With the many changing alliances and feuds in the Cobra Kai series, including several during the brand new release of the highly anticipated season 5, there is the opportunity for different shipping combinations. The fan fiction site AO3 hosts all sorts of different stories about the many characters of Cobra Kai, with ships both canon and non-canon.
The ships and stories on the site show just how these characters and their relationships resonate with fans. While some stories are about romances that are already established in the TV series others re-imagine friendships and bitter rivalries as love stories.
Samantha LaRusso/Tory Nichols
Sam and Tory have spent much of their time together on the series as bitter enemies, with Tory constantly taking it out on Sam due to her drunkenly kissing Miguel. The two are also complete opposites to each other, with Sam being more privileged and having a more stable home life than the struggling Tory. Things change slightly in season 4 as Tory starts to back off Sam due to her mom Amanda being one of the few decent adults to her.
This ship seems to mostly take the "enemies to lovers" approach where Sam and Tory get past their antagonistic relationship and become romantic with each other. This works well with Tory's character development in season 4, however, with Sam the instigator that season, it is perhaps wishful thinking that fans want both of them to have a change of heart. Relationships in fiction can also be compelling with two people who are opposites falling for each other - which is what this ship can provide.
Daniel LaRusso/Terry Silver
In The Karate Kid III, Terry Silver was a very traumatic sensei for Daniel Russo, who tortured and brainwashed him into being a vicious fighter. In Cobra Kai, the two have parallels with each other - with both of them being wealthy businessmen who try to hide their darker impulses.
Lots of fan fiction between Daniel and Terry like to put emphasis on the age difference between the two characters. Many of these stories show a lot of angst between Daniel and Terry that they would have with each other as a couple due to their tumultuous relationship during The Karate Kid III.
John Kreese/Terry Silver
While Terry does frame John Kreese for assault at the end of season 4, the two have shared experiences together. This includes John saving Terry during the Vietnam War back when he was a social outcast due to being nicknamed "Twig" for having very little muscle, starting Cobra Kai together, and Terry trying to get revenge on behalf of John in The Karate Kid III.
Fan Fiction about these two tends to focus on how their relationship could turn romantic after John saved Kreese from Vietnam. Fan Fiction writers also seem to take inspiration from how John and Terry ran a dojo together and explore the two as a married couple, raising a child together. Despite John corrupting Terry to come back to Cobra Kai after turning over a new leaf and Terry betraying John, the two do have a close bond and a long history together.
Amanda LaRusso/Daniel LaRusso
Amanda and Daniel are married and have children within the canon of the series. Amanda is often funny and a ive spouse of Daniel teaching karate - within reason - and is the voice of reason during the feud between her husband and Johnny. Amanda also managed to be the relationship that lasted for Daniel after Ali and Kumiko.
While some fan fiction about Amanda and Daniel can veer off in different directions, it mostly stays somewhat true to their canon depiction. Often these close-to-canon stories focus on plots that could easily happen in the TV series. Other stories often tend to focus on softer moments between them which relies on their already ive relationship.
Miguel Diaz/Robby Keene
Like so many others on the show, Miguel and Robby are both rivals and parallel to each other. Both were raised by single mothers and have surrogate father figures (Miguel with Johnny and Robby with Daniel). On top of that, they have both dated Sam and Tory.
The appeal of shipping Miguel with Robby seems to be that fans want them to move past the antagonism and find love in their similarities. They have enough in common that it isn't out of the realm of possibility that they could get over their animosity towards each other. It could also be fascinating to see how Daniel and Johnny reacted to the relationship - which adds extra intrigue.
Miguel Diaz/Samantha LaRusso
The duo of Miguel and Sam are an on-and-off canon couple in the TV series. They are both caring, moral people with similar family lives - despite Sam coming from a much wealthier family.
Although there is conflict in the relationship with the love triangle with Robby Keene, it's easy to see why there is so much fan fiction written about Miguel and Sam. Many of these stories change the status quo for Miguel and Sam, such as reversing their home life so that Miguel is the wealthier one, or they explore the couple as adults dealing with challenges like having kids.
Demetri Alexopoulos/Eli "Hawk" Moskowitz
Demetri and Eli have just made up and become friends again after feuding since season 1. While Demetri and Eli have had a tumultuous time more recently, they do have lots of shared geeky interests such as Doctor Who.
Demitri and Eli making up in season 4 seems to have influenced a lot of shipping fan fiction for the two of them. As the two were so close before their falling there is a possibility that they could become just as close- if not closer - than before. Some fan fiction even has the two getting romantic bonding over their geeky interests.
Daniel LaRusso/Johnny Lawrence
Daniel and Johnny have had a long history as rivals, as friends, and as business partners. The two have flipped their circumstances in adulthood, as Johnny was wealthy and popular and is now struggling for money and stuck in the past - while Daniel used to be a misfit who lived in an apartment complex and is now a wealthy and successful businessman.
Johnny and Daniel are very much connected to each other and entwined in each other's lives which makes the case that it would create interesting stories if they were paired up romantically. These stories tend to rely on the angst as a deep bond the two would have with their complex shared history together. Some of these explore their time set during the events of the Karate Kid films while others focus on their later time during Cobra Kai.
