#swan mills fam hcs

[ouatsqincorrect]

Hi, I really love reading your different hcs about the charming-swan-mills-stiltskin fam! So I'm not sure if you've been asked this previously but I'm wondering what headcanons you have about Regina's childhood. I feel like Cora definitely did a number on her a kid, no doubt.

oh absolutely—whether or not it was because she didn’t have her heart or because she was just genuinely a bad person, cora hurt regina big time during those formative years

there were a few moments where regina saw bits and pieces of a cora who could have loved her, but the older she got, the more cora harped on her and the harder things became

because cora wanted her to be queen and would stop at nothing to get there (i mean, she literally forced her daughter to marry a man three times her age just so she could be higher up in the royal chain and live vicariously through regina)

regina was subjected to a lot of royal training as a kid and anything cora considered “childish” was strictly forbidden

she did attend balls sometimes—after all, her family was royalty—and cora would tell her that at these events, she was to be seen and not heard

which is why she doesn’t know how to dance until david teaches her in camelot. cora thought she looked “too ridiculous” dancing and forbade it

she'd gaslight regina quite a bit too. when regina would complain about something (whether it was "my head hurts" or "i'm cold"), cora would tell her she was just being dramatic

which is partly why it takes so long for regina to truly accept that her brain is the way it is because of everything she's been through

a lot of that self hate regina carries with her comes from cora too. many of the things she hates most about herself came from cora’s consistent belittling

also have to mention her father because even though henry sr. was a bit of coward, he was still regina's biggest supporter throughout this time in her life

although he never put a stop to cora's abuse, he would try to comfort regina when he could (he'd sing her a lullaby or sneak in sweet treats cora wouldn't let her have)

[swanqueensalad]

salad your reblogs are making me so sad. how do you think regina talks with emma and henry about daniel? since he’s such an important part of her life and i’m sure she still loves him a lot. (and i love the way you’re handling the topic in after the end even though i need to catch up on the last few chapters)

awww man

here's something i could cry about for hours

i think it's clear regina doesn't really talk about daniel. it's very difficult for her, but he very much lives in her heart and her memory and i 100% agree, she still has this infinite source of love for him

i also do think it's interesting that emma is one of the very few people in canon that regina has actually spoken about daniel to - in fact she's the only person who wasn't there/involved (like snow and cora) that she can speak about him to. having emma witness his death through her memory in the dream catcher was huge (and there's that amazing deleted scene from 5b where emma gently suggests regina go and find daniel's grave)

it just goes to show how regina truly trusts emma with every bit of her heart and her hurt

so emma has always been aware of what happened and very respectful of that, and the subject only comes up when necessary/at regina's control

once emma and regina are finally together and more settled, regina feels safe and happy enough in their quiet moments at home to more casually bring him up in a more positive light - when horse riding comes up or something else that reminds her of him - and it's a little easier, if bittersweet

i think henry is very curious about this man who gave him his middle name and started his mom's journey, but again he wouldn't ask unless regina brought it up because he knows it's still painful.

one night the three of them are having a cosy family night, maybe playing games or watching movies together, maybe emma and regina have had a glass of wine, and daniel comes up somehow and henry asks what he was like. and regina gets talking and tells him - a slightly watered down version - of the whole story.

(henry knows she's softening it a little for his sake and he loves her for that)

emma watches and listens quietly. it hurts her to think of how much pain regina went through when she was young, but she loves hearing her talk about the nice parts. emma has this deep-down respect and love for this boy she never met, for loving regina before she could, for giving her her first taste of joy and freedom. (she is silently grateful to him, and hopes she's making him proud too, carrying on what he started.)

that night, after henry's gone to bed, emma asks if regina's ok and she says she actually is, that it was strangely nice to talk about it. emma promises she will always be there to listen, and confesses that she feels this slight connection to him. (this makes regina tear up, even if she pretends it's just allergies. she cuddles emma pretty tight that night)

he still doesn't come up often, but when he does it's sweet, and henry and emma really appreciate it.

(also thank you bestie! all my feelings about stable queen in canon are kind of being adapted and expressed to a lil extent in after the end, so i'm really glad you're appreciating that!)