#ozma did have a choice it's just that he didn't really think the ramifications of that choice through. 8)

[good-rwbyaus]

HAVE SOME OF LILAC’S OZPIN AND OZMA THEORYCRAFTING! sCREEEEECH

So this hot take is gonna be about Ozpin and his likely rocky relationship with his predecessor. And I think that this is something that will be explored in Season 8 either directly in the story or in a World of Remnant bit, especially since Oscar’s gonna be alone surrounded by people who don’t particular like the said soul in his body. 

Why do I think this?

People probably recall Ozpin’s speech on the first day of Beacon: “You have traveled here today in search of knowledge, to hone your craft and acquire new skills, and when you have finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people. But I look amongst you, and all I see is wasted energy, in need of purpose, direction. You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far. It is up to you to take the first step.”

And with that brief bit, he walks off. Yang remarks that he seemed off while Ruby comments he didn’t seem like he was there. 

Nice bit of foreshadowing about the nature of Ozpin’s soul aside, I think Ozpin and his predecessor had only started to truly merge during the start of the school year which Oscar and Ozpin are still ways off from doing. And his predecessor had recently told him a very ugly truth - that Salem cannot be destroyed. Knowledge didn’t set Ozpin free here; it probably dashed the only hope he had for a normal life free of the reincarnation in his head just like his previous reincarnation wondering if their fight with Salem would end in his generation (Oscar doesn’t even know it until the Jinn reveal). 

Ozpin could’ve just given up - left everyone to fend for themselves. He doesn’t. Instead, he’s a professor, a teacher - and something to keep in mind when considering who the previous Oz spirit probably is. And he turns it into a lesson, a warning for his wide-eyed, naive students who haven’t realized the truth of the world they live in - that they have to find something worth fighting for because as they’ll learn, this isn’t a fairy tale. The fighting will never end. The loss will never end, regardless of what they learn or do. 

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So why do I think they’ve only started to merge? Because Blake says something very interesting later during that very same episode, and given CRWBY’s love of playing the long game when it comes to reveals and Chekhov’s guns (Ren and Jaune’s fight in vol 8, Salem as the mysterious Narrator), I think it’s interesting to pay attention to. 

When Yang and Ruby pester Blake during the night before Initiation, Ruby asks what sort of book Blake is reading.

Blake replies with “Well... i-it's about a man with two souls, each fighting for control over his body. “

And that’s why I think Ozpin’s relationship with his predecessor, likely the King of Vale as told by the World of Remnant episode, was probably somewhat rocky and that they were still not quite fused by the start of Ruby’s semester.

Because in the end, I think the like-mindedness characteristic that all Oz’s share is their desire for autonomy, the power to Choose. Ozma after all was robbed of his when he initially came back to life and then later became a piece on the board to hurt Salem, and given what the Lost Fable showed, the gods are petty. 

One could definitely make the argument that the God of Light tried to warn him that Salem wasn’t the same, but he didn’t really try that hard, did he?  

It felt like one large trap - because the God of Light never told Ozma the most important thing - that his wife was the reason why the gods didn’t think humanity could be redeemed and that granting Ozma his wish to return effectively puts him against Salem. So when the God of Light tells him “ you will reincarnate, but in a manner that ensures you are never alone,” that last bit is not meant as a consolation. It’s a punishment from a very petty god. And it’s only a realization that Ozma makes later, though initially doesn’t notice at first. 

Because now Ozma is the one who is robbing the choice of others, putting his reincarnations on a mission they never asked for - ripping apart families and friends for a fight that he soon learns is futile. But he has to fight because who else will? 

So the King of Vale, probably Ozpin’s predecessor given the timeline and introduction via World of Remnant, probably was a heroic and righteous man. And since he was a King, he was also used to having his commands listened to. So when he reincarnates and finds himself in a snotty nosed, kinda snarky young adult, who probably was on track on being a teacher (like Oscar being a farmer), he’s not happy. He’s probably less happy when his call to fighting the Grimm and preserving the kingdom is answered with “screw you. who are you to tell me what to do?” (this feels like the standard reaction for Oz’s; I think Oscar’s reaction to a voice in his head was a little tamer aha.). So you have a heroic guy that keeps trying to get this brat to answer the call and a young adult that’d rather enjoy the simpler things like hot chocolate, baking cookies, slapstick comedy (landing strategy, what’s that?) trying to do what they want to do. 

And since the King of Vale can occasionally take control to fulfill what he thinks is justice and good, this definitely does not endear Ozpin to the other man. And it probably took a long time for them to even have an inkling of trust for each other, but their conflict doesn’t resolve until later after latter parts of Vol 1 or beginning of volume 2 comes around.

Okay, that’s all I have for now, but yes I think vol 8 might reveal Ozpin’s relationship with his predecessor! 8)

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Also tiny blurb on the subject of Ozpin and his predecessor. There’s an AU of a 14-year old chaotic troll Ozpin and the spirit that’s with him (King of Vale) which REALLY takes off with the idea of Ozpin being the youngest Headmaster of Beacon. I adore this AU so. 

It’s made by immortal-green-wizard, and you should check it out! You won’t regret it. 8) 

#rwby theory #rwby #ozpin #the king of vale #professor ozpin #mod lilac #oscar pine #ozma #bleh i miswrote something pretty big #ozma did have a choice it's just that he didn't really think the ramifications of that choice through. 8)