Tagged by KhristynZoeBas

Zoe tagged me, so I thought, why not subject you guys to the frustratingly dysfunctional pair from one of my latest stories? They should at least be mildly amusing if nothing else.

Pairing: Olwen North and Echo

Story: ECHO: Kingdom Come 

1.Do they have a lot of arguments? If so, over what? 

Do they have a lot of arguments? Jesus, that's like asking if I'm in love with Mark Watney (I'm so sorry I can't get over him, please forgive me): the answer is a resounding fuck yes. Alright, truthfully, Echo's the one who gets pissy and otherwise argumentative; Olwen has the habit of just goading Echo on for the sake of his own amusement, and only occasionally does he descend into the realm of serious consideration to actually get mad right back at Echo. But most of their arguments revolve around Echo's treatment as a so-called Champion and in the beginning of their travels, Echo takes particular offense to Olwen's unrepentant flirting. If you're talking about later, though, they get into fights about Echo's safety and his "fraternizing" with the other Champions

2. Who apologizes first and in what way? 

Uh. Neither? Echo isn't the type to apologize for his behavior unless he genuinely feels he's done something wrong (which, you might be able to guess, doesn't happen all that often), and Echo's also pretty convinced that any apology Olwen gives is half-assed at best, and dishonest at worst. He feels like he's being mocked and patronized, so he doesn't wait around to listen to Olwen, no matter how overzealous his apology

3. Who gets more riled up and how do they show their anger?

Echo. Don't even have to think about this one. Echo's like... he comes off as being rather aloof for the most part, but Olwen gets under his skin like no one and nothing else, and he's quick to snap at Olwen once his threadbare patience has worn too thin. He's a sulker, as well, won't speak for hours on end if he's upset (not as a form of punishment, or anything, just because he'd prefer not to rile himself up further by getting into it with Olwen again). When Olwen's angry, you can hardly tell; he's pretty unflappable and hard to read in any given situation

4. How do they hide their pain when they're upset? 

Olwen's the type to just ignore his own pain (unless he feels it's too his advantage to garner sympathy, in which case he lays it on thick - tears up, sniffles, demands attention and comfort, the whole shebang) and act as he always does. He might turn up the flirting a little to overcompensate, which is the only reason Echo would ever be able to figure out that Olwen's in anything less than tip-top shape. Echo's a little easier to read, but he isn't vocal about his pain either, preferring to keep things close to the vest. It's a survival instinct more than anything else, because he still feels alarmingly vulnerable without his memories, and showing weakness could very well be detrimental to him nowadays

5. Do they hold a grudge? 

Echo and Olwen are surprisingly in agreement about this topic. They're both literal devils when it comes to holding a grudge; they sink their teeth in and won't let go for anything less than the end of the world - and even then, who knows? Maybe they'd stubbornly cling to their bitterness while scattered throughout the void. Both of them take slights against either themselves or their loved ones incredibly personally, and anyone who wrongs them has little to no chance of making it back into their good graces again.

6. Is there something that could potentially tear them apart if it was revealed? 

...no? Well, I mean, early on their relationship is so rocky, the only reason they're really together is because they both recognize that they're mutually beneficial to each other. Echo can't hide from his fate and needs (according to the laws of the gods) someone to guide him; and Olwen would rather he stay by Echo's side than let his father do it, and he knows that once he's claimed allegiance to Echo (something he neglects to mention to his Champion), leaving him to die all on his own would earn him a pretty major smiting from Seren. But as their trust in one another grows and they realize they don't actually hate the other's company, they're a relatively solid team. It'd take some kinda major bombshell to make one of them want to head for the hills. 

If you mean literally tear them apart, though, I mean, yeah - Echo dying in the Games would accomplish that fairly well.

7. What is their favorite pastime when they're apart? 

Olwen sticks to flirting, honestly. He can entertain himself with practically anyone, so long as they respond well to his advances (and Olwen's definition of well might be a little skewed, so there's a wide variety of responses he's looking for); other than that, he likes to keep himself and his skills sharp, so he trains while Echo is away. Singing's another of his hobbies, but he can only do it when he's alone because Echo complains too much about it. Echo, bereft of his memories and with the threat of his own death looming over him constantly, takes a while to find any sort of hobby for himself. Meditation is something he stumbles upon and really likes, so if he gets a free moment he's probably lost in his own head for a while

8. Who do they confide in when shit hits the fan (besides each other)? 

They don't exactly have anyone else to confide in, not while they're traveling to the reach the Games, and when they kick-off, they become each other's only place of refuge. Echo doesn't like opening up much in the first place, and Olwen's the same, acting far more enigmatic than Echo would like, so it's rare that they confide in anyone at all

9. Is it hard for them to talk about their feelings openly to each other? If so, is there any way that it can be resolved? 

For Echo, that comes along with trust: not right away, and not all at once, but the more he trusts someone, the more likely it is that he'll open up to them in some capacity. And in terms of Olwen (once the trust is established), it isn't that it's hard for him to talk about his feelings, it's that he doesn't think to do it. There's no point, he reasons, and he knows that anything beyond the partnership he has with Olwen wouldn't do him any good; if anything, it'd just be another distraction. For Olwen, you could say he has commitment issues - he doesn't trust easily and doesn't take well to appearing vulnerable (they've got this in common, ain't that cute?). He'd rather not express himself (at least honestly) if he doesn't have to, but, well, that's something that changes a little when he and Echo hit a certain point

10. Who grieves the more when the other is away? 

I'd have to say that's probably Olwen, surprising though that may be.  He's got a protective streak a mild wide, so once the Games are officially underway (and even before then, after that first time someone comes for Echo's head in an effort to put a stop to the Games), he really hates when Echo is out of his sight. Not that he lets on about it; all of his grief is purely internal, and Echo's none-the-wiser about it

11. Who misses the other more, or really thinks about them more? 

It's probably equal? Echo has an easier time of putting unwanted thoughts out of his head, so I guess technically, when it comes down to it, it's Olwen again; he's just better at not showing it on the outside

12. Do either of them have a special item? If so, what is it? 

Olwen has a knife from his father he's protective of, because it reminds him of home and the reason he set out with Echo in the first place. Echo doesn't have anything that has any sentimental value for him, given that he was found half-naked in the woods and with no memory of his life besides his name, so... yeah. No special item for him (at this juncture, anyway)

13. Who cries more or gets more emotional in general? 

Neither of them are prone to fits of tears of emotional outbreaks, unless you're counting Echo's anger management problems. Then it's him

14. Do either of them have the other's stuff lying around their house? 

I'm saying no only because they don't have a lot of personal things between them and they don't have houses while they're out gallivanting across the country. If they did, however, they'd both probably have things of each other's scattered around their own spaces

15. Do they tease each other? 

Oh, yeah, that's a given. Olwen's a natural tease, and Echo's brand of comebacks might be a little on the rude side, but Olwen's never really offended, so I'm calling it playful banter and moving on

16. What's the thing they miss about each other? 

Echo simply misses the steadfast nature of Olwen's presence; he's a solid form for him to lean against, literally or figuratively, and Echo doesn't have very many constants in his life at the moment, so that's precious to him. For Olwen, when he's serious, he misses the laughter he can wheedle out of Echo and the warmth he gives off when they're inevitably pressed together during cold nights out on the road

17. What is their go-to breakup song or angst song? 

Well, they don't have anything like that personally, but I can definitely provide some worthy angst songs (since that's pretty much my favorite genre):

Dying to Survive by Mallory Knox

Let's Hurt Tonight by OneRepublic (SO SO GOOD AND VERY FITTING FOR THESE TWO LATER ON)

Surviving Ain't Living by Alex Clare

A Beautiful Lie by 30 Seconds to Mars

Blame by Bastille 

Bleeding Out by Imagine Dragons

I'm sure there's more I could put down, but I'll end it there for now

18. Who is more jealous? 

Again, it's... they're not the type of guys to like, admit to these things, or even physically give themselves away if they are feeling like this. It takes for-fucking-ever for either of them to acknowledge their feelings, so all the times Olwen was flirting obnoxiously with anything on two legs, Echo didn't actually care much beyond an itch of irritation that had more to do with wishing Olwen had a better sense of decorum than jealousy. And because Echo doesn't socialize outside of what's necessary, and doesn't develop feelings for anyone any sort of quickly, Olwen doesn't even feel a prick of jealousy over it. I guess... if I had to pick one of them, I'd say it's Olwen, if only because Echo still doesn't care about the flirting, no matter what Olwen thinks about it

19. Who would take longer to let go? 

If they've hit the point where they both know what they have is more than a simple, hands-off partnership, Olwen would take longer to let go. Echo considers himself a nobody, someone who could disappear without a trace, with no harm done to anyone but himself. He'd let go in a heartbeat to spare Olwen the heartbreak of watching him die while they're in a more committed relationship; Olwen would fight tooth and nail to keep Echo with him

20. Who's the first one to blame themselves? 

Echo. He takes that kind of stuff to his core, while Olwen usually passes the blame off any whatever convenient bystander happens to be nearby. 

21. Who would be the first to hate the other? 

Echo, again. I... don't really have a long, drawn-out explanation of this, but it would be Echo. They both can hold grudges like there's no tomorrow, but Echo's temperament means he's much more likely to escalate feelings of dislike to hatred if someone hits all the right buttons

22. Who worries more? 

That's a toss-up, though it probably falls a little more into Olwen's territory than it does Echo's, since the point of him being along for the ride is to protect Echo and escort him to the Games alive. 

23. What scent reminds them of the other? 

Warm leather, cheap perfume, and something faintly coppeery would remind Echo of Olwen.

Pine, ice (I swear that has a scent; like, cold has a sort of scent to it), and the scent of chocolate would remind Olwen of Echo

24. Do they have any regrets (regarding the other, or just in general)? 

Ugh, I can't talk about this one for spoiler reasons, so... well, Echo regrets a lot of what he remembers once his memory starts filling in. Olwen's not into regretting things when he can help it

25. Who is more prone to anger? 

C'mon, take a guess here

26. Can either of them sleep without the other? 

Yeah, they can, but it becomes increasingly more difficult the longer they're together. They just get so used to having someone in such close proximity, they feel uneasy when they're alone

27. Who's more likely to protect the other? 

Olwen. Echo would do it, but instinct-wise, that's always gonna be Olwen's job

28. Who would be more afraid of the other's death/harm? 

Olwen has a pretty prominent reason to be afraid for Echo's life, and I'm just gonna leave it at that

29. Who has more dreams/nightmares about the other? 

By virtue of the fact that Olwen is one of those people who never seems to remember his dreams and can't recall ever being woken by a nightmare, Echo gets this one by default

30. Who comforts the other after a bad dream/event? 

Olwen's usually the one to comfort Echo, even if he doesn't want it at first; it's all a part of those protective urges I mentioned before

Aaaaaaaaannnnd done! I don't really anyone to tag with this (at least, not anyone I think will respond to the tag), so I'm just gonna leave it open to anyone who wants to do it. It's a pretty fun tag, not gonna lie; it's definitely helpful in fleshing out relationships between characters

Thanks for tagging me, Zoe!