#ozcarnations

Honestly I feel like Oscar’s semblance might be an important part of his struggle with his identity and him having a different semblance than Ozpin or the other ozcarnations may make him realise, that he’s he may still fundamentally change but the merge isn’t parasitic in nature. He is still fundamentally Oscar but with all of the memories and knowledge and magical powers of the previous Oz’s.

But his semblance shows at the end of the day he is still also Oscar too.

I’m thinking either a dream or memory related semblance, maybe something like clairvoyance etc… it would link back to volume 4 when we first saw him wake up after the cutscene after the villains made their plans as if it was something Oscar dreamt.

Oscar’s allusion is that of The Little Prince and whilst the character has no supernatural abilities he does possess the ability to see with his heart either metaphorical or literal depending on the adaptation which might allude to a telepathic semblance.

Either way I find it really interesting that Oscar’s semblance seems to be something stirring in the background. It was mentioned in volume 7 and Neon mentioned how they’re all going to be jealous as to what it is as a passing comment. And then also mentioned in volume 4 as well when Oscar first began training.

Remnant was at peace for 80 years, so he had time to adjust and get used to the whole reincarnation thing without the world crumbling down around him.

But Oscar doesn't have that luxury. Because Ozpin was literally killed at the start of this new war. And now Ozpin is simultaneously the only person who can understand what Oscar is going through without fully being able to help him through it.

Oscar: Around that campfire, did it matter?

Jaune: No, no. I guess it didn’t.

Oscar mainly said that to make Jaune feel better but there’s also an underlying implication, he’s also saying that about himself, implying that he’s possibly come to accept that even if he doesn’t make it, that having been around everyone, his friends, making memories with them, (his own campfires, if you will) it doesn’t matter to him, because at the end of the day; he was apart of their lives and they were apart of his and nothing else matters.

It’s a beautiful sentiment that I’m sure Oz also sadly came to the same conclusion himself.

I wrote these months ago and finally sharing them on tumblr.

Why I differentiate between Ozma and Ozpin, a 🧵

I disagree with the general interpretation of where the merge subplot is actually heading in canon: most people think it will actualize, I think it will be reversed, either stopping the merge for good or reversing it after it comes very briefly into reality.

Oscar's arc, paralleling Ruby (mainly, but other characters share the trait as well) has been about him trying to find his own place and his own story, but the shadow of supposed ego death is always looming on him and terrifying him.

Everytime he takes a step forward, he's reminded again of the expected fate for him, something that some characters actively want (like Ironwood).

Examples:

volume 6, after being treated as a stand-in for Ozpin, currently MIA, Oscar takes his own decision to forgive the team and be prepared for battle alongside them. While reconciling with tem, with his new combat gear, he still can't help but be haunted of "how much time he has left".

Volume 7 places him in a conundrum the entire volume: he's developing as a fighter, growing up as an adolescent and forging stronger relationship with his newfound friends. Jaune clearly comes to see him as a little brother and there's something interesting going on with Ruby that may or may not result in a romantic relationship down the line. The team actually worries about his opinion on stuff as well, and Ruby clearly values him as Oscar Pine. Meanwhile, the very person who's helping in his growth is James Ironwood, who cannot shut up about wishing Ozpin was there everytime they meet, and telling Oscar he will basically cease to exist to his face with a big shiny smile. It's unclear at this point if James knows or not about how terrified Oscar is of the merge, as the boy never voices this fear. I think he just wants not to think of it. So even at the end, where James finally says "fuck it, Oscar or Ozpin, i don't need either" and shoots him, Oscar starts coming onto his power, in a scene that's both powerful and bittersweet, paralleling Penny.

Both of them, for their qualities, were chosen by a magical destiny, one capable of beautiful and powerful magic, that they don't want, never wanted and will struggle with with the next volume. Penny's arc is a direct parallel and commentary to Oscar and the way it ends might comment on Oscar's arc. Not in death but that Penny could finally show everyone she was her own person who could choose for herself.

Coming back to volume 8, Oscar has his worst time yet, finally voices his fear of merging with Oz, and comes back from it scarred but stronger, having helped Ozpin trust himself and others and gaining a new ally in Emerald.

But, see where I'm getting at? This is no resolution.

Oscar has briefly shown his fear but at the end of the volume, much like Ruby has done for several seasons, swallows the literal torture he endured for half of it and the fear of imminent ego death due to reawakened magic, and chooses to focus on the positives.

Boy, if he had fallen into the ever after maybe he would have healed too. Or maybe we would have no plot at all bc Oscar and Ruby would have noticed each other's pain, which would have been nice as well, but sometimes therapy has to be brutal.

And also Oscar can't conclude his arc in the ever after because his own is complimentary to Ruby's but also a contrast to it. Ruby wants to emulate her mother and ideal of what a hero is and must learn that she is enough as she is already. Oscar does NOT want to emulate or be his father figure, whose og incarnation was basically THE ideal hero of fairytales. He wants to be enough but doesn't know who he is yet, since everyone keeps telling him to his face that Oscar Pine isn't enough.

SO anyway. If both Penny (a commentary on Oscar) and Ruby (a direct parallel)'s arcs end with them realizing their own individuality, I 100% believe Oscar's arc will end like this as well.

And when i say end i mean end is just a new beginning.

Before moving to my final argument, let me also briefly comment on how Jaune and Weiss' arcs are similar but different to Oscar and Ruby's. It's interesting because, by main character status, Jaune as the leader of team JNPR, is a lancer and a foil to RWBY and Ruby inside of team RWBY's dynamic, Weiss, as Ruby's partner, is the lancer and foil to Ruby and inside new JNPR/ORNJ, Oscar, as Jaune's new partner, is his lancer and foil.

And both Jaune and Weiss deal with identity but more in a role they want to play as expected to what their family might want, initially, and later as the knights they idealized in fairytales. This is way too long for this post, but again, fascinating. And also Whiteknight slays.

So, my final thesis:

Oscar's arc will end with him affirming his own individuality over the merge.

So why can't Ozpin also do the same?

The god of light's intention in bestowing Ozma with this method of reincarnation was the positive idea of him never being alone.

And this works, more or less, in different lifetimes. Even in the very first, the farmer who we initially assumed was completely eradicated, still voiced his opinion and reminded Ozma of the good path.

In later lives, the spirit and the host lived more comfortably, having estabilished an equal partnership.

But... They still end up as one person? They're literally so like-minded that their enormous guilt complex makes one believe he's responsible for everything the others did?

I feel like this is what the story is trying to say, much like what many characters say of Oscar, and it's framed as a bad thing.

And incorrect. Oscar is always "punished" for what his predecessors did because he will be Ozma eventually.

The voice still going by the name of Ozpin feels responsible for everything that happened since Ozma was brought back to life and literally agrees with his own torturer that yep, he deserves all the punishment and pain for it.

Every incarnation eventually reaches a point where they start to identify with their predecessors in such a way that contradicts what the god of light's intention was (then again, we have been shown time and time again that the god of light is not very good at his job).

Instead of a partnership where each soul helps the other moving forward and never los hope, we have a continuous cycle of guilt and self-abuse accumulating. Oscar is gnawing at it the entire time. Who's to say Ozpin, as the professor, also didn't?

And Oscar is going to break the cycle.

As he does that, I want Ozpin to also realize his own individuality.

This is why I want an happy ending for all the incarnates, not just Ozma. Merged they may be for now, in the physical realm, why should only Ozma move on to a peaceful afterlife? All the people who ended up clogs in the ever ticking clock and had no say in it were all people with their own lives, their own friends and families, their own name. And they deserve peace too.

Like it’s not entirely his fault considering the backstory I gave him but Osamu is the definition of that “aren’t you tired of being nice?” meme.

King of Vale landing in this feral adult’s head like “um ... hello?”

Osamu: *feral vibes intensify*

Ozpin on the flip side course corrects very hard the other way once Osamu crash-lands in his head and becomes the definition of Cheerful Malicious Compliance. So polite, so friendly, so skilled at finding and exploiting loopholes that he could probably make lawyers cry.

This isn’t to say Osamu isn’t kind, since he is still a likeminded soul, but kindness can take different forms and Osamu’s leaned very hard into the “this is for your own good” territory.