reddwarfslash | Canonical Things Which Could Be Used In Fics

I'm slowly rewatching the whole of RD in response to the RD Series Weeks on Tumblr and although I haven't got that far yet, I keep seeing plot points or events which for the most part were never brought up again and some of which are crying out to be used in fics (or simply used more if they already have been).

For instance, the scene in "Confidence & Paranoia" where Holly casually tells Lister how to delete a part of his memory, password included. Obviously he trusts Lister, but that still seems something which could very easily be misused in the wrong hands i.e. Rimmer's or even Cat's.

Continuing that theme, Veronica_Rich has pointed out that the events of "Thanks For The Memory" are tailor-made for sexy "threesome" fic involving Rimmer's confused memories of having sex both with Lister and as Lister.

The dream recorder in that episode and also the non-hologrammatic version seen in "Parallel Universe" are very useful plot devices for fics. (I believe it was Diminua who first had the idea of using the latter in a fic and that gave me the idea of using it in one of mine.)

Other scenes / plot points which I feel could be made more of are the scene in "Timeslides" where Lister actually meets Rimmer's family (however briefly) and the luck virus.

So what about everyone else? Which overlooked bit of canon or minor character POV (Gilbert the butler in "Timeslides"!) would you like to see included in a fic?

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The fact that the Rimmer at the end of Timeslides wound up being alive until he killed himself accidentally has always intrigued me. According to Timeslides, the entire beginning narrative of the show as we've known it, could have been completely different, since it would have happened with a living Rimmer. How different would the events of series I and II have been with a non-hologrammatic Rimmer? And how did that even happen? Rimmer would have had to have been in stasis as well to have been saved from the lethal dose of radiation. Could this be the Rimmer who didn't stop to comb his hair like in Infinity Welcomes Careful Drivers, who was using the stasis booths as a way to prolong his life by a few years?

Without Rimmer being a hologram, Me2 would never have happened, neither would the events of Thanks for the Memory. Also, with Rimmer alive, Holly would have been free to bring someone else back as a hologram. Who would they have asked to bring back? Rimmer would have been in charge, maybe he would have asked for McGruder?

I find the whole alternate timeline that Timeslides brings into play quite fascinating.

I read somewhere that Rimmer having gone back at least once in time (to see himself in the dormitory) prior to 'Stasis Leak' would help him to believe his experiences in the latter.

Good point, although it doesn't seem to in the ep itself given pre-accident Rimmer's bewilderment when our Rimmer tries to explain.

I hope that makes sense - when I try to consider the logic of "Stasis Leak" I end up as confused as he is at the end of it. ;)

It is indeed fascinating. Working on the assumption that the living Rimmer in "Timeslides" is the one who didn't stop to comb his hair in "Infinity...", that would have made a big difference. I wonder though if Holly would have brought back a hologram before releasing Lister and Rimmer from stasis? Possibly an officer like Hollister or Todhunter to try to keep them in line and also help them with the running of the ship?

I can imagine Rimmer getting smegged off with that and lobbying to choose another hologram, either McGruder or possibly himself. I know Kryten says that a living human outranks a hologram but (a) he may only have meant as far as mechanoids are concerned and (b) I could quite easily see Holly neglecting to mention that if it does apply to living humans being able to overrule higher-ranking holograms. The last thing he'd want is Rimmer throwing his weight around and a living Rimmer is obviously harder to keep in check than a hologram.

And on a slashy note, the deathday party would probably have ended with Lister supporting a drunken Rimmer back to the bunkroom and possibly Rimmer making a pass at him. Obviously he refuses because of Rimmer's intoxication, quite aside from the fact that in Series 2 I don't think he's at the stage of starting to consider Rimmer in that light yet. Although in this AU things could have moved faster, of course.

Well ... there'd BE no deathday party if Rimmer is alive. But that's a minor point, since they could be partying for some other reason. :-)

What intrigues me is if Rimmer has been alive in this AU and it IS an AU, why is he impressed by being alive? Wouldn't this be just another day, nothing special? At what point is the switch made in living Rimmer's brain that he forgets he's BEEN alive and instead takes on the memories of holographic Rimmer up to that point?

Yeah, just substitute "birthday" for "deathday". :)

I suppose it could have something to do with the timelines not having quite finished realigning themselves? So the memories of living Rimmer haven't yet asserted themselves over those of holo!Rimmer?

Or it's a plot hole. ;)

EDIT: I have NO idea why every other post I make is duplicating itself, but God, it's annoying.

Edited 2015-06-23 23:40 (UTC)

The thought of living L and R plus a hologram hasn't occurred to me before. :O Rimmer's function is to keep Lister sane regardless of whether he himself is alive, so would they or Holly want to bring someone back? Series I-II Lister (before the continuity changed) wanted to ask Kochanski how she felt about him, but later on, her being soft-light might have been more frustrating than it was worth. Same with Rimmer and McGruder.

I know it was done for story reasons/laughs, but it's potentially interesting that the Boys interviewed other holograms in Holoship. Was it just an opportunity to replace Rimmer with someone they thought was better, or was the "keep Lister sane" thing still paramount at that point (unlike in VII when Lister sent Rimmer off to be Ace — again, I know it was for story reasons, etc.)?

Well, if both Lister and Rimmer survive the accident then Lister's no longer the only human left, so in that case it would be more a question of keeping each other sane. But given they would still be at each other's throats, I'm pretty sure they would both want additional company early on. Maybe not later ~~once they get together.~~ ;)

In this situation they might never have found out about hard-light hologram technology, which would be fine in the short term if they were happy together but not so great once they got older and were faced with their own mortality.

I think by the time of "Holoship" the "keep Lister sane" thing is lower priority because the addition of Kryten to the crew and Lister's evident toughening up by learning how to use bazookoids etc makes it seem less urgent. It comes across more as Cat and Lister wanting another (less uptight) mate in that scene.

Oh yeah, that's a good point about L and R keeping each other sane. I had it in my head that Lister is more likely to fall apart first, but that's not necessarily true, is it?

The mortality issue got me thinking again of the future echoes in

diminua's AU. The whole arc is so well done but old Lister saying he misses Rimmer most of all. :(

I don't know how it would play out if they were both alive, but there was a discussion here a while back about how Rimmer would cope if he was the last man alive and Lister the hologram. The general consensus was that he wouldn't. At all.

Awww. I suggest rereading the final chapter of "50 More Shades Of Smeg". :)

I'm very fond of Diminua's AU as well.

(damn, forgot to log in)
I'm just checking. Still no one wrote Marooned in alive Rimmer AU (that is actual canon after Timeslides but we just didn't see it)? Why? It is the most intriguing episode for exploring it in slashy ways. Huddle for warmth trope!

The AU I mentioned above, Straight Back Down to Earth (http://diminua.livejournal.com/28212.html), has a Marooned segment (based on the novels rather than the show). It's a sequel to Three Million Years and Counting (http://diminua.livejournal.com/19347.html), though, so it'll make more sense if you read that first.

I know this isn't exactly what you're after, but Kahvi did a rewrite of "Marooned" with the original Ace and Spanners. They're both alive and *spoiler* things do happen. :) http://archiveofourown.org/works/43071

Canonical Things Which Could Be Used In Fics

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