Howdy Limey!! I hope you're doing well, royal! I wanted to come ask- has there ever been a time when you helped take care of an f/o when they got hurt or were sick? If so, please paint me a picture 🥺? Were they quick to come to you, or did they struggle to accept help? Have any of your f/os ever returned the favor? Please remember they love you so much and are so grateful to you for always being there for them ✨💚🌱!!!!

Clover @tex-treasures

Hiya Tex! it's being a lovely evening, thank you for your ask! ooooo this is providing good thoughts. I'll talk through Aniketos and Viktor as two possibilities

as one may guess, Aniketos is a major caregiver. after all, he found Avon and cared for them without having met them before. he also helps look after Soldagand a lot, with the other dryad being more involved in fights he sometimes turns up at Ani's tree to get his injuries tended to. so when Aniketos gets injured or sick, he knows how to deal with these issues. he's also been living predominantly alone in his tree for years upon years - such is the life of a dryad. I'm certain if Sol or Alora (another nearby dryad) were to have visited and found Ani unwell, they would have helped him out.

because of how all of this unfolds, when Avon comes to Aniketos' tree and finds him slow to respond to their call, and notices that the exterior bark is peeling in places, they're already worried when Ani comes out from the tree to help them through. he's clammy to touch and wobbles as he walks, and they outright ask if he's sick. he confirms this - his tree has a touch of bark rot from recent humid spells, which won't kill it or him, but he needs to rest and let his magic repair the damage. as a dryad, it means he's mostly out of commission. Avon sets down their things and simply asks "let me help. how can I best help you right now?"

Aniketos isn't quick to ask for help, but he doesn't turn it down when offered. he gives Avon instructions for how to brew a medicinal tea and where the food stores are, but they do much of the rest that's needed. they make a cozy nest for him in the living room, where the squirrels and other tree critters can come visit, pillows plumped up and blankets carefully draped over him. they make dinners to share, wet rags to lay over his forehead when his temperature spikes, and sit on the floor next to him. either rambling about recent adventures, singing for him, or sitting in silence with their head against his arm while he sleeps. Ani probably wakes up at some point to find Avon conked out in that position, and has to jostle them awake to join him on the couch. it's an interesting discussion the following morning, but at least Aniketos recovered more overnight.

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now Viktor has his severe chronic illness. in his situation, he's dealt with it a lot by himself, maybe even felt pressured not to let other people help him when struggling. he keeps a lot close to his chest, overworking or going that extra mile and ending up the next day suffering for it.

he has more people around him nowadays though. there's Jayce, Skye, and now Aravor. the difference between the first two is that they function on regular working hours of a Piltover citizen. Aravor meanwhile functions on 'literally any hour'. this means if Viktor is working late into the night, feeling another muscle cramp or migraine coming on, the potential of a scrangly individual rolling through the window is certainly present. this also means that on a few occasions, Aravor has been present to learn more about Viktor's illness.

there's one day where Viktor just has a Bad Day. no overworking the previous day, no sign of it coming around, he simply wakes up to an aching leg and severe fatigue. he gets up to his laboratory with effort, sits down to try and collect his thoughts as best as possible, and two hours later, lo, there's a soft thump as Aravor arrives. it doesn't take long for them to notice Viktor's exhaustion and his reluctance to stand up. they quickly ask if they can help and Viktor waves the offer away - there's little to be done to help. so they ask instead "what's one thing I can do right now that could make your life better?"

actually, tea would be nice, Viktor says. so Aravor does the academy's most fascinating stealth mission to get a pot of tea, and a plate of biscuits because they saw them there and figured to bring just in case. Viktor is able to make himself tea, while Aravor sorts through his notes according to their last discussion. again, what's one thing he can think of. this time, it's having someone writing up a few of his notes on the blackboard, which Aravor does. they go back and forth, Viktor taking over frequently, but he has the opportunity to rest more. Aravor doesn't pressure him for things they can help with, only providing options for him to agree with when he runs out of thought processing capability.

by the end of the day, Viktor isn't better, but he's not as bad as he might have been without the small bits of assistance. Aravor knows they can't provide a cure-all for Viktor's exhaustion and pain, but they always have a hand extended for Viktor to take if he chooses. that's the important part, I think, that Viktor doesn't have that choice removed. I'm certain Aravor and Viktor have talked about circumstances like Viktor collapsing or struggling to breathe, that's the point where Aravor just does what is needed to help. but they're not going to move things around or pick him up without a prior agreement, absolutely not. it works well for the pair in this way. Viktor has independence and Aravor can still help.

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thank you again for sending this ask in! it gave me a lot to think about, especially with Viktor and Aravor as I'm aware that part ran on a long while. chronic illnesses are difficult to live with, but the autonomy of the individual should be respected, and I hope I reflect that well with Viktor and Aravor's interactions.

thank you also for the rainy day imagine! I'm thinking of turning it into a drabble, it was a lovely imagine for sure ^v^ have a lovely day, Tex!

Howdy Limey ✨🌱💚

You're so so sweet, thank you for your kind words on my October art with Moriarty, I appreciate you ✨💚✨💚 to answer your question, they're indeed wearing the same symbol but in different metals; the symbol is a four-leaf clover ♡

I wanted to come ask, what are Avon and Aniketos going to dress up as for Halloween this year? Does Aniketos even celebrate it? Does Avon? If not, what do they like to do instead?

I'm rooting for you in all that you do!

Clover ✨💚🍀

@tex-treasures

Hi Clover! Must say I'm delighted that I managed to spot that in the drawing~ you always put such neat details into your pictures, they're absolutely lovely!

An interesting question on Halloween. Aniketos isn't really one to celebrate many mortal holidays unless invited, and Halloween doesn't really exist in Aalveir, not in the state that we know it. Around the time itself, there's Harvest Dance to celebrate the passage of summer into autumn, and there's Light Memorial to remember those that passed away in the past year. Meanwhile there IS a holiday called The Long Dark with a focus on supernatural 'spooky' creatures, but that takes place around Winter Solstice times, and the thought is that by dressing up as the monsters that come out during the long night, one might be safe from them.

(Note: I don't actually have any information on holidays in Aalveir, so Harvest Dance, Light Memorial, and Long Dark are all headcanons on my part)

Avon celebrates all of these holidays, apart from Long Dark. While they don't have close family, they've traveled with a number of people who fared less well on the road than they, so they like to remember them on that night. Aniketos has known many, many mortals who have long since died, and not taken much consideration into the remembrance holiday, but I reckon with Avon's invitation he would come to take part, and continue to do with them.

It's a family celebration mostly, with fair similarities to Dia de los Muertos, All Souls' Day, and Obon. Candles are lit within a bed of flowers, typically lilies, chrysanthemum and marigolds, with a name given to each candle - a family member or friend that is to be remembered. It's encouraged to recount a fond memory of that person when the candle is lit. Much the rest of the night is spent with family and/or friends, eating hot pot and grilled foods like marinated pork/beef, pumpkin, apples, squashes and potatoes. Aniketos probably enjoys that part the most, preparing a large spread for Avon, Soldagand, Carly and Alora.

Howdy Limey✨🌱💚!

I know we mentioned Ozymandias and Aniketos but I'd like to also say I see my romantic f/o John Parry being friends with Aniketos as well! Parry is deeply in tune with nature and would value Aniketos' wealth of knowledge about what he knows regarding the forest; Parry is a deeply curious soul and would be so grateful to ask questions and listen to Aniketos' advice and observations about the local flora and fauna!

Another f/o of yours, your familial Rex, is someone I see my platonic Watson as well as my romantic f/os Bond and Alfred finding a kindred spirit with Rex, all three being soldiers in their own right. I see Watson taking it upon himself to make sure Rex doesn't push himself too hard physically. Bond would enjoy a sparring buddy and be happy to help him with his stealth technique. Alfred would be that friend who will swap war stories with Rex while also teaching him how to cook if he doesn't already and make it his mission to make Rex laugh more :)

Ahhh anyway, thank you again for your ask! I hope this finds you in good cheer and good health and gives you something to smile about :D

Clover ✨🍀💚

@tex-treasures

Hiya Tex! Thank you for dropping by~

Ooooooh my goodness yes, John Parry and Aniketos would get on very well. Ani would definitely have a deep curiosity for John's....unique travels. Since Ani is tied to his tree, he can't travel very far, and while he's content to remain within his home forest he does enjoy stories that travelers might bring. The breadth of stories that John would bring would sate Ani deeply (for the time being at least). He'd be only too grateful to answer John's questions about the forest, certainly glad that a mortal is being respectful enough to make sure he travels safely, and would provide tips and warnings as needed.

AAAH Rex gets so many buddies! I think for Rex in the Star Wars: Rebels timeframe, he would get along very strong with Watson and Alfred - veterans bonding over their time on the front line, no matter how different those lines looked. But for the Clone Wars era, I think he'd appreciate having friends to help him laugh. Bond being a sparring buddy would be very unique - Bond is a spy and Rex is a commander of an army unit, he'd have a different perspective on how wars are supposed to be won. But he respects the need for stealthy infiltrating, and wouldn't turn down some hand-to-hand combat sessions.

Mostly though, please, please, Alfred cook some home-loved recipes for Rex. He has to sit through clone army rations so often, he'd probably think he'd fainted from the taste explosion.

This was such a lovely ask to think about, it's a grand time to think of F/Os being friends~ Feel free to stop by anytime if you wanna chat F/Os and self-inserts!