*•.Fae_Sodapop.•*

Need to refer to me in another language? Use gender neutral or masculine language, or, if possible use pronouns for inanimate objects.

Terfs, Zionists, Pedophiles, Antisemites, Racists -- all of you fuck off. None of you deserve respect.

Jax is not a character that wants to change, they don't want to be vulnerable in they could get hurt again. This is narratively interesting. They lash out and push away anyone that even attempts to get close to them, often to the worst extreme. This is narratively interesting.

So, on a deeper level are we going to see how other characters choose to confront or avoid them for this? No, The narrative is either going to completely ignore it or touch on it so surface level that it may have been better had it not touched it at all.

Jax isn't really given a push to change, even in the darkest moments of the series there's nothing guiding them towards change. This can be a good plot device, stagnant characters can be written. But nothing comes of it. The plot neither rewards them nor punishes them in any significant way that is narratively interesting. When they abstract, it just happens. We get to see more of their backstory, events that show how much of a bad person they were, we're given reasons to sympathize, but because we've been given no real reason to expect any consequences good or negative, many find it hard to care about this character.

They've had a rough life, they struggle to be vulnerable with people, in turn this makes them abuse others so that they'll have no reason to connect, they are the direct reason for one of their closest friends committing what is the narrative equivalent to suicide. They may have even played a part in the death of their other closest friend. Their actions led to deaths, these deaths making them feel depressed and interns suicidal, does not excuse the coping mechanism that is abusing others. It is a cycle, that's definitely the point. But it is not a narrative satisfying one, because of this it doesn't get a well written ending.

A character I've seen them compared to is Lars from Steven universe, but I'd also like to compare them to azula from Avatar. If this was a sliding scale, the center being an unlikable & charismatic character, one end being Redemption & the other being Retribution. Jax would be in the center, had they actually been a well written character.

Lars is originally an unlikable character, he's a pathetic, cowardly young teen that craves validation of the cool kids, this is something that a general audience can sympathize with, even if his actions are annoying. His character growth is slow, but the narrative addresses it, his actions have a direct impact on those he cares about & seen by those he craves the validation of as off-putting. It takes a big change for him to change significantly as a character. He is a well written character, he could have been done better but this was due to shows own restrictions from execs.

Azula, in turn is a charismatic, unlikable, and unstable character. She has a sympathetic backstory, and in her descent to madness we can sympathize with her, without excusing her actions. Because in general it is terrifying to watch someone fall into madness at their own accord. She is stagnant, and refuses to change. Because of this she does end up changing, for the worst. She is a well written, narratively compelling character.

Jax is not given an opportunity by the writers to experience either side of this scale because—it appears—they didn't want them to experience any character growth of any significance, leaving their impact on the plot to appear completely useless by the end of the series. But they're meant to be the 2nd protagonist. An argument I've seen for this lack of growth, in either direction good or bad, is that Jax is meant to be a cautionary tale. But they fundamentally cannot serve as one if their actions are not addressed by the plot in a meaningful way.

Remember, this post is opinionated, you are allowed to enjoy bad characters, I advocate for it, you're also allowed to enjoy poorly written media, you don't need a justification for either of these. This is not a personal attack against anyone.

Drew Blush Pearl & Coral Pearl chatting :3c.

Lapis & Bismuth, how do we feel about that?

Debating what to call "perfect Steven" in this universe, like the art book said there is no such thing as perfect, Steven is Steven. Might go with Hero Steven like other ppl in the fandom have called him, but also might go with Rose Steven? Since my ver. having a rose style hair?—Steven still has complicated feelings on his mother, but I think in this version they tend to lean more positively even if he still feels a bit overshadowed by her. I think he'd choose that name to honor her. But, that might be something I do a poll on later.

[↓ none of this is hate towards the Steven universe crew, I genuinely don't think they thought about it that hard ↓]

I'm going to be honest, is someone with poor vision and chronic back pain, thinking about it for as long as I did, I don't really enjoy that Connie's disability—poor vision (which is a disability)—just got cured by Stevens healing spit. It's not a small cut or a battle wound, and I understand that he can literally resurrect people, but I'll be honest I don't think they would've "cured her disability" if she had anything else other than needing a prescription. Had she been completely blind, deaf, or needing a mobility aid like a wheelchair or cane, I don't think we'd get anything the sort.