Oh I get it, it's the rules! Oh, well, you couldn't possibly break a rule.

Guess you just gotta be sad forever instead. [ Bill. ]

... You think if you tell him, not only will you get rejected, but it'll make the friendship you have now damaged beyond repair? Am I on the right track?

[ He lets Wendy get all that out, reflectively. ] Earth is pretty beautiful, huh. [ But beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so it's not likely Wendy and Bill necessarily have the same aesthetic tastes. ] Is he the only guy you know? Maybe if it goes south, somebody else will let you couch surf a while!

You got a good imagination for the worst case. That tells me you could use that tool to imagine a bunch of middle cases and even a best case.

By the way, name's Bill Cipher! I usually introduce myself before I give unsolicited advice, but you looked really desperate, so I skipped that step! What's your name?

My mistake! And you've got the luxury mouth and everything, I should've been able to tell instantly that you were normal!

And what's his name? [ The way Pleakley says it will surely be a clue if he truly is in love. It can be that easy. At least, for someone like Bill, who just decides what reality is based on what appeals. ]

There's always a catch. I mean if you'd been trying to kill him at the time, probably would've worked out worse for his redemption, right?

[ Bill's situation is a bit different from Jumba's, but he's gathering up info anywhere he can, you never know when it might be handy to know something. ]

You two share any other friends?

If I were you I'd probably have blurted it out by now, but if I pretend I'm you and I haven't, I'd recommend you ask one of them. Just generally what they think about how he feels! Maybe they noticed something you missed!

But once you've told anybody inside the house, you're gonna lose control of the whole narrative, that's the downside. He might find out and then you'd have to go through the whole thing.

I'm full of em.

I'm sure it won't be too much of a hardship, keeping your eye on your guy who you don't love or anything. Taking coded notes about how your words and actions might change the most subtle aspects of his character. Cataloguing smiles, the kind of smile when he invents or discovers something or the kind of smile when he looks at you.

[ This is only barely about Jumba anymore and it's only barely teasing Pleakley too. Bill knows exactly how it feels to turn a single, adoring eye onto a mad scientist and fight the impulse to compound his affections. ]

Anyway promise you'll report back. I'm invested now!