#dino and eiji

[bean-writes]

“He’s got everything to do with this, Eiji. You’ve allowed someone to slip past your defenses… All these years, you could always take what I gave you… Never bending, never broken. But now… Now I can hurt you."

Guys, this one comes with 🚩ALL THE WARNINGS🚩. Seriously. Please read the warnings at the beginning of the chapter carefully.

Read Banana Fish - I Won't Go Back Chapter 32: A Chink in Your Armor on Ao3, and FFN.

[turtlestm]

the face eiji made here was so painful, it reminded me of another time he made it

so i was rewatching banana fish because i was getting a close online friend to watch it for her first time (this is ur sign to make ur besties suffer too if u havent already :>) and while watching episode 13, i got a better look at this pained expression eiji made..

in this scene, he was having an inner dialogue addressed to ash, where he speaks of the nightmares ash suffers through and how he pretends not to notice them and in this shot we see an example of it. eiji's back is turned to ash so that he can't see eiji's face or tell that he's awake. he then wonders to himself what ash dreamt of that had him so distressed at night. this is pretty cut-and-dry and there's nothing really to discuss here that hasn't been talked about already but i have such great appreciation for this show because the look on eiji's face here reminded me of a different face he made in episode 22:

something atrocious just happened to ash and eiji can tell immediately upon seeing the way he was acting when finally away from the commotion of gunfire. and while eiji hasn't gone through the things ash has gone through, hasn't witnessed them directly or even had knowledge of just how disgusting people could be up until recently, he looks at ash's current state, looks at how shaken up and afraid he is, and he looks so angry.

i know a lot of people (not the majority but definitely some) have a kind of reaction to this scene of frustration towards eiji for not being angry or "showing" his anger. they get mad at him for not saying anything or turning to violence or thinking of vengeance. and i think that reaction, while understandable, is not necessary here and would have ruined the weight of a scene like this, especially in the context of such a graphic crime like rape. even if he did have the reaction those people watching wanted, its not like he can deliver on it at all.

what he felt then was an intense anger, seething quietly but still present, towards the world. towards foxx. towards every adult in ash's life that didn't help or intervene or protect him through the hell ash was going through. and yet it already happened. bloodshed or blind fury wouldn't undo it, all it would do is add to ash's baggage and nobody wants that. realistically, he only had one thing that he could give to ash and it was the one thing ash needed most. he needed all his swaying pieces to be held together and no amount of outrage will ever have the same impact as that moment of silence where eiji held him in his arms.

those same things eiji wonders whether ash dreams of them are the things he witnessed ash walk away from during that moment of vulnerability. his exploitation. if it weren't for the greed of men, ash would not have had those nightmares, and that's why eiji had that same look on his face when hearing ash wake up from one. he knew that no matter what the nightmare was, it had something to do with the way he's either neglected or used and abused by adults all the time

god this show hurts. he probably wanted to do so much more in that moment yet all he could do was hold ash in his arms

[ash-draws-art]

Bananatober24 - Week 2

Promptlist by @/bananafish.italia on Instagram

[nutler--kleinja]

TW: minor mention of suicide

Does anyone realise how ash died with Dino’s last name?

like, Dino had adopted him, and he never went through any papers to get another last name or anything, so like, he never really managed to change his last name.

He still ended up being trapped, by contract on paper, still being Dino’s, no matter what happens.

He ended up getting stabbed with Dino’s last name, and made his choice to go to the library and bleed out/basically commit suicide despite how he never actually lived a free life.

Because the person who stabbed him didn’t hit any vital organs, had a perfect chance to simply go to the doctor to fix his wounds and change his name to live an actual life and everything like that, even if it meant missing his plane and not being able to be with Eiji for a while, or being away from him.

And along with that, although to us we might’ve easily forgotten about the scene where Dino announced that he was adopting Ash, it must’ve been tormenting and impactful for him to realise that he’d officially belong to the same person who had tormented him since he was a young child. There is no way he forgot about the fact that he was Dino’s adopted child so easily.

So why did he not want to? With his intellect, I doubt he didn’t realise it wasn’t a vital organ.

Was it because he felt he didn’t deserve freedom, or was he simply already content enough with seeing Eiji free?

Did he feel guilty for making Eiji endure all that for him, just so he could be safe again, or that in the process of gaining his free will, Eiji had lost his sunshine?

Was it that he felt that because of the way he couldn’t achieve his own justice through killing Dino, and the way Dino died (suicide) made him undeserving of his reward which was a true life?

Was it that he couldn’t bear the thought of living life without Eiji too draining, even if for a short while, and he couldn’t bear being far away from him?

Was it that he thought that his presence would continue to taint or corrupt Eiji?

Or was it just that he was content with seeing Eiji safe and happy, and couldn’t care about himself anymore?

Either way, in the end, he never got true free will.

sorry for being a cornball i just had to get this out of my head

[shwizles]

The way i want to torture this mf! He got away (died) very easily.

If I had to rate him i would rate him -1000/10.

Okay, one plus point, at last he killed the other bitch, colonel whatever.

So it's -999/10.

[sad-manga-problems]

[bananafishdepression]

I want to know what happened to Ash when he ran away from his home before he was caught by dino. Like, how did he survive being on streets for like 2-3 years?? Where did he go?? What did he do to survive??

[bad-guidance-counselor]

New banana fish matching pfp’s just dropped 😍

[in-a-faith-forgottenn-land]

banana fish but make it lion king 2

[fairydust-stuff]

Eiji and Yut Lung obey and follow close to her heels as she moves down the hallways like a panther stalking through the jungle. They move down the stairs to the lobby where Yut Lung looks in horror at the slumped body of the receptionist, the bell hopes and the few guests laying limp blood dripping from them. 

They shouldn’t be dragged into this conflict how senseless. Disgust wells up inside of him. 

“ How awful” Eiji mutters quietly. 

Revy shrugged “ Looks like the old pervert was too limp dick to even show his…….” 

Then the pirate is struck by a man with his hair in a pony tail.  She struggles to stay upright  but the man grabs a bottle from the bar and smashes her head with it. Revy falls to the ground. 

Then Dino Golzine struts around the corner smirking. 

“ What’s the meaning of this?” Yut Lung demanded  “ I thought It was understood I’d give you Ash tomorrow” 

“ It was until you betrayed our friendship by involving Mr Chang” Golzine stated. 

“  Merely a precaution, Ash’s allies would of known exactly where he was had I given you the Japanese boy. They don’t know about Mr Chang. He’s your friend as well and wished to aid you” 

Dino punched him in the face Yut Lung fell on his ass craddling his stinging cheek. So farmilar he’s always taking blows whether its from his brothers or ritch white men.  Eiji backs up into the corner. 

“ You think….I don’t know what’s going on. You, Orientals always scheme together…your sleeping with him!” 

Eiji tries to attack Blanca but Yut Lung knocks his hand away and puts himself in front of him. 

“ If you want our friendship to remain in tack….hand him over” Dino said. 

Of course he was always just expected to roll over to men like this! Yut Lung thinks. He can see the smugness in his filthy eyes. He’s exspecting Yut Lung to kneel at his feet to hand over what he has, no….he corrects looking at Eiji’s helpless fury as he stands behind him…… who. 

Yut Lung pulls a gun on Dino. 

The pervert laughs and makes a hand motion at Blanca who raises his own gun to lower it. 

“ You won’t fire it, you needed my men to be your bullets. Its one thing to slip a poisen needle under the skin of your bed partner. But your not someone strong enough to look a man in the eyes and pull the trigger.” 

Yut Lung continues to hold the gun one hand on the trigger. 

“ You need me, if you want that battle with Ash” Golzine gloats. 

Yut Lung’s hand faltered. 

“ Yes, that’s it , Yut Lung, you need men like me to do things for you. Unlike Ash you never sought freedom, just a new handler.” Dino smiled warmly he looks like a doting grandfather in that moment. 

“ I’m proud of the progress you made….I’m not even mad you tried to go behind my back. Things between us need not change.” 

Its tempting letting things go back to how they were he’s right Yut Lung does need others to succeed. He’s never done anything on his own merits. Just a spoiled little prince on his silk sheets as Revy would say. 

“ Spare my bodyguard, please she was just following orders” 

“ Of course, the taste of her failure should enough” 

“ The Japanese boy what are your plans?” Yut Lung fixes a dark smirk on his face

“ I was thinking i’d have him entertain my men tonight…..maybe some videos. He’s a little old but with that face he could pass for younger” 

Eiji turns white as chalk. 

Yut Lung starts to lower the gun, Dino smiles then Yut Lung whips the weapon across Golzine’s face as hard as possible. 

Blanca moves but Revy wakes up and jumps on his back. 

Then Yut Lung shoves his gun aginst Golzine’s forehead. 

“ Yut Lung….wait…..Ash…..remember…..I’m…..your…..only chance…..!” 

“ Oh you old pervet….you overestimate your own worth, this is for Shorter” then Yut Lung pulls the trigger a rush spreads though his body as Dino’s brains spatter across the wall. 

Blanca knocks Revy loose and Yut Lung pushing back against  current of emotion points the gun at him. 

“ Now young sir there’s no need for that…it appears my contract has been terminated” 

Dino’s assassin said casually. 

“ You think we’re gonna just let you go dumbfuck!” 

“ Revy leave it, you can barely stand let alone go toe to toe with a professional assassin in your state” Yut Lung said numbly. 

“ So your first kill?” 

Yut Lung turns and pukes on the floor the waves finally crashing onto the shore. 

He wipes his mouth  “ I’m fine” he croaks, as pony tail  waltzs out of the room. “ It was nice meeting you Mrs Revy” 

“ Hey! Jackass keep walking!” Revy snarled clicking her gun. 

The man turns and walks in the direction of the lobbies double doors and walks though them. 

“ Dam it I lost my chance to fight Ash!” Yut Lung lamented, unless. Then he looks at the gun in his hand and starts waking towards Eiji who backs away from him. 

“ What are you…..doing…..Yau si….?” 

“ You continue to call me by that ridiculous name” Yut Lung snarled. 

Eiji tries to attack but Yut Lung is fast enough to dodge his blows and hits the boy with the gun over and over until he falls to his knees, bruised and shaking. 

Revy stands in the corner “ Sure this is the path you wanna go down?” she asked 

“ Its the only way….to accomplish my long term goals…..and as a bonus the person I hate, no longer exists” Yut Lung transforms his flesh into ice this is the moment no looking back no hesitation. 

He shoves the gun aginst the Japanese boys head and finds himself looking at a pair of big brown eyes that seem wider with one tear starting to trail down the left cheek. “ Yut  Lung please” 

No! no the Japanese boy needs to die, Ash will be so ferious he’ll throw himself fully into his fight with Yut Lung! No more ignoring him, no hesitance but the ice has already melted. Yut Lung throws the gun at the wall ripping at his hair  “ Dam it dam it dam it dam it!” 

He sinks to his knees, tears spilling over from his own eyes while Revy stands there awkwardly with her swollen head.  

Mr Chang comes down in an elevator casually beside him one of his men wheels a cart out. 

He  and takes in Dino’s body, Yut Lung’s cast off gun, Eiji’s bruised face as he presses the ice he retrieved from behind the bar to the back of Revy’s head.   And finally Yut Lung’s wretched miserible form on the ground. 

“ So who's hungry?”..

[bean-writes]

Dino stood. “You were so innocent when I met you. You tried so hard to stay good and pure. Now look at you. You lie, steal… murder. In your quest for revenge, you’ve become exactly what I wanted you to be.”

Read Banana Fish: I Won't Go Back Chapter 31: The Vanquished on Ao3 and FFN.

[nugulover69]

Best/most memorable face-heel turn in toku? A corruption arc is okay

When I encounter more than one of those I’ll get back to you on that Anon

[buddyhollyscurls]

Eiji responding with "Forever." after Ash asked him to stay with him and specifically said, "I won't ask for forever."

"Even if the whole world is against you, I'm always on your side."

"For you, I would do anything!"

Eiji was so IN so committed to being with Ash and it's like.... do you think he had any idea of what that meant to him??? like Ash, who never expected anything from anyone. Whose entire life was filled with people (men specifically) who used him for his body, their own perverse gratifications, or whose loyalty to him was contingent on him being a boss. Like we all know how smart Ash is, he knows his time as boss and leader is fleeting, and at any moment someone could come along and take him from the top, and thus take the loyalty of his crew with him. He knows Dino only sees him as an object someone to use and mold to his purposes. He knows his entire world is fake.

And then here comes Eiji, who from day one sees him for what he is and just accepts and cares for him as Him.

[fly-boy-in-the-sky]

early banana fish volumes like 1-5 are the best imo it definitely feels more movie like and the grittiness of the akira art style is my favoriteeee. Also the eighties look is more standout especially in the designs like ash’s hair in the very beginning is 70-80s staple style lol

I really like the localization as well because they talk very American and sometimes they say things that you’d only know if you grew up in the tristate like I remember after Dino got ash’s gang members to kill Steven Thompson he told his guards to throw them in the pine barrens which is this crazy pine tree forest that runs throughout New Jersey that has a folklore that surrounds it being that the Jersey devil lives there.

The original CD drama especially..it used copyrighted music I’m still yet to listen to all 3 tapes because they are very long but when ash and eiji first meet at the bar the song playing in the background is shout at the devil by Motley Crue and somebody get me a doctor by Van Halen. I like the original voices too, I think ash and eiji’s fit more along with the soundtrack really gives the feel if it were to be animated then instead

As the story progresses I feel like it starts to lose a lot of that feeling as it turns more emotional and serious along with the art style becoming tighter and more perfected that’s not to complain it’s just when you read volume 16 and volume 5 it has a completely different feeling (naturally) but I dont mean the story or the emotions going on in the story I just mean overall feeling of the comics it starts out very 80s movie and then dissolves more into melodramatic shoujo story

don’t get me wrong not complaining at all I’m just a sucker for the roughness of the beginnings feeling

[cosmicjoke]

You know what makes what Blanca does to Ash particularly despicable is that it's essentially the same thing that every other adult in Ash's life does to him, only it's almost more insidious, because it's done out of a purported desire to do what's "best" for Ash. But in the end, it's the same thing, which is a taking away of Ash's own agency and dismissing Ash's own thoughts and feelings as irrelevant, essentially reducing him to an object. Again, just like every other adult in Ash's life. I have no doubt that Blanca had truly convinced himself that he was helping Ash, but Blanca's problem is, he sees Ash as an extension of himself, instead of as an individual person. He projects his own nature onto Ash, and assumes, because Blanca himself is a killer who thrives in an environment and in a life without human connection, that for Ash, it will be the same. It's why, for example, Blanca has such a hard time recognizing Ash when he sees him with Eiji, and sees the way Ash transforms around Eiji. He's seeing the real Ash there, just a young kid who possesses an inherently kind nature, but he doesn't realize it. The same reason he's so shocked at the state Ash falls into when he's finally back in Dino's hands, starving to death because he's so depressed. Because Ash is really nothing like Blanca at all. Unlike Blanca, despite having lived a truly hellish existence practically his entire life, Ash never closed his heart off to the world or to other people. He found connections and retained the capacity to love and be loved in return. And Blanca tried to take that away from Ash. Because he didn't see Ash as his own person. It doesn't even matter what Blanca's intention here was, whether he was trying to help Ash or not, because ultimately, he ended up treating Ash like his right to choose for himself never mattered at all, he ended up denying Ash his individuality by refusing to acknowledge or consider it. Forcing him back into Dino's hands, forcing him back into the hands of his abuser, when he knew it wasn't what Ash wanted for himself, is truly inexcusable.

[sad-manga-problems]

please listen to my banana fish playlist ��