⚠️ I highly suggest people who are insecure about their body to avoid reading this chapter. I will add a warning before the scene begins and after the scene ends. In this chapter, there will be themes of body insecurity and art block. ⚠️

▬▬ 𝕬 whiplash of air went past Hockney. The air was swift like always, and it got a rise with his white strands, but the owner of said white strands didn't react. He merely sighed between his hair and the wind's interaction.

Usually, the unannounced arrival of the wind would annoy the artist, especially when he's creating another art piece, but this time it was different.

It was as though the artist wanted the wind to slap him awake, rather, wake up the little voice in him that usually drove him to project his imagination onto his canvas.

The pale man couldn't draw at the moment, not even a single stroke, which made the artist quite annoyed. Artists usually refer to this unexplainable and spontaneous event as art block; wherein an individual has difficulty expressing their creativity onto their art pieces. It's slightly similar to "writer's block" but art block applies to creative people who are very hands-on when trying to share their creativity.

Fortunately for Hockney, it was the weekend. He had all the time he needed to recover from the very thing that was hindering him from enhancing his drawing skills, rather the very ability of his in which he relies on to make money.

Also, there's another problem. He didn't know how to overcome the very obstacle he wanted to overcome.

The male released another strained sigh.

Trying to resolve his issue right now seemed more than difficult, especially since he never goes through it that often. Whenever he did, it would quickly disperse since his creativity always overpowers it. If he went through art block frequently, he probably would have found a solution a long time ago.

At some point, the artist even thought that "art block" was a myth but, turns out he shot himself in the foot, because he now knows it exists. While on art block and jinxing, he can't help but think of a certain shark girl who's well known for jinxing herself.

The artist was deep in thought, but he somehow made it possible to be present both mentally and physically, because as soon as his roommate spoke, his pale ears did not fail to perk up at her words.

"Hey David! I'm gonna workout outside, you're free to reference me or whatever." His roommate, aka Y/N the blacksmith, suggested.

The girl didn't know the artist was going through a problem, but her suggestion might help him overcome the art block. It's only a possibility, but it was worth a shot. Plus, it was better than nothing.

As expected, Hockney shot out of his seat and quickly swiped a few tools from the dining table, along with his sketchbook.

⚠️ᵘᵖᶜᵒᵐⁱⁿᵍ ᵇᵒᵈʸ ⁱⁿˢᵉᶜᵘʳⁱᵗʸ ˢᶜᵉⁿᵉ⚠️

As he followed the blacksmith to the outside world, he couldn't stop his eyes from wandering Y/N's body. Yes, he is kinda checking her out but, it's out of jealousy; he was silently comparing his strength with hers.

The pale man was an artist and a scout, it's obvious that his brain muscle is far more important than his physique, especially for his role and skills. After all, they expect scouts to be high in mental strength. Whilst his brain muscles help him hone his creativity.

Unfortunately, there's still a tinge of himself that's jealous of people who were far more superior to him, in terms of strength.

Thanks to social norms, society expects men to overpower women in any aspect that correlates to being a man. Which Hockney is obviously against. He prefers people to express however they want to be but, he still can't help but hold on to the social norms.

No matter how much he is against the norms, his mental strength isn't powerful enough to forget said social norms.

In the physical realm, the artist has done nothing. He sat on the porch with his drawing materials, yet he made no stroke in his sketchbook. His pale hands hovered over the page, unsure how to create art.

Which was very unusual for Hockney...

He looked down on his sketchbook and saw a blank space. It was almost like the blank page mirrored his mental state.

Whilst staring, there was a bitter taste in Hockney's tongue. It ignited, leaving him motionless, but his unique eyes remained at his roommate, who was exercising. You would probably assume he's parched, but he isn't. He was jealous of what he didn't have. The scout was jealous of not being as strong as you.

Unlike him, Y/N was physically stronger than him. It was probably a bonus because she was a one-horned ogre. Plus, she's really skilled with her shinsu, which was rare among her kind.

It made the scout question why she stopped climbing. If she continued climbing, she'd probably reach the top of the tower quickly. As of now, she's just using her shinsu for pointless things, like jumping from one island to another and bending metal.

Despite having formed additional questions in his mind, his jealousy quickly dismissed it. Jealousy is quite synonymous to hunger, it's a void that makes you ache for something you desire. The difference is that hunger's void can be filled, while jealousy's void depends if the person can control it or not.

⚠️ᵇᵒᵈʸ ⁱⁿˢᵉᶜᵘʳⁱᵗʸ ˢᶜᵉⁿᵉ ᵉⁿᵈˢ⚠️

Although the H/C-haired girl is used to being covered with a thick layer of sweat, she will never get used to the icky feeling, especially when it runs along her skin or when her clothes get damp from the sweat. The same statement applies to her sweaty hair. The tips of her wet hair either tickle or make her feel like wet spider webs stuck onto her skin.

Once Y/N exerts enough strength, then did her one last push up. She was quick to gather her limbs, then raise her head towards her roommate. She only raised her head because she was getting concerned with the fact that Hockney wasn't pestering her to do her pose properly.

The artist was very picky and whenever he saw something he didn't like; he was quick to pester the girl into changing her form. Which happened rather often.

David being quiet during the entire duration made her slightly worried because she knew that her exercise formations weren't correct. Rather, she was purposefully doing the exercises incorrectly, hoping for her roommate to break the silence.

▬▬ 𝕿𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐞𝐝. 𝕮𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 4
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♡ㅤㅤ ≡ ㅤ➭ㅤ ㅤ⌂
ᴸⁱᵏᵉ ᶜᵒᵐᵐᵉⁿᵗ ˢʰᵃʳᵉ ˢᵃᵛᵉ