Something New, Very Literally New

Hiya everyone! I had been thinking about this one for a while, and I hope this is an idea that is appealing. We have all seen a new resident wandering around seeming lost, or had someone ask us for help, and not everyone keeps a list of resources for newbies handy to be able to help out. So I decided to create a brand new avatar, MidnightMagpie (I'm calling her Maggie as a nickname) and see what I could find out there on the grid. It's been nearly 9 years since I started with my Dawn Tokyoska account, and I barely remember that very first day or where I wound up, other than feeling very odd looking compared to the pictures I'd seen. Ruth in her helmet hair was no raving beauty. First I have to say the new avi choices are a vast improvement and really quite good :) I chose the one who turned out to be named Amy and she has dark hair, a mesh skirt and blouse, stockings and shoes, and there was even a female walk (like an AO only simpler) attached so I wasn't even duck-walking all over! I went through the orientation area and even through the next one, Social Island, a bit and I earned some tokens to buy a couple outfits and hairstyles and such. While I was enjoying myself, the goal was to find as many gifts for 30 days and under that I could, and see what they're like.

Here you can see the brand new Amy starter avi on the left, she is very pretty and not newbish at all. Her outfit is adorable! On the right I switched to the Sophie skin/shape/eyes I picked up on the Social Island from doing tutorials, not a big difference but also very pretty. I am also wearing a new outfit, the Firestorm Social Island has a terrific new resident resource center with plenty of gifts for males and females. I chose their [TFP] Andrea Dress Pinstripe (standard mesh sizes) and their [TFP] Ankle Boots Black, each are free and not labeled as to a specific age for claiming the gifts. Their gorgeous dressing room is where I took all of these photos by the way, as Maggie doesn't have a home location yet and I hadn't authorized her to visit my home yet. I will :) My hair on the right is a gift I found at Free Dove, from !SOUL called Birds - 12 nuances - Browns. There is a HUD with 12 shades of brunette to choose from, and it is a simple sleek style that can be purchased for $0L by anyone of any age.

One of the stores that had me thinking about doing this is at the Kiyomizu Mall, Karin whose lucky boards I have blogged before several times. Their textures are lovely, and they do have a gift for under 30 days old at their mall store. As you can see, it consists of a pretty dress in standard mesh sizes, a pair of socks, and these great matching socks for default feet. It even includes that lovely hair! Speaking of lovely, how amazing is this newbie gift from Pink Fuel? This is one of their 4 shades of Renee skin available free for under 30 days, this is the palest Crystal tone in Pure and includes skin, shape, eyebrows, and a simple black eyeshadow not shown. 

I haven't quite decided what Maggie's regular hair color will be, but I must admit she makes a cute blonde :) This is another Free Dove free hair find called Laura by LIKE DESIGN and comes in a Lola version for the more chest-blessed avis ;) The hair is free for all, not just new residents. The clothing are pieces I picked up from Sn@tch's freebie wall, while claiming their Under 30 Day newbie gift in front of said wall (you'll see it in the next photo). The top is the Chastity Bralet in Aqua which also comes in army, blue, peach, pink, sand, violet, and white, system layers only. The jeans are their Camp Relaxed Fit Jeans in black which also include blue, brown, green, purple, red, teal, and wine, plus cuffs that I forgot to add above. I just wanted to show off those sexy lego block feet better? *giggle* That is hard to get used to, when I've been wearing pretty Slink feet for so long. If my RL feet or ankles looked like this, I'd be seeing a doctor immediately.

The outfit at Sn@tch for newbies is Goth with a touch of glam, and a very generous gift indeed. It includes the mesh jacket/top (West Side Jacket Wine) and skirt you see here (Lowdown Dirty Denim Mini), the suede wristbands, Hippie Choker, Pop knee socks, Spinner High Tops, and even the Bed Head Mesh Hair in charcoal. Not shown but included are a skin, shape, eyes, and earrings because the hair hid them.

One last look for the night, this is perhaps a bit of a cheat that I tried and it worked ;) This is a Rez day gift from Entice, and well it's her actual day of rezzing so I guess it counts! They actually offer 2 gifts, this is Entice - Secret Love Dress - Birthday in standard mesh sizes with a HUD for all 3 color choices you see above. I tried out another Free Dove hair gift here, Damselfly Dove in Brown Caramel/Warm which sounded tasty, LOL, and comes in dozens of colors in cool and warm tones, free for any age. 

All in all, this is an interesting experiment that I plan on revisiting every couple or few days, to cover more of the newbie gifts around the grid. It's not replacing my regular blogging, just a supplement, so the next time you see a new resident wandering around lost or someone asks you for help, you'll be able to direct them to a few places. We all have to start somewhere, and seeing what's out there for free will help newbies get acclimated before investing much money into our world so they can decide if it's the right place for them. If we are kind to them, that may help them see why we love it here so much as well. All these posts will be tagged Under 30 Days for ease of finding them.

Hope you're all having a great day/evening, magical magpie hugs to everyone!!

Credits:

Photo 1:
Left: New Avatar "Amy" Default Choice
Dress Right: [TFP] Andrea Dress Pinstripe $0L Newbie Gift
Shoes Right: [TFP] Ankle Boots Black $0L Newbie Gift
Hair Right: !SOUL - HAIR Mesh - Birds - 12 Nuances - Browns $0L Free Dove

Photo 2:
Skin/Shape: Pink Fuel [PF] Renee <Crystal> - Pure $0L Newbie Gift
Outfit: Karin Newbie Gift $0L

Photo 3:
Top: Sn@tch Chastity Bralet Top (Aqua) $0L Freebie Wall
Jeans: Sn@tch Camp Relaxed Fit Jeans (Black) $0L Freebie Wall
Hair: .:: LIKE DESIGN :. Laura Hair $0L Free Dove Gift

Photo 4:
Outfit: Sn@tch Under 30 Day Full Avatar $0L Newbie Gift

Photo 5:
Dress: Entice - Secret Love Dress - Birthday $0L Rezday Gift
Hair: ~*Damselfly*~ Dove/Brown Caramel Warm $0L Free Dove Gift