On a Pale Horse (Umamusume/Youjo Senki)

[LuridThrone]

This lends to them often getting more attention, resources and status, so it is not hard to imagine people resenting them for it, particularly human women who have to compete with umas for romantic interests.

Click to shrink...

You have created karens and mean girls complaining about honse hussies stealing all the good men.

 

[moop]

One aspect that is briefly touched on in this fic is that umas probably warp dating patterns a fair bit, since they are kind of like safe monstergirls, in the sense that they are stronger and tougher than normal human women, and usually more attractive, from what it seems. This lends to them often getting more attention, resources and status, so it is not hard to imagine people resenting them for it, particularly human women who have to compete with umas for romantic interests.

Click to shrink...

It wouldn't surprise me if an uma came out as lesbian there would be more backlash because of this, along with the usual celebrity parasocial stuff and entitled guys.

 

[Rexmaster1]

I'm dividing my comment into two sections: the first is a discussion of the chapter, and the second is catching up on the thread.

I want to emphasize this here and now: I'll never stop loving how confused everyone seems when dealing with Shiro.

Hana simultaneously has the most obedient and responsible apprentice, but also the most exasperating one could possibly have. She has an apprentice who regularly undergoes extremely rigorous training, yet never crosses the line to hurt her.

Although I truly wish with all my heart that Shirogane will be the first Uma to win the Sextuple Crown, I think it's unlikely. Perhaps she could win an Irregular Triple Crown, which would still be an impressive achievement, but not as impressive as being the only one in history to win it all.

I loved that Swift and Akira reappeared. I thought they would be nothing more than supporting characters in Shiro's story who would never return. But I really like that they'll probably become recurring characters. In fact, it's quite wholesome that we get to see characters from Shiro's hometown from time to time.

I'm glad that the few who truly understand her are her childhood friends. While Shiro is slowly becoming a "Manhattan Cafe" in Tracen because of her distant and dispassionate personality, her old acquaintances know that she's simply an extremely dedicated and stern girl, but without any ill intentions.

Thank you so much for giving us even more fuel for the Shirogane x Tensei shippers. Even if from both their perspectives they were just being cordial to an acquaintance, I can imagine Shirogane's entire family and friends going crazy over her inviting a boy to her apartment at night.

I like to think of her father, Shigeru, having a conversation like this in the future.

Granddaughter: Grandpa Shigeru, how did you meet my grandmother?

Shigeru: I invited her for lunch, and she liked my cooking.

Granddaughter: And how did my great-grandfather meet my great-grandmother?

Shigeru: He invited her to lunch, and she liked his cooking...

Granddaughter: And how did my mother meet my father?

Shigeru: ...She invited him to lunch... and he liked her cooking...

Great-granddaughter: I see. *Writes something down in her notebook*

Aside from that, I don't understand why some people are bothered by a possible relationship with Tensei, citing the age difference. Guys, remember, Shirogane is the older one here. Assuming Salaryman died in his mid-20s and Tanya in her early teens, plus Shirogane's age, mentally she should be close to 40. So the real cradle robber here is Shirogane, in the hypothetical case that they ever actually start a relationship.

 

[WrandmWaffles]

I don't understand why some people are bothered by a possible relationship with Tensei, citing the age difference.

Click to shrink...

Just to be clear, Shirogane is something like 15 years old and Tensei is around 18, since she's starting high school and he's starting university. They actually aren't that far apart age wise.

I think the weirdness is more in how similar they are.

 

[Melmar]

Dating yourself would be weird, yes, even if it's a few lifetimes removed.

 

[ScarredPunLover]

Although I truly wish with all my heart that Shirogane will be the first Uma to win the Sextuple Crown, I think it's unlikely. Perhaps she could win an Irregular Triple Crown, which would still be an impressive achievement, but not as impressive as being the only one in history to win it all.

Click to shrink...

I think it's likely she'll need to (probably unintentionally) perform a nigh-impossible Guts check against her opponents in each race.

Maybe she's in a foul, foul mood while doing the races, and auto-piloting at her top speed as she dwells on something negative.

Perhaps, as proposed by myself (I think) and (probably) a few others, it'll be a situation of one of her grandparents being in poor health at the same time as these races.

And though Shiro would much rather spend that time with them, said grandparent or other dear family member is insistent they'd be set greater at ease seeing Shiro go and pursue "her dream."

Thus Shiro is caught in the frustrating situation of trying not to let her family down. I also imagine if she'd be frustrated by the misunderstanding of her desires, if she'd be tempted to openly and honestly declare "racing was never my dream." Yet to do so would imply her family kinda pressured her into doing something she didn't want to do, and I imagine that that idea would "devastate" her family more- and the mind has strange powers o'er the body. It's not impossible said ill family member might rapidly decline with the revelation.

Sure, she could avoid the truth, let them believe their misunderstanding, and just insist she'd prefer to spend more time with them while she can, but if said insistent family member is one of her grandparents, I dunno if she'd win that argument.

This is all, of course, a dramatic, exaggerated scenario, somewhat Hollywood-esque story-telling, but I think that it could, theoretically, happen.

So Shiro, not wanting to potentially risk the family member's current fragile state, feels pressured to go and race when she'd really rather not, and is thus in a terrible mood the entire time.

Said terrible mood creating an aura of "death" about her, and every other racer in the "Sextuple Crown" is thus led to performing terrible.

Or maybe Shiro just starts pushing herself harder than normal, any semblance of "auto-pilot" suffering interference from her emotional state.

 

[Lyrista]

I'm more amused that the first man Shirogane has any sort of social compatibility with and posters are all instantly "OMG, they must be flirting!"

 

[Melmar]

I'm more amused that the first man Shirogane has any sort of social compatibility with and posters are all instantly "OMG, they must be flirting!"

Click to shrink...

Shipping is a poison for the soul. *sage nod*

 

[Dopplerdee]

Perhaps, as proposed by myself (I think) and (probably) a few others, it'll be a situation of one of her grandparents being in poor health at the same time as these races.

Click to shrink...

My thought was that her great failing as a Racer is lacking that core of desire to really push the evelope, the part of the others that lets them hit that Zone.
Rather than tragedy, it could be more and more second places makes her want to show her grandfather the Polish performance she came up with, and to do that she needs to win.
Her main drive has always been her family, so why not lean into that.

 

[drake_azathoth]

I did love the part about Akira taking an extra job to pay for his Umamusume girlfriend's appetite. It kinda matches the expense of horses IRL and puts a bit of weight back into why not everyone would love having an Umamusume girlfriend. A girl like Oguri Cap would be high maintenance just in terms of pure appetite.

That plus the issues Shirogane noticed in terms of most umas not being very deep thinkers, and their strength being a mixed bag, (broken pelvises are probably more common in the Umamusume setting and less funny if they're real), you can see why they would offer competition to human women but not necessarily monopolize the dating scene.

 

[Vadelent]

'Shirogane Orzeł', or 'White Silver Eagle'...it appears some things transferred between lives unexpectedly.

Click to shrink...

I can only imagine how frustrated she's gonna be when someone translates the name and from then on only the people who know her call her by her name. It'll just be White Silver Eagle all the time.

Shirogane had never found racing to be as fascinating as many of her peers–still didn't, in fact–but with all these hopes placed on her, and the role of representing their school or city thrust upon her, it wouldn't feel right to be content with a career as a gate filler.

Click to shrink...

For some, attending Tracen would be enough, in and of itself, but if she was there on scholarship, she was obligated to perform at least above average

Click to shrink...

No incarnation of this character that I've ever seen or heard of is willing to accept anything less than excellence (they think it's standard!) in anything they put effort into doing unless they have circumstances that make less the better long term result.

"First of all, pretty much every racer has got to have an ear ornament!" She opened the package, revealing a pair of white, wing shaped decorations of the same type.

"I never understood why this practice was so common. As far as I can tell it offers no benefit."

Click to shrink...

As I understand it ear muffs represent the gender of the horse they were based on.

Her mother picked up one of the ornaments and tied it around Shirogane's left ear, tight enough to be snug but not too tight as to become uncomfortable.

Shirogane flicked her ear reflexively, the ornament adding an unfamiliar sensation as it swished through the air. "It feels unbalanced."

"Well that's why there's two!" Mother promptly attached the other ornament to her other ear.

Click to shrink...

Okay, I'll admit, that was a detail I wasn't expecting to occur. Kudos. That said… Clearly she needs to have two on her left ear.

Uhlan uniform

Click to shrink...

Had to look that up for the significance and while there's no overt sign of X it definitely feels like someone meddled with her life on some level because the coincidences are really starting to stack up.

 

[Miriallia]

Given that many of the famous horses irl ran something like 10 races before retiring (or dying), every race kinda is a big deal to them, but for an uma who can run pretty much as many races as they want, each one isn't going to be as big of a deal.

Click to shrink...

I meant it more as a narrative choice, where in the stories the protag always has to win and if it's a loss it's for character development and the even bigger win later. Doesn't just apply to Uma stories but in general. But when you put it like that, yeah, though them being humanlike and presumably with human like lifespans, 10 races seems a bit few, as you could do one every other month, with two winter months off and be done in two years. If everyone ran so hard that they could theoretically be done with racing well before graduating... tis one of those adaptation issues, especially as humans tend to have a longer physical prime than most animals.

One aspect that is briefly touched on in this fic is that umas probably warp dating patterns a fair bit, since they are kind of like safe monstergirls, in the sense that they are stronger and tougher than normal human women, and usually more attractive, from what it seems. This lends to them often getting more attention, resources and status, so it is not hard to imagine people resenting them for it, particularly human women who have to compete with umas for romantic interests.

Click to shrink...

I wonder how DV has played out in this verse, I could see it going a number of different ways and well, some good some bad. And on a related note, it would be hard for gender roles to develop in the same manner when Umamusume are physically superior to the overwhelming majority of men, while all having female traits... though that might be a can of worms best left un-opened.

 

[Dopplerdee]

As I understand it ear muffs represent the gender of the horse they were based on.

Click to shrink...

Yep, and Shiro has one for each because she has a past life of each gender.

 

[Vadelent]

Yep, and Shiro has one for each because she has a past life of each gender.

Click to shrink...

Yes! One for Salaryman, one for Soldier and clearly she now needs one for Uma!

 

[rx915]

Most competitive umas think like this, especially if they are shooting for the glory. For Shirogane, since she's more interested in the money, as long as she places it is some degree of win, and first is more a case of winning harder.

Click to shrink...

Helps in her previous life she already won more than first place by killing people to do so. She already had her fill of glory, actual ranks and honorary titles. She just wants the money to enjoy life.

 

[tacobowl8]

My thought was that her great failing as a Racer is lacking that core of desire to really push the evelope, the part of the others that lets them hit that Zone.
Rather than tragedy, it could be more and more second places makes her want to show her grandfather the Polish performance she came up with, and to do that she needs to win.
Her main drive has always been her family, so why not lean into that.

Click to shrink...

I really like this idea. It feels like it would fit well with the whole positive retirement vibes the whole fic has.

 

[rx915]

Obviously Poseidon tried to make a beautiful fast woman in a competition against Athena. It just took a while for it to catch on and for people to realize that the umas weren't whores.

Click to shrink...

Oh the fuck.

I remember the patronage of Athens involved a competition between Poseidon and Athena that had Athena winning because olives>horses.

Does that mean he got more creative or did Athena did a sabotage when Poseidon made horses that unintentionally gave birth to umas as a side effect?

 

[Chrisleech]

I'm surprised that umamusume only has regular track stuff. What about the stuff at the Olympics like hurdles, stepplechase or dressage?

 

[BlueCladOne]

I'm surprised that umamusume only has regular track stuff. What about the stuff at the Olympics like hurdles, stepplechase or dressage?

Click to shrink...

I like to think those sports exist in-universe, but aren't quite as prestigious because they have no Tracen equivalent to boost popularity and throw money at things.

 

[Hoserella]

Aside from that, I don't understand why some people are bothered by a possible relationship with Tensei, citing the age difference. Guys, remember, Shirogane is the older one here. Assuming Salaryman died in his mid-20s and Tanya in her early teens, plus Shirogane's age, mentally she should be close to 40. So the real cradle robber here is Shirogane, in the hypothetical case that they ever actually start a relationship.

Click to shrink...

I think the weirdness is more in how similar they are.

Click to shrink...

Personally, it's not really about an age difference or the similarities (Admittedly, it is a small factor). To me, it's more about how I personally view Tanya's character (and Shiro, by extension), which is why I'm not very interested in the ship. Generally speaking, I see Tanya as being more aromantic or interested in women, so I'm not really interested in reading about Shiro having a romantic relationship with Tensei. I think a misunderstanding could be funny or interesting, provided readers are aware that the characters' inner thoughts show they're not interested romantically. Just trying to voice my opinion and how I feel about it a little bit. Regardless of my thoughts on the ship, I enjoy this fic a lot and I'm always looking forward to a new chapter, so I give my thanks to the Author!

 

[Guardian Box]

Shiro could sing this song. It's pretty good.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZzZ1qmXZBuY

Click to shrink...

If you want a polish song that could fit, then probably Orła Cień (Shadow of an Eagle) could fit. One of the more famous pieces of recent music, still quite famous around these parts.

The Song

Spoiler: Translated lyrics

I saw a shadow of an eagle
It took flight up as the wind
The sky is its world
It danced with a cloud in the light of the day
It heard the human whispers
It cried that freedom is [its] home
[That] there's no end to this road
And that it doesn't know what anger is
It traversed the meaning of life
It welcomed each day with [its] wings
It circled [over] lands, the seas of tears
And mindlessly extinguished anger
Although the memory is short
It left the content of these words
It will not overlook any gesture anymore
Any thought or any meaning

 

[Dopplerdee]

I really like this idea. It feels like it would fit well with the whole positive retirement vibes the whole fic has.

Click to shrink...

Yeah, her last two lives have really killed her sense of Desire, sheblikes rqcing, but she only really desires tjings related to family, so to ignite that spark they need to converge.

 

[SectionZ]

Shipping is a poison for the soul. *sage nod*

Click to shrink...

What about just shouting for the action figures to get smooching? There are less charts that way, just shouting at whatever is in front of you like Marnie and Mayor whatever his name is.

 

[ScarredPunLover]

Had a thought on the subject of Shiro's potential relationships while rereading the thread.

JRA: … fair enough. On a completely unrelated note, Goodbye Halo has presented you with a restraining order, the Sunday lineage wishes to open a dialogue with ya, and the Mejiro's are already saying something about 'not again!'

Click to shrink...

Will we see, at some point, any of the more established racing families attempting to encourage Shiro to pursue relationships with their male descendants, with intent to add her outrageous stamina and physical health to the bloodline? Perhaps they approach her family with a "betrothal" offer?

Dunno if it's likely, but I'd be curious to see how that sort of scenario develops.

How do "breeding arrangements" translate to the world of Uma?

 

[neta wey]

Had a thought on the subject of Shiro's potential relationships while rereading the thread.



Will we see, at some point, any of the more established racing families attempting to encourage Shiro to pursue relationships with their male descendants, with intent to add her outrageous stamina and physical health to the bloodline? Perhaps they approach her family with a "betrothal" offer?

Dunno if it's likely, but I'd be curious to see how that sort of scenario develops.

How do "breeding arrangements" translate to the world of Uma?

Click to shrink...

Probably the same way it works IRL, usually families recommend some people from "good" families, sometimes just in small meetings or parties, other times in matchmaking sessions. And like IRL, there may be even programs that forces people to reproduce to create a better athlete, a la Yao Ming.

Though, I'm not sure on Shirogane's sexuality. The Salary man was oblivious of it, and in the WN Tanya actively evaded the topic (just like a lot of authors tend to do), and considering the two ornaments set up, she's either bi or ace, with not much interest on motherhood.

There's very little of Mother!Tanya, most of it goes sometimes into OOC territory, which also happens in even the most fanon ships (Visha or Lergen), but it becomes almost the norm when motherhood is involved. From strict and loving mother and sexually active with King Robert in Saga of Tanya Lannister to confused husband in Reluctant Ruler, there's not really a floor to touch base, so to speak. Not sure how the author wishes to play it.

 

[Chrisleech]

considering the two ornaments set up, she's either bi or ace, with not much interest on motherhood.

Click to shrink...

Those don't have anything to do with sexual orientation. They have to do with the gender of the past life they were reincarnated from. On one ear means they were a mare, on the other means they were a stallion, on a rare few, having both meant they were intersex. In this case it's because Shirogane has been male in one life and female in another.

 

[Liar]

There's very little of Mother!Tanya, most of it goes sometimes into OOC territory, which also happens in even the most fanon ships (Visha or Lergen), but it becomes almost the norm when motherhood is involved. From strict and loving mother and sexually active with King Robert in Saga of Tanya Lannister to confused husband in Reluctant Ruler, there's not really a floor to touch base, so to speak. Not sure how the author wishes to play it.

Click to shrink...

I've read both the light novels and the manga, and I don't recall anything explicitly stating that Tanya does not want children. There is an instance in the manga where Tanya expresses her dislike for menstruation, but that is the extent of it. It seems that someone wrote a good fanfic portraying Tanya as someone who doesn't want to be a mother or wishes to avoid childbirth. This fanfic appears to have spread widely within the fandom, becoming accepted as fanon without anyone questioning whether it is supported by canonical material.

 

[Rotceh]

I've read both the light novels and the manga, and I don't recall anything explicitly stating that Tanya does not want children. There is an instance in the manga where Tanya expresses her dislike for menstruation, but that is the extent of it. It seems that someone wrote a good fanfic portraying Tanya as someone who doesn't want to be a mother or wishes to avoid childbirth. This fanfic appears to have spread widely within the fandom, becoming accepted as fanon without anyone questioning whether it is supported by canonical material.

Click to shrink...

...fic name?

 

[Chrisleech]

There was only one Tanya fic I can remember where she was afraid of motherhood, and that one was more because she was more or less in the middle ages, and her own mother died in childbirth. And nobody else knew magic able to ease birthing pains or problems. But after she did actually go through with it due to obligation, motherhood seemed to fit her pretty well.

 

[Liar]

...fic name?

Click to shrink...

I wasn't referring to a specific fanfic but rather theorizing why people believe Tanya doesn't want children or to give birth.