Alderbrook Park is a sleepy urban park located near the Aurora Bay campus. Covering roughly four acres, the park includes a picnic area, public restrooms, a baseball diamond, a small skate park, and a grove of trees. There's also a playground for children, including a swing set, monkey bars, and a large play structure made of wood and plastic with a slide and a swinging bridge. Officially, the playground is intended only for those under the age of thirteen, but in practice high school students often use it as a place to hang out and smoke after dark.

Aurora Bay High School is a large public high school located in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Founded in 1952, Aurora Bay has seen periodic renovation and upgrades, though in places the three-story brick building shows its age. Academically, Aurora Bay is a very mixed bag, due in no small part to some changes roughly two decades ago when it absorbed another nearby high school. Aurora Bay is home to both a flourishing Advanced Placement program and also a remedial program seeking to keep troubled teens in school long enough to graduate. These represent two extreme ends of the spectrum, however, and the majority of the students land somewhere in the middle.

Aurora Bay's size and reasonable level of funding allow it to field a number of successful sports teams, with the hockey team and the football team particularly renowned. The school's mascot is The General, a caricature of a military officer allegedly based on a local hero who served in World War II, and its colors are orange and navy blue.

The school has quite a large staff, presided over by Principal Melvin Carter, who took over at the start of the 2017-2018 school year following the death of his predecessor in a car accident. Principal Carter is generally somewhat aloof, and a number of the students, parents, and teachers in the community have commented that he carries a certain intimidating air that's hard to fully articulate. Perhaps a lot of it is that he walks unusually quietly.

A venerable business, Larson's Comics and Games has been in operation since 1976, and has in that time become the largest comic/game store in Saint Paul. From the mainstream to the obscure, the flavor of the month to the historic collectible, any graphic novel you want can be found at Larson's—or else special ordered. The store boasts a sizable manga collection, and holds periodic screenings of rare anime movies. It also has a second floor primarily devoted to tabletop gaming, offering table space for roleplaying games and miniature wargames, and has a vast stock of lender terrain and rulebooks. A significant number of groups make Larson's their home base for such pursuits, and the store offers reasonably-priced snacks and beverages to capitalize on this.

Located at the edge of a golf course that shares its name, The Links is a sprawling complex of apartments and condominiums. While the fanciest townhouses in The Links are truly exorbitant in pricing, there are also a number of more reasonable options, and twenty percent of the units are affordable housing—a condition negotiated by the city in exchange for favorable terms on the land. Many students attending Aurora Bay call The Links their home, as its location a little over a mile away makes for an easy commute when the weather permits. Much like the school, the complex is a melting pot, where all different sorts mingle... albeit not necessarily without conflict.

Located downtown, the Midway Bowling Alley is a surprisingly popular hangout for both the young and the old. In addition to its primary attraction—the bowling lanes—the Midway also includes a pool room, a snack bar, and an arcade. The latter is home to a lovingly-curated collection of vintage and imported machines, and is perhaps the only place in the city where one can play a wide range of rhythm games on their original hardware. The Midway also runs regular special events, with "Cosmic Bowling" (featuring neon and black lights) on Fridays and Saturdays, and karaoke on Wednesdays and Sundays.

While less well-known than the Mall Of America across the river in Minneapolis, the Promenade is a local bastion of commerce in its own right. Three stories tall, it's home to clothing shops, department stores, electronics boutiques, collectibles vendors, and all the typical mall offerings. It sports a sprawling food court, which opens on one side onto an alley popular as a place for the underage to smoke without being hassled by authority figures. While it lacks the Mall Of America's indoor roller coaster, it does feature an ice-skating rink, and has recently opened a VR center. Many students spend free time (and money) at the Promenade, and many of those who work hold jobs there, as the stores are always on the lookout for anyone willing to accept just above minimum wage.

A grimy, somewhat seedy gas station/convenience store, the Quik Stop enjoys semi-legendary status among the Aurora High population as an establishment which somehow manages to maintain its liquor license despite almost never carding anybody. While only 3.2 beer can be directly purchased here, in accordance with state law, many of the regulars are more than willing to procure alcohol from a nearby liquor store for a small fee, and the Quik Stop itself also sells cigarettes and has condom dispensers in the bathrooms. While the business will serve almost anyone, it does take shoplifting very seriously, and students quickly learn that they're better off toeing the line here.

When visiting the original Shooters in Highland Beach, California, many are unaware that there are actually half a dozen branches of the business. The one in Saint Paul is one of only two outside California, operated by the uncle of the chain's founder. Like its older sibling, it's grungy and dirty but renowned for high quality food, and it operates a stage in an underground floor for concerts, booking both up-and-coming acts and local groups. This space is also used for other purposes, and in the past year has become known for a monthly sparring competition; contestants sign a number of waivers, strap on safety gear, then whale on one another with foam weapons in an effort to move up the bracket and win a $200 gift card.

This arena, named for Steve Carlson of Slap Shot fame, is where student hockey teams go to practice and play games. It also hosts business leagues, and offers ice access to the public when no events are going on. With a laid back atmosphere and cheaper prices than The Promenade, almost everyone in the city ends up skating here if they stick around long enough.

Saint Paul is the capitol of the state of Minnesota. With over 330,000 inhabitants, it is the second largest city in the state, roughly 75% the size of adjacent Minneapolis. Together, the two are known as The Twin Cities, and form the core of a large metropolitan area. This forum encompasses general activity in Saint Paul proper, and also in the metropolitan area as a whole, and anything one could reasonably get up to in a city may be portrayed here.

Covering only 17 acres, this relatively small urban zoo and conservatory is nonetheless a very popular destination for one simple reason: admission is free. Home to a number of iconic species of animals, including giraffes, lions, and bears, the zoo offers a good way to spend an afternoon, and many students use it as an easy date destination. It's also a popular spot for field trips and family outings.

This is a catch-all subforum for specific scenes that fall outside the purview of other areas. Going on a road trip to the famous Darwin twine ball? Hosting a huge house party? Talking in the locker room after an away sports game? At the regionals for a band competition? All of that and more belongs here.

The deep, dark depths of the past... anything taking place before the 2023-2024 academic year should be placed here, and even threads from the earlier part of the year may go here if you so choose. Please note that characters may be in one Memory thread and one normal thread at a time, and that one-shots (or non-interactive multi-shots) are always acceptable in Memories.