Fireflies

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

Everyone dreams of having superpowers at some point in their life. The ability to fly, to lift a car like it weighed nothing, or control fire with your mind. That kind of power can change your life for the better. It sounds inviting. Intoxicating. Addictive. Yes, everyone has those dreams. Even Erika Sato had them once, until she got an up close look at what they did to the people who got them, and to the ones closest to them. The kind of look that left her with scars. But that was in another lifetime. Now, she’s just a barista at a small cafe in downtown Honolulu hoping for a quiet, normal life. That dream goes up in flames when she awakens powers of her own. Thrust back into the world of big problems and even bigger personalities, the only way she’ll survive is to get stronger. Strong enough to slay the monsters who’d see her dead, even if they’re the human variety. Cover by the wonderful @nika_shalamay on Fiverr

Information

Status: Ongoing
Year: 2025
Author: Neko Saigai

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.5/ 5.0
Followers: 535
Views: 55,786

What readers say about Fireflies

“I like what I see here. The story has a few good hooks. Erika is interesting thanks to her as-of-yet undisclosed background, which leaves me wanting the answers to the mystery there. I don’t often read anything in the superhero genre, but as one of only a c…”
Aleah CatRoyal Road5.0 / 5
“When you really like something, it can be hard to find a way to talk constructively about it but here goes: 17 chapters in and I’m sure this is in the top tier of Superhero works in the site. Style: my biggest complaint about the story. POV switches are si…”
AsteridsRoyal Road5.0 / 5

Reviews

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Community Reviews(4)

Aleah CatRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I like what I see here. The story has a few good hooks. Erika is interesting thanks to her as-of-yet undisclosed background, which leaves me wanting the answers to the mystery there.
I don’t often read anything in the superhero genre, but as one of only a couple stories I’ve given a try, I’m quite impressed. If I had to relate this to any media I’m familiar with, it’d be Solo Leveling. I already like Erika more than I like Jinwoo.
Stylistically, the story works well within the setting. The language sits well within a modern time period, so it doesn’t pull you out of the characters. I even am reminded of my sister’s fawning adoration for Marvel with how a certain character reacts towards heroes.
The pacing is good, without any points that lag at all. Every chapter leaves me wanting to read the next. It’s a satisfying read. There are maybe a handful of moments where a curious conclusion is jumped to that seemed a bit out of left field, like where Pinpoint immediately jumps to Erika hiding her identity due to an ex boyfriend. Those moments were pretty sparse, though.
As far as grammar goes, the story isn’t perfect (no story ever is). There are a couple moments where I felt like a word was missing. A handful of comma mistakes, which I don’t really ever complain about unless I’m actually editing a manuscript. Overall, the story reads pretty smoothly, and the few mistakes don’t make the prose stumble too badly.
I think the characters are decent. Erika has an interesting perspective and her fight or flight response is rooted in knowledge of the world she lives in. It’s something other stories struggle with, where some isekai MC jumps from modern to fantasy and really doesn’t struggle with their willingness to jump into combat the moment they are put into a tough situation. Erika does jump into combat quickly, but it’s noted and written into the setting. I’m willing to give a character a pass on irrational actions when there’s a stated reason for it happening.
Overall, I’ve
AsteridsRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
When you really like something, it can be hard to find a way to talk constructively about it but here goes:
17 chapters in and I’m sure this is in the top tier of Superhero works in the site.
Style: my biggest complaint about the story. POV switches are signposted but not well. They’re infrequent enough that I’d honestly just prefer they be their own chapters. Or maybe just have bolded names. Chapters aren’t named. The presentation could have used as much thought as the rest of it. These are small quibbles in an otherwise stellar project.
Story: excellent pacing with fantastic action, and a well fleshed out world. Stakes are well established. Powers are fun. Great!
Grammer: other than some simple typos, it’s solid. Polished.
Character: The kind of characters you’ll either love or hate. No cardboard cutouts. Well rounded. Believable.
And the MC is relatable, and a bit of a mess in the best way. Well drawn pov with great interiority. Foul mouthed and fierce, you want to see her succeed. The secondary heroes have interesting powers and unique names (incredibly hard in the wide genre of Superheroes). Some hints of villains are laid but I’m not far enough to judge that.
Overall: marries dungeon crawling and Superheroes. Like either of those? Must read.
Sir IroncladRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
The vibes in this story were all there. Between fun characters, a setting that feels super solid, and a plot that makes me wish there was more. Loved every chapter and I’m excited to see what Erika does moving forward!
I’ve felt like I’ve been in a drought since one punch man fell off and this completely scratched that itch.
white_ravenRoyal Road
★★★ 3.0
Hi! So, I think I'm the first one here. That's nice. I apolegize for all the spelling mistakes, differences between the how the story calls it and how I do (I have a horrible memory and no patience to look for the proper term), and anything that might be offending.
The story:
Ok, I'm going to try and show the type of story this is clearly. This does have very minor spoilers though, like what power she get's and important things. All in the first nine chapters cause that's what's out so far.
Right so, this is one of those story's where the mc has a system and everyone else doesn't. You have a higher chance of awakening in a rift. There are monsters, obviously. Other "awakend" have powers too, and the mc's is such one. (Or not, we'll see.) Mc is under a false identity to hide from her crazy and powerful ex, who also has powers. Her system thinks it's incredible, as it's called the super system and tells her that's it's the best power. So far not much communication, maybe once out of the rift? Quite good story
My opinion:
It's a really nice start so far, and I like the main character. Seems to have a common shitty background, not that it's bad or anything. The world is nice, and the main character is an anti-hero which is also nice. The systemis also nice with the confident personality, the new character (pinpoint, I think) seems to be a person who will take opportunities but not anything that really harms people. White Knight is an idiot. I get that doing that for fun can be fun, but for in a life or death situation? Seriously? It's kind of funny though. I hope for some cool powers for the main character aIong with a cool outfit and cool name! I don't see anything with fireflies yet so hope that's coming soon! And the author is really nice too. Maybe some polls in the future?