• swc weekly challenges • july 2019 • > tap project to advance < --- ~ 1st week ~ - planet - || 542 words || swc 1st weekly challenge || Welcome to the planet of Skinkle - its name is inspired by the numerous sinkholes dotting much of its surface, therefore making a large portion of the planet unlivable due to sinkholes opening up everytime someone steps there. Skinkle is located many light years from Earth and the Milky Way - however, to unknown reasons, humans have ended up living there peacefully along with skunks, which seem to be the only animals that can dance along the sinkholes without getting caught in them - their sensitive tails twitch when they’re near a sinkhole, and they know to bound away. Three quarters of the planet is covered in deserts, sinkholes and skunks - luckily, the humans of Skinkle (called Skones) have learned to reduce the stench of skunks so that the planet only smells of dust. On the small livable quarter of the planet rests Rian, a lush rainforest. It’s located at the coldest point of the planet, and it can be found by following skunk prints, since Rian is the only source of water on the planet and therefore the skunks must come to drink there. Rian is surrounded by a tall, 80-foot high bamboo wall with ancient designs and myths drawn across it in a form of ancient - acceptable - graffiti. Inside Rian’s walls, it is a paradise of a saltwater lake. The Skones of Rian have engineered floating islands, and travel between each man-made island in canoes with their pet skunks. Both skunks and Skones have learnt to swim in Rian’s waters, making for a peaceful where you can see people and animals gliding past as you stand on your own island. It has a tropical feel as well, with a strong culture and palm trees dotting the edges of its islands. The skunks surprisingly don’t take away from the calm aura of the land - they somehow enhance it, adding a touch of playfulness and rebellion amongst the villagers, without getting out of hand. Skone families tend to have at least one skunk per person, and skunks are often Skone childrens’ closest companions. The weather in Rian is different than that of the rest of Skinkle - outside of Rian, it is constant heat and desert weather, never any clouds - never a break from the pink-orange sun that circles the island like a moon, called Spore. Inside of Rian, though, it is every bit a rainforest like the Amazon, while occasionally slipping into the temperatures of Hawaii. It is said, in legends whispered down between Skone families generation after generation, that the first Skones descended in flying silver ships from far off in the stars, from a place called the Malky Day - but nobody has been able to confirm this, or argue otherwise. The garments of the Skone peoples are all different, designed to express a person’s interests and inner beauty. The most interesting part of Skinkle, though, is a deep cavern found on the opposite end of the planet from Rian where gems and a gold-tinted form of pure water can be found (called Malk by the Skones), and it has always held an aura of mystery. Because of the planet’s sweltering heat, not many Skones have journeyed to the cavern, making it the subject of many horror stories told around campfires by Skone children. || YES ITS CRINGY || im sorry skunks were the first thing that popped into my head || i didnt even edit it --- ~ 2nd week ~ - character aesthetics - || all in project! || --- nov 2k19 1st week era story idk - forum post -->
