>> I'm hopeful that Jayce will see some progress soon, with this kind of support... <<

Progress, yes.

>> wonder if Jayce will switch pronouns, at least with trusted friends? <<

Maybe, but I suspect that will take a while.

>> Jayce may be questioning, but sounds fairly confident about the whole 'not a boy' thing. <<

Jayce is fairly sure about not being a boy, but confused about a lot of other stuff. This is where a more experienced friend, older transperson, and/or gender counselor would be really helpful. Jayce needs a boost in figuring out what questions to ask, in what order, and how to go about answering those.

>> And I hope Stan doesn't take this too hard, <<

Well, he's going to feel bad about hitting someone a lot harder than he meant to, than was called for.

>> because I agree, Bo Ray richly earned that moment. <<

What he deserved was a solid scolding, a formal reprimand, and some retraining on school standards. Plus counseling for the self-hate but he's not at all open to that, so oh well. What he got was social damage that can't be fixed, and emotional damage that isn't likely to heal well because he won't take care of it, both of which are things that have proven fatal in other contexts. Excessive force.

>> (Even though compassion in the aftermath could be considered be his human right and/or the way forward.) KAPOW! <<

Sure, because in T-America, a hero is perfectly entitled to smack a villain into the pavement -- but not to do permanent damage, and once they stop causing trouble, you're supposed to stop hurting them and render aid if necessary. This is what separates the heroes from the villains.