Character Inspiration: Jess Mariano (Gilmore Girls), Jamie Tartt (Ted Lasso), Kelly Severide (Chicago Fire), Alex Karev (Grey's Anatomy)
tldr;
– GIGI FERRARI is 36 years old and lives in Panther Valley, Reno. Due to an estranged father and neglectful mother, Gigi grew up by himself and leaned on friends when he grew up in Portofino, Italy but that wasn't enough to push him away from the parties and the drugs from a young age. At 16 moved to America where he met his father, who owned a pastry shop, where Gigi found his place in the world. He struggled with his addiction until seven years ago, his son Luciano was born. At this time, Giuseppe began laundering money for his dealer due to all the money he owed him and this is something that he does to this day despite being clean.
READ BELOW for fun facts, biography, possible connections.
random facts
has very silly, small tattoos all over his body and he can’t remember how he got half of them.
didn't finish school, but got his ged at twenty-one
loves to socialize, can talk for hours
drinks coffee at night, tea during the day
loves rock climbing and hiking
still has an accent since he moved to america at 16
loves to help people however he can
a hopeless romantic
definitely an emo kid when it was a thing and still loves to go to concerts
makes chocolate sculptures for everyone to see once a week
biography
TW: drug addiction, child neglect
For the first few years of his life, Giuseppe Ferrari never really wondered about his father or why he wasn’t around. Those first few years, he also didn’t wonder why his mother was never around either. As he grew older though, he began to realize how alone he was and other kids asked how he could do anything that he wanted, how he could stay over at other houses and never get into trouble. The answer was easy though, he was alone. Before, his mother would show up everyday, eventually she showed up every couple of days with a new boyfriend or a new job that she promised she would keep.
Parties at what had once been an almost abandoned home became a daily thing, with it, a child that had once found a home in school and homework, eventually became familiar with alcohol and drugs. To forget it all. To finally stop thinking about coming home and instead running around with his friends, crashing parties and shoplifting or any sort of thing that would make him feel more than the emptiness that he had always felt. His mother eventually found her way back home, but trying to rescue a young man that had never learned to respect her after years of neglect and ignoring his cries for help would never be easy. It wasn’t until he got arrested for stealing whiskey from a gas station that his mother decided to take matters into her own hands. In her words, she did what she should have done from the moment he was born; send him to America, to finally meet a man that didn’t even know he existed.
His father was a warm man, owned a small pastry shop on the outskirts of Reno and to his benefit he looked genuinely surprised when a bitter Giuseppe showed up on his doorstep with only a backpack and a letter from his mother, a one night stand that he’d had right before leaving Portofino and moved to America for college, sixteen years prior. Lorenzo never questioned if they were father and child, he did, however tell him that he would have two jobs now: school and everyday he would show up to the shop and spend the rest of the day there. Gigi hated it all and he tried to run away twice. English was impossible to learn, he struggled to communicate, he couldn’t make any friends, he hated school. Not to mention, the withdrawals were stronger than him and there was no way to get his drugs without knowing anyone, with no money. He did everything to push the man away, but instead his father only pulled him back in.
After a year of arguments and back and forth, and a failed school year, Lorenzo took him to the shop everyday during the summer. If he didn’t want to finish school that was fine, but he would work for him and he would earn his money, his food and whatever else he wanted. If you ask him now, Gigi cannot tell you when he realized that he enjoyed being in a kitchen. At first it was too sweaty, too hot, too dirty. At first, it was just a way for him to cover his vices, to make money. But one night, he stayed late all by himself and with loud music on, finished up a project with chocolate that would normally take them an entire day to get done. And not only that, but the way that his father looked at him and hugged him made something click in him.
Was this how being home felt like?
Despite finding his place in the world, Giuseppe struggled to understand that it was okay to grow up and to feel safe. His routine became erratic; get high, show up to work, go out with friends he eventually made, hooking up with people he barely knew, going home to sleep barely enough to wake up and do the same thing all over again. Again and again. A few years down the line, the small pantry shop turned into a famous chocolaterie in the Downtown Reno, visited by celebrities, by tourists that had seen their creations on social media, they became the go-to for events and parties. Gigi was at his highest but he was also tired all the time, he still struggled to find his place in the world and for a long time, he wondered if he ever would.
He did though. Seven years ago, a drunken night with a friend, turned into a little boy nine months later that brought not only joy to his life, but made it all make sense once and for all. He couldn’t think about only himself anymore, now he had a kid to look after. Though they were never really together, Gigi and his friend decided to co-parent Luciano from the moment they found out. That was the very same moment that Giuseppe decided he had to be clean. If not for him, for his child. He would give him everything that he never had and for that he knew what he had to do.
It’s been the best seven years of his life, but also the worst years of his life. They say having a kid changes you and he never believed it until he became a father. Because ever since then, his life has made a lot more sense. The only thing holding him down these days is the fact that he owed his dealer so much money when he became sober, that Gigi has been laundering money for him for years and has no idea when his debt will be paid. His life is a work in progress in many ways, but at least now he is a version of himself that he likes.
possible connections
best friends: honestly this man leans on friends a lot that's all he knew growing up, friendship is everything to him
clients @ cacao: very popular chocolaterie and pastry shop, perhaps they became friends after meeting there a few times
parent friends: has a 7 year old who he co-parents with his ex, but spends most of his time with gigi. luciano is chill, very much loves yapping though
ex-party friends, etc: people that saw him at his worst, could like him, could dislike him, perhaps they argued or something when he was deep into his addiction, we can get creative here
found family: someone or people that was important to him from day one when he moved to the country, big changes and all. this person would be fundamental to his staying in reno despite how hard it was at first, they'd be incredibly supportive of each other.
past flings/hook ups/exes: been here for about twenty years and led a wild life before his son was born, so anything is possible!
enemies: whatever comes to mind really, could be for a reason, could personalities don't match, etc.
Despite the red sign saying "closed", Esme tried her luck, pulling at the record store's door. How could they not be open on a Sunday? Technically, most stores were closed over the weekend, but for some unknown even to her reason she was sure this one would be open. "Dang it!" She cursed under her nose and placed her hands on her hips, giving the store one final look before turning away. "It's closed. Can you believe it?" She shared her complaint with the first passer by.
Gigi removed his earphones from his ears when he noticed she was talking to him, the box of random broken objects in his hands being set down on the ground. "Yeah, after what happened on Friday and Saturday...we should be grateful that they are still standing." His own business hadn't been so lucky, but Gigi was grateful not everyone suffered the same fate. "Who knows when they'll reopen with all those protests still going on."
closed starter: @gigiferrari
location: locked in at scorpion, post-blackout.
She only just started to sober up, opting against drinking for the rest of the night. It was the wisest decision to make after Bianca helped rescue her from her ordeal on the dancefloor. Gulping down several glasses of water with electrolyte powder, she instantly began to feel like herself again. Then, the blackout happened. The horrifying footage of Olivia was projected onto the walls of Scorpion, accompanied by a voice she didn't recognise. If this was her reaction, she couldn't even imagine how Maya must have felt. She'd seen her earlier, in passing, but didn't get a chance to speak with her. It was only when Peyton tried to leave that she realised the severity of the situation. "I'm a doctor, you have to let me out of this building!" The blonde argued, but to no avail. It was a lockdown. No one was getting in or out. "Fuck!" She cried, her emotions quickly running wild. "Gigi!" Her neighbour was busy making his way through the crowd when she spotted him. "They're not letting anybody out. I don't... I don't know what to do. What the fuck is going on?" She began to cry, all at once overwhelmed.
What a fucking, stupid, ridiculous night. It worked out perfectly that all of this was going on during Valentine's day; after all, Gigi had never been very lucky in the love department, let alone Valentine's Day celebrations. It was all made worse by the fact that he knew he couldn't drink that night, not when his emotions were all over the place. It would suit him right that despite the stunt she'd pulled earlier that night, here he was still looking for Bianca. Like the idiot that he was. Luckily for him, Peyton showed up out of thin air and stopped him from whatever his brain was trying to pull on him. "Pey. Pey. It is okay. I got you." He placed his hands on her shoulders, trying to get her to calm down despite the madness that surrounded them. "You had a lot to drink tonight, didn't you? We need to get you some water and then you'll help me find someone and we can get out of here. Unless...did you come here with someone? Can I help you find them?"
Dilan felt the sheer panic almost immediately, having been around too many tense situations to know that the voice, the atmosphere— it wouldn't lead to anything good. While people seemed to be frightened in place, she was already texting and moving. The rushed movements were directed towards the nearest exit until chaos ensued and she began to be knocked left and right by people who were searching for their loved ones or simply trying to leave. The man she walked into felt like a brick wall, stumbling back with a string of curses against her lips. "Gigi," she muttered simple. His name would have normally felt bitter but relief washed over her that he was okay. No matter their history, he did have a child. "Do you know where your kid is?" Clearly not here, but she knew he'd understand that she was asking if he'd reached whomever was watching them.
A familiar face was always welcomed, despite how messy their entire relationship and eventual breakup had been. Gigi didn't harbor any negative feelings towards Dilan at all, but he knew he was the one to mess up in this one relationship in particular. He couldn't hold it against her at all. Relief washed over him when she didn't immediately run away from him. "Are you okay?" He asked quickly and then nodded even faster. "Yeah, yeah. He's with my dad, normally he takes care of him when I'm out. Jesus Christ, it's madness in here. I can't find anyone. Are you here by yourself?"
GIGI: my shop currently has no front window or a door so i guess i've been better. you good?
GIGI: i feel like she's right though. u do look magical. more like in a witchy, cool way though. i think we're removing the cast soon, it's very itchy though according to him
Despite his attempts to rid himself of her physically, her hand remained firmly in contact with him in any form. Only freeing one to hold up her phone with a feigned look of confusion playing on her features. "Joking? So you're trying to say if i call the number right now that's been texting me all night your phone won't ring?" Dark brown eyes flickered between him and the woman in a calculating look to gauge how much longer it would take for her to fully react. And though Bianca was entirely aware she was throwing herself into a possible fire by standing between them, she hadn’t been able to stop herself. Similarly to how there was no stopping her from turning the bright iPhone screen towards the woman before she pressed the call button. This time, facing Gigi with a satisfactory smirk on her lips.
His date, a woman named Ariana, was staring daggers at Gigi, but more importantly, kept watching the space between Gigi and Bianca as if trying to make sense of things. "It's not like that." Was all he could answer as he tried to pull her away from his body once again. That was when his phone started ringing, going off loudly despite the loud environment that they were in. He saw the resolve on his date's face immediately, and in less than a second she was moving forward and shoving at Gigi's chest while walking right between him and Bianca, effectively pushing them away from each other. "You're a fucking asshole, Giuseppe!" He cringed at the words, but his eyes didn't move away from Bianca's and his hand immediately reached for hers, bringing her closer into a similar position to the one she had put them in just a few seconds ago, clearly annoyed. "What the fuck are you doing? I talk to you, it's a problem. I don't talk to you, it's an even bigger problem. Make up your mind."
Maya held a hand up and shook her head softy, "I think we were both guilty of that." She found herself continuing to stare at him, something about him was familiar, but she couldn't exactly figure out why. Have they met before? She guessed that was possible. "I'm sorry -- do I know you?" She asked, "You just look kind of familiar."
Gigi furrowed his eyebrows together at her words, shrugging. "Maybe? I own the chocolate shop in Downtown Reno? So perhaps that's where we've met." He was a people person and often times remembered his customers but there were so many as well, that he tried not to come off as completely clueless and avoided asking if they knew each other from somewhere. "You do look kind of familiar though."
Old habits were almost impossible to get rid of after years of learning them. He and Dilan had been done for years now, their relationship a roller coaster of emotions that to this day, Gigi was aware he had handled rather poorly. As soon as the message from the killer ended, he was looking everywhere for those he considered friends or family, really. He called his father to check on he and Luciano and then just began calling people as he walked around the crowd to try to see who needed a ride or who was missing. It was in the midst of it all that Gigi ran straight into Dilan, his phone falling off his hand with the impact. "Oh shit. You okay?" He looked up right on time to notice it was his ex and frowned even more. "Dilan, hey. Sorry. Fuck, I was talking on the phone and didn't see you."
Anisa smirked at his question, feeling some weird sense of pride that he didn't know who she was. Not that she expected him to. But considering her mother was one to make her presences such a big stink, it was refreshing to hear someone ask that. "The beast." She replied, before holding up her hand and shaking her head, laughing softy. "No, she's our mother." Anisa replied honestly, "And she's a fucking horror. So you're very welcome." She fell silent as he began to ramble, a perfectly manicured brow slowly rose as he expressed the true hardships of dealing with Bianca. If only he knew. "Oh, chocolate bar, you might actually be slightly over your head here." She thought out loud, "Too bad for you that just makes this even better." Shifting, she crossed her arms over her chest, "Nice men, Wonka. We don't know them." She stated, "Never have, and as far as we are concerned, never will." An unfortunate truth only enforced by their own mother as young girls. "Shes been through a lot. Shit, if I were her, I probably think you were a fucking weirdo to." She paused, then added, "No offense. But luckily for you, I'm not her. So I can see from the outside. And right now, you're going to pay for society until she feels otherwise. It's cruel world." Anisa rolled her eyes at the friend comment, "Yeah, that's another thing. Men rarely try to be our friends for the sake of it. But I know the making of hot sex when I see it and you two -- should really use one another for that." She gave pause once more, and then added, "Just don't get pregnant. I'm too young to be an aunt times 2."
"Oh, okay. Thank you?" A thick eyebrow was raised as Anisa began talking, his expression clearly confused. Gigi had noticed it a while ago, how much he and Bianca seemed to talk, but how little he knew about her. He'd had no idea that her sister making an appearance at his job. would lead to learning more about her than he ever had before. It felt almost weird to get this information from someone else, honestly. "So, you think I'm a nice man is what you're saying? You both think that?" Gigi didn't exactly consider himself that, not with everything that he had done in his past and everything he still did now just to save his own skin. Then again, no one else knew that about him, for the most part. He let out a sigh, a small smirk showing in his lips. "Well, no offense to you and your sister. I mean she is incredibly attractive, probably too attractive if we're being honest here. But our kids are obsessed with each other and I hate to say it, but sex would complicate things a lot. Besides, I really don't think she's into me like that. I've been forcing her to be my friend this whole time. I hate to break this news to you, but it's just not gonna happen." He admitted and was that, maybe, a bit of a sad, silly look in his eyes as he said it? Possibly. He was sure to ignore it though. "You rolled your eyes when I said friends, do you really think that's just not possible?"
“Now you know if I give you coffee, Dad might kill me.” Though, she did enjoy the idea of sending a hyper kid in the direction of the woman who was making her morning hell. No, she’d save that for another time. “Chocolate milk I can do. You can fight me in the parking lot for the cookie because if we’re celebrating an A, we’re doing it right.”
She let out a groan as she slipped a cookie and some pastries in a bag. “I have never regretted my career choice more than I did in the last ten minutes. I just had to be manager today. Of all days.”
"Kota, we've discussed this before...calling me dad is weird." Gigi joked lightly, letting out a soft laugh. It was easy, talking with her, they'd known each other for years and Luciano adored her anyway, so did Gigi after all this time. "No fighting, cookie is deserved. Can I get one of those miniature pecan pies that you guys have as well, please?" He looked around the establishment and grinned at her words. "I think you're doing a great job, though."
Maya looked around the ballroom, the white decor gave off a sense of peace -- pureness. It caused a conflicting feeling within her. One of calmness, but a swirling anger. Her sister was still missing, her other sister's murder was still out there, with next to no new leads, and the city continued on like it was just another weekend. It made her sick. She'd grab a champagne flute off the passing tray and without thought pressed it to her lips and took a sip. The second the bubbly liquid touched her tongue, warning flags signaled in her brain. Turning slightly to the side, she'd quickly spit the alcohol back in the glass, sitting it down on the nearest edge to get rid of it immediately. Turning, she'd start to walk, but would immediately crash into someone else. Pulling back, she'd gain her posture, holding up her hands in between her and the other person. "Could you watch where you're going?!" She snapped, but immediately withdrew back. Shaking her head, "Shit -- sorry, I--" She'd pause, then realizing that she couldn't even form proper words for everything right now. She'd look up at the other person, "You okay?"
Gigi's night had turned around quite quickly, out of nowhere. Some would say he sort of deserved it; at the moment he was a bit annoyed though, so much like the woman that he ran into, his first instinct was to cuss them out. Luckily for him, she took her words back, which made him take a breath and think before he said something very unlike him to say. "I'm alright. Sorry about that, was a little distracted." He admitted, his tone of voice clipped and less warm than usual. "I wasn't watching where I was going. You okay?"
The feeling of annoyance that rose inside her only grew each time she laid eyes on Gigi. Who, despite being accompanied by a date, hadn't stopped texting her all night. She could have silenced her phone and returned to the conversations she was having. Maybe Bianca should even have allowed him to just be and stop her narrowed gaze from shifting to him. But when had anything stopped her from adding kerosene to a fire before? Especially after a few more drinks. And so she approached, with a saccharine smile slowly growing on her lips.
"Gigi! Oh my god, it's so great to see you again." One arm draped across his shoulders, as she pressed herself closer in an embrace that wouldn't be pulled back from by more than a few inches. Without hesitation, her free hand brushed gently over his thigh, his forearm, and finally, raised to toy with his collar. "You know, I really thought we had such a good time last week. Even though you took me to a strip club for a first date. Who does that? All while talking about your nieces baptism and how cute our babies would look. And we planned to go to Italy to meet your nonno before he marries that young actress.. then you never call me back, but you keep texting me. I didn’t really get the last one, babe, see—'are you jealous because I'm on a date?’ What did you mean by—" The text did not read that, however, Bianca was betting his date was equally as annoyed now as she turned her attention to the woman across from him. "Oh, you must be the date. God help you.. it's vile how much he's been on his phone, isn't it?"
Oh, no. Oh, no. Giuseppe noted the look on her face as she got closer and he immediately, and without a doubt, knew that he was in so much trouble. There had never really been any touching between the two of them, so he tensed up as soon as her arm slipped around his shoulders and her hands went everywhere. Confusion was written all over his face at her actions, alone. But then she opened her mouth and Gigi completely froze. "Bian-" He tried to interrupt her, but she kept going and going and Gigi could feel the woman that he had brought as his date watch them with a more than annoyed look on her face. "Wow, so this is who you've been texting all night?" The woman spat out. Gigi was still processing what was going on and somehow was smart enough to begin untangling himself from Bianca as best as he could. "She's joking. Bianca, tell her you're joking." He replied quickly, his hands moving to her waist to try to pull her away from his body gently as he locked his eyes on hers, clearly annoyed.
Ronnie loved her job, but she always found the 'thanks' and admiration of it all a bit embarrassing, if she was being honest. It was cliche, but she always found herself replying with 'just doing my job'. She understood why people did it, and it was sweet, but it made her want to cringe up into her own butthole every time it happened. "Forgot the wings at home, sorry to disappoint." She responded, an unconscious but well timed tug at the hem of her dress accompanying it. She was uncomfortable, to say the least. She didn't know how Tori talked her into it. "The heels might make it a bit hard to do a fireman's carry, but I'm up to the challenge if you are."
"What?! No, but they're so pretty. How dare you leave them at home?" Gigi even pouted just to add to his dramatic response anytime that he saw the firefighter. Truly, he didn't know much about her outside of saving lives and being embarrassed after their first meeting so it was nice to see her in a different environment. "I feel like you would pull it off. You look very nice, too, so maybe the wings aren't needed after all." Gigi had a glass with soda in his hand, always one to avoid drinking these days so he offered her the champagne flute he had ordered for his date, planning to replace it before he found her again. "How's your night going?"
To be fair, Gigi had stayed clear of Bianca's path all night. Theirs was a friendship that very few understood, including Gigi himself, really. He hadn't even made an effort to say hello and introduce his date to her because he figured it would satisfy her not to have to deal with him. Apparently, he was wrong for thinking that. He'd felt her glaring at him several times throughout the evening, so he'd caved in and sent her a text. This had led to multiple other text exchanges, his date almost forgotten despite being right next to him. "You know, most people tell other people what they did to make them glare at them all night." His last text had yet to be answered, so the man looked up right on time to see Bianca walking towards him. And his date. Taking a deep breath at just the sight of her, Gigi did his best to hide the smile threatening to show up on his face.
Once his date excused herself to go to the ladies' room, Gigi turned his head to look back at Tori and leaned down to make sure no one else could hear him, clearly taking his next words entirely too seriously. "So, are we telling each other what pairing we told the bouncer to get in here or are we really supposed to keep it a secret? I'm too curious. You'll tell me, right?" He asked his friend, a wide grin on his face as he looked around them to make sure no one was trying to listen in their conversation.
"If it isn't my guardian angel herself." Gigi exclaimed with a wide smile taking over his face at the sight of Ronnie. Not a lot of things managed to embarrass Gigi Ferrari, but that one time that the fire department had showed up to Cacao and they'd found out one of his employees had lit a lighter right under the sprinkler system would go down in history as one of the most embarrassing moments in his life, and that was a lot to say for someone with his background. Something good that had came out of it though? Meeting Ronnie Throne. He offered her one of the champagne flutes in his hand, grinning. "No uniform today, but I'm hoping you'll still be my knight in shining armor if anything were to ever happen?"
