#no! i wanted the epic tadashi adam beef :((

[okapiandpaste]

finally watched ep 11 of sk8 in preparation for tomorrow. goddammit tadashi my one prediction went down the drain.

[miyuskye]

I agree absolutely!!

Two points I want to add:

When Ainosuke grabs Tadashi by his collar in The Balcony scene, Tadashi isn't scared or tries to escape. He looks at Ainosuke straight in the eye and he's probably very used to this behaviour and still choses to stay by his side.

Also when Tadashi says he wants to drop out in ep 11 Adam throws an epic tantrum and makes the whole beef a funeral and reacts in his usual over the top ways but never forces Tadashi to race against Langa, and neither upholds his (empty) threat to "deal with him later". He just says that because he feels betrayed by Tadashi again but he never forces him to do anything.

I keep thinking about Tadashi, as I do

And how TadaAi wouldn’t have fallen into their master/servant dynamic if there was absolutely no way they would’ve fallen into it on healthier terms

Tadashi wouldn’t have reacted to guilt as “I need to serve him to atone for what I did. It’s the only way” if there was absolutely no other way he’d serve him. It's in character.

Likewise, even on healthier terms, we can see that Tadashi actually wants to be by Ainosuke’s side and serve him (which is why I keep hammering home ep12, where they’re starting to heal and they still keep their roles)

Tadashi’s response to guilt was “I hurt you by serving your family, so I will atone for it by serving you”. But his response wouldn’t have been this is he actually was uncomfortable with serving him in the first place

(And the whole working for him requiring informed and written consent, because secretary is still a job)

Plus this whole ordeal requires participation on Ainosuke’s part too. If he brushed him off and didn’t participate, Tadashi would be simply left off as an employee

And even when Ainosuke grabs his hair and barks at him, Tadashi doesn’t feel unsafe. Even when Ainosuke threatens to “put him in his place and illustrate it on his body” Tadashi’s face is completely comfortable and determined

And in that same scene we see that Ainosuke clearly respects his agency as a person. He doesn’t force him to drop out, instead faces him as a worthy opponent. He understands that Tadashi is only his “loyal dog” because he wants to and that he has no power over him outside of what Tadashi gives. That if Tadashi puts his foot down, Ainosuke can’t do anything about it

AND we can see that Adam, Ainosuke wants enthusiastic participation. Which is why he gets angry when Tadashi says “yes I will go to jail even though I don’t want to just because you told me”. Again ep12: Ainosuke is smiling when he says “the rest of our lives” because Tadashi responds with an enthusiastic “yes!” Smiling, happy. Both of them.

And again Tadashi is never shown to be uncomfortable. Why would they not show us discomfort if he was uncomfortable? It's not that Tadashi is "okay with it" or "doesn't mind", but that Tadashi actively consents and involves himself