Dispatches from the Gently Scorched
a side-eye glance back at cancer season
Welcome to The Soft Burn, companion to The Signal, and the afterglow of a feeling season.
Moon-drenched and all up in our feelings, Cancer season pulled us inward: tidal, tender, and quietly overwhelming. We tried to stay soft. Held on to the rituals. Almost succeeded.
Behind the scenes, our inner child was restless—sticky fingers in every old wound, searching for something sacred. But instead of cake, crayons, and one less photoshoot, she got a brand manager.
01
She wanted to eat her strawberries in silence. You ended up posting them with filters and a grief caption. Same fruit. Different stakes.
02
She has got a niche:
1. Ethereal and emotionally unavailable
2. Soft but no longer naive
3. Speaks in lowercase, cries in serif
She did not ask for a media kit.
But she is a Virgo rising. She will deliver.
03
Every week, you “return” to her.
You whisper, “I’m listening,” barefoot with a velvet journal.
She sighs.
“Is this for me or your grid?”
04
You said “gentle,” but meant “curated.”
You called it healing, but it was just…
content with a nervous system.
She wanted a hug.
You gave her a newsletter titled: ‘Soft Girl Spiral.’
05
She made a bedsheet fort.
Now it is your sanctuary.
You light incense. You tag the brand.
She just wanted to hide while you read a book.
Same refuge. Now optimized.
What if your inner child was never meant to sell the story, only to survive it?
Let her spill juice on the altar.
Let her vanish mid-sentence.
Let her be a mess. A mystery.
And, you?
Show us your gorgeous, chaotic self.
Yes, on the feed too.
We are ready!
Inner Work
Do something meaningful and don’t record it.
Write a poem, tear it up and offer it to the wind.
Eat a peach. Don’t think of aesthetics.
This is The Soft Burn.
Where we tell the truth gently, then laugh, reflect, and self-soothe.
See you next dispatch.
Until then, let the juice run down your chin and let no one know.
🥀 P.S. Want more soft chaos, ritual irreverence, and unhinged tenderness?
Join the circle — sacred-ish emails only. No performative moonwater, promise.
Visuals:
1. Simone Rocha Fall, 2023
2. The Row Spring, 2024
3. Aunty Aishwarya Rai and her tea
4. Kimhekin, Buy it if you can
4. Audre Lorde
