Yamaku: The Next Generation (COMPLETE! Now with a bonus epilogue!)

[ttyd]

Despite being a fan for years I've never sought out any fan works until I recently replayed KS. I'm going through a bunch of changes in life and will go through so many more soon, so playing through it grounds me in a way. When I finished I felt that I needed more so I read learning to fly and then happened upon Learning to Run and this. I read all three in 4 days. I was so enthralled with all of them and I really did enjoy reading, especially the next generation.
I am curious as to why Noriko never showed up or was mentioned in either story or why Rin was only mentioned in next generation. In terms of Rin it does make sense that she would be hard to track down in universe but I am a bit curious when it comes to Noriko (unless you did mention her and I forgot, again I read through three pretty long stories in only 4 days so I could very easily be misremembering)
Either way, I made an account and wanted to express my gratitude to you for writing this and I'm excited to see whatever you write next.

[guthrum06]

I'm glad you enjoyed the stories so much. It means the world to me that you found them meaningful.

I am curious as to why Noriko never showed up or was mentioned in either story or why Rin was only mentioned in next generation. In terms of Rin it does make sense that she would be hard to track down in universe but I am a bit curious when it comes to Noriko (unless you did mention her and I forgot, again I read through three pretty long stories in only 4 days so I could very easily be misremembering)

Noriko did get mentioned at the very beginning of Learning to Run, when Emi asks Hisao about his high school friends. He says he only sees her occasionally.

She doesn't show up other than that because I think it’s fairly realistic that you lose touch with your friends over the years.

The same is true with Rin and Emi in Next Generation. Kayoko's internal monologue mentions that she has only met Rin a handful of times, and that she was mad that she wasn't there for her mom more when Hisao died. The two of them are still friends, in their Rin-Emi sort of way (Emi did manage to get her to model for Junichiro, after all), but they don't see eachother very much.

Hope that answers your questions!

I do have some other KS stories if your voracious appetite hasn't been sated - one of them is a CLANNAD crossover though, and I don’t know if you're familiar with that VN. The other - "Too Close for Comfort" just started, and is a post-Yamaku Misha x OC story.

[ttyd]

Ah that makes sense, and I appreciate you for responding to my questions. I have more, but I think I'll wait to ask them since I feel a reread might answer the questions I may have since I read it all in such a short amount of time. In terms of your new story I read the first chapter and am very interested in seeing where it goes.

I'm not very well versed in Clannad but if I have time I'll take a look at that if I have time in between my studies. I essentially dedicated my whole spring break to reading your writing which I don't regret in the slightest. Thank you!

[Retornodelogay]

Welp, I just finished this one, what a ride. It's no easy feat to have almost a full cast of original characters and maintain interest throughout such a long piece, but you managed to do it.

I really enjoyed your Learning to Run fic, but I think you outdid yourself with this one. Your pacing here is quite engaging and organic and feels less staccato, especially when it comes to Kayoko and Akari's relationship. It was beautifully developed, and while the undertones are there from the beginning the relationship itself surprised me like it did to Kayoko, and it was a very welcome surprise indeed The drama can be a bit swingy sometimes... but I actually think it makes a lot of sense in context, given the cast's age. I also loved your take on an older Emi and think its spot on, one of my favourite reads on the character out there. Would love to see more of her, but I know I'm biased.

I also have a lot of praise for your research. You get into the nitty-gritty of many complicated conditions with quite a bit of success. I do wonder about your methods, because the specificity often goes beyond what a simple search can provide, and even some more specialized but general texts. From my point of view, Kayoko's EDS was well represented, with the few caveats that I've already discussed, namely comorbidities and mobility aids use. But, again, it's veeeery specific, to the point that I don't expect most healthcare practitioners to be aware of those details. I felt seen throughout and I think that's the mark of great representation. Outstanding job I'd say.

All in all, I enjoyed it a lot! I'm looking forward to reading your Clannad crossover now that I'm done with the VN as well.

[guthrum06]

I really enjoyed your Learning to Run fic, but I think you outdid yourself with this one. Your pacing here is quite engaging and organic and feels less staccato, especially when it comes to Kayoko and Akari's relationship. It was beautifully developed, and while the undertones are there from the beginning the relationship itself surprised me like it did to Kayoko, and it was a very welcome surprise indeed The drama can be a bit swingy sometimes... but I actually think it makes a lot of sense in context, given the cast's age. I also loved your take on an older Emi and think its spot on, one of my favourite reads on the character out there. Would love to see more of her, but I know I'm biased.

I also have a lot of praise for your research. You get into the nitty-gritty of many complicated conditions with quite a bit of success. I do wonder about your methods, because the specificity often goes beyond what a simple search can provide, and even some more specialized but general texts. From my point of view, Kayoko's EDS was well represented, with the few caveats that I've already discussed, namely comorbidities and mobility aids use. But, again, it's veeeery specific, to the point that I don't expect most healthcare practitioners to be aware of those details. I felt seen throughout and I think that's the mark of great representation. Outstanding job I'd say.

All in all, I enjoyed it a lot! I'm looking forward to reading your Clannad crossover now that I'm done with the VN as well.

Thanks for all the praise. Like Kayoko, I’m a crybaby, so reading all the nice things you have to say - especially telling me you felt seen – definitely made me shed a few tears. People reading these stories and enjoying them brings me a lot of joy. I had a blast writing it and love all these characters, and I'm glad other people feel the same.

I’m glad you think the depiction of EDS is (mostly) good. My research methods aren’t anything super special, I don’t think – I just read a whole lot about it, including more specialized texts. I'm a technical writer in my day job, so I'm fairly good at understanding dense and complicated stuff, even when it's medical. I also read lots of posts people have made in various public forums, like reddit – and sort of synthesized all of those different kinds of sources into Kayoko’s experience. I did the same for Junichiro and Hana's conditions.

The one exception to this is lupus, which my wife has, so I have a ton of personal experience with it. Hers isn’t quite as severe as Akari’s (thank goodness), and she didn’t start to have symptoms until her mid-20s like most people, but it took us a long time to find a medication that worked for her, and she’s had some of the surgeries Akari had – like the osteotomy and synovectomy, although in her case they were on her knees, not her hips.

[Retornodelogay]

I’m glad you think the depiction of EDS is (mostly) good. My research methods aren’t anything super special, I don’t think – I just read a whole lot about it, including more specialized texts. I'm a technical writer in my day job, so I'm fairly good at understanding dense and complicated stuff, even when it's medical. I also read lots of posts people have made in various public forums, like reddit – and sort of synthesized all of those different kinds of sources into Kayoko’s experience. I did the same for Junichiro and Hana's conditions.

Maybe I overplayed the importance of the things I mentioned, because it wasn't mostly good, it was great. The way, for example, that you write intimate scenes really resonate with my own experiences of having to be so incredibly careful because something might get out of place at any moment. I also happen to play the bass and piano and feel Kayoko's frustrations deeply. I'm incredibly lucky to still be able to play at 27 years old (moreso the piano, since the bass is way harder on my wrists and fingers), but I'm aware I won't be able to do it for that much longer and my practice time is very dependent on what my body feels like doing. Same thing with injuring yourself at the worst times, not because you're super unlucky but because it's happening constantly. You captured a lot of these details beautifully and that's no small feat!

The one exception to this is lupus, which my wife has, so I have a ton of personal experience with it. Hers isn’t quite as severe as Akari’s (thank goodness), and she didn’t start to have symptoms until her mid-20s like most people, but it took us a long time to find a medication that worked for her, and she’s had some of the surgeries Akari had – like the osteotomy and synovectomy, although in her case they were on her knees, not her hips.

Ah, that makes a lot of sense! I was particularly impressed with lupus, so that checks out. I'm very glad you found an effective treatment, it can be such a massive pain to diagnose and manage, both literally and figuratively.