#kreese stabs him

[pinazee]

Does this end with johnny pushing Kreese into a pit of snakes of his own making? Cause it should.

[bullet-prooflove]

As per your request... *my* request!

Character: Terry Silver

Objects: A candle, glasses and a necktie (these totally don't lend themselves to smut or anything...)

Hahaha if you know me, you’ll know I’m an out of the box writer so what you think you’re going to get isn’t necessarily what you will get.

References to upcoming fics 'Three Men & A Baby' & 'Self Defence'

Tagging: @volumesofforgottenlore@kmc1989@somethingdarkside17@noonee333

The scent of sea salt and water lilies floods Terry’s senses as he steps into the living room a glass of wine in one hand and a mug of chamomile in the other. There’s a candle burning in the centre of the coffee table, Driftwood, he thinks it’s called.

You tilt your head up towards him, the glasses you use for reading perched on the bridge of your nose as you set your book down on your lap.

“Something to help you sleep.” Terry says softly as he places the cup on down on the coffee table in front of you.

You’ve barely slept since the night it happened, you’ve moved into the guest bedroom because you can’t stand to be in the main one anymore. Terry’s thinking about putting the house on the market because your home, it doesn’t feel like one anymore. It’s just another thing that Kreese took from you.

He loosens the necktie around his throat as he takes up residence on the couch alongside of you. It’s felt like a noose around his neck all day. He was the only one in attendance at the cremation, he’d watched Kreese’s body loaded into the cremator from the viewing room before they’d pushed the button.

He’d waited the full three hours just to see those ashes scooped out. It isn’t until then that something settles inside him. The monster that tried to kill his wife is gone.

“What do you want us to do with the remains?” They had asked him and Terry had shrugged his shoulders.

“I really don’t care.”

He hopes they sit in storage forever, forgotten, alone.

You reach for his hand, clasping it tightly before you guide his palm to rest upon your stomach. He feels the tiny nudge against his hand and the edges of his mouth turn up into a small smile.

“He’s been doing it ever since you came in.” You tell him as his hand tracks the movements, they feel like tiny butterflies impacting against his palm. “I think he knows the sound of your voice.”

“That’s because his daddy reads to him every night.” Terry says tenderly as his fingers stroke over the space where his baby resides.

He almost lost this, his wife, his baby, his family.

He thinks of the two of you continue like this it might still happen. He knows you’re struggling with the trauma of that night, the effect it’s having on you, on the baby.

“Georgia,” He says quietly. “Let’s get out of LA for a while, we can go to Osaka or Kyoto, have Sebastian there. It might give you the space you need to process what happened.”

He means the fact you killed a man, stabbed him in the throat, watched the life drain out of his eyes.

“Osaka.” You say finally, your palm smoothing over your baby bump. “I want to see the cherry blossoms again.”

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[demetriandelibinaryboyfriends]

@ckhalloween23 heyyyyyy bestie(s) I know I'm an entire-ass month late, BUT

HERE'S A PREVIEW OF THE ELIMETRI DARKFIC I PROMISED

Listen, y'all can't give me a "Serial Killers" prompt and the opportunity to write the dark, unhinged Demetri Alexopoulos of my dreams presented on a silver platter and NOT expect me to go a little apeshit ^^;

Or. A lot apeshit. Because boy did I let this funny little comic relief guy SNAP ❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥

Also, funnily enough, I realized over the course of the last year or so that I'm probably autistic? For the longest time I held off on writing Hawk's POV because I hc him as autistic and I didn't think I could do him justice, but...I've unlocked this Fun Secret Collector's Item now, I guess XD Eli "Hawk" Moskowitz POV acquired!

Decided to give it a stab here, since him having NO fucking idea how to react to Crazy Demetri was just too much fun. Hawk came to me surprisingly easy once I got started, actually??? I mean I've always related to him a lot but I had no idea it was like. An autism thing. I thought it was just an ND thing akisudhlkuhyfu

Head's up to Tory and Robby stans...this may not be the fic for you. You have been warned 👀

CW for blood, violence, knife-threatening, light knifeplay, toxic relationships (although YMMV), mentions of murder, implied slut-shaming, homophobic slurs, and sexual subtext.

Fic under the cut! As always, moodboard pic credits available upon request :3

***

Hawk’s on his 30th rep when he hears the front door.

He stops mid-jab, the punching bag rattling on its chain as it sways back and forth. Scoffing, he rolls his eyes.

His mom must be home early. How fucking annoying.

He was looking forward to having the house to himself. With his father on a weekend-long business trip and his mother at her Friday night wine hangout, he was finally going to catch up on training without any interruptions.

The last thing he needs is to be outdone by Kyler Park and Robby Fucking Keene.

Hopefully his mom won’t come knocking, pestering him to watch movies or some other frivolous crap. He doesn’t have time for that anymore.

Strange. There’s a notable lack of the jingling and clattering that usually comes from 50 million things being shifted through an oversize purse. Hawk pauses, listening for any noise.

Maybe he imagined it.

“What the hell.” He takes a sip of the Red Bull on his bedside. Some sleep-deprived delirium or whatever it was wasn’t going to fuck up his focus.

Sure, he’s been averaging 5 hours a night, but who gives a shit? It’s not like anyone in high school actually gets enough sleep.

Sensei Kreese said in ‘Nam, they had to be ready to fight on a moment’s notice—geared to slaughter enemies after a mere 30 minutes’ rest in 48 hours. Hawk doesn’t strive for anything less.

The stairs creak.

His mom isn’t usually one for sneaking past his room, but perhaps she’s too tired to be chatty. He thanks the powers that be this seems to be the case, and returns to his reps.

Jab, cross, roundhouse. Jab, cross, roundhouse. Elbow. Knee to the chest.

He counts them out as he goes, power surging through him. Sensei will be sorry he started singing Keene’s praises when Hawk’s a better fighter than that piece of shit ever was.

Because throwing someone off a balcony when they had their guard down was a coward’s move. Typical Miyagi Do bullshit.

God, Hawk hates them. Hypocrites. Losers. Pussies.

He thinks of a new insult every time he lands a punch.

Miguel’s fucking insane for not appreciating what Cobra Kai did to get payback. What Hawk did to get payback.

His fists are starting to ache, fingers burning from being smashed against rubber again and again. Hawk doesn’t care.

Sensei would say the pain makes him stronger.

Jab cross jab cross jab cross jab cross jab cross jab cross jab cross—

“You know, at some point, I think you’re as good as you’re going to get at punching.”

A shadow blocks the hallway light.

Dread grips him in frosty talons. His arms still, the punching bag swinging back and smacking his chest.

He gasps, stumbling back. Still, he refuses to look at the doorway.

Refuses to let Demetri see his shock.

“What the fuck are you doing in my house?”

He presses as much venom into the words as possible. Enough intimidation, and Demetri will back down.

He knows now that Hawk is as real a threat as he ever was. And Demetri’s smart enough not to keep poking at a tiger that’s already mauled him.

“In what world would I not remember where you keep your spare keys?” Demetri sneers.

Well. Maybe that’s a bit generous.

“What do you want?”

Hawk keeps his tone steely, hoping he can kill whatever plans are swimming around his ex-best-friend’s head before they even form. In all likelihood, Demetri’s here to be a nuisance at best and a night-ruiner at worst.

Fucking Demetri. He’s always been such a distraction.

Hawk needs to get rid of those.

He thought he did. But Demetri is apparently either too stupid or too obsessed with the past to be properly scared away.

Irritating, but admittedly also interesting. It shows a kind of boldness that he wouldn’t expect Demetri, of all people, to have.

“Maybe I want to check in on my best friend.” Groaning footfalls as Demetri starts to slowly cross Hawk’s room. “I see you avoiding me at school. And you didn’t even bother to show when your little friends crashed Sam’s party. Perhaps I want to see how you are, hmmmm?”

And try as he might, Hawk can’t pick up the usual sarcastic edge to Demetri’s tone. He frowns at his far wall, confused.

There’s something odd in Demetri’s voice, and Hawk can’t for the life of him pick up what it is.

He still refuses to look at his oldest friend. He’s not going to give him the satisfaction of undivided attention.

Demetri is a pest, and should be treated as such.

“We’re not best friends,” Hawk says tightly, landing another punch on his bag. “Whatever we were? It’s done. Has been for a long time. Why can’t you get that?”

He finally graces Demetri with a look. He’s expecting the usual sullen look—scrunched brow, open mouth, widened eyes. Like he’s eternally surprised Hawk doesn’t need him anymore.

A look where maybe, if he prods it farther, Demetri will storm off. Or run off crying. Be out of Hawk’s sight.

Be somewhere where Hawk doesn’t have to think about that night at Golf N Stuff. Or how it felt to watch Demetri writhe on the floor. Or the streams of vomit that ripped from Hawk’s stomach as soon as he got home.

Or what he did to himself in the wee hours of the morning, when no one—not his mother, not Cobra Kai, not Sensei Kreese—was around to see.

But when Hawk glances over now, Demetri is smiling.

Not a contemptuous sneer, or a pained grimace. A full-on grin, splitting his cheeks and stretching much wider than the situation calls for.

Hawk inhales sharply.

Demetri shakes his head, laughing. “It’s almost endearing, you know. What a tryhard you are.”

He squares his jaw, refusing to budge as Demetri advances on him. “I thought I made it pretty clear what I think about you. You want another reminder?”

Hawk balls his fists, trying not to think about how hard the words are to force out. How hard he’s working to keep the iron shell he’s built around himself intact.

A strange smell hovers around Demetri. Acrid and metallic, like he’s spent too much time mucking around inside one of those computers he’s so besotted with.

“How revoltingly naïve.” Green eyes burn into him like acid, the glint behind them unlike anything he’s ever seen. “You thought you’d break my arm once and be done with me?

Hawk finds himself backing away.

“I’m not going to make it that easy for you, Hawk.”

Something in the way Demetri spits his new name finally gives him clarity.

“So what the fuck do you want from me?” he spits. “Why did you come here?”

“I came here because you were right. About everything.”

Any response is snatched from Hawk’s mouth.

For several seconds, all he can do is stare. Demetri smirks, apparently reveling in getting a leg up.

Hawk is so confused that he can’t even find it in himself to be angry. A strangled “what?” is all that comes out, pulling a snigger from his adversary.

“You think you’ve got it all figured out. Becoming the scariest fighter in the Valley. Making everyone quiver at the sight of you. Doing whatever you like because people aren’t brave enough to tell you no. Becoming your badass karate teacher’s little golden child. Getting rid of your weaknesses. Getting rid of me. But there’s one thing you got wrong.”

Typical Demetri. Monologuing around the point.

But Hawk is, nonetheless, finding his confusion turning to intrigue.

The mopey kicked puppy routine had gotten unbearably tedious. At least Demetri finally has the decency to give Hawk some variety.

“Oh, yeah?” He curls his lip. “What’s that?”

Demetri casually leans on Hawk’s dresser, like this is nothing more than a Friday night video game session.

“You think I avoid fights because I’m scared. But that’s not true anymore.” And there’s that grin again—that wide, unnerving grin that looks like it was pasted on from another human being’s face. The sort of manic look that would never in a thousand years belong on Demetri Alexopoulos.

“I avoid fights because I know who’s worth fighting. And who’s worth hurting.”

Well, that’s new.

Hawk narrows his eyes, trying to piece together if this is all some kind of trick.

“See, Eli, you were right that the world isn’t kind to people who get too soft.” Demetri starts sauntering over again, and that odd, metallic smell strengthens. “Or losers. Or weaklings. Or people who admit defeat. Give in too easily. Run off cowering and scared. So I’m shaking all that off. Next time I fight, I won’t lose.”

As Hawk pieces everything together, he scowls.

“So that’s what you want?” he hisses. “A rematch? Like you’d stand a chance.”

“So touchy. Do you only think of people in terms of whether you can beat them in a fight now? Boooooring.”

Demetri clicks his tongue disapprovingly. It’s a mocking gesture he’s been doing since they were little, but now something about it feels chilling.

Hawk’s back bumps his bedroom wall. Demetri’s closing in on him.

Fucking hell—he’s getting fed up with this cat-and-mouse. Why is he even entertaining this stupid nerd again?

It’s not like he gives a shit about him anymore. Then he wouldn’t snap his arm in half.

“Fuck off, Demetri!” he roars. “I fucking hate you. I don’t give a shit about anything you have to say! Get the hell out of my house, or I swear to god I’ll break your arm again.”

He fills the words with fire and force and poison, hoping something will hurt Demetri enough to make him go.

He can’t cave again. Not after he’s worked this hard to oust Demetri and everything he represents from his life.

Not after he’s severed Demetri’s bone with his own hands and smiled with his friends about it.

That should’ve been the last straw. That should’ve been what sent Demetri running for good, abandoning everything they’d once had to save himself.

But it didn’t. It fucking didn’t.

Demetri takes another step into his space, curling his lip. “You’re full of shit.”

“Fuck you.” Eli returns his stare, baring his teeth. “How are you so sure?”

“Because you hesitated.”

Hawk goes rigid.

“I begged you to stop.” Demetri’s hands slide onto the wall on either side of him, trapping him. “And you thought about it. You didn’t break my arm until all your psychotic teammates goaded you on. If you really hated me?” His voice drops to a breathy whisper. “You wouldn’t have even thought twice.”

“You don’t know shit.”

Demetri snickers.

“Poor little Eli. You’ve always sucked at arguing when you get backed into a corner.”

“I still broke it,” Hawk growls. “You know I can do it. Easily. So how are you stupid enough that you’re still fucking with me? You some kind of masochist?”

“You still care about me, Eli.” They’re inches apart now, Demetri leering over Hawk. “You never got over me not wanting to join your little club of sociopaths. Whenever there’s a rumble, you can’t stay away from me. And you want to know what I think?”

“Shut up.”

Demetri’s voice is husky in Hawk’s ear. “You wouldn’t hurt me when there’s no one to show off to.”

Hawk’s done with this.

He lunges, shoving Demetri’s chest and flying at him with an outstretched fist. He waits for that gratifying moment of shock—the familiar shift in Demetri’s features as he realizes yet again Hawk has no intention of going easy on him.

Demetri doesn’t even blink as he moves out of the way.

Hawk course-corrects, swiveling and diving for Demetri again. He throws the fastest punch he can manage straight at Demetri’s jaw.

Why the hell won’t he give up?

Demetri’s fantastic at giving up. He always has been. He gave up on standing up to bullies and he gave up on Cobra Kai and he gave up on Sensei Kreese.

So why won’t he give up on Hawk?

Demetri doesn’t dodge this time. He only swerves, allowing the fist to graze his chin.

He lets out a hiss of pain—angry, but not surprised.

Without warning, Demetri’s hands shoot up. Hawk freezes as long fingers snake across the skin of his arm.

The next second he’s screaming, Demetri’s hands twisting until his skin burns. The other boy’s grip tightens, thrusting him toward the floor.

He’s stealing my fucking moves again.

And frustratingly, he can do them fast. Hawk barely manages to use his other arm to shove Demetri off, stumbling back.

Even one moment of disorientation is too long. Demetri charges again, teeth bared like a wild animal.

One arm slams him against his bedroom wall while the other digs into his chest, squeezing the air out of him. And Hawk hates to admit it, but Demetri’s training-broadened shoulders have a terrifying amount of power behind them.

Nothing he can’t handle. Hawk’s taken on bigger opponents before.

He squirms in Demetri’s grip, his own arms loosening enough for his hands to make a grab for the taller boy’s throat. Then Demetri’s pinning hand is gone, slipping in and out of his jacket in what feels like less than a heartbeat.

Something cold and sharp presses Hawk’s throat. His hands drop, tensing against the wall.

“What the fuck…?”

“I didn’t want to hurt you, Eli.” Demetri tilts his head, pouting mockingly. “But you make it so damn hard to talk to you. Can’t do a thing without you coming at me like some kind of rabid coyote.”

“So you pull a…are you fucking insane?”

“Like you’re one to talk, Mr. Red Hulk Rage Issues.” The pout morphs into a smirk. “Clearly, you’re not above playing dirty, using that sad little Eli voice of yours to get out of trouble. Figured it was time I caught up.”

Hawk feels something sticky dripping down his neck. His breath hitches in his throat.

He aims a hit at Demetri’s stomach. The taller boy bends with it, and the blade presses harder.

“Oh, come now.” Demetri tuts disapprovingly. “Don’t make me slit your throat.”

Hawk hardens his expression, channeling everything in him into hiding the shock.

“You wouldn’t.”

“I don’t think you’re in a great place to test that.”

And he’s right. Hawk hates it, but he’s right.

This isn’t the Demetri he knows better than the back of his hand. The Demetri he knows so uncomfortably well that he convinced himself over and over and over that it meant he was sick of the fucking geek.

This isn’t grounded, rational, sensible Demetri. Something’s snipped his threads, made him start fraying at the edges.

He’s unraveling, floating in an ether where the pragmatic and the path of least resistance that he made his life philosophy are losing their appeal. He’s…

Well, it seems he’s done some script-flipping of his own. Decided—perhaps on a whim—to overhaul everything Hawk knew and replace it with something cold and alien and completely fucking unpredictable.

Was this how Demetri felt, that day Hawk showed up at school with spiked hair and a conniving sneer? Is this some kind of payback?

He doesn’t care if this new boy with a knife to his throat killed and gutted the friend he grew up with. It doesn’t matter anymore. That relationship only ever got in the way, anyhow.

He truly could not care less. Honest.

The only emotion he feels is annoyance that this new opponent will be harder to match, with erratic moves and a quickly-thinning conscience.

This Demetri isn’t pulling any punches. One stupid or sloppy move, and Hawk will be on the floor gurgling his life out.

He’s never taken Demetri for someone impulsive, but perhaps he just had a talent for controlling his most brutal and primal urges—for his own safety, if nothing else. Perhaps he’s lost this ability.

Hawk wonders what it says about him that he isn’t bothered by this at all. If anything, he finds the whole concept exhilarating.

Fighting Demetri had gotten so boring. Now, at last, they’re on equal footing.

Regardless, there could be a trace of the Old Demetri yet. He might be able to use that.

“Put the fucking knife away or I’ll call the cops,” Hawk snarls. “Think you’ll get into Stanford with a police report on your permanent record? Or whatever fucking nerd school you’re trying to—”

“With what phone?” Demetri interrupts. “The one you left on the coffee table downstairs so it won’t distract you from wailing on your stupid bag?”

Fuck. How did Demetri even notice shit like that?

Hawk tries not to let the dismay show.

“When my mom gets home, she’ll—”

“Mommy’s not coming for you, Eli.” Demetri’s smirk widens. “Mommy’s getting drunk with all her friends to forget her unfulfilled suburban picket fence life with her nasty, violent delinquent of a son. And Mommy’s going to crash at Michelle Galinski’s house, just like she has every Friday night for the past 10 years. And oh dear…Daddy’s out of town on his top-of-the-month business trip? Looks like no one’s coming to save you.”

Fuck that. He can save himself.

Hawk makes a grab for Demetri’s wrist, other hand clawing at the arm compressing his chest. Demetri seamlessly lifts the elbow of his knife-holding arm and jabs the bony appendage into Hawk’s skin.

The knife blade doesn’t even falter, pressing more firmly into Hawk’s neck. A sting, and he feels something warm trickle toward his chest.

The scent from earlier intensifies, and Hawk realizes abruptly that it must have been blood.

“Mmmm-mmmm.” Demetri purses his lips and shakes his head, like he’s scolding a disobedient child. “It’ll make it much easier for both of us if you don’t act up. I really don’t want to cut your throat, but I will.”

As Demetri sneers down at him, Hawk realizes too late that he couldn’t cover his alarm.

“What? Don’t think I’d actually hurt you?”

The taller boy fiddles with the knife, sending little pricks of pain rippling through Hawk’s neck.

“I guess you know how it feels now,” he purrs.

Hawk spits in Demetri’s face, sudden fury overtaking him.

This pathetic nerd’s not going to make him feel bad now. Not after everything he’s done to crush the part of himself that possibly could feel bad.

“Fuck you.”

And slowly, never once breaking his gaze, Demetri licks Hawk’s saliva off his chin. The dim hallway light just catches the moisture on his face.

“Keep it in your pants, Moskowitz. We’re not there yet.”

Now Demetri’s definitely fucking with him.

It’s growing tiresome. Nonetheless, he doesn’t want that cut in his neck getting any wider.

There’s something distinctly unnerving about the way Demetri’s eyes are boring into him, sizing him up with a kind of cold contempt. Looking at him like he’s nothing more than some ugly insect to crush under his shoe.

It’s the sort of callousness that Hawk has never once—not in the entire time he’s known Demetri—been the target of.

And maybe he’ll admit it. He dislikes it for more than just the fact it throws him off.

Demetri is spiraling into someone unrecognizable, and the sheer foreignness of the whole process makes Hawk shudder.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?”

Hawk’s voice is small and weak. Like Eli’s.

He doesn’t care.

His entire sense of reality—every absolute, irrefutable truth he’s ever attached to himself and his life and his oldest friend—is uprooting and spinning out of control, and it’s not like anything fucking matters anymore.

Demetri laughs—a sharp, hollow sound devoid of any real humor.

“Like you’re one to talk. I know what you did to Brucks.”

Hawk’s blood freezes.

“Yeah, that’s right.” Demetri’s knife slides from the cut on Hawk’s neck, beginning to tease the underside of his chin. “Mitch told us what happened. And I damn well noticed when Brucks stopped showing up to school. Nice of your war criminal sensei to help you cover that up.”

Hawk’s breath comes in quick, short gasps.

Of course Demetri put two and two together. Of course he’d gone snooping so he could find something else to hang over Hawk’s head.

And the fall of that knife might be worse than the one currently tickling his jaw.

Part of him hates it. Hates being reminded of that day and hates being reminded what he’s capable of. Hates remembering the sight of a living, breathing person crumpling to the floor, and realizing they would never get up again.

But Hawk isn’t stupid. If anyone can play Demetri’s games, it’s the person who knows him better than anyone in the world.

“Demetri.” He keeps his tone as calm and non-abrasive as he can. “Who else’s blood is on your knife?”

Because it was still wet when Demetri shoved it up against him. And Demetri’s a moron if he thinks Hawk missed that.

“Ah. And we finally get to that.” Demetri chuckles, gently tracing Hawk’s jawline with the honed edge. “You see…the difference between you and me, Eli, is that I don’t need anyone’s help to hide my bodies.”

His heart drops to his feet.

“What did you do?”

“Not any worse than you.” Demetri cocks his head. “I hurt someone who deserved it.”

“Demetri.” Hawk steels his voice. “What did you do?”

Because whatever it was, Hawk sure as hell needs to take the proper precautions to make certain he isn’t next.

“Stopped at the convenience store on the way over here.” Demetri follows the knife with his eyes as he talks, expression almost affectionate. “Ran into one of Kyler’s old buddies from the wrestling team. One of the kids who used to call us fags, remember? He thought it would be fun to shove me around. So I pretended I was running my ass away, and got him to chase me somewhere a little more…private.”

Hawk gapes at him.

“Did you really…?”

“Shanked the asshole like a pig. He was so surprised he didn’t even fight back. And let me tell you, it was the most fun I’ve had in a while.”

And there’s that laugh again—the broken, disjointed chortles that feel so jarringly out-of-place. Green eyes shining with a frenetic light that makes Hawk’s hands grow slick with sweat.

Demetri leans in again, knife held steady as his lips brush Hawk’s ear.

“I know how it feels, you know. I know what it is to get so angry that you don’t even know what your body’s doing until it’s too late. Watch the life fade out of another human being’s eyes. Realize you like it. Sit there panicking about being some kind of inhuman monster and then suddenly realizing you don’t fucking care. And I suppose…I suppose that’s another reason you were right. There is a certain freedom in embracing that the world is cruel and cutthroat and unforgiving. In finally unmuzzling the wild animal thrashing around inside you and letting it hunt the way it was always meant to.”

Hawk shudders.

Sensei Kreese promised no one would ever find out about Brucks. Staged some kind of car accident or binge-drinking tragedy or drug OD or some other way stupid teenagers die all the time. Kyler was barred from the funeral, with Kreese worried (probably reasonably) that the dumbass would let something slip.

Kreese told the class that if anyone snitched, he’d be more than willing to look the other way as they met the same fate as Brucks.

Hawk hated how much he enjoyed it. He hated how after the deed was done, he couldn’t find a scrap of guilt in his psyche. It made him feel detached from himself—the abstract idea that doing that to another person was bad, but the complete lack of any emotions to back it up.

But that’s who he is now. No going back, he supposes.

Perhaps, on some level, he figured Demetri would pick up on this and leave him alone. Decide that Hawk’s path was too dark and too dangerous for his pasty basement nerd tastes, and stay huddled away with the Miyagi Dos singing kumbaya.

That would probably be best for him, anyways. Hawk still doesn’t know what other horrific shit he has it in him to do, especially when his victim pleaded so hard for mercy that would never come. When Brucks’ fruitless begging gave him an unmistakable rush.

And yet here Demetri is, claiming he was in a similar position. Claiming he lost control.

It isn’t that Demetri can’t put on an act if he needs to. But on some level, Hawk’s always been able to tell when his best friend is exaggerating or embellishing to make a story more interesting. There’s a kind of snarky undertone he uses, always giving that he isn’t completely serious. Subtle, but easy to pick up if you’re familiar with it.

There’s none of that here. If anything, this is the kind of emotional vulnerability Demetri never displays intentionally.

Until now, apparently.

Hawk bites his lip. “You’re not lying, are you?”

“You’re so cute.” The tip of the knife jabs into the underside of Hawk’s chin. “You thought I was some…what? Some sissy little do-gooder? The pinnacle of morality and mercy and all great virtues? No, no.” He giggles. “I’ve always been as fucked up as you. I only managed to keep it buried longer.”

Hawk scowls, suddenly remembering exactly who he’s talking to.

“Give me a fucking break. You joined the pussy-ass ‘defense only’ karate dojo. Your entire philosophy is about being sissy little do-gooders. Like you’d have the balls to pull even half the shit Cobra Kai—”

The knife flies back to the wound in his throat, Demetri using his arm to ram Hawk harder into the wall.

“You think I ever gave a flying fuck about Miyagi-Do?” he spits. “You think I’m some slavering pet like you, tripping over my little lapdog paws to appease my sensei’s every command? You think these asinine karate wars ever mattered to me? No.” He shoves his face into Hawk’s, blood on his breath. “You’re the one so obsessed with following orders that you can’t even remember who you were before you became some demented old man’s attack dog. You’re the one so drunk on loyalty to a fucking karate dojo that you can’t see none of this shit matters.”

Hawk bares his teeth, hoping with everything he has that Demetri won’t notice him shaking.

“Easy for you to say, when you pussied out after one punch in the face,” he sneered. “Of course you want to believe all of this is pointless when you’re on the losing team. But I’m not like you, Demetri. I’m no quitter.”

“Oh, how admirable.” The knife presses a little harder. “Tell me then, Hawk. How’s being on the same team as Kyler? As fucking Robby Keene? You excited for the chance to help them hurt Miguel again?”

Red-hot rage rips through Hawk. He lifts a leg and knees Demetri’s shin as hard as he can.

Demetri barely even winces. His other foot kicks up, ramming the side of Hawk’s knee. Hawk scrambles for balance, heart pounding as he just avoids falling into the knifepoint.

“Thought that’d hit a nerve.”

“Fuck you!” Hawk spits. “Keene was from your fucking dojo! You fought with him, too!”

“Not since he hurt Miguel.”

Demetri’s voice is frigid, rivaling the most biting winter rains. Every inch of him drips with a venomous hatred that Hawk has never seen before.

Not directed at him. Not directed at anyone.

“And now he’s in your dojo. Funny how that works.” Demetri clicks his tongue. “Guess your roaring rampage of revenge was all for naught.”

“It wasn’t.” Hawk curls his lip. “You were all responsible, and we got our paypack. It’s not our fault Miguel wasn’t grateful.”

“Ooooh, gotta love the Hawk’s impeccable logic! ‘Ah, yes, I think I will terrorize everyone in this dojo except for the person who actually almost killed my friend, who I will agree to team up with for some reason!’” Demetri returns his sneer. “Are you really such an obedient little bitch that you do whatever your precious sensei tells you? Even when you damn well know it makes no sense? You’re more pathetic than I thought.”

“Park and Keene know their place,” Hawk hisses. “They know I’m the alpha. They answer to me.”

Demetri cocks his head, looking amused.

“Even if I were to believe that. Do you like sharing a class with those assholes? Do you like knowing that if one of them were to get their ass handed to them by a Miyagi-Do or an Eagle Fang—by Miguel—that you’d be expected to rescue them?”

“I’d do it.” Hawk grits his teeth. “I wouldn’t like it, but I’d fucking do it. Sensei Kreese gave Sensei Lawrence and the others a chance to join back up with Cobra Kai, and they said no. Miguel chose his side.”

Demetri sighs, expression almost pitying.

“I guess ‘Cobra Kai for life’ trumps a Cobra’s desire to beat another Cobra into the damn ground. Kind of a shame. I think you’d enjoy hurting them.”

What Demetri said earlier circles back into his mind.

I avoid fights because I know who’s worth hurting.

Hawk straightens, keeping his composure.

“Sensei says we need all the allies we can get,” he says. “Even if we don’t like them. I’m putting up with Kyler and Robby long enough to win the tournament, and that’s it. Then I’ll find some way to weed them out.”

“I doubt it.” Demetri smiles down at him. If it weren’t for the knife, Hawk would punch his teeth in. “Contrary to how you act, I know you’re a smart guy. If you knew how to get rid of them, you would have already. No, Eli…” His voice drops to a purr. “You’re stuck with them, aren’t you?”

Hawk feels sick.

Leave it to Demetri to pinpoint his deepest fears—a karate clan filled with the worst people Hawk knew. Not a single friend to speak of, and a sensei with constantly divided attention.

Even Tory was turning out to be a fucking snake in the grass. She certainly took to the boy who nearly killed her ex with not an ounce of guilt.

And yet she believed with all of her being that Demetri deserved a broken arm for what Robby Keene did. That he was a pussy for crying out in pain. Actions didn’t matter to her—only the name branded across the merchandise you wore and the color of your gi at tournaments.

For the first time, the thought makes Hawk seethe.

All this time she’d seemed nothing but tough and fearless, but all she was was a shallow bitch who cared more about rank and status than a damn thing you actually did.

She was always going to hate Sam LaRusso for being rich and popular. She was always going to hate Miyagi Do for its association with LaRusso. But the second Keene bailed? Put on a belt with a cobra on it and showed off his snake-snatching skills?

She couldn’t wait to get on his dick. The filthy slut.

And suddenly Hawk realizes that he hates her, too. He hates so many of the people who are supposed to be his allies. But he can’t afford to think like that. And most of all, he can’t afford to let Demetri see it.

He glowers up at his ex-best-friend, keeping his gaze stony. “And why do you care? You have your posse of Miyagi losers to pal around with. Why do you give a shit what I do? Just go home to your little—”

“I left Miyagi-Do!”

The words come out in a forceful scream that practically knocks Hawk even further into the wall.

The sheer disdain in Demetri’s eyes for the group he had so cozily assimilated into sends Hawk reeling. He’d never—not in this lifetime or the next—expect Demetri to toss the whole lot of them out like garbage.

Demetri breaks into another grin, reveling in Hawk’s stunned silence.

“See, that’s another difference between you and I, Eli. I don’t need some washed-out old man telling me what to believe and how to fight. I can think for myself. And frankly, I got sick of the ‘safety in numbers’ business when it seemed ‘the numbers’ were always the ones who got to pick my enemies for me. And no one—” His eyes burn into Hawk. “No one decides that but me. I hurt who I like when I like, and I’ll fucking gut anyone who gets in my way.”

Hawk exhales slowly, keeping his scowl pulled tight.

“So…what?” Hawk sneers. “You’re going to fight Cobra Kai by yourself now? That’s so fucking stupid.”

“Not all of them. Some of your class are just brainwashed idiots who don’t know what they’re doing.” He sighs, shaking his head. “And you, Eli…well, I think you’ve lost sight of who your true enemy is. I was hoping I could help.”

“You really bounced?” Hawk narrows his eyes, still trying to make sense of everything. “After everything, you…just up and left?”

It can’t be that easy. He knows it wouldn’t be in Cobra Kai.

“Yeah.” Demetri shrugs. “And now I have way more time for important things.”

“I don’t get it.” Hawk’s frown deepens. “Why would you strike off on your own? Did something happen?”

“You happened.”

Short. Simple. Concise.

Completely baffling.

Not that that was anything new today.

Maybe it’s Hawk’s imagination, but the knife loosens a little.

“Don’t you get it?” For the first time all night, something like genuine anguish prods through Demetri’s voice. “I meant what I said. I never gave a rat’s ass about the karate wars, or the stupid dojo feuds. All I ever wanted was to be worth your fucking time again.”

All Hawk can do is stare.

It doesn’t make sense. None of this makes any fucking sense.

“And sure,” Demetri concedes after a moment. “At first, I wanted to do right by Mr. LaRusso. By Sam. They were the ones who taught me. Toughened me up into something worthwhile. Worked with all the shit you thought was a lost cause. But it was always a means to an end to stay relevant to you. Then after what happened with Moon, I genuinely thought the Miyagi-Do philosophy would help you. But I learned soon enough that you were in too deep for appealing to the Old Eli to work. No, I had to speak to you in your own language.”

He licks his lips as the knife starts to slide up Hawk’s neck again, dancing over the bottom of his chin and onto the plump skin of his lips.

“Aggression. Violence. Dominance.” He chuckles. “Wasn’t my go-to, but if it got your attention, I could make it work. And I guess I did, huh? I riled you up enough that you couldn’t leave me alone.”

“You wanted to piss me off?”

“If that’s what it took to keep you coming back for more.” And there it is again—that wide, sadistic grin that feels so brutally wrong. “You can leave me, Eli. You can disown me. You can shit on everything we had and make my life a living hell. But you can’t bring yourself to just ignore me. Because you’re so weak that you can’t bear to refuse the bait when I press your buttons. Because as much as you claim to hate me, you can’t move on from me.”

“And now you ditch your team to…what? Fight me on your own?” Hawk matches Demetri’s grin with one of his own. “I’d wreck you. And deep down, you know it.”

“So presumptuous.” Demetri shakes his head, tutting. “Frankly, I came here tonight because I’m sick of fighting you.”

“Says the one with a knife to my throat.”

“That’s because you don’t fucking listen without me having to resort to extreme measures,” Demetri hisses. “I think we’re a lot closer to being on the same page than you think. And maybe if you dropped this whole tribalism bullshit, you’d see that.”

So Demetri wants a truce. Hawk should have known.

He’s not surprised. But the way they arrived here?

Now that’s a twist.

It’s still an insane concept. Like he’s supposed to let his greatest enemy off the hook. Let Demetri get away with all the ways he’s undermined him and humiliated him and put the Old Eli—the weak, pathetic nerd Eli—on blast for all the world to see.

But if Demetri really left Miyagi Do…

Hawk finds himself wondering how much of his rage against the Miyagi Dos is his own, and how much is Sensei Kreese’s. And if Demetri’s truly deserted “the enemy,” does Hawk still have to hate him?

Does he even want to?

Demetri isn’t that pathetic, sniveling dweeb anymore. He’s crushed his old self as brutally as Hawk has.

Because the Demetri Hawk has known all his life could scarcely bring himself to cook with sharp knives, let alone use one to threaten another human being’s life.

Or take one.

But despite everything, something still doesn’t add up.

“I heard about your little rousing speech,” Hawk says. “About how important it was for Miyagi Do and Eagle Fang to unite against the ‘biggest assholes in the Valley.’ And now you’ve abandoned both of them. Was that all just a load of crap, then?”

Demetri is unfazed.

“Call me naïve, but I thought if Miguel and I were on the same team, you’d finally see some damn sense. You’d hurt me, sure. I’ve known that for a while. But I never thought you’d touch the kid you went on a vengeance quest for.” He shrugs. “Color me surprised when you wrote him off as just another enemy.”

“I told you.” Hawk works his fingers against the wall again, uneasiness trickling over his skin. “Miguel chose his side.”

“Be that as it may. I figured if you were so far gone that you were ready to wail on literally every person you used to be friends with, I needed to adjust my strategy.”

“For what?”

“For getting through to you. For getting you to tell the truth.”

And Hawk doesn’t want to think for too long about what truth Demetri has in mind.

“So you pull out a fucking knife.”

“Mhm.” Demetri snickers. “That’s how you communicate, yeah? Threats and intimidation?”

Hawk clenches his jaw. “I’m not scared of you.”

“Is that so.” The arm suddenly lifts from squeezing Hawk’s chest, long fingers seizing his wrist. He’s too surprised to pry them away.

He really should be expecting this kind of insane bullshit by now.

“Your pulse is going haywire, Eli,” Demetri murmurs. “Either you’re a liar, or something else has you energized. I wonder what that could be?”

It’s then Hawk’s mind fully catches up to its surroundings.

He rips his wrist away, pivoting away from the knife and sending a knee into Demetri’s ribs. The knife tip slices his cheek, but so be it. He’s endured worse.

Demetri gasps, stumbling back. Hawk makes a grab for the knife.

The taller boy is still too quick. He holds the weapon out of reach, using his other arm to thrust Hawk’s body back.

Before Demetri can do anything else, Hawk squats down and sweeps his leg. With a grunt, his opponent stumbles to the floor.

Something seizes Hawk’s ankles as he stands. He cries out as he’s yanked backward with surprising force, landing on the floor next to Demetri.

Hawk scrambles for the bed, trying to writhe out of Demetri’s grip and hoist himself up by the covers.

It’ll be over when I have the high ground.

What a stupid reference to think about.

It reminds him of the kind of game he and Demetri might have once played. Whoever made it onto the bed would get to be Obi-Wan, and whoever stayed on the floor would have to be Anakin, drowning in lava.

The idea leaves him feeling strange.

Demetri doesn’t let go, snarling like a hyena as he tries to tug Hawk back. The knife teases his skin, an imminent threat if he makes any moves too sudden.

He’d kick the annoying asshole away from him, but he doesn’t want the sole of his foot sliced open. If he can’t walk, he can’t fight.

Suddenly, Demetri cries out, grip loosening. In Hawk’s struggles, he must’ve rammed into a sensitive spot. He yanks himself free, scrambling onto the bed and frantically trying to plan his next move.

He realizes his mistake a half-second too late.

Demetri, gleefully bluffing, rises to his full height. Smirking, he pounces like a jaguar.

He lands heavily on Hawk’s stomach, slamming him against the bed. The back of his head smacks against the headboard, filling his vision with stars.

He barely has time to let out a pained gasp before Demetri’s knees are digging into his quadriceps, pinning him again. Growling, he aims a punch at Demetri’s throat.

His fist meets its target, pulling a strangled gasp. Hawk clasps his arms around Demetri’s torso, trying to thrust him off the bed.

For a moment they struggle, yanking and shoving wildly in an attempt to gain an advantage. Then Hawk feels long arms wrap around his back, bony fingers clutching at his throat.

The tingling pain of blade against skin, and Hawk realizes Demetri kept hold of his knife.

Whenever I think he’s finally going to drop that damned thing…

The knife jabs into him, strengthening its grip until he’s pressed flat on his back. At last Demetri loosens his grip, sizing up his victim with a satisfied beam.

Hawk squirms, bed creaking as he does his best to jostle Demetri off. The other boy holds fast, gazing down at him with a pitying look.

The blade digs in again, and Hawk’s struggles weaken.

“Come now. How many times do we have to go over this?”

“Let. Me. Go.”

“I don’t believe I was finished.”

Demetri tilts his head to the side, breaking into another crazed grin that sends dread trickling straight down to Hawk’s bones.

“Shut up Demetri.”

“I see you staring at me. All this time, and all these girls you tried so hard to fuck, and everything always comes back to your stupid middle school infatuation.”

“SHUT UP!”

Hawk squeezes his eyes shut, trying to bleach Demetri’s cold, smug expression from his mind.

“Right after you had your Bar Mitzvah, you asked me to kiss you. You figured since I already had mine, we were both adults now. And adults do grown-up things like kissing.”

“STOP IT!”

And suddenly Hawk is screaming at the top of his lungs because he knows where this is going. Because they were just stupid kids, and that can’t mean anything.

“I said of course I would, because I’d always liked you, Eli.” Demetri’s voice only grows louder—more insistent. “And I go in to give you a peck, and you grab my arms and stick your entire tongue in my mouth.”

“Shut the fuck up, Demetri!”

He feels something wet dribbling down his face, and wonders if the cut on his cheek got stretched wider in his and Demetri’s scuffle. It’s certainly stinging enough for it.

Unless…

Hawk wishes he could dissolve.

“I told you I’d kiss you a thousand more times if you wanted.” Demetri’s voice has grown sharper than his blade. “And I would have. And for a long while, I thought there might be the most infinitesimal possibility that you felt something, too. Now I know I was right.”

He laughs, the sound acrid and bitter and full of flint.

“Because even after everything, you’re still obsessed with me. You watch me across the lunchroom and pretend you’re ‘monitoring the enemy,’ but I know you miss me. You miss when I made you laugh, and you miss when I talked to people so you didn’t have to. You chase me around in every battle, but when it comes right down to it, you can’t hurt me in any significant way until you’re bullied into it. You pick fights with me so you can put your hands all over my body and not have anyone look at you askance for it.”

“FUCK YOU!”

Maybe if he screams loud enough, Demetri won’t pay too much attention to the wet trails smearing the blood from his cuts.

Caustic breath is hovering inches above Hawk, misting onto his lips. Still, he refuses to open his eyes.

“It must be exhausting, you know,” Demetri whispers. “Living your life in denial like that. Wearing your entire personality like some cheap Halloween costume and convincing yourself that’s a fulfilling existence. Don’t you want to be free?”

“I’m not hiding anything,” Hawk growls. “I do whatever I like. It’s not my fault you don’t like who I really am.”

“Who you really are, hmmm?” Demetri’s lips brush his earlobe, voice a barely-audible murmur. “So tell me the truth then, Eli. Do you still want me?”

The bluntness of the question almost blows a hole in his composure.

“Of course I don’t.”

“Stop fucking lying!”

All at once, Demetri’s voice is a deafening, furious scream again. The knife slices Hawk’s jaw.

Not enough to do any real harm, but enough to really hurt. Hawk freezes, held prisoner by the burst of sharp, sudden pain.

“It’s always lies, lies, lies with you,” Demetri snarls. “Fake name. Fake hair color. Fake personality. Fake interests. Fake friends who only kiss the ground you walk on because they’ve never seen you at your weakest. Fake relationships with girls you barely let know you—to the point you think they’d leave you for liking to code. And the absolute drivel you feed yourself that this goddamn farce is what you want to live in forever. You think you’re starring in some martial arts epic, and you’re so wrapped up in your stupid method acting that you never want to step offscreen. Like everyone’s on the edge of their seat about your pitiful life like it’s the fucking Truman Show. And at the end of the day? You’re still too much of a pussy to tell me the truth.”

Hawk’s skin tingles, shivers rippling through him. If his heart was pounding before, it’s thundering now.

Somehow it doesn’t feel like fear. He’s used to this new version of Demetri enough not to cower from him.

No, it’s something far worse. And Demetri knows it.

“You can’t hide from me.” The other boy’s tone drips with haughtiness, savoring the ability to confirm Hawk’s worst fears. “I see right through your bullshit. I always have. So I’ll ask you one more time. Do you want me?”

The knife slides down to Hawk’s throat again, pressing firmly.

“Lie and I’ll kill you.”

He’s probably bluffing. Maybe. Surely.

Perhaps it doesn’t matter anymore. Sprawled out on his childhood bed, underneath the only other person he frequently shared it with.

The person he used to watch sleep, wondering wistfully if the freak with the lip scar ever made it into his best friend’s dreams.

He opens his eyes and finally meets Demetri’s gaze, in all of its searing, insurmountable beauty.

“Yeah.”

He breathes it out quiet and fragile—a soft promise. A rare moment of openness that he lets free of his unbreakable shell.

Demetri drops the knife. It falls behind the bed, thumping onto the carpet below.

He swoops down, seizing Hawk’s neck and yanking him up. When their mouths meet, Hawk is nearly thrown back with the force of it.

Demetri kisses like a starved animal, lapping and nipping in a crazed frenzy. The weight of his muscle-toned body is crushing, locking Hawk firmly against the mattress.

He tastes like blood and cold steel and cruelty. Hawk shudders.

This time, he’s certain it isn’t fear. It’s a rush he only thought he could get from smashing his fists against plastic or skin, or feeling another person’s body go limp and lifeless underneath his.

And it’s ironic. The more Demetri tries to devour Hawk, the more Hawk wants to let it happen.

There’s an odd satisfaction to it, he thinks. Being completely at someone else’s mercy.

And Demetri isn’t fighting with any.

***

OKAY, time for some #authorrants because I feel like some of the choices I made in this fic are. Controversial, to say the least. Lmao.

So something that has bugged the crap out of me for a while now is people in this fandom acting like there is any world where Demetri would choose Robby over Miguel. I remember after S3 dropped, there was a lot of "dId tHeY fOrGeT tHe dEmEtRi-rObBy FrIeNdShIp" type sentiment floating around irt why Demetri didn't stay in contact with Robby the way Sam and the LaRussos did. Maybe it's because, I don't know, Robby threw the guy Demetri never actually stopped being close friends with over a balcony and almost killed him???

Like. Not that these showrunners don't ever forget things, but this absolutely is not one of them. Robby paralyzing Miguel is a BEYOND valid reason to sever ties with him, especially when you were just casual dojo bros for a couple months tops. When push came to shove, Demetri pretty unequivocally CHOSE MIGUEL. He brought him a comic book in the hospital! He was thrilled to see him back at school and picked up their friendship right where it left off! He DOES NOT VISIBLY FORGIVE ROBBY UNTIL MIGUEL DOES! Idk idk it just really riles me when people do not take Demetri and Miguel's friendship into account when discussing the Demetri-Robby relationship and why they stopped being friends when they did. Tbh I don't think it's that hot of a take to assume Demetri would have more loyalty to the guy who befriended him when he was a nobody and proceeded to be one of his closest ride-or-die friends for a whole-ass year over the guy he was casual buds with because they happened to share a karate instructor -_____- I could go on about this for several more paragraphs, but that's a rant for another day.

(As far as the LaRussos go, they were all closer to Robby and were basically his adoptive family, which is why they--particularly Sam--were willing to give him the benefit of the doubt and say the Miguel thing was an accident. Demetri didn't know Robby well enough to make that call, and had no actual proof it WAS an accident except for maybe Sam's word.)

Some other things to ramble about:

I remember in some interview a while back (I think with Martin Kove?) someone asked about Hawk and Marty or whoever was being interviewed said he was "on his way to being a serial killer" or smth. And Jacob's talked a little bit about the kind of escalating delinquent shit Hawk would get up to if he was never redeemed, etc. So going with that: Bold of y'all to assume the kid simping for Hawk since episode 1 wouldn't renounce his morals and join him on the path to villainy. Sorry but I truly believe Demetri's horniness for Hawk can and would win out over any ethical qualms in the end. Also Demetri is horny for violence and evil this is canon otherwise he would in fact not have simped for S3 Hawk so PAINFULLY BADLY god bless

Also this was partly inspired by those post-S3 jokes that were like "lol what happened to Brucks??? Did Hawk kill him???"...well, what if he did, tho? O_____O

Disclaimer that I promise I do not endorse the Tory slut-shaming!!! Tbh I didn't really wanna write it, but...I think given the circumstances, Hawk WOULD be pretty furious at her for getting chummy with Robby and "betraying" Miguel. And unfortunately, since he's a teenage boy with (canonical!) misogynistic tendencies...I do think that would most likely come across as slut-shaming D: But y'all have brains y'all know I don't condone everything I write about aknhdksuyhf (Murder is probably not something you should try at home either btw)

Hopefully I didn't make Hawk too weaksauce in this ^^; My excuses are a) I suck at writing fight scenes and tend to just want to get to the psychosexual dialogue and knife-teasing, so. If I rushed anything to get there I apologize. b) Going by the school fight, Hawk is indeed thrown off when Demetri takes the offensive (especially in a super dramatic kind of way) and his confused pause is in fact enough time for Demetri to get an advantage and c) The man is thrown off his game!!! Thrown off his groove, even!!! His sissy pussy nerd ex-friend shows up acting like a disturbed maniac and he is so O_____o about it that his moves are off!!! He's sucking a little but it's not his fault 💔It's Demetri's for subverting expectations 💔

I also feel like if Demetri started McFucking Losing It and was generally less grounded in the physical and rational world, physical pain wouldn't register quite as much. Like he's in his head enough now that he's kinda lost his grip on reality and things happening in the physical world don't seem as relevant or immediate, if that makes any sense? Also idk. Maybe after the arm break his pain tolerance just went up :O Anyways that's why he recovers pretty fast when Hawk DOES land a hit. Demetri is nuts now 💙

I will die on my hill that Demetri like. Really REALLY isn't as morally upstanding as people like to think XD Like I say this with love but from the top he's been a self-interested little shit who just happens to be extremely loyal to the very small handful of people he actually likes. My dudes, he didn't join Miyagi Do because he liked their philosophy better--he joined because they were less on board with punching him in particular in the face XD This dude saw Cobra Kai being fucks and playing dirty at the AVT and he STILL up and says "I wanna come back because I like the 'safety in numbers' aspect of joining a gang" XD I always got the vibe the "well at least I'm not an asshole LIKE YOU" he throws at Eli later is more because he likes to feel self-righteous. I say all of this as his biggest fan btw. I think more people should embrace the self-interested king he is and write about him and Eli being absolute dicks together instead of to each other 💖

I guess that's what I'm here for!!!

Anyways I think Demetri and Eli have the same potential to be absolutely horrific people, and I think we're all very lucky that Demetri was too lazy to challenge his comfort zone and stick with Cobra Kai XD We're very fortunate he happened to end up using his speed and his brains to help his friends who happened to be on the Good Guy Side rather than his friends who happened to be on the Bad Guy Side.

I also think people put WAY too much stock in Demetri's ability to staunchly stick with the good guys and have enough of a moral backbone to just keep opposing Eli's douchebaggery indefinitely. My mans is NOT that much of a saint, trust. From how quickly he forgave Eli for a HUGE number of atrocities, he seemed to be like. Waiting on his ass for Eli to come back to him. And if Eli never did???

I mean. Bruh. Someone you've been deeply in love with for years throws you out like last night's trash and just progressively starts being more and more awful to you??? You think it's feasible for my boy Demetri to stay strong and sane and reasonable forever, and just keep on fighting the good fight??? HELL NO. This dude is either a) quitting karate and moving schools so he doesn't have to deal with constantly being pummeled by the dude he's in love with or b) going completely fucking insane from the cognitive dissonance of being in love with a dude who constantly beats his ass.

Listen. I have been in love. If my friend who I was in love with turned evil and joined an evil karate school and started wailing on me all the time, I would either pull an Aisha and haul ass out of there or I would simply lose my mind and become evil. Go full Jinx from Arcane. Sorry if you're a hater who doesn't think Demetri Alexopoulos has it in him to go apeshit, but you're wrong and also boring. The funny kooky comic relief guys are always one thread away from losing their shit because everyone assumes because they're funny and kooky they have no depth and no end to their bullshit tolerance. I would know because I am one of these Guys in real life. Put some respecc on my boy's name and also give him another knife 🔪

For anyone looking at me askance like "Demetri doesn't have it in him to kill!" Yes he does. I'm sending him over to your house to stab you right now 🩵

No fr tho, like there was MURDER in this man's eyes when Kyler was bullying Eli in the library. There was MURDER in this man's eyes fighting Robby at the AVT in S4. I have full confidence that if he could get away with stabbing his enemies, he would. So would Eli but I feel like this is a less contested opinion.

Also this is interesting so it's something I might go into detail about in another post, but one thing I noticed while kinda brainstorming how Demetri would snap is that Demetri is loyal to people, while Eli is loyal to concepts and ideas.

Demetri I don't think is actually that married to or slavish about MD principles tbh. Demetri isn't really averse to violence conceptually (even back in S1 it's only ever about him disliking BEING hit, not disliking hitting people!!) and doesn't actually do the defense-only thing that often. Several times we see him instigate with Hawk, or help Sam instigate with CK in general. The times we see him stick his neck out to really help Miyagi Do, he seems like he's doing so more out of loyalty to his friends (namely Sam, Chris, and Nate--also Miguel irt the dojo team-up at the end of S3) than loyalty to Miyagi Do as a dojo.

Eli, meanwhile, is way more loyal to concepts he puts a lot of stock in than the people in his life who challenge this. He sees Cobra Kai as this almighty saving grace that is for LIFE, and he doesn't think twice about ditching Demetri and Miguel when they turn their backs on it. He stays in this dojo even as his friends leave and it fills up with people he hates, and his sensei dismisses and ignores his concerns. Because this dojo saved him from his horrible, bullied life, and now he feels like he owes everything to the Cobra Kai name, despite who's actually behind the name. Also why I think Demetri uses "my karate dojo needs your help!" as the selling point to get Eli to join MD in S4. HIS motivation is probably much more that he just wants him and Eli to stay together, but he knows Eli values dojo loyalty above everything, so Dem kinda makes it more about that than friendship.

Anyways! That's all for now! The whole fic should be up on my AO3 sometime in December :3

[ivy-pendragon]

One thing I would like to discuss (and that I feel like I am the only one who noticed) is the fact that Tory apparently didn’t tell Robby (or anyone, apart from Mrs.LaRusso and Miguel) about her mum. Why would I think that? Because of that comment Robby threw at Tory before breaking up with her “I know that you won and now everything is going well for you…” it sounds a little bit cold knowing the fact that Tory’s mum is dying, but again I feel like Robby doens’t know anything. I can understand Tory for not wanting to tell him, bearing in mind what happened with Miguel (she told him about her struggles, boy didn’t care enough and went to kiss his ex while, i’m sorry toriguel fans, using her to get over Sam) and with Kreese, the only person she trusted and literally stabbed her in the back.

Again, I’m feeling really sad about it because all those comments Tory said “I’m hiding the truth from someone I care about”…it was not everything about Cobra Kai. I feel like Tory wanted to trust Robby with it, but she never had the chance to actually do so.

On the other hand, I feel like Miguel could have told Robby, but he didn’t want to lose the little no trust Tory has in him. Idk, I’m probably rambling, does this make sense??

[zappedbyzabka]

I WOULD LIKE TO DIRECT YOUR ATTENTION TO THESE PHOTOS OF BILLY IN SHOOTFIGHTER BECAUSE OH MYGODDDD!!

Ohhh yeah. I’ve posted so many screenshots of this movie because he was SERVINGGG

It won’t let me add more than two images, so I’ll choose wisely

Absolute doll. He’s also insane, look at his crazy ass smile as he’s held back. I love him.

He was crushing on Nick but had Mr Lee (Martin Kove) who was basically just Kreese all over again but rich and into pineapples. Kreese and Johnny except Ruben and Mr Lee had no past together. And the tension between him and that dude behind him in the third was crazy like…please chill. Mostly on the guy’s side. Ruben was kinda punch-thirsty and not paying much attention to his aggressive advances.

Spoilers: Loved when Nick saw him getting absolutely wrecked in the ring and went in there to save him like he’s a damsel and wasn’t straight up elated to get torn up like a piece of meat to an animal and ready to stab.

[terrence-silver]

Since today is the first day of Passover, do you have any headcanons on how Terry celebrates? I mean if he celebrates at all, I was a bit surprised when I saw that conversation with sensei Rosenthal and I wonder if he genuinely practices Judaism or he just went to this one Shabbat to buy Topanga dojo.

I think Terry genuinely practices Judaism and that he's an extremely respected member of his community and has been for decades now, truly --- simply, because while my knowledge might not be vast and can in fact extremely lacking on the topic and it is always encouraged to ask someone more qualified than me, I really do doubt someone who is an outsider just attends Shabbat randomly like that or any groupation they're rightly not connected to; just going off of sheer logic. Sensei Rosenthal seemed very familiar with him and it is even safe to say they're something akin to acquittances just through the way they interacted --- like Terry is a regular at the Synagogue. Someone who is seen there. Known there. Liked there. Not exactly a stranger who merely popped out of the blue one day. Him buying out Topanga dojo and then promptly firing Sensei Rosenthal seemed like a betrayal, dare I say, coming from someone Sensei Rosenthal might've considered a trusted, albeit, unbeknownst to him, one-sided friend and someone who is so very revered with their shared peers to the degree that this would be considered extremely unexpected of a move. The 'Terry Silver would never do that' type of reputation might've preceded Terry, which made that stab in the back all the more silently shocking.

Surprising.

Generally, on a personal note I do enjoy the idea that Terry Silver actually maintained a devoted and considering who he is, oddly honest religious life through all his other misdeeds and skeletons in the closet and that he dedicated himself to this endeavor much like he dedicated himself to Karate. Or business. Or his corporate life. Or hey, even revenge. Doing so wholeheartedly, fully, with innate precision, discipline and an unique, unending drive. All in or all out, right?

As such, I do believe he celebrates everything.

Yes, with the same devotion.

Passover being no exception, and while all symbolic meal and all the traditional rituals are involved, for some reason, I tend to imagine that if Terry doesn't have individuals he truly cherishes and trusts with his very life around him, he much rather celebrates alone rather than half-assing it. All alone in a palatial, colossal mansion. By choice. Out of principle and because he wants his environment controlled and curated. Immaculately so. Sure, his staff arranges his Seder, his special plates, serving dishes and silverware handed down from his family carefully cleaned and polished in advance and his table set for one, because Mr. Silver has intentionally observed this event all by himself and much like every part of him that is genuinely important, he would rather tuck this too away than break bread with someone he has no respect for and someone who is ultimately insignificant. Temporary. Terrence, for example, hid the fact he was in the military, he hid his past, he hid the fact martial arts were as meaningful as they were to him, he hid John Kreese and their friendship, hid his trauma, hid major chunks of his actual character to the point one can borderline say he made up a whole elaborate personality for himself and I think that he'd he'd tuck away what he observes too and how it looks like because much like everything listed above, it is something vulnerable and weighty about him he doesn't wish most anybody to see. It is no secret, mind you. It is just that nobody is invited to the feast.

As such, Terry Silver might've been observing all alone for most of his life.

[msfbgraves]

Let’s say that Terry did go on a bloody rampage and kill the LaRusso family before the Don got the chance to barter Daniel. Would Terry still have wanted him? Spared him? Taken him?

Yes, and it would have been the death of him. I don't know if Daniel has Michael's and his Pop's strategical cunning, so had Michael not lived, he might have let himself be taken by Terry as a mate, earn his trust, and kill him. John Kreese might have opted to sell Daniel, for feck's sake, but in any universe, Terry is not normal about that boy. Had Michael, maybe Nessa, lived - Daniel would have made it his life's mission to extract as big and bloody a vengeance as he could, possibly by fueling the flames between Kreese and Terry under Michael's tutelage. Though he might have still lost his patience and simply stabbed Terry.

[scottishstoner]

As soon as Kreese came on screen in the new season my bro said “he’s gonna escape” I was like pfffff then I thought actual redemption arc and omg he died or he was wounded very bad but nah nah he got this bitch to fake stab him 😭😭 my bro was damn right

[pxregoth]

COBRA KAI S5 REVIEW (SPOILERS)

I might make a video about this cause I feel like I won't be able to fully get my point across in a text post.

Anyway, overall season 5 was really good and probably my favorite season in terms of storylines/character arcs. My top 5 characters this season is Daniel, Miguel, Sam, Tory, and Chozen.

I absolutely love how much they delved into trauma this season. It's honestly what I've been wanting from this show for so long. And I know every season has some form of exploration of trauma but this season really put it up to 100%. I seriously want to make a post or a video delving into the traumas of all these amazing characters and the psychological scars that these traumas left them. I think it would be really interesting for me to really dig deep into that.

My favorite story arc is between Miguel's and Daniel's. It broke my heart to see Miguel sorta idolize his bio dad only to have it be crushed with reality. It hurt to see how much he wanted his bio dad to want him. But what really brought me to tears was seeing his relief when he saw Johnny. I think he realized at that moment just how important Johnny is to him and how he doesn't need his bio dad because Johnny is there for him. Daniel's story arc also broke me because I genuinely felt his fear. I could see it in his face that he felt like that vulnerable teenage boy again whenever Silver was around. I hated seeing him so distressed but it honestly goes to show just how badly Silver traumatized him (and continues to traumatize him). I absolutely love the realization Amanda had about Daniel saying that he never really got over his past traumas. It goes to show just how much Daniel pushed his traumas away instead of properly dealing with them.

I also loved the Daniel, Johnny, and Chozen trio. The chemistry between them was unreal. I love how feral Chozen and Johnny are in regards to Daniel. Like they really went from teenagers hating on this bambi looking motherfucker to fawning over him in their 50's lol. I loved seeing them protect Daniel from Mike Barnes in the season finale. Seriously, I never thought I would hear Johnny telling someone to get their hands off of Daniel. I love how both Daniel and Johnny have protected each other from other people. Really goes to show how much their relationship has grown.

Carmen's friendship with Amanda is my favorite thing ever and I wish they had more scenes together. I seriously hate that they made Carmen get pregnant like are we being for real right now? Like yeah she's still young enough to have kids but Johnny is in like his mid-50's why are we giving him a new-born child??? :| Like maybe let's give Carmen an actual good story line for once. It would've been so interesting to see her reunite with Miguel's biological father and I would've done anything to see her protect Miguel from him. As well as Rosa, I bet she would've demolished him in like a minute. But yeah, I swear Carmen only seems like a real person when she's with Amanda. When she's with Johnny, she just seems like a two-dimensional love interest. I think the show would've really benefited from having her and Johnny be friends. Like the type of friends that feel like siblings. In that way, Johnny can still be protective over her and realize that he doesn't have to sleep with/be in a relationship with every woman he comes in contact with. And Carmen can have someone else's support. (It would've also been interesting to see her trust/relationship with men change as she got close with Johnny). But no, a boring ass relationship it is, I guess.

Terry was an amazing villain as always. There were so many times where I wanted to jump into the screen and stab him and other times where I couldn't help but applaud how intelligent he is. However, he truly underestimates people. It is so interesting to see how different he and Kreese really are cause Kreese seems to see value in everyone. Kreese seems to have a pattern of finding the most vulnerable/weak person in the room and making them into something. Whereas Silver seems to just throw money around and hope for the best. Other than maybe Kenny, Silver often times wants people to be his idea of perfect from the very beginning instead of building the weakest person up. Or at least, show the capability of being "perfect." It really shows how your upbringing shapes you. I really love how the finale switched their places with Kreese being out of prison and Silver having been arrested. I highly doubt this will be the end of Silver, since he and Kreese have yet to reunite. I am literally dying to see their reunion.

Sam and Tory helping each other out in the end makes me so happy. I was seriously hoping they would hash things out this season and they did. I really do hope it stays that way. I can see them forming a hesitant friendship in season 6 where they talk about Miguel and Robby and possibly their home life. I don't think they'll end up best friends but I can definitely see them being each other's key to healing their traumas.

Overall, I loved this season and I can't wait to see what happens next. If I were to give it a rating, it would be a 8 out of 10. Two points deducted because of that annoying ass pregnancy story line.

[thornyrose463]

Exposed (Cobra Kai story): Chapter 10

Hawk drove himself and Sarah to Applebee's. Hawk took a photo on his cell phone. When he got home, he posted the photo on Instagram, tagged Sarah, and added a caption. A few minutes later, he got a notification saying that Sarah had liked the photo.

At the prison, Kreese was talking to Emily. “This is it. End of the line.”

“I never took you for a defeatist.” Emily said.

“No, a realist.” Kreese said.

“Hm.”

“I know my time is almost up. And I'm going to spend my last days in here.” Kreese said.

“You don't know that. Not for sure.” Emily said.

“Come on, Doc. A guy like me, in a place like this? I'm just wasting away.” Kreese responded.

“That's a choice, though, isn't it? You can find meaning, purpose, even in here. If you want to.” Emily said.

“I've made a lot of mistakes in my life. But passing that knowledge on to my students so they wouldn't make the same mistakes…That gave me purpose. Everything I ever fought for is lost. Every mark I made, every memory of me, will be erased.” Kreese said.

“Says who?” Emily asked.

“The best student I ever had. He was like a son to me. And now I have lost him for good.” Kreese said.

Tears streamed down Kreese’s face. When Emily moved closer to him and tried to comfort him, he stole her keycard.

“Yes, John, you've made mistakes. But you still have time to try to make up for them. You told me you've been fighting all your life, so keep fighting, but with your heart and soul instead of your fists. Use your remaining time to write yourself an ending that you can be proud of.” Emily told Kreese.

Kreese appeared to take Emily’s words to heart, but as he tried to play peacemaker between two quarreling inmates, one of them produced a shiv and stabbed him repeatedly, leaving him unconscious and bleeding on the floor.

Two police officers wheeled a stretcher into a morgue.

“Crazy bastard tried stopping a fight. He got what he deserved.” The first officer said.

The second officer nodded in agreement.

The doctor examined Kreese. It turned out that Kreese had faked his death. The blood was actually melted Jell-O.

“This is melted Jell-O.” The doctor said.

Kreese got off the stretcher and knocked the officers out.

Kreese moved closer to the doctor.

The doctor whimpered.

“Please. I’m begging you,” the doctor mumbled.

“For what? Mercy?” Kreese asked evilly.

Kreese knocked the doctor out. He put the doctor’s lab coat on. He used Emily’s keycard to move through the prison. He exited the prison, smiling triumphantly as the alarms blared.

The limo came to a screeching halt. Daniel, Johnny, and Chozen got knocked down. Daniel’s champagne spilled everywhere. Some of Johnny’s beer got on Daniel’s shirt. Daniel, Johnny, and Chozen sat up, groaning. When Daniel tried to get out of the limo, he was confronted by a furious Mike, who grabbed the lapels of his jacket and threw him on the ground. 

“You ruined my life, LaRusso!” Mike yelled.

Daniel was shocked. “Mike?”

“Come here,” Mike growled.

Mike grabbed Daniel’s jacket. He pulled Daniel towards him. Daniel looked at Mike in terror. Mike’s eyes were bloodshot, and his pupils were dilated.

“You took everything from me!” Mike yelled.

Chozen got out of the limo. 

“Hey! Not Daniel-san's fault.” Chozen said.

“Then whose fault is it?” Mike asked angrily. 

Two crushed beer cans fell out of the limo.

Johnny stumbled out of the limo and picked up one of the beer cans.

“Hey! Get your damn hands off him!” Johnny yelled.

Johnny threw the beer can in Mike’s direction. Due to Johnny being drunk, the beer can hit Daniel.

Mike let go of Daniel.

Daniel groaned, rubbing his forehead.

“Damn it, Johnny!” Daniel yelled.

Johnny tried to knock Mike down. Mike grabbed Johnny and flipped him. He landed a few feet away from Daniel.

Chozen rushed to Daniel’s side.

“Daniel-san, are you okay?” Chozen asked.

Daniel nodded.

Johnny stood up. He tried to kick Mike, but Mike blocked the kick. Mike reached for Johnny’s shirt, but before he could grab it, Johnny kicked him in the stomach. Mike grunted.

Mike raised his fists. “Come on!”

Johnny raised his fists.

Chozen and Daniel ran towards Johnny and Mike.

“Oi! Yamero!” Chozen yelled, pushing Johnny away from Mike. 

“Yamero” was Japanese for “stop” or “stop it” when addressing a male, while “yamete” was used to address a female.

Daniel stood in between Johnny and Mike, holding his hands out in front of him. “Both of you, stop.”

“Who the hell is this guy?” Johnny asked.

“He used to fight for Silver. His name's Mike Barnes.” Daniel said.

“Bad boy of karate.” Chozen said.

Chozen bowed to Mike, but Mike didn’t notice because he was glaring at Johnny.

Johnny scoffed. “Doesn't look so bad to me.”

“Want to go again, chief? Come on.” Mike raised his fists.

“Mike, Mike! Look, I know you're pissed. You have every right to be.” Daniel said.

Mike lowered his fists and glanced at Daniel.  

There was a cut on Daniel’s forehead.

“You're damn right I do. My-My life was fine before you showed up. Next thing I know, there's a pile of ashes where my store was. That place was leveraged to the hilt, Daniel. I'm broke!” Mike yelled.

Mike looked sad. “My wi...My wife...”

Daniel suspected that Mike’s wife left him. He gave Mike a sympathetic look.

“I understand, all right? Believe me. But Silver is the one who's responsible. He burned down your store. He has made all of our lives a living hell. I never meant for you to end up in his crosshairs. I will do anything I can, I promise, to help make you whole again. Okay?” Daniel asked.

Mike looked angry. “You say you want to make me whole? Then you help me tear him apart.”

“Believe me, he's going to get what's coming to him, sooner or later.” Daniel said.

“I say it's sooner. I say we go beat that ponytailed bastard's ass tonight!” Mike yelled.

Daniel spoke calmly. “Mike, come on.”

“Don't you get it? This guy just destroys peoples' lives bit by bit, and he never faces any consequences. You know what I see? I see four consequences right here!” Mike yelled.

Chozen and Johnny nodded in agreement.

Daniel could tell that Mike was not thinking clearly. He tried to talk some sense into him. “Mike, we can't just show up to his house and assault him.”

“This guy destroyed my world. What do you want me to do? Just sit here and take it like a bitch? I’m going to beat the living shit out of him!” Mike yelled.

“Yes!” Chozen yelled.

“I like the way this guy thinks.” Johnny said.

Daniel looked at Johnny in disapproval. “Johnny!”

“The bad boy's right, man. Silver has been screwing us for too long. He kicked your ass. He kicked my ass. It was a sucker kick in my case, but still, it's way past time for payback.” Johnny said. 

Mike slapped Johnny’s back. “That's what I'm talking about!”

Daniel turned to Chozen. “All right. Chozen…Chozen, help me out. This is crazy.”

“I know Silver's address.” Chozen said.

Mike spoke excitedly. “Yes! I'm driving.”

“What? No, no, no! You guys! You're out of your fսcking minds!” Daniel yelled.

Chozen chuckled. “Four of us. One of him.”

Chozen slid his index finger across his throat. “Tonight, we cut off head of snake.”

Chozen laughed.

Mike and Chozen walked towards the limo.

Daniel looked at Chozen in disbelief. “Chozen!”

Mike and Chozen got in the limo.

Johnny was about to walk towards the limo. Daniel grabbed his shoulder in order to stop him from leaving.

“Johnny!” Daniel yelled. “Johnny, listen!”

Daniel lowered his voice. “We're all drunk. And judging by the size of his pupils, Barnes is on something even stronger. This is a terrible idea.”

Johnny looked eager for a fight. “Yeah, it is, which is why Silver's never going to see it coming. It's happening, LaRusso. Saddle up. It's time to put Pandora back in her box.”

Johnny continued walking towards the limo. When he reached the limo, he bumped into the door. He groaned, rubbing his forehead. He opened the door and got in the limo.

“No! We're not going to ride for justice like some party limo posse!” Daniel yelled.

Mike was sitting in the driver’s seat. “Suit yourself.”

Mike started the engine.

Daniel’s eyes widened. “Shit!”

The limo began driving down the road.

“Mike!” Daniel yelled. 

Daniel started chasing the limo. He stopped what he was doing after realizing there was no way he could keep up with the limo.

Mike was driving erratically. Daniel started to panic.

“Mike!” Daniel yelled.

Daniel realized that Mike had no intention of stopping.

Daniel was frustrated. He waved his arms around and yelled, “Are you kidding me?!”

The limo was nowhere in sight.

“Mike!” Daniel yelled.

Daniel turned around, stumbling slightly. He took in his surroundings and tried to figure out what to do.

At Johnny, Sarah, Robby, and Miguel’s apartment complex, Robby, Miguel, Sarah, Hawk, and Demetri were waiting for Sam.

Demetri had brought a backpack with him. The backpack was full of electronic devices.

“So…Uh, what's the emergency? Why'd you have me bring all my gear?” Demetri asked.

“You know as much as we do. Sam told us to meet here.” Miguel said.

“At least she's talking to you. I can't get a response from...” Robby trailed off.

Sam arrived with Tory.

Hawk looked confused. “Tory?”

Miguel greeted Sam and Tory. “What's…Uh...What's up? Hi.”

Sam and Tory greeted Miguel with a nod. 

Robby looked at Tory’s hand, which was wrapped in a black bandage.

“What happened to your hand?” Robby asked.

“Uh…Training accident. I'm okay.” Tory said.

“We think we have a way to prove Silver assaulted Stingray.” Sam said.

“If the attack happened at the old dojo, Silver installed security cameras.” Tory said.

“So maybe it’s all on tape.” Sarah said.

“But that place was cleaned out.” Robby said.

“That might not matter. The systems that we sell at Tech Town all save the footage to a central server. Silver probably took the whole system.” Demetri said.

“I think he did. There’s a server in his office at the flagship dojo.” Tory said.

“If we access it, we can find that footage. We could post that Stingray clip to their YouTube channel.” Hawk said.

“Get a hold of everyone else. Let them know that we're taking down Cobra Kai...Tonight.” Sam told Hawk.

At Terry’s mansion, Terry and Kim discussed how to handle Daniel and his entourage going forward. Johnny, Chozen, and Mike crashed through the front gate and confronted them in the living room. Terry called Johnny, Chozen, and Mike out for trespassing and told them that any violence inflicted upon them would be justified. Johnny, Chozen, and Mike were not intimidated. Sensei Min-Jun appeared. He and Mike fought. Mike defeated Sensei Min-Jun, but he was ambushed and knocked unconscious by Sensei Bacaria. When the rest of the Cobra Kai senseis entered the room, Johnny and Chozen prepared to defend themselves.

Amanda and Carmen were in the LaRusso family’s living room.

Amanda was wearing a bathrobe over her dress.

Amanda passed Carmen a mug of tea.

Carmen smiled. “Thank you.”

Amanda smiled.

Carmen took a sip of her tea.

“Remember the days when you'd end a night out with a big, fat, greasy two-dollar slice of pizza?” Carmen asked.

“Oh, remember them? I mourn them.” Amanda said.

“It was so nice to go out, though. With all that's going on, I haven't been able to let loose in...” Carmen paused. “I don't know how long.”

“Tell me about it. I can't wait to get back to normal. If there is such a thing.” Amanda said.

Amanda received a call from Daniel. He told her about Mike hijacking the limo and planning to go to Terry’s mansion with Johnny and Chozen. He begged her to come get him, dropping a pin to his location. Amanda saw a car pull into the driveway, which she identified as Cobra Kai. Just before the call dropped, Daniel told his wife to grab the kids and call the police.

Robby, Sarah, Hawk, Demetri, Sam, Tory, and Miguel arrived at Cobra Kai’s flagship dojo.

Robby spoke confidently. “If it's the same alarm system, I should be able to bypass it.”

Demetri looked warily at Robby. “Spoken like a man that has done this before.”

Robby shrugged. Demetri’s words didn’t bother him. “Yeah, well, karate wasn’t my first hobby. I fractured a law or two before we met.”

“Or we could just scan my keycard.” Tory held up her keycard. “So that those of us on probation keep from, you know, violating it.”

Robby and Tory looked at each other and smiled. 

The rest of the Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang students arrived.

Hawk greeted Chris. “What's happening?”

Chris shook Hawk’s hand. “What's up, man? Sorry we're late.”

Chris gestured to Mitch. “Someone took forever to get ready.”

Mitch spoke defensively. “It's the middle of the night.”

Nathaniel looked at Tory and asked, “What is she doing here?”

“It's fine. She's with us. For what we're about to do at least.” Sam said.

“So, what are we doing? All your text says is that we're going to take down Cobra Kai. But how exactly?” Mitch asked.

“We’re going to show them who their sensei really is. We think we have proof he's a criminal.” Miguel said.

“We're going upstairs to Silver's office. We need you downstairs as lookout.” Sam said.

Everyone entered the dojo after Tory used her keycard to unlock the door.

Robby, Sarah, Hawk, Demetri, Sam, Tory, and Miguel walked upstairs. Everyone else walked downstairs.  

Robby, Sarah, Hawk, Demetri, Sam, Tory, and Miguel entered Terry’s office.

“Pulling the clip off the server is first day of computer camp shit. Got it?” Hawk asked Demetri.

“Yeah.” Demetri said.

“We upload the clip to the YouTube channel, and Cobra Kai is out of business.” Hawk said.

Hawk and Demetri set up Demetri’s gear.

Demetri started typing. “Okay. Stingray's assault happened the morning after prom.”

Tory noticed a security camera.

“Any idea how to disconnect one of these?” Tory asked Robby.

“Yeah.” Robby said.

Robby grunted as he jumped up and kicked the camera. The camera fell on the floor and broke.

Robby, Sarah, Hawk, Sam, Tory, and Miguel stood behind Demetri.

Tory looked excited. “I can't believe it's happening. We're really going to take Silver down.”

Wanting to keep Tory’s spirits up, Robby did his best not to sound pessimistic. “Yeah. What could go wrong?”

Robby, Sarah, Hawk, Demetri, Sam, Tory, and Miguel failed to notice the security camera hidden within the Cobra Kai mural behind them.

As the battle raged on at Terry’s mansion, Terry and Kim observed Robby, Sarah, Hawk, Demetri, Sam, Tory, and Miguel via the security camera hidden within the Cobra Kai mural. Realizing they were being attacked on two fronts, Terry told Kim to take care of the dojo while he dealt with Chozen and Johnny. Having momentarily subdued Terry’s men, Johnny told Chozen to go after Terry.

After running several miles, Daniel saw a pickup truck. The driver was standing behind the truck and urinating.

Daniel panted as he approached the driver. “Hey.”

The driver turned around.

Daniel was grateful to see another person. “Hey. Thank God. Thank God. Listen. I need your help. I’ve got to get home. It's an emergency. Please. You’ve got to give me a ride.”

“I do, huh?” The driver leaned forward and sniffed Daniel’s blazer and shirt. Daniel’s blazer smelled like champagne, and his shirt smelled like beer.

The driver scowled at Daniel. “Maybe walk it off instead.”

“No, I'm not drunk, all right? I'm not...I mean, I'm not that drunk. The limo stopped short, and the champagne spilled everywhere, and it just...” Daniel trailed off.

The driver had no idea what Daniel was talking about.

The driver spoke sarcastically. “Oh, shit. I hate it when that happens.”

The driver walked to the truck. Daniel followed him.

Daniel pointed at the truck. “Hey! Look, you're the first person I've seen in miles. And I’ve got to get home now. And this truck is going to take me there, one way or the other.”

The driver smirked and pounded on the truck’s back door. Several other men emerged from the truck, glaring at Daniel and crossing their arms. Daniel took off his blazer and prepared to defend himself. A speeding car sent everyone scrambling for cover. The car was revealed to be Johnny's 2009 Dodge Challenger. Stingray was in the driver’s seat. Amanda and Carmen were in the backseat.    

Stingray referenced the film franchise Terminator. “Mr. LaRusso, come with me if you want to live.”

Daniel was shocked. “What?”

“Get in the car. The kids are in trouble.” Amanda said.

“Kids? W-What kind of trouble?” Daniel asked.

“Just get in. We'll tell you on the way.” Stingray said.

Daniel walked to the car and got in the passenger’s seat.

Stingray began driving down the road.

A man threw a beer can at the back of the car and yelled, “Asshole!”

At Cobra Kai’s flagship dojo, Demetri accessed the video of Terry’s attack on Stingray. Robby, Sarah, Hawk, Demetri, Sam, Tory, and Miguel discovered that Terry erased the footage just before the assault took place. Tory revealed that there was another video they could use and inputted the date and time on Demetri's tablet. Robby, Sarah, Hawk, Demetri, Sam, Tory, and Miguel were alerted to a commotion downstairs. Robby, Sarah, Sam, Tory, and Miguel went to investigate. Hawk and Demetri stayed behind to download the footage.

The Cobra Kai students had unexpectedly arrived. Sam was horrified to see that Anthony had been knocked down. Anthony was looking at Kenny with fear in his eyes.

“Aits!” Kenny kicked Anthony.

Sam, Bert, and Nathaniel rushed to Anthony’s side. Kenny snickered as he watched them tend to Anthony.

Devon looked at Tory in shock. “So, you're with them now?”

Kenny glared at Robby. 

Kenny turned to Tory. “You knew what would happen if him and his friends ever stepped into this dojo again.”

Sarah looked at Miguel and asked, “How'd they know we were here?”

“I don't know.” Miguel said.

Kyler and Kenny looked at each other and smiled. 

“Mitch, come on. Get your ass over here where you belong.” Kyler ordered.

The Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang students looked at Mitch in surprise. Mitch looked sheepish before walking over to the Cobra Kai students and unzipping his hoodie to reveal a Cobra Kai t-shirt. 

Bert frowned. “Penis Breath, how could you?”

“Gee, I don't know. Maybe 'cause they don't call me Penis Breath.” Mitch said.

The Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang students looked puzzled. Until now, Mitch didn’t seem to mind his nickname.

“You guys have been so dead set on taking down Cobra Kai. I didn't even want to leave in the first place. I mean, look around. They’ve got snacks, swag, smoothies. Our dojo doesn't even have a roof. Or, like, any chicks.” Mitch said.

Mitch looked at Sam and Sarah. “No offense.”

Sam and Sarah rolled their eyes.

“All right. Penis Breath, shut up.” Kyler told Mitch.

Mitch narrowed his eyes at Kyler.

“We’ve got a traitor, y'all got a traitor, so that cancels out. Are we going to throw down or what?” Kyler asked.

“I'm not a traitor. I'm just not buying what Silver is selling, and neither should any of you.” Tory said.

“Silver lied to all of us.” Robby said.

Kenny glared at Robby.

Kenny took a step closer to Robby. “Us? What “us”? The only person who lied to me is you!”

Miguel stood in between Kenny and Robby. “Hey. Robby’s right. You don’t want to do this.”

“Yeah, I do.” Kenny said.

Kenny tried to punch Miguel, but Miguel dodged the punch.

The Cobra Kai students started fighting the Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang students.

Stingray spoke to Daniel. “I am so, so sorry, Mr. LaRusso. All I wanted was to get back into Cobra Kai. I didn't think anybody was going to get hurt. I mean, besides me. That part of the deal was pretty clear.”

“Now you're doing the right thing. That's what's important.” Daniel said.

Daniel called Sam. She didn’t respond.    

Amanda called Anthony. He didn’t respond.    

Carmen called Miguel, Johnny, and Sarah. Neither of them responded. 

“The moment I got that group text from the Cobra Kais saying they were going to ambush your students, I-I knew I had to warn you. Or, as it happened, Mrs. LaRusso.” Stingray said.

Daniel called Sam again. She didn’t respond.    

Amanda called Anthony again. He didn’t respond.    

Carmen called Miguel, Johnny, and Sarah again. Neither of them responded. 

“Sam's still not responding.” Daniel said.

“It's the same with Anthony.” Amanda said.

“I can't get a hold of Miguel either. Or Johnny. Or Sarah.” Carmen said. 

“I'm sure Johnny will be okay. He can take care of himself. He has Chozen and Barnes. We have to get to the kids before someone gets hurt.” Daniel said.

“Don't you worry, Mr. LaRusso. We will.” Stingray said.

Stingray put sunglasses on.

“What are you doing? It's pitch black.” Daniel said.

“Stingrays see better in the dark.” Stingray said.

Stingray started driving faster. 

Chozen confronted Terry in Terry’s sword display room. After mocking Chozen's vow to make him beg for mercy, Terry started a fight. He quickly got the upper hand, kicking Chozen to the ground before taunting him again. Johnny started to lose the advantage against the other Cobra Kai senseis. Chozen struck Terry’s knee. Sensing that he might be outmatched in unarmed combat, Terry picked up a katana. Chozen pulled out his pair of sai. Chozen told Terry that he was not afraid to kill. Unfazed, Terry said that he was not afraid to die.

Chozen and Terry dueled on Terry’s patio. Chozen initially had the upper hand, but Terry soon gained control. He sliced Chozen’s arm and leg. Terry prepared to finish Chozen off. Chozen regained the advantage and swept Terry’s legs out from under him. Terry claimed that he was meant to die on the battlefield and told Chozen to finish him off. Chozen was about to finish Terry off, but he got distracted by Johnny’s cry of pain. Terry sliced Chozen’s back, causing him to fall into the pool.

At Cobra Kai’s flagship dojo, a male Cobra Kai student had knocked Sam down. Miguel came up behind the Cobra Kai student and swept his legs out from under him.

Miguel grabbed Sam’s hand and pulled her up.

“You good?” Miguel asked.

“Yeah. You?” Sam asked.

“Yeah.” Sam said.

Miguel and Sam ran off. 

A female Cobra Kai student tried to punch Sarah, but Sarah dodged the punch. She swung her right leg sideways in a circular motion and kicked the Cobra Kai student in the face, causing them to fall.

Sarah ran off. 

A male Cobra Kai student ran up to Tory. He tried to punch her, but she dodged the punch and swept his legs out from under him. She looked around. Her eyes landed on Devon.

Tory ran up to Devon and grabbed her arm. “Devon.”

Devon grunted, freeing herself from Tory’s grip.

Tory gave Devon a pleading look. “You don't want to be on their side, trust me.”

Devon scoffed. “Like you trusted me? You've been lying about whose side you were on this whole time.”

“I know. I'm sorry. I tried telling you...” Tory trailed off.

A male Cobra Kai student grabbed Tory’s shoulder from behind. Tory turned around. She kicked the Cobra Kai student in the chest. Tory glanced over her shoulder to check if Devon was still there. She wasn’t.

Tory ran off.

Hawk ran downstairs and saw the Miyagi-Do and Eagle Fang students fighting the Cobra Kai students.

Hawk ran upstairs.

Hawk entered Tery’s office. 

“Dude, it's madness out there. How much longer?” Hawk asked.

“Almost done. Just a few more minutes. I need to log into their YouTube channel and upload the clip.” Demetri said.

“Yo, check upstairs!” Kyler yelled.

“Oh, shit,” Hawk muttered.

“They're coming. Be ready to go mobile.” Hawk told Demetri.

“Okay. We're going to have to upload and publish via Wi-Fi.” Demetri said.

Kyler and some other male Cobra Kai students entered Terry’s office.

Kyler laughed. “Yo, man. It's just Sarah and Yasmine’s bitches.”

One of the other male Cobra Kai students derisively pointed at Hawk and Demetri. “Bitches.”

Kyler looked at Hawk. “You heard Kenny when he dropped your ass. You’re just a Faux-Hawk now, boy.”

“You know what? That's life. You win some, you lose some, but you’ve got to move on. You never did. You're still pulling the same old bully act as always, even though everyone you've bullied has kicked your ass by now.” Hawk said.

“I haven’t.” Demetri said.

Hawk smirked. “You'll get your turn. Kyler's too stupid to ever learn his lesson.”

Kyler and the other Cobra Kai students attacked. Hawk was able to keep them at bay while Demetri worked to upload and publish the footage via Wi-Fi.

Downstairs, Kenny attacked Robby. Unwilling to harm his former protégé, Robby fought defensively. While Robby was distracted by the other Cobra Kai students, Kenny caught him off guard with the Silver Bullet.

At Terry’s mansion, Johnny took a vicious beating at the hands of the Cobra Kai senseis. When Terry walked into the mansion, he saw that Johnny was bleeding.

Some blood had gotten into Johnny’s mouth. He spat it out. “Well, you look like shit.”

Terry’s hair was slightly messy, his clothes were wet, and blood was trickling down his face.

Terry chuckled.

“Where’s the other one?” Sensei Odell asked Terry.

“Outside.” Terry said.

Terry looked at Johnny.

Terry spoke evilly. “And off the board.”

“I’m going to kill you,” Johnny growled.

Sensei Odell punched Johnny in the face. Johnny groaned. His head drooped.

“That seems unlikely. Kreese always told me you were his best student. I never saw it. You’ve got guts, Lawrence. I'll give you that.” Terry said.

Terry gestured to the side of his head. “But just not much upstairs.”

“Attacking me on my own turf? Come on. You never stood a chance.” Terry said.

Terry grabbed Johnny by the hair and lifted his head.

Johnny glared at Terry.

“But if it's any consolation, at least you won't be around to screw up another kid.” Terry said.

Johnny slapped Terry’s hand away.

Johnny’s head drooped again. Terry watched with disgust.

“I’ve got another mess to clean up at the dojo. Take care of this.” Terry told the Cobra Kai senseis.

Johnny managed to lift his head.

Terry spoke evilly. “Finish him.”

Impaired by the effects of the Silver Bullet, Robby was beaten down by Kenny and the other Cobra Kai students. Miguel and Sarah intervened, giving Robby a chance to recover.

Demetri joined the fight against Kyler. He was able to defeat his former bully.

Demetri smiled. “Man, that felt good!”

Kyler was on the floor.

Demetri looked down at Kyler. “Bitch!”

With the video now uploading to Cobra Kai's YouTube channel, Hawk and Demetri took the tablet and rushed out of the office. Tory was holding her ground in the melee, but she ran into a roadblock in the form of Kim Da-Eun.

Kim and Tory glared at each other.

“You disappoint me, Nichols.” Kim said.

“Yeah? Well, likewise.” Tory responded.

Kim took a step closer to Tory. “I warned Silver you could not be trusted. Let this be my final lesson to you. And a more painful one than the last.”

Hawk and Demetri reached the ground floor. Kyler struck Hawk from behind, sending the tablet sliding across the mat. Anthony picked the tablet up. With the Cobra Kai students determined to take the tablet from Anthony, Miguel told his teammates to protect the egg. They formed a defensive circle around Anthony, who continued to monitor the upload as the others fended off the Cobra Kai students from all sides.

Kim and Tory started fighting. Overmatched by her former sensei, Tory quickly found herself on the mat.

Kim sneered at Tory. “Such a tough façade. All to hide the fragile little girl underneath.”

Kim stepped on Tory’s injured hand. Tory groaned.

Seeing Tory in trouble, Sam came to her aid. Tory and Sam struggled to keep up with Kim. When Devon unexpectedly joined the fight, Kim told her not to throw away her chance to become a champion. Devon insisted that she would become a champion on her own terms and dismissed Sam to help defend Anthony. When Devon rejoined Tory, they picked up where they left off.

Stingray, Daniel, Amanda, and Carmen arrived at the dojo and found their path blocked by several Cobra Kai students. Daniel refused to fight a bunch of teenagers. Stingray had no such qualms. He decimated the Cobra Kai students. He, Daniel, Amanda, and Carmen walked into the dojo. With the video upload nearing completion, the Cobra Kai students redoubled their efforts to stop it. As Daniel attempted to break through the crowd of students to reach Anthony, the footage of Terry telling Tory that he bribed the referee at the All-Valley started to play on the dojo's main monitor. Faced with this new revelation, the Cobra Kai students could only watch in stunned silence.

Terry arrived at the dojo.

“That's it? That was your big plan, LaRusso? Breaking into my dojo to steal some footage that changes nothing?” Terry asked.

“It wasn't his plan. It was ours.” Tory said.

“And it changes everything.” Robby said.

“Our enemies think they can keep attacking us with no repercussions. And what does the enemy deserve?” Terry asked the Cobra Kai students.

Terry waited for the Cobra Kai students to say “no mercy.” They didn’t say anything.

Kyler had an emotionless expression on his face. Kenny was looking at the floor and frowning.

Terry looked angry. He gestured to the Miyagi-Do students and the Eagle Fang students. “You think I'm the only one willing to go to these lengths? Their senseis broke into my home tonight.”

Terry gestured to himself. “My home! Attacked me, unprovoked.”

Terry turned to Daniel.

Terry taunted Daniel. “But here I am. The only one left standing.”

Daniel, Amanda, and Carmen exchanged a worried look.

Terry looked at the Cobra Kai students. “They think they're entitled to victory because their way is right and our way is wrong. But that's not how it works. There are no morals to the story. No happy endings. Life isn't a fairytale. It's a competitive sport. Right and wrong? There's no such thing. There are only winners and losers. Cobra Kai builds winners, because we're willing to do whatever it takes to come out on top.”

At Terry’s mansion, the Cobra Kai senseis were about to finish Johnny off when the photo of the ultrasound fell out of his jacket pocket. Johnny flew into a rage and incapacitated all but two of his enemies, who managed to subdue him. Sensei Odell lost a pinkie to a poorly-aimed katana swipe in Johnny’s direction. Sensei Hyan-Woo prepared to run Johnny through with his katana. Mike came out of nowhere, taking Sensei Odell and Sensei Hyan-Woo down and saving Johnny’s life. 

Mike and Johnny looked at each other. Johnny picked up the photo of the ultrasound and put it back in his jacket pocket.

Breathing heavily, Mike and Johnny looked at the fallen senseis.

“I did most of this.” Johnny said.

“Yeah, you did. Where’s Chozen?” Mike asked.

Terry was standing a few feet away from Daniel.

Kim, the Cobra Kai students, the Miyagi-Do students, the Eagle Fang students, Amanda, Carmen, and Stingray were gathered around Terry and Daniel.

Terry took a step closer to Daniel. “Everything you did to try to stop me amounted to nothing but pain.”

Terry spread his arms and smiled. “You got your ass kicked, Danny Boy.”

Terry pointed at Daniel. “Now, you can either accept that, or I can kick it again right now.”

Amanda looked at Daniel. “We're all with you, Daniel. Do what you have to do.”

Daniel stepped onto the mat and faced a leering Terry. Kim, the Cobra Kai students, the Miyagi-Do students, the Eagle Fang students, Amanda, Carmen, and Stingray took a step back, giving them room to fight.

Kyler appeared to be on the verge of laughter. Kenny was eyeing Terry with a look of betrayal. Anthony appeared to be excited about the fight. Amanda looked worried.

Terry and Daniel circled each other.

Terry spoke evilly. “First, I took care of Chozen. Now you. This is where Miyagi-Do ends.”

Daniel spoke confidently. “Miyagi-Do existed before any of us. It will be around long after we're gone. The roots are strong, so the tree will survive.”

The fight began. Following Chozen's advice to think like a serpent, Daniel turned Terry’s patented “Quick Silver” method against him, striking his knee before delivering a blow to his chest. In desperation, Terry grabbed a trophy from the wall and tried to use it as a weapon. Daniel executed a crane kick perfectly, sending Terry crashing into the glass Cobra Kai mural behind him. Daniel celebrated his victory with the Miyagi-Do students, the Eagle Fang students, Amanda, Carmen, and Stingray. Kenny discarded his Cobra Kai gear and left the dojo. The rest of the Cobra Kai students followed suit.

Outside of the dojo, Kyler was talking to some police officers. “I'm telling you, I'm the one that rescued everyone from this place. This place was becoming cultish. Some might call me a hero, but...”

One of the officers started writing something.

“Oh, it's spelled K-y-l-e-r.”

Stingray was talking to the detective who interviewed him at the hospital following Terry’s attack.  “You know, I’ve got to say, originally, th-that testimony I gave…I was under great duress, as, uh, defined by Magna Carta.”

Big Red, a former Cobra Kai student, walked up to Little Red, a Miyagi-Do student.

Big Red and Little Red were brothers. Big Red was older than Little Red. 

“Need a ride?” Big Red asked.

“Yeah. I told Mom I'd be home hours ago.” Little Red said.

Big Red put his hand on his brother’s shoulder. “Don't worry. I’ve got your back.”

Big Red and Little Red walked away.

Sarah was standing next to Hawk and Demetri.

“That was intense.” Sarah said.

Hawk and Demetri nodded in agreement.

Tory and Devon were sitting in the back of a fire truck. A police officer was talking to them.

Kenny was standing next to a police car.

Robby walked up to Kenny.

Kenny was upset.

“Hey. Kenny, listen, I…Um...” Robby trailed off.

“No, I just...” Kenny paused. “Just not right now, okay?”

Robby nodded in understanding.

Kenny walked away.

Tory approached Robby.

“Kenny will come around. Eventually.” Tory said.

“Listen, Tory, I-I owe you an apology.” Robby said.

“I know. I probably owe you one too. But I'm not in the mood for all that heartfelt shit, so…For now, maybe just kiss me,” Tory said.

Robby smiled.

Robby and Tory kissed.

Sam was standing next to some cars. A blue blanket was wrapped around her shoulders.

Miguel walked up to Sam. 

Miguel gestured to a car. “Mind if I…Uh…”

Miguel and Sam sat on the hood of a car.

“You okay?” Miguel asked.

“Yeah, more or less. What about you? Any major damage?” Sam asked.

“Uh...Think I've had worse.” Miguel said.

Sam held up the octopus necklace. “Is this yours? I found it at Miyagi-Do.”

“That was…Uh...It was supposed to be yours, but…Uh...” Miguel trailed off.

“But I broke up with you before you could give it to me.” Sam said.

“Something like that.” Miguel said.

“So, you weren't really fine with breaking up?” Sam asked.

“Well, it's not what I wanted, but…You said you weren't okay. You needed some time, and that seemed like it was more important.” Miguel said.

Sam smiled. “Thank you. That means a lot to me.”

“Of course. It's what you do when you love someone.” Miguel said.

Sam looked surprised. “You've never said that before.”

“Well…Uh...Well, I do,” Miguel said shyly.

“I love you too.” Sam said.

Miguel and Sam kissed.

The limo arrived.

Johnny got out of the limo.

Carmen approached Johnny.

“Hey.” Johnny greeted.

Johnny and Carmen hugged. A few seconds later, Carmen pulled away.

Carmen looked at Johnny in concern. 

Johnny smiled. “I don't look that bad, do I?”

“You've never looked better. Not literally. We need to get you to a doctor.” Carmen said.

“Yeah, I know. We're on our way there. I wanted to see you first.” Johnny said.

“I thought I'd lost you.” Carmen said.

“You can't get rid of me that easily. The thought of losing you, Miguel, Sarah, Robby, and the baby kicked me into a gear I didn't know I had. I couldn’t stand the thought of missing the rest of our life together.” Johnny said.

Johnny and Carmen kissed.

Daniel and Amanda watched as Mike helped Chozen get out of the limo. 

Mike spoke. “All right. Come on. I’ve got you. Easy, easy, easy.”

Chozen spoke. “Oh, thank you, Mike-san.”

Mike chuckled.

Chozen’s tank top was covered with bloody bandages.

Daniel looked at Chozen in concern. “Jesus, Chozen! We’ve got to get you to a hospital.”

Chozen brushed off Daniel’s concern. “Oh, just a flesh wound.”

“Yeah, but it's like all your flesh!” Daniel exclaimed.

Daniel gently took Chozen’s arm.

A medic was standing near an ambulance.

Daniel got the medic’s attention. “Hey. Help me.”

The medic approached Daniel.

“Yes, sir?” The medic asked.

The medic helped Daniel get Chozen into the back of the ambulance.

“Maybe should have had a Short Island Iced Tea.” Chozen joked.

“Uh, yeah.” Daniel said.

Mike was standing next to the limo. Daniel glanced at the back door and saw a Rembrandt painting.

“Is that a Rembrandt?” Daniel asked.

Mike smirked. “Yeah. It has to be worth at least as much as a furniture store, right?”

Daniel smiled and shook his head.

Terry scowled as he was escorted to a police car.

Daniel spoke to Amanda. “Never thought I'd see the day when Silver was finally in handcuffs.”

The detective who interviewed Stingray in the hospital walked up to Daniel and Amanda.

“Given Raymond Porter's revised statement, Mr. Silver is facing a litany of charges. That man's lawyers are going to be pretty busy.” The detective said.

Johnny approached Daniel.

Daniel and Johnny shook hands.

“All right, LaRusso! You finally took Silver out.” Johnny said.

Daniel and Johnny shared a brotherly hug.

Carmen approached Amanda.

Carmen showed Amanda the ring on her finger. The ring used to belong to Sensei Odell. It was gold and had a blue jewel in the middle.

Amanda suspected that Johnny had proposed to Carmen.

Amanda looked excited.

Terry glared at Daniel and Johnny before turning around and haughtily sticking his nose in the air.

“No more looking over our shoulders at every turn.” Daniel said.

“Here's hoping Silver and Kreese end up being cellmates.” Johnny said.

“You mean John Kreese? You didn't hear what happened?” The detective asked.

Daniel and Johnny exchanged a worried look.

THE END

[taughtdefense]

btw, for Funsies: the first line of dialogue in ethan's description was said by kreese in s4. he turned out to be right, because silver fucking beat him up & Stabbed him like two episodes later.

[demetriandelibinaryboyfriends]

The Tory Prom Parable: A Fix-It Fic in Polls: Part 3

Part 1: link

Part 2: link

And the winner is:

You walk out of the prom dress rental depot wearing this bombshell. Complete with a big scandalous slit in the side, just because you can! You have never felt more absolutely kickass in your entire life, not even when you nearly stabbed Samantha LaRusso to death with a spike bracelet that one time. Or tried to beat the crap out of her with nunchucks. Those are hard to top, but...well, this is a different kind of kickass. You sort of want to murder someone with poison lipstick tonight. How do the femme fatales in movies do it?

Robby is waiting for you in Sensei Silver's nice-ass rental car. God, this man has resources. Whatever the hell he was up to after the war, he made bank. But hey--who are you to complain? It's nice to get a taste of the good life now and again, even if you'd rather not know where all that cold hard cash is coming from.

Sensei Silver wouldn't like. Blackmail you something to do with your mom's dialysis, right? No, of course not. Sensei Kreese is a good guy. Really got you out of a fix. Any friend of his is also a good guy deep down, right?

As you strut over, Robby wolf whistles at you. He's just messing around, but you decide to play along a bit. This whole night is about pretending to be a dumb bougie rich kid who actually cares about shit like prom, so you might as well commit to the bit.

You do a dramatic spin, and show off some different angles:

WORK IT GIRL

Robby jokingly says you're a knockout. You jokingly ask if he brought any condoms. He jokingly says he did. You jokingly wonder how much you're actually joking.

***

Congrats--you have successfully made it to the prom! You park in an illegal spot because fuck the police. You link arms with Robby Keene and walk into the vapid, B.O.-scented high school dance in the power stance of the century. Maybe it's your egotism speaking, but you're pretty sure everyone turns to look at the both of you.

And there are fucking Miguel Diaz and Sam LaRusso, dancing all around the dance floor like they own the place. Having far too good a time. Fucken show offs. Ugh. Almost like they came here to participate in the popular teenage ritual of dressing up, drinking punch, and grooving to pop music! What losers.

But when you walk in and demand everyone else's attention...what choice do they have but to join in?

Oh nice!!! You already pissed them off!!! Well, that was easy. Should be all smooth sailing from here.

You decide to take a gander at the dance floor and get the lay of the land. Kyler, Piper, and some other Cobras came in a group. That's good--you can hit them up if Prince Traitor Boy and Princess LaRusso decide to start anything. Hawk is sulking in the corner with that lame-ass nerd kid he ditched y'all for. Hell yeah! He looks like he's already having a bad time, along with that Demetri loser. Karma for inconveniencing you, one of (if not the) most important people in the Valley. (Or at least you will be after you win the AVT.) Hawk's ex is also here, partying with a gaggle of girls. Good for her, honestly--she could do better than Hawk's backstabbing ass. Bitches with no dojo loyalty get no bitches.

Some generic Top 40s dance hit comes on. Robby offers you his hand, and you take the floor. Time to be the most obnoxious pair at the West Valley High Junior Prom!

And...damn. This kid can groove. He spins you like it's second nature. He waltzes to and fro with almost perfect rhythm. When you follow his lead, you manage to move in perfect sync, despite having practiced dancing maybe twice in your life and also wearing high heels longer than Hawk's d*ck.

You put your leg around him and yank him toward you, showing off your fine specimen of a leg to the dance floor. Damn right, everyone wishes they had legs like yours!

And--oh, shit! Now he's lifting you clean off the floor! This kid is stronger than he looks, damn. And now he's dipping you like he's been practicing dipping women every night for his entire life???

Okay, that was kinda hot.

No, no, bad Tory. This is a fake date meant to prove a point and aggravate Sam LaRusso and Miguel Diaz. You're doing evil petty revenge--the last thing you need to do is catch feelings for your partner in crime.

Remember what happened last time you caught feelings for a boy??? That's right--he got kicked off a balcony!

By...the same dude who is now your prom date, actually.

Huh. Now that is the height of irony.

Speaking of Miguel, though! It's around this time you decide to check up on what him and his snooty girlfriend are doing. Surely still watching your dance routine in aghast horror, disgusted but unable to look away, right?

Wait, where'd they go?

You notice Robby also scanning the room with a furrowed brow, apparently experiencing the same confusion. He looks at you for answers, but all you can do is give him an agitated shrug.

"Let's check the punch table," he says. Right, yeah. They're probably stuffing their faces with free snacks. How lame. People as rich as Moneybags LaRusso should never be allowed free snacks!

Off to the punch table you go! But alas, no sign of your least favorite couple of all time. You and Robby begin a thorough search and inspection of the prom venue, leaving no hallway unchecked, no storage closet unopened, and no tablecloth unlifted.

People really gotta learn it's useless to hide from you. LaRusso sure tried at the arcade, and how did that turn out for her?

Maybe if you can get that Demetri kid alone, you could totally team up with Robby and break his arm again. He'd just be the Broken Arm Kid forever and no one would ever hire him! Bonus points if you do it in front of Hawk like "hey, remember when you did this that one time? Good times, right?"

How those two boys swept all that shit under the rug is beyond you. If someone broke your arm, you'd probably just kill them as soon as you got better. Eh, you avoided juvie once--you can do it again.

"What are you smiling about?" Robby asks. A little teasing, but genuinely curious.

It suddenly occurs to you that fantasizing about re-breaking a kid's arm is probably...not a great look. Whoops.

Like Robby is down for evil prom revenge and all, but he might draw the line somewhere. Who knows.

"Oh, I'm just reveling in the fact we scared them into a corner somewhere," you tell Robby.

But you double-check and triple-check and quadruple-check every last corner, and...no sign of Cheater Diaz and Princess LaRusso.

It appears they bounced!!! Unfortunately, since this is a fix-it fic, other characters besides you will also be acting in-character and not like they were replaced by cheap imitation doppelgangers who behave completely fucking differently. Which means, of course, that when Sam and Miguel see the people who attempted murder on them twice and paralyzed and nearly killed them, respectively, they're going to want to haul ass out of there as quickly as possible. Since, you know, a panic response would realistically take over and overpower any desire Sam and Miguel have to "show you up."

Uh oh. You definitely forgot to account for the fact that your targets could just fucking leave. And now you're at a dumb high school dance with no one to harass. This is awkward.

But what can I say? Did you really think they were going to just stand around and glare at you all night, without even moving to the other side of the dance floor to try and avoid you? That wouldn't make any sense.

Well...if you want to know where they went, exactly, Hawk and Demetri might know. Except the one problem with asking them is that they both fucking hate you. And Robby. So that's not going to work.

You could try asking Hawk's ex, it's just be uh. Really fucking awkward, because Moon is friends with Sam and probably remembers the whole spike-bracelet-and-nunchucks ordeal. So it's doubtful she'll want to help you out either. But you've got a better chance with her than with Hawk and Demetri, that's for sure.

[robbyykeene]

Some Very Real Cobra Kai Season 5 Spoilers:

- Miguel’s dad turns out to be a furry. This ends up being a huge point of bonding between Robby and Miguel because when Robby was a kid Shannon had a long term boyfriend who was a furry so they get to trade war stories about it

- While in Mexico, Johnny and Robby get carjacked. This prompts Johnny to go on a very long winded tirade about “lowlives” who “take shit that doesn’t belong to them”

- Hawk and Demetri do acid together in a guided trip led by Moon

- Sam and Tory have one (1) homoerotic fight sequence

- Johnny gets so jealous of Daniel and Chozen’s relationship he spray paints another dick on Daniel’s billboard. But he gets really embarrassed about it after and tries to blame it on Silver

- Silver finds out Chozen tried to literally murder Daniel and yet Daniel forgave him anyway and gets so jealous that, in a completely separate incident to the above, spray paints a dick on Daniel’s billboard

- Dutch stabs Kreese in prison (non-fatally)

- In a throwaway line, we find out Shannon relapsed and that’s why they’ve been showing Robby living with Johnny for the past 3 episodes unexplained

- It’s explicitly clarified that Kreese did in fact think Johnny and Daniel were fucking in high school, and so did half the og cobras. It’s not clarified whether or not they actually were

[miyagihawk]

i don’t even know you anymore | eli “hawk” moskowitz x fem reader

warnings: angst, cussing, mentions of mild violence

summary: your boyfriend eli has “flipped the switch” and he calls himself hawk now. the changes in him are breaking your heart.

a/n: another hawk one omg i should just become a cobra kai page honestly... but i love him sm. also shoutout to @sapphireplums for being the absolute sweetest!!!

word count: 1,141

Your boyfriend Eli was gone the second he stepped into the Cobra Kai dojo.

The changes were gradual. He slowly started becoming more defensive and angry, and he spent less time with you to practice karate. But you convinced yourself that he was just gaining confidence and that you should be happy for him.

He was still Eli until a few weeks later, when he became unrecognizable to you.

You thought it was bad before, but the birth of “Hawk” made you think that Eli had a secret crazy twin and that it was all just a huge prank. But it wasn’t. The tattoo and the mohawk were all too real.

This new “Hawk” was the true opposite of your boyfriend. Eli was soft spoken and sweet. He loved holding your hand while you walked around school and he loved playing with your hair during movie nights.

Hawk on the other hand is cocky and aggressive. At school he puts his arm around you as if showing you off like a shiny trophy. When you do hold his hand, you don’t say anything about the scars on his knuckles from the fights he starts. Movie nights are now a party of one, an empty spot on the couch where he used to touch your locks.

But through it all, through all the changes, you kept quiet.

The truth is, you still love him. Everyday you hope that he’ll change back and your sweet Eli will come back to you.

But as you see him throw punches... as you see his rage and the way he shows no mercy to his victims, it breaks your heart. Often cleaning up his cuts that he gets from throwing the first hit. Seeing all the new attention he gets from other girls. All of it is enough to make you lose your hope and you came to the conclusion that Eli was never returning.

-

You sigh as you open your front door to reveal a scene you’ve become desensitized to.

It’s Hawk, paired with a busted lip and a black eye.

He gives you a sheepish smile and you step back to let him inside.

“Hey,” he greets. You don’t say anything, you just make your way to your room and he follows closely behind.

It’s silent as you take out the first aid kit. He sits on your bed and takes off his shirt, revealing several bruises littered across his stomach . This has become such a routine that the kit was just kept on your desk.

You can feel his stare on your face as you clean up all of his cuts, but you don’t make eye contact with him. You’re tired, emotionally and physically. You finish up and put the first aid kit back.

Hawk pulls your arm back to him and you stand in between his legs. He caresses the skin of your waist right under your shirt and asks, “Can you kiss me?”

It’s tempting; you want to give in. You’ve barely spent time with him in the past few weeks and the attention still made your heart swell. But you can’t.

You look him in the eye for the first time tonight. His icy blue eyes felt like a stranger’s. You softly pull his hands away from you and get into the other side of the bed where you were sleeping before he came. Facing away from him you mutter, “Just go to sleep Hawk.”

“What’s wrong?” He asks quietly, and you can feel his eyes on you even though you’re turned around.

“Nothing’s wrong. Just go to sleep, okay?” You close your eyes and sigh.

“Something is wrong,” Hawk’s voice raises.

“Why do you think so?” You sit up, feeling anger bubbling in your stomach.

He scoffs, “Because my own girlfriend won’t even kiss me? Just tell me what’s wrong Y/N.”

You roll your eyes. “You really want to know what’s wrong Hawk? Everything’s wrong! I- I can’t do this shit anymore!”

He’s standing up now and you get out of the bed to face him.

“Y/N what are you talking about,” he furrows his eyebrows and frowns.

“I’m talking about this,” you point at his gelled up hair, “and this,” you grab his shoulder and turn him around to show him that you’re talking about his stupid tattoo. “Look at your face. I don’t kiss you because I’ll only taste blood.”

You grab his hands, and it hurts your heart to imagine the type of pain he inflicted on someone else to get them to look like that. “Look at your hands, Hawk. These used to hold me and play with my hair. Now you use them to bully some poor kids just because it makes you feel powerful. It’s all wrong.”

Hawk looks at you speechless and hurt. It’s the first time you’ve said anything about how you felt towards his new identity and your anger has built up, now exploding in his face.

If someone else was saying this to him, it would go in one ear and out the other. But coming from you, the person he loves most... It hurt like hell.

“This is me,” was all he could say.

“It’s not you. The boy I loved wouldn’t dare to hurt people like you do,” you nod your head and something changed in Hawk’s eyes that almost scared you. His heart felt stabbed when you said “loved”.

“The boy you loved was a fucking loser Y/N; he’s gone. He was insecure and he was a pussy. I’m better now, why can’t you just fucking see that!” He yells and you step back.

He has the fire in his eyes that he has when he’s fighting and that scares you.

“Eli please. I- I’ll help you okay? It’s Kreese he’s in your head. This... this is not you,” you beg.

“My name is Hawk. And I don’t need “help” Y/N. I’m more me than I’ve ever been. Kreese actually sees that. Unlike you,” Hawk says bitterly, offended that you would insult his mentor and the only person who believes in him.

“If this is you then I can’t. I can’t just keep doing this. You aren’t who I fell in love with. Like you said, Eli is gone,” you give up, turning away from the stranger your boyfriend has become.

As you sit on your bed with your back turned to Hawk, you let the tears you’ve been holding back fall down your cheeks.

You miss him. Eli.

You hear rustling and steps behind you, and you assume it was him gathering his stuff to leave.

The door was closed shut with a deafening silence and your sobs consume your body. You’ve never felt a heartache like this.

part 2!!

[elsonambulo]

Johnny/terry for the ship ask please!

I'm in love with you

Allow me to explain. They are just so terrible. It's about what they're projecting onto each other. It's about how Johnny is Terry's consolation prize and Terry is another way for Johnny to hurt himself. It's about how they would take everything out on each other. It's about how Johnny would tear up and Terry would lick the tears directly from his tear ducts don't @ me. It's about how much Terry would spoil Johnny. It's about how Johnny has already been molded into someone who will take direction from older men and Terry would barely have to do anything to take advantage of that. Its about how Terry called Johnny "pretty boy" and "your champ" and it's about how he should call him "golden boy." It's about how they wouldn't hesitate to stab each other and then lick their wounds in private only to reopen them a few hours later. Evil and sexy. Maximum psychic damage.

Also yes I know I'm co-captaining this ship and I know exactly how and why it happened but it's so terrible that I still have to ask myself, "Why? How? For what?" every day.

I love it romantically (evil) but also I think it would have been funny if they were reluctant allies in sending Kreese to jail fjhjh.

If you don't think the silver and gold aesthetic as well as the "big and muscled with bigger and more muscled" aesthetic is hot then idk what to even say to you.

Re: the sworn rivalry. They are rivals for Kreese's love only in Terry's head and I think that's amazing, but also as soon as Johnny realizes the full extent of kk3 he will see Terry as a rival for Daniel's affections. Rivals but they're thinking of two entirely different things God bless.

Johnny is Clark and Malfina in terms of personality, but is only Malfina in terms of circumstance. Terry is also both in terms of personality, but is only Clark in terms of circumstance. Hope this makes sense ❤

Also I think Johnny should be Terry's kept boy like I think that would be good (terrible, mostly, but he deserves to be spoiled) for him. Johnny is rich again so he's too good for gas station food BUT he will still eat dripping packaged ham in front of guests and Terry will have to knock it out of his hands and eat him instead. Also in front of the guests. This is both unspeakably sexy and funny to me.