witchhaven

[witchhaven]

on the shipping point, what if someone is shipping a relationship with an inappropriate age gap?

Okay yeah that's not great

However, as a counterpoint since we were talking about specifically this one's story...

All its characters are adults.

[witchhaven]

hey author: what's your take on the small handfull of readers who seem to headcannon or interpret certain dynamics of your characters as relationships?

this has been in this one's inbox for a bit now, and a conversation about the proship/antiship fights online with a few friends came up while in a voice chat while we were watching Cardcaptor

and like

doll doesn't really care??

that's going to paint a target on it from both sides of the argument but like, if it "had" to pick a side of the argument, it guesses it's proship?? let individuals enjoy things. if you don't like a ship, pretend you do not see it, it's pretty simple, and they're not like, "degrading the work of art" by interpreting or headcannoning. it's fine.

if you think that two or more of this one's characters would be cute together that's great for you, doll's glad it writes exclusively adult characters in this work, but like, it literally doesn't matter.

there's only really a problem when someone asserts a ship that either isn't cannon or is contradictory to the actual canon content, asserting that they are correct and the official content is what's wrong. the main thing to keep in mind that like, while fanfiction is okay, at the end of the day, it's not your work of art. you can enjoy your AUs and you can enjoy your fan ships, this doll has no issue with that, but at the end of the day, this one has the final say in what is and is not cannon.

this is not at all to say that fan content of media is invalid by any means, and this one while it hasn't seen any fanfiction of The Dolls' House specifically, it actually encourages readers to write some if they really want to. the thing to keep in mind is, doll has an idea and loose plan of how things are going to go, and doesn't really currently have any plans to deviate from that at the moment. there's a possibility that fan content could technically influence that, but not to the extent of major things changing such as certain relationships necessarily happening.

the characters from The Dolls' House are all kind of written on top of aspects of this one's own self, so it has an idea of how they would act in certain situations and how they would play off of each other, so while some predictions reading the story might be correct, that's likely more out of being on the same wavelength than any kind of influence present.

[witchhaven]

this one was having quite a hard day and would like to thank the author for the comfort the story provided!!

ahh! thank you for enjoying this one's story! it truly hopes your day improves, and it does have to say, it's still working hard on the novelization

[witchhaven]

is there like, a bathroom in Haven's house form?

so to be honest with you, in worldbuilding there are some questions it's okay to just skip over and leave unanswered. whether or not Haven has a bathroom as a house is one of those questions. this doll will fully admit that that was a question that came up for it, but the idea of how it would've had to work began to harken back to the unhinged and unnecessary lore of a certain other fantasy series which shall not be named, so this one decided to ask itself two questions

would this aspect contribute to the story at all?

- no, it's a bathroom

does the presence of a bathroom in Haven's house form enrich the world at all?

- no, it's a bathroom

and so ultimately, doll elected to ignore that little aspect, and leave it missing

[witchhaven]

Haven, what is your favorite kinds of magic and any spells you enjoy doing more then others? And do you have any dubious books?

Haven swiftly closes a door on a bookshelf no doubt filled from end to end with 'questionable' materials as her face flushes a bright red, "I have no idea what you're talking about."

[witchhaven]

legitimately one of the most heartfelt stories in the community thank you author

aaaaah stop stop this one just wrote a story it thought would be fun to write and it ballooned out!!

it's the single creative work it's most proud of for sure but is it really THAT good??

ahhhhh, maybe one day it'll believe that its story is that good

until then it'll rely on you all to assert that

[witchhaven]

is what happened to Haven for a century a metaphor for being in a coma?

Ehhhhhhh no, not intentionally

But also art is inherently subjective and if that's a meaning you took from it and you feel like that feels appropriate to your own interpretation, what does this one's intention matter?

[witchhaven]

blackout poetry

hey author!

when Self tried to open the door in the basement, it spoke a haiku like an incantation. can you explain that?

So, this one was actually just talking with a friend about the magic system for The Dolls' House, but it intentionally hasn't really explained it much in the story itself. It's very much a soft magic system as opposed to something that uses clearly defined rules, such as Haven transforming into the house as a kind of magically charged "final wish" though that could be seen as partially her initiating the spell when she told Heart that they would meet again, and then resolving it with said "final wish".

However, incantations are interesting in fantasy media in that they seem to carry a different weight than your typical hand/wand magic. In The Dolls' House, incantation magic works off of words, expression, and intention. Therefore, any kind of poetry if written with intent to accomplish something is a valid incantation. That does also mean that written poetry can also be valid incantation. This doll hopes this helps!

[witchhaven]

hey author!

when Self tried to open the door in the basement, it spoke a haiku like an incantation. can you explain that?

So, this one was actually just talking with a friend about the magic system for The Dolls' House, but it intentionally hasn't really explained it much in the story itself. It's very much a soft magic system as opposed to something that uses clearly defined rules, such as Haven transforming into the house as a kind of magically charged "final wish" though that could be seen as partially her initiating the spell when she told Heart that they would meet again, and then resolving it with said "final wish".

However, incantations are interesting in fantasy media in that they seem to carry a different weight than your typical hand/wand magic. In The Dolls' House, incantation magic works off of words, expression, and intention. Therefore, any kind of poetry if written with intent to accomplish something is a valid incantation. That does also mean that written poetry can also be valid incantation. This doll hopes this helps!

[witchhaven]

to the author: what's the biggest word of advice you have for writing?

you know, asides from just do it

so, in terms of writing fiction, there's a lot to keep in mind. you wanna make sure you don't have a bunch of typos and grammatical errors of course, you wanna make sure your story stays interesting as a concept, yeah, and you wanna preserve momentum and flow, you wanna have a tempo with your story, but there's one thing this one hasn't seen a lot of writers really grasp necessarily, and not a whole lot of this story in its currently available iteration has either aside from like, later chapters:

good stories have a grasp on timing. not like, "when to write the word" or anything silly like that, but a story with timing will kind of guide the rhythm at which your readers enjoy the story, and make it a more interesting experience to read in general.

you wanna have specific phrases, or even specific usage of literary devices come in in specific moments to highlight them with the rest of your writing. you can't just throw it in, because then you're kinda just assaulting the audience with those elements.

this one's own example of how it learned that is its usage of dream sequences and how they're represented throughout what is effectively now the rough draft. early on, it just kinda threw them in in italics, which worked, yes, but better were the later dream sequences separated out by predetermined quantities of ellipses(11 for going to sleep and 7 for waking) which adds more intrigue into the formatting itself as well as giving the reader a reason to believe that something is different about this section of the story that isn't just outright saying "Heart had a dream when it slept tonight."

the ellipses are interesting and add a kind of new rhythmic element to the story that otherwise wouldn't be there, because this one wanted to find a way to implement an extended pause to denote the sequence.

so, experiment with how you deliver your story. figure out how timing can make it more interesting to read. it will benefit your story

[witchhaven]

Favorite drinks?

All the dolls speak in unison, "Tea!" "I like a nice coffee. But, I like it sweet and creamy!" Haven flashes a weary smile.

[witchhaven]

Hey Soul!

Describe your Witch for us!

Soul leans back in the wicker chair on the porch of the house as its eyes stare off into space. Its expression suggest recollection as its brow furrows and its right hand fidgets with a cheap butane lighter.

"They were a confident person, who was convinced that they could show me what feelings are, even on the battlefield. Despite often sprinkled with a generous dusting of soil, their hair was a deep, luscious brown. Shoulders adorned with a wavy brown coat, and chest covered by a blouse. Unlike my other squad-mates, they never wore a ballistic vest—they never had to. Their magic would stop bullets if ever they were shot at, before any kind of body armor would ever even make a difference. And their eyes..." It flicks the button on the lighter, igniting a small flame for it to stare into, "Like emeralds, as deep as the ocean, and as bright as fire..."

[witchhaven]

Novelization has started production!

So tonight this doll started work on writing the novelization, and so it wrote a short introduction to set the tone of the story and give the readers more reasons to question what all is going on in the story itself. It's fairly proud of that, but that's really just a little thing it did that doesn't really amount to much effort, so of course it did more than that!

It actually fully rewrote the entire first chapter of the story, and honestly the original chapter and the rewrite are nearly unrecognizable from each other at this point, due to this one's more experienced confident writing voice, its more well-constructed prose, and its added references to later elements in the story to make it more cohesive. There's a lot of extra detail and literary flourishes added in for flow and characterization, and at this point, the original chapter reads as quite amateurish, but the rewrite reads like a real novel chapter, which makes this one REALLY happy.

This one has been telling friends and those interested in this story that what's currently public is just a rough draft of what's to come, and that's honestly entirely accurate. This story's novelization is going to be one that will for certain be worth reading fully even after reading the public version of the story. Please do stay tuned for further progress and an eventual release!

[witchhaven]

Haven(as she'll appear later) it's gonna give its blorbo clothes that aren't tattered and bloodstained!

made with this picrew

it was so hard to find a picrew that could properly capture her vibes

[witchhaven]

What happens now?

The first major arc of The Dolls' House has reached its conclusion, and so now we're left with the question of what's going to happen with the story now?

Well, of course there's a little bit more to write which will appear in the novelization, but of course this doll doesn't wanna just leave it at that!

First off, this one would like to get into explaining what the novelization will be...

The first novelization of this story will be called Haven - The Dolls' House, and it will be a complete rewrite of most of the currently public chapters, as well as a number of additional chapters added in for more in-depth development of all the characters in the story! Yes, all of them!

There will be a couple of short stories added in addition that take place after the story of the main arc, stories that this one wanted to get into that wouldn't have fit into the progression or the format.

What the next arc will be, what it'll look like is still undecided, but there are already a few ideas in the works for things that might happen in them. The main theme of the first arc is healing, where the main theme of the next one will be change. That said, this one still doesn't have a clear idea of what that will be, what it'll look like.

This one would like to open up an opportunity for the community to get semi-involved as well, to effectively interact with the characters, in a way it's seen other communities do this too! Any asks submitted to the blog will be replied to in-character! If you want to address a specific character of the story and see how they'd react, please do! These will be purely non-canon interactions, but this doll feels like it might give it a better idea of how its own characters would interact in certain situations!

[witchhaven]

some tags the story has gotten in reblogs

thank you all so much aaaaah ;~;

to have reached so many other dolls and left an impact on them like this means a lot, and it's these kind of sentiments that are going to 100% get it through writing the novelization

[witchhaven]

Haven

There used to be a witch, relatively alone in the woods. Not that she didn't welcome guests, but there were ways in which she felt she needed to offer herself protection from those who might hurt her. If anyone managed to seek her out, she knew that they were most likely a friend, and often needed her help. She would devise spells for them, to heal, to comfort, and to protect. This witch was known as Haven.

For a time, she was perfectly safe in these woods, but as times changed, she noticed the effect deeply. Cloaked men began to patrol through the woods, torches lit, and daggers drawn. Many late nights were spent timidly peering out of her window, the light extinguished, and the home disguised by brush intentionally placed to keep the place inconspicuous. Haven dared not make her home unable to find, for she would surely miss someone who needed her assistance.

This proved to be an effective decision when one individual showed up to her home one day, of shorter stature than typically seen, and of features unusual in humans. Pale pink hair, and similar eyes which held not a thought behind them. The individual wore a simple white dress with a fluffy petticoat underneath, and draped over the shoulders was a similarly pink shawl. Little white tights over the legs, into cute little shiny black shoes.

The individual before Haven did a polite curtsy, "This doll's name is Heart, ma'am! It heard that there was a witch in these woods, and it would very much like to belong to a witch!"

"A doll?" Haven looked around timidly, not seeing any of the normal patrols nearby, the only sign of them being distant yells to each other, "Come inside, quickly. It's not safe out here."

As the door was shut behind it, Heart looked to the witch, "What's your name, ma'am?"

"I am Haven, how did you happen upon my home, Heart?" The witch peered out the nearest window to make sure none of the men saw the two enter.

Heart looked around the inside of the home, seeing the now thick layer of dust blanketing the collection of components and tools for spells, "Oh no, Miss Haven... Your supplies are all dusty..."

"Quiet down, little one!" The witch receded behind the curtain of the window and deeper into the home as one of the now visible men approached the home, knocking on the door.

Heart seemingly naively approached the door, looking back to check before turning and opening the door enough to poke its head through and greet the man, "Hello, sir! How can this doll help you today?"

"A doll... are you here alone?" The venomous voice of the man echoed through the home, sending chills through Haven's spine.

Heart nodded, "This one lives alone, sir. It doesn't want to make anyone in the village uncomfortable..."

"I see, a doll's house. Apologies for disturbing you, doll." The man turned away and called out to the others as the door shut him out, "Move out to another sector, men! The resident here is no witch!"

As the man presumably left, Haven peaked out of her hiding place, "Little one, you helped me? You don't even know me."

"Of course it knows you, silly! You're Haven, the witch!" Heart turned to face the witch with a thoughtless smile.

"The men, they're leaving this area?" The witch peered again outside the window, seeing that the man's torch had been extinguished and his dagger sheathed. He was proceeding away from the home.

Heart nodded, "They're heading back to the village for the night, this one would imagine. They believe that this one is the only resident here now."

"I thought dolls weren't allowed to lie." Haven turned to look at Heart as she allowed the curtain to once again fall shut.

Heart's smile parted as it explained to Haven, "It didn't lie though, Miss Haven. It does live alone, but at the moment, its home simply isn't here, unless..."

"Unless I accept you as my own doll." Haven smiled back at Heart, proceeding to it and patting it on the head, "I understand, doll. The answer is yes."

Over the next few days, the two began cleaning the house. Foliage which once camouflaged it was carefully removed, and then doubled as fuel to gently burn in the hearth. Dust was cleaned by Heart, who always seemed to follow these commands enthusiastically. Every time Haven gave it a new task to perform, it would eagerly follow it.

At night they would sleep together, Haven holding it close, very similarly to a plushie. Her upsetting nightmares often quelled by her doll's presence. Though, she found that on occasion, when her doll would have a nightmare, she could feel it, perceive it, and eventually she learned to affect it. She would return her doll the favor by comforting its mind through the nights. It was the least she could do, she thought. Her doll had been so kind to help keep her safe, and to tend after her home's needs, and asked nothing but more tasks in return.

One day, she'd ventured with her doll to a somewhat distant pond to retrieve water. Both of them carried their large jugs to refill the home's supply, and Haven had given her doll a basket to retrieve tea leaves on the way, since it seemed to love tea so much. She helped it cover the basket as it quickly filled it to the brim. The opening was wrapped tightly with a fabric covering, the handle split and slid over the edges to secure it further, and the basket was placed inside Heart's pack, for safe keeping.

As Haven turned to the pond to fill the first jug, she asked, "You are quite fond of tea, aren't you, little one?"

...

"Little one?" Concerned by the silence, Haven lifted the jug, placing it down now full on the ground, and turned to face a man, who now had Heart with its mouth covered.

He held the torch towards Haven, menacingly as his right hand cupped tightly over the doll's mouth, "What a treacherous little toy."

"Let it go." Haven's voice twisted with an emotion she'd not felt in a very long time: rage.

The man grimaced in response, "Gladly."

"Miss Haven!" The doll's desperate cries were cut short by the man's boot harshly dropping on its head as a faint crack was heard.

Haven gasped as she took a few steps back, "H-Heart..."

"D-don't... worry, Miss... It's okay, it's just, having some trouble seeing..." Heart's head peered up towards the two as the man approached, "N-now, which blob are you, exactly, Miss?"

The man's twisted grin grew wider as he drew his dagger with a sadistic glee, "Listen to your doll, witch. Don't worry, you'll be buried together. Forgotten together."

"Heart, I promise we will meet again." There was an electric quality to the words leaving Haven's mouth, imperceptible by the man, but felt fully by her doll.

Haven turned away and broke into a sprint, exiting the pond and dashing deeper, and deeper into the woods. Today was an overcast Autumn day, with a distinct chill in the air. The sun diffused through the thick layer of clouds cast an eerie flat white light across the entire area. As the falling leaves gave way to Haven's scramble through the forest, there was only one thing she could think about: the hunter trailing narrowly behind her, and how much more prepared he was to sprint long distances than her.

She reached a path often travelled by others, dotted by dried flowers, and the leaves in the center displaced by them, revealing a clear line of soil all the way through into a round clearing dotted with more fallen leaves and dried flowers. She thought for a moment that perhaps the hunter had given up, before she felt a sharp pain through her torso as something cold quickly entered, stopping her in her tracks. Smoothly and slowly, the blade of the hunter's dagger was removed back through the entry in her back. She collapsed to her knees on the ground, feeling the warm gush of blood spilling out. She looked down to see her white dress, now ruined by the splatter of dirt and blood.

The hunter stepped around in front of her, "Speak your last words, witch. You have limited time."

"I-I wish..." Haven stammered as her hands desperately grasped her wound, in a futile attempt to stop the bleeding, her head growing light, and her body harder and harder to keep upright.

The hunter began cleaning his dagger with a cloth, "You wish you'd never decided to be a witch? That you'd never become the foul creature before me?"

"I wish to provide a safe home for those who may come to need it. Those like Heart, a sweet doll who does not deserve this fate." Once again, her words resonated with an electric energy, more tangible than before.

The ground began rumbling as some of it cracked. One such crack consumed the hunter before he had time to process. Stony structures rose from the ground, trees warped, and Haven felt her heart beat like fire as she became not a corpse, but something new. The violent rumbling gave way to a calm silence as left in the place of the clearing was a house, now to be dormant for nearly a century.

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

"I'm so sorry, Heart..." I look down at myself, floating above the glowing golden void open beneath me.

My sad eyes travel back up in front, surprised by what I see: a purple resonance, magic that isn't mine. It's keeping a piece of the basement stable. Self is stood at the doorway with its book held in one hand, the resonance emanating from its other, extended and straining to keep the small chunk of the place from falling apart like the rest of the house is also actively doing. Cream and Sugar lift Rye back onto the small platform as Thread clings tightly to Soul. Heart says something to Soul, something I'm too far away to hear, but moments later, Soul has picked Heart up in its left hand and appears to be preparing to throw it, at me!

I feel myself heavily impacted by Heart's sudden embrace as it giggles, wrapping its arms around me, "You were right, Miss Haven! We have met again!"

"I'm so sorry, little one. Until now, I had forgotten!" I wrap my arms around it tightly, and I want to never let it go again.

Heart gazes up into my eyes, "It's okay, Miss! Really! This one is just glad to see you again!"

"But, I do need to help you all survive this now, don't I?" I pat Heart on the head gently, "You won't like this part, but don't worry, you won't have to wait as long for me this time!"

I breathe deeply and feel my heartbeat slow and burn once again as the rubble over the void begins to drift back together. The leaves fall back into the golden light as the home I've formed for my dolls comes back into existence. I begin to warn Heart to let go of me for this next part, but see it tightly clinging on, even here in the boiler room, and realize that even a few moments longer of an embrace are worth the minor pain and singe that come next to it. As I melt back into the place I've formed for so many years now, I see the embers of my furnace burn Heart's clothes severely, as it recoils back, and seats itself at my heart's doorway.

Apple worriedly rushes up and put its arms around it, "Heart! Your outfit's ruined! But, you're... smiling?"

"It would be upset about that right now, but it's just so happy! Thank you all, we reminded the most wonderful witch who she is!" Heart beams in delight as it begins telling the other dolls about me.

I feel myself receding into myself, into a slumber, as I prepare for what comes next. I cannot remain as The Dolls' House forever, but perhaps with their help, we'll be able to build something new.