Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld

Occupying roughly one-third of a Full private region is MoonWillow, a completely delightful realm designed by Mille Bliss to present a place of enchantment and mystery, packed with opportunities for exploration and photography.

This is a place I very much fell in love with whilst exploring, although I would note that I’m not sure the selected Shared Environment shows it to its best advantage, being a tad on the dark side of things. This being the case, please note that some of the photos later in this piece use one of my personal Day EEP settings.

This is a setting with a west-east orientation as it runs along the southern side of the host region, with the landing Point located on a small island at the west end of things.

Welcome, traveller, to MoonWillow, a lush, mythical realm nestled deep within the folds of time, where magic lingers like mist in the morning air. Here, every leaf has a story, every shadow hides a spell, and every step draws you deeper.

– MoonWillow Destination Guide entry

A large map of the setting is located at the landing point and highlights many of the locations awaiting exploration. Many – but not all; some are marked by symbols which the map legend defines as What Could This Mean?, together with And This? – both of which pique a sense of intrigue and a desire to discover.

Touching the map will deliver a wearable HUD version – which is nice. Unfortunately, there is no way to minimise it, so if a copy is taken for reference, it has to be constantly added / removed  – and odd clicks on it will cause to it to offer a Landing Point landmark, which can get a tad irritating.

Getting across the waters here should – according to the map – be a case of taking the local ferry. However, printed signs at the quays and piers apologise for the fact that the ferry is currently broken. Instead, visitors are asked to cross the waters by means of the magical lily pads which have been set out to keep feet dry!

Across the water sits a little shoreline hamlet, its waterfront taken up by the local apothecary, tavern and teahouse as well as the local market. Behind and above these, perched on the cliffs and rocky buttresses are little houses (open to the public) whilst across the mouth of a fast flowing stream there rises the tall finger of a wizard’s tower.

Reaching the latter is by means of another lily pad crossing, whilst a walk on the beach facing the tower provides one of the routes of entry to the setting’s eye-catching lagoon.

However, from the village there are in fact multiple routes of exploration climbing up into the hills behind it, some of which pass directly by the little houses perched higher up, others of which are more circuitous in nature – which you take is entirely up to you.

The attractive element with all these paths and routes is that most of them intersect one with another, so whatever turn you take, you’re going to arrive somewhere or easily circle back to somewhere you might otherwise have missed.

There are locations within the setting the eyes and feet are naturally drawn to – the lagoon within its circle of stone, the castle up on the hilltops, the village itself. However, do be careful when heading for just these, as there are caverns, a cave hinting an magic rituals, a hidden waterside place to sit, tree and rock sheltered avenues and climbs and a magical stone circle all waiting discovery.

Travel far enough to the east and you might find the many-bridged path leading around falls and water to where an old mine provides passage through the intervening mountains and cliffs to the rest of the region (or you might come across it by way of the cavern tunnel!).

Called Nymunarby, this is the work of Lotte (Lotte Warwillow) and presents a mist-shrouded setting very different to MoonWillow, complete with its own mysteries. Largly open ground backed by crags and rocky hills (some of which have a path winding up them (and a cavern under), this is a place of ancient standing stones, ruins and a Viking outpost – although follow the path to where a boardwalk leading out over the waters of a small lake and you might find yourself humming the opening Sunrise fanfare of Also Sprach Zarathustra.

There is not a lot more I can say about Nymunarby; but it does form an interesting adjunct to a visit to MoonWillow for those who wish to discover it as well.

As to the latter, I thoroughly enjoyed exploring its many parts and paths; Group membership will bring rezzing rights if you wish to rez props for photographs, but as ever: do please remember to pick bits up afterwards!

Slurl Details

• MoonWillow (Celenor, rated Moderate)

Sitting within a Full private region, Yamato is a place I first visited in July 2026 and then returned to both in August and at the start of September 2026 whilst debating writing about it.

My dithering over blogging came down to a couple of things: access is somewhat restricted (visitors must have payment information registered with LL) – and I’ve taken a certain amount of flak in the past for Covering regions with restricted access. The other was because in July and August my visits left me feeling the region still might be undergoing build-out – a feeling which appears to have been correct and several details appear to have changed between my first and most recent visits.

The region has been designed by Somnous Corvinus and Len Teardrop on behalf of region holder Valefuth Delrove. It presents a Japanese-themed, mix-use setting, as indicated within its simple and direct Destination Guide entry:

Yamato, a quiet costal town, is a residential and social destination inspired by rural Japan during the 2000s.

– Yamato Destination Guide entry

As a residential / public setting, Yamato is reasonably engaging. The majority of the residential units appear to be around the edge of the region – mostly, but not exclusively, along the eastern side.

That said, there is a small town on the north-west side of the region which is open to exploration but does also include rental properties. Whilst sitting in their own parcels, there are not immediately obvious to the casual explorer, so some discretion is encouraged when exploring.

The Landing Point sits on a small dead-end road that runs towards the middle of the region from the little town and ending at a small shrine as it awaits visitors. This middle area of the region is largely open, forming something of a small park and an open field area, a dividing wall running between them.

Alongside of the little road is what appears to be a bus stop but is in fact the access to the rental office (located in the sky) for those interested in living within the region. Those finding their way up to this platform can return to the ground by walking into the table overlooking the platform’s shrine (the teleport is Experience-enabled).

A path marked by a marching line of Torii gates points southwards. Following it will take visitors down to a coastal Onsen with rock pools, waterfalls and a low bamboo fence separating from open waters and a stream while runs into  running into it from inland.

The rest of the park separates the Onsen and town from the east-side residences. It is also itself split by a tram track emerging from a tunnel from where it apparently runs under part of the town before looping back to it overland.

This tram track leaves the upper side of the park richly wooded while the lower side an open field. Whilst this might at first appear to be lacking places to sit and spent time – look around and you will find some nice touches of detail nonetheless, including a nicely tucked-away place to spend time.

Across the road from the field is the beach, the southern end of which is open to the public.

In terms of attractiveness, it is the small details within Yamato which draw the eyes rather than any single large-scale elements within the region. Scattered throughout the setting, these are worth looking for as they do bring Yamato to life.

In all, a quiet little setting, interesting in design and making for a pleasant exploration – and possibly a new home for those seeking somewhere to live.

Slurl Details

• Yamato – A Quiet Town (Yamato Island, rated Moderate)

As we wave bye-bye to August 2026, so thought for many in the northern hemisphere turn to the ending of summer and the onset of autumn, with many public locations within Second Life also changing to match the seasonal change.

One such place which has done just this is LeLooUlf’s Mainland setting as it straddles the regions of Laothoe and Gunda in the south of Heterocera. It’s a place I last visited in May 2026, not long after it had opened and when it had a decidedly spring / summer feel to it.

LeLoo’s World – Dancing Leaves is a place where the season wraps around you, inviting you to wander, breathe deeply, and feel the calm magic of fall. Enjoy a peaceful stroll along the lakeside, complete with its charming balloon tour, or wander into the adjoining woodland paths. Throughout the area, you’ll discover cosy spots perfect for capturing those special autumn photos.

– From the Destination Guide entry for Leloo’s Mainland world

Now called Dancing Leaves to mark the seasonal change – and as recorded in its Destination Guide entry -, the setting still straddles the two regions but now has a more unified Landing Point than was the case at the time of my May 2026 visit.

Also in keeping with the design at the time of my last visit, there is a sharp divide between the north and south extents of the setting – the latter being greatly elevated when compared to the former, with the two having individual Shared Environments.

However, I was so taken by the EEP setting used for the northern half of Dancing Leaves (and which is active for visitors when arriving at the Landing Point); I maintained it whilst photographing both.

The northern aspect of the setting pushes its way out from stepped cliffs into a wide, circular lake, the majority of which is neatly landscaped, allowing Dancing Laves to now smoothly merge with it, whereas at the time of my original spring visit, there are more of a sharp divide between Leloo’s land and that of her neighbours.

To the west side, a flat finger of land runs out into the waters of the lake from the base of the cliffs, home to a trio of wooden buildings. All are open to the public and form, respectively, a small café, a summer house and a little potting shed / greenhouse.

The eastern side of the land is more broken forming a trio of islands reaching into the lake, connected one to the next and to the land below the cliffs by a series of bridges.

No formal buildings stand on any of these islands, although two are home to gazebos and the third has a windmill sitting on its back. The outermost of these islands sits across the head of Leloo’s land and has a raised bridge connecting it back to the western finger of land, allowing the waters here to be circumnavigated.

All around (and on!) the waters here are places to sit, while an orca surprisingly frolics alongside one of the bridges, ready to splash those crossing it, and the inner, shallow waters are home to a variety of fish.

And don’t miss the little “coffee grotto” tucked under the cliffs complete with a sign I can well understand and appreciate!

At the top of the cliffs and alongside the Landing Point is the local balloon tour – instructions provided on the sign next to it. This gently floats around the lake and is suitable for singles or couples. It doesn’t cross the region boundary into the southern aspect of the setting, so you’ll have to re-engage your pedal extremities to explore here.

Although called “The Woodland” at the Landing Point, the southern, upper part of the setting is more an open garden. Whilst completely rebuilt, it nevertheless carries within it the spirit of the spring / summer build for those who have previously visited.

This is a place for gentle wandering, the colours very much those of early autumn, when the greens of summer vie with the browns, golds, yellows and reds of the fall months. Grassy paths invite exploration. One of these connects to the local road as it passes the setting, whilst the other reaches towards the raised southern end of the garden.

This path winds gently past a small pond to one side, watched over by a vigilant owl and a cube-like garden house as it forms a quiet little retreat.

As with the lakeside areas, the gardens offer many places to sit and pass the time – some perhaps more obvious than others (don’t miss the bee hives wither their novel pose / sit point or the little gazebo ticked away to one side of the garden!).

I particularly like the southernmost end of the garden with its clock and shaded benches and piano – although perhaps it might benefit for a couple more places to sit.

My only niggle with Dancing Leaves is the presence of the billboard sitting between the Landing Point and the archway to the road, which I feel loudly intrudes into an otherwise peaceful location. Fortunately, I never travel without Derender in my pocket, so it was easily taken care of 🙂 .

This aside, I genuinely love Leloo’s work both on the Mainland and with her region. She puts a huge amount of time and care into building very special places for people to visit, and I’m always more than happy to drop into them and just relax. I’m pretty sure you’ll feel the same way as well!

Slurl Details

• Leloo’s World Dancing Leaves (Laothoe and Gunda, both rated Moderate)