hi pwism , can you tell me what in a person would attract qiqi ( can be anything , physical , personality , etc ) , and what seemingly innocuous thing would be a deal-breaker ?
slightly depends on which AU we are talking about, but for the sake of simplicity, I will talk about the base universe.
Qiyana doesn't really have space to feel attraction in Ixtal. not because no one piques her interest, but because her only focus is her political schemes and the quiet mutiny she plots from the shadows. those drain too much of her attention, so it is easy for her to ignore or even not realize when she is being courted by a Yun Tal peer of hers or even a servant.
so an almost crucial part is for this person to be an outsider. someone she does not know, because those she does have a pre-conceived notion of her. the unreachable, cold princess. an outsider might find her cocky, or unpleasant, or arrogant, but they won't have the added context of Ixtali society, what her title means, and her political goals. it is a blank slate for them. which might seem controversial, as Qiyana yearns for everyone to know of the future Empress Qiyana, Yun above the Yun, but a part of her craves for people to see beyond the mask.
because that is all she wears, every day of her life. a mask of confidence. she knows she is powerful and intelligent, enough that she easily navigates through the political intricacies of the council with her charm, but a deep insecurity festers inside her gut. of not being enough. she has lost who she used to be before her obsession spread through her like a disease, and internally, as deep down as one can reach, she wants to find that woman again.
she wants someone who will look at her differently. someone who won't have fear or contempt in their eyes, but a challenge. Qiyana wants someone who is not afraid of pushing her buttons because the lack of context makes it so they truly don't know the height of her status or how quickly their words would land them in jail back in Ixaocan.
she yearns for a partner who will push her out of that comfortable cage she locked herself into. that makes her seek not what she wants but what she wants. someone who will take her hand and give her a forceful tug out of Ixtal. it's no wonder most of the characters I find interest in shipping her with are outsiders (Yasuo, Draven, Hwei, Ahri, etc). at least three of these would find amusement in riling her up, unafraid of how hurtful her bite might be.
but she also needs understanding. someone who knows when they're pushing too far. someone who realizes when she's hurting, because no one else has noticed the signs before. someone who won't find it ugly or offputting when she has a moment of weakness and finally cries all those tears she buried deep inside her chest. she is damaged goods, and she can't be fixed, but she can be loved by a tender heart and patient hands.
Qiyana is hard to love. she will insult and bite and push back in fear, in anger, in disbelief. she will feel betrayed by the smallest acts that bubble her jealousy up her throat. she just wants someone who can put up with her flaws. someone who doesn't force her to hide them behind a confident grin and a giggle hidden behind a perfectly manicured hand.
Qiyana wants someone to see her ugliness, her brutality, her vulnerability, and not leave despite how grotesque she was made to be.