Drabble tree!

[kahvi.livejournal.com]

I played with this over at fakenews_fanfic, and I thought it might be fun to try over here. Here's how it works - I post a drabble, and anyone who wants to participate replies to this post with another drabble containing one of the sentences or phrases from the original drabble. The subject line should be the words you took. The next person should continue the trend, stealing a sentence or phrase and beginning their own.

Any particular drabble can be drawn from as many times as you want. If you don't feel like posting 100 words exactly, that's OK. Near-drabbles of approximately 100 words are fine too. It's about having fun, not exact definitions. ;)

General disclaimer: The writers herein are just having fun, making no claims of ownership, and earning no money.




It was far too late, and they were far too drunk, which was why they had even ventured near this subject. "Yer not serious," Lister spluttered, beer spilling from the can he was waving. "You've never even had proper sex!"

Rimmer shrugged. "I have, once. Overrated, if you ask me."

"Then it wasn't proper sex," Lister concluded. "Proper sex should make ya see stars. Make the Earth move."

"Are you saying," Rimmer asked, dryly, "that I haven't met the right person yet?"

Lister looked into his eyes just a little too long. "Whatever, man," he mumbled.

Comments

Well. He was already dead.

[hazeltea.livejournal.com]

(I got a little carried away and went over 100 words. I hope that is ok. You can't stop a brooding Rimmer.)


Well. He was already dead. His life had passed quickly in his memory, or perhaps that was just that the number of memorable events spicing his existence were few and far between. There were entire years in which Rimmer could honestly say that he couldn’t recall a single thing that set it apart from its fellow years, months, weeks, days in a row, all neatly and precisely crossed off the calendar one by one by one in red pen. An entire smegging lifetime, and he hadn’t managed to achieve one thing that would make anyone back on Io remember him fondly when he was gone, and be maybe just a little bit sorry that he was dead, maybe just a little bit regretful that they had not smiled at him while he was alive. Now that he was dead, there was no one left to care, anyway. Typical.

His fingers rested just above the railing of the observation deck, giving the illusion of a physical presence. It had become second nature by now. He sighed with breath he did not have as he gazed at the endless field of stars that he could not begin to navigate accurately and cursed softly to himself, wondering just how long a hologram’s artificial life was, and if his would end once Lister’s did, seeing as Holly had only justified his existence as an aid to his. He’d lose that argument when the time came, for as in life, Arnold Rimmer had no worth in death, either.

From below, he could hear the Cat making a nuisance of himself, and he grimaced. Rimmer made his way down the ladder and towards the noise, preferring to face the others in the corridor than to have his sanctuary disturbed.

How many years had it been since the day he was born? Despite his meticulous calendar, Rimmer simply couldn’t keep the years straight. He would agree with whatever number Lister came up with, he supposed; it might even be close. He had remembered the month and the date, after all.

His fingers rested just above the railing of the observation deck, giving the illusion of a (...)

[kahvi.livejournal.com]

Rimmer looked down at Starbug's corridors. His fingers rested just above the railing of the 'observation deck', giving the illusion of a physical presence. Observation deck indeed! Lister's idea, of course. Never wanting to face up to reality or change.

Stepping back, Rimmer straightened his uniform. Then, because it was the time scheduled for his sleeping period, he headed off.

As he moved through the corridor, stepping carefully not to tread through the deck, Lister brushed up against him.

"Sorry," he mumbled.

Rimmer looked at his arm; reality, hard-light, and its consequences hitting him.

He ran to his bunk.

Re: His fingers rested just above the railing of the observation deck, giving the illusion of a (...

[hazeltea.livejournal.com]

I like this concept!

Re: His fingers rested just above the railing of the observation deck, giving the illusion of a (...

[kahvi.livejournal.com]

Glad you're enjoying it - will we be seeing a drabble from you? :D

Rimmer looked at his arm; reality, hard-light, and its consequences hitting him.

[hazeltea.livejournal.com]

Rimmer looked at his arm; reality, hard-light, and its consequences hitting him. The hologram stood, frozen in his tracks, for a moment as Lister locked eyes with him by chance. Lister furrowed his brow and gazed deeply and curiously into Rimmer’s hazel eyes, which always told him the truth when Rimmer could not, and cringed at what he saw.

There was fear in the other man’s eyes. The sort of untrusting dread Lister remembered seeing there when Rimmer would recount tales of his childhood with three sadistic brothers. A full month had passed since they had rescued him from that dungeon, and he still wasn’t himself. Every attempt to discuss the situation had been met with a snide remark.

The hologram spun on his heel and marched swiftly to his bunk, the sliding door locking behind him.

“Smeg!” Lister hissed, as he lashed out and punched a water pipe.

Throbbing pain brought him back to his senses. “But… but I’m not that sorta man.” he protested, looking down at his bloodied knuckles, ruefully. “I’m not.”

"But… but I'm not that sorta man."

[kahvi.livejournal.com]

The clothes fit. They didn't just fit, they slid on as though they had been tailored to him, which was probably the case, when Lister thought about it. So just maybe, that meant he wasn't Lister at all...

As they moved through the alleyways, he looked at the billboards, the armed guards stationed everywhere, and shuddered. He didn't like the idea of living here, but he did. And he was successful. What kind of person was successful in a world like this?

"But… but I'm not that sorta man," he mumbled. And Lister wasn't.

But he wasn't Lister.

He didn't like the idea of living here, but he did.

[hazeltea.livejournal.com]

“You’ve never seen it proper.” Lister murmered against Rimmer’s bare shoulder. Rimmer could feel those soft lips curl into a smile against his hard light flesh. “I know you had an atmosphere on Io and all, but it was artifical, right? I mean, you never saw the rainforests, the coral reefs, the Grand Canyon, that sorta thing.”

“Neither have you.” Rimmer retorted, half heartedly, as he allowed himself to be pulled closer to Lister’s chest. Lately, he’d been hearing this story a lot, or some variation of it. In the cold and dark confines of Starbug, Lister would conjure up vivid images of Earth, devoid of humanity, yet bustling with life. Together, he declared, they would tame a few acres of land, and coax it into a farm. There would be sheep and horses, fruit orchards and rows of vegetables, and Lister swore he would even build a structure that Rimmer would find suitable to dwell in, even comfortable. After the first few weeks, Rimmer found he no longer had the heart to point out his lack of construction skills.

Rimmer’s hatred of Starbug grew fiercer by the day. He didn’t like living here, but he did. He longed for the familiar comfort of Red Dwarf, the miles of peaceful corridors and circuits that he had made his own. He grew fearful as Lister’s determination and optimism slipped away day by day under the harsh circumstances, so much so that these foolish fits of daydreaming had become as comforting to him as to Lister. Lister’s stubborn ways were the one constant in Rimmer’s existence, and he was a man who thrived on order and routine. As Lister droned on about dubious methods of crop rotation, Rimmer tried once again to make sense of what he had come to think of as the series of checks and balances that had developed between them. He laced his fingers into Lister’s, and wondered who was keeping who sane.

Re: He didn't like the idea of living here, but he did.

[smaych.livejournal.com]

I really like this one! I love the idea of Rimmer being homesick for Red Dwarf.

Re: He didn't like the idea of living here, but he did.

[hazeltea.livejournal.com]

Me, too. Starbug is such a limited environment. Thanks btw !

Re: He didn't like the idea of living here, but he did.

[kahvi.livejournal.com]

This is beautiful. Lister's quiet desperation, which is probably quite frightening and unfamiliar too him, hence he doesn't know how to deal with it. Rimmer's... bastardly tenderness, to put it that way. Wonderful stuff.

Re: He didn't like the idea of living here, but he did.

[hazeltea.livejournal.com]

Thank you... I wanted to write both of them being clingy in their own ways, since neither one of them wants to admit that they are having a personal weakness of that sort, and they both express it so differently.