#timehex

Legends of Tomorrow

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Some stats for you guys

Currently 21 participants

47% of requests are for The Flash ships

30% are Legends ships

12% are crossover ships, involving characters from 2 or more shows

11% are either Arrow or Supergirl ships

70 unique ships have been requested

We would definitely like to see a boost in Arrow or Supergirl requests in general, but more importantly the following ships could use some love. At least one person has requested the following, but so far we have no one willing to create something for them.

Cisco/Leonard (ColdVibe)

Nate/Nora/Ray

Charlie/Nate/Zari

Nate/Zari (SteelHacker)

Barry/Tommy Merlyn

Rip/Sara (Time Canary)

Thea/Roy (Throy)

Barry/Thea (Theallen)

Oliver/Sara (Canarrow)

Oliver/Shado

Kara/Lucy (SuperLane)

Laurel/Mick

Alex/Lena (AgentCorp)

Iris/Mick

Savitar/Caitlin or Savitar/Killer Frost

Felicity/Ray/Oliver

James/Winn (Scholsen)

Linda/Patty

Iris/Zari

Cisco/Leonard/Mick 

Nyssa/Sara (Nysara)

Nora D/Oliver/Ray

Felicity/Nate/Ray

Leonard/Ray/Sara

Felicity/Leonard/Oliver

Felicity/Leonard/Mick

Caitlin/Felicity/Oliver/Tommy

Constantine/Leonard (ColdBlazer)

Earth X Leo/Ray Terril

Rip/Jonah Hex (TimeHex)

Leonard/Jonah Hex

Leonard/Ray Palmer (ColdAtom)

It’s probably no secret that I lowkey ship Rip with pretty much anyone.  I’m not much of a shipper at heart, rather I’m a very focused on one character sort of fan.  So generally speaking, if a ship involves Rip I’m going to like it.

But today I thought I’d focus on the classics, the first Rip ship that I ever got invested in: Time Hex.

Now part of my love of Time Hex probably comes from the fact that Magnificent Eight was actually the first Legends episode that I saw.  I’d intended to watch the show before that, but hadn’t gotten around to it.  But it was on, and I watched and my first reaction was something like: “Are they seriously implying a relationship between Rip Hunter and Jonah Hex?  Bold move!”

So I started watching the show.  After watching the first eleven episodes and circling back to Magnificent Eight, I realized that context actually didn’t make it read less like a relationship to me.  So I’m sold.

From the way that Jonah immediately recognizes that weird people getting in bar fights means Rip Hunter’s in town, to the sweeping dramatics of their reunion (particularly in the way that Jonah keeps turning his face away, which makes a sad sort of since when Outlaw Crossing told us that he was burned after their last meeting), the “My coat suits you good” line alongside the fact that, even after losing everything else, Rip Hunter is still actually wearing that coat.

And isn’t it kind of symbolically intimate?  Like wearing an embrace?

Rip’s reaction is no better, of course.  The way he hides on the ship, and the way he immediately cuts his rant short when he meets Jonah again.  And then there’s that part where he confesses his past to his team.  The way he found the era, and its opportunities for heroism “...enticing.”  The way the writers conveniently and clumsily shoehored in “then future wife” when he mentions Miranda (as though they wanted to make sure we understood that he was not cheating on her.)

And don’t get me started on the ending scene, the music, Jonah on his horse, while Rip stands alongside.  The entire exchange where Jonah points out that for Rip, “my world ain’t going nowhere” and “I reckon it’d be okay”.

I mean honestly, it’s really hard not to just reference the entire episode here.  And then there’s the fact that Rip keeps Jonah’s wanted poster in his office.  Or all of the additional nuances implied by Outlaw Country.  (I admit to being fond of the headcanon that the escape from the church that Jonah mentions, when he doesn’t know how he actually got out, was Rip.)

I remember joking after Magnificent Eight that if and when Rip and Jonah met again, with the former now come to terms with his loss, I’d find it hard to believe they wouldn’t immediately run off to a broom closet somewhere.  Since we never actually got to see the two interact since then, even though “The Good, the Bad, and the Cuddly” actually could have given us that opportunity, I’m standing by that interpretation.  (And hey, we now have explicit precedent that Jonah gives articles of clothing to people he’s attracted to.)

I go back and forth on whether or not I think Rip and Jonah ever acted on their relationship back in Calvert.  It may depend on where you place the events in the timeline.  I admit, I personally tend to put it before the flashbacks in Marooned, if only because Rip mentions going back to his “then-future wife” in the same breath as Vanishing Point, which to me, implies she’d still be there.   I also don’t think Rip would be enticed to settle in Calvert if Miranda had already left the Bureau for him.  Also, as I referenced in one of my fanfics, I am terribly fond of a headcanon in which it was Rip getting in trouble for his relationship to Jonah that initially got Miranda’s attention in the first place.  (It would also be a nice explanation as to why they would name Jonas after him.  :-))

In the end, I’m not sure it matters.  The impression I have about the Time Masters is that sex would not be nearly as scandalous or frowned upon as romantic love would be.  Sex is easy, in a certain respect.  It’s urges and drives and indulgence, and while I’d imagine they wouldn’t exactly approve, I don’t think it’d be that much of an issue for the Council as long as their agents didn’t get attached.  But we’ve seen how the Time Masters are when it comes to interpersonal connection.  We saw how they discourage teamwork and seem to isolate their operatives.  We saw how they reacted to Miranda and Rip.  I think the true scandal, for the Time Masters, would be the emotional part of the equation.  Rip would be guilty of transgressing whether he actually slept with Jonah or not.

The advantage to Time Hex in the present day is that it’s already got its initial dynamics established.  In season one, Rip is in NO state to embark on any new romance, even if he would have been able to come to terms with the idea that Miranda and Jonas couldn’t be saved.  In season two, well, he was much too busy having his mind repeatedly ripped apart.  In season three...there are options there, I suppose, if Rip can tear his attention away from Mallus.

The advantage of Time Hex though is that, (whether acted upon or not), it’d be very easy to fall back into old patterns and drift into something a little more substantial.  Jonah can be an oasis of sanctuary and stability for someone like Rip, while Rip is a refreshing infusion of chaos that pops into his life every so often.

It’s not a “happily ever after” kind of ship for me.  Both Jonah and Rip have separate lives that they are very invested in.  I can’t imagine either character giving that up for each other.  And honestly, I wouldn’t want them too.  Likewise, I don’t imagine them being a monogamous pairing.  It just really isn’t feasible.

I imagine Jonah and Rip’s relationship would be very similar to, and this reference dates me like none other, Duncan MacLeod and Amanda’s relationship in the 90s tv show Highlander.  Jonah has a nice, fairly established, stable life that occasionally gets up-ended by the arrival of his chaotic and unpredictable ex, who always brings a new heap of trouble in his wake.