[vanilla bean.]

here are the results for day 1!
day 2 is now open, and please check out the second post, as some rules have changed and are in red.

the number listed next to your name is the number of sunflower seeds you've earned <3

BiscuitTheDog -16
honeybunchesofoats - 20
.entity. - 4
roheil - 4
ptarmigan - 20
Areater - 20
♔Voltaire♔ - 14
ceance - 100
BadgerBuddies - 28
besieged - 14
acadicus - 12
Knickknacks - 20
Ravendarus - 22
Morghettio - 148
Winter Shores - 30
DarkestWerewolf - 44
Queen Vivane -2
certified - 22
paopu - 26
Bluebird - 8
Joke's On You - 12
Elliad. - 10
Desmond- 8
Black.Wings- 6
rescue2001- 8
Cactologist- 20
sprig- 32
Namida_☾- 10
Pufferheart - 16
Northstar - 38
surfingmars - 6
drift. - 6
EchoLeaf - 6
Micki. - 64
Yodel - 12
bluex - 18

[Desmond]

“I’d like to help harvest!”
Username: Desmond
Buttermilk: Takara

“I’d like to help harvest some more!”
Username: Desmond
Buttermilk: Takara
Word Count: 221
Prompt: Learning to stand on one's own hooves is a difficult enough task for young adults - but Takara took it head-on while still a youngling. She struggled fiercely to get the adults to take her seriously, to learn to understand situations and make good judgement calls in order to get solid ground to stand on between them. She would win the occasional debate - her logic in The Great Coin Debacle, where she determined that Willard and Eadgar were both right in stating completely different statistics in a multiple-round coin toss, was probably her proudest of note - but, of course, there were some where even she could not completely ground her point. The stress was enough to keep her up at night - walking through logic puzzles, challenging her brain to think critically like the adults, so that she might gain her voice in the herd and some independence - and there were times where she needed to be nudged into sleep and taking care of regular daily needs because she would get so bent out of shape.

Her mother - bless her - recognized the fire in her daughter, and mentioned none of her struggle to the rest of the herd as she made sure Takara took care of herself. After all, everyone gets to have Their Moments, right?

[Rescue2001]

“I’d like to help harvest!”
Username: rescue2001
Buttermilk: tangle

[♔Voltaire♔]

“I’d like to help harvest!”
Username:♔Voltaire♔
Buttermilk: Sakura


“I’d like to help harvest some more!”
Username: ♔Voltaire♔
Buttermilk: Sakura
Word Count: 515 words
Prompt:
Sakura's interests are very far and few, spending her days looking at the stars, checking her daily horoscopes, and tending to the multitude of plants growing around Firefly Valley Farms. Everyone can find her usually loafing around the greenhouse, soft music playing in the background as she waters her Easter lilies and wipes the sweat collecting in her brow. Those around her admire her patience and her consistence when it comes to caring for the plants around the farm, however some of the more hardy heifers that call the valley their home think otherwise.

Sakura has been watering the plants in the vegetable garden when two of the more rowdy heifers, Sully and Kalina, approached. The two were on their way to Aurelia Village, a small town a few miles from the where the farm had been built. The two of them had been walking past and began snickering when they saw Sakura tending to the tomato plants almost as if they were calves, causing them to shout a few teasing comments her direction. Sakura could feel her blood boil when they began messing with her about how she spends too much time around plants, and that she should get some real friends before she ends up lonely. She tried her best to ignore them, turning her back to them in order to hide her face, gritting her teeth and trying to ignore the playful jabs aimed at her. Sakura is usually a very a calm and collected individual, however, when others tease her or make fun of her for the hobbies she has, she sees red.

After one remark Sully had made, Sakura snapped, the comment the last string holding her back from blowing up. Her vision went black, stomping through her plants and lunging at the two heifers, who weren't suspecting their words to affect the feisty heifer as much as they had. Sakura advanced on them like a lioness after her prey, shaming them for their rudeness and remarking on their hobbies as well, hoping to cut them as deep as they did her, picking apart their likes and interests and commenting on how uninteresting and dumb they were. The two heifers looked at each other, shocked that they had gotten that much of a rise out of Sakura, and immediately held up their hands in submission, trying to talk the angry lady down from going on an even bigger rampage. Sakura stormed off after they apologized, throwing herself into he grass beside the garden and screaming into the soft and damp soil, attempting to release the rest of the anger from her system. As her adrenaline faded, she began to take deep and slow breaths, scanning over the damage she caused to her garden. Some of the cucumbers had been smashed under her hooves, and a few of her tomato cages had been tipped over, uprooting the plants from where they had stood proudly only a few minutes before. Sighing, Sakura hoisted herself up from the ground, taking another deep breath and beginning to clean up the mess she had made. (515 words)

[ptarmigan]

“i'd like to help harvest!”
username: ptarmigan
buttermilk: buona

“i’d like to help harvest some more!”
username: ptarmigan
buttermilk: buona
word count: 502
prompt: buona is no stranger to adversities. her life began in a brutal way as she was sickly and not going to last past a few days. her legs would not properly flex or extend and she couldn't walk. her mother rejected her and the farmers were unwilling to spend the money to heal her, so she was destined for the slaughterhouse the minute she came into the world. after being rescued, it was still not an easy path. months and months of surgeries and physical therapy wore her out time and time again. what other calves could do, jumping, bucking, running, buona could only dream of doing. even being bottle fed by her human was a struggle because buona's body was rejecting the replacement milk. as a calf without any means of being able to play or be free the way others could, she felt depressed and uneasy most of the time. she began staying awake at night and sleeping all day, simply to avoid having to socialize. she isolated herself and found no comfort for the months that she struggled after the 6 surgeries preformed to her front legs. walking with a permanent limp made her the source of snickers and stares, which did nothing to help with her isolation. beyond that, buona was the only cow at snowdrift vale. the rest of the farm population were her sheep "friends", who did not understand her or bond with her the way they did with their own flock. buona's only saving grace was her tiny human, who would often fall asleep outside curled up next to the night cow or close to her. the two were inseparable, and though buona never did bond with other calves, the human child brought her back to life and refused to give up on her. after buona was grown, she realized she would never go through anything more difficult than the first year and a half of her life. she was stronger and brighter because of everything she'd faced and now was (mostly) unbothered by any difficulties or inconveniences. she attempts to take everything as it is and not stress about the things she cannot change. instead, she looks forward to what she can do next. though some of her habits never changed (she is still antisocial, she walks with a permanent limp, is never awake during the day, and prefers to keep herself primarily isolated), her spirit definitely changed because of the difficulties she faced. she became calmer, more at peace, and less angry at the world for what happened to her. life happens, she would say. buona is almost never stressed out except when faced with her fears (town, large crowds, any place too busy) and finds herself most at peace surrounded by nature and not the busy, busy streets of town. she only goes into town for markets such as this one or festivals for holidays, finding herself to be a bit of a softie watching young calves run around and have fun.

[Winter Shores]

“I’d like to help harvest!”
Username: Winter Shores
Buttermilk: Antheia

“I’d like to help harvest some more!”
Username: Winter Shores
Buttermilk:Antheia
Word Count: 368
Prompt: Throughout Antheia’s whole life she had always faced mental and emotional adversity. Despite the bright smile that she showed everyone there was always something going on in her head. The gears in her head were always turning no matter what people said to her. It could have been the most positive thing ever and she still would have overthought every single word. Mentally she wasn't the most stable moo ever. She had a crazy side to her, not crazy crazy, but crazy enough. Growing up she was always the wild fun moo that scared others away. They did not want to go play in the woods with her, climb rocks, or jump off cliffs into cold water. She felt alone in the world. Soon enough when she reached the age of maturity she realized things. Not everyone is perfect, everyone has their flaws and their own unique talents. Just because there are obstacles in her path doesn't mean that she couldn't overcome them. She just had to find new ways to face these challenges. One of the ways was by going out and facing her fears, such as making new friends. She was always afraid of judgment from others but in reality the only opinion that matters was her and in the back of her mind she knew that. Her parents always taught her to be different because different was good. There were too many moos out in the world that were controlled by what others thought. They had to look, act, and dress a certain way to be accepted, but not her. She wanted to be different because it meant that she was unique. She understood that everyone faces something throughout their lives and they will always continue to no matter what. What really matted when facing things head on what a choice of action. Run or fight? She always chose to fight because she wanted to see the world be a better place. She wanted others to be accepted for who they were and what they did no matter what others thought. In her eyes she wanted everyone to be loved and treated correctly and maybe, just maybe she could be the moo to change that.

[acadicus]

“I’d like to help harvest!”
Username: acadicus
Buttermilk: Nessa

“I’d like to help harvest some more!”
Username: acadicus
Buttermilk: Nessa
Word Count:
Prompt:
Nessa's bumps in the road were not large problems like all other cows seem to have; rather, the feeling that her feelings were inadequate. Her deepest, most private thoughts can be found in her diary entries, blotched with some fresh soil and the occasional tear.

December 12
"Today was not a good day. I tried to open up about my feelings and in return got sympathetic remarks. However, their problems seemed so real, so big, so problematic - for lack of a better term. Who am I to feel this way when I feel bad simply because of a lost book? Or not getting as far I wanted to in life? Who am I to feel so bad when everyone else is struggling through so many hard things? I don't understand. Oh, of course I shrugged it off and didn't let them show. I don't want to put them under more stress than they already have."

December 13
"I suppose I understand. I'm just sensitive I guess. Is it normal to feel this way? Is everyone else this sensitive? Perhaps I should ask in some sort of relaxed way so they don't need to know how vulnerable I am."

December 15
"Why do I have to be so different from the rest, then? Why can't I be strong? Everyone else stands their ground while I break down over the smallest of things."

December 26
"Am I inadequate? Am I a burden upon their shoulders for feeling the way I do? It's best not to let it show. We can lock everyone out so they don't ever have to see how imperfect and weak I am."

For her, there's no way out. There's no relief. Just try to forget about it and keep it away from other cows. What would they do if they found out? Would they laugh? Mock her? Feel sorry for her that she didn't understand what true pain is? Nessa sometimes finds herself falling into a spiral of thoughts like this. She tries so hard to keep it in that sometimes it does more damage than good. Little pieces of what goes on in her brain sometimes slip out when she talks, but Nessa has made her reputation as a carefree and happy cow. For her, it's simply better to keep things hidden and pretend she feels okay when she really doesn't. There wasn't a monster in real life -- the monster was her own mind. (407)

[Areater]

“I’d like to help harvest!”
Username: Areater
Buttermilk: Pandora

“I’d like to help harvest some more!”
Username: Areater
Buttermilk: Pandora
Word Count: 156 words
Prompt: pandora would admit, she hasn't had a very rough life - living in a herd made it so that she was always supported, even though she was dead last in rank. however, that doesn't mean she had never faced any challenges - she has let herself be bullied by some of her herd mates before. pandora always does whatever others tell her our of meekness and fear, and once almost left the herd because the herd leader's son told her there was no need for such a soft heifer in the herd! despite him being just a calf, pandora was genuinely considering leaving before she confided in her friend, the original herd leader, and was convinced to stay. since then, shes sort of avoided reese, even though he's grown out of his overaggressive nature. she'd just rather avoid conflict than confront issues, even though confronting the issue would make her realize there's nothing to be worried about anymore.

[chanhee.]

“I’d like to help harvest!”
Username: besieged
Buttermilk: rey

[BadgerBuddies]

“I’d like to help harvest!”
Username: BadgerBuddies
Buttermilk: Breezy

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

“I’d like to help harvest some more!”
Username: BadgerBuddies
Buttermilk: Breezy
Word Count: 226
Prompt: Breezy can’t exactly put her hoof on a particular time in which she had faced adversity, as she is quite the pro at keeping herself centered. Often times, she is the one others turn to for advice when things aren’t going quite right. Although she’s a younger heifer, she has the wisdom of an old cow.

Breezy loves to be out and apart of nature as often as she can, even when she isn’t stressed. The splotched heifer also is big into yoga, and love to not only do yoga but also teach it. She loves to combine these two loves of hers and hike deep into the woods or out to the ocean or a calm lake to meditate or practice her yoga. She wishes other Buttermilks were able to be as mindful as her, able to disconnect from the world and just destress.

As silly as it sounds, Breezy also believes in eating healthy and a balanced diet to help keep you feeling your best self. Of course, and she keeps this on the down low, but she has been known for her cheat days, and she goes a bit crazy with the sweets and can over indulge. What she doesn’t realize is that treating yourself to tasty sweets and treats is just as an important part of self care as her healthy mindfulness!