Hey all, we’re sorry the zine is taking this long to get to your hands! We ran into a bit of a glitch in the payment system with the printing company, but we have started an email chain and we’re trying to figure this out ASAP.
But for some good news, all of our merch has been manufactured and in Mod Lor’s hands! Here are some sneak peek photos of them – and yes, we were able to manufacture all the trading cards as well!
While we are waiting, we will start to send out the digital zine to all those who have purchased it. We are so sorry for the delay, but to make up for the lost time, we want to include a token of our gratitude for your patience and understanding by including a little something extra for everyone who has purchased a physical copy of the zine or the merch. Here’s the poll so you can choose what you’d prefer! https://forms.gle/6VdaWrW5hrzytNBb7
Also, if you wish to change your address, please fill out this form so that we can send your purchases to the correct address! https://forms.gle/7wjtDer5SGLgf9hY7
Tube Tuesday features The Karate Kid! My husband and I are marathoning all the movies and Cobra Kai seasons 1 and 2, so we’re all ready for Cobra Kai season 3!
You’d almost had it: almost. Mr Miyagi had said he was teaching you karate, yet you had been stood there covered in paint, arms completely dead, incredibly tired and confused. You remember when he had come home from the apartment complex on that night, you finally snapped at him, yelling accusations at Mr Miyagi, you complained about acting like his slave. “I would’ve done all of these things for you, anyway! But you said I was training; this is bullshit!” Mr Miyagi grunted, claiming, ‘Ah, you are.“ At which point, you swore at him for a second time and began to walk away, fully intending not to come back. But, something in his voice as he called your name to, 'come here,’ made you stop in your tracks and turn around. The next few minutes were intense and felt like something out of an expertly written hero novel.
How were you to know that all along, he was teaching you perseverance and muscle memory? Each chore - waxing, washing, painting, sanding… was his genius way of instilling the blocks into your mind. You felt stupid, though you probably had good reason to get mad, and you realised that he knew you eventually would.
After that, you did everything he told you to do. If he wanted you to join him on a fishing trip and stand dangerously on the edge of the bow, you would. If he asked you to fix up a hole in the wall, hammer some nails, sweep the floors - whatever the task may be; you would do it, knowing that there was always a lesson to learn with him. And even if there wasn’t one, you couldn’t deny helping your best friend.
You had a great deal of respect for your friend and sensei. When you moved into the apartment complex, you were pretty introverted, and you didn’t get out all that much. You only left the house for school and a little fresh air every so often. You also didn’t have many friends; the people you spoke to were merely classmates and project partners. But then the fridge at your place had decided to pack in, everything inside melted and turned rotten, so your Mum told you to go and find the 'maintenance man’. That’s when you first met Mr Miyagi.
A few weeks later, after your shower had decided to break this time, you went to see him again and found him trimming little bonsai trees. You had had a few bonsais since you were young, but unfortunately, you always managed to kill them; that was until Mr Miyagi happily agreed to teach you how to care for them properly.
A few months passed, and you had somehow learned about his family karate, and it took a lot of convincing, but you managed to get him to agree to train you, thinking that it would give you more to do and it would, of course, come in handy if you ever needed to use it. Your parents were thrilled about this. Finally, you had made a friend and had more reasons to leave the house daily, rather than spending so much time watching TV.
A pact, some chores, and a magical moment later, you were best friends first, and then teacher and a student second. And there was not a single day where you didn’t go to see him for at least a minute, even if it was just to say a quick hello.
-
About a year later, when Mr Miyagi casually brought up in conversation that he had a new student, you were pretty damn confused. "Since when? How did I not notice this?”
“Ah, bad timing. Every time Miyagi with him, you with bonsai, or someplace else.” He pointed out. “New student, ah, live only a few doors from Y/N-san apartment, too.”
“Oh.” You wonder if you’ve already met this person or maybe passed them on the way to school without really noticing. You carefully snip some more leaves from your latest little bonsai project. “Well, how come you’re training this kid, anyway? It took me some real grovelling and persistence to convince you to teach me.”
“Hai.” Mr Miyagi laughs at this. “Boy, uh, have problem with friends. Beat up many times, so make a deal with wacko sensei.” You hear the little sounds of him gently spraying some of the trees. “Fight in tournament, then leave boy alone.”
“The All Valley?” You frown.
“Hai.”
“So, this new student of yours… has to win the whole tournament, and then they’ll stop beating up on him?”
“Win, lose, no matter. If he makes good fight, will earn respect, then nobody bother.” Mr Miyagi pauses for a moment then, before smiling and nodding at you. “Miyagi, glad you no get into fights.”
“I don’t know anyone to get into a fight with.” You laugh. “Unless you are down for a match, huh, Mr Miyagi?”
“Ha, Y/N-san, you much humour.” He looks thoughtful for a moment, and then you watch as he smirks a little. “Much like Daniel-san. Hm, you would make good friends.”
“Daniel.. that’s his name, then?”
“Ah, yes. And both ask a lot of question, too.”
“So,” You put down your clippers and shuffle around on your chair to face Mr Miyagi properly, resting your elbow on the counter. “When can I meet this new student of yours?”
“Come. We go right now.”
“Uh… now?” You watch him place the spray bottle down and walk towards the door. “Wait, Mr Miyagi?” You laugh in disbelief as you take your jacket from a small peg and slip it back on, swiftly moving to follow your friend.
-
“Y/N-san?” Mr Miyagi calls your name just as you get to catch up to him, and you both start to walk towards where the truck is, parked up outside of the apartment complex. “Ah. You drive, let’s go.”
He hands you the keys, and you frown. “I didn’t mean we should go right now, you know.”
“Is good time to go, Daniel-san is back at house. Have to check on him anyway.”
“What-” You flashback to the day you spent washing and waxing every single car in Miyagi’s front yard. “Oh! First lesson, huh?”
“Hai.” You give each other a knowing look, and then both hop into the truck and head off. You spend the short journey wondering how long Daniel will last before losing it over the chores and sore shoulders.
-
“Ah, good work, Daniel-san.” Mr Miyagi looks over the cars as he walks by them all. Before Daniel can register his comment or even speak, Mr Miyagi introduces the two of you. “This is Y/N-san, a special friend to Miyagi.”
“Hey! Yeah, I’m Y/N Y/L/N.” You offer a hand to Daniel while Miyagi disappears into the house. “Good to meet you.”
“Uh, hi.” Daniel drops the giant yellow sponge into the bucket by his feet, wipes his sweaty forehead with his arm and then shakes your hand.
“Daniel… LaRusso.”
“So, how’s it going, newbie?”
“'Newbie’?” Daniel frowns. “What do you mean, 'newbie’?”
“Well, I was Mr Miyagi’s first student, so that makes you the newbie… right?” You smirk and then turn around and start to circle the car, pretending to inspect his work.
“You know karate?” You stop and look over the car at Daniel, giving him an accusatory look, as if to say, 'are you being judgemental because I am a female who knows martial arts?’ Daniel catches it right away and starts fumbling with his words. “No! I didn’t mean because you’re- I mean, I’m not being- I was asking as a general question, I-”
“Okay, okay. Jeez, chill out, rambles. You know I was messing with you?”
“Yeah… yeah.” His mouth slightly agape, he diverts his eyes, looking anywhere but at you. “Right.”
“Alright. Well, I’m going to go and say goodbye to Miyagi, and then head home, so”, You finish your circle around the car, standing next to Daniel again and giving the car a couple of slaps. “I will hopefully see you soon. Nice meeting ya.”
“You too.” As you walk towards the house, you hear the sloshing of the water as Daniel picks up the sponge. You smile and mutter to yourself as you walk, “Good luck with the sanders.”
-
The next day, Mr Miyagi sits in the garden, sanding the edges of the boardwalk, waiting for Daniel. You had spent the morning here, throwing punches and practising kicks on the heavy bag.
“Oh, man, this is beautiful. Mr Miyagi, this is great. You’ve got real fish in there.” You stop kicking, catching the bag and watching as Daniel walks through the garden, spilling compliments and looking around in awe. “This is outrageous. I thought Chung Lee’s restaurant was nice. You beat his act. This is paradise.”
You find yourself laughing at his rambling as Mr Miyagi just carries on with his work. He barely mutters an “Hai” when Daniel asks, “Did you do this yourself?”
You walk over to join them, staring down as Daniel sits down and picks up the sanders. “Are these bongos? No, I got it.”
You giggle when he starts to sing. Mr Miyagi finally looks up, too, joining in on the laughter. “Daniel-san, you much humour.” You twitch a brow at that same compliment Mr Miyagi had paid you just last night.
“Mr Miyagi, I’m going to head home now.” You walk around them, patting Daniel on the shoulder. “See you around, Danny.”
He looks up, and you momentarily find yourself enjoying the sunlit view of his tanned face and perfectly shaped lips. “You’re not staying?”
“Uh-” You shake your head a little, snapping yourself out of it. “No. Probably best I leave you guys to it.”
Daniel looks between you and Miyagi. “But aren’t you, like, still learning, too?”
“Always. But I don’t want to be intruding; this is only your second lesson, after all.” You look back to your teacher, who is smiling at you both. “Mr Miyagi, I’ll see you tomorrow.”
You bow to your sensei and then to Daniel. During your bike ride home, you can’t help grinning as you think about your fellow student, especially in that green plaid he’d been wearing.
-
You are sitting with your legs dangling over the edge of the pool when Daniel walks through the complex. “Y/N?”
“Oh, hey, Danny.”
“What’re you doin’ out here” He stops next to the steps and sits down on the lowest one.
“Just enjoying the evening breeze. How was it with Mr Miyagi today?”
You clock the hand he has rested against his shoulder. He moves it around, grimacing. “Um…”
“Something wrong?” You prompt.
“No, it’s just, I-” He stands up again. “What was your second lesson with him?”
You think quickly about how to reply, not wanting to give anything away. “The first few weeks were mostly learning to block and balance. Why?”
Daniel opens and closes his mouth like a fish, wanting to reply but not knowing what to say. “I- Nothin’.”
“What’s the matter, Danny?” You feel a pang of sympathy for him, remembering how bad your shoulders ached after sanding floors all day long. “You okay?”
“Yeah.. yeah, I’m good. Forget it.” He points up to his apartment. “I gotta go. I’ll see you… Well, whenever I do.”
He starts walking up the steps as you move to stand. “Goodnight, Daniel.”
He turns and smiles. “I think I like you calling me 'Danny’, actually.”
“Alright, then. Night, Danny.” You bow to him, and he does the same back, but you stop him before he turns around. “Hey!”
“What?” He looks alarmed.
“When you bow, you must always keep eye contact.” He nods, and then you bow to each other properly before you both head home.
-
Early the next day, you catch Daniel on his way out. “Danny!”
“Y/N.” He runs down the steps to where you’re sitting with Mrs Milo’s dog. You’d said you would sit with him while she stepped out for a few hours. “Hey, pup.” Daniel reaches down to pet the dog, scratching his neck and ears.
“Off to Mr Miyagi’s?”
“Yeah.” He spots your watch as he glances up from the dog. “And I’m late already. See you!” He runs off, waving back at you as he goes.
“Bye!” You yell back, your eyes popping open when you remember it’s just past six in the morning: your neighbours are probably sleeping still. You glance down at the dog, rubbing his head. “Oops.”
-
That same evening, you see Daniel again when you are just about to go into your apartment. You just get your key in the door when you hear his little grunts of pain. “Someone’s home late. Where you been, Danny boy? Hm?”
“At Mr Miyagi’s place.” He glances up and looks somewhat annoyed at your question. “You know that!”
“Oh, sorry.” You hold your hands up in mock surrender, smiling.
“Sorry. Just-”
“Something wrong?”
“I-” Daniel stands at the bottom of the stairs, while you stand at the top, looking down on him while he squeezes his shoulder with one hand, occasionally wincing. “My shoulders just hurt pretty bad.”
“Oh, well, just put some ice or heat on them and get some rest; I’m sure you’ll be just fine. And right as rain for your next lesson, huh?” You nod at him and then spin around, knowing full well that he’s going to call you back.
“Wait, Y/N.” You smirk; your prediction was correct. You turn back around. “Can I ask you something about your training?”
“Of course. Anything.”
“Did Mr Miyagi ever- I mean did he ask you to- I mean did you end up doing-”
You raise your brows, tapping your fingers in a patterned sequence against the railing. “Come on, Danny. Get it out.”
He huffs. “Look at this!”
He points to his clothing, particular spots that have splashes of paint on them. Some of it is dried, but other bits are still shiny in the moonlight, showing you that it’s still fresh; and that he hasn’t long finished chore number three. He also turns his head to show the paint smudge that decorates his left ear and the spots that made it into his hair. “I’ve been painting the goddamn fences all night! My shoulders are killing, my legs ache… and I haven’t learned a thing that’s gonna help me in the tournament!”
“What about your other lessons? Maybe this was just something Mr Miyagi needed help with.” You keep up your play-dumb act. “I mean, I did have to go grocery shopping for him a few times.”
“Washing and waxing the cars, sanding the floors…” Daniel sighs, letting the grip on his shoulder go and rotating it in circles, stretching. “I guess he had his first student, and now I’m just the chore boy, the personal assistant, the-”
“Danny,” You climb swiftly down the stairs, putting your finger to his mouth. “Shush. Chill out! Mr Miyagi is a great man. Maybe… maybe he just needed some help with a few things. Stick it out, and help the man who - by the way - saved your life… yes, I know about Halloween, and then just trust me when I say that you won’t regret it. He’s the best teacher I could’ve asked for. Not that I’ve ever known another teacher, but… you get my point.”
“Um,” Daniel follows your finger as you pull it away from his pouty lips. He looks dumbstruck for a while before he collects himself and responds.
“Right. Yeah, yeah. If you say so.”
“I do say so.” Your gaze flicker between Daniel’s eyes and his shoulder. “Can I, um-”
He blinks, his head jerking back a tiny bit, confused. “Can you what?”
“Let me,” You push his so that he turns a little, giving you better access to his pained shoulder. “Here.” You put both hands on the area, watching his face for any non-consensual hesitation. When he doesn’t show any, you start rubbing his skin, kneading like you would with dough. Every couple of seconds, you squeeze his shoulder, trying to ease out any amount of tension and - or - pain. Only a few minutes pass before you start to feel a little bit awkward, but also somewhat comfortable; like taking care of Daniel is something you could possibly enjoy and do each day, every day.
Your eyes widen a little, and you clear your throat. “Uh, any better?”
“Wow.” His moonlight lit cocoa brown eyes have a sparkle to them as your gazes meet this time. “Yeah. Yeah, thank you.”
“It’s fine. So, what are you going to do about Mr Miyagi?”
“I’m gonna meet him tomorrow, of course, I am.”
“Okay,” You feel a little sad for Daniel again. You’d kind of been enjoying the turnaround thus far: watching someone else have to do all of Mr Miyagi’s chores and not knowing why. But Daniel was losing it quicker than you did back when, and you were starting to feel sad for him. You hope more than anything that he keeps showing up so that he can finally see that he’s been learning all along. “Danny, come 'ere.”
“Wh- oh!” Before he can ask what you mean, you throw your arms up and around his neck, pulling him down slightly for a hug. It takes a short moment for him to return the gesture, his own arms coming to circle your waist. “What’s this for?”
You feel the puffs of air as he speaks on your neck, and it sends little tingles running along your scalp, arms and legs. “Just 'cause. Just wishing my friend goodnight, you know?”
“Yeah, okay.” He frowns as you pull away, not meeting his eye now.
“Goodnight, Y/N.”
“Night, Danny.” You run back up the stairs and head back to your apartment. “Don’t go running off yet, okay?”
He nods, and then you are back inside in ten seconds flat, closing the door behind you and wondering why you had suddenly gotten so shy out there. You cover your face with your hands, “damn it.”
“What, honey?” Your Mum makes you jump with her sudden question.
“Nothin’!” You reply.
She looks at you with an amused expression. “Okay, well, get some sleep; you have school tomorrow.”
You nod and then plop yourself down on the sofa. 'Damn it,’ You think. 'I’m crushing on the new kid, aren’t I?’
-
“… maybe next time you’ll get some better bites, huh?” You hop down from Mr Miyagi’s truck, closing the door and waiting for a reply.
He gets down from the passenger’s side and goes to collect his fishing gear from the back. “Miyagi hope so, Y/N-san.”
“Danny!” When you look up, you see Daniel stood on the highest part of the ladder, paintbrush in hand and looking rather tired. “How’s it going up there?”
“Y/N!?”
“Ah, missed spot.” You shake your head at Mr Miyagi, trying not to laugh.
“What spot!?” He climbs down from the ladder and follows you and Mr Miyagi into the garden. “Hey, how come you didn’t tell me you were going fishing?”
“You not here when we go.”
“'We?’ Y/N, you too?” Daniel glares at you, causing you to look surprised. “Maybe I wanted to go, too, didn’t you think of that?”
“You karate training.”
“Danny, you’re supposed to be training.” You and Mr Miyagi both talk at once, chuckling to yourselves afterwards.
Daniel looks between you both like you are crazy. “I’m what!? I’m being your goddamn slave; that’s what’s happening! We made a deal here.”
“So?”
“'So?’ You’re supposed to teach, and I’m supposed to learn.”
You stop when you reach the doors to the house, you catch his hand, trying to get him to stop and calm down with your softened voice. “Danny…”
“No.” He huffs and pulls his hand from your hold. “For four days, I’ve been busting my ass, and I haven’t learned a thing!”
You steal Mr Miyagi’s line, the same one he’d said to you at this point a year ago. “You’ve learned plenty.”
“I’ve learned plenty?” Daniel turns back to Mr Miyagi. “I’ve learned to sand your decks, maybe. I’ve waxed your car, I paint your house, paint your fence. I’ve learned plenty, right.”
“Not everything is as seems.”
Daniel glances at you once again, with his mouth hanging open. He gestures to Mr Miyagi, eyes burning into yours like he is waiting for an explanation from you. You just smirk and nod, and he shakes his head in disbelief. “I don’t believe this- this is bullshit!” He turns around, “I’m going home, man!”
“Daniel-san. Daniel-san!” The boom in Mr Miyagai’s voice causes you to jump a little.
Daniel spins around, gripping his shoulder and looking wholly done with everything. “What?”
“Come here.”
You pat Daniel’s back. “And that’s my cue to duck out. See you later!” You disappear into the front yard quickly, hopping onto your bike and heading home, leaving Daniel to his big moment of realisation.
-
The following day, Mr Miyagi called and invited you to join him and Daniel at the beach; it was time for his lesson in balance. You’d rarely uttered the word 'no’ to your teacher in the past, but today was a different story.
“No… I don’t think I can make it, Mr Miyagi.”
“Ah, you have other plans?”
“Uh- no. I just… don’t feel well.”
“Miyagi know when Y/N-san no telling the truth, even through telephone.”
“What? I-”
“Y/N-san, come. We go to the beach: one of your favourite places, ah?”
You hold the phone away from yourself for a second, huffing and then replying. “Okay, fine. I’ll bike there, though, don’t worry about coming to pick me up.”
“Ah!" You can practically hear Mr Miyagi’s glee through the phone. "Very good. See you soon.”
“Okay, bye-bye.”
You put down the phone and get ready to leave as slowly as possible. You had come home last night happy; you were pretty amused at yourself because you got out of there so quickly once Mr Miyagi had called Daniel back. You had been finding all of it somewhat funny. Watching the new student go through all of the chores, slowly getting more and more frustrated before they finally had enough and… well, you were regretting it a little bit now.
Daniel had rejected you when you tried to hold his hand and calm him last night. He’d looked at you like a hurt puppy, and that one evening when he’d complained to you about his aching shoulder: everything was twisting in your mind from a joke to a matter of feeling like a terrible friend. You thought that maybe Daniel would be mad at you for not telling him what was going on, primarily since it had caused him physical pain. But then, you’d also been through the same thing, feeling confused and taken advantage of by an older man who had made you a promise.
You were just messed up in your head, and it probably had a lot to do with the fact that you were also crushing on Daniel now. You sighed loudly, finally ready to go.
-
When you arrived at the beach, you instantly spotted Mr Miyagi’s truck, parked up and empty. You hopped off of your bike and lifted it into the back, knowing that Mr Miyagi wouldn’t mind you doing so and then headed down to the sand.
You felt like running away the second you saw your teacher and fellow student waiting for you. You tried not to meet Daniel’s eye and looked straight to Mr Miyagi instead. He bowed upon you reaching them and then gave out his instructions. “Daniel-san, you go water. Practise kick, learn balance.”
Daniel nodded, taking his headband from his pocket and tying it around his head. Meanwhile, Mr Miyagi turned his attention to you. “You go, too. Practise balance.”
Your eyes popped open. “Wait, what? I didn’t come prepared to get in the water!” You gestured down at your clothes: jeans, a graphic tee and an oversized button-up shirt that was tied around your waist. However, when you looked up again, Mr Miyagi was halfway up the beach, walkings towards the stumps. “Uh, okay. I guess I’m doing it anyway, then.”
You listen, despite your slight annoyance. At the end of the day, you knew that balance was the skill you needed to work on the most. So you walked up to the water, with Daniel following close behind.
With the water barely touching your toes, you rolled up your jeans as far as they would go. Daniel walked into the water first, taking a few steps before stopping and putting his hands on his hips. He looked back at you, yelling, “It’s freezing!”
You simply nodded, walking a few feet away from Daniel and into the water yourself. You shivered at the temperature as you went as far out as you could before the water came up to your knees. It took merely two kicks before you were wiped out by a huge wave. You looked over at Daniel, who was actually doing okay. His kicks weren’t perfect, but he hadn’t fallen yet.
When he noticed you shuffling back onto the squishy sand, he walked closer. “Are you good?”
“Fine.” He offered his hand, but you waved it off, pushing yourself up and simply standing far enough in the water so that you could watch it wash over your feet and disappear again. “Go. I’m fine. Just not really dressed for this right now.”
Daniel frowned but went back to his training anyway.
-
“How did you do that!?”
“How did you do that!?” You and Daniel both freaked out at the same time after watching Mr Miyagi break four beer bottles at once.
The drunk men were the opposite in their reactions, looking rather shocked and possibly scared. They quickly moved the bottles and brushed away the broken glass into a bag along with the rest of their trash.
You follow Mr Miyagi as he gets up into the truck, “Hey, how did you do that?”
“Don’t know. First time.” He looks pleased with himself as you chuckle in disbelief. “Y/N-san, you want ride back?”
“Uh, no. I can just take my bike; it’s okay, I promise.”
“Okay.” He nods. “You come for dinner later?”
“Sure, yeah.”
You bow to each other and then walk to the back of the truck to get your bike. As you do, a gust of wind sweeps over you, causing shivers and goosebumps over your skin.
“Why don’t you have a towel?” Daniel asks then, coming up beside you.
“It’s like I said, I didn’t really come prepared to go in the sea.”
“Here,” he tries to wrap his towel around you, but you shove him away. “Wh-? I’m just trying to help.”
“Yeah… and then you’ll be the one freezing instead, idiot.”
“Oh, so last night I was 'Danny’, and now I’m 'idiot’, huh?” He wraps the towel around you successfully the second time, not letting you push him away. “Here. We’ll share.”
You roll your eyes, sighing, but grabbing on to the end of the towel anyway, pulling it around you a little more. “Thanks.”
“What’s up with you, anyway? Something wrong?”
Your head whips around to look up at him. “What? Why?”
“You were all helpful the other night and today; it’s like you hate me all of a sudden.”
You huffed and looked away again.
“Mr Miyagi, Y/N and me want to stay here a little while… if that’s okay.” Your eyes widen as Daniel leans onto the window of the truck, letting go of the towel so that it hangs on you only.
“Wait-” Daniel shush you by simply raising his hand. Mr Miyagi lets him know that it’s just fine before he shuffles into the driver’s seat and is gone before you know it. “I- my bike…”
“Come on, Y/N, we’ll just walk back. It’s not that far.”
“But-”
“Come on, let’s just go and sit down for a little bit.” You follow him to the stone wall, where you both sit, dangling your legs over the edge. “So what’s up?”
“You.” You blurt out.
Daniel laughs. “Wait, why me? What did I do?”
“It’s what I did.”
“You’re really confusing me, Y/N.”
You turn around then, finally meeting his eye and trying to act tough. “Why aren’t you annoyed at me? I didn’t tell you about the lessons! I kept it secret and watched you suffer through all those damn chores when I knew all along, and just- ugh- you should so mad that I didn’t tell you-”
“That’s it!?” Daniel shuts you up by raising his own voice to get your attention back; it works. “That’s why you’re acting so strange? Man, you are weird.”
“Excuse me?”
“You heard me. Weirdo.”
“Wow.” You scoff. “I really shouldn’t have felt so bad about it.”
“No, you shouldn’t. It’s not a huge deal, Y/N. At least I know now.”
“But I still feel bad. You looked more annoyed than I did at that point last night.”
“Hey, wait.” Daniel frowns, knocking his knee into yours. “Did you curse at Mr Miyagi too?”
“Uh- yes! Of course. I also accused him of making me his little worker bee.” You laugh. “Although, it took me a little longer. I had one more lesson before I went nuts.”
“Which was?” Daniel prods.
“I’m not telling! You’ll find out soon enough.”
“But you just made a big deal out of feeling bad for not telling me about the chores!”
“And you just said it wasn’t a big deal!”
“Ugh.” Daniel huffs.
“Ugh.” You copy him.
You look out at the sea for a moment, watching it glitter in the sunlight. Then you close your eyes and flashback to training with Mr Miyagi on the cliffs. “He’ll teach you kata soon. I really love that; it’s… relaxing.”
“Really?” You nod, and then you start to feel awkward again as Daniel continues to look at you without saying anything further.
“What?”
Daniel shrugs. “Nothin’.” He looks away again but keeps looking back every couple of seconds. You’re about to say something when he suddenly stands up. “Oh! I have something for you.”
“For me?”
“Yeah…” He reaches into his back pocket and pulls out a headband. It’s black with a white line pattern that forms star shapes throughout.
“Mr Miyagi, let me have this one,” he adjusts his own as he mentions it, “but I noticed that you haven’t worn one yet. So… I’m hoping you don’t have one already. Otherwise, this is a terrible gift. Do you have one already? 'Cause I’ll just go and bury myself in the sand if this is the worst gift ever.”
“Danny, the ramble king, is back, I see. Shut up and give me the damn thing!”
“Uh, if you’re gonna be rude, then no.” He moves it away, but you snatch it from his hands and tie it around your head straight away. “Does it look good?”
“Looks great.”
You fiddle with it until it feels right, then smile up at your friend. “Thanks, Danny.”
“Does the nickname mean we’re good? You’re not mad at me for being mad at you, even though I wasn’t mad at you, to begin with?”
“I can’t believe I understood that. But we’re better than good.”
“Okay.” Daniel sits back down, and it doesn’t go unnoticed by you that he sits closer this time, your arms and legs pressed against each other.
“Good. 'Cause, there’s something I wanna ask you.”
“What’s that?”
“There isn’t some teacher or co-worker style of a rule that says two karate students can’t go out… right?” Your eyes widen, and your full attention is on Daniel, watching his talk as he looks out to sea and slowly sneaks his hand over to cover yours. “Right?”
“Uh, I don’t think there is, actually.”
“So?”
You try to sustain the grin that threatens to show itself on your face. “Gold 'N’ Stuff?”
“What?”
“For our date? On… Saturday?”
“Uh- yes! Saturday’s my birthday. Talk about the best birthday ever!” Daniel’s fist pumps the air, and you can’t hold back your laughter at his dork nature.
“Pick me up at 7?”
“You got it.”
You smile again, reaching up to take his chin between your fingers and turning him to face you once more. You glance at his lips and then up to his eyes, asking for permission. He looks surprised, but he nods before putting his free hand on your neck and pulling you in for a soft, sweet and utterly too short of a kiss. You pull your bottom lip between your teeth as you pull away, eyes closed.
Daniel sighs before saying, “the chores and achy arms were worth it to get to meet you, you know, Y/N.”
You have been noticing slight differences in how Daniel has been behaving lately. He didn’t take Mr Miyagi refusing to train him for the tournament well. You didn’t understand why he had suddenly changed his mind and signed up for the fight, anyway. He’d told you and Miyagi, not days ago, that he wanted their shared karate to “mean something.” He didn’t need or want to defend the trophy anymore, yet he’d suddenly come into the shop one night with a snapped bonsai and news that he had gone and signed the entry form.
Mr Miyagi didn’t want to be involved, but Daniel still had to train. After eating breakfast each morning at the Miyagi house, you would get into your running gear and do laps around the local park with him and Jessica. Then he would leave and head off to the cliffs to continue training alone for a while before returning for dinner. But tonight, he hadn’t come back to eat with you. Instead, you had ended up cooking up some fish with Miyagi. It was a primarily silent meal, as you were both expecting Daniel would show up eventually, with some excuse about falling off of his bike or stopping at the store to check on things. But that didn’t happen, and it was getting late, so you bid Miyagi goodbye before heading home to your shared apartment with Jessica. You were expecting your boyfriend to call and explain why he was late. Maybe he would form some unnecessarily long apology where he would mutter on and on before you were able to get a word in and tell him it was fine. Alas, that didn’t happen either.
You didn’t like to go to bed without a goodnight, whether it was in person or via phone call. Things felt off with Daniel lately, like perhaps he was losing himself somehow. You knew you wouldn’t be able to sleep unless you went to see if everything was okay. So you put your jacket back on, left Jessica a note on the fridge, and began to make your way back to Mr Miyagi and Daniel’s house, hoping he would be there by now.
-
When you arrive, you hop off of your bike and leave it leaning against the fence behind the collection of Miyagi’s cars. You make your way around to Daniel’s room, knowing that the guys didn’t care if you walked in without saying a word; you were always welcome at the house, invitation or not. Except, after walking around and into the garden on this particular evening, you felt like you might not be. “Mr Miyagi?”
He was standing outside Daniel’s room, head bowed a little, before he had heard your voice and glanced up. “Hai?” He starts to walk back inside slowly.
“What’s going on?”
Miyagi gestured towards the room with a nod of his head. “Daniel-san, hurt foot.”
“Oh?” You raised your brows. “What happened?”
“Don’t know,” he sighed. “Goodnight, Y/N-san.”
“Goodnight, Mr Miyagi.”
He closes the back door, and you watch the house until you see the lights switch off. You feel a pang of sadness in your chest at the thought of Miyagi being upset, but you shake it off quickly and knock on Daniel’s door. “Hey, it’s Y/N.”
“Oh, uh, yeah, yeah, come in.”
You slide open the door to be met with the sight of your boyfriend, sitting up in his bed with one leg dangling over the side. His right foot is soaking in a large bowl on the floor. It’s filled with bright green liquid, and as you look closer, you see it steam and bubble. “What in the hell… is that?”
“Uh… I’m not entirely sure, but I wouldn’t suggest that you s-” Daniel cuts himself off when you bend down a little and take a sniff of the strange substance. You pull back instantly, holding a hand over your nose and grimacing. “Smell it.” Daniel finishes.
“Wow. So, it’s some more secret Miyagi magic, huh? Some potion he cooked up to heal your foot.” You sit down on the bed next to him, pushing some pillows away to make room. “Gonna tell me what you did to it?”
“No. I mean…” Daniel makes a face like he’s annoyed at you for having asked. You don’t dwell on it, thinking that perhaps he’s just tired and in pain. “Nothin’. Just- banged it, I guess.”
“Well, that’s not the truth, but I’ll let you stew in your deceit until you can tell me what reallyhappened, hm?” You had meant for the comment to come off as a joke. You thought he would laugh; usually, Daniel appreciated your sense of humour since it matched his identical, sarcastic style pretty well. But instead, he reacted rather unexpectedly.
“What, you don’t believe me!?” He yells, nearly tipping over the bowl of stinky foot soup as he twists his body around, bouncing on the bed a little. “You think you know everythin’? I fell. I banged myself, and there’s just a small bruise, that’s it. Just a little accident. Why is it such a big deal?”
Even Daniel’s outburst doesn’t make sense. You know him well enough to know when he is hiding a lie, but any sod could see right now that he wasn’t speaking truthfully. Your mind wanders to not-so-great places as you imagine the possibilities of what could have happened for him to get so defensive over - as he said - ‘a small bruise’.
“Danny…” You touch his shoulder, but he shrugs it off. It makes you feel small and worthless to be pushed off by someone you care for so deeply. You take a breath and try to sound calm just the same. “I’m just trying to help you. And so is Mr Miyagi. He looked heartbroken when I got here, you know?”
He turns away from you, arms crossed. “I’m fine, okay! I’m just trying to focus on the tournament! I don’t need distractions.”
“Your sensei, no - your bestfriend and your girlfriend, are distractions to you now, Daniel? The two people who love and care for you most. Just because Miyagi disagrees with your want to defend a plastic trophy: doesn’t mean he doesn’t care. He brought you this weird foot stuff, right?” You shuffle on the bed, distancing yourself from Daniel a little. “Can you please, tell me what happened?”
“Extreme situations call for extreme measures.”
“What situations? The tournament?” Daniel finally looks your way again, but you don’t see the sweet, silly boy who defended you against your bullies back in school. Nor the smooth-talking, funny guy who sweet-talked you into agreeing to go on a date with him before you’d even realised what he’d asked. Instead, Daniel looks exhausted, just the way he did after his first tournament. But you had seen him just this morning when he had colour in his cheeks and a little twinkle in his eye as he kissed your cheek before leaving to go to the cliffs; why was he so tired after just a few hours. “Daniel?”
“Look, I got problems, and Mr Miyagi won’t help me fix it. Extreme situations… extreme measures.”
“You know better than to think like that.” You stand up and glance between his injured foot and his face, which is covered by his own hands as he huffs loudly. “This isn’t you talking.”
“Well, I’m sorry if you don’t like it, Y/N, but it is me talking, and I got problems, so you both gotta stop giving me such a hard time about it and just let me be.”
“Okay, fine.” You walk to the door and slide it back open again. “I hope you’ll figure all this out soon, Daniel. You’re not just hurting yourself; you’re hurting Miyagi. After all that he’s done for you, he doesn’t deserve your lies, and neither do I.”
You leave then, closing the door behind you gently, before turning around and finally letting the tear that was threatening to fall, spill out.
-
You don’t hear from Daniel for three days after that. He had tried to call you a few times but had probably given up when he realised it was always Jessica who answered, telling him that you didn’t want to talk. A few times, you wonder if maybe you’d acted a little too dramatically. But then you think of Mr Miyagi’s heartbroken face after Daniel had lied to him, even after he had helped heal his foot and voiced his concerns over what was going on. Mr Miyagi cares so profoundly for Daniel, and you think that even Daniel must know that he can see straight through anybody’s lies. Miyagi had seen right through you when you had denied to him that you liked Daniel almost a year ago - nothing got past him.
You think about that sweet memory, the way you had sat next to Daniel after Miyagi had called to let you know about the Halloween fight. They’d talked about karate and agreed on going to Cobra Kai dojo together to see if they could fix Daniel’s little problem. After he’d left, Mr Miyagi had turned to you and said, “You, uh, care about friend very much. I think Y/N-san likes Daniel-san, hai?” After denying it more than a few times, he’d given you this exasperated look that told you he knew the truth, to which you smiled and nodded before he’d patted your shoulder and wished you a good night.
Your thoughts are interrupted by the phone ringing loudly, making you jump. You groan loudly and call out to Jessica. “Phone!” You huff when you hear her yell from the bathroom, “in the shower! Just ignore it.”
You sigh, picking up the phone anyway. “Hey, I don’t want to talk unless you’re- oh-”
“Y/N-san, hello. Miyagi calling.”
“Oh, hi. How are you?”
“Miyagi fine. But Daniel-san, not so good.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Hurt arm, hurt foot, hurt head… we fight. Nothing I can do.”
“Oh, I- uh, I don’t know what to say, Mr Miyagi.”
“Maybe, uh, talk with his sweetheart can help.”
“I- I’m not sure about that. We disagreed too, and we haven’t spoken in a few days. I’m not sure if Daniel even wants to see me.”
“Ah- understand.”
“I’m sorry- I-”
“Hai. No, I understand. Miyagi pray for Daniel-san. But, are you okay?”
“Yes, I’ll be okay. Thank you.” His gentle voice, despite everything, makes you smile, and you squeeze your eyes shut as you hear him say goodbye. “Wait!”
“Hm?”
“Do you know where he is?”
“No, but I can help look.”
“No, no. It’s late. I’ll go. I’ll call if I find him, alright?”
“Thank you, Y/N-san. Goodnight.”
“I’ll see you soon.”
You hang up the phone and then mutter curse words to yourself before thinking of places to look. You leave a note for Jessica on the fridge and head out on your bike to search.
-
The Cobra Kai dojo was the last place you ever expected to find Daniel. You had nearly fallen off of your bike when you had ridden past and spotted him through the windows. You stopped dead in your tracks and jumped half a mile when a car honked behind you. Quickly getting off of your bike, you waved at the driver in apology and leaned it against the building. You peered inside and saw a tall, slender man with a ponytail menacingly grinning at Daniel. He was holding Daniel’s wrist, and you could tell he had a tight grip, as you could see from here that the skin around the area was white from the pressure. You move to get a better look at what’s happening, and as you crouch down, you see the blood lining Daniel’s knuckles.
Your hand comes up to cover your mouth as you see his blood covering the face of Mike Barns’ poster, too. You feel sick, remembering reading about that guy and now understanding why Daniel was so desperate to have training. You don’t know what to do at this moment. If you go in, maybe you could coax Daniel out, make up some excuse and drag him away. But maybe whoever was training Daniel would get aggressive, too - he seemed to you to be that type.
You don’t get much of a chance to make a decision when you are suddenly hearing Daniel’s grunts, followed by the him and the taller man cheering. You look up again and see them high fiving each other. After a minute, you watch Daniel head to the back, and then return changed and heading for the door. You wipe at your cheeks, only momentarily registering how much you’d cried at the sight of Daniel’s cut up hands. As you hear the door open, you stand, bike forgotten, and quickly move to catch up with your boyfriend as he walks quickly down the road.
“Daniel!” You tap his shoulder, and he turns so quickly that it makes you jump away from him. He lowers his defence when he takes in your form. “Uh-”
“Sorry! Man, don’t creep up on me like that. It’s dark out.”
“I called your name…” Your heart thumps as you walk alongside him, headed home. “You even think maybe it was someone you knew, and you didn’t have to be ready to punch me?”
“Shit. I’m sorry, okay. It’s just this guy… Silver, he’s teaching me things I never thought I could do. You have to be ready for your enemy to attack.”
“I’m your enemy?”
“No. But, you know what I mean?”
“I don’t think I do.” You mutter, more to yourself than to Daniel. Then you stop him, gripping his arm and turning him to face you underneath the orange hue of a street light. “So, that’s the guy’s name, Silver? The one who had you punching that wooden dummy.”
“You saw that?”
“Yes, I did. And you need to stop. Look at this,” you take Daniel’s hand as carefully as possible and lift it so you can both look. Your thumb brushes over the small cuts that mark up each knuckle. “It’s not good. It’s not the way Miyagi taught you. Can’t you see that it’s changing you?”
He looks annoyed, but he doesn’t move his hand from your grasp. “What if it’s a good change?”
“Daniel, I-”
Suddenly, a dirty-looking man, dressed in torn-up jeans and an open shirt, appears beside your boyfriend. The man pushes him out of your eyesight and leans down to whisper in your ear. “Hey, sweetie, you wanna come home with me?”
“Excuse me!?” You shove him back, using all the strength you can muster. He slams against the opposing store window, shouting.
“Bitch! What’s your problem? Come on; I’ll take you home, treat you real good.”
“Nah, she’s with me.” Daniel’s arm wraps around your waist protectively, and it’s the most gentle he’s been in weeks. You feel a slight flutter of hope in your chest. “Let’s go.”
“Not so fast.” The man grabs your shoulder as you start to walk and tugs so hard that you fall to the ground.
“Hey!” Daniel yells at him, and then before you can even register what’s happening, the guy is on the floor, holding his nose as blood pours from it.
“Dude, you broke my nose!”
“What!? You hit that guy! Technique and killer instinct, you finally got it, man!” Suddenly, you are being yanked to your feet by Terry Silver as he continues to cheer Daniel on. “You protected your girl, here! Huh?”
“No, man!”
“What?”
“I gotta do something. I gotta help that guy out, man.” Daniel tries to get past Silver to see where the guy gets up and runs to. You look along the street and see him sitting on a bench, phone in hand, probably calling the cops.
“What? No, you’ve got to go before the cops get here. You did the right thing! You nailed that guy.”
Silver begins to run, so Daniel takes your hand and goes too, as you all see the flashing red and blue lights in the distance. “Come on.”
As you speed up, sprinting down the street, you notice that Terry has stopped, and you can faintly hear the creepy guy yelling, “Hey, where’s my money?”
Your blood boils. The whole ordeal was all a setup. Silver had paid that guy to hit on you and make Daniel act out on his newfound aggression.
-
“I’m so sorry, Y/N. I can’t believe I just broke that guy’s damn nose. This whole thing - it isn’t me. I feel like I’m losing it.”
“Finally.” You sit down on Daniel’s bed and tug on his shirt sleeve so that he’ll follow. “I tried to tell you.”
“I know, and I’m sorry! What I said, I didn’t mean it, and I wanted to call and apologise right away.”
“Then why didn’t you?” You try to look at his eyes, but he is so skittish at this moment, his leg bouncing and his hands shaking. “You waited until the next day, and by then, I just- didn’t want to hear your voice, if I’m honest.”
“I get that. I’m a mess. And Mr Miyagi… man, I screwed everything up with him, and with you! I’m just stuck. I don’t know what to do.”
“Well, firstly, I’m sitting right here. I haven’t gone anywhere. I came looking for you tonight; Mr Miygai thought that if he couldn’t help you, then maybe I could.” You cup his jaw in your hands and force him to look at you. “I’m here. Okay? And Mr Miyagi loves you. He tells me all the time how proud he is of you; explain everything as you did to me, and I’m sure it’ll be okay.”
Daniel shifts so that your hand falls away. “I don’t think he’ll be so proud when he hears what I did to that guy.”
“He should hear it from you, though, right?”
“What if I can’t face him? I don’t know if I can.”
“You can.” You sigh, taking his injured hand and wiping away some of the dried blood with your sleeve. He winces, but he doesn’t stop you. “Sorry.”
“Nah, it’s fine. I do appreciate you helping me… patching me up, y'know.” He lifts your chin with his free hand, wiping away a stray tear from your cheek. “I didn’t mean what I said.” He repeats.
“I know.” You nod, and reach for his drawers, where you know he has a couple of bandages and medical supplies. You take one out of its packaging and wrap it around his hand before tying a knot.
“There. Anything else hurting or needs lookin’ at?”
“Yeah, but it’s fine… I swear.”
“Okay, then.” You lift his hand to your lips and plant a couple of kisses onto it. It’s a grounding moment: like you are showing him through your soft touch that he’s here in this moment, that you are here for him, and everything is okay for now.
He smiles, and you can’t help thinking about how much you missed it, that sweet innocent smile that you fell for first. But before you can let yourself cry any more tears dwelling on that, you pull his hand around your shoulder and cuddle into his side. He’s taken aback for a few seconds, but then you feel him tighten the hug and kiss the top of your head. “Thank you.” He whispers, and after a few more minutes, “I wanna call the hospital, find out that guy’s name so I can pay for everything.”
“That sounds like a good idea to me.”
“Yeah. You coming?” He stands up, offering his hand, which you take before he leads you into the main house. You sit down on a cushion on the floor while Daniel grabs the phone. It’s not long before he starts to get annoyed, yelling at the nurse on the phone about not knowing the guy’s name.
Mr Miyagi arrives home just before the nurse hangs up, and Daniel slams the phone down. “Damn it!”
Miyagi looks down at me and then back at Daniel. “Oi. What matter?”
Daniel explains what happened on the streets only an hour ago, and you decide to wait inside as they head to the garden to talk more.
As dire as the situation may be, you can’t help but smile as you see their two figures looking down at the bonsai tree. Your boyfriend was finally back, but you kew you still hadn’t seen the last of Terry Silver.
You hear it before you see it: Daniel’s voice echoing through the apartment complex as your hand freezes in your bag, where you’d been searching for your keys. He slams his hands against the wall as he yells. “Why can’t we just go back home!?”
“Listen to me.” Lucille starts to pat his face with a piece of cloth as you walk closer to them. “I cannot help you unless you tell me what’s wrong.”
“I gotta take karate, that’s it.”
“You took karate.”
“No, not at the Y, a good school!”
“Fighting doesn’t solve anything.”
“Yeah, well, neither does palm trees, Ma.”
You close in on them at that moment, and Lucille turns to you with surprise but also - a little bit of relief. “Ah, Y/N, do you want to try and ask him what happened to his bike? Maybe he’ll tell you the truth.”
“I told you the truth, Ma!”
You decide to try and ease the situation, suggesting that you go inside and talk. “Hey, is it okay if I come in and watch a movie tonight, Miss. LaRusso.“
"Of course, let’s go inside- what about the bike?”
Daniel sighs as his mother takes his arms and guides him back to their apartment, with you closely following. “It’s safer taking the bus.”
-
Once inside, Lucille tries to find some first aid supplies but pauses when Daniel goes straight to his room, mumbling to himself about New Jersey. She sighs, and you share a look before going after him. “I got it,” you mouth to her.
She smiles in thanks. “Take this.” She whispers, handing you a bag filled with plasters and alcohol wipes. You had been Daniel’s best friend since you were both four years old, and she knew that when he was angry or upset, you were the only person he would even consider listening to.
You head over to his door, tapping your special coded knock, before twisting the knob and letting yourself into the room. His back is against the wall, his long legs dangling over the edge of the bed. He looks up at you as you close the door and smile. “Hey.”
“What’s up?”
“Oh, you know, just coming to check on my sulky, bleeding best friend.”
“That all?”
“Yep.” You plop down on his bed next to him and cross your legs, ready to get the truth. “So, what happened, Danny? Those kids from the beach, again, huh?”
“Why’d you even ask?” He huffs, touching his head and wincing when his two fingers coat with blood.
“Idiot! Don’t touch it.” You tut him and then unzip the bag that his mother had given you. “Here.” You wipe his head, slapping his hand away whenever he would complain, and then cover it with a cut-out square of gauze. “And you were the one who spilt to me about the fight on the beach, so it wasn’t much of a guessing game.”
“Whatever. I just wanna go back home.”
“It’s not so bad here.” You put the medical supplies away and throw the bag on his bedside table. “I mean, despite the obvious of you getting hurt, I like it.”
“You do?” He asks, looking at you like you’re crazy.
“Yeah, come on. I miss Jersey, too, but I didn’t have any friends there. Here, I’ve gained a little group of really nice people; I like my classes.. and have you been to golf ‘n’ stuff yet because it’s so fun.”
“Lucky for you. My only friends are still back home.”
“Excuse me! What about your best friend? She’s sitting right in front of you. And she’s trying to help you, but you are making it so incredibly difficult right now, you know?”
“Jeez, I’m sorry! I appreciate it, really, Y/N.”
“You’d better. Now, how’s your head?”
He goes to touch it again, but when you frown, he stops and rolls his eyes. “Better, I think.”
“Alright, well, maybe we just give this place a few more weeks, huh? If you still aren’t happy here, by… let’s say - New Year, then I will personally help you plan some 'reasons why we should go back home’ speech for your Mum.” You giggle at yourself, and Daniel finally smiles, finding you amusing, as usual. “Sound good?”
He chuckles, holding his side as he sits up and offers his hand. “Deal.” You shake his hand, and then you both fall back against the wall together, staring at the stack of books leaning against the opposing wall. “What now?”
“A game of scrabble? With curse words acceptable this time.” You suggest, over a laugh.
“Mm, okay. I’ll go get the box.”
He stands, groaning at his sore ribs as he does. “Soda?”
“Please.”
He leaves the room, then, but not before popping his head back in and whispering, “by the way, thank you.”
You jump to your feet and plant a quick kiss on his cheek. “Anytime, Danny.”
He smiles, and you return to his bed, smoothing out the blankets and making it as flat as possible for the board to sit on.
Meanwhile, Daniel mindlessly collects the game, drinks, and a few pieces of candy from the kitchen. All the while, wearing a pretty pink blush on his face, as his mind lingers on the kiss you’d just landed on his skin.
His mother looks up from the sofa, looking pleased as she asks, “Is everything okay now, Daniel.”
“Uh.. yeah, Ma. Everything’s good. Oh, and I’m sorry, Ma, for yelling out there, you know.”
She smiles and nods, and then Daniel appears back in the doorway to his room, smiling. “Time to kick your ass at scrabble then, Y/N/N.”
As popular as The Karate Kid movies were, they weren’t nearly as big as Star Wars. Nothing is. But with the remake-reboot trend along with the 80s nostalgia that has plagued Hollywood, something like Cobra Kai is like a jackpot waiting to be hit.
It could have been one of those soft reboots where the old cast comes back to usher in the new heroes and fades into the existence and we’re left with a soulless cash grab of a series that has nothing other than references carrying it. We’ve had FAR too many of those – Ghostbusters Afterlife, Terminator whatever, Jurassic World, Charlie’s Angels, Jumanji, Picard…
And of course, our favorite – the Star Wars sequel trilogy. Boy did this thing not understand the assignment at all. But Cobra Kai does and it shows us that you can absolutely bring back a 30-year-old franchise to life without destroying its legacy. In fact, it adds to it.
i just think there’s something particularly “Americana” about the karate kid movie. i mean, it opens with two east-coast italian-americans taking to the open road and, in the background of all this western scenery, we get these very obvious western themes in the score–like, the movie is just sitting there with a bull-horn in the directors chair chanting “They’re going West. They’re going West. They’re going West.” and they end up going so Very west that Daniel’s whole story revolves around a cultural product/study directly transported from the “East.”
(and i also think that there’s a fun little intersection between the Japanese film and Italian film centered on “The American West” that there’s no way John Avildsen wasn’t very aware of, and that’s got to have been, if not consciously, circling around his Film-Mind the entire time he was making karate kid.)
and when you compare it to avildsen’s Other Sports Movie (Rocky) which is such a love letter to the make-up of the industrial city of the American East, the karate kid feels like an answer to that city in so many ways. there’s that joke that lucille says when she’s asking daniel if he’s met any cute girls and she goes “The whole world’s turned blonde!” which is funny to hear but also funny when you consider that it’s very much a comment on a misunderstanding of what southern californians Look Like–there’s the blonde anglo-ish-americans living in Encino and then there’s all the kids daniel befriended for like a second before johnny kicked his ass on the beach.
daniel, looking around the area surrounding mr. miyagi’s house, goes “looks like newark.” but it’s mr. miyagi who takes daniel to places that are unmistakably The West—his backyard, the beach, fishing, his own personal history, etc. in direct contrast with the weirdly sanitized cobra kai spaces, which could be Anywhere.
something like this (with all the tiny american fascists in a row) compared to:
Forever thinking about an angsty post-TKK3 AU where Johnny does some traveling as he tries to figure out his life, and he runs into Kreese in some faraway corner of the world.
And Kreese is now involved in an underground shootfighting ring and he draws Johnny into a world of blood and pain and it’s all downhill from there for poor Johnny.
And they eventually get back to the Valley and Daniel and Johnny run into each other again (and maybe they already have romantic history, kinda like in one of the Lawrusso ficlets I wrote?), and Daniel can immediately tell Johnny’s not doing okay, and he’s like “what the hell happened to you, man???”, but he can’t get through to Johnny at all.
And when Daniel finds out about the shootfighting he doeseverything he can to drag Johnny out of that world and away from Kreese.
J. Matthew Turner, the proud creator of such viral video hits as “Mortal Kombat and Enter the Dragon Are the Same Movie“, which spanned over 100,000 views in its first 48 hours, has now brought us his analysis of The Karate Kid.
In the video, Turner suggests that Daniel (Ralph Macchio) is “a violent sociopath who picks every fight” and is the actual bully, not Johnny (William Zabka), who is the real hero.
The YouTuber makes a compelling case, particularly for all those who have called this out before. So maybe grab a box of tissues and prepare to reevaulate your entire life.
Correct me if I’m wrong but All Daniel’s issues in S4 stem from his inability to stop grieving Mr Miyagi right?
He can’t let go of the old man to the point that he’s stuck in his own past and his philosophy has stagnated.
He can’t forge his own path the way Miyagi wanted him to because that would mean leaving a bit of Miyagi in the past. He even talks to him like he’s still alive.
He can’t parent his kids with confidence or get on with Johnny because his identity is so wound up in Miyagi’s story. Like his whole life is a shrine to the old guy’s memory.
Jenny started with short choppy hair and then suddenly it turned into super Saiyan Jenny and I couldn’t let it go. Short hair Jenny is still happening tho, just need to figure out what outfit (also drawing long-haired Danielle and she’s becoming a crisis). The Cobra gang as ladies is getting finished up soon, so keep an eye out for those fabulous girls!
Labeling any of my rule 63 tkk stuff as tkk girl au for now, since tkk also encompasses ck. The tkk rule 63 verse is so substantial now, it makes me so happy!!!
The one on the left was an earlier post. I loved drawing that one so much that I did two more. The alternative title was “Johnny Johnny Johnny”xD
Trying to draw current karate dads, winning with Johnny and utterly failing with Daniel. Why is your face so hard to draw Ralph?! Everytime I try to draw adult Daniel it’s too baby … >_<
@justveeing - ty for igniting the Rule 63 Karate Kid art verse. Because um… how dare you?! Now all my free time is spent drawing genderbent versions of these characters
@twobrokenwyngs for this Facetune post of Ralph Macchio - Because oh my lord? It is really unfair how he’s the best of both worlds.
Wanna try the Cobra Girls next, but been itching to try Kumiko/Ali/Jessica as boys…
I know Terry works as a female variant name, but only labeling it Terri so she gets her own tag just like Danielle. Because darnit, she deserves it! Also… has anyone put Thomas Ian Griffith through facetune yet? For reasons?
![Bad taste in men and loving it [Originally on Twitter]Inconrrect lawrusso quotes: 18/???](https://64.media.tumblr.com/2abc8d2ed3b0f0fa3bd189fd9947b8aa/2976d2fc97af5e27-c2/s1280x1920/0e5adc8d5f1906400f93fbbf4e2a1d5c7601ace2.png "Bad taste in men and loving it [Originally on Twitter]Inconrrect lawrusso quotes: 18/???")
![Bad taste in men and loving it [Originally on Twitter]Inconrrect lawrusso quotes: 18/???](https://64.media.tumblr.com/6f87eef387c76fd9472aa94c4dfd320b/2976d2fc97af5e27-26/s1280x1920/322e741e7bd34885fe79aa5b91bbd0c8a64280fd.png "Bad taste in men and loving it [Originally on Twitter]Inconrrect lawrusso quotes: 18/???")
![Bad taste in men and loving it [Originally on Twitter]Inconrrect lawrusso quotes: 18/???](https://64.media.tumblr.com/7204f08bec9e58f80c343dd5397ab42e/2976d2fc97af5e27-2c/s1280x1920/0b42163a60a2c915749b59df9bd7d4e2cd11b563.jpg "Bad taste in men and loving it [Originally on Twitter]Inconrrect lawrusso quotes: 18/???")
![Bad taste in men and loving it [Originally on Twitter]Inconrrect lawrusso quotes: 18/???](https://64.media.tumblr.com/92daecdcc8a650119ab7504ecd9c24b0/2976d2fc97af5e27-8f/s1280x1920/b82642c35d996a1ba3211a112f2303d68952f26e.png "Bad taste in men and loving it [Originally on Twitter]Inconrrect lawrusso quotes: 18/???")
![Bad taste in men and loving it [Originally on Twitter]Inconrrect lawrusso quotes: 18/???](https://64.media.tumblr.com/652680f4f92bb4961510975d75fba762/2976d2fc97af5e27-a5/s1280x1920/3a34d3c227f8186a10b1a51349e5b281105400c5.png "Bad taste in men and loving it [Originally on Twitter]Inconrrect lawrusso quotes: 18/???")
