Ratabulousratmeister - Tally

Part 3 of Celebrification

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Word Count: 618

Act 1: Scene 1

A voice speaks out, loud and clear, disembodied: feminine indeed, bold as well.

The Voice: Hello, dear. It is nice to finally meet you.

17, confused and mildly fearful: Who is that??? 

The Voice: It is not important who I am, but who you were, are, and will be. Many say that you have been dealt a terrible card in life, but others say you abuse your spotlight, and that you are the same as all the rest. What say you?

17: Oh, I don’t really know what you mean…

THE VOICE: You really don’t know? You need to defend yourself from the… allegations.

17: What allegations???? 

THE VOICE: Very well then, you will eventually find out.

 Pause, the rustling of pages in the background.

THE VOICE: 17! Care to explain your claim to fame? Your rise to stardom! YOUR GREAT------ cutoff

Silence, then vague background noises, and perhaps a bit of shuffling from wherever THE VOICE is broadcasting themself from

17 looks around confused and alarmed until THE VOICE speaks again a few seconds later. THE VOICE: Deepest apologies, 17, would you mind sharing your negative experiences with fame? Or just really any experience?

17: Oh, I guess so. I’ve really enjoyed being in the spotlight, and my fans have been really supportive so far. Cue awkward silence.

THE VOICE, expectantly: Nothing else? 17 shakes her head No anecdotes on how your fans have been possessive, overbearing, or even the least bit too judgmental? 17 opens and then closes her mouth just as quick. Are you sure? Is there no moment in which you have had to defend yourself against your fans for something that is really quite… innocent? I need a bit of anything to go off of.

17: Well, yeah, there is, but what do you mean you need something?

THE VOICE, pauses for a few seconds: It is for but my own purpose, nothing you need to be concerned about…

17: Okay… skeptically Well, there was this one time when I did a music video. Actually, it was kind of recently. I was wearing a school uniform, and I just made it a little more teenager-y, you know. A bit more modernized, that’s all. Raising her voice slightly. And people online got really annoyed about how I wore it. I was just trying to be trendy and relate to kids my age. I was just tying up my shirt to dance, and I’m really used to it, considering that it would be stupid for someone to attend a dance class without wearing a shorter shirt, or less clothing. They said I was deliberately playing up my innocence, but I’m a teenager!

THE VOICE: I see… So, would you say that the general public response was trying to, how would the youth say it, drag you down?

17: Yes? Maybe? I don’t really know.

THE VOICE: Interesting. So, it does seem that these people, as you would say, tried to drag you through the mud, and perhaps, seemed to derive joy, or at least entertainment from attacking you?

17: I wouldn’t exactly say they were attacking me, it just felt annoying that they wouldn’t get my point. And I’m not sure about joy, but it did feel like maybe they came from a place of concern? I’m not really sure.

THE VOICE: Ah, I see… Well, then, you may leave 17.

17: Oh um, thank you for having me, I guess. Which direction do I go to leave? Door previously unseen at stage right is revealed. Oh, I see. Thank you, again. She walks to the door, slowly, and cautiously. Before she leaves, she looks back behind her and then hurries through the door.

MASTERLIST

Started: Jan. 19th, 2024 Last updated: Jan.19th 2024 Total works: 1

Anime/Manga

Books

Movies

Poetry

Original Works

Original Characters

Based on Real People

(I promise this one isn't weird)

so like what if I started writing about a girl with her dead (supposedly) unrequited love and her journey to try to bring him back to life.

like ngl I think that would breathe the life back into me…

“From whence you came” is a classic place to send back a foul beast

Part 1 of Celebrification

Masterlist | Entire Work | Next Part

Word Count: 892

Overture [essay]

According to Cameron J Sabet, “Celebrities are not human in the world of popular culture. They are cultural deities,” (Sabet), and with further investigation, it seems this is true. Celebrities influence culture reflecting the methods of the control the Greek Pantheon holds on the human world. The lives of celebrities are constantly publicized via the news, THE VOICE shows, and, some of the most scathing and easily reachable, gossip magazines. The line between public and private is so far blurred that it is considered odd for anyone directly influencing pop culture to shy away from the outside world between jobs and keep their lives out of the way of the tabloids. Perhaps it is for the best that they choose so, as the spotlight seems to be easily corrupting, not only attracting the naïve youth, but also presenting them in a way to society that changes their lives permanently, and not in a way that brings any betterment to their lives.

Britney Spears was one of the most prevalent stars of the 2000s, and it’s safe to say that nobody could predict her downfall. Her music was a mark of its time, hooking itself to an era that many look upon in fondness. She was the quintessential pop queen. But, as it seems, she wasn’t the only star who succumbed to the pressures, and started radically changing their lives, for the worse. It was a growing trend that celebrities would get blinded by the spotlight, and start to derail their lives through substance abuse, another notable example from the same era being Amy Winehouse, an artist who died of alcohol poisoning after a fight with substance abuse in 2011 (Tsioulcas). However, many question if their spiral is truly just an internal problem, a mark of the culture surrounding celebrities, or an issue with the people who follow celebrities and publicize their lives. 

            Britney Spears, in particular, is an example of a child star who crumbled under the intense pressure of not only the public’s opinion of her, but the responsibility of being the breadwinner for her family. According to an article by Karla Rodriguez, child stars tend to suffer under the hands of those closest to them, often weathering greedy parents, who tend to steal away millions “before they were even of age”, and an unstable support system, which increases the likelihood of substance abuse later in life (Rodriguez). Typically, the kind of star that succeeds in their adult life is the one in which their parents do not rely on their success for their livelihood. According to Shauna Springer Ph.D., an interviewee of the same article, “When a legal guardian comes to rely on the money that their child generates, they may be more likely to overlook or conceal struggles like substance abuse, mental health struggles, or eating disorders—for fear that seeking help might negatively impact the income they depend on,” (Rodriguez). In contrast, other child stars with a more protective support system tend to live through their childhood better and avoid more “shady” activity that other child stars may be exposed to, something that Britney Spears did not get to experience (Rodriguez).

            Unfortunately, it seems that as soon as Britney Spears arrived into the spotlight, her light was doomed to flicker out. According to Cameron J Sabet, “The public asked for Britney Spears to be a perfect woman. The masses expected her to represent the competing ideals of virginity and promiscuity throughout her career,” (Sabet) and by holding these impossible expectations upon her, society itself had begun the countdown to her downfall. They celebrated her, “showering her with attention and special treatment,” (Sabet) and she was extremely successful in both music production and performance. However, this favorable treatment stopped the moment that Britney had begun to crack and reveal something else other than exactly what society wanted. Her downfall became exactly what fed the crowd’s desire for drama, with tabloids that began violating her privacy, and the public began to tear her down even farther than what was previously expected. It seemed that society derived a sense of fulfillment from her downfall, which distracted from personal problems and provided an intense sense of entertainment to the public (Sabet).

            This behavior still continues today, with the obsession with the lives of celebrities, There are still many celebrities who have been caught in the allure of the spotlight, only to be let down by society’s perception of them as they grow and change as people, and no longer fit the rigid mold that society had set for them. These celebrities turn to drugs, like alcohol, and often lead long, difficult battles to fight off addiction, likely ruining public perception, and their careers, in the aftermath. According to Attain Behavioral Health. “25% of celebrities have a history of drug addiction,” and, “40% of celebrities who seek treatment have a relapse within the first year,” in 2024, which is quite a high percentage (Attain Behavioral Health). This information suggests that more celebrities are relying on substances to relieve the pressure of society. It is important to note that much of the pressure on celebrities comes from the obsession of the public, and without creating boundaries between ourselves and them, and knowing that they deserve to live private lives, will likely ease off the pressure, as all human beings deserve the space to breathe. 

random medical facts to use for your hospital whump writing. let your whumpee be a patient today!

if a patient has a seizure that lasts longer than 5 minutes, or if they suffer several seizures, they risk sustaining brain damage — because their brain can’t get oxygen during the seizure.

if a patient’s coughing up blood when they’re lying on their back, make sure to tune their face to the side so that they don’t choke on their own blood (the same applies to vomit too)

chest compression can and often leave patients with broken ribs. because you have to push down hard enough in order to help pump blood from the patient’s heart to their brain (the point is so that the brain gets blood, in order to prevent brain damage), and more often than not, you’ll end up breaking your patient’s ribs — that is normal and okay, because it’s better for your patient to have broken ribs than it is for them to lose their life.

after a course of electroconvulsive therapy, you’ll normally have to give your patient a dose of muscle relaxant, otherwise the aftermath of the shock may cause musculoskeletal complications.

you don't use a defibrillator to shock a patient if they already flat line, because their heart no longer has any electricity. quote "asystole isn't a shockable rhyme, and defibrillator may actually make it harder to restart the heart." (Cleveland Clinic)

the famous, classic "a character was knocked out and they stayed unconscious for hours before they woke up on their own with no lingering damage" trope is actually almost impossible if you want your work to be medically accurate (but if you don’t care about accuracy and are just here for the whump, that is totally fine!). if someone was knocked out and they stayed unconscious for more than several minutes, chances are that they suffer permanent brain damage, so they won't "wake up on their own in the next hour or two and be completely fine without intense medical attention".

thinking about daichi, suga and asahi joining karasuno for its reputation while the team was at its lowest, never giving up or letting go. taking over and training to the point where dadchi was real. backbone, foundation, nurturance but haunted by vague hopelessness that passed down. a team they believed was out of seijoh's league but won against, realised atleast 3 consecutive captains desires of making it to nationals AND THEN consistently staying there, one of the best in the country. top 8, top 16, TOP THREE. thats the team they joined. the team they built. thinking about Ukai and Takeda taking a new batch of students with hopes and dreams just like these boys when they started - a powerhouse - strongest in the prefecture maybe even - TO WATCH THEIR ALUMNI play professional volleyball, be the best in the WORLD.

Do you like chickens? Do you believe in the mysterious theory that the chickens are bald and the egg rates are decreasing? Do you believe in Gertrude?

That is a very good question.

I do in fact like chickens. There are many breeds and colors that are interesting, such as the Lavender Orpington. I highly recommend that you check those out, and they are also excellent egg layers (allegedly).

I don't think chickens are bald, if you are referring to the fact that chickens are not covered in hair, which they are not, but feathers are similar enough to hair in makeup (keratin) and use that I do consider them functionally hair. However, it is possible for chickens to not have feathers on all or parts of their body, as there are several breeds that have those traits on purpose.

I am not sure of the egg rates decreasing. I suppose I will have to do further research on the topic.

If this Gertrude will give me something to believe in, then I may believe in her. For now she will remain as she is, a name.

its so scary to put yourself out there but a SINGLE message saying "hi i loved what you made it touched me in some way" makes it all worth it 10000%