I'm gonna be real, I don't like how this entire thing was structured and how sloppy/rushed it was, so I'm going to redo this entire thing at a later date- so take this more as a general idea of what I want to do with jack rather than a definitive "THIS WILL HAPPEN, END OF STORY" or whatever. I do plan on finishing proper rentries for the rest of the bayous, as well as general themes, a rough timeline, what I got planned, all that jazz. until then, have fun with a terrible read)
Jack Scotia is an energetic, hard-headed jackass who always gets what he deserves in the end, but can never be kept down for long. selfish, somewhat snarky, egotistical and petty, this soccer athlete and racist dickhead can’t realize the impact of his actions until after the deed is done, and has a serious one-sided beef with amber for a little over half his entire life, harassing her and being a general nuisance. his poor behavior has been somewhat enabled by his mother's coddling (eg letting him get off scott free when he really shouldn't have) and the absence of his father. (note, the lack of a father isn't directly the cause of him acting out, as both his grandmother (Veronica "Nova" Scotia) acted as the stern parental figure to knock some sense and manners into him, as well as his sister (Elvira) having turned out just fine in contrast. see, the only knowledge he holds of his father is minimal to say the least- barely a silhouette; only that he existed, a lack of feeling. it's that absence of emotion that makes him mad and act out- something should be there and it isn't, and he can't fix it.
it cannot be stressed enough however that the decision to be a dickhead was INTENTIONAL, the lack of father may have opened the door, but he chose to take that path himself, 'pranking' people. he is selfish, minimalizes the severity of his actions, and is in denial that what he does is a big deal (if he even thinks it's a "deal" at all). I don't want jack to end up as "nice but- blah blah blah," but I don't see him as an irredeemable monster either, he's a dumb kid that made some bad decisions and needs to own up to it, but he needs help.
the thing that sparks jack's change as a person is an ultimatum given by the school; after the severity of his actions in the previous year / something he did early in the current semester, there comes a point where the faculty p.much get sick of his shit and he can't be bailed out anymore, so they give him one last chance- if he gets caught harassing others and generally being a menace to the point of getting sent to the principal's office, that's it. an immediate and permanent mark on his record, his future career in sports gone with very little if any way of coming back from it, so he has to be on his best behavior for p.much an entire year. to jack, he doesn't see this as a matter of IF, but WHEN, which is why he's toned back at the start of the year, and why lur is able to make friends with him (who, under any other circumstance, would hate his guts)
when looking at jack's development as a person, I always think of this scene from the emperor's new groove where pacha and kuzco almost fall off a bridge (https://youtu.be/7k3CvaPGO3Q?si=F3yma5sCcyfw2ebM), Jack and Lur's entire dynamic is structured around how they have to work together to overcome their challenges and become better people together: lur helps jack slow down and acts as a buffer from his more extreme antics while jack helps lur by giving him a space where he isn't the center of attention while out and about- but this dynamic can hurt each-other just as much as help.
pulling this from my notes on the mute, "Axioms of conflict are with himself and comfort through his relationship with Jack and how it enables both of them to delay growth.
Lur's need for a space that wards off others happens to give Jack a captive audience, and it enables both of them to delay growing as people. Since Jack has someone in his life that sticks with him due to their (Lur's) own failings, nothing he does will actually push them (Lur) away. On one hand, Jack's inability to sense this makes him selfish, on the other hand, Lur's inability to stick up for himself provides Jack disingenuous feedback/reinforcement for who he is. Lur doesn't just need to learn to set boundaries for the sake of himself, but for the sake of Jack as well. If he cannot establish rules or standards and assert himself, Jack will push him to the point of leaping to the next safe place he can, where "safe" doesn't necessarily mean "good" or "nourishing" "
all of that's to say they can't be stagnant and push off their development or everything will fall apart, their dynamic gives each-other a space to break down the monumental tasks given to them and take a breather, but they can't run away from their problems forever.
the main points of jacks development are him acknowledging and accepting responsibility for his actions( coming face to face with repercussions he can't bluff his way out of and own up to them), setting his ego aside and accepting second place, becoming aware of the impact of his actions, and generally becoming less of a jackass (note, he'll still a jackass, but a reliable one that won't run away from the issues at hand.) jack isn't perfect and all his faults won't magically disappear by the end of his development, but he does get better- even if it takes an entire year and the constant support of 5+ people
TL;DR - jack's energetic and determined, a selfish racist dipshit that downplays and/or denies he did wrong, being given one last chance to not mess things up or have his future upended entirely- relying on his newfound friend to work together and overcome what he sees as the inevitable.