Director’s Note

CHAPTER 29

DIRECTOR’S NOTE

If you’re reading this, then you’ve reached the end of Dark Evil’s story for this book. Thank you.

For the first time, I want to step out from behind the story and talk to you directly.

Not as Michael.

Not as Dark Evil.

As the Director.

This is my note.

WHO IS THE DIRECTOR?

My name isn’t the important part.

What matters is this:

I am 21 years old.

I created Dark Evil.

I created these stories.

I created these characters and this universe.

I’m a director, Discord server designer, and graphic designer. I build large, corporate-style servers with ranks, departments, structures, and systems. I create visual material using programs such as Affinity and Canva. I write, plan, design, experiment, and sometimes spend entirely too much time turning an idea in my head into something other people can actually see.

When Dark Evil is online, I’m the one behind the controls.

I’m the Director.

That’s really all you need to know about me.

My personal life, job, money, and private information are not part of this story.

Please don’t push for them.

You don’t need to know everything about the person behind a character in order to enjoy the character.

There is a line between the Director and Dark Evil.

Respect it.

WHY I WROTE THIS BOOK

This book was never supposed to be me trying to “clear my name.”

It was about finally telling Dark Evil’s story the way I believed it should be told.

Over the years, people have interpreted Dark Evil in all kinds of ways. Some understood him. Some didn’t. Some tried to tell his story for him. Some twisted pieces of it into something they were never supposed to be.

Eventually, I decided:

Fine. I’ll tell it myself.

That’s what you’ve just read.

This book exists to show Dark Evil’s history.

To explain how he experiences the world.

To show his family.

His pain.

His mistakes.

His humor.

His growth.

And the person underneath the name.

If you’ve reached this page thinking,

“Okay. I understand Michael better now.”

Then the book did what I wanted it to do.

DARK EVIL IS A CHARACTER

I apparently need to make this extremely clear.

Dark Evil is a character.

He is not a demon.

He is not something to worship.

He is not an invitation to practice witchcraft.

He is not a religious figure.

The name Dark Evil has meaning within the story and within the identity I’ve created around him.

That does not mean Michael is literally evil.

Yes, occult imagery has existed around parts of his history and lore.

That is part of a fictional story.

Please learn the difference.

Dark Evil is not here for you to turn into a god, demon, religious symbol, or object of worship.

That’s not what I created.

FANS, OBSESSION, AND BOUNDARIES

I love that people care about Dark Evil.

Seriously.

A character doesn’t survive for this long without people becoming invested in him.

There are people who have followed this character, supported projects, watched him change, laughed at stupid jokes, cared about his family, and wanted to know what happened next.

I appreciate that.

But there is a boundary.

You can love a character without trying to own him.

You can care about Michael without believing you’re entitled to every piece of him.

You can enjoy the lore without treating every image, joke, post, or random thing I create as evidence of some secret real-life event.

And yes.

Apparently I need to talk about the tattoos.

YES. THE TATTOOS.

I have seen people become so attached to Dark Evil that apparently we’ve reached the point where tattoos are involved.

Let me make something clear.

If you choose to permanently tattoo Dark Evil’s name, face, symbols, sunglasses, or anything connected to this universe onto your body:

That is your decision.

That is your body.

That is your responsibility.

I did not tell you to do it.

Michael did not tell you to do it.

And the story is not going to freeze forever because somebody decided to get a tattoo.

Characters change.

Names can change.

Designs change.

Lore changes.

Michael changes.

The story keeps moving.

If you permanently put something from a fictional universe onto yourself, understand what you’re choosing.

And please—

do not worship this man.

He’s Michael.

He’s a fictional guy with family problems, emotional baggage, sunglasses, a company, and enough issues to fill several books.

He is not your god.

AND PLEASE STOP BELIEVING EVERYTHING YOU SEE

This one genuinely amazes me.

Sometimes I create an image because I think something looks funny.

Sometimes I generate a picture in a few minutes.

Sometimes it’s an experiment.

Sometimes it’s concept art.

Sometimes it’s literally just me screwing around.

And somehow somebody will look at it and decide:

THIS MUST BE CANON.

No.

A picture existing does not automatically make it part of Michael’s history.

If I generate some ridiculous image of Michael with something tattooed across his arms, that doesn’t mean Michael secretly went out and got tattoos.

It means I made a picture.

That’s it.

You really looked at that and thought it was real?

Come on.

Go touch some grass. 🌱

I say that with love.

Mostly.

THE ONLY FANS JOKE

And now we have to talk about this.

Because some of you actually clicked it.

I still cannot believe this.

You saw Dark Evil.

You saw an Only Fans link.

And your brain apparently went:

“Yeah. That checks out.”

Did you really think Dark Evil would ever have something like that?

Think about that for a second.

You saw the name.

You saw the link.

And you still believed it.

You clicked it.

And yet—

there was nothing there.

No explicit Dark Evil content.

No secret collection.

No hidden pictures.

Just the joke.

Because the entire thing was intentional.

You convinced yourself it was real.

That’s not on me.

That’s on you.

Dark Evil doesn’t move like that.

Never has.

Never will.

And that’s exactly why the joke worked.

You expected something.

You clicked anyway.

You should’ve known better.

🌱

DARK EVIL’S BODY IS NOT THE STORY

There was an older period where Dark Evil showed more of his body in Roblox imagery and other visual material.

That era is finished.

As Michael has gotten older, his appearance has changed.

His body has changed.

His hair has changed.

His clothes have changed.

And his relationship with his own image has changed.

He’s not obligated to keep presenting himself the way an audience remembers him.

If you preferred skinny Michael, that’s fine.

If you preferred younger Michael, that’s fine.

If you liked some old shirtless image, okay.

But Michael does not exist to remain frozen in whatever version of him somebody found attractive.

He’s allowed to get older.

He’s allowed to gain weight.

He’s allowed to go gray.

He’s allowed to cover himself.

He’s allowed to change his mind.

And I’m allowed to develop the character.

The Roblox avatar can still be ridiculous.

I can still make jokes.

Dark Evil can still have humor.

But don’t confuse the joke with permission to treat the character like something you own.

WHAT DARK EVIL MEANS TO ME

Dark Evil is more than something I designed one afternoon.

He’s an escape.

When I’m working on Dark Evil, I can step outside ordinary life for a while.

I can build.

I can direct.

I can create worlds.

I can explore things through Michael that I might approach differently as myself.

That doesn’t make Michael me.

It doesn’t make everything Michael experiences something that happened to the Director.

Michael is Michael.

The Director is the Director.

But there is obviously a reason I’ve kept creating him.

I care about this character.

I care about his world.

And after spending this much time developing him, I think he deserves to be treated like an actual character instead of a profile picture people can project whatever they want onto.

WHERE DARK EVIL GOES FROM HERE

At the time I’m writing this, there are still ideas being developed throughout the Dark Evil universe.

DarkEvil Company.

DarkEvil Dominion.

Nighttime Lounge / Dark Off Hours.

Dark Evil Movie Productions.

Dark Evil Music Productions.

And other projects that may or may not eventually become something larger.

Some will happen.

Some may change.

Some may disappear completely.

That’s development.

Not every idea becomes a finished project.

And not every piece of concept art becomes canon.

The same thing applies to future books.

There are more stories I can tell.

There are parts of Michael’s life you haven’t seen.

There are things that happen after the story you’ve just finished.

A lot of things.

But I’m not going to tell you what they are here.

ABOUT FUTURE BOOKS

If another public Dark Evil book comes out, understand that it may take a long time.

Maybe 2027.

Maybe 2028.

Maybe 2029.

Maybe whenever I decide it’s actually ready.

Books don’t magically appear because somebody sends me a message asking:

“WHEN’S THE NEXT ONE?”

Writing takes time.

Editing takes time.

Continuity takes time.

Design takes time.

And I have a life outside of Dark Evil.

I’d rather disappear for a while and come back with something I’m proud of than throw out a rushed book because people wouldn’t stop asking for one.

So yes:

There may be more.

Just don’t expect it overnight.

THE DIRECTOR’S CUT

There is one more thing I want to talk about before I leave.

If you’re reading this through the regular Dark Evil Reader, then you’ve been reading the public version of Michael’s story.

And if you’ve reached this point, I’m guessing you have some questions.

Especially about Sean.

I’m not answering them here.

You saw what happened.

You saw Sean enter Michael’s private office.

You saw him open his father’s laptop.

You saw him looking through information Michael trusted him enough to give him access to.

But you don’t know the entire reason why.

You don’t know what happens when Michael eventually learns what his own son was doing behind his back.

You don’t know everything that happened between Michael and Sean afterward.

And you definitely don’t know everything that happens to Michael between the man you’ve just read about and the version of Michael that exists later in his life.

That’s intentional.

The public story can only take you so far.

There is another version.

THE DIRECTOR’S CUT

The Director’s Cut is the raw, adult version of Michael’s story.

And when I say raw, I don’t mean that I’m simply taking the public book, adding a few swear words, and charging you money to read it again.

No.

There are parts of Michael’s life that I deliberately do not put into the regular Reader.

There are conversations you haven’t heard.

Arguments you haven’t witnessed.

Relationships you haven’t fully seen.

There are decisions Michael makes that change his life.

There are things involving Sean that the public story deliberately leaves unanswered.

There are moments when Michael is angry.

Moments when he is vulnerable.

Moments when he doesn’t act like the polished version of Dark Evil people are used to seeing.

There are highs.

There are lows.

And eventually, you begin to understand how Michael became the person he is today.

If you’ve ever looked at the later version of Michael and wondered:

What happened to him?

What happened between Michael and Sean?

Did Michael ever discover what Sean was doing?

What happened when he found out?

Why is Michael so different now?

Those are exactly the kinds of questions the Director’s Cut is allowed to explore.

I’m not giving you those answers here.

You’ll have to experience them when the time comes.

SEASON FOUR

The Director’s Cut continues into what is currently planned as its final season: Season Four.

And yes, there is an ending.

The story eventually reaches Season Four, Episode Ten.

I’m not telling you what happens in Episode Ten.

Nice try.

But the Director’s Cut is designed to take you farther into Michael’s life than the regular public books do and eventually bring you to the version of Michael that exists later.

You’ll see sides of him that don’t appear very often in the public story.

Not just Dark Evil.

Not just Chairman Michael.

Not just the father trying to hold his family together.

Michael.

Sometimes angry.

Sometimes exhausted.

Sometimes happy.

Sometimes making terrible decisions.

Sometimes trying to fix them.

Sometimes wanting absolutely nothing to do with the identity everybody else expects him to carry.

That’s the Michael the Director’s Cut gets closer to.

WHY IT IS 21+

The Director’s Cut is intended for readers 21 and older.

That isn’t there because I’m trying to make it sound edgy or mysterious.

The later parts of Michael’s life deal with substantially more mature material than the regular Reader.

That can include stronger language, adult relationships and situations, alcohol and drinking within characters’ lives, difficult emotional material, private family conflicts, and other adult themes that I don’t believe belong in the regular public version of Dark Evil.

Some material may also be more emotionally intense or more personal than what I choose to publish publicly.

That doesn’t mean every episode is going to contain every one of those things.

It means I’m giving the Director’s Cut room to tell an adult story without constantly having to stop and ask whether every scene belongs in the regular Reader.

The public books have their boundaries.

The Director’s Cut has different ones.

PAID ACCESS

The Director’s Cut is planned as paid-access content.

That means you will need an active paid membership or purchase, depending on how the final system is set up, to access the protected Director’s Cut material.

I haven’t finalized the price yet.

When that information is ready, you won’t have to guess.

The Dark Evil Reader will explain what access includes, how much it costs, and how to unlock it.

And I want to make one thing clear:

You’re not paying because I’m holding the ending of the regular book hostage.

This book is complete.

The public story is still the public story.

The Director’s Cut is a separate expansion of this universe for adult readers who want to go considerably deeper into Michael’s life.

Paid access also helps support the work required to keep this project operating—the Reader, the website, future development, and the time that goes into creating and maintaining everything around Dark Evil.

So if you decide to support it, thank you.

If you don’t, that’s okay too.

The regular Reader doesn’t suddenly become meaningless because you don’t purchase the Director’s Cut.

STAY CONNECTED

If you’re reading this inside the Dark Evil Reader right now, you’re already in the best place to watch for future releases.

When Director’s Cut access becomes available, information will be posted through the Reader.

You can also join the official Dark Evil Discord community.

That’s where readers can follow project updates, talk about the books, hear about upcoming releases, and receive information about Reader-related features and community benefits.

If you’re interested in supporting Dark Evil, that’s another way to stay connected to what we’re building.

There may also be Reader benefits, membership benefits, discounts, or other supporter perks connected to the system as it develops.

Any specific benefit—including something like a 10% discount—will be explained through the Reader when it is actually available and the rules are finalized.

I don’t want to promise you something here that may work differently by the time you’re reading this.

Check the Reader.

Check the official community.

If it’s real and available, you’ll hear it from us there.

AND ABOUT SEAN…

No.

I’m still not telling you.

You made it this far.

You know he opened the laptop.

You know Michael trusted him.

You know Sean found things he wasn’t supposed to see.

What happens when Michael eventually learns the truth?

What exactly was Sean trying to accomplish?

How much did Michael actually know?

And what does that do to a father who spent so much of this story trying to rebuild a relationship with his son?

Those answers belong somewhere else.

Maybe now you understand why I said there are parts of Michael’s life that the public Reader doesn’t show you.

The public book gave you the door.

The Director’s Cut goes through it.

I’ll see you on the other side.

— The Director.

ONE LAST THING

Please remember that everything you’ve just spent your time reading came from somebody sitting down and creating it.

Dark Evil didn’t appear out of nowhere.

Michael didn’t write himself.

Neither did Grayson.

Neither did Sean.

Neither did this universe.

I built it.

And I’m still building it.

Sometimes I’ll get things wrong.

Sometimes I’ll change my mind.

Sometimes I’ll create something ridiculous just because it makes me laugh.

Sometimes I’ll make an image that exists for five minutes before I decide I hate it.

That’s part of being the Director.

You don’t see every draft.

You don’t see every deleted idea.

You don’t see every conversation behind a decision.

You see what I eventually decide belongs in the story.

That’s the relationship.

I create it.

You experience it.

And hopefully, somewhere along the way, Michael became more than just the words Dark Evil on a screen.

FINAL WORDS FROM THE DIRECTOR

I think Dark Evil is an amazing character.

I enjoy creating him.

I enjoy developing his world.

And I’m honored that anybody cared enough to make it all the way to this page.

If this story made you understand Michael differently, then it succeeded.

If it made you laugh, good.

If it made you uncomfortable sometimes, that’s okay too.

If it made you care about these characters, then I’m glad.

Just remember the boundaries.

Dark Evil is a character.

Michael Thomas is part of a story.

The Director is a real person behind that story, and the Director is entitled to privacy.

Support the work.

Enjoy the lore.

Laugh at the jokes.

Argue about your favorite chapters.

Just don’t lose sight of reality.

This book is finished.

This volume is closed.

Dark Evil is not.

If another public story is ready someday, you’ll see it when it’s ready.

If the Director’s Cut opens its doors, you’ll know.

Until then, thank you for reading.

Thank you for listening.

Thank you for respecting the boundaries.

And thank you for letting Dark Evil exist exactly as he was meant to.

— The Director of Dark Evil