Aspettami
Loosely based on ekmisao's simple yet endearing Days In Venice because I loved it so much and, with things I love, I just can't help but draw it. It's easy to write him as this ultra-smooth, superhuman, ultimate seme which is what fandom mostly does because that is all that canon shows. Reborn has always had a special spot in my fangirl heart for exactly the above reasons but now that I've seen his potential to be more than that by way of EK's writing... I think I now prefer an insecure Reborn so much more.
*****
He stopped behind a woman with cropped raven hair. She hid one of the symbols of her family: a long strand of hair in a stream through her back. She had tied it up and kept it in her felt cap.
“Scusi, signorina. I was just informed.” He tipped his fedora.
She turned to face him. Her eyes grew wide. She placed a hand over her gaping mouth. Then she took a deep breath, composed herself, and smiled warmly. She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around his waist, her head resting over his shoulder. “I’m so glad it’s you.”
*****
“Luce, if you please, Renato.”
“Why ‘Renato’, though?” he finally mustered enough nerve to ask.
“Because to me you are reborn,” she answered.
(Excerpts from Days In Venice)
*****
Being inconspicuous requires them to act the part of a lovey-dovey couple. She's only too happy to oblige as she takes him by the arm around to see the sites. He tries his best to play along while quelling the discomforts of a previous job. He's the Vongola's best man for anything, damnit, he would get through this job even if it's a haggard, caffeine-powered him against maybe a whole army of assassins.
At one point, they are under attack and, in an attempt to blend among the crowd, shop for new clothes. I'm not sure what I was trying to do with this, but it kind of looks like the tailor is recommending a light-coloured suit (hilarious if white) to Reborn, complimenting the way the fabric drapes over his gun holster, and Reborn is just like "Sorry, old man, not fit for my line of work."
In the story, they don't ride on a gondola! Reborn mentions why they shouldn't, too. Big deviation, this, but you can't possibly draw something that is set in Venice and not include a waterway and a gondola lol. He comes out of the shop wearing a vest and tinted glasses. Gotta love a fashionable paranoid hitman.
They weave in and out of shops and cafes and navigate alleyways in order to reach their rendezvous spot while trying to shake off pursuers. This scene is one of my favourite for giving an imagery of the city's pretzel of an interconnecting nature and teeny-tiny, huddled together buildings.
Reborn's boss in this period of time is Daniela, the Vongola Eighth. He successfully gets Luce safely to her meeting with Daniela and a non-allied family representative. All is well and happy ending? Ah, but I won't spoil.
*****
- In the story, a kind of haggard, fresh-out-of-a-job Reborn meets Luce at a train station. It's not mentioned where exactly do they set off on their trip to Venice so I decided on a train station in Taormina, Sicily. Credit for the background reference goes to Ms. Janette La Robina's photography.
- I enjoyed dressing Luce in 50's fashion. She also made me embark on a hunt for cloche hats as well as consider a bob. Too bad I didn't get to show her long ponytail seeing how I had smartly avoided drawing Reborn's bandaged torso by skipping the hotel scenes. Knowing my habit of revisiting and amending old works, there's a good chance that I'd add 1-2 more to this set, but that time won't be soon XD - Thanks to this mini project, I got to know more about Neapolitan canzone, more specifically, Renato Carosone and Roberto Murolo's music. This genre now has its own playlist on my iTunes, though occasionally a foreign number such as Pink Martini's Aspettami or Spanish serenades would sneak in just because they sounded fitting XD
- Reborn, as he is addressed by any Italian character, is now "Renato" in my headcanon.
- This post has been cross-posted to Tumblr.
*****
He stopped behind a woman with cropped raven hair. She hid one of the symbols of her family: a long strand of hair in a stream through her back. She had tied it up and kept it in her felt cap.
“Scusi, signorina. I was just informed.” He tipped his fedora.
She turned to face him. Her eyes grew wide. She placed a hand over her gaping mouth. Then she took a deep breath, composed herself, and smiled warmly. She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around his waist, her head resting over his shoulder. “I’m so glad it’s you.”
*****
“Luce, if you please, Renato.”
“Why ‘Renato’, though?” he finally mustered enough nerve to ask.
“Because to me you are reborn,” she answered.
(Excerpts from Days In Venice)
*****
Being inconspicuous requires them to act the part of a lovey-dovey couple. She's only too happy to oblige as she takes him by the arm around to see the sites. He tries his best to play along while quelling the discomforts of a previous job. He's the Vongola's best man for anything, damnit, he would get through this job even if it's a haggard, caffeine-powered him against maybe a whole army of assassins.
At one point, they are under attack and, in an attempt to blend among the crowd, shop for new clothes. I'm not sure what I was trying to do with this, but it kind of looks like the tailor is recommending a light-coloured suit (hilarious if white) to Reborn, complimenting the way the fabric drapes over his gun holster, and Reborn is just like "Sorry, old man, not fit for my line of work."
In the story, they don't ride on a gondola! Reborn mentions why they shouldn't, too. Big deviation, this, but you can't possibly draw something that is set in Venice and not include a waterway and a gondola lol. He comes out of the shop wearing a vest and tinted glasses. Gotta love a fashionable paranoid hitman.
They weave in and out of shops and cafes and navigate alleyways in order to reach their rendezvous spot while trying to shake off pursuers. This scene is one of my favourite for giving an imagery of the city's pretzel of an interconnecting nature and teeny-tiny, huddled together buildings.
Reborn's boss in this period of time is Daniela, the Vongola Eighth. He successfully gets Luce safely to her meeting with Daniela and a non-allied family representative. All is well and happy ending? Ah, but I won't spoil.
*****
- In the story, a kind of haggard, fresh-out-of-a-job Reborn meets Luce at a train station. It's not mentioned where exactly do they set off on their trip to Venice so I decided on a train station in Taormina, Sicily. Credit for the background reference goes to Ms. Janette La Robina's photography.
- I enjoyed dressing Luce in 50's fashion. She also made me embark on a hunt for cloche hats as well as consider a bob. Too bad I didn't get to show her long ponytail seeing how I had smartly avoided drawing Reborn's bandaged torso by skipping the hotel scenes. Knowing my habit of revisiting and amending old works, there's a good chance that I'd add 1-2 more to this set, but that time won't be soon XD - Thanks to this mini project, I got to know more about Neapolitan canzone, more specifically, Renato Carosone and Roberto Murolo's music. This genre now has its own playlist on my iTunes, though occasionally a foreign number such as Pink Martini's Aspettami or Spanish serenades would sneak in just because they sounded fitting XD
- Reborn, as he is addressed by any Italian character, is now "Renato" in my headcanon.
- This post has been cross-posted to Tumblr.