#rust cohle 2012

[r11nareborn]

2012 Rust nation how are we feeling about this pic?

[moonlight-scorpions]

[ynnu-64]

More true detective

[kirnet]

compiling all my rusts (so far)

[worshipfulmercy]

tax man :)

[rjgraves]

[crimsonsoulpower]

1995 Rust is the prettiest Southern Belle, precious babygirl, most beautiful princess ever.

2012 Rust is busy making a proper kept housewife out of one Marty Hart.

[bonesandpoemsandflowers]

are: Rust and EDC, on rewatching, I noticed that 2012 Rust uses Crash’s wallet chain, and possibly the same style of work boots (trying to trace the brand on these rn lol). I always thought the chain was interesting bc it’s the only super recognizable Crash thing that seems to carry over.

Sorry, anon. I forgot about this and then I didn't forget about this and then I read too much about it and then I concluded that I had nothing to add because you got it all in the ask--it is (apparently) the only visual cue Rust retains from Crash, and it is a Crash cue.

And that will be obvious to some of you--but it was not obvious to me, a person who arguably has "special interest: men" and "special interest: masculine accessories" written down on her character sheet somewhere, probably under a headline that says "penalties to charisma." Why was this not obvious to me? Why did I react with derision, when first faced with Rust looking all hot with his wallet chain on?

I refer you to this Vogue article from 2016, which (inaccurately) states that wallet chains are (were) back and also (inaccurately) states:

Blame the resurgence of the wallet chain on Vetements: For Fall 2016, the label gave the accessory a cheeky mall-goth makeover

To me, the wallet chain has always been a mall goth staple. But that is because my toxic trait is that I truly, truly believe that if I had been born in a slightly earlier time, I would have been so good at being an authentic 90s goth at the club.

(It pains me, it pains me to think of how Crash era Rust could so plausibly be at the (goth) club. Like, Rust wouldn't be, is the problem. But he could have been, so easily, and the overlap between biker scene and leather scene and goth has always been significant.)

(Crash era club setting BDSM fic set to Nine Inch Nails WHEN)

But reading anything in Vogue always reminds me that I, personally, might be full of shit, given that my frame of reference is such a thin slice of humanity, so I set out to answer the question of: do bikers actually wear wallet chains?

To do this, I did what anyone concerned with journalistic integrity and not leaving her own house would do: I read old forum posts from the early 2000s. And here I learned that it's not a wallet chain, in the parlance, but a biker wallet, and really the biker wallet is originally a trucker (as in semis) wallet.

The go to joke, on some slightly less old forums, seems to be that these days, the biker wallet / wallet chain is mostly good for scratching up your paint job.

however.

It seems that back in the day, the wallet chain was in fact an essential piece of kit. Why? Wallet in back pocket, bumpy rides, long roads--apparently losing your wallet because it jostled out of your jeans is a real thing that really happened. The difference seems to be that between now and then, suspensions (i think is the term?) got better and in general, rides are smoother, so it's less of a risk.

I assume there's also the issue of--once the look is diluted enough by people the initial core group thinks of as posers, the object that was formerly a reliable marker of in-group, now useless, becomes uncool.

So anyway, that's some general thoughts on wallet chains. But back to Rust, specifically.

he's so busted and hot here. dishabille. where was I.

We can conclude that the wallet chain, in the 90s, is a pragmatic choice, like almost everything is, where Rust is concerned. We never see Crash riding but we assume, right, that he didn't spend four years infiltrating a biker gang to never be on a dang bike. Period accurate suspensions were apparently shit, and presumably losing your state issued fake ID is a pain in the ass while working UC, so the wallet chain is practical.

So why is 2012 Rust, who drives a pick up, wearing it?

For the same reason he's wearing the same watch for the whole series, I think. It works.

Or is it a hint of some attachment to identity? This is only on my mind due to recent discussions in my DMs, but the idea is tantalizing. What if he likes the wallet chain, just a teensy bit? That seems good or healthy, maybe, that he's got some scrap of preference and attachment going on there.

Or maybe he doesn't, and it's just another way 2012 Rust comes across as frozen in time, like most of those ten years are lost time. Not rugged practicality, not if it ain't broke, don't fix it, but a secret third thing: a resigned it is what it is, the smallest unit of self fulfilling prophecy that time is a flat circle or nothing changes and therefore nothing matters.

Or maybe it's that there ain't much of a difference between Crash and Rust at the end of the day, which is my humbly presented thesis in this half finished fan fic I promise I haven't forgotten about.

re: the boots. I think I have a source on the exact boots, once again due to the insane guys over on reddit. I'll comb through my bookmarks and see if I find it and I will report back...eventually. And then I think I might as well post about the knife and the zippo because the knife, at least, is funny to me and very Rust. Also I need to tag these, I guess?

Rust EDC posts so far:

the ledger // the watch

[messmers]

i need to be put down like the rabid dog that i am

[tenderflint]

closest thing you can get to rust cohle in true detective is mud in mud (2012) and it's not the same but it's pretty damn good

[r11nareborn]

[gabriestat]

true detective (2014) / disco elysium (2019)

[widovv]

man of constant sorrow playlist for rust cohle in true detective season 1

I can’t say the job made me this way. More like, me being this way made me right for the job.

{ spotify }

[glitterslag]

Much of true detective season 1 takes place in 2012 and are we forgetting what an unhinged year for pop music that was. I know rust cohle wouldn't have listened to the radio much (in fact there's zero evidence his bizarre ass has ever voluntarily listened to a song), but look. He still had to have gone into stores. Gotten coffee somewhere. Interviewed people in bars.

Basically what I'm saying is that even if he went off and shot himself right after the end credits rolled there is absolutely no way that man escaped this mortal coil without having heard Azealia Banks 212 at least in passing

[haveyouanytime]

kind of love that when i’m writing about 2012 rust i imagine reader listening to the radio often but that means it’s not like dark and broody and like lana del rey ethel cain shit it’s … well… 2012 pop

like imagine smoking a cigarette trying to be mysterious waiting for rust and it’s to this

[rjgraves]

Thinking about Christmas of ‘94 for Rust. He has just been transferred, moved states, and was partnered with Marty. He’s living with PTSD and is still recovering from four months in a psychiatric institution. He is an addict/alcoholic who isn’t receiving any-kind of sobriety support after spending years abusing. To top it all off he’s alone. Really alone, no crusaders, no DEA, no HIDTA, no mission, no Crash, no one. Alone with himself, his real self. The holidays were probably something he had to tune out while undercover and all of a sudden he’s a civilian again (at least in the non-criminal sense) and he’s surrounded by the joy of strangers. He’s subjected to upbeat and hopeful Christmas music in every store, on every radio station, even at work. His neighbors multicolored lights completely illuminate his living room because they refuse to turn them off over night. He stares at the ceiling watching the lights twist and distort, his hallucinations make him see multicolored figures even when he closes his eyes. He hasn’t slept more than a few hours a night in months. They definitely decorated the station, probably even sprung for a plastic tree. Marty hosted a Christmas party at his house that Rust didn’t attend, or wasn’t invited too. He’s alone and It’s almost his daughter’s birthday. Merry Christmas.