I love you but we don't love the same. I can't be near you when you want me to be. Your love is smothering and your need to keep me safe is trapping me. I'm my own person but I don't know how to show you that. I lash out and hurt you even though I don't mean to. I need you to move slowly around me or I'll bolt. I love you, even though I don't say it. If you stay still I'll sit next to you, and even though we don't understand each other we can be together like that.
In Back To Reality, Lister catches Rimmer when he stumbles. He has one hand over Rimmer's as he waits for him to get his bearings again.
Whether you ship them or not, Lister is def a kind and empathetic person. My favourite Lister moments are when he looks after the other's wellbeing no matter how frustrating or selfish they're acting.
There are times when Rimmer really irritates him - understandably - but he also defends Rimmer to others, like asking Ace not to be too hard on him.
Lister is the glue that holds them all together, even inventing the "boys from the Dwarf" shake your hands - thingy as a sort of nerdy rallying cry.
Lister is an underrated male character from the 80s. He's a slob, sometimes he acts a bit laddish, but he has a big heart and is a softie. I love him, custard stained shirts and all.
Forever obsessed with the Red Dwarf crew dynamic. They hate each other. They love each other. They hate that they love each other. They definitely don't like each other but they do care about each other. They feel something about each other and they don't know what it is but it is strong. They have the vibes of a dysfunctional family that meets at an awkward holiday dinner where everyone wants to leave. Or a group of bitter exes. Or a bunch of bachelors sharing a flat. Or a polycule on the verge of collapse. They're friends. They're enemies. They're found family. They're forced family. They're people they've met. They're all they've got. They're stuck with each other. There's no one else. Unfortunately. They'd abandon or betray the others in a heartbeat (or maybe more than one). They'd never leave each other behind. They'd miss each other. They'd come back and they'd find each other again and again. They can't imagine life without each other. Maybe they can. Maybe they don't want to. They're codependent. They're so lonely. No one knows them better. They fight with and fight for and hurt and tease and joke with and help and save and berate and celebrate and find joy with each other. The others mean nothing. The others mean everything. The others are like home.