I must admit to being surprised that our two angels haven’t acted yet in the latest storyline for Misfile, even just to shield Ash from the influence of the dark spirit hovering over Kate. Of course, part of this is that Ash has psyched herself into losing before even getting into the car. She’s petrified of Kate… but there is a core part of her that hasn’t been consumed by fear or despair.

This is the core that keeps Ash from just giving up and becoming a girl in soul as well as body (in case you’ve not read my previous tangent on Misfile, Ash woke up one day and found that he was now a girl… and everyone else thought he was always a girl, to the point that old family photos of him were of (you guessed it!) Ash as a girl). This core is also what’s going to help Ash start racing again like she means it.

The question is… what is going to become the crux of this story? Is Kate going to miscalculate and crash? That’s happened in another race already, and I’m unsure if Chris Hazelton is going to repeat this theme, or somehow let Ash catch up to a faster and seemingly more maneuverable car. And if Ash somehow gets close enough to pass Kate… will the dark spirit riding Kate cause her to lash out, try to drive Ash off the road?

Well, in any event, I like this glimpse into Ash’s mind as she’s racing… and realizing that something is wrong. That’s the key to Ash’s success… even if she doesn’t win this race. Victory isn’t everything. What’s important is learning from what went wrong… and compensating in the future for it. I’d be interested and amused to see Ash actually lose and then later on challenge Kate to another race, this time having steeled her mind and soul against the spiritual contagion of Kate’s rider. I doubt that will happen… but it would still be an interesting twist in the story.