I guess my take on this is different from the other comments. Your are a good writer and I liked the story a lot. . . right up until the point when Hikaru starts a relationship with a child he essentially raised from the age of 4. IMO, it doesn't matter that he never officially adopted Sai. It doesn't matter that you carefully waited until Sai was 18. Its an emotional visceral response. For all intents and purposes, Hikaru was Sai's father from the moment they met when Sai was 4 and Hikaru was 15. Parenthood is not strictly a matter of the law. Its a matter of attitude, and Hikaru WAS Sai's parent, so this one failed my squick test.
You forget Sai had already been raised and had lived a life then died and lived another live through Torajiro. Then Torajiro died and Sai got another few years with Hikaru. Sai in this story is no child; he really is a 1000 year old ghost in the body of a child.
Sai asked Hikaru to foster him so they could spend time together as friends, not as parent/child, which is totally not what adopting would allow, and that's why I made the distinction. And yes, they are misusing the institution of fostering, but they were out of options; Sai staying in a older-child orphanage would NOT have been fun for Sai!!!
I have to second the squick. While you may have had it in your mind that Sai was his adult self living in a child's body that's not what you conveyed in the story. In the story he is very precocious but he engages in enough childlike behavior that even if he does have all his old memories they appear to be filtered through the perceptions of a child, not a very short adult.
I can't help thinking about the consequences if their relationship were to be discovered too. No one would believe the truth and Hikaru's career would be over. Instead of being happy that he got Sai back I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop and the real tragedy to begin.
You do realize that we are talking about Japan here? Age of consent in Japan is 13 (and you can bet that's for a reason!) Not that S&H even start anything here at 13, no, Sai's _18_ before they fall into bed together.
The reason for that age of consent being only 13 is that the sexual morals of Japan are _different_ from that of the Anglo-Saxon world. They are really really different! Believe me I know; I had to explain to 50 year old Japanese woman why exactly adultery was frowned upon in England.
As for consequences. What consequences? There is no religious/social stigma on sex in Japan. At worst people might think it odd, but then the Japanese think of anything that isn't the bog standard norm as odd. And everybody knows that geniuses (in this case in Go) are already super odd.
I'm sorry if your squired but please remember this is a fantasy story with an impossible premise (I am assuming people coming back from the dead is impossible but, who knows, I could be wrong). AND it's NOT set in the western world.
Comments 11
But it works out for him this time. :)
-kami-zumo
Reply
Reply
Reply
Reply
Sai in this story is no child; he really is a 1000 year old ghost in the body of a child.
Sai asked Hikaru to foster him so they could spend time together as friends, not as parent/child, which is totally not what adopting would allow, and that's why I made the distinction.
And yes, they are misusing the institution of fostering, but they were out of options; Sai staying in a older-child orphanage would NOT have been fun for Sai!!!
takeuma
Reply
I can't help thinking about the consequences if their relationship were to be discovered too. No one would believe the truth and Hikaru's career would be over. Instead of being happy that he got Sai back I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop and the real tragedy to begin.
Reply
The reason for that age of consent being only 13 is that the sexual morals of Japan are _different_ from that of the Anglo-Saxon world. They are really really different! Believe me I know; I had to explain to 50 year old Japanese woman why exactly adultery was frowned upon in England.
As for consequences. What consequences? There is no religious/social stigma on sex in Japan. At worst people might think it odd, but then the Japanese think of anything that isn't the bog standard norm as odd. And everybody knows that geniuses (in this case in Go) are already super odd.
I'm sorry if your squired but please remember this is a fantasy story with an impossible premise (I am assuming people coming back from the dead is impossible but, who knows, I could be wrong). AND it's NOT set in the western world.
Reply
onigokko
Reply
Leave a comment