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

[chrisscorkscrew.livejournal.com]

I see R/L in the same way Kryten did. Do you remember when Lister professed a desire to have dinner parties and start wearing clogs since he'd settled down with Kochanski. Well I see that for him and Rimmer.

Frankly after all they've been through, a little conventionality might come as a relief!

[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.

[kathie-d.livejournal.com]

Hmm, I can't help thinking that it would fall apart. To hold a relationship together through such a BIG CHANGE would take a hell of a lot of work. I could see Lister yeah, happily dreaming of clogs and dinner parties, but I could equally imagine Rimmer freaking out, and running away to do something 'he'd never had the chance to do' like University or something. And then failing at it miserably. Question is... would he go back?

Ooh, there's a great fic in that somewhere!

[laurenthemself]

I think if they'd already established a relationship then it'd probably hold up to 'normal life' as well as any relationship does; they'd have a different set of stressors and problems and whatnot, but considering how prone to hanging onto fantasies they both are (Rimmer is not as open as Lister in this regard, but he is still mentally hanging onto McGruder in a way very similar to the way Lister's still dreaming of Kochanski), if they turned that... that clinginess onto one another, then IMHO it'd be pretty hard to shake.

[dogwoodblossom.livejournal.com]

Sorry, my first thought when I read this was, "What? On Fiji?" Rimmer would wear a white dress and ride the horses.

[ajrimmer-ssc.livejournal.com]

I've always seen Rimmer as being ridiculously clingy, part and parcel of his fear of rejection. And never able to let anything go. So regardless of his own self-sabotaging ways, he'd do his level best to keep hold of ANYTHING like that, and to hell with the circumstances.

Up to and including driving Lister absolutely BONKERS with his constant nagging questions like "You still love me, right? We're still together, right? You better not go anywhere or I'll be miserable forever."

Emotional manipulation to the max, in other words.

/posting with RP account sup guys

[meraman.livejournal.com]

I don't think you can easily break up a disfunctional, co-dependant relationship like theirs. They'll part ways for a while, then seek eachother out. It's inevitable.