KyraXyreSpace

It's been a while since I've seen the show, so this is based on memory and whatever I can pick out from the wiki.

I THINK RWBY IS TRYING TO SEND A SIGNALBUT I DONT IF THEY KNOW MORSE CODE

Vol 10 just got a whole lot more intriguing. Two confirmed White Knight moments were featured in the official RWBY account's "Weiss Schnee's daily affirmations" video. And the fact they ended it on THE HUG. Yes, it's a sweet moment whether you have your shipping goggles or not....but isn't it funny they stopped it on that hug? The one Weiss is initiating for Jaune? Why not end it on Bumbleby jumping in? Why not end it on her joining the Team RWBY hug when Ruby returns? Why not end it on the team holding hands before they jump? They scoured all of Vol 9 (the only volume clips in this whole video) and ended it here.

So when Vol 9 was airing, I saved this above gif of Weiss looking at the Rusted Knight. It's short and quick, but I always thought it was an interesting pose they did for her. Like, look at how the rest of her team looks:

Ruby and Yang are surprised with Yang looking a bit more surprised. Blake is beside herself to be meeting another character, which given she's a book lover and had more or less been taking the lead throughout their Ever After journey, it would be more understandable for her to geek out over meeting him. Her stance almost mirrors Weiss' stance but not nearly as much. Her hands are closer to her waist compared to Weiss', which are raised up near her breast.

So what am I implying from this? The Rusted Knight was Weiss' fictional crush growing up.

Think about it. When Weiss was listing off two other characters back in Episode 4 “A Cat Most Curious," she named Lively Carpenter and the Rusted Knight. She described the Carpenter as "sweet" and Rusted Knight as "handsome." Now, one could make the argument that she only referred to each as "one" but I'm going based on the order she had listed them. So let's think about it. She described the Carpenter with a personality trait but described the Knight by a physical attribute. Now, we can assume The Girl Who Fell Through the World is like its real-world counterparts, Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass, and that it has illustrations. Yet I don't think the Jaune was ever illustrated since, while the girls might not have recognized him prior to meeting him, they might have years later since they IMMEDIATELY recognized him upon meeting in the Ever After. Oh the Rusted Knight most certainly would have been drawn, just not Jaune. So Weiss describing him as handsome is something she had to take the word of from the author and believed. I wonder if she ever imagined what he looked like under the armor? Did she have her own vision of him?

You know, we learned back in Volume 2's “Extracurricular” that Weiss has been pursued by suitors because of her last name, similar to her father marrying her mother. I no doubt believe that's why Weiss is picky about dating, and why she was so disinterested in Jaune's attempts. She saw how her father treated her mother, and vehemently does NOT want that for her life. I think, though, she may also be slightly swayed by her crush on the Rusted Knight. He was described as handsome by Lewis and didn't seem to be painted in a bad light. Maybe his depiction of a good, honest man influenced her taste. It's all just head canons, but an interview with Weiss' VA Kara a major White Knight supporter said that Weiss' type is someone who is mature and stepping up for other people. Is it possible some of this came from the Rusted Knight? He was much older than Alyx and Lewis, and since he hailed from Remnant, he wasn't zany like the Ever Afterans, making him mature. Also, he was helpful and was almost like a guide for the group up until Alyx poisoned him. That could be seen as him stepping up, especially since many of the Ever Afterans, while not evil, may not have been as helpful as him or the Cat who was just using the two humans to get out of the Ever After.

I'm going to stop there because I didn't mean for this to get out of hand. I was intending to just post this gif and do a quick little "hehe, look who has a crush" and somehow that spiraled out of control.

I don't know about better, but the Western audience probably wouldn't have cheered the death of a troubled fourteen year old if she was given a bit more focus. If we're going strictly on the beat-by-beat of Gundam Seed, then all that'd change is that we'd be following her and probably getting the audience to see things from her side.

Now if you're letting me completely change Gundam SEED with Flay being a more prominent character, then buckle in.

I'd probably feature her experience at Heliopolis and capitalize on her terror. Then probably on the episode where her dad arrives, show a flashback of a little Flay and her dad to really hone in how much she loves her dad and follows in his footsteps. It won't explain away her racist feelings toward Coordinators, but how many teenagers don't think like their parents on political views? Also, if I remember, I don't think her sentiment was completely in the minority? Still wrong, but the way the Western audience treats her it's like she's the ONLY ONE EVER to have this thought. She'd also still try to kill Lacus because she's desperate to save her father.

She'd still blame Kira and hatch her plan to kill him and have him kill the other Coordinators because hell hasth no fury like a woman scorned. She'll still stay on the Archangel as in the original as a way to keep Kira there and in the fight too, but I'm going to go one step extra and have Flay become a pilot when they get their hands on the Strike Rouge. I recall that Flay was supposed to pilot this Gundam, and I think that'd be a fun addition. I don't know when/where'd they'd get the Strike Rouge, but at some point before they touchdown on Earth they get it and Flay begins to pilot it to further incentivize Kira to die in battle for her but to also personally kill the enemy for killing her father. It's through this and Kira's loving feelings that start to sway Flay away from the dark side. She'll see the fighting is rough and takes a toll and further she doesn't get that same satisfaction as she thought she'd get.

She still keeps Kira away, but this is kind of also on the friends who are just bogged down in work, and the adults who are just okay with kids just not being watched. Plus, as a fellow pilot, she really gets what Kira is going through and keeps up her "my thoughts will protect you."

I don't think I'll have them break up before getting to Alaska. It may be the Kira/Flay gal in me, but I think it'd be better if they were still dating when Kira is "killed" in action in Alaska. It'll bring her more anguish as she realizes, in that moment, she genuinely loved him from the bottom of her heart and she never got to apologize for her actions. She won't seek comfort from Sai and Mira like she had in the original just because she'll have become too distraught and collapsed in on herself. Somehow she'll still find her way into the medical wing where Dearka is being confronted by Miri (maybe Flay had an emotional/psychotic breakdown that she wound up there and was sleeping) and she'll still pull the gun on him because how dare he get to live and breathe while Kira had to die? The original tried to paint it as her still having anti-Coordinator hatred, and while I'm sure she did at that point, it always felt like an excuse for her still reeling from Kira's death. So I'd present it as her being furious that one of Kira's enemies is alive and he'd dead and she'll fix that.

As fun as it'd be to keep her on the Archangel, I'll send her off like in the original. They stated in the original show that her plea to stay on the Archangel the first time around was compelling, so they wanted her to do it again, thus making her their poster child. Since she's now a pilot, this will be even more appealing to everyone. She'll of course be against this and when the base is under attack try to return to the Archangel only to get nabbed by Rau.

From here, things will play out pretty normally like from the show, though we get some more time to see her under ZAFT's hands. She'll be apprehensive at first considering her role as a pilot that engaged battle with them one too many times, but they don't hold it against her, treat her civilly, and Flay starts to not only see that she was wrong about Coordinators, but also begins to desire peace.

Now at this point I've gone back and forth in my head on whether or not she goes to the Dominion, but as a Kira/Flay gal, I'm going to say no. Since she's a pilot, she's familiar with the radio system, so unlike her original self who was hitting whatever button in the hope of reaching the Archangel, Flay is able to open the appropriate channel. Kira will of course hear her voice and be overcome since he had been distraught to learn she'd been transferred out while he was MIA. He'll rescue her, and the opposing side will only realize too late that they'd rescued a pod.

Kira and Flay will get their reunion in a fashion similar to when Kira had rescued Flay in the life pod, except this time they kiss. She'll make amends with her friends, show no hostility to the likes of Athrun and Lacus (she'll even apologize Lacus and Cagalli for the way she treated them) and take up her place as the Rouge pilot. Also any romance between Lacus and Kira is ended here because of Flay's return. This is nothing against Lacus who is a great girl. It's just that in this what if scenario I'm canonizing Kira/Flay, so his flirting/affections with Lacus has to be pinned at some point.

There can be two ways to end the series: killing Flay or not. While her death does spur Kira to unlock his seed and go ultimate, I'd much rather go for a 'perceived' dead. He thinks she died, but she actually didn't and maybe even helps him towards the end of the final battle. Then the two recover from the war and go to live a peaceful life until SEED DESTINY starts up.

I haven't seen Gundam SEED in years, so most of this is just what I can remember from the show. I don't think this would be better than the original, I just find this one fun. As for keeping Kira/Flay the main couple instead of canon Kira/Lacus is that I like their storyline more. Flay was HORRIBLE to Kira, there is no question of that. But the beauty of their love is that his pure love for her changed her. Love made her a better person.

"That was the nicest thing anyone's ever done for me." - Lola, Space Jam