Shea Sullivan is a life-long writer living in upstate New York. As a late-blooming queer person, she enjoys writing about complex characters coming into themselves and finding comfort in being exactly who they are.
Shea’s day jobs in computer programming and middle management have molded her into the patient, sarcastic, big-hearted, frustrated human she is today, but it’s what she does outside the 9-5 that really excites her. When she’s not writing, she can be found painting, napping, making quilts, watching documentaries, and trying not to adopt more animals, usually with a cup of tea in hand.
Story Title: Sea Salt and Caramel
tags: animal transformation, creature character, bipoc character, happy ending, meet awkward, mlm, octopus shifter, manta ray shifter, new england, united states
Teaser
Kyle doesn’t make friends Above, and he certainly doesn’t go out after work.
But when Nigh asks, it doesn’t feel like a choice, it feels inevitable. Like the push-pull of the tide.
“Why skateboarding?” Kyle asks as Nigh rolls up beside him, returning from a series of tricks along the boardwalk. The air is heavy with humidity and the smell of the ocean, and for once Kyle isn’t desperate to pull his skin on and slip back into the water.
“Why not?” Nigh shrugs. “It feels good. It can be easy, just the smooth ride of the road, or challenging, like when I’m learning a new trick. And it feels powerful, you know? Free, like flying.” He laughs. “I used to think I was a Viv, I loved it so much. Then a bunch of my friends had their first shift, and I realized… I just like it, I guess.”
Kyle looks at the long blue marks that run parallel to Nigh’s collarbones. He considers saying something about how swimming feels like that—like freedom and weightlessness. He’s silent. Everyone finds their way in their own time, and he doesn’t know, not really. He just senses it, like the warning tingle of a barracuda cresting the reef behind him.
Is Kyle finally making his first friend Above? And what mysteries await Nigh? You can read the whole story and find out by backing the Add Magic to Taste Kickstarter!