Misfile/Characters

Here's a list of characters from the Web Comic Misfile.

It's an ongoing story about an young man who woke as a woman, except the plot is treated with much more emotional depth and serious character consideration than is the norm.

If you haven't read the comic first, there you go.

Ash Upton
The girl who was a boy.

Associated tropes:
 * Attractive Bent Gender: In full effect, to Ash's constant chagrin. In his/"her" own words, "What I wouldn't have given to be a flat chested no-looker that no one noticed."
 * Justified in that Ash's mom is a former lingerie model.
 * Amazingly Embarrassing Parents: Ash's father Dr. Edward Upton is a gynecologist who "never forgets a vagina" (and isn't at all shy about talking about them--see Ultimate Job Security below) while Ash's mom Marie is a former lingerie model who has appeared in her fair share of racy catalogs. Ash notes that trying on bras would be awkward enough even if there wasn't a large poster of his topless mother hanging in the fitting room.
 * Awesomeness By Analysis: Played with: Ash relies on Don't Think, Feel for her driving techniques, but Ash's racing technique is to constantly analyze the situation until she finds an advantage she can capitalize on. Ironically her reflexive driving skills leave her mind free to to concentrate on the race itself.
 * Badass Driver
 * Becoming the Mask: Ash fears that pretending to be a girl all the time will result in becoming one in mind as well as body.
 * Ash has rather feminine body language and reactions, although she doesn't notice unless it goes over the top (like the swooning incident).
 * Big Breasts, Big Deal: Type 2, according to this.
 * Butt Monkey: Ash. So far he's been changed into a girl, shanghaied into several races he'd rather not take part of, or in which the odds were artificially inflated against him, and gone through a whole lot of emotional hurt without being able to do much about it. Ash was also threatened none-too-subtly with rape by two men.
 * Deadpan Snarker
 * Dude Looks Like a Lady: Had the same haircut as a boy.
 * Fiery Redhead: Has quite a big temper; as Rumsiel states, "Just because she needs you doesn't mean she won't kill you in a fit of rage."
 * Green Eyes
 * Good Angel, Bad Angel
 * Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Ash can be brash and judgemental, hot-tempered and at times impulsive; but he's also a genuinely well-meaning person with a strong conscience, cares deeply about his family and friends, and despite his bull-headedness carries a depth of empathy and a strong moral code. In other words, just your average guy caught in extrenuating circumstances but trying to make the best of them.
 * Men Don't Cry: Firmly believes this, along with a lot of other masculine stereotypes, and is distressed when he starts crying because he thinks it means he's becoming accustomed to his new gender.
 * No Guy Wants to Be Chased: Why he broke up with Missy
 * Redheaded Hero: Though it's more orange than red.
 * She Cleans Up Nicely: Though Ash isn't thrilled about the prospects
 * Tomboy: Given that Ash is a gender bended boy, he/she dresses accordingly. But sometimes he/she is put into drag.
 * Transsexualism: Ash acts more like a real transgendered teenager than most Gender Bender Web Comic protagonists. Emily even suggests gender reassignment surgery as an option at one point.
 * The possibility was addressed in Ask Ash, where he/she/it is worried that girlAsh getting gender reassignment surgery prior to Rumisiel fixing everything would result in guyAsh retroactively getting gender reassignment surgery.
 * Not to mention F-to-M surgery is pretty damn crappy at this point in time.
 * Troubled but Cute: To a degree, given the Missing Mom and emotionally distant dad (and of course the Cosmic Retcon...)
 * Tsundere: Mix of A and B, though more often A since it's not common to see Ash become mushy and sweet.
 * Who Wears Short Shorts?: Part of her preferred swimwear, as seen in book 5.
 * Would Not Hit a Girl: Minor BSOD when Ash punches a girl in the face, something boy-him would have never done and something Emily had already lampshaded as being tantamount to surrendering his manhood.
 * Wrench Wench: Girl-Ash was called "Crazy Car Girl".
 * Yaoi Fangirl[/]Yuri Fanboy: Girl-Ash was apparently the prior, so logically boy-Ash is the latter.

Emily Mc Arthur
Associated tropes:
 * Awesomeness By Analysis: Emily's basic MO throughout the comic but really comes to the fore in the arc centered around her first race where she reads up on psychology in order to rattle her opponent.
 * She reads a psychology text book, but it's probably just to aid her own self confidence. What she really ends up doing is channeling "Bitch Emily" from the time before Ash and Emily met.
 * While there is psychological research that could be extremely useful for screwing with peoples heads, it's not likely to be in any textbook, introductory or otherwise.
 * Badass Driver: Gets her own moment when she beats Heather.
 * Beware the Nice Ones
 * Brainy Brunette
 * Character Development: Girl Posse -> The Smart Girl -> Badass Bookworm
 * Also shown in that she becomes more understanding of Ash, as she originally considered her problem to be worse.
 * Cleavage Window: Several of her outfits include this.
 * Disappeared Dad: Since she's the result of a Teen Pregnancy.
 * Girl Posse: Former member of Molly's posse.
 * Purple Eyes
 * Sacrificed Basic Skill for Awesome Training: Averted, all the obsessive studying hurt Emily Socially
 * You Are Grounded: This incapacitates her for at least an entire chapter. This turns out to be the best way for her mother to lose Molly's respect.
 * You Gotta Have Blue Hair: When colored, Emily's hair is depicted as a dark blue. It's unknown whether this is a dye job, her natural color via a small tweak to reality (as in El Goonish Shive), or simply a bit of Artistic License.
 * You Gotta Have Blue Hair: When colored, Emily's hair is depicted as a dark blue. It's unknown whether this is a dye job, her natural color via a small tweak to reality (as in El Goonish Shive), or simply a bit of Artistic License.

Dr. Edward Upton
Associated tropes:
 * Amazingly Embarrassing Parents: It's not enough that he memorizes women's vaginas, due to his job as a gynecologist... it's the fact that he'll describe them for everyone in earshot at the drop of a hat.
 * Blackmail: Of sorts - to make sure that Ms. MacArthur doesn't prohibit Emily from spending time with Ash, he notes that he could really help Emily get into Harvard, as he knows several people there. But he'd really only go that far for his daughter's friends.
 * Control Freak: The reason that Ash's mother left him. Matured out of this for the current timeline.
 * He matured out of it in both timelines; the difference lies in how he treats his child. As a boy, Ash was given the cold shoulder by his emotionally distant father; as a girl, she gets a Doting Parent out of the deal. Besides the relationship element, Edward probably sees even more of Marie in girl-Ash, hence his more affectionate manner.
 * Indeed: he seems quite upset about how distant he and Ash have been since the misfile (which is no less than they were when Ash was male), and openly comments on it. Ash, of course, is too uncomfortable to really reply.
 * Did You Just Flip Off Cthulhu?: He might not have known that Ramael's an angel, but standing up to the guy (mysterious stranger with shady look about him, anyone?) was still pretty Badass of Dr. Upton. Ash, and even Vashiel, were both gobsmacked and awed by it.
 * Dirty Old Man: Though he doesn't seem to be older than thirties.
 * Jerk with a Heart of Gold
 * Kuudere
 * Not Good with People
 * Secret Test of Character:
 * Ultimate Job Security: He might be creepy, but he's apparently just that damn good at gynecology.

Molly
Associated tropes:
 * Calling The Old Woman Out: Though it's Emily's mother, not her own, that's on the recieving end. She then reveals that she was going to do it anyway before leaving for college, and Ms. McArthur's recent ABRASIVENESS toward her own daughter has provided her with an opportunity to let loose what she REALLY thinks of Emily's beloved smother.
 * Character Development: Goes from Alpha Bitch to Lovable Alpha Bitch
 * Lovable Alpha Bitch

Colin
Associated tropes:
 * Chuck Cunningham Syndrome
 * Dogged Nice Guy: Acts like this, and is rather crushed when Ash isn't interested
 * Stalker with a Crush: Gives off the vibe, but he only is that way when Ash comes to the store

Tom Fuller
Associated tropes:
 * Aloof Older Brother: Has some elements towards Missi.
 * Jerkass
 * Jerk Jock: Though more regarding racing, but yeah, he otherwise fits the criteria.
 * Never Live It Down: In-Universe - hasn't happened (yet), but would if Missi reveals if she did all the work on his car.
 * The Rival: He was Ash's while at High School, though even now he's the one driver who could be called his/her Arch Enemy.
 * Parental Favoritism: Strong indications that he's favored over his sister, Missi.
 * Put on a Bus: Sent off to college.
 * Starter Villain: Not villain per se, but he fits the general criteria.
 * Straw Misogynist: Has elements of this, though it could just be a hatred of Ash.

(Kamikaze) Kate
Associated tropes:
 * Ax Crazy: At first.
 * Badass Driver: Acknowledged to be the best in the cast. It was considered an incredible performance when Ash had a chance at winning their second race.
 * Blood Knight: Racing version.
 * Broken Bird
 * The Comically Serious: Funniest when she is completely serious
 * Cool Big Sis: Develops into this, of sorts.
 * Dead Older Sister
 * Death Seeker: At first.
 * Defrosting Ice Queen
 * The Dreaded: Her reputation in Tempest, which hasn't quite faded yet even though
 * Ms. Fanservice: In her Princess Leia costume, at Halloween.
 * Red Baron: "Kamikaze Kate".
 * Replacement Goldfish: All but asked Ash to be her sister, and plenty of hints that she still sees Ash this way.
 * Spirited Competitor: Figuratively and literally.
 * Tsundere: Of the non-love interest variety towards Ash.
 * Tsundere: Of the non-love interest variety towards Ash.

Harry Walsh
Associated tropes:
 * Deadpan Snarker: Examples such as being concerned about what would happen if Kate entered a church, and when Ash needed to back out for him to get out
 * Kirk Summation: Gives one to Heather that makes it stop for a moment.
 * Nice Guy: He's in Perpetual Poverty, yet he still charges reasonable rates to his customers.
 * Perpetual Poverty: Mentioned that he had some issues making ends meet.
 * What the Hell Is That Accent?: Supposedly Welsh, but noted in-story as being nigh-impossible to place.
 * What the Hell Is That Accent?: Supposedly Welsh, but noted in-story as being nigh-impossible to place.

Missi Fuller
Associated tropes:
 * A-Cup Angst: Missi, of course. At least until she gets the impression that Ash prefers small breasts.
 * Annoying Younger Sibling: Sometimes, though as Kate said, she grows on you.
 * Big Eater
 * Chinese Girl: Albeit only by ancestry, since she's Tom's adopted sister.
 * She also doesn't know martial arts.
 * Fiery Redhead
 * Genki Girl: From time to time.
 * Hidden Depths: Which are gradually unveiled over the course of the story.
 * If It's You It's Okay: Deconstructed; the fact that Ash does interest her romantically (alone among all girls) is the cause of quite a bit of heartache for her.
 * Romantic False Lead
 * Tomboy
 * The Unfavorite
 * Wrench Wench: She doesn't have her license yet, and yet she's already capable of putting together quality racing vehicles (she was the one responsible for all of Tom's cars).

Eponine
Associated tropes:
 * Ascended Extra: Originally just a friend from Ash's Gym Class, who showed up every once in a while. Now, she's become a fairly important plot character character.
 * Morality Pet: Ever since befriending Cassiel, the angel has been getting less and less selfish.
 * Nice Girl: Which is noted - Ash remembers her as one of the few girls who was genuinely kind and friendly towards him/her, and she manages to avoid being a doormat despite her sweet nature. She's also apparently the only human Cassiel shows genuine regard for.
 * Pals with Jesus: Although she doesn't know Cassiel is an angel, her friendship with Cassiel is genuinely a friendship, in contrast with Ash and Emily's 'friendship' with Rumisiel, where Ash is just waiting for Rumi to correct the Misfile.
 * Token Black: Kind of, seeing as there aren't any other dark-skinned characters of importance. Still, given the centralized cast, it's not really very jarring - especially since she's not a stereotyped character.
 * Don't have the reference handy, but it's been said that she is actually of Indian, not African, ancestry.
 * What the Hell, Hero??: Gives one to Ash for not trusting Logan about the pictures, and not talking to her about it.
 * And then when Ash finally tries to make ammends weeks later, it turns out 'Nine had let it go after only a few days and is quite willing to forgive. Nice Girl? Without a doubt.

James
Associated tropes:
 * Badass Driver: Ash is better, but he did teach Ash to race and drive.
 * Locked Out of the Loop
 * Love Makes You Dumb: Had he not been so manic while racing Ash, who knows if he would have lost.
 * Love Makes You Crazy: At first, though justified because he thought that Rumsiel was just a jerk.
 * Megane
 * Put on a Bus: Wasn't seen for over a thousand strips after the Cape Cod race.
 * The Bus Came Back
 * Relationship Upgrade: Played with, it seems that girl-Ash's 'fun' with him that one night in the car caused James to interpret that as such. Unfortunately for him, the Misfiled Ash we know wants to keep him as her best friend.
 * Unlucky Childhood Friend: Not only was James the best friend of boy-Ash, it's revealed that girl-ash even lost her virginity to him. Unfortunately, the misfiled Ash is squicked out by this.

Logan
Associated tropes:
 * Anime Hair: His spiky hair was even the source of his fan nickname!
 * Aura Vision: Logan can tell the difference between humans and angel, without the angel needing to reveal themselves.
 * Badass Driver: Despite never racing before, he's very naturally gifted and proved a challenge for Ash, a more experienced racer.
 * Badass Pacifist: Logan manages to save Ash and Missi from their near rape experience, not by beating the pulp out of the two would be rapists, but by taking a picture and threatening that he'd run and tell the cops if they wouldn't leave... He just moments later reveals to the two his phone battery was dead, and he wasn't all that fast a runner.
 * Big Damn Heroes
 * Fan Nickname: Due to his spiky hair, he was given the fan nickname 'Cloud' in the forums before his actual name was revealed.
 * Just in Time: Saved Ash and Missi from a near rape experience.

Marie Upton
Associated tropes:
 * Amazingly Embarrassing Parents: She's a former lingerie model.
 * Buxom Is Better: As one would expect from a former lingerie model.
 * Hot Mom: Again, former lingerie model.
 * Missing Mom: Male Ash lived with his father, his mother leaving when she was little, and had to be told a certain picture was of his Mom. Girl Ash, however, had more contact with her Mom. The discretion is that both had written a letter to her, but Girl-Ash sent the letter, while Boy-Ash ripped it up because it made him feel 'like a sissy boy'.

Ms. Mc Arthur
Associated tropes:
 * Education Mama: Ms. McArthur pretty much has an obsession with seeing Emily go to an Ivy League school. She prefers Harvard, although she's more than willing to consider other options.
 * Kick the Dog: Rare non-villainous example: she actually YELLS at Emily and tears her a NEW one (a whole LOT of new ones, in fact) for running away. This unusually abrasive act costs her Molly's respect in nothing flat.
 * Last-Name Basis: Her first name has not been stated.
 * My Beloved Smother: Pretty much the degree Ms.M takes that whole 'Education Mama' thing. This eventually reaches the point where Molly yells at her to go FUCK herself for grounding Emily in a fit of UTTER rage and revealing that she was about to vent her feelings toward her anyway since she was about to go to college and Ms. McArthur's going off on her own daughter has given her such an exceptional opportunity.
 * Teen Pregnancy: She got pregnant with Emily in high school, which was why she didn't end up going to Harvard herself.
 * Teen Pregnancy: She got pregnant with Emily in high school, which was why she didn't end up going to Harvard herself.

Rumisiel
''[http://www.misfile.com/?page=13 Ash, this is Emily, Emily, that's Ash. I'm sorta responsible for both your situations.]''

Associated tropes: "Ash: You probably just use it to look at porn.
 * Adorkable: Rumisiel, when he is sober and genuinely trying to help, has a distinct tendency towards Adorkability in social situations.
 * Anti-Hero: Type II.
 * The Atoner: Somewhat half-heartedly at first, but he has recently started to become more proactive in his role.
 * Badass Boast: Rumisiel has one as a Crowning Moment of Awesome.
 * The Beard
 * Beware the Nice Ones
 * Deadpan Snarker: Rumisiel sometimes gets some true gems. See here.
 * Designated Monkey: He gets so much crap, sometimes it makes you forget his incompetence and negligence obliterated two people's identities.
 * Erudite Stoner: Whenever Rumisiel isn't unconscious, puking or whimpering, you can tell that he's Really An Ancient, Wise Angelic Being.
 * Of course, he used to spend thirty percent of his time doing each of those.
 * Ash has harangued him out of stoning and boozing, and now he spends more than half of his time whimpering. Progress is progress.
 * He's godly at video games though.
 * Hidden Depths: When he explains how he really felt about his job and why he screwed up, he becomes somewhat more sympathetic both to viewers and to Ash (as much as he can be, at any rate).
 * Mundane Utility: Rumisiel is an angel, and you'd expect him to have some kind of awesome holy weapon for smiting the heathens, right? Wrong. He works in filing, so he gets a "filing multi-tool" that "does all sorts of neat records-keeping stuff. It scans, records, photographs. The newest upgrade even has web access." Wait... So THAT'S where Jack Bauer got his cell phone!

Rumisiel: No way!

Ash: Let me see your bookmarks!

Rumisiel: No! I'm sending it back to the ether! It's not for mortal eyes!"


 * Nailed to the Wagon
 * Obfuscating Stupidity: While he can generally be a bit of a moron, much of the time he acts like a nuisance when Ash is in a sour mood, he's actually hoping for Ash to vent his/her frustration on Rumi as a coping mechanism.
 * Invoked by Rumisiel here
 * Our Angels Are Different
 * Perma-Stubble
 * Pointy Ears
 * Really Seven Hundred Years Old
 * White-Haired Pretty Boy

Vashiel
''[http://www.misfile.com/?page=136 My name is Vashiel of the second order of holy swords, divine punishment division. I am here to see Rumishiel. Is he here ?]''

Rumisiel's loving big brother. He takes an administrative leave after this one was kicked out of Heaven to come to Earth and to help him get back. Since he is incapable of telling a lie, he is kept in the dark about Ash and Emily's little problems.

Associated tropes:
 * Badass: Though his powers are partially sealed due to being based on
 * Beware the Nice Ones
 * Can Not Tell a Lie: To the extreme - not only can he not tell a lie, he tells the truth in its entirety even if it would be better not to. He literally cannot hide falsehood nor details. It's likely the only reason he hasn't been locked away is because nothing he's said is too outlandish... and because his brother is there to prevent such from happening.
 * Fish Out of Water: He's noticeably not quite as well-adapted to life on Earth as his brother.
 * Flaming Sword: Has one.
 * Good Is Not Dumb: It's a punishment angel, for Heaven sake!
 * Inverse Law of Utility and Lethality: Vashiel is an Angel of Vengeance, and is endowed with a Flaming Holy Sword that can even kill other angels. He hasn't done any "really good smiting" in centuries, so all he really uses it for is scaring televangelists.
 * Knight Templar Big Brother
 * Locked Out of the Loop: Justified.
 * Nice Guy: Absurdly so.
 * Nosebleed: Quite prone to them.
 * Our Angels Are Different
 * Pointy Ears
 * Really Seven Hundred Years Old
 * White-Haired Pretty Boy
 * Pointy Ears
 * Really Seven Hundred Years Old
 * White-Haired Pretty Boy

Cassiel
Rumisiel's ex, who has taken some time off to pop down and see how he's doing with his punishment. But not in a good way; things apparently went south between the two, and she seems quite eager to make sure his sojourn to Earth becomes a bit more permanent. She's also Satan's neice.

Associated tropes:
 * Alpha Bitch
 * Beleaguered Bureaucrat
 * Casting Couch: Rumisiel claims that she used their relationship (and connections with his father, the Archangel Gabriel) to get a job in the Celestial Bureaucracy.
 * Cleavage Window: Several of her outfits in her human disguise contain these.
 * Dark-Skinned Blond
 * Designated Monkey: It's heavily suggested that she regularly gets the short end of the stick from The Powers That Be, possibly because of her uncle.
 * Humiliation Conga: Frequently.
 * Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain: So far, her biggest victory over Rumi has been serving him substandard hors d'oeuvres. And even that blows up in her face.
 * Although more recently she, but we've yet to see if it goes anywhere.
 * Jerkass -> Jerk with a Heart of Gold
 * Master of Illusion: While all angels can appear as normal humans, Cass is the only one to bother to. Rumi is just bad at it, and it's hinted that Vash's compulsive honesty prevents him from doing so.
 * Morality Pet: Eponine is this to her.
 * Not Hyperbole: She really is Satan's niece.
 * Our Angels Are Different
 * Pet the Dog: Whatever she thinks of other people, human or angel, she genuinely cares about Eponine.
 * Pointy Ears
 * Poke the Poodle
 * Power Perversion Potential: Heavily hinted to have explored this with Rumisiel; her usual disguise is confirmed to be the one she used to use when role-playing with him.
 * Psycho Ex-Girlfriend
 * Really Seven Hundred Years Old
 * Shapeshifter Default Form: Type B; even though she is said to be capable of many different illusiory forms, she sticks to the one, even when it'd make more sense to try another (such as when she tried to fool Rumisiel the first time).
 * White-Haired Pretty Girl
 * Woman Scorned: Not elaborated on at this time, but this is her main motivation for her issues with Rumi.

Ramael
Associated tropes:
 * Blood Knight: Admits that he finds smiting evildoers to be addictive.
 * Flaming Sword
 * : This seems to be why he, though we have to wait to be sure.
 * Really Seven Hundred Years Old

Xaphrael
Associated tropes:
 * Badass: Formerly a member of Vashiel's forces, his current position makes him Rumisiel's superior.
 * The Chains of Commanding
 * Good Scars, Evil Scars
 * I Know You're Watching Me: Part of his angelic role, there is nowhere to hide.
 * Really Seven Hundred Years Old
 * Reasonable Authority Figure: Consider that he chose to be lenient with Rumisiel for
 * Subversion:
 * White-Haired Pretty Boy: Although he looks older than Vash and Rumi despite being their peer (see The Chains of Commanding), he still fits this.