animatic thoughts: never look away
so one day at work i had nothing to do so i was listening to music, and when never look away by vienna teng came on i was struck with a divine vision for a xv animatic.
i don't really draw and thus can't really animate, and idk if we have the clips in-canon to make a heavily-edited amv for it, so all i can do to archive it is to just describe it here, with a table.
here's a link to the song, just in case you needed to get its Vibe™.
originally scribbled 7 september 2023.
| lyrics | storyboard |
|---|---|
| Detect my sudden existence on your sonar You feel the echo |
start from venti's pov, moments leading into the dihua flute moment: the echoes of xiao's agonies |
| Electrify the resistance in your broken heart And burn it up, oh |
venti's decision to start playing? the power he has to save xiao on full display |
| We’re gonna photosynthesize and drink up the sunrise | leads into moment where xiao has recovered enough to stand n see it was venti who saved him |
| So do they ever shut up because you said so or Do you overthink ’em all |
obvs xiao's pov n reference to his karmic debts, which at this moment are spiralling out of control |
| Somebody ought to corrupt you on the dance floor | reference to the fact that xiao is technically dancing n a corruption of his dream in the sea of flowers |
| And take you home Show you all your daemons and desires and dark sides All of your colonies and continental divides |
and then — he's fine: venti has saved him. his dream is to dance again to the sound of that flute; he is the only thing holding himself back. |
| Let me uncover the silver in your dark hair The weight of your bones |
in a sense, this part would be venti trying to convince xiao to follow his dreams, and the burdens of thousands of years of pining that come with that. |
| I want to witness the beauty of your repair The shape you’ve grown |
smth-smth intimacy of being touched n held n suddenly realizing you are a real, living thing, with a beating heart and beating lungs. |
| For you are made of nebulas and novas and night sky You’re made of memories you bury or live by |
the choice, the deliberate choice to live and the beauty of that choice, despite the grief of being alive. |
| So if you’re out there in the cold I’ll cover you in moonlight |
this first chorus → venti's pov? most easily argued as venti → xiao hurt/comfort |
| If you’re a stranger to your soul I’ll bring you to your birthright |
could still be a bit of xiao → venti h/c, though, esp if you read these lines as being abt venti identity issues, and how xiao's grounded view of him helps to dispel that |
| I want the storm inside you awoken now I want your warm bright eyes To never look away Don’t you ever look away |
|
| Some nights we open up the flood And some nights we are lost And some nights we’re choking on the words But some we light on fire |
the difficulties of trust n confiding in one another, but the determination to do so anyway, and then falling in love as a result of it. |
| If you’re out there in the cold… | xiao's pov as his dream of dancing in the sea of flowers is realized at last |
| I want your warm bright eyes To come back to me |
|
| And hold on to me You know I won’t lie I will never look away (×3) |
they kiss at the end w/"i will never look away": the promise from both of them to never look away from one another's shortcomings n choosing to love one another anyway |