#squirrelninja

(more squirrelninja. Contin. from before)  If he fathered Lanna at sixteen, he'd be 30 now, which seems a bit young to me. But let's say, for the sake of the argument, that Gerion is Lanna's father and Penny is actually Tyrion's; both of them would be legitimate kids, since their parents were married at conception, wouldn't they? Correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't that make them the only legitimate Lannister heirs apart from Lancel? Tywin would turn in his grave! :D

Well, Jeyne being the wrong age to be Arya is a plot point, not a plot hole.  The Boltons know she's not Arya, they just don't care.  And the other lords at the wedding feast either know and/or don't care and/or assume that a highborn 11-year-old is likely to have flowered, or again, don't care whether she has or not.

Aegon was born in 282, which (if Young Griff is the real thing) makes him a year older than Robb and Jon, and about two years older than Dany -- that is, about 18-19 years old in ADWD.  I don't see anything off in his depiction there. Unlike those three characters, he hasn't been forced to grow up early.

Ashara Dayne's child was probably born 9 months or less after the Tourney at Harrenhal, some time in 282.  That's ignoring all questions about the child's birth or possibility of being switched for another, and assuming Ser Barristan was correct in the story he recalled.

Gerion was Tywin's youngest brother, and almost certainly his youngest sibling. (Genna's three years younger than Tywin, so there's not enough room for 3 brothers in between them.) Lord Tytos died in 267 and had a mistress for some years before that, so Gerion has to be a minimum of 35 as of 300AL, though I'd assume closer to 40. (Just because he should be at least a few years older than Jaime-- though them being so close in age is a good reason for him being a favorite uncle.)  

But, again, Lanna (if she is Gerion's) was not necessarily conceived on his of-age trip -- that was just perhaps the first time Gerion visited Braavos. And I would think he would have visited Essos several times, if he considered himself expert enough to make such an expedition to the ruins of Valyria.

Regarding the Lannister heirs... you've forgotten Lancel's siblings (he had 3, one was murdered), and Tygett's son Tyrek. (Who's a Chekhov's gun -- GRRM wouldn't keep bringing him up to mention he's still missing if he really had died during the riot.)  And then there's Genna's kids, who may be Freys, but are also in line for Casterly Rock, and a bit more likely to win that then they are the Twins. And then there's the cousins, Daven Lannister and others... So no, I don't think Tywin would be that worried about Casterly Rock... though yes, he'd still be ticked. ;)

Thanks! I actually wonder sometimes if that age estimate is an accidental leftover of the five-year gap that never happened. But whether it is or isn't... I can only give my own experience here: when I was 12, I was frequently mistaken for older than 16 (and when I was 16 I was frequently mistaken for over 21).  And that's just me, there's lots of girls in the same situation.

Now, Penny is a dwarf, and that's another thing that may skew estimates of her appearance. And, y'know, there's no physical description of her in the books that contradicts my belief that Tyrion assumed incorrectly -- she has small breasts, that's it -- whereas the descriptions of her emotions and actions fit much more with an adolescent than an adult.

Regarding the Sailor's Wife -- Gerion visited Braavos at least once, possibly several times long before his doomed trip to the ruins of Valyria.  In ADWD Tyrion recalls wanting to take a of-age trip to the Nine Free Cities like his uncles did at 16, but his father refused him. I'll leave the relevant quote here:

“My brothers could be relied upon to bring no shame upon House Lannister,” his father had replied. “Neither ever wed a whore.”

If Gerion is indeed the lost husband of the Sailor's Wife, that's yet another example of the textual irony that GRRM is so very fond of. ("You Starks are hard to kill", lol.)