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Written by: ultimatebookworm12 , hapyhappiness , AjexxanAlterline , hxrmits , CasuallyAFangirl (who else?)

Word count: 2108

Summary: ma·nip·u·la·tion. N. The action of manipulating someone in a clever or unscrupulous way.

Trigger Warning: Run.

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Bdubs smiled, pulling Scar close by his waist. He stared straight into his eyes, a sultry look in his eyes. Bdubs bit his lip, sparing a quick glance at Scar's lips.

The man brought a hand up to Scar's cheek, slowly cupping his face. Bdubs slowly leaned into Scar's ear and grinned before whispering, "Long live the king."

Bdubs drove the knife into Scar's back with no remorse, looking up at the horrified look on Jevin's face with a cruel smile.

It was never the same after that day for Jevin.

——

Jevin arrived at Iskall's mushroom island base, feeling down in the dumps.

Iskall looked up from sorting his items in his chests. "Hey, Jevin! What's up?"

His face fell at Jevin's expression. "Jev...you okay?"

"It's a long story..." Jevin said uncomfortably, taking a seat on a chest near Iskall.

"Well, I'm all ears if you want to talk about it." Iskall comforted, continuing to sort some of his rouge items.

Jevin hesitated for a moment, but continued, knowing that talking to Iskall would be the easiest, considering how close they are.

"Well, I saw Bdubs kill Scar. Nothing really bad, yes? But, no. It felt different." Jevin started slowly forming his thoughts into words. "It was almost as if Bdubs was manipulating him in a way. Wooing him so he fell into a false sense of security, then quite literally stabbing him inthe back. It just felt wrong."

"Really? Bdubs? I wouldn't expect him to do something like that." Iskall leaned into Jevin, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. "What's upsetting about it to you though? Are you afraid someone might manipulate you? When you least expect it?"

"Well... I..."

Iskall smiled at him, a strange glint in his eye. "I'd never manipulate you, you know."

Jevin looked down at the hand on his shoulder, then to Iskall. He felt a chill and looked away. "Sure you wouldn't," the slime said finally, reaching his hand up and patting Iskall's hand on his shoulder, then taking it off and stepping back ever so slightly.

He felt a strange feeling in his stomach, uneasiness swirling through his brain. "What brings you here, Jevin?" Iskall piped up, a playful and...strange smile appearing on his face. Iskall crossed his arms, fiddling with his blue tie and looking around his island.

"Um... well..." Jevin started, trailing off to think of something. "I don't know. I just needed someone to...talk to. About Scar's murder. But of course, you don't believe it." Jevin scoffed, pacing about. He noticed Iskall reaching to his back pocket but didn't say anything, his mistrust only growing bigger.

"Well, while you're here, I'll take you on a tour of my island!" Iskall said with a sweet smile on his face. He held out his hand and the slime hesitantly took it.

"So over there is my villager breeder. And over there is where I trade with them," Iskall said, pointing out two large buildings. "Oh, and over there's where I kill them."

That last add-on didn't help Jevin's trust in Iskall, but he followed suit anyway.

"Wanna see the inside?" Iskall led the blue slime inside the killing chamber. It was dark, only lit by one Redstone lamp, and there were villagers in... cells? They looked starved, bored, and on death's door. Jevin held his breath.

At the back of the room there was a control panel. Iskall led Jevin towards it, seemingly eager to show it off.

"This is the machine I use to get rid of any of the villagers I don't like." There was a long pause as Iskall waited for Jevin to react, but he just stood there silently in masked fear.

"You see that guy over there? He's got bad trades, so I don't need him." pushing a button on the interface of the control panel, Iskall watched with a manic smile as the villager went away in a minecart out of sight.

"Here, follow me, I'll show you what actually kills them!" Iskall said, starting to leave the dark building.

Jevin watched in horror as the unmistakable sound of TNT echoed through the air, and something shot out of the andesite chimney. It was the misshapen body of the previous villager, obviously dead, as its body was half gone and bloody. But what was worse was the expression on Iskall's face—he had a large smile painted across his features.

"See? Simple and easy, they don't even feel a thing." Iskall chuckled, but it was in no way like his usual boisterous laugh. This one was darker, more ominous...and had a strange undertone that Jevin couldn't quite put his finger on.

Jevin stepped away from Iskall, panic spreading through his slime body. "What the fuck..." he muttered under his breath. The idea of a contraption designed to kill villagers was one thing, but Iskall enjoying the slaughter? That was another.

"Cool, right?!" Iskall exclaimed, a crazy grin on his face. He took a step forward, glancing over at the trapped villagers and chuckling darkly. "I made it myself."

"It's...it's, um..." Jevin trailed off, stepping back. He found himself against the wall of the building, sliding himself into the corner. Iskall stepped forward, an arm on either side of him.

"It's what?" Iskall smirked cockily, tilting his head. He was shorter than Jevin and was staring up at him, crossing his legs as he put his weight on his arms. Unease settled in Jevin's stomach again as he realised; he was trapped.

"It's... kind of... twisted, Iskall," Jevin retorted, attempting to duck away from him.

"Twisted?" He replied with a sick smile, slamming Jevin back into the wall by his shoulder. Jevin inhaled sharply. "How so? When you don't need something anymore, you just throw it away. What's wrong with doing it...creatively?"

Jevin held his breath as Iskall brought his face close. He looked to the side nervously, focusing on the giant villager cannon behind him. He closed his eyes tight, feeling Iskall's breath on the side of his cheek. He held as still as possible, trying not to show his fear. Iskall backed off slightly, and Jevin took his chance to move out from his arms. He let out a sigh of relief and opened his eyes once more.

Iskall wasn't going to let Jevin go that easily. Jevin jumped when Iskall firmly wrapped his arms around the slime's waist.

"So how did Bdubs do it? He pulled Scar close with an alluring look, right?" Iskall whispered in Jevin's ear. Jevin shivered.

"Iskall no-" Jevin started, pulling at Iskall's arms, but they didn't give way on their strong grip.

"You might be taller than me, but I'm stronger. You can try and escape, if you want to." Iskall grinned, his voice harsh in Jevin's ear. "But I wouldn't try it."

Jevin pulled himself away from Iskall's ear and stared in fear down at him, his attempts to run away weakening. He should've known. "So tell me, Jev, how exactly do you think my machine is...twisted?"

When Jevin didn't respond, Iskall's smirk fell.

Jevin summoned up his courage and spoke up. "It's...it's twisted because you're torturing them. Killing them before the TNT can even launch them. It's sickening, Iskall! They know what happens to them if they have bad trades and it's horrible to do that to them," Jevin confessed, spooked by the look in his friend's eye.

Iskall smiled sickly, his grip on Jevin's waist loosening. "What did Bdubs do again? Wrapped his hands around Scar's waist? Pulled him in close? Looked him in the eyes, right?"

Jevin nodded fearfully, shivering as Iskall caressed the slime's cheek with the back of his hand. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't look away from the shorter man's eye.

Iskall leaned forwards more, until he was practically lying on Jevin's chest. Jesus Christ this is horrifying, was all that went through Jevin's head. His heart was thumping in his throat, and his eyes were starting to prick with tears

Iskall slipped his unoccuppied hand down to Jevin's waist. Jevin fought to stifle the tears. "Why?" He choked out before the first tear escaped him.

"Oh, Jevin. Be strong for me, won't you?" Iskall wiped away a tear with his thumb, firmly forcing Jevin closer to him. "No one needs an overly-sensitive sack of slime, you know. And you know what we do here with things we don't need anymore." He smirked, loosening his grip on Jevin's waist slightly.

As Iskall pulled him closer, Jevin felt his face grow uncomfortably hot. He hated it. He tried to push away, but Iskall's grip was too strong. He used his feet and dug them into the ground, but he soon found himself slipping, falling backwards into Iskall's hands.

Iskall chuckled as he stared at the frail man in his arms.

"It seems that you've fallen for me."

Jevin squirmed as Iskall picked him up. Fear coursed through him as a tear escaped his eye.

"No need to be scared princess..." Iskall purred in his ear, "There's more of the island I want to show you."

Jevin wanted nothing but to leave the island, but at the same time he wanted to stay. It was a weird feeling. While it looked like Iskall was dragging him around against his will, he was still choosing to follow him around. He felt both repelled and attracted to the Swedish man.

It was probably an unhealthy relationship. He followed anyways.

"This is my Redstone factory. It's not done and the Redstone is kinda hard, but it's whatever," Iskall grinned, his hand tightly holding Jevin's. Not too tight so it hurt, but tight enough to remind him. The two stared up at the large columns, the buzz of the redstone sending Jevin's ears funny.

"It's very good," Jevin forced the words out of his mouth, feeling sick to his stomach. He did like the build and the redstone was impressive - but he hated the fact that he couldn't overpower his captor. He felt sick that he couldn't blob away or that he would face consequences or death.

Jevin hated that he had seen Scar's murder because it never would've led to this. He hated that Bdubs and Scar had met - even as such talented builders they... were.... - and at this very moment, Jevin could be working on a build or going swimming with tropical fish.

He felt sick to his stomach when Iskall caught his attention, pulling the slime down to his height. He felt sick to his stomach when Iskall asked "Can I kiss you?". He felt even sicker when he consented. Jevin felt disgusting - and he hated it.

Jevin really didn't know how he felt about Iskall, but he knew he hated every bit of it. He hated that Iskall wanted to kiss him. He hated that he had allowed Iskall to kiss him. But when they both pulled away, Jevin stayed completely silent, and Iskall was none the wiser.

A silence hung over them for a moment. Iskall cleared his throat, taking Jevin's hand again, and starting forward at a steady pace. Jevin obediently followed, his mind a mess, unable to think clearly. What did he want. "Iskall... I..."

"You consented, Jevin," Iskall cut him off, reminding him sternly, keeping his eyes forward.

Jevin looked down at his feet.

He wasn't sure how he felt. He loved Iskall, right? But something felt...off. He couldn't put a finger on it. Why did he feel so bad when he should be enjoying himself? Iskall was his friend! He stared down at his feet, not paying attention to where he was going as he followed blindly in Iskall's steps.

Jevin was a slime. He was blobby. It wouldn't hurt much when he slammed into a nearby wall. But, it still hurt. "Oww..."

"That must've hurt," a new voice said from behind.

"Wha-" Jevin looked to see Bdubs standing over him with a twisted smile on his face.

——

Jevin awoke with a gasp. Tears were streaming down his slime face and soaking into his pillow. His duvet was somewhere on the floor, thrown away in the midst of a nightmare. "Fuck," he said to himself, curling up into a ball and sobbing into his knees.

Once he felt better, Jevin messaged Scar.

<iJevin> hey scar, have you died recently? ;P
<GoodTimeWithScar> not in a while! Haven't died since mid-November!

And so, as the flustered, confused and shell-shocked slime gathered, he had been dreaming. It was all a dream. Yet he still felt empty, like it should have happened.