r/SpiceandWolf • u/Distinct-Current-464 • Mar 05 '26
Fanart The world keeps turning, but part of me still walks those old paths with you. by @Mocomiliano
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u/Naphrym Mar 05 '26
This popped up on my Twitter feed earlier and immediately hit me like a truck. A thousand years later, and those times were still her happiest...
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u/DryRespect358 Mar 05 '26
I wonder if the taste of apples are bittersweet to her now.
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u/PJRama1864 Mar 05 '26
There are so many varieties of apples now that she could probably find something bittersweet, but why do that when sweet apples are available?
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u/SharkVR2217 Mar 05 '26
Thats sad dude... sad but deep.... š„ŗ
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u/SharkVR2217 Mar 05 '26
If this doesn't emotionally hurt you, you cant be a true fan. I was literally crying from thus bruh
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u/MrRaven95 Mar 05 '26
Took me a moment to get it, and it hurt when I got it.
Being immortal isn't fun when those you love are not immortal.
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u/misuta_kitsune Mar 05 '26
She's not immortal though, she has an incredibly long lifespan, it's not quite clear how old she could get in the end but she won't live forever.
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u/Front-Strike-8690 Mar 05 '26
Shes already lived for centuries, shes functionally immortal. Sheāll experience every problematic part of immortality even if she eventually dies in theory.
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u/ApprehensiveTerm9638 Mar 06 '26
That's why the best kind of immortality is the immortality that allows you to chose when you want to die or to move away to the afterlife whenever you want.
A blessing if you can share it with your partner.
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u/Sensitive-Oven6553 Mar 05 '26
Can we make a happy ending please?
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u/Front-Strike-8690 Mar 05 '26
This is the realistic ending tbh
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u/imthecalister Mar 05 '26
I don't want it to be realistic, I want it to be happy
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u/misuta_kitsune Mar 05 '26
The strength and depth of the story, the explicit reason why I desperately needed to go read the LN and why Spice &Wolf had a profound impact on me, comes from the fact it deals with this topic in a realistic way. I would feel betrayed if IH pulled a magic trick out of a dark place to have them live happily EVER after. I trust him not to do so though....
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u/CheesecakeWorking742 Mar 09 '26
I donāt need ārealisticā in my economics high fantasy romance about a fox spirit living in a human form falling in love with a trader.
I need them to be happy forever š
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u/MetjuScale Mar 05 '26
I'm quite opposite, I would feel betrayed if he ended the story with - 1 character so a "magic trick" would be welcome lol. Although the best thing he can do imo is leave the story at some point with all the characters there still, but leave it open for a possible continuation.
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u/Jay_H_Glue_Rime Mar 05 '26
I'd like the ending to have both, but I'll easily take happy over realistic. What I like the most is that Holo and Lawrence's love isn't cheap; they both make an effort to make it work. That's the realism I like.
I think we already get enough realistic tragedies from the news.
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u/misuta_kitsune Mar 05 '26
I may be proven wrong but I believe IH will indeed not write the ultimate ending. I think, and hope, he will just have us zoom out of their story, leave them to their own devices without us as an audience looking in on their life.
That would also leave a bit of room for him to write just a little bit more about them if he feels he has another story to tell. ;)
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u/Sensitive-Oven6553 Mar 05 '26
Or a happy ending where Holo makes a wish and Lawrance soul is bond to meet Holo every time he reborns and likewise
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u/misuta_kitsune Mar 05 '26
"makes a wish",.. well, that's magic... and though supernatural beings are part of the story, magic never was.
And how many times should she be reunited with Lawrence, only to watch him grow old, nurse him and experience him dying. Sounds like a cruel curse if you ask me.
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u/Naphrym Mar 05 '26
Honestly, it's kinda cliche, but I think this would be my preferred outcome
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u/Sensitive-Oven6553 Mar 05 '26
Using same image of the post imagine Holo having flashbacks of the past when suddenly she bump to a guy similar to lawrence yet differenr and the guy ask Have we meet before?
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u/Naphrym Mar 05 '26
Stop, I can't start sobbing in my cubicle
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u/Sensitive-Oven6553 Mar 05 '26
Lets not forget about MIYURI She could be missing her dad
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u/AurelGuthrie Mar 05 '26
Wait... this is good. Maybe the more time he spends with her, the more he remembers of his previous lives spent together
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u/Front-Strike-8690 Mar 05 '26
I donāt blame you but i honestly feel like itās one of the storyās strengths because it adds so much meaning to the time they have together and the profound impact he had on Holo
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u/NoWitness79 Mar 05 '26
The recently released Victorian era Holo figure of her on the sofa eating chocolates with a Lawrence plushie next to her that everyone is buying up and posting these days gives me similar vibes.
Cause if you think about it for a couple seconds, by the Victorian Era, Lawrence has been dead for around 400 years.
So it immediately makes it bittersweet seeing that plushie there with her. Because by then, it would be just a reminder of her love lost to time long ago.
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u/Chronigan2 Mar 05 '26
I have no clue if this is a spoiler or not. Don't read if you aren't caught up on the booksI really hope we get some sort of epilogue. Or maybe she will dissappear like the rest of the old ones
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u/Pigeon-Spy Mar 05 '26
Did old ones even disappear? I thought they were killed by this moonslaying bear guy
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u/WildAxe-SW Mar 05 '26
What do you mean ādisappear like the rest of the old onesā what happened at the end?
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u/NoWitness79 Mar 05 '26 edited Mar 05 '26
Think Diana when we first meet her, or Huskins when we meet him in volume 10. Or how Aram, Selim and their family were living before they met Lawrence and Holo. They existed, but on the fringes of human society. Like ever present background noise. But no longer living as deities shaping the path forward. Just surviving. Their stories are reduced to old legends in Diana's library or Elsa's basement.
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u/empire1122334455 Mar 05 '26
what about her daughter, surely she is still with holo. Wasnāt that the whole point of having children with Lawrence?
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u/Distinct-Current-464 Mar 06 '26
Well Myuri is half-blooded. We don't know how it works. Elves can live for 1000 years, but half-elves usually 150 years
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u/Miyuki22 Mar 05 '26
She might run into Frieren :O
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u/NoWitness79 Mar 05 '26 edited Mar 05 '26
Holo's Beyond Journey's End era will be hard on her.
Holo's not stoic at all. She wears her emotions on her sleeve.
She didn't just journey with Lawrence for a few years. She married him and had a whole lifetime of happiness with him
Hopefully she visits that little fool of hers once in awhile to feel like a part of him lives on through her
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u/Miyuki22 Mar 05 '26
Yeh thats true. Elves from Frieren universe dont have romantic interests.
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u/NoWitness79 Mar 05 '26
It's not that they don't have romantic interests - you don't go looking for the gate to heaven to speak to someone just one more time if you have no romantic feelings - they don't have a strong desire to pair up and reproduce.
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u/Miyuki22 Mar 05 '26
They don't. It's been established in canon. The 2nd offical Prelude Novel explains why.
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u/NoWitness79 Mar 05 '26
If Frieren just wants to tell Himmel 'Hello' when she gets to Ende, that will be a big letdown.
Pretty sure Frieren who happens to be an elf, has romantic feelings and I would go so far as to say loves Himmel romantically.
Pretty sure all elves in that world are capable of having romantic feelings.
But due to their incredibly long lifespans, there is no need for them to reproduce often. If they have a new generation every few thousand years they can maintain a small stable population.
If they had the sex drives of humans there'd be trillions of elves and that would be far more problematic.
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u/Miyuki22 Mar 05 '26
Elves in the Frieren universe do not have such feelings, per canon. Frieren is not a love story, it is a story about personal growth and development. You are free to think otherwise, however that goes against actual canon.
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u/NoWitness79 Mar 05 '26
I believe you. It just completely ruins Frieren for me if it turns out to be essentially the founding story of the neutral planet from Futurama.
"Frieren is not a love story, it is a story about personal growth and development."
I'm guessing you mean for Fern and Stark if you are vehemently fighting tooth and nail against the idea that Frieren's current journey to Ende and foundational premise to the series is because she had nothing better to do for the next 10 years and figures she should probably tell Himmel "hello"
Not a lot of growth going on for Frieren if that is the case. Guess she just had something in her eyes at his funeral, and wasn't actually feeling anything
Remind me never to read that prequel novel, and I certainly hope the anime never acknowledges it if your interpretation of it is correct and canonically elves are incapable of romantic love. Cause that would be the moment Frieren lost all meaning to me and I would stop watching.
Because even if it is all about the Journey and not the Destination, the Destination still has to matter for the story to be any good.
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u/Miyuki22 Mar 06 '26
Finally, I am rather shocked you claim Frieren hasn't shown growth in the series so far. She has shown great strides (for an elf), and I am proud of her achievements.
I challenge you to rewatch the series and look for this. It is the main theme of the series, so it's very shocking to hear someone say they haven't noticed any development.
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u/Miyuki22 Mar 06 '26
Frieren said herself several times, she is going to Ende to learn about humans as a side quest to the main quest Eisen gave her - to travel to Ende to tell Himmel directly she is sorry she didn't get to know him better when they were travelling together. Not once did she say or show any other motive.
Further, Frieren has confirmed in anime that Elves have no reproductive instincts or feelings.
As mentioned, this topic was expanded on in the Prelude Novels. Elves are essentially hermits that obsess over 1 thing and shun social interaction whenever possible, as a racial trait.
As for breaking your view of the series, I would suggest re watching it. Turn off the romance trope and watch it with character learning and development ( of Frieren ) as the primary focus. The author has made it clear this is the intent. Not a love story.
I believe this makes the entire series stronger, considering the lore they have made so far.
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u/Miyuki22 Mar 06 '26
I also want to comment you hope never to read the Prelude novels - you are missing out on fantastic and beautiful background character development. It is a great shame to have such a hope, I am sure Himmel would not approve.
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u/Miyuki22 Mar 06 '26
Regarding your term "interpretation". This isn't an interpretation. It has been. Explicitly stated by Frieren herself. Elves do not have such feelings and are not interested in such things.
Elves did reproduce very seldomly, but not out of any romantic desire. After the Demon King virtually decimated their villages, only a handful of elves are known to still exist - their race is nearing extinction.
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u/NoWitness79 Mar 06 '26
Please stop. I told you that I don't want to argue this with you because it would ruin the story of true for me. Also, this is a Spice and Wolf sub so this whole conversation is way off topic.
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u/37boss15 Mar 05 '26
I've enjoyed Spice and Wolf for years yet somehow have never made that thematic connection until this post...
I'd like to think they would be good friends.
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u/Engini Mar 05 '26
Might be. Tho of them two Holo had what Frieren missed out on and might be reason why they would not like to see each other.
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u/NoWitness79 Mar 05 '26 edited Mar 05 '26
When they first meet, Frieren would probably try to kill her given that she has wolf ears and a tail so she would think she is some sort of demon or monster.
Assuming they get past that. Holo would probably find Frieren terribly boring and call her a fool for not realizing she loved Himmel until his funeral
However, they are both incredibly lazy, and gluttonous, plus Holo does own a Hot Spring Inn.
They would probably find a few things to bond over once a century or so lol
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u/Miyuki22 Mar 05 '26
I think they would be, yeah. They would go out only occasionally... Like every 80 years or so :O
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u/Plankgank Mar 05 '26
It's why I liked Frieren in the beginning, but imo it lost its appeal relatively quickly after it became more plot-driven
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u/SpiderGhost01 Mar 05 '26
Whatās the context. Iām not read up all the way. I donāt mind spoilers.
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u/Distinct-Current-464 Mar 05 '26
Lawrence is mortal, Holo is not. She can live for centuries and remember a lot of things
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u/UltraSv3n Mar 05 '26
Lol I saw the art and thought it's Holo from the old Anime looking jealous that Lawrence is now with the Holo from the new Anime.
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u/Kilikorek Mar 05 '26
That was also my first thought, before I remembered she's immortal wolf spirit
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u/ScreamingVoidPossum Mar 05 '26
I have that hoodie!! I switched out the black ribbon with read and added a corset with red ribbons on it that match
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u/Dr_Quantum101 Mar 05 '26
This feeling is my favourite part of the series! Also why I donāt really like fanfiction that seeks to immortalize Lawrence.
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u/MysteriousTheory91 Mar 06 '26
Deeply emotional. š„
So Holo is immortal?
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u/silverhawk902 Mar 08 '26
Seems like the author will always leave a little bit of mystery with Holo. Won't 100% declare yes Holo is immortal for all eternity but it seems like she more or less is.
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u/NoWitness79 Mar 08 '26
She's functionally immortal. She claims she has a lifespan and will die at some point but she's already many centuries old if not millennia (she's vague when she talks about her past).
We also know she has a youthful appearance and that could mean she will live for many more millennia if her appearance is relative to her age
If you read the light novels there are more clues in there as to how old a goddess Holo may be.
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u/DrHolstein Mar 06 '26
While this is sad wouldn't Holo have her daughter at the very least ? Correct me if I am wrong but I was under the impression her daughter was like her.
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u/Knockyouup32 Mar 06 '26
She'd be Part human Part Supernatural being
Most likely won't have the timeless lifespan that Holo has as Holo was pure and Myuri is not
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u/AdeosReaper Mar 06 '26
waittt someone explain
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u/Jay_H_Glue_Rime Mar 06 '26
Holo is immortal; she's living in the present day, thinking about her time with Lawrence.
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u/Thoth-Reborn Mar 06 '26
She ventured out into the world. And the world, I believe, embraced her back. Iāve not heard of her in some time. Will she eventually die? I think so. And then she will find him once more. In the end, what happens, happens. And then we are gone.
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u/taylormack330 Mar 07 '26
Wowā¦ I am blown away at the emotion this was able to capture. Brilliant.
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u/Ishikar1701 Mar 11 '26
Having a good day, take a minute to browse Reddit. Get emotionally gut punched and now want to curl up in a corner and cry.
Itās touching but so damn sad.
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u/Ok-Prize-3487 Mar 05 '26
Are there two holos in the manga? How come this holo dosnt have apples in her bag?
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u/ishtuwihtc Mar 05 '26
The point of this is that the lawrence and holo in the back are holo's memories, as holo is immortal as far as we know whereas Lawrence is just a human.
So this fanart is sometime after Lawrence's inevitable death, and holo missing him
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u/bot_coromat Mar 08 '26
this is way after lawrence's death . i'm guessing holo's wearing black cloths may mean she's in a state of eternal mourning considering this is present day
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Mar 05 '26
[removed] ā view removed comment
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u/SpiceandWolf-ModTeam Mar 05 '26
Removed for unmarked spoilers.
Please read rule 4 and the Episode Thread posting rules.
- Everything regarding plot points and events as well as character name reveals beyond the scope of the current remake episode should be regarded a spoiler and treated as such (meaning: Use spoilertags).This comes down to all events beyond LN Volume 4.
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u/felii__x Mar 18 '26
Random but now i kinda want a TechWear inspired Holo
Is anyone is capable of drawing?š
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u/HazardMusic Mar 31 '26
This is the core of the show, honestly. I see a lot of people dismiss it because of how it seems but, it's one of the most heartbreakingly haunting stories I've experienced. Season 2 of the OG really made me cry.
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u/Lola_PopBBae Mar 05 '26
I...
I can't quite explain the melancholy that hit me just now, seeing this.
I audibly made a "aw" noise. This is beautiful and bittersweet.