#i did Not expect to enjoy cobra kai as much as I have

[philcoulsonismyhero]

Getting into a new show when I’m trying to hold myself to specific Work Art(TM) deadlines is. Torturous. Why did I do this to myself

[iovesia]

HIGHWAY TO HELL.

❥⠀masterlist. ⠀:⠀ ( the karate kid masterlist. )

synopsis: headcanons of johnny dating a reader in miyagi-do.

warnings: johnny is jealous. lovers to rivals to lovers?. slight angst & fluff. one cobra kai reference. not proof read.

pairings: johnny lawrence   𝒙   fem!reader.

josie's note .⁺ ˖ ⌒ this was a request for anon, but i accidentally deleted the ask, i'm so sorry, but i hope you enjoy. — likes, & reblogs are highly appreciated ♡ !!

⠀

⠀

Johnny thinks you’re a total badass for doing karate. He loves having that as a way to bond with you, since karate is practically his whole life. 

You definitely kept that fact that you’re training with Mr. Miyagi and Daniel on the down low. Whenever he asks what or where your dojo is, you quickly distract him with a kiss on the lips.

You love Johnny, but it boils your blood whenever you watch as he and the Cobras relentlessly torment Daniel. You constantly have to reprimand him for it.. which leads to a lot of arguing.

The secret’s finally out after the Halloween dance, when you, Daniel and, Mr. Miyagi marched into the Cobra Kai dojo. As Mr. Miyagi and Kreese argue, you couldn’t help but feel Johnny’s stare piercing into you.

⠀

“Why did you lie to me?” Johnny snaps. You recoil as he slams your locker door closed.

“I didn’t lie…” a sigh escapes your lips. “I just didn’t tell you.”

“Yeah, you didn’t tell me that you're spending all your free-time with that punk!” He sneers, his lip curling into an ugly scowl.

"Yeah, well that punk is my friend! You promised me that you guys would leave Daniel alone. Next thing I see, you guys are kicking the shit out of him—" You retort angrily, your nails digging into your palm.

"Oh, friend, yeah? You're getting pretty close to your friend." Johnny scoffs, the venom dripping from his voice.

⠀

Yeah… Johnny’s jealousy spikes through the roof once he connects the dots. All those times you spent at your karate practices, or were busy over the weekend was to train with Daniel Larusso —his enemy— against Cobra Kai, no less.

You probably (temporarily) break up after that, both of you firmly dedicated to your side of the karate “war”. 

You try to avoid him as much as humanly possible. When you see him in the halls, you grab Daniel’s arm and turn yourselves around. You sit at the furthest table away from him and his group at lunch. 

Although he’s unreasonably angry with you, he misses you so much. He misses your jokes, sparring together, going on dates with you to Golf ‘n Stuff, riding with you on his motorbike. But unfortunately his loyalty to Kreese and Cobra Kai triumphs over your relationship. 

When the All-Valley finally rolls around, you wait on the sidelines, anxiously watching Daniel get through the first few rounds. You try to keep your gaze away from a certain blond cobra, but a few stolen glances let you know that Johnny is well on his way to the final round.

There’s a short intermission before the final match. Your heart is beating out of your chest, and you decide to get some water. Walking out into the hall, you find the last person you expected standing in front of the water fountain.

⠀

“Johnny?” 

“Ready to watch me kick your boyfriends’ ass?” Johnny smirks, taking a sip from his water bottle, his gaze firmly avoiding you.

“He’s not my boyfriend. You are.. or at least you were until you turned into this jealous prick,” you quipped, the words slipping out before you could stop yourself.

“You were supposed to be on my side!”

“I am on your side!”

“No, you’re not!” You failed to miss the way his eyes become glassy, and a pang of guilt bloomed in your chest. “You—”

The interrupting intercom blared throughout the gym, echoing into the hallway. Johnny takes a shallow breath, unfamiliar nerves wracking through his body. “Whatever… I guess I’ll see you out there rooting for me.” He finished in a sarcastic manner, his eyes finally meeting yours.

“I’m always rooting for you, Johnny.”

⠀

Much to your surprise, Daniel managed to beat Johnny, and was crowned as the new All-Valley champion. Although you were proud of your friend, part of you felt sorry for Johnny.

Even more so, once you went outside the gym and watched as he was berated and assaulted by his own Sensei. Mr. Miyagi thankfully came to his aid, successfully knocking down Kreese.

You slowly approached Johnny and the other Cobras, who were perched miserably on the sidewalk. You sat down next to the bloody-nosed blond, wrapping an arm around him and resting your head on his shoulder.

Miyagi-do or not, in the end, you’d still pick him— every time.

[ariesqueencobra]

what we used to be | XVl

Pairing: Eli Moskowitz x Fem!Reader

Summary: Moon is throwing a party and the last person you expect to see there is there...

Warnings: dojo rivalry, swearing, underage drinking, bullying, injury

Word Count: 3k

A/N: I've been waiting for this chapter! One of my favorite Hawk moments so it was fun writing! Also a longer chapter! Hope you enjoy!

Thank you to those who already reblog and comment, I see you and I love you all for it!

I don't consent to this work being copied, translated or reposted.

Moon was throwing a party before the school year started. 

You walked into the party alongside your friends, but everyone stopped when you realized Cobra Kai was there. Your gaze landed briefly on Eli’s before you forced yourself to look away. 

You hadn’t seen him since the day at the restaurant. 

It pissed you off that it hurt seeing him. You missed him. 

Moving your gaze didn’t make you feel better when they landed on Aisha. You didn’t think breaking up with Eli meant throwing away the rest of Cobra Kai, but then again, you did join Miyagi-Do.

After she abruptly ended the phone call a couple of weeks ago, the tension was there as you stared at your ex-friend.

Thankfully, Moon appeared, cutting it.

“Glad you guys made it,” she grinned. “Kegs are out back, drinks are in the kitchen, and the vegan pigs in a blanket just got out of the oven,” she said. 

“You never said anything about inviting Cobra Kai,” Sam said, saying what you were all thinking.

“I figured with summer ending and school starting up, we could all stop fighting and be friends again,” she said hopefully.

“That’s wishful thinking,” Sam brushed off.

“Let’s all clear our chakras and have some fun!” Moon encouraged before she walked off.

You gazed at Demitri, hiking your shoulders up before you walked further into the house, needing to escape Eli. 

That’s how you found yourself talking with Moon. You were sitting on the other side of the room and Eli was on the couch. Even though his presence was magnetizing, your conversation with her was distracting enough.

“I swear I was a dewdrop, I was literally sitting on a blade of grass, the sun hitting on me,” she emphasized, gripping your arm. 

You were doubled over laughing at her recounting the dream she had. “I’m sorry, I’m just picturing your face on a dew drop like the Sun baby from Teletubbies,” you giggled, causing her to laugh along.

“That’s exactly how it went,” she giggled. 

In the process of you laughing, you glanced up, finding Eli talking to a girl. 

There he was, oozing with the confidence you fell in love with as he spoke to her. The bubble in your stomach unnerved you and you despised it. You weren’t supposed to be jealous but then again, you weren’t together anymore. It didn’t matter.

“Oh, great! My girlfriend’s here!” Moon beamed. “You’re gonna love her!” She tapped you on the arm before she walked over to the girl Eli was talking to. 

A breath of relief escaped you.

For the next hour or so, you spent the entire time chatting it up with Moon and her girlfriend, Piper. The couple was so cute and you enjoyed getting to talk to people outside of karate. Something that had been a while since you last did.

Unbestowent to you, Eli was watching you have the time of your life without him. 

You weren’t supposed to have moved on so easily. 

He held on to that hope that you were heartbroken, unable to let go of what you had. That’s what his mom told him after she had talked to your mom. What happened since then?

Keeping his gaze on you, he tried distractions. Whether it was a dance circle or talking with Assface, nothing was working. His eyes kept training on you.

You kept laughing, so much. What could be so captivating that you were so invested in conversing with Moon?

Eli hated it. 

He watched as Piper showed her ear piercings to you, your eyes tracing over the jewels and you began gesturing to your ear, most likely asking what kind of piercings would look good on you. 

He knew that’s what you asked because he knows you.

Then Demitri sat beside him. 

“Did you watch the new Doctor Who trailer?” He asked.

“I don’t watch nerd shit,” Eli grumbled, sipping from his cup, brushing his gaze away from his ex-best friend.

“Y’know Moffat isn’t the showrunner anymore,” Demitri continued to talk.

Eli paused. “Wait, really, since when? Is there a new doctor, what’s he like?” He grew interested, not realizing it had been a while since he’d watched his favorite shows.

“She’s badass,” Demitri smirked.

“She?” Eli grinned.

Your giggling drew his attention away and suddenly he was back to being Hawk.

“She’s moved on,” Demitri said, sighing, feeling bad for him but at the same time he was proud of you for doing so. “She’s made it obvious she doesn’t want to be with you anymore.”

“Defeat does not exist,” Eli ignored him.

“There’s that winning attitude that pushed her away in the first place,” he sighed. “Look at her, she’s grown, she’s happy, she found peace, maybe it’s time you found some too,” he patted him on the shoulder. 

“Oh yeah?” Eli smirked before he stood up, pouring his drink over Demitri’s head.

The partygoers gasped and you turned just in time to see it happen. 

“That’s what I thought, still a pussy,” he threw his empty cup at Demitri before walking off.

You caught his eyes for a moment, sending him a disappointed look before rushing off to check on Demitri. 

“Do you want to head out of here?” You asked, helping him pat dry his shirt. 

“I’m gonna get cleaned up in the bathroom,” he grumbled before walking off.

You blew out a breath, dumping the towels in the trash. You shook your head, shocked at what Eli did but could you say you were surprised? 

“I knew I was right when I said you chose Demitri over me,” Eli appeared at your side. “Now you joined Miyagi-Do?” 

“What’s it to you? We’re broken up,” you spat, wiping your hands.

“It means everything, you weren’t supposed to choose that pussy over me,” he furrowed his brows. 

“And you weren’t supposed to hurt me,” you sneered. “Guess we did things we weren’t supposed to do,” you swallowed. 

“I still stand by what I say, I would never hurt you,” he blocked your path.

“You hurt me every time you hurt Demitri,” you gritted. “What do you want Eli?” 

“You,” he answered, point blankly. “Come back where you belong, with me.” 

“Stop it,” you shook your head. “I’m better now, okay?” You crossed your arms over your chest.

His jaw clenched. “Being a traitor made you better?” 

“I don’t have to explain anything to you,” you gritted, stalking close to him. “You were the one that decided being an asshole was better,” you jabbed a finger in his chest. “You put your ego over our relationship,” you spat. 

He was irritated. “And you chose that pussy over us, many times if you don’t recall,” he inhaled. 

“Seems like I made the right choice then,” you fumed, feeling proud in the way his eyes flashed with hurt. Serves him right. Keeping your gaze locked on his, you searched desperately for a sign of your Eli, but he was gone. “I don’t even recognize you anymore,” you shook your head, a sting forming in the back of your eyes.

You went upstairs, finding the bathroom but you were curious when you couldn’t find Demitri. Deciding it best to find him after you composed yourself, you found your way back downstairs just in time to see Demitri on stage, a mic in his hand.

“Excuse me,” he said, the mic sounding off some feedback. “I’d like to make a toast,” he sounded boisterous, a contrast from his state a few moments prior. “To Eli Moskowitz,” he raised his cup in the air.

You exhaled in worry as the room questioned who that was.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Demitri laughed. “Some of you know him as Hawk,” he said, gesturing to your ex. “But underneath that crazy clown cosplay and whatever type of Manic Panic he dumps his hair in, he’s still good old Eli. My Binary Brother,” he stated.

You gulped, glancing at Eli, finding him to be angry. 

“Well, he was my binary brother. Wanna know what he is now? A real zero,” he gestured. 

The room of people erupted in soft laughter.

“Alright that’s enough Demitri,” Eli gritted.

“Don’t let that angry red hairdo fool you. He’s a big softie,” Demitri mimicked. “We watched every Harry Potter movie together. And he cried like a big baby when Dobby died,” he elaborated, imitating sobbing.

You furrowed your brows, not recalling a memory of when that happened. 

“In the words of Eli’s hero, Steve Jobs, “I’ve got one more thing”,” Demitri continued. “Have any of you heard of sleep enuresis?” 

“Don’t,” Eli pleaded. 

Your heartbeat picked up, confusion filling you as you didn’t understand what your friend was talking about. 

“That’s the medical term of course. In the King’s English, it’s good old-fashioned bed-wetting,” Demitri said, the room erupting in laughter. “And Eli here is a pro,” he clicked his tongue, snapping at Eli. “My mom had a special air mattress for sleepovers, she called it “Eli’s waterbed”.”

Your heart dropped and you sent a worried glance at Eli, unaware of anything Demitri said. The room erupted in laughter and you wanted so much to stop it.

“Screw mercy. You’re a corpse!” Eli shoved his cup into Mitch, charging towards Demitri but Chris blocked him.

“You’re gonna have to go through me,” he said. 

“Stay out of it,” Mitch defended. 

“Hey, don’t touch him,” Robby entered.

“Or what?” Aisha taunted. 

“Guys, stop, we’re friends,” Moon stood between them.

The tension could be cut with a knife and you were about to go in and help but police sirens were heard, red and blue flashing through the windows. 

“Cops!” Someone shouted. 

Chaos ensued and you were quick to run towards Demitri but by the time you got to the stage, he was gone.

“Great,” you slapped your hands against your thighs before you booked it for an escape. You were running out of the house but through the mayhem, someone pushed you and you fell right on the lawn, pain spreading in your ankle. “Shit,” you hissed. 

“Y/N?” You heard Eli’s voice and before you could speak, he was already hoisting you up on your feet. 

You cried out in pain putting weight on your right foot, almost falling again if it wasn’t for him. 

“Woah, what the hell happened?” He asked before wrapping your arm around his neck, his arm wrapping around your waist as he helped you keep the weight off your ankle. 

“I was pushed,” you huffed, trying to book it out of there as fast as you could. 

“I parked a couple of blocks from here, I’ll drive you home,” he said now that you were a few houses down. 

“I can’t go home,” you sucked in a breath. “I left my keys in my jacket in Moon’s room and I can’t tell my dad I left them there because the cops showed up,” you hopped, keeping your bad foot in the air. 

“I’ll take the blame,” he said. 

“I wish, but my parents aren’t even there,” you stated. “They went on an anniversary getaway in Santa Barbra and won’t be home until the morning.” 

“I’ll take you to my place,” he said, making it to the car and opening the door for you, helping you inside. 

“Thanks, Eli,” you gulped, keeping your gaze ahead of you. 

The drive was silent but not awkward. 

“My dad’s working late and my mom is at her book club,” he said, unlocking the front door. 

You had your arm wrapped around his neck, limping into his house. You missed coming over, the smell of his home. That ache in your chest returned.

“Just one step at a time,” he encouraged as you hopped on each step, one hand on the railing and the other around him.

You relaxed when you made it to his bed. 

“I’ll be back,” he left you in his room, and you looked around, having not been here in a long time.

One thing you noticed was the posters of his favorite movies and video games were no longer up, replaced with different punk posters and bands. You didn’t care for the change, really, if he truly liked those things, it wasn’t a problem. 

When you noticed the photos of you and Demitri weren’t hung up anymore, your heart fell but you saw he still had your art hung up. 

The card you made for him after he got bit by the rabid dog, the hawk painting you gave him for your anniversary, and the other ones you’ve created over the years. 

“Here,” he came back into the room and sat on the bed, handing you a bag of ice. “You need to ice it before you compress it,” he explained.

“Thank you,” you took the bag from him, untying your shoe and carefully taking your sock off. “It’s swollen, right?”

He stared at the tender skin. “The ice should help, but I don’t see any bruising so I’m sure tomorrow you’ll feel better,” he reassured.

You nodded, silence consuming you again. 

He was sitting by your foot on the bed, his elbows resting on his knees as he stared forward. 

You studied him, outlining the curves of his profile. 

The arch of his nose, his long lashes, his lips, those blue eyes. 

Gulping, you turned away, your face becoming hot. “You still have my art on your wall,” you pointed out, wanting the silence to end.

He glanced at the wall, face softening. “I need to be reminded that we were good before,” he answered, slightly cold before glancing at you.

You sighed. “We were,” you chewed on your lip, shifting the ice pack on your ankle. 

“You still wear the bracelet I gave you,” he pointed, gaze on your wrist. 

You froze, glancing down at where he was looking, realizing for the first time that it was true. 

“I can’t come up with a good reason as to why,” you moved a piece of hair behind your ear. 

“Because your heart knows we belong together,” he said, staring at you.

“Eli,” you shook your head.

“No. We love each other, shouldn’t that be enough?” 

“No,” your voice cracked. “I wish it were but we’re so different now, I can’t date a bully after going through the hell that I watched you go through and what I did as well,” you glanced down.

“Kinda hypocritical to say that after what your friend did to me at the party,” his jaw ticked, turning away from you.

“That’s not fair. Should he have done it? No, but you attacked him, Eli,” you said. “Over a review,” you stated.

“Not this bullshit again,” he rolled his eyes, standing up.

“Okay, fine, I won’t talk about it,” you leaned back against his pillows, letting the ice pack rest on your ankle. “I didn’t know he’d do that,” you spoke up. “I didn’t know that happened,” your gaze softened at him.

“Yeah, now what? You think I’m a loser, don’t you?” He gulped.

“No,” you furrowed your brows. “The only thing that makes me think you’re a loser is being a bully,” you frowned, arms crossed over your chest. “And I know that’s not you.”

“This is me,” he defended. “And it sucks that the one person I care about the most can’t see that,” he spat before getting up and walking out of his room.

You called after him, feeling helpless as you were left on the bed, your ankle radiating with pain. You stayed there for what felt like forever but then Eli came back in, carrying a tray in his hands. 

“It’s been twenty minutes,” he said, setting the tray on the nightstand. 

Your gaze followed the tray and found two plates with a sandwich and some chips, two cups with some drink in it, a bottle of Ibuprofen, a wrap, and some type of topical gel. Your heart melted, from thinking he blew you off to knowing he got all this for you.

“You didn’t have to do this,” you gazed softly at him. 

“I care about you, Y/N. And I love you,” he glanced down at you, grabbing the wrap and topical gel. “I can do it if you can’t,” he handed you the gel. 

You smiled, thanking him as you took it. Taking the ice off, you wipe the water off before uncapping the gel and applying the anti-inflammatory gel on your skin. Instantly, you could feel the relief. When it came to the wrap, you were having trouble. 

“Here,” he took it from you, moving to sit at your feet.

“You don’t have to,” you declined but he placed your foot in his lap. 

“Let me help you,” he brushed you off.

You sighed as you watched him wrap your ankle. 

His touch was gentle and his movements soft. 

You couldn’t help the way your heart soared, seeing a side of Eli you missed so much. 

“Not too tight?” He asked and you shook your head. “You should eat before you take the pain medication,” he said, pulling you out of your thoughts.

You agreed, asking for help to the bathroom to wash your hands before you settled back on the bed. You watched a show while eating, something comforting in the domesticity before you grew tired.

“You don’t have to take the medication if you don’t want it,” he said, sitting next to you on the bed. 

You were resting against the headboard, your faces inches apart. “It hurts, so I do,” you passed him a grin. “Thank you, Eli,” you said, taking the medication.

“You’re welcome,” he took the bottle and glass from you. “I’m gonna sleep on the couch, but call if you need anything,” he looked at you.

You nodded, chewing on your lip.

“Eli?” You asked.

“Yeah?” He stopped from getting up, staring at you expectedly.

“I love you too,” you admitted. “Before, you said you love me and well, I wanted you-”

You couldn’t finish your sentence as his lips landed on yours. Your eyes flew closed and you sighed into the kiss, finding home again. 

His hand gently reached up to cup your face and for once, things felt like normal.

But the feeling was brief and you fell back to Earth.

“I can’t, Eli,” you licked your lips, pulling away.

He shook his head, hand still on you. “I never wanted to break up.”

“Neither did I,” you rested your forehead against him before you bid each other goodnight. 

[hearts4keene]

tell me we weren't just friends? || robby keene

masterlist!!

summary: getting with the one person robby didn't like would surely cause an argument, and it did, but the words he would say would never be one's you'd expect.

parings: semi you and hawk, semi you and robby (it's confusing)

warnings: angst, robby with such teenage girl feelings, takes place beginning of season 4 when hawk leaves cobra kai, fighting, very laurie and jo coded

wc: 941

a/n: i hate this and i wish i never finished this but wtv 😍😍

robby hardly ever used instagram. he never knew why he felt so drawn to use it that morning. he could never grasp how a stupid app could ruin your life. the only thing he could comprehend was the fact the girl he had been in love with since he was working for daniel larusso, was dating his enemy.

he had opened instagram that morning, something he never really did. he never used it partially because he found it a waste of time and partially because he spent all of his time at the dojo. he paused when he saw y/n had posted on her story. he always enjoyed seeing what she had to say. he admired how she could say whatever was on her mind and feel comfortable about it.

his face dropped when he saw her and a certain red haired guy. he wouldn't have minded it that much if her lips weren't pressed on his cheek. he felt upset, angry even. but worst of all, he couldn't help but still love her.

he made sure to get as much anger out as he could while at practice. "jeez, keene. what's got you so worked up?" tory watched as he aggressively punched and kicked the practice boards she was holding. robby stepped back, wiping the sweat off of his forehead. "it's stupid." tory set the boards down gently. "i'll listen, dude. i'm sure it's not stupid."

robby took a deep breath. "that fucking traitors dating y/n now." tory's face dropped. she knew robby had been in love with her for a while. "that explains a lot." tory scoffed. robby furrowed his eyebrows, obviously confused by what she meant. "first, y/n stops showing up to practice, then when we see her at the mall she completely avoids us." tory threw her hands down.

robby nodded his head, agreeing with her. "keene, nichols. get back to work." kreese yelled from the back office. tory picked the boards back up, letting robby continue to punch and kick at them. "you down to go to stingray's after?" tory asked him. robby shrugged his shoulders. "could be fun." he agreed to go, as long as y/n wasn't invited, not like she would show anyways.

"i just don't get what she sees in him." robby replayed y/n's story where her and hawk were kissing. "dude, you just gotta move on. y/n was a bitch anyways." kyler took a handful of popcorn, shoving it in his mouth. robby shook his head. "maybe you should just talk to her?" tory suggested, sitting on the edge of the couch. robby thought about it. that wasn't a bad idea. he opened his messages with y/n.

----------------------------

keene 🕺

y/n. i need to talk to u.

can u please meet me

at the dojo in 5?

n/n 🎀

ig. omw.

----------------------------

robby sighed. "i gotta go." he stood up quickly, searching the counter for tory's keys. "good luck, keene." tory took his spot on the couch. robby nodded, walking out the door and towards tory's car. he was practically speeding towards the dojo. he didn't have time to think about what he would say. he just needed to tell her.

y/n was already standing outside of the dojo. she looked impatient and unimpressed by his sudden need to see her. "y/n." robby's face lit up when he got out of his car. he closed the car door, walking towards her. "make it quick, keene." y/n crossed her arms over her chest.

robby took a deep breath. "why are you with him?" he looked down at his feet. y/n scoffed. "is this seriously what you wanted to talk about? me being with hawk?" robby's face hardened a little. "yeah. it is. i mean, you hated him not even a month ago?" robby used the same tone she had used with him.

y/n rolled her eyes at him. "he's changed." it was her turn to pause. "robby, tell me the truth. why are you so mad at me dating hawk?" robby swallowed hard, pushing the lump in his throat away. it was all about to come up, and he wouldn't stop it. "y/n, i've loved you for so long now. i thought you knew." robby raised his voice.

y/n blinked her eyes for a second. "how the fuck was i supposed to know, robby? you never told me." she yelled back at him. "be real for a second, y/n. how did you not fucking know? friends don't act like that." robby was yelling at this point. he felt like he was at an all time low. he saw his dad in him and that broke him. tears stung at his eyes.

y/n took a breath, trying to calm down. "robby, i had no idea you even liked me, let alone loved me." "love." robby muttered. y/n looked at him confused. "what did you say?" robby let a tear roll down his cheek. "love. you said loved. i still love you. i could never love anyone else." he wiped the one tear he let fall from his eye.

robby walked towards tory's car despite y/n's yells for him to wait. he couldn't stand to see her. he wanted anything but to be in love with her. she was too good for him and he knew it. he reversed tory's car, driving back to kyler's. y/n didn't know why she started crying, but she did. this entire time he loved her back?

----------------------------

n/n 🎀

i ended things with hawk.

i love you, i'm sorry.

delivered 9:17 pm

[izzythehutt]

Terry, Kreese, Johnny, what it means to be a Cobra Kai, 'villainous values' and the love of (evil) karate father for his karate son

I've been thinking about this moment:

First of all, ouch.

But it also got me thinking....why does Kreese feel so strongly about Johnny?

And as much as his contempt for Lawrence is motivated by jealousy, Terry's inability to see why Kreese believes Johnny is his best student (and why he loves him more than Terry) says so much about the divide in the two men's philosophy, approach and the fundamental values that drive their actions.

(TL;DR: it's his guts and heart, not what's in his head)

Terry and John could not come from more different backgrounds. Kreese was working class and completely self-made. His mentally ill mother's suicide made him a social pariah back home. His motivations for joining the army seem to have been twofold: a way of bettering himself and a genuine sense of patriotism/purpose. I think we can infer he never went to college and he was field promoted to captain. Kreese is naturally courageous, in his best iteration someone who has no fear of death or getting hurt. In his ideal form this courage is rooted in protecting someone (ie when he got his ass kicked helping Betsy.) In its worst form he becomes domineering and controlling of his loved ones, justifying any number of deranged actions as in their best interests.

Terry, meanwhile, came from money and probably was only fighting in Vietnam because his father wanted to "toughen him up" (if he's rich he could have gotten out of it so this is an extrapolation but I think it fits his character.) He even outright tells Tory that he is different from Kreese in this respect: he didn't have to scrape his way through life, but he did learn to use every advantage available to him. He is both intelligent/a survivor and values loyalty even more than Kreese does—you see this in KK3 and in the flashback of Kreese saving his life. He expects that loyalty to be reciprocated (John disappearing on him for thirty years is an obvious betrayal, John caring more about Lawrence is the nail in the coffin.) He admires the qualities Kreese has he doesn't, while secretly chafing against his friend's condescension even as he longs for his attention and approval.

Kreese is unpretentious, has never cared about Terry's money (and has been borderline too proud to take it since Terry was introduced as a character in KK3) while Silver is urbane, cosmopolitan in his outlook—comparatively "forward thinking," an ambitious, big picture guy. Kreese forms deep and personal connections with students that he has "gut" feelings about and sees himself in—as much as he sees Cobra Kai as his baby and legacy, he will only get emotional satisfaction from knowing that someone he personally loves is carrying it on (though he kicked Johnny out in S2, that was only for compromising what Kreese sees as the core 'principles' of CK, and he spent all of S3 trying to get Johnny to come back and S4 focused on grooming Johnny's son to do so in his stead.) For Terry what matters is the actual philosophy and its efficacy at helping weaklings channel their fear and turn it into power (though he's not beyond connecting with a student on a personal level, e.g. Kenny.) The "legacy" is the Cobra Kai "way", carried on by the ubiquitous nature of dominating a global tournament and making dojos, not any one surrogate son figure.

Kreese is a classic macho American archetype, unironically hanging American flags on the dojo walls and going off on political correctness/'snowflakism' while Silver is buying $500K samurai swords and enjoying stolen fine art before pimping merch on instagram. Silver has intellectual pretensions and business sense while Kreese's brain is rooted in animal cunning. These two are very different types of men and villains.

So...why is Johnny 'it' for Kreese but not Terry?

In S3 Kreese tells Robby the story of when he knew Johnny was "the real deal." What impressed him was not that Johnny won a fight, but rather was willing to go all-in against someone way beyond his skill level. Terry is not wrong that Johnny is not the most intelligent character on this show by any stretch of the imagination, which is something that is central to his idea of what a CK student should be, but I don't necessarily think it's central to Kreese's.

Kreese admires guts more than brains, something he does not think Terry has ever or will ever possess.

Kreese compared young Silver to Johnny in the prison scene, both scared and fearful—it's clear he views them both as "his", dependents that he "made", relationships his attitude towards has ranged from protective to condescending to controlling at various stages. But the difference is that Terry will always be a follower, a number two, whereas, at least in his own mind, Johnny is a true heir apparent, someone who he can project his own legacy onto.

He cares for Terry, in his own twisted way, but there's a fundamental lack of respect. Certainly he often treats Johnny like a child, but he's also his karate son that he believes sincerely is the best and who was "robbed" of his chance by Daniel in '84. Johnny is an extension of himself in his mind, someone who has the potential to carry on the legacy and philosophy he created, which is the thing he cares about most. He really, sincerely believes it helps children, that it helped Johnny.

By his own admission, he wanted Johnny to be better than him.

And he is—in spite of Kreese, not because of him.

Nothing exemplifies this more than the parallel of the S3 finale Vietnam and S5 finale fight. Contrast this:

With this:

The loss of Betsy (the metaphoric shedding of his humanity) gave Kreese the motivation to let go of all moral questions ("No mercy!") and the strength to kill Captain Turner, whereas the hope of his family, his children and need to live the rest of his life protecting and caring for them—the most primal human urge, embracing his humanity—is what gives Johnny the strength to keep fighting against all odds, people with greater strength and technical ability than him.

Sound familiar?

Johnny has become the man Kreese might've been, he has the same core values, heart and guts, as the man still buried deep within him.

At some primal, deep and subconscious level Kreese sees his own best self in Johnny, even if he doesn't understand that it was through rejecting the worst of what Kreese gave him—learning from his mentor's mistakes—that has made him a better man.

That's the tragic irony.

Well, that and the fact that Kreese can only get the emotional satisfaction of Johnny understanding what he tried to do in therapeutic hallucination form.

[remyytherat]

Idiot.

Johnny Lawrence X Gender Neutral Reader

( Platonic )

Summary: johnny lawrence comforts R after they get dumped.

Warnings: bold language.

You found yourself outside of the nearby connivence store next to Cobra Kai, You were drinking a cold bottle of Gatorade that you had just bought. Unbeknownst to anyone else, You had just been dumped by your significant other after joining Cobra Kai. It completely destroyed you. Though, It wasn’t your idea to break up in the first place.

Your eyes were swollen and puffy from crying, This was the worst pain that you had felt throughout your life in this very moment. Well, Of course, You had experienced other traumatic events.

After downing the bottle of Gatorade, you stood up, getting ready to dispose of it before a 2009 Dodge Challenger pulled up outside of Cobra Kai.

Laying your eyes on the car, you realized who’s it was. Johnny Lawrence’s. The former sensei. You were quick to discard of the bottle before making your way back home, But you were quickly halted by the man’s voice.

“Hey!”. Johnny called out, shutting the door behind him as he got out of the car. “Y/N”.

You turned around to face the man, John Kreese had told all his students to avoid any contact with Johnny and you didn’t want to be the one to bend the rules. But, You didn’t trust sensei Kreese, not as much as you trusted his former student.

“Johnny.” You said, Your voice was rather shaky from all the crying you had did earlier. You braced yourself, expecting Johnny to start ranting.

Though, Johnnys angry demeanor seemed to falter as he saw your swollen and puffy eyes, you even looked rather tired. Eyebags accompanying you. He wasn’t the type to console others, he had a hard time doing so. But, You were one of his favorite students.

“What’s going on with you? You look like shit.” Johnny commented, walking up to you now and standing in front of you. “Have you been crying?”.

You furrowed your brows, quickly trying to wipe away your tears that seemed to stain your skin. As if it would even help. “No, I haven’t.” You denied, Clearing your throat quickly as you avoided eye contact.

“Bullshit.” He countered, narrowing his eyes. “You get hit? Some pussy mess with you?”. He asked, Still prying in order to figure out what was wrong with you. In this moment, you found it rather annoying than comforting. “You get a text from some asshole?”.

You were starting to get irritated, You felt a lump grow in your throat as he continued. “It’s nothing, it’s not important!”. You snapped, and suddenly, you broke down. You were trying to hold back your emotions for as long as you could, and hadn’t told anyone for days about what happened.

Johnny stood there, shocked for a brief moment before he grabbed you by your arm and sat down on the curb of the sidewalk. You sat down beside him, tears rushing down your cheeks.

You hid your face in your hands, sniffling shakily as the cold wind blew against your arms. You couldn’t believe you were in a situation like this, having to tell your old sensei about a shitty breakup. You had a feeling he’d just belittle you and drive off.

“Come on, Tell me what happened.” Johnny spoke, nudging you lightly with his elbow. His arms rested on his knees, his attention shifting over to you instead of out in the distance of the street.

Trying to collect yourself, you swallowed harshly before slowly removing your hands from your face. You didn’t face the man, instead, you looked down at the ground. Your lips quivering. “I got dumped.” You stammered out, your hands gripping your own arms. “I-I wasn’t enough for them anymore, we were together for so long a-and it all ended in a second over a text message because I-I wanted to be involved in something I enjoyed.”

Johnny was quiet, the silence seemed to make you rather embarrassed. “What an idiot.” He mumbled, shaking his head in disappointment. At first, you thought he was talking about you. But, He was quick to get rid of that thought. “Back in my day, we would break up with someone fact to face. Not over text.” He stated, looking at you. “I mean, it’s not like we could do it over text but if we could, that wouldn’t even be an option.” He added, shifting his whole body to face you.

You couldn’t help but let out a slight chuckle, brushing a few tears away from your cheeks. “Yeah, I-it was pretty fucked up.” You agreed, looking towards the man and into his rather piercing blue eyes that used to scare you. “I mean, I-I’d never do it over text.” You muttered.

“And they’re also an idiot for dumping your ass for a bullshit excuse.” Johnny said, “People nowadays are a bunch of pussies, lying about what they like or how they feel about someone. You’re a badass, not some loser sitting at home crying because they got called a wimp, nerd, or a loser.” He explained, “If you enjoy something and you want to go for it, go for it, if you love someone, you’re there for them no matter what and you encourage them to go after what they want. Not break up with them like a pussy. It’s not that you weren’t enough for them, they weren’t enough for you. They weren’t enough to stay by your side and cheer you on.”

After Johnny finished speaking, you found yourself feeling a bit better. Of course, you didn’t truly think your significant other was a pussy but— Johnny was right about going after what you want. Someone who truly loves you and cares about you will stick by your side, even at the worst of times. “Thank you, Johnny.” You replied, offering a slight smile to the other.

Johnny smiled back, “You can thank me by joining Eagle Fang Karate.” He suggested, looking back into your eyes. He seemed serious. “I made a mistake giving Kreese another chance, I should’ve gotten rid of that douchebag as soon as he stepped foot in there.” He mumbled, “But, I know that the ones who truly want to be a badass without being a complete asshole will come by, I’m hoping, you’re one of those people.”

Briefly, You looked away from Johnny, Looking at your options. You didn’t trust Kreese at all. You never did, and when Johnny left. You stayed by hoping that he would return. But, Maybe it was your turn to make a move and choose your own destiny. After a few moments, A smirk spread across your face, you looked back at Johnny. “Let’s get started then, Sensei.” You replied.

[larabiatasstuff]

Hey! I was just wondering if you would maybe writing one about cobra kai terry? I can imagine him being so sweet to his beloved if she's really struggling with the last stages of pregnancy x

Hey anon 🖤 Thank you for your lovely request. Of course I write a CK Terry story for you. 🙏

Being eight months pregnant with our first daughter was everything Terry and I could ever wish for. Since the day we found out we were expecting Terry was completely excited, and so was I. Terry was so caring and loving but also very protective of his girls. I was now almost in the last stage of the pregnancy and needed much more help than before the cause my belly was huge. It was Sunday morning when I woke up to Terry placing soft kisses on my neck and his hands gently caressing my belly. "Mhh good morning honey." "Good morning my love how are my favorite girls feeling today?" I put my hands over, his smiling softly . "I feel gigantic Terry. I know it's not possible but I have the feeling my belly doubled over night.But I can't wait to meet our little princess though." "Me too sweetheart, I can't wait to be a dad. Hey, how about this you my lovely Y/N stay here comfy in bed and I go down and make breakfast for us." "That sounds amazing honey but unfortunately I have to get up, our daughter is pushing on my bladder again. Would you mind helping me get up?" Terry got out of bed walking over to my side. "Of course not sweetheart come here." he took my hands and pulled me up to my feet. "There you go. Are you okay, or do you need anything else?" I took his face in my hands and kissed him softly" I'm good honey thank you so much. " " I'm downstairs if you need me. I'll be back soon. " with that he left and I waddled in the direction of the bathroom. I finished my business, washed my hands and splashed some water in my face. Then I took a hair tie and tried to put my hair in a messy bun but I dropped it. I tried to reach it but I couldn't pick it up. I didn't want to bother Terry so I carefully got on my knees but as soon as I was in this position I couldn't get up on my own. So I sat on the floor and started crying. Not because I was sad I was the happiest woman in the world. I was expecting a baby with the man I loved so dearly but I absolutely couldn't stand being pampered. "Sweetheart? Is everything okay?" came Terrys voice from the other side of the door. "Can you... Can you come in please?" then the door opened. "Oh my god sweetheart are you hurt? Did you fall? Are you in pain, speak to me Y/N" he said kneeling beside me. "No I just... I wanted to pick my hair tie up. I'm so big Terry I can't even pick a hair tie up. I feel so useless." Terry sat down next to me and pulled me in his lap. "Listen to me my love it's totally okay to need help in your situation. And besides you are doing the most important job of both of us. You let our baby grow, you're carrying all her weight with you day by day taking every risk and every side effects to let our daughter grow, sweetheart you're working harder than anyone else. So making breakfast, helping you get dressed or get up all that is nothing compared to the work you do for almost nine month now. So forget about that hair tie okay? Come on let's get some breakfast okay? " he gave me a warm smile." Thank you honey, I love you so much. " he helped me get up and guided me to the bedroom again. He helped me getting comfortable and put another pillow behind my back. Then he put a tray with some tea, a few eggs and toast and orange juice on my lap. He joined me in bed and we had breakfast together. "Do you need something else my love? Can I do something to make you feel better?" "I would love to take a shower honey. Would that be okay?" "Of course my love." we both went into the bathroom Terry helped me getting undressed before we both stood under the warm water, him standing behind me holding the whole weight of my belly in his hands. It felt amazing and I really enjoyed it. After we were finished we both changed into pyjamas and spent the rest of the day in bed,watching movies and talking about the future of our little family.

[dream-beyond-the-fantasy]

Prompt-oween Day 3

@occreatorexchange

Prompt: “I’m not watching horror movies just so you can hold me under the pretense of protecting me from the movie. If you want to cuddle, all you have to do is ask.”

Fandom: The Karate Kid/Cobra Kai

Characters: Julie Lawrence (OC), Jimmy

Rating: T

Summary: Julie was expecting something more when Jimmy invited her over to watch some horror movies.

Notes: Takes place in between currently unpublished chapters of my fic, Is This Love?

Sorry that this fic is a day late. I didn't have much time to work on it last night, it kept getting longer and started to diverge from its original ending.

Julie runs over to pick up the phone.  “Hello?”

“Hey, Jules.”

The sound of his voice leaves her nearly breathless.  She wasn’t expecting Jimmy to call.  She hasn’t seen or spoken to him in days.  Their respective friends have kept them apart.  Not that their friends had found out about them yet, which Julie was thankful for.

“Hey, yourself,” Julie replies.  She twirls the phone cord around her finger, hoping she doesn’t sound like a total dork.  Flirting was not her forte.  “What’s up?”

“I’m free this weekend.  Do you want to come over?  Assuming that you’re free, too, of course.”

Her throat goes dry.  She bites her lip.  “What do you have in mind?”

Julie isn’t sure what she’d do or say if he says that it’s time for them to sleep together.  She still wants to, of course.  That was the deal.  But he’s been keeping them on the slow path.  Frankly, she’s been enjoying it.  But time is running out.  She’ll be heading to Berkeley soon.

“I was hoping you might like to join me for a movie marathon.”

Julie blinks.  That’s not exactly what she was expecting him to say.  But she’s not sure if she’s disappointed or not.  Julie has always loved movies, but Jimmy was kinda a geek about them.  And it was definitely a turn on.  That in itself has her leaning toward saying yes, but that hopefulness in his voice is sending her over the edge.  And maybe, just maybe, he was too polite to ask over the phone if she was ready and willing to have sex.

“Okay.  But you’re sure there is no chance of the guys springing something on you?”

“I’m sure.  Dutch wanted to go to some car show or race.  Tommy’s going with him.  Bobby is at some church retreat for the whole weekend.  And your brother will be working.”

“Good,” Julie sighs in relief.  “Do we want to do this on Friday or Saturday?”

“Well,” Jimmy begins.  “I was thinking we could start on Friday night and continue on Saturday.  And that you would spend the night.”

Hearing that has her heart beating so rapidly that she thought it would beat out of her chest.  She twists the cord anxiously.  “You want me to spend the night.”  She’s not sure if that was a statement or a question.

“If that’s okay.”  Julie can hear something in his voice.  Is it hope or fear?

“Yes.”  Did I say that?  Okay, yes, I’m going to commit to this, she thinks to herself.  “Would five o’clock be too early?”

“It’s a date,” Jimmy confirms.

Her heartbeat spikes again.

“Well, not a date, but…”

“Yeah.  I know what you mean.”

As she sets the phone back on the cradle, Julie bites her lip.  Is it too soon to start packing?  What does she need to bring?  What does she wear?

***

Julie knocks on Jimmy’s door fifteen minutes early.  He opens the door, grinning.

“You know, you could have let yourself in.  It was unlocked.  And I did give you a key, which you’ve used a few times before if I recall.”

She smiles back shyly.  “True.”

Jimmy slips an arm around her waist, ushering her inside.  “Come on in.  I hope that pizza is okay.  It should be here in about ten minutes.”

“No, it’s fine.  I can’t expect a gourmet meal every time I see you.”

Jimmy laughs.  “It’s been a long week and I’m treating myself.  And by that, I mean not having to worry about washing dishes.  Did you have any problems with Sid about staying out?”

She shakes her head, dropping her backpack by the couch.  “No.  He bought the cover story.  And he’s got some business dinner at the club.  Nicky’s got my back in case he does call.”

Julie spots a collection of movies sitting on the coffee table, some in the typical cardboard cases and others that came from Blockbuster.  A bowl of popcorn sits in the center of the table.  She looks up at Jimmy.  “So, you weren’t kidding about a movie marathon.”

He cocks his head, frowning slightly.  “No.  I know you like movies just as much as I do.  And I thought we could spend some time together.”

“Yeah, I get that,” she says quietly.  “But you also said you wanted me to spend the night.”

Then the realization hits him.  “Oh.  You thought we were going to…”

“Yeah,” Julie finishes the thought for him.  Realizing that she was wrong, it’s hard to look him in the eyes.  She wraps her arms around herself to keep still, and maybe as an act of comfort.  “I mean, the last time we were here together, things got a bit hot and heavy before we got rudely interrupted.  I just thought we were going to pick up where we left off.  And that the movie marathon was just a nice ploy to get me here.  Now, I feel like an idiot.”

Jimmy closes the distance between them, one hand at the small of her back and the other cupping her cheek.  He leans down to kiss her.  “Don’t,” he murmurs as his lips touch hers.  Julie uncrosses her arms, letting her hands roam up and grip Jimmy’s blue cotton shirt.  She is taken by surprise as he licks her lips, begging for entrance.  Julie has no problem complying.  She grows weak in the knees and the only thing holding her up is Jimmy’s strong arms.

There’s a knock at the door.  Reluctantly, Jimmy pulls away.  “That’ll be the pizza,” he says out of breath.

“Damn it,” Julie groans, sitting on the arm of the couch.  “Why are we constantly getting interrupted?”

Jimmy laughs, wiping his mouth, as he walks over to the door.  “Maybe our timing is off.”

***

While Jimmy deals with the delivery guy, Julie goes to the kitchen, to get paper plates, napkins, and two cans of soda.

Jimmy had moved the stacks of movies to one corner of the table to set the pizza boxes down.  The bowl of popcorn moves to the opposite side of the table.

“So, you never said what we’re watching,” Julie comments as she hands Jimmy a plate.

He looks up at her as he pulls apart two slices of pizza.  “What, you didn’t look over them?”

She stares him down as she accepts the slice he puts on her plate.  “I think we’ve established that my mind was on other things.”

Jimmy grins.  “I thought we could watch some horror movies.”  He wipes his hands on a napkin before putting one of the tapes into the VCR.  “I thought we might start with Dolls.”

They settle themselves on the couch as the opening credits play.  Julie turns to him with a raised eyebrow.  “I’m not watching horror movies just so you can hold me under the pretense of protecting me from the movie.  You know me.  Movies don’t scare me easily. If you want to cuddle, all you have to do is ask.”

Jimmy smiles big, his face all lit up.  “Consider this me asking,” he replies playfully.

Julie scoots closer to him, nearly sitting on his lap.

[demetriandelibinaryboyfriends]

@ckfemslashnetwork

COBRA KAI SAPPHIC SUMMER WEEK 1 GOLDEN

***

HEY YALL

So uh. Remember that 10-minute All Too Well YasMoon fic that I’ve been teasing for well over a year now ???

WELL

LO AND BEHOLD!!! A few months ago, I started writing more than just lil ficlets and started creating this bad boy in FULL!!! So for cksapphicsummer, I’m posting a proper preview because a) fall color is a big thing here and it kinda accidentally fits the “Golden” prompt perfectly and b) god. I’m so proud of this funky little snippet. I’ve had so much fun working on this angstfic and I HAD to share my progress with someone. Writing the out-of-order slow burn of Moon becoming a simp who’s in way over her head has been fantastic tbh.

Also she only gets a mention here, but I had WAY too much fun creating Rosalie, Yasmine’s older (and to most everyone’s mind much cooler) influencer sister. Actually might end up including her in unrelated YasMoon fics too, because god, am I a sucker for sibling character foils :O Also it’s not fair that only Sam gets to have a sibling!!! Like give the other kids siblings!!!

…ironically, despite how spoiled she seems to be, Yasmine is one of the few Cobra Kai kids who doesn’t give off huge Only Child vibes XD Like idk. Idk. So much of Her Whole Deal strikes me as Bratty Overcompensating Younger Sister behavior XD

@karatecaulfield BIG pspsps, here’s a preview from A Big Fic coming up!!!

Preview under the cut!!! Enjoy :3

CW for some pretty crude language, and a character shouting a slur basically for shock value. But it’s one that applies to said character, so…I guess it’s reclaiming?

***

“You can travel the world But nothing comes close to the golden coast”

They were belting the lyrics as Yasmine swerved down mountain roads, rounding bends at what couldn’t possibly be a safe speed. It was times like these she thought she was invincible—away from the suffocating smog, under an endless blue sky, surrounded by fresh mountain air, free from the rest of the world’s expectations. Moon couldn’t tame her if she tried.

“Once you party with us, you’ll be falling in love…”

Moon glanced at Yasmine, and the words melted in her mouth. She burst out laughing.

Yasmine was never that unperturbed. She was all confidence and composure and power, holding onto her throne with tooth and manicured nail. Now she was just a silly, dancing teenager, shimmying back and forth and rocking her head from side to side like some kind of puzzled bird. One arm flailing about like the tube men outside of car dealerships while the other drifted on and off the steering wheel to lazily make turns.

She was grinning like she left all her inhibitions in LA.

“California girls, we’re unforgettable Daisy dukes, bikinis on top Sunkist skin so hot we’ll melt your popsicle”

Yasmine affectionately jabbed Moon’s tanned arm. Moon took a moment to be grateful the very ever-present spray-tan responsible was probably also hiding her blush.

“California girls, we’re undeniable Fine, fresh, fierce, we’ve got it on lock West Coast represent, now put your hands up!”

Yasmine did exactly that, whooping for several seconds. Moon worried they were going to hit the guardrail.

West Valley High’s queen bee self-corrected at the last possible moment, just like always. She grabbed the wheel and they made the turn.

There was something so exhilarating about her when she was like this. When she wasn’t projecting an image that didn’t match what was inside. Her voice was off-key and her movements were the opposite of graceful and every bit of control she usually gripped onto with iron strength flew out the window and into the alpine air.

And somehow, it felt like it used to when Moon finally came home after a long, shitty day of middle school, surrounded by stuck-up classmates and scornful, apathetic teachers. It felt like relief.

The song ended, and an ad came on from that annoying kick-the-competition auto dealer guy. As Yasmine complained for the seventh time about her parents not getting Spotify Premium, Moon looked out the window.

The road to Big Bear had more fall color than she’d ever seen. Only 20 miles outside of LA, and it was a whole different world—cherry reds and fiery oranges and sunset golds mixed into the deep green of impossibly tall pine trees.

It was all so foreign to her, always immersed in year-round flowers and greenery and subtropics. It seemed like something out of a Sunday morning dream, or a good shrooms trip. Strange—unnatural, perhaps—but tranquil all the same.

The aspen trees quaked in a sudden breeze. Several golden leaves peeled off their branches, glinting blindingly in the sunlight as they drifted to the ground.

Moon couldn’t quite explain it, but something felt just right. The energy…it was somehow perfectly aligned, all the stars and moons and planets in position for her to be driving off on a wilderness adventure with Yasmine Pyne.

The universe itself was humming in concord, like everything else that came before and after revolved around that moment.

Like it was the beginning of something too immense to see.

“What’re you gawking at?” Yasmine’s voice had a teasing snicker in it. “Have you never been to the mountains before?”

Moon shrugged. “Not since I was little. We only ever drove up here in the summer, though.”

“God, you should see your face.” There was a note of derision in Yasmine’s voice, but Moon barely noticed. “You look like you popped an E tablet or something.”

“Sorry, it’s just…” Moon smiled, shaking her head. “The trees are so beautiful. They’re reminding me of the healing crystals I still need to buy.”

“Um, what? Where is the connection there?”

Moon turned. The bridge of Yasmine’s nose was scrunched against her eyebrows, the way it always did when she was completely perplexed.

 “The colors, Yas.” Moon couldn’t help but laugh. “The leaves look like citrine. Or…” Her gaze strayed back out the window. “Empowering jasper. Or harmonizing tiger’s eye. Or vitality ruby. There’s so many hues!”

“You are so weird, girl.”

Yasmine laughed, but there was no disdain in it this time. It was an affectionate kind of amused—amusement at Moon’s expense, perhaps, but with an underlying fondness that caught her off-guard.

Moon looked at the autumn trees zipping by, fiery shades gleaming almost as brightly as gemstones in the alpine sun. She started to shift them in her mind, imagining clusters of leaves as giant, glimmering jewels instead. A whole forest of ruby and citrine and jasper and tiger’s eye and topaz and carnelian, polished stones budding from the ends of delicate white branches. A beautiful, serene place, quiet and peaceful. A place of healing. No sound save birdsong and babbling creeks.

She wondered how much more vivid the image would be with caps.

“I’d actually love to trip out here,” she admitted. “It’d be like…the most spiritual thing ever. I feel like there’s a certain kind of ‘oneness with the universe’ around these trees, you know?”

“What, and then wander off the side of a cliff because you’ve convinced yourself you can fly? No thanks.”

Moon sniggered. Yasmine couldn’t sugarcoat something if she tried.

She didn’t pull punches when it came to teasing out the worst-case scenario and she never hesitated when deciding that’s what would inevitably happen.

A wooden sign post flitted past. Moon pressed her palm into the window glass, eyes widening.

A trailhead.

“Let’s go for a hike!”

The words spouted from Moon before she could stop them. She blinked, wholly unsure where the sudden determination came from.

Yasmine spluttered, uncharacteristically lost for words.

“Please,” Moon added plaintively. “Just a short one?”

“Why?” Yasmine demanded, finally finding her voice.

Moon bit her lip, staring at the dashboard.

“I’ve never been.”

“You’ve never been hiking in Big Bear.”

Yasmine scoffed, punctuating the statement with a smack to the steering wheel.

“Nope.” Moon chuckled nervously, hoping this wasn’t something Yasmine decided was worthy of giving her shit about.

Her friend only snorted in disbelief. “You haven’t been hiking up here,” she said again. “Aren’t your parents like…tree-hugging mega-hippies or something? Seems like they’d be all about that meditative outdoorsy shit.”

Moon laughed, shaking her head. “Well, they’re more like…smoke-a-bunch-of-stuff-in-a-sweat-lodge-and-see-the-entire-pagan-pantheon kind of hippies. Not really the one-with-nature kind of hippies.”

“But you are, huh?”

Yasmine raised her eyebrows, and Moon’s cheeks grew hot.

“I don’t know. I guess so. Nature calms me down when I’m stressed. Helps unblock my root chakra when it gets a little clogged.”

They passed a particularly beautiful grove of red maple trees, and Moon sucked in her breath.

“If we could just…stop and take a little walk somewhere…”

“Mooooon.” Yasmine dragged her name into a whine. “I’m wearing designer boots. If I get too much dirt on them, my mom will skin me alive and use my eviscerated corpse to make another pair.”

“Oh my god.” Moon snickered. “Don’t be so dramatic. Your mom is nice! She’s not going to flip out over a little dust.”

“You don’t know her,” Yasmine grumbled.

“I’ll take the blame if she gets mad. Promise.” Moon gave her friend her most pleading look. “I’ll say…I don’t know. I got you really high and we ran around in the dirt or something. But mountain trails aren’t usually that dirty! At least I don’t think.”

Yasmine whimpered, glancing from the car clock out the window and back again.

At the next trailhead, Yasmine slammed the brakes. Moon yelped, lurching forward as the range rover screeched to a stop in a pullover surrounded by soaring pines and gold-tinged scrub bushes.

“Oh, fuck it. Rosalie’s not expecting us until 4 anyways.”

Moon smiled at her lap. She got the feeling Yasmine could have fought her harder.

***

“Tell me a secret.”

“What?” Moon’s sandals dug into the trail, grinding her to a halt.

“Tell me a secret.” Yasmine turned, hair backlit by mountain sunshine. “Come on. If you’re going to insist we trek out into the middle of buttfuck nowhere, you’d better have some juicy gossip for where absolutely no one can hear us.”

She leaped onto a nearby boulder with surprising grace, boots deftly clinging to the gaps in a way that suggested she hadn’t always been as averse to physical exertion as she was now.

“DICK AND BALLS!” Moon was completely unprepared for her friend to cup her mouth and shout at the top of her lungs. “MOTHERFUCKING COCKSUCKING SHITHEADS! GODDAMN PUSSY-EATING DYKES! I’LL PISS IN YOUR MOUTH!”

The forest only answered Yasmine’s abundance of profanity with wind, songbird calls, and one or two annoyed crows. Not another human soul to be heard.

“See?” Yasmine turned, her grin conniving. “No one’s going to hear any of this shit besides us. You can literally say anything you want out here. It’d be a waste not to spill some tea.”

She spread her arms, and for a moment, she looked like a bird. An elegant, dainty little yellow warbler, about to take flight or break into song.

“No one can fuck with us out here!” she crowed. For a moment, Moon felt almost as free as her.

Moon laughed, shaking her head. She hadn’t known what to expect from the blonde girl in the yellow designer sundress, making snide comments in her math class, but these unrestrained dramatics were definitely not it.

“So come on, then.” Yasmine scaled down the rock as easily as she’d climbed it. “Tell me something scandalous, Moon.”

Moon frowned, quickening her pace to catch up. “Why?”

“Because. Maybe I want to get to know the girl I’m hauling up into the mountains to see my sister, huh?”

“We don’t need deep, dark secrets for that, do we?”

“Not technically, but I’m bored of all the other shit.” Yasmine groaned. “‘Where’d you go to middle school, did you grow up here, do you have any brothers or sisters,’ blah blah blah. We covered all the small talk crap when we ditched for brunch. I want something more interesting.”

Moon’s cheeks grow hot. “I don’t know if I’m hiding anything that interesting.”

“Oh, bullshit.” Yasmine turned, gray-green eyes boring into Moon. The blonde started walking backwards just in front of her friend, maintaining very intense and very judgmental eye contact the entire time. “Everyone’s got a little dirt on them, Moon. You just have to scrape it up.”

Feeling a sudden rush of bravery (perhaps the empowering jasper-colored leaves were to blame), Moon crossed her arms and returned Yasmine’s smirk. “And why should I give you my dirt?”

“Because.” Those stormy irises had a cunning gleam in them. “What’s a few secrets between best friends?”

“Best friends!” Moon laughed in surprise. “We barely know each other. And I’m your—well, I mean.” She found herself stumbling over her words. “What about everyone else at the table? Your middle school crew?”

“Oh, well.” Yasmine rolled her eyes dismissively. “Jenna, Harper, Aubrey—they’re all fake as fuck. Dumb sluts are using me to get a taste of what it’s like at the top. I know the knives come out whenever my back’s turned.” Her lips curled into a sneer. “It’s whatever, honestly. I’d just as soon get rid of them as soon as they stop making us look good. But you…”

For the first time in a while, the scornful look dropped completely.

“You’re different, Moon. You’re…real. Not basic and boring like every other bitch that follows me around.”

If Moon’s cheeks weren’t on fire before, they certainly were now.

“You really mean that?”

“Yeah, duh. I wouldn’t take you out here if you weren’t worlds better than all the other losers at our trash-ass school. Now…”

The genuine look that briefly shone through morphed into a smirk. Mood wondered if she’d imagined it.

Yasmine leaned forward, smirk widening. Without warning she grabbed both of Moon’s hands, tangling their fingers together as she continued to effortlessly saunter backwards. “Tell me a secret, Moon.”

“I…”

Moon could feel what was hovering just behind her lips. The words threatening to tangle with the mountain air and wash over Yasmine like a cold breeze, causing her hands to jerk away and her face to twist in that oh-so-familiar disgust.

I’m not normal.

It was something in the way that all through elementary school—and all through the turbulent tides of middle school, too—her eyes weren’t only drawn by soccer players showing off at recess, or the track stars who could run more gym class laps than anyone. Boys who dripped confidence like sweat and gleamed like fresh-minted coins, the names inside the hearts every girl doodled.

Just as often she found herself drawn to the ballet dancers and the child beauty pageant winners and the sirenlike voices of the girls in choir. Often as not, her mind was on billowing hair and purple nails and the scent of fruit shampoo as much as the testosterone and cologne of the ever-boisterous boys.

And it was a fascination that went beyond friendship. Moon knew that much.

She was able to join in with the other girls, gushing about the guys they liked and making bets on who would ask who to the next dance. But there was always half of it left unsaid.

She’d never told a soul. Not her easygoing parents. Not her middle school gang. No one. It was an anomaly that belonged to her and her alone.

And Moon wasn’t about to drive away her newest friend, in all her power and mystique and sheer magnetic energy.

Yasmine must’ve seen the gears turning behind her eyes. She groaned, yanking especially hard on Moon’s hands with an exaggerated eyeroll.

“Oh, fine. I’ll go first if you’re not gonna spill.”

Moon raised her eyebrows. “That was an option?”

Yasmine scoffed. “I mean, if you’re just going to stand there looking constipated…”

Moon couldn’t find a response.

Which probably made her look even more constipated.

“I don’t actually wake up like this.” Yasmine grinned mischievously, giving those flawless yellow locks of hers a graceful flip. “And it’s not Maybelline, either. I have to wake up at 5 fucking o’clock every morning to straighten this bitch. But better that than go to school looking like a fucking hobo.”

Moon laughed.

“So you don’t wake up with perfect hair? That’s not very scandalous.” Yasmine gasped, sounding half offended. “It is if you’re someone with my rep!”

“Well, if it’s that important to you…” Moon sniggered. “I won’t tell anyone. But for what it’s worth, I think the other kids would be impressed you put so much time into looking perfect.”

“Oh, no way. They need to think it’s like…an inherent part of my personality that I’m flawless and untouchable. Otherwise they might start getting ideas about replacing me if they style their hair for long enough.”

She had to laugh again.

“I don’t think you need to worry. The entire school knows they could never hold a torch to you.”

For a moment, uncertainty flickered through those stormcloud eyes.

Like the fear of being dethroned was greater than Yasmine let on.

“Damn right,” she said, smug expression returning. She tugged Moon’s hands again, bringing the girls close enough that Moon could smell traces of the strawberry-and-nutella crepes she had for breakfast.

“Your turn,” she purred.

“Um…”

Moon paused, pushing thoughts of her unspoken strangeness away. Yasmine didn’t need to know that.

“I’m worried that people think I’m kind of stupid,” she said instead.

Yasmine looked genuinely thrown off for a moment.

“What do you mean?”

Her expression turned…not serious exactly, but more thoughtful and curious than Moon was used to. None of its usual smugness.

“My friends from middle school, they—they all went to these private Ivy League prep schools. I, uh…I think some of their parents bribed their way in, but some of them were genuinely just that smart. Either way, my parents weren’t willing to pull strings to get me in. They’re really, um…‘go with the flow’ in a way that they, like, don’t like to exert a lot of effort on anything they don’t need to. Which includes keeping me with my friends, I guess.”

Moon took a breath, almost hoping Yasmine would interrupt.

Yasmine didn’t. Only waited with uncharacteristic patience for her to finish.

“I told them at 8th grade continuation I didn’t make it into Harvard-Westlake. They, um…they looked at me like I was some kind of reject. And they started talking about all the things they were gonna do in high school.” Moon winced at the memory. “Kelsey was gonna learn Latin. Rachel was gonna get into Hollywood. Tess was gonna figure out how to become like…some political diplomat or something. And I guess it was just like…we’d been together through the thick and thin of everything, and suddenly I was some dumb bimbo who wasn’t even worthy of licking the dirt they stepped on. And after that night, I never heard from any of them again.”

Yasmine’s only response was a curled lip. “Ew.”

Moon’s stomach sank. “You think I’m also…?”

Yasmine’s scowl deepened. “No, your stupid friends. They sound like a load of self-righteous bitches.” She scoffed. “Girl, you’re well-rid of them. You stuck around and they’d try to make you into a fucking lame loser nerd just like them. Who the fuck uses Latin in their day-to-day existence, anyways?!”

Moon found herself laughing.

“Yeah, I guess Kelsey was always kind of prissy that way.”

“Half the shit they teach in high school doesn’t matter in the real world, anyways.” Yasmine rolled her eyes. “And yeah, even at prep schools, too. Take all the acting classes and political science you want, but if you don’t know someone important in the industry, you’re not getting shit. The world runs on nepotism, so…your old bitches are going to get fucked over so bad.”

Something about Yasmine’s overconfident scorn soothed her. No one who spoke that surely could be wrong…right?

Moon chuckled. “Is it bad that I kind of hope they do?”

“Nah. Would serve the dumb fucks right.” Yasmine’s smirk returned—bigger than any she’d worn all afternoon. “I should be thanking them, really. They ditched by far the coolest person in their group, and now I get you all to myself.”

Moon only hoped Yasmine didn’t see how red her own cheeks were turning.

“For the record, though…”

Yasmine seemed to search her face, expression suddenly unreadable.

“I don’t think you’re stupid. I mean…not that it matters anyways, because pretty people get jobs more than smart people do, but being good at the crap they teach in school doesn’t mean anything. Being able to read people, knowing who you can open up to and who’s a damn snake, figuring out how to talk people into giving you what you want…that’s what matters. And you’ve got more intuition than anyone I’ve met in a long time.”

Well, if having intuition was what mattered…

Moon only hoped she was reading Yasmine right.

***

Some random author’s notes, in no particular order:

Love that Yasmine is canonically a terrible driver. Like she accidentally kick-started the entire plot because her dumb ass was texting and driving and rammed right tf into Johnny Lawrence’s car. I have every reason to believe she’s this bad of a driver in every situation 💛 Absolute trash queen 👑

Writing S1 Yasmine is so much fun because she’s SO unapologetically shitty, like. You can have her say the most deranged shit and it’s completely in character??? Delightfully challenging to figure out how fucking anyone could fall inconsolably head-over-heels for her, especially someone as naturally good-natured as Moon!!! Like she was simping—I know it in my soul—but how the FUCK did that happen???

Also no I absolutely do not count Demetri’s “feelings” as falling inconsolably head-over-heels for her—mans was faking being straight to get Miguel not to abandon him and then felt he had to Commit To The Bit. I WILL die on this hill btw.

On a related note, though!!! I’ve probably watched the S1 Yasmine scenes DOZENS of times for this fic (not a single fucking one without her girlfriend btw), and after a while you start to pick up on some like…unexpected softness you didn’t notice before? Like she seems genuinely pleased Sam is enjoying throwing her party! She plays wingwoman and sets Sam up with Kyler! (Granted, there could have been ulterior motives here—namely distracting Sam so she doesn’t notice That Gay Shit going on between her two new best friends—but the act in of itself didn’t seem malicious.) She’s a tad overprotective of Moon when she believes Sam has been talking crap, and tells Sam to get the hell out of Moon’s car!!! She genuinely looks hurt when Moon chooses Hawk and Co. over her!!! Like it’s few and far between, but she definitely seems to care about her friends on some level, even at her worst. With that in mind, it’s a lot easier to write Moon getting smitten with her!

Adding onto this—rewatching the S1 Yasmine clips, it’s kind of striking how often she refers to herself and Moon as a unit, especially during the 1x05 car scene with Sam. “Kyler told us what you said.” “You think you’re better than us.” “We know what went down.” She says “Moon, let’s go” when about to ditch the beach party instead of just storming off because of course she’s not leaving without Moon (who she chose to stay with over going with Kyler btw!). She doesn’t even consider it a possibility until Moon outright says it. Not only is this a cool parallel to a thing S1 Demetri also does (I.e. frequently uses “we” to speak for both him and Eli from a place of misguided-ish overprotectiveness and the confidence that “I know what’s best for both of us as a unit”), but this is something a lot of long-term couples I know irl tend to do!!! When I talk about movies with my roommate, he tends to say “we (I.e. him and his fiancé) did/didn’t like it.” When my married friend thanked me for catsitting, he said “we really appreciate it.” Point being that even at her absolute worst, Yasmine is never actually just thinking about herself—she’s thinking about herself and Moon, right up until Moon chooses to ditch her! Anyways yeah these girls were a Thing sorry. If they have a tendency that immediately calls to mind my married and engaged friends, that’s. A little gay???

Also worth noting that Yasmine only really breaks from Moon in 1x09, and then as SOON as she appears again in S3, she’s once again glued to Moon’s hip. Girl literally cannot stay away from Moon akfssrfuhbi

But all that aside!!! S1 Yasmine genuinely sucks so bad. Like GIRL. You fat-shamed a girl for no fucking reason. You verbally eviscerated an ugly sweater kid just minding his business and probably jump-started his Evil Journey tbh. You slut-shamed your ex-friend all over the internet after she almost got sexually assaulted. You cut off your closest friend and fuck buddy because she dared to ask you to stop being horrid. What in the actual hell is wrong with you. I am horrified and fascinated. I want to study Yasmine like a bug.

And I am, via this fic!!! God, am I having a blast with it. Fully intend to continue delving into why she’s the actual fucking worst and giving her the nuance the showrunners never bothered with 💛

I spent like 3 hours researching “prep schools” in the San Fernando Valley, and watched a whole-ass tour video for Harvard-Westlake to determine what Moon’s shitty (or shittier) ex-friends went off to study that made her feel inadequate. Please be proud of me for doing a deep dive into this weird niche topic to make my weird niche pairing fic feel authentic XD

Deadass role-playing as an Uber-wealthy Encino parent looking for a good, respectable high school for their spoiled 8th grader was. An incredibly bizarre experience. I do not want kids, I could not afford them even if I did, and I do not have anything anywhere close to a rich suburban husband to discuss a kid’s school options with. I guess this is the essence of trying to explore lived experiences that will never belong to you???

I legitimately do think Moon is smarter than she comes off as (Demetri wouldn’t fuck with her otherwise!) and is somewhat insecure about being seen as “dumb” because she’s bubbly, hyperfemme, conflict-averse, and in touch with her spirituality. I don’t think she likes admitting this, though—she doesn’t like “burdening” others with her own demons!

Considering Yasmine’s “natural” hairstyle in S3 appears to be more wavy, girl probably spent an ungodly amount of time and effort straightening her hair in season 1. Like yeah, she was mean at, but can you blame her??? Bitch was probably running on like 4 hours of sleep a night!

Jenna, Harper, and Aubrey are some of the extras at the Rich Girls Table! I’ve mentioned in other posts, but I’ve always kind of wondered about them, and What Their Deal Was that they’re only sometimes worthy of hanging out with Yasmine XD Git hyped to see more of them in this and other planned YasMoon fics!!!

Continuing to love looking into crystals/spirituality/incense/other kinds of Wiccan-adjacent things I think Moon would be into! As a woman of science, I’m not sure if I buy into that, but I do think it’s genuinely fascinating and fun to explore and research! There’s a lot of pretty cool and interesting belief systems out there to explore when you go in without obsessing over whether something’s 100% true or false and whatnot.

Yes, Californians really do get that hyped about seasons. I would know—I moved there after growing up in the Midwest, and seeing Californians get hyped about seeing snow or massive amounts of fall foliage for the first time is just about the most pure thing ever ;_____; But it’s definitely not out of the question for Moon to get that pumped about fall color aksssdtchh

I kind of love the idea of Moon always knowing she was bisexual, but not building the confidence to proudly tell it to the world until Piper helped her to 💗💜💙

Bitches be holding other bitches’ hands on an isolated hiking trail and think that’s a Straight and Normal thing to do. Like come on. We all know what you are, Yasmine.

Can’t give y’all an exact posting estimate for the whole fic, but I’m not giving up on it anytime soon (having WAY too much fun with this angst to do that!!!) and will try to get the rest of it done as soon as I can!!! Hoping ideally by sometime this coming winter :3

[merv606]

The Mr. Miyagi’s room scene.

We know Daniel doesn’t deal with anything - doesn’t process it, but this really hammers that fact home.

“Amanda I don’t go in there”

Not - you know I don’t go in there or Amanda I don’t go in there, you know that.

A blunt statement / absolute almost.

He doesn’t go in there and that’s a given - everyone probably knows that - she does.

It’s like a time capsule in here / yeah because I’m willing to bet time stopped for you when Mr. Miyagi died and didn’t ever flow properly after.

Grief distorts everything it touches and nothing ever works quite the same after, does it.

No matter how much we learn to go through the motions.

Meanwhile he hasn’t dealt with anything really - not his issues from his past or Miyagi’s death. He pushed it down and away from him / the safest thing to do because he needs to be strong for his mother and miyagi and then his family.

But the worst part is he thinks he has dealt with it / and made peace with it - probably convinced himself he was fine, but he wasn’t and hasn’t been.

Probably why cobra Kai returning was so jarring and caused him to do some things he did.

What was it he said to Kumiko?! Felt like I he had no tether and is just spinning with no answers while everyone looks to him to know what to do?

Heavy is the head that wears the crown. There is something very draining about being the one to always bear responsibility and take on that which no one else wants to do. To always be expected to do the right thing while being mocked for it.

The sad thing about Daniel is his suffering is that it isn’t obvious - oh he has the perfect life / loving family (gorgeous wife the two kids) and is successful and as such any problems he has have always been pushed aside.

But the man is hanging by a Thread - literally held together with bits of outdated glue.

And Terry silver comes along and grabs that sting / a string that I swear is connected to his own.

Becasue make no mistake Terry and Daniel are similar in some regards.

Both capable of such violence and anger …… lying restrained under their surface, both just needing the right circumstances (or excuse in Terry’s case) to bust free.

Difference is one uses that violence to do what is right - to right a wrong or vanquish evil - one uses it for fun and to ensure he gets what he wants - a means to his own end.

Their anger is also different - Daniel’s is more quick to burn and fizzles out almost as quickly as it started, and causes him instant regret after. This I believe ties into why he’s so willing to forgive when apologies are given.

Terry’s is like a slow burn - he enjoys it, until he’s tipped too far and then it’s a blazing fire that can’t be put out, consuming himself and anyone in it’s path.

The thing is also, Daniel knows when to stop - when to pull back - when to not let it get to far / Terry not so much.

So two men (similar in some regards but still different in those similarities nonetheless) held together by bits and pieces but to the outside world completely whole and normal; they have it all.

Does Daniel see parts of himself reflected back and doesn’t like it and same for Terry, but in his case does he see what could have been.

Neither would probably like the implications.

Cobra Kai - what it represents, what is did to him, what it is capable of doing - gets under Daniel’s skin but Terry the individual gets under his skin in another totally different way.

Terry comes back and Daniel spirals the worst we’ve seen and it briefly causes him the loss of his family.

Like Amanda said he got in his head in a way she didn’t think was possible.

What he learned under Terry allowed his defeat (finishing off with the first move Miyagi taught him / the roots Miyagi helped him plant are still there and stronger than ever) and we know that although Terry tried to break him / and he brought him to the brink - he never gave in. Didn’t then and didn’t now.

Daniel benefitted from his time under Terry - what it cost him though, was almost everything.

[purpleheartskies]

If Johnny does make an effort with Robby, how would you like to see it happen? I quite like the idea of a family dinner or something between Johnny, Robby and Shannon where Robby can vent to both of them and Johnny and Shannon can sort their own issues out. Or Johnny having an honest conversation with Robby about his step-dad and how that messed him up and telling him about the he was born and how guilty he feels. Of course, I think both scenarios should include him actually telling Robby he loves him

(This is messymindofmine btw)

I'd love some family moments between Johnny, Shannon, and Robby, like maybe a family dinner or something. But I don't know, I feel like the first one or two of those should be light-hearted so that Robby enjoys them. Or maybe he won't. There is probably so much Robby has to say to them.

I wonder if they'd actually hear him out though.

Shannon has atleast taken responsibility for her neglect and gotten herself help and cleaned up. But in s4 I got the feeling that she didn't really care much about what was going on in his life, "Cobra Kai or whatever". She did raise a red flag about Silver, so there's that. But she wasn't at the avt. Even before the school fight, she referred to Robby as "that kid" because he was rebellious. After the school fight, she used rehab as an excuse not to help look for him and then just handed handling Robby and his situation over to Daniel. I think Shannon has kinda given up on him. She didn't fight for him like a genuinely loving and caring mother would have after the school fight, nor does it seem she made an effort to visit him in juvie. I wouldn't be surprised if, like Johnny, she doesn't even know or care to know the details of what happened.

Johnny has no patience when it comes to Robby pointing out his behavior towards him (let alone Shannon pointing it out his behavior). Johnny just gets offended and angry back at Robby. I think Johnny was only nice to Robby at the end because Robby came to him vulnerable and talked about his own screw up. When Robby came to him earlier in the season, Johnny didn't care what Robby had to say probably because Robby came to him angry. I honestly don't believe Johnny is ready to take true accountability for what he has done to Robby. Johnny has guilt about abandoning him, but that guit is more focused on himself and him continuing to fail, and not about how he has affected Robby's life. After Robby told Johnny how Johnny has made him feel his whole life by abandoning him, Johnny didn't do anything to make Robby feel otherwise, but just continued to abandon him.

Overall, I think Johnny and Shannon don't respect Robby or care about him or how he feels. They're pretty self-absorbed and don't seem to have the patience to deal with him. I'd still give Shannon more credit than Johnny, but I don't see either of them caring about what he has to say to them. They used to leave him to starve and he obviously stole and scammed so that he could survive, and Johnny didn't even care that Robby was homeless for a bit and training with two psychos for months, so that tells us what to expect from them. Robby's life is nowhere and neither of them cares.

Anyway, I think Johnny has to prove himself through actions. Consistent, genuine actions. Robby has said that Johnny doesn't care about him, cares more about his rivalry with Daniel than about him, and chooses Miguel over him. Johnny has to do the opposite permanently because these 3 things have been consistent behaviors on Johnny's part. Robby also said that Johnny now wants a relationship with Robby so that Johnny can feel better about himself, so Johnny's gonna have to prove that he does genuinely want a relationship with Robby. How is Johnny gonna do this? I don't know. Because so far Robby has been putting more effort into their relationship than Johnny has been, and Robby just gave Johnny a free pass with no effort on Johnny's part. So far, S5 Johnny doesn't seem like he cares about how Robby feels. What miracle can get that to change?

I would love to hear Johnny tell Robby that he loves him, and I hope he eventually does... but after he really proves himself. Because so far all Johnny has been is just talk when it comes to Robby, so without the permanent change in Johnny's behavior, the "I love you" or "I'm sorry" will just be more empty words and sharing his own history and trauma will just seem like excuses.

[littlemisssquiggles]

I don't think I've talked enough about how much I freaking LOVE Cobra Kai.

It's a series that I ironically only just got into like earlier this year; thanks to my sister. We watched the first season together and after she fell off of it, I kept going because I couldn't get enough of how genuinely good this show is. From its terrific and at times surprisingly clever writing (when considering the source material) to its amazing cast of characters, this squiggle meister could not get enough of this show.

Similar to Arcane, I came into Cobra Kai from the perspective of someone who only saw the first original film like donkey years ago when I was just a little kid---barely old enough to remember it at all.

So I haven't seen the Karate Kid in many, many years and never watched any of its sequels. I did see the Jaden Smith Karate Kid movie. But as far as the original ones go, I'm not very versed in the world of Karate Kid.

So I didn't have the nostalgic attachment to the franchise as some of the more hardcore fans might had.

All the more reason why I found myself genuinely enjoying Cobra Kai a lot more than I expected.

That and of course the thing where I also got super attached to some of the characters and their dynamics with one another.

My favourite aspect of Cobra Kai is the connection between its protagonist Johnny Lawrence and his boys---Miguel Diaz and Robby Keene. I know some CK fans (particularly the ones on Youtube) love to go on and on about the "kicks" of the show---meaning the fighting and the cameos/callbacks to the Karate Kid series.

But for me, what pulled me in were these three characters and the bond they have which tied into their respective stories---well them and a few other characters who I also love.

Cobra Kai Season 5 premiered yesterday on Netflix and I watched the whole thing in one go.

It was only 10 episodes but I watched it all because as soon as I watched one, I had to watch the rest. I almost even didn't want to finish because I was having so much fun with this season that I wanted to savour all the good from each episode since I know it would be a long while before S6 comes back (if there even will be a S6).

For me to say that Season 5 of Cobra Kai was its best season yet wouldn't be fair to the other seasons that came before it. Because so far, ALL of Cobra Kai has been really, really, REALLY GREAT in my opinion with each season only toping the other that came before it.

And not surprising to me at all, S5 didn't disappoint. It came and it delivered!

I don't want to spoil anything about the season or the show in case anyone hasn't seen it yet.

All I want to say is that…S5 DID NOT DISAPPOINT!

Even after finishing it, I still find myself going back to rewatch my favorite moments from the season. There wasn't a single episode that I thought was bad or boring…it was all just GREAT!

Again, not gonna spoil anything. I just wanted to gush about Cobra Kai for a bit while I'm still riding the high of S5.

If you haven't seen Cobra Kai as yet---definitely go watch it or at least give it a try.

Whether you're an ole school fan of Karate Kid or not like myself, like I said, it's like Arcane in terms of storytelling and direction---the writing delivers for both old school fans while making way for new ones.

~LMS (2022)

[robbyykeene]

hi i hope you're doing ok! i just wanted to rant about cobra kai because i saw a few of your posts talking about it and i completely agree with you. personally i was never totally 100% on board with cobra kai because i'm a very sentimental person and rebooting/re-making/doing a spinoff of anything, especially a classic film series like karate kid, makes me feel sad. cause nothing can beat the original, you know? but i gave it a chance anyway and although i still felt "meh" about it, i was able to acknowledge that it was still a good show, objectively speaking.

and then when they made the switch to netflix by s3, my feelings of apprehension strengthened. i enjoyed s3 but i did feel deep down inside that the quality of the show had downgraded when it moved to netflix. and that brings us to s4, which has by far been the most disappointing season according to a good chunk of fans. i'm gonna watch s5 when it comes out because i wanna give it a chance, but much like you, i'm also not expecting much at all. i just feel even more disheartened about the show than i did back in 2019 when i first discovered it.

i've always loved the original films more and seeing the increasing number of complaints about the show makes me feel as though i was correct to feel unsure of it from the get-go. in my opinion, the show has strayed so far from its source material and all of the morals and meaningful moments of the films have been pushed aside in favor of fan service-y, cash-grabbing gimmicks (the carrie underwood thing? what the actual...). it makes me miss the films, where everything first began.

the tension & conflict between the characters has become the dominating force in the show and it makes me feel a bit stressed and sad when i watch it. the movies feel like a nice escape because they aren't so complicated or intense (this could be my anxiety talking LOL). they're much more black and white which can be boring, but also make for a much simpler viewing experience. i also feel as though fans get so caught up in the hype of the show that they forget to give some appreciation to the magic of the movies!

i have much more that i wanna say but i'll stop talking your ear off :) long story short, i really do admire your honesty when talking about your feelings about the show. take care !

anon please literally never stop talking my ear off i love you <3

[pilvimarja]

Cobra Kai episodes 8 and 9

I still have the final episode left, but I figured I'd write some thoughts about episodes 8 and 9 before they all blur together in my mind.

Soooo there's now a super duper mega tournament that's so much bigger and more badass than the All Valley. Lol of course there is. I totally understand that all shows have to raise the stakes as the story grows bigger or they risk becoming stale. Cobra Kai has done an exceptionally good job with this in its five seasons and I'm honestly a little surprised that they still manage to make this karate war feel as engaging and fresh as it does! But at the same time, bigger isn't always better and the All Valley will always feel much more special and important than some global tournament.

Oh, Tory, how I love her. Peyton is getting so much good stuff to work with and she's become such a deep, complex, tragic and heroic character that I think she's surpassed a lot of the original favorites (not naming any names). My heart broke when she went to Sam to tell the truth and Sam reacted with anger, but then my heart absolutely soared when Sam went to Tory and now my girls are joining forces!

I've also loved Sam this season. She's had a great little journey and I'm so happy that she's found peace within herself and a proper reason to fight. Not really a fan of the way they still keep forcing her into those romance plots, though. The whole thing with Miguel and her is getting really old.

It feels incredibly good to see Johnny and Daniel finally working together for real. This season is feeding the Lawrusso fandom well, even if it's dampened by the shadow of Johnny's partial character assassination. I think this is what a lot of people expected and wanted to see in season 4, but we only got a taste of it back then. And I honestly don't think Johnny and Daniel were ready for this kind of a relationship until now. And there's still some hesitation, like did you notice the look on Johnny's face when Miyagi-Do made it to the big tournament? It was such an obvious "gimme a hug" moment, but he and Daniel just fist-bumped even though Johnny hugged Chozen a second later. I think a hug between him and Daniel is still too intimate unless they're drunk lol.

I also think that if Johnny had had even half of the rushed character development they've given him this season back in season 4, a lot of his character arc would feel more earned and organic. Now they're basically just speeding through his journey from emotionally stunted manbaby to a somewhat functioning adult in the span of ten episodes and it's giving me serious whiplash. Well, actually it's more like six episodes because those first four episodes were just a rehash of what we've already seen in previous seasons. I suspect they were written to appease the dudebro fans, but I don't know if even the dudebros enjoyed that shit. It stuck out like a sore thumb.

The adults going clubbing was so CRINGE!!!! But I also kind of loved it haha. I dig how episode 9 has now become the Lawrusso Date Episode in each season. Also, Chozen's crane shirt was gorgeous and he's so freaking funny and endearing when he's drunk! And as much as I hate the overflowing heterosexuality (seriously, what the fuck is up with the overflowing heterosexuality and traditional family values this season??? Who is responsible for this odd shift?), I think it's sweet that Chozen loves Kumiko and I hope the two of them can make it work.

Oh! I almost blocked it out of my mind, but the scene where Master Kim made Tory break her hand on the training dummy was HORRIFYING! I felt sick to my stomach watching it. And you know, Tory could now basically shut down the entire Cobra Kai enterprise just by going to the police and telling them what their senseis do to minors! Though I guess Terry would just buy his way out of any legal trouble...

[bacon-sandwich-of-dionysus]

Absolutely Cursed | Chapter One: Where It All Went Tits Up

I will warn you all and say that I may end up introducing a what-if scenario for the dissolution of the UK... in a Cobra Kai fanfic. Don’t look at me like that, I don’t know either.

For now, enjoy this taster I’ve written for spooky season, lovelies- I know it’s September but maybe... I ... don’t care.

Sometimes you write a self-indulgent fanfic and then realise damn, this sounded better in your head.

Warnings for strong language and violence. Bon appétit!

"Hello?" Daniel called out to an empty house, looking around with uneasy eyes.

The silence was deafening here, and the grandeur of this place only made that silence more foreboding.

A deep pit was burrowing into his stomach as he swallowed hard, holding the handle of the PlayStation's box in an uncharacteristic, vice-like grip.

Quiet footsteps trecked down towards the dining area of this half-open plan, half-over-embellished bachelor's haven... when a familiar voice spoke from behind.

"You thought you could turn him against me?"

A shudder ran through Daniel like a shot of ice.

He turned around to face an absolute pillar of a man; hackles raised, paired with a smug, hungry grin.

"Actions have consequences, Mr LaRusso."

Fuck.

'Fuck' indeed, Daniel. You think you can talk your way out of this one?

He sighed, looking down at the ground as he thought about his next choice of words carefully.

Promptly, he brought himself back up to face the ghoul, a genuine want for negotiation evident in his expression.

"Look," the air whistled out his nose as he exhaled once more, "I'm not here for trouble, okay? I'm out of the war. I surrender, if that's what you want to hear."

The karate champ silently congratulated himself for not wibbling the much-needed composure out of his voice.

"The valley is yours."

Silver changed, his face souring.

"The valley?" He was almost insulted, scoffing, "It never ceases to amaze me how small your mind is."

Daniel did not like how he was taking steps towards him.

"I don't give a shit about your valley. I've got much bigger plans."

Don't lose it, LaRusso took a few breaths, keep calm.

"Well, leave me out of it." He was ready to slink past the man, not caring his tail was between his legs.

Terry blocked his path.

"How's that beautiful wife of yours?" He smiled, fiddling with his ring.

Every muscle in Daniel's body was itching to get out of here.

"It was remarkable how easy it was to disrupt your marriage. You opened the door and just let me waltz right in."

He chuckled, watching Daniel use all he could to not tackle him to the ground.

However, that wasn't enough for Terry Silver, he wanted to push him further.

"Imagine..." He grew closer to his former student, "How easy it's gonna be..."

Daniel ground his teeth as he got a whiff of whatever obnoxious cologne Terry had on.

"...To wrap Cobra Kai gis around both your kids."

Fuck it.

Terry was shoved backwards with more power than he had expected from the little twig.

Before he could fully recover, Silver was met with a fist which he quickly blocked. Then, a kick. Then, a fist once more. Followed by another fist... and another fist.

Block. Deflect. Block. Counter.

This was like clockwork.

However, Terry hadn't anticipated Daniel would go full throttle so quickly as he spun, redirecting Silver's swipe at him and thwacking the man round the face.

It hurt. Like a whip to his jaw.

He couldn't help but laugh, a wave of nostalgia sweeping over the man as he shook off the the shock.

"That's it, LaRusso." Terry smirked, nursing his lip, "That's the Cobra Kai student I remember."

Daniel saw red. He threw a haymaker at Silver. Only for it to be caught, and for the sensei to pull his best work to him, letting him slam roughly into his chest. Daniel wasn't giving up though, the disgust of being this close to the man driving him to rake his face... but Silver caught that too, letting Daniel get tangled in his arms.

"But you never really had the strength, did you?"

Silver headbutted him. Hard. LaRusso let out a surprised yelp as he tasted blood in his mouth. Clutching his nose, he desperately prayed for his vision to clear up quickly.

Defence! Defence! Come on, Daniel!

He tried to time his breaths, adjusting his stance. It was like he was that boy again in Silver's eyes. Terry now realised how moldable he was, even now.

No one ever got so close to being Cobra Kai elite like LaRusso did. He had taken on the aggression like it had been there all along. He would just see an obstacle and bam! Down it went! Two legacies in one. He would have been the perfect champion. Silver's champion. Kim Sun-Yung would have loved to watch Terry shape this block of karate marble.

There was a brief pause.

Before Silver struck out like a spitting snake. Daniel just managed to catch it, recover and face another bombardment of fists.

It was then LaRusso would find that Silver was carrying something sharp.

Another blocked punch led to a nick to his forearm. It took him out of it long enough for the ponytailed pit viper to turn and land a back kick to Daniel's chest. He went down, landing on the wooden floor with a thud, blood slowly seeping into his blue hoodie.

"I was ready to let this go," Terry's voice shook, "But you just kept getting in my way!"

LaRusso clocked the little bit of red dripping off of his left hand. It was his. Daniel knew it was his.

His forearm stung, the pain acute and much harder to ignore than the dull aches from the blunt force of plain old punches and kicks.

Silver wouldn't be crazy enough to carry a knife?, Danny was breathless, He doesn’t want to kill me, right? We’re not there yet.

Brown eyes scanned the man, only to find fists. It didn't matter, though, Daniel had a plan.

Catch his hands at every opportunity.

He launched forward with a kick, which was unfortunately dodged by Silver.

Fine. No biggie. Adjust the plan.

He got low and tried to sweep Silver's leg.

That did piss all.

So, Daniel, now running almost entirely on adrenaline and whatever the hell was in the stubby Lawrence gave to him earlier that day, decided to just go for the wrists.

Get his wrist!

Terry countered.

Try again!

Terry caught his.

Go for the other wrist!

Terry seized his whole arm.

Shit.

Daniel tried to kick at him but it was no use.

Silver grabbed his face with his free hand, sending the All Valley champ hurtling into the side of a sofa, knocking the wind out of him.

Terry was doing what he had always wanted to do since the tail-end of the eighties.

This was amazing!

As Daniel clumsily tried to regain his footing, Terry Silver could only grin.

"You bit off more than you can chew."

The little, pained groan from him really was adding to the absolute power trip this man was on.

"And now that the writing's on the wall, you want to surrender?! No, no, no... We are way past white flags, Danny-boy!"

Mustering all the anger and courage he had, Daniel leapt up and jabbed his ribs.

He was damn fast when he wanted to be, and ol' Terry had forgotten.

It was a little sobering, having Daniel strike at him right where his tattoo had been, and then proceed to grab him.

The bastard landed a good punch to the stomach, pairing it with a kick. Silver gasped, feeling his lungs whistle out their contents.

Then, Daniel went for his face.

He ducked, a flash of fear making itself known as Silver saw the dent Daniel left in the plaster.

Followed by another one to Terry's other side. He shoved off the wall, returning to open space.

Daniel did his best to repress the shudder.

A familiar sight lay before him, a broken boy with bloody knuckles. Daniel raised his fists once more, only to clock the rawness. These weren't his hands anymore, these belonged to the kid in '89 who was arrogant enough to think he was special, arrogant enough to think he could forsake his teacher, who had been nothing but a kind, loving man. He had never really made up to Miyagi for that... despite all the times he would brush off LaRusso's apologies and sob-filled diatribes.

"It's blood," the voice echoed in the back of his mind, "So what? Make believe it's his."

He had nightmares about this moment.

"This guy wants to break you! Humiliate you! Stomp you into the ground! And what are you gonna do about it?!"

He made for another strike, only for a powerful kick to land just where the wound was. Daniel cried out, faltering. However, he wasn't going to let this monster win! He recovered, coming back with another punch.

But in his growing fatigue, he was too slow. Terry had time to catch it, spin him, and press on the open wound with all his weight.

You had never heard a more painful scream from Daniel LaRusso.

Terry let him have his moment, before bringing his knee to Danny's sternum and knocking him to the ground.

"Asa!" Silver shouted as he whipped his leg across Daniel's face, satisfied with how pathetically he collapsed, going down like a ton of bricks.

He pressed his foot on Daniel's neck, savouring the sounds of struggle.

This man was going to bring him to the point of no return.

"Don't look at this as an act of mercy. On the contrary, I want you alive and well for what's about to happen." He pressed down harder, "Well, alive at least."

He kicked Daniel right in the kisser, watching the blood spurt out of his mouth, along with a tooth. He brought his beaten and swollen face close to his.

"Admit that there's always been a little Cobra Kai in you. Even now. "

He chucked him back onto the floor, watching his consciousness fade. In Daniel's eyes, the world was just becoming one big, ever-darkening blur, with the vague silhouette of a man standing above him, shaking a little.

Terry revealed his hidden weapon, his own hand. He raked his nails across his other palm to draw blood.

Gleefully, he watched it drip into Daniel's open mouth as he brought his crimsoned fist down and over his face. For good measure, Terry also rubbed his wound onto the cut he gave LaRusso on his forearm.

"You and I are not that different."

He was going to live, no, thrive. Terry had granted him that much.

Now, LaRusso, like he did back in '89, would come crawling to him for help and guidance.

Cut to a few minutes later and Chozen was skidding down the living area of Raymond’s pristine prison cell.

“Daniel-San!” He yelled, “Daniel-San! I called and called and you didn’t-”

He came across Daniel’s unconscious body, the colour drained from his face, welts and bruises dotted all over the place.

“Oh my God.”

Toguchi was... well, he was beyond speechless.

[senseimercy]

@taughtpain :    show me how you did it. mentor / mentee vibes ; accepting.

    𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀  𝘄𝗮𝘀  𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴  𝗵𝗲  𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁  𝗵𝗲  𝗵𝗮𝗱  𝗹𝗼𝘀𝘁  𝗵𝗶𝘀  𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲  𝗮𝘁,   being  able  to  teach  robby  any  karate  was  something  he  had  dreamt  about  whenever  he  allowed  himself  to  be  positive  about  the  idea  of  being  a  father.   he  remembers  when  robby  found  his  old  box  of  karate  stuff  when  he  was  like  six  or  seven  years  old  and  he  taught  some  little  basic  stuff.   it  was  when  he  realised  how  much  he    𝗲𝗻𝗷𝗼𝘆𝗲𝗱   teaching  karate,  seeing  the  way  robby's  face  had  lit  up  when  he  got  it  right  and  it  just  made  him  see  that  karate  didn't  have  to  be  all    strike  first,  strike  hard.    things  had  gotten  even  more  complicated  over  the  years,  he  had  been  a  bad  dad  and  not  around  when  he  should've  been,  he  had  ruined  what  robby  had  with  daniel  when  he  was  learning  from  him  because  he  had  been    𝗷𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗼𝘂𝘀   that  someone  else  could  be  there  for  his  son  in  the  way  he  had  wanted  to.   then  robby  had  joined  cobra  kai  and  he  never  thought  he  would  get  any  chance  to  ever  be  close  to  his  son  again,  let  alone  teach  him  karate.   he  had  failed  over  and  over.   when  robby  came  to  after  the  tournament,  johnny  knew  this  was  his    𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘁  𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲   to  make  things  right  with  robby  or  he  might  actually  lose  him  forever.

    𝗻𝗼𝘄  𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁  𝗵𝗶𝗺  𝗮𝗻𝗱  𝗱𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗲𝗹  𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲  𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴  𝘁𝗼𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿  𝗳𝗼𝗿  𝘁𝗵𝗲  𝘀𝗲𝗸𝗮𝗶  𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗸𝗮𝗶,   it  meant  training  all  the  kids,  including  him  finally  being  able  to  teach  robby.   he  had  wanted  this  for  so  long  and  he  just  wanted  to  do  something    𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁   by  robby.   it  was  good  to  see  robby  enjoying  karate  again,  he  was  such  a  quick  learner  and  a  natural  at  miyagi - do.   he  didn't  expect  robby  to  hang  around  after  everyone  else  was  done,  unsure  if  he  even  really  wanted  to  learn  from  him,  but  when  he  said   "   show  me  how  you  did  it,    "   johnny  couldn't  help  but  look  at  him  a  slight  look  of    𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗽𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗲    and  borderline  disbelief.   he  knew  robby  had  always  paid  attention  to  his  lessons,  but  he  never  really  thought  that  he  would  want  to  learn  anything  from  him  one  on  one.   he  couldn't  help  but  smile  softly,  nodding  his  head,   "   sure  thing,  kid.   i  can  do  that   .   .   .   i've  got  more  i  can  show  you  too,  if  you  wanna  learn  them,    "