#bottled water market growth

[marketinsight1234]

Bottled Water Market: Global Industry Analysis and Forecast 2023 – 2030

Global Bottled Market size was valued at USD 323.99 billion in 2022 and is projected to reach USD 527.26 Billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 5.56 %from 2023 to 2030.

The bottled water industry originated in the late 18th century with mineral water sales in Europe, evolving now with eco-friendly packaging, advanced purification, and a consumer focus on sustainability and tap water awareness.

The bottled water market to the industry segment that involves the production, packaging, and distribution of drinking water that is intended for consumption and sold in sealed containers, typically made of plastic, glass, or other materials. Types of bottled drinking water in the market are Spring water bottled drinking water, Mineral water, Purified water bottled, Alkaline water bottled, Sparkling water bottled, and Electrolyte-enhanced water bottled. this packaged water is sold to consumers through various retail channels such as supermarkets, convenience stores, vending machines, and online platforms.

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The latest research on the Bottled Water market provides a comprehensive overview of the market for the years 2023 to 2030. It gives a comprehensive picture of the global Bottled Water industry, considering all significant industry trends, market dynamics, competitive landscape, and market analysis tools such as Porter's five forces analysis, Industry Value chain analysis, and PESTEL analysis of the Bottled Water market. Moreover, the report includes significant chapters such as Patent Analysis, Regulatory Framework, Technology Roadmap, BCG Matrix, Heat Map Analysis, Price Trend Analysis, and Investment Analysis which help to understand the market direction and movement in the current and upcoming years. The report is designed to help readers find information and make decisions that will help them grow their businesses. The study is written with a specific goal in mind: to give business insights and consultancy to help customers make smart business decisions and achieve long-term success in their particular market areas.

Leading players involved in the Bottled Water Market include:

Bisleri International(India), Nestlé(Switzerland), PepsiCo (United States), The Coca-Cola Company (United States), DANONE (France), Primo Water Corporation (United States), Gerolsteiner Brunnen (Germany), Tata Consumer Products (India), VOSS WATER (US), Nongfu Spring (China), National Beverage Corp. (US), Qua Mineral Water (India), Tata Water Plus (India), Rail Neer (India), Ferrarelle Spa (Italy), Fonti di Vinadio SpA (Italy), Suntory beverage (Japan), Mountain Valley Spring (US), CG Roxane (US), Fiji water (US), Keurig Dr Pepper Inc. (US) and Other Major Player. 

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Segmentation of Bottled Water Market:

By Type

Mineral water

Spring water

Sparkling water

Flavoured water.

By Packaging

Polyethylene terephthalate

High-density polyethylene

Polycarbonate

Cans.

By Distribution Channel

Supermarkets

Convenience Stores

Hypermarkets.

By Regions: -

North America (US, Canada, Mexico)

Eastern Europe (Bulgaria, The Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Rest of Eastern Europe)

Western Europe (Germany, UK, France, Netherlands, Italy, Russia, Spain, Rest of Western Europe)

Asia Pacific (China, India, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, The Philippines, Australia, New Zealand, Rest of APAC)

Middle East & Africa (Turkey, Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE, Israel, South Africa)

South America (Brazil, Argentina, Rest of SA)

What to Expect in Our Report?

(1) A complete section of the Bottled Water market report is dedicated for market dynamics, which include influence factors, market drivers, challenges, opportunities, and trends.

(2) Another broad section of the research study is reserved for regional analysis of the Bottled Water market where important regions and countries are assessed for their growth potential, consumption, market share, and other vital factors indicating their market growth.

(3) Players can use the competitive analysis provided in the report to build new strategies or fine-tune their existing ones to rise above market challenges and increase their share of the Bottled Water market.

(4) The report also discusses competitive situation and trends and sheds light on company expansions and merger and acquisition taking place in the Bottled Water market. Moreover, it brings to light the market concentration rate and market shares of top three and five players.

(5) Readers are provided with findings and conclusion of the research study provided in the Bottled Water Market report.

Our study encompasses major growth determinants and drivers, along with extensive segmentation areas. Through in-depth analysis of supply and sales channels, including upstream and downstream fundamentals, we present a complete market ecosystem.

If you require any specific information that is not covered currently within the scope of the report, we will provide the same as a part of the customization.

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About us:

Introspective Market Research (introspectivemarketresearch.com) is a visionary research consulting firm dedicated to assisting our clients to grow and have a successful impact on the market. Our team at IMR is ready to assist our clients to flourish their business by offering strategies to gain success and monopoly in their respective fields. We are a global market research company, that specializes in using big data and advanced analytics to show the bigger picture of the market trends. We help our clients to think differently and build better tomorrow for all of us. We are a technology-driven research company, we analyse extremely large sets of data to discover deeper insights and provide conclusive consulting. We not only provide intelligence solutions, but we help our clients in how they can achieve their goals.

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[priyankap0018]

Bottled Water Market Size: Past, Present, and Future Perspectives

The bottled water market offers a diverse range of purified, mineral, flavored, and enhanced water options catering to varying consumer preferences for hydration. With growing health consciousness and convenience demands, it continues to thrive globally, driven by factors such as portability, sustainability initiatives, and innovative packaging designs.

[inayaxx55]

Global Water Bottles Market 2024 Key Players, Analysis, Share, Trends And Forecast To 2034

The Water Bottles market report offered by Reports Intellect is meant to serve as a helpful means to evaluate the market together with an exhaustive scrutiny and crystal-clear statistics linked to this market. The report consists of the drivers and restraints of the Water Bottles Market accompanied by their impact on the demand over the forecast period. Additionally, the report includes the study of prospects available in the market on a global level.

With tables and figures helping evaluate the Global Water Bottles market, this research offers key statistics on the state of the industry and is a beneficial source of guidance and direction for companies and entities interested in the market. This report comes along with an additional Excel data-sheet suite taking quantitative data from all numeric forecasts offered in the study.

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Key players offered in the market:  Thermos LLC,

Nalgene,

Contigo,

PMI,

Camelbak,

Lock&Lock,

Platypus,

Klean Kanteen,

Tupperware,

Nathan,

SIGG, 

Additionally, it takes account of the prominent players of the Water Bottles market with insights including market share, product specifications, key strategies, contact details, and company profiles. Similarly, the report involves the market computed CAGR of the market created on previous records regarding the market and existing market trends accompanied by future developments. It also divulges the future impact of enforcing regulations and policies on the expansion of the Water Bottles Market.

Scope and Segmentation of the Water Bottles Market

The estimates for all segments including type and application/end-user have been provided on a regional basis for the forecast period from 2024 to 2034. We have applied a mix of bottom-up and top-down methods for market estimation, analyzing the crucial regional markets, dynamics, and trends for numerous applications. Moreover, the fastest & slowest growing market segments are pointed out in the study to give out significant insights into each core element of the market.

Water Bottles Market Type Coverage: - Plastic Bottles,

Metal Bottles,

Glass Bottles.

Water Bottles Market Application Coverage: -  In Store (Offline), Online.

Regional Analysis:

North America Country (United States, Canada) South America Asia Country (China, Japan, India, Korea) Europe Country (Germany, UK, France, Italy) Other Countries (Middle East, Africa, GCC)

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The comprehensive report provides:

Complete assessment of all opportunities and threats in the global market.

Water Bottles Market recent advancements and major events.

A thorough study of business policies for the growth of the Water Bottles Market leading players.

Concluding study about the growth plot of Water Bottles Market for upcoming years.

Detailed understanding of Water Bottles Market particular drivers, restraints, and major micro markets.

Favorable impression inside vital technological and market latest trends hitting the Water Bottles Market.

Reasons to Purchase Water Bottles Market Research Report

Develop a competitive approach based on the competitive landscape

Build business strategy by identifying the high growth and attractive Water Bottles market classifications

Identify potential business partners, gaining targets and business buyers

Design financial investment policies based on estimated high potential segments

Prepare management and tactical presentations using the Water Bottles market data

Plan for new product promotion and portfolio in advance

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[bottlewatersblog]

The Future of Bottled Water: Market Forecast and Growth Opportunities in 2024

The bottled water industry continues to grow robustly, driven by rising consumer awareness about health, an increasing preference for convenience, and a growing distrust of tap water quality in many regions. As we look toward 2024 and beyond, the bottled water market is expected to see substantial growth, shaped by several key trends and factors. This article delves into the latest market forecasts, providing detailed insights for market research firms and industry stakeholders.

Market Overview

The global bottled water market was valued at approximately USD 230 billion in 2022, with expectations to surpass USD 310 billion by 2027, reflecting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of about 6.5% during the forecast period. The demand is driven by increasing urbanization, rising disposable incomes, and the perceived health benefits of bottled water over sugary beverages.

Key Drivers of Market Growth

Health and Wellness Trends: Consumers are increasingly shifting towards healthier beverage options. Bottled water is perceived as a healthier alternative to carbonated drinks and juices laden with sugars and artificial additives.

Urbanization and Lifestyle Changes: Rapid urbanization and the busy lifestyles of urban dwellers are driving the demand for convenient and portable hydration solutions. Bottled water fits perfectly into this fast-paced lifestyle.

Environmental Concerns and Sustainability: While plastic pollution remains a significant concern, the industry is witnessing a shift towards sustainable practices. Eco-friendly packaging, such as biodegradable bottles and increased recycling efforts, are gaining traction, appealing to environmentally conscious consumers.

Technological Advancements: Innovations in water purification and bottling technologies are improving the quality and shelf-life of bottled water. Enhanced filtration systems and mineral additions are becoming common, catering to premium segments.

Regional Insights

North America: The North American bottled water market is expected to maintain steady growth, driven by high per capita consumption and strong health consciousness among consumers. The U.S. remains the largest market in this region.

Europe: Europe shows a mature market with moderate growth, heavily influenced by environmental regulations and a strong emphasis on sustainability. Countries like Germany and France are leading in both consumption and innovation in eco-friendly packaging.

Asia-Pacific: The Asia-Pacific region is projected to experience the fastest growth. Rapid urbanization, rising disposable incomes, and increasing awareness about health and hygiene are key factors. China and India are the major growth drivers in this region.

Latin America and Middle East & Africa: These regions are also witnessing significant growth due to improving economic conditions and a growing middle class. Bottled water is often seen as a safer alternative to local tap water.

Market Segmentation

The bottled water market can be segmented based on product type, distribution channel, and packaging type.

By Product Type:

Still Water: Dominates the market due to its widespread availability and affordability.

Sparkling Water: Gaining popularity, particularly among younger consumers and those seeking an alternative to sugary carbonated drinks.

Functional Water: Includes added vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients, catering to health-conscious consumers.

By Distribution Channel:

Supermarkets and Hypermarkets: Remain the largest sales channels, offering a wide variety of brands and types.

Convenience Stores: Important for on-the-go purchases.

Online Retail: Rapidly growing, especially post-pandemic, with consumers preferring the convenience of home delivery.

By Packaging Type:

Plastic Bottles: Continue to dominate despite environmental concerns. However, there is a notable shift towards recycled and biodegradable plastics.

Glass Bottles: Seen as premium and eco-friendly, gaining popularity among high-end consumers.

Cans: Emerging as a sustainable alternative, especially for sparkling water.

Competitive Landscape

The bottled water market is highly competitive, with numerous global and regional players. Key players include Nestlé Waters, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Danone, and Keurig Dr Pepper. These companies are focusing on expanding their product portfolios, improving sustainability practices, and enhancing distribution networks to maintain and grow their market share.

Future Outlook

The future of the bottled water market looks promising, with sustained growth expected across all regions. Key trends likely to shape the market include:

Sustainability Initiatives: Companies will continue to innovate in eco-friendly packaging and sustainable production processes to meet consumer demand and regulatory requirements.

Premiumization: The demand for premium and functional bottled water is set to rise, driven by health-conscious and affluent consumers.

Technological Innovations: Advanced filtration technologies and smart packaging solutions (e.g., packaging that tracks hydration levels) will become more prevalent.

Emerging Markets: Significant growth opportunities exist in emerging markets where bottled water consumption is still on the rise.

Mergers and Acquisitions: Industry consolidation through mergers and acquisitions will continue as companies seek to expand their market presence and leverage synergies.

Conclusion

The bottled water market is poised for substantial growth in the coming years, driven by health trends, urbanization, and technological advancements. Market research firms should closely monitor these dynamics to provide actionable insights for businesses operating in or entering the bottled water industry. Sustainability and innovation will be key differentiators for companies aiming to capture a larger share of this lucrative market.

[aimarketresearch]

Collapsible Water Bottle Market Size, Share, Trends, Key Drivers, Growth, Challenges and Opportunity Forecast

Collapsible Water Bottle Market business report provides a profound overview of product specification, technology, product type and production analysis considering major factors such as revenue, cost, and gross margin. The data and information collected to generate this top-notch market report has been derived from the trusted sources such as company websites, white papers, journals, and mergers etc. Collapsible Water Bottle Market report includes basic, secondary and advanced information related to the global status, recent trends, market size, sales volume, market share, growth, future trends analysis and segment.

The crucial business strategies recognized by the important individuals from the Collapsible Water Bottle market have likewise been coordinated in this market analysis report. The competitive landscape part of this business report provides a clear insight into the market share analysis of key industry players. Key shortcomings and strengths, the risks experienced by the main contenders in the worldwide Collapsible Water Bottle market, have been a fraction of this research study. The study encompasses a market attractiveness analysis, wherein each segment is benchmarked based on its market size, growth rate, and general attractiveness.

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Data Bridge Market Research analyses that the global collapsible water bottle market was valued at USD 1,577.68 Million in 2022, and is expected to reach USD 2,630.73 Million by 2030, and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 6.60% during the forecast period of 2023 to 2030. In addition to the insights on market scenarios such as market value, growth rate, segmentation, geographical coverage, and major players, the market reports curated by the Data Bridge Market Research also include in-depth expert analysis, geographically represented company-wise production and capacity, network layouts of distributors and partners, detailed and updated price trend analysis and deficit analysis of supply chain and demand.

Table of Content:

Part 01: Executive Summary

Part 02: Scope of the Report

Part 03: Global Collapsible Water Bottle Market Landscape

Part 04: Global Collapsible Water Bottle Market Sizing

Part 05: Global Collapsible Water Bottle Market Segmentation by Product

Part 06: Five Forces Analysis

Part 07: Customer Landscape

Part 08: Geographic Landscape

Part 09: Decision Framework

Part 10: Drivers and Challenges

Part 11: Market Trends

Part 12: Vendor Landscape

Part 13: Vendor Analysis

Objectives of the Report

To carefully analyze and forecast the size of the Collapsible Water Bottle market by value and volume.

To estimate the market shares of major segments of the Collapsible Water Bottle

To showcase the development of the Collapsible Water Bottle market in different parts of the world.

To analyze and study micro-markets in terms of their contributions to the Collapsible Water Bottle market, their prospects, and individual growth trends.

To offer precise and useful details about factors affecting the growth of the Collapsible Water Bottle

To provide a meticulous assessment of crucial business strategies used by leading companies operating in the Collapsible Water Bottle market, which include research and development, collaborations, agreements, partnerships, acquisitions, mergers, new developments, and product launches.

Key questions answered

How feasible is Collapsible Water Bottle Market for long-term investment?

What are influencing factors driving the demand for Collapsible Water Bottle near future?

What is the impact analysis of various factors in the Global Collapsible Water Bottle market growth?

What are the recent trends in the regional market and how successful they are?

Thanks for reading this article; you can also get individual chapter wise section or region wise report version like North America

Some of the major players operating in the global collapsible water bottle market are:

Nomader, LLC (U.S.)

Baiji Bottle (Iraq)

Zoro Tools, Inc (U.S.)

ManlyCamp (U.S.)

Cascade Designs, Inc.(U.S.)

Eclipse Foundation (Belgium)

Lollicup USA Inc (U.S.)

Xiamen Years Trading Co., LTD. (China)

Suzhou Eron Industries Co., Ltd (China)

Fuqing Shengde Plastic & Rubber Products Co., Ltd.  (China)

Ningbo Easyget Co., Ltd (China)

Shenzhen Bien Technology Co., Ltd.  (China)

Guangzhou Damuge Commodity Co., Ltd (China)

Comlom Industry & Trading Co., Ltd. (China)

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[chemicalresearchupdates]

Revolutionizing Organization: Water Bottle Racks Market's Impact on Clutter-Free Spaces

The Water Bottle Racks Market is estimated to be valued at US$ 4.24 Bn in 2023 and is expected to exhibit a CAGR of 4.8% over the forecast period 2023 to 2030, as highlighted in a new report published by Coherent Market Insights. Paragraph: The Water Bottle Racks Market is estimated to be valued at US$ 4.24 Bn in 2023 and is expected to exhibit a CAGR of 4.8% over the forecast period 2023 to 2030, as highlighted in a new report published by Coherent Market Insights. Market Overview: Water bottle racks are used for organized storage of water bottles. They allow easy accessibility of bottles as per requirement and prevent stacking of bottles in disorganized manner. They come in different designs, sizes, and materials like plastic, metal, wood, etc. to suit various commercial and residential applications. Market Key Trends: One of the key trends driving growth of the water bottle racks market is increased penetration of e-commerce industry globally. Many online retailers offer wide variety of water bottle racks to cater to growing demand from residential as well as commercial sectors. Increased online shopping has boosted sales of water bottle racks significantly over the past few years. Various advantages offered by e-commerce such as discounted prices, ease of shopping from home, large product variety, etc. are fueling popularity of online shopping channels for water bottle racks. Porter’s Analysis

Threat of new entrants: The water bottle racks market has low threat of new entrants due to the presence of established players dominating the market. New entrants require high initial capital to build infrastructure and distribution channels.

Bargaining power of buyers: Buyers have moderate bargaining power due to the availability of substitute products. However, customized features and quality provide some differentiation.

Bargaining power of suppliers: Suppliers have low to moderate bargaining power due to availability of substitute raw materials. Established players source raw materials from multiple suppliers globally.

Threat of new substitutes: Substitute products like drinking water dispensers and water coolers pose moderate threat. However, water bottle racks unique benefits like portability provide product differentiation.

Competitive rivalry: Intense due to presence of global and regional players competing on pricing and product innovation.

SWOT Analysis

Strength: Durable and reusable nature. Portable and occupies less space compared to dispensers.

Weakness: Requires frequent replacement of water bottles. Limited storage capacity.

Opportunity: Growing health awareness is driving demand for pure drinking water. Expanding retail sector boosts installations.

Threats: Stringent regulations regarding plastic usage. Substitute products gaining popularity.

Key Takeaways

The global water bottle racks market is expected to witness high growth, exhibiting CAGR of 4.8% over the forecast period, due to increasing health awareness. Consumers are shifting towards pure drinking water from carbonated drinks due to health concerns which drives the demand for water bottle racks. Regional analysis The Asia Pacific region dominated the global water bottle racks market in 2023, accounting for around 35% of the overall shares, owing to the presence of emerging economies like China and India. China represents the world's largest market for water bottle racks due to the large population and rising health consciousness. Europe is also among the major markets for water bottle racks due to strict regulations regarding plastic usage and emphasis on recycling. Key players analysis Key players operating in the water bottle racks market are Coca-Cola Bottling Company of Saudi Arabia, Palletco Plastic Industries LLC, Lista International, Power Rack, Bahrain Water Bottling and Beverages Company S.P.C., ALSAMAANI Group, The Water Delivery Company, Shandong Liyang Plastic Molding Co. Ltd., Cixi Best Electrical Appliance Co. Ltd., Zhejiang Rongxin Industrial & Trading, MIW Water Cooler Experts, Zephyr Fluid Solutions, Polymer Solutions International, Inc. Major players focus on new product launches catering to customized requirements to strengthen their market share.

[tipresearch123]

The Role of Regulation in Ensuring Quality and Safety in Bottled Water

The bottled water market has experienced significant growth in recent years, driven by increasing consumer demand for clean and convenient hydration options. As consumers rely on bottled water as a primary source of drinking water, it becomes crucial to ensure the quality and safety of these products. In this article, we will explore the role of regulation in maintaining the highest standards of quality and safety in the bottled water industry.

The Growing Bottled Water Market The bottled water market has become a multi-billion dollar industry, with consumers seeking bottled water for its perceived purity and convenience. With concerns over tap water quality, consumers are turning to bottled water as a trusted alternative. This growing market has led to increased scrutiny and the need for robust regulations to protect consumer health and ensure product integrity.

Regulatory Bodies and Standards To ensure the quality and safety of bottled water, regulatory bodies play a crucial role in establishing and enforcing standards. In many countries, government agencies, such as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the United States or the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) in Europe, set regulations that govern the production, labeling, and distribution of bottled water.

These regulatory bodies establish guidelines for various aspects of bottled water production, including:

Source Water Protection: Regulations often dictate requirements for protecting the sources of bottled water, ensuring that they are free from contamination and meet specific quality criteria.

Treatment Processes: Bottled water must undergo specific treatment processes to eliminate or reduce potential contaminants. Regulatory standards outline the necessary treatment methods, such as filtration, disinfection, or reverse osmosis.

Packaging and Labeling: Regulations govern the materials used for bottling water and require accurate labeling of key information, including the water source, production date, expiration date, and any added ingredients or treatments.

Quality Testing: Bottled water manufacturers are typically required to conduct regular testing to ensure compliance with quality standards. This includes testing for microbiological contaminants, chemical substances, and other potential hazards.

Ensuring Consumer Safety Regulations in the bottled water industry are designed to prioritize consumer safety by establishing clear guidelines and standards. By enforcing these regulations, regulatory bodies aim to:

Prevent Contamination: Regulations help prevent contamination of bottled water during production, bottling, and distribution processes. This ensures that consumers receive a safe and uncontaminated product.

Maintain Quality Standards: Regulatory standards help maintain consistent quality across different brands and products within the bottled water market. This ensures that consumers can trust the quality and purity of the water they are consuming.

Provide Transparency: Regulations require accurate labeling and disclosure of information on bottled water packaging. This provides consumers with essential information about the product's source, treatment processes, and potential allergens or additives.

Enable Accountability: Regulatory bodies conduct inspections and enforce compliance with regulations, holding bottled water manufacturers accountable for maintaining the highest standards of quality and safety.

Continuous Improvement and Future Outlook Regulatory bodies continuously review and update regulations to adapt to evolving scientific knowledge, emerging contaminants, and consumer expectations. As the bottled water market continues to grow, it is essential for regulatory frameworks to keep pace with industry advancements to ensure ongoing consumer protection.

In conclusion, robust regulation plays a vital role in ensuring the quality and safety of bottled water. By establishing standards, conducting inspections, and enforcing compliance, regulatory bodies help maintain consumer confidence in this thriving market.

[futuretonext]

The UAE Bottled Water Market is projected to grow at a CAGR of around 6% during the forecast period, i.e., 2021-26. The growth of the market is likely to be driven primarily by the rapidly mounting focus of the UAE government on economic diversification. It, in turn, is leading to massive infrastructural developments to cater to the increasing number of tourists & travelers in the country and propelling the demand for different types of bottled water for excellent hospitality services.

[wystericwoes]

Stress relief-

Even pros need coping mechanisms.

Pro Hero Bakugo x Reader

Warnings: Sex, Cursing, catching feelings but in denial, being used for sex but not really, there will be a part 2

Mostly GN reader but a lot of fem references... especially in the smut part

While mistakes weren’t often, even Bakugo was still human. And when he fucked up, the whole office felt the ripple effect of his fury.

His friend and by happenstance, neighbor Denki, would sometimes stop on by for a visit or for a hero collaboration; and happened to walk in on one of these moments.

“Yo! Katsu-“

He narrowly dodged a stapler flung past his head.

“DAMMIT! SHIT!”

He took in the scene in front of him. Interns and secretary’s hiding out of Dynamights rampage followed by a path of office supply themed destruction.

He rushed up to him to try and calm him down before he accidentally injured someone and got a lawsuit.

“Woah! Dude! What’s going on?”

“THAT SLIPPERY FUCKER GOT AWAY!”

“Uh… who??”

“THAT SLIMY SWAMP RAT LIZARD VILLAIN THATS BEEN RUNNING AROUND!”

Denki managed to slightly grab him by the shoulders and pull him into a private break room to separate him from the innocent bystanders, closing the door and blocking the handle.

“Dude you gotta chill out! You’re gonna hurt someone!”

It had been a long road for Bakugo and his anger issues. He had come a long way since his youth, and Denki had witnessed most of the growth first hand. And he knew how dangerous he could be when he got like this.

He took a deep breath beneath furrowed brows and aggressively plopped into a seat.

Denki sat across from him, sliding him a bottle of water.

“Alright you wanna tell me what happened?”

Bakugo chugged the bottle before slamming it onto the ground.

“This stupid fucking bank robber keeps terrorizing MY NEIGHBORHOOD and he’s been getting away every single time! I feel fucking useless! And all because of his stupid reptile bullshit quirk! How can I can I ever be number one if I can’t take down a SINGLE PETTY CRIMINAL ON MY BLOCK?!”

Denki took a deep sigh.

“Look man, I get it, but you’re taking it out on your agency and they don’t deserve it.”

Bakugo slouched back and crossed his arms, brows furrowed and teeth grit.

“You gotta find some kind of stress relief before you kill someone dude! You have any hobbies?”

“Work is my hobby. And I somehow still keep fucking up at it!”

“Well I mean something outside of work- when I get over stressed from work I always just go fuck around.”

“You’re a sleaze bag.”

“Look I’m just saying, when was the last time you got laid?”

He sat in contemplation for a dull moment… Bakugo was no virgin, but no playboy either. He just never really had the time or interest. He didn’t like people, and most everyone knew him at this point. Too many gold diggers or secret journalists trying to make him into a marketable tabloid.

“See there’s your issue. You gotta go get out there dude!”

He tched.

“I don’t have the time.”

“Katsuki. We both know that’s bullshit.” He grinned

“I’m just not into anyone right now.”

Denki dragged out a long groan. “Ughhhhh! Please don’t tell me you’re still limiting yourself with your stupidly high standards.”

“All I want is someone who’s hot and has a head on their fucking shoulders. If I wanted to fuck a brainless meaningless hole I’d get a sex doll.”

“So you’re seriously trying to tell me that there’s not a single woman you’ve found pretty and had interesting conversation with?”

He went back into thought. And to his frustration, someone did pop up. The cute little tea shop owner he started to become a regular too a few months ago.

It was so secluded and special, and so precious compared to the rest of the shit hole of a part of town that it was in.

He found it completely on accident, following a string of crimes which led him questioning the locals.

When he entered the secret oasis where that bell rung as he stepped foot in pushing the door open, he was almost awestruck. It was no bigger than a single room, but it was so beautifully laid out and decorated. You could tell that whoever owned it really loved it, like it was their pride and joy. Plants strewn across the walls and little vases on each table, you could tell they were all thoughtfully and meticulously taken care of. The water fresh, the leaves healthy. Atop the windows were hanging glass decorations, causing rainbows to speckle across the walls of strewn art and paintings. It looked magical, he could spend all day in here.

“O-oh hello!!” You rushed out a door behind the counter, messily tying your apron.

“I wasn’t expecting customers this early on a Tuesday haha… what can I get for you?”

He was dumbfounded. Between the lighting framing your face and the scenery around him, he felt so at peace.

“I-“

He found himself almost speechless. He felt like he walked into a magic secret garden, walked through a door to a different world. Especially with how ugly the outside was. Guess you could only afford to live in the poor part of town.

“I’ll uh… take a coffee.”

You tied your hair back swiftly as you worked your way to the espresso machine.

“Alrighty!” You began working your way around the station and whipping something up.

He looked around a little more before settling into a chair and watched as you worked behind the counter. It wasn’t until he saw you pouring something into a cup that he realized he never told you specifically what to make.

He almost spoke up until you started strutting over with a cup of something that smelled amazing towards his way.

“I took a lucky guess. Go ahead and try!”

You placed it in front of him and watched intently as he reluctantly smelled the mystery drink, and took a sip.

His eyes slightly widened, and he downed the whole thing in one go, not even caring that it burned.

“Careful that’s still hot-!”

But he was done before you could protest.

“Are you okay?!”

“…I’ll take another.” He embarrassingly wiped his mouth and looked away.

You sighed in relief and then started laughing.

“You scared me! How did you not get hurt?”

“How did you make a drink so damn good without knowing me?”

He sounded almost accusatory.

“Ah..! Well…” you shyly looked away.

“You a stalker or somethin’?”

“What! No!! I just got a good read on you. Do… you want me to share?”

He looked at you blankly, his signal of approval to continue, but his piercing gaze made you nervous.

“Okay see I noticed that when you came in up you looked in a hurry so I decided to make something that wouldn’t take too long… Then when you just said ‘coffee’ I knew you didn’t have anything particular in mind. Which either meant you didn’t know yet or didn’t actually come in here for coffee… so I knew it had to be something simple. But you didn’t seem quite like the type to just like plain black coffee, weirdly enough, I figured you were more complex than that! But I also could tell you wouldn’t want something overly sweet. So I went with a dark chocolate mocha extra half shot of espresso, for a semisweet yet strong mix, and then I added a touch of cinnamon for some subtle spice and extra flavor…’

You nervously fiddled with the hem of your apron. You knew it was unprofessional and risky to make something without someone asking.

“Well fuck me…”

It was just surprise after surprise. He had even forgotten why he had come in here.

“So… you said you want another?”

And thus begun his frequent ship to your small business. He went in at least twice a week, and he always tipped twice whatever he paid. You two had so many conversations and funny stories shared between the two of you. It became a part of his routine, one that was private and special to him. You were so tucked away and secret; it was like he had you all to himself. No one else worked there, and he hardly saw any other customers. And even when he did, you always gave him special treatment. You’d chat at his table, let him try new pastries, sit and listen to him talk about his day for much longer than you should. Yet somehow… he had never considered sleeping with you.

In his own daze remembering you, he forgot his idiot friend was there, smugly grinning with raised brows.

“Sounds like you thought of someone…”

“Shut up! What the hell are you even doing here?! Go back to your own damn building!”

“So I was right!!”

“Fuck off!!!” He threw the finger as Denki walked out laughing triumphantly.

Fucking idiot. What does he know? He didn’t see you like that anyway. It wasn’t like he didn’t think you weren’t attractive… he just didn’t think you deserved to be nothing but a one night stand. But also… he did have a point.

He took a deep frustrated sigh as he rubbed the crease of his brows.

“…fuck it.”

You were counting the cash in your register as that familiar sound of the bell dung.

“Sorry we’re cl- oh!”

You looked up to see it was just Dynamight.

“It’s just you! Haha… sorry, I close early because of the crime recently. Come on in! Just your usual?”

“I’m not here to order anything.”

“Oh… is everything okay?”

“It’s fine.”

He seemed colder than usual; and it made you nervous. An awkward silence followed by prolonged eye contact, until he slowly walked up to the counter where you were counting, causing you to freeze.

“Do you wanna go out sometime?”

“F-fuck!!” The pro hero was buried between your thighs on his king sized bed, gripping your hips like his life depended on it.

You bit your hand as the other tried not to grab to harshly in his hair.

“Hah… hah…. I- Bakugo…mmngh!”

You squeezed your thighs around him after your second orgasm of the night, pitifully moaning and whimpering as he lapped everything you had to give up.

He came up and pulled your hand from your mouth.

“Why do you keep trying to stay quiet? It’s just the two of us.”

“I’m just… hah… embarrassed..”

You didn’t know how to feel having sex with one of your regulars after one date.. how were you going to go to work and look him in the eyes after this?? Have you no decorum?

“I’m just.. worried that you’ll stop coming to my shop after this…”

He gave you a perplexed look.

“The hell you talkin’ about?”

“W-well now that we’ve…”

“You think I was just trying to fuck you or somethin?? Like I’m some kind of fuck boy?”

He looked angry.

“No! I just… it seems kinda hard to stay professional with a customer after doing this.”

“You’re a fucking idiot if you think I’m gonna stop coming to your shop just cause we slept together once.”

He crawled upwards to you and held your face.

“I just worry-“

He pulled you in for a kiss to shut you up. It was messy but coordinated, you heard a grunt in the back of his throat as his hardened cock pressed against between your legs.

“You worry to much, you’re stressing me out. Just relax.”

You moaned as he pulled away and nodded. Totally at his mercy.

“Are you ready?” He slid his boxers down.

“Fuck yes.”

He smirked,

“That’s the first I’ve heard you curse.”

Before you could protest he kissed you again. It was sloppy, and full of yearning. He rubbed his cock between your folds, letting the tip rest at your entrance for a brief moment as he pulled his face back and grabbed your hips.

You couldn’t bite back your moans as he slid himself into you. A perfect fucking fit, the stretch burned in such a good way, and hearing his pants as his rested inside you for a brief moment, just basking in the moment.

He moved one hand back to your though and pushed it back, letting himself get a good look of himself fully inside you.

He cursed under his breath. you reached down to rub your clit but he grabbed your wrist and placed it above your head, moving his other hand to do it for you.

“You think I can’t do this?”

He started slowly rubbing circles into you with the rythym of careful thrusts. Each one was experimental, testing the waters of what you could handle.

You two were so in sync it drove you crazy. You subtly thrusted your hips into him, feeling his pubes tickle you each time he bottomed out. He was darker blonde down there, following a gorgeous happy trail that made you drool.

He released his grip from your wrist and held onto your hips so he could steadily increase his pace.

“F-fuck… Bakugo….!”

“Call me fucking… hng… Katsuki.”

You fluttered around him when he said that, making him bite his lip.

“Don’t�� fucking do that…”

“Sorry Katsuki..”

Oh you knew what you were doing. And it was taking him all his willpower to not fuck you as hard as he could right now.

He put his hand over your mouth which made you whimper, he decided to fuck you hard but slow, and each time he thrusted you moaned.

You bit his hand, he hissed in pain and watched as you moved it down to your throat.

“Didn’t take you for, a brat.”

“Mm… didn’t take you… as a- sadist-! Ah!” He started going faster with his pace.

“So you wanted this then huh? Acting all fucking innocent..”

He started squeezing on the sides causing you to go lightheaded in the best way.

“For so… hah!! Long! Mng… I’m still surprised you chose me..!”

“Don’t talk like a fucking- idiot- hnn.. youre fucking sexy”

“Mmn! You’re so fucking.. hot.. Katsu…”

He growled at the nickname, whether it was intentional or not.

“Don’t hold back… I can… I can take it.”

You moaned into his ear, knowing he wasn’t going all out yet.

Cursing under his breath he switched both his hands underneath your thighs and put your legs over his shoulders, and he did what you asked. He didn’t hold back.

You couldn’t even think straight. You couldn’t form a coherent thought, it was nothing except him fucking you ruthlessly. His tip kissed your cervix causing a good pain, reaching the deepest parts of you.

“Ah! Ah! Ah! F-fuck!”

Your moans were endless. Blending in seamlessly with his grunts and pants. He wasn’t very vocal, but you enjoyed his sounds nonetheless.

The sounds were filithy, you could feel your wetness leaking out onto his sheets and every noise between the two of you. Nothing else existed outside this moment.

You were in a pleasurable trance that was suddenly cut off as he flipped you over onto your stomach; pinning your wrists behind your back as he fucked you even harder from behind.

The sight of your ass smacking against him and your hands pinned against your back drove him fucking wild. He reached his head down and started biting on your shoulders to hold himself back, your whimper from the pain only made it worse though.

“Mm! Ah! Ah! K-katsu..ki!!”

He growled in frustration, feeling an odd sense of possessiveness every time you said his name.

“M’ gonna mark you up, and fuck you so good you’ll never forget it…”

He started leaving a crude trail of hickeys and bite marks across your shoulders and neck.

“Mmn! Kat- Katsuki…l-let me…-!”

You started to roll over, wanting to see his face, he caught on and picked you up turning you around without leaving inside you, placing you on his lap as he sat upright against the headboard.

“Think you can fuckin ride me baby?”

You whimpered at the name, placing your hands on his shoulders as you started to move up and down. Your pace was no where near as controlled and fast as Katsukis, but neither of you were complaining.

You started to get faster and faster as you felt his dick press up against your sweet spot, desperately chasing that sensation. He could see what you were trying to do as he started or fuck himself up into you, getting a hold of your hips and taking charge.

“Couldn’t take it huh?”

“Sh-shut up… you didn’t give me a chance!”

“I saw how needy you were getting. Just let me take control yeah?”

You dropped your face into his neck, biting the nape to suppress your moans as he started fucking you faster.

You stayed like that for a moment before you started to get close and moved your fingers to rub against your clit, once again he shoved your hand away and took it over.

“What did I hah.. say… before?”

You only moaned in response, gripping one hand onto the nape of his neck and the other onto his chest like you were scared of falling.

He wrapped one arm around your waist and pulled you in closer, rubbing frantic yet gentle circles on your clit while repeatedly hitting your g-spot.

“K-katsu…ki! I can’t.. I-I’m gonna…!”

He fucked you as fast as he could so he would cum at the same time as you.

“Do it…”

He groaned one last time in your ear and it sent you over the edge, he fucked you through your orgasm until your body was shaking, and then he bottomed out one last time.

“F-fuck…!” He moaned out as you felt his dick twitch as he finished inside you.

Both of you sat there still, the adrenaline winding down as you both breathed heavily, basking in the afterglow and silence for a moment before you pulled him closer into an intimate hug.

The silence was comfortable, and part of you both wish you never had to leave.

“Mm.. could go t’ sleep like this..”

“Could you now?”

“Mhm.” Your body fell limp into his.

“We should probably use the bathroom first.”

“Mm. Probably.”

“Mm… Yes. Cmon”

You groaned as he pulled out slowly, all the slick between the two of you pooling into a sinfully delicious mix under you.

You squealed as he lifted you up and carried you to the bathroom bridal style.

“H-hey!”

“Im not letting you get a UTI. Go piss and then we’ll hop in the shower. I hate sleeping in sweat.”

“Ugh you’re no fun.”

You reluctantly left his arms to go use the toilet, knowing he was right.

You rested asleep on his chest, as he gazed at the ceiling, listening to the lull of cars outside the window and the sound of your rhythmic breathing. He had one arm lazily strewn over your back, and the other under his head.

He looked down at your sleeping form, and felt something unfamiliar within him… something sentimental, caring, protective.

He slowly and carefully rolled down the sheet to reveal the marks he left on your body and smirked. Closing his eyes and drifting off.

[sjsmith56]

Cold Hearted

Summary: AU one shot. A marriage of convenience between the son and daughter of two CEOS to benefit their companies leads to a friendship between the couple, then more.

Length: 6.7 K

Characters: Bucky Barnes, unnamed and undescribed female character. She is occasionally referred to as “Sweetheart” or “Pretty girl.”

Warnings: unresolved emotional trauma, Bucky is a bit of a party boy at first, loneliness, unrequited love, feelings of worthlessness and betrayal.

Author notes: There’s some angst in this but it’s part of the growth process for the couple as they learn to trust and rely on each other.

🥂 🏥 🐚

It was just a business deal according to my father. I marry the son of his biggest competitor and they signed an agreement to split the market between them. It sounded like something a mob boss would ask of their daughter, but my father wasn't in the mob, at least not so far as I knew. He was the CEO of a billion-dollar company, just like the competitor was and both of them had spent almost two years fighting to corner the market for a stupid product that would be outdated in a year, two at the most. Then someone, a VP or maybe my father's mistress (same person) suggested a marriage of convenience. After all, you wouldn't screw over family. So, here I was, standing in a church next to a total stranger, both of us facing the minister as he droned on and on about the sanctity of marriage.

We each said I do, when it was asked of us, then put a ring on each other's left hand, while not once making eye contact. When it was time to kiss, he looked at me then and kissed me hurriedly on my cheek; his blue eyes looking quickly away as if I was something unexpected. We signed the register, were introduced as Mr. and Mrs. James Barnes, then he offered me his arm and we stepped down the aisle towards the open doors at the end of the church. All I had to do was pull away from him, sprint through the doors, hail a cab and I could run away. But I didn't. I took the long walk, stood in the receiving line, shook hands with my father and my new father-in-law's business colleagues then was told it was time to leave. My husband offered me his hand, led me out the doors, past the people throwing rose petals at us and into the limousine. Our wedding party piled into the second vehicle. At least it was quiet in there and as it pulled away; he looked behind us then let out a breath of air, seemingly glad that was over with.

"You thirsty?" he asked. "I think there's water in the mini fridge."

Without waiting for an answer, he opened it, took out two bottles and uncapped one, offering it to me before he opened his, draining half of it almost immediately. I sipped mine several times, then placed the cap back on.

"What did you father offer you to do this?" he asked.

I looked at him. "Nothing, just said I better do it if I wanted to still be part of the family and get my inheritance."

He frowned. "That's cold. My dad offered me $10 million. I talked him up to 25."

I looked out the window. Swell. My husband had to be paid to marry me.

"Sorry," he murmured. "I guess that sounds crass. You seem nice but I'm not the faithful type. I like my freedom."

I looked at him. He was a handsome man and in real life would never look at someone like me. He was all nightclubs, parties, exotic vacations and I was a quiet, shy wallflower, who had only ever had a handful of boyfriends. At least he was honest, if telling me he wasn't the faithful type meant he was probably going to cheat on me.

"James, you know the contract stipulates grandchildren, at least two."

"I know. I thought we could use IVF. I wouldn't expect you to sleep with me." He was quiet for a moment. "Call me Bucky. It's my nickname. James is what my father calls me when he's about to chew me out about my lifestyle."

"Okay. So, we'll have separate bedrooms?" He nodded.

"If you want but I won't bring anyone home," he said. "I wouldn't embarrass you like that and I'll be as discreet as I can." He frowned. "Your dad say anything about the divorce agreement in two years?"

I looked at him. "No, what divorce agreement?"

"You get $100 million as a settlement plus a house and a car, child support. I saw the papers and you signed it."

My mind went blank for a moment. There were so many documents that I signed when this was proposed, and I just put my signature where the lawyer said. Why wouldn't they make it known I had a divorce agreement?

"I can ask my lawyer, if you wish," he said. "I mean, you are my wife now, and your wellbeing is my concern. I'm not a complete cold-hearted asshole."

I smiled at him, and he squeezed my hand then he drank some more of his water. We pulled up to the reception venue and waited for the driver to open the door. Bucky got out, then offered me his hand to get out. There were several flashes from the paparazzi, as Bucky was well known in certain social circles, then we hurried inside and made our way to a private lounge for our formal wedding pictures. As the pictures of me and my attendants were being taken, I noticed Bucky talking animatedly with a man. He seemed bothered at what the man was explaining then when he was called for our pictures he turned to him.

"Get it done," he said. "It's not fair and I'll expose the whole thing right now if it isn't fixed."

He smiled at me as he approached, then stood where the photographer told him, right behind me. As the photographer directed the others into position he leaned towards my ear and spoke in a low voice.

"My lawyer said you signed over the proceeds of the divorce agreement to your father. I told him that was false, as you didn't even know about the agreement. If they don't fix it, we'll get an annulment and he'll get nothing. Since I already got paid by my dad, I'll give you half. It's only fair." My mouth was open, and he placed his hand under my chin, closing it, as he grinned. "I told you, I'm not an asshole, well, at least not to those who are my friends."

My smile during the photographs was genuine. It had been a long time since I had anyone that stood up for me; certainly not my parents or any of my siblings. My grandmother, before she died, was the last person who ever advocated for me, and I had forgotten how good it felt to have someone in my corner. When the pictures were done, Bucky went over to a table filled with liquor bottles and poured out shots for everyone. I looked at him dubiously, as I wasn't much of a drinker.

"Come on, it's your wedding day," he smiled. "Open your mouth, pour it in and swallow."

I did as he said, feeling it burn down my throat. He laughed then did his own shot, before pouring another. With his encouragement I drank that one, then another before the wedding planner came in to say we had to make our entrance. Grabbing my hand, he pulled me out the door and waited for the rest of the wedding party to go in as they were introduced. Then it was our turn and he looked at me, then smiled.

"You ready, Mrs. Barnes?"

I nodded and we danced our way into the reception room, as the guests clapped in time to the music. As we passed my family's table, I noticed my father was glaring at me. Bucky noticed too and leaned in close to me.

"Kiss me," he said. "Let your dad know that we're fucking with him."

"He'll be angry," I answered.

"So? Let him. He's arranged this so that only he benefits from this marriage. You deserve a piece of the action."

He twirled me around until our lips were just inches apart, then with an almost evil grin, he kissed me, and I kissed him back. As the guests hooted and hollered, we gave them a good show, then he stood up and pumped his fist in time to the bass beat in the song. I looked at my dad again and he was livid. Before the wedding, I would have been terrified of my dad being like this but maybe the three shots, the kiss, and the encouragement of my fake husband changed something because I suddenly didn't care what my father thought. Pumping my fist and jumping in time to the music I joined Bucky as we continued our entry dance around the room, before finally collapsing into our seats at the head table. He pushed my water glass to me, while he drank his then leaned close to me again.

"The trick to partying is to stay hydrated," he said. "Always drink water when you drink alcohol. It takes care of the hangover as well."

The evening went way too fast as we ate, drank, danced our first dance (Perfect by Ed Sheeran), then cut the cake, threw the garter and the bouquet. Every time my father tried to come over to me, Bucky whisked me away to dance or to meet some of his friends. When it was time for us to make our getaway, he picked me up, threw me over his shoulder and carried me out to the limousine, making me laugh. As soon as we got inside, he told the driver where to take us, then took my hand and kissed it. If I hadn't known better, I would swear that this was a man that really loved me. By the time we got to the hotel, I was quiet again, realizing that everything that Bucky did that night was a lie. It was fun but it was still a lie.

We checked in, went up to the hotel room, where our bags had already been dropped off, and Bucky tipped the bell boy before locking the door. Then he sat on a couch and patted the seat beside him. I didn't come over right away and he looked at me with puppy dog eyes, so I sat next to him.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Are you always this good of an actor? You had me believing for a moment that you ... that we were real."

"We are legally married," he answered. "I wasn't acting. I had a good time tonight. At first, I thought you were kind of a stick in the mud, but I realized that you just haven't really lived. You've been kept on a pretty short leash by your family, haven't you?"

"It's obvious, isn't it?" I sighed. "I don't like confrontation and I tend to let people have their way."

He nodded his head. "Like me. I'm sorry. I was just trying to get you to have a good time. You did have a good time, right?" Bucky was right about that as I did have a good time. I nodded. "Look, if there is anything good to come out of this arrangement one of them will be you allowing yourself to have fun. No matter what happens, I kind of like you, so if we become friends from this, I'll be very happy. Finally, getting you what is due to you is the top priority. I'm not going to let your father cheat you out of what was negotiated."

I smiled at him, then bent over and undid my shoes, slipping them off. Bucky gestured to his lap, and I changed positions, so my feet lay on top of his legs. Gently, he took one foot in his hands and began to massage it. I groaned and made a face as he hit every spot that was sore, making it feel so much better. When he was finished with that, he did the other foot. When I withdrew my feet from his hands, he got up and went to the bathroom, coming out drying his hands on a towel.

"I've drawn you a bath," he said. "Take your time, play your favourite playlist and I'll get set up out here."

"I thought ...." I looked at him, puzzled.

"What kind of husband would I be if I abandoned you on our wedding night? We won't have sex, but we can sleep in the same bed. I'm tired and it's been a long day."

Opening my bag, I took out my toiletries and pyjamas. He grinned at the pink elephants on them, then showed me his pyjama bottoms, with cookies on them. I chuckled, then went to the bathroom and closed the door. When I came out half an hour later, Bucky was changed into his bottoms and a plain white T-shirt, there was soft music playing and a bottle of champagne was open. On top of the bed was a plate of chocolate covered strawberries. Patting the space next to him, he offered me a hand as I crawled on, then poured me a glass of champagne. Holding our glasses up he made a toast.

"Here's to having a good time together, not a long time," he said. "Hopefully, we come out of this as friends because good friends are rare, and you can never have enough good friends."

We sipped the champagne, then he held a strawberry for me as I bit into it, before popping the rest of it in his mouth with a cheeky grin. For an hour we talked about ourselves, growing up in families that were focused on business more than anything else. I learned that Bucky lost his mother at a young age when she died of cancer. He went to boarding school, which he admitted could have made him bitter, but he formed some deep friendships and found some adults to have a meaningful substitute parent relationship with. His college years were spent mostly partying, but he did enough work to get his degree in finance and understood enough about business to agree that this marriage arrangement would keep both of our father's companies from inflicting fatal blows on each other. As I told him about being the quiet child in the family who seemed to always be ignored and forgotten when decisions were made, he frowned and held my hand, kissing it from time to time.

It was easy to talk to him and I cried a little that night. But he comforted me and when my yawns started coming more, he insisted I get under the covers. We curled up and faced each other in the dark. Before I closed my eyes he whispered.

"Sleep tight, pretty girl."

No one had ever called me pretty before.

For the next month, Bucky was pretty attentive. My father finally succeeded in cornering me to ask what the hell I was trying to do by bringing up the divorce agreement. Maybe being so much in Bucky's presence had rubbed off on me because I asked him why the lawyer thought I signed the money over to him. He grabbed my wrist and began to twist it when my husband walked in and quickly grabbed my father's wrist, surprising him with the strength of his grip.

"You don't ever touch my wife like that again," said Bucky, gritting his teeth a little. "I brought up the divorce agreement and was shocked that a father would be so cold-hearted to his daughter to literally try to pick her pocket before she even had any money in it. You want this deal to go through? Then you restore the agreement to what I signed; the money belongs to her. Otherwise, we get an annulment, and you get nothing."

"You can't annul the marriage," huffed my father. "You were together on the wedding night."

"We were but we didn't consummate the marriage," replied Bucky, throwing daggers at my father with his bright blue eyes. "Make sure you amend that divorce agreement and I want to be there when my wife signs it. You got that?"

He released my father, put his arm around me and led me away. We signed the amended agreement two days later that stipulated the money, house, car and child support, when we divorced, would go to me and only me.

Once a week, Bucky went out with his friends, partying. He always wore his wedding ring when the paparazzi took photographs of him and for quite a while he was careful, as there were no pictures of him going off with another woman. I knew he was seeing them, because he would come home smelling of their perfume, before he showered, put on his funky pyjama bottoms and slipped into bed, usually spooning behind me, something that he said he liked even though we had separate bedrooms.

Since the marriage agreement called for two children, Bucky arranged for us to visit the IVF clinic and we both underwent testing. He must have paid the doctor and staff there a lot of money to keep their questions to themselves because none of them ever said anything about why two healthy individuals who just got married didn't make a baby the old-fashioned way. I had to undergo shots to stimulate my ovaries so they could harvest multiple eggs. Then Bucky provided them with semen to fertilize the eggs in preparation for insertion into my uterus. Over the next few months, none of them implanted and I began to develop anxiety about it. He was great, never once blaming me. There were even a couple of occasions when he didn't go out with his friends and stayed home to comfort me when my period started, dashing our hopes once again.

Somehow, somewhere along the way, I realized something, about how I felt about him. It wasn't something I expected, falling in love with a man who made it clear from the start that friendship would be the most he could offer me. For as long as I could, I kept it to myself, not wanting to appear needy to Bucky. He had been wonderful and so kind to me. But after that realization, every time I saw him get ready to go out and knew that he would return smelling of someone else, it was inevitable that I finally said something.

"Don't go out," I whispered, one night, just as he came out of his bedroom, dressed in one of his Armani suits. "Please."

He looked at me as if I was joking then saw the pain in my eyes.

"What's wrong?" he asked, sitting next to me.

"Stay home," I answered. "Don't go out with your friends tonight."

"I have to," he said. "We're on the VIP list at a new club opening. I'll be back before morning. After a little sleep-in we can spend the day together, maybe take a drive out to the coast." He smoothed my hair, then kissed my forehead. "Sleep tight, pretty girl."

He left without a backwards glance, and I cried. It wasn't the first time, and it wouldn't be the last, especially when the paparazzi succeeded in acquiring a picture of Bucky and a starlet kissing each other. He apologized but the crack between us was there, and it would only get worse. The night it was the worst was the night I almost died.

We were supposed to be at a charity event together, but he texted to say he was running late, and he would meet me there. Of course, when I showed up without him, I was swarmed by photographers, all of them asking where Bucky was and who he was with. Ignoring them as best as I could I entered the venue and was shown to my table, seated with several other wives of prominent individuals. Even though I had improved my social skills and learned to have more fun, these women weren't inclined to be friendly and after enduring their whispered comments with no word from Bucky I decided to go home. A car service had dropped me off but expecting Bucky to arrive in his car we didn't book a return trip. There were no taxis available, so I began to walk, trying to hail one as I walked. Somewhere, along the way, I began to cry like the pathetic little individual I always knew I was. Funny how quickly I crumbled, when I figured that even Bucky had enough of me.

I woke up in the emergency room, with a bright light glaring down on me, a collar around my neck, a tube down my throat and IVs in my arms. A doctor leaned over me until I looked at him then began asking me questions, but I couldn't speak, not with the tube blocking my voice. He told me I walked out into traffic without looking and was hit by a car. My heart stopped twice but they brought me back. Was there anyone they should call? I tried to point at my wedding ring as Bucky was the only person I wanted to see, but my arms were splinted as apparently, I thrashed around too much when I was out. He figured it out and held up my phone. Painfully, I signalled the code numbers with my fingers, and he unlocked it then phoned Bucky. Returning a moment later he bent over me again.

"He's on his way. Hang in there, okay? Nothing's broken but you do have internal injuries."

I moaned since there was really no other way to communicate. I must have fallen asleep or passed out because when I woke up again, I was in an ICU hospital room, there were the sounds of several monitors, and Bucky was sitting on a chair, with his head in his hands. He looked up at a sound I must have made and immediately came to my side, placing his hand on mine. All I saw in his eyes were guilt and sorrow.

"I'm so sorry, sweetheart," he said. "This is all my fault. I was supposed to be there with you, but I let others distract me and before I even realized that I had missed the whole event I got the call from the doctor."

I closed my eyes, feeling the tears streaming down from them. His apology, though sincere, really meant nothing. He promised to be my friend and instead, he did what my family had done my whole life, ignored me. To me, it was proof that I was truly meaningless in this world, that I was insignificant. I felt a cloth on my face and opened my eyes to see Bucky wiping my tears away with a washcloth. Painfully, I turned my head away from him.

"Please, don't," he begged. "Don't be angry with me. I fucked up. I know I did. I thought we could get through the two years and be friends, but I haven't been a good friend to you."

I still didn't look at him. I wasn't angry but I was disappointed. He tried to take my hand in his, but I pulled it away, bringing a distressed sound out of him. It must have affected me because a nurse came in to check the monitors and suggested that Bucky go home and come back in the morning. He put up an argument, but she convinced him that I needed to rest. Reluctantly, he agreed and bent over me, kissing me on the forehead.

"I'll do all I can to make it up to you," he whispered. "You were the last person I ever wanted to hurt."

He left then and I eventually fell asleep. Those first few days he was there from early in the morning until late at night. His father visited the second day, and I was aware of a fairly emotional whispered conversation between him and Bucky. None of my family visited. Three days in they took the tube out of my throat, confident that my bruised lungs and ribs were strong enough for me to breathe on my own. It still hurt to speak, almost as much as I was hurting emotionally. Bucky watched me with glassy eyes after the doctor and nurse left, seeming almost afraid to say anything. I looked at him, and the tears began to fall again, in earnest this time. Even though my body hurt I sobbed, and he was right there, his chair pulled up to the edge of the bed, kissing my hand.

"How can I make it better?" he asked. "Please, tell me."

"You won't," I answered, my voice raspy. "You made it clear from our wedding day that you weren't the faithful type. We can't be friends anymore."

"No, please, don't say that," he pleaded. "I need you. Don't you know that?"

I shook my head. "I don't know anything anymore; except every time you walk out the door to be with someone else it hurts so much. Loving you wasn't supposed to happen, but it did."

"You love me?" he asked, not quite believing what I was saying.

I looked away, then nodded my head. "You were nicer to me than anyone I ever met. Then suddenly you were gone more and then you didn't show up last night."

I covered my face with my hands and wept. The edge of the bed dipped slightly as he sat there, then he was carefully lifting me up in his arms to hold me.

"I'm sorry." He stroked my hair. "You know there are times I wake up at night and you're talking in your sleep. Strange, weird stuff, about kangaroos and jungle roads, and stuffing your face with hot dogs at a ball game. One night, I spoke to you, and we carried on a weird conversation. When I finally said you should go back to sleep, you said okay. Then you said good night and that you loved me. Just the way you said it I knew you were telling the truth. It frightened me because I'm not a good person. I party and sleep around too much, I spend money like it will never end, and I never once told anyone other than my mother that I loved them. She died, and it got into my head that if I loved someone, I would lose them someday." He touched my wedding ring, running his fingertip on it. "Then I almost lost you and I never once told you that I was falling in love with you, a love that I was scared to feel."

"You don't love me," I scoffed.

"I love that you listen to me and follow my lead, even when you really don't want to at first. I love your goofy pyjamas and how cuddly they make you feel when you're sleeping in my arms. I love that I would rather ... be here in the hospital begging for your forgiveness and love, than partying with people who only want to ignore the real world. With you, I have real fun, where I laugh and feel good about helping you and being there for you, because that makes me feel good about myself."

"That's not love," I murmured.

"Maybe not but I know that I don't want to be anywhere but near you."

I looked at him, truly looked at him and saw a man with bags under his bloodshot eyes, his hair was sticking out at odd angles because he had fallen asleep in the armchair of the hospital room, and he had several days of beard stubble on his face because he hadn't shaved. This from a man who took pride in how he looked. He wasn't dressed well, like he normally was when he appeared in public. He looked like a mess, and it was because he loved me, and thought he had lost me.

"Do you think we could start over?" he asked, those puppy dog eyes suddenly prominent, even in their bloodshot state. "After you get better, we can go away and just be ourselves, without any family or the business bothering us. I don't care where and it doesn't have to be fancy or expensive. I just want to be with you."

"No more partying with your friends at nightclubs?" I asked. "No more sleeping with other women? Just you and me?"

"Just you and me," he repeated. "The only person I want to sleep with is you, when you're ready."

I couldn't help it. I sobbed again and began to cry. Immediately, Bucky began to kiss my face. Then he looked in my eyes, placed his hand on my cheek and kissed me for real, a soft and sweet kiss that said I was the most important person in his world.

He was as good as his word. Once I was released, he leased a guest house on the coast. It was quiet, far enough away from the other houses on that stretch of windswept beach that we could pretend we were alone. We visited farmer's markets, picking up fresh food for meals that Bucky cooked for me, trying but not always succeeding in his attempts. It didn't matter because we were together and that was the real reason we were there. We walked; short distances at first as I got my strength back, then longer where we would take our time and pick up interesting shells and rocks on the beach. Sometimes we kept them, sometimes we tossed them back into the ocean. Not once did he look at his cellphone. In fact, the charge ran out and he left it on the kitchen counter as a reminder that he wanted all of his attention on me. At night, we curled up in front of the fireplace until I fell asleep, and he would carry me in his arms to bed, helping me into my comfy pyjamas, before changing into his own and spooning behind me.

One night we had a storm, with pounding waves, thunder and lightning, and a wind that rattled every window in the house. He held me until I fell asleep. When I woke up, I looked at his sleeping face, admiring his straight nose, defined cheekbones, and the cleft in his chin. He must have sensed I was looking at him because he opened his eyes, those blue grey eyes that seemed to change colour like the ocean did whenever it was peaceful or angry. There must have been something in my eyes that morning because Bucky kissed me differently, then looked at me in a way he never had before. As his hands moved under my top, and caressed my skin, he shifted so that he was looking over me. I nodded yes, and he smiled softly, before kissing me again and pressing his body against mine.

As pieces of clothing were discarded, we explored each other's bodies, responding with soft sounds as we awakened our sensuous side. It was lovemaking that started out slowly, then built in intensity as Bucky showed me physically how much I meant to him. I had never been that intimate with anyone before, even though I thought I had with the few boyfriends of my limited experience. None of the others made me feel what he did and any last doubts I may have had about his devotion to me were erased. I was in love, truly in love for the first time and so was Bucky.

For six weeks we lived in this bubble where only we existed. Then Bucky plugged his phone in, and all the notifications sounded, one after another for almost an hour. He deleted the ones from his partying friends. They were part of his past now. There were a couple from my father, demanding to know where we were. Then there were the others from his father and lawyers. As he read them, he sighed then looked at me and sat in an armchair, pulling me onto his lap.

"When you were in the ICU, I asked my father for a favour," he said. "I asked him how we could take over your father's company."

"Why?" I asked. "Our marriage was the agreement to keep the competition equal with him, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, it was but when I demanded that your father amend that divorce agreement, he did something stupid and frankly, unethical. He entered into a secret agreement with an overseas company and contracted with them to provide him with the same product at a fraction of the cost. They aren't the same quality, but he is selling them for a bit less than ours, and he makes more profit on them. It's cut into our profits. We'll be alright because Dad's R&D division are already testing the update that would have been brought out at the end of the two years when we were originally going to get divorced. Of course, now, we're not getting divorced."

"We're not?" I asked, my heart racing a little.

"Nope. You've got me for life." He shrugged. "But it means you don't get your 100 million, although you do get a house and car. They were my late wedding presents to you." He cleared his throat. "Do you know how your father has his company structured?"

"No, I assumed he owns and runs it himself," I said.

"Well, he is CEO, but he doesn't exactly own it, at least not all of it," said Bucky. "It's actually shared between your dad, your siblings and yourself. He's never paid you dividends or anything from the company, has he?"

"No, I didn't know any of it," I said. "I feel stupid now, but I always assumed he had total control."

"I think you were kept in deliberate ignorance of it, and he used some shady tax loopholes to keep the money that was yours out of your hands. It doesn't appear he did the same thing to your siblings which led me to wonder why he has always seemed to be so cold-hearted to you."

It was true, my dad never really liked me. I was aware of that from my earliest memories. Bucky's hand on my mine drew my attention back to him.

"He's not your dad." I opened my mouth then closed it. "He was married to your mother when you were born but your father was someone else. The company was her's and he had no choice but to declare you as his daughter at your birth. When she died, she left the company divided up between all of you."

"My mother's not dead," I said.

"She's not your mother, she's your stepmother," he replied. "Originally, she was your dad's mistress. He married her a month after your mother died, when you were two years old. Since then, your father has cheated you out of everything that should have been yours."

"What do I do?" I asked.

"You could launch takeover plans of your own, but I think it would expose you to investigation and possibly prosecution if the full story of how your father operates becomes public." That wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing considering how he cheated me. Bucky smiled a little. "I think you should turn him in. Report him to the FBI, the IRS, and any other regulatory agency that oversees corporations. They'll freeze all the assets of the company while they investigate and once they confirm what my dad found out; you won't be a subject of investigation. You'll be recognized as a victim of a long-term plan to swindle you out of your inheritance. You can even bring a private civil suit against him. At the least it will expose your father and your family to some pretty intense public scrutiny. There might be some criticism about you, but I'll be with you while this happens, and I won't let anyone associate you with them."

I considered his words. For someone who said he barely passed his university courses he sounded pretty sure of himself and of what we should do. Just at that moment I felt like I had to throw up and I ran from him to the bathroom, emptying my stomach. His hands were on my hair, gently pulling it back so it didn't get soiled. Then he gave me a glass of water as I sat on the floor. A strange but satisfied smile was on his face.

"You haven't had a period since we first got here," he said.

I stopped drinking the water and looked up at him. "Do you think I'm pregnant?"

He shrugged then kneeled down to play with the ends of my hair. "Maybe. We can pick up a pregnancy test on the trip back to the city."

Something occurred to me. "The grandchildren clause ... who asked for that?"

He smiled. "My dad. I'm an only child so he wanted to make sure that I had heirs before I died because of my partying ways. If you are pregnant, I'll be happy and so will he. I'm going to be more involved in the company but not to the extent that you feel left out. In fact, my dad thinks you might be a good fit for the Board of Directors. We can work together and take over managing it when he retires."

"I don't know anything about business," I protested.

"I'll teach you," he smiled. "Say yes, to staying as my wife, the mother of my child, and partner in business. There's no one else I want to have it all with."

I agreed and his smile lit me up inside. When we returned to the city, the lawyers that his dad retained helped me turn my father and siblings in for the irregularities of how they ran my mother's business. Like Bucky said, several agencies became interested, and they confirmed that I had been cheated out of tens of millions of dollars worth of income and compensation. There were many shady deals they engaged in, and even the ones that weren't shady, like the marriage arrangement between Bucky and me, weren't always honoured. It took a long time for the whole thing to wind its way through the legal system but when it did, it was my company, and mine alone, as the Board of Directors fired my father and siblings after they were forced to divest their holdings in order to pay years of back taxes on the income they didn't declare. When Bucky's father, George Barnes, proposed a merger I accepted, being offered the position of Chief Ethics Officer in the combined companies.

There was something else that happened. On the way home from the coast, we stopped and picked up a home pregnancy test. The next morning, we waited as the stick processed the urine sample. The word Pregnant appeared and we accepted that our life was going to change. Bucky left behind the party lifestyle completely, becoming the partner in life I had always dreamed of. When our son was born, he was hands on as a father and stayed that way with each child we had, four in all. Some people said we lived a charmed life, but it wasn't always that way.

I never felt truly loved until I survived my accident and confessed my love to my husband. Bucky, who had dealt with his own trauma of his mother's death and being sent to boarding school at a young age, had lived a life of shallowness, afraid to truly be intimate with anyone, until he almost lost me. Our sham marriage ultimately brought him and his father closer together, healing the rift that had kept them apart. With the trust we built between us we formed a new family, made richer by the birth of our children. Although my biological father was dead, he did have children, born after his affair with my mother. We got along well, and they became my new siblings. Whatever cold-hearted life I suffered before I agreed to marry a man I didn't know didn't matter, as Bucky and I showered our own family with all the love we could muster. Above all else, we were happy.

One shots masterlist

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[marketinsight1234]

Bottled Water Market: Global Industry Analysis and Forecast 2023 – 2030

Global Bottled Market size was valued at USD 323.99 billion in 2022 and is projected to reach USD 527.26 Billion by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 5.56 %from 2023 to 2030.

The bottled water industry originated in the late 18th century with mineral water sales in Europe, evolving now with eco-friendly packaging, advanced purification, and a consumer focus on sustainability and tap water awareness.

The bottled water market to the industry segment that involves the production, packaging, and distribution of drinking water that is intended for consumption and sold in sealed containers, typically made of plastic, glass, or other materials. Types of bottled drinking water in the market are Spring water bottled drinking water, Mineral water, Purified water bottled, Alkaline water bottled, Sparkling water bottled, and Electrolyte-enhanced water bottled. this packaged water is sold to consumers through various retail channels such as supermarkets, convenience stores, vending machines, and online platforms.

Get Full PDF Sample Copy of Report: (Including Full TOC, List of Tables & Figures, Chart) @

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The latest research on the Bottled Water market provides a comprehensive overview of the market for the years 2023 to 2030. It gives a comprehensive picture of the global Bottled Water industry, considering all significant industry trends, market dynamics, competitive landscape, and market analysis tools such as Porter's five forces analysis, Industry Value chain analysis, and PESTEL analysis of the Bottled Water market. Moreover, the report includes significant chapters such as Patent Analysis, Regulatory Framework, Technology Roadmap, BCG Matrix, Heat Map Analysis, Price Trend Analysis, and Investment Analysis which help to understand the market direction and movement in the current and upcoming years. The report is designed to help readers find information and make decisions that will help them grow their businesses. The study is written with a specific goal in mind: to give business insights and consultancy to help customers make smart business decisions and achieve long-term success in their particular market areas.

Leading players involved in the Bottled Water Market include:

Bisleri International(India), Nestlé(Switzerland), PepsiCo (United States), The Coca-Cola Company (United States), DANONE (France), Primo Water Corporation (United States), Gerolsteiner Brunnen (Germany), Tata Consumer Products (India), VOSS WATER (US), Nongfu Spring (China), National Beverage Corp. (US), Qua Mineral Water (India), Tata Water Plus (India), Rail Neer (India), Ferrarelle Spa (Italy), Fonti di Vinadio SpA (Italy), Suntory beverage (Japan), Mountain Valley Spring (US), CG Roxane (US), Fiji water (US), Keurig Dr Pepper Inc. (US) and Other Major Player. 

If You Have Any Query Bottled Water Market Report, Visit:

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Segmentation of Bottled Water Market:

By Type

Mineral water

Spring water

Sparkling water

Flavoured water.

By Packaging

Polyethylene terephthalate

High-density polyethylene

Polycarbonate

Cans.

By Distribution Channel

Supermarkets

Convenience Stores

Hypermarkets.

By Regions: -

North America (US, Canada, Mexico)

Eastern Europe (Bulgaria, The Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Rest of Eastern Europe)

Western Europe (Germany, UK, France, Netherlands, Italy, Russia, Spain, Rest of Western Europe)

Asia Pacific (China, India, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, The Philippines, Australia, New Zealand, Rest of APAC)

Middle East & Africa (Turkey, Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE, Israel, South Africa)

South America (Brazil, Argentina, Rest of SA)

What to Expect in Our Report?

(1) A complete section of the Bottled Water market report is dedicated for market dynamics, which include influence factors, market drivers, challenges, opportunities, and trends.

(2) Another broad section of the research study is reserved for regional analysis of the Bottled Water market where important regions and countries are assessed for their growth potential, consumption, market share, and other vital factors indicating their market growth.

(3) Players can use the competitive analysis provided in the report to build new strategies or fine-tune their existing ones to rise above market challenges and increase their share of the Bottled Water market.

(4) The report also discusses competitive situation and trends and sheds light on company expansions and merger and acquisition taking place in the Bottled Water market. Moreover, it brings to light the market concentration rate and market shares of top three and five players.

(5) Readers are provided with findings and conclusion of the research study provided in the Bottled Water Market report.

Our study encompasses major growth determinants and drivers, along with extensive segmentation areas. Through in-depth analysis of supply and sales channels, including upstream and downstream fundamentals, we present a complete market ecosystem.

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[priyankap0018]

Charting Growth Trajectories: Bottled Water Market Revenue and Growth Rate

The bottled water market trends continues to witness significant growth, driven by increasing health consciousness and the convenience factor. Consumers are gravitating towards enhanced hydration options, such as flavored and functional waters, while sustainability concerns are fostering demand for eco-friendly packaging solutions. Premiumization and innovation remain key trends shaping the market landscape.

[scotianostra]

On February 3rd 1700, a fire broke out on the north side of Cowgate in Edinburgh's Old Town.

From there the flames spread and burnt down the close and its close surroundings, including the merchant’s Exchange building, where the Three Sister bar now is.

The fire extended rapidly up hill to involve the tall tenements on the south and east sides of Parliament Square. One, fifteen storeys high, the tallest building in Edinburgh, was reduced to a heap of ashes and ‘made a prodigious blaze"

The buildings were densely occupied and about three or four hundred families lost their homes, including many notables such as the President of Parliament, the President of the Court of Session and other Lords, lawyers, clerks and poorer families. Several lives were lost and a great number seriously injured.

Offices of businesses were destroyed including the recently opened Bank of Scotland – the only bank in Scotland at that time. Mercifully the Parliament Hall and St Giles escaped major damage. The Advocates, who lost their library in the fire, were given space in the Laigh Hall below Parliament House.

Although it escaped major damage the fire allowed the council to rebuild the Parliament “in a uniform style of architecture” regulating the buildings appearance to prevent fire. The rest of the close was given a grand entry and the courtyard was rebuilt uniformly with a continuous arcade along the front.

Cassells Old & New wrote this short account bout the Parliament building:

This magnificent hall and the buildings connected with it had a narrow escape in the “Great Fire” of 1700. It broke out in Lord Crossrig’s lodging, at Mr. John Buchan’s, near the meal-market, on a night in February; and Duncan Forbes of Culloden asserts in a letter to his brother the colonel, that he never beheld a more vehement fire; that 400 families were burned out, and that from the Cowgate upwards to the High Street scarcely one stone was left upon another.

A broadsheet entitled Fire! Fire! stated that the fire had been started by someone throwing a bottle of whisky into an open hearth.. The fire engines were of little or no use, water being scarce and the old closes so narrow that they could not gain access. As mentoned in Cassells. Duncan Forbes wrote to his brother that it was the greatest fire he ever saw ‘notwithstanding I saw London burne’, It reads;

All the pryde of Edenr. is sunk; from the Cowgate to the High Street all is burnt, and hardly one stone left upon another…the Parliament House very hardly escapt; all Registers confounded; Clerks Chambers, and processes, in such confusion, that the Lords and Officers of State are just now mett at Rosse’s Taverne, in order to adjourneing the Sessione by reason of the disorder…twenty thousand hands flitting ther trash they know not wher…These babells, of ten and fourteen story high, are down to the Ground, and their fall’s very terrible….This Epitome of dissolution I send you, without saying any more, but that the Lord is angry with us, and I see no intercessor.

Of course the clergy couldn't let this go without blaming someone, preaching sermons in which they attributed the fire to God’s punishment for the wickedness of the populace. The Town Council also took to preaching and on 4th December 1702 introduced an ‘Act anent suppressing Immoralities,’ which contained the following:-

…considering the great growth of immoralities within the City and Suburbs, and the fearful rebukes of God, by a dreadful Fire in Parliament Close….which happened about midnight upon 3rd February 1700….also, remembering the terrible Fire….on the north side of the Lawn market….28 October 1701 with several lives lost. Likewise reflecting upon other Tokens of God’s wrath lately come upon us… We…being moved with the zeal of God….do in the Lord’s strength resolve to be more watchful over our hearts and ways than formerly; And each of us in our several capacities, to reprove vice with due zeal and prudence as we shall have occasion…. under penalty of Twenty Merks Scots.

The height of the new tenements was restricted to eleven storeys rather than the fifteen storeys of their predecessors but even so Tobias Smollett writing in 1770 observed that ‘I cannot view it without horror; that is, the dreadful situation of all the families above, in case the common stair-case should be rendered impassable by a fire in the lower stories’.

The council's supposed "fireproofing" of the Parliament meant little as 124 years later a large section of the High Street went up in flames in "The Great Fire"

[ohyespotatous]

🍀 May 2024 🍀

( ⭐Focus Goals )

School

• Submit 20 college assignments (Discussion 3-7 for each subject) • Submit 12 biweekly assignments (Assignment 1-3 for each subject) Deadline: Fri, May 24, 2024, 7 PM

Growth Mindset campaign

• Complete webinar planning • Secure a speaker Deadline: Fri, May 31, 11 PM

Marketing campaign - mobile coffee vendor

• Finish marketing campaign proposal Deadline: Fri, May 31, 7 PM

( ⭐Focus Habits )

Pray 5 times a day ➤ I'll make sure to put down everything I'm doing and get ready to pray whenever the time comes

Drink 7 cups of water a day ➤ I'll set reminders on my phone and put a water bottle on my desk and bedside table

Bed by 11 PM ➤ I'll make sure no screen after 9 PM and start my night routine/winding down at 10 PM

Wake up at 4 AM ➤ I'll wake up immediately, slowly stretch my body, drink water, and wash my face after my alarm goes off

Let's do this!! ,,((( ￣□)_／ ＼_(○￣ ))),,

~~

Waaa~ I'm excited for May!! Tbh, I've abandoned ALL (literally) of my school assignments and other work because of my severe unmotivatedness (I'm sorry for making up words lol). I've been bed-rotting for the entire week. Idk what happened to me, but I'm glad that one of my friends called me to hang out today, so I finally summed up the endless bed-rotting phase lol.

Also, thank you so much @academicazura @megumi-fm for warmly welcoming me to this community and inspiring me to do this! It motivated me a lot!! (ARGH THEY'RE THE NICEST PEOPLE EVER!!)

( っ˶´ ˘ `)っ

[skwigelfskwisgaar]

He could see his breath. Sweden, 1984. Cold winter blanketed everything in white. He was wearing a thick wool sweater his mother picked out for him, knitted in a creamy color to bring out his sparkling blue eyes.

Cold. Numbing cold. And blinding white snow. It pained his eyes. Still he marched on. Pride bloomed in his chest, his heart swelling in joy after he studied for music class and successfully remembered everything they had covered.

It was the first thing he felt. Pride and joy.

Each step he took it brought him closer to home. The snow under his feet gave way easily, promising relief from winter's grasp and the blinding snow.

He had been looking forward to school. He had been such a good student. His mother had promised sweet bread and spiced mead for him to try. He would be like the warriors of Valhalla. Drinking mead, eating a feast of his choice. He was so excited to show her his grade in music class. He finally remembered the terminology and the scale! He struggled with it badly before -

He took a small hand out to turn the doorknob.

Skwisgaar's heart thumped in his chest. He knew where this was going and he screamed at himself to stop before the all too familiar sight played again.

He flung opened the door.

"Momma, I'm home!"

Skwisgaar smiles as the smell of lussekatter rolls fills his nose, and his mom's special stew. He was so happy that she found them a home. She was tired of moving just like he was. Unpacking and packing up was always a hassle.

He quickly took his shoes off and walked over to the kitchen to see Serveta in an apron saying "Kiss the Chef", pulling out the rolls from the tiny oven in the kitchen. She placed them down on a cooling rack before going over to kiss Skwisgaar on the forehead.

"Skwisgaar? I'm in the kitchen!"

... what? The kitchen? It felt like the very day he first saw his mother's very active lifestyle, and not... whatever this was.

A deep confusion set in the adult Skwisgaar's mind. Was this not the day he first walked in on his mother? What was going on?

" So tell me? How was school?"

"I did it! Just like we studied yesterday. I remembered all the words and passed the test in music class." He looked at the table set up and smiled big - his mom had prepped her stew, his sweet rolls were cooling down and she had gotten some fruits and jams to eat afterward. And right in the center was the bottle of spiced mead.

"I knew you would get a passing score. Go and wash up, put your books away, and come down to set the table. Afterwards, we can watch some television."

In his mind, Skwisgaar's confusion gave way to hurt. To anger. To questions he knew the answer to.

Serveta took off the oven mittens she had and began to take off her apron, leaving Skwisgaar to walk up to his room as he hastily put his books away. She had a plain blue dress shirt on with buttons down the front, and a pair of white jeans on. She looked like she walked off one of the American fashion magazines she liked to gawk over in the big market.

" You think I'm going to let you drink your first glass out of a cup? You must be mistaken." Serveta pulled out a set of glass ...teacups? Skwisgaar had seen her and his grandmother use them when drinking glögg around this time of year. The glasses were in a bath of water in a pot in the sink, and as she dried them he noticed it was hot water they had soaked in.

Coming back down, his mother dried her hands and stepped aside as he washed his own hands and quickly set the plates and the glasses down. This was after his first growth spurt, the first of many that made him the tallest member of Dethklok. He remembered how awkward he felt and lacking in grace it all was. Watching how to move himself because his body's new height was changing so frequently, he couldn't keep up and adjust.

"If you're drinking glögg, you're going to do it properly."

"Like you?" Serveta stopped, a questioning look on her face. She responds, "Yes? It's meant to be taken like a tea. Hot and steaming." She takes the mead and sets it in the pot, before finally sitting down.

Skwisgaar paused as Serveta finally took the bottle of mead and poured it into the glasses. Rasing the glass up to her face, she took in a deep breath and blew a bit on the top of the liquid. Passing one of them, he took it, a genuine wonder in his face and touch, never blinking. As if the glass would vanish if he blinked.

As they ate, that pit of anger grew. Fury rose in him. What was this weird ... dream? Nightmare? Deep down, he knew what it was. Quit lying to yourself.

It was the childhood desires he ruthlessly buried in the snow. It was the yearnings of a child that he left behind with her that first time he was forgotten, ignored, accused of being selfish for wanting a mom. For wanting his mom to care. The childish want for companionship from his family that he numbed with each high, each couch he slept on, each step he took away from her and the disasters that befell him and his first few bands in Gothenburg.

Back in the murky glow of the kitchen, dream Skwisgaar asked the strange version of Serveta about her day, as she served food and he tore open a roll, still warm to the touch.

"Traditionally, your grandmother made me wish for something for the first glass of the season."

"I wish this was real. That you actually cared."

Skwisgaar had glued his eyes to his mother before she spoke, now boring holes into the glass in his hands.

"Make a wish, Skwisgaar."

The words came out before he realized what he said.

He looked back up and watched as his small hands poured out the glögg, right into the rolls. "Then I wish you stopped hurting me."

"Oh, Skwisgaar," she replied, back in her normal red strapless dress, "wake up and stop wishing for useless things." He looked at her as she rose, he face disappointed and annoyed. That was the woman he knew.

You're not useless. You were distant, but not useless.

She hands him her glass, before dusting her dress and patting his shoulder. "Then drink mine. I don't need it anymore." She walked away, her heels loud as she took each step away from young dream Skwisgaar.

"Don't you have a wish?" He asked.

"It came true years ago. You are not in my way, anymore."

He drank her glass, as the ache in his chest became less and less until he couldn't hear his heels anymore. All he felt was anger.

Fury.

- - - - -

He jolts as he wakes and tosses the covers off. He touches his chest, his arms and then his head. No sweater, long hair. Adult sized.

After making a mental note to never touch whatever Pickles was handing out last night, he got up and texted his mom to make sure she was fine before he washed his face. It was something his grandma did when she dreamt of him or his mom, before passing away. She'd make an effort to go out and find them, always believing dreams were omens. An old habit he kept.

This burning coal of anger simmered deep in his gut, and he figured that with sleep efrectively ended for the day, he might as well grab his guitar and play.

Isn't that what he did anyways? Just put to song what words could never describe?

His phone flashed.

"Hej, momma."

His mom was calling.

Confused, he picked up regardless.

"Skwisgaar?"

"Hello, stranger. You never text. What's happening, Skwisgaar?" Serveta quipped in her usual way.

It brought relief he didn't know he was seeking to hear her usual tone, her self coming through in unfiltered annoyance. Tension rolled off him. There were some background noises of what he assumed was possibly the lumber mill for firewood, or maybe she was in the city. There was chatter and vehicles and the sound of water.

".... I was checking in to see if you were... uh, if you were okay."

"I was headed to the market. Isn't it... four in the morning where you are?" Huh, so it was.

"I'm ... busy. With recording. And planning... tour stops."

"Skwisgaar, I know when you're lying. You and my mother always reached out when you had odd dreams."

He sighed. The rage was simmering low in his gut bow, not boiling and flowing through him like it did earlier. Oddly enough, Serveta was cooling him down a bit. Was this what moms did? If anything, he only saw how they made his bandmates uncomfortable, at best.

"Am I not allowed to call you anymore, mom?"

"I was not expecting it."

There was a pause. He was always such an awkward person when speaking to his mother. Always the awkward teenager that she let go back in 1988.

"Uh, I'll visit soon. We can make plans later this month."

"...thank you. For asking. And I'll have some glögg and lussekatter ready for you."

"... do you think you could make some of that stew?"

"That was your grandma's recipe. I'll have to search for her recipe book, but I can." With the promise of a visit and the excuse of being needed for Dethklok stuff, he hung up the phone and collected his thoughts.

With plans to visit her at some point in the future, Skwisgaar brushed his hair and grabbed his guitar after he dressed himself.

She may not have been the best mother, but she was his.

Pickles was able to get over his mother. He was able to heal, and finally tell her off. He could maybe do the same. Or at least try to mend things. Maybe it would work out better.

Murderface was able to keep his grandmother happy. Even if it meant spending boatloads on scooters and medical expenses, he could see that Stella did care and appreciated Murderface. She and Rose were tied for most visits - considerably impressive, given her limited mobilty.

Toki had been in contact with Anja on several occasions. He didn't pry on that particular aspect of Toki's home life, but she messaged him frequently. He also made sure that she had access to him with her own Dethphone, although she seemed more confused than thankful for it when the exchange happened.

Nathan had his mother visit him frequently back when they kicked out Magnus. She was the woman who made sure her kid and his friends had food to eat besides beer. She made sure they knew a mother's touch, helping them with chores and being at their first few venues to give them a ride back. It was maddening at first, to him anyways - his mother was rarely around and having one this ... present was stifling. It nearly suffocated him. Over the years, though, he really came to appreciate Rose Explosion.

He left his room, ooting to stop by the kitchen to grab coffee. As it brewed, he pondered on the women who shaped this band, who raised his bandmates.

If they all managed to get along with their mothers, couldn't he?

[polysyndetonaddictsupportgroup]

I am LOSING my MIND over this one asdklfkglghf it's SO GOOD help

(also also I was wondering out of sheer curiosity what made you chose "Sea Glass Gardens" for the title? )

Yayyyy I’m so happy you like it! I’m absolutely obsessed with JJK, but specifically with the character dynamics, and I love the Yuuta-Maki-Inumaki-Panda Squad so much. Probably my only regret about sea glass gardens is that I couldn’t bring in the Fushiguro-Itadori-Kugisaki Squad (who’s my favorite squad in the show) since it’s all pre-season 1, but I have different stories for them down the line that I desperately hope I get to the posting stage with. sea glass gardens lets me really have fun with the senpai crew in the meantime and I simply love them.

All of my stories are generally named because I liked the cadence and vibes/associations of a set of words with the story, and this was generally my thought process with sea glass gardens:

Naturally occurring sea glass is a phenomenon that arises when glass breaks and washes overboard in ship transit. Effectively, the glass goes into the water and is tumbled around in the surf for anywhere between 20 and 200 years. The glass is weathered down until it becomes a smooth, frosted pebble that retains the color of the original glass and may eventually wash to shore on a beach somewhere in the world, where someone may think it’s pretty and pick it up. Sea glass has a bit of a collection market around it. There’s this entire thing about the color of the sea glass and what kind of glass shard it originally came from that makes some colors of sea glass more valuable than others. It’s a whole thing.

There’s actually two meanings behind the sea glass part of the name. The first is nicer.

In my mind, the story of sea glass is a bit of an odyssey. The glass starts it’s life thinking it has a specific purpose (I’m aware glass doesn’t think yada yada personification yada yada). It’s meant to be a liquor bottle or medicine bottle or car headlight. But then it’s entire world gets smashed to pieces and it gets hurled into an unforgiving land where it’s constantly worn down and changed until it’s new form is completely unrecognizable to what it was meant to be. It washes up on a beautiful, sunny beach somewhere, and it’s beautiful as well. In that way, sea glass can be a story of making it out the other end of seemingly endless tribulation—changed, but the thing you became was beautiful even if it was unexpected. In that way, it kind of reminded me of Yuuta spending six years in despair from Rika’s curse, but at the end, it was a story of love. Rika still loved him. She didn’t curse him back. His friends loved him. He came out the other end of it changed, but what he found was beautiful.

Of course, there’s a darker interpretation of sea glass, which is that it’s only a good thing for the person that finds the sea glass. If you’re the sea glass, you got a pretty shit bargain.

Like, the entire thing about the glass being worn down and becoming a beautiful, valuable item is only a good deal if you’re the collector. If you’re the glass, you just got the shit kicked out of you by the surf for 200 years only for some shithead on the beach to coo about how lucky they are to find orange sea glass. If I was the sea glass, I would not be happy with that turn of my life. The collector is the one who benefits from this—from my perspective, I just spent 200 fucking years stuck in a current getting all the things that made me me worn away. This is only a good thing for the person who did none of the work but profits from the suffering.

Which is a good nod to the overarching conflict: the higher ups in JJK, and the fact that this is a society that fundamentally eats their young.

Canonically, this is a system that has a few people on the very top that have adopted a policy of hostility to the youth. Like, Gojo’s entire belief system centers on trying to preserve the youth of the students while still nurturing their growth, which the higher ups time and time again bash heads with him over. And of course they do—they’re profiting directly from this system. And I think the most interesting case studies of this are the season 1 first years and Gojo’s generation.

The series opens with the higher ups deciding the entire first years class are acceptable losses. Like, these are three fifteen year olds that have been doing this for two weeks and they sent them all on a mission to die because it would make Gojo look bad and get rid of Sukuna in one fell swoop. It was such a masterful way of establishing exactly the lines that the higher ups were willing to cross from the get out.

And it’s a system that is shown to be worse when we see Gojo’s generation. And it’s pretty clearly because, unlike with the prior generation, there's Gojo to intervene on their behalf and protect them.

Gojo and Geto, while being the strongest from a brute force perspective, were two teenage boys who were basically told to assist in the sacrifice of a fourteen year old girl. They were given zero aid or supervision in this, and I sincerely doubt they were given mental health counseling after gojo was fucking brutally murdered and came back from the dead like Jesus Christ himself and Geto was beaten within an inch of his life by his best friend’s murderer who had just shot a little girl in front of him. We then find out that they were separated on all missions afterwards, severing them from the only consistent support system they had, and that the workload had been heavier than ever.

And we don't ever see anyone try to protect them, either. Yaga makes for fascinating case study from a character building perspective, and as a person he's someone i would probably have major beef with if he was real.

Yaga has an interesting dynamic with Gojo, because while they both do legitimately seem to care about the students, he will not intervene and protect the students in the same way Gojo does.

The first time we see this is with Yuuji--specifically when he dies and comes back to life. Gojo very noticeably did not bring Yaga in on Yuuji's survival. He brings in Nanami, who isn't even a teacher, but he doesn't bring in the guy who taught Gojo himself. And when Yaga discovers he survives, he immediately punishes Gojo, explicitly because Yuuji is alive and because Gojo was fucking with Principal Gakuganji.

The thing is that it really sends a message if you punish one of your teachers for the fact that *checks notes* your student did not die from his heart being manually ripped from his chest during the suicide mission he was sent on by the school you are in charge of. Even if we give it the more generous reading of "Yuuji's not dead and Gojo covered that fact up" we still end up with this correlation of Yaga punishing Gojo for his student's continued survival.

Yaga walks an interesting line because while he is shown to care for students and does not seem to be a full conservative, he very much toes the line with the higher ups. Gojo's straight up feuding with them, but Yaga's still trying to maintain professional relationships with them.

The thing is that if I was the principal of Jujutsu high, there would be no goodwill event, because if I ever saw Principal Gakuganji it would be on sight. It's so hard to foster goodwill when I'm beating the other principal to death with his own guitar. See if you ever fuck with my first years again, you weird old fuck. I'll set your fucking house on fire.

As a side note, I would have been fired extraordinarily fast if I was the principal.

Yaga acts in the narrative as a sort of centrist/intermediary, and it makes sense why he is that way. He's not Gojo. He doesn't have the leverage of being the strongest and cannot get away with the same. Whether he could get away with more than what he does is a different question, but at his core, he tends to prioritize maintaining relationships with the higher ups at direct cost to the students.

Like, if I was a first year, and I saw the principal punishing my teacher for not properly respecting the guy who sent me out on a Death Mission and for the continued heartbeat of my classmate, I'd be like "Cool, so I can't trust him." Every decision made in JJK comes at cost. Gojo's protection of the students comes at the cost of hostility and non-cooperation with the higher ups, but Yaga maintaining these relationships comes to the student's detriment. And we see this in pretty stark depiction with Gojo as a student.

In the past, Geto might as well have erected a billboard reading "sad homosexual in crisis." He wasn't talking to people, but the boy looked Unwell. Even without that, you don't have to be a genius to figure out "Hey Maybe Pump The Breaks On All These Missions For The Students Who Got Carved Up Like Prime Rib And Watched Their Pseudo Sister Get Shot In The Head." Yaga did seem genuinely devastated by Geto and how it all went, but he still fucking handed Gojo his execution order and asked him why he let him get away. At his core, Yaga is sympathetic to his students, cares about him, but we don't have a single canonical instance of him protecting them that I can think of. And the fact that adult Gojo never once brings him into the fold the way he does with Shoko, Nanami, or even Ijichi suggest that Gojo may not trust him to prioritize the students. Like, Yaga taught Gojo himself and actively worked at the school Gojo was hiding Yuuji on, and Gojo was still standing there saying "Hey Nanami, I know you don't teach like, at all, but I have this adorable student who needs someone to show him the art of fighting while looking sick as hell. There are no other options."

Which means that the time where Yaga's the only insulation is a pretty good case study of what the higher ups are like without anyone running interference against them, and we can see pretty quickly that these are people who view human beings as disposable assets.

And I think it's interesting that it was at this time that Megumi's deal with the school was hashed out.

Megumi is, effectively, purchased in childhood. Like, there is no world in which his decision to be a jujutsu sorcerer can be framed as an actual decision on his part. He's living in a system that he never have control over, and it makes his actions in childhood and his later high school years so fascinating.

Megumi just didn't have much of an option. He was a 4-5 year old with a 5-6 year old in charge and his choices were "Go with the Zenin, who purchased you first, who will make you be a jujutsu sorcerer anyway, and who will treat your sister terribly (if they even take her at all)" or "have your future service as a jujutsu sorcerer be collateral for you and your sister to continue surviving." I don't even think he could have said "me and Tsumiki will figure it out, just leave us alone" because even if we assume that two literal babies can survive on their own, I highly doubt that the Zenin would have shrugged and let him go. The actual choice to be a jujutsu sorcerer was taken out of his hands entirely. He had the illusion of choice with how he would make it to the inevitable end of becoming a sorcerer, but he's never been free.

And it's never explicitly stated who masterminded this deal exactly, but I heavily doubt that it was Gojo alone who came up with it, if it was even Gojo at all. Like, Gojo's not exactly an innocent. He makes hard calls when it comes to the kids for the best end (like sending Inumaki and Panda to get their asses beat by Geto, trusting Geto wouldn't kill them and believing that it would set Yuuta off, which was the only chance he and Maki had at survival). But he also casually dropped 10 million yen just so his students would get promotions that they deserved and seems to genuinely care for Megumi. "You need to pay the school back via indentured servitude for the costs of buying you and raising you" just isn't in character for him to have come up with, especially when you consider that it's the school specifically that Megumi has to pay back. It's not Gojo, who's old money and making obscene amounts as the only special grade sorcerer around, and who could have probably afforded to raise Megumi and his sister without aid. So we can say that this leverage over Megumi was most likely a compromise Gojo made while stopping his sale to the Zenin.

The higher ups do not want students and sorcerers to exist in a system where they have free choice. Gojo's a great example of that--he has the leverage to tell them to get fucked, and they hate him. They're sea glass collectors sifting through the sand for the rarest colors, and it's a fucking boon if they're too worn down to protest what the higher ups want.

Which makes Yuuta pretty much the most valuable piece of sea glass on the beach at the end of JJK 0.

At the end of JJK 0, it was freshly discovered that Yuuta not only was the one with the power and not Rika, but that his power was probably the greatest on the planet. He outstrips Gojo in terms of raw energy, though Gojo's Six Eyes technique means that his cursed energy is limitless and he'd still probably come out on top if it came down to a fight.

But Yuuta's also vulnerable at the end of JJK 0 in a way that Gojo hasn't been in a long time.

Yuuta is sea glass that just washed on the shore. He just got out of the currents that have been weathering him down into smooth, valuable glass.

He spent the last six years being pushed to the point of suicidal depression, haunted by the cursed spirit of someone he loved and never got to properly mourn. He finally released her spirit in the same breath that he discovered that he was the one who cursed her to begin with. His parents aren't in the picture at all. He's a boy with no safety net, no security, no self-worth, no real understanding of their world, and he just one shot the guy who was previously their gold standard so devastatingly easily that we didn't even find out what Geto's Big Major Ultra Attack could do because Yuuta and Rika curb stomped him that fucking quickly. He's got once in a millennia levels of power, and it's all wrapped up in a kid who's too young and too traumatized to properly defend himself right now.

The story's about sea glass, and it opens with collectors trying to snatch a valuable piece from the sand before anyone realizes how much its worth.

Gojo's conversation with Yuuta acts, effectively, as the conversation of one piece of rare sea glass to another warning him that someone is going to come along and pluck him from the sand. Gojo went through the gauntlet of trauma with losing Riko and Geto and only realized too late how to push back against the higher ups. Yuuta's in the unfortunate position of being too valuable for the higher ups to let go of, and he hasn't realized that in the same way that Gojo has. Which is why he's opening being terrified of being pushed out after everything, and Gojo and Nanami are the ones who have more appropriately diagnosed the problem as "they're going to do to him what they did to Megumi."

The story's about coming out the other end of years of trauma and making something beautiful in the remnants of your life, but it's also about other people wanting to profit off of the pain and suffering of others. Sea glass fit both of those meanings and had a nice, evocative mental image to me.

The "gardens" part added this sort of mystic quality that I thought fit the tone of the show in general. Like, the fuck even is a sea glass garden? Is it a garden that grows sea glass? Is it a garden decorated with sea glass? It has a sort of fantastical, improbable quality that I liked, and add into it the fact that this is all taking place in a school setting. Schools are, ideally, a place for people to grow, and that's exactly what Yuuta and his classmates are there to do: grow, safely, with people like Nanami and Gojo trying to make the environment to do that.