Setting
๑ ABATON CITY
"I do not know how to distinguish between our waking life and a dream. Are we not always living the life that we imagine we are?"
--Thoreau
Abaton is an (obviously fictional) eastern coast city in the United States. It was colonized as a port city in the 1600's and has since grown to a large and bustling city on the coast of what is now Connecticut. No matter what the time period, anything anyone would want can be found in the city somewhere. It is diverse in many ways as people come from all walks of life in hopes of a better future. While not quite the size as some of its close neighbors (such as New York City), it is an ever-growing city. Immigration of peoples from in and out of the country is almost on par with the larger cities. Though, unfortunately, people do not always succeed in their hopeful endeavors, many people on the good side of town will agree that it is a wonderful city to live in. Whether your interests are in the arts or sports, you'll find something to satisfy your time and desires.
Due to its location, many business and trading companies find it to be a convenient alternative to being based in NYC or elsewhere. These companies keep many of the communities alive and help the prosperous city continue to expand. For the wealthy that live in the city as a result, many have made themselves very comfortable homes between the shopping and the entertainment districts.
๑ ABATON MAP
1. Downtown
The downtown district is the nexus of life in Abaton. Businesses are built nearly on top of each other, it serves as the center of shopping in the city, workers take the local train or trolley in from the outer neighborhoods, and most of the brownstones and lofts are so expensive as to belong to the relatively well-to-do, maintaining their property values fairly well after the housing bubble of the 1920s burst. While it's very metropolitan, city planning for the sake of the wealthy means that there are plenty of trees and even some green spaces spread throughout the more residential blocks.
Notable Locations:
-(starred) Adessi Private School: While there are many private schools for the wealthy in Abaton, Adessi is one of the few that also boards it's students. The campus is it's own little walled-off oasis of manicured lawns in a predominantly upscale neighborhood in both eras, and has been financially independent enough to avoid selling off any of its' property as the years have gone by.
3. Chinatown
A neighborhood Asian immigrants have carved out for themselves. While there is some severe real estate discrimination in 1934, the most wealthy community members have started to buy up property anyways. By 2012, there has been widespread renovation and rebuilding throughout the neighborhood, and the city regularly sponsors major holiday celebrations, like the Lunar New Year.
Notable Locations:
- Ghosty's Antique Shop: No matter how many decades pass, the shop doesn't seem to have aged a day, and neither has the shopkeeper. Special medicines, able to treat even the nastiest status effects or curses a demon could give, are for sale here.
- Bao Bakery: A hole-in-the-wall takeout shop in 2012 that sells traditional Asian baked goods, a few of the western variety, milk tea, and bubble teas. Nearly all pastries are a little less than a dollar each, and because of it's location two blocks away from the school, on the very edge of Chinatown, it's very popular with students.
2. Central North Block
The Central North Block is one of the first neighborhoods European immigrants have settled in and formed communities. The majority is mostly Polish, German, and Czech. By 2012, it has started to become gentrified, and brownstone prices have skyrocketed.
4. Upper West Block
Historically Afro-Hispanic, by 2012 gentrification has started to creep in from the edges of the neighborhood, driving out a lot of the smaller corner businesses that drew people to the neighborhood in the 1980s to begin with. A vibrant underground activist and poetry scene has had its' home in the Upper West Block for generations, but it's only been recently that it's been given any notice.
Notable Locations:
-The Old (OLD) Bridge (1934): One of the oldest bridges in Abaton, as the city grew it became apparent the bridge was too narrow to take care of most of the traffic between the Central and West side. in 1934 it stands secondary to the newer bridge further south between Gov't Center and Central North Block. Homeless have made their home underneath. By 2012, it is in extremely poor repair, and probably slated to be replaced.
5. Greenwich
In 1934, Greenwich ranges form cramped multi-family buildings and mom-and-pop shops, to middle-class single-family homes with grassy backyards along the outmost edges. By the time 2012 has rolled around, the neighborhood has shifted to something more suburban, with brick sidewalks, numerous small gardens and parks, and tiny sidestreets kept for a more historic, homey, feel.
6. Lower West Block
Where Abaton's handful of private colleges have their campus, across a variety of disciplines. It's one of the most walkable neighborhoods aside from the downtown area, and the city's public trollies (in 1934) and train and bus routes (2012) have a stop at every campus. There's many used book shops here, some with rarer stock than others.
Notable Locations:
-Abaton Public Library: This library is huge, at four stories and a 2-level basement, serving both the city and the colleges. Stone lions guard the massive front steps, and both the exterior and interior features Art Deco lighting fixtures and detailing. There is a small central courtyard with benches to read around a small goldfish fountain, and in 2012 the courtyard has been protected by a glass ceiling in order to provide a year-round garden. By 2012, there is an updated computer lab.
8. Gov't Center and Financial District
The location of Abaton's City Hall, City Council building, and Police Station, as well as a number of impressive near-skyscrapers that serve as large branches for stock trading, law offices, and banks. Nearly all restaurants in the area are extremely expensive. There are a number of business-class hotels in this district too. If there's any change between 1934 and 2012, it's that everything seems to have gotten bigger and shinier.
7. Waterside
A solidly blue-collar neighborhood in both eras, Waterside is home to the fisherman's piers, meatpacking, and leather working district, with the rather hidden Tailor's Row bordering the collegiate Lower West Side. In 2012, the leatherworking district has shifted over to small private fashion houses and the massive retail and couture brands that dominate. The meatpacking district has shrunk, in place of farmer's markets and classy steakhouse and oyster bar restaurants that try to play on old it's "vintage" charm. The fisherman's pier is still going strong, although a large chain of seafood restaurants has taken up most of the oceanfront.
9. The Point
Where some of Abaton's wealthiest live, and million-dollar brownstones cluster to face the water.
12. Upper East Block
The Upper East Block is home to a vibrant Italian community along the border of the Central North Block, but there are tensions with the Greek community on the eastern side.
13. Eastford
Abaton's eastern suburbs, it's a sprawling blue collar neighborhood in 1934 that is home to a somewhat scattered Irish population. By 2012, it's still more or less a working-class suburb.
10. Central East Block
Abaton's entertainment district. In the 1930s, there were tons of thriving theater with bright lights all down the main street, and many smaller establishments for both small plays, galleries, readings, dinner theater, and even some burlesque, scattered throughout all the a maze of side streets and alleys. Less than a decade earlier, these places of entertainment also acted as fronts for speakeasies, but they've gone mostly legal and above-ground since - although many are still private clubs. In 2012, tech start ups are starting to grow in the area, and many of the theaters have run out of business - but the biggest and oldest still survive, mostly through historical culture grants and philanthropy. Smaller, more modern theaters, however, have a particularly hard time getting recognition or raising funds.
11. Riverside
This long narrow stretch hosts all shipping, imports, and exports from Abaton. Further inland, it's blue-collar workers and recent immigrants.
Notable Locations:
-The Old Bridge (2012): Built in the boom after WWII, this suspension bridge is only a block away from Adessi and connects the Downtown area to Riverside.
-The docks: A maze of shipping stacked shipping containers, warehouses, and docked ships, all surrounded by a high-chain link fence. Demons show up here more often than not, sneaking into the city.
14. CoveSide
Coveside consists of mostly beaches, summer homes, inns, and large public parks. It's Abaton's own Coney Island, and home to a small minor league baseball stadium that is almost brand new in 1934, but in need of serious repair by 2012. Eastern Coveside is all parkland and trails, with both cabins and campgrounds for rent.
Notable Locations:
-Boardwalk: A beachside amusement park and shopping district.
15. Lower East Block
The Lower East Block is a tenuous mix of middle-class and upper-class homes in 1934, and was hit hard when the housing bubble of the 1920s burst. With the sudden fall in value, blue-collar workers are starting to rent and buy up homes, and older residents worry about the neighborhood recovering. By 2012, the Lower East Block has recovered very well, thanks to returning residents taking advantage of the GI bill after WW2. There are almost as many private and charter schools as there are in Downtown.
⌛ ADESSI HALL
The history of the private school : Past and Present
Adessi Hall is a small private boarding school nestled tightly in the upscale area of downtown Abaton City. It was originally founded in 1880 as a private girl's school by Maria Adessi, a wealthy woman's rights activist. It was intended for wealthy families of the city who traveled often, but who still wanted to make sure their daughters had a proper education. The school only allowed eighteen new students each year, as that is all they had room for and there were plenty of other private schools in the area to choose from. Even with the local competition, it's reputation usually helped bring in around a full class each year. However, those numbers sharply decreased when the Great Depression hit. Because of changes in finances for many families, many of the girls were sent elsewhere, moved elsewhere, or were sent to public schools. People simply couldn't or chose to no longer pay the tuition price.
Rather than lower their tuition, in 1930 the financial situation forced the school to start admitting boys to fill their enrollment capacity. The student housing, which was originally one building housing seventy-two girls, was converted to two halves to house thirty-six boys and thirty-six girls. To create two buildings out of one, they simply put up walls at the center of each hall. Many welcomed the change to keep the school running, while a few whose families had a history with the school felt a little uneasy about the new direction. It was done and proved to be successful either way.
Fall 1934
The school has been co-ed for four years now. The first co-ed class graduated in the spring, and overall everything has seemed to adjust well. However, there is an underlying power struggle still evident under everything. The girls of the school have tried to keep power over the student government by doing their best to fill the student council. The boys of the school who are used to a male power structure in most other daily aspects are a bit resentful as a result. While outright arguments or even comments of unrest about the issue will not be tolerated by the school's faculty, secret pranks and such do happen. Those who get caught are punished appropriately though.
Most of the school's former traditions have been completely tossed out the window. The school's new direction encourages ideas for new traditions, but they've yet to come up with anything that actually sticks. A few of the events planned for this year include a miniature ball and a school trip to the city's theatre district. All students are welcomed by the faculty and student council to make suggestions for tradition possibilities.
Fall 2012
The school is largely the same in structure as it was 70 years ago. The students are still housed in the same building, but it has gone through major updates. It's most recent facelift was in 2001, so despite it's age it's capable of suiting all of the modern needs of the students. Tuition is fairly reasonable, but its good reputation has made for a selective admittance. Each year one or two scholarship students are welcomed in now. The same number of students still attend, but much of the power struggle from the past between girls and boys has drifted off into history. No one really cares any more, so gender equality is no problem. However, yearly pranks are still played on each other for the sake of fun tradition. Even the faculty has been known to get in on this.
The ball and yearly trip to the theatre district have also remained, as well as several other traditions that have stuck over the years. (NOTE: If you'd like to see a tradition become a reality in this time period, feel free to talk one of your teammates in the 1930's into making a suggestion.)
Average school year structure
The the school year is much like any other school in the States in that it runs from fall to spring. Each semester lasts for about fourteen weeks. The Fall semester usually runs from September to mid-December. The Spring semester runs from mid-January to the end of April. However, because Adessi Hall is also technically a year-round boarding school, programs during the summer months are available. Rather than being an actual academic semester, it's mainly used as an in between period to help students prepare for the next school year or focus on more entertaining things like sports or art.
The school's basic uniform requirements
Examples of base uniforms can be seen here: 1, 2, 3, 4. Do note that these are detail-less rough drafts and style/waist lines/hem lines/etc. change between time periods.
1930's Uniform
The boys who attend the school are expected to dress in a manner appropriate for a young gentleman. All shirts must be buttoned, collared, and white and a blue tie must be worn at all times. Gray trousers are to be worn and must not be too tight or too baggy. Only black or gray socks are allowed with flat-soled black shoes. A black blazer is expected to be worn, as well as a gray vest. While the black blazer is optional during the summer months, the vest is a year round requirement. Other exterior wear such as coats, jackets, and sweaters must also be black.
Girls are expected to wear an appropriate white blouse of some type with a blue ribbon around the collar. The only options were between a gray pinafore dress or a gray skirt. The lengths must be below the knee. Stockings and some sort of flat-soled black shoe are also required. Like the boys, exterior wear such as coats, jackets, and sweaters must also be black.
A pin of the school's insignia is given to all students to be worn on their ties or ribbons. Sports/gym wear is the basic style of the time in the same school color limits.
Teachers are expected to dress in professional clothing that coordinates with the student uniform in some way.
Modern Uniform
Overall, the uniform has gone through few changes over the past seventy-eight years. Though the fittings have obviously changed a bit to accommodate modern styles, boy's are still required to wear the same combination of trousers, shirt, vest, and tie. The main differences are that vests are no longer required in the summer months and polo shirts within those months is now an option.
The basic uniform requirements have remained much the same over the years for girls as well. However, to accommodate changing styles, pinafore dresses and skirts may now be an inch or so above the knee. Pants are now an option for girls, but they may not be fitted. For this reason many girls still choose to wear skirts anyway. Stockings are required in the winter months, but are now optional in the summer months. Another new option for summer months would be wearing a polo shirt instead of a blouse.
A pin of the school's insignia is given to all students to be worn on their ties or ribbons. Sports/gym wear is the basic style of the time in the same school color limits.
Teachers are expected to dress in professional clothing that coordinates with the student uniform in some way.
⌚ FLOOR PLANS
A unique city-friendly layout for a unique city-friendly school.
Though some complain about the gym area being in the basement, it does allow for a wider space than the upper floors. Thanks to some inventive architecture, the basement spans the entire lot as opposed to just under the main building. Classrooms 001, 002, and 003 are typically used for health courses and other gym related courses. Indoor bleachers for basketball games are normally stacked against the wall, but do fold out. In one corner is a storage area with a staircase leading to the outdoor field.
Also, the school's infirmary can be found on this floor. There is usually a nurse present until 6pm on most days.
From this point on the architecture is very mid-late 19th century, and it's also notable for its generous window amount and size. The front doors of the school are located on its corner face. The first floor of the school is home to the typical administration office, the principal's office, and the counselor's office. The auditorium will also be found here. While the auditorium is decently sized and can easily seat every student and employee on the first floor, there is an upper seating area accessible from the second floor that can be used during open school plays or concerts.
Outside, the staircase from the corner of the basement leads out to a storage shed on the corner of what is the outdoor track/field. Enough dirt has been placed over the concrete roof of the basement for it to be an easily maintained field. Even by 1934, the landscaping is minimal, but matured.
First thing's first, the second seating area of the auditorium is here as described. To compliment that, the music room and the art room are on this floor.
Many student's favorite floor: the cafeteria! Breakfast is served from 6am-8am, lunch is served from 11am-1pm, and dinner is served from 5pm-7pm. The food bar is along the side in front of the kitchen. All meals are à la carte. Clean trays are available in the corner while used trays and plates are to be given to the kitchen area around the corner.
The home ec. room can be found by the other stairs. Students are welcome to use home ec. kitchen until 8pm so long as they check in and clean up their own messes.
The fourth floor is considered the freshmen floor. Nearly all classes considered freshman level take place on this floor. There are storage closets between the classrooms on the sides that are usually used for text books, lab equipment for science classes, and so on. Some teachers choose to also use the space as makeshift personal offices.
Room 403 is designated as the faculty lounge.
Just as the fourth floor is the freshmen floor, the fifth floor is the sophomore floor. The same basic structure as the previous applies.
Unlike the previous floor, room 503 is an open classroom to be used for extracurricular courses.
The junior class floor. It follows the same pattern as the floor below it.
The senior floor.
Room 703 is designated as the student office. This is only usually only used by the student government unless permission has been granted for other use.
The eighth floor houses with school's generously sized library. Students are welcome to come and go as they please until 9pm. There is also a more private area for quiet study in the room around then corner. By 2012, this room had been converted to the school's computer lab.
Finally, on the school's roof is a large garden area. Students are welcome to visit the garden until the library closes.
⌚ DORM
The student dorms are located right across the street from the actual school building. Girls live in the left side of the building with the lower numbered rooms. Boys live in the right side with the upper numbers.
Because the basement was never divided along with the rest of the building, it is kept locked for most of the week. However, the laundry room is in this area, so the students are given certain days where they are granted access. Laundry days are Tuesdays for girls and Thursdays for boys. This area is also used as a storage area for things like paper and cleaning supplies, as well as extra furniture in the case they are needed for the dorms upstairs. For other emergencies, students must request basement access from one of the resident assistants or the resident advisor.
NOTE: There are no elevators in the building. While they considered putting one in during an upgrade in the 30's, they decided to put in stairlifts for possibly handicapped students instead so that the architecture of the building could be preserved. Naturally, the students who lived in the upper floors were a bit disgruntled.
The lobby is one of those places for students to basically hang out, have study groups, and so on. There are a few couches, chairs, and side/coffee tables scattered in the room. In 1934 they pride themselves with having a new radio and television set in each lobby. However, these sets, which consist of a tiny screen in a big wooden box, are pretty laughable in comparison to the nice wall-mounted, flat-screened 46" televisions they have in 2012. A telephone is also available for use in the lobbies of both time periods. The closets of the lobbies usually contain miscellaneous items such as cleaning/maintanence supplies.
NOTE: Curfew is 10:00PM for all students. However, extensions can be made for school related reasons. Any student that will be back after curfew for school related reasons must notify their floor's RA before normal curfew that day. Students who disobey the curfew rules are punished accordingly.
The three floors after the lobby are dedicated to students. Each floor houses ten students on each side. The larger rooms (such at 401) all house three students each. The smaller rooms (such as 403) house two students each. Usually the students are divided into the floors by grade level, but on both sides every floor has one Senior student resident assistant living paired with the class representative of each separate grade.
Freshmen (9th grade) live on the second floor. The Senior RA for the girl's side lives in 202, while the one on the boy's side lives in 207.
ON THIS FLOOR: Chloe (1934-201), Luna (1934-201)
Sophomores (10th grade) live on the third floor. The Senior RA for the girl's side lives in 302, while the one on the boy's side lives in 307.
ON THIS FLOOR: Avalon (1934-303), Abbey (2012-303), Emi (2012-303), Theo (1934-306), Kieran (2012-306), Rupert (2012-306)
Juniors (11th grade) live on the fourth floor. The Senior RA for the girl's side lives in 402, while the one on the boy's side lives in 407.
ON THIS FLOOR: Eleanor (1934-403), Tabby (2012-403), Charlie (1934-405), Jimmy (1934-405), Riff (1934-405), Anthony (2012-405), Seamus (2012-405), Ezra (2012-406), Lawrence (2012-406)
The actual cafeteria where students have their breakfast, lunch, and dinner is located in the school building across the street. However, before the conversion to a co-ed school, the fifth floor was actually used as the dining area. It is the only floor entirely tiled. and more tables and chairs are also kept here. Though it is no longer used as the official cafeteria, basic kitchen appliances are still kept in this room for student use. It's mainly used around bake sale times of the year. Otherwise it's another good meeting place for certain activities like studying, clubs, or just getting together with friends to play a board game.
All other Seniors (12th grade) live on the sixth floor. The rooms of this floor are sized differently and the remainder of the students are placed two to a room. This floor also houses the Faculty Resident Advisor. The Faculty RA for the girl's side lives alone in 602, while the one on the boy's side lives alone in 608.
ON THIS FLOOR: Lynne (2012-603), Vanessa (2012-603), Hans (1934-605), Lev (1934-605), Locrine (1934-608), Oscar (2012-608)
Like the basement, the building's attic was never separated into two halves. It generally remains locked, because it serves no practical use to the students. Only the faculty resident advisors hold the keys to the attic doors. It's mainly an area for the school to store random junk they have no place for. For example, there are some old shelves, retired books, and other now useless antiques. The most notable among the collection would be the short row of old PO boxes bought cheaply from the post office before it was remodeled. They were purchased for the faculty's use and were intended to be placed in the school's office, but it proved to be too difficult to actually fit them in. So, they ended up in the dorm's attic. Because of its odd contents and the fact that it is always locked, there are many ghost stories that surround this area in the past and present.