[X] [Alicent] A Night On the Town (Alicent May refuse. If she does, next most voted for option will be taken instead.)
Comedy hour option: Rhaenyra goes out on the town dressed as a boy with Alicent. Cross-dresses convincingly enough that Laenor, who hasn't actually seen Rhaenyra that many times and is also in town for some reason, mistakenly hits on her.
[] [Marriage] Speak to Viserys
Definitely a big figure in all this, but (EDIT) I think he may not be the best person either to give us advice or to tell us things we don't already know. The other figures here, I chose with that in mind.
[X] [Marriage] Speak to Alicent and Gwayne Hightower
Speaking to both of them at the same time,
candidly, about the terms of a marriage with Gwayne would be a big deal. A big part of why we'd even be doing it is for Alicent's sake, and Alicent may also reveal things about how she feels about our marriage in general.
[X] [Marriage] Speak to Alicent Hightower
This is a write-in I approve of, see above.
[X] [Marriage] Speak with Rhaenys Targaryen
I'm coming to share the interest in speaking with Rhaenys, an opportunity we keep missing.
[X] [Marriage] [Defiant] Write to Prince Qoren Martell
Honestly I just wanna hear what he has to say.
I do find it hilarious how asking Otto about marriage prospects is an option when his son is one of them. What do you think he will suggest?
I don't think it's just about "who should I marry," but also "let me clarify the situation by seeking other perspectives."
Rhae seems to favour Harwyn and is the one that would make her the most happy based on what we know...
I mean, that's kind of the problem, Rhaenyra thinks Harwin is hot and has a great personality, and of all the marriage candidates he's the one who has the greatest potential to actually win a place in Rhaenyra's heart equal to Alicent's.
But while Rhaenyra is down for that level of romantic polyamory, Alicent and Harwin may not be, and it's kind of a minefield. Whereas "the marriage is political and I just don't love him the way I love you" is a lot more likely to keep her happy in the relationship.
Frankly I think Harwin would be a much better choice if we
hadn't gone and done the rather predictable SV thing of specifically chasing after the lesbian option with Alicent. I'm fine that we did, it just makes the Harwin marriage option less straightforward and desirable.
If Rhaenyra were
actually just good friends with a little romantic subtext with Alicent, Gwayne probably wouldn't even be on the radar as a marriage option, but Harwin would be a great choice from the "happy love marriage" perspective.
Yes, in theory it is Viserys' decision in the end, but he has given us free hand, and I see no reason to doubt him there. So going to him might be a bit superfluous. And, as others have noted before, while he is forbearing, generous and well-intended, he is not the most astute political observer, and honestly, I even doubt his expertise in interpersonal matters, too.
Oooh, that's... frankly a good point. Viserys will have opinions and they may be respectable, but he's made some bad or questionable choices and he's not at all a master of intrigue.
They're enough of a problem that canon Rhaenyra just ate the reputation loss instead. Honestly, fucking off to Essos to secretly find a similar looking enough boy would probably be less stressful than trying with Laenor. It's not impossible, but it is undeniably a problem.
My working hypothesis is that Westeros never invented the turkey baster and isn't creative enough about bedroom shenanigans to think of something useful for this situation.
I am a ride or die canon black fanboy with a huge crush on Rhaenyra and even I can admit that canon Rhaenyra was stubborn and unwilling to bend. I do not think she even considered an option other than the "natural" way and if Laeonr was saying no then she was more than happy to find herself a willing donor
In fairness, canon Rhaenyra probably also had a "I just want to get laid, damnit" angle. She was a healthy young woman with, presumably, a normal libido whose husband would always, always be erotically interested in handsome squires and never really in her... AND she both wanted and politically speaking
needed to have children.
Taking on a male paramour solved two serious problems at once.
Thanks to Alicent, Rhaenyra has only
one of these two problems.
...
He's a dornish schemer. Best case he'll want a more intimate relationship than our romance with alicent allows, worst case he'll steal our throne.
...I don't understand. Steal the throne? With what, a crane?
In some ways he's
least likely of all the marriage choices to be seen as "the husband that Andal lords can talk to instead of the queen," so he can't realistically be hoping to run the Seven Kingdoms through Rhaenyra. He even expresses respect for Rhaenyra's strength and independence in this letter when he's never met her, which suggests that he's not planning it.
