Wayne

[Fatling]

So I just wanted to see what other people on the forum thought of Wayne. Some of the stuff he says is so funny, but man do I hate that guy. I used to like him, but now that I'm rereading the Mistborn II series I've realized I really dislike him a lot. I just wish he had stayed in the Roughs and never come to Elendel. It's scenes like this that have been changing my mind about him:

Quote

(Steris talking) "Do you hate me because of what I represent, Wayne? The responsibilities that called him back?"

"I don't hate you," Wayne said, "I find you repulsive. That there is an important distinction, it is."

"But-"

Wayne stood up. He shoved the rest of the sandwich into his mouth.

Then he walked over to the guards that were glaring at him and sat down. The implication was obvious.

I'd rather be here.

I was curious what other people had to say about Wayne. We get a lot of Wayne viewpoints, but every time I get a glimpse of him from other viewpoints I like him less and less. He kind of reminds me of Tonk Fah in Warbreaker in some ways. Like, I think if we didn't have so many Wayne viewpoints (and Wax viewpoints, because Wax likes Wayne), he would come off a lot more like Tonk Fah, a guy who sometimes says funny things, but really is just totally messed up.

[Yata]

There is no Mistery in this. Wayne has some serious mental trauma and I think the his powers don't help him to be a bit alienate as human (the fear is a great teacher).

Anyway the fact (to me) is Wayne is not strange or something like that for what he says or does. He simply has an huge abstraction capacity and the social stereotypes simply doesn't affect him. To me this is also the reason he find so easy to imitate someone else, he is very analytical in what he sees

Edited September 16, 2017 by Yata

[WhiteLeeopard]

You should remember until BoM, most of the fandom here hated Steris too (not all but most), and thought Wax should end up with Marasi. Its mainly been after BoM that Steris became precious and anyone so much as frowning at her would get wacked repeatedly on the head with a broomstick .

Edited September 16, 2017 by WhiteLeeopard

[XenosHg]

in this situation, Wayne's obviously not supposed to look like a good person. He's messed up. He's a good guy overall, simlar to famous comic book characters like Wolverine - in that he's working for the great good, and he just doesn't die, and he's really crazy.

He can really transform into another person he imagines, but he doesn't actually understand the people around him in all finesse. And he's a bit removed, so he operates on discoveries, rebuilding his paradigm in occasional bursts instead of slow growing. Over the course of the books, some of us grow to love Steris, as a character who has more depth than originally seemed. Wayne, mostly, doesn't get that nuances. Wax didn't like her that much originally, and Wayne went full pessimist. He's still thinking she's a plain boring negative influence that his friend needs to be removed from.

Which, ultimately, ends with

Quote

“Going to go fetch your woman?” Wayne said. “She’s gonna have a hard time adjustin’ to life back here, away from her native habitat of the frozen, icy, desolate wastes up–”
“Wayne,” Wax interrupted, soft but firm.
“Hum?”
“Enough.”
“I was just–”
“Enough.”
Wayne stopped with his mouth open, then licked his lips and nodded. “Right, then. See you up above in a few, mate?

The moment which I, frankly, happen to like. Instant gear-shift. Okay, you like her now, database updated.

[+Extesian]

A lot of people hate Wayne. I love him. He can be jarringly rude, particularly to Steris, but he's a well meaning guy. He's also 'probably' Brandon's favorite character to write. He's also said that the treatment of Steris is because he's protective of Wax and doesn't think Steris is right for him (iirc because he liked Lessie).

For some understanding of him here are something Brandon's said about him

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"The scenes where he interacts with Ranette and Allriandre are supposed to be uncomfortable, though I don't anticipate the average reader being able to pick out why. Anyone with any sort of experience with similar situations, however, will identify that something is deeply wrong with the way Wayne sees the world. His inability to understand boundaries, and his almost pathological need to PROVE that he's not a bad person any more, lead to him far, far overstepping. (His treatment of Steris is another example.)
 
Wayne is trying. This is all what makes him work for me as a real character, not as just a goofy sidekick, but you shouldn't just laugh it off and say, ""Oh, that Wayne."" He is deeply troubled, and isolation in the roughs--with someone who just kind of let him do his thing--did not help."

 

[Fatling]

@Extesian I like that quote, there is something wrong with how Wayne sees the world, and that is a good explanation. 

Also, @XenosHg and @WhiteLeeopard I will admit that because I am rereading and I like Steris more that does taint how I see their interaction. I already liked Steris to begin with, but after reading BoM I liked her even more.

But even if Wayne is a good guy overall, he still just totally bugs me. There seems to be almost now way to move up in his eyes by your own merits, he either likes you when you meet him or he doesn't. Look at how long it took him to shift gears on Ranette. Like, it happened eventually, but it took way long to happen and nothing was accomplished during that time except everyone being annoyed by Wayne. 

[Steeldancer]

More than his one liners, I LOVE his accent scenes. His view of the world is absolutely fascinating. Hilarious, and fascinating. He's a perfect foil for Wax, and I love him. He's so logical yet so... not. (He has that amulet that allows him to add 2 and 2 and get a pickle). 

Steris is awesome. Again, another great foil for wax. I love her lists. My favorite scene in BoM is when they're all in the hotel lobby and just general mayhem, and the hotel woman is so confused. I love it. I feel like their romance is so well constructed its amazing. Not love at first sight, but slowly building, until it's something real and meaningful. It helped to show her off in BoM.