#ozcarpin

WHAT HAVE I DONE?!

I WAS SO DISTURBED BY THIS SCENE AND YET HERE I AM—

W H Y AM I LIKE THIS AHHH

He’s more than a little grateful to be recognized. To have found his way through the city of Vale and stumbled upon the familiar man. The aura unmistakable. Always a touch different, but never straying from its origin. He remembers the discussion had about what the Brothers had done. What sort of curse they roped the man into. The state of their current world. As such, he made it a point to remember Ozma’s aura.

Initially, this was done in an effort to keep an eye on the man. To never lose him among the crowds of many. To always find the man that was fated to, somehow, bring the people together. Summon the Relics. Summon the Brothers, and allow them to pass judgement. It was a cruel twist of fate, but no crueler than being left on this planet. Duty bound until having his chains broken by the man standing in front of him.

Yes, he wore a new face (and a new set of clothes, too), but he was still the same man from ages ago. A friend that Zhongli could share memories with. One that made him feel less lonely in his long life.

“You always were prepared for most things life.” With hands clasped politely behind his back, the man can’t help but smile at the other. Indulge in the new appearance. Find a sense of comfort in the eyes looking back at him; a different color this time, but unmistakable in their warmth.

Well wasn’t that the question of the century. 

The dull lighting offered optimal lighting from the starry sky behind him. The wide, expansive windows always more of a comfort than anything else in his office. A reminder of the people he needed to protect. The world he needed to keep safe. The role that he played in all of it. The simplicities that he needed to take more time to be apart of, but the idea growing harder and harder as the days passed.

With hands clasped together on his desk, and a mug of hot cocoa set in front of both himself and his current companion, Oscar Pine, the man wasn’t entirely certain how to answer the question asked. Not when he, himself, struggled to find the answer these days. 

Even still, he was a Headmaster. A general. A man built on strong legs, so he could successfully hold all that needed him atop his shoulders.

“That’s a heavy question,” he eyes the boy quietly, a small smile pulling at his lips. An act of comfort and reassurance as he continues, “And unfortunately, the answer isn’t so simple. In truth, I don’t know what keeps me going most days.”

Sincerity has always seemed to be the best approach when confronted with the young. When confronted with-- anyone that wasn’t depending on him to appear infallible. What Oscar needed, what most of his students needed, was a hand extended to them. A reminder that, at their cores, everyone was human. Everyone became a little lost on their paths forward. Even an Atlesian general.

“I suppose I could tell you that, as a general, my career won’t allow me to stop going. Or that as a Headmaster, it’s my duty to keep pressing onward and paving a path for those that want what we all want; a safer Remnant. A direction in life. And as a man, I could tell you that I’m just as naïve and human as the rest of us; believing if I press a little harder, it’ll all be worth it in the end.”

He reaches for his mug idly, lifting it as he adds, “What keeps me going, even when all seems bleak, even while the world seems to be crumbling around us...it could be all these things, or it could be one of these things. It depends on the day.”

Taking a small sip and giving himself a moment to swallow down the emotions that knot in his chest, the man sighs gently.

Anon Hour - Accepting

💆- Your muse falls asleep while mine is petting/massaging them.

The sigh spilled from his lips, and every inch of his body relaxed alongside it.

The last couple of nights were rough. Both he and his partner, Neo (the tiny woman who could kill a thousand men with just her pinky alone), spent several, long nights planning their heist. They pinpointed every exit, planned for any and all interruptions (most of which being the cops), and after finally deducing the best way to escape with the shipment of Dust, set out to do just that. Unfortunately, the job require two all-nighter’s and after spending much of the night loading and unloading, the two criminals were spent. Exhausted beyond belief, they slouched lazily on the couch of their dingy little apartment, tucked away where no one could find them. Hopefully.

At some point or another, Neo’s head fell from his shoulder and found itself atop his lap; legs tucked neatly onto the couch and chest rising with slow, even breaths. Maybe it was the exhaustion, or perhaps it was the desire for comfort that they both craved, despite the tough faces, but Roman’s hand (freed from the confines of his glove) dropped to caress the woman’s head gently.

The quiet that passed between them was more than a little welcoming. It was relaxing, soothing in a way that could only be found when they were like this. Alone. Together. Away from the world that wronged them, but a place to call home nevertheless. A place where they were safe and free to imagine a life that existed only within this room. A life that was peaceful and relied on nothing more than their very existence.

A finger poked at the man’s knee and with a sharp inhale, Roman realized he nodded off. Coming to with a blink of his eyes, he turns olive orbs down to the face looking back at him. A small smile grows slanted on his face, and he’s quick to reprimand his wrong; skilled fingers shifting back into her hair. Her own smile perks up as her heterochromatic eyes slide closed. 

“Someone’s awfully needy tonight, huh?”

A huff escapes her as she lifts a single brow, Roman reading the silent language like an open book.

“I’m needy? I don’t recall ever poking you awake for some more head pets.”

She shakes her head with a small sigh, a chuckle elicited from the man.

“Alright, that’s fair. I guess I can be a bit needy.”

At this, Neo slides one eye open. The man sighs heavily and plays with several pieces of her hair.

“Oookay, a lot needy. But can you hardly blame a man for needing what he wants?”

A moment of silence passes between them, the woman’s other eye sliding open. Her gaze softens for him, always for him, as she reaches a hand up to gently caress his cheek. He leans into it appropriately, another sigh spilling over his lips.

“There we go. See? That wasn’t so hard, was it?”

What should have been a laugh huffs silently out of the woman. Her chest responds to the desire, and it’s enough to make the man’s heart flutter. Neo’s eyes roll playfully before closing shut once again and in this, Roman joins her; his hand gliding through her multicolored locks with ease as his own eyelids grow heavy.

He hoped to always exist like this, right beside Neo, in this dingy little apartment of theirs (or wherever they next called home), and live in a world meant only for them. He wanted to dream beside her. Wanted to feel the rise and fall of her chest as he was reminded that this was his, and it would always be his.

*Oobleck goes to Atlas and Runs into everyone and they decide to tell Oobleck everything about Salem, Ozpin, they tell it all*

Oobleck:...oh yeah I already knew all that.

Everyone:...WHAT!?!

Oobleck: are you all really that surprised I’m a doctorate historian it is my job to look into things with the past.

Everyone:......

Oobleck: Plus I’m a curious and clever person 

Oscar: what else do you know  professor Oobleck

Everyone: it’s Doctor

Oobleck: I see you all have remembered some things from Beacon and well the fact that qrow & raven have powers to morph into flying feathered friends.

Qrow: *spit takes* you knew that!?!

Oobleck:  yes because nothing logical was making sense i’m how you were getting to destinations so quickly so that had to be the only outcome yes I understand it seemed far-fetched in my mind at first but after some research and surveillance of both of you my theory was proven correct, and you...

Qrow: wait you spyed on us? What? How? *Swigs from flask*

*Oobleck points at Oscar*

Oscar: me?

Oobleck: i’m guessing you are the next reincarnation and I’m guessing Ozpin can probably hear me.

*Suddenly oscars eyes flash*

Ozcar: YOU KNEW!?!

Oobleck: hello again old friend and yes I did.