Anddd what if I said Drew never actually knew how to form a relationship that wasn’t transactional because it was the only way he ever got affection from his parents.
And what if I went even FURTHER and said part of the reason he hates tmc so much is because in all his relationships he was giving something—popularity, money, gifts, protection—so he could create some weak semblance of a family, when they gave nothing, and their bond was as thick as blood.
And what if I took that step a step FURTHER and said one of the things Drew has been chasing ever since he was a child was a family, and he sort of succeeded with the jomies, but he’s never truly known how to sustain a healthy one.
And what if I took that step further even FURTHER and said that’s because Drew’s never had a healthy family to reference. Was never shown a healthy way to express his emotions, or told it was okay to be vulnerable, or even how to be.
And what if I walked you right of the ledge and said as he is, Drew will never form a family that is healthy. Never form a connection that lasts. I feel like calling people bad and good can take away nuance, but I do see Drew as a bad person. He’s hindered by pride, toxic masculinity, so many things that are a wall between him and one of the things he wants the most.
Anddd since your already falling to your death, what if I just put the nail in the coffin and said Drew’s always known there were walls from others—a lie, a secret, a trick—but in order to address them he’d have to disturb the fragile pretence of ‘family’ he’d cultivated, and alongside that, take down HIS walls. And he was too comfortable in his self-entitled, perfect bubble of spite to try changing himself into someone better.
after all, why would it matter? Family was skewered into a definition that best suited him—of trust, honesty, companionship, but also obedience, docility, subservience. Maybe, just MAYBE, Drew could see the cracks, he just couldn’t fully grasp their severity. Or he could, but he just didn’t want to. Liked his bubble of safety too much to risk it bursting.