draconicScientist

I've long wanted to explore the sharks of the deep!

Yes, the goblin sharks have also developed their own culture, but unlike the euphotic sharks, they and other abyssal shark species have never left the aphotic zone. They have remained where the light never reaches, becoming guardians of the abyss. Thus, they became known as the Aphoteans.

The Aphoteans are just one of many aphotic sharks who have followed a unique adaptive path: they have developed arms, but never legs. Like the Halui, the Rayfolk, they became creatures of the eternal waters, a kind of “merfolk” of the abyssal shadows. It is believed that the reason they never emerged beyond the surface of the sea lies in the very nature of their bodies, shaped by the crushing pressure of the depths, they simply couldn't resist the absence of this invisible burden as they rose to shallower waters. Having never left the depths, the Aphoteans have also remained unchanged in one singular aspect: their gill count. While surface sharks have followed an evolutionary path that has reduced and refined their gill slits to just three, making them more efficient, the inhabitants of the abyss have remained as they were since ancient times.

For the euphotic sharks, the existence of the Aphoteans is an enigma. Almost nothing is known about their culture and civilization, except for scattered legends and ancient tales, records of ephemeral contacts over the centuries. Most knowledge about them comes from their artifacts and the ruins of their stranded citadels, pushed closer to the surface by earthquakes and submarine eruptions millennia ago.

If the modern technology of the Sharkfolk is still in its infancy for the Halui, who have never left the ocean, for the Aphoteans this kind of innovation is nothing more than a strange dream. Some believe that their civilization has remained stagnant in time, anchored in immutable traditions. But perhaps we are underestimating them.

Ancient libraries speak of long-forgotten mystical knowledge kept by the Aphoteans in the depths of the abyss. It is said that they hold secrets about the mysteries the origin of the ocean and Mangoroa, the Cosmic Shark, and that they play a key role in the infrastructure of the hidden society of the Fathom Ones, the benevolent titans who inhabit the depths of the "Ocean Dreams", a domain not yet known.

Even though sharks have triumphed as the true guardians of the ocean, the depths still whisper unfathomable secrets ~ 🌊✨

What if abilities changed the appearance of a Pokemon?

I swear the more I do these the less braincells I have. Have some vintage memes. I particularly enjoyed working on these! I'm planning on doing a little breakdown of the style using these as an example later on so stay tuned!

Other Ability Forms posts!

What if abilities changed the appearance of a Pokemon?

I feel like music references have come to stay. For now at least. I had fun drawing these chompers though!

Other Ability Forms posts!

#328 Trapinch

noivern art, testing out the color lasso tool!

it's really cool to use, it made some nice sharp angles but my shaky fingers really struggled on this one :')

Found this on facebook but reposting to SAVE A LIFE.

Or at least some of y’all’s GPAs.

also, use Unpaywall