Author: Inara Pey

Occupying a quarter Full private region leveraging the Lab’s Land Capacity bonus, lies the realm of the Naughty Panda, created by Alice Embervale (Alice Sakura) and her SL partner, Krow Embervale (Poetic Doll). From now through until January 4th, 2026, the setting is home to Return to the Light, a Japanese-inspired celebration of the Winter Solstice.

Called Toji (冬至) in Japanese, the solstice is one of Nijushi-sekki – the 24 divisions of the solar year. Occurring around December 22nd at ecliptic longitude 270^o, it refers to a period between the day and the beginning of the following sekki called shokan (the lesser cold season). It is the shortest day and longest night of the year, with the lowest culmination altitude of the sun, in the northern hemisphere.

Within Return to the Light, visitors are invited to take a lantern and follow a winter mountain walk. Along the path, guardians mark the way, offering information on the season, together with a riddle that leads to the next of their kind.

Thus, those travelling the route learn about the legend of Toji, solve a challenge and receive a special gift. Afterwards, there is the chance to relax in warm yuzu-infused hot springs and enjoy a shared feast in a peaceful courtyard setting. Yuzu is a citrus fruit, and it is said in Japan that taking yuzu-yu (a yuzu citron bath) is part of the traditions of the day, as is eating Toji-gayu (winter solstice rice gruel).

Whilst referred to as a quest, Return to the Light is not intended to be a race or in any way competitive. Rather, it is a personal journey, a reflection of the passage of life as we move through the depths of winter and towards the return of the light and warmth of the Sun. As such, it should be approached gently, with consideration and an openness to discovery and learning.

The Landing Point for the setting doubles as the starting point for the quest. It is here that visitors can collect their lantern and read instructions on starting the quest along the path to reach the kitsune temple.

But before starting, I would recommend – as per the introductory notes provided with the lantern – the setting should be experienced using the local environment settings and the custom audio stream. The latter’s music will not only soothe, but encourage you to take your time and appreciate the quest and the setting all the more.

Five stone Jizo – little carvings of a bodhisattva – form the aforementioned guardians along the route. Jizo is (in the simplest terms) the protector of all souls on their journey through life and reincarnation. Here, the little statues serve as the means to impart the story of Toji and its significance in Japanese tradition, before passing on a short riddle in which lies the clue to finding the next Jizo.

On reaching the shrine, visitors should hand over their lantern to hear the words of the wise kitsune – but do note, there are no shortcuts; wisdom only comes by following the path from point to point. After Kitsune has spoken, visitors are asked a five question challenge before a gift is given, and the journey can be taken back to the landing point.

Returning to the lowlands will bring visitors to a series of building built around a large onsen pool.  Here is where the feast mentioned in the setting’s notes might be found, and – on December 18th, it will host a solstice music event commencing at 13:00 SLT and continuing through until 18:00.

Small, engaging and with a wealth of easy learning to be had, Naughty Panda’s Return of the Light is a genuinely unique take on the time of year, and well worth a visit.

SLurl Details

• The Naughty Panda Return of the Light (Mattawan, rated Moderate)

Occupying a Homestead region, Eira is a cosy wintertime island offering a mix of quiet retreat and opportunities for activities and fun. The work of Yoon (Toyono), apparently supported by estate holder AMExperience, it is a delightful location well-suited to its role, and sitting under very appropriate environment settings.

Ruggedly steep, the island is crowned by snow-frosted pine and birch trees which in turn surround a modern cement-and-wood cabin (open to the public) and a large wooden gazebo forming a covered ice skating rink. The main Landing Point (not enforced) sits close by the cabin, making it and the gazebo an obvious first point of exploration.

A path winds away from the cabin and past the gazebo, heading west. As it does so, it passes a close-range snowball fight area to reach wooden decks and steps as they dogleg down to a frozen-over cove on the west side of the island to offer more ice skating (together with the opportunity to pick up some seasonal goodies as a gift from Yoon and – across the bay – to have a little posing fun with a snowman!).

The skating here looks a little more risky as the ice is clearly cracked and there is a warning of thin ice as it hugs the coast around a headland to the south, where a further shallow bay sits.  This is backed by a ski / sledding slope running down from the cabin and gazebo (rezzers at the top), with the chance to go skiddling out onto the ice if not careful!

For those preferring a more traditional way of enjoying the ice, a further skating rezzer can be found at the foot of the slope, whilst off to one side on a shelf of snow-coated rock there’s a little place to sit and warm hands before a fire.

Just beyond the trees marking the rezzer for the southern ski slope lays another snowy path winding between the trees. Travelling east to start, it turns more to the south-east to descend down wooden stairs to a deck build out over the water and another chance to go skating.

More skiing / sledding can be had from the top of the east-side slope of the island, where rezzers sit just behind the Landing Point, and angled snow slope dropping away from them, this time with a fence at the bottom to prevent any zooming out into icy waters (unless one steers for the gap in it! Also at the bottom of this slope, people can opt to shovel snow or (again) take to skates out on the ice.

Also reached via a path leading away from the west side of the cabin is a further path. After descending a set of steps, it branches, one arm running on down to where a little dock sits, offering both a skating rezzer and a little rowing boat for sitting and cuddling. The second arm of the path runs around the shoulder of the hill, offering places to sit and spend time.

Skaters setting out from the dock can easily make their way over to the smaller island sitting off to the north-east, which offers a couple of little attractions of its own, reached via steps running up from its north coast. I should also perhaps here note that the other little island sitting to the north-west can also be skated to and explored, but is given over entirely to nature (and so might be a good backdrop for photography).

Those not wishing to explore entirely on foot should also keep an eye out for the tall directional signs. These are actually teleport boards and allow for quick hops around the setting’s major features (or a quick hop back to the Landing Point if you get lost!).

Throughout all of this, Yoon has added plenty of little details to enjoy, together with a subtle soundscape of birdsong and the bubbling, rushing of the local stream and it tumbles over rocks and falls to the sea. For those who would like a Christmas-y soundtrack to go with their explorations, Yoon provides a curated selection of song on the region’s audio stream via Listen.fm.

In all, and as noted, Eira is a delightful, photogenic and enjoyable location!

 Slurl Details

• Eira (Karma Isles, rated Moderate)

December brings with it a last visit for 2025 to Alpha Auer’s Alphatribe Island. I did so to spend a little time wandering through Quollidays, Alpha’s end-of-year setting which continues a theme seen with Ginger Bread and the Woodies, Quirklewick Hollow, and Critterflop Hallowpop, and which here is inspired by quolls.

For those who didn’t know – like me, so I’m relying totally on the likes of Wikipedia here – quolls are carnivorous marsupials found in  Australia (4 species) and New Guinea (2 species). Furry and tailed, adult quolls tend to be between 25 and 75 cm long in the body and between 20 and 35 cm in the tail. They vary in size by species, with the northern quoll being the smallest, an adult male averaging 900 grams; and the spotted-tailed quoll being the largest, with males averaging around 7 kg. All six species are denoted by long snouts, pink noses and spots across their black, brown or sandy fur.

Once numerous across Australia, numbers have declined since European settlers arrived, with all six species suffering predations from feral cats and from foxes, with urban development destroying many habitats and many quolls falling victim to pest control poisons. In the wild, things have been made hard for them by the introduction of the toxic cane toad to Australia in the 1980s. As a result, quolls are now considered endangered species and subject to conservation protections and programs, including attempts to reintroduce them to areas where they have previously been thought extinct.

By nature, Quolls are apparently solitary creatures, generally only coming together in winter months – which makes Alpha’s Quollidays high suitable in nature, as it brings together quolls in a celebratory mood and within a wintry village setting. Here visitors can wander along the little winding streets between snowy cottages and houses there green roofs often decorated for the season, stands of bare, frosted trees gathered around them as snow drifts down from above.

Along the streets and among the trees the local inhabitants can be found, individually or in pairs or groups, often wrapped up warm against the cold and / or sporting colours of the season and touches of fancy dress. Some have clearly been having fun building snowmen whist others are content to stand and chat, noses truly pink in the crisp air.

Travel far enough along the paths and you’ll likely arrive at the Christmas carousel guests can ride upon. The carousel sits alongside a little skating rink, complete with a sign offering skates for those wishing to join some of the locals on the ice.

Easy to explore and offering opportunities for photography, Quollidays is a charming, easy-going location to visit; one bound to bring a smile to the face and lift the heart. For those interested in Alpha’s workflow in making these settings, do make sure you grab the information notecard from the snowman at the Landing Point. Should you wish to go home with one one of Alpha’s quolls as your own, make sure you visit the Alpha Tribe store in the north-east corner of the region.

SLurl Details

• Quollidays (Alphatribe Island, rated Moderate)