#dynamics: kay and daniel

[strikefirstvenomfist]

“To strike is to touch,

to bruise is to know

the tenderness of impact.”

IX. Two Boxers by Carl Phillips

[nostalgicninjas]

Cobra Kai Dynamics: Tory Nichols and Samantha LaRusso

Things went too far. And if I’m being honest, it was my fault. I can’t believe what I did to your arm.

It’s not that bad, actually. It’s pretty much faded. A lot like this thing between us. Right?

Yeah. I really am sorry.

Me too.

[rosie-tyler]

[backinblack-80]

Controversial take, but I think at the end of Season 6, Daniel and Johnny really should go their separate ways, and Johnny 100% should not work for Daniel. Between getting the rates increased because he can and constantly talking about the 'right way' to do karate (which basically means his way), and even when Johnny conceeded on Eagle Fang (which I think he should have faught for more - yeah its a dumb name but Johnny built his dojo from nothing) it will never be enough for Daniel. And sure, Johnny isn't an angel by a long shot (although I am a Johnny apologist, so totally biased), but Daniel's brand of friendship is not healthy and probably a little toxic. Johnny should walk away and focus on his family.

[soupforsoup]

Yeah I'd love to make new and original content but unfortunately there's only so many ways that I can say how the opening scene in 1x07 where Daniel's training Robby in the home dojo makes me scream and cry and claw my eyes out

[andygo34]

Ship dynamics:

On the one hand, My fav💖:

-I love him. ❤

-He is always right (even when he is not).

-Perfect. ❤

-My comfort character.🫂

And on the other hand, this guy:

-I probably don't like him.

-I don't like it in any other ship other than with my favorite.

-I'm going to judge everything he does.

-He was just lucky to have chemistry with my fav.

[sorrowandchartreuse]

decades later and no character relationship has come close to mr miyagi and daniel's. there's no contest whatsoever. they're my downfall. my peak character dynamic. i have been searching and craving a pair like them since and no media has delivered. just... crying and screaming because they're so THEM and no one else has it.

[sensei-venus]

Working on some of the actors/actresses stuff but now I'm thinking of this.

@gemini-sensei, I have this idea about Poly!Alpha!GirlCock!Amanda Alpha!Daniel and Alpha!Johnny, where Omega!Chubby!Reader has already had the Twins Sam and Robby.

But now just a few years later finds herself pregnant once again, and has to explain to the others what's up, and how this time she knows it's Amanda’s pup.😈

[pinkgrapefloyd]

Frey & McGray Lawrusso AU where repressed bitchy argumentative Daniel gets transferred to work with Johnny (depression beard, terrible reputation, permanently getting into physical fights, off his tits on conspiracy theories)

are you seeing my vision

[demetriandelibinaryboyfriends]

Johnny & Miguel My Beloveds, Daniel & Robby My Beloveds

romance is lame and overrated i love mentor/mentee relationships in fiction and especially when theyre sort of fucked up

[superectojazzmage]

Just back from Alien Romulus and hoooo boy oh boy. Review/analysis.

Easily the best Alien movie since the first two, which isn't saying much, yeah, but it is legit a really cool and well-made movie, competing with Late Night With The Devil, Longlegs, and Cuckoo for title of my favorite horror movie this year.

In a lot of ways it's about harvesting the few good ideas from the post-2 movies that were squandered and doing them right, plus getting the series back to it's healthier roots, kinda the movie equivalent of someone doing physical therapy to get back in the saddle after an injury. This means it's not quite brand new ground like some may hope for and I've heard some people feel it gets a little derivative at points because of it. I can kinda agree and certainly understand that criticism, but I feel it does what it's aiming for really well and sets things up for future works to go in even crazier directions. Furthermore, it takes a lot of time to try and weld together the disparate post-2 movies in a way that brings the series back to a little coherency.

The atmosphere is really intense and cool, swinging between lovecraftian dread and build-up and high-energy chaos. The aesthetics and special effects are gorgeous, taking full advantage of the progress that technology has made since 2 plus really digging in to the used cassette future vibe of the older films. The characters are likable and actually intelligent (or at least understandable) in behavior like in the first two movies, so you care about what's happening to them instead of just waiting for them to get munched. The action and kills were really cool and creative, the cinematography in general was off-kilter in an awesome way - there's a definite attempt to make the movie feel claustrophobic and intimate. Fede Alvarez did a fantastic job in general, I'd love to see him do more with the series.

It REALLY cranks up the series' psychosexual, freudian, and sexual assault subtext, arguably to a point where it's just plain text. So if you're sensitive to stuff like that or if this is your first go at Alien, be warned for that.

More specific notes go under the header for spoilers. Highly recommend you go in as blind as you can.

Andy and Rain were wonderful leads, their dynamic was fantastic and Calie Spaeny and David Jonsson both turned in great performances. I direly hope they join the first two films' casts as "major" characters for the series going forward.

The effects to make Daniel Betts look like Ian Holms were quite possibly the one and only time the special effects failed. It looks very wonky, which is sad because Betts does a really good job copying Holms' mannerisms for Ash while still making Rook feel like a distinct character.

In addition to the usual themes of sexual unease, genetics, and parenthood, this movie adds in some really interesting themes of familial legacy, the rise of new generations, foundations, etc.. Andy and Rain are like Romulus and Remus of myth, orphaned and left to fend for themselves but growing into founders of a new age - both in-story with their carrying the XX121 substance and evidence of Weyland-Yutani's misdeeds to Yvaga and out-of-story with them being the protagonists of a new era for Alien. Likewise, the Offspring is the first example of an entirely new species, neither human nor alien but taking from the lineages of both through Kay and Big Chap, a Romulus-like founder of it's breed that will later bear fruit in Resurrection with the Ripley clone and Newborn.

I'm really not kidding when I say above that the psychosexual undercurrents are taken to the extreme here. This movie basically sees the ways the original film subtly pin-pricked at those themes, says "fuck that", and deliberately rubs it in your face in a way designed to make sure you can't ignore it. It wants you to be grossed out and to squirm in your chair and it knows exactly how to make it happen.

Alvarez noted in the lead-up to release that he took a lot of influence from Isolation and you can definitely see that in how he depicts the Xenomorphs and the general aura of the film. He further described it as a kind of halfway point between the first and second movies and you can also see that; it has the Lovecraft-style tension and horror of the first, balanced with the energy and action of the second, and it does a really good job finding a middle ground between Ridley Scott and James Cameron's styles while also doing it's own dance.

I mentioned way back at the start how the movie basically harvests the good ideas from 3, Resurrection, Prometheus, and Covenant and gives them the room they deserve while dumping the bad. It does that in both terms of themes/style and continuity/lore. Concepts that those movies bungled like xeno-human hybridism, the black goo, genetic engineering as a focus, and so on are done here more creatively and competently. Themes that those films tried and failed to tackle are handled with significantly more grace. It has the atmosphere and characterization of 3 but none of it's baggage and needlessly depressive tone. It has the body horror and weirdness of Resurrection without taking it to the zany, embarrassing areas that movie went. The effects and creativity of Prometheus and Covenant without any of their awful writing and clumsy messages. Alvarez takes on kind of an Al Ewing-esque "repairman" writing style here.

The Xenomorphs are absolutely deranged in behavior compared to most portrayals, attacking like either cruel sadists or raging chimps and rarely bothering to take hosts. I'm not sure if such a reading was intended, but I got the vibe that the idea is Xenos raised without a queen or hive grow to be basically sociopathic like how real world predatory animals grown without parental figures become feral and dysfunctional. Which would also explain a lot about how the Xeno in the original movie, Big Chap, acts there.

The Offspring's design is fucking wicked and I love it.

One of my few major criticisms is that Big Chap died off-screen instead of getting more to do. What was the point of having him be alive at the start if he wasn't gonna be used beyond a backstory point to set up the main story?

All in all, a very impressive effort and a great return to form for the series that I recommend highly.

[nostalgicninjas]

Cobra Kai Dynamics: Miguel Diaz and Samantha LaRusso

I gotta go. But I’ll see you out there rooting for me, right?

I’m always rooting for you, Sam.

[theomencometh]

actually the dynamics between the teen core 4 in cobra kai is insane. what do you mean sam was both miguel and robby's first love and first heartbreak. what do you mean robby and sam are very much their fathers' children and legacies and that comes with a long, complicated history and expectations that no one else could understand. what do you mean tory is cobra kai's most steadfast student but daniel's first two students can't get her out of their head for multiple seasons. what do you mean miguel got the version of robby's dad that he never did. what do you mean robby paralyzed miguel and now they're going to have a shared sibling. what do you mean sam used to have nightmares about tory and now she rescues her in group brawls. what do you mean miguel cheated on tory with sam and tory was so upset that she started an all-out school brawl over it. what do you mean miguel continuously targeted robby's hurt shoulder in their first all valley and now steps in to defend him in fights. what do you mean robby left cobra kai and tory didn't come with him and tory broke her hand punching through stone when sensei kim tried to use him against her. what do you mean sam larusso is the one who actually brought tory into the fold and then they didn't talk to each other for months. what do you mean the four of them had the awkwardest double date ever that ended in them teaming up in a fight against a kid and robby's friend from juvie. what do you mean!!!!!!!

[billy-royalton]

Top 10 lawrusso fics

yay! okay these are in no particular order but i am so happy to rec them :)

The Nail, the Shoe, the Horse, the Rider by @vimesbootstheory is it cheating to suggest a series? if so, then i'm cheating throughout this because there are some excellent series in this fandom. my god, i loved this fic. the plot, first of all, is so creative and interesting! daniel is a time traveler who travels in time to save johnny from his (what feels like inevitable) death at the hands of kreese! like WHAT A PLOT! the lawrusso is a lovely, aching slow burn and the daniel/amanda is so compelling. one of the best fics i have ever read in any fandom hands down.

I Wanna Be Yours by @darthdisco (another series shh) oh how i absolutely ADORE this series!! cw: bdsm so if that's not your thing then i understand but beyond the (fantastic, masterful, beautiful, incredible) smut, the insight into both johnny and daniel as characters and the dynamic that plays between them is so spot on!!! if you like smut that also makes you FEEL then this is the fic for you.

Tuning by menocchio another creatively written fic in this list that starts as a tkk-verse with Signal Studies and then takes place about a decade or so after with Noise Breaking (and Noise Breaking really is THAT girl for me) and i'm not giving anything away just read them both. the author's grasp on dialogue and their ability to flesh out background characters like susan and barbara so well is nothing short of masterful.

what kinda man doesn't by menocchio the tkk-verse road trip fic that will make you cry!!! or at least made ME cry. god, i think about going back to this one often it's another fic that is one of my favorite fics i've ever read in any fandom. the voices of the characters are spot on and the end of this fic is like a big sweeping crescendo that washes over you in the best way possible.

A Fake Date for Christmas by @darthdisco it's like sarah found my "favorite tropes" bingo card and said challenge accepted!!! fake dating!! hurt/comfort!! miscommunciation!! STRIPPER!JOHNNY!! like what do you have to lose with this one!!!!

The Recidivists by @vimesbootstheory the fic that swept the tkk-ck fic awards last year AND FOR DAMN GOOD REASON. what sucked me in was the tag "and they were cell mates" i just immediately clicked from that point and am so, so glad i did.

Bite-Sized by kdyelo i am, admittedly, obsessed with the unknown time period between december 19, 1984 and s1e1 of cobra kai and any fic that plays with that time period is an automatic read for me. but this one was just so beautifully written and had an engaging plot (and a twist!) that kept me clicking next chapter on the edge of my seat!

there's daggers in men's smiles by pinkgrapefloyd i know fuck all about fencing but i felt like i didn't even need to because the author just got the tone and the relationship and the dynamics down so perfectly. one of those fics that i think about out of nowhere from time to time it really stuck with me.

as dark as a wounded doe by honeyvenom jfc this fic. THIS FIC. honeyvenom is one of my favorite writers and what she's written for this fandom is exquisite truly anything she wrote for lawrusso is golden but this fic is just something else entirely. this fic takes place on the night of kreese's murder at the hands of johnny and the cobras and the lawrusso in it is just BEAUTIFUL. there's also a sequel/interlude lamb heart, put my hands around you that is stunningly done and i would recommend it even if you don't read doe.

...and when the rain washes you clean (you'll know) by Storiesofmylife another karate kid-verse fic and i just love the way this author got daniel's teen voice down! wonderfully written tension in this fic. when i need a little tkk-verse, this is the fic i come back to!

[boundless11]

Anonymous this is for you- your Ask-I had drafted a post but I have no idea what happened to it.

The imbalance in Cobra Kai’s portrayal of characters is one of the most significant flaws in its storytelling. The trauma experienced by the LaRussos, particularly Daniel and Sam, is often overlooked or downplayed, while other characters are given far more narrative sympathy. For instance, Daniel is still clearly haunted by his experiences with Terry Silver, which is why he’s so strongly opposed to Cobra Kai and what it represents. However, the show often frames him as overly rigid or out of touch, failing to fully explore the lasting impact Silver had on his life. Instead, Daniel is depicted as someone who just doesn’t “understand” Johnny’s intentions, further fueling the tension between them. This dynamic is especially frustrating because much of the conflict in the earlier seasons stems from miscommunication—whether it’s between Sam and Miguel, Robbie and Johnny, or Johnny and Daniel themselves.

Similarly, the show has a tendency to diminish Sam’s trauma while elevating Tory’s struggles. Her hardships—such as her unstable home life, her mother’s illness and her predatory landlord—are rightfully explored in a way that makes her a sympathetic character. However, Sam’s equally harrowing experiences are rarely given the same attention. She was physically attacked by her, witnessed Miguel being kicked off a balcony and struggled with anxiety and PTSD. Yet, when Sam lashes out or stands up for herself, she is quickly labeled as “problematic” or “lacking understanding.” For example, when Sam organised a car wash to raise money for Miguel’s surgery, Cobra Kai members hijacked the funds—a cruel act that was brushed off as just another “cool” move by Cobra Kai. Later, when Sam fights back against Cobra Kai and tensions escalate, she is unfairly blamed for Dimitri’s broken arm, even though it was Hawk who broke it, egged on by Tory.

Season 3 particularly highlights the show’s mishandling of trauma. While Tory is given depth and understanding for her actions, Sam is often vilified or dismissed. The same can be said for the show’s framing of Cobra Kai overall: their morally questionable actions are excused as part of their “edgy” nature, while Miyagi-Do and the LaRussos are held to impossibly high standards. This imbalance is frustrating for viewers who grew up with the clear moral lines of The Karate Kid. While morally gray characters can add complexity, Cobra Kai takes it too far, often undermining the heroes and giving too much leeway to the villains.

At its core, the original Karate Kid story was about good versus bad, with clear lessons about standing up to bullies. By muddying these waters, the show risks alienating fans who appreciated those distinctions. The LaRussos, particularly Sam and Daniel, deserve a more balanced portrayal—one that acknowledges their struggles and humanity rather than constantly casting them in a negative light for reacting to the challenges they face.

[sleepyicon]

shout out to

tory and robby stans that don’t pit them against each other (😭)

tory stans in general

ppl that are trying to accept robby’s arc and are having a hard time

keenry nation

miguel fans that are disappointed in the leaks

fans that avoided the leaks

kwon fans

axel fans that are also robby fans

terry silver fans that don’t ship him with daniel

cobra husbands fans/fans of silver and kreese that are going feral over what could happen in part 3

sam fans that are vibing

yasmetri fans that hate s6 ep 8 (pls talk to me im all alone here 🥲)

anyone that hates s6 episode 8

ppl that ship chozen and kim da eun (only thing episode 8 was good for)

demetri and hawk fans (you poor souls)

aisha robinson fans that make sure we will never forget her

also ppl that miss aisha’s dynamic with characters besides sam (she’s the only one that remembers her 😔)

korean cobra kai trio fans

kenny, devon, anthony trio fans

fans of the daniel and robby & johnny and miguel duos

ppl that want johnny to be a dad to both robby and miguel

fans that are excited for robby and miguel to be big brothers

BOBBY BROWN FANS THAT FREAKED OUT UPON SEEING HIM IN THE TRAILER (bonus if ur thinking about him interacting with daniel)