rumble fish tag is just matt dillon stans does anyone want to talk about the book’s themes mayhaps. does anyone want to talk about how all rusty-james wanted was to be exactly like the motorcycle boy until he finally started to see everything that was wrong with him but he was too scared to lose him so he just followed him constantly like a dog and then watched him die in front of him. can we talk about the motorcycle boy being colorblind and half deaf and rusty-james not being able to hear or see color after the motorcycle boy dies. can we talk about rusty-james insisting that he’s gonna look exactly like the motorcycle boy one day and everyone disagreeing until 5 years later he meets steve on the beach and he’s told he looks exactly like the guy he no longer wants to be. can we talk about how rusty-james’s biggest fear is being alone and the motorcycle boy being a lone wolf and rusty-james pushing everyone away in the end. can we talk about how rusty-james valued nothing more than his reputation as the toughest kid this side of the river but in the end he represses and dissociates and never goes back home ever again. locking himself behind glass. like a siamese fighting fish. like the motorcycle boy. can anyone hear me.
so i was reading rumble fish in class today (by se hinton my queen) and SPOILERS SPOILERS.
at the end of the book, rusty-james goes colorblind due to shock, just like his brother the motorcycle boy was.
quote//
“i stared straight ahead at the flashing light. there was something wrong with it. i was scared to think about what was wrong with it, but i knew, anyway. it was gray. it was supposed to be flashing red and white and it was gray. there wasnt any colors anywhere. everything was black and white and gray.”
NOW. lately ive been hyperfixating on next to normal and IF YOU KNOW ME YOU KNOW I FIND CONNECTIONS. i find connections between unrelated pieces of media. this time though? its a little too perfect.
in the song “you don’t know” (in next to normal of course), diana says, “do you know, do you know, whats it like to die alive? / when a world that once had color fades to white and grey and black”
WHICH IS JUST-????? LITERALLY. similar wording. and this is after rusty-james’ brother die in front of him.
diana watched her son die in front of her.
everything for both of them is in black and gray and white.
THATS ALL CONNECTIONS I LOVVVE CONNECTIONS 🤤🤤🤤
@‘s: @averagetheatrek1dd, @staroftulsa thats all im just going insane 🥹🥹
holy freak this one made me feel like I was on drugs or something
the motorcycle boy is so emo I love him
and then rusty-james just follows him around (genuinely who names their kid russel-james his parents must have known the curtis parents)
the descriptions while they were walking around partying in the city made me feel like I was there idk it was trippy
like was that wine laced??? be honest with me rusty-james… but he hates dope so he would never
the entire book rusty-james fantasizes about the good ol’ days of gang fights which is a pretty absurd thing to feel nostalgic for ESPECIALLY having read the outsiders
live laugh steve he is my king
WHY DID THE MOTORCYCLE BOY JUST DIE LIKE THAT-
like i understand why rusty-james was so tweaked out for the rest of his life bc i was too at the end of this book
they are all… just… so incredibly mentally ill
like I genuinely don’t know how to describe how I felt about this book
and ik the whole point of a review is to do that but whatever it’s my blog I make the rules
overall I give it a 10/10 - I didn’t like the characters as much but LORD HAVE MERCY the writing makes my inner poet bust a little
even if you are dumb, you will get something out of this book
basically to summarize my feelings I would say,
wtf just happened (mind-blown with a hint of genuine confusion and a sprinkle of outrage)
i love your matt dillon-se hinton-verse au where dally is tex and mark’s half-brother but i was wondering is rusty-james also a part of this au? (since he’s also played by matt)
Good point. Honestly, I haven’t thought much about that- which is weird cos I really like Rusty-James honestly. Idk, for some reason to me, Rumble Fish feels like a whole other world compared to the one of Tex, TWTTIN, and the Outsiders. I blame the movie for that, since it’s so art house and surreal.
If Rusty-James is in this AU, then he’s the same age as Tex. If they ever meet, it’s at Buck’s place- Tex is there ‘cos that’s where Dally lives, and Rusty-James is there to try and fail at hustling pool. They’re both impulsive rule-ignore-ers with a penchant for chaos- so they get along great.
Meanwhile, Mason hates the Motorcycle Boy’s guts. He’s never met the guy, but he hears what Tex’s weird little hood friend says about how tough the Motorcycle Boy is- and Mason thinks he’s a bad influence on Rusty-James. Who, in turn, is a bad influence on Tex. This hatred is one sided, as the Motorcycle Boy isn’t aware of Mason’s existence.
Idk if anyone ever finds out that Rusty-James is another half-brother. Maybe Dally has a passing suspicion, but he doesn’t think hard about it. Rusty-James has a dad. Dally’s not gonna bother pursuing it. His dad was a whore- if Dally adopted every half sibling he has out there, he’d have enough kids around to start his own gang bigger than any of the gangs in Tulsa.
TL;DR- Rusty-James and Tex briefly are friends, for like a summer maybe. Rusty-James probably doesn’t even remember Tex by the end of Rumble Fish. Tex remembers tho, and sometimes wonders about that kid who looked and acted so much like himself that he hung around with when he was twelve…
If they ever meet again, Tex won’t see any resemblance to himself anymore, and Rusty-James won’t recognize Tex at all. Sorta a bummer, but hey, Rumble Fish is sorta a bummer too (love it tho)
Slightly unrelated random hc- At this time (like 2 years pre-Rumble Fish canon) The Motorcycle Boy is really into local author P.M. Curtis’s book “The Outsiders” and relates a lot to the character “Dean Marlboro” who totally isn’t Dallas Winston, killed off for dramatic effect. He has no idea that his kid brother is hanging around with his hero’s kid brother.
still not home because of bad weather (couldnt drive yesterday)
but I read Rumble Fish today and oh. ouh. ouhhhh
dude that shit hurt. seriously I didnt cry reading/watching The Outsiders but I did when I read Rumble Fish. its such a (relatively) short book but still
I think its bc I can kind of see a part of myself in Rusty-James?? mainly in the way hes so desperate for connection, to find a place to belong. hes so scared to be alone. but in the end? that's exactly what he is
The Motorycle Boy told him to escape to the coast. And by God, Rusty-James was going to do it. Even when his thoughts revolve solely around everything he's leaving behind in the process.
fandom: rumble fish (s.e. hinton novel and 1983 film)
warnings: mentions of death, grief, angst, hurt no comfort, open ending
wc: 778
He rode.
He rode and he rode and he rode and he rode.
He rode until it hurt to keep his eyes open, until his legs were completely numb, until he felt nothing but the biting wind cutting through his jacket, until the scenery changed from the familiar streets of Tulsa to the desert lands of New Mexico and then finally the sandy beaches of California.
He didn’t stop, not even when he nearly crashed from exhaustion, not even when the tears fell for the second time that night, not even when sound started returning and cars honking startled him so bad he swerved off the road into a bush.
He just righted his cycle and climbed on again, speeding towards the coastline. The same coastline the Motorcycle Boy had seen just a week before.
And while he rode, he thought.
He thought about Steve, his sweet best friend who would wake up in the morning to the news of the Motorcycle Boy’s death and his best friend’s disappearance.
He thought about Patty, not knowing that he loved her with every fiber of his being, falling asleep in the arms of Smokey.
He thought about Smokey too, and how he had considered him a friend and all Smokey considered him was competition to steal the top spot from - the top spot, and the best damn girl in all of Tulsa.
He thought about Benny, who didn’t like him, but would wonder why he no longer showed up to play pool and raise business.
He thought about Donna - sweet little Donna, who would wonder where he ran off too, wonder if he was okay.
He even thought about his dad, his poor, drunken father who may not even notice his absence until he was far, far away.
But most of all, more than anyone, he thought about his brother.
He thought of Motorcycle Boy, who looked older than he was, who couldn’t see color and couldn’t hear half the time, who spoke softly in strange tongues no one could decipher yet everyone understood. Motorcycle Boy, who was the coolest guy in all of Tulsa, who led the gangs and ended the fights. Motorcycle Boy, who nearly every person would have followed into battle without a second thought simply because he asked them. Motorcycle Boy, who had only wanted to free the fish, give them space to keep them from killing each other and themselves.
And the more he thought of the Motorcycle Boy, the more the tears obstructed his view, and the more he remembered why he hated crying so much in the first place.
It hurt to cry. It made his head hurt, and his skin felt sticky with the salty tears that traced paths down his cheeks.
He would never see Motorcycle Boy again, never hear his strange way of speaking in that odd manner that captured everyone’s attention and wouldn’t let go. He’d never feel that overwhelming relief that washed over him like a wave when his brother returned home.
Because the Motorcycle Boy would never return home.
He was gone, and he was gone for good.
He would never see his best friend again. Steve would move on, make new friends, maybe he’d follow Smokey blindly too, and he wouldn’t have to think for two people anymore.
He’d never look into Patty’s warm, caring eyes again while he held her close, her body soft and emitting a warmth that always made him feel on fire, but the flames had always been gentle.
He’d never sit up when his father came home, guiding him to bed and wishing he would just stop drinking.
He wasn’t sure what broke his heart more: losing Patty, losing the Motorcycle Boy, or leaving everyone he knew - everything he knew - behind.
Maybe it was a combination of the three.
But the Motorcycle Boy had been to California, had seen their mother and been photographed. The last place he had visited before his life was cut short was the coast, and nothing short of death would keep him from going there himself.
He had been to the hospital, and as soon as those bandages were on his cut wrists, he had bolted. Tore out of there faster than they knew what was happening and grabbed a cycle, riding out of that stupid town and riding far away from where the Motorcycle Boy lay lifeless, his eyes still open and his lips twisted in that stupid, smug smile he rarely wore but would never, ever get to wear again.
And when the coastline came into view, he stood there, taking it all in, wondering the only question on his mind: what happens now?
