Forwards. PG-13. R/L implications.

[roadstergal.livejournal.com]

This fic starts just after the book Backwards ends. Contains major spoilers for that book and the two before (Infinity Welcomes... and Better Than Life). It was never stated that Ace told Lister about the problem with dimension jumping, but since it was such a big plot point in the book, I wanted to play with what that implied for where Lister ended up.

Why do you look at me like that?

Concrit always welcome.

Comments

[shivvlan.livejournal.com]

Heh, i thought of that, the problem with close dimsions, when i read that book. Got side-tracked by being angery that no matter what happens in Red Dwarf Rimmer is never the same Rimmer at the end of it. :\

Good storie, ^^; it's almost the season 8 problem all over again. Right circumstances, wrong Rimmer.

[roadstergal.livejournal.com]

You know, I think what bothered me most about Backwards was not that Rimmer died, or that he died so pointlessly, but that Lister just didn't seem to care at all. In some ways, it was the wrong Lister. But in parallel dimensions, there's no real 'right' alternate...

That's one of the reasons I liked Last Human better. Unlike Backwards or VIII, it seemed to operate on the premise that Rimmer was an individual, and could not just be replaced by another Rimmer. :p

Danke for the feedback!

[shivvlan.livejournal.com]

You're Welcome.

One problem I had with Rimmer's death in Backwards, though, was that as far as I could see he didn't actually seem to digh. I may have been reading to fast, but as far as I could tell, Rimmer was aware of things still within the game, dispite being melted, hense why he was still feeling the pain, so if he was still in the game, even though his bee was damaged, wasn't ge still alive?
Which means Lister just left him behind. =\

[roadstergal.livejournal.com]

You know, that's a very good point. I took the light bee damage as read, but as you say, he was indeed conscious in the game nonetheless... hrm.

My head is now full of sadness.

[musicisavictim.livejournal.com]

Are you going to write a sequal?

[roadstergal.livejournal.com]

Ach! Sadness! :( But then again, mine was full of some combination of sadness and horror at the end of Backwards. :p

I have no plans as yet, but that includes no plans not to write a followup...

Thanks for the feedback!

[kahvi.livejournal.com]

and was plunged into an even worse mood by the fact that his voice cracked when he started the final 'k' sound.
Well, it would be an "ch" sound, but yeah. ;) *ow* I'm not THAT nit-picky! All right, I am. :p

A large inflatable cucumber tucked in a corner.
Nice detail. ;)

he had to admit that the problem was that this Rimmer was too much like the old one.
Heh, too right.

where it encountered tight curls, not soft waves.
Ooooh...

or looked around abruptly, and caught a certain look on Rimmer's face.
Ooooh... Again!

seeing in it the features that had tried to scream as plumes of smoke blew out of its mouth.
Aw, hell...

Oh, bad Lister, bad! Ah, but it's just hormones. He'll come around. Seriously, he will. I know him. :)

[kahvi.livejournal.com]

Are you going to make him? ;)
Temptress. ;)

I might have to. At some point. I just feel so bad for Rimmer - can you imagine losing Lister as a lover, and then getting something like that back? Poor thing.

[roadstergal.livejournal.com]

:D Just because I want more fics!

Losing Lister as a lover by being incoporeal, while still being there with him, then having him go into BTL, and Rimmer not being able to go in because he was sure Lister had found everything in there that Rimmer couldn't give him anymore... and then having adolescent, snippy, uncaring Lister. Hm, I might have to write Rimmer backstory for this.

[roadstergal.livejournal.com]

Corrected. ;)

Every Lister/Rimmer shared quarters needs some random phallic symbol lying around, methinks. Yeah, I think it just has to be hormones, because Lister does get insufferable when he turns 15 - but most teenagers are, aren't they? :p

He'll come around

Are you going to make him? ;) Backwards has interesting potential because, thanks to its departure from TV-verse, it is entirely open-ended. Rimmer is still incoporeal, of course...

Thankee for the comments!

[roadstergal.livejournal.com]

And I'm not going to redo this buggered post just to italicize the 'he'll come around.' Could you just tilt your head when you read it?