#im testing something

Rodger let out a little sigh as he worked on papers in his room. He loved investigating and solving mysteries, but it was the field work he loved the most. He was practical, smart, and straight-forward, but he loved exploring, gathering information, and getting his hands dirty. Then again, there was a sense of calm to doing paperwork…

“Rodger!”

And it was ruined.

Rodger jumped slightly, a few of the papers on his desk slipping to the floor. The toon who burst into his room screaming was Scraps. A toon he was alright with. She was kind, yet feisty. Which made sense, as she was an origami cat. Rodger picked up the papers that fell to the ground.

“Scraps, I am a little busy…” He groaned.

“I know, Rodger… but I need your help!” Scraps cried. “You know how my brother Goob’s birthday is tomorrow?”

Rodger nodded. “Yes, I already have my gift ready for him. It’s a new painting smock for him that fully covers his arms. I know how hard it is for him to clean them sometimes.”

“You might have your gift, but that’s why I’m here! Mine was stolen!” Scraps exclaimed.

Now that got Rodger’s attention.

“What?” He properly looked at Scraps, and grabbed his notepad.

“It was awful!” Scraps whined, her pink ears flattening. “I had it hidden under my bed, and it took forever to get my present right!” Rodger nodded, writing it down, his eye meeting her eyes.

“I’m sure you’re distraught, Scraps. Tell me what happened.” He said, holding his notepad below his magnifying glass head.

“Well…” Scraps started. “Last night, I finished wrapping it while Goob was hanging out with Teagan. I hid it under my bed, and covered it with a towel to make sure my brother didn’t see it.”

Rodger nodded and wrote along as Scraps continued.

“I checked to make sure it was still there before I went to bed. And after I woke up the next morning. Then, Flutter called me over to help her make a cover for a book of poetry she was writing. Of course I was happy to help. But when I got back and checked under my bed again, it was gone!”

Rodger finished writing all of that down, and nodded again.

“I see… And what did you get for him?” Scraps whispered her present for Goob to him, and he nodded. “Well, not to worry, Scraps. I’ll find your birthday present for Goob. And before his party, too.” He assured the paper cat.

“But his party is tomorrow!” Scraps cried. “It’ll be really hard to find it in time!”

“I’ve always loved a challenge, Scraps.” Rodger chuckled as he escorted Scraps out of his room. He left as well, but not before grabbing a binder.

‘Another birthday present stolen.’ Rodger thought. ‘That’s the fourth one in two months. One for Sprout’s birthday, Tisha’s, and Poppy’s… There’s clearly a pattern. But what would anyone gain from stealing birthday presents? Other than making other Toons feel like awful friends?’

As Rodger pondered, he didn’t notice a little eight ball walking down the hall. But she noticed him. She knew that look in his eye… He had taken a new case! This was her chance!

“Hi, Rodger!” She cried.

Rodger yelped again, sighing. What was it with people startling him today? Thankfully, he didn’t drop anything.

“Well, if it isn’t the junior detective.” Rodger calmed down when he realized it was Toodles.

Rodger had always had an interesting bond with Toodles. He was created long before her, as Toodles was one of the last of the Toons created. She bonded with him immediately, much to his chagrin. But he quickly felt a strong attachment to her. Like she was his own…

‘No need to dwell on that, Rodger…’ The detective thought.

“You’re doing another case, aren’t you? Can I help this time? Can I? Please?” Toodles begged, giving him puppy eyes that could put Pebble to shame.

“Put those eyes away, Toodles.” Rodger said in a gentle tone. “I think you’re ready to help me with this case.”

“Really?!” Toodles cried excitedly, rushing up to his side faster than lighting.

“But,” Rodger quickly added. “I am going to teach you and guide you. So you can learn how to be a wonderful detective. Got it?”

Toodles quickly nodded. Rodger rubbed his hand over the eight ball’s head.

“Now, suit up, little detective. We’ve got a thief to catch.”

————————————————————————————————————————————

Rodger filled Toodles in on the case, and she was of course willing to help. She liked Scraps, and no one deserved to have gifts they worked so hard to make, or find, taken. She was happy to aid Rodger in finding the thief and getting the present back.

One thing the detectives had to consider was keeping Goob out of the room he shared with Scraps, so they could investigate the room, without spoiling his birthday surprise. Thankfully, that was easy. Poppy and Boxten invited him to play with them, so they could check for evidence without any interruption.

“Now, little detective, the key to finding evidence is to observe your surroundings, and look for anything that may indicate someone except for Goob or Scraps was here…” Rodger explained.

Toodles nodded, and got down on her hands and knees to look around the room for clues, while Rodger searched the tables, closets, and shelves. Whoever snuck into the room had to have left something to indicate their presence…

“Found something!” Toodles exclaimed.

She pulled the towel that Scraps used to hide the present from under the bed. It was a simple white towel, in order to not draw attention to it. She stood up, and handed it to Rodger.

“Well done, Toodles.” Rodger took the towel, and pet the little detective on the head, making her giggle.

Rodger inspected the towel closely, and noticed something on it. A pink, glittery dust on the fabric. It wasn’t plain glitter, there was plenty of that in the room, the craft siblings loved glitter. But it was too fine and dusty, like powder.

It was makeup. And there was only one Toon in the museum who wore that much pink makeup…

“Glisten.” Rodger muttered. “Well, little detective, we’ve got a lead.” Toodles smiled mischievously.

“Let’s go, Rodger!” She cried. Rodger nodded.

“We’ve got a mirror to question.”

————————————————————————————————————————————

Glisten, the vain mirror Toon, was in his room, busy looking through his closet at the time. He needed a beautiful, but not too distracting, outfit for Goob’s birthday party tomorrow. Of course he still loved attention and praise for his looks, but he wasn’t going to take all of it away from Goob. It was his birthday, after all.

“No, no… Blazer jackets are so last season.” Glisten muttered to himself. “I need something that makes a statement. Something that will add a splash of color to Goob’s party- Oh, that’s it! Something colorful would be perfect!” Glisten dug through his closet. “And it will match flawlessly with the leg warmers I’ll give to him!”

Glisten then pulled out a pink shirt with a light blue gradient on the sleeves. It had flared sleeves and glitter around the collar.

“This is perfect!” He cried. “And I can wear my blue bow tomorrow to match it!”

He hung that and the shirt on a hook next to his bed. He then heard a knock on his door. He gasped, and pulled out a compact mirror to check if his makeup was messy. Thankfully, it wasn’t.

“Come in!” He called. The door opened, and Toodles entered the room.

“Toodles, darling!” Glisten smiled, and knelt down in front of her. “I’m afraid we can’t do makeovers today, I still have to go over to Razzle and Dazzle’s room to help them rehearse… And I have to look for something I lost.”

“I’m not here for makeovers, Glisten.” Toodles said in a serious voice, as Rodger entered the room behind her.

“We need some answers.” Rodger added. Glisten’s eyes widened, and he stood up, dusting himself off.

“Rodger!” He cried, taking a breath. “I wasn’t expecting to see you today! I thought you were getting ready for Goob’s party, like everyone else!”

“I am, in my own way.” Rodger said. “Scraps is missing her birthday present for her brother, and we found your makeup on the towel she hid it with.” He let out a little growl. “Why were you in their room?”

“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Glisten backed up until he bumped into his bed. He leaned against it, nervous at Rodger and Toodles staring him down. He loved to be stared at, but not like this…

“Glisten, we can either do this the easy way, or the hard way.” Rodger sternly spoke. “Boxten did happen to give me a way to make you talk after all.” Toodles smirked as he said that.

“I really wanna know if he’s right!” Toodles added.

Glisten gulped. He was backed in a corner… but he couldn’t let them find out why he was in the craft siblings’ room.

“Look, even if I wanted to tell you, I can’t…” He begged. “It wouldn’t be right of me to spoil it!”

“It also wouldn’t be right to steal a birthday present.” Rodger retorted. Glisten gasped.

“You think I stole it?” The vain mirror cried. “I would never do that to her! I may be self centered, but I’m not cruel!”

Rodger glared, but his eyes closed, and he took a deep breath.

“Fine. Then we’re doing this the hard way.” He said calmly. “Go on, Toodles.”

“Yay!” The eight ball grabbed onto Glisten, and clung to his midsection like a koala. Glisten yelped, and fell backwards onto the bed, being careful not to hurt her.

“H-hey!” The mirror cried. “What are you doing?!”

He tried to pull her off without harming her by mistake, but the girl had a really strong grip. Glisten then yelped again when he felt Toodles’ hands scribble up and down his sides and back, and rubbing where her nose would be over his stomach. Glisten tried not to react, but since he was really ticklish, he really couldn’t, and he burst out laughing.

“L-let go of me! That tickles!” Glisten laughed, as he tried not to struggle too much out of worry of hurting her, but it was very hard.

“Better get to talking then, Glisten. She can do this all day. Believe me, I know...” Rodger shivered as he watched Toodles tickle the mirror. But he had to admit, it was really entertaining to watch.

Looks like Boxten wasn’t lying.

After a minute, Glisten cracked, though not literally.

“Okay, okay! I’ll talk!” Glisten waved the white flag. Toodles was a ruthless tickler. Everyone who was friends with her could vouch for that.

“Alright, little detective, that’s enough. Let him go.” Rodger said. Toodles nodded, and mostly got off of Glisten. She still sat on his knees, however.

“If you hold back details, I’ll tickle you again!” She giggled mischievously.

“I won’t, I promise!” Glisten gulped. He knew Toodles wasn’t the type to go back on her word.

Rodger grabbed a chair, and sat down in front of the bed. He held up his notepad, his eye narrowing.

“Look…” Glisten began. “I did take Scraps’ present from under her bed. Gigi told me that Scraps couldn’t get her present wrapped correctly, so I went to retrieve it while she was busy. I did it so I could wrap it properly, and make it as beautiful as the gift I wrapped.” His eyes widened when Rodger glared at him.

“But I was going to give it back! I don’t have it anymore, I swear!” The mirror cried. “I ran out of glitter, so I went get some more from the art cabinet! But when I came back, it was gone!”

“Why would Gigi tell you Scraps couldn’t wrap her gift right?” Rodger pondered. “Why would that be her business?”

I-I don’t know, I promise! I just wanted to help Scraps!” He was nervous Toodles would think that he was lying.

Rodger nodded, taking a deep breath. He finished writing everything in his notepad.

“Let him go, Toodles. We have a certain capsule to confront.” He stood up.

Toodles smiled slightly, and poked Glisten in the stomach again, making him squeak.

“We can still do makeovers after Goob’s party tomorrow, right?” Toodles asked cheerfully. Glisten nodded.

“Sure, not a problem, darling…”

Toodles giggled, and got off Glisten, following Rodger out of the room.

————————————————————————————————————————————

Gigi was putting away a few things she had gathered in her room. Her room was a big mess, but it was her mess. At least, that was what she told Tisha. She had a bunch of junk or items she took from other Toons scattered around in various piles. It was completely organized to her.

“Let’s see… Poppy’s new soda flavors can go in the edible pile, and the limited edition candy wrappers can go in the foil pile.” The capsule muttered under her breath.

The capsule heard a knock on her door, and when she opened it, her eyes widened. She never really got along that well with Rodger, so him coming to see her with Toodles right behind him must be for a reason.

“Oh, um… Hey there, Rodger.” Gigi laughed nervously. “Care to see a few new items I got for my collection?”

“I’m not here for observing, Gigi.” Rodger said firmly. “Care to explain why you told Glisten that Scraps couldn’t wrap her gift right? Why is that your business?”

Gigi’s eyes widened. That prissy mirror told them? Oh, she had a lot of strong words for that vain, overconfident piece of glass…

“Rodger, it’s not what it sounds like, i-it really isn’t…” Gigi stuttered.

“Then what does it sound like?” Toodles cried suddenly. “Maybe it sounds like you set Glisten up to steal Scraps’ present!”

“Now, Toodles…” Rodger put a hand on her shoulder. “Let’s not jump to conclusions.” He knew Toodles was right, but he wanted Gigi to admit it herself.

Gigi took a deep breath. She opened the capsule top in her head, and pulled out a box overly covered in glitter and pink.

“Fine… it was me.” She admitted.

Gigi handed the present to Rodger, and the magnifying glass handed it to Toodles to hold. She smiled brightly, and kept it safe. She knew how special birthday presents were.

“Flutter needing Scraps to help make a book cover was the perfect way to get that present, wasn’t it?” Rodger said. “And you knew you couldn’t get in there without leaving an obvious trail, and you knew Glisten couldn’t resist dolling up Scraps’s gift, so you sent him to retrieve it, so you could get it from his room…”

Gigi nodded. “Yeah… And I knew Scraps would get the perfect present for Goob, she’s his sister.”

“I just don’t understand.” Rodger pondered. “Why did you do it? Don’t you have plenty of items for your collection? And stealing birthday presents is just… cruel.”

“I know…” Gigi sighed. “But I didn’t take it for me. I took it for Goob. Scraps knew exactly what Goob wanted, and I don’t. And I can’t give up anything from my collection due to sentimental reasons.” She looked down in shame. “I want Goob to have a wonderful birthday, so I wanted to give him a present I knew he’d like…”

“But why take someone else’s present and not give your own?” Rodger asked.

“Because…” Gigi wrapped her sweater covered arms around herself. “I want my friends to have a good birthday by giving them something they like. But I never know what to get them… So getting gifts from others to pass off as my own feels like the only way.”

“It’s not, Gigi.” Toodles piped up. “It doesn’t matter what the present is, or how valuable it is. It’s the thought that counts, and the love you put into it.” She smiled a bit. “Take the gift I made for Goob for example. It’s just a drawing of me playing with him, but I know he’ll love it! Because I worked hard and put love into it!”

Gigi thought for a moment. “Maybe you’re right.” Gigi muttered. “But even if that’s true, I still don’t know what to do for him. It’s hard to get creative.” She sighed.

“Well…” Rodger’s eye caught something in Gigi’s collection. It was a pack of glittery stickers.

“Why don’t you start small?”

He picked up the pack of stickers, and handed them to the capsule. Gigi stared at them, a little confused.

“You want me to give these to Goob?” Gigi asked. Rodger nodded.

“They’re small, thoughtful, and he’d like them.” Rodger explained. “I know you struggle to give things away since you like keeping them… But everyone can start somewhere.”

Gigi thought about it. It was true, her hoarding was becoming a problem. Tisha wouldn’t even talk to her anymore due to how messy her room was, and so many Toons were upset that she kept their stuff. Maybe this was a good idea. Good for everyone.

“Okay… I’ll try, Rodger. And… tell Scraps I’m sorry for stealing her present.”

“You can tell her that yourself at Goob’s party.” Rodger said firmly, but without ill intent. He slowly left the room, Toodles skipping behind him.

Scraps was walking down the hall, and she saw Rodger and Toodles in front of her. She walked over to them, a little nervous.

“Rodger! Toodles!” She cried. “Great to see you. Have you found my gift yet?” Toodles nodded.

“We did!” The eight ball held up the neat, glittery present box for Scraps.

Scraps let out a delighted purr, and took the present from Scraps. She took a peek inside, and her gift was still in there, and perfectly intact. She trilled happily.

“Oh, thank you!” She gave Rodger a hug, then bent down to give one to Toodles. “Thank you so much! This means so much to me!”

“All in a day’s work, Scraps.” Rodger chuckled. Toodles nodded.

“And in a junior detective’s work, too!” She piped up. Scraps laughed and rubbed Toodles’ head.

“You both did great. Now, you two better get ready for the party tomorrow. I’ll make sure Sprout and Cosmo can get you both extra cake!” Scraps then rushed back to her room.

Rodger looked down at Toodles, a gentle look in his eye.

“You did wonderful, Toodles. Finding the evidence, getting answers from Glisten, and making sure the property was returned to its owner. You’re a great little detective.”

Toodles felt a rush of excitement in her heart. She rushed to Rodger, and gave him a hug that nearly knocked the wind out of him. He chuckled, and returned it. Toodles then smirked slightly, and looked up at the magnifying glass.

“You do realize you essentially told Glisten that I tickled you all day one time, right?” She asked playfully. Rodger rolled his eye, but still was obviously cheerful.

“He doesn’t know the full story, and I intend to keep it that way.”

————————————————————————————————————————————

The next day, Goob’s birthday party was in full swing. After he blew out his candles, and Sprout and Cosmo handed out pieces of cake, Goob went through the gifts the other Toons got for him. He loved every single one, whether they were toys, art supplies, or just cards with drawings. It was the thought that counted.

Finally, he got to Scraps’ present. He was saving it for last, as he knew his sister would give him something wonderful. His arms were a little difficult to manage sometimes. They were great for hugs… not much for opening things.

“Need help with that, Goob?” Cosmo offered. The fluffy craft shook his head.

“No, I got it!” He cried. “It’s hard to get it open without messing with the paper too much! It’s too pretty to destroy!”

Glisten chuckled. He knew helping Scraps was a good idea. Even if Gigi set him up.

Goob finally got the gift open after a minute of trying. He gasped slightly at its contents. It was a wonderfully knit pair of mittens. One was red with a blue heart on the palm, and the other was blue with a red heart on the palm. And on the back of the mittens were silhouettes of the craft siblings. Scraps got up from her chair after finishing her slice of cake to help him put them on.

“Wow, sis! I love them!” Goob cried. “They’re so warm and comfy! Perfect for winter!” He said excitedly. Scraps smiled.

“Yeah, well… they’re for more than that.” Scraps admitted. “I noticed you’re… a bit scared to give hugs to the more fragile Toons. Like Poppy and Looey for example.” She took a little breath. “So I made sure they were extra soft so you wouldn’t risk popping or harming them in any way.”

Goob was silent for a moment, before little tears formed in his eyes. He then stretched his arms to wrap around his sister’s middle, and pulled her into the tightest, warmest hug he could muster.

“I love them, I love them!” He cried in an ecstatic, overjoyed tone. “Thank you, thank you!” Scraps laughed as Goob hugged her.

“Easy, little bro!” She joked. “You’ll make my tail crumple!”

As Scraps promised, Toodles and Rodger both got an extra slice of cake for their help. Toodles was happy, but Rodger packed his extra slice for later. While everyone was mingling and playing party games, Gigi walked over to Rodger and Toodles.

“Um… I just wanted to thank you both.” Gigi said nervously. “I’m really glad Goob liked the stickers. And you’re both right… I shouldn’t take other people’s gifts just to regift and impress others. I’m sorry.”

“At least you learned your lesson.” Rodger said. “And that improvement won’t appear overnight. Just start small, like we talked about.”

“Right.” Flutter then pulled Gigi away to play a game. Toodles grinned at Rodger.

“Does this mean I’m your full-time junior detective?” Toodles asked cheerfully. Rodger chuckled.