sea / see

below the thunders of the upper deep, far beneath in the abysmal sea, his ancient, dreamless, uninvaded sleep The Kraken sleepeth: faintest sunlights flee, about his shadowy sides; above him swell huge sponges of millennial growth and height; and far away into the sickly light, there hath he lain for ages, and will lie

ind, private + exclusive , 𝚎𝚍𝚠𝚊𝚛𝚍 𝚝𝚎𝚊𝚌𝚑  /  𝚋𝚕𝚊𝚌𝚔𝚋𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚍 ,  hbo & legend influence , primarily headcanon based, exploring themes such as : the corruption of power , the cruelty of men , to become the monster they’ve made you , the sorrow of a living legend , wanderlust , lost humanity found again , the power of the open sea , the vast , death .  cursed by jayne bird  ( 22 , she/they , cst )

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“ You’ve got a - ”   It’s hopeless case as soon as he starts to say it, so Stede drops the sentence entirely, raising his hand instead.

“ May I? ”   He asks, waiting for a response before he reaches out. It’s just … well, Ed coming out of a raid mussed up, covered in blood or debri, or even injured isn’t all that rare, but there’s an absolute clump of hair, matted together with what might possibly be blood, perhaps with something twisted inside of the mess. Stede can already tell it’s going to take a bit more than fiddling with his hands to fix.

“ Oh dear, ”   Stede mumbles, not entirely unpleased by this at all. It is his half of their bargain to introduce Edward to the finer aspects of living, and thoughts of a lavender-scented bubble bath are already floating through his head.  

“ You’ve just - you’ve a bit of a - in your hair, just there. Perhaps this is a chance for a new lesson in etiquette, ”   Stede offers, before Ed can do something terrifying and pirate-y like pull out a knife to chop it away (how horrible, absolutely horrible it would be to lose that hair - )

“ A bubble bath with oils and lotions ought to do the trick, I think. Luxury is at the heart of the aristocracy, and there’s nothing wrong with treating oneself, especially after a long days work. I think it would do you well, if you’re willing. ”

                                      there’s gunpowder and burns on their right hand, a long thin cut just above the knuckle of their ring finger where one of stede’s rings sits comfortably. battered and bruised is the pirates life, ed’s used to it. to the mess. he’ll have to have izzy stitch up his leathers in places but nothings serious and the crew seems mostly fine, no deaths or major wounds on the outside that’s what’s important. stede calls their attention and blackbeard turns his attention immediately, a storm set behind his eyes until he sees his co-captain isn’t injured and the seas calm once more.

                                      “ what ? oh, yeah . . . ‘course. ”    they answer with what can only be described as a shy sort of casualness, turning their head to give stede a clear view of whatever it is he’s looking at. letting him pick at the darkened strands. blood has started to dry on his skin, creating tacky patches and splatters. it’s in his hair, matting the curls together in knots against his scalp. it’s uncomfortable but bearable. a bucket of water and he can clean himself up fine, maybe cut it out if it’s particularly troublesome, but that’s the life. hell that might give him some time to give his jacket and trousers a once over when izzy’s done anyway, so his first hand can start an account of the loot in one of those fancy ledgers stede’s got.