#atlfya

[jessidee]

#ATLFYA holiday party aesthetics: boozy chocolate, awesome book club discussion fodder, geeky wine topper, and cheesy Hallmark Christmas movies! @forever_young_adult

[atlfya]

Disenchantments rainbow graffiti created in the parking lot of the Brookhaven Library in Atlanta (car included for scale).

We also tried to create the real Disenchantments logo, but learned it’s hard to make eyes look emo using pastel sidewalk chalk.

(+20)

BEST BONUS: +5 CGG

[atlfya]

Jessi’s hand-carved Pabu the fire ferret totem from Legend of Korra.  It doubles as a rubber stamp!  

(+10)

BEST BONUS: +2 AG

[atlfya]

ATLFYA’s bible of superstitions. We have it on good authority that each and every one of these is 100% true.  

Try them yourselves!  We know you’ll be pleased with the results.

(+10)

BEST BONUS: +6 KC

[atlfya]

Natural redheads are rare in real life (they’re like the unicorns of hair), but in young adult literature?  Not as much.  Our ‘zine celebrates a few of our favorite gingers - term used lovingly - in YA lit.

(+30)

[atlfya]

Adventures of Black Dove and White Raven:  Episode From “The Sleeping Queen”

White Raven could hear Black Dove, but she could not see him.  She flew over the treetops, straining her eyes, trying to pinpoint the source of his screams.  His voice echoed throughout the woods and multiplied, surrounding her with cries in all directions.  

She’d never witnessed witchcraft quite like this before.  This must, assuredly, be the work of the Argone Witches, powerful magicians and secret police of the Eclipsian Royal Family.  She’d heard stories of these witches spiriting away loved ones in the dark of night, torturing them to elicit surrender or confession from the person they actually wanted.  In this case, that person was her.

“Leave him!” White Raven screamed to no one in particular, as all she could see were the trees and the mountains and the sky and a tiny speck burning bright in the distance - the wreckage of their getaway plane.

“I’m the one you want!” she continued, although she’d neither received nor expected a response.  “He did nothing!”  Which wasn’t strictly the case, not unless using his powers to stay hidden and look out for guards while White Raven searched Eclipsia’s state storerooms for honey and coffee to “borrow” counted as doing nothing.

Black Dove’s invisibility made him an excellent lookout, and she knew when she heard his secret whistle that the guards were onto her.  She fled the storeroom with the stolen goods, and did not worry when Black Dove was not waiting for her at the city gates.   They had a contingency plan - if one was being followed, they’d lose their trackers before meeting up at the plane, their rendezvous spot.  Yet when she arrived, the plane was engulfed in flames and there was no sign of Black Dove.

Looking back, perhaps he should have been the one to do the stealing, what with the invisibility and all.  She would remember this for next time.

White Raven’s wings were falling apart from the exertion of flying.  Red threads trailed behind her; feathers dislodged and fell softly to the ground.  The more she lost, the more energy it took to move the wings.  Every part of her body ached from the effort.   She was not sure how much longer she could remain aloft, but she feared she would never find him on foot.  

Just as White Raven was near the point of collapse, the trees below her seemed to shift outwards, creating a clearing near the middle of the woods.  In the center of the meadow was a small glass box, and within the box she could see a hunched figure.  It appeared to be Black Dove.

As White Raven swooped in for a landing, she could feel that this was clearly a trap.  But what else could she do?  If she could outsmart Black Dove’s captor, perhaps she could save his life.  And if not… well, she’d rather not consider the consequences.

She approached the box, and her heart swelled when she saw that it was Black Dove inside, and there were no visible wounds on his body.  But she could see that he was having trouble breathing, and she noticed, with horror, that the box did not contain air holes.

Nothing she found could break it.  Not tree limbs.  Not rocks.  She punched the box until her knuckles bled.  But she couldn’t do anything to save Black Dove, and his breaths became slower and slower until she couldn’t tell if he was breathing at all.

“Show yourselves!” she screamed to the woods.  “Show yourselves, you cowards!”  And from the trees a figure emerged, resplendent in beauty and grace.  It was Queen Morning Glory of Antemeridia, the sleeping queen she and Black Dove had helped awaken just days before.

Queen Morning Glory smiled down at White Raven.  White Raven had never before noticed the sharpness of the Queen’s teeth, or the cruelty of her grin.

“You stupid girl,” the Queen sneered.

(+10)

[atlfya]

A typical weekend in the lives of college-aged Simon and Blue (Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda).

Noon: Octane Coffee Company A coffee junkie like Simon needs his fix, especially when he doesn't bother rolling out of bed until noon. Octane is close to Georgia Tech (which has a great theater program, hint hint), and is also the inspiration behind the now-defunct (?) Tumblr, heyoctaneboy​, so you know the scenery is great! ;) 

1:00pm: Sublime Doughnuts  You know what goes great with coffee? AMAZING doughnuts! The Orange Dream Star is on a list of 100 foods to try before you die, and the A-Town Cream (or Mocha) is also a local favorite. 

2:00pm: Eastside Beltine Trail A great way to work off those calories is with a stroll down the Beltline, a paved trail that connects a bunch of Atlanta's parks and neighborhoods. Blue can even enjoy a pick-up game of soccer near the Old Fourth Ward Skate Park!

3:00pm: William Breman Jewish Heritage Museum One of the many interesting museums Atlanta has to offer, the Breman Jewish Heritage Museum will especially appeal to Blue. There's a Sendak exhibit on display right now, so Simon can pretend to be a Wild Thing while educating himself. 

5:00pm: Center for Puppetry Arts And right across the street is another fantastic museum, where Simon and Blue can recapture their youth.  The Center’s museum collection contains thousands of puppets, including one of the original Big Bird suits.  If Blue and Simon time their trip correctly, they could even catch a puppet show here.

7:30pm: The New American Shakespeare Tavern Simon's a drama guy, so he would LOVE this intimate theater showcasing the works of the Bard.  The tavern serves authentic British pub fare, so this stop provides both entertainment and sustenance.

11:30pm: Dark Horse Tavern After spending the afternoon getting cultured, Blue and Simon can cut loose at 10 High Music Club (in the basement of Dark Horse Tavern) and try their hand at Metalsome, live band karaoke. Simon's a performer, so he shouldn't have any trouble singing in front of an audience, right? 

4:00am: Waffle House No trip to Atlanta would be complete without a visit to the Waffle House! Besides, this is an excellent stopping point for Simon and Blue to pause and refresh in the wee small hours of the morning. They can hang out here before moving on to the final stop on their whirlwind adventure (and since they're young, they can handle pulling an all-nighter). 

10:30am: Lips ATL What better way to spend Sunday morning than with drag queens singing gospel songs? (That's a trick question; there isn't one.) Lips’ Gospel Brunch is the perfect ending to a night out on the town, and the infectious energy of these seasoned queens will help Blue and Simon forget that they haven’t slept in over 24 hours.

(+10)

BEST BONUS: +2 AT

[atlfya]

Our Paper Towns-themed watermelon carving.  Watermelons look so much prettier than pumpkins when lit!

(+20)