I think there should be a name for kawaii meets hard sci-fi.

It's fun, educational...One of my favorite video games ever falls under this category—it's called Oxygen Not Included. For now, let's call it kawaii sci-fi, and this is my second book in that genre. Well, the second book I've ever written really (other than short stories). Let's move onto the elevator pitch.

✧ Modern sci-fi take on a classic tale
✧ Asian pastel goth mermaid
✧ Funky underwater city with realistic tech—located in the tropics (also Asian)
✧ Eco vibes (might bring to mind the Andalites)
✧ Fun and feels
✧ Dash of slow-burn romance
✧ Rated E for everyone here (I never do smut—I might rate something M for dark themes or violence on rare occasions)

Trigger warnings: mild cussing, sci-fi battle and some scary imagery.

Sounds like your cup of tea? Then read on!

This story is based on two of my illustrations that you can find in my Art Book. It won't be just The Little Mermaid with sci-fi—that would be kind of lazy. This is my own story with some fun twists, sci-fi action and deep themes to steer it in a whole other direction. It might bring to mind the Netflix movie, Okja.

I've woven in two ONC 2022 prompts—I'll mention only one to avoid spoilers.

Holy cowsies! Look at this cow!

Yep, that's a sea cow. The Steller's sea cow is actually extinct—we only have dugongs and manatees now. But in Rhodoreef, we have a whole new species of them.

Does the idea of merpeople seem too far-fetched for sci-fi? Especially since I tend to write hard sci-fi? Well, it's speculated that if humans were to colonize oceanic worlds, they might just bioform into merpeople! But the merpeople I'm writing are not half fish—they have cetacean adaptations, so full-on mammals who breathe air. Yep, this is totally an oceanpunk story!

I've been fascinated with the oceans because it's like space right here on Earth with creatures that could very well pass for aliens. You will find real science, locations, lifeforms and facts as you read—drawn from many sources, including amazing documentaries like Blue Planet 2.

Did you know that the world's largest coral atoll is located in the Indian Ocean? It's called the Great Chagos Bank. The story's coral atoll is named Rhodoreef—due to the abundance of pink, partly from pink coralline algae that belong to the algal group known as Rhodophyta (rhodo means "rose-colored"). Check the glossary for story locations and unfamiliar words as you read!

Dea Rhodoreef is the heroine of this book. The name Dea comes from the Sinhalese word දිය​, which means "water". As with my other work, there are many Sri Lankan names and elements.

It hasn't been easy writing this story due to the daily power cuts and other issues in my country this year. Almost all of this book was written on my phone, and I edited it when I could on my PC. Anyways, I always put a shard of my soul into my work, so I hope you enjoy this! Thank you so much for reading!

✧ Genres: YA · Retelling · Science Fiction · Oceanpunk · Romance · Speculative Fiction · Adventure · Action