#bj's relationship with hawkeye

[megatronusprimedecal]

"Oh, Father."

Deluge || Episode Twenty-Three || Season Four

[cuepickle]

Did we just become best friends??

[skltart]

they're sooo ya hey by vampire weekend coded

[remyfire]

The energy in these images is so powerful

[symphonyincoordination]

They're helping

[quordleona03]

On the surface. which is, I think, how most people engage with BJ (I mean both in-series and also Doyleistically, watching the series) - very, very nice. He's kind, supportive, helpful, and polite. He's married, in love with his wife, and consciously and deliberately faithful to her. (Yes, he lapses - once physically, once emotionally - but clearly doesn't regard either as a light lapse.)

BJ was drafted at a crucial time in his kid's life - whether we go with she was a month old or a year old when he was drafted, whether he's supposed to have spent a year or two years in Korea, he missed a time in his first child's life where she would have been changing rapidly - every week, every day, he should have been there to see the first time she stood up, the first time she used a spoon to feed herself, the first time she walked, the first time she said a coherent sentence - BJ missed all of that, and he'll never, ever get it back - he may see another child of his grow up, but he'll never get to see that with Erin. The most relatable parts of BJ's anger and distress are his missing Erin.

There is als othe less-sympathetic but also relatable fact that he and Peg clearly had a deal - BJ would get through medical school and residency, Peg would work. (This isn't explicit, but I doubt if her job in the cafe or training as a realtor were first-employments.) Then BJ would pass his residency, set up in private practice, make a ton of money, and Peg could quit work and have babies, and they could settle down to living the good life as described by Betty Friedan in The Feminine Mystique.

But: BJ got drafted. Two years is my decision about how long he spent in Korea - the show is muddled enough about time that it's hard to be clear. But, two years, one year - Peg had to be independent. She had to be a single mother, with allotment checks from a salary lower than BJ would have got in civilian life. She had to support herself, look after her daughter, write BJ regularly, and keep going on her own. And she did. And BJ respects her for doing that, but really, really wishes she didn't have to.

All of the above actually makes BJ still a nice guy, genuinely - in the 1950s a man supporting his SAHW was just how it was.

But:

BJ likes practical jokes. These are (sometimes) quite incredibly cruel, and at best, they're the sort of "joke" where everyone is laughing but the person who's pranked. This isn't something he can blame on how he was in Korea - BJ was a practical joker in college. His best frien til he met Hawkeye is a practical joker. BJ has no mercy and no exceptions on who he plays practical "jokes" on - his best friend, his CO, his subordinates at work. BJ is cruel, and enjoys being cruel. And that lies underneath everything else about how BJ is. He's a cruel guy who tries very hard to be decent and kind and - it leaks out in practical joking.

BJ is also, I think, hellishly competitive. He doesn't quite realise this. But I think all of his life he's easily been the best - golden child, popular in high school, top student at college, popular in his fraternity - and now he's at thr 4077th, and - Hawkeye is the best surgeon, the most experienced surgeon, a natural leader, the Chief Surgeon very casual about his authority but really expecting to be obeyed when he's giving orders in OR or triage, way funnier than BJ - making people laugh without resorting to practical jokes - I think BJ adores and resents and is competitive with Hawkeye, and Hawkeye - without even noticing that BJ thinks there's a contest - keeps casually winning "who's the most popular guy" "the best surgeon" "the funniest joker" - without even trying.

there is something very sad about Peg just wanting to tell BJ about her day to day life, the mundane things in the house that need to be fixed and the funny things that happen to her, all things he would've enjoyed hearing about or would've handled with her if he'd been there, and having absolutely no idea what effect these letters actually have on him

[charlesemersonwinchesteriii]

Hawkeye Roommate Quadrant 

[tiredandoptimistic]

What really sets late seasons MASH apart for me is the way all the characters settle into this sense of comfort and familiarity. The characters are far from getting along perfectly, but it's so clear that they all love each other and share a bond that really can't be quantified. Specifically, I just adore the friendship between Hawkeye, BJ, Charles, and Margaret; how they squabble and prank each other but it's all built on this solid feeling of care. It's not like the stuff Hawkeye and Trapper would pull on Frank at the beginning, it's hijinks with an emotionality behind it that makes the whole thing deeply compelling to me. In particular, Margaret and Charles are two of my favorite characters and it just warms my heart to see them getting unabashedly silly and even vulnerable with people who they once acted so superior to. They're allowed to have friends and goof off! They can show weakness!

Even when characters fight (looking at you, mustache BJ), it feels like it's coming from a very genuine place. Every side of the conflict gets its moment of understanding, even when one of them is acting out of line. A couple of my favorite scenes are when Margaret calls BJ and Hawkeye out on their bullshit, but it works because she cares about them and believes that they can do better (as people, not as soldiers). Audience and characters alike are worried whenever somebody starts acting erratically, because we know them and we get what this implies about their mental state.

A lot of this comes down to the changing writing staff and actors like Alan Alda and Loretta Switt getting more influence over their characters, and it's great! I love how the show evolved over time to stay meaningful in a way that a pure sitcom can't really do. I think the show running for eleven years really did a lot to capture the bond that's forged by war, since three years feels like a whole hell of a lot longer when you're in a situation like that. It makes sense that they'd all change so much, even though that level of development wouldn't happen in three years of broadcast television.

Anyways, this is just to say that I like it when people are friends. Give them a weirdly intense bond that cannot truly be explained, it's good enrichment.

[animnightmare]

Trapper helped Hawkeye get ribs

BJ conned him out of porkchops

Trapper helped Hawkeye get a new boot

BJ put a hole in his boot

Trapper made sure Hawkeye got rest when he was having an episode

BJ intentionally pushed Hawkeye to a paranoid breakdown

But after all that

BJ said goodbye, and Trapper didnt.

[martianbugsbunny]

it's so hard living in a house full of people who watch M*A*S*H but aren't shippers bc what they are is Hawkeye stans who hate BJ

[variousqueerthings]

contrasting hawkeye leading when he and trapper dance, with hawkeye telling bj they’ll go dancing after the war, and bj says “i’ll lead.”

[dilfsuzanneyk]

the captain should watch mash

[hballegro]

Just want to drop an extra note on how much I've been loving the field day gang :3 they are bringing me so much joy and screaming in the tags is not enough

thank youuuu!

its silly it started as just me putting bj [and then francis] into stupid clothes i was advertised. i heavily associate priests with my days in gradeschool and the best part of gradeschool was having a day of only play, then my brain flowed to when the priests would be out of their 'uniform' [i know its vestments but as a kid that was their 'uniform'] and help the teachers run field day, and here we are.

basically shout out mulcahy hes the reason everyone other than BJ is getting drawn rn. played on my nostalgia, the bastard

ive also really liked people drawing the goobers in anything other than their fatigues. the clothes ive got people in might not ~necessarily~ fit the 50s [margaret's tennis dress thing does, but sidney's fit fs does NOT], but ive also put henry, trapper, frank, and radar in here, so ive decided i dont care so long as it looks like 'before 1990'

i hijacked your ask to explain my brain during this. i do say i hugely appreciate the support and i read everyone's reblogs, including yours, and I also show em to my friends like 'look !!! people like the goofy lobster shirt !! they think the mug is funny !! i succeeded in making them hot, i struggle with that !! :D'

even without people liking them, id still be making these because its making me happy, but theyre definitely being made in a shorter timespan than the 3 months id probably usually take on this [not out of actual work; out of procrastination]

basically anyway uhhh

[remyfire]

I love when Hawkeye gets fed up and the sass really starts coming out

[boasamishipper]

ship: BJ x Hawkeye

[gaysails]

people coming out in the tags on that "better boyfriend" poll and also now in the mash tag in general to be like "um actually bj is unhinged and has Problems" like oh right I forgot hawkeye is the most hinged man on earth and would never do freak shit like demanding that bj edge him for an entire day. clearly hawkeye craves a normal mentally stable individual to be in a relationship with. lol