[xandertaylor]

alexander taylor. xander. ( lewis pullman. 34. he/him. owner of page turners / comic book artist. ) ink-stained fingertips, constant bedhead, black square-framed glasses, a wall of classic dvds, way too many throw cushions, unrivaled passion, scuffed up converse and oversized hoodies, obsessively rearranging by colour and by size, found family, trying to avoid people and failing on all counts.

✮⋆˙ BIOGRAPHY | CONNECTIONS | INTERACTIONS | VISAGE | MUSINGS ✮⋆˙

[panwanarats]

ఇ "You sure? We can sing Queen or something. Doesn't have to be Kumbayah or whatever." They couldn't help but continue to tease him, then the confused look registers and Pan scoffs and elbows him. "C'mon now man, I'm just joshin' ya. You wanna go on the wheel, we will go, no singing required." Pan received their tickle catching him off guard. Now they were committed to the Ferris cause.

[xandertaylor]

"No, no singing..." Xander would actually die on the no singing hill, it wasn't something he enjoyed doing at all. He'd never really understood why others did either, unless they were very good at it. Once they both had their tickets in hand, he headed for the carriage, quickly taking a seat and glancing around. "Good... thanks," he added after a moment. "I didn't want to look like an idiot going on alone."

[candice-j-riley-dasilva]

"Did you put them through or lot in your younger years?" she asked. "I bet he has. Parents always do for their kids. At least, I know I would do anything for Cat and Ayden. Anything to make them happy and healthy."

Candice nodded. "I hope it does. It's good to know you have other people in the world that are in your family. People you can lean on when things get rough." she nodded. She tilted her head slightly. "Really? People have complaints about you? I just don't see it. Are you sure they are actually real or have you made up these things in your head?"

[xandertaylor]

Xander's expression changed at her question, not entirely sure how to answer it. There were many different ways to look at it. Some people would definitely say he had, but he and his family looked at it another way now. "Not purposely," he admitted. "I was diagnosed with autism at ten, which explained a lot of what I put them through." He nodded. "Good parents do." Laughing at Candice's words, he shook his head for a moment. "Definitely haven't made that one up," he answered her. "I think it depends on the day you meet me." He was certainly having a better day, nothing in particular winding him up.

[taryngramsey]

Taryn nodded and took a moment to think about what Xander had said. "I mean, but you could have an assistant to talk to people for you. I've seen some directors do that. However, I get how that can be uncomfortable." Taryn had been around a few directors as a child when her mom decided to bring her on set. Usually, when her costars asked about her daughter. Directors came in all different kinds.

"It seems to be a trend that's been holding on for several years so I think you and your comic will be more than okay." Taryn smiled. She watched his face change and nodded at his question. This did tend to happen when she spoke a little about her mom. "Right. Yes, she was that. I think it's one of the more common roles she's known for." she shrugged softly.

[xandertaylor]

Thinking about what Taryn said, Xander became thoughtful, almost completely lost in his moment for several moments. She had a good point, of course, and it wasn't really something he'd ever thought about. So many people had told him he wouldn't be able to do it, as he struggled to speak to others, which meant it was the only conclusion he'd been able to draw. "I didn't really know that was a thing," he admitted finally. "The same as most things, I suppose; even if they go out of fashion, eventually they reappear in another guise." It had certainly happened a few times over the last decade or so. He nodded again, still taking in what she'd told him before eventually adding unhelpfully, "Cool."

[jazfields]

"I'm not denying that," she replied, tone borderline defensive. Jasmine knew she needed to check it. She took a moment to center her breathing, something she was still working on. "I'm chill. It's chill." Jaz reiterated.

[xandertaylor]

Xander's brows pulled together in major confusion at Jaz's reaction and he sank back a little more into his chair. He wasn't really sure how he was supposed to react to that and so fell silent rather quickly. Taking a moment, he turned his attention to someone who approached the stall, dealing with them for a minute or two before looking back to Jaz. "Did you want to take a break?"

[estherquinn]

"I'd tell you to remember that the stubbornness is rooted in love, but I know that it doesn't really help," which was true. She was sure that Xander knew that his mother loved him, but that didn't make it easier to deal with the stuff that weighed on him. "Sometimes my curiosity gets the better of me and my brain asks 'what does it feel like?!' before my fingers remind me 'ew!'" She admitted with a loud laugh as they entered the room, heading for the touch pool, where a few kids were gathered around, getting the safety talk from the woman in charge. "Oh, good, we're not the only kids here."

[xandertaylor]

"I know that, she tells me that all the time, but it still doesn't really make sense to me..." Xander said as they made their way toward the touch pool. But then, there were a lot of things considered social norms that didn't make any snese to him. "My mind does the opposite all the time," he said with a shrug. "I guard myself from everything." Literally everything. As they reached the pool, he observed the kids for a moment, then looked over to Essie, laughing at her words. "Be really bad if we were the only kids."

[lenavaz]

"Oh, they're so cute! I found a few ideas online where people make them in these little small, compact carrying cases, so you can take them wherever you want to go," she gestured with her free hand as she talked, the other holding on to the tea carefully, "and then wherever you are, if you're stressed out, you can find a little moment of zen!" Which, god only knew a lot of people needed. Herself, included. It was something she had thought about implementing into her backyard garden, but that in itself brought her some zen, at least. "The coast does have some of the best scenery. Up at the cliffs, that's the best place to watch the sunrise or sunset, in my opinion."

[xandertaylor]

Xander stared for a moment, his brows knitting together in confusion, and then asked, "Why would you want to take them to different places?" He didn't mean to come across as rude or anything, but he really couldn't understand the point of it. "I don't see that working..." It wouldn't work for him at least, and who wanted to carry around a cumbersome garden everywhere they went? He was happy to move on to talking about the coast, though, a smile crossing his features. "I go out there a lot to watch the sunrise," he admitted.

[allisonbennett]

For: Xander @xandertaylor Location: Page Turners

Alli smiled as Finley held open the door and let her walk into the shop first. She knew what he was doing, but she'd let him be polite and pretend he wasn't trying to convince her to get him something new. She started to follow him when he went to the video games, but she stopped herself. "Remember, you only have thirty dollars." They both knew she was likely to give in if he wanted something more. She always had a hard time telling him no. She walked toward the register and looked at a few of the items near it. "Been busy today?"

[xandertaylor]

It wasn't unusual for Alli to come in with Finley, so when they turned up today, Xander wasn't at all surprised. At first, he watched as Finley headed across the store, then went back to what he'd been doing —- organising stock, as usual. When he heard Allison speak, however, he glanced up quickly and a small smile appeared on his features. "Not too busy today," he admitted. "Weekdays are always weird."

[stellylee]

"Sometimes putting it together is half the battle," but when you got to that point, then everything felt that much better. And Stelly knew that once Xander was all set up at Spring Fling, he would feel even better about it. "I don't suppose that I'll be able to bribe you into showing me which are the best prizes when I come to play? You know, like… ask you to wink when I get close to picking something good?"

[xandertaylor]

Xander shook his head at their question, a laugh escaping him. "I could show you, but doesn't mean you'll win them," he answered them, "That's the whole point of a blind lucky dip. I won't be able to tell what you're picking either." He was about to say something else, when he heard the sound of the buzzer at the back door. "Oh, that's the delivery..." he said softly, glancing back over his shoulder.

[mcndyhcrtmcn]

That's perfectly understandable! I know what you mean there--I always get sidetracked or distracted when something big happens. But at the same time my hands are always full. A little of everything, yes! Oh the coloring books are always a big hit among the kids and big kids at heart. That's why I love doing them. How've you been, though? Do anything fun or crazy lately?

[xandertaylor]

It's too easy to get distracted. But I don't think it's always a bad thing for that to happen. That makes sense. Everyone loves to colour these days, I guess? Whenever I go into the bookshop, I feel like that's all I'm ever faced with. A display of colouring books. I'm good, I'm okay. Not looking forward to summer coming. I'm not a fan of the heat. I'll be glad when it's winter again. Not sure about crazy, I don't really do crazy. I've been at the aquarium again. How about you?

[erin-leahy]

"The atmosphere?" Erin repeated, offering her friend a genuine smile. When he brought up his comics, his eyes grew wide. "Oh, really? What kind of inspiration have you found here today?" She asked, curiously. As they crammed into the passenger car, she kept her gaze on him. "And what have you been working on lately? Is there any way you could give me a little sneak peek?"

[xandertaylor]

Generally, Xander hated crowded places, he'd go out of his way to try and avoid them. But there was something about this that he loved, just enjoying watching people having fun around him. "Yeah, it's nice..." he said, his tone soft. "I like to people watch at things like this. This town has some real characters that come out at events." Once they were sat, he glanced over at Erin and frowned. "I could, I can show you once we're done with the ride."

[xsylcuenco]

Once Xander took some of the cotton candy, she herself popped another clump into her mouth. "Is this your first trip on the ferris wheel this carnival or have you been hanging out here?"

[xandertaylor]

"First time tonight," Xander admitted with a casual shrug. Yeah, he might have spent every evening there —- or that was the plan, at least —- so he'd been on a few times already over a couple of nights. "It just seems sad to go on alone," he added simply.

[xjoellasuh]

“Doesn’t seem like it’s that bad,” Jo looked up at the structure. “It’s not like a free fall tower or anything,” she looked back at him. “I’ll even treat you to a lemonade and cotton candy after just for funsies,” she elbowed him playfully with with a smirk, sidestepping into line, and watching the previous group disembark from the ride. “Do you trust me?” she grinned.

[xandertaylor]

"Do I need to trust you?" Xander questioned, his eyebrows lifted a little as they were guided to a carriage by the attendant. After a moment, he went back to the mention of lemonade and cotton candy, though, a small smile appearing on his features. "That would be nice, though, thank you."

[erin-leahy]

"I've been eating a lot of food since I got here a few hours ago... And hydrating, of course. As much as I like to go on the rides and play all of the games, win prizes, the only reason I come to the carnival every year is to eat all of the treats. It's my favourite thing to do." She let out a laugh, nodding as she walked past the attendant. "Thank you." Reaching the passenger car, she climbed into it and took a seat. "Alright, let's do this."

[xandertaylor]

Hydrating. Something Xander would often forget to do, he wasn't the type of carry a bottle of water around with him, and he avoided big lines like the plague, so he didn't tend to buy too many snacks either. "I guess it's the atmosphere I like," he admitted to her as he took a seat beside her, which would surprise many for him to say. "Gives me inspiration for my comics and, yeah." It was the only reason, though.

[dancerdarcyj]

Darcy smiled looking over at the guy and laughed a little shaking her head for a moment before looking at him and smiled as she moved to sit in the seat of the ferris wheel, "Thank you. I actually love the ferris wheel." She smiled, "So were you meant to go on this ride with someone or someone special?"

[xandertaylor]

Once Darcy joined him, Xander flashed a small smile, glad that she did —- he'd clearly picked the right person to ask. "That's good then," he answered with a nod of his head. "Oh. No. That's no.... there's no one special." At this point, he was pretty much convinced there never would be again, which was pretty depressing all in all.

[xsylcuenco]

Sylvia was wandering around the carnival with some cotton candy in hand, when she came across Xander. "Hi!" Sylvia greeted him with a wave. When he asked if she wanted to join him, she glanced over to the ferris wheel as he pointed in that direction, then back at him. "Uh.. yeah, sure, why not?" she responded with a nod. "Do you want some?" she offered up some of her cotton candy as they headed for the ferris wheel.

[xandertaylor]

Xander was relieved it hadn't taken all that much convincing for Sylvie to join him, begging would have been the last thing he'd have wanted in that moment. When she suddenly offered her cotton candy to him, he was sure his expression said it all, but he nodded. "Oh, umm... sure," he responded, smiling at the attendant as they reached the wheel, and then taking the cotton candy she'd offered.

[erin-leahy]

Seeing the relief that appeared on Xander's features, Erin offered him a genuine smile. "Hey, I got you!" She reassured him, watching as he turned back to the attendant and handed him the two tickets. "It's all good, Xander. I wouldn't have gotten on this thing by myself either. I was on the swing ride by myself just now, and that wasn't fun," she explained, but did not want to go further into that debacle. "But I think I'm ready to take on the Ferris Wheel now. I might even go and grab myself some funnel cake afterwards, if you're up for it."

[xandertaylor]

Xander's expression softened as Erin continued to speak and he nodded in response to pretty much everything she'd said. "Funnel cake sounds like a good idea," he admitted. "I could do that. Definitely." He took a step back closer to the Ferris wheel, glancing to the attendant as he invited them both on. "Do you want to go first?" he asked Erin, letting her lead the way, and then thanking the attendant.