Archives for posts with tag: character traits

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Yesterday was Truth Tuesday again and Mouse started packing her bags.  Truth is, the Dedes are on the move. They will be moving from the big smoke to the countryside. This is a major undertaking. The Dedes came into existence because of changes to the current abode and now they are partially responsible for leaving it behind. It is simply because I want to have a bigger studio space. More space for more puppets and more puppet making workshops. So please, if their reporting gets a bit erratic over the next two months be lenient and don’t give up on them.

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Today Top Dog snaked up to Devil. It looks like his popularity is waning and he tries to drum up more followers. He said: “I could do very well with a devil like you on my team!” But Devil doesn’t want to have a bar of it  “No way” was the short and definitive reply.

“Not even if I gave you my soul?” Top Dog believes that this is an offer no real devil can refuse. “What soul? You don’t have a soul!”

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Devil was deeply insulted by Top Dog’s offer. “What does he think? Does he really believe I am as mean-spirited as him?” he asked Pinkpok, the wise owl.

“Of course no-one thinks of themselves as being nasty, not even Top Dog, ” the owl replied “I know, you are well-meaning, but you often tick the Dedes off because you blatantly call a spade a spade. Sometimes it would help to present the spade nicely wrapped.”

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The “Embrace Diversity” couple that faces the public today is Lapdog and Cool Cat.  Everyone knows cats and dogs don’t like each other! Really? Yes really, but they can be civil to each other. Here Cool Cat give Lapdog a little kiss on the forehead, that is as far as she will go.

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They usually don’t see eye to eye as they have totally different attitudes. Cool Cat has even called Lapdog a “slut” which curries favour with everyone. Lapdog doesn’t think much better of Cool Cat. She finds her up her self and arrogant. So, the cat is a loner who looks after her appearance and does yoga to keep fit. She does not allow anyone to touch her, particularly her tummy. Lapdog on the other hand likes rough and tumble play and you virtually have to force her to have a bath afterwards. She totally dislikes to be on her own, so she is friendly with everyone, like a little ray of sunshine and she loves to be patted on every part of her body.

With so many differences, to name but a few, it is not surprising that these two will never be bosom buddies. But they do respect each other deeply and therefore can co-exist peacefully. Their secret is that neither of them tries to force their way of life on the other.

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The Dede’s maxim has always been “Embrace Diversity,” but not in a lovey-dovey, goody two-shoes kind of way. Like anybody else they clearly have likes and dislikes. They might hate a situation, but never the individuals in it. At the moment Top Dog annoys them. They now call him a Me-Me, rather than Dede, as he obviously flouts their values. Before he brings the Dedes into disrepute, and as a counter- balance to his behaviour, Foxy Lady proposed the Dedes take pictures with an “unnatural” friend. She made a start and asked Harvey, the gambling rabbit, to pose with her.

You need to know that Harvey is a womanizer and Foxy Lady is a very independent modern vixen. When Harvey first met her he was instantly smitten. He followed her around and showered her with attention. And this is something she really can’t stand. One day she got so upset she snapped and said she’d rather have him on her dinner plate. Gosh, he sure interpreted this the wrong way. I won’t tell you what happened, it is simply too embarassing for Harvey. (No need to go searching for it on Facebook. The story isn’t on there either.)

Never mind. They keep out of each other’s way these days. And anyway, Harvey is now married to Pavlova the lab rat and everything is forgiven and forgotten.

 

 

 

 

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Now Lou turned to Top Dog. “So tell us, what is your programme then?”  Top Dog replied without delay “I want a to have a referendum, a Sexit.”  Lou was none the wiser and had to dig deeper. “I know the Brexit and I understand the Flexit of the fluffy toys. But I am only a puppy, you will have to explain what the acronym Sexit means.” “Oh, it’s not an acronym.” explained Top Dog. “It just sounds good and will pull in the crowds. We all know sex sells!”

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Foxy Lady shook her head “I am out of here,” she said and headed for the door. “We have given that puppet too much of a platform already!”

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Yesterday, after the summaries were completed and all the contestants had left the stage to get their deserved rest before the big finale on Friday, Mouse started to tidy up the stage. All of a sudden Top Dog came running in, balloon and flag in hand. Mouse looked at this paraphernalia, which he had obviously done through a marketing agency. Mouse doesn’t like confrontation, but she had to remind him “Top Dog, you are not in the competition.” Then she tried to move him off the stage, so she could get on with her job. “You will see,” replied Top Dog confidently waving his flag wildly, “I will get the most likes!” This was a very awkward situation for little Mouse on her own. If only her mate Devil was here, he would tell Top Dog where to go, but he wasn’t. And since Top Dog didn’t leave, Mouse decided to moved on and do some other work somewhere else for now.

First thing in the morning, Mouse checked the current results and was more than pleased to see her wait-and-see approach had worked just fine. Top Dog did not get the most votes. To be precise, he didn’t even get close to any of the contestants. No way could he argue with these facts. This was a real confidence booster for Mouse and she could face him again. So Mouse came back on stage and announced excitedly “Our readers have once again proven they are very wise. They didn’t fall for cheap election tricks and no, Top Dog, you didn’t get the most likes.” Then she very quickly turned around to scuttle off the stage. Top Dog called after her “It’s all your fault…” But she was already out of earshot.

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In the first week Lapdog revealed she is gender fluid. But that seems to be the only thing she knows for sure. While she has undoubtedly excellent people skills, she has no idea how she does it. All she knows is that everyone she encounters loves her and would do anything for her. In the last week she had an identity crisis when the contestants were asked whether or not they enjoyed the outdoors. As a dog she would love to romp around the garden, but as a Dede it is prudent to stay inside. She hasn’t made her mind up yet.

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Milky Bar Devil always wants to do the right thing and he has been studying hard to fulfil his parents’ expectations. However, in the first week of the competition he finally realised he did not want to take over the family business. Truth to be told, he is a caring guy and loves to bake, particularly hamburger buns. But no matter how good his intentions, people are always suspicious of him.

Once again, if you like this post, each of the contestants will get one point and if you comment on one of the Dedes, they will get an extra 5 points.

 

 

Mouse has put together summaries of the performances to make it easier for the readers to vote. But she doesn’t want to overdo it and started off with three and the last two contestants will follow tomorrow.

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This time we start with the oldest contestant Granddad Max. His body might not have been up for it, as in the first week he had to call in sick. However his mind is still young and he often wonders who the old codger is who appears to be living in his bathroom mirror. Granddad prides himself on his listening skills and the other contestants seem to respect him. In the last week they voted him spokesperson when they had to answer a curly question.

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Chambermaid entered the competition as the favourite. Unfortunately when it was her turn she was stressed about some chores she had to do (she always has some chores to do). For her skills, she showed us the man she tried to shape (though she wasn’t entirely happy with him). She put him up on a pedestal in front of her here, so that he has the same height as her. Sadly in last week’s panel discussion we didn’t hear her voice at all.

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Snippedy, the clown revealed he is hiding behind a mask and rather prefers to open up a bottle of spirits than himself. He likes to make fun and stands on his head to get a new perspective, but he would never attempt to actively change his surroundings. In the last week he fell for Top Dog’s story and would happily follow him anywhere, though he hasn’t admitted it openly.

Like the post and all three candidates get a point. If you want to propel one into the lead, you can comment on this Dedes. Every comment counts as five likes!

 

 

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Talking about the weather seemed to have been the cue for Top Dog. He jumped on stage waving a placard shouting “I can tell you about the wind and rain. Remember when the artist sent me into exile last year?” Devil sprang into action and wanted to shuffle the disruptive Dede off the stage, but the others formed a ring around him. They looked at the picture he was carrying. Here they could see raindrops all over his face. Furthermore, there was, undeniably, the hand of the artist knocking on his head. “What happened? Please tell us.” Now that Top Dog had their attention he wasn’t in a hurry anymore. “Do you really want to know?”

“Yes” “yes” “yes!”

He sat down and looked at the picture. Tears welled up in his eyes, but then abruptly he pulled himself together and said, “Yes, the artist is an evil character, don’t trust her.” He continued, and told the captive audience that last year around Easter time, the artist decided, out of the blue, that he would have to go to Beach Haven Siberia (the garden behind the house) and stay there until he is mush. “So what did you do to deserve that?” asked Milky Bar Devil. “Me?”  Top Dog was surprised .”Nothing!”

Devil rolled his eyes when he heard how Top Dog recounted the story.  He knows the other side of the story too well, as he was part of the team who begged the artist to get rid of Top Dog. It would take too long to recount the entire story now, but if you are interested,  here is the story, as told by the artists. It consists of four consecutive blog posts and then you can form your own opinion. In the end, Top Dog was saved by Flip’s Top Dog Training Centre (A real place and as far as I know an excellent training centre). They wanted to take the unruly dog in. However, the handlers never showed up. In the meantime I have come to believe Top Dog answered the door when they came round and he send them on their way again, as there was no need for further training (in his opinion). And so we still have the narcissistic Dede living amongst us.

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One of our Instagram followers @wizened_gnome confessed in a comment yesterday, that she would love to ask a question, but she doesn’t know the Dedes well enough yet. The Dedes were surprised and told her, that they are only puppets and they don’t take anything personally. They haven’t invented the word puppetally yet! Anyway wizened_gnome said the Dedes seem to be pretty thick skinned. This promped Mouse to ask a question this morning. “Now this is an easy one” she said “the Dedes are thick skinned – True or false?” Snippedy laughed out loud and said “It’s not easy at all.” Then he explained, that the Dedes like to look at everything from all angles and they always endeavour to see both sides of the coin. But they often run into trouble, because disagreement is frequently interpreted as dislike. They know very well, that disagreement is on issues and dislike is personal. While the Dedes like to challenge beliefs and feel comfy in the position of Devil’s Advocate, they still want to walk away as friends.  If this doesn’t work, they might just walk away and focus on something else.

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Snippedy bounced on stage and explained to Devil that he has plenty of skills and it was difficult to decide what to show. He could juggle all sorts of things, much more than Chambermaid, obviously. He could also laugh out loud, not a skill many have. Unfortunately none of his capablilities seem to make a huge impact on the world. Therefore, he has recently started standing on his head. He had hardly spoken the words when he turned up side down. “You should try it one day” he recommended to the audience. “You get a totally different perspective!”