In case you haven't noticed, I really like rats. Skaven, Ratkin, real life rats, whatever, they all kick ass. If I could I'd be trying to get a pet rat right now, in fact. Meanwhile, let's get on to the Ratkin specifically...
Ok, the title of this page is obviously based on Smashing Pumpkins' "Bullet With Butterfly Wings". Even though it's not as close a parallel as "Lithium" is to Malkavians, it still makes a pretty decent anthem for Ratkin and shapechangers in general.
Ok, so why are Ratkin cool? More so, why are they often cooler than Garou? Well first of all they're rats, and rats are just generally cool. You see wolves and you think they're beautiful and cool. But when you see a rat you're grossed out and scared of it. Why? Wolves are way larger, but still people are more afraid of rats. Well, rats are more common, more filthy, and more agressive. Nobody hears urban legends of wolves carrying away babies, while giant sewer rats seem to do this on a regular basis. Also, people think that rats, despite being obviously so cute and cudly, are just waiting for a chance to leap at their face or bite their ankles off.
Ratkin are way bad too, by default, but they also have some cool characteristics of their own. They're the revolutionaries of the World of Darkness, rebels intent on overthrowing the world and the Weaver's plans. They embrace Chaos as the Wyld and seek to get things as chaotic as possible. If you ask me (or any good rat) nothing spreads Chaos better than some AK's and a coupla pounds of plastique.
Ratkin have some pretty cool character types in general, but their "Freak Aspects" are definitely the coolest. I mean, just think of the word... who wouldn't want a character with a skill called "Freak Factor"? Who wouldn't want to be a lab rat who got free and now puts the humans in the cages? Who wouldn't like being a Twitcher, and insane revolutionary ready to destroy society or themselves, whichever comes first? Sounds like fun huh?
Ok I have to ask: what the heck is peoples' problems with rats anyway? Do they think we WANT to live in sewers? They think it's FUN to be grimy all the time? What the hell, man? Sometimes I just want to grab their ugly faces and make THEM spend a few years in a sewer. How would they smell then, huh? YoU LiKE thAT ya FiLTHy huMan?! YA wAnt moRE of ThAt?! just wait hee hee i got a joke for you hee hee but im not telling no not yet but youll find out what the joke is soon enough
Erm sorry, I left my computer for a minute. You know, when I came back in I coulda sworn I saw a big rat scurry under my bed...