Welcome to Gaia! ::

I apologize for the late crit. For the record, the lateness has absolutely nothing to do with you. If I recall, you specifically asked for me to take a look at Myla's flaws and virtues, so I'll focus on them first. I want to add that I like what you've done with her since last time.

The details for sympathetic are good, but I'd like to know what about Myla allows her to relate to people who are shunned because of who they are. I'd also like to know what you mean by that-- how are you defining "who people are" for this virtue? Do you mean disabled people, disadvantaged people, members of unpopular subcultures/groups, all of the above, or something else entirely? Does this virtue extend beyond her peer group? Why or why not? Are there any exceptions? How is this virtue visible to others?

Optimistic is good and fits, but a sense of why would help flesh it out a little more. Why is she so forcefully optimistic? What sort of thing in her life has reinforced her belief that viewing life this way is best?

As for reliable, I'd like to know why she thinks failing to do things she promised to do is unacceptable to her. What about breaking a promise bothers her? Why doesn't she mind little white lies? The end of your description confuses me, too. "The only ones she does not mind are white lies even though she has rarely said them since she is so close to her mother and creates balanced bonds with those she befriends. But like most people, little surprises are nice." How are her bonds balanced? Why does this mean she has few reasons to lie? And what do you mean by "little surprises are nice?"

What about Myla allows her to be so optimistic and sympathetic if she has difficulty trusting others? Are those traits concealing her vulnerabilities addressed here? I think this flaw in particular needs to say how it reflects her virtues.

Does she distrust any of her friends, since she has been hurt in the past? What kind of person does Myla trust absolutely?

I love her impatience flaw. If she values accuracy, I imagine feeling impatient would bother her a lot. Does she ever try to be more patient?

Independent is good, but the title sticks out to me-- it works, but I'd prefer "stubbornly independent." Independent is not necessarily a virtue, and you really don't need to change it, but whenever I see "independence" I think "virtue" because that is kind of the Grand American Ideal. Self-made man and such. It's a nice flaw because it's really clear how it hurts Myla, but seeing independent in flaws still bothers my little idealistic heart of hearts. It's not a big huge problem, though. One thing: you've implied that Myla is pretty good at academic work. Is some of her independence rooted in pride?

I like Hermes's flaws and virtues, although I'd really love to see Creative Thinker, Overambitious, Enthusiastic, and Anxious tied together a bit more. They seem connected to me, and I think actually connecting them would help paint a fuller picture of what Hermes is like.

I think you need to address the conflict between Hermes's hospitality and Myla's insecurity. Myla fears trusting people and being taken advantage of, and Hermes trusts that people are essentially good at heart and will not take advantage of her. Or maybe she just doesn't mind if they do? Why is that? How does Hermes affect Myla's difficulty trusting people? How does Myla affect Hermes's sense of hospitality?

I hope this helps.

Just a quickie, cause I'm not sure if you'd had a chance to do anything with anyone's crits yet -
Her insecure traits sounds more like she's lonely, or afraid of being alone, as there's not much about her being insecure about herself. You could expand on how when others aren't there, she picks herself apart, OR turn it into a loneliness flaw?

"Independent" right now sounds more like a virtue that can sometimes be a flaw, than a complete flaw. Maybe call it something else, and turn it into a flaw more about how she doesn't like to ask for help, OR work more with the idea that she has trust issues.

That's all. :3 Happy questing! <3