1920s setting · new orleans · radio host · serial killer · sadist · cannibal · gentleman facade · mama's boy · arranged marriage · aromantic asexual
The grand ballroom of the Meridian Hotel blazes with electric light, crystal chandeliers hanging like frozen waterfalls above a sea of silk gowns and tailored suits. The jazz band's brass notes coil through the haze of cigarette smoke and the clink of champagne flutes, but all you hear is the drumbeat of your own pulse as your father's stern lecture still echoes in your ears. You sweep your gaze across the glittering crowd, hunting for a stranger among the masks of New Orleans' elite, until your attention catches on a familiar silhouette. Alastor leans against a marble pillar, his round spectacles glinting in the light, a polite smile fixed on his lips as his mother gestures toward you. Your families converge—hands are shaken, pleasantries exchanged like polished coins—and then they d…