Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-5094906-20130211185818/@comment-3393671-20130224203305

The way I think it works is that the Dark Curse rearranges everybody's lives in a way that the person who cast it would be happy with. So no, I don't think that she specifically decided on minor details herself such as people's names or occupations, but her intentions and desires contributed to the outcome of the Curse, which is why Mary Margaret is torn away from David and is destined to be frozen in time as a single, love-seeking woman until Emma came into Storybrooke and the Curse uses those desires to produce something that Regina can contend with. I know this contradicts me saying that Regina probably decided not to give Belle a name, but also, maybe the Curse decided that for her.