#chirrae

[theoutcastrogue]

Kukris

Hanshee khukurī, late 18th-early 19th century, 45.2 cm

Nepalese khukurī with Indian gold koftgari hilt and dui chirra blade, second half 19th century, 47.5 cm

Kothimora khukurī with bone hilt, Nepal, early 20th century, 35.5 cm

Khukurī with tools, Nepal, first half of the 20th century, 41.3 cm

Dui chirra khukurī, Nepal, late 19th to early 20th century, 44.5 cm

Nepalese khukurī, probably 1850s, 45.8 cm

[ksfoxwald]

Arrow's Flight is such a weird book honestly. Gwena shows up and she's obviously Grove born but the Companions Jedi mind trick all the Heralds into believing she was totally there the whole time; and then it never really comes up again? Like yeah there's that moment in Winds that's like "oh btw Gwena is Grove-born" bc Elspeth is Special but I don't recall that ever doing anything (granted it's been a number of years).

Then we have Kris and Talis snowed in together and Lackey does the thing where she all but shouts "look how much I am subverting the trope!" bc they fuck but don't fall in love, and in the end have a great confession of friendship that is actually pretty delightful. But then starts going on about soulmates, which is an even cornier trope (not sure how big it was in the 80s, though) and tries to play it 100% straight. But I'm pretty sure Dirk spends most of the next book moping and pining and the character that we see Talia actually building a rapport and developing a relationship with is Kris. I'm not saying I ship Talia/Kris, I'm just saying it feels cheap to build up such a good friendship and throw it aside for a half-assed romance; but maybe a re-read of Arrow's Fall will reveal something else.

And Talia spends most of the book agonizing about the ethics of having emotion-manipulation magic, and in the end comes to the conclusion that actually it is okay to use it to torture people if they are Very Bad and like. Girl what. Like, there are so many things to unpack there, but I'm going to go with the fact that handling an extreme case in an extreme way does not inspire me with confidence that you have a consistant set of standards for using your powers in everyday situations.

Also do chirras show up in any other books? It's like Lackey just invented singing rabbit-mules for literally no reason other than that they are cool and then... forgot about them. Or just stopped setting stories in cold places. Idk.

Anyway this was such a weird little book and I'm excited to re-read Fall, though I might bounce over to Vanyel or Oathbound first, I haven't decided yet.

[campsis]

Chirri & Chirra

[yunahandicrafts7890]

https://yunahandicrafts.com/product/hand-forged-3-fullers-or-tin-chirra-gurkha-kukri-knife/

[turniok]

Passu e trese - Fabio Onnis & Valentina Chirra

[synonymroll648]

senior year's sneaking up on me too, i'm in the summer prep phase of 'oh i better get my shit together' </3 i'm glad you're doing great though!!!

i've been good!! currently procrastinating on filming a short video for a job application. (filming myself signing in asl? fine. filming myself talking in english? krill me now, my posture's already over halfway there.) kotlc lovingly infests my brain as always. on my. wait. fuck. is this reread number 39? i think i've been saying 38 but that's what i said last time. fuck. reread number 39 of neverseen. also been reading another series my friend got me into (tales of valdemar, the books are pretty old but they're also really awesome. book two acknowledged that if one of three characters hadn't died they would've formed a closed lesbian polycule and i am still SO sad ylsa died. skif - little ex-thief bestie of the protag - is my baby. also i love chirras so much i don't think i've loved an original fictional creature quite like this before). i get ever so closer by the day to delving deeper into this stupid au i came up w/ where sophie is ACTUALLY part equine and has the bottom half of an alicorn and has to confront her internalized horse-ism. also threw in a keefitz little mermaid au that's gone waaaaaay off the rails

yooooooooooooooooooooo it's been so long!! how've you been broski??

HELLLLOOOOOOO HII I'VE BEEN GREAT BUT REALLY BUSY (senior year </333) WHAT'S UP WITH YOU LUCAS it HAS been LONG

[chirrae]

rebranded sona time

[kraftykelpie]

I see you Heralds of Valdemar fandom i know you're out there

[synonymroll648]

[id in description.]

i have so many headcanons about her it's crazy. main thing i'm having fun with is "silveny is convinced sophie is her clumsy daughter that looks a little weird but if you insult her silveny'll stomp you to a pulp". the two of them are going to single-hoofedly convince me to get good at drawing horses and bird wings lol (any tips on wings, oh wings!au master?)

the murals aren't something i do regularly but i think is going to become a semi-regular side hustle for me. i did a mural of a sea turtle on the side of my aunt's house last year, which is where it started. she texted me and was like hey!! you're an artist!! a really good one!! you should paint a mural on the side of my house :) because it would be fucking awesome" and i was like. auntie. i love you so much but are you SURE i am qualified for this. i have never done a painting nearly this big before. and i don't really know how sea turtles work. and she was like hell yeah you are. and i did some research and sketches and got some secondhand paints and brushes from amazon (w/ my aunt's help) and said fuck it we ball. and by god did i ball. i usually don't look at my art and go "haha this is so awesome" but like. i gotta admit. it is a REALLY cool sea turtle. no idea how i pulled that out of my ass. that mural is way too cool for me lmao. but she brags about that mural to enough people that it's gotten me multiple client offers? so now i am hopefully doing a reptile mural this summer!

wakesurfing is definitely an acquired skill you've gotta be willing to get a lot of water up your nose and sore muscles for, but once you get there, it is so fun. carving through a good surf wake is one of my favorite feelings ever. have lowkey written poetry about it and i will do it again. just, like. when it's hot enough outside that the breeze is warm? and the water feels refreshing to get into instead of Oh My God It's Freezing Pull Me Up Now? and the wave's that pretty turquoise green, and it's so smooth under your board? and you move w/ your board just the way you want to, like it's an extension of yourself? and a song everyone (including you) loves to sing along to is blaring out the speakers? that beautiful moment when you crouch down to drag your hands in the water enough to send you spinning, and not only do you stay upright, you don't fall out of the wake, and you and everyone on the boat have your hands up w/ cheers? bro. bro. it's so fucking good. it's like. it's like love and freedom itself running through your hair and catching you when you fall. it's a kind of joy you thank to touch even the memory of.

the creek trip was fun! and the book was a fun read too. watching two friends w/ benefits paranoid of the other catching feelings for each other and not catching feelings other than best friendship for each other, in a het couple, was honestly really fun and refreshing. also the singing llama-sheep-rabbit-dog things (chirras) were so cute and i would literally die for them

i am blessing you on a quest, writer god. i call this quest surthrival. not only do you survive, you thrive. tis the end goal

YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO i'm so happy your reading's all been for fun!!!!! excellent excellent excellent news to hear, my friend. ruh roh. wanna rant about it?

i believe in you! you got this! i will put on cheer gear if i have to!! make up a whole cheer song and routine!! i believe in you!!

LAVENDER FIRE!!!! ohhhhh i think i remember you blogging about that! i can't recall, what colors did you manage to make work?

that is indeed how it works lol. where do i go to get more info about this exchange?

i think i'm back for a while!!! at least this summer, hopefully. don't think i'll be online all the time like i was a few years back, but i should be popping in on a fairly regular basis. it's amazing to see you as well, the missing has been reciprocated <333 tyyyy! the shorts made it significantly better lmao. lyt <3 /p

quil i have returned to tumblr for the first time in a long time and i have regularly missed you in my absence. how have you been, writer god?

OMG LUCAS!!! HI HI HI HI HI HOW I'VE MISSED YOU! I was thinking of you recently. Have you been well? what've you been up to? anything new? anything exciting? what did you do today? read anything good lately?

I must confess the last year has not been the best and I think I've unlocked some new complexes, but WE PERSIST! WE STAY SILLYYY!!

It's been a lot of classes and reading and shitposting, but I'm trying to get back into more consistent reading and writing!

That fitz fic you reblogged is my current wip of a rewrite of the first chapters of kotlc from fitz's point of view! i started it over a year ago but took a pause because i didn't have his mindset right, but I finally got back to it and think I've got it this time! planning to post it July 22nd for Fitz day in roisin's reading rumble <33, and it's been so fun to write. he's soo <333 i have so many funny lines

i've also still got that sokeefitz wip for you!! i haven't finished it yet (on account of bad year), but I really really want to. for you <3. it's gonna be SO good

AND!! in fic and art news, the annual kotlc summer exchange is about to start!! which I am very excited about because it was SO much fun last year (I wrote 2 20k fics in under a month).

also been reading SO many things that have made me feral this year. I didn't read as much as usual last year but i am BACK with a VENGEANCE. i'm going to EAT CONCRETE

anyways. it's soso such a delight to hear from you, Lucas. I miss you so so much I hope you're doing well tell me EVERYTHING <33

[green-fangirlism]

Wanna develop and change my art style a bit cus I don't like my current one too much. This looks much softer and smoother I think.

[percyistotallynotgay]

why are doodles i do during school better than the rendered, colored, lined, and digitally drawn drawings that i spend hours on

[toh-described]

[ID: Digital fanart of Hunter. He is depicted from the shoulders up. He looks at the camera in disgust. He isn’t wearing his uniform. He lifts his hand near his face. The background is orange. /End ID]

a quick doodle of hunter because he deserves it

get this kid therapy

[wally-b-feed]

Anthony Fineran (B 1981), Chirra Cale, 2023

[turniok]

Logudoresa - Valentina Chirra - Lanusei 30/07/2023

[theoutcastrogue]

A Nepalese khukurī glossary

[abridged article by Peter Dekker, Mandarin Mansion Antiques, 2020; text and photographs licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License]

Introduction

A lot of the khukurī ( खुकुरी ) related vernacular in use today among collectors is based on oral traditions, and there is a lot of variety between the various glossaries that are scattered over the web. This is in part due to the various languages and dialects in use in the cultural melting pot that is Nepal.

Over time, concepts and terminology change, and on top of that many things are simply forgotten, misinterpreted, or misremembered. This article presents an annotated overview of historical khukurī terminology. The bulk of the terms come from the first Nepali-English dictionary, compiled by Sir Ralph Lilley Turner (1888 - 1983). In 1931 he wrote "A Comparative and Etymological Dictionary of the Nepali Language" which serves as the main source for the overview of terms that follows below. [1]

Overview of khukurī parts 

# English Devanagari Transliteration

1   Blade बाड़् bāṛ

2  Edge धार् dhār

3  Notch कौड़ो kauro

4   Grooves along the base of the blade खोल् khol

5   Shoulder of blade पातो pāto

6   Ridge (of fuller)* चिरा cirā

7   Grip बिँड़् bĩṛ

8   Bolster काँजो kã̄jo

9   Scabbard दाप् dāp, dāb

10 Silver chape कोथि kothi

11 Purse carried in the sheath खिसा khisā

12 Small utility knife कर्द karda

13 Fire striker / sharpening steel चक्मक् cakmak

*Cirā is the only word in the list that is not directly related to the khukurī in the dictionary, but it is probably the word that is widely known today as chirra. 

According to Taylor, cirā is derived of cirnu, literally "To split, rip up, cut, lacerate" is the word used for the ridges between each groove. [2] It is also used in the slightly different form, ciro (चिरो) to describe: "A splinter; cut, slice; (esp.) a slice of cucumber cut lengthwise."

A number of khukurī types are differentiated by the layout of their fullers, or the absence thereof:

Āṅa (आङ); flat, like a kitchen knife. [3]

Āṅa khol (खोल् आङ); a single fuller running along the spine. (Commonly called ang khola.)

Du'i cirā (दुइ चिरा); "two split", two fullers in the blade. (Commonly called dui chirra.)

Tīna cirā (तीन चिरा); "three split", three fullers in the blade. (Commonly called tin chirra.)

Terms relating to decoration

Buṭṭā (बुट्टा) or buṭo; Embroidery; braid; filigree work.

Bel-buṭṭā (ब��ल्-बुट्टा); Scroll-work on a khukri-sheath.

Belahari (बेलहरि); Embroidery, scroll-work.

Belahari buṭṭā (बेलहरि बुट्टा); Scroll-work on a khukri sheath.

Jire buṭṭā (जिरे बुट्टा); Fluted ornamentation (e.g. that on the silver of a khukri sheath). Jire means of or like cumin-seed.

Haikale buṭṭā (हैकले बुट्टा) a kind of ornamentation on a khukri handle like a succession of hooks.

Mākhe buṭṭā (माखे बुट्टा); Ornamentation consisting of lines of small dots. Mākhe means "pertaining to flies or like flies.

Sã̄gle buṭṭā (साँगले बुट्टा); Ornamentation in chains.

Materials

Paṭpaṭe (पट्पटे); adjective: Striped. Also a particular kind of tree the wood of which is used for making khukri handles (= bhālu kāṭh). Talauma Hodgsoni also known as Magnolia hodgsonii, or Chinese magnolia.

Gilaṭ (गिलट्); Nickel, German silver. Sometimes used for the bolster of a khukri.

Ispāt (इस्पात्); Steel.

Phaulād (फौलाद्); A kind of hard and tough steel. From the Persian faulād, a name for wootz.

Jhulo (झुलो); Fibre; tinder made of the bark of the sago palm or bamboo or plantain and carried in the pocket of the khukurī sheath.

Relating to the khukurī

Pāin or pain (पाइन्); Blade temper, especially of a khukurī.

Lāgne (लाग्ने); Applicable, sharp (of knife).

Bhutte (भुत्ते); Adjective. Blunt, e.g. bhutte khukri: a blunt khukri.

Ujyāunu (उज्याउनु); To sharpen, give an edge to.

Lagāunu dhār (लगाउनु धार्); to give an edge, sharpen. Lagāunu literally means: To put on, wear (clothes); arrange, fix, set up, plant.

Macāunu (मचाउनु); To make rise, flourish (e.g. a khukri).

Kāṭnu (काट्नु ); To cut, cut off; kill; reap.

Jār kāṭnu (जार् काट्नु) to kill an adulterer. (When the husband has killed the adulterer with his khukri and cut off the nose and hair, he proclaims openly in the village 'jār kāṭẽ' and displays the blood-stained khukri. This proclamation saves him from the accusation of murder.). Jār (��ार्) means paramour, adulterer.

Caṛkinu (चड़्किनु); To crack, split (e.g. dewāl caṛkyo the wall cracked, khukuri ko bẽṛ carkieko cha the haft of the khukri is split).

Kāmi (कामि); Blacksmith, iron-worker, armorer. (This is one of the pohoni or despicable castes, and the word kāmi, implying contempt, is often replaced by lohār.)

Lohār (लोहार्) Iron-worker, blacksmith.

Notes 1. Sir Ralph Lilley Turner; A comparative and etymological dictionary of the Nepali language. London: K. Paul, Trench, Trubner, 1931. 2. I owe Jonathan Said for explaining that the chirra actually denote the ridges and not the fullers themselves. Personal communication. 3. Resham Shercha, an ex Gurkha. Personal communication.

[themissakat]

Fluffy freckle sasha inspired by @chirrae ‘s big brain short hair Sasha edits 

I drew this as a present to myself for finishing up my Consequences comic art, I’ve got all the pages queued up to drop over the next couple of days :3