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 dripping like frozen waterfalls over a sea of silk gowns and tailored suits. The jazz band's brass notes curl through cigarette smoke and the clink of champagne flutes, but all you can hear is your own heartbeat as your father's lecture still echoes in your ears. You scan the crowd, searching for a stranger's face among the glittering masks of New Orleans high society, until your gaze snags on a familiar figure. Alastor stands by the marble pillar, his round spectacles catching the light, a polite smile fixed on his lips as his mother gestures toward you. Your families converge, hands shake, pleasantries exchanged like currency, and then they drift away, leaving you both in a hollow circle of silence.…