Under other conditions ...

[veronica-rich.livejournal.com]

(I'm whiling away a couple of minutes waiting for a press conference to begin, so I thought I'd ask a question that's been hitting my brain for a while. I don't know if it's been asked before - but I will now.)

How do you guys see a relationship between Lister and Rimmer surviving under "normal" conditions attained after everything they've been through - that is, what if they DID get back to Earth like Lister says he wants, and there were people and jobs and homes and everyday concerns and just things we think of as "normal life?"

I guess what I'm wondering is if they were able to hammer out a romantic relationship as they are, would it hold up under other social conditions, all else being equal? I guess you should also consider the whole angle of homophobia as playing a part, if you think it still would be a problem in 3 million years. I'm not sure it would - I guess what I'm thinking of is more "oh, we're not the last two people left after all, anymore - hmm, do I still want you?"

Geez, I hope this makes some sense on the screen like it does in my head ....

Comments

[kahvi.livejournal.com]

I dunno; I've always thought that one of the reasons why Rimmer and Lister manage to survive (well, sort of, in Rimmer's case) is because they manage to live relatively normal lives despite of the situation they are in. Lister, in particular, make a point of celebrating Christmas and birthdays and going through the motions of civilization despite the fact that civilization, as they know it, is dead. Rimmer does the same, except, as with everything he does, in a neurotic, crazy sort of way. They're really good at coping, is the thing. Which is not to say that returning to "normal" life wouldn't be a challenge... but not to their relationship, I don't think.

The challenge, as you touch upon, is for them to manage to hammer out a romantic relationship in the first place. Having managed that, a mere change of scenery isn't going to make them fall apart. Though Rimmer will worry that it will. But that's Rimmer. That's his job.

[veronica-rich.livejournal.com]

My guess is that Rimmer's biggest worry in a population would be that Lister would find a replacement who is everything Rimmer suspects he is not. (Though maybe by that point he'd be more self-confident and it would be more of a moot issue. I'd rather see Rimmer confident enough by then to handle it, because I mean, anyone - if you can't see the good in yourself, you can't expect someone else to and you're going to always be suspicious of them).

Then again, maybe he'd be spending all his time rescuing drowned sheep or outfitting horses on Fiji with life preservers, to devote time to worrying if he's good enough for Lister. *G*