Klonor
24-05-2005, 03:36
Does the word 'lekku' mean anything to you? I doubt it. Do you know where you might find a pair of lekku? Unlikely. Do you know the functions of lekku? Probably not. Unfortunately, I do.
Picture this: You're in a bar on a Friday night. It's a normal bar, not one of the violence-prone cesspits that you see in cheesy action movies or a richly decorated hotel where everybody sits around sipping martinis and predicting the next days stock fluctuations, it's like any of a dozen watering holes that you'd find in any city. You're there having a drink and you find yourself chatting with some random person who happens to be sitting next to you. Idle chit-chat, just passing the time, you'll probably never see that person once you leave after you're drink and you're just sharing until then. Then, without any warning or preamble, he says "So, what do you think of my crotch? I just had it waxed. You can touch it if you want, I don't mind." If you're even close to sane I'm pretty sure that you'd want to get out of that bar before your conversation partner opens his mouth again. Now, switch the word 'crotch' with 'lekku' and suddenly you're neither disturbed or put off, just a little bit confused. Merely one more instance where ignorance is bliss.
The word 'lekku' refers to what people often call 'head-tails', two thick appendages that emerge from the back of a Twi'leks head where humans have hair. Quite thick where they meet the skull, the two lekku cover practically the entire skull, they taper to a rounded point several feet from where they emerge from the head. Twi'leks gesture with them to emphasize their thoughts and emotions (As we might swing our arms or move our eyebrows) and they even serve as minor sensory organs (Though the senses from the lekku are severely below the other standard five senses). They have minor control of the lekkus movement similar to the control a dog has over its tail; they can move it to and fro, but their control is not fine enough for them to make use of the lekku in any applicable way (Even though they resemble tentatcles the Twi'leks can't use them to grasp objects or manipulate matter). In addition, lekku have more intimate uses.
Thankfully, the authors of the various Star Wars novels don't delve to deeply into the mating rituals of Twi'leks. However, they have made it clear that lekku serve a purpose much more personal than just lending support to their expressions and emotions. Even I (With my vast knowledge of the most minute of Star Wars facts) don't know their exact use (And believe me, I am actually quite glad about that. There are some places even Science-Fiction shouldn't go) but it's pretty easy to imagine. So, now all of a sudden the "Do you want to touch my lekku?" question is really icky all over again. Drop it smack-dab into the middle of a video game and a fun time suddenly turns a bit perverse.
I'm talking about the cantina on Onderon in The Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords when one simple push of a button starts you talking with a Twi'lek with a noticeable lack of modesty. It's not a big thing, in fact it's even possible that that you pass over the entire conversation if you simply don't press 'A' once, but it's quite a bit shocking when you first stumble over it. I read it, stopped, was like "He said what?" and then started the convo all over again, more than a little bit irked. If I was just a casual Star Wars fan it wouldn't have meant anything to me, but I'm not and I sadly know all the small insinuations in his question. It's times like this that I really wish I didn't know as much about Star Wars as I do.
Picture this: You're in a bar on a Friday night. It's a normal bar, not one of the violence-prone cesspits that you see in cheesy action movies or a richly decorated hotel where everybody sits around sipping martinis and predicting the next days stock fluctuations, it's like any of a dozen watering holes that you'd find in any city. You're there having a drink and you find yourself chatting with some random person who happens to be sitting next to you. Idle chit-chat, just passing the time, you'll probably never see that person once you leave after you're drink and you're just sharing until then. Then, without any warning or preamble, he says "So, what do you think of my crotch? I just had it waxed. You can touch it if you want, I don't mind." If you're even close to sane I'm pretty sure that you'd want to get out of that bar before your conversation partner opens his mouth again. Now, switch the word 'crotch' with 'lekku' and suddenly you're neither disturbed or put off, just a little bit confused. Merely one more instance where ignorance is bliss.
The word 'lekku' refers to what people often call 'head-tails', two thick appendages that emerge from the back of a Twi'leks head where humans have hair. Quite thick where they meet the skull, the two lekku cover practically the entire skull, they taper to a rounded point several feet from where they emerge from the head. Twi'leks gesture with them to emphasize their thoughts and emotions (As we might swing our arms or move our eyebrows) and they even serve as minor sensory organs (Though the senses from the lekku are severely below the other standard five senses). They have minor control of the lekkus movement similar to the control a dog has over its tail; they can move it to and fro, but their control is not fine enough for them to make use of the lekku in any applicable way (Even though they resemble tentatcles the Twi'leks can't use them to grasp objects or manipulate matter). In addition, lekku have more intimate uses.
Thankfully, the authors of the various Star Wars novels don't delve to deeply into the mating rituals of Twi'leks. However, they have made it clear that lekku serve a purpose much more personal than just lending support to their expressions and emotions. Even I (With my vast knowledge of the most minute of Star Wars facts) don't know their exact use (And believe me, I am actually quite glad about that. There are some places even Science-Fiction shouldn't go) but it's pretty easy to imagine. So, now all of a sudden the "Do you want to touch my lekku?" question is really icky all over again. Drop it smack-dab into the middle of a video game and a fun time suddenly turns a bit perverse.
I'm talking about the cantina on Onderon in The Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords when one simple push of a button starts you talking with a Twi'lek with a noticeable lack of modesty. It's not a big thing, in fact it's even possible that that you pass over the entire conversation if you simply don't press 'A' once, but it's quite a bit shocking when you first stumble over it. I read it, stopped, was like "He said what?" and then started the convo all over again, more than a little bit irked. If I was just a casual Star Wars fan it wouldn't have meant anything to me, but I'm not and I sadly know all the small insinuations in his question. It's times like this that I really wish I didn't know as much about Star Wars as I do.