#i am actually a hawkfrost kin and think too much about this bastard of a cat

[chrenq]

the tragedy of hawkfrost's character

hey! i personally think it's pretty funny that my first ever tumblr textpost is about hawkfrost of all cats but hey, i've had this analysis on my mind for a while now so i thought i'd share. me spending hours on warriors tumblr was all building up to this moment lmao

i will stress though!! i am not justifying hawkfrost's actions and manipulative tactics. now that that's clear.. to talk about hawkfrost, i have to compare him to his parallel first; his brother, brambleclaw. so firstly, let's review- what's the basis of hawkfrost and brambleclaw's parallels? what is their dynamic and story together boiled down the the most BASIC explanation possible? and why does this make hawkfrost's tale inherently sadder than the " dark expectations that he breaks free of, becomes a hero " story of brambleclaw? they are parallels because they have the same tyrannous, murderous cat for a father, but brambleclaw is the one to turn away from the darkness and walk back to the light. his brother hawkfrost, on the other hand, fails to do so, and as any ambitious brown tabby of the warriors universe is, is banished to the dark forest for his unforgivable crimes against the clans.

but look at it this way; there was SO much wasted potential. SO MUCH. and today i'm here to explain why so sit back and grab your popcorn because this is gonna be a long one-- why is brambleclaw able to return to the " good side " anyway? it's because of the positive influences in his life. his affectionate and protective ( and CRIMINALLY underrated ) mother goldenflower, the stubborn but passionate squirrelflight, and brambleclaw's brutally honest yet fiercely caring sister tawnypelt. and let's not forget firestar as well, his mentor and the one who influences him the most in his youth; it was, after all, firestar that ended up mentoring bramblepaw to be a good and righteous cat despite his dark bloodline. it's pretty poetic in itself, how firestar himself starts off mistrusting of bramblekit but ends up being the greatest positive influence in his life, but then again, i'm getting off track, so back to my main point.

what is brambleclaw thinking as he refuses his father and hawkfrost's wishes to murder firestar? wasn't it something around the lines of " i can't do this, this is my leader, my former mentor, and i care about him because he cared and cares about me? " ultimately it's his respect and admiration for the cat who tried to see the best in him that turns him around in the face of disaster. but what about hawkfrost? ( this is mostly inference based on heavy evidences as i have yet to read the mangas that involve his character more heavily. i have read mothwing's secret, though, so i will be referencing that. ) hawkfrost has, to be pretty honest, no one. he joins riverclan as a kit with his mother and sister, and later on sasha leaves. his mother isn't there to watch him or his sister grow. it's just him and mothwing; in a clan of cats living with a culture completely different from how they lived as loners, he is new to all this. and then again, i can't exactly say the clans ever liked outsiders all that much. he and his sister are outcasts despite technically being riverclan cats. hell, brambleclaw even brings this up during an argument with hawkfrost ( before they find out they're related, mind you ) saying hawkfrost might feel differently about the matter of territory and borders and thunderclan being driven out " if he were truly clanborn. " ouch. hawkfrost has mistyfoot, a kind and responsible mentor from what we know of her character, but it's still stressed in mothwing's novella that he still felt like an outcast / not good enough. this leads him to be furious when mothwing wants to become a medicine cat; he tells her that if she fails, starclan knows what the clans would do with a cat who wasn't committed enough to being a warrior and wasn't good enough to be a medicine cat. he is terrified, perhaps, of losing all they have worked for; he makes up for being non clanborn by being vicious, and working tirelessly, soon establishing himself as the strongest riverclan warrior. but emotionally, again i state, he has nobody. he was twisted his relationship with his sister, the only family he has, into a mangled mess of lies and deceit and mistrust. and that's on him. it also explains why he runs to tigerstar with so much eagerness. this is the father he never got to meet, the father he always admired but never knew. and tigerstar is giving him exactly what he craves; attention and recognition. like i said, hawkfrost is a terrible cat but in dawn, he and brambleclaw have a conversation that ends with brambleclaw: " i learned more from firestar than i ever did from tigerstar. " hawkfrost: " but still, tigerstar knew you. he never even set eyes on me. " now, asshole or not, tell me that isn't at least a little tragic. all hawkfrost's life he has had to work and fight for attention and appreciation, and here is the father he always longed for, praising him in the dark forest. in the tigerstar and sasha mangas, tigerstar also promises he loves his kits ( moth and hawk ) and will watch over them always. so here it is. the only " good " influence in hawkfrost's life? the cruel, heartless monster that is his father. finally a cat loves him just for being there, but it's a murderer he never knew in life. there isn't ever a scene where brambleclaw realises he's stupid for training with vengeful daddy tigerstar in cat hell. he never snaps out of it til' the " blood will spill blood " scene. he isn't convinced, persuaded- the choice between kin, and found family and friends is forced upon him. and he choose good, obviously, being the cookie cutter character he is. ( smh all my homies hate brambleclaw ) but hawkfrost never had that chance. if they'd talked it out maybe he would've listened and gotten his priorities straight, but they don't talk- they battle their problems out. and hawkfrost dies, with the only " love " he ever experienced for most of his life being that from a manipulative father grooming him into his own failed legacy. TL;DR: brambleclaw gets TLC he doesn't deserve and hawkfrost is left to bleed out