TW: Bullying, Victim Playing/Victim Mentality, Mentions of Social Rejection/Ostracism, Emotional Manipulation, Toxic Mindsets.
A.N. - This is centred on season one LaCienega, but she would retain most of this for the entire show.
Platonic:
LaCienega sings the praises of her friend's social circle wherever teachers and parents are listening, only allowing a backhanded compliment to slip if she is particularly irked at the moment or is confident that it will go unpunished. She denies all traces of ill intent if questioned, but these deceptively innocent quips evolve into full-fledged insults when she catches the object of her irritation by themselves. This is because LaCienega tends to see in others what she lacks and believes that she must conceal her faults lest her friend realizes that there are more impressive people with whom to spend their time.
While the girl is eager for their approval and does not want them to despise her, she is not too apologetic if her friend is bothered by her words and actions. Childhood humiliation has taught LaCienega that showing what she considers weakness, that is, emotional vulnerability, is the quickest way to lose control of a situation and become a laughingstock. Her version of reconciliation is helping them cook and clean around their home, pretending the disagreement never occurred, and dodging any attempts at confrontation by offering to arrange a manicure for them and give them shout-outs at beauty pageants.
Lasting rejection from her friend causes her to brood, and she is not above crying in her bedroom before going on a revenge quest if they ever cut ties with her or do something that she interprets as a betrayal. Penny Proud is wise to these less than favourable events and is who most often exposes LaCienega's bad impulses, with Penny's friends inclined to turn against Penny when LaCienega is angered by the accusations. LaCienega tells these girls to mind no one's business but their own while secretly worrying that they will inform her friend and ruin any hope of salvaging the relationship.
Romantic:
LaCienega is a fan of what she calls small favours, which she does for her partner on her terms to demonstrate why they should be honoured at receiving her attention. These often involve sharing a fraction of her generous allowance with them after they hint at wanting to buy or pay for something and suggesting ways to "beautify" their appearance so they can match her perceived level of glamour. Unless it is being screamed at or thrown in her face, she does not see the harm of her behaviour and views it as real assistance that comes from a place of genuine compassion.
Any conversations about other people in their lives are filled with passive-aggressive comments from LaCienega. She assumes that they are growing tired of her every time her partner speaks fondly of someone, and legitimate competition for their affection is met with harsh rumours that spread throughout the school and neighbourhood. The intention of these attacks, whether public or private, is to remove all potential replacements for herself in her partner's life so that, in theory, they have to stick with her.
During her rumour-spreading stunts, she targets people who have traits that her partner admires. Even if LaCienega possesses the trait to some degree, her perception of the odds of her partner seeing this other individual as preferable aggravates her insecurities and makes her want to erase all chances of it happening. LaCienega resorts to feeding her parents and everyone else who trusts her a false narrative where she is the victim, but at the same time, she refuses to beg for her partner's attention and instead expects them to come to her with an apology.