Dark Harbor

   The Queen Mary is one of those things in life, you know, like.. a ship.

Best intro ever?

     Yeah, it's this tourist attraction kind of near where I go to study, but not really. It's basically a cruise ship out of commission, and it's supposedly haunted up the ass. The last time I visited there was with Fett when we went to that one event with the tattoo artists and rockabilly stuff and burlesque dancers? The name of the expo escapes me, but it was held within and outside around the ship.
And just like any other attraction the Queen Mary holds themed events every so often, like Dark Harbor which is.... a haunt attraction! ^_^

 But Cynth, you never mentioned Queen Mary before. What made you even give a shit, you ask? Well, let me tell you.

Remember when I was at Halloween Horror Nights? The second time?

Adam and Victor, (two of the scareactors there who I became acquainted with through Mr. Flower) approached me and asked me if I was going. Knew absolutely nothing about it until they mentioned it. I knew in the back of my mind that it existed somewhere in time in our plane of reality, but that was the only current of electricity my brain held regarding the matter. I told them I didn't know, because it was the truth. Then as soon as I got home I googled that shit and thought, Oh. Cool.

To my surprise, tickets were significantly cheaper than HHN, which honestly was a major concern and factor on whether or not I'd attend. BUT AS IT TURNS OUT IT WAS 20 BUCKS AND NEAR MY SCHOOL AND ON A WEDNESDAY SO LIKE FUCK YA LESDODIS.

The only thing now is... who can I go with? I don't even know.. 

Then I remembered Pamela! She wanted to come with me to HHN that second round, but didn't get my text until later. So I was like HEY. COME WITH ME. and she was like okay!!!

We decided to meet there that evening after we both go out of our classes. I ended up sleeping in my car in the campus lot until it was time to drive over there. We accidentally found each other in the parking lot walking towards the entrance. Yay! 

 Yay night time and city lights on the other side of water and stuff! :D

 It was crowded more than I thought it would be for a Wednesday, but we shuffled our way in. Pamela is an expert entrance finder.

You'll have to forgive me, for I didn't take many pictures that night. Though the event itself was really fun, it wasn't as elaborately decorated which meant there wasn't a lot to capture. There were many food vendors, and lights, and long lines. The attractions were not elaborately decorated, but there was a ride in the center from Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch. 

 D'aww my Pamela.

So something happened that we totally didn't expect.

The mazes there are, for lack of a better term, intense. Now, even though we technically only went through one, it's pretty apparent that they had little to no limitations on seriously manifesting horrible, terrifying creativity. We waiting in line for Soul Mate, that featured the ghost Graceful Gale, who yearned to find her lover, but instead dismembered men trying to create one for herself. 

Holy. Shit.

Not only was the maze really, really long, but the props and decor they used, all simulating the era of the ship in it's prime but run down and decrepit, were very, very life-like. I think that was what highlighted the extra eeriness of it all. My dear Pamela was struggling to keep herself together, as I'm sure it felt like an endless nightmare for her. I remained behind her, holding her tight and with her hand to her back grasping mine to reassure her every dark corner we faced.

At first I thought she was being hyperbolic, but then realized the maze was more difficult for her than for me. I will admit though, that maze is fucked up, lol. It was... yeah. I wasn't expecting it to be like that, at all. We took a break for a while after that and just sat down to chill until we felt ready to go at another one :)

 Before we waited in line, Pamela wanted to know a little more about what to expect in the other mazes aboard the Queen Mary, and honestly I did too, so we asked someone about it, and they told us the other two were even more intense than Soul Mate! So, for Pamela's sake, we decided to opt out of those, and got some grub. We walked around the park instead. I got her a churro and some water to bring her down from the maze before and to just take it easy :)

ALSO! Mr. Flower and some of his HHN friendsies were working there that night! I didn't know they were WORKING the event until a few days later when Mr. Flower told me about it. So... off we went. Aaaaand I spotted Mr. Flower and Aaron walking together in unison. They looked so awesome in their get-up! I wish I would've taken a picture of them, but they were moving quickly. I called out to them, and thankfully they heard me.
And they showed off their sliding skills!
THEY'RE SO GOOD AT IT! It was exciting. They have amazing timing and aim. It's always really fascinating to watch them go, because they just charge at people and pass their legs by INCHES. It's great. Pamela enjoyed it too, and some of them made sure to make her feel extra uncomfortable, lol.

 After a little bit, Pamela was feeling better and said she was up for another round! So we went for Voodoo Village. The line wasn't as long, but still a hefty wait. We had plenty of entertainment around us; being loud, obnoxious, horny, drunk douchebags and hip hop music playing through the speakers. I feel like the couple behind us had similar sentiments. 

Once we got inside we were pumped and ready to go! Pamela was so brave for going in and trying again to overcome her fear! I held her tight to reassure her, and let her know I was there, and everything was okay until we ran into some really intimidating scareactors at the end of an offputting hallway. There were like 3 all coming at us one after the other, it's was crazy, lol. Pamela got a little panicked, but after a few moments she was better. The first really tall scareactor asked her if she would be okay to continue, and she said yes. She's so brave! YOU'RE SO BRAVE, LADY!!! I KNOW IT WAS DIFFICULT FOR YOU! So onward we went! We walked through some more rooms and came upon this really creepy room with black lit ritual shit... it looked hxc, lol. And then BAM, more scareactors. One after the other, after the other. I felt Pamela tense up and grasp my hand super tight as we exited the room and into the outer corridor. We stopped there for a moment, but then another scareactor came out of nowhere and startled the shit out of us! At that moment, things were not okay :(

The experience was too much to withstand for my Pamela, and she had to take a moment, because she was not okay. I held her and hugged her as much as I could, reassuring her, but she needed to get OUT. This next part was incredible... 

The very same scareactor that startled us last completely dropped out of character and addressed her IMMEDIATELY. He was no longer something to fear, but his voice became one of reassurance and safety. He told Pamela she would be okay, and opened the fence up for us to exit right then. She had trouble breathing, and needed to just.. not be around the atmosphere and he picked up on it so quickly. I'm really grateful to that guy for being so quick to recognize the situation for what it was.
If I knew who he was I'd call the park and tell them how amazing he was to us. Thank you so much Mr. Voodoo Village guy that was in the outside corridor right after the black lit ritual room with the pentagram on the floor and shit. 

Pamela remained there in that little nook while I went to the little stand to get her some water. At first the lady said she couldn't provide any except for bottled, I apologized for imposing and explained that my friend was having a panic attack, and she looked over and told me to hang on. I walked over to Pamela to provide her a reassuring touch on her shoulder and rub her back to let her know I was there and we were okay, and went back to the stand where the lady handed me a cup of water. 

I thanked her and went back over to Pamela and led her to a nearby table so we could sit.

I was so proud of her for going back into the maze, having no idea how it would impact her. Neither one of us knew it would affect her this way, but she was so brave in wanting to try again. And she still does!!! She told me! We wants to try again! haha

Maybe this last time it got the best of her but no way man, she wants another go next year. And we will do exactly that. For sure. 

We sat there for a while until she was positive that she would be okay. She felt so bad but I was trying to convince her that these mazes are hxc, lol compared to what I saw at HHN-- AND THEY REALLY ARE. We didn't even go through Voodoo Village all the way but from what I saw it was really, really, eerie and off-putting. The scareactors are intense. They follow you for longer, which is doubly awkward. 

Pamela girl, I admire you for wanting to try again, even after Soul Mate! Seeing as how that wasn't easy for you? You have balls, lady lol. And then wanting to try AGAIN next year?! You're awesome :)

I was also explaining to her that for me, it's different because I've seen these environments in survival horror games, and it's not a completely new experience to me. WHICH BY THE WAY, DOESN'T MAKE IT ANY LESS SCARY, I'LLTELLYOUWHUT. Soul Mate felt like walking through the fucking Amnesia game. Seriously, lol. I actually was thinking that while walking through it like "holy shit..." and so it wasn't as surprising. For her though it was a first, and that was okay. It was all compleeetely new to her, and I'm sure it all was incredibly daunting and overwhelming, especially with how more intense these are. Honestly, HHN's got nothing on Soul Mate, lol. 

So once we were in the clear, we walked around a little bit to go look for some safe, familiar faces :)

 Mr. Flower and Aaron ^_^

 No chainsaws this time, but honestly they didn't need it. They were awesome just the same.

 A little longer after that, Pamela felt it best that she head out, and encouraged me to try to go on another maze but I didn't care that much anymore. I told her I'd stick around and grab some photos if I could, and then split-- which was exactly what I did. I walked her to the gate making sure she was good to go and feeling okay, which she was. She definitely left with an experience to remember, that's for sure! Mazes or no mazes, it was a rollercoaster no doubt.

So back I went, to capture some final moments of the park before everything closed down, which they were already doing. The lines were closed off, the shops were closing off their windows and shit. And it was just after midnight.

 HISSY CHATTERY SKULL HEAD GUY WAS THERE TOO :D

He was weird and hissy and walked after me. And a part of me feels that even though I didn't see Screechy Barkies there, that he was in a bush somewhere off the side... just... staring. Like a dinosaur, and Hissy Chattery Skull Head Guy was channeling him with his squawking? I don't know. 

Was fun though :3

 Selfie attempt #1

As they were all heading off for the evening I stopped Victor and Aaron and called them over for one last selfie. Weeee! ^_^

It would've been nice to get one last one with Mr. Flower but he was nowhere to be found. 

Either way, it was definitely a night to remember. I'm glad to have run into some of the HHN guys there. And apparently the girl who played the Auctioneer was working there too! Her name is Adrienne. I didn't know about it though, otherwise I would've searched for her =\

All in all it was a fun night, despite the yuckies. My Pamela was a trooper, and I hope that she left feeling like now that she knows what to expect, she's invincible and can take on all the scary scaries next year with me :)

A big thank you to Victor who poked at her a little bit as we passed him in the crowd :P

By the end of this month I'm going to be moved out. It's a little more north of here but not too far.

My work is currently going under some changes as well. Depending on how everything goes, once I'm done with class in December I'm probably going to start looking elsewhere for work. Moreso into the field I want to eventually be in, but of course.. at the lowest tier and work my way up. If everything works out, I can schedule school around it and I'd be set. Wishful thinking, but it doesn't hurt to try, I guess. 

Also this past weekend was Comikaze, which was sooo so much fun! Of course that will have to wait for another entry. It's going to be a crazy month. I got some boxes from work, and Josh was a sweetheart and brought some boxes over today that he got from his work as well. Once I'm all situated in my new place I can finally chill and start saving up again. Con season has worn me OUT. I'm ready for this semester to be over so I can chill for a bit and play some WoW again! 

Also, November is the month that marks Fett and I's year mark of dating. It doesn't feel like it's been a year at all. Guess that's a good thing. What day exactly escapes me, as we just kind of gradually got closer and closer, and never used the title "boyfriend/girlfriend" officially until like... 3 months in or something. It'd be kinda fucked up to drag someone along for like 8 months and not tell them where they stand with you, huh? =\ 

Oh, one last thing! ^_^ it's not long, I thought I got more video footage but... 

It's Aaron, Kris, Mr. Flower, and Hissy Guy ^_^