• The regular administrative staff are taking a vacation, and in the meantime, Biigoh is taking over. See here for more information.
  • A notice about Rule 3 regarding sites hosting pirated/unauthorized content has been made. Please see here for details.
  • Staff is working to deal with the problem of synonymous tags. See here for more information and to suggest tag mergers.
  • Due to issues with external spam filters, QQ is currently unable to send any mail to Microsoft E-mail addresses. This includes any account at live.com, hotmail.com or msn.com. Signing up to the forum with one of these addresses will result in your verification E-mail never arriving. For best results, please use a different E-mail provider for your QQ address.
  • For prospective new members, a word of warning: don't use common names like Dennis, Simon, or Kenny if you decide to create an account. Spammers have used them all before you and gotten those names flagged in the anti-spam databases. Your account registration will be rejected because of it.
  • Since it has happened MULTIPLE times now, I want to be very clear about this. You do not get to abandon an account and create a new one. You do not get to pass an account to someone else and create a new one. If you do so anyway, you will be banned for creating sockpuppets.
  • Due to the actions of particularly persistent spammers and trolls, we will be banning disposable email addresses from today onward.

On a Pale Horse (Umamusume/Youjo Senki)

I chucked a bit at Shiro pulling out her sword for a samurai-style pre-battle ritual and freaking her neighbor out. The metal scraping sound combined with the pulled back ears would definitely unnerve a more nervous uma lol. It wouldn't be a Tanya version without accidentally scaring people.
 
Last edited:
Nah, considering the story beats, she'll probably be a silver collector. Her main claim to fame is her utterly cracked racing schedule and healthiness. 4 races a month for 12 months is abuse trainer Hana! Says everyone but Shiro who is counting the money.

Only issue is that Shirogane just... isn't that dominant a racer outside of longer races? She's definitely better than your average racing horse, as this race showed, but she's not the best in any length except for maybe long and her competition among her peers is pretty stacked with strong racers. It might be awhile before she actually gets first in any G1. Or maybe not, up to the OP.

I suppose that it can be mildly frustrating for people who aren't familiar with horse racing and Umamusume in general. Yes, from reading the thread and the story it's clear that there are a lot of factors why Shirogane can't win in the races we've seen, and people familiar with the fandom would understand that. But for people who're only on the fringes of the fandom or outside it altogether, it probably isn't too fun a ride.
 
Just waiting for Shirogane to run long distances and just staying for so long, don't the UK and Australia have longer races? I wonder if Shirogane can go international in the near future.

Article:
The Gold Cup is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 2 miles 3 furlongs and 210 yards (4,014 metres), and it is scheduled to take place each year in June.
It is Britain's most prestigious event for "stayers" – horses which specialise in racing over long distances.

The Ascot Gold Cup awaits...

Ha, now there's a thought. Shiro hits such an infamy point, that many of her opponents drop out… only to be replaced by adrenaline junkies and actual masochists who get some kind of high from the experience. The thrill of fear, as every instinct in their body screams "DANGER, DANGER," even though they are safe and at no risk of harm from Shiro.

It would make for a lovely parallel of her recruitment of the 203rd.

Men wanted for hazardous journey. Small wages, bitter cold, long months of complete darkness, constant danger, safe return doubtful, honour and recognition in case of success.

Which was noted by Lergen to be the perfect recruitment pitch for the fervently nationalistic and eager mages of the Eastern front who had to spend the opening months of the war twiddling their thumbs. Just by being herself, Shirogane attracts irredeemable glory hounds and battle maniacs... they do say that birds of a feather flock together.

"Of course I wasn't going to kill you, that would get me disqualified!"

"That's your only reason...?"

The funny thing is that Shiro is probably among the most dangerous umas out on the track, since she's got a lot harder bones and her G1 costume comes with gauntlets originally designed to help an uma break skulls.
"One night we heard the horses freaking out, so we went to check on them and we found a bear inside the enclosure. It was dead on the ground with its skull caved in, and Shirogane was just standing next to it like nothing happened."

If anyone reads lunaticmonster's uma stories comics, this would be prime material for them. Obscure and absurd facts and stories about the horses recounted by their trainers, grooms and jockeys.

As funny as that would be, the Triple Crown/Tiara Classic are reserved for Classic year runners only.

But the other G1s are free game, no? No one else is ever winning the Japan Cup and Arima Kinen in the same year again. Speaking of which, El actually has a classmate to race against in the Japan Cup in her classic year.
 
I dont understand the nitpick about Shiro not getting first. In other sports stuff like Slam Dunk it took a while for Sakuragi to finally get a worthwhile W. And this narrative and how Shiro is as a person helps, since u dont feel the stressor to chase a win. This isnt a shonen MC who's stubborn and hungry for a win, this is a composed careerwoman and her lowkey romps with other shonen MC candidates. A more likely milestone is the growth of her bond with family and friends.
I guess what im saying is, meet the story on its own terms rather than ur own expectations
 
Well the disconnect here is that every Uma at Tracen Academy is seeking glory and to be top dog. Some of them might be really low key about it but every single one of them would be like a ace jet pilot from Top Gun that thinks they are the best around or soon to be the best around. Everyone should be aiming for the top and have a passion for running.

What throws them off is that Shirogane seems to be a contender for being one of the top runners around but her outward aim instead of being the best is to have a good career with some connections for when she's done with her career. It's not a bad goal but it's not a Tracen goal. Eventually things will develop about her aims and desires but I suspect that the Zone will come into play when Shirogane throws away sensibility and says for this one day, for this one race, for this one rival Silver is not acceptable. That is when she'll race out of her goddamn mind and then the art style shifts and the budget increases.
 
I just like the fact she isn't a OP hax kind of character.
She's definitely OP Hax lol, she's just like an OP hax airplane forced to wheel around on the tarmac over and over.

She's an armored steam train resigned to competing with fragile race cars to race a mile.
She's a Napoleonic Cavalry participating in calm peacetime sports.

It's not what she's built for, is it any surprise that she's not optimal for the role? But if she were needed in a different context..? One where her terrifying experience and attitude, which are merely 'useful' and 'competitive' and 'decent' in racing, were to be of paramount importance?

The frame of reference is just not even in the same realm. She's relaxing, not competing right now. She's so utterly unimpressed with racing that it must feel like downright stealing money. But... if this was Umaland 1820 she'd probably be ruling or enforcing rule in a sizable chunk of territory
 
Last edited:
Was it canon or fanon that Salaryman tried a bunch of high school extracurriculars but considered himself untaleented at them because he always ended up second, in his originbal life? "Being used to it" and expecting to have only a limited racing career before needing to retire from the firld to something more mundane would fit very well with her reactions as shown in this new life.
 
Last edited:
"Well, I think she can beat half of them, definitely," Kat-san chimed in, staring proudly down at her daughter who joined the rest of the line up waiting for the remaining runners to be announced. "Just look, a bunch of them look about ready to run away. Don't think she'll have any trouble with those."

"Of course they're nervous," Suzuki-san sighed, nudging his wife in the side, "it's probably the first really big race any of them are participating in, and they're all fourteen or fifteen, which makes it worse."

Both of them had a point, but… "Yeah…but the one next to Shiro-chan looks like she's about to pass out."
"Shiro-chan can be scary sometimes!"

"It's probably just the less favored runners being less confident," Suzuki-san countered, obviously not recognizing how terrifying his cute little daughter could be. "Look, the higher ranked ones are not as nervous." Because they didn't have to stand next to the uma who gave off the feeling that she actually was capable of killing them with that sword of hers.
"Hoh? So you do have a game face after all." Air Groove smirked. "I can see why your dance instructor told you not to smile during your performances."

"...Surely my smile is not so grotesque…" Her family had never made mention of it.

It's cute to see that Shirogane's parents are so inured to their cute little daughter.


"Number eleven Grass Wonder crosses the finish line and has claimed victory! And would you look at that? It's a new record too!"

She crossed the finish a moment before Shirogane did, and the rush of triumph and fatigue buoyed by the raucous cheers of the crowd would have her riding high for a good while longer.
"Damn it!" Steady Distance cursed, banging her fist lightly on her leg. "So close!" It really hadn't been, at the finish, but Shiro's scheme had almost worked. "Guess her classmate must have gotten used to her tricks, huh?"

Just how close/not close was it?


She exhaled slowly, shutting her eyes as she regulated her breathing. Even though her inherited experiences meant she didn't get nearly as nervous as many of her fellows when in the starting gate, she would admit to some degree of excitement in the competition.

Was it the much larger prize pool that was making her more eager? Even if she took second place, she'd win about as much money as she'd won from placing in lower ranked races so far.

Or was it the uniform that felt much more tailored to her?

With some time to kill, Shirogane grasped her saber sheath in her left gauntlet before drawing it free with her striking hand, raising it up to eye level to inspect the diligently shined but disappointingly dull blade. Red eyes stared impassively back at her in the reflection of well-polished steel, and her ears peeled back flat against her hat as anticipation continued to build.

Running a gauntleted finger over the edge, she felt a huff of derision escaping her, even though it was eminently unreasonable for what was supposed to be a prop to be honed to killing sharpness.

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.

But she was not here for that kind of task, so she returned her saber to its resting place by her side as the gates were finally loaded, settling into a ready stance as the starter called out.

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.

The starting gate opened to a disappointing buzzer and Shirogane put away the idle observations of her gatemates as she sprung forwards into action, her boots digging comfortably into the spongy turf as she accelerated.

When Shirogane gets excited, she starts thinking about the battlefield and violence. She was so let down that it wasn't a gunshot that started the race. While it's a bit bittersweet to me how she's associated adrenaline and violence together like that, it's satisfying to see her getting into it. I can see the blueprints of the anticipated, Serious!Shiro scene where she's just having a ball rough housing and scaring everybody around her.
 
Salaryman wasn't exactly second place at everything but what happened was that he'd get discouraged when he'd fall short to the people that put in way more effort and passion and beat him or the monstrously talented people that'd just pull an all nighter before the test and ace everything. He definitely wasn't average because being top thirty in everything you put time and effort into isn't something the average person could actually do but it's not something usually deemed praise worthy in normal society.

It's like being Fujimasa March. Oguri Cap is the monstrous racer that came out of nowhere to dominate the racing scene. Fujimasa March had the passion and determination to continue racing even after numerous setbacks and continued calling herself Oguri's rival. Salaryman would not have the same strength of character or passion for running to do what she did.
 
Sword scabbards aren't made of metal. They are made of wood/leather. The "shing" sound is a Hollywoodism and if it does make that sound, it means you are fucking up the sword.
It was from running her fingers (edit: knuckles) over the sword. (Edit 2: Or at least, that's what I'm assuming they meant)
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.
 
Last edited:
It was from running her fingers (edit: knuckles) over the sword.
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.
 
"One night we heard the horses freaking out, so we went to check on them and we found a bear inside the enclosure. It was dead on the ground with its skull caved in, and Shirogane was just standing next to it like nothing happened."
"Like nothing happened? Sure she wasn't freaking out like the other horses, but that was because she was too busy glaring at us. And I swear she looked me right in the eye and pointed at the bear, like she was asking what the hell good we were for if she had to handle this short of thing herself."
 
Well, I hope to see Shirogane win a G1 soon, because finishing second in every chapter is frustrating 😅😅 ...unless, of course, you're saving Shirogane's wins for the Triple Crown and the Triple Tiara.
Kikuka Sho in Classic Year is good odds, but something I think people are forgetting is the Spring Tenno Sho, the longest of the G1s in Japan. That's available to Umas in their Classic year and beyond, and I bet that's her best shot at winning Gold.
 
When Shirogane gets excited, she starts thinking about the battlefield and violence. She was so let down that it wasn't a gunshot that started the race. While it's a bit bittersweet to me how she's associated adrenaline and violence together like that, it's satisfying to see her getting into it. I can see the blueprints of the anticipated, Serious!Shiro scene where she's just having a ball rough housing and scaring everybody around her.
It might be interesting if Hana or one of the senpais tentatively broaches the subject about how her fierce behavior is disruptive toward the other racers, Shiro's response happens to mention that that sort of war-like mindset felt rather refreshing and energizing to her. And with those words, Hana and the others get a piece of the answer they have long been asking: what can actually motivate Shiro to put drive into her races? The answer is, at least part of it is, that Shiro doesn't treat races seriously because she doesn't see them as threats; her motivation increases if she has a sense of danger.
 
Last edited:
though she was named Mt. Arata, which wasn't really indicative of anything aside from her parents not wanting to call their child 'Mount'.
"Mount Arata. That's an order." - Mt. Arata talking to her trainer

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.
Ah yes, clearly. Definitely the pressure of the race. Not the girl disappointed her sword isn't sharp enough standing next to them.

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,
Yeah, they only do that if you break your legs.
I'm told this is why the JP umamusume community doesn't have glue jokes.

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.
The uma-super strength makes the weight less of an issue than it would be for humans, though you've got a good point about injury risk. I would sort of expect all the metal bits of her race outfit be replaced with less weighty metals rather than authentic armor steel. You know, prioritizing the look of the thing rather than the durability. But I guess she feels the authenticity is more important than a few pounds?
 
Last edited:
Sword scabbards aren't made of metal. They are made of wood/leather.
Eh. Military calvary sabers had metal scabbards.
3_1.jpg
Though now I wonder why she has a metal prop sword at all instead of a plastic one that would weigh less a
Because Tanya is lowkey crazy. Very lowkey, but the idea of a non steel sword never crossed her mind. In fact if you brought up not getting a prop sword out of real steel she would be like "So what, a shinai? Wrong shape. A bronze sword? An ancient relic."
Edit: Like Mentos said above, she was lamenting her saber wasn't actually sharp. The idea of a prop never crossed her mind
 
Last edited:
I guess she feels the authenticity is more important than a few pounds?
She's used to running dozens of miles with a big pack full of food to deliver. What's an extra couple pounds when all she's carrying otherwise is her clothes, and the whole race is barely long enough to get warmed up?
 
Yep, everyone's lucky the long races aren't popular because the horse in question is unmatched in endurance. For God's sake, in the traning she ran at top speed for two hours, most couldn't do it for more than half an hour.
Tbf Shirogane is slowly getting faster. If her monstrous stamina can keep up with the increased drain her faster speed has, she might just revitalize interest in long races.
Kikuka Sho in Classic Year is good odds, but something I think people are forgetting is the Spring Tenno Sho, the longest of the G1s in Japan. That's available to Umas in their Classic year and beyond, and I bet that's her best shot at winning Gold.
Correction, while Tenno Sho Autumn is available for Classic year racers, the Tenno Sho Spring is only available to Senior year racers (4-year old up).

Also, even if this story were to make an exception and allow Shirogane to participate in Haruten during her Classic Year, she would be up against Mejiro Bright at the height of her career—a fellow stayer with a similar Speed issue to what Shirogane is currently dealing with right now. Although in Bright's case, it's less that she's actually slow and more that she just seems slow as she takes a while to hit her top speed. And she can no sell Shirogane's attempts to control the pace as Bright runs at her own pace.
 
Last edited:

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top