User blog:Octofan/Six Month Report: 2014 Part I

Late so late  It's that time of year again! Time to eat cake and give each other gifts of jelly beans in plastic yellow cups and watch fireworks! As we open into July, more importantly, it's time for the wiki Six Month Report, 2014. Now with more cake!

Let's see what of note has been going on if none of you have been paying attention to Wiki Activity. 83

Checking Up
As always, we left off with lots of promises for what we were doing next in the wiki; translations, pages, releases, even cosmetic details. Now is the time to evaluate how much we've gotten done in these areas. For processing info, we've done a lot.

Books and Threads
After months of transcribing and translating, we've been able to mine a lot of info from the first two Deadly Sins of Evil novels (for some of The Lunacy of Duke Venomania novel, we've also had actual  full translations, courtesy of pokkoo-shuu on Tumblr). As part of this, we've obtained scans of both light novels. This has allowed us to flesh out their plots even more and given us more details about the characters, events, and lore.

Also, we've fully translated all the canon short stories in Waltz of Evil and added their information to the articles. Combined with our light novels, we've had plenty of information to discuss, decipher, and give context to while adding it all to articles.

Speaking of which, discussion threads have continued to see moderate success. By keeping different topics in their own thread, we've been able to organize some info and given users a chance to take part in the discussions. The threads have even helped us filter some mistranslations in names or events! While the system is not perfect and relies heavily on user participation, it has helped us provide a lot of new or revised info over the past six months with fewer errors.

The Daughter of Evil
Although the Story of Evil's plot has long been finished, it's still going strong; last February saw the release of the advertised The Daughter of Evil: Act 1 manga. Through Ichika's beautiful illustrations, the openings of The Daughter of Evil: Clôture of Yellow and Wiegenlied of Green have been visualized for everyone who hates reading, along with new or revised scenes.

Since we have decided to interpret this manga as canon to Evillious, these new scenes have all been added to articles and the manga's illustrations will be included to help enhance articles with more visuals. For the purposes of continuity, any scenes outright contradicting the source material (the light novels), are not being included in articles.

On a similar note, we've determined that both comics in the Comedy of Evil Project are non-canon due to their characterizations and events contradicting the light novels in several instances (to say the least). Likewise, no information regarding the plots of these manga will be added to our articles, though we've continued to follow the manga and even added articles to the comics' standalone releases.

But we've done more than work with new releases. Thanks to our Translation Compendium (below), we've mined a lot more info from both The Daughter of Evil worldguide and fanbook, and even scenes from Praefacio of Blue. Along with the new scans we've acquired of the light novels, we have much better resources to work with while we try to gather info before full transaltions.

As a final note, thanks to translators on Facebook, new readable translations have also been completed on some Story of Evil short stories, including Retrouver of Silver, The Adventure of a Boy and a Girl, and more recently Novelette of White. Unfortunately, our translator for Praeludium of Red has been forced to drop the project due to unforeseen circumstances and we are left with only approximately 60% of the light novel done.

New Pages
In the past six months we've got some pretty nice pages put up, if you wanna check them out. As promised, an article for Magic has been added to aid readers in understanding the more mystical aspects of Evillious' setting.

We've also added a Minor Character List for the Clockwork Lullaby Series. With this, we're leaving open all speculation on characters whose identities have not been confirmed in the EC but are theorized to be someone in particular, such as the singing red and blue shackles or Mysterious Rin Character. Until we have firmer confirmation on who these characters are, that is our stance on the subject.

Thanks to Waltz of Evil and The Daughter of Evil manga, we've also been able to add articles for characters like Arth and Minis, using concept art/illustrations to give them a face. As per our current policy, we're letting pictures of the characters be a requirement for them getting their own article, although its completely arbitrary in practice.

Miscellaneous
Following our inconclusive results in the last user polls, we determined there won't be any new look for the wiki. @O@ Awwww.

Based on our results, no consistent answer could be found that would both look good and appeal to the majority of readers who frequent the site. This similarly clashed with suggestions to change our background, which would also need to blend with our user interface or else be a detrimental distraction. Therefore, we've decided it's best to leave it as is.

On the up side, we have made use of the new banner system and designs proposed by Triuberit last year. The designs load at random with each new page, as refreshing this very blog demonstrates. Similarly, we've finally ironed out the details of our flavicon logo to show a gear rather than the Lucifenian Crest. Such is another design choice that makes the Evillious Wiki more representative of the entire Chronicles, rather than the Story of Evil alone.

Check it Out
Unlike our flurry of activity during previous years, this past six months was spent polishing up what we already have a bit more. That said, here are the biggest things that have been going on around here.

Song Pages
Our song pages have been getting touched up in particular. On the suggestions of other users, we have added a Composition section to many of our song articles; this section, a completed example of which can be found here, analyzes the technical details of Evillious songs such as rhyme scheme, instruments used, tempo, and vocals utilized.

While not yet complete or fully standardized, the information in each provides further insight on mothy's style and creative processes for those who are interested in music. It's also opened up new avenues for future improvements on the articles.

In addition, a new scrollbox section has been added to showcase Japanese lyrics and their romaji. While plans to add English lyrics had to be postponed to include the feature, it has already been a useful tool for both editors and readers wanting to check the translations by fan subbers.

In the future, we plan to eventuly include our own English translations (more below). The Plot sections for song pages have also been updated to some extent, to more closely follow the narrative of the song and include less fan interpretations. (This in accordance with our policies on all media pages, where we try to represent the story in the manner it's being told, not how we necessarily define it).

Translation Compendium
A particularly big project to polish up what we already have is the Translation Compendium. The compendium, as the name implies, is a compilation of all songs, mangas, albums, books, short stories, and snippets from mothy's blogs, interviews, and other social media accounts. Well, at least in practice.

In actuality, we've set up blog posts as proxies and compiled what information we can into each of them. The Translation Compendium acts as a directory, letting our editors more quickly access information. As part of this new push for better and more easily accessibly info, we're trying to acquire scans and/or links for all our material to confirm its valdity.

Coinciding with this, we're also trying to transcribe as much relevant material as we can so that users can easily copy/paste the source material anywhere and use it as needed. In some cases, we even include full translations for the material, though that varies due to our limited number of translators and time.

Thanks to this Compendium, editors no longer have to hit a brick wall when wondering what the Japanese text was or trying to understand a translation. Having the original material on hand also makes it much easier to fact-check our sources, as opposed to relying on hearsay, the cause of many mistakes in the past.

Much of the past few months were dedicated to collecting scans and transcriptions for mothy's past album booklets, particularly the "Evils" series. In doing so we've obtained more info that hasn't been looked at before and added it where appropriate. Likewise, a more polished translation of these album booklets have helped correct previous mistakes in our information.

For example: A long-standing misinterpretation of the info in Evils Kingdom led fans to believe that Elluka had stolen Kayo Sudou's body out of Envy for her appearance. In fact, as our latest translation confirms, it was Kayo that envied Elluka's body, and was likely the instigator of the swap while possessed by the demon.

Another notable change kicked off by this project (and our discussion threads) was finally implementing our more detailed and decidedly more reliable source for the Original Sin Story -Act 1- booklet, giving us new info on the first two Project Ma's and the characters involved. A similar treatment has been given to the Act 2 booklet.

This project is essential for preventing more errors in the future (which even now we work to keep as close to 0 as possible). As of this writing the Compendium has made progress, but it is still incomplete. Viewer contributions are always encouraged; scans for several of mothy's albums, for example, are still greatly appreciated to confirm transcriptions, though an in-depth discussion has determined these booklets are all legitimate.

New Releases
While we haven't gotten hugely informative projects on the scale of Waltz of Evil released during this six month span (those releases are yet to come) we have had quite a few goodies for fans to look over.

While our big releases this summer have yet to come, we've been given such tantalizing tidbits from mothy as the Nemesis poem of last March andthree soundbytes hinting at new songs last April. Because of mothy's own statements about the poem, we are currently not considering it part of the Evillious series, though we've kept a blog post of it due to its obvious allusions to the series.



This policy will change once the translation for mothy's statement changes or another canon source confirms the contents to be true; in a similar vein, we've stripped The Last Revolver of its canon status due to lack of evidence. While there are many hints that the story is indeed part of the chronicles, our admin judged it a less than extremely obvious assumption and found our interpretation of events lacking much of a base. Therefore, all information relating to our previous interpretation of the song has been removed from articles.

This is by no means a confirmation that the song is non-canon however and never will have its info re-added. It just means we are putting the burden of proof on mothy rather than ourselves for something we can't say with almost absolute certainty. But, because of the new installments this coming August (more below), we may actually get the confirmation we need and act accordingly. Until then, fans are now given more freedom to speculate about the song since our interpretation of events is no longer restricting them.

Processing
As discussed in our last report, we have been redoubling our efforts to prevent fanon and huge errors by processing information more methodically via Discussion Threads on the wiki Forum. Users paying attention will have seen us dicussing a variety of topics, from the content of the Lunacy and Evil Food Eater novels to the albums collected on the Translation Compendium to a fresh look at our old information. Announcements had also been made to make viewers aware of big changes as we reexamined things the old wiki policies allowed.

One in particular is this announcement we mentioned before concerning The Last Revolver. Another one concerns the errors found in the Master of the Graveyard song, with a new translation confirmed accurate by the Evils Forest booklet. Discussion Threads will continue to be implemented in the future to make sure we put only the most accurate and non-fanon information on our wiki. This more pro-active approach has already shown results and we hope it continues to succeed into the future.

Check Back
I'm sure many of you reading this are eager to know that's next on the Evillious Wiki--although, unless you've been under a rock in the past few weeks, you likely already know what big news is causing a stir around here. Regardless, we'll spell it out for you below:

New Releases
What everyone in Evillious has been whining for has finally arrived! Last June mothy announced via Twitter his plans to release the "Wrath song" in the Seven Deadly Sins Series, currently translated as "The Muzzle of Nemesis".

Specifically, a PV for the song will be uploaded sometime this summer on Nico Nico Douga. (What relation the song will have to the Muzzle of the Gun soundbyte or the poem "Nemesis" is only speculative at this stage, but we can guess both will have an influence in the final product).

More importantly, with this release, mothy has also announced an upcoming album which he plans to introduce at this year's Summer Comic Market. While the name of the album hasn't been revealed yet, a tentative list of the songs include:


 * The Muzzle of Nemesis


 * The Journey of Two Mages ~Longwall and Watchman~
 * Master of the Hellish Yard
 * The Last Revolver


 * Watching Us


 * Blood-Stained Switch

Keep in mind, all of these new songs have only tentative translations until they've actually been released, where we'll be able to actually reexamine the songs and confirm whatever's the most accurate translation (as context often affects these things).
 * Handbeat Clocktower
 * Flower of the Plateau
 * and more!

Many of mothy's albums have been released not just with new songs, but also booklets containing valuable information about the Evillious Chronicles. In the case of the "Evils" albums, each booklet even came with its own narrative. After this album's release, expect our editors to get right to work obtaining and processing this info to add to articles, especially if a booklet comes with the album.

Aside from music, fans may also look forward to the Gift from the Princess who Brought Sleep novel set for release in the near future. In addition to this is an advertised "separate project" related to the Seven Deadly Sins series, revealed to be the novel for Five the Pierrot also advertised in the Waltz of Evil guidebook and recently teased about this past June.

As always, with this newest installment in the Deadly Sins of Evil novel series we're likely to get a swarm of new information to add; new characters, expanded-upon old ones, and more info on the setting, all of which will likely keep our editiors very busy in the months to come.

Act 2 of The Daughter of Evil is also due this November. With Ichika's confirmation that the series will cover only the events of the first two novels, it's expected that these manga volumes will dedicate more time to a high quality narrative. Just as well, we've received a confirmation that Sohni Elphen will appear and it's been teased that Ein is also making an appearance. New and/or changed articles can be heavily expected with this new release, even if it's just to add illustrations.

New Projects
For now we leave off this report with some promises, as before:

Expect in the future new or updated translations, being organized by the wiki with the aid of outside contributors. These will be completed for both long-promised projects such as Twiright Prank and Novelette of White and even long finished projects such as the Lunacy of Duke Venomania manga.

All of the Evillious Chronicles' songs are also planned to receive updated translations (primarily for the purposes of adding English lyrics to the articles) by the contributions of multiple translators. No longer will we rely on outside translations which gave us the "MotG ate Gammon" fiasco noted above. As part of this, we're also still working on a super secret project behind the scenes and so working on these English lyrics is paramount to its success.

Editors and viewers also look out for our upcoming Trivia Revision Project, which is one of the latest attempts to enact quality control on this simple yet devious section of our articles. The project includes not only being more careful to keep each addition to our three-line-one-sentence format, but also being more careful to remove pointless speculation or avoid making unverified statements of fact.

Citations to Conceptualization points will be added when available, and trivia will be reworded to be less certain when they are not. Finishing some of our other projects, like the Compendium and song page improvements, is also a given.

Additionally, check back for new pages every so often; our wiki is growing and it isn't showing any sign of slowing. Aside from the obvious--new pages for mothy's album and songs, new character pages with new major characters, or old characters with new faces--pages that have been long overdue are in the works.

As of this writing, a page is being produced for the city of Lasaland, using information mostly from the Lunacy novel, while another page is planned for the Marlon Royal Palace using mined information from Praefacio of Blue.

As a final note: while we continue to add pages, we at the wiki always encourage users (even non-registered ones) to help us out with the ones we already have. Check our grammar and spelling, make sure our policies are being followed. We want to keep our wiki looking professional and even the smallest grammar fix helps. We all appreciate it. ^ ^

Special Honors
The following users are being recognized for their invaluable contributions to the wiki in the past six months for a vast majority of the above listed changes and for their continued support:

''Servant of Evillious: Like in the previous report, I'd like to give my sincerest thanks to all you users, both registered and unregistered, for all the small edits you guys have made collectively in the past six months. You guys help catch the errors we miss after going through articles several times and keep our wiki polished and professional. Thank you. ''
 * Octofan
 * Master of Lemmings
 * TheKindEvilliousResident
 * DemonDamian
 * Scarletta Agni

Polls
What do you think of these changes overall? I think they are all great! I like most of them. I don't really care. I dislike some of them. I hate all of them!

Which changes the past six months have been the most helpful? New Pages: I've been wanting standalone articles for those topics for a while! Existing Pages: I'm glad to see new info with more details! ^-^

Would you like to see Evillious Chronicles styled History sections for other series pages? YES!!! I want to see one tailored for each series! Yeah, but I don't think it's THAT important. I don't really care. Maybe but I don't really think we need it. No, that's an awful idea!

Did you personally find this blog post useful, helpful, or insightful? Yes No

ARE YOU EXCITED FOR WRATH? Noooooooooo @O@ YESSSSSSS! Meh, it's overhyped More interested in the album it's coming in