blood on the saddle

William "Bullseye" Stoddard for Swynlake RP

[bullseye-stoddard]

The riders loped on by him and he heard one call his name If you want to save your soul from hell ridin' on our range Then cowboy change your ways today or with us you will ride Tryin' to catch the devil's herd across these endless skies

Name: William Stoddard Nickname: Bullseye D.O.B.: July 29, 1840 Pronouns: He/Him Sexuality: Straight Magic status: Vampire Nationality: American Ethnicity: White Accent: Noticeable southern American twang Height: 6'0" Build: Muscular Skin tone: Slightly pale (due to avoiding sunlight) Eye color: Blue Hair color/length/style: Shoulder-length, curly blond, worn either down or up in a bun Tattoos/piercings/daily jewelry: No actual tattoos (his Damzman mark just looks like one) or piercings, no regularly worn jewelry

Occupation: Stablehand at Swynlake Stables Relationship Status: Single What would you find if you Googled them?: Nothing, really. He hasn't really been able to get his mind around modern technology too much, so no big social media presence for him. In very old archives, there could be mentions/photos of him with the rest of the Round-Up gang, and someone could probably dig up property information from when he owned his ranch back in the US. What natives would know about them: Not too much, beyond how much he cares about horses. People who frequent the stables would see him around a lot, but he mostly keeps to himself outside of that. Other: He will pretty much always be seen wearing a cowboy hat, which also helps him a lot during the day to combat the sun, along with a bandanna around his neck to cover up his Damzman mark.

Full bio + Moodboard + Pinterest

[heyy-mickeyy]

Welcome to Swynlake! || OPEN

[heyy-mickeyy]

"Hey there! You look lost. Don't worry, I can help! I'm a professional."

[Wearing his Official Tour Guide Uniform!]

[bullseye-stoddard]

Bullseye was not surprised to hear he looked lost. That had pretty much been his state of being for over a hundred and fifty years, and especially since he had come to town. And while he would admit to sometimes still getting lost around town, at the moment, he was not. He had just been trying to keep out of the sun as much as possible, so that was probably what had given this guy that impression.

"Lost? Oh, no, 'm not. Sorry t' disappoint. Th', uh, sun was jus' gettin' in my eyes. But jus' outta curiosity, what 'zactly are you a professional o'?" He was not quite sure what the fancy outfit signified, though he thought he had seen it around town before.

@heyy-mickeyy

[bullseye-stoddard]

Shopping Trip || Jesseye

[belladonna-wright]

Something sturdy, then. Something rustic that didn't need to hide from that, and something leather. Well, that would leave them with plenty of options! It might take a little shopping around different places, and perhaps even looking for some vintage furniture, but she was sure she could find something that would fit that vibe as well.

Luckily, Jessie had no idea what his inner monologue was thinking about as she put his hesitation down to classic male indecision about furnishings.

"You can always add a throw or something of that sort to take the edge off if you want to get nice and cosy," she continued, running her hand over the back of another sofa that she wasn't massively impressed with, as it sat around the coffee table that had been centred in the display.

"And if you see anything else that you like the look of," Jessie turned around to point a finger at him, "Side tables or coffee tables or cabinets or whatever, then you just shout, alright?" It was a fairly hypothetical trip now, she could afford for them to indulge themselves in flights of fancy.

@bullseye-stoddard

[bullseye-stoddard]

Her mention of getting nice and cozy only served to make Bullseye think about Georgette again, and he hoped that did not show in his face. So he turned his thoughts back to how good Jessie was at planning this stuff out. "Oh yeah, that's a good idea. Maybe we could find a throw that's got a horse on it, t' keep wit' th' whole theme 'm thinkin' we'll have goin'." It was surely going to be a little too on the nose if he went with western decor, but he figured Jessie would not be surprised if he stuck with what he knew.

He nodded at her instruction, but he feared he might get a little overwhelmed again trying to think about all the furnishings for the room. That was what they were here for, yes, but it was hard enough for Bullseye to narrow down what he wanted for a sofa. Trying to think about the whole room was even harder. But he did not want to act any more clueless than he already was, so he vowed he would try his best.

"Sure, o' course," he said, following her as they progressed, "I jus' hope it'll all work together in th' finished product. I don' know if what I threw together before worked other than th' fact I liked it. Now at least I got you t' rein me in so I don' get somethin' ugly like this li'l table." He gestured towards a small white table, but quickly withdrew his hand lest any of the salespeople get the impression that he wanted it. "An', uh, make sure I don' do nothin' stupid in here too."

@belladonna-wright

[perfectisgeorgette]

First Comes Dates Then Comes Real Estate | Bullsette

[perfectisgeorgette]

Georgette was ready for just about anything. This wasn’t the first time she was going to face some scandal with a man. It was all she could really expect wasn’t it? I’ve got to tell you something never followed up with something good. Never in her world or on her shows.

Bullseye was about to tell her they had to break up before they were ever truly official. Worst of it was going to something about there being someone else. Georgette just knew it - not that Bullseye was that kind of man. No - he had never treated her with anything other than love and respect. It was just…even the worst men on this planet pulled the wool of eyes.

Holding her breath Georgette smiled up at him and listened to Bullseye.

Vampire.

Was this it. Georgette wasn’t expecting. Oh! Oh!

The center of her lips parted as she listened more. It was all a lot to take in. Eyes darting as she heard every word she just stood there. So many questions. What does that even mean? 180 something…he was a vampire. All Georgette knew about them was…well what she assumed.

All magicks were bad. That was the Midler way but not the Georgette Midler way.

“I - I …” Georgette looked up at Bullseye eyes filled with shock not fear. “I don’t know anything about Vampires.”

The sun felt like it was beating onto her forehead- she panicked slightly and pulled herself a way using both hands as a visor to block the rays from her eyes.

“Can you tell me more..”

Georgette wasn’t going to go anywhere.

@bullseye-stoddard

[bullseye-stoddard]

He had been so scared of what her reaction would be, that she would hate him, that she would run from him, that she would want nothing to do with him any more. So when Georgette did nothing of the sort, he could hardly believe it. Instead of running, instead of calling him a monster, she wanted to know more.

Bullseye was so surprised that he blinked and asked, "You…you don't?" He just assumed everyone who was not a Magick at least knew enough about vampires to know why they were hated. Having her ask him to tell her more about vampires was more than he could have hoped for. Thus he immediately nodded.

"O' course. Sorry I…I jus' assumed that…" He shook his head. "Yeah, that's why there's th' sayin' 'bout what happens when you assume. Well, th' biggest thing is I gotta…drink blood." He said this last very quietly, despite no one else being around for miles. "From…people. But now I also got a new way o' gettin' it, which don' hurt no one at all. An' even when I do gotta drink from someone, I always jus' take a li'l bit. I do my damnedest not t' hurt 'em, I swear."

That was the most obvious thing, of course, but there was so much beyond that. "An' yeah, 'm a pretty ol' man. I was born in Colorado b'fore it was even a state. An' after that, well, I didn't have too good o' a time. I lost my family when I was real young, an' then I ended up fallin' in wit' a bunch o' outlaws. Our leader wanted us t' stick together, for as long as possible, so he persuaded us all t' get turned into vampires. I wasn't too hot on th' idea, but I didn't wanna lose what had become my new family either, so I agreed t' do it. But in th' end, we all ended up goin' our separate ways anyway, so it definitely didn't work out th' way I hoped."

He sighed, then said, "So now 'm stuck bein' a thing people tend t' hate an' fear, an' th' worst part is that…I pretty much hate an' fear myself." Looking up, Bullseye met Georgette's eyes again. "'M sorry for not tellin' you sooner but…I was scared you'd feel th' same way. It's jus'…it's hard for me t' let someone else in when I can't even make peace wit' myself."

@perfectisgeorgette

[theartofpixar]

[bullseye-stoddard]

[theartofpixar]

[bullseye-stoddard]

[bullseye-stoddard]

Shopping Trip || Jesseye

[belladonna-wright]

"Alright," Jessie nodded, business like and focused. An armchair made sense for a guy like Bullseye really, but both was a more than adequate solution. "So we'll aim for both. And make sure that neither of them are so spindly and delicate that they can't accommodate a big ol' lump like you," she elbowed him fondly.

"Now would you want something that was full covered? Or do you like any of the wood showing?" She asked, perusing her way through a series of options closest to the front of the store that she had no intention of lingering on - all bright dazzling colours and loud swirling patterns that were not very Billy.

"And do you think you'd prefer a leather finish, or fabric?" She added, turning back to him as she trailed a hand over the back of a sofa. "Leather is easier to clean, but I find the texture less comforting."

She did not want to sit cold against the cold leather, she wanted something soft and warm that she could forget about her own coldness in.

But, she forced herself to remember, Bullseye might not want all the same.

@bullseye-stoddard

[bullseye-stoddard]

Even though he knew she was teasing, Bullseye could not help but feel a bit like a lump. He still felt bad for not telling her about his plans, but she was teasing him now, so clearly he needed to stop feeling bad. "Yeah, I don' wanna try t' sit on a chair only t' have it break an' me fall on my ass. That'd be a waste o' your hard work pickin' stuff out."

Jessie was starting to throw multiple options at him again, and he was starting to get just a bit overwhelmed. But he tried to focus on what she was asking, and give some thought to his choices. "I gotta say I don' mind th' wood showin'. It'd be kinda rustic, righ'? Which is prob'ly what I'm goin' for if we're tryin' t' pick a style or movement or whatever term you got for that."

Fabric or leather did not make too much of a difference for him, but if he had to choose, he would probably go with leather. "Um, guess I'll say leather. I like it t' be a bit more firm." He hoped Georgette would not mind it, since Jessie said she preferred fabric. So he added, "Let's say leather for now, but we'll see how I feel 'bout it when th' time comes t' actually pick things out."

@belladonna-wright

[angelstrong]

Mission: Incognito || OPEN

[angelstrong]

The infamous Rocke Shoppe. Angel had heard of it in passing and she had to admit that it didn't sound like something she'd be too interested in. Not yet, anyway. "Did I make it that obvious that I'm used to shopping in a big city?"

A record shop could be fun, and if it was anything like the new age shops she'd frequented in the past they might even have her own albums in stock.

"Well, since I don't have anything else to do I guess a record shop would be the best way to waste the afternoon. Lead the way." She motioned in the direction that the stranger had been heading. "I'm Angel, by the way."

@bullseye-stoddard

[bullseye-stoddard]

He actually had not thought anything about whether she was used to a big city or not. Bullseye had just been giving voice to how he assumed he should describe the shopping set up in town. "Oh, no, 'm sorry, I didn't mean t' imply anythin'. I wasn't sure what t' 'spect myself when I got here, so I was jus' tryin t' 'splain it how I thought I should. Sorry ag'in."

Though if she was willing to go check out the record store with him, then he could not have offended her too badly. "Ah, sure!" He nodded and started off. "Nice t' meet you, Angel," he said as they walked, "I go by Bullseye, an' you can pro'bly guess that 'm not a native. So what brings you t' town?"

@angelstrong

[perfectisgeorgette]

First Comes Dates Then Comes Real Estate | Bullsette

[perfectisgeorgette]

The sun hit her face and all Georgette could offer was a smile. Walking in synch with Bullesye as he lead the way they both knew so well felt magical. Like a scene from a movie she had see so many times. Where the girl was possibly going on the best date that wasn't a date but felt romantic just the same.

Expecting him to mention even more how fabulous she was and maybe just maybe ask her to be his actual girlfriend Georgette stopped and looked up at him. Lashes and gold eye shadow fluttering under the sun.

Then he said he needed to tell her something - and the tone was not that of - will you be my girlfriend it was something else.

Oh no is this where he tells me he has a wife or something?!

Georgette took in a deep breath and smiled anyways even though she felt nervous for the first time every with him - was this where he said they couldn't see each other any more!

"Oh you know you can tell me anything." Georgette smiled. "You know that."

@bullseye-stoddard

[bullseye-stoddard]

He did not doubt for a moment that he could tell her anything, and Bullseye told himself that he should not be afraid to tell her. Opening up to her completely was the thing he needed to do to try and finally get over his fear of what he was. But still he could not kick the lurking thoughts of what had happened once before when he had done that. Monster. It still rang in his ears after all this time, now accompanied in his mind by the cruel faces of his evil reflections from the mirror maze.

No, that was not him. He swore that would never be him. Yet no matter how much he told himself that, what he felt did not matter. What Georgette felt was what mattered, and he could only hope against hope that she would not see him as a monster.

"Yeah…yeah I do, an' I 'preciate that." Bullseye nodded, then took one last moment to gather his courage before finally spilling the beans.

"Alrigh', well, th' truth is…'m a vampire. An' I ain't jus' been turned recently neither. 'M 'bout t' turn a hundred an' eighty six comin' up soon." Damn, somehow saying that sounded just as bad as telling her what he was. It made him feel like a sad old man. "But I've jus' tried t' keep t' myself all these years, honestly. I don'…don' know what you've heard 'bout our kind, but I swear I don' ever hurt no one when I…you know. I promise I'm not…" A monster. Yet he could not bring himself to say it.

All he could do was gaze pleadingly at Georgette, wishing with all his dead heart that she was not going to say that same word.

@perfectisgeorgette

[bullseye-stoddard]

[bullseye-stoddard]

On the Rocks || Stelleye

[stellabfly]

"Ooh, okay, purple is good, there are lots of purple options," she smiled, leading him over to one display.

"So we've got amethyst, which on its own is a beautiful gem," she showed him a few carved stones as well as some of the jewelry with amethyst pendants or actual cut crystal gemstones. "Its good for mental clarity and stress relief. It's a pretty popular stone based on its look and its magical properties as well." Stella motioned toward another shelf.

"And here we have alexandrite. The cool thing about this one is it changes color a bit based on the lighting. It can go from this beautiful purple to a dazzling green! It promotes emotional balance, creativity, and can help with good fortune!" She smiled. "Are any of these catching your eye?"

@bullseye-stoddard

[bullseye-stoddard]

Even though he absolutely appreciated her help, all the options were making Bullseye feel a little overwhelmed. Everything looked so pretty; how was he going to be able to choose? No, come on, he could do this. Besides, since it was all so nice, he had to think Georgette would like whatever he chose. So could he really go wrong?

"Wow, that all looks so neat," he said, admiring the items she had pointed out, "I do like that one that changes colors, but maybe I should stick wit' th' amethyst." Ok, he had made that much of a decision. A good start. "I think she'll 'preciate th' mental clarity an' stress relief too."

The carved stones were nice, but his initial instinct had been jewelry, and he felt Georgette would like to wear a really pretty gem like that. "Hmm, I think 'm leanin' towards one o' those pendants. Um, not sure which one though." Hey, he had done pretty good so far! But trying to narrow down jewelry that all looked pretty similar to his eyes was going to be a bit tough.

@stellabfly

[angelstrong]

Mission: Incognito || OPEN

[angelstrong]

Despite Angel’s public announcement to her fans that she would be taking some time away from the spotlight in order to focus solely on her music she didn’t actually plan on disappearing completely. She’d wanted to get away from California to sightsee and gain new experiences elsewhere that might help with her creative drive, but she didn’t have it in her to be put on the backburner for an undetermined amount of time. She thrived on attention and could never go too long without at least a sliver of it.

Having put on the largest pair of sunglasses in her collection, Angel had decided that she would take a walk around town in order to familiarize herself with the new surroundings and maybe even a neighbor or two; she was bored and shopping with others was the best way to cure her boredom.

“Are any of these shops even worth visiting?” She said aloud to no one in particular.

[bullseye-stoddard]

One of the things about the modern world which had really surprised Bullseye was the resurgence in popularity of records. He had never seriously thought about getting rid of his record player, but he had always wondered if he would be able to replace it if it ever broke. So he had been very glad to see that there was a record shop in town.

He had not bought any albums in a long time, and had decided to finally make a trip over there. which he was in the process of doing when he heard someone speak. Bullseye was not sure if she was talking to him, but seeing as no one else was in the immediate vicinity, he could only assume that she was.

"Uh, yeah? I mean, I guess it depends on what you like? I know it's not quite like th' set-up in a big city, but there's plenty o' interestin' things t' check out. Like there's this place that sells really cool rock stuff over there, an' there's a record shop, which is where I was headed."

@angelstrong

[princess-ting-ting]

Moo Moo, Where Are You? || Open

[princess-ting-ting]

Oh no — had Matilda thrown Moo Moo into the lake?

That… would not be good. Ting-Ting didn’t want to entertain that possibility. Not right now. She made a wish to the universe, a prayer to God or something, that this was not the case —

Matilda shook her head right as she landed her next hop.

“Moo Moo can’t swim!” she giggled. “Moo Moo has to hide.”

“Hide?” Ting repeated. She scanned the lake shore, at the clusters of long grass and cattails. “Maitlda — is Moo Moo hiding? Is that why you can’t find her?”

Matilda made a noncommittal noise and continued to hop. 

Ting sighed and turned to Bullseye.

“Well, I guess we’re going to have to scan the tall grass by the lake…” 

At least that meant the black and white would be easy to spot...

@bullseye-stoddard

[bullseye-stoddard]

Bullseye gave a metaphorical sigh of relief that Matilda said Moo Moo could not swim. At least that meant the stuffed cow would not be a soggy mess in the lake. Hiding sounded a lot better, even if it meant they still were not really any closer to finding the toy.

"Ah yeah, cows ain't very good swimmers," he said, nodding sagely, "But they are darn good at hiding." That was not quite true--cows tended to stick out a lot in his experience--but he was trying to play along with Matilda as best he could.

The stuffed cow might be a little harder to find than a real one, but there was only so much tall grass nearby. Surely it could not be that hard. He nodded at Ting. "Yeah, guess so. But it's better'n tryin' t' look in th' lake at least."

He glanced towards the closest clump of grass, thinking that he might be seeing something. "Hey, wait. Think there's somethin' righ' over there." Heading over, he reached into the grass and pulled out…a clump of white feathers. "Oop. Looks like a bird was hangin' out here, not Moo Moo. Sorry."

@princess-ting-ting

[bullseye-stoddard]

Shopping Trip || Jesseye

[belladonna-wright]

"Billy-" Jessie groaned, taking hold of one of his massive biceps so that she could drag him a little more into the shop and away from the eager gaze of a shop assistant who was clearly hoping for a sale. "You're not making me do anything. You asked for my help, and I said yes!"

If she really, really hadn't wanted to do it, she would have said so! Or, she would have put far less effort in, anyway. She couldn't really say no to Bullseye, could she?

But why would she? She loved being right about this sort of thing!

"Alright, so obviously then we need to make sure you're set up well with a good sofa for watching films - although," she cocked her head to the side, "Do you prefer a sofa, or an armchair? Because either works, and obviously you can have both, but it'll be important to make sure that you have your own seat that works just right for you."

A television would be easy, as would setting up a little station for playing music and storing records or CDs or whatever he preferred these days.

@bullseye-stoddard

[bullseye-stoddard]

He knew Jessie would never refuse to help him out, but Bullseye was still sorry now that he had not let her know sooner about his venture into getting a new place. Because their presence in the shop now seemed a little silly. But they could at least make some plans for what to get once the time came. "Ok ok, I know. But I really shoulda told you 'bout me lookin' into land sooner. 'Cause now we're jus' gonna hafta come back ag'in once we're ready t' furnish th' new place."

While he appreciated her deferring to his wants, he was still a little overwhelmed even with a simple choice like a sofa or an armchair. "Uh, well, guess I prefer an armchair when you get down t' it. I do like stretchin' out on th' sofa too sometimes, but yeah, I'll go wit' th' armchair."

For now, anyway. He wagered he would be using the sofa more often if things really progressed with him and Georgette. Though that made him think that when the time came, she might want to be involved with picking out the furniture. Bullseye just hoped Jessie would not mind if that was the case.

@belladonna-wright

[perfectisgeorgette]

First Comes Dates Then Comes Real Estate | Bullsette

[perfectisgeorgette]

Georgette felt the kiss land on her lips and every inch of her felt like it was melting. The most fabulous surprise. Something she was not use to feeling or having and honestly never thought she was worthy of a blossoming relationship like this. The same old broken record of anecdotes she learned from her mother, grand mother, sorority sisters, and the man haters on the internet. Men only use women like her to get something. Men only want women like her as a trophy. Men always have another woman on the roster. Use men like they use you. Use men like an accessory. Use men to place you on a pedestal for your own social power.

That was not what she was going to do with Bullseye Stoddard. Not in a million years.

Clinging to his arm she ran her fingers along his bare skin. A pattern motion just showing she loved being so close to him. Heading down the path that led to the rest of the Farmland territory Georgette squinted to look ahead. "I of course looked up a few plots of land that are for sale. There is one near Fox Creek which looks fabulous. There is also some more just over the hill on the other side near the Casita." Georgette did her research - they were not going to go through this blind.

"I think if we cut across this path we can follow the trail by that creek? You know the one by the horse trail that leads to the meadow?" She looked up to Bullseye as they walked. "Get the best look and enjoy the day at the same time darling!"

@bullseye-stoddard

[bullseye-stoddard]

The feel of her fingers brushing over his skin was so pleasing, and for a hot second made Bullseye want to pretend that he was completely normal, to push off telling Georgette the truth and just go out with her to look at the plots of land. But he just could not do it. It was not fair to her for him to try to go on with any of this without telling her the complete truth. If there was to be any hope for them to have a meaningful relationship, he had to be honest.

"Ah, I shoulda figured you'd done all th' preparations," he said with a smile. He really appreciated her throwing herself into this. He had gotten the groundwork laid, but if Georgette had any intentions of sharing a place with him, it only stood to reason that she should be involved in choosing the spot. "I remember seein' listin's for those, yeah. Can't wait t' see jus' how nice they are."

He knew the path, and he nodded in agreement. "Sure, I know it. That'll get us righ' there." He wished he could enjoy the nice day as much as she could, but being with her made up for his discomfort from the sun. But at the same time, that thought brought back his resolve to get everything out in the open.

So, after they had walked for a little while, Bullseye finally said, "Georgette, I jus' want you t' know that I been havin' a great time wit' you on our dates, an' I'd love t' keep goin' on like this. But b'fore we do, there's…well…there's somethin' I want--somethin' I need t' tell you."

@perfectisgeorgette