On a Pale Horse (Umamusume/Youjo Senki)

[shikamarurulez1]

It helps her lock in harder, while wearing a tracksuit doesn't really trigger her "it's go time" sense.

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You've heard of oral fixations, now get ready for "heavy burden" fixations!

...since other people like brainstorming "IRL horse facts" would this translate into her being hilariously uncooperative about being lead anywhere without a jockey or being loaded up like a pack mule?

 

[Tsureai]

She's a winged hussar mount no doubt. Not built for speed but to break Ottoman armies and run down the survivors.

For Halloween someone should give her a pair of angel wings. Instead of tiny cute angel they get angel of death

 

[Darth Bayes]

1v1 in ideal conditions, Shirogane will lose to any other member of her class most of the time, even Tsurumaru Tsuyoshi. The rub is that Shirogane's performance is decreased far less in suboptimal conditions in comparison, and there are even certain circumstances where she would perform better than normal. Aside from her stamina and durability, Shirogane is also the best among her class at navigating traffic, which is also part of the reason she seems to perform unusually well at G1 races, as those tend to have more runners in total.

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(My first thought is that telling them that would cut short a lot of drama. Then....)
...I have the impression that a lot of uma wouldn't perform quite as well in a timed run without other racers.
Shirogane is a very consistent runner.
If you can beat Shirogane, you can beat the field.
Therefore, if all of Shirogane's classmates practice beating her in 1v1s, then if they both participate in a race, that classmate seems pretty likely to win.
Shiro is happy to run every race she can.
Therefore, other trainers would be willing to pay Shirogane to run in every race one of their uma is racing in, and she'd probably be willing to take that deal if the payout was a reasonable fraction of the award difference between first and second place?

 

[guisniperman]

Can anyone do the JJK 'That's Loser Talk' meme but talking about winning against Shirogane? Because it take everything to break throught the Silver Wall.

 

[Vadelent]

(My first thought is that telling them that would cut short a lot of drama. Then....)
...I have the impression that a lot of uma wouldn't perform quite as well in a timed run without other racers.
Shirogane is a very consistent runner.
If you can beat Shirogane, you can beat the field.
Therefore, if all of Shirogane's classmates practice beating her in 1v1s, then if they both participate in a race, that classmate seems pretty likely to win.
Shiro is happy to run every race she can.
Therefore, other trainers would be willing to pay Shirogane to run in every race one of their uma is racing in, and she'd probably be willing to take that deal if the payout was a reasonable fraction of the award difference between first and second place?

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I imagine that could work just so long as it's in the contract that they are not actually working together on the track and that neither can be forced to throw a win. In effect, cover their asses so that the sponsors, tracks, etc. don't think they're rigging races.

 

[Pinklestia]

So would people call her the Silver Duchess (or something similar) compared to Rudolf being the Emperor? Getting silver for both sets of races is pretty impressive.

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The Silver Princess because she is second in line for the crown.

 

[Yonlionz/Amber]

I need an omake where someone trys shooting an uma, and while all the others panic and run, Shirogane draws her saber and CHARGES putting the fear of God into the stupid bastard that tried to hurt her friends

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Preeeeetty sure that she'd be putting the fear of HER into the shooter, to the point of them hiding behind the grim reaper.

 

[Pyrotech51]

"Classic Hat Trick" Or something. (Still don't really get why three goals is a hat trick)

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It came from cricket, where if a bowler dismissed 3 batters in 3 consecutive the club would buy them a new hat to commemorate the achievement (which is pretty damn ridiculous).

This then spread to other sports, including football which popularised it.

 

[Czlyydwr Llrngwl]

Huh, and here I thought it was an Americanism baswd on the best-known race of the Triple Crown being the Kentucky Derby, with a derby also being a style of hat.

 

[BlueCladOne]

Right. Missed that part. I thought she was just looking at it like a psycho totally normal person.

Though now I wonder why she has a metal prop sword at all instead of a plastic one that would weigh less and be less dangerous in case of a fall.

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Probably because this is Tracen. If Shirogane wants a metal sword, they just make sure it's not actually lethal and move on. Taiki Shuttle's gun almost certainly fires something, just not live ammo. Rice Shower has a large dagger that isn't plastic, either.

If this was more realistic, everyone would be wearing special patterned sportswear with no embellishments, but the racing world is a little insane in general. (I do find it funny, though, how Haru Urara's signature racewear is pretty much the only practical one.)

 

[Xcolotrixz]

While Japan is among the countries with the biggest prize pools, she could probably be convinced to run internationally if some of her friends were doing it to. It might even be an idea by the Japanese Trainer Association or something, since they've had runners struggle previously since they weren't as used to those rules being rougher.

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Hong Kong is known for their huge prize pools, though they mainly race sprint and miles with occasional mediums, so Shirogane is out of luck there.

Though Romantic Warrior might be someone she would look up to, being the highest earning runner worldwide.

 

[TheSmallSauce]

Thats what her ears say, but that said can't Mares run the crown but stallions can't run the tiara?

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Fillies can run the Crown races since doing so puts them at a disadvantage because colts are generally stronger and faster, doing the opposite would result in a colt winning the Tiara races every year. At that point you might as well consider the Tiara races a lackluster version of the Crown races, where colts who aren't strong enough to compete with other top colts go to get easy victories. That being said, Vodka entered the Tokyo Yushun and won in 2007, a filly hadn't won the race since 1943 and it hasn't happened since. So it's not impossible for a filly to win, just almost impossible. Interestingly enough, the second filly to do it also ran the Japanese Oaks in the same year. So Shirogane's attempt at a sweep of both sides of the Classics isn't completely unprecedented, she would just be the first to attempt it in 55 years and also the only one to ever attempt all six races.

The reason I'd like to see Shirogane win that classic "sextet" is the way it would transform the racing world from that point on.

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Even attempting it at all and making a decent show of it would be a pretty big deal. Since all umas are female, I'm kinda going with that the Tiara circuit is for umas who want to focus more on the idol part of the business, while the Crown circuit is for the more pure competitors. But trying for both and getting fairly close would create the idea of a super idol, basically, who could do both. Someone like Almond Eye or Gentildonna might have a shot at it, in theory.

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As long as she places well, she would be the only filly in the history of the JRA to attempt the Triple Crown. I imagine that it would set a new precedent that strong fillies can and should prove themselves by running against colts instead. Though going off of race records, the Triple Crown races in 1998 all took place on sunny days with firm turf, so there's no particular advantage for Shirogane there... Hopefully she can increase her top speed before the Satsuki Sho, otherwise winning even one of the Triple Crown races doesn't seem possible at all. There's that old adage:

Satsuki Sho is won by the fastest horse, the Tokyo Yushun by the luckiest horse, and the Kikuka Sho by the strongest horse.

She definitely isn't the fastest and the Satsuki Sho being the shortest race by distance doesn't cater to her strengths, though perhaps she can take advantage of the steep incline and decline into the final corner. We've already seen how she's able to keep pace going up and accelerate going down without losing her balance, so maybe this is where she has the best chances provided she managed to keep a good position in the front.

The Tokyo Yushun is open to a much wider and deeper pool of participants where you might come up against someone who you don't have much information on, and the Tokyo track is much flatter than the Nakayama track, so it's said that the ability to navigate well and adapt to changes in position is crucial. Because of the ideally more equally matched field of competitors, even a better starting gate might provide just enough of a advantage to tip the odds in your favor, which is where luck comes into play. While Shirogane has remarkable navigation skills, I don't think that's enough for her to beat out her classmates who are clearly wising up to her tactics, especially if she runs out in the front again where those navigation skills won't really matter as much as being fast enough to keep the lead.

The Kikuka Sho is probably where she has the best odds of winning, like everyone's been speculating, if not because of the distance then because of the brutal uphill on the Kyoto track. Shiro definitely has the skill, leg strength and stamina to keep her usual pace on the Yodo Slope, which is how she might gain some distance on the rest of the competition considering they have to climb it twice, once in the early race and once before the finish line. There's a chance there that her competition is gassed enough that Shirogane can clinch the win.

 

[xbox432]

"At the very least, it is a metric showing how much people believe in you…or how little."

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Oof, why don't you just destroy her whole ego Shiro? Good grief, her demoralization aura is gonna become the stuff of legends and nightmares...

What interests me, though, is how those Uma who beat Shiro-chan in one event, only to then be completely dominated by her the next time they meet. Because Bold Emperor went from talking some friendly smack, to not even being mentioned by the announcer once, I believe...

Running a gauntleted finger over the edge

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Shiro... Shiro STAHP!

Shirogane found herself idly running the back of the blade against the studded knuckles of her gauntlet, a shiver of delight coursing through her at the sound of steel running over steel.

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Those poor Uma's on either side of her...

Next to her, Main Vocal was trembling, clearly not prepared for this level of pressure, and it seemed that Mt. Arata wasn't immune either, given her elevated breathing.

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Yeah, that's the appropriate response...

In the back of her head, there was a voice screaming at her that this was a race, and that there was no way they were actually going to let some crazed crackhead chop her into sashimi on the track

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And she's definitely an American.

 

[Radiant Knight]

I need an omake where someone trys shooting an uma, and while all the others panic and run, Shirogane draws her saber and CHARGES putting the fear of God into the stupid bastard that tried to hurt her friends

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Immediate great war flashbacks, Tanyagane forgets where she is, spins up a flight formula and literally runs across the air to destroy them.

later: Shirogane: "this footage has definitely been manipulated, supernatural power isn't real."

 

[cheesyme]

Immediate great war flashbacks, Tanyagane forgets where she is, spins up a flight formula and literally runs across the air to destroy them.

later: Shirogane: "this footage has definitely been manipulated, supernatural power isn't real."

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Sadly, while chapter 2 still has her using some very minor magic, Shirogane doesn't have a computation orb, so outright flight and honestly probably all of her major spells are impossible in this life, with such specifically called out both back then and last chapter.

The wind pulled at her face and ears, her blood pulsed through her veins, and she felt her muscles strain as she put them to greater use than she had before in this life, reaching a speed she was quite sure she had never been able to manage on foot in her past lives, but still felt sluggishly slow from the lingering instincts of the Soldier.

That was ridiculous. Shirogane could not fly, but that did not change her sense of inadequacy.

A flicker of memory, and she parted the air before her, the wind lowering just slightly, not enough for her to gain much speed, but enough that her passage was easier.

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Had she still the Soldier's magic it would not be a grave issues, but alas, no such mechanism existed in this new world, and Shirogane found herself idly running the back of the blade against the studded knuckles of her gauntlet, a shiver of delight coursing through her at the sound of steel running over steel.

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[Radiant Knight]

Sadly, while chapter 2 still has her using some very minor magic, Shirogane doesn't have a computation orb, so outright flight and honestly probably all of her major spells are impossible in this life, with such specifically called out both back then and last chapter.

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Honestly I took the latest chapter entry as Shiro being an unreliable narrator- she thinks there's no such thing as magic in this world, which we know to be objectively false. She has likely forgotten her instance of minor magic in the early chapter, which may be setup for her to 'find her real motivation' as part of her character arc, because even though intellectually she thinks she's racing for money, she's forgotten how much she loves flying- how much goes fast is a key motivator for her.

 

[Czlyydwr Llrngwl]

... actually, with uma strength in a human-mass package, muscle-powered flight should be practical on the level of sporting events at least. Still nothing compared to having been an aerial mage, but as a piece of background changes in the world and/or something those crazy Americans do, etc.

 

[Water Sorcerer]

muscle-powered flight should be practical on the level of sporting events at least.

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Do you mean flapping wings tied to their arms?

 

[Czlyydwr Llrngwl]

Do you mean flapping wings tied to their arms?

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No, I mean what would otherwise be tow-launched gliders with bicycle pedals connected to a propeller, like the one in the RL Smithsonian aircraft museum, but practical at WWI/WWII tech levels instead of having needed late 70s/early 80s material science to work at all.

 

[TheLastBattalion]

The Tokyo Yushun

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Another interesting fact about the Tokyo Yushun is that they take the inner rail in by 1 meter for that race. Which means there is a pristine 1-meter-wide strip of turf right next to the rail, and if Shiro gets a 1st or 2nd gate position, she might be able to use that to maybe win the Yushun.

 

[Tonyloco]

I don't think Shirogane needs to win every race, heck I don't think she needs to be second place either, she's still a filly in the eyes of many and even if she's a weird one compared to others her strengths and weakness are very defined, and she's gaining enough notoriety to have trainers be prepared for her.

The comments about her actually having a breakthrough when she's out of the top 3 by the last part of a race is hilarious and fits her mindset regarding races.
She doesn't want to waste her time and training not earning money in a race, and makes it very different from most of the others Umas.

I believe her main assets for now are her stamina, her running style and the intimidating de-buffs for others, some of them can be mitigated if they are prepared for it, other are harder since she's bout to grow even stronger and more experienced.

I'm not sure if the Umas have more than one special once they are in the zone but Tanya would have ones less focused on speed and more on skill or intimidation IMHO.

I do think that the first thing that will stand out for other about her is her reliability, she always seems to run at a similar peace and rarely have bad races or unlucky ones, that usually happen to the Umas racing her, the part about her losing the race to Bold Emperor and then the next one Bold doesn't even makes it to the top 5 is a perfect example.

Different racetracks, like dirt, grass, hills, etc doesn't affect her the same way than others, her main weakness I think would be short races, with her stronger ones being the long ones.

Tanya unlike most racers wouldn't get depressed when she doesn't wins the first place, probably annoyed if she loses the second one and disappointed or mad if she's out of the podium since she's more interested in making money for her family than anything.

I think that some years later she would probably have like a 80% average races among the top 3 with some 1rst places most of the races being 2nd and the rest of them 3rd.
And that should be a huge amount of races compared to most Umas with a winning record.

That would make more sense with the amount of races she would have in her life.

Just some my 5 cents on the story, I'll be looking forward to more.