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There is something about the idea of sharing a health bar - sharing pain - that I can't stop thinking about. Because obviously, there's the big things that they share, like deaths, or near death experiences, or attacks, but there's also the mundane, mild occurences of pain too.
Grian can feel the strike of an axe that hits Scar way too hard, but he can also feel the way Scar's muscles ache when he overexerts himself.
Bdubs can feel it when a skeleton gets a lucky shot past Impulse's shield, but he can also feel the thrum of Impulse's headache when the others keep blowing those horns.
Cleo can feel the fire eating away at Martyn when he abandons her for the Nether, but she can also feel it when he accidentally stubs his toe when stepping out of the portal.
Ren can feel the burn of poison through BigB's veins, but he can also feel the sparks that bite his skin when he stokes the flames in the furnace.
Scott can feel it when Pearl is sharply headbutted by a charging hoglin, but he can also feel the dig of her nails when she hugs herself, muted by her sleeves.
Joel can feel himself choking when Etho starts drowning, but he can also feel the gentle hunger pangs when Etho forgets to eat, even though Joel himself had just eaten.
Jimmy can feel the flash of heat from a creeper explosion when Tango dies and takes him with him, but he can also feel the sharp pecks at Tango's hand when he goes to feed the chickens.
They know when their other is exhausted, because they can feel the sting in their eyes. They know when their other is building, because they can feel the pinch of splinters. They know when their other is sewing, because they can feel the prick of the needle along their fingertips.
Even if they aren't physically with their soulmate, they are never alone, because they can feel their presence through their day-to-day activities. Some are more present than others, clumsy as they are, but none can ever truly be ignored. It's to be expected - the whole concept of soulmates is that they are intrinsically tied, after all - but they really are two halves of one whole.
They don't just share their lives, they share a life, and their skin, and their bones, and their breaths, and their hearts, even if they deny it. They know their soulmate deeper than anything else, they know without words how they are on a physical level and can care for them without asking, because their pain is shared.
And that is beautiful, and fascinating, and surreal, and terrifying.