#laika rambles

[leporellian]

the binding of laika

ben florin, "laika"/jamaica kincaid/le loup, "we are gods! we are wolves!"/archival footage of the soviet space program/genesis 22/alan shapiro, "space dog"/olesya turkina, soviet space dogs/brennig davies, "first dog in space"/daniel ortberg, "children's stories made horrific: curious george"/idomeneo prepares to sacrifice his son in the garsington opera production of "idomeneo"/alan shapiro, "space dog"/louise glück/jonathan coulton, "space doggity"/bojack horseman, "free churro"/maynard solomon, mozart: a life/mac demarco in an interview with npr/@/fateology, “muttnik”/unknown/alex wellerstein writing for the new yorker/ ancient doll found in roman egypt/steiff laika toy/guillermo del toro's pinocchio/richard silken/laika wikipedia page/bojack horseman, "free churro"/photograph of laika//nih.gov’s page on oleg gazenko/oleg gazenko/alan shapiro, "space dog"

[welcometogrouchland]

I understand that literature nerd Jason Todd is kind of overblown in fanon compared to it's actual presence in canon (a few issues during his pre (and post?)crisis Robin tenure that highlight it) BUT consider that I think it's hilarious if the unhinged gun toting criminal has strong opinions on poetry

[puppyeared]

hello every nyan

fan character for Laika's Comet, by @catmask (go check it out!!)

[imglowinginthedarkness]

thought too much about laika the space dog again. weeping

[sleepinginmygrave]

the thing about me is that i will cry about laika if i dare think about her for more than 2 seconds

[pinkpinkstarlet]

girlboss behavior tbh

@t1r4misuu @l0starl

[chronicowboy]

brennig davies' poem about laika is absolutely brutal

[wzrd-wheezes]

every so often i think about laika and it makes me sob.

[captain-crowfish]

hello hello !!

I wanted to ask, who's your favorite character from Boxtrolls ?? it's one of my most favorite movies nyehe :3

(APOLOGIES IF I'VE ASKED BEFORE, I HAVE A HORRID MEMORY !!)

Hihihi!!!! Thank you for reaching out! always a pleasure to chat with some other Boxtroll fans... Boxtrollers? I love Eggs, Snatcher, and Winnifred in the film, but if I had to pick just one, it would definitely be Snatcher.

He's an absolute blast to try to analyze and try to get into his head, and I notice a new thing about him every time I re-watch the film... yes, all 63 times. I get the feeling that, the moment he learns Eggs is still alive, he starts to lose himself. He's kind of an idiot, but he makes up for it in cleverness. He knows just how to find people's weakness and exploit it for his own gain, and this is what makes him so formidable. He sees nothing but his own ambitions, completely ignoring his own weakness, and that ultimately leads to his demise. Heck, in the final scene, Eggs is telling him that he doesn’t need to eat cheese to be powerful, he is already powerful. He got people to listen to him. (although for all the wrong reasons) And what does he say to that? "I have made me, boy." Because despite Eggs making a brilliant point, Snatcher is still, exactly where he's wanted to be his whole life, eating cheese with the White Hats. Even if he only got there kind of on accident, and before that, he did the same thing to Eggs that the White hats did to him, pushing those beneath him in the social ladder even further down for the sake of gaining power. Also, in calling Eggs 'boy', he acknowledges his own progress in breaking through societal labels, it's the nicest thing he's said to him the entire movie, and he's still talking down to Eggs. So in this final scene, Eggs and Snatcher are both correct. They both want the exact same thing, to have their own identities and be accepted for it, and they achieve it by being the opposite of what they’re stereotyped as. Eggs, by being kind and brave, Snatcher, by being clever and manipulative. And that fact alone makes the little film-analyst in my brain squeal with delight.

Another thing I enjoy, and I've probably mentioned this before, every fan-depiction of Snatcher that I've seen is slightly different. We all have our different interpretations of this guy, and I think that's a key indicator as to how complicated he really is, and I love him for it. Just a bonus thing I want to admit, interestingly enough, in the novelization of the film, (Not to be confused with 'Here Be Monsters!') Winnifred ends up being my favorite character,

even if that is mostly due to how the book is only told from the direct POV from either Eggs or Winnie. As much as I dislike the novel, it provides just the right amount of extra details to really flesh out her character. She's so bored with her home life that her coping mechanism is somewhat self-destructive, and that description both over-exaggerates and summarizes her arc in the book. Again, it's a pretty bad novel, but it's a blast to compare & contrast with the film.

[swinging-stars-from-satellites]

looking at my loose outline for Inklings and how bad the theology is going to be and just going well time to get jiggy with it!

[iwanttobepersephone]

Theres just a ton of dogs 😭😭

Yeah I was scrolling through the Laika tag

Also its only one dog, and that dog is Laika lol

[hearts4juzi]

was playing around on this picrew and. woagh. these. uh. girls be upon ye

[headofocs-inklesspen]

Do you guys ever think about Laika and cry? Or is it just me??

[lockandkeyhyena]

Did u name Andy Star after the Killers’ “Andy, You’re a Star” great song btw

i did haha! i think it’s one of my two favourite songs at the moment

[joyfuladorable]

do u have any peni hcs? 👀

also i love ur peni content where she plays a more prominent role :)

Aww, thanks! I can get Very Attached to characters who I feel needed More from the Narrative, lol.

Now, for headcanons:

Since Peni works for Oscorp, she Absolutely milks the fact that they Need her to pilot SP//dr to get Things like rare snacks and merchandise and music and trinkets for Spider's terrarium

She was already kind of an Oddball while going to boarding school when her dad was out being SP//dr. The typical parent-influenced child cruelty towards kids with absent parents

She was transferred to a school closer to Oscorp and her Aunt and Uncle upon getting Bit, and she’s kinda known as the “kid with her head in the clouds” and “kid who definitely brings a spider with her to school but as long as her grades are good and it doesn’t bite anyone then whatevers”

There’s a bit of contradictory info in the comics about how secret her identity as SP//dr is, but for the movie-verse I imagine Oscorp tries to keep that info contained since she’d be vulnerable while at school but also More Importantly to avoid a Media Uproar about them having a Child fight deadly foes on the regular

As I’ve said, I’d want Peni and Addy to be Besties before the VE#m Incident. Maybe instead of the ill-timed approach during school that the comics had, Uncle Ben would’ve introduced Addy to Peni as a potential support/partner during missions. Peni would be kinda resistant at first like the comics cuz What Is She without SP//dr and now there’s someone who could potentially Replace Her???? But then maybe they’d bond over music and that’d snowball into friendship as Peni showed Addy the ropes concerning mech piloting and “it’s different since you’ll be bonding with just the AI but I’m sure you’ll be fine!”

The “new” SP//dr design was based off schematics Peni unearthed after being in a bit of a Fugue State post-VE#m Incident. Maybe they were files her father had hidden away.

It's Awkward when Peni starts living with Ben and May. Peni was probably already a bit self-sufficient from living at boarding school, and Ben and May are scientists first, guardians second. That changes, softens, when time passes. I think by the time the VE#m Incident happened, maybe Peni was beginning to see them more like parents

It's kinda curious that Ben wasn't a genetic match for SP//dr. Maybe Peni's dad and him aren't blood-related??

In the comics, Daredevil is sorta like Peni's mentor? Would love to see him in the movie-verse, too, as like a mentor/dorky uncle who keeps giving her stickers with weird/funky imagery cuz he can't see them and thinks it's funny to surprise the both of them upon gifting like "here, kid." "...Uncle Matt, this is a sticker sheet of gold stars saying 'you tried.'" "Oh, huh, well, you're welcome." (She sticks one of these on him when he isn't paying attention)

And ohhhh MAN, I know we didn't see him in ATSV, but there's a Kamen Rider/Super Sentai-inspired Spidey who pilots a huge zord called Leopardon and he and all the other mech/robo Spideys are like a Squad in the comics. Would love to see him and Peni bonding over mechanics!!

Peni Definitely had a hand in building/improving the Go Home Machine with Margo

Something someone said to me on Twitter because of my Trust comic is that Spider probably hangs out with other Spideys while Peni is hyperfocused on her work. And I was like YES she Absolutely has to basically play hide n seek with Spider and go to all her friends to see which one has him

Spider likes being spun around like a yo-yo and has a Lot of fun hanging with Pavitr. Spider has a specific reason for liking each of the Squad, actually, and will go to them depending on his Mood

Spider is Highly Intelligent and can pilot SP//dr independently to help Peni with tasks (in the Spider-Verse Unlimited webcomic he helps Peni with her hardwiring homework)

Peni and Spider's psychic connection happens with feelings instead of words. In the suit, those feelings tend to synch so they're of one mind. With the other Spideys, Spider usually communicates with a Lot of gestures and hopping but will resort to Charlotte's Web and weave words if he needs to

Back to my mention of Spider with a Terrarium. He has multiple: one at Peni's house, one at Oscorp, and one at the Spider Society. None of them follow a specific aesthetic, just whatever Spider and Peni like at any given moment

Peni keeps a container of live insects on her person at all times for Spider. She has absolutely almost opened the container on multiple occasions forgetting it's not one of Her Snacks

In the spirit of Peni's heinous ability to chew bubblegum and eat chips at the same time, she Loves eating things with strong flavors and weird textures

One time she spent a Whole Week grinding levels for an MMO with her tech bud, Margo, and they celebrated their raid boss victory by turning the Go Home room into a massive blanket fort where they were found fast asleep in a pile of pillows surrounded by snacks (oh, shit, I should draw that hold on I'm adding it to my list, lol)

And to close on a somber note, Peni has a small shrine at home for her father, her aunt, and Addy. She always takes a moment with it before leaving the house.

And nooow, here’s some Actual Canon things in the Movie-verse I noticed after watching ITSV Everyday for a Week:

Her psychic link with Spider and SP//dr means she Feels when the mech gets Rough Up

Her eyes glowed red when Spider bit her and I imagine they just Do That whenever she focuses on their Bond

The SP//dr mech probably had its own sentience/AI since it emoted without either of its pilots inside. Remnant of her father, maybe?

Okay also speaking of her father, since he Built that suit that means he was probably a Huge Dork for designing the outer panel to emote like that (or Peni programmed it that way but it’s cuter to think her dad did it, lol)

Also, either her dad was a Small Guy or the pilot’s chair was adjusted to fit Peni after she took over, which MMM means it has to get adjusted every time Peni grows like that’s not a particularly efficient design choice??? Or maybe the hull can just adjust itself depending on the pilot, lol

SP//dr’s joints are Magnetized, which gives it a pretty broad range of movement

Peni was trained in some sort of martial arts, which makes sense if she ever needs to fight while outside the suit and gives SP//dr more versatility during combat if it’s in-built weapons aren’t viable

At the very least, Peni is Bilingual. Her New York probably has a majority mix of English and Japanese speakers

She embossed the Goober with a Spidey Insignia, which she either made on the side while working on the Goober or her universe just Has That, lol. Maybe it’s the insignia they use in Oscorp to label SP//dr-related things

She knew where Aunt May's house was in Miles' universe, so she canonically lives in Queens, too. I wonder if she tried going to Oscorp at all?

Heelies heelies she has Heelies which is so freaking Adorable!!

Wow, this is a lot more than I thought I'd write, lol! Hope you enjoyed! ^w^

[ionlytalktodogs]

There’s thousands of people out there right now crying about a dog that was sent to space. I’m one of them too. She’s been dead for so long but we made art about her. We made songs for her. We named new puppies after her. We put up a statue in her honor.

How can you say humanity is inherently evil when we still mourn for a dog that died in 1957? We love you Laika.