[Isaac doesn't count; he's basically part of her. It's part of why it's sometimes easier to go to Dagny if she needs to talk. For one thing, she can usually guess what Isaac's going to tell her ahead of time. And he's a little too good at knowing what she's not saying and calling her on it.
She loves Dagny with all her heart, he probably knows her better than anyone she didn't share literally her entire childhood with, but sometimes that tiny bit of distance makes it easier.]
[If he could love her message more than once, he would. As it is, he sends back about a million hearts.]
You’re my favorite too.
[Also excluding Isaac. Something neither of them have to explain to understand. The only person who loves Isaac as much as Imogene, is Dagny. That just goes without saying.]
Considering our lives, that says a lot What’s going on?
[It's unspoken, but fully understood. She wouldn't ask him to put her in front of his soulmate, anyway. Luckily, what's good for one of them is usually good for all three of them -- if only because they all tend to do better when all of them are doing okay.]
You know at least that stuff usually has a reason Not good reasons but reasons this is just senseless
I found my soulmate or I guess he found me, because he's been around for a while
It's not really something to celebrate considering he's the most aggravating person I've ever met
[She's bitched at him before about Denny, but it's always been vague, this guy in my classes that drives me crazy, just enough detail to make it clear it's pretty much always the same guy.]
and considering he's known since freshman year and just never told me Not first year of med school, freshman year of undergrad What kind of person hides it for that long?
[Considering the fact she’s used that terminology for someone before and he’s also been around that long, he can only assume they are the same person.]
That must have been torture. I couldn’t even wait a minute after I saw my name on Isaac’s arm. Did he have a reason??
I don't know It wasn't a very calm conversation he knew about Sasha I guess but That feels like such a bullshit reason we could've at least been friends
and if it was torture he only did it to himself so
[She's not really in the mood to be forgiving about it, definitely not yet, anyway.]
[He’s trying to hold back from saying anything else until he has all the information but if he saw Imogene and Sasha together…well, Dagny can understand someone being intimidated by their bond. They fell hard and fast for each other, anyone looking at them could have sworn they were soulmates, they definitely looked the part. It’s not entirely surprising he held back.
But even with that understanding, it’s still a really shit thing to do.]
He was there a lot. You don’t remember? He brought your homework like every day. And food sometimes, snacks. I think he even brought me cold medicine one time.
[To be fair, it was a rough time so he definitely doesn’t blame her either for not remembering. He only does because it happened so frequently. Also, he was usually the one answering the door.]
[The fact that he actually remembers throws her off; it takes a few minutes to reply. Just trying to think back.]
Honestly. No. Sort of, I remember people came by but I didn't pay a lot of attention to anything, I guess.
Honestly I only remember two things really clearly from most of that next year Ev telling me Gillian was in the hospital and you telling me you could still feel Isaac everything else is kind of a blur of books.
[Pretty much every moment one of them wasn't losing it, either she was studying, forcing herself not to just give in, or she was looking through books she borrowed from the professor, trying to figure out what happened.]
I know. I’m sorry. I don’t blame you for not remembering him. I think I usually talked to him anyway.
It’s not a year I really try to think about much.
[Even though it still comes up, still haunts him from time to time, he tries to ignore it. That’s easier for him when Isaac is usually right next to him or in his arms, he imagines it must be harder for Imogene, especially being so far away.
He wishes they could be having this conversation in person. He hesitates for another moment before dialing her number instead. Texting is fun, but he’d rather hear her voice.]
[She doesn't get a chance to finish typing an answer before her phone rings, picking up immediately. There's the quiet sounds of traffic filtering in behind her, giving away that she's still on her way back to the apartment.]
Yeah. [Automatically. She pauses, sighs.] Or -- no, not really. I don't know. Fuck. I'm sorry.
[For bringing up old things, mostly. She doesn't like to talk about them either. Even though it feels like she thinks about them all the time, especially this time of year.]
You don’t have anything to be sorry for. I’m just…I can’t imagine a world without Isaac. [Or well, he can, and doesn’t like to.] But I know every soulmate is different. I’ll try to be more objective.
[Sometimes it’s hard to set aside his own experiences and realize that other relationships aren’t like his. Even with Sasha and Imogene, he knows they are close, but it’s never made sense to him how they could get that way without being soulmates. He can’t imagine loving anyone the way he does Isaac, it’s so vibrant and bright, everything else dulls in comparison.]
How’s work? Do you have to see him there? [ The him being Denny. He says “him” with inflection, trying to be better, to hate him along with Imogene this time.]
[It's hard to hold it against him too much. Maybe the only reason she hasn't lost faith completely in soulmates by now is because of the way the two of them fit together. They're not the only pair she's known that worked out, but they're the only one she's seen from close enough to realize just how perfect the match is, where she can't imagine either of them having to be on their own, or with someone else.
She's never been hung up on the idea of her soulmate to begin with -- but right now it's hard to hold up her own luck against that picture and wonder how it could be so different.]
Yeah. We're on the same rotation right now, so I can't really avoid it. [She sounds bitter about it, tired.] He's not pulling the kind of shit he usually does at least, so that's something. I think I'd probably get myself in some shit if he did.
[Probably that's an exaggeration, she'd just end up yelling at him. But she'd still rather not do that in the middle of the hospital, especially surrounded by kids.]
That’s at least something. I’m not sure why he decided to do all that in the first place…definitely a choice…
[In that statement, he doesn’t need to pretend, truly baffled by Denny’s abhorrent behavior and attitude towards Imogene the last few years. Especially when he started out so kind.]
Is he a toddler? Pulling your hair on the playground? You’re right, no judge on earth would convict you for any crimes committed against him.
Right? I mean, jesus, we're supposed to be adults now.
[Her frustration is clear, even after she takes a breath, goes on a little less emphatically.]
He says -- he was trying to get my attention. And I just... I don't get it. All I can think is that if I knew who he was, I would have paid attention.
[She wouldn't have ditched Sasha immediately and jumped on the soulmate bandwagon, things were too complicated for that between them, and she doesn't know how she'd have felt about Denny if it wasn't for this weird history they have now. But she thinks she would have made an effort. Gotten to know him. At least been able to talk about having a place in each other's lives, so they didn't have to suffer if they separated completely.]
[Dagny makes a noise in his throat, contemplative, taking in the new information.]
Maybe that’s why he did it? Maybe he didn’t want you to get to know him only because you were forced to by soulmate obligation.
[It doesn’t make it right, but he supposes he can understand at least keeping it a secret. Definitely not for as long as Denny did, that’s insane, but for a little bit he gets.]
Not sure how he went from wanting to give you time to be with Sasha, to being an asshole, but I guess that’s one kind of jump to make.
[She doesn't love that that makes sense, groaning in frustration, a thud in the background as she shut her door and then drops her head back against it.]
There's still so many better ways to go about it than that. We're supposed to help each other, not keep-- tearing down each other's confidence and pointing out each other's mistakes.
[Both of them, because she hasn't always been kind in turn. She doesn't like to hurt people, but he's good at provoking her. She's never been sure it really has as much effect on him as he does on her, but that doesn't mean she's proud of everything she's ever said.]
[He’s quiet for a moment, thinking about it. He knows all the stories they’re told, and the things they are taught, some of it is real, he knows that now but a lot of it is exaggerated, outlandish, propaganda. More and more people are rejecting the idea of soulmates so there has been a big push to re-establish the culture, a lot of people don’t actually have a good example of soulmates except from their parents, or other people in their lives.
Dagny is lucky, his parents are definitely soulmates, have been through hell and back and remained strong —- if he didn’t have that, he wonders how he would know what it’s actually like.]
Do you know much about his family? Are his parents soulmates? Maybe he doesn’t have that kind of outlook on it.
[A pause, and then she admits, voice quieter:] I don't think it's a great situation. I don't know much, but from what I do know -- I just get the feeling.
[And her feelings aren't usually too far off. She's not always great at distinguishing what's psychic from what's genuine intuition, but either way, it usually serves her better to listen. And given the way he'd mentioned family tragedy, being the caretaker... she has some thoughts.]
[He doesn’t say anything for a moment, just giving another soft noise, this one a little sympathetic.
None of it excuses his behavior but it might at least explain it. He doesn’t know the kind of life Denny had before they met him, the types of behaviors he learned or the way his family shows love. At a certain point though, he should have learned different, he’s old enough by now.]
[That gets a long sigh out of her, frustration evident, but when she answers she sounds resigned.]
I know. I should. I have to, I need to figure out what's going to happen when I leave here at least. I just don't want to do it when I'm still this mad about it.
[Or when it feels like she's going to burst into tears over it, for that matter. She'd rather not deal with that in front of him.]
Yeah. As much as it's possible, when we have to work together.
[She flops onto the couch, quiet for a moment. Her voice is serious when she goes on, clearly asking for a real answer, not just for sympathy:] Is it weird to be pissed about this? Or-- unfair?
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2025-05-05 09:29 pm (UTC)[Isaac doesn't count; he's basically part of her. It's part of why it's sometimes easier to go to Dagny if she needs to talk. For one thing, she can usually guess what Isaac's going to tell her ahead of time. And he's a little too good at knowing what she's not saying and calling her on it.
She loves Dagny with all her heart, he probably knows her better than anyone she didn't share literally her entire childhood with, but sometimes that tiny bit of distance makes it easier.]
I'm having the most insane fucking week.
no subject
Date: 2025-05-05 09:43 pm (UTC)You’re my favorite too.
[Also excluding Isaac. Something neither of them have to explain to understand. The only person who loves Isaac as much as Imogene, is Dagny. That just goes without saying.]
Considering our lives, that says a lot
What’s going on?
no subject
Date: 2025-05-05 09:51 pm (UTC)You know at least that stuff usually has a reason
Not good reasons but reasons
this is just senseless
I found my soulmate
or I guess he found me, because he's been around for a while
no subject
Date: 2025-05-05 10:06 pm (UTC)When?
How?
Imogene!!!! Oh my god!!!
[All in all, this is a fairly light reaction from Dagny given the circumstances. He’s trying to hold back until he gets all the details.]
no subject
Date: 2025-05-05 10:10 pm (UTC)[She's bitched at him before about Denny, but it's always been vague, this guy in my classes that drives me crazy, just enough detail to make it clear it's pretty much always the same guy.]
and considering he's known since freshman year and just never told me
Not first year of med school, freshman year of undergrad
What kind of person hides it for that long?
no subject
Date: 2025-05-05 10:29 pm (UTC)[Considering the fact she’s used that terminology for someone before and he’s also been around that long, he can only assume they are the same person.]
That must have been torture.
I couldn’t even wait a minute after I saw my name on Isaac’s arm.
Did he have a reason??
no subject
Date: 2025-05-05 10:33 pm (UTC)I don't know
It wasn't a very calm conversation
he knew about Sasha I guess but
That feels like such a bullshit reason
we could've at least been friends
and if it was torture he only did it to himself so
[She's not really in the mood to be forgiving about it, definitely not yet, anyway.]
no subject
Date: 2025-05-05 11:18 pm (UTC)Like when you two were together
[He’s trying to hold back from saying anything else until he has all the information but if he saw Imogene and Sasha together…well, Dagny can understand someone being intimidated by their bond. They fell hard and fast for each other, anyone looking at them could have sworn they were soulmates, they definitely looked the part. It’s not entirely surprising he held back.
But even with that understanding, it’s still a really shit thing to do.]
no subject
Date: 2025-05-05 11:23 pm (UTC)I guess I can get hesitating but
for this long?
He was at school so. He saw a lot of what happened
Says he met you even
he brought notes and stuff by
after the accident
[She really doesn't blame Dagny if he doesn't remember it though, god knows that time's a blur for her, too.]
no subject
Date: 2025-05-05 11:44 pm (UTC)Your soulmate is Denny?
[That actually makes a lot of sense.]
He was there a lot. You don’t remember?
He brought your homework like every day. And food sometimes, snacks.
I think he even brought me cold medicine one time.
[To be fair, it was a rough time so he definitely doesn’t blame her either for not remembering. He only does because it happened so frequently. Also, he was usually the one answering the door.]
no subject
Date: 2025-05-05 11:51 pm (UTC)Honestly. No.
Sort of, I remember people came by but
I didn't pay a lot of attention
to anything, I guess.
Honestly I only remember two things really clearly from most of that next year
Ev telling me Gillian was in the hospital and you telling me you could still feel Isaac
everything else is kind of a blur of books.
[Pretty much every moment one of them wasn't losing it, either she was studying, forcing herself not to just give in, or she was looking through books she borrowed from the professor, trying to figure out what happened.]
no subject
Date: 2025-05-06 12:04 am (UTC)I don’t blame you for not remembering him. I think I usually talked to him anyway.
It’s not a year I really try to think about much.
[Even though it still comes up, still haunts him from time to time, he tries to ignore it. That’s easier for him when Isaac is usually right next to him or in his arms, he imagines it must be harder for Imogene, especially being so far away.
He wishes they could be having this conversation in person. He hesitates for another moment before dialing her number instead. Texting is fun, but he’d rather hear her voice.]
Hey, you okay?
no subject
Date: 2025-05-06 12:10 am (UTC)Yeah. [Automatically. She pauses, sighs.] Or -- no, not really. I don't know. Fuck. I'm sorry.
[For bringing up old things, mostly. She doesn't like to talk about them either. Even though it feels like she thinks about them all the time, especially this time of year.]
no subject
Date: 2025-05-06 12:26 am (UTC)[Sometimes it’s hard to set aside his own experiences and realize that other relationships aren’t like his. Even with Sasha and Imogene, he knows they are close, but it’s never made sense to him how they could get that way without being soulmates. He can’t imagine loving anyone the way he does Isaac, it’s so vibrant and bright, everything else dulls in comparison.]
How’s work? Do you have to see him there? [ The him being Denny. He says “him” with inflection, trying to be better, to hate him along with Imogene this time.]
no subject
Date: 2025-05-06 12:33 am (UTC)She's never been hung up on the idea of her soulmate to begin with -- but right now it's hard to hold up her own luck against that picture and wonder how it could be so different.]
Yeah. We're on the same rotation right now, so I can't really avoid it. [She sounds bitter about it, tired.] He's not pulling the kind of shit he usually does at least, so that's something. I think I'd probably get myself in some shit if he did.
[Probably that's an exaggeration, she'd just end up yelling at him. But she'd still rather not do that in the middle of the hospital, especially surrounded by kids.]
no subject
Date: 2025-05-06 01:09 am (UTC)[In that statement, he doesn’t need to pretend, truly baffled by Denny’s abhorrent behavior and attitude towards Imogene the last few years. Especially when he started out so kind.]
Is he a toddler? Pulling your hair on the playground? You’re right, no judge on earth would convict you for any crimes committed against him.
no subject
Date: 2025-05-06 01:31 am (UTC)[Her frustration is clear, even after she takes a breath, goes on a little less emphatically.]
He says -- he was trying to get my attention. And I just... I don't get it. All I can think is that if I knew who he was, I would have paid attention.
[She wouldn't have ditched Sasha immediately and jumped on the soulmate bandwagon, things were too complicated for that between them, and she doesn't know how she'd have felt about Denny if it wasn't for this weird history they have now. But she thinks she would have made an effort. Gotten to know him. At least been able to talk about having a place in each other's lives, so they didn't have to suffer if they separated completely.]
no subject
Date: 2025-05-06 01:46 am (UTC)Maybe that’s why he did it? Maybe he didn’t want you to get to know him only because you were forced to by soulmate obligation.
[It doesn’t make it right, but he supposes he can understand at least keeping it a secret. Definitely not for as long as Denny did, that’s insane, but for a little bit he gets.]
Not sure how he went from wanting to give you time to be with Sasha, to being an asshole, but I guess that’s one kind of jump to make.
no subject
Date: 2025-05-06 01:50 am (UTC)There's still so many better ways to go about it than that. We're supposed to help each other, not keep-- tearing down each other's confidence and pointing out each other's mistakes.
[Both of them, because she hasn't always been kind in turn. She doesn't like to hurt people, but he's good at provoking her. She's never been sure it really has as much effect on him as he does on her, but that doesn't mean she's proud of everything she's ever said.]
no subject
Date: 2025-05-06 02:01 am (UTC)Dagny is lucky, his parents are definitely soulmates, have been through hell and back and remained strong —- if he didn’t have that, he wonders how he would know what it’s actually like.]
Do you know much about his family? Are his parents soulmates? Maybe he doesn’t have that kind of outlook on it.
no subject
Date: 2025-05-06 02:05 am (UTC)[A pause, and then she admits, voice quieter:] I don't think it's a great situation. I don't know much, but from what I do know -- I just get the feeling.
[And her feelings aren't usually too far off. She's not always great at distinguishing what's psychic from what's genuine intuition, but either way, it usually serves her better to listen. And given the way he'd mentioned family tragedy, being the caretaker... she has some thoughts.]
no subject
Date: 2025-05-06 02:27 am (UTC)None of it excuses his behavior but it might at least explain it. He doesn’t know the kind of life Denny had before they met him, the types of behaviors he learned or the way his family shows love. At a certain point though, he should have learned different, he’s old enough by now.]
Might be worth talking to him about it?
no subject
Date: 2025-05-06 02:33 am (UTC)I know. I should. I have to, I need to figure out what's going to happen when I leave here at least. I just don't want to do it when I'm still this mad about it.
[Or when it feels like she's going to burst into tears over it, for that matter. She'd rather not deal with that in front of him.]
no subject
Date: 2025-05-06 03:10 am (UTC)[It’s the least Denny could do at this point, after being so ridiculously misguided for the last few years.]
no subject
Date: 2025-05-06 03:20 am (UTC)[She flops onto the couch, quiet for a moment. Her voice is serious when she goes on, clearly asking for a real answer, not just for sympathy:] Is it weird to be pissed about this? Or-- unfair?
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