The Foundry | Part Three | Dominion
the complete third part of my forthcoming novel
The Foundry
by Daphne Garrido
Part Two | Rebuilt; Refound; Reclaimed
Part Three | Dominion
Part Four | Unmasked; Unbound; Unleashed
Note From Daphne:
This is my favorite entire part from either of my books so far (Prefinished Business from The Justiceers is second; that Omirion chapter with Montmoth is like my fav moment of that whole story.)
The way I’ve been looking at finding each next chapter has been a matter of a couple things. Firstly, I am really empathetic with Echo — which is why her healing often happens for real within me — that line mentioning immersive simulation having real effects checks out. So, I think about where she is in her emotional story arch that is the actual thru-line of the story. Then the other thing I think about is tone — which is when I use that little reader in my heart to judge how an audience might be perceiving the story and what they might be in need of — so I’m able to manipulate the vibes of each chunk of plot to sync with that as well.
The meta stuff about getting stuck in situations behind enormous walls of obfuscation (type-situations) is a fav. At the beginning of that chapter where Echo is running from the screeching and it says ‘not another one of these’ type-situations, I was actually just writing that in for that little-reader’s behalf, teasing a bit. Because I fucking LOVE writing that way, clearly.
That ‘little-reader in my heart’ is still in-fact there, for those who know the lore around here. It’s quiet now that I’m not in a really dark place emotionally and have come out of the trauma fueled mania I was in, but it’s an important part of my process to feel a reflection of some future reader or readers.
While it still does have often peculiar reactions sometimes, that feel most specific, I don’t pay attention or worry about their implications anymore. I’m just staying in my process. This book is an apology to someone, but I’m doing that for me, and nothing will change me doing the best for myself every day.
When the locker chapter happened, that was so much fun to me, I could feel that little reader in my heart getting pretty frustrated by it, so was trying to have as much fun as I could with that.
I don’t want to go through every chapter on this one. It was a magical journey of discovery though. I knew just about nothing going into this part. Truly, after all that rivalry building, the prospect of starting this almost felt like a whole new book. Still, I’m proud of that feeling, because it means the end of Part Two felt like it could be a satisfying enough conclusion for a whole damn book and we’re going to have a much cooler ending than that.
The last line is written and the final ‘credits song’ is chosen. I’m so unbelievably excited where it’s going to end. Seriously, calling my shot. GLORIOUS.
I will say that Chapter Thirty-Five is the coolest thing I’ve ever written by far. Might be the best written narrative-fiction action sequence I’ve ever experienced, not to be egoic about it. There’s just so much concern for these characters. I’m really proud of how lovable they all are. That’s what happens when you write in people you love, I suppose. Poe is very lightly based off my friend Ali, who is adorbs and dark on the inside — nobody sees it. Still, the rest of that character has been an organic thing. Such an embodiment of that joy of friendship found in her. Leopold is spitting image of my friend Brian — amazing human.
Anyway, for all of that to be happening, in terms of loving to watch these people having such fun together in the face of atrocity, then watching them work together in such an empoweringly transcendent way felt special. Also, just the pacing of it was more than I’d ever hoped for. There is this moment when I read through it where my brain straight breaks because of the extended awesomeness of it all. Just happens to be when Leopold launches onto his back around that gurney. Something about that part of the chapter in particular is most profoundly exciting to me.
There’s just a very well-established geography going on, every little move feels plausible, and then of course… my baby.
I literally made a shrieking sound when my writing flow had the words ‘rail driver’ come through in the supply closet chapter. Clearly, have been most ready for those words to show up in my fiction.
That first shot is too much. But somehow, the way the language goes sparse around the second one that shakes the shuttle whole, was just felt even more. It’s like I could hear it. So brutal. I’m excited to write a main-character sometime who’s not so prone to ultra-violence without a single concern about it. That’s not your usual hero. lol
I love how in line that is with The Void, and my own sensibilities in some regards.
I’m in love with how that chapter starts too, through the ‘near-almost perfection’. Which might be the thing I laughed about hardest. I feel like its cool to be so silly and then prove it can not take away at all from the drama.
The way humor and sweetness gets layered in with all the suspenseful action and relationship drama is really special to me, it feels cohesive even though it’s a lot, and the way they all worked together in such harmony to find that climax in Chapter Thirty-Five was good-vibes.
Also, maybe more in love with it anything else; the Darkside callback, and the Death’s Kiss re-use. So good. So, so, incredibly good. Especially with the song. OMG.
That moment with Alan in the shuttle feels iconic. Like, I can’t imagine someone reading this and not carrying the visions they have made from it around. There’s just a tactility to these characters which I’ve never achieved before in fiction, and the way such complicated emotional/psychological issues feel honestly earned seems like something I also haven’t really seen.
The forgiveness of Rory from hearing them say Consoler’s was my fav in that regard, because its not how you would expect it happening, but it makes nothing other than complete sense.
Really profoundly impacted by self-discovery in chapter thirty-two where Echo figures out what is different about the two people she’d really loved, and why one of them is such a different thing altogether. I’ve been quite compelled by people who have great power over me. I like that feeling. But the uniqueness of the real-life Rory was defined for me there.
Anyway, I’m really happy about the state of this going into Part Four, which will get more serious again. There will be a little Alan perspective and it’s going to be sad.
Spoiler: he’s saved. There’s going to be a squad of Five rolling into book two. Feels funny writing him on a villain turn when I’m buddies with his real-life person. They’ve seen a couple choice chapters, but I haven’t gotten them to start it from the top yet. Kinda glad about that now, lol. They’ll be cool though, our friendship is really sweet. They know I have a thing for them, and I know they have a thing for me, but Priscilla is real and the manipulative stuff was from the past. They’re a really good person. In fact, compared to anyone I’ve ever met, they might’ve had that ‘unseen since childhood’ thing the very worst. When their smiles come out at me being silly it’s a most precious sight.
Also, if you pick up vibes that this is directly tied to that other book I wrote. It wont be mentioned by name once, but yes. These some Justiceers up in this bitch, as are the two old fogeys who built the place.
MEGA BOOK FIVE SPOILER: It’s an origin story for the creation of The Periphery, though, I will probably be clever and not mention that by name either. I want this to stand alone entirely. Think — Foundry becomes Justiceer Conclave kinda thing.
Justiceers is absolutely doing a Tommy Wesphal on everything I write. He was this autistic kid in a TV show who woke up at the very end and proved the entire show was in his head. There’d been guest appearances, and spin-offs galore with that show, and by implication — basically all of television could be placed within Tommy Wesphal’s mind. It’s pretty great.
Still, this is NOT Miriam writing, which I’d been considering. I feel like The Justiceers will be a duology of two mega-epics. The ending for that was always going to be Arthur thinking back about all the other things Miriam had written about in her time. I will have to consider how many of these stories I want to place in their universe before we get there.
There is a romantic part of me that wants The Justiceers sequel to be the very last book I write. I think that’s a pretty idea.
I wont even talk about the wrestling — my love for that is apparent in the text.
“Elekta definitely had Cholera though” might be my fav line, but its hard, both of those chapters are like straight through full of stuff that makes me heave laughing.
100% though, out of all the things in this chapter which had me cackling. It was near-almost perfection that took me to the floor. Because I added that at the very end when the chapter was like, clearly, the best thing I’ve ever written. It was just near-perfection lol
