#also trapper hates bj

[thebreakfastgenie]

Oh shit I forgot to send an ask for the wip game so if you're still doing it elaborate on "seeing ghosts" please?

Hell yes! Ironically, this one doesn't have any actual ghosts, or even any actual deaths... It's called seeing ghosts as a placeholder because in the opening, Trapper feels like he's seeing ghosts from his past. I'm usually not totally wild about the "Trapper thought Hawkeye was dead" trope, but this is my spin on it.

Trapper went home and started working as a general surgeon at Boston Mercy Hospital. Shortly after, he learns that Hawkeye is dead; this will most likely use the device of Trapper trying to write and having his letter sent back during The Late Captain Pierce, though that involves some creative liberties as mail would have been forwarded to the next of kin. If I can think of something succinct, I may use a different device; maybe Trapper had a chance encounter with someone who just got back from Korea who told him about the death certificate but didn't know it was false. Maybe he tried to use an official army channel for some reason and was informed Hawkeye was deceased. I don't know. Why he thought Hawkeye was dead isn't important, it just has to be believable.

Trapper is good enough to be chief of general surgery, but he doesn't have any interest in pursuing it. He's sort of keeping his head down, doing good work, and focusing on his girls. He's still married to Louise. He's a little depressed and because of the circumstances he hasn't really dealt with his grief over Hawkeye's supposed death. He's friendly with his coworkers and good friends with one of them. He very rarely talks about Korea, but mostly because none of them were there and they don't understand. Two years later, he's forced to attend a reception for the newly hired chief of thoracic surgery. He has no interest in the pomp and circumstance of it, and he's on edge because he's thinking about how it should be Hawkeye starting a job like this. And then his friend tells him the new chief of thoracic surgery served in Korea. This snippet is a rough draft, but it gives you the general idea: “He’s a Beacon Hill Winchester,” Pete replied, and this time there was no question that he intended it as an insult. “Blue blood. Sounds like a total drag to me. You might get along with him better,” he added thoughtfully.  Trapper frowned. Pete’s description didn’t sound like someone he would get along with. He sounded like someone whose shoes he would fill with paint while he was in the OR, if the thought of it didn’t make him miss Hawkeye terribly.  “Why?” “He served in Korea.” Pete said. He lowered his voice. “Actually, I heard he only got this job because one of his army buddies called in a favor with Bob Harwell.”  “Figures,” Trapper muttered. “Who’d you hear it from?” “Tony Maxwell. He said the board was all set to go in a different direction, then Bob gets a call from a Major Houlian.”  Trapper nearly spat out his drink.  “Hot Lips Houlihan?” he blurted out before he could stop himself.  “When I knew her, she went by the name Margaret,” said a new voice.  Trapper and Pete both turned, finding themselves face-to-face with the guest of honor. It was clear from his face that he’d heard everything, but he seemed unbothered. He extended a hand.  “Gentlemen. Charles Emerson Winchester III.”  Trapper couldn’t respond, still trying to process the shock of this man knowing Margaret Houlihan.  Pete shot him a lock.  “Indeed,” Charles said, smirking.  Pete shook the offered hand.  “Pete Dillinger. I’m the head of general surgery.”  He dropped Winchester’s hand, and shot Trapper another look. Trapper knew a warning when he saw one. He took the hand Pete had dropped.  “John McIntyre,” he tried to keep his voice even, but his eagerness betrayed him. “How do you know Major Houlihan?”  Trapper knew this didn’t have to mean anything—Margaret could have been transferred after he left—but that didn’t stop his heart from pounding in his chest.  “We served together in a putrid corner of hell,” Winchester said dryly.  “The 4077th!” Trapper exclaimed before he could stop himself.  “Yes,” Winchester said, surprised.  “I was there for a year!” Trapper explained excitedly. “Right at the beginning. I guess we missed each other.” 

Charles doesn't connect John McIntyre with Trapper until much later, because even though Hawkeye did talk about Trapper occasionally, Charles didn't really care. What follows is a series of misunderstandings and Trapper and Charles having two very different conversations. Trapper assumes since they had the same specialty, Charles replaced Hawkeye. Trapper says his closest friend at the 4077th died and Charles, having not been there for The Late Captain Pierce but knowing the previous CO was killed, assumes he's talking about Henry. Charles mentions his annoying bunk mates and Trapper assumes he means whoever replaced him (BJ) and Frank. This continues until Charles finally says the name Pierce:

"Benjamin Franklin Pierce?" "His friends called him Hawkeye. I did not."

At which point Trapper is like I have to go to Maine right now immediately. He gets reasoned down to going home, telling his wife what's going on, and packing a bag first. It probably ends with Hawkeye opening the door and seeing Trapper.

The main conversation is just really, really hard to write. All the dialogue has to have a passable double meaning.

[all-that-jazz-93]

"B.J. Hunnicut. Same size, same shape."

The look on B.J.'s face...oh he did not like that

[hesgomorrah]

atp i will straight up block people who villainize trapper for leaving like way to show how little you understand what the show is about

[coffeeastronaut]

mash poll of course is a disappointment as always. and we already knew what im abt to say. but its so telling that only 1/4 of the episodes in the final 8 are episodes from s4 and further, when s4-11 is 3/4th of the show. like. statistically that's stupid and we all know it... the nefarious trapper stans ! !

[mash4077confessions]

I feel like older and younger mash fans have such opposing opinions about so much stuff in the show. Like take the experimental episodes thing. Older mash fans who watched the show as it aired probably are more likely to dislike those eps because they break the formula and you'd have to wait a week to get a normal episode to enjoy. But newer fans might see them for the first time with vhs/dvd/digital copies or streaming services, so if they wouldn't have to wait to get back to form and could just enjoy the experimental episodes for what they are, while having a little break from the formula which helps keep a binge-watching session more interesting.

I feel similarly about the clash people have about trapper vs bj. A lot of older mash fans prefer trapper and hate bj, because it's really hard to make an audience like someone replacing a main character you've grown to expect and enjoy. I think newer fans are more likely to like or prefer bj because they have the hindsight that the show lasts for 11 seasons, they know they'll be seeing more of bj than of trapper. I guess bj also kind of represents a tonal shift in the show - where trapper's angle was the streetwise class clown who has been around the block in a show that was mostly comedy focused, bj's story is that of a young fresh-faced suburbanite facing the worst the world has to offer. For an audience who watched mash as it came out, this tonal shift was jarring, but it seems more gradual to an audience who starts with access to the whole scope of the show.

.

[brucequeensteen]

listen its about how hawkeye, along with the majority of the people at the mash, were completely out of place and not supposed to be there because the war wasn't supposed to be there and the USA wasn't supposed to be there but they didn't have a choice and to cope with the horrors and the work and the blood hawkeye had to lean on Trapper the closest living thing to him both physically and emotionally and he got lucky because trapper made it easy! he was easy! they were on the same wavelength: they hated the army, they hated the war, they were devoted to keeping people alive, and they made each other laugh and finished each other's sentences and were relaxed about sex and alcohol and pranks and everything else that was keeping them sane and entertained. trapper was literally the dog they put in with the cheetahs to stop them from going crazy in captivity and hawkeye was the cheetah threatening to go crazy in captivity. they were in sync and trapper was the sturdy one. AND THEN TRAPPER LEFT WITHOUT SAYING GOODBYE. enter bj stage left who is totally out of his depths in way over his head thrown into this bullshit and has to room with hawkeye "is it the war that stinks or is it me" pierce who, without even thinking about it, adopts bj as his new best friend and takes it upon himself to corrupt bj and initiate him in a way that suits hawkeye and Lucky For Him bj is also silly and doesn't wanna be here and is up for a good laugh BUT. PLOT TWIST. He is NOT sturdy or particularly reliable or on the same level of relaxed as trapper was! and hawkeye is all wound up by this point Henry is dead trapper is gone there's no getting out of this war and bj comes and shakes up the status quo and suddenly instead of a dog to calm down the cheetah they sent in another worse more scared dog who hasn't gone crazy yet but is just as susceptible to going crazy as the cheetah and now they're chasing each other's tails and they're biting each other out of love or maybe malice or maybe frustration and sometimes they're cuddled up and sometimes they're on opposite ends of the enclosure not talking to each other. but every time bj needs comfort he goes to hawkeye. and every time hawkeye needs comfort he goes somewhere else because that's just one of the things bj cant offer him and its like this. Hawkeye got used to the dog and the dog was his best friend. then they took the dog away from him and he was lonely so when they gave him a new friend he didn't mind that it was a different dog. but this new dog doesn't understand the enclosure and latches onto the cheetah as hard as the cheetah latches onto him. but the cheetah has expectations that the dog isn't aware of so when these expectations fall through the cheetah changes tact but the dog holds on because the dog has no other choice no other option no prior experience to compare this all to and as far as he's concerned the cheetah is the most important thing in the world at the moment because the world doesn't exist beyond the enclosure so he's just gotta sit this out and hold onto the cheetah until he's let out of the enclosure and can go back to his normal beautiful happy life away from the enclosure but uh oh the cheetah is really easy to get on with the dog really loves the cheetah the dog is maybe holding onto the cheetah a bit too hard. so it goes from the old dog being there to stop the cheetah from going crazy, to the new dog and the cheetah driving each other crazy all the time except the new dog thinks this is all there is to it and is just delighted to have a friend and the cheetah is just desperate for company and loves any old dog they put in front of him and needs the dog so much but can't help but feel the claws a bit too tight and why can't they just let him out of the enclosure he's been in the enclosure so long they should just let him out. Don't you see.

[fireinthefireproofvault]

Who Would Each M*A*S*H Character Play in DnD?

Got inspired by my mutual @spacemanxpaninis & after much discussion here’s our M*A*S*H version of her HH post 😌

Hawkeye chooses a Tiefling character and plays the ‘what, just because I look like this?’ card anytime he gets blamed for things. Makes a bard partially so Trapper doesn’t have to and partially because he’s against unnecessary killing. In fact, he loves the roleplaying so much and is only in favor of killing really bad NPCs, so he gets mad if people (Frank) try to play the mission-driven murder hobo. Even mischief like personal sidequests to seduce NPCs often end up benefiting the party with information or rewards, so they can’t be too mad at him, especially when he plays amazing support as a mostly nonviolent character.

Trapper leaves the campaign early, but man was he good at roleplaying. The DM has to stop him from actually reenacting things in real life especially if they’re indecent. Almost refuses to call Hawkeye’s character by his name, just ‘handsome devil’ variations (Klink wants what they have fr). His character was an elf rogue; he was almost a bard but he wanted to be able to do more than support, i.e. become the main character if he wanted. His character was great with female and kid NPCs alike, almost all of them liking him unless they were stern authority types, especially because he was good at finding legitimate ways around them,

Ignoring the pressure to fill Trapper’s shoes, BJ plays the character he wants to play, an air genasi former sailor named Blow Jibhandler. He knows. Of course he knows. Despite his character’s name and background, Blow has a wife and child back home and his main motivation is defending his wife’s honor. Raves a lot about how his daughter inherited his powers and is already creating storms at such a young age. Is immediately thick as thieves with Hawkeye’s bard, claiming he remembers him from some old tavern by the sea and helping him write songs and vicious mockery insults.

Margaret decides she wants to let loose, so she goes with barbarian, but she doesn’t feel that’s any reason to sacrifice beauty or brains, making the character a very well-read elf whose ways got her kicked out of being a footsoldier and has her hating being a cog in some old man’s machine. Uses her character’s frustration at the idiots surrounding her and that same feeling from real life as motivation for her battle rage. That and sexism, too. Anytime an NPC is sexist to her they only make her more powerful. Pushes Frank out of the way to just become the tank herself if he won’t do it.

Frank also leaves early. Doesn’t like how infrequently his character gets the spotlight or gets teased by Hawkeye’s character. Wants to be a traditional hero, so he goes for a human paladin but never takes the chance to be the tank unless the others make him. Makes the generic white guy warrior with dead wife backstory.

Charles goes for a wizard upon learning they’re the most traditionally educated, flaunting fake wizard school credentials any chance he can get, especially if he thinks it’ll get him in places (it doesn’t always). The phrase ‘otherworldly grace’ is all it takes for him to choose an elf even though the others complain they’ve got elves already. For a guy who acted like roleplay was beneath him, he’s gotten so interested in not only his fake credentials but also being able to step in with the perfect spell at any given time. Also bantering in character with Hawkeye and BJ’s characters.

Radar wants a familiar so bad, choosing druid for a chance at having animal friends. They’re versatile, too. As far as race goes he’s content “just being a regular human” especially when Hawkeye and BJ tease him about playing a halfling. His character in particular somehow passes every single perception and investigation check. He doesn’t like fighting so most of his moves in combat are holding enemies down, healing the others, or just letting his familiar do it as long as it’ll be safe. It’s technically not canon but they let him make it be a bunny rabbit.

Klinger decides his bard cross-dresses too as a form of protest for how his people are treated, having chosen a goblin so he can be shrewd and do the voice. He loves doing voices best and will absolutely demonstrate dance moves his character does. The type of bard that seduces NPCs of any gender to kill them, but not without the satisfaction of revealing to male ones that he was a dude the whole time. His little goblin is really loving and loyal to all the other characters and really isn’t afraid to stick out his neck for them.

Father Mulcahy obviously chooses cleric, commenting on both the obvious choice and the irony of being a healer amidst all the doctors and nurses. An Aasimar seems too on-the-nose and he wants his character to be down-to earth, so he sticks with a human who’s trying, and usually failing, to reign everyone else in. Plays a very combat-heavy cleric that absolutely bashes in the faces of evildoers who don’t heed his message, causing some of the other players to tease the Father that ‘thou shalt not kill’ and all. The good cleric is an uncle, so he’s also great with child NPCs, even if he’s awkward around women.

Nurse Kellye has a sense of humor, so her ranger is a halfling from a far-off island who’s an expert with both her twin swords and a bow and arrows. Loves both rushing in and quickly picking off enemies, so a joke about ‘sic-ing Kellye on ‘em’ emerges. Just like Margaret’s character, she doesn’t take any bullshit from NPCs, especially male ones.

Colonel Potter, of course, is the DM and he spends most of his time done with all the players’ utter horse hockey.

[remyfire]

One thought has been bothering me for a while now and I wanted to know your opinion on it:

Bottom!Trapper. Do you think Louise occasionally pegs him? Or is that something for outside of marriage only? Or is Louise maybe someone who doesn't enjoy it?

I love that I am still not present on Tumblr but I outright paused work this morning just to reply to this with nearly 10 paragraphs.

Huge disclaimer, there is no evidence to support pretty much anything I'm going to say, as far as I know. I just think it's fun to headcanon like this. But I love that Trapper loudly identifies himself as a pervert—yes, it's done in a humorous context, but he's quite forceful in stating it—and when you think about the historical context, obviously sodomy was one of those things that was considered a perversion. If you took part in it on either side? Pervert.

All of this to say that I absolutely enjoy thinking that Louise pegs Trapper. I reference it in a fic, actually, because I feel so strongly about it.

Most any verse I write in, I admittedly give Louise and Trapper noooot the best marriage in the world. I headcanon that they were childhood best friends who finally started experimenting sexually when they were barely out of high school and they ultimately were forced to get married by Trap's practicing Catholic parents and their neighborhood priest because of a pregnancy scare. That baby never materialized, and Trapper was incredibly bitter about his loss of freedom for a number of years and made no bones about it. Very choppy waters for them—they sure as hell weren't able to get divorced thanks to the continued influence of the Catholic powers that be. I never write Trap or Louise as being abusive to one another, but there is definitely a lot of yelling and accusations that go on in that house, especially because Trap basically taunts her with his affairs to her face for those first few years.

However, I do also headcanon that once their first daughter was born, Trapper began to soften a bit more toward Louise, then even further upon the arrival of their second girl. They are not 100% a happy couple—we see plenty of that during his time in Korea with his moments of lingering bitterness that keeps coming to the surface—but if I keep them married at the end of the war in a verse, it's because Trapper gets a good kick in the ass and starts to get his shit together as a husband.

SO!!! All of my headcanons thus being said, let me add another one. As a comparison, 99% of the time, I write BJ and Peg as being pretty gentle with one another. They're hungry as hell for one another, don't get me wrong, but BJ's so conscious of their size difference and his own strength, so about the most he's gonna do to her is give her a hell of a hickey. If they experiment with rougher sex, more filthy dirty talk, or harder kinks, it all comes postwar for me (I also have too many headcanons about this but this ask is about Trap and Louise so I will refrain from going on about it).

Meanwhile, Trapper and Louise, I write them as being rough as hell with each other, sexually creative, eager to explore whatever comes to mind. I headcanon Louise as also being tiny like Peg, but she's excited to be thrown around a little in bed, pinned down, bitten, and she gives it all back in spades. Very much a filthy-mouthed goader. In my mind, early in their marriage when they were still at each other's throats, they had their first round of hate sex quite unexpectedly, and afterward while they were lying there (probably on the floor, lbr), panting, sweaty, clothes torn and ripped off, bruises and bite marks and rug burn everywhere, they both felt remarkably calmer. They couldn't exactly talk about it, emotionally repressed as I headcanon them both to be in those early days, but after they got cleaned up and were in bed that night, I think it was a rare evening where they spooned up tight and held each other close and slept like the dead. After that? Everything was fair game. They got out all their mutual frustration and had fantastic orgasms and then an overwhelming rush of oxytocin that had them bonding more and more every time even if neither of them could put that into words.

So with all that being said, I definitely headcanon them as being incredibly sexually adventurous, including but not limited to a night where Louise fucked Trapper in the ass with something—probably on a dare or a bet, pfft—and oh boy, oh boy, did that awaken something within Trapper. And I love it for him and them.

[st33le]

How do you think Charles would’ve gotten along with Trapper, Henry, and Frank?

SHAKES YOU!!! I have so many opinions on Charles interacting them!

I’ll start with Henry because I have the least amount of headcanons about him and Charles.

I do love Henry a lot but to be honest I just think a dynamic between him and Charles would just be a watered down version of what he already has with BJ and Hawk. Or at the very least, just Charles thinking that Henry is a bit incompetent and neglectful of his duties, but like charles already thinks everyone is pretty incompetent so like?? There’s not a lot there. Though I do think that Charles would appreciate the craftsmanship of the desk lmao. If Henry was CO during the time that charles got there I’m sure that charles would take waaaay longer to warm up to camp. Only because he would see Henry as someone who enables the shenanigans.

Now with Trapper, I actually believe it wouldn’t be too similar to how he treats bj. BJ, to Charles at least, is a decent man, a jokester and annoying especially if he and hawk are up to something, but a kinda of respectable family man when it comes down to it. Oh but trapper! Tapper John is Hawkeye’s perfect mirror and OH what a wall they would drive Charles up. I could go on a 3 hour rant about Trapper and Hawk being the perfect comedic duo on the camp, but this is about Charles. I think Charles would have a hard time merely being in the same room as trapper at times. I think trapper would act way better then Charles to get on his nerves, like act like he knows way more then he does about culture and opera and stuff like that, and that would drive Charles crazy. NOT TO MENTION that they’re both from Boston. Imagine Charles first coming to the 4077th and finding out Trapper was from Boston. Initially I think Charles would try to confide in him only for trap and hawk to pull a prank or something. I know in the early Charles episodes the show likes to laugh at Charles misery but oh well, can’t be helped I suppose. Another note, if they actually interacted in the should I could honestly see myself shipping Charles and trapper for a time. I think their personal dynamic would have been really really fun, trapper being overly flirty and Charles just being like “oh someone help me.” Though I don’t think they would be able to work long term, as trapper imo really likes to be ‘adored’ and taken care of in the relationship, and I don’t see Charles wanting that in someone, and especially cause of their economic difference it would make Charles feel kind of used? Idk. That’s just the Hawkchester part of me going off tho.

Okay okay, now Frank. I think, that this would honestly have been peak comedy for the show. ESPECIALLY if they were the same rank during their screen time together. If Frank was there I think that Charles would have very quickly gotten along with Hawk and BJ, especially if they were doing something to spite Frank. I can definitely see Charles, out of everyone hating Frank the most. I’m sure, it’s been said before, but I think it would be very funny if like Charles have a backhanded insult that frank is just too dumb so he interprets it as a compliment. Only for Hawkeye to add on. I think half of the dynamic between Charles and Frank is just Charles being bewildered by Franks incompetence. But also on a side not I can see him being like a wingman for Margaret like “honey you can do better then that.” Frank would definitely think there was something between Margaret and Charles, and he would get mad over that and ask Hawk and BJ for help only for them to laugh their asses off cause Charles and Margaret are MLM WLW solidarity.

Those are my basic thoughts on them, sorry for taking so long to reply I had to get my thoughts in order.

Also sorry for any spelling mistakes, writing and being coherent is hard lmao.

More asks about mash are always welcome!

[majorbaby]

Local 4077

President - Klinger

Isn't initially interested but runs for the position after growing tired of watching the incumbent do jack shit for the membership while collecting a yearly honorarium. Does limited canvassing but wins by a landslide because he's likeable and he's good at his regular job, which he hates and doesn't want, so it stands to reason he should even better at a job he actually cares about.

Vice-President - Kellye

Was Klinger's first-choice as a running-mate and first choice for his eventual successor. Hosts many of their socials, is a force to be reckoned with at joint employer-union consultations. Picket captain extraordinaire when they go on strike - brings her guitar and starts an impromptu band "The Labourettes". They play protest songs on the picket line.

Secretary - Radar

Technically should be in an exempt position because he's an executive assistant to management but I'll let it slide because it's literally Radar he's obviously the secretary.

Treasurer - BJ

Wants to help out where he can, is good with numbers and is generally supportive of Klinger so he accepts a nomination for the position from the floor, but is kind of sus (beholden to 'the rule book'). I like to imagine when the executive is up for re-election, Klinger makes BJ the poster child of the campaign, prints flyers with his likeness on them, and writes "VOTE FOR KLINGER AND TEAM" beneath it. Good guy, supportive of workers, just needs to unpack some shit.

Chief Steward - Hawkeye

Literally useless without a handler, but is daring and showy and very good at escaping formal reprimand, which makes him valuable. Ready to put his ass on the line to protect workers who aren't as privileged as he is. Someone (Trapper) has to throw decoy socials to distract him from attending general meetings where actual work is being done, because he's disruptive and annoying. Is BJ's handler, but no one has told Hawkeye that, they just trust if BJ starts to have a moral crisis, Hawkeye will sound the alarm loud enough to attract someone else's attention.

--

Potter and Henry are in non-unionized positions.

I can't think of a situation where Margaret, Charles or Frank could be convinced to join a union. Not even late seasons Margaret. She's come a long way but I think she still believes in the institution. But it's possible they could also all be in exempt positions, since they're in higher-ranking roles.

[thebreakfastgenie]

Wheelers and Dealers is one of BJ's least sympathetic breakdowns--not only to me, but to the other characters in-universe--but it's also probably the episode that most effectively explains his whole deal. That's because Wheelers and Dealers reveals a new piece of backstory: BJ had the chance to dodge the draft. Hawkeye jokes about being an unsuccessful draft dodger and Klinger talks about his various attempts, but BJ had what neither of them did: an actual, for real ticket out.

I could've gotten out of the draft, like Ned Gradinger. Big all American hero from Stanford. Medical deferment, signed by that eminent physician Ned Gradinger, Sr., who offered the same to me, but I was a good guy.

Within this episode, this new detail explains why BJ feels so intensely guilty about his family struggling in his absence. It also explains his anger that people like him because of his "good guy" personality. One level to that is the fear that if he does something selfish or less than good no one will like him anymore. But I think that's secondary to something else:

Everybody wants to play when it's lovable Doc Hunnicutt, gentleman loser. But let me win a few, it's like I committed a crime.

If BJ had "won one" by dodging the draft, he would have committed a crime. I think that's what he's speaking to, here, more than a fear of losing people by expressing human failings. After all, he does express human failings all the time, and he's hardly ever blamed for them. Now, the continuity on MASH is loose at best, so I don't for a moment imagine the writers planned this bit of lore from BJ's introduction, or that intended it to apply retroactively. But let's do that anyway.

What sets BJ apart from Hawkeye and Trapper and even to some extent from other characters is a certain respect for the rules and faith in the institutions of American life. It makes sense for someone from a more comfortable, middle class background to have that attitude. It's why Margaret and Frank set their sights on him initially. Of course, this aspect of BJ is deconstructed as he comes face to face with war and with rules that are transparently arbitrary or even morally wrong. But he really digs in his heels. Just look at Preventative Medicine, where he rigidly adheres to a code of medical ethics and a definition of "harm" that feels almost absurd in a war zone. (Can an army surgeon "do no harm?" Ask Hawkeye in Letters or BJ in Bombshells.)

Of course, this makes a lot more sense when you put it in the context of BJ being drafted because he strictly adhered to the rules, to a rigid idea of right and wrong. Of course BJ clings to the rules; he desperately needs to believe they mean something. If the rules don't matter, if right and wrong aren't so simple, he allowed himself to be drafted for nothing. He allowed himself to be taken from his family, to be made into a soldier, to witness some of the worst things a human being can witness, to get used to the horror, to do things he would never otherwise do, because he believed he was doing the right thing. If doing the right thing doesn't mean anything, he let all that happen for no reason at all. That's a hell of a thing to come to terms with.

Now, what's the big moral argument against draft dodging, if you don't believe in serving your country? If you don't go, someone else will have to go in your place. Now look at Period of Adjustment.

Radar's home, Hawk. I should be glad for him. But I'm not! I'm so torn up with envy, I almost hate him! And I feel the same way about Trapper, and I never even met him.

BJ hates them for being home when he's not. Invoking Trapper here is powerful, because on a meta level and to some extent in-universe, BJ is literally there because Trapper is not. If BJ had taken the draft dodge, someone else would be suffering over here. If he'd won one, he'd have condemned someone else to that fate. Is that some kind of crime, not legally, but morally? Here, BJ is on the other side. Trapper and Radar won a hand: they got to go home. BJ is trying to be lovable Doc Hunnicutt, happy for their good fortune, gracefully accepting that he has to stay. But for once he can't quite do it. This is also one of the only times in the series we see someone really, furiously envious about another character going home, which isn't really relevant here but I thought it was interesting enough to highlight. This fits with how I've described Period of Adjustment from BJ's perspective before, as a shattering of the illusion they all use to get through each day.

Essentially, BJ clings desperately to the rules because all the worst things that have happened to him are things he accepted as consequences of doing the right thing. He accepted them naively, the war is worse than he could have imagined, and the possibility that on top of that, his reason for accepting them was meaningless is kind of unbearable.

[captainhunnicutt]

8, 14, 17, 18 for BJ please 🙏 ♥️

Oh gosh. I just looked at the questions and... I hope I don't fuck this up. Thanks for asking, lovely.

8.) What's something the fandom does when it comes to this character that you despise?

I genuinely don't understand a few things the fandom does when it comes to BJ, and it may just be because I am still relatively new to the idea of "fandom" in general. I'm all for having fun and enjoying the "thing" however one sees fit, so I'm actively not trying to shit on anything here. I just truly don't understand the "Trapper Complex" or the takes on how "big of a liar," BJ is.

I understand that I am bias. I'm a Beejgirl. Always have been and always will be, but I also am capable of admitting he's got his own share of faults. I, personally, don't think lying is one of them. I think it's exaggerated, maybe for funnies? Again, I don't understand it.

I can maybe, sort of, attempt to understand the "Trapper Complex," but I think that's been blown out of proportion as well. I think what people really are seeing is BJ struggling to cope with the idea that he isn't unique in the situation. He's a draftee. He's a guy in green clothes and a guy in white clothes. He was brought over to do a job. He's friends with Hawkeye. He sleeps in the Swamp. He's stuck in Korea until told otherwise. All of the things that Trapper did already. The only difference is Trapper went home, and as a result BJ came. It's jealousy in the sense that "him and I are truly no different except he is where I want to be," and that's a hard pill to swallow.

That probably doesn't make sense. ANYWAY!

14.) Assign a fashion aesthetic to this character.

I don't know. Whatever the first two guys are wearing. He probably has that sort of coat but he would cinch the waist more, right?

17.) What's a ship for this character you don't hate but it's not your favorite that you're fine with?

It's not even really a ship but Aggie and BJ. I am forever bitter we didn't actually see that happen. If we mean like characters that aren't one offs... maybe BJ and his hand. Let him have some sort of release.

18.) How about a relationship they have in canon with another character that you admire?

I am SO glad this question got asked, because it allows me to briefly touch on a relationship that I never talk about. Potter and BJ.

I've always felt like Potter and BJ have this weird unspoken bond. Have you ever started a job on the same day as someone else, and you two just always have that connection? Potter and BJ came in to a situation where everything had been flipped upside down. They had to find their footing while navigating the complexity of having lost two loved members of the 4077.

Potter is the one who calmed BJ down in the OR when BJ started panicking. It was like he instinctively took this kid under his wing, but in a way that wasn't placating or demeaning. His authority came from a place of caring and concern and that made all the difference in the world.

There's only a handful of times throughout the series, where Potter calls BJ "BJ." He almost always calls him "Hunnicutt." The exact opposite of Hawkeye (though, somewhere in early/mid-season 4 it switches from "BJ" to "Beej," and then whenever Hawkeye calls him "BJ" it feels weird, but I digress.) And when he uses Beej's name, it's always laced with concern. It feels like a father trying to get a son to open up and talk to him, and BJ never does. "Bombshells," is one of the more notable times this happens, and the look on Potter's face is really telling.

I think Potter had love for all of the maniacs that we know and love, and I won't sit here and say he loved one more than another. He had very special relationships with all of them - but there's something with BJ that is both intriguing and painful, and it constantly makes me want more.

[honey--wraith]

HI LIVV!!! 💓 can you pls talk about Beej 🥺

HI LISA!! I would LOVE to talk about Beej

I hate to say my first impression of BJ was that I did NOT like him at all LMAO I was a big hater (Al can attest to this) I was like who is this boring wife guy replacing Trapper and look where I am now!! (but also even before I got super interested I made an ai bj bot where I therapized him into accepting he was gay and this went on for months so was I really THAT disinterested)

As he showed more and more flaws and cracks in that mask he puts on I got more and more interested with him! Now I think he's probably one of my favorite characters of all time like top 3 maybe. Just like Margaret I really relate to him in a lot of ways but he also just has such good characterization and I don't think the show would have been able to last successfully for as long as it did without his addition to the cast. I just need to crack open this fictional guy's brain and stare into it and if I try hard enough maybe I can understand everything. I like to crack a lot of jokes that he's an evil pathetic guy but really he's just so unrelentingly human and vulnerable and complex ugh!!!!

Favorite thing is kind of everything about him but maybe just how multifaceted he is as a character. He loves with all of himself and so intensely but he hides himself behind this idea of what he thinks he should be and how he thinks others need him to be. He's also manipulative and a little shit!!

No least favorite things!! He's perfect to me!!

Favorite line/scene: I think "I'm a temporarily mis-aligned civilian" is one of my favorites but he just has too many good scenes to count!! and of course "I'll never be able to shake you" GOD

Okay obviously favorite interaction is everything with Hawkeye every and how much they need to be touching each other at all times but also his friendship with Margaret!

I think seeing how BJ and Henry would have interacted could be interesting! It would probably be similar to Hawkeye but at least at the beginning I think BJ would be so bewildered with Henry's ineptitude as a CO.

Another character from another fandom that reminds me of that character: hate to say it but Wilson from House.

A headcanon about that character: I have too many to count!!! One I am constantly rotating is acts of service BJ always worrying about others and trying to help (usually by building something or fixing something,,,handyman BJ rights!)

A song that reminds of that character: Criminal by Fiona Apple! (ANOTHER Fiona Apple song sorry)

An unpopular opinion about that character: I don't think the Trapper Complex is- *I'm taken out back and REDACTED*

Favorite picture: where ya going man

[playing-soldier-4077]

"Everyones on stage for the finale!"

Meet the cast!

"Somone will have to get me pregnant first." -Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pierce

Background: Surgeon from Crabapple Cove, Maine. Drafted into the Korean War, he hates the army. Currently the senior member of the 4077th MASH, having been stationed there the longest.

Rank: Captian, Cheif surgeon

Gender: Male, occasionally uses female titles

Sexuality: Bisexual with plausible deniability

Height: 6'2"

Age: 32

Relationship status: Single

Character warnings: Alcoholic, somwhat of a misogynist/womanizer (recovering), jokes about his truama (has a lot of truama). Bi-polar (Though at the time its referred to as manic depression. Also undiagnosed. Anyway the warning is he has manic episodes somtimes)

"We'll be the ones with our hands on the bible." - Trapper John McIntyre

Background: Surgeon from Boston Massachusetts, he was drafted into the Korean War. Developed an extraordinarily close relationship with hawkeye, before getting his orders to go back stateside. With much regret the only message he leaves for hawkeye is a kiss through the company clerk. They never got to see eachother off.

Rank: Civilian (Former Captian)

Gender: Male

Sexuality: yes please

Height: 6'3"

Age: 30

Relationship status: married

Character warnings: fruiquent adulterer, womanizer, alcoholic.

"I have this strange aversion to being away from my family!" -BJ Hunnicutt

Background: Fresh from residency, BJ finds he's been drafted as an army doctor. He has to leave behind his months old daughter and his wife to work meatball surgery at the 4077th MASH. He meets Hawkeye soon after landing, and they become quick friends. They're attatched at the waist, borderline codependent, and BJ doesnt know how he would've handled life in Korea if he hadn't met Hawkeye.

Rank: Captian

Gender: Male

Sexuality: Repressed

Height: 6'4"

Age: 29

Relationship status: Married

Character warnings: Anger issues, bottles emotions, alcoholic(functioning. mostly.) Does not know when the bit has gone too far; may subject you to pranks (psychological warfare.) Accepting to queer people despite the times, but has internalized homophobia. Has a lot of internalized everything. Very repressed individual.

"Im afraid of Lobsters." -Sidney Freedman

Background: Sidney Freedman works as a psychiatrist, and volunteered to join the Army as one. Though he never signed his loyalty agreement, and values his paitents over the rules of the military, he is still veiwed as a valuable field therapist.

Rank: Major

Gender: Male

Sexuality: Gay

Height: 5' 9"

Age: 43

Relationship status: Married (Lavender)

Character warnings: Makes jokes about his line of work. Canon example: "I'm going to commit suicide." -got a bad poker hand.

Despite the occasional joke, he does take his job very seriously. If this type of joke is a trigger and you still want to interact with the character, just tell me and I'll be sure not to make any :]

Things to note!

These characters, while progressive, are from the 1950s. They may say or do insensitive things.

(If I take this too far, do tell me. I dont intend to play into this much if at all, I just wanted to put the warning up. Please tell me if I write somthing I shouldnt, I struggle with knowing when to stop occasionally. This probobly wont be an issue, but the possibility is worth warning for I think)

[mylittleredgirl]

i'm having a time of it where i couldn't look at screens very much, so i haven't been watching or posting as much about m*a*s*h, but you'd better believe that has left me even more time to THINK about m*a*s*h!!!

buckle up: update for season four disc one!

(after welcome to korea, that is, which was another post)

headline: LOVE the new characters!!

bj has somehow already committed arson?? hawkeye, you are SUCH a bad example for your little brother

at some point down the line i'm sure i will stop infantilizing this grown ass man but for now literally everything bj does i'm like. that's a Baby.

especially when he participates in a bit where they're going after frank or margaret, who he literally just met

you know when there's like a ten-year-old with a strong opinion about something, like "that [toy, tv show, video game] SUCKS!" with all the rage and feeling in their world-weary heart

... and then one step behind them is the five-year-old who chimes in "yeah that REALLY sucks!" but with this innocent delight in their eyes, like they have no idea what's going on but they're getting a really good grade in Big Kid

that's BJ, is what i'm saying

and colonel potter! he's regular army!! but it's ok: he drinks

it's soooo perfect that he and bj share their first o.r. scene. the sweet calming mentor energy... i'm luv him.

and then HE SHOOTS THE DEAD JEEP. i'm still laughing about that. if colonel potter never does one more funny thing again he's still the funniest man alive.

meanwhile! we join our established characters already in progress

frank and hawkeye's relationship gets genuinely hostile there for a while. uncomfortably so, even.

and during the week i was too dizzy to sit up and make this post i spent a LOT of time thinking about this!!!

each of them are spinning out for their own reasons, which play out all over this season so far. frank gained and lost the power he wanted so badly. hawkeye lost both his besties at the same time, and the support structure and identity that went along with that.

but also trapper's absence on its own radically changed the swamp boys dynamic!!

frank has always been justifiably hateable, but there was a SPORT to it, you know? hawkeye and trapper were tormenting him largely to entertain each other, which means they did it a lot but only to the point where it was funny

and think about the "but there's no real hate, right?" in O.R., like in frank's mind, they torture him but they're all still buddies!!! (and the occasional peek into frank's sad childhood could explain this perception)

it quickly becomes clear in season 4 that trapper was a tempering influence between hawkeye and frank, who end up in a full on BRAWL

LIKE A DRAWN OUT PHYSICAL FIGHT

also hard to watch: frank wrecking margaret's tent. hmm. mm-mmm. don't like this.

on the other hand, i loved the "i'm here but we're not doing anything!" scene in the next episode when they're playing cards in her tent. they're always slapping or kissing or scheming -- i feel like this is the first time we ever see them just hanging out like friends

… with anyone, actually. like this thirty seconds of a card game just unlocked an unseen part of both their personalities

something subtle is shifting in this relationship. by the end of "the kids," even sober-margaret is getting in on the joke that frank sucks. i await future developments.

THE KIIIIIIIIIIDS

oh god it's so sweet and harmless. it's healing. i love it. i want to roll around in that episode.

i hope "frank scams a purple heart and hawkeye steals it" continues to happen every season, like the mail episodes

i learned that alan alda directed this ep, which means that he made the decision both in front of and behind the camera for hawkeye to make this face as bj tells a bedtime story:

hawkeye!!!! don't fall in love with straight boys!!!!!

other things:

I'M STILL GRIEVING BY THE WAY

THEY CROPPED MY BOY OUT OF THE OPENING SEQUENCE

THEY CROPPED HIMMMMMM

henry blake memorial bar we hardly knew ye 😢

the moment when hawkeye is like yeah bj, just to get you up to speed: henry was basically radar's dad

any time they mention henry or trapper i have feelings but ALSO i have feelings whenever i think maybe they could have mentioned them but didn't. mentioned them IN MY HEART.

i'm a little fixated on the choice to replace henry and trapper, notorious philanderers, with characters who are immediately identified as Wife Guys

genuinely if y'all hadn't told me that mclean stevenson and wayne rogers wanted out, i would have assumed the character shakeup happened specifically for that reason!

totally other topic but i'm definitely missing some kind of joke here and it's driving me nuts: every time a british character shows up they're heavily spray-tanned. what does it meeeeaaaan??

and lastly. best part of "the bus" is the knowledge that somewhere off-screen, margaret, klinger, and the nurses are running the camp.

[pomegranate]

thinking about how messed up it is that both of Hawkeye’s boyfriends knock him into his cot when they’re upset about being away from their kids

people (including me) focus on the BJ one because it was done during the more dramatic years of the series and was taken more seriously (also bc it left a visible facial injury) but the Trapper one is upsetting too and I hate that we never get resolution on this plotline