Chapter 17, Page 20b: Demand Attention

Hailey went looking for validation — and found something much worse.

After her brief taste of internet fame started to fade, she was vulnerable to exactly the wrong kind of guidance. Enter Termax the Untamed: Demon, manipulator, and self-appointed life coach for anyone who has ever refreshed a social-media feed a little too desperately.

His advice is simple: Stop asking for attention.

Demand attention.

That can’t possibly go wrong, right?

Monster Girl Poll update

Suggestions are already pouring in for the next Monster Girl Poll, and there are some very strong contenders in the mix.

I’ve chosen the strongest entries for the official poll. Patreon backers are now voting on which one gets turned into a finished drawing.

So far, the energy is exactly where it should be: weird, horny, and just specific enough to make me say, “Oh no… I could actually draw that.”

Transcript

Panel 1

Title / Caption box: Meanwhile… on the other side of Fairmount City…

Termax (from inside a building): My poor, sweet girl…

Panel 2

Termax: You sought validation from strangers.

Panel 3

Termax: When their enthusiasm waned… your value evaporated.

Panel 4

Termax: That was your mistake. Asking.

Panel 5

Termax (standing behind Hailey and beginning to cast a spell): From this day forward, you will DEMAND attention… And the entire world will fall to its knees!

Alt Text

Five-panel Evil Inc comic page featuring Hailey, the waitress, and Termax the Untamed, a demon from an earlier storyline (Evil Inc eComic #52: Homeward Bound).

The first four smaller panels are arranged in a two-by-two grid on the left, and a large final panel fills the right half of the page.

In the first panel, an exterior view shows a row of city buildings in Fairmount City. A caption reads, “Meanwhile… on the other side of Fairmount City.” From an unseen speaker (Termax) inside one of the buildings comes the dialogue, “My poor, sweet girl…”

In the second panel, Hailey sits at a desk, looking small and dejected. She wears a short-sleeved waitress uniform and has shoulder-length hair. Behind her looms Termax the Untamed, a tall, sharply dressed demon with swept-back dark hair, pointed ears, a goatee, and batlike wings. He leans over her with a predatory, sympathetic expression and says, “You sought validation from strangers.”

In the third panel, Hailey stands facing Termax in a dimly lit room lined with shelves. She is turned away from the viewer, her posture closed and uncertain. Termax stands opposite her with his wings spread wide. He tells her, “When their enthusiasm waned… your value evaporated.”

In the fourth panel, Hailey and Termax are shown closer. Termax gestures expansively, as if presenting a new worldview, while Hailey looks uneasy and confused. Termax says, “That was your mistake. Asking.”

The final large panel shows Termax standing behind Hailey behind a desk, placing his hands on her head as if empowering or transforming her. His huge bat wings stretch dramatically across the room. Hailey looks startled, with one hand raised defensively and the other held out in alarm. On the desk in front of them, a sheet of paper labeled “Hailey” curls upward. Termax declares, “From this day forward, you will DEMAND attention…” The word “DEMAND” is bold and oversized. He continues, “And the entire world will fall to its knees!” The background includes an ornate chandelier and heavy shading, giving the scene a gothic, theatrical atmosphere.