I have been thinking a lot about what a cancer diagnosis used to mean. How in the ‘80s and ‘90s, when someone was diagnosed, my parents would gently prepare me for their death. That chemo and radiation and surgery just bought time, and over the age of fifty people would sometimes just. Skip it. For cost reasons, and for quality of life reasons. My grandmother was diagnosed in her early seventies and went directly into hospice for just under a year — palliative care only. And often, after diagnosis people and their families would go away — they’d cash out retirement or sell the house and go live on a beach for six months. Or they’d pay a charlatan all their savings to buy hope. People would get diagnosed, get very sick, leave, and then we’d hear that they died.
And then, at some point, the people who left started coming back.
It was the children first. The March of Dimes and Saint Jude set up programs and my town would do spaghetti fundraisers and raffles and meal trains to support the family and send the child and one parent to a hospital in the city — and the children came home. Their hair grew back. They went back to school. We were all trained to think of them as the angelic lost and they were turning into asshole teens right in front of our eyes. What a miracle, what a gift, how lucky we are that the odds for several children are in our favor!
Adults started leaving for a specific program to treat their specific cancer at a specific hospital or a specific research group. They’d stay in that city for 6-12 months and then they’d come home. We fully expected that they were still dying — or they’d gotten one of the good cancers. What a gift this year is for them, we’d think. How lucky they are to be strong enough to ski and swim and run. And then they didn’t stop — two decades later they haven’t stopped. Not all of them, but most of them.
We bought those extra hours and months and years. We paid for time with our taxes. Scientists found ways for treatment to be less terrible, less poisonous, and a thousand times more effective.
And now, when a friend was diagnosed, the five year survival odds were 95%. My friend is alive, nearly five years later. Those kids who miraculously survived are alive. The adults who beat the odds are still alive. I grew up in a place small enough that you can see the losses. And now, the hospital in my tiny hometown can effectively treat many cancers. Most people don’t have to go away for treatment. They said we could never cure cancer, as it were, but we can cure a lot of cancers. We can diagnose a lot of cancers early enough to treat them with minor interventions. We can prevent a lot of cancers.
We could keep doing that. We could continue to fund research into other heartbreaks — into Long Covid and MCAS and psych meds with fewer side effects and dementia treatments. We could buy months and years, alleviate the suffering of our neighbors. That is what funding health research buys: time and ease.
Anyway, I’m preaching to the choir here. But it is a quiet miracle what’s happened in my lifetime.
Okay I’m currently furious that migraines are often so blindly easy to treat and I had to find this out myself at the age of 26 when I’ve been to a neurologist since I was 11 lol so I’m about to teach you two neat and fast little tricks to deal with pain!
The first is the sternocleidomastoid muscle, or the SCM muscle.
This big red section is responsible for pain around the eye, cheekbone, and jaw, as well as some temple pain. Literally all you have to do is angle your head down a little, angle it away from the side that hurts, and then you can gently pinch and rub that muscle. I find it best to start at the bottom and travel upwards. The relief is so immediate! You can increase pressure as you feel comfortable doing so.
Here is a short and easy video showing this in action
The second is a fast and easy stretch that soothes your vagus nerve, which is the nerve responsible for calming you down. The vagus nerve, for those unfamiliar, is stimulated by deep breathing such as yawning, sighing, singing, or taking a deep breath to calm your anger in a tense situation.
You can stretch this out by sitting up as straight as possible (this does not have to be perfect to work) and interlacing your fingers. Put your hands on the back of your head with your thumbs going down the sides of your neck and, while keeping your face forward, look all the way to one side with just your eyes. Hold that until you feel the urge to breathe deeply or yawn, or until you can tell there’s a change. Then do the same thing on the other side. When you put your arms down, you should clearly be able to turn your head farther in both directions. If the first session doesn’t get rid of your migraine, rest and repeat as many times as necessary. I even get a little fancy with it and roll my eyes up and down along the outer edge sometimes to stretch as much as I can.
If you need a visual here’s a good video on it. I know some of the language they use seems questionable but this is real and simple science and should not be discarded because it’s been adopted by the trendy wellness crowd!
I seriously cannot believe I didn’t hear a word of this from any doctor in my life. Additionally, if you get frequent recurring migraines, you may want to see a dietician. Migraines can be caused by foods containing histamines, lectin, etc. and can also be caused by high blood pressure in specific situations such as exercise, stress, and even sex.
If any of this information helps you I’d love to hear it btw! It’s so so fast and easy to do. Good luck!
Red Right Hand. Orange Crush. Mellow Yellow. Green Light. Blue Ain't Your Color. The Indigo Streak. Violet Chemistry.
ROY G. BIV
The theme for this event is: Somewhere Over the Rainbow:
So, for this challenge, pick any song that features a color of the rainbow either in the title or lyrics and make something that is inspired by that song. Here's a playlist to help get you started.
Now, I'm not gonna get all up in your color wheel. You want to use Purple Pills instead of Violet Hill? Want to go with Taylor Swift's Maroon instead of her Red? Go for it!
This event runs between June 8th-14th, 2025.
You can interpret the prompt any way you'd like, as long as you've focused on one or more members of Corroded Coffin and a song that features a color of the rainbow.
Please tag us here at @corrodedcoffinfest when you post your entries so we can reblog them!
The word count guidelines for this challenge are for fics between 500-2500 words. Your entries must be posted on the correct color day of the event. (And let us know what song you used!)
You'll get a comment from this blog with a "🌈" when it's been checked and added to the queue.
Submissions can be connected to other prompts from the pop-up, but they should still be able to stand alone.
Feel free to use the ao3 collection after you've been reblogged here!
All submissions should include any pairings featured, a rating and any content warnings (CW) or tags that you think are appropriate. All explicit material needs be under a cut. Headers make my life easier, and a sample of one could look something like this:
Prompt: Blue | Song: Blue Bayou | Word Count: 1250 | Rating: T | POV: Eddie | Relationships: None | CW: None | Tags: Corroded Coffin, On Tour, Thinking of the Past
For the artists! Art is definitely welcome! Any entries for the prompts must be focused on at least one Corroded Coffin pairing, a fit the prompt and guidelines.
Please submit your entries between 12:00 AM EST and 11:59 PM EST on the day of the prompt in order to not be missed for reblogging.
Taste the rainbow. 🌈
if you’re having a bad day, here’s a cute little marching band
Finally finished and BOY am I proud of this?? @brekkie-e gave me the STUNNING idea of baby Soka being a She-ra fan and I LOVED it?? So she gets to be sparkly and wear She-ra?? Also pimply Ani and his emo band shirt 😂🤣💕💖
Additionally God bless the Pexels site and Curtis Adams for the free background that saved my ass??
For the Mini Pride Bingo hosted by @genderthings.
[AO3]
Prompt: Tattoo | Rating: Gen | WC: 1230 | Relationships : Steve Harrington/Eddie Munson
Summary:
Steve wants to marry Eddie and wear a wedding ring to show the whole world they belong to each other, homophobic laws be damned. But Steve is a nurse, and hospital rules are hospital rules.
It’s not that Steve dislikes jewelry. Honestly, it’s kind of the opposite.
Take Eddie’s rings, for example.
His boyfriend has a few of them, all bulky and impossible to ignore, and he barely takes them off to shower. They are always on his hands, even when he plays guitar, even when he sleeps. And he is so full of life, his man, always waving his hands around, rings catching the light with each movement, gleaming.
The way he touches him is no better, warm hands and soft metal sliding across his skin, gripping, grabbing. Loving.
Steve likes rings. Especially Eddie's.
He’s just not allowed to wear jewelry at the hospital.
Becoming a nurse had not been easy, but after the whole mess that happened with the Upside-Down, after breaking Eddie’s ribs, each snap resonating like thunder in his arms when he was trying to breathe life back to Eddie’s lungs, after everything the nurses at Hawkins Memorial had down for them, strong and caring when the whole town had wanted to crucify Eddie… Steve had known.
He loves his job. He has finally found his place in the world, one where he can help people in need. No day is really easy, but the rewards are worth the long shifts and the random hours. Being a nurse makes him feel useful in a way he had been craving for years.
He just wishes he could wear a ring.
Some of his coworkers are married, and they either keep their wedding band on a chain around their neck or take it off before their shift and store it in their locker.
He could do the locker thing, realistically.
But he can’t get out of his head the absolute panic in his coworker Mary’s eyes, the high pitch of her voice, her harsh breathing and her shaking hands when they had ended their shift at the same time and her ring wasn’t in her locker.
She had found it, eventually, because, of course, she had left it at home and had forgotten all about it in the frenzy of hospital life, but the fear had lingered. She had stopped wearing her ring, keeping it in a jewelry box on her bedside table. Just in case.
And the thing is. Steve and Eddie can’t get married. Not legally at last. They have been talks of backyard wedding, one day, maybe, but the ring… The ring is a problem.
It eats at Steve. Days and nights.
He can’t imagine getting married and only having a ring to prove his devotion to his husband. Not when he can’t wear it all the time and could lose it at any given moment. All his wedding dreams end with his ring disappearing and Eddie looking at him through tears, asking if he doesn’t love him anymore.
When he finally opens up to Robin, she’s kind about his fears. Understanding in a way that speaks about years and years of feeling out of the norm. Different. Kept from enjoying so many things that other people take from granted.
“It’s okay to feel like that, Steve. It’s scary to realize your love is not something people are going to accept, especially when another typical married couple thing is out of your reach.” She squeezes his arm. “You have coworkers who wear their wedding ring around their neck, right? Maybe you should do that when you finally take that step with Eddie.”
Steve swallows, his throat tight, fighting through the burn in his eyes.
“Northwestern Memorial has a very strict policy about jewelry. The only pieces nurses are allowed to wear are wedding bands on necklaces. And you have to provide a wedding certificate for that.”
“So, they wouldn’t…”
Steve loses the fight against tears.
“No, they would never let me wear any ring given by Eddie.”
“Oh, babe…” Robin arms wrap around him as he sobs.
“Say, Stevie…” Her voice is wavering. She seems so unsure of herself, in a way that differs from her usual anxiety-fueled ramblings. “I could maybe marry you? Legally, I mean. Then you would marry Eddie, and you’ll be able to wear your wedding band around your neck.”
Steve’s burrow deeper into Robin’s embrace. He can’t deal with not being held right now.
“Thank you, Rob. But it wouldn’t be the same.”
They hug for a while, before Robin manages to make him laugh with a crazy anecdote about her least favorite coworker. They end up playing a drinking game in front of Star Wars, and Eddie is woken up at 2 a.m. by his very drunk boyfriend sliding in his bed.
“Hey, Eddie, Eddie?”
“Wot?”
“You know I love you, right?”
“Mmmrrr.”
“I love you a lot, Eddie, like… like an insane amount. Scientists cannot quantify how much I love you, and…”
He is stopped by a kiss.
“Love you too, sweetheart,” Eddie tiredly wraps himself all around his boyfriend, octopus-style. “But please, go to sleep.”
_______________________
They’re celebrating Nancy’s promotion in a gay bar when Steve has a revelation.
The girls want more drinks, and Steve grumbles but leave the warmth of Eddie’s arms to bring them cocktails.
“And a beer for your humble servant, please, my liege!”
And a beer for Eddie, apparently.
The bartender is only vaguely familiar, and he is pretty sure the guy wasn’t there two months ago. Steve flags the man down, and watches with a smile as he shakes Nancy’s elaborate cocktail. He is putting on a show, but Steve can tell it’s not really meant for him, not with the wedding band glistening on his left hand and the wink he throws at the new waiter.
The wave of jealousy hits him unexpectedly. It must be nice to wear proof of your marriage in front of everyone like that, and to be able to flirt with your husband at your own place of work without having to watch your back. Maybe he should hang up his scrubs and go into bartending.
Steve shakes his head. He loves his job. He is being ridicul…
He frowns.
What’s that just underneath the guy’s wedding band?
The bartender winks at him this time, playing with the ring.
“Had this one for almost two years now.” He points at the waiter. “It goes with that one.”
“What’s that?”
“Hum?” The bartender blink, then smiles again. “Oh! Look.”
He leans over the bar and shows Steve his hand, palm up. He pushes the ring out of the way, and just underneath, the initials S.W. are written in black ink.
“Scott Williams. That’s my man.”
“It’s a tattoo.” Steve says numbly.
“It sure is, darling.”
“I can get a tattoo.” Steve cannot breathe. He can have that. He can etch Eddie’s name into his skin, keep him there forever.
“Hey, don’t forget your drinks!”
Steve turns back to the bar, disoriented, and grab the tray the bartender is nice enough to give him.
“You okay, man?” He asks, visibly worried.
“Never been better.”
He walks past the crowd without seeing it and reach their group. Robin’s head shot up at his arrival.
“You’re alright, Dingus?” She frowns. “You look a bit shell shocked over there.”
She yelps when Steve put down the tray heavily on the table, drinks splashing.
“Hey, what are you…”
Steve climbs on his boyfriend’s lap.
“Eddie,” he cradles his face with both hands, reverent. “Will you marry me?”
Popping out of a hyper fixation to say that it would be really funny if Vecna targeted Steve after S4, via Kas or honestly even if he was digging his head before the end of S4, and it’s because of sexism. Vecna saw the one man there for the fight who has been around and assumed that was the leader. So he’s trying to parse out their plan based on the 40% Steve heard at all, of which Steve misinterpreted about half, and then the rest got filled in with bits of movies and random guesses.
When the fight goes down Vecna gets his ass kicked because the plan is only vaguely related to what Steve thought was going down.
She/her | 25 | French, queer and anxious | translator | fanfiction writer | I have one(1) white hair on my head so it means I'm wise
65 posts