Grindel.Works

• do gay, be crimes • artist/writer • 31yo • genderqueer trans guy 🏳️‍⚧️ he/him • Free Palestine 🇵🇸

[hannahbluish]

[rosieandthemoon]

“Viriditas” Ballpoint & marker on paper

[rosieandthemoon]

a couple details

[bobbole]

Anthony Machuca, Wake up Steve, our bowls are empty

[occidentalist]

I learned a very long time ago that I could post in English on the Anglo internet about my experience as a sexual minority in the #middleeastandnorthafrica region. I could vent about every slight or slur, every indiscretion, all the doors that might not have closed in my face had I not been who I am. But that all it would do is earn me a seat at a table half the world away, a seat that I would lose the second I said “but my people are still human. But we are Arab women before we are queer women. But we are muslim before we are trans women. But we are imperialised subjects of the periphery before we are bisexuals. But we are ‘combat-aged males’ before we are gay men and boys.” A seat that I could only keep if I show a willingness to betray my people. And I will not. I do not want it. The price is too steep and the value too low.

I have come to know now that this western voraciousness for our stories was never an impulse born out of empathy; it has always been little more than a gathering of intel, of reasons to hate us and to justify the destruction of our bodies and the pillaging of our lands and the looting of our resources. So I no longer see the utility in being one more primary source for the proverbial NYT opinion editorial manufacturing consent for the latest campaign of imperial slaughter in my backyard on account of our inherent backwardness.

[pettycentral]

[enki2]

[thebdelliumlady]

For anyone wondering, the PhD student's name is Myra Cheng.

Here's a link to an article about the study from the Stanford Report: link.

[chapscher]

Across three preregistered studies, participants interacting with sycophantic AI became more convinced of their own rightness and less willing to repair relationships. Yet at the same time, participants rated sycophantic AI models as higher quality, more trustworthy, and more desirable for future use, which may explain why this behavior has persisted despite its harmful impacts.

Myra Cheng et al. "Sycophantic AI decreases prosocial intentions and promotes dependence." Science 391, eaec8352 (2026).

[dailycatsblog]

[glassshine]

[thechaoticfaelostitsshame]

I’m reading the book “before we were trans” and I am FASCINATED by how much trans history we miss by sticking to defining historical figures by modern definitions of gender. I didn’t even realize that “that’s just someone cross dressing for [money/power/rights/opportunities]” is the equivalent of “they were just friends who never married and lived together the rest of their lives:)”. Sure, it’s technically possible, but it’s disingenuous to assume that the default will always be cishet unless explicitly stated and that it’ll fit what’s considered queer nowadays, not to mention how different cultures handle gender.

Anyway, the book brought up that historically there were two kings who, despite being AFAB, ruled and lived as men and were accepted as such. From what I understand, this isn’t common knowledge for trans history because both kingdoms were African, and while the people accepted the rulers as men, most of our records are from colonial powers who assumed they were both women who faked being men to gain more power.

Highly recommend reading this book, because I’m barely halfway through and I’ve already learned about these two kings, well respected “men near indistinguishable from women” who had political power in England, and a nonbinary celebrity whose fame and adoration was partially based off intentionally breaking gender norms very visibly.

[ff7central]

FF7C Annual Exchange

Meteorites, it’s time again for the Annual Fanworks Exchange! Sign ups are now open and will close at 11:59 pm EST on June 21st. Sign ups and assignments will be via AO3 (Archive of Our Own). If you don’t have an account, some of the mods do have invitations available. You can message with your email address OFF Anon on Tumblr or Twitter to request an invitation but they are first come, first serve.

Please read through the instructions carefully, and make sure to give us contact information in case we need to follow up on any details! We want to make sure we make the best matches we can.

You can sign up on AO3 at https://archiveofourown.org/collections/2026Exchange/signups/new

Tumblr based FAQ: https://ff7central.tumblr.com/exchangefaq

Once sign ups close, the mods will begin the match up process to find you a match! Assignments should be out by end of day July 1st, but if there are any delays, we will let you know.

You will have until 11:59 pm EST July 31st to complete your gift. If you need to drop out for any reason, please let the mods know as soon as you can so we can find a pinch hitter. Don’t worry, we all know that life is a box of uncertainty right now, and there is no shame in needing to step away. Gifts will be revealed August 7th, so we have a bit of time to look after any late pinch hits.

As with last year we do have a section in the FF7Central Discord server for participants to hang out. Be careful not to spoil your gift for your giftee, but you’re welcome to join in for word sprints, collective screaming at characters for not doing what they’re told, and general shouting of encouragement.

[grindelworks]

H a p p y P r i d e 💖✨🌱💋🌻🎨📸🌈

I don’t know how this ship found me but I’m so glad it did. 🌈

[grindelworks]

You matter.

Every one of us matters. 🏳️‍⚧️💙🩷🤍🩷💙

On November 20th this year for Transgender Day of Remembrance, I joined an online event created by Faye Seidler, who is a prominent trans activist in my home state of North Dakota.

I was very inspired by Faye’s words that night and wanted to make a small animation to go along with some of her sentiments. When I asked to collaborate she happily sent me the audio clip I requested of her speaking.

Faye called the event “Transgender Night of Hope” and the idea behind it was to talk about what gives us trans folks hope in these dark times alongside remembering the trans siblings we've lost.

The video of the Transgender Night of Hope event that aired can be found at this link:

You can also find more info. at:

ADVOCACY & PHILANTHROPY

Faye Seidler is a suicide prevention advocate who specializes in LGBTQ+ outcomes and data. She works all across North Dakota to improve outc

[mossworth]

Guys, queers. Specifically my fellow queers.

I work at a library. We do this thing where, every so often, we weed the collection. It hurts to see books go, but it's necessary to make sure there's room in the library for new materials.

I have seen so much support for the library in text, and I've seen folks pass around those beautiful "queer your library" flyers. Keep doing that. That's great. Nothing wrong with that. But you HAVE to turn your words into action. We MUST remember to actually go to our local organizations and libraries and actually, with our own fucking hands, interact with these materials we want to see more of.

My branch is medium-sized for a library, maybe a little small. We don't have as many materials as I'd like, but we have fundamentals. Tell me why, even with all the verbal support I've gotten from my local community for the library as a resource for our LGBT+ community, every single trans biography and a good chunk of our vaguely queer theory books were on the list. This isn't a scheme to take the books off the shelves, it isn't another bigoted American governmental push. The only thing we look at when we weed is how long it's been since the last time the item was checked out.

Three years.

No one in my community interacted in any meaningful way with the few books on trans life and history we physically had on the shelves for three fucking years.

I promise you the materials you want and need are there, but this isn't a horde. This isn't a static safety net. You have to use them. You MUST use them or, in the future, maybe in three years, they *won't* be there anymore.

This isn't a vague post, there's no one person I'm hinting at or calling out. I'm not even talking directly to anyone who's directly in my line of sight. I just want everyone to hear this. Big library, small library, whatever. Doesn't matter. Please, we cannot be losing our shelf visibility like this.

[silliestbutch]

Transfem Butch Books:

The Scales of Seduction by Rien Gray [historical fiction, retelling, erotica]: An erotic lesbian monster novella reinterpreting the Medusa myth. Romance between Medusa and a basilisk warrior. Transfem butch protagonist.

Reverse Tomboy by Auto Anon [literary fiction, autofiction, essays]: A novella about a trans woman who struggles with relationships, familial dynamics, and reclaiming her masculinity after transitioning. Comes with an essay on transfeminine butchness and masculinities. Transfem Jewish butch protagonist and author.

Hot Girls with Balls by Benedict Nguyen [litfic, satire]: A contemporary satire novel about two trans lesbian volleyball players, who have to grapple with the anxieties of stardom as well as their their own off-court relationship drama. Transfem Asian-American protagonist. Transfem author.

Little Blue Encyclopedia (for Vivian) by Hazel Jane Plante [litfic]: A trans lesbian mourns her straight trans friend, and comes to terms with her death by writing a personalized encyclopedia/love letter about the latter's favorite obscure TV show. Transfem soft butch protagonist. Transfem author.

Herculine by Grace Byron [litfic, horror]: A disaffected and traumatized young woman arrives at an all-trans girls commune founded by her toxic ex-girlfriend, only to discover something sinister afoot. Transfem butch love interest and side characters. Transfem author.

Our Monsters by Jemma Topaz (mystery, erotica, satire): In a futuristic city inhabited by monsters, a human woman tries to solve a series of grisly murders, while romancing several monster girls. Transfem butch love interest (poly romance, not the only love interest). Transfem author.

Always open to recs. Transfem butches are loved and appreciated, and I don't tolerate invisibilization of transfeminine people when speaking of butchness and lesbian masculinity.

toss a coin to a silly butch 🐻

[http-tempted]

[depsidase]

[grindelworks]

Don't be afraid to make things or do something you haven't done in a while! It can be really fun. 🥰 It's never too late to explore and play with things again.