RWBY Revisited: The Grimm

The Grimm. The name strikes fear into the citizens of Remnant, but for all their imposing presence, there is still much about them that remains unexplained.
The music featured here was created by Adrian von Ziegler. Link to his channel: / @adrianvonziegler

[@TheDieselMK3]

My understanding of why the Grimm die in captivity is that they will fight against their restraints until they either break out and kill everyone or they literally tear themselves apart from the strain of trying to free themselves.

[@oliverlarosa8046]

That's the impression I got as well. Given that most grimm seem to have no concept of self-preservation outside of causing more destruction, it certainly seems likely that they would break their own bodies if it meant getting at their prey.

[@silverhawkscape2677]

​@@oliverlarosa8046 That actually makes them very Dangerous. Spear walls and other anti Calvary formations have an intimidation factor that really makes a Living animal think twice about charging into the wall. Grimm not hesitating means such Formations though effective would actually break apart if enough Grimm threw themselves at the Formation

[@oliverlarosa8046]

​@@silverhawkscape2677 Agreed, it'd be not unlike how hostile hoards of zombies are often depicted, just with supremely powerful animals rather than a risk of infection. They would quite happily dash themselves and each other against an obstacle until it gives, however long it takes, and they would typically have more than enough bodies to make it happen

[@kidprime6863]

Yet, Dr. Merlot from Grimm Eclipse was able to capture and mutate Grimm without any problems. That "serum" he created draws the Grimm to it. As Yang put it, it's like catnip to them. Then again, Dr. Merlot has studied the Grimm for years, so he might have found a way to capture them and keep them contained without them killing themselves. Whatever that "serum" is, it must function like some kind of liquefied Aura or Negative Emotions. Grimm are in fact drawn to people with strong Auras, too. Whatever the case, it also mutates the Grimm into more powerful versions of themselves. And the only versions we've seen so far were the mutated Beowolves, Creeps and Deathstalker. I'm really curious to know how he did it and why Salem hasn't recruited him yet. Plus, he played a part in the Mountain Glenn disaster.

[@jameslude3146]

I think the reason why Grimm are such a fundamental threat to humanity on Remnant is because they are drawn to negative emotions. Given humanity's societal struggles, and how emotions tend to ripple out across communities. Theoretically, the death of a single person could bring about the destruction of an entire city.

[@oliverlarosa8046]

Regarding the grimms' strange and inconsistent perception, my theory is that their senses are actually excellent for the most part, but that they will only attack something if they can sense emotions consistent with sentience coming from it. If they can't, then even something that otherwise resembles and behaves like a human/faunus won't register as prey, unless it actively provokes them (hence why they would attack things like atlas robots or turrets, despite them being inanimate objects).

[@silverhawkscape2677]

Yup. Grimm aren't that Dumb. Thing hurts me, me destroy thing back.

[@kidprime6863]

They actually do attack normal animals but it mainly involves turf wars or if the animal attacks first

[@knowbulgaming]

I had never noticed the grim heads mounted in that classroom. Could they have been purely to show students what they looked like if they weren't real?

[@manograf3231]

That is briefley mentioned in "World of Remnant". Salem calls them 'cheap taxidermic recreations', mentioning Prof. Port specifically

[@mariapazgonzalezlesme]

How to rewrite Grimm lore. At least from my ideas. 1) Grimms are weak to light. The "light" was a gift bestowed upon the broken remnants of the shattered Moon that fell during the early era of Remmant. Humanity learnt to create light-based skills or objects to figth against them. 2) The Grimms started to be aggresive, not because of Salem's control, but because conquerors and huntsmen were constantly invading their territory. 3) The Grimm follow Salem's orders not only because of her magic. But because she basically the Alpha, Grimm have a simply herarchy system, the older is the Grimm, is viewed as the leader of the pack. That Salem was corrupted by the black mud, they can still smell their former master's essence.

[@voltekthecyborg7898]

Or even better, have followers OF Grimm. So, instead of, "everyone loves the God of Light" and "everyone hates the God of Dark", Instead, the original Humanity had THREE paths to choose: Neutral, Dark, or Light, and nothing more. So, for Light, you have the Knights of Yan (like Yang, as the symbol "Yang" is light and masculinity), and the Mages of Yin (Yin being the opposite of Yang, so darkness and femininity). I dunno, it sounds better

[@dylanmiller6169]

The Grimm taxidermy is indeed fabrications, most Grimm hunters have to rely on word of mouth and mission reports for confirmations, but they still make great visual aids.

[@bruvance]

Actually its hinted that all of Ozmas kids have magic, just in the form of weaker kinds when Salem isn't there. Silver eyes are definitely magical and Ozmas hosts kids had silver eyes.

[@kidprime6863]

Semblances are implied to be a form of magic. But compared to Ozma and Salem, they're the equivalent of "parlor tricks".

[@ImPersonNation]

for the most part I was just listening, but 11:30 got my attention. Because of Glynda giving a worried comment when the Wyvern was waking up, it's implied that the wyvern was always there. Seemingly sealed or something.

[@observer2484]

Grimm rivers underground? Mind-blown that it never came to mind.

[@achalon7647]

And such a good explanation too!

[@robertbidian7324]

8:14 Yes those taxidermized grimm heads are in fact fake.

[@VilyDolphin]

There’s also Salems Grim Jellyfish things she uses to keep tabs on Lionheart and even remotely control/command to kill him at will

[@kidprime6863]

It's called a Seer, btw.

[@troperhghar9898]

I always pictured the grimm being to RWBY what the zombies are to The Walking Dead Yes they are a threat on thier own, but our protaginists are badasses who cut them down by the dozen but they can arrive in a horde so you just have to run, really its just that this world is always out to get you (very fairy tale when you think about it)

[@observer2484]

Alas, we never really see Grimm force characters to retreat or have them rethink their strategy to beat them. It is mostly just the same stuff over and over. Even when Salem was leading them directly. Edit: Wait, there are a few occasions when that happens.

[@noctisastrum7495]

Yeah but for the walking dead at least the zombies still have some lingering threat that a single scratch or bite could be game over for the characters were rooting for. Throughout rwby the Grimm never really bring that fear factor on their own without the main baddies ever since the red trailer. And it doesn't help the fact that ruby rose can just vaporize the Grimm into ash with her silver eyes, yes ruby is still in the rookie phase but sooner or later she's going to get a hang of it and then Grimm aren't really going to matter anymore when she's around

[@observer2484]

​@@noctisastrum7495 That is a good point. Imagine if Grimm's bite was deadly without anti-poison or treatment? It would easily up the danger, especially in the wilds that are outside the capitals in RWBY.

[@noctisastrum7495]

@@observer2484 that definitely could work or maybe just like apathy each Grimm affects people and amplify their negative emotions so they could be easier to kill them.

[@observer2484]

@@noctisastrum7495 A reason why people would need to master their emotions? I like it.

[@lordgus615]

I like to think Grimm evolved/adapted to technology advancement , example the earlier grimm was fought by spears/bows and swords and aura warriors were rare. Modern grimm seems to be able to move as fast as a car and can keep up to a speeding train as well as aircraft so i would imagine if that was the default state of grimm then pre-industrial human would have been wiped out long ago. I think what cause modern grimm to be so strong was the wide used of modern weapon during the Great War which allowed the grimm to adapt until they are basically unkillable by non-aura users. The idea to use 4-man huntsman team was probably to lower the chance of Grimm gathering in a horde as well as allowing huntsman to kill grimm thoroughly without allowing any to escape and became alpha. TLDR Pre-industrial grimm were much weaker than post Great War grimm , and huntsman working in small team was to prevent the grimm from evolving and adapting. Which make sense since Grimm was suppose to be the natural predator of mankind , and as mankind advance so does grimm.

[@eyeoftheswarm5708]

I think the grimm need more time to shine after all that kind of pathetic.

[@fearmusrozenrot1864]

Grimm - An underused asset. As far as I can piece together of the logic, they are some kind of manifestation of death and violence. Your explanation as to why they are seemingly endless, however, is the best I think most can figure out. Seems they percieve the world in terms of emotion. not neccissarily blind, but the presence of emotion is what dictates to the grimm something or someone as a target. However, they never really give much clue as to how that works, but somehow negative emotion is more effective to draw them in. Biggest thing is that the grimm are Salem's most heavy force, being they make up the main mass of her forces. However, being that they are supposed to be the main force, you'd think the hero's are supposed to deal with them more, but it seems to just be used as a plot device to occupy the 'background/tertiary characters' while the main cast takes on the actually more powerful henchmen that are fewer in numbers in a attempt to 'blind the beast' in effect. Disabling her more capable pawns so she is less able to easily infiltrate cities as they keep doing to go after the relics. which seems to be something they are good at, which leaves the question - Why has Salem not won already, and if it makes sense that this is something she's gotten good at with her henchmen, why do none of the kingdoms seem to have some kind of anti-spy network kind of thing looking for her henchmen. even if they are secret to their governments, and say in service to Ozma, or one of the people he left in charge of places.

[@ShizuruRavenRobin026]

The greatest grim we've seen so far in this show is the hound and a Salem's going to make more grim like this I'm actually looking forward to it cuz like the regular ground we've gotten sure they're scary and all but some of the scariest and most powerful grim we've seen are the apathy the geist Grimm and the grim from that story I believe it was also a form of a geist groom that could possess people like those were some of the scariest but I'm thinking some of the stronger ground like guys and the apathy possibly take Salem longer to create because I believe in the original time like with us and Salem and then when it was just Salem herself before humans came back I think they only had like a small amount of certain ground within after a while Salem learned how to control the pool room and she just started making different grounds and like I said I think it might be harder for her to make certain grooms like the apathy or geist cuz you don't see a lot of them so I'm hoping she doesn't do something stupid with the staff and that she actually makes more powerful ground that could be used to give bigger challenges in the future

[@josephsuh5204]

True, but I would the most dangerous Grimm is an Apathy and Nuckelavee

[@kidprime6863]

​@@josephsuh5204Or the Leviathan and Wyvern. Plus the parasitic Nightmare. The Chill. Oh and let's not forget Sulphur Fish. Those bugs can amalgamate.

[@xavierbusby2910]

You know, I know it’s never gonna happen, but I wanna see a grimm that is so intelligent that it tries to talk to and bargain with someone

[@abelzerihun7985]

3:59-4:09 But the only place on Remnant with tech that advanced is Atlas. 6:43-6:46 Volume One contradicted this fact because Port had a caged boarbatusk for Weiss to fight. 6:52-7:05 And the period of time humanity was wiped off Remnant. 10:00-10:14 Besides the Manticores and Sphinx, Ruby’s silver eyes trivializes the Grimm.

[@observer2484]

About Ruby´s eyes: Unless all Grimm develops ranged attacks if they don´t have one already and gain resistance against the eyes over time if they survive the first blast. Latter would make it important to be thorough during cleanup.

[@nevermore7285]

With Port’s Grimm, it’s likely he caught it that day or recently.

[@zero.0-0]

​@nevermore7285 most likely.

[@alavaster6918]

World of remnants tells you that the grimm heads are indeed imitations

[@thevineiconguy1606]

By that logic all things in Remnant are siblings, animals, plants, humans, Grimm. The Grimm are no more siblings to humans than anything else in Remnant. Also what do you mean by "Natural adaptation"? The Manticore's abilties aren't entirely unique because similar the Leviathan can also breath flame, though its breath also has some lightning mixed in, making it also similar to the Sea Feilong. There is a character far better at modifying Grimm than Salem ever has been.

[@blockyuniverseproductions6587]

If i had to guess (and from whats mentioned in the WoR episodes), Grimm are more of a threat in groups, as they can overwhelm through sheer numbers (similar to the Skaven or Tyrranids). One Grimm isnt much of an issue most of the time, but hundreds or thousands?

[@Cykeys]

How about Huntsmen all having their weapons made from Silver, Silver-plated steel, or Silver Alloys with the Grimm having an acute weakness to the metal? It serves as a symbol and a badge for Hunters, and could be a reason why not any Joe with a gun can be a specialized Grimm killing machine.

[@josephsuh5204]

That sounds like a weakness came from a werewolf.

[@Cykeys]

@@josephsuh5204 To be fair, a lot of supernatural creatures in fairy tales and folklore are repelled, or weak to Silver among other things.

[@ShizuruRavenRobin026]

Something I've never got about remnant when it comes to the people who know about Grim which is everybody why don't they build better defenses against them like look at Atlas that was actually a good defense against the griminal way I mean besides the fact that they put their shield generator things on the outside instead of having them project the shields outwards so the grim couldn't attack them but like why don't more people have dust made walls made out of light dust that protect areas have light dust domes protecting cities and villages Have light dust tunnels under the cities that people can evacuate into that have like food and supplies that can take them through tunnels and lead them to a safety area why don't people build safety areas for grim it just doesn't make sense Like I at least get that the academies are built around places that populate a lot of ground because it gives students the chance to fight different forms of grim and get more experience they need when learning to fight them but like you think cities would try to get like more funding or reach out and go oh can you help us build these walls or half more people on lock aura that help towards like getting them to have semblances that would help the community more like have somebody with assemblance who could track ground or have somebody who could manipulate land kind of like Earth bending and Avatar and build massive walls and make crystal or glass domes or something that will protect them like they should be working on Ora and building better walls and foundations that could help protect them from ground like you want me to believe Ren is the first person to have a semblance that protects them from Grimm like I'm sure there have been others or look at eyes why didn't he use the staff before making a f****** floating city to make sure the rest of the world was secure at least against the ground like yeah you're still going to have racist and against the funus and people fighting and warring and bandits and pirates and people fighting amongst each other and teenagers being assholes just cuz they exist but he could have still made sure like cities and lands are secure and then just have it where if people need to interact with the ground you capture ground put them in an arena and have it were trained huntsman watch the students fight and help aid them and teach them how to really fight groom and take them on training missions like team Ruby went on and volume two I believe it was with professor oobleck and learn to fight grim properly I also don't like the huntsman system because it's okay system but like the way it's set up just isn't that great and it needs to be fixed

[@Cykeys]

Personally, I think there should be a vid on how to make the Hunstman System better because considering how they're supposed to be the best of the best, we haven't really seen a good showing of the average Huntsman/Huntress compared to our Protagonists. Then that's not getting into how few their numbers are, and how they're most likely going to be stretched thin whenever there's multiple attacks in different places. I'd probably suggest a system similar to Atlas in how there's a conventional military and Hunstman System integrated into each other. Huntsmen/Huntresses to deal with the big threats and make big pushes; while the regular people to hold ground, drive the vehicles, do the LOGISTICS, evacuate people, etc. I feel that switching to a defense-in-depth style of strategy when dealing with Grimm is a good way of fighting them. Have regular soldiers hold the ground, or harass the Grimm from the sides while waiting for the Elite Hunters to come in to do make the big gains.

[@ShizuruRavenRobin026]

I know people would say that kids are too young but I think maybe starting the huntsman academy's at age 15 like with Ruby when she first started instead of having them wait till they're like 17 or 18 and getting in would be better and instead of having them go to school for like another 4 years like a high school have them do just like 1 year of like learning and stuff while having them on the side do training still and then what would be their second and last year have them do still a bit of learning for maybe 2 hours a day and focus heavily on the combat training before sending them out to the world and if they need like extra learning to get into like politics or wanting to change laws have them then do another 4 years like a college course along with more huntsman training if they want to be like how Robin wanted to be like a member of the atlas council if they want to get into politics along with their huntsman desires have them do an extra 4 years with that but if they're one of mainly focus on combat and aid of the people like if they want to like learn how to do medicine or be doctors in huntsman have them do an extra four years or more to get that extra education but if their main focus is combat kind of like I think what ruby would mainly focus on or even yang just have them do like the two years of school and send them out into the world to aid and protect people like when they were traveling through anima it seem like they were like rarely no huntsman at all like there were a few huntsman and menstrual that Hazel and I think Tyrion took out when they were there but like there were really no huntsman on that continent I all which is weird considering one of the academies was there but then even though Leo was a traitor like I think there should have maybe still been more huntsman on that continent cuz I'm like I know I'm a majority of huntsman and huntresses go to like different schools but I'm sure a lot of them would migrate back home to protect the continent and their city or village they come from it just seems weird to me like I don't know if the writers just didn't think of this or what but like you can't convince me that there shouldn't be more huntsman like if we go to vacuole when there are more huntsman there I'm just going to be confused like even when we were in Atlas we only saw like the Aesop's we saw winter we saw team funky who are still students technically and a bunch of soldiers but I know like the military has it where they have their huntsman become a part of the army so I'm going to guess that all those soldiers we saw were former academy students who just switch to using guns and stuff we also saw the Happy huntresses who I believe did go to the atlas academy but branched off because they wanted to protect mantle and saw that it needed We even saw those two huntsman back in volume six that got killed off with one of them got killed off the other just stayed on the train and did nothing I guess after they got to Argus but like why don't we see more huntsman teams or why doesn't Oz pin back when he was the headmaster of beak and why didn't he have it where you had it where two to four huntsman teams with team up under a professional huntsman kind of like what ruby and the others did with Crow from volume five through six and have it where they travel to different continents and eight people and do like different School exchange programs were the students go back and forth between the different continents to get a feel of each of them to go oh I would like to live on this continent help aid and support the people like the huntsman system just seems like nobody was thinking at all about this system or how it works And I get that like the huntsman system I believe is one of those things that they took inspiration from from the anime soul eater with like the dwma and how it works but we at least learn about the master and weapon system and soul eater not and a bit of it and soul eater like they at least go out of their way to explain that because a lot of fans did want to know more about it and we learn about how there's a death scythe on each continent that helps protect the world and stuff so I think Ruby maybe should have took a bit more inspiration from that and went like yeah we need to explain how this huntsman system really works because it was never really explained it never made sense to me is why that kids had to wait till they were 17 like in real life if those kids were 17 they would just be leaving high School but in the show it made it seem like beacon and the other academies were like a high school they had to go to and it made it seem like Ruby was still out of Middle School from what it felt like to Austin let her skip ahead 2 years like they need to explain this better cuz it's just confusing

[@sippycupoblood]

Entertaining and informative ✅️

[@VilyDolphin]

From what I can tell from the show, there seems to be this wierd implication that one can somehow extract the white part of a grim as referenced from all the taxidermies grim, and Raven’s Grim mask, but that could just be me

[@aquagamez1415]

Those are just fake copies of Grimm masks. You can’t persevere a Grimm no matter what you do.

[@nevermore7285]

I think they are just recreations

[@dragonofdragons1720]

a theory of mine on how the grimm sustain them selves is that they also feed themselves with dust which would also give them the elemental powers we every now and agene

[@yuukianimates3318]

There should be about the maidens next can't wait. Edit: just seen the maiden vid and I called it. XD

[@raphaelweischer6046]

0:57 that was so unexpected But to funny at the same time

[@Jax30307]

I have a theory also or it my head-cannon that Salem made The Grimm weaker as the God of Darkness left the Grimm also lost some of their power as they were mainly at the place where he lived and they stay close to their creator and as Salem learn to control them this made the Grimm weaker due to her human nature and that before the Grimm can only be affected by magic as after the god of Darkness left a beowolf was easily killed by a normal sword by ozma.

[@reaverfang377]

whenever writing Grimm myself I always found that the best way to treat them is an unnatural parasitic threat that will one day exterminate all life if allowed. Like, A God's creation twisted and contorted into a nightmare scenario of a species. In terms of the idea of Grimm Blood pools running from Salem's lair is a pretty good one and one I like a lot.

[@kidprime6863]

A great example of a parasitic Grimm would be the Nightmare from RWBY: Ice Queendom. It's kinda similar to the Black Mercy from DC. This Grimm can infect you and drain your Aura by possessing your dreams. It traps you in a dreamworld created from your trauma while your body becomes an external breeding ground for it. And if it's not stopped, you'll die and it will move on to the next host. The only way to remove it is to have someone go into your mind and take it out from within. But the catch is that the person in question must be something close to you. Like a friend, family member or teammate. If a total stranger were to enter, they be immediately kicked out. It also creates a negative version of you to protect itself. It can even infect people while they're in your dreamworld. Like I said, it's parasitic. And unlike the rest of its Grimm brethren, which mostly resemble animals, this one's based on a plant. It seemingly can only be contained. The Silver Eyes were only thing that can truly destroy it.

[@reaverfang377]

@@kidprime6863 Queendom was pretty inspirational if I remember correctly, I think Queendom prompted me to start Fan-Writing for RWBY.

[@abyssalgaming9315]

Okay that 40K reference caught me completely off-guard

[@sippycupoblood]

Grimm would make great pets. They're so pretty =^_^=

[@blueberryoatmeal4009]

Nora?!

[@madwiththehat9932]

I don't understand why Grimms attack humans: if they were made BEFORE humanity, why attack them? Weren't there a truce between the Gods and both chose to made humanity? Why not destroy all creation (made by the God of Light) when their creator vanished (think something like a frenzy). And HOW Salem can control them???

[@kidprime6863]

Humans are essentially the antithesis of the Grimm. As are the Faunus. Salem can control them thanks to being "mutated" after falling into the Grimm Pool. The Grimm can smell their creator's essence on her because of it.

[@chrono581]

My point of view on it and based on what I've read about the making of Ruwby. The writers of Rwby probably don't know the answer to those questions either so you are most likely both right and wrong at the same time.

[@praetorianrex5571]

Hey Dual-Wielder, I'd like to ask you for some input on a creature or two I'm working on for RWBY, please.

[@TheDual-Wielder]

I can give my input. What were you thinking?

[@praetorianrex5571]

@@TheDual-Wielder Here they are, the Verandertiers: [Verandertier Description]: The Verandertier(s) (from tier verander, German for "changed beast"), are creatures (types of animal life to be exact) native to the world of Remnant, being direct and indirect descendants of the planet's original inhabitants (who occupied the planet before the Gods remade it as they please, thinking it was a blank slate). Like the Grimm (but having no relation to), they often pose a threat to to humanity. But UNLIKE the Grimm, which do so for the sake of it and live to do so, Verandertiers attack out of a sense of self preservation, defending territory and young, or otherwise "misbehaving", being neither good nor evil. their unique status as lifeforms not made by the Gods and the unstable, chaotic, and always changing ecosystem the planet used to have, the Verandertiers are capable of "improvised ontogeny", a mutation like metamorphosis that allows an individual animal or other lifeforms to adapt to a variety of situations and to enable rapid evolution. An animal or person becomes one if they have a "V base" in their genetic makeup that then activates by various causes, usually life threatening ones like allergies, toxins, extreme injuries, etc. (More specifically, the improvised ontogeny is how a normal animal actually becomes a Verandertier, and that Verandertiers are "descendants " of Remnants original inhabitants in the sense that the V-base came from a certain lineage of the latter that survived just long enough for the V-base to cross paths with and somehow inherited by precursors to a select few, if any, of each modern species, which is how almost any animal could have a V-base yet Verandertiers are rarely seen). The resulting form is usually superior to its original counterpart in at least a few ways.

[@TheDual-Wielder]

@@praetorianrex5571 It's an interesting concept, but the first thing to address would be whether or not this is supposed to fit into the canon of the show. If it is, then you'll have to answer where these have been this whole time, and why nobody knows about them. If this is your own canon, then you have much more leeway. The rapid adaptation factor could allow individuals with this gene to live in much harsher climates, like a volcanic region where food is scarce, or possibly explain how the original founders of Atlas and Vacuo survived the harsh biomes to lay the foundations for these cities. A lot will also depend on how much of a presence you want these to have in your story. If they're the main focus, then you'll want to leave hints of their existence early on so that it doesn't feel like they spring up out of nowhere. If they're just one element in the bigger picture, then you might not want to focus on them too heavily, as they might become distracting. The factor of how much these creatures can adapt will also need to be factored in. It can't be too strong, or they could survive almost anything, but it also can't be so weak that it's negligible. All that aside, these are just my observations. I hope that your story turns out well.

[@praetorianrex5571]

@@TheDual-Wielder perhaps a good look at the specific examples of Verandertiers can help us clear things up. Want to see them?

[@praetorianrex5571]

@@TheDual-Wielder may I provide the examples of Verandertiers, please?

[@BlankEmporium]

I think the best thing for the Grimm is make them threatening. Have one of 'em rip Jaune in half, or cave in Weiss skull or something.

[@JohnShepherd117]

I mean what’s more threatening then a wild animal that is specifically hostile to humans and can learn and get smarter and don’t die of old age

[@remnock]

The problem with the grimm is that if you're going to have anyone kill/seriously injure a major character its always going to be more tempting have that done by one of the other human characters, as then there's more potential for drama in the future (even if they never actually do anything interesting with it *cough*yang's arm*cough*)

[@tyrickmikes11]

the grimm heads being mounted are a joke about prof. port being full of shit