I think Wylan is very mischaracterized in fandom spaces.
Iāve often seen Wylan being portrayed as incapable, weak, submissive, and with the āhelpless babyā kind of trope.
Wylan is canonically seen being stubborn, sassy and he is incredibly proficient. Not to mention the amount of resilience Wylan hasāhe navigated the barrel completely alone for months with a lack of money while processing an incredibly traumatic experience.
I do want to say I think this portrayal of Wylan comes from harmful stereotypes about learning disabilities and queer people. People tend to see that a character is gay, quiet, sheltered and artistic and go on to say they are submissive and need care and protection from their lover. Itās an unfortunate trope that occurs in likely every fandom. People see Wylan as dyslexic and then they tend to erase the fact that he is very intelligent. He is very good at chemistry, math, music, art, and has very good memory and problem solving.
Then, Iāve also seen him being portrayed as someone who loves bombs, fire, and even to the point of seeing him being called an arsonist. Yes, Wylan makes bombs. That doesnāt mean heās an arsonist.
Wylan has canonically said that he doesnāt like chemistry and making bombs. He tells Jesper āI don't like the idea of killing people, either. I don't even like chemistry.ā I donāt like the trope of Wylan loving to cause chaos and mayhem, because it just isnāt Wylan. He is skilled in his demolitions work, but that does not mean he is compulsively making these bombs for his own pleasure. Itās his job.
