I'll play against any version of character X who tags me, but when it comes to shipping I only do it with one person whose interpretation of and headcanons for character X perfectly complement my own. I also trust them not to spring weird shit on me in threads without discussing it first. I've known tons of players who are the same with shipping and none of them were crazy overinvested soulbonders. People are allowed to have preferences. Just something for OP to take into consideration if the player does turn them down.