minor thing but another point against the "ed is just a naturally violent and temperamental guy whose moods switch on a dime" interpretation is that ed always warns people when they push him too far. he's honestly trying to set up a boundary. they just never listen.
shh, don't cry. when they're not in the inn, ed and stede are spending their days lounging about on the sand, luxuriating in the sun, and getting lost in each other's eyes just like this, ok?
i’m always saying this but stede’s fingers in ed’s mouth. sometimes with something sweet on them like honey or a bit of marmalade but sometimes just his fingers pressing down against his tongue like a depressor ed doesn’t even have to close his mouth around them they just rest there getting damp as ed starts drooling a little. in a while stede will use his other hand to nudge at ed’s chin and ed will close his wet mouth around the fingers and suck. it’s all very simple.