#Creative Presentation Design Agency

[inkpptagency]

Our creative company profile PPT help demonstrates business components and company information. We are known for the best company profile presentation design and visually stunning PPT.

[blazecreative]

http://blazecreative.co.uk/

[wearecopious]

Unleash Creativity: Mumbai's Premier Creative Advertising Agency

Discover unparalleled creativity at a leading creative advertising agency in Mumbai, where innovation meets impact. Copious brings your brand to life with visionary campaigns. Explore our work at We Are Copious.

Explore limitless possibilities with Copious. Visit We are copious for cutting-edge campaigns and innovative solutions. Elevate your brand with Mumbai's top creative minds.

[lokiondisneyplus]

Kevin R. Wright’s MCU timeline has come to a close. The Loki executive producer and now-former VP of production and development at Marvel Studios has exited his position to produce original film and TV projects, independently. Wright was one of the central creative figures behind the Tom Hiddleston-led Loki, which is widely considered to be the crown jewel of Marvel Studios’ Disney+ slate. On top of six Emmy nominations, the time-bending sci-fi series is the first-and-only MCU live-action series to receive a second season thus far.

In 2018, when Disney CEO Bob Iger pivoted to streaming with Disney+, he asked his most successful studio, led by Kevin Feige, to expand its shared universe into television. So Wright took the initiative with regard to a potential series about the God of Mischief, crafting a 30-page pitch that included many of the future show’s foundational elements, including the Time Variance Authority. The TVA — which is the bureaucratic agency that once preserved the MCU’s “sacred timeline” and now oversees its branched multiverse — proved to be so popular that the entity is soon transitioning to the big screen by way of July’s highly anticipated Deadpool & Wolverine. 

Before writers, such as series creator Michael Waldron, and directors were hired to bring Loki to life, Wright was also responsible for presenting his initial ideas and possibilities to Hiddleston, who, at that time, was content with his existing character arc that originated all the way back in Thor (2011). The Marvel executive even laid the groundwork for the series’ Emmy-nominated production design, having made a strong case to Marvel brass for immersive 360 sets. Besides finishing on time and under budget, Loki season two was also one of the first, if not the first, Marvel Studios projects to not require any additional photography.

In a statement to The Hollywood Reporter, Wright expresses his gratitude to Marvel and Disney, before expanding on the reasoning for his departure after nearly ten years with the studio.

“I am incredibly proud of my contributions to the MCU and thankful for my time at Marvel Studios and The Walt Disney Company,” said Wright. “The industry has changed dramatically during my near decade with the company, and I can no longer ignore my desire to independently produce original films and television. I extend my love and gratitude to everyone at Marvel Studios.”

Shortly before 9/11, the Philadelphia native delayed his film school ambition to enlist in the U.S. Marine Corps, and he served as a combat correspondent for four years. Upon completing his service, he majored in writing for film and television at Philadelphia’s University of the Arts, before graduating as valedictorian. Wright then moved to Los Angeles and interned for a couple years, until a chance meeting and opportunity with Marvel Studios materialized at a time when he was considering abandoning his pursuit. He then steadily climbed the ranks, beginning as a development assistant and then the production and development manager on Doctor Strange (2016). That led to an associate producer position on Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018), which put him on a trajectory toward becoming a full-fledged producer on Loki and VP of Production and Development.

[egg-emperor]

It's unfortunate how people have forgotten how cool Eggman is lately. Like he isn't some innocent old man, or a soft wholesome dad, or goofy harmless clown, he hasn't been at any point in the games. He's genuinely super cool and badass but it's being downplayed in favor of presenting him as some silly harmless docile domestic old man

I genuinely see him reduced to things like "silly angry dad" in those posts about summarizing Sonic characters for example- and despite it being a joke (one that really misunderstands his character), it does seem it's all the majority of fandom sees him as now. It's sad when you want to appreciate the cool stuff but nobody around you seems to like it or care

Now he's mostly treated like he's just a guy who doesn't really want to be evil and is actually innocent or excusable, or wants to be a villain but he's hardly one and is just very silly and not a threat at all (that's Boom Egg not game Egg), or is just A Dad to all the characters and an uncharacteristically perfect one at that. But man I just like him as he is in game

He's a villainous egotistical scientific genius, a dangerous destructive diabolical world conquering threat! He has dark intentions and builds epic machines, has thrilling intense violent fights with enemies, is selfish, threatening and murderous, commits world shattering atrocities, enjoys being terrible and causing trouble!

One of the ways he's most entertaining is through all the crazy diabolical shit he does! He's responsible for tons of the coolest moments in the series and many of the stories wouldn't even happen without him and his schemes! A lot of his charm and charisma is in the way he thrives as a villain with his showmanship, dramatics, and passion

His determination to keep trying to reach his goals and not let anyone stop him is a strength and admirable, it's not something he needs to give up and become good and sit around doing nothing like in Frontiers forever. His agency, security, and genuine confidence in himself and is villain is great and he doesn't need to lose it

Both his creativity and how fucked up he is shows in his awesome destructive robots, weapons, and dangerous theme parks and that makes it so fun and fascinating. His qualities and what makes him entertaining and admirable are all in his villainy, showing not in silly cute harmless ways but thrilling entertaining badass ways which is great

The way he's selfish, manipulative, dangerous, and lethal makes him an exciting threat and results in shocking and impactful moments in the series when other characters are affected by his harmful actions. It also makes him and his mind interesting to dig into and explore to understand his mindset and what makes him tick too

He wants to conquer the world, make everything about him with the entire world changed and built in his superior image with his logo on everything, and rule a glorious empire full of crazy creative deadly theme parks and robots, where everybody is forced to worship and serve. And he'll raise hell and cause mass amounts of destruction to get it

He builds dangerous destructive violent robots and traps poor critters inside and theme parks designed to kill you that throws you off the coasters, tries to wipe out cities, blows up government facilities, blows up half the moon and threatens to destroy the world next, holds people hostage sometimes with a gun to head, literally broke the world apart, and awakens terrifying eldritch horror monsters to use in his plans and will fight to the death to accomplish his goals and much much more

THAT'S COOL AS FUCK

It makes me more sad than angry that this isn't recognized, appreciated, and explored by more fans and people don't get that. I just want to find more people who enjoy this and are fascinated by this and want to talk about and explore this as much as I do but most people hardly ever really give it much thought. I only know a very small amount of people who actually talk about what Eggman does in the games at all, even though everything he does is badass and exciting and deserves so much more attention

Eggman is FUCKING AWESOME and I'm always going to emphasize and appreciate that here 💜🥚

[markrosewater]

Artifact Creature vs. Construct Redux

The comments in my previous ask about the relevance of "Construct" tell me I could have been more clear. Cards on the table, obvious as they are, I believe the creature type was a mistake. I'm well aware that I'm in the minority, and that even if it were possible to reverse course my opinion wouldn't hold any weight.

"Beast" is often mentioned as a 'catchall' type similar to Construct. However it isn't just a catchall -- it adds its own flavor. When I say it refers to a subset of "wild animal" that isn't a negative -- that tells the player something.

Now, what does "Construct" tell us? It would tell us that the creature was artificial -- except we already know that due to the Artifact type. This makes "Construct" redundant unless it servers another purpose. To paraphrase a favorite saying of yours, anything not serving the set should be cut.

The heavy overlap between Artifact Creature and Construct results in a not-quite-parasitic environment where caring about Constructs means you inherently want to care about Artifacts; and caring about Artifact Creatures is going to push you into trying to make Construct work. This limits players' creative agency.

So does it serve the set? The other explanation I see given is that it serves as a catchall because every creature needs a creature type. The implication being that there's no possible way Design could create the same number of Artifact Creatures without having that stopgap... I call bull; even if the bar wasn't as low as Akroan Horse being a Horse, I have more faith in Magic Design than that. More Artifact Creatures that are Soldiers, Fish, or any other type wouldn't hurt their presentation as Artifacts -- but it would allow them to see play in non-Construct focused decks. And if it does provide a relevant Design challenge? Well, to quote a designer a greatly respect:

Restrictions breed creativity.

Let me explain the creation of the Construct creature type. When Magic first came out, artifact creatures didn’t have creature types. I felt that was wrong, so I campaigned to get them added. I was successful and we added the “every creature needs to have at least one creature type” rule to artifact creatures.

Some artifact creatures had simple solutions. They could have clear artifact unique creature types. Golems could be Golems and Gnomes could be Gnomes. Other creatures felt close enough to existing creature types that we could use those. Yotian Soldier could be a Soldier and Clockwork Avian could be a Bird.

There was a group of artifact creatures that didn’t have a clear creature type. For example, what exactly is a Su-Chi? We chose to pick a general creature type as a catch-all. It had to be pretty vague though because it has to work for any artifact creature that we couldn’t otherwise identify.

What you see as a bug is actually a feature of Construct. It needs to be vague, so that it can be flexible. If an artifact creature can have a better option, it won’t be a Construct.

[maximumwobblerbanditdonut]

Ewan McGregor To Auction Arran Whisky For Charity

The 26-year-old Arran single malt was distilled in 1998

Scottish actor Ewan McGregor is auctioning 150 bottles from his private cask of 26-year-old single malt whisky from Lochranza Distillery for charity.

McGregor has partnered with the distillery to bottle and auction 150 exclusive bottles from his 1998 vintage single cask, which the distillery gifted to him. All proceeds will go to Children’s Hospices Across Scotland (CHAS), a charity that supports children with life-limiting conditions and their families.

Ewan has been involved with CHAS and visited their hospices many times over the years, so He knows the unwavering care that both [hospices] Rachel House and Robin House provide children and their families during their hardest moments. “ He hopes this auction can raise a significant amount to ensure that these wonderful places can continue providing the service they do.”

The auction offers whisky enthusiasts and fans of Ewan a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to own a piece of whisky history and contribute to a worthy cause. Whisky Auctioneer will auction the limited edition bottles from 27 September to 7 October. The auction is open to bidders globally, and the first 24 bottles have been personally signed by Ewan McGregor.

The first 24 bottles auctioned will be personally signed by McGregor

The rare 26-year-old Arran single malt was matured in an ex-Sherry hogshead cask and is offered at 46% ABV. The expression is one of the oldest whiskies ever produced by the Lochranza Distillery, each bottle features a unique, specially designed label, making each bottle hugely desirable in its own right.

Stewart Bowman, distillery manager of Isle of Arran Distillers, stated: “In 1998, Ewan McGregor joined us at Lochranza Distillery to toast the first cask of Arran single malt, which was the first legal cask to be laid down on Arran for over 150 years. We presented him with his ex-Sherry hogshead that day, and it has matured in our warehouse.

Andrew Currie and Ewan McGregor toast the good health of Arran single malt on the shore of Lochranza castle in 1998

Bowman added: “Like Ewan, we remain close to our roots and are passionate about giving back to the community. We have looked after Ewan’s cask for the last 26 years, and we are delighted to work with him, Whisky Auctioneer, and Leith to raise money for CHAS.”

Creative agency The Leith has partnered with Ewan and his brother Colin McGregor to bring Ewan’s Cut to life, pro-bono. The bottle design and name have been inspired by McGregor’s career, featuring references to his roles in films including Trainspotting and Star Wars, as well as his Long Way Round television series.

Each of the 150 bottle labels is said to read like a mini film script, with no two labels alike. The ‘Ewan’s Cut’ labels were created and written by Rob Petrie (head of design at Leith) and Colin Montgomery (senior copywriter) with support from Beth Lauder (senior account manager).

Each bottle of Ewan’s Cut contains a refernces to McGregor’s impressive career. Credit: Isle of Arran Distillers

Joe Wilson, head curator and spirits specialist at Whisky Auctioneer, said: “At Whisky Auctioneer, we take great pride in supporting charitable causes, and we were honoured to be approached to bring Ewan’s Cut to auction. The launch of Isle of Arran Distillers nearly three decades ago was a landmark moment in the whisky industry, ushering in a new era of independent Scottish distilleries. We are proud to play our part in this exciting chapter of their story and look forward to sharing this remarkable whisky with enthusiasts globally.”

(:Lochranza Distillery)

#EwanMcGregor i#auction #26yearsold #charity #singlemaltwhisky #LochranzaDistillery #Arran #Scotland #IsleofArran #ScottishDistilleries #WhiskyAuctioneer #Ewan’sCut

Posted 11th September 2024

[englishmagic]

After @sillyshrimpfella suggested Disco Elysium tarot designs I haven’t been able to stop pondering it.

(Am I desperate to distract myself from terrible things in the world about which I can do nothing except “raise awareness” and donate money I don’t really have? …maybe)

It’s probably something that’s been done before, but here are my thoughts on the major arcana so far:

The Fool - Harry Du Bois. I was initially thinking the Magician for Harry, because of his effortless genius and creative mindset, but then I remembered the Fool, and… yeah. Naïveté, a fresh approach to the world, being ridiculous for better or worse - it’s all him, baby!

The Magician - Mega Rich Light Bending Guy. This one I am less certain of - I haven’t encountered him myself and I refuse to watch videos of it until I can make the check myself. I put him here because he does seem rather magical, but is he creative, talented, and an effortless genius? Unpredictable and unreliable? I really don’t know. Another person I was thinking of was Neha, she’s creative and industrious, but didn’t quite feel singular enough for the card, so I place her more as the Queen of Coins/Pentacles at the moment.

The High Priestess - Plaisance. She is a figure who (kind of) worships a higher power, and though she’s not really an oracle in the way that the card often represents, she’s a symbol of belief in the supra-natural in the forms of curses, entities, et cetera. Albeit in quite cheesy, culturally dicey ways.

The Empress - Joyce Messier. She presents feminine traditions and mannerisms, but also has a lot of institutional and traditional power as a representative of the capitalist world order.

The Emperor - Everart Claire. He’s a masculine-ish figure who uses his institutional power in the union to exert his influence on the world. Not physically imposing, but I don’t think that’s a requirement - he has a racist, a street gang, and an uncomfortable chair at his disposal where others would have fists to fight with.

The Hierophant - Dolores Dei. Yes, she’s the hierophant and not the priestess - Dolores is a figure of worship, not a worshipper, she represents organised faith rather than personal faith. You don’t have to stick 100% within the traditional genders for these cards.

The Lovers - Next World Mural. Self explanatory - I think that image would look good on a card too!

The Chariot - the Coupris Kineema. I like this because not only does it make sense sense to put a vehicle from the game on the chariot card, the sound of the Kineema is the journey from intro to gameplay, and this card is all about journeys!

Strength - Measurehead. Because… He’s strong. There’s not much more to this one; I’m happy to accept other ideas, especially since the card is usually a woman. Also, who or what would be the lion? Just… a picture of Jean-Luc Race Warrior wrestling a lion? …….actually what if this card depicted Samaran bear wrestling, that’s a fun alternative

The Hermit - Tiago the Crab Man. He is isolated by choice and strongly associated with philosophy. I was thinking the Deserter for this one originally, buttttt then I had a different idea for him.

Wheel of Fortune - the pleasure wheel. Visually fun. Also symbolically appropriate - the never-built attraction represents the investment gamble that didn’t pay off.

Justice - The Deserter. The card usually has a judge on it, dispensing retribution. The Deserter sees himself this way; he’s also a singular male figure with a “gavel” in the form of his rifle. Visually appropriate.

The Hanged Man - Lely Kortaneer. Because he is a hanged man. I wonder if he can be tied to the deeper meaning of the card through the “conversations” Harry has with him in his head, or simply through the fact that being dead he naturally has no agency?

Death - Working Class Corpse. This one is just sad. In some ways this death is more “death-y” than any other in the game, underlining how things, and people, can end abruptly and without warning. And his discovery is the end of an investigation, too.

Temperance - Washerwoman. Mainly a visual connection - she’s a woman with a container of water. The card could be her pouring washing water from one cup to another, and I think it would be a nice image.

The Devil - Cuno De Ruyter. He has given into vices already despite his young age, and he influences you to do the same. This is honestly one of the few places I consider a Fury could be a good choice for a card - Electrochemistry is basically the Devil personified.

The Tower - FELD R&D. A crumbling building where everything can quite easily go to shit - the tower is about things falling apart and potentially being rebuilt. The FALN employees fell apart - aka were executed - and Ruby is building something new in the ruins.

The Star - Klaasje Amandou. Kind of ironic to have her, a manipulator who’s always in control, on a card that represents leaving things to fate- but the visual of her hiding documents in the buoy really fits the traditional design of the card and could be adapted well, and while she’s not very up in the air herself, the skills all get up in the air while talking to her because of how you’re compromised by her beauty and charm. It’s not so much about where she finds herself, but where you find yourself in relation to her - unable to trust your own knowledge and defaulting to chance more often than you’d want.

The Moon - Insulindian Phasmid. It’s a mystery! Maybe it could be the crustacean in the design? Or it could be haloed by the moon the way Kim is haloed by the sun. I love the specification for the moon design in tarot so it does have to have two dogs and a crustacean for me to be happy.

The Sun - Kim Kitsuragi. Haloed by the sun. A new dawn. A new lease on life. This is what he represents to Harry.

Judgement - the Tribunal/Krenel. A tribunal is a court event, a judgement of sorts, and the event is a moment of dire consequence in the game. The mercenaries lining up like the angels on judgement day would also make a cool visual.

The World - Elysium. Self explanatory, I think? The image would be the world broken apart, with the isolas emerging from the pale.

For the minor arcana I’ve not got a lot of opinions - Lillienne the Netpicker as Queen of Swords for no deeper reason than the fact that she has a sword, Annette as Page of Coins/Pentacles because she’s a bright and precocious child… The cups would have a lung design on them, maybe? I really hope someone else has Thoughts about this because I would like to visualise the entire thing in my mind until I inevitably try to draw it and ruin my enthusiasm when I remember that my art skills do not match my ambition in this area 😂

[thececeverse]

002. CHOUKA AIKAWA … ˗ˏˋ ꒰ ♡ ꒱ ˎˊ˗

CHOUKA AIKAWA is a soloist under Republic Records, Flowerbank Entertainment, and Avex Trax. Starting out as a fashion blogger, YouTuber, former ballerina, and socialite in 2017, Chouka branched into acting in 2019, and finally made her way into the music industry in 2024. In addition to becoming a prominent fashion influencer, she has also become a prominent singer, with her debut single “Girls Don’t Cry” going on to become a chart topper.

BASICS … ˗ˏˋ ꒰ ♡ ꒱ ˎˊ˗

BIRTH NAME … Aikawa Chouka

ENGLISH NAME … Love Rose Antoinette Aikawa

KOREAN NAME … Soo Sa-rang (수사랑)

NICKNAMES … Rosie, Marie Antoinette, Cupid, Ai-chan

BIRTHDAY … March 14th, 1999

ZODIAC … Pisces

BIRTHPLACE … Milan, Italy

HOMETOWN … Milan, Italy + Kyoto, Japan + Aoyama, Tokyo, Japan + Paris, France + Berlin, Germany + Amsterdam, Netherlands + Marina Bay Sands, Singapore

ETHNICITY … Japanese

NATIONALITY … Italian-Japanese-American

SEXUALITY … Pansexual

PHYSICAL … ˗ˏˋ ꒰ ♡ ꒱ ˎˊ˗

HEIGHT … 5’7” 1/2 (171 cm)

WEIGHT … 119 lbs (53 kg)

BLOOD TYPE … O

PIERCINGS … N/A

TATTOOS …

꒰ ♡ ꒱ “Ti amerò per sempre” + located on left shoulder blade + shares with fiancé

꒰ ♡ ꒱ A rose encased in glass + located on left shoulder

CLAIMS … ˗ˏˋ ꒰ ♡ ꒱ ˎˊ˗

FACE CLAIM … Minatozaki Sana (TWICE)

VOICE CLAIM … Ariana Grande (English) + YooA (Korean / OH MY GIRL)

DANCE CLAIM … Sunmi (soloist / ex-Wonder Girls)

CAREER … ˗ˏˋ ꒰ ♡ ꒱ ˎˊ˗

COMPANY … Republic Records + Avex Trax + Flowerbank Entertainment + Wilhelmina Models + Creative Artists Agency

OCCUPATION … Singer-songwriter, social media influencer, actress, TV personality, businesswoman, model, former ballet dancer

DEBUT DATE … April 5th, 2024

TRAINEE YEARS … N/A

YEARS ACTIVE … 2024–present

SURVIVAL SHOWS … N/A

FANDOM NAME … Rosettes (로제트 + ロゼット)

COLORS … #FFA3B9 + #FFFFFF

BACKGROUND … ˗ˏˋ ꒰ ♡ ꒱ ˎˊ˗

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ 🩰 … ONE. IF I WAS A RICH GIRL

Aikawa Chouka was born on March 14th, 1999 in Milan, Italy. And unlike most in her field, she was born into immense wealth and prestige. Her father, Aikawa Chujirō (also known as Michael Aikawa), is the current president and CEO of the Aikawa Group. Originally founded in 1969 as a technology conglomerate, the company sold its shares twenty years later for $20 billion, turning itself into a sprawling holdings company. Owning mostly luxury brands (including Versace), they also own multiple department stores in the United States such as Saks Fifth Avenue and Macy’s, and even Paramount. The Aikawa Group has been touted as the “Samsung of Japan,” and with a net worth of over $480 billion, the Aikawa family is the richest in the world.

Meanwhile, Chouka’s mother, Nakamura Aiko (also known as Liliane Aikawa) is an accomplished, London-born actress and designer, as the founder of luxury lifestyle brand Lily by Liliane, as well as a socialite, art dealer, and former model. Aiko was born into a family older and wealthier than her husband’s (or at least that would’ve been true in 1990), and is the only child of Nakamura Hiroaki, the president of the Nakamura Foods Company. Founded all the way back in 1909 (although the Nakamura family was rather high up in Japanese society generations prior), the food packing conglomerate is worth over $20 billion. Like her husband’s family, Aiko’s family also owns a department store, having acquired ownership of the Tokyu Department Store in 2009.

Obviously, Chouka grew up in the lap of luxury. Living in Milan for the first five years of her life, she attended a Japanese international school and learned her native language of Japanese, along with Italian and English. In 2004, Chouka and her family moved to Kyoto. And due to her family’s wealth, they would spend a lot of time moving.

During the summers of 2009 and 2010, they would live in three separate cities: Berlin, Amsterdam, and Paris. Starting in 2011, they would live in Singapore for a year. And finally, in 2015, the Aikawa family would move for the final time to the wealthy neighborhood of Aoyama in Tokyo. Chouka completed her final two years of high school there, and was involved in quite a few extracurriculars. She was a cheerleader, a member of her school’s tennis team, and she served as editor-in-chief of its newspaper club. Chouka would move again in 2016, but without her parents this time. She spent that winter at a boarding school in Switzerland, like most rich girls of her caliber.

By then, Chouka was a seasoned ballet dancer. At the age of three, she was placed in classes by her mother at the request of Chouka’s grandmother. She attended two separate ballet academies at some point: the Dutch National Ballet Academy and the Paris Opera Ballet. For years, Chouka believed that she would become the world’s next prima, but the universe had different plans.

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ 🩰 … TWO. DRESS TO IMPRESS

For the most part, Chouka’s childhood was normal. However, when you have a designer for a mother, you tend to get dragged to a whole lot of fashion shows. At the tender age of thirteen, she attended her first show for Dior. And it wasn’t just that, either. Chouka grew up watching her grandmother order couture from Paris and Milan, she would be gifted old pieces from her mother, and her father even gifted her Louis Vuitton for her tenth birthday. After that Dior show, however, Chouka’s entire world changed.

She became quite obsessed with fashion, and she would spend hours flipping through fashion magazines or rummaging through her mother’s closet. All the balls and launch parties and red carpet events that Chouka would attend with her family changed her outlook on fashion, and after she was scouted by a modeling agency at fifteen, her interest only grew. She attended Fashion Weeks in Tokyo and New York, and modeled for brands like Betsey Johnson.

Chouka kind of knew that her career as a model was temporary, though, and her “true calling” was a fashion designer or journalist (courtesy of her mother). With the rise of the beauty guru, Chouka’s interest in fashion blogs, and all the time she spent on Instagram, however, she decided that, instead, she would become social media famous.

In 2015, Chouka launched a blog of her own: Love Moda. This was unusual for her family, as like the real-life, Japanese rendition of the Young family from Crazy Rich Asians, they were notoriously private. They would sporadically appear in news articles, Aiko would give the occasional magazine interview solely for brand reasons or to promote a new project, and Chujirō mainly limited his media appearances to business publications. Obviously, though, Chouka had vastly different aspirations. Love Moda was mentioned in an editorial she did with Tatler, and that kind of exposure—plus the fact that she had money—made interest in her blog skyrocket. By 2016, it had amassed over 10,000 readers.

By the next year, Chouka had cemented herself as a somewhat of a “baby influencer.” Despite the invites to Paris fashion shows and the articles being written about her in Vogue, however, she was far from mainstream. Her small legion of fans wanted her to be, though. Chouka was asked to start a YouTube channel by one of them, and so on May 19th, 2017, she did.

Chouka was already a bit of a “micro-celebrity,” so by the summer, her sizable following had transferred to her new channel. Her YouTube gradually begin to grow larger than her blog as the beauty community gained traction themselves, and her status as the “Aikawa Group heiress” was definitely a selling point, alongside her feminine, “rich girl” fashion and peculiar accent. By the end of 2017, the brand deals were beginning to roll in, and everyone was gradually starting to know her name.

In 2018, a particular video of Chouka’s suddenly went viral. What followed afterwards was the exact mainstream fame that she’d been looking for. She moved to Los Angeles from New York and was scoring ambassadorships with the likes of Kate Spade, Nina Ricci, and even Prada. She was getting invited to award shows, launch parties, and was a seasoned Fashion Week attendee at that point. And by 2019, Chouka blew up even further. She was named “fashion’s newest It girl,” she made her way into the acting industry, and it was pretty much impossible to escape her.

2018 was also a rather difficult year for her, though. At that point, Chouka had been a ballerina for sixteen years. But with her rising career online, she knew that she couldn’t pursue her lifelong dream of prima stardom without giving up her YouTube career.

Although ballet would always have a special place in her heart, her career aspirations had obviously changed. Even then, though, Chouka was still training, and she still wanted to attend another ballet academy. But balancing that and what clearly transformed from a hobby into her way of life was asking for too much. So that year, Chouka hung up her pointe shoes and bid goodbye to ballet. That decision was a difficult one, but it was probably for the best, as her career as an influencer has done more for her than a ballet career ever would. And there was still a whole lot more in store.

⋆ ˚｡⋆୨୧˚ 🩰 … THREE. ALL THE INFLUENCE IN THE WORLD

Within the next five years, Chouka would grow to become one of the best fashion influencers on the planet, with 11 million subscribers, over twenty brand deals, and countless successful business ventures to her name. Even with a billion dollar bank account, though, she—like most influencers nowadays—couldn’t help but branch into the music industry.

In late 2023, Chouka signed to Republic Records and Avex Trax to manage her American and Japanese activities, promising her fans a debut by the next year. And on April 5th, 2024, she fulfilled her promise. Debuting with the single “Girls Don’t Cry,” her debut was a smash hit. Surprisingly, it was received far better than the music of other influencers, nearly becoming a No. 1 hit and turning Chouka into an up and coming pop princess. Even with her previously existing and clearly successful career, Chouka has plans for an album, a Japanese debut, and a potential Korean debut. Her first single already has fans eager to see what she has next, and her next projects can turn her into not only an It girl of the fashion world, but an It girl of the music industry, as well.

Flowerbank Entertainment belongs to @pinkscaped + @venusvity ! ♡

[fairycosmos]

how did you get that kind of job without a university marketing degree or whatever? i'm kinda struggling here :(((((

it was a (relatively) long process of trial and error and a lot of freelance work/not having a stable income but basically to break it down. a few yrs ago i went to careers advice and asked how to maximise my future prospects or whatever and the first thing they said was add ALLL of ur skills onto your resume even if youve never used them in a job role before. if you're proficient in (or capable of learning) excel, photoshop, adobe creative suite, wordpress, social media, copywriting, seo software....even if youve never used it in a professional capacity its rly good to kind of emphasize ur digital skill set as much as possible and start researching it as much as possible too. then i started a wordpress blog and would write copywriting articles on there (or in google docs) even though i had no one to send them to lol just to build a portfolio that i could send out to freelance content and copy writer agencies who were hiring. there's tons of tips and articles and pdfs online that can help you write great articles and help u learn content design. anyway i did this for a longgggg time and finally got some actual freelance work coming in. from this, i started interviewing for actual full time copywriting jobs, and was hired to intern at a digital agency at the end of 2021. did that for months then went back to freelance but was able to get more projects with my slowly growing experience. while doing freelance i was interviewing for a shit ton of full time copywriting and content management roles, most of which i got rejected from after like the 1st interview. finally i heard back from a team i had interviewed for and they had me give a presentation outlining my approach to copywriting/media managemenet and from that they've hired me and ive been really really lucky that they have. unfortunately that's what i think it was more than anything, like a stroke of luck that they saw smth in me and took me on despite me unconventional background. im rly rly grateful to them for it. i would also encourage you to look for literally any volunteer opportunities in admin, soc media, bookkeeping - it looks rly good on the resume and can sometimes expand into a job. also look up general cv tips cause there's a ton of cheatsheets out there that can help you get yours to the top of the pile or near the top. good luck and im really sorry you're struggling atm!! ive absolutely been there and it's honestly so discouraging, the amt of times i quit job hunting while doing freelance out of sheer despair was a lot. it's hard but there are ways to show what you have to offer in a really favourable light, and the more you interview/resume edit/write the better you will get. it's all one horrible big skill at least that's how it felt to me, and i still suck at it. just clawing my way up TBH. anyway sending you a lot of love ❤️ hope you catch the break u deserve soon. X

[chaos0pikachu]

Hi Pika, I don't know if you've been following gmmtv's take over of wabi sabi, I just want to ask you: given that so many companies are part of TBLC which is like a Thai BL content association, do you have any idea why gmmtv isn't a part of it? BOC, DMD, Star Hunter, Copy A Bangkok, Channel 3 are all part of it, I'm just wondering why gmmtv isn't even thought it's the biggest bl company? Wabi Sabi was/is a part of it. (idk exactly)

I can't emphasize enough that I am NOT an expert on this snaps lmao so anything I say that isn't like a direct link to an article or further reading source is speculation on my part. You're a sweetheart Anon but I just wanna let you know that like if you wanna know about the American publishing or entertainment industry but I don't wanna present myself as like ~an expert~ when my ass ain't ya know?

So my short answer is fuck if I know lol I hadn't even heard of the TBLC till this ask

For folks interested in it, here's the livestream they hosted for it (it's 45ish minutes) and it doesn't have subs though. But it seems to be connected to Thailand's soft power committee, here's an article on that:

Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, who chairs the committee, tasked deputy chairwoman Paetongtarn Shinawatra with leading two national initiatives: One Family One Soft Power (OFOS) and the Thailand Creative Content Agency (THACCA). The goal of the initiatives is skills training to create 20 million jobs that will generate annual income of 4 trillion baht. OFOS and THACCA will be implemented in three phases: First, to boost human resources, 20 million children, adults, and seniors in under village and community funds will get free training in fields such as food, Muay Thai, arts, performance, singing, design, fashion, e-sports, and more, free of charge.

For folks who may not know, soft power is a term coined by political scientist Joseph S. Nye Jr. in his article Soft Power published by Foreign Policy magazine.

"In the 1980s, political scientist Joseph Nye Jr. coined the term soft power, defining it as a country’s ability to influence others without resorting to coercive pressure. In practice, that process entails countries projecting their values, ideals, and culture across borders to foster goodwill and strengthen partnerships." (source)

Soft power is a form of governmental influence internationally, and works conjunction with "hard power".

Examples of "soft power" are the American space program, athletes performing at the Olympics, and on the media side, military propaganda films like Captain Marvel, (yes I consider Captain Marvel a military propaganda film the film opens with a freaking air force ad lmao).

You see other countries using similar tactics as well, for every Top Gun there's China's Wolf Warrior 2 or Hidden Blade. For South Korea, BTS and k-pop is most definitely used as a source of soft power. This is just something governments do.

Okay so like, gmmtv and BL we've been hearing for a minute now that BL and GL are part of the Thai governments plans for soft power.

Mile and Apo have spoken about this specifically when promoting Man Suang and here's a recent video of them working in conjunction with the government on Shine:

(source)

Even Mew's talked about Thailand's soft power in interviews before (context, Mew was the first Thai musician to break into the American Billboard charts):

(source)

It's not just BL either, Idol Factory's Freen and Becky of The Gap fame got in on this too:

So like, it sounds like this meeting/committee in general is just an extension of the Thai governments plans for expanding their soft power which includes how to better support this now highly in demand industry (BL/GL shows) b/c the government sees its international value.

I can only assume that like, gmmtv feels it doesn't need~ government support as a production company? They're the biggest BL studio in the game and have an annoying stranglehold on territories like America and Latin America already. It doesn't really matter what the quality of the shows even are, gmmtv have that sweet parasocial grip on audiences.

[my forever frustrations with gmmtv and how they sell idols and parasocial relationships not BL/GL shows is a totally different post so lemme stop]

Other companies don't really have that same hold on international audiences. At least not consistently? And the biggest concern is funding.

I think anyone with eyeballs can see Kinnporsche is the best well produced BL that's come out of Thailand (argue with the wall) in terms of overall technical quality. But that level of quality is expensive, the CGI in The Sign is freaking expensive, The Next Prince's pilot is so obviously pricey as all fuck you can tell the studio is banking on it selling.

Which is why studios like Idol Factory, Domandi or BOC only come out with a one or two shows a year in comparison to gmmtv's like 16. They need funding, not just for filming the show but also marketing. Filmmaking is hella expensive.

[I'm not talking about whether y'all liked this show or that show, I'm talking about technical quality, shows like Kinnporsche, The Sign, Pit Babe are all better on a technical level than stuff like 1000 Stars, Only Friends or Cooking Crush.]

Why didn't gmmtv attend the event or participate, baby I legit do not know. I can't answer that with any sort of certainty only their execs could answer that, I can only guess.

And my best guess is b/c the company feels confident they're fine on their own. They don't need funding assistance, nor assistance reaching an international market (tho maybe some assistance in getting their contracts straight hope Ossan's Love doesn't face the same distribution issues as Cherry Magic lmao).

For more information on the event itself I really liked this post on reddit that I felt broke everything down very well.

Anyway sorry this got so long Anon but I hope it at least provided some interesting information!

[cozyaliensuperstar7]

Solange 👑

theblkren:

For nearly a decade, Solange Knowles has emerged as a polymathic, Afro-centric, and Southern creative force, whose artistry spans music, visual art, dance, and cultural curation. Born and raised in Houston’s Third Ward, her upbringing was steeped in African-American culture where she developed a cultural ethos deeply rooted in Black Southern womanhood. Since the release of A Seat at the Table, Solange’s work has followed a path to celebrate and explore aspects of Black culture, reclaiming and reframing narratives about Blackness, particularly Southern Blackness, in ways that are both personal and universal.

A defining characteristic of Solange’s artistry is her clean, minimal style, which extends across her music and visual presentations. In her compositions, she often strips songs down to their essential elements, focusing on repetitive mantras and avant garde soundscapes. This minimalism is mirrored in her visual aesthetic, employing clean lines, monochromatic color schemes, and geometric shapes in her performances and music videos. Solange’s understanding of art is holistic and boundary-pushing, viewing her work as a total artistic expression that encompasses sound, movement, visual art, and cultural commentary.

Solange’s creative agency Saint Heron further exemplifies her multidisciplinary approach. Through this platform, she curates experiences, produces cultural content, and provides a springboard for Black artists. Serving as a hub for music, visual art, and design, they focus on the preservation and advancement of artists of color.

As it stands, Solange has carved out a unique niche, earning critical acclaim and a devoted following for her innovative approach to music and art. Her legacy extends beyond her music, encompassing a role as a cultural curator and advocate for Black artists. As a multidisciplinary creative force, she represents a new paradigm of the 21st-century artist, one who seamlessly moves between disciplines and uses all available tools to express a singular, powerful vision that celebrates these unique intersections of her existence while pushing the boundaries of contemporary art and culture.

#blkren #blackrenaissance

[theantfirm]

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[imajicaagency]

The Injustice Against the Palestinian People

The World and its representative Governments and also the United Nations needs to reflect and comprehend the reality of what has occurred in the region of Palestine and to the Palestinian People and in surrounding regions from 1948 from the creation as perceived an Illegal State known as Israel, with no relative rights to ownership of the lands that was secured to create Israel and from this illegitimate, unjust and unlawful position what has been undertook by Israel and supported by countries outside the region of Israel against Palestine, the Palestinian People and surrounding regions who support the Palestinians has been unwarranted and acts of criminally, human rights violations and war crimes supported by example the US Government and its Agencies and Military, the US Allies, the United Nations represented by the United Nations Security Council and the Australian Government its Agencies and Military since 1948 too present day. The basis of Israel and its apparent rights is baseless and not factual but is a representation of a myth, misrepresentation, untruths, lies and deception from 1948 to present time and beyond back in time from 1948. To date no country or military has come to the aid of the Palestinian People to secure their lands that were bequeathed, stolen, annexed from them to create Israel in 1948.

Imajica Agency is an agency that indicates requirements of justice, clearly to the proponents of injustice for example the Palestinian Peoples.

To secure justice and rights for the Palestinian Peoples and secure justice towards the instigators of the injustice against the Palestinian Peoples.

To highlight and expose the unjust actions that have been positioned from the source to present and hold what that represents account.

Please see attached document.

For more information please email: E imajicaagency@gmail.com

All images, text, design, and art license owner Andrew Rogers©.

Andrew Rogers

Founder, Justice Auteur, Creative Director, Consultant, Writer, Oracle

Imajica Agency

E imajicaagency@gmail.com

[centrally-unplanned]

I feel like making a “Top 5 Media of the Year” post is like extremely redundant if you follow me, its going to be really obvious what is on there. Still, ranking things is fun and is good to reflect on them, in particular why they ‘stuck’ with me and what makes them last as opposed to fun-at-the-time so here goes:

Perfect Tides

Definitely the most well-crafted ‘narrative’ of the year for me. As a game its eh, but you essentially ignore that and its very easy to do so. I been ruminating a lot on temporality this year; the sort of stripping-away of the idea of one having a future that ones grows to as opposed to a sequential present. The idea of ‘growth’ being more of a story we write for ourselves. And additionally I have always had a passion for stories about contingency and specificity, the ways technology, locale and circumstances shape people in not-so-obvious ways. 

Perfect Tides is never settled on one thing but those two themes permeate every part of its narrative. Mara is obsessed with changing herself, getting out of the ‘rut’ of her life, but has almost no agency in that regard. She changes, massively so, but never due to her plans coming to fruition. There are these moments where she introspects, and she is smart so it seems right, but - while never confirmed to be so explicitly - are just wrong on reflection, in the battle between her identity & and her outside reality, reality proves stronger.

And the ways she tries to fight against her circumstances are so adorably 2000′s. Writing on fanfic webforums, ‘dating’ someone via IM (and it falling apart from it being transposed outside of that medium), living on an outskirt suburbia island to the metropole of the rest of your social circle, there is so much in there. In the end the bildungsroman story of a teen growing up is dime a dozen, these stories can’t survive on the universality. Perfect Tides marries the universality to a specificity that changes it enough to make it new.

Bocchi the Rock

I have said a lot about Bocchi and why it works so I won’t repeat myself on that front. Instead to situate its lasting impact on me I think I can instead focus on the kind of anime I have been watching. I have picked up a lot (by no means all) of the older ‘classics’ over the past 5 or so years, and I was absolutely soul-sniped by the 90′s ~mindfuck~ era of anime. I am always secretly hunting for more of that, but you really aren’t going to find any of that in modern shows; Sonny Boy is the closest I have seen and its a forced comparion for sure (still a great show, would recommend). The Evangelion era is so over not even an Evangelion remake could recapture it.

The modern era instead has other strengths that you need to see on its own terms - new themes, new styles, new approaches. Slice of life is one of them, K-On! was the first ‘great’ entry into the genre that utilizes the modern lexicon, and there have been more and more hits along that front over time. Anime - and the people who watch it - has a more comfortable relationship with its otaku identity, replacing existential dilemma with celebratory depiction. 90′s animation experimentalism was immense but also limited by the tools of the day; modern animation technology allows an easy integration of styles and techniques that was out or reach 20 years ago. 

Bocchi for me is the crest of a wave of modern trendlines in anime’s capabilities and thematics. It perfects so much of what slice of life does while shedding its tired tropes; ruthlessly depicts a real-if-exaggerated otaku struggle but through the modern comedic, happy lens; and puts animation-as-a-tool to work communicating those feelings in the most inventive ways posible. Hell, the design process itself is radically accessible! I follow the creative team on twitter who were live-posting production photos, scene reactions, everything you could imagine. The media mix was intense. It is, in a certain sense, the most modern anime I have seen. It crystalized its own ‘genre’ that I want to see more of.

Sing Yesterday For Me

This year was a big year for manga for me, a journey I am hoping to deepen going forward. Sing Yesterday For Me was on my list for a while due to the anime adaptation from 2020, which I...hated? But due to all the really polished balls it kept dropping, I could see the potential, moody characters struggling with love & life in period-piece 2000′s Tokyo, lots of my boxes checked there.

The manga drops many of these same balls (less for sure), this is not a ‘great’ work. Instead why it has stuck with me is that is a showcase in the strengths of aesthetics & realism. Kei Toume’s art is just so absolutely my jam; the way she draws eyes with enhanced roundness and detail; the way the hair is all messy textures and sharp lines; the fact that in the middle of this serious manga will be splash images of little fashion showcases or photobooth printouts or something. She does this in all of her works too, she has types - I have been reading two of her other manga, Rocky Princess and Karakida-ke no Koshogurashi, and her aesthetic archetypes absolutely show up again in both. 

I enjoyed Sing Yesterday for Me’s story but what I remember most are these individual panels that are just Art to me, and its something that manga does on its own terms that I have been growing to appreciate more and more as I read more and more (Chainsaw Man stands out in this regard as well). Its a reason to read manga specifically as its own genre. Maybe the story won’t be amazing, but it can be in service of those panels, a necessary component to making them shine, and its worth it for that.

Astrophyics - Hope Left Me+

Astroyphics is a synthwave/darkwave composer who got their start doing remixes, lots of anime & 80′s stuff, which all rocks and I highly recommend. This is the year they started branching out into their own original compositions in a way that I think succeeded - it was a rougher journey, some of their early works lack life, but the later stuff - Hope Left Me, Cute Tragedies - are some of my favourite of the genre in how they blend being ‘noisescape’ with having melodic elements or motiffs that still stand out.

And they are a media mix pioneer in how much work they put into video elements for the songs, album covers, and other things - Hope Left Me has a visual novel it is attached to! Which you can play as a standalone game (this worked ~fine) or partly experience as a visual album for listening to the music (which is amazing). I love that someone who started out making Serial Experiments Lain covers is working so well in the medium of “music as its permitted to be by the internet”. Its something I want more and more over time, music that exists beyond the notes and instead is in conversation with the rest of the media apparatus it is so inexorably embedded in, and Astrophysics owns that reality. They are 50% of the reason I am a Hatsune Miku stan nowadays (first t-shirt recently acquired!) - the other 50% of the reason being...

Hazel - Why Did We Like Elfen Lied? 

Hazel’s Why Did We Like Elfen Lied? lives rent-free in my mind. Its the perfect question for me, not about ‘anime as anime’ but ‘anime as societal product’, about how watchers viewed it, cared about it, repackaged it, communicated it, the works. “What does this piece of media being loved say about those who love it” is the root question over which every other media discussion I ever have rests, the Unified Field Theorem of media analysis. And Elfen Lied is the *perfect* target for this question - it fucking sucks! It is an awful show, and in Japan no one cared. But in 2004 everyone in the west loved it. It was a show begging for an explanation.

Hazel nails it, and she does so through her subjectivity. She was the patient zero for the Elfen Lied experience as an emo goth edgy teen girl for its release; the way she jumps back and forth between the anime’s actual content, the way what it offered was passed around anime & goth subcultures, and the wider concerns those communities had in 2000′s America, is completely realized due to its combination of analysis and autobiography. And Hazel excels as a filmmaker along this same lens - her editing style is a tower of niche references to iconography, media, and music from the era, she composes her own songs which she uses for key moments, its a “by kids for kids  by scene nerds for scene nerds” approach that epotimizes the strength of YouTube as a medium.

Hazel will not continue to be my favourite YouTuber - I will absolutely still be a fan, but she has her own questions she cares about that don’t align with mine, and the way she is evolving as a creator is not my own path. She has many other good videos and I highly recommend looking through all her works. But Why Did We Like Elfen Lied will last beyond that for me as an influence of the kind of thing I myself want to make (and probably never will, oh well!).

[jonesywrites]

On writing:

I’ve worked as a copywriter (and now creative director) for over a decade.

When I first started, I thought I knew how to write. I know that I am very talented and have always been told that I don’t write like a “normal copywriter”, and as the times have changed, storytelling in advertising has become more valuable, because content is now king.

I have had many mentors also rip my writing to shreds (metaphorically). I have felt the heat of shame and hurt and even anger after presenting something I worked really hard on and getting feedback from my team that seemingly undid what I believed was right - only to go back to the drawing board and try, try again until the feedback became “this is great, we’re here, we’re ready to present to the client.”

It hurts still sometimes, but the criticism and the long nights of anxiety working on a campaign or a commercial script makes me a BETTER WRITER.

One of my first mentors, Mal MacDougal, was a copywriter in the “Mad Men” era. He wrote the “Just for the taste of it” tagline and “Come to think of it, I’ll have a Heineken”, among others. He told me a story about how, when he wrote his first campaign lines as a Jr. Copywriter, his creative director took his copy paper (yes they used typewriters and copy templates back then), and literally ripped it to shreds, then sent him back to his desk without another word. So he kept writing. His paper was tossed in the trash, dipped in old coffee, passed on to designers who presumed to tell him how to write, until finally he got it “right” .

And that happened again and again until he started getting it “right” the first time. Until he became the creative director.

He never ripped anything I gave him to shreds physically, but he did give me fair, unapologetic feedback that I will never forget (may he R.I.P.). He told me when I was being short sighted. He corrected me in front of people while I was presenting. He exposed me to clients who were very blunt and frankly underestimated my talent because I am a Black woman in an industry that at the time had very little room for people like me.

I still take my writing very personally. I still struggle sometimes (okay a lot of times), but I know without a doubt that I am a better writer than I was last year, or last month, or even yesterday, because in this business you have no choice.

Without criticism, without feedback from your team in pursuit of getting to the best work possible, the client will reject your pitch, your agency will lose the business, and your career will suffer, if not end altogether.

Criticism given with the intent to get you to stop, think, reconsider, pivot, get MORE creative, is never bad. It is there to make you BETTER. If, that is, you actually care about the words you put on a page for someone to read.

If you desire to tell a story that you wish to be consumed and appreciated by as many as possible, there should always be room for constructive criticism. It may likely inspire negative feelings in you. You may resist. You may even feel hurt. I did. Still do sometimes. I’ve been at this a while and I still need it, still hear it from my team. But I absorb what helps and move on from the rest because I know the intent. The intent is to help you improve, unlock new methods of storytelling you weren’t even aware of. That is called process. That is the journey. The finish line is important but the journey is what shapes you.

If you LOVE it. If it fulfills you. If you want to do more and more and more of it, grow and expand your audience…jogging in place will never get you there.