😎🫘

first: the initial thumbnail, the lineart layers, grayscale blocking, wire layers, and misc. details.

aaand here's all 30+ layers:

this is one of my favorite pieces of artwork i've ever made, and i continue to be proud of it! i'm very inspired by the relationship between mechanical and divine themes, which i really wanted to explore in this piece. however, i actually think the biggest inspiration for this was my digital art setup at the time i made this. when i was drawing after getting surgery in 2024, i was constantly surrounded by the wires from my drawing tablet and laptop in my bed. the mechanical clutter around me provided a sort of comfort as i went through a major change in my life.

The Gay and Lesbian Kingdom of the Coral Sea Islands is a micronation near Australia.  This is their flag:

The Gay Kingdom (as it is colloquially known) was founded in 2004 in protest against Australia’s legal stance against same-sex marriage.

Here are some of their stamps:

They are currently ruled by Emperor Dale I, and their currency is the Pink Dollar.

they have a declaration of independence that talks a bit about gay rights and then just flat out copies the “life liberty and the pursuit of happiness” part from the american declaration of independence. and here’s the best part: the founding group actually elected their emperor. he was originally going to be called the “administrator” of a republic. their website, however, says that “upon legal advice, his title was changed to that of Sovereign on the grounds that under Australian law a defacto prince trying to claim his crown cannot be charged with treason”. so they made it a kingdom and he now claims to be a descendent of edward ii.

everything about this is glorious and everyone should know about it.

As previously mentioned, the idea originated at Pride (Brisbane 2003) in reaction to punitive anti-marriage legislation

“On the 14th day of June 2004, at this highest point in the Coral Sea, Emperor Dale Parker Anderson raised the gay rainbow flag and claimed the islands of the Coral Sea in his name as homeland for the gay and lesbian peoples of the world. God Save our King!”

The campsite/capital Heaven was named after the London nightclub

War was declared on Australia in September 2004

The aforementioned stamps were issued in July 2006 “with the aim of creating a high and distinctive reputation amongst the philatelic fraternity”

They were never recognized legally/internationally as a micronation (and in fact Anderson refused to attend a conference in 2010 because they weren’t actually trying to be a sovereign nation)

In Feb 2017, Abetz was objecting to the flag of a “hostile nation” being flown

in aotearoa, june isn’t our pride, it’s theirs. marsha p johnson and sylvia rivera are their historical figures, not ours. the phrase that “you owe your rights to Black trans women” is true there, but here we owe our rights to (mostly) Māori historical figures. i have the freedoms i do because of the legacy of an entirely different set of people operating in an entirely different context at entirely different times.

But because of american cultural imperialism, most queer people in Aotearoa don’t even know our own queer history. Carmen Rupe, Ngahuia Te Awekotuku, the Dorian Society, Gillian Laundon, Georgina Beyer, and the Wolfenden Association are some of our queer history. We should know their names! we should know what they did for us! but because of the power of the american imperial machine, we don’t.

our national pride month should be july, the month that the Homosexual Law Reform Act passed in 1986. our two largest cities hold their pride festivals in february and march, respectively. american queer history has very little (or nothing, depending on who you ask) to do with our queer history. anecdotally, from my own queries, queer youth in aotearoa know more about american queer history than our own.

19-year-old Khalil Al Habil's liver and kidneys are failing. Shrapnel damage from the bombardment that killed his baby brother Omar has gone mostly untreated due to a lack of funds and resources. The ill effects of this damage have progressed to the point that the organs are losing their ability to function. Khalil urgently needs 3 rounds of treatment to combat the effects of his deteriorating liver and kidneys.

We've paid off the first round of treatments but Khalil has two treatments that he still needs. The second costs about $1,250 usd, but we haven’t made much progress in more than a month and his condition is getting progressively worse. We need to meet this second goal ASAP!!!

Current: $10,052 out of $10,407 usd (12 May)

Need to raise: $355 usd

The lethargy and fatigue caused by his deteriorating organ function only make reaching out more difficult. He is in very, very bad shape, and I’m extremely worried about him.

He has gone so long between sessions that he requires additional medications to sustain him between treatments. With a price of $1500 for the treatment for his failing organs, and $500 for supplementary medications, this is where we are for round 3:

Current: $10,552 out of $12,407 usd (7 June)

In some way, I hope you can help Maha.

The mother, Maha, is 31 years old and, as we explained, has a history of stomach problems. She contracted a serious case of viral gastroenteritis, which is circulating in Gaza. She is suffering from a high fever, abdominal cramps, and vomiting, and requires immediate intravenous treatment.🤕🤒

The cost of her treatment last week was 1000€, and doctors have indicated that the treatment period will be extended for at least another week and could reach 2000€.💔😭

@northgazaupdates2 @spacebeyonce

Maha and her family previously had a verified GFM to pay for basic necessities like food, medical care, and some form of shelter. Horrifically, the person running their former GFM has stolen from them and hijacked their campaign.

Below is Maha’s new GFM. Her previous GFM was vetted by el-shab-hussein and nabulsi on their vetted campaign master list, on line 163.

Maha has been hospitalized due to serious complications from an infected tooth. She is particularly vulnerable to this type of infection, which almost killed her last year. Thankfully her husband has returned from Egypt, but both he and Maha are unable to work and thus cannot pay for her hospital bills. They are over $1,500 usd in debt for her treatment and Maha is about to be kicked out of the hospital.

As I said, last year a very similar infection almost took Maha’s life. If she is expelled from the hospital, a worsened infection is an inevitability. She still has a high fever and needs to remain hospitalized. PLEASE help her continue life-saving treatment!!

Current: €1,712 out of €2,176 (7 June)

One! Use the maps app for a generic “Gallery” search to find galleries in your area. Then select some and follow them on social media or join their email list. They will post about openings (and sometimes closings) where you can meet the artist and get said noms and dress up fancy.

Two! Follow local museums on social media. I know this is advocating art shows, but museums often have openings with similar food and dress code that are also often open to the public (and will post more about the ones open to the public). They sometimes also have educational talks that might be free and fun!

Three! If there’s a specific (local) artist you like, follow their accounts too! They will let you know where their artwork is being displayed! (And you can also use where they’ve exhibited previously as a list of places to follow for my first suggestion!)

Galleries (and museums) want people to attend openings and exhibitions! They often don’t have the marketing budget to make a splash and rely on word of mouth and their community! So if you want to attend openings, just following their social media is usually enough to become part of the communities who know about the events! ^_^

6-year-old Souad has been anemic since birth, and starvation and disease due to the IOF assault have caused her severe additional health complications. In September she fell unconscious and was admitted to the hospital. She has since been comatose and fluid is building up around her brain.

Medical staff have worked very hard to reduce the swelling. But despite their efforts, Souad's brain is now hemorrhaging (bleeding). The swelling has been too persistent, and the pressure is rapidly bursting the cells of her brain, causing bleeding. This will kill her. Little Souad is dying.

She needs to be evacuated outside of Gaza, but this is extremely expensive. The cost for transport through the Egyptian border, medical care, and associated expenses comes to $6,000 usd, about €5,000 EUR. This is a devastating setback, but all we can do is push forward.

PLEASE HELP US #SaveSouad!!!

Please repost the GFM and tag #SaveSouad to spread the word!. SHE DOESN'T HAVE MUCH TIME LEFT!!!

€7,186 out of €7,739 EUR (1 June)

Need to raise: about €553 EUR ($643 usd)

Information on vetting linked under the cut of this post