#this is about margaret houlihan

[beeinabox]

having favorite characters isn’t enough i need to fuck them

[pomegranate]

MASH said ghosts are real and they WILL judge your petty arguments

[hawkeyeslaughter]

i’m so enraptured with henry blake and margaret houlihan actually . there’s not a lot of them , but they have their moments , i have to believe this because of margaret’s reaction in abyssinia henry . henry blake and margaret houlihan on a late night shift hovering over a high risk patient and sharing a pot of awful coffee . henry blake and margaret houlihan sitting shoulder to shoulder at the mess tent table , tiredly glaring at hawkeye and trapper while they torment frank . henry blake and margaret houlihan bickering over nurses . henry blake and margaret houlihan alternatively penning nursing schedules and absent mindedly gossiping without even realizing it . henry blake and margaret houlihan over the operating table . colonel henry blake and major head nurse margaret houlihan , two halves of a whole mash unit . henry blake and margaret houlihan . henry and margaret .

[t00thpasteface]

red flowers bursting down below us those people didn't even know us

[remyfire]

You know what I'm tender about? This moment of character development for Margaret ultimately hinged on the fact that, A, Hawkeye was gone, and B, BJ was there.

Even though by this point, Margaret and Hawkeye are beginning to become friends, I don't think she would have allowed herself to be so vulnerable as to extend an invitation to spend time together if he had been in camp. Not only do they still have a mountain of past baggage to work through, but she knows Hawk too well. He would've made some kind of teasing, innuendo-laden quip and she would have balked and retreated. However, BJ is a safer bet. He and Margaret don't have that long year of torment and harassment hanging over their heads the way she did with Hawk and Trapper. Even still, if Hawkeye had been there, then BJ would have immediately let him take the lead of the conversation, and again, Margaret would have fled. And if Charles had been alone here, then I believe Margaret would have second guessed her invitation. She's still a married person, after all, and he is not, so in her mind they really should not be spending time together with no one else.

But BJ is different. He's the one who gives her a grin and a wave in parting whereas Charles doesn't give Margaret a second glance. When she calls out to them, he's the one who keeps his tone light and his smile easy. He's the one who speaks for him and Charles rather than letting any kind of awkward silence linger that might cause Margaret to withdraw. He stays so open and amiable and, though visibly confused, is still open to whatever this strange change in Margaret is. With very little effort at all, he makes Margaret feel so at ease. If he hadn't been there and if Hawkeye hadn't been called away, who knows how long it would have taken for Margaret to be brave enough to open herself up for the possibility of rejection? And if she hadn't had this fledgling moment of friendship met with such warmth, who knows how long Margaret might've been satisfied living off the crumbs of affection from a husband who never cherished her like she deserved?

[mash4077confessions]

The Mash/Muppet Alignment Chart

[kira-light0]

Happy Valentines Day to those who are celebrating!

Feel free to send these to your mash-loving valentines!

[statictwoo]

I'm working on complex M*A*S*H drawing right now but They were on my mind so I had to bang this out real quick. Margaret and Frank circa 1956 after much self-discovery...

[guy-in-a-dress]

Would[insert MASH character] fuck their clone?

Hawkeye

yes

no questions asked would 100% fuck his clone

if he asked any questions it would be 'can we make more of myself and start an orgy'

Trapper

yes

would ask the basic questions like 'what the fuck' and 'where in god's name did someone get a clone of me' but would stop giving a shit fairly quickly

would probably pull several pranks with the clone as well

B.J.

no

would probably spend several days trying to figure out if it counts as cheating but ends up deciding that he's not his own type

They'd spend the rest of the time setting up the Prank of All Time

Henry

no

they would go fishing and do nothing else for about 24 hours

no one knows why he's missing except Radar and he's too confused about to be able to explain it to Hawkeye

Potter

no

absolutely not

wouldn't even consider it a possibility

would probably paint a self portrait

Frank

no

would probably accuse the clone of being a spy in the most bigoted way possible

would DEFINITELY call the clone ferret face, needle nose, lipless wonder, etc (for the bit ofc)

Margaret

yes

their first interaction would be something along the lines of 'You're the only bitch in the house that I ever respected'

would probably end with a queer awakening

Charles

no

asexual king

They would simply complain to each other about Everything

Radar

no

is probably the reason the clone is there in the first place

If they teamed up they'd probably end the war early

And get every single other task done in the process

Father Mulcahy

no

Lmaoooo absolutely not

Asexual king: catholic boogaloo

Klinger

no

Would probably try to use the clone to go AWOL but through a series of comedic mishaps end up back at camp

would give Henry a stroke

[symphonyincoordination]

Thinking about how, to Margaret, Hawkeye is usually Doctor, Captain or Pierce. But when she comes to him, in pain and at three in the morning, because her appendix needs removing, she calls him Hawkeye.

(Then when she’s on the table, she reminds Kellye which instruments he prefers to use, which I love as a little character moment itself. We know she respects Hawkeye’s skills as a surgeon regardless of how she feels about him as a person because she requested him for the surgery, but this cements that. And, regardless of the kind of person she is, she’s always demonstrated to be an excellent nurse. She notices things like that! But but, even in the midst of a very vulnerable moment, she still can’t fully relinquish her control! She’s had to go to Potter and Hawkeye as ask for help, and now she’s literally she’s lying on a table about to be cut open, and it’s important to her to assert herself just a little)

[riverofliver]

The differences between the way Margaret's and Potter's pro millitary stances are handled in the writing is so different.

With Margaret, she is allowed to be seen in a bad light. She grows, and has her sympathetic moments early on, but when she was really deep in the ditches of boot licking, she is framed as wrong, she's never rewarded for her pro military views, hell, most of her positive scenes early are when she is seen breaking from the rules or loosening up her strict attitude. As seen in when she lets herself have fun and help Hawkeye break the jeep record.

But Potter is completely different. He is this military man who is just intended to be seen without flaws. He is never punished for his views and his strictness is often rewarded by the narative. This is why Margarets pro military views were handled better, she was allowed to be this flawed character who was raised an army brat and knows no home. She is this parody, she is wrong, we know she is wrong and accept that, but the narrative won't do the same for potter.

[coffee-rack-art]

Comrade In Arms but Trapper is there instead :)

[foraged-porridge]

having my friend assume things about mash characters based on pictures...

[hawkeyeslaughter]

now that was a lot of damage !!!!!!

[remyfire]

Today's morning bubbling emotions are about Margaret who is the only one wearing a piece of protective equipment here, but Trapper who still keeps a hand on her back the whole time they're running, then not only tries to keep her a little covered when they have to hit the deck, but also dips his head to say something in her ear once he sees they're safe for the moment. Extreme husband behavior.