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@xjaylahopkins
JAYLA KIMBERLY HOPKINS
JAY • JAY JAY
she/her • queer • born December 5, 1995
born and raised in Rapid City, South Dakota. daughter of Ronald Hopkins and Tonya Wilson. only child. attended Montana State University from 2013-2017. living in Merrock since 2017. youth librarian at Merrock’s Memorial Library. beader. volunteer at Merrock Community Center. horse mom to Misty. currently single.
BIO • STATS • CONNECTIONS • TIMELINE
who: leo & your muse
where: downtown merrock
when: feat. donut day
white cardboard box set in his hands, leo rolls his lips between his teeth and frowns. looks here, looks there, flush of embarrassment. how these ended up for free in his hands, tries to decipher: they appeared out of nowhere, delivered as if he got them for himself and he hadn't. " ... guess this is a sign to give my brain a break. " refers to: endless notepads, held in place by the outdoor salt-shakers, table otherwise sans food whatsoever. " these ... i dunno, they manifested. " a thief? him? never, not even a number two pencil back in high school.
"Manifested?" Jayla raised a brow. "You don't remember picking them up?" she chuckled. "Have you at least checked to see that they're good picks?"
"It sounds like one of those things you hear in a bar, like… some old tale someone made up while they're completely drunk," she said with a loud laugh, absolutely able to imagine one of the fisherman she often times drank with down at Anchors telling the story, cigar in hand, waving a whiskey around while everyone laughed. Hence why she'd never get a goat on a boat. "He's very smart, and thank God for that." Otherwise, she'd have a whole mess on her hands that she would have to deal with, and Ashleigh didn't want that. "At least we do have places like the sanctuary to go visit and spend time with their animals, so we feel less bad about not having more of our own, you know?" made it a little easier. "Although with the weather turning warmer, we should spend more girly horse time together up at the ranch."
"That's exactly what it sounds like," Jayla giggled. It just sounded all bad. "And not many cats are! Granted.. a lot hate water but.. You know what I mean." A cat on a boat sounded risky, particularly if they were of the half a single brain cells variety. "Very true! I am not sure what I would do without having other excuses to be around animals. Or.. I guess I do? I would probably have a house full of animals myself. Perhaps not the smartest deal though. I am much better off, for now, sticking to my horse." Jayla's words came out more like she was trying to convince herself, as was often the case when the idea of adopting a cat came up. "I will definitely be over more often as it warms up!"
"Do you think some fishermen would help me out?" she asked, tilting her head to one side. She was sure that they got all sorts of odd requests, but... saving someone's goat from the ocean might be a new one for them. "Cats are fun, though. That one, I do have one the boat, but Howdy's really savvy, stays away from any danger zones, thankfully." She had yet to have any mishaps, didn't want to end up jinxing herself if she wasn't paying attention some afternoon. "But Misty is a pretty worthy star of your attention. But yeah, I spend a lot of time at the ranch and I'm glad for it, keeps me from making any decisions I might regret in the middle of the night when I look at these cute faces."
"God, I would hope so. That sounds like such a miserable way for a boat goat to go. Drowning," she shook her head, stifled laughter still audible. "Smart cat!" Jayla smiled when Ashleigh mentioned Howdy steering clear of danger on the boat. "That's what I keep telling myself! You never know.. One day I may just show up with a cat but volunteering at the ranch is a good deterrent to just focus on Misty and the other horses. But it doesn't mean I'm not tempted.." Her attention returned to the creatures they were petting before them. "Being an animal lover is not for the weak."
Suki looked up from aggressively negotiating with the dough and immediately caught Jayla trying, and failing, to hide her laughter.
Her eyes narrowed. “Oh, you’re enjoying this.” She pointed at her with flour on her fingers. “You have the energy of someone at an aquarium tapping the glass while the octopus solves puzzles.”
Looking down at herself, she realized she had somehow accumulated more flour despite touching objectively fewer things. Suki blinked. “…How.” She brushed at her shirt. The flour spread. She stared at it. “That feels targeted.”
But then Jayla mentioned checking the fridge. Suki’s entire expression changed. Her posture straightened. Her eyes widened. Slowly, dramatically, she pointed toward the refrigerator. “Oh.”
A grin spread across her face. She walked over and opened the fridge like she was revealing a secret weapons cache. Inside was a completely normal fridge. To Suki, however: possibility.
She started narrating immediately. “Okay, inventory.” She pulled things out one by one and lined them on the counter. “Half a red onion.” Thunk. “Questionably old spinach.” Thunk. “Three kinds of sauce for reasons unknown.” Thunk. “A singular bell pepper.” Thunk. She held up a jar. “…Capers?” Her eyebrows rose. “When did I become an active participant in a capers household?”
She set them down and continued. Then she found shredded mozzarella. Suki held it up and turned dramatically to Jayla. “Oh.” Her face softened immediately.
“The forbidden cheese.” She said it jokingly, but her eyes flicked to Jayla for half a second; just checking, making sure the joke stayed a joke and she wasn’t making light of something she took seriously.
Then she brightened again. “Okay. Options.” She pointed around the counter. “Classic.” Pepperoni. “Experimental.” Mac and cheese plus dino nuggets. “Suspiciously sophisticated.” Caramelized onion, spinach, bell pepper. She looked at Jayla. Then grinned. “…Or.”
Her voice lowered. “We do half normal pizza and half What Happens Happens.” Suki reached over and lightly bumped her shoulder against Jayla’s. “And if it’s terrible, we never speak of this again.”
“But if it’s incredible?” She grabbed the sauce dramatically. “We become insufferable and tell everyone we invented pizza.”
Hearing the emphasis on the word 'targeted', Jayla finally gave in to full on laughter. "You have to admit, it's a little funny.." An flash of an innocent smile followed the sentiment. As Suki pulled random items from the refrigerator, Jayla watched. Each new item was considered thoroughly as she watched them hit the counter. "I am not one bit surprised that there are capers in there," she chuckled. "Hmm.. I am down for the bell pepper and onions.. Maybe not the questionable spinach. Absolutely yes to the pepperoni. Duh. And don't worry. I brought my lactaid." She would spare her friend of dealing with her writhing in pain on account of pizza night, later. "We can do half and half," she nodded in agreement. That way, if it was a total disaster, they still had something to eat. Nothing like having to order a fully prepared pizza from Pizza Thyme after failing themselves. That would be embarrassing.
WHO: ashleigh & @xjaylahopkins
WHERE: spring fling, downtown
WHEN: may, 2026
"I swear, this is really dangerous," Ashleigh said with a laugh as she crouched down to scritch the ears of a baby goat, looking up at Jayla. "I cannot have farm animals on a house boat, but coming to this booth in particular is making me wonder about the logistics of a house goat." That probably could not swim and would be in danger every single time that it got up on the dock, so... maybe not. Still, it was hard not to want to smuggle them all home with her. "Do you ever feel that tug to just adopt every animal you come across?"
"Boat goat! I'm not sure I would want to worry about having to save it if it goes overboard but that would be you problem, not mine," Jayla snickered. She too crouched down to greet the creature before them, loving ay excuse to bond with animals. "I have to constantly remind myself that I have Misty. I volunteer at the ranch for a reason.. I have been debating getting a cat for years but simply have not pulled the trigger on that one," she admitted with a nod and a soft laugh.
with: lottie & tbd (capping at 2/5)
where: um the food stalls of course! (spring fling)
“What’s a girl gotta do to get some cotton candy around here?” Maze laughed, gaze wandering for a few more seconds over the stalls that the two passed by before turning her attention on her companion. “Okay here’s what I’m thinking, we live a little, yea? Get something sweet first, and then find something that’ll actually fill us up. Thoughts? Ghastly remarks?” She smirked, one brow quirking up playfully. “Either way, my main goal is to find cotton candy or … maybe some kind of fun dessert? What about you?”
"Oooh! Cotton candy!" Jayla wasn't going to say no to the opportunity for a sweet treat. "But if we are doing dessert before real food, I also want to find some chocolate."
Location: Suki's House Status: OPEN (0/5)
Suki had dramatically underestimated how much flour one person could accidentally launch into their own kitchen.
At some point in the last twenty minutes, her house had transformed from cozy Friday night pizza-making plans into something that looked vaguely like a low-budget cooking show filmed during a natural disaster. Open containers of toppings crowded the counter, music played softly from a speaker near the sink, and there was now suspiciously enough shredded cheese on the floor to classify as a safety hazard.
Honestly? She was having the time of her life.
“Okay, first of all,” The tiny brunette announced from across the kitchen, holding up flour-covered hands like she was presenting evidence in court, “these make-your-own pizza kits are psychologically manipulative.”
The boxes from Pizza Thyme sat open across the counter, dough partially rolled out in uneven circles that absolutely would not be surviving any kind of professional inspection.
“They market it like a wholesome bonding activity,” Suki continued, narrowing her eyes at the lopsided crust in front of her, “but what it actually is… is arts and crafts for hungry adults.”
She pointed accusingly toward the pizza dough.
“And this thing knows I’m weak.”
The kitchen smelled like garlic, tomato sauce, and baked dough already warming in the oven, the entire house wrapped in soft Friday-night comfort. Fairy lights along the windows cast warm golden light across the room while the occasional sound of passing cars drifted faintly in through the cracked kitchen window.
Suki brushed loose hair out of her face with the back of her wrist immediately forgetting there was flour there, accidentally making the situation worse.
“Perfect.” She deadpanned. “Now I look like I lost a fight with a bakery.”
Then she glanced toward the other person in the kitchen, grin returning instantly.
“Okay, serious question before we continue.” She leaned against the counter dramatically. “Are we making normal pizzas tonight…”
She let the tension linger in the air for a moment.
“Or are we emotionally spiraling and putting chaotic toppings on these because nobody can stop us and I lowkey - highkey - want dino nuggies as a topping?”
"The arts and crafts of it all is what makes it fun!" Jayla was letting Suki take the lead on this pizza making adventure. Jayla, herself being a much more organized and overall skilled home cook, was quite amused observing Suki work.
Watching the younger woman accidentally get even more flour on herself, Jayla stood back, failing at any effort to stifle her giggles. "Chaotic to you and chaotic to me have two very different meanings.. Though dino nuggets don't sound half bad.." She smiled, pondering the idea. Jayla's idea of chaos was more the fact that she was opting to risk the use of real dairy cheese in this creation. However, she could be creative too. "Let's see what else is in your fridge that we can use?" she asked, curious enough to at least consider topping options beyond pepperoni.
"Confidence kills," he agreed with a lopsided smile. It didn't mean you shouldn't be a little bit confident as you were heading out on an adventure, but that didn't mean that you should throw caution to the wind completely. "I hope so," he let out a breath, shaking his head. "I'm getting a promotion this summer, to park manager. The old man's finally retiring," he hooked a thumb back towards the lodge, looking over his shoulder, "so right now, I'm doing so much training and paper work and once I move up the chain, I can split my time a little more. Enjoy the nice weather. Or at least I hope we have a nice warm season."
"You're not wrong about that.." Jayla's face twisted in discomfort at the thought. She knew it was reality. "Oh?" she grinned at Jason's mention of an upcoming promotion. "Congratulations! I'm sure it will work out and you'll get to enjoy more of the summer."
"Right -- and I don't want to feel evil by saying 'oh, hopefully they move on to the next town,' but you know..." he shrugged his shoulders, and heaved a sigh, "honestly, it would be better suited in Florida or one of the Carolinas or California, having something like that here in Maine feels terribly out of place, for some reason. I think of Maine beaches as wildlife and fishing and craggy, rocky spaces that are more picturesque than taking the whole family out to go snorkeling or sunbathing, I think that's part of what seems so out of place and surreal about the idea."
"I mean, ideally, we would stop disrupting the environment with these developments, but if it has to happen, I would feel less bad suggesting other locations.. I'm sure that it is community dependent, to the point that somewhere coastal, perhaps even here in Maine, would be willing to support this endeavour. Out of place? Sure. But there are always communities where they would have a much easier time than here. And yet.." Jayla rolled her eyes. This was going to take a lot but Jayla was confident that the people of Merrock could put an end to this.
"Most of the time, yeah -- people who come hiking twice a year, and it's always during the warm, dry seasons, when they think everything is safe," he huffed a breath, shaking his head, "and then you run into the people who actually do hike more often, and they just get a little over confident, think they can handle everything, and all it takes is one wrong step." But no one really wanted to be told that. "I really, really do," he laughed, nodding his head, "not necessarily dead heat in the summer, but... spring, early summer, fall, that's perfect."
"Understandable.." Jayla nodded slowly. It made sense to her. It wasn't unheard of for folks who were more comfortable in the warmer months to overestimate their awareness and capabilities, unaware of how it didn't quite translate to the winter. "I try to not let it get to my head. Being, not completely unfamiliar with this," she gestured around them. But she knew the reality was that she took needed to be careful. "It will be spring soon!" Jayla grinned, excitedly. As much as she loved winter, she understood why spring approaching was of importance.
"Oof, you do have a good point. Cinnamon rolls do seem to be in the cozy category of the fall season," Libby nodded thoughtfully, a smile creeping onto her face. "Plus I've kind of been on a sourdough kick lately." Libby's basket grew heavier with produce she absolutely didn't need but couldn't resist. "Have you found anything exciting yet?"
"Something like a blueberry, lemon loaf sounds appropriate. Maybe more summer, but better for this time of year than cinnamon rolls," she offered a recommendation. "So far, I have picked up mostly staples. Some potatoes, some fresh herbs, onions, garlic."
"Part of me thinks they're trying to Whoville the Benefactor, too. You know," he let out a laugh as he popped a chunk of bread into his mouth, "they see everyone band together and care about one another and their heart grows and they decide not to be evil?" Granted, he knew that it was a movie, and not real life, and real life was often -- if not always -- much more complicated than that, but that was besides the point. It might help a little bit if they actually cared about the town. Big if, though. "But yeah, that's a good point. Just hold it off as long as possible so that it no longer seems viable. My worry is they'll probably just move on to the next town, which could still drive some changes here, but… hopefully less impactful."
Jayla did her best to suppress her laughter, but failed miserably as it resulted in a snort. The idea of the Benefactor, whoever they were, being Grinchified, she couldn't help but laugh. "That's true.." She hadn't thought about pushing the resort development to a nearby enough town, still impacting them. However, she did think that if it came to it, tying up the project in litigation hell was at least one route to consider. Maybe as a last resort, but still a scenario to prepare for. "Hopefully, it gets taken care of.. quicker, though."
who: LIBBY & OPEN (0/3).
where: Farmer's Market in the countryside.
when: April 1st, 2026.
Libby loved going to the farmer's market. Homegrown fruit and vegetables, handmade sweets, food trucks with authentic cuisine -- it was great. She reveled in the sense of community that the farmer's market created. She also loved the fact she could get organic and fresh fruit. She'd hop from stall to stall looking for the best produce, changing stalls almost every time. There was one exception to this though. She only ever got blueberries from one stall, the one owned by the Newman's. "Should I make blueberry sourdough bread or blueberry cinnamon rolls for my next baking adventure?" Libby questioned, asking the closest person next to her. She picked up a few containers of blueberries and added them to her basket. "I'll even make you a batch if you help me decide."
Jayla always enjoyed a trip to the farmer's market, especially as the seasons changed. There was nothing like seeing what new offerings came it. She was checking out some veggies at the next stand over when she heard Libby's question about blueberry baked goods. "Cinnamon rolls feel very fall to me, so I would say sourdough. But that is simply my personal preference," she ultimately responded after having pondered the question for a second.
"Everyone kind of assumes that because the snow is gone in town, that means it's gone out here, in the woods, and I can assure you... it's not," he gestured towards the trail that they had the most problems with. "Especially when you're talking about walking right along the creek like that, it doesn't take much for things to ice up," one night below freezing and the whole thaw-out process had to start over again. People didn't always think that through before they started out without looking back. "Let's just say... I'm definitely looking forward to spring, grass, gravel, and things being a little safer."
"I would assume it's folks that are not out here often but something tells me that even that assumption may be wrong.." Jayla was curious. She obviously knew that no one was immune to falling victim to overconfidence when it came to the elements but part of her also struggled to understand folks heading out this way so unprepared and careless. "I bet you guys prefer the warmer months."
"Yeah, that's a good point," Josh mused, knowing that she wasn't wrong. The obvious stuff was… well, obvious. But there was a lot of lesser talked about, behind the scenes stuff that people didn't always think about that ended up really sneaking up on them. "One good thing about this town is we all know lawyers, we all know people in real estate, we all have connections to people who serve on council… if we raise enough of a stink, there's got to be a way to just, bury them in paper work for months, right? Maybe make it so unappealing that they move on?" he picked at his food and then let out a sigh, "although they waited this long to make a move, so."
"Perhaps just stalling through red tape and the threat of litigation through the summer could buy us all time to figure something out. Purchase the land ourselves, figure out if it could be deemed a historical landmark for one reason or another to fore preservation. Something." At this point Jayla was more or less just playing with her food, occasionally taking a tiny bite that she could quickly chew and swallow as they chatted. "I can't imagine they can break ground once the snow starts back up."
Jason did his very best to keep a smile off of his face as Jayla started towards him, ready to show that she actually really was set up to take a hike, and finally ended up letting out a laugh. "No, no," he shook his head, letting out a breath, "no, I trust you." And he actually did, out of most of the people that were going to try to make that hike. "Sorry, it's just -- a lot of people come out this time of year who shouldn't, and then add in the extra tourists curious about all the resort talk right now, you can imagine what I've been dealing with."
When Jason dismissed her attempt to prove herself with laughter, she proceeded back in his direction anyway. "Now I'm scared to know how many rescues there's been lately.. I'm not surprised to hear it though. It's nice enough out, relatively speaking. I'm not surprised people are coming out here to give it a try without knowing what they need to. Especially being tired of being cooped up for the winter. You add tourists. Yikes."
