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[Ariadne]

Happy Downton Day! For those of you interested, we will have a weekly drinking game, with a different theme and different rules each week. Please feel free to join in with the drinking of your choice!


Theme this week: women behaving badly! Take a drink whenever:

1. O’Brien lurks somewhere or eavesdrop conveniently.
2. Rosamund smirks.
3. Rosamund gives advice.
4. Mary flirts with Carlisle.
5. Lavinia looks worried or cryptic or is obviously hiding some secret.
6. Anna cries or moans about Bates.
7. Violet does NOT make a snarky comment in a scene.
8. Cora and Isobel butt heads.
9. Ethel puts her foot in it.
10. Mrs. Patmore scolds or pwns Daisy or someone (and an extra drink if she makes a reference to music/art/literature/religion in the process).
11. Sybil can’t do a basic task.
12. Sybil breaks Branson’s heart.
13. Mrs. Hughes sounds extra Scottish or we learn something new about her.
14. Vera scares us with a plot or an evil giggle.


And if Violet gets pwned, you must drain your glass.

[Ariadne]

Happy episode 3 day! Our theme this week is "boys will be (sexy) boys." Thanks to Grace and Ellie for their awesome ideas! Here you go...

1. Every time branson looks sexy, drain your glass (sooooooo, that's all the time then)
2. Every time robert moans, take two sips
3. Every time william makes eyes at daisy, take a sip
4. Every time bates is stupidly noble, drain half your glass
5. Every time thomas smirks, take a sip
6. Every time thomas makes a snarky comment, take two sips
7. Every time matthew ignores lavinia, take a sip
8. Every time matthew ignores lavinia in favour of mary, take two sips
9. Every time someone says 'captain crawley' take a sip
10. Every time carson raises his eyebrow, take a sip
11. Every time lang has a sweet moment with O'Brien, take a sip
12. Every time carlisle threatens someone (overtly or by implication), take a sip
13. Every time one of our male characters drinks something, take a sip
14. Every time one of our male characters fires a gun or does something brave at war, take 2 sips.

And in honor of the awesome Ellie and her lovely RP character...every time ellie thinks she sees louis, drain your glass!

[Ariadne]

Episode 4!!!! The halfway mark! Can the ride become even more awesome?

In honor of all the heart-wrenching moments in the trailer and some members' love of angst, our theme this week is a proper DA angst-fest. Pretty simple rules this week.

Take a sip whenever...

1. Someone cries or has tears in his/her eyes.
2. Someone makes a pithy statement designed to be sad (ex. Sybil in ep. 1 saying "sometimes it seems all the men I ever danced with are dead.")
3. A character receives bad news.
4. A convalescent soldier has a heart-to-heart with someone.
5. Isis (the doggy!) looks sad or whimpers.

And of course you must drown your sorrows by downing your drink if the episode makes you cry.

Enjoy...if you dare!

[Ariadne]

I still haven't read any of the ep 5 spoilers, but rumor has it this is another angsty and intense episode, so it seemed an appropriate time to honor the beautiful non-romantic relationships we've seen in DA.

So here are the rules in honor of friendship and family bonds. Take a sip whenever:

1. Two characters have a heart-to-heart.
2. One character comforts another.
3. One character makes a decision or takes an action to protect another character.
4. Two or more characters laugh, plan, or share a joke together.
4. Take two sips in sorrow when it seems one friend is moving on in some way and leaving the other behind.

And you must drain your glass if all the family or all the servants appear together in one scene.

[Ariadne]

Hello everyone and a very special greeting to all our half-termers! I hope all of you will celebrate your well-earned break by joining in this week’s game with whatever drink of your choice.

This week, we are celebrating all of Downton’s cheesy and soapy moments. The idea comes from the always brilliant Grace, so there are just a few mentions of Branson in her honor. Enjoy!

Take a drink whenever Fellowes honors us with…

1. A voiceover. (Two drinks if it is an especially pithy statement.)
2. A premonition.
3. Someone in a dream state.
4. A flashback.
5. Someone half -dressed or in nightclothes. One drink if it’s a female character, two if it’s a male, and three if we get O’Brien’s nightcap. (The whole glass if it’s Branson!)
6. Women in fur.
7. Someone eavesdropping.
8. Manly tears.
9. A character reminding us “well, we are at war.”
10. O’Brien or Thomas smoking, separately or together. Two drinks if they plot at the same time.
11. Carlisle playing the villain we’re all expecting.
12. Vera laughing her evil laugh or wearing more dead animals.
13. Matthew or Bates being noble and self-sacrificing.
14. Branson being distractingly good looking!
15. A storyline involving soap.

And, of course, you must down it for Downton if someone comes back from the dead!

[Ariadne]

Just two more episodes to go. Next week's drinking game will be all about our fandom hopes and dreams, but before we get there, let's take a moment to honor the prettiness on our screens, courtesy of both our beautiful actors and their lovely costumes.

Take a sip whenever...
1. Someone has a new dress. (If you're not sure if it's new, take a sip anyway.)
2. The men are in black tie. (Ooooh, nommy!)
3. A servant is out of uniform.
4. Someone wears fur. (Yes, we have an obsession with fur.)
5. Violet has her walking stick.
6. Violet wears a turban. (Take two sips actually, because it means we weren't hallucinating.)
7. Branson is partially undressed yet again. (Ooooh, fanservice!)
8. We get a panning shot of Downton. (The house is a character too!)
9. Isis appears. (Cute dogs need no costume!)
10. Someone, anyone is wearing an awesome hat. (Two sips if you want to steal it.)

And of course you must drain your glass if a character ends up shirtless!

[Ariadne]

Happy Downton Day! It’s just a couple of hours until the s2 finale, when either our wishes will come true or our hearts will be disappointed yet again. It has been great fun sharing this weekly experience with you and so today, in honor of our wonderful fandom, our game will be based on all of your hopes and wishes. No spoilers beyond the preview. Guaranteed to make you finish your drink, whatever happens.

Down one sip for Downton…

1. Each time there is a kiss, proposal, wedding, or sex scene for A/B, M/M, or S/B. While we’re at it, let’s throw in a sip for any dancing as well.
2. Actually, one sip for each of the three couples who are still together at the end of the episode.
3. There is some admission of love between Carson and Hughes.
4. Carson survives Spanish flu. Two sips if his illness makes Mary shows her softer side. (Three if it turns out not to be the flu at all.)
5. Cora survives Spanish flu!
6. Cora and Sarah share a hug or a kiss (lips, cheek, forehead, wherever). Two sips if one of them mentions love, even in a platonic way. (Three if it isn’t platonic…)
7. Thomas gets a reason to stick around for s3. Bonus sip if it’s not as a footman.
8. Edith has a happy moment. An extra sip if it involves yet another man for her.
9. If the Jane/Robert storyline ends. Two sips if there was no kiss or sex scene before their storyline ended.
10. Lavinia, or Carlisle are out of the picture by the end of the episode. Take an extra sip if Carlisle’s end involves Matthew punching him out and Violet saying something witty.
11. Skip straight to three sips if any old plotline (Lavinia’s scandal, Edith and Mr. Drake, back-from-the-dead!Patrick) unexpectedly pops up.
12. Drown your sorrows by finishing your drink if the episode ends and you’ve had no reason to take a sip yet.

And of course, you must down it all for Downton if episode 8 makes you laugh, smile, and cheer and love the show yet again.

Bonus rule (which I am a bit scared to mention, given the way the series has gone): Drink everything in the house if the episode ends with Mary realizing it’s all been a dream.

Thanks for the fun, friends! See you at Christmas!

[Ariadne]

Happy Christmas Special day!! The long awaited moment is here and hopefully will live up to all of our dreams! Come join our celebrations with your mulled wine, eggnog or other drink of choice.

Take a sip each time...

1. We get a kiss. Two sips if there is mistletoe involved.
2. A character gets a new love interest. Edith and Rosamund, I'm looking at you.
3. A character tells another "I love you." Two if involves Cora and Robert. Three if it involves Carson and Hughes.
4.. The characters play in the snow (snowball fight, snow angels, etc.).. Two sips for snow twirling!
5. There is dancing! Two sips if someone upstairs is dancing with someone downstairs. Three if Violet is involved.
6. Carols are sung! Two sips if you sing along as well.
7. The tree is trimmed! Two sips if O'Brien or Thomas are hanging ornaments.
8. There is a ring or a proposal. Half your glass if the proposal is even accepted!
9. We see Sybil and Branson, together and happy. Half your glass if Sybil is pregnant!
10. Bates' verdict gets drawn out over more than one scene. Two sips to steady your nerves if the anticipation becomes too much. Three if he is not guilty and that isn't the cliffhanger.
11. Carlisle or the Pamuk scandal are defeated once and for all. Join me in extra sip to mourn the exit of Carlisle if you're also fascinated by bad boys.
12. Presents are exchanged! Two sips if you want to steal any of the presents. Three if Violet gets an amusing present and a fourth if she gives Isobel an equally awesome gift in return.
13. You want to steal one of the ladies' fabulous dresses.
14. You guess the answer at charades before the characters manage to do so. Two if you even manage to guess it correctly. .
15. As many sips as it takes if you loved this Christmas Special and don't know how you'll survive till next fall!

And when we're done, please down it for Downton to celebrate all the fun we've had watching s2 together!

Merry Christmas everyone!

[Sara Pellow]

The Christmas drinking game looks like a recipe for how to get off your tits in the shortest possible time. Should come with a warning that it may cause one to fall asleep in one's eggnog before the special is finished

[Ariadne]

LOL. Yes, I hope everyone considers themselves warned. You'd also think I'd also be smart enough to add a disclaimer since I seem to live in the lawyer capital of the world that we are not responsible for any crazy dancing or other action that results from playing this game.