TW: eating disorders
Ailbhe Sinead Griffin (18) is one of Ivy’s aunts, the younger sister of Ferelith and a close friend of Kitty. The pair’s closeness stems from their mutual struggles with their relationships with food, Ailbhe having first developed bulimia in reaction to the toxic home environment that slowly became more and more overbearing as she grew up; piquing when Ferelith’s expression of bun’s gender identity caused the Griffin’s to react by tightening their control on Ailbhe as a means of coping. Their biggest concern with her struggle was hiding it from anyone who they looked up to, barely permitting their younger child to attend a support group, and monitoring what she said there obsessively.
What they underestimated though, was Ailbhe’s ability to be proactive, especially as she came to desire to break away more and more. With the help of Kitty, who she didn’t fully open up to until they met in person (as Ailbhe hates the idea of burdening anyone, something her current therapist attributes to her parents obsession with their narrow-minded view on ‘normality’ and how they projected it onto both her and Ferelith in different ways), she applied for university in America; albeit not the same one Kitty, Lucille and Portia are attending - as Ailbhe based her application on most affordable accommodation - but an hour away on the train, so she hangs out with their group whenever she has a spare moment on her fashion communications course.
The Griffin’s were so eager to escape any kind of social judgment, they happily accepted the idea of Ailbhe studying abroad, although it was hard for her to be apart from Ferelith - who she’d managed to secretly maintain a relationship with (as being as quiet as she is, Ailbhe rebelling is something her parents never considered). Her parents did subsequently learn all she’d been up to and promptly disowned Ailbhe, after threats about somehow ending her scholarship failed to drag her back to them; but she’s managed to come to terms with things, knowing it’s for the best in the long run that all contact is cut off. Like Kitty, Ailbhe’s now taking things in her life slowly, enjoying the little things like going the beach with her uni friend group, attending live music events (as one of her friend’s is in a notorious college circuit band: Mercury Poisoning) and going for hikes to clear her head.
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Ferelith was created by @wandering_willow