Identity and pronouns

Markdown

Identity, English pronouns, Japanese self-reference, and gendered speech are separate facts. This fictional example shows the minimum useful record.

Core ledger

Character / identityEnglish referenceJapanese self-reference / addressSpeech evidenceContext or progressionAvoid
Asterman, he/himアタシ, あなたfeminine endings, poised evaluations, playful tagsMore formal in public. Blunt with MinaShe/her pronouns or camp catchphrases.
Mina Kurosewoman, she/her私, surname + titleclipped professional questions, restrained politenessContracts more under pressureUsing emotional coldness for all formal speech.
Hana and Nanatwo women, she/her individually, they/them jointly私, 私たち, names used as self-referencesingular and collective identity alternate by sceneSolo action can expose one sister's “I”Changing every first-person form to “we.”
The Courierreveal-sensitive aliassource-compatible pronouns onlyvoice overlaps another character but is not proofCivilian identity locks only after B1:0144Global replacement with the later name.

Identity axes

Record these independently for every recurring character:

  • current displayed name, aliases, titles, and who uses each
  • identity and approved English pronouns
  • Japanese first- and second-person forms
  • gendered, regional, foreign-marked, or otherwise nonstandard speech
  • public/private code-switching and route progression
  • earliest line where each identity fact is available to the player.

Speech style alone does not prove identity or pronouns. A male speaker can use feminine forms. A woman can use rough masculine forms. 僕 does not imply youth.

First-person audit examples

LineSource cueScene subjectRequired EnglishReason
A1:0082omitted subjectMina acts aloneIPrevious and following actions remain singular.
A1:0191我々Mina speaks for the bureauweInstitutional plural, not intimacy.
B1:0047私Hana is physically separated from NanaIThe singular viewpoint is plot evidence.
B1:0060私たちboth sisters speak as a unitweExplicit collective self-reference.

An automated I/we search makes an inventory. Check each candidate against the scene, including lexical false positives and reciprocal English constructions.

Address changes are events

Track changes from title to surname and from surname to given name. Track changes from polite second person to blunt address and from adult self-reference to a childlike form. These changes can express relationship or plot information. Do not normalize them globally.

Release check

  • Every displayed speaker label maps to one ledger entry.
  • Every alias has a timeline and viewpoint rule.
  • All first-person singular/plural candidates were audited in context.
  • Gendered Japanese is reflected through voice, not unsupported English gendering.