Misfiled Dreams

Misfiled Dreams is an Alternate Continuity/Continuation Fanfic series by ShadowDragon8685 based in the Misfile-verse exploring some of the plot lines and relationships not (yet?) taken or explored in the comic itself and exploring the gaps and logical conclusions left by Fridge Logic.

Most notable for the volume of Lemon material that could never show up in a PG-13 webcomic and for taking the tropes used in the comic and turning them Up to Eleven.

Starting in September 2004 (the same period the comic was in at the time), Rumisiel has a very strange dream which shows a very different path reality could take if the Misfile was resolved. As he dreams, Ash and Emily take their relationship to new levels. This forms the basis of the first (and to date only Stand Alone Episode) episode Rumisiel's Lament. The rest of the series explores the consequences of the actions and decisions made in that, and skips ahead of the comic to December 2004.

The tales so far are:

All links are PDF files.

ShadowDragon posts updates on the series and also rambles aimlessly at the series thread, which can be found here [dead link] if you're interested. (You have to register with Napalm Luck to access the forum, however.)

Tropes used in Misfiled Dreams include:
  • Abusive Parents: Jenny Senior.
  • All Just a Dream: The ending of Rumisiel's Lament. Word of God says it was just a dream.
  • Alpha Bitch: Several, including one of the main characters. She gets better. Also features said Alpha Bitches getting the crap beaten out of them or otherwise humiliated in very karmic manners.
  • Amazingly Embarrassing Parents: Although Marie is courteous enough to talk to Ash about it privately, Ash is still mortified when her mother explains to her the costs and benefits of a threesome.
  • Ascended Extra: Jenny barely had much of a role in the comic, but she's a main character in the fic.
  • Auto Erotica: "Somehow… I knew we’d wind up doing this in a car."
  • Beauty, Brains, and Brawn: Jenny, Emily, and Ash, respectively, though Emily and Ash are no slouches in the beauty department as well (see pic above).
  • Big Damn Heroes: Rock, in After the Dream.
  • Bigger Is Better in Bed: Ash, as a boy before the Misfile, was really well-endowed. Interestingly, the characters acknowledge how he was Blessed with Suck. Also interesting is that Ash's endowment has carried over into her new form...
  • The Cameo: By many characters, and even some regulars from the Misfile fan community.
  • Caught with Your Pants Down: In which Emily learns as much about herself as she does about the other girl.
  • Chekhov's Gun: Subverted with the watch Emily uses to tell if she's dreaming or not. It becomes relevant twice: The first time, she realizes its a dream, but ignores that fact because its a sex dream. The second time, when its a Bad Future dream, her subconscious has become clever enough to make the watch broken (and therefore useless for her purposes) in the dream.
  • Christmas Episode: All the stories from A Midwinter Night's Dream onward are set in the days leading up to Christmas, with snow as a prominent feature of the landscape. So, the majority of the fic as a whole could be considered one giant Christmas Episode, but the actual day occurs during Carbon Dreams.
  • Chronic Hero Syndrome: Ash; repeatedly Lampshaded by Em and Jenny.
  • Companion Cube: The Monster XR. Trust me, it's a very Cool Car.
  • Cool Car: Many from the original comic, plus a whole new selection of even cooler cars.
  • Creator Cameo: A brief and well-handled one.
  • A Date with Rosie Palms: Jenny Jr. likes to brag about how she's in every fashion magazine worth mentioning. Ash gives her a verbal beatdown by explaining exactly how boys their age use those magazines.
  • A Day in the Limelight: "Ghosts of his Past". After a dozen books and eight "tales" centered on Ash and Emily, Rumisiel and his past are expanded on. Turns out he's actually one of the nice Angels. He became fascinated by Humanity around the Industrial Revolution, and his bosses started sending him to catalog war zones hoping to Scare'Em Straight. It backfired - instead of developing a properly divine apathy, he instead developed a greater respect for humans due to witnessing humans repeatedly and increasingly showing morals and empathy in such situations. Said situations also led to him developing his drug habit. By the end of the story, he's gained closure, self-respect, and an Ethical Slut girlfriend.
  • Defeat Means Friendship: Jenny the Younger.
  • Did Not Do the Research: Averted in epic style. The author has done an amazing amount of research on virtually all aspects of this fic.
    • An amusing (and intriguing) example of the aversion in the notes of Harmony Dreams:

Nathan may or may not be talking out of his ass when he says the Porsche Carrera GT accelerates faster than the Space Shuttle. It’s hyperbole; please don’t bombard me with the stats for how fast the Space Shuttle accelerates. (For the record, the Carrera GT out-accelerates the Shuttle for the first nine seconds, past which the Shuttle wins by just enough to have beaten the Carrera GT over the Quarter Mile.)

    • One exception: Mr. Almacy says that a contract must be notarized by a notary public. That isn't true, not that it ends up mattering.
  • Doorstopper: The released chapters run 456 pages, including 2 blank pages in the first chapter and 5 pages of art. The unrealeased (and unedited) chapters run another 616 pages and counting.
  • Dream Sequence: Once an Episode.
  • Early Installment Weirdness: Rusimiel's Lament is notably darker than the rest of the series and features Rusimiel and Vashiel as major characters, who are almost entirely missing from the later chapters.
  • Erotic Dream: Nearly as often as the standard dream sequences.
  • Evil Feels Good: Not exactly evil, but Marie has a little too much fun manipulating her daughter with guilt trips.
  • Fanon: As mentioned above, most of this fic is currently a few months ahead of the strip in the timeline, and other than a few minor details, nothing actually contradicts Canon. So, until the strip catches up, feel free to believe this is pretty much the way stuff actually plays out.
  • Fan Service: Oh GODS yes...
  • Fashion Show: More to show off some cars than women, but some ladies were there to help catching the eye. Ash, Emily, and Jenny got into it as well.
  • Foreshadowing
  • For Want of a Nail: The Crapsack World from Rumisiel's Lament.
  • Future Me Scares Me: One of the dream sequences.
  • Gold Digger: Suspected of Jenny Sr.
  • Heel Face Turn: The Power of Friendship lets Jenny The Younger pull one of these.
  • Heroic BSOD: Ash and Jenny Jr. at different points.
  • Hood Ornament Hottie: Jenny at the Fashion Show. Ash and Emily to a lesser extent.
  • Hot Mom: Ash's mother; she's hotter in this.
    • Which, considering that this is an almost entirely text fanfic whose source material is a Web Comic, is saying something.
    • Also considering that in said comic, the mom is a former fashion model, that's really saying something!
  • I Have No Daughter: Jenny Sr., once Jenny Jr. is outed.
  • Idiosyncratic Episode Naming: With the exception of the first, all the story titles have the word "dream" in them.
  • Impossibly Cool Clothes: What Ash got to wear for the Fashion Show, as pictured. Tetsuya Nomura would be proud.
  • Jerkass: Both Jennys (before the Younger's Heel Face Turn), Joshua Jr., and a nasty German.
  • Last Kiss: Emily thinks this is happening in a dream.
  • Lemon: Very much so, though it's by no means a Porn Without Plot fic. And IKEA Erotica is totally averted; Shadow has reportedly asked that his editor kill him if he ever descend to such a level.
  • Miranda Rights: Emily is reminded that she is 16 again, so the cops don't have to read her her rights or give her a lawyer.
  • No Bisexuals: Averted, hard!
  • No Periods, Period: As in the comic, averted. "Don't look down."
  • Open-Minded Parent: Mrs. Upton, to the extent that after she discerns the nature of Ash and Emily's relationship, she asks Ash if she needs her to buy any, ah, aids.
  • Police Brutality: Guaranteed to get your blood boiling, and not in the good way.
  • Porn with Plot: It has explicit sex scenes and plot, the holy grail of Fanfic.
    • It bears repeating that this thing is over 450 pages long, with the explicit stuff taking up a tenth of it at most. So the fic is primarily romance, car races, character development, fashion shows, struggles with gender identity, legal drama, family bonding, and friendship... with occasional girl-on-girl action.
  • The Power of Friendship: Ash and Emily to Jenny Jr., and Jenny herself towards some of the other models, though it doesn't quite take in the second case.
  • Put on a Bus: Ash's father and Emily's mother, though they are contacted by phone several times.
    • Well, not really; most of Chapter 3 and everything onwards takes place on Cape Cod, where Ash's mother lives, while her father and Emily's mother are back home in Tempest.
    • Also, Missi is mentioned and referenced a number of times, but she's nowhere to be seen, except for a brief sighting during one of Emily's Dream Sequences.
  • Reality Ensues: What if Misfile did take place in this world?
    • Nothing really says it can't. Yet, at least.
  • Reasonable Authority Figure: Almacy Sr. and Lt. Grayfield are probably the best examples, though Nathan, Jimmy, and Marie also qualify.
  • Reckless Gun Usage: When Ash reaches under a car seat to confirm the weapon the car's owner just told her about is there, the owner chastises her and tells her the rules for gun handling.
  • Relationship Upgrade: But then, seriously, what fanfic that isn't a crossover series doesn't do this?
  • Rescue Romance: There are shades of this between Ash and Jenny.
  • Second Law of Gender Bending: Already there. By the eighth chapter, Ash has already admitted to herself that her life is definitely better as a girl and has decided to adapt to it, or at least stop obsessing about getting switched back.
  • Schoolgirl Lesbians: Ash and Emily and Jenny Jr.
  • Screw the Money, I Have Rules: Almacy Sr.
  • Screw the Rules, I Have Money: Joshua Almacy Jr.
  • Screw Yourself: One of Ash's nightmares.
  • Shoulder Angels: Discussed. Jenny says hers is named "Ash."
  • Shout-Out: Too many to count.
    • One of the many:

Ash: You called down the thunder, now it's time to reap the whirlwind!

Emily: I guess we should take a shower.
Ash: You can go first.
Emily: Who said anything about taking turns?

  • Single-Target Sexuality: Emily wonders if she's attracted to girls in general, or just Ash. Turns out to be girls in general.
  • Shown Their Work
  • Skinship Grope: Afterward, Emily wryly notes that she emphatically told Ash this never happens outside of porn.
  • Sleep Cute: All you need is a bit of mental visualization and you got a full gallery of this in this fanfic.
    • Mrs. Upton seeing Ash and Emily snuggled up together in bed is what clues her in that they're more than friends now.
  • Spoiled Brat: And also the Alpha Bitch, Jenny Jr. at first and a male version with Joshua Jr.
  • Their First Times: At least with each other. The plural is due to interruptions and some understandable hesitation on Ash's part.
  • There Is Only One Bed: Only a problem in Chapter 2.
  • This Is Madness: "Here we are brandishing weapons at each other, over fashion?"
  • Threesome Subtext: Buckets. Let's just start with the fact that Jenny has kissed both Ash and Emily at separate times.
  • Too Dumb to Live: Shady area of town, let's go into an enclosed dark place with a really creepy guy...
  • Took a Level in Badass: Everyone, particularly Ash in the physical combat department. Though, of course, there's really no particular reason to believe she isn't actually that tough.
    • There is reference in the actual comic that she may have broken someone's nose, or at least bloodied it.
    • She does rough up Tom pretty well, too.
  • Uncle Pennybags: Nathan, Almacy Sr., and Marie.
  • The Unintelligible: Henri Leroux. His anger comes through loud and clear, but the reader never knows exactly what he says.
  • Unstoppable Rage: Getting Ash pissed at you: bad idea, or worst idea ever?
  • The Voice: Again, Henri Leroux. So far, only heard on the phone.
  • Wham! Episode: Joshua Jr. trashing Ash's Monster XR at the end of Beyond Electric Dreams.
  • Wham! Line: "Ash, what's a Misfile?"
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