#cancelkarates

[valleyschamp]

@cancelkarates asked: “Daniel, I - I finally had enough of this karate shit. No more.”

Daniel   sat   frozen,   his   hand   hovering   over   the   cup   of   wine   Amanda   had   handed   him.   The   sharpness   of   her   words   cut   through   the   warmth   of   the   kitchen,   and   for   a   moment,   he   wasn’t   sure   if   he’d   heard   her   right.

His   first   instinct   was   to   deflect,   to   crack   a   joke   and   lighten   the   mood,   but   the   fire   in   her   eyes   stopped   him.   This   wasn’t   one   of   their   usual   spats.   This   was   different.   Amanda   wasn’t   just   annoyed;   she   was   at   her   breaking   point.   “Amanda,”   he   started,   his   voice   softer   than   he   expected,   “this   isn’t   just…   it’s   not   just   karate.   It’s   our   lives.   It’s—”

Karate   wasn’t   just   a   hobby;   it   was   a   legacy.   It   had   saved   him,   shaped   him,   and   guided   him   through   some   of   his   darkest   moments.   How   could   he   turn   his   back   on   that?

“You   think   I   want   this?”   he   asked,   finally   standing,   his   voice   rising   despite   himself.   “You   think   I   enjoy   the   chaos,   the   fights,   the—What   do   you   want   me   to   do,   Amanda?”   he   asked   finally,   his   voice   barely   above   a   whisper.   “Walk   away?   Forget   everything   Mr.   Miyagi   taught   me?   Pretend   it   never   mattered?”

He   looked   up   at   her,   his   chest   tight.   He   didn’t   know   if   he   could   do   what   she   was   asking.   But   as   he   saw   the   hurt   in   her   eyes,   he   realized   he   might   not   have   a   choice.

[liacabrera05]

“Do me a favour, Lia. Please don’t ever think about joining karate.” Unprompted

@cancelkarates coming in with the wisdom

"no, ma'am, i won't."

slender hands come up to tie her brown hair into a haphazard ponytail. "i've got three quarters of a lung, you see. that is to say, i mean---i've got two lungs in my body, sure, but only one of those is working at full capacity. the other one has one third of dead alveolus."

a nod and then: "i doubt i'd be making it through a round of sparring without dropping, anyway. i like basketball, though. and rollerblading! and i walk whenever i can. i think, for now, that's enough. no karate required to keep me healthy."

another thought comes to her, then, unbidden. "besides, if i were to join, i wouldn't have time for tortoises and turtles. i'm currently saving up for the big turtle encyclopedia, actually, and---"

[mecwmellc]

@cancelkarates sent “Hey, are you okay?” For Miguel. Unprompted

something about that flipped a switch and miguel felt his eyes tear up. he could blame it on the long plane ride but he knew it was the match. no one wanted to talk about what happened and he knew why but god. in that moment he just wanted his mom and yaya. he wanted out of barcelona, it didn't matter how much work had gone into getting there he just wanted to leave. he looked at mrs. larusso and shook his head. "no," he said honestly. "sensei lawrence is supposed to drive me home but..." don't cry don't cry don't cry.

[ironstrike]

@cancelkarates asked: “Are you okay?!”

It   feels   like   having   deja   vu   at   best,   as   he   looks   at   the   woman   before   him   and   his   mind   flashes   back   to   the   beach   and   he   has   no   doubt   in   his   mind   when   it   comes   to   who   is   she,   and   he   is   almost   ashamed   to   have   been   caught   twice   in   the   same   matter.   "I   am   not   hurt."   He   answers,   preferring   to   give more   concrete   evidence   rather   than   answer   directly.   Sensei   Wolf   had   always   been   tough   with   him,   and   he   understood   the   consequences   of   not   being   good   enough.  

He   keeps   training   and   he   keeps   preppin'   himself,   until   knuckles   bleed   and   he   feels   nothing   but   triumph.   The   hollow   victories   are   still   victories   when   you   have   nothing   but   one   goal   in   life.   "You   are   Sam's   mother,   yes?"   He   mentions   instead   changing   the   subject   of   the   conversation.

  Axel   simply   does   not   expect   anyone   to   understand   his   situation,   if   anything,   he   could   get   into   more   trouble   of   his   sensei   knew   he   was   speaking   with   the   enemies'   parents.   Eyes   cast   down,   he   clutches   to   his   jacket   for   a   moment   before   smiling,   although   it's   a   weak   gesture.   "She   is   kind."

[mskwtz]

THANK YOU - thanksgiving is a few days away & i've really genuinely been in my feelings so hard of late when it comes to our little corner of the rpc. this fandom has been amazing since i joined it in 2022, and i am very very thankful for it and all of you every day. i have met some of my very best friends because of this show and this trash site that has us all in a chokehold despite its many flaws (there's a reason we call it dumblr). it has been an incredibly trying year, and not just for me. many people have been feeling the weight of life and this month especially has been incredibly stressful, sad & rage inducing given the pol.itical climate. my dashboard has been a welcome reprieve from all of it, and getting to talk with all of you more has been such a delight and i wanted to say thank you.

thank you for being you, for your kindness, for you acceptance of new people in this rpc, for being so open to ocs when that is not always the case in the rpc. i just adore all of you and wanted to fully write and show my thanks. it's hard to do much over the internet, but i wanted to list off those of you in this community whether you're a single muse, multi muse, canon character, oc, have ck verses. i just think everyone should be aware of how wonderful this section of the rpc is.

this goes out to everyone in this fandom, not just my mutuals !

if you're in the ck fandom or like the show or have verses for it or just want to write with some really great people, here are my wonderful moots in this fandom in no particular order:

@moonlitkata / @queencvbra / @valleyschamp / @venustrape / @defenseonly / @offenseonly / @amreality / @pierprincess / @senstrike / @taughtdefense / @cobraes / @mecwmellc / @himbohotel / @webheadedhero / @legacytaught / @taughtpain / @opponentcompel / @ncmcrcy / @taughtcobra / @karatetaught / @taughtmercy / @freezegirl / @bonsaibadass / @frxncaise / @sarcaasmic / @nancewheelr / @dvarapala / @prophecey / @valleykarate / @teachesdiscipline / @karatestar / @princecvbra / @karatetime / @taughtranquility / @taughtdamage / @taughtartist / @duquete / @taughtintegrity / @cobrascores / @katascores / @queenkarate / @allvalley / @adreamfully / @misterkeene / @crazytough / @cancelkarates / @ironstrike / @bonsaistrike / @valleyflorist / @alcrescendo / @liacabrera05

i just adore you all. and you can find me here and @valleykids for all the feelings.

[valleyschamp]

Amanda’s   words   cut   deeper   than   any   strike   he’d   ever   taken   in   a   dojo.   His   hand   rested   on   the   untouched   glass   of   wine,   fingertips   tracing   the   rim   absently,   as   his   gaze   fell   to   the   table   between   them.   Her   tears,   her   pain—it   was   like   a   mirror   reflecting   his   own   guilt   and   doubts,   ones   he’d   tried   to   keep   buried   beneath   a   façade   of   determination.

A   kid   died,   Daniel.   The   words   rang   in   his   head   like   the   clang   of   a   dojo   bell   signaling   defeat.   He   hadn’t   known   Kwon   well   either,   not   beyond   the   glimpses   of   him   as   another   victim   of   Cobra   Kai’s   relentless   indoctrination.   But   Daniel   had   seen   his   face   in   those   final   moments—bloodied,   angry,   desperate   to   win.

This   could   have   been   avoidable.   She   was   right,   wasn’t   she?   If   he’d   walked   away   from   karate,   if   he   hadn’t   let   Johnny   Lawrence’s   reappearance   draw   him   back   into   a   decades-old   rivalry,   would   any   of   this   have   happened?   Would   Kwon   still   be   alive?   Would   Anthony   still   be   able   to   sleep   without   waking   in   terror?

Daniel   exhaled   shakily,   his   throat   tight   as   he   finally   met   Amanda’s   tear-streaked   gaze.   “I…”   His   voice   faltered.   He   took   a   moment,   forcing   himself   to   hold   steady   even   though   every   fiber   of   him   wanted   to   crumble   under   the   weight   of   her   sorrow.   “You’re   right,   Amanda.   He   didn’t   deserve   this.   None   of   them   did.”   His   words   were   soft   but   heavy   with   regret.

His   mind   raced   back   to   everything   that   had   led   to   this   moment:   Kreese,   Silver,   the   manipulations,   the   fights.   At   every   step,   he   had   told   himself   it   was   necessary—that   standing   up   to   Cobra   Kai   was   the   only   way   to   protect   their   family,   their   community.   But   now?   He   dreams   of   one   of   his   kids   under   that   sharp   blade   and   he   wakes   up   in   a   sweat.

“I   thought…   I   thought   I   was   doing   the   right   thing,”   Daniel   continued,   his   voice   breaking   slightly.   “Teaching   the   kids   to   stand   up   for   themselves,   to   fight   for   what’s   right.   But   this?   This   wasn’t   supposed   to   happen.   It   wasn’t   supposed   to   go   this   far.”

He   looked   at   Amanda   again,   his   own   eyes   damp.   “I’m   sorry.   I   didn’t   see   it.   I   didn’t   see   how   far   it   would   go,   how   much   it   would   cost—not   until   it   was   too   late.”   His   voice   cracked,   but   he   forced   himself   to   keep   going.   “I   don’t   know   how   to   fix   this,   Amanda.   I   don’t   know   how   to   make   this   right.”

His   shoulders   slumped,   the   fight   drained   out   of   him.   He   reached   across   the   table,   his   hand   trembling   as   he   placed   it   over   hers.   “You’ve   always   been   the   one   to   keep   me   grounded,   Amanda.   I   need   you   now   more   than   ever.   Because   I   don’t   think   I   can   do   this   alone   anymore.”

Amanda was baffled by herself. She felt awful for what she had said. The words just came out - like word vomit. Was that a reference from Mean Girls? She once enjoyed karate, not as much as Daniel did - but she enjoyed having their children learn it. Earlier then, Amanda seen it as a fun after-school activity for them, it at least kept their kids out of trouble.

...Until Johnny came out of nowhere - rekindling a thirty-year old feud. Amanda thought the feud would quickly die off, but it became much worse within a blink - John Kreese returned and then Terry Silver? She was relief when karma was finally served for them; Daniel putting Silver in his place and having him go to jail. Amanda thought it was finally over. They could all live in peace. But she grimaced with the mention of Sekai Tekai coming out of Daniel's mouth. Please, let this be it. Please. But then -

"A kid died, Daniel." Her eyes were filled with warm water, struggling to fight off the tears that so desperately wanted to flee from her eyes. She left her wine glass untouched; she didn't even want a drink - she just poured them each a glass in hopes it would calm her down. The image of Kwon remained in her mind; his face covered in blood. The rage in his eyes, releasing a frustrated scream and then - she heard his scream. A bloodcurdling scream, followed by a lifeless body.

She didn't know Kwon, she did hear from Samantha that he was quite the character. But Amanda knew he had been brainwashed with Cobra Kai's dumb tagline - no mercy. And now, he had dealt with the consequences - just like everyone else.

"...Anthony...he...he - " Her voice cracked, like a crack on a mug. Here comes the tears, a million of them were coming down; fat and warm. She could still see the shock expression Anthony had, and doing whatever she could to calm him down. But no matter what she did - their son wept, terrified from what he just seen. How could anyone recover from witnessing this?

Her hands wiped away the tears, whimpering. It was difficult for her to look at Daniel - everything they had gone through with this karate war - she didn't think it would lead to this. "I...I...I do -- don't know...I just -- this could have been avoidable." She said softly, sniffling. "....That kid didn't deserve this."