Fun fact: Rini was named after Chibiusa/Rini from Sailor Moon 🌙

Rini wasn’t modelled after Chibiusa at all, neither in appearance or personality, but I just liked the name as a placeholder when I started writing and it stuck.

In the anime/manga, Sailor Moon (Tsukino Usagi/Serena/Serenity) has a daughter in the future and she is given the exact same name. To differentiate them, they refer to the youngest as Chibiusa (means “little”-usa) in the Japanese version and Rini (as a shortened form of Serena) in the English version.

Sailor Moon was the first anime I really got into when I was in high school. The local library would give us a day slip for wifi, 200mb, and I would use it to watch one episode of Sailor Moon on YouTube at a time. After my first job, I saved up to buy the series collection. It was still my favourite when I started writing Rini & Butler.

Rini wasn’t my favourite character, nor my favourite character name, but I couldn’t really name my main character “chibi-chibi” 😅 . It’s effectively a vocal stim for me and I love it. But having said that, I do love the name “Rini”, all the more given my journey with my own Rini.

Rini is from my upcoming debut novel, Rini & Butler, a mild sci-fi that follows the friendship journey of an android and a stray kid he forcefully adopts. Releases October 31st 2026!

It will be available at many online retailers, as well as on my website for Australian readers. See the above link for more information!

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Aquila is an Omega-5. A new model service-droid that is designed for flawless assistance in one’s day-to-day. Its core law forbids it to harm, or allow harm to come to, humans.

Rini is a kid on the street who trusts and listens to no one. Her primary instinct is to eat, run, fight and sleep.

When the pair meet eyes on a rainy night, Aquila’s core law engages in a way that no one could expect, resulting in a tumultuous relationship that brings unease to the world around them.

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