#Ray Tracing Technology

[technologybunker]

From 8-Bit to 4K: The Wild Ride of Game Design

Ever stop to think about how far video games have come? I mean, remember when the biggest graphics breakthrough was figuring out how to make your character’s jump look less like a…

[devotedlystrangewizard]

i fully understand we dont need ultra perfect realism in games but there is a part of my brain. that really likes pretty graphics. there is a part of my brain that sees how raytracing is evolving and giggles in unbridled glee. i adore stylized games more than anything ever (my current favorite games are ultrakill, ffxiv, hollow knight, celeste, and rain world) but MAN.

[emilyofjane]

Bro my laptop starts huffing like a chain smoker running a marathon when I play Powerwash Simulator, anything with higher fidelity than PS3 would kill it probably

this is a controversial opinion and I’m not a gamer but I don’t need my graphics to be that good. I don’t need to see every individual feather on a bird. my poor computer doesn’t deserve to carry that weight either.

[techedgey]

Guide How to Optimizing Your Gaming PC for Ray Tracing

In the ever-evolving world of How to Optimize Gaming PC for Ray Tracing, few technologies have made as massive an effect in current years as ray tracing. This rendering approach simulates the bodily behavior of light to create stunningly sensible reflections, shadows, and international illumination. But as many gamers speedy find out, enabling those attractive consequences can placed even effective systems on their knees.

I nonetheless keep in mind the first time I enabled ray tracing in Cyberpunk 2077. My as soon as-clean gameplay changed into a slideshow presentation, and I learned the difficult manner that optimizing a gaming PC for ray tracing calls for more than simply flipping a switch in the settings menu.

Whether you've been scouring Reddit posts approximately how to optimize gaming PC for ray tracing, searching for excellent ray tracing optimizations, or diving into technical discussions approximately r raytracing culling techniques, this comprehensive guide will assist you in squeezing the exceptional overall performance out of your hardware even as taking part in those excellent ray-traced visuals.

Table of Contents

Understanding Ray Tracing Technology

Hardware Requirements for Ray Tracing

Software Optimizations for Ray Tracing

DLSS, FSR, and XeSS: Your Ray Tracing Allies

Ray Tracing Culling Techniques

Step-via-Step Optimization Guide

Monitoring and Fine-Tuning Performance

Reddit-Approved Ray Tracing Tweaks

Future-Proofing Your Ray Tracing Setup

Conclusion

Understanding Ray Tracing Technology

Before we dive into optimization strategies, it's crucial to recognize what makes ray tracing so worrying on your hardware.

Traditional rasterization rendering (what games have used for many years) works by converting 3D models into 2D pixels for your display, then applying lights and effects in a while. It's fast but is based on various shortcuts and approximations for lighting fixtures.

Ray tracing, however, simulates character mild rays, tracing their path as they leap off surfaces, refract thru materials, and in the end attain the virtual digicam. This physically accurate technique creates a great deal extra realistic lighting fixtures, reflections, shadows, and international illumination—however at a fantastic computational fee.

A pal of mine who works in recreation improvement explained it to me in this manner: "Imagine having to calculate the direction of thousands and thousands of light rays, 60 instances in keeping with second, at the same time as additionally dealing with all of the different factors of rendering a sport. That's why ray tracing is this type of overall performance hog."

Hardware Requirements for Ray Tracing

Let's be honest—optimizing your gaming PC for ray tracing starts with having the right hardware. While software program tweaks can help, they can handiest take you so far if your system doesn't meet the basic requirements.

Graphics Cards

For ray tracing, your GPU is the star of the display:

NVIDIA RTX Series: The pioneers of consumer ray tracing hardware, from the 2000 collection to the brand new 5000 series (as of early 2025). The RTX 4080 and 4090 are presently among the exceptional performers for ray tracing workloads, with the 5000 collection showing promising upgrades.

AMD Radeon RX Series: Starting with the RX 6000 collection, AMD delivered ray tracing competencies, with performance enhancement notably in the RX 7000 collection and more recent models.

Intel Arc Series: Intel's committed GPUs additionally help ray tracing, even though they're still gambling catch-up with NVIDIA and AMD in phrases of raw ray tracing overall performance.

I learned this lesson the hard manner after I tried permitting ray tracing on my vintage GTX 1080. The recreation technically allowed me to turn it on, but the framerate dropped to approximately three FPS—essentially a completely pricey slideshow.

CPU Requirements

While ray tracing is on the whole GPU-intensive, your CPU still performs an important function:

A contemporary multi-center processor (6+ cores encouraged)

High unmarried-thread performance for sport common sense

Sufficient CPU cache and memory bandwidth

RAM and Storage

Other components that affect ray tracing overall performance:

16GB RAM minimum, 32GB advocated for excessive-quit systems

Fast NVMe SSD storage to deal with the larger texture and asset facts that frequently accompany ray-traced video games

Software Optimizations for Ray Tracing

Once you have got appropriate hardware, software program optimizations grow to be crucial for balancing visual first-class and overall performance.

Driver Updates

This would possibly appear apparent, but I've visible countless Reddit threads in which customers whinge about bad ray tracing performance only to discover they are going for walks with old drivers.

NVIDIA, AMD, and Intel frequently launch motive force updates especially optimized for ray tracing in new games

Sometimes, a driver replacement on my own can improve ray tracing overall performance by way of 10-15%

Just closing month, I changed into struggling with stuttering in a ray-traced game until I found out I had skipped the ultimate two-driver updates. After updating, the difference becomes nighttime and day.

Game-Specific Settings

Not all ray tracing effects are created identically. Most video games provide unique tiers of ray tracing:

Ray-traced shadows: Generally the least worrying effect

Ray-traced reflections: Moderate performance impact but very visually awesome

Ray-traced worldwide illumination: Usually the maximum disturbing putting

A smart technique is to permit simplest the ray tracing outcomes that make the largest visual difference for each specific game. For example, in a sport with lots of water and glass, ray-traced reflections might be worth the performance hit, whilst ray-traced shadows might be less noticeable.

DLSS, FSR, and XeSS: Your Ray Tracing Allies

One of the only ray tracing optimizations is pairing it with upscaling technologies:

NVIDIA DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling)

DLSS uses AI to upscale video games from a lower internal resolution in your display decision, dramatically enhancing performance even as preserving visual pleasant. DLSS three.Five and more recent variations are specially powerful at maintaining ray tracing detail.

My private experience: Enabling DLSS 3 in Cyberpunk 2077 took my framerate from an unplayable 25 FPS to a smooth 75 FPS with ray tracing nonetheless enabled.

AMD FSR (FidelityFX Super Resolution)

AMD's solution to DLSS works throughout a much wider variety of hardware, together with NVIDIA GPUs. While early variations couldn't healthy DLSS quality, FSR three.0 and more recent variations have narrowed the space notably.

Intel XeSS

Intel's go-platform upscaling technology works further to DLSS and FSR, offering any other alternative for enhancing overall performance while retaining ray tracing first-rate.

When browsing a way to optimize gaming PC for ray tracing Reddit discussions, upscaling technology are continuously the most endorsed answer for balancing first-rate and overall performance.

Ray Tracing Culling Techniques

Now let's dive into one of the extra technical elements of ray tracing optimization: culling.

R raytracing culling refers to strategies that reduce the range of rays that want to be calculated by well determining which of them are not likely to make contributions drastically to the very last photograph.

What is Ray Culling?

In easy phrases, ray culling is ready being selective with which mild rays you calculate. There's no want to hint rays that may not have a great impact at the final photo.

Several culling techniques exist:

Frustum culling: Only calculating rays in the participant's view

Occlusion culling: Skipping rays that could be blocked using opaque items

Distance culling: Reducing ray detail for remote items

R raytracing culling radius: Limiting the distance that rays will tour from their origin

A recreation developer pal explained it to me like this: "Without culling, ray tracing would be like calculating each single photon in a scene. With culling, we are being smart approximately which light paths truly rely to what the participant sees."

Implementing Ray Culling

For developers the usage of engines like Unreal or Unity, r raytracing culling alternatives are often to be had within the rendering settings. For game enthusiasts, these optimizations are typically dealt with below the hood, however expertise them facilitates give an explanation for why positive settings affect performance the manner they do.

Some video games with superior snapshot settings allow tweaking culling-related parameters:

Ray tracing distance: How a long way ray-traced outcomes increase from the digital camera

Ray bounce limit: How in many instances a ray can jump earlier than the calculation stops

Culling threshold: The important degree below which rays are culled

When I experimented with those settings in the latest sport, I found that lowering the ray tracing distance from "Ultra" to "High" advanced my performance by approximately 20% with minimum visual distinction in the course of ordinary gameplay.

Step-via-Step Optimization Guide

Now that we understand the foundations, permits create a sensible, step-by-step technique for How to Optimize Gaming PC for Ray Tracing:

1. Update Your System

Update GPU drivers to the modern-day model

Ensure Windows is up to date

Update your recreation to the ultra-modern patch

2. Enable GPU Hardware Scheduling

On Windows 10/11:

Go to Settings > System > Display

Click on Graphics settings

Turn on "Hardware-multiplied GPU scheduling"

Restart your pc

This setting offloads some image scheduling from the CPU to the GPU, doubtlessly enhancing ray tracing overall performance.

Three. Configure Nvidia Control Panel / AMD Radeon Software

For NVIDIA users:

Right-click on the computer and select "NVIDIA Control Panel"

Navigate to "Manage 3-D settings"

Set "Power control mode" to "Prefer most overall performance"

Set "Texture filtering - Quality" to "Performance"

Ensure "CUDA - GPUs" has your GPU selected

For AMD customers:

Open AMD Radeon Software

Go to the Gaming tab

Select your sport or add it if not listed

Set "GPU Workload" to "Graphics"

Consider putting "Anti-Lag" to "Enabled"

Four. Optimize In-Game Settings

Start with ray tracing set to "Medium" or equivalent

Enable DLSS/FSR/XeSS (set to "Balanced" or "Performance" mode)

Reduce these settings which heavily impact performance:

Volumetric lights/fog

Screen area reflections (redundant with ray-traced reflections)

Shadow pleasant (for non-ray-traced shadows)

Particle results nice

Consider decreasing the decision to 1440p if you're on a 4K display

Five. Monitor and Adjust

Use an on-screen show device like MSI Afterburner to reveal:

Framerate

GPU usage

VRAM usage

Temperatures

Aim for stable overall performance rather than maximum settings

I carried out these actual steps while putting in Cyberpunk 2077 on my buddy's new gaming PC. By cautiously balancing the settings, we have been capable of reap 60+ FPS with ray tracing enabled on his RTX 4070, which to start with struggled to preserve even 45 FPS with default "RT Ultra" settings.

Monitoring and Fine-Tuning Performance

Achieving optimal ray tracing overall performance is an iterative method. Here are a few gear and strategies to help you monitor and great-song your setup:

Performance Monitoring Tools

MSI Afterburner with RivaTuner: The gold preferred for in-recreation performance monitoring

NVIDIA FrameView / AMD Radeon Performance Metrics: Vendor-unique gear with distinct metrics

HWiNFO: For monitoring machine temperatures and figuring out potential thermal throttling

Identifying Bottlenecks

When monitoring, look for these signs:

GPU utilization at ninety-seven-a hundred: Your GPU is the proscribing aspect (maximum not unusual with ray tracing)

CPU cores at excessive utilization: Potential CPU bottleneck

High VRAM utilization: You may need to lessen texture pleasant or decision

Thermal throttling: Components lowering overall performance due to high temperatures

Overclocking Considerations

Carefully implemented overclocking can help with ray tracing performance:

GPU middle and reminiscence overclocking can provide five-15% overall performance upgrades

Improved cooling is important for maintaining overclocked overall performance

Undervolting can sometimes improve overall performance using decreasing thermal throttling

I do not forget struggling with a specific ray tracing-heavy sport until I realized my GPU turned into thermal throttling. After improving my case airflow and growing a custom fan curve, my performance stepped forward by almost 20% without changing any game settings.

Reddit-Approved Ray Tracing Tweaks

The gaming community on Reddit has ended up being a superb aid for ray tracing optimizations. Here are a number of the simplest tweaks I've gathered from various subreddits:

From r/nvidia:

"RT shadows are frequently the least major RT impact. Turning them off whilst preserving RT reflections can provide you with again 10-15 FPS with minimum visible impact."

"DLSS Frame Generation (DLSS 3.0+) is a game-changer for ray tracing performance on supported playing cards."

"If you are CPU constrained, enabling 'NVIDIA Reflex' can assist lessen system latency and clean out frame pacing."

From r/AMDHelp:

"FSR 3. Zero with Frame Generation enabled works noticeably nicely with ray tracing on RDNA 3 playing cards."

"Ray traced shadows at low first-class regularly look better than traditional shadow techniques at the same time as performing higher than extraordinary RT shadows."

From r/pcmasterrace:

"Custom decision scaling: Set your render decision to 85-90% and compensate with polishing filters for a performance enhance that's difficult to observe visually."

"For video games that help each DLSS/FSR and ray tracing, usually allow the upscaling generation first, then upload ray tracing outcomes one at a time until you locate your performance candy spot."

One in particular beneficial Reddit tip stored my gaming enjoy in Control. A user recommended simplest allowing ray-traced reflections while leaving the other RT consequences off, then using DLSS Performance mode. This aggregate gave me ninety% of the visible wow element with approximately 40% higher performance than complete RT.

Future-Proofing Your Ray Tracing Setup

As the ray tracing era keeps adapting, here are some considerations for future-proofing your setup:

Hardware Considerations

When upgrading, prioritize GPUs with robust ray-tracing acceleration

Consider the VRAM ability—ray tracing frequently calls for greater memory

Don't neglect CPU enhancements, as games have become increasingly more multi-threaded

Software Evolution

Keep an eye fixed on new variations of DLSS, FSR, and XeSS

Watch for improvements in r raytracing culling strategies

Stay updated on new motive force optimizations specifically for ray tracing

A developer pal who works on rendering technologies informed me some thing interesting: "The destiny of ray tracing is not pretty much raw GPU energy—it is about smarter algorithms that may get more visual exceptional from fewer rays. The r raytracing culling radius and comparable strategies will become increasingly more sophisticated."

Conclusion

Optimizing your gaming PC for ray tracing is both an art and a science. It requires expertise in the generation, having the proper hardware, applying appropriate software program settings, and constantly first-rate-tuning your setup.

Remember that an appropriate stability between visual nice and performance is rather non-public. Some game enthusiasts prioritize rock-stable framerates, at the same time as others are willing to just accept occasional dips beneath 60 FPS to experience the maximum sensible lighting fixtures and reflections feasible.

By applying the strategies included in this guide, from basic driving force updates to superior ray tracing optimizations and r raytracing culling issues, you will be properly prepared to get the most out of this progressive rendering era.

The next time you boot up a recreation with ray tracing enabled, take a moment to realise just how a long way gaming pictures have come—and understand that with the proper optimizations, you are experiencing them at their best.

Have you found another effective techniques for improving ray tracing overall performance? Share your stories and keep the discussion—after all, the gaming network prospers while we share our know-how.

[fogaminghub]

🚀 Attention gamers! Marvel's Spider-Man 2 is heading to PC, and it’s unleashing some jaw-dropping ray tracing effects! Imagine swinging through a stunningly realistic New York City, complete with detailed reflections and shadows. With support for ultra-wide monitors and advanced settings available, this game is set to redefine your gaming adventure. Get hyped! 🎮🌟

[captaingimpy]

The Modern State of Game Development: A Call for Reflection

Game development has changed dramatically over the years, and not all of it for the better. As someone who’s spent time making, modding, and playing games, I can’t help but look at the industry today and see a troubling shift—one driven by reliance on shortcuts like AI upscaling, inflated development pipelines, and a lack of focus on optimization. These trends aren’t just disappointing; they…

[kenyatta]

This always happens with new communication technology.

And with similar severity, too!

Twenty-five years ago, media scholar Jeffrey Sconce traced this history in his book Haunted Media, showing how we have consistently linked new communication technologies with the paranormal and esoteric. It’s not a random coincidence or sign that we’re in a “uniquely enchanted” age but rather a predictable cultural response, one we’ve been replaying over and over for hundreds of years.

Spiritualist mediums claimed to receive messages from the afterlife through Morse code. These operators saw themselves as human receivers, bridging the material and astral. The technology that sent messages across continents without physical contact made it easy to imagine messages crossing the veil.

Radio seemed to throw every word into what Sconce calls an “etheric ocean,” a limitless and invisible sea where messages bobbed about like bottles adrift. By the late 1920s, the big broadcast companies tried to “net” that ocean with fixed frequencies and scheduling. Sconce writes about how fiction reflected this taming of the radio waves. The wistful romances of amateur “DXers” scanning the dial gave way to sinister tales of mass hypnosis, government mind-control rays, and Martians commandeering the airwaves.

Television, again, added another layer, perhaps most iconically portrayed in the 1982 film Poltergeist.

Let’s Talk About ChatGPT-Induced Spiritual Psychosis - Default Blog

[sp00kymulderr]

sixteen shades of blue

prologue - a barely blue

professor!Dieter x reader

words: 800~

warnings/tags: no major warnings for this part. Reader is not a student. University admin stuff lol, write what you know and all that. Fantasizing about the hot professor who can't deal with basic admin tasks. drug use mention (Dieter, duh). Feelings. Hands. Unedited, unbeta'd, written on my phone I'm sorry for mistakes!

a/n: Happy birthday to my brainrot bestie @chronically-ghosted!!! this is a short little thing which hopefully will lead into a bigger thing one day but I know you have been waiting for him for so long so I'm introducing art history professor!Dieter today especially for you.

"Can you go check 16a?" Your boss calls over to you at your desk, "Looks like the register didn't go through"

You sigh to yourself but respond with a 'sure'.

16a is one of the smaller lecture halls on this side of campus; a quick job but not one you should be involved in, not that you'd ever complain about that - a people pleaser to your core, saying no to a work task felt like you might just die.

You stop short of the hall when you hear his voice, confident and excited, your heart skips a beat when you realise just who is teaching in 16a today.

Dieter had walked into your life when he joined the academic staff of the university a year ago. He was like a whirlwind and a calming breeze all at once, nothing like the stuffy, stuck up professors you usually worked with (worked for, in their minds). Dieter was everything they weren't.

You slip in quietly, and don't make yourself known straight away. He's talking about Cezanne - a particular passion of his - and you enjoy the way his hands move as he speaks, bringing the words to life, giving them a flow and a flourish. One of the rings on his fingers glints in a ray of light, drawing more attention to his hands.

You've thought about those hands a lot. His use of them to express himself. How he moves them in a pattern on any available surface when he's lost in thought. The smooth strokes they help him make on a canvas. He'd set up in one of the campus studios outside of hours to work on his own paintings, and you'd stumbled in following the smell of weed when working late one day. You promised to keep his secret safe if he'd let you watch him paint. It was mesmerising to see him work, to see his talent. He's a wonderful, albiet unconventiional professor, but it's clear his real love lies in making art himself.

You'd thought about his hands in other ways too, ways that made things inside you flutter and heat up. How his touch would feel, fingers dancing on your skin, tracing art on you, making you his masterpiece.

You have to shake the thoughts from your head. It's not appropriate, you're at work. Finally you clear your throat and he turns, a smile immediately lighting up his face, brown eyes deep and excited as he looks you up and down without much subtlty.

"Give me a moment" He says to the class, holding up a finger and barely turning his gaze from you, "Examine that reduction of natural form, and then we'll discuss it"

"Hey" You say quietly, stepping forward. He leans into you, a gesture that feels exceedingly intimate despite the students sat behind you.

"I was thinking about you this morning" Dieter says with what feels like a shyness, an admission, "My muse" he adds, and your heart does a little flutter. He'd been calling you that since you inadvertently helped inspire him on a new work one evening.

"But I'm guessing you're here because i've messed something up, right? Is it the stupid registers again" He sighs dramatically and you can't help but giggle.

"I'm afraid so" You nod and step towards his laptop.

"I hate these fucking things" He groans as he watches you access the system and press a few buttons, he's technology averse and you do feel for him in that sense, but you appreciate that he doesn't complain about your systems and processes that make your job easier.

"Remind me to show you how to use this when you're not teaching, okay?" You mutter, entering some final data and stepping back to the door.

"Thanks. I don't know how this place would even function without you..."

You look away, embarrased at the compliment. He's always telling you how much you help him, how good you are at your job, but it never gets easier hearing praise like that. Especially when you'd like to hear different praise coming out of that mouth, plush lips whispering against your ear while he...

You cut the thought off quick and scurry to open the door, but before you can leave he turns back to you and grabs your hand with a gentle hold. Not entirely appropriate infront of a class full of students but you can't pretend it doesn't thrill you. His large hand is warm, the slight press of his rings is definitely not unpleasant. You’re about to get lost in your horny imagination before he speaks again.

"I'll be in the studio later, come by and see the new piece?" He draws right in, so close you feel his breath, speaking in a near whisper. His eyes are almost pleading, wide and waiting and you could dive into their depths.

You squeeze his hand a little and let an easy smile play on your lips. Youd' hoped he'd ask, it had been a while since you'd seen his work, had him all to yourself... it sounds like the perfect evening to you.

"Nowhere I'd rather be"

[tndrfvr]

Hair in RE4 remake

I know this is a niche interest, and this post will probably not reach the targeted audience (if they even exist), but I need to get this out of my head. I won't argue semantics of Leon's hair color in this post (it was always brown it's just blonde on this one). This is just the fun post about hair in RE4. I also made this post to briefly talk about hair in video games. So, RE4 remake introduced hair strands, while also introducing the most light blonde looking Leon ever made. Why? I believe hair strands technology in real time contributed to its look. Lighter hair (and I mean above Luis, even a medium brown hair would count on this) in hair strands proves difficult to be shaded in real time. Single scattering is enough to make the hair of Luis and Ada realistic and properly shaded, but not Leon's and Ashley's. Here's how single scattering looks with Leon's hair and another hair study by frostbite devs. It makes the shadows too dark and the original color disappears.

Both EA and Capcom reached the same solution to this (a solution proposed in 2008), which is double scattering. I won't bother you with the details (or maybe I could make a post about it). But double scattering is a way to estimate the complicated process of multiple scattering into 2 simpler ones. Something that would take maybe hours can be simplified and produce a similar result in seconds. This is a great solution for fast rendering of hair strands with light color. Again, double scattering is an estimation to simulate what the multiple scattering would do. It's a way to achieve an acceptable result that will be able to run in real time. A CGI movie wouldn't need to resort to this method.

Hair strands are being used both on the middle and left, on the right, it's the hair cards.

Image below is hair cards on the left and hair strands on the right.

Look how the hair is reacting to light and casting harsh shadows on top of Leon's hair, meanwhile the color in Ashley's looks overly bright, almost neon, and less realistic than the hair cards on the left (at least to my eyes). This is a consistent issue with hair strands and light hair. It overly reacts to light in weird ways. Even the devs' image for Dual Scattering above shows how overly bright the hair can get under certain lights. Ashley's light hair color gets uniformly bright, since the base was light to begin with, the difference isn't as intense as Leon's. It's no wonder everyone thought Leon was super blonde on RE4make. It seems that some shades of hair are harder to accurately depict the light reflection in the hair strands with dual scattering. In his case, the lights get too light, and the darks get too dark.

There are moments in the game Leon's hair looks black in the shadow and bright blonde in the light.

This isn't an exclusive issue of the RE engine. Dragon Age Veilguard also uses hair strands and dual scattering. Someone posted their custom character running around, and this is how it looks:

These are all in the same environment and the same character. There are angles in the shade where the hair looks almost black, and in the sun it looks like really bright blonde. It's an oddly similar behavior of the extreme light and dark to Leon's. This shows how certain shades of hair struggle under these circumstances. These wouldn't be an issue if the hair strand didn't have to be processed in real time. Hair strands in CGI movies wouldn't face this same challenge. At the end of Capcom's original video about this topic, they mention that they plan on improving on this. Using more ray tracing, contact shadows, and improving and optimizing indirect lighting quality. So maybe future games will look better. As for now, I think Leon's hair looked oddly inconsistent and too bright at times, especially considering his other appearances. Seeing his hair color vary so much during my gameplay made me really curious about why it was doing that, especially when the other characters were fairly consistent. New solutions to this may rise, or maybe I'll be stuck as being the only person who cares about this. The latter is more likely, I admit. Still, it's good to get this off my chest. I spent more time than I should have reading about this topic.

[technologybunker]

Revolutionizing Play: Cloud Gaming, AI, VR, and AR

Revolutionizing Play: Cloud Gaming, AI, VR, and AR In the ever-evolving world of gaming, technology has always played a crucial role. However, recent advancements are pushing the boundaries of what’s possible, creating immersive and innovative...

IntroductionCloud Gaming: The Future of PlayVirtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR): New Dimensions of PlayVirtual RealityAugmented RealityArtificial Intelligence (AI) in Gaming: Smarter WorldsAdvanced Graphics and Real-Time Ray Tracing: Visual ExcellenceSocial Integration and Streaming: Connecting and SharingGaming Accessories and Enhanced Interfaces: More Than Just ControllersAdaptive…

[scoonsalicious]

Unwanted: Chapter 4, Unwelcome - Pt. 1*

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Avenger!Fem!Reader

Summary: When your FWB relationship with your best friend Bucky Barnes turns into something more, you couldn’t be happier. That is, however, until a new Avenger sets her sights on your super soldier and he inadvertently breaks your heart. You take on a mission you might not be prepared for to put some distance between the two of you and open yourself up to past traumas. Too bad the only one who can help you heal is the one person you can no longer trust.

Warnings: (For this part only; see Story Masterlist for general Warnings) Language, Explicit Sexual Content - Minors: GTFO; I don’t serve your kind here - (oral (f receiving), unprotected PIV (only okay if one of you is a super solider who can't contract/spread, otherwise, wrap it before you tap it), bad jokes (should be a given at this point, really), dummies not understanding feelings.

Word Count: 2.6k

Previously On...: Bucky returned from his mission and your reunion got a little spicier than intended... not that either one of you is complaining! Deciding not to make it a one-time thing, you both agree to try a friends-with-benefits arrangement. What could possibly go wrong?

A/N: Yay! More smut! Aren't we all so lucky! <3 I magically managed to plow my way through writing Chapter 10 tonight, which means ya'll get Chapter 4, Part 1 a little earlier than I anticipated! I have to confess that I love the stupid banter between Bucky and Pocket. Their dumb playfulness is so #goals for me, lol. You've got a lot of fluff and such coming your way for a few chapters, meanwhile I'm at the point where I'm just writing all the angst and it is making me so sad. I subconsciously keep trying to fix it because I hate having them be at odds, but the story needs pain! And therefore I must make my babies suffer. Not right now, though. Right now is smut, smut, smut! Enjoy!

Banner By: The absolutely amazing @mrsbuckybarnes1917

Taglist: (Please let me know if you’d like to be added!) @jmeelee @cazellen @blackhawkfanatic @les-sel @marcswife21 @buckybarnessimpp @mrsbuckybarnes1917 @erelierraceala

You sat in your office, head bent over the latest budget requests from your lab staff. You tended to be pretty generous when it came to project funding, but this $15 million request for a proposed shrink ray had to be some sort of a joke. Did they want a lawsuit from Pym Technologies? A knock on your door drew your attention away from the submission in front of you.

"Come in," you called out, putting the shrink ray proposal in your rejection pile. Bucky entered your office, flashing you a seductive smile as he closed and locked the door behind him.

Leaning back in your desk chair, you let your eyes rove over his frame as he walked toward you. He'd obviously just come from the gym, his muscles glistening with a sheen of sweat and his t-shirt clinging to his sculpted chest. The sight of him made your heart race, and you couldn't help but feel a now familiar heat building between your legs. He looked absolutely gorgeous. "You're not my GrubHub order," you teased.

"Not your GrubHub," he said, coming around to sit on the edge of your desk, "but I bet I can fill you up just as good."

You both stared at each other for a beat before bursting into laughter. "Oh my God, Barnes," you groaned, standing up and wrapping your arms around his neck. "That was absolutely awful." You kissed him, relishing the feel of his laughter against your mouth. "I can't believe I willingly let you put your dick in me, jokes like that."

Bucky's laughter faded into a heated gaze as his hands traveled up your sides, sending shivers down your spine. "Well," he whispered huskily, his lips grazing against the shell of your ear, "I'm glad you let me, because all I can think about is doing it again."

"Then it's a very good thing you locked that door," you whispered back, trying to ignore the wetness his words sent straight to your panties.

His fingers traced the outline of your jaw, his feather-light touch igniting a trail of desire along your skin. The familiar weight of his presence grounded you, drawing you closer. Together, like this, it was as if you were the only two people in the world, as if no one else existed.

"I've been thinking about you all day," Bucky confessed, his voice laced with a mixture of longing and hunger. "Couldn't focus on anything else but getting my hands on you."

"I've been right here." You took a hand and palmed him through his sweats. He was already rock hard, ready for you.

"Tease," he moaned, slotting his lips over yours again.

Your breath hitched as he kissed you, a surge of electricity coursing through your veins. The heat between you intensified with each kiss, fueling the fire that burned deep within. The taste of him was addictive, and you wondered how you had spent over a year in his company without kissing him before now.

“Fuck,” he hissed, pulling back from you. “I don’t have a condom. I could go get one, come back…”

You shook your head, not wanting to delay another moment. You knew the serum made him immune to catching or passing on any STIs, and you were clean. “I’m on the pill, Bucky,” you said, bringing your lips to his again. “And I wanna feel you. So fucking bad.”

“Thank God for modern fucking medicine,” he grinned.

Bucky's hands roamed over your body, his touch leaving a trail of fire in its wake. He expertly unbuttoned your blouse without taking his mouth from yours, revealing the soft curve of your breasts. His lips trailed down your neck, nipping and sucking at the sensitive skin.

"You seem to have forgotten your bra, Pocket," he murmured before taking his mouth to your nipple, swirling his tongue around it and sucking gently. Your knees weakened at the sensation, and you gripped onto his shoulders for support.

"Mmm, Bucky," you moaned, arching your back as he switched his attention to your other breast, giving it the same lavish treatment. The wetness pooled between your thighs, leaving you aching for his touch.

He stepped back abruptly, his eyes dark with desire as he reached down to unbutton your skirt. "I've been dying to taste you," he murmured, his voice thick with need.

You eagerly stepped out of your skirt, revealing the black lace panties that barely covered your soaking slit. Bucky's gaze darkened further as he looked at you, hungrily taking in every inch of your exposed body.

"Fuck," he breathed, stepping closer to you "You wear these just for me?" You just smiled at him, biting your lower lip. You had worn them just for him, but he didn't need to know that. With one swift motion, he lifted you up and placed you on the edge of your desk. The cool wood felt delicious against your heated skin as Bucky hooked his fingers around the sides of your panties, pulling them down your legs and stuffing them into the pocket of his pants.

"Thief," you chastised, but he only smirked at you as he dropped to his knees in front of you, his warm breath fanning across your slick folds as he hooked your legs over his shoulders.

You grasped the edge of the desk, your heart pounding in anticipation as he leaned forward and dipped his tongue between your swollen lips. A moan escaped you at the first touch of his velvety tongue against your throbbing clit. "Holy shit, Buck," you groaned. "Just like that."

"I knew you'd be delicious," he moaned into you.

Bucky's skilled tongue worked its magic, flicking and swirling with an expertise that sent waves of pleasure radiating through your body. Your head fell back, exposing your neck as you surrendered yourself to the sensations he was evoking. Each lick and suck was like an electric shock to your core, building the tension coiling within you.

Your fingers tangled in his hair, urging him closer as he devoured you with an insatiable hunger. The intensity of his ministrations brought you to the edge faster than expected, the coil within you tightening with an urgency that demanded release. You whimpered, your moans growing louder with each pass of his tongue.

"Bucky," you panted, pulling on his hair to drag him up. "Bucky I need you. I need you right now." Your voice was desperate, your body craving the feel of his thickness inside you.

Bucky's eyes were filled with a predatory glint as he stood up, his lips glistening with the evidence of your arousal. He swiftly rid himself of his sweats, releasing his swollen, throbbing length that begged to be inside you. The air crackled with tension as he positioned himself between your thighs, his hands gripping your hips firmly.

"Tell me what you want, sweetheart," he growled, his voice rough with desire.

You locked eyes with him, the intensity of your connection sparking a fire within you. "I want you inside me," you gasped, your voice filled with a desperate need.

Without any further warning, Bucky plunged into you with a force that stole your breath. The sensation of being filled by him, stretched and taken to the brink of reason, sent shock waves coursing through every nerve ending in your body. You cried out in ecstasy, the sound mingling with his own groan of pleasure.

"Jesus Christ, Pocket," he moaned, "you're so fucking tight."

He set a punishing pace, driving into you with a raw need that matched your own. The sensation of him sliding in and out of you sent sparks of delight shooting through your veins. Your hands clawed at his back, urging him to move faster, harder.

Each stroke hit that sweet spot deep within you, igniting fireworks in your body. The desk creaked beneath the force of your movements, the sound echoing throughout the room.

"Fuck," Bucky grunted, his hips slapping against yours with a primal intensity, "turn around."

He pulled out of you and flipped you, bending you over the desk before thrusting back into you from behind. The new angle allowed him to hit you deeper than before, and you could feel the tip of him kiss your cervix.

The desk continued to shake as Bucky pounded into you, the raw power behind each thrust pushing you closer to the edge of release. Your breath came in ragged gasps, your moans filling the air as ecstasy rippled through your body.

Sweat dripped down both of your bodies, glistening in the dim light of the office. The urgency between you was palpable, a desperate hunger that consumed every inch of your being. You could feel the tension building within you, coiling tighter and tighter.

"I'm...I'm so close," you managed to pant out, your voice strained with need. "Don't stop, Bucky."

He groaned in response, his thrusts becoming more erratic, his hips slamming against yours with an almost brutal force. The sound of your bodies colliding filled the room, drowning out any other noise.

Bucky's gaze bore into yours as you turned to look at him, his eyes filled with a mixture of lust and adoration. His grip on your hips tightened even further, his fingers leaving imprints on your skin as he pistoned in and out of you. The sensations he stoked within you built to an unbearable peak, threatening to consume you both.

With one final powerful thrust, Bucky sent you hurtling over the edge, your orgasm crashing through you like a tidal wave. You cried out his name, your body convulsing as waves of bliss coursed through every fiber of your being. It was an explosion that left you breathless and trembling, your senses overwhelmed by the intensity of the moment.

Bucky followed suit, ropes of his spend spilling into you as he found his own release. He bent his body over yours, burying his face in the curve of your neck, his moans muffled against your skin as he rode out the aftershocks of his orgasm.

For a few moments, the only sound in the room was heavy breathing and the faint echo of your heartbeats pounding in your ears. Your bodies were entangled, sweaty and spent from the intense release that had just washed over you. Bucky's grip on your hips slowly loosened as he pulled out of you, his length slipping free with a wet sound.

ith a shaky sigh, you turned around and immediately collapsed back onto the desk, your legs trembling from the sheer euphoria that had consumed you moments ago. Bucky stood there, his chest heaving as he tried to catch his breath. His eyes were filled with a mix of satisfaction and tenderness as he looked down at you.

He leaned down, pressing a soft kiss to your forehead before moving to stand in front of you. His fingers gently brushed against your cheek, wiping away a stray tear that had escaped during your climax. You reached up, intertwining your fingers with his and bringing them to your lips for a gentle kiss.

"Are you okay?" he asked, concern lacing his voice. "I didn't hurt you, did I? I went a little harder than I meant to."

You shook your head, a small smile tugging at the corners of your lips. "No, Bucky. That was... incredible. You didn't hurt me, you made me feel amazing." You paused, looking up into his eyes, filled with genuine affection. "You always make me feel amazing."

His gaze softened, and he brushed his thumb against your cheekbone. You moved to hop down from your desk, but your knees gave out, refusing to hold you.

"Hey, I've got you," Bucky said with a laugh as he steadied you, supporting you as though you weighed nothing. He began slowly buttoning your shirt back up, then slid your skirt back up your thighs.

"I think you ruined my legs," you giggled as he planted a kiss on your navel before tucking your shirt back into your skirt.

"Sorry 'bout that," he said with a smirk as he straightened up.

You let out a shaky laugh. "Yeah, I'm sure you feel really bad about it," you grinned.

He leaned in close to your ear. "Not even a little bit," he whispered, as though it was a conspiratorial secret. God, just his proximity and the sound of his voice sent a shiver down your spine.

"Looking to go for Round Two already, doll?" he asked you as he took in your physical response to him with a smug smile.

"I don't think my desk can take another go at the moment, or my legs, for that matter." You tried standing up again and were pleased to find that, though your knees were still weak, you were able to hold yourself upright. You glanced over to see Bucky watching you with a shit-eating grin. "You look a little too proud of yourself, you know."

"Tell me it's not fully deserved." He grinned at you like a mother fucking cat who had just found a saucer of cream. You rolled your eyes as you began picking up the avalanche of papers that had fallen from your desk to the floor. Bucky came around and bent over to help set your office back to rights.

Once everything was back in its proper place, you stood back to admire your work. No one would know that you'd been thoroughly railed here just a few minutes before. You watched as Bucky picked up the framed photo you kept of the two of you on your desk.

It was from your trip to the New York Botanical Gardens last winter. Bucky had confessed to you that, due to spending so much time on ice while under Hydra's control, he'd developed an intense hatred-- almost fear-- of cold weather. So, when a particularly brutal cold snap had him feeling exceptionally out of sorts, you'd taken him up to the Bronx to visit the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, where you spent the day meandering through the paths of the hothouse, surrounded by humidity and tropical plants as though you were in the middle of the rainforest. In the photo, Bucky stood next to you with his arms wrapped around your shoulders, your hands hanging off of his forearm as he leaned into you and kissed your temple. Your face was scrunched up into a ridiculous smile.

"That was a great day," Bucky said, tracing the photo with a flesh finger. "I don't think I ever told you how much it meant to me, means to me, that you did that for me." His voice had dropped to something deeper, softer.

You felt something in your heart flutter at his words, the sensation new and a little frightening. The sensation made you nervous in a way you couldn't identify. "Buck," you said, swallowing thickly, "there's not much I wouldn't do for you. I hope you know that."

His crystal blue eyes bore into you as he looked at you, almost as though he was waiting for you to say something more. When you didn't, he let out a sigh and placed the photo back on your desk.

Looking back up at you, the intensity was gone from his gaze. "You hungry? I figure we must have burned enough calories to justify a big lunch." His cocky grin was back in place.

"Yeah, that sounds perfect," you said, linking your arm in his and patently ignoring the way the contact sent a swell of affection through your heart. "Let me pop into the bathroom to clean up, and then we're good to go."

<- Previous Chapter / Next Part ->

[flyinguraniumrod]

What would Henry Masterson's gaming PC be like?

Out of all the thoughts I have... and have had many times... I decided to pick one that appeared just now, lol

I shall take today's PCs as the reference point, since who knows what the future shall bring aaand the technology-related predictions in TFA are quite different I think. Aka what if bro was to get one nowadays.

I think that Henry would totally go for an Intel+Nvidia build (,,WHAT IS AMD?? SOUNDS LIKE SOMETHING FOR BROKE NOOBZ.")

And he would overclock that CPU so hard the heaters in his room would lose their jobs (but Idk which one could it be since Idc about Intel lol)

When it comes to applying thermal paste, it would be the dot type and he'd put too little of it. If he had an air cooler for it, he would forget to take off the protective foil and not realize that for a few days. Unsure if the case's fan directions would be messed up, maybe he'd get one with inbuilt fans? And if he was to get an AIO, maybe it'd be a decent one.

For GPU, I am thinking about GTX 1660 Ti or RTX 3060. Depending on upgrading, how many years it would be used, money, yes. Also overclocked, Henry doesn't know what undervolting is, water could be boiled thanks to it.

And now for the PSU (power supply)... I started hesitating here so Imma say that maybe he'd consider the wattage properly, actually? Yeah, I dare to say that this part wouldn't get messed up, tbh.

For the other features: relatively random motherboard (he'd go for one which has most of the stuff inbuilt, but wouldn't mind if it didn't), SSD: as many terabytes as he could get, 64GB of RAM. And I almost forgot about another crucial thing ToT but anyways I think he'd go for AM4 CPU socket and DDR4 RAM, the fives being too fresh for him, lol. Also: Linux as the operating system.

Lastly, fish tank PC case! Black for the color, rainbow RGB everywhere, that thing would be glowing brighter than the Star of Bethlehem and give seizures 24/7

And yeah he'd use ray tracing (everywhere) if he could. I am not going to delve into graphics settings because I have zero clue about like half of this stuff ;-;

Do I know a decent amount of stuff about PCs and have any experience? Absolutely not. Did I want to yap? Yes. Is it somehow accurate and consistent? Probably not 😭

[dinosaursonthetwinplanet]

Modern technology and dinosaur fossils

There isn't any credible scientific evidence that supports the mainstream mineralization theory but on the contrary modern technology proves that it can't happen the way the theory suggests. Modern technology, especially microscopy, has dramatically deepened our understanding of dinosaur fossils, revealing details that were unimaginable just a few decades ago. Here’s a concise overview of what microscopy and related tools have uncovered: 1. Discovery of Soft Tissues Using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scientists have found: • Blood vessel-like structures • Red blood cell-shaped objects • Bone cells (osteocytes) with preserved structures These were first reported in a T. rex femur by Dr. Mary Schweitzer in the early 2000s, challenging the idea that soft tissue couldn’t survive millions of years.

2. Protein and Molecular Structures Microscopy, combined with mass spectrometry and immunohistochemistry, has revealed: • Preserved collagen fibers, confirming a link between dinosaurs and birds. • Reactions with antibodies that only bind to certain proteins, suggesting that original molecules survived in some fossils.

3. Pigmentation and Feather Color With electron microscopes, researchers have identified melanosomes (pigment-containing structures) in fossilized feathers. These led to: • Reconstructions of actual feather colors in dinosaurs like Anchiornis and Microraptor (e.g., iridescent black, reddish tones).

4. Growth and Disease Evidence Bone cross-sections viewed under light and electron microscopes show: • Growth rings, like tree rings, indicating growth rates. • Signs of bone cancer, arthritis, and injuries helping us understand dinosaur health. 5. Cellular and Nanostructural Detail Advanced imaging reveals: • Nano-scale preservation of original tissue structure. • Differences between fossil material and possible contamination (ruling out modern biofilm or bacteria in some studies). In Summary: Microscopy and modern tech have turned dinosaur bones into biological time capsules, revealing: • Cellular structure • Protein preservation • Pigment patterns • Disease evidence This new level of insight has reshaped our view of dinosaurs not just as skeletons, but as once-living, dynamic creatures with feathers, color, disease, and growth cycles. Here’s a list of modern technologies that have been used to analyze and reveal new facts about dinosaur fossils especially those related to soft tissue, cellular structures, and ancient biology:

Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) • Produces high-resolution images of fossil surfaces. • Used to identify blood vessel-like structures, osteocytes, and melanosomes (pigment organelles).

Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) • Offers ultra-high magnification to see internal structures of cells and fibers. • Helped confirm collagen fibers and sub-cellular features in fossils.

Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) • Detects and sequences ancient proteins like collagen. • Confirmed molecular similarities between dinosaurs and birds.

Immunohistochemistry • Uses antibodies to test for specific proteins. • Proved some structures in fossils react like real biological tissue, not just mineralized look-alikes.

Synchrotron X-ray Imaging • High-energy, non-destructive imaging of fossil interiors. • Maps the chemical composition of fossils, including traces of blood, soft tissues, or pigments.

Raman Spectroscopy • Identifies molecular bonds and organic compounds. • Confirms presence of preserved proteins and pigments.

Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) • Detects organic molecules in fossils. • Supports claims of soft tissue preservation by matching spectral signatures of known proteins.

Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy • Produces 3D images of soft tissue structures inside fossils. • Used to observe elasticity and fine internal details of preserved vessels.

9. Micro-CT (Computed Tomography) Scanning • Creates detailed 3D models of fossil interiors. • Reveals hidden bone structures, growth rings, and sometimes trapped soft tissue.

Stable Isotope Analysis • Measures carbon, oxygen, and other isotopes. • Reveals insights about dinosaur diets, environments, and metabolism. These technologies are revolutionizing paleontology by uncovering molecular and cellular data that were never thought possible in such ancient remains. Here’s a summary with examples of specific dinosaur species where modern technology has revealed extraordinary fossil details:

Tyrannosaurus rex • Discovery: Soft tissue structures including blood vessels, osteocytes, and collagen fragments. • Technology used: Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), Immunohistochemistry. • Significance: First confirmed protein sequences from a dinosaur; supports a close evolutionary link to birds.

2. Anchiornis huxleyi • Discovery: Microscopic pigment structures called melanosomes in fossilized feathers. • Technology used: Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), Synchrotron X-ray imaging. • Significance: Revealed feather colors — likely black, gray, and reddish hues — making it one of the first dinosaurs reconstructed with accurate coloration.

Brachylophosaurus canadensis (a hadrosaur) • Discovery: Preserved blood vessels, cells, and possible nuclei in bone tissue. • Technology used: Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy (CLSM), FTIR spectroscopy, SEM. • Significance: Demonstrated that even delicate cellular structures can persist under rare conditions.

Microraptor gui • Discovery: Feather structure and iridescent coloration patterns. • Technology used: Electron Microscopy, Melanosome analysis. • Significance: Showed it had shiny, bird-like plumage linking flight-related traits with non-avian dinosaurs. These breakthroughs have turned dinosaur bones into molecular time capsules, and they continue to reshape how we imagine these ancient creatures.

[hunipeye]

What Remains of Winter

Read on Ao3; https://archiveofourown.org/works/66008359

————————————————————————————

Chapter 3

Can you see it?” Yelena tapped the tablet screen with her fingernail - painted black and chipping - impatient for a response.

It displayed a 3D scan of a building, entirely x-ray, like a blueprint. Within that diagram were a multitude of infrared figures wandering about.

“What am I looking for?” I mumbled, suddenly feeling overcome with regret for deciding to ‘bond’ with the team.

“If I tell you it defeats the purpose of our exercise.” Her strictness gave me war flashbacks to my Eastern European piano teacher of years gone by. I shuddered.

“Those are people,” I traced around the screen, feeling less than smart knowing that every other person in this room right now probably had the answer Yelena was looking for.

“Yes…” She drawled, waiting.

“I’m not sure what the point of this exercise is, Yelena.”

She ripped the tablet from my hands and pointed, frustrated, “Those yellow lines are tripwires. That red dot? A mine. Those blue squares in the corners are all security cameras,” She shoved the tablet into my lap and reclined on the couch, “And yes, those are people.”

“But what’s the point of it?”

“We think it would be beneficial for you to understand how our world works,” Ava started, “I mean, isn’t that how your Avengers worked so well? They all came from the same world, so to speak.”

”Ironman had his… What's its name, ‘Alexa’? No, ‘Siri’?” Alexei spoke with his hands, waving them about for emphasis.

“Jarvis,” Bucky clarified, leaning against the adjacent wall, watching my exercise intently.

“So you want me to do what exactly?”

“Right now? We want you to learn how to navigate this map and it’s HUD. In an ideal world we’ll never have to go into battle again and can lounge in this boujee living room forever,” Yelena grinned and stretched her arms above her head, “But we don’t live in an ideal world. So, when we inevitably do need to… defend ourselves, it’s always useful to have an extra pair of eyes and ears.”

Bucky pushed himself off the wall, striding towards us, “You don’t have to go in guns blazing, just feed us information about our surroundings. That kind of assistance is something we’re missing, you could fulfil that role-”

“Maybe,” Ava interjected, “She doesn’t seem to grasp it.”

“Yes, because this is my first time seeing anything remotely like this. I can’t just immediately become some military-level, super soldier tactician,” I retorted, my pride getting the better of me, “I’ll figure it out.”

Yelena slapped my shoulder as she left me on the parting words, “Let us know if you need help.”

“Don’t drag me into this,” Walker shouted from the other end of the room, causing Bucky’s lips to stretch into a grin.

I am a painfully proud person. I can admit that. The fear of insignificance or average-ness has me in a vice-tight grip every single day. My worth is tied to my intelligence and so, when I was faced with that tablet, I was worthless. As I sat on the floor of my living room for days on end I rotated the 3D building model. I could see each tripwire, bomb and camera but I was unable to figure out how to disarm them. Each time I tried the trap would only go off and result in the simulation restarting. My mug of coffee had gone cold hours ago and I hadn’t bothered to check the time, I knew I had spent hours pouring over this exercise just this evening. This was the longest it had ever taken me to crack an assignment. I was beyond downtrodden.

I couldn’t even Google this stuff, the internet is vast but even it doesn’t hold instructions for military-grade technology. I scowled at my phone, realising I’d have to sacrifice my pride this one time.

“I’m sorry it’s so late,” I said in lieu of a proper greeting as I opened the front door of my apartment and welcomed the Winter Soldier into my home. I tried to imagine what me just a couple months ago would have said at the thought of Bucky Barnes in her living room. She wouldn’t believe it.

“You really should be asleep,” He murmured, taking the apartment in. My new obnoxiously large salary allowed me to have an exceptionally luxurious home. I was in the penthouse of an already fancy apartment complex. The floor plan was open and the colour scheme dark in a clean, modern way.

Despite Bucky’s words, he looked like the concept of sleep was foreign to him. His hair was pulled back, half up, half down, and his eyes seemed more awake than ever.

“I can’t sleep until I figure out how to use this godforsaken thing,” I groaned, pointing to the tablet on the floor.

“Why is it over there? Is it in the naughty corner or something?” He quipped, looking over at me as if expecting laughter. I was beyond joking.

“This thing is ridiculous,” I huffed. As I bent over to pick it up I became all too aware of the loungewear I had on. My shorts rode up slightly as I bent down and my scoop neck T-shirt nearly exposed the valley of my breasts. I moved quickly, if I didn’t make a scene he wouldn’t notice, right?

”Can you explain it to me? I won’t keep you long, I’m sure you’re exhausted.”

”I have nothing but time,” His voice was flat and humourless again and I feared I had offended his vintage sensibilities.

I sat silently as I listened to him explain how each button and drop-down menu worked. We ran through half a dozen simulations until I was able to complete them without his assistance. It began to feel like a strategy game, until I realised that if I ever actually needed to use these skills I’d be in a life to death situation.

“How can you do this but not use a phone?” A warmth bloomed in my chest as I caught his mouth curling into a smile.

“That’s different”.

“How so?”

He breathes in deeply, as if getting ready for a long overdue rant, “They only need to do one thing; call. I don’t get the point of all this movie player, video game, music app nonsense.”

“So what? You think everybody ought to line up to see the talkies on the weekend and have record players in their living rooms?”

“What can I say,” Bucky’s smile didn’t break, “I’m old fashioned.”

I shrugged and pushed my chair away from the table, “Nothing wrong with that. One sec.”

I hated turning my back on him. I wanted to be able to take in every movement on his face, the ways he revealed his emotions without realising it. I slipped into my bedroom, carefully and quietly, working my plan until Doris Day sang ‘It Had to Be You’ in the speakers laced throughout my home. The elegant strings of the orchestra rose as I padded back into the living room, the tinkling keys of a piano escorted me to my seat across from Bucky.

I answered the question that hung in the air, “My grandmother was really into collecting music back in her day. I lived with her so I’d always play her records. She left her collection to me when she was placed in an old folks home.”

For a split second I feared I had revealed too much about myself. I hated when people asked about my parents for no other reason than I had no answers for them. I never truly knew them, just held onto vague memories and stories of their fairytale romance from my grandmother. That was when she could still talk. As her health deteriorated our conversations became ‘one ring on the bell for ‘yes’ and two for ‘no’’. It pained me to see her, so different from her previous self.

Thankfully Bucky said, “Can I see it?”

The thought of him in my bedroom had my knees weak, I imagined that if I tried to stand up I’d fold back in on myself like a poppet.

“Sure.”

I observed Bucky as he ran a finger along my shelves and shelves of records, moving much faster when he came into contact with the more modern stuff. There were piles and piles of records, some I had never even taken out of their sleeves before. I definitely needed to organise soon.

“She had good taste,” he turned his head back at me with a soft, nostalgic look in his eye that made me want to pounce on him.

“Yeah, she was a real classy lady. She left me, like, all her wardrobe and jewellery and stuff. That’s one of the perks of being the only grandkid, I guess.”

“Do you still have it?”

“Oh yeah. They’re all authentic so they’d probably be worth a lot to real vintage enthusiasts, but I couldn’t let them go.”

“Do you wear them at all?”

He had turned away from the records completely, his attention focused entirely on me. Those steely eyes made me feel stripped down, bare.

“I don’t have the opportunity to. They’re pretty fancy.”

“Wear one to the press conference.”

It wasn’t advice or a question, it was a statement. Somehow it didn’t make me feel demeaned or less than, I felt secure in his control.

Despite that, he continued, “I mean, if you want to-”

I tried to smile as comfortingly as possible, his face was growing flushed and nervous, “No, no. I appreciate that. I wasn’t sure what to wear anyways. That’s one less decision for me to make.”

The silence that followed felt like it lasted an hour. An hour of staring at how his chest rose and fell in an unsteady rhythm. How his hair fell in curtains on the sides of his face. How he flexed his left shoulder, sighing roughly.

“Does it hurt?”

I was pushing it, to ask him about his arm - and by extension his past - was a line I had yet to cross. But I had just thrown myself into it. Bucky seemed to recalibrate, change the course of where his train of thought was headed.

“Yeah, sometimes.”

“Is there anything that helps it?”

“No.”

“You don’t do physio or anything?”

“I don’t think many physios know how to work with what I’ve got going on.”

I tried to wrap my head around his suffering. It was beyond my comprehension. All I could say was, “I’m sorry.”

He rolled his shoulders, relieving tension, “It’s alright to ask about it”.

“No. I’m sorry that happened to you, Bucky.”

The way his expression shifted made me run hot with embarrassment. I shouldn’t have brought it up.

“You didn’t do it,” His voice was tried, gravelly, dismissive.

“I know, it’s just…”

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” He left the room in long strides. I didn’t realise I was holding my breath until I heard my front door close and was left with nothing but the music of times past sounding throughout my home.

3.5.

Bucky POV

Screams echoed throughout the hall, hitting me like a force field. I clambered to my feet and ran down the sterile, medical corridor. The lack of decoration was exactly what gave away the location; HYDRA, Siberia, Russia.

The cries continued, it sounded like a struggle was occurring, a desperate fight. I continued to run and run and run in the direction of the shrieks. The hallway felt never ending but the voice was growing closer and more hoarse and exhausted by the second.

The sight of it was enough to bring me to my knees.

Y/n forced into the Memory suppressing Machine. Her face was contorted with pain and her fist clenched so tightly I could see her nails drawing blood from her palms. I watched as the scientists stood by, ignoring me. I tried to yell at them to stop, to beg on her behalf, but no sounds followed. I attempted to rise from my knees but I was cemented to the floor, forced to watch as she writhed in pain, trying in vain to escape from HYDRA, as I once had.

She shuddered and convulsed violently, until she suddenly stilled, submitting to the pain. Beads of sweat rested on her forehead like a crown of thorns, the blood from her palms had smeared onto the arms of the chair that held her.

I tried to move to her but I was like a puppet with no master. Every effort was useless, she was theirs.

A man in a white scientist’s coat strode behind her. He lifted his arm to reveal a pistol in his hand, cocked at her head. My breaths were ragged and my failed screams turned my throat raw. I was pathetic, I couldn’t save her.

The sound of the bullet was deafening.

I screamed as I shot awake. My shirt and bed sheets were soaked through with sweat and the pillow beside me was crumpled in the vice grip of my bionic arm. For once, I felt glad to be alone. I was a danger to everyone around me without even fully comprehending it.

I took my shirt off with such vigour I could hear the seams tear. The shower head poured freezing water onto my back and I relished the shock. I wouldn’t think of them, I would focus on the water. I tried in vain to turn my brain off.

But it kept coming back to her and the way she spoke to me that evening.

She wanted to know about me. She was real and honest. Not some nagging reporter begging for a headline about the cruel Winter Soldier.

No, she wanted whatever she thought Bucky Barnes was. Not this reality of panic attacks, failed therapy appointments and showers so freezing they could be classified as self harm. A world where the night sky is nothing more than a dark ceiling without a star. I didn’t want to force this mess into her life, uproot the lifestyle she had in that pretty little apartment.

I’m a stain on everything good. Like a bad smell on polyester, impossible to get out.

A horrible man.

[fogaminghub]

🌟 Get ready for an exhilarating racing experience with F1 24’s amazing PS5 Pro enhancements! 🏎️✨ Enjoy ray tracing for stunning visuals and dive into the breathtaking 8K resolution! Discover how to take full advantage of these features, and don’t miss the free-play trial from Nov 21-24! 🚀

👉 Read our complete blog post for insider tips and tricks! 

[felassan]

From NVIDIA GeForce, excerpts below:

"Over 600 RTX Games & Apps Now Available, Plus 20 New RTX and DLSS Games Announced, Including Dragon Age: The Veilguard, Dune: Awakening, FINAL FANTASY XVI, Killing Floor 3, Avowed & Black State In December we celebrated the release of over 500 RTX-enhanced games and apps. And now, we’ve already surpassed 600 RTX games and apps, as adoption of NVIDIA DLSS, NVIDIA Reflex and advanced ray-traced effects continues to accelerate![...] Below, you can learn more about DLSS and RTX technologies coming to Arena Breakout: Infinite, Avowed, Black State, Concord, Dragon AgeTM: The Veilguard, Dune: Awakening, Empire of the Ants, Eternal Strands, FINAL FANTASY XVI, FragPunk, Funko Fusion, Greedfall II: The Dying World, Killing Floor 3, Kingmakers, Mecha BREAK, Once Human, Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap, Retrieval, SPINE, Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown, and Unawake. Dragon Age™: The Veilguard Launches October 31st With DLSS 3, Reflex & Ray Tracing - Watch A New RTX Trailer Rise as Rook, Dragon Age™’s newest hero. Be who you want to be and play how you want to play as you fight to stop the gods from blighting the world in Dragon Age™: The Veilguard. But you can’t do this alone – the odds are stacked against you. Lead a team of seven companions, each with their own rich story to discover and shape, and together you will become The Veilguard. When BioWare and Electronic Arts’ Dragon Age™: The Veilguard launches on October 31st, 2024, you’ll be able to accelerate performance with DLSS 3, make gameplay even more responsive with Reflex, and enhance image quality and immersion with ray-traced ambient occlusion and ray-traced reflections! Take an exclusive first look at Dragon Age™: The Veilguard, running on a GeForce RTX 40 Series PC with DLSS 3 and ray tracing in our new video: [link]"

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