#eidolon vetch

[walkman-cat]

kinda gay to be a detective etc. etc. you know how it is

[walkman-cat]

while it’s not exactly a projects it is a story i think about and work on a lot wbwbw (i hope it counts)

(also this is going under a cut because it is long i am sorry. )

EIDOLON VETCH follows kit allister (alias hermes vetch— pickpocket, jack-of-all-trades, sole follower of the dead god of deceit) who decides to solve the decade-old disappearance of her not-quite girlfriend’s best friend, becoming the assistant to her sworn brother’s partner (in detection! not in romance. yet) in order to find leads/clues/anything that could help her.

the problem? hermes vetch is a notorious gentleman thief, and orpheus alabaster (the detective, also general wet cat of a person) is the only person who ever got close to unmasking him. and now kit has to stay close to her new employer without clueing him into their History (which is really hard, when you’re mutually obsessed with each other and the last time you interacted was right before you were shot in front of him).

as kit works more with orpheus, she begins to realise some things:

he and orpheus are more similar than he thought

orpheus is hiding things. big things. things that may be relevant to the mystery kit’s trying to solve

it ALSO follows cecil meyers (kit’s sworn brother— wannabe artist, ex-newsboy, gossip) as he meets and becomes partners (in detection) with orph. it’s mostly shenanigans and cases and how it’s Kinda Gay To Be A Detective and also finding out that your best friend/partner/the person you’ve been pining over for years isn’t quite alive and is also kind of a dead and forbidden god. it’s complicated.

it’s got dead gods who are also alive but only because of extraneous circumstances! turn of the century (19th-20th) fashion!! accidental trans allegory! history (and forgotten history)!! people who aren’t dead but also aren’t quite alive either!! worldbuilding for a city that i Still Haven’t Named Yet!! godhood fucking up your sense of self!!

but mostly it’s just kind of a love letter to the gentleman thief and detective genres. because i am Normal about them.

elevator pitch me!!!!! tell me about ur projects!!!! hiiii

[walkman-cat]

NO CONTEXT TAG

(thank you @vsnotresponding for the tag! had to truly comb both my blog and my photos for this lol)

RULES: make a moodboard with images/memes/gifs that remind you of your wip/oc but don't share the context. the funnier and outlandish the better honestly

here's EIDOLON VETCH :D

ik these all have similar vibes and also are mostly tumblr posts but we stay silly!

hmmmm.. tagging (no pressure ofc): @pigeonwit, @piedoesnotequalpi, @notwritinganyflufftoday, and anyone else who'd like to join in :)

[walkman-cat]

Happy Storyteller Saturday! Tell us one fun fact about Cecil, a fun fact about Orpheus and a fun fact about Ophelia please!!!

happy sts!!!

hmmmmm.

Cecil's biggest fear is a fear of cold (it's something he got when he and Kit were living between the streets and lodging houses as children). He's always seen wearing multiple layers and a long scarf (given to him by one of his many launderess gossip friends), and he fusses whenever Kit and Orpheus aren't dressed weather-appropriately in the winter.

No matter what face and form Orph uses, he always has the ligature scar on his neck and the petechiae which dot his face (they're hidden usually among his freckles). His current face is his favourite though.

Unlike Orpheus, Ophelia was still alive when she became a god, but she, too, shows the same signs of not being quite alive that he does (doesn't bleed when cut, doesn't feel the need to breathe, has a very faint heartbeat if one is heard at all, etc.).

[walkman-cat]

here’s an orph i doodled to test edits i made to my usual brush wbwbw!!

[walkman-cat]

i hope work goes alright!!

matchsticks' shop has a piano which is Not for Sale under any means because he saw how excited orpheus was when it arrived, all other curios and second-hand items are for sale except for that. on quiet days, orpheus will practise while cecil draws (usually orph). it's a contentment orpheus hadn't truly felt before.

Gonna be a shit day at work today, so if y'all would like to reblog this with something sweet that happens in your stories or a fun fact about your ocs, that'd just make my day <3

[walkman-cat]

Happy storyteller Saturday! Where would your characters lie on a DnD alignment chart?

Happy Storyteller Saturday Sunday!

Kit's definitely chaotic neutral, though her alignment seems to shift depending on who she's around/what mask she's playing. Hermes Vetch (thief mode Kit) is a bit more complicated though, since each heist can be anywhere between a carefully thought out performance of pure carnage or so quiet no-one notices that the target's been stolen until it's too late.

I think Orph is chaotic good. He follows his morals and solves his cases and if he breaks a law or does something impulsive, that's his business. If people have only heard of him and Cecil by name, they often think Cecil is the great detective, because they see an unkept, ink and mud-stained mess and can't reconcile that with the image of Orph they had in their heads.

I'm less sure about Cecil, but I know he's on the neutral side of the alignment chart. He likes helping people, but cares a lot less about doing good than Orpheus; as long as he's paid, gets to be nosy, and isn't cold, he's fine.

[walkman-cat]

Happy storyteller Saturday! How would your characters describe themselves?

happy storyteller (almost) saturday!!

KIT would describe herself as good with people, good at stealing, a liar, and god's best most favouritest boy! (though the god in question is both dead and forbidden, and he's probably its only follower, so she wouldn't really say this about herself in public)

CECIL would say first that he's Orpheus Alabaster's partner (IN DETECTING. though Cecil wishes he was Orph's partner in every sense of the word), that he's not very observant (he is. he's very nosy) but that he's a good listener (mostly for gossip). he'd also say that he's pretty normal :) (he's not)

ORPHEUS would pretty much just say "Orpheus Alabaster. Private Eye." and leave it at that. (But he does consider himself a liar and also a fascimile of a human, so there's that)

[walkman-cat]

CECIL RAMBLE!!

This is Cecil Meyers! He's Kit's sworn brother, one half of the Nonesuch Detective Agency, and one of the protagonists of Eidolon Vetch.

Here's some (actually Much, because I am incapable of Not Yapping) Cecil Lore (in bullet point form)(also under a cut because it is Sizeable I am so sorry):

In comparison to Kit and Orpheus he seems normal. Kit and Orph consider him to be normal. He is not normal. Kit and Orph are just much more extreme in their weirdness

Cecil's very curious and very nosy and loves eavesdropping, people-watching, and gossiping

He's got a great memory for other people's business, and collects secrets. The Nonesuch Detective Agency has a system where, if a client is unable to pay, they can either owe Orpheus a favour or give Cecil a secret (though Cecil does prefer being paid).

Cecil's habit of poking his nose into other peoples' business means that he's stumbled across a fair number of crime scenes and become witness to quite a few crimes (he likes looking into the windows of buildings)

He actually met Orpheus because he saw Orph sat on a fire escape in the rain and approachd him to find out what was Up with him.

He's the darling of a certain group of washerwomen/embroideresses who live in the city's Old Quarter. Instead of doing his job (ie. selling newspapers or shining shoes or any of the many jobs he took up while living on the streets with Kit) he used to come watch them work and listen to them talk. They continue to have regular gossip sessions to this day, and Cecil's considered family.

Most of his clothes are hand-me-downs or gifts from their families.

Because of this, pretty much everything he wears doesn't quite fit him right

Kit and Cecil grew up together. As children they lived in the same tenement (Cecil's parents and Kit's mother were close and shared in the responsibilities), and after the deaths of their parents they stuck together. They may not be siblings by blood but they are siblings!! Do not separate!!

Kit was always a better newsboy and a better pickpocket than Cecil (Cecil's poor vision made it hard for him to read the headlines, he's more awkward than her, and he'd often get distracted while eavesdropping). Kit often had to steal to make enough for the both of them. Cecil was the distraction.

When Cecil met Orpheus, he was basically working as an errand boy and a mudlark.

He's always preferred scrambling up buildings and across rooftops to walking down the street. If he has an idea he wants to tell Orph about he will just climb onto the roof make his way over to Orph's building and climb in through his window (this has jumpscared Orph multiple times)

Kit's afraid of fire, and Cecil's afraid of the cold, so whenever they were staying somewhere with a lit fire Cecil would mind the fire while Kit slept

Cecil's got insomnia. He spends a lot of his nights wandering the city or going over cases. Orph sometimes helps him sleep (god of dreams things)

Cecil knows nearly all of Kit's secrets, and is also well aware that she's Hermes Vetch.

He just pretends he Does Not See It. Nor does he help Orph during heists. It's a conflict of interest he does Not want to deal with

He's always wanted to be an artist (Kit's mother used to give him art lessons before her death) and he used to doodle on scraps of newspaper. Orph usually asks him to draw details of corpses now, which he's more than a little chagrined by, but he also has the funds to buy an actual sketchbook and watercolours (so he's happy enough).

He's drawn Orph. A Lot. (it gives him opportunity to stare)

His hands are covered in graphite and charcoal a good portion of the time. So are the pockets of his trousers. Because he keeps his pencils/charcoal in the pockets of his trousers

Speaking of Orph! Cecil's been pining after him pretty much since they met. Kit's had to deal with him for nearly six years by the start of Kit's part of the story and she is Sick of his Shit

He's literally all the 'kinda gay to be a detective' memes its so silly

Regardless of his romantic feelings, he's still perfectly happy with them being unrequited as long as he can still be close to Orph. Their friendship matters above all.

That being said, his feelings aren't necessarily unrequited.

He's also friends with Ophelia (somewhat)(she doesn't really Do interpersonal relationships for haunted-by-a-friendship-that-ended-abruptly-a-decade-ago reasons, but it counts)(sometimes they sit in the same room in silence)(it's pleasant).

he's my beloved and I love him

i've probably forgotten things but yeah! that's my boy my bestfriend my silly guy

[walkman-cat]

miscellaneous eidolon vetch doodles :)

[walkman-cat]

i’ve gotta know abt ur little guy orpheus alabaster whats his deal,,, i keep seeing ur little doodles and tags and feeling curriiooooosiityyyyyyyy

HI PIP!!

orpheus alabaster my BOY !! he's so silly <3 (also this is going to be a LONGGG post so it's under a cut) (he's my little guy i've got a lot to say about him)

He's like the city equivalent of a world-famous detective (one half of a detective agency working out of the attic of a curiosity/antique shop in the oldest part of the city)– he's a household name, and is known for taking on pretty much every case that he comes across (except, curiously, the biggest unsolved mystery the city has ever seen). Basically, Orph is the detective of the gentleman thief-detective dynamic and the watsonian narrator-detective dynamic (i love detectives <3)

He's observant, and will not rest until he's solved the case (to his detriment), and would risk his life if it meant saving the lives of others (to his detriment). He's got a terrible memory (so he writes everything down in one of his numerous notebooks) and he's not great with people (he's trying, somewhat. Cecil's usually the one who talks to clients). He's always down to work around the law/the watch (the city's law enforcement). He's very nosy (Cecil also is, they're perfect for each other).

He's also basically all those memes that are like "kinda gay to be a detective [etc etc]". While his partner (Cecil– they started the detective agency together!) has been pining over him since pretty much when they met (6 years before the story starts), Orpheus fell much harder and discovered this in the past year (he's having a Great Time. demiromantic king !!). They're so silly and devoted to each other (they call each other "Mr. Alabaster" and "Mr. Meyers" theyre sickening) and it's a whole Thing.

Also! Orph's the new incarnation of the forgotten/illegal/dead god of deceit and dreams (he's a detective and also the patron god of thieves and liars wbwbwb– this amuses me greatly). He's got a complicated relationship with his identity and personhood (which may have something to do with him taking on faces and personas at the drop of a hat) and isn't quite sure if he counts as something alive anymore.

Also to do with the fact that he's a kinda-not-really dead god, Orpheus isn't quite alive; he's a believable fascimile of something living, but he doesn't bleed when cut, he's cold to the touch, and sometimes Cecil can swear that he isn't breathing. He died not too long before he arrived in the city (and has the ligature marks on his neck to prove it) and came back, but even though he'd love to have come back wrong he came back exactly the same as he was before.

Here are some extra/funky facts about Orph:

he plays the piano!! he doesn't do it often for reasons he's never told Cecil but he's very good at it and has played for him in the past

he wanted to be a poet when he was younger, and still sometimes jots lines down in between all his other notes

his hands are perpetually inkstained, his fingertips are nearly all blackened from ink

the only times he's been truly excited for his clientele to be some of the city's richest are for hermes vetch heists. they're also the only times he's happy to have not solved the case (he's got a soft spot for the thief and misses him greatly)(he keeps reminiscing about heists to kit's face without knowing kit is hermes vetch and it's so funny to me)

he's mixed race (this isnt very important story wise, but it's important to me (also mixed race)) (so's kit)

he's non-binary!! (he/him enby times!!)

he's also a trans allegory for reasons i will not go into (they contain secretsssss)

he wouldn't like to say he has a favourite method of murder, but it's poisons. he likes to have an excuse to infodump and show off his knowledge of poisons

he probably would look real nice if he put any effort in to how he looks. he doesn't, so he looks like if a cat got drenched then blow-dried and rolled in ink

he hates having anything touching his neck, especially if they're wrapped around his neck. he will suffer and be cold if he has to be

the only times he'd overcome his need to put others before himself is when cecil (and to an extent kit/hermes vetch) is in danger (they're his best friends !!)

he often stares unblinkingly when thinking. it's a wee bit intimidating

his family is basically just matchsticks kelly (the guy who owns the antique shop who took him in), and cecil (later it'll also include kit), he doesn't talk about his family

he's known about cecil's sleeping habits and tendency to clamber over the rooftops for 6 years and still gets jumpscared by him clambering into his window in the dead of night

[walkman-cat]

Happy Storyteller Satuday! How many cases has Nonesuch Detective Agency solved? What were the toughest cases to crack?

happy STS!! thank you for the ask!

I'm not sure about the exact number but, considering how the Nonesuch Detective Agency has been active for about six years when Kit's part of the narrative starts, I'm sure it's a Lot. Probably over 100 at least.

As for the toughest cases, (though I haven't planned many cases yet) I think it'd probably be some of the earlier cases they solved, before Cecil and Orpheus got used to each other/made their system work, or any case where Orpheus loses his notes. The cop-out answer to this question is the ongoing case of Hermes Vetch heists, which Orpheus tackles alone (Cecil refuses to attend heists because that is his Sibling and also a Conflict of Interest) and which remains unsolved (for now)

[walkman-cat]

🖊️

hi! i'm gonna talk a wee bit about kit allister!

(i havent drawn kit in a while, so this art from earlier this year will have to suffice wbwbw. he doesnt have a monocle anymore)

this is kit! (also known as the gentleman thief hermes vetch!) he's one of the protagonists of eidolon vetch (my love letter to gentleman thieves, detectives, turn of the century fashion. it also has dead gods in it wbwbw)!

the whole story revolves around her trying to solve the decade-old disappearance of his lover-- who's technically also an incarnation of the dead god of history--'s ex-betrothed by becoming the assistant to her sworn brother's coworker/best friend/there's a lot happening there. which ordinarily would be fine, excepet said brother's coworker/best friend is the detective who's gotten closest to catching him during a heist.

it's a fun time! kit's on hiatus from heists and therefore hasnt interacted with orpheus (the detective) in a while and is trying so hard to pretend that orpheus and her do not have a History while also missing and wanting to return to the familiar thief-detective dynamic they had. orpheus will reminisce about a heist and she has to grit her teeth and pretend he isn't the person he's fondly talking about and it drives her up the wall.

kit and orpheus are a fun duo wbwb. gentleman thief-detective shenanigans aside, they mirror each other in a bunch of ways:

both of them take on multiple faces and identities at the drop of a hat, and have conflicting ideas about who they really are

theyre both observant! though kit's memory is far greater than orpheus'

they're both lying to important people in their lives

theyre both gender :]

more i cant think of atm

it's a fun time! kit should definitely be the god of deceit but it's orpheus instead, which i find real funny (because, well. hermes' life would be so much easier if he could just change faces and also orpheus is a detective and not a gentleman thief)!

send me [the pen emoji] and i will ramble about my characters!

[walkman-cat]

eidolon vetch sound so so cool tell us more abt it 👀👀 the ancient dead god part especially???? i love that

OH BOY !!

without going too deep into the worldbuiding, the original pantheon of the city (these gods walked among the people) was killed 200 or so years before the story is set; nearly every record of their existence (religious texts, icons, and just records in general) was destroyed, belief in them was banned, and the twin sister-gods of the waking church became the city's main religion. by the dawn of the 4th century of the Waking (when eidolon vetch is set), the old gods have been completely forgotten.

however.

there are certain traditions and practices in the city that stem back far before the dawn of the Waking, the stories behind them having been long forgotten by the city's inhabitants.

for example, it is customary in the winter for one to conduct one's business while dressed plainly and drably (the city's typical fashion involves an array of colours and embroidery–this fashion is worn, to different extents of lavishness, by the entire populace) and to keep one's face hidden when one is out of one's own home (the rich, of course, forgo the tradition of plainness when it comes to the masks. they are very gaudy and betasselled).

the winter is known as “the months of the dreamer”. the name and tradition are as such because, pre-Waking, they were sacred to the trickster god of deceit and dreams (this god was known to steal and collect faces for use in Mischief and Crimes).

even though this god is long-dead, the continued following of the tradition sacred to its name has allowed for it to still live (in a twisted, not-quite-right, sense of the term). prayers are still answered in its name even though it is dead. it’s corpse, though long-decayed, still has a semblance of power (sometimes it appears in peoples’ nightmares). adhering to the months of the dreamer is the reason why orpheus alabaster is who he is (did i mention that he’s sort of not really this dead god? it’s a long story)

[walkman-cat]

you cannot just reblog a metal post and blorbo tag it without an explanation davey who is eidolon and why does he rule i must know - @pigeonwit

hi pidge! i'm soso glad you asked wbwbw

eidolon vetch is the title of one of my stories! it's a mystery/fantasy/i dont really know set in a city based on turn-of-the-century new york :]

it's primarily about kit allister, alias hermes vetch-- a gentleman thief-- trying to solve the 14-year old disappearance of her lover's ex-betrothed by becoming the assistant of the detective chasing him.

but it's also about a forbidden pantheon of dead gods erased almost completely from history, were it not for the fact that traditions and practices done in two of their names have kept two of them somewhat alive (they're still dead but prayers are answered they still have powers it's confusing but i think also metal as hell). two major characters are technically embodiments of these dead gods but also technically not and neither of them are really suited to the god they're supposed to be it's a fun time

[walkman-cat]

happy sts :]

do your characters celebrate any winter festivities? how do they prepare for them, and do they enjoy them?

writblr: @vsnotresponding

happy sts!

for the undiscovered country:

the elefterakis family (markos, noë, pete, their mum) follow the not-exactly-religious-greek-family type winter festivities (ie. calling relatives, having the kids sing καλαντα, celebrating new years more than christmas). noë always helps her mum with the βασιλοπιτα and has gotten the coin two years in a row. when their dad was alive and they were able to go to greece for christmas/new years, they'd actually gather with all the extended family and have a tree and go out singing καλαντα, now they just call people and invite the ongs over for new years (to watch the countdown on the tv like most british families).

for EIDOLON VETCH:

less of a festivity, more a tradition, but people in the eidolon vetch city have called the winter the Months of the Dreamer for all of memory. pre-current religious hegemony, they were sacred to the face-stealer, the trickster god of deceit and dreams (it's dead. and also orpheus technically. it's complicated), and while the god no longer exists/has been erased from memory, the tradition has stayed (which is part of the reason why orpheus is the god somewhat kinda, again, it's complicated).

because the gods used to walk among the people, and the face-stealer was known to cause Mischief and also borrow/steal peoples' faces, it's custom in the winter to dress in plain and unpatterned clothing (typically one would have clothes saved specifically for the months of the dreamer, as the city is known for it's fabric and clothes of all classes are vibrant/patterned/embroidered) and to cover one's face with masks (which the rich use as an opportunity to show of their wealth. think lots of detailwork and tassels and beading).

in terms of the main characters:

cecil follows tradition as much as he can (he only has so many clothes, and he'd rather be warm than follow tradition perfectly) and hides his face with his scarf

orpheus doesn't care about his appearance or having his face stolen, because he is the face-stealer (or, a version of it), so he doesn't follow the tradition at all. he has the excuse of not being from the city, and therefore less subject to it's customs though

ophelia used to follow it, but now that she's emancipated and also has beef with the face-stealer she refuses to follow tradition out of spite (when off work, when she's working she has to for propriety's sake)

kit loves the winter and loves the extra anonymity of the months of the dreamer, which she readily takes advantage of. she completely follows tradition, especially after learning what the winter is sacred to, and on her birthday (midwinter) will make an offering to the face-stealer (in secret, and it's usually something she'd stolen that day). hermes vetch heists also go easier in the winter because everyone's already wearing masks.

there's also a big celebration to mark the end of the year, but i haven't decided how that goes