Hi there, I'm trying to write a fanfic, and it includes some Regina/Henry bonding moments, but I'm not familiar with her as a mother, I'm primarily a writer of Rumbelle, and not used to Regina at all, but her being a mother is especially hard. any help/ tips you have would be most welcome, or failing that, if you could direct me to someone who could, that would be brilliant. Thanks, and sorry for bothering you!
First off, I would like to thank you for being my first anon!
Secondly, I would be glad to help you!
Let's look at Regina's parents, and her as a parent, see what she's all about there.
1. Cora: Queen of Hearts, Including mine, Regina's Mother, and the heartless, extremely intelligent villain, I'll do a bit more on her at some other point, I've got to, I just have to, but for now, let's look at her as Regina's mother specifically.
First, her when Regina is born
Look at her as she looks down, unblinkingly at Regina. Do you see any love, caring, anything for her daughter in her eyes, because I don't. No, Cora was cruel and uncaring, which appeared while parenting Regina, that's how this happened
Then, this happened, giving Regina a bit of a messed up view of love
I don't think the fact that Regina's true love was on the ground, dead made Regina much stronger against her mother's... interesting view on love. I could go on forever about those two, I really could, but I'm going to stop now, so we can get this thing done.
2. Henry Mills Senior: Regina's father, and the person she loved most.
He was silent while Cora was magically controlling her daughter, and was quite weak, a coward, and it showed in his parenting.
For example, instead of stopping Cora, he stays silent, and watches while Cora is while Cora, ruthless and uncaring with Regina.
Then, again, we see him not taking charge in Cricket game, again being weak.
This gives me two thoughts.
1. He might have been on the receiving end of Cora's magic at some point, or was already to cowardly before hand.
2. Regina's view on parenting must be so screwed up.
I say this because she has a parent who does absolutely nothing, and another one who goes as far as magically torturing her to make sure she obeys, with no middle ground. Giving Regina no clue as to how Parents are supposed to act.
Which brings us to
3. Regina's parenting (And what you actually came for)
Knowing what we do about Regina as a parent, I would have to say that she really does love Henry, and cares for him, as best as she knows how. But in her own words
"I don't know how to love very well, I was incapable of it for a very long time"
She tries, she really does, but for the duration of her years as the evil queen, and then before the curse broke, she thought there were only two options. Complete submission, or complete power, and she wanted to be powerful, and not weak.
So I imagine her being a very controlling and restricting mother, not as bad as Cora though, as her father still left a bit of a mark on her, thankfully.
However, as time goes on, she continues to soften through the episodes, and one day, with a lot of work, she will one day be a satisfactory Mother.
If you are going to be writing her as the Mother in fanfiction, it all depends on the time period. If you want to do it after Neverland then try making her a bit softer, not as strict as she was for season one, and not quite as desperate and heartbroken as season two.
If it's an AU it really depends, Regina is such a difficult, constantly changing in regards to being a mother, then I can't help you, sorry.
A good person to help might be
http://impureevilregal.tumblr.com/
she's a good friend of mine, and she's a fanfic writer herself, so she would know a lot better than me, most likely.
Hope this helps!
