Johnny Lawrence/Daniel Larusso

Pairing
Pairing:	Johnny Lawrence/Daniel Larusso
Alternative name(s):	Lawrusso
Gender category:	Slash, M/M
Fandom:	Cobra Kai, Karate Kid
Canonical?:	No
Prevalence:	Popular
Archives:
Other:
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Johnny Lawrence/Daniel Larusso is a slash pairing in the Cobra Kai and Karate Kid fandoms. Their canon relationship is a slow arc of enemies to rivals to friends(ish) spanning the first Karate Kid movie and 5 seasons of Cobra Kai to date. In fandom, the arc is often explored in an enemies to lovers or rivals to lovers arc.

Canon

In Karate Kid I, Daniel becomes the target of Johnny's anger when Daniel befriends Johnny's ex-girlfriend, Ali. The bullying Johnny and other members of Cobra Kai subject Daniel to escalates, then when Daniel gets some payback on Halloween, the members of Cobra Kai chase Daniel down and attack him. Daniel is saved by Mr Miyagi and trains in karate under his tutelage. Daniel and Johnny meet against at the All Valley Karate Championship, where Daniel defeats Johnny in the final - despite Johnny's efforts to cheat at the order of his own sensei, John Kreese.

Cobra Kai picks up decades later, where Johnny's life is a far cry from what he hoped for and Daniel seems to have the perfect life by comparison (though the latter is seen to be less true with time). Their rivalry reignites when Johnny starts up Cobra Kai again; during the events of Karate Kid III (and unknown to Johnny), Daniel suffered more harm at the hands of John Kreese and Cobra Kai, which has impacted him on a level deeper than he initially understands himself. This conflict between them fuels the events of the first few seasons, before John Kreese's (and later Terry Silver's) return sees the pair having to form uneasy alliances to prevent their children and students being pulled into the same rivalry and patterns of harm that they endured.

By season five, the uneasy alliance has developed into something approaching a friendship of sorts and the pair work together more amicably on a number of occasions.

Fandom

There was a lot of fannish interest in the show from the first season, but the fandom really grew when it moved from YouTube to Netflix and the audience grew. Johnny/Daniel was already a reasonably popular pairing in the Karate Kid fandom, due to the rivalry between the pair, and the fandom around the pairing only grew with the onscreen dynamics which continued into their adulthood story-lines.

Fan Commentary

(overview of fans' reactions to the ship, including relevant quotes from both within and outside the fandom)

Common Tropes and Fanon

• Enemies to Lovers and Rivals to Lovers - As a twist on the canonical "to friends (ish)" arc that happens in the TV series.
• Alternate Timeline / Canon Divergent - Many works take a single event, sometimes in early Cobra Kai seasons and sometimes in Karate Kid, and explore how that might have changed the dynamic between the two men.
• Slow Burn - Given the history between the pair, many works focus on a slow arc to any kind of relationship as there are a lot of issues to work out between the two.

Controversies

There have been a few complaints in fannish spaces that are fairly commonplace regarding fanon ships, such as those about there being no basis for the ship to take place and pointing out that both Daniel and Johnny have canonical female partners in the show.

There are also some fans who argue that the pairing is problematic because of the canonical violence and conflict between the characters, arguing that this makes the ship abusive and toxic. Some of this was discussed by on the Talkin' Fanfic podcast episode, The Tumblr Kerfuffle and Gardner’s ”The Art of Fiction”.

Example Fanworks

Examples Wanted: Editors are encouraged to add more examples or a wider variety of examples.

Fanart

• Lawrusso Barbie Mugshots Redraw [1] by dibujosbymari. A redraw of the Barbie Mugshot with Johnny and Daniel in the roles of Ken and Barbie respectively.
• Happy international smooch your rival day [2] by boyswhomaybewatchedsunsets. What if Johnny had taken a different tactic in the All Valley Championship fight...

Fanvids

• Bad Romance [3] by Tetepurple. A ship vid set during Karate Kid, when Daniel and Johnny first met as teens.
• True Love [4] by Julih Laufey. A ship vid during Cobra Kai, focusing on the animosity and conflict between Johnny and Daniel as an interpretation of their feelings for each other.

Other Fanworks

• Daniel and Johnny Plushies [5] by boyswhomaybewatchedsunsets. Handmade plushies of Daniel and Johnny in the karategis of their respective dojos.

Archives and Communities

• Johnny Lawrence/Daniel Larusso tag at Archive of Our Own
• Lawrusso tag at Tumblr

Other Fannish Resources

(Rec Lists, Big Bangs, Thing-a-thons, Holiday Exchanges, wiki links, etc.)