#like you said anon the proof of the strong bastards theory is literally the kids existing

[navree]

Everyone interprets Aemond looking at Alicent during Driftmark like the proof of Alicent spreading rumors, regardless of the fact that a) the boys existing is spreading the rumors in itself, B) it could very well be Aemond looking at his mother for comfort because he is scared(which is the way I interpret it) and c) Alicent herself states that she didn't bring it up again.

Like I don't know, if the Strong boys have brown her and no one in the family does, and the strong boys have dark eyes and no one in the family should have, then no one is going to be blind enough not to think "oh no, this children are not their fathers".

Like, no one spread the rumors. No one needed to. Stop blaming Alicent for people having eyes.

Anybody who wasn't Viserys looking for a scapegoat likely would have assumed the injured ten year old was looking at his mom because he was in pain and the king was pulling rank on him and no one was saying anything or even going to try and say anything except for his mom and later his brother. But noooooo it's sinister now because, idk, Viserys is a giant flaming asshole.

And even if he was looking at Alicent because he originally heard it from Alicent, so what?? People assume Alicent was gathering her kids in a room just to tell them "Rhaenyra's kids are bastards never forget that" once a day, when in all likelihood she made an offhand comment or complaint and kids, who are remarkably perceptive, happened to hear it because they were in earshot. And then they took one look at the incredibly pale, dark haired, dark eyed sons of two platinum blondes, one of whom is a woman who is making no secret of an affair one of whom is a black man as well being notoriously uninterested in women, and realized that two plus two equals four. Likely Alicent did say something, probably in frustration, we see her do it in episode 6, and the kids heard it and saw everything else about the Strongs and were able to piece the rest together themselves because, like Aegon said, everyone knows, all you need to do is see them. But it seems people jump to Alicent deliberately spreading baseless propaganda and telling her children to make sure to repeat it, which makes no sense based on what we saw literally an episode ago.

And also you know, one of Harwin's last moments at court was very publicly wailing on a member of the elite Kingsguard for even hinting that these kids might be his sons, including in front of Aegon and Aemond, it's not that hard to figure out.