I kind of want to brag about my other story... (it's been almost a month, so it's okay to brag about something else instead, right?) because, sure RomaMates is fine, but Black Robin is my real baby. I've been working on her (on and off) since early 2011, and starting this past week I'm releasing it to the general public for one of the first times (dig into the internet deep enough, and you might find a super early draft of the prologue and first chapter on Deviantart, but that's it until now). I've written enough that even with my current plan of releasing one chapter per a week, the current schedule doesn't meet how far I've written until after November. I could die tomorrow and, while the story wouldn't ever be finished, those reading on Tapas would keep getting updates until mid-December (updates from beyond the grave.....)
Now onto what you all want to know, why is my story better than all the others? (Just kidding, I'm not that stuck up. I know there are tons of better stories out there, some of which are also here). Like most of my other stories, I'm most proud of my characters. I have a few friends who beta read Black Robin for me and they always had good things to say about the characters (of course, it was hard to coax out anything to improve on in general). The worst thing they ever had to say about a character was that Adrian reminded them of Alois Trancy.... fine, I was going for a spoiled brat vibe anyways.
Anyways, getting back on track.... the first character we meet (after the prologue) is Arai, a strong, independent woman who doesn't need a man, but also doesn't become weaker when she does fall in love. I low-key hate when stories make it seem like falling in love makes strong females weak. The next major character introduced is our story's damsel-in-distress, Zephaniah. Like a lake or ocean, he's deeper than what is seen on the surface and is so fun to mess with. I already mentioned Adrian, so I'll skip over that Ciel wannabe. Fintan is what would happen if you combined the biggest playboys, and replaced their flirting skills with a more healthy respect for women and the desire to pour all their energy into making their significant other happy. Victor is a creep and I worked very hard to not let him be "a cute, cuddly puppy" (what do I have to make him do, so you'll stop seeing him as harmless, Isabel? I don't have any convenient orphans to murder or kittens to eat. Is that what it'll take? I'll do it if it'll stop you from telling me how great of a boyfriend he would be...) Finally, we have Tara who's crazy and she has so much fun with it. She knows when to be serious, but she also isn't above pointing out the ridiculousness of the situation at times. That's what Finny gets for trying to flirt with a blind girl by winking at her.... Do you even think, boy?
So, yeah.... I really don't want to just keep rambling or accidentally give away anything major for anyone who reads it, so I guess I'll just leave the link below. It's a romantic medieval fantasy about a fire warrior, a child raised by fae, a girl who ran away from her responsibilities and a boy who wishes he could. It's also about a noble cloaked in darkness and one who lost his nobility. And most importantly, this story is the tale of them accepting who they really are.