#hojay gets married!

[cinamun]

Flowers & Cake | The Wedding Party

Playable lot credit

[cinamun]

Hey Cin,

So with you recent arc of beginnings (OTW Baby HoJay, The twins exploring teen life, and the start of the Drake OG's beginning to embrace aging I had a perspective about Mercy who as mentioned is not going forward like her son & in-laws. I was thinking some people wild out in their teens to early 30's, some have mid life crisis and start acting out, and then there are some that for life circumstances don't wild out because either that just wasn't them as a person, OR they couldn't because... Life (like getting married very young or becoming a mom very young.) and later feel like they missed out. So when given an opportunity or two they take it. Indya gave her one, but... I wonder if Bishop also presents those opportunities to her? He's younger than her husband was, sexually adventurous, verbally commanding and has a street edge with some danger appeal. He's the exact opposite of her late husband and her own personality as well. This allows her in her mind to fulfill that FOMO, and for better or worse she is familiar with him (as much as he will allow.) But it also allows her to not stray too far from her personal norm due to her love for Jay Jay and her new DIL and grandbaby on the way; though the wine may give her away that she is not sure about her choices.

Kinda like Indya in her early days which cumulated in nights of passing out which may have been indicative of her not being completely on board with her own life choices.

Just a thought from one of you RRC members. :) *inserts imaginary gif of Sia's - Chandelier*

WELL DAMN!!!!

Y'all please drop a hand clap emoji in the replies for the EXCELLENT ANALYSIS and psychological breakdown of the good yet frustrating sis Mercy Carruthers!

First of all, I love how you tied in the wine. The only time we see Mercy drinking is in the middle of the night after demon sexy time. I also love how you paralleled that to Indya's early days of drinking/leaning. I ALSO also love the way you incorporated familiarity, too. Didn't we just hear Indya say she wouldn't have made it this far without her husband? Is that not familiarity? Would she be as accepting of forehead wrinkles without the familiar warmth of her husband's voice? NO, DAMN IT! So what makes Mercy any different than Indya or actual humans who seek out what's familiar for a sense of comfort even if it may not be good for us (or potentially kill us... looking at you, Bishop)?

ANYWAY!!!!!

The Ratchet Reading Room™ never disappoints with the breaking down of the break downs and that's on London bridges falling down!

[cinamun]

I’m finally home from the nonsense day I’ve had so I can fully unpack my feelings…or at least try to. This Mercy situation…idk. Mr. Isaac is an interesting case for sure. He’s really just toying with Mercy because it gives him something to do and he finds it fun, if that’s a word you could even use for his literal no feelings having ass. He doesn’t need her in any way. He has his own money. Yeah he could like sleeping with her but just like Kenji jumped on to Aaliyah and got what he wanted easily, how hard would it be for Bishop to leave and get somebody else? He definitely is trying to see it through with Mercy rather than start over because he’s already dug so deep into her and he’s made it clear that he is not leaving. So the only end I see is one of them ending up in a body bag and really Mercy is the only person that knows him well enough to be able to even have a chance at having that foresight and ability to get a few steps ahead of him. In a way Bishop does trust her. A guy like him has to have some level of trust for him to lay his head next to you every night and sleep. That’s the only time he’s truly vulnerable and even then he probably has some type of freaking spidey senses. Even if it’s just that he believes he scared her so bad that he doesn’t have to worry about her, that’s still some level of trust. Idk. Let’s say Mercy tries to go to Jayce. Do we really think she’d make it out the door? He’s yanked her up for less. And say she did manage to make it there undetected, do we not think that’d be the first place he’d go looking? Mercy has already been there so he has to know where Jay lives. He knew which dorm was his somehow AND broke in without notice. He is a seasoned criminal that knows how to leave no traces. I don’t want any of that mess near HoJay’s home. They’d be collateral damage for sure. We’re talking about a guy that set up his own blood with no remorse or second thought and faked his death successfully. He does not care about them and I’m sure he packs heat everywhere he goes. It’s looking real grim but in the words of Kenji, I could be wrong…idk.

You know what time it is sis...

"It gives him something to do" - Let's unpack.

He doesn't really have shit else to do right? Right. He escaped from prison, he escaped death, so now he's just laying low with no one to rob, set up or traumatize. Except for... Mercy. Mercy is his "something to do" given the fact that he's a psychopath. He literally needs something to fuck with, or someone to fuck up. He can't feel anything emotionally (which is why he won't/can't say he loves her) so why not have a little fun by tormenting a woman you love to fuck?

"how hard would it be for Bishop to leave and get somebody else?"

One thing about Kingpins, they value loyalty. The root word is King so loyal subjects matter. Mercy is a very easy, subserviant and loyal person in his life so, while he doesn't need her and could make someone else bow down to him, look at her... she's attractive, he's paid for some pretty badass curves and she's loyal... he knows the value in that.

Also, when you've been in prison for 3 decades, you deffo have some spidey senses, especially when you're sleep. he's probably a super light sleeper with an itchy trigger finger (in the figurative sense).

So about knowing where folks are... since the scene is over I can say that in my head, he pretended to be Jay's stepfather, called the school and found out which dorm. Or maybe he lied and told Mercy he would pick up Jays laundry and needed to know the room... remember, Mercy would give anything for Bishop to at least pretend to give a fuck about her son. So, unless she slips up, currently Bishop doesn't know where Jay lives. I mean... currently

So yes, the possibilities of death, destruction and armaggedon are very real as long as Bishop is somehow involved in their lives.

The real question I have is why would he ask her to marry him if he doesn't feel love? What is the motivation there? He doesn't need a ring to control her, he was doing fine without it. Maybe for the same reason he bought the piano?

Can't call it.... but he is certainly an interesting character.

[cinamun]

I get where people are coming from when they think things are a little too perfect with HoJay. And I have 2 thoughts about that:

First, I think it's shortsighted to think that drama can't be born from a good, nurtured relationship. They are still young and a degree can't replace experience. Sometimes even living through or adjacent to a textbook example of what not to do can't keep people from tripping over the same stone. So, they will trip, fall, and if they're doing it right, they will get back up again. Though, not because of cheating, not necessarily because of external factors, and not because they don't speak the same love language, but because they are YOUNG. They are babies, for real. They are still becoming the people they want to be. They don't even know their minds and hearts completely; to join their lives at this point when they haven't mastered their own personal curriculum is like taking on a double major.

Conflict is an automatic byproduct of change. How the transitions is handled will determine what will be when they come out the other side.

Second, speaking of babies... If anyone wants to see a snag in the HoJay fabric, they need look no further than the honeymoon. I've seen some dropped stitches along the way, but none so gaping as the fact that they did not truly confirm with each other before they were even engaged their stances on one or two or baseball team of big commitments.

Hope... Darling, sunshine, love, we are talking about bodily autonomy here. About reproductive freedom here. We are talking about sometimes irreversible changes your mind and body may go through here. Jay should have been saying to you that he wanted however many big commitments you wanted, not the other way around.

So, I feel that if they only had that definitive conversation on their honeymoon, there are likely other Important Topics that have yet to be discussed.

Babies, for real.

THIS IS A VERY IMPORTANT TAKE! All caps needed. I'm going to let this one marinate friend. They are very young and especially in comparison to Indya and Darren (which seems to be the comparison of the day) when they finally got married.

Hope is the same age as the late Elliot Mahajan, 24. Jay is about a year and a half older (I stopped putting numbers on them but in this case it makes sense), so 25 and a half? Both fresh out of college with barely any life experience.

Remember when Hope said all she knows is Jay and her family? She wasn't wrong. We are guaranteed to have bumps along the way, I just don't think we need full on collisions. They've got a lot of growing to do and I'm happy they get to do that together.

[cinamun]

Our baby is getting married and I'm in TEARSSSSSS 😭😤💘💖. Look how happy they look together! My heart is full and I hope my stomach will be too at the reception.

pin this on HoJay for me thanks (at the reception ofc, just incase i don't make it 😖😭):

💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵💵

you can give them these in their hands too with the rest if all can't fit💰💰💰

I can't wait to see the next chapter of their lives together ☺🥰

..................unless of course you got other plans.....yes YOU Cina! I watching you! Let my babies LIVVVVVVVVEEE!

Love ya boo! *muah* *muah* ༼ つ ◕_◕ ༽つ💖

LOVE YOU BACK!!!! And damnnnnnnnnn that's a lot of stacks sis! I'll add that to the ship full of stacks that's pulling in to the San Sequoia harbor for them, sent by Darren ofc lol

I am so happy for them I cant even STAND it!! Stay tuned because tomorrow and the next day we're celebrating LOVE AND HOJAY!!

[cinamun]

Idk if I missed anything but when do we get to see an update on the Rivera Family?? I know at least one of the triplets gotta have some kiddos by now

Good morning anonymous friend! So, just gonna keep it a buck here:

We probably *won't* get an update on their family specifically. The story is really focused now on the Drake-Carruthers. Honestly, after Juan and Elise re-married, their characters (and their triplets) started to slowly exit stage left. We still see them occassionally, but I have no plans on a full update. We are kinda in a new era of the story where the Rivera's plotline is over and the Carruthers plotline is only beginning (as it relates to the Drake's of course). We now have characters like Jay and Mercy, The Problematic Boyfriend™, Jerriah, Baby HoJay, Ryker (cringe) and Maya to keep up with.

You know me, so you know they aren't ever just gone and will likely show up somewhere. In fact, Isn't Elise the Drake midwife? And wasn't she teaching her daughters midwifery when the twins were born? Hmmmmm

Stay tuned friend!

[cinamun]

I think I get where Nonny is coming from tbh. I sometimes feel that way about Jayce lol. Like he’s too perfect, and Hope is too lucky. I think that’s why I was intrigued by Kenji. He rocked the boat a little bit. It seemed a bit more real 🤣

Also, personally I have hardly seen this type of relationship- meeting someone you’re so compatible with so early in life with a chance of it lasting. And I know some of us have had to go through some real shit to get even a crumb of what HoJay have.

However, I do think you do an excellent job with presenting challenges to their relationship. And I sometimes wonder what they’re limit is 👀

I mean, after writing the headache that Indya and Darren were in the beginning, trust me, I agree that it seems too perfect which is why I'm glad nonny specified that.

We're just not used to seeing these kinds of relationships right? At least not in my story or just in real life. Relationships come with challenges and hardships most times.

So does their relationship seem unrealistic? Absolutely, I can see how HoJay seems unrealistic. Do I think it is? Not really. Only because I think at some point, generational curses around love (especially for us) should be broken. I believe its possible to fall in love on prom night and ultimately marry the man and spend your honeymoon traveling. I believe the kind of love i've written for them is possible. 90% of this story is fighting the curses of trauma-infused love. So I chose to make HoJay a little less traumatic than InDarren.

Now, we should keep in mind that this is very early for them, they just got married and already, trauma. Before marriage, she almost broke up with Jay for Kenji, she's got a mother-in-law who gets railed by a murderer who breaks into dorm rooms. I mean, the capacity for chaos is there. Just sayin.