The Foundry | Part One | Thrice Bled Heart
the first part of my forthcoming novel
The Foundry
by Daphne Garrido
Part One | Thrice Bled Heart
Part Two | Rebuilt; Refound; Reclaimed
Part Three | Dominion
From Daphne:
I’m so into this one. Legitimately cannot wait to see what happens next. We’re well beyond what I was aware of sitting down to write. I have notions of where it’s headed, but also know this is a trilogy, so, I’m not sure where things will end for book one. Getting there will be a discovery. Apparently, one that’s going to take me like a month, which feels crazy. I was pretty much doing that with Justiceers, but this one isn’t going to be an epic all itself, and I’m not losing my mind while I’m writing it. So, that’s going to help too.
Firstly, I just want to say that if anyone out there reads this who relates with and identifies to Echo, and therefore myself, I’m so incredibly sorry. Because we’re getting awfully fucked up so far.
Regarding what I knew about this before I started writing. Basically just that this was about spaceships that transform into fighting robots with pilots inside them, and that I was going to expand the thematic arc of my short story GRIP — just in that its a comeback, underdog story which weaves all my personal bullshit into it — and then just a few of the main characters, and that it was also going to be that ‘new adult’ vibe, I think that’s what they call it. I’d also been looking forward to split up two characters I’d conflated in my past attempts to fictionally-metaphorize all of my traumas in love. This checks out a lot more. Somebody really does have an ‘A’ in their name, out there in my life. Nobody is the devil — I was just in a spiritual-psychosis cycle and projecting fear and hurt and all the stuff — combined the shit out of two people, along with all the wonderful and terrible things I thought about them both, into both Arthur and Carrigan — and every expression of that soul in Justiceers.
For those who don’t know the lore around here, I’m not going to tell you. Lost you’re chance at that, lol.
Honestly, beyond that it’s only a few other things which still haven’t come, and seem far out now, which I knew ahead of time. All the actual details of The Foundry, Atreya, Chiron (lol, I’m not letting that go), and basically everything else has been an in-the-flow kind of deal. I did know there was going to be some simulation involved, but not as much as there is.
One thing about storytelling has always been interesting to me. The idea of ‘getting characters over’.
This means convincing the audience to love or hate, admire or fear, empathize with or aspire after your characters through the mechanisms of your storytelling. I’ve found the way that’s coming to manifest in this story quite unique, and I think its hilariously out of the ordinary.
What seems to keep happening, is I build up a bunch of goodwill towards Echo through showing her tenacity, emotional intelligence, and the sad things she’s been through, then take all of that and cede it directly to Rory’s character through how powerless and idiotic she becomes in their presence.
I’m kind of just making a game out of it now. Like, how cool can we make this person seem to the audience. And how many times can we have this main character — apparently a bi-polar trans antihero, again — earn back respect from the after blowing it all to make that bitch seem even more badass.
Honestly, I don’t know that I can think of a cooler character introduction in fiction, to me, then when Rory walks past after the opening ceremony. I certainly won’t ever appreciate my own after-the-chapter music choice as much again. *chef’s kiss*
Just for the record — I knew Echo was going to get ruined in that simulation. Honestly, when I was writing GRIP, there was a part of me towards the finish line which was seriously considering having her wreck out again and it just be really fucked up, but still earn a place an win in terms of earning back her honor. Then, after I finished it and I wanted more of that rivalry action immediately, super bummed that it was over, I’d thought about just writing a whole short story about robots in badass fight. That was exactly what became my favorite chapter EVER — eight.
That shit’s brutal. I was loving it. I knew how it started with her transforming and flying around the city, that Echo would land and get smashed through buildings and then ‘dragged’ through the street. Also, that there was some handshake ritual which would get skipped and have her continue the battle in the classroom to her greatest dismay. That it would end exactly how it did with the ‘She’s so fucking cool.” bit.
Also — pretty funny — I watched an interview with the actor Edwards James Olmos (from Battlestar Galactica and Miami Vice, of course). Hero. Anyways, he showed up on Miami Vice after a season as the lieutenant. And those two main characters weren’t letting anybody else ‘get over’, he knew it. They were stealing all the cool in each scene and it made every other character look like a lame ass. They’d done it to the last actor playing lieutenant who got fired from his job.
So, he’d taken it upon himself for the entire first season on the cast, to straight up re-write his character, and never pay those two characters the respect of looking at them. There were some scenes where he was looking at the wall and talking to them. It was awesome.
And It worked. Everybody hated ‘this new asshole lieutenant’, but after a while they were like, ‘he’s really cool though’. Ended up being a classic, all-time great, television character.
Anyway… Rory doesn’t need that at all, but we’re giving it to her anyway. This will be the one book I actually dedicate by name to the friend I’m writing about with her. It’s kind of a big apology. But it’s for me, at last, and not tainted with attachment or expectation or delusion — which is why it’s bomb af, and I’m able to destroy my own character so ruthlessly over and over for the drama.
That Ashe chapter is the meanest shit I’ll ever write.
I’ll say that I’m in love with the inversion of this genre’s usual trappings to have characters be monsters to each other and then just shrug it off as pure entertainment value. The way it seemed to be going that way with how Echo took Alan into her room. Then the next chapter turned into a biggest ordeal of the heart, and exposed some shades of the really complicated nature of love — in my experience of it — works for me. I like subversive genre fiction a lot, and I intend to continue doing both; immature chaos and genuinely insightful introspection about it.
Also, the way there is so much depth to the psychological exposition. I’ve always been kind of an empathic tweaker who very deeply understands people and their motivations, so, it’s been cool to see that come into such use. And my favorite things are the bits of darkest humor layered in subtext, or those implications left unclarified.
‘She’d have to really focus,’ is my favorite shit ever in chapter four.
Actually, my very favorite thing is the “I am going to fucking destroy you.” line in that chapter with Ashe, I laughed so hard writing that; like forever. Its so insane. And the way she’s just like, “Did you stop recording.” not caring about anything else. That was so fucked up and I couldn’t handle how I was writing it with straight-faced dark humor — that made it all so much worse.
Yeah, and then after that, being so out of alignment through embodiment of anger and unprocessed hurt. To come back to that dream was brutal. It was one of those shitty deals where I felt called to put something very real into the story. There was a dream I had exactly like that one which caused those same psychological affects of breaking me down past boundaries of anger with Rory’s real life person.
Right now I believe this will be about 44-48 chapters. We’ll see. The idea is that part two will be a lot longer, then the last part will be about the same as the first. I’m going to keep going though! I won’t need to hop back to Terror From the Deep at all with how bi-polar this bitch is. Seems caustically autistic too. There might be some kind of reflection in those couple of things for me. Who knows?
Also, there is a real person who Cameron is based off that I’ve literally only been on a single date with. Their personality and the way Echo feels about them is 100% real, but I wasn’t about to blast ahead and write a smutty love story with someone I’ve only been on one date with, so, I guess we’re doing this instead?? They do know I wrote them in, but I haven’t broken the news yet. She’s going to LOVE IT, I’m sure… For real though — with the Alan stuff and how it goes with her — I’m just writing my fears and worries about my own lack of self-control in the past. Make my mistakes in simulation to avoid them in reality kinda deal.
Trying my best to just entirely divorce that character from her in my mind going into part two. We’ll see how well that works.
Also, the human that Alan is based off is actually my friend, and knows what I’m up to. Maybe not all of the details, but I did tell them I named their ‘bitch girlfriend’ Priscilla and that ‘mistakes were made’ — I have gotten their consent to write sex scenes with them — they’re cool with me jamming their shit into Cora too (chokey-ass motherfucker). Finally, I have realized, at longest last — there have previously been serious issues with fictionalized, metaphorical consent around here, and how fucked up that really is — eek. 💀
SPOILER ALERT - Echo and Rory will not be fucking — this is a book about transformative friendships — I do suspect readers will be wanting them to though, and quite badly by the end. No promises on book two or three — lol — FOR THE PLOT!