Been thinking of this story again. It stands in stark contrast to the SPiKE story in how it's supposed to be a short, light-hearted story that's going easier on the heavy stuff. Where SPiKE feels like bittersweet trauma-therapy, the Jason story is supposed to be fun and encouraging. I guess I'm long overdue a solid break from all the heavy stuff, and I've come a long way on my own healing process, so it's nice to have some side projects that are just fun and wholesome.
I've also enjoyed plotting some other action-romance-thriller stories and dabbling with various genres again.
Not abandoning the SPiKE project, I just need to catch my breath ;)