SUPPORT DOLLSHAPE
Just one person makes this project possible: Stryx, a permanently disabled, unemployable and under-supported queer from Canada.
Supporting DOLLSHAPE through KO-FI helps keep her fed and focused on this project: ko-fi.com/dollshape
En, Roadie and Teto stand around the Shadow carcass as the small child clings to Teto's leg. En is standing almost over the top of the carcass, as if it hadn't noticed the headless corpse beneath it. Teto: "Alright, we'll figure out your eye problem when we get back. Before we can leave this dissociative bubble, you need to deactivate your spell. We can't leave if alchemy is still reacting. So deactivate your, wristlock, then we can figure out your eye."
En explodes in anger, surprising Teto and Roadie. The small child clings tighter to Teto's leg, burying her head into the doll's waist. En: "TETO! FUCK! STOP NAGGING ME ABOUT MY EYEBALL! IT'S FUCKING FINE!"
The frame closes onto Teto, the child still cowering in fear behind her. Teto wraps a protective, if awkward, hand around the child's head while she aggressively points downward to the floor with her free hand. Teto: "DROP. YOUR. ALCHEMY. NOW."
The frame closes onto En and Roadie. En leans toward Teto, its hair flailing in reaction. En: "Fucking MAKE me." Roadie's eyes widen in shock from En's uncharacteristic act of rebellion.
DOLLSHAPE - CH. 2.5 - SET 2
"ORDERS"
Teto and Roadie kneel down next to the beheaded Shadow, as the small child nervously walks up to them with En in tow. Kid: "U-um, excuse me, miss... Is everything gonna be okay? Your friend's eye went black and I'm kinda worried."
En and the child stand off to the side of the carcass, separated visually from Roadie and Teto by the dangling arm that is still connected to En's wristlock alchemy spell. Teto looks at the child with concern. Teto: "To tell you the truth, I'm not sure. I haven't seen that happen before. We'll figure it out, though. I'm sure of it." En crosses its arms with annoyance.
En and the child fill the frame. The child looks up at En as it responds to Teto's puzzlement and reassurance. En: "You're scaring the kid, Teto. I'm FINE. It's probably just some weird gimmick with the dissociative space, or whatever. We can worry about it later, when we get back to the cafe. So just drop it, alright?" En looks rather irritated, chopping his hand through the air and towards Teto as if to cut the tension with a karate chop.
Roadie and Teto fill the frame. They share a concerned look with each other in response to En's dismissive, defensive behavior.
DOLLSHAPE - CH. 2.5 - SET 1
"DISMISSAL"
SUPPORT DOLLSHAPE
Just one person makes this project possible: Stryx, a permanently disabled, unemployable and under-supported queer from Canada.
Supporting DOLLSHAPE through KO-FI helps keep her fed and focused on this project: ko-fi.com/dollshape
Limewire 🟩
nov 2025 -> feb 2026
being insane pays off
Dream warrior #brainbunnies
DOLLSHAPE CHAPTER TWO - "THE STRANGER & THE SHADOW" HAS BEEN UPLOADED TO TAPAS!
Remember, if you'd like to support the project you can pop over to the ko-fi page and pay for a coffee or two: ko-fi.com/dollshape
CHAPTER TWO LINK: tapas.io/episode/3815...
En was gettin jealous of Pearl's tatts so it got itself some! these are all picked out from public domain artwork, and it's one hell of an aesthetic.
⚠️ SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT!!! ⚠️
DOLLSHAPE IS NOW EASILY READABLE ON TAPAS!
Chapter 1 needed to be split in two, but the first 7/8ths of the DOLLSHAPE saga is there RIGHT NOW for your viewing pleasure!
LINK: tapas.io/episode/3812...
Teto and Roadie crouch down next to the Shadow's headless and lifeless body, its wrist still suspended in mid-air by the spell En cast on it in the fight. Teto calls over to En. Teto: "En, I'll use this Shadow carcass to teach Roadie a few things. Find out where the kid went." En begins walking away from the group as it responds. En: "Gotcha. Nice shot by the way, Roadie. You gotta teach me how to shoot like that sometime." En's speech bubbles have a strange gradient to them, from white to a light gray.
En walks towards a red box in the distance as Roadie and Teto begin inspecting the Shadow. On the back of the Shadow's shirt is a dark red, circular sigil. Teto: "So, Roadie. A Shadow is an embodiment of intrusive and repressive thought." Roadie: "This one's got a sigil. What does that one do?"
En opens the red box to reveal the child's hiding spot: the inside of a fridge. En: "Hey, kid! Great hiding spot!" En's speech bubbles have a much stronger gradient to them. The child looks up at En with worry. Kid: "Thank you! I just kind of... uh... Stranger, are you feeling okay?"
We pivot around to see En's face fully revealed. Its right eye's sclera has become pitch black, and its speech bubbles have inverted to white on black. En: "Sure am, kiddo! Never better!" Roadie and Teto are still inspecting the Shadow's body in the background. Roadie scratches her head, while Teto points at the sigil and looks over in En's direction with fear in her eyes.
DOLLSHAPE - CH. 2, SET 13
"INFECTION"
The trio - En, Teto and Roadie - stare past the viewer at the shadow just off-panel. En points toward Roadie with a devious grin on its face. En: "Now, if you don't mind sticking around, my pal Roadie has a gift she'd LOVE to send, care on delivery!"
Roadie points her gun at the shadow, still struggling to break its wrist free from the alchemical wristlock it has been stuck in. En: "This is the thing about shards, edgelord... If you don't stop playing with 'em, you're gonna get yourself cut."
Roadie pulls the trigger with a loud BANG, pulsing a green, energetic muzzle flash out of the barrel.
The shadow, now headless, hangs limply from its wrist, still caught in the wristlock mid-air. En's eyes open wide with surprise. En: "Whoa, holy shit! That took its head clean, smooth off!"
DOLLSHAPE - CH. 2, SET 12
"ONE-LINER"
Multiple panels in one page, a first for DOLLSHAPE. PANEL 1: The stranger has poofed back into the small child from earlier, and is now hiding behind Teto while En prepares to fight. En: "Scoot, take cover!" Teto: "GO! HIDE!" PANEL 2: En now focuses on the dark figure who interrupted their conversation and readies itself. PANEL 3: En blocks a punch from the figure as Teto helps Roadie off the ground. Teto: "Let's find the handcannon! En will handle the shadow!" PANEL 4: En slips out of his block and grabs the shadow's wrist in one hand, while bringing his finger and thumb together with the other. PANEL 5: En snaps its fingers, creating two pink circles reverberating energy around the shadow's wrist. PANEL 6: The trio watch their enemy struggle to free their wrist from the alchemical energy circles. En: "HAH! Get fuckin' OWNED!" Shadow: "FUCKING SHARDS!"
DOLLSHAPE - CH. 2, SET 11
"FIGHT BACK"
The four shards form a lazy circle as they talk to each other. Roadie is holding a new handcannon cylinder in one hand and her empty gun in the other. Roadie: "Alright, so I'm TECHNICALLY real, but NOT REALLY. KINDA, but SORTA NOT." En pleads with Roadie, clasping its hands together as if in prayer. En: "I mean, when you put it like that, it DOES sound pretty insane. But like, it DOES explain the disjointed memories, right?"
En continues its pleading. En: "Look, I know this is a lot to take in, but we were all gonna have to accept the circumstances at some point." The stranger leans into the circle towards Roadie, joining in on the reassurance. Stranger: "You're not wrong for being angry. I'm pretty upset, too. But we've got the cards we're dealt, so we gotta play them."
The scene distorts into extreme contrast and motion blur as the door, floating behind them in non-euclidian space, is violently kicked open with a loud SLAM by a dark figure. The group, collectively startled by the loud noise, jump away from each other. Roadie loses grip on her gun, now loaded, as it flies through the air.
We take a closer look at the dark figure, revealing itself to have pitch black skin and hair with dark grey clothes. A flame design trails up from the ankle to the knee on its pants. Its eyelashes, eyes and brows are in a stark monochrome palette, and her sharp teeth is bared at the group. Shadow: "Ahh, I see. More shards. I thought I smelled 'crazy' around here."
DOLLSHAPE - CH. 2, SET 10
"SPOTTED"
Between Roadie and En, we see the stranger begin to explain something. Stranger: "I think I've heard about something like this. We're part of an individual's mental defense mechanism. If an individual suffers from prolonged periods of trauma without an adequate way to process that trauma, the mind 'breaks' into something like a 'personality shard.' The 'shards' then take control of the mind in times when the brain feels it needs to protect itself."
The strangers continues explaining her theory. Stranger: "If we're the 'shards,' that means the world we're experiencing isn't 'real,' at least not in the way that word is defined. It's real to us, sure. We can make a coffee and drink it, and appreciate its taste. Technically speaking, however, we are ultimately not the ones being perceived by eyes outside the boundaries of this world. We're actually stuck in a body that doesn't look like any of us."
Looking over the stranger's shoulder now, Teto responds to her. Teto: "Precisely. To be more specific, we're part of a defense system that has been classified as 'Dissociative Identity Disorder.' I have been designated by this system to help guide new 'shards' through the process of understanding this." Roadie looks over at Teto in shock at this information. Roadie: "Wait... Teto, that's your serious face. Why are you wearing your serious face while you're saying these things?!"
DOLLSHAPE - CH. 2, SET 9
"SHARDS"
Roadie wipes her soot-covered face with her sleeve while En looks on with concern. Roadie: "Ughh, I'm covered in soot now, thanks." Teto places a hand on En's shoulder. Teto: "What I've just demonstrated is the mind protecting itself, from itself. You can't kill anyone here who is a major piece of the mind." The stranger in a battle vest coils with surprise. Stranger: "IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MAKE SENSE?! AM I THE ONLY SANE ONE RIGHT NOW?!"
Roadie raises a soot-and-burn covered hand, clenching it into a fist while pointing a thumb at herself. Roadie: "Shut up. All of you." En defensively places his hands in the air as Roadie continues to speak. Roadie: "I'm sick of the cryptic shit. 'The mind protecting itself from itself?' How is ANYONE supposed to get ANY clarity out of THAT?!"
En speaks with worry. En: "Roadie, we're not real. Nothing has ever been real. We're all shards of a traumatized mind, brought to life to protect it from further harm." Roadie angrily turns her gaze to En and cups her hand against her ear. Her handcannon in the other hand is missing a cylinder, likely vaporized in the backfire. Roadie: "Sorry, En! I couldn't hear you over all that BULLSHIT!" En: "Think about it. You can't remember when I hired you at the cafe, you just... showed up, one day."
Roadie softens her glare into an introspective curiosity. Roadie: "...huh. Yeah, I don't even remember giving you my application, either." En: "Because you never needed to. This cafe, this 'mindspace,' needed help. You are the help."
DOLLSHAPE - CH. 2, SET 8
"ANSWERS"
Roadie and the stranger join back with Teto and En, the two pairs glancing at each other as they rejoin each other. Roadie: "Alright, we're clones or something. What gives with the secrecy-" Teto interrupts Roadie, crossing her arms with her matter-of-fact response. Teto: "No, you're not clones. I don't think either of you would be able to manage the gravity of what all of us actually, really are."
Roadie flips a hand to the air and rolls her eyes. Roadie: "Oh, my GOD! I'm not fucking twelve, Teto. Just tell us and get it over with." Teto opens her crossed arms to point at Roadie's pocket, humoring her desire to know the truth. Teto: "Alright, fine. First, a demonstration. Try shooting me with the handcannon."
Roadie quickly pulls her left hand out of her hoodie pocket, handcannon in hand, and points it straight at Teto. En: "SHIT, GET BACK!" En pushes the stranger back as it notices the serious expression on Teto's face. Roadie, meanwhile, takes aim. Roadie: "Sure, whatever. You're probably gonna pull some gimmicky shit, anyway."
The gun explodes in Roadie's hands with a loud BANG, as the stranger and En cover their faces in their arms and crouch down a short distance away from the explosion. Roadie: "WHAT THE FUCK?!" Teto pulls away from the explosion and tries to cover her head, as if taken aback by the sudden burst. Teto: "CHRIST, Roadie!! A damn countdown would've been nice!"
DOLLSHAPE - CH. 2, SET 7
"EVEN MORE QUESTIONS"
Roadie leans back against a door held up by nothing in non-euclidian space, a sickly green mess of pixels radiating in the background. She looks with irritation at her copycat, who is crossing her arms with a concerned expression. Stranger: "I wish I could give you answers, but I'm just as stumped as you. All we know is that we both feel that somebody copied someone else's style, but our ink isn't from a catalog. They're our own designs. The logical conclusion is coincidence, but we have the exact same tattoos. It's so unlikely as to be impossible."
The stranger continues her explanation as Roadie softens her face into an expression of slight worry. Stranger: "Even our explanation for what each tattoo means is exactly the same. It leaves only one answer, but it's terrifying. I wouldn't even know how to begin to explain such a thing. It's probably why your friends don't want to say anything about it. They don't know how to explain it, either."
The camera closes up on Roadie as she looks down at her feet. Roadie: "Yeah. Nothing about this is statistically possible, or even logically sound. We're only barely different, as if we split off from the same mind. So, it begs the question. WERE we? Are we unique individuals who just happen to be impossibly similar, or were we the same person at some point in time?"
Roadie now looks toward the stranger with a worrisome look on her face, while the Stranger looks back at Roadie with a pensive smile. Roadie: "Well, I can't conceive of any other possibility except that we're some kind of clone. Built from the same codebase, but forked into different versions. It doesn't exactly explain how you can turn into a child, or why that even happens, but I'm sure we can try to figure something out... or get Teto or En to spill the beans."
DOLLSHAPE - CH. 2, SET 6
"QUESTIONS"
THE CANON CONTINUES IN CHAPTER TWO.
DOLLSHAPE CANON STARTS HERE, AT CHAPTER ONE
SUPPORT THE PROJECT: ko-fi.com/dollshape
The ko-fi page will be undergoing changes as we learn more about the platform. We may begin selling individual chapters of DOLLSHAPE as a way of letting people support the webcomic directly while getting something in return, and we *may* open up commissions of some kind in the future. we'll see!
A heavily distorted, low colour depth render of Kasane Teto, Roadie and En. Teto is sitting down on the couch with a ball of energy in her hands, while En lays across her lap, seemingly passed out. Roadie is hanging limply over the side of the staircase between the stair rails. Text: "DOLLSHAPE. Support now on Ko-Fi."
DOLLSHAPE'S KO-FI IS NOW LIVE!
If you'd like to support this project, you can now do so easily through Ko-Fi! Slip a one-time donation into our chest pockets, or schedule monthly support drops.
Your support will help keep the artist fed, purchase tools for a better/faster workflow, and more!
The little girl with purple hair re-enacts a story about a bully, swinging a fist in the air with a smile on her face. En and Teto listen attentively while sitting on the ground at her level, while Roadie mopes against a door within the green non-euclidian space that looks like the front door to the Cartomancy Cafe. Kid: "...and then the bully told me 'beyblades are stupid,' so I BOPPED him in the shoulder and he said 'ow!'" En offers an encouraging smile to the child. En: "Awesome, kiddo! Way to stick up for yourself!"
En shifts its expression to a more serious one, while Teto listens. Roadie is still moping against the door, uninterested in the conversation. En: "Now, I think it's time we talk to the other girl. Think you can bring her back?" Kid: "Oh, sure! I c'n snap my fingers tuh bring her back 'n' stuff!"
A large, over-bloomed puff of pink smoke explodes with a 'sna-POOF,' making Teto recoil from the sudden smokescreen while En is completely obscured. The noise has brought Roadie's attention to the situation, bringing her hands close to her chest in a defensive reflex.
The kid has now become the copycat from earlier, scratching the back of her head bashfully as she kneels down to En and Teto's level. Roadie rolls her eyes, still sore about the copycat biting her style. Copycat: "Sorry, I kinda spaced out there for a bit. It happens more often than I'd like to admit, to be honest!" En: "No worries! I deal with that kind of thing myself!"
DOLLSHAPE - CH. 2, SET 5
"SWITCHBACK"
the solution to having too many plushies on the bed is just to make them their own bed over your desk actually
blue android blood on the sidewalk
Gwen??!!
Roadie crouches down to the floor in deep distress as Teto places a hand on her shoulder, attempting to comfort her. Teto: "I can explain all of this, Roadie. Just focus on being calm for now." Just in front of them, a small girl with purple hair is clinging to En's hip by grabbing onto its hoodie. En looks down at the girl. En: "Are you okay, kiddo?" The girl nervously replies, "m-mhm..."
The camera angles downward to reveal a sickly green, pixelated, non-euclidian texture on the ceiling that emits a radiant green ambient light into the room. Teto turns her attention to En. Teto: "You seem to be taking this well, En. Are you-" En interrupts her. "Aware? In the know? Yeah. I figured it out pretty quickly." Teto: How? It normally takes alchemists decades to know."
The facade of the cafe disappears to reveal the non-euclidian, vibrant green mess beneath it. The small girl looks around at the new scenery in awe as En responds to Teto's query. En: "Well, dissolving into a dissociative hellscape like this one we're in now kinda tipped me off a little bit." Teto: "Yeah, I guess that's obvious." En: "I'm not really an alchemist, am I?" Teto: "Kind of, but not really."
Roadie lifts her head, making the small girl hide herself a bit more behind En. En and Teto both turn their attention to Roadie. Teto has a sorrowful expression on her face, while En seems unphased. Roadie: "this is insane. you're all crazy. or is it me who's crazy?"
DOLLSHAPE - CH. 2, SET 4
"CRAZY"
Roadie strides toward the copycat with anger as Teto clings onto her arm, attempting to hold her back. Roadie: "I don't know who the FUCK you are, but you're not leaving-" Teto shouts over her. Teto: "ROADIE!! CALM DOWN!!" The copycat recoils in fear. Copycat: "HUH?! A GUN?!"
Roadie pulls her gun out of her hoodie pocket it and points it at the copycat. Roadie: "SHE HAS MY INK! MY HAIRSTYLE! EVEN MY FUCKING SHOES! WHO IN THE FUCK ARE YOU?!" En stands next to the copycat, holding his hand up to try and stop Roadie. En: "ROADIE, CALM YOU SHIT. NOW." The copycat pleads with Roadie. Copycat: "PLEASE! I'M JUST AS CONFUSED AS YOU ARE!"
Roadie continues to point her gun at the copycat while En points an infuriated finger at Roadie. En: "Roadie, you need to put the fucking gun down, or so help me I will ruin your lif-"
In a cloud of stars and smoke, the copycat has magically and instantaneously transformed into a small child wearing brightly coloured clothes. En recoils, confused about what he's seeing. Copycat: "...what"
DOLLSHAPE - CH. 2, SET 3
"SWITCH"
Roadie and Teto walk down a snow-covered sidewalk. The backdrop is pixelated and in low colour depth. Roadie: "Forgive me if this is a weird question, but what's the deal between you and En?" Teto gently points a finger upward, a fairly universal gesture of incoming clarification. Teto: "No 'deal.' I just teach him alchemy because he's an alchemist. It's the right thing to do."
Roadie smiles at Teto's misunderstanding. Roadie: "Not what I'm asking! I saw you two giving each other faces the other day, SOMETHING's goin' on!" Teto places a hand on the side of her face as she smiles, as if to laugh at herself. Teto: "Oh jeez, you saw that?! It was just the blood rush from making your ammo!" Roadie: "Oh, suuure. 'Blood rush.' Likely story."
Roadie opens the door to the Caromancy Cafe and the two walk inside. Roadie continues scoffing at Teto's denial. Roadie: "Next you're gonna tell me he put you under some 'love spell' or something!" Teto stops in her tracks with shock, staring off-panel towards the cafe's service counter. Teto: "Uhh... Roadie? Are you seeing this right now?" A voice yells at the two from off-screen: "So, Roadie! Good buddy, ol' pal! I got a question!"
The camera rotates behind Roadie and En, showing En behind the Cartomancy Cafe gesturing towards his customer. The stranger is almost a direct copycat of Roadie. She has the same hairstyle as Roadie, aside from the colour being all chestnut. She has a tattoo on her chest and a Three of Swords tattoo on her right arm just like Roadie as well. She's wearing a leather vest and a pink and black baseball tee, along with round glasses. En: "Do you have a twin sister you never told me about?" Roadie notices the stranger, an interobang floating above her head. The stranger points at Roadie. Stranger: "WHO ARE YOU?!"
DOLLSHAPE - CH. 2, SET 2
"DOPPELGANGER"
Roadie and Teto walk next to each other in front of a pixelated background of brown town houses with snow on the ground. Roadie admires her new revolver as Teto looks on with slight concern. Roadie: "I'm pretty impressed, Teto. The trigger pull is smooth and light, the recoil is manageable with just one hand, the gun itself is light and balanced... This gun is pretty damn good!"
Teto, with her arms crossed, now looks at Roadie sternly. Teto: "Glad to hear it, I was the one who drew up the blueprint for the frame and firing mechanism. Can you put it away, now? We're back in city limits again." Roadie quickly shuffles her revolver into her hoodie pocket. Roadie: "Right, sorry. I just can't help but stare at it. Well done, Teto."
The pair continue walking into the city. Teto: "Anyway, your shooting was impressive, you've sold yourself short." Roadie smiles widely, fluffing a dismissive hand in front of her. Roadie: "Nahhh. My accuracy is the gun's fault. It was a breeze to aim." Teto: "Roadie, your grouping was just inches at over one hundred yards. That's not the gun."
Roadie crouches down as if trying to hush the air around her and the doll. Roadie: "Keep it down. The roses have ears, and they don't like hearing my secrets." Teto: "That sounded like sarcasm, I think?" Roadie: "A couple friends told me I hold my handguns like a pussy and showed me the correct way to hold them." Teto places a hand loosely on her chest with an expression of recognition on her face. Teto: "Ah. So it WAS sarcasm, then."
DOLLSHAPE - CH. 2, SET 1
"STROLL"
A render in low colour depth of Teto, En and Roadie in front of a heavily pixelated background. Roadie seems to be wearing new clothes, specifically a black Toronto Blue Jays hoodie. Another character is cropped off on the right side of the panel, wearing a leather jacket with various patches on it.
DOLLSHAPE - CHAPTER TWO
SETTING STAGES
AUTHOR: STRYXNINE PULSATRIX
PUBLISHED: FEBRUARY 2026
