#Johnny's dream is Carmen

[elessildur]

The best gains in life began as dreams

[pinkragdolly]

🍒🌹💋

[bisexualmultifandommess]

From now on I might just ignore the baby plot line when watching any future seasons.

Carmen and Johnny are holding a baby? How nice of them to babysit.

[ohnoitsthebat]

Some more of my thoughts about That Plot Point in s5 of Cobra Kai: Ignore if you haven't seen, as this post has spoilers.

I'm happy for Carmen, but I'm sorry, am I meant to believe that a 50 something year old man, who had performance problems last season(and probably many times over the years), a man who drank the best years of his life away, was able to get it up long enough to fuck Carmen, let alone get her pregnant?

Sorry, but there are so many things wrong with this scenario. And am I meant to believe that Responsible Carmen Diaz wouldn't at least be on the pill?

This whole arc is just nonsensical and weird, and I am still wondering why the hell the writers even came up with it.

That being said, I enjoyed the season overall.

[ballisterboldheart]

if amanda johnny and carmen get to do something together i will be very happy

[bubblegumflavor]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[landslided]

Sorry if it's boring, but continuing with LawRusso AU Johnny princess, I really like the "enchanted" movie and I can't stop thinking about Johnny being Giselle singing to the rats and cockroaches to clean Daniel and Sam's house lol

as a rule of thumb it is NEVER boring to send me asks, especially ones like these where i can have fun and think of AUs! and you picked a movie i love so this is just a win win for me!!

let’s get into it:

lawrusso enchanted AU is such a good idea im almost jealous i didn’t think of it myself!!

i think daniel and amanda got divorced amicably a few years ago and she still lives in los angeles but daniel moved back to jersey to be closer to lucille and he took sam with him (im imagining this as a story without anthony because it fits better, sorry anthony).

daniel still works as a divorce lawyer because that is just funny to me and it’s canon to the movie and he has this perpetual look of "im one shirt sleeve caught on a door handle away from snapping" look because being a single father is hard work and yeah, he and amanda co-parent but sam is with him most of the time and by moving here he’s always made himself more prone to special lucille larusso mother attacks of "you never visit even now that you’re so close" "you’re so skinny, do you cook actual food or just eat take out?" "are you coming for christmas? all your cousins will be there and also that nice girl you liked when you were a kid, judy? maybe it’s time to get back into dating, daniel!"

amanda has planned to come into the city to spend the holidays with her daughter and ex-husband and i see her as a platonic nancy role.

sam is in her full princess era and she’s making both her parents crazy with all the singing and dancing (and kicking furniture because she’s a karate princess)

meanwhile, in andalasia, johnny who is both prince(ss) and hero dreams of finding his one true love and sighs at his window. he’s been locked away in a tower by his evil step-dad kreese and he’s waiting for someone to come and save him (or at least just open the door of his magically locked tower because he can surely save himself).

carmen who happens to be a princess and hero herself has gone on a quest to save the lost prince of andalasia and with her help, johnny manages to escape the tower, defeat a forest troll and take back his throne from kreese’s claws. he and carmen tentatively get together (but deep down both feel this might not be the right fit for each other) and as johnny makes his way to his own royal wedding he’s sent to Real Life New Jersey and meets daniel and sam.

i kind of see giselle’s wedding dress for him but with pants for a more Realistic outfit but… screw realism i want johnny lawrence in that EXACT outfit!

also imagine scott mccall the equalizer soft mullet with a tiara, it’s just too good. ALSO imagine carmen IN THIS!!!!

you KNOW she would rock this!!

oh and yeeees, johnny summoning rats and insects in daniel’s apartment to clean and sam is SOOOOO excited because that’s a real life prince(ss) who also happens to be a great fighter and they do karate moves while also talking about johnny’s best friend, a chipmunk called bobby.

sam and johnny going on a shopping spree and buying a bunch of stuff and eating ice cream. johnny going to the hairdresser and having his hair cut to look more traditionally masculine (daniel doesn’t want to look into why it makes him sad) because he he keeps getting looks from people in the street for his dress and long hair.

johnny making clothes out of daniel’s curtains and daniel is all you could just ASK me for MY clothes you are not THAT much bigger than i am. johnny making a gi for sam out of pastel pink flower fabric from an old blanket and daniel is like okay… i have to admit that’s pretty adorable.

johnny in the park singing to daniel, who has been wondering if he should take his mom’s advice and try to get back with amanda, hoooow dooooes she knooooow you loooove heeeer (johnny stop, people are looking at us) and johnny has that giselle/animated princess innocence but there is still very much an edge of assholery to him where every time he can he embarrasses daniel as much as possible.

(carmen running around new jersey trying to find her prince(ss) and being like i kind of hate this i wish this was more sunny, also why do i keep getting questions about being on broadway what is a broad a way)

daniel and johnny fighting because johnny keeps saying carmen will come get him and daniel is so fed up with it ("no, johnny, it’s just not gonna happen." "no? is that the only word you know, larusso? no?! oh my god you make me so, so so!!!" "so what?" "so angry!" cue sparring in the living room because that’s how they deal with emotions )

johnny and daniel falling in love montage and then CARMEN AND AMANDA FALLING IN LOVE MONTAGE!!! YES I WILL SNEAK CARMANDA IN EVERYTHING EVER!!

kreese coming to new jersey to finish the job, daniel and johnny going to the ball and daniel giving johnny a true love’s kiss, kreese turning into a dragon and kidnapping daniel, johnny chasing them on the roof with carmen’s sword in his hand and finally getting rid of his evil step-father to save his one true love!!

"is this an habit of yours, daniel? falling off of stuff?"

"only when you’re there to catch me."

lawrusso new jersey happy ending and carmanda los angeles happy ending because amanda wouldn’t go to andalasia when sam is there and hey! carmen would love a break from being a fairytale hero! she wants to go to the beach!

daniel quits his job because it makes him miserable and he and johnny open a dojo together which sam is very excited about and lucille is so happy that her son has found someone and seems to be happier than ever.

they all go to andalasia once in a while to visit bobby and the other three chipmunks (you know who they are) and they all live happily ever after.

the end!

[disbear]

Just experienced the joy of rewatching the Johnny/Carmen sex dream scene and I think the Coors Banquet facial overloaded my brain to the point where i never fully processed the part where Johnny's wet dream is also about BEING TACKLED AND BEATEN AND PINNED DOWN BY A CUTE PETITE BRUNETTE IN A KARATE GI???!!?!!

[zannolin]

i think the most frustrating thing for me abt johnny and carmen going where it went is there was absolutely no development there. we got about two scenes of them having any kind of conversation that's not "stay the fuck away from my kid you weirdo" and then suddenly there's a whitesnake dream sequence? i was so excited to see where their friendship could go and it honestly felt more like carmen was treating johnny like another kid what with the "mom doesn't want you eating slim jims for breakfast anymore" and stuff. we didn't get ANY foundation for it being romantic despite he was a boy she was a girl can i make it any more obvious etc etc. i might not dislike it sooo much if there was ANYTHING there, or even an angle where it feels like an obligatory thing to do for carmen because her son's got a father figure in his life, or for johnny because he doesn't know what else to do with women in his life, but no. no. whitesnake dream sequence is supposed to make it all make sense i guess.

[elessildur]

𝒥𝒶𝓇𝓂𝑒𝓃 + 𝒦𝒾𝓈𝓈𝑒𝓈

[thecranekick]

ok i’m gonna do it. it’s just. i’m going to try and articulate this the best i can without rambling. (edit - yeah this is way longer than i meant it to be.) unbelievably long and jumbled j*rmen/baby thoughts incoming:

i’ll start off by saying this: maybe i’m dumb but i feel like any development of a genuine romantic relationship between johnny/carmen has been done off-camera and we have no indication they’ve even done that. there is like, below zero amounts of relational development whatsoever and then suddenly she’s pregnant and he buys her a ring (where did he get it?? with what money???). i literally didn’t even notice the ring until i saw some gifs of the lawrusso moment. to me that’s a…huge deal? johnny’s never been married before, he never married shannon, he’s never had a traditional family like that…it doesn’t seem like him to just go out and buy a ring because he found out his gf of approximately 2 weeks is pregnant??? like damn these are like Big Life Decisions and you’d think we’d get more screen time on it rather than “oh this is happening now.” like you think we’d actually see him propose and tell his thought process out loud when he does it if they wanted it to actually be a plot line or show any type of genuine character development on johnny’s part. it just seems so random to me, so out of touch, and OOC and just forced.

also i can’t stand the way they had johnny “accidentally” ~spill the beans~ about the b*by to miguel and robby right after they beat the shit out of each other and were having their own moment, and now this is being dumped on them like? it is SO unrealistic that they’re both immediately happy like it’s just WEIRD? and it doesn’t even sound natural coming out of johnny’s mouth. he would never actually say that lmao. he’s dumb but he’s smarter than that? (i could write another essay on that). johnny’s face when they hug him and just his overall demeanor in that moment is so awkward and he genuinely is so weird about it. there’s no excitement, no joy, just??? weirdness??? isn’t that ‘supposed’ to be a happy moment??? coupled with the way he acts about it when the adults find out, and the way he tells shannon about carmen’s dream (not the fact that he tells her, the literal way that he tells her)…it’s just so insanely obvious.

another thing: there is a LOT of growing for johnny to do that can be done without having a newborn at this point in his life? it’s just such a stretch and so outrageous and yes i have a very strong opinion on this because it just doesn’t sit right with me at all for some reason. especially for robby’s sake. like in all seriousness an adult may be able to compartmentalize or like work through this, but robby has yet to work through the trauma he already has and yet i’m supposed to believe he’s gonna be chill watching his previously-absent father play super dad to this newborn? after he already has to watch him play super dad to miguel right in front of him (and continuously choose miguel over him?????) ????????? and is literally being forced to be okay with it and happy about it and get along with miguel???? like it’d be great if he and miguel could be friends because i do think they’d make great friends and get along, but that doesn’t mean robby has to like… feel good about the situation? just the whole thing is so wrong lmao.

also, why does carmen seem so happy and excited?? i could go on about it honestly, it’s so impractical and makes no sense and she is a very cautious and practical person every other moment of the show? but with this she’s just like “yay newborn with this 50 year old guy i met like a year or less ago, why the fuck isn’t he over the moon about this???????” also we’ve got no indication that she actually knows anything about him or his life or that there is any relationship outside of hooking up????? johnny actually confirms this when they tell miguel about their ‘relationship.’ he literally says they’re ‘hooking up’ and then carmen kinda gives him a look and he can’t even say it, MIGUEL has to say it and he’s like ‘uh yeah’ and literally looks like he’s going to throw up. the fact that carmen wasn’t like….upset about that is so strange because he never once alludes to wanting a relationship and she’s the one that’s pushing this like secular family weirdness, so for him to just be like ‘yeah we’re hookin’ up’ and not being able to even CHOKE out that they’re dating is so weird. it’s really, really weird considering we’re apparently supposed to believe that he’s now apparently ready to be married to her?? nothing is exactly wrong with either of them as people, but i just know for a fact they both want different things and are forcing themselves into boxes for each other.

the audacity of carmen to get upset at his trepidation about this is really irritating to me considering she clearly has no idea what’s gone on in his life, or maybe she doesn’t really care?? maybe she just wants to create this happy family bullshit????? idk before s5 i truly loved carmen so the way they’ve had her acting about this whole thing just doesn’t sit right with me and seems very OOC. also i don’t think real life johnny lawrence would be as calm as he was about it and like, not losing his shit at this point in his life. she’s actually lucky he didn’t freak the fuck out?? considering everything i think he was actually pretty damn supportive and cool about it. he literally could have actually lost his mind? all he did was look at the dad with the screaming baby in a carrier and look a little anxious about it? he’s not allowed to be……worried? nervous? intimidated? be so fucking for real right now.

AND ANOTHER MF THING. johnny literally made the same exact mistake in his mid-30s with shannon that he’s making in his mid-50s with carmen. he’s a grown-ass man and at this point knows how “protection” works etc, spent his whole life hooking up with girls and NOT getting them pregnant, like they make him look so damn stupid all the time and FOR WHAT? like i’ve said multiple times, yeah he’s a little ha-ha-dumb but he’s not actually genuinely stupid. they write him that way when it “benefits” their storyline, and literally change his character when it benefits other areas. it’s so inconsistent and frustrating. in what way, shape, or form is having him just repeat past mistakes (just on camera now) going to further his development as a person. if he didn’t know before he certainly knew after knocking up his girlfriend and having robby. like do you think he thinks that just….doesn’t happen?? carmen saying “these things happen johnny,” talking down to him like he’s a 12 year old, when yeah no shit he literally has a kid from the EXACT same fucking thing!!!!!!!!!!????????? likeeee uggghghghghhghhg PLEAAAAASE be so serious rn. they aren’t even really in a proper relationship!!! she knows nothing about him!!! nor has she ever seemed to care very much!!!!!!!! he literally told miguel they were “hooking up” and could NOT make himself say anything else!!!!!! because they AREN’T!!!!!!!!!!!! is the character development supposed to be him sticking around this time? even if the white-picket-fence life she’s pushing makes him miserable?? it’s clear that johnny cares about her like i’m not trying to say that he doesn’t, i think carmen just pities him and thinks she can “save” him by giving him a “real” life?? does that make sense??? like i just. idk idk idk.

i could scream about all of this for days but ANYWAYS tl;dr: johnny and carmen want very different things in life and have no romantic relationship established outside of hooking up and the whole thing is extremely weird

[purpleheartskies]

(These are general thoughts and not directed at anyone in particular.)

Since s5, it's weird how much people actively dismiss storytelling techniques, characterizations, body language in acting, and basically any aspect of storytelling or filmmaking that depicts how toxic and dysfunctional the blended "family" is, and this includes the nuances of Robby's and other characters' behaviors, the use of the pregnancy as an obvious negative plot device, and the ongoing and worsening trauma Johnny has been subjecting Robby to. It's been hard keeping up with the fandom's moving goal posts about what counts as storytelling.

There's also something to be said about the notion that Cobra Kai, being a "comedy", won't explore trauma, mental health, and dysfunctional relationships, although it's clearly exploring these topics. Comedy comes in many forms, some of which are dark or sardonic in nature. The writers have also called Cobra Kai a "dramedy", which is an equal blend of comedy and drama (aka "tragicomedy"). This is what the show has always been. Comedy can also be done at different levels in storytelling. s5e4 is a great example of this. People got a good laugh out of Johnny's antics during the uber scenes, though this is also a comedic yet sad portrayal of how unhealthy Johnny's behavior is. But what is also "funny" about the episode is that it starts with Carmen's dream family with her dream version of Johnny who is put together and mature, but the rest of the episode depicts how Johnny really is: the mess that he's been throughout the series. That meta storytelling took place over the whole episode, and that's also "comedy". The prom episode in s4 had a similar format. Robby had been left out of the "happy" "family" photo early in the episode, and for the rest of the episode, pretty much everyone in the photo had a crappy night while Robby had the best night out of all them (sadly, one of the few episodes that Robby actually "won" compared to the others). Johnny's silly antics are "comedy", while Carmen's "dream Johnny" in s5e4 and the "happy" "family" image in s4e8 being unraveled by exposing the ugly truths is "comedy" too. In fact, there are some comedies in which the overall "joke"/lesson of the story is not only on certain characters as they come to some profound realizations at one point, but on the audience as well. In general, it makes no sense when people claim that this is a "comedy" and "not that type of show" so trauma won't explored in the show. Trauma is fair game in comedy and has always been in play in this show.

Trauma is not only a significant part of Robby's characterization and character journey, but trauma is also part of Johnny's, Kreese's, Silver's, Daniel's, Sam's, Tory's, Hawk's, Kenny's, etc characterizations and character journeys. All of them are characterized to have preexisting traumas and/or experience traumas during the series that drive their behaviors and stories. The story also explores what happens when characters adopt Cobra Kai's / Eagle Fang's aggressive mentality to cope with their traumas. Are people really going to deny that trauma is explored in the story, just so that they can, for example, enjoy the toxic blended family as wholesome despite seeing how dysfunctional it is in all its parts? Johnny and Robby's relationship as well as Miguel and Robby's "rivalry" aren't the only unhealthy aspects of the blended family. Johnny's relationships with Carmen and with Miguel are also dysfunctional. Johnny is an emotionally immature alcoholic who is incapable of keeping down a job, something that Carmen willfully ignores while she parents him. Johnny is also unhealth​i​ly obsessed with Miguel, not only risking Robby's well-being for him but also getting impotent over him spending time with another sensei. Nothing about the blended family is good, and that's the point. Johnny isn't capable of having healthy relationships, and Carmen obviously isn't inclined to healthy relationships either. She's an enabler. She enables Johnny's unhealthy behavior with Miguel by making Johnny feel responsible for Miguel's bad behvaior, and she only corrects Johnny's behavior that she views as a problem for her family while ignoring his other faults. She also enables Miguel's selfish and entitled behavior, like how she's never held him accountable throughout the series and how she didn't even discipline him for running away and endangering all of them like he had. Miguel also feels a sense of entitlement over Johnny. Miguel admit to Hawk and Demetri that he wouldn't "let" Robby being with Johnny "get to him", as Miguel believes that he has a right to be upset about Johnny spending time with his own son. People choose to ignore these aspects of Johnny's, Carmen's, and Miguel's characterizations. People especially ignore Johnny's unhealthy behavior in his relationships even though it's a very important and obvious part of Johnny's characterization due to his traumas.

In s5, Johnny's whole arc with the plot device baby was about how his past traumas continue to negatively impact him, especially his inability to properly be a father to Robby. Johnny was fixated on using the baby as yet another "chance" to make up for his failures with Robby, while continuing to fail with Robby. The baby is such an obvious plot device that was used in a toxic way for both Johnny's and Robby's character journeys. In fact, the baby was used as a negative plot device to worsen Johnny's relationship with Robby in s5 just like how the Diazs have always been negative plot devices to worsen Johnny's relationship with Robby since s1.

Johnny's also still an alcoholic, who hasn't gotten his shit together. He started out the series commiting assault while drunk, and he ended s5 committing assault while drunk. It's funny that people say that Johnny has grown just because he himself claims he has (by quoting Rocky, no less), even though he's clearly portrayed as not having grown. So, people think that Johnny has "grown" even though Johnny's still a deadbeat alcoholic with poor mental health who continues to treat his kid like shit, commit crimes and assaults, and give self-centered, self-pitying speeches, while people also think Robby has "grown" because he suddenly seems to no longer have the years of trauma he's been characterized with and that has been worsening since the start of the series? There's a double standard and lack of logic in this thinking. Even the last line spoken about the baby by another character was Silver's words to Johnny: "at least you won't be around to screw up another kid." A line that not only acknowledges what a continued mess Johnny is (given what he did that night), but also acknowledges that Robby is "screwed up" because of Johnny.

Oh, and I'll say it. Even "comedies" have baby plotlines that end in a miscarriage. King of Queens is an example of a sitcom that had a pregnancy/miscarriage arc. Another goal post that people move is that the show isn't "that dark". Are people gonna say that King of Queens was a "dark" show or went "too dark" because they included a miscarriage plotline in it? People act like the obviously toxic blended family is the immutable endgame. But it's not immutable, and as far as storytelling goes, it's been written to fall apart.

Storytelling in shows/films involves characterization, dialogue, cinematography, music, and other audio and visual elements. I know I'm stating the obvious, but from what I've seen people have been purposely picking and choosing what they want to ignore from these things when it comes to the story. For example, it makes no sense when people say that the body language in the Robby scenes in s5 doesn't matter, even though body language is so key in film. Animations for example make sure to include body language for the characters. More recently, the actors in The Mandalorian said they have to exaggerate their non-facial body language when they have their helmets on. Actors also hire body language coaches to help them with their roles sometimes, like Ke Huy Quan did for EEOAO. This isn't to say that the story or production in Cobra Kai doesn't have flaws here and there, but people really, and I mean really, act like the story is a mindless thought dump that is only there to appease fans of Johnny's and Miguel's characters, even though (1) these two haven't been as relevant to the main dojo war plot of Cobra Kai vs Miyagi-Do for these past few seasons and (2) they have two of the worst characterizations and journeys of the "good guy" characters: minimal to no growth, uncaring and unempathetic towards their loved ones, and pretty self-serving (even their relationship is self-serving for each of them), to name a few things. Meanwhile, Robby is still at the center of the dojo war, through his connections with the other characters, and Robby has some of the best character traits. It seems like people in general are choosing to fundamentally misunderstand the story because they still want to believe it's the "Johnny and Miguel show". (I guess, Daniel, Silver, and Chozen's whole dynamic and storyline this season was less important than Miguel running off to find his dad and literally nothing coming of that, as he just went back to focusing on his obsession with Sam soon after he returned. /s)

It also seems that people want "realistic" characterizations, but when they're given that, they complain. They move that goal post too: "Make it realistic... but in the way I want it to be." The thing is trauma and dysfunctional relationship behaviors aren't "black and white". They're not straightforward. They're messy and complicated. And sadly, many trauma survivors, especially those with cptsd, can behave how Robby did in s5: fawning / people pleasing to an unhealthy degree to feel safe and accepted. I've mentioned this in many recent posts. I've also seen others acknowledge that Robby acts like a "chameleon" when he needs to, as seen in previous seasons. Robby's cptsd has been worsening throughout the series, and Johnny and Miguel have played huge roles in it. This continues to be the case in s5. They're essentially the "bad guys" in Robby's story, moreso than even Kreese and Silver are, despite these two being the main "bad guys" of the series. This is an example of how the show continues to be gray. Kreese and Silver haven't hurt Robby to the extent that Johnny, Miguel, Daniel, and Sam have. One person's "good guy" can be another person's "bad guy". Why would Robby like and praise Johnny and Miguel the way their fans do? In s5, Robby was in unsafe situations with them, and he did what he needed to to appease them, especially Johnny.

Wrt the other characters' journeys and their traumas in s5: Kreese had a whole arc with a therapist this season that added more insight into his character. Sam keeps trying to find ways to control the people and situations around her to feel in control and safe as she copes with her trauma from the school fight, which was worsened by the house fight. Daniel was totally paranoid and off balance, especially the first half of the season, because of his trauma from Silver in kk3. Kenny was also still affected by all the bullying he'd endured, and he felt empowered by CK to act on his anger towards Anthony. (Also, Kenny's arc is unique to the others because he only bullied his bully, not random people and his former best friend (like Hawk did) and not some random person he'd felt slighted by (like Miguel still does and like Tory did). Not to mention, Robby had taught Kenny the "right way", but Kreese and Silver's Cobra Kai teachings won out.)

Overall, it makes no sense to look at the whole story and say, "Well, everyone's traumas are still a part of the story... except for Robby's." Another thing about many nuanced "comedies" is that they're meant to be thought provoking. Instead of ignoring important details to cheer on the toxic blended family, maybe we the audience should be paying attention to all the consistent details and calling out the toxic blended family. Even the writers have confirmed (in their recent CKK interview) that (1) they didn't rush the story ending in s5 because they knew they would be renewed (they only rushed production because Netflix ordered the season early to fill a slot in their Fall lineup) and (2) all the "feelings" that the characters had are all still there.

[russolaw]

Johnny: From now on, we will be using code names. You can address me as Eagle One. Carmen, code name: Been There, Done That. Daniel is Currently Doing That. Chozen is It Happened Once In A Dream. Amanda, code name: If I Had To Pick One of Daniel's Ex's. Mike is Eagle Two.

Mike: oh thank God.

[lysteriaposts]

COBRA KAI S5 REVIEW (unhinged vers.)

SPOILER WARNING AS IF IT ISN'T CLEAR.

I actually wrote a list of my thoughts post episode 8, and oh it was not positive. Luckily enough a few of the things I was annoyed about were addressed the last two episodes where a lot happened. I've now slept on it and am ready to give a less rantsy review lol.... if you like to hype everything CK and only wanna hear positive things then I suggest you don't read further.

+ indicates positives (duh) and - negatives.

Let's rip the band aid off first.

- Mike Barnes being a wasted character and only there to subvert expectations (SAD!!!) - As a consequence, too many new characters brought in making the plot messier, crowded, contrived - Chozen being forced to like the girl he almost killed bc everyone needs to have a significant other / love interest of the opposite sex on this show - Kreese prison break is the dumbest shit I've ever seen - Kreese dying tragically in prison as he's trying to better himself would've been such a good writing choice, but they wanted to subvert that too - Kreese's plan he had with Tory never being explained - Johnny/Carmen baby drama making me want to barf all over my computer - Carmen being a baby carrier instead of an actual person - New gen kids serving no purpose in the overall story (except Kenny a little) - Rehashed plot of Sam/Miguel breakup taking up too much screentime and serving no purpose for the characters - Cheesy octopus < 🙄 - Half assed attempt at giving Sam introspection which gets dropped an episode after it was introduced - Sam being self absorbed (what's new) and deflecting blame - Demetri & Hawk could've been absent and there would not be any difference - Forced attempts at giving Hawk any relevance - Hawk being hypocritical and full of himself - Miguel's Mexico journey not changing anything for the character or his relationship with Johnny (or anyone for that matter) - Too little focus on Robby/Tory as a unit and their conflict - Too little focus on Robby/Kenny as a unit and their conflict - Robby redeeming and propping Johnny is not the same as developing and repairing their relationship, writers - Johnny kidnapping Robby to Mexico for absolutely no reason when he was gone tops 2 days - Carmen kind of forcing (and wanting!?!?) Johnny to have a baby with her - Johnny using new baby as an excuse for Miguel/Robby to have to get along - Robby breaking up with Tory after one disagreement - Robby going to see them at the Cobra Kai dojo way too late - Tory not confiding in Robby at all - Robby's character suffering from having to unnecessarily bond with every other character except the ones he truly cared about - Robby being forcefully sidelined in the story because he has to be attached at the hip with his new "family" - Tory ending up the show's punching bag, blamed and excluded for the 50th time - Devon Lee being... there, kind of annoying and one dimensional - Too much Kreese with no pay off - Too many flashbacks - No explanation to why Sam/Robby are cordial (I shouldn't be surprised they didn't explain Sam/Hawk either) - Stingray crying crocodile tears... actually just Stingray. - Sam being the one to wave her finger at Stingray wanting to keep his benefits (couldn't ANYONE ELSE have said that) - Silver not being the mastermind everybody expected him to be and mainly waving around his money - Amanda siding with Silver over her husband... dumb but ok - Jessica Andrews, just way too convenient - Kyler still being "one of the best" in Cobra Kai is laughable - Them trying to kill off Chozen, the only POC sensei - Them not having any balls to kill off any characters, but like to dangle it in front of us - Practically no Mike Barnes/Silver interactions

+ Very good fighting choreography + Cool shots and scenes i.e. Sam's dream, Miguel/Robby balcony fight 2.0 + Miguel/Robby relationship + Robby/Tory relationship (what we got) + Robby/Kenny relationship (what we got) + Kreese's therapy sessions (before it got subverted) + Miguel's scenes with his real dad + Johnny Lawrence comedy + Chozen... just, Chozen... seriously he might've carried the whole season for me + Chozen/Daniel relationship + Chozen/Johnny comparing notes lol + Daniel's arc and seeing him at his lowest + Anthony/Sam sibling bond + Little we got of Anthony/Chozen + Inverting Daniel and Johnny's "roles" + Daniel/Silver fights + Tory working as "undercover" instead of continuing to be "brainwashed" + Sam helping Tory although them coming together felt rushed + "I broke up with him for the dojo, you BITCH!" + Peyton List's acting + The new gen kids' acting + The Quicksilver method ! + Kenny/Silver scenes + Tory/Kreese scenes + More about Silver's background and ambitions + I don't blame Amanda for being done with Daniel's skeletons in his closet even though I called her dumb + Miguel speaking Spanish hehe + Chozen infiltrating CK was cool but should've been a full season thing- + Mike Barnes being the only og character not holding onto an old karate tournament, lol

[bisexualmultifandommess]

I’m really curious how they’re going to handle the baby storyline in this last season lmao

Like I don’t really see the point in it to be honest because if they wanted to show Johnny becoming a family man and a good father why didn’t they show him becoming all that to his already existing son 😭 plus Carmen deserves better than a pregnancy storyline and a scene where they give her a dream sequence that literally looks copied from one of Johnny’s dreams. Listen there’s no way Carmen would dream up that.

Are they going to have Carmen be pregnant for most of season and then dedicate an entire episode to her going into labour with the entire season with scenes with her in it being entirely focused on a baby instead of actually giving us content with her as a person. We don’t need this to show her being a mum for Christ sake we literally have a fully grown teen to prove that she’s a good mum. They want to show Johnny being a family man to a baby but there’s no point since this is the last season and we won’t see any of it really.

I know I’ve complained about this loads when the latest season came out but it’s such a boring storyline to put in. I love Carmen and Johnny as separate characters and they deserve better than this plot line.

[twinkubus]

I would love some book recs! especially queer literary fiction!

Amazing!! I would love to share :) Also responding @ anon who asked for my trans book recs. This is for you too!

Since this is so long it'll probably get cut off on the dashboard, tl;dr there will be 1) list of trans-authored books and 2) a list where I talk about queer authors more generally (which includes some trans people that don't have trans characters in their books (yet)).

Trans Books by Trans Authors

Sketchtasy by Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore

Nevada by Imogen Binnie 

The Pervert by Remy Boydell (graphic novel)

X by Davey Davis

Manhunt by Gretchen Felker-Martin

Dead Collections by Isaac Fellman

Transmuted by Eve Harms

Future Feeling by Joss Lake 

Paul Takes the Form of a Mortal Girl by Andrea Lawlor 

Everyone on the Moon is Essential Personnel by Julian K Jarboe

Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters

Infect Your Friends and Loved Ones by Torrey Peters

The Masker by Torrey Peters

Little Blue Encyclopedia (For Vivian) by Hazel Jane Plante

A Dream of a Woman by Casey Plett

A Safe Girl to Love by Casey Plett

Little Fish by Casey Plett

Confessions of the Fox by Jordy Rosenberg

Fierce Femmes and Notorious Liars by Kai Cheng Thom

The Black Emerald by Jeanne Thornton

Summer Fun by Jeanne Thornton 

Small Beauty by jia qing wilson-yang

The above are all trans-authored books that have trans characters in them. They are mostly lit fic with a few dips into genre here and there. I have bolded some of my faves!

For queer book recs/authors more generally,

Poppy Z. Brite, the pen name of Billy Martin, who is gay and trans. He has some great 90s horror novels, in particular Exquisite Corpse, a gay serial killer thriller/romance.

Dennis Cooper, writes gay "extremist" fiction, my fave of which is The Sluts, which takes place entirely on an early 2000s gay escort forum.

Shola Von Reinhold, another trans author, wrote one of my fave books I've read this year, LOTE, which is textually extremely transgender, but I don't think explicitly "labels" the mc as trans, so I'm putting it in this list. I usually use 'dark academia' as a pejorative but this would be dark academia in the best sense of the word. Involves lots of research into weird stuff, hyperfixations, and very little academia.

Brontez Purnell writes lit fic about black gay men, and has another one of my fave books, Since I Laid My Burden Down, as well as probably the best title in this list: Johnny Would You Love Me If My Dick Were Bigger. Those were both smallish press releases, I believe, but he's gotten more attention recently via his FSG short story anthology, 100 Boyfriends.

Sarah Schulman. If you are on Tumblr hopefully you already know about her. If you haven't read any of her fiction, I'd recommend Rat Bohemia, Empathy, and People In Trouble (this is the book Rent was based off of).

Brandon Taylor is very popular on twitter but I feel like I haven't seen much about him on tumblr. I really liked his debut novel Real Life, which follows a gay black postgrad student in a midwestern PhD program full of mostly white people. He also has an anthology, Filthy Animals, full of linked stories that take place in a similar setting.

James Baldwin. Another classic author. If you haven't read Giovanni's Room, go read it.

Carmen Maria Machado has a stunning memoir, In The Dream House, about lesbian domestic violence. She also writes speculative fiction stories, some can be found in the collection Her Body and Other Parties.

Eric LaRocca is gay horror's current darling due to his breakout hit Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke, about an online long-distance lesbian d/s relationship. He's been pumping out the books recently, all with great titles and covers.

Jean Kyoung Fraiser released a debut last year that was in my top faves as well, Pizza Girl, a coming-of-age story about a just-married and recently pregnant 18 year-old who works (you guessed it) as a pizza delivery girl, and develops a crush on an older woman, one of her customers.

Venita Blackburn wrote How to Wrestle a Girl, a black lesbian coming-of-age short story anthology. Also a recent release. I really loved the writing in this one.

...Okay, I think that's most of the big hitters for me at least! Going to give a few honorary mentions: Love in the Big City by Sang Young Park, translated from Korean, about the life of a young gay man in Seoul. Also anything by Joe Koch, who writes horror, nothing specifically gay/trans that I have read yet, but The Wingspan of Severed Hands is really beautiful stylistically.

And just one more, since it's October: The Route of Ice and Salt by Jose Luis Zarate, published in the 90s and translated from Spanish, a gay reimagining of Dracula's sea voyage to England.