arwengriffiths

[arwengriffiths]

How far are you willing to go to maintain a relationship, even an unhealthy one?

“I’ll be honest — I’m way past my years of doing that. I’ve become quite brutal as time’s gone by. I’ll put in the work, but if you don’t uphold your end — well, that’s it for me. Life’s too short to spent it with people who don’t help you enjoy the time you have.”

[arwengriffiths]

“Broken necks are always my goal,” Arwen replied, giving a playful laugh. The model in her couldn’t help but still desire that attention — she’d spent so long basking in it, sometimes she couldn’t help but still feel the itch to chase it again. “But perhaps not overly appropriate for this.”

Arwen had often favoured the bold and dramatic — a life as a dancer, a magician’s assistant, a model, would do that to a girl, after all — but the event she was supposed to be attending probably didn’t call for her natural style. So, she had called up Vivian. The pair were long due a day together, and what better way to spend it than shopping?

“Charity fundraiser,” Arwen replied. “An old friend of mine is raising money for Parkinson’s research by hosting a gala. Usually I’d have no problem with styling, but I’m stuck in this awkward position where I don’t want to outshine the event because it’s a very important one, but also… I go to these kinds of things like, three times a year? I’ve got to remind people there was a reason I was once such a successful model, you know?”

WHO: Arwen Griffiths (@arwengriffiths)

WHERE: Sea Glass Boutique

"Don't think I'm a fan of that one," she said, watching as Arwen stepped out from the dressing room. Then again, Vivian's attire was always subtle, sleek, and minimal. Outside of the scrubs she wore in the office, neutrals were her forte and signature look. "Although if you're trying to break some necks, you certainly will execute." Vivian had met Arwen at a luncheon at the country club and had taken a liking to their personality. Although they had lived very different lives, she thought both of them gleaned more of the world than most would ever in their lifetime. "What's this for again?"

[arwengriffiths]

Arwen grinned as she accepted the ball, rolling it from hand to hand as she stared intently at the target. This poor woman wasn’t going to know what hit her.

“Want to make it more interesting? And more competitive?” She suggested. “Could put some kind of wager on this. First person to dunk her gets their drinks bought by the other, or something. Give us even more incentive to try to do this.”

“If I ever say no to something like this,” Arwen said, something mischievous dancing through her eyes, “Shoot me. That’s not me, I’m clearly possessed — and by a very boring demon.”

“Fair warning, I’m not so great at this — but I’m hoping my competitive streak might force me to have better aim.”

[arwengriffiths]

“Arwen,” she replied gently, accepting the handshake. “Nice to meet you too, Nira. And trying’s all I ask — we were all beginners at one point. Have you ever done any yoga before?”

She took note of her closing words. “Well, I’m glad you’ve come in today. Taking time for yourself is definitely important, but is also so hard to schedule in in our world today. What do you do for work?”

Arwen laughed slightly. “No medieval torture poses here,” she said. “I like to keep my sessions somewhat relaxed — I’m here to work with you, not against you.”

She placed her bottle down at the front of the class, mentally taking a headcount. A lot of the people here today she recognised, but some seemed new — including the person in front of her now. It was always nice to see new people turn up to her classes. It was even nicer when they stayed.

“I try to give as many variations as I can,” she expanded. “If you need them, use them — that’s why they’re there. We work with your body.”

“Quick question — some of the people in this class like to be helped into positions. Do you have any aversions to being touched, or any areas I should avoid?”

[arwengriffiths]

“That is by far the best reaction I’ve ever got at karaoke,” Arwen gushes with an excited laugh. “It’s final — I’m never doing karaoke without you again.”

She cheers along with a nearby table as they pass, pulling Zoe in for a celebratory hug. “Okay, drinks on me — what are we feeling? Cocktails? Wine? Shots? Whatever it is, we need to be ready to be up and dancing to ‘Bootylicious’ before the night’s over!”

Arwen can’t help her laughter as she watched Zoe control the crowd. If she didn’t know better, she’d think Zoe had been made for things like this. She can’t help but thank her years of dance training for allowing her to keep up with the dance, even while in her heels and with more than a generous amount of alcohol buzzing through her veins. The audience seems like putty in her hands as she slips back into the choreography that she swore she must have tattooed onto her heart.

Her singing was far from tuneful, but the smile in her voice seems to be working wonders for the audience.

As the song drew to an end, she burst into laughter and pulled Zoe into a celebratory hug. “That was amazing! Who knew we could still dance like that!”

[arwengriffiths]

“If I ever say no to something like this,” Arwen said, something mischievous dancing through her eyes, “Shoot me. That’s not me, I’m clearly possessed — and by a very boring demon.”

“Fair warning, I’m not so great at this — but I’m hoping my competitive streak might force me to have better aim.”

Location: Dunk Tank, Carnival Open || @aurorabaystarter

The dunk tank creaked as the woman in the seat taunted the players. Colton stood just outside the rope line, baseball in hand, bouncing it lazily against the ground. Over and over, bored.

"You know" he says, eyes on the target "I used to be decent at this. The ball hit the dirt and jumped back up into his palm. He looked at the person next to him and grinned. "You want in on this?"

[arwengriffiths]

What's their favorite activity to do with others?

“Sounds like a cop out answer, but yoga. Yes, I know I’m a yoga instructor— but I’m doing it for a love of the art form. I’m doing it because I love teaching it to people, and doing yoga with them. That’s why I became an instructor.”

[arwengriffiths]

Arwen can’t help her laughter as she watched Zoe control the crowd. If she didn’t know better, she’d think Zoe had been made for things like this. She can’t help but thank her years of dance training for allowing her to keep up with the dance, even while in her heels and with more than a generous amount of alcohol buzzing through her veins. The audience seems like putty in her hands as she slips back into the choreography that she swore she must have tattooed onto her heart.

Her singing was far from tuneful, but the smile in her voice seems to be working wonders for the audience.

As the song drew to an end, she burst into laughter and pulled Zoe into a celebratory hug. “That was amazing! Who knew we could still dance like that!”

“Let’s go! Let’s go!” Arwen exclaimed with a bubble of laughter, giving an cackle filled cheer at Zoe’s emphasis. “I’ve got big expectations for you and your dance moves, Zoe!”

As the duo on stage finished their song, Arwen burst into a round of applause and hooted with cheers, simultaneously half-dragging Zoe through the crowds and towards the stage. She passed her one of the microphones as the opening notes to ‘Spice Up Your Life’ began to play. “Ready?”

[arwengriffiths]

With a desperate desire to achieve more peace in her life, Arwen had found herself, at the advice of one of the women in her yoga class, at the crystal shop. She wasn’t entirely sure what she was looking for — the woman in her class had advised her to look into amethyst, but had then also suggested citrine and selenite, and had told Arwen to read more into the properties of each crystal to find which one was best suited for her.

She’d been trying to read up on all the different properties when she heard the man beside her speak. “I think 2025 might be the year to finally break me,” she replied with a chuckle. “We’re only halfway through and I already feel like I’ve aged half a decade.”

She nodded towards the sage in his hands. “What’s that for?”

open starter: @aurorabaystarter

where: luxe crystal shop

Wes stood at the display of crystals as he held on onyx star between his forefinger and thumb. He'd always believed in crystals, always kept them in his pocket, throughout his house, and even in his kids' nursery.

He felt a pang of guilt that after all these years of faith in them and swearing by their properties, he was doubting if they actually worked. He'd been struggling so much with anxiety and now he was having more unwanted family come back in his life.

Reminding himself of onyx's properties, he decided he would add it to the sage he came to purchase. "I feel like I've cleansed my house a thousand times this year alone." He said as he picked up a bag of sage. "2025, am I right.."

[arwengriffiths]

Glancing towards the woman beside her, Arwen sipped at her own cocktail with a ponderous expression on her face. “The age old question — health, or fun?” She considered the options for a moment, before replying. “Well, how into running are you? Because if you don’t run at all, a 5k is quite a commitment.”

open - @aurorabaystarter

where - around town square

"The real question is, sign up for this 5k? Or, fuck it and and reserve a spot for brunch?" Luce asked aloud, sipping on a frozen cocktail that had been rainbow but now everything was mixed together into a murky color. "Like, do we go with health or the bottomless mimosas?"

[arwengriffiths]

Sunshine 🌸:What do you do when you’re trying to relax and destress?

“For a long time, it was yoga — little life tip: don’t turn your relaxation activity into a job. These days, it’s all about finding my people, my friends, and spending time with them — even if it’s something as simple as a wine and craft night, or a walk around the beach. I take some quiet time, find some good friends that understand, and take a moment to breathe.”

[arwengriffiths]

L. What is their secrets to happiness?

“Would it be some kind of shameless self promotion to say yoga?”

“I’m kidding. Mostly. I think for me, happiness comes when I feel at peace. When I’m calm and relaxed — and for a very long time, yoga was what helped me with that. But everyone finds themselves calmed by different things.”

“I think my actual, serious advice about finding happiness is to genuinely reflect on what kinds of things have made you happy in the past, and figure out what it was about them that you loved.”

“Like, I used to be a magician’s assistant, and I loved that job. That made me happy. I wasn’t particularly good at it, but my magician was. Anyway, that doesn’t matter. Point is, I loved that job. But when I look back on what it was that was making me happy, it wasn’t the job — it was the friends. It was doing something I loved with someone I loved, and making other people feel happy while I did it.”

“So, that, I guess. Find what makes you feel happy, and figure out why.”

“…or yoga.”

[arwengriffiths]

Dove 🌸:What trashy tv show do you secretly(or openly) enjoy?

“Below Deck! Below Deck! Without a doubt, Below Deck. I have wasted so many hours watching that show. I started watching it out of curiosity, to see what it was like for the crew of a yacht, given I’ve only ever been a guest — but I got sucked into that drama so quickly. Who knew so much could go down in one boat? I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised — living in that close quarters with the same people for months on end, things are going to arise — but still! Yeah, Below Deck. Final answer.”

[arwengriffiths]

Ok, so now Arwen’s curiosity was definitely piqued. She leaned forwards, as though some kind of terrible secret was about to be spilled.

“Seems like the best way to live,” Arwen remarked. “You only get one life — no point trying to live it being someone you’re not. If people don’t like that, then maybe they aren’t the kind of people you should be around.”

“Even problems you’ve caused can be solved,” she said. “Trust me — I’ve caused plenty over the years. First step to solving the problem is recognising one exists! So, what have you done?”

Arwen arched an eyebrow. “Now that sounds like I’m definitely going to want to hear about your problems,” she replied. She took a seat beside the young woman, and gave her an encouraging smile. “Trust me — I’ve lived a life. Whatever’s going on, I can almost guarantee I won’t be in any position to judge. Besides, sometimes just speaking the problem out loud helps you manage it. So, give it a shot. Offload to me — I’ll listen.”

[arwengriffiths]

“Let’s go! Let’s go!” Arwen exclaimed with a bubble of laughter, giving an cackle filled cheer at Zoe’s emphasis. “I’ve got big expectations for you and your dance moves, Zoe!”

As the duo on stage finished their song, Arwen burst into a round of applause and hooted with cheers, simultaneously half-dragging Zoe through the crowds and towards the stage. She passed her one of the microphones as the opening notes to ‘Spice Up Your Life’ began to play. “Ready?”

Arwen couldn’t help but cheer and cackle at Zoe’s dancing, kicking her legs back in delight. “Oh, we are so doing this!”

She took Zoe by the hand and began leading her to the front, punching in the number for ‘Spice Up Your Life’ with her free hand. “Fair warning — I am competitive when it comes to dancing, so I hope you’re ready to keep up!”

“‘Bootylicious’ is a genius idea and we are absolutely doing that next!”

[arwengriffiths]

Arwen gave a small shrug. She’d asked herself the same question many times, over the years. “Life had other plans,” she said. “I don’t know if I’d ever quite have cut it as a dancer — I think my parents were probably right about that much. Though, I’d have been awful at everything they wanted me to do — I’m nowhere near smart enough to be a lawyer.” A pause, and then, “Or cunning enough, actually. I’m a little too straight speaking.”

She felt her eyebrows creep upwards at his confession, but fought to keep them under control. “That’d do it,” she tried to joke. “You ever try to take it back up?”

As much as Arwen loved parties, even she sometimes needed a break from it all. Just for a moment, to clear her head, to breath less stuffy air, to hear something other than the relentless chatter and music inside. So, she’d stepped out, closing the door behind her and slightly muffling the sound.

A few steps away from her, a man stood staring at the cabinets lining the walls. She stepped closer, wondering if he too had just needed a moment, or whether there was something more going on.

“I was a dancer,” said Arwen replied upon hearing him speak. “Pretty much my whole childhood, really. Even made it to Juilliard. Never actually became a dancer, granted.”

“Hardly seems fair you were never given a shot,” she added. “Did you carry on with track after high school?”

[arwengriffiths]

Arwen couldn’t help but cheer and cackle at Zoe’s dancing, kicking her legs back in delight. “Oh, we are so doing this!”

She took Zoe by the hand and began leading her to the front, punching in the number for ‘Spice Up Your Life’ with her free hand. “Fair warning — I am competitive when it comes to dancing, so I hope you’re ready to keep up!”

“‘Bootylicious’ is a genius idea and we are absolutely doing that next!”

“I reckon we could kill a performance of ‘Spice Up Your Life’ right now,” Arwen exclaimed, her voice arguably unnecessarily too loud for how close she was to Zoe. “Like, we could do a whole dance routine to that! I know the routine from Spice World by heart.” Then, after a short pause, she added, “And the ‘Just Dance’ choreography.”

She pondered upon Zoe’s last suggestion for a moment. “Some edge could be brilliant, though, Zoe — you are a genius! What are you thinking?”