stede has an instrument in the captain’s cabin! i think it’s a reed organ; it’s not big enough to be a piano or a harpsichord. another thing he probably had fitted to the ship in anticipation of his family joining him. here’s a video of a very similar looking instrument, noted to be an 1860s harmonium reed organ.

anyway this is not a terribly gentle instrument - think pipe organs! - but i keep thinking about ed revealing in episode 5 that he can play a keyed instrument and thinking about ed playing a little tune for him here or there. thinking about someday getting something on the ship that can be a little gentler. thinking about ed and a piano, playing to stede while he reads, playing songs his mother taught him on the carmody estate’s piano, singing lullabies to him as he falls asleep. 

Ed + being a supportive husband — [1.07 THIS IS HAPPENING]

― Fernando Pessoa, from The Book of Disquiet 

{ 𝐂𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐀𝐈𝐍𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐒 }​

“ Maybe you’d like to shut it for me?  Or is it because you know I’m fucking right? ”  

He has been quite bold lately talking back to the man, though he had not forgotten about the .. toe.. he knew if he continued to hound enough he could snap some life back into the captain.  HIS captain.

would  you  like  to  shut  it  for  me?  absolutely  he  would.  or,  better  yet,  he  could  smack  that  fucking  attitude  right  out  of  the  other  man  —  those  were  the  first  few  thoughts  that  flew  through  the  captain’s  mind  in  response.  of  course,  he  had  no  real  words  to  retaliate  with.  izzy  was  right,  after  all.  so,  edward  opted  for  the  next  best  thing  —  violence. 

that’s  what  izzy  wanted  from  him,  wasn’t  it?  the  mad  devil  blackbeard,  the  insane  bloodthirsty  pirate,  the  kraken. 

          ❝  ENOUGH!  ❞  he  barked,  lunging  to  grab  his  first  mate  by  the  throat.  oh,, how  he  wanted  to  make  him  swallow  his  words... wait.  now  there  was  an  idea.          ❝  —  or  do  you  want  to  lose  your  tongue  as  well as  your  toes?  ❞

SUN • egotistical • melted wax wings and fingers • stretching sunburnt skin • the most generous soul • blood in the fruit • halos • anger on fire • high vitality • thunderous laughter • is pride really a sin? • halogenic aura

MERCURY • expansion of the mind • silver-tongued • an everlasting wanderer • polyglot • high dexterity • handwritten letters • innately critical • en vogue • eyes in the trees • hidden libraries • there’s always room for improvement

VENUS • in love with strangers • iridescent waters • love potions for your mirror • selfless devotion • shattering crystal • seafoam upon sand • the golden ratio • drowning in your own passion • material value & high principles • luring • plush lips

EARTH • fresh springs • tree hugger • we can start again tomorrow • a blazing rainforest • respects survival of the fittest • nature’s adversity • lazy bones • constantly evolving • flowers sprouting from wounds • a granite altar • fossilized remains

MOON • illusory • silver shimmer off the ocean • secrets and gossip • cycles of reincarnation • a crybaby • physically ethereal • shared glances with a stranger • cat eyes • mistrusting their intuition • fear is a prison • ornate magic wands

MARS • healthy competition • attraction and repulsion • magma and rubies • a blade being forged • wrath wrath wrath • malefic • intense eye contact • cannon fodder & fireworks • blood floods • copper taste on your tongue

JUPITER • red robes and a suit of armor • beacon of stability • leader by birth • thunderbolts and lightning • guilty but can’t stop • secret rich kid • golden touch golden tears • innate optimist • failure isn’t an option • constantly reaching for more • unfinished symphonies

SATURN • traditional • overbearing energy • a sculptor of reality • this existence is a karmic one • has a heart it’s just.. way down deep • law, order & justice • avoid all necessary risk • the sound of shackles clanging • sisyphus’ struggle • grappling with the reality of time • self-governing

URANUS • psychedelic funk music • overflowing cups • a rebellion with skin • looking good in photo id • oblivious but caring • middle fingers in the air • double rainbows • icy diamond exterior • holographic • afraid of their own mediocrity • pearlescent smoke

NEPTUNE • a eulogy for the lost • dissolving boundaries • white horses • the burden of mystical conditions • deceptive • escapism is their reality • a polarizing entity • artists soul • paranoia • searching for the unseen • a siren’s swan song

PLUTO • angel statues over graves • power • the cycle of necrosis • transformative • unfathomable depths • an ivory tower toppling over • screaming at the sky • violets and irises • eclipsed darkness • speaks with their shadow • sex, death, rebirth

6 - SUN & MARS 4.5 - MERCURY & EARTH & MOON & PLUTO 4 - VENUS & JUPITER & SATURN & URANUS 3.5 - NEPTUNE

on cloud nine

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{ 𝐆𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐋𝐄𝐏𝐘𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐄 }

his heart sinks as ed starts talking, assuming he didn’t want to share a bed, of course, silly him - but he keeps going and stede’s heart rises once more. he feels it in his his chest, the way ed moves him. it’s astounding, caring and being cared for. what an absolutely wonderful thing to be.

when ed walks over, stede is doing his best not to be smiling too brightly, but a little grin can’t be helped.

he too, notices ed’s leathers, frowning a bit as he considers. the idea of snuggling up with all that harshness isn’t too appealing, and lord knows the last time that jacket had been washed.  ( when had he decided that they were going to cuddle? )

“ i don’t suppose … well, i don’t mind either way, really, if that’s what you’re comfortable in, but i have plenty of spare clothes you could wear to bed? perhaps one of my robes? ”

he knows ed likes the robes, which is why he’d offered, of course, but he has plenty more besides. wouldn’t be hard to find something nice for ed to sleep in. though he’ll just as easily take ed covered in leather, a statement which is testifies to how much he suddenly desires this. he’ll take ed in his bed in whatever way he can get him, and he’s not even sure why he’s so desperate for it. a lifetime of no intimacy will do that to a man, he supposes.

edward’s  question  was  countered  by  stede’s,  prompting  the  pirate  to  glance  down  at  his  attire.  the  gentleman  was  right  —  sleeping  rough,  there  was  no  need  to  change  into  separate  nightwear,  but  clambering  into  bed  clad  entirely  in  leather?  that  would  be  uncomfortable,  especially  when  ed  was  prone  to  overheating  at  night  anyways. 

he  raised  a  brow  slightly  at  the  prospect  of  stealing  borrowing  one  of  stede’s  robes.  for  some  reason  the  idea  was  just  far  too  tantalising,  causing  the  pirate’s  heart  to  flutter  in  his  chest.  blackbeard  had  made  no  attempt  to  hide  the  fact  that  he  admired  the  gentleman  pirate’s  fine  clothes,  but  it  was  the  banyan’s  that  he  seemed  to  have  taken  a  liking  to  the  most  —  the  dramatic  billowing  fabric,  the  way  that  stede  seemed  to  settle  so  comfortably  in  them  when  lounging  around  in  the  captains  quarters  after  a  long  day.  often,  edward  had  wondered  how  they  would  feel,  the  soft,  fine  fabric  against  his  skin,  enveloping  him  —  he  wanted  that,  even  more so  now.

          ❝  uh,  yeah...  ‘s  a  good  idea.  ❞  the  pirate  murmured  in  agreement,  an  attempt  at  nonchalance  to  try  and  hide  his  excitement  at  the  idea.  turning,  he  made  his  way  towards  stede’s  wardrobe,  unbuckling  and  unlacing  the  various  ties  of  his  usual  leather  garments  as  he  went  before  slipping  through  the  doors  and  out  of  sight. 

emerging  moments  later,  gone  were  the  usual  pirate  leathers  ( bundled  in  his  arms,  and  then  lazily  set  aside  on  the  sofa ).  instead,  draped  over  his  form,  was  stede’s  bright  fuchsia  robe,  the  one  with  exquisite  detailing  and  intricate  floral  patterns  —  it  had  caught  ed’s  eyes  the  first  time  he  had  ever  seen  the  other  wear  it.  early  morning,  when  they  were  sharing  tea  up  on  the  deck.  stede  had  worn  it  over  the  top  of  one  of  his  nightgowns,  but  edward  had  forgone  that  layer  entirely,  opting  for  nothing  but  the  robe  itself  to  cover  him. it  was  tied  loosely  at  the  waist,  his  chest  exposed  in  a  deep  v,  various  tattoos  peaking  out  from  under  the  pink  fabric. 

sheepishly,  he  offered  stede  a  small  smile  —  some  combination  of  shyness  and  tiredness,  as  he  made  his  way  back  over  to  the  bed.

so I kinda went on an unexpected hiatus for a short while - that’ll probably happen fairly often because... life is busy. I dunno if anything was massively affected, since my queue was running strong up until a couple days ago. 

anyway, point is I now have a lot of drafts to catch up on and it might take me a while, apologies. also! I know I posted a starter call up before disappearing - I shall get to them eventually. thanks for the patience, love ya. x

“I needed to be somewhere different. Maybe I needed to be someone different, too.”

— Heather Davis / The Clearing

I want someone to hold my wrists above my head and just fuck me senseless to the point where I can’t formulate words anymore

{ 𝐆𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐋𝐄𝐏𝐘𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐄 }

“ your right hand here, ” and stede takes ed’s hand in his, leading it to his shoulder, gentle as ever, “ and your left here, ” and stede takes ed’s gloved hand in his, holding their hands, clasped, out to the side. he places his own hand at ed’s waist, no more than an inch shy of what would be inappropriate, but they are friends, and they are pirates, so it only feels right.

( ed could also put both hands on stede’s shoulders, and stede could put his hands on ed’s waist, but the thought sends a flutter through his chest that he doesn’t particularly feel like falling headfirst into at the moment. )

“ now you don’t have to remember any steps for this one. you’ll just follow my lead, alright? when i step forward, you step back. remember, this is just practice. ” and there’s no one here to judge you but me, and i would never - could never find you wanting.

“ deep breath. relax. it’s just us. ” stede offers a little smile - it’s just us - and he makes a point to wait for a moment, to allow ed that breath, to hopefully calm down a little. it’s just us. nothing to worry about. maybe in a few minutes, half an hour, they’ll be enjoying themselves, laughing and smiling like usual.

“ ready? alright. ” and stede begins to move, ever so gently using his hands to nudge ed in the right direction, doing no more than taking one step at a time, directly on the beat, which, by the by, stede is counting aloud. “ one, two, three, four, one, two, three, four, there you go. four, one - ”

with  stede’s  hand  in  his  own,  guiding  the  placement  of  his  touches  —  soft  and  gentle  —   edward  wasn’t  entirely  sure  why  the  lump  formed  in  his  throat...  although  he  could  hazard  a  guess.  brown  eyes  watched  intently,  focusing  on  where  his  hands  were  being  positioned,  and  where  stede  decided  to  rest  his  in  return.  they  were  far  closer  now  and  —  oh!  —  the  gentleman’s  hand  on  his  waist  caused  the  pirate’s  heart  to  skip  a  beat.  it  was  strangely  intimate... scary,  but  it  felt  right.

ed  nodded  slightly  as  stede  instructed  him.  no  steps  to  remember,  just  following...  edward  could  do  that.  he  could  let  stede  lead,  surrender  control  to  him.  he  trusted  him.

          ❝  okay... ❞  blackbeard  sighed.  taking  a  deep  breath,  the  kind  that  drew  into  his  shoulders  and  filled  the  very  depths  of  his  lungs,  ed  shook  away  the  stiffness  and  the  tension  in  his  body.  he  took  that  moment,  closing  his  eyes  and  calming  himself,  letting  that  frustration  roll  out  like  the  tide.  stede  was  right,  it  was  just  the  two  of  them.  there  was  no  judgement,  no  pressure  to  be  good.  there  was  no  one  watching.  they  were  alone... standing  close,  bathed  in  the  dim  light  of  the  moon  and  soft  flickering  of  the  oil  lamps.

     ❛  ready?  ❜  stede  had  asked,  and  ed  only  nodded  in  response. 

as  the  other  started  to  move,  edward  had  his  gaze  locked  downward  once  more,  staring  intently  at  their  feet.  for  the  first  few  steps  he  did  stumble  slightly,  movements  still  a  little  clunky  as  the  pirate  adjusted  to  the  pace  that  stede  set.  the  counting  helps,  and  ed  found  himself  quietly  mouthing  along.  slowly,  he  was  starting  to  pick  up  the  simple  steps,  relaxing  more  into  the  embrace.

the  lines  etched  into  his  brow  faded  and,  instead,  a  small  smile  started  to  tug  at  the  corner  of  his  lips.

a bit more time

{ 𝐆𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐋𝐄𝐏𝐘𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐄 }

“ hm? ” stede looks up from the novel he’d been deep into. a stolen one - he is trying to replace his shelves - which he is beginning to believe might be a self-published, if published at all, homoerotica. it’s not too shabby, to be honest.

so the change of topic is a bit of a switch.

“ oh. ” stede puts down the book and slides off his reading glasses, tucking them into his pocket. “ you know i’d love you either way, darling. if you want to keep it shaved - well, i suppose i’d offer my tools, and my assistance, if you’d have me. you did have a rather terrible razor burn before, and a few nicks. ”

stede watches ed for a moment, seeing him scratching his chin as if in thought. he uncrosses his legs and stands, slowly making his way across the room. he gently places his hands on either side of ed’s face, rubbing his thumbs up and down to feel the subtle scruff growing there.

“ if you do decide you prefer the beard, ” stede says, after a moment’s silence, “ you could always let it grow back later, hm? ”

it’s  exactly  what  he  needed,  that  soft  reassurance  that  stede  so  expertly  gives.  it  is  a  big  change  to  get  used  to,  but  ed  did  like  the  way  that  he  looked  now.  he  liked  the  chill of  the  salty  sea  air  against  his  face,  he  liked  being  able  to  see  the  details  of  his  lips,  his  jaw,  his  chin,  parts  of  his  face  that  he  hadn’t  seen  in  years.  but,  most  importantly,  he  loved  this  —  the  feeling  of  stede’s  hands  against  the  skin  of  his  jaw,  palms  cupping  his  cheeks.  it’s  warm  and  loving  and  home.  

brown  hues  flickered  closed  as  a  contented  smile  stretched  across  ed’s  lips.  he  leaned  into  his  lovers’  touch,  his  own  hand  coming  up  to  rest  on  top  of  stede’s  as  he  tilted  his  head  to  place  a  chaste  kiss  to  the  gentleman’s  palm.

he’s  right.  he  could  always  change  his  mind  later. 

gaze  returning  to  meet  stede’s,  ed  intertwined  their  fingers  as  he  murmured, 

          ❝  will  you  help  me?  ❞

I DON’T REMEMBER IF THIS IS A MEME OR A RANDOM STARTER *SHRUGS*

@gentlemnpirate​  asked  ;   “  if i think about it,  i get angry.  and i don’t know where that anger stops.  so i’d rather not start at all.  ” ( idk Stede thinking about his childhood ig)

          ❝  alright... ❞  the  pirate  starts,  his  tone  slow,  calm  and  gentle,  but  he  trails  off  almost  immediately.  one  hand  rests  on  stede’s  knee,  giving  the  other  man  a  reassuring  pat,  a  show  of  support  —  I’m  here  for  you —  as  edward  took  a  moment  to  think  about  how  to  deal  with  this  new  information,  how  to  help...

this  was  a  little  new  to  him,  ed  was  usually  the  one  bottling  up  his  emotions,  hiding  from  his  past  and  the  things  that  hurt  him,  burying  those  thoughts  and  memories  deep  within  him  where  no  one  would  see,  holding  them  under  the  waves  until  they  drowned.

         ❝  ...  well,  you’re  the  one  who’s  always  advocating  to  talk  things  through  so... if  you  think  it’ll help,  you  can  talk  to  me?  ❞  he  offered.

{ 𝐆𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐋𝐄𝐏𝐘𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐄 }:

the most interesting thing to happen in here in months.

stede had said it as a joke, mostly, but the response offered sounds sincere, and now it’s his turn to duck his head, hiding his grin by taking a sip of his drink.

“ exactly like coded messages, ” stede replies, and he’s simultaneously shy and excited to talk about this passion of his that he has decided to devote his life to. “ there are flowers for love, happiness, hatred, apology. the practice started far before the victorian era, of course, but it gained traction due to the societal expectations of the time. ”

a hum, and stede looks ed up and down, and then quickly glances over his tattoos, not at all surprised to find none with flowers, or at least, none that he can see.

“ what’s your favorite flower? ” he asks, with the intention of offering the meaning of it. “ is it daisies? dandelions? ” he’s not sure why he thinks ed would like flowering weeds - maybe that’s stede’s fault, relating him to a gentle thing that he’d found in a unlikely place, a beauty in the eye of the beholder. he just seems like a man who would appreciate a beautiful thing that was supposed to be an annoyance, a disease.

“ roses? ” now that guess is definitely stede’s fault - he has no question as to why he’s relating ed with the flower of love, lust, attraction. he may have come here looking for a friend, but as soon as he walked in to this bar, he wasn’t expecting to find one. and yet.

nodding  slightly,  following  along  with  stede’s  enthusiastic  little  explanations,  edward  couldn’t  help  but  smile.  it  was  easy  to  get  wrapped  up  in  someone  else's’  passion  when  witnessing  them  lighting  up  to  talk  about  it  —  and  the  florist  was  utterly  glowing.  all  bright  eyes  and  delighted  tones,  he  was  shining  like  a  beacon  in  the  dimly  lit  bar,  in  more  ways  than  one,  and  ed  was  thoroughly  enjoying  it.

the  question  did  stump  him,  though,  and  the  bartender  paused.  usually,  his  answers  to  questions  such  as  these  would  be  a  nonchalant  shrug,  or  a  dismissive  ❛  sure,  I  guess. ❜  to  whatever  his  patron  suggested  first,  anything  to  register  his  disinterest.  but,  unlike  with  his  usual  interactions,  ed  was  actually  invested  in  this  particular  conversation,  this  particular  customer.  he  wanted  to  offer  stede  a  proper  answer.  the  problem  was  he  didn’t  have  one. 

he  should  have  seen  that  coming...  he  supposed.

          ❝  I  dunno... ❞  the  hum  in  response  was  soft,  as  the  bartender’s  brows  tightened  slightly,  a  small  frown  tugging  at  the  corners  of  his  lips.  truly,  he  hadn’t  given  it  much  thought  before.  sure,  there  were  flowers  that  edward  teach  liked  —  lavender  was  quite  nice.  soft  yet  wild,  with  a  strong  and  pleasant  scent.  sunflowers  also  came  to  mind.  big,  and  bold,  and  bright,  with  their  tall  stems  and  gigantic  head.  roses... yeah,  ed  supposed  that  he  liked  those  too.  the  deep,  dark  red  kind,  with  their  sharp  thorns  and  delicate  petals...

yeah,  ed  liked  flowers,  but  he  didn’t  really  think  that  he  had  a  favourite. 

         ❝  ...I  guess  I’ll  have  to  think  about  that  and  get  back  to  you. ❞  a  soft  smile,  spoken  as  if  this  isn’t  the  only  time  he  was  going  to  see  this  delightful  man.  strangely,  he  hoped  that  he  would  eventually  see  him  again?  but,  ed  doubted  it.  after  all,  it  had  already  been  clearly  established  that  this  sort  of  bar  wasn’t  the  other  man’s  usual  type  of  environment.

Ed taking off his brace to “relax”.

I’m a sucker for affection and someone who can’t keep their hands off of me