#ozpin protection squad

[bafflement]

Sometimes RWBY annoys me

Ozpin was a tragedy. The terrifyingly young headmaster of arguably the most famous of the Huntsman academies, shoved into the place he was in solely because of Ozma.

People conflate them, but they're not actually the same person. Ozpin hates himself, even after death... but there's no real evidence that Ozma does.

He's horrified that he's taking over Oscar because that was never meant to happen, he hoped to be the last just as much as previous Ozcarnations did... maybe even more, considering where he was and the protectiveness he feels for his students. Oscar, given a few years, could so easily be a Beacon student, after all.

He ran, he locked himself away and yet that still wasn't enough to stop the merge. OZPIN did not ask Jinn the question shown and we don't even know just when he was given the particular information that that even happened. Should he have shared it? Yes, maybe. But then again, he'd only known team RWBY and what's left of team JNPR for about a year when they all jumped him for not telling them and we do have canon proof that when he trusts people [Lionheart and Ironwood] they can and do betray that trust for their own reasons.

What's worst? He's fighting a war he no more signed up for than Oscar did, yet everybody seems very set on blaming him, as the last Ozcarnation, for the sins of them all.

Ozpin might be the voice, but that's merely because he was the last. EVERY incarnation of Ozma is a tragedy, it's one of the shittiest reincarnation methods in fiction. 'You'll never be alone', no, but the process gives the new host exactly no choice in the matter.

Basically... Oscar is a victim, but so was Oz. And it's quite likely he might not even have been in double digits when it happened.

[blackfliesinbluesugar]

I need more Ozpin emotional hurt/comfort fics that don't have any romantic pairings if u make one send it and ill give u my soul and heart

[maxiemumdamage]

I do appreciate that cases in RWBY where a person sends away their backup and allies because those people are weaker as individuals literally never ends well.

Ozpin might have beaten Cinder in the Vault had he not sent Pyrrha and Jaune away. Pyrrha wouldn’t have died on top of the tower had Jaune been there, as he almost certainly would have unlocked his semblance at the sight of her in mortal peril. Cinder wouldn’t have lost to Raven and Vernal in V5 had she waited and brought Emerald and Mercury (or her whole evil squad) with her.

We constantly see characters, especially the mentors or “stronger” ones, keep their supposed allies away from the fight in the interest of protecting them. But in RWBY, that never ends well. Teams exist for a reason, and refusing backup because you see your friends as weaker only ever buys time before they have to face that same enemy alone.

[maripr]

The Ozpin Protection Squad only counts one member so far, but he's FIERCE!

[agentbeeswrites]

It's been quite a weekend, y'all. It kind of feels like pride in a big city where it's treated like a queer holiday. Happy Bees Kiss Weekend.

Now that I have a minute, I'd like to bring up my Ruby theory. It's a little long, and yes, it has pictures!

So back in episode 5, Ruby met the Blacksmith.

They have this exchange:

Blacksmith: You seem to be carrying a rather large burden with you. Ruby: I'm fine. I can handle it. Blacksmith: If you change your mind, you may choose any one of these you like and set your burden down. Ruby: I already have a weapon. I did. Blacksmith: And yet, here you are: searching for something else that you do not even know.

I initially thought that Ruby's burden was the war with Salem to save the world, but it wasn't until something was referenced three times, over this and the 6th episode, that I changed my mind.

While talking with the Blacksmith, Ruby noticed a weapon. It drew her in. The design was similar to Crescent Rose, but with a much older sensibility - an old hunting rifle instead of a sniper rifle, and a large axe head instead of a scythe.

Then she looks closer and sees Summer reflected in the blade.

I immediately thought that was Summer Rose's weapon. Or is it? This looks like something a Woodsman would carry. There's a theory that Summer could be the Woodsman in the Ever After.

I find it more likely that weapon belonged to the Woodsman (whoever that is) than it being the one Summer had in Remanent because it bears too much resemblance to Qrow's weapon. I've never seen a squad from a huntsman school have two people with the same weapon type.

With only four episodes left, I'm not even sure that the Huntsman is going to be Summer.

But Summer is important.

Summer is the burden that Ruby must put down.

She comes up again when Ruby, desperate to get the last ingredient that will return her friends to normal, offers one of the last precious items she has left: the rose pin from Summer. "A mother's promise."

The more she gives, the more she feels lost.

Summer comes up again in the next episode when they're caught at the crossroads.

But Ruby doesn't even notice. She's carried the weight of Summer's legacy her entire life. She doesn't know what it would feel like to not have it.

As a child, she was raised on fairy tales, stories of adventures and heroes, and the story of Summer Rose. She was supermom: baker of cookies and slayer of giant monsters. The stories of her adventures turned into legends of their own. I'm sure that Tai told them often as a way to remember her and Yang reiterated them to Ruby.

Ruby is the only one to carry her name.

She made becoming a huntress her life's goal. Part of it was because she wanted to have an impact on people's lives and do good, but part of it was also to be a hero like in the legends she grew up with. Like the fairy tales. Like Summer Rose who gave her life to protect people.

Ruby obviously has a personality outside of being a huntress, so this isn't a case of it being her one defining characteristic. But a lot of her life has been shaped by Summer: her understanding that life can be short, that people die, that huntsman are the heroes who protect people and do the hard work that keep people safe. That there's a need for that work because the world can be violent and deadly.

That there was a woman who died doing that work and was revered like a saint by her family.

Ruby planned on applying to Beacon before Ozpin scooped her up for early admission. She probably wanted to lead a team just like her mom did in her Beacon years.

Who is Ruby going to be when she puts down the burden of her mother's legacy?

I think that Ruby is going to be given some choices. One will be to go home as she is, lost and broken. Another will be to stay in the Ever After and get wiped. Find a new purpose.

The Blacksmith has offered her the third option: put down her burden and choose a new weapon. A different way of fighting.

Reforge yourself into who you need to be, Ruby. It's the only path forward.

[bestworstcase]

I'll admit to mainly finding that 'nobody picks apart the other Damaged Elder Figures so harshly' anon irritatingly disingenuous, though your askbox isn't the place to go PvP about it. I also guess the 'we don't talk about Raven' bit clocked as a flavor of 'barn door closed after the horse' protectiveness that...well, fits Typical Fantasy Homebody Parents more than it actually does Mr Wizard's Special Spy Squad survivors. Though now I'm wondering how much caginess they absorbed from Oz.

hahah fair enough! tbh i didn’t blink twice at the other anon because in the rwby circles i’m adjacent to i do see a clear discrepancy between how tai is discussed and how the other members of the old guard are—in both negative and positive contexts. people talk mostly about tai’s parenting; whereas like people will have all sorts of discussions about qrow/raven/summer that don’t really involve the kids at all? dhdhsks that’s not universal obviously and i see a fairly equal mix of bad dad/good dad takes but, yeah.

if qrow is anything to judge by ozpin did his level best to drill the ethos of secrecy into the heads of everyone he entrusted with the conspiracy and qrow, at least, clearly took it to heart even if he does try to weasel around it by dropping hints until his niece and her friends stumble into enough of it on their own that he can justify spilling the beans. and while ozpin’s secrecy always nominally centered around this specific goal of keeping the shadow war…in shadows…like, keeping secrets is a habit that tends to spread, isn’t it? conspiracies snowball, lying about one thing can so easily become lying about other things too, and there’s a thin line between hoarding information and getting into a mindset that even inconsequential information should be played close to the chest because, well, is it really necessary for the other person to know?

which of course is also just going to be enabling gasoline on the fire of any pre-existing inclination towards repressing things or sweeping unpleasantness under the rug. and in general it’s corrosive to teamwork and social cohesion by way of erecting barriers against open communication, hence the catastrophic disintegration of team strq itself.

wrt tai not talking about raven specifically, what tilts me toward “he stonewalled her because it hurt to think about and he couldn’t get over that” is that yang kinda presents it that way? she didn’t even know raven existed until after summer died, and then tai “shut down” and eventually told yang that 1. summer wasn’t the first love he’d lost, 2. raven was on a team with him and summer and qrow, and 3. she left after yang was born. so like, this very limited amount of information trickled out at a time when tai was distraught and grieving, which kicked up some of the old grief he must have felt after raven left, and then there’s this line of equivalence drawn between raven leaving and summer dying and how that made tai feel. definitely reads to me as it slipped out in a moment of distress, then he wasn’t prepared for yang to get curious about her own mother so he just shut down on the subject.

[cinnamon-pineforest]

Reblog if you're part of the Ozpin protection squad.

This beautiful, wonderful, man needs to be protected. While he’s far from perfect and he has made lots of mistakes, he’s trying his best to protect everyone. Seriously, people are too quick to bash him and blame him for absolutely everything! He needs more love and support. 

[lieu-rey]

Where the Ozpin Protection Squad at??????

[ahoskarose-76]

Honestly, Yang and Qrow pissed me off this entire episode. After finding out how much Ozpin suffered (he was literally in tears upon being reminded) and has been trying to protect people, even though there's no way to destroy Salem. They decided to lash out and not just at Ozpin; Qrow punched Oscar and belittled Ruby for trying to comfort Oscar when he was afraid. Yang snapped at Oscar when he said Ozpin was gone and snapped repeatedly at Maria for what again? not wanting to freeze to death. Both of them were just terrible this episode.

[bafflement]

Deaged Oz AU - Custody Arrangements

Em Pine sighed in frustration as she filled out yet another form to try to become the legal guardian of her new nephew. She didn't remember it being this complicated to claim custody of Oscar, surely it shouldn't be in Oz's case? She double checked to make sure the birthdate matched the other forms, happy she'd asked what Oz's birthday was before they'd left. (He'd sounded so confused, the poor dear, as though he didn't think he deserved one.) So much about Oz made her angry, so many red flags. If she ever found his parents, they would be having words, she was very certain of that, if nothing else. She filed the latest form and left, at least they'd promised to actually look into things this time...

"There is no record of the boy in question. Denied." Was all the letter said. Just that and nothing more, so much for the promises they'd made. She stared down at it in frustration and anger before picking it up and storming back to the train station, hoping she'd make it in time before the office closed for the day. This needed to be sorted out as soon as possible, if only to give Oz some form of legal identity.

The official behind the desk sighed. "Look, ma'am, we can't find any record of this 'Tip Pine'. Do you have any proof he exists? Pictures, physical proof? The boy himself? Even talking to your nephew would help."

"I'm not certain where the boys are right now, they're travelling with a family friend and friends of their own, but I do have pictures, yes. She dug out her scroll and started to show the pictures to the official. Lots of images of Oscar and Oz together, a few of them with her, too. There were even a few they'd sent her of all nine kids together with Qrow in the background. The official tutted to himself.

"Tell you what, contact the older boy, see if he picks up. We'll go from there." He seemed willing to listen at least, though part of that might have been the sheer adorability of the boys in question. They'd looked so sweet asleep against each other in the house in Mistral. It had been rather nice of Qrow to send her that one.

Oscar blinked as his scroll rang, he hadn't been expecting a call after all. Pulling it out, he grinned at the caller ID.

"Hi, Aunt Em!"

"Oh, hello Oscar, do you have a minute?"

"Sure, what do you need?"

"I have a gentleman here that needs to talk to you, if that's alright?" She passed the scroll over to the official, who smiled.

"Hello there, you'd be Oscar Pine, correct?"

"Yes? Hello, who are you?"

"Well, my name is Aster Lyme and I work with the families department here in Haven. I just have a few questions regarding one Tip Pine? There are no records of him, you see. Your aunt claims that you see him as a brother?"

"The families department?" Oscar sounded confused, but shrugged. "Yes, Tip's my brother now. I always wanted a brother, and now I have one!"

The man smiled to himself. "Well, you certainly do sound very attached to him. Now, the records your aunt submitted claim that he's ten? Do you know his parents, at all?"

"Uh..." Oscar looked uncomfortable for a second. "I'm not sure who they are? He's never really talked about them. I can go and get him for you?"

"That might be for the best, yes."

Oz blinked as he accepted the scroll from Oscar, who just grinned at him, looking slightly confused.

"Hello?"

"Oh, hello there. You'd be Tip, right?"

"I, well, yes, who are you?"

"I'm Aster Lyme and I need to ask some questions, if that's alright? Do you know where your parents are? Or their names?" He sounded softer than he was when talking to Oscar, his eyes sympathetic as the little boy on the other end blinked in shock.

"I... I'm not sure who they were, why do you need to know?"

Oscar, in the background, sent a horrified look towards Oz. He hadn't known that his brother didn't even know who his parents had been. Who'd raised him, how... just, what?

"I work for the family department here in Mistral, an Emerald Pine has tried to claim custody of you, but your records are incomplete. Are you sure you don't know your parent's names, can't describe them at all?"

"I'm certain. i have no memory of them, I'm sorry."

The official sighed heavily. "No need to apologise, little one. I'll mark your parents as unknown, that's alright, I just needed to check."

Oz pouted slightly at being called little one, but still looked confused. "Aunt Em is trying to claim custody of me? But... why?"

"She seems rather attached to you, as does your brother. Now, do you know where you were born, at all? Or is that unknown, too?"

"I'm sorry, sir, I'm unsure. As stated, I don't really remember that, either."

"Noted. You have a Vale accent, so I'll note that as the possible origin point, but I think that should be just about everything. Nice to meet you both. I'll let you talk to your aunt for a while and thank you for the help!" The scroll was passed back to Aunt Em, who looked rather concerned.

"Aunt Em?" Oz sounded confused. "Why exactly are you trying to adopt me? I'm really, really honored by what you and Oscar have done for me, but custody? Really?"

"Oh, Tip. Is it really that hard to accept that we want you? You're my nephew, Oscar's brother. This just makes it official. And besides, it's only guardianship, just like I have with Oscar. Just because you don't know who your parents were doesn't mean that you didn't have them and I'd no more try to replace them than I would my sister and her husband. You're just gaining more family, and so am I."

"Yeah!" Oscar chimed in. "You're ours now, my brother and Aunt Em's nephew. Whoever raised you can't claim you anymore. You're safe."

"Safe?" Oz breathed, as though tasting the word for the first time. "I am unsure just what safe feels like, really."

The others, who had been trying hard not to listen in, glanced at each other, looking vaguely horrified.

"Oh, pocket sized." Jaune breathed. "None of us would ever hurt you, you really are safe here, or at least as safe as any of us are."

Oz looked deeply touched by the statement, smiling rather sadly back at Jaune. Aunt Em smiled to herself too, thankful that her boys had friends they could rely on.

Later, months after everything had been finalised, Em Pine got a call out of the blue herself. She answered it rather gingerly, not instantly recognising the man on the other end.

"Hello there, I'm General James Ironwood and I'm calling you regarding Oz. Well, and Oscar, I suppose. I was hoping you'd sign over custody to me. Surely they'd be better under my guidance."

"Excuse me?" She stated, flatly, eyes hard. "And just why would I give up custody of my nephews to you? I also note that you seem worryingly interested in Tip for an Academy Headmaster, does your council know about your predilictions?"

James spluttered out denials, face red as Em glared at him.

"What? What? No. Why would I, why would you imply... Oz is my friend. He needs protection while he's here, they both do. Not... not, that!" It was rather amusing for Winter Schnee, who was still in the room, to see her normally unflappable general in such a state. But then, this was a call involving her uncle and she'd heard... stories, about him, over the years.

"He may need your protection while he's there, but I'm not signing over custody. You can have temporary guardianship, but Oscar is my blood nephew and, as for Tip? There's a saying here in Mistral, General."

"Oh?" He still sounded vaguely dazed, but at least with temporary custody he could recover from the conversation. He might try again, then again, he might not.

"Yes. Finder's keepers. Tip is mine, go find your own."

Winter laughed. Maybe James had finally found his equal after all.

[hyperfixation-hideout]

I’m those weird peppy atlas guards going “Have a good day. A GOOD DAY!” in every convo like this:

Me: Ozpin is a good boi

Someone: um, but he—

Me: A GOOD! BOI!

[fandomsallaroundme]

will we ever recover

[thegoodwitchynki]

Rwby spoilers ahead

One of my favorite things about RWBY is how they write their characters( there could be a little more character development but). Everybody feels realistic, they act like people actually do (especially the teenagers)

Volume 6 has blown me away so far.

I wasn't sure if Ozpin could be trusted before but I wanted to believe he was doing the right thing. With all we've learned about him, I just feel so bad for him (I don't think that he's done nothing wrong but he didn't do anything you cause this)

Salem's backstory is just tragic. She had a traumatizing childhood and wasn't equipped to handle that kind of loss. I can understand why she did what she did even if it was wrong, and after that loss and isolation to get everything she wanted just lose it again by her own hand ( I wonder what she felt after that fight with Ozma, about him and their children)

And then there's team rwby, Oscar, and qrow. The kids are understandably upset that all of this has been hidden from them by somebody they thought they could trust, and they are right to be furious about being thrown into a seemingly hopeless fight. I've always felt bad for Oscar being thrown into the situation with no real option or choice, and now that he knows the truth it seems so much worse.

Qrow reaction was kind of heartbreaking. Seeing his trust in Oz broken and questioning all his choices. The fact that Oz was so upset by Qrow's reaction that he shut himself away says a lot about how important Qrow is to him.

The character interactions this volume have been so good I hope it keeps up

[blindfoldmemory]

So about Ozpin...

Alright I haven't made my own RWBY post since season 3 but I really need to make this before the fandom finds another reason to hate on Ozpin in tomorrow's ep

All I want out of the series at this point is for Ozpin and Oscar to actually talk; a very serious yet emotional talk that brings Ozpin back to help. I want Oscar to finally be able to get Ozpin's attention back and I want Ozpin to be in distress about all that has happened since the Jinn scene.

Oz panicked and crying as he tries apologizing for all he's done to his students and especially Oscar himself. He left the boy to deal with all of this negativity after all. Ozpin has shown multiple times in his life how much he cares for those around him and he thought keeping secrets was the best way to protect him. The man was clearly in huge despair at the truth being known seeing as the last shot we got of him so far was Ozpin crying over not knowing what to do as he relived a horrid past then told he was the worst luck to a man known for bad luck. The fandom seems to forget that despite being his own form of negativity... The Ozma line are all still human.

I want Ozpin to be a broken mess over it... And I want Oscar to comfort him. I want him to tell the old wizard that it wasn't all his fault. I WANT Oscar to realize that the blame has been put on the wrong person; while Ozpin has put the burden on himself it was the Gods and in a way Salem who caused this. (I will protect original Salem though since it's 90% the gods) Ozma was just a pawn in death's game who was given the chance to save humanity in a sick twisted way.

How he comforts Oz depends. The "I wanna see Ozpin again" side of me says this all happens in a dream Oscar has and they have a emotional hug before Ozpin's dream version disappears and rejoins them on the journey; but the story telling side of me says it would be pretty cool to be in a reflection instead. Oscar looking in a reflection and himself reflected back as Ozpin talks in his head. Look me in the eyes and tell me Mirror Mirror couldn't fit Oscar/Ozpin especially the final lyrics. (Cover by Jeff anyone?)

Moral of my rambling is I just want Ozpin to stop being treated as a horrible monster by both the cast and the fandom; and the best way for it to happen is if he has a actual moment with Oscar. Be it in a flashback to after everyone split or a little in the future which would cause his semblance to awaken. It would be a good way to both get everyone back on track and Oscar getting the much needed character development to realize that despite everything he truly is his own person.

Ozpin deserves a redemption and I will stand by this fact until he gets one.

[bubblegumranting]

Feels for RWBY

Okay, after watching Chapter 3 of the newest volume, I just feels so bad for Oz. Like, that back story is honestly tragic and I understand why he didn't want to tell it. This is his life, this is his past, this isn't some deep dark secret that makes him some evil person. He's just a hurt man trying to fix things the best he can and not wanting all his business and personal trauma out there like... Come on, guys. And from the screen shots I've seen from Chapter 4, the other member of RWBY and Qrow get pissed at Ozpin like... What? Did we all see the same back story? Like, how? And that punch from Qrow? Wtf? First of all, can everybody calm the fuck down and talk shit out? Also, Qrow, you're punching a smol boi. Holy shit. And I don't blame Ozpin for going silent and leaving. He just got assaulted, had one of his dear friends say that they regret meeting him, and have the team he has known and cared about basically shun him for, to me at least, stupid reasons. Now, could they be a upset? Oh yes, they can. But, that's why you discuss this kind of shit instead of just hopping on the hate train for Oz. I'm particularly mad at Yang and Qrow for their reactions. But, I'm gonna stay calm and just know that I expect some apologies and hugs all around because Ozpin and Oscar are my babies and they deserve better.

PSA Over

[ironwoodprotectionsquad]

I think I’m funny.