Clothing mimics have it easy.

They’re born with all the tools to blend right in with their prey with nary a sweat. Their anthropomorphic forms match up nicely to the majority of the populace. Hell, they’ve even gotten much more sociable in this modern era thanks to their personable advantage. Why risk being hunted and despised when it’s so much more rewarding to chat and cuddle your way into a loving, fruitful relationship? Not that they all subscribe to this philosophy, but at least they have the choice.

Mimics born into other fates such as furniture, appliances or near-on anything else aren’t quite as gifted. Their forms defy societal norms, scaring people away and widening the gulf between the two. As a result, a great deal of mimics on this end of spectrum stick to their roots, sneaking around best they can to create reasonable hunting opportunities. Others are a little more stoic in their dealings, potentially hiding their true feelings and hardships behind a stony wall of dignified status. They’re real party animals. You’ll also find mimics that never forget that chip on their shoulder, nor will they let you.

And then there’s Fridj, a refrigerator mimic too proud to even appear like your average white appliance. The candy apple-colored fellow couldn’t even be bothered to come up with a better name, but don’t you dare think to disparage him over it. Besides that, Fridj has a confident demeanor laced with whimsy that you just don’t often find in his category of the mimic species. It comes down to the fact that he’s been blessed with a form that helps makes getting food a breeze. With little more than a decent amount of discretion, the fridge mimic literally has people delivering him food! And once he can pick out and study who he’ll be dealing with on a daily basis, the mimic can even get a little less cautious with his hiding. He’s the one with all their precious groceries after all!

Speaking of which, it pays to be a little more thoughtful with how you store things inside Fridj. He’s surprisingly active for a two-ton monster, and fragile things like glass or eggs rarely survive intact within him between movements and form shifting. Though he has control over what does and doesn’t appear inside him, gravity and momentum never cease their torment. So put a little love and effort when you pack Fridj full of leftovers. Else you’ll find yourself cleaning away at a mess inside him. And it’s probably in your best interest to not hang out inside of something that can double as a orifice full of sharp teeth and a hungry tongue if you can help it.

As for why this guy’s so spry, you can chalk that up mostly to his developed love for cooking. With most of Fridj’s life spent silently watching from a corner of a kitchen, he’s developed quite the knack for food preparation. And with half the kitchen pantry right at his matte black fingertips, the mimic’s never been one to shy away from another culinary inspiration. Most of his “owners” find wonderfully prepared food in and around their shiny red fridge that they can’t explain. What’s more, half the time the door gets a little feisty when they try and pull it out for a closer look. Fridj isn’t always in a sharing is caring sort of mood. But if he witnesses a dietary disaster in the making before him, a passion may burn bright to try and intervene.

Fridj is a mimic of many talents to be sure. It should go without saying that he’s acquired an impressive mastery of ice magic. What’s more appropriate for a boastful refrigerator than being able to keep an ice tray fill up without a hint a frost while simultaneously keeping everything free of freezer burn? He has every right to be proud of himself! He can even manipulate magnets across his skin with just a thought, spelling out messages with letter magnets (Fridj’s learned to keep a stash ready at all times) or moving reminders around as necessary. Thankfully he knows how to dial it down a notch when dealing with folk he cares for. There aren’t many of those, but he’s in a position where a relationship with someone is actually an attainable goal!

And that’s what’s brought us to the present day. The decades finally lead the adventurous appliance to a densely populated Federation city. Typically finding his way into a kitchen or breakroom is a snap—people may question a strange, red fridge appearing out of nowhere, but almost as strange is their ability to adapt and not question it further—this time out the mimic decided merely to sleep out in the streets in his disguise. What he hadn’t counted on was someone finding him and wheeling him back to their home! Cities are full of early adults lacking in funds who aren’t afraid to pick something up off the road that appears to be in working order! It’s hard enough getting the two-floor condominium let alone furnishing it.

So it was Fridj’s first time forced along into a scenario where he was alone with another individual most of the time. Part of him wanted to just beat heavy, red feet out of there, but they seemed pretty nice. So, he started off as he always did: hiding in plain sight, helping himself to this and that to the confusion of his new housemate, and secretly learning all about his new kitchen’s cooking potential whenever gazes had been cast away. But this time… it was just them. There was the occasional guest, sure, but most of the mimic’s company was limited to this one individual, morning-to-night. It was a small, open two-floor apartment. It was hard to not be a spectator to someone’s life, one wherein they thought they were in complete privacy.

The mimic was much too proud to continue going on hiding from this character. Plus, they were just completely awful at realizing that foods mysteriously appearing and disappearing could be something worth investigating. So Fridj broke the ice the best way he knew how; he baked a beautiful cake! And that glorious evening when his housemate got home from their soul-numbing 9-5, it was there on the countertop, practically screaming hello. As they walked up to it—completely bewildered—a deep voice from behind them bellowed out, “Well? What do you think?”

Now, any good little origin story could end there and leave the rest to your imagination. But there’s a little more fun to this developing dynamic between fridge and friend. There are plenty of conversations, cooking surprises and brushes with being discovered by neighbors to be had for certain. You also have a few surprises with how a hug with an enormous metal monster that’s been hunched over a range all day is a poor idea. But what’s really worth sharing is what happens when the housemate’s mother visits. She’s a well-meaning helicopter parent that can never quite fully admit that her baby’s left the nest. And part of her continued responsibility is to come visit and cook for her only child.

Problem is, her cooking is rated a class 3 biological hazard by the Federation. We’re talking mango and soysauce for bolognese sauce. While her child may have evolved an cast iron stomach to ward off such disasters, Fridj’s discerning taste isn’t quite as resistant. The second she visited and set her casserole within his body, his fine mimic senses were assaulted like never before. For the first time in his long, interesting life, he regretted the ability to taste all his contents. But out of respect for his new friend, he remained hidden. Flinching, groaning and gagging, sure, but hidden regardless!

However, the exact second she left back for home, his door thrust open revealing a monstrous maw of teeth, shelves, slime, and tongue, and out came nearly all of his contents. Fridj spend most of that night gargling with buckets of saltwater trying to forget the taste while his poor companion was left to clean up a brand new sort of mess. And this sort of thing went on for quite awhile. Fridj learned to despise her visits based solely on the apocalypse her “expertise” would invite. The mimic would rearrange his magnet letters into rude remarks about her food or act as though he were going to gobble her up whenever she turned her back on him, much to the chagrin of her offspring.

Enough was finally enough when one day she just about replaced vanilla for vinegar in a cake recipe based solely on name similarities. The deranged mimic promptly grabbed the woman’s hand with a loud rejection, set her off to the side and went about salvaging the mess she’d created with an amazing banquet, all the while mumbling and grumbling under his breath. She was completely speechless. Finally, he returned to his corner with a very defiant, proud HMPH while landing back down as a “normal” fridge once more.

Needless to say, this changed the dynamic from that day forward. Contrary to what most would believe—and thanks to some very, very heartfelt pleading from her progeny—the mother came to really love Fridj. She was unusually receptive to someone sticking up for her baby to her, and came to see them more as an awkward couple than anything else. And, as expected, she made no bones about that feeling to two of them, continuously forcing Fridj and his new friend to confront their true feelings. Things couldn’t have worked out better for the two of them, honestly!

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Fridj was born between some fun blab between me and  neekokarina (also the artist of course). In case you skipped on past my writeup, Fridj is part of Neeko's mimic race! And they're the first object mimic to get beyond mere thoughts XD

But he's a great, big fella, and I look forward to doing more fun stuff with him. <3