THE FACE GETS A BEAT.

A racer used to jump straight from composed to shocked, frustrated or delighted. The art was there; the change just happened too quickly to feel like a change.

Every reaction now starts on the racer's normal frame. For a tiny fraction of a second, the portrait holds that familiar pose, then the requested expression and its little manga reaction mark arrive together. It is a small handoff, but it gives the face the feel of animation instead of a tile being replaced.

The beat is short enough not to slow the race, and if a portrait is reused or asked to react again, an older pending change is cancelled cleanly. The racers keep talking; they just get a little better at landing the line.