#Miyagi and Daniel. because it’s THEIR fault he did that to johnny in the first place. he hates them both with a passion. HE was humiliated | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

bubblegumflavor · 1 month

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Johnny Lawrence is a character that is always pushed down. Him being physically stronger than Daniel doesn't help his mind being constantly challenged. He enters the Karate Kid with his mind strong, with the will to make it better, to make it work. Yeah he beats up Daniel a lot and worse than excusable, but he just wanted to talk to Ali and Ali is pretty mean to him, promising she will talk but then just plays the music again... Daniel sucker punches him first. Daniel humiliates him at the Halloween party and yeah, they beat Daniel up but Mr. Miyagi.. an adult.. breaking a teenager's arm? (Tommy) instead of acting like an adult and de-escalate the situation? Well..

While Daniel is provoking Johnny constantly, Johnny leaves Daniel alone until the tournament, where he again, gets manipulated, humiliated, loses his father figure, gets robbed of his chance to win fairly, still has the courage to get up and give Daniel the trophy, saying he's alright which is an apology, I don't care what other people say. Then outside him getting beaten and humiliated continues with Kreese almost killing him for ending up second place.

And in Cobra Kai it continues... I mean it's also funny and entertaining but it also hurts me to think about how often Johnny is forced to take charity from Daniel, how he can't stop drinking, how everything is always his fault, how he just feels worth of Carmen's affection after performing miracles for her, how he wanted Ali but Amanda says hahah not on my watch, remember Carmen and he's like oh yeah... right then I must love Carmen, I figured it out! (But it was Amanda actually... lol)

I was just watching season 1 again and especially that scene where Johnny is literally on the ground to get his beer and Daniel shows off his dominance because he has the money, it hurts. I wish we had seen Johnny not taking the beer because Daniel paid it or something. Just walking out. Let the man have some dignity!! (I could go on forever I really feel like it got worse in the show to the point where his whole purpose is to fulfill Carmen's dreams but I am rewatching atm and see if I just made it worse in my head, I at least was able to enjoy season 1 again and thats a personal win since I wasn't able to rewatch after s5)

Johnny paying back Sid and finally cut him out of his life is so satisfying to watch, I'm so glad they did that.

I know he has some wins too like I feel equally sad for Daniel when Cobra Kai overpowers his Miyagi-Do presentation and Daniel was so excited for it.. I love watching them get back at each other and all just some nuances leave a bad taste in my mouth when I'm overthinking it.

I love Johnny so much.. He is my comfort character and thinking about all of this hurts me physically. So I try not to. A lot of this in Cobra Kai was done for comic relief and gave us hilarious moments and if I don't think too much about it I can enjoy them all but I, personally, will never enjoy content where Johnny is portrayed as weaker as Daniel or submissive to Daniel or anyone else. (Which doesn't mean he can't have weak moments and Daniel be the one comforting him, that is sth different and I love that!) (I don't enjoy Daniel being 'babygirled' either but that's a different story, lol)

Just some thoughts I needed to get out of my system with my sunday morning coffee =)

#johnny lawrence #cobra kai #the karate kid #thinking about him too much #johnny deserves better #try to focus on the positive things though #these are just bits of my thoughts #a lot of topics I could go in deeper like shifting morals and who's the bad guy and is anyone even a bad guy or are they all bad guys?#(of course not ^-^)#but sometimes I have to get some weight off my mind

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purpleheartskies · 2 years

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The Heart of Miyagi-Do

Miyagi-Do, Cobra Kai, and Robby Keene is another amazing analysis by @beheworthy.

After reading this again, it got me thinking...

It seems like Daniel's Miyagi-Do dojo has lost its heart/spirit since Robby left.

I think people attribute Daniel's Miyago-Do dojo's first downfall to what Robby did by accident in the school fight, but I think it should be attributed to what Daniel and the Miyagi-Dos didn't do for Robby and the Miyagi-Do dojo after the school fight.

Understandably, Daniel spent the first few weeks in damage-control mode after the school fight. He focused on searching for Robby and on cleaning up the reputation of his business. However, Daniel dropped the ball on defending Robby and the Miyagi-Do dojo to the fullest that he could have (and this could have helped his business too). Daniel allowed Miyagi-Do to take the rap for the school fight even though it was the Cobra Kais who had attacked the Miyagi-Dos that day. That was common knowledge, and there was a lot of video evidence to back it up. What happened in the end had been an accident, and Daniel could have made a very good case for that while still showing support for the injured student. However, Daniel folded and didn't handle the situation the way he should have because Daniel thought the worst of Robby, without having to a real reason to. Daniel had spent so much time with Robby. Daniel knows who Robby is, but Daniel's rivalry with Johnny often clouds his judgement when Robby screws up and Daniel judges him through the lens of being Johnny's son.

"I can't believe Robby would do that."

irl The Miyagi-Dos having been the ones who had been attacked that day would have been a huge factor in preventing them and Robby from being scapegoated for being at fault for the fight/brawl as part of the fallout, unlike how it played out in the story. I mean, one of the main aggressors in the fight was given a hero's welcome and standing ovation when he returned to school. His injury didn't change his role in the fight, and if the situation had been handled properly by the adults who should have been on Robby's side, this special treatment towards this aggressor wouldn't have happened and he would have been expelled and charged as well. Robby going on the run could have also been defended/made understandable because after all he is a teen with no proper parental support and he had done something horrible by accident while defending himself and ran out of fear. In these situations, it's how the case is presented to the public that really affects public perception about what happened, and this is where Daniel and the Miyagi-Dos went wrong. Daniel and the Miyagi-Dos didn't defend Robby's and the dojo's case, and instead went along with and supported the public perception of thinking the worst of Robby and believing that he's not a "good guy". In fact, the Miyagi-Dos did a car wash for Robby's attacker to prove that they are the "good guys" because his attacker had gotten injured. In turn, they didn't do anything to help Robby publicly or privately at all. In fact, Sam also said on TV that she hoped it was an accident, implying that he specifically may not be a "good guy", and that they love his attacker.

"That was an accident... at least I hope so..."

Daniel also ensured that Robby went to juvie, without actually caring about or understanding Robby's side of the story about what had happened in the fight and following that. (It's important to note that we all know what Robby's attacker had been thinking when he suddenly decided to stop fighting, but we've never learned what Robby had thought in that moment. His attacker was always meant to be made out as the innocent one in this situation. Because his attacker is a much more beloved character and because the other characters didn't care to ask and don't know Robby's side of the story, the audience is supposed to not care either. This is more of that symbolic/indirect storytelling that the show so heavily relies on.) Daniel failed to fight for Robby, for the Miyagi-Do dojo, and for justice (that is, for what was right) in general.

Daniel and the Miyagi-Dos didn't have faith in Robby and made it clear to him and the public that they weren't on his side. Miyagi-Do is about defense and protecting other people, after all. Miyagi-Do is also about not judging people by their mistakes. So, where was the proper defense for Robby and the dojo's case? Yes, someone had been gravely injured. However, that person was not without blame. He and his dojo had been the aggressors, and he had been the one who had gotten him and Robby to that point in their fight. Robby's attacker gave him no reason to trust him, and Robby had acted in self-defense in an intense, unsafe situation that his attacker had created. And again, what happened in the end had been an accident. I've said it before and I'll say it again, if Robby were mine, I would have fought like hell for him and made sure that all the facts and evidence were brought to light to protect him and his future.

Daniel fulfilled an obligation of making sure Robby was arrested and sentenced (albeit a light one) as part of cleaning up the aftermath of the school fight. However, Daniel gave up on Robby. Sam and the other Miyagi-Dos gave up on Robby too. Robby had been protecting Sam and himself that day in school and all Robby had ever done before then was protect the Miyagi-Dos. But, when Robby truly needed them to be in his corner and to have his back, they all assumed the worst of him, turned their backs on him, and weren't there for him. Daniel and the Miyagi-Dos abandoned their Miyagi-Do principles of defending others and not defining others by their mistakes by not defending and supporting Robby like he needed them to when he needed them the most.

And ever since Daniel and the Miyagi-Dos failed Robby and he left the dojo, Daniel's Miyagi-Do dojo has been failing too. They've been too focused on proving that they're the "good guys" since the school fight instead of being focused on doing what is right as well as defending/supporting someone who had always defended/supported them. Because their goals have been flawed, they haven't been able to return Miyagi-Do to what it was in s2 (before the school fight) and they couldn't properly represent Miyagi-Do in the tournament. And even Eli's win at the s4 tournament isn't a symbolic win for Miyagi-Do, given Robby having stopped trying to win because of his moment of looking at Kenny (makes no sense to say that Robby had some profound realization about himself and leaving Cobra Kai but still tried to win for himself and Cobra Kai after that) and also given Eli winning by relying more on the Cobra Kai style than on the Miyagi-Do style.

In the tournament, the Miyagi-Do style won when Robby's students used it against Daniel's students.

I think this is symbolic too. As if, the heart/spirit of Miyagi-Do went with Robby when he left Daniel and the Miyagi-Dos. In fact, Daniel told Eli to put Robby on defense in their match, which meant that Robby was the one relying more on the Miyagi-Do style in that match.

In the tournament, there was also so much emphasis on the Miyagi-Dos needing more than just the Miyagi-Do style to win, and that was because of Robby. Robby learned to use both styles and taught the Cobras to do the same, and this forced Sam to stop using the Miyagi-Do style only. This also forced Daniel to eventually come to terms with what Robby had said to him before Sam echoed the same sentiment: it doesn't matter which way you fight as long as it works. It's important to note that doing karate your own way is a Miyagi-Do teaching that Robby instinctually adopted.

"...doesn't matter which way you fight as long as it works."

And, though Daniel judged Robby for it, Robby's move of teaching the Cobras Miyagi-Do was another instinctual Miyagi-Do move: "If an enemy insists on war, you take away their ability to wage it." Robby took away the Miyagi-Dos ability to wage war by teaching the Cobras the Miyagi-Do counter moves.

"...I'm going to teach you Miyagi-Do karate so that you can beat Miyagi-Do karate."

Interestingly, Sam started out s4 believing that Robby would be the one to bring Daniel and Johnny together. And although we see Daniel and Johnny eventually join forces at the tournament to support Sam, so it seems like she is the one who brought them together in the end, it's because of Robby successfully using both styles and teaching the Cobras to do the same that Daniel realized that he needed Johnny's help to coach Sam in her final match. So Sam had been right. Robby would be the one who would ultimately bring Johnny and Daniel together. And, it should have been him. After all, Robby has believed in Johnny and Daniel working together and bringing their styles together for some time now. Robby had told Johnny back in s2 that he and Daniel could learn a thing or two from each other.

I've seen some people comment dissappointingly that the writers chose to emphasize that Daniel's Miyagi-Do style wasn't enough and needed Johnny's style to win against Cobra Kai. I disagree though. Robby proved in the beginning of s4 that Daniel's Miyagi-Do style is enough go take down the Cobra Kais because he was able to take out the whole CK dojo simply using the Miyagi-Do defense-only style that Daniel had taught him.

Also, the Miyagi-Dos spar and practice with each other, so Robby's students knowing the Miyagi-Do style shouldn't have stopped the Miyagi-Dos from being able to win using the Miyagi-Do style only. The Miyagi-Dos failing to prove that they can beat Cobra Kai with just the Miyagi-Do style in the tournament had nothing to do with the style itself but instead was a reflection of the people representing it and their inability to use it to its full potential. And, maybe this is just a reflection of another Miyagi-Do teaching, "There is no such thing as a bad student, only a bad teacher." And Robby was able to be a better teacher of the Miyagi-Do style in this regard.

In another regard, Robby is the only teen who has also become a mentor, and when his mentee screwed up, Robby didn't judge him by his mistake.

"This isn't how I taught you."

After Kenny beat up Anthony and threatened to be his bully now, Robby told Kenny that this isn't how Robby had taught him, directing his disappointment at Kenny's actions, not at Kenny directly. (And, Robby later reflected on his own actions towards Kenny due to Kenny's response.) A little earlier when Daniel had confronted Robby, Daniel had told Robby "...you didn't learn anything I taught you." Daniel was implying that Robby is a bad student and that he himself is not a bad teacher, a belief that Daniel has had since the school fight: "I'm willing to admit when I fail, but maybe he has too much of you in him" , and the reason he had called the cops on Robby before talking with him first. Daniel had also once told Robby, after he had screwed up, that it was up to him if he wanted to end up like Johnny. Here, Robby could have told Kenny, "If you wanna end up like Shawn (a bully), that's up to you," but Robby didn't do that.

I think it goes without saying that Robby embodies the best of both dojos. He's the only student to be told he's better than Daniel at Miyagi-Do (more of a natural, as Daniel had said), has more potential than Johnny as a Cobra Kai (as Kreese had said), and has been told he'll eventually be able to kick all their asses (as Silver had said). Robby took the best from both dojos and rejected what he didn't deem practical or right. He realized that defense-only Miyagi-Do can only get you so far before you need to "strike first" and that Cobra Kai's "no mercy" should never be adopted. (And Robby's "no mercy" was so controlled, he didn't get a dq or a warning and they exaggerated the whole scene with effects like slow motion.) Robby had these realizations about Miyagi-Do and Cobra Kai on his own through his own experiences and his interactions with the four senseis. (Although Johnny has never been Robby's sensei, Robby's personal journey, which is intricately woven with his karate journey, is most greatly influenced by Johnny.) Robby also instinctually follows Miyagi-Do teachings that he hasn't been taught yet. The OP of the blog I referenced at the start had pointed out that Robby changed Cobra Kai by teaching them Miyagi-Do. Another indication of Robby changing Cobra Kai is that the first time no Cobra Kai student fought dirty or wanted to fight dirty in a tournament was when Robby was in Cobra Kai and had been a leader/pseudo-sensei to them.

#cobra kai is robby's story #robby keene #the heart of miyagi-do

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msfbgraves · 2 years

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Mercy, Trust and Safety: Cobra Kai

Cobra Kai really tends to flip flop between what they think about striking first and fighting fairly. Fighting dirty, they seem to think, may cost you your soul, but fighting fairly may cost you your life. Robby tries to be a decent person and gets injured. Miguel does the same and gets paralysed. Johnny gets nearly choked to death (again).

But is that because of the mercy - or because they let their guard down too soon?

Daniel is neurotic to a fault, but, like Miyagi, he seldom leaves a fight until he's certain it is well and truly over, or he's gotten reinforcements.

Now Robby wasn't wrong to turn his back on Hawk and extend his hand to Miguel during the All Valley; he had every right to assume that the rules of sportsmanship would be respected. But it's a risky thing to do while still in the ring even then.

Miguel was right to let Robby go; but he had attacked him on sight just minutes earlier and he already knew Robby didn't trust him. It's still tragic - he had no way of knowing Robby is like a wounded animal when it comes to small betrayals. For all his struggles, Miguel had learnt you can trust people. But he did not put a safe enough distance between him, and at that point in time, a known enemy. He took a very calculated, reasonable risk - but poor Robby isn't reasonable about betrayal, plus Miguel had given him reason not to trust him before.

Now of course you're also not letting your guard down when you strike first. Quite right. But Cobras fight really dirty; they learn that there's is really no other end to a fight than the other person ending up at least badly hurt and you don't have to do that; you can wait a safe distance until the other either stays down or you can also push them away from you, but it aint over till it's over. That's really not the same thing as showing no mercy.

Except poor Robby wants to let his guard down so badly and who can blame him. He's hardly ever felt safe enough to, and then when he does even Mr. LaRusso goes off on him and gets him arrested. He, and almost all the Eagle Fang and Cobra Kai kids, need to learn how to safely end a fight. Who and how to trust. And even Johnny doesn't always know how to do that.

#miguel diaz #robby keene #cobra kai

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crimsonblackrose · 2 years

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Okay here’s all my thoughts and questions part 1 How did Chozen get weapons through security? And why does everyone keep calling him an assassin? Has he...actually killed someone? Because really the one time we saw him fight to the death he failed and got his nose honked. Or did Chozen arrive in LA and immediately go buy weapons? Miguel seeing his dad with another kid handling it better than Robby but at the same time it’s a little kid and not someone his age. Also saving the kid but being a creeper who followed them around? Kind of here for everyone telling Johnny the stuff he does is illegal. Graffiti karma and kidnapping a minor even if it’s his own son. I kind of get why Carmen didn’t go and rescue Miguel because that guy is scary but at the same time....I hate that she stayed home. Who knew fake FBI shirts could cause so much trouble and rip so easily? Time to add another Johnny chokehold to the gifs of every time someone’s gone for the poor guys neck.

Moon sometimes gives me Miyagi vibes.

Daniel why the hell didn’t you google Barnes? You looked up enough to stalk him from his home to his work...but you didn’t...google his job? Like see that he works in furniture. Opposite of you Johnny at least is googling stuff. You’re supposed to be the smart one and it makes me cringe so much when he...jumps in head first without thinking. Like at least look around the front to see the place or like read the newspaper articles or coverage that Barnes is now in furniture. I just can’t think of how on earth he could’ve gotten Barnes’s address and not seen that he was a furniture king.

Okay so Daniel can meet with Barnes and actually stop Barnes and Chozen from fighting and explain the who big misunderstanding and yet...gestures at the entire series. There’s more in that. Esp with Johnny. Because 9 times out of 10 the two misunderstand each other and nearly come to blows. I don’t know whether he’s gotten better at it because of Johnny or whether together the two are just more stubborn and everyone else is easier.

Omg Daniel do not call and leave a message for that sketchy attorney. That person could still be working for Silver. I don’t get why Daniel doesn’t trust Silver at all and yet will trust anyone and everyone else to listen to reason and pick him. Do you not remember talking to the police when Barnes originally bothered you and then they laughed it off. I just...seriously? Daniel why aren’t you googling or researching anything. That’s going to bite you....and it did...in a steam room.

I get why Barnes left the country. Sketchy red flags for insurance but uh...Silver yeah I get that.

Did Johnny just admit to doing sex work after school? Is...that how he and Shannon met...no she didn’t seem to know but also didn’t bat an eye. (Also Lawrence isn’t his mom’s maiden name? But....it’s not Sid’s last name...did she marry his dad???????? So many questions)

My main concern is that Miyagi’s house, the dojo, all those vintage cars are going to be set on fire and Miguel’s necklace for Sam will be there and somehow it will be his fault or Johnny’s. You know what, I appreciate Johnny saying thank you. Demetri deserves some kindness and I think it’s probably the best thing for Demetri to be Johnny’s tech person because Miguel views him as a dad and already had all the cringe nightmare stuff. Time to pass that responsibility to someone else who kind of knows Johnny is a mess but most likely won’t be scarred by the exact type of mess he is.

Johnny’s gig life is embarrassing and gross to watch and I would not have blamed those girls for cancelling their ride and being like nah no thanks sir. Johnny is still kind of a messy creep and he already has a bad track record. How is it that teens with pools care this much about a water park? Like Sam’s not even swimming, why is she even there? Just sit at the pool at home....oh...is she banned from the pool at home because of Chozen? Like Chozen’s habits are kind of interesting but the fact there’s teens and preteens in the household I get why Amanda freaked out. And I guess now I get why they’re at a water park and not at home. But doesn’t Moon or like any of these other rich kids have a pool? Isn’t like Eli rich? Why can’t they go to one of these pools and for the Cobra Kai kids...uhhhh Kyler probably has a pool right? The item Daniel brought for the auction is going to be destroyed isn’t it? I like that the pawn shop guy just knows how to handle Johnny now. And it’s kind of fun that he has 3 kids that he swears Johnny will never meet and 3 pawn shops. I half thought he’d hire Johnny to work one of them.

Everyone is being kind of nice to Johnny. I’m kind of shocked.

How the hell do you race in a slide? Daniel oh honey no. And there we go bonsai got destroyed. Darn and Daniel didn’t even give them a second glance. Remember when he used to freak out over bonsai? Sorry Mr. Miyagi. Stingray? Oh his poor sad face. Like I get that he’s...an odd character but I feel bad for him. And the flinch when Silver touches him. “I feel like a kept woman.” omg. He gets Lawrence’s car? Does that mean Silver has Johnny’s phone? Oh the mess he could make with that. Robby and Miguel got parent trapped at olive garden “When you’re here you’re family” omg that’s so on purpose that it’s hilarious. Also uhhhh they picked Italian which is kind of funny because I doubt Daniel will be there, but he’s there...in spirit. I wonder, since this is clearly an advertisement for Olive Garden if they’re doing any Cobra Kai specials. 😂

Omg this is such an advertisement. “Breadsticks aren’t going to fix this.” I agree. 😂

Daniel was from here? This was where scruffy Daniel came from? How long has he been alone without Amanda?

Daniel...you gotta communicate. Like it’s not just Silver, this whole journey you hide stuff from your family. All the way back to Lucille and hiding your black eye from her. Talk hon, talk and not just to guys from Okinawa.

I’ve heard one line from Amanda’s mom and I already love her.

Omg omg omg omg omg omg No! Hold up! How the hell does this work? So Amanda doesn’t know Jess and Daniel’s time with Silver and Barnes and LA? WTF? Like at least they must’ve seen each other at the wedding right? Jess has to know everything. And does that mean Amanda’s family is the pottery store across the street from Miyagi’s little trees? Aunt JO! Johnny you made art out of your beer cans? Bud. How bored are you? Omg he made a salon. Sir. You little weird artist you.

Did some internetting. Johnny did you get them a “this is our get along shirt?” Our theme is the Lincoln County War. Johnny. What are you doing? I love this but I also am so confused. Is this....are you healing Johnny? Does this mean you’re finally growing? And thus can learn stuff again? Oh...it’s from a movie. LOL. I thought. I love that abuela is in on it. OMG Johnny can understand some Spanish? Of course it’s the I screwed up....T_T 💔

Oh wow. Daniel going too far? Chozen, you...I’m glad you’re with Daniel because he is a mess.

I’m sorry Amanda is a video game nerd and yet hasn’t bonded with Anthony over that? Omg Elizabeth Anne Rooney? Are we in Ohio? WTH?

Damn Daniel and also Johnny that’s some growth. 😂 How Johnny knows something is up with Daniel is his shirt isn’t tucked in. 😂😂😂😂

Sibling chat! Sibling chat! FINALLY! Wait so Anthony was in time out and talked to no one but Johnny during that family dinner and no one decided to tell Sam that her baby bro bullied some kid and ....damn everyone is so self focused they don’t see beyond themselves.

Listen I appreciate the quick re-run of the past. But you’re missing some facts that Jessica knows. That Barnes and co tried to actually murder them in that pit. That both of them nearly died. And there’s a lot of stuff neither of them are aware of.

BAR FIGHT! GET REVENGE AGAINST ELIZABETH ANNE ROONEY JESSICA!!!! GET HER! These two are never allowed near stairwells ever again. I don’t care that ended up okay. Banned. Absolutely banned. 😂 White Castle advertisement. The taste you crave after getting into a bar fight (Jessica freaking out over a club fight where she was being attacked but ready to throw down at a bar when she’s older is fascinating) You know what I’m so ready for? Robby getting some care from the Diaz’s. Let him smoke some weed with Abuela and get some kindness from Carmen. Don’t do it Daniel. Don’t go in because the doors open. Don’t fall for Silver. Don’t do anything. Walk away. No. Run away. Oh god what happened to Stingray. I do not like this parallel to when Johnny went by himself and got his ass kicked by Silver. I do not like this. Daniel you shouldn’t have gone by yourself. T_T Babe you’re in a horror movie. Stop going places by yourself. It’s not safe. Ayyeee knew Tory would go to Kreese. Knew she didn’t fully trust everything. Chozen stayed. T_T I’m glad. And now Johnny is finally here. I was so worried that like stingray was beaten up in a corner and Silver was going to call the cops on him.

#mumbling about shows #cobra kai spoilers

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desolateice · 2 years

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Cut and Rewritten: from around chapter 89/90. Essentially I wrote this, cried a lot, decided it was too painful and toned it down when I rewrote it. 😂 So just be warned angst ahoy. I did cut and change the end of Chapter 89 which I rewrote for chapter 90 which you can read here. I ended up writing like...three chapters and then scrapping them. This is part one of what would’ve been the next chapter.

"Maybe we should break up."

Johnny pulled to the side of the road and begged Daniel to put off breaking up with him until the morning because he couldn't drive with him breaking up with him and Daniel couldn't drive in his panicking state.

He could wait till morning. He could let Johnny leave in the middle of the night. They could talk at breakfast. He'd let Johnny go. The hand he'd been holding onto so tightly. It'd give him something gentle to say, something firm, but that wouldn't hurt him any more than he already had, that wouldn't add to the damage and the cracks, but would be like ash, after a forest fire that helps the new plants grow.

The Avanti started again and they pulled back onto the road slowly and back to Mr. Miyagi's. Daniel got out of the car and stood awkwardly.

"Go to bed Daniel," Johnny said softly. "We'll-we'll talk in the morning."

Daniel wanted to reach out to him, pull Johnny close and tell him it was for him. That he was sorry, that he'd brought so much pain into Johnny's life. But he turned and hurried into the house, past the guys and Mr. Miyagi and to the room. He sat on the bed, he stood up, he paced the room. It had looked like his room at first, but not anymore. There were little pieces of Johnny everywhere. His bonsai on the desk. The pictures of them that Daniel had gotten framed, had stuck up on the walls, his book on flowers sitting on the desk. The sanshins in the corner, the desk full of pictures of Johnny. The closet held his jacket, his clothes, the kimono from Okinawa that he'd kept despite everything.

There was a soft knock on the door and before Daniel could speak the door slid open gently and Tommy and Jimmy stepped in.

"Heard we're bunking with you for the night," Jimmy said voice so soft that the tears Daniel had managed to quell rose up again.

Arms wrapped around him and it felt wrong. They should've been comforting Johnny not him. The cobras belonged with Johnny, not with him. But they didn't budge and he buried his head into Tommy's shoulder, feeling warm hands rubbing his back

"He almost died. I can't-he'll die if he stays with me," Daniel managed, "They both threatened him, promised they'd kill him. What if they succeed? It'd be all my fault."

"After the tournament," Tommy said softly. "We were a wreck. How hadn't we noticed how awful Kreese was? Like we knew he was...dangerous, but we thought he was dangerous in like a guy who had your back kind of way. That he was in our corner first and foremost. We forgot we were paying him to teach us, that it was purely transactional, that that bond we thought was there wasn't actually there. We believed that that temper he had, that sometimes sparked and burned us wouldn't engulf us, that we were safe from the full brunt of it. But then... Then he..."

"We blamed ourselves," Jimmy said taking over. "That we weren't strong enough. That we hadn't rescued him. Hell we've blamed ourselves for not rescuing him from Sid. That we hadn't looked closer. But Daniel, we took care of that because of you. Because you told us he was having nightmares, because he was telling you things we hadn't noticed. Because you were telling us and we could see clearly how bad it really was. Because of you, because he chose you, I- I don't think you realize the good you've brought into his life. I hate to say it but there's a good chance he'd still be living with Sid, his mother still married to him. He would've kept hiding it, the full extent of it for who knows how long." "I didn't do anything," Daniel said, the hiccups returning.

"You cared man, and you are a nosy little bastard," Jimmy said fondly.

"And because we were focused on you two, we noticed more. If we hadn't," Tommy said. "We would've just wasted our last six months of school together drinking and getting high, I'm sure Johnny would've just self medicated. And the damage wouldn't have been cleaned up. He'd have gone to college wherever Sid sent him, he'd have been miserable."

"Oh god, can you even imagine what major Sid would've made Johnny take?" Jimmy asked with a soft laugh.

"Business?" Tommy asked.

"Maybe accounting. He'd have been so fucking miserable."

Daniel laughed softly at the image of Johnny with his hair slicked back, wearing boxy glasses and a white shirt with a pen in the pocket and a stupid tie, holding a brief case and absolutely bored out of his mind at some desk job Sid made him get, unable to make heads or tails of the work he was supposed to do. Absolutely miserable drinking burnt coffee sludge. He'd rebel eventually, start pouring whisky or something into his coffee, chugging beer before work, until eventually he was fired.

The guys pulled back a little, Jimmy leading him back to the bed to sit, and to sit next to him. Tommy scooped up the bonsai and set it outside the sliding door before picking up the whale shark and putting it in Daniel's arms and sitting on his other side.

"I had nightmares about it," Tommy said softly. "Of not getting to Johnny in time. Begging anyone around us to help, but no one even batted an eye."

"Fucked up that they didn't. That no one did except for Mr. Miyagi," Jimmy said bitterly before sighing and wrapping an arm around Daniel's shoulders. "Kreese is a fucking monster and he's like a mid-tier level boss okay? Like in the arcade games we play at Golf 'n Stuff. You stumbled upon Silver, who is like the final boss okay? Of course together they're going to cause a shit ton of damage, but that's no reason to hurt yourself in the process."

"Johnny is a badass," Tommy said. "Him and his mom. I think it's got to be some Lawrence gene. No matter how much someone tries to push them down they keep going. They don't complain. They take the licks they're given. And then when things get bad. When someone hurts someone they care about they become like demons. Okay, I know that sounds fucking horrifying, but Ms. Lawrence found out what happened to us, to Johnny and the terrifying and methodical way she took down Sid was beautiful and cathartic. And Johnny, he's been looking into why, why Barnes is bothering you, why you were asked to be in the tournament. He fucking solved it. Sent us a fax that said "Terry Silver, broke into Miyagi home, was at the club somehow stalking us. Benefactor of Mike Barnes, changed rules at All-Valley, probably erased his age, gave a big donation. Real owner of Cobra Kai. Money came from Dynatox, toxic waste company. Has DA in pocket. Danger, do not interact. Think is Kreese's war buddy."

"You should've heard Dutch scream when he read that," Jimmy said softly. "He jumped up so fast, grabbing his keys cursing up a storm saying that's the fucker, that's the guy who said Kreese was dead, the one teaching Daniel."

"I thought we were going to die," Tommy said softly. "The way Dutch sped. That van isn't built for speed."

"We were going to confront Silver, tell him to piss off, but then we saw your truck, saw the Avanti, and then walked into probably the proudest damn moment of my life," Jimmy said.

Daniel looked at him. His voice had wavered and there were tears in his eyes.

"Yeah," Tommy said softly, just as watery.

"I know you're worried that someone is going to succeed you know? Like we were worried. But Daniel did you look at Johnny? Did you see him?" Jimmy whispered.

"I-"

"He took down Kreese. He got out of a choke hold right? He flipped Kreese and he beat him."

"I think sometimes we think that because he flinched so much, because he's been through so much that we just want to bundle him up in bubble wrap and set him somewhere safe," Jimmy said brushing a tear from his cheek. "But he is a badass and when things stand in his way he will figure a way around them. And he did. He always used to you know? It’s how he was the best in our class. Silver and Kreese flipped because Johnny didn't lay down and die. He refused. Just like you refused. You didn't play the game. All that screaming, all that shouting. It's because they didn't win. They're like toddlers who didn't get what they wanted."

"Violent toddlers," Tommy said. "Dangerous toddlers, but still, you escaped Silver's grasp probably before he meant you to, and Johnny put Kreese on the ground. That's a huge blow to their egos."

"But-"

"It means, hopefully, that you don't have to worry about anyone going after Johnny," Tommy said.

"Unless there's another reason you want to break up with him for," Jimmy said softly, hand rubbing his back.

"I don't want him to get hurt anymore."

"Have you met Johnny?" Tommy scoffed.

"Tommy," Jimmy said, a warning tone.

Tommy held up his hand. "Do you know how many times he's shoved his hand in his bag at school and his notebooks, you know those little wire bits, scratched the shit out of his hands and he wouldn't notice until he was bleeding everywhere. It's why he got trapper keepers and fucking loved them. Because they protected his hands from digging around in his bag. And when we were younger and stupider we did this dare where we climbed this big tree and Johnny found a hole in the tree and there was a cat that'd gotten stuck in it. He just shoved his hand in and grabbed the cat and the cat scratched the shit out of him. He's burnt himself countless times at the Brown's picking up a cookie or like a cake or something that wasn't ready to be picked up. He also has totally grabbed the wrong pan probably like fifteen times, and grabbed the fresh out of the oven ones. Never dropped the damn pan, just set it back down and walked over to the sink and I remember hearing once the Browns whispering wondering why this kid their own sons age never cried no matter how much he got hurt. Like it's not always going to be some bad guy Daniel. Sometimes he does stupid shit, well meaning but stupid. And sometimes he just has shit luck. I mean the first time he came to the beach house, he had brought a surf board and went surfing and he disappeared for a little bit but then came back to shore and walked calmly up to my uncle and said Sir, I've been stung by a jellyfish. I honestly think it's because of Sid. Like if he cried or complained or anything I don't think it was okay. And I mean Kreese had this rule about not teaching people who cried. So it was like on all sides. But If someone else gets hurt? Different matter. I got stung by a jellyfish myself. He'd put on muscle at that point and just scooped me up and ran. Someone must've taught him how to take care of it, because he pulled out all the damn stingers, which hurt like hell, he kept pulling all this weird shit out of the cabinets and it all fucking worked."

"I think you should also know, like you're thinking of Kreese and Chozen right?" Jimmy said gently.

"Yeah," Daniel sniffed.

"Kreese, yeah, pure shit. But Johnny told us that the death fight was really only half a death fight." "What does that mean?" Jimmy sighed rubbing his face. "Apparently Chozen told him that he needed it to look real or his uncle wouldn't ever accept him back. He'd have been, shit what was it?"

"A ghost," Tommy said.

"Right, so he planned to make it look real but to let you win. Johnny said he didn't cut off his airways at all. That he was more worried about you."

"Daniel you told me that Chozen flirts with Johnny. Do you really think Chozen would've killed Johnny?"

Daniel frowned. "Johnny panicked though, I saw it."

"Yeah, about you. You know he worries about you about as much as you worry about him."

"He said Chozen was gambling on you being Miyagi's student, being as kind as Johnny had told him you were. And apparently it paid off. You won a death match in Okinawa without any death. Like you broke a cycle and curse."

Daniel buried his head in his whale shark with a sigh.

"So Daniel, that just leaves Kreese," Tommy said gently.

"Which Johnny was already in the clutches of when you arrived, remember? You didn't bring death to Johnny's door. Johnny invited him in thinking he was a friend."

"We all did," Tommy said softly.

"You can't blame yourself for Kreese."

"But they wouldn't have known about Johnny if I hadn't-I told Mr. Silver," Daniel's voice was muffled by the whale shark. "And almost immediately after Barnes found him."

"Didn't he kick his ass too?"

Daniel had seen the way Barnes had turned pale upon seeing Johnny, the way he'd taken a step back.

"Listen do you really want to break up with Johnny?" Jimmy asked.

"No, but-"

"Then don't. Get some sleep and tell him how you feel. He does not, in anyway shape or form blame you for Cobra Kai raising its zombie snake head again."

Daniel frowned. "But-"

"You really going to let Terry Silver win by scaring you into breaking up with your boyfriend?" Tommy asked.

"No."

"Yeah I didn't think so," Jimmy said scooting back on the bed then pausing. "Daniel is this bed clean?" He asked wrinkling his nose.

Daniel turned bright red, "Of course it is! I changed the bedding this afternoon after I got home from work before I left."

Jimmy curled up under the blankets then patted the space next to him. "Come on Daniel, you've got to be exhausted. Bed time baby cobra."

Tommy laughed. "Oh, he is isn't he? Even though it was all a trick it does make him also an ex-cobra."

"Right?" Jimmy said with a grin. "Welcome to the club Daniel. Sorry you joined it, but hey you're not alone."

Daniel huffed out a sigh curling up into the space next to Jimmy. "I'm not an ex-cobra."

"No?" Tommy asked flicking off the light and plopping down on the other side of the bed.

"I just wanted to borrow the dojo."

"Why?"

He could practically hear the frown in Jimmy's voice.

"I needed somewhere to practice and spar."

"Our weekend sparring wasn't enough?" Tommy asked.

Daniel buried his face in the whale shark again. The bed smelled like Johnny and he missed him. He wanted to leave and find him and curl up where ever he was and tell him he didn't want to see him get hurt any more. That maybe he'd been a bit rash to say those awful five words and let them float and hang in the air between them. He was worried Johnny would agree though, that he'd say it was a good idea.

"I wanted to get strong enough to scare away Barnes and whoever came next. So I wanted to spar with you, work out with Jessica and Dutch, go mountain climbing, and train. I wanted to keep Johnny safe and protect Mr. Miyagi's dream."

"Johnny would've taught you, you know, he knows all of Kreese's methods," Tommy said softly. "He'd have sparred with you all the time."

"We tried to spar," Daniel said.

"And what? It freaked you out because it felt like fighting again?" Jimmy asked.

"No, it always devolved if we were alone," Daniel murmured.

"Huh? How?"

"OH!" Tommy said.

"What? I don't get it."

"Dude, they're dating. What would happen if you and Jenny were dating and you got to like play fight with her?"

"...Oh! Daniel you should've just gotten a chaperone. Couldn't you have had Dutch or Jessica come by?"

"I didn't want to bother them," Daniel said. He also hadn't wanted to stop. Had liked how the sparing devolved, even thought it meant he walked straight into a trap.

"It's not a bother," Tommy said

Daniel didn't think he could sleep, didn't think he'd be able to, but he was exhausted. Now that he was laying in his bed in the dark with Jimmy on one side and Tommy on the other he couldn't' keep his eyes open. Even if his heart hurt he was too tired to keep prodding at it.

"'m not a cobra," Daniel murmured yawning.

"Not a full fledged one," Jimmy said with a soft laugh. "Just a baby cobra."

#root beer floats and green tea #cut scenes and rewrites

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h0nkch0c0late · 2 years

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another requests:

okay so reader in miyagi do and its when demetri is all tied up and johnny teaches them ab kicking and she has to go first but she doesnt want to and dEMETRI DOESNT WANT HER TO but she kicks and neaely gets him in the crotch BUT SHE MISSES THANK GOD until chris actually does get him in the balls and reader is like trying to comfort while laughing because THATS SO FUNNY BUT SHE FEELS SO GUILTY KDNDKDKDK

YEYSYEYYESYES LOVE IT *MHUAH*

Demetri Alexopoulos

SPOILERS FOR SEASON 4!!!

Summary: it wasn't exactly Demetri's fault that he hit Johnny, but of course he had to pay for it. Not only does he have to suffer his girlfriend hitting him, but also getting kicked in the balls by accident is not so fun.

Y/n watched with the rest of her Miyagi-Do teammates as her boyfriend Demetri was being taught how to fight by Johnny.

Chris' turn had just ended, leaving Demetri to be the one fighting.

As Demetri was getting himself ready, Johnny had looked away for a second as he had heard Daniel's "That's it." Towards Miguel, and he watched in slight jealousy before turning back around, just in time for Demetri to kick too high and completely miss the pads, smacking Johnny in the face.

Johnny brought a hand to his face as Demetri's eyes widened in fear.

"Oh, shit! Um, I'm not gonna get into trouble, am I?" He asked.

Johnny just looked at him for a few minutes and Y/n sighed.

----------------------

"All right, remember, one of the best ways to get a point is to aim for the torso," Johnny began to explain as he swung his arm towards the tied up demetri, his only protection being cushions from a couch taped to his body. Demetri groaned in pain when Johnny's arm and hand came in contact with his torso, it being muffled by the bandana that was in his mouth. "-Alright, front kick, side kick. Ready?" Johnny looks towards Y/n, who stood there with a hesitant look.

"Uh, Sensei Lawrence, do you really think this is necessary? I mean I'm sure Demetri could make up for it in other ways-"

"L/n, just do it. It'll be fine, you're boyfriend isn't going to be hurt unless you hurt him." Johnny cut the girl off.

She sighed, making eye contact with Demetri who was furiously shaking his head and pleading for her to yknow not do it.

"I apologize in advance." She frowned sympathetically at the defenseless boy, who's eyes went wide as she got ready to do the kick.

She took a deep breath before lifting her leg and doing the move, luckily she did the move correctly, unfortunately for both her and Demetri, her aim was a little off. Kicking him more towards his crotch area than where she was originally supposed to kick him.

Y/n's eyes widened and she immediately started apologizing before Johnny dragged her off to the side, making sure she stopped apologizing.

She winced every time one of her friends came up to hit the boy, him groaning in pain each time. Then it came to the last boy, Chris.

He got himself ready, then kicked. Everyone gasped when Chris' foot didn't exactly go far. Instead, his foot went right up into his crotch, poor Demetri practically losing his breath as his eyes went wide, very clearly in pain.

Y/n brought a hand up to her mouth, trying to cover up the fact that she was laughing, though she did feel really bad.

"Oh shit. I missed. My bad, De." Chris apologized as he backed up.

"Very good. Suck it up. Tighten that core." Johnny responded as he walked away, Demetri looking at him in disbelief and pain.

Y/n came up to him, quickly getting him out from the trap he was in. "Oh my god, Demetri! You're fine. Well, you're not fine, but-" She couldn't stop herself from laughing as she kept him from falling, and she unwrapped the bandana from around his head.

Demetri's eyebrows scrunched together, "what's so funny?" He winced in pain.

"N-nothing. I feel bad, I really do but-" She managed through gaps between her laughs.

"But what?"

Her laughing calmed down as she wrapped an arm around his waist, "nothing, don't worry about it. You'll be fine in a little bit the pain'll subside."

"I can't believe my own girlfriend is laughing at my pain that she almost caused." Demetri said with a small scoff with disbelief.

Y/n held out her free hand in defense, "Okay that's fair, but come on you would have laughed too if it was someone else in your position."

"...okay you're right, but that doesn't make it less hurtful." He admitted as he wobbled over to the side with Y/n.

Y/n kissed the boy on the cheek, "I'll make it up to you later."

Demetri turned his head towards her, "promise?"

Y/n chuckled, "that is if your dick stops hurting by then."

"I can feel it getting better already." He told her quickly, trying to act as if he wasn't feeling like he was dying.

Y/n rolled her eyes at him playfully, "yeah, yeah sure. We'll see about it later, I promise."

"You better." He pecked her on the lips.

----------------------------------------------------

AAAAAAAAAA THE ENDING. Anyways here you go @bigtimesexhaving MHUAH<3

#imagine #x reader #demetri alexopoulos x reader #demetri alexopoulos #demetri cobra kai #cobra kai x reader #cobra kai #miyagi do

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justveeing · 2 years

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But my god, if Daniel just got rid of the need to be the “good guy” he would be so much happier and successful in his mentor role!!! Not even talking about his need to become the second Mr. Miyagi, just his need to be on the “high moral ground” ALWAYS. He is his own obstacle.

Like, he can’t even manage to work with Johnny bc he is so busy making sure his kids “don’t stray to the dark path”, which, really, Daniel? You expect to work well with Johnny implying at every turn that his karate is less than yours? And well this is the fault of the writers, they did a good job of convoluting the whole “good/evil” karate styles now that there are THREE DOJOS. How does the dichtonomy works now? Cobra Kai = Evil, Miyagi Do = Good, Eagle Fang = A little Less Evil? (Well ain’t This is another can of worms).

I digress. If Daniel just let himself befriend Johnny properly, without thinking that by doing that he has somehow sacrificed his morals bc Johnny teaches his own version of Cobra Kai, he would be much happier. I feel as though he thinks he would tarnish himself. Again. And then if he could maybe admit that his parenting has been kinda shitty (not by shouting at your kid! DANIEL PLEASE) he would also shed that layer of guilt. But he doesn’t acknowledge that either! If he ignores it, it doesn’t exist. he SCOFFS at the idea of a therapist helping them! And then he still treats the whole Sam turning to Johnny for help so badly, like her moral code had been broken and he is disappointed because we are the good guys sam! We can’t go around kicking first like Johnny, a bad influence, says!

I know this boils down to… questionable writing. But i wish Daniel understood that being perceived as the good guy is not the same as doing good things/the right thing. Saying you’re on the right side of the mat doesn’t mean you are. ie: his whole talk in the mini mart with Robby.

#i’m just so frustrated with this evil vs good and high morals thing #it’s not even done GOOD so we end up w Daniel being like /that/#also lawrusso stop making this about YOU think of your KIDS #anyway heads a mess i need to rewatch #cobra kai spoilers #ck s4 spoilers #cobra kai season 4 spoilers

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messymindofmine · 2 years

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I feel like a lot of Johnny's bad parenting stems from the fact that he failed from the start with his mother dying, and never having great examples as parents himself. Especially in the father department. He has a father who abandoned him [which is ahem funny considering you know… he did the same basically], and Sid… Who is a miserable excuse of human existance. He didn't havve the proper tools, and was just ised to failing that he gives up. There's a bad history. With Miguel he doesn't have that history of disaapointing him, and Miguel doesn't have a history of Johnny failing him. So it's easier because Miguel can be more accepting because he isn't used to the constant disappointment of Johnny. Robby is so it makes it harder to trust, and Johny doesn't have the exact right tools. It could all be very ell explored, and I feel like I will always be hoping for better until the series end because they would do a good job with it. If they really called Johnny out and had him getting help and the tools to fix things, to build that trust back. I want so much for Johnny to do better.

I definitely believe that much of Johnny's issues with being a father stem from his own childhood and his experiences. It's understandable that he'd struggle with knowing how to be a dad bc he never had anyone in his life to fill that role (whatever else, Daniel always had Mr. Miyagi) and then lost his mother right before his son was born. That said, we saw him stand up to Sid and take back control from him. We even saw him begin to try to make amends with Robby (writing him that letter) but then he just dropped it after his car was torched by Louis. He could have still tried to reach out to Robby after that but he just didn't. He was so consumed with himself and his rivalry with Daniel that he just lost sight of what should always be the most important thing in his life-his relationship with Robby. He continues this pattern throughout the series. It's true that Johnny didn't really have the tools he needed to be a father to Robby when he was born but he didn't even try. I can understand him being consumed with his grief over his mother (aside from being the only family he had, she also clearly tried to shield him from Sid) but he chose to go on a drinking binge when his son was being born and then he chose to be absent from Robby's life since. I don't doubt that Johnny loves Robby but he has not even really tried to build a relationship with him. It's one thing to try and make mistakes but Johnny hasn't even tried. Even at the end of S4, it was Robby who went to Johnny. And judging by what we've seen of S5 so far, it looks like Johnny's still being an idiot when it comes to Robby. As far as Miguel is concerned, yes that history isn't there and that makes it easier for Johnny but Miguel isn't Johnny's son and he doesn't really need Johnny the same way Robby does. Any disappointment or anger on Robby's part is entirely on Johnny. Johnny actually choosing Miguel over his own son is on Johnny. The thing is, aside from there not being the history of disappointment, Miguel also practically worships the ground Johnny walks on. He's the first to stroke Johnny's ego whenever Johnny's down and we all know Johnny has got a massive ego. So naturally, Johnny's own ego combined with how easy it is with Miguel causes Johnny to favor Miguel. Of course, we all know that none of this is Robby's fault. The fact of the matter is, Johnny has had many chances to make things better with Robby but he messes things up every time. I do want to see Robby and Johnny have a better relationship (mainly for Robby's sake at this point) but that responsibility is on Johnny and Johnny alone.

Apologies for this long-winded answer and thank you for the ask! ❤️

#cobra kai #robby keene #johnny lawrence #johnny and robby

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indecisive-behaviors · 3 years

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Originally I was just going to add this as a reblog to my previous post about the parking lot scene in KK2 but it’s almost 2k words so now it’s getting it’s own post. Be forewarned- this is fucking long.

TW for discussion of PTSD, child abuse, neglect, injury, and death, in relation to topics surrounding the show, under the cut-

Obviously, Cobra Kai is a show based around the premise of “what happened to that Lawrence kid after he got kicked in the face?”, which is honestly a pretty cool idea for a show. Johnny’s story is never explained past sitting on the sidewalk with his head in his hands at the tournament, and there are no real context clue’s to figure out what may or may not have happened.

In the show we get to learn early on that Johnny’s life spiraled after the tournament, going from bad to worse to “holy shit how are you still alive”-dropping out/never going to college, working jobs he seems to hate, becoming an alcoholic, presumably many dead end relationships, and not being there for his kid. And yeah, obviously, this would be a hard pill to swallow for anyone watching the show if Johnny had just lost the tournament. If we never got the scene in KK2, he would have just been some kid who lost a tournament- we see at the end of the first movie that(through tears holy shit Billy) that Johnny is the one who gives the trophy to Daniel with his famous line, “You’re alright, LaRusso.” There’s a level of grudging respect in that moment that isn’t lost on anyone who sees that movie- that Johnny, who throughout the movie only sees Daniel as some whimpy kid, gets proven wrong and respects that. If we didn’t have that scene, there’s reason to believe Johnny would have apologized, tried to make amends, Something, even if it was just being less of a dick at school.

But then, we get the parking lot. We get a far off shot, intended to distance you from the scene, framed over Daniel’s shoulder. This makes sense, Daniel is the main character, the protagonist, the underdog hero- why wouldn’t it be framed in his perspective? But the scene is about Johnny. We get the shouting match, the back and forth- “No, you’re the loser man.”- and again it’s fairly obvious how Johnny sees this situation. This is a man who we assume(and is later confirmed) to be a surrogate father figure, who set his friend up for failure, and then basically forced him to do the same by targeting an injured opponent, and forcing him to fight without honor. This same man presumably follows a teenager out to the parking lot, to harass him, to tell him he’s off the team, to tell him he’s a loser, that he’s nothing.

But at that point, Johnny knows the truth, even if subconsciously. At the end of the day Johnny knows that Daniel LaRusso was a worthy opponent, and that regardless of the cheating and manipulation, Daniel could have won anyway, and did win, despite of it.

And then Kreese grabs him, too fast to react to, Johnny too surprised even knowing that Kreese is the bad guy here, not believing that he would ever willingly hurt him- and Johnny isn’t strong enough to fight him off, none of the boys are, so Johnny is forced to suffocate for almost a full 30 seconds(which I double checked for the record- also as a reference, 30 seconds is about the average time it takes for a person voluntarily holding their breath to pass out- this does not account for the oxygen lost during a struggle, and the lack of preparation from both surprise and panic. The only silver lining here is the fact that Kreese was most likely compressing his windpipe, not his jugular, which would have made him pass out in about 5-10 seconds, and would have caused permanent brain damage or death in about 15).

Now, PTSD is a complex thing. I’m not a psychiatrist, and what small amount of information we have is all we have to work off of, but I feel fairly comfortable in saying Johnny mostly likely developed it after the incident. This not an uncommon take in the fandom as far as I’m aware either. But, if we assume this, we also have to assume that after the fact nothing would have been done about this. Not just in the sense that we still don’t really know everything that happened right after the tournament, but that in the early 80s, PTSD wasn’t really a thing yet.

Sure it was absolutely a condition that existed, but Post Traumatic Stress Disorder wasn’t even added to the DSM-III until 1980- and for a long time afterward, was only seen as a condition that affected primarily war vets. Even after an event as traumatic as having a man you considered a father trying to kill you, in public, without remorse, would not have been seen as something to warrant the diagnoses, let alone treatment.

Johnny Lawrence was 17 when Kreese tried to kill him, and this boy would have been offered no resources beyond filing charges with the police. And as we see in KK3, either this didn’t happen either, or someone(presumably Silver) got the charges dropped. So on top of almost being murdered, Johnny had to live with the fact that the man who did that to him was still out there, and to top it off, still ran a dojo at least for a few months after the event. The only relief he could have gotten is after Kreese faked his death.

And sure, Mr Miyagi may have gotten Kreese to let go eventually, but as several people have pointed out in comments and tags, left him and the other boys alone with Kreese still standing there in the parking lot and just... drove off. Kreese has already been established to be a psycho with no problem hurting children, a little bit of glass might not have prevented him from trying again.

So why did I talk about all of that? Because it all contributes to why Daniel LaRusso works as a credible antagonist in season 1 of Cobra Kai.

Think about this- Johnny blames losing everything on Daniel in season 1, but we specifically get a shot in KK1 and later KK2(”You’re alright, LaRusso” and “I did my best” come to mind) where he seems to be at least mostly accepting of the fact that he lost(with what was actually an illegal kick but that’s a rant for another time). So why does he blame him for everything 30 years later?

Because 30 years later, Johnny is forced to go outside, go to work, and pretend like he doesn’t see what feels like every street corner(including right outside his apartment mind you), a literal billboard sized reminder of what happened to him.

The rest of this is mostly speculation but it makes sense in my head so bear with me.

When we get introduced to Robby, it’s made pretty clear that Johnny has not been in his life for a bit. In season 2 we get Johnny’s heart to heart with Miguel, where he divulges that he missed the birth, because he spiraled after his mom’s death. This however doesn’t suggest that he stayed gone, especially knowing that it wasn’t long enough for Robby to not consider seeking out his dad. Because tacked up to the fridge, is a picture of Robby in his soccer uniform as a kid. It’s an early detail you can see in previous episodes, and says a lot about how Robby grew up. To be fair, this could have been given to him by Shannon, and not taken himself, but it’s the sport Robby’s playing that makes me question this. KK1 dedicates an entire scene to Johnny being on the soccer team in high school. Soccer, while maybe not as important to him as karate, is still part of his character. Robby does not know karate in season 1, Johnny obviously didn’t share it with him, but that doesn’t mean Johnny didn’t share anything with him.

So Johnny’s back in his kids life, maybe doing better for himself, maybe cutting back on the drinking. LaRusso Auto is already established to exist at this point but it’s in Encino, a place Johnny has no reason to go to, and probably doesn’t want to. He’s trying again and things are okay. But Robby knows enough about Daniel to know that going to him will piss off his dad. So Johnny had to have talked about him at some point. The billboards here are what’s important- they’re in the first episode, the first scene montage, Johnny draws a dick on one of them as some petty revenge.

The first billboard goes up in the late 2000s to mid 2010s. Johnny sees it, maybe he has Robby with him at the time, maybe he goes home and says something there, but he says something in a way that sticks with even a child as being important. More billboards go up. Dealerships starting popping up more and more. Daniel’s face, and by extension, the memories, the flashbacks, become inescapable. Johnny, for a third time, spirals again. Before he even knows what’s happening, he’s lost his relationship with his son. And it’s all Daniel’s fault. Of course Daniel doesn’t do it deliberately, but the constant reminders are enough to send him back into a tailspin and Johnny blames him for it.

Because it’s Daniel who is a constant reminder of his failures- it’s Daniel who caused him to lose the tournament and almost get killed, Daniel who put up the billboards that trigger his flashbacks, it’s always Daniel Daniel Daniel.

And then Johnny gets it in his head that he wants to be better. He opens a dojo, teaches Miguel and the other kids, wants to try again- and he almost succeeds.

Johnny up to this point has not deliberately antagonized Daniel in any way. Sure he named the dojo Cobra Kai, but Cobra Kai is all he knows. Besides Johnny doesn’t blame karate for his failures, his best memories are Cobra Kai and he’s trying to be better than Kreese. So what’s the harm in this really? His building is in Reseda, there’s no reason for Daniel to ever be there, he doesn’t do it out of spite, it’s because he lives there and rent is cheap. He doesn’t know about KK3, doesn’t know about Daniel’s own trauma. This isn’t an attack. Johnny sincerely just doesn’t know.

Enter Daniel, stage left. Daniel makes no attempt to talk to him- he simply makes demands and accusations, before he starts making active attempts to put him out of business.

Sure, we as the audience know Daniel has good reasons to not want Cobra Kai back. But Johnny doesn’t. All Johnny knows is that the kid he picked on in high school- who won, who got everything Johnny wanted, who grew up to be successful, has a wonderful wife, two kids who love him, a thriving business- is doing everything he can to make his life hell 30 years after the fact.

And this could only have happened because in 1986 John G. Avildsen decided to add in a scene meant for the original movie into the sequel, for absolutely no fucking reason.

#meta analysis #ranting about cobra kai cuz I can #johnny lawrence #daniel larusso #cobra kai #karate kid #I will never get over the fact that that was an actual scene that they filmed #and then got no resolution #FOR 30 YEARS #I apologize to everyone for this post #obviously I have a lot of feelings about this

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inadequate-nefelibata · 3 years

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Maybe if I put this into words it’ll stop bothering me.

Anyway, I’m about to be a “hater” so if you don’t want to deal with that, uh. that’s your warning, I guess?

I just, I thought that rewriting Ali and Johnny’s reunion would help but I still need to rant about it apparently.

Okay.

Johnny is not just a shitty ex boyfriend in the film. He’s not just being an annoying jerk. His actions are pretty serious, and Ali’s reaction to them is also pretty serious. He’s controlling and possessive. He’s basically treating her like she’s his, and that’s after she broke up with him and made it very clear that she did not want to speak to him.

I know that the film is mostly from Daniel’s perspective, and now that the show has revived their rivalry, it’s easy to consider Johnny and Daniel’s relationship as something that stands on his own.

But think about Ali’s perspective for a moment. She broke up with this guy some weeks ago. On the beach, she explicity says that she wants him to leave her alone, and it seems like it’s not the first time she has had to do that (“We’ve been over this, alright? I don’t want to talk.” Also, she clearly recognizes them from afar and kicks the ball pretty far, so that Daniel won’t be there when they arrive. In short, this may have happened before. Or, at least, she expects this kind of behavior from him.) Before she meets Daniel, she’s already dealing with a shitty situation where she’s putting up with someone that doesn’t respect her boundaries.

So, she meets this guy and starts considering the idea of dating him. That’s what she wants to do: she’s single, she’s ready to move on. And suddenly, her ex decides that, since he’s not over her, he’s not going to allow that to happen. He gets into a fight with the guy, kicks his ass, badly (while one of his friends is physically holding Ali back so she can’t intervene), and then he blames it on her, because she refused to go with him when he asked her to. I’m not reading between the lines here, he literally tells her that.

Ali agreeing to go talk to him because of the fight tells us that she feels like she’s responsible in some way, even though she understands that it’s not her fault. Responsible doesn’t feel like the right word. You know when you realize that something is not your fault, but you know that you can change the situation, and you also know that the person that’s actually in the wrong won’t stop, so it kinda feels like it’s up to you to do what you can? That.

When I say that Johnny’s being controlling, I mean it. He’s not just acting like a jealous ex, throwing a tantrum. He’s actively trying to control Ali’s love life. Yes, at some point, his hatred for Daniel becomes its own thing. But in the beginning he sees him as an obstacle for getting “his girl” back and that’s why he’s going after him. There are two ways he’s trying to keep Ali from moving on. On one hand, he’s attempting to drive Daniel away. If Daniel was less of a brave idiot, at this point he probably would have been like “Ali, you’re nice but this guy wants to kill me. See ya!”

It’s a pretty straight forward way of “marking your territory” (ugh), and I think Johnny’s doing it consciously. The second one is aimed at Ali. Now, there are certain lines Johnny won’t cross, in the movie, so of course he won’t use physical violence against her. But, he is making her feel like as long as she’s trying to date Daniel, he’s going to be in physical danger. I don’t know if Johnny recognizes it as trying to force her hand, but from Ali’s perspective, not doing what Johnny wants her to do is putting someone in danger.

Honestly, when I watched the Karate kid the first time, I liked her as a character but I was pretty focused on Daniel and Mr. Miyagi. Now that I re-watched the beach scene, I focused on her. Her dialogue and her expressions. And everything feels worse somehow. And I felt for Daniel, but I’m picturing the situation she’s in and it’s... I don’t know. It’s so FUCKED. I’ve never been on a situation like that. I’m familiar with the experience of men not taking no for an answer in public spaces, but I’ve never been in a situation where I feel like if I don’t go back to a partner or, at least, if I don’t stop pursuing a new relationship, a person I care about is going to suffer the consequences. Physically. It really doesn’t seem like something I would forget easily though.

I know that since Ali saw Daniel win the tournament, the real scary part of the situation went away. But I think Ali would still remember those moments. The fucked emotions don’t just go away once the threat is no longer real.

And even without that, she was just so pissed at him. It’s obvious that she hates being treated like a prize or a prop. Maybe I’m projecting because I have zero tolerance for that bullshit, but she seems like a pretty independent person. I imagine that she would take any attempt at controlling her very very seriously.

(have you consider taking karate lessons, queen?)

side note: I also got this caption from the beach scene.

I always thought Freddy was a shitty friend, but now that I’ve seen the scene again, I noticed that he seems kind of sad. Like he’s being pressured to stop taking to Daniel. Hmmm. Redemption arc for Freddy, it’s what I’m saying.

Anyway, throw in a non-consensual kiss and... emmm. While I agree that Ali didn’t spend the last 34 years thinking about the past like Johnny and Daniel did, the writers take that at step further and assume that she has no negative feeling towards Johnny. I don’t think that makes sense.

Which makes me wonder, how do they interpret his behavior in the film? Do they see it as controlling?

It’s weird because I thought they understood the implications, based on how they portrayed Miguel during the tournament. Not just the “no mercy” part. They specifically had him repeating Johnny’s controlling behavior. When Sam sort of rejects his apology and questions him, Miguel says this:

I thought, surely this is showing how Johnny didn’t just pass on the “no mercy” values to his students, he also passed down his misogyny. Once again, we see a jealous ex threatening his gf with physical violence against a potential new boyfriend.

But now, I don’t know?

Did they intend to make that comparison or was it just a superficial parallel? Did they mean to address that at some point and then decided that they wanted a happy reunion? I don’t get it. I watched the show some time ago, I only rewatched this scenes recently. But honestly, even if I’m forgetting something, that reunion scene still looks pretty terrible.

I mean, look at this:

I’m going to give the writers some credit and assume that’s not a literal call-back to the scene. But Jesus Christ.

#cobra kai #cobra kai meta #johnny lawrence #ali mills #sorry for being a hater but i really really really really hated that scene #so #yeah #meta

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mimsyaf · 3 years

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TKK3, some thoughts: Suddenly there’s a lot of fic that engages with the absolute batshit crazy house of mirrors that is The Karate Kid Part III, and I’m fascinated. Why? I mean Terry Silver (who is his own trigger warning) is a long, tall drink of water, for sure for sure. And we now know that he’ll be featured in the next season of Cobra Kai, which — yay! bring it! But I think, as aesthetically pleasing as Terry Silver is, as “Batter my heart, three-person’d God” as the gaze is that Daniel casts upon him, there are primarily narrative irritants that are calling forth these pearls of TKK3 writing. As opposed to just thirst.

If TKK3 had not existed, we would have a somewhat straightforward and discouraging character arc on our hands for Daniel LaRusso. From luminous, impetuous, ardent, curious boy he grows into a middle-aged man who has not learned yet how to forgive, who chases wealth and outward status at the expense of wisdom. This man still glimmers with love and passion and temper but now these fires are banked under heavy grey ashes of complacency, pettiness, insecurity and self-satisfaction. And he knows it! He’s aware of all of this on some level! Without TKK3, the narrative arc is that Nothing Gold Can Stay. When you grow up, your heart dies. At least in part, and then Cobra Kai is for Daniel an attempt to rouse himself from his coma, in which Johnny (on the surface the antagonist) is actually a necessary and rousing jolt to awaken him.

But! TKK3 does exist, and is a profoundly weird, fun, flawed piece. Two of the main creatives involved had deep reservations about making it. The writer did not want to write it — he had an entire other script already mapped out in which Mr. Miyagi and Daniel were hanging out in a boat, and Daniel falls asleep and basically dreams the entire plot of Crouching Tiger. Hidden Dragon, inasmuch as it is a Chinese martial arts story, and they fly. And! The protagonist was going to be a girl? But the studio execs said Nyet, we want another story in the formula of TKK, and if you don’t write it we’ll give the script to someone who will, and they will irrevocably fuck up Mr. Miyagi, (and it will probably be unwittingly suuuuper racist) and that will be all your fault. And then presumably they laughed like Terry Silver, HAHAHAHAHA! So the writer had a gun to his head, no, worse, to his beloved character’s head, and I do think he wrote TKK3 through gritted teeth so to speak. Parts of it read like a fuck you to the producers: “you want a bad guy?? Fine, he runs a TOXIC WASTE DISPOSAL COMPANY and wanders around naked and laughing maniacally all the time, is that villainous enough for you??” But because he did truly love Daniel and Mr. Miyagi, he kept threading tender scenes about compassion and found family into the hot and dramatic mess of the script. It’s like if Trois Gnossiennes started playing during a quiet moment in Carmina Burana, like WTF? Oh and also it’s a meditation on trauma and grooming and abuse.

And then Ralph Macchio ALSO had reservations about being involved. He didn’t want to risk spoiling the delight and hope and joie de vivre of the first two movies with an inferior third sequel, and also he was getting rilly old to play a teenager, and wanted to move on. I imagine he felt the flaw in the script and rather than rising above it, at times he sank under it, in part due to his ambivalence. And Thomas Ian Griffith had basically not ever acted before apart from a recurring role on a soap opera, and though he is a thing of beauty and a joy forever in this movie, not everything he’s doing makes sense, as like, acting. Or a coherent character arc. Or human behavior.

So in between the luminous boy Daniel of TKK and TKK2 and the infuriating but deeply lovable man Daniel of Cobra Kai is this utterly flawed work, that dances with questions of trauma and self-betrayal and then ends with a few minutes of soft core torture porn at The All Valley and resolves in about 30 seconds with a rehash of the victory from TKK, but in a way that makes no sense given everything that came before that moment.

And Terry Silver just like, wanders off. Mildly perturbed. And he and Kreese apparently don’t do anything else to Daniel LaRusso for 30-something years. But whatever.

Dreams are the brain’s way of working in emotional problems, and I think the flourishing gardens of Terry Silver-centric fic right now are all of us trying to dream our way to a solution to the problem of Daniel LaRusso, and dealing with some truly nutso source material that doesn’t fit in neatly with the rest of canon. But long live the flaws! My experience is that many artistically unimpeachable works don’t inspire much fiction, as there’s not gaps for us to attempt to bridge with our spider silk.

Sorry this is such a ramble!

#meta #tkk3 #terry silver #daniel larusso

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shortcrust · 3 years

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Audio transcript of appointment between Lt. Ranger John Lawrence (ID J-JLAW_122.21-C) and Dr. Cai Qiu Yue (ID C-CQIU_824.65-D)

PPDC Mandated Counseling, Session #84 1601 HKT, December 19 2024

CQY: So, Johnny. How did the sparring session go?

JL: Don’t give me that look.

CQY: What look? This is just my face.

JL: You know about LaRusso.

CQY: I don’t know anything which you haven’t chosen to tell me for certain. But I’m sure you’re aware of how Shatterdome walls like to talk.

JL: [inaudible]

CQY: This is still easier if you speak to me, not to your hands.

JL: I said I can’t believe it.

CQY: How are you feeling?

JL: Don’t know.

CQY: Okay. Let’s set some parameters.

JL: You love those.

CQY: Sure do. Should have been in K-Science. [pause] Alright. Wikipedia’s entry on Ranger LaRusso states the following; ‘Daniel LaRusso is an American pilot with the Pan Pacific Defence Corps. LaRusso helmed the Japanese jaeger Perfect Balance alongside Nariyoshi Miyagi until the latter’s death in 2020. His exit from active service removed the last of the Mark 1 jaegers from operation’. Would you say that is accurate?

JL: No.

CQY: How so?

JL: He didn’t ‘exit service’. He pussied out.

CQY: He experienced an incredibly traumatic event. I would have thought that, of all people, you might have some understanding for how that must have felt.

JL: I didn’t take all the glory then quit when the going got rough.

CQY: No. And I would encourage you to feel sympathy about that, the next time you have dinner with Marshal Brown.

JL: [pause] Point taken.

CQY: Can you describe what happened for me? Today?

JL: He was on the mat with Miguel. He’d already been through most of the trainees and they were - fine, my kids are good, they’re great. But that wasn’t it; it just wasn’t lookin’ right. None of them were doing it wrong but I could just see how LaRusso wasn’t getting into it, was missing all these openings. It pissed me off.

CQY: Because….

JL: Because he’s a good fighter! He should have been better than that. Like, how the hell am I meant find him a co-pilot if he won’t try.

CQY: Did you?

JL: Try, or find him a co-pilot?

CQY: Take your pick.

JL: Back when me and Bobby were in Cobra, it wasn’t - it was like we anticipated each other’s moves, you know? I could just guess what he was going to do next. With LaRusso it was more like I already knew. Like it was he was already in my head, and he’d read and practiced some kinda instructions written on the inside of my skull. He knew like I did. Like some other part of me.

CQY: And yet you don’t like him.

JL: Absolute shit for brains. [pause] Wait.

CQY: Perhaps not the best insult under the circumstances. Are you apprehensive about the drift?

JL: Not my first rodeo.

CQY: I imagine Ranger LaRusso feels similarly.

JL: What, you talk to him too?

CQY: You have to know by now that I can’t tell you that.

JL: Yeah, y-

CQY: But no, I don’t. Have your seen your new jaeger?

JL: Hah, ‘new’. She’s a refurb.

CQY: Aren’t we all?

JL: I wish.

CQY: What do you think?

JL: I think she’s gorgeous. I think she’s one of the most beautiful machines that man has ever made, and I can’t wait to die in her.

CQY: I see.

JL: Isn’t this where you usually tell me to be more optimistic?

CQY: John, the last time we spoke you were a highly specialised gym instructor. Now you’re suiting up to drive a 8,000 tonne robot for the first time in over a decade. There is no ‘usually’ here, and I’m not in the habit of lying to you.

JL: You know they’re not technically robots, right?

CQY: Yes. Don’t think I don’t notice you attempting to distract me, but yes. I do know that.

JL: They’re letting me name her.

CQY: Oh?

JL: Don’t tell anyone, in case it gets back to LaRusso. Don’t want him to give me some pretentious sh- stuff. But I’m thinking Eagle Fang.

CQY: Eagle… Fang?

JL: Yeah. Like it?

CQY: I think it’s more important that you do. On different note; how is Robby?

JL: Still won’t speak to me. Still not speaking to me from the middle of the continent, though, so I’m taking the win.

CQY: Did you reach out to him like we talked about last week? Have you told him about your change in circumstances?

JL: He’s the one looking at the numbers. He’s a smart kid, he knows.

CQY: And Cadet Diaz? Have you told him?

JL: Oh, come on. He definitely knows. Have you looked out the fucking window recently?

CQY: John.

JL: Sorry. [pause] Yue, I can either keep the kids safe by putting them as far away from the action as possible, or by teaching them how to fight. Call it playing the odds. Not that mine have never been all that great.

CQY: I understand that you still aren’t open to discussing the situation with Sergeant Diaz -

JL: [crosstalk] You’re goddamn right I’m not.

CQY: [crosstalk] But I feel obliged to state for the record that what happened is in no way your fault. She was an exceedingly competent pilot who knew the risks she was taking, same as you.

JL: Yeah sure, I knew the risks. Still ended up putting her in a fucking wheelchair. [pause] Sorry.

CQY: I’ll let the ’goddamn’ slide. Call it an early Christmas present. [pause] John, I understand that for how closely you have been involved with the training and co-ordinating the jaeger program these last few years, there is a world of difference between teaching and doing. I would just like you to be able to feel whatever it is you need to feel about that.

JL: Well, doc, that was as delightful as ever. Same time next week?

CQY: Holidays.

JL: Oh, right. Hey, think they’ll still be paying us in January?

CQY: I’ve been stealing the cutlery from the canteen for years. If I pawn it I can probably keep us going for ano- [alarm siren begins sounding, recording ends abruptly]

[ Clearance D - Do not distribute or remove from PPDC site ]

#realised Cobra Kai could be a jaeger name and this au sprung forth fully formed #you can't see but my t-shirt says Ask Me About My Pacific Rim AU #cobra kai #pacific rim #johnny lawrence

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simply-not-an-egg · 3 years

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LONG POST AHEAD: YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED

The fact that I’m making this a word document first I –

Anyway, so I mentioned last night I had finished my deconstruction/analysis of the infamous beach scene from The Karate Kid, and that I was going to post a more in-depth analysis of Johnny and Ali’s feelings throughout. As an added bonus, I will be doing this along with the feelings of Bobby Brown, Dutch, and Daniel LaRusso. This is Part One in a three-part series.

Johnny Lawrence

This is the first scene we ever see Johnny in; this is his introduction into the series. Now, to someone watching this scene for the first time, without any background information gathered from Johnny’s character throughout the assorted Karate Kid Universe (or as I like to call it the KKU – I’m probably not the only one but oh well. I hear a lot of the creators calling it the Miyagi-verse, but I feel like KKU encompasses things in a better way, but anyway, back to the point of this), a viewer would likely think that Johnny Lawrence is a bit of an asshole. I, though, am not one of those people – I have gone into this analysis with the prior knowledge of Johnny’s upbringing, this being a rewatch after having watched Cobra Kai a few weeks ago. And such prior knowledge comes in handy when it comes to discussing these characters, especially Johnny Lawrence.

For some quick context information before I begin to discuss Johnny’s feelings in depth; Johnny Lawrence and Ali Mills had been together for two years prior to this scene, from the summer of 1982 to the summer of 1984. Recently, Ali has broken up with Johnny, due to the fact that, instead of attending her birthday party, he got drunk with his friends at a bar, henceforth forgetting about the birthday. What is important to note here though, before I continue, is that Johnny did not have any intention hurting Ali in such a way, as evidenced by his persistence to talk to her and set things straight, and, at the end of the day, ultimately be her boyfriend again. We also know that Ali was Johnny’s most trusted person in his life at that point, aside from his mother, Laura, and having that suddenly be ripped away, especially considering the fact that it was and is hard for him to make good relationships with anyone due to his history of being abused by family and manipulated by Kreese, would have caused him a great amount of pain and upset, something I can understand on a personal level, as Johnny and I are quite similar in character and the fact that we both share people-related trauma (at varying levels though, his being much more extreme than mine). I know from experience that it is one of the most painful, stressful, anxiety-inducing things to have someone you’ve shared so much of your guarded life with be taken from you all of a sudden, in whatever way you interpret taken to be.

So, the moment Johnny steps, or rather rides, on screen, we know what he is feeling; hurt, upset, scared. That being said, he is also feeling a sense of determination and assuredness, evidenced by the fact that he believes wholeheartedly that he and Ali will talk, and that he will be able to set things straight. This, of course, all comes crashing down when Tommy points Johnny’s focus to the scene unfolding on the beach; some stranger is down there, touching Ali’s arms as the two laugh and smile, before the two fall backwards, one on top of the other. This causes Johnny to feel anger, and I am going to argue here that it is less anger towards this stranger, but more so towards himself; he was too late, and that was his fault.

And the reason I say that this anger was more so directed to himself is because of his behaviour once he and his friends arrive at the beach; he is civil towards Ali, and, even though he knew this stranger was lurking not far away, he was not seeking him out. As Johnny himself states later in the scene, all he wanted to do was talk. Those were his only intentions coming to the beach, no more and no less.

The first thing Johnny does when talking to Ali then, on the beach, is kneeling down in front of her, so that they can be eye-to-eye, and I find this important to note as doing such a thing makes Johnny vulnerable. From someone like him (at least, for the people that have never seen anything in the KKU), one would expect that Johnny would stand while talking to Ali, who is sitting, as this is an intimidation tactic. But he does not, because he does not intend to scare Ali in any way – that’s one of the last things he wants to do – all he wants to do is talk.

In response to Johnny, who has spoken in a neutral tone to Ali when asking to speak to her, Ali is instantly aggressive in tone, telling him that they’ve already been through this, which in turn tells us that they have already talked before, or at least Ali may have (because from this scene alone I am inclined to believe that Ali wouldn’t have been inclined to hear Johnny out the first time, instead just letting her own feelings out and setting them on the table). Asking a second time to talk to Ali then, tone still neutral, Johnny then also turns Ali’s radio off in an attempt to get her to listen to him. Some may argue that this was bad behaviour on his part, but I disagree – he’s still being civil, he hasn’t shown any hint of aggression, again, that isn’t his intention. All he’s trying to do is get Ali’s attention in the nicest way he can, and since just talking to her isn’t working, maybe turning off the radio will.

At this point you’re also probably wondering why Johnny didn’t just leave by this point in time, but in this case one must remember, by nature, Johnny is a very stubborn person, and when his mind is set on doing something, he’ll keep trying until that something gets done (something I can once again relate to, as my personality is the same). It should also be noted that Ali, again, is a very important figure in his life, and he has hurt her, so all he wants to do now is try and make her feel better, or at least to try and fix what he ruined.

In response to Johnny turning the radio off, Ali turns it on again – she is quite set on not talking to him – and it is at this point, Johnny having been ignored in such a way, Johnny stands and takes the radio from Ali, turning it off again. It is then when his mood turns, although, again, upset at being ignored in such a way as he now feels, he is still relatively civil. He does not shout at Ali when he speaks to her again; yes his tone is a little more aggressive, but he refuses to raise his voice at her.

And while we’re here I would also like to quickly discuss the feelings running through Johnny’s head, the main feeling at this point, not being anger, but pain. He’s spent much of his life being ignored by people, being ignored and shunned and turned away, and such a thing takes its toll on the mind. Of course, by now, he’s probably more or less used to it, but in saying that it’s obvious he was also used to Ali always being open to listen to him – after all, as Johnny later says in Cobra Kai, Ali was the only person he ever fully let his guard down on – and her suddenly ignoring him as harshly as she is, would be causing him to feel a lot of pain.

Another thing that only escalates this pain, and brings forward a deep feeling of mistrust, is what happens next; Ali promises that she will talk to Johnny if he returns the radio to her, so he does, he returns the radio to her. She, though, backs out of her promise, instead turning the radio back on and ignoring him again.

It says a lot about Johnny’s character and his relationship with Ali when it comes to how he gave the radio back like that; once again, he doesn’t mean harm, he just wants to talk, and this only re-establishes that fact. But her ignoring him again, and breaking her promise, as I stated before, just goes on to increase the feeling of hurt, dismantle any feeling of hope he may have felt when Ali made that promise, and unearths a feeling of mistrust. And that feeling of pain and mistrust is important and plays a big role in Johnny’s next actions.

This time Johnny takes the radio and throws it on the ground in frustration. This is when he becomes very much uncivil. But bad as his actions are here, I can understand them completely. Aside from all the emotions he’s feeling at the moment, we also need to remember that Johnny doesn’t know how to deal with his emotions in a positive way.

Throughout his childhood he hid them, his anger, his tears, his pain, due to the consistent abuse handed down to him by Sid, and this worsens upon reaching his preteen years, as that is when he joins Cobra Kai and that is when Kreese gets a hold of him, and that is when Kreese begins his manipulations; reinforcing that tears are a sign of weakness, that talking about how you feel is a sign of weakness. This is when Johnny also learns that the only way to deal with his frustrations is in a physical manner – he learns that he needs to hurt others so they can feel his pain too, and so he can feel at least a little better than before (but not really better, because we all know, on the inside, this pain Johnny causes others only gives him a sense of regret because, at his core, he is a good person that bad things have happened to (yes I just used a Sirius Black quote, fight me, uwu). He knows what he is doing his wrong. But he doesn’t know how to stop it).

This is the moment then when Daniel enters the scene. But note, that Johnny does not attack Daniel as soon as he sees him; he gives him a word of warning, telling him to not touch the radio. Even when Daniel does pick up the radio all Johnny does is take it from him and question, in a teasing manner, if he’s deaf. Following that, he then shoves the radio in Daniel’s chest, which causes him to lose his footing and fall on his back. It is from this point on where Johnny thinks of Daniel as a threat.

And again, we can understand why; his emotions are already heighted and raw, and Daniel entering the scene frankly just made those emotions even more raw, if such a thing is possible. Again, Johnny never intended to go after Daniel (his intentions were simply to talk to Ali), but the moment Daniel arrived to the scene, that acted as an invitation for Johnny to let his feelings out on Daniel. Because now he also realises, or at the very least assumes, that Daniel is the problem; he’s now standing in the way of Johnny and Ali, figuratively and literally.

Following this, Daniel then runs to swing at Johnny, and once again, what Johnny does next is very telling of his true personality; Johnny trips Daniel. He goes completely backward on the motto that has constantly been playing in his head (strike first, strike hard, no mercy), and instead does not strike first or hard, and he shows mercy. A second time, Daniel runs at Johnny, and again all Johnny does his trip him.

It is only when Freddy’s gang and Johnny’s gang begin egging the two on, when Johnny makes a move, but for close watchers, it is Daniel who leans into striking first. While it is true he didn’t actually hit or kick Johnny first, he did make the motion to do such a thing, and in response Johnny fought back.

Now, I will say, it was a bit too much, the degree at which Johnny fought back, and it was absolutely wrong of Johnny to be so aggressive towards an amateur, not even, but once again we can understand why he did it. Once again, emotions aside for the moment, he has been thrown into a setting here where he’s supposed to be committing to proper combat, and in his head, I can guarantee, the only thing in there other than how he feels are those teachings from Kreese. Strike First. Strike Hard. No Mercy.

Daniel now on the ground now, Johnny talks to Ali again, telling her this is her fault, and that all he wanted to do was talk. And as aggressively as he delivers that sentence, I believe behind there there is true pain in what he says; we know Johnny, at heart, is a good person, we know that he is going to regret what he’s done to Daniel whether that be sooner or later, and of course he’ll regret what he did to Ali’s radio, and we know that that regret is going to cause Johnny a lot of pain. Because he doesn’t necessarily mean to take his anger out like that, but he doesn’t know how to do it any other way.

For a second time Ali tells Johnny she will talk to him, granted he leaves Daniel alone, but this time Johnny turns down the offer; he doesn’t believe her anymore, not after her broken promise from a few minutes earlier. Following this then Johnny makes his way to Daniel. He delivers a light tease, but does not instigate another fight – again, it was not his intention to fight in the first place and I strongly believe he would have avoided it, if he and Daniel, especially Daniel, hadn’t been peer-pressured and egged on to the degree that they were. In anger, Daniel then stands and punches Johnny in the mouth. In response, Johnny kicks Daniel twice and punches him in the face.

Again, I will say, this is too much on Johnny’s part, but again, I can understand why he did it. He felt the need to defend himself, on top of the fact that he was struggling with all these internal emotions, and didn’t know of any other way to deal with them.

Following this Ali starts hitting Johnny in the chest, quite hard, but again telling of his character, he does not make to defend himself at all when she does this to him. He does though, in anger, say this is Ali’s fault, something again he will later come to regret, whereas she returns his sentiment, saying everything is his fault and questioning why he always has to fight. He does not provide an answer, instead leaving the beach then with a swear, driving over the radio and getting sand in Daniel’s face all the while.

We do not see Johnny again until school the next day.

This scene, to me, is the most telling of Johnny’s personality. This scene, along with the scenes at the All Valley Tournament at the end of the movie. He never intends to be bad, he never intends to misbehave. He just doesn’t understand how to deal with his emotions, due to a life of living with abuse, whether by family or by Kreese. His intentions, as I’ve mentioned throughout, were never to fight Daniel. They were just to talk to Ali. They were just to fix what he had broken.

Like I said before, Johnny Lawrence is not an inherently bad person. On the inside, he’s a good person, who bad things have happened to.

#johnny lawrence #daniel larusso #ali mills #freddy fernandez #cobra kai #karate kid #lawrusso #yes i have tagged this lawrusso because i feel as though this is very important lore #john kreese #he gets last tag cuz i don't like him

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demetriandelibinaryboyfriends · 3 years

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Do you think that Hawk going violet will happen in a big emotional time? Like he's feeling like he's still a Cobra and gets confused and wants to leave Miyagi-fang (?) but something happens and he realizes that he's not a Cobra.

YESSSS this would be great!!!

Like I’m imagining Hawk feeling pretty conflicted because it’s been several weeks and STILL no one in the dojo really seems to like or trust him aside from Demetri and Miguel. Like even Mitch and Bert are wary of him, having seen firsthand how far under Kreese’s influence he ended up falling--and perhaps they’re a little jealous too, since he got to stay in Cobra Kai while they were both booted out. Johnny is glad to have Hawk back in his class, but he still can’t help but be a little angry with him for choosing Kreese over him initially--he knows HE’S the one who toughened Hawk up, not Kreese, and he can’t help but remember how readily Hawk dismissed him at first.

Maybe word gets out about Hawk trashing the Miyagi-Do dojo the previous summer--perhaps Miguel confides in Sam about it, and Sam, in a moment of hotheaded weakness, storms out into the dojo courtyard and confronts Hawk. I dunno if she would be mean enough to yell at him in front of everyone, but people almost certainly overhear regardless--and when it gets back to Daniel, ohhh boy. Hawk and Daniel were warming up to one another, and Daniel was even trying to help Hawk through some of his anger issues--but once he finds out that Hawk stole Mr. Miyagi’s medal of honor, all bets are off. (At least for now--Daniel has a way of coming around. But Hawk sure as hell doesn’t know that.)

After the whispers about what Hawk did the previous summer start spreading around the dojo, people avoid him even more. People look at him like he’s even more of a monster. Daniel doesn’t interact with him any more than is absolutely necessary. Hawk apologizes, of course--tries to channel as much emotion into it as he can so people know it’s genuine. But no one seems to believe him, and he can’t help but be confused about what else he’s supposed to do. Apologies for him have always been a one-and-done deal, and he’s not sure why everyone else isn’t accepting it like Demetri was. He doesn’t know what else to do to communicate he’s serious.

Demetri and Miguel both vouch for him, of course. Demetri especially--he’s used to getting across what Eli’s trying to communicate, attuned from years of practically being Eli’s voice. Demetri never wants to leave Hawk’s side, standing centimeters apart from him at karate practice and swinging a protective arm around him to squeeze his shoulder whenever people shoot Hawk suspicious looks. Despite his friends’ efforts, Hawk is miserable--he feels like he’s under the worst kind of microscope, and no matter what he does, no one is going to trust him.

He feels guilty about it, but he finds himself longing for his Cobra Kai days. How he was respected, feared, celebrated for his strength and his fighting skills and his ruthlessness. Now, it feels like everyone flinches at them--even Miguel and Demetri, on occasion. He just isn’t admired--just isn’t appreciated--like he used to be, no matter how much Demetri tries to reassure him. “I know they’ll trust you eventually. It’ll just take time!”

Hawk isn’t sure they’re ever going to trust him.

Sometimes he wonders if he should go back to Cobra Kai, regain the fame and the prowess and the fear of everyone who dared to cross him. He’d take Miguel and Demetri, of course--he can’t bear to be pitted against either of them ever again. But a bit of intensive training on the side for both of them, and he’s sure they could make it in Kreese’s Cobra Kai. They’re both incredibly skilled fighters, and the thought of the three of them becoming the three most intimidating fighters in the Valley is oddly cathartic to Hawk. The three most pathetic losers in the school, risen to great heights to be terrifying warriors who people were scared to so much as breathe wrong around. Demetri will come, Hawk is sure--Demetri would follow him anywhere, as long as he gets Hawk’s word that Hawk will never turn on him again. And Miguel...well, it might take some convincing to get him to leave the LaRusso girl, but if Demetri comes, Miguel will surely want to be with his two best friends more than his annoying girlfriend.

Hawk is walking home one day from karate training (a training that Demetri never showed up to--a bit odd, but Hawk figures he must have just called out because he had a lot of AP homework), thinking about how best to try and loop Miguel and Demetri into extra training, when his phone rings. He picks up, and it’s Miguel--panicked, hyperventilating, voice cracking like he’s been crying, rushing words out through raspy breaths. He’s hard to understand, talking fast with his voice choked with sobs, but Hawk makes out something about “Demetri” and “an ambush near the park.”

Hawk is at the location in minutes, sprinting there at top speed despite running never being his forte (Demetri was always the faster one between them). Demetri is lying motionless on the cement, passed out with his flannel slowly soaking through with blood. Hawk runs to him in a hysteria, screaming and crying and begging for him to be okay.

While Miguel calls an ambulance, Hawk is frantically looking over Demetri, trying to figure out where all that blood is coming from. No amount of punches and kicks could draw out that amount of blood. Then he lifts up Demetri’s shirt, and lets out a strangled whimper.

The Cobras are fighting with knives now, apparently. And someone--probably Kyler--carved “COBRA KAI NEVER DIES” across Demetri’s back.

And Hawk can’t stop crying because he knows this is his fault. There’s only one reason the Cobras would target Demetri--he was the reason for their latest deserter, and they knew that.

Or maybe he had simply been someone from a rival dojo in the wrong place at the wrong time. Maybe the Cobras were just those kinds of people.

Because it was never strength and power that Kreese cared about--it was war. Using dojo rivalries as an excuse to get away with hurting people because he enjoyed it. Because them being on the “opposite side” made it seem justified, somewhere in his twisted mind.

The doctors have to practically drag Eli out of Demetri’s hospital room. Luckily they’re able to at least reassure Eli that Demetri is going to be okay--it’s the only way to get him to leave. There are more knife wounds that he didn’t see at first, but they didn’t hit anything vital--thank god. Demetri’s lost a fair bit of blood, but he’ll be all right.

The text scrawled across his back most likely won’t scar, if Demetri cares for the wound properly. And that’s enough for Eli--he knows how meticulous Demetri is. He’ll get through it.

Still, the red stains on Demetri’s shirt and the dark cuts slicing through his skin are seared in Eli’s mind as he drives home. When he gets in the shower that night, he thinks of the words carved into Demetri’s back and his lips curl up in a snarl. He grabs a bottle of bleach, emptying the entire contents onto his limp scarlet hair.

Hawk bleaches and bleaches until the shower is a mess and the entire bathroom smells of cleaning products and every trace of the distinctive Cobra Kai red is completely annihilated. Cobra Kai never dies? Bullshit--they’re dead to him.

His eyes trail to a bottle of hair dye on the top shelf of the shower rack, and he grins. He’s been toying with the idea for a while now, but now...he’s never been more certain in his life. With the red gone, and Cobra Kai truly behind him...it’s time.

When Demetri wakes up in the hospital the next day. The first thing he sees is a jagged purple shape clouding his vision--hair, he realizes. “Who are you?” he mumbles.

“Come on, Deme, how many people do you know with a goddamn mohawk?” a familiar voice says.

His eyes focus to find Eli smirking at him, hair up in deep violet spikes. His hand feels warm, and he looks down to see Eli’s holding it.

Demetri hopes his blush isn’t too visible.

“Holy shit, dude.” Demetri can’t help but grin. “You look great. Why the change?”

“After seeing what they did to you, I couldn’t...do a Cobra Kai color anymore.” Eli bites his lip. “And it just reminded me of all the awful stuff I did there, too. But uh...you know how Sensei LaRusso is always talking about balance?” Demetri just nods.

“I guess I thought I needed something like that. Like I want to be cool and intimidating and kick ass, like Sensei Lawrence and Miguel. But I also want to be all...I dunno...rational and wise and moral and shit, like you and Sensei LaRusso. And Eagle Fang’s got the red thing, and Miyagi-Do’s got the blue thing, so I was like...maybe I should mix them? For balance?”

“Ohhhhh!” And here comes Demetri’s shit-eating grin. Hawk isn’t sure why he expected any different. “You think I’m ‘rational and wise and moral and shit,’ Eli? I thought you thought I was a ‘lame nerd!’”

Eli just rolls his eyes. “God, shut up. You can be both.”

“Also, are you going to stop holding my hand?”

“No.”

Demetri just snickers and leans back, enjoying the sensation of Eli’s fingers between his.

“I was thinking about leaving, you know,” Eli admits quietly, after a beat.

Demetri sits up, staring at him in shock. “What?”

“I didn’t feel like I belonged,” he explained. “I didn’t feel like anyone wanted me there, after everything I’d done. No one but you believed me when I said sorry. I thought maybe I’d be happy if I went back to Cobra Kai, took you and Miguel with me so I wouldn’t have to fight you and we could all become strong together without...without everyone looking at me like I was evil. But now? I never want anything to do with those assholes ever again. Not after they hurt you like that.”

Demetri looks at Eli so softly that Eli thinks he might melt. Then Demetri breaks out in another huge smirk. “Awww, you were going to try and bring me back to your evil karate cult with you? How thoughtful of you!”

“Oh my god, shut up. Yes, I think you would’ve been good enough to survive in there. Don’t let it get to your head.”

“Also, are you still holding my hand?”

“Maybe I am. Mind your business.”

When Demetri takes said hand and uses it to yank Eli forward and kiss him full on the mouth, Eli isn’t about to complain.

When they pull apart, Demetri is a spluttering mess, quickly apologizing and insisting he wasn’t thinking. Eli just laughs, and pulls him forward by the neck so their foreheads are pressed together. “God, I’ve wanted that for so long, Demetri. Don’t you dare apologize for it.”

A short pause. “I know it’s been hard for you,” Demetri adds quietly. “At the dojo. But you have to believe me when I say they’ll come around. I know you’re a good person, Miguel knows, and everyone else will realize it too. It’s just going to take some time. But you’ll figure out how to make it up to them. I believe in you.”

“Okay.” Hawk closes his eyes and exhales slowly, letting himself relax. “As long as I’m with you, it’ll be fine.”

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