#daniel larusso's camera roll | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

jensensfanfic · 1 year

Note

sorry, i should have been more specific! i think the first one you listed (the one about the ferris wheel) is really wholesome! <3

TICKETS FOR KISSES

[gif is mine]

pairing: daniel larusso x gn!reader

warnings: kissing?

a/n: not sure yet how i feel about this, but i hope you like it! hasn't been proofread yet, so ignore any typos, etc, <3 also... the title... ???? anon's other ask/request here

—★•°°•☆°••°★•°°•☆°••°★—

"You wanna ride the ferris wheel with me?"

"I can't." You reach into your jeans pocket and pull out the inner fabric. "I'm all out."

Daniel raises his hand and waves around two tickets. "I got you."

"Well, alright then." You pinch one out of his hands and give it over to the ride attendant.

Daniel does the same and then extends his arm, gesturing for you to step ahead of him. "After you, m'lady."

The attendant rolls his eyes from where he's watching you with mild annoyance as you each take a seat.

As the ride starts to move, and you begin your first loop around, you pull out your phone. Holding it tightly, you open the camera app, glancing at Daniel. "Hey. Selfie?"

"Yeah, why not?"

Daniel moves closer into the frame, and you snap a couple of shots. You can go through them and pick your favourite later. As you snap a few more, Daniel nudges you and whispers, "Can I kiss your cheek? For the… picture?"

"Uh… yeah, okay."

Daniel gently pulls your face closer with one hand and plants the softest kiss against your skin. You snap a few more shots and notice that your face seems to be getting pinker. You're blushing.

"Uh-" You quickly lock your phone and slide it into the safety of your jacket zipper pocket. "Okay, that'll do."

"Hm." Daniel doesn't look away from you, and after a handful of minutes, it becomes impossible not to look back. He smiles. "So… I- um…" Daniel scratches the back of his neck and blows out a breath. "I wanted to ask you something?"

"Okay… what's up?"

"Well, um… I just noticed that lately we hang out, like, a lot. And it's been really nice, you know, getting to know you and just… being around you." Daniel's fingers walk over to yours, and he hesitates a little before covering your hand with his. "I really like being around you. I really like… you. And if you don't feel the same, that's fine, but I just wanted to ask… would you, um- would you wanna go out sometime?"

"Like a date?"

Daniel nods. Butterflies fill your stomach, and your heart pounds. It just so happens that the seat you're in on the ferris wheel stops at the very top in this very perfect moment. You turn your hand so that you can interlock your fingers with his.

"Yes. Yeah, I'd love too."

"Okay… uh, great, ha." Daniel chuckles and wipes his brow, pretending like his brushing away sweat. "Phew."

You giggle and then decide to be brave. "Can I ask you something as well, then?"

"'Course."

"Will you kiss me?"

"A-are you sure?"

"I am."

"Really?"

"Yes, Danny. Now..." Your hands reach to grab his, and you guide them to your own jaw. He instinctively starts to caress your face with his thumbs. "Kiss me like we're in a romance novel."

Daniel wastes no time then, pulling you close and testing the waters by pecking your lips a couple of times. He pulls back a little, smiling at your closed eyes and tinted cheeks before moving in again.

This time, his kiss is firmer, and you wrap your arms around his neck. You pull him closer, and boldness takes over as you nip at his lower lip. He pulls back in shock, grinning. "Wow, Y/N. I thought you -"

You chase his mouth, wanting more. "Yeah, wow, indeed. Now, come back here."

You move to kiss him once more, but then the attendant is loudly clearing his throat, and you're jumping apart. "Shit. Sorry!" Neither of you had even noticed that the ferris wheel had begun to move again.

The attendant sighs, then points over to the queue that has formed, shaking his head.

"Okay, we get it." You grab Daniel's hand and lift the bar, then hop out of the seat. "Sorry again."

You hastily move past the line of giggling teens and surprised parents.

"I can't believe we didn't realise. Am I that good of a kisser?" Daniel winks, bumping your shoulder with his as you walk out into the middle of the funfair.

"Uh, no." You spot the 'hook-a-duck' stand and start leading Daniel into that direction. "I think I was the better kisser. And I think as a reward, you should win me a giant plushy."

"Oh, really?" Daniel laughs, and then you pull his arm around your neck, wrapping your own around his waist. "So, um, does this mean we're like… you know?"

"What?" You tease. "I don't know."

Daniel sighs, then leans down to your ear. "Does this mean we're together?"

"Hmmm…" You stop walking as you reach the game stand and pull him down for another kiss. "You tell me."

You kiss him once, twice, and then three times more. When you pull away, you look around at the different plush animals that are lined up on shelves at the back of the hook-a-duck stall. Daniel pulls some more tickets out of his back pocket. "You know, a kiss… or four still doesn't answer my question."

You giggle, pinching the tickets out of his hand. "It means yes, Daniel. Yes. And by the way, I really like you, too."

—★•°°•☆°••°★•°°•☆°••°★—

#mine #my writing #jensensfanfic/dojolarusso #daniel larusso x reader #daniel larusso fluff #daniel larusso imagine #the karate kid fic #to edit

149 notes · View notes

ohnoitsthebat · 1 year

Text

Written for the @allvalley100 prompt SOCIAL NETWORK. CK era, exactly 100 words.

Johnny snorted in disgust as he perused Daniel’s Instagram page.

Normally, he wouldn’t be caught dead on any form of social media, but Miguel had told him that it would be good to scope out the competition, so that’s exactly what he was doing.

Okay, so maybe Miguel hadn’t phrased it quite like that, but still. Johnny was nosy and wanted to know what LaRusso was up to.

He rolled his eyes at a particularly corny picture of Daniel and Amanda, both of them beaming widely at the camera.

“Hottest wife ever,” the caption proclaimed.

Well. Johnny couldn’t argue there.

#allvalley100 #daniel larusso #johnny lawrence #cobra kai #amanda larusso #cobra kai drabble #ck drabble #it's been so long since i've written omg #my writing

17 notes · View notes

dull-c · 2 years

Text

okay! i have finally managed to catch up on some sleep and am gonna talk further s5 thoughts under the cut.

overall - i had a really good time watching it. i had talked myself down over the last week to a point where my expectations were more or less in the gutter, so it exceeded my expectations, in some ways it met them, and on one occasion it was even worse than i had anticipated.

the great: -as i said last night: C H O Z E N. chozen was a dream. all of you can go home this is the only good man. god, the way he just showed up every time and loved and protected and supported the larussos and miyagi do and et al unequivocally. his daytime telly, patrolling the house, fucking with silver and his instant connection with tory when he was undercover at cobra kai (i so so wish there had been more of that), his egg training sesh and his running into the barnes furniture store to save his ride or die. i am not exaggerating in the slightest when i say i was squeaking and kicking my legs and muttering i love you almost every time he was on screen.

-related, DANZEN. danzen season was better than I had hoped for. the way they like totally unabashedly hyped each other up, smiled softly at each other, clothed each other, went on underover ops and bought each other $2000 couches and pat pat patted each other and generally just loved all over each other like, constantly??? it was amazing. they were giving each other the love and support they deserve and i was fucken thrilled -the lack of kreese redemption. that was honest to god so sexy. kreese redemption was something i have been anticipating/fearing ever since they started rolling out that insane backstory. ymmv about this and that’s cool, but i didn’t like the idea of it for many reasons. so, i thought it was going to happen and i was ready to slog through it while rolling my eyes and sighing long-sufferingly and when johnny and daniel showed up at the prison i was like, here we fucking go i guess. so i cannot tell you the elation that coursed through my body when the camera focused on that note and i realized what was happening. i yelled. i have had sex less satisfying than johnny telling kreese to eat shit and then daniel putting a fullstop on it with no mercy motherfucker.

(daniel and jlawz 100% practiced their good cop bad cop routine in the van beforehand) -no one died!!! lucille was fine (if nonexistent!) chozen was fine!! daniel got punched in the heart metaphorically and hawk got punched in the heart literally and they were both fine!!! yeah!!! fuck you for making me worry for months hayden s you fucking troll!!!! -was personally thrilled that the one time an australian has made an appearance in the show it was a grifting hemsworth knockoff -daniel in the sauna. it was terrifying sure, but i was also just distracted by how utterly beautiful he looked in there. he looked amazing the whole season but especially there. daniel daniel daniel. i am still processing my thoughts on his s5 arc but i loved most of it. I wish that there had been more time to explore certain things but i love that his trauma and tendency to overreaction (or to be seen as overreacting) was addressed to an extent. i loved that we saw him receiving some of the love and generosity he had given out for once. that filled my heart -jessica!! i loved the way they wrote her into the fam, and the macaroni shoutout. i loved the way she pointed out so plainly what happened to daniel, in a way that couldn’t be handwaved or diminished. i would have loved to have seen her and daniel actually interact, but for now that pic robyn lively posted on twitter of her and ralph will have to suffice -reluctantly i must admit that mike barnes was not that bad. like i’m not about to ship him with my blorbo or anything, but he was fine. his storyline was fine and he even made me laff. i guess most of my mike animosity is based in animosity towards SK, not the character so much (also: the way mike apologized to daniel literally minutes after running into him again and jlaw is still crickets aha ha welp) -also reluctantly, i must admit that the running gag where daniel tried to break up fights over him between his old bullies and kept ended up getting beaned himself did made me laugh. baby boy!!! i’m sorry but my sense of humour is very low brow :(( -despite the valiant attempt to /no homo/ everything this season (see ‘the nah’ below), it was still extremely homo sorry about it. danzen i have already mentioned but lawrusso also gets a mention obviously for that butt slap, for “get your hands off him”, for we’re miyagi do / no we’re eagle fang, for the sudden uptick in touching generally. for the way daniel showed up drunk and dishevelled on jlawz’ doorstep and tried to start a fight/make himself feel something and johnny’s calm in that moment. for “i pushed him off a cliff” and that extremely beezee-esque double slap on daniel’s chest when they were singing eye of the tiger. (and i also now ship louie/anoush) (basically your no homo sign cannot work on me because i cannot read) (wont read) (refuse to) -sam and tory’s arcs. both individually and together. the scene where sam walked into tory’s apartment made me cry. them both working out what they were fighting for. they’re lawrusso vibes but like 35 years ahead of the curve and I was rooting for them so hard. -that corny little love-in for daniel at the dojo. mr miyagis room. the paint the house sign!! (immediate tears) acknowledgement of his grief and regret. the stuff between him and robby - i was p much convinced that we’d never see any further reference to robby’s time being mentored by daniel now that he was making things up with jlawz, and i was so soft for those two. so it really really made me happy to see a bit of something there -eli and demetri teamwork always always gets me. actually, the whole group/protect the egg teamwork stuff was great (that’s the point right? stronger together is the point) and i liked that they leaned into anthony’s strength not being physical like his sister and dad. something something captain planet -i liked that amanda actually got some meaty stuff this season -terry was deliciously evil. just off the wall batshit and i respect it. i mean, i was also very happy to see chozen and daniel beat tf out of him, don’t get me wrong, but he is a good villain

the nah: -oh carmen got did SO FUCKING DIRTY this season (rip in peace to her and shannon’s characteristions apparently).

unfunny story, this was a thing i said couple of weeks back in a post about the j-man:

so i had at least a half-sense that this was coming. however, i did not anticipate the do-over baby nor the fact that the no homo overcorrection would extend to pretty much everyone else as well. uh that’s on me i guess!!

-like. i adore chozen and kumiko. i love those pretend ppl so much it’s embarrassing and listen (despite my initial WHAT and damiko basically owning my heart and soul) I would not even be against the two of them kissing necessarily if it made them (and daniel) happy, but this just really felt like another deeply gratuitous no homo moment. what is wrong with them both being single anyway in their late middle age? they’re fine?? it’s not a curse to not be in a relationship. are we really doing this to try to stop people writing chozen luvs daniel online? bc folks will definitely still do that* so you are just diluting your story peeps *i’m currently writing ‘mr chozen larusso’ in cursive repeatedly in my diary -johnny’s entire will to live/fight back hinging on the photo of the fetus. who wrote this, the us supreme court??? i understand it was about what the photo ~represented~ rather than the actual scan itself but i dunno, maybe they could have used a photo of his actual outside-the-womb bigger than a potato child?? that turning point was genuinely so insane it startled a laugh out of me in what was meant to be a poignant moment (btw he’s soooooo hetero u guys) -in no time in the history of the world has any child or teenager responded to the news that their fifty something year old alcoholic dad knocked up his gf the way robby did btw. literally never. never ever ever. there was more nuance in daniel’s reaction lmao -the turnaround generally with miguel and robby from beating each other senseless to hugging and being like YAYE A HALF SIBLING was stupid fast. they are both deeply earnest babies so i absolutely believe they could get there, but there was literally no awkward teenage in-between time. they were fighting (johnny being like ok yeah fight it out was….. a thing that happened) and then they were 100% fine and. like. i liked their individual stories actually, but their interaction fell so flat. little steps in the right direction would have been just as moving and more believable, i think.

the i guess??? dot jpeg -CGI young johnny. cursed. if they ever try to cgi mr miyagi into this show i will literally nope out and exit the building so fast my head will spin off

-ok but chomiko really?? idk guys -daniel doing the crane kick was a lil bit cringe for me. in fact the pacing of his and silvers fight generally felt little off? i don’t know if it was just bc i was distracted worrying about chozen at that point?? but it didn’t quite hit. -the kreese ‘death’ didn’t quite hit either because i knew exactly what he was doing. did anyone not realise what he was doing?

anyway, that got long. i’m sure there are more things i have forgotten but they’ll out eventually.

apologies in advance for the imminent like-spam, i now have to backtrack through the last 48 hours worth of posts and catch up on what all you folks’ thoughts were. i have some snacks and i am Ready

#ck s5 #ck spoilers #thinking aloud hours

8 notes · View notes

lupinblacktheone · 3 years

Text

What we want, have and need - chapter 12

Notes: This is the twelventh chapter of the of the Lawrusso and Sam/Robby long fic that I'm posting on AO3 and on Tumblr. You can read the next chapters on AO3 or the previous chapters on Tumblr here. I hope you enjoy this!

Strike first, strike hard, no mercy - but only if that's okay

Sam hears it as she approaches her car. Kreese's screaming at Tory's face, a crash and a generalized gasp.

She watches the scene in silence, hoping no one sees her. She tries to get it on camera but all she can get is Kreese walking away and Tory picking up the shattered trophy. The group of students walks away as Tory wipes her nose on her sleeve.

"You won", Robby hugs her from behind. "Congratulations!"

"Thanks", she smiles at him, holding her sports bag as a shield. "I was thinking... do you wanna hang out?"

"I'd love that, but... shouldn't you be celebrating with your dojo?"

"I don't feel like celebrating and socializing", I just wanna get far away from here, and I’d love it if my father weren’t there.

Robby agrees. They go to her car and she drives away from the gym.

"Where do you want to go?", she asks.

"There's this place where my father used to take me when I was little. I think we can have a good time there."

"Let's go then"

She follows Robby’s directions. She knows this place too. Daniel took her there lots of times.

The bright Golf n Stuff sign haven't changed in ten years.

"We can somewhere else, if you want."

"Are you kidding me? I love this place."

The kids buy all the tickets they can with Sam's money - Robby promises to buy the hot dogs - and rush to their favorite toys. They have to wait in a few lines, but it doesn't decrease their joy. Robby takes a look at Sam's smile. It's so bright and happy... she has just kicked the ass of every Karate student in the Valley and she's glad to be waiting in the line to shoot at targets and try to win a Teddy bear or something alike.

"So, what do you want?", she questions. He thinks for a second and choses a panda.

"Lemme win you something", he smiles, taking the colorful balls.

Robby misses the first shot, the second and the third. Sam doesn't give him enough time to mourn it, she is towing him by the jacket towards the mini golf course.

"Do you know to play?"

"Of course I do, LaRusso. I grew up here."

"I thought you had grown up in Reseda."

"Shut up", he rolls his eyes and hands her a club.

"I could use a teacher... can you help me?"

"Are playing dumb? With me? No, no. Not on my watch. I know my lab partner. You can do anything."

Are YOU playing dumb, Lawrence? I just want you to hold me for a while.

Robby doesn't give in. They have two matches before Robby's great idea.

"Are you afraid of heights?"

The girl denies with her head. He leads her to the ferris wheel and even holds her hand when they get in a cabin. They don't fall into the "everything looks so small from up here" cliché, they just stare at the dark city around them.

And then, Robby leans to kiss her.

Sam's eyes widen with the contact. Their fingers tangle over the safety bar.

They don't talk much after that. Sam enjoys Robby's company and Robby enjoys Sam's. They indulge themselves some hand-in-hand walking to the food court, though. As promised, Robby pays for their food and drink. Thank God they keep selling that cheap crap.

He can't fight the instinct, it's stronger than him. It lasts only a second, but Robby's eyes falter to the shiny bowl of ice cream that Johnny never could afford. Not even once.

"Back in a sec", Sam flees the bench so fast he can't ask where she's going.

A moment after Robby finishes his soda, Sam is back with one of that bowls on her hand.

"Oh, my God. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you", he smiles.

She just smiles back and hands him a spoon.

"This is prob'ly the best thing 'em sell 'ere", Sam says, her mouth full of ice cream.

"This is why it's so expensive", Robby cleans his cheek with a napkin. "I can't leave without winning you something."

Robby drags Sam to a crane machine and searches his pockets for some change. He finds a few dimes and sticks one in the machine. After five attempts, he gets a bunny key chain and gives it to Sam.

"I loved it! Thanks", she immediately chains it to her car keys. "Do you wanna go home?"

"Yeah, I think it's time we call it a night", and there's a pretty huge trouble waiting for me back home.

When Sam stops in front of the building, Robby tries opening the door, but it's locked.

"What about my goodnight kiss?", Sam says, leaning for another kiss.

Robby holds her face this time and finishes it with a forehead smooch. She drives off and he enters the apartment, carrying his new stuffed panda and a bunch of good memories.

He sort of hopes his father is either sleeping or somewhere else. It's a Saturday night, after all. But against all the odds, Johnny is watching the Top Gun tape - again - with a can of beer close to his hand.

"What's that?", Johnny points to the stuffed panda, but his eyes are still on the screen.

"Sam gave me", instinctively, Robby tightens the grip on it.

"Oh, you were together? Nice."

Robby stops for a second. What the hell is going on?

"Aren't you... mad?"

"Why would I be? Because you went out with a girl on a Saturday night? I was a little concerned about your whereabouts but you came home early, then it's fine. And besides, I may or may not have given Sam any advice on how to ask out a boy she’s into”, Robby opens his mouth, shocked. “How was it? I want to know if my advices were good.”

He is almost in his room, but... is his father interested in his life? That's new. He turns back and sits by his side on the couch as Johnny pauses the movie. Robby calms himself down. Johnny isn't mad about the Karate thing - he doesn't seem to be, at least. He just wants to know about his son's night.

He can handle a few minutes conversation about his date with the girl he has been pining over for years.

"We went to Golf n Stuff”, Johnny gives him a small smile. “She won me this, I won her a key chain, I bought her hot dog and soda, she bought me shinny ice cream, we went to the ferris wheel and... we kissed."

"On the ferris wheel?"

"Yeah! High above the city."

"Sounds fancy and it's a bold move. Did it work?", Robby doesn't answer. He gives his father a confused look. "Did you kiss her back?"

"Oh, yes. I started the kiss.”

"Good. I'm happy for you" it's nice when you like people and people like you back. "You mentioned ice cream. You mean that ice cream?", Robby answers with a happy nod. "Damn. She must really like you."

"I hope so. I like her. Since 9th grade."

"And you never told her because..."

"Because I don't know how"

"We can work on that, if you want."

Stop torturing yourself. Spit it out.

"But first, can we talk about what happened in the tournament?"

"If that's what you want..."

"Yes, please."

"Ok", the man puts the beer aside. "La... Daniel and I had a great conversation about our children's betrayal and we concluded that... it doesn't matter." Robby's eyes widen. "He understood Sam's reasons and I understood yours. We may not be best friends, but at least none of us is Kreese."

"You are ok with me training with him, then?"

"Yeah, I am, since he has been training you so well", Johnny thinks for a moment. "You did great today, kid."

"Thanks."

"Now go call your girl and ask if she got home alright."

"She was the one driving!"

"Two things. One: do I have to teach you manners? It's something polite to do. Two: it's just an excuse for talking to her."

Robby rushes to his room and jumps to the bed to FaceTime her.

"Hi! Thank you so much for calling", it's the first thing Sam says when she answers.

"Did I reach you or this is your voice mail?"

"I'm glad you called, seriously. I wanna avoid my dad for a while."

"They aren't mad", Sam's face shows relief. "They talked about it and they are fine with the senseis we chose."

She sighs and her face lights up. The chat with Daniel will happen at some time. But now she prefers talking to Robby, although there's not much to talk about. Them both know the night was fun, them both like their carnival prizes and them both would like to go out again, but them both also know their senseis won't go softer just because the tournament was already over. And while they are on the topic...

"There’s something we need to talk about", a share of Sam's joy goes away. Robby remains silent, waiting. "Kreese and Tory."

"What about them?"

Someone knocks on Sam’s door.

“Sam? Can we talk?”

“Is your dad there?”, Robby asks. She nods. “You should talk to him.”

“Ok. Talk to you tomorrow?”

“Sure. Bye!”

Sam closes her laptop and allows her dad to come in.

“Hey, champ! How are you?”

When he sits by her side on the bed, Sam suddenly remembers all that nights when he came to tuck her in and they would talk about anything that came to their minds.

“I’m happy that I won, because I really put my soul into that, but I’m also glad it’s over already.”

“Yeah, I remember being exhausted after my first tournament and I’m not talking about the broken leg.”

They stay quiet for a moment. Daniel breathes in and out, just like Mr. Miyagi told him to do in order to calm down and focus.

“How did you get to Johnny Lawrence, in the first place?”

“I’m a close friend to his son.”

“Close friend?”, he raises an eyebrow. “You have eight seconds to think of a better excuse.”

“Ok, ok. He’s my best friend since 4th grade.”

“Really? And why did you never bring him over?”

She smiles. This whole thing made so much of a sense when they were little kids sharing cookies and orange juice.

“We made a pact to never tell you or Johnny we’re friends, because we didn’t want you to get angry and not allow us to hang out at the playground anymore.”

“You know, I can perfectly picture little 9-year-old Sam convincing her new friend that they should keep things low-profile.”

“Actually, it was his idea.”

“Hold on a second. You managed to hide your best friend for years because you thought I’d forbid you to be friends with him, but even so you chose him to teach you?”

“I know it doesn’t make sense, but I was mad with you and it sounded like a good idea.”

“It was. Thanks to him, you won the tournament.”

Sam keeps talking. Daniel wants to know everything about Johnny’s training style.

“He has changed a lot”, he says, more to himself than to his daughter.

“Tell me about it.”

“After the council meeting today, I had nice chat with Johnny and I realized that I misjudged him for a long time. I decided to make things right, be the bigger person and all these cheesy things grown-ups say to children. My actions had a good outcome, because at the end of the day, I had a friend to talk to.”

“That’s amazing, dad. But we aren’t talking about friendship here, are we?”, Sam cocks her eyebrow, just like her father does.

Although Samantha has changed a lot in the last years, she still wants her dad to be happy and that includes his love life.

“It’s time you go to sleep”, he says, before the conversation gets out of control. “And tomorrow, you and I will have a very serious talk about that form, little lady.”

“Good night, dad”, she has a childish smile on her face while he tucks her in.

“Good night, sweetheart”, Daniel gives her a forehead smooch. “Sleep tight."

#the karate kid #cobra kai #fanfic #writing #mine #sam Larusso #daniel larusso #johnny lawrence #lawrusso #robby keene #sam and Robby #Robby and sam #samrobby

3 notes · View notes

robertkstone · 6 years

Text

Celebrity Drive: Actor Ralph Macchio

Quick Stats: Ralph Macchio, actor, Cobra Kai Daily Driver: 2016 BMW 328i (Ralph’s rating: 9 on a scale of 1 to 10) Other cars: see below Favorite road trip: California coast Car he learned to drive in: 1971 Mercury Montego First car bought: 1980 Mazda 626

Ralph Macchio may have said no to revisiting The Karate Kid for three decades, but he’s had a daily reminder to “wax on, wax off” with the iconic 1947 Ford sitting in his garage. In the new YouTube Red original series Cobra Kai, fans can see if the old Ford that helped his character prepare to beat his nemesis years ago will make a cameo.

For those who’ve ever wondered what happened to Daniel LaRusso after that crane kick to Johnny Lawrence’s face, the show picks up more than 30 years later with LaRusso now a successful car dealer.

As for the Ford, Macchio tells Motor Trend that “it needs a little bit of engine work, but it looks fantastic.”

“I asked if I could buy the car,” he says. “I didn’t hear from anyone until the second Karate Kid sequel came out. My doorbell rang on the day that movie came out, and there was a flatbed in front of my house in New York with the car on it. They gifted it to me from the studio, and it was awesome.”

Although Macchio hasn’t driven the Ford in decades, he rates it a perfect 10 for what it means to him. “It’s a 10 because it’s one of the most famous cars in movies, certainly the most famous car in a movie I was in,” he says. “People ask me about it all the time. I did use it recently for a charity event where people got to donate to take pictures with the car, for prostate cancer awareness.”

The car has had a paint job since the movie. “[It’s] more of the traditional yellow that Ford painted the car back in the day,” he says.

When Macchio first got the car, he did drive it a little. “As in the case of almost every movie car, they all look great on screen, but they’re problematic to work,” he says with a laugh. “It purred like a kitten on camera, but not always off camera. Once I got it, I had to get it registered in New York because that’s where I live. It’d never top more than 45 mph. I think it probably needed some TLC. But that was a trip. When I would drive that car around, people would see me in the car, they’d feel like out of body. It was just insane.”

After a while, Macchio stopped driving the Ford. “I did not use the car as much, as having possession of the car just seemed like such a cool thing,” he says. “I received the car at a point in my life where I was traveling more and it wound up … more a museum piece that needed to be dusted off, and that’s what I’m doing now and in conjunction of the release of this series.”

Although it’s not been driven in decades, Macchio has had mechanics look at the Ford in recent years. “They say it’s all in shape,” he says. “It’s fairly simple. The wheelwells and the brakes are generally fine, and it was always covered; it was never out in the weather. The mechanics, they’re dying to get their hands on the car to get it up and running, so I’m just looking at my options to do that the right way, whether I want to film that, whether I just want to have someone do it.”

2016 BMW 328i

Rating: 9

Macchio’s daily driver is his 2016 BMW 328i, which he rates a 9 out of 10. “The thing I like so much about that car is the responsiveness, the steering and the braking system,” he says. “It’s more of a driver’s car than a passenger’s car because it’s a little on the smaller side, sporty-like. In New York winters I love the ability to feel the road and get out of a jam because it’s so responsive in its steering, and I think it’s one of the best braking systems I’ve ever experienced.”

A 2016 BMW 3 Series is shown here.

The ride, however, could be a bit softer. Macchio had a Mercedes with a softer ride before but says that “right now I like the responsiveness” of the BMW.

There is one thing Macchio wished BMW designed a bit differently. The button to unlock the four doors from the driver’s seat is at the top of the dash instead of on the doors. “So sometimes you get out of the car and you realize you didn’t open the back door for someone else to get out,” he says. “It was not enough for me not to get the car, but it’s enough for me to say, ‘Shouldn’t this be on the door?’”

Macchio used to have a complaint about the navigation system, noting that the feature is often part of a larger and more expensive options package. But once phone screens got larger, he just mounted his phone in the car and uses that for navigation, noting that because it’s connected through Bluetooth, he hears it well.

This is his third BMW, after owning a Mercedes-Benz E320 about 18 years ago. He appreciates that BMW includes complimentary scheduled maintenance. “The lease deals BMW had were the best with everything inclusive, [including] service. You’re paying for the service anyway, but they … create an attractive package,” he says.

“In a TV show I just finished, I was driving an Audi A7, and I was like, ‘You know, maybe I’ll look at this one next time if I can afford it,’” he adds.

Car he learned to drive in

The car Macchio learned to drive in was a burnt-orange 1971 Mercury Montego, on the suburban streets near his Long Island home.

Macchio wishes he had some images of himself on his first attempt at parallel parking. “That’s the one thing you’re worried you’re not going to do OK,” he says. “Are you going to hit the curb, are you going to scrape the car in front of you as you try to curl in? It’s such a daunting thing. Now I do it so easily [and] these cars park themselves.”

Although Macchio’s dad and one or two cousins taught him to drive, he also took driver’s ed in high school. He points out he failed the first time, “but not by much I don’t think,” he says, laughing. “And you get it in the mail. They don’t just tell you, [as they do today]. It was always run to the mailbox every day, like waiting to hear whether you’ve been accepted to a certain college or not.”

Macchio says his dad bought the Mercury in anticipation of Macchio needing a car. But it ended up being “sort of” his high school car.

“I remember I got my license, and the first thing he did was say, ‘You’re not ready to drive yet,’” he says. “So it took a while before he allowed me to have the keys. Which is something I do with my kids, as well. It’s just an instinct when you think your kids are ready to get behind the wheel. It’s a big transition in life when your kid even just goes down to the store to get a loaf of bread; you just can’t wait till they’re back safe.”

First car bought

After landing in Los Angeles and getting cast in Eight is Enough, Macchio bought a manual-transmission 1980 Mazda 626.

“I needed a car right away because I relocated, I was on the show in 10 seconds, and we found an apartment,” he says. “We went to a car dealership, walked in, and looked around for what was ready to go … that I liked. I bought it for $9,000.88. I don’t know why I remember, I guess because I remember taking my pennies and quarters and making the 88 cents. We paid it cash.”

He doesn’t recall why he wanted a manual transmission back then. “It was the furthest thing from a muscle car that you could imagine, but I figured I was in California and it’d be cool to have a stick shift,” he says. “It was fun to drive until I got up some of the steeper hills in the canyons. Then I wished I didn’t have a stick when I would roll back 15 feet just to go forward. I felt I was a little in over my head. It was fun, man. I just started working as a young actor, and there I was in California driving this little modest car and learning how to get from the San Fernando Valley down to MGM studios.”

That’s the car Macchio used to drive onto the movie lots with when he first started. It eventually made its way across the country in 1984, after he filmed Francis Ford Coppola’s The Outsiders.

“It stuck around for a long while till the transmission just went. I would put it into gear, and it just got tired. At $9,000.88, it gave me everything it could,” he says.

One memory he has with his Mazda was the time he drove it in Los Angeles to his first Bruce Springsteen concert, which he attended with some crew members from Eight is Enough.

“It was the River tour, and so much of the music [was connected to] cars and motors,” he says. “I remember driving back and playing these songs in my head and thinking I was that Jersey guy, whether it’s ‘Born to Run’ or ‘Thunder Road’ or ‘Racing in the Streets,’ and driving on the freeway back to my little rental apartment. And … for the moment as I was driving, I was in the coolest muscle New Jersey car ever. But once I stepped out of my little daydream, I looked back at this little silver-blue modest 626, and it brought me back to the reality of what I was really driving.”

Favorite road trip

“Even though … I love the East Coast and going up even to Boston and certainly up to upstate New York, the road trip that I remember the most, my wife and I were just married. We were out in California, and we took a ride up to Mendocino from Los Angeles. It is beautiful, the California coast.

“This was in the 1980s,” he continues. “I remember pulling over and being awestruck [at the scenery]. Being from the East Coast, it’s a totally different coastline.”

It goes down as his favorite road trip because Macchio had never done that before.

“I’d never driven that long; I probably haven’t driven that long since,” he says. “I’m not the guy who can get in the car and just go 11 hours and say, ‘Boy that just felt like 10 minutes.’ “Especially now, my back starts bothering me, my hamstring gets tight, I have to get out, walk a little bit. There are those people, it’s like runners, marathoners, they just get into the zone.”

These days, Macchio says, he will drive the four hours it takes to get to Boston, where his son is in college. He also likes to occasionally visit Napa and drive up to San Francisco.

Cobra Kai on YouTube Red

Cobra Kai is the name of the nemesis dojo from Karate Kid, and the YouTube series takes place 34 years later. People have always wanted to know what happened to Macchio’s character.

“The fans always did,” he says. “I never did. I said no for 30 years, [but] these writers and creators came up with such a smart angle. [They] created the next generation of his whole high school world that is a big part of the show, and there’s the rivalry between the Daniel LaRusso character and Johnny Lawrence, who suffered the great crane kick to the face, and now 30 years later has not let go of it. And it’s really kind of humorous, but it’s got a lot of heart, and Miyagi is peppered throughout the Daniel LaRusso life even though he is no longer here. There are elements of the pop culture that the fans are going to love but also a relevant and subversive look at bullying in 2018 as opposed to what it was in 1984. It’s really smart and entertaining, and it should be a fun ride.”

There are 10 episodes to binge watch, and the first two episodes are free. In addition to revisiting this character he’s most known for, Macchio has also been busy on other shows, such as Kevin Can Wait, as well as HBO’s The Deuce.

“Very cool show,” Macchio says of The Deuce. “I did five episodes last year. I just started Season 2, so it’s nice to have a gritty drama like The Deuce on HBO and do a sitcom with Kevin James and then now have Cobra Kai as a big mainstream piece of pop culture that’s coming back.”

Macchio became so well known from The Karate Kid that fans will do the “wax on, wax off” gesture or talk about the movies when they see him.

“You get that all the time,” he says. If I go to a sporting event and they show a clip, people jump out of their seats. It’s like a movie that has become part of everyone’s childhood. It’s part of the American lexicon. It’s in the dictionary practically. It’s interesting with this Cobra Kai show, it was so much about Cobra Kai and ‘sweep the leg,’ and ‘get him a body bag,’ and all these lines from the movie that have become pop culture that people know. You could say this stuff, or someone will do the crane pose of that kick, and it’s known around the world. It’s crazy.”

youtube

Although the classic Ford has been sitting in Macchio’s garage for 30 years, he has plans for it, provided there’s a Season 2 of Cobra Kai.

“When we have Season 2 of the show, I think it should make an appearance,” Macchio says. “Maybe in time, if this show takes off as we expect and we do season 3, 4, and 5, [the car could make] appearances all around the country. It can become like a DeLorean in Back to the Future. Who knows?”

Cobra Kai is now available to stream on YouTube Red.