#parjafi critical

[clonecumber]

For the character ask game: Fi

First impression : Clown. Sad. Sniper and medic, which I thought was a pretty nifty skillset. Impression now : Fi’s a bit like Mereel, in that trying to talk about him is very difficult for me to do concisely. Not even Fi seems fully aware of Fi’s depths, but I really appreciate how utterly fucking complicated he is, and primarily that complication mostly only comes about because Fi seems to really like subverting tropes common to his type of character. He’s funny and friendly, but one of the more callous members of Omega when it comes down to it. He acts laid back and a bit ditzy, but he has problems when he’s not in control of his environment and is sharp as a tack, which is easy to miss because Fi doesn’t seem aware of how smart he is, either. His coping mechanisms are avoidance and shoving his feelings into boxes to deal with maybe never, and he’s one of the ones most likely to pick a fight right behind Atin. He’s incredibly loyal, though, and for all his ability to puzzle out just about anything in the galaxy given enough time, he has a blind spot in regards to people he loves, and tends to forgo objectivity altogether when it comes to them. They’re Good and Right and Fi will fight you in this street if you imply otherwise. Very ride or die. His “love language” (as good a term as any) seems to be acts of service, so on top of Fi’s tendency to all-or-nothing devotion, he seems like he will do just about anything for people who love him. (Even when it’s maybe not good for him.)

Favorite moment : There are a thousand and one I could pick, honestly, but I’m gonna say it’s that one in Triple Zero where it turns out the plan they were running most of the op was Fi’s. He’s the one who figured out the Separatists would have needed another supplier, and came up with the idea to bait them with Ordo’s cache. It’s really clever, for many, many reasons I can’t quite get into without running this way too long, but the reason I point to it is because while Fi’s particular knack for inferring new information from past experiences comes up a lot, I think it’s about the only time in the series Fi’s brain is really noted. He even managed to surprise Skirata. Idea for a story : Fi doesn’t actually tend to pop up in the stories I tell myself, weirdly enough? Let’s see. Niner’s spinal injury isn’t so easily healed, or he manages to re-injure it and it can’t be fully healed again. They get him to Mandalore and not a hospital, in-keeping with canon, and Fi tends to chase everyone else off if they make a single proprietary or pitying remark about Niner’s injury and subsequently becomes primarily responsible with helping Niner during his recovery, up to and including helping him learn to handle a space!wheelchair and maybe eventually walk with a brace. (He’s at least as qualified as Parja was to help him.) (Atin is going to single-handedly make this whole-ass planet space!wheelchair accessible, btw). Corr helps too, which is also his reintroduction with Fi. With them working together, no one gets within a stone’s throw of making weird, manipulative comments about Niner owing anyone anything for his recovery. (Niner and Corr find out about the weird, manipulative comments Fi was subjected to about owing someone Parja something marriage for his recovery and hit the fucking roof.) (No, I will never be over that.)

Unpopular opinion : (I don’t think this series really has popular opinions, but we’ll work with what we have:) Uhhhh. UHHHHHH. I don’t know if not liking the Fi/Parja ship would count as unpopular or not? I don’t even really like them as a “beard” relationship, the way I’ve seen it done. I like Parja okay, just...not that relationship. Favorite relationship : Niner. Hear me out. Niner’s like an anxious sheep dog who starts herding anything that moves when stressed, and Fi keeps good-naturedly letting Niner herd him in circles around the yard into infinity, while feeling genuinely reassured that Niner cares enough to fuss at him. It’s a cute-ass dynamic, for all that I generally can’t stand relationships where one person uses another like a stress ball. It’s so blatantly harmless in the books though, that I eventually relaxed and started thinking it was cute instead, not least because Niner has canonically tucked a fifty-year-old man into bed without so much as a by-your-leave, so I don’t doubt for a second he’s fussed at his squad similarly, nor do I doubt that Fi loves it. I just feel like there’s a lot of opportunities there for Fi, who is a black hole for affection and validation but also expresses affection through, as stated, acts of service, and Niner, who needs to take care of people but does best when someone’s taking care of him right back, to genuinely be good for each other, and I wish it had been explored more in the books. Favorite headcanon : UHHHH. Oh, right, Fi’s 100% gay, sorry. Forgot that wasn’t canon for a second.