Hey man, I'm loving hearing about the little cultural things you pick up on Ryloth. It got me thinking about a trend I've seen coming back around lately.
Is there a version of the mullet for species with lekku? What about species with fur? Is "business in the front, party in the back" an intergalactic concept? :)
I cannot believe that someone asked about nonhuman mullet equivalents, and that it wasnât @hey-its-starface. If I ever get an anon ask about mullets, bro is Suspect #1.
Heyâthanks sister, Iâm glad to hear that! I find it really interesting too. I did minor in Nonhuman Studies after all.
My cousin Lumpy had kind of a mullet thing going on for a while. (Chewbaccaâs kid. I forget how many years old he is actually, âcause Wookiees live a long time, but life-stage-wise heâs just a little older than me.) He didnât cut his hair, though, because thatâs not something Wookiees do. Itâs like a sentient rights violation to them. He just kinda gelled it up so it was slick on the sides and poofed up on top. Auntie Malla was not a fan.
There are ways to âstyleâ lekku, but not like hair. Itâs not as if you can cut them. Lekku styling mainly consists of hats, headpieces, ribbons, and jewelry. I guess also tattoos? A lot of Twiâleks are born with lek markings, but some arenât. Vataash, Fannieâs oldest half-brother, doesnât have any natural markings, but he does have a tattoo. He boasts that he was awake when he had it done, but I have my doubts. Lekku are extremely sensitive, even though they hang out there in a vulnerable way. Kinda likeâŚwait, no, Iâm gonna behave and not say that actually.
Now that youâve brought it up, Iâve spent all day trying to figure out what a mullet for lekku would look like. I think the closest approximation would be if maybe a Twiâlek bound their lekku together near the top, and let them hang down behind? But that would pretty much just be a ponytail, wouldnât it?
Actually, manipulating lek position is kind of a thing. I donât have the eye for it, but apparently itâs supposed to be sexier if lekku are lifted up and perky at the base, instead of heavy and drooping. Kinda likeâŚnope, Iâm not gonna say that either.
There is one thing that comes to mind though when I think of Twiâlek guys and popular style. Itâs that they file their teeth down to points. I get that itâs supposed to be macho or whateverâand okay, maybe itâs a little badassâbut still. It must be awful if they ever accidentally bite their tongues.
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I think I forgot to mention this, but Luke did send me a birthday note and one of his signature care packages. There was a mini bantha crochet plushie in it, which I named Mini-Ren.
I also have a feeling I know who made the plush.
Anyway, all that to sayâI think he was trying to show that he wasnât mad at me. And I donât really understand why, butâŚI guess itâs a good thing.
Actually? Ever since Uncle Luke got in yesterday, heâs seemed kind ofâŚdepressed. And itâs weird being a grown-up, because I notice stuff like that now. I donât think Rey has really picked up on it.
Still, I guess Iâm on this council but not granted the rank of grown-up, because I overheard Mom talking to Dad in a hushed tone and I heard her mention LukeâŚbut, when I tried to join the conversation, I got promptly kidzoned. By which I mean Mom abruptly turned to me and said âHi, sweetie!â about an octave too highâwhich I knew roughly translated to âAccess denied: you have not gained enough XP to unlock this conversation.â
Hm. The âyour mother will permanently see you as the age you had your mental break atâ phenomenon should really be studied, I think.
My cousin Lumpy (who goes by Waroo, now, but will always be Lumpy to us) brought his girlfriend home. Every year itâs a different girlfriend. And Iâd make some joke about how he just canât make âem stay, butâŚit would sound pretty ironic, coming from me, right about now.
Auntie Malla hate hate hates this girlfriend in particular, and for some reason I am her chosen confidante for these maternal judgments. Her fur is too short. Her claws are too manicured. She has not offered to help Auntie Malla in the kitchen even once, and Auntie Malla fears she will go bald if Lumpy marries this girl.
âYa know, Auntie, with how many girls heâs brought home over the years, I donât think Lumpy seems too interested in marriage,â I said.
Auntie Malla looked absolutely stunnedâand then she said, wellâLumpy had better hurry up and propose to this girl, and if he ends up with a wife who doesnât know her way around the kitchen, thenâbah!âthatâs his own punishment to bear.
I laughed and gave Auntie Malla an affectionate pat on the back.
Caught Mom and Dad in the den under the mistletoe when they thought no one was lookinâ. About five years ago, I wouldâve thrown something at them. But this time, I just chuckled and rolled my eyes.
BecauseâŚcheers to them, you know, for still being insane about each other, twenty-five years later. With double careers, a grown-up problem son, and an adopted teenage daughter. And still theyâre suckinâ face.
I wonder how people manage to find something like that.
I closed the door on them. Butâcouldnât resist calling out that I donât want any more siblings, first.
Didnât get the last laugh, though. Dad called back that I didnât have to worry, âcause the swimmers ainât swimming no moreâand I think I oughta be entitled to financial compensation for having to hear my old man say something so unnecessaryâeven if I was asking for it.
Found Uncle Chewie and Uncle Luke out on the terrace. Chewie gave Luke a big hug, and then came inside as I was coming out.
âHey, Ben,â Uncle Luke said warmly. As if everything was normal, between us.
ââŚHi,â I said.
Luke said heâd heard about me and Fannie (from Fannie herself, probably), and that he was sorry about it, and he knew it must be hard.
I had my doubts about the sincerity of this statement, given he had made it sooo clear before that he thought we were better apart, butâŚwhat did any of that matter, now? I could tell he was trying to extend sympathy toward me, regardless of whatever he might thinking in the privacy of his own mindâand, you knowâŚI found myself willing to accept that.
âThanks,â I said.
I asked if he had spoken to Fannie recently, and he said he had. He asked if I had spoken to Amalia recently, and I said I had.
Funny, I said; maybe we oughta switch comms for a day, and then you could talk to Amalia for once, and I could talk to Fannie.
And I wasnât expecting Luke to find that funny, butâŚhe actually did.
Just a little.
Since we were able to break the tension, IâŚtold him I was sorry about before. And I said more, too, butâŚsince I already went through all of that once, youâll have to forgive me for not going through it all again here.
I asked Luke if he was doinâ okay. And he saidâŚoh, yeah, fine. ButâŚI could tell there was more he wasnât saying.
I paused, and then I asked him if he was ever gonna take a break from the school. Likeâa sabbatical, or something. Since he runs it all on his own.
He said he couldnât. Because he runs it all on his own.
I told him, well thenâhe should just run away and go into exile and become a hermit on a hidden island, somewhere.
And I wasnât expecting him to find that funny.
But, he did.
Just a little.
âŚOr, maybe, even a little bit more.
Interesting, I thought. And I tried to press a little more, but I didnât really get anywhere.
Hm, I thought to myself. Well. Iâll be seeinâ this guy 52 times next year. Iâll get to the bottom of this or else.
But, I didnât say that part out loud.
What I did say was, âHappy Life Day, Uncle Luke.â
And, âHappy Life Day, Ben Solo,â is what he said back.
AndââHappy Life Day, my dudesâ is what Iâve got to say to you.
You may recall that I happened to have in my possession an "Our First Life Day" ornament that I no longer had any use for.
Well, I re-gifted it to Lumpy and his girlfriend. If history repeats itself, it will be their first and last.
Or...? I suppose bro could just...hold onto the ornament indefinitely, in the aftermath of each inevitable breakup, and thus have unlimited Life Day gifts for unlimited girlfriends, forever into the eons to come.
ButâWookiees live a long time, you know. At this current pace of one girlfriend per Life Day, Lumpy is at real risk of quickly exhausting his dating pool.
Unless? He starts dating non-Wookiees. But, Force forbid he should ever do so, because then Auntie Malla will go bald, and I will be subjected to hours and hours of Wookiee Mother Gossip until my ears bleed and I go insane.
Iâve never seen one shaped like this before! You know what candy sticks are really good for? Stirring in tea. Mmm. (Of which Iâve had like three cups since I last posted, âcause thatâs what I do to un-depress myself.)
So, not only am I third-wheeling it over here, Iâm triple-third-wheeling it. Because my parents are together, Chewie and his wife are together, and then thereâs Waroo and his date.
Last year, I left Ren the Bantha of Indeterminate Gender or Origin at home instead of bringing them to Kashyyyk, because they were still new and I was still self-conscious about being seen with them. But I brought them this time, since I didnât anticipate that LumpyâI mean, that Waroo and I would be chumming it up that much tonight, what with his lady caller and all.
This way, while Waroo and his girlfriend are making out in the living room or whatever, I can hide in the corner and play with my stuffed animal. Because Iâm a kriffing grownup, I guess.
So Ren is here now, and therefore itâs their first authentically-celebrated Life Day! I was so excited for themâbut then that excitement quickly became mortification, when I strolled past the kitchen and caught a whiff of...you guessed it...Auntie Mallaâs classic bantha rump roast.
I mean, yikes. Like, what would I do if someone brought me to an Ewok party where spit-roasted human was the main course.
So, out of respect for Ren, I think Iâll have to go vegetarian tonight. Which is not an easy thing to do when youâre eating with Wookiees, and...in fact Iâll run the risk of being thought quite rude. Wookiees can be rather particular about such things...
...And Mallaâs roast is always super good. Stirred and whipped to perfection.
...Not to mention itâs also kind of my favorite part of Life Day.
...Plus, I forgot to eat breakfast.
Dude, I canât just eat roots and greens tonight. Iâm a growing boy. My strict workout regimen of lying in bed all day and binge-watching holodramas doesnât feed itself, you know. How else am I supposed to stay totally shredded?
Oh, Ren, please forgive me for the consumption of your brethren. I am full of the worst evil. Oh, stars forgive me...
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Ben, you've celebrated life day right? Since you're basically related to Chewbacca.
Yep, every year! Me and my parents and usually Uncle Luke fly down to Kashyyyk and hang out with Chewie and Auntie Malla and Lumpyâ
Oh wait, no, he goes by âWarooâ now. I forgot.
I mean, I guess I can understand why he doesnât want to be called âLumpyâ anymore, but all of us have been calling him Lumpy forever. It would be like if I suddenly changed my name to like, kriffing âKybo Ren the Space Pirateâ or something stupid and demanded that everyone call me that instead of Ben.
And you know what kriffing else? Waroo has a girlfriend now. A kriffing girlfriend. Heâs been sending me holos all week, and Iâve had to think of creative ways to approve his taste in women even though I really couldnât care less. And I guess Warooâs also really proud of the beard heâs growing?
Honestly, man. Lumpyâs turned out to be a real bro, and I donât exactly mean that in a good way. Donât even get me started on his politics. Force help me be civil towards him tonight.
So, u hang out with Lumpy? Ben, u DO have a friend!! (aside from us blog fans)
I wouldnât necessarily call us âfriends.â We donât see each other very often, and weâre basically just cousins who stick together out of necessity when the grownups are doing their own thing.
âŚFor example, when the grownups are a bit tipsy after a few drinks and me and Lumpy have to hide out in his room and ignore them.
I hope Mom hasnât had that much⌠I donât want to have to be the one to fly us home tonight. (I mean itâd probably be illegal anyways but my dad doesnât care.) I really donât need that kind of blood on my handsâI meanâŚresponsibility.
Oh Force. I can hear my dad trying to sing in the other room. Itâs actually terrible.
Luke sent us a basket of baked goods that he made and some scarves that he knitted (upon the insistence that my parents and I take a family holo of us wearing them and send it to him). Weâll do more presents later tonight.
My parents and I are on our way to Kashyyyk to visit Chewie and his family. Weâve been exchanging holos and stuff but I havenât seen him in person for several months, and Iâm overdue for a big olâ Wookiee hug. Luke is going to meet us at Chewieâs home.
Chewieâs got a kid named Lumpy, whoâs about my age (in Wookiee years, I mean). He and I used to go out adventuring when we were younger, climb trees and vines and stuff. Now we just kinda stay inside and raid the refrigerator and play hologames. Dude stuff, I guess.
I just hope that Iâm going to be okay. I havenât been handling social things very well lately. I mean, everyone is either family or close enough to be family, but⌠I donât know, my capacity for social interaction can be unpredictable at times.