I want a character in a zombie apocalypse setting who is just inexplicably good at survival tasks – knows how to make a fire from scratch, cooks insanely well, can hunt, skin animals, makes cheese, butter, and such, but gradually the people in their group begin to notice they never seem to catch pop culture references or allusions to normal, everyday historical facts about the pre-apocalypse world.
And everyone has all these theories about them like, what did they do before? Why are they like this? How do they just automatically know how to sew clothing, milk a cow, and build quality shelter, but….. they don’t know who Chris Evans was. Never heard of Buzzfeed. Can’t drive a car. They’ve apparently never seen Star Wars ORStar Trek. Who the hell is this person? Why are they so weird?
And eventually it comes out: When the apocalypse happened this person took the opportunity to blend in, reinvent themselves. But in the old world?
You are moping on your island of self-imposed exile, and then this girl shows up.
She’s flying your best friend’s ship. The ship that Han thought he lost for ever. The ship that was stolen and passed through so many hands that he was sure he’d never see it again. The same ship that took you away from home for the first time.
She’s accompanied by your personal droid. The droid you left behind and abandoned. The droid that C-3PO was sure would never be the same again.
She holds out her hand and she’s holding your father’s light saber. The sword you were sure was lost forever. The light saber that you dropped down a bottomless air shaft on a gas giant thirty years ago. The light saber you knew you would never see again.
You look up and you see her eyes. Maz Kanata says that if you live long enough, you see the same eyes looking out of different faces. The girl’s face is different, but those eyes are the same. You know those eyes. They’re the eyes you thought you’d never see again.
And that’s when you know it.
You’re screwed.
They say sometimes the Force works in mysterious ways. Sometimes, the Force will send you little signs. Subtle clues.
Other times, the Force will just beat you repeatedly over the head with a gigantic neon sign that says: “You can’t run away from your past anymore, Luke. I won’t let you. Look, here is your past come back to haunt you. Now deal with it.”
You have no idea how much I adore this post with my whole being
I like the idea of the Force sending Luke little signs over the years that it’s time to return to his loved ones, gently increasing in intensity as he ignores them, until it finally gets fed up and shoves the events of Episode 7 into motion, finishing with a flourish of HERE’S YOUR NEW APPRENTICE, SPACE HOBO.
reckless & terribly gay 