Otoyomegatari - Vol. 14 Ch. 96 - Homeward-bound

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"He actually never gave me an order"

Yeah, it was always pretty much a friend to you, Ali. He would ask you how to proceed and you would think about it together.

That panel when they are both saying bye to each other, the feels.
 
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@TSP Do you know will there be one shots to tie us over to ~May of next year, one shots like Grun Baela or Jayne Walker? Or new Shirley chapters? Feels difficult to imagine five or so months without any Mori content, or Mori herself not doing anything for five months.

@nutman451 you've got the timeline wrong, Otoyomegatari takes place sometime between 1856 and 1868, sometime between the end of the Crimean War (1853-1856), and both Mr Hawkins and Nikolovsky are veterans of the Crimean war, and the initial Russian conquests in Central Asia. So they really don't have to worry about WW1 just yet, their kids or their grand kids will be the ones dealing with WW1.

As for the racism issue, I'm 99% Talas is white. She's ethnic Uzbek and Uzbeks are Turkic people and Turks are white. So, at least outwardly, no one in England should know she isn't English just by looking at her. Biggest problem would probably be her lack of English since, unless I'm mistaken, she's been communicating with Smith either in Uzbek or some regional lingua franca lika Turkish. Other than that, the other big difference is that she's culturally Muslim and culturally nomadic used to the nomadic lifestyle of the steppes and she's going to be an upper class English housewife now.

It depends on what the next part will be about, as well, and how much story is left. It could be about Amira and Karluk with epilogue focusing on Smith and Talas but I think it's likelier that it'll be about Talas and Smith in England. I do think it's funny that Mori has managed to make a series about central Asian nomands into a series about maids and class in Victorian England, though.

Overall, I'd say that Talas being a fish out of water and befriending maids, like another poster suggested, is the likeliest for the next part and then Amira and Karluk, as well as everyone else will be in the epilogue.
 
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@iced_tail
My ignorance of history does me in once again. Thanks for enlightening me.

As glad as I am that Karluk and co isn't going to be dragged in to one of the the biggest human tragedy in all of history, I'm still worried for them because they're not out of the woodwork just yet, because they're likely going to get dragged in to the Russian conquest of central Asia, and glancing at the losses on the central asian's side, it doesn't look pretty at all (granted all of it coincided with the Crimean war, so I'm not sure how worse it will get).

Although I am hoping we get to focus on Karluk and Amira. But judging by the comments and the following historical events (more on this later) It seems more likely that the story follows Talas's new life as a upperclass British housewife.

My predictions based on my (shallow) understanding of historical events.
Judging from a cursory glance at the events in the Russian war in central Asia (particularly the ones with British involvement), I predict that the story will follow Smith and Talas more closely as a distraction from the conflict in central Asia, when Talas wraps up with whatever development deemed necessary for her, Smith will get news of the war in central Asia and how bad it is. He (and maybe his wife) will depart to India and either joins a group of adventurers to find Karluk and other people he met along the way or He finds Karluk and everyone else as refugees under Anis' Husband's kindness.

It gives me complicated feelings for the series to shift towards a young central Asian bride's life in upper british society, and would much prefer such a story be in it's own series as a spin-off. But if that is what Mori wants and/or what I predict is true then I have no other choice but to continue following this series. If Mori wants her fix of British meidos then by God she's gonna get her fix of British meidos dammit. I do hope she throws a bone my way with a chapter or a small arc telling us how Karluk and co is doing before bringing us (back) to Britain.

iced_tail feel free to correct me again if my prediction is wrong in a historical sense. That historical revelation is so enlightening.

Edit:
I'm glad that there's lityle chance of encountering racism because that topic tends to get very preachy.

though a very small part of me is sad that we don't get to see how Mori would handle such a topic. no, no, bad me. No racism in this series is good.

A cultural problem would be easier to resolve, I'm sure Talas will find someway to either adopt the British life or find some middleground between her upbringing and her new life.
 

TSP

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@iced_tail
If Mori is releasing anything in the interim, it hasn't been announced yet. If she is, we will of course try to do it (except maybe if it's Shirley, since our TL hasn't gotten around to reading it yet sadly...),
like we have been for the past 2 years :D
 
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4 months...alright, thank you for your hardwork translating the chapters!

but seriously i'm going to miss this manga so bad in 4 months
 
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@nutman451 (asking for examples of what I meant): Was talking about Kaoru Mori's other most famous work, Emma (https://mangadex.org/title/1016/emma) which technically ends in volume 7, at the point the main narrative logically ends, with no regard for loose ends or happy endings for secondary characters... and is then followed by three more volumes of the world's longest epiloge, of tying said loose ends and granting happy endings left and right.
 
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@erana1
and is then followed by three more volumes of the world's longest epiloge, of tying said loose ends and granting happy endings left and right.
Sounds like my kind of author death to all loose ends.
 
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last page :
- here are souvenirs for you .
- ( open it ) why does it contain only girly stuffs ? bra , panties , skirts , make-ups , dolls , girly trinkets , .....
- oops , busted , actually , i bought them for my wife and daughters , lol .
 
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Thank you TSP for these chapters. I stumbled on this series by accident, it's not something I normally would have picked up. But what a happy accident. The detailed artwork is breathtaking. And I'm very interested in history, so all the histories of the Caspian sea era groups - Kazakhs, Uzbeks, Persians, etc. and their relations with the encroaching Russians and empirical Brittish are fascinating. Going to miss this series until it's (hopeful) return. Once again thank you for your hard work until now.
 
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I hope we'll have Ali looking for a wife next. Anyway, tysm for the translation and see you in 4 months :)
 
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APRIL?! Sheesh! Well, nothing we can do about that eh? Had a lot of fun reading this, seeing people’s lives and the connections between them. Easily one of the best I’ve read
 
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aww, this is too heartbreaking, we know the war bound to happen since the story follow real worldwide event taking in real place. make me wish the story takes place in earlier times where the things more stable at least.
dispute between people will always happen no matter when, but war that gets civilian stuck in crossfire is just sad (even more so in war where soldiers intentionally raze village in invasion)

also long break??! im gonna miss this...
 
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man, i really wished that he would meet them again... i hope theyre safe... and i want to see henry's wife reacting to England, as well
 
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Pretty stoked to see what comes after this
Henry not being able to meet with best wife again is kinda sad but It adds weight to the history
Hopefully things well come out smooth in the future
 

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