How to be a Neko

Welcome to Esmie's Guides and Advice Part 2.

~ How to be a 'Neko' ~
(Part 1 - How to build an AO - is here)

What is a neko?

'Neko' is Japanese for 'Cat'.

But... 'neko', through various myths, stories, manga and anime twists and themes and things has come to mean 'cat-person' - half person half cat. They can take several forms... subtle like a human with a cat tail and ears.. or more extreme like having a skin with furry hair, whiskers and cat's eyes. I have been both in my time and it is also clear that the former is much more common at the moment in SL. Just a human with cat ears and a tail... and maybe a kitty AO.

Alternatively...

[17:45] Sydney Botanical: a girl once told me nekos were all about the buttsex

Where can you get neko parts and accessories?

At these places:
*Hybrid undoubtedly make the best neko gear, with a simple HUD and multiple upgrade and additional options/extras* - but all these places are worth looking at to get the perfect neko look for you.

Hybrid Main Store
Hybrid @ Glass Earth
Temenos Island
Kalico Kreations
Gritty Kitty
Bare Rose

Miau Haus
Various Stores in The Block and at Paper Street

Neko/Kitty AOs are available from:
Abranimations
AV Puli Animations
... and somewhere else as well that I forgot the name of.

Generally I would suggest matching the colour of your ears and tail to your hair. Nekos, being quite animalistic, can be furry - you can interpret this as long hair. Spots or stripes on a human skin can look very cool too.

It's easy to look cute as a neko.

Because of their sexy, submissive nature, a neko makes a good slave or pet...

You can be a slinky smooth house cat or a wild, feral beast.

You should be slinky and seductive...

So... now that you LOOK the part, how do you ACT like a neko?

Sydney reckons its all about being active and jumping around. Cats aren't always like that though - they can be slinky and slow and mischevious and very very lazy. The main reason I guess most people become nekos is either because their friends have done it or because they want to be something more than human, without going all the way to a furry av - and angels have been done to death already.

You know when a cat rubs itself against your legs, wrapping its tail around your ankle and looking up at you with those big, alien eyes, purring softly?

Its not sexy when a CAT does it... but imagine a cute guy doing it... as a neko - with the tail, eyes and everything. Yeah thats hot. So hot. *fans himself*

So a neko is inherently sexy. Generally nekos seem to be female, and most male nekos are typically either submissive or slightly feminine - and gay. Although there are lots of straight, butch nekos, they don't really seem to work so well. Maybe my view of the neko world is biased slightly because I only know gay ones? *lol*

Some cute gestures are a must-have - a purr and a meow at least. DON'T over-use them, DON'T use big, screen filling ones and DON'T use roars - a neko doesn't roar, they are supposed to be demure. Growls, snarls and hisses are fun to use when someone is getting bitchy or tugs on your tail. I have a purr and a mew if you need them ^^ Otherwise, finding animal sounds isn't too hard in SL... just head along to Xcite with voice enabled *lol* I'm kidding. Just search for them, shouldn't be too hard to find and not very expensive either.

Emotes are important. Wrapping your tail around someone's leg or licking their cheek, nuzzling their neck, rolling over for them to stroke your belly, or just curling up on their lap can only be done with some emoting. Emoting is going to be in Esmie's guides and Advice Part 3 - but here is a quick hint.

To emote type /me at the front of the action. For example:

/me paws at the dead butterfly.

becomes

Esmiel Posthorn paws at the dead butterfly.

(Or whatever your name is)

Just be creative and imaginitive.

Esmie xXx