video.

[inquisitive]

[ click! video starts recording, and here's kasukabe carefully setting the camera down on a table, making sure it's angled up. once he sees it's recording properly, he waves a hand into the camera. ]

Hello.

[ and then he reaches down, picks something up, and sets it down on the table so the camera can catch it:



yes, that is one of the rats from the gen lab jury-rigged to a huge, ghetto-ed together battery strapped to its back. despite its evident frankenstein-ification it doesn't seem uncomfortable; it snuffles quietly at the camera, wiggling its nose. the light embedded in its tail glows steadily. ]

This guy doesn't have a name yet. But if you see him around, don't be alarmed! He's very docile and I'm testing out how well he can act as a scout or retriever. He won't bite or attack people.

[ pause. ]

I guess he might be a little slow to react, so if you accidentally step on him or something, let me know. He should be able to take a little wear and tear, but just in case.

Oh, and if you have any name recommendations I'll gladly take them.

Comments

video

[cobaltblue]

[Just... staring for a bit before turning on the video, here, yeah.]

What. The fuck. Is that.

video

[inquisitive]

One of the rats from the genetics lab.

[video]

[doc_pompous]

[There are times when Simon has to sit back and ask himself

'is this real life'

this is one of those times and the answer is

yes

yes this is real life.]

You need to keep that thing in quarantine.

[video]

[inquisitive]

[ oh hello there coworker

without missing a beat: ]

Oh, don't worry, he's clean now. I flushed him through with formalin and alcohol multiple times to make sure.

[text]

[doggedly]

what are you doing to it
what IS that on it

permavoice.

[inquisitive]

[ he's still tinkering around in his little area wearing grody gloves and stuff so typing is too annoying to bother with whoops ]

I fixed him. The thing on his back's a battery.

[bloodplay]

[yeah of course this is what i break hiatus for IT'S ENTHRALLING, OKAY
HE'S ENTHRALLED]

Damn. [his eyebrows scrunch up a little more! thoughtfully.] You really weren't kidding. Not that I thought you were, but actually seeing it -- well, that's something else.

[inquisitive]

Ahaha! I don't bluff about what I can and can't do!

[ he's not really bragging, more just stating it matter-of-factly. ]

There's still a little bit more fine-tune wiring that needs work to keep him more alert, but he's mostly done now.

vid

[mmmgorditas]

....

[DON'T MIND THE SLOWLY DAWNING LOOK OF HORROR AND CONFUSION OR ANYTHING, M8. He's just. Y'know. Gonna be staring at your....uh. Rat-thing.

But to the important matter at hand:]

Frank. You should call him Frank. [Short for "Frankensteined rat-thing."]

vid

[inquisitive]

I considered that, actually. But I already named something else Frankenstein back home, and I didn't want to make this little guy feel like he got a second-hand name.

text

[heltersskelter]

what the fuck?

permavoice.

[inquisitive]

Yes?

video;

[showbizpanache]

O-oh my god. Is it-- What did you do to it?

[He doesn't have much sympathy for the rats considering what they'd done to his leg, but there's something deeply effecting about a mutilated animal.]

video;

[inquisitive]

He was in pretty bad shape so I fixed him.

[ which is one way of putting it. ]

[thoughts]

Monster.

[inquisitive]

Ahaha, he's not a monster! He's really quite calm and cute, now.

voice;

[coffeeking]

...You put a lightbulb on its tail?

[Ianto isn't sure where to start, so he starts... there.]

voice;

[inquisitive]

I can remove it! But for now, it acts as an easy indicator of how much battery life he has left. The light will go dim and flicker when he's low on juice.

[endeavors]

[Oh... goodness. That is not what he was expecting to see. Ever.]

W- why would you do that?

[You might as well have told a toddler Santa doesn't exist. Same level of trauma.]

[inquisitive]

[ hey, it's not like he killed the rat just for these purposes, okay! ]

He was almost dead, and I figured he might make a useful helper.

text;

[abrahamic]

what the fucking jesus is that?

[ Blasphemy is completely justified in light of that holy shit. ]

voice.

[inquisitive]

[ gosh all you people have such weak stomachs, it's just a zombie-frankenstein rat ]

One of the rats from the genetics lab.

Video

[servant]

What have you done?

Video

[inquisitive]

I fixed an almost-dead rat.

video;

[talkstoengines]

Wǒde mā! [Someone's looking a little frightened - not of the rat, either.]

What did you do to it? The poor little guy...

video;

[inquisitive]

[ gosh, everyone here's so sensitive about a little rat-reconstruction. sigh, as he repeats, ]

I fixed an almost-dead rat.

video;

[chaineddog]

You should have let it die.

[Heine was in the genetics lab. He knows the creatures even if they all went skittering away. Seeing this one though, he practically snarls into the camera hoping that Nill doesn't see this.]

video;

[inquisitive]

[ mildly: ]

So I've been told.

voice;

[andyouwill]

[ Sounding charmed, like an adult presented with a child's finger painting ] Ingenious, though the battery may be a trifle cumbersome for some purposes.

No doubt you will conduct myriad tests, tinkerings, and adjustments, but do you intend to focus your efforts on this prototype alone, or to make more?

[ If you are making an undead cyborg rat army, dude, the Master wants details. ]

voice;

[inquisitive]

[ a thoughtful little hum before he answers. ]

Mmm, I don't really plan on making more. I only made this guy because I hadn't seen anything like him before, and I happened to have easy access to a dying specimen. I certainly don't plan on killing any more just to tinker with, and I think even if I did end up with more samples, the time it would take to modify them would far outweigh any benefits from the process.

video;

[angerissues]

What in the hell did you do? And more importantly, why did you do it?

video;

[inquisitive]

... this is really a big deal for some people here, huh?