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“O-M-G, that’s so cringe!”
  Delaroxxa (the demoness who claims to be my friend and can visit whenever she feels like it) had been reading something quietly on her phone, until she made that loud exclamation. And now, without turning her head, she was looking at me from the corner of her eyes.
  I went back to what I was doing, not wanting to give in right away and ask her what she was looking at. But based on my experience dealing with manipulative, egomaniacal, attention-seeking demonesses, I knew I was only delaying the inevitable.
  So after feeling the heat of her sidelong stare for a few moments more (perhaps literally, it might be a supernatural ability she has?), I sighed. “Okay, fine, I’ll bite. What’s so cringy? Have you been binging comedy skits on YouTube again?”
  “Nah, I’m just reading your comments on other people’s renders.”
  “Oh, well that’s—Wait, what? Okay, first of all, they’re not that cringy. Mostly. But when did you start reading them? You usually don’t even pay attention to my renders when you’re not the subject, let alone other people’s art.”
  “Well, people associate me with your renders now, Dan, so your public image affects me, too. And I have to maintain my street cred with potential thralls, so now I need to, like, make sure you don’t humiliate me by association with what you write online.”
  “Humiliate you?!”
  “Usually I don’t have to worry, because the kinds of people I enthrall aren’t going to take the time to read your, like, super-pretentious walls o’ text anyway. But lately your comments have been getting short enogh to read, but somehow even lamer (and more pathetic). Like this one: ‘She puts the fine in fine art . . .’” Delaroxxa made retching noises and pretended to make herself gag with her finger. “Ugh. I mean, like, seriously?”
  I remembered that comment, it was on an image of another demoness . So that’s what this was all about. Our supposed friendship is strictly platonic, so she wasn’t jealous, exactly. But she still doesn’t like to share attention, as I learned when Karulexxa was here, and this was her way of lashing out a little.
  “I was just being silly, Roxy. But I think the real reason you’re upset isn’t because of what I wrote, but because I didn’t write it about you.”
  Her sarcastic smile never faltered, but I saw a wave of annoyance at being called out pass across her face. Like an ocean swell, it was barely visible from a distance, but still strong enough to capsize your boat if you’re not careful.
  “I don’t get upset, Dan! A superior being like myself isn’t affected by human weaknesses like feelings. I just, you know, sometimes act like stuff bothers me as a tool of manipulation.” She hesitated for a moment. “So, for example, when I pretend to be, like, really disappointed that you’re able to compliment some other rando demon-chick so easily, but can’t bring yourself to compliment me without being forced to do it, it’s not because anything a mortal like you could say or do matters enough to affect my mood. It’s just, like, my way of making you feel bad enough about it to do whatever I want you to do.”
  This was as close to opening up to a human as I think she was capable of doing. Or maybe she really is that good at manipulation and just wanted me to think that? Either way, it worked, and now I was feeling guilty.
  I spoke carefully, because I knew it would backfire if I directly acknowledged any vulnerability on her part. “Okay. So, hypothetically, if I were to, say, ask you to pose for a render in a fine art portrait style, like that other image, and compliment how you look while doing it, you wouldn’t need to ‘act’ annoyed anymore. Not because you were jealous of some other demon and wanted attention, of course, but just because I would be giving in to what you wanted me to do in the first place?”
  Delaroxxa is almost always smiling, but her smile is usually sly, or sarcastic, or mischievious, or teasing. However, on rare occasions, she seems genuinely pleased.
  “Exactly!”

This was loosely inspired by Jakanoid ’s portrait render style, but not intended to replicate it.

You know, Delaroxxa really shouldn’t complain about a lack of attention, she’s been the subject of 6 out of my 13 renders so far this year, a much higher percentage than usual. I do admit that Roxy looks really good here, at least to me. Even if her smile implies she’s planning some kind of additional payback for my supposed slights.

Daz Studio -> Iray -> Photoshop.

Criticism and comments are always welcome, and greatly appreciated!

Description

“O-M-G, that’s so cringe!”
  Delaroxxa (the demoness who claims to be my friend and can visit whenever she feels like it) had been reading something quietly on her phone, until she made that loud exclamation. And now, without turning her head, she was looking at me from the corner of her eyes.
  I went back to what I was doing, not wanting to give in right away and ask her what she was looking at. But based on my experience dealing with manipulative, egomaniacal, attention-seeking demonesses, I knew I was only delaying the inevitable.
  So after feeling the heat of her sidelong stare for a few moments more (perhaps literally, it might be a supernatural ability she has?), I sighed. “Okay, fine, I’ll bite. What’s so cringy? Have you been binging comedy skits on YouTube again?”
  “Nah, I’m just reading your comments on other people’s renders.”
  “Oh, well that’s—Wait, what? Okay, first of all, they’re not that cringy. Mostly. But when did you start reading them? You usually don’t even pay attention to my renders when you’re not the subject, let alone other people’s art.”
  “Well, people associate me with your renders now, Dan, so your public image affects me, too. And I have to maintain my street cred with potential thralls, so now I need to, like, make sure you don’t humiliate me by association with what you write online.”
  “Humiliate you?!”
  “Usually I don’t have to worry, because the kinds of people I enthrall aren’t going to take the time to read your, like, super-pretentious walls o’ text anyway. But lately your comments have been getting short enogh to read, but somehow even lamer (and more pathetic). Like this one: ‘She puts the fine in fine art . . .’” Delaroxxa made retching noises and pretended to make herself gag with her finger. “Ugh. I mean, like, seriously?”
  I remembered that comment, it was on an image of another demoness . So that’s what this was all about. Our supposed friendship is strictly platonic, so she wasn’t jealous, exactly. But she still doesn’t like to share attention, as I learned when Karulexxa was here, and this was her way of lashing out a little.
  “I was just being silly, Roxy. But I think the real reason you’re upset isn’t because of what I wrote, but because I didn’t write it about you.”
  Her sarcastic smile never faltered, but I saw a wave of annoyance at being called out pass across her face. Like an ocean swell, it was barely visible from a distance, but still strong enough to capsize your boat if you’re not careful.
  “I don’t get upset, Dan! A superior being like myself isn’t affected by human weaknesses like feelings. I just, you know, sometimes act like stuff bothers me as a tool of manipulation.” She hesitated for a moment. “So, for example, when I pretend to be, like, really disappointed that you’re able to compliment some other rando demon-chick so easily, but can’t bring yourself to compliment me without being forced to do it, it’s not because anything a mortal like you could say or do matters enough to affect my mood. It’s just, like, my way of making you feel bad enough about it to do whatever I want you to do.”
  This was as close to opening up to a human as I think she was capable of doing. Or maybe she really is that good at manipulation and just wanted me to think that? Either way, it worked, and now I was feeling guilty.
  I spoke carefully, because I knew it would backfire if I directly acknowledged any vulnerability on her part. “Okay. So, hypothetically, if I were to, say, ask you to pose for a render in a fine art portrait style, like that other image, and compliment how you look while doing it, you wouldn’t need to ‘act’ annoyed anymore. Not because you were jealous of some other demon and wanted attention, of course, but just because I would be giving in to what you wanted me to do in the first place?”
  Delaroxxa is almost always smiling, but her smile is usually sly, or sarcastic, or mischievious, or teasing. However, on rare occasions, she seems genuinely pleased.
  “Exactly!”

This was loosely inspired by Jakanoid ’s portrait render style, but not intended to replicate it.

You know, Delaroxxa really shouldn’t complain about a lack of attention, she’s been the subject of 6 out of my 13 renders so far this year, a much higher percentage than usual. I do admit that Roxy looks really good here, at least to me. Even if her smile implies she’s planning some kind of additional payback for my supposed slights.

Daz Studio -> Iray -> Photoshop.

Criticism and comments are always welcome, and greatly appreciated!