#((i could see randall and emily putting their heads together to make some really pretty baby clothes in return!))

[theheadlessgroom]

@beatingheart-bride

Emily's kick seemed to really do the trick, as Nicholas let go of Randall's neck and rolled off of him in a daze, while Randall himself coughed and gasped for air, rubbing his sore throat while Nicholas groaned, seeming dazed as he struggled to his feet, legs wobbly as he did. He made a feeble attempt at rushing one of them (given how unfocused his gaze was, it was near-impossible to know who), but in doing so, he earned a punch across the jaw from Elizabeth, causing him to stumble back, swaying on his feet as Randall, having recovered, got to his feet, eyes dark with anger.

In that moment, he remembered. He remembered it all-searing pain across his throat, Emily's terrified screams as his disembodied head gushing blood soared through the air, landing in a lonely hatbox. It filled his stomach with acid, set his blood ablaze, filled him with a righteous anger that made his vision turn red, and his hands ball into fists.

Honestly, he could've killed Nicholas where he stood-he very easily could've made him feel everything he made him and Emily feel, that lifetime ago. But to stoop to his level...that sickened him, and so, as the coup de grace, Randall socked Nicholas clean in the nose, finally knocking the lout out flat on the ground. He lived, only knocked out cold by this finishing punch.

"What should we do with him?" Mrs. Henshaw asked, tempting to give him a kick in the side for good measure, but Beau, as he checked on everyone, replied with a shrug, "I say we leave him here, to be quite honest. By the time he comes around, we'll be long gone, and if he tries to tattle on our little plan, well...who's going to believe him? To the ears of everyone in New Orleans, it'll sound like Mr. Pennyworth was bitter that Dorian upstaged him, upset that he didn't get to have Emily's hand, and is trying to drag him through the mud out of spite, and with an outlandish-sounding story to boot. He'll be ostracized, and I believe, to him, that'll be a fate worse than death."

There was a murmur of agreements at this, as Dorian wrapped a loving arm around Elizabeth's waist, pulling her close to him, while Randall embraced Emily, burying his face in her shoulder, so grateful that she was alright. His eyes were damp with tears as memories filled his mind, good and bad, and he swallowed hard as he closed his eyes.

Thank you, he thought to himself, to no one in particular-perhaps a guardian angel, if they happened to be smiling upon him (which he certainly felt they were). Thank you for this second chance-thank you for our life!

[theheadlessgroom]

(1, 10, 13, 14, 22 and 24, please!)

Thank you!

1. Aside from the enigmatic status Ol’ Hatty maintained for several decades, being built up into a larger-than-life legend among parkgoers, before being revealed to be real after all and making a triumphant return to the Mansion, I was really enthralled by the idea of him being the intended of the Beating-Heart Bride, especially given his head and her heart being in sync, not to mention all the promotional and tie-in materials that seemed to make it pretty clear that she was ‘his bride’. That, combined with the open-for-interpretation nature of the ride, led me to start drawing my own conclusions, and I felt he’d make a great character to RP, once I had a solid history down for him!

10. I feel like there’s a lot of overlap between the fandom’s interpretation and my own: A lot of other fans, at least as far as I’ve seen, tend to interpret Hatty as being from the lower-class, not to mention being predisposed to being generally cranky and cantankerous, not exactly a social butterfly, but at the same being good-natured at heart, and being absolutely head over heels (pun fully intended) for the Bride. Obviously, there are exceptions to these examples, but those are the most common tropes I’ve seen crop up. 

13. Some of my favorite threads include...

1. Family Reunion/Baby Boos - Maybe I’m cheating by including two RP’s here, but the two are so inextricably linked that I can’t list one without the other! The characters of Randall’s parents, Wilhelm and June Pace, have really grown into their own since I started this blog, stepping out of the background to become vastly more front and center as fully-fleshed characters, and they were defidently front and center in these two RP’s with @beatingheart-bride, in which the Pace parents arrive at the Mansion and not only reunite with their only son, but also meet their daughter-in-law and lend a hand in Randall and Emily’s graduation to parenthood. They’re both warm and fuzzy RP’s (in particular the latter), and I love going back and reading through them.

2. From Beyond The Grave - Keeping with the theme of Randall’s parents becoming a larger part of both his mythos and the RP’s, June showed up in this RP with @askthebrokenones-fm, reuniting with her son as well as getting to know his friends, up to and including a fellow ‘Hatty’, the demonic Egore, whom she’s quickly become very motherly to in follow-up RP’s (such as Motherly Instinct). It’s a relatively short but nonetheless RP, I love watching Randall’s parents interact with other characters in the Mansion, and June’s interactions with both Sinclair and Egore makes me smile, as well as makes me really look forward to what future RP’s hold for her, Randall, the Sentient Staircase, and the Ghost Demon!

3. Videodrome - I never expected to see an RP blog based around any children Hatty and the Bride would have, but @erika-de-claire has taken the concept and run with it, and we’ve had some very entertaining RP’s because of it. While it was sorely tempting to put the more recent ExtraTerrorestrial Alien Encounter (mostly because of Erika’s adorable interactions with Skippy, her new alien pal), I just had to put this modern AU one, involving Randall and his daughter being trapped in a video store on a rainy night, trying to avoid becoming the prey for a fear-hungry monster in the vein of John Carpenter’s The Thing and Poltergiest’s Reverend Henry Kane. It’s such a creepy and atmospheric RP, and I do wonder if that monster will ever crop up again in the future-it’s possible the flaming nitrate didn’t kill him...

14. I think Randall and I would get along pretty well: We do have similar interests (nominally being classic horror literature and film, including those starring Lon Chaney Sr.) and are artistically-inclined (him being passionate about millinery and tailoring; while I’m passionate about writing and film), so I think we could find a lot to talk about!

22. Three interesting facts about Randall include...

-He and Emily would always bake a cake for Mardi Gras: A tradition of Mardi Gras is the king cake, a braided brioche dough laced with cinnamon, filled with a flavored filling (Randall’s favorite, unsurprisingly, is strawberry filling) and smothered in a glaze or colorful frosting, and usually has a little figure of a baby inside of it. When the two married, each year they would celebrate the holiday by baking this cake together, and seeing who would get the figure first (usually, the tradition is that the one who finds it has to provide the cake or host the party next Mardi Gras, but as it would usually be just the two of them, they ignored it). It took them a few tries to get the cake right (the first few years they tried it, something always seemed to go wrong), but they eventually mastered it, and when it was their turn to bake the cake when they celebrated Mardi Gras at the Mansion, they did it with aplomb.

-His favorite New Orleans dish is a crawfish boil: Although Randall ate his fair share of Irish dishes in his youth (on account of his mother preparing the recipes her husband brought with him from the Emerald Isle), he naturally grew up eating plenty of Louisiana cuisine, including po’boys (which could be made with just about anything on hand and made a quick, easy meal that could be taken on the go) and dirty rice (another simple but filling dish that he ate a lot of, since it was relatively cheap and made plenty of helpings). By and large, his favorite was a good crawfish boil: He would catch them down at the river and bring them back to his mother, who would cook them up, usually along with a small tray of biscuits or potatoes. The Mansion’s cooks still prepare plenty of New Orleans dishes (given their master is a New Orleans native as well), and so Randall still gets to enjoy these boils every now and again, particularly during the summer.

-His least favorite story is Peter Pan: I’ve made very clear Randall’s fear of the Fae (mostly spurned on by the stories he heard in his youth of their turning foolish mortals into all sorts of unnatural things), and as a result of this, his least favorite story is J.M. Barrie’s famous story about the Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up. Randall finds nothing whimsical or fun about fairies stealing innocent children away from their parents, feeling that’s the start of a horror story than a fairy tale, and as a result, has not read the original story, nor has he watched Disney’s famous adaptation. At the most, he’s at least quite sympathetic towards Captain Hook-being continually terrorized by a Fae child sounds awful, and he can relate to the struggle of having lost an appendage: If a fairy cut off his hand and fed it to a crocodile, he’d be pretty cross too.

24. “Are you sure you don’t wanna watch Peter Pan with me?”

“Absolutely not!”

“Oh, come on, Randall! It’s still a fun movie, it’s cute, fairies aside!”

“Child, they steal three children from their bedroom, and whisk them away to a far-away world where the elder sister is terrorized by an angry fairy and is nearly drowned by mermaids! That does not sound like fun!”

“It’s not Tink’s fault, she’s only got room for one emotion at a time on account of her size!”

“And the murderous mermaids?”

“...okay, I don’t have anything to say about them, but c’mon! Can’t you put aside your fear of the Fae for just one night?”

“How about you put aside your fear of spiders, and we watch Arachnophobia instead? What do you say to that, lass?”

“...never mind.”

[theheadlessgroom]

𝑪𝑯𝑨𝑹𝑨𝑪𝑻𝑬𝑹 𝑺𝑯𝑬𝑬𝑻

repost,  don’t reblog !

𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐬 !

FULL NAME. Randall Huit Pace     PRONUNCIATION. Ran-Dahl Hugh-It Paa-ss       NICKNAME. The Hatbox Ghost, Ol’ Hatty, Mr. Randall/Mr. Pace      GENDER. Cis male         HEIGHT. 4′12     AGE. Was 33 when he died, and is still mentally that age, but in actuality, he’s 237 years old    ZODIAC. Taurus         SPOKEN LANGUAGES. English, some Irish he learned from his father, and a smattering of French that Emily taught him 

𝐩𝐡𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐬 !

HAIR COLOR. Jet black (now gray)      EYE COLOR. Pale, olive green (now white)      SKIN TONE. Extraordinarily pale, almost bordering on sickly        BODY TYPE. Extremely bony, and it hasn’t changed very much as a ghost (especially since you can see his ribcage through his coat)    ACCENT. He has the faintest traces of an Irish accent, but it’s only most audible when he’s actually speaking Irish         VOICE. Gruff on the surface, but with a depth of warmth to it, once one gets to know him       DOMINANT HAND. Left        POSTURE. Not grand-he tends to hunch over a lot, oftentimes leaning on his cane for support         SCARS. One: A long, jagged scar that winds all the way around his throat, and one that is extremely sensitive to the touch-it’s the scar he received the day he lost his head.         TATTOOS. None        BIRTHMARKS. None         MOST NOTICEABLE FEATURE(S). In life, a lot of people noticed the heavy bags under his eyes, as well as his long, somewhat pointed nose, but these days, people tend to notice his lack of a nose altogether, and his unsettling, unblinking eyes. Another noticeable feature is the single gold tooth he has, which often catches most people’s eye, particular when he smiles 

𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐝 !

PLACE OF BIRTH. New Orleans, Louisiana        HOMETOWN. New Orleans (up until after his death, he never lived anywhere else)         BIRTH WEIGHT.  8 pounds        BIRTH HEIGHT.  7 ounces          MANNER OF BIRTH. Natural, at home-June didn’t even have a midwife with her, just her husband, Wilhelm, to help her with the birth       FIRST WORDS. Knox! (Wilhelm and June long debated whether he said ‘Knox’, the name of his teddy bear, or ‘knocks’, since his mother had rapped on the kitchen table as part of the ‘knock on wood’ tradition, but ultimately, Randall will tell you he was saying his favorite toy’s name)     SIBLINGS. None         PARENTS. Wilhelm and June Pace        PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT. Wilhelm died in a boating accident when Randall was three, leaving June to be his sole provider from that moment on: Although she worked countless jobs wherever she could in order to keep food on the table and clothes on their backs, she never neglected or ignored Randall; far from it. She showered him with all the love and support in the world, and he credits her for being the one to shape him into who he is today.  

𝐚𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 !

OCCUPATION. Former haberdasher; currently an infamous attic ghost at Disneyland’s The Haunted Mansion         CURRENT RESIDENCE. Gracey Manor (also known as The Haunted Mansion), New Orleans Square, Disneyland, Anaheim, CA           CLOSE FRIENDS. His best friend is the Mansion’s young master, Dorian Gracey, but he also has a host of other friends, both in the Mansion and across the various RP verses, all of whom he treasures deeply, grateful that he hasn’t put them off with his cantankerous, cranky attitude       RELATIONSHIP STATUS. (Happily) married to Emily Pace nee’ de Clair, the erstwhile Beating-Heart Bride      FINANCIAL STATUS. Was extremely poor in life, but thanks to his status as a resident of the Mansion (and the fact that he’s dead), he doesn’t have to worry about such matters these days.       DRIVER’S LICENSE. None-he knows how to drive a carriage, but not how to drive a car     CRIMINAL RECORD. None      VICES. Tends to overwork himself and doesn’t always have a regular sleep pattern, but is otherwise free of most vices (such as drinking, smoking, gambling, etc.)     

𝐬𝐞𝐱 & 𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 !

SEXUAL ORIENTATION. Heterosexual        ROMANTIC ORIENTATION. Heteroromantic          PREFERRED EMOTIONAL ROLE.  submissive |  dominant |  switch ((Mun’s note: I don’t know what this means))   PREFERRED SEXUAL ROLE.  submissive |  dominant  |  switch LIBIDO. Normal       TURN ONS. Blonde hair, tallness, kindness/compassion         TURN OFFS. Bigotry, general rudeness/unpleasantness, wanton cruelty        LOVE LANGUAGE. Randall is much more of a giver than a receiver in a relationship, often expressing himself through little gifts (nothing extravagant, usually things he makes such as clothes and accessories, or flowers, always a favorite) and small gestures, such as going for walks or going out somewhere together. He’s not big on PDA (it embarrasses him to have an audience), but that doesn’t mean he certainly isn’t affectionate behind closed doors    RELATIONSHIP TENDENCIES. Extremely giving and supportive, in addition to being very comforting and compassionate when the situation calls for it    

𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐨𝐮𝐬 !

CHARACTER’S THEME SONG. Magic by Mystery Skulls/I Miss You by Blink-182      HOBBIES TO PASS TIME. Randall didn’t have a lot of hobbies in life, often being too caught up in his work to be able to take the time to have one, but in death, he’s more free to pursue passions such as singing and dancing, and he still considers making hats and other articles clothing a hobby      MENTAL ILLNESSES. Suffers from nightmares/flashbacks in regards to his and Emily’s deaths PHYSICAL ILLNESSES. Struggles to keep balance without his cane nearby, will occasionally feel a sharp pain in his neck, particularly around the anniversary of his death      LEFT OR RIGHT BRAINED. Right-brained      PHOBIAS. Autophobia (fear of abandonment)        SELF CONFIDENCE LEVEL. Not particularly high: Growing up in New Orleans, Randall faced a great deal of discrimination for his Irish heritage, and in general was never particularly confident in his appearance and appeal to others, up to and including women. It still throws Randall for a loop to hear praise for him today in really any capacity, and though he likes being scary, he still sort of wishes he looked a little less-so (though, if you were to ask Emily, she would tell you that he has and always will be handsome, in life and in death)   VULNERABILITIES. Though he puts up a pretty tough facade, Randall is pretty vulnerable deep down inside, with a hair-trigger temper and a lot of emotional baggage: The death of his father, his rough childhood, the death of his mother, his own violent death alongside Emily, being banished and his time spent terrorizing mortal weddings, coming home to find Emily gone and Constance in her place, all of it he tries to lock away, but these are a lot of pressure points, and they can set him off in a snap     

TAGGED BY: @murroyilodel  TAGGING: @beatingheart-bride, @erika-de-claire, @unofficialpinkbrideofthemansion, @askthebrokenones-mws, @asktheghosthost, @askthehatboxghost, @ask-the-hatbox-ghost, @impysprite, @grim-grinning-gwen, @martharavenswood, @arachnofille, and anyone else who’d like to do it!

[theheadlessgroom]

About the muse

I was tagged by: No one! Tagging: All who’d like to do it!

Don’t reblog if tagged, copy, paste, re-post with your answers.

Name: Randall Huit Pace

Age: Is really 237 years old, but mentally thinks and feels like he’s 33, the age he was when he died

Height: 4′12

Weight: Probably weighs 100 lbs. soaking wet

Blood Type: AB-

Eye color: Was pale green, now a milky white

Hair color: Was jet-black, now more gray/salt and pepper

Date of Birth: May 9th, 1782

Zodiac sign: Taurus

Shoe size: 8.5

Favorite Color(s): White is his favorite, but he also likes grays, blacks, greens, and blues

Favorite smell(s): Roses, a fresh pot of hot black coffee, homemade foods, strawberries, and the scent of Emily’s perfume 

Birth Gem: Emerald

Race: Human male; now a ghost (specifically classified as a phantasm)

Talent(s): Hat-making, sewing/mending clothing, singing, and climbing-he’s also a fair dancer and a decent cook when the situation calls for it

A wish they have always wanted: When he was a boy, he often wished for stability in his life; for his mother not to have to constantly work to keep food on the table, mainly. These days, he mostly just wishes to have his wife back.

An item they hold dear to their heart: Lots of things that he’s very proud to have made, but Emily’s wedding veil ranks up there as being both his masterpiece and a very important symbol of their relationship. There’s love in every stitch, made for her and no one else-and it was really the object that brought them together, as she’d been looking for one when she came into his haberdashery. 

Favorite sound(s): Jazz music, the Singing Busts, the Organist’s music, the delighted shrieks of their mortal guests, and, of course, Emily’s lilting, beautiful voice

Fear(s): Autophobia, or the fear of abandonment. He doesn’t want to be banished from the Mansion again, nor does he want to never see Emily again.

Accomplishment(s): Helped his mother by taking on odd jobs from an early age in order to earn extra money; faced down heaps of discrimination for his Irish heritage; ‘lived’ a happy life post-mortem with the woman he loves; remains an iconic fixture of the Mansion and a certain beloved status among the mortals despite his decades-long absence 

Your muse’s catchphrase(s): Usually he gives a dark chuckle when you see him in the attic, performing his little ‘trick’, but any pun related to the loss of his head will do as well 

Likes: Anything to do with Emily, silent horror movies (or really anything with Lon Chaney in it), sewing/hat-making, music and dance, scaring mortals, and a good homecooked meal

Dislikes: Anything to do with Constance, flash photography, the thought of never seeing Emily again

Any scars?: One long, thin, jagged one that winds around his throat; this is the telltale scar he received upon losing his head-it’s prone to aching and sharp pain (usually around his deathday) and is extremely sensitive to the touch; the only person besides himself allowed to touch it is Emily

Birthmarks?: None

Something about your muse that is different from everyone else: A less-than-happy haunt on the outside, with a heart of gold on the inside

What makes your muse cry?: The memory of losing his mother, being banished, or coming home to find Emily gone and Constance in her place; certain horror movies (especially if the monster is hopelessly in love with the leading lady, such as in films like The Mummy and The Bride of Frankenstein)

What makes your muse happy?: A little peace and quiet between mortal tours; a good drink (non-alcoholic, preferably); old love songs; anything and everything to do with Emily

What makes your muse laugh?: The antics of the Hitchhiking Ghosts, some of the Ghost Host’s spookier puns (no matter how cringeworthy), joking around with Dorian, silent comedies (put on a Buster Keaton or Harold Lloyd movie, and he’ll be wheezing with laughter in no time) 

Does your muse love his/her parents? Why or why not?: Randall doesn’t really remember his father, and even then, he doesn’t have the greatest opinion of him, considering it was his alcoholism that led to his struggle to hold down a job and subsequent demise while out fishing, leaving Randall’s mother to be the primary breadwinner and caregiver to her only son. He was very close to her in life, and misses her dearly in death

Does you muse have any friends? Which friend is closest to him/her?: Randall has a handful of good friends, but none are closer to him than Dorian Gracey, the master of the Mansion. Having known each other since boyhood, the two have a brotherly rapport, and it shows in nearly every aspect of their friendship

Your muse’s favorite food?: Potato soup and corned beef are perennial favorites, though he’s also never met a strawberry he didn’t like

Does your muse follow a religion? If so, what is it and what are their beliefs?: Randall was raised Irish-Catholic (drawing much ire from his New Orleans neighbors), but he’s really pretty uncertain these days when it comes to the topic of religion, being a ghost and all

What would get your muse to fall in love with someone?: Just being Emily Randall is moved by genuine compassion and kindness, even towards those others might deem beneath them, as well having a good head on their shoulders (no pun intended) and an appreciation for hard work and the importance of family

Has your muse ever killed/murdered somebody? Why did they do it and what was their motive?: Never: Chalk it up to his being a murder victim himself, although he’s got a hair-trigger temper and wouldn’t balk at beating somebody over the head with his cane (or just throwing a good punch), he wouldn’t resort to murder. That’s Constance’s MO, not his

Does your muse have a type when it comes to physical attraction?: Randall has been infatuated by blondes since his youth, and he certainly doesn’t discount a fondness for blue eyes either. It doesn’t hurt to be a bit taller than him too, that he doesn’t mind

What does your muse find endearing personality wise?: Compassion and understanding, as well as valuing good, hard work, and the importance of family

What is the most stupidest/illogical thing your muse has done and why did they do it?: Oh, there’s a handful of examples that could be given here, as Randall is oftentimes a very emotional spook, and as such flies off the handles at a moment’s provocation, usually if he’s driven into a rage. Some of the dumber things he’s done has involved goading Constance into a furious frenzy, leaving him to make a hasty escape, lest he wants to lose his head again