peckishmods: ([place] school & classes)
peckishmods ([personal profile] peckishmods) wrote2019-05-28 07:53 pm
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PECKENPAUGH

MAP PLACEHOLDER.

CENTRAL CAMPUS

The heart of Peckenpaugh is its Central Campus, a ring of academic and administrative buildings arranged around a grassy park conveniently dubbed the Central Green, all ringed by a main cobblestone road. New and old are clustered together here, everything a little quirky — a little wizard-y — in its own way. It’s all well lit, and there are plenty of open grassy areas, so there's ample space to sit and lounge or study. The whole Inner Ring feels like a strange little village, quaint in a theme park model town kind of way. There are flower beds and shady trees, stone chess tables, benches and several canopied areas for small groups of students to gather, rain or shine. It's all meticulously landscaped and maintained by Peckenpaugh's groundskeeper, Bub. It looks so nice, it's kinda hard to believe Peckenpaugh had to cut its Druidic Arts program last year due to lack of funding.

Here students attend (most of) their classes, get their meals and sit for assemblies. During the school year, the staff also lives in here in a row of absurdly narrow, bigger-on-the-inside townhouses in the Painted Lady Edwardian style. Central Campus is packed with important buildings vital for student life, and there's almost always something going on. It's not too much of a hike, either. If you cut straight through, it'll take you roughly five to eight minutes to walk from one side of central campus to the other.

the surly stump

At the very core of Peckenpaugh's campus lies the Surly Stump, all that remains of a once impressive magical tree known as the Magnanimous Maple. This is Peckenpaugh’s true heart, and the rest of the school unfurls radially from this point. Despite the tree's reduced status, it is hardly dead. Not only are its vast roots known to trip students, faculty and visitors it finds annoying, the Stump is also home to a tribe of rambunctious Toadstool Fairies affectionately dubbed the Moody Muscheron. No, the Surly Stump is still thriving, still dense with magical power, still protecting the heart of Peckenpaugh (and the school’s only Pokemon Go Pokemon Gym), in its own slightly cranky way.

central classrooms

Central Classrooms is, as the name implies, the primary academic building on campus. Its rustic stone composition and gabled roof make it look more like some wealthy Pureblood’s country home than a school building, but it’s three full floors of classrooms and student facilities. A bronze statue of the school’s founder, Yalldive Peckenpaugh, stands inanimate outside the front entrance.

Inside a large rectangular common area splits off into two halls lined with lockers and classroom doors. Juniors and seniors can find their lockers here on the first floor. The walls are decorated with House banners and portraits of teachers and senior classes past. There’s an impressively full trophy case and a number of historical items on display. The first floor of the Central Classrooms building is also where students can find the offices of Mr. Youngblood, the athletic director, and Dr. Quirke, the counselor. Classrooms include the Potions Lab, a large open room for club meetings (Club Room 1), and the Transfigurations, History and Home Mag-Ec rooms. Stairwells at the east and west ends of the building, and a wide staircase at the entrance, lead up to the building’s second floor.

The central second floor landing is open and welcoming. There are tables and chairs for studying and several eclectic, overstuffed couches for lounging. The area, warmed by a Floo-connected fireplace, is a cozy spot for students to stop between classes. To the left and right are more classrooms and lockers — freshmen and sophomore, here. Aesthetic Magic, Charms, DADA, Hermeticism, Symbology all have classrooms on the second floor. A smaller open room for club meetings (Club Room 2) and the teachers’ lounge are also on this floor.

The third floor of Central Classrooms feels a bit older than the others, like it's well overdue for renovations. The floors creak and the windows are drafty. It feels haunted, but there are no ghosts to be found (he’s in the library). Up here are the Administrators' offices, as well as the Cryptozoology & Magizoology, Wizard Lit and Divinations classrooms. Each floor has public restrooms, and each classroom has a small teacher's office attached.

the infirmary

The little old house that now serves as Peckenpaugh's infirmary was once the home and office of Yalldive Peckenpaugh. This crooked two story stone cottage sits immediately adjacent to the Central Classrooms building. It’s a cozy little house, and even the smell of medicinal herbs and antiseptic can't keep it from feeling home-y. From the main entry, now a waiting room, students may veer right to the Pre-Healer Studies classroom, or left into the infirmary proper, a room lined with beds and shelves of potions, poultices and medical equipment. Healer Greatheart's office and file storage are on the second floor, along with two additional rooms to house sick or injured students.

the library

Peckenpaugh is home to a magnificent three story red brick Victorian with tall stained glass windows, steepled roofing and a round tower. The almost castle-like structure is equally impressive on the inside: ornate pressed tin ceilings, carved wooden accents and plenty of antique furniture. It's not all old, though—much of the first floor has been renovated, modernized and wired for electricity. The large room just off the main vestibule is the computer lab, where Muggle Tech Studies (a.k.a Study Hall) is “held.” While the tech inside is somewhat dated, it’s still a good place to pull out your laptop and pick up the only working WiFi signal on Peckenpaugh campus. Pinterest is only blocked 40% of the time!

The rest of the old Victorian is all library. Peckenpaugh may not have the best funding, but that hasn't stopped it from amassing a truly breathtaking collection. There are three full floors of written words, some dating back to the school's founding in the late 1700s. Because this is a Victorian-style house and not a purpose-built library, wandering around the inside feels a bit like exploring a bibliophile's home. Whole rooms are devoted to categories of books — the forbidden books are held behind the locked master bedroom door, and all of the books on aquatic creatures can be found in what used to be the second floor bathroom. It may seem like there are plenty of places to make out, and, okay, there are, but Mr. Zahidi has a sixth sense for rowdy teenage antics and he's not above loudly clearing his throat and being painfully awkward in your periphery to shoo you away.

Being one of the older buildings on campus, the library has its fair share of oddities. Be sure to say hello to Timotheye if you're on the second floor (we're pretty sure he likes that), and for God's sake stop messing with the door in the tower.

the auditorium

Everyone wants to know what that weird fortress is when they first arrive on Central Campus. The circular stone, wood and plaster structure on the east side of the inner ring is the first building most people spot. It's old, and it looks old—reminiscient of the Globe Theater, though not open air. A ground-level entrance is on the east side of the building and four exterior stairwells are evenly spaced on the western half. There are three floors of balcony seating inside, enough space to house the entire school and then some. The audience areas are divided by House and are decorated as such, though sitting by House is only required during the most formal of assemblies. The stage itself expands and retracts as needed, revealing an orchestral pit and, when fully retracted, the entrance to the Sorting Path. Backstage is spacious but cluttered, but the dressing rooms are a bit cramped. The Auditorium is where the Sorting is conducted at the start of each year. It's also where pep rallies, assemblies, Music class and meetings for the Film and Performing Arts clubs are held.

the radio station

Peckenpaugh’s AV Club is headquartered out of a squat L-shaped brick building with a slanted roof. The second newest building on campus, Peckenpaugh’s radio station’s interior is clean but fairly simple: one floor, a reception area, guest waiting room, restroom, equipment storage room and two recording rooms. The corresponding wizard wireless tower is located in the hills of the South Quarter.

the cafeteria & kitchens

The cafeteria is another standalone brick building, the sort of place you can imagine grandmas gathering for bingo night. It's a wide open hall stuffed with tables; long rectangular ones interspersed with smaller circular tables, all lined with folding chairs. Students may sit wherever and with whomever they want. The cafeteria serves breakfast, lunch and dinner at set times every day, but the kitchens stay open until curfew so students can swing by for a snack in the evening. Thanks to the magic of … magic, the dietary needs of all students are easily met. The options are, blessedly, a bit better than what you’d get from your typical public school, but are by no means gourmet.

THE NORTH QUARTER

Peckenpaugh campus is remarkably beautiful throughout, but nowhere is that more evident than its North Quarter. The Central Campus plaza gives way to a rolling meadow dotted with flowers and the occasional tree or cluster of rocks. A wide cobblestone path brings visitors to the southern edge of Lake Peckenpaugh, where the land around sweeps upward. The view is astounding — in the hills north of school, a dozen creeks and streams converge and cascade down over mossy rock, forming the dramatic terraced Elflock falls, namesake of the town surrounding the school. The falls feed Lake Peckenpaugh, which snakes northward through the hills, and drains itself into the Greentooth River. The entire area is home to a wide variety of wildlife both mundane and magical.

Mist-wreathed from the falling water, the North Quarter is always at least a few degrees cooler than everywhere else on campus (and in winter, often coated in ice). The lake shore becomes an especially popular spot for students to hang out on sweltering days. There’s a small dock and boat launch available for students, but that is far from the most impressive man-made structure to be found in the North Quarter.

house deeplurk

Not far from Lake Peckenpaugh’s southern shore on a small island — barely more than a rocky outcropping — lies House Deeplurk. The castle-like manor, its stonework stained dark gray-green from more than a century spent near the Falls, is certainly a dramatic sight, fitting for the students who call Deeplurk home. The main route to Deeplurk is a wide stone arch bridge, enchanted to protect passing students from rain, wind and ice. The Winter House's island home also boasts a modest dock on its north side, so that the island may be reached by rowboat as well.

There isn’t much unused space on the island, the manor takes up most of what isn’t rocky, but a small shed for boating supplies stands near the docks and generations of students have made something of a gathering place on the pebbled beach nearby. A rope swing hangs from one of the island’s few stubborn shore-side trees and the remains of a fire pit can be found near the water line.

The manor is three floors total, all dark wood accented with scale-like designs in Deeplurk’s house colors. Decor is befitting a house full of lake monsters — some mounted fish, maps of great bodies of water, photos of famous serpents and plenty of nautical nick-nacks. The southern and northern entrances open directly into a large common area for socializing and studying. On the east side are gender neutral restrooms, a small laundry facility (yes, children, you do have to do your own laundry), supply closet and quarters for an adult chaperone. On the west side is a limited galley kitchen. Two sets of spiral staircases (one on each side) lead up to the second and third floors. The girls’ dormitories are on the second floor, boys’ on the third. Four student rooms on each floor, five students to a room. Each floor has its own communal restroom with full facilities.

THE EAST QUARTER

The only proper road in and out of Peckenpaugh campus is in the East Quarter. It’s the first place guests see when they enter the school, and it does not disappoint. After passing through the main gates and entering the anti-apparition zone, visitors cross an old stone bridge that spans the Greentooth River at its narrowest point. From there, it’s a very short walk to the gorgeous (and recently reconstructed) House Mothgarden and the school gardens that surround it. Beyond that are the greenhouses, all giving way to Central Campus. The East Quarter, being the flattest part of campus, is also home to its athletic facilities. You can see the pitches just south from the main road, and on game nights, the play-by-plays ring loud and clear all the way up to Mothgarden's dormitory.

athletic fields & facilities

You don't let flat ground go to waste in West Virginia. The most level part of campus, just south of House Mothgarden, is packed with Peckenpaugh's athletic facilities: full American League Standard Quidditch and Quodpot pitches and a medium-sized brick athletic building featuring a small gymnasium, weight room, equipment storage, and a concessions space that is always bumping on game nights. The Greentooth River flows nearby, the target of frequent bludger assaults.

gardens & greenhouses

Between Ms. Treetops and Bub, the gardens and greenhouses of Peckenpaugh are always in tip-top shape. There’s the herbal garden, a vegetable garden, a small orchard of flowering and fruiting trees, a heritage rose garden that’s as romantic as you’d expect, a pleasantly overgrown earth-kind garden, and a number of paths that wind through plots of pretty flowers. Just about every garden in the East Quarter features plants that have practical uses — in potions, poultices, inks, dyes or even diner — and Potions, Symbology and Aesthetic Magic make regular trips out to discuss ingredients. Even the plants that don’t have magical properties still beautify the area, drawing in a variety of birds and bugs both mundane and magical. Not far from House Mothgarden, there’s an apiary maintained by Ms. Treetops and Mr. Berzelius. Herbology is held in the Greenhouses, of which there are three, sitting next to each other along Central Campus’s main ring.

house mothgarden

This is the newest structure on campus. Roundabouts five years ago a magical mishap resulted in the explosive destruction of the original House Mothgarden. (Don't worry, no one was hurt. Just expelled.) Where possible, some of the original structure has been incorporated, but the new House Mothgarden has a less like its Victorian mansion predecessor and more like a modern Hanging Gardens of Babylon.

Set back off the main road, it's a two minute stroll past gardens and hedge mazes to get to Mothgarden's front door. At night, moths swarm the lamp lights that line the path. The area is well manicured, filled with semi-sentient plants, living topiary and statues of various magical and non-magical creatures. Most of them are friendly or at least cordial. The griffon is neither of these things, so be mindful of him. The hedge mazes are magical, paths changing at random. The maze on the left likes to lead students to its center, where a beautiful old wrought iron gazebo rests. The maze on the right likes to spit them out exactly where they started after wandering for a while, but lucky students may find their way to its center, where a small lily-pad-filled pool and bubbling fountain can be found; wishes made guaranteed to maybe, possibly come true or your money back (provided you can find the center again)! Both mazes enjoy playing with respectful students, and might even help young couples find a bit of privacy from time to time.

Mothgarden House itself is three stepped levels (the third level is an open air garden surrounded by arches and curtains of ivy), all clean lines of white plaster that pop with mosaic facades in bright springy colors. The exterior also prominently features pillars and arches, cascading greenery, and a ton of glass: skylights and wide windows. Each of the three levels is accessible by mosaic tiled exterior staircases, and the walkways are simple manicured gardens with some seating. The front entrance to House Mothgarden proper is part of the original building: a small glass atrium filled with flowering plants and butterflies. It is pleasantly warm year round; a nice place to sit during a rainstorm. The doors at the far end of the atrium open into House Mothgarden’s common area. The big open area is full of modern birch furnishings, but still looks comfortable and lived in. The walls are lined with bookshelves stuffed to bursting with tomes, atlases and nick-nacks gathered from around the world. There are framed maps on the walls, at least one of them more than a hundred years old. Adjacent to the common room there is a simple galley kitchen, a single room for an adult chaperone, laundry facilities and a storage room, and a unisex restroom. A suspended staircase wraps around the common area, leading up to a landing and dormitories on the second floor. The west half of the second floor is girls’ dorms, the east half is boys’, each half has its own full communal restroom facilities.

THE SOUTH QUARTER

The relatively flat Central Campus sweeps upward abruptly at its southern edge. It's a trek, but once you get to the top of that first hill, no matter where you look you get one hell of a view. That's the beauty of the South Quarter: seeing everything from its best angle. Here on hills speckled with trees and tall grasses, the cobblestone path splits between stairs and flat ramps that cut through the rock and wind around where the earth allows. At the top of the tallest hill, on the southern edge of Peckenpaugh's campus, is the school's radio tower. Closer to the center of campus, are the Artificing Worshop and House Wildgulch.

the artificing shed

Artificing is held in a large red barn building a short hike up from Central Campus. The Artificing Workshop has space for supplies, equipment of all sizes, a central lecture space and stalls for students to work on their projects. There's also a small water tower on site, in case Aguamenti isn't enough to put out an accidental fire. While students can access the barn proper and individual stalls at any time, the supply shed is locked against non-Artificing students at all times, and against all but staff, the Artificing TA and the Magirobotics Club President after class hours have ended.

house wildgulch

You might miss House Wildgulch entirely if you aren't paying attention. It's built right into the earth, and the only clear marker of its existence is a wooden awning decorated with blue and yellow banners at the bottom of the hill. From outside the House's grounds, it looks a bit like what hobbits might build if they were given to constructing large estates. Windows and wooden facades peek out from grass, and there are some ivy-and-moss covered structures that are a little too inorganically shaped to look like natural geographic features, but that's not even half of it.

Past the wooden entryway, through a short, earthen corridor, is a magnificent open cavern—the largest room in the above ground cave where House Wildgulch was constructed. Natural light filters in from a large gap in the ceiling, illuminating the area and the large hot spring pool that takes up about half of the cavern space. What isn't flooded is built up with wooden decking. In addition to wooden furniture, there's seating carved right into the cavern walls. If you're looking for a soak — students are allowed to take a dip, but are discouraged from doing so excessively — a set of stair lead you right down to the water's edge. It's a public space, though, so no hanky panky!

It wouldn't be Wildgulch if they weren't showing off their ingenuity somehow. Copper pipes run the full circumference of the cave, converging on a magnificent magical photoplayer. The full set up includes a magical player piano and a variety of knobs, switches, levers and pull strings that make all manner of fun sounds. Students are free to make their own music or charm it to play automatically; the acoustics in the cave are great, so it's a popular spot for mini-concerts. Dr. Ranui usually services the device once a month to make sure it's in working order.

And finally we arrive at the house proper! Wildgulch's front door is on the east side of the cavern, a gigantic wooden circle, somewhat dauntingly heavy. It opens on its own if you live there and ask it nicely, though. Wildgulch's common room is a comfortable, bright space. Copper piping runs through every room, heating the house in the winter. The furniture is all driftwood-and-metal; old enough to be expensive-looking in a Restoration Hardware kind of way. The space is somehow both beachy and industrial, copper and brass mixed with sea glass, shells and volcanic rock. A winding path to the left of the entrance leads to the hall of boys' dorms, and the winding path on the right side of the common room leads to the girls' side. There are, as with all dorms, full communial restroom facilities on each side of the dorm. Immediately adjacent to the common room, in the back, there's a gender neutral restroom, small galley kitchen, laundry facilities, supply closet and a single bedroom for an adult chaperone to stay.

THE WEST QUARTER

Peckenpaugh’s West Quarter is all dense Appalachian forest, home to a wide variety of creatures both mundane and magical. It’s a place that feels mystical, with trees that turn the color of fire from October to December, going bare and then blooming again with thousands of white and soft pink flowers in spring. The woods sprawl out over the hills and creep right up to central campus, and rather than taking you through them on paved cobblestone paths, the West Quarter is nothing but mulched hiking trails, each one its own version of twisty and all leading, eventually, to House Thorntrail.

the astronomy tower

Way back when, animal husbandry was a big part of Peckenpaugh's magical creature curriculum and the campus facilities reflected that. In the last few decades, however, Peckenpaugh has moved more toward studying Beings than Beasts, and the school’s ranching facilities fell out of use. One of the few remaining structures from Peckenpaugh's agrarian past is a tall stone grain silo that sits north of House Thorntrail, peeking out over the tree canopy. It has been repurposed into the school's Astronomy tower. Students venture up a wood and stone ramp to the tower's classroom. The circular room cramped but comfortable, with all the desks centered around a large telescope in the middle of the room. Instructor Hobgood has taken great care to personalize his classroom, it's decorated as much with souvenirs from his many travels as it is with star charts and planetary diagrams.

house thorntrail

As is appropriate for a House that draws inspiration from Sasquatch, House Thorntrail is a further walk from central campus than the other Houses — about five minutes if you’re not in a hurry. To find it, you won’t just have to navigate hiking trails, you’ll also have to look up.

House Thorntrail is every child’s dream home: a true tree house mansion, suspended about twenty feet off the ground, in the canopy across a half dozen massive old trees that grow right up through the structure. The cabin-like house may be accessed from several different points: three wooden ramps, a number of ladders and at least two knotted ropes installed for show-offs. In addition to the trees supporting the deck, House Thorntrail is built upon a number of large wooden posts ornately carved to look like massive Sasquatches holding the house aloft. It’s Thorntrail tradition to wrap these posts in scarves and blankets during the winter months, and (more recently) adorn them with sunglasses, visors and other accessories in spring and summer. The wooden Sasquatch clan guarding Thorntrail is deeply beloved, and actual vandalism is frowned upon. The land surrounding House Thorntrail is mostly mulched. There are a few shrubs, but very little landscaping. It has a distinctly campground feel, with picnic tables, a grill, a gathering place with a fire pit. There’s at least one hammock to be found, several archery targets and someone’s usually strung a tightrope up between trees.

The house itself is two levels of redwood lumber each featuring a wrap-around porch exterior. The House's large windows welcome both sun and moonlight, making it feel at all times close to nature. While the mansion can be reached from several different points on the ground, the main entrance is on the east side, filtering visitors into Thorntrail’s massive common room, where students gather for studying and socializing. The open space has a vaulted ceiling, with the balcony of the second floor overlooking the first. The very center of the room is interrupted by the trunk of a massive oak tree. In generations past, graduating seniors carved their initials in here, and while some of those names are still visible, the tradition has been abandoned as faculty and students have become more conscious of the harm the tradition caused to the tree. Instead, the trunk is typically decorated seasonally with crepe paper streamers or string lights. On the first floor’s north side, there’s a small kitchen, laundry facility and supply closet, gender neutral bathrooms and quarters for an adult chaperone. On the common room’s west side there’s a large staircase leading up to the second floor where the four girls’ dormitories can be found. The boys’ dormitories are on the first floor, beyond the common room, also on the west side. Full communal bathrooms can be found in the dormitory sections on each floor for student use.