[ptarmigan]

username -- ptarmigan
buttermilk w/ link -- buona
day -- 2
choice -- left
prompt (200 words min.) --
left. that was the obvious choice. no way was buona trudging through other people's trash - it was unsanitary. but she did consider cleaning it up, if only for mother nature. the carelessness of people was frustrating but still, her fear of germs kept her away from the forward path. the dark heifer also refused to go with betsy, who would talk and talk and talk and never let buona get a moment's peace. buona liked being alone so off toward the path with corn stalks begging to be eaten she went, though she didn't munch on the perfect corn. buona was spoiled as a calf and didn't care for cow food, in fact, she was quite accustomed to human food and almost never ate hay or grain (despite it being the highest and best quality.) if she was to eat corn, she'd have to have it prepared the way her humans do it back home at snowdrift vale. buona could never eat raw corn! she made sure to leave all the corn untouched as she continued walking down the winding path, her tail swishing dropped stalks of corn. she could still hear betsy chattering away with other buttermilks and she realized she'd definitely made the right choice. betsy was extremely friendly and kind, so it wasn't as if buona disliked her, but the night cow preferred her independence and quiet. not to mention, would betsy really just lead people out of the maze?
[243 words]

[yeena]

username -- ceance

buttermilk w/ link -- Frisco
day -- Two
choice -- Straight
prompt -- Frisco noticed the woman down the other trail, talking to a group of people. Not wanting to be held back, he opted to go down the middle path this time. It took him a moment to decide, but he ultimately just didn't like the way that the corn loomed over the left path anymore and well, the middle path is all that was left. Trotting down the path slowly, he eventually started to notice plastic bottles that were scattered across the path. Curling his lip in disgust, he decided to pick up the bottles as he went, carefully holding them in his arm so that none of them would fall out.
While Frisco was a big guy, he was quite gentle at the heart. He was more like a jock than anything, loud and brash on the outside. He never knew how to really deal with internal trash like the outside, so he would keep himself guarded behind his terrible jokes and blunt approach to everything. It kept him from having to actually confront his emotions so he would simply do that as opposed to taking out the trash inside of himself, or picking up his dirty laundry. Frisco felt like he fumbled a lot, especially when it came to articulating himself properly, so this is the best approach to living in his own mind. [225W]

[♔Voltaire♔]

username -- ♔Voltaire♔
buttermilk w/ link -- Fiona
day -- 2
choice -- Left
prompt (200 words min.) --

Fiona breaks through the corn and finds herself at yet another crossroads. She sighs, peering down each path and opting to take the left path once more. "When nothing goes right, go left, I guess," she says to herself, strolling down the path and coming across some sweet smelling, fresh corn growing along the edges. She hums in delight, closing her eyes and thinking of her favorite food in the world: Cucumber Salad.

Cucumber Salad used to be the meal she hated most as a child, her distaste for vegetables common amongst other calves her age, but even at the sight of them Fiona would feel queasy. Her sister and her brother both cared for a vegetable garden they had decided to make next to the house, filling it with strawberries, tomatoes, and other crops they had picked up from the general store. Cucumbers were the worst to Fiona, the prickly vines and bright yellow flower buds annoying her to no end as she would try to avoid stepping on the wildly growing vines to get to the strawberries in the middle of the garden. Her siblings would always scold her for breaking the cucumber vines, even if Fiona couldn't help it, which only made the fiery heifer more hateful toward the green vegetable. Though, as she grew older and began traveling, she had tried a specific recipe at a restaurant and fell in love with the dish in specific. Though she hates cucumbers, as long as they are prepared the way they are in cucumber salad, she will eat them like no tomorrow! (264 words)

[Areater]

to try and clear up any confusion -- you can pick any path you'd like each day, you don't have to stick to the same direction! it's just like your buttermilk has reached a crossroads <3

[acadicus]

username -- acadicus
buttermilk w/ link -- Lennon & Disney
day -- 2
choice -- left
prompt (200 words min.) --

Disney's favorite food by far is pasta. It's a very versatile food and can be used in many dishes for whatever mood you're in. From linguine to mac-and-cheese, Disney has enjoyed all pasta dishes she's tried. She's especially fond of it because it is easy to make. Not being the most skilled cow in cooking terms, tasty food that you can throw into some boiling water in a pinch is a blessing. She was introduced to the food when she was just a calf. Her father brought her some on her birthday and to this day she remembers him with every pasta dish she makes. Disney still doesn't know how to make pasta from scratch but would absolutely love to learn sometime. All the better to experiment with, right?

Lennon's favorite food is frozen waffles. It's convenient for that hustling life, which is exactly what Lennon strives to have. Technically, she enjoys waffles in general, but frozen waffles specifically are quick and easy to make when free time is rare. Both thawed and toasted waffles are very acceptable for any meal of the day. Due to this, Lennon does have some issues making meals for friends, as many cows don't share her profound appreciation for frozen waffles. (207)

[paopu]

username -- paopu
buttermilk w/ link -- galão
day -- 2
choice -- straight
prompt (200 words min.) --

Gal had intended to let the dice decide her fate. There was something very freeing about leaving the choice up to chance. She didn't have to think too hard and her anxiety could rest, knowing it was, in a sense, out of her hooves. That had been the loosely formed plan here and she really had intended to follow it. The dice had said left and she had turned to submit to their will except then she saw the trash. It was just strewn about to and fro in a distinct pattern that made her wonder if someone had let a rather tempermental goose loose in here. Or perhaps something scarier than that.

Regardless she couldn't in good conscious just leave it there. Just because this theoretical creature had been rude enough to leave a mess didn't mean she was going to be the same. She gave the dice a mournful look and scooped them up carefully with a soft apology and a promise to let them decide her fate at the next turn. Then, without missing another beat, turned to start gathering up trash. Grumbling under her breath about a lack of consideration, she started a careful pile, adding to it slowly as she followed the trash of filth through the maze.

212 words

[Andromeda]

username -- Bluebird-
buttermilk w/ link -- Belladonna
day -- 2
choice -- Left
prompt (200 words min.) -- Belladonna had lowered her head, ducking under the low hanging and overgrown stalks of corn. She kicked at dried ears of corn that had fallen to the ground as she lumbered on, finally hearing a rustle in the stalks up ahead. The heifer pushed through the overgrowth and spotted a cow's hide running to and intersection and sharply turning right, their hoof sounds fading as they grew further. Bella used her short horns to push the rest of the thick stalks aside, her weight shaking the earth around her as she raced towards the intersection. Skidding to a stop she peered to the left, bright yellow ears of corn poked through the stringy leaves causing her mouth to water. The path straight ahead of her had trash littered about it to which she wrinkled her nose and turned to look to the right. A cow's switch disappeared around a bend and Bella's eyes widened. Maybe that girl knew the way out and she was trying to beat everyone! She ran down the dirt path and around the bend, nearly butting heads with the other heifer. "Betsy!" Bella called out, finally recognizing the owner of the corn field.

"Well howdy!" Betsy mooed with a big grin. "Hey you got any cool stories?!" she asked, leaning in towards Bella. Certainly not what the violet eyed cow had been expecting! "Um.. I guess?" she replied with uncertainty. "Once upon a time, I wanted to get out of this corn maze." A sly smirk crept onto Bella's face as she lifted her nose at Betsy. The other heifer cocked her head, that friendly and overwhelming greeting ebbing away.

"Fascinating..." she responded, "Good luck..I guess?" With a last uneasy smile, Betsy turned tail and disappeared into the corn. Bella rolled her eyes and trotted along the path, awaiting the next 'difficult' decision. (307)

[Ravendarus]

username -- Ravendarus
buttermilk w/ link -- Marshmellow
day -- 2
choice -- Straight
prompt (200 words min.) -- Marshmellow kept as close as she could until of course that was to say, before her eyes widened in surprised. Betsy turned and went right asking others some questions. She was about follow but she noticed that right ahead of her was a pile of litter! Her whole heart broke seeing it scattered around so of course she had to stop and help clean it up. Marshmellow did not like litter as it could really harm any wild animals that may have stumbled upon it or perhaps even was trying eat it! Her heart skipped at the very thought of the little animals suffering, she shook her head frantically. She was always one to overthink absolutely everything but she was not going to leave them here. She walked over softly going down this path and softly picking up trash here and there as she went along. Before she knew it Betsy and the others were gone down the other path and others seemed to have stopped for a snack, she looked around to see if there was anything she could put away the garbage in and was grateful when another brought over a bag and helped clean up. She smiled softly and dropped off her bundle of litter before she looked for which way she should go next. (218)

[sprig]

username -- sprig
buttermilk w/ link -- harper
day -- 2
choice -- straight
prompt (200 words min.) --

When Harper came to a crossway in the corn maze, she stopped to examine her options. To the left, golden ears of corn ripe for the picking. She felt her stomach rumble. "Maybe I should--" but a rustling from the right startled her. "Oh, Betsy! I saw your tail, hey come back here!" Harper took off running towards the area where she saw Betsy, but as she was passing by the straight path she noticed something on the ground. She stopped, and her heart sank. "Who... Who just leaves all their trash around?" Harper mumbled, bending over to pick up the bits and pieces of trash lying on the ground. She made a neat little pile before beginning to put it all in her small satchel she had around her shoulder. After the pathway was clear of debris, she looked back to her right to see if Betsy was still there. "Well, I guess I'll just keep going straight."

Harper is a problem solver by nature, despite being very cautious and skeptical. She often finds herself cleaning up after others, wether that be dishes left in the sink or emotional damage done to other people. It's almost as if she can't help but try to fix broken things, something in the back of her mind won't let her move on until she's done everything she can to ease the pressure from someone else. It does, however, come with its own difficulties. She very often finds herself unable to deal with her own issues and baggage, which puts a lot of strain on any relationships with friends she may try to procure. In the end though, all she really wants is to help.

[Desmond]

username -- Desmond
buttermilk w/ link -- Takara
day -- 2
choice -- Straight
prompt (200 words min.) --

Takara sighed at the blatant lack of responsibility. She didn't see the point of carrying something around if one wasn't going to take care of it in the end - for example, why carry a cup of soda when said cup is just going to end up on the ground and not in a trash can, where it belongs - and not left laying around like the refuse of some absolute animal of a child. Stalking forward with all of the righteous anger of a particularly grumpy hall monitor or librarian (though, in her mind, she likened herself to a vigilante), she started picking up the mess, taking a plastic bag off of the ground and filling it with the trash.

Somewhere along the way, she had heard or somehow stumbled upon the advice to be the change she desires in the world. She'd also been taught that change can come in the smallest, simplest packages, and can have extreme consequences - the butterfly and the tsunami. Taking care of someone's litter might not amount to much, but who knew, maybe picking it up wouldn't lure certain pests into the corn maze, and the crop and maze itself wouldn't be ruined. Or maybe it would keep it from getting accidentally eaten by some clueless little bird, and thus, she may have just saved a life.

Or, she could have just picked up some very gross trash from some very gross folks and that would just be the end of it. She'll go with the happier thought, thank you very much.