1) hc sexuality for each of the main characters?
Lister is the most bisexual man to ever bisexual.
Rimmer is gay but for some reason Ace is bisexual (I can't ignore his lovely vibe with Mellie).
Kryten is asexual but not aromantic - see Camille. He may also be panromantic.
Cat is - well, Cat. I think someone else said he's the most flamboyant straight man alive and I agree.
Holly is bisexual as male Holly was attracted to Hilly and female Holly to Ace.
I read Kochanski as mostly straight but bisexual if she meets the right woman (which is pretty difficult in this show, unfortunately).
2) when do you think the characters worked it out (if they do)?
I think Lister just thought everyone was like that i.e. bi until he met Rimmer and realised it's An Issue for some people and his sexuality has a label. He is from the future, after all.
Rimmer is in denial for a long, long time. He works it out whenever he realises he has feelings for Lister.
I really don't think it's an issue for Kryten tbh.
As I said, I think Kochanski would assume she was straight unless she met a particular woman who awoke those feelings.
3) do you headcanon any characters as trans?
Not unless Holly counts? I know we all consider them trans - myself included - but it depends if you consider it canon or not. If it is canon, it was accidental.
4) what would the red dwarf crew wear to a pride parade?
Lister, Kochanski and Kryten - usual outfits with rainbow accessories. Cat only agreed to come because it was a chance to make himself a spectacular rainbow outfit. Rimmer had to be dragged there and maybe wears a small rainbow badge.
5) do they own any pride merch? (like pins etc)
I can imagine Lister and Kochanski getting a bit carried away and buying a lot of badges etc. Cat might buy a feather boa in whatever he considers the prettiest colours. Rimmer only if Lister gifts him some.
6) whatās the charactersā queer anthems that they just scream the lyrics to?
Lister - "I Want To Break Free" by Queen.
Rimmer - "I Left My Heart In San Francisco" by Tony Bennett (I know this isn't a "cool" choice but it feels in character for Rimmer to me).
Cat - "Vogue" by Madonna.
Kochanski - anything by Abba.
7) if you said yes to trans headcanons, whatās the backstory behind their trans names?
8) who did they come out to first?
Lister - actually maybe Petersen when they woke up in bed together after a drunken binge and realised they'd done more than sleep.
Rimmer - definitely Lister.
Kryten and Cat never do because it's simply not an issue for them.
Kochanski - IF she had the realisation, probably Lister.
9) whatās a popular LGBT+Q headcanon in the fandom you personally disagree with?
Two actually, both involving Rimmer. I don't read him as either asexual or transgender. I interpret him as a very repressed gay man (and possibly also a transvestite, less sure on that one. Since there seems to be a cultural difference in how Brits and Americans read that word, by "transvestite" I simply mean person who enjoys dressing in a way which doesn't conform to their gender).
We're all reading the same cues here - his very obvious anxiety around both sex and gender - and reaching different conclusions which is fine, fandom would be pretty boring if we all thought the same.
10) any queer rairpairs you like?
Oh, loads. Any alternate version of Lister / Rimmer, Lister / Todhunter if that counts as a rarepair, Lister / Petersen...
Also Sebastian Doyle / Blue-eyed Cop, Rodon / Count Ludo and Kochanski / Professor Mamet.
