#(Johnny was right Daniel was wrong... also again)

[bluerosefox]

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|Why Ra’s Would Summon the Ghost King (Also Twins AU) [Part 1] |Danyal, Danny, Phantom [Part 2] |WIP [Part 3] |Bio!Dad Jason and Bio!Mom Jazz (With Oc!Kid or Son!Danny) |Ghost Gotham (With Bonus Ghosts Martha and Thomas) |Danny Says Clone Rights |Robin’s Haunted Halloween (Feat. Ghost King Danny and Ghostly grandparents Martha and Thomas) |Library Cryptid Danny |Twins to Trio? (Dani mistakes Damian as Danny, and Damian learns his twin might not be dead) |Twins AU BUT WITH ANGST! |Mom!Dani (Square up Superman) |Free Flying Graysons (Feat. Ghostly John and Mary Grayson) |Comes in Twos (Twins! Jason and Danny die on the same day) |Foreboding Words of Warnings (Feat. Competent Ghost King Danny) |Across My Memories (Feat. Ghost King Danny, Ghost!Prince Jason) |Consorthood Via Combat (Feat. Ghost King Danny, and Danny dating any Bat of your choosing) |Wrong Number Au (Danny sends a rant text to Tucker... Only its not Tucker) |Todd and Phantom, Mostly Ghostly Shenanigans (Danny and Jason try to get out of the GZ together and bond) |Ellie “I WILL bite you” and Danny “He’s just a baby” Fenton (Deaged Danny and caretaker (and tiny bit feral) Dani (Ellie) watch out Gotham, she’ll bite.) |Double Troubles (another Damian and Danny twin au but they wanna see how long their families notice they switch places) |Everything, including the bride. WAIT, BRIDE?! (Dead Tired pairing, Tim now regrets being a smart cookie as a kid and solving a magical puzzle box while Danny regrets beating Pariah Dark cause he got the old King’s bride now as his own) |CAT Ghost INSTINCTS (Damian brings home a... interesting new acquaintance who has some interesting... quirks) |Peek-A-Boo Champ! (Jazz and her baby being taken by a cult. Jason coming to save them. And Uncle Danny being the best at peek-a-boo) |Teeny-Tiny Kitten (Danielle ‘Ellie’ makes a wish and later gets found by a certain cat and bat) |Same As The Day I Lost You (Mix de-aged Danny, and siblings!Damian and Danny, add in some teleporting/portaling when the bats are fighting the League and you get this idea.) |Cuckoo Clocks (Clockwork sends a certain RR a sticky note during his solo run to come find Phantom and later find him) |The (Not) Normal One... (a reborn/reincarnted Danny idea where he’s the normal one in the batfam... only he’s really not.) |Dip and Kiss (Jason totally would kiss the person who ended the Joker in an Oscar worthy movie moment) |The Trouble With Time Travel Guilt (Danny starts an AITA thread due to his guilt over the future that will never be, he trauma bonds with fellow heroes and time travelers over it) |Friendships Between Realms (YJ and Danny Shenanigans Being Peek Friendship) |Misunderstandings and Miscommunications (Danny panics and runs, good Fenton parents want their son home, well meaning but not knowing the full picture best friends, on a war path Jazz and the maybe wooing of RH, and the DCverse getting caught in the middle of the chaos) |A Little Robin (Danny gets stuck in a Robin doll/plush and winds up in Gotham) |Kid's y'know? (Youngblood wants to be an astronaut this time, and Danny... Has to stop him from running amok the JL Watchtower) |Gothamites Never Really Rest (Johnny was a crime alley kid, Kitty was the daughter of a mob boss, and Jason was a kid they pseudo raised before their deaths. They meet again when Kitty and Johnny return to Gotham and find budding crime lord named Red Hood)

[captivatingckcreations]

— to the wall…

˖°📷 summary ;; them pinning you to the wall ˖° cobra kai characters x you/non-binary reader + plus johnny friends: bobby, dutch, jimmy, tommy ˖° cute, fluff, fun, mostly sfw / a bit of nsfw

—. Carmen Diaz

you would not be the one pinned to the wall when it comes to Carmen, more likely because she's the one who likes the dominance in the relationship, but she does allow you to try. she does it primarily as a teasing gag, or if she's confronting you about something. [different than how Amanda does it]

—. Miguel Diaz

he would learn how to pin you properly, catching your guard off at the swiftness he does it. he almost cradles you down as he pins you, he examines every crevice of your face like he's studying for something important. he says he likes to do it to see if you would reveal any secrets you're hiding from him, if there are any...

—. Robby Keene

would tug you by your hair first before bring you to the wall as he pins you, you catch him smiling as you looks at every detail of your face. he teases you when you shown you were frightened by his sudden grab of your hair, he does apologize for it then asks you if you have anything to say while he's all in your face. you tell him to "fuck off" with a polite tongue as the two of you are sharing smiles to one another.

—. Amanda LaRusso

she actually finds humor in the fact that you are pinning her, she gets very excited about it exactly and encourages you to do it more often, maybe when you are angry? You get your guard thrown off by how she is not scared or threatened when you are pinning her down, you watch her carefully to find that she finds great amusement in it, almost as if she was liking it too much?..

—. Anthony LaRusso

he would definitely try to pin you against the wall but would ultimately fail as you slipped right on out from his grasps, so the you are the one pinning him to the wall. he is very flustered and surprised that you managed to slip out and asked how you did it, but you never revealed how.

—. Daniel LaRusso

would use you as a demonstration so he would be pinning you down on the ground, during the hours for practice at Miyagi-Do, primarily teaching the other students how they would pin down an opponent on a different team. he makes a comment at how well you were positioned underneath him, which ended up making you flustered for the rest of the evening (you could hardly look at him the same, though you knew it wasn’t his intent to be suggestive with his language).

—. Samantha LaRusso

wouldn’t necessarily pin you down the ground or wall, but would if given the chance to. she has decided when the moment is right to strike with you, and your guard is thrown off every time as you do not hear her behind or in front of you at all. she would use it in a way to hold you still or get you to look at her while she’s talking to you.

—. Johnny Lawrence

similarly to Sam, you never know when he’s going to do it as you don’t hear him. he’s pretty stealthy on his feet, as he scoops you up from the ground to pin you against the wall. both his hands are hoisting you which you call out in teasing voice, thinking he can’t possibly lift you with an arm but he proves you wrong but hoisting you up further with an arm. so you stand corrected, but you question why he’s holding you up if he can already meet your eyes? *his friends are at the end of the post*

—. Eli Moskowitz

would pin you out of frustration primarily, or even to give you a little kiss to your mouth without you trying to run away. he would get slightly offended if you laughed at the way he’s holding you when in the pin, but he’ll miss you to shut you up again. you wonder if he’ll hold you when he’s not angry...

—. Tory Nichols

would be another person who rather pin you to the ground than the wall, well at least the ground is comforted by mats from the dojo. she was working on a technique with you, she works real quick so you got to watch out for any flying legs she might have. also, she loves to see you struggle to get out of her grip and isn’t shy from teasing you either. you take note of her smile is when you’re flustered.

—. Kenny Payne

would try to show you something cool like some move he had learned from Silver but you’re not exactly paying attention to what he’s telling you, so he pins you to the wall demanding your attention. you aren’t easily flustered by him doing this, you two just stare into one another. he realizes what he was doing and immediately gets flustered about it (and you definitely tease him about how rosy his face is).

—. Shawn Payne

spent most of his time pinning people in juvie so it was rather easy for him to do it to you, no explanation or warning just a straight pin to the wall. you try getting him off of you, he just laughs as you are underneath him trying to run free. he pats your head as you are left defeated and unfree from his hold. the two of you just stare at one another, only breathing and sighing in the other’s presence.

• Johnny's friends: Bobby, Dutch, Jimmy, and Tommy ↓

—. Bobby Brown

is actually rather gentle when it comes to pinning to the wall, it’s not like he’s forcing up there, it’s more like he just wants a free and dramatic way to look at your face. he would tease at your surprised reaction, giving the fact he is a pastor of a church. "not very professional of you, father," is what you muster, teasing him back because you can. he crooks a smile at that, he likes that you acknowledged what he is.

—. Dutch

often teases a little when it comes to things like these, he says he wouldn’t do it to you when you weren’t ready… then he does! jumps from behind and holds you against the wall, you rub your elbow from hitting it. you slap him on the arm telling him that he gotten you hurt. he gawks out a laugh, not believing you until he saw your elbow bleeding. you just look at him before he sticks out his tongue to lick it. you retract your elbow without expecting him to actually do that.

—. Jimmy

pounces on you ready to tickle you at your tickling point making you shift and turn your arms to prevent his hands from tickling you more. you slap away his hands, but before you can do that, you’re pinned to the wall with one of his arms holding both of yours. he takes a moment to get together before planting a couple of kisses in the crevice of your neck by your left ear. it tickles you even more by making you squirm downward trying to hide from him. he picks you up and does it again, as well as kissing you on the chin… that’s not where he wanted to kiss, but he’ll deal with it for now..

—. Tommy

would also tease you by pinching and lightly slapping your shoulders indistinctly from left to right, it will annoy you at some point, which is exactly what he wants. he wants to annoy you to a point where you turn around, so he can pick you up and pin you to the wall. he holts you up, playing with you even further. you jerk his eyes while you two linger in the other’s eyes for a moment, but you break into laughter when you see the silly face he has on.

© captivatingckcreations | original link [original posting date - Wednesday, May 8th, 2024] {boost the post by liking, reblogging, and sharing!}

[nyx-knacks-writes]

Why "My Goodbye" from EPIC Totally Fits Robby Keene and Daniel LaRusso in Cobra Kai S2E10 if You Squint a Little (Trust Me)

Just to preface, let's pretend that Robby had a chance to gather his wits and talk back after, well, "You know, you wanna end up like him, that's up to you." Yikes. On with the show! (Also lyrics in parentheses are sung by a chorus, just FYI. So we're not really gonna address those since we're focused on Robby and Daniel.)

You were reckless

Sentimental at best

That's not a teaching of mine

You've grown soft

Your dead friends can attest

Okay, so this would be Daniel speaking/singing. We're gonna go with "singing" because I am NOT writing out "speaking/singing" every time I need to say it. "Reckless" would refer to taking Sam back to Reseda, which is portrayed as a shady area, when Robby could have taken Sam back to their house in Encino. It could also refer to bringing Sam to Johnny's place since, of course, Daniel doesn't trust Johnny further than he can throw the guy. "Sentimental" could refer to the way in which Robby yearns for the love of his father, because, let's be real here, a part of Robby will always want his father's love and approval, which Daniel likely knows. "Grown soft" and "dead friends" don't line up one-to-one, so we're just gonna scoot on by.

────────────

Hey!

This would just be Robby protesting. Nothing to say here.

────────────

Put your emotions aside

You're a warrior

Meant to lead the rest

I don't know where I went wrong

But I warned you

And you failed the test

So now I'm gone

"Put your emotions aside" would mean "Recognize that your father is dangerous. Despite your want for him to love you, this was a bad move. You need to act more logically." Then, referencing his being a "warrior" and a leader would be closer to "you're my first student, and I was counting on you to keep being a leader for the new kids since you know more." I think the last four lines are fairly obvious, especially since he up and leaves with Sam right after delivering that crushing condemnation of Robby's character.

────────────

This way, you'll know what your place is

This way, you can't cross the line

This way, when all is over

You'll keep yours and I'll keep mine

This way, you won't disappoint me

This way, you won't waste my time

This way, I'll close the door

Consider this as my goodbye

The chorus would essentially just be hammering the point home. Now Robby knows that he doesn't belong in the LaRusso home or the dealership ("you'll know what your place is"). He can't make any more mistakes with them ("you can't cross the line"). Robby will stay with his own family and Daniel will take care of his ("you'll keep yours and I'll keep mine"). Third and fourth last lines are, again, obvious. And, small visualization detail, those last two lines are when Daniel steers Sam out of the apartment and shuts the door behind them, which, y'know. Fitting.

────────────

That's just like you

Why should I be surprised?

Selfish and prideful and vain

Unlike you

Every time someone dies

I'm left to deal with the strain

Here in my head, Robby yanks that door open, angry, and follows after Sam and Daniel. "That's just like you," refers to the first time Daniel told Robby to get lost, back in S1. While I'm not sure I'd attribute the word "vain" to Daniel, "selfish and prideful" could fit. In this situation, he is being a bit selfish. He's determined to see Johnny as bad, focusing only on his own side of the story ('my daughter was missing when I woke up and I found messages on her computer that scared the shit outta me') instead of remaining calm and asking about how the situation came to be. "Prideful" is fairly clear, I think, but I'm gonna spell it out anyway in case it's not. We see Daniel often shunning Cobra Kai-style karate in the show as a result of his bad experiences in ye olde 80s. And while this makes sense, he could put his pride aside and admit that while the macho-BS messaging of Cobra Kai the dojo is bad, knowing how to fight offensively instead of only defensively is good. It's about balance, which is supposed to be Daniel's "thing."

"Unlike you / Every time someone dies / I'm left to deal with the strain" is another set of lines that isn't exactly one-to-one, but it could be seen as "Every time you remember how much you dislike my father, I get caught in the crossfire and it hurts. I'm depending on you for help because I'm in a bad situation, but you're an independent adult. You don't suffer from the fallout of these things like I do."

────────────

What's a title

That a goddess could lend

If I'll never sleep at night?

I'll remind you

I saw you as a friend

But now we're done

Fairly straightforward here. The "title" would be "Miyagi-Do student", Daniel's taking Athena's role as the god(dess) "lending" that title by being Robby's sensei, and Robby thought of Daniel as a friendly face who he trusted and saw as a father figure. Daniel was Robby's Mr. Miyagi. But now they're done. Daniel rejected Robby for the second time, so now Robby is rejecting Daniel in turn.

────────────

This way, you're out of my head now

This way, you won't plague my life

This way, when all is done

You're out of sight and out of mind

This way, you get what you wanted

This way, you can save your time

This way, you close the door

And have your damn goodbye

"Out of my head" would be Robby no longer worrying about disappointing Daniel. "Plague my life" would be the pressure of knowing that he was only getting by due to Daniel's generosity and feeling like he needed to be perfect to earn that help and generosity. "Out of sight and out of mind" could be taken literally or taken as Robby lashing out, lying to hurt Daniel and make him think that Robby didn't really care because Daniel himself is demonstrating a lack of care for Robby. "If you come at me, I'll come back twice as hard"-type thing. The last four lines would be Robby's way of making it hurt. Like "Fine, I'll go, you'll get what you want, you won't waste any more time on me, and we are DONE."

────────────

You're not looking for a mentor

I'm not looking for a friend

I mistook you for a general

What a waste of effort spent

Back to Daniel singing. This echoes back the sentiment that Daniel is presently seeing training Robby as a mistake. If Robby doesn't want a sensei anymore (the message Daniel's getting from the lashing out), then Daniel doesn't want a student. "I mistook you for a general" is another shady bit, but I think it would be thinking Robby could be better than his father. Last line's obvious.

────────────

At least I know what I'm fighting for

While you're fighting to be known

Since you claim you're so much wiser

Why's your life spent all alone?

You're alone!

Robby knows he's working to be a better person and turn his life around. Daniel... well, he's already well-known, and he wants to shut down Cobra Kai. Robby telling Daniel that Daniel is alone would refer back to S1 when Daniel really didn't have anyone to do karate with. Sam wasn't really interested anymore, and Anthony and Amanda definitely weren't interested. Daniel was very much alone in karate since Mr. Miyagi passed on.

────────────

One day, you'll hear what I'm saying

One day, you might understand

One day, but not today

For after all you're

(Just a man)

This would be Daniel really giving up on Robby. He's "just a [boy]." He doesn't get how the "bad choices" he's making now are gonna fuck up his life, but he'll get it one day and see that Daniel was right all along.

────────────

This day, you sever your own head

This day, you cut the line

This day, you lost it all

Consider this as my goodbye

This would just be digging in and being spiteful, telling Robby how badly this is all gonna turn out for him. I expect it would be framed in a less hostile manner, but I also think that Daniel would be seeing Johnny instead of Robby by this point.

────────────

Consider this as my goodbye (oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh)

This is my goodbye (oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh)

Consider this as my goodbye (oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh)

This is my goodbye

And this last part would, I think, be them battling for the last word because they're both riled up. Each wants it to be THEIR goodbye, casting off the other instead of being cast off themselves.

────────────

So. This was dramatic. That's the point. Maybe mildly out of character in spots for both Robby and Daniel, but hey, this is an alternate scenario anyway since things actually played out with Robby not able to actually say anything to Daniel before or after the door slammed shut, so... Shush. Thanks for reading to the end! I hope you enjoyed!

[robbyykeene]

Just went through your blog - thanks so much for putting to words why I wasn't able to stomach continuing watching the show 😭 I only started watching when the finale was released because I was hoping to binge it and I just... eeeeee. I only saw the original movies last Christmas with my siblings and we loved it sm (not so much TKK3 tho). It meant a lot to us and we really appreciated the messaging. My baby brother was bullied a lot in school just a couple of years ago and his bullies didn't get punished because "violence is a normal part of growing up as a boy," obviously we moved him to a different school. It was awful being told that especially after my brother came home to us crying because he was slapped around by his classmates. He's never the type to respond with violence and that made him an easy target.

And the show... I don't know, felt like it was advocating that? I was getting confused when they started framing Johnny's physical bullying of Daniel and Daniel's funny pranks in response as... equal amounts of bad? The idea of a Johnny redemption show was cool - even if he didn't really make much of an impression on me from the first movie. But it seems like the whole show is just Johnny on mental and emotional standby while the rest of the characters adjust around him, and based on your rants about the ending 😬 he gets rewarded for it. The show feels like it was written by bullies who peaked in high school for sure 😕

I’m really sorry to hear about your little brother, I hope things are better for him now. Bullying gets downplayed a lot in media but it is horrific, and watching someone you love have to go through that must have been really terrible.

And yeah, the hand-waving away of everything Johnny did to Daniel in this show…well I guess it should have been the biggest red flag to me that this wasn’t a show I would ever be satisfied with. I guess I was able to excuse it for a little while with, this is Johnny’s POV, especially when talking to Miguel in the first season. This is how he sees it, and it’s actually kind of fascinating to explore that. And then the show went on and on and we had the bs line from Ali about them both being responsible or whatever lol, and I kind of clued into the fact that this show really never would hold Johnny majorly accountable for any of it. And I kind of understood, because we had an entire movie showcasing exactly what a cruel bully Johnny was, so maybe they didn’t want to harp on it. I wasn’t happy because him acknowledging at least what he did wrong is key to his redemption imo, but I guess I figured like a lot of Johnny’s relationship with Robby, it was just resolved off-screen. Not satisfying at all, but also like. It’s whatever ultimately.

So then to have Johnny this season reiterate to Miguel yet again that he was just “hellbent on revenge for all the shit Daniel pulled” or whatever it is he said I was just like, what the fuck? We’re still here? Johnny still hasn’t realized that Daniel spraying him with water one time is not the same thing as beating the living shit out of a kid at every turn? And it could be argued that Johnny was just referring to his mentality at the time. Fine. But then he goes on to reopen Cobra Kai, tries to justify the same ideology that turned him and a whole new generation of students into a bully, and then…he bullies a little 12 year old for wearing glasses.

Idk. I just think ultimately this show left Johnny off as a worse person than he was in the movies. Johnny at the end of the film was redeemed, mostly. And this show broke him down further than that, brought him to a worse place with the promise of ultimately redeeming him, and then after 2-3 seasons where he actually did have some growth, exactly like you said they just kinda left him where he was at and had everyone else adjust and develop around him. And then they brought him right back down to the beginning and ended the character there. That’s not what redemption is. And I guess I just bought into this show actually wanting to see Johnny’s trajectory and see him grow and change and move on from the toxicity that has ruled his life thus far, and so for him to end this show remaining trapped in the same cycle he has spent 40 years trying to break free from is just. Maybe the worst ending I could have ever imagined for him.

[angelflms]

“did we forget that robby started the rivalry in retaliation to what his dad was doing?”

Robby didn’t start anything with Miguel. He went to Daniel because he was hurt and angry at his dad. His focus was on getting back at Johnny, not Miguel. He didn’t even know who Miguel really was until that night at the beach, when Miguel, drunk and jealous, shoved him and then tried to swing at him, only to miss and hit his own girlfriend instead. Miguel never apologized for that.

“miguel dislocated robby's shoulder and took his girl.” 

Correct. And he never apologized for either of those things either.

“robby nearly killed miguel and took his girl.” 

Except Robby didn’t take anyone. Sam was single at the time (because Miguel hit her). Tory was single too (because Miguel cheated on her). 

And as for the "nearly killing" part? Tory literally announced to the entire school that she was about to attack Sam. Miguel ran to stop the fight, saw Robby already trying to do exactly that, and instead of helping or de-escalating, he attacked Robby from behind and dragged him around in a chokehold. Yes, Robby’s kick was a tragic accident that nearly killed Miguel. It was horrible and the show treated it as such. But everything Miguel has done to Robby was deliberate, and he’s never even acknowledged it.

In Season 5, when Robby and Tory were trying to stop the fighting between Cobra Kai and Miyagi-Do, Miguel (and Hawk) once again treated Robby like the problem. And just like before, Miguel tried to start another fight in the parking lot.

The only time Robby clearly initiated a confrontation was after juvie, when he had nowhere else to go and returned to Miyagi-Do to find Sam with Miguel. 

In Season 6, Miguel was too busy glaring at Robby’s headband to care about Robby's mental state. Announcing to the entire team that Robby was off his game just because he left the room? That wasn’t concern, that was stirring drama. If Miguel truly cared, he could’ve pulled Robby aside to ask what was wrong or why he left. Instead, he sulked over Johnny not giving him constant attention, clearly fearing that not being captain made him less important. He took his frustration out on Robby and only stopped acting out after Johnny reassured him he was also his son. Given Miguel's history as Johnny's golden boy, his reaction isn’t even surprising, but the way his fans keep acting like he was in the right is downright gross.

Most Robby fans recognize that Johnny's the root of the problem. But that doesn’t let Miguel off the hook, he was absolutely part of the problem and acted toxic as hell. And no, that’s not because he’s brown. It’s because the creators of Cobra Kai are dudebros who clearly equate being an “alpha” with toxic masculinity and emotional immaturity. And worse, they treat that like it’s something to admire. If you rewatch the show with that in mind, you’ll start to see the pattern. Every time someone embraced the “No Mercy” mindset, whether on or off the mat, they came out on top. Even Miguel targeting Robby’s shoulder was portrayed as a flashback “triumph,” something Miguel supposedly overcame, in his final fight with Axel. Telling us it’s wrong while consistently showing the opposite just doesn’t add up.

“edit: also doing this the same day that billy and ralph were in liverpool for comic con isn't lost on me”

The petition’s been around for weeks. Let’s not twist things and pretend a letter calling out abuse is the issue here, instead of the actual behavior it’s addressing.

okay, at least someone is able to genuinely respond and look through all of my words before responding (something a LOT of people on here don't tend to do). apologies if this is everywhere. i just got done with finals so my brain is fucking fried.

okay, first of all, i feel like we watched two completely different shows. and i feel like that's why there's so much discourse happening with the show. pair that with personal experiences, relatability, bias, etc and it gets misconstrued why certain things happen and why some characters can be seen a certain way when they weren't (i learned this the hard way myself with sam). i also wanna make it clear that i love both boys and they genuinely deserve better (at least a better father (figure) imo, and this is coming from a johnny girl myself).

miguel has done a lot of fucked up stuff in the first half of the series, i will admit. i have admitted it, quite a few times throughout all of my socials. i also have admitted that i don't like the way robby was treated at certain points throughout the story, also quite a few times throughout most of my socials.

"toxic" is a very extreme term to use towards miguel. hawk? okay. tory? i'll understand. kreese? silver? HELL yes. johnny? definitely.

miguel diaz? no. and it's not because im biased. im speaking as unbiased as i can: what miguel was doing to robby (and vice versa) was not toxic at all. was it messed up? yes. but their dynamic throughout the show was never seen as toxic. hell, they're the least toxic rivalry throughout the entire series. most of their fights are contained, on the mat, and aren't for no reason.

the only fight that realistically shouldn't have happened are the school and balcony fights but the former happened as a storyline way of showing us that miguel is falling off the deep end and his actions will lead to his demise (and did). balcony fight is the only one that i genuinely think we could've gone without but the show is about fighting and these two are the main characters, so the writers needed to embed that in somehow.

i feel like we can agree that the show's writers do have a problem of writing nuanced situations. but i feel like for different reasons. many still associate miguel with the way he was in s2, which was at his worst (which is why i hate the "prime miguel" bs because that truly is rooted in "alpha" male toxic masculinity).

now again, the lack of writing the character and having him in this limbo period for about two/three-ish seasons didn't help but post-school fight robby and miguel was hella passive-aggressive. they'll make reference to the fight, throw shade, and push each other around but that's it.

i also did say that robby retaliated johnny by working with daniel, but in storyline purposes, that's what started the rivalry between the boys. robby making that decision is what starts everything, because it adds a new layer to the overarching rival dojos arc of s1.

miguel also isn't that toxic in terms of his masculinity either. i feel like nothing he did post s2 had anything to do with him being an "alpha" boy or whatnot. that's hawk. hawk is the toxic masculine alpha boy that starts a lot of shit in the story that's actually antagonistic and can be viewed as abusive.

miguel only fights robby when needed in the story. with hawk, anyone can catch them hands. didn't matter who.

he's probably the only character where i can understand the letter's concerns. but miguel isn't "abusive" nor "toxic." he and robby are two kids who lacked a father figure in life and it both affected them big time. mind you they're both 16/17 throughout most of the show's runtime.

miguel during school fight turned around a corner and saw robby's hands on tory and him kicking one of his, at the time, fellow ck members. he didn't see that robby was de-escalating. we knew that but he didn't. all he saw was his hands on her. that's why he yelled and attacked him. he thought he was attacking her and trying to start shit. i thought that was obvious.

not "every" character with the no mercy mindset came out on top during their time following said mindset. because if that was the genuine case, robby would've won the s4 all valley and miguel wouldn't have broken his back and be sent into a coma in s2. also kwon wouldn't have died either.

look i can see how the robby arm flash back can be seen as fucked up, but i do think it was the show's way to show how far he's come fighting-wise (almost like how sitcoms did clip show episodes back in the day). had robby been the one to fight axel, they would've used the school fight scene in a similar manner (like they did with the s5 robby/miguel fight). the scene would've served the exact same purpose. they showed almost every fight he was in during the flashbacks. it's the final season of the series. that makes sense.

also, and this is because of the writers, not robby as a character, but he was hella contradictory in s6. he got mad at miguel for making the captain fight and band all about him but then got mad when tory shut him out and put their relationship on a pause (for a valid reason) and made it about him/them instead of seeing things from her point of view. sam was the one who had to bring him back to earth to understand that. now i can understand why he was freaking out due to his abandonment issues and tory's lack of communication. i feel like both boys were being inconsiderate in s6 for different reasons but only miguel gets flack for it because he was the only one visibly called out for it (by robby).

and finally, did we forget why miguel was willing to fight axel so much? it was to avenge robby for what axel did to him. johnny (again being the problem) was the one who said to not making about revenge and to focus on all the years he has spent fighting (again, which is why we see all the flashback fighting scenes).

(also i had JUST saw the petition posted on here just recently)

[purpleheartskies]

The Neglect of Robby Keene

This post focuses on how neglect, abandonment, and emotional neglect are constants for Robby and how these led to Robby's behavior in s5. Interestingly, I'd written a draft of this post for s1-s4 before s5 came out. I didn't post the draft at the time because s5 was going to come out soon and the spoilers/leaks had started. After s5, I was easily able to update the draft to include the relevant content from s5 because Robby's story in s5 fit right into the post, sadly.

A recurring punishment for Robby is abandonment and neglect. Johnny bails for months from Robby's life whenever Johnny and Robby argue. Both of his parent's responses to him quitting school and giving them attitude about it was to just abandon him to his decision. And after he was dumped into juvie, neither Johnny nor Shannon made genuine efforts to be there for Robby as he needed them to be.

"You know, all those years you weren't there, I blamed myself."

Really, Robby doesn't even have to do anything to be abandoned or neglected by his parents, as is the case with situations like Robby's. Johnny walked away before Robby was born, making the decision then not to be there for Robby as a parent should be. Shannon constantly bailed and probably left Robby with no food or money often. Robby's sigh when he was going to fill his bowl of cereal with water was so telling.

Robby acts in no way surprised by Johnny and Shannon's behavior, and when he calls it out, he uses phrases like "it took 16 years", "same as it always goes", "again", "all those years", indicating the consistency of their behavior. Even when Shannon was leaving for Mexico in s2, Robby wasn't surprised that she was leaving but was worried about the bills and rent. He had also commented that she had been gone for days and he thought that someone had been breaking in, indicating that he hadn't been expecting her to return so soon. She had no concern for his well-being. Instead, she asked him what was wrong with him because he had attacked the guy with her, who had been entering the apartment, even though she had been gone for days with no obvious communication with Robby about when she would be returning. She was gone for months after this, and Robby ran out of money and food. Daniel took Robby in, and then months after, when Shannon returned from Mexico and said that she was leaving again, Robby asked her where she was going "this time".

Shannon: "Robby, what is wrong with you?!?" Robby: "What is wrong with me? You haven't been here in days. I thought someone broke in."

In fact, since s1, Johnny's abandonment and neglect of Robby has involved Johnny replacing him as well. Johnny not only gave up on Robby so easily after Robby said that he didn't want to go back to school and told Johnny to leave. Johnny also told Robby that he didn't care if Robby went to school, simply because Robby made some pointed comments and gave him some attitude. Johnny then went and dedicated himself to a random kid to put all of his efforts into, instead of going back to Robby and making a firm commitment to change and do better with him.

Robby seeing Johnny share a father-son moment with a random kid, after Johnny had affirmed Robby's comment that Johnny hasn't cared for 16 years by saying that he doesn't care if Robby goes to school.

Abandonment/neglect is so often a punishment and a constant for Robby that, when Daniel disowned Robby, Robby was generally accepting of this punishment. The first time Daniel kicked Robby out, Robby did try to explain himself in the moment, but the next day at the avt, he was back to his usual quiet demeanor, not saying anything to Daniel and just leaving him be. And when Daniel came to speak to him, Robby apologized and explained himself, not making the slightest mention of the harshness of that punishment without being given a chance to explain. Daniel had told Robby after he had fallen for Louie's first prank that Daniel would listen to Robby's side next time, which Daniel didn't do. The second time Daniel disowned Robby, not just as his student but as part of his family too, saying that it was all a mistake and once again not giving Robby a chance to explain, Robby was quietly sad about it but had no anger towards Daniel about his words or disownment. Instead, Robby defended Daniel's overall kindness to him and told Johnny that he and Daniel can learn from each other. Robby was still quietly accepting of the disownment later when he was talking to Sam in school. In fact, he took the situation as inspiration to confess a secret he had been keeping from her.

"Wait. Don't even start. I gave you a second chance. This whole thing was a mistake. You know, you wanna end up like him [Johnny], that's up to you." Robby doesn't know that, the next day, Daniel told Sam about Robby, "I thought I could help him, but... but he's got his own family. I need to focus on mine." Daniel had truly given up on Robby without even giving him chance to explain.

A couple weeks after the school fight, when Daniel ambushed Robby with the cops, Robby panicked and then threw up his emotional walls ("Don't bother") pretty quickly. He was being completely open and vulnerable with Daniel in that conversation, because he had believed that Daniel actually cared about his feelings and what he'd experienced, but when the cops showed up, Robby realized that Daniel, like Johnny and Shannon, no longer cared about his emotional or psychological needs, especially during such a crucial, traumatic time for him. Robby had wanted Daniel to be in his corner and have his back, to believe in him, which Daniel didn't do. Daniel once again didn't give Robby a chance to explain. In juvie, Robby was back to his usual quiet demeanor. Daniel had promised to visit Robby every day, but Daniel never did. Daniel did call and Robby hung up on him, but Daniel didn't make the effort to actually come to Robby like Daniel had promised, proving to Robby once again that Daniel's commitments to Robby, like Johnny's and Shannon's, can't be trusted. (Robby did try to open up to Sam via email, but he was stopped from writing the email. He later didn't write to her because she had stopped trying to reach out to him after her last email, "If you're okay, please answer". This had also been after her tv interview saying that she "hoped" it was an accident. This was yet another instance after the school fight of someone indicating that they thought the worst of him, and then abandoning him.)

Robby and his emotions are cast away so often that he puts up emotional walls to shield himself and pushes people away or he just puts his emotions away because, well, who is there to truly care about him and for him to trust and rely on? Johnny and Shannon have always put themselves, their feelings, and their needs above his, never truly caring about him and his feelings, thoughts, and needs. Like, when Robby wanted to hangout and watch a movie with Shannon in s1, she guilt tripped him into understanding that her wants and needs are more important than his. Or like when Robby genuinely told Johnny in s2 that Robby needed time to forgive him, Johnny made it about himself and accused Robby of continuing to train with Daniel just to torture Johnny, even though Johnny himself had been torturing Robby by replacing him with a random kid and continuing to train that kid even after that kid had purposely pulled on Robby's injured arm just to win a plastic trophy. Robby is so traumatized by Johnny that Robby had believed that Johnny had told that kid to fight dirty against him. Also, like in the car later in s2, Johnny asked Robby if he was nervous about his first day of school, but right when Robby started talking about the LaRussos, Johnny became dismissive of Robby's feelings, so Robby said, "I know you don't want to hear it". Robby knew that Johnny's feelings about the LaRussos matter more to Johnny than Robby's feelings about them, despite everything the LaRussos had done for Robby while Johnny had done essentially nothing for him. And after Johnny had abandoned Robby in juvie for months, knowing that he was being beaten and providing him with no support, Robby's big confession to Johnny that Robby has blamed himself all these years for Johnny abandoning him was met with no response or corrective action from Johnny, although Johnny had also accidentally hurt Robby in their confrontation. Johnny left Robby with a mark on his head with Kreese, and Johnny left with Miguel and didn't return. Johnny didn't care that Robby was homeless and had been homeless since getting out of juvie.

In s4, Robby said that Johnny now wants to make up for lost time just to feel better about himself. This is an accurate assessment of Johnny's intentions, which played out in s5. All these years, Robby's feelings have never mattered to Johnny. Only Johnny's feelings about their relationship matter to Johnny. Every speech Johnny gives about his failing with Robby is about how Johnny feels about it and how it's affected iim, with no acknowledgement at all about how Robby feels about it or how it has affected him. For example, Johnny tells others "I didn't know how to be a dad" as his reason for abandoning Robby. However, just because he didn't know how to be a dad doesn't mean that Robby didn't need a dad and didn't need Johnny to try to be one to him. Johnny himself was abandoned by his bio dad but he has had no empathy for Robby, instead leaving Robby with no dad and to be his own dad. Johnny could have at least made sure that Robby was being well taken care of, but Johnny didn't care to do that either. Johnny knew Shannon's habits before she went to rehab, like her often being at happy hour somewhere, where to track her down, and that she dated a lot of random men. But, like Robby had said in s1, Johnny hasn't cared about Robby his whole life.

In s5e3, Johnny said that things were now good with him and Robby, even though Robby told Tory in s5e4 that he and his dad still had issues, some that are too big to solve. Earlier in s5, Johnny had manipulated Robby into the "father-son" trip to Mexico and continued to manipulate him to get him to stay because Johnny admittedly needed help finding Miguel. Johnny had only looked for Robby for a few hours the two weeks he had been on the run, but Johnny gaslighted Robby and made it sound like he had searched for Robby with Daniel for those whole two weeks. Johnny then minimized over 17 years of failures with Robby to Johnny's non-"failure" with Miguel. And, because Robby was unhappy about Johnny tricking him into the trip, Johnny told Robby that he could go home on his own and ditched Robby at the bus stop, not caring if Robby could/would get home safely. It's in that moment Robby started fawning with Johnny on that trip. After having been abandoned by Johnny for years, especially whenever Robby would speak out against Johnny's mistreatment, Robby now switched tactics to avoid this punishment. Not to mention, Johnny was going to ditch him in another country after dragging him there with a lie, while Johnny had also told Carmen that it was unsafe for her to be there. Johnny obviously didn't care about Robby's safety or well-being and was willing to sacrifice him, while Johnny did what he could to keep Miguel and Carmen safe.

Johnny told Robby the bus schedule and handed him some money: "Sorry I dragged you into this, Robby." Johnny abandoned Robby at a bus stop in another country after tricking him there in the first place under the guise of a "father-son" trip...

Later, Robby told Johnny that he wanted to help Johnny because Johnny was trying to make things right. This is an example of Robby fawning and putting Johnny's needs above his own. Johnny obviously wasn't trying to make things right with Robby though, which Robby at least realized subconsciously so went on the defensive by fawning throughout the trip and which Robby acknowledged consciously in some way when Tory later asked him about the trip.

When it came to Johnny wanting Robby to be friends with Miguel, Robby clearly told Johnny that he didn't want to be friends with Miguel and that Johnny and Miguel have their relationship and Robby wants his space from that. Robby made his boundaries clear, but Johnny has no respect for them. Johnny eventually gave Robby no choice but to "fight it out" with Miguel, and Robby eventually surrendered completely to Miguel near the end of the apartment fight and surrendered completely to Johnny after the baby news, so that Johnny wouldn't abandon him again. Now that Johnny is going to have a baby with Miguel's mom, they're going to be Johnny's family for real, and Johnny already proved to Robby with the Mexico trip that the Diazs will always be more important to Johnny. The atrocious apartment fight followed by the baby news, firmly established Miguel once again and now this coming baby as priorities over Robby, as Johnny admitted that he wanted Miguel and Robby to get along because the baby was coming. Robby gave up who he is completely to appease Johnny for the rest of s5. At dinner, Robby had to ask Carmen's permission if he could join them, once again firmly establishing her priority above Robby as well. As Johnny's son, Robby shouldn't have to ask to be included, but as the kid who was scapegoated for the rivalry and for the school fight, Robby had to ask permission from his attacker's mother if he could have dinner with his own father, who had also sided with his attacker. If Carmen has an issue with Robby, then she shouldn't date his father. But, Robby the kid is put in the position of having to navigate the situation as if he has to earn his place in his father's life. Later in s5, Robby had to laugh off his own comment the one time he spoke up about Johnny's failures with him, after overhearing Johnny speaking with Miguel about his feelings and not wanting to fail him again. Robby still had to be careful expressing himself around Johnny, or Robby would be shut down and likely abandoned.

These quotes explain it well: "Having an emotionally immature parent often means you're pretending: pretending you're not resentful, pretending to agree with their opinions, and pretending you don't have needs and boundaries..." "It wasn't just people pleasing to please people. It was survival to keep unpredictable behavior away. The fear of not being able to make someone happy isn't about their happiness but how they use power in harmful and unexpected ways."

Sadly, Daniel no longer cares about Robby's feelings anymore either, although Daniel had cared before he'd disowned Robby the second time. This is especially noticeable in s3 when Daniel ambushed Robby without giving the slightest consideration as to what Robby's emotional and mental state would be. Daniel had called the cops before showing up at the rehab center and talking to Robby first. After Robby hung up on Daniel when he called Robby in juvie, Amanda dismissed Robby's anger as "he's a teenager" and that he'd come around, so Daniel let it go. Being a teenager doesn't make Robby's feelings invalid, especially given how Daniel had him arrested without even a proper conversation between them. After Robby got out of juvie, Daniel cared for a second about Robby's feelings when Daniel heard that Robby saw Sam and Miguel at Miyagi-Do, but then Daniel forgot about it as soon as Sam convinced him to give Miguel a chance. When Robby had gotten out of juvie the day before, Daniel had told Robby that Miyagi-Do would always be his home. Robby showing up at Miyagi-Do later that day meant that he had been open to taking Daniel's offer of a home, after walking away from Daniel outside of juvie. Daniel didn't even consider this after he had heard that Robby had come to Miyagi-Do. By then, Daniel had "let him go", like Amanda had told him to the day before.

In s4, both times Daniel talked to Robby, it was about Cobra Kai and related topics. When Daniel approached Robby the first time, Robby accused Daniel of coming to use him for the dojo war, and Daniel didn't even register what Robby's accusation meant wrt Robby no longer trusting him. That is, Daniel didn't care about Robby's feelings about him or their relationship, and Daniel just started talking about what he had come to say to Robby, similar to Sam's approach with him earlier in s4. Daniel had only thought to talk to Robby because Amanda had talked about teens with anger issues being lost causes in need of wake-up calls. In the second conversation in s4, Daniel used Robby's trauma against him when he taunted Robby about wanting to get back at his dad, a reference to their conversation at the s1 avt. Daniel was also dismissive of any negative feelings that Robby has towards him, and Daniel just focused on tearing Robby down for interfering with Daniel's goals to take down Cobra Kai and did't care for what Robby was saying to him. Daniel also overlooked that he had taken sides and teamed up with Johnny and Miguel, two of the people who had hurt Robby the most.

In s5, Daniel repeated exactly what he'd said to Robby in s3 wrt how Daniel had handled the aftermath of the school fight, so Robby avoided talking about his issues with Daniel. Instead, Robby put Daniel's feelings and needs above his own and told Daniel exactly what he wanted to hear. Robby said that Johnny and Sam had filled him in on what was going on (which implies that they had told Robby that Daniel had talked earlier about how he had failed with Robby). Here, Robby claimed that Daniel hadn't failed him. Robby told him all the ways he had helped Robby, and Robby talked about how Daniel had been right about Cobra Kai. Robby said what he needed to in order to lift Daniel's spirits and make him feel like he hasn't failed Robby, even though Daniel has been failing him at least since kicking him out before the school fight. Robby also called himself a "messed up" kid when he talked about how Daniel had given him a purpose. When they had met, Robby had been a kid who had been abandoned and neglected and living in survival mode, which he still is in many ways. At the time, Daniel himself told Amanda that Robby is a "good kid. He's just had a rough go of it." Sadly, Daniel didn't correct Robby here and didn't tell Robby what he needs to hear: he was never a "messed up kid"; he is a "good kid who's had a rough go of it".

Daniel: "Robby, the things I did, juvie, I was... I was just trying to help you." Robby: "No, I'm... I'm sorry. I mean, I should have listened to you about Cobra Kai..."

Robby's feelings and side of the story don't matter. This is a significant part of how Robby has been treated by the other characters and the narrative itself. Robby's generally closed-off demeanor is the result of years of abandonment and neglect. He puts away his emotions and rarely speaks about them because he has had no one who consistently and unconditionally cares about how he feels. In fact, when Robby expresses his emotions, he is often shut down. Like, Shannon dismissing him when he wanted to hang out with her, dismissing his concern that someone had been breaking in after she had ditched him for days, and dismissing him when he tried to remind her about all the rent and bills they have to pay when she said that she was leaving with that random guy. Or, like Johnny getting upset that Robby needed time to forgive him, dismissing Robby's sadness about Daniel kicking him out, telling Robby that choosing Miguel over him was making things right, brushing Robby off when he told him that Miguel had been the one to attack Robby and escalate things in school that day, and ignoring Robby wanting space from Miguel and from Johnny's relationship with Miguel while Robby was stuck staying with Johnny for the summer, which was something else that Johnny and Shannon had decided for Robby without caring how he felt about it.

The quote about emotionally immature parents continues as: "... This act of pretending becomes so ingrained that you can spend several days together in the same room and yet still feel profoundly invisible and deeply insignificant to them, as if your feelings and needs do not faze them at all."

After Johnny had tricked Robby into a "father-son" trip and manipulated him more so that he would stay to help find Miguel, Johnny shared a profound father-son moment with Miguel right in front of Robby as if he wasn't there. Johnny hugged Miguel with more love than he has ever shown Robby.

Robby has had no one who would validate him and help him properly understand and process his emotions, especially those related to his traumas of abandonment, neglect, replacement, the school fight, juvie, and his other traumatic experiences. Instead, the one person he found for a short time in s1 and s2 who seemed to care just told Robby to "let go" of all these negative emotions related to his abandonment, neglect, and replacement by his father, which is not the correct way to handle these emotions. Fawning is also described as self-abandonment. In s5, Robby was now disregarding his own feelings and side of the story to appease everyone around him.

The school fight is one of many situations of Robby's feelings and side of the story don't matter, which occurs in different ways throughout Robby's story with the various characters, especially in s5 when Robby swallowed all of his emotions to be around the "good guys" as they all ignored or dismissed his issues with them. Even the other teens, Miguel, Sam, Demetri, Hawk, and the Miyagi-Dos, ignored or dismissed Robby's side of the story.

Demetri dismissed Robby talking about Hawk's wrongs toward the Miyago-Dos and called Robby an asshole, comparing him to Hawk. Demetri has never once acknowledged that Robby had protected him from Hawk, who had lead a gang assault against him over a yelp review, and had been protective of Demetri when some of the Cobras had first joined Miyagi-Do.

In general, Robby has never been given the support and time he has needed to process the events of the school fight and his experiences after that. He had been viciously attacked, stopped from protecting his girlfriend, and taunted about people he cares about not wanting/loving him in return (because the person taunting him knew that the taunts were extremely hurtful and grounded in truth). His attacker was about to break his arm for no reason but then suddenly stopped and said "I'm sorry". However, in such an intense situation and having been attacked by that person without provocation multiple times before, Robby reacted with a "fight response" and accidentally things went horribly wrong. After being frightened and on the run for days, Robby went to his mom for help. This is important. He went on his own to an adult, after being on the run and being well hidden. He wanted help, real help, to solve the situation. (Up until the end of s4, Robby was mostly counter-dependent because of his traumas. He rarely directly asks for help, so him coming to his mom and talking like he was going to go on the run was him genuinely wanting to stay and get her help. After all, he had been hidden and on the run until then.) Instead, Daniel, who Robby thought would help him and give him the psychological and emotional support he needed while solving the legal situation, didn't even care about his mental or emotional state, making rash decisions on Robby's behalf (calling the cops on him instead of first speaking to him, understanding from him what had happened, preparing him, and letting him make the decision to turn himself in) as well as judging him by his mistakes (kicking Miguel as well as running after the school fight), while simultaneously telling Robby that his mistakes aren't who he is. Daniel's actions were counter to his words, thus setting in Robby's distrust of Daniel. Daniel only cared about the legal situation and not about Robby's side of the story or his mental and emotional state, and so Daniel acted accordingly. Daniel also acted based on his earlier experience with Johnny wanting to kill someone purposely in the garage fight, after which Daniel told Johnny that maybe Robby has too much of Johnny in him. Before the school fight, Daniel had told Robby, "You wanna end up like him, that's up to you." When Daniel talked to Robby at the rehab center, Daniel still believed that Robby is like Johnny and not his own person.

Robby got so hopeful after Daniel said that he'll "help" Robby learn from his "mistakes". But, Daniel's "help" came in the form of Daniel having called the cops on Robby without first having talked to him, understanding his mental and emotional state, or caring about his side of the story. Later, Robby even commented that Mr. LaRusso wasn't in his corner and didn't have his back. Daniel never fought for Robby as Daniel should have. Instead, part of Daniel's "help" was a police ambush and a traumatizing place like juvie, where Daniel didn't even visit Robby as promised. Daniel has never once acknowledged Robby's side of the school fight, and instead told Amanda and Sam right after the school fight that he couldn't believe that Robby would do this, implying that Daniel believed even then that Robby had injured Miguel on purpose. In this scene in the rehab center, in the scene when he got out of juvie, and in their one-sided reconciliation scene in s5, Daniel repeated that this was all Daniel's way to "help" Robby. Daniel still doesn't even consider Robby's feelings wrt their relationship as relevant, so Daniel doesn't try to talk through and understand Robby's side of the story properly. After Robby had walked away from Daniel outside of juvie, Amanda had told Daniel to "let him go", and sadly Daniel did.

Johnny and Shannon were of course utterly useless and uncaring towards Robby in this whole situation following the school fight. Johnny and Shannon once again put their own needs and feelings above Robby's in what was probably the worst situation of his life, and neither helped him nor was there for him as a parent should have been. In s5, they continued to put themselves first, not even caring who Robby wanted to spend the summer with, but deciding for him. Shannon not wanting Robby for the summer is par for the course for her and shows that rehab may have helped her with her alcoholism and drug addiction, but not with her tendencies to cast Robby aside. Though she did raise the alarm about Silver in s4, her dismissive "Cobra Kai or whatever" and her absence from the tournament continue to show her lack of interest in Robby's life and in being there for him. Wrt Johnny, Robby had said in s4, Johnny just wants to make up for lost time to feel better about himself. In s5, Johnny proved Robby right with Johnny's self-centered dialogue about Robby, Johnny prioritizing his relationship with Miguel and Carmen as well as his efforts for the baby plot device over Robby, and Johnny continuing to dismiss Robby's feelings the whole time while still wanting to keep him around like a prop as long as he didn't speak out against Johnny.

Johnny and Daniel deny Robby's identity as his own person with his own feelings, needs, and experiences when they project their view of Johnny onto Robby. Daniel has been doing this since before the school fight in s2e10. Johnny started doing this after Daniel's comment to Johnny in s3e2 that maybe Robby has too much of Johnny in him. Johnny and Daniel doing this adds to the emotional neglect that Robby experiences due to them. Not to mention, before they allied together at the end of s3, they each put their rivalry with the other above Robby. Now that they are okay with each other, Daniel expects Robby to be okay with Johnny, and Johnny expects Robby to be okay with Daniel. Daniel dismisses Robby's feelings about Johnny and claims that Johnny cares about both boys, despite seeing the evidence otherwise. Johnny was dismissive of Robby's gratefulness to the LaRussos before the school fight, but in s5, Johnny filled Robby in about Daniel's situation and wanted Robby to show his gratefulness to Daniel because now Johnny believed it mattered.

After the school fight, to add to Robby being discarded and thought the worst of by the people who "care" about him, there was also Robby's experience of juvie, with the beatings and bullying that Robby endured on his own, including the reminder that his dad and girlfriend hate him and don't want him. The guards turned a blind eye of course, and only Kreese and his advice had come through for Robby.

" 'But, Robby, your my son. But I hate you, Dad.' Your girl left you, your dad hates you, you got nobody. And now you got nothing."

Johnny had seen Robby's bruise in juvie but immediately accused Robby of starting fights, not caring to ask Robby what had happened or if he was even okay, and then never coming to see Robby again. In s4, Johnny also dismissed that Robby had been attacked by Miguel that day in school, saying that he himself wasn't there, implying he didn't care for the details. Johnny ended the conversation by turning Robby away and slamming the door on Robby's retreating back. Johnny then went back to his life of being a constant loving and caring support towards Robby's attacker, and not towards Robby, as Johnny had been for months. (Johnny's decision to choose Miguel over Robby in the aftermath of the school fight was wrong. Child abandonment and neglect should never be condoned, especially in a situation like this. Johnny is Robby's parent first and foremost, and Johnny failed Robby and continues to fail him in all ways.)

This quote is so relevant:

"It can clear up a lot of confusion around childhood trauma, when you realize abandonment is not only when someone walks away. It's also when someone who is meant to protect you, allows others to hurt you."

This has been Johnny wrt Robby throughout the series. Johnny continues to abandon Robby, not just by walking away but by leaving him in dangerous situations and allowing others to hurt him. Johnny knew about Shannon's lifestyle and about the random men she brought around Robby, but Johnny didn't care. Johnny knew that Robby's friends in s1 were not good people for him to be around, but Johnny still walked away. Johnny hasn't fought for Robby and his side of the story since the school fight, and instead took his attacker's side and has continued to show him support since. Johnny ignored Robby's bruise in juvie, victim blamed him for it, and never went back to support him. Johnny left Robby to train with Kreese and Silver in s4. In s5, Johnny dragged Robby to Mexico and then ditched him at a bus stop to get back home on his own. After Robby stayed, Johnny allowed Robby to take risks that he didn't need to. Later, Johnny handed Robby over to Miguel for a beating. After the s1 avt, Johnny was upset that Miguel had shown no mercy to Robby during their match, but since the school fight, Johnny has walked that back. In s5, Johnny allowed Miguel to hurt Robby as he has always wanted to, and Johnny no longer acknowledges what Miguel did to Robby in the avt. Johnny truly doesn't care about the details of the rivalry. Miguel is the one who started the rivalry and is the bully in the rivalry.

It's also important to note that, until s5, Robby's side of the story regarding the school fight still remained largely unheard, and even then we only now know his side of the start and end of the school fight. We were never shown Robby's thoughts during the entire fight, especially the moments between his attacker randomly letting go and saying "I'm sorry" and Robby's "fight" trauma response (which Robby described as wanting to "finish the fight"). Robby had every right and reason not to trust Miguel in that moment and not to realize that Miguel had genuinely decided to stop fighting. After all, Miguel had a history of attacking Robby and had attacked Robby twice in that fight, even choking him, kicking him into the railing intentionally, and wanting to break him arm, all for no reason. In s3, Robby had tried talking about the school fight to Daniel, but Daniel ambushing him was like Daniel shutting him down and saying that he didn't care or want to hear it. After that, Robby stopped talking about the school fight. Even when Kreese and Tory showed him empathy about it in s3 or when Sam said she was angry with him about it in s4, Robby didn't say anything in response. The first time he talked about it again was later to Johnny in s4, and Robby got shut down again. Robby was trying to deescalate another situation and rightfully corrected Johnny about what had happened in school that day. Johnny is Robby's father. He is one of at least two people that Robby should be able to rely on for protection and help, which Robby can't do.

"abandonment is not only when someone walks away. It's also when someone who is meant to protect you, allows others to hurt you."

What adds tothese extremely sad aspects of Robby's story is how much Robby still loves his parents, despite how they treat him, and how much he of course still hopes that they'll care about him. Like, in s2, how sweetly Robby talked about watching Shannon's favorite movie with her when he was younger, even though at this moment she was still gone, after having ditched him for so long that he had run out of food, lost electricity, and would have been evicted. That even though she didn't care if he had what he needed to survive, he still spoke of her and those memories fondly. And when she finally returned months later, the moment she said that she was going to get help for herself and for him, he became happy for her and no longer showed her any anger.

In s5, Robby mentioned that he and his mom watch "Hot Ones" together, indicating that they still watch movies and shows together. But, Shannon once again ditched Robby for the summer against his will. Although this time she didn't leave him all alone, she did leave him with someone who she knows is unreliable when it comes to properly caring for Robby. One thing Robby doesn't know is that Shannon brushed off all of her and Johnny's failures with Robby as the two of them being young and dumb, and Johnny happily accepted this. (Johnny was in his 30s when he gave up on day 1. Johnny is now in his 50s and still keeps screwing up with Robby.) Shannon and Johnny once again dismissed all of Robby's negative experiences because of them, just to feel better about themselves.

With Johnny, Robby became hopeful the times Shannon told him that Johnny wanted him to move in (s1) or that Johnny wants a relationship with him (s2), even though Johnny himself had shown no genuine indication to Robby of either. In juvie, Robby smiled a little in disbelief, overwhelmed when he found out that Johnny had scheduled to visit him, even though Johnny had not tried to contact Robby for "over one month" after their "one good day" together. Johnny sadly missed this visit and chose Miguel over him again, which Johnny should not have done. (Even, Bobby didn't approve.)

In s4, Robby went to Johnny to tell him about his students bullying Kenny, but Johnny didn't care. Robby also told Johnny about his fear of becoming like Johnny and said that he wouldn't because he is better than Johnny. Instead of telling Robby that he can be better than Johnny, like Johnny had once told Miguel, Johnny just got upset and dismissed Robby so that Johnny could get back to making Miguel's favorite dinner to get him away from Daniel while Robby went back to being trained by the pyscho that had strangled Johnny twice, once when Johnny was about Robby's age and once just a few weeks prior while Robby was lying unconscious nearby. After the avt, Robby followed Johnny to tell him about how much he is struggling with all of his "hate", which he doesn't understand is how his trauma due to Johnny manifests itself. Robby told Johnny that Robby took Kenny under his wing because Robby wanted to be the mentor he wished he had when he was younger, a quiet acknowledgement that Johnny had never been a mentor to Robby as Johnny should have been. Robby eventually told Johnny that he's sick of blaming Johnny. Sadly, Robby keeps putting hope in the person who has abandoned and hurt him the most and who has no true will to fight his inner demons and treat Robby better.

In Robby's conversation with Johnny after the avt, Robby is so devastated by how much "hate" he feels, as if he has no right to have "hate" and that it is wrong for him to feel the way he feels, regardless of why he feels it or how others have treated him. Robby has been raised to reject his own emotions, like his parents reject them. And being told to just "let go" of that hate by his first mentor didn't help either. Not to mention, Johnny guilt tripped Robby in Mexico, low key making him believe that his "hate" is wrong and that he should sacrifice his well-being to help search for Miguel. Johnny continued to dismiss Robby's "hate" for him and for Miguel after that and eventually forced Robby to fight Miguel, that is to use a "Cobra Kai" method, to resolve his issues with Miguel for Johnny's own benefit, even though in this s4 conversation, Robby had told Johnny that using "Cobra Kai" had made everything worse for Robby.

"And I had all this hate inside of me, for you and for Miguel. I thought I could use Cobra Kai to control that. But it just made things worse and now it's never going to get better."

In s5, Robby switching to fawning with Johnny and everyone was a sad culmination of all the trauma Robby has experienced, especially due to Johnny.

Abandonment, neglect, and emotional neglect can't be seen. These describe things that aren't done for a person. This is the silent context of Robby's story. You can see all the good times Johnny has with his replacement kid and grow fond of their bond, but you can't see the empty void that is Johnny's absence in Robby's life or the emptiness of a dark apartment or a lack of food that isn't there. You can't see the absence of psychological and emotional support, especially when those who should be giving it don't give it. Robby's relationships with Johnny, Shannon, and Daniel aren't just the moments he has with them, but also consist of all the things they didn't do for him that he had needed them to do as the adults in his life.

s3 and s5 showed what a great difference a support system can make, though a support system shouldn't come at anyone else's expense, like Johnny's support of Miguel has always come at Robby's expense. In s3, Johnny put all his time and effort into helping Miguel with his recovery. While Johnny was building Miguel back up, Johnny ignored all the hardships Robby was facing. Robby was alone and was being torn down and eventually went to Kreese of all people because he was the only one who had been there for Robby at a desperate time. Later, Robby knew that he couldn't trust Kreese, but like Robby told Johnny, he couldn't trust Johnny either. Daniel, as Sam's father, rightfully put his time and effort into supporting Sam, repeatedly telling her that he is there for her. Daniel, however, never did the same for Robby, despite having taken on the role of Robby's mentor and parental figure. Robby expectedJohnny and Daniel to care about him and didn't expect Kreese to care about him, so Robby stayed with Kreese because he was the more predictable one between them. In s5, Daniel lost in his fight against Silver, like Robby lost in his fight against Miguel. Everyone rallied around Daniel after his loss, while no one other than Johnny and the Diazs knew about the Robby and Miguel's fight, and no one other than Johnny and Miguel knew of Robby's loss. Given that Robby became people pleasing towards all of them, it seems Robby didn't trust any of them to care about him so he didn't tell anyone about the fight. This itself adds to Robby's trauma. While Daniel was lifted up and supported by those around him, Robby has been dealing with things alone for a long time, especially since the school fight, and feels that he can't trust the same people who supported Daniel.

Robby has had no consistent parental/adult, psychological, and emotional support for a very long time, probably his whole life. By the end of s5, Robby needs that support as well as time to heal more than ever. Robby needs the support of someone who is truly committed to helping him and who won't give up on him and/or tell him that helping him was a mistake or ignore his mental/emotional state, regardless of whether he has screwed up.

As I mentioned, the narrative also emotionally neglects Robby. Robby's pov and side of the story aren't just overlooked by the other characters but are also overlooked by the narrative as well. His side of the story hasn't mattered to the other characters, at least so far, and the story is told more from their povs.

The other characters, the narrative, and most fans are like Kyler in this conversation: acting like Robby's traumas and feelings aren't anything to acknowledge.

Despite this narrative emotional neglect, Robby still exists in the narrative and still is such a central part of it. Robby is the protagonist and underdog in the story. As I mentioned in another post, the protagonist isn't always the main pov character. However, the protagonist's pov is eventually revealed. With that revelation, I hope Robby gets a proper support system, especially someone who will sit with him repeatedly, listen to how he feels, tell him that it's okay for him to feel what he feels, and help him process in a healthy way all the feelings that he's been holding in for so long. Someone who will help him to trust again and to love himself as he should, and not to self-abandon in response to others' behaviors towards him. He needs someone who will be there for him, have his back, and be in his corner unconditionally.

(As always, please don't comment or reblog with dismissive comments about the nuance in the story. The nuance is part of the story, and the story is exploring important topics like trauma, bullying, neglect, and dysfunctional relationships. Regardless of what will be in s6 or what payoffs we'll get in the story, this is an analysis of what is in canon so far. Robby's story is so important because it portrays abandonment, neglect, and emotional neglect consistently through Robby's experiences throughout the series. Robby's character and story represent various people in society and their struggles, and these topics should be respected.)

[sydwritess]

New School New Me

Bobby Brown x fem!reader

Summary: When Daniel joins west valley high, he is badly picked on by the cobra kai group. But the next day, when his sister shows, she immediately puts an end to the fight. Standing up to the bullies for her brother, using more than just words, she doesn't realize the attention she is pulling from a certain someone in that group.

First Person POV

Warning: swearing, yelling.

01 02 03

Moving from New Jersey to California was hard. It felt like we were moving all the way across the world. Don't get me wrong I love the palm trees, the beached and the nice weather but it's not the same as home.

Today was my first day of school but I didn't end up going. My brother on the other hand did go. He also went to a party the ngiht before.

Flash back:

"Y/n, are you here?" A voice in my apartment called. My brother.

"In my room!" I said.

Daniel bursts into my room with a huge black eye.

"Holy sh*t Daniel what happened?" I said, worried about my brother.

"I was at the beach party, and I was teaching this girl Ali how to bounce a soccer ball on her knee's. This guy, Johnny, I think his name was, and his karate friends come up to Ali and Johnny starts arguing with hr. I think they broke up or something. I don't know! So johnny threw her radio and broke it on the ground. So, I went and picked it up. And tried to give it back to her. And because I wanted to be polite and give it to her. Johnny said I was interrupting them and started beating me up!" He said fuming.

"Daniel, how many times have I told you to stay out of peoples business." I said annoyed, walking to the bathroom.

"I was being nice! I am nice you know." he said.

After he calmed down, I helped clean up his bruise. If my mother saw, she would be furious.

"How are you going to tell mom about this?" I said

"I don't know. Maybe just wear sunglasses tomorrow." He said.

"Good luck. I'm not getting caught up in that." I said.

End of flashback.

I'm know I'm my room, home alone, thinking about tomorrow. Wondering who those guys are that is bullying my brother.

I was in the kitchen cooking dinner because my mom was staying at work late, and I hear the front door open.

"Hey Daniel." I said.

"Hey." He says, not turning around to see me. Avoiding me. I quickly finish making dinner and go to his room.

"Daniel dinners ready." I say knocking on the door.

"Just go away."

'What in the world?' I ask myself.

After a couple tired of getting him to come out, nothing works.

Then, I hear a knock on the front door. Rolling my eyes, trying to get Daniel to come out. I walk to the front door, and there stands a girl about my age with blonde curly hair.

"Can I help you?" I ask the girl.

"Hi, I'm Ali Mills. I'm one of Daniel's friends I came to check on him." The girl said in a happy tone

"You're the famous Ali? Yeah, come in, I'm trying to get him out of his room right now." I said lightly laughing.

"Famous? Are you his aunt or something?" Ali asks, laughing.

"No, I'm his sister, y/n. He told me about yesterday at the beach with the guys beating him up."

"Oh, I'm sorry, it's nice to meet you! Yeah, I tried to get them to stop but it's no luck, especially when they do karate. I'm sorry again, I didn't want him to get beat up." She says sticking out her hand.

"It's okay, I get it. Nice to meet your to." I say smiling.

"Do you go to West Valley?"

"Yes, I start tomorrow, I didn't end up going today." I say

"Ohh okay, cool."

"Give me one sec, I'll go get him."

Luckily, I have known how to pick a lock so i unlock Daniels door and see him sitting on his bed with a giant scrape on his forehead.

"What the f*ck!" I said out of anger.

"Who the hell did this to you?" Aly must have heard my shouting as she walked down the hallway and gasped at Daniels sight.

"Oh my god Daniel!" She said.

"It's not that big of a deal." Daniel tried to brush it off.

"Did Johnny do this to you?" Ali asks.

"Yeah, It's no big deal. I'm fine."

"It's not fine though Daniel. If they keep bothering you, you're going to end up in the hospital, or worse." I said

'Someone has to do something about them.' I thought.

Ali got Daniel to come out of his room finally and she ended up staying for dinner which I didn't mind. After she left, Daniel cleaned his head up and then we went to bed, ready for the next day.

The next day, I got up earlier than normal, so I could figure out a game plan. Nobody's going to push my brother off a hill and get away with it.

After figuring something out. I sat down with my mom, ate breakfast with her, and then I waited in my car for Daniel. On our way to school, we picked Ali up and made it to school. Before we got out of the car, we sat there for a moment.

"Where are the guys that hurt you?" I ask Daniel, straightforward.

"Nowhere y/n, just don't worry about it." he said.

"Ali, where are they." I said looking at her through the rearview mirror.

"They are over there." She said, pointing to the group of guys.

"Of course, the typically bully look."

"I second that." Ali said laughing.

"Well, let's go start our day, shall we?" I say smirking.

"Wait what- y/n, don't bother them. Their evil." Daniel said grabbing my arm.

"If they're so evil then they can go f*ck off down to hell." I said leaning into him, then getting out of my car. Ali following right behind me not stopping me. Daniel on the other hand ran off somewhere.

"Is he always this scared?" Ali asked me.

"Yeah, sadly."

"If you want, I'll talk to johnny really quick, just so he doesn't go off on you." Ali said.

"Whatever you think is best." I said.

We get up to the guys, Ali says hello to all of them while i just look at them, standing behind her.

"Hey guys, this is my friend y/n."

All of the guys say hello at one time.

"She actually needs to talk to you. So, I will let this happened because it's going to be something" she says mumbling the last part.

"Yeah, so basically my brother over there." I say pointing to him

"He's being a child right now but well get to that later. So, I'm going to need you to leave him the f*ck alone real f*cking quick cause this isn't about to happen for the rest of the year. This cool guy act that you're trying to pull isn't working and you're making yourself out to be a bunch of weak a*s b*tches. Instead of talking to him like a normal f*cking human being would. You go right to fighting."

"Well, we were just messing around. You know." Johnny said.

"No that's not messing around. It's called almost cracking someone's skull open. Clearly you don't know what "messing around" is." I said.

" And First of all, Ali was already broken up with you, probably because she couldn't stand to see that every day of her life." I say pointing to johnny.

"And second of all, instead of talking it out, you feel the need to beat him up, because you find him as a threat. And let me just say, my brother is not a threat. He is weaker then sh*t, but the real threat is me. So, continue your sh*t and it will be you, laying on the side of the road bleeding out. F*ck around with him again, and you'll find out real f*cking fast." I say looking at all of them, their mouths dropping to the floor. Shocked that someone would have the 'audacity' to tell them off. People stopping and staring at the scene. Me and Ali walk over to my brother.

"There. Problem solved. They mess with you again, you tell me." I say.

Throughout the day, i noticed the guys in a few of my classes. When I got paired with them for a gorup project of course. I think their names are Dutch, Jimmy and Tommy? I didnt pay attention.

"So... how's the new school?" Tommy tried making conversation.

"It's a school filled with idiots." i say, getting back to my work.

Out of the whole group, I talk with jimmy the most.

"Wait, why are you talking to him so much?" Dutch asked.

"Because he didn't do anything wrong?" I said

"But he was with us when we pushed your brother." Tommy said.

"And yet, he didn't actually push him. So... I like him. He's cool. What are you jealous?" I said.

As we Continue the project, A couple of guys came into our classroom and sat with us. Johnny and Bobby.

"Hey guys." Johnny said. Then looking over at me. A hint of fear on his face.

"What are you doing?" Bobby asked.

"A group project you dork." Dutch said.

All five of them started getting really loud, distracting me from my work. I then notice Bobby coming and sitting next to me.

"What are you working on y/n? He asks.

"Just notes." I can barely hear myself talk.

"Hey can y'all like shut the hell up on sec, I need to write this down." I said to the boys who were acting like children.

They all stopped goofing around and starred at me.

"What. Never got told the word no or be quiet?"

As I finish my notes, I put my stuff away and sit there. Waiting for the other three to do their portion of the work. When they finally completed the project, they went back to goofing off. I just rolled my eyes and sat there. Until the teacher told them to be quiet; they just sat there to.

"So, where'd you move from?" bobby asked me.

"Jersey."

"Cool, do you like it here?"

"The people are very immature; the beaches are the only good thing here so far." I said.

"Okay..." Bobby said.

"Did you get to see the city at all from the hills?" Bobby asked.

"The hills?"

"Yeah, you know, all the big houses, nice cars, you can see the city view from your house." Jimmy said.

"Oh no, I don't usually communicate with classy people because where I come from, they have an attitude. I guess they act the same here as well." I said looking over at johnny who just rolled his eyes. Some of the group hiding their laughter.

"Where do you come from? Besides Jersey." Tommy asked.

"Well, i come from a poor Italian family."

"OO what's being Italian like?" Tommy asked.

"Well..." I said trying to think.

"For Christmas dinner, my grandmother always cooks pasta, and my grandfather always argues with her saying Shes doing it wrong. And my whole family is always louder than ever, so I always carry Advil for myself and my friends because there is a 100% chance you will get a headache from all of the screaming, loud laughing, loud talking, and crying kids. So yeah." I said.

"That sounds awesome!" Dutch answered.

"Now I know where you get your temper from." Johnny answered. I just rolled my eyes.

"Not really."

"Do you do anything outside of school?" Bobby asked.

"I used to do karate."

"Really?"

"Yeah, 2 black belts, 2 state championships and 2 NJ valley tournaments." I said.

"Wow, your better then johnny man." Tommy said laughing.

"There is no way she is better than me." Johnny replied, getting red, possibly angry.

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

Bobby's POV

As y/n was talking, all I could hear was her voice, all the other comments and noises drowned out. Looking at her as she talked to the guys. She looked so pretty. My idiot friends had to ruin everything by pushing her brother down a hill. As she answered the guy's questions, all i could do was listen. She has such an angelic voice.

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

Reader POV

As I was talking, I noticed out of the corner of my eye that Bobby was staring at me. Not in a weird way, but more than the rest of the guys. Maybe he was just trying to listen.

At the end of the day, I was walking to my car when i felt a tap on my shoulder. It was Bobby.

"Hey y/n."

"Hey, what's up?" I said.

"Look, I just wanted to say sorry for my friends bullying your brother. Especially Johnny. He's like the leader of the group."

"It's okay. Just seeing his face after he got pushed off that hill really got me pissed off you know. It hurts seeing a family member like that. I could tell he's the leader of the group. He gives off a very bossy tone." I said laughing.

"Yeah, he sure is."

"Listen, I was wondering. Do you want to meet up somewhere? Maybe next week. We could catch up, or I could give you my side of the story on what happened with your brother? If you comfortable with that."

"Yeah sure, that sounds great. I'll catch up with you tomorrow." I Said smiling at him.

"Great, thanks. See you tomorrow." He said smiling back at me.

Walking to my car, I decide to sit there for a few thinking about everything. Wondering if he really wanted to meet up. And why?

Hey loves! This is very different from what I usually write. I don't usually swear or write swearing but my friend thought of this idea, and it is pretty good!

[msfbgraves]

Instead of the yacht scene which was embarrassing, forced, and peak cringe, Terry’s last scene should have been in the hospital with Daniel. Getting some closure, and Daniel forgiving him like he forgave everyone else. And then Terry watching him leave, Terry once more alone. This time forever. That would have been so much more poignant and respectful to both their characters, but especially Terry’s who was given such a rubbish ending.

He gets to have Daniel’s forgiveness, but also the loss of what could have been. Even without shipping, Daniel symbolizes so many things: the teacher Terry could have been, the friendship there could have been, the karate that could have been. And with Thomas and Ralph’s acting and chemistry on screen, this could have been a truly moving and excellent scene. But also subtle, showing rather than telling.

And while I believe 100% that Kreese should have died at the end of season 5, I also think that if the above had happened, Kreese could have just vanished like he did in KK3. Walking out of Johnny and Tory’s lives forever, after having that moment with them both. Alone, but having to bear the weight of his choices. A quiet and lonely redemption.

I’m sad about what could have been instead of what we got. What a pity.

I agree, Nonnie. If they are going to set that illness plot up, if they are even going to setup Terry telling Daniel at the LaRusso kitchen table, if Daniel is going to listen, and if we are going to get the closest to vulnerable they are going to be with each other after all that Terry has done in the span of a year at most: sexually threaten him, beat him unconscious, have him locked in a dog cage. If Daniel can look past all that, because he can see the need in Terry's eyes, for genuine connection, and invite him into his home, his inner sanctum, with nothing but Johnny for protection... There needs to be a payoff.

It is so absolutely Daniel to see a soul in need and go: alright. I'm here. And one of my personal reasons for disliking Kreese is that Daniel, who can open himself up to Chozen, to Mike, even to Terry, takes one look at Kreese and goes: nope. Nothing there. Piece of garbage human. Next. He has that radar that pets have. If the dog hates you, move on. Daniel has never lost it. He also takes one look at Miyagi and clocks him as a great man and is absolutely right. This man has a medal of honor, something nobody would even suspect, and Daniel goes: greatness right there.

Terry is a deeply hurt man and through his own hurt, inflicted by Terry himself, Daniel can still show him that grace. And he isn't wrong because when he looks at Terry with utter disappointment, the man feels it, he knows he done fucked up. Kreese doesn't have that, and that makes for a terrifying villain in other ways, but it makes that redemption arc ring false. He can drop anyone he's bonded with: Terry, Johnny, Tory. But Terry still has a part of him that is shaken by Kwon's death, that is ashamed of himself for hurting Robby, that regrets losing Kenny, that needs love, and let me be the first to say: so what. This man has committed atrocious crimes, and even before, he has taken horrific advantage of Daniel. Daniel owes him nothing. Yes, there was love, but it was false, and selfish and Daniel's reaction in S4 was completely understandable. Because even if Terry meant it, he took the man that watched Daniel get beaten up with glee while he taunted him with him as backup. That's mob boss behaviour.

But not the last time they had a heart to heart. Terry came, alone, and was completely open and vulnerable. No tricks. No schtick.

And Daniel acted on that and he would have acted again. I don't think he would have left Terry alone. He held his father's hand as an 8 year old boy. He held Miyagi's hand, I am sure. Daniel grappling with Terry's impending death doesn't fit the tone of Cobra Kai but that doesn't mean he won't have done it. I can believe that Terry and Daniel had a scene like you describe, with Terry thinking Daniel would have left for the last time, only for him to return two minutes later exclaiming: these curtains, Terry, they have to go. What do you really love having around you? You need a stuffed animal. Why aren't there any pictures? And were looking into trials, Terry, if you have to fund your own. You must know people who make drugs. No, don't talk back, you haven't even tried. You can decide against it when you know what you are deciding against, no sooner. And these flowers, Terry, really, what is this, a catalogue shoot? When can we get you somewhere nice? Well, what's money for?! Nurse, we need to talk about ambulant care. Don't go anywhere Terry, I'll be right back. Can someone bring Mr. Silver his file, please? Yes I'll wait. I'll get some good sandwiches in. Any for the ward? The pastrami is delicious. And cannoli, of course. Terry, lie down. Why are you crying? Nurse...!

[shrinkthisviolet]

I would love to hear your thoughts on the Johnny / Daniel conflict over Daniel stopping the fight! Personally, I think Johnny is wrong on multiple levels. If he really thought the best way for Tory to work through her grief was to fight it out, I disagree but different people have different coping mechanisms, but he shouldn't have offered Sam up as a way to do it. Even if Johnny was completely ignoring Sam's well-being and was willing to put her in danger, Tory just apologized and was forgiven. How would she feel if she hurt sam all over again because she was fighting over-emotionally? If Johnny really thought she needed to fight, he should have offered to spar with her.

But also, I think he's wrong about her reasoning on wanting to fight in the first place. To me, it didn't seem like she wanted to hit someone or unleash her anger or work through her feelings. It seemed like she had a very specific goal of becoming the girls' team captain. Sometimes, when you go through intense grief instead of working through it, you want to distract yourself by doing something productive. Her goal was to win the tournament for her mom. To do that, she needed to be captain. That's why she wanted to win, and she wanted to do it by fighting because she wanted to honor her mom by proving she's "a fighter." Because Daniel and Amanda are well-adjusted people, they probably could have helped her through it in the moment, but Johnny undermining Daniel reinforced what Kreese said to Tory by implying that he was playing favorites, causing her to storm off. She literally says the same thing to Amanda that Kreese says to her, that "when push comes to shove you're always gonna choose her over me" and it's after Johnny implies that Daniel is playing favorites. Johnny essentially pushed her back to Kreese by making her think no one else would prioritize her, and all because he projected his personal issues (from when he was a grown adult, and that got him sent to jail) onto a teenager he's never really seemed to care about before now.

This is also the first scene I can think of where Tory and Daniel interact, and i wish we could have gotten more. She's had great moments with Amanda and some more with Sam after she apologized. It would be nice for her to complete the circle and have a nice interaction with Daniel. I think Daniel has the most to teach Tory when it comes to karate and balance, so it would be nice if he actually got to do that, lol. I heard that Peyton said in an interview that Daniel was right to stop the fight, and I hope it does actually get explored in part 2.

Love this take! You’re absolutely right. Johnny was wrong to want to continue the fight—Tory hadn't fully processed her mom’s death, hadn't eaten or slept in 24 hours, hadn’t even been hugged or supported in any way. That’s not the time to jump into a fight...and that’s how everyone ends up hurt (and yep, if Tory had hurt Sam in that state, that would’ve just compounded her grief and made her feel guilty on top of it). So glad Peyton agrees!

And YEP—Tory wanted to continue that fight specifically, to become captain and fight in the tournament. Johnny missed that (and so did at least a handful of fans). Daniel and Amanda were right there to support her, and Robby could’ve too, but as you said, Johnny reinforced “oh you’re playing favorites” (reinforcing Kreese’s words…even tho that wasn’t Johnny’s intention, it was still the wrong time to say that regardless. Read the room, Johnny, ffs) and killed any progress that could've been made*. The fight could’ve been postponed for a day (or at least half a day) until she got rest, food, and support—it didn’t have to happen right then and there.

*none of them should’ve let her walk off, and I’m pissed that they did, but they could've gotten somewhere with Tory to begin with if Johnny hadn’t interjected needlessly and had just TRUSTED DANIEL AND AMANDA

(Plus, Johnny comparing losing his mom at 30 to Tory losing hers at 17-18 felt weird to me. Loss is loss and hurts regardless of age, but people deal with it differently, and age is absolutely a factor in that)

Tory and Daniel have so many parallels, especially in s5...I was absolutely looking forward to them interacting this season. Alas...it was just for this, and Daniel never gets to bring up that he lost a parent as a child too—he KNOWS what that feels like and how much it hurts (and he lost another in Mr. Miyagi, but that was as an adult, so the actuation isn't quite the same).

[cal-daisies-and-briars]

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66 for ⛰️:

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Eddie wonders what sort of questions that will lead to in a nearly four year-old, but he can’t worry about that yet. 

“Does it feel better?” He asks Buck later that night, while they’re getting ready for bed.

“Having met Chloe?” Buck asks. 

Eddie shakes his head.

“Knowing that it’s not about Arthur,” he clarifies. “That there’s… Well, it sounds like there’s something wrong with her. Whether that’s nature or nurture.”

Buck inhales. contemplative. “Yes and no.”

“No?” Eddie inquires.

“We’re still going to have to explain it to him someday. And that’s still going to hurt him, even if we have more answers than we thought.”

Eddie nods. “That’s true.”

“I don’t want him to grow up feeling…” Buck trails off.

“The way you felt?” Eddie asks.

“Yeah,” Buck admits.

Eddie grabs his hand and squeezes it.

“Then we’ll also just have to tell him about everyone who chose him,” Eddie says. “About all the family that wanted him. Chris, who couldn’t wait to be his brother. We won’t leave any of that out.”

Buck rubs his eyes, getting a little teary.

“You’re right,” he says. “We’ll make sure he knows.”

“I think he already knows how loved he is,” Eddie says. “We’ll just keep telling him, no matter what.”

Besides, he thinks they don’t have to worry about that sort of conversation for a very long time. 

2033

i. 

Eddie was right about that conversation being far off. And still, it ends up happening sooner than he’d like. 

Artie has just turned eight. It’s Halloween. Eddie, Buck, Maddie, and Chim are taking the boys trick-or-treating. Jee-Yun has elected to go to a friend’s sleepover Halloween party instead, and Chim is sort of crushed about it. So they’re left with Hawkeye and Michael Meyers - an unlikely duo.

“Did you let him watch Halloween?” Buck asks when he sees Daniel’s costume. “That’s kind of dark, man.”

“Absolutely not,” Maddie assures him.

“He might be too young to watch the classics, but I will raise my son to honor his founding fathers,” Chim says. A little too seriously.

“I bet that’s what Jee is watching tonight,” Eddie says.

Maddie groans. “Don’t tell me that.”

“Oh man,” Buck laughs. “When I was twelve, I stayed at a friend’s house for a sleepover. His parents rented him Nightmare on Elm Street from Blockbuster.”

“Crazy sentence,” Eddie interjects. 

“The scene where Johnny Depp explodes into a blood fountain?” Buck shudders. “I pretended I wasn’t scared, but I had nightmares for a week.”

“Great,” Maddie sighs. “That’s what we have to look forward to.”

“Probably,” Eddie agrees. 

“Jee won’t be scared,” Chim waves it off. “She’s got nerves of steel, like her father.”

He gets the teasing he deserves for that one. 

They trick-or-treat near Maddie and Chim’s. The boys are convinced the houses a couple streets over give better chocolate. They’re both pretty much buzzing with energy the entire time. 

---

66 for 🥊:

---

“Okay. I can do that.”

“Thank you,” Eddie exhales. “And we’ll… Talk… Later?”

Again, Buck nods. Offers a tight little smile. 

“Of course.”

The drive back to the house is marked by quiet on Eddie and Christopher’s part and incessant filler chat from Buck. He catches Christopher up on a lot. Things Christopher definitely wouldn’t have asked about. Maddie’s baby. His breakup with Tommy. Awkwardly - very awkwardly. His adventures in baking. Several interesting calls; from bees to tigers. He just keeps on talking. 

Eddie has always found this habit of Buck’s oddly comforting. Even when he pretends it annoys him. He should probably stop that - the lie he was telling himself has been very exposed. At first, Eddie worries it might annoy Chris. He’s irritable right now. Maybe the reminder of everything going on without him isn’t the best call. But Chris seems to be lulled by it, in a way. He listens, makes hums of acknowledgement where needed, and seems to just calm down. By the time they pull into the driveway, he appears regulated. Steadier than at the airport.

Eddie isn’t sure how to approach this arrival. He’d like to think the house isn’t a scary place to be back at. That it has more good memories than bad ones. But he also remembers what it was like for him, sometimes, coming home after months overseas. It was hard. Awkward. Wrong. Not that Christopher is coming home from war. But, in a way, sort of? There has been a fair share of emotional warfare among them all. 

He turns to look at Chris. Should he say something? Should he try to soften this somehow? Or should he act like everything is normal and fine? He doesn’t want Chris to think it’s an event, but he wants to acknowledge that this might be hard. Fuck. Eddie has no idea. 

“Your room is the same,” Eddie ends up awkwardly blurting. Not remotely helpful. 

Chris frowns. “Were you going to change it?”

“No!” Eddie insists. “No, definitely not. I just… I just wanted you to know I didn’t.”

He can see Buck trying not to wince. 

Fuck.

“Well, let’s get your stuff inside,” Buck changes the topic. 

“Yeah,” Eddie says. “Let’s do that.”

🟨

Dad wasn’t lying. His room hasn’t changed. Actually, nothing has changed. Chris is half convinced Dad hasn’t even rearranged the magnets on the fridge in the time since Chris left. He doesn’t know if that makes him relieved or mad. Can he be both, somehow? 

[transjlawrence]

Season 6, episode 5 thoughts

“I’m not that easy to track.” If Tory were to actually call the cops right now, there is no way he would be able to get away fast enough for the cops to not find him

I want to write full analyses about the way Kreese views life is war and the way that affects the way he talks and the way he teaches

AISHA MENTION!!

Wayne Gretzky quote?

I’m glad that Tory mentions the way probation genuinely affects the decision for her to get into college and for Robby to get into college and how they have to seek out other avenues. Like mentioning the very real world consequences is important to me

”We are on the same page.” *points to his back* “Miyagi-Do, remember?” And yet he’s wearing his black headband and Daniel is wearing his hachimaki from the ‘84 All-Valley. Fascinating and subtle differences

I don’t know what they’re watching but one day I hope they watch Shootfighter and pretend that’s not Billy Zabka on screen the whole time

Oh heartbreaking and also more visceral acting from Peyton List.

It is interesting to me how Robby seems to have a happy, nice demeanor and seems to really be trying to do better but it’s like he’s also never allowed to be angry again. He can’t be anything but content.

Oh Tory :(( I hope she has someone she can tell and that the other characters aren’t like, “What’s wrong with you??” Bc it’s like genuinely my least favorite thing that happens in shows when a character is grieving. Or I hope she isn’t told she’s grieving incorrectly either

”And what are you fighting for?” “Closure. Tory beat me last time but it was tainted.” I like the way that Sam’s character has matured too and how it shows.

HELP?? HE STOOD UP AND THEN TRIED TO GET LOUIE IN ON THIS? YOU DO NOT WANT TO BE A CAR SALESMAN JOHNNY

Oh, they are letting Robby be angry. I am so happy about that. Also they are so Cain and Abel coded. Second to that, why is he training in Converse? I wear them to work. They are the worst shoes.

Oh little Tory 🥺 and showing us real moments with her mom

THEYRE PARTNER-ING!!! THEYRE ACTING LIKE PARTNERS!!

Oh is this a mirror of the All-Valley. This is exactly what happened in the first karate kid movie

I need the crane kick to be used actually. I hope it is

Some part of me wants to know what the behind-the-scenes choreography for this fight looked like. Like ever since my friend showed me a stage combat video, I’ve been really curious about other stage combat stuff

Oh Robby won. You know this will cause beef between them.

This too is a reflection of the first Karate Kid tournament. The extra kick going back to that extra push that Johnny did to Daniel

Oh, the miscommunication and the yelling from Tory. Oh and her talking about Kreese’s words. Oh Tory

”She was working through it!” And who understands better than Johnny? Also the acting from Zabka goddamn

Why are you talking about Miyagi like that. I don’t like this whole tarnish Miyagi thing (mostly bc it keeps in line w Daniel’s idolization instead of treating Miyagi like his character was human)

WHY ARE THEY DIVORCING??? WHY DO THEY KEEP DIVORCING?? HES ON THE VERGE OF TEARS

Oh them both putting it on their kids. Oh.

Also Hawk in the tournament with Demetri. Oh.

Also I am worried for Tory. The way they just kind of let her leave and instead decided to fight about it instead of going after Tory or making sure she was okay was kind of crazy

Oh Kreese again. AND TORY. The music goddamn

[avatarskywalker78]

It's a (belated) Six Sentence Sunday and I've been in a Miyagi-verse mood - mainly Cobra Kai but I also recently rewatched the first film which got me thinking about ideas for the Nicky Connors series (which really need a boost and I apologise for the slowness of things) so I've written some things!! First off a snipper from the 'Tory is a Barnes AU'!! In which Sarah visits the Nichols home to find a certain someone arguing with Tory about Miguel - after Tory points out that the only person in the wrong at the part was her ex.

“Don’t you say that about him—”

“I’ll say what I damn well like” She retorted, gripping the doorframe. “Because it’s the truth! Because we’re all responsible for what happened that day and if Miguel hadn’t felt entitled over her his whole rivalry with Keene wouldn’t even have started in the first place. Two people were hospitalised, Hawk, and one of them wasn’t even part of this.”

“Then she should’ve stayed out of the way. And Miguel’s why I’m here, Tory – we need to get revenge on Miyagi-Do for what they did—”

“That’s funny,” Sarah interrupted, “because I could’ve sworn that Miyagi-Do had shut down and the person responsible for Diaz’s injury was serving time in juvie so they are paying for what they’ve done. Unless, of course, you’re using that as a justification.”

“Who the fuck are you?!” He squared up to her. “Stay out of this, bitch.”

“Stop harassing people and I will, dickhead.”

Unfortunately for him, Sarah Barnes is very much the 'find out' to his 'fuck around' so this does not go so well for him.

Next up a snippet from 'to make new friends (and set things straight), the Elaine & Sam friendship fic and a sequel to my other fic to make things right (defending others)!

“You’re already his legacy because you’re his kid.” Elaine told her. “That’d be like if my parents started trying to get me to work in the furniture store or take it over – it’s not gonna happen, I’d resent being pushed into it and it would just foster bad feelings in the future.”

“He’s not mentioned his workplace.”

“Same thing applies though, doesn’t it?”

“…I guess so. I’ve tried talking to him about it but he just doesn’t listen, as always…”

That bitterness was there again, and Elaine frowned.

“If you don’t mind me asking, what’s he done? Aside from all this about you being his karate heir and that.”

Sam's still pissed over what Daniel said to Robby, and after finding out about it Elaine's not surprised - a parent being protective is one thing, but saying such hurtful words to a kid you supposedly trusted enough to take in is another thing entirely.

I've also worked a little bit on my Nicky Connors Part 4 (or possibly Part 5, depending) - this is not long after Johnny introduces Nicky to the Cobras and it seems like it's gonna be a relatively peaceful lunch...until Milly, Nicky's apparent nemesis, appears.

Alright, so, the thing was: Johnny was still not entirely sure as to the cause of her beef with Nicky.

He’d assumed it was something to do with their class differences – Milly was Hills like him and the Cobras whereas Nicky was…well, actually, he wasn’t quite sure, but certainly from the less affluent part of town, yet it seemed to be more than that. Not jealously over her proximity with the Cobras because she already had a boyfriend, and so far as he knew she’d been the one to start this, and Nicky refused to take it lying down…

It could simply be she’d taken a dislike to her. Girls could be strange like that – sometimes they needed no reason at all, and so far it hadn’t gotten physical. It was insults and snide remarks flung at each other in passing – though he always had the impression Nicky would dearly love to tip a tray up on her.

Milly's not really going to be a major character and her rivalry with Nicky is not on the same level as some of the others in this franchise - in this case Johnny's gotten close to the truth in that Milly just doesn't like her at all.

Tagging (let me know if you want to be added or removed): @shrinkthisviolet @starstruckpurpledragon @dream-beyond-the-fantasy @ofbriarandrose

[violet-2084-turkish-warrior]

Watched Netflix's Dmc show and have more opinion

Rabbit guy was an ınteresting villain,maybe the only villain (after Transformers One's Megatron) that i feel sympathy and while disapproving his methods, i understand the motivation.

Dante is a bae👌🤭

While the stuff happened between Humanity and Demons are a little reflection of immigrant issue in Usa, (imo) i love how two sides have their own right points in their actions. What i mean is yes, Demons trying to take refuge in a safer place for better conditions while doing it illegally in humanity's standarts. Humans, while right about Demons taking refuge illegally (again in humanity's standarts), they are wrong to brutalize innocent demons. While i don't love the fact that the story takes place in the fucking USA and Usa proganda (i mean the Hollywood's stereotypically ✨hero good guy✨ Usa proganda) stinkingly leaks, the conflict between Humanity and Demons is interesting.

Listen i loved Lady but i don't like how she treated Dante, like okay i understand her reasoning but still... If season 2 happens,i hope to see a drama where after Dante breaks out from Darkom, develops trust issues after the stunt Lady pulled,and later struggling with placing his trust on her.

I don't why but the treatment Demons get reminded me of the madness happened in Iraq at the hands of ✨ righteous good guy hero✨ America . So Vergil get their ass bro in second season and Dante my boy please don't be Baines' dog.

I hope Vergil won't done dirty if second season happens and be a good antagonist at least. (And also give me my doomed brothers)

Okay a controversial opinion but i loved Johnny Young Bosch as Dante. Sure Nero's sound comes from him but hear me out! Maybe Netflix show is an ilteration where takes place in Dante's younger years. I feel like we are watching a younger Dante so imo his voice fits. And also imo Robbie Daymond as Vergil is good (i loved Robbie Daymond's voice more) (Nothing and no hate agaisnt Reuben Langdon and Daniel Southworth and their performance as Dante and Vergil)

And lastly Toshiyuki Morikawa, Hiroaki Hirata,Fumiko Orikasa and Ryotaro Okiayu (Japanese VAs of Dante,Vergil,Lady and White Rabbit if you don't know) my beloveds 💖💖💖

[macchiatosdumptruck]

I'm not watching CK anymore, especially as I have grown to absolutely hate the character of Johnny Lawrence thanks to the writers 100% ruining what could have been great character development. It's hurtful seeing a franchise I have loved for years (the movies since the early 90s) go down the drain like this. I can't stand how the writers make Daniel LaRusso, my favorite, always the bad guy in some way.

It's horrible how the writers hate Daniel and Robby and always make them out to be somehow "less" and "wrong" than a total deadbeat, violent loser like Johnny who has lacked character development in every single way since the start of season 3. I can't stand him, and he has ruined the show for me. I wanted to stay for Daniel, Terry, and Robby, but it's not worth it now. Even Kreese sucks shit, and has totally overstayed his welcome.

Thanks for your posts, but the show is dead to me now. At least I'll always have the movies!

The thing is I don't think the writers actually do hate Daniel or Robby,or at least not the entire writing staff. But I do think johnjoshhayden definitely have some unresolved issues with him.

I keep thinking back to seasons one and two. There were definitely things I didn't like with how they portrayed Daniel, again to try to make another character look better in relation, which I feel is kinda unneeded and silly. It's kind of like telling the audience who to root for instead of letting them figure it out on their own.

But seasons one and two were generally pretty fair. They really showed how everyone thought what they were doing was the right thing. They didn't think of themselves as wrong or bad.

Again, I feel like they maybe related too hard to Johnny, and so they were propping him up. It's strange though. Because, like. They'll show him being a loser, and were obviously supposed to think he's a loser but then they sort of shifted to "isn't this awesome though?" Like his alcoholism used to be for drama.

Season two Johnny was definitely my favorite. There was a lot of good development going on that was sadly dropped. He was a real person. Everyone was.

I think the problem is it got bigger than it was supposed to and they didn't know what to do. They didn't know how to write a big action show, seasons one and two were smaller dramas, but they felt they had to keep escalating.

And so characters became more one dimensional. The nuance of "different yet same" got lost.

And I know most Johnny fans also hate how they dropped the ball on his character. And I know that's why a lot of fans left after s4, and then again after s5.

But there is a certain section of fans (cobros who like him because he's "not pc" or fans that love him so much he can do no wrong in their eyes) that are going to support him and the show no matter what. Just out of principle.

I really don't know what happened to the creative team to make them shift gears like that and seemingly throw everything away but they did and it worked for them tbh. So they're probably gonna keep doing it.

But yeah. It really is a difficult,bitter feeling when something or someone you love is slowly taken away from you.

Idk if I'll watch the last season. ( I probably will tbh. Curiosity killed the cat) But I'll definitely watch it through my dash and be cautiously optimistic.

And in the end we can only focus on the good it's brought to us I think. At least that's probably the healthy way of thinking of it.

[pussyhoundspock]

your lawyer daniel AU has been living rent free in my head since you posted about it! what a good concept. also i went and read your CK fics on ao3 and i need to leave you a comment when i have the spoons but please know that you are the #1 cobra kai and daniel larusso understander to me. i feel like people either soften him up too much or they vilify him too much and what i truly need people to understand is that he fucks up so much AND hes traumatized as fuck. you write him so perfectly.

!! omg thank you!!! this is truly so kind to receive!!! SO true he has so many problems AND trauma followers of this blog will know my favorite daniel larusso moment was his class traitor crazyass bond villain moment of raising the rent on the minimart just because someone called him gay and then his wife called him gay when he tried to explain his plan and then had to reverse his whole position vis a vis selling out his own class. and then he kicked a boba out of tom cole's hand.

anyway this is getting away from me but thank you so much again!! i always love to talk about daniel larusso and cobra kai so feel free to dm me literally any time about that topic! I highly doubt that I'll ever get around to getting public defender daniel au into like. publishing on ao3 standards but i'll put another little scene (the next scene lol) under the cut!

“Five stamps,” Mister Miyagi said. 

“Oh, come on now, Mister Miyagi, you know I’m good for it! You know I am!” Mister Miyagi doesn’t say anything. “You’ve known me my whole life, practically, and I got this kid, and he’s going to be late, you know I don’t have time to get all the stamps.” Mister Miyagi just looked at him. “Alright, look, I know, I know, it’s my fault your working this crap job so maybe you don’t want to do me any favors –” this was clearly the wrong path as Mister Miyagi was starting to look pained, and like he might even interrupt Daniel, so Daniel hurried it along: “but it’s an emergency, you know those? A real emergency.” Daniel looked at Mister Miyagi. Mister Miyagi looked back. “Alright,” Daniel caved, “I’ll get the stamps.” 

He just started reversing the car when Mister Miyagi opened the gate out of the parking lot. “Oh, Mister Miyagi, you’re the best,” Daniel said, “really, I’ll bring you the money. I promise.” 

“Know you will,” Mister Miyagi said. “Take boy to school now, before you both late.” 

“Crap, yeah, I’m on it.” He pulled out of the parking lot and turned back to Miguel. “That’s Mister Miyagi. He’s my best friend. And the greatest guy I know.” 

Miguel didn’t say anything to that. Ah, whatever. His loss, Daniel figured. He drove the kid the school. 

“Hey, Mister LaRusso?” Miguel stopped him before Daniel could drive away. “Do you think that could really happen? Johnny being my sensei? Some of that stuff you said. Well. To be honest, learning karate sounds pretty good right now.” 

Daniel snorted. “Johnny Lawrence? Not a chance.” 

[crimsonblackrose]

.

ohnny's upset about the crib recommended by the LaRussos (who if I remember correctly from the early seasons, still had their baby stuff from their kids and I'm surprised didn't just give that to them) and because Daniel just shut down them returning to the tournament. "Maybe this crib should be for you." Seriously Carmen I love you.

"I wasn't ready to let go of the dream" So what happened to Daniel giving the dojo to Johnny and stepping down to a part time sensei like he told Amanda? Like I get that Daniel is done, but that doesn't mean the students or Johnny have to be. And it's kinda unfair to make him give up on his dreams and make the kids give up on their dreams too. Like I get a kid died. But that's not on them. That was on Sensei Kim and Kreese and some bullshit. Ope of course, here's silver on his yacht. I wonder if he lost the houses but kept the yacht? Based off his convo with his lawyer/money guy.

The fact Silver instantly knows the hold out was LaRusso. I mean come on Silver you put the guy in a cage, tormented him and then at the tournament a kid died. Why on earth would he want to return let alone let his daughter compete in that?

The fact his men carry around his medicine for him. Like will they finally tell us what is wrong with Silver? (I mean other than being a cartoon 80s villain?)

THE RETURN OF GREEN GOOP?! But from Sensei Kim?????

Oho Kreese also sending Yoon away and deciding to say no to the Sekai Taikai. Silver you gotta also hunt down Kreese and get him to change his mind. Not just LaRusso.

"I never forget a Larusso" Johnny omg lol

I wonder who wanted to a test ride with him. Also I love that we finally saw Sheila again.

She's right. Ope another bonsai down. Omg is it Silver? How on earth would they not immediately know if they saw Silver to like kick him out of the dealership and call the police. I was right. Congrats. Johnny Silver has kidnapped you. I mean Silver is right but it's wild that Johnny is so loyal that despite Silver bringing up all his dreams and that of the kids he's still sticking with a decision he doesn't agree with.

I loved this. Silver...is your business card...silver?

Omg it really fucking is. You're so freaking extra Silver I love you, A+ villain vibes.

So did Sensei Kim tell his grandaughter to kill Kreese? Johnny showing up and asking do you trust me just to step aside and reveal Silver is wild. It's also wild to see Silver at the LaRusso table with Johnny and Daniel. OMG yes he's going to tell us he's dying isn't he? OMG Johnny's the one who put two and two together. That he's sick. It's a good point, that Daniel holding out this time isn't like TKK3. It doesn't just affect him, it literally affects everyone. All the kids from around the world who went home with nothing but trauma after all that hard work.

Wild, absolutely wild but I love it. Give them a chance Daniel.

I thought for sure she'd kill Kreese, but the fact it's her own grandfather? You know what, good for her. Oh wow, his last words to her are 'perfect'. What a weird AF relationship. He hurt her, made her hurt herself, but then would heal her and talk to her in an almost kinder matter in private. And then when she kills him he compliments her. I dare say I think grandpa had a soft spot for her. But in a twisted complicated way. Interesting Kreese is being kinda kicked out, what will he do now, where will he go? Also what about Tory? It's an interesting circle that at the opening part of LaRusso Auto Amanda was pregnant with Sam and now at this anniversary part Carmen is pregnant.