#dextalks

At the very start of mtmte I actually didn't think much of Drift other than being Rodimus' friend and confidant, he was a good character but there wasn't much going for him, when he started developing into a fully fledged character I started to get interested

his past with the deceptions was actually a good and fleshed out backstory, having him have a past that involved a dark and gruesome history that ended in growth and forgiveness towards himself and others was interesting and it was relatable

a lot of people have had bad pasts, whether it's from what themselves have done, what has been done to them or both, Drift teaches us that growth is normal, you don't have to be that person anymore, you can learn and you can grow as a person and become a version of yourself that you love and can be proud of.

he teaches us that even though you've changed, you don't need to forget who you were.

Drift teaches us that we deserve love and friendship no matter what has happened to us, no matter what are origins are we are deserving of kindness.

Just as Drift teaches us that we're deserving of kindness, Deadlock teaches us that we're deserving of closure, that we're deserving of anger towards the people in our lives that may have hurt us.

Though I don't condone it, Deadlocks actions do show his journey with his anger, with the bitterness against a system that failed him, it shows us his emotions his betrayed feelings, we see his past and we empathise, we're right there with him when he finds Wing and learns to forgive and love again.

Wing never makes him feel less than for his actions, though he doesn't condone them he understands Deadlocks anger and understands his outlet, preaching to find him one that he knows will suit Deadlock better because he sees Deadlock, he sees his pain, his inner torment and he understands why he did what he did.

Deadlock was never told that his reaction was wrong, but that he was hurting himself just as he was hurting others, that ultimately what he was doing was the thing that was going to make him worse though it was subtle, subtext at best the message was still there, he was never shamed for it, never ridiculed or pushed away, simply told and learned to understand.

he's a complex and brilliantly written character who I do genuinely believe has the most relatability and growth.

Drifts character is a teacher, we learn not just from him but with him.

He teaches us that its okay to not want to come back when you've been wronged, he shows us that it's also okay to change your mind and forgive if you want to.

I personally believe that despite his forgiveness of Rodimus after his exile their friendship was never the same and that is so good to me, because you can forgive but that doesn't mean that everything goes back to the way it was before they hurt you, forgive but don't forget.

His time away from Rodimus is good for him, he learns by himself that his attachment to Rodimus wasn't healthy, that it was getting in the way if his own self growth, he needed to focus on himself especially after the betrayal, and though his love for Rodimus never fleeted he never went back to his over doting ways when they reunited, I think its amazing that Rodimus had his own character growth during that time that made them better friends in the end, but not closer.

Drift heals his inner torment, but it takes time he's not truly content till the end and that's powerful, because healing takes time, it takes patience and it take so much trial and error to get to the desired end, he heals and we heal with him.

Drift in my personal opinion is about growth and healing, and that's one of the reasons I like him so much.

His relationship with Ratchet is good to me because they don't use the trope of "my partner saved me from the dark", Drift heals himself, he saves himself and that's beautiful.

Ratchet is a good partner for Drift because he sees what Drift needs and he understands, he's supportive without trying to overcrowd him, he doesn't have a hero complex that believes he can "fix" Drift because he knows that Drift isn't broken, he knows that Drift will come to him if he needs him so he doesn't push, and that respect for eachother is what makes their relationship good, Drift isn't relying on Ratchet for his happiness and Ratchet isn't over bearing Drift during his journey.

I don't actually ship dratchet but I do very much enjoy the way their relationship was written and played out.

I could go on about his savviness or his combat ability but truly its his lessons as a character that draw me to him the most, he genuinely teaches so much by just being himself and learning to love himself and that's what makes him such an amazing character.

I relate to him on a personal level, so his character does mean a lot to me