r u sure mochi also means stickiness
if u google it a cake comes up. stickiness as a force of nature is somewhat more believable than cake but still too sketchy and vague.
he did the same thing with zoan awakeneds, they were obsolete the moment they were introduced and its understandable that yonko 1st mate has double awakened since he is high tier
big moms crew as a whole doesnt make much sense, they probably lied to the fishman for lulz
i am not saying this without any basis, multiple gear forms exist too so its very likely other fruit users get awakening more than once or twice
Dude. Katakuri isn't her First Mate, he's one of her Three Commanders. First Mate implies he'd be second in command of the Big Mom Pirates, or at minimum in charge of Big Mom's Flagship. Seeing as she told him off like he was a misbehaving toddler, I don't she's entrusted him to be in charge of anything.
Also, why would they lie to someone that was on their side, and don't say "for the lulz". Even if they had, Jinbe's knowledge of them seems to me like it's based on watching it in action, not someone telling him "Oh yeah, I've got the power of the cake-cake fruit. It's a logia." Would you believe him without proof? Clearly not, as you've stated. There's no way Jinbe would state unconfirmed information like it was an absolute fact. If he didn't make sure, then he's blindly trusting what his potential enemy says. He knew about how Katakuri's cake is weakened by water, and knew how Oven would attack and tried to warn Pedro about it. If they lied about there powers, then hot damn Jinbe must a mind reader.
Finally, the Gears are from Luffy making use of the way his rubber physiology and anatomy works. He originally activated Gear Second by pumbing his leg, which sped up his metabolism and accelerated his blood circulation. Gear Third is the result of him biting down to his bone, and inflating them with air. Gear Fourth was Gear Third but with his muscles, and a lot of Haki. That is not Awakening, as far as I'm aware. It IS, however, Luffy understanding how his body works with the Gomu Gomu. Saying that Luffy's awakened is like declaring Law's medical skills with his Ope Ope no Mi to be Awakening.