The stories in Lips Touch: Three Times aren't fluffy fairy tales. Instead, they're dark and often terrifying, with the main characters facing some very real threats. In "Hatchling," the Druj Queen keeps grotesque beasts that reach out for people who cross the bridge, desperate to tear them to pieces and eat them. And in "Spicy Little Curses Such As These," Anamique's curse brings actual death to everyone around her when she opens her mouth to sing. Even the way that girls die after they've been seduced by goblins is pretty horrible: They usually end up starving to death because they don't crave anything but what the goblins can offer. Dark stuff, huh?
Questions About Violence
- How exactly do the victims of goblins end up dying? What does this tell you about violence?
- What's up with the Druj Queen's beasts? Why are they so scary? What do they do for her and her power?
- Why do you think the Druj like to inhabit human bodies so much? Be specific, yo.
- What is the most traumatizing thing that Mab experiences when she's the Druj Queen's pet? Why is this the most traumatizing thing?
Chew on This
Even though the Druj Queen thinks she's just having fun by inhabiting human bodies, she is actually performing a violation on their bodies that is worse than any kind of physical pain.
Vasudev may spend a lot of time thinking up gruesome deaths for people, but the checks and balances put in place in Hell (like the appointment of an ambassador) prevent him from wreaking too much damage.