Samantha LaRusso/Tori Nichols
| Pairing | |
|---|---|
| Pairing: | Samantha Larusso/Tory Nichols |
| Alternative name(s): | Samtory, LaNichols |
| Gender category: | Femslash, F/F |
| Fandom: | Cobra Kai |
| Canonical?: | No |
| Prevalence: | Uncommon |
| Archives: | |
| Other: | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Samantha LaRusso/Tori Nichols is a fanon femslash pairing in the Cobra Kai fandom. Their canon relationship is primarily one of antagonism, with season five hinting at a potential move towards friendship. In fandom, the antagonism in the relationship is often explored in an enemies to lovers arc.
Canon
Tory and Samantha clash in their first main scene together in season 2, where Sam confronts Tory, believing that Tory has stolen her mother's purse. Their conflict escalates when Tory starts dating Sam's ex, Miguel, and this eventually comes to a head at the end of season two when a massive fight breaks out between the students from the opposing dojos — Cobra Kai and Miyagi-do — at school. Sam and Tory end up fighting, which nearly ends in Tory attacking Sam with spiked knuckle dusters, which would have at best ended in Sam sustaining severe if not life-threatening injuries.
Season three sees Sam struggling with ongoing trauma from her fight with Tory, leading to her making both impulsive decisions to lash out at Cobra Kai, and Tory specifically, and to her freezing up when confronted by Tory. Season three ends in another inter-dojo fight, this time at the Larusso house, with Sam getting the upper hand in the fight.
Throughout season four, Tory struggles with ongoing problems in her personal life and commits even further to Cobra Kai and John Kreese's methods. The conflict between her and Sam continues, with both of them taking opportunities to escalate situations, once again coming to a head at the season finale with a fight, this time at the All Valley Championship. Tory wins the fight, though it is later revealed this is because Terry Silver paid off one of the referees to make the fight go their way. This prompts a crisis of conscience for Tory that there had been hints towards previously, and this continues into season five when Tory questions the methods of Cobra Kai and, eventually, reaches out to Sam and other members of Miyagi-do to make things right.
Fandom
This article or section needs expansion. |
In many ways, the conflict between Sam and Tory reflects the animosity between Daniel Larusso and Johnny Lawrence, a theme present in many of the conflicts between characters of opposing dojos in the show. Fans latched onto this potential for enemies to lovers.
While Sam/Tory is a small pairing in the fandom as a whole, it is the most popular femslash pairing in the fandom on Archive of Our Own with 257 works.
Fan Commentary
Ah yeah, the Samtory fandom All three of us under a queer flag blanket, holding a flashlight on, giggling about the Karate girl rivalsbonsai-babies [1]
every time tory calls sam "princess," something lgbt happens to me.abracazabka [2]
Tory deserves to be treated like a pretty princess by her very sweet very wonderful future sugar daddy also princess Sam LaRussozappedbyzabka [3]
Common Tropes and Fanon
- Enemies to Lovers - There are plenty of moments to diverge from canon and explore how a different decision could have triggered an enemies to lovers arc.
- Angst - Tory has a difficult home life which contributed to her seeking support from Cobra Kai, and Sam dealt with considerable trauma following her fight with Tory at the end of season two. Both of these things offer potential exploration within angsty works.
Controversies
Example Fanworks
| Examples Wanted: Editors are encouraged to add more examples or a wider variety of examples. |
Fanfic
- Baby, I'm A Nightmare [1] by theincredibleprincess - A canon divergent work where Amanda Larusso steps into help Tory earlier in the season and Sam...has some feelings about that.
Fanart
- 1am time to post the samtory agenda [2] by andruillus. Sam tends to Tory's injuries.
- Parallels by pfaerie, Archived version.
Fanvids
- Running Up That Hill[3] by Queen Cobra. A vid exploring the rivalry and dynamics between the two girls throughout the seasons.
Other Fanworks
Meta
Archives and Communities
Other Fannish Resources
(Rec Lists, Big Bangs, Thing-a-thons, Holiday Exchanges, wiki links, etc.)
References
- ^ "bonsai-babies Tumblr post, September 2022". Archived from the original on 2024-02-05.
- ^ "abracazabka Tumblr post, June 2023". Archived from the original on 2024-02-05.
- ^ "zappedbyzabka Tumblr post, December 2023". Archived from the original on 2024-02-05.