“Have you heard of a costume shop called The Second Skin?” Manny asked curiously.
It was odd hearing someone else describe their time at The Second Skin. Nick’s disassembled pieces of armor weren’t going anywhere however, so he let Manny the Mannequin get on with his story.
“It was a seriously weird shop.” Manny whispered softly. “All these pro level costumes, and the shopkeeper was dressed like- Oh. I guess he really was a wizard…?”
Nick nodded his helmet up and down. He could tell him about his encounter with Merlin later- Woah! He needed to be careful, he was liable to rock his head right off the shelf. He wasn’t sure his rusty metal could survive the fall.
“So I told this Merlin guy I needed a dance belt…” Manny continued.
Merlin walked Manuel past the usual costume displays. As he (or maybe the shop?) got a feel for the new customer, the inventory they walked past started to take on a different tone.
“Alright, I think my dance belts are over here,” Merlin pointed, walking down an aisle.
Manuel followed after him, but quickly drew to a stop. “What’s all this? Are you not done with this aisle yet?”
The small half-aisle in the back was full of mannequins. Short ones, tall ones, plastic things and old wooden props. All of them were undressed and slumped against a row of shelves.
Merlin looked up from a rack of belts. “What? Oh! No, those are costumes.”
“Costumes?” Manuel stared. He walked over to the nearest one. It looked like it was an old wooden department store model, but the grainy texture felt off. It seemed like it was made out of flexible foam core, and sure enough the faux wood had a bit of give to it when he pressed into it. Manuel flipped it over, spotting a discrete zipper on the figure’s chest. “Who would want to dress up like a mannequin?”
“Who indeed Manuel,” Merlin shrugged, “People keep renting them, so I keep making them.”
“Right but… It’s kinda weird, right?” Manuel pulled the zipper down, sliding his hand inside the fake wooden torso’s inner cavity. It was nice and hollow, with just a bit of padding.
“I wouldn’t go that far.” Merlin grinned, “What do you need the dance belt for?”
“Oh umm… I already have a costume picked out,” Manuel started to look sheepish, “I bought one of those spandex body suits. It turns out it’s way more revealing than I thought.”
“That’s it?” Merlin raised an eyebrow, “Because I may have some good costume options outside of just being covered in green spandex.”
“Oh! It’s white and- I pull it on over one of those puffy muscle suits.” Manuel started to explain.
“You like showing off Manuel?” Merlin smiled.
Manuel went flush, “Kind of. It’s more like I enjoyed… Being on display?”
“Ah,” Merlin nodded, “You want to be an art piece. Everyone’s eyes fixed on appreciating you.”
Manuel opened his mouth to speak, but just bashfully nodded.
Merlin patted him on the back, “I think I’ve got just the mannequin for you. Glistening white plastic, very eye catching. Come on Manu-“
The wizard shopkeeper stopped. He adjusted his robe for a moment and looked up at Manuel. “Do your friends call you Manny? Manny the Mannequin has a nice ring to it, don’t you think?”
“Uh- Yeah, they sometimes do.” Manuel nodded again as he let Merlin lead him deeper into the aisle.
Manny spun on his display stand, “I didn’t realize it at the time… But I don’t think I had even told Merlin my name at that point…”
One half of Nick’s visor tilted up skeptically, “You know… I’m sure he gets that a lot.”
“Ha,” Manny wobbled, “So that’s when I saw it…”
Nick didn’t have to visualize as hard for this next part. Manny was describing a costume version of the static figure posed in front of him.
Merlin started by holding up a chest piece, “This is one of my more modern takes. What do you think?”
Judging from the weight and the amount of give it had in his hands, Manuel was looking at more foam core. The sheen on its white surface was incredible though. He could swear he was looking at a glossy plastic surface.
The torso was buff. Vaguely buff. It had the right shape, but the details were all washed out. Where there should have been a well defined six (or maybe even eight) pack, Manuel instead just saw a ripple of “plastic” implying muscles. The suit lacked a firm definition between the chest and its pecks, and it didn’t have any trace of nipples. To say nothing of a belly button.
The broad strokes were all there though. Literally. It had nice broad shoulders, which continued down to thick forearms. The hands were likewise just as washed out. They had thumbs and were permanently in a “vaguely grasping something” shape, but the rest of the fingers were fused together in one big clump of plastic. It was like a human-scale Lego figure with a few bumps implying knuckles.
“It’s perfect,” Manuel stared, “Can I try it on?”
“Sure!” Merlin held it out to him, “It’s generally easier if you take your shirt off.”
“Seriously?” Manuel glared.
“You’re not the first customer I’ve see shirtless,” The shopkeeper laughed.
Manuel tugged off his t-shirt and traded it for the mannequin torso Merlin was holding. It was indeed light, and smooth to the touch. Somehow it felt a bit colder than he was expecting.
It took a minute to figure out. He had to unzip the front, then peel enough of the rigid material back to slide it on like a shirt. Things were more stiff than he had imagined, but the effect was amazing. The arms had fake shadows drawn on at the elbows and wrist, giving the illusion that the mannequin had distinct joints.
“You like it?” Merlin asked curiously.
“Yeah, this is really well done!” Manuel flexed a bit. He could feel the suit slide around on his shoulders. He tried to reach down to tug the zipper up, but he was having a hard time pinching the outfit’s gloves around his hands.
“Leave it. We need to get your legs first.” Merlin waved for him to follow. “Same style as before? Tastefully ambiguous?”
“Uh, sure?” Manuel followed after the “wizard”. He paused, thinking for a moment, “Do you have anything… not tasteful?”
“Yes…? Sex shops need mannequins too.” Merlin raised an eyebrow, “Is that the look you’re going for?”
“My friends were giving me a hard time about the spandex. It might be fun to show up with a plastic doodad on display.” Manuel grinned, “I can take it off after the joke.”
Merlin laughed, “You’re making a lot of assumptions about my costumes. I think I had a design that leaned into the modular look.”
The shopkeeper walked over to another pair of white legs. The fake “joints” were a bit more obvious this time, but that’s not what Manuel was staring at. Between the costume’s legs was a large threaded screw base.
“Try ‘em on, I’ll look for its bits.” Merlin chuckled.
That was easier said than done. Manuel’s arms kept wanting to stay at his sides. He managed to get the costume propped up against the wall and-
“Oh, no pants please.” Merlin added.
“Wow, you’re steering right into pervy shopkeeper territory huh?” Manuel stared at Merlin.
“Hey! You just asked me to help put your cock on display.” Merlin furrowed his brow, “Glass houses and all that.”
“Not my cock.” Manuel protested, fumbling with his pants. “Just a plastic-“
“Manny, where do you think yours is going to go?” Merlin pointed down at the legs.
The hips weren’t exactly large, and the crotch was tight against the wearer’s legs. Just about the only spot was… the large hole joint on the front.
“Oh you’ve got to be kidding me.” Manuel went flush. “I- Watch the front door.”
Manuel pushed his pants and boxers down with one swift tug.
“Oh wow, you… are kind of a perv too.” Nick rattled.
“I saw a satyr earlier…” Manny whispered back, “I doubt I’m in the top three at the frat house tonight.”
Manuel managed to keep his balance as he slid into the pants. The “plastic” had a little give to it, but not much. He wished the featureless foot-shaped shoes had a bit more grip to them.. Before he could dwell on it too long, the frat boy suddenly felt a draft between his legs.
Manuel’s cock and balls had slid through the joint like an extra-large cock ring. (He assumed, this was the wildest thing he’d ever done in his life.) He could feel himself starting to get a little worked up.
Manuel reached down to cover himself… but couldn’t. His back was too rigid to bend over, and his arms didn’t reach that far down.
“Oh fuck, I could use a hand over here…!” Manuel’s face was a deep scarlet.
Merlin just stood there. He was holding two plastic pieces in his hands. “Hmm… do you want flaccid or erect?”
“Oh my god, I don’t care…! Just cover me up!” Manuel practically shouted.
“Tch,” Merlin clicked his tongue, “Relax.”
The shopkeeper bent down and started sliding a hard piece of plastic over Manuel’s exposed manhood. This was the real deal, not a bit of foam. He had to spin it around the base a few times, giving Manuel an odd perspective on the plastic manhood’s smoothed over impression of a pair of balls. Finally Merlin pulled his hand back though, and Manuel got a good look.
The white plastic was just as vague as the rest of his body. The key details were there though. Defined head, long shaft, dangling balls. He was officially a mannequin with a boner. From the neck down at least.
“Oh man, this wasn’t a good idea.” Manuel blushed.
“Relax, it’s not your cock. It’s just a pervy pair pants.” He held up another plastic cock. This one was a limp bundle that looked suited for filling out an underwear display. “Would you prefer the flaccid one?”
“Uh- No, let’s just hurry up and finish so I can buy this and get out of here. Where’s the mask?” Manuel glanced around.
“Just this way. Lots of options here.” Merlin grinned, watching Manuel try to waddle after him in the stiff pants. “You could go with a smooth oval, something vaguely human, and I’ve got a 3D printer in the back if you want a plastic version of your head.”
Manuel blinked, “Just how many of these orders do you get…?”
“Enough.” Merlin shrugged, “I must insist that you rent the outfit first though. It’s really not for everyone, and I don’t want you to get stuck with something you don’t enjoy.”
“I’m enjoying this.” Manuel laughed, looking down between his legs, “You can’t tell?”
“Still.” Merlin stoped in front of a shelf that was just floor to ceiling with mannequin heads. In another context it might have seemed creepy.
What was creepy was how easily Merlin was able to locate a mask for Manuel.
“Try this on,” He held up the white plastic helpfully.
The mask was… Manuel’s face with the features worn away. There were no eyes or mouth, just a nose that tapered into the rest of the face at a slightly inhuman angle. The ears on the side were completely filled in, and the chin was approaching “abstract sphere” levels of smoothness. The top however had Manuel’s exact haircut carved out of smooth plastic.
Merlin could clearly see Manuel’s astonishment. “It’s a popular hair style.”
He picked the helmet up out of Manuel’s hands, “You might need some help putting this on. Don’t worry, there’s some transparent plastic so you can still see.”
“Right, I- But-“ Manuel stammered.
Merlin stood on his top toes, sliding the plastic head down over Manuel’s face. He smirked just before getting to his eyes, “You may want to hold your breath by the way.”
Moments later, Manuel slipped into pitch black darkness. The mask was tight! the plastic pressed against his face and- There wasn’t a mouth on this thing! How was he supposed to breathe!?
He tried to raise his hands up, but then as quickly as the world disappeared, it popped back into view. Two semi-transparent circles lined up with his eyes, and his nose was pressed into the mask’s nose opening.
“Thanks for the warning,” Manuel said sarcastically, taking in a few breaths of fresh air.
The words bounced around inside his mask. All that managed to escape his panting was a was a soft, “Thanks…”
“Any time.” Merlin patted him on the back. “Now then, just a few finishing touches…”
The mask needed to tuck into the chest piece, and the chest needed to tuck into the legs. Merlin taught him the order to do it if he wanted to get dressed up by himself later. Finally all that was left was the zipper.
It took a few times for Merlin to place Manuel’s hand around the zipper clasp.
“You do the honors.” The shopkeeper gave him an exaggerated bow.
Manuel slowly pulled the zipper up. The second the clasp hit the end of its track, it popped out of his plastic fingers. This was it. He was stuck as a mannequin until someone helped him unzip this thing.
Well, a mannequin that could move. Manuel walked over to a nearby mirror. He turned and flexed, admiring his reflection. It was absolutely stunning. He looked looked like one of the shop’s displays had just decided to walk off their stand and pose in front of the mirror. If you ignored the zipper on his chest of course.
“Incredible…!” He tried to shout through the mask.
“I rent these out for about fifty bucks a week.” Merlin rubbed his hand along Manuel’s smooth shoulder, “It looks good on you Manny.”
Manuel shook his head, “I still want to buy it. How much?”
Merlin looked skeptical, “I can hold it for you for Halloween if that’s your concern. Really, I must insist.”
Manuel shook his head again, and swiveled his torso a bit for good measure. “It’s fine, I like this. How much?”
Merlin raised and eyebrow, “I’ll tell you what…”