#Honoria Winchester

[mash4077confessions]

[cuddleswinchester]

falling into my baby Winchesters feelings

Charles was eight years old, sitting in the stuffy drawing room with his sister, Honoria.  They were sharing tea on a set of china worth more money than everyone in the North End had in their bank accounts, combined.  He was sent home from his boarding school, prior to the end of term, because the whole establishment was being shuttered until further notice.  The train was crammed full to capacity, but Charles still felt alone for the duration of his journey through the city, with the other passengers stumbling over each other and groaning like branded cattle while he tried to read his book.  Some of the boys in his class had said they needed to go home and help their parents, and Charles did not understand what they meant, even when they mentioned jobs in factories or at street-corner newsstands.  All Charles needed to do, to be useful to his parents, was keep his sister company, so the nursemaid could be let go.  It wasn’t a problem; he enjoyed spending time with Honoria.  

She was four, perpetually sniffly, and shy.  She sat on the tufted chair across the table from Charles, kicking out her legs, paying no mind to the doll Mother had placed in her lap.  It was an exquisitely pretty little thing, in Charles’ opinion, not that he would admit to gazing at it.  Her porcelain face managed to convey softness, with blushing cheeks and dewy eyelashes.  She was dressed in a white christening gown, with a lace bonnet and bow granting femininity to her precious bald head.  It was only that morning Mother had taken her out of the box, a new plaything to keep Honoria occupied, with all that commotion going on downtown and Father pacing in his study with the radio at full volume and half the household staff being sent out.  The trouble was, Honoria was not interested in the toy.  Mother had set it down without instilling any imagination in it, whatsoever.  

Once Mother left the room, Charles quietly offered the doll a cup of cream from their tea-setting, and Honoria gave him a smile, albeit a puzzled one. 

“Let me hold her,” Charles said.

He offered his arms forward, accepting care of the doll before Honoria’s restless fidgeting could send her plummeting to the hardwood floor, where she might shatter.  Her clothing was delicate, her porcelain limbs were cold to the touch, but her face was friendly, when Charles tucked her into the crook of his arm and rocked her, gently.  Honoria watched with wide eyes.

“I’ll show you how to, ah…” Charles did not think she seemed like a toy to be played with; she seemed like a lovely baby girl, completely dependent on him.  He touched the doll’s rouged cheek, more gently than the sponge that had painted it.  “I’ll show you how to take good care of her.”

[grinchwrapsupreme]

Charles' love for his sister is so much more powerful when you know about how they lost their brother and the fear and pain it caused them like there was so much love between those siblings in what was ostensibly such a cold and formal family and one of them died so young, so now there's only two siblings left and they just have to keep loving each other all the more because each other is all they have

[quordleona03]

"AfterMASH, only like the Golden Girls, Max and Charles and Francis sharing a house..."

@topshelf2112-blog

Written for fun, but I thought you'd like it. Does it count as a work in progress if I have no idea how to take it further?

At work, Charles Emerson Winchester never answered his own phone. At home, he always did: Honoria loathed answering a telephone call unless she knew and loved who was calling, and Max was still, even after five months as their beloved guest, quite shy of taking calls - unsurprisingly, given some of the callers.

"How did you get this number?" he asked, recognising the voice at the other end of the phone. "Well, thank you, Charles," Pierce said, sounding amused. "Hello to you too. I got your number from Sidney Freedman." "How did he get my number?" Charles demanded in astonishment. "No, never mind, what do you want?" He listened to Pierce's outline of the situation, and then said "And you are not taking him in, why?" "I'd love to," Pierce said, and damn the man, he sounded sincere. "Sidney and my dad and my sponsor all say I can't take in a man who's something like two weeks into sobriety when I've only been sober eight months myself."

"That... aspect had not occurred to me," Charles said.

"Well, there it is. I know you offered Klinger a home - " "That is entirely different - "

"I sure hope so," Pierce said, sounding far too knowing for Charles' taste. "The only thing is - you'll have to clear the house out of booze." "Cognac is not booze," Charles said. He regretted it as he heard Pierce draw in a sharp breath, half anger, half pain. "Of course," he said, before Pierce could put words to either - "Max no longer drinks: Honoria and I will clear our cellar. When are we to expect him?" "Thank you," Pierce said, and sighed. "I got a phone call from his sister, they're releasing him Friday. I got permission to drive him over to your place. Ah - where is your place? Or do we just go to Beacon Hill and yell 'Winchester'?"

Charles gave him the address.

"Thanks. We should arrive in time for lunch. Don't worry, I don't expect you to feed me."

"I expect we might be able to provide you with a sandwich."

"Thanks, Charles," Pierce said.

Charles went through to the sitting-room, where Honoria was reading. "That was Doctor Pierce."

"Hawkeye?" Honoria sounded delighted. Far too delighted. "Is he p-paying us a visit?" "A brief one, on Friday, for lunch. But, it appears we have to make a decision about our parents' ultimatum."

"I th-thought we h-had another m-month?" Honoria's stutter got worse. Their parents were now among the group of people Honoria knew but did not love.

In a few words, Charles concisely outlined what Pierce had told him. "I didn't feel that I could refuse."

"Of c-course not," Honoria said. "Max and I will make up the other guest room."

"I think we should make a final decision," Charles said. "Our parents have already made clear what they feel about Max. I am quite certain that taking in another 4077 refugee will only exacerbate their venom. We may as well move now as later - especially as our guest will need quiet and continuity."

Honoria looked around the room. They had both lived here since Honoria was eighteen. The house had been built originally for a Winchester widow, in the 1890s: it had been modernised, and Charles had claimed it for his own residence when Honoria turned eighteen. It was more her home than his, for all the official position of their parents was that they had granted it to Charles, and Honoria kept house for him - though staff from the larger family house did most of the work.

"Of course, you could remain here," Charles said. "It's my guests that our parents find so obnoxious."

Honoria made a sudden, frantic, shushing motion with her hand. Charles blinked at her.

Max Klinger was standing behind him. He looked at Charles very sadly for a long moment. "Y'didn't tell me your parents were giving me ultimatums about me, Major."

"Of course not," Charles said. "You are my guest, Max."

"You just said your parents find me 'obnoxious'. What's supposed to happen in a month?"

Charles looked down his nose. "Nothing that need concern you, Max, unless you have a fear of sea air. Honoria and I had been discussing a long stay in a cottage that was left to her personally on her twenty-fifth birthday." "It's l-lovely, Max," Honoria said. "We ha-haven't stayed there since Ch-charles went to K-Korea, b-b-but, y-ou w-w-will come w-w-w-ith us, w-on't you?" She got to the end of the sentence, and looked up at Max doubtfully.

"Sure, if you want me to, Nori," Max said, having waited like Charles for her to finish. "But what is it that's supposed to happen next month?"

"My parents gave me an ultimatum," Charles said. "I intend to answer it. Doctor Pierce is visiting us briefly on Friday, with Father Mulcahy - he is apparently in need of a quiet place to stay for the next few months. Honoria, has no one stayed in the cottage since 1950? What sort of state is it in?"

"I imagine it'll be quite unprovisioned," Honoria agreed. "Perhaps Max wouldn't mind helping us set it up for a long stay?"

"For Father Mulcahy?" Max said, checking.

"For all four of us," Charles said. "Assuming you still wish to be bothered by us."

[topshelf2112-blog]

I love to write Honoria tormenting her brother. She crackles on the page like heat lightning.

[countesspetofi]

(I headcanon that Woodard, Julia, and Hawkeye Pierce all went to medical school together. Hawkeye has no respect for Eric Lang as a surgeon, and makes fun of his harpoon collection behind his back.

And if Dark Shadows and M*A*S*H take place in the same cinematic universe, the Aunt Katharine the Collinses are always visiting in Boston must move in the same social circles as the Winchesters. Roger probably danced with Honoria Winchester at her debutante ball.)

It's a good thing they recast Dr. Woodard before they killed him off. I wouldn't have wanted to see Robert Gerringer's shapely behind get the old syringe o' poison.

[onekisstotakewithme]

Since it is now the holiday season again, I wanted to share my (completed) Christmas story I wrote last year.

It's about Christmas in Maine in 1956!

Words: 39,176 (12 chapters)

Ships: BJ/Hawk/Peg, Charles/Donna, Honoria/Margaret

Rating: Teen+

I hope you all enjoy it.

(It is part of the Home series, but functions as a standalone for the most part).

Happy holidays! 🎄

[animnightmare]

Ive come up with a few ideas for mash fics, and since my hawkeye/honoria drabble thing was well received I thought perhaps I should actually get to writing them

I am, however, terribly indecisive. So heres a poll to help me decide what to write first

*A couple details for the last one since I couldn't think of a good way to summerize it: Post war Hawkeye is still waiting for trapper to contact him despite everything, and BJ consoles him.

(I love trapper but it is also Fun to make him the bad guy somtimes)

[quordleona03]

That Charles Emerson Winchester adores his little sister and will KILL WITH HOT KNIVES anyone who teases her for having a stutter and will CHOMP LIKE A PITBULL any time he sees a stutterer being bullied for having a stutter, is really, genuinely, the nicest thing about him. That smile!

[cuddleswinchester]

Hi, hello, here is my latest self-indulgent research project, involving the gay+lesbian scene in 1950s Boston, and making sure Margaret has access to T to Margaret Boy Winter can continue apace.

[booksinpiles]

May 5-11 is Stuttering Awareness Week

[marley-manson]

Doctor Winchester Mr Hyde is genuinely a pretty great episode.

Loved Hawkeye telling Winchester he's been there and it sucks, love him showing concern for Charles multiple times and being particularly joke-free about it in the ending tag, love Charles asking him to proofread a paper lol. Loooove Hawkeye's fear of mice and especially love him basically showing off that fear when he asks to pet Daisy for luck in front of the marines and makes a show of cringing. And BJ automatically doing the thing certain people do when they find out you're scared of something and shove it in your face to make you freak out lmao, that's exactly correct for him.

Charles demanding Radar go fetch his opera glasses when he's about to dose the mouse, and then in the next scene he actually is watching the race through binoculars was an amazing detail lol.

Also I overall liked the way Charles taking speed was handled - the ending was a little DARE-esque ofc, but generally it was a pretty light and funny touch. Klinger directly asking for them (with 0 narrative condemnation) only for Charles to condescend and then take them himself was great, as was this exchange between them: "Do you want extreme depression, chronic fatigue?" "I already got those!" a+

The drugs actually helping Charles for a while was solid and there was little in the way of overtly impared behaviour which I like - more sold by little details, like Hawkeye mentioning that Charles' 27 page paper seems to be all one sentence.

First mention of Honoria is her marrying 2 dudes in succession and getting ostracized from the family which doesn't seem to fit later mentions unless she divorced second dude and was welcomed back, which tbf isn't implausible lol. Though I don't really remember, so maybe it's possible that Honoria is the family black sheep and only Charles remains in touch with her, which would be interesting.

Last time I watched I had the minor complaint that Hawkeye and co admit to the marines that their mouse was on speed and I considered that annoying when My Hawkeye(TM) happily cheats to win competitions against random army guys ie Requiem for a Lightweight - buuut to be fair to the episode he did say they should "give the marines their money back while we're still alive" suggesting he thinks they might find out they were cheated? I don't see how lol, and it's still a little too moralistic cheating is wrong-esque for me, but I'll accept it as an explanation that keeps Hawkeye ic for me.

Anyway yeah, solidly written, good dialogue, good character moments, little oasis in this chunk of season 6.

[majorbaby]

i think when considering Margaret and her much lauded 'character development' it's less about her developing from a bad person to a good person, but from a narrative device, as she was in MASH 1970, to a three-dimensional character. the former isn't inherently poor writing.

this happened deliberately as the show shifted from satirical plotlines that emphasized the moral bankruptcy of the systems that prop up the war machine to a show about how being in the war wore on the characters individually and changed them as people.

season 4 and onward focus more on individual character drama, highlighting the flaws and virtues of each character, their interiority, their changing relationships with one another and brings in their relationships with offscreen characters - most infamously, Peg and Erin Hunnicutt but also Dr. Pierce Senior, Radar's mother and uncle who eventually passes and Honoria Winchester. Even minor characters get at least one episode that focuses on some offscreen relationship, Mulcahy's sister Kathy and Klinger wife/ex-wife Laverne.

maybe with the (blessed) exception of Frank Burns, I think the function of all the characters changes from 1-3 to 4-11 as the show made this shift.

Trapper is a lancer. we get some glimpses into there being more to him, in Kim and Check-Up - but most of what we see is him performing a specific function, propping up Hawkeye, who in turn props up the messaging of the show. I would have loved to see Trapper's interiority explored more in the later years but I'm not mad about it missing in 1-3 - it's not about him getting "more", he got plenty in terms of what he was created to do. him having 'conflict' with Hawkeye isn't something that would've ever occurred to the writers at that time and you would never hear trapper say something like 'i can't divide myself emotionally' he doesn't have enough of an emotional self to divide.

when it comes to Hawkeye, in 1-3 i think the details of his life beyond what we see of him on screen are extraneous. hence the inconsistencies with his backstory, his sister, his mother, him being form vermont - this stuff just didn't matter back then. focusing on it now can be fun if you're trying to explore the character in fanwork, but the reason Hawkeye's sister (who i've affectioned named 'benjamina pierce') disappears is because they weren't really thinking too hard about her in the first place, you're not supposed to remember her and so the show assumes you won't.

Hawkeye writes home to his father but we don't learn a whole lot about Daniel Pierce at the time, he's only there for Hawkeye to narrate to, that doesn't mean Hawkeye doesn't love him, it's just that the writers don't intend for you to focus on their relationship until at least The Late Captain Pierce.

Other major developments wrt to Daniel happen much later on: he is retconned into being a doctor in the later years when the show wants to care about developing those details of Hawkeye's life and in season 10 we get Sons and Bowlers.

Hawkeye gets a little more character stuff than the rest of the cast because he's the protagonist but there's still a marked shift between 3 and 4, starting with his emotionally charged personal drama re: Trapper - before that, he does have moments where he emotes but it's always to fulfill the show's anti-establishment messaging: Yankee Doodle Doctor, Carry on Hawkeye and yes, even Dr. Pierce and Mr. Hyde. again, that doesn't mean we can't diagnose him with a laundry list of issues based on that episode when constructing headcanons but his mental state alone can't be divorced from the messaging at this point. "why does he do these things?" asks Henry at the end of Pierce/Hyde, and Trapper replies not that Hawkeye is damaged or hurting or broken (even though he may be all these things) but with the show's central thesis "he took this oath never to stand by and watch people die" - his breakdown directly ties back to the show's criticism of state violence. compare to Bless You Hawkeye, which might've taken place anywhere whenever Hawkeye smelled mouldy pond water.

so if even Hawkeye is more of a device than a character in the early years, what can we say for Margaret?

the Margaret character does her job. the hypocrisy of "fighting for peace" is paralleled perfectly in her relationship with Frank. these are two people who claim to be god-fearing, well-to-do, conservative Americans, but they engage in the same vices as Trapper and Hawkeye: drinking, promiscuity and scheming and worse, Frank and Margaret look down on others for it.

i get why people want something 'more' (really, something 'else) from Margaret and I'm glad we did eventually get that because it was sorely needed, but tbh i adore early Margaret and i think it's a little silly to call her a 'bad person' or 'underdeveloped' - she's just a villain clocking in.

similarly i don't think we're meant to reflect on Hawkeye/Trapper/Henry's philandering as assessments of their character so much as they are clear statements on traditionalism and sexual liberty. you can personally dislike whatever you want in a character but i think the context of the show airing in 1972 when attitudes towards sex, particularly female pleasure, were starting to finally loosen, is relevant.

some people want character drama from MASH and that's their preference, but character drama isn't inherently 'deeper' or 'more complex' than satire. on the contrary some of the writing is so technically strong in the early years, the jokes on-the-ball, the witty criticisms of American foreign policy and the traditional values that uphold it buried within objectively hilarious episodes like Tuttle (where they create 'the perfect American man' except that he's not real and make fools out of ranking officers while they're at it)... I'd argue that that's highly complex.

i don't see the point in getting hung up on the morals of a character who clearly intended to be a villain when judging whether or not they're a 'good' character or not. calling her 'flat' when they're all somewhat 'flat' because the show is not trying to get you overly invested in their personal lives seems unfair to me. same can be said for comparisons of Frank and Charles which are critical of Frank. or my most beloathed criticism: of Henry for being an 'incompetent CO' - that is a feature, not a bug.

criticisms of 'flat' characters in general are definitely valid, but imo only when those characters exist alongside nuanced characters who have rich interiority. since Margaret exists alongside Trapper and Frank, I don't think that critique is valid here. she actually gets a few solid moments where we get the sense that there may be more to her, in Aid Station and Carry On Hawkeye. compare that to episodes that frame her as being entirely sympathetic when she's been a terror to people she holds structural power over: The Nurses or the Birthday Girls - both good episodes in general, but it's another kind of flatness to present a character as being wholly sympathetic when they've turned around and done the very same thing that was done to them to others. just something to consider about how making Margaret 'more nuanced' actually glossed over some of her interesting complexities.

[quordleona03]

Trapper- 1, 2, 7, random number

Charles- 1, 2, 7, random number

Trapper - 1, 2, 7, 10

1. Why do you like or dislike this character?

I like Trapper's enthusiasm. I think he's adorable when he goes "WA-HEY!" over something he likes. I like his dedication as a doctor. I like how fond he is of his kids, and that he really does try to be nice to Frank Burns (I don't think Frank is worth it, but I like it that Trapper tries). I dislike his casual unfaithfulness to his wife. I dislike his casual sexualisation of Margaret Houlihan. (I think it's telling that after Aid Station when Hawkeye says that Margaret was great, Trapper leaps straight to the assumption that means he had sex with her.) 2. Favorite canon thing about this character? Trapper organised immunisations for all the local kids, and was canonically the doctor the locals went to for help when they needed something. 7. What's something the fandom does when it comes to this character that you like?

I like the fandom interpretation of Trapper as in love with Hawkeye. (I'm not sure Trapper was in love with Hawkeye - or at least not sure Trapper knew it - but I really like it in fandom when Trapper is in love with Hawkeye and knows it.) 10. Could you be best friends with this character?

No. I don't think Trapper could be best friends with a woman. Whether or not you read him as queer, I think he's very definitely homosocial - women are for sex, men are for friendship. I don't think he even sees his wife as a friend.

Charles - 1, 2, 7. 22

1. Why do you like or dislike this character?

I like Charles because he's intelligent, hard working, honourable, polite, and - within limits - kind. I dislike Charles because he's an arrogant upper-class racist bigot who doesn't believe in paying taxes.

2. Favorite canon thing about this character?

That Charles will kill with hot knives anyone who hurts his sister Honoria. My headcanon about what "cousin Alfred" did was mock Honoria for stuttering, whereupon he was dead to Charles forever. I like it that Charles's fondness for Honoria extends to standing up against anyone who tries to bully someone for having a stutter. I also like that Charles has, I think, come to regard Margaret Houlihan as next thing to a sister - I think that neither of them have quite parsed this, even by GFA, but I see the two of them as continuing to have the same kind of solid relationship Charles has with Honoria - even though Margaret is lower-class and Irish, both of which Charles despises. 7. What's something the fandom does when it comes to this character that you like?

Make Charles fall in love with Klinger. I think Charles in love with Klinger is adorable. Even though I read Charles as heterosexual.

22. If you're a fic reader, what's something you like in fics when it comes to ths character? Something you don't like?

Charles Emerson Winchester III is a fantastic character. Unlike Frank Burns, he could never become a two-dimensional villain. He is quite thoroughly bigoted and he never gets a redemption arc - his liking/respect for Margaret will never change the fact that he regards the Irish as and the lower classes as intrinsically inferior - he just makes an exception for Margaret because she's his friend. He's arrogant and conceited but he is able to see and acknowledge that he got something wrong. He clearly genuinely enjoys the company of women - and thinks little girls are adorable - but he's a sexist bigot as well as a racist bigot. Except when provoked (and Hawkeye and BJ and Potter all do quite a bit of provoking) he clearly aims to be punctiliously polite, even to his inferiors - but he regards everyone at the 4077th as his inferior, even if he has a gradual, grudging respect for the surgical abilities of his fellow surgeons. I like stories which explore all that complexity about Charles! I dislike stories which try to tone it down to make him more likable. Charles is a fascinating mix of the deeply unpleasant and the likeable and the charming and the arrogant - and nothing is more certain (to me) that once he got out of Korea, while he'd continue to regard Margaret as a friend (and probably Hawkeye too) - everyone else is just someone he'd as soon forget ever existed. Ask meme