#DON'T DUP

[grantvaleska]

Hat: Emporio Supreme - Christmas Hat Top: ERSCH - Santa Top Armbands: ERSCH - Jingle Armbands Arm & Leg Warmers: Noche - Beau Warmers Shoes: Don't Dup - Lace-Up Leather Slippers Facial Blush: This Is Wrong - The Cold Kit

[isitfashionism]

LOTD #145

Hat - DON'T DUP - Fluffy BEAR

Top - Hiemal - Myrle Crop Tee Smitten Kittens

Bottoms - [Traume] - Arctic Shorts

Shoes - Semller - Worn Block Sneakers Smitten Kitten

[ginnyrules27]

Donald J Trump, former President of the United States, was convicted today of all 34 counts of misusing campaign funds. While normally this would be a misdemeanor, it turns into a felony if the prosecution could prove Trump also broke additional laws while in the act of misusing funds.

His sentencing is July 11th. The Republican Convention is five days after that.

(In case anyone can't guess, I'm an American and I voted Biden. There is much joy in my household!)

[phoenixfiiire]

Tentatively maybe returning tomorrow, maybe... friday? Depends on vibes and what me and Sera are doing.

There is going to be a rule change for my own comfort. This sounds ominous and for all I know it is but I don't have the energy to really write it out eloquently so I'm just going to ramble in tags for now.

[mariemariemaria]

ngl reddit breaking this story hours before the actual news outlets did is kinda insane lol

[theancientdarkbeauty]

AH! LORE! God this blog is just gonna turn into a lore channel. I'm no good at riddles, but if you have some ideas, RB or comment, I need ALL OF THEM. The poem goes as follows: Teach us, Sprite or Bird- What sweet thoughts- I have never heard- Praise of love or wine- That panted for a flo- (I think it says "flow" but don't quote me on that)

Little weird that it just seems like random text plastered on a texture (Letter textures can be so much nicer than that, speaking from experience) so I think we were meant to notice that

[mothman-etd]

hello 👋🏼

first loving the twiyor 😌

second I have a tech question I was hoping you might be able and willing to answer: are the 'we send you a link to your email to log in instead of using your password' actually more secure or are businesses just being mean to me personally?

hope your day is kind 😊

Ok so Authentication (going to call it auth going forward) is a very large topic and there is some baseline info I want to convey before answering you question.

First, auth breaks down into 3 methods. Confirming what someone knows, confirming what someone has, confirming what someone is.

What you know: this is the traditional password method, do you remember your password you made for us? Do you remember your username? great you can get in if you know those. Stealing these creds is very straight forward, you either guess until you are right or you steal them from where someone has them stored/written down. This is why you should NEVER store your password in a browser and use a password manager instead. I would rather see people write passwords on post-it notes then store them in Google Chrome or Edge. Seriously, it is incredibly easy to steal passwords from Chrome.

What you have: have ever been asked to put an MFA pin into a phone app? that's this method, they are putting predictable generated numbers on your phone that you can then turn around and use to prove you are in physical possession of your phone. This is much more difficult to steal and usually requires physically accessing a phone or infecting it in some fashion to steal the generation algorithm. PS: If a site uses a text message instead of an app to send a pin that is less secure because SIM duplicating is easier then both the above methods for theft (i dont know the details on how to sim dup but I know no good security team takes sms pins seriously)

What you are: This is stuff like Apple's face id, windows hello, finger scan. Anything that is unique to your physical body that can be scanned to confirm who you are. This is either incredibly difficult or super easy to break depending on how the program is written. for example Face ID had an issue where it could not differentiate between particular ethnicities, also someone (the police) can just hold your phone up to force the unlock. This is usually a good method to use in conjunction with one of the others to make Auth more difficult.

So which one is better? Well each one has its pros and cons which means the most secure method is using more then one. This is called Multi Factor Authentication or MFA for short.

So lets go back to your question, is getting a login link more secure then say remembering a password. Well how secure is access to your email? if your email just requires a username and password to get into, then it is the same security level.

If you have your email setup with MFA where you need to password and pin into it then it is probably more secure then some random sites username password pair.

Also we need to ask questions about the links themselves, do you get the same link each time or is a new one created each request? How are they generated? how long until a link expires? is the link email sent via TLS? Which version of TLS? How are they stored or Are they stored? Is link generation predictable, if I had enough info could i just make my own links for any user?

Honestly I think the biggest benefit of this auth method happens on the website side and less the end user side. This requires less development to create, also they do not need to figure out how to store and keep your passwords, and if they get hacked there are no passwords to be stolen since they literally don't use them. Having passwords stolen is when law enforcement needs to get involved (Law enforcement needs to be contacted in the event any Personally Identifiable Information or PII is stolen). So if they do not use passwords that is one less PII they have in their possession.

Overall passwords are shit and anyone trying to make an effort to not use passwords or to not allow just passwords is at least making an effort to have a better security posture. But if it is actually more secure really depends, passwordless is new territory for a lot of people so its going to have growing pains.

hopefully this answers your question! if you want more clarification let me know.

Oh and Spy Family is life

[pablitogavii]

Hey I just wanted to tell you that I really like your stories. Your writing style is incredible and I'm always excited to read stories written by you. :) I hope you have an amazing day and take care of yourself!

Thank you so much! I really appreciate it! <333

Cold

You traveled with your boy to Germany to watch his next match for Champions and the moment you stepped out of the airport walking towards the cab, you knew Pablo was going to be grumpy about this weather. Pablo Gavi doesn't like the cold!!!

Hot Sevillano in him never gets used to sharp winds, rainy days and let alone such cold weather that it's here.

Bebitoo: did you get into the cab mi amor???

You smiled at how much he cares about every single detail when you travel separately especially when you're on your own. His family happened to be unable to come and so did his sister because of school, so you were his only supporter this time. Pablo always really appreciated you being there to support him during games.

"Mister,um...could I leave after the meeting and be back before dinner???" Pablo asked Xavi who knew really well where the boy wanted to go desperately.

"But no breaking the diet, chaval? Vale??" Xavi asked and Pablo promised thanking him with a big smile and texting you good news. Today was all for the two of you!!!

"And buy her flowers!" Xavi added tapping Pablo's shoulder with smirk while walking away and Pablo blushed nodding his head and taking the note from his coach.

"Amor! Amorrr! Abri!!!" you heard Pablo whining while standing in front of the door outside with the wind hitting his sensitive face. You opened hugging him excitedly happy to finally be together again.

"Are those for me???" you ask with the roses resting in his arms as he nodded with a smile.

"They're so beautiful Pablito! Gracias amor!!" you say taking and smelling them while he was jumping in place.

"Can we talk about them inside!? Porf!" he said and you chuckled letting him in and he immediately sighed in relief taking off his jacket and walking to the living room to grab a thick blanket.

"Are you really that cold???" you chuckle seeing him snuggle dup in the blanket so only his dark orbs were staring back at you. Que fofino!!!

"YES! It's freezing here! Joderrr!" Pablo said and you chuckled offering to make him some warm tea he immediately liked while walking to figure out how to turn on the fireplace.

"Here's some camomile and honey for mi frozen Pablito" you chuckle putting it on the table smiling wide when you saw that he turned on the fire place and made a little cozy fort in front of it.

"Venga aqui conmigo amorcito!!!"he said opening the blanket shortly for yo to join him and then engulfing you both with it as you faced the burning fire.

"Want your tea while it's hot amor???" you said and he nodded as you reached and gave it to him smiling when you saw his little red nose and his blushed cheeks as he got warmer now.

"Te gusta???" you ask and he nodded putting it down and kissing the top of your head while you rested your back against his strong chest enjoying the way having him around feels.

"It's perfect..." he said and you smiled looking up and he was already staring at your lips before leaning down and kissing passionately.

"Hmm..how long do I have you for Pablito?" you ask after you pulled away slowly clearly in awe with each other's feeling of love.

"You have me siempre amorcito..." he said smartly and you blushed nodding your head and leaning up to peck him quickly once more,

"You know what I mean...when do you need to be back???" you ask playing with his hoodie while he combed through your hair making you very sleepy.

"We have time princesa...relax" he said pulling you back and starting to massage your shoulders soothingly as you became even more sleepy thank to his ministrations.

"You're making me sleepy so that I don't make you go for a walk with me..." you chuckle and he nodded kissing the top of your head again.

"I love you amorcito...mucho...but I am NOT going out there in that freezing hell!" he said making you laugh and nod your head while cuddle up closer to him enjoying the warmth yourself.

"It's really not that bad. You are just too hot mi Sevillano" you said and he smirked looking down at your innocent face. You knew well what you were doing to him with this.

"Mala...princesa muy muy mala" he smirked and you chuckled as you both enjoyed cuddles before you fell asleep.

"Amorcito...time to wake up preciosa???" Pablo was slowly shaking your body while kissing you lovingly and you whined nuzzling further into his neck. You were so warm...it was perfect.

"Nooooo...so warm!!!" you said and he chuckled raising your chin to kiss your lips lovingly.

"Now you're the one who wants the warmth huh princesa???" he chuckled and you nodded kissing him back and reaching to touch his fluffy hair.

"I need to go back soon preciosa..." he said and you pouted that it was already time and that you will need to sleep alone tonight...ugh, you hated that!!!

"How am I going to sleep without you Pablitooo?" you said adorably and he couldn't help his smile while kissing your lips again.

"We'll be on face time until you fall asleep, vale?" he asked tucking a piece of your hair behind your ear and you blush nodding and really liked your little routine when he was away from home.

"But who is gonna warm me up when I get back to the hotel???" Pablo said and you smirked pecking his lips a few times which he really much enjoyed right now.

"Hmm Pedri" you said into the kiss making you both burst out in laughter while getting up from the blankets and walking towards the front door.

"I am going to miss you so much..." he said holding you still not able to let go and open that front door. Ugh this was always the hardest!!!

"Hmm me too...nothing matchess your hands around and you night kisses" you say pecking his bottom lip and he smiles nodding his head and kissing your forehead.

"We will see each other tomorrow" you add and he nods but when you tried to move to let him go he wouldn't budge.

"You have to let me go Pablitooo..." you say but he just pulls you closer nuzzling his face into your neck.

"Your'e so warmmmm!!! And it's so cold outside!!!" he said and you chuckle kissing his cheeks, nose, forehead and finally lips. He finally let go putting on his jacket about to leave when something popped into your head.

"Pablo! Wait!!" you say and he turns around smirking when you ran to the bedroom to grab your special blanket giving it to him.

"It's my warming blanket...smells like us" you say with a blush and he nods taking it and kissing you lips lovingly.

"I love you amorcito..." he said and you smile nodding your head kissing him back.

"I love you too" you say opening the door and he whines stepping out as you chuckled.

"Bye preciosa..." he said pouting and you send him a kiss.

"bye pablitoo.." you say as he got into the cab and you closed the door already missing him but excited to see him again tomorrow <333

[ayeforscotland]

Hey Aye. I know it’s not Scottish politics related, but if you are able to do so. Could you explain what’s happening with Northern Ireland? Will they be unifying (if that’s the correct terminology) with Ireland?

So I don't really think it's my place to give the full picture on politics in Northern Ireland. However, a key thing for anyone to understand is that when Britain partitioned Ireland and established Northern Ireland as a state, it was deliberately done to guarantee a permanent unionist majority there. That's no longer the case, Michelle O'Neill is the first Northern Irish First Minister who openly supports an end to partition and a united Ireland.

Sinn Fein won a majority of seats back in 2022 and the DUP have only just ended their 2-year boycott over checks on trade goods between Northern Ireland and Britain that came in with Brexit.

So it's a pretty symbolic moment for Northern Ireland, won't result in unification immediately or anything. Just shows which way the wind is blowing.

[chaengluva]

Get Your Girl

Reneé Rapp x Fem!Reader: 1.4k: Masterlist

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You have been a huge fan of Reneé for the longest time, you have seen her on Broadway and ever since then you have been in love. You were so happy when you got tickets to her concert, you have been counting down the days to go and it has finally come, getting ready with your friend was the best feeling ever, you were so nervous knowing that you got VIP tickets, I mean, you were excited to meet her, but you were also very nervous. 

The thought of it still hasn't hit yet, but you have planed what you will say to her because you really don't want to stuff it up. Your friend was currently putting putting you on your eye make up and she wasn't a big of a fan as you, so she wasn't feeling as nervous as you are right now. "You okay?" She asks it sweetly. You breath heavily "Yeah I'm okay.." she smiles, continuing  your make up. 

The time had finally came, you were driving to the concert, It was quite early since you wanted a good place, that was close to the front, you lined up and saw a few others (mostly lesbians) that had already started lining up. You kept practcing what you would say to Reneé, your friend helped calm you down because she could sense your nervousness. 

Time passes quickly you were holding the barricade with a huge smile on your face, you were so excited you couldn't contain your energy.  Time passes and Reneé finally comes on stage, you lose your shit, you can't believe see is right there. As you're singing along will all the words, you're friend taps you on the shoulder to show that Reneé is currently looking at you, you look into her eyes and you scream, making her laugh. 

The show goes on quickly, but Reneé interacted with the audience a lot making sure that everyone had a good time. Its a Reneé Rapp concert, everyone will have a good time no matter what was the only thought on your mind. You were now waiting for the meet and greet you were feeling very nervous as you walked dup to her, "Hi.." you say shyly. She giggles, giving you a big hug.

You're friend is on the side, taking photos and a video of the moment, you pull out of the hug and start to talk. "I love your work so much, you inspire me with your songs and I really wish i could be as talented as you." You didn't even realise it but you were crying, Reneé noticed before you did and wiped your tears with her sleeve. "Oh my god.. I'm so sorry." you apologise for crying but she assures you that it's okay. "You're so sweet..How old are you?" 

"I'm 23." (But tomorrow I turn 23-) She smiles, nodding, the photographer takes the photo and you bid your goodbyes, this moment felt so surreal and you knew you would be sad once it is all over so you cherish every single second of it, and your friend is filming it, so every time you want to watch over it you can. As you left, you were walked away with a smile on your face. 

You spent the car ride back, looking over your videos and smiling at the run night you had, you posted the videos to social media, you don't have a huge platform, but you keep in public because you like to share your life with others, as soon as you posted it, you put your phone down and talked to your friend, who was happy for you. As soon as you got home, you went straight to bed.

You wake up with many notifications from Instagram, you look at it very confused, you check to see that not only did your post go viral but Reneé Rapp had commented, your hands were shaking as you read her comment. 

"Such as sweet girl."

 You were a happy she said girl rather then fan, it made you feel better. You liked the comment and got ready to think of a reply but that was when you got an even more shocking notification. Reneé Rapp had messaged you, at that point in time your friend was still asleep, you were to focussed on this to wake her up, you open the message and you can feel your jaw get wider as you read it. 

"Never in my life have I met a fan that was sweet and as caring as you, (or as pretty) the way you talked to me makes me want to get to know you more, we could start through texts or I could take you out, I don't really mind." - Reneé.

Was Reneé asking you out? Did Reneé just call you pretty? You had so much questions running through your head, the whole thing was to hard to think straight, so you texted back without thinking. 

"I'd prefer to go out :)"

Shit. What if she thinks you desperate? I mean she did ask you but what if this isn't her? your train of thoughts got cut off from the notification sound of her texting back. She said to meet at a certain location at 6pm. It was already 11am, you only had 7 hours to get ready. You hoped out of bed at the speed of light, hoping in the shower, making sure to wash your hair and shave your legs. 

An hour had already passed and you were out of the shower, drying your hair, once you finish you go back into the room and see that you friend is finally staring to wake up. "What are you rushing for?" You're friend askes you, her eyes adjusting to the light. "Oh.. I have a date.." You mumble. Her eyes went wide. "Really, with who?"

You look down, knowing she wouldn't believe you, looking back into her eyes you say, "Reneé..." She laughs, rolling her eyes, waiting for you to say who you are going on a date with, but it never came, she looks into your eyes, "You're serious," you nod, throwing your phone to her, she catches it and reads the chat and her eyes went wide and a big smile appaired on her face.

You got ready for the date, you didn't wear anything way to fancy because you weren't exactly sure if it was a date or not. You just wore a black mini dress with nude coloured heels, Your friend dropped you off and you waited for Reneé, you smiled when you saw her, she was wearing black pants and a cream coloured blouse. "Hi," She smiled. 

"Hi," You blushed, she smiled at you, giving you a small hug, looking at you up and down, "You look really pretty.." She smiles, "you do too." She smiles and you walk in to the place, she opens the door for you, and pulls out your chair. 

You get to know each other more, Reneé is a really good listener, you love the way she looks at you when you tell her about something. You also listen to her, you found out some things  that you would have never guessed about her. 

"My friend was so shocked when she found out we were going on a date with you.." You tell her, she gives you a confused look before saying, "Date?"  

You face goes read out of embarrassment, you try to think of some words to say, you just feel so embarrassed, "Y/n, it's okay, I was just kidding," She giggles, grabbing your hand, you take a deep breath and calm down, "Of course it's a date," You blush, she's so handsome. 

The date came to an end and Reneé told you that she would drive you home, so you told your friend that. As she pulled up into your drive way, as you were about to leave the car, she held your hand, "I had a good time tonight, I really want to go out again," 

You nod, you look into her eyes and see that see is staring at your lips, you look at hers, she puts her hand on your cheek and pulls you in for a kiss, the kiss is nothing big just a light kiss against the lips, perfect for the first kiss. 

You pulled away, she looked into your eyes and smiled. You said goodbye, and finally left, Reneé made sure that you were in the house before driving off. As soon as you got inside your friend was on the couch. "Tell me everything!" 

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[grantvaleska]

Robe: Thirst - Lounger Robe Slippers: Don't Dup - Soft Slippers & Socks Glasses: LEN$ - 129

[marymary-diva17]

Mad or disappointed

Sully kids/ metkayian kids and reader

When it comes to children they were many things they tried to avoid when it came to their parents, and one of them was making them mad or disappointed. All navi children knew they had to show their parents respect and make them proud of them, and doing something that will destroy that seem to be big no. Hearing their parents tell them they are mad or disappointed in them felt horrible, but there is someone all the kids rather not here that phase coming from in their life.

The kids " ........" the kids are looking at some flowers that you have been growing, the flowers seem to be dying and the children felt horrible. They had been taking care of them for you while you were off at another base, helping and now to seems like the ruined your experiment.

neteyam " no no this can't be happing this was mama hard work"

lo'ak " she asked us to take care of them what could of gone wrong"

kiri " I don't know"

tuk "mama ... mama going to say she disappointed in us"

spider " no she can't be disappointed in us she just can't" the sully kids and spider are in panic right now, but they were not the only ones panic as the metkayain kids are worried as well.

aonung " we followed y/n rules closely and did everything well"

rotxo " where did we go wrong on the care for the flowers"

tsireya " is tis very bad we can't have her coming home to see this"

neteyam " I will take the blame we can say I forgot my day and this happened, I will tell mama the that and wait to see what she has to say"

kiri " no you can't neteyam"

neteyam " no I can live with her saying she disappointed in me I can face the challenge I'm a warrior after all"

lo'ak " no we can do it together we can't let you take all the blame"

tuk " will mama not love us anymore will she replace us with other kids, she will not be our baby again she will never hug us again "

spider " oh tuk it going to be okay we will make sure you stay out of this" tuk had cried as the older kids were trying to comfort her at the moment. She didn't want to make you upset and she really didn't wish to hear you say, that you are disappointed in her.

tsireya " yes tuk it will be okay we will make sure you stay out of trouble, we the older kids"

tuk " no but I don't want mama to be mad at you all as well"

????? " hey kids" the kids had been spooked when they heard your voice, you soon saw tuk crying face and mother mood had active.

y/n " baby girl what wrong what happed are you hurt"

tuk " mama I'm sorry please don't be disappointed in me"

y/n " huh"

tuk " please don't replace me with another girl"

y/n " wait what no baby girl I will never replace you" you soon pick dup tuk and had been able to calm her down, you are now looking at the older kids. They all looked upset and very close to tears as well as none of them were looking at you.

y/n " will someone tell me what going on here please"

neteyam " well we were taking care of the flowers like you asked and when we came here today, well they ..."

kiri " we are so sorry mama we didn't everything you told us and followed your rules to the tea"

spider " we even made sure to share the responsibility as well we all wanted to be helpful and learn more as well"

rotxo " we also made sure everything was perfect and nothing was out of place"

tsireya " yes we even made sure that nothing was going wrong when you were away"

aonung " also making sure to keep and close eye on this place as well for you and the other human"

y/n " okay everyone take a deep breath in and out, you all very overwhelmed" the kids had done what you told them and soon showed you the flowers.

neteyam " mama we all take the blame we failed you"

kids "we are sorry"

y/n " sorry about what kiddos you have done nothing wrong"

kids " huh"

y/n " well you see I hade made this flower from floor from earth called an orchid mixed it with flower from here that was suit, best with and it made this flower here"

kids " ....."

y/n " these flower suit so well as they lose their petals but never seem to die, they will grow and bloom again"

kiri " we thought w ruined your work"

lo'ak " we didn't want to hear that you are disappointed in us"

y/n " aww kids you will never make me disappointed in you none of you, yes I can be mad and upset but never disappointed"

neteyam " yes mama"

y/n " come on I know of way we can help the flowers if you are willing to help me"

the kids " yes ma'am" the kids soon calmed down and were not happy once again, they had paid attention as you told them more about the flowers you have just in case of the future problems.

[daughterofcain-67]

𝚃𝚘𝚘 𝙲𝚕𝚘𝚜𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚊 𝙲𝚊𝚕𝚕

(Dean Winchester x Female Reader)

𝐬𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: Post season 15 with alternate universe/ending with both Winchesters get a happy ending (SPOILERS MENTIONED)

𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲: after Chuck was finally defeated and Jack took charge of Heaven, you hoped that you could finally settle down with your husband. But once an hunter, always a hunter you supposed. You try to talk to Dean about retiring for good, leading the both of you into an argument. But when something happens to you as a result of a case, Dean reconsiders the idea of retirement.

𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬: mentions of supernatural ending (sort of), argument with Dean, violence, blood, close call for character death.

You thought that for sure since Chuck was finally defeated and Jack was in charge of the new Heaven, things would die down for Dean and he would be less tense. And for a little while, he did seem more relaxed. In fact, after so many years of waiting and wondering if it would ever happen, the two of you were finally able to get married! Dean was growing his hair out and he had a little beard growing too.

You and Dean were still living in the bunker while Sam decided to begin his new life away from hunting once and for all. Dean started a business as a mechanic and whenever that familiar urge to hunt was there, he would occasionally take local cases on the weekends.

Things had been fairly relaxed but you knew that a part of Dean was always on the lookout for trouble. As if Chuck could make some kind of miraculous appearance again or there would be another angelic/demonic war. You knew he couldn't help it and you wished he wouldn't even hunt on the weekends but you knew that it was what he grew up with. It was all he knew next to fixing up cars.

Which brings you to this weekend. Dean had that itch to hunt again but you had to give him credit, it had been about a month since he went on his last hunt. Normally he would go every other week. Then again he had been a little bit backed up with work so he didn't exactly have the time to hunt until now.

You watched your husband go through the artillery in Baby's trunk and you smiled to yourself. Seeing him get ready for a hunt did bring back memories of simpler times before the brothers had to worry about the apocalypse. You remember when the two of you first met on a hunt over in Dunn, North Carolina. It was a simple little hunt, a milk run really. You had heard from Bobby that a certain father-and-son dup needed help on a case with a pack of werewolves. That was back when you were 23 and Dean was about 24 as Sam was already in college by that time.

That was the first time you met Dean and you were good acquaintances, maybe a hook up once in a while if you both happened to be in the same town as years went by. But you didn't have Dean as a constant in your life until Sam reached out to you a few years back saying something about some Mark of Cain. You had been there to help him in any way you could, even though it was sort of a solo suffering kind of thing and all you could do was help Sam think of a way to get it off. You didn't realize you loved him until Metatron fought Dean and you had almost lost him forever.

"Dean?" You asked as you walked towards him, placing a gentle hand on his back. He paused for a moment as he looked down at you with a certain softness in his eye that was finally able to be seen more often.

"Yeah, Sweetheart?" He answered as he shut the trunk.

"You'll be careful out there, right? I mean I know it's not demons, angels, or God himself, but vampires and werewolves are just as deadly. Hunters still get killed by basic monsters and spirits just the same. And they don't come back like you did so many times." You said, unable to help worrying even if he's done so many more dangerous things over the years.

"I know they are. And I promise, I'll come back home safe and sound, just like I always do." Dean promised and you rolled your eyes a little. The last hunting trip he went on with Sam, Dean nearly got himself killed on a basic hunt but luckily the wound he got was in his shoulder instead of anywhere fatal. After that hunt, Sam realized he was done with hunting for good and he encouraged Dean to start a different business - which was where the mechanic idea came from.

"You'd better keep that promise. You were supposed to retire like Sam did. If I lose you... this time it's for good. No spell, no miracle will bring you back this time." You started and Dean sighed a little and shook his head before taking your hand off him.

"Y/N, we've talked about this so many times and you know it's not going to change. I've pretty much stopped and now it's just an every once in a while kind of thing. I've hunted all my damn life and I know what I'm doing. I don't need you to tell me what I can and can't do." He said, getting a little stern with you by raising his voice.

"Pretty much stopping is not being retired. And it's not being safe. If you have to hold onto hunting, then why can't you just be a researcher like Bobby was? Get off the field. You don't need to be a soldier anym-"

"Because I'm not Bobby! I'm not Sam! My place is out there like it always was! You know, when we got married I thought you'd be more supportive." He said and ran a hand through his longer hair. Your jaw dropped in disbelief.

"Are you kidding me? I've been supportive of you for all these years! I've been one of the ones to support you with your mechanic business! Is it so damn wrong of me to want my husband alive?! Is it wrong of me to want you to stop being so reckless on hunts!? It's time for you to let go and finally live, Dean! That's all I want for you."

When you watched him turn around, it was like there was no emotion in his eyes, his brows slightly narrowed and his jaw set. You knew it was the sign that he was done talking about this even if it was the middle of an argument. "I'll see you in a couple of days. Maybe you'll be more open minded about everything by then."

"And you're going to leave just like that? Like what I had to say is no big deal?!" You asked as he got into the Impala and you watched him drive off. You threw your arms up with annoyance and you made your way inside the Bunker once more, unsure of what things would be like when he would come home. If he would come home.

That argument was more than a couple of days ago. In fact it was almost a week to be exact. Dean told you he'd be back in a couple of days and tomorrow would mark a week since he left on a stupid hunt.

Granted you knew a thing or two about cars yourself so the business wouldn't falter because the owner was gone. But you felt uneasy. What if something had happened to Dean after all? And after all of the things you said, of all things it had to be an argument. What if you would never get to remind him that you loved him again?

All of these thoughts and worries got to you, but luckily Sam was able to stop by and visit to help you with the shop, and sort of keep your head on straight without Dean around.

It was the end of another work day and you and Sam were at the bunker again. Sam was sitting at the table in the library skimming through the research books.

"You guys still held onto these? You could have sold them to several hunters and would have probably made some good money off them." Sam said as he shut the book and pushed it to the side just as you handed him a glass of bourbon.

"Yeah well.. your hard-headed brother wanted to keep them for his weekend trips incase he needed me to search something up." You muttered as you sat down, looking at your wedding band. You started to bounce your knee up and down anxiously and Sam noticed that the worry was starting to get to you.

"Y/N, I'm sure he'll be okay. You know that sometimes hunts can be a little more complicated than they lead on." Sam spoke

"But what if he's not okay, Sam? What if this is the one hunt that ends it for him? One wrong move and it could be over. One slip up and he's gone. What if he dies thinking I'm still upset with him? What if he dies thinking I never supported him?" You rambled and the last part was what caught Sam's attention.

"He said that? After everything you two have been through?" He asked and you nodded and you pinched the bridge of your nose, closing your eyes and you could feel a stress-induced migraine coming on. Wonderful.

Sam let out a sigh, wishing his brother would lose that hard head but he knew that wouldn't be happening anytime soon. But when he looked at you again, he wanted to think of how to get your mind off the worst.

"Why don't you get out of the house for a while, huh? You need the fresh air and maybe you'll feel better. I'll give Dean a call while you're out and see if he's alright. He's going to be fine." Sam said and you thought about it for a moment before you nodded. Maybe the fresh air would do you some good.

"Yeah.. Maybe I'll go pick up some groceries while I'm out and stock up on some stuff." You said as you got out of the chair.

"Why don't I go with you though? Make sure nothing happens. It never hurts to be too cautious." He said, but you shook your head at the suggestion.

"The store's just a few minutes away. I'll be okay getting from here to there safely." You insisted and saw the nod from your brother-in-law.

And with all of that being said you ended up taking your own car to go to the nearest grocery store to pick up whatever it was you could think of that you needed, considering you didn't exactly have a list on you.

When you got there, you noticed the parking lot was empty. It couldn't be that late could it? When you got out of the car you walked towards the front entrance of the little store and noticed a sign.

"Closed down? When did that happen?" You wondered out loud. It wasn't a huge business, it was a little family owned grocery store and you didn't expect it to be closing. But you shrugged nonetheless and decided to head over to the nearest Walmart.

But before you could get to your car, you felt something hit your head and all went black.

Just then, Dean rolled into the garage of the bunker and noticed his brother's vehicle was there, but yours was not. That was a little unexpected but he knew he'd be glad to see his brother again even if you would be angry with him especially after being gone so much longer than he had originally anticipated. Yes there were complications on the hunt this time around but a part of him just didn't want to come home and continue an argument.

Hunting was his life for so long and doing these simple hunts reminded him of the old times with his brother. He missed the simplicity of it all, the adrenaline rush. The feeling he got when he would actually save people. He missed it all. And he thought you of all people would understand.

He opened the door and made his way downstairs only to see his brother lifting his phone up to his ear. Then Dean's phone started ringing, causing the older brother to chuckle when Sam's head spun around. Sam hung up the phone and got up from his seat.

"Welcome back." Sam smiled and the two brothers met in the middle and hugged for a brief moment before letting go so Dean could set his bag down on the table. "And after all those years giving me hell about not getting a haircut, you go out and grow your hair."

Dean laughed, "Just trying something a bit different to see how it works out. But I still don't use nearly as much product as you do." This caused a chuckle to come from Sam.

"So where's Y/N? I didn't see her car. Is she alright?" Dean asked .

"Well physically, yeah she's alright. She just went to the store. But otherwise, she's been worried about you, Dean. It's been a week and she said she hadn't heard anything from you. And she started thinking the worst but I kept reminding her that some cases extend a little longer than we want them to." Sam said and Dean sighed a little.

"It was supposed to be a local issue that lasted like two days tops. Some missing persons in the camp grounds and I thought it was another Wendigo case. But it turned out to be Vetalas. Found that out when I caught it feeding off a camper and I managed to find its partner but it ended up getting away. But it turns out there was a whole group of them a few towns over and I assumed the partner went back there. Luckily I was able to find a few other hunters there and we took care of the problem so no one else would get hurt and we wouldn't have anymore coming around here. So naturally it ended up taking more than a couple of days like I hoped it would be."

"Did you ever find the first Vetala's partner again?" Sam asked and Dean shook his head, sending a red flag up in Sam's mind. He looked down at his watch and realized that you had been gone for a pretty long time after saying the store was only a few minutes away.

"Dean, I think you should call Y/N." The younger brother commented. Dean clenched his jaw, not liking the idea of you being in any kind of danger.

So, Dean pulled out his phone and started calling your number. Normally you would pick up right away especially if you were as worried about him as Sam said you were. But after a few rings, Dean finally got an answer, but it wasn't from you.

"Well, well. Took you long enough to even call. Your little mate's fine for now. But if you want to see her again one last time, you'll meet me at the little store a few blocks away from your house. You'll see your mates car there." The creature said and Dean could feel his blood boiling with rage.

"What do you want with her you sick son of a bitch?"

"Just come to where I told you. Of and come alone. I know if one Winchester is out and about, the other is never too far behind." Then the line went dead.

"Damnit!" The older brother cursed and got up, taking his bag of weapons from this hunt in the bag and he started making his way up the stairs.

"Dean, wait. You need to think rationally about this. Now you know where she is but now you need to think of-"

"Sam, I don't have the time to hear about how you think I should have a plan. I'll think of one when I get there." He said and started going back upstairs and he went out the door.

"Well this ought to turn out wonderfully." Muttered Sam sarcastically as he got up to follow his brother.

The two rode in the Impala, a vehicle Sam never thought he would be riding in again, and after a few minutes they made it to the store. Dean got out of the car before going into the store, doors unlocked. Well, simply because the lock had been destroyed before he got there.

When the two brothers went inside they saw that the door leading into the basement storage room was opened and Dean motioned for Sam to stay in the front incase anyone or anything else came to cause more trouble.

When Dean made it to the basement, he saw you tied up to a chair and paralyzed with the monster's venom.

"Y/N.." He breathed out and he rushed to you but that was when the Vetala came and grabbed Dean before sinking its fangs into your husband's neck, paralyzing him with its venom. You watched in horror when your husband fell to the ground.

"Took you long enough to arrive. Now you can watch as your beloved dies right in front of you just like you killed my partner and my family with your hunter friends." The creature seethed. You were still paralyzed by the venom since it hadn't left your system yet but you were conscious and helpless.

Then you watched as the Vetala came behind you and you closed your eyes preparing for the worst. Then you felt the pain of the monster's fangs in your neck again and it started to feed off you. You were loosing blood fast and you could feel the warmth of your blood dripping down your neck. Your vision went blurry and you felt weak.

But out of nowhere, you heard a gunshot.

Sam shot the monster, knowing all too well that's not how these creatures die but it would at least get it off you.

You weren't sure what happened next because by that time you blacked out. Your last thought were just of you wondering if you'd see Castiel and Jack again sooner than you thought you would.

After a few moments of combat, Sam killed the Vetala with the silver blade through the heart and a twist of the blade in the chest. Now the creature was nothing but a crumpled carcass on the ground. Then Sam managed to get you and Dean into the Impala one by one, he was able to get you both back to the bunker.

The venom wore off Dean within an hour and he was right by your side since you hadn't woken up yet. What if you lost too much blood? The wounds in your neck scabbed over and Dean cleaned them up and put a bandage on but shouldn't you have woken up by now?

He was holding onto your hand as he looked down at your sleeping figure. His mind was racing faster than it had in a long time. This was one thing he didn't miss about hunting, the lives put in danger because of creatures that are out there. He's lost so many people over the years with this job.

"You were right, Y/N. I get it, okay? Even simple jobs are dangerous." Dean whispered, "Just wake up, damnit. I need you here."

Sam walked into the room to see how you and Dean were doing and he frowned when he saw you still hadn't woken up yet. He walked in and handed Dean a mug of coffee, which Dean thanked him for but just set it on the night stand.

"What if she doesn't make it, Sam? The last conversation we had with each other was just a stupid argument. Me and my hard head..."

"Dean, the last thing I think Y/N would want is for you to be sorry for yourself. Just give her some time to rest. We got there as soon as we could. Yeah she may have lost blood but those things can't suck humans dry in a matter of seconds. She'll wake up soon. Weak as hell, yeah, but don't start thinking she's gone just yet." Sam tried to reassure.

Then Sam left the room again, presumably to call Eileen and let her know what was going on.

Dean continued to stay in your room for another hour and a half. His head was down as he looked at your hand in his, looking at the wedding bands you both had on. Never in a million years did he think he would get married. And because of this stupid case, he could lose you. And he wasn't sure how he was supposed to handle that.

Meanwhile, you were coming to. You felt light headed you had to admit but you finally opened your eyes. You blinked a couple of times but you felt a familiar warmth on your hand. When you looked you saw your husband there by your side. He was unscathed for the most part which you were more than thankful for. He was alive, which made you glad.

But you saw the look on his face, the one with his face downcast and his brows narrowed as if he were lost in thought. You gave his hand the gentlest squeeze and you watched his head snap up and he looked instantly relieved when he realized your beautiful eyes were opened once again.

"Sweetheart, you're awake. How do you feel? Can I get you anything?" You heard him asking you and you laughed lightly.

"Dean, I could do without being bombarded with questions," You chuckled as he moved his chair closer to you, " But I'm okay. Just glad you're alright after all."

He looked at you with confusion. You were the one in bed recovering and you were talking about him being okay?

"Yeah... just fine." He said softly before he moved a strand of hair away from your face, "But you were right. Even the most basic of cases can be dangerous."

"Dean, I'm not worried about being right. I've been wrong about a lot too. I know that hunting is practically a part of your DNA. You were right, I should be more supportive of you going once in a while."

"Y/N, I'm retiring. For good this time." Dean said as his gaze softened.

"I'm getting to old to be on the field. I'm not in my twenties and thirties anymore. And even then, seeing you in danger like that and knowing that we really don't have a way to bring each other back anymore, it was a reality check I needed." He explained and he carefully reached out and cupped your cheek in his calloused hand. You leaned into his touch before reaching up and you moved a stray hair from his face.

"I just want you to be happy. I want you to be safe too but I know that I can't stop you from doing what you want to do." You said softly.

"I've been hunting my whole life. I think it's time for me to call it quits. I am happy here, especially since I have you. The world could crash and burn around me for the billionth time and I'd rather be here with you." He promised.

You smiled up at him, glad that he was making this choice after all. Maybe you could get back to your happily ever after.

"I love you, Dean Winchester." You said.

"I love you too, Y/N Winchester."

He slowly leaned in and you closed your eyes when you felt his soft yet slightly chapped lips capture yours in a sweet and loving kiss.

Thank You for Reading!!!

I hope you enjoyed! Feel free to leave any suggestions for another scenario you'd like to read about!

Tag List:

@chriszgirl92 @wildernessflora

[ebonyslasher]

What’s going on Sis! I have a little request!

Female Slashers Being Invited to their black! S/O family Cookout!

Please? For the culture! And thank you ❤️

Hey sis! I'll definitely do that for you and the culture 💕

Female slashers being invited to their black!S/O's family cookout:

Although there's a bunch of human food, and she can't eat any blood: it smells delicious. She'll nibble on some before she hits her limit. Too much human food can make her barf. And she doesn't want to be disrespectful.

Plus the food was DIVINE. Oh, that sweet red velvet and that mac and cheese~. Now y'all know white people love some cheese!

Might want to watch your hornier cousins around her. Can't have them going missing.....

Will she dance? Sure. It won't be on beat sometimes but she looks great doing it!

Most of the family likes her, except a few. Your conservative aunties/grandma turn up their nose at the way she dresses and parades around. You tell her not to mind them.

She's pretty chill, although the temptation of eating your horny ass cousins is high. Y'all might have to leave a little early.

Oh wait, a smoke break? Excuse me, a trip to the corner store. Yeah let's go and get some snacks rq

Very excited to meet your extended family.

Overwhelmed by 2 things: either or both by A. how big your family is or B. how outgoing they are.

Thankfully, they figure out fast that she is shy. So most back off and leave it to just and introduction. A few try to get her out of her shell. "Ay girl, you don't have to be so shy!" "We wont bite ya!"

She thinks they are wonderful and she loves how hospitable they are towards her.

You'll find her either sticking right beside you or by your other very shy cousins hanging out around the house.

Dancing? OH NOOOOOOOOOOOO. Maybe next time?

The food? Delectable. Carrie stares at the desserts very longingly. But, she'll need to wait until she finishes her main food! That's what she was taught. But one problem is...if she makes it there.

"Oh, y/n I'm so sleepy." The itis done got to her.

She goes to find a room but there's a bunch of toddlers drooling on the bed. It's such a cute scene, but not what she needs. She goes to try to find another unoccupied room.

Lady Dimitrescu:

"Dear...why are we going so late? They said it'll start at 2:00 pm."

"Lady D...START isthe key word here. It's a suggestion anyway."

She thinks you want to be fashionably late but nooooo. The food won't be done by then. And most of the family damn sure wont be there. We play on CP time honey.

Y'all get there via her monster transformation, since her big tall ass can't fit in a regular car.

And you did warn her ahead of time that she will get comments about how tall she is. Especially from your one cousin that couldn't keep their mouth shu-

"Damn cuz you aint tell me you gotta AMAZONIAN." Lord here they go. Other than the occasional, "Damn, she big!," Lady D mostly deals with stares the whole time.

And of course that one uncle and cousin dup have to ask, "She give you dat snu snu?," trying to play with you. You try not to laugh but it's a little funny.

Out of respect of your family, she doesn't bludgeon your very thirsty uncle.

The food smells appetizing, but she will have to pass. It'll fuck up her stomach, unless it's a very bloody piece of meat. The desserts are what she can eat. She adores the peach cobbler and the key lime pie.

She tries to dance but she accidentally knocks a few people over with her hips. Oh well!

Dre:

She knows what time it is. They said 1:30 pm? Y'all not going until 3:30.

Scarfs down the food, it's scary. Some of your family are looking at her like she crazy. And she is.

"Damn, the food ain't going nowhere!!"

She knows that!!! But it's just too damn good!

Dancing? Eh, if she's in the mood. If your family has been really nice she might. She will request a Queen Ni'jah song.

Speaking of that, she will be adamant on asking your cousins if they fuck with her. You already told them ahead of time to just say yes.

She hangs out in the corner, strategically placing herself by the food.

She'll play some games, surprisingly good at spades. Her favorite part is slamming the cards on the table. Basically this video.

[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!!