How do you RP as a realistic domesticated animal?

[littlelukey]

I'm interested in rping as a cat or something but when I think about how to do this realistically I get really confused because pets can't talk...how in the world would I interact with my potential owners? Any education on the matter would help. 

[Alwin Alcott]

just like a real cat... don't talk, your owner will slap you with a rolled up newspaper if you pee against his furniture

[Krystal Iridescent]

There is plenty of information (Google?) online about domestic animal behaviour so do some research if you want it to be realistic.  Watch videos, read articles etc and remember that animals might not be able to speak, but they do communicate and even learn how to communicate to humans about what they need and how they feel.  Sadly many humans fail to bother to learn about thier pets behaviour so they miss a lot or misinterprete it.

[Theresa Tennyson]

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littlelukey wrote:

I'm interested in rping as a cat or something but when I think about how to do this realistically I get really confused because pets can't talk...how in the world would I interact with my potential owners? Any education on the matter would help. 

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You can use "emoting" which is a way to use text chat to express non-verbal information.

To "emote", type the characters "/me" (without the quotes) and then what you want to express. For instance, as a cat you could say:

/me rubs against your leg.

This will display in italics with your display name instead of the "/me" - if your display name was Fluffy, the example would appear as:

Fluffy rubs against your leg.

Emoting is a basic tool of Second Life roleplay - in fact, some roleplayers emote everything, even if what they're typing is just "speech."

[Rhonda Huntress]

I have an alt that is a cat avatar.  I use her from time to time to wander the world.

Your RP code maybe different than mine but this is what I do.

In cat form, no talking.  Emotes only.  I will, however behave as if I understand.
/me mews and nods her head.
Stuff like that.

Out Of Character talking is usually enclosed in ((double parentheses)).  I won't even do that in cat form.  If absolutely necessary I will use OOC in IM's

If all else fails ... I transform into a neko girl.  That account has exactly 2 outfits each with separate AO's.  The vast majority of the time she is a cat.  I have almost never been asked to leave a place because I was a cat but on very rare occasions I will transform because I want to dance.

 

Depending on where you go and who you interact with, it is also fairly common for children to be able to speak with animals. But that is between you and the people you RP with.

[Klytyna]

It's worth pointing out there are RLV based items you can buy inworld designed for pet play, for example huds that not only prevent 'talking' but translate attempts at speech into mews or barks, prevent you seeing other avatar's names untill you have approached, and sniffed them several times, even prevent you from understanding human speech untill you have 'learned' a human word from constant repitition by your owner/trainer.

 

These systems can even stop you opening the door of a house with your paws, so you have to be let out by a Two-Legs...

[Callum Meriman]

Being a kitten and a Horse... Don't talk is the first part, and it's quite hard at first.

You can use RLV, or you can switch channels on Firestorms chat, if you make a mistake then you just mew and purr.

Emoting becomes your entire language.

 

/me notices my human pet using their computer and jumps up on the table. Swishing my tail I look at the pet's fingers moving and walk over. The keyboard is so nice and soft. I look up into it's frustrated eyes wondering what it will do to reclaim it's game.

 

[Klytyna]

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Callum Meriman wrote:

Being a kitten and a Horse... Don't talk is the first part, and it's quite hard at first.

You can use RLV, or you can switch channels on Firestorms chat, if you make a mistake then you just mew and purr.

Emoting becomes your entire language.

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Just an FYI... if you use that channel switching feature in FS to switch from channel 0 to say channel 7, then not only does your 'talking' vanish into that non 0 channel, but so do the emotes, and unless you have some scripted item listening on said non zero channel to rebroadcast on channel 0, then basically you have completely muted your self, and cannot RP at all.

 

For a fire storm user it's easier and far more effective to simply enable RLVa and buy a renamer hud with chat limiting options to give your self a 'pet name' and kill chat while leaving emotes standing...

[Callum Meriman]

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Klytyna wrote:

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and unless you have some scripted item listening on

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Thanks, forgot to say that part

[KonishiPolis]

From what I have observed the most important thing is just to be fitted with the correct set of scripted genitals. Realistic RP skills are very much a secondary priority that you can probably learn as you progress.

[Klytyna]

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KonishiPolis wrote:

From what I have observed the most important thing is just to be fitted with the correct set of scripted genitals. Realistic RP skills are very much a secondary priority that you can probably learn as you progress.

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Really? My observations suggest many so called 'Roleplayers' prefer indulging in badly written fan fiction novellas incorporating all the godmod powergamerz nonsense they learned 'Roleplaying' on a web forum at the butt end of the internet.

 

Then when people around them who have just been 'Roleplayed' *AT*, then when the people aroundthem refuse to accept the godmodder appointed roles as scripted ai NPC's, the forpum trained para-roleplayer screams...

 

(( u peepul r crap at rp, u r jus a lod of scrupted buten pushas, i r goin bak to [insert name of whatever laggy neo-facist rp hell hole they crawled out of, here] foreva! u peepul r runined SL ))

 

And for the record, most of the rlv scripted pet play people I see visiting non pet centrede places I use, do not in fact hav e scripted genitals at all, dont confuse pet play with the furry 'Yiff' clubs.

[Coby Foden]

Just meow, purr, eat, drink, lick, chase something, do funny tricks, sleep, and sleep some more. :catvery-happy:

[Klytyna]

Klytyna smiles and offers Coby a tasty tuna flavour kitty-treat...

[KarenMichelle Lane]

...and be sure to have this song playing discreetly in the background.

[karenMichelle] fluffs the kitty softly...

[Nefertiti Nefarious]

Be a cat? 

Curl up in a sunny spot 22.75 hours a day to sleep.  Spend 45 minute grooming your face, 15 minutes eating, 15 minutes pooping and peeing.

Ignore all humanoid avatars, attack all canids, birds and small mammals.

Destroy furniture.

See, it's easy