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- Do you believe in fate? People who then walk in the same direction eventually will meet at a certain place, and now... we meet.
- —Kafka to Firefly in Firefly's Character Story III.
KafFly is the femslash ship between Kafka and Firefly from the Honkai: Star Rail fandom.
Canon[]
Kafka and Firefly are both fellow Stellaron Hunters alongside Blade and Silver Wolf, who work together traveling across planets collecting Stellarons as they follow their leader, Elio's "scripts", working towards the future that Elio has foreseen. Each of them has joined for their own reasons, in Firefly's case that Elio said he would help her find a way to combat her limited lifespan, whilst in Kafka's case she is said to have joined because Elio would help her feel fear, however there is no way of knowing whether Kafka was honest in this statement, and it is quite likely she joined for a deeper reason.
Kafka and Firefly first met one another when Kafka recruited her to join the Stellaron Hunters, highly likely at Elio's request. As shown in the animated short "The Embers Of Glamoth", after destroying both the Swarm and Glamoth Firefly had been in a coma for an unspecified period of time, and was spotted floating in the galaxy by Kafka as she was aboard the Stellaron Hunters' spaceship, who paused sipping from her drink to smile gently and comment that she saw fireflies among the stars. Firefly would later wake up from her coma whilst still floating amongst the galaxy, and once again ponder "Why live? Why die?", the idea of her dream still far away as she gazed into the darkness trying to find an answer, unaware of where her destination was, before presumably falling unconscious.
When Firefly next awoke she was also aboard the Stellaron Hunters' spaceship, likely being brought on by Kafka who was talking to her from a distance. Kafka stated that the Iron Cavalry was now destroyed and only rumors of the Iron Cavalry were left, going on to say that all the Iron Cavalries were genetically engineered babies carrying a genetic defect that will one day cause them to age quickly and then die, her footsteps and voice becoming clearer as she neared where Firefly was. The spaceship door opened as Kafka entered and stated that the predestined ending was very similar to the both of them, and flames danced on Firefly's body as her armor prepared to materialize and she asked Kafka who Kafka was. Kafka then smiled at Firefly as if they were "old friends reuniting again after a long time apart" and asked her if she believed in fate, the idea of how people who walk in the same direction will eventually meet one another, suggesting them meeting one another was fate, with Firefly then assumedly being recruited by Kafka.
Kafka and Firefly would later go on to recruit both Blade and Silver Wolf together, again highly likely at Elio's request. When recruiting Blade, Firefly was the one to hold Blade down using her Sam armor so that Kafka could speak to him and convince him to join them, and when they were recruiting Silver Wolf, the two were this time accompanied by Blade and Elio.
Before both Kafka and Blade participated in the script to lead the Astral Express to the Xianzhou Luofu, Firefly and Kafka took part in the Jepella Rebellion script together with Blade and Silver Wolf. Firefly along with Blade drove through Jepella to meet with Kafka who was currently orchestrating the beginning of the Jepella Rebellion by using her spirit whisper on the Jepella Brotherhood. When they arrived Firefly then transformed into Sam and rescued Kafka from Jepella Palace, commenting that she really should change her habit of playing with her pray, to which Kafka stated that she knew, but would do it next time as it was already too late now.
After the Xianzhou Luofu script, Firefly and Silver Wolf took part in the Penacony script and were able to successfully complete it. Before Firefly boarded the Radiant Feldspar, at the beginning of "Unconquered", she and Silver Wolf were together in the Golden Hour discussing Firefly's thoughts on Penacony, when Silver Wolf informed Firefly that she was on the Bloodhound Family's wanted list, but this time as Firefly instead of Sam, prompting Firefly to comment that in Kafka's words that was also a missing part of her life. Silver Wolf gave Firefly some advice and the topic returned to the script, before Silver Wolf brought up that Kafka has asked her to deliver a message: "If you see something good in Penacony, please also bring me one, it's okay to just swipe my card, you know the PIN." Silver Wolf went on to say that Kafka did not specify what she wanted but she guessed it would be a dress, coat or sunglasses, but Firefly understood Kafka better as the two of them usually talked about fashion topics, to which Firefly commented she would keep an eye out, asking Silver Wolf if she thought Kafka would like pretty little decorations like hair accessories and broaches. However Silver Wolf stated that sounded more suitable for young girls and would be better for Firefly, the topic of conversation then changing once more before Firefly shortly took her leave and boarded the Radiant Feldspar.
Later on in one of Firefly's daily messages to the player, it is revealed she had not yet bought the souvenirs, as she reaches out to the Trailblazer asking for advice. Firefly begins her message by stating that she is currently at Oti Mall, and that Kafka asked Firefly to buy Penacony souvenirs for her but did not tell her what she wanted, asking the Trailblazer if they might know what Kafka wanted. The player is then to respond with three different options. If "Rest assured leave it to me" is selected, Firefly states that is great, if "Why not ask Silver Wolf?" is selected Firefly reveals that she already did and Silver Wolf said that as long as it was chosen by Firefly Kafka would love it, if "Sorry, I'm familiar not with her..." is selected Firefly says because Kafka often talks about Trailblazer she thought they knew each other well and apologizes for forcing them, stating she still wants to please hear their suggestions. Regardless of which is chosen, Firefly will eventually say that she can think of lipsticks, coats and sunglasses, but Kafka already seems to have a lot of those, prompting the Trailblazer to say that is is okay to choose one of those three things, as whilst the gift is a nice thing what is really important is the feelings the gift giver wants to convey. The player is then able to choose which item Firefly should get for Kafka. If "Lipstick" is chosen Firefly reveals that Kafka once gave her a pink peach scented lipstick that she had said suited Firefly perfectly and now that she thinks about it lipstick is really a suitable return gift, if "Coat" is chosen Firefly comments that if it was a handmade Penacony product Kafka should love it, if "Sunglasses" is chosen Firefly states that Kafka had mentioned sunglasses do not take up a lot of space so she buys a lot of them without paying attention to the style. The Trailblazer then inquires about the state of Firefly's wallet given Penacony's expensive pricing, and Firefly reveals that Kafka actually gave Firefly her credit card to spend on whatever she wanted, but she felt that she should not spent other people's money and never used it. The daily message then ends after a brief final message regarding the Astral Express and Pom Pom.
In Firefly's trailer "Embers In A Shell" whilst she is being strangled by Sam in symbolizm of her inner struggles with herself, she has a flashback to several memories which take place at an unknown time period, notably a scene of Kafka standing in front of her holding out her hand for Firefly to take, as based on the camera angle Firefly is currently Sam. The next scene shown is of the other Stellaron Hunters walking ahead in what appears to be Belobog as Firefly strays behind them. The flashback style of the memories then changes to resemble something akin to paper being burned away by fire as the view of the memories slowly gets smaller, with one memory notably being the Stellaron Hunters in what looks to be Dreamflux Reef, Kafka standing right at the front looking down at assumedly the main character with Firefly and Blade on her right and Silver Wolf on her left.
Quotes[]
- “She will take the initiative to approach me, but when I attempt to approach her, I just feel the distance between us instead becomes more and more far... "When making friends with someone, keep the appropriate distance, to be able to maintain a long-lasting relationship" -Kafka told me this, but I think, she actually doesn't believe this. ”
- — Firefly's voiceline about Kafka.
- “All we can do in this brief period of time, just keep each other company.”
- — Kafka's voiceline about Firefly.
- “Sam isn't so picky about prey like I am… compared with him, perhaps meeting me could relatively feel better for you a little.”
- — Kafka's voiceline about Sam.
- “I still want to try again once more, not following the "script"... is that okay, Kafka?”
- — Firefly's voiceline when added to the same team as Kafka.
- “It's not written in the script, so we can just decide.”
- — Kafka's voiceline when added to the same team as Firefly.
- “Indeed, in Kafka's words... this is also a "missing part" in my life.”
- — Firefly about Kafka in "Unconquered".
- “"Oti Mall" has many choices, do you think she will like pretty little decorations, for example... hair accessories and brooches?”
- — Firefly to Silver Wolf about Kafka in "Unconquered".
- “She didn't say anything specific, I guess a dress, a coat, sunglasses or something... In any case you understand her more than me, usually you two talk about these fashion topics.”
- — Silver Wolf to Firefly about Kafka in "Unconquered".
- “Really? It seems... what Kafka taught me was right.”
- — Firefly about Kafka in "A Thousand Bells At Dawn".
- “Kafka asked me to buy her some Penacony souvenirs, but didn't tell me what she wanted.”
- — Firefly about Kafka in one of Firefly's daily messages.
- “She said as long as I chose it, Kafka would love it.”
- — Firefly about Silver Wolf regarding Kafka in one of Firefly's daily messages.
- “Kafka also gave me a lipstick. It's light pink, somewhat peach scented, just like jelly, she said it really suits me perfectly. Thinking about it this way, lipstick is really suitable for being used as a return gift.”
- — Firefly about Kafka in one of Firefly's daily messages.
- “A coat... if it's a Penacony handmade product, Kafka should love it.”
- — Firefly about Kafka in one of Firefly's daily messages.
- “Actually Kafka gave me her credit card, and let me spend it on anything I want. But I feel I shouldn't carelessly spend other people's money, so I have never used it...”
- — Firefly about Kafka in one of Firefly's daily messages.
- “The predestined ending... very similar to us, isn't it?”
- — Kafka to Firefly in Firefly's Character Story III.
- “Do you believe in fate? People who then walk in the same direction eventually will meet at a certain place, and now... we meet.”
- — Kafka to Firefly in Firefly's Character Story III.
- Firefly – “You have to change the habit of playing with your prey Kafka.”
- Kafka – “I know. Next time. This time... it's already too late.”
- — Firefly and Kafka in "The Jepella Rebellion".
- “Ah. I saw fireflies among the stars.”
- — Kafka about Firefly in "The Embers of Glamoth".
- “Kafka, she takes very good care of me, and also often has heart to heart talks together with me, but she rarely mentions her own past, I actually... know nothing about her.”
- — Firefly about Kafka in Firefly's Character Introduction.
- “This time, it's you and me together too... Sam.”
- — Kafka to Firefly in "Whereabouts Should Dreams Rest" lightcone description before version 2.3.[1]
- “Let me deliver it, Kafka. Today is in the "script" as an important day.”
- — Firefly to Kafka in "Seiyū Congratulation Message ~Stellaron Hunter Edition~".
Fanon[]
KafFly is not a particularly popular ship amongst the overall Honkai Star Rail fandom, and is frequently overshadowed by Kafka and Firefly's most popular ships, KafHime, KafStel, KafBlade, Stellefly/CaeFly and Robifly. However, KafFly nonetheless do have quite a few fans and dedicated supporters in both the Eastern and Western fandom.
A couple of people first took an interest in KafFly as a ship as KafSam when the Jepella trailer was first released and the two were shown next to each other. Players thought the shown dynamic looked shippable, and a few headcanoned them as exes, interested in seeing what their dynamic would be. However, as Sam's identity of Firefly had not yet been revealed, it was previously considered to be a het or non-binary ship rather than femslash, and not particularly well known or acknowledged.
After Sam was revealed to actually be Firefly, and she was established and promoted as a Stellaron Hunter, KafFly gained more interest, especially after Firefly's Animated Short "The Embers Of Glamoth" was released, and furthermore so as the game began to hint at some ship tease between the two. Fans like how Firefly is shown to care for Kafka and the way she views her, with many finding it cute that one of Firefly’s messages is her shyly asking Trailblazer for advice on what to get Kafka. In turn fans like how Kafka also appears to care for Firefly a lot, being the one who saved her and took care of her, as well as the small and affectionate gestures she does for Firefly.
The portrayed dynamic between the two varies depending on the shipper, however both Western and Eastern shippers typically choose to lean into a fluff, angst or smut dynamic solely. Both romantic and platonic depictions often involve the two in wholesome scenarios together, or in the case of romantic, or sometimes scenes of Firefly being flustered and embarrassed due to her crush on Kafka. However KafFly notably have very strong angst potential, due to the fact Firefly states Kafka is unwilling to genuinely get close to Firefly, which is implied to be related to her past. Some fans like to think of them in a "doomed yuri" scenario dynamic, where the two have mutual feelings but Kafka is unable to accept her feelings and let herself get close to and love someone, causing them both suffering in the process.
KafFly is also commonly seen as a familial ship, particularly by those who like to see the Stellaron Hunters as one big family, or just simply because they prefer KafFly as a platonic ship. As Kafka is often considered to be a "mother" type character, and commonly headcanoned as the Trailblazer's mother, fans find it easy to see Kafka being motherly towards the Stellaron Hunters, particularly Firefly, given the two are shown to have a very good and wholesome relationship, with Kafka even canonically taking care of her.
Fandom[]
- FAN FICTION
- Firefly/Kafka tag on AO3
- Kaffly hashtag on Twitter
- Kaffly posts on Twitter
- Firefly x Kafka posts on Twitter
- Kafka x Firefly posts on Twitter
Trivia[]
- The achievement received for having Firefly be dominated by Kafka is "去吧，阿……萨姆" ("Go ahead, A…Sam"), which suggests that Kafka calls Firefly "阿萨姆" ("A-Sam"), likely in private. "阿" is a prefix of endearment that conveys an intimate and affectionate relationship.
- In Firefly's Character Introduction, she states that Kafka takes good care of her and often talks with her, but she rarely mentions her own past so Firefly does not really know anything about her.[2]
- In Firefly's E4 art, she can be seen smiling and blushing whilst holding an object that appears to be lipstick. In one of Firefly's daily messages, she states that Kafka had bought her pink lipstick once before as a gift that she said really suited Firefly. Said lipstick has a pink ribbon, which happens to be the same color as the lipstick Firefly got, as well as the fact a ribbon suggests that it is a gift, and is overall highly likely to be the lipstick Kafka got for her.
- Additionally, the two have matching Eidolon arts, as Kafka's E3 art also features her with lipstick, in this case putting it on her lips.
- In the first anniversary "Seiyū Congratulation Message ~Stellaron Hunter Edition~", Kafka and Firefly have a minor interaction at the beginning over text where Kafka says "Hehe, this cake we prepared, I wonder if they'll gratefully accept it." and Firefly responds with "Let me deliver it, Kafka. Today is in the "script" as an important day."
- The notebook of Firefly's Daily Life in Penacony reveals that for a souvenir, she bought Kafka a black coat, said coat being the one Kafka had wanted to buy in the "Before The Show Starts" Animated Concert Commercial, but Stelle had said no to, and additionally, an official artwork posted after Kafka's release reveals that she had wanted that coat for quite some time. This means that Firefly was likely aware that Kafka had wanted the coat for a long time, but had not gotten it due to Stelle being against it, and chose to get it for Kafka.[3]
- The "Lady Bonajade Handbook" web event shows that Black Swan sells a limited edition "Mien Of Vesper" lipstick to the main character that bares an identical appearance to the lipstick grenade "Dud Grenade" left for the main character by Kafka in the "Stars Spun, Prescience Sprung" Xianzhou Luofu mission. Right afterwards, the one who comes to buy the lipstick is none other than Firefly, who states that the lipstick is "very beautiful", and to her it is more than just a lipstick, and a souvenir she wishes to buy before leaving Penacony. Upon completing the exchange successfully Firefly states she will cherish it dearly, but upon completing the exchange unsuccessfully Firefly interestingly states that it seems she and the "lipstick" are not "destined to be together."[4]
- Additionally, when later returning to Bonajade Exchange, Firefly states that the lipstick she bought before she really liked (非常喜欢) and it really caught her eye, which is likely due to the fact that it shares the exact same appearance as the lipstick Kafka owned before leaving it for the main character to find, and it simply reminded her of Kafka. However, as Firefly is the only customer to return more than once, there is also a chance that Firefly may have actually intended to buy the lipstick for Kafka to replace the one she left, especially given the wording in original Chinese did not necessarily suggest it was a souvenir for herself, and perhaps only the Workplace Communication Dream Bubble was for herself.
- Firefly's bilibili episode "No.498 火萤Ⅳ型，已就位" features a scene of Firefly walking up a glowing staircase towards a door at the top, with flashbacks from her past appearing, notably the scene of her and Kafka together in "The Jepella Rebellion", and the other Stellaron Hunters not being present in the flashback.
- Firefly and Kafka both have the highest bounties amongst the Stellaron Hunters, with Kafka's being 10 billion and Firefly's being 9 billion.
- Currently Firefly and Kafka are the only two Stellaron Hunters to become bosses.
- Kafka is often compared to Makima or considered to be similar to her by the overall fandom, and coincidentally, Firefly's JP VA, Kusunoki Tomori, also voices Makima in the Chainsaw Man anime JP dub.
- Firefly's EN VA, Analesa Fisher, responded to a post featuring the clip of Kafka in Firefly's Animated Short saying "She saved me frfr."[5]
- Kafka and Firefly's JP VA's, Itō Shizuka and Kusunoki Tomori, have worked together a total of 7 times currently.
Gallery[]
Official[]
Fan Art[]
- All art in this section is fan made, and must be sourced back to the original artist. It also must have permission from the original artist to be posted here. If your art is here without your permission and you wish to have it taken down, please inform an admin, so that we may delete it.
Variations[]
- AcherKafFly refers to the ship between the two and Acheron
- Kafstelfly refers to the ship between the two and Stelle
- KafWolfFly refers to the ship between the two and Silver Wolf
References[]
- ↑ https://imgur.com/a/ykE6RMz
- ↑ https://www.hoyolab.com/article/29770753
- ↑ https://twitter.com/namipua/status/1805153873432342758
- ↑ When Firefly says she and the lipstick are not "destined" to be together she uses "有缘". "有缘" means both fate and destiny, and when the Stellaron Hunters refer to the "destiny" that Elio believes in, "命运" is always used. In fact, when Kafka asks Firefly if she believes in destiny in her third character story, she uses "有缘" despite the fact she was attempting to recruit Firefly.
- ↑ https://twitter.com/AnalesaFisher/status/1801478292433997980
