♻ 010 | audio/spam

[tucky]

[warden filter]

So, uh-- when I first got here, Dr. Cambridge put an implant in me, so I wouldn't have to deal with periods and stuff. But it was a birth control thing too, so that means if I'm having sex I don't have to bother with condoms or nothing, right?

[She sounds hopeful. Please give her the green light to be irresponsible, guys!

(Just kidding, please don't.) ]

[spam]

[Little-known fact: the deck kind of freaks Tiffany out. Out there, space is right in your face, and there's so much of it-- it's impossibly big, and it makes her feel impossibly small. She's never even seen the ocean from the deck of a ship; seeing the entire universe from one is infinitely more overwhelming.

But it's also nice and peaceful, in a way-- not to mention beautiful. So sometimes when she's feeling particularly brave (and right now, post-port, she definitely is) she goes out onto the main deck. She almost always stays away from the railing, opting instead to stick as close to the side of the ship as possible. Sometimes she walks, but it makes her feel a little dizzy. Mostly, she can be found sitting down-- not on a bench, but on the floor, her back pressed against the solid, reassuring Barge wall.

It doesn't matter where she sits. Either way, she can still see the stars.]

[filtered to Mason; dated to after her conversation with Barbara]

This is the kind of message you aren't supposed to respond to and in fact you should delete it off your phone once you have read it and pretend you realized it all on your own. I know guys don't pick up signals sometimes but if I'm real honest girls are the same way even though we're supposed to be better at this stuff so don't feel bad. So in case you didn't already know the signal coming from me is this, I like how things are and will not be unhappy at all if nothing changes but if you asked me out on a date someday I would say yes.

[Look at her, using spellcheck! It doesn't help with punctuation issues, but still.]

Comments

[no_tell_belle]

[Dear God.]

She's right--condoms aren't just about birth control. And if you both haven't been tested recently, you haven't been tested.

[tucky]

I can't ask him to get tested! Ain't that kind of rude?

[no_tell_belle]

You're exchanging bodily fluids--no, it's not rude. It's responsible. Giving him herpes--now that would be rude.

[tucky]

I don't have herpes!

I've been in prison; I wasn't picking up STDs in there, okay.

[no_tell_belle]

There's a lot of things like herpes or HIV you could've picked up years ago and not even known it. Or he could have.

Look, honey, I'm not saying you do or don't have an STD. My point is you don't know about him and he doesn't know about you. The only way to be safe is to get tested or put a wrapper on it.

[tucky]

If I did, wouldn't I have like, symptoms and shit? My cousin had a real bad case of chlamydia once, and there's no way she could've just ignore that and not known about it.

[no_tell_belle]

Some diseases you would definitely notice. Others, not so much. The symptoms can be very mild.

The bottom line is, are you really willing to risk your life, or his, just to avoid a little awkwardness?

[tucky]

No.

But.

I think you might be being a little overdramatic right now, if you don't mind me saying.

[no_tell_belle]

[Dramatic? Venus? Surely you jest.

and in this case, she's actually not.]

I wish it was just excessive drama but I've seen it happen. Sure, diseases like chlamydia can be cured, but herpes? AIDS? There's no cure for them.

[tucky]

... Okay, okay. I'll try to find some condoms somewhere.

But he ain't even really alive, so I don't know if that affects anything.

[no_tell_belle]

Good, that's the smart move.

...not really alive? And you had a problem with Alexander occasionally enjoying the company of the not alive?

[tucky]

Not that kind of not alive. No. More like he died once, a long time before he came to the Barge.

[no_tell_belle]

So he's one of the undead then. [In some ways it seems a small distinction, but it is a difference.]

Honestly, I don't know if that makes him immune or anything but unless you know for certain, better safe than sorry.

[tucky]

Undead? I don't know. He don't look like Simon.

[no_tell_belle]

I don't believe I've met Simon but there are different kinds of undead on this boat. Actually, if you think about it, all the inmates are sort of undead in the sense they were dead and now they're not. [...and she's wandering off topic.]

Doesn't change my point though. If anything, it means being extra careful since we don't really know what kinds of diseases these other people may or may not have.

[tucky]

Yeah.

[She's still a little uncomfortable about that. Hell, Mason's whole schtick as an undead reaper makes her feel uncomfortable when she thinks about it too much. She's still struggling with the idea that there isn't a strict "live, then die, then go to heaven or hell" progression here.]

But I mean he was dead before here, way before the other inmates. ... I think he used to do hard drugs and stuff, though.

[no_tell_belle]

[Her first thought is that the two of them have a lot in common then. She thinks it, but she doesn't say it.]

Who are we talking about anyway?

[tucky]

Um...

[Back in Litchfield, if a guard asked a question, you answered it. If you didn't, you'd get written up for insubordination. Tiffany has very much internalized that, and any defiance on her part has so far been restricted to sneaking around and leaving things out rather than outright lying or refusing to do things-- but lately, she's been getting a little bolder.]

... What if I don't want to say?

[Venus - Private]

[lydiascreams]

Thanks for stepping up, somehow I don't think one source of information will be enough.

And I'm pretty sure 99% of the male wardens are ignoring this post. [She knows her boyfriend is.]

[Private]

[no_tell_belle]

No problem at all--this is one area where it's good to have as much reinforcement as possible.

[She laughs a little.] I'll be surprised if Dr. Cambridge doesn't have an opinion but yes, a lot of the men are suddenly busy elsewhere.

[Private]

[lydiascreams]

He's pretty much the 1% I had in mind. I hope he does step up, though. She seems to trust his medical opinion.

[Private]

[no_tell_belle]

Precisely. We know what we're talking about obviously, but she does seem a bit reluctant to take our advice and I worry how well it'll stick. Cambridge might be the one who can truly impress on her how important this is.

[Private]

[lydiascreams]

If he doesn't reach out to her, we can always reach out to him, I suppose. Or suggest she does.

[Private]

[no_tell_belle]

Yes, perhaps a quick word with the doctor is in order. Otherwise.... Well, we've done the best we can do. Tiffany's an adult [allegedly] and she'll have to make her own decisions.

[Private]

[lydiascreams]

Let's hope so.