Russ Epp-Leppel 💜💀

@leppeppel

Author. Engineer. Armchair polymath. (formerly @purpleskull14 and @leppeppel on the bird app) SFFH or STFU | ADHD, Kinsey 2 | Memento Mori linktr.ee/leppeppel

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Bluesky

Ist das dein Profil?Übernimm es — dann gehört dir leppeppel.dirty.social.Profil übernehmen

Russ Epp-Leppel 💜💀@leppeppel· 18d

I recognized this guy on the back of a florist's van today! Genuinely disturbing to see in the wild.

A florist's van with a stock photo of a fat, tattooed man wearing a party hat and looking shocked at a bouquet of flowers

Russ Epp-Leppel 💜💀@leppeppel· 18d

Today's (weird) aesthetic: zebra legs

an okapi (Okapia johnstoni), which despite looking like a cross between a horse and a donkey, is most closely related to giraffes, hence its other name, the forest giraffe

a zonkey/zedonk (E. "zebra" × E. "asinus") foal and (presumably) its parents: a zebra and a donkey

a "Tijuana Zebra" (or "zonkey"), a donkey painted to resemble a zebra for photos with tourists

a horse with one zebroid hind leg saying "I can't say I'm entirely pleased with my hip replacement."

Russ Epp-Leppel 💜💀@leppeppel· 19d

This is four months late to the party, but here's one I found in the wild today: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dodecan... (Also, there are at least nine candidates for the "Seven Summits.")

"The Dodecanese (lit. 'twelve islands') are a group of 15 larger and 150 smaller Greek islands in the southeastern Aegean Sea"
via Wikipedia
source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dodecanese

Russ Epp-Leppel 💜💀@leppeppel· 20d

Today's aesthetic is— fuck, I'm trapped in the orb again. #WizardWednesday

the promotional poster for Labyrinth, in which Jareth the Goblin King holds aloft a crystal ball with Sarah trapped inside

M.C. Escher's "Hand with Reflecting Sphere" (AKA "Self-Portrait in Spherical Mirror")

The Very Best of Fleetwood Mac album art with the band members in a crystal ball

A photo of me (wearing my wizard asymptote hoodie) inverted and distorted by the Dowager Empress crystal ball in the Penn Museum

Russ Epp-Leppel 💜💀@leppeppel· 21d

You ever see Warning From Space?

Russ Epp-Leppel 💜💀@leppeppel· 25d

It's a shame no one remembers or talks about Much the Miller's Son, given he's one of the earliest Merry Men in the Robin Hood legend. If I ever take on the myth, it'll be a retelling from *his* POV (oft lamenting his lack of recognition) and I'll call it "Nothing Ado About Much." #WritingCommunity

Herbert Mundin and Errol Flynn as Much and Robin Hood in The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)

Russ Epp-Leppel 💜💀@leppeppel· 28d

Today's aesthetic: Witches and their familiars.

Lauren Bacall poses with her two pet cats. She looks calm and composed and they look like they've never had a thought in their lives.

a crow lights Tippi Hedren's cigarette in a promotional still for Hitchcock's The Birds

Audrey Hepburn shopping with her pet deer Pip preparing for Green Mansions

Phyllis Gordon walking her pet cheetah down a busy city street

Russ Epp-Leppel 💜💀@leppeppel· Jul 12

The bio the agent wants to have vs. the bio the querying author wants to see:

JD McAgentface grew up in a small town outside of Bend, Oregon. They first fell in love with books at age six when they were left unsupervised in their grandfather’s study on a rainy afternoon, and this laid the groundwork which eventually led to an MFA in Creative Writing from Brown and a career as a literary agent at Bookish Lit.
They’re always on the lookout for the Next Big Thing, and love pacey stories full of Voice and characters who feel real and human (even if they’re not humans!) Whether it be SFF, mystery, or thriller (or a genre-blending combination), they want a story they can’t put down and won’t stop thinking about long after they finish reading, with words that leap off the page.
They represent many authors from a diverse array of backgrounds, and those belonging to marginalized communities are encouraged to submit their work. They only represent Adult and YA, so no Children’s Books; sorry!
On the rare occasion that they’re not reading, JD also enjoys trailrunning, crochet, collecting different kinds of tea, and snuggling with their two cats Loki and Ditto.

JD McAgentface has been an agent at Bookish Lit since 2018. They previously served as an agency assistant at The Bibliophiles Agency after earning an MFA in Creative Writing from Brown in 2016.
Notable clients include John Writerman, Tiffany Pendabook, and Sam Theotherone.
Adult and YA Genres represented:
Most speculative fiction
Fantasy of all stripes (Epic, Low, Urban, Cozy, etc.)
Select sci-fi
Mysteries
Crime/Thriller
Any combination of the above!
Please do not send:
Military SF
Gorey Horror
Nonfiction
Children’s books

Russ Epp-Leppel 💜💀@leppeppel· Jul 5

Today's Aesthetic: Giant Mantids

"Dream" by M.C. Escher, showing a cat-sized mantid standing on a sleeping (or maybe dead) priest

"Honeymoon on Andoris"
Artwork created by John Eaves for the Deep Space 9 episode "Far Beyond the Stars." In-Universe, it was drawn by Roy Ritterhouse. It depicts a giant alien mantis sneaking up on a sunbathing woman.
Source: https://johneaves.wordpress.com/2010/04/20/far-beyond-the-stars-part-1/

Art by Akira Yata for Japanese Creators Association annual vol. 6 (1985) showing a giant mantid catching a space shuttle

a person riding a huge mantis by Naoyuki Kato(?)

Russ Epp-Leppel 💜💀@leppeppel· Jul 4

#FunFact: cat ear floofs are officially known as "ear furnishings," but the wizards in my Urban Fantasy universe call them "aural furniture." Are you really gonna argue with wizards? #Cats #Caturday #WritingCommunity

Negroni's ear furnishings or "aural furniture"

Russ Epp-Leppel 💜💀@leppeppel· Jul 4

Reflecting Pool nails for #FourthofJuly, July 2026 🦠💅

Russ Epp-Leppel 💜💀@leppeppel· Jul 3

Tonight's aesthetic is the self-aware hologram.

Professor Moriarty of Star Trek: The Next Generation reciting his mantra: "Cogito ergo sum — I think, therefore I am."

Vic Fontaine of Deep Space Nine demonstrates awareness of his nature in characteristic fashion, saying "I know what you're thinking: he has pretty sweet pipes for a lightbulb!"

Voyager's Doctor puts it succinctly: "I am merely a hologram." having earlier in the same scene declared "I am the embodiment of modern medicine."

Badgey, from Star Trek Lower Decks. It's unclear how self-aware he truly is, but it's more than your average holonovel character.

Russ Epp-Leppel 💜💀@leppeppel· Jul 2

This has been stuck in my brain for several days at this point, so now you have to live with it too.

The "NOT WHAT I'M CALLED" meme, featuring Cate Blanchett as Galadriel being misidentified as the phrase "carte blanche"

Russ Epp-Leppel 💜💀@leppeppel· Jul 1

June word count Nearly finished the next novella for #HotBarbarianSummer, but I fell behind on querying my MS and submitting other finished stories. I'm also still battling (and losing!) to catch up with my own notes. 🙃 Low: 282 High: 2210 Mean: 1103 #WriteSky #WritingCommunity

A line graph of my word count for May, with a dotted red line representing daily values and a solid blue line as the running average. After a slow first two days, there's a spike of 2210 on day 4, but I only broke 2k one more time after that. In the latter half of the month, the average hovers between ~1060 and 1120.

Russ Epp-Leppel 💜💀@leppeppel· Jun 30

Broke: Being Queer is a choice and a sin against nature. Woke: Being Queer is NOT a choice and perfectly natural. Bespoke: My lifestyle MY choice and you can...

Garak jazzhands with the rainbow text "Die mad about it"

Russ Epp-Leppel 💜💀@leppeppel· Jun 28

With a few days left of #PrideMonth, I decided to do another set of Pride flag nail-art. (I'm not trans, but I support solidarity and trolling transphobes.)

The nails on my left hand, painted in the colour and style of the Bisexual Pride flag

The nails on my right hand, painted in the colour and style of the Transgender Pride flag

Russ Epp-Leppel 💜💀@leppeppel· Jun 21

Today's Aesthetic: Animal Pride Flags (all designed by me)

"Giraffe" Bi Pride for people who are a 4 or 5 on the Kinsey Scale: mostly homosexual and "incidentally heterosexual"
Roughly 90% of male giraffe sexual behaviour is homosexual, but they'll still mate with females when it's time to breed. I thought they'd make a good mascot for mostly gay bisexuals.

The name of the mythical two-headed serpent called the amphisbaena literally means "I go both ways," so I decided it deserved to be the bisexual mascot (called the Amphis-Bi-na). It's bi-sneks-ual!

Poly, the Polyamorous Lobster, with blue claws, a pink tail, a purple body, and a golden letter Pi for Poly(amory) on their back

"Lizbian" All New Mexico whiptail lizards (Aspidoscelis neomexicanus) are female and reproduce asexually. Or, more accurately, they reproduce monosexually. To increase fertility, they engage in pseudocopulation, where one female essentially tops another. So I made them a lesbian mascot and stuck one on a flag.

Russ Epp-Leppel 💜💀@leppeppel· Jun 21

Tonight's aesthetic is Negroni lounging like he pays rent. #Caturday

Negroni lying on the basement couch and yawning

Russ Epp-Leppel 💜💀@leppeppel· Jun 20

Tired: the Kubrik stare Wired: Gowron eyes 👀

Malcolm McDowell as Alex in A Clockwork Orange (1971) giving the Kubrik stare: head tilted forward staring slightly up at the viewer

Robert O'Reilly as Chancellor Gowron in Star Trek giving the Gowron Eyes: head tilted slightly back, staring ahead at the viewer

Russ Epp-Leppel 💜💀@leppeppel· Jun 19

My proposal to swap #PrideMonth and Black History Month is still on the table (which also puts Valentine's Day in Pride Month), but in the meantime, here's my alternate LGBTQ+PoC flag. #Juneteenth

a rainbow flag with the colours erupting from a raised black fist at the bade

Russ Epp-Leppel 💜💀@leppeppel· Jun 18

During last week's writers' group meeting, I had to describe a llama, and the best I could manage was "it looks like someone stretched a sheep, or it's being shown in a vertical aspect ratio."