Okay, we are back again with another installment in the Spotlight series. 

It's almost christmas time at this point (or at least it should be when it’s getting published so: HAPPY CHRISTMAS!) so let us go ahead with a story that has nothing to do with Christmas!

This time:

Crimson High by DKC

First off, this story is long, at least for me that usually prefer stories around 2-7K words but when a story approaches 15-20K? Then I begin to get a bit intimidated…There is a lot to get through and there might be things I want to skib so I can get to the good parts quicker. That is my usual fear when finding a long story.

Despite all of the above, I find this story to be amazing, engaging and refreshing!

Why?

Hot. Black. Super-Woman.

Enough said.

… Okay, I might have a bit more to say about the story.

The title in itself is a nice detail that I find clever, when viewed in retrospect. Before I read the story, I thought that it had one meaning and by the middle/end I realized what it actually meant. You clever devil DKC…

The story is set in Smallville, around the time when Clark Kent is still mainly known as Superboy. As often happens with stories with this kind of setting, one of the women in Clark’s life gets superpowers so there aren’t any real surprises on that front besides how it’s done. 

The name of the story's protagonist is Naveen (the aforementioned, future, Hot Black Superwoman!). She is something of an outcast in the story being the only black student in her year and at the same time sporting a very mature body that she is trying to conceal from the people around her. 

Naveen isn’t our typical superheroine but I do genuinely like the idea of a black superwoman, and the idea of using one has been stuck on my mind for weeks!

The story has something of a “comic” feel to it which sometimes conflicts slightly with other elements of the story but it ain’t a major problem to me.

For the major part, I really like the story and how it is built up. With that being said, I do have some minor problems with it that I might need to address. 

Just to be clear; They aren’t deal breakers but they are things that should be addressed in some way.

We are told that Naveen is likely to be double as powerful as Superboy, and I feel the ending is abrupt/that something is missing.

The first one is kinda minor since Naveen does fight against another powerful opponent but we still lose the comparison to Superboy.

The second one is more major but it’s hard to explain it without spoiling the ending. Let's just say that there is a hanging thread that I feel could have acted as the next major thing in the story. Instead, the story skips years ahead to the end. 

Despite that, This story really is a nice read and I encourage people to give it a read if they haven’t already!

Welcome back to another installment of the Spotlight-Series!

As I sat down to write another entry for this series, I ran into a tiny problem: I had quickly run through my first batch of stories that I felt needed more notice. So I looked a bit deeper and have abandoned my self-imposed rule of “Under a certain amount of views” in favor of having more stories to talk about.

I’m now ready with more Spotlights! And Today I want to talk about:

Ascension by Taliesan

Fun fact; Both Woodclaw and I wanted to talk about this so feel free to see this as a double recommendation!

This is an older one from the archives (2006!) and it is also one of the first stories that I remember reading from the site. I haven’t been here on the site since 2006 but that is not the point.

Ascension is a simple 4-part story about Ryan finding out that one of his classmates, Andrea, is superhuman. They begin to talk after she saves him from some bullies then she saves him again from a huge rock and romance begins to happen…

That is the simplicity of it anyway.

The story has some fine feats of superhuman powers and Andrea is a well-written character (in my humble opinion) but this story really is about the relationship between Ryan and Andrea. How can a relationship work when one of them can crush rocks, lift ships out of the water and fly around like Superman?

That is the core of the story and I like it! The idea that one can date a literal Supergirl!

Sadly, the story stopped after part 4 where they really begin to date and it really is a shame since I would like to know what happens next. The description of the story implies how there might be more “goddesses” around in the setting, and that a love story like this might not have a happy ending... All of that makes me quite excited about where it could lead.

Try giving it a read if you want a relatively short and sweet story about a romance between a normal guy and his supergirl.

So if you are out there Taliesan: Could you please continue it? Or give a rough outline for what you think might happen? Please?

Note: we are really sorry for the delay of this Spotlight, but we had some technical issues.

On this week's installment of SWM’s SPOTLIGHT series: A gushing fan-boy, a review written as a recommendation and an interesting interpretation of “What people say about you is true”...

This week, I’ll talk about the story

"You Are Lucky" by OmniScribbler

This story is one of those I wish I was able to do. It is one of the stories I would point to if you ask me how to make a good story about ascension and It all boils down to what I will call  accelerating escalation.

The story starts out with the main character, Alice, having shattered a statue of Buddha (booduh?), whereafter she has been cursed with “it [will] make people tell the truth to me”. Not understanding the implications of this fully, her friends lament she is usually friendlier than this, whereafter Alice’s demeanor changes.

The stage has been set and we can now scimt in the horizon where this is going and it is going to. Be. GLORIOUS!

It should probably be disclosed that this isn’t a “super” story but one about a literal ascending goddess and her (short) journey to omnipotent power.

As I said in the beginning, what makes this story really work for me is the way Alice changes: Her friends make a seemingly unimportant statement (“You’re like totally loaded?”) and that change then becomes the truth.

What makes this better is that as soon as Alice realizes what has happened, she sets her eyes on ultimate power…

She seems like a smart character that when she realizes what is happening, she sets out to achieve that ultimate power. She doesn't do it due to being evil (she became nicer earlier, remember?) she wants to do it since it is the ultimate conclusion.

To me, Omniscribble has made a “One-of-a-kind” story out of this one: The idea feels new, the concept is well executed and it just hits many of my sweet spots in a story for it’s genre.

If you are into Superwomen, this story might not exactly be for you but if you are more to the “Goddess” side of things then this story is right up your alley! 

On this installment of SWM’s SPOTLIGHT series, I’m going to talk about a story I think is unique in its nature compared to other stories I have read here:

She’s No Angel (But She Tries) - By, our own, Woodclaw

As of writing this (July 2020), it ain’t really that time of the year where we can look outside the window where the snow falls, hear Christmas songs on the radio and look towards spending time with our families…

This story is a very unique one, in my mind, compared to what is mostly posted on this site: While there are feats of power and a beautiful superwoman, that isn’t what feels like the true center of the story. It doesn't feature much sexy either but that doesn't matter in this case.

This story has a unique feel to it, dripping with an atmosphere that pulls you in. Seeing the world through a woman that truly wants to help people but knows she can't be there for everyone.

It is set in that time of the year that is associated with what I mentioned above: “It’s the most wonderful time of the year” according to Andy Williams at least…

I’m going into some spoiler territory, so be warned:

Nicole, our protagonist, accepts a gift and becomes the new guardian of Christmas. While she might change herself to look like a supergirl, and certainly has the powers to back it up, she isn’t truly invulnerable: She struggles with being alone while her husband is overseas in the military… and yet she finds the strength to help others and take on the fight that Santa couldn’t overcome: She embraces the despair and tries her best to mitigate it instead of ignoring it, or try to destroy it. She accepts it and tries to help.

This story feels deeper than most other stories I think I have read on this site. The keyword might just be Feel.

How often do we come across stories that truly make us feel something about them, make us introspective? If a piece of art has made us feel or think something, it has truly become more than itself.

It’s a story about taking over the mantle of a legendary figure. It’s a story about overcoming your own fears and doubts so you can help others.

It’s a story that can inspire hope.

So give it a try, or wait until December when it is more “fitting”, I won’t judge!

Hello everyone and welcome to the next installment in the SWM’s SPOTLIGHT series, where gems from the past, or just some very good overlooked ones, can get a chance to stand in the spotlight! (see what I did there?)

Before I continue, I want to thank Woodclaw and Lfan for giving me the chance to contribute to this series. I am amazed you find my opinions in so high regards. Thank you...

Now: This time, I got the honor of picking an overlooked gem:

A Shared Gift by Furlough

As many of you will likely notice, this story isn’t that old… Most of my, hopefully, future picks for the SPOTLIGHT series are “new” in nature due to the fact that I am “new” and haven’t digged my way through the massive archive yet! Therefore, I’ll stick to newer overlooked ones!

Anyways…

“A Shared Gift” has a good deal of things I like in this genre: Hot women, Superwomen, escalating narrative and some Omni.

Let us unpack a bit, shall we?

I like the general set-up: Main character finds a thing that starts the rest of the action. The protagonist isn’t particularly proactive in the story, mostly seeing and experiencing the changes as they come and not understanding that he is the one responsible for them before the very end. As the story progresses, we the readers, and the protagonist, get to see how the world changes, slowly getting further and further from where we started until the last great change.

IT’S SIMPLY BRILLIANT!

It’s a simple, and somewhat predictable story progression, but it just works!

The thing that really makes this story work for me, is the escalation.

The story very much plays on the idea “They are great now but what if they were better?”

It’s an idea I’ll bet many of us have had more than once in our life and this story takes it all the way to 11!

It is a bit of a slow boil before we reach the more “Super” part of the story but I think the story, and ending, is good enough to excuse the wait.

Originally, I was going to spoil a lot of what happens in the story but seeing as I already have mentioned what can be expected… I suggest you read the story for yourself.

To summarize: The writing is good, the idea is well executed and it touches on many of my soft spots. I have no real complaints beside the slow boil, which really is just nitpicking… GO READ IT ALREADY!