#i next to Never buy meat because of the price and now you're telling me i have to throw it away??? ? ?

[steinbit]

IM HOME

[whmguidetoffxiv]

A WHM's Guide to Inventory Management

There's a lot of stuff to collect in Final Fantasy XIV. And I mean A LOT. Even for a veteran player, keeping a decluttered inventory can be a daunting task. Let me walk you through some of the basics of your inventory and some of the tools you can use to make space for that one special item you've been tracking down for weeks.

This is your inventory. Well, your inventory and a retainer's. You've been gathering this stuff as you adventure along because hey, it has to be useful, right? right?

Well, not always. Let me break it down for you.

Here's the same pic, but I've broken your collection down into categories. (This is the default when you use the 'sort' option; you can customize this in the menu I'll show you in a bit.) First is your armor and weaponry. Now, normally this will default to your Armory Chest, but after a while that gets clogged up and prevents you from changing classes. There's an option to fix that, which I will also show in a bit.

Second is your Consumables (food/pots) You'll get a lot of these early on, but because their effectiveness is based on a stat up to a certain limit, they lose their effectiveness the higher level you are. The exception is pots like Antidotes, Echo Drops and so on; those will clear certain debuffs, and I do recommend having a few on you at all times.

Next is your consumables (gear/equipment) You'll find your Materia, Dark Matter, and things like Fish bait. Unless your Materia looks like what's in the photo, it's not worth holding onto. Some of it resells well on the marketboard, but a lot of it can just as easily be sold to a vendor. You CAN meld it to your gear if you want, but because of the insane XP buffs it's not really worth it because you'll outgrow your gear before the extra stats really matter.

Then there's your crafting items, and what's likely going to be taking up the bulk of your inventory. It's a bit tricky to delve into here, but for the most part you should only be carrying the items that you use as a crafter, or are very hard to find. (check the MB price for an item; if it's expensive, and I'm talking like 300k+ expensive, it's hard to find.)

Then there are Housing items; it's pretty easy to get an apartment, which can be decorated any number of ways. Again, most aren't worth holding onto unless you want to use it. Remember; The Market Board is your Friend!

We're going to jump over to my Retainer's inventory for the next category; Vendor currencies. You'll pick up any number of these as you reach the end of an expansion pack and unlock raids. Each raid has a currency that you can use to buy special gear, weaponry or items; I would only hold on to these if you're a glamour nut (like me) or there's a particular mount/minion/whatever that can only be bought with the currency. The exception, of course, is the current end-game currency. (That would be the armor of antiquity, as of ShB) Use them to get gear to strengthen your secondary classes so they aren't completely left in the dust.

Last is the miscellaneous stuff; gardening soil, sparklers, and the like. They have their uses (unless it's the Indigo Star) so it's up to you to figure out how to use them.

So now you know what's in your inventory; what do you do with it?

Remember that option menu I told you about? You can find it here. (Character Configuration--> Items) Here you can choose how your inventory is displayed, whether or not to send new armor/weapons to your armory chest or your inventory, and how the sorting system breaks down.

Next, let's take a look at the tooltips for your items. I'm using a weapon here because it has the most information. It's important to know if the item is Untradeable. That means you can't trade it to someone else or sell it on the marketboard; you can only discard it. This tends to be stuff like Legendary weapons or special items received in dungeons; Those will have a blue or green background, and usually aren't dyable. Only keep them if you plan on tossing them in your glamor dresser or saving them for another class. You'll note the logos in the top right; when those are yellow, you can put the item in question in your armoire or glamor dresser.

You'll also see the shop selling price. If you're going to put something on the MB, it should not be below that price. Otherwise, you can just have your retainer sell it.

Let's get to the meat of the subject; managing your inventory. If you right click on an item and click 'search for item' this menu will pop up showing where that item is in all your inventories. For example, I have Mhiachi matter in three different places. It should not be in three different places.

You can also click 'see recipes using this material' to see if something is a crafting item you need or not. If nothing pops up, it's likely a special vendor currency. I recommend using either the Lodestone or GarlandTools to look up the item outside the game to see exactly what it does.

So how do you clear out your iventory? Well... Start with how many inventories you have. You have your most basic inventory, which has 124 slots. These should be the items you use every day and need constant access to. (Pots, food, crafting items, ect...) Your Key items and crystals are kept in separate tags, so you don't need to worry about those.

Your Chocobo Saddlebag should be your 2nd; stuff you may not need RIGHT THIS SECOND, but good to have on hand. (items for relic steps, items you can normally carry only one of, ect...)

If you hired a retainer, they should be the ones holding your extra crafting items, your rare items, and your vendor currencies. You get two for free with your subscription, and you can pay an additional IRL fee to have more retainers per month.

Keep in mind that 90% of the items that pass into your inventory can easily be re-gathered or purchased on the marketboard. An item will tell you if it's special, and most of the stuff you'll find pre-ShB won't stand up to the lastest, in terms of consumables. If you're ever in doubt, check GarlandTools or the Lodestone, or just ask someone!

One more tool to know about is Desynthesizing items; this unlocks after a certain level in crafter quests, but it allows you to break down unwanted items to a base component and some crystals. I recommend turning in items like these to your Grand Company first, to build up seals. But this is a good alternative if you're maxed out on seals and just want to get stuff moving. (Or need crystals.)

Ultimately, how you sort your inventory is up to you; do you plan on becoming an Omni-crafter, or never picking up a hammer at all? Are you going to level every single class? Maybe only a few? Are you hunting rare items to sell on the marketboard and make a profit? Your inventory management is going to be based around that.

Try picking a time once a month to go through all of your inventories and ask yourself, 'does this spark joy?' 'do I need this or was I saving it for something?' If not, you can probably sell or toss it. You might find a weapon you set aside, only to come back and realize you've already out leveled it. You might need three nagxian silk for something, only to do a search and realize you already had two.

Best of luck on your quest for inventory Zen! See you around Eorzea!

[draw-you-coward]

"You're cold. Come here" Ikael and, uuh, whoever strikes your fancy :3

;w;; thank you so much for sending something in! i really liked how this turned out , even if the exact line of dialogue is AheUEH a liddle less … sofTM

ao3

Ryne shifts closer to the fire,rocking on her ankles. She tightens her arms around her knees and ducks herhead further into them to cover her nose.

Ikael frowns in concern. “Are youcold, kitten?”

Ryne’s eyes darts to his. Shenods. Poor thing, Ikael thinks as she wedges her hands under her arms.

“We’ve never been here. I’m notused to this weather.” She sounds troubled. “We used to spend the winters atUrianger’s place, because it was always warm.”

Ikael coos at hersympathetically, nosing at his enormous, heavy fur cloak. Ikael, too, gets coldin the winter, since he still has not accustomed himself to cooler climes. Buthe is always prepared! Even if people—perhaps or perhaps not including Y'shtolaand Lyse—say he looks like a dodo with a shaved neck in this cloak.

“You take this then, yeah?” he coaxes,unwrapping it. “No, no, no protests! There will be no shivering on my watch. Thereyou go…” He settles the cloak around her shoulders, tucking it in when itstarts to slide off. It absolutely dwarfs her. Ikael kisses the air and coos loudlyas he smoothes it down.

“Is that Ryne, or have we gottena new pet?” Thancred strides over, offering a piece of the meat he had beencleaning to Ikael with a raised eyebrow. “Don’t smother her with that thing,Ikael. She needs to breathe.”

“Abububu,” goes Ikael, smooching Ryne’shair. She giggles and snorts, pushing him away. “Stop, stop!” she squeaks. “Hedidn’t mean the cloak.”

Ikael mock pouts, but withdrawswith a chuckle and one last, more gentle kiss. He inspects the rabbit thighThancred has handed him as he shuffles over to his frying pan.

“What does your new little nutkinthink of you murdering her friends?” he throws over the fire.

“Now, now, ‘murder’ is a verystrong word,” Thancred replies. “Don’t say it in front of Frederika. And Idon’t know where she is right now—it seems she comes and goes.”

Ikael skewers the thigh, thenpauses. “‘Frederika?’” he repeats. Did he hear that correctly?

He can feel Thancred’s regretin the beat of silence that follows. Delighted, Ikael is just about to crow onthe revelation that he has finally won the years-long battle overFrederick’s name when—

A wet glob of fat sails just pastthe flames and smacks him in the face. Ikael bleats in shock. It begins to slowlyslide down his cheek.

“Ew ew ew ew,” Ikael whimpers,trying desperately to get it off. The rabbit thigh cocks at an awkward angle onits skewer, forgotten.

Thancred regards him inamusement. After a second, he barks out a laugh. At Ikael’s puzzled glare, he explains,“You had the same reaction when I kissed you those few years ago. Hah.”

“What?” says Ryne. Ikaelwhines loudly, smearing the back of his hand over his face. Why is it so gooey?

Dinner ends up being somewhatdelayed.

~*~

Ikael is beginning to get just alittle bit chilly.

Well alright, he had felt the coldnot a minute after he had given Ryne (who is now asleep) his cloak. But itisn’t as if he is going to take it back from her! For all he is concerned, itis hers now. Poor thing. And he definitely does not want Thancred to notice,because Thancred will offer his coat and bully Ikael into wearing it, and then hewill be cold. And Ikael cannot have that.

But he is wearing a sleevelesstop, and he very much regrets it. He cannot pull his sleeves over his hands,because he does not have any, but at the very least, he supposes, hewill not give himself away. The gooseflesh pimpling his arms, unfortunately, isharder to hide, and does not go away even when he blows at his skin vigorouslyas soon as Thancred turns his head. But he finds that he can mostly repress hisshivers, and he can make up for what he cannot with hopefully random-seemingtwitching. Thancred has never pointed out his behaviours that others deem odd,anyhow. For all he knows, Ikael twitches all the time. Ikael is a twitchmaster. Ikael—

Sneezes. Thancred glances over athim instinctively. “Crystal keep you,” he says.

“Thank y-you.” Ikael sniffs. Thancred’sfleeting gaze pauses, turning curious, and Ikael mentally kicks himself as herealizes why. That is not how Ikael’s stutter usually manifests. Damn. And damnagain; now he has to think of a reason to be nervous.

“O-oh no, my… hand cream,” hesays, loud and over-enunciated. “It is almost ov—ov—ov—over! Whatever shall I.Shall I do?”

Thancred shoots him an odd look.“Do you want me to buy you new hand cream?” he asks slowly. “Have you run outof money again? Let me guess: That cloak cost you a fortune.”

Well. It did, but that is neitherhere nor there. “Now my. My. My. Hands will be dry forever!” Ikael exclaimsdramatically. Thancred shushes him, looking over at Ryne. “Oops,” Ikaelwhispers. “Sorry.”

Thancred clambers over on hisknees, somehow managing to be graceful about it. “There is no need to be sotheatrical,” he says in an undertone. “It has never been your strong suit. Howmuch is this exotic cream you want? I’m assuming it was made with half a dozen‘extracts’ and promises to relocate your chakras to your arse or somethingequally preposterous. If you truly need it, I can help you save up.”

Ikael’s mouth parts. “A-ah, it,um—no. It’s fine. Th-the, ah…” He represses a shiver, sending it out throughthe tips of his ears. “The price isn’t that high. I-I can get it myself.”

He purposefully avoids making eyecontact. He has never been a very good liar, let alone to Thancred, who has aunique ability to sniff out as innocent a thing as a half-truth from malmsaway. If their eyes meet, he will be found out in seconds. Thancred will… seethe chilliness of his eyeballs.

“… Alright then,” Thancred saysas Ikael makes an effort to not lock his jaw. The fire is dying, taking with itthe last of its warmth. It is all Ikael can do not to huddle up and rub at hiscold, cold arms. He hopes Thancred will decide to go to sleep soon, because hecannot pretend to not be cold for very much longer. And when he notices,Thancred will be very cross with him and try to do something ridiculouslychivalrous like force Ikael to wear his—nice, warm, large—coat. And Ikael doesnot want that because… then Thancred will be cold. Right. It is getting harderto straighten out the reasons for his martyrdom, frankly, but Ikael is certainit is for a good cause. It is better that he is the one suffering thanThancred, he thinks. Poor Thancred has been through enough.

“I’ll take first watch,” Ikaelspeaks up. He finds that if he evens his breathing, it is easier to keep hisvoice steady. “You go and sleep now. Be nice and cuddly, yeah?”

Thancred shoots him an odd look.“It is early yet,” he replies. “I daren’t turn in for some time. Is theresomething that’s bothering you, Ikael? You are acting strangely.”

“N-no.” Oops. Ikael clears histhroat. “No,” he repeats firmly. “Nothing at—all. Sometimes people just act—actstrangely, you know. No need to jump to conclusions.”

“Right,” Thancred says slowly. “Well,if you want to talk, I’m right here. No better time than the present.”

He settles next to Ikael,comfortably close. That will not do, Ikael thinks in despair as he staresat Thancred’s face, lax with ease. It is getting more and more difficult not toshiver. Quickly—Ikael has to—think.

“I-I think it’s best if y-y—” Achill skitters up his spine. “If you go sit… over there.” Ikael points with onewavering finger, stretching his arm out as far as it will go. “I-I think.Yeah.”

Thancred looks at him. Slowly, keepinghis eyes on Ikael—who quickly diverts his own—he gets up, and sits some waysaway.

“Furth—further back,” Ikael says,because Thancred is still facing him. “Or turn arou—around, please.”

“Have I done something tooffend?” Thancred’s voice is more even, which means his good humour is leaving.Oh no. “If I have, I must say, I would rather you tell me than,” He makes anambiguous gesture, “Whatever this is.”

Ikael’s ears flatten to his head.“N-no, Thancred, you’re fine,” he mumbles, guilt slanting his shoulders. “I justneed. U-um.” He flounders for another, more believable, lie. “Um. I just needto… stretch my legs,” he says weakly. “Nothing to do with—with you.”

This time, when a shiver wrackshim, he is unprepared, and it shakes through his bones. Ikael ducks his headinto his chest, trying not to let his teeth chatter. Lie of stretching his legsjust as quickly forgotten as it was fabricated, he pulls them up so he can hugthem close.

Having Thancred at odds with him,especially for no reason, feels—nasty—but at least it means he will keep hisdistance. Oh, but Ikael feels so horrid about it. He will—hemust—apologize, and then—

“Are you cold?” Thancred’s voicedips with a frown. Oh, shite. Ikael hears him come back over, and resignshimself to his fate just before he feels a semi-gloved hand close over hisshoulder.

“N-no,” he mumbles unconvincingly.He stares determinedly at an ember twinkling in the bowels of firepit.

“Really? Because you look like aplucked dodo, and you’ve been tense as a bowstring since you gave Ryne yourcloak.”

Ikael’s mouth opens in offense.“Y-you’re a… plucked dodo,” he says.

Thancred tilts his head. “Are youill, is that it? Don’t tell me you’re pulling an Urianger.”

Ikael has never lied tohis friends about life-threatening information, so he cannot imagine whatThancred is talking about. “I-I’m not ill.” He frowns. “Fine, I may bejust a teeny bit cold. I-it’s not a bother, Thancred. Hurrah, you f-f-foundethout my secret. Forsooth.”

Thancred claps him on the shoulder.“’Tis a problem that is easily solved, then.” He begins to remove his coat.“Really, Ikael, I don’t know why—”

“No! No.” Ikael hastily tugs thecoat back over Thancred’s arms. He tries to pull it closed over his chest, butit does not have any buttons, so he ends up awkwardly smoothing it out and perhapsfeeling beneath it a little. Thancred is very well-built. “N-no, it is yourcoat! You will be—c-c-cold.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.” Thancred staresat him. “You’re shaking like a korpokkur in a windstorm. Or a k-k-korpokkur, Ishould say.”

“If one of us has to be cold itwill not be you!” Ikael insists. Thancred catches his wrists with one hand anddeterminedly begins to take off his coat with the other. The bullying hasalready started! Ikael knew it would happen. “No! Let me go. Thancred.”

“Fine, fine.” Thancredrolls his eyes when Ikael begins to hiss at him. “Gods. It’s like living with aferal cat sometimes, I swear. We can share the bleeding coat, Ikael. Comehere.”

Ikael eyes him suspiciously. “Itonly has two arm-holes,” he says.

Thancred rolls his eyes onceagain, longer and more rudely. “Gods, you’re dense,” he says in a tone that isheavy with affection. He tugs his coat off and, before Ikael can indignantly protest,wraps it back around himself.

Then he knee-walks up to Ikael,still infuriatingly graceful, and throws one half of the garment around him. “There,”he mutters, tugging at it so Ikael is cocooned like a very furry, goosefleshy caterpillar.

Ikael gawks at him. Thancred looksback calmly. They sit for a bit.

“I-I’m not dense!” Ikael squeaksafter an inappropriately long bout of silence.

He feels Thancred’s arm encirclehis shoulder underneath the coat, and he shivers, pressing into the warmth ofhis body. “No, you’re usually very clever,” Thancred replies with a smile inhis voice. “I suppose tonight you must have simply been distracted by longing thoughtsof your fake hand cream.”

“Exactly,” Ikael insists pathetically.Thancred chuckles, quiet and warm. Ikael’s ears dip back, and he noses into Thancred’sneck.

“You’re freezing,” Thancred observes.“Alright, I’ll buy you a new coat, since I am going to assume you will be givingthat hideous thing to Ryne to keep. I’m not getting anything that has more thanthree ‘vitamins,’ however. Or that costs over three digits. It is abouttime you learn, I think, how to thrift. Did I tell you that I used to sell ja—”

“It’s not hideous,” Ikael mumblesinto the junction of his neck.

Thancred snorts. “Please. Itmakes you look like a roosting dodo bird with a bald head and cat ears. I halffeared one had eaten you whole when I first saw you in it.”

Ikael whines quietly, tugging Thancred’sarm tighter around him. Thancred chuckles again. He squeezes, then presses alight kiss to Ikael’s head. Their conversation fades with the last embers of thefire.

Ikael opens his mouth. “How aboutfour vit—”

“No.”

~*~

[janiedean]

Hi Lavi :) I need your help! cause I'm moving to Roma soon for 2 months and I don't really know anything about the city :/// First, I would need advice for the place I'll stay in, I have 3 options basically : Trastevere, Aventino, or near the basilica santa maria maggiore. Knowing that I would need to be in the city center (next to the palazzo colonna) every day?? And general advices about living in Roma would be awesome too! Grazie

hey!

okay so first thing I REALLY HOPE YOU HAVE A GOOD TIME HERE rn the administration is... terrible but hopefully it won’t deter you from enjoying it. in order:

palazzo colonna is right in the city center but in theory all three options are good because aventino is behind the coliseum which is within walking distance, santa maria maggiore is near the main station but it’s also within walking distance and trastevere is a bit farther but you can get to piazza venezia quickly with the tram which is like the one public transport that works. in theory aventino is more quiet and has a lot of green and it’s not that filled with tourists but it should be less cheap (if you’re renting) but like if you can afford it maybe it’s the best choice, but it also has the least choice of like, shops and restaurants and so on. trastevere has all the typical restaurants and is a lot more lively and is full of nice shops, but it’s also stock-full of tourists and unless you find a secluded place good luck sleeping during the weekends. santa maria maggiore depends on where you are because in between the church and the station it’s cheaper but it’s basically the multicultural area which is not as well kept as the others - sadly - and on the other side instead there’s monti which is a very nice and actually not too touristy neighborhood which has also good public transportation so it depends on what are your specific needs, but all three are good picks also because you can get to piazza venezia by foot anyway if everything else fails. I’d say weigh your specific needs (if you want to party in your free time trastevere or s. maria maggiore is better, if you want quiet and calm aventino would be better) and see but all those choices are good;

as far as general advice goes, in order, PUBLIC TRANSPORT AND SHIT and then WHAT YOU CAN DO:

know it from the get-go - public transport is shitty. if you can walk, WALK. if you can’t, get an app on your phone - the best are probus, citymapper and muoviroma - which tells you when the bus is coming if it’s coming - sometimes they fuck up but it’s better that you do. really, GET AN APP, because otherwise waiting for the bus will be hell. the metro is more reliable but taken in the morning or at 5-7 PM it’s hell - you’ll get people in your face and pressed up to you like sardines most of the time. the only good public transport is the tram and it’s not everywhere. do not expect it to work properly. there’s a strike about every other friday (I KNOW) so be prepared to walk. if you’re here for two months you can get the monthly card - at least it’s cheap, even if the service is shitty. 80% of the time the bus driver won’t speak very good english. anyway, do not expect good public transport. ever;

don't use taxis or try not to. the prices are some of the highest in the country and they'll rob you in any case. clearly if you need to get someplace at 3 AM then you don't have much choice, but the number for calling one is just in Italian I think, so you'd have to stop one unless you learn enough italian or you know it well enough to navigate it. especially, try don't take one from the airport because it'll cost you around 70 euros tops unless you want to spend them, of course. or you can try the private taxi companies - the one everyone recommends me is samarcanda, they also accept credit cards while regular taxis might not; (in case, go on ONLY THE WHITE ONES)

if you need directions, beware that a good 50% of the people here either speak English pretty badly. So in case you do need to ask, I'd suggest asking at a newsstand or bar or shop - at the center there's probably more of a chance that they actually do speak English. If you learn the basic Italian for directions it might help a lot, but if you ask random people they might be crap at communication;

if you need to buy food, we have a few supermarket chains. todis has the best price/quality ratio, conad is okay, carrefour is good but pricey, coop is good if you find one, the rest can be good or not but those are the most popular supermarket chains;

alf of the people who drive around here should have their license removed. (personal experience.) pay extra attention while crossing any road and try to mind noisy traffic. that might seem kind of stupid, but there's a bunch of people passing with red lights or starting the car as soon as it's green and stuff like that which never happens when I go outside Italy (most times). oh, and pay attention to motorcycles because 75% of people driving one should have their license removed instead of just half and they tend to break rules more than car drivers do;

if you want to rent a car or try to get one while you’re here you can but I would advise strongly against it because parking is a bitch and *I* hate driving in this city I can’t imagine someone not adjusted to it;

now, since it’s long, under the cut you get food/tourism advice/tourist traps and stuff. :)

Tourist traps and stuff that is advisable to avoid

There aren't many tourist traps in the strict sense since pretty much everything is worth visiting, but here are the ones I'm aware of, plus a few tips.

- Don't get on the top of St. Peter's. I don't know why it's apparently a great thing to do but it's totally not worth it. They charge you, there's always a line that can go from mid-long to long as fuck and the view isn't anything that special either. You can get a better one for free if you take a walk up the Gianicolo hill or the Pincio gardens just to say two. Or you can take the elevator on the Altare della patria.

When you go to the Coliseum/Roman forum, avoid fake gladiators before they throw an arm around your shoulder and take a picture with you because then they'll want to get paid for it even if you didn't ask. Unless you want one but it’s like ROBBERY. XD

When eating, avoid restaurants in the center offering you tourist menus or pasta/pizza menus. They'll tell you that you can have any pasta or pizza you want and stuff to drink for seven euros, but then looking at the menu since most pastas cost more than that, they'll mostly give you just one or two choices for either. Also 99% of the times it's frozen and re-heated, and at that point you can spend ten euros and go to a proper cheap pizza place. Also beware generally of places that offer pasta and pizza at the same time anyway - most proper pizza restaurants have a pasta/meat/vegetables/etc. choice anyway even if they don't advertise it, and whatever offers stuff like pasta/pizza/Italian typical food at once is usually not a good choice. If they sport an Italian flag or the Coliseum or St. Peter's on the menu outside then it's probably not a good place. XD

Generally eating cheap

Since I scared you off the cheap kind of restaurant, some eating cheaply advice. Now, unless you go to very fancy places and/or renomated restaurants and/or smack in the center, it's easy-ish enough to eat with no more than 12 euros per person in regular restaurants/pizza places. Also most Chinese restaurants are pretty cheap. But if you just want something quick for lunch or anything, there are a lot of places that sell pizza by the weight. You can just go in and say that you want three euros of that kind of pizza and that's all you'll pay, and they also sell appetizers to go with it (like, idk, arancini or supplìs, google them XD) and you'll get out of there having spent five euros at most. Most ice cream places are good by default so that's a good option as well. Or most bars have a kitchen and offer pasta/meat/vegetables at lunch and you pay less than what you'd get in a restaurant. Also if you want to try typical local stuff (though if you're vegetarian Roman food might not be your cup of tea) you can just go to Trastevere and there virtually each restaurant is good. Actually if you want to try pizza there, this is my favorite place; the pizza is excellent, everything else is, prices are reasonable and you don't pay for the service, just for the food. (Anyway, check for pizzas. There's Neapolitan and Roman - most places do it the Roman way but if you check they might do it the Roman way as well. The difference is that the former is the real pizza, the second is very thin rather than tall. They usually specify it, if it's Neapolitan. /end rant)

If you're into Jewish food then you could go to the ghetto, which is the second-oldest ghetto in the world (nothing to be proud but it's info) and where they have a bunch of great places to eat typical Jewish/Roman stuff, but I can't guarantee about the cheapness. TRY THE ARTICHOKES FOR THE LOVE OF GOD;

Other random tips before the to-see list

From what I gathered, if you need euros it's better to get them at a bank/ATM rather than at any change shop or at airports. They don't rob you that much on it, but it's still more convenient not to get money in there.

Use tap water. Rome is full of fountains and all the water is good to drink. It's actually very good water objectively XD and rather than getting charged two euros for half a liter you can just buy a bottle once and fill it in at your hotel or at the first random fountain you see in the street. It's all safe.

Any place that charges you more than one euro for one coffee that isn't strictly in the center or in Via Veneto (except for my favorite place in the center - Sant’Eustachio - which is totally worth every penny) is best left alone. Today a lot of places offer American coffee too but I’d advise trying the espresso ;)

- Don't try to rent a bicycle. High chance is that someone will hit you.

Or: come with jackets or a huge scarf with you even if it's nice hot weather because otherwise they won't let you inside churches. especially at St. Peter's they're strict like hell -- they won't let you in with one-quarter sleeves, you need to have at least half of your arms covered. And once I brought a friend to a crypt which I'll list in the to-see things which isn't inside the church, it's under it, and the guardian was looking in obvious disapproval at a bunch of Germans going inside in shorts and tank tops, so anyway if you want to get inside churches don't do it with your shoulders uncovered.

The shiny list of things you absolutely need to see, or try to if you don't have time

1. Coliseum + Roman Forum. Or, well, come on, we were awesome before popes re-built this city. Okay, with all seriousness, I'm not going to play tourist guide here because that'd be redundant, but you really should go see them.

Aaand advice in order to go quicker: usually lines at the Coliseum are huge. Depends on day/time, but unless you're going very early or very late it'll take you a while. So, either you can book your ticket (with at least one day of advance, they won't let you otherwise) or you go the sneaky way. Which is: you can get a ticket for Coliseum & Roman forum together as well, at both Coliseum and the forum. Since the forum usually has like 1/10 of the line, you go to the forum first, visit there and then go to the Coliseum, be like 'I HAVE MY TICKET ALREADY' and skip the line.

2. The center! Which means like twenty things together, but they're all close-ish to each other so in theory if you spend one day walking (or two half days walking) you can totes manage it. What you should go see in the center, not including the churches because I'll make a list out of those in another point:

a) The Pantheon;

b) Piazza di Spagna (where, if you're English lit nerds, you can go visit Keats' house - they say it's the Keats/Shelley museum but just Keats lived in there. Anyway, it's at the right of the stairs and apparently 90% of the visiting people are English and the people there go like 'OMGWHUT' when Italians go in, but however, it's a little cool museum and if you have some time it could be worth a visit);

c) Fontana di Trevi;

d) Via del Corso (where you go buy stuff if you're cool and have a lot of money);

e) Piazza Venezia ---> the Campidoglio hill (where there's a square and a palace by Michelangelo and the Capitolini museums - more on those later) --> the Trajan column;

f) Piazza Barberini (Bernini fountains!);

g) Piazza Navona (Bernini fountain + Borromini church + the square was actually a stadium in Roman times);

h) Campo dei fiori aka my favorite place and one of the best places to eat so YOU NEED TO GO SEE IT AND THAT'S THE END OF IT;

i) Piazza del popolo;

l) Porta Pia + imperial walls surrounding it;

m) all the roads in between that + the churches that I'll list in a short while.

n) ETA BECAUSE FOR SOME REASON I FORGOT: Piazza Argentina, where there's a colony of 300 cats in the Roman ruins there and you can pet them for free. Well obv not 300 at a time but yeah they totally want to be petted and there's a volunteer association taking care of them so they're clean and everything and so basically it's just a huge free petting zoo.

3. The churches!

Okay, telling you to go to all the churches in Rome would be insane as there's one every three buildings, so I'll give you a run down of the places that are worth checking out because of a) the architects, b) the paintings inside, c) other stuff of importance.

a) Basilicas first, obviously:

a1 -> St. Paul's. (No, I didn't list St. Peter's first. *cough*) it’s my favorite of the basilicas, especially because it's way older than St. Peter's and still has some Byzantine mosaics as well. Disadvantage: since it was built outside the Roman walls back then (VERY MUCH outside) it's smack down in the middle of suburbs, so you need to go there with the subway and there's nothing else around to see UNLESS YOU GO TO THE NOT-CATHOLIC CEMETERY to visit keats and shelley, it’s the previous metro stop;

a2 -> St. Peter's obviously. If only because Michelangelo's Pietà is in there and you -have- to see that, no discussions. XD No well obviously you have to go. I'm probably just sick of it because I've been there so many times that I barely notice anything else anymore

a3 -> St. John's, which is also quite worth visiting, and it's next to San Giovanni which is a pretty lively zone where you can totally go to have a drink or something to eat

a4 -> santa maria maggiore ;) 

There are three others as well but those four are the most important ones. Now, other churches:

b) San Luigi dei Francesi, Sant'Agostino and Santa Maria del popolo

have a considerable advantage that makes them VERY much worthy to be visited: all of them have Caravaggio paintings inside. Actually, the first has three, the second one, the third two, and they're all masterpieces, so those are totally worth visiting.

c) Sant'Andrea al Quirinale and San Carlino alle Quattro Fontane

are two churches near the Quirinale (where the President of the Republic lives -- NOT the PM, thanks XD), the first was designed by Bernini and the second by Borromini, which are both pretty much encompassing what you want to see about Baroque in Rome. They're both absolutely wonderful though I like Borromini's better. Regarding Borromini, it's his also the one in Piazza Navona.

d) Bernini speaking, in Santa Maria della Vittoria you will find the Ecstasy of St. Theresa sculpture - it's kind of fun that when I bring people there without telling them what's inside everyone is like 'OMG IS THAT IN HERE' because it's not the kind of church you notice.

e) Chiesa di Santa Maria Immacolata a Via Veneto  or where the crypt I was talking to you before is. Major point of interest: said crypt is made of human bones. Warning: since human bones/skeletons creep me out like nothing else I've never set foot inside or I'd have ended up with a major case of WANTING TO GET THE SHIT OUT OF THERE, but people with less problems with it assure me that it's amazing. Your pick. xD

f) San Clemente aka a minor basilica which is also one of our oldest churches and is definitely worth a visit, if only because you can sort of see how it's two churches one built over the other. It also has some catacombs (thankfully skeletons-free) which are pretty much worth a visit as I think they're the only ones that remained here in pretty good condition.

Obviously there's a bunch of other churches but those are the ones I wouldn't miss.

4. Museums:

4a: Vatican museums. Or, if you need to pick ONE then I'd go here even if clearly it's the most pricey and it'll take you half a day to see it. BUT, it has the Sistine Chapel and Raphael's chambers and pretty much some of the best things you can see here so yeah, totally recommending it. Other recommendation: either book tickets online (you'll pay like 3 euros more) or go there at lunch time around 12.30/1 PM because otherwise high chances are that you'll queue for hours. Also if you're a student and have a card or a document from your school bring it along because you can pay 8 euros instead of 14 to get in.

4b: Galleria Barberini: they have a lot of Reinassance/Baroque paintings, Caravaggio included, and they're much cheaper.

4c: Galleria Borghese: probably the besty out of said public museums. It has sculptures/paintings/everything from a lot of artists and also contains famous things as well but a) you have to book, b) they'll kick you out after two hours regardless of the point you reached, so while being there try to go as quick as possible. If you finish you can always go back.

4d: Musei Capitolini: or, the oldest public museums in the world! (Really.) They have a lot of ancient Roman statues/ruins/etc along with the Marcus Aurelius statue which is the only original Roman bronze around, so it's totally worth a visit. Their paintings are great as well.

4e: if you're into it, next to Galleria Borghese there's a pretty good modern art gallery, but I haven't been there in ages and I'm not that much into very modern art anyway so you should probably check before listening to me.

5. I’d also go to Trastevere/the isola tiberina if you don’t go LIVE there of course XD

6. Also if you have time take a train at ostiense and go to the ruins at Ostia Antica. then take a train from any regular station and go see Villa Adriana in Tivoli ;)

feel free to ask for any other advice!

[itsemmyb]

You're complaining about being paid 800 dollars bitch I would kill for your fucking job right now.

I’ve been going through my inbox and I just found this. This is going to be long so it’s under a cut.

So I’m an adult now I have my own place since university dorms cost too much that means I have bills to pay, water, electricity, wifi, the works. These all total to roughly $1200 a month, my roommate used to pay half these bills but now she’s engaged and living with her fiance, so until I find a replacement I have to pay the full bills.

Now that I work four days a week because of budget cuts, that’s $500 a week $2000 a month assuming it’s the typical four weeks per month. That leaves me with $800, now I’m human, I have needs, my average budget for food is around $300 nothing much since it’s only me, sometimes a little more since I like to indulge myself sometimes.

That leaves me with $500 I need clean clothes, so take away money for detergent and all that, I have bad acne so minus money for keeping that in control, then there’s the fact that I’m a female with a vagina which means I get my period every month, assuming you’re female then you know how fucking expensive that can be to manage, assuming you’re a self absorbed male then you’re probably about say something along the lines of “Oh she pulled the period card, it’s not that big a deal” just shut the fuck up and come talk to me when you start bleeding out of your penis, experience mood swings, nausea, headaches, acne, backaches, cramps, and tender and super sensitive breasts just to name a few.

That brings me to my next point, I have breasts, and since society thinks they’re a taboo and unacceptable thing, and that the fucking backwards people who live in my country thinks that a girl deserves to be fucking raped because she wore a nice outfit that didn’t require a bra. I need to buy bras.

So that leaves me with approximately two hundred dollars that I can use to buy whatever I want. And now you’re thinking “That’s still a lot of money. Bills and daily necessities could never be that expensive, she’s lying!”

Let’s do the math:

TT $6.77 = US $1TT $2000 to US = 2000/6.77 = US 295.42

TT $8.80 = 1 Pound Sterling/GBPTT $2000 to Pounds Sterling/GBP = 2000/8.8 = 227.27 Pounds Sterling/GBP

TT $7.90 = 1 EuroTT $2000 to Euros = 2000/7.9 = 253.16 Euros

TT $5.93 = CAD $1 (1 Canadian Dollar)TT $2000 to CAD = 2000/5.93 = CAD $337.26

Those we just some of the major conversions if you live somewhere else just google a fucking converter you have access to the internet.

Now to the part where you’d kill for my job, I work at what Trinidadians call a chicken/poultry depot I don’t know what you would call it, I previously worked at a supermarket but got laid off because the owner gambled away all of the profits.

I’m a cashier, but they sell fresh meat, chickens and ducks are killed and plucked at the back, you hear the terrified sounds that the birds make just before they’re killed. I didn’t eat any type of meat for a month or more after I started working there.

I also have to weigh and price chickens, that means I use a lot of anti-bacterial soap, which means my skin starts to dry up and split after a while, I go through a least one medium sized bottle of lotion a week trying to save myself that pain.

After the customer chooses their meat and pays for it I have to tell the dude how to cut the meat, do you know the difference between chicken cut to fry and chicken cut to barbeque or stew. Do you know how many crazy orders I get each day, you’d think there’s nothing that special about chicken right? Wrong, People want their chicken cut in ways that I’ve never even thought was possible, did you know that some people eat the tails of chickens?

Not to mention we supply supermarkets and restaurants, how quickly can you remember a list of seventy people who go by different names and the discounts they get per chicken? We sell close to five or six hundred chickens a day.

Do you know how physically demanding the job is also? Could you be on your feet for eleven hours straight? I’m also the only cashier there, so even if I sit down to eat and someone comes into the store I have to leave my food, get up sell them, decontaminate my hands and return to my food.

I also get a lot of rude customers every day, people don’t care if you’re under staffed or if you can’t give them discounts since they’re not regulars. One time a guy who was legit from another country (I believe it was Barbados) came in insisting that we accepted Linx even though we did not at the time have a credit card machine. Another one blamed me for the fact that we only had small chickens even though I had no control over what the sizes of the birds would be.

Don’t get me started on the fact that I am the only female working there among a bunch of disgusting men who have absolutely no respect for women. I have to listen to them make degrading comments at women, comments that I myself hate hearing if they were directed towards me, and if I try to stand up to them they just ignore me and continue.

So now that you know what my job is like would you still fucking kill for it?