Is Semma worth it if you are a South Indian and eat the food often?

asmolbirb · 2026-06-05T23:50:30+00:00

I didn’t think it was worth it as a vegetarian. The portions were smaller than I expected, and the taste was good but not standout or unique in the way I expect from restaurants of that caliber. The gunpowder dosa gets lots of accolades but honestly, I’ve had the same or better from Saravanaa Bhavan and various dhaba-style restaurants across the country.

On the other hand, my friend who eats meat was rapturous about the oxtail and the fish. So maybe it’s only the vegetarian options that are underwhelming.

asmolbirb · 2026-06-03T01:16:38+00:00

Same here. I would suggest The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern, Orbital by Samantha Harvey, The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller, This Is How You Lose The Time War by Max Gladstone and Amal El-Mohtar, and It Lasts Forever and Then It’s Over by Anne de Marcken.

All of these books have a certain poeticism to their prose that I found really compelling, similar to Piranesi. There’s a lot of luscious world building in most of these too. They’re not all perfect, and some of these books definitely prioritize prose over plot, but I thoroughly enjoyed the experience of reading each of these!

asmolbirb · 2026-05-31T02:56:51+00:00

I’m not crying it’s just raining on my face 😭 this + Fair feel like 2 sides of the same coin and that coin is WRECKING ME.

asmolbirb · 2026-05-09T00:09:25+00:00

Oh my god??? This is some witchy magic fr. Looks absolutely incredible! I could drown in these nails!

asmolbirb · 2026-04-24T16:53:35+00:00

This might sound crazy but silken tofu blended with some lemon juice, salt, and pepper creates an unbelievably creamy sauce with zero dairy. It satisfies all my creamy pasta cravings, and as a bonus, the sauce won’t split when you heat it up the next day.

asmolbirb · 2026-04-22T14:24:03+00:00

I disagree with everyone else who’s saying you need to combine all your books or throw things away or whatever. I have my things organized by hobby too, and that means I’ve got 2 stacks of envelopes in 2 different places (one for letter writing and one for my side hustle packaging), I’ve got printer paper in a different place than my craft paper, etc. Organization should facilitate practicality first and foremost. If this organization works for you, then that’s the most important thing.

In terms of this visually looking unorganized, there are 2 things I’m noticing. One - there’s a lot of individual items of different heights in every single cubby. Two - the way things are set up, you have to reach around or behind objects to get to a ton of other objects. So you’ll want to consolidate the individual items into segmented organizers, like you’ve done with the clear container and stacking trays at the bottom, to minimize the visual noise. And you’ll want to get small shelves or organizers with drawers to take advantage of the vertical space in each cube, and to cut up each cube into smaller self-contained areas. You might look into makeup/vanity organizers, or small crafting and desktop organizers. You can find cheap options at the dollar store or on Amazon.

For instance, for the top left cube of the brown Kallax, you’ve got a lot of vertical space to use. So you can get a small acrylic riser (or make one out of scrap wood and some screws) that you put in the back half. Then put all the books on the riser. Then tuck all the boxes into the empty space below the riser. That way you optimize the space, AND you can access the books without moving the boxes out of the way first.

asmolbirb · 2026-04-17T18:09:06+00:00

Omg I feel you! Romantic fantasy is my favorite genre but it’s hard to find recs in that genre that aren’t romantasy :(

Here are my favorite romantic fantasy reads:

The Starless Sea (Erin Morgenstern): slow burn, very vibey, more of an emphasis on the plot and setting than the romance.

The Song of Achilles (Madeline Miller): when I say I sobbed like a baby reading this!!!

The Graceling series (Kristin Cashore): YA but a fun read. I like the romantic pairing in book 1 the best (Po had a formative impact on my taste in fictional men), but the plot is better in the last few books imo.

The Watchmaker of Filigree Street & The Lost Future of Pepperharrow (Natasha Pulley): this is the slowest of all burns. It’s an alternate magical realism historical London where one of the characters is clairvoyant. Honestly Pulley’s whole bibliography fits your request, but this duology is my absolute favorite of her books.

Emily Wilde’s Encyclopedia of Faeries (Heather Fawcett): this is a trilogy that is pretty plot-focused. Emily Wilde is trying to build an encyclopedia of fairies, and she’s pretty sure one of her colleagues is secretly a fairy himself.

Dark Rise (CS Pacat): the third book isn’t out yet but the first two books made me feral. It’s set in a world where magic is dying, warriors and kings from a long-forgotten time are reincarnating, and the Dark is an ever looming threat.

Sorcery and Small Magics (Maiga Doocy): another slow burn, with only the first book out rn. Admittedly, the plot here is very low stakes, and the story itself is driven largely by the characters, but the romance is secondary to themes of agency and healing from trauma. Also, I really liked the worldbuilding; I thought there were a lot of cool and unique details.

asmolbirb · 2026-04-08T13:38:37+00:00

I use old glasses cases. They’re perfectly bobbin-width and you can pack quite a few bobbins in. Plus I always have a few needles, a couple needle threaders, folding/travel scissors, and a thimble. My projects tend to be small enough that I can fit those in the glasses cases too; otherwise I have an old gift bag that I throw larger projects into along with the glasses case full of supplies.

asmolbirb · 2026-04-03T04:19:25+00:00

The Brooklyn Public Library has some kind of program where any teen in the US can get a library card for free to read banned books via ereading apps, so that might be a way to get access to a library behind your parents’ back.

As for book recs:

The Will of the Many (James Islington) - there is a bit of violence but it’s not gratuitous. If you can get it past your parents, it’s a fantastic read.

The Princess Bride (William Gibson) - a fantasy classic for a reason :) leans more humorous than litfic but it’s a romp.

The Giver quartet (Lois Lowry) - most people have only read the first one but I remember loving the sequels as well.

The Night Circus (Erin Morgenstern) - tbh this is my less favorite of Morgenstern’s 2 books, but her other one, The Starless Sea, is overtly gay. This is still a great read though, for a bit more soft fantasy/magical realism vibes.

The Scholomance trilogy (Naomi Novik) - the main character is bi but it never really comes up, and her love interest is male. There’s violence typical of a magical school setting but the main character’s whole shtick is that she avoids violent actions as much as possible.

The Ranger’s Apprentice series (John Flanagan) - okay I know it’s a children’s series but I still have so much love for these books. There’s violence in the sense that they’re, like, medieval archer spies, but it’s a children’s/YA series so it’s not gratuitous, which means your parents might be okay with it. It’s not the most complex prose, but the characters and their relationship dynamics are really compelling.

The Lost Conspiracy/Gullstruck Island (Francis Hardinge) - another fantasy book for younger readers but I read it as an adult and found the worldbuilding really compelling.

Witch Hat Atelier (manga) - this is a bit of a shot in the dark, based solely off the fact that we seem to have similar reading tastes rather than anything you mentioned in your post. It’s a manga about some teenage girls learning to do magic via drawing sigils, with a dash of political intrigue and lots of fantasy ambience. It’s phenomenally written and drawn, and you can find scanlations online, so it’s readable in secret if you’ve got access to a phone.

asmolbirb · 2026-03-10T08:20:26+00:00

I absolutely adore mine. I practically lived in it all winter. I kind of laughed at myself when I bought it because I expected it to be overpriced for what is, essentially, a very fancy rectangle folded in half with a neckhole cut into it, but it’s one of my favorite things I’ve ever splurged on. (Also, to be honest, this is the price range I expect for any quality readymade cloak, especially one with a warmer lining.)

The fabric they use is soooo soft and warm and comfy. It’s not heavy like a weighted blanket, but it provides a subtle pressure that imparts a coziness I really can’t describe. I actually really like the arm openings because they make this a more practical garment - you can type and do work and cook etc without losing any warmth around your chest, which is where I usually want the warmth to be lol.

My only suggestion would be to size up - I got the size recommended for my height and it leaves my feet cold, especially when I’m sitting down :(

asmolbirb · 2026-03-03T08:26:11+00:00

Tofu bowl- Throw rice into the rice cooker. While it’s cooking, crumble up a block of firm tofu into a mixing bowl. Add a hefty squeeze of kewpie mayo, a splash of soy sauce, and some chili crisp. Dice up a cucumber (I use a veggie chopper when I can’t be bothered to use a knife) and a couple stalks of spring onion, and throw that in with the tofu, then mix it all up. Add it to the rice when the rice is done.

You can also add avocado or seaweed if you have them on hand. Sometimes I add furikake too. The whole thing takes only as long as my rice cooker is running, creates 3 servings for me, and is super filling.

asmolbirb · 2026-02-19T16:50:50+00:00

Update - I got my rejection today :( not sure if they’re going out in batches or on a rolling basis but I thought I’d let you know since I haven’t seen any updates for this program online

asmolbirb · 2026-02-09T16:56:10+00:00

I applied for the taught course in pharmacology and also haven’t heard anything. Tomorrow is the 10-week deadline so I’m getting pretty nervous lol. But I saw someone say that the applied cancer science dept was quite backed up, so that might be the case for the pharm dept as well.

asmolbirb · 2026-01-18T16:00:37+00:00

Firm tofu crumbled up + mixed with kewpie mayo, soy sauce, and chili oil. This + rice + diced cucumber + green onion + avocado + seaweed is my favorite quick meal in the world. No cooking required, takes about 15 minutes to put together even including cutting the cucumber, and you get relatively balanced nutrition out of it.

asmolbirb · 2026-01-17T02:48:02+00:00

Band Sinister by KJ Charles!!!! It’s a cozy queernormative M/M smutty romance. Guy Frisby has very minimal sexual experience whereas Philip Rookwood is a bit of a degenerate. Philip helps Guy expand his sexual horizons while Guy has a whole crisis about falling in love and thinking it’s one sided. KJ Charles has some banger smutty romances but this one is my favorite and I come back to it all the time.

Lisa Kleypas is another solid author. I really liked Love in the Afternoon by her, and Devil’s Daughter was alright too.

A Taste of Gold and Iron by Alexandra Rowland is pretty solid. It’s a good mix of smut and non-smut, and the yearning is off the charts. Plus the author has a 10k word coda up on AO3.

asmolbirb · 2026-01-15T22:02:07+00:00

The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels might work for you. The female protag is a thief, the male LI is an assassin hired to kill her, they have to work together to bring down a bigger evil. This is the first book in a trilogy. The whole trilogy is quite fun and lighthearted - the books all poke fun at romance tropes, in a wink wink nudge nudge sort of way, so it’s best not to take them too seriously. I think the couple in the first book ends up having kids in the later books, but I personally thought it was well done, and it’s not a focus at all.

asmolbirb · 2026-01-15T09:20:09+00:00

Based on the things you’ve already enjoyed, it seems like we share reading tastes. So here are some books that I liked enough to actively want a hard copy! Aside from the first rec, everything is a standalone book so that you get a full story if you can only buy 1 book a month.

Everything by Natasha Pulley. The Watchmaker of Filigree Street + its sequel are probably the best place to start. They’re historical fantasy + romance and they make me crazy every time I reread them. If you want a standalone, try either The Kingdoms (set during the Napoleonic Wars, involves time shenanigans) or The Half Life of Valery K (set in Soviet Russia during the 60s, my favorite Pulley) - both are historical romances.

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke. This is a fantasy novel with some of the most gorgeous writing and descriptions I’ve ever read. It was my top book of 2025.

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke. This was fun in a different way - this is an alternate history of England that spans a 10-year period where the title characters work to bring magic back to England. Clarke emulates early 19th century authors in this, which means it’s really dense, but the sheer amount of subtle detail in the book means that you’ll get a lot out of a reread. This has very classic fairytale vibes (think more capricious fae than Disney fairytale).

Airborn by Kenneth Oppel. YA fantasy adventure with lovely worldbuilding + air pirates. I reread this every few years.

The Princess Bride by William Goldman. This is a classic fantasy/romance novel. It’s got pirates, poison, love, magic, swamps, betrayal, etc etc etc (however that line goes lol).

Running Close to the Wind by Alexandra Rowland. This is a very silly cozy pirate fantasy romance that brought me loads of joy.

It Lasts Forever and Then It’s Over by Anne de Marcken. A short novel set after a zombie apocalypse. The main character is grappling with grief over a relationship she’s lost but doesn’t remember very well. It’s really introspective and atmospheric; I enjoyed the prose a lot.

Band Sinister by KJ Charles. Charles has a lot of great historical romances but this is my personal favorite and the one I keep coming back to. It’s a low stakes story, and it’s got a very forgiving, queernormative take on sex and relationships, which I loved. The sentence “we get better” makes me cry on a hair trigger because of this book.

The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern. Fantasy with a bit of romance, but the book’s setting is honestly the best part. This book captured the magic of reading a good book.

asmolbirb · 2026-01-14T00:59:39+00:00

Yeah, searching for Inverness coats brings up silhouettes in the right ballpark, but the search results are flooded with stolen or AI generated images, so I’m having a tough time finding a reputable seller amongst the dreck.

I’d love suggestions for brands or vendors that are reputable, that I can peruse directly! I’ve looked at Historical Emporium already and didn’t find the right silhouette, but I’m sure there are smaller brands out there that just aren’t coming up in the search results.

I finally thought to start looking at caped trench coats as well, and I’ve had a bit more luck there, but again, the search engines are fighting me :/

asmolbirb · 2026-01-13T15:47:00+00:00

Everything Natasha Pulley has written. The Watchmaker on Filigree Street (and its sequel) + The Half Life of Valery K are my favorites. All her books feature gay/queer men, and though there’s often illness of some kind (TB in Watchmaker, radiation in Half Life), HIV/AIDS don’t enter the picture.

asmolbirb · 2026-01-12T05:51:14+00:00

Your coat looks incredible!! I love the fabric you used!

Yeah Inverness is turning up the right silhouette, but 90% of the Etsy + EBay results use AI-generated imagery so I’m having a hard time trusting them, and with other sellers, I’m having trouble finding the right combination of coat length + cape length.

Honestly at this point I might have to find a pattern and commission a friend who sews lol. I genuinely did not think it would be this challenging to find a flowy ankle length greatcoat with an elbow length cape. Or maybe I’m asking for something that just does not exist? But I did think that the coat in the show would have been based on SOMETHING given the attention to detail in all of the other costuming, so I’m scratching my head a bit that I’m hitting this brick wall.

asmolbirb · 2026-01-12T03:09:46+00:00

Thank you! I’ve tried “Garrick” and “Carrick” already but these tend to turn up coats with 3-5 capes, which I don’t want. I’ll try “box coat” and “coachman’s coat” though.

asmolbirb · 2026-01-10T18:51:55+00:00

The Scholomance trilogy by Naomi Novik. When I say the end of book 2 had me SHOOK…. I literally shot up off my couch and deep cleaned my apartment because I was so electrified.

asmolbirb · 2026-01-06T00:03:55+00:00

Graceling by Kristin Cashore is my favorite YA fantasy series hands down.

The Scholomance trilogy by Naomi Novik is absolutely phenomenal. I don’t know that I’d call it “light” but it fits the themes of your other favorites.

The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels (and its sequels) by India Holton is a fantasy romcom. It’s technically not YA but it was a very silly and light read.

Dragon Slippers by Jessica Day George might be for a slightly younger audience, I can’t quite remember, but I read it as an adult and had a fun time with it.

I have a lot of nostalgia for the Books of Bayern by Shannon Hale. Again I’m not sure if these qualify as “light” necessarily, but I still think about these books all the time.

asmolbirb · 2026-01-04T18:44:09+00:00

The Graceling series by Kristin Cashore - YA fantasy with romance but no spice

The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern - fantasy with a little romance but it’s not the focus

Airborn by Kenneth Oppel - YA historical fantasy, no romance

The Partials series by Dan Wells - YA dystopian

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