fan_eunice did a "tell me about your WIPs!" post and I um, may have written an astonishing amount about Miss Hornblower, who I still do not expect to actually write out, but I figured I'd post this amazingly long comment here for interest and archival or something.

I am currently watching Hornblower (short fandom introduction if you don't know it: Age of Sail emomoppet attains admiralty, to own surprise. Series of books covers his whole career, series of like 8 A&E movies covers midshipman to some of his captaincy, and he is played by the pretty Ioan Gruffudd, with Jamie Bamber and/or Paul McGann for a sidekick) for comfort and I've woken up three-year-old bunnies about Miss Hornblower.

Miss Hornblower is a very rash thing Hornblower did to get his men out of a scrape when he was, oh, approximately an acting lieutenant. I have read entirely too much about Regency women's clothing (the style was high-waisted dresses, essentially empire waist, which meant nobody was really corseting, there was no emphasis on distorting the actual waist. Women's most restrictive undergarment was the short stays, which usually didn't even have bone and people I'm reading keep comparing them to the corsets in HOW MIRACULOUSLY UNLIKE THEY ARE when as far as I can tell what short stays actually were, were bras. In the pre-elastic underthings era. I mean, yes, you had to have some way to fit it on, so there were like 3-4 holes worth of laces, but honestly tightening the laces on short stays? in nooooo way like doing it on a corset. LUCKY HORATIO, I DID NOT WANT TO WRITE CORSETING ANYWAY). Anyway I think his men are slight a-croggle at his get-up and he is like "How is this different from other forms of subterfuge we have employed" (because Hornblower has on at least one occasion taken a French ship by sneaking up on some French soldiers and stealing their uniforms; and on another occasion on a ship they'd had captured "forgot" to take down the French flag until after he'd shot up three French ships attacking his captain's ship--neither of which are strictly fair play) and Styles--probably Styles, the films have Matthews and Styles as men who serve under him for the whole series, which is more character continuity than the more realistic books had--Styles says that is perhaps a bit different! And Hornblower snaps that it is only his dignity on the line so perhaps they can shut up and let him get on rescuing them.

What scrape he is rescuing them from is still rather nebulous in my head. I am just a-squee at Hornblower in a dress. I am thinking it is an intrigue of some sort, rather than an out-and-out military action. And then their captain, Pellew, shows up--and then, I wrote a lot about this at the time, it went approximately like so.

But then there's more. Because Pellew keeps "corresponding" with Miss Hornblower by handing his young officer missives to send to his "sister." Somewhere I have a note about Hornblower having invented internet anonymity via pink stationery. Just. Facepalm. It is... sort of... an... unacknowledged, unconsummated affaire de coeur? That somehow never gets past the bounds of impropriety because in the back of his head Hornblower is always semi-chaperoning his "sister," watching Pellew for behavior he would, you know, have to insist Pellew desist or do the honorable thing if there actually were a sister. I mean, this is complicated by the fact that as well as Miss Hornblower not actually being a woman or having an existence beyond the few hours Horatio spends in character now and again, Pellew is married. With children close to Horatio's age. (It never comes up in the films and I don't know if it does in the books but Sir Pellew is a real historical figure. Who named his son and heir "Pownoll Bastard Pellew" and damned if I wouldn't like an explanation for THAT. I imagine either the dates of his naval service conflict with dates of pregnancy, or it was a very odd comment on the character of his own mentor, Philemon Pownoll, after whom he presumably named his son.)

But I have this whole thing built in my head where only three or four intensely loyal people are in on Horatio's occasional bouts of drag when they are in a port where plausible deniability can be applied to Miss Hornblower dining with Pellew. Until Horatio is getting married (a thing that was more or less a disaster in canon, not least because he was pretty damn married to Bush, his XO) and Miss Hornblower tries to have an encoded conversation with Pellew about 'her' impending wedding and how she can no longer have dinners with admirals and Pellew can't get a direct answer about how Miss Hornblower feels about her fiancé(e) (because does Hornblower love Maria? or have just a vast sense of duty? it is unclear and kind of failboat) and Pellew is understandably CONCERNED and trying to ask if there is some reason (Miss) Hornblower is COMPELLED to wed without breaking the illusion of talking to the sister and not his officer and Hornblower just gets even more upset about it, because my god here they are admitting to INAPPROPRIATE FEELINGS FOR ONE ANOTHER, OBLIQUELY AND BY IMPLICATION, IT IS SO TERRIBLE.

Hornblower's angst is sort of epic and tragic and ridiculous. *nails hand to forehead*

Meme ganked from daegaer: Dump first lines of your last ten stories into Translation Party, post results.

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2. Jim're bored. All his classes acing, he is without breaking a sweat, he has published in Starfleet Academy.

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5. "It's under my administration," was supposed to know that you can place your order Hornblower him.

6. 1 Kareen Vorbarra I, for example, at an appropriate time, the meeting was born the crown of the decedent.

7. Both citizens and children of immigrants Xingian Amestrian Sutetasudorahha The boy's mother, a father is born in the registry. He described the face of the Drach blood. Xingian blood, hair and eyes explains.

8. If the rest of the world, many of these people, only 3 Athosians 1 Rentarusuitoshotto will be expected to know the fate of.

9. "Donna", "Why, my destiny, NASA has, Fakusujoshu was discovered last week?"

10. She said, "13," he said, Martha, the captain said: "We called my cell phone - a big fight with him," and, in fact, I can have her cell phone was involved in his scale-Provence Mon. Lily is Teita slate my work phone number. He said he was looking for.