EvoSushiii

The Uma fandom has a really weird characterization of tachyon. Many images have spread around depicting her as a dominant “mommy” who is the best racer ever and whose injuries are a footnote stopping her from reaching her full glory (even referencing the real life Tachyon and his achievements for their power scaling). I would like to analyse her character beyond these interpretations, and how she grows and learns throughout the multiple pieces of media; she is featured in specifically in regards to disability.

Tachyon is disabled, and has known this for what can be assumed is most of her life. Her legs are very fragile and break very easily and so her running capability is quite limited to her legs' abilities to function. She repeatedly practices by analyzing others and has to take breaks to minimize damage to her legs.

This condition causes her distress. While it is obvious she is unhappy about this predicament, Tachyon presents herself as a scientist to the viewers. An Uma who is looking to push her physical limits as far as they can go. This is directly tied to her own disability, as she struggles to cope with the fact that her body physically can’t keep up. Her experiments in the game and movie are ways she attempts to train her mind while her body rests, she tries to progress as much as she can.

Over time, it seems her obsession with overcoming limits spread beyond just her own limitations, and into the physical limits of reality as we know it.

In BOANE, tachyon is shown looking towards the classic triple crown, as she attempts to put her scientific goals into motion. These races hold the best of the best, and will be incredibly difficult to win. These races are the perfect testing grounds for her experiment. Before the first crown, she gets close to her limit at the Yayoi Sho, claiming to attempt to reach the maximum potential her body holds. “Limits of speed my flesh can reach” she uses the Yayoi Sho to test her concepts in reality, and it works incredibly well.

She sees herself far ahead, with her feet even shattering as she runs. This shattering demonstrates the way she couldn’t reach it, that dream in the moment was impossible, that her legs may truly shatter if she attempts it. She reaches down to her own feet, ones that are still intact. In the moment, she glances at her rivals Cafe and Pokke, from what I can tell, analyzing their individual potential and it is at this point she realizes she cannot make her dream come true. She isn’t injured now but the weakness in her legs was apparent. A grimace of acceptance spreads on her face, as she shows to the world a smile.

From there, she races in the Satsuki Sho, the first of the triple crown, and places first. All of her work and studies culminate in this race, as she breaks beyond her limits, and ultimately injures herself so badly she has to retire. She draws into unity with her perfect self, but it comes at an intense cost. Tachyon knew this was coming, she had accepted it and prepared to send her rivals to complete her goals in her stead. Encouraging Pokke to run, to try and catch up to her, to push herself beyond her limits.

Watching Pokke run the Japanese Derby, she grins, watching as her life’s passion isn’t cut short and can continue to grow. It isn’t until Pokke’s victory at the Japan Cup, over a year later that tachyon has an epiphany. Watching Pokke succeed, seeing Cafe and Dantsu run despite challenges going against them. She watches them grow as she is stuck stagnant. Tachyon hates this.

She wants to be the one to win, the one who pushes the boundaries of what is possible. She has convinced herself that she is satisfied with how close she got at the satsuki Sho. Her disability has taken her dream from her, and she hadn’t realized the extent to which that spread. That is why, at the end of BOANE, she goes back to challenge Pokke. 

Within the game it is a similar yet distinctly different story, told more from Tachyon's point of view. She repeatedly hides her condition from the trainer, and uses her experiments as a way to deal with it in the meantime. She wants care because her body needs it. She can be quite bratty about it, but she ends up valuing the trainer quite a bit. The trainer also supports her through her struggles, and wants to stay by her side. Even if they have to match her crazy for it to work. Tachyon and her relationships with the people around her force her to acknowledge her shortcomings and grow from them, that she can and should do great things. Her disability limits her, this isn’t played down in her stories. She isn’t inspiration corn, she simply receives a great support system and has the drive to continue. She relies too much on them at times, and at other times isolates herself from them, but because of them, she finds success within herself.