#dark river

[the-wolf-and-moon]

Dark River and Milky Way

[warriors-official-russian-art]

Jayfeather

“Dark River” | “Outcast“

[feng-huli]

Dark River Official Posters

[jt1674]

[exhalereleased]

"Dark River" by Ingrid Jonker

[bambinaax]

ashfoot

[loonarmuunar]

I love how curious Hollypaw is about starclan and the warriors code. Hollypaw is a passionate and devoted cat, and she has strong morals, which sometimes go against each other.

I’ve noticed whenever Hollypaw starts to ask a lot of questions about Starclan and the code, nobody really gives her an actual answer, usually just telling her to stop asking questions and get back to what she’s supposed to be doing.

Hollypaw’s questions are reasonable things to ask and worry about. She’s of course worried about having to fight her cousins, that must be an awful thought to someone like her, who cares deeply for both her family and the code.

She does tend to ask these questions when she shouldn’t, but with the lack of answers she’s been getting, it makes me think. Is she not getting answers because she asks at the wrong time, or could it also be because nobody actually knows the answers?

[the-pantry-of-art]

In a crooked little town They were lost and never found Fallen leaves, fallen leaves Fallen leaves on the ground Run away before you drown Or the streets will beat you down Fallen leaves, fallen leaves Fallen leaves on the ground

He was sitting like 2 weeks in my files 'couse I forgot to post him.... What a fail XD

[ir-coalholes]

Львинолап (Львиносвет) | Lionpaw (Lionblaze)

[waxheartz]

“Tomorrow I will Emerge A Sharpclaw”

+~🍁💧~+

[bodacious-energizedprotodermis]

the conversation that Lionpaw and Brambleclaw have about Lionpaw being upset with Hollypaw is fucking weird.

was it always supposed to be Hollypaw who caught on to Lionpaw sneaking out with Heatherpaw? or was something else supposed to happen, possibly in addition to that, that would have some cat who was not Hollypaw doubting Lionpaw's loyalty?

because.

Brambleclaw talks about Hollypaw like he would any rando cat in the Clan. not like Hollypaw is Lionpaw's sister, and Brambleclaw's daughter. he doesn't even ask why his children - or even just why two of his Clanmates - are having such a serious disagreement. he's the Clan deputy, this sounds like something he should care about.

I recall in New Prophecy Sandstorm confronting Squirrelflight about squashing the arguments between her and Brambleclaw if only for the sake of them being able to work together for the good of the Clan (Brambleclaw also should have received a similar talking-to, but whatever).

instead, Brambleclaw draws comparisons between himself and Lionpaw and having to prove himself over and over to his Clanmates because, yknow. Tigerstar.

but...it falls kinda flat if you remember that Hollypaw is ALSO Tigerstar's kin???

"You can't force Hollypaw to believe in you. You have to show her that you are worth believing in."

what??? would he say something similar about Tawnypelt???

this book is fucking weird about kin btw. Hollypaw keeps thinking about potentially fighting her newborn cousins in ShadowClan someday and gets very conflicted about it. she also thinks about her friend, Willowpaw, and how having relationships in other Clans is messy (something she relays to Lionpaw about his relationship with Heatherpaw).

but, fuck Mothwing, I guess. so far she's never brought up in the context of kin in another Clan or loose relationships with a cat in RiverClan. she meets both criteria!

on that same note, after all of Lionpaw's wonderings about Hawkfrost's death in the previous book, he hasn't thought about it at all even though he gets to talk to the ghost himself all the time. not a big deal, it's just odd that he totally forgot. he hasn't once thought of Hawkfrost or Tigerstar as being his kin. did he forget? did he read ahead?

I'm not done with the book yet tho, so catch me next time when all my gripes have been refuted and I look stupid. it's gonna take a little while, Dark River is a bit of a slog with the crushing ableism and weird character choices.

[warrior-cats-rewritten]

🐯

Favourite part of the territories/location? 

Ironic that this one is associated with Dark River.

Despite my issues with the Lake, I LOVE the Tunnels.

It's an eldritch location, what can I say, I'm a sucker for em. They SO could have leaned into the horror of it. Not only is it just dangerous, dark, cold enough to nearly kill a child, and always at risk of flooding, but aren't they also somehow connected to the lake? How the fuck did that work? Why was Fallen Leaves practically forced to be stuck LOST in them?

Take all that spookiness aside because i think the fandom has forgotten something.

The Tunnels are a mass grave of drowning victims. Fallen Leaves was not the first.

[warriors-official-russian-art]

Hollypaw runs after Willowpaw in a dream

“Dark River”, chapter 2

[feng-huli]

New poster for the upcoming Dark River show!

[thefinalcrownofthorns]

daydreaming // april 2025

[loonarmuunar]

Just finished reading Dark River.

I’m not a stranger to gore, and it doesn’t have any effect on me in the slightest. Nothing in the warriors series has ever actually effected me violence-wise.

Not until this book.

The tunnels are horrific to me. This really, truly scares me. The way Fallen Leaves desperation was described, how Jaypaw drowned with him, the fear of the apprentices and how they thought, without a doubt, they were gonna die.

This isn’t a battle, this isn’t a fight to be won, or an enemy to defeat. There was no chances in this. If they weren’t fast enough, they would die. If they didn’t go into the tunnel, they would die. 5 apprentices and 3 kits, 8 children, were so close to dying.

Not to the battles they were raised to fight, but to nature itself.

It actually made me feel a bit sick. Props to you, Erin Hunter! I am t e r r i f i e d. Must’ve been awful for the little kids who read it.