You won‘t see many Dirkjake fans being open about liking Dirkjake in the wider fandom spaces. Thats a ship that postcanon sunk so thoroughly its supporters either left the community entirely or else retreated into curated circles (as I have done) rather than have to deal with the majority opinion telling them those two are bad for each other and have no shot of making it big again like Davekat. Recently another flavor of Dirkjake fan has arisen that revels in the dysfunction in their dynamic that postcanon emphasizes, but I pass over that opinion as bringing back unpleasant memories of 2012-2013 discourse, which I have no desire to retread.

Here is one important issue i perceive. Healthy relationships don‘t make for good story material. If you’re starting off from a position of perceived placidity / stability, as the Epilogues did coming three years after the dust had settled in the Credits, and you’re planning on making your work a bridge to an official sequel (questions of canonicity and what that means bedamned), you’re going to have to break a few eggs to make that omelette. Stir up drama for the characters. Make it so Dave and Karkat weren’t actually officially together to introduce tension that needs resolving, and give room for Jade to interpose. Make it so Jake still refuses to clarify what the thing between himself and Dirk is, so that Dirk assuming his place as the designated villain is treated with the gravitas of the most dramatic breakup in Paradox Space. And so on.

I for my part will continue to root for a potential reconciliation between the pumpkin patch duo, or at least a long overdue reckoning if not that. Someone has to keep the fire burning.