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- That's it, that look on your face is the Caelus that I know. You're leaving, right? Because there's something important that you have to do... You always understand what's the most important. Go, Caelus. It doesn't matter if you forget everything... I shall engrave the promise of our second reunion in my heart on your behalf. I hope that it'll be a beautiful night with shooting stars.
- —Firefly; "Night Veil, Shroud the Silent Past"
CaeFly is the het ship between Caelus and Firefly from the Honkai: Star Rail fandom.
Canon[]
Trailblaze Quest[]
Caelus and Firefly meet in Penacony's Golden Hour, where she is accused of being a stowaway by Bloodhound family members. Caelus has the option to intervene by saying "I'll do my best to protect a pretty young lady!". After the situation is resolved, Firefly takes Caelus on a tour of Golden Hour, where Firefly buys Caelus food at a restaurant and drinks at a bar, and the two participate in The Great Tatalov dream bubble. Later, Caelus and Firefly encounter Acheron, Clockie, and Misha being accosted by a group of gangsters. After resolving this situation and chatting as a group, Acheron says in parting that she will not interrupt Firefly and Caelus's date, causing Firefly to become flustered and say that the two are not on a date.
The two continue on to her "secret base" in Dream's Edge. After travelling together for some time, they reach their destination - a rooftop with a view of shooting stars where Robin's song, If I Can Stop One Heart from Breaking, is playing in the background. Here, Firefly opens up about herself to Caelus, saying that she is not a stowaway but a refugee from her destroyed home planet and that she has Entropy Loss syndrome. The latter is the reason for her wanting to spend as much time as possible in the dreamscape, where she can "listen, and see, and touch, and think, and understand" whatever she wants with her body. She talks about how this moment is priceless to her. She then asks Caelus what his friends would do to lighten the mood after a serious conversation. To this, Caelus can respond that "March would force us to take a selfie with her". Firefly seizes upon this idea, and has Caelus take a selfie of the two of them with her camera. Then, the two return to Golden Hour.
Before Caelus and Firefly can leave the dreamscape, they are approached by Sparkle - who has disguised herself as Sampo. Sparkle comments on how Caelus seems so enchanted by Firefly; then, Firefly steps in front of Caelus to try and defend him. Caelus and Firefly are then sent to the "real Dreamscape" by Sparkle. After travelling through this unsettling space, they encounter Something Unto Death. Caelus fights to rescue Firefly, and Caelus and Firefly hold hands as they escape the room. Black Swan brings Caelus back to reality; he is concerned and can ask Black Swan about Firefly's well-being, where Black Swan comments that he seems worried about her and reassures him of her safety.
When Caelus, Black Swan, and Acheron re-enter the real Dreamscape along with March 7th and Himeko, they soon sense Firefly's presence within the Reverie Hotel in the dream. Upon reaching her, Caelus has no time to reach Firefly before she is taken away and impaled by Something Unto Death. Falling towards Caelus's arms, she turns into a bubble form and disappears. Caelus can choose to blame Acheron for not doing more to protect Firefly. When investigating the hotel lobby, Caelus finds the selfie that he took with Firefly on her phone, before the phone disappears as well. Upon continued investigation, Black Swan points out the Firefly was thinking about Caelus even when they were apart, commenting on their closeness.
After the events of the Whodunit quest, the player can return as Caelus to Firefly's secret base. Here, an instrumental version of If I Can Stop One Heart From Breaking plays as Caelus reflects on his time spent with Firefly and her "gentle smile, her graceful steps, and the tears she shed in her last moments before she was murdered by that monster., feeling a mix of sadness and intense anger.
Cat Among Pigeons[]
Towards the end of the quest, Acheron unsheathes her sword during a fight with Aventurine at Clock Studios, Caelus is knocked out and falls away. Then, he feels flames embracing him and he is taken to a location deep in the Memory Zone. His savior is revealed to be the Stellaron Hunter Sam, who attempted to reach Caelus eleven times without success and notes that Elio said the two of them were destined to work together. Sam then removes her armor, revealing that she is, in fact, Firefly. After the events of A Walk Among the Tombstones, if Caelus returns to Firefly's secret base, Caelus reflects on his confused feelings about learning that Firefly is a Stellaron Hunter with a ruthless nature, and wonders "...Was her past identity all just a ruse? Were those tears when she got stabbed all just an act? Is that being... that thing which fought while being covered in heated flames... who she really is?".
In Our Time[]
After Firefly reveals her true identity to Caelus, they converse for a time about her past. Caelus can choose to ask Firefly if she's ok in response to her revealing her identity. Afterwards, the two are taken by Something Unto Death - this time as a pair - to Dreamflux Reef. During this "death", Caelus observes that "one echo stood out with exceptional clarity. You knew it came from the girl beside you [Firefly], your hearts beating to the same rhythm, peaceful, and even more peaceful...".
Firefly and Caelus meet up with the Astral Express members, and works with them to learn more about the Watchmaker, his identity, and his legacy. Eventually, the time comes to face Sunday. In preparation to reach his location at the Penacony Grand Theater, Caelus and Firefly join the SoulGlad™ Festivity Auditions as a pair on Himeko's recommendation, as Caelus is closer with Firefly than Himeko or March 7th are. Caelus indicates his excitement at getting to team up with Firefly with no catch,. During these audtions, Caelus and Firefly participate in a number of acting or combat challenges. In the acting challenges, Caelus can choose to pat Firefly's head and otherwise make her laugh. After they become the champions of the auditions, the pair reunite with the Astral Express team to meet Sunday. Firefly helps advise Caelus and stands up for her viewpoint during the debate with Sunday. Then, she leaves the group with a wish that she and Caelus may meet again in reality. If Caelus once again returns to Firefly's secret base, Caelus's feelings are now changed. He now feels serene and accepts all the memories his's made thus far with Firefly - good and bad - and hopes that Firefly will be safe and knowing that they will see each other again.
After the quest ends, Caelus can return to the SoulGlad™ Scorchsand Audition Venue to participate in another route for the auditions alongside a simulated Firefly, who appears as a hologram. Caelus can choose to repay Firefly's earlier kindness in their initial meeting by buying her simulated version up to 20,000 credits worth of food.
Farewell, Penacony[]
After Firefly meets up with Silver Wolf in Golden Hour to buy gifts for her fellow Stellaron Hunters, she travels to the Radiant Feldspar where she once again encounters Caelus. The two of them chat about their recent experiences, before Firefly is spotted by Bloodhound Family members who are searching for her. Firefly hides as the Charmony Festival begins; soon, it is interrupted by Sparkle telling Caelus that he has ten minutes to find a bomb on the Feldspar. After Caelus and hes friends search for the bomb among the Sparkle furmurs, the 1,000 furmur is revealed to contain the bomb. Firefly, preparing for her destined "third death", talks with Caelus before flying off with the bomb to reach a safe distance from the Feldspar. Caelus watches in trepidation as she flies off and a massive explosion occurs, followed by Sparkle's fireworks. Sparkle then invites Caelus to take a closer look and knocks hes off the Feldspar with her hammer - right into Firefly's arms while she is wearing the SAM suit. Firefly transforms back as she holds Caelus, and the two hold hands and giggle as they soar through the sky above Penacony as fireworks go off around them and the player hears the Robin song Had I Not Seen the Sun.
Origami Bird Clash[]
After the events of the main Penacony quest, Caelus and Firefly reunite at the casino aboard the Radiant Feldspar. The two of them chat and compete against each other in the Origami Bird game. Caelus once again says he will rescue a pretty young lady when referring to Firefly, who asks to take another picture with Caelus. Silver Wolf teases the two about playing a romance game together, which Firefly seems interested in doing.
Night Veil, Shroud the Silent Past[]
While in Amphoreus, during Caelus's meeting with Oronyx, he was shown a reconstructed memory of he time with the Stellaron Hunters, including Firefly. Caelus has the opportunity to bid farewell to Firefly. If he does so, Caelus tells her how he doesn't remember a past time with Firefly when they were both Stellaron Hunters. Firefly is confused, but understands Caelus's appearance as a sign that hers and Caelus's paths are fated to cross in the future. She tells Caelus that, when they do reunite, she will act as though they had never met and that she wants to get to know Caelus in the most ordinary way, and that it is the greatest luxury she could imagine. She finishes by saying that she will engrave the promise of her second reunion in her heart, and that she hopes it will be under a beautiful night with shooting stars. Thus, Firefly anticipates the events at the beginning of the Penacony arc where she acted as though she met Caelus for the first time, hides her identity as a Stellaron Hunter, and spent time with hes under shooting stars at her secret base.
Quotes[]
- “I owe you a big one! If it hadn't been for you, I might have been... taken away by them.”
- — Firefly to Caelus; Sleepless Night
Fanon[]
After the release of the "WHITE NIGHT" Music Video - which showed Caelus filming Firefly dancing with sparklers - a lot of fans began shipping the two of them together, seeing lots of potential in their dynamic with one another. The two have had a decent amount of fanart of them circulating on social media since. Following their extensive interactions in the Penacony Trailblaze Mission The Sound and the Fury, they rapidly became a popular ship. As of version 2.0 it is never explicitly stated that they have romantic feelings for each other; however, contextual cues such as Acheron teasing them about being on a date, multiple characters commenting on their closeness, and the romantic subtext provided by descriptions of Firefly's secret base create the impression of a close relationship between the two that has yet to be seen between Caelus and other characters in the game. They are shown to care about each other, with Firefly trusting and opening up to Caelus and acknowledging that he may struggle to trust her because of her hiding her identity; Caelus caring deeply about Firefly's safety to an extent where it is pointed out by other characters; and each of Caelus and Firefly wanting to protect the other during dangerous situations.
The song If I Can Stop One Heart From Breaking plays during the pivotal scene where Firefly opens up to Caelus, and later in a lower piano and vocal arrangement after Firefly is taken by Something Unto Death as well as being the background music (in instrumental form) for Firefly's secret base. As such, the song has become an unofficial song of their relationship that is extensively used in fan edits and animations focused on the Caelus and Firefly ship. Fan works for the ship primarily focus on events during the "date", including Firefly buying Caelus food and Caelus playing the slot machines while Firefly watches; as well as Caelus processing his feelings for Firefly following her apparent death and imagining situations in which he is reunited with Firefly. Some fans also believe that the Dreamscape Pass Sticker "The Perfect Ending (II)", which reads "Once, we dreamed of being strangers. Upon waking up, we realized we had always loved each other." refers to the Trailblazer and Firefly.
The romantic subtext between Caelus and Firefly has sparked some debates over how HoYoverse treats Firefly as a character, especially after the moment between the two at the end of Firefly's character trailer. Many felt that this moment undermines Firefly's story by reducing her character to fan service and pandering to players who treat Trailblazer as a self-insert. Others argue that Firefly's relationship with Caelus represents her want to experience a normal life outside of being a weapon, and that this moment is not reductive, but an important aspect to Firefly's character.
Fandom[]
- FAN FICTION
- Caelus/Firefly tag on AO3
- Caelus & Firefly tag on AO3
Trivia[]
- HoYoverse sponsored an animation called "A day with Firefly" starring Caelus and Firefly going on a date and kissing at the end.
- Interacting with the hidden bird at Firefly's secret base reveals that the bird peeks at couples who visit the spot to view the shooting stars; the phrase implies the bird thought Caelus and Firefly to be a couple and didn't mean to peek at them during their conversation.
- The location where Firefly brought Caelus is a popular spot for romance, the description for the Space Anchor (Front Observation Deck) near the secret base indicates that the deck "will be the generator of romantic memories for countless lovers in the foreseeable future" (despite the fact that she had visited the place by herself previously).
- On the official HoYoverse channel there is a video called Art of Dreaming. Where Caelus and Firefly fight together against the enemies. At the end, Firefly takes Caelus by the hand and they run together to the "secret base".
- Caelus also appears in her trailer Embers in a Shell in a flashback where they were walking around Penaconi together. Later, Caelus approaches Firefly, and she gives him a shy, sweet smile.
Gallery[]
- Main article: CaeFly/Gallery
