Be physically expressive! Hawks is extremely gesticulate; this is one of the first things we learn about him. He uses his hands to talk just as much as words, that zipper movement from him to Endeavor, to the way he shrugs and waves his hands around when talking to Endeavor and Tokoyami. Some of his gestures are also downright unusual and add to general sense of offbeat charm - he shouldn’t be rigid or stiff when talking, generally, especially with an ally. He’s a dynamic, expressive character - don’t let a simple ‘said’ suffice for a sentence he probably emphasizes with body languages.
His pupils change size. Something interesting for other characters to note is Hawks’s eyes and their tendency to change size. The factors seem to be emotional and while there isn’t a very solid explanation as to it (besides basic biology), this is noticeable in some panels and anyone talking to Hawks might even note it.
Hawks has a very offbeat sense of humor and there’s a pattern of people wondering if he’s genuine or mocking them. Hawks has left a few characters rather taken back with the things he’s said, even admitting he doesn’t “like holding back”. This lack of seeming care for a seriousness of a moment or topic(or maybe he does care a lot) both surprises people and somewhat offends them because it comes off as him mocking them (and he may very well be). Basically Hawks, with most people, keeps everyone on their toes by saying things that others might not want to say or find impolite or improbable. He’s not the type to generally hold back; and that makes him a mixed bag to interact with, especially if your character is straight-laced.
He can and does get thrown off his groove! Hawks isn’t just aloofly carefree; things do bother and get to him. He’s more likely to show this sort of thing in private, alone. But once he’s thrown off, his usual aloofness fades and he shows more negative emotions, which usually doesn’t happen. He’s more likely to make ‘fiercer’ faces, more likely to be less gesticulate, and stiff.
Hawks has a bit of an independent thing. While Hawks seems to make great support in battles, it seems his natural inclination is actually to be a lone act. He went to take care of the small noumu mostly by himself in the High End fight, and he clearly doesn’t wait for his sidekicks or intern to dispatch villains with him. He’s on his own time, and so something to keep in mind is that he’s more likely to be an independent in a plan.
Hawks has a dialect and you shouldn’t be afraid to localize it - as long as it’s used sparingly! Hawks generally speaks standard Japanese, but he’s used his local dialect twice in the manga, one when seemingly taken aback and amused by Endeavor, and once in a more contemplative moment to himself. The dialect is called Hakata-ben and generally, when shows up in manga or anime, American localization choose to portray it as something a bit ‘country’. This is a little difficult given the most common dialect in Animanga is Osaka-ben and either localized as Southern(Texan) or Brooklynese.
When Hakata-ben shows up, the American translators might go for something a bit more Appalachian and rural, even though Hakata/Fukuoka is definitely a city. Keep in mind to a Japanese ear (and other characters) who hear this would definitely associate a more rough/working-class background with this sort of dialect. Whatever you might choose when writing, just remember this is generally something he uses sparingly compared to other characters with a dialect, but also that as a child he would most likely spoken primarily in the dialect.
Hawks is incredibly observant and thoughtful - and so much of this is through his senses, even if he’s also seemingly intuitive. But this is never apparent right off the bat. Remember that Hawks has been shown to have very good eyesight and hearing, and that one of the major functions of his quirk is feeling/hearing vibrations through feathers. He has an excellent scope of his environment most times. He’s basically an information sponge, and is shown to hunt for more info using lots of different ways (also a sign he’s incredibly resourceful). But all of this is something that people never seem to expect from him until they’ve seen all of it in action - and even then he does so much with ease that it’s hard to tell how much work he puts into his actions.
Hawks is….quirky. And not in the quirk way! He hides his mouth when embarrassed or called out; doesn’t really care for social norms, and also likes to banter during fights. He happily admits to being a bird! He’s an oddball! Don’t be afraid to write him as one!
He really loves food. He kept talking about it on his meeting with Endeavor, asked to finish his food, mentioned cooking techniques in his banter. No wonder his favorite thing is chicken. EDIT AS OF 9/11: Hawks has a confirmed sweet tooth! In fact he finds the brewed coffee like mud has a preference for cheaper and sweeter canned coffees, even mentioning he just wants something sweet!
Most of all, Hawks is written as a character who thinks deeply about himself and the society he’s rose to the top of, and his place in it. He does care about other people - his first question is about casualties from his infiltration mission, he also doesn’t see an issue with lending a hand. He even treats his hardworking intern to a night flight!
This isn’t done without second thoughts; he clearly expresses dissatisfaction with his life as it is, which is why he wants to change the society that makes it so. He yearns for a world where heroes have more free time. Any writer can take that in so many directions; but there should be an acknowledgment of some sort of dissatisfied yearning when you write Hawks. Whether you choose to delve into his circumstances and portray it as a tragedy or not, he’s a complicated character with an ambiguous and self-aware air about him. Treat him as such.
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