Part 2 here we go. Check out part 1 if you haven’t yet. That’s where I really cover Ozpin and how he pertains to Oscar and the merge. This is more of how that analysis pertains to Rosegarden.
So in part 1, I really tried to nail in that Ozpin and Oscar are NOT the same entity. But I also tried nailing in that the soul inside Oscar is essentially a separate, but immortal being. I’m still going to define that soul as Oz in this just to avoid any confusion.
So why is the Rosegarden ship ok if Ozpin is in Oscar’s head? Because again, for the people who still don’t get it, Ozpin and Oscar are not the same. Ozpin and Oz are not the same either. Ozpin was the previous incarnation of Oz. What’s in Oscar’s head right now is Oz, the immortal entity with countless previous life experiences.
And in my eyes, it’s fine to have an immortal and a mortal together. The closest situation in other media I can think of is ATLA and LOK. Aang and Korra are both reincarnations of the Avatar. Aang can reach out to all of his past lives, just as Oscar can. While Aang can do it through the spirit realm, those reincarnations are still there and can even take over his body. Remember how Avatar Kyoshi took over Aang’s body to tell her part in the death of Chin the Conqueror? Despite this, Aang was still able to have a good relationship with Katara and even have a family. (They even had the same age difference as Ruby and Oscar and they were even younger! Aang at the beginning of the series was 12 while Katara was 14)
However, I think that Korra is an even closer to Oscar’s situation. Because she is the Avatar, she can do as Aang did and talk to her past incarnations. She can draw upon their experiences and powers as her own. But the biggest reason that she’s closest to Oscar’s situation is because of Katara. Both Korra and Katara acknowledge that despite both being the Avatar, Korra and Aang are two completely different people. Katara loved Aang, and she knows that while Aang is a part of Korra, she’s not entirely him.
That’s how I see the Rosegarden ship. I see that Ruby knows that Oz is part of Oscar, but that doesn’t mean that Oscar is entirely Oz. He’s his own person. Even before V6, this has been basically the slogan of the Rosegarden ship. That’s why we all freaked out when Ruby canonly told him that. Ruby even treats Oscar and Ozpin as two different people.
So it goes without saying that if Oscar is in love with Ruby, it doesn’t mean Oz is as well. You can really see that Oscar has liked Ruby since he met her. The first time he saw her, he looked completely blown away
(You really can’t say that isn’t the face of a kid that just saw the prettiest girl in his life)
One thing I would like to add is that I think Oz really understands that he’s not the same as Oscar. At this point, it’s pretty obvious that Oscar has a crush on Ruby. Oz has done nothing to either stop nor expedite the relationship. He really hasn’t forced Oscar to do anything he doesn’t want to do except for when fighting Hazel. He could have easily taken over Oscar’s body and forced him to go to Haven, but he let Oscar come to his own decision. While I feel like a lot of what Oz has done is a completely different essay, I do want to say that he knows they’re separate beings. He knows that Oscar can make his own choices. That doesn’t mean he isn’t going to try and steer him in another direction (again another essay), but he knows that it’s ultimately up to Oscar. When Oscar fought Oz for his body back, Oz didn’t get angry at Oscar. He didn’t force Oscar’s soul to be locked away. When Oz realized that he wasn’t welcome by the group nor Oscar, he was the one that locked himself away. He didn’t scream, he didn’t fight, he just apologized and left like he thought they wanted.
On that note, I’ll finish there so I have more to write in a later essay. As always, don’t be afraid to message me what you think. I’m always up for a friendly debate.