I’m still not sold on the Helaemond idea personally, but if it’s what the show is edging towards (and I’m not convinced it is based on one conversation between Aegon and Aemond that was more about doing your duty anyway) then I would prefer this variant than one where Aegon is cucked right from the start.
Helaemond shippers mostly keep it to themselves and are not as annoying as other shippers by a mile so live and let live, but seriously they should stop this secret father nonsense.
Helaemond fans aren't fans of Aegon because the show made him a rapist, so they want him out of the equation for Helaena's sake. They don't care about Aegon. It is what it is.
Alysmond probably won't be some epic love story anyway, it in fact has much more eww aspects than Helaemond which is, although not popular here, the ship I'm actually starting to like more and more.
I do love Helaemond fanfic though. Yes, yes, incest gross. But Helaena’s marriage was always going to stay in the family, being the only available female Targaryen and a dragon rider, so there’s no way around it.
I love Helaemond, it has so many of my favorite tropes all wrapped up into one ship and I think they look beautiful together.
2024 June 11, Meghan O'Keefe, “'House of the Dragon' stars Ewan Mitchell and Phia Saban played into fan theories in season 2: 'Do it for Helaemond'”, in Decider[10]:
“I’ve seen them all, for sure,” Phia Saban said. “I mean, sometimes Ewan [and I] will be doing a scene and we’ll be like, ‘Do it for Helaemond.’ And he’s like, ‘You know what the people want.'”
2024 July 9, Kelcie Mattson, “Will Aemond Be the Father of Helaena's Third Child in 'House of the Dragon'?”, in Collider[11]:
In the pair's exclusive conversation with Collider, Saban said that a Helaemond relationship "[isn't] completely out of the question," and both actors agreed the siblings are "closer" to one another than their other siblings.
