Of course I believe in multiverse theory. It’s rather fun to think about sometimes. Like there could be a world where I was born in Gloomverse, or a world where I had the ambition to become Royalty, really so many interesting possibilities.
- Noctil
I’ve really been doing a deep dive into Noctil’s character lately, and he really only has two moods he’s comfortable in, which are cutthroat and happy-go-lucky, so I put some more thought into it and these images came to mind and have been causing me an art block till I actually freaking finished them. (Brownie points to anyone who recognizes the chain holding Royal!Noctil’s cape together)
Looking for a speedpaints? Check out my Insta! Nah I figured out how to get gifs so you’re in luck tumblr, they’re under the cut. Well tumblr said no, they'll be on my insta once I wake up tomorrow
Looking for more Noctil? well you can find a TON of him over at @frosted-clouds
Whoops this took longer than I wanted it to since I got distracted haha, but yeah I saw this prompt by @prompt-verse, thought about my stratoversian oc Noctil (who needed a revamp and has gotten one hooray) and how funny it would be with his magic, so here have a mini comicy thingy
No clue why but I’ve been on a bit of a Noctil kick and this image was stuck in my head so I had to get it out. Long story short, there’s a LOT more going on with this guy’s magic than meets the eye. This pic is a scene that absolutely COULD happen but highkey likely wont, mostly cause it would mean abandoning most everything he believes in, and despite being somewhat mistreated, it’s nowhere near that level without something BIG going down beforehand.
This is Noctil, my OC for @gloomverseweek Day 1!!!
He’s a bit of an outcast from Stratoversian society because despite keeping his hair as clouds all the time like every other Stratoversian, his cloud hair is only visible at just the right angle during sunrise or sunset, just like noctilucent clouds.
i was gonna be like "lol no context for this one" but uhhh actually i should say it's some mechfucking/monsterfucking and vague dub...con....?? maybe?? in case you're not here for that. also luca was marion's brother who got metaphysically slurped into the mech, don't even worry about it. there's actually a good chance this scene gets cut, but i had fun with it!
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Panels fold away, the mech’s face splitting with a wide, inhuman grin as tendrils spill out, winding together into a dripping mass that almost looks like—
Yeah, that’s a tongue. Marion laughs, not because it’s funny but because she really didn’t expect this from Noctil. Impressions of images sear into her mind, instructions or orders or inspiration drenched with her mech’s dripping love, thick enough to clog her mind and sticky up her thoughts.
It’s magnetic, the charge pulling her forward, upward, an anchor being reeled in. She climbs her mech, her heart thudding, its giant fingers stroking the curve of her back with incredible delicacy, yet still she's squished against the hull. Every touch could kill her, but she's not afraid of death. Her racing heart, her sweaty palms that slip from handholds even as she climbs—that fear is the same as ever: Noctil itself.
There's no sign of Luca inside that titanic mind, or at least not the part she's able to reach. All she finds is an absence, his sparkle having flickered out while she wasn’t looking. She pauses to catch her breath, kneeling on its shoulder, and folds over to shove her face against the plating, helpless grief pouring out of her in a scream. What was the point of everything, if she couldn't even save him? Noctil swallowed Luca whole, and here she is, driven by a desperate compulsion because her mech loves her so much and she loves it too, doesn't she? Even if she's scared of it, even if she hates it, even if she has to kill it—
you need me, Noctil says, all boiling pitch in her mind, and in this moment, she does. She kisses the panel and moves on, leaving Luca behind.
Noctil jerks its head and she stumbles, her knees hitting the black plating hard. Thick, dripping laughter crushes her mind and ripples beyond, Noctil’s isolation bay plunging suddenly into darkness as the power cuts. Marion blinks away the afterimage of the lit bay, and finds the glimmer of soft light illuminating Noctil like a galaxy. Swirling, living patterns of bioluminescent blue flicker across Noctil’s hull, flaring neon bright at the heart of the flow then dissolving into stars at the edges of each sweeping, curling tessellation. Stars sparkle around Marion's body where she sits against Noctil, vivid light rippling out from her hand as she strokes its hull.
She didn't know Noctil could be so beautiful. This part, she knows in the core of herself, is the Luca in this monster. How could he not bring the ocean with him, beyond death?
Noctil’s mouth splits beneath her in an alien smile, parting her knees. The tangle in her gut tightens and it’s all apprehension. She shouldn't be here with Noctil, wanting Noctil, after everything it's done to her. She hates this fucking thing. She loves it so much she feels her heart will burst. She holds tight to the horror of loving Noctil, lets the dread fill her until she wants to vomit. Noctil knows her intimately, knows disgust for her is the same as desire, and that this is an invitation.
Wet and shockingly soft, the tip of Noctil’s long tongue curls between her thighs and she gasps, gripping whatever she can find for stability as the mech moves in response to the sparks that burns through her skin.
look at you. Smug. It licks, slowly, between her legs, soaking her jumpsuit. More smug still as she grinds into the massive, powerful tongue, which is bizarre and slick and damn, she wants as much of that thing as she can get. Tendrils curl from its mouth and stroke across her hips, catching the tight fabric of her clothes and ripping it between her thighs, from her lower stomach to the base of her spine. Another big lick, and they both shiver. so wet for me, my little marion. you're so beautiful like this, sick with the realisation your traitor body wants me.
Noctil doesn't need to stop licking to talk, to play. Its wet tongue laps at her, messy and imprecise at that scale but Noctil’s enthusiasm makes up for a lot, or maybe too much. Marion's overwhelmed, thighs shaking, a bright heat filling whatever fucking analogous organs she's got filling her pelvis. It's not about the organs, it's about the heat, the light, the miniature nuclear reaction burning through her, triggered by Noctil's stupid, amazing tongue.
“Noctil.” Breathless, but her mech will always hear. Noctil's tongue shudders when she says its name aloud, and she trembles with it. “I think I'm a bad person.” Seems like as good a time as any to admit her fears, too overstimulated by being eaten out by her mech to think about anything except the dead emptiness inside her, held at the forefront of her mind.
you're perfect. Noctil’s voice spreads, cradling her mind as the tip of its tongue licks between her folds and slips inside her, then plunges deep. Pleasure explodes within, eclipsing the pain. Marion bursts into tears, her mind fracturing like a mirror as the fractal sensations bouncing between her and her mech intensify, her sobbed moan and Noctil’s deep hunger echoing through the connection. Her mech can feel everything she needs, so she knows it's intentional when Noctil doesn't touch her quite right, when it moves to frustrate her, sliding out to lick her thighs, her back, her covered chest, her face—and she parts her lips for it, disgusted, exasperated, rubbing herself against the thick meat of the lower tongue until Noctil laughs in her mind, merciless.
Stop fucking around, she says. Get back to fucking me.
you want me to what? That lazy, teasing tone.
Fuck me.
i didn't catch that.
Fuck you! Marion bites the tongue, the tendrils, and her mouth fills with something salty-sweet, then sour. Noctil wriggles down her throat and she chokes, gagging on the thick tongue and the sour taste. She’s glad Fract doesn’t taste like this.
She misses Fract suddenly and overwhelmingly, heart aching for those golden eyes. Noctil jerks her head back, reacting violently to her thoughts, anger dripping into her.
who is the person i can't see in your mind? a blank space through the connection. Marion thinks of Fract again, then panics at having immediately given her up. Noctil's tongue pushes deeper, hungrier, angrier, and she convulses for air. you're thinking of them now. don't hide things from me.
When she can't think for the lack of oxygen, Noctil withdraws from her mouth and she feels its tongue slide from her throat, and she gags again, coughing as she gulps down air. Spit and tendril juice drip from her lips.
“Consider this repayment for Luca,” she says, between panting breaths. Noctil expands in her skull, exerting pressure as, all at once, its tongue drives back into her, more aggressive—more possessive—than before. They both cry out, her wordless and Noctil with a smothering fury.
I DIDN'T KNOW. Desperate, furious, terrified. Noctil's outburst lets its emotions slip through the connection, too. WE DON'T KNOW WHO WE WERE BEFORE.
“But you chose me—” The tongue pulses, growing inside her as it licks deep, and her words evaporate.
yes, i chose you. i love you. it never mattered why. you were mine from the start. Tendrils wind around her legs to prevent her from slipping, or maybe running away. Noctil’s done with teasing. It plunges into her again and again, blue bioluminescence rippling out along its hull in pulsing beats from Marion’s body, as she clings to the tendrils holding her down and, finally, gives herself over to Noctil, drinking in her own self-disgust at the submission. If she felt hollow before, she doesn't anymore. Noctil's love, Noctil's tongue, Noctil's obsessive fury; at least one of those things is filling her.
my love. Everything Noctil is, in two words. Cracking her skull open and scooping out everything else. It’s like a heartbeat, the hot core of the tongue, the light in her gut, the twitch of her fingers against the sparkling blue. This is how Noctil breathes, inhaling her mind and exhaling its rotten love. Again.
my love.
The bioluminescence reminds her so of Luca, dead and finally gone. Patterns ripple like the fish he loved so much, and suddenly she’s crying again, bringing the ocean to whatever remains of him with her splashing tears. Fucked into submission by Noctil and failing to save Luca, Marion can’t bear to go home again. But Noctil will never judge her, never hate her, will always want her. As if to prove her right, tendrils tear her jumpsuit—and bra, fuck—open across her chest. Her freed breasts bounce with the pumping tongue, as Noctil’s mouth opens wider, its tongue pushing deeper, and she's so overcome she can't breathe. She feels Noctil admiring her body from the inside of her own mind and it makes puppets of her hands, grasping her breasts with such awed wonder, she can’t help but think of—
my love.
Riven—oh, he’s going to hate her for this, not that she'll ever see him again. Still, his face, broken by horrified betrayal, blooms in her mind and Noctil shivers with sick delight, tendrils constricting around her legs with a series of painful cracks. She screams.
my love.
Noctil would stop this if she wanted. It knows her mind and desires intimately. It doesn't stop; she doesn't want it to. Even now, even breaking under the immense weight of the mech's existence. She loves feeling like she doesn't have a choice, doesn't she? Loves the revulsion, the disgust, and the wriggling, licking, filling pleasure of the thing that killed her brother. The thing that is, partly, her brother and has her panting, begging for more, please—
my love!
Noctil draws her back. To the salt on her lips, the sweat in her hair, the slick liquid dripping down her thighs. To the fizzing heat between her legs, the pressure deep inside her that rises with every pulse of its monstrous tongue. To the tendrils drawing glistening trails across her body, finding the places that make her moan and squirm. To Noctil spreading her knees further still, relishing the burn of the stretch through her, taut as a drawn bow. To the feedback ringing in her ears, and the sounds she makes as heard by Noctil, bounced back to her mind, her voice softened effortlessly by its terrifying adoration. Noctil’s love is impossible, titanic, and staring directly at it is like blinding vertigo, obliterating the concept of up.
(Which is, funnily enough, how being fucked by it feels, too.)
Noctil was broken and hurt and she left it alone to rot. It waited for her. It knew she'd come back. She smiles at the mouth, tears dripping from her chin.
My love, she thinks, and Noctil’s intense, surprised joy at hearing those two words explodes through the connection, through its touch, and the pressure within her bursts into a shimmering rapture, all black and sparkling blue. Their tangled pleasures ripple back and forth, doubled over and over. The burning pitch pours from her mind and floods her body, and Noctil's tongue twitches inside her, and she doesn't even notice as she crushes the tendrils clenched in her fists, and she's barely aware as she cries out two new syllables, not intending a word, it's mindless cry of pleasure, but if it was a word—
Well, it sounds a little bit like Riven.
stay with me forever. The tongue slides heavily out of her and wraps her up, all wet with whatever it is the mechs use for lubrication. Tendrils stroke her face, her hair, her healing shins. Noctil doesn't seem to have noticed her confused, orgasmic near-slip, lost as it was in its own satisfaction.
“I'll never leave you again,” she says, and enough of her means it that Noctil doesn't doubt her for a second.
Safeguarding Your Music: Rights and Permissions in the Digital Age
In the digital age, safeguarding your music involves understanding and managing rights and permissions effectively.
Here are key considerations to protect your music in the digital landscape:
Understand Your Rights:
Copyright: Know the copyright status of your music. Understand that you have exclusive rights to reproduce, distribute, perform, and license your compositions and sound recordings.
Ownership: Clearly establish ownership of the rights, especially in collaborations. This is crucial for preventing disputes and ensuring proper licensing.
Licensing and permissions:
Licensing agreements: When licensing your music for use in films, TV, commercials, streaming, or other platforms, have clear licensing agreements in place. Specify the terms, duration, and compensation.
Sync licensing: If your music is used in visual media, negotiate sync licenses. This ensures you are compensated for the synchronization of your music with images.
Digital distribution:
Distribution agreements: If using digital distribution platforms, understand the terms of service. Ensure that you retain control over your rights and that the platform has the proper licenses to distribute your music.
Metadata accuracy: Provide accurate metadata to digital platforms. This includes information about songwriters, performers, copyright holders, and other relevant details.
Protection against piracy:
Digital rights management (DRM): Consider using DRM technologies to protect your music from unauthorized copying and distribution. DRM can restrict access to and usage of digital files.
Anti-piracy measures: Monitor online platforms for unauthorized use of your music. Take action against piracy through takedown notices and legal means.
Performing Rights Organizations (PROs):
Membership: Join a PRO to ensure that you receive performance royalties for public performances of your music. PROs collect and distribute royalties on behalf of songwriters and publishers.
Registration: Register your works with your PRO to facilitate royalty collection. Provide accurate setlists for live performances and ensure that your music is properly logged for radio and TV plays.
Seek advice:
Legal counsel: Consult with legal professionals specializing in entertainment law to understand your rights, draft contracts, and navigate licensing agreements.
Industry knowledge: Stay informed about changes in copyright laws, licensing practices, and industry trends. Attend workshops, webinars, and conferences to enhance your knowledge.
Contracts with collaborators:
Clear agreements: When collaborating with other musicians, producers, or songwriters, have clear agreements about ownership, royalties, and permissions. Define the scope of each party's rights and responsibilities.
Regular audits and reviews:
Royalty audits: Periodically audit your royalty statements to ensure accurate accounting. If discrepancies are found, take steps to rectify them.
Contract reviews: Review your contracts regularly, especially if you've signed them years ago. Ensure that they align with your current goals and industry standards.
Data security:
Secure storage: Protect your master recordings and other important files through secure storage and backup solutions.
Access control: Limit access to your music files and sensitive information to trusted individuals.
By being proactive in managing your rights, understanding licensing agreements, and staying informed about industry practices, you can safeguard your music in the digital age.
What makes it more challenging is the large volumes of metadata that need to be checked manually at regular intervals.
But have you ever wondered how musicians and songwriters get paid fairly for their work? Let's dive into the fascinating world of royalty distribution among PROs!
