Real Name: Unknown

Alias: TwistedSnake

Applicable Links: http://furaffinity.net/user/twistedsnake

Modus Operandi:

A quick bit of background -- my most successful method of doing commissions has always been to do a sketch, send the client a low-res copy of that sketch, get paid, and then complete the work. I've had almost no issues doing it this way and it seems to work out well.

I was originally contacted by TS on November 3rd o 2009 to do a full color picture of his character of the same name. Cool. I did a sketch, and was soon asked to make a few small revisions to that sketch. No problem there. I was told he would be unable to pay until the following Wednesday.

On the 11th, I received this note.


>"Hi...I'm so, so, so sorry about this but it looks like you'll have to wait a bit longer for your payment. Sadly I've had the worse luck as I earlier today as I was on the way to the bank, I was mugged at knifepoint by a group of thugs. The bastards took my phone, my wallet which had all of my money and cards and driving license in, my mp3 player and a bag of my valuables in. I've filled out a crime report to stop the cards from being used, but my wallet is what I had all of my money in. In fact I was walking to the bank to put some of the money into my account to pay you via paypal. Once again I'm so sorry about the delay...But the second enough money scraped together, it's yours... Until then, take care my friend. I can not apologize enough for this :("

My bullshit alarm blipped a little, but I was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. I sent him a small note on the 23rd of November...

>"Well, I hope everything's going all right with you and your situation. I'm not trying to be a pest, just checking up."

..and got no reply. So on the 9th of December, after FA recovered from its explosion, I sent him another note. Okay, so maybe I could have been a bit more polite, and maybe waiting until right after FA came back up to contact him wasn't the best idea, but why couldn't he have e-mailed me or something after I sent him a perfectly polite note? He DID have my e-mail address.

>"Okay, NOW I'm going to be a pest, it's been almost a month and I haven't heard a word from you."

I was miffed. But, hey, after I decided to be a bit less-than-professional, he responded, ON THE SAME DAY, this next reply sending my bullshit meter into the red.

>"Jesus Christ, if you hadn't noticed, FA has been down for a while. So that's why I haven't been able to message you. As you well know I've recently been going through some tough times financially, with being mugged and whatnot. But now my Grandmother has been struck with a terminal illness and isn't going to make Christmas this year. So excuse me if scrounging together some change to give you in exchange for pornography isn't on the top of my priority list at this current point in time. There, just for you I've applied for a Crisis Loan at my local bank. I simply said that I lost my job, and have long-distance family members coming over for Christmas, so I should hear something soon. After that, I'll be back at the Hospital visiting my Grandmother. So don't hold your breath about getting a swift response."

...I really like to give people the benefit of the doubt, but first he was mugged and then his grandmother was dying. I didn't bring any of that up, though...

>First of all, I had no idea what was going on in your life, so there's no need for you to get angry with me. I have had people scam me out of free images before so pardon me if I get defensive. I sent you a note before asking how things were going and received no response so I have no choice to assume. I sympathize. I really do. And no, I don't expect someone to put paying for pornography high on their priority list, I just expect to be kept in contact with when I am, in fact, owed money so that it doesn't look like you just ran off. Sorry if I seemed bitchy earlier, but when this IS a source of income for me I do tend to worry about losing money.

Let's rewind for just a second. I don't like to seem stalky, but I did glance at his page once or twice between the time that he ... refused to contact me, and when he sent me that angry-sobby note. He uploaded several commissioned works, looking now, they were uploaded between December 15th and January 7th. He still hadn't responded to me, either. While it is possible that they were older commissions, I doubt it because in many instances the artists uploaded them around the same time. So, I sent him one last note on January 11th, which I am aware that he read, and did not respond to. I'm really fine with that. I didn't really need to contact him, since I figured he wasn't going to respond, but I just let him know that I wasn't holding my breath anymore.

So, I don't know what was up with this guy. He was fine and able to pay several other artists but not me, although I thought I was being more than patient with him, leaving out those couple instances of bitchiness. He seems to have worked fine with a bunch of other artists and all I can say is, use discretion if you want to deal with him, because I am at a loss and I haven't got the slightest clue why things turned out why they did.