Dep iin thought and sidewalk paint, she stood up and wiped her brow while taking in a breath. As she added some coloring to the corner of the sidewalk, she saw her friend and neighbor. Giving him a quick wave before finishing, she took a break to take in the bigger picture. "Honestly just something spring like and uplifting," shaking her head, "not really. Just seeing what flows ya know?"

A nod was Xander's immediate response as he took in what she'd painted. He'd never been all that good at artwork on a large scale, but he did enjoy doing smaller projects on the daily. He'd have been lost without his art, honestly. "I understand that," he answered. "I can definitely see the vision there..." He gestured idly toward the painting.

Darcy smiled, "Oh I can imagine that would get extremely busy because everyone loves animals." She giggled over at Xander before nodding, "Oh I need to go pet this goat, my parents were raving about it after my performance more than my own performance." She smiled and nodded, "Thank you, it was really good to get back on stage after so long."

Xander nodded. "Despite his having no animals, he really did love them too, but there were many issues around him getting a pet. Maybe he could start with some fish or something, though? "They were? Sounds like he has a lot of fans," he said with a soft smile. "How long has it been since you were last on stage like that?"

with: darcy & open (capped at 3/5)

The question caught Xander completely unawares and for a moment, he stared. But then he knocked himself out of it and offered a small smile toward Darcy. "It was nice over by the animal sanctuary stall before it got too busy," he responded. "It's pretty therapeutic, just petting a goat... which I never thought I'd hear myself say." He shook his head. "Your performance was great," he added.

"You are talking about the same kind of people who will take a box of dice and leave it outside under the moon so they 'roll better'," Jaz said, adding air quotes at the end for emphasis, before giving Xander a shrug. "Y'all are still not going to convince me to do one of those rpgs, by the way."

Jaz's comment very nearly caused Xander to shudder. He loved D&D, he loved D&D with his whole heart, but that was the kind of thing he'd never really understood. Some people had literally turned it into their entire personality, doing things like what Jaz had said, was complete insanity as far as he was concerned. "When have I ever tried to convince you?" he queried lightly, laughing. If he wouldn't do something he didn't want to, he wouldn't ever expect anyone else to.

Location: Spring Fling tents area Status: CLOSED ( @xandertaylor )

It was safe to say that Xander was still questioning his choice in having a stall at this weekend's Spring Fling, but between his mother, his employees, and his need to help out, he'd had trouble saying no in the end. There was still a lot of regret going on in his mind, though, every time someone asked a stupid question, he found himself desperate to run. When Yvaine appeared in his peripheral vision, he breathed an audible sigh of relief, which brought on a questioning look from the person already standing there with their arm elbow deep in packing peanuts. He quite easily ignored it, instead a small smile pulling at the corners of his mouth as his visitor pleaded her case. "You make a good point," he began. "I have been here a while." It was easy for him to lose track of time; it happened pretty much every day when he got absorbed in something. Today was certainly no different. "Twenty-five minutes is a big ask, though." It wasn't; he was just being his usual self, worrying and making excuses. Truth was, he was starving and desperate for a drink, he'd just not known how to tear himself away. "Lunch would be good," he finally added, relenting.

Who: Jasmine and @xandertaylor When: Spring Fling 2026 Where: Page Turners booth

Xander was silent for a moment, his attention on the food he'd picked up from one of the stalls not too far from where they were located. But then a slight huff escaped him. "I'm concerned how many people don't understand the concept of luck," he added as a follow-up comment. "You either get something good or you don't. It's not that hard."

"Of course, are you kidding me?" she couldn't help her own smile as she dropped to sit on the bench, setting her bag down next to her and letting herself relax against the back. "I haven't been to the Aquatic Conservatory in so long -- Mae used to like to come when she was little, and then she liked it even more when I used to drop her off so she could visit with her friends." A wistful smile crossed her expression then as she shrugged both shoulders. "Do you come here a lot?"

Xander's attention went rather quickly back to the tank in front of them, the smallest of smiles curving onto his lips. It was nice being able to share this with someone, to do something calming and relaxing on his birthday. He'd never been a fan of big celebrations or parties. "That's kind of the worst, when they're more interested in coming with their friends," he murmured. It reminded him of his sister and how they were gradually drifting further and further apart. "At least once every couple of weeks. I'd come more if I could."

Mariah wrapped her coat a bit tighter around herself as a cold wind passed over them. She was from upstate New York so cold wasn't anything new to her. However, she knew that she could spend hours talking about black holes and stars if she was allowed and being out in the cold for hours wasn't a good thing at all. She smiled and nodded as Xander agreed with her about stars. "I agree. I also wish there was more of a focus on them. The moon seems to be taking up a lot of the funding and exploration efforts."

"That really would be great," said Xander with a small smile, nodding his head. "And I really hope that's true." He took a moment, gathering his thoughts, and then added, "I don't want to be rude. It's been nice talking to you, but I'm really getting cold out here, so I think I'm going to head home." Well, at least he wasn't ridiculously blunt about it, like usual, he could have simply come out with: 'I'm going now', packed up his things and left.

"I also appreciate validation so your opinion matters to me on that topic." Taryn grinned before giggling softly. She hummed and nodded as Xander said he went to Florida for college. "Right, I could see that. You're not so much a people person. What did you study in college?"

"I can't help it, I just... it's not for me." Crowds, people, all of it. Honestly, it was a surprise that Xander had even been talking to her for as long as he had. "Film and media studies," he told her with a small smile. "But when I got back, I sort of chose to go down the art route instead. Aside from the store anyway." Once she'd taken the book from his hands, he sat back for a moment and let her look, staying quiet. "Thank you," he said softly. "Oh. Yeah. They're aliens. But definitely not creating Star Trek. Babylon 5, maybe." Also not true, but the thought made him smile.

How are things going for you this spring? It's been so nice out that I've done a bit of work outside and some landscapes. Oh and your project too? How is that coming along? I'm still interested in checking it out!

I have... tabled that for now. I guess I got distracted by other things. Working outside like you, though, that's definitely been helping with getting the creative juices flowing. It's just a shame it's with something completely new. What have you been working on? Just landscapes or a range of things?

"No, no," she shook her head, "not at all. I kind of get it, sometimes being out in nature helps me do pretty much anything. I sometimes wish I could do makeup for my clients in the sunlight, would take a lot of guesswork out of everything." No more trying to figure out how the glitter or shine would look in natural light, but talking someone into getting their makeup done in the middle of her yard didn't work so well, understandable. "No destination in mind, I normally just meander through the suburbs, say hi, smell the flowers," and thankfully, they were finally at that time of year where that was possible. At his offer, she brightened, nodding her head, "I'd love some!"

"It calms me, you know?" It was one of the few things that did. Despite not being a gardener or anything, Xander could definitely appreciate it. Being by the ocean was great to. He could quite happily sit down by the coast for hours, lost in his creative side. "I could see that. Natural light is great for every creative endeavour." He'd always thought the same. "Smell the flowers..." He wasn't entirely sure why he'd focused on that particular comment, but he nodded and then went to get her a cup of tea, moving away from it. "Okay!"

"Interesting story. I was actually born here, but I only lived here for a year and then I was adopted by a family in Michigan so I grew up there and then bounced around the country. I've come back here to live permanently about two years ago. Almost three now that I think of it." Candice grinned. She never minded sharing her story with other people. It was her life and she wasn't ashamed of it. Besides, she had ended up with a great family so she didn't see why she shouldn't share that. "Oh she's in that stage. Everything you do is lame and everything she does is cool. Definitely there."

"What made you come back?" Speaking as someone who hadn't really left for very long, Xander could understand the siren call of Merrock, but he still wondered about others —- especially those who hadn't been around for long at all. He was interested in what her story was exactly, what had pulled her back there. "I knew it would happen one day. I've never really been the cool sibling." He shook his head. "Oh, I don't know," he answered. "She... just is." That explained nothing. If anything, he'd been the little weirdo when he was a kid, not her. "She used to tease me all the time about the odd stuff I did, then spend every dinner time spelling out words with her food before she would even allow herself to start eating." She used to rearrange his things as well, but he was sure that was on purpose, just to annoy him. He liked things a certain way and she'd mess with them constantly. "I don't really know how to be fake," he added.