FF Getting Drunk pt 2

[Wendy St John]

Hi, again,

After hitting "send" I noticed that I forgot to address one of your
questions, Derannimer (isn't that annoying?), so here is one more quick
comment:

You asked,

"So, if no one minds answering, do you think he could be a bit sauced 
and still manage not to give away his real feelings about the 
killing? Bearing in mind that he's used to hiding things, and hence 
might be, even when sauced, unusually cautious. "

Alcohol will DEFINITELY lower ones inhibitions - including saying things
one would usually not say. (Believe me, I know <GGG>). So, I think that you
had better make Avery someone who drinks somewhat regularly if he's to have
any hope of not succumbing to the alcohol, and telling Snape simply
everything - including embarrassing confessions about things he did as a
child, etc., how he slept with his teddy bear until he was 22, etc. <GGG>
Oh, *and* that stuff about the killing, too. <G>  If he's a habitual
drinker, he'll be better able to control his tongue, and yes, I do think he
could be a bit sauced and still manage to hide his feelings. But if he's
not a drinker and he drinks more than a very moderate amount of alcohol
(one pint at MOST), then I think it would rapidly become less believeable
that he would be able to keep quiet about his feelings.

Of course, he can always drink tomato juice or something. Shirley Temples
are lovely, too <eg> (not sure if they serve those in the UK. I never tried
to order one. Maybe they call it something else). But drinking a
non-alcoholic beverage might attract unwanted attention. I know in times
past in Scotland it was considered socially unacceptable not to accept a
drink when offered - and still is in some situations. Not that you're
expected to get drunk, exactly, but it's considered good manners to accept
a drink when offered. I've been in that situation myself.  I imagine that
sitting in a pub is likely one of those situations, so you might be able to
have some fun with that in your story. Drinks being offered and Avery
struggling with whether or not to turn them down and what not. Oh, and for
the record, *my* Snape drinks whiskey (not in any way suggesting what you
should do with *your* Snape<g>). However, if you want to get really fancy,
have him drinking Macallan or Laphroaig or Bunnahabhain (roughly pronounced
boon-a-ha-ven).  (Not sure whether or not those should be capitalized in
print - you might want to check if you decide to use them). Just remember
that this is consumed in small glasses, often with water.  That's a way to
play with the amount of alcohol being consumed - obviously a watered down
drink will get you drunk more slowly than a straight one, and it is
acceptable to drink it either way. Here, I would say that a normal serving
of whiskey could probably be considered roughly equivalent to a pint of
lager in terms of numbers of drinks consumed. More than two whiskeys, and
poor Avery might be having difficulty holding his tongue.

Oh - and one more think about what NOT to drink . . . I've recently read
that whiskey sours are not "manly" drinks, so don't have him drinking that.
(hoping that doesn't offend any of our manly listees who enjoy the odd
whiskey sour ) <G>.  Although I don't imagine you can get a whiskey sour in
Scotland, it's probably against the law or something, as beloved as whiskey
is there. ;-)

:-)

Wendy 
hebrideanblack at earthlink.net