31 Plays in 31 Days, #22 - “Recon Mom”

Sun, 22 Aug 2021 14:48:39 GMT

Another bit for continuing “His Part to Play,” following shortly after #21 - Lost Cat. I like the idea that Steve has recognized a kindred spirits of sorts in his neighbor Rishun, who also appears to be an ordinary suburban spouse and parent, but actually has experience that makes her good backup in a siege situation.

OH SOMETHING VERY FUNNY I NOTICED. I mentioned yesterday that I conceived of the character of Rishun, maiden name Morikawa, years ago as part of a theoretical all-women’s WWII superhero-ish team for I think would have been a radio play idea, which I was calling Bombshells. I was glancing over the scenes I sketched out for it in a previous 31P31D, I realized in this scene #10 - Pinching, there was a mention of Gertie having stolen an M1911 off a guy who was supposed to be keeping track of them— it doesn’t explicitly say it, but he was supposed to work in the quartermaster’s. Turns out I named that guy Hayward.

Then, last year, when I was integrating Rishun into my take on the Marvel universe, I decided after the war she’d married a fellow soldier who worked in the quartermaster’s office. Whose name, completely without remembering the detail from that 2015 scene, also happened to be Hayward.

HAHAHA I GUESS THAT GUY GERTIE GOT IN TROUBLE WAS RISHUN’S FUTURE HUSBAND. 🤣

( Day #22 - Recon Mom )

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31 Plays in 31 Days, #21 - “Lost Cat”

Sat, 21 Aug 2021 19:28:32 GMT

Lately the tactic of drafting conversation scenes of what is eventually intended to be prose is working for me. As is chipping away here and there on fan fiction for the quick and easy readership. So here’s a bit that will eventually build on the longer Captain America piece I’d been working on for a while— “His Part to Play,” the recounting of Steve’s life post-retirement after time traveling back to the midcentury. I’ve mentioned that I’ve reached the point where the genre will change from slice-of-life to a more plot-driven adventure portion, and as usually, I find anything that requires more structure like that to be more challenging to plan. So I’ve been diverting myself with shorter pieces and side moments rather than plunging ahead.

But part of this adventure section will involve Steve reflecting on how this is the first real action he’s seen since retiring— except for one vignette he will recall as he begins investigating the new issue. It was a suggestion of Bernie’s that there should be an occasion where an enemy of Peggy’s finds out where she lives and sends operatives after her family, planning to take them hostage to get to her. But they weren’t counting on her mild-mannered stay-at-home dad househusband having been Captain freaking America in a previous life.

This is a small conversation section at the beginning of that vignette, which I’m setting about seven years after Steve’s return. He and Peggy have two kids by that point, and I have already introduced an original character named Rishun Hayward, a Nisei woman who lives on their street now also apparently a normal wife and mother, but who mentioned she served in a “special unit” during the war. Which Steve, having performed special service once himself, suspects may mean she has some superheroing of her own in her history. All of this has been established in the “domestic” half of His Part to Play.

Fun fact— the character of Rishun was one I originally came up during a previous 31 Plays in 31 Days, when random brainstorming led to scenes about an all-female superhero-ish WWII unit I was calling “Bombshells.” She would have been on the same team as the characters in these scenes. Two of whom were named after my grandmothers, Gertrude Hamilton and Julia Gush. I may just import that team and characters wholesale into the Marvel universe via these fan fics.

( Day #21 – Lost Cat )

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All Eyes on Me

31 Plays in 31 Days, #22 - “Recon Mom”

31 Plays in 31 Days, #21 - “Lost Cat”