#adhd ed teach my love
the thing i like so much about cross-stitch for ed is that it is so stabilizing. you don’t have to make any decisions, you just follow a pattern, but you do have to focus on your counts so you can’t get too lost in your own thoughts. it’s meditative and calming, which ed seems like he could really use to help soothe some of that depression and anxiety, particularly as it’s related to adhd and the flitting, unpredictable brain space that crops up when we get bored. it is also incredibly good as a time suck–you think oh, i’ll do this for an hour, and then seven hours later you’re like ok or that too, sure, which is great when you’re stuck in a place for a long time (like aboard a ship) and you need something to keep the boredom at bay.
what i’m saying is, ed discovers cross stitch and suddenly he’s churning out little stitched signs that say FUCK OFF and COME BACK WITH A WARRANT and ED + STEDE 5 EVER and JUST MATELOTAGED with their little faces on it. stede reads to him as he stitches and then he hangs up every single one ed finishes with a smile and a kiss.
