15. Is your character preoccupied with money or material possession? Why or why not?
Petra would like to point out that this question was obviously written by someone who has always had plenty of money, because otherwise they would realize that you have to be preoccupied with money if you don't have any. She's fine _now_, and it's not like she's got a lot of expenses, but seriously, this is a stupid question.
16. Which does your character idealize most: happiness or success?
Success. Petra can't imagine being happy without being successful, so it's a bit of a confusing question. But it's success ON HER TERMS. She wants to be good at her job. She wants to move up the ranks, she wants to be better than Selene. She doesn't give a fuck about being rich or famous (she would like to be notorious in military circles, but that's different), she doesn't have time for shit like dating, she doesn't care if you think she's nice or pretty or any of that. She's very focused (Selene would snort and say "obsessive").
19. What is your character’s biggest relationship flaw? Has this flaw destroyed relationships for them before?
Petra doesn't trust people. She will trust her squadmates once they have proven to be trustworthy, but that's within specific parameters. She doesn't open up easily, and comes across as hostile by default. It's not so much that this has destroyed relationships as that it prevents them from starting--she's had random flings with girls plenty of times, but as soon as anyone wants more than that she's like NOPE. And is kind of harsh about it, like "silly girl what, you thought this was going somewhere?" This, unsurprisingly, does not endear her to those girls. Which makes it even more annoying that Selene can have friends-with-benefits things right and left with no hard feelings, because HOW?
20. In what ways does your character compare themselves to others? Do they do this for the sake of self-validation, or self-criticism?
Petra compares herself on objective criteria (so she claims). This is why she likes the military, there are standards and regulations and she can be objectively and inarguably the best at things. Which is obviously the goal.
She doesn't like to admit to comparing herself to people otherwise, but she does look at Selene and her seemingly-effortless ability to make friends and wonder how the fuck that's even supposed to work and whether there's something wrong with one or the other of them. She would not admit this even if you waterboarded her, though.
33. In the face of criticism, is your character defensive, self-deprecating, or willing to improve?
Both defensive and willing to improve. Her instinctive immediate reaction is to be defensive, but then she will work insanely hard to fix whatever the problem is. I think when she was in training there'd be times her instructors would have to stop her from basically working on something until she collapsed, if she was having trouble getting it right. She made it through Special Forces training mainly on obsessive stubbornness and absolute refusal to quit ever, so she's not about to change now.
(side note: a guy I know who went through Marine Recon training failed the first couple times because part of it was being out in the ocean for a really long time and he got so cold they had to pull him out. He had to walk around with a jar of peanut butter eating it straight pretty much constantly in order to gain enough fat to get through the water stuff without literally getting hypothermia. Point being that Petra would absolutely be that guy, not necessarily with that specific problem, but yeah she would keep going until she got hypothermia rather than admit she couldn't do something)
Petra
Petra would like to point out that this question was obviously written by someone who has always had plenty of money, because otherwise they would realize that you have to be preoccupied with money if you don't have any. She's fine _now_, and it's not like she's got a lot of expenses, but seriously, this is a stupid question.
16. Which does your character idealize most: happiness or success?
Success. Petra can't imagine being happy without being successful, so it's a bit of a confusing question. But it's success ON HER TERMS. She wants to be good at her job. She wants to move up the ranks, she wants to be better than Selene. She doesn't give a fuck about being rich or famous (she would like to be notorious in military circles, but that's different), she doesn't have time for shit like dating, she doesn't care if you think she's nice or pretty or any of that. She's very focused (Selene would snort and say "obsessive").
19. What is your character’s biggest relationship flaw? Has this flaw destroyed relationships for them before?
Petra doesn't trust people. She will trust her squadmates once they have proven to be trustworthy, but that's within specific parameters. She doesn't open up easily, and comes across as hostile by default. It's not so much that this has destroyed relationships as that it prevents them from starting--she's had random flings with girls plenty of times, but as soon as anyone wants more than that she's like NOPE. And is kind of harsh about it, like "silly girl what, you thought this was going somewhere?" This, unsurprisingly, does not endear her to those girls. Which makes it even more annoying that Selene can have friends-with-benefits things right and left with no hard feelings, because HOW?
20. In what ways does your character compare themselves to others? Do they do this for the sake of self-validation, or self-criticism?
Petra compares herself on objective criteria (so she claims). This is why she likes the military, there are standards and regulations and she can be objectively and inarguably the best at things. Which is obviously the goal.
She doesn't like to admit to comparing herself to people otherwise, but she does look at Selene and her seemingly-effortless ability to make friends and wonder how the fuck that's even supposed to work and whether there's something wrong with one or the other of them. She would not admit this even if you waterboarded her, though.
33. In the face of criticism, is your character defensive, self-deprecating, or willing to improve?
Both defensive and willing to improve. Her instinctive immediate reaction is to be defensive, but then she will work insanely hard to fix whatever the problem is. I think when she was in training there'd be times her instructors would have to stop her from basically working on something until she collapsed, if she was having trouble getting it right. She made it through Special Forces training mainly on obsessive stubbornness and absolute refusal to quit ever, so she's not about to change now.
(side note: a guy I know who went through Marine Recon training failed the first couple times because part of it was being out in the ocean for a really long time and he got so cold they had to pull him out. He had to walk around with a jar of peanut butter eating it straight pretty much constantly in order to gain enough fat to get through the water stuff without literally getting hypothermia. Point being that Petra would absolutely be that guy, not necessarily with that specific problem, but yeah she would keep going until she got hypothermia rather than admit she couldn't do something)