On a Pale Horse (Umamusume/Youjo Senki)

[Introverted]

Why do I get the feeling she's going to enter both the Triple Tiara and Triple Crown races?
Is it bad I kind of want Shirogane to go on a dominant run in terms of the g1s she actually participates in and wins them, and basically subverts the "canon".

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She might honestly lose the Tiara but perform much better in the Crown races.
Her Aptitude leans towards longer races after all.

 

[drake_azathoth]

She might honestly lose the Tiara but perform much better in the Crown races.
Her Aptitude leans towards longer races after all.

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Most of her class are focused on the Crown and are foregoing the Tiara though - honestly that's true of most of Tracen. (Because they are stallions IRL).

And older Umas aren't allowed to participate in the Tiara or Crown, they only get one shot at it, unlike in the video game where you can end up racing against older Umas that shouldn't qualify in the same year. (I'm sorry Maruzensky, you should not be running the Tiara for your 'Classic Year'.)

So while her distance isn't as well suited the competition is also not so harsh.

 

[Greatazuredragon]

I suppose you have a fair point there," Shirogane conceded, flicking an ear in acknowledgement since her hands were busy. "With how my classmates keep talking about the Triple Crown I assumed that was the standard for success."

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Typical "i got second place amidst the entire nation, guess I am not special" Tanya. XD
And she smiling more can only be a good thing. Trust. ;p

 

[Chibi-Reaper]

They ended up having a sort of impromptu family lunch, with Shirogane being a sort of third wheel.​

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Bets that they all feel like they're kind of a third wheel here?

Shirogane because the cousins are family, yes.

Tensei because Shirogane and Hana spend some of the time chatting about their business, which he understands but isn't involved in.

Hana because Shirogane and Tensei appear to be low-key flirting with each other and she doesn't get it but they get along super well.

 

[TheLastBattalion]

I feel like the Triple Tiara race Shiro would have the best chance at would be the Japanese Oaks. However, I believe she could win the Oka Sho if she used up her prodigious stamina by doing a Great Escape; while it would be an extreme gamble, it also would play mind games with everyone else she will ever face, because you just don't know if she'll pull out the Great Escape card in the future.

 

[Rexmaster1]

I literally created an account on this site just to comment on this story. Because I liked it that much.

I like seeing how other Umas react to how strange Shirogane is, an Uma who behaves more like a human in many ways.

Even though Shirogane is a high-functioning sociopath in all her lifes, thanks to the good upbringing her first parents gave her and clearly instilled in her a firm value system based on reasoning and logic, despite being a sociopath, she remains decidedly human, both mentally and spiritually.

This is noticeable in how she never gestures with her ears or tail; she is much more severe and taciturn than others, and above all, her lack of passion for running must produce an uncanny valley effect in other Umas. Even other stoic Umas like Mihono Bourbon regularly gesture with their ears and tails and still maintain their passion for running.

After all, Umas were literally born to run. Even though they can develop other passions and interests, running is always a fundamental part of their personality. Shirogane, an Uma who clearly only has a financial interest in running, must be as baffling to them as a human who never blinks and doesn't enjoy eating or drinking water is to us.

While for practically all Uma their first professional race is a "canon event" that marks a before and after in their lives, for Shirogane it's more like: "Oh yeah, I went to the dentist yesterday, nothing interesting happened." It's no surprise that Shirogane's friends are so surprised and even hurt by not being invited; it's as if she's telling them she doesn't really consider them friends.

These differences seem only going to become more pronounced as time goes on. Some of her friends, like King Halo or Grass Wonder, will probably start to resent how good Shirogane is at something she clearly doesn't even enjoy that much, and Shirogane will start to feel strange about how obsessed the other Umas are with running, as if they have no other goals or dreams in life.

Changing the subject, now that I think about it, it makes perfect sense why Shirogane wears ornaments in both ears.

If we think about it a bit, even though she justifies it by saying she wants to maintain balance, the only other Uma who also has two ornaments, Fine Motion, does so because her real-world counterpart was intersex. But Shirogane technically is too.

After all, she was male in her first life and female in her second, so I think her gender identity is fluid.

PS: I'm 100% on board with Shirogane x Teisei. I find it simply hilarious that Shirogane doesn't realize she's lightly flirting with a man who is basically her in her first life.

 

[mauveine]

I literally created an account on this site just to comment on this story. Because I liked it that much.

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Welcome to the funhouse
We're all mad, here
Creating an account, well, isn't that an indication of appreciation for the author

 

[Eurocorp]

I literally created an account on this site just to comment on this story. Because I liked it that much.

I like seeing how other Umas react to how strange Shirogane is, an Uma who behaves more like a human in many ways.

Even though Shirogane is a high-functioning sociopath in all her lifes, thanks to the good upbringing her first parents gave her and clearly instilled in her a firm value system based on reasoning and logic, despite being a sociopath, she remains decidedly human, both mentally and spiritually.

This is noticeable in how she never gestures with her ears or tail; she is much more severe and taciturn than others, and above all, her lack of passion for running must produce an uncanny valley effect in other Umas. Even other stoic Umas like Mihono Bourbon regularly gesture with their ears and tails and still maintain their passion for running.

After all, Umas were literally born to run. Even though they can develop other passions and interests, running is always a fundamental part of their personality. Shirogane, an Uma who clearly only has a financial interest in running, must be as baffling to them as a human who never blinks and doesn't enjoy eating or drinking water is to us.

While for practically all Uma their first professional race is a "canon event" that marks a before and after in their lives, for Shirogane it's more like: "Oh yeah, I went to the dentist yesterday, nothing interesting happened." It's no surprise that Shirogane's friends are so surprised and even hurt by not being invited; it's as if she's telling them she doesn't really consider them friends.

These differences seem only going to become more pronounced as time goes on. Some of her friends, like King Halo or Grass Wonder, will probably start to resent how good Shirogane is at something she clearly doesn't even enjoy that much, and Shirogane will start to feel strange about how obsessed the other Umas are with running, as if they have no other goals or dreams in life.

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It really feels like she's going to end up being seen as a type of Rice Shower/Dream Journey possibly within Tracen, not necessarily because of breaking a proper winning streak or being ambiguously threatening, but more because of how odd she appears to Umas. Compare her to the main Golden Generation girls and her own personality there's a rather large gap. Even at the worst of King Halo the haughtiness is in part an act. But they're all very much on the obsessed with racing side and it factors into their insecurities a lot too such as Sky worrying about finally running out of tricks or El pushing her body to the breaking point.

Meanwhile Tanya here is probably close to giving them all the equivalent of one of Kyubey's "I don't get it" moments.