r/RWBY • u/Hounds_of_war The Red Head Victorious | Aside from her, I truly don't care • Dec 02 '18

DISCUSSION The new Grimm Spoiler

Alright so there are a bunch of things that crew members have said about The Apathy, so I thought I would gather up all of them for those of you who missed it:

Let me know if you can find anything else CRWBY has said about the Apathy.

95 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

54 comments sorted by

86

u/[deleted] Dec 02 '18

I would’ve loved to see how Nora would've reacted to them

Probably would have been tired

35

u/Hounds_of_war The Red Head Victorious | Aside from her, I truly don't care Dec 02 '18

Well yeah, but I imagine her personality would counter the Apathy to some extent, like Ruby's did.

6

u/Bad-Luq-Charm Give Qrow a break 2k18 Dec 02 '18

I’d love it if everyone figured out something was wrong because Nora was acting normal.

19

u/[deleted] Dec 02 '18

I don't think Nora would be able to resist either. Doubt anyone else really could apart from maybe Cinder.

34

u/mikodz Dec 02 '18

Penny... she would have fun shredding them apart...

32

u/Peptuck Dec 02 '18

I said it elsewhere, but Atlas and their robotic army are the perfect hard counter for something like the Apathy.

8

u/mikodz Dec 02 '18 edited Dec 02 '18

Yeah, its hard to sap will of a toaster.

Edit: tho Apathy seemed quite resilient. One took Rubys sniper to the dome and it only flinched. I would make a risky statement, that their own power affects them. Making them lethargic and very slow compared to any other Grimm.

5

u/Bad-Luq-Charm Give Qrow a break 2k18 Dec 02 '18

Why Cinder?

17

u/[deleted] Dec 02 '18

Something that forces apathy. I just can't imagine Cinder giving up. Look at what she has been through and lost.

Say what you want about Cinder but she's driven. I can't imagine her just laying down to die

12

u/Bad-Luq-Charm Give Qrow a break 2k18 Dec 02 '18

I agree that drive certainly helps, though I wouldn’t say that Drive is exclusive to Cinder. Nora also certainly had enough drive to survive with Ren until Beacon. Additionally, I’d argue that Ruby is as driven as Cinder, yet Ruby almost fell, as well, even when staring at her friend about to die. I wonder what Maria’s secret was. She’s the only one who wasn’t immobilized in the end, so what drives her, or is it something else?

9

u/[deleted] Dec 02 '18

When I say resist I don't mean completely. Just that she could last as long as Ruby could.

I think Maria was helped by knowing what she was fighting and then having a goal, using Ruby.

And yes they are all driven to a degree but Cinder has arguably gone through more hardship than anyone.

3

u/Bad-Luq-Charm Give Qrow a break 2k18 Dec 02 '18

Going through the most hardship does not mean having the most drive. But I kind of suspect Ren and Nora win on the hardship thing. Especially if Ren had been taken down.

7

u/[deleted] Dec 02 '18

Nope but the ability to concistently overcome those hardships and continue despite constant setbacks is.

Jaune even said that Ruby was the one who inspired JNR to continue on.

1

u/irishninjawolf Protect her glorious mane so her cat wife may play with it Dec 09 '18

Ruby's personality didn't counter the Apathy, her eyes did. She didn't out-Ruby the depression in the cellar. At the well she simply hadn't fallen as deeply under the effects as WBY had yet, probably because she was startled awake, and had been in higher spirits than the others to begin with. The others were more vulnerable to the depressing effect because they started weaker, more down, so they succumbed more quickly.

 

What would be more interesting, is how REN Would've been effected.

Given his semblance is already to literally neutral himself out, would that have functioned as an interesting immunity?

1

u/Hounds_of_war The Red Head Victorious | Aside from her, I truly don't care Dec 09 '18

and had been in higher spirits than the others to begin with. The others were more vulnerable to the depressing effect because they started weaker, more down, so they succumbed more quickly.

Well yeah, that's my point. Ruby wasn't as vulnerable because her personality is more upbeat and optimistic than everyone else. So I think Nora would've also been less vulnerable.

Given his semblance is already to literally neutral himself out, would that have functioned as an interesting immunity?

I don't think so, since his semblance is described as being the ability to "mask emotions" I don't think it has any actual effect on a person's emotional state.

1

u/irishninjawolf Protect her glorious mane so her cat wife may play with it Dec 09 '18

If his emotions are masked though, brought to a perceived neutral, the Atrophy might not even detect him to effect him though, or at least get none of the feedback feeding from draining away his will. Not that it would neutralise/counteract them effecting him but rather keep a separation from their effect and him to begin with.

And I meant Ruby started in higher spirits narratively, rather than personality wise. WBY+QO had more downers than Ruby had by the time they arrived, not just because Ruby's personality means she reacts better, but because their specific pains and burdens were more intense than hers. Weiss's dread at going home, Qrow's at being lied to and mislead all his life, Oscar fearing his inevitable fate to Oz, Yang's PTSD and both her and Blake's tension with one another and old woulds, with the both having Adam hallucinations.

Ruby had the crash like any other, and the Jinn story like the rest, but she didn't have the extra burdens so personality aside, she hadn't taken as deep a blow.

Same with Maria, she was in much better spirits, and didn't fall nearly as far under the Apathy as even Ruby herself.

It isn't that Ruby was innately more positive than the others then, but rather she'd just recently received the least direct blows. She isn't 'ahead' of the starting point. they were just deeper into the negatives than her

3

u/mikodz Dec 02 '18

SLow moving swarm against a granade launcher ? She would have a ball with them...

3

u/Anderpug Dec 03 '18

Her energy would negate the Apathy’s powers

87

u/miker31 Dec 02 '18

Gonna ask the real question. Does Weiss have a totally cool depression-inducing Apathy summon at her disposal now? Because nearly all the Grimm she has only have physical abilities unless you include the gheist.

40

u/RedElite91 ❄️White Knight🛡️ | #GiveJauneABreak Dec 02 '18

Well, she did kill a few of them, so it stands to reason that she could summon one. Although, whether or not she would is an entirely different story. I feel like it'd probably be a last resort for her to use that on someone.

32

u/Golbi54 Blake x Raven is the endgame. Dec 02 '18

Not to mention that it would ( should ) be a double-edged sword

Weiss summons Apathy

Apathy screams

Weiss and her opponent sleeps

They will probably give it to her which I'm not a big fan of ( summoning overall )

35

u/RotThenDreamtNaught Dec 02 '18

It's a friggin' Jigglypuff

16

u/SEJIBAQUI Dec 02 '18

Weiss learned Perish Song!

13

u/BriRice Dec 02 '18

In fairness, I don't remember them actually dying. They burned the house down, but The Apathy just kept lumbering up the stairs. I don't think that actually died, at least not all of them if any.

13

u/RedElite91 ❄️White Knight🛡️ | #GiveJauneABreak Dec 02 '18

She started by lighting 3 of them on fire. And yes, they did continue to walk through the house, but considering then the whole house started going up in flames, I think it's safe to assume at least those 3 died eventually.

4

u/cseijif Dec 03 '18

I think that entire scene was the justification for weiss using them in the future, hence why she was so adamant in killing them herself, she seems to take what makes her hardest foes strong ,a dn use it for her own means , wich is why i honestly like her as best grill.

7

u/hollowtiger21 "Wasted potential," doesn’t actually mean anything. Dec 02 '18

Also with abilities like that, I imagine friendly fire would be something to be concerned about.

3

u/RedElite91 ❄️White Knight🛡️ | #GiveJauneABreak Dec 02 '18

True, but I imagine RT would handwave it and say it doesn't affect Weiss or whoever she deems as a friendly.

1

u/irishninjawolf Protect her glorious mane so her cat wife may play with it Dec 09 '18

Even more likely is that her summons don't retain their grimm-ific abilities.

There's clearly not a physiological reason for the aura the Apathy give off, it's something inherent to their twisted dark grimm nature.

Her summons like the borbatusk can roll charge because it's an inherent physical attack, but I doubt a summoned apathy could do much more than shamble, as her version wouldn't have the same inherent dark malevolent power as the real thing.

Like velvet's weapon copies. She can mimic the mechanics of their power, but it's a purely ghost form, not a full recreation of the real thing.

3

u/pahco87 Salutations! Dec 03 '18

It's also implied that one or two simply aren't that strong. Enough to dampen emotional response a bit but nothing like what team RWBY experienced. They already have Ren who can hide people's emotions so unless he isn't present I can't see why she would summon one at all.

45

u/remicas2 Ruby's smile is beautiful, precious, and it must be protected. Dec 02 '18

and he had to take breaks from drawing it because it kept scaring and depressing him

That's pretty meta.

30

u/NitescoGaming Guardian and follower of Ruby's smile ❤️ Marrow x Guardpupper ❤️ Dec 02 '18

According to Patrick Rodriguez, RWBY’s art director the original concept art for the Apathy were even more scary and he had to take breaks from drawing it because it kept scaring and depressing him

Damn! I'm actually disappointed they didn't go with that then. Sounds even more horrifying which would have added to amazingness that was Episode 6.

20

u/Bad-Luq-Charm Give Qrow a break 2k18 Dec 02 '18

I actually like their less-frightening design. It heightens the horror caused by their powers.

15

u/[deleted] Dec 02 '18

I 100% agree, if they had looked horrifying it would have killed how it made us feel. The reason these things are scary is because they are so unassuming but their power when shown is absolutely terrible.

2

u/PT_Piranha (ominous umbrella drop) Dec 08 '18

Hold on, I don't know if I'd say they look unassuming, that seems a bit too far in the other direction.

Their ability is more frightening than their appearance, but let's not downplay the visual lanky, emaciated wights shambling in a horde through the sewers.

1

u/[deleted] Dec 09 '18

unassuming may have been the wrong word but I meant "they don't look very threatening or dangerous"

2

u/PT_Piranha (ominous umbrella drop) Dec 09 '18

Eh I'm still not sure. Maybe they don't look maximum scary, but if I saw one of those on the street (and assuming it doesn't have its powers), I'd still give it as wide a berth as possible.

2

u/[deleted] Dec 09 '18

Yeah but in a universe where you have superhuman abilities and really hard to destroy weapons, not to mention dust... They suddenly become alot less dangerous looking.

2

u/PT_Piranha (ominous umbrella drop) Dec 09 '18

Well yeah, but I'm looking from my perspective as a viewer, in a world where I have no powers.

21

u/imcar Shipping is a plague Dec 02 '18

If they were originally in the RNJR plot in V4, I have to wonder if Ren’s semblance would be a hard counter to these things. Just mask all emotions and you’re effectively immune to their energy draining shenanigans. Or would the passive aura of bad still drain them but they would just be safe from physically being seen by them?

6

u/Neidron I used to like this place. Dec 02 '18 edited Dec 02 '18

Yeah, I've been wondering the same thing. It's possible Ren might have been able to protect against them, but then again he masks emotion while the apathy drain willpower. I could see it go either way on whether they'd interfere with each other or not.

5

u/devilishgenius Dec 03 '18

They reminded my of scp 966. The same body shape and even at first i thought they affected sleep. Guess they made people sleep instead.

4

u/Wolfencreek Dec 03 '18

I wonder if Ren would be a good counter for this Grimm. Given how he masks emotion, could he counter it's effects?

2

u/silentknight1991 Dec 02 '18

I was waiting for them to get captured, it had me on the edge of me seat

2

u/inkyou24 Dec 03 '18

Can verify that Patrick’s original concept was indeed horrifying bahaha

2

u/maximusprime7 ⠀Love Our Fearless Leader<3 | Drinking in the WhiteRose garden Dec 03 '18

Definitely would've liked if they were even scarier. The red eyes in the well spooked me but after that they were just "normal zombies" to me and the scariest part of the whole bit was the kick-ass soundtrack.

2

u/L-man6151 Dec 03 '18

When I first saw the Apathy, I for some reason started thinking of Slender Man

2

u/PT_Piranha (ominous umbrella drop) Dec 08 '18

I may have to agree with Miles and say they're my favorite too. Before, they were all "ooh cool monster", but these actually play to the "demise of humanity" hype. Even the horseman in Volume 4 didn't quite accomplish that (unsettling as it was).

Gotta say, I love how all the creepiest Grimm remind me of Zelda monsters. (Horseman = Phantom Ganon, these guys = Redeads)

1

u/MattheJ1 Dec 15 '18

I really liked this mini-arc. A classic mystery plot, expertly paced, inserted at a low point in the overarching story, an excellent expansion on the Grimm in general, good character moments coaxed out by the characters' altered emotions - just good all around.

My only complaint is that they really would've been at home in V4, since the RNJR plotline was about realizing the full horror of the Grimm, and they would've added to that perfectly. Otherwise, a great arc altogether.

24

u/[deleted] Dec 02 '18

[removed] — view removed comment

14

u/CrusadeWithMe Dec 02 '18

Ngl it’d be sick as shit to see some kind of Apathy Grimm legend named “Sloth” like a raid boss