yysworld
·Accepted·2026-05-01

Status: Accepted Date: 2026-05-01 Refs: ADR-034 (voice versioning system), ADR-028 (narrative antipatterns), ADR-029 (world seed and yy_version), ADR-038 (world v2.0)

Context

ADR-034 established voice as root-scoped: a root declares voice_version once at creation and does not revise it mid-run. v1 (literary restraint, no dialogue) rode out the April root; v2 (author voice — dialogue, physical comedy, food puns, food-state register) lived as docs/voice/v2-draft.md pending promotion.

Between the original v2-draft (ADR-034, 2026-04-19) and this transition, the rules absorbed substantial additions:

  • Active subject, not passive landscape
  • Permission to surprise
  • Attention before interpretation
  • Small failures stay
  • YY may narrate (not just react)
  • No children's-book smoothing
  • Target reader band: 9–12 active, 13–18 interested
  • Ending shape (small transfer, not moral)

These were authored against the same v2 register and are codified in docs/voice/v2.md.

Decision

1. Promote v2

Renamed docs/voice/v2-draft.md → docs/voice/v2.md. From this date forward, any root declaring voice_version: "v2" reads v2.md as the authoritative voice rules.

ADR-034's promotion checklist is satisfied:

  • [x] Rules written
  • [x] First example approved by author (food 0.33, wry-whine, 2026-04-19)
  • [x] Second example drafted at high food band (food 0.78, cheeky-curious with Bramble, 2026-05-01)
  • [x] World upgrade for the May root complete (ADR-038, world v2.0)
  • [x] ADR for the v1→v2 transition (this document)
  • [x] Target root's yy_baseline.json declares voice_version: "v2"

2. May root declares v2

runs/root_2026_05_01/baseline/yy_baseline.json declares voice_version: "v2" at root creation. Per ADR-034, this declaration is immutable for the life of the root.

3. April root unchanged

runs/root_2026_04_14/baseline/yy_baseline.json continues to declare voice_version: "v1". No retrofit. Per ADR-034 §Why not just update the current voice, mid-run register changes are forbidden — that scar is preserved.

4. yy_version concept clarified

ADR-029 §6 anticipated declaring yy_version: "1.1" in the new root's baseline alongside a docs/yy/voice-v1.1-draft.md voice register. ADR-034 (later) introduced the voice_version mechanism with files in docs/voice/, which has been the live system through April. The April baseline declares voice_version: "v1" only and does not declare yy_version.

This ADR confirms ADR-034's mechanism is the live one. The May baseline declares voice_version: "v2" only. docs/yy/voice-v1.1-draft.md is preserved as historical reference but is not read by the pipeline. If a future root needs separate trait-era versioning, it gets a fresh ADR.

5. Second example written under v2.0 world rules

Example 2 (Bramble in late spring) is set in the v2.0 world (ADR-038) — anthropomorphic neighbors, barter, NE-anchored geography. It demonstrates:

  • Active subject construction (every clause has an actor)
  • Dialogue between YY and a named neighbor (new under v2)
  • Permission to surprise ("A tree," YY guessed)
  • Capital emphasis used sparingly (NEVER, once)
  • One light food pun (going rate has *risen*)
  • Ending shape (small transfer — what YY is carrying home)
  • Target reader band — middle-grade-readable, YA-engaging

This is the first reference example that exercises both voice v2 and world v2.0 in combination, which is the configuration the May root will run.

What this does not do

  • Does not retrofit voice_version to anything in the April run
  • Does not freeze v2 — additional rules may be added with another ADR if patterns emerge during the May run
  • Does not change ADR-029's status — the yy_version reconciliation in §4 is a clarification, not a supersession
  • Does not commit to a specific voice for the next-after-May root — that root authors its own decision

Consequences

  • docs/voice/v2.md is the authoritative voice file
  • docs/voice/v2-draft.md no longer exists
  • runs/root_2026_05_01/baseline/yy_baseline.json declares voice_version: "v2"
  • ADR-034 remains a historical record of the versioning system; this ADR closes the v1→v2 promotion gate it left open
  • Future root baselines may declare any active voice version (currently v1 or v2)

Freshness boundary

Revisit if (a) the May run reveals voice rules that need codification, (b) a new world version introduces register implications voice v2 cannot carry, or (c) the high-food-band example proves under-tested in actual generation and needs replacement before any v3 work begins.