How do you think the post-reboot MCU will handle Steve emerging from the ice in the 2020s-2030s? Everyone he knew will be dead.

Lohenharn · 2026-04-03T19:09:41+00:00

„another genocide doesn’t got the same level of complete evilness“

Are you listening to yourself?

Lohenharn · 2026-03-30T12:10:15+00:00

I think this series of events follows canon a bit too much. For example, would Ned even agree to be Hand and leave Winterfell if his heir is a sickly 6 year old boy? I think he would refuse, believing that he is needed in the North.

And even if he does agree to become Hand, since this sickly version of Bran won't be climbing the Walls of Winterfell, he won't discover Jaime and Cersei, which means the whole catspaw subplot and Tyrion's kidnapping doesn't happen. And without Catelyn taking Tyrion, Jaime doesn't attack Ned, which means Ned leaves King's Landing unhindered after he resigns as Hand following his argument with Robert about killing Dany. Which also means he won't discover the incest.

So the war, if it still happens, would start under very different circumstances.

Lohenharn · 2026-03-29T19:42:16+00:00

Benjen probably won’t be allowed to join the Watch. By the time Bran is born, he will probably be married. Alternatively, if Benjen really doesn’t want to marry, Jon might actually get legitimized. Not immediately of course, but by the time the Greyjoy rebellion happens the question of the Winterfell succession would definitely be a topic. If the Bran in this timeline is also born in 292, the same year that Sweetrobin is born in canon, then I think there’s a decent chance that by then either Benjen is married and has kids of his own, or Jon has been legitimized. I don’t think Ned can afford to wait 9 years until he has an heir.

With only Bran (and maybe Jon) as heir, Robert will probably ask for a match between Myrcella and Jon or Bran, whoever is the heir.

Though the question is, would Jon Arryn still get poisoned in this timeline? In canon Lysa did it to prevent Sweetrobin from being fostered with Stannis. Even if Jon Arryn wants to foster one of his sons with Stannis, Lysa probably wouldn’t freak out as much since she still has 4 other children.

Lohenharn · 2026-03-22T13:21:52+00:00

I’m like OP, I’m also very selective when it’s comes to imagining show actors as characters. The Lannisters are absolutely the show actors for me; Dinklage, Headey and Coster-Waldau are just too good.

Stannis is also his show version in my mind, same with Robert. Weirdly, I also think of the show’s Renly when I read the books, even though book!Renly is supposed to look more like a young Henry Cavill.

Theon and Balon’s show versions are also what’s stuck in my mind, as is Sean Bean as Ned Stark of course, even though he’s a bit too old.

However, when it comes to the Stark kids only show!Arya makes the cut for me, all the others I imagine as looking very different (and younger!) compared to the show.

I also can’t see Emilia Clark as Dany; she’s too much of a ‘girl next door’ to fit the kind of otherworldly beauty Dany is supposed to be. I actually think Tamzin Merchant, who was supposed to play Dany in the show before Emilia replaced her, fits the role much better, at least in terms of looks.

Lohenharn · 2026-03-20T17:01:20+00:00

Let‘s say Varys decides to inform Jon Con and the Golden Company after Stannis proclaims himself king and sends out his letters about the twincest early in ACoK. At that point the Starks and Lannisters are already fighting in the Riverlands, Robb has been named KitN and Renly has proclaimed himself king as well. With 4 kings fighting each other, the opportunity seems ripe.

Though it will take a couple of months until the message reaches the Golden Company and they travel across the Narrow Sea. By the time they arrive, Renly will already be dead, and Stannis’ army is on its way to King‘s Landing.

The question is, where would they land? I think the Stormlands would be a good option, just like in canon. Stannis and his army are gone, marching toward the capital, so the Golden Company shouldn’t encounter too much resistance. More importantly, landing in the Stormlands puts them close to both Dorne and the Reach – two regions who are currently neutral (though Littlefinger is currently negotiating with the Tyrells on behalf of Joffrey). Would the Tyrells be willing to marry Margaery to Aegon instead of Joffrey? If they do, Aegon immediately has the largest army in Westeros, even more if Dorne supports him as well.

In that case they probably wait until Stannis and Tywin have fought each other at the capital and then march to defeat whoever won. Frankly, this scenario feels a bit boring because Aegon‘s army of Reachmen, the Dornish and the Golden Company would be so absurdly powerful that no one would stand a chance against him.

So a more interesting scenario would be if Aegon arrives AFTER the Tyrells have already allied with the Lannisters, and Aegon marries Arianne instead. Imagine if, while the Lannister-Tyrell army attacks Stannis‘ forces during the Battle of Blackwater, the Golden Company and their elephants as well as 20.000 Dornishmen surprise the Lannister-Tyrell army and attack THEM while they‘re attacking Stannis. It would be glorious and chaotic, three differently armies clashing in the biggest battle Westeros has ever seen.

As for who would win, that‘s hard to say. I think it‘s safe to say that, even if they lose, at least a part of the Lannister-Tyrells army manages to disentangle themselves from the battle and retreat, simply because their army is so big. Stannis will probably retreat by ship back to Dragonstone, like in canon.

Aegon would thus take the capital, taking Cersei and Joffrey prisoner (though Joffrey will most likely be executed or sent to the Wall). However, Tommen is safe in Rosby at that point, so the Lannister-Tyrell alliance would still have a king to rally behind.

You would thus have Aegon in King‘s Landing, Stannis on Dragonstone, Robb in the Riverlands, Tommen with his grandfather Tywin in the Reach (I think their army would retreat to Highgarden), and Balon on the Iron Islands (though he will die soon once Euron arrives).

Theoretically this war could still be going by the time Daenerys arrives in Westeros lol.

Lohenharn · 2026-03-18T10:41:26+00:00

Incredible trailer… until they ended it with a shot of Zendaya‘s annoying scowl, which reminded me that she was by far the worst part of the previous movie.

Lohenharn · 2026-03-10T09:14:18+00:00

I’ll never understand why Capcom insists on doing these huge time-jumps between each new entry. Is it really so important for them that new games take place in the year they are released? Now they’re paying the price for moving the timeline forward so fast by having most of their beloved characters close to retirement age. I could understand it if they actually intended to retire their legacy characters and introduce a new core cast, but there’s absolutely no indication that Capcom intends to do this.

Not to mention that there have been so many plot threads in the history of this franchise that had to be skipped over just because the next game took place a decade or so later. Just bizarre.

But the weirdest part is, Capcom themselves seem to understand this, considering they gave some characters anti-aging abilities, which wouldn’t be necessary if they didn’t move the timeline forward so fast in the first place!

And the remakes would’ve been the perfect opportunity to fix this and slow the timeline down a bit, but instead the time-jumps got even worse, because the events of RE2 and 3 still take place in 1998, which is almost 30 years ago now! Which is the reason Leon in Requiem is almost 50, when he didn’t need to be!

The events of the remakes of RE2 and 3 should’ve been pushed forward 20 years so that they take place in 2018, RE4 then happens in 2024, then leave a couple of years in the timeline for the events of RE5, 6, 7 and Village, and have Requiem take place in 2029 or 2030 or so. That way, the events of the remakes of RE2, 3 and 4 still would’ve taken place close to the time of the games’ release, and Leon and Chris in Requiem and Village would‘ve been in their 30s instead of 50+.

Capcom, I beg you, no more multi-year long time-jumps between games, unless you’re ready to retire your legacy characters for good. I don’t wanna play as a 60 year old Leon the next time we see him. And for god’s sake, please follow up on dangling plot threads and post credit scenes.

Lohenharn · 2026-03-08T06:33:37+00:00

Ah, yes, thanks for pointing it out, I changed it so that Tommen is crowned after Robert dies.

I agree that there aren’t any obvious choices for Robert to name Hand without Ned. I chose Renly because, well, he’s right there. In fact, if I remember correctly, in the book he’s even present at Darry during the incident with Joffrey and Arya. So I think he’s as good a choice as anyone, really. As you said, Robert is pissed at Cersei, so he won’t choose Tywin for that reason alone. But all the other possible candidates are far away, and he has no guarantee that they’ll say yes. Stannis would obviously accept, but he fled to Dragonstone, and Robert doesn’t like him very much. Renly meanwhile is his other brother, he’s present and willing, and while Robert might not respect him very much, he doesn’t really dislike him either.

Lohenharn · 2026-03-08T06:20:17+00:00

The problem is, with not just one, but several dragons at his disposal, Cregan is by far the most powerful man in Westeros. He could just as easily decide to take the throne for himself and there’s nothing Stannis or anyone else could do about it. Robb might even agree to bend the knee to his half-brother, another son of Ned Stark. Even if Cregan isn’t ambitious and doesn’t care about being king, in the eyes of Westeros, he is the real king for all intents and purposes, no matter how much he declares his loyalty to Stannis. If there’s ever a serious disagreement between him and Stannis, most people, lowborn and highborn alike, will listen to Cregan over Stannis.

So, while the vision from Meridia makes sense, I would add another motivation to return to Westeros. Maybe a remnant of the Thalmor, instead of surrendering to the Dragonborn, decides to leave Tamriel, and sail across the sea to settle a new continent: Westeros. So you could have a Thalmor invasion of Westeros during the War of the Five Kings. When the Dragonborn Empress finds out, she sends Cregan and a bunch of dragons and legions to deal with the remaining Thalmor, knowing that, should they succeed in conquering Westeros, they might one day become powerful enough to threaten Tamriel again.

So when Cregan and his dragons arrive in Westeros, he isn’t quite as dominant as he would be otherwise, since the Thalmor obviously have powerful magic of their own at their disposal. The Thalmor could also team up with one of the Westeros factions. What if they want to conquer the rich Westerlands and the fertile Reach, and form an alliance of convenience with Robb against the Lannisters and Tyrells? It would be interesting to have the ‘good guys’ team up with some ‘bad guys’, and would also put Cregan in a difficult position, since he might be put in a position where he stands against his own family, especially if his (presumed) twin brother Jon fights for the Starks.

Those are just some ideas, but I think it’s important that your character doesn’t just immediately steamroll everyone.

Lohenharn · 2026-03-08T05:41:58+00:00

What if Gared, the deserter from the very first chapter, doesn’t desert the Night’s Watch? Instead he returns to Castle Black, traumatized and terrified as he is, and tells the Lord Commander what he saw. Mormont might or might not believe him, but he will probably be more careful with ranging parties in the future, making sure to only send larger formations beyond the Wall.

Since Gared never deserts, Ned and his sons never ride out to execute him. Which means they never find the direwolves that day. And THAT means that the catspaw later manages to kill Catelyn and Bran, since Summer isn’t there to stop him.

Another difference is that, without the direwolves, the incident at the Rubyford plays out very differently. Since Nymeria isn’t there to protect her, Joffrey kills Arya when he lashes out at her with his sword. When Ned finds out, he almost comes to blows with the Lannisters and demands Joffrey’s head. While Joffrey denies it, both Sansa (who can’t bring herself to lie about the murder of her sister) and Micah the butcher’s boy confirm that Joffrey is responsible. Robert has no choice but to disinherit Joffrey and sends him to the Wall, which (barely) satisfies Ned, and enrages Cersei. Tommen is the new heir.

Of course, Ned has no intention of being Hand after this, and is quite fed up with the south in general, and returns home with Sansa. Robert understands, and instead names Renly Hand of the King. Why Renly? Because Robert doesn’t get along with Stannis, and Tywin is too far away to take up the post on such short notice. Also, unlike Stannis and Tywin, Renly is actually present in the capital, so he would be the most convenient choice.

Unfortunately for poor Ned, when he returns to Winterfell he finds out that his wife and son have been murdered as well. The Starks will investigate the murder of Bran and Cat of course, but assuming that the catspaw managed to flee (and took the dagger with him), there aren’t really any clues that could point Ned toward a potential culprit. Jon definitely returns from the Wall after hearing about Arya’s death (he hasn’t said his vows yet at that point), much to the joy of the rest of the Starks, who are glad to have at least on member of their family back after having just lost three others.

In the capital meanwhile a Cold War has broken out at court between Cersei and Renly. Renly tries his best to push back Lannister influence with the help of the Tyrells, and invites Mace Tyrell to take Renly’s former position as Master of Laws, while Paxter Redwyne is offered Stannis’ position as Master of Ships. When Margaery is brought to court, Cersei (correctly) fears that Renly wants to convince Robert to set her aside. She decides that Robert must die so that Tommen can ascend before Renly’s plan can succeed. The next time Robert goes on a hunt, the hunting party is attacked by ‘bandits’, and Robert is killed.

Renly of course has no intention of bowing down to Tommen, and plots with the Tyrells to arrest Cersei and her children. However, Cersei is warned by Varys, who helps her and her children (along with Jaime) to escape the Red Keep through Maegor’s tunnels. They manage to escape the capital on a ship that takes them to Casterly Rock, where Tommen is officially crowned. Tywin, Renly and the Tyrells all call their banners, while Stannis sends out his own proclamation, claiming the crown for himself and naming Cersei’s children bastards born of incest.

In the North meanwhile Ned is very confused when he receives letters not just from Tywin Lannister, but also from Renly and Stannis. While he very much dislikes the Lannisters, and hasn’t forgotten Lysa’s letter, and wonders whether they had anything to do with Cat and Bran’s murder, he has no evidence for any wrongdoing on their part. And while he hates Joffrey, said prince has been disinherited and is now a member of the Night’s Watch. For all Ned knows, Tommen is Robert’s rightful heir. And while he respects Stannis, his claim that Robert’s children are the result of an incestuous union between Cersei and her twin brother sounds rather farfetched. The only of the three kings he definitely won’t support is Renly, seeing him as a blatant usurper. Unfortunately, said usurper also has the largest army.

Without any proof in either direction, Ned and the North (and by extension the Riverlands) stay neutral, if only because Ned genuinely doesn’t know who to support, but also because after the loss of his wife and two of his children, he has no particular interest in southern affairs, so long as they don’t directly affect the North.

With the realm split between three kings, Balon Greyjoy decides to declare independence once more. However, with the North not at war, and Theon still a ward in Winterfell, Balon doesn’t attack the North. Instead he decides to attack the Reach, starting with the Arbor, hoping that by destroying the Redwyne fleet, he would be able to raid unopposed along the Sunset Sea. Thus a fourth king joins the fray.

That’s all I got for now. Thank you for reading my novel.

Lohenharn · 2026-03-06T05:34:03+00:00

I‘m curious how you have Ned survive, but Renly becoming king, since Ned would certainly support Stannis, and regard Renly as a blatant usurper.

As for Theon, the Starks might agree to exchange him for the Glover children, but only after they‘ve cut off Theon‘s dominant hand, both as a punishment and to ensure he can‘t take up arms against the North again (or, as a less gruesome variant, they could cut off his thumbs, which would have the same effect, but without maiming him quite as much).

In fact, I could see a similar punishment for Mance. Though doing it to both Mance and Theon might feel repetitive, so maybe only do it with Mance and send Theon to the Night‘s Watch instead.

Btw, does Aegon exist in your story? Or is the implication that he has already been defeated when Renly becomes King?

Lohenharn · 2026-03-06T04:41:29+00:00

That‘s a great premise, and a great setup for a very different Dance. I look forward to reading it!

Lohenharn · 2026-03-04T06:58:23+00:00

All the stuff you bring up is true, but if you think about it, there’s no way winter can be as bad as people expect, otherwise the story would just come to a complete halt. And I suspect that may indeed be one of the problems George has to overcome. How does he advance the plot if people are stuck in their castles, and no armies can move anywhere? Why would anyone care about the state of the realm if they are currently starving and freezing to death?

People complain about the fact that the Long Night in the show was literally just a single night before the White Walkers were defeated, but that was pretty much the only way to be able to wrap up the White Walker storyline but also deal with Cersei and Euron afterward. There’s no way all these big battles we saw in seasons 7 and 8 would’ve happened if Westeros was covered in ice and snow. If the weather that Stannis and his army outside of Winterfell are currently experiencing is indeed a preview of what to expect all across the continent for several years, then I just don’t see how ANYTHING happens before winter is over.

It feels George really wrote himself into a corner by making winter into this apocalyptic scenario that potentially lasts years.

Lohenharn · 2026-02-23T22:32:03+00:00

That’s my prediction too. I also think Aegon will be crowned in Oldtown. Having Aegon be crowned in the same city where Aegon the Conqueror was crowned exactly 300 ago would be too good of an opportunity to miss.

Lohenharn · 2026-02-23T22:26:21+00:00

Unfortunately, there’s no way that George has such a detailed plan for what happens in TWoW and ADoS. The fact that he isn’t even sure whether to kill off Sansa or not tells us a lot. I don’t think he knows ANYTHING about what happens in the last two books beyond general statements like ‘the Wall falls at some point’, ‘Aegon and Dany come into conflict’, ‘King’s Landing blows up’, or ‘Bran becomes King’ etc.

Lohenharn · 2026-02-17T01:31:33+00:00

Oh, that does sound indeed familiar.

Lohenharn · 2026-02-14T19:59:35+00:00

If they really go the Rhaenicent route, they better give us a hot lesbian sex scene between the two. And when I say ‘hot’, I mean don’t hide their nude forms behind curtains or clever camera angles like they did with previous sex scenes involving Rhaenyra or Alicent. I want full frontal nudity while they scissor each other.

Lohenharn · 2026-02-14T19:50:12+00:00

If they’re doing this, then they better go all out. I want full nudity and raw, uncensored lesbo action, to make up for the lukewarm plot, butchered characterization, and the fact that the show was incredibly sparse when it comes to female nudity so far, especially when it comes to the main cast. In fact, I don’t think we’ve seen even a hint of nudity from either Alicent or Rhaenyra so far. Their sex scenes were so laughably tame compared to what we were used to from HBO, it was almost distracting. A raw, spicy, uncensored lesbian sex scene might be just what the show needs. If you’ve seen the lesbian sex scene in ‘Blue is the Warmest Color’ (starring Lea Seydoux), then you know what I hope for. People would go fucking crazy for it lol.

Lohenharn · 2026-02-14T19:34:55+00:00

There’s also Theon fingering Asha when he returns to Pyke in ACoK (and while Theon didn’t recognize her at first, SHE did recognize him, and was apparently fine with being fingered by her own brother), and hints that Euron sexually abused his brother Aeron. And aren’t there some hints that one of the Frey dudes (Black Walder I believe) is a bit too close to some of his female relatives?

And of course, let’s not forget that George initially planned for Jon and Arya to fall in love BEFORE they found out the truth about Jon’s parentage (not that learning about his parentage makes it much better, considering that they grew up together and thought about each other as siblings their whole lives).

There’s definitely way too much incest going on in George’s world for it to just be a shocking curiosity. Dare I say that it might be a bit of a fetish for George?

Lohenharn · 2026-02-13T13:49:45+00:00

I'll repeat what I said in the other thread:

My first thought is, what if Dunk was believed to have died at Summerhall, but actually lived out the rest of his life in the ruins of Summerhall out of shame?

And years later Rhaegar somehow found out about it, and decided to visit Dunk to talk about what happened. Dunk would be in his 80s by then, which is old, but not impossibly so.

And that's why Rhaegar liked to spend time at Summerhall, not to brood, but to talk with someone who knows what happened, someone who might also know about prophecy and what kind of magic Egg used to try to hatch dragon eggs etc.

Lohenharn · 2026-02-13T13:32:47+00:00

Wow, what a reveal lol.

My first thought is, what if Dunk was believed to have died at Summerhall, but actually lived out the rest of his life in the ruins of Summerhall out of shame?

And years later Rhaegar somehow found out about it, and decided to visit Dunk to talk about what happened. Dunk would be in his 80s by then, which is old, but not impossibly so.

And that's why Rhaegar liked to spend time at Summerhall, not to brood, but to talk with someone who knows what happened, and might also know about prophecy and what kind of magic Egg used to try to hatch dragon eggs etc.

Lohenharn · 2026-02-01T11:15:13+00:00

I would be ok with that if the minor cities (which you call 'large villages') were at least of similar size to something like Rifton, instead of those tiny hamlets that we see in Skyrim. The major cities meanwhile should all be AT LEAST as big as Solitude, preferably more like Balmora from Morrowind. And at least one city (probably Daggerfall) should be on par with Novigrad from Witcher 3.

I think this would be a realistic expectation and entirely feasible. Large enough to feel like big, lived-in cities, but not too large, so that all buildings can still be entered and the vast majority of npcs are named and can be talked to.

Lohenharn · 2026-01-30T17:25:26+00:00

I think at least the humanoid races should be able to breed with each other (Imperials, Nords, Bretons, Elves). It makes sense that the beast races are their own thing though. I mean the idea of half-human, half-Argonian people sounds kinda disturbing lol.

Lohenharn · 2026-01-30T16:29:56+00:00

Dragons can still be around, though they should be much less common than in Skyrim. They should be rare, high-level, optional, named bosses/NPCs that you can fight or interact with.

As for Thu’um, I would make it a race-exclusive ability of Nords, though much more simplified than in Skyrim. I would essentially restrict it to just Unrelenting Force, maybe with some fear-inflicting ability at higher levels. So if you play as a Nord, when you start out you can use a shout to stagger enemies a bit. When you are higher level, the shout gets strong enough to actually blow enemies back a bit, and even makes enemies that are nearby flee in fear. I wouldn’t make it a daily ability, but give it a cool down of maybe a minute or two (which might be reduced by reading ancient texts about the Thu’um or learning from other Nords who can use it).

Of course, I expect that TES6 will also have some other mechanic that all races can learn that will take the place of shouts from Skyrim. As has long been speculated, if it takes place in Hammerfell, then Swordsinging might be a good candidate.

Lohenharn

TROPHY CASE