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- So, although this world isn't real, this experience is priceless... ...Just like this moment.
- —Firefly to Stelle in "Gentleness, The Name Of Nocturne"
Stellefly is the femslash ship between Stelle and Firefly from the Honkai: Star Rail fandom.
Canon[]
The Sound And The Fury[]
Stelle and Firefly meet in Penacony's Golden Hour, where she is accused of being a stowaway by Bloodhound Family members. Stelle 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 Stelle on a tour of Golden Hour, where Firefly buys Stelle food at a restaurant and drinks at a bar, and the two participate in The Great Tatalov dream bubble. Later, Stelle 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 Stelle'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 Stelle, 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 Stelle what her friends would do to lighten the mood after a serious conversation. To this, Stelle can respond that "March would force us to take a selfie with her". Firefly seizes upon this idea, and has Stelle take a selfie of the two of them with her camera. Then, the two return to Golden Hour.
Before Stelle and Firefly can leave the dreamscape, they are approached by Sparkle - who has disguised herself as Sampo. Sparkle comments on how Stelle seems so enchanted by Firefly; then, Firefly steps in front of Stelle to try and defend her. Stelle and Firefly are then sent to the "real Dreamscape" by Sparkle. After travelling through this unsettling space, they encounter Something Unto Death. Stelle fights to rescue Firefly, and Stelle and Firefly hold hands as they escape the room. Black Swan brings Stelle back to reality; she is concerned and can ask Black Swan about Firefly's well-being, where Black Swan comments that she seems worried about her and reassures him of her safety.
When Stelle, 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, Stelle has no time to reach Firefly before she is taken away and impaled by Something Unto Death. Falling towards Stelle's arms, she turns into a bubble form and disappears. Stelle can choose to blame Acheron for not doing more to protect Firefly. When investigating the hotel lobby, Stelle finds the selfie that she took with Firefly on her phone, before the phone disappears as well. Upon continued investigation, Black Swan points out the Firefly was thinking about Stelle even when they were apart, commenting on their closeness.
After the events of Whodunit, the player can return as Stelle to Firefly's secret base. Here, an instrumental version of If I Can Stop One Heart From Breaking plays as Stelle reflects on her 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, Stelle is knocked out and falls away. Then, she feels flames embracing her and she is taken to a location deep in the Memory Zone. Her savior is revealed to be the Stellaron Hunter Sam, who attempted to reach Stelle 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 Stelle returns to Firefly's secret base, Stelle reflects on her 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 Stelle, they converse for a time about her past. Stelle 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", Stelle 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 Stelle 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, Stelle and Firefly join the SoulGlad™ Festivity Auditions as a pair on Himeko's recommendation, as Stelle is closer with Firefly than Himeko or March 7th are. Stelle indicates her excitement at getting to team up with Firefly with no catch,. During these audtions, Stelle and Firefly participate in a number of acting or combat challenges. In the acting challenges, Stelle 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 Stelle and stands up for her viewpoint during the debate with Sunday. Then, she leaves the group with a wish that she and Stelle may meet again in reality. If Stelle once again returns to Firefly's secret base, Stelle's feelings are now changed. She now feels serene and accepts all the memories she'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, Stelle 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. Stelle 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 Stelle. 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 Stelle that she has ten minutes to find a bomb on the Feldspar. After Stelle and her 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 Stelle before flying off with the bomb to reach a safe distance from the Feldspar. Stelle watches in trepidation as she flies off and a massive explosion occurs, followed by Sparkle's fireworks. Sparkle then invites Stelle to take a closer look and knocks her off the Feldspar with her hammer - right into Firefly's arms while she is wearing the SAM suit. Firefly transforms back as she holds Stelle, 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, Stelle 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. Stelle once again says she will rescue a pretty young lady when referring to Firefly, who asks to take another picture with Stelle. Silver Wolf teases the two about playing a romance game together, which Firefly seems interested in doing.
Quotes[]
- “Hi, we meet again... What I mean is, it's nice to see you. Just call me Firefly, as always.”
- — Firefly to Stelle in the Interactive voiceline "First Meeting"
- “Don't be nervous, Stelle... Just cooperate with me, like you did before.”
- — Firefly's voiceline when added to the same team as Stelle
- “I owe you a big one! If it hadn't been for you, I might have been... taken away by them.”
- — Firefly to Stelle in "Sleepless Night"
- “So, although this world isn't real, this experience is priceless... ...Just like this moment.”
- — Firefly to Stelle in "Gentleness, The Name Of Nocturne"
- “This is to show to you... ...all that I am.”
- — Firefly to Stelle in "A Walk Among The Tombstones"
Fanon[]
After the release of The Great Tatalov trailer ahead of version 2.0, which features various images of Stelle and Firefly spending time together in Golden Hour, this ship became popular. In the trailer, Stelle and Firefly take a selfie, and Firefly appears flustered and appears to tug on Stelle's sleeve as the two are walking. This sequence may be an interpretation of Stelle and Firefly's "date" from the Trailblaze missions. The two have had a decent amount of fanart of them circulating on social media since. Following their extensive interactions in the Penacony Trailblaze Missions, they rapidly became a popular ship. As of version 2.3 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 Stelle and other characters in the game. 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.
They are shown to care about each other, with Firefly trusting and opening up to Stelle and acknowledging that she may struggle to trust her because of Firefly initially hiding her identity; Stelle caring deeply about Firefly's safety to an extent where it is pointed out by other characters; and each of Stelle and Firefly wanting to protect the other during dangerous situations. After Firefly's identity is revealed, their trust for each other grows further, with Firefly - in spite of her being a Stellaron Hunter - working closely alongside Stelle and the Express in a variety of scenarios. Stelle also becomes more jocular with Firefly, teasing her about her lines as SAM. Overall, Stelle is portrayed as the lighthearted jokester, saying funny catchphrases, while Firefly is the more serious warrior with a cute and loving side who is adoring of Stelle.
The song If I Can Stop One Heart From Breaking plays during the pivotal scene where Firefly opens up to Stelle, 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. A remixed version of the song is also used for Firefly's departure in the SAM suit in the In Our Time quest. As such, the song has become an unofficial song of their relationship that is extensively used in both official and fan edits and animations focused on Stelle and Firefly. The song that played as Stelle and Firefly held hands amidst the fireworks in the Farewell, Penacony quest - Had I Not Seen the Sun - has also become a popular song for the ship.
The trailer for version 2.3 showed Stelle and Firefly walking in a swimming pool on the Radiant Feldspar, with Firefly seemingly holding Stelle's hand as she leads her. Additionally, in the version 2.3 livestream, Jade and Owlbert are shown to tease Firefly about the Harmony path Trailblazer (including Stelle)'s Super Break Ability being a great support for Firefly's Break effect. In Firefly's texts to Stelle, she sends the selfie they took multiple times and invites Stelle to travel with her in the future.
Fan works for the ship initially focused on events during the "date", including Firefly buying Stelle food and sharing Oak Cake Rolls, and Stelle playing the slot machines while Firefly watches; as well as Stelle processing her feelings for Firefly following her apparent death. After Firefly's identity was revealed, fan works shifted to showing Stelle being grateful for Firefly's safe return and interacting with her both as herself and while she is in the SAM suit. After a tool that can create HSR chat images became popular, many fans used the tool to imagine romantic conversations between Stelle and Firefly - often with humorous interjections from characters like March 7th, Silver Wolf, and the other Stellaron Hunters and Astral Express members. When their gameplay synergy was revealed, fanarts of Stelle being Firefly's "emotional support raccoon" became popular - building on Stelle being portrayed as a raccoon in many fanworks and even an official event due to her interest in trash. This was further reinforced by Firefly's journal depicting Stelle as this same raccoon.
Stellefly is the most popular ship for Firefly, and the second most popular ship for Stelle, after Starch, with some fanart and screenshots of Firefly and March looking at each other showing March being jealous of Firefly and Stelle's relationship - although this is not reflected in Firefly and March's in-game reactions. Given Sparkle's involvement during Stelle and Firefly's "date" and in the 2.3 Trailblaze Mission Farewell, Penacony, some fan arts also show Sparkle tricking Stelle by shapeshifting into Firefly.
While the romantic tension between Stelle and Firefly also sparked some debates about the latter's character being reduced to "fan service", this was generally downplayed compared to their reaction to how they perceive CaeFly.
Fandom[]
- FAN FICTION
- Firefly/Stelle tag on AO3
- Stellefly hashtag on Twitter
- Stellefly posts on Twitter
- Stelfly hashtag on Twitter
- Stelfly posts on Twitter
- Steltaru hashtag on Twitter
- Steltaru posts on Twitter
- Stelle x Firefly posts on Twitter
Trivia[]
- At Firefly's secret base, interacting with the hidden bird reveals that the bird peeks at couples who come to the spot to watch the shooting stars; the phrasing implies that the bird thought of Stelle and Firefly as a couple and didn't mean to peek at them during their conversation.
- Near the secret base, the description for the Space Anchor (Front Observation Deck) reveals that the observation deck "will be the generator of romantic memories for countless lovers in the foreseeable future", further implying that the spot where Firefly brought Stelle is a popular spot for couples and romance (even though she had visited the place by herself previously).
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.
