#as to how Victor and Cranky discovered a love for alcohol... blame their previous handlers...

[mwolf0epsilon]

Seeing your little doodle of Henry and his cake had me thinking: can a mimic eat the same foods we humans eat? Or do they have dietary restrictions much like how animals can't eat specific foods e.g. chocolate, coffee, etc? Are they capable of consuming things like coal and oil like the engine they impersonate?

Yes, mimics can indeed eat the same foods as humans.

But they are also constrained by some dietary restrictions due to their organs taking on the specifications of the vehicle or heavy machine they've taken on as their final form. So, essentially, depending on what they become, a mimic's diet will change to accommodate the fuel type and the crews are responsible for preparing their food to specification.

Steam engine mimics consume coal, so they become more carnivorous in nature because they quite literally burn through calories very quickly (they run hotter than other mimics and, while their stomach acid is strong enough to burn through organic matter and metal, they are more likely to get sick if they eat synthetic chemicals).

Diesel engine mimics consume diesel fuel, so they are more herbivorous in nature so as to not overload their system with more carbon (they can on occasion consume protein to balance out their natural requirements, and they're considerably more resistant to poisoning than steam engine mimics, but they still have their limits).

Road vehicle mimics are more omnivorous because their fuels vary, and you even have crane mimics who are more often than not piscivorous or insectivorous.

That of course doesn't mean they can't have a few special treats of their preference. Human foods are especially delectable to mimics who view them as the most luxurious things that their handlers can offer them in return for work (being minor fae, mimics have a concept of value that they assign certain goods and services, and human food is at the very top of the list on the scale of offerings).

The only common denominator is that mimics are not allowed to have carbonated drinks because it seems to nullify the effects of Golden Dust Inc. Feed™ which is what railways use to shrink them when they're not in service (no one is sure why this is, but as a general rule of thumb you shouldn't give critters soda anyway...).

Here's a known list of what foods/snacks/desserts and drinks one can use to reward/bribe specific mimics (this is an excerpt from the Fat Controller's notebook, so it's not a complete list), some of which raise some eyebrows:

Glynn - English Breakfast / Earl grey tea

Thomas - Savoury pastries / Store-bought orange juice

Edward - Fish and Chips / Chamomile tea

Henry - Fish jerky or pickled veggies / Fresh fruit juice

Gordon - Chocolate pastries / Mint tea

James - Pancakes topped with fruit / Strawberry milkshake

Percy - Grilled cheese sandwich / Chocolate milk

Toby - English muffins / Black coffee

Duck - Cadbury creme eggs / Oat milk

Donald & Douglas - Cullen skink and shepherd's pie / Honey lemon milk

Oliver - Werther's Originals / Latte

Toad - Banana chips / Banana milkshake

Emily - Blueberry muffins / Black tea

Rosie - Banana bread / Cranberry Juice

Ryan - Pasty barm / Beetroot juice

Bill & Ben - Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches / Hot cocoa

Diesel - Steamed Brussels sprouts with melted cheese / Blackberry juice

BoCo - Chocolate pudding / Cappuccino

Daisy - Ambrosia fruit salad / Honeydew juice

Mavis - Fruit tarts / Tutti frutti smoothie

Paxton - Spicy sweet potato fries / Orange carrot mango smoothie

Diesel 10 - Bone Marrow Soup / Pineapple juice

Victor - Ropa Vieja / Rum

Kevin - Tuna salad sandwich / Dr. Pepper

Hiro - Fried chicken wings / Lemon tea (Substitutes for his favourite snacks from home)

Salty - Salted pretzels / Lemonade

Porter - Stuffed squid / Lemonade

Cranky - Crabsticks / Whiskey

Naturally no one is encouraged to give a mimic alcohol, especially not during work hours. It's not bad for them per say (I mean, alcohol isn't good for anyone really, you know what I mean) but it certainly isn't making any of them overly productive...