Next in line from our top ten entries in the “What Serenity Means to You” giveaway is from one of our own: Dedicated Core-Tech member Darth Viper.

We know Serenity means many things to many Browncoats. But in Darth Viper’s case, what Serenity means to him is very near our own hearts – the opportunity for self-expression.

Here’s what DV had to say, in his own words:

“What does Serenity mean to me? Well that’s an interesting question. My first experience with the ship was watching the movie on DVD. I had never heard of the show or the movie but it looked interesting. As many Browncoats can say, it’s quite an experience.

I watched the TV series afterwards and was completely hooked. Really what got me was the sense of family and belonging that was felt in the show. Especially in the episode Out of Gas. At the end after the crew came back and they are there for Mal to wake up, there’s no other show that’s been able to give that feeling of home. The ship is what brings it together. I’ve heard other people who think it’s ugly but I can’t help but admire it. To me it’s beautiful. Except for something designed by NASA it may be the most practical space ship design in a science fiction series. Everything is made to be very functional and makes sense. Even beyond being a space ship to get from place to place it is a home for the crew.

Serenity is important to me, important enough that I’ve been working on a project for over a year dedicated to it and will be continuing work on the project for a while more. Part of that project is a computer model of the ship I’ve tried to make as accurate as possible. There is much more involved in this project but this should show how important the ship is to me. I’ve also really appreciated all the Serenity items that Quantum Mechanix has been making. The Serenity Blueprints were very important for the construction of my Serenity model and I’m eagerly waiting for the release of the Serenity replica and the cross-section artwork that was teased a while back.

I know I’m not alone in my dedication to the ship. Without the fans there wouldn’t have been a movie and I think that there’s still a chance for Serenity to fly yet again with the support of fans. At least, that’s what I hope.”

To see a small example of DV’s love, just click on the rendering above. It’s 100% fanmade. And full of all the love you can only get that way.

But while we’re feeling all deep and emotional-like, let us not forget Serenity also means humor, the laughing out loud kind.

Our third-place winner in the “What Serenity Means to You” contest had us laughing so hard, the Mudder’s Milk was spurting out our collective noses. Jackson Zheng’s Serenity Rap hits all the right notes. We just hope some enterprising rapper comes and sets it to music really soon. Because that would be just too shiny! (Jackson’s rap is also PG-13, so only those okay with a little risque humor should click through the rest of this article.)

Firefly: The Poem

Much in the vein of Chaucer and Blake
A poem for you is all it will take
Inara’s Shuttle? That bitch is dope
this poems real fresh, just used some Scope
So hand over the prize now, it’s as good as won
cause my love for firefly, compares to none

It all started in the year two thousand two
when whedon and company started a coup
with the Fox execs to make quality TV
back when every show was reality
But then came this light, a signal if you will
a firefly class ship, a girl on crazy pills
The concept was insane, who would have thought
a bunch of space pirates could make a great plot?

Their adventures were epic, their mission true:
escape the alliance and the hands of blue
Simon, the doctor, Inara the whore
Mal had a rifle, but Jayne had four
Wash and Zoey, husband and wife
Kaylee had engines; River: inner strife

We barely got to know this ragtag crew
But the network already knew what to do
they pulled the life plug on this notorious show
just as it’s audience was starting to grow
but then emerged, the most vicious fans
even the reavers were scared of their merciless plans

they rallied and protested this ruttin’ fate
but fox said, ‘go home, you’re all too late!”
but demonize Fox? It’s really not their fault
they’d rather make money, so they said “HALT!”
And even as we realized: hope was loss
In all that darkness, we forgot about Joss

He was this show’s biggest fan from the start
And so we worked to find this dead show’s new heart
and there at the door, Universal was callin’
“Lets make a movie, being canceled is appalling!”
So the story continued, and all the through the land
Browncoats were cheering and waving their hand

So why is this show so important to me?
Quite frankly, I watch for naked Kaylee.

As Cory described so eloquently in his first place essay last week, Serenity means family. But family is more than just the people who give us support and help us through the thick and the thin. Family can also be about what we do for those same people. Our second place winner – a video by Lindsay Coderre – explores that aspect of What Serenity Means:

Click to Play

]]> http://www.fireflyshipworks.com/contests/what-serenity-means-to-you/what-serenity-means-to-you-%e2%80%93-2nd-place/feed/ 9 http://www.fireflyshipworks.com/about-ffsw/cortex-update/what-serenity-means-to-you-%e2%80%93-first-place/ http://www.fireflyshipworks.com/about-ffsw/cortex-update/what-serenity-means-to-you-%e2%80%93-first-place/#comments Thu, 22 Oct 2009 21:34:29 +0000 admin http://www.fireflyshipworks.com/?p=903 That’s the thing about Browncoats – they’re talented, smart and so damn pretty. Here we have this little essay thing to win an Inara’s Shuttle diorama and not only do we get flooded with entries, they’re all so awesome it makes it almost impossible to choose.

In acknowledgment of this fabulous outpouring of creative brilliance, we’ve decided to award three grand prizes instead of just one. That’s right, we’re giving away three Inara’s Shuttles instead of just the original one we committed to.

We’ve also expanded the total number of winners to 10, so folks that don’t get a shuttle are getting gift certificates to the QMx website. And all their work (all 10 of ‘em) will be published here over the coming weeks, so you can all enjoy they’re efforts as much as our judges did.

Now some of you may think we wimped out here. But we prefer to think of it as a strategic repositioning in light of new information. Namely, you all have a lot of love for Serenity that we really think you should get the chance to share with your fellow Browncoats.

So, without further ado, we present our First Place winner – Cory O. – and his essay on what Serenity means to him:

Like most people, I was born in a hospital.  However, unlike most people I spent much of my childhood in a hospital.  I was born with a congenital defect known as myelomeningocele (aka: Spina Bifida).  It’s a condition that prevented me from standing, much less walking.

While my friends and classmates were riding their bicycles, going camping, swimming and playing sports (man how I really just wanted to play a game of dodge ball), I would either be indoors or on the sidelines.  This, of course, was during those few times when I was not undergoing one of the multiple surgeries and years of physical therapy in the hospital.

Sure I was jealous of them; all of them.  They were developing childhood bonds, close friendships and memories that would last a lifetime.  I, on the other hand, was an outcast; someone to be looked at, but not engaged – that is, I mean, outside of the hospital.  This is where my connection to Serenity began.

Though I did not know it at the time, having been decades before Serenity first aired, the hospital would become my “boat” with the key members of the staff being the “crew”.  This was my family.

The Medical Director was a stern, no-nonsense businessman/doctor who was always concerned about costs, expenses and insurance coverage.  I learned this from my physical therapist whom I’ll get to shortly.  Despite his cold, rough persona, the Medical Director, whom I’ll refer to as Malcom, also had a genuine, though deeply imbedded, distinguishing feature to him; the sense of doing what’s right.  Looking past his exterior, I incorporated his unique sense of ethics as a child and have continued to do so throughout my life.

My chief surgeon was the best.  I heard that he was the top of his class at Harvard Medical.  He wasn’t the warmest individual with the best bedside manners, but he was passionate about his arts; the medical arts that is.  Each time I was to undergo a surgical procedure, I was always at ease knowing that he was one of the most talented and well respected surgeons in the country.  I’ll call him Dr. Tam, though I don’t think he had a sister.

The lead nurse, whom I’ll refer to as Zoe, was one of the kindest and most caring persons I’ve ever known.  She would always be bringing me goodies from the nurse’s station and stopping by to see me whenever she had a break.  Being the Medical Director’s “right hand”, however, she was sometimes fairly bossy to the other nurses.  I just figured she need to keep order in the place, but never understood how one person could be so different.  Still, she was one of my best friends.

Kaylee, aka my physical therapist was truly the one who kept things running.  She was the backbone to the whole operation.  Sure I needed Malcom to oversee the operations, Dr. Tam to make the corrections and Zoe to nourish my health, but without Kaylee, none of it would have made an ounce of difference.  The human spirit is a powerful thing.  Imagine for a second not being able to stand.  When you’re finally able to stand, after months of excruciating pain, anguish, fear and hopelessness, you then needed to walk.  When that’s accomplished, don’t even think about trying to run, because you need to undergo another surgery, and then learn how to stand again.  You then repeat this cycle several more times.  The frustration is unbearable.  However, with a talented coach who knows just which buttons to press, which screws to turn in order to lift your spirits just enough to keep you going, you just know that someday you’ll be able to run.  That was Kaylee.  Her positive energy and enthusiasm was infectious.  Sometimes though, it would be a bit much.  Imagine someone telling you that you can walk on water.  Now you’re to go out and do it and they have the utmost confidence that you can.  Yeah right, that’s a bit over the top.  The thing is, when you’ve spent so much time with someone, you know when it’s earnest and when it’s bogus.  That’s the point when things got fun and you could both have a good laugh.  From there, success was just inches away; and you knew it!  That’s how it was with Kaylee.

What is the definition of Serenity?  It’s the state or quality of being serene, calm or tranquil; sereneness.  For me, that was when I was given the green light; no more surgery, no more pain, no more frustration, no more tears.  For me, that was when I was able to play football with my classmates.  For me, that was when I learned how to ride a bicycle.  For me, that was when I ran my first track meet.  For me, that was when I had my first dance.  For me, Serenity is the pinnacle of achievement.  It’s a state or quality that I have since experienced on countless occasions and continue to strive for daily.

Ok, so my “boat” didn’t have all 9 characters, but the ones closest to me, my childhood family, the ones that mattered the most to me were all there.  They’ve all helped shape me into who I am and have yet to become.  The series touches on a lot of themes about the human condition that I’ve experienced on “my” boat and throughout my life.  Most importantly, it reminds me of my childhood.  Not one of sadness, sympathy and pain, but one of love, laughter and peace; serenity.

Serenity means everything to me.