I feel bad for my lack of billstan content (at least until the pyramid scheme zine releases and I can publish my pieces), so I decided to share this little snippet from a draft I wrote waaaaaay back in December 2024.
For Fireproof fans, you can think of it as a prequel to the main fic, in a way. It’s a bit rough, but it may be a hint of things to come.
“What’s a guy gotta do to have some fun around here? Preferably the bloody, painful kind that leaves someone in abject agony,” Bill complained aloud to an unhearing audience. Stan was busying himself with mapping down the coordinates. There was no one else to pay attention to.
“You must think you’re pretty lucky, don’t cha sleaze ball?” Bill stalked towards the aged sailor until he was glaring right next to him. “That you got off scott-free from your sacrifice. That everything worked out after you saved the world from the big bad Bill Cipher, right? You’re living your dream! A lifetime of pain and misery finally evened out, even if you only get a few years of it. All that lying, and cheating, and stealing, and running away led you here, so you’ve made your peace with it. Is that what you think?”
Bill leaned in close, as if he were whispering in Stan’s ear. The lamp light on the desk did not cast his shadow on the wall behind him. “It won’t last. Once the blissful haze passes over you, it’ll all come back. The lies, the curses, the poison. You aren’t meant for this kind of life. People like you, who only make mess after mess after mess, don’t get this kind of ending. Not forever. And I’ll be here, watching, when it all falls apart.”
His form started to flicker in and out, a warning that his time was up.
“And I’m going to enjoy it.”