On a Pale Horse (Umamusume/Youjo Senki)

[Zweibach]

Ah, then I suppose the other vague memories I have were also right. There are multiple Umas with over a thousand kids. Good thing they're never going to have to try and square that fact in the game.

 

[TheSmallSauce]

So maybe we see multiple different descendants of Sunday Silence being tasked to seek out and "seduce" Shirogane as her career record grows.... two-to-four times as fast as any other Uma?

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The more I think about it, the more this is disgustingly suitable as omake material. Please somebody write this, just snippets of Shirogane in post-race press interviews and occasionally someone pops the question about the romantic rumors surrounding her, then her response being misconstrued as blatant straight-faced admittance. Over the course of a year, it will seem to the public that Shirogane has somehow slept her way through both Tracen dorms.

 

[Crispy Taco Shell]

Non-romantically speaking, it feels like Shirogane is falling into the same mistake/trap that screwed her over in her second life. As Tanya, she got addicted to winning battles and forgot why she was fighting in the first place, namely to get a safe posting in the rear.

Here Shirogane is showing the same signs of obsessively trying to compete and win races at the cost of her health/sanity when her original reason for racing was to earn money so her parents can live comfortably. Sure the prize money can be lucrative but most umas' and IRL racehorses' incomes aren't from prize monies. Rather, their main incomes are from the sponsorships, advertising deals, and merchandizing.

Tracen students derisively call those merchandizing umas "idol umas" but what would they know about money? Those who can devote 100% to just the physical aspect of racing are all "old money" umas with generational wealth and prestigious family names.

Shirogane is potentially forgoing a massive fortune by walking away after every race without saying anything to the dozens of cameras and thousands of potential fans who are watching. With her prodigious stamina, Shirogane could easily pull off some sick dance moves as an ending celebration while everyone else is gasping for breath. Or couldn't she at least give a shout-out to her friends, family, and hometown? Fujisawa is seriously underrepresented in media and the residents would gulp down any representation they could get with both hands.

That's half-a-million people Shirogane could squeeze merch money from!

When she was in elementary school, she'd been very proactive advertising and plugging for her family restaurant but that capitalist-influencer effort stopped completely when it comes to promoting herself. Why!?!?!?! Despite winning or placing highly, her current public image seems to be "that weird, loner uma who goes home without saying anything." How could she get any sponsorships, advertising deals, and merchandizing if that's the aura she portrays?

In that aspect, competing in the Triple Tiara Circuit is very good for her development. It will force her out of her comfort zone into the actual money-making, public relations aspect of uma racing. She won't need to bother with dresses and being cute if she could cultivate that exotic, Terminator T-1000, villain-protagonist persona. There are plenty of fans that would love and *more importantly* pay money for that.

 

[ScarredPunLover]

Over the course of a year, it will seem to the public that Shirogane has somehow slept her way through both Tracen dorms

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I'm imagining how her fellow students might respond. Mostly varying shades of denial- some firm, others baffled, others embarrassed- and maybe a few who misunderstand the questions and confirm the rumors.

I also wonder how the families of all involved would react. Shiro's family would probably understand that Shiro has not been getting around in that manner, but I'm not sure quite how they'd react beyond that.

The families of the racers trying to get in conract with Shiro might have a "you were supposed to convince her to get with your brother/cousin, not you!" response

There will likely be many jokes about Shiro's inexhaustible stamina.

 

[RogueInquisitor]

Here Shirogane is showing the same signs of obsessively trying to compete and win races at the cost of her health/sanity when her original reason for racing was to earn money so her parents can live comfortably. Sure the prize money can be lucrative but most umas' and IRL racehorses' incomes aren't from prize monies. Rather, their main incomes are from the sponsorships, advertising deals, and merchandizing.

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She isn't trying to win at the cost of her health/sanity. Her problem is actually that she just doesn't push past what she knows her body can sustain.
I suspect at least part of her focus on the prize is that she never seriously considered racing as a carreer. She didn't do a deep dive into the economics of racing because she never actually felt driven to race.

Shirogane is potentially forgoing a massive fortune by walking away after every race without saying anything to the dozens of cameras and thousands of potential fans who are watching. With her prodigious stamina, Shirogane could easily pull off some sick dance moves as an ending celebration while everyone else is gasping for breath. Or couldn't she at least give a shout-out to her friends, family, and hometown? Fujisawa is seriously underrepresented in media and the residents would gulp down any representation they could get with both hands.

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Or she's cultivating an air of mystery to drive further engagement. It has been agreed in-universe that Shirogane would not do as well if she just tries to copy what other umas do. She can take a different path.

Shirogane is potentially forgoing a massive fortune by walking away after every race without saying anything to the dozens of cameras and thousands of potential fans who are watching.

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She is doing the post-race concerts. She is doing all that she is instructed to do.

You do raise a good point that she should start exploring merchandizing options. I suspect that won't happen until someone (probably her trainer) brings it up, or she discovers someone taking advantage of the hole in the market to make and sell bootleg merch. Depending on what she thinks of the unlicensed product, she can either get upset and try to have them shut down, or legitimize their business, in exchange for a cut of the revenue/profits.

 

[kuopiofi]

Hmm…this might be a useful way to draw some more attention to the restaurant…assuming she ever won a race where they accommodated the special performances.

"You have a point. As a public figure we do have to create a brand of sorts."

"Oh that is way too uncute of a way to put it!" Her senior seemed to recoil as if physically struck, before tilting her head contemplatively. "But I guess cute won't work too well for you."

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I'd say Shirogane is at least some level aware about it.