A long-time friend of Alex and the boyfriend of Amber Maddox. He first appeared in Good Intentions.
Biography[]
Jason Cohen was born two days before Christmas, that is December 22 or 23.[1] He grew up in a protective and conservative Jewish family.[2][3] He went to the same high school as Alex and started studying sciences at University of Washington with some scholarships after high school graduation.[4]
He was the gamemaster of a roleplaying group consisting of Alex, Eric, Amanda, Carrie, and Robbie. A captive dragon managed to reach Jason with a subconscious intradimensonal message in early summer, inspiring him to run a pulp-inspired D&D game with Bel-Danab as the antagonist. The game probably never finished, as Amanda and Eric managed to catch the real Bel-Danab’s attention, bringing them to his plane.[5]
Encountering the Shadows[]
“Now, we both know that all this supernatural stuff is real. I’ve seen demons and werewolves and shit now, right? But that just means that I can study them—theoretically, anyway, ’cause I don’t want to make a habit of this shit—and then I can figure out what they really are. And then they go from being a ‘monster’ to being a specific kind of animal.”
— Jason, Natural Consequences, chapter 9
Jason’s first conscious exposure to the Shadows was the pool hall fight—the confrontation with Robert Gorge in Ahmed Kovac’s pool hall in September.[6] He received a share of the pool hall as spoils afterwards thanks to Lorelei’s efforts. He also purchased a cheap stun gun, likely as a consequence of the fight.[3]
He was at Sherri’s party, though he arrived late. Lorelei placed an enchantment on him to find a sexual partner, leading to his Adventures in Britneyland with Britney and Brittany.
A few days later he witnessed how Alex was abducted. He followed the abductors to Blackthorne Manor and notifed Drew, Wade, and Taylor, leading to them taking part in the Battle of Blackthorne Manor. During the battle he subdued and captured Lydia with a stun gun as she attempted to seduce him and Drew.[7]
Jason’s parents strongly disapproved of his relation with Britney and Brittany, causing him to alternate between sleeping at home and on Wade’s couch. This led to him using the pool hall spoils to move to his own apartment.[8][4] The adventures ended with or soon after Amanda’s return to Seattle and their following tryst during the Great Open Teamspeak Mic incident.[5][9]
Meeting Amber[]
Jason was the initial target of the investigation by the Special Task Force into the Battle of Blackthorne Manor. He and Amber—the undercover agent—became romantically attracted to each other. At the Emerald City Halloween Ball he, Alex, and Amber were abducted by Rosario, but were rescued by Rachel in the Battle of the Bus Tunnel. The reveal of Amber as an FBI agent proved deeply troubling for both of them, but they managed to reconnect after the Battle of Magnuson Park[10]
He accompanied the Crew to the Practitioner meeting in January and assisted in the aftermath of the Battle of the Casino.[11] He participated in the following Battle of Suite 1705 and was wounded there.
Jason assisted Alex in the break-in against Masood in March by acting as spotter and assistant to Wade.[12] Due to a planned trip to visit Amber in Los Angeles he did not join the rest of the Crew in going to Vancouver.[13]
He is planning a transfer to a university in Los Angeles in summer in order to live closer to or together with Amber.[14][15]
Personal[]
“He’s not suave, I’ll grant, but he’s honest with himself about who he is. He’s a strong soul. Witty. Resourceful. Exceedingly brave and loyal.”
— Lorelei, Natural Consequences, chapter 2
Jason is the most typical nerd of the Crew, with a sometimes limited understanding of social norms, interaction, or consequences. His approach to the supernatural and what he learns of it is highly analytical and scientific, and he is holding firm on his atheism, despite encounters with angels.[16]
He appears to be heterosexual. He is skinny with brown hair.[17]
He is a fan of Green Lantern.[6][8]
Relations[]
Jason’s relationship with his parents is complex, and they currently strongly disapprove of him and his romantic life.[18]
He is in a long-distance relationship with Amber.
After Sherri’s party he had a short-lived relation with Britney and Brittany—also known as the Adventures in Britneyland.[3] It ended partly due to his tryst with Amanda after her return from Bel-Danab’s plane, which caused the Great Open Teamspeak Mic Incident.[5][19]
His guardian angel is Daniel (angel).[20]
Abilities[]
Jason is bilingual in English and Hebrew.[21] He has good gamemaster skills.[5]
He knows chemistry and physics, and has done some scientific analysis of vampire remains.[22] He has educated himself in a number of esoteric and technical subjects, including lock-breaking and defeating security systems.[23][24] He is a good shot with a pistol and possibly other firearms, and has developed some skill in unarmed combat.[25][26]
He also appears to be very resistant to mind manipulations.[7]
Possessions[]
Jason purchased a stun gun after encountering the Shadows.[3] He also owns a pistol and a shotgun, but it is unknown if they were legally purchased or taken after the Battle of Blackthorne Manor. He scrounged some anti-vampire bullets after the battle. It is unknown if he has done any attempts to analyze or reproduce these bullets.[4]
He lives in his own apartment. He owns a quarter-stake in Ahmed Kovac’s pool hall, though he has considered selling his share.[27]
Theories[]
The dragon in Days of High Adventure managed to reach and influence Jason while trying to find help, and also mentioned to Eric and Amanda that Jason ”is more than you expect”.[5] However, the canonicity of Days of High Adventure is unclear in relation to the rest of the Good Intentions stories.[28]
It is also interesting that he proved able to resist Lydia’s direct mind manipulation and suggestions, unlike Drew.[7] Alex also managed to do so, but he was helped by Onyx’s warding charm and possibly his supernatural connections with Rachel and Lorelei—Jason had no such known assistance.
Last, there is Caleb’s comment to him about “yet find your faith” after the pool hall fight.[2]
Taken together these could be a hint that Jason has some talent for magic. Speaking against this, Jason has not shown great evidence of intuition, something which has been mentioned as a requirement for Practitioners.[29]
Jason was not chosen to drive a car on fire into the manor during the Battle of Blackthorne Manor because he did not have experience driving manual. Later on, Jason spun Wade’s truck—presumably a manual one—and hit Harrow with its rear side.[7] A possibility for his sudden increase in driving skill was that he was assisted by his guardian angel Daniel, much like Amber was assisted later on by her guardian angel during the Battle of Magnuson Park.[23]
Sources[]
Jason plays a key role in the following stories:
References[]
- ↑ Natural Consequences, chapter 5
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Good Intentions, chapter 10
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Good Intentions, chapter 13
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Natural Consequences, chapter 4
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Days of High Adventure
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Good Intentions, chapter 9
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Good Intentions, chapter 17
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Natural Consequences, chapter 2
- ↑ “Lifestyle Changes”
- ↑ Natural Consequences, chapter 18
- ↑ Personal Demons, chapter 10
- ↑ Past Due, chapter 7
- ↑ Past Due, chapter 9
- ↑ Personal Demons, chapter 4
- ↑ “Constellations”
- ↑ Natural Consequences, chapter 9
- ↑ Natural Consequences, Prologue
- ↑ Personal Demons, chapter 24
- ↑ Natural Consequences, chapter 3
- ↑ Good Intentions, chapter 14
- ↑ Good Intentions, chapter 12
- ↑ Natural Consequences, chapter 15
- ↑ 23.0 23.1 Natural Consequences, chapter 17
- ↑ Past Due, chapter 16
- ↑ Personal Demons, chapter 23
- ↑ Past Due, chapter 1
- ↑ Good Intentions, chapter 16
- ↑ “I mean, sort of.” — Elliott Kay on Twitter September 28, 2022
- ↑ “Stellar Drift”