[ Is it good that Ed's first plan of action is to go commit murder? It doesn't feel great. Then again, he's him. And that's the whole point, isn't it, that he's him no matter where he goes, that that's the problem. The instinct to temper, to gentle, to give an outlet, to soften. So it's... not not good. But it is hypothetical murder. And more than that it's Ed having a cry in the tub, all-- all torn up about himself about killing his father years and years ago--
A man can't know that and be fine with letting someone go off to do that to themselves again, surely. Any man. Even him. He's not worth all that.
Oh.
And there's the fact that there's no one left to kill, setting the rest aside. He's not doing wonderful work unseeing that.
Stede allows himself a second of unfortunate laughter, as a treat. Or if anyone asks he might say he allowed it, anyway. That it was very much definitely something he did on purpose, and it didn't just sort of pop and explode up from his chest like so many misdirected horrified bubbles before he could swallow it.
So he slaps one hand back over his mouth while it passes, and fumbles his way through trying to pull Ed back by the sleeve with his other hand. It's fine. This is fine. ]
He's already dead. [ Okay. Good. He can manage that at a stage whisper without having a whole time of it. Only part of a time of it. ] Very dead. Too dead to be killable, I think.
[ Stede is starting to suspect that he is not in an internal place very conducive to talking things through or making sense of them. Less than ideal.
What's important right now? What actually needs the focus?
Explaining, explaining things, because once Ed has the right perspective on him, it'll probably-- be over fast. He thinks. Never had to explain that sort of thing to someone before, people usually just immediately start in on it.
Keeping Ed from getting rounded back up, though, that's definitely the most important.
He signed his life away already. Stede can't be the reason he gets forced to follow through with it. ]
Dinghy?
[ There's a bespoke tone for "I have to talk to you but I don't think it's a talk we can have on land in a very short or safe amount of time," and Stede has just patented it.
He can cry on a boat just as well as anywhere else, really. ]
no subject
A man can't know that and be fine with letting someone go off to do that to themselves again, surely. Any man. Even him. He's not worth all that.
Oh.
And there's the fact that there's no one left to kill, setting the rest aside. He's not doing wonderful work unseeing that.
Stede allows himself a second of unfortunate laughter, as a treat. Or if anyone asks he might say he allowed it, anyway. That it was very much definitely something he did on purpose, and it didn't just sort of pop and explode up from his chest like so many misdirected horrified bubbles before he could swallow it.
So he slaps one hand back over his mouth while it passes, and fumbles his way through trying to pull Ed back by the sleeve with his other hand. It's fine. This is fine. ]
He's already dead. [ Okay. Good. He can manage that at a stage whisper without having a whole time of it. Only part of a time of it. ] Very dead. Too dead to be killable, I think.
[ Stede is starting to suspect that he is not in an internal place very conducive to talking things through or making sense of them. Less than ideal.
What's important right now? What actually needs the focus?
Explaining, explaining things, because once Ed has the right perspective on him, it'll probably-- be over fast. He thinks. Never had to explain that sort of thing to someone before, people usually just immediately start in on it.
Keeping Ed from getting rounded back up, though, that's definitely the most important.
He signed his life away already. Stede can't be the reason he gets forced to follow through with it. ]
Dinghy?
[ There's a bespoke tone for "I have to talk to you but I don't think it's a talk we can have on land in a very short or safe amount of time," and Stede has just patented it.
He can cry on a boat just as well as anywhere else, really. ]