Work Text:
A person rushes into their bedroom, passing by a covered mirror. As they sit on their bed, the little box in their hands is shaking from how excited they are. They open their present— the wrapping flying around like confetti as it celebrates with them.
They couldn't believe this stuff's real! Okay, there's a good chance it isn't or that it doesn't work for them specifically, but if it works—!
Opening the box, they find a surprisingly small tube along with written instructions for it. They read the important parts like having to apply it daily and at around the same time; the effects they skim a bit because they know what it's meant to do to them.
Oh, yeah, they'll need a towel for their hands! They grab one from the drawer near them then twisted the tube open.
The smell of dough wafts through the air. They giggle in anticipation. A little squeeze is all it took for the light brown goop to come out. They put some on their hands and slather it around both arms.
The sticky, greasy feeling thankfully doesn't last long. While patting their arms dry with the towel, a pleasant warmth replaced those feelings. It's absorbing into their skin already!
After they're done, they put on an orange sweater to hide their arms. Have to be careful! Not everyone wants to be turned into Fake Peppino~
It's nice noticing the little things that change after a couple days of doing this: patches of their arms feel a lot softer than they were a couple days ago; their voice got a bit deeper— that was quick— and they swear their nose got a little longer alongside that mustache that's starting to grow.
They don't really want to check for sure in the mirror, but they can feel the little hairs on the top of their lip!
After a couple weeks, he's starting to apply it on their legs now. Their proportions are a bit off— his arms are longer than their legs now! Haven't figured out how to control the length of their arms, so they've been like that for the last week or so, but there's less joint pain, he doesn't have to deal with dry, itchy skin that much, and they're so warm and doughy; it's worth the learning curve!
His upper body's getting softer too. If he presses down on the skin there it leaves a little imprint before bouncing back. The color of it is starting to match with the mimicked clothing too— turning a shade of white and black.
He found out he can understand backwards speech and frog croaks a little. Not too much, just a few words and a couple of croaks that they get the meaning of; still cool though!
They have a full mustache now! Still getting used to his nose being this long.
He puts on some pants after applying the goop. They're really craving some pizza! Might make some later!
Months have passed now. They completely emptied the tube. A lot has changed, but some things stayed.
Like, his skin still has spotty patches, but they don't cause him any pain anymore. His body's big, warm, and soft. Along with their long, stretchy limbs, they could now hug all of their friends at once!
They were about to leave their bedroom when he noticed the cloth-covered mirror.
They've been... avoiding getting a proper look at himself. They can feel it. He knows that he's changed so much, but they can't help but be a bit nervous at what they're going to see.
He takes a few deep breaths.
They're gonna do it.
He wants to know what he looks like.
He's standing a couple feet away with his eyes closed; arm stretched out to pull the cloth on the count of three.
One...
Two...
Three!
After pulling it, he opens his eyes.
...
...
Oh...!
The dough near his eye sockets melt; Pep stretches forward, leaning closer to the mirror and grinning widely at their reflection.
He looks at the face before them: Soft, doughy skin, shifted chef's hat, handsome little mustache, and swirled, rosy cheeks reflect back at him.
It's him! There they are!