K8 Léchler
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katelechler.bsky.social
K8 Léchler
@katelechler.bsky.social
890 followers 810 following 2.7K posts
SFF writer, editor, lecturer living in Chicago. PhD in Brit lit, words in Podcastle, Shimmer, Fireside. 🌈💀 "Just like entropy tends towards chaos, I tend towards silly-little-guy."
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katelechler.bsky.social
Mine is interred in situ
Extremely collapsed pumpkin on an orange chair
November 18, 2025 at 2:40 PM
katelechler.bsky.social
Me in my cover letters
November 8, 2025 at 12:40 AM
katelechler.bsky.social
Omg it’s starting with Walton
November 8, 2025 at 12:18 AM
katelechler.bsky.social
A selection of some bones I’ve art-ed
A painted coyote skull A painted fox skull on a tiny wooden stand with lichen A dog skull w golden teeth, pearls in the nasal cavity, and painted with a William Morris inspired design A bracelet made of snake vertebrae, with a moon charm on it
October 17, 2025 at 6:13 PM
katelechler.bsky.social
The cool thing about a name like Gary Oldman is that initially it’s a lie but eventually it comes true
Young Gary Oldman Old Gary Oldman
October 3, 2025 at 1:29 PM
katelechler.bsky.social
I think fucking not

Not till October my friend
Chicago weather app saying it’s 65 but feels like 55 (it’s EARLY SEPTEMBER)
September 5, 2025 at 4:13 PM
katelechler.bsky.social
Not me giving ANOTHER person my Anathem pitch

(I know @takahanazawa.bsky.social knows what i mean)
Stephenson is creating all these new terms for stuff we already have and it seems off putting and maybe cheesy. Speely? Why not just say film or movie? Well one thing he’s doing is playing with language—spiele means “to play or perform” in German. But another thing he’s doing I can’t tell you yet. Bc it’s actually relevant to the plot of the book. So … if you stick with it (but no pressure) it will pay off in a big way that, to me (imHO) is supremely satisfying.
August 29, 2025 at 4:12 PM
katelechler.bsky.social
also lmao at my OTHER best friend's extremely literal/practical reply to my text about flirting
a text saying "A lot of the energy of flirtation and crushes is derived from fantasy and uncertainty/vastness of possibility" the text has been heart-reacted
August 24, 2025 at 10:24 PM
katelechler.bsky.social
jesus wikipedia, i thought we all agreed not to bodyshame
text from the wikipedia entry on begonias with "female has a large inferior ovary" circled in yellow
August 21, 2025 at 4:31 PM
katelechler.bsky.social
"how do I transition from my character receiving devastating personal news ... to an orgy?" a quandary every writer deals with #vampirate
"When she fell as a young child, Clotilde’s father would cuddle her up in his arms and pet her hair, mumble-singing babytalk to her while she sniffled and sucked the tips of her fingers. This moment of moving dejectedly into the arms of four women, now arranged on pillows on the floor, gave her a strange pang of missing her father. She was gathered, embraced, caressed. The air was filled with their murmurs cooing like doves, Jenny’s tenor mingling with the fluting altos and sopranos of the Kitties, and Doc’s arms winding around her, drawing her close, the crook of her neck and shoulder creating a pillow for Clotilde’s head. They stayed like that for a long time and if there was a hitch in Clotilde’s breathing, no one remarked on it. She didn’t feel aroused anymore, merely touch-hungry. It had been so long since she’d been held and for a while, she just allowed herself the pleasure of being engulfed by warm, soft bodies caring for her. But once the ..."
August 20, 2025 at 2:10 PM
katelechler.bsky.social
digging a bit into the history between pirates and the transatlantic slave trade this morning #vampirate
While Jenny was talking, a chill swept over Clotilde. The slave trade. She knew it happened–everyone did, it ran under the consciousness of daily life like a seam of coal under the earth, something valuable but also dirty, dangerous, and horrifying in its extraction. When she had lived with the Master, she had tried not to think of it and usually managed. Since building the crew of The Carnation, she’d thought of it a bit more. Several of her crew had worn chains at some point in their lives; one of the lookouts, Abeiku, had reportedly been rescued from a slave ship by the pirate Rahmah ben-Jaber. But what was the trade itself like? She could only guess. There was a kind of shyness, or maybe it was an unspoken social contract, that kept the pirates from asking anyone who might have been a former slave about their history. Several of them bore scars on their wrists, their backs, their thighs and ankles, but these went unremarked in public and if they talked about it among themselves, drinking and joking in strange tongues around a metal fire pit on the middle deck in the evening, Clotilde never knew.
August 13, 2025 at 1:58 PM
katelechler.bsky.social
Me rn
Famous and oft-memed photo of Nicole Kidman post divorce, standing in sunlight with her eyes closed, arms raised in triumph, and mouth open in what one can only assume is a shout of relief
July 10, 2025 at 4:42 PM
katelechler.bsky.social
But now i lowkey wanna get THIS as a tattoo … maybe one figure on each calf? Or arm?
Gene Kelly and Cyd Charisse from Singin in the Rain, posing exuberantly in the middle of their Technicolor jazz/tap. They look incredible. Each of them is so gender.
July 3, 2025 at 7:06 PM
katelechler.bsky.social
Just got this tattoo yesterday and am really excited about it (it’s a reference to Matisse’s painting “La Danse”)
A tattoo on pale skin of a nude adult human dancing somewhat grotesquely, surrounded by green and blue auras
July 3, 2025 at 7:00 PM
katelechler.bsky.social
Sometimes I crack myself up
a story outline that says: I turn around but yes it is following me I run It runs I panic I fall down a crevasse Someone’s there, examining some moss They turn around It’s me, I’m a skull
June 5, 2025 at 3:45 PM
katelechler.bsky.social
Happy morning!
A partially sunny Chicago balcony with fake grass and real plants in planters
June 5, 2025 at 3:29 PM
katelechler.bsky.social
Girl wtf
Carrie Bradshaw wears an absolute bonkers hat that looks like ??? Bloomers on her head??? Or maybe high fashion strawberry shortcake?????
June 2, 2025 at 2:37 AM
katelechler.bsky.social
Cf: Cecile et moi
Cecile de France in Orchestra Seats: a blonde white woman wearing a blue scarf gazes up and to the right Me in 2007: a blonde white person in a tee shirt gazes to the right with a smile
June 2, 2025 at 1:48 AM
katelechler.bsky.social
repost w a pic + your age

43
A white nonbinary person in a denim hat smiles at the camera. They are wearing a white tank top and a green backpack. A gnarled tree and the ocean are visible behind them. (Also i lost this hat so if anyone sees another denim hat that says “Art” please lmk bc i need one)
May 27, 2025 at 6:54 PM
katelechler.bsky.social
When sickness spreads through the polycule
Text saying “is god punishing us for our sinful ways” and reply “Yes”
May 27, 2025 at 4:55 PM
katelechler.bsky.social
was pretty excited to see what creepy brand of Jackson-iana “Hill House” could be, guess that term doesn’t mean the same thing to regular people
Text from Miami sample advertising a “Hill House” sale Boring-ass frilly floral skirts & dresses & pjs More basic South Carolina mom shit, though the idea of a Shirley Jackson character named “Tiny Heidi” is pretty great Sun dresses for little girls young and old
May 27, 2025 at 4:25 PM
katelechler.bsky.social
love when the writing notes i leave for myself are complete and descriptive
screenshot of note to self in a google doc that says "MENTION THAT KRAKEN IS A KIND OF SQUIID BEFORE IT APPEARS MAKE IT CLEAR THAT THE" and then no more information
May 26, 2025 at 4:27 PM
katelechler.bsky.social
What are you wearing to Bluesky prom?
One of these:
Still from the Singin’ in the Rain dream sequence, with Cyd Charisse in a sequinsed Kelly green flapper mini dress and Gene Kelly (the Lord’s most charming man) in grey slacks, a white button down with the sleeves super-rolled, a pink tie, and an eye-wateringly yellow vest. They are posing mid-dance and it’s one of the best images from film ever.
May 26, 2025 at 12:04 AM
katelechler.bsky.social
Tonight's Vampirate writing questions:

#amwriting #vampirate #wip
Questions: How long to sail from Lisbon to London? Can a ship repair a mast? Can a ship make repairs while sailing? When did people learn about sound waves? How tall is a mizzenmast How was rigging attached to the mast? How was a mast attached to the ship? Can a starfish regrow an arm?
May 15, 2025 at 12:47 AM
katelechler.bsky.social
oh well maybe i misunderstood your photo! Here's a photo showing you which is which. I guess the sepals do start farther in, but then extend farther out, than the petals
an image of an iris with the petals and sepals clearly illustrated
April 14, 2025 at 4:51 PM