#「 PEARLY WHITES THROUGH THE CRACKS 」 － teapot

[lurxof--thxmaw]

Lady autism moment all the time every day

// indeed!

[lurxof--thxmaw]

I'm going to make out with your grandma, and you can't do anything to stop me.

"..."

The collective silence is much louder than any words could ever hope to be.

[lurxof--thxmaw]

Do the previous ladies bother you constantly? Or can you control them, or at least ensure they don't follow you around?

Nobody can let go of the shadows haunting her from the past, it seems. To be fair, the Lady cannot do so either; the women swirled around, following her with interest at the attention they have been receiving. Most days, they did not bother to. Their life was still, forever intersected with the thick walls of the Maw. Once it had been a parasite to them. Now, they return its favor.

"Phantoms are... terribly hard to get rid of," she concedes eventually, "Agency over their movements is the only thing they have left, really. It's the reason why they cling to the living."

This is not entirely true for the ghosts of the Maw, though. Once something enters it, it can never leave. The heads of it were not excused from this grim fate: if anything, they were the most afflicted by it.

The Lady knew at least one of them was not happy with this end result. The Lady in White, she voiced her complaints every chance she could. Those times Rascal wandered close to her assigned spots, the phantom of her direct predecessor would coo at her before letting her unhappiness transpire all in one breath. Her words never contained any true weight; she had always lacked depth, even when she was breathing.

"Some choose to always accompany the living, others keep to themselves."

And she had tried. Oh, she had tried to rid of them. But to do so, the Maw would have to sink, and that's the last thing the Lady wants. So she will endure their presence. She will pretend she doesn't see the smaller shadow following her every move with nothing but resignation painted on her face.

"... I suppose it is not my place to take it from them."

[lurxof--thxmaw]

－ tag dump, CHARACTERS.