I'm sorry for skipping Saturday, but I just got hit with a massive lack of motivation. I just, couldn't write anything, even when I had ideas. Thankfully, it finally seems to be passing, so I should be back to normal in the next couple days.

Anyways, I decided to do this chapter on Ozpin, because I love him. And he makes for a great 50th chapter! I can't even believe I made it this far to be honest.

I'm getting lazier with the chapter titles, can you tell?

Ozpin was a teacher. Of the thousands of students that have passed through his school over the years, he had taken the time to guide all of them at some point. To see how they lived, how they fought, how they developed, how they grew.

It was only his duty. Or rather, it was more than a simple duty by this point, it was a moral obligation. He tried his hardest to ensure that every student left here on their best footing. It gave him joy to help them, although maybe it was just his twisted way of trying to give back all that he had taken from them.

Their freedom; they would always be in service to the people as huntsmen. Their sense of normalcy; they would never be able to come back once they had completed their years here at Beacon. Their security; very few of his students lived another day without looking over their shoulders. Their safety; grimm and criminals alike, all of them were out for a huntsmen's blood. He took it all. And no matter how many times he heard people reassure them that they had chosen this for themselves, he had to wonder if they ever really knew what they were getting into.

None of them did, not in his mind. Then again, he's lived a thousand lifetimes, and he still didn't know what he had gotten himself into.

Ozpin was an observer. More than anything, he would stand in the background, coffee in hand, and simply watch the world go by. Marking down details with meticulous precision. How one girl reacted to a joke compared to another, how interest vary so drastically from people of the same background.

Ozpin took in every detail, recorded it, and stocked it in his mind just in case. Sometimes it served him well, other times it was proven to be useless. That never managed to deter his habit though.

So, he continued to watch, even as he could see the city start to crumble before his eyes.

Ozpin was a planner. Millenniums of experience made analysis as easy as breathing. It was second nature at this point. So sadly, the minute Pyrrha showed back up at the school, his first instinct was how could he use her.

He hated his mind sometimes. The way he could look at people like they were chess pieces, shove down emotions like they were nothing but air, discard attachments when the situation called for it. He hated it, but there was no changing it. He's tried.

Ozpin was arrogant. He thought this could last. That he could just miraculously hold Salem at bay long enough for Ruby to develop fully. That he could hold shut the cage filled with vile, hissing serpents while his hands were already withering away.

He thought that Salem had been weakened enough to kill all those years ago. And in the process, he left two girls without a mother, Tai Yang without a wife, and Qrow without a friend. He still remembered his last words to Summer Rose. Some curt, vague warning about the mission she had accepted.

He was stupid. So very, very stupid.

Ozpin had too many regrets to name. He's let down too many people to count by this point. Whether it's in this lifetime, the next one along, or the third one back. It was all just a cycle, one that he would never be able to escape, not while he still had ends to tie up here.

He saw Cinder's final, obliterating move minutes before it ever happened. But Ozpin has long learned that twisting absolute fate is a useless venture. His life was too far gone to save, but his next life was out there somewhere. It was some poor, unsuspecting child, who was about to have the weight of all of Remnant placed on their shoulders.

Maybe they could finally end this.

As you can see, I am a firm believer in the theory that Ozpin can manipulate time. It's not to a great degree, but it can five him visions of events a few minutes before they happen. Depending on the vision, Ozpin has a chance to change the future. Some futures are unavoidable though. Also I lowkey like the idea of Ozpin have a photographic memory. It just adds to his suffering because now he has the collective memories of who knows how many past lives.