dahliaferrante

[dahliaferrante]

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ABOUT

Full Name: Dahlia Chiara Ferrante

Nickname: Dee

Age/DOB: February 18, 1991 (33)

Zodiac Sign: Pisces

Gender: Cis Female

Place of Birth: San Diego, CA

Neighborhood: Lakeside

Sexual/Romantic Orientations: Bisexual / Biromantic

Religion: Agnostic

Occupation: Voice Over Actor (Audiobooks & Videogames), Part Time Volunteer Paramedic

PERSONALITY

Goals/Desires: To get back on a surf board before her 40th birthday, have an actual healthy romantic relationship (she wants a love like the movies tbh), learn to crochet, turn her house into the home of her dreams (including the library of her dreams)

Fears: Sharks (obviously), getting back on a surfboard, tsunamis (she’s never seen one but the idea of them freak her out), snakes (she hates the way they slither), clowns

Hobbies: Pilates, boxing, those paint by number paintings (she was influenced, okay?), trying/learning to fix up/renovate her house, taking long bubble baths, swimming, paddleboarding

Likes & Dislikes: the sound of the ocean, jean shorts, onion straws, the smell a bonfire leaves on your clothes, books in any and all forms, when a cat curls up in your lap, the crackling of a real wood fireplace, how smooth those alcohol markers are, any form of fried cheese // nail polish, the smell of gasoline, brussel spouts (they don't taste any better with bacon you can not convince her), most sci-fi movies (she especially doesn't understand the appeal of star wars), running late, having to take christmas decorations down, being told what to do without an explanation

TLDR;

Born and raised in San Diego, California, Dahlia was adopted into the Ferrante family at birth. A family friend taught her and her "twin" brother to surf when they were six and she fell in love with the sport instantly. She became a pro at 13 and her career ended when she was 15 and was attacked by a shark during a competition in Australia. Unable to be so close to the ocean anymore, Dahlia begged her family to move, to which they obliged and moved to Woodside, Michigan- where her father was from. There, she began working for her uncle's pizzeria (Antonio's) and joined the swim team once she was fully healed. While Helping her parents unpack their office she found out that her birth mother had died from an overdose a week after she was born and her parents had known her entire life but had lied to her in order to protect her. They had a falling out and she moved in with her aunt and uncle for a couple of months before making up. At 18 she met her first love, Bear Ludlow, and their relationship burned fast and bright, and ended after a couple of years. Heartbroken, Dahlia focused on her job at Antonio's- which is where she met Sasha Grimm. They two became fast friends, and while they dated for a bit after she left Antonio's, they still remain close to this day. It was through their friendship she found her love for narrating books and led her to her current career, which she loves.

BIOGRAPHY

trigger warnings: addiction, death, adoption, shark attack/injury

Born and raised in San Diego, California

Was adopted at birth by the Ferrante family, along with her “twin” brother (his mom died in childbirth and the hospital couldn’t find any family to take him so her parents ended up leaving the hospital with two babies instead of the one they planned)

They lived really close to the beach and it was obvious from the first time she set touched the ocean that she would love it

She started surfing when she was six (a family friend taught her and her brother) and while finding out she was a natural, she instantly fell in love

Finding herself out on her board any time she could (sometimes even sneaking out of the house to night surf as she got older), Dahlia’s skills quickly grew

By the time she was 13 she was juggling school and a professional surfing career, with a bit of modeling (mostly for her sponsorships) sprinkled in

It was a bit overwhelming at times, and she was more focused on her ‘job’ than her schoolwork, which was frustrating for her parents and teachers, but Dahlia knew what she wanted and what she loved and she never apologized for it (or let her grades slip past the point of no return)

She lived a dream life up until she was 15, traveling the world for surfing competitions, garnering respect and fame in the surfing world, and then it was all taken away from her in a flash

It was the summer between her freshman and sophomore years in high school and Dahlia and her mom were in Australia for a surfing competition and little girl’s trip

The day hadn’t started off all that well, with Dahlia getting stung by a bluebottle jellyfish on her arm, but she’d powered through- she’d been stung by jellyfish numerous times and she wasn’t going to let it psych her out for the competition 

In hindsight, however, the sting could have been viewed as the ocean’s way of warning her off of surfing that day because mid competition, as Dahlia was waiting her turn to catch a wave, she was attacked by a shark

Luckily, Dahlia was young and strong, and was able to fight the shark off and escape (with the help of lifeguards and other surfers) with all of her limbs- but she ended up spending a week in the hospital as they tended to her wounds and broken leg

This traumatic experience was the end of Dahlia’s surfing career

She struggled when she got home. The ocean, once a place that brought her calm and a feeling of belonging, now made her feel uncomfortable and out of place, and it was too much

After months of watching her mope around through her healing process, becoming a version of herself her family had never seen, the Ferrantes decided to give their daughter the change of scenery she’d begun asking for and moved the entire family to her father’s hometown of Woodside, MI

Surprisingly, the move wasn’t super difficult for the family of four and while Dahlia was still healing during the nearly cross country move, they all settled into Woodside relatively easily

However, amidst all of the unpacking and acclimating, Dahlia stumbled upon a secret her parents had been keeping from her for her entire life

With her parents’ office being the final room in the house needing to be unpacked, one day after school Dahlia decided to go through a few boxes to help, and in an unassuming manila folder found a packet of information that would turn her world upside down

Her parents had told her she was adopted when she was old enough to understand what that meant, but as she’d gotten older and started asking questions about her birth parents, she’d always been told that it was a closed adoption and they knew nothing about them

Dahlia had accepted that, because she and her parents were close, they’d never lied to her so she never had a reason to doubt them- until now

In the folder was information about her birth mother, a young woman named Marisol Velasquez Rojas, who’d died from an accidental drug overdose only a week after she’d had Dahlia. She’d been an addict who wanted to give her child up so she’d have the opportunity for a live Mari knew she could never give her and had chosen her parents herself

This revelation caused a rift between Dahlia and her parents. She’d never felt so betrayed before. She’d lost her first love- surfing- but at least she’d had her family. And now? It felt like she’d lost everything

Being unable to stay in the house with two people who had lied to her face for her entire life (despite their pleas for her to understand they were just trying to protect her), Dahlia ended up staying with her aunt and uncle for a couple of months

Eventually, however, the teenager made up with her parents and moved back home and life continued- she just had a little cloud of guilt that seemed to follow her around now

Once she was completely healed from her attack and acclimated to her new home, Dahlia began working at her uncle’s pizzeria and joined the high school’s swim team

Upon graduation, Dahlia had planned to go to college, she really had- but the problem was she wasn’t sure what she wanted to do, so instead of applying to schools like her brother she stayed home, started working at Antonio’s full time, and took a class or two at the community college

She was only 18 when the next big chapter of her life began- love

Dahlia was out with her friends at a bar on the outskirts of town for her 18th birthday (they didn’t much care if your ID was fake as long as you had one) when she met him

He was older, handsome, perfect and Dahlia fell hard and fast

The relationship, however, wasn’t easy. Her new love was in the throes of active addiction and while it kept things interesting and fun at times, the unknown begun to wear at her

She wouldn’t give up on him, though, she loved him too much and she was certain she could help him through it all- so when he started to get clean and turn his life around she was so proud. She was ready to spend the rest of her life with him but the relationship ended as abruptly as it began and left a young Dahlia heartbroken

But as she’d learned, life goes on, and while Dahlia had figured out that college wasn’t in the cards for her, she still didn’t know what she wanted to do with her life, so she kept working at Antonio’s and lived a ‘townie’ life

Her next chapter began when Sasha Grimm started working at the pizzeria– their friendship was instantaneous and he made coming to work less mundane for Dahlia and their friendship was how she found what she wanted to do with her life

They both loved reading, loved getting immersed in the worlds inside books,  and they found a good rhythm- finding a comfy spot somewhere and she’d read aloud to them

She loved it, the voices she got to explore and the new way she was able to immerse herself into a novel, and she started to look into it as a profession

Getting her foot in the door wasn’t easy, and it took Dahlia a couple of years to get her foot in the door and get enough work to finally be able to quit Antonio’s and focus all of her attention on her budding career

After she left Antonio’s her life really seemed to pick up steam- she and Sasha took their friendship to a new level, and while they never labeled it, they’d crossed a line that at the time there was really no coming back from

At the same time, she found another interest. She’d spent so much time in her life, even now, trying to save other people to no avail. But when she’d signed up for paramedic classes on a whim? There she could make a difference, there she could help people who wanted to be saved. It was an unfamiliar but all too welcomed rush and once the classes were over she began her journey as a volunteer paramedic a few days a week

With her newfound purpose in life, it seemed like she had everything, but addiction once again caused an issue in her love life. She’d known of Sasha’s struggled, but as she’d pulled herself out of her own mundane life she thought she’d be able to lift him up with her

But one night, after coming home to the aftermath of a party he’d thrown and finding her expensive recording equipment (that she was still paying off) destroyed, she’d reached her limit

Ending her relationship with Sasha hadn’t been easy, and while the pair ended up distancing themselves from one another for six months, they eventually found their way back- he was clean and sober and she had fully thrown herself into her newfound career and passion, and their friendship picked back up easier than she could have imagined

It’s been a year since then and right at the end of 2024, Dahlia was successful enough to be able to afford to move out of her Woodside Heights apartment and purchase her own home– a small bungalow in Lakeside. It was a bit of a fixer upper but she was able to create her own recording studio and finally decorate however she wanted without the threat of repercussions from a landlord. It feels like the beginning of the rest of her life, one she’s finally excited to live

WANTED CONNECTIONS

The Classics— Childhood friends (would be from San Diego or people she met while surfing!), friends she's made/had since moving to Woodside, frequent customers at Antonio's, first kiss, exes (she hasn't only dated addicts c'mon), friends with benefits, neighbors, family friends, maybe even someone helping her work on her house! (bc she literally has zero idea what she's doing lol), etc.

Literary Pals— Listeners/"fans" of hers! I don't think she sees herself as having fans, she calls everyone friends because she truly sees the people who listen to her recordings specifically as friends she hasn't met yet. But also fellow book lovers!

The Neighbor— So, up until sometime late last year, Dahlia lived in an apartment in Woodside Heights. This would be a neighbor who, when she accidentally set her apartment on fire (by falling asleep and leaving a candle unattended near an open window and some billowing curtains oops) and had to find a new place to stay for a few months while it got fixed up, allowed her to live with them. Maybe it was super tense the whole time? Maybe there was some other kind of tension if you know what I mean. Maybe it was just super chill and they became good friends? Let's chat!

Savior— This will probably be a posted wanted connection at some point, but in my head, when she got attacked there was another surfer out in the water who not only helped her fight off the shark but used the leash on her surf board as a tourniquet, which definitely played a huge part in her being alive today. They kept in touch for a while before their lives drifted apart and outside of texts for holidays and birthdays they don't really keep in touch now. Why they're in town now is totally open! I just think it'd be so sweet.

Family— I feel like the Ferrante's are a relatively big family. Dahlia's aunt and uncle have kids, so her cousins! And of course, her twin brother (who will also be a posted wc at some point I'm sure). I just love family dynamics so... please?

Physical Activity Buds— Dahlia's recently picked up boxing as a workout, so I'd love a boxing instructor or someone who works out at the same boxing gym as her! She's also really into pilates and paddleboarding, so friends she can do those things with. And running buddies!

[dahliaferrante]

rennotni: The days that break you are the days that make you. ⚡️

[dahliaferrante]

NEW GIRL ( 2011 - 2018 ) ↳ season 1 episode 23

[dahliaferrante]

“You deserve the love you keep trying to give everyone else.”

— Unknown

[dahliaferrante]

ig: klaudiilalala

[dahliaferrante]

“Find what you love. Do what you love. Challenge yourself. Take fear in one hand and courage in the other and walk on.”

— Unknown  (via quotemadness)

[dahliaferrante]

Credits: ©Cheekeyfire