Beware: Darkgai / Darkgaia45 / soniczap3

I'm a writer who is commissioned to write mostly growth/macro stories, and have been at it since 2013. In this time I've taken over 60 jobs which have all been read, approved and paid by every single client.

My DeviantArt ToS: https://www.deviantart.com/blackspyro33/journal/Official-Terms-of-Service-for-Commissions-2021-485184088

I have always operated on an honor system with every single client. I don't set completion dates, I don't take advance payments. People read the final product, they tell me if they're happy with it or if they require alterations/additions, and then I get paid.

I was first approached by Darkgai on September 10th, 2021, as the third slot in a queue of public commissions. Our correspondence was civil and well-mannered for the most part.

Since Darkgai was the third in a queue of three and I don't work on multiple commissions at once, he was made to wait until I was done with the two before him.

Unfortunately, circumstances forced me into my full-time job earlier in the year than I expected. All commissions were worked at at a slower pace. This led me to unusually higher waiting times, including Darkgai, who asked me about his commission.

I decided to give him an update about why I was taking so long, since it's unusual for me to make a customer wait so long.

Finally, at about 00:15 on December 31st, I sent the finished story to the client as explained in the ToS he had agreed to. Instructions were given, and I received critique and engaged in a minor dispute that I believed had reached a positive conclusion for us both. Thinking the issue resolved, I waited for three hours and found no evidence of the guy sending payment, and he has yet to reply to my last inquiry.

As the (current) DeviantArt correspondence from earlier shows, visiting Darkgai's dA will show it as disabled. When I first saw it like that after 3 hours of radio silence I feared the worst. I made this person wait. I explained my situation. I delivered my agreed upon interpretation of his wishes. I saw dissatisfaction and attempted to find an alternative solution. We agreed on a price slash since he did not want modifications.

He paid my time and effort with indifference and avoidance. I dedicated time and effort when I knew I couldn't instead of giving up to the pressure and finished a product that he allegedly found okay except for certain parts which I offered to touch up. Seeing as though our interpretations became irreconciliable, I decided to offer a hefty discount which is basically giving up my claim to time and effort I am not getting back to meet him somewhere I deemed appropriate. He told me he was going to pay me. He hasn't. He deleted his dA, and I take it as him avoiding me. I take it as him avoiding his responsibility to pay what he owes me for the story I wrote. I do not want anybody else to have to suffer through this annoyance ever again.