I see full crotches

[donnaimmaculata]

Ever since I started playing in the Hornblower fandom, I've been trying to acquire some factual information about the Age of Sail, because I know nothing about seafaring whatsoever, nevermind the Royal Navy in the 18th century. I can just about tell where a ship ends and the sea begins; and seeing as I want to add some details to potential fics rather than have them shag in a fictional vacuum, I try to at least check what the uniforms looked like so that they can be taken off in a convincing manner.

I am distracted by all those crotches*. I mean, seriously, what the hell is going on here?


I mean, I'm not a stranger to crotches. I've seen Pride and Prejudice:

I must admit, I've always found this scene very disturbing.

Canonically, Hornblower has this gem to offer:

Look at his crotch and tell me that's not a wet spot right there! (Bear in mind that Horatio has just come from Archie's room, where Archie is being all bedridden and vulnerable.)

ETA: I forgot him. How could I have forgotten him?


*I'm currently writing fic. In order to get it right, I did a quick google image search for "French uniforms". It brought that painting to my attention, and so I spent 15 minutes taking caps and uploading pictures to illustrate my point. At this rate, I will never finish anything, ever!