#daniel larusso has ptsd | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

purpleheartskies · 4 months

Text

Robby has a "Hero's Journey"

Also titled Robby is the underdog - Part 2 and "Finding balance" - Part 2

Follow up to Robby is the underdog - Part 1 and Part 1.5, as well as "Finding balance" - Part 1

The Hero's Journey is a transformative character arc that doubles as a popular story structure and is often mapped to the 3-act structure, another popular story structure. In analyzing Robby's story, I found that Robby has a Hero's Journey that matches a lot of the major beats in the overall story in the show. Given that there are multiple characters going through transformative arcs, I've been working on analyzing other characters' journeys as well, but this post will focus on Robby's Hero's Journey.

The "inciting incident"

Robby's "want" and "need"

Characters with transformative arcs usually have a "want" and a "need". The "want" is an external goal that is linked to the plot. The "need" is linked to the character's "internal conflict/struggle" and as well as to the overall theme. The character starts out believing in their "lie" (their false view of themself and/or the world) and pursuing their "want". They eventually believe in the "truth" and achieve their "need" in a positive change arc, or reject the "truth" and don't achieve their "need" in a negative change arc. The "ghost" is the event in the past that haunts the character. The "wound" is the deep pain point at the heart of the character's need for transformation. The "wound", "want", and "lie" result from the "ghost".

Robby's "ghost" is Johnny abandoning him. His "wound" is his trauma from Johnny abandoning him. His "wound" has manifested into his main character flaw, his "hate"/"anger" that is mentioned throughout the series. His "lie" is believing that he is like Johnny and will end up like him because Robby is filled with "hate". He believes that his "hate" is a part of who he is. He also believes that he is to blame for Johnny abandoning him. Robby's "truths" are the opposites of these "lies".

Robby's "want" is a true relationship with Johnny. This has been a huge driving force for him. In s1, he wanted to get Johnny's attention when he got a job with the LaRussos and later when he showed up at the s1 avt. When Shannon told Robby that Johnny wanted him to move in (s1) and that Johnny wants a relationship with him (s2), Robby went to Johnny. Robby has always wanted Johnny to genuinely try to change. Robby wants Johnny to want a genuine relationship with him, but Robby knows, based on Johnny's behavior, that Johnny isn't trying for one. Robby comments about this throughout the series. In s1, he said that Johnny didn't care for 16 years. In s2, he said that Johnny cares more about the rivalry with Daniel than about him. In s3, he asked Johnny where he'd been for over a month since the school fight and why he missed the juvie visit, also pointing out that Johnny chose Miguel over him again. In s4, he said that Johnny wants a relationship now just to feel better about himself. In s5, he said that he and Johnny still have issues, some that are too big to solve. This was in stark contrast to Johnny's claim that he and Robby are good now.

Robby's "need" is that he needs to "find balance in his life" by overcoming his "hate" and understanding who he is. As I mentioned in my "Finding balance - Part 1" post, finding balance in life is a major theme in the story and is about coping with and consciously working through trauma long term. Robby's ultimate goal as a character is to break the cycle of generational trauma that is being passed down to him, especially through Johnny but through Daniel as well (because of Daniel's history with Cobra Kai). This aspect of Robby's story is also being explored through his mentorship with Kenny. Breaking the cycle is incredibly difficult and with the most odds against him, Robby is the underdog in the series.

Robby's characterization is that he has childhood trauma and that has worsened to c-ptsd as the series has gone on. A big part of Robby's trauma is that he doesn't know who he is, that is Robby has not formed a self-identity (which can happen for people with such trauma). In s4, he said that his fear is that he will end up like Johnny but that he won't because he is better than Johnny. Robby is better than Johnny. Robby just doesn't know this (yet) because Robby needs to understand himself, especially why he has "hate", to develop a healthy relationship with himself as he heals. His statements like "You were right. It was a mistake trying to help me because I can't change," "All those years you weren't there, I blamed myself," and "I screwed everything," indicate his exaggerated self-blame. Robby has also called himself his own worst enemy. Robby also needs to understand that he is not to blame for Johnny abandoning him. In s5, Robby started fawning, which is essentially giving up who he is. Robby needs to start healing, actually working through his trauma and believing his "truths" instead of his "lies", and discovering who he is so that he can visualize the future he wants and make it happen.

Robby's "want" and "need" are related. Robby has trauma primarily due to Johnny's behavior and Johnny having never established a (healthy) relationship with him. Robby's "want" and "need" drive his Hero's Journey.

Robby's Hero's Journey

I'm going to talk about Robby's "Hero's Journey" using Christopher Vogler's 12-stage model mapped to the 3-act story structure. (Quotes from references are in blue.)

1. The Ordinary World - We see the hero's normal life at the start of the story before the adventure begins.

This stage was all of Robby's scenes leading up to him seeing Johnny give Miguel the gi and hug near the end of s1e5. In these scenes, we're introduced to Robby's (unhealthy) relationships with his parents, his lack of a stable home life, his partners-in-crime/bullies Trey and Cruz, his truancy, and his delinquency; basically, his life and world before he started on the Adventure.

2. Call to Adventure - The hero is faced with an event, conflict, problem, or challenge that makes them begin their adventure.

The "event" is also known as the "inciting incident" and usually happens in the midpoint of Act 1. s1 was Act 1, and this happened near the midpoint of s1. The inciting incident in a story has the following qualities:

Happens to the protagonist (Robby)

Protagonist's first (not full) awareness of the story's central conflict (finding balance)

Tailored to the protagonist's dominant character flaw (Robby's "hate")

Should be linked in some way to the antagonist or antagonistic force (Johnny and his behavior)

The inciting incident was Robby seeing Johnny give Miguel the gi and hug when Robby went to see Johnny, after Shannon said that Johnny wants Robby to move in with him. After the incident, Robby went to the LaRussos to get a job so that he can get a LaRusso Auto shirt with his name on it to "get back at" his dad. Robby took a more decisive action to pursue his "want".

This stage spanned the scenes from the inciting incident in s5e5 to the end of s1e6, ending with the Call itself.

Call to Adventure Daniel: "You wanna stick around. Learn something." Robby: "Sure"

3. Refusal of the Call - The hero initially refuses the adventure because of hesitation, fears, insecurity, or any other number of issues.

This occured in s1e7. Although Robby had started learning from Daniel, Trey and Cruz threatened Robby to help them steal from the LaRussos. Robby at first gave in and was going to help them, but he ultimately didn't because of Daniel's bonsai lesson. This stage ended when Robby changed his mind and stopped them, thus embracing the Call to Adventure after all.

4. Meeting the Mentor - The hero encounters a mentor that can give them advice, wisdom, information, or items that ready them for the journey ahead.

This spanned s1e7 to e10. Robby's mentorship with Daniel had already begun when he was faced with the Refusal of the Call, but Daniel's bonsai lesson inspired Robby to keep moving forward with the Adventure.

The Mentor "Well, you are the tree, Robby. You've got strong roots. You know who you are, right? So now all you've gotta do is visualize what you want your future to look like, and then you make it happen."

Daniel's other lessons were important too, especially this one:

The Mentor "You may know the moves, but none of that matters unless you have balance.... I didn't mean balancing your body. I mean balancing your life. Look, Robby. I know it's hard growing up without a dad, believe me. Mine died when I was young, so I know. But when those bad feelings all weigh you down, you gotta... you gotta search inside for the good stuff, you know, and just... Because then you can find some balance in your life. Understand. It's not easy, but you'll do it."

These two lessons are tied to Robby's "need" as a character. He needs to figure out who he is ("search inside for the good stuff") and overcome his "hate" ("bad feelings") so that he can find balance. Daniel also indirectly mentioned Robby's "want" (the relationship he wishes he had with Johnny because he grew up without him) when talking about the "need" to find balance. Robby's Adventure isn't to just learn Miyagi-Do/karate, as much as it is to learn how to "find balance in his life". After Daniel said this second lesson to Robby, he flashed back to Johnny giving Miguel the gi and hug---the inciting incident.

Later, Daniel found out about Robby's relation to Johnny and kicked Robby out. Robby then went to the avt wanting to get Johnny's attention; that is, Robby was still pursuing his "want". Robby's conversation with Daniel in the avt locker room was especially important. When Robby had been facing off against Hawk, Robby was focused on Johnny and lost his "balance". Daniel reminded Robby about what he'd learned (their lesson in the woods about "finding balance"). Later, in the locker room after Hawk injured Robby, Daniel reiterated the "need".

The Mentor Robby: "I just wanted to get back at him [Johnny]." Daniel: "I know. But you're never going to find balance that way. You can't let that bad blood change who you are. I'm not saying you need to like the guy. I know I never will, but he... he is your father. And believe me, you're lucky to have one. You just gotta try to remember, he's... he's not a monster. He's just a guy with a lot of demons. Mr. Miyagi always told me there's no such thing as a bad student, only a bad teacher. And your dad had the worst teacher there ever was. It sent him down a wrong path. But you don't have to go down that path. Do you understand? You don't have to ever become him. Trust me. You let go of all that anger, and I guarantee you, no matter what happens tonight, you go home feeling great."

Robby's "want" and "need" were referred to again in this conversation. Daniel also presented Robby with the "truth": he is not like Johnny and doesn't have to end up like him. That is, Robby can break the cycle of generational trauma that Kreese passed down to Johnny and that is now being passed to Robby. After this, Robby continued with the match, saying that he has to face him [Johnny]. Robby found balance for the rest of the match.

5. Crossing the Threshold - The hero leaves their ordinary world for the first time and crosses the threshold into the special world.

Daniel and Robby ended s1 reopening Miyagi-Do primarily to take down Cobra Kai, thus crossing the threshold into the "special world" of the dojo war.

Crossing the Threshold "I know I said you have to let go of your anger and show forgiveness, but... when the fight comes to you, you have to be ready to fight back."

This marked the end of Act 1 of the 3-act story structure. In fact, Kreese made his first appearance in the series in s1e10 and closed out s1 with the line "the real story has only just begun". (In the big 3's interview with the Koves, Hayden said that they knew they had a series based on two moments: (1) Robby going to Daniel for a job and (2) Kreese returning. The first moment starts Robby's Call to Adventure. The second is one of two major expansions of the special world: Kreese's return. The other expansion being Daniel and Robby reopening Miyagi-Do.)

6. Tests, Allies, and Enemies - The hero learns the rules of the new world and endures tests, meets friends, and comes face-to-face with enemies.

This spanned everything Robby experienced in s2e1 to s4e4. Throughout this stage, Robby lost allies and enemies and gained new ones all while experiencing many tests. He's at first mentored by Daniel, with the Miyagi-Dos, and started dating Sam. He then lost them all after he accidentally injured Miguel in the school fight (the 1st pinch point in the 3-act structure). The Miyagi-Dos abandoned him and didn't have his back while he endured juvie. He eventually joined Cobra Kai and was mentored by Kreese and later by Silver, with the Cobras, and eventually started dating Tory (in late s4).

While in each dojo, Robby tried to fulfill his "need" to find balance by using the karate philosophies to overcome his "hate". In Miyagi-Do, Daniel told Robby that he needs to "let go" of his anger to find balance. However, Robby struggled to do that in s2. For example, twice Robby was at the punching bag trying get his anger out: (1) after Shannon abandoned him and (2) after Johnny trounced his Miyagi-Do demonstration. He also wanted to fight the Cobras who wanted to join Miyagi-Do, but Daniel told them that he had once been a Cobra and all that mattered now is that they're all Miyagi-Do. In the school fight, Robby had been pushed to his limit and the results were devastating. After the school fight, Robby gave up trying to find balance using Miyagi-Do, "It was a mistake trying to help me because I can't change." In s3e9, Tory told Robby that in Cobra Kai you learn to channel your anger into fighting. She'd presented Robby with another option for overcoming his "hate" to find balance. Robby later joined Cobra Kai, after first refusing to, knowing how toxic it is and not wanting to be used in the dojo war. In s4e4, Silver said that Robby had learned to channel his anger into fighting. Robby told Johnny in s4e10, "I had all this hate inside of me. I thought I could use Cobra Kai to control that." After the avt, Robby gave up trying to find balance using Cobra Kai.

During all of this, Johnny continued to hurt Robby by continuing to neglect and abandon him, and choose Miguel over him, even doing things like trouncing Robby's Miyagi-Do demonstration, not helping him after the school fight, missing the juvie visit that Johnny himself had scheduled, leaving Robby with that mark on his head with Kreese, and brushing off Robby when he said that Miguel had attacked him in school fight. Overall, Johnny became further from him after the school fight and even further from him after Johnny decided to move on from the past at the end of s3 (because of conversation with Ali). Robby's "wound" (trauma) deepened, his main character flaw ("hate") worsened, and both his "want" and "need" became harder for him to obtain.

During this stage, Robby's bullies also rubbed his "wound" in his face. In the school fight, Miguel taunted Robby after headbutting him that Johnny taught Miguel that move. In juvie, Shawn taunted Robby that his dad hates him. (Both bullies also taunted Robby about Sam not loving/wanting him.)

Daniel also affirmed Robby's "lie": "This whole thing was a mistake. You wanna end up like him. That's up to you." Although Daniel later apologized, his actions at the time contradicted his words (that Robby isn't defined by his mistakes), so Robby didn't believe his apology. Everyone thinking the worst of Robby after the school fight also affirmed Robby's "lie" that he is like Johnny and can't change.

Between Robby using "Cobra Kai" in s3e5 for the first time and Robby officially joining Cobra Kai at the end of s4e1, Tory and Sam both commented about the type of person Robby is wrt his choice of dojo/people. In s3e8, Tory told Robby, "I know who I am. You're still pretending to be something you're not," insinuating that he isn't Miyagi-Do. In s4e1, Tory commented that Robby was still straddling the fence. Later, Sam told Robby that he's a "good person" and is making the "wrong choice" because she assumed that he had joined Cobra Kai, thus insinuating that he isn't Cobra Kai.

Kreese and Silver both told Robby to challenge his "lies". Robby told Johnny, "You know, all those years you weren't there, I blamed myself. Sensei Kreese is right. I can't be my own worst enemy, but you can be." Though Kreese told Robby in s3 that he's like Johnny. In s4, Kreese told Robby that he has the potential to be better than Johnny. Silver later told Robby, "You're afraid... you need to dig out that fear and face it...."

In s4e1, Robby told Sam that Johnny had a choice and he chose to become a drunk loser who still hasn't figured out his own life and now he wants to make up for lost time to feel better about himself. In s4e8, Robby told Miguel that Johnny is just using him to feel better about screwing up with Robby. These are "truths" that contradict Robby's "lies". Johnny and his behavior are to blame for Johnny not being there for Robby.

Overall, Robby was in Miyagi-Do for all of s2. Then the school fight happened and he had a whole season where he transitioned from Miyagi-Do to Cobra Kai. His transition happened in s3e5, the midpoint of his season of transition, in the episode titled "Miyagi-Do" that introduced the offensive side to Miyagi-Do. Of the different Miyagi-Dos who went on offense, only Robby's actions are considered to be Cobra Kai, highlighting the major transition in Robby's journey from Miyagi-Do to Cobra Kai and two options for his identity.

Robby stayed at Cobra Kai at the end of s3 after a violent confrontation with Johnny. This was the midpoint of Act 2 and of the series. The midpoint usually features a major reversal of some kind. The most significant shifts in alliances in the external conflict happened at this point. Robby's allies, the "good guys" (Miyagi-Do), became allies with his enemies (Johnny and Miguel), and Robby became allies with the "bad guys" (Cobra Kai). The flipside is that Johnny's alliances changed. He now teamed up with Daniel and Miyagi-Do and officially stood against Kreese and Cobra Kai. He was still on opposing sides to Robby. This is actually the midpoint of Johnny's Hero's Journey. (I plan to make a post like this for him. Note, anti-hero characters, like Johnny, can also be written with Hero's Journeys.)

In s4e1, Robby joined Cobra Kai and stayed for a whole season. He is the only kid to specifically have distinct season-long arcs in the two main warring dojos, matching the major overall story beats of those seasons. It's also notable how the other characters and the plot (dojo war) are affected by which dojo Robby is in.

7. The Approach - The initial plan to take on the central conflict begins, but setbacks occur that cause the hero to try a new approach or adopt new ideas.

Robby's central conflict is overcoming his "hate" and figuring out who he is so to find balance.

The Approach was from s4e4 to s4e10, and started with Silver's conversation with him in s4e4 about facing his fear---that is, facing his "lie".

The Approach "You've learned to channel your anger, but you're afraid... If you want to become a champion, you need to dig out that fear and face it. Because if you don't, it's going to hold you back forever."

Robby went to Johnny after this. In their conversation, Johnny told Robby that Cobra Kai is a poison and that Kreese had brainwashed Johnny. Robby said that Johnny had trusted Kreese, but Robby doesn't trust anyone anymore. Robby then told Johnny that Robby's greatest fear is ending up like Johnny, but that's not going to happen because Robby is better than Johnny. That is, Robby's greatest fear is related to his "need": who he is. In this conversation, Johnny also once again proved that he doesn't care about Robby and chose Miguel over him again.

The Approach "For as long as I can remember, I've been afraid... afraid that I'm gonna end up like you. But that's not gonna be my fear anymore... because I am better than you."

Before the school fight, Daniel had told Robby, "This whole thing was a mistake. You wanna end up like him. That's up to you." After the school fight, Robby told Daniel, "But, you were right. It was a mistake trying to help me because I can't change." Robby has always believed that he'll end up like Johnny, but Daniel's lessons about understanding who he is and finding balance had given Robby hope that he can change. After the school fight, Robby believed once again that he is like Johnny and will end up like him. Robby had tried to find balance by letting go of his "hate" but he hadn't been able to let go of it.

The Approach started with Silver stating that Robby had learned to channel his anger into fighting, which had been a reason for Robby joining Cobra Kai. Robby was now ready to take on his central conflict of finding balance. In s4e1, the future Robby visualized for himself was to become a champion. But to do that he needed to figure out who he is, which meant rooting out his fear and facing it. His fear is that he will be like Johnny, but he wants to be better than Johnny. In s4e6, when Daniel came to Robby, Robby first commented that Daniel will say, "this isn't who you are, Robby...". At one point, Daniel said, "...you won't be you anymore. One day you'll find yourself with some kid's blood all over your shirt, and you'll hope it's not too late to change course." Robby and Daniel both referred to the "need" in this conversation. In s4e9, Daniel taunted Robby about wanting to get back at his dad, a reference to their s1e10 conversation that had also been about Robby's "want" and "need". Daniel then told Robby to never put his passion ("want") in front of principle (essentially, his "need") because even if you win you lose. (Note! This is an important foreshadowing for Robby's next 2 stages.) In s4e10, after Robby lost the championship, he cared more about who he had become to try to win the championship than he cared about his loss. He had trusted Kreese during his match with Kenny and hurt him. Robby decided that who he is isn't worth sacrificing for this future of becoming a champion using Cobra Kai's teachings. He doesn't want his fear to become a reality. He doesn't want to become like Johnny by trusting Kreese and losing who he is to Cobra Kai. Robby doesn't want to repeat the cycle. Like Daniel had said, Robby would end up with a kid's blood all over his shirt and he'll wonder if it's too late to turn back. In s4e7, it was revealed that Robby's weakness is his compassion. This is the opposite of his "hate". Robby's compassion is a big part of who he inherently is. This is the part of himself that he had to give up in order to become Cobra Kai.

8. The Ordeal - Things go wrong and added conflict is introduced. The hero experiences more difficult hurdles and obstacles, some of which may lead to a life crisis. Usually involves looking in a mirror, literally or metaphorically. Can include being pushed to their limit until their identity is shattered or they face death or their greatest fear, and their essence (greatest flaw) is revealed. The hero also faces his shadow (his greatest villain) and reaches his goal. The goal itself does not satisfy the hero's deepest need.

"But eventually, we all need to look ourselves in the mirror and realize who we really are... It's not about how you start. It's about how you finish." - Robby after joining Cobra Kai in s4e1

The Ordeal is the "crisis" and usually marks the midpoint of the journey or is delayed to later in Act 2, like in Robby's case. (I mentioned earlier that Johnny's midpoint is in s3e10. Johnny's confrontations with Kreese and Robby is Johnny's crisis/Ordeal.)

This stage spanned s4e10 to s5e5 and started with Robby looking at Kenny during his match with Hawk in s4e10. Later, Robby went to Johnny and told him:

The Ordeal "It's this kid, Kenny. I took him under my wing... Be the mentor I wish I had when I was younger. But when I saw him today, and it... uh... It's like looking in a mirror. And I realized I screwed everything up. And I had all this hate inside of me... and I thought I could use Cobra Kai to control that. But it just made things worse and now it's never gonna get better... ... I'm sick of blaming you, Dad."

The Approach and the Ordeal are always tied together, as the Approach is the lead in to the Ordeal. In s4, Robby's only scenes with Johnny are related to these two points in Robby's Hero's Journey. s4e4 kicked off the Approach with Robby's conversations with Silver and with Johnny, while s4e10 kicked off Robby's Ordeal with his confrontation with Kenny (the mirror) and with Johnny (his Shadow). During this time, Daniel (the Mentor) also approached Robby twice (s4e6, s4e9) and talked about Robby's "want" and "need", reminding Robby about his central conflict (finding balance).

The Shadow is one of several character archetypes that plays a role in the Hero's Journey. The Shadow can be the part within the hero that they don't like or that is deep repressed feelings or trauma. The antagonist or villain to the hero usually is the physical version of this Shadow. (Take Sam's dream in s5e3. She also has a Hero's Journey, and she was fighting the darker version of herself in her dream. She had been relying more and more on her aggression in s4. Her darker version had Tory's voice. Tory is Sam's antagonist and the source of Sam's ptsd. Sam's dream was her Ordeal.)

Robby's main conflict is with his "hate", as his main goal is to break the cycle of generational trauma. Robby's "hate" due to his trauma is his internal Shadow. Johnny is the character and antagonistic force who represents and causes Robby's "hate"; Johnny has been Robby's external Shadow throughout the series. Daniel called Robby's conflict with Johnny "bad blood" in the avt locker room in s1e10. In s2e1, Johnny also said that he doesn't want to have "bad blood" between them. In s3, Robby said that Johnny should be his worst enemy because he abandoned Robby. In s1, after Robby saw Johnny give Miguel the gi and hug, Robby went to Daniel to piss Johnny off. In s4, when Sam brought up that Johnny knows Robby is a "good person" and that Johnny's "trying to change", Robby shifted to anger and said that Johnny had a choice and he chose to become a drunk loser who still hasn't figured out his own life and now he wants to make up for lost time to feel better about himself. Robby then joined Cobra Kai to prove that the Cobras and he are better than them, the Miyagi Fangs. Robby especially wanted to prove that he is better than Johnny. Robby reacted based on his "hate" both times. In this scene in s4e10, Robby is talking about this "hate" that he feels because of Johnny's behavior and him choosing Miguel over him consistently. (He can also be referring to the school fight wrt his "hate" for Miguel, but had Johnny supported Robby over Miguel after the school fight, Robby's "hate" for both of them probably wouldn't have worsened so much.) Although Miguel is an antagonistic force towards Robby, Miguel is more an extension of Johnny (and Sam). Robby's actions are primarily driven by his "want" (a genuine relationship with Johnny) and his "need" (understanding who he is, overcoming his "hate", and finding balance), which are both tied to Johnny as he is the main source of Robby's trauma and "hate".

"The Ordeal is all about taking your protagonist to their lowest of lows so that they can rise up and be resurrected in such a way that they can truly handle the major conflict once and for all."

After s4e10, Robby is faced with all of Johnny's behavior in s5. Robby starts to fawn, which involves completely "letting go" of his "hate" by giving up who he is as a person to be who others, especially Johnny, want him to be. Robby first started fawning when Johnny abandoned him at the bus stop in s5e1. He still resisted becoming friends with Miguel in s5e4, even stating that he'll never be friends with him. That is, until Johnny pushed Robby to his limit by essentially unleashing Miguel's wrath onto Robby in s5e5. After this and then the baby news, Robby started fawning completely with Johnny, Miguel, and all the other "good guy" characters.

"This is when the protagonist hits rock bottom, making them — as well as the reader and audience — feel as if they are at the dark end of their days." "Two Hero's Journey stages away from The Ordeal is The Resurrection — The "climax" where the hero faces their final test, using everything they have learned to take on the conflict once and for all. Within that Resurrection, your protagonist needs to have a moment of transformation. But before that transformation can occur, something has to push them to the brink — to their lowest point. While losing an ally or mentor can help set the stage for the need for them to transform so that they can handle the final test, we need more. They need to lose hope, courage, or strength to carry on. The reader and audience need to feel as if there's no returning to the Ordinary World because that is how bad things are."

The Ordeal started with Robby believing, "I screwed everything up... It just made things worse and now it's never gonna get better". After looking in the "mirror", Robby decided not to act on his "hate" anymore: "I'm sick of blaming you, Dad." In s5e2, Robby was tested with the inciting incident again. After Johnny tricked, lied, manipulated, and endangered Robby so that Johnny could safely retrieve Miguel, Robby watched Johnny give Miguel a fatherly hug in a way that Johnny has never given Robby. This time, Robby didn't act on his "hate", as part of his "new approach" to his central conflict.

In s5e4, Robby told Tory that he and Johnny still have issues, some that are too big to solve. Robby looked in Miguel's direction, indicating Johnny's relationship with Miguel. Later, in s5e5, Johnny pressured Robby to fight Miguel, ignoring Robby's request for space from their relationship. Robby stopped fighting at one point, allowing Miguel to continue. After Miguel stopped, Robby took all fault and accountability between them. Johnny then dropped the baby news, and Robby started fawning completely. A baby with Carmen, as Miguel said to Johnny "you and my mom", meant that the Diazs would now be permanent family with Johnny and the baby would be another priority over Robby. Robby's hope of having the relationship he's always wanted with Johnny are pretty much gone given that Johnny already prioritizes them over Robby in every way including allowing Miguel to beat the shit out of Robby because of the baby coming. "Now it's never gonna get better." Robby's Ordeal culminated with these two events in s5e5, which are the 2nd pinch point in Act 2. The 1st pinch point and the 2nd pinch point are usually related in some way. The apartment fight in s5 was like a redo of the school fight in s2.

9. The Reward - After surviving The Ordeal, the hero seizes the sword — a reward that they've earned that allows them to take on the biggest conflict. It may be a physical item or piece of knowledge or wisdom that will help them persevere. This can also be a person or relationship.

Robby's Reward started with the dinner scene in s5e5. He seemingly got his "want": a relationship with Johnny. But one thing about the Reward is that it's supposed to feel unfulfilling:

"It is here that the hero receives the object of desire they have been pursuing in the story thus far. But it cannot be enough to fulfill the central conflict in the story. That's because your hero must have an internal need that the object doesn't satisfy."

Robby's Reward has come at a great cost. Robby was going to lose his "want" if he expressed how he really felt when he heard the baby news, so Robby resorted to losing himself. Fawning is also described as "self-abandonment". Robby decided to completely let go of his "hate" by giving up who he really is in order to have a relationship with Johnny, falsely believing that he has also now found balance. That is, Robby gave up his "need" in order to obtain his "want", falsely believing that doing so satisfied his "need". Daniel had told Robby never your put your passion ("want") in front of principle ("need") because even if you win, you lose. This statement in s4e9 was a foreshadowing of Robby's decision in s5e5 that Robby will give up his "need" for his "want" and obtain a false victory. Also, by giving up who he really is, Robby has given into his "lies" and rejected his "truths": that his "hate" is part of who he is and that he is to blame for Johnny abandoning him. That is, that Robby is the one who needed to change himself so that Johnny wouldn't abandon him.

From s5e6 to s5e10, Robby also returned to Daniel and Miyagi-Do to take down Cobra Kai. He apologized and reconciled with all, though they didn't acknowledge their faults against him or offer any apologies in return. They all "successfully" took down Silver and Cobra Kai, Robby showed Kenny the truth about Silver, and Robby made up with Tory. Victory was seemingly achieved in the "special world" of the dojo war.

"The hero can also be too easily satisfied with the Reward, leaving unresolved conflict. This sets up an even more shocking twist later when the Shadow rears its head again, shattering the false comfort provided by the physical Reward."

The writers have said in their interviews that all the feelings are still there. There was a glimpse of this in Robby's comment to Johnny about fatherly advice in s5e8 when Johnny was giving fatherly advice to Miguel but gave none to Robby and got annoyed by Robby's comment. Robby then played it off as a joke and went back to fawning. However, Robby's comment indicated that Robby still hasn't obtained his "want", a true relationship with Johnny, despite his decision to give up his "need" during the Ordeal.

The end of s5 was the end of this stage and brought Robby's journey to the end of Act 2 in the 3-act structure.

10. The Road Back - The hero returns to the original world and sees the light at the end of the tunnel, but they are about to face even more tests and challenges.

"One version of step ten sees the hero returning to their ordinary world, believing that the adventure is over. It seems like the hero has defeated the Shadow because the Reward has been claimed. This false sense of security creates the massive fake-out you're setting up! This scene often shows the hero and the remaining cast of characters at peace, feeling safe and secure."

The Reward (end) / The Road Back (start)

In the external plot, Miyagi-Do (Fang) have taken down Silver and Cobra Kai and seemingly won the dojo war, which ends their time in the special world. Robby has also seemlingly defeated his Shadow and obtained his "want". However, Robby gave up his "need", falsely believing that he has achieved it. Given that he hasn't achieved his "need", his journey isn't over yet. And, this stage includes the "fake ending". The writers have said that they had more planned for s5 but decided to leave those things for s6. They wanted to leave the characters at the end of s5 feeling good because they'd won. This implies that this stage will continue into s6 and something bad is in store next for the "good guys". This fits because the Road Back to the ordinary world is often tumultuous and contains the 3rd plot point of the 3-act structure. Regardless, the writers have always known where the story was headed after s5, as tweeted during filming s5. They have also left cliffhangers:

Kreese escaping, and Johnny's unresolved conflict with his own past; Johnny himself has yet to wipe out Kreese's legacy, as Johnny has promised. (Daniel taking down Silver wouldn't count for Johnny's journey.)

Robby's "resolutions" were all one-sided, so are all technically unresolved. Johnny and Robby not having a proper resolution is the biggest one. Robby's and Johnny's Hero's Journeys are both tied to their relationship.

Silver's arrest is tenuous (Hayden confirmed that Silver's biggest issue will be his damaged reputation)

The Sekai Taikai (the final big battle in the dojo war) has yet to happen (the writers confirmed it most definitely will)

11. The Resurrection - The climax. Also known as the "dark night of the soul". The hero faces a final test, using everything they have learned to take on the conflict once and for all.

12. The Return - The hero brings their knowledge or the "elixir" back to the ordinary world.

These last 3 stages should happen in s6, which will be Act 3. During "The Road Back", Robby's Shadow, aka his "hate" and Johnny, will rear its ugly head. An event that will be the 3rd plot point in the 3-act structure will happen. The 3rd plot point usually involves the biggest paradigm shift. (For example, with Robby's pov largely untold, this could be when Robby's pov starts to be told.) Robby will once again be confronted with his central conflict and with the "truth" about his "lies". This time, he will make the decision that fulfills his "need" properly, regardless of whether he can obtain his "want", and he will be firmly on the right path to finding balance in his life. He will also become ready to try once again to become a champion... of the Sekai Taikai.

Robby's Adventure hasn't just been to learn karate, as much as it's been to start his journey of healing and finding balance in his life. But, healing from trauma is never easy. It's a not a smooth, linear path. It's not just "letting go" in the moment but is a constant struggle of working through your emotions due to your trauma, which is difficult to do especially if the trauma is ongoing as in Robby's case. Daniel for example has also struggled throughout the series with his own trauma and finding balance in his life.

So far, Robby has been trying to find balance using what he's learned from each dojos. However, Robby's healing can't happen until he can either give up pursuing his "want" or obtain it in a healthy way, so that he can obtain his "need". Whether he gets his "want" will be up to Johnny and if he chooses to heal himself (that is, address his own "need" of making up to Robby directly for screwing up with him). Regardless, in s5, Robby clearly recognized that Johnny and him still have problems. Robby is aware of Johnny's continued abandonment, neglect, and abuse, but Robby understandably "wants" his dad and chose to win his "want" in s5, not realizing that he lost his "need". Robby needs to work through his trauma in a healthy way and learn/accept who he really is, regardless of having a relationship with Johnny, in order to "find balance in his life". The lessons about balance aren't just for karate but are for life as well. In s4e10, Daniel told Hawk the following during his match with Robby, but this also applies to Robby's journey and his conflicts with his "hate" and with Johnny: "This fight is not about him. The biggest battle is always the one within. Okay, concentrate, defense, focus, power. You find your balance, and those points will come. All right?"

Robby's Hero's Journey is coming to a head. The climax, aka the Resurrection, is around the corner. From my analyses, the other characters' journeys are converging at this climax. Given that Robby is the main protagonist (as he is the character most central to the characters and the dojo war), it's most likely that his Resurrection will play a role in the other characters' Resurrections. We'll just have to wait for s6 to see...

References:

I referred to a lot of sources while preparing the post. These are some of them.

Christopher Vogler's book "The Writer's Journey.

https://www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com/

https://screencraft.org/blog/

https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/

https://thewritepractice.com/

(Note: Please don't reblog or reply with any dismissive comment or tag expressing negativity towards the show writers, the writing, or the serious aspects of the show. Such comments/tags minimize the contents of the post. This blog (link) explains more about my general thoughts about posting after s5.)

#cobra kai is robby's story #robby keene

27 notes · View notes

jensensfanfic · 1 year

Text

Platonic Fluff Alphabet

[jensensfanfic/dojolarusso]

pairing: daniel larusso x best friend!reader

warnings: mention of ptsd, te**y mention, blood mention

notes: so i’m gonna say these letters are all based around daniel being like 21+ or something, to help you visualise (and me write it haha).

SMUT ALPHABET HERE

(ROMANTIC) FLUFF ALPHABET HERE

A = Adventures (what kind of crazy shit would you get into together?)

I don’t think you two would be all that crazy. Maybe the odd spontaneous road trip. Sometimes you would go hiking. You actually share a goal of eventually travelling abroad.

B = Bond (what kind of - platonic, obviously - relationship do you have with each other?)

You have the closest friendship possibly. Anyone who knows you says you are inseparable, joined at the hip. It makes sense when you tell people that you grew up together, as neighbours, your mum's both besties, too.

C = Cuddling (do you ever cuddle? how physically affectionate are you?)

You both love cuddling and are both very physically affection. Sometimes he will offer you his arm while walking together, and resting your head on his shoulder was a regular occurrence when watching movies.

D = Dance (do you ever dance together? how?)

Most of the time when you go out for evenings, you go dancing. Again, your mum's were also best friends. So, Daniel's mother had taught him to dance, they'd both taught you.

E = Enemies (were you ever enemies? Do you share the same enemies?)

Never. You'd had fights, of course, but nothing too crazy. Usually they'd result in a day or two of ignoring the other person before you talked it out and hugged. As for the second part, any enemy of Daniel's was an enemy of yours, and vice versa.

Fight (how often do you fight? how do you resolve conflict?)

Barely. Usually over dumb things, too.

Gain (how have you helped each other improve as people?)

Daniel always pushed you out of your comfort zone. He never let you give up on your passions. And for him, you always made sure that he never let himself get pushed around. You constantly told him that he should defend himself more, and not just with his karate.

Help (how do they ask you for help? how do they help you when you need it?)

You're close enough that you trust each other fully - when either of you needs help, you ask for it, straight up.

Injured/ill (how would they act if you got hurt or sick?)

Daniel hovers when you are sick or injured. Asking you constantly if you need anything, and if he's not around, he calls. With him, you are less overbearing. Still worried/concerned, but you check in less frequently... to his face that is. Instead, you bother his Mum or Mr Miyagi, asking through them how he is.

Jokes (what’s their sense of humor like? how do you joke about things together?)

You both have that quick wit. The back and forth never stops, and you're always laughing together or at each other. Daniel's jokes can be more tame than yours though, sometimes you'll let slip a dirty joke or two.

Kisses (do you ever kiss? how? Kisses not on the lips count)

When you say goodbye, you peck each other on the cheek. A quick hug and a swift peck is never, ever forgotten.

Love (how do they show you they care?)

Daniel overshares. Not in a bad way, in a way that shows you he has complete trust and faith in you. He tells you everything. You, show him love through listening to it all, always being there for him.

Meeting (how did you meet? how did you become friends?)

Neither of you would remember your first meeting, as you were babies, born only several weeks apart. You were neighbours from birth. When he moved, your family also moved, that's how close you were.

Nesting (do you co-habitate at all? how?)

You had a small apartment together for about a year. Eventually, you were going on dates, and having them over, and so you decided to move. But you still lived on the same street, 4 houses between you both.

Oasis (is there a specific place that is “your place”? what is it?)

You love to hang out in Miyagi's garden. Sometimes you'll train together there, sometimes you'll just sit and talk. There's also a particular coffee shop that you frequent often.

Protection (how protective are they over you?)

You're incredibly protective over each other. But, with that being said, it never applies to dates or partners. You never want to make a possible romance feel awkward by being overly involved and protective. You want Daniel to be happy, and he wants the same for you. In short, relationships are the exception- the only time you push away that protective instinct. Unless those said partners break hearts...

Query (how inquisitive are they when it comes to getting to know you?)

You already know everything there is to know about each other. You never push the other into sharing anything they don't want to. However, in your pre-teen years, you would constantly ask every question you could possibly think up, even the silly ones.

Record (what’s something you’ll never let them live down?)

You tease Daniel a lot about the 'lessons' Miyagi taught him. You thought it was quite obvious what was going on when it was happening, and you admitted to Daniel that you actually laughed with Miyagi about it a couple of times.

Support (how would they show their support for you? how far would that support go?)

He was like Kris Jenner at your college graduation, cheering a little too loudly and snapping photos. He always made sure you felt proud of yourself by telling you how proud he was of you. Your way of showing support was giving him the biggest hugs, and sometimes gifts.

Trust (how much do they trust you? how do they show you that?)

Again, you tell each other everything. There isn't anything you can think of that you would tell him. Daniel trusted you the same, the only time he withheld anything was when he was being bullied in school. The sudden decision to learn karate was explained to you through the lie of 'I just want to try something new.' But it didn't last long. After only the first lesson, he had met up with you, complaining about his aching hands and shoulders, and then inevitably spilled why he really wanted to train. It wasn't even am issue of trust, he just felt embarrassed.

Uplift (how do you bring each other up?)

Movie nights, or dancing are your favourite ways to uplift or cheer each other up.

Vacation (do you ever travel together? what’s that like?)

You haven't travelled far, but you both really want to. Daniel wants to travel somewhere cold, and you aren't too fussed, as long as you can get away for a little break soon.

Worry (do they worry about you? how often?)

He worries all the time. It's part of the package deal when you have a best friend. Though, it shows the most when you are hurt, heartbroken, or sick. You mostly get worried for Daniel when he gets mad. What happened with Si*ver lives in you head rent free, and you'd be lying if you said you weren't worried about him falling into a trap like that again.

X = Xerox (are there any traits or habits of theirs that you’ve picked up by accident?)

Daniel likes to talk with his hands, and that is definitely something you picked up from him right away. I

Y = Yahoo (what’s an inside joke you share?)

You often bring up the iconic (if you do say so yourself) audience heckle from Daniel's first tournament - "Johnny, you're a creampuff!" Jokingly, you'll call each other 'creampuff' when one of you jumps or gets scared.

Z = Zany (do they have a weird side only you get to see? what’s it like?) ((I changed this one a little because I really wanted to include this!))

Daniel doesn't talk about what happened to him, with many people. The bloody knuckles, the bruised foot, the horrifying second tournament. Along with the events of what happened in Okinawa. In fact, he still doesn't talk about it. However, a few weeks after his second tournament, when the excitement had died down, he had a nightmare. You'd been staying over that day, sleeping on the sofa bed and when you knocked on his door to ask if he was okay, he let you in. And he told you everything, and about how it all made him feel. He showed you one spot on his knuckle that had actually scarred. He also told how guilty he felt for that one night he yelled at Mr Miyagi. And that's the side you see more than anyone else in his life: the vulnerability, and the ptsd.

Taglist: @shrinkthisviolet, @crimsonandclover27

#template is linked in the title #i finally finished this #but it's unedited. and also my hands are cramping and its late. so hopefully someone likes it lol #my writing #mine #daniel larusso x reader #daniel larusso fluff #to edit

73 notes · View notes

landslided · 5 months

Note

Honestly one of the things that fascinates me about Cobra Kai is how Daniel's perception of what Johnny thinks colors the way he reacts towards Johnny.

The way he greets him in the dealership makes it clear that he still thinks of Johnny as a kind of archetype. And obviously a lot of the show is about them getting past that and learning to know each other as adults, or is in the ideal version in my head, lol.

But I would like the moment when Daniel's perception flips and he sees Johnny in another light, with another label attached:

Bisexual, mentally ill sex worker with substance abuse problems and C-PTSD from being groomed as a child soldier in a cult.

i feel everyone on tumblr has decided to send me anons that appeal to me particularly because OUUUUGH anon, i am SUCH a fan of this.

i also love to explore daniel’s perception of johnny and by extension, himself through johnny because i think sometimes when daniel realizes that johnny isn’t the fully fledged villain or at least an archetype he has imagined in his head, he has to take a moment and shift his gaze onto himself.

we have a bit of a moment like this in S1Ep9 (different but the same my absolute beloved) when daniel learns that johnny’s dad wasn’t around and that laura married sid. you can see the gears shift in his head and think "oh… maybe there is more to this than i thought" and johnny has those same moments with speedwagon (which, is less deep than daniel’s realization but an important one of oh maybe we do have stuff in common that isn’t just our past).

i also think johnny in the show is more open to having his perception of daniel shifted because he does not have the same trauma attached to daniel. obviously, it’s pretty normal of daniel to be mistrustful of johnny because well, he was his high school bully who made his life hell, but i think there’s also a special brand of i can’t trust anyone and everybody is exactly how i see them philosophy that is a legacy of what terry silver has done to daniel. and when robby manages to make his way into daniel’s life and his trust and then is found out to have lied, daniel completely breaks down and has a reaction to robby (a kid) that feels just too much for the situation at hand.

also, if you, like me, love to read daniel as repressed in his sexuality (because hello guy from the 80´s and also once again, he was betrayed by silver and i don’t even mean this in a silverusso way but in a oh i can’t trust anyone with parts of myself because they could use it against me way) then there is a layer to daniel’s refusal to see johnny differently that is i think a way to protect himself and his own vision of himself and his desires.

i… love daniel larusso so much. he is such a complex mess of a character who believes himself to NOT be a mess and that’s what makes it so delicious to me.

but god, yes. bisexual, mentally ill sex worker johnny with substance abuse problems and C-PTSD, like, it’s not that far off from what he is in canon! we just put the actual words on it! (i could also go on a full tangent about sex worker johnny and the clues we have of that past in the show but i won’t here). i think if daniel ever learned about any of this in any capacity his brain would shut down for a least three to four business days before he tried to be aggressively supportive and johnny would find it unbearable. (i would like to see it)

#*asks

12 notes · View notes

variousqueerthings · 1 year

Text

I still think it's a shame that we haven't had anything in the show related to johnny and miyagi emotionally -- what I mean by that is that, yes, we've had him mentioning larusso's sensei that beat him and his friends up (during his "daniel was the real bully" rewrite of events), and there was daniel in the training-bit that pointed out that miyagi was a badass who defeated kreese (was it in the training bit, I think so), but johnny had nothing really to say to that, and there's "no be there," which was framed as a joke (that's a whole other tangent)

off the top of my head -- which, it has been a few months since I've gone through the whole thing -- that's all we've had, but miyagi saved johnny's life, and I think that's worthy of writing something about. johnny is consistently derisive about miyagi-do, but quite apart from whether or not he thinks teen!daniel could defeat him at the all-valley, miyagi definitely got kreese without breaking a sweat, and johnny's ptsd-envisioned almost getting choked to death several times on this show, but it always ends before he gets rescued

idk, this is kind of not-fully-thought-out, but it's to do with the way that the show never fully completes the inwards spiral it was doing to bring johnny into the karate kid story (it may in s6... but since johnny's storyline is now "new baby out of nowhere, not at all related to any of his growth and certainly not carmen's" it's doubtful). s1 johnny is supposed to be abrasive and unwilling to have anything to do with miyagi-do (except for when he does, episode 9 my beloved), and then bit by bit he's being brought from his "side" of the narrative into daniel's narrative, which he merely played a part in initially (I say, as if I haven't read 100 fics in which he and daniel got it on at prom) and has been unwilling to see what that part entailed, because if they weren't equally matched nemeses and he did just beat him up several times because he didn't like him, then what does it mean that his father-figure tried to kill him for failing to beat him at a teen karate tournament?

they pay lip-service to some of that with the whole miyagi-fang + training montage bit, but of course s5 then does nothing with it, but what I mean is that if johnny really belonged in daniel's story - because this is the miyagi-verse, not the daniel or johnny verse - I really wanted him to acknowledge the role miyagi played in his life, and to be respectful of that. he's acknowledged that kreese was bad for him, and nearly killed him, but that's idk... the anger and betrayal part of it all. on the other side of that was daniel's mentor/father, a story which he didn't belong in (perhaps doesn't feel like he deserved to be in, cycle of abuse etcetc), but for a moment intersected with his, and now deliberately intersects with his, he wants to intersect with his, and miyagi's ghost hovers over all of it

it's unfortunate that they dragged johnny back to a safe place (for them), where his character development barely still applies, and it's probably-definitely to do with getting him away from daniel, so "not-talking-about-miyagi" isn't the highest on the list of things that has jarringly thrown johnny out of the main storyline and into his own weird stepford hellscape, but it's up there for me alongside "you're alright larusso," as the most puzzling omissions from the show, because it's... it's right there. the easiest character development in a show that's all about being incredibly on the nose with its arcs

once upon a time I thought "nah, they'll leave it for the end, because it's the perfect ending," but now we are... here. whatever end s5 was doing. and it's a little bit more *chuckles, you remember that johnny told daniel that he was alright and handed him the trophy right? you remember that miyagi stepped in to save johnny's life when he was a kid right? you remember that those were two significant scenes that happened... right?*

ah well vive le fanfiction, especially with this show 😂

TL;DR I think johnny saying a few words about miyagi (respectful ones, not s1 johnny ones) would bring johnny into the karate kid story properly, by acknowledging the role miyagi played in his life

#johnny lawrence #nariyoshi miyagi #cobra kai #the karate kid #ck #tkk #pet headcanon is that miyagi is the reason that sam happened to be in the car ramming johnny's that night #and that johnny and daniel kept walking into places -- like the double-date in s2 -- where the other person was #miyagi is the deus ex machina and the storyteller and the instigator -- puck and ghost and the ancestor #so you should visit his grave and pay your damn respects johnny! he did all of this just for you to mock his speech patterns?!#cobra kai meta

35 notes · View notes

secretsandwritings-blog · 3 days

Text

Headcanons for LaRusso Siblings ੈ✩

by secretsandwritings-blog

Morning Routine 🌤️

At what time do they generally wake up?

Sam would wake up around five am.

Anthony would wake up around 10 am or three pm.

Do they tend to wake up early and take their time, or would they rather rush it?

Sam wakes up early and takes her time but overall it will take her about an hour total to get ready.

Anthony wakes up late and takes his time to get ready but overall it would take him about an hour and a half or two hours.

How many alarms do they need to wake up?

Sam would need about two or three alarms.

Anthony would have over 10 alarms but never hears them.

Are they a morning person?

Neither Sam or Anthony are morning people, but Sam would be all set with a morning coffee or tea.

Bathroom first or breakfast first?

Sam is bathroom first to do her morning skincare.

Anthony is breakfast first to eat before it gets cold.

Do they take a shower to wake up?

For Sam, yes, but sometimes for Anthony.

Coffee, tea, milk or juice?

Sam isn’t picky between coffee or tea.

Anthony is definitely drinking juice.

Sweet or savoury breakfast?

Sam likes a savoury breakfast.

Anthony likes both sweet and savoury one.

What do they like to have for breakfast?

Sam: Breakfast Tostadas or Avocado Toast.

Anthony: Eggs Benedict Rolls or Easy Overnight Oats.

Do they prepare their clothes before going to sleep, or do they prefer to improvize?

Sam picks out their outfits beforehand and gets the okay from him or he’ll just freestyle his own outfit.

Do they spend a lot of time dressing up, fixing their hair and/or putting on makeup?

For Sam, she doesn’t take too long when she applies a little bit of mascara and lip gloss or balm but it does take longer to do her hair.

For Anthony, he doesn’t do anything special to himself so he would either brush out his bed hair or leave it the way it was.

Nighttime Routine 🌙

At what time do they tend to go to sleep?

Sam goes to bed around 9:30 or 10:00 pm.

Anthony goes to bed around 10:30 or 11:28 pm.

Do they take anything to help them sleep (medicines, chamomilles, warm milk... )?

Sam drinks a chamomile tea every night before bed

Anthony had to be medicated with Eszopiclone

How much does it take for them to fall asleep?

Takes Sam about 20 or 30 minutes to fall asleep.

Takes Anthony about 45 minutes if he remembers to take his medicine but if not, he doesn’t sleep at all.

are they a light or a heavy sleeper?

Sam is a moderate sleeper but she tends to be more of a light sleeper (compared to Daniel and Anthony).

Anthony is a heavy sleeper like you need to rattle him or toss him out of his bed to awake him.

Do they snore, talk and/or move a lot while sleeping?

Sam tends to mumble in her sleep due to the PTSD.

Anthony full on snores but sometimes he does “talk” by saying random cuss words at times.

Do they dream often?

Neither of them really dream?

What kind of dreams to they tend to have?

For Sam, it’s more of a flashback of a experience so not really a dream.

Anthony on the other hand says he sees “nothing” or that it’s “pitch black in there”.

Do they prefer to be in complete darkness to fall asleep, or are they ok with a bit of light?

Sam has a little lamp on her nightstand to keep on since the flashbacks get worse in the dark.

Anthony likes LOVES the dark. He likes it completely dark which freaks out Sam.

Do they need the door or the windows open, or do they prefer them closed when they go to sleep?

Sam locks everything up since she can’t sleep with anything opened.

Anthony closes everything but never really locks them.

What's their usual sleeping position?

Sam’s preferred sleeping position is fetal.

Anthony’s personal favorite is sleeping on his back and hogging all the bed space or sleeping in fetal.

Where is their bed? with a side against the wall, in the middle of the room... ?

By the angle of their rooms that have been shown I would say it’s a safe bet that both of their beds are in the middle somehow but Anthony’s seems to be closer to a wall than Sam’s bed.

#secretsandwritingg’s work #personal headcanon #20 headcanons #cobra kai #samantha larusso #sam larusso #anthony larusso #larusso siblings #larusso siblings headcanons

4 notes · View notes

miasmultifandomdump · 8 months

Text

People refusing to understand that Daniel LaRusso has PTSD is my villain origin story.

#everything he does in cobra kai goes back to being traumatized as a kid imo #i wish people got this more #daniel larusso #daniel larusso defense squad #cobra kai

6 notes · View notes

shrinkthisviolet · 2 years

Note

"eVeRyOnE hAs a SoB sToRy" ~Sam LaRusso, the girl with a car of her own in highschool, who lives in a huge house, can buy whatever she wants and her dad is a millionare. A girl who never ever struggled for anything in her life until Cobra Kai season 2 (when she herself causes a fight in her highschool), making fun of Tory, who has a predatory family, no money and a sick mother, barely making ends meet

…anon, why would you tell me, a primarily Sam blog, this

Also…look, I love them both, but lest you forget, Tory literally started a fight at school, cut her arm to scar, and hospitalized and traumatized her. And then broke into her house and traumatized her again—that second one had absolutely no reason whatsoever, by the way. Seriously. No reason for that, good or bad.

Sam didn’t cause the fight, Tory did. And if anyone is at fault for upsetting Tory, it’s Miguel, who was a) sober or close to it, compared to super drunk Sam, and b) TORY’S ACTUAL BOYFRIEND, why tf isn’t she going after HIM like this?? Cheating isn’t okay, and Sam is still a bit at fault, but the majority of the blame rests with Miguel.

And it has always frustrated me that the blame for that is placed only on Sam’s shoulders (another example of the sexist trope of the boyfriend getting off scot free for cheating)…and you seem to have fallen for it. I’d feel bad if you seemed to know what you were talking about…or if you had any sympathy for the traumatized teenager. But you don’t, so. Moving on.

Daniel isn’t a millionaire…not sure where you’re getting that from? He’s rich. Not all rich people are millionaires.

Also…predatory family? Her aunt…is one person in her family. We know nothing about her dad, and her mom and brother aren’t predatory. We don’t even know about her other family, what’s up with them, etc. If they’re not also trying to get ahold of Brandon like Kandace is…then that sounds like a generalization to me. And sweeping generalizations just aren’t gonna fly here, anon, when you’re using them to put down a teenage girl. Some empathy for Sam would’ve gotten you some sympathy from me…but empathy towards teen girls seems to be in short supply, and you’ve fallen for the societal trap of hating teenage girls who act like teenage girls. I’d feel sorry if you seemed to regret it. Moving on.

Sam is rich and privileged and there is no denying that (and she shouldn’t have made fun of Tory at her job)…however, Tory has hurt her, and there is no excuse for that (everything else in s4 aside from Sam making fun of Tory at her job was her untreated PTSD acting up, and I highly doubt you’d act any better in her situation). Sam has extended understanding and kindness to her, and now, Tory needs to apologize. This isn’t rocket science. She should’ve done it first, but at this point, I’ll just be glad if she does it at all.

And frankly, I’m shocked that you seem to have no empathy for the literal traumatized teenager with PTSD (and yep, she does have untreated PTSD). But hey, it doesn’t seem like you even know the show that well anyway. At the very least, I assume you skimmed the finales and skipped over the parts where Tory hurt Sam, it’s really the only excuse for you blaming Sam like this with no consideration for her pain.

If you’re gonna have an opinion on this show, word of advice: it helps to watch the show with the volume up and both eyes open :) just a thought!

#cobra kai #sam larusso #samantha larusso #some of y’all really just come on here and say anything huh #anon i promise you can sympathize with more than one character at once #literally just try it for five seconds. you might actually enjoy it

40 notes · View notes

terrence-silver · 2 years

Note

How do you think the dynamic is gonna change betwen terry and the other characters in season 5? What im hoping happens is a plot twist( like insert character was working with cobra kai)😭 i honestly love the conflict and drama

Uh, well, let me try and predict? Don't hold me to my words, though.

Daniel Larusso: I think we all collectively agreed that he will try to make this guy come off as absolutely insane and paranoid when he in fact isn't. Daniel simply recognizes his past abuser's patterns and tactics at play. Daniel very much is someone who was groomed in his childhood and someone not too many people will believe this season, perhaps? Terry makes Daniel seem irrational and delusional. Jealous, even. Jealous of Mr. Silver's successes, surely! John's in jail, right? Justice has been upheld. There is no conflict to be fought anymore. That's the news coming from the great, big grapevine, at least. So, why is Danny-Boy still so adamant and fidgety about it, when Terry, the new head of Cobra Kai is merely just a kindly, egalitarian, charming Billionaire with a heart of gold helping the youth of The Valley? Terry understands, though. Terry is a humble, smiling saint. It is PTSD and the nerves that are ailing Mr. Larusso. Might even suggest to Amanda that her husband should get therapy. Kindly advice, because it helped him oh so much too.

Amanda Larusso: Superficially enchants Amanda, but in the sense where he comes off as everything Daniel (who's a nervous, overly careful, jittery wreck by now) ought to be; a seemingly stable minded, polished businessman who just gets it. He gets it, okay? He's in charge of himself in ways Daniel isn't. Terry comes off like the image of the perfect American industrialist to Amanda, maybe a bit transparent with his charm he flaunts around so readily, but she really doesn't see why Daniel freaked so badly out about this guy. He gives off a corny, cheesy air, if anything else. Fake in the way an empty flatterer is fake. Like he tries too hard to get under your skin with every weapon available and like he tries to woo the public with a bit too much tenacity, but ultimately harmless beneath all of that TV evangalist-worthy razzle-dazzle...which is exactly what Terry wants her to think and something Terry entirely embraces. Of course, this serves to gaslight Daniel from a distance even further when his own damn wife disbelieves him this guy's dangerous.

Johnny Lawrence: Hard to tell, actually, but I'd like the angle where Terry sees Johnny as the prime inheritor of John's affections and devotion (maybe even figurative legacy, which is deeply infuriating because Terry feels cast aside and sidestepped by a nobody), and his ultimate adversary, in that regard. Johnny, naturally, might not grasp the profound gravitas behind it all, lacking half a century's worth of context and history, but Terry very much does understand. When it turns out someone who was so irreplaceably important and detrimental for a big chunk of your life loves someone else just a bit more than you, that someone else simply must be terminated and squashed into the ground. There can be only one. Terry's gonna prove his loyalty to his incarcerated Captain alright and he is going to prove it by destroying this punk's life and everything he's ever held dear by bit bit. Best thing is? There won't be a single thing John Kreese is going to be able to do about it from behind the bars. This is what he gets for breaking Terry's heart.

Chozen: People...think Chozen will have some big master plan on how to take down Terry but I literally feel the jist of it will be Chozen 'striking first' and utilizing a Cobra's ideology against a Cobra --- which is something that is revealed to us in that new clip that just dropped, among several other major clues. I might be wrong, but that's what I feel. He has insight into Terry's old Sensei, The Way of The Fist, I think he perfectly gets how downright deceptive and deadly this guy is and that he will bring the 'war' to Terry's doorstep. I mean, he is seen threatening Terry and telling him 'He is Gasoline.' among others. Anyway, what I think it will irk Terry, if you will, that there's a rare handful of somebodies who at all believe Daniel concerning Terry's own nature and are ready and able to stand up for him, meaning his attempts to isolate his victim and make him seem entirely irrational would've, in part, failed. Terry doesn't like that. He doesn't like that one bit. Then again, watch him actually try and use deception and infiltrate / join Cobra Kai (which...would anyone fall for that?)

Tory: Another person John cared for and another person Terry will hurt for it in a roundabout way, or at least, put through hefty amounts of pain disguised as training. Naturally, he will take John's sentimental pet project and make it better still all while making her suffer all throughout, polishing her through pain, which is deserved and a lesson long since overdue, Terry might think. He procures a trophy for her because while she could've won on her skill alone, she kept showing unnecessary mercy to her foe, and now she is being an ingrate too? Would Samantha Larusso ever don the same for Tory? Terry thinks not. Either way, nothing is for free. Every favour has a price and the price of Tory's All Valley trophy is her, in layman terms, shutting the hell up and not outing and betraying her own victory to the public and making herself seem like a fool when her and her family's livelihood depends on what she can earn by maintaining her status --- a la 'You're a champion, kid Don't be an idiot.'

Miguel and Robby: Their stories and relation to Terry might be extremely interconnected this season because Robby is with Miyagi-Do (Again) and Miguel is nowhere to be seen in any dojo thus far. Of course, Terry doesn't take lightly to betrayal and a stark change of colors like that. That's where the Cobra Kai invite arriving to Miguel's house address in the trailer comes in. If this is how Robby wants to play and flip-flop between dojos and alliances whoever he deems fit, that's how Terry will play too. There's a vacant spot in Terry's newly minted studios opening up all around and it can very well be occupied by Robby's greatest foe, which is Miguel, a former Cobra himself...and for all intents and purposes, Johnny Lawrence's favourite adoptive son --- a wound Terry will press into deliberately. Maybe Miguel could get cozy again with Tory too. Maybe Miguel should take everything Robby has, if Robby doesn't want it. Would Terry manipulate this angle to, in effect, punish Robby and fuel the fire of this rivalry further? I think he would.

Kenny: I don't think Terry's relationship with Kenny will be any sort of wholesome like some people think. I mean? At least I don't see it. In fact, I envision Kenny more like Terry's Trojan Horse, of sorts. I literally feel, to quote Terry himself, he will simply wind this kid up and set him loose into the world, fuelling the aggression and newfound power that comes with knowing martial arts...and his status as an actual child, yes. Kenny can attack people and be antagonistic, but people won't really strike back or will at least majorly hesitate to, because, he's, well, yes, a kid. Terry takes advantage of this as only a shameless tactician would. Terry takes advantage of the fact Robby just automatically jumps to Kenny's his defense too to cause even more chaos through this relationship. Having a wind-up imp who can do anything from enthusiastically sharing Cobra Kai fliers around, being an energized star student with a lot of potential, being a valuable poster child to pushing people around is a spectacularly useful figurine on Terry's colossal chessboard.

#at least how i see it #could be entirely wrong on each note #these are just random predictions #terry silver #cobra kai #cobra kai season 5 #daniel larusso #amanda larusso #johnny lawrence #tory nichols #robby keene #miguel diaz #kenny payne #ck predictions

36 notes · View notes

breckstonevailskier · 2 years

Text

Rewriting the back part of Cobra Kai Season 4

I feel it's very out of character that neither the Eagle Fangs nor Miyagi-Dos react to Hawk getting his head shaved. Nor the fact that Daniel and Johnny choose to split up when they should see this as a sign they need to be unified for the tournament. Not to mention, they should all agree that they should go attack Cobra Kai in revenge, seeing as Cobra Kai broke the "no fighting before the tournament" truce".

I mean, Hawk was assaulted. They had him held down by the neck with a belt while they forcibly shaved him. That should've warranted Miyagi-Fang attack Cobra Kai as revenge.

Episode 5:

Hawk turns up at Miyagi-Do with his head shaved. Johnny immediately shows concern for Hawk and rushes him to the hospital, and tries to calm him down and assure him he didn't deserve to be attacked. Meanwhile, Daniel listens to the other Miyagi-Fang kids who are enraged by the attack. As someone (maybe Miguel or Demetri) points out, the fact that Cobra Kai attacked Hawk means that they broke the "no fighting before the tournament" truce. Some of the Miyagi-Fangs, particularly Miguel and Demetri, decide that Cobra Kai needs to pay for what they did. Daniel tries to preach that that's not the sort of thing Mr. Miyagi would do, but the Miyagi-Fangs won't have it.

Episode 6:

Daniel and Johnny decide they have to continuing work together to train their kids for the tournament. Because 1) it's not a good sign if the kids are more mature than them, 2) with the rule changes for the All-Valley, a united dojo might stand a better chance at beating Cobra Kai in the tournament,* and 3) it'll make it easier for Miyagi-Fang to avenge Hawk. Johnny's recruitment of Devon is pretty much the same. Sam also reaches out to Aisha in hopes of gaining her as a member of Miyagi-Fang, although unsuccessful.

(*The rule changes by the way, are slightly different. On top of the skills competition, and the mens and womens' divisions for the point matches, it's decided that the winner of the boys' and the girls' fights will then fight for winner takes all)

Amidst all this, Sam, Miguel and Demetri decide that they will go engage the Cobras in a rumble to get revenge for Hawk. They end up meeting up at the park where Eagle Fang initially trained, and there's a fight. The result is a three on four fight, with Sam and Miguel taking on Kyler and Robby, while Demetri engages Tory and Kenny. Ultimately, Miyagi-Fang wins this bout (thanks to Johnny's offense training paying off), but it's through this rumble that they find out about Robby teaching the Cobras the defense playbook of Miyagi-Do. (The exchange Daniel has with Silver and Robby at the minimart plays out differently, because he's quick to point out that Silver hasn't changed his ways at all by not honoring the truce; he also condemns Robby for assaulting Hawk).

Hawk is eventually motivated to come back to Miyagi-Fang. Instead of Demetri, it's Sam who does the motivating. This allows us to get some bonding between Sam and Hawk, as Sam has an understanding of what Hawk is going through (finding some common ground between the PTSD she got courtesy of Tory during the school brawl and the PTSD Hawk is going through now courtesy of being forcibly shaved). Over the next few episodes, this allows them to slowly work through some of their conflicts from prior seasons.

Amidst all this, Amanda's a bit conflicted about her own helping of Tory after she finds out Tory participated in the attack on Hawk. Eventually, she comes to a compromise decision after Tory visits the LaRusso house, and calls a family meeting to discuss this. She actually bothers to hear out Sam's side of things, and a deal is made: Tory can return to school, but only on the condition that she can't come within a 50 foot distance of Sam, she can't approach Sam in any way, and she and Sam have to go to therapy. Hawk is also given a therapist too.

Episode 7:

The biggest change across this (and admittedly the previous few episodes) is that we actually get to see more of Sam training with Johnny. She's learning two karate styles. So we need to see more of her learning the Eagle Fang style and attitude in order for it to have payoff at the tournament. They shouldn't have relegated this entire arc about Sam learning a new fighting style from Johnny (and attitude change to boot) to happening entirely offscreen. This culminates in a somewhat heated Sam vs. Miguel sparring match to demonstrate just how far each student has come by having Miguel be more defense-oriented vs. a more offense-oriented Sam (Miguel comes out on top on this one and can't resist the urge to kiss Sam after he overpowers her because well, there's historical precedent)

Also in this episode, we have scenes of Sam, Tory and Hawk attending therapy onscreen.

Episode 8: Prom

In lieu of the prom fight caused by contrived love square drama, there's going to be a different rumble. But it will still happen at prom. Basically, the Miyagi-Fangs go to prom, and things start the same. But when Tory and Robby turn up, Sam's and Miguel's reactions are ones of "being on guard in case they decide to do something as payback for the rumble" and not "jealousy". Ultimately, Sam has her run-in with Tory and the verbal back-and-forth that escalates into a fight. But instead of being about the boys, it's about Tory participating in the assault on Hawk, and Robby ringleading it. Ultimately, the result is another brawl with Sam vs. Tory, Demetri vs. Kyler, and Robby vs. Miguel. Sam and Miguel come out on top in their fights, as does Hawk, who regains his confidence and proves it when he helps Sam take out Tory, while Demetri ends up curbstomping and giving Kyler a black eye and broken nose.

The tournament:

The tournament is slightly restructured given everyone is in Miyagi-Fang instead of Eagle Fang and Miyagi-Do entering separately. Miyagi-Fang have Devon and Sam to carry them in the girls' tournament, giving them a bit more of an edge. Devon still falls to Tory. Sam still beats Piper, but instead of losing her fight with Tory by interference from Silver, she wins it in spite of Silver's interference from. Thanks to the various influences Tory's been receiving, Tory takes her loss with dignity and grace, and it's afterwards that she catches Silver paying off the ref.

Meanwhile, on the boys' side, Miguel loses in the semis when he faces off against Robby, but it's not a "loss by forfeit". Then Robby (who had eliminated Kenny and Demetri right before fighting Miguel) faces off against Hawk (who has just eliminated Kyler). Sam takes Moon's place as the one who motivates Hawk. Despite putting up a good fight, Hawk loses to Robby.

Now it's Sam vs. Robby. It turns out Silver fixed the matches because he thinks the best way to break Daniel's and Johnny's spirit is to have Daniel's daughter and Johnny's son be the ones who fight it out for the grand winner-takes-all trophy. The fight plays out just like Hawk vs. Robby in the actual tournament, and Sam wins through the same way Hawk did (by taking advantage of Kenny distracting Robby and Robby maybe not fighting at 100% because Tory tries to warn him that the match is fixed). While Silver was attempting to have this match fixed, it turns out he just didn't anticipate how good a fighter Sam was, so he reneges on the deal Kreese made with Johnny and Daniel at the end of season 3 on the grounds that their deal was never with him [Silver] (loopholing his way out like a slimy weasel). This creates an extra motive for the whole bit where Silver gets Kreese to take the fall for his beating of Stingray. (Or alternately, Robby wins by Silver's bribery, and he feels he was cheated out of a chance to prove he's better than his dad when he finds out about the fix; and he feels bad for Sam because much as he may not like her at this point, he doesn't think she deserved to lose through such interference. So he immediately goes to Daniel and Sam, tells them about the fix, and Daniel uses his clout with the All Valley committee to convince them to schedule a do-over tournament.)

#cobra kai #cobra kai season 4 #miguel diaz #samantha larusso #demetri alexopoulos #tory nichols #robby keene #eli hawk moscowitz

40 notes · View notes