PRINCE, Gaige Octavius

[gaige octavius prince]

GAIGE OCTAVIUS PRINCE

FULL NAME: Gaige Octavius Prince.
NICKNAMES: Bibbidi, Bibs
AGE: Thirty.
GENDER: Male.
SEXUALITY: Straight.
STATUS: Single.
GROUP: Citizen.
GRADE: N/A.
MAJOR: N/A.
JOB OCCUPATION: Owner of Bibbidi Bootique.

HAIR: Brown, short at the sides and longer on the top. He styles it every morning with some product and his fingers, and it often looks windswept or deliberately played with.
EYES: Green.
SCARS/BIRTHMARKS: None.
TATTOOS: None.
PIERCINGS: None.
PLAY-BY: Jon Kortajarena!

LIKES: Custom designs, fashion magazines, pancakes, lime juice, fashion week, knitwear, accessories, coffee, September, hair putty, lounge bars, pin cushions, pizza, city breaks, helping out friends, post-it notes, decorating, Christmas, singing, pranking his sister, photographs, confidence, looking for doppelgangers, hangover binge eating, swimming.
DISLIKES: pine scent, hospitals, the dark side of the fashion industry, March, getting a cold, losing stationary, needing to shave, feeling tired, backlogs, saying ‘no’ to people, curry, being pranked by his sister, spiders, trying to follow sports, gory movies or shows, power cuts, eye strain, liars, people expecting things from him.
FEARS: spiders, recurring nightmares, vomiting.
SECRETS: When Gaige was a boy, up until the age of fourteen, he suffered with nightly recurring nightmares and night terrors. They came in bouts whenever there was a stressful time in his life. Doctors believed he picked up on everyone else’s stress and that was what triggered them. He was always being chased by a tall, dark figure, trapped in the darkness. It terrified him. Once in a blue moon he’ll still have that same nightmare, but it’s not nightly recurring like it was when he was a child; just whenever he’s pushed right to the edge and doesn’t deal well with it.
PERSONALITY: Gaige is definitely the helpful sort. He gets a kick from making people’s dreams come true at his shop, and even away from that just helping out friends in various ways makes him feel good. He’s smart though, and knows when someone is fishing for his help because of selfish reasons – that’s when he’ll say no and ultimately consider cutting them from his circle; he has no room for toxic people. A playful type, Gaige adores fun and plays plenty of pranks on his sister in a lifelong revenge plot between them. He’s confident and outgoing, and the type of loyal friend who can keep secrets and offer advice or a shoulder no matter the time of day. He is something of a caffeine addict though, especially when he’s working on something new and wonderful. A very energetic man with a big heart, Gaige is very committed to his creative trade, but he’s more low-key and modest about the miracles he can perform, which is why he never ventured into the world of high fashion. He’s affectionate and caring; the type who uses pet names for everyone. Gaige’s temper manifests in silent anger. He’ll be deathly quiet and probably throw himself into his latest design with aggression until he collapses, or he’ll so swimming until every inch of him hurts. He never shares his problems with people, but just works them out with exhaustion. For some, it’s surprising to discover that Gaige is straight. He thinks it’s a stereotype of being a fashion designer with his own boutique (sorry bootique), his friends say it’s because he’s so over the top at times and plays everyone’s fairy godmother. Nevertheless, Gaige is a sweetheart, and spoils anyone who he happens to be in a relationship with. He doesn’t have an interest in casual affairs of any kind; if he’s dating it’s because he wants to see where it goes and if there’s a serious future there. It can get scary fast for some people, but Gaige believes in happily ever afters; after all he’s helped make many of them happen.

MOTHER: Nina Prince, 59.
FATHER: Marvin Benjamin Prince, 61.
SIBLINGS: Ella Isolde Prince, 32.
OTHERS: Harry James Scott, 35 – Ella’s hubby-to-be.
PETS: Jacques, a Pekingese of three!
HOMETOWN: Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.
HISTORY: Nina and Marvin were that pair who everyone wanted to get together, but who never did. Well, eventually they did, but it seemed to be five years after everyone saw the sparks between them, and everyone breathed a sigh and muttered ‘finally’ when they did come into the local bar holding hands at long last. After that everything happened quickly and within a few years they were married and expecting their first child; a daughter. A son followed two years later, and with that their family was complete, and they were happy. Nina was a nurse at the local care home for the elderly, and Marvin worked in finance – one of those jobs that he said was too boring to explain, but it brought in just enough to keep clothes on his kids and food in their bellies.

They were always modestly comfortable, but the children understood the value of hard work. Ella and Gaige were siblings that to strangers appeared to scream and kick at each other all the time, but in truth the pair were insanely close. Their relationship wasn’t as complicated as it appeared. When Gaige had been born, and when he was a toddler, Ella hadn’t been all that keen on missing out on the attention, so she had stolen toys from him and played harmless but petty pranks on the little boy. Gaige had fought back. It had been that way ever since. However, as they got older it became a competition of sorts between them. It was a challenge to outdo the other, to master the art of the prank. If someone else upset the other though, they were there in a heartbeat to protect and defend. His sister is the reason Gaige is petrified of spiders, and he’s the reason she can’t stand clowns. They love each other to bits though.

Gaige was always creative and artistic. It was in high school though that he became fascinated by fashion. It did open him up to attempts at bullying, and some people automatically assumed that he would be gay just because he liked working with textiles “all of a sudden”, but Gaige’s friends were quick to defend him and point out that it didn’t mean he was coming out just because he was working on the mannequins in the art classrooms and not the easels. It grew tiresome, quickly, but Gaige wasn’t the type to be disheartened by anything like that. His parents had always been supportive, and they were still keen to see their children chase their dreams no matter what they were. They could see just how passionate Gaige was when he was at work, and they understood that this was what he wanted to do with his life. He made a prom dress for one of his best friends, and used it to apply for fashion school in New York City. Along with his sketches, and some mock pieces he had done at home or in the classroom, he was accepted!

New York was everything he had imagined, and though he was away from home, Gaige thrived doing what he loved best. His time at college just flew by in a whirlwind of fabrics and drama (he could have done without some of the drama), but he excelled. He completed an internship at a prestigious fashion house, working under a world famous designer, but when Gaige thought of his own future he realised that he didn’t want to be one of the names in lights in Paris or Milan. Sure, it might be amazing to see a supermodel in one of his fashions, but the industry was so cutthroat and bitchy and that wasn’t Gaige. He liked making people feel beautiful, or finding that perfect outfit for that perfect night. Even when he had been building on his dreams he still made things for friends and family, becoming known as the fairy godmother, dubbing himself Bibbidi one night as a joke and oddly letting it stick when friends adopted it for him. He liked seeing them feel like a million dollars when they stepped out of that five year old pair of jeans that were their favourite. And he didn’t see why people needed to spend a small fortune to feel that way, which was what he seemed to be told a lot when he was working in the fashion house; beauty was money. Bullshit.

Gaige spoke with his dad, who came to New York with him on a two week trip to help him out. They considered spaces, finances, and drew up plans. They spoke to a bank or two, and his dad also loaned him some money with the deal that Gaige would at least take some classes in finance or business for the evenings before diving in with this. He thought his son was a dreamer, and though his plan was a solid one he didn’t want him crashing out broke because he was baffled by the money side of things. Gaige agreed. So once he had the perfect space and had signed the papers, he took on some evening classes in accounting and business. It wasn’t degree level, but it was enough to give him what he needed for his dream, and his dad was happy with it, too. Plus, if things did get complicated he could always call the man who raised him to explain things! While he was doing that, he had builders and decorators in making his dream a reality. Gaige pitched in, too, but he wanted everything to look stunning, and he was likely to get the colour for the walls on the ceiling or vice versa. Ella came by to lend her help, too. Which was essentially putting in several potted plants, and telling Gaige that she hated the art he had picked out. Finally, after a good few months of non-stop work and Gaige feeling like he had replaced all of the blood in his body with coffee, he was hanging the ‘open’ sign on the door of Bibbidi Bootique. They had a small grand opening with champagne, friends, and cake. Everything in the store was reasonably priced, and made by him. He was only twenty-six, but there was so much he still had in mind. He wanted to eventually have other local designers on the rails, people who agreed with his belief that fashion didn’t need to be tatty to be affordable or expensive to be beautiful. He hoped to have jewellery and shoes added to the collection over time, too. Maybe even one day a way for fashion students to intern or sell some of their work there, as a way to garner experience, but that was at the bottom of his list and would definitely take time to work out after everything else was settled and established.

Gaige knew it would be a slow start, but gradually he found his place in New York City with Bibbidi Bootique. He did custom requests for people who wanted something special, and the rest of the time he was there he was working on more things, more unique pieces that could be tailored for anyone who wanted it; men, women, children. He covered every day wear to bridal. Gaige just wanted people to feel good and to look amazing. When Ella announced her engagement it was by asking Gaige to make her dress. He’s busy, constantly, but he knows when he needs to say no – which incidentally he hates. He is only one man though, and even fairy godmothers can only do so much. There’s the curse of midnight after all.

YOUR ALIAS: Kim.
RULE WORDS: kidnappedbykim.
WHERE YOU FOUND US: Wishing on a star
SAMPLE:

I don’t think so!

[kim]