april showers

dropping in a day late with nothing to show for it bc i’m a fool 😭 hiya hiya i’m melo ( 21+, s/h ) with my butterfly baby kang nabi!! she’s been in pelican almost all her life, went to a ~big city~ for university & made a big ruckus about leaving... & then popped back into town after graduation to take over her grandparents’ butterfly farm so it turns out she wasn’t leaving forever & ever ever ( dramatic goodbyes galore! ) 🤡 all i have is an about page but !! below the cut are some fun & exciting facts & plots!! please drop a like or an im if you wanna plot, or lmk if you’d like my discord!! 💖

it was always considered a successful day when she got off work before noon and there was a sale on ice cream  .  ahna found herself staring down into the freezer trying to decide which kind was the correct choice  .  vanilla was a classic but a little boring  ,  she adored anything with fruit in the name  ,  but there was also chocolate which she never regretted  .  maybe the solution was to get one of each  .  but then it would melt on her walk home and that was a whole other issue  .  maybe the way to solve her problem was actually to get someone else to decide for her  .  ❝  if you had to choose an ice cream  ,  what would you get  ?  ❞  ahna called out to the entirety of the joja mart  .  ❝  there are no wrong answers  !  ❞  that was when she glanced around to see who exactly was going about their grocery shopping and could help her out  –  spotting nabi  .  quickly  ,  ahna stepped out to block the other girl’s path  .  ❝  nevermind  ,  i’ve decided on chocolate  –  your treat  !  ❞

nabi freezes, caught red handed—chocolate handed!—in joja mart, blinking at the shorter woman like this isn’t the consequence of her many, many terrible ideas. the first being when she was ten-ish and started a rumour about a chocolate goblin living in stardew valley, and provided proof to everyone who’d listen by nabbing their chocolate. it was the work of the goblin, clearly!

and now the local goblin’s all grown up and admitted her childhood pranks because she hadn’t thought the three years ahead to her graduation, and her return to stardew after revealing all her secrets. the younger woman grins and waves awkwardly at ahna, victim to her ingenious method of free chocolates when she was younger. she’d confessed the truth right before she left, and, well, this is only what she’s gotta make up for, so nabi picks up another ice cream bar, big chocolate label printed on it. “okay!” a grin, and a little jibe, “i think the chocolate goblin’s back!”

kang nabi is a firm believer in acting before thinking, and never regretting it. at least right now, while she’s still in the best years of her life to be making silly, embarrassing memories—in theory.

her silliest, most embarrassing memory greets her as she hops off the train from the airport, freezing her in her tracks. hwang haru, first boyfriend of a reasonable, whirlwind two weeks before their equally embarrassing, equally loud breakup when she’d left for the city. she remembers bawling on the train for all of five minutes before the heartbreak stopped hurting, and the letters she’d packed because it’d felt like the right thing to do that never made it out of her suitcase. 

nabi ducks down, whole body sucked into the ground before she can think about what she’s doing. her luggage comes crashing to the floor with her, the loudest don’t look here ever. oh god. she’ll bet the nabi of four years ago would be delighted at this new experience for her bucket list, running into your ex. if haru even counts as a real ex, that is.

CLOSED STARTER  *  /  @wingspun·

jiwon  isn’t  exactly  a  punctual  person .  it’s  not  that  she  does  it  on  purpose ,  it’s  just  that  when  she  does  get  up  and  attempts to  be  a  normal  functioning person  who  arrives on  time  ,  all  the  gods  in  the  universe seem  to  get  together  and  do  everything in  their  power  to  stop  it  from  happening  .  and  today  is  one  of  those  days  :  she  missed her  first  alarm  ,  then  her  second ,  granted  that  it  was  her  fault  for  staying up  binge-watching  yet  another  so-bad-that-it’s-good  show  that  she  would  end  up  ranting about  when  she  went  on  air  .  as  if  that  wasn’t enough  ,  a  quick  fridge check  is  reminds  her  that  she  ran  out  of  her  favorite drink  —  which  leads  to  a  somewhat familiar  dilemma  :  go  to  work  without her  precious  coffee ,  or  visit  jojomart and  pray  that  her  coworkers don’t  try  to  kill  her  when  she  arrives  .  anyone  with  good  judgment would  pick  the  first  option ,  but  good  judgment  has  always  been  something  jiwon  lacked  so  ,  instead ,  she  chooses to  quite  literally run  to  the  store  . after  checking  the  cold  section that  she  comes  to  the  conclusion  that  she  might  just  be  the  most  unlucky  person known  to  earth  ,  because there  is  absolutely no  way  her  cherished  joja  triple  espresso matcha  latte  ran  out  (  seriously  ,  how  many  people  in  town  could  possibly  not  care  about  how  close  you’re  brought to  an  heart  attack  over  a  terrible  drink  like  jiwon  ?  )  .  she  happens  to  find  the  culprit  pretty quickly  ,  fingers wrapping  around  the  stranger’s  wrist  gently  to  get  their  attention  .  once  they  turn  around ,  all  she  does  is  point  at  the  drink  in  their  hand  and  say  ,  “  that’s mine  .  ”

nabi’s gotten into a habit lately. stardew’s radio station has started a new show at approximately evening o’clock, or whenever their newest radio host comes on air, and she likes tuning in to listen to the strange little anecdotes jiwon tells, terrible puns sprinkled into questionable life advice that, inexplicably, kind of helps her out. she calls in, some days, marvels over the radio to hear the echo of her own voice while she works in the farm.

and, she’s been scouting the marts for this specific brand of a heart attack ever since jiwon-of-the-radio-show mentioned it—it’s always out of stock, though less to do with an issue of demand and more to do with the lack of that makes the supply at jojamart so low. the only person she knows who likes it is one really cool, really funny, really cute ( probably ) radio show host, and nabi’s been looking for it to drop off her little fan gift on jiwon’s desk someday. which happens to be today.

so she eyes the stranger who’s got their hand around her wrist, wanting the drink in her hand. “no it’s not,” nabi says, gives the woman the side eye. they’re in a grocery store. what kind of weirdo claims ownership over a drink they haven’t even paid for? besides, it’s in her hands. the younger girl makes a face at the woman, and points the drink at her. she can’t offer it to the stranger, she’s gotta make it in time to give her first ever fan gift ( and the woman seems kind of strange anyway ), but nabi feels a little bad for her. “this was the last one, but you can try the convenience store near the museum?”

(...)

 he’s  been  here  before  ,  in  this  clearing  ,  many  moons  ago  .  most  of  his  childhood  is  hazy  —  most  on  accident  and  half  on  purpose  ,  but  he  remembers  this  .  a  climb  nara  has  crawled  up  before  stands  yards  away  from  him  ,  and  the  farthest  part  of  his  mind  thinks  he  can  hear  the  sound  of  his  mother’s  laughter  as  the  breeze  kisses  his  earlobes  .  the  sight  of  nabi  is  a  welcoming  one  ,  and  one  that’s  becoming  much  more  of  a  habit  .  ❝  it’s  so  fucking  hot  .  ❞  the  boy  groans    ,  allowing  gravity  to  pull  his  body  down  towards  his  childhood  friend  .  it’s  both  funny  and  odd  how  the  pair  find  themselves  following  the  same  footsteps  of  their  mothers    —  carving  out  the  same  safe  spaces  that  they  had  themselves  years  before  .  nara’s  breath  hitches  at  the  thought  of  it  ,  at  the  mere  idea  of  being  so  close  to  her  again  .  it  disappears  as  the  mayor’s  nephews  lets  out  a  laugh  ,  a  svelte  finger  plucking  out  the  joint  behind  his  air  .  ❝  i  got  another  one  for  later  .  ❞  he  admits  ,  easily  pulling  out  a  bright  red  lighter  from  his  front  pocket  .  

 nara  lights  up  the  end  ,  the  own  flames  in  his  eyes  dancing  in  amazement  at  the  spark  before  him  .  he  takes  a  brief  hit  ,  immediately  handing  it  to  the  other  .  the  boy  lays  down  next  to  her  ,  a  tall  figure  spreading  out  thin  into  the  emerald  grass  .  the  sky  is  so  blue  ,  and  chang  nara  feels  like  he  could  stay  in  pelican  town  forever  .  he  folds  his  hands  behind  him  on  the  nape  of  his  neck  ,  face  turning  to  face  nabi  as  a  swoon  worthy  grin  grows  on  his  features  .  ❝  missed  me  ?  ?  ❞

from her vantage point now, nabi wonders what their mothers thought of them as children, little specks that they must’ve seemed from up here. the matched set that wasn’t planned, although the twinkle in nara’s eye was always mirrored in hers. wonders what they’d think of them now, from the big city and above, if they miss the childhood they had and the years snatched away. the two of them not quite the matching set anymore, but still fitting in the ways that matter.

nara collapses in next to her, familiar and yet newly so. “oh, you?” she jokes, laughs and pushes his face away from her, index finger tapping a teasing point against his cheek. “nope, didn’t miss you at all!”—and that’s why she ends up slinging her legs over his, leaning forward to pick the joint from his fingers. she holds the lingering warmth between hers before taking a slow drag, smoke and oxygen swirling light in her chest. nabi blames it on the combination of nara up close and the warmth of his thighs under hers and the headiness of the weed not yet sunk in, tugging on something in her that makes her cough on the smoke on its way out.

“y’know, i don’t think our mums could see us from here,” she says, tilting her head back to squint like she isn’t watery eyed from the roll, laughs at her newfound discovery and turns towards the drinks instead. “in honour of our mums extremely careful parenting... d’you want makgeolli first, or wine?”

STATUS: CLOSED - @wingspun LOCATION: THE PARK

jinae wasn’t exactly thrilled at hyejoo’s current insect fixation, but butterflies she could handle. that meant a whole bunch of summer trips to the local butterfly farm where hyejoo had done everything in her power to charm the young new owner. it had obviously worked.

nabi had invited the two of them to the farm for a private tour where hyejoo was allowed to ask as many questions as came to mind (and there were many). by the time the tour was finally over, hyejoo was still bouncing around so jinae, thankful for nabi’s patience and generosity, offered to buy her some ice cream.

and that’s how they ended up seated at the park, bowls of ice cream in hand, and a sticky-faced hyejoo fast asleep on jinae’s lap.

“i was half convinced she’d somehow find the energy to keep going that strong all day,” jinae laughed, a hint of apology in her tone. “thank you again for everything today. i can’t tell you how much it meant to her. she’ll be talking about it for weeks, i can already tell.”

nabi’s hutch gets its fair share of kids—some apprehensive, some terrified, some ( very rarely! ) bored, and the butterfly farmer in question has her foolproof ways of dealing with all types of them. her favourite, though, are always the ones fascinated by everything, questions running a mile a minute and ever-popular can i touch them? on open, curious palms.

and her favourite of those kids ( but let’s keep it a secret! ) is the bouncy ball of sugar sweetness that is hyejoo, their most recent regular of the conservatory with her mum. nabi grins at jinae, marveling at the sleeping cherub in her lap. “i can’t believe ice cream got her to sleep, hyejoo’s totally built different, huh,” she jokes, lifting up the little paper bowl of lime sherbet that jinae’d bought her. “she went through it so fast, too.”

there’s a little spot a few paces away from the clearing around the mines, where the grass is soft enough to lie down on, and still warm from a stardew summer afternoon that makes it the perfect place for a secret hangout. nabi’s got her shoes kicked off somewhere on the ground, legs stretched out into the grass as she watches the sky dappled through the foliage, fluffy clouds drifting overhead. there’s makgeolli and a bottle of chianti scored from senlin laid out, much less fancy paper cups still wrapped up in plastic next to them. “dude!” is her greeting, waving nara over. “over here!”

it’s funny to think she’s back to spending her summers with chang nara again, visiting the same places their mothers used to take them as children. half a dozen years in between make for stark changes to them both, teenaged terrors unrecognisable if not for the matching scars on their sides and the stories still told about them around the town. he’s still the boy she grew up with, even if he’s taller ( and hotter ) and rougher around the edges than he was at fifteen. and change is always welcome, the shifting metamorphosis of their childhood friendship, as nabi glances up at his approaching figure and pulls him down towards her. “hey,” she grins, holding out her hands. “got anything fun for me today?”

@wingspun​​ liked this starter call!

she’d  arrived  at  nabi’s  hutch  by  chance ,  having  an  inkling  to  see  something  beautiful.  getting  a  glimpse  of  the  butterflies  who  lived  there  made  her  hopeful  for  the  future ,  something  that  seemed  more  and  more  shocking  as  life  took  turn  after  turn.  it  was  starting  to  drop  dark  and  the  sunset  had  the  sky  bleeding  red  and  purple.  noeul  hadn’t  asked  permission  to  be  here ,  so  when  she  caught  a  glimpse  of  nabi ,  she  knew  there  would  be  little  good  done  by  trying  to  run  away.  she  walked  over  to  her  and  greeted  the  younger  girl.  “ hi ,  i’m  so  sorry  to  impose.  it’s  just  that  this  place  is  so  beautiful  and ,  i  don’t  know  if  it’s  childish  to  say ,  but  butterflies  have  always  cheered  me  up. ”  the  sight  of  the  first  fireflies  of  the  evening  glowing  in  her  perepheral  view  caused  the  elder  to  still ,  her  eyes  going  wide.  “  wait  –  did  you  just  see  that ??  do  you  often  have  fireflies  around  here ,  too ?? ”   the  sight  of  them  had  her  shocked  and  still ,  enraptured  in  the  beauty  of  something  so  small  yet  so  enchanting. “ i  love  watching  the  fireflies  on  a  hot  summer’s  night.  it’s  the  closest  i’ll  ever  come  to  visiting  the  stars. ” the  poetics  of  that  sentence  surprised  noeul ,  who  furrowed  her  brows  at  what  she’d  just  uttered.  “  huh ,  who  knew  i  was  some  kind  of  poet ??  i  promise  i  won’t  slip  into  verse  from  here  on  out ,  and  if  you  want  me  to  leave ,  i’ll  do  so.  i’m  sorry  for  trespassing. ”

the summer season means holidays and tourists, and a million more visitors to the hutch than they usually get any other time of the year. which isn’t a bad thing, really, but... sometimes nabi decides not to hang the welcome sign on the door of the farm. a life hack for creating your own holiday during holiday season! the breather is nice, a slower pace for tending to her creatures with the occasional stray visitor—nabi’s hutch isn’t closed, after all, it’s just operating a little incognito, on the down low for today.

but speaking of incognito... the butterfly farmer giggles to see a shadow creeping around the creepers that the monarchs favour. she doesn’t know noeul all that well; she thinks, at least! it’s funny how they’ve grown up in the same tiny town, but their paths’ve never really crossed... right? “hiya,” she calls, “oh! no, you’re all good, we’re always open!” nabi gives her a thumbs up, tilting it off towards to the door. “i just didn’t hang up the sign today because i wanted to skive off! don’t tell my grandma, okay?”

the surprise in the older girl’s face makes her grin, exactly the reaction she loves to see whenever the hutch gets a first timer. the fireflies are just starting to stir with the rise of the moon, the flicker of their tails a soft glow against the dusky skies. “we get ‘em sometimes... when i leave the door open! here, come with me,” nabi invites, a little wave of her hand towards the patch in the conservatory that she knows the fireflies like the most, all high shrubs and tall blades of grass. she’s pretty sure her grandma planted those for that specific purpose, right against the side of the farm where the lightning bugs can get in. “i dunno about stars or poetry, but i think you’ll like this!”