On a Pale Horse (Umamusume/Youjo Senki)

[Taixyu]

Oh holy shit Shiro, you can't fucking do shit like that.

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She was so funny for that.

 

[Liar]

I don't mind Shirogane consistently finishing in second place. I think it adds an interesting dynamic to the story, portraying her as the eternal runner-up and the benchmark between a good Uma and an exceptional one. However, part of me hopes she eventually wins both the Triple Crown and the Triple Tiara in her classic year, as achieving that would be incredibly hype and legendary.

 

[D'znn-Xy'lll MetaChthonia]

As per Rule 8 Point 3: If in your Opinion my Post in any capacity, shape, and/or form Violates Rule 5, 8, or 9 then inform me so I may Delete the Post. Check Signature for further elaboration. Assistance is appreciated. Asking about the Content Disclaimer will be treated as being Informed of a Rule 5 Violation on my part.

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Uma Musume Magic:
Haru Urara: Dirt go Brrrrrr
Sakura Bakushin: Big Brain activates neurons, duh
Taiki Shuttle: Obviously the last 200m are when the race starts

and then...
Tachyon: phase shifting into the speedforce for 500m
Fuku-chan: Hack Quantum Determinism and Chaos Theory to make her footsteps the most optimal
TM Opera: The Outside is Free Real Estate, Friction is Optional

Shirogane after donning her uniform: the mystical power sufficient for a thermonuclear detonation in her previous life channeled solely into making her feet more stompy. Now, how 'Stompy Stompy boots go charge' deletes friction, air resistance, and multiplies gravitational force.... well uma is beyond the understanding of science

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Marvelous Sunday:
MARVELOUS!~ (Translation: Only I can command fate's flow! MARVELOUS! SUNDAY! TIME!)
Announcer: MARVELOUS SUNDAY HAS GONE PLAID! I REPEAT: MARVELOUS SUNDAY IS PLAID!

Manhattan Café:
Go ⌈Sunday Silence⌋! MUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAM...

Gold Ship:
ANCHOR'S AWAY!

Tamamo Cross:
[Activates Demon Back, Ride The Lightning starts Playing]

Super Creek:
Have you ever played Goo-Goo Babies with your life on the line?

Maruzensky:
Go go powerhorse! TAKE THE FORM OF... COUNTACH!

Calstone Light O:
The shortest distance between two points is a straight line. Gotta Go Fast.

Nice Nature:
[straight up summons Malevolent Shrine]

McQueen:
[stops to have an entire fucking European tea ceremony]

Rice Shower:
You run faster with your knife [stabstabstabstabstabstabst...]

Palmer:
Deciding this wasn't hard enough Mejiro Palmer summons an entire GUTS, Takeshi's Castle, Holey-Moley, and Wipeout obstacle courses followed by Fall Guys because that wasn't good enough. Don't worry, everyone else needs to run it to so they won't be left out of the steeplechase fun!

 

[TheSmallSauce]

"Yeah, you got this!" Steady Distance threw in, waving at her pale haired friend, who raised a fist in the direction of the crowd, a menacing aura blooming off her uniformed frame as her red eyes scanned the Nakayama stands.

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Did this dork seriously raise a fist towards the crowd while dressed in military garb? Please tell me it wasn't on an outstretched arm. Shirogane, how much of your PR training is from your first life and how much of it is from your second? Cause it seems like most of it is from the second.

"Congratulations, Grass," Shirogane grunted, looking barely winded as they pulled to a stop. "I suppose it was that easy afterall." She gave a curt nod, as if they had just come across each other on a stroll through the part.

"Thank you….Shirogane-san," Grass replied, doing her best to catch her breath while waving politely to the crowd. "I…would not…say you made it easy."

"Not difficult enough, it seems," her pale teammate quipped, a slight smirk pulling at her lips. She didn't seem pleased with coming up short, exactly, but as usual, Shirogane was far less bothered by this set back than Grass knew she would have been had their positions been reversed.

"It was still a good run," Grass offered. "You've gotten faster."

Shirogane shrugged, removing her eagle hat and tucking it in the crook of her arm. "It remains a work in progress. There are still more races to go."

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Y'know, on reread, Shirogane is disgustingly unbothered with losing. I'm surprised that Grass took it so well, though I guess we did get to see some of her mindset in a previous chapter, still I wonder how much of that is Grass just having a champion's mindset already, and how much of it can be chalked up to Hana's coaching. I know that I would have felt some kind of way about things, to me Shirogane seeming so unaffected after the race while Grass is basically wiped out gives me the impression of:

It doesn't look like I even tried and you still barely beat me. I wonder how things might change if I put in just that little bit more?

Which is a strange way to think and even stranger thing to say, which is why Shiro neither thinks it nor says it. She's refreshingly results-oriented that way, sometimes to her own detriment.

It's also beginning to strike me how truly outrageous that Shirogane's record at the end of her junior year, assuming she doesn't run in the Hopeful Stakes, is 9: 2-7-0. To highlight how ridiculous that is, El, who is her classmate and is in real life considered to be the best racehorse to come out of Japan in the 20th century, had a record of 11: 8-3-0. Put simply, she's almost run as many races in her first year that El will run in her whole career.

If she continues racing like this, she genuinely might surpass Haru Urara in terms of total races, and Haru Urara ran a race once or twice a month for four and a half years. Her average resting period between races was two weeks. Going at that pace, by the end of her Classic year, Shiro might have run 56 races already...

 

[Winged One]

If she continues racing like this, she genuinely might surpass Haru Urara in terms of total races, and Haru Urara ran a race once or twice a month for four and a half years. Her average resting period between races was two weeks. Going at that pace, by the end of her Classic year, Shiro might have run 56 races already...

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Umamusume Haru Urara just really loves to run and isn't bothered by her massive string of Ls. From what I've heard, for RL Haru Urara it was the racetrack or the glue factory.

 

[D'znn-Xy'lll MetaChthonia]

As per Rule 8 Point 3: If in your Opinion my Post in any capacity, shape, and/or form Violates Rule 5, 8, or 9 then inform me so I may Delete the Post. Check Signature for further elaboration. Assistance is appreciated. Asking about the Content Disclaimer will be treated as being Informed of a Rule 5 Violation on my part.

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Umamusume Haru Urara just really loves to run and isn't bothered by her massive string of Ls. From what I've heard, for RL haru Urara it was the racetrack or the glue factory.

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Even there it was only as long as she kept losing because of her owners making bank off the "loveable loser". When allowed to run how she wants she was a good horse (her only win was in retirement). She actually did nearly win once, the jockey made the last second decision when realizing what would happen.

The UmaMusume Reddit has people uploading Translated versions of a documentary Manga that tries to adapt the visuals into UmaMusume. I think that one specifically was actually from the Author interviewing the jockey himself? The Sources are scattered all over virtually every Page and one of them had the last Page being the Author addressing a strawman of the Audience that was demanding the Sources and they pointed out they're literally the Primary Source the same way all their usual Sources are.

 

[TheSmallSauce]

Umamusume Haru Urara just really loves to run and isn't bothered by her massive string of Ls. From what I've heard, for RL haru Urara it was the racetrack or the glue factory.

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It really was, and when she got popular, it was speculated that her owners started trimming or plucking her tail and mane to sell as Haru Urara good luck charms which were selling like hotcakes back in 2003. If you see just how often she ran how short her breaks between races were, it really is remarkable how durable she was. She never got seriously injured in four and a half years of frequent racing. Some of that probably has to do with her running on dirt, but still. She ran nearly 20 races every year...

Edit:

Really, some of these raceheads had no sense of fashion.

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Lucky for her, she had her parents and Steady to help her out! Otherwise she'd probably think an office lady get up would be a good idea, or something like that.

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This had me rolling. After asking what Shiro wears on a daily basis we got authorial confirmation and two lines in the very next chapter that she's got absolutely zero sense of fashion.
To top it off, she's not even the worst offender in this regard. Mejiro Ryan and Kiseki (just Kiseki, not Fuji Kiseki) also commit crimes against fashion with their casual outfits.

Spoiler: Kiseki's fit

 

[Chrisleech]

Will Shirogane be sticking around for years doing Senior Races everywhere assuming that she doesn't get an injury, because she doesn't get exhausted like the others?

 

[Killdread]

Will Shirogane be sticking around for years doing Senior Races everywhere assuming that she doesn't get an injury, because she doesn't get exhausted like the others?

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As soon as Trainer (and the regulatory body of the races) understand her true durability the "Shirogane Everywhere" system will be unlocked. 7/10 races will have Shirogane there, racing, less than a full week apart.

 

[Winged One]

Marvelous Sunday:
MARVELOUS!~ (Translation: Only I can command fate's flow! MARVELOUS! SUNDAY! TIME!)

Manhattan Café:
Go ⌈Sunday Silence⌋! MUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAMUDAM...

Gold Ship:
ANCHOR'S AWAY!

Tamamo Cross:
[Activates Demon Back, Ride The Lightning starts Playing]

Super Creek:
Have you ever played Goo-Goo Babies with your life on the line?

Maruzensky:
Go go powerhorse! TAKE THE FORM OF... CONTACH!

Calstone Light O:
The shortest distance between two points is a straight line. Gotta Go Fast.

Nice Nature:
[straight up summons Malevolent Shrine]

McQueen:
[stops to have an entire fucking tea ceremony]

Rice Shower:
You run faster with your knife [stabstabstabstabstabstabst...]

Palmer:
Deciding this wasn't hard enough Mejiro Palmer summons an entire GUTS, Takeshi's Castle, and Wipeout obstacle courses followed by Fall Guys because that wasn't good enough. Don't worry, everyone else needs to run it to.

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Gold Ship:
[Stops dicking around for five minutes.]

 

[Water Sorcerer]

Will Shirogane be sticking around for years doing Senior Races everywhere assuming that she doesn't get an injury, because she doesn't get exhausted like the others?

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I think so. Good exercise, easy money. She can't keep away

 

[Dopplerdee]

I don't mind Shirogane consistently finishing in second place. I think it adds an interesting dynamic to the story, portraying her as the eternal runner-up and the benchmark between a good Uma and an exceptional one. However, part of me hopes she eventually wins both the Triple Crown and the Triple Tiara in her classic year, as achieving that would be incredibly hype and legendary.

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Basically.
Like. She's coming in second in professional sporting events against the best in the nation in her age group. It's not like she's losing every race.
That said, I also hope she wins some, just for the narrative power.

 

[Czlyydwr Llrngwl]

just Kiseki, not Fuji Kiseki) also commit crimes against fashion with their casual outfits

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Eh? What's wrong with an apple-green blouse? She looks cute in it.

 

[Greatazuredragon]

Shiro doing her job. Traumatizing unsuspecting Umas and gaining silver medals. XD

 

[Chrisleech]

Basically.
Like. She's coming in second in professional sporting events against the best in the nation in her age group. It's not like she's losing every race.
That said, I also hope she wins some, just for the narrative power.

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I mean... It's not just in the G1. She's lost every race except her debut.

 

[KenjiApex]

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.

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Someone better make a bunch of omakes in lunaticmonster's style story. Or multiple such stories in one omake, such as Shirogane Orzel being a local celebrity because she's helping a restaurant delivering orders before being considered for racing by a professional horse trainer.

 

[Ace98]

Shirogane is a Discipline Test for the Umas, if you don't have the self control to 'Run Your Race' against her, you won't beat her. You may have have the raw stats to beat her, but if you don't use them right? Doesn't matter. Especially since it's not like your fuck ups need to be major either, she'll be running at her best and she's pretty good at it, if you fail to bring your A-game, you won't meet the Silver Standard.

With how many Races she'll be in, it'll be like "Ok, you've Debutted, now for the second hurdle to being a Top Tier Uma...Race against Death Shirogane"

 

[ndh]

Shirogane is a Discipline Test for the Umas, if you don't have the self control to 'Run Your Race' against her, you won't beat her.

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Hilariously, I'm thinking of making an omake using a crack pairing that I got from this fic https://archiveofourown.org/works/81519721 whose offspring reverts to the dad's running style, which she got from running with him, to show that it can backfire under extremely specific circumstances. tldr, she doesn't use his style as it is a spirit breaker to other umas.

 

[HoxShorelight]

Shiro please don't terrorize your competitor those girls act like a bunch of spooked horse and thanks to their training they last that long
Oh well Shiro still have time maybe next year she will win it all

 

[Neo3932156]

I kinda pity Bold Emperor here, putting aside Shirogane own view of her as merely a competitor at the moment. Despite winning last month, Bold Emperor actually saw Shirogane as someone worth keeping an eye on, and probably as a friendly rival. And she's actually friendly, playful, and willing to banter with Shirogane despite her taciturn nature, while other Uma feared her.

And now, in just a month time, she's barely mentioned at all which position she won while someone else barely beat Shirogane by just a moment.

I mean, that was always gonna happen eventually. This is not a surprise, and can be seen miles and chapters away. It's a thing even in the manga.

Yet, watching it actually happen, to someone who's both open and friendly, and see through Shirogane natural menacing intimidation ever since their first match as someone worthy of knowing. It's kinda heartbreaking to read.

 

[Chrisleech]

I just had a thought. Is Shirogane gonna get any in universe recognition of breaking a course record of her own, since Grass Wonder only barely overtook her?

 

[FlyingOctopus]

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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You've already got a bunch of answers but mine; this is her aunt's (great-aunt?) OG uniform, so the sword came with it. Like others said I don't think it was in Shiro's mind to change it out but even if she thought about it she might think it disrespectful.

Good stuff as usual Waffles, silver eagle strikes again!

 

[TheSmallSauce]

Eh? What's wrong with an apple-green blouse? She looks cute in it.

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Nothing's wrong per se, but when you line her up next to the rest of the cast, it's almost comical how out of place she looks. To borrow a phrase from the author... She looks like an NPC? To me I can't imagine her outside of her racing outfit unless she's at a fast food place.

Spoiler: Make it cheesy

Well, at least she isn't alone in that. El's at the cash register next to her.

Spoiler: Welcome to McDonald's, may I take your order?

Shirogane is a Discipline Test for the Umas, if you don't have the self control to 'Run Your Race' against her, you won't beat her. You may have have the raw stats to beat her, but if you don't use them right? Doesn't matter. Especially since it's not like your fuck ups need to be major either, she'll be running at her best and she's pretty good at it, if you fail to bring your A-game, you won't meet the Silver Standard.

With how many Races she'll be in, it'll be like "Ok, you've Debutted, now for the second hurdle to being a Top Tier Uma...Race against Death Shirogane"

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She's an uma with B+ stamina right out of the gate, with just the right skills for the late race, and also literally all the red skills to cook your uma into smithereens. Sort of like the Almond Eye secret boss, just more evil cause she appears on more than just G1 races, and she starts appearing the moment you win the debut race onwards.

 

[Chronometry]

I just had a thought. Is Shirogane gonna get any in universe recognition of breaking a course record of her own, since Grass Wonder only barely overtook her?

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Probably not outside of, like, trivia nights, given that like you said Grass is the one who set the new record.

 

[Zweibach]

Did this dork seriously raise a fist towards the crowd while dressed in military garb?

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If this made you think about nazism then I think you might need to touch grass and consume less propaganda of either side because not only is it visually very different but also just a very normal thing to do.
That aside, Japan have way less of a stigma in regards to it.

I mean... It's not just in the G1. She's lost every race except her debut.

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She has won two out of eight races and placed second the rest if I am reading this correctly. Objectively speaking this is ridiculously good especially when you account for this being less than one year.

Currently her record is something like 8-2-6-0

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[NerdLord]

I mean... It's not just in the G1. She's lost every race except her debut.

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The problem is she most certainly does not see it like that, she placed second thus is most certainly in her mind winning if you pay attention you'll notice that her parent's restaurant keeps getting upgrades every time we hear it mentioned since she started racing. Winning the second place prize, and the money attached to it, is not considered losing in her mindset. Shiro could place second in every single race she runs and she would consider it time well spent.
Edit: its important to take into account that unlike almost every other runner for Shiro at this point its just a job she finds enjoyable not the defining thing in her life like most racers.

 

[KenjiApex]

I don't play Umamusume, but I can definitely see Shirogane Orzel be another Evil Nature in terms of having a plethora of red skills in her build.

 

[Chrisleech]

She has won two out of eight races and placed second the rest if I am reading this correctly. Objectively speaking this is ridiculously good especially when you account for this being less than one year.

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I was going off of this bit, which looked pretty clear that her winning her debut was the exception.

While her prize point total was enough to qualify her for the race, she had mostly placed second aside from winning her newcomer race,

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[TheSmallSauce]

If this made you think about nazism then I think you might need to touch grass and consume less propaganda of either side because not only is it visually very different but also just a very normal thing to do.
That aside, Japan have way less of a stigma in regards to it.

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I guess it wasn't obvious that it was a joke, maybe a bad one or in poor taste judging by your response, but a joke nonetheless. I would have probably used a more severe word than dork if I felt like trying to raise a fuss about the imagery. Don't know about all this Nazism, touching grass or presumably political propaganda stuff, I just like the story and I was making an observation I thought was funny. Nothing as deep as you might presume.

That aside, yeah, it is a common thing to do, but in combination with her military uniform... C'mon isn't it at least a little funny how she jumped from talking about PR and all that talk about leaning into her foreign side a bit more from previous chapters and the end result is straight up Tanya rousing the troops. At least that was the image that came to mind for me, which is why I found it funny. If you think about that in contrast to how the other umas would have made their appearance on stage, surely Shiro's the only one whose got that aura to her? The dissonance is palpable and thus hilarious, at least to me.

"Hi everyone, it's your Falco dashing smartly in~~!"

And then immediately after that we get:

"..." Raises fist.

I mean, c'mon.

 

[Zweibach]

It is too normal and expected for me to find it noteworthy or funny. Imagine some emoji here expressing amused bemusement.