#byt tgat would still only give him like 2/3 years over jess

[themyscirah]

This surprised me so I thought I'd do some rough math of my own and see how the numbers line up

So because Simon has 9/11 happening concretely when he's around 10 or 11 (I used 11 like you did above) that makes him born in 1990, so he's 23 upon introduction, which seems a little young for his work situation/experience, but I'll get back to this point in a moment. With him being 23 in 2013, that would make him 28* in 2018, where I'm assuming the early 20s panel is from. 28 still seems young for that statement, but I think you can add some more time to Simon's age from the times he's time traveled (oh comic book plotlines how silly you make me sound!)

So Simon has time traveled twice to my knowledge, once with the rest of the GLC (no Jess yet) in GL: Lost Army & Edge of Oblivion. Simon is stuck out of time for both these books (although off-panel for most of Lost Army). We don't know how long the corps is out there for sure in these books, but it was at least a few weeks, so we can add about a month, maybe multiple here.

There was also the time he was out of time with Jess, which I haven't read recently but I think we can add at least a year to his age from (that she would also recieve), bringing him closer to his 30s while also doing nothing about an age gap there.

This brings Simon's age to about 29/30, at the time of that panel (*assuming years in the nu52/rebirth stay constant). That time staying constant (or close to it) is a pretty big assumption to make and it's not one we're ever going to get a good answer on because of DC timelines, as the amount that time is compressed can change depending on a variety of factors. For Simon though, I don't think this compression matters too much as any time compression would be generally offset by his time traveling, making him at youngest 27 in 2018, keeping in line w the earlier numbers. I think having him at 23ish in 2013 makes sense to me as well, even despite his career history as its unlike dc to crunch time the other way, and it can make sense if you assume Simon worked while he was at school or got a shorter degree/only did some college (did we ever get confirmation he went to college? I don't remember)

For Jess I'd add a year or so to your estimate of 18/19 when her friends were murdered, just because it seems like she already has her major declared (forestry) and is mobile (has a car), which would put her in her 2nd or 3rd year of college in my mind. I'd put her around 20 for this event as it would give her time to date her ex/have him leave her for her best friend assuming they all met at college.

Giving the 4 years, I would put her as ~24 when she became Green Lantern, allowing about a month somewhere in there for the whole power ring debacle. Using 2015/2016 for our math (as that was the core of her power ring time/when she became GL) my math would make Jess born in either '91 or '92, which is only one or two years off from my estimate for Simon

So tldr; I wouldn't call the simonjess age gap significant, as depending on how much you fudge the numbers I think it can range from a couple of months to about 3.5/4 years max.

It can be kind of difficult to parse out their exact ages, especially on Simon's end as he has some statements that don't fully add up, but I think some of it can be explained by their time travel together, and the gap itself between Simon and Jess as mainly due to differing time compressions during the nu52

so uh. i just realized that jessica cruz was either 21-22 when she first became a green lantern. she was doing a degree in forestry & she was stuck in her apartment for four years. then in green lanterns, it's said those four years included a gap on her resume from student union, meaning she was still in college when she got stuck in her apartment. meaning she was probably 18-19 when her friends got murdered.

and considering simon baz had already graduated college & had a job that he later got layed off from when he became a green lantern.... and was i think 11 when 9/11 first happened, although that's iffy cause idk how time works in dc..... i think you know where i'm going with this because not a single man in his 20s talks like this i fear 😭

love simonjess, #1 otp but. i will never escape age gap allegations with my comic ships, will i? MY GOODNESS