Strange, Cruel, and Beautiful

Strange, Cruel, and Beautiful is a collection of four surreal stories featuring LGBT+ characters, existential crises', Death, and stories that toe the line between reality and fantasy. In "Lucky", Ace, a nonbinary teen, is just trying to survive their birthday under the judgemental gaze of their narcissistic, conservative mother.  In "Claws", Jinx, a college dropout, slips into the woods to avoid confronting their family on the day they were supposed to graduate and find a missing cat. In "The River", Kai and their bother, Ajax, have a perfect day in a secret, riverside clearing where a blackbird sings, and nothing can go wrong. In "After", Melinoe attempts to convince Death to let xem live again and learns a secret along the way.