1. Mud Pit So. Dimitri is already going to show up at the starting line already covered in mud. He had a chance to either clean himself or his Tauros and he chose the latter, because he kind of suspected that this would happen after he had the pleasure of hanging around Milkshake before the race.
So when he sees the mud bog right there ahead of time, right out of the gate... Dimitri is going to serenely accept this L, and tug on Milkshake just enough so that they can pull over to the side as they reach the mud pit. This is to ensure no one goes tripping over them, and also so that Dimitri can get off of Milkshake so that his beautiful steed can have a roll.
He cannot stop this. So he accepts it.
While Milkshake enjoys life, and mud, Dimitri is going to just... tromp through the mud while encouragingly calling out to Milkshake to try and roll THIS way, the mud is SO nice over here! This is to encourage Milkshake to go down the field of mud instead of, like. too much wandering. While Milkshake does whatever he darn well pleases, Dimitri will just start... stuffing mud into his pockets? This is undoubtedly going to splash more mud all over himself, just fucking, head to toe, no doubt, but listen.
It's fine.
Hopefully after having convinced Milkshake to roll straight down the mud field instead of horizontally, or in patterns, or anything else, Dimitri will coax his Tauros out of the field, and get back in the saddle.
He's starting out at a disadvantage, and both of them look more mud than living creatures, but that's fine! Wouldn't be the first time Dimitri has ever existed in this state, to be honest.
2. River Run So. Dimitri knows that his friend here is probably gonna be real disappointed about washing off the mud he JUST got.... and also, frankly, Dimitri suspects they might get sidetracked by any mud near the water's edge. So he's going to steer Milkshake up to that bridge - hopefully where anyone ahead of them has already taken out some of the more unsturdy footing. That would mean Dimitri would have a better idea of what planks are sturdy or not.
And for those that aren't... Well, Double Team is meant to evade attacks, normally, but maybe it can help avoid busted planks too, and get them across the bridge quicker!
Here's the hoping.
3. Stair Steppin' Dimitri gets it, buddy. He really does. Steps are scary, and your hooves are so small while your body is so big! They're not meant for this sort of thing. It's scary.
But as Milkshake starts to slow at the sight of the stairs, Dimitir leans down to whisper in his ears...
"There is going to be so much nice mud after this, and we will not have to clean any of it off."
As an additional and more Immediate treat, Dimitri will promise to take some of the mud from his pockets and rub it behind Milkshake's ear when they reach the top of the steps (while they're still moving, of course). Won't that feel so nice, buddy? That, and the knowledge they surpassed some of the other Tauros?
4. Bee Seeing You Oh, time to bust out his royal pedigree. Kind of.
Dimitri does not encourage Milkshake to slow down at the sight of all those Combee and their Vespiqueen. If anything, he forces Milkshake to continue forging ahead. Hopefully Dimitri and Milkshake are still covered in plenty of mud, to help against any attacks, but if not... Well, Dimitri isn't going to change his course of action any.
Once they're close enough to the swarm, Dimitri gets up as high as he can on his saddle without, like, actually standing on it, and calls out in his best diplomatic voice to relay the following, as loudly and quickly as possible:
He pays respects to the resplendent and powerful Vespiqueen and asks for safe passage through her territory, in exchange for a delivery of fresh delicious MooMoo Milk (from his own girl, Gabby) and a talented scout who will find new flowers for their honey making (Desta the Budew).
If he can get it in real quick, he'll also ask her to please block the other Tauros riders. Pretty please!
If this works, great. (And Dimitri will 100% come back to fulfill his promise, because he's a god damn gentleman.)
If it doesn't, that's fine, he'll just cling as low as he can to Milkshake's back, and have the two of them just pray that Milkshake is fast and that mud is a good barrier. They got Double Team, they'll...... maybe be fine.
5. Pollen Peril So here's the thing.
Dimitri knows Milkshake has a really good nose.
He has enough brain cells in him to understand that this means his beautiful steed might be really effected by the giant cloud of pollen they see up ahead. So Dimitri does his absolute best to steer Milkshake in the direction where the pollen looks thinnest, leans back to take his jacket off to put around his waist, and just. strips his shirt clean off of his head.
This is because he's going to, as quickly as possible, cover Milkshake's eyes and nose with his shirt to try and mitigate the effect of the pollen. He'll let Milkshake know that's his plan before he starts shoving cloth suddenly over his face, too, and yells out that he just needs to keep charging ahead! He'll help watch out for you, buddy, so don't worry! Just keep running! He believes in you!
6. Sawsbuck Savior Dimitri is a bleeding heart, this is true.
However, after the effects of the last obstacle course, he might also be kind of. blind. and teary eyed.
He also might be permanently missing a shirt, after having taken it off of Milkshake's face to clumsily wipe away any of his steed's tears and then just. losing it.
Things happen during Tauros Racing, okay?
So it's not that Dimitri purposefully misses the poor Sawsbuck. He is a fan of Sawsbuck, with one being his and one of his boyfriend's children. It's that he's too busy scrubbing his eyes and sniffling and just trusting Milkshake to use Double Team and good sense to keep them from hitting anything.
When they swerve away from the confused creature, Dimitri will absolutely look around in confusion, still covered in tears, and probably still some mud.
7. Picnic Past Now in much better condition with all those pesky tears and pollen out of the way, Dimitri is urging Milkshake to go for a huge burst of speed for this final stretch! They gotta go as fast as they can to make up for all the stumbles they made before (or, well, mud rolling), and Dimitri knows it. So he's encouraging Milkshake to go fast, and then hit even faster whenever they come up against another Tauros competitor.
And boy, is that picnic really tempting... Dimitri had lunch before this, and he can only imagine how hungry Milkshake is. But, exactly like with the stairs, Dimitri will promise him so much mud, they're almost at the finish line, buddy, mud and sweet treats while you lounge in the mud and isn't that what you really want?
To eat good food while in mud, instead of eating random stolen food from little girls, and being decidedly NOT in mud?
Dimitri will then use the rest of his pocket mud to slather it on good along the back of Milkshake's ears and head (so that it doesn't go into his eyes) and just urge him on.
Anything else: Win or lose, Dimitri is absolutely going to get Milkshake in the nicest mud pile he can find after the race. He is a man of his word.
When riding, Dimitri will make sure to hold on tight with his thighs and knees - he has experience riding horses, so he's using what's applicable to Tauros riding too. Unless for certain actions (ex. taking off his shirt), Dimitri will do his best to keep a hand on the Tauros saddle at all times.
Dimitri's priority in the first half of the race will just be getting him and Milkshake caught up with the rest of the herd so that they're in sight of the vast majority again. You know, after the Mud Times. After that, he'll be keeping in mind Milkshake's stamina, and save the real tests of his energy for the second half - especially so that they can overtake the others with Milkshake's competitive nature.
When they're around other Tauros, Dimitri will definitely make sure to have Milkshake use Double Team at good moments, both to disorient the other Tauros, and to make sure that Milkshake isn't likely to get hit or messed with as well. Dimitri has a good eye for battle, being a warrior himself, so he'll use it at the best possible timing he possibly can.
Dimitri and Milkshake
Tauros: Milkshake
1. Mud Pit
So. Dimitri is already going to show up at the starting line already covered in mud. He had a chance to either clean himself or his Tauros and he chose the latter, because he kind of suspected that this would happen after he had the pleasure of hanging around Milkshake before the race.
So when he sees the mud bog right there ahead of time, right out of the gate... Dimitri is going to serenely accept this L, and tug on Milkshake just enough so that they can pull over to the side as they reach the mud pit. This is to ensure no one goes tripping over them, and also so that Dimitri can get off of Milkshake so that his beautiful steed can have a roll.
He cannot stop this. So he accepts it.
While Milkshake enjoys life, and mud, Dimitri is going to just... tromp through the mud while encouragingly calling out to Milkshake to try and roll THIS way, the mud is SO nice over here! This is to encourage Milkshake to go down the field of mud instead of, like. too much wandering. While Milkshake does whatever he darn well pleases, Dimitri will just start... stuffing mud into his pockets? This is undoubtedly going to splash more mud all over himself, just fucking, head to toe, no doubt, but listen.
It's fine.
Hopefully after having convinced Milkshake to roll straight down the mud field instead of horizontally, or in patterns, or anything else, Dimitri will coax his Tauros out of the field, and get back in the saddle.
He's starting out at a disadvantage, and both of them look more mud than living creatures, but that's fine! Wouldn't be the first time Dimitri has ever existed in this state, to be honest.
2. River Run
So. Dimitri knows that his friend here is probably gonna be real disappointed about washing off the mud he JUST got.... and also, frankly, Dimitri suspects they might get sidetracked by any mud near the water's edge. So he's going to steer Milkshake up to that bridge - hopefully where anyone ahead of them has already taken out some of the more unsturdy footing. That would mean Dimitri would have a better idea of what planks are sturdy or not.
And for those that aren't... Well, Double Team is meant to evade attacks, normally, but maybe it can help avoid busted planks too, and get them across the bridge quicker!
Here's the hoping.
3. Stair Steppin'
Dimitri gets it, buddy. He really does. Steps are scary, and your hooves are so small while your body is so big! They're not meant for this sort of thing. It's scary.
But as Milkshake starts to slow at the sight of the stairs, Dimitir leans down to whisper in his ears...
"There is going to be so much nice mud after this, and we will not have to clean any of it off."
As an additional and more Immediate treat, Dimitri will promise to take some of the mud from his pockets and rub it behind Milkshake's ear when they reach the top of the steps (while they're still moving, of course). Won't that feel so nice, buddy? That, and the knowledge they surpassed some of the other Tauros?
4. Bee Seeing You
Oh, time to bust out his royal pedigree. Kind of.
Dimitri does not encourage Milkshake to slow down at the sight of all those Combee and their Vespiqueen. If anything, he forces Milkshake to continue forging ahead. Hopefully Dimitri and Milkshake are still covered in plenty of mud, to help against any attacks, but if not... Well, Dimitri isn't going to change his course of action any.
Once they're close enough to the swarm, Dimitri gets up as high as he can on his saddle without, like, actually standing on it, and calls out in his best diplomatic voice to relay the following, as loudly and quickly as possible:
He pays respects to the resplendent and powerful Vespiqueen and asks for safe passage through her territory, in exchange for a delivery of fresh delicious MooMoo Milk (from his own girl, Gabby) and a talented scout who will find new flowers for their honey making (Desta the Budew).
If he can get it in real quick, he'll also ask her to please block the other Tauros riders. Pretty please!
If this works, great. (And Dimitri will 100% come back to fulfill his promise, because he's a god damn gentleman.)
If it doesn't, that's fine, he'll just cling as low as he can to Milkshake's back, and have the two of them just pray that Milkshake is fast and that mud is a good barrier. They got Double Team, they'll...... maybe be fine.
5. Pollen Peril
So here's the thing.
Dimitri knows Milkshake has a really good nose.
He has enough brain cells in him to understand that this means his beautiful steed might be really effected by the giant cloud of pollen they see up ahead. So Dimitri does his absolute best to steer Milkshake in the direction where the pollen looks thinnest, leans back to take his jacket off to put around his waist, and just. strips his shirt clean off of his head.
This is because he's going to, as quickly as possible, cover Milkshake's eyes and nose with his shirt to try and mitigate the effect of the pollen. He'll let Milkshake know that's his plan before he starts shoving cloth suddenly over his face, too, and yells out that he just needs to keep charging ahead! He'll help watch out for you, buddy, so don't worry! Just keep running! He believes in you!
6. Sawsbuck Savior
Dimitri is a bleeding heart, this is true.
However, after the effects of the last obstacle course, he might also be kind of. blind. and teary eyed.
He also might be permanently missing a shirt, after having taken it off of Milkshake's face to clumsily wipe away any of his steed's tears and then just. losing it.
Things happen during Tauros Racing, okay?
So it's not that Dimitri purposefully misses the poor Sawsbuck. He is a fan of Sawsbuck, with one being his and one of his boyfriend's children. It's that he's too busy scrubbing his eyes and sniffling and just trusting Milkshake to use Double Team and good sense to keep them from hitting anything.
When they swerve away from the confused creature, Dimitri will absolutely look around in confusion, still covered in tears, and probably still some mud.
7. Picnic Past
Now in much better condition with all those pesky tears and pollen out of the way, Dimitri is urging Milkshake to go for a huge burst of speed for this final stretch! They gotta go as fast as they can to make up for all the stumbles they made before (or, well, mud rolling), and Dimitri knows it. So he's encouraging Milkshake to go fast, and then hit even faster whenever they come up against another Tauros competitor.
And boy, is that picnic really tempting... Dimitri had lunch before this, and he can only imagine how hungry Milkshake is. But, exactly like with the stairs, Dimitri will promise him so much mud, they're almost at the finish line, buddy, mud and sweet treats while you lounge in the mud and isn't that what you really want?
To eat good food while in mud, instead of eating random stolen food from little girls, and being decidedly NOT in mud?
Dimitri will then use the rest of his pocket mud to slather it on good along the back of Milkshake's ears and head (so that it doesn't go into his eyes) and just urge him on.
Anything else: Win or lose, Dimitri is absolutely going to get Milkshake in the nicest mud pile he can find after the race. He is a man of his word.
When riding, Dimitri will make sure to hold on tight with his thighs and knees - he has experience riding horses, so he's using what's applicable to Tauros riding too. Unless for certain actions (ex. taking off his shirt), Dimitri will do his best to keep a hand on the Tauros saddle at all times.
Dimitri's priority in the first half of the race will just be getting him and Milkshake caught up with the rest of the herd so that they're in sight of the vast majority again. You know, after the Mud Times. After that, he'll be keeping in mind Milkshake's stamina, and save the real tests of his energy for the second half - especially so that they can overtake the others with Milkshake's competitive nature.
When they're around other Tauros, Dimitri will definitely make sure to have Milkshake use Double Team at good moments, both to disorient the other Tauros, and to make sure that Milkshake isn't likely to get hit or messed with as well. Dimitri has a good eye for battle, being a warrior himself, so he'll use it at the best possible timing he possibly can.