons of OpenTable

Users often complain about data synchronization issues.

The system may slow down during peak hours.

It may feel overwhelming for users due to excessive features.

3. Toast

Toast is another restaurant POS system that we have picked for our readers. It is easy to use, and it can be a good choice for those who are not tech-savvy. It offers multiple useful features that cover major restaurant operations like online ordering, payroll management, and more.

Key features of Toast

Simplified online ordering.

Convenient to use.

Various tools for employee scheduling and payroll management.

Insightful reports and analytics.

Easy integrations with third-party online ordering platforms.

Customizable.

Pros of Toast

User-friendly.

Packed with multiple features.

Integration with third-party delivery platforms for smooth restaurant management.

Cons of Toast

The absence of offline functionality makes the system completely unusable.

Difficulty in customizing the system.

4. PetPooja

PetPooja is a well-known restaurant POS software developed to streamline restaurant operations. It offers a wide range of restaurant management features, including online ordering, task management, easy attendee tracking, and task and payroll management.

Key features of PetPooja

User-friendly interface.

Online ordering and billing system.

Task management tool to improve productivity

Digital invoice generation system.

Real-time restaurant reports on sales, online orders, inventory consumption, staff management, and more.

Pros of PetPooja

Fast and reliable.

Easy to use.

Multiple useful features.

Offers real-time updates on Inventory, sales, and customer preferences.

Cons of PetPooja

The process of integrating the software with other platforms is complicated.

5. Restroworks

Last but not least, Restroworks works as a complete restaurant management platform with powerful inventory management features. It is mostly suitable for medium-sized restaurants. It easily integrates with payment processing tools to offer a smooth transaction experience to restaurant owners and customers.

Key features of Restroworks:

Helps manage kitchen inventories to decrease food prices.

Offers real-time updates on food stock to reduce food wastage.

Provides a clear picture of the upcoming day’s food consumption based on historical data.

Helps create recipes with proper ingredients and monitor costs to determine the price of a food item.

Pros of Restroworks

Customizable.

Offers a comprehensive restaurant management solution.

Easy inventory tracking.

Automatic sync with accounting tools.

Cons of Restroworks

It can be a bit complicated for small businesses.

Customer support response time is slow

Inventory tracking requires manual efforts.

What is the best restaurant management software?

Selecting the best restaurant management software from the above-mentioned tools completely depends on your restaurant’s requirements. We recommend FoodMato because it offers an A-to-Z solution to your restaurant business with a strong IT support team.

Wrapping up

Let us take a quick look at the 5 best restaurant management software that we have reviewed for you: FoodMato, Openable, Toast, PetPooja, and Restroworks. We have picked them on the basis of their features, reviews, support, user-friendliness, and their ability to streamline restaurant operations.

[svsaqua]

CHATBOTS ARE REVOLUTIONIZING CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT- IS YOUR BUSINESS READY?

CHATBOTS & AI: FUTURE OF CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT

Customers want 24/7 access, personalized experiences, and quick replies in today’s digital-first environment. It can be difficult to manually meet such requests, which is where AI and machine learning-powered chatbots come into play. 

WHAT ARE CHATBOTS?

A chatbot is a computer software created to mimic human speech. Natural language processing and artificial intelligence (AI) enable chatbots to comprehend customer enquiries, provide precise answers, and even gain knowledge from exchanges over time. 

WHY ARE CHATBOTS IMPORTANT FOR COMPANIES?

24/7 Customer Service 

Chatbots never take a break. They offer 24/7 assistance, promptly addressing questions and enhancing client happiness. 

Effective Cost-Scaling 

Businesses can lower operating expenses without sacrificing service quality by using chatbots to answer routine enquiries rather than adding more support staff. 

Smooth Customer Experience 

Chatbots may recommend goods and services, walk customers through your website, and even finish transactions when AI is included. 

Gathering and Customizing Data 

By gathering useful consumer information and behavior patterns, chatbots can provide tailored offers that increase user engagement and conversion rates. 

USE CASES IN VARIOUS INDUSTRIES

E-commerce: Managing returns, selecting products, and automating order status enquiries. 

Healthcare: Scheduling consultations, checking symptoms, and reminding patients to take their medications. 

Education: Responding to questions about the course, setting up trial sessions, and getting input. 

HOW CHATBOTS BECOME SMARTER WITH AI

With each contact, chatbots that use AI and machine learning technologies get better. Over time, they become more slang-savvy, better grasp user intent, and provide more human-like responses. What was the outcome? A smarter assistant that keeps improving to provide greater customer service. 

ARE YOU READY FOR BUSINESS?

Using a chatbot has become a strategic benefit and is no longer optional. Whether you manage a service-based business, an online store, or a developing firm, implementing chatbots driven by AI will put you ahead of the competition. 

We at Shemon assist companies in incorporating AI-powered chatbots into their larger IT offerings. Smart chatbot technology is a must-have if you want to automate interaction, lower support expenses, and improve your brand experience. 

Contact us!

Email: info@shemonsoftware.com 

Phone: 7738092019

[taruletechnology]

SEO, CRM, and Social Media Services by Tarule Technology

Tarule Technology – Your Partner in Digital Growth

In the fast-moving digital landscape, companies need more than just an online presence—they need smart systems, engaging content, and reliable marketing tools. Tarule Technology, a forward-thinking digital solutions provider, delivers exactly that.

With specialized services in Search Engine Optimization (SEO), CRM software development, and social media management, Tarule Technology supports startups, mid-size companies, and enterprises in transforming their digital journey. Whether you’re looking to attract more visitors, automate your sales process, or build brand awareness, Tarule is the reliable partner behind your success.

🔍 Search Engine Optimization Service Provider Company

If you're not ranking on Google, you're invisible to most of your customers. That’s why Tarule Technology focuses on customized SEO strategies that help your business climb the search engine ladder.

Why Tarule’s SEO Services Stand Out

Tailored SEO Roadmaps Every business has unique challenges. Our SEO team dives deep into keyword research, competitor analysis, and content strategy to build a plan that works specifically for your brand.

On-Page & Off-Page Optimization From optimizing website content and structure to building high-quality backlinks, we ensure all ranking factors are covered.

Local SEO for Targeted Reach Our local SEO strategies help businesses show up in “near me” searches, driving real foot traffic and leads.

Technical SEO Audits We fix crawl errors, loading issues, and mobile responsiveness—ensuring your site is search engine friendly.

Tarule is not just another search engine optimization service provider company—we focus on long-term visibility, not temporary results.

CRM Software Development Company

Customer relationships are the backbone of every successful company. Tarule’s custom-built CRM solutions are designed to enhance customer experience and operational efficiency.

What Our CRM Systems Offer

Custom Dashboards & Reports Our CRMs provide real-time data on your leads, opportunities, and customer history so your team can make informed decisions.

Sales Automation Reduce manual data entry and automate follow-ups, task reminders, and pipeline stages.

Multi-Channel Integration Whether you're using email, WhatsApp, or calling tools—our CRM syncs everything into one dashboard.

Secure Data Storage Built with robust encryption and cloud backup, your customer data is safe and always accessible.

What makes Tarule a standout CRM software development company is our attention to how teams actually work. We don’t just develop software—we create tools people love using.

Best Social Media Management Company

Engaging your audience online is no longer optional. It’s essential. Tarule Technology’s social media services ensure your brand doesn’t just exist on platforms like Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook—but stands out.

Our Social Media Strategy Includes:

Brand Voice Development Whether you're witty, formal, or inspirational—we help you craft a tone your audience connects with.

Content Planning & Creation From eye-catching graphics to scroll-stopping reels and trending hashtags, we plan and create everything in-house.

Performance Analytics We provide monthly insights into what’s working and tweak strategy accordingly.

Community Engagement Social media is a two-way conversation. We handle replies, DMs, and comments to keep your audience engaged.

As the best social media management company for growing brands, Tarule blends strategy with creativity for content that drives leads, not just likes.

How Tarule Connects Everything

What makes Tarule Technology unique is how seamlessly we integrate these services. Here’s how we combine SEO, CRM, and social media into one cohesive digital system:

SEO brings traffic →

CRM captures and manages leads →

Social media nurtures your audience →

Sales grow consistently with automation and insights

This connected ecosystem improves visibility, customer interaction, and overall ROI. Instead of working with three different vendors for marketing, technology, and CRM—you get one streamlined solution.

Who We Work With

Tarule Technology serves a wide range of clients, including:

E-commerce businesses looking to boost SEO rankings

Service providers who want a CRM that reflects their workflow

Startups building brand presence from scratch

Corporations needing multi-platform social media management

Whether you’re a solopreneur or managing a global brand, our strategies scale with your needs.

Support & Collaboration

We believe technology is only powerful when backed by great service. That’s why Tarule offers:

Dedicated account managers for every client

Clear onboarding processes for fast implementation

Training sessions for your in-house team

Ongoing support via chat, phone, and email

We're not a “set it and forget it” agency—we're an active partner in your business growth.

Ready to Scale?

Whether you want to dominate Google rankings, convert more leads, or build a killer online presence, Tarule Technology has the tools, talent, and tech to make it happen.

Start now with services tailored to your business:

SEO Services

CRM Software Development

Social Media Marketing

Final Thoughts

In a world where digital presence determines credibility, Tarule Technology is your growth partner. We’re more than a service provider—we’re your team behind the scenes, focused on making your brand work smarter and shine brighter.

From expert-level search engine optimization, to custom CRM software, to full-service social media management, our integrated approach ensures no opportunity is missed.

🚀 Let Tarule Technology take your business to the next level.

[opusmusicsoftware]

Opus1 is a comprehensive music school management CRM designed to streamline teacher management processes. It offers a range of features tailored specifically for music schools, including scheduling, student management, billing, and communication tools.

[carlene0619]

In this infographic you will get to know about Social Media Management.

[practinaincsposts]

Practina- Social Media Management Software To Increase Online Presence

Want to create an effective online presence for your business? With Social media management software like Practina individuals or businesses can create effective social media presence on different social media platforms more effectively. These platforms can include Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and more. Social media management software features help streamline content creation, scheduling, publishing, engagement, analytics, and reporting

[rannkly-software]

Best social media integration tool

Rannkly: Your top social media integration tool. Effortless multi-channel scheduling, AI-driven content & hashtag generation, a creative library, and a photo editor. Gain valuable insights with in-depth reports and analysis. Elevate your social media strategy with Rannkly.

[socialmachuine]

[fuck-customers]

Last year I worked at a small student led handicraft store run by my university and it was originally supposed to be a temporary pop-up run by the lecturers who led the events management course. It was the best job I’d ever had - which isn’t saying much because every other job I’ve had has been horrendous and traumatising in ways I can’t even describe - so of course I was overjoyed when they told us they were extending our temporary contracts by a year and keeping the shop open indefinitely.

At that point things started going downhill. The uni stopped promoting the shop at all so our customer numbers dropped dramatically, and the uni’s PR department refused to let us utilise the shop’s social media page despite asking one of the employees to manage the social media and making her take on extra hours. They refused to make the necessary changes in order to make it the permanent storefront they envisioned - All our bookkeeping for every single purchase had to be written in a paper ledger and then copied and reformatted into a dozen different stock and accounting spreadsheets on a laptop, for every single individual item in each sale, before we could take payment, because they refused to pay for software that would automate it, so a single transaction could take anywhere between 5-20 minutes depending on what the person was buying. Many customers ended up getting frustrated and just walked off.

We started haemorrhaging stockists as the uni didn’t pay them fairly or on time, despite pestering from both stockists and floor staff. Even now, nearly 6 months after the whole thing shut down, some stockists still haven’t been paid. The uni took such a huge amount of commission from each sale (nearly 3 times the industry standard!) that the stockists making products couldn’t afford to pay themselves fairly without doubling or tripling the prices of their work, which fucked up their sales. Most people didn’t even earn enough to cover production costs for their work.

I was maybe the only person on the entire staff who actually had any significant retail and customer facing experience, having worked in the fast food and retail industries for ~4 years before I started at the shop, and it was abysmal. The events management faculty who were supposed to be running it had no customer facing experience and did nothing to help when problems came up - they treated it like a temporary event rather than a permanent shopfront and we had so little support and oversight it was awful. We had to take on full management responsibility despite it being well above our pay grade because they refused to hire an experienced manager or supervisor - while trying to man the store we would also have to do admin, liaise with clients and stockists, accounting, stock input, paying for essential supplies with our own money because the Uni refused to approve them, organising our own shifts and pay, making social media content, and arranging cover for if someone was ill or had an emergency. Instead of any reasonable support they sent us a horribly overworked postgrad intern who was working between 5-6 different departments and could only actually be in the store maybe one hour a month, had no idea what she was doing, and was so overworked that she eventually had a breakdown and quit.

This issue was compounded because they’d only ever let us put two employees on each shift - they refused to pay enough for staff numbers above that despite being so busy in the first few months that we couldn’t keep up, and told us that for safety reasons both employees had to be there to open the shop- so if somebody was late or didn’t show up the other person wouldn’t be able to work either. If one person was on a double shift and the second person’s replacement for second shift wasn’t on time, the person on the double wouldn’t be able to leave for a lunch break, and the person on the single would have to stay extra time. There were several employees that would spend the entire shift doing fuck all - one guy was at least two hours late every single shift, and bought his XBOX with him every time, and spent the entire time he was working with his feet propped up on the counter playing GTA. The university genuinely didn’t care about the shop or its success enough to even give him a disciplinary.

It was awful, especially because there were a small group of us who were both stockists and floor staff, and were genuinely invested in the shop’s success. But our contracts ran till the end of the academic year, and the pay was really decent compared to a lot of jobs in the area, and it was stable and above minimum wage, so we (the staff) really did try to make it work, but we were set up to fail. Eventually we were barely making a sale a day, and then it dropped to a sale a week.

When they closed the shop, right before the end of the semester when people’s rent would be due, they gave us 10 days’ notice - which went against our contract - and no redundancy pay. Most people had had shifts for the next 8-9 weeks already scheduled, which we never got to work. We never got our holiday pay or the Christmas bonus they’d promised us 9 months prior. It was such short notice that several people couldn’t find new jobs in time, couldn’t scrape enough together to pay their bills and rent on time, and they didn’t even have the decency to tell us we were losing our jobs in person - they sent out a single email to one of the girls who helped organise shifts, and she had to post it in the staff group chat.

And the sad thing? It was still the best, least stressful job I’ve ever had. It was the only job I’ve had that didnt actually make me want to die. I miss it like hell. It was the only job I’ve had that paid me above the legal minimum wage. I’m physically disabled, and it was the only job I’ve ever had that actually followed through on the reasonable adjustments and disability accommodations they’d promised me.

But the way it was run it wasn’t fair or sustainable , and it shouldn’t have ended the way it did.

Posted by admin Rodney

[eebeewrites]

Band Nerd! Elf BF x Vocalist! Chubby Reader Part 5

Part 1-Part 2- Part 3- Part 4 -Old Taleisin Masterlist-More Modern Fantasy Stories/Current Masterlist

Synopsis: You find yourself revisiting passages in your history textbooks after some familiar names stick out to you while re-reading Taleisin’s journal page. Reader falls down a research rabbit hole on Taleisin’s family members, all while the Autumn Equinox gala is approaching.

WC: 3.5k

You couldn’t help but wonder about the journal page you had found yesterday.

You found yourself re-reading it yet again, fiddling with the page, the aged parchment crinkling between your fingers. The edge of the paper was uneven, hastily torn away. Two sentences standing out to you.

‘I don’t even want to go to the Magister’s Ball anymore.’

‘One of the Zarzaren brothers told me my father is paying Seren to be nice to me.’

A few words stood out to you, events and names referenced in history classes. You grabbed your music history textbook, flipping back to the photo of the harpsichord and reading the caption.

‘One of the harpsichords residing in Magisters Hill prior to its destruction during the Iirilethian Revolution.’

You knew the Magisters were the monarchy from long before the revolution, preceding the oligarchy that had recently fallen. Your music history class had discussed the Magisters Ball; a yearly ball that attracted the wealthiest and brightest in the country, where many iconic works were premiered.

“Why would he be there though?” You muttered to yourself, looking back at the page. You flipped to the index of the textbook, skimming the last column.

‘House Zarzaren, pg. 348’

The Zarzaren’s were one of the four noble houses that had fallen in the revolution, once owners of a powerful trading company that serviced the entire region. If he was talking, or feuding, with someone from that family, then surely he couldn’t just be a dorky saxophone player.

You were determined to learn more about him. You moved to your computer, looking up any related term that came to mind, yet you found nothing that related back to Taleisin. That’s when you realized you were missing a vital piece of information.

‘I can’t just ask him out of the blue what his last name is, that’d be weird. Would it?’ You weren’t sure.

That’s when you realized you were massively overthinking this. You minimized the historical tabs, and logged onto the learning management software your college used. You moused over to your literature class, clicking on a random discussion board you had completed before CTRL-Fing Taleisin’s name.

‘Taleisin Nerixi’

Immediately, you went to look up his name. There were no social media profiles, no hometown news articles, nothing mentioning Taleisin directly other than a Wikipedia article of someone sharing his last name.

‘Velathil Nerixi is an a Iirilethian scholar, scientist, and educator, best known for his discoveries on utilizing hemomancy safely.

‘Who the hell is that?’ You clicked on the article and CTRL-F’d Taleisin’s name once more.

‘He currently works as the Head of the Internal Magical Medicine Department at the University of Libreverde, teaching hemomancy, biomancy, and running the region’s most sought after hemomancy fellowship program. He resides within the city, living with his wife Gwendolyn Tenalver-Nerixi, and their son Taleisin Nerixi (b. 1457 2E).’

That had to be him. The year was 1559, 102 years after the date listed as Taleisin’s birth year. You looked over at the information under his father’s photo; he was obviously much older than Taleisin, listed as 652 years old.

‘Spouses: Saphielle Arendrel (m. 955 2E, divorced 1020 2E), Aurora Terin-Nerixi (married 1047 2E, died 1065 2E), Gwendolyn Tenalver-Nerixi (married 1439 2E).

“I suppose it’s not too strange for someone that old to have so many spouses…” you mumbled, unsure if his father’s amount of wives was a red flag or not. You noticed his second wife had a link to an article; you opened it in a new tab to potentially read later. You kept skimming through the article;

‘Before his discoveries in the field of hemomancy, Velathil Nerixi had a varied career working with all four noble houses during both the Illirie Theocracy and the Oligarchy of the Four Houses.’

Taleisin wasn’t the son of some duke or prince. He was the son of a man who simply worked for the nobility, for better or for worse.

You thought back to when you found the harpsichord keys, keys that looked suspiciously like the ones you saw in your textbook. The revolution was 87 years ago, he would’ve been fifteen when the grand estates met their end. You re-read over the page once again.

‘In my fifteen years of life, I’ve made only one friend.’

You couldn’t help but wonder where that one friend ended up.

Your thoughts were interrupted by the sound of your phone buzzing.

🧡: hiiii

You had a multitude of questions, but there was no graceful way to admit you had been reading Wikipedia articles about his family.

🩷: hey, how’s your parents house?

🧡: it’s good :D I got to see my cat

Immediately, you were distracted.

🩷: wait you have a cat :0

🧡: well it’s my dad’s not mine technically

🧡: but yeah! I’ll send a photo

You looked down at the picture he sent; a photo of an old black cat with white mittens, sitting peacefully on a windowsill.

🩷: he’s so cute! What’s his name

🧡: his name is mailbox

🩷: what

🧡: when we got him my dad let me pick the name and said to just tell him the first thing I thought of

🧡: that’s what I came up with

🩷: wow

🩷: he looks like a mailbox

🧡: you get it!

🧡: by the way uh

🧡: are we like. Good?

🩷: yeah, why do you ask?

🧡: I was thinking about the other day when you sent me the journal page

🧡: I don’t ever want to make people upset, and sometimes I do without meaning to

🧡: I mean, I never mean to

🧡: but sometimes people get mad at me and i don’t know why, and I don’t want to make you upset because I like you a lot and I don’t wanna fuck it up

🧡: but I might be fucking it up right now and not even realize it idk I’m probably just rambling

🩷: I don’t think you are

🧡: I just felt bad I might’ve made you feel bad

🩷: I just want you to be honest with me, that’s all. But I don’t hold that against you

🧡: to be honest it’s not that I wanted to hide it or anything like that, or lie to you

🧡: I genuinely didn't remember

🧡: like it was 80 years ago, and that time wasn’t…the greatest, to say the least

🧡: so there’s some like, lapses in memory

🩷: I get it, you don’t have to share anything with me you don’t want to

🧡: thanks :)

🧡: just, if i ever do something stupid please know I don’t ever intend to, I’m just bad at being a person

🩷: same

🩷: but I get it

It was clear he felt guilty. You had already pressed too hard, you wouldn’t ask him to divulge more than he already had. You looked back at the computer screen. In fact, you wouldn’t need to ask him anything else.

All the answers you could need were right in front of you.

—

The journal page didn’t come up again throughout the weekend. You had found article upon article about people he was related to, about their discoveries and accomplishments. Yet despite your curiosity, it felt strange to read them, as if you were intruding by doing so.

That Monday, there was a chill in the air on your walk to class. Flyers hanging off of notice boards informed you that the Dream Festival was approaching; a celebration on the Autumn Equinox to honor the God of Dreams, the ruler of the ninth month of the year.

The Dream Festival wasn’t just about the dreams one had when asleep, but dreams of their future, and honoring the dreams the Gods had allowed to come true. For those in university, both were worthy of celebration. The university held a gala every year, yet last year you didn’t get a chance to attend. You didn’t see a point in it; you had no one to go with, little money to spend, and far too much to do. Yet part of you wondered; would Taleisin ask you to go with him?

It’d be quite a romantic gesture, yet you still weren’t entirely sure what the two of you were. You had fucked, gone on a date, then an awkward confrontation over text about something that happened decades ago; something that happened long before you, or even your parents, were born. Was this why relatives cautioned against dating elves?

It wasn’t seen as immoral, certainly not illegal; elves and humans had been having relationships with each other nearly as soon as the Gods created them, long before magic even graced this plane of existence.

Yet even if you and Taleisin were on the same level intellectually, there was no doubt he’d have skeletons in his closet; anyone that old surely would. All sorts of rumors circulated regarding where remnants of the old noble families ended up; some said they used what remained of their wealth to flee, starting new lives far away from the island they once ruled. Some said they went into hiding, potentially re-emerging and living amongst normal society, the average citizen none the wiser. Some even said they worked for powerful criminal organizations, their greed undeterred by violent rebellion.

Given he was simply the son of someone associated with noble blood, you figured it could’ve been much, much worse.

You walked into class, Taleisin already there, two disposable coffee cups in front of him. “Hi,” he said, handing you one with a slight smile. It was warm; when you raised it to your lips you were greeted with the familiar smell of tea and honey.

“Hey, thanks,” you said before taking a drink, the tea warm enough to be comforting, but not scalding hot. “How was your weekend? Did we win?”

“Honestly, I forgot already,” he said with a nervous laugh. “I think so? But it was fun, I don’t see them often.”

“Your parents don’t actually live that far, right?”

He shrugged, “no, they’re pretty close, they live in the city. I don’t get to see them that often during the year unless I go over for the weekend, though. They’re both busy with work, and no one’s schedule really lines up. I don’t mind it though, and my dad works here, so if I really need to see him it’s not impossible.”

“What do your parents do?”

“Oh, my dad teaches blood magic, and then my mom’s an accountant.”

Throughout class, you looked over at the laptop screens of the people sitting in front of you. Looking at dresses, flowers, shoes; presumably all items for the Dream Festival.

It would be nice to be asked.

Yet given his history, and general personality, you’d understand if he wasn’t the type to attend such events. Still, you weren’t sure that the middle of class was the time to bring it up.

—

🩷: are you doing anything tonight?

🧡: not really, no

🩷: can I come over?

🧡: yeah! I can pick you up

When you arrived at his apartment, you found a large bag of individually wrapped candies sitting on the floor, four bowls beside it. He seemed to have been sorting them by color.

“Oh, uh…” he noticed your moment of confusion. “I uh, I’m really picky, I only eat the red ones. But I don’t wanna be wasteful, so I just sort them and give them to my friends.”

“That’s adorable,” you blurted out, a smile on your face.

“I should’ve put this away before I left, I’m sorry,” he mumbled.

“No, it’s okay. I uh…do you want some help?” You sat down in front of him, picking up where he left off as you sorted the candy by color.

“You don’t have to do that, I uh-”

“But I want to. If that’s okay with you.” If anything, doing something with your hands made conversation easier for both of you.

“Yeah, if that’s…yeah, sure.” He sat down, and you both worked your way through the bag of candy. “You can have whichever one you want, by the way.”

“Just not the red ones?” You teased.

“If you want, you can have those too.” He didn’t hesitate in his answer, yet his cheeks tinted red.

“I’m just kidding,” you leaned over, giving him a flirtatious kiss on the cheek. His eyes widened, a smile forming across his face. “I did wanna ask you, though…about the Dream Festival.”

He turned to face you, still taken aback by the sudden kiss. “What uh…what about it?”

“Well…what do you think about it?” You didn’t want to ask him if he outright had no interest in attending.

He shrugged, “I don’t know much about it, I get kinda nervous around big groups of people like that. Callon went, but the rest of us just hung out here and played video games. Alex was kinda moody the entire night though, I remember that.”

You were reminded of the somewhat obnoxious couple you saw at the performance. “Aren’t they dating?”

“Well, they weren’t then. Although maybe that should’ve been a clue…” he trailed off. “Apparently they started dating at the end of last year. I had no idea.”

Both of his friends seemed rather…open, about their relationship. “Really?”

“Yeah, it kinda came out of nowhere. Although…my dad said sometimes I’m oblivious to stuff like that. Like, people stuff. I guess I’m still not entirely used to talking to people so often. Or just being around them in general, I guess.”

You raised an eyebrow, “what do you mean?” His sentiments seemed a bit deeper than just typical social anxiety.

“Oh. Well,” he looked away for a moment. “I spent a lot of time just…staying inside. Like, I rarely left my room, much less the house. I didn’t talk to anyone that wasn’t my parents for a long time. It was…” he shrugged, “it was pretty bad,” he said with a nervous laugh.

You nodded, unsure how to respond.

The silence between the two of you didn’t last long. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have said all of that.”

“No, it’s okay. I…I just didn’t really know what to say. I don’t mind if you want to talk about it though, I’ll listen,” you shrugged.

“I mean,” he fiddled with one of the candy wrappers, “I don’t wanna like, bum you out. Basically…” you could tell he was choosing his next words carefully. “I don’t know, I kinda isolated myself for…seventy years? Maybe eighty? I don’t remember how long it was, to be honest.”

“…could I ask why?”

“It’s complicated, I guess. I uh…the short version of it, my dad worked for people that pissed a lot of people off. And they had good reason to be pissed off, but…I don’t know, he didn’t really have anything to do with that to my knowledge, he was just doing research with funding from one of the houses.”

“Your father worked with the nobility?” You already knew the answer to your question.

He nodded, “yeah, something like that. I…” he let out a sigh. “I don’t think what the nobles did was right, and I’m sure the world is a better place now, but…” he looked away, “when you turn on the TV, and stumble upon news anchors talking about whether or not your family deserves to die, it’s…scary.” He paused once more, “I don’t judge you if you think less of me. I probably would too, to be honest.”

You shook your head, “no, no it’s not that.”

“He’s not a bad person. My dad, I mean. At least, I don’t think he is. It’s a lot better now than it was decades ago, but sometimes they still get weird letters and what not,” he held his legs close to his chest, still fiddling with the wrapper. “I know I probably sound like some sort of freak, but…I was scared, you know?”

“I don’t blame you.” You moved closer, resting your head on his shoulder; a gesture that seemed to bring him a small amount of comfort. “You’re not your parents, or their decisions,” you shrugged, unable to verbalize your thoughts entirely. “I think you’re a lot braver than you give yourself credit for, though.”

He let out a quiet laugh. “That’s sweet of you to say, but…” he let out another sigh. “I feel like all my life I’ve been nothing but a coward, just hiding away.”

“If you were a coward, you’d still be in your room. But you’re not.” You offered him a reassuring smile. “You’re here.”

He didn’t seem to fully believe you, but he took the compliment regardless, leaning into your touch. “Thanks. But…yeah. Sorry, I didn’t wanna bring the mood down.”

“No, it’s okay, I’m the one who asked. We don’t have to talk about it anymore.”

“Thanks… Anyway, uh…what were we talking about?”

You smiled, “the Dream Festival. I…I was wondering if you’d like to go with me. As a date. But we don’t have to, I don’t want you to do anything you don’t want to do. I know it’s a lot of people, so I get it if you didn’t want to, we could always just do something here, or go back to the library with the cats.”

His eyes widened, thinking it over. He slowly nodded his head. “No, I wanna go. With you. If you want to go, then…then I want to go too. I’ve never really thought about doing something like that, but I’d like to try it with you,” he smiled. “It’s a lot of people, but…I can do it. I want to be as brave as you think I am,” he said with another laugh.

“Are you sure? We don’t have to, I won’t be upset if you say no”

“I’m sure. I want to keep challenging myself. Performing with you was terrifying, but I did it. Honestly, I got this weird sort of rush afterwards, like…’holy shit, I just did that.’ I want to keep doing things that scare me, especially if it’s with you.” He paused, “that sounds weird, I’m sure.”

“Not at all. I think it’s admirable. To be honest…I’m honored you’d do that for me.” It might not have been a big deal to some, but for him, attending the Festival would be a feat unlike anything else he had done in College; and he did it for you.

“Of course. You’ve given me a lot of confidence I didn’t have before, and I’m grateful for that. Even if it’s a bit nerve-wracking, I’ll endure it to share a dance with you.” He placed his hand over yours, and you couldn’t help but stare into his eyes; he was awkward, constantly nervous, yet he was forever grateful for you chasing him down in the hall, forever admiring not just your beauty, but your confidence and demeanor.

You rested a hand on his cheek, leaning in to kiss him. He returned the kiss, this time hesitating much less as he wrapped his arms around you. You moved onto his lap, kissing him deeper as you felt his hands move down your back.

You both eventually pulled away. He spoke back up, “the only other thing is uh…” he trailed off, letting out a nervous laugh. “I’ll be honest, my parents will probably be really annoying about it. I mean, not in a rude way, just…it’s been a really long time since I’ve done anything like that, so…they’ll be excited, to say the least.”

You let out a laugh, “I guess it’s worth asking then, if I’m going to meet your parents,” your own parents were hundreds of miles away, you wouldn’t need to worry about him meeting them for quite some time. “Are we…official? I mean, I know we said we’d see where things go, but…?”

“What do you mean? Like…officially together?”

You nodded, “yeah. Something like that.”

“To be honest…I’m still kind of in shock you’d want something like that with me. You’re so…” he gestured towards you, “well put together, I guess. I’m kind of a mess.”

You snorted, “I’m glad you think so, I certainly don’t feel that way. If anything, you’ve got things far more put together than I do. You’re not falling asleep in class every other day.”

“Well yeah, but you’re doing that cause you work hard, not cause you’re lazy.”

Admittedly, it felt nice to hear your efforts recognized, even if he had only heard you perform once. “Thanks. I…I appreciate that.”

“Of course. But um…yeah. I suppose we’re a thing now then, if that’s alright with you.”

“Is it alright with you?”

He nodded his head quickly, “definitely. I’d-I’d like that a lot.”

You kissed him once more, “I’d like that a lot too.”

HE’S SO CUTE AAAAAAA I JUST WANNA SQUEEZE HIM

This chapter was so sweet my teeth hurt. Also obsessed with reader being a bit of an fbi agent to learn more about him LMAO. Yay worldbuilding! I just really like the juxtaposition of “this guy has a lot more going on than he seems” with “yay school dance :3”

But yes, our sweet little saxophone playing elf boy is a recovering hikikomori with ties to very powerful people. His imposter syndrome go crazy.

Thank you for reading!

TALEISIN TAGLIST: @sketchlove @madam8 @shimadalluvia @crimsonflameproxy @mimi-sanisanidiot @damnitimasimp @dlikesdandelions @skeletonea @mysexy-anxiety

[taruletechnology]

Nevertheless, the advent of the digital era has rendered the development of an effective website an essential criterion for gaining a foothold in the current market. Whether you’re launching a new venture or enhancing your existing brand, having a professionally designed website is non-negotiable. Specifically, if Tarule Technology, the Best Website Development Company, is known as a company with a new technology, simple operation, excellent appearance design and customer orientation, then Tarule Technology will be beneficial.

Visit Original Source: https://medium.com/@technologytarule/tarule-technology-empowering-your-digital-presence-70033f3c6f85

[enheene]

Loosened Tie

Lee Heeseung | words: 0.9k | warnings: afab reader, breeding, ceo and husband!hee, not proofread, shorter than i thought it is | A/N: might be cringey ,,,

18+MDNI

Laying on your bed waiting for your husband, Heeseung, who is at a business meeting, to come home is quite boring, right? He typically works from home, to provide you his presence at all times, but sometimes it just doesn’t work out. You’re all alone in his sleeveless „Golden Dreamer” shirt, that is as long to only cover your panties, inhaling his scent, not being able to find anything on the TV, not hungry enough to make something to eat, friends at work and on social media all what’s posted is bullshit.

Trying to kill the time, you force yourself to watch some show which results you in getting completely dozed off. You don’t even hear your husband opening and closing your front door aggressively and walking up the stairs with loud stomps but not loud enough to get you out of your trance.

As he opens the door to your shared bedroom, you feel relieved, knowing that you finally have someone to talk to, play some games with and kill the time. He walks in, shutting the door behind him. You smile widely, welcoming him with a warm hug. He didn’t leave for long but you still managed to feel lonely and miss him a lot. What you didn’t notice at first was his angry and cold stare, that could possibly kill anyone, but as soon as you saw it and felt the way his body was fully tensed up, you ask out of worry “What happened, baby? Is everything all right?” To which he responds not by words but by throwing you on your emperor sized bed.

The sound of your squeak overfilled the room, as you got really surprised by his sudden action. On the other side though, Heeseung was really fed up with his work. Boiling with anger inside, since something didn’t go as planned at the meeting. As the CEO of the internationally recognisable IT/Software company, he naturally wants to provide all what’s best for his employees. Well, it won’t work at all if the employees don’t cooperate with him. The only known for him way to release his anger was by playing with his fuck toy. With you. You agreed to have sex everytime he initiated something but it was all soft sex, where Heeseung was praising you, worshipping your body, caring about your comfort and release, kissing you all over your body and delicately marking you up.

As you gave him a closer look, he looked too handsome in his black pants, shirt and partially loosened tie. “Lift your hips for me, kitten.” The building wetness of your cunt stained your panties so much, that he left out a quiet, deep chuckle, which you have never heard through your whole relationship and marriage with him. As you did what he said, he slid off your panties, admiring your glistening cunt for a moment. Curiosity taking over you, you ask “Babe, what’s up with you? You never acted like this.”

Him being too lazy to undress himself, he just unzips his jeans and pulls out his dick. This made you take a finger into your mouth and bite on your nail as you saw his, now free, erection. Heeseung rubs his tip up and down your cunt, between your folds, making you whine, only for him to hear. “Meeting went not as planned. Now shh, pretty baby.” He said before pushing with his whole force right into your tight hole. “F-fuck, you didn’t even warn or prep me.” Your hands held onto his arms, as you moaned at the sudden stretch and slight feeling of pain. “We both know you can take it, slut.” Not even giving you time to adjust or react at the name he called you, he thrusts harsh into you. Breathing in and out multiple times to calm yourself down, the pain is turning into pleasure.

Fastening his speed, he fucks his whole length into you forming a small bulge in your stomach. He rolls your his shirt up and presses down your belly making you feel some different type of euphoric. “Do you feel it? Only you can make this happen. Little cock whore.” You pulled his tie lowering his head closer to yours, so you can get the chance to kiss him, moaning and whining out loud in between.

“Heeseung, I- I have to, fuck- cum.” The both of you breathing loudly. „Me too, kitten.” as his movements started getting sloppier, he placed one of his fingers on your clit, drawing small but fast circles, making you scream the most beautiful sounds ever to exist.

Moaning his name loudly, you release your juices, wettening your bed sheets and his pelvis. “Oh yeah, such a good slut. My slut.” Heeseung said as his cock was twitching, feeling your pussy clenching around him. “Can fuck you whenever I want to, yeah? Let me fuck my anger out on you? My innocent, or not so innocent, cock slut. What do you think? Are you innocent or not?” Loading you full of his warm seeds, you whine at the feeling of it and sound of his groans. “Answer me.” He stated coldly. “I- I am innocent. I’m your innocent cock slut.” You answered with doe eyes, almost tearing up. “Good.”

At some point the anger left his body but he was still visibly annoyed and frustrated. Though after you both came back to your senses, your husband changed his persona back to the soft and delicate Hee. Now wanting to give you all of the best treatment, which you deserve, for being his innocent cock whore. He prepares a cherry scented bubble bath with rose petals for the both of you. “You did so well, princess.”

You never knew this side of your beloved husband existed, but you’re not complaining about it.

[yesloulou]

Do u have any tips/tutorial how to make gifs so smooth if there's movement? Mine are always choppy and weird :(

Hi anon, ty for sending this ask. I'm sooo honored!! (and plz don't call your gifs choppy or weird i have a feeling they're very lovely 😌)

✨ Gif Tutorial: making movements in ur gifs as smooth as possible✨ (updated)

↳ aka: speed management in gif making

Remember to always source your content responsibly!! Process in this tutorial is simply what works best for me. Every creator has their own preferences and imo there is no right or wrong. We should always make content in the way we enjoy 🤍 Outline: 1. Remove duplicate frames 2. Repair missing frames 3. Speed management in Photoshop 4. Smoother slomo using Video Frame Interpolation

1. Remove duplicate frames

Obviously, if there're duplicate frames in a video, our gifs will end up with lil lags here and there (since some frames get more screen time than others). Although the dup frames are likely barely observable once compiled into gifs, imo this is what makes the difference between smooth and butter smooth. the two daniel gifs above (guy with big brown eyes, if ur not from our fandom 🤍) can hopefully showcase this difference**.

**technical explanation for this that you can totally skip: the persistence of human vision is approx. 0.1s, ie everything we see stay on our retina for this amount of time. since gifs refresh faster than this (eg. 0.04s on every frame for a 25 fps gif), we usually can't pinpoint exactly which frame is a duplicate just by looking at a gif. however. by definition, a duplicate frame will slow down a gif, by making it pause longer than it should. as a result, a movement during this lil chunk of time will move less pixels than your brain would've expected. and this is where we perceive the not-so-smoothness.

ok, now that we've established that we don't like duplicate frames -- I know it's common practice to handle this by looking for an optimal output frame rate to offset the dupes. to me this feels chancy. bc it's a process where you don't have control over exactly which frames to keep or discard. Personally, I prefer making sure my videos are dupe free before everything else. (Again, this is just what works for me. Everybody has their own process and imo there is no right or wrong :)

To remove duplicate frames, the first thing I do with a clip is to play the first few seconds frame by frame to see which one of the following scenarios it falls into:

a. no duplicate frames ↳ best case scenario! congrats!! plz proceed directly to step 2 b. there is a duplicated frame once in a while ↳ This happens most often with (but not limited to) videos from social medias ↳ Reason behind this is frame rate conversion. For instance, instagram/tiktok has a default frame rate of 30 fps. However, many media sources (eg. no brakes, sharl's vlogs) produce at 25 fps. When these videos are uploaded, instagram/tiktok convert them from 25 to 30 fps by duplicating 1 frame every 5 frames, hence twitchiness in gifs when slowed down. ↳ Solution: in photoshop, go through the clip frame by frame, delete dupes manually (recommended) ↳ Alternative solution: use duplicate frames remover softwares (see next bullet point) c. almost every frame has duplicates ↳ This will almost always** be the case with screen record. ↳ What not to do: When there are many duplicates, we may be tempted to use photoshop's 'import 1 out of every n frames' function. this is not ideal bc, the dupes are rarely uniformly distributed. you could end up losing frames you don't want to lose (resulting in choppy gifs) or end up with dup frames still in the mix (resulting in laggy gifs) or, most likely: both. ↳ A better way: is to import all frames into photoshop, adjust the output frame rate to offset the dupes (here is a good tutorial on this) Pros: efficiency; yields decent results in most cases. Cons: again, in my experience this is a process where you don't have precise control over the frames. Therefore runs the same (albeit smaller) risks as the method above. It can also limit how much you can slow down a gif, and generally doesn't work well if the target frame rate (of the clip you're trying to gif) exceeds your computer's recording rate**. **More on this statement: when target rate is comfortably lower than recording rate (~ 55 fps for many), chances are most to all frames will be captured. It is therefore more tolerating towards skipping a unique frame from time to time. However, when target rate (i.e. anything 60 fps) nears or exceeds recording rate, you will be dealing with dup frames as well as missing ones. Using the method above can therefore subject you to the possibility of losing two unique frames in a row, making the gifs noticeably choppy. ↳ Solution: we always have the option to trim dupes by hand in photoshop. But in this case, it can be time consuming, even with keyboard shortcuts. as a result, here is where we can really use a: ↳ Dup remover software: google search 'dup frame remover software' will give you several options and tutorials (here a plug-in for after effects). i've heard good things about some of these but unfortunately can't give recommendations (they do cost money sooo i wrote my own)

Demonstration:

This is a frame-by-frame animation of an ad Charles did for apm. It was produced at 25 fps & uploaded to socmed where the default is 30 fps. You can see that: i. With screen recording, every frame has an unpredictable amount of duplicates. ii. Original clip from instagram has 1 dup frame every 5 frames. iii. After deduplication, the movement becomes lag free and continuous.

2. Repair missing frames

At this point, our video clip is (hopefully) free of duplicate frames, which makes our gifs lag-free (yayy!!). At the same time, we don't want choppiness in our gifs either. Choppiness in a gif is usually caused by missing key (unique) frames. To check if there is any, replay the clip, look out for the sudden jumps/fast forwards in movements. Three possible scenarios:

a. no missing frames ↳ best case scenario! congrats!! plz proceed directly to step 3 b. a lot of missing frames ↳ This is usually the case if the target frame rate (of the clip you want to gif) exceeds the screen recording frame rate. ↳ Solution, imo: (surprise!) is to leave things be. Reason is that something like this would be quite tedious to fix, but not that noticeable if made into a gif that's fast enough ↳ Alternative solution: Record at 120 fps c. occasional missing frames If a video clip misses frames, but not a lot, chances are it's only gonna happen very occasionally, i.e. 1 or 2 occurrences in total. A frame-miss in this case is usually due to either the screen recording skipping a frame by mistake, or that the original video misses frames/contains bad frames to begin with. ↳ Solution (for screen recordings): record again, find missing frame (chances are it will be captured on a second try), insert frame back into original timeline in PS ↳ Solution (if video misses frames or contains bad frames to begin with): Let's talk about ✨ VFI ✨. VFI (Video Frame Interpolation) is the process of synthesizing in-between images from a given set of images. It can increase videos' frame rates (i.e. 30 fps to 60 fps), achieve smoother slomos, and by definition, also help with missing/bad frames. There are many software products that let you use VFI by simply dragging videos into the app and clicking 'export'. Afterwards, all we need to do is to find the missing frame generated by the app & insert it back into the original timeline in PS (ahh technology). For more info on VFI, see "4. Smoother slomo". ↳ Note that VFI processed footages will likely differ slightly from the originals in terms of colors & lightings. This may be tuned out using clipping masks (allow a group of adjustment layers to only apply to one frame/layer, keyboard shortcut: Command+Opt+G)

3. Speed Management in Photoshop (✨ updated ✨)

At this point, our clip is without dupe or missing frames (or at least as close as can be). Whether you dodged the first 2 steps like a breeze or freshly emerged victorious from photoshop covered in blood to get here, good news is, things will be very straightforward for this point on. congrats!!!

🎉🎊🎉

As mentioned before, in terms of smoothness, our clip is now in ideal shape. The important thing is to keep it this way throughout the rest of the process. My workflow looks something like this:

Open file, crop, resize, sharpen, color, export gif, reopen gif in photoshop (which won't compromise quality), assign frame delay, export finalized gif

If you're used to finding a comfortable frame delay or speed/duration combo at the beginning, this process might feel unnatural. But it's so so so so important to leave the speed related settings alone until right before exporting. Here's why:

By not converting frames with modified delays into timelines with fps, we avoid having to give our finished product a frame rate (which photoshop timelines have to specify). This is crucial bc, there is no such a thing as frame rates in gifs. According to the syntax of GIF89a (the current '.gif' format, screenshot below), gifs control their speeds through (and only through) how much time to wait in between frames, aka delay time. Our process above does exactly that. It compiles frames directly into gifs, and avoids expressing frame delays (a gif concept) through frame rates (a photoshop concept), a conversion where dupe frames and missing frames come from**. In other words, using frame delays to control speed is simply more natural to a gif's syntax. **Why would this conversion cause dupe frames? ↳ On paper, frame delays should translate into frame rates seamlessly (i.e. 1 second ÷ 0.06s per frame = 16.67 fps). In reality, photoshop does not support direct translations like this. When converting frame animations into timelines, PS defaults outputs to 30 fps, regardless of frame delays. This disagreement between frame rates is where dupe frames come from. ↳ Some examples: i. Consider a frame animation where frame delay = 0.04s (25 fps), to convert it into a timeline defaulted at 30 fps, 5 out of every 25 frames will be 'duplicated' by photoshop (30-25=5) ii. Now, consider a frame delay = 0.06s (16.67 fps roughly 17 fps), to convert it into a timeline defaulted at 30 fps, 13 out of every 17 frames will be 'duplicated' by photoshop (30-17=13) ↳ (the 'duplicated' was in quotes bc photoshop achieves this thru assigning a frame roughly twice it's original screen time instead of actually adding another) ↳ (afaik, currently there's no way of changing the default 30 fps as long as u start with frame animations. If anyone does know how please let me know 😳) **Why would this conversion cause missing frames? ↳ This happens when one tries to reverse the harm done by photoshop in prev step by changing the 30 fps frame rate back to what it's supposed to be (using function 'Set Timeline Frame Rate') ↳ Let's use the last example again. As mentioned, to go from 16.67 fps to 30 fps, 13 out of every 17 frames will receive roughly twice its original screen time (0.033s * 2 ≈ 0.07s). On the other hand, 4 out of every 17 frames' screen time will remain the same (0.03s). to go from 30 fps back to 16.67 fps, photoshop resamples frames from its 30 fps timeline in 0.06s intervals. As a result, any frame with screen time less than 0.06s runs the risk of 'slipping through the cracks', namely ones whose screen time remained 0.03s ↳ (gifs require frame delays to be rounded to the nearest hundredth of a second) ** What if I open the file as video object, instead of importing as frames? ↳ Indeed, when opening as video object (i.e. command+o instead of command+i), photoshop inherits its frame rate as is. We would then have the option to manipulate it's speed by right-click ➡️ adjusting the percentage (of how much to speed up or slow down). ↳ Here, if we slow down a gif without changing its frame rate, we risk introducing duplicate frames into the result (since frame rate is now higher than needed). If we slow down a gif and lowered the frame rate, but the math didn't check out, we also risk losing unique frames (frame rate not high enough). The same (opposite) goes for speeding things up. Therefore the best and easiest approach is, again, leaving speed related settings alone until right before exporting.

(the block of GIF89a syntax responsible for graphic control:)

Ok in hindsight this probably isn't exactly like. the most straightforward thing ever but the execution part is very much so 😳 here goes:

1. Open file in PS via Command + O note the (25 fps) on bottom left

without changing speed, duration, or frame rate: 2. Trim ✂️ 3. Crop 4. Resize 5. Sharpen 6. Color

(Updated!!!) 6. Export gif, and then reopen it in Photoshop **Compare to the original method (timeline into smart object, smart object back into frames), the updated method has the following benefits: i. Avoid lowering gif quality by converting into smart objects ii. Reopening gif into frames and reassign frame delay saves time (bc less steps) and won't hurt the quality at all (bc no image processing required)

7. Assign Frame Delay (i usually go with original frame delay + 0.01s) 8. Export ✨

Tada!! Speed = managed!!

This ad actually came out last December where I was aware of like, maybe 5% of what's in this post. Here is what my original gif looks like. I'd say what we have rn is a big improvement :)

Now, imo there are situations where it simply makes more sense to start with frame animations (imported using command + i). For instance: when we need to remove duplicate frames by hand, when there is a missing frame/bad frame that needs to be repaired, etc. My workflow would then look like this:

1. Command + i 2. (do things to frames) 3. Set frame delay to 0.03s 4. Convert to video timeline 5. (the rest will look exactly like the workflow above)

This works bc when frame delay is set to 0.03s, photoshop will treat your video timeline as a "natural" 30 fps timeline and leave your frames alone. Therefore maintains its uniform speed.

4. Smoother Slomo using Video Frame Interpolation

As mentioned above, VFI (Video Frame Interpolation) is the process of synthesizing in-between images from a given set of images. It can increase videos' frame rates (i.e. 30 fps to 60 fps), hence smoother slomos. There are many software products that let you use interpolation by simply dragging videos into the app and clicking 'export'. I've had very good experiences with Topaz and After Effects.

Let's talk about After Effects first. If you have Photoshop, chances are you have AE as well. To use AE's Keyframe Interpolation:

i. Import ii. Set speed to half iii. Click square twice until you see lil arrow iv. Export

Topaz is a production grade video enhancing software. It's capable of enhancing frame rates (i.e. 30 fps to 60 fps), increasing resolutions (i.e. 540p to 4K/2160p) and more. Unlike AE who uses only the two neighboring key frames to generate an in-between frame, Topaz takes the whole sequence into account, hence better reliability. It's also more user friendly than AE imo.

Here is a before-and-after interpolation using Topaz.

That's all 🎉🎉🎉

To sum up: remove dupe frames (if any), repair missing frames (if any), use and only use frame delay to control speed, and software enhance frame rate if needed.

This post got way longer and more technical than I had planned and I honestly have no idea where all this stuff came from lol. But it was really fun and I hope you'll find it helpful. Feel free to message me if you have any questions. Have fun moving-picture making!!

[chainoftalent]

same kofi... found you! what would yandere chihiro be like?

Ooo that was fast sleuthing!

Yandere Chihiro Vibes

Oh a yandere Chihiro will be in all of their bunny's tech. All of it. They have all your passwords, they have stalking malware in every device, they can just click a button and pull up every single piece of software you have that's ever been connected to the internet.

Chihiro would also definitely be utilizing alter ego to keep an eye on it all, processing the data for anything of note, like preferences, any changes to patterns, any potential threat.

If they don't like someone they talk to, all their messages will never send, and they'll disappear from all their social media. Chihiro is making both sides think the other is ghosting them. Chihiro is ensuring they are you best online friend and mutual

In physical life Chihiro is timid as usual, but really wanting to infodump and explain things to them, wanting to be seen as reliable but willing to play up the cuteness even if they hate it if it means they stick around. Whenever Chihiro improves or does something it's always for their bunny always a "i need to get stronger to better help them" or "i managed to figure out this code because i needed to support them" very much doing things for their bunny and getting annoyed if other people try to do so, taking it as an insult that they aren't strong or reliable enough.

Surprisingly Chihiro can be rather punishing online, though they justify it to themselves, they are not afraid to spring some ransomware or delete some important but not too important files from your computer to watch you squirm and feel better about having power and being strong. Though they'd never want to physically hurt anyone.