Kyra

ABOUT KYRA

KYRA

BROWNCOAT ID#:20851 SINCE: 2006.06.23 10:57 LAST HERE: 2011.01.25 05:11 CREDITS: 6

Who we are depends on the outcome of the struggle between who we were and who we want to be

Kyra McTaggert had never kidded herself into believing that she was a good person. It wasn't that she'd set out to be mean towards others; or cold; or harsh. It was just the way things had gone. And whether she liked it or not, that was the image that she'd made for herself.
She'd left home before her sixteenth birthday, ran away with a man twice her age. It wasn't just for the thrill of it - she certainly didn't love him - it was because she knew how much it would anger her mother. She did it as a slap in the face, for all the slaps that she'd received from her. From one miserable home to another, she kept running, hoping to find that illusive reason to stay. She jumped between her homeworld of Alexandria to Regina and back again. She moved all over, even found herself married to a husband at one time. But it never lasted. The longest she'd stayed in a place was for six months. And then she found herself on Boros and secured a job at the Boros Bound, her first and last legitimate job as Kyra McTaggert. The uncle of her then-partner had gotten her the job as a favour to her, and for once she played nice. She had to. She'd grown tired of running. She was twenty five. And then she met Bernie.
It was just a job at first, an opportunity to make her name. It was a simple write up, that's all, but not for him. It could ruin him. But that was the point. It was a test. If he was foolish enough to trust her then it would prove the Editor's long-held opinion - that the Guild wasn't as secure an organisation as they made it out to be. Kyra used him, she lied to him, she almost ruined him. But she'd loved him. For once she'd found a reason to stay, a person to stay for. And she'd used him up and threw him away. She didn't deserve pity, she didn't deserve anything. And yet he found her again. And he forgave her. She thought he would be her redemption. If he could forgive her, maybe she could turn her life around. Maybe she could forgive herself. But that was a long time ago. The truth was, Bernie wasn't her redemption. He couldn't even save himself.

And then there was Luthor. She'd first met him barely a week after she had settled on Xiangsheng. He wasn't shy in making known his feelings for her, but she hadn't wanted to get involved. Not just because she was already living a lie - changing her name to Emma Roberts was a necessary step to getting away from Bernie - but because she knew she didn't deserve him. She didn't deserve happiness - call it her own self-imposed punishment. But Luthor's tenacity and determination was hard to ignore. And the closer they got to each other, the stronger her feelings became. She wanted to tell him the truth, but it would be another year before she told him everything. But meeting and, in turn, falling for him turned her around. Maybe she wasn't destined to live her life on her own. Maybe Luthor could bring her back into the light, could redeem her where Bernie couldn't. Maybe he was the one she was meant for after all.

The past few months she'd tried to take control of her life. She'd tried to stop pushing people away, even made some friends at the office, something she'd never really succeeded in at the Boros Bound. But when Clayton contacted her, all those memories had come flooding back, and the real person that she had been running away from all this time - herself - returned.
Kyra McTaggert had been a selfish woman, always had been. She'd never done anything in her life that didn't in some way benefit her. Even helping Bernie had been a selfish venture, when she thought about it. She wanted to help him because she felt bad within herself. It was never about him. Even now, when she missed him, she wondered why. What was the real reason why she had felt so devoted to him in the first place? Was it love? Or was it simply because he served as a reminder of who she really was? That being with him reminded her of her real need - her need to hate herself.
But she was beyond that now. Luthor had shown her what it meant to love and to be loved. She wasn't beyond hating herself, but now she had something more in her life. Not just Luthor, but the need to reach out and help. To help others, even those that don't deserve it, especially those ones. To offer them the same privilege that she was granted. A second chance.

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STILL FLYING: SERENITY AND FFF.NET, 20 YEARS LATER Wednesday, October 1, 2025 12:39:47 PM Twenty years ago Serenity, the film that never should have been, was released. A big damn movie continuing the story of Firefly -a short lived series that only lasted 15 episodes - should not have existed. And yet the impossible happened. As far as the general audience knew, that was where it ended. But of course, Browncoats the world over knew it was just the beginning. It may not have been the first of a trilogy, as many may have hoped, and it didn’t encourage the Fox Network to resurrect the series, but the stories lived on. Not just the comics created by Dark Horse, shepherded by series creator Joss Whedon, or the continuing adventures by Boom comics. Never mind the series of novels set during and after the original series, or the original graphic novels including one that finally told the story of Shepherd Book. Then there were the board games, the RPGs… the list goes on. But none of these quite kept the flame burning like the fan community that Firefly and Serenity inspired. FireflyFans.net was such a community. It allowed fans to share their own art and fiction; it enabled them to share their own stories of how they discovered the series; it was a community where fans could meet, discuss various topics related and unrelated to the show, and to form close friendships. For myself, FireflyFans.net was also the place where I rediscovered my love for writing. Around the release of the movie, there was a guerilla campaign to market this cinematic underdog and the official Serenity website (browncoats.serenitymovie.com) encouraged fans to “form their own crew”. These crews, led by a chosen captain, would then be given tasks to do, all in aid of hyping up the film. I joined a crew led by one SoulofSerenity on FireflyFans.net, and as the crew gathered, the roles were assigned. Eventually, this discussion thread became less about the Serenity Website and more about writing adventures for our new band of adventurers. The crew of “Destiny”, a Firefly-class vessel much like the one owned by those Big Damn Heroes, found themselves getting involved in all sorts of scrapes. Most of them, admittedly, were silly but it was an opportunity to write a group story, whilst being careful not to step on each other’s toes. It was similar to another set of stories on the website. Prior to the release of Serenity, FireflyFans.net had also hosted another story discussion: the adventures of the Sereni-Tree. Like the previously mentioned Destiny threads, this was a place for fans to chat and imagine all sorts of crazy adventures set in and around the verse. Whilst it was more fantasy than sci-fi, it was an opportunity to “just have fun” and not be taken too seriously. However, the development of certain characters, no longer just avatars of the writers themselves, meant that some of the stories started to take on a life of their own. This is highlighted in threads 34 to 41 of the Sereni-Tree adventures, where a number of characters head to Boros (a familiar planet in the Firefly verse) and get caught up in a firefight there. Drama and death ensue, and this story starts feeling less like a light and frothy adventure and more akin to the action seen on the series itself. In time, the decision to return the story to something a little more fun resulted in a new story starting elsewhere on the fan site. Special Branch, a spin-off from Sereni-Tree, would allow fans to start exploring the storylines originally set up in the original threads but with a more serious slant. What came out of that idea was a whole new set of storylines, featuring new characters, betrayals and plot twists in a verse more closely resembling that seen in Firefly/Serenity, albeit with a sprinkling of fantasy elements. The story was a chance for fans like myself to really sink their teeth into the narrative and work alongside talented writers in crafting a new tale, separate from the crew of Serenity. Although the likes of Mal, Zoe, River etc would not appear; organisations like The Alliance and the Blue Sun Group were present, as well as new insidious groups like The Expendables (not the Schwarzenegger one) and the Crimson Squad. Speaking personally, there was nothing quite like the thrill of reading the latest story entry and crafting your own to add to it. Over the years, I’ve gone back and forth with my writing – work, family responsibilities and other things always seem to get in the way – but I’ll always appreciate the little part I played in some of these stories and the wonderful people I got to know as a result. For some Firefly was just another show, Serenity another movie, the Browncoats another fandom. But when you have a website like FireflyFans.net allowing ones to not just discuss the show but craft their own stories, you realise it’s so much more. I’ll be forever grateful for the opportunity it gave me to explore my creative side once more and for making friends with ones I never would normally have had the opportunity to meet. The verse may have gone silent for the time being, but even now the site is still running. Adventures with the crew of the Sereni-Tree and Special Branch have been updated as recently as 2022 and 2023 respectively. And for myself, I still have the desire to go back to those stories we told, if only to bring them to some sort of completion. “You can’t stop the signal” declared Mr Universe in the Big Damn Movie. Never have those words seemed more appropriate. This is one fandom that shows no signs of slowing down. And despite the series being off the air for over two decades, we’re still flying. Links http://browncoats.serenitymovie.com/serenity/index.html?fuseaction=groups.detail&id=66 Destiny crew threads 1. Rounding up the crew http://fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?bid=2&tid=11588&p=1 2. WELCOME TO DESTINY http://fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?bid=2&tid=11689&p=1 3. DESTINY: THE NEXT THREAD http://fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?bid=2&tid=11767&p=1 4. DESTINY: DEEP SPACE… WHATEVER http://fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?bid=2&tid=11976&p=1 5. TO LUNACY AND BEYOND http://fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?bid=2&tid=12261&p=1 6. RETURN OF THE BROWNCOATS http://fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?bid=2&tid=12642&p=1 7. MAYHEM, BUGS AND FOAM… http://fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?bid=2&tid=13502&p=1 8. ATTACK OF THE KIMMEL CLONES http://fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?bid=2&tid=14737&p=1 9. STRANDED http://fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?bid=2&tid=16058&p=1 10. FORBIDDEN PLANET http://fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?bid=2&tid=18572&mid=265233 11. DEATH TO THE LIVING FLATULENCE http://fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?bid=2&tid=20785&p=1 12. CREW TRYOUTS (THE RESURRECTION) http://fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?bid=2&tid=25447&p=1 Sereni-Tree Guide Guide to the Clubhouse / Treehouse / Sereni-Tree Threads by TheRealMe SPECIAL BRANCH 1. UNBOUND http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?bid=11&tid=20504 2. THE CHASING OF WILD GEESE http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?bid=11&tid=21730 3. SPECIAL BRANCH AND THE HUGE HOSPITAL BILLS http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?bid=11&tid=23302 4. THE LIVING DEAD http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?bid=11&tid=24558 5. MOTHERHOOD FOR HEROES http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?bid=11&tid=26599 6. SECRETS AND LIES http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?bid=11&tid=28546 7. SANTOS http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?bid=11&tid=29910 8. LOOSE ENDS http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?bid=11&tid=34804 9. LOST FRIENDS http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?bid=11&tid=41828 10. OVERDUE REUNIONS http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?bid=11&tid=46305 11. THE EXECUTION OF VIXEN GODDARD http://fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?bid=11&tid=46830 12. BACK IN BLACK http://fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?bid=11&tid=47387 (currently missing link) 13. SOULLESS http://fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?bid=11&tid=49412&mid=929793#929793

STILL FLYING: SERENITY AND FFF.NET, 20 YEARS LATER

Wednesday, October 1, 2025 12:39:47 PM

Twenty years ago Serenity, the film that never should have been, was released. A big damn movie continuing the story of Firefly -a short lived series that only lasted 15 episodes - should not have existed. And yet the impossible happened.
As far as the general audience knew, that was where it ended. But of course, Browncoats the world over knew it was just the beginning. It may not have been the first of a trilogy, as many may have hoped, and it didn’t encourage the Fox Network to resurrect the series, but the stories lived on.
Not just the comics created by Dark Horse, shepherded by series creator Joss Whedon, or the continuing adventures by Boom comics. Never mind the series of novels set during and after the original series, or the original graphic novels including one that finally told the story of Shepherd Book. Then there were the board games, the RPGs… the list goes on.
But none of these quite kept the flame burning like the fan community that Firefly and Serenity inspired.
FireflyFans.net was such a community. It allowed fans to share their own art and fiction; it enabled them to share their own stories of how they discovered the series; it was a community where fans could meet, discuss various topics related and unrelated to the show, and to form close friendships.
For myself, FireflyFans.net was also the place where I rediscovered my love for writing.
Around the release of the movie, there was a guerilla campaign to market this cinematic underdog and the official Serenity website (browncoats.serenitymovie.com) encouraged fans to “form their own crew”. These crews, led by a chosen captain, would then be given tasks to do, all in aid of hyping up the film.
I joined a crew led by one SoulofSerenity on FireflyFans.net, and as the crew gathered, the roles were assigned. Eventually, this discussion thread became less about the Serenity Website and more about writing adventures for our new band of adventurers. The crew of “Destiny”, a Firefly-class vessel much like the one owned by those Big Damn Heroes, found themselves getting involved in all sorts of scrapes. Most of them, admittedly, were silly but it was an opportunity to write a group story, whilst being careful not to step on each other’s toes.
It was similar to another set of stories on the website.
Prior to the release of Serenity, FireflyFans.net had also hosted another story discussion: the adventures of the Sereni-Tree. Like the previously mentioned Destiny threads, this was a place for fans to chat and imagine all sorts of crazy adventures set in and around the verse. Whilst it was more fantasy than sci-fi, it was an opportunity to “just have fun” and not be taken too seriously. However, the development of certain characters, no longer just avatars of the writers themselves, meant that some of the stories started to take on a life of their own.
This is highlighted in threads 34 to 41 of the Sereni-Tree adventures, where a number of characters head to Boros (a familiar planet in the Firefly verse) and get caught up in a firefight there. Drama and death ensue, and this story starts feeling less like a light and frothy adventure and more akin to the action seen on the series itself.
In time, the decision to return the story to something a little more fun resulted in a new story starting elsewhere on the fan site.
Special Branch, a spin-off from Sereni-Tree, would allow fans to start exploring the storylines originally set up in the original threads but with a more serious slant. What came out of that idea was a whole new set of storylines, featuring new characters, betrayals and plot twists in a verse more closely resembling that seen in Firefly/Serenity, albeit with a sprinkling of fantasy elements.
The story was a chance for fans like myself to really sink their teeth into the narrative and work alongside talented writers in crafting a new tale, separate from the crew of Serenity. Although the likes of Mal, Zoe, River etc would not appear; organisations like The Alliance and the Blue Sun Group were present, as well as new insidious groups like The Expendables (not the Schwarzenegger one) and the Crimson Squad.
Speaking personally, there was nothing quite like the thrill of reading the latest story entry and crafting your own to add to it.
Over the years, I’ve gone back and forth with my writing – work, family responsibilities and other things always seem to get in the way – but I’ll always appreciate the little part I played in some of these stories and the wonderful people I got to know as a result.
For some Firefly was just another show, Serenity another movie, the Browncoats another fandom. But when you have a website like FireflyFans.net allowing ones to not just discuss the show but craft their own stories, you realise it’s so much more.
I’ll be forever grateful for the opportunity it gave me to explore my creative side once more and for making friends with ones I never would normally have had the opportunity to meet.
The verse may have gone silent for the time being, but even now the site is still running. Adventures with the crew of the Sereni-Tree and Special Branch have been updated as recently as 2022 and 2023 respectively. And for myself, I still have the desire to go back to those stories we told, if only to bring them to some sort of completion.
“You can’t stop the signal” declared Mr Universe in the Big Damn Movie.
Never have those words seemed more appropriate.
This is one fandom that shows no signs of slowing down. And despite the series being off the air for over two decades, we’re still flying.

Links
http://browncoats.serenitymovie.com/serenity/index.html?fuseaction=groups.detail&id=66

Destiny crew threads
1. Rounding up the crew http://fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?bid=2&tid=11588&p=1
2. WELCOME TO DESTINY http://fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?bid=2&tid=11689&p=1
3. DESTINY: THE NEXT THREAD http://fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?bid=2&tid=11767&p=1
4. DESTINY: DEEP SPACE… WHATEVER http://fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?bid=2&tid=11976&p=1
5. TO LUNACY AND BEYOND http://fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?bid=2&tid=12261&p=1
6. RETURN OF THE BROWNCOATS http://fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?bid=2&tid=12642&p=1
7. MAYHEM, BUGS AND FOAM… http://fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?bid=2&tid=13502&p=1
8. ATTACK OF THE KIMMEL CLONES http://fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?bid=2&tid=14737&p=1
9. STRANDED http://fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?bid=2&tid=16058&p=1
10. FORBIDDEN PLANET http://fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?bid=2&tid=18572&mid=265233
11. DEATH TO THE LIVING FLATULENCE http://fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?bid=2&tid=20785&p=1
12. CREW TRYOUTS (THE RESURRECTION) http://fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?bid=2&tid=25447&p=1

Sereni-Tree Guide
Guide to the Clubhouse / Treehouse / Sereni-Tree Threads by TheRealMe

SPECIAL BRANCH
1. UNBOUND http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?bid=11&tid=20504
2. THE CHASING OF WILD GEESE http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?bid=11&tid=21730
3. SPECIAL BRANCH AND THE HUGE HOSPITAL BILLS http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?bid=11&tid=23302
4. THE LIVING DEAD http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?bid=11&tid=24558
5. MOTHERHOOD FOR HEROES http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?bid=11&tid=26599
6. SECRETS AND LIES http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?bid=11&tid=28546
7. SANTOS http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?bid=11&tid=29910
8. LOOSE ENDS http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?bid=11&tid=34804
9. LOST FRIENDS http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?bid=11&tid=41828
10. OVERDUE REUNIONS http://www.fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?bid=11&tid=46305
11. THE EXECUTION OF VIXEN GODDARD http://fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?bid=11&tid=46830
12. BACK IN BLACK http://fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?bid=11&tid=47387 (currently missing link)
13. SOULLESS http://fireflyfans.net/mthread.aspx?bid=11&tid=49412&mid=929793#929793

DATE	TITLE
10.01 12:39	Still Flying: Serenity and FFF.net, 20 Years Later

TYPE	TITLE
FICTION	Battle on Boros (A Sereni-Tree Story) - Chapter 2: Soldiers
FICTION	Battle on Boros (A Sereni-Tree Story) - Interlude: Phantoms
FICTION	Battle on Boros (A Sereni-Tree Story) - Chapter 1
FICTION	Battle on Boros (A Sereni-Tree Story) - Prologue: Lost Souls
GRAPHICS	Special Branch Poster : Clayton