diff --git a/src/components/GifPicker/index.tsx b/src/components/GifPicker/index.tsx
index bace3a89..699e8b70 100644
--- a/src/components/GifPicker/index.tsx
+++ b/src/components/GifPicker/index.tsx
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ import { ScrollArea } from '@/components/ui/scroll-area'
 import { useScreenSize } from '@/providers/ScreenSizeProvider'
 import { useNostr } from '@/providers/NostrProvider'
 import { ExtendedKind, GIF_RELAY_URLS } from '@/constants'
+import { normalizeUrl } from '@/lib/url'
 import { fetchGifs, searchGifs, type GifMetadata } from '@/services/gif.service'
 import mediaUpload from '@/services/media-upload.service'
 import { ExternalLink, Loader2, X } from 'lucide-react'
@@ -34,7 +35,7 @@ export default function GifPicker({
 }) {
   const { t } = useTranslation()
   const { isSmallScreen } = useScreenSize()
-  const { publish, pubkey } = useNostr()
+  const { publish, pubkey, relayList } = useNostr()
   const [open, setOpen] = useState(false)
   const [query, setQuery] = useState('')
   const [searchInput, setSearchInput] = useState('')
@@ -45,17 +46,21 @@ export default function GifPicker({
   const [uploadError, setUploadError] = useState<string | null>(null)
   const [pasteUrl, setPasteUrl] = useState('')
   const [publishingPaste, setPublishingPaste] = useState(false)
+  const [publishDescription, setPublishDescription] = useState('')
   const searchTimeoutRef = useRef<ReturnType<typeof setTimeout> | null>(null)
   const fileInputRef = useRef<HTMLInputElement | null>(null)
   const gifbuddyPopupRef = useRef<Window | null>(null)
 
+  const userReadRelays = relayList?.read ?? []
+  const userWriteRelays = relayList?.write ?? []
+
   const loadGifs = useCallback(async (q: string, forceRefresh = false) => {
     setError(null)
     setLoading(true)
     try {
       const results = q.trim()
-        ? await searchGifs(q.trim(), 50, forceRefresh)
-        : await fetchGifs(undefined, 50, forceRefresh)
+        ? await searchGifs(q.trim(), 50, forceRefresh, userReadRelays, pubkey ?? null)
+        : await fetchGifs(undefined, 50, forceRefresh, userReadRelays, pubkey ?? null)
       setGifs(results)
       if (results.length === 0 && !q.trim()) {
         setError(
@@ -70,7 +75,7 @@ export default function GifPicker({
     } finally {
       setLoading(false)
     }
-  }, [t])
+  }, [t, userReadRelays, pubkey])
 
   useEffect(() => {
     if (!open) return
@@ -95,30 +100,37 @@ export default function GifPicker({
   }
 
   const handleUpload = async (e: React.ChangeEvent<HTMLInputElement>) => {
-    const files = e.target.files
-    if (!files?.length || !pubkey) return
+    const file = e.target.files?.[0]
+    if (!file || !pubkey) return
     setUploadError(null)
     setUploading(true)
     try {
-      for (const file of Array.from(files)) {
-        if (!file.type.includes('gif') && !file.name.toLowerCase().endsWith('.gif')) {
-          setUploadError(t('{{name}} is not a GIF file', { name: file.name }))
-          continue
-        }
-        const { url } = await mediaUpload.upload(file)
-        const draft = {
-          kind: ExtendedKind.FILE_METADATA,
-          content: '',
-          tags: [
-            ['file', url, file.type || 'image/gif', `size ${file.size}`],
-            ['url', url],
-            ['m', file.type || 'image/gif'],
-            ['t', 'gif']
-          ],
-          created_at: Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000)
-        }
-        await publish(draft, { specifiedRelayUrls: GIF_RELAY_URLS })
+      if (!file.type.includes('gif') && !file.name.toLowerCase().endsWith('.gif')) {
+        setUploadError(t('{{name}} is not a GIF file', { name: file.name }))
+        return
       }
+      const { url } = await mediaUpload.upload(file)
+      const draft = {
+        kind: ExtendedKind.FILE_METADATA,
+        content: publishDescription.trim(),
+        tags: [
+          ['file', url, file.type || 'image/gif', `size ${file.size}`],
+          ['url', url],
+          ['m', file.type || 'image/gif'],
+          ['t', 'gif']
+        ],
+        created_at: Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000)
+      }
+      const writeUrls = [...GIF_RELAY_URLS, ...userWriteRelays]
+      const seen = new Set<string>()
+      const specifiedRelayUrls = writeUrls.filter((u) => {
+        const n = (normalizeUrl(u) ?? u).toLowerCase()
+        if (seen.has(n)) return false
+        seen.add(n)
+        return true
+      })
+      await publish(draft, { specifiedRelayUrls })
+      setPublishDescription('')
       setQuery('')
       await loadGifs('', true)
     } catch (err) {
@@ -160,6 +172,8 @@ export default function GifPicker({
     if (w) w.addEventListener('beforeunload', () => { clearTimeout(t); window.removeEventListener('message', handler) })
   }, [searchInput, onSelect])
 
+  const descriptionForPublish = publishDescription.trim()
+
   /** Insert pasted GIF URL and publish kind 1063 so it's added to Nostr GIF library. */
   const handlePasteUrlInsert = useCallback(async () => {
     const url = pasteUrl.trim()
@@ -172,7 +186,7 @@ export default function GifPicker({
       try {
         const draft = {
           kind: ExtendedKind.FILE_METADATA,
-          content: '',
+          content: descriptionForPublish,
           tags: [
             ['url', url],
             ['m', 'image/gif'],
@@ -180,14 +194,23 @@ export default function GifPicker({
           ],
           created_at: Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000)
         }
-        await publish(draft, { specifiedRelayUrls: GIF_RELAY_URLS })
+        const writeUrls = [...GIF_RELAY_URLS, ...userWriteRelays]
+        const seen = new Set<string>()
+        const specifiedRelayUrls = writeUrls.filter((u) => {
+          const n = (normalizeUrl(u) ?? u).toLowerCase()
+          if (seen.has(n)) return false
+          seen.add(n)
+          return true
+        })
+        await publish(draft, { specifiedRelayUrls })
+        setPublishDescription('')
       } catch {
         // ignore; URL was still inserted
       } finally {
         setPublishingPaste(false)
       }
     }
-  }, [pasteUrl, pubkey, onSelect, publish])
+  }, [pasteUrl, pubkey, onSelect, publish, userWriteRelays, descriptionForPublish])
 
   /** In drawer mode we constrain height and make only the GIF grid scroll so the drawer doesn't "sink" */
   const isDrawer = isSmallScreen
@@ -257,6 +280,19 @@ export default function GifPicker({
         </ScrollArea>
       </div>
       <div className="flex flex-col gap-2 border-t pt-2 shrink-0">
+        {isLoggedIn && (
+          <div className="grid gap-1">
+            <Label className="text-xs text-muted-foreground">
+              {t('Description (optional, for search)')}
+            </Label>
+            <Input
+              placeholder={t('e.g. happy birthday, thumbs up')}
+              value={publishDescription}
+              onChange={(e) => setPublishDescription(e.target.value)}
+              className="min-w-0"
+            />
+          </div>
+        )}
         <div className="flex flex-col gap-1.5">
           <Button
             type="button"
@@ -300,7 +336,6 @@ export default function GifPicker({
               ref={fileInputRef}
               type="file"
               accept=".gif,image/gif"
-              multiple
               className="hidden"
               onChange={handleUpload}
             />
diff --git a/src/i18n/locales/de.ts b/src/i18n/locales/de.ts
index 7e628ace..aba684cb 100644
--- a/src/i18n/locales/de.ts
+++ b/src/i18n/locales/de.ts
@@ -120,6 +120,8 @@ export default {
     'Choose a GIF': 'GIF auswählen',
     'Search GifBuddy for more GIFs': 'Bei GifBuddy nach weiteren GIFs suchen',
     'Add your own GIFs': 'Eigene GIFs hinzufügen',
+    'Description (optional, for search)': 'Beschreibung (optional, für Suche)',
+    'e.g. happy birthday, thumbs up': 'z. B. happy birthday, Daumen hoch',
     'Uploading...': 'Wird hochgeladen...',
     'No GIFs found. Try searching or add your own. GIFs come from Nostr kind 1063 (NIP-94) events on GIF relays.': 'Keine GIFs gefunden. Suche oder füge eigene hinzu. GIFs stammen von Nostr-Kind-1063-Events (NIP-94) auf GIF-Relays.',
     '{{name}} is not a GIF file': '{{name}} ist keine GIF-Datei',
diff --git a/src/i18n/locales/en.ts b/src/i18n/locales/en.ts
index dc0bf7fb..bc2e3590 100644
--- a/src/i18n/locales/en.ts
+++ b/src/i18n/locales/en.ts
@@ -174,6 +174,8 @@ export default {
     'Choose a GIF': 'Choose a GIF',
     'Search GifBuddy for more GIFs': 'Search GifBuddy for more GIFs',
     'Add your own GIFs': 'Add your own GIFs',
+    'Description (optional, for search)': 'Description (optional, for search)',
+    'e.g. happy birthday, thumbs up': 'e.g. happy birthday, thumbs up',
     'Uploading...': 'Uploading...',
     'No GIFs found. Try searching or add your own. GIFs come from Nostr kind 1063 (NIP-94) events on GIF relays.': 'No GIFs found. Try searching or add your own. GIFs come from Nostr kind 1063 (NIP-94) events on GIF relays.',
     '{{name}} is not a GIF file': '{{name}} is not a GIF file',
diff --git a/src/services/client.service.ts b/src/services/client.service.ts
index 216b2ed0..13597009 100644
--- a/src/services/client.service.ts
+++ b/src/services/client.service.ts
@@ -1104,20 +1104,31 @@ class ClientService extends EventTarget {
       })
     }
     
+    /** Once one relay returns results, give others this long (ms) then resolve with what we have */
+    const FIRST_RESULT_GRACE_MS = 2000
+
     return await new Promise<NEvent[]>((resolve) => {
       const events: NEvent[] = []
       let resolveTimeout: ReturnType<typeof setTimeout> | null = null
+      let firstResultGraceTimeoutId: ReturnType<typeof setTimeout> | null = null
       let allEosed = false
       let eoseTime: number | null = null
       let eventCount = 0
-      
+      let resolved = false
+
       let globalTimeoutId: ReturnType<typeof setTimeout> | null = null
-      
+
       const resolveWithEvents = () => {
+        if (resolved) return
+        resolved = true
         if (resolveTimeout) {
           clearTimeout(resolveTimeout)
           resolveTimeout = null
         }
+        if (firstResultGraceTimeoutId) {
+          clearTimeout(firstResultGraceTimeoutId)
+          firstResultGraceTimeoutId = null
+        }
         if (globalTimeoutId) {
           clearTimeout(globalTimeoutId)
           globalTimeoutId = null
@@ -1134,7 +1145,7 @@ class ClientService extends EventTarget {
         sub.close()
         resolve(events)
       }
-      
+
       const sub = this.subscribe(urls, filter, {
         onevent(evt) {
           eventCount++
@@ -1147,16 +1158,28 @@ class ClientService extends EventTarget {
           }
           onevent?.(evt)
           events.push(evt)
-          
+
+          // As soon as one relay returns results, give others 2s then resolve (keeps reqs fast)
+          if (events.length === 1 && !firstResultGraceTimeoutId) {
+            firstResultGraceTimeoutId = setTimeout(() => {
+              firstResultGraceTimeoutId = null
+              resolveWithEvents()
+            }, FIRST_RESULT_GRACE_MS)
+          }
+
           // Check if we're looking for a specific event ID (limit: 1 with ids filter)
           const filters = Array.isArray(filter) ? filter : [filter]
           const hasIdFilter = filters.some(f => f.ids && f.ids.length > 0)
           const hasLimitOne = filters.some(f => f.limit === 1)
-          
+
           // If we're searching for a specific event and found it, we can resolve early
           // But wait a bit (100ms) in case duplicate events arrive
           if (hasIdFilter && hasLimitOne && events.length > 0 && allEosed) {
             // We've found the event and received EOSE, wait a short moment then resolve
+            if (firstResultGraceTimeoutId) {
+              clearTimeout(firstResultGraceTimeoutId)
+              firstResultGraceTimeoutId = null
+            }
             if (resolveTimeout) {
               clearTimeout(resolveTimeout)
             }
@@ -1177,6 +1200,11 @@ class ClientService extends EventTarget {
                 willWait: eoseTimeout
               })
             }
+            // Clear first-result grace timer; we'll use EOSE timeout instead
+            if (firstResultGraceTimeoutId) {
+              clearTimeout(firstResultGraceTimeoutId)
+              firstResultGraceTimeoutId = null
+            }
             // Clear any existing timeout
             if (resolveTimeout) {
               clearTimeout(resolveTimeout)
diff --git a/src/services/gif.service.ts b/src/services/gif.service.ts
index fd603b17..9a702494 100644
--- a/src/services/gif.service.ts
+++ b/src/services/gif.service.ts
@@ -1,9 +1,11 @@
 /**
- * Fetch GIFs from Nostr NIP-94 file metadata events (kind 1063).
- * Same approach as aitherboard: query GIF relays, parse file/imeta/image/url tags.
+ * Fetch GIFs from Nostr: kind 1063 (NIP-94 file metadata) and from kind 1 / 1111 (notes/comments that contain GIF URLs).
+ * Same approach as aitherboard for 1063; for 1/1111 we parse content and tags for .gif URLs.
  */
 
 import { ExtendedKind, GIF_RELAY_URLS } from '@/constants'
+import { normalizeUrl } from '@/lib/url'
+import { kinds } from 'nostr-tools'
 import type { Event as NEvent } from 'nostr-tools'
 import client from './client.service'
 
@@ -19,6 +21,25 @@ export interface GifMetadata {
   createdAt: number
 }
 
+/** Normalize a GIF URL for deduplication: strip fragment and query, lowercase. */
+function normalizeGifUrl(url: string): string {
+  try {
+    const withoutFragment = url.split('#')[0].trim()
+    const withoutQuery = withoutFragment.split('?')[0].trim()
+    const lower = withoutQuery.toLowerCase()
+    return lower || url
+  } catch {
+    return url
+  }
+}
+
+/** Priority for deduplication: higher wins. Own event > other's event > non-event. */
+const GIF_PRIORITY = {
+  OWN_EVENT: 2,
+  OTHER_EVENT: 1,
+  NON_EVENT: 0
+} as const
+
 function parseGifFromEvent(event: NEvent): GifMetadata | null {
   let url: string | undefined
   let mimeType: string | undefined
@@ -164,37 +185,62 @@ let cacheTime = 0
 
 /**
  * Fetch GIFs from Nostr kind 1063 (NIP-94) events on GIF relays.
- * Optionally filter by search query (content + tags).
+ * Deduplicates by normalized URL; when the same GIF appears from multiple sources,
+ * keeps: 1) user's own events, 2) other users' events, 3) non-event sources.
+ * @param extraReadRelayUrls - Logged-in user's read relays (inboxes) and local relays to include when fetching.
+ * @param userPubkey - Current user's pubkey; entries from this pubkey get highest priority when deduping.
  */
 export async function fetchGifs(
   searchQuery?: string,
   limit: number = 50,
-  forceRefresh: boolean = false
+  forceRefresh: boolean = false,
+  extraReadRelayUrls: string[] = [],
+  userPubkey: string | null = null
 ): Promise<GifMetadata[]> {
   const useCache = !forceRefresh && cachedGifs.length > 0 && Date.now() - cacheTime < CACHE_MAX_AGE_MS
   if (useCache && !searchQuery) {
     return cachedGifs.slice(0, limit)
   }
 
-  const filter = {
-    kinds: [ExtendedKind.FILE_METADATA],
-    limit: Math.max(limit * 10, 200)
-  }
-
-  const events = await client.fetchEvents(GIF_RELAY_URLS, filter, {
-    eoseTimeout: 10000,
-    globalTimeout: 15000
+  const readUrls = [
+    ...GIF_RELAY_URLS,
+    ...extraReadRelayUrls.map((u) => normalizeUrl(u)).filter(Boolean)
+  ]
+  const seen = new Set<string>()
+  const dedupedUrls = readUrls.filter((u) => {
+    const n = u.toLowerCase()
+    if (seen.has(n)) return false
+    seen.add(n)
+    return true
   })
 
-  const seenUrls = new Set<string>()
-  const gifs: GifMetadata[] = []
+  const fetchOpts = { eoseTimeout: 10000, globalTimeout: 15000 }
+
+  // Two separate requests so kind 1063 isn't overwhelmed by the volume of kind 1/1111
+  const [events1063, eventsNotes] = await Promise.all([
+    client.fetchEvents(
+      dedupedUrls,
+      { kinds: [ExtendedKind.FILE_METADATA], limit: Math.max(limit * 10, 200) },
+      fetchOpts
+    ),
+    client.fetchEvents(
+      dedupedUrls,
+      {
+        kinds: [kinds.ShortTextNote, ExtendedKind.COMMENT],
+        limit: Math.max(limit * 10, 300)
+      },
+      fetchOpts
+    )
+  ])
+
+  const events = [...events1063, ...eventsNotes]
+
+  // Map: normalized URL -> { gif, priority }. Higher priority wins when same URL appears multiple times.
+  const byUrl = new Map<string, { gif: GifMetadata; priority: number }>()
 
   for (const event of events) {
     const gif = parseGifFromEvent(event)
     if (!gif) continue
-    const normalizedUrl = gif.url.split('?')[0].split('#')[0]
-    if (seenUrls.has(normalizedUrl)) continue
-    seenUrls.add(normalizedUrl)
 
     if (searchQuery) {
       const q = searchQuery.toLowerCase().trim()
@@ -202,9 +248,17 @@ export async function fetchGifs(
       const tags = event.tags.flat().join(' ').toLowerCase()
       if (!content.includes(q) && !tags.includes(q)) continue
     }
-    gifs.push(gif)
+
+    const key = normalizeGifUrl(gif.url)
+    const priority =
+      userPubkey && event.pubkey === userPubkey ? GIF_PRIORITY.OWN_EVENT : GIF_PRIORITY.OTHER_EVENT
+    const existing = byUrl.get(key)
+    if (!existing || priority > existing.priority) {
+      byUrl.set(key, { gif, priority })
+    }
   }
 
+  const gifs = Array.from(byUrl.values()).map((v) => v.gif)
   gifs.sort((a, b) => b.createdAt - a.createdAt)
   const result = gifs.slice(0, limit)
 
@@ -220,7 +274,9 @@ export async function fetchGifs(
 export async function searchGifs(
   query: string,
   limit: number = 50,
-  forceRefresh: boolean = false
+  forceRefresh: boolean = false,
+  extraReadRelayUrls: string[] = [],
+  userPubkey: string | null = null
 ): Promise<GifMetadata[]> {
-  return fetchGifs(query, limit, forceRefresh)
+  return fetchGifs(query, limit, forceRefresh, extraReadRelayUrls, userPubkey)
 }