22nd of summer song, of what year, i know not. The time draws near as once again i need to begin the preparations for my ritual. I never look forward to this cumbersome experience, and now approaching the 43rd time i have begun this process it still does not get any easier. This time around a new group of insolent up and comings are acting as obstacle to my plans and attempting at playing hero once again. In our last encounter their raging monster of a teammate came very close to ruining a major portions of my plans, its…strange, that even now, after so many years that i still tend to underestimate individuals. This raging monster, their singular glowing eye filled with a an uncontrollable, though not entirely unfamiliar rage fought a good fight, charging through my one of my lieutenants as if they were a meddlesome gnat. They died a quick death. The monster went passed the poor crumpled body of my lieutenant and then came to me, a surprising force of rage but nothing unexpected. I gave them a quick death. Of course, as always when a fellow comrade of a group of would be heroes loses a companion they became distraught and with renewed vigor rallied and filled their hearts with a controlled rage. If only their one-eyed monster friend was able to have such control, then perhaps they would’ve lasted a tad longer. That was of course the moment when i made my leave. They yelled “coward!”, as they always due but everything around me is so gray that words have almost no effect on me. It’s smart, you never continue a fight a group of “heroes” when you have killed one of their friends, their resolve is just….too dangerous, even for me. Ah, i hear the banging on the castle doors now, they have returned, no doubt with their desire of revenge at the forefront of their mind. The ritual is almost complete, time for the final ingredient. So continues my continued agony.

You can take my name. You can give it away. They can give it away and so on. If one day it is ever returned to me, I will glance at the changes and give no thought. My reply will be simple. “This is not my name, for I have never given it away. I have never changed it.” I do not take part in the journey of the clapping tongues that have become contagious to select ears. And they did not take part in my birth, my shoes, my mind, or my heart. They will surely not take part in, or cause my death. Foreign burdens are not carried by me when created by strangers. I surely can sit in solitude, and speak, write, or sing way worse, and vile stories of myself. It’s a simple reminder of just how simple-ignorance is so hard to improve, for a simple ignorant mind. Let them sing, which is usually given its best effort standing in one spot. If I happen to walk by, they will forget their own lyrics, and the crowd will chant whispers toward the ground. A round of applause for the sold out show crowded with sell-outs.

**I **am a villain. Wanna take over. Heroes are chillin’. Gotta stay Rover. Rover is the heroes dog. Gotta do my job. Bread starts to sog. They feed it to the bog. Gotta infiltrate. The heroes that I hate. Can’t escape, Or escalate, Or educate them on my evil plans. I _hate _the heroes. In many ways. Gotta stay hidden. For a lot of days. I’m evil. That’s me.

**Dear Diary,** Today, as I sit in the darkness of my lair, I find myself reflecting on the events that have led me down this path of darkness and despair. They say that villains are born, not made, but I cannot help but wonder if perhaps it was the cruelty of this world that twisted my soul and turned me into the monster that I am. From a young age, I knew that I was different. I was an outcast, a misfit in a world that valued conformity above all else. No matter how hard I tried to fit in, I was _always_ rejected, always cast aside like yesterday’s news. It was a loneliness that cut to the very core of my being, leaving me feeling hollow and empty inside. But then, she came into my life like a ray of sunshine breaking through the clouds. Her name was _Cleo_, and from the moment I laid eyes on her, I knew that she was the one who would save me from myself. She saw past the facade that I had built up to protect myself, and she accepted me for who I truly was. For a brief moment, I allowed myself to believe that I could be happy, that I could have a future filled with love and laughter. But fate had other plans, and tragedy struck when Cleo was taken from me in a senseless act of violence. The pain of her loss cut me to the core, leaving me drowning in a sea of grief and despair. In my grief-stricken state, I made a choice that would change the course of my life forever. I vowed to take revenge on those who had wronged me, to make them pay for the pain they had inflicted upon me. And so, I embraced the darkness within me, allowing it to consume me entirely. Now, as I stand on the brink of achieving my twisted vision of justice, I cannot help but feel a sense of emptiness deep within my soul. For no matter how many lives I destroy in the name of vengeance, it will never bring Cleo back to me. And in the end, I fear that I will be left with nothing but regret and sorrow. But until that day comes, I will continue to walk the path of darkness, fueled by my burning desire for revenge. For I am the villain of this story, and _no_ _one_ will stand in my way. **Yours in darkness,** _The Villain_

There’s a rope for you and I, But I doubt you’ll dream of it first. Did you know the taste of the boot? The taste of iron? It’s everything to me you know. It’s written on the wall, you can feel it. The scary, the horror, of what? The speed in which young men run or in which you’ll run? You’ll need to be faster than the clock if you want to survive. Book it through another alley, another lacking tip- another tip of my axe. You’ll be stretched just like my shame.

Dear diary, Because of some stupid feud, both R and D are alive, while my boyfriend is in the hospital. I’m currently in the hospital, and the doctors say he’ll survive, however there will be permanent damage. They said they’ll have to amputate his leg. I should’ve known G would do something stupid! This is my fault, I should’ve talked to him, stopped him! G is so kind, I should’ve known he’d do something, I just didn’t think he’d jump in front of a fucking bullet! How could R and D be so selfish? Because of them G almost died. Because of them the kindest, sweetest person in the whole entire world almost lost his life. I don’t care about their excuses, I would literally rather both of them dying than having G die. I would rather be dying then having G die. He is the best person in the whole world and I am not being biased when saying that. I can’t believe them. I’m leaving this stupid godforsaken shit show. I’ll burn this book, and leave. I don’t deserve such a perfect person. If I wasn’t around he wouldn’t be a villain, hell, he’d probably be the hero! I don’t know what else to say. Maybe I’ll leave money and this page, so that he’ll understand. If I don’t leave now I won’t be able to. Goodbye, G. Don’t look for me, have a good life! Don’t let a villain hold you back. I love you, but I have to leave. I don’t want to stop you from having a spectacular life, so goodbye. Who cares about R’s stupid rule about initials? Sincerely, Rowan

Dear diary, R is a better leader than I am. Sure, she almost killed him, but I was about to. If it weren’t for him neither of us would be walking out of that forest. I should just let her lead. After that, I don’t know where I’ll go, just out of here. First I have to wait for him though. I won’t abandon him. We shouldn’t have let any of The Villains watch our duel. This is all my fault. Please don’t die G, please. -D

Dear diary, No no no he can’t die! He wasn’t in the duel! I didn’t mean to hit him! I should’ve known he’d to this, I’m so stupid! D didn’t almost kill him. He might die because of me. Not because of her. Me. I understand why the others like her better. Is it really betraying me if I deserved it? I’ll let D lead, and I’ll get out of here, but first I need to see if he survives! He better survive. I’ll fucking kill that bastard if he dies! I’m so sorry. Signed, R.

Dear diary, Couldn’t D and R just work out there differences by talking?! Why did it have to come to this?! They’re both so kind, why can’t they just try? I don’t care about their history, what history is so terrible that they have to kill each other?! Ro and Be knew this would happen, I saw the look they gave eachother! They didn’t do anything to stop it. I’m not gonna be like them, I’m not gonna just stand by! I have to talk to them, I have to convince them, I can’t let them duel each other. I won’t let them kill each other, I swear. I’ll stop them, I’ll protect them from each other. I have to. This may be my last entry, but no matter what happens to me, I won’t let my friends die. -G

Dear diary, I can’t believe it. She LIED. R fucking lied. I almost thought I could trust her again, but she’s exactly the same. Did you see the way she looked at me? That was hatred! Why is she angry at me, I should be angry at her. Tomorrow at 6:00 AM we’re dueling. What is this, 1804? Shouldn’t she be more mature than this? The rest of The Villains want one of us to back out, but neither of us will. I know she won’t, she’s never been one to forgive. I can’t believe her. Maybe we’ll both die today and that will be the end. The end of my first friend, first traitor, who joined forces with my enemy. I can’t believe she’d join the enemy for the second time. Without even telling us! And then she pretends I’m the bad guy! At least the group will stay with me, even at dawn. I feel so bad for sweet G, only joining the group for Ro, but eventually liking us all. How could R do this to me, to us?! I have to be ready tomorrow. She can’t just turn her back on me again, if she kills me she has to know the whole group won’t stand with her. I feel so bad for them, especially B and G, who both just want one of us to give up. Our history is too long and rage-filled for us to give in. She tried to get rid of me. She tried to pretend The Villains were only her friends, she pretended I meant nothing! I won’t let her hurt the others like she hurt me. Sincerely, D