#jake.pdf

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Well. They literally never do anything on screen other than break up and angst about how the relationship isn’t working out because they’re 16 years old and literally fucking suck at communicating. Why should I be compelled by a relationship when 99% of its existence is dedicated to the fact that it sucks for totally normal 16 year old reasons and also that it’s over? I’m 23, and literally have infinitely better romances to focus on.

All the Alpha Kids just totally suck ass at talking to each other. This is because they’re 16 and sheltered, sure, but there comes a point where it gets kinda grating and hard to watch… Because the “Sheltered 16 Year Old” aspect is written so well. The way all these kids are just absolutely falling over each other trying to date Jake, who is deeply, deeply not into it is kinda just uncomfortable to read, and since Jake’s arc gets cut off short before its resolution… There’s just no concrete payoff, really. Poor dude is still getting treated like that to this day.

I understand it was revolutionary for some people, seeing as how it was the first time they’d seen a “Love Triangle” (no it wasn’t) where a guy was getting pursued by another guy and also a girl… And not only that, but the other guy won…

… But also there’s, like, way better queer media out there. I’ve seen horror movies with more compelling gay themes/romances in them. Plenty of them. It’s actually pretty common. I’m well fed. And also he is literally related to the girl in question here, so dating the guy is literally the only correct choice if he had to pick one with a gun to his head.

The best choice for Jake in reality would have been none of them.

Hi, Anon! Considering the question is prompted by the claims of another, and this claim has an extreme amount of gravity attached to it, this is not a stupid question whatsoever. I appreciate that you're trying to fact check this, rather than just spreading that idea with zero regard. A lot of people online tend to get really caught up in the immediate emotional response that an Accusation of Sexual Misconduct gives them, and fail to do their due diligence. I can't fault anyone for feeling distressed upon hearing that anyone is a Pedophile or a Sexual Predator, but it's irresponsible and disrespectful to not... Y'know, check the evidence, if there's even any there.

I'm going to put this all under a cut due to the subject matter. You understand, I hope!

Content Warning: Discussion of Pedophilia, Assault, and Dubious Consent.

I swear to God I don't mean this to sound mean, but... I don't think there's any profound "purpose", because I don't think they parallel in any profound way at all. Similarities between the two are incredibly surface level, and I'm not really of the opinion that Dirk and Jake own the themes/motifs "being paralleled" or anything.

Typically the explanation for DirkJake/RufUss paralleling each other is that they're both Gay Relationships that have Communication Issues, and there's something in there relating to Decapitation. That's... It, though? Sure, that's a parallel in the technical sense, but there's nothing deep to it. Plenty of other things in Homestuck share one of those traits, and it doesn't really mean much. Hell, I'd attribute Horuss and Rufioh being a gay relationship with communication problems to Hussie genuinely just not handling gay relationships and characters all that well, rather than them being some god-tier writer.

[Link to the post included for ease.]

Ahh, yes… Jake’s status of being Narratively a Girl as a method of trope subversion accidentally coming out with some extreme themes of Gender Troubles. A subject matter and point of discussion that I very much so wish would be considered classic. You’re right, it’s absolutely severely under-discussed, despite the fact that that motif is quite critical to his character. I’d go as far to say that if you fail to include the Gender Troubles/Narratively Feminine aspect of Jake’s character, you’ve failed to write Jake.

Femininity is a central piece of Jake’s character, and it’s a trait that’s quite quickly defined about him. His constant hypersexualization within the confines of the story, and consistent reduction to being nothing more than either a bumbling idiot (read: a bimbo) or an object of romantic interest/obsession to lust after is very much so a part of it all. Jake is experiencing what it’s like to be a woman without actually being a woman at all, and the fact that he relates to and idolizes strong female characters who often get the same treatment by viewers is quite a noteworthy feature of his psychology. It’s fascinating.

Would it be biphobic to hc him as aroace?/gen

Honestly, I see Jake as at the very least Aromantic myself, possibly even AroAce, just like you. He’s read to me as being at the very least a level of Demiromantic and/or Demisexual.

My personal thoughts are that I do not think that’s Biphobic. Just like it’s not Homophobic to have Aspec headcanons about Gay/Lesbian characters. Not because I’m making exceptions for my own interpretations of characters- I like to think I’m a little too self aware to do that- but because sexuality and romantic orientation is a very complicated thing and being AroAce doesn’t inherently conflict with being Gay, Bi, or a Lesbian at all.

I, personally, would describe myself as Gay and AroAce. Real attraction comes to me so rarely that it can be difficult to explain to people that, by technicality, I’m Demiromantic/Demisexual, just to a severe degree, so it’s simply easier to stick with AroAce. I think of it similarly to identifying as “Queer.” Very much so a blanket label.

My own identification of being AroAce is not stopping me from being the gayest man in my friend group, and it’s also not stopping me from having a boyfriend who I love dearly, and have loved dearly for years now. It isn’t Homophobic or Biphobic or Lesbophobic to have a complicated relationship with sex and romance. There is a world of difference between saying a character, who is Bi, might prefer not to have sex and generally doesn’t experience romantic attraction, and saying a character, who is Bi, is Gay simply because he dated a man once, or straight simply because he’s dated more women.

It was always strange watching some people call DirkJake/SkullCap/whatever you want to call it severely abusive, or saying that either party in the relationship was the worst.

The finger-pointing and name-calling really just missed the point of how and why their dynamic was like that. Neither Dirk nor Jake are abusive, toxic, conniving demons who fully recognize “what they’re doing” is hurting the other- they are mentally ill/disabled 16-year-old boys who have been severely isolated from human contact their entire lives.

One has to recognize that on top of their age and level of isolation, Dirk is incredibly, incredibly mentally ill and Jake has untreated brain damage that just keeps compounding ACTIVELY in the story. We see Jake get pretty bad head injuries regularly! It’s a genuine issue!

The reason their relationship fell apart was not because they’re ultimately purposefully toxic figures, either on their own or to each other, it’s because they lacked the ability to communicate properly. They fell apart because of a breakdown in communication, not because they actively hated each other. It’s not that they REFUSED to communicate properly, they LACKED the ability to do so.

Dirk’s complete isolation from human contact his entire life, coupled with his mental illness, meant that he struggled with communication. Jake’s isolation from human contact, coupled with his legitimate brain damage, meant that he struggled with communication. Neither of them are totally, completely at fault for this, because they are literally just flawed 16 year olds with no romantic experience, and honestly, all things considered? They could be a LOT worse. They COULD have been actively abusive to each other- taking into consideration their living situations and how it could have affected them- And it would have even made sense if they were- but they weren’t. Maybe their version of “trying their best” isn’t relatable to everyone. Maybe the thought of what Dirk and Jake’s version of “trying their best” is makes one cringe at the thought of it applying to them. But here’s the thing- it’s not exactly supposed to be completely relatable, nor is it intended as being the pinnacle of relationships. Dirk and Jake’s relationship isn’t a how-to guide, it’s just a display of how their relationship functioned.

Jake’s perceived “Hopelessness” is derived from his impaired cognitive functions and his inability to communicate properly. That’s more than likely caused by his brain damage. Dirk’s self-perceived “Heartlessness” is derived from his own seeming inability to properly communicate with people, as well as his supposed potential for “evil.” That’s most definitely caused by his mental illness. Are these attributes- Jake’s “Hopelessness” and Dirk’s “Heartlessness”- also connected to their classpects, Page of Hope and Prince of Heart respectively? Abso-fucking-lutely. But we aren’t here to talk about that today.

Holding Dirk and Jake up to the exact same standard one would two perfectly functioning, experienced adults is weird and disingenuous, and completely brushes aside that these are two inexperienced, unaware children who are struggling to make things work on a fundamental level.