New: Vampire slayer gear @ Neko Gear

October 12th, 2007 at 03:36pm Ryan Darragh

I have a confession to make:  I’ve never seen a single episode of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.”  There, now you know.  They say confession is good for the soul.

Recently I had the opportunity to chat with Neko Gear designer DarkLour Watanabe, and I asked him about his newly released Slayer Gear.  What made him think of vampire slayer gear as part of his line of neko designs?  “Well, it’s Halloween and I was like, ‘Hmm, gotta make something [for] Halloween.’  I just started getting into the SL role-play sims and there’s tons of Vampires (my girl’s a Vampire, by the way–she loves this set.  LOL  I joke about when she hugs me, that she has to watch out for the garlic) and tons of Neko and Humans and Demons–well, lots of stuff.  So I thought, ‘Hmm, lemme make some slayer gear.’  I did a little searching, [I] see there’s not too much of that and thought, ‘Hmm, I’m going to have some fun!’  So [I] made the boots.  Then it evolved into ‘These look cool, lemme make some more things,’ and hence a slayer belt and leg strap set.  Then why not some props?  Thus Neko Gear’s Slayer Gear.” 

The Slayer Belt Set (L$500) includes belt and leg band prim attachments–you can wear one or the other or, if you’re going in for the (over)kill, both.  Both pieces are prominently studded with useful tools of the trade:  stakes, garlic, mirror, UV flashlight, silver bullets, an abundance of crosses, rope, holy water flask, and–don’t leave home without it–The Slayers Handbook To Everything Dark.

Some accessory items feature very restrained bling–you almost can’t see it unless you’re inspecting closely.  I’m not a big fan of big bling, so I appreciate the subtlety here.  The belt and leg band pieces are moddable, but can only be sized down so far, no doubt due to component prims that are already at minimum size.  These pieces are crazy detailed, which I hope comes across in the pictures, although really I suspect you have to see them to believe them.  I asked DarkLour about his apparent love affair with meticulously detailed primwork.  I also asked if this amount of painstaking work represented sadism or masochism, but as you’ll see he conveniently ignores that topic. 

“Honestly, I do love it.  I used to make houses and shops, and as we all know people want [items that take up] less prims.  It gets a little boring.  LOL  I started Neko Gear and now I can make things with a lot of prims.  People love that and I love the fun of making new things.  I love detail.  If you ever look at my blings, they’re ALWAYS nano blings.  Why?  I feel the product should not be overpowered by bling.  I feel people make the clothes and gear look good, and [clothes and accessories] accent the person wearing them.  So why overpower them with bling, thereby overpowering the person?  It’s just not my style.  I love that something of mine makes a person feel good wearing it, and for me it’s all about the details.”

DarkLour’s Slayer Boots(L$250 a pair) come in Black and Orange, and like their namesake belts they’re highly detailed, with roughed-up leather textures on the uppers and charcoal-black chunky tire-tread soles.  Some of the utilitarian accessories stashed on these boots for quick access are backups for some on the belts, but others are unique–there’s a small mirror mounted on the right boot, and UV emitter windows in the soles are handy for emergencies.

The boots are moddable, and unless your avatar is pretty small you’ll probably need to size them up–in fact, the in-store box artwork advises that the boots are built for size zero feet, and you should plan on taking a few minutes for size adjustment.  This advice is both helpful and realistic, and I for one appreciate this kind of advance warning.  DarkLour mentioned that he constructs with smaller neko avies in mind–”They should be able to wear nice things, too”–and sets item permissions to allow mod, so those with larger avatars can resize as needed.  Transfer is allowed, so the items are no-copy, but a notecard advises that, should you accidentally mess something up while modding, you can arrange for an exchange by returning the damaged item.

Neko Gear features a growing selection of designed for but not necessarily limited to the Neko community.  DarkLour designs for women as well as for men–be sure to check out the flexi pleated miniskirts, including one in orange and black for Halloween.  DarkLour says:  ”I started Neko Gear with an idea that not enough good things were out there for Nekos. There’s a lot more brands popping up now–Neko seems to be in style now.  But I see a lot of it is mostly this grungy dirty look, and while I like that now and then, my taste is a bit more stylish.  It’s all about the sexah.  ;p  So I think Nekos as a whole are more diverse than just the one look and being a Neko is very freeing.  Why be stuck with seemingly having to be grungy when you’re a Neko?  I hope to bring some style to the Neko realm and, well, just bring quality stuff at good prices as best I can.”

Available at Neko Gear (Ganesha 137, 206,  21).  Some of the Slayer accessory items are also available as individual props, or as part of a set.

Disclosure: Seen in World: Yes | Review Copy: Some | Friends List: No

Notes: On Ryan: FORM skin by Zabitan Assia (FORM). "The Ibiza" hair by Liam Oliver (Armidi). Neko ears and tail by Zoe Llewelyn (Jungle Voodoo). "The Messenger" tee and Fierce Denim jeans by Rahsus Kronos (Urban Underground).

Entry Filed under: Accessories, Fantasy, Neko, Neko Gear, New Items