It all started on a sunny Monday morning. I was aimlessly browsing the net, looking for a new Steven Universe fanfiction to read, as I am a big fan of the series. I suddenly came across a fanfic by the title of "Hybrid Rebellion". It drew my attention, so I decided to give it a shot. "This will be interesting" I told myself, and started reading.

Three hours later, once I finished the book, I decided to post an admittedly harsh comment containing criticism on the fanfic, since I didn't particularly enjoy it. Here's what I said:

I had read other works of XxDiamond_GodxX's, and it wasn't my first time being left feeling disappointed, as so much potential was lost in that book. I understand that the author had a right to be upset with me, but his series of responses was uncalled for:

Looking back on this, I really did act like an ass, but I was speechless at the hostility I, a reader, was regarded with by the author. It's unsurprising he wouldn't be appreciative of my negative feedback. However, him openly insulting me was an outcome I hadn't predicted. It's one thing to insult a person's work, and another to insult them directly. You should be ashamed of your attitude, XxDiamond_GodxX.

I made the mistake of referring to my comment as constructive criticism. I meant it ironically, and I deliberately wanted to agitate him. I didn't consider the fact that people would take those two words seriously, and after being given about half an hour to cool off, I was called out for it:

XxDiamond_GodxX deleted my comment, so I unfortunatelly cannot show you the reply I wrote. Although a great deal of the points made were...questionable, what I did was concede to the fact that I wasn't being constructively critical, and then proceeded to apologize for the excessive hostility I displayed towards the writer and the readers I had insulted. I was genuine when writing that, and really did feel apologetic, but the author's replies, yet again, had me gaping:

Two things could have caused this reaction. Either he thought I was being sarcastic and untruthful, or he simply didn't care enough to take my apology into consideration. It was anything but half-assed, and labeling it as such was pretty dumb on his part.

It was at this point that I stopped replying to this comment thread. Until, a few hours later, XxDiamond_GodxX posted not one, but two chapters on his "Update/Random S**t" book. In the first chapter, all he did was post screenshots of the comment I wrote (without the reply section) and said:

Good, that's great. Everyone is so proud of your hard work. Although, what you fail to realize is that just because you worked hard to create something, doesn't mean it's good. I don't judge other people for liking it (not anymore, at least) but in my opinion, it...had room for improvement. Lots of it.

I left a comment on that (which he also deleted), saying how manipulative and deceitful he's being for keeping information from his followers (I'm referring to our exchange of replies), and that matters because the apology I wrote was there, yet he didn't include it. I also mentioned the fact that he didn't ask for my approval to take screenshots of my comment, and that he didn't hide my name and profile picture, which is considered a violation of privacy and consent. He responded with:

That I did, yet I don't recall granting you permission to spread my identity so freely, even if this is an alt account.

At this point I was livid. I repeated myself, and called him manipulative scum for withholding information from his readers, and told him that if he has something to tell me he could always add me on discord, or any other social media for that matter, and we could talk things out properly, without having to attract an audience. I was blessed with the following:

Do tell what is wrong with the world today, since you seem to have such a clear view on that. Are you referring to global warming? Or theft, rape, murder, drug consumption and terrorism? Oh I know, you're talking about me having an opinion and valuing my privacy! How revolting indeed. Plus, despite saying you're done with me, you seem very eager to continue this little back-and-forth of ours, you're just saying that because you know I'm right, you simply have no valid points to make.

And yes, I do want to act like this, since as I mentioned before, you violated my privacy and painted a bad picture of me. Tell me that isn't scummy. Also, was I really the one who started this? You basically ignored my view on the book in favor of turning my admittedly poor choice of words into a spectacle, while refusing to confess your own faults.

It was at this point that I realized XxDiamond_GodxX wouldn't see reason, no matter how hard I tried to shove it into his face, and so I reluctantly backed away while telling him to continue to drown himself in his delusions. In a vain desperate attempt to get the last word, he said:

If that's the case, then why would you post this in my conversations tab?

I've told you multiple times, and I'll repeat myself again - it isn't constructive criticism (repeating a point over and over won't suddenly make it valid, for your information), I already addressed that, but it is criticism nonetheless. A stream of insults is what I was greeted with, not the other way around. Besides, it isn't my intention to discourage you from writing, don't make false accusations. You're the one who assumed I want to make you give up on writing, and you're the one who labelled me as a "critic" in the first place, no? That isn't even the best part though, not only did you call me a "critic", but you also claimed it was ME who saw myself as one. Am I wrong? Or do I need to show the second chapter you posted on your "Random S**t" book, too?

I won't discuss the other three paragraphs, as they are basically XxDiamond_GodxX writing with his eyes closed. I've already elaborated on my points, and I won't do it more than necessary. What I will say, since he seems so into the topic of criticism, is that much like I'm allowed to criticize anyone I wish (without claiming to be a critic, mind you), you may accept criticism from whoever you want. In the end, it's a CHOICE.

Thank you all for taking your time to read my rant, and thank you, XxDiamond_GodxX for being such a lovely person. The internet could do with thousands more like you. In order to express my genuine gratitude, I dedicated chapter three to the fanfiction I "fired off a stream of insults" to. I hope you find that informative.