IZ*ONE - Buenos Aires [190621 TV Asahi Music Station]

IZ*ONE - Buenos Aires [190621 TV Asahi Music Station]

CW: Mentions of abuse and assault

I headcanon Medb as having a really rocky relationship with her mother, Cruachù. In some stories her mom is a handmaiden and a concubine to her dad, King Eochaid. In those versions, Medb is the only bastard child out of her sisters. In others she was a queen, and Medb is related to her sisters.

Either way, I picture Medb being miserable growing up with a controlling mother. Cruachù is more concerned with forcing Medb into the role of a queen than loving her as a daughter. She doesn’t let her have a childhood, often isolating her from her sisters in order to push her to take lessons on etiquette and the likes to become a “proper lady.” Anytime Medb is disobedient or makes mistakes, her mother is quick to punish her by locking her away in a room. She instills negative ideas into Medb’s head, making her believe that she’s weak and nothing more than a political tool. Essentially, Medb is entirely dependent on her mother and has no independence of her own, and it’s part of the reason she was selected to marry Conchobar.

After Medb ended the abusive marriage with Conchobar, it was one of the biggest insults to her mother. In Cruachù’s mind, she did everything for Medb and this was how she repaid her? She offered no emotional, even when he assaulted Medb just because she divorced him. In fact, all she did was tell the king to marry off one of her sisters, Eithne or Clothru depending on the version, to Conchobar instead as a message to Medb that she was replaceable. Even though it hurt to know her mother turned her back on her, Medb took it as an out and took advantage of the newfound freedom that she had.

When Medb started taking lovers and became the Queen of Connacht, she used what her mother taught her in terms of femininity but made it her own by combining it with her new sense of independence and sovereignty that she was never allowed to have before. Deep inside, she’s still suffering from the abuse from her mother and her first husband, but her confident facade helps to give her a sense of control. As the days go on, Medb becomes rougher and prouder. She knows how to strike first, to protect herself, and to be a leader. For the first time in her life as a queen, she has power, even when she doesn’t always use it for good. She’s selfish and cruel to protect herself becuase she has a fear of others hurting her… but a part of her wants what she never had. She wants love.

Her lovers came in the form of what she wanted years ago: someone to protect her from the harm Conchobar caused her. No one did anything when he hurt her, and it still makes her mad and upset. Knowing her sister was married off to him and was pregnant with his child made her even more livid. But her sister blamed her for it too, saying she would have never had to marry him if Medb wasn’t so selfish, that he wouldnt have assaulted Medb if she was a good wife. It’s enough that Medb killed her own sister. It’s a sin that’ll weigh heavy on her the rest of her life. She just wants to be loved. The lovers aren’t enough, they don’t make her feel whole.

What she really wants is a mother’s love. And this is incredibly self indulgent but I still like playing with the idea that Medb acts like she hates Scathach, not because of her relationship with Cú, but because she doesn’t know how to deal with the desire to have a mother. Medb is incredibly prone to acting different around the people she truly wants something from. She acts silly around Cú so he’ll push her away despite wanting him to care for her, she acts prickly to Master despite wanting someone to trust, and she does the same with Scathach. She’s a little jealous of Cú that he has a better mother figure and mentor. Medb would never dare tell her about her feelings, but Scathach sometimes notices Medb acting oddly when she thinks she isn’t paying attention.

eunbi getting sassed by her children [iz*one chu secret friends ep. 4]

me: *screams into the void in frustration & anger*

also me: *apologises to the void for the sudden outburst & the noise*