Jake was a really important character to me for a long time, one that I related to a lot when I was a kid for better or for worse. He's still one of my favorites in spite of and because of his character flaws. I'm currently rereading homestuck and it was so funny seeing Jade's penpal's note and remembering we actually see him talk so early in the comic! There's such a long time between that note and the alpha kids being introduced that I think a lot of people forget about that bit of foreshadowing.