Leo Astrum
@leoastrum.bsky.social
queer SFF writer | he/they | UK-based | the autistic transmasc that infantilisers warned you about | icon: cosmitasia
currently writing: Wake at Landfall (sci fi novel)
currently writing: Wake at Landfall (sci fi novel)
Pinned
Leo Astrum
@leoastrum.bsky.social
· Jun 6
New pinned post 📌
I'm Leo, a trans (+otherwise queer) and disabled writer. I write pieces about queer and disabled people finding justice and love in speculative settings - see any published works in the thread below!
My website/blog: leoastrum.wordpress.com
I'm Leo, a trans (+otherwise queer) and disabled writer. I write pieces about queer and disabled people finding justice and love in speculative settings - see any published works in the thread below!
My website/blog: leoastrum.wordpress.com
Reposted by Leo Astrum
Oh, your plucky heroine disguised as a boy to hide her identity? Yeah, you left him unattended for 15 minutes and I told him about testosterone. Where is he now? Damn I dunno he took off like a pack of wolves was chasing him, you might have to find a new plot now.
February 3, 2026 at 3:07 PM
Oh, your plucky heroine disguised as a boy to hide her identity? Yeah, you left him unattended for 15 minutes and I told him about testosterone. Where is he now? Damn I dunno he took off like a pack of wolves was chasing him, you might have to find a new plot now.
Reposted by Leo Astrum
The 1921 census required every household to identify a 'head' - assumed to be a husband - but it offered no way to record same-sex relationships. So how did women and gender non- conforming people record their lives? Often subversively, as some examples show 🧵 (1/6)
#LGBTplusHM
#lgbthm26
#LGBTplusHM
#lgbthm26
February 2, 2026 at 5:20 PM
The 1921 census required every household to identify a 'head' - assumed to be a husband - but it offered no way to record same-sex relationships. So how did women and gender non- conforming people record their lives? Often subversively, as some examples show 🧵 (1/6)
#LGBTplusHM
#lgbthm26
#LGBTplusHM
#lgbthm26
Reposted by Leo Astrum
HELLO I'm so delighted to finally officially share A TRUE GENTLEMAN, the graphic novel I’ve been working on for the last few years & is very close to my heart.
Inspired by a lot of real queer & trans history and my own disability, with big marsh, big ships & BIG YEARNING #books
Inspired by a lot of real queer & trans history and my own disability, with big marsh, big ships & BIG YEARNING #books
January 29, 2026 at 4:08 PM
HELLO I'm so delighted to finally officially share A TRUE GENTLEMAN, the graphic novel I’ve been working on for the last few years & is very close to my heart.
Inspired by a lot of real queer & trans history and my own disability, with big marsh, big ships & BIG YEARNING #books
Inspired by a lot of real queer & trans history and my own disability, with big marsh, big ships & BIG YEARNING #books
I am feeling super energised creatively at the moment, which is really cool and great and also makes me feel VERY ANNOYING because I want to talk about the things I'm making all the time but most of my friends are employed and cannot yap with me for hours at a time
January 23, 2026 at 4:42 PM
I am feeling super energised creatively at the moment, which is really cool and great and also makes me feel VERY ANNOYING because I want to talk about the things I'm making all the time but most of my friends are employed and cannot yap with me for hours at a time
Every so often I think about editing that book I drafted last year and I remember all the little details it needs, like the fact that the two main characters are autistic in a far-future setting where language to describe neurodiversity has been lost and I'm like ah. This is so much work.
January 22, 2026 at 3:59 PM
Every so often I think about editing that book I drafted last year and I remember all the little details it needs, like the fact that the two main characters are autistic in a far-future setting where language to describe neurodiversity has been lost and I'm like ah. This is so much work.
Reposted by Leo Astrum
my newest novel, YOU’RE NO BETTER—a teen thriller about messy trans kids and serial killers—has an official summary!
this book is a rough one, and it tackles a lot of ugliness, but I love it so much and can’t wait to share it 💕
this book is a rough one, and it tackles a lot of ugliness, but I love it so much and can’t wait to share it 💕
January 20, 2026 at 8:56 PM
my newest novel, YOU’RE NO BETTER—a teen thriller about messy trans kids and serial killers—has an official summary!
this book is a rough one, and it tackles a lot of ugliness, but I love it so much and can’t wait to share it 💕
this book is a rough one, and it tackles a lot of ugliness, but I love it so much and can’t wait to share it 💕
Reposted by Leo Astrum
I think it would be quite nice for me to be able to wake up in the morning and think about my plans for the day, and more broadly about my own little life, instead of immediately having to ponder the overnight actions of The Guy Over There
January 19, 2026 at 8:43 AM
I think it would be quite nice for me to be able to wake up in the morning and think about my plans for the day, and more broadly about my own little life, instead of immediately having to ponder the overnight actions of The Guy Over There
In November I did a lot of thinking about how I was upset that I hadn't ~done more~ in 2025 (ignore the fact that I started a new job in December 2024 and bought a house in September. Apparently this did not count as reasons to not have ~done things~). REGARDLESS, I wanted to be less disappointed!
January 18, 2026 at 1:04 AM
In November I did a lot of thinking about how I was upset that I hadn't ~done more~ in 2025 (ignore the fact that I started a new job in December 2024 and bought a house in September. Apparently this did not count as reasons to not have ~done things~). REGARDLESS, I wanted to be less disappointed!
Reposted by Leo Astrum
I realise I'm just a freak, but living in a multicultural city is the best thing of all time, it's just the best possible human experience and i can not understand why anyone on earth would be like "weve got to destroy this"
January 17, 2026 at 4:28 AM
I realise I'm just a freak, but living in a multicultural city is the best thing of all time, it's just the best possible human experience and i can not understand why anyone on earth would be like "weve got to destroy this"
Reposted by Leo Astrum
If you're a writer your job is to do cartwheels wearing a silly hat with bells on for pennies while secretly believing you are harnessing the cosmic force that holds reality together. You can't actually do one or the other. It has to be both.
January 10, 2026 at 12:24 AM
If you're a writer your job is to do cartwheels wearing a silly hat with bells on for pennies while secretly believing you are harnessing the cosmic force that holds reality together. You can't actually do one or the other. It has to be both.
Reposted by Leo Astrum
if they do, you can't make fun of british people for like...a week
BREAKING: The United Kingdom is considering banning X, per the Telegraph
January 8, 2026 at 10:41 PM
if they do, you can't make fun of british people for like...a week
Reposted by Leo Astrum
the gay trans man dilemma is if you defend fujoslop you're a straight woman who's fetishizing gay men and if you criticize it you're a misogynist who hates women and in either case you're not allowed to have opinions about content as a queer man which definitely does not feel like misgendering
January 2, 2026 at 3:43 PM
the gay trans man dilemma is if you defend fujoslop you're a straight woman who's fetishizing gay men and if you criticize it you're a misogynist who hates women and in either case you're not allowed to have opinions about content as a queer man which definitely does not feel like misgendering
I keep waffling over 'maybe I should post something about new year' but the fact is that I didn't achieve much of what I planned to last year due to other, big and semi-unexpected life changes (have you ever moved from a flat to a house without a car or a functioning lift? Don't recommend!)
January 1, 2026 at 7:29 PM
I keep waffling over 'maybe I should post something about new year' but the fact is that I didn't achieve much of what I planned to last year due to other, big and semi-unexpected life changes (have you ever moved from a flat to a house without a car or a functioning lift? Don't recommend!)
Reading really good classic books is wild because it makes me want to post things like "hey have any of y'all heard of The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin. It's really good" like yeah. It's Le Guin. But this is my second of hers ever and it's SO GOOD??
December 28, 2025 at 9:05 PM
Reading really good classic books is wild because it makes me want to post things like "hey have any of y'all heard of The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin. It's really good" like yeah. It's Le Guin. But this is my second of hers ever and it's SO GOOD??
Reposted by Leo Astrum
As we enter the New Year remember fear of making bad art is holding you back. Fear of people not liking your work is holding you back. Rejection is holding you back
You'll make bad art, you'll have people not like your work, and you'll be rejected. Moving past it is half the job of being a creative
You'll make bad art, you'll have people not like your work, and you'll be rejected. Moving past it is half the job of being a creative
December 28, 2025 at 4:09 PM
As we enter the New Year remember fear of making bad art is holding you back. Fear of people not liking your work is holding you back. Rejection is holding you back
You'll make bad art, you'll have people not like your work, and you'll be rejected. Moving past it is half the job of being a creative
You'll make bad art, you'll have people not like your work, and you'll be rejected. Moving past it is half the job of being a creative
Love staying with my parents because when the (smart? For some reason?) TV is on it's impossible to use the internet for almost anything. Like oh I want to watch a video? 360p max. I want to scroll bluesky? Hahahaha good luck seeing those images
December 26, 2025 at 2:08 PM
Love staying with my parents because when the (smart? For some reason?) TV is on it's impossible to use the internet for almost anything. Like oh I want to watch a video? 360p max. I want to scroll bluesky? Hahahaha good luck seeing those images
Reposted by Leo Astrum
To me, my X-Mas!
December 25, 2025 at 12:48 PM
To me, my X-Mas!
Reposted by Leo Astrum
Simply
Having
A wonderful
Having
A wonderful
December 22, 2025 at 6:05 PM
Simply
Having
A wonderful
Having
A wonderful
Reposted by Leo Astrum
Rare footage of St Paul’s Cathedral testing its giant flamethrower
December 21, 2025 at 8:37 AM
Rare footage of St Paul’s Cathedral testing its giant flamethrower
Love being a white man who's into Roman history. White men who are into Roman history are, famously, normal 🫠
YOUTUBE: you like history
ME: I do!
YOUTUBE: and you're white
ME: well, I mean
YOUTUBE: here are some white people who also like histor--
ME: no no no No NO NO NO
ME: I do!
YOUTUBE: and you're white
ME: well, I mean
YOUTUBE: here are some white people who also like histor--
ME: no no no No NO NO NO
December 14, 2025 at 12:09 PM
Love being a white man who's into Roman history. White men who are into Roman history are, famously, normal 🫠
Wrote a quick blog post highlighting some of my favourite books from the @specawards.bsky.social! Feat. four very good independently published fantasy books from four very different fantasy subgenres.
leoastrum.wordpress.com/2025/12/13/s...
leoastrum.wordpress.com/2025/12/13/s...
Small Speculative Book Awards Highlights
I read a bunch of books for the Small Speculative Book Awards this year, and I wanted to highlight a few of my absolute favourites now that the competition is over! There were a lot of books nomina…
leoastrum.wordpress.com
December 13, 2025 at 4:40 PM
Wrote a quick blog post highlighting some of my favourite books from the @specawards.bsky.social! Feat. four very good independently published fantasy books from four very different fantasy subgenres.
leoastrum.wordpress.com/2025/12/13/s...
leoastrum.wordpress.com/2025/12/13/s...
Reposted by Leo Astrum
He's not, because the processing of Santa Claus's own "naughty or nice" data is necessary for the performance of a task carried out by Santa as a competent authority. (DPA 2018 s35(2))
he's making a list
he's checking it twice
gonna find out who's naughty or nice
santa claus is in contravention of the data protection act (2018)
he's checking it twice
gonna find out who's naughty or nice
santa claus is in contravention of the data protection act (2018)
December 13, 2025 at 8:57 AM
He's not, because the processing of Santa Claus's own "naughty or nice" data is necessary for the performance of a task carried out by Santa as a competent authority. (DPA 2018 s35(2))
I *think* what's happened here is that bluesky's moderation tools, including muted words, turn off if you're under their 'haven't validated your age' restriction. No more vpn-less bluesky for me 🙃
Has bluesky broken its muted words feature? I just tried to mute something THREE TIMES and it just flat out hasn't worked. When I go to my muted words menu it says I have nothing muted (I have... a lot muted) and when I added something to the list it didn't show up. Wack
December 10, 2025 at 7:26 PM
I *think* what's happened here is that bluesky's moderation tools, including muted words, turn off if you're under their 'haven't validated your age' restriction. No more vpn-less bluesky for me 🙃
Has bluesky broken its muted words feature? I just tried to mute something THREE TIMES and it just flat out hasn't worked. When I go to my muted words menu it says I have nothing muted (I have... a lot muted) and when I added something to the list it didn't show up. Wack
December 10, 2025 at 1:17 PM
Has bluesky broken its muted words feature? I just tried to mute something THREE TIMES and it just flat out hasn't worked. When I go to my muted words menu it says I have nothing muted (I have... a lot muted) and when I added something to the list it didn't show up. Wack
It's very interesting to be in your 20s and watch some bluesky folks largely in their 30s and 40s make generalising statements about the state of your brain, understanding of the world, or what your childhood was like.
I'm not going to be a reply guy. But some people are very wrong 😂
I'm not going to be a reply guy. But some people are very wrong 😂
December 8, 2025 at 4:36 PM
It's very interesting to be in your 20s and watch some bluesky folks largely in their 30s and 40s make generalising statements about the state of your brain, understanding of the world, or what your childhood was like.
I'm not going to be a reply guy. But some people are very wrong 😂
I'm not going to be a reply guy. But some people are very wrong 😂