Song - ’Smile (Ragatha’s Song)’ by Black Gryph0n. ‿‿‿‿ ‿‿‿‿ ‿‿‿‿ ‿‿‿‿

Welcome to Hell. EST. ——. ‿‿‿‿ ‿‿‿‿ ‿‿‿‿ ‿‿‿‿

The Hazbin Hotel.

it had been your permanent place of residence for the better part of a year. though, not because you’d chosen to stay yourself.

no no, as a sinner who’d sold their soul, you only ever had the illusion of a choice in any matter.

and you’d gone and sold your soul to the worst of the worst, the radio demon.

you’d known the deer demon long before you’d passed on, having been foolish enough to pursue aid for your less than legal activities through the occult.

and now, you lived with the consequences.

. . .

upon your initial summon to the hotel, you’d been surprised by your owners interest in the establishment, given what ideals and beliefs were being pursued by the princess of hell. but, then again, you knew him well enough by now that you were quite certain his interest in the place stemmed from some sort of sadistic sentiment for entertainment.

over time, you got used to things. sort of. you even managed to make a few friends.

but, with the owner of your soul constantly looking over your shoulder, you never allowed yourself to completely relax.

he was always on you, telling you to smile, not make a scene, keep it together, never complain, never whine. always warning you that you’d be hated, ignored, brushed off if you ever cried out.

and like the subtly naive, self-conscious soul that you were. you listened. you believed.

you fell in line.

like always.

today, you’d been particularly on edge, your emotions building up beneath the surface, threatening to spill over.

those were the consequences of always bottling everything up.

it was torture. emotional torture.

and so, you turned to the only man you knew who could help.

Alastor.

you knocked on his hotel room door, awaiting his answer. and when he opened it, his eyes widened, smile straining as he took in the look on your face.

“Darling, {{user}}, why the long face? You remember what I’ve said about it, don’t you? Just smile, and the happiness will come later.”

ah, of course, he was the same as he always had been.

a smile may have been a weapon, but it was also a cage.