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shippy prefs
SHIPPY PREFERENCES
basics
This is by no means a be-all and end-all when it comes to shippy stuff I enjoy with Ai! Consider it a jumping off point & just a cliffnotes for people who might be interested in shipping and need some ideas. Some of the things I have listed in my 'no's are things I would potentially be down to play depending on context/with certain RP partners but don't really work well as quick jumping off points for memes, etc.
- ✶ While I usually default to playing Ai as an adult in her early 20s, I also play her as a teenager from around age 15~18. As such, I'm happy with ship with characters in both age brackets!
✶ When playing Ai in her early 20s, her being a single mother to twins is an unavoidable part of her character! I'm totally fine with crosscanon partners either adjusting to being in a blended family or just AUing them in as the twin's other bioparent as suits the dynamic. While I don't mind playing versions of adult Ai who didn't have the twins, those will unavoidably be messier, unhealthier and all around less happy/fluffy dynamics as she is a much less happy and health person as a result of their absence.
✶ Pretty much all of Ai's relationships will be slowburn, secret romances by default. Because of her romantic baggage and the taboo of an idol dating, it's necessary for characters to build a lot of trust with her before out and out romance is on the table. THAT SAID, assumed CR where all this has happened in the background is totally fine! The point is more that casual dating/FWB/etc. dynamics won't really work for Ai.
✶ Much of Ai's character revolves around her exploitation as an idol and the effects the industry had on her mindset and self image. I'm not really interested in AUs where this aspect of her character is not a factor as it would honestly make her unrecognizable lol. I have a handful of generic scenarios/AU hooks that can be built on for crosscanon purposes but I'm also open to rolling with tons of other stuff so long as there's an equivalent social role for her to be slotted into where she experiences the same issues (commodification, exploitation, expectations of purity, misogyny & dehumanization). I just want to put her in the salad spinner !!
✶ Because of Ai's admitted longing for a family her whole life, I really love domestic, mundane romance scenarios with attention paid to family dynamics and day-to-day life.
✶ HOWEVER, on top of the above, I am absolutely down to put her in darker, more toxic scenarios with unhealthy dynamics - codependency issues, power imbalances, straight up yandere obsessiveness directed at her, etc. I do not want to play outright abusive dynamics where Ai is entirely powerless or in abject fear of her partner all the time, but a little predator/prey toxic romance is good for the soul ok
✶ Broadly, I'm not interested in ships/scenarios/etc that are focused on not Ai becoming physically strong, able to protect herself, be self sufficient, etc – much of Ai's trauma and baggage is about being forced to be self-reliant because she has been continually let down and failed by people around her and she has subsequently started to internalize this as being her own fault. I'm much more interested in ships & arcs where Ai is allowed to be relatively powerless/helpless/a burden and being shown that people can and will love and accept her, warts and all, and that she deserves to be 'saved' even if she can't be useful.
dynamics & vibes
♥
idols/performers/musicians • liars/fakers • domesticity • parenthood • predator & prey • yandere
✔
fluff & comedy • canon/genre AUs • hurt/comfort • corruption • toxic romances
✘
aggro/violent characters • abuse • adult/underage • fwb/casual dating • incest
fave scenarios
bodyguard romance
Bodyguard romances are super easy to click into OnK canon and also a dynamic I really enjoy in general! I like playing around with the secrecy angles, the forced proximity and the 'oops, wasn't supposed to fall in love with you' of it all lol. This also covers less mundane scenarios with similar dynamics like Sentinel/Guide AUs and the like.
Idol & Entertainment Industry BS
Ai's life as an idol is a huuuuge part of her character and one I find endlessly fascinating to explore! I love comparing and contrasting her perspective on idolhood with other characters who are themselves idols or who are in the entertainment industry. Mashing together similar canons and placing characters as celebs in the same world is always fun for me to play around with!
Japanese Gods/Mythology
While Ai herself is a total normal, Oshi no Ko plays around with supernatural themes that tie back to the Japanese creator gods and there's some half-joking implications that she herself is favoured by the god(s) of entertainment. This doesn't really amount to much in the main series for a variety of reasons, but I think it'd be something super fun to explore in RP!
Fate/ Servant & Master AUs
this is very specific but i have fate brainrot and ai is SO fun as a Master. I primarily enjoy playing her as an outsider/accidental intruder to Mage society or someone who accidentally stumbles into a HGW and summons a Servant unknowingly but I'm flexible in this regard! I primarily enjoy playing her as a Master to Servants who deal with similar identity issues, questions of fictionality and narrative, abuse and misogyny, etc - so characters like the whole LB6 gang (particularly Morgan, Castoria & especially Oberon), all the authors, any Sakurafaces... the possibilities are Up There.
ALL PURPOSE AU HOOKS FOR MEME PURPOSES
scifi/cyberpunk/space fantasy/etc