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just drift and wing appreciation. (or posting about drift and wing everyday until i no longer love them (unlikely)). start date: 10/03/26 I do now have a reblog page (@drifting-wing-reblogs) dedicated to all things DriftWing because I can’t bring myself to ruin this blogs layout, sorry :(

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I never noticed this before (which is probably just me), but Drift was still injured from sparring with Wing when meeting with Braid and Lockdown, and then when he admitted to selling the City out.

Which means that the punch that Dai Atlas threw at him for doing said betrayal? It must’ve hurt worse than it should. Drifts tough, even when the Circle repaired him his plating would still be harder than the average Cybertronian, so, in theory, Dai Atlas’s attack shouldn’t have hurt all that much (depending on the force I suppose).

However, since his armour was damaged, and Dai Atlas managed to knock him to the floor, Drift must’ve been in more pain than he showed. I mean, he immediately got back up, energon running out his mouth and all, to start risking his head once more.

It just goes to show the strength he truly has, or the regret he truly felt. He pushed through the pain to get his point across, to make sure the City (and its people) would be safe from his actions.

Never mind that he was fully prepared to go out and fight Braid and the salvers without getting repaired. It was Wing that suggested a reframe, Drift would’ve never asked for one, implying he would’ve willingly risked his life when he’d already be at a disadvantage.

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The Drift (2010) comic but it’s the endings we deserved.

Wing doesn’t die by Braids hands and is instead repaired. Them performing Conjunx Ritus and having a ceremony amongst the Circle. He and Drift then travel across the universe, sating both of their desires for adventure and freedom whilst treating it as a long honeymoon (or the Cybertronian equivalent). They don’t join the war in this ending, instead all they need is one another, and they soon return to New Crystal City to grow old together.

Wing doesn’t die, and this time Drift stays in New Crystal City. With Dai Atlas’s acceptance, Drift trains to be a Knight, working hard to make sure he is strong and capable enough to save Wing, should a situation like the one with Braid arise again. He eventually earns his Knighthood, much to Wings delight, and they spend their days relaxing in the City and enjoying life with one another.

Drift never betrays the Circle, and instead tells Dai Atlas the truth of the signal. The situation is avoided, and the City can live in peace. Dai Atlas takes longer to accept Drift this time round (because he never risked his life to save Wing/the City), but he eventually does and supports his and Wings conjunxing. Wing and Drift live out their lives unburdened by that act Drift would have committed.

Wing does die, but this time his essence stays in the sword and he is a constant presence in Drifts life. Offering him advice, guidance, and words of love. They can communicate and touch in Drifts dreams, and recharge is something Drifts looks forward too. Wing eventually lets go of the sword at seeing Drift happy (single, or with Ratchet, Rodimus, Perceptor…), and it’s such a bittersweet ending, but at least they both get a proper goodbye/closure.

Wing does die, but he stays haunting the narrative. Drift is haunted by the thought of his dead lover, not able to spend a day without thinking about him. Every action Drift does is in relation to Wing: him joining the Autobots, him helping Rodimus… every action he does is with the doubt that he’s let Wing down (a task that is near impossible), but also with the hope that he’s made him proud. Wing becomes a prominent character after the miniseries, and he isn’t just forgotten and mentioned past that (I’m salty).

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Protective/possessive DriftWing but it’s deeper than that.

Drift clinging onto Wing because he’s the first good thing he’s had in years. Clinging onto him tightly so he doesn’t lose him like he lost Gasket (though, ultimately, he would). He treasures Wing, but also keeps a protective hold on him, because Wing may be a shining jewel, but he’s Drifts jewel.

Living on the streets taught him to cling and hold onto the things he wanted to keep, things he wanted/needed to own: energon, allies, shelter. Even though he’s now in a more comfortable place, where he’s safe, he still hasn’t unlearned the behaviours he picked up to survive, and instead of energon, the thing he needs most, the thing he needs to live, is now Wing.

Wing keeping a tight leash on Drift because he’s the first person who’s made him feel alive in years, the normalcy, the safety of the City had made him restless, and now Drift - complicated, difficult, beautiful Drift - is here in the city, challenging him and making his circuits light up and buzz. A feeling, a high, he doesn’t wish to let go off, and he’ll do almost anything to keep it.

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Why’re you smiling Wing????

This is a serious matter, don’t seem too excited, eyes bright whilst you tell Drift how close to death he just was… /j

Okay but in all seriousness, the fact that Wing stayed by Drifts bedside for an unspecified amount of time, or at least made sure he was there when Drift woke up, is just… <333333

And the fact that he made sure he was one of the first faces Drift saw when he woke up (yes Red Line(?) was also there but…), as well as made his voice the first one Drift heard… they’re both adorable <3

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I’ve been busy virtually all day so enjoy this photo of Drift and Dai Atlas I screenshotted during my IDW read.

Look at them. Son-in-Law and Father-in-Law goals 💞 (let’s just ignore issues 1-3, yes? Though I suppose it does make sense, if Dai Atlas was seen as an overprotective father…/j)

Will forever mourn what could have been with these two 💔. A dynamic that could have given us many heavy emotional scenes. They could have spoke of Wing, talked about how his death affected them, how they healed from it, bond over a shared loss of someone they loved… we could’ve had it all </3

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Although I do think Drift believed in the Decepticon cause, at least during when he first arrived at New Crystal City, I think the majority of his anger came from self-doubt. Sure, he was probably (or rather definitely) angry at the Circle for keeping him imprisoned in the City, but I think seeing New Crystal City in all its perfect glory made him angry.

Think about it: all these years, the Decepticons hadn’t achieved anything, not really. Sure, during the beginning of the Cause, they destroyed the Senate and functionism, but after that? All they did was spiral down into a tyrannical group who only wished to conquer Cybertron. Half of them didn’t even join for the original cause, they saw the violent nature and decided they wanted in.

Now, put yourself in Drifts shoes. All this time, this future that he and Gasket had dreamed of, the future that he joined the Decepticons for, had slowly slipped out of his grasp in the wake of Megatrons insanity. Now, suddenly, you’ve been dragged to this City, this perfect utopia, where everyone is equal, there’s no suffering, no one is corrupt…

This City, that even mecha who didn’t even join in the war, didn’t believe in either cause, had managed to build behind their back? Constructed the perfect society without violence, without an uprising, without a war? It was a harsh wake up call.

Because, if this paradise, this fantasy, could be achieved by peaceful means in little time, what was Drift truly fighting for? Familiarity? Purpose? He’s not had a purpose for a very, very long time, and if he did, it had been lost many years ago.

He’d been one of the top Decepticons for so long, being feared by his fellow ‘Cons and Autobots alike, had a reputation at killing them, and he was good at it. He enjoyed it. It gave him a sense of false purpose whilst he was slowly losing himself.

Now, he’s imprisoned in a paradise, a City he’d only dreamed about, flaunting about its greatness in his face? He’d been humbled multiple times by being less skilled by other Knights, no longer is he feared, he’s now on the bottom of the barrel once more (whether that was intentional or not doesn’t matter).

What else could he do but lash out? Deny every piece of the City because he refused to acknowledge that maybe, just maybe, he’d made the wrong choice? Placed his trust in the wrong person, spiralled down a path of violence and anger from placing said trust in said person?

Edit: I realised after writing this that I’d sort of said some of the same points already in this post, but they’re also both slightly different. I also expanded on that post slightly here, went into much more detail, but just thought I’d mention it :)

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I’m curious as to how Wing managed to get Drift back to New Crystal City. Other than the fact that he is no doubt heavier than average (all that armour has to weigh a lot) and he’s heavily injured, Wing still had the threat of the slavers and Braid in the way.

It’s not like he was close either. Drift abandoned him to chase after the ship, which would create quite the distance between the two before Drift was injured. And Braid was literally right in Drifts face when he went offline, which wouldn’t (or shouldn’t) have given Wing time or a chance to sneak in, grab Drift, and make a quick retreat.

If they retreated, that would, or should have, been odd for Wing. Braid retreating when he clearly can fight against Wing and come out on top without hardly any struggle, him leaving suddenly would be strange. Especially since he was already at an advantage at taking down Drift, leaving their supposed two-mech team down to only one mech (who is vastly outnumbered, no matter his skill).

I guess Wing would have either thought Braid deemed them no longer a threat now that Drift was down, or didn’t want to look a gift horse in the mouth, as they say. Taking their supposed retreat as something he should take advantage of and not think much about.

On the other hand, if he did think it odd, you must wonder if Wing knew, in some way, about the message they received relating to Drift. The strange behaviours of Braid, the coded message they received on a planet that shouldn’t be on any radar to receive said message (let alone one in code), the fact the message arrived when they just started housing an (ex) Decepticon in the City, or Drifts strange behaviour after the message (like him running away).

Just goes to show, if that were the case, how much trust Wing truly had in Drift at that point, especially to let him lie to Dai Atlas and then immediately leave the City. Sure, Wing wondered where he’d been when Drift returned, but after Drift marched to Dai Atlas straight after their encounter, he probably had some idea about what Drift did. That trust that he became broken temporarily not much longer after, but was repaired when Drift admitted to selling out the City to Braid/Lockdown, and was then willing to lay his life down for the City.

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I like how Wing didn’t give up the moment he saw Drift. As I said before, Wing could have easily left Drift to die, left him and moved on without worry for the City’s safety.

But no, he saw the broken, struggling, lost mech, and chose to help him. Chose to build him back up again despite the insistence that it would all be for nothing. Chose to trust in Drifts ability to change, chose to become close to him because that’s what Wing believed in, what he lived by.

Wing latched on to the earlier ideologies of the Circle of Light, and stuck with them, a feat even Dai Atlas, evidently, couldn’t do. He stayed with his oaths and helped a mech in need despite the potential danger he was putting himself in.

If Wing knew about his fate, about his death by the indirect hands of mech he’d saved, I don’t think he’d change anything. In fact, I think he’d make sure he save Drift, if only to do some good in the world and save someone that he cared for, and Drift for him.

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We needed more of Drifts Earth design. We got lots of appearances with his first Cybertronian design (the last issue of his miniseries, the AHM series to name some), but I don’t think his Earth design appeared often.

And the fact is, it’s gorgeous and deserved to be drawn more. In fact I wish his earlier designs appeared more. His MTMTE design is great don’t get me wrong, and it fits the direction they were going with his character, but his first design just hits different, y’know?

I mean just look at it, it’s absolutely gorgeous and needed more love!!!

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I wonder if the plating on the side of Wings helm moves. Like if he’s surprised does it flare outwards, or if he’s shy/embarrassed does it close up against his head?

It looks like there are hinges on them, so they do seem to have the potential to move, so it’s not out of the realm of possibility. Would bring a lot more to the table when writing/drawing his character in terms of emotions.

Would they be sensitive??? I know Drifts finials being sensitive is sort of universally agreed/understood, but I think having Wings side helm plating be sensitive would be great.

Just think of the possibilities. The plating flaring in happiness when Wing is around Drift. It falling against his helm when he has serious conversations with Drift. Them flaring out in shock/surprise when Drift does something unelected, whether it’s in a good or bad way. The plating pinned down when Wing is fighting and is concentrated and/or angry. When Wing gets shy/embarrassed/pleased when Drift does something nice for him, touches them, or when Drifts being affectionate.

They’re probably too thin to really have any functionality, or they could just be clips to attach the two together, but that’s no fun to think about.

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I just thought of this, but, I think Wing would be superstitious. I don’t think Drift would be (living in the gutters for so long he probably thought it was all a bunch of nonsense) but Wing would convert him. MTMTE Drift would be superstitious though, without a doubt.

Like with Dai Atlas’s paranoia about the war being spread to New Crystal City with Drifts presence, I imagine he was already slightly paranoid and it probably would have rubbed off on Wing and the other Knights.

Like imagine Wing doing odd things and Drift being confused. Wing not picking up knives that he’s dropped and asking Drift to do it, or Wing avoiding walking under ladders, scaffolding’s and signs like the plague (or a Cybertronian equivalent to them all, idk what Cybertronian superstitions would be). Drifts confused by all of this, but he still listens and eventually he unconsciously starts doing the same things.

That said, do Cybertronians even have superstitions? If they do, what are they? Cracked mirrors, dropped knives, ladders or scaffoldings (if they have them)… I’ve made myself really curious now.

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So since Drift had a reframe when the MTMTE comic run started, do you think he struggled being in a new frame? I mean it’s completely different.

His old one was probably sentimental to him, the last piece of Wing and the City that he was truly connected to by (bar the sword), and to then have the frame stripped and changed to something else probably made him emotional.

Sure, the new frame would give him more chance to move on without mourning (as I imagine looking at himself for a while made him upset because he reminded himself of Wing), but the change was probably a bit jarring, at least for a little while.

I mean there isn’t really any similarity at all bar the helm design and colour scheme. I imagine, to Cybertronians, reframing isn’t that much of a big deal, but surely they’ve got to have a frame they get attached to, no? Something of sentiment?

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I think these panels perfectly show just who Wing is as a character. I mean, when he first met Drift, he was standoffish (he probably couldn’t help it considering Drift (or rather Deadlock at the time) had the Decepticon brand on him), but he still saved Drifts life when he was damaged from the slavers.

Wing could have left Drift to die (he did have the right to after Drift was going to abandon him by stealing that ship), but he still chose to go back and save Drift. He risked his life and getting into trouble for a stranger that was willing to leave him to die.

Wing willingly put time and effort into changing Drift for the better in his own free time. Stood against Dai Atlas and the rest of the Knights to train him, despite the fact that he didn’t owe Drift anything.

Wing was incredibly selfless as a character, and he did not deserve the fate that he got.

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Something that I think is underused (and I’d love to see more of) is Shattered Glass!DriftWing, because there is so much potential.

Instead of calm, understanding, pacifist Wing, you’ve got murderous and insane (as most are in sg) Wing. I think he’d still be a sort of pacifist (I mean, the Circle have got to have left Cybertron for a reason), but maybe he’d be like, the sort of mech to be willing to kill for peace??? Idk.

On the other hand, you have Drift, who is the complete opposite of Deadlock. Calm, kind, probably anti-killing/not as well versed to kill. I think he’d believe in the Decepticon cause fully, or deep down not be as true to it as he appears to be (there is no in between).

These two meet, and this time it’s Wing enticing Drift to the so-called ‘dark side’. How would he do it? Seduction? Torture? Who knows, but Drift is immediately entranced by Wings pretty but crazed optics.

If Drift is fully loyal to the Decepticons, I’d imagine he’d fight joining Wing just like he did in the original universe. If Drift doesn’t truly believe, I’d imagine he’d easily change sides through Wings allure, adapting to Wings ways with ease and a flutter of Wings, well, wings.

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‘Helping another is the highest calling one can aspire to’ - Wing, Drift (2010) Issue #1

…and Drift took that to heart.

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Imagine if Wing managed to time travel to the future where Drift is happy, has found peace, and has become everything that Wing wanted him to be?

How’d you think he’d feel knowing that he was the reason for most of Drifts change. The reason why he was able to find happiness, able to have the courage to change sides and make a change?

How Wing is Drifts inspiration, whether that be ideologies, frame design, fighting style, or weapon choice?

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I really love these blue blades that Wing has. Like they look awesome and the fact that they glow blue as well???? Amazing.

In comparison to his other weapons, these look almost futuristic, having a sort of holographic look that I wouldn’t really associate with him or the Circle, which makes them even more unique.

I mean on this panel ⤴️ it’s looks like they have energy flowing along the blade, like blue fire, and that’s cool. I like how they stand out in comparison to Wing himself, makes them look more eye catching.

I am, however, really curious where they go on his frame and what they’re made of. From what this image ⤴️ suggests, it looks like they go on his back, but they don’t seem to appear on the panels where we can see his back.

Which adds onto my idea of them being holographic/being made of energy and being able to appear/disappear at will, sort of like lightsabers from Star Wars. It would explain how they can’t be seen on the exterior of Wings frame, as just the handles of the blades could easily be tucked in and hidden behind his wings and Great Sword.