#every sam and tory scene

[nostalgicninjas]

EVERY SAM AND TORY SCENE/MENTION (44/?)

“Party Time” — Cobra Kai Season 4 Episode 8

Full Prom Fight

[seeker-of-stories19]

Season 6 Pt 1 Kiaz Thoughts/Observations

- Miguel and Robby choosing to sit in the backseat together when the passenger seat is open in the very first scene

- Miguel asking Robby to bandage his knuckles for him even though he also has a roll of tape in his hands. Just the symbolism of that moment with what their relationship has been like and they’re not fighting each other anymore they’re protecting each other.

- Miguel being so invested in watching Robby hit the punching bag at Golf N Stuff

- Literally a double date but Kiaz are the only ones even interacting- it totally gives boyfriends who are trying to set up their bffs so they have another couple to hang out with

- Miguel being the first one to check on Robby after Shawn shows up and immediately agreeing with the girls that they’re all on Robby’s side

- Miguel stepping into yet another fight to protect Robby

- “That could’ve gone better” “It could’ve gone worse” literally Robby being pessimistic and Miguel being optimistic is my favorite dynamic

- Miguel being so desperate for Robby’s feedback on his college essay and so worried about hurting his feelings

- Miguel immediately reaching for Robby when the sewage pipe breaks

- Literally Miguel and Robby are never not next to each other, they’ve got more chemistry than any of the actual couples

- Miguel reaching for Robby in the background when Johnny comes in with the pink powder on his shirt

- More scenes where Robby is with Miguel and Sam and Tory are together than with the people they’re actually dating, I wonder why…

- Robby immediately putting his hand on Miguel’s chest when the Sekai Taikai announcement comes out

- Miguel looks so put out at the thought of having to fight Robby again

- He is so offended he got blown off for Robby’s actual girlfriend even though they had a pretty good reason not to train together

- Miguel seeking Robby out to make sure he knows that he’s not mad at him and doesn’t want anything to change their relationship

- Robby immediately checking where he stands with Miguel after winning the captaincy

- Miguel’s little smile when Robby is checking to see if he’s upset during the speech about Barcelona

- Miguel is so disappointed but he also can’t help being proud of Robby it’s so cute

- All the looks I can’t even count

NON KIAZ RELATED BONUS

- Really excited to see Shawn come back and have more character development

- Daniel being willing to give up the miyagi do name for Johnny is giving me major Lawrusso vibes and I’m not even a hardcore shipper

- Johnny in a Miyagi-Do gi is literally unbelievable

- Demetri’s shocked expression every time he does karate

- I’m not on board with Kyler’s mini redemption, not after what he did to Sam in season one

- Beer with blue and pink labels for a baby shower, only Johnny Lawrence

- THE BABY IS A GIRL!!!

- Just laughing over the fact that Johnny even knew what tampons are

- Samtory is also amazing this season

- I’m excited about Kwans arc

- Me literally expecting Yasmine to walk in on Eli and Demetri making out when she shows up at the Dojo

- Kenny winking at Anthony

- Pissed we got a American flag Mohawk and not a bisexual/nonbinary pride one (not that that was ever gonna happen but it would’ve been nice)

- I still really hope Kenny somehow ends up with a Sekai Taikai spot after what Devon did and that Anthony and Kenny don’t have too many problems for too long over it

- While I wanted Hawk to have a spot as well- I was annoyed they just gave it to him instead of letting Kenny and him have a rematch which would’ve been more fair

- I’m worried that Kenny vanished

- ROBBY IS A CAPTAIN!!!!! I’m literally so excited as much as I love Robby and Miguel both there are so many reasons I want to see Robby get a win and I’m so excited for the possibility of him winning the Sekai Taikai

- Tory ditching Robby sucked, he’s been hurt by yet another person he cares about

- Also Daniel not letting her fight sucked, as long as Sam was okay with it they should’ve let Tory process how she needed to. Daniel made assumptions about the situation and while Tory was obviously emotional she was fighting for this specific memory of her mom that shaped her life not just using karate as an ongoing negative coping mechanism and the way everyone ignores what she’s saying she needs in that moment really rubbed me the wrong way

Finally I’m just going to say this is my favorite season yet and I’m more excited than anyone will ever understand to get actual Kiaz interactions. I feel like this season took me from I ship them because I think they’d be really compatible and they already have this super intense relationship to actually seeing moments between them that feel like more than friendship and it means so much to me I’m so excited!

[purpleheartskies]

Robby is the underdog - Part 7

In s6e5, the leitmotif for Daniel's kk1 win against Johnny was used for Robby's captaincy win against Miguel.

(Watch with sound. Credit to another Robby fan who pointed this out to me and created this video.)

"A leitmotif is a repeating melodic phrase in music that is used to represent a character, setting, emotion, or theme. The intentional use of music as a means of communicating character, tone, or theme is a leitmotif." "The leitmotif has proven particularly effective in film scores as a means of creating continuity, heightening the drama and building an emotional connection between characters and the audience.

The fact that the leitmotif for Daniel's (first) win against his bully in kk1 is used for Robby's (first) win against his bully blatantly indicates that Robby is the underdog and Karate Kid of this story. This is more evidence that Robby is the Daniel in this kk story and Miguel is the Johnny.

It's important to note that when Miguel won the s1 avt final against Robby, no leitmotif was played when he won the match and was handed the trophy. Right before his win, an ominous motif was played, indicating that the win wasn't good. After he's handed the trophy and asked to speak, the shot slowly zoom's in on Johnny and starts playing his leitmotif in Cobra Kai (called Father and Son), because his focus was on Robby and his loss. This "win" for Johnny was a major loss in their relationship. In the s4 avt final, a triumphant motif was used for Eli's win, while a more melancholy one was used for Tory's win / Sam's loss.

No kid who has won a trophy so far had gotten the kk1 leitmotif for Daniel's win until Robby did in s6e5.

During the tournament in s1e10, Daniel approached Robby in the locker room and spoke to him about the "need" to find balance:

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."

In kk1 tournament, during his conversation with Miyagi in the locker room, Daniel talked about his need to find balance.

Daniel: "Can you fix my leg with that thing you do?" Miyagi: "No need fight anymore. You proved a point." Daniel: "What? That I can take a beating? Every time I see those guys, they'll know they got the best of me. I'll never have balance that way, not with them, not with Ali... ...not with me."

Both Daniel and Robby are injured in these scene because a Cobra Kai had injured each of them during their semi-final fight and got disqualified for it. Both Daniel and Robby were then automatically given the semi-final win and were supposed to fight their bully, the main Cobra, in the final. (In my Robby is the underdog - Part 1.5 post, I go over some more of parallels between s1 Robby and kk1 Daniel in their respective avts and that Miguel had already been set up as the bully and Robby as the underdog going into the tournament.)

Both of their mentors had also told them that they didn't have to continue the tournament but both of them insisted that they wanted to. Daniel said what I've quoted above. Robby said, "Yes, I do. I'm going to have to face him sooner or later. Might as well be today."

Miyagi's original lesson to Daniel about balance was this:

"Better learn balance. Balance is key. Balance good, karate good. Everything good. Balance bad, better pack up, go home. Understand?"

In s6e5, Robby was losing the match, until he found balance when Tory arrived.

During the tournament in kk1, when Daniel was fighting to win a spot in the semis, Miyagi told Daniel: "Remember your defense. Points coming. Concentrate. Focus power. Remember balance. Make good fight."

During Robby's final match in the s1 avt, Daniel told Robby, "Breathe. Focus. Find your balance."

In his captaincy match, Robby was fighting offensively until he found balance, then he switched to mainly defense and won.

Interestingly, in the s4 avt, Daniel had at first told Eli something similar to what Miyagi had told Daniel in the kk1 tournament: "Concentrate, defense, focus, power. You find your balance, and those points will come."

However, after Eli told Daniel that Robby knows Miyagi-do better and Robby had scored one point on Eli, Daniel told Eli to fight using Cobra Kai and to put Robby on defense. This means that Robby was relying more on Miyagi-Do to fight, while Eli was relying more on Cobra Kai and won the tournament primarily using Cobra Kai teachings, despite representing Miyagi-Do. Eli didn't rely on having balance to win. He won by channeling his anger into fighting. It wasn't a real/pure Miyagi-Do victory.

Daniel had given up on Miyagi's teachings pretty quickly in order to secure the win in the s4 avt. Robby in turn still believes in and follows those teachings. In fact, his balance was off during his match with Eli because Robby had adopted "no mercy" while fighting Kenny and that had affected Robby greatly especially when he saw Kenny and had the realization that Cobra Kai wasn't helping him with his need to find balance.

In his captaincy match, he still relied on those Miyagi-Do lessons and teachings about balance. After he was able to find balance, he won the captaincy match primarily using Miyagi-Do. His win secured him the spot as the male captain, representative, and potential champion for Miyagi-Do in the final tournament in the series. His win was also celebrated using the OG Karate Kid leitmotif for winning by finding balance.

The overall theme of the series is about finding balance not just in karate, but in life as well.

“You remember lesson about balance? Lesson not just karate only. Lesson for whole life. Whole life have a balance. Everything be better. Understand?”

In my post Robby is the protagonist, I describe the role the protagonist plays in the story. One signifier of the protagonist is that the theme of the story is told primarily through their story:

The protagonist in a story is the character who offers the most conflict in situations, has the longest emotional journey, and has a primal goal to root for. Their transformation shapes the story's theme. Their choices and motivations affect the direction of the story. They're at the center of the conflict and their decisions push the plot forward. In a story with multiple characters with journeys, there is ultimately one character who is the primary driver of the overall story and their story tells the theme of the overall story. The other characters' can be protagonists in their own journeys but these become subplots of varying levels of importance. The protagonist is the character whose fate matters most. They have the highest stakes and the greatest obstacles.

Everything about the above statement is captured by Robby's story in s6e5:

He offered conflict by resisting Miguel trying to gaslight him about his greater need to win.

His issues with balance have been ongoing since s1, "the longest emotional journey":

"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."

He has primal goals to root for. He has to find balance in life. He also doesn't believe in his future but has to make a future for himself by knowing who he is and believing in himself and his future:

"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." He also needs to find balance.

Robby's the only character that actively tries to grow and find balance, the theme of the story. Finding balance is emphasized for his story specifically, though other character's stories touch on the theme to different extents.

Robby's choices and motivations really do affect the plot. For example, Robby could have given into Miguel's claim that he deserves the win more, but Robby didn't. Robby stood up for himself and his future for the first time since he stopped doing so in s5e5. Robby didn't back down after that.

At the end of s6e5, although others in Miyagi-Do care about Tory, Robby is the one most connected to Tory and is the most affected by her rejoining Cobra Kai. That is, he is still most central in his connections to both sides in the dojo war.

Robby's fate has been set up to matter most. Robby issues with balance will greatly affect his ability to fight and lead. He has the highest stakes and the greatest obstacles during this tournament. (Though, Sam is also a captain, she won the spot by default, isn't an underdog the story, and balance is mentioned but is not a focus in her story and doesn't affect her karate.) Interestingly, even most Miguel fans are wondering about what will happen to Robby, though they viciously want him to get injured so that Miguel can take over and win.

Robby's story in Cobra Kai, like Daniel's in kk1, is about finding balance. Daniel's issues with balance in kk1 were centered around his issues with Johnny bullying him, how that made Daniel feel, and the trauma it caused. Robby's issues with balance are also centered around his issues with Johnny's behavior towards him, how it makes him feel, and the trauma it causes him. This parallel of kk1 Daniel's issues with balance being about Johnny and Robby's issues with balance being about Johnny is an interesting one.

The stark contrast in their stories is that Daniel had the support of his loved ones including his mentor in his kk1 match, whereas Robby doesn't have the support of his loved ones and his mentor. Johnny, Sam, and Daniel specifically have been on Miguel's side for some time. They all were on Miguel's side during the captaincy match. (Daniel did seem concerned about Miguel after this loss and not that enthused by Robby's win.) Everyone siding with his bully plays a significant role in Robby's issues with balance. Johnny, especially, choosing Miguel over Robby while neglecting and abusing Robby has played the biggest role in Robby's traumas and issues with balance. Tory was his only support during the captaincy match. However, going into the ST, Tory is no longer on/by his side too. Robby is indeed all alone going into this tournament.

Overall, this story is told from the pov of the bullies, Johnny and Miguel, who are unreliable narrators. Right now, all the "good guy" characters have been on the sides of Robby's bullies. They each frame themselves as the good guy. In s6e2, Robby explicitly called out Miguel for framing Robby as the bad guy. Overall, there is so much evidence throughout the story that Robby is the protagonist, underdog, and Karate Kid narratively and thematically in this story.

(This post is part of my Robby is the underdog post series and is also titled "Finding balance - Part 4".)

[tommysmissingeye]

back in s4 when our karate dads broke up infront of their children😪 why tf does johnny look 30 years younger…..

I had a problem with daniel this episode bruh like YES OFC johnny is gonna go get revenge for hawk they lit DEHAWED his student leaving him looking like how he did before joining ck😭

mini hawk and buzz cut hawk go hard tho ngl

and sam constantly reminding daniel of his nemesis was fucking w him so hard and i was laughing and kicking my feet every time it happened 😭 the parallels between them r so crazy tho like did any one notice how many karate moves she did that young johnny did in kk1??? and that kiss scene w miguel infront of mermaid tory was SO giving johnny and ali in the country club?? AND THE BOTTLE CAP FLICK and DONT even get me started with them both getting second place in the all valley😪😪😪 i saw all the parallels in a edit and it was crazy 😭

and after rewatching ck for like the 100th time, YALL WERE RIGHT DANIEL IS SUCH A MIYAGI GLAZER!!!! BRO WAS GLAZING HIM EVERY MOMENT HE COULD😭😭😭 LIKE WYM U TALK ABT UR PROBLEMS TO A PORTRAIT OF SOME OLD LAD MORE THAN YOUR WIFE???

[purplerakath]

Rewatching bits of S1 to work on the first draft of the Sam fic. Like- I still don't get if they even had a plan for Demetri and just tanked it in S2, or what?

Him quitting Cobra Kai makes sense, but then his every scene with Hawk or Miguel after that falls into either:

Demetri is mad Hawk is happy.

Demetri is glad that he can rely on his friends being able to defend him from things.

This feels like a solid set-up for a change arc. The easiest would be a villain arc because his reactions to Miguel dating Sam and Eli's general happiness is absolute contempt for the audacity of these two to try and be happy. But it could just be him trying to find his own happiness sincerely (and not that weird 'go flirt with Yasmin' thing he did at the party). Instead, he gets placed as the defacto underdog protagonist in S2.

While Demetri shares embarrassing secrets and breaks Hawk's trust all over the fucking place and we're just suppose to go 'but he loves Eli so this isn't that bad.' End me.

It feels close to what happened with Sam's stuff in S1 where it never got to go anywhere because it was undercut by another plotline. Or what kept happening to Tory's backstory and motivation until S6. Stuff that should be resolved but is ignored and shelved due to other plots taking priority.

Aside: I tend to default to Hawk over Eli because, at least in Hawk's own narrative, that step is really important to who he is. I'd say its close to an Orion Pax to Optimus Prime thing. Where the name signifies the change resolved in himself. That the name is a promise to decide his own fate. Which is why Hawk's disaster buzzcut hurt as badly as it did. He temporarily lost a part of himself and had to reclaim it (by kicking Robby in the stomach).

Aside #2: Demetri would be a pretty good comic book love interest. Because he hates Hawk as much as he loves Eli. And suggesting he loves Hawk is hilarious to me because he's incapable of actually sincerely respecting Hawk in any way. Which happens, repeatedly, over every season of the show.

[day-dreamsinthedark]

Season 6 Cobra Kai is just the writers asking the actors to strip all sense of chemistry from the canon relationships to put it into the queer fanon relationships??? Like okay as a fanon writer you can argue that I am biased, but I REALLY enjoy Sam/Miguel and Tory/Robby. I actually LOVE those relationships, but they've both (particularly Sam/Miguel) been super dry these last two seasons??

Then every scene with Miguel and Robby or Sam and Tory is just like... kiss already, damn 😭 Like why are Sam and Tory always next to eachother all sad and yearning-like 😭 and Robby and Miguel are just... besties? WHY ARE YALL SO DEFENSIVE OVER EACH OTHER SO SUDDENLY?? HELLOOO?

[sensei-venus]

(Unedited)

Late night with Poly! GirlCock!Tory and Sam.

Sam is already sprawled out on the bed, legs still split open from a rough round with Tory. Her legs stuck open by over worked and sore muscles. She’s panting and shivering as he used cunt pulsates. Even the air of the room starts to overstimulate her poor hole and clit. She jolts every few seconds as her clit throbs.

The fresh wave of cum flowing from her raw hole and down her ass cheeks and though her frothy folds.

After collecting herself the best she can she looks over to Reader and Tory on the other side of the bed.

Poor little Reader, Tory makes her bend in half for her. Making her hold her own legs and knees up to her chest. Her plump belly and cunt on display for their dom. Reader is already whimpering as Tory runs her fat cock though the girls fatty folds, lubing her already cum lubed dick up between her mess. She’s still covered in a mix of Sam’s and her own cum. She taps the fat head against Reader’s needy clit making the girl jerk.

The grip on her legs tighten as waits for Tory to do something, anything to her. She’s so needy after having to watch Tory fuck their cute girlfriends pussy for the last few hours.

Tory said no to her playing with herself the whole time and just told her to watch and not touch.

But now she was done with Sam’s pussy and wanted Reader’s.

The sticky wet sound of Tory beating her hard cock against the soft girls folds fills the room. It’s nasty but so erotic to the girls. Tory buys her lip as she watches the strings of arousal snap between their flesh as she pulls away. She looks down at the teary eyed girl before slowly lining up her tip with the girls pretty little hole.

The fat head pops in and makes the both of them moan out, Reader’s channel is tight and clenches around her. Pushing in is tight and hot and her excitement spills out from around the hard shaft.

Readers eyes roll back as Tory bottoms out and grinds down into her. Fat head pushing at her cervix just right. Her balls pressed into her ass. Tory starts her pace hard and slow as she thrusts in and out. She couldn’t keep her eyes off the way the girl under her jiggled every time their hips met. She smirked as the girl squirmed and moaned out. Tory hitting every part inside her just right and making her tremble.

“Your so fucking needy. I spend maybe a good hour or two pounding Sam’s sweet little cunt, leaving you to wait and I get this? A drenched bitch who’s acting like she’s in heat because I didn’t let her play with us? So naughty~”

Sam gives a small grin before she rolls over, her hips still sore and her legs killing her. Slowly she shimmy’s herself onto all fours with her ass in the air and face in the bed. She spreads her ass cheeks and try’s her best to clench around the still hot load inside her. She feels more drip out and her hole wink at the two other girls.

Tory quickly looks up and smirks at the little scene. Her thrusts only slow a little as she reaches out and grabs a hand full of Sam’s pretty ass. She pulls the cheek a little to get a nice view of the thick cum filled pussy. It drips between her pretty pink folds and onto the sheets below.

Her pretty pink hole winks with a bubble of white.

“Fuck I should have put a plug in you, your wasting my cum. Poor thing I really did wear you out. Shits all sloppy and loose.”

Tory is quick to shove three fingers into the abused hole making Sam whimper. She shoves the warm cum back into her. It's sticky and warm but Sam takes it all in. Shaking get hips as she is filled up again.

“Mommy please fill me up- please I need you so bad. Please you played with Sam earlier now it's my turn please Mommy fuck my pussy up!” Reader whimpers as she tries to thrust against Tory. She moans and tosses her head back into the soft pillows. Her toes curl up in pleasure.

Tory turns her attention back to Reader who is clinching around her. She thrusts hard into her out of spite making her yelp.

“Don't get mouthy you know I don't like brats. You were doing so good not making a peep before all this, stop while you are ahead. Now let Mommy work, I want to fill this pussy up to the brim until it's gushing out of you.”

[rahnesinclair]

I completely agree with your post about Sam embodying Miyagi-Do! Daniel has been talking about certain behaviors not honoring Mr. Miyagi's teachings this whole season, but he's the one who wanted to compete in the Sekai Taikai despite Mr. Miyagi disliking tournaments. I hope the writers are conscious of this and that Sam does end up showing Daniel that she truly follows Miyagi-Do. I also think it would be such a nice story for Sam's character, since she's been solidly Miyagi-Do from the beginning, was taught by Mr. Miyagi, and is all around a pretty content and well-rounded person. I'm also a sucker for father-daughter moments, lol.

I also hope the writers remember that Daniel lost his father to illness as a child and that he actually *can* relate to Tory's situation. Imagine Daniel speaking to Tory about loss, and her and the audience thinking he's going to talk about Mr. Miyagi only for him to actually speak about losing his father. In kk2, Daniel talks about how guilty he felt after his dad died, but that he was comforted knowing he was there when his dad really needed him. Imagine him relating that to Tory taking care of her mom for years. I like Johnny, and I think he has multiple parallels with Tory, but I think Daniel can relate better to a parent dying from illness when you're young. Plus, Tory has a good relationship with Amanda, and she just became friends with Sam, I feel like she should have a bonding moment with Daniel to really round out her Larusso family bonding experience, lol. I hope that the writers are setting up a future Daniel and Tory bonding scene by having him not want her to go to the Sekai Taikai and her not trusting him in episode 5. I would be sad for the series to end with them not trusting / liking each other since Amanda and Sam are both important people in Tory's life.

I LOVE Sam, I just think she's so well rounded as a character. She has taken the first steps in every aspect of her growing friendship with Tory so I think she'll take the first step here again and be able to extend Tory some true grace. That kind of full acceptance and love will show Tory that Sam is on her side and she is not alone like she thinks she is. Fingers crossed this is the route they go.

I definitely thought about how they didn't mention Daniel's father's death. That plus the fact that for a large portion of his childhood Daniel was also the child of a single mother just like Tory gives them a lot of common ground. It seems an odd thing not to bring up, but I wonder if it's hard for Daniel to see that in Tory.

[gemini-sensei]

now we’ve discussed ghostface!dem, what about ghostfaces!samtory ??

YES! I saw one edit of them a while ago and I loved it.

Ghostface!SamTory

CW: murder, gore, violence, blood, typical Ghostface/Scream levels of horror, stalking, murder girlfriends. (unedited, I didn't know how to end this; I hope this is good lol)

🔪 Sam schemes and chooses who she and Tory are going to target and kill while Tory makes the calls and does the killing. Sam loves to play innocent because she can't possibly be doing anything wrong if she's not holding the knife. Tory pretends to be irritated by it, but loves watching Sam plot and act all innocent.

🔪 Sam is the one who got the costume for Tory. She says that if she were to wear it, she'd just trip over the robe because it's so long, which Tory eats up because she loves reminding Sam that she's her short little girlfriend. It does wonders in getting her to wear it too.

🔪 Sam's first target is Kyler. She absolutely hates him for how he treated her and ruined her reputation. His friends too, who only enabled his behavior and shared his view on women. Their disgusting to her, so after a lot of careful planning, she sends Tory to Kyler's house to take care of him.

🔪 She revels in the news once all the articles and reports about Kyler's death come out. Tory is right by her side, admiring her gleeful smile and giddy clap of her hands.

Sam turned to her girlfriend, smile stretched wide. With the subject matter at hand, anyone else would have thought she looked crazed, but Tory thought she looked beautiful. "I can't believe we pulled that off," she giggled. She tried to contain her excitement, but it was too much. "He's dead. He's really dead. It feels so good. Tell me again how you did it." Tory only smiled. "I called him, freaked him out a bit, then lured him outside. He walked around playing macho man for a while, too stupid to realize I'd snuck inside, then came back in and tried to play his dumb little games. Too bad I'd cut the cord to his system. Then I cut the power and he was wandering around in the dark. When he stumbled into the garage, I pushed him. He tried to hit me, but I'm a much better fighter than him. It only took two punches and a kick to him down, and once I did, I started stabbing him. Over and over and over again. He yelled and tried to fight back, but when I was tired of his screaming, I slit his throat. He choked on his own blood and I watched, making sure he paid for all the things he did to you." "All for me?" Sam asked, batting her eyes. Tory pulled her close. "Only for you." The moment brought them together in a heated make out session, with wandering hands and heavy moans. They federated their first kill between the sheets.

🔪 Tory has her own targets, of course. Her scumbag landlord for starters. Sam is all for it when she hears about the way he tried to trade rent for sex with Tory and she goes head first into finding out as much as she can about the guy. They want nothing more than to watch his blood spill onto the floor.

🔪 Tory causes some "light property damage" to the place to lure out the landlord, hiding before she can get caught. When he's inspecting the damage, she strikes. Bleeding out from the back, she sits him against the wall and gives him a little comeuppance, driving her knife through the crotch of his pants since he likes to think with his dick when doing business.

🔪 He's a mess under her thumb, crying and begging her to save him, call somebody, anything. She enjoys his weeping, just breaking this man down until she's tired of his crying, at which point she stabs him through the throat to silence him. He gurgles and spits up blood as she leaves the scene.

🔪 Days are spent reveling in their triumphs, reading every article or watching the news, talking about how dumb everyone is that they can't and won't figure out it's them. Then at night, they plot and scope out their next target. They watch everyone, getting a feel for their schedules and the people around them. Tory goes out and checks out the houses or workplaces of the person while Sam gets phone numbers, addresses, anything that's on paper. Since her dad is so business savvy and has some connections, it's not all that hard to get what she needs.

If y'all want more of this, just lmk. Or if you'd like another ship or even a poly!ship x reader with this au, lmk if you're interested.

[arizonaaaaaa]

The best Rory Flanagan ships, source: it wasn’t necessary

1. Rory Flanagan/Sam Evans (Flanevans,Sory)

Easily the best one argue with the wall

They’re just soooooooo perfect together

They were totally flirting in EMC (3x09)

Also they were the first couple that I read a fanfiction of

I could spend hours just talking about them

I seriously recommend reading this fanfic, it’s not completed but it’s perfect

2. Rory Flanagan/Finn Hudson (Fludson)

The second best, only because they didn’t flirt on a Christmas ep

You can’t convince me that Rory didn’t totally had a crush on Finn when they first met

They deserved a duet together😔

3. Rory Flanagan/Sebastian Smythe (Flythe?)

The first BIG rarepair, so rare I didn’t even find a single cringy edit on Pinterest

Okay so there was this one fanfic were Rory stayed after season 3 and Sebastian transfers to McKinley and he’s like totally in love with Rory and the fanfic never got finished but I’m pretty sure they would’ve become a couple

4. Rory Flanagan/Artie Abrams (Flabrams)

Enemies to lovers if I may

THE TENSION IM SORRYY?????

Sugar’s lesbian anyways so💁‍♂️

Also all ships at this point are M/M cause I’m gay so i like them more

5. Rory Flanagan/Tina Cohen-Chang (Tory)

The first straight ship on this list

Tina has this goth bi energy that makes her look good with everyone she’s paired with

However I like gay Rory more than bi Rory so…

6. Rory Flanagan/Sugar Motta (Flamotta)

His only canon pairing how sad

I like them together but no one beats those ones👆

Also I like lesbian Sugar and gay Rory more so

7. Rory Flanagan/Noah Puckerman (Pory?,Flanerman?)

Bad boy and weird Irish boy? I’m on it!!!

Puck is the most shippable character ever literally (almost) every ship with him is good

Also Rory is really cute and I can see him with every person

8. Rory Flanagan/Quinn Fabray (Flabray)

Me when two characters that never interacted before sit next to each other:😍

That’s it

9. Rory Flanagan/Joe Hart (Jory)

Of course I have to ship the two newbies, it wouldn’t be me other wise

Joe is a really interesting case, he’s like the post-modern jesus so you would assume that he’s the straightest man ever

Except he isn’t, 1- he’s Christian, 2- he’s a teenager, 3- he’s in the glee club, which means that he has the gay gene

The rainbow was god’s promise after all💁‍♂️

10. Rory Flanagan/Brittany Pierce (Flapierce)

While I’m not the biggest Brittany enjoyer I did found them cute together

You know in like the 4 scenes they had together

In conclusion: Rory is the best character ever

[nostalgicninjas]

EVERY SAM AND TORY SCENE/MENTION (41/?) 

“Party Time” — Cobra Kai Season 4 Episode 8 

[purpleheartskies]

Robby is the underdog - Part 4

Follow-up post to:

Robby is the underdog - Part 1

Robby is the underdog - Part 1.5

Robby has a Hero's Journey (Robby is the underdog - Part 2)

Robby is the protagonist (Robby is the underdog - Part 3)

Miguel is the bully in the rivalry

Robby has had 3 sets of bullies in the series: Trey and Cruz, Miguel, and Shawn and his friends. Interestingly, Miguel and Shawn both taunted Robby about Johnny and Sam not wanting him because they prefer Miguel.

Robby: "You can't cheat your way out of this one." Miguel: "Like that move. Learned it from your dad."

Robby: "That's for taking advantage of Sam." Miguel: "I would never." Robby: "Then why did it happen?" Miguel: "She doesn't love you. She loves me!"

In the school fight, Robby commented about Miguel's actions. Miguel had cheated in the avt. Robby had tied it 2-2, so Miguel pulled on Robby's injured arm between rounds to ensure his own win. Miguel had taken advantage of Sam at Moon's party. Sam was obviously drunk when Miguel had approached her and eventually kissed her.

Miguel in turn commented about Johnny teaching him and not Robby. Miguel knows that Johnny had abandoned Robby and that it's the most painful thing in Johnny's life. Miguel knows himself what it's like not to have a dad, and he purposely taunted Robby about Johnny.

Miguel also commented about Sam loving him and not Robby. In s1, Miguel had become a "paranoid asshole" because he thought that Sam had been cheating on him with Robby, so Miguel purposely hurt Robby in the avt after Sam got upset with him for acting like a paranoid asshole at the lake party. He spent all of s2 trying to get Sam back, and he kissed her at the party knowing that she was drunk and that she was now dating Robby (and he himself was dating Tory). Here, Miguel basically said that he kissed Sam while she was drunk because she loves Miguel and not Robby.

" 'But, Robby, your my son. But I hate you, Dad.' Your girl left you, your dad hates you, you got nobody. And now you got nothing."

In juvie, Shawn taunted Robby because Sam and Johnny both chose Miguel over him. In her tv interview, Sam threw Robby under the bus, saying that she hoped that it was an accident, and then she said "We love you, Miguel." Shawn then taunted Robby about Sam liking different flavors of boys and beat Robby up. Later, Johnny came to see Robby and made a scene, getting pissed off at Robby for rightfully calling him out for choosing Miguel over Robby again. That is, Johnny failed Robby as a father again. Johnny then got in Robby's face and said, "I'm not the one who put him in the hospital." Shawn is shown in the background laughing about what he'd overheard, before Robby even knocked over the soup. Afterwards, Shawn made fun of Robby's argument with his dad and said that his girl left him, his dad hates him, and he has nobody and nothing.

Miguel and Shawn both taunting Robby about Johnny and Sam is an interesting parallel and one that adds to Miguel being the bully in the rivalry.

Miguel has a false sense of entitlement over Johnny and Sam. In s1 and s2, Robby became the guy who took Miguel's place at the LaRusso's dinner table, who took Sam from him, who could have taken the avt win from Miguel if Miguel hadn't cheated, and who was revealed to be Johnny's actual son after Johnny got upset with him for hurting Robby. Tory told Miguel about "no mercy": "The world shows no mercy. So why should we? Some people have it good, but the rest of us, we have to fight for every inch of what's ours." Like Tory fought Sam in the school fight for what was Tory's (Miguel), Miguel fought Robby in the school fight for what Miguel believes belongs to him (Johnny and Sam). After all, during the fight, it was Miguel, not Robby, who brought up Johnny and Sam choosing him over Robby. Miguel's jabs and behavior towards Robby indicate that Miguel is envious and insecure about Robby being Johnny's "real" son and Robby having any sort of relationship with Sam.

After the school fight and before prom night, Miguel eventually got everything back from Robby: Miguel first got Johnny devoted to him completely, then he got Sam back, he was eventually recognized by each of them as a legit champ (first Johnny and later Sam in s3e8, then Daniel in s3e9), and he finally got his seat at the LaRusso dinner table (in s4). During this time, his insecurities about Robby subsided because his entitlement over Johnny and Sam, his "rightful" place with the LaRussos, and his title as a "real" champ were validated. Not to mention, he was celebrated by everyone, including the school and the city council, as the "hero". In turn, Robby was scapegoated by everyone, including the school, as the "villain". (In s3e8, Miguel told Johnny that he had to prove that he could win again, and not that he needed a clean win. He has always been fine with his win in the s1 avt, but the other characters didn't recognize his win as a "real" win until after the school fight.)

Before I continue to go more into Miguel's insecurities and false entitlements over Johnny and Sam, I'm going to talk about Robby in this regard.

Robby's insecurities over Johnny and Sam; Robby's entitlement over Johnny

No doubt, Robby is insecure and hurt about Johnny and Sam choosing Miguel over him, but Robby has never acted aggressively against Miguel when it comes to Johnny and Sam. There is usually more context involved when Robby does act against Miguel. For example, fans like to claim that Robby having anger about Johnny giving Miguel the gi and hug played a role in starting the rivalry. However, Robby only made a move against Johnny (by getting a job at LaRusso Auto) and not against Miguel. It was clearly Miguel only who started the rivalry and kept attacking/bullying Robby. Fans also project onto Robby that he believes that Miguel "stole" Johnny and Sam from him so Robby kicked Miguel over the railing during the school fight because of jealousy. But, fans purposely leave out that Robby had been viciously physically attacked by Miguel, while Robby was trying to protect Sam, and Miguel was even going to break Robby's arm for no reason at all. At that point, Robby literally had a reason to be filled with anger at Miguel that had nothing to do with Johnny or Sam choosing Miguel over him. Miguel did taunt Robby about Johnny and Sam and that added to Robby's anger, but those taunts were not the only reason for Robby's anger in the fight. Robby has never once referred to Miguel as "stealing" Johnny and Sam from him. Robby has always recognized Johnny's and Sam's agencies when it comes to Miguel. Robby directs his anger and words at them and has described their behaviors as choices:

to Johnny (s3e4): "You chose Miguel over me again." to Sam (s4e1): "There's nothing complicated about it. You had a choice, and you chose."

In s2e10, Robby admit his insecurity about Miguel trying to "score points" with Sam when Robby came clean about hiding that Miguel had returned the medal of honor. This implies that Robby acknowledges Sam's choice to choose Miguel because she has to be won over by Miguel. Robby also didn't try to turn Sam against Miguel but instead willingly admit his own fault to her, essentially opening up the possibility of losing points with her.

When it comes to Johnny, Robby has actual entitlement over Johnny because Johnny is Robby's actual father. Robby has every right to expect Johnny to choose him over Miguel. Robby having abandonment and rejection trauma due to Johnny and having insecurity and trust issues due to his trauma is understandable, as these are from years and years of trauma. ("All those years you were there, I blamed myself.") Despite this, Robby has still usually chosen to keep his distance from Miguel or to act against Johnny and not against Miguel.

One exception can be prom in s4e8, though the intention was throw Sam and Miguel off-balance before the tournament. Robby's tactic was to do a show-stopping dance with Tory. Robby did nudge Miguel on the way to the dance floor, but that was to get their attention. Later, the prom fight was not started by Robby or Tory, and Robby only intervened because he found Tory struggling with Miguel on the floor and telling him to let go of her. This situation was different than the start of the school fight: No announcement had been main over a loud speaker that Sam was going to attack Tory, and Tory was literally struggling against Miguel and telling him to let her go. Robby had no context of what was going on other than arriving to the scene and seeing Tory struggling to get away from Miguel.

For the Miyagi-Do scene in s3e8, Robby didn't immediately attack or show open hostility towards Miguel when Robby first saw Sam and Miguel together. He stayed mostly focused on Sam and kept his distance from both of them, despite his hurt slowly turning to anger. When Miguel interjected, Robby stepped forward and told him to stay out of it, but Miguel stepped forward challenging him. Robby then struck first before Miguel could. Sam stopped Robby and pushed him away. Miguel acted shocked about this, as if he had just then done nothing to provoke Robby and as if Robby had no reason in general to be distrusting, defensive, or angry at Miguel. To be clear, Robby shouldn't have tried to strike first against Miguel. However, as I've talked about before, Robby was hypervigilent after getting out of juvie, and Miguel is definitely not someone Robby feels or is safe around, especially if Miguel himself is hinting at a fight. Robby even said that he was hoping Miguel would want a fight. Meaning, Robby wasn't going to attack unless given a reason to. Yes, this was the first time Miguel was seeing Robby after the school fight. However, Miguel himself stepped forward with a challenge, indicating that he was ready for a fight. Not to mention, he has not shown humility or remorse and has yet to acknowledge and take accountability for his own faults against Robby since s1 and still hasn't by the end of s5. Miguel acts like he has never done anything wrong to Robby and like Robby has always been the problem between them, which I'll talk about in detail later. Miguel has proven to be the type of person who provokes someone and then plays the innocent victim after they react. It's also important to note that Robby walked away from Sam after it became clear who she had chosen. Robby has never shown any entitlement over her. In fact, in s2e2, before they started dating, when Miguel had stolen Aisha's phone to call Sam and she was hanging up the phone, she said Miguel's name as she approached Robby. She tried to explain why she was talking to Miguel, but Robby told her that she can talk to whoever she wants.

In s4e4, Robby did taunt Miguel about the last time they fought, which was wrong. Robby had gone to Johnny earlier that day to tell him that his students were bullying a kid, and Johnny just accused him of wanting to do something stupid, bringing up that he had gotten (himself) kicked out of school, as if Robby was the only one in the wrong that day in school. Robby clarified that Miguel had attacked him in the school fight while he was trying to stop the fight, but Johnny brushed Robby off. The rest of their conversation didn't go well, and Johnny eventually dismissed Robby. No doubt, Robby was still carrying that hurt and anger from earlier with him later at the drive-in when he stopped Hawk from bullying Kenny again and the Miyagi Fangs including Miguel intervened. Nathan also hypocritically called Robby a traitor, while he and the other Miyagi-Dos, Robby's former dojo mates, stood shoulder to shoulder with Miguel, the person who had attacked Robby and caused their fight in school for no reason and who the Miyagi-Dos befriended and chose over Robby after the school fight and before Robby even joined Cobra Kai.

Miguel's insecurities and false entitlement over Johnny and Sam haven't changed

In s4, Sam telling Robby that he broke her heart and Johnny saying "I love you too Robby" after giving a speech about really wanting to be a father (to Robby) were main reasons that Miguel ran away at the end.

"You think I broke your heart. You broke mine, too."

"I love you too, Robby."

Johnny was so wasted. Johnny had spent months devoted to Miguel and his family, and obviously not devoted to Robby. Miguel had just scraped Johnny off the floor. Johnny was obviously having a bad night too, yet Miguel had no empathy for him at all, even though Miguel knows that the most painful thing in Johnny's life is failing Robby as a father. Miguel wants to fill the Robby-shaped hole in Johnny's heart and not just be a "surrogate" or "do over", which he is. Robby's words to him earlier have been true since s1e4: "You think my dad cares about you. He's just trying to make himself feel better for screwing up with me." Note, even with this statement, Robby is making clear Johnny's agency in choosing Miguel over him. (I also want to note that fans that proudly claim that Johnny loves and cares about Miguel genuinely as a son, which Johnny doesn't, don't even realize how horrible that claim they project onto Johnny makes him seem. He literally shows no genuine love and caring towards his actual son. It makes no sense to be proud about him loving and caring about a random kid while he actively doesn't show love and caring to but instead traumatizes his actual kid while he chooses the random kid over him. It would be an even worse look for Johnny if what fans claim were true.)

Johnny

In s2, when Miguel had first become suspicious of Robby being Johnny's son, Miguel pried into Johnny's personal life by having Hawk look into it. Miguel even confronted Johnny about it with Hawk. Miguel was upset the whole time confronting Johnny. Johnny told them that it wasn't their business. Tbf to Johnny, Hawk and Miguel had themselves chosen to hurt Robby in the avt, but Johnny still acted like a sensei to them during the avt and made a good point of steering them away from fighting dirty after the avt. Instead of reflecting on their own behavior, they both felt that they weren't wrong to hurt Robby and that Johnny was wrong for being upset that they had hurt his son for no reason. After Hawk walked away, Miguel wanted to ask Johnny more, but Johnny refused. Later, Johnny took him to dinner, and Johnny started telling him about Robby's birth. As Johnny started emotionally talking about how he has failed Robby as a father, Miguel interrupted and said that it was personal stuff so he didn't have to tell him. Johnny then said that he should have told Miguel a long time ago (which honestly Johnny didn't have to) and that it's one of the most painful things in his life. Johnny then said that teaching Miguel has been the best thing in Johnny's life and that he'll always be on Miguel's side. This reassured Miguel and reinforced his false entitlement over Johnny, and Miguel thanked Johnny. Then, Miguel got the text about the Miyagi-Do demonstration, and he made a plan with Johnny to ruin Robby's demonstration (that is, to hurt Robby using karate).

In s2e3 and in s4e8, Johnny talked about failing as a father, but Miguel thought that Johnny was talking about him the second time and got upset that Johnny wasn't talking about him, although he knows that Johnny has a son who he has failed. Like a mistress believes that the married man she sleeps with will be faithful to her, Miguel believes that Johnny will be a real father to him despite knowing that Johnny isn't being a real father to his real son (which they had talked about once again in s4e7).

I failed my kid on his very first day in this world, and I've been failing him everyday since... It's the most painful thing in my life. (s2e3)

I wanna be a father to you. I really do. I try to protect you. Try to be there for you. I just suck at it. I really suck at it, but I want to so bad. (s4e8)

At the s4 avt, although Johnny was acting like a sensei to Miguel like he had told Johnny to before and Johnny was still not being anything to Robby, Miguel felt like he wasn't Johnny's priority anymore so Miguel ran off to Mexico to look for his real dad.

In s5, Miguel still couldn't tolerate the idea of Robby having an important, especially a more important, place in Johnny's life. After returning from Mexico, Miguel told Hawk and Demetri that he's not going to let Robby being with Johnny get to him, as if Miguel has a right to be upset that Johnny has his son with him (to save Miguel's dumb ass in Mexico, no less). This also shows that Miguel still doubted his importance in Johnny's life despite Johnny coming to another country to look for him and bring him home safe. Later, Miguel had to hurt Robby first before Miguel would even consider becoming "friends" with Robby. After the fight, in which Robby had stopped fighting back at one point, Miguel gaslit Robby, saying that Miguel didn't learn karate to hurt people but to be badass and find balance. Okay... So, why did he say yes to fight out it with Robby? Miguel got the green light from Johnny to hurt Robby, and Miguel took it and hurt Robby like Miguel has wanted to since before the school fight. Also, Miguel didn't even know about finding balance until he learned Miyagi-Do in s4. Miguel continued to gaslight Robby when Miguel asked Robby why he didn't hold back that day in school, acting once again like Miguel himself had done nothing wrong that day in school. Miguel asked this right after a fight they didn't even have to have, but Miguel chose to have without hesitation. Robby was uneasy about the fight, but unlike Miguel, Robby fears Johnny abandoning him and agreed to fight only after Miguel did.

Miguel: "I didn't get into karate to hurt people." I did it to be badass and find balance." Robby: "Yeah, I understand that." Miguel: "Last time we fought like this, how come you didn't hold back?"

Robby was the only one between them that took accountability for his previous actions and acknowledged how his actions affected the other person. Miguel was satisfied with this conclusion. Miguel then became more satisfied after hearing the news that Johnny is going to have a baby with his mom. After the "I love you too Robby" incident, Miguel was unsure about his importance in Johnny's life, but now with the apartment fight and the baby news, Miguel's importance in Johnny's life was cemented. Miguel not only got to hurt Robby with Johnny's permission, meaning Johnny completely walked back being upset with him for hurting Robby in the s1 avt. Miguel also continued to be blameless and validated in the rivalry, and he and Johnny are now going to be family in a more concrete way. Robby in turn is at the bottom of Johnny's list of priorities, something which both boys now know for sure, and Robby is completely scapegoated for the rivalry and the fights that Miguel had caused.

Sadly, Robby had no choice but to submit to Miguel completely after the apartment fight because of Johnny. Robby's submission and the baby news have staved off Miguel's insecurities for now, like how Miguel later told Hawk that he and Robby are cool now and then not-so convincingly acted like he has no problem with Robby and Sam talking.

Robby hesitating and thinking twice before saying that he's good now too, but only doing so after Miguel said that they're good now.

(I share some of these thoughts and more about Miguel's false entitlement over Johnny and their relationship in this post.)

Sam

In s5, at the restaurant before the apartment fight, when Johnny said, "You'll forget why you were ever mad at each other in the first place," Miguel said "I'm never gonna forget." Well, Miguel was mad at Robby in the first place because of Miguel's delusion about Sam cheating on him with Robby, which he still believes he was right to have.

Robby asked Sam if this is her boyfriend, which is proof to Miguel that Sam had told Robby that she has a boyfriend, but Miguel had deluded himself into believing that she was cheating on him with Robby and that she'd actually show up at a party he'd be at with a guy she was supposedly cheating on him with. He had already been calling and texting her like crazy before he decided to get drunk and fuel his rage more. His rage-filled expression at Robby here is intense and unreasonable.

At the restaurant in s5, Robby even looked knowingly at Miguel after hearing that he had broken up with Sam.

Robby knows that Miguel's issues with him started over Sam. Miguel had recently started getting on Robby's case again.

Later, after they started training at Miyagi-Do again, Miguel tried to act like he didn't care about Sam and Robby talking when Hawk commented that Robby was making his move on Sam. Miguel has no right to have a problem if Sam and Robby are talking, regardless if Miguel and Sam are dating.

"Robby and I are cool now. Besides, I'm pretty sure they're just, uh, catching up."

A little while later, Miguel gaslit Sam about the rivalry he himself had started with Robby. Miguel and Sam being together should have no bearing on Miguel being able to deal with his own issues with Robby, but Miguel has always gaslit Sam about his issues with Robby: "You bring some guy to the party and expect me to be okay with that" (s1) and "I should be the one pissed off. You made me think I acted like a paranoid asshole, but you're on a date with Robby" (s2).

"And honestly, I think us not being together helped Robby and I get along for once, so thanks."

This is in addition to how he doesn't respect her boundaries, like going to her house uninvited after she had said she wasn't ready for him to come over (s1) which she doesn't know about, calling and texting her after she broke up with him and even stealing Aisha's phone to do so (s2), and approaching and kissing her while she was drunk at Moon's party (s2). Earlier in s5, he'd also gaslit her on the phone. She told him that he knew what it meant for her to face Tory in the tournament, but he minimized her trauma from Tory to just "karate" because he wanted her to be focused on him and feel sorry for him about the dangerous situation he had created for himself for no urgent reason at all and without thinking things through or caring about his loved ones.

By the end of s5, Miguel has won the rivalry again. He got confirmation that Johnny will put him above Robby and that Johnny is now going to be family in a more permanent way. He "won" the fight to end the rivalry, and Robby took all the blame between them. And, finally, he got the "I love you" from Sam.

Miguel is not an underdog in anyway, and his victories have come at Robby's expense. Johnny used Robby to get Miguel back and handed Robby over for Miguel to hurt him like Miguel has always wanted to. Sam used Robby in her drive to win the dojo war, which she blamed for why she had broken up with Miguel. This is in addition to neither Johnny nor Sam acknowledging or apologizing for their wrongs towards Robby.

Miguel wants some control over Robby's place in the dojo war

In s5, Miguel also acted like he's the decider of Robby's place in the dojo war. After Miguel heard that Sam had already left the waterpark to get away from the karate drama, Miguel claimed he didn't want any part of it either, although he himself had chosen to take part in it. He then set his sights on Robby and struck first against him, pushing him and arguing with him for no justified reason. Miguel believes that Robby has to answer to him about whether Robby is still in Cobra Kai and who Robby's friends are. Miguel also claimed that Robby's not a "good guy" now just because Robby came down to Mexico. That is, Miguel believes that he gets to decide if Robby is a "good guy" and believes that someone doing something that benefits him makes that person a "good guy". Later, Miguel also acted like he actually has a right to accept or reject Robby being back in Miyagi-Do.

Miguel: "Hey! I could've sworn sensei said that you were out of Cobra Kai." Robby: "I'm not in Cobra Kai." Miguel: "Yet, you're on their side every time they start fights." Robby: "You don't know what the hell you're talking about." Miguel: "I know you think that just because you came down to Mexico you're a good guy. Well, guess what? You're not." Robby: "Look who's talking. Let's get clear about one thing. I didn't come down to Mexico for you." Miguel: "Nobody asked you to go anywhere!" (Uhhh.. yeah, Johnny did ask him to go, Miguel. Maybe get over yourself and check your facts first, you bully.)

So, Miguel not only believes that he is entitled to Johnny and Sam over Robby. Miguel also believes that he should have some control over Robby and his alliances.

Despite his own situation, Robby took a stand for those he cares about like no one has taken for him

Robby submitting to Miguel and Johnny out of necessity, and later giving in to Sam and Daniel by dropping his issues with them too, makes Robby's move against Silver later in the season even more powerful. As the other teens made their own plans to take down Silver, Robby went behind their backs and directly took a stand against Silver for Tory and Kenny. Robby took a stand for the people he cares about, no matter the consequences.

Since the school fight, none of the "good guys"---Johnny, Daniel, and Sam in particular---have fought for Robby or took a stand for him. They all chose Miguel's side after the school fight and essentially validated all of Miguel's wrongful actions against Robby. They enabled Miguel and scapegoated Robby completely. They chose Robby's bully's side, so Robby chose someone who he himself didn't care about, trust, or expect any caring from, because he didn't trust the people the "good guys". At the time and throughout s4, Robby took a stand for himself.

In s5, Robby stopped taking a stand for himself so that Johnny wouldn't abandon him again, but Robby took a stand for the people he cares about and said to them what no one said to him in s4:

"I came here to apologize. I let you down. Turned my back on you. I didn't understand at the time but I realize I was wrong. I shouldn't have just left. I should have taken you [all] with me."

Robby didn't have to do this for Tory and Kenny. He did it because he cares. After the school fight, Johnny had an obligation to do this for Robby, regardless, as Robby's parent. Daniel and Sam should/could have done this for Robby as well. Robby had been in their dojo, helped bring it back into existence, was called family by Daniel, was a caring and good boyfriend to Sam, would own up to and wouldn't deny his own faults, was loyal to them, and was protecting Sam that day in school when he had been attacked by Miguel. However, Johnny, Daniel, and Sam had a choice, and they chose Miguel over Robby. In s4, when Daniel and Sam each approached Robby to talk about the dojo war, neither of them considered the issues in their relationships with Robby as relevant enough to discuss, although Robby either indirectly commented about or openly tried to discuss them. Johnny didn't even bother approaching Robby, choosing to move on with Miguel and his family instead, and Johnny dismissed Robby the one time he came to Johnny (before the finale) to tell him that his students were being bullies. Robby told Johnny that Miguel had attacked Robby in the school fight, but Johnny didn't care. Also, before the school fight, Johnny, Daniel, and Sam were upset with Miguel for having cheated in the avt, but after the school fight, they all happily call him the "champ" and act as if his win is no longer a dirty win that came at Robby's expense, which of course it still is.

Will the writers "pull a Keyser Soze"?

I really hope Miguel and the others get knocked down a few pegs in the final season. The seeds are all there. When Johnny and Sam realize and when Daniel remembers that Miguel's been the bully since the start and that Robby's been the underdog all along, it will be a wake up call for them. Not only would they realize that Miguel has been the bully all along, but they will also realize that they themselves have been in the wrong wrt Robby since the school fight. That is, it will bring about an external shift and an internal shift for the characters.

Many stories do this. Lay breadcrumbs for a big plot twist that recontextualizes the whole story up until that point. This is known as a retroactive plot twist and can many times come in the form of a character reveal. Two popular examples of this are in The Sixth Sense and Shutter Island. A most recent experience I had with this was while watching s1 of the Kung Fu Panda series (still mindblown by the effective and unexpected plot twist in this kid's cartoon).

The Usual Suspects is of course another example in which the big plot twist at the end recontextualized the whole story because it's revealed to be told by an unreliable narrator. Interestingly, a little while before Miguel first apparently displayed his entitlement and possessiveness over Sam through his behavior at the lake party, Sam had made a reference to this movie to Robby: "Did you just pull a Keyser Soze?" Robby had pretended to have a sprained ankle and need a ride home to get Sam out of house arrest. Given how much foreshadowing is used in the show, it's reasonable to assume that this line was not just a reference to Robby faking an ankle injury, but also a narrative hint that the writers are going to "subvert expectations" (as they have promised) and will "pull a Keyser Soze" with Miguel's character.

Miguels' traits of entitlement, possessiveness, being controlling, gaslighting, being self-serving, and lacking remorse, empathy, self-awareness, and humility have been consistent and have been in contrast to Robby's character traits throughout all 5 seasons. And as I described in my Robby is the protagonist post, separating the main pov character (Miguel) and the protagonist (Robby) roles is one way to tell a story through an unreliable narrator (Miguel) and set up for a big plot twist / character reveal.

Sam believes that Cobra Kai caused Miguel to act this way in s1, but Miguel's traits and behaviors haven't changed since. He called Robby the "enemy" in s1 and still claimed Robby wasn't a "good guy" in s5, until he got to hurt Robby in s5 like he did here in s1. Johnny had gotten upset with Miguel for hurting Robby in s1 but now allowed Miguel to hurt Robby in s5. Miguel has never once acknowledged or taken accountability for his own actions against Robby, but Miguel and the majority audience have consistently viewed Robby as the "bad guy" in Miguel's own story since s1, even before their fight in school, which Miguel himself had started and escalated to the point of wanting to break Robby's arm for no reason at all and which Miguel has shown no self-reflection or humility about since. In s3, Daniel also gave Miguel a chance after Sam brushed off Daniel's concern about Robby's feelings about her getting back together with Miguel. Sam claimed that Daniel should trust her because she is his daughter and should give Miguel a chance because he isn't Cobra Kai's number one bully anymore. Johnny and Miguel also believe that they're no longer Cobra Kai because they are now Eagle Fang. But Eagle Fang is essentially just Cobra Kai with "no mercy" replaced with "show mercy sometimes". Johnny had told Miguel that Johnny was never taught the difference between honor and mercy, and clearly Johnny and Miguel still don't know the difference between honor and mercy. Johnny and Miguel also both fall back on "Johnny classic", aka Cobra Kai, teachings when they feel like it, like for the apartment fight. Hayden once said about Miguel: "You can take Miguel out of Cobra Kai, but you can't take Cobra Kai out of Miguel." This is supported by canon.

The Miyagi Fang characters, except Robby, believe that being in Cobra Kai makes someone a "bad guy" and a "bad person" and being in Miyagi Fang makes someone a "good guy" and a "good person", but Robby's perspective of the characters would reveal that being in Miyagi Fang, that is being a "good guy", doesn't necessarily make someone a "good person" from someone else's perspective. (I plan to do a post to elaborate on this more.)

Once the other characters understand Robby's perspective as part of a plot twist that involves the reveal about Miguel being the bully, a philosophical shift will occur for the characters. The combination of an external shift (Miguel is not the victim/underdog but the bully), an internal shift (the realization that they themselves chose wrong and supported the wrong person), and a philosophical shift (leaving Cobra Kai and joining Miyagi Fang doesn't mean someone is no longer a bully and automatically a "good person") make for a meaningful plot twist. As I said, the seeds have been consistently planted, including in s5, for this character reveal.

The writers have included small plot twists including character reveals throughout the series, so the idea of the writers doing a greater, overarching subversion via a character reveal isn't impossible. For example, in s3e5, Chozen duped Daniel and the audience by pretending to be uptight and serious the whole time until he beat Daniel in a fight, honked his nose, and burst out laughing. In s5e3, Daniel overheard Barnes' phone conversation that was intentionally written to have a double meaning so that Daniel and the audience would get the wrong idea about Barnes, but then it was revealed that Barnes had changed his ways for the better. Of course, a great little plot twist, though not a character reveal, was when Kreese was arrested at the end of s4 and it was revealed that Stingray had falsely accused Kreese of assault for Silver.

Another type of plot twist is a trajectory plot twist, which changes the direction of the story, like the Stingray twist did for Kreese's character, Cobra Kai's future, and the dojo war. This type of plot twist is more common. Sometimes, these two types of plot twists (retroactive and trajectory) are combined in a character reveal, so the audience not only sees a character's truth but the twist also charts a new course for the characters moving forward.

Miguel is the strongest hold out in a fading Eagle Fang. He's is a true Cobra. He took to the teachings very quickly, with little to no brainwashing. He still strikes first when he feels entitled to. He only "shows mercy" because Johnny told him to, and "showing mercy" is the one thing he regrets doing in the school fight. He still doesn't acknowledge or take accountability for his wrongs because he doesn't comprehend what he does wrong. He gets upset when anyone calls him out for his wrongs, like when Robby did in the school fight in s2, when Sam did at the s1 avt, when Johnny did after the sprinkler prank in s4, and when Sam did over the phone in s5.

Since s4, I've wondered if Miguel would rejoin Cobra Kai as Silver's student/protégé. In addition to Miguel's consistent character traits listed above, the parallels between Miguel and Silver in the story are interesting:

In s4e8, Silver and Miguel each realized that they aren't the most important person to the person they're most loyal to. Silver realized Johnny is more important to Kreese. Miguel realized that Robby is more important to Johnny.

In s1e10, Miguel wanted to show no mercy to Robby and reminded Johnny about their lesson when Johnny tried to stop Miguel from showing no mercy to Robby. In s4e8, Silver wanted to show no mercy to Johnny and reminded Kreese about their lessons when Kreese tried to stop Silver from showing no mercy to Johnny. Though, Miguel did follow through with showing no mercy while Silver didn't.

In s4e10, Silver and Miguel each undermined and gave up on the person they were most loyal to. Silver framed Kreese and got him arrested. Miguel walked away from the tournament, making it a sure loss for Johnny.

At the end of the s4 avt, Silver was enjoying his dirty win while Robby stood behind him upset and Johnny sadly watched from the side. At the end of the s1 avt, Miguel was enjoying his dirty win while Johnny stood behind him upset and Robby sadly watched from the side. 

In s5e5, Daniel was coaxed into a fight with Silver, and Silver showed mercy in the end. Robby was pressured into a fight with Miguel, and Miguel showed mercy in the end.

In s5e10, although Daniel got his victory over Silver, Robby is yet to get his victory over Miguel. Given that Robby and Miguel's rivalry is linked to Johnny's story and the root of this parallel is really between Kreese-Silver-Johnny and Johnny-Miguel-Robby, the real conclusion to the Miguel-Robby rivalry will come next season. (The director who did s5e10 said in an interview that Kreese's escape was the cliffhanger indicating that there is more story to tell, which was pretty obvious given how the season ended. Like Daniel got his victory over Silver, Johnny needs his final victory over Kreese by wiping out Kreese's legacy (payoff), as Johnny said he would (setup). The writers have also confirmed that the feelings are all still there, things aren't resolved, and the teen rivalries have yet to be explored.)

Cobra Kai is all about the character stories. The dojo war is just a setting to explore these stories. The consistency of the characterizations and character motivations throughout all 5 seasons holds. What's left is at least one big plot twist. The writers have promised that they'll "subvert expectations", which they have yet to do in a meaningful way, especially given the layered story that they've built out. Although the baby plot can be considered a "subversion", it doesn't fit the criteria. The audience, at least the majority, weren't subverted by it. Also, the characters behaved consistently, except for Robby, who immediately became a different person. This seems more like a red herring. Although Robby himself changed (as this was a plot twist in his own story), the other characters and their perceptions and motivations didn't change. Everyone still views Miguel and Robby as the "underdog" and "bully" respectively, Johnny used the baby as another chance to feel better about screwing up with Robby and continued to fail with Robby, the other character's perceptions of themselves or anything else didn't change, and the fans now believe without a doubt that Johnny will end up with the Diazs and with Robby tacked on as an afterthought.

Johnny and Miguel are unreliable narrators, and the context of the story works against them throughout the series, including in s5. This is a story, and anything within the realm of plausibility within this story universe can happen. For example, with the right combination of events and incentive for Miguel, like for example Johnny, Daniel, and Sam finally waking up and taking Robby's side (if this truly is Johnny's redemption story, and Daniel and Sam are to end on long-lasting positive notes) and Silver offering to pay for Miguel's college as sponsorship to fight for Cobra Kai, it's still very possible for Miguel to rejoin Cobra Kai. (There's also a theory that the baby isn't Johnny's because of the timeline of the pregnancy and Johnny's impotency in s4. This could be another plausible plot twist that the writers could use to "subvert expectations". A reveal like this would also stoke Miguel's insecurities again about his importance in Johnny's life.)

The story has to come to its resolution now. Being a Karate Kid story, the underdog will win in the end. The subversion wrt to the underdog winning would be the reveal of the true identity of the story's underdog (Robby) and not dropping the franchise's theme of the underdog winning against all odds. "Pulling a Keyser Soze" with Miguel's character would not only "subvert expectations" for the other characters and for non-Robby fans, but it would also "subvert expectations" for Robby fans who like Robby have lost all hope of anything changing for the better for Robby:

"But it just made things worse, and now it's never gonna get better." -- Robby fans about s5

SPOILER WARNING!!! The s6 leaks of Johnny, Daniel, Robby, Sam, and Miguel in Barcelona for a Sekai Taikai event are also interesting. As I said, Johnny, Daniel, and Sam are the ones who have to realize that they have chosen the wrong side between the boys. The mystery guy at the beach looks like Robby from far away (the height being the main difference, but from far away and at the right angle, it can look like he's Robby). Given Miguel's traits and past behavior, if he were to see Sam talking and laughing with some shirtless guy on the beach who is doing kata and who looks like Robby, Miguel will not like it and his insecurities will flare up again. This itself can lead to some drama. Maybe Miguel will accuse Sam of cheating on him with Robby again and Miguel will start things up with Robby again, so Daniel and Johnny will have to intervene. Daniel will believe Sam that she wasn't cheating and it wasn't Robby, while Johnny will have to make a choice: believe Miguel's accusation or believe Robby that it wasn't him. Would Johnny project his own past onto the situation and take Miguel's side? After all, Miguel is the Johnny in this new generation, Robby is the Daniel, and Sam is the Ali. Or, will Johnny finally step up and choose Robby, which Johnny should have always done (and because Johnny has to grow wrt Robby if Johnny is to be redeemed!). Miguel will likely remind Johnny that he said that he would always be on Miguel's side. But, with Sam and Daniel insisting that Miguel is simply wrong with his accusation, Johnny might choose right and choose Robby. Though, that would come with the caveat that Johnny didn't simply believe Robby. Regardless, this type of scenario would definitely lead to more drama between these 5. Johnny taking Robby's side over Miguel's will be like prom night all over again for Miguel, stoking his insecurities even more. But, hopefully this time, things will start moving in the right direction for Robby.

(Regardless of what will be in s6 or what payoffs we'll get in the story, this is an analysis of what is in canon so far. 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, which discusses the serious topics (such as trauma, bullying, neglect, and abuse) that are explored in the show and should be respected.)

[shrinkthisviolet]

1 [that’s what i’m gonna do (make it work)], 3, 12 [silence that onlycomes (when two people understand each other), 14 [a study in michelle jones-watson (feat. the people who know her best] and 16 [my knucles were bruised (like violets)] for the fic ask game please!

1. What’s your favorite part of writing [that’s what i’m gonna do (make it work)]?

Absolutely the Sam & Johnny moments 💞 I wrote that fic really to focus on them (the Sam & Robby and Samguel reconciliation came after), and they’re still my favorite part. They’re so underrated, I love them (and I’ve loved them ever since before they shared scenes together in s4!)

3. What are you planning on working on next?

Ooh well after the Barry POV fic, I’ll try to finish up the 1x15/1x16 fic! And the Lucy ESB fic—that’s been in stasis so long, and I feel bad 😅

12. What was the first scene you planned for [silence that only comes (when two people understand each other)]?

The scene of Rey nearly drowning and Luke saving her! I first wrote the fic to put them in that situation, and I loved writing that…as well as the aftermath

14. If [a study in michelle jones-watson (feat. the people who know her best)] was a published book, who would you thank in the dedication?

@seek--rest and @abcd-em, who both give me a deeper appreciation of MJ every time they write about her 🥰

16. Talk about something you like in [my knucles were bruised (like violets)]

Having Tory be genuinely remorseful for what she did in s3 and SHOWING IT by going to the LaRusso house (with Robby) to WARN Sam rather than attack her. And the core four fighting on one side!! 🥰

fanfic ask game!

[proveagain]

Okay but can you please elaborate on Miguel as a teacher? Like what is his teaching style like? Did/does teaching others come naturally to him?

oh, you BET i can! this is definitely gonna be more of a ramble than i'd planned because i'm excited. <33

i think even before the events of the show, miguel seems like the kind of kid that would help his friends with schoolwork if he understood it. he's very good with a handful of subjects, but i don't think he would have opened it up to people he wasn't close with. he's been very vocal through the seasons about getting picked on and bullied at every school he'd been to pre-s1, and showing off his smarts to everyone was a one-way ticket to another target on his back.

but that mindset definitely changes once he gains more confidence in his abilities. one of my favorite things to note about miguel's growth through the seasons is how he turns from a student to practically an assistant sensei as cobra kai picks up off the ground and gains more traction. from the very beginning of the show, he's trying to recruit eli and demetri because he wants his friends to be able to feel the strength that he's found with johnny's help. on his "not-date" with sam, miguel offers to teach her a couple basic moves because he's proud of what he learned. he, eli, and aisha are seen leading warm ups multiple times.

i bring it up all the time, but my favorite clip when talking abt miguel as a teacher is in the sparring fight on tory's first day at ck. he starts giving her tips and pointers about her stance or the way she's telegraphing her next moves AS he's fighting her. he takes a step back and speaks without a second of hesitation, like he's focusing more on helping her out than trying to beat her. from that line delivery alone, you can tell this probably happens with almost every other ck student he spars with.

he's also the one seen talking to and welcoming the new students that show up after ck's win at the avt, as well as adult visitors that show up (kreese before he gets introduced). that same energy translates into eagle fang even while he's going through his recovery arc. even though he's still building up strength, johnny has him sit out from the physicality of training whilst still utilizing miguel's teaching skills to get the rest of the dojo up to speed for the second all-valley. there aren't a lot of scenes with him helping eagle fang students the way he did with cobra kai, but i like to think that a lot of that happens off screen!! (they can pry the devon's first mentor hc's out of my cold dead hands)

[purplerakath]

Cobra Kai S2 - The School Brawl

So this is a weird one to have critique for, because it is by far the best choreographed and otherwise structured fight in the show. It's got a dozen moving parts and it does a lot for every narrative in S3... but it also kind of fundamentally fails at something we need to talk about.

What the fight does?

So Season 1's finale was a tainted victory: Miguel won as the antagonist. Nobody liked it, everyone lost. Johnny got what he always wanted, but on a cursed monkey's paw. It's very good to push Johnny's new narrative of "Maybe Mercy" but isn't a downer ending exactly.

It's just an ending nobody can truly love (in series).

Season 2 is a proper Empire Strikes Back bad end. Evil Wins, Good Loses, everything is darkness ending. It establishes Kreese has Cobra Kai, and his No Mercy brand of Karate is victorious.

...so why does it lose every fight?

Mitch, Bird, Hawk, Tory, and Miguel all lose. It doesn't sell their devotion to 'No Mercy' because No Mercy didn't prevail.

How do we Fix it?

So this is easy: only Miguel loses. Sam does not kick Tory off at the last second before the spike punch to her face (we'll come back to this). Hawk is ready to put Demetri's face through that trophy case. Mitch hits Chris with the book (honestly nothing in that scene worked narratively, but the moves were cool), and the scrawny kids... are still pulled apart by a security guard.

Instead right as Demetri and Sam are about to eat it from their opponents their fights stop by Miguel going over that railing. And both Cobras abandon their fights. Tory abandons it to check on Miguel (showing she does care regardless of if she's mad about the kiss), and Hawk books it after Robby (to show Hawk is still ride or die for his friend). This has two major advantages to it.

The primary one is that it maintains Kreese was "right" in the eyes of the Cobras. Every one of them who showed no mercy won. The only one who lost was Miguel, who tried to be better. Kreese is right, Johnny is wrong (this is the bad end, after all).

And the other advantage?

Demetri and Sam going into S3 angry and scared works better with how close they got to being obliterated. So their early season antics make a lot more sense overall.

This isn't to say Sam's S3 arc is bad, it still works with Sam kicking out. It just works better that she was helpless. So replaying that punch she didn't block can be used as nightmares and PTSD flashbacks all plot.

[blues-valentine]

I'm just watching Cobra Kai and I'm going to say this unpopular opinion but they fumbled the bag on what Sam and Robby could’ve been (both romantic or platonic). Their story line was crafted better on season 2 than Sam and Miguel’s ever did and them being both the legacy kids with a sort of forbidden romance plus using them to parallel Johnny and Daniel would’ve hit. I see the way they constantly use Robby and Sam's fighting sequences intertwined (aka mall fight scene vs balance scene and arcade vs prison scene) but like so much in Cobra Kai is a wasted potential.

Not having Sam and Robby being the final pair up for the All Valley Tournament on season 4 was a wasted opportunity, one that they simply won’t have ever again. The significance of that moment would’ve had a bigger impact during season 4. I get that they wanted Sam to have her own rivalry with Tory, but them being the legacy kids was given not importance (aside from season 2) as a dynamic full of potential. Not wonder S2 is the actors favorite season.

I overall have issues with the way the show writers for Sam (and mostly anyone). It feels like they want the audience to dislike her on purpose when some of her thought process does makes sense but the narrative wants to make her the bad one so bad. Tory was only given depth since season 4, sometimes in a way that overly victimizes her rather than make her be retrospective over her wrongdoings and apologize for them and frankly, the way the show tackles social class is very strange.

Every canon pairing on the show feels like it’s just there to create romance drama and I get it but it lacks depth or conflict. It’s just there to exist for the teen democratic and it feels bland.