Quick introduction, this series came from a post on the blog @dragonstemper about how Rhaegar would act when angry and jealous, since I have a lot of thought about this I decided to do a series of post with my headcanons about Rhaegar and his demeanour. I love doing character studies, and I decided to do this for the dragon prince. So let's start…
Concerning attraction, Rhaegar is a very introverted man , that doesn't mean he isn’t a kind and awesome individual. He may appear distant and sound like he probably doesn’t want to talk to anyone even when people are close to him, but the truth is sometimes that actually he does want to talk or be friendly but is just really busy overthinking it until he loses the opportunity. It isn’t the easiest process for Rhaegar to open up to someone. The prince does struggle with his feelings opening up and in affectionate relationships, but that doesn’t mean he isn't incapable of this or that he doesn’t want a little romance in his life, he wants something true and meaningful that is serious.
Rhaegar has his own way of giving and receiving love, he has special needs and boundaries. For Rhaegar flirting and dating can be a sometimes unnerving process, since he doesn’t like expectations of it. Rhaegar learned to be charming, but his true nature when flirting, he can sometimes feel a bit awkward when he is truly interested and allured by a person. When he is truly trying to flirt with someone, he doesn’t feel at ease, yet that doesn’t mean he is necessarily bad at it, on the contrary, actually. From a young age, he had to learn to use his other expertise in order to help him understand his affections towards anyone.
When flirting, Rhaegar often tries to be more playful towards the person he loves, even a bit of teasing. The teasing is usually sweet, and he has very good abilities to read others' boundaries. Rhaegar is very mature, and is a very witty and playful flirt. However, Rhaegar doesn’t usually feel a great desire to flirt with others, often avoiding it, unless he really likes someone and wants them to know this. Rhaegar takes his interests in other people very seriously, since him being attracted to someone, doesn't happen often. He usually doesn't make the first move, needing the other person to get to him. Not obvious advances, but Rhaegar does need some sort of signal that the other person had interest. When Rhaegar recognizes this, he can often try his best to start flirting back, using a bit of humour and playfulness as a means of keeping the interest known and showing he likes the other person as well.
Yet simply pegging Rhaegar as a naturally awkward flirt isn’t fully accurate and depends on the situation, or person he is flirting with. The idea of flirting can make Rhaegar deeply anxious, still that doesn’t make him completely frightened by it. The thing is that he just doesn’t like doing anything which feels forced, and so sometimes his intelligence and looks can be what he hopes draws someone in. Being witty, and challenging the other individual a bit, is often the way he shows his liking of the other person.
When it comes to the types of people he is attracted to, he is looking for a partner who is willing to grow. They want a partner capable of experiencing new things, he is often attracted to people who are very passionate, this type of excitement for things in life is inspiring for Rhaegar. He is deeply allured to someone eager to live their lives to the fullest, with an intelligent approach to their goals. Rhaegar is attracted to individuals who are outgoing and fun, in part because he isn't naturally outgoing and extraverted. It feels intimidating to him at first, but Rhaegar comes to find that he is drawn to people who are different from them, and who have a way of being charming, commanding, rebellious and adventurous.
Rhaegar doesn’t usually become all that intrigued by people who bore him, but he is very polite. The dragon prince is allured by one who challenges him, who has a unique approach to life, and is exciting. He is enchanted by an individual who confuses him, someone who isn’t what he expects. One of the most important qualities for Rhaegar when it comes to serious relationships, is someone who is honest and completely accepts him for what he is in his nature. He looks for someone, he can be himself around without feeling judged or constantly misunderstanding ( cause since his childhood he has had a lot of self-doubt ), even if he looks the way he does and is intelligent in the way he is. Rhaegar often feels misunderstood by people around, feeling that the people around him hate him or love him only for what they think they know about him. Of course, he doesn’t want to experience this with his romantic partner. Having someone who cares to understand and listen to him without judging, is truly meaningful for him.
Summarizing: For him dating and casual relationships are purely an experiment, something he doesn’t find a happy fulfilling sentiment in .
𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓'𝐒 𝐑𝐇𝐀𝐄𝐆𝐀𝐑 𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐍 𝐅𝐋𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐀𝐓𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒, 𝐁𝐔𝐓 𝐑𝐇𝐀𝐄𝐆𝐀𝐑 𝐈𝐒 𝐀 𝐁𝐈𝐓 𝐃𝐈𝐅𝐅𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐓 𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐍 𝐇𝐄 𝐈𝐒 𝐈𝐍 𝐀 𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐌𝐈𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐃 𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐏
Partaking in casual dating is something Rhaegar does just to experience this side of life and understand it more, very much like a scientific experience, something like an empirical process to understand it. This doesn’t mean he feels any type of reward or fulfillment from it. There are times when Rhaegar dives into casual dating just because he wants to see himself in different ways, but usually for his casual dating feels more exhausting than anything else.
Having to go out on dates gives him a deep feeling of not searching for something meaningful, feeling like a waste of time and energy. Rhaegar is very in tune with his feelings, yet he might not even realize why he feels so unfulfilled by these experiences, trying his best to make it work. Ultimately, Rhaegar doesn’t feel well when wasting time on interactions that won't yield something real and lasting.
To Rhaegar, when it comes to relationships, he sometimes has a hard time expressing himself, choosing to do it in ways other than plainly speaking, he chooses to do it with poems and music. He might sometimes be seen as someone who is indifferent and doesn’t want romance, but that isn’t true at all, since Rhaegar does truly crave a romantic connection. Rhaegar feels he ain't the best at communicating or finding the right words to fully express his inner emotions. For him, this is often the greatest struggle in a relationship, since he actually does care deeply for the people he has close to him ( since his childhood, he had to pull his stronger emotions into his chest so as not to cause any problems).
That isn’t to say that the dragon princess doesn't possess a romantic side to him, in all honesty Rhaegar is a hopeless romantic rather just deciding to keep it inside but might not find it easy to express it. He has a deeply caring nature, especially with his partner, and has an extensive desire to make his partner feel special. He feels that solving their problems might be the best way. Rhaegar is plagued by thinking about the person he loves, it's what tells him that he truly cares for an individual and is happy with them. When he's connected to someone in the deepest of ways, Rhaegar may not express it verbally or with public displays of affection, but he truly wants to be there for that person he loves in any way possible.
Rhaegar finds that his love language , wanting to be physically close to his love, the dragon prince sees it as the perfect way to express his feelings without using words. Just being able to sit in silence, cuddled up with the one that he loves, means the world to him. On the other hand, Rhaegar does enjoy hearing words of affirmation, but he will also struggle with accepting those most of the time. Because of this, physical touch summarizes a perfect way for them to feel appreciated. Though second hand, acts of service are also an important love language for the dragon prince. Rhaegar has a rather romantic heart, wanting to be capable of connecting and finding someone he can really share himself with completely. Most of the time, what is inside his heart is far deeper and more complex than people realize.
In a relationship, especially the more committed ones, Rhaegar is often very supportive and great at finding ways to improve his love's well-being. He shows his care by accepting the other person and sharing his time with them. Spending quality time with someone is a huge way most Rhaegar shows his affection, since otherwise he would prefer to be alone. Wanting to have this person near him, even if his mind is focusing on something else, is actually really important for Rhaegar.
Summarizing: He might not seem into it, and seems like he doesn’t feel much, but he feels as strongly as anyone, seeing that he is a hopeless romantic.
His feelings are strong and sometimes take a toll on him, at first he might ignore the person in order to avoid dealing with the butterflies in his stomach. Since he is a more mature person, he tends to get a little talkative with the person he is attracted to, especially when the topic is something in Rhaegar's line of interest or is an expert at.
He can be unsure of the things to say, not to the point of stuttering when caught off guard by being surprised when confronted by the destruction of a status quo. Something that will happen is that he finds himself talking alone and daydreaming.
So what do you guys think of it @rhaelyas @dragonstemper @aerltarg @vivacissimx @intheairwewilllookmonstrous @imaginaryvane @valaenarhaegarovna @rhaegar-and-lyanna @rhaegarxlyanna @lorelei-4 @rhaelyanna