[PTabbedContent] [PTab=Friends]Nik can get along well enough with most people if he really wants to(*), but he doesn't really make "friends" easily. Or rather, there are "friends", as in "people who tend to tolerate me well enough as long as I don't bother them too often, and who I in turn am somewhat less of an ass to than I could be"; and then there are "Friends", as in "for reasons I can't comprehend these people actually seem to enjoy my presence and I might even make efforts to spend time with them sometimes".

Even for people he cares deeply about, he isn't always great about keeping in touch or "maintaining" relationships, and does best with people who can go long stretches with little to no contact and still be glad to hear from him. Between classes and almost constantly running on empty as a result of various mental health issues, he's very often busy or tired or both, and then has to divide what time and energy he does have between all the people he cares about, so yeah. Finding a good balance between distance and devotion is good. Friends who are content with binge watching a series or something are appreciated more than ones who want to Go Out And Do Things often, though he doesn't mind getting out of the house sometimes and might like the excuse to make himself from time to time.

* = Incidentally, him wanting to get along with someone is entirely another question.

In more casual situations, he is very likely to be an asshole. Sometimes openly; sometimes running on cheery smiles and backhanded compliments. He doesn't (usually) want to piss people off; he wants to make them just slightly uncomfortable. He wants them to not quite be sure what to make of him. At face value, this amuses him to no end, and he used to be able to do it a lot harder with zero fear of social consequences, though he's toned it back a bit as he's gotten older.

On a deeper level, he's kind of just one huge ball of abandonment issues at this point and ends up pushing people away from the start because "no one wants to be around me because I'm an asshole" is a lot easier to deal with than "no one wants to be around me no matter how hard I try to please them because I guess I'm just not worth anyone's time".



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[PTab=Rivals]Nik is pretty convinced that people not really liking him is just sort of The Default at the point, and goes out of his way to perpetuate that cycle at times, but actual "enemies" are like... he hates people who openly hurt others, etc. It takes a lot to make him really 'hate' anyone. Hurting someone he cares about, destroying something he loves, being involved in something he finds morally disgusting enough, or something in a similar vein are pretty well required.

Similarly, a true rivalry would be hard to inspire, in that he's kind of accepted he sucks at life and, oh, look, someone's better than him, have fun with that pal. Someone managing to challenge him at something he cares enough about or otherwise getting on his nerves so badly that he feels a petty driving need to be better than them, though, could be pretty fun. And when he does get petty about something/someone, he gets petty.

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[PTab=Lovers]Nik... sometimes likes the idea of romance. Or rather, he certainly doesn't like the idea of Being Alone, even if he knows he has... at least a few friends, anyway. But occasionally, he finds himself really missing 'the relationship experience', so to speak.

Other times, wow the mere idea is so incredibly offputting. A relationship sounds exhausting? Why would he ever want to go through that again? ...Because it wouldn't always be that bad, right? Who cares it still sounds exhausting...

He loves to flirt with random people. The 'thrill of the chase' that comes from trying to pick up some random person-- especially if they're not interested at first and he can manage to win them over-- fuels him immensely, to a point that he honestly enjoys that more than any payoff. If he's flirting with someone it's never a means to an end, it's because he enjoys that in and of itself.

Past that, he... sometimes really likes the idea of Going On A Date. Singular. A nice outing with someone special and being cute and cuddly. But the idea of... a consistent longterm Relationship... Eh? ...Eeeeeehhh? In the most hypothetical sense, it could be so nice, but it's so hard for him to imagine himself feeling that way about anyone or actually being happy in a relationship longterm, so it would definitely take a lot of work to build up to anything like that.



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