teddy wilson

There were few things that Teddy prided herself on; she was too young to have discovered too many of them. Her abilities to process language topped the list, as well as her tendency to remain calm and even in tense situations - usually ones she'd caused with her callousness. Even the administration building being attacked could have prepared her for her suite to seemingly explode around her.

The shapeshifter's ears were ringing, legs pinned by rubble that no amount of supernatural strength could budge alone. Not when fear had gripped her heart and had her panicking. Just when she'd started to make the island feel like home, everything had gone up in a burst of flame and shrapnel. One thing in particular echoed in her thoughts - she had to get out of here before everything began to collapse even further.

"Somebody help! Please! I can't do this alone!"

@skyler-campbell:

It took a moment for the other woman’s words to register with Skyler. She cleared her throat, and nodded. “There’s a lounge,” she said. “Though, I don’t often go there, myself.” She rubbed the back of her neck, before pulling her hair up into a ponytail, clearing her throat a bit as she did so.  “But, um..I can lead the way,” she said. “I know where it is.” She offered her a little bit of a smile.

.

"Does that mean the lounge isn't crowded often?" Whether it was a teacher's lounge or not, the professor didn't much mind at the moment. Anything to avoid the deluge of party invites she'd received over the last half hour. Regardless, it sounded like a refuge that didn't involve locking herself away in her new suite. Teddy would take it for the moment. "Thank you," came the awkward response, the shifter gesturing for the other woman to lead the way.

“Well that wasn’t the point in me saying that. What I was saying was that you scared me basically. It’s an expression.” He says teasingly. “I don’t think that I have seen you around here before. Are you new?” He asks as he looked at her before wiping the sweat from his forehead with his towel. “Then again I mostly stay with my master so I don’t really see those in the dorms anymore.” Chase notices the other doesn’t have anything that signified them being a slave. “Are you one of the masters here?”

Originally posted by sollonssabba01-blog

.

“I’m aware it’s an expression.”  She’d been attempting to make a joke, but it clearly hadn’t landed.  The shifter was unsurprised, she’d always been dry in her humor and was generally awkward around most people.  “New to the island, yes.  I’m a professor.”  Teddy expected surprise, she’d been met with some of that every time she’d disclosed her status on the island.  At the mention of his Master, her gaze flicked to his throat and noted the lack of the standard collars she’d seen on many of the slaves on the island.  “Do you like your Master?”  He was the first claimed slave she met, and she was genuinely curious.

It hadn’t bothered Tilly, the fact that they were basically on display all the time.  As an actress, she was proud to have herself always be seen.  And her teen years were spent a bit debaucherously, so any sort of shame in that was gone.  She wondered how the girl was - was it embarrassment, discomfort, or something of both?  Tilly really wanted to ask, but the moment passed and the focus was shifted to a quick makeover.  She gave a noticeable pause when Teddy said she never wore makeup, but she masked it with a semi forced smile, continuing forward.  “That’s okay,” she said, slowly.  “I like to think of makeup as just more accessories.  It’s an art, for some people, it really is.  I’m only really good at what looks good on me, though.”  She carefully applied the mascara on the girl.  “But I can’t do that for you, we have different bone structure.”  Tilly capped the mascara and pulled out a lipstick, dabbing some in the center of the girl’s lips, and using her index finger to sweep it outwards.  It was a deep red, nice for her skin tone.  On Tilly, it was bold, and made a statement - on Teddy, it felt much more refined.  She ran her fingers through the girl’s hair a few times, and smiled.  “Take a look!”  She pulled a handheld mirror out from under her pillow, to show her the reflection.

.

The pause was noticeable, but recovered quickly enough that the shifter actually found herself feeling gratitude.  It had been a difficult enough admission in the first place; the smoothing over helped her feel a little less awkward about the whole thing.  There was still awkwardness, to be sure, but at least it was a little less than before.

“Have you ever thought about doing this for like, work?”  That was a thing, wasn’t it?  Tilly seemed to be thoroughly enjoying herself even if she didn’t know as much about doing Teddy’s makeup as her own.  There were all those makeover shows, not to mention stylists and makeup artists.  Unfamiliar as she might have been with applying such things to herself, she knew of their existence at least.

And then she saw herself in the mirror and Teddy’s mouth fell open in surprise.  Her eyes seemed brighter, her lips poutier.  A hesitant smile curled the corners of her lips.  “I look ... different.”  How had that been possible with such little makeup?

Dylan hadn’t been rented yet, and it wasn’t much of a surprise to him either.  He kept his head down and did his work and was pretty respectful - there wasn’t much need for him to lose his temper here yet.  He had punched the wall after the punishment, but luckily that didn’t hurt anyone but himself, and had outlets at work to let it out.  All that to say, he was well behaved, but not too well behaved, which kept him fairly invisible.  He wasn’t even sure he wanted to be rented, but he had no choice with the raffle and was pleased that the name he was attached to was one he was familiar with, even so slightly.  Her face helped - he was better with faces than with names.  Dylan had found her quickly, a little ping of disappointed because soon enough he’d change out of this super nice tux (he’d never been in one before now) and the night would remind him once again of his position.  All those thoughts were running through his head as he approached her, a slight wave at his hips in greeting.  “Nice to see you again, even under these really weird circumstances,” he said, shifting his weight to one hip and making a lazy pose.  “I’m all yours.” @theodorawilson​

.

It was a night of firsts for the shapeshifter, to say the least.  She imagined the formal was probably like prom, had she been old enough to attend it when she’d been a senior in high school.  That had been verboten at such a young age given teenager’s proclivites to spike punch bowls and lose their virginity as one final goodbye to high school.  It was the first time she’d been to any sort of dance, the first time she’d ever gotten so damned dressed up - thanks to Tilly’s assistance, Teddy was still clueless when it came to fashion and clothes that weren’t utilitarian.  The professor hadn’t danced, mostly had sat in the corner nursing her drink and just watched the comings and goings of others.  Maybe one day she’d feel comfortable enough to join in, but for now she just observed until the formal ended and she was approached by her ‘prize.’  Dylan cleaned up nicely, she wasn’t sure the same could be said for her.  “What am I supposed to do with you?” she asked baldly, assuming he’d have more answers than she currently held.  “I don’t know how to do this,” was punctuated with her pointer finger moving back and forth between them.  “You’re not sleeping with me, let’s get that out of the way right now.”  She had her suspicions about what rentals meant on the island, and she wanted to make sure they were on the same page right off the bat.

“That all comes in time.” At least for most the financial independence eventually came as a result of some combination of luck and hard work. Clara’s own finances took a bit longer to straighten out in her youth thanks to a retail therapy habit that she’d never truly outgrown. Still it was a brilliant first step for the younger woman to apply to work at one of the more prestigious institutions where the pay was rather generous. “Experimentation in all the delights and follies that life has to offer. They are free from the judgment and social norms for the most part. They can indulged fully without consequence for the most part. It applies from standard rebellion to more taboo topics.” 

.

“I have no doubt I’ll have the financial flexibility after long enough working here.”  The salary was impressive given her age and relative inexperience.  Teddy had every intent on saving as much as she spent on her potential future adventures.  She was nothing if not practical.  Seeing so many of her fellow students drowning in loan debt didn’t hurt her plans for the money she was to make here.  “Taboo topics?”  So much of what Clara was saying sounded flowery and non-specific, both unfamiliar terms to the shapeshifter.  Teddy was doing her best to make sense of both, but she’d much rather the bald and bold information than allusions to what happened on the island.  Better to be prepared than not if taboo was the norm at the Institute.

Raven smirked a little bit. “Thatta girl,” she said. She released her hand, and nodded, before starting to walk. “We can go to my shop,” she said. “It’s closed right now, so no one would bother us. Or, if you like, we can go to my home. And, no. That’s not some sort of way of me making a pass. My fiancé might be there,” she said. “But, she won’t mess with you.” She shrugged her shoulders a little bit. 

.

“Your shop.  What do you sell?”  There was something fascinating about just how self-sufficient the island seemed to be, in the variety of shops and offerings she’d seen dotted on the map the school had given her.  Though Teddy didn’t take the invitation back to Raven’s home as any sort of pass; that would involve anyone to take some sort of sexual interest in her and that had never happened in Boston.  Not when she had been underage for so long in the city.  “People get married here?”

“You aren’t happy? Then why do it?” Jae-min lived far to long to do things he didn’t enjoy, but maybe it was due to his nature or him growing up a prince, but he never did anything that didn’t bring him enjoyment and happiness. Though he was lucky to find his happiness early on in his life. “I am a fashion design major, getting my Phd and I own a tailor shop. Making clothes and designing makes me happy. And it is a lucrative business.” Always available in a new country or century and with the constant change it keep things fresh. “A few hundred years give or take. It learning to mend clothes or make my own was one of the first things my mother taught me.” 

.

“I’m not unhappy,” she clarified with a shrug.  “It’s just ... what I do.” The professor did love her languages, but she was still so new to the island and everything it offered.  Teddy was still on the fence about how she felt about, well, all of it.  Hearing that his living was made on fashion, she couldn’t help but look down at her own.  ‘Preppy’ would be the word most likely used to describe how she dressed, but she saw it as more utilitarian.  Button ups and polos, shorts and khakis.  She didn’t really pay much attention to the way she dressed.  Though she was surprised that her companion had learned such things from his mother so long ago.  “Wasn’t that considered women’s work, back then?”  If she offended Jae, she didn’t intend to.  Social norms just were still foreign to the shifter.  “Would you design something for me, maybe?”  Perhaps that would smooth over any offense she’d caused.  That and it would allow her to branch out a little.

Tilly was busying herself with jewelry, shoes, carefully pulling her makeup bag out from under the bed, where she typically stored everything.  Over time, she had started keeping her nicer clothes in some garment bags in the back room of her work, in a locked closet.  She didn’t trust the temperature in the cells, and some fabrics were just not meant for that kind of unpredictability.  “Hm?” she hummed, distracted by her makeup case, gently setting it up and pulling out everything she needed.  “Oh, not really,” she said, crinkling her nose in a wince.  “I think it’s empty down here, though, and I’ve been working on setting up a curtain, but–”  She turned around, seeing the young woman was already changed.  Tilly squealed in delight, reaching over to tousle her hair some.  “You look great already!  Okay–”  She clapped her hands together.  “We’re going to do one very simple makeup look, but it’ll look great with the dress and your skin tone.”  Tilly pulled a pair of strappy sandals towards Teddy.  “Try these.  Then try not to blink,” she added, pulling out some mascara.

.

Not really.  Maybe if the shifter had come into her powers and grown up back home, she’d be more comfortable with public nudity.  But she’d had to stumble through her abilities mostly alone in Boston, assistance only really given when she visited her parents.  It was a relief to hear that Tilly was fairly sure that the cells were empty, at least, though she wished the curtain existed.  Clever, the professor thought to herself, though she doubted the guards would allow any semblance of privacy given the nature of the cells.

She was just a baby then. Clara imagined that she was more suited to be a student, but clearly if she was hired, it was due to her expertise. “That is the joy of youth, my dear. You can move from one curiosity to the next with the mental flexibility to do so.” Still she understood the need not to settle down quite yet when there was a world to explore. Clara chuckled, nodding her head. “It is a sad state of the world when a supposedly free, first world county gives its citizens fewer rights than an island where slavery still exists. They also get free healthcare and certain liberties that the so-called democracy is taking away.” It was a particular sore spot for Clara as she watched the country she was once willing to die for turn into the mess that it was now. Clara nodded her head. “Witch. Thankfully you won’t be in for too much of a shock here aside from the more adventurous sort who wish to test their boundaries.” 

.

“I have the mental flexibility, I want the financial flexibility to do it as well.”  The shifter had plans to see more of the world than just Boston and the island.  Even her hometown felt like a distant memory given how long she’d been away from it.  Teddy would never call herself sheltered, but she wasn’t well-traveled.  Or that interested in politics, likely due to her youth and relative inexperience.  Her time at university was more often spent studying than watching television or reading the paper.  “Test their boundaries?” the shifter queried, wondering if the witch was talking about the sexual boundaries she’d already seen dotted around the island.

@margeauxxadkins​:

“There is definitely a professor’s lounge,” Margeaux said. She had been minding her own business, when the other woman had touched her arm. She seemed nice enough and Margeaux felt more than happy to help her out with whatever it was that she needed. She chuckled a little bit. “No need to draw blood,” she told her.

She gave her a little bit of a nod. “Come on,” she said. “I’ll show you what’s what around here.” She began to walk. “I’m Margeaux, by the way,” she said.

.

“Teddy.  Or Dr. Wilson, I guess.”  It still felt unusual to attach the title to her name, young as she was.  But she supposed she’d have to get used to it sooner rather than later once her classes really started going full swing.  “And uh.  Thank you, I guess.”  She wasn’t rude so much as socially awkward, hands going into the pockets of her shorts as she started walking next to the woman who had offered to show her the way to - hopefully some peace.  Teddy might have found the same in her suite, but it was too big and empty and the sex dungeon made her deeply uncomfortable.  Getting as far way from it as possible had sounded like a good idea at the time.