delight_in_wt | 14 Consimbs 4385: No Surprise Surprise!

I just realized that I got so wrapped up telling you last time about the Inquisitorial Inquisition of Inquisitors that I didn't even tell you: I gave Dad-Dad and Dadsy your present!

About halfway through the evening, I signalled Waterfall and the musicians. Waterfall had hired them and so they knew their cue. Waterfall and I got up on top of the center table, and I yelled, "HOY EVERYBODY! I've got a little SURPRISE here!"

Then I dodged all the things primes pelted in my direction, as they shouted back in ragged chorus, "NO! NO SURPRISES!"

"I know!" I yelled back. Do you know I've gotten better at dodging with the last series of adventures? I could tell. "And I'm Delight-in-No-More-Surprises now so it's extra surprising coming from me!"

Everybody laughed and grinned and threw more stuff at me. "NO! This is a NO SURPRISE party!" They were better at getting it in unison.

"I know! But there's always at least one surprise at every No Surprise party, so it's not REALLY a surprise, right?" I yelled.

Waterfall jerked a thumb at me. "She's got a point, y'know."

Everybody looked to their tables and conversational partners and exchanged feigned grumblings and mumblings, until they finally turned back to me. When everyone was looking at me, I motioned my hand downwards once, twice and then a third time.

On cue, they shouted, "FINE. WHAT SURPRISE?"

"I'm so glad you asked! This is from BOOMSTARTER SEVENDRUMS, for DAD-DAD and QUICKSPLASH!" I used Dadsy's real name since most of the people there weren't his kids. (Dad-Dad goes by Dad-Dad to everyone.) Then I hopped down and Waterfall hopped up, and the performers struck up the instrumentals for the love song you wrote. And Waterfall sang it! I don't know if she's as good a singer as Song-for-Always technically but she was perfect for "No Truer Love". Everybody laughed at the funny bits and sniffled at the sad bits and Dad-Dad and Dadsy held hands for the whole song. I think Dadsy cried through the whole thing.

The crowd made Waterfall sing it a second time ostensibly so that Dadsy could listen to the parts he cried through the first time, although he pretty much cried through the second time too.

He wasn't ACTUALLY sad in case you offworld nonprimes have any funny ideas. Dadsy's very sentimental. He loved the song lots, maybe even better than Dad-Dad.

Everybody else liked it too! I had at least two-thirds fewer Inquistorial Inquisitions afterwards, and a bunch of 'that was a great surprise' instead.

Probably I should have done it earlier in the evening.

You should definitely have Don't Go in It's a Tarp! perform it, Boomsy!