#laika the cosmonaut

[teething-possum]

Galaxy Grim

By: Harper A. (@teething-possum)

(A poem about Laika, the Soviet Space Dog, who I’ve been referring to as “little Cosmomutt, the smallest of the Cosmonauts” for the past like. 17 hours.)

-

In Europe, long ago,

They would bury dogs in new cemeteries,

To have them guide souls to the afterlife,

So no human would be forced to stay

They called them Church Grims, Little Cosmonaut,

And you have seemed to become our Galaxy’s Grim,

Guiding our space cadets to the vast void if they don’t return to us,

And I can think of no one better for the job

Little Cosmonaut, did you understand your role?

Did you know you wouldn’t return?

That you would never feel wind in your fur as you ran again?

Did your young mind know you would die, alone, hot and scared?

Some may say you were a mutt,

But you were *our* mutt,

With stardust in your fur and pride in our hearts

We are honored to have been served by you

And we will honor your service forever in return

Oh, Little Cosmonaut, do not fret,

You may chase the planets through orbit for eternity,

No one will mind, you did your job,

You were a good girl, and we remember you

We will always remember our Galaxy Grim, Laika,

The First Soul in Our Solar Graveyard

[cosmonautroger]

Cosmonaut Laika, 1958

[setteidreams]

✿ Tsuki to Laika to Nosferatu ┊ 38 sheets ✿

… a 2021 TV series with character designs by Hiromi Kato has been added to Patreon.

[bobbole]

Yuko Shimizu, Laika

[mel-0n-earth]

[candycobwebsonastick]

Not a day goes by that I don't think of you, Laika. Even though we've never met, I am sure you were and always will be a good girl.

[silly-audio]

Finally posting my Laika playlist :D

[owlcryptid]

I realized I never posted these on here, here are some concept arts for my thesis film team last year that I still really like, among the many other drawings made by me and others on the team... Not everything here ended up getting use of course ^^

The short can't be uploaded for another year or so so for now enjoy the pictures haha

[gristlethistle]

Anyone else just cry about Laika the space dog occasionally?

[animehouse-moe]

Irina: The Vampire Cosmonaut Volume 4: Star-Crossed

Following up the single volume affair of Bart and Kaye that put them in competition with Irina and Lev, volume 4 approaches the tensions between nations and the products of the space race. It's not so much about space itself as it is the roadblocks placed upon Earth that stop them from reaching the stars. Through that we face struggle, attempting to understand the unique struggles of others, and how as a single collective humanity we can reach the stars.

One of the, obviously, best aspects of this story is how well it blends reality with fiction. The challenges of the space race, of the differences between what's chosen for how to land on the moon, even historical events. Vast swathes of the story have some degree of truth to them, and are wonderfully complemented by the romanticism and drama that Makino has penned. Making promises under the threat of nuclear war, standing up to the pressure of a nation and expressing that you remain a person, finding ways to surpass oppression and discrimination and hatred. It's all very beautiful and thoughtfully composed, so it's hard to pick a place to start.

I say that, but what I'm most excited to chat about was the Cuban Missile Crisis. A grim name for sure, but I think Makino captures that Cold War panic perfectly, even with the characters "closest" to the issue. Bart and Kaye are massive fans of Lev and Irina, so the blow struck them incredibly hard. Both as fans of the cosmonauts who's named ships carried the weapons, but also as nerds with their head amongst the stars, dreaming of rockets rather than missiles. The awkward nature between them is tense but not intense, the silence speaks volumes, and the broken conversation before they separate really drives home the sheer shock of the event. In conjunction with that, I liked how they framed it. They took hold of the situation and spun it to paint Arnack (a United States-United Kingdom blend) as a saint that did no wrong. It's a blink and you'll miss (though really skip over) it moment where the text admits that Arnack was the first to place weapons in proximity to the rival country. They grasp the nature and expression of the crisis incredibly well, and given that we're currently alongside Arnack, ensures that they're shown to be better than the USZR.

Anyways, the actual best moment of the Cuban Missile Crisis (though titled the Imprisoned Island Crisis, a somewhat subtle nod to the state of the country) is what unfolds between Bart and Kaye. The threat of nuclear war looming, a single shot in the dark arriving the next day to effectively save ANSA's desire to land on the moon. Fear mounts and bubbles over into anxiety and terror that brings the two together in a dim room with the sound of rain droplets dancing across the dim window. There's nobody there to reassure the two, Bart doesn't have his brother, and Kaye is still without her mother. It's between themselves that they find a reason to drive their futures forward. That shared passion, the understanding of their fears and desire to find comfort when the world might end the next day. It's a hopelessly dramatic pseudo-tragedy, using threats of annihilation to spur Bart and Kaye forward into making a borderline erotic blood pact. What is with vampires and being hot?

Alright alright, moving on. There's lots to enjoy with this novel outside of the missile crisis. Like Queen Sundancia. I'll be honest, I don't personally think that the introduction to the character was the best it could have been. It's hard to express emotion effectively through just words, so when establishing Sundancia as the 18 year-old girl with her head in the clouds but a crown atop it that forces her to ground it comes off a little heavy handed for my tastes. That said, the more time we get with her, the more enjoyable and relatable her character is. The weight of responsibility is rather common and well understood, but I liked how it was broached with a girl faced with words that could drive the world to destruction or guide it towards a bright future. Talk about heavy. But that's what makes it enjoyable, and it's not obligation to her nation or duty that produces the outcome, but rather her first chat in a very long time where she's treated as that 18 year-old girl rather than the Queen of Arnack.

Speaking of new characters, Professor Klaus was a really nice addition to the exploration of content in this volume. Being directly linked to missile development, and having defected to Arnack gives Klaus a lot of flack, and expresses the approach of a man that has been buffeted by such words throughout the entirety of his career. He faces a different kind of discrimination to Irina and Kaye, and fills a nice middle ground that picks apart race and origin in a somewhat different fashion. Through it all though, Klaus shows that sciences and passion prevails, as even his own tough and stony exterior is cracked by a shared excitement and passion for space that had nearly been extinguished in his heart.

Okay, back to reality really quickly. Lev and Irina do a great job in their roles of this volume, as the cosmonauts isolated from space. The expo and their experience there really drive home their passion, and how alone they feel when alienated from not only what brought the pair together, but what they promised each other. The dejection and sorrow that's experienced by each is very well expressed to that end. Lev is bit more resigned to his fate, almost wearing a cynical smile in the face of his reality, while Irina first shows indignation towards their treatment, before stooping to dejection as she is forced to face reality through some of the experiences at the 21st Century Expo. It's a really sad sight, but serves to explain why the cosmonauts have spent so long travelling the world, and what the reality of early space travel is. In that way, Makino is very good at picking up on the nuances and flow of bureaucracy and how it affects people that are genuinely passionate about what they do.

So, to close it out: another very good volume. The drama is found outside of the oppression of Vampire and Dhampir, which is great to see that Makino isn't relying on it to drive things forward, but it still finds a way to isolate and direct hatred towards people. It doesn't give up on what brought it together, but it also doesn't cling to it hoping that it can continue to deliver. It's a natural progression, one that can feel odd at first as it places the USZR in the crosshairs of Arnack and the reader, but one that at the end of the day remains well executed and received. Vampires, Space, Romance, and Drama. All still apparent in the story, and all still important, but in varying concentrations and degrees, just enough to shake things up. Plus, Karei's art remains really pretty. So there's not really anything else to say other than, "I'm really looking forward to the next volume!".

[cosmonautroger]

Laika & The Cosmonauts, Zero Gravity, 1996

[letsgethaunted]

I like to imagine this is Laika.

[leatherpearlslace]

Listen to: Nocturne Of The Neon Night by Laika & The Cosmonauts

[animehouse-moe]

Irina: The Vampire Cosmonaut Volume 3 - Fly Me To The Moon

This third volume, a new story, something not adapted to an anime format yet, and something that I really need to give Kesiuke Makino credit for.

Let's take a short trip down what amounts to historical memory lane. Of course, Makino-sensei gets stuff like New Orleans down pat, and weaves a tough but considerately accurate and faithful picture of racism and discrimination of the era. So let's get the nitty gritty out of the way first.

Makino paints a very strong picture of segregation and discrimination, not just of the sentiment of "the other", but a systemic and foundational isolation of Dhampirs (in this story coming from full-blooded Vampires that immigrated to Arnack). The Moonlight District being an underdeveloped and under supported section of the somewhat fictional city of New Marseille, Dhampirs live in fear and constant poverty. Jobs opportunities are incredibly limited, wages are the bottom of the rung, and lynch mobs and supremacy groups roam the streets with a bloodlust.

It's a very bleak, and very faithful representation. They don't stop at "racism bad" or anything like that, they launch into full on descriptions, making sure that readers understand that members of the racial supremacist group of the novel are members of the community, are police officers and state troopers, are judges and political officials, and that they will abuse their power to abuse their position. It's willing to be realistic enough that it referenced historical events such as the 16th Street Baptist Church Bombing.

Of course, its representation of racial discrimination and tensions is more than even just the harrowing aspects of it. It sees the middle ground, the indifferent, the challenges of breaking down those walls, and of trying to pretend they don't even exist. As was the case with the first two volumes, this third volume represents an incredible amount of perspectives and ideals, and even touches upon aspects such as the perception of class traitors and self-imposed responsibility to your community.

It really is impressive how well they work with this stuff, though some might find it a little prickly at first as Makino integrates stuff like Jazz culture, funerals, and the French/Creole aspects of Black culture. But, credit at the minimum has to be given for the passion and accuracy that Makino treats it with. They find the brilliant aspects between the rough lines and allows them to shine brightly, but refuse to ignore the negative pieces.

I think that's just enough of the heavier side of things though, let's talk about the amazing pieces of history which Makino highlights in electric fashion. So, there's a group of women Dhampir in this story, that provide calculations via punch card computers using FORX (the fictional equivalent of BASIC), who work out of what's called the D-Room. I'm sure most people know of Margret Hamilton, who famously stood next to a massive pile of punch cards that are in part responsible for the moon landing, but what about NASA's human computers and some of their first programmers?

Well, those were also women, but even more than that they were African-American Women. Under the helm of Dorothy Vaughn, one of the Langley Center's first African-American managers, a team of (largely African-American) women came to be and provided incredible feats such as the calculations for the first suborbital spaceflight of the United States, the first orbital spaceflight, and even calculations for the moon landing of Apollo 11. These historical women are represented fictitiously here in this volume, and it's incredible to see (though I do wish Makino could compile their research notes to provide context and information to readers!).

The story is riddled with incredible references like this. Take the whole thing with Fly Me To The Moon, rather than it being the song that it is in our reality, it's now a science-fiction novel. More than that though, and something that I think has beautiful meaning in relation to the lead characters, is the name of the original artist for the song, Kaye Ballard. Our damphir protagonist carries the same first name, Kaye Scarlet. The content of the song, and the significance of the novel to both Kaye and Bart provides such a stunningly picturesque sense of romance. The beauty in the song that "Kaye" made being the reason that Bart fell in love with outer space is just such a wonderful piece.

Alongside that though there's other stuff that might be picked up on, like the Keighley Research Center vs the Langley Research Center, and so on and so forth.

Makino really does such an incredible job of telling impactful and important stories of history with such riveting fictional additions. Every moment has you tense, worried, excited, angry, laughing, smiling, and so on and so forth. It catches you off-guard with realizations and reveals, builds tension in the blink of an eye, and sells its characters incredibly well.

If there was one thing that this volume wanted to impart upon readers, it would be this. No matter where you are in the world, no matter what challenges or difficulties lay ahead of you, whether everyone or no one will support you, it's okay to dream. It's okay to aim for the stars, to look past what lays in front of you and express that passion, to chase after what lays in your heart. Even if people tell you that you can't do it, or that it's a weak or measly dream, or that they say it won't change anything or that it'd be a waste - dream.

Coming off the tail end of volume 2, and leading with a new story with fresh characters and concepts, Irina: The Vampire Cosmonaut volume 3 continues to stun and leave readers in awe at the quality and writing that Makino gives readers. Such an amazing science-fiction series that appeals to so many important pieces.

[cosmonautroger]

Cosmonaut Laika, 1957, USSR

[reyonaslife]

Irina Luminesk, our space communist waifu 🥹

This anime has everything: vampires, cosmonauts, space, soviet aesthetics, an incredibly wholesome romance.

And the music is gorgeous. Its made by Yasunori Mitsuda, so automatically you know its going to be amazing. The score is entirely orchestral pieces, or piano melodies, or jazzy bops. I love it so much.

30 second drawing timelapse below: