#they could have

[gjdraws]

(On S5 and the tragedy of Daniel LaRusso)

As @variousqueerthings and I were talking about, Cobra Kai is written by hardcore Johnny fanboys. This is not inherently a bad thing (me, I'm looking at me I'm the Johnny fan). 

But yeah, it means we've seen some iffy Daniel writing. We've seen Daniel written as: petty (the rent raising), jumping to conclusions (the miyagi do trashing being Johnny's brainchild), hurtful (lookin at you Robby) but the one thing his character has always been constant about is: violence is a last resort. 

The thing that struck me most about this season was how this show, ostensibly drawn from roots of No Be There, has finally taken that dreaded U turn to glorifying No Mercy.

Because isn't that what they did with Daniel? A boy - who defeated not one but three examples of Might is Right, and two of No Mercy - that boy, caving to those philosophies? After Chozen even taught him a Miyagi Do pressure point method of "take away the ability to wage war"?

I've read analyses of Daniel's fight against Silver which paint using the Quicksilver method in a slightly better light. And they make for a good read. But.

But. 

TKK3 was about Terry forcing Daniel to do violence. In the club, in the AVT match. "From the moment I met you, I've been making you do things you don't want to do." And then the writers made Daniel do it again. 

If Johnny's themes are about breaking out of the cycle of violence/no mercy, Daniel's themes are pacifism and finding a better way.

The trouble is, the writers took pacifism to be "back down from a fight", and in a schoolyard bully taunt sort of way (yes i see the irony). Which is so tragically oversimplified. Richard Kamen managed to show us what it is in one line, where Daniel asks Mr. Miyagi "You could've killed him, couldn't you?" And Mr. Miyagi said yes. 

Mr. Miyagi's pacifism came from having seen the long lasting evil violence inflicts, and the Might is Right being inherently useless in the end. This is a man who survived the war, and the internment camps. He knows violence and its hurts.

The thing is, pacifism means more than "I dont want to fight you". It means, "I can fight you. But I choose not to, because it will gain us both nothing". Again, Mr. Miyagi karate chopping the head of a bottle, so that the racists would understand that fighting would gain them nothing. 

But our writers ignored that and took Daniel - horribly wronged (not once, but twice) Daniel. A Daniel who'd struggled for four seasons to live up to Mr. Miyagi's ideals because he believed in them. They took that Daniel and had him win against Silver in a beatdown. Not even using the "take away the ability to wage war" method in S3, no he took the thing he hated most about himself in TKK3. And he enacted violence using the way Terry had taught him ("I've been making you do things you don't want to, Danny boy).

So who really won? I know who lost. The man who said "no passion before principle", "Before revenge, dig two graves". The man who hated the idea of "No Mercy". 

It's one thing to show Daniel winning against Silver, God knows Silver needed comeuppance. But to take the karate kid, the boy who forgave Johnny Lawrence (the telling absence of Billy's touchstone for that character "You're alright, LaRusso!"). The boy who honked Chozen's nose, and gained a valuable friend and ally decades later for it. To take that boy and have him hurt Silver (in the way Silver taught him to hurt people) and feel only vindication... That was the poorest, cheapest way to show Daniel win. 

They misunderstood and laughed at Mr. Miyagi's "defense only" karate until the only way to show Daniel as strong and righteous and victorious was to use the way of the fist. And if that isn't tragic I don't know what is. 

Guess all the No Mercy merch makes more sense now, so sorry Mr. Kamen :/

#ck negativity #cobra kai season 5 #cobra kai #daniel larusso #they could have #SHOULD have shown us Daniel go to toe to toe with Terry #but not like this #Every day i mourn Johnny not even being there #to defend Daniel from a Cobra Kai that wasnt his #To hear Johnny say He doesnt do what you say #to hear Daniels friends rally around him without ALSO going straight to fisticuffs #and ironically Terry's methods arent fisticuffs either #We couldnt see A Daniel lead posse using brains to defeat Terry? #ofc we couldnt #theyre literally selling no mercy merch unironically out here #im happy he won im sad he won like this #ck meta #replies

[william-austin]

do you ever wonder if payless went out of business because of squips?

#they could have #squips (real) #just a shower thought #be more chill #bmc #squip

[0rb0t]

had a dream where i drew Silco but gave him my present body type (pregante) and ended up getting messages saying I was fetishizing masc bodies and i woke up SO mad before realizing it was a dream

hopefully im not manifesting a guy

#probably has to do with that one jackass on vrc that made me so mad cause she was policing how people talk about pregnancies they wish #they could have #thoughts #pregnancy cw

[sp-bf]

cunts

#i was slightly busy today and they #. #i mean #they could have #.. #i wanted to #yk

[mayhemchicken-artblog]

in the hour or so it took me to draw this op turned reblogs off

EDIT: reblogs are STAYING OFF. op was right and correct and i have never regretted making a post as much as this one. if you want to reblog my art you can reblog something else from my blog. or commission me, lord knows i deserve financial compensation for the nightmare this post has put me through

#art #i had to block multiple people because of this post and i easily could have blocked more #do you guys have any idea how exhausting it is to hear 400 people make the exact same unfunny joke each thinking they're being original #or worry that another person might get harassed over a post i made because of the way people are talking about them #or be harassed/insulted YOURSELF because some people don't know how to fucking behave #you guys don't get reblogs back. you should be grateful i'm leaving the post up at all.

[bookwyrminspiration]

god I would be UNSTOPPABLE if I was capable of consistently initiating tasks. just you wait. you'll be waiting a while but just you wait

#executive dysfunction #shitpost #every day I get stuck in waiting mode for SO LONG and SO MANY TIMES #that one time I tried adhd meds it fixed it but then I. was like no I am going to be scared and not continue taking it <3 #and also. I simply did not like the psychologist and did not want to have to go back #so. rawdogging the world <3 #man if I could start a task right now...then you'd see...then you'd all see....

[sylvies-kablooie]

i do unironically think the best artists of our generation are posting to get 20 notes and 3 reblogs btw. that fanfic with like 45 kudos is some of the best stuff ever written. those OCs you carry around have some of the richest backstories and worldbuilding someone has ever seen. please do not think that reaching only a few people when you post means your art isn't worth celebrating.

#i often wonder about how many things would be considered classic or high art had they only received the marketing #how many short films that were made for class could have been the most powerful thing you'd ever seen? if you'd seen them? #“you know the greatest films of all time were never made” etc etc #but like. these works of art ARE being made. it's just enjoyed by a smaller audience with equal impact though #i think about this one furry i used to follow on insta who had the coolest worldbuilding ever. it's been years. #thought prompted by that sketch of nimona from ten years ago that was just for a character design #posted to the creator's tumblr and now it's nominated for best animated feature film at the oscars #and by the genuine emotional reaction a fan comic made me feel. how much work had gone into it. how beautiful it was to me. #idk what to tag this but i hope whoever needs to hear it does #writing #writer #fandom #fandom culture #artist

[thunderon]

“long hair on guys doesn’t make them less masculine. think keanu reeves, jason momoa, danny trejo, or the guy at your local dive bar who rides a motorcycle”

*the crowd nods*

“so long hair doesn’t necessarily determine masculinity”

*the crowd, more hesitant, still nodding*

“butches can have long hair—“

*GUNSHOT*

#the tedtalk i would give if i could #if i see ‘they’re not butch because they have long hair’ one more time i will flip a table #frustrating frustrating frustrating #also this is NOT in any way a knock on my short haired butches ily #op #bestof

[theblob1958]

people are saying do it scared, but you also gotta do it alone. you'll miss out on so much you want to do if you wait til someone will do it with you. do it scared and do it alone.

#missed out on a whole year I could have skated at my local roller rink because I didn't want to go alone #and now it's closed and I won't ever get that year back. sometimes you gotta do it alone if you want to do something

[astronomical-bagel]

#ok no but for real this is genuinely my friend group. #the only one that's a little iffy is the anime catgirl bc 98% of us are dudes. with the exception of me and one other #we even have a union guy 😭 #side note chilchuck's name would 100% be Chris if he was a real guy. he's such a Chris. (I mean it COULD be chuck but. Chris is better) #dungeon meshi #delicious in dungeon #senshi of izganda #izutsumi #marcille donato #laios touden #chilchuck tims #chilchuck #falin touden #astronomically random

[rochenn]

I think we should write more straight relationships with 2010s TV queerbait tactics. Let that man and that woman's lives be horribly intertwined, let them take bullets for the other, let them be each other's meaning but NO KISSING. They are holding each other platonically. You're crazy for reading anything romantic into it at all tbh

#basically whatever fentanyl hiromu arakawa put in roy mustang and riza hawkeye's relationship #also low key what i wish obi-wan and satine could have been like

[pangur-and-grim]

I'm turning 30 this month, and for some reason have become suddenly interested in material possessions. like what if,,,,,,,,my couch was nice. what if my sheets were nice. is this what happens to you??

#this bougie furniture store was having an extreme New Years sale #and it sent me out of my mind #like......wait......I could have that?? I could have NICE coffee table and NICE chair??? really? #a good chunk of my savings mysteriously disappeared shortly after.

[retquits]

1.6 is coming—see you march 19th!!! 🥹🌱

#stardew valley #can you imagine pouring blood sweat & tears into a game #releasing it for like $15 #and then working for 8 more years to add more content without asking for a cent more #for what could have easily been several dlc packs #i love you stardew valley i love you concernedape i love you indie games thank you for being my home all these years #EDIT: added image ID in the alt!!

[mzcain27]

I think game studios should just release their character creators online. For the times when I don’t wanna play the whole game, just the lil dress up part

#yes this is about baldurs gate 3 #no I don’t have a decent computer if any description or a PlayStation #I do wanna play the game but I mostly wanna make my dnd characters for hours #you could literally do it for everything tho #totk outfits and dyes #Skyrim could have it’s 17th release #outfits in shit like assassins creed games #dragon age #fromsoft games #the sims maybe?? #the options are endless pls game devs #video games #nintendo #Xbox #Sony #PlayStation

[qqueenofhades]

Also, let us not forget, Henry Kissinger died. I understand that 2023 was generally a shitshow in a lot of ways, but Henry Kissinger very much did die.

#how could i have forgotten that

[spitblaze]

considering how many transmascs were legitimately way angrier BEFORE starting T and have since calmed down significantly have we perhaps considered that maybe the reason so many cis dudes are angry and aggressive isn't because of testosterone but maybe. like. personal issues. unmet needs. a social climate that teaches them that there are only like three acceptable emotional outlets for men max and one of them is being angry and shouting

#spitblaze says things #source: i got angry SO easily before i started t #i had jokes about the list of things you could say to me that would make me rant and rave in a fury #i still have things that piss me off but im not like. to that degree #doin numbers