Hey everyone! Some may have wondered what happened to the fest. I’ll discuss the first part here, then the second on my other page.

First, and most important to the fest, was the fact that Tumblr would not let me log in. At All. Nada. And then, Oh joy of joys, it did! Except it would not let me make posts, click on my mail, or really do anything useful whatsoever.

And then it locked me back out.

Things have….mostly been sorted, but I’m not sure how long that will last, and that in combination with my second issue means I’ll probably have to postpone the fest until a later date. I’m so sorry, everyone!

Romione Sin-Fest 2019

It’s time for the third annual Romione Sin Fest! Last year, you all might remember that an art category was added—something I definitely want to continue this year. And while there’s a lot of material that can be gotten from the main theme of 7 Deadly Sins, this year I’m adding a new twist; the 6 Virtues! For those that want something lighter of more positive—or that have an interesting twist they want to try out. The virtues are:

Honesty Strength Courage Kindness Sacrifice

I hope to get a lot of submissions this year! They’re open now, and I’ll be starting to post them on August 1st.

Just be sure to follow the rules below–and remember while smut is highly appreciated, all ratings are welcome! 1. These fics MUST be focused on Ron and Hermione. 2. Drabbles are allowed; minimum word count is 500, and there is no maximum word count. One shots, even very long ones, are preferred, although if you absolutely must split it into small chapters, it will be allowed as long as it is complete. 3. No abuse or rape submissions will be accepted. 4. Multiple submissions are allowed! You can do one for each sin, or ten for the same one; go wild! 5. While you DO need to stick to the spirit of the theme, there’s room for interpretation. You can be literal, choose a comedic approach, or twist things up in ways one wouldn’t ordinarily consider; for instance, not all smut fics must be in the lust category, and lust doesn’t necessarily have to contain smut. 6. Fics must be original and can’t be posted anywhere else until voting is completed–we’re keeping this anonymous! HOW TO SUBMIT Click on the submission link (Come in and Sin), and paste your work. At the top, before your fic, please give me 1. Your url, if different than the one you use to submit 2. A description of the fic 3. A rating 4. Whether it’s a drabble or a oneshot 5. Which category 6. Title (preferably have this in the title bar)

Important!

Hey everyone! I e been really looking forward to this fest, and I had hoped other people were too. I know I was supposed to start posting soon, but I’ve run into a problem and need help. With the recent Tumblr meltdown, things are getting deleted left and right, and I expect that to only increase next week. I also know that quite a few people are leaving tumblr—or at least trying to cobble places together to be once they are eventually forced to leave. So my question is: where should we go from here? Should I just start posting and hope it all turns out? Should I try to post somewhere else and hope that at least a few people get to see it? Wait until next Christmas (my least favorite option)? Please let me know what you think, especially if you are a contributing author!

A Festive New Fest!

The holidays are quickly approaching, and what could make the season more joyous than a new romione fest? Nothing. But this just isn’t any holiday themed fest! No, this one has a THEME! (Getting fancy, I know.)

Ever wondered what it would be like if the Yule Ball had gone differently? Or sixth year Christmas? Well, now is the time to write it out, because this year our theme is Alternate Yule! For those who prefer canon only, I’m also accepting related missing moments, or ‘dream’ fics!

Here’s the rules:

1. This is strictly Ron/Hermione! They can only be paired with each other–aside from the obvious Lavender clause, naturally–but please nothing explicit in that regard–that isn’t what we’re here for!

2. No rape, abuse, or anything of a nature that might offend readers. 

3. When submitting, please include the title, rating (all welcome!), and category for your fic; Yule Ball, Sixth Year, Missing Moment/Dream, and summary. 

I’ll be accepting submissions starting now, and posting will begin on December 14; as with my other fest, I’ll accept fics as long as they keep coming in!

ALSO: Art, as well as media such as mood boards and gifs, are welcome! Very, VERY welcome!

I will never get over just how messed up the situation with Ron’s dress robes was because there was literally so many solutions to the problem.

First off, Molly is a witch, who studied transfiguration in school for years. She’s also an established seamstress.   So why not use transfiguration to fix up his robes, why not use her sewing skills to get rid off some of the lace and designs and extra stuff and make it something a teenage boy would want to wear?  Hell, She even mentions that Arthur has dress robes, why not let Ron borrow those since Arthur is described as tall and lanky like Ron and I’m sure he would fit them, and if he couldn’t they could shrink them instead of going out and spending money on terrible Robes that I know for a fact that Molly knew Ron wouldn’t like.

Why would she send her son out to  a formal ball, where foreign wizards and diplomats and important Ministry Officials would be attending, looking like a hot mess. Why would she do that to him? That is the equivalent of my mom sending me to prom in a sack.  Which she didn’t. My mom worked around the budget to get me a new dress and shoes, which is why I’m on Molly so hard for this because there is no excuse. She has magic. You do not intentionally send your child out to an important event like that looking like crap, especially if you have the means to fix it.

And what makes it even worse is that apparently none of the other Weasley kids went to the ball looking like something straight out of the 1800’s because you best believe Ron would have complained about it. We even hear about them from Harry during the ball and he doesn’t say anything about their robes being as bad as Ron’s so we can assume they had perfectly acceptable robes. There are some very unfortunate implications behind that.

And that comment on him going to the ball naked, and how it would be a good laugh was way beyond what is okay for a parent to say in that situation. It completely devalues Ron’s legitimate feelings of looking like a joke and feeds into his insecurities.

It makes no sense. I can’t think of any logical reason why Molly would do something so wrong.

Because at the end of the day Molly made a conscious decision to go out and buy those robes for Ron. At the same time, she buys Harry robes that she knows he would like, and that she put a lot of thought into getting apparently because she comments on how she got them, so they would match his eyes, while simultaneously sending her son out with horrendously ugly robes with no thought put into the embarrassment Ron would feel or about the environment she was sending him out to because she knew  exactly what he would be need those robes for and yet she didn’t stop to think ‘ well maybe since this is such a big event I could make them look presentable’. Molly didn’t even try for Ron.

I think  a lot of times Molly did the best she could in her financial  situation and I know she loves her kids, but the way she treats Ron sometimes makes me side-eye her pretty hard because it brings up some very uncomfortable implications that I don’t like.

I completely agree. It was really messed up of her. 

I agree that those solutions would work if Molly thought the robes were bad.

I think she honestly didn’t think they were that bad- and then ignored Ron’s complaints because she always does. She is always harried, and simply doesn’t listen when the kids complain about something as ‘silly’ as preferences of color of sweater, or food, or dress robes. I get it- they’re poor and have had to make do with whatever they have on hand- but she takes it a step further and truly ignores Ron the most of anyone.

I think she also doesn’t really realize- she’s not a stay at home mom with 7 kids at home anymore? Her life has changed significantly- she really did use to have 7 kids all at home at the same time- that’s a LOT of kids. At that point, she relly did not have time to deal with preferences on much of anything because at that point- be happy you’re fed, clean, well educated, clothed etc. She’s a great mom in so many ways, but sometimes she lets that harried attitude continue, even when she’s no longer the busy mother she used to be. Granted, she’s getting older, but….

 That’s one thing that what makes me the most put out sometimes- she’s always ‘such a busy mom’- but… her kids have been out of the house for 9 months of the year for 2 years by the beginning of Goblet of Fire.

She’s legit busy in the summer- or on holidays when she’s feeding everyone- but Ron’s 4th year… What exactly did she have on her plate leading up to the Yule Ball after the kids are back in school? She wasn’t in the Order at that point.

 So she’s dusting an empty house, looking after chickens, doing property maintenance, and knitting sweaters and fixing 1-2 meals a day for 2 people, and lunch for herself. I mean, it’s not nothin’ to maintain a large property- but She had MONTHS to consider what Ron thought- and try to fix the robes then send them to him. She didn’t even try to do that because she dismissed it in hand at the moment, and probably never thought of it again. 

And it all comes down to the whole ‘I’m a busy mom stop complaining, at least you have robes’ thing- as well as a bit of JKR loving to make Ron the butt of jokes. I disagree that her joke about him going naked was out of line, though. Like, it’s funny. 

In the end, Molly (and everyone in the series) continually don’t really consider Ron’s feelings on anything, never apologize, and continually devalue him. It’s a theme- and Molly, for all her wonderful traits, is established as a huge insecurity for him even from the first chapter we meet him. 

He legit feels like his mum cares less for him than the rest of his family, including Harry- and she doesn’t do much to make him feel valued in the series, with the exception of when he got prefect. But frankly, when the only time you give much attention/affirmation to someone is if they do something amazing- then ignore them the rest of the time… it doesn’t help them feel like much. It makes them feel like their achievements are the only reason they have any value to anyone at all- which is demoralizing when you will never be able to achieve as much as everyone else int he family either. Add in the obvious preference of attention she gives Harry- and it’s no wonder the horcrux brought it up. :(

@coyotelaughingsoftly brought up a fantastic point in AQM.

The text mentions that Molly can knit, including with Magic.

But can Molly sew?

I dunno ‘bout y’all but sewing is a whole different animal from knitting. I was quite fortunate that my Mum knew how to do both - which saved plenty of quid when making both prom dresses for me in secondary. (I never was a size you could buy off the rack when it came to women’s dresses. Toss in my quirky style ideas then and… yeah, ain’t happening unless it was custom made, which my Mom did and I am so thankful for it. And I’m not even talking about the alterations made on my wedding dress.)

So Molly has the Twin’s robes and Ginny a Dress and Ron a set too.

Maybe she didn’t have the confidence to make fancy dress robes. Maybe the material (good wool by the yard and velvet and mother of pearl buttons and cutting the fabric the right way and measuring inseams and across the waist and shoulders) or the knowledge on how to do those things. (Master Tailors aren’t cheap, at all, even in the ‘90s!)

Even when my Mom made my dresses, she needed 2 months (I admit - she worked a f/t job too!) before such so I could have my dresses ready - but it also cost about $30 and labor to make them. (As opposed to hundreds of dollars but I digress.)

So Molly, who does have a farm to run (the chickens won’t feed themselves!) while Arthur is at work, could look at the situation and say, “I don’t know how to make fancy robes. How about I buy them?”

(Are renting formal suits a thing in the UK? Inquiring Dragons want to know if that’s only a US thing.)

Since Dragon is old, let me tell y’all that low-end dress robes from the era weren’t cheap - in the least. We’re talking 20-50 galleons each. That would be costly for 3 sets of robes and a dress, of which 2 certainly were only going to be worn once.

I dunno ‘bout y’all but can you come up with $500 (600GBP) for dress clothes worn maybe once? (That is the low end of the scale I mentioned.)

The twins, being shorter and stockier, are probably easier to find, robes wise. 5′9″ and maybe 170 so 42R and 36/32 trousers….probably pretty easy to find. They might get more wearing use out of them, or can dress them down into suits.

Harry? 5′0″ and 100lbs… 32s and 28/28. (I think his needed some adjusting but making a purchase wouldn’t be out of the reach here. Gladrags probably didn’t have a problem fitting him.)

And Ron? Bless the lad. 5′8″ and 125lbs. 34L and 28/32.

(All of these are pulled out of my scaly arse!)

The twins needed robes, being sixth years. Ginny needed a dress since Neville invited her to the Yule Ball. (Bless his beautiful heart!) Ron? Ron needed robes, too, but finding them might have proven problematic. Making them might be been problematic. And maybe all that was left after her running around trying to find it was… a grotty traditional one that she didn’t bother to adjust so it wasn’t to natty looking.

But when Ron complains, she gives cheek back. His complaining she’d see as being ungrateful which probably isn’t true but it’s still an insult.

Should she have gone to more trouble for Ron? Sure. But the theme of ignoring his needs or wants feeds into the narrative.

In short? I think Jo used Ron as the butt of the commentary that Ron was least valued, appearance-wise, compared to the rest and it fed into his self-esteem issues so the plot advancement of book 7 had concrete reasons why.

People have tagged me and mentioned this thread, so I’m wading in again. First, let it be understood that while I like Molly, she’s not a character that is ‘near and dear’ -- I feel no need to gallop to her defense out of some devotion to her. That being said, there’s a lot about this that people overlook. First, and this really can’t be underestimated: ‘Red hair, hand me down robes, must be a Weasley.’ In the books, the Weasleys are always described as dressing poorly. Why? Why on EARTH would ANYONE dress poorly if they didn’t have to? “You know what, hon? I think it would be a ginger keen idea to advertise our poverty by the way we dress!” Said no witch or wizard, EVER. I don’t know if there’s a magical law to explain why this isn’t possible, or if JKR wrote herself into a hole while she was trying to stress the fact that the Weasleys were poor. Either way, magic isn’t the fix all solution that everyone seems to think it is. Point two. The ball hadn’t been a thing for YEARS. Supply lists don’t seem to come out more than a few weeks before the school year starts. So unexpectedly, Molly is presented with the cost of four sets of dress robes. Those of you who have ever been on an extremely tight budget, I can feel you sphincters clenching in sync. There’s no way she had time to allow for those kind of purchases. And you know what? She probably went to every secondhand shop, every sales rack in the area (along with a ton of other witches) to find something. Raise your hand along with me if you were the kid who always wore a funny size. Funnily enough, the year or the YB was the year of my own Neon Plaid Atrocity. I was a very, very thin and tall child (sound familiar?) and when it was time for a swimsuit, nothing fit. Nothing, except the most blindingly awful neon plaid suit you had ever seen--at some of the color joinings, they were muddy and almost pee colored. My mother, bless her, not only took me to every store in town, but in towns an hour away. Oh, we did find one other suit that actually fit, but even at that age I knew that $60+ dollars for a child’s suit that would only be worn a few months was ridiculous. But there was no other choice and I wanted to swim, so I made do. As some have also pointed out, Molly doesn't have the best taste. Have any of you looked at prom and bridesmaid dresses from the 60s-80s? It’s not for the faint of heart. They are, for the most part, awful. But you know what? For every hundred or so comments making fun of them, there’s someone who wore them who still genuinely finds them attractive. The robe in question could have very well been something that Molly had seen prominent wizards wearing in her youth, and not see why it’s any big deal. We have all received articles of clothing from That Relative that will never see the light of day, no matter how lovingly given. Admit it, someone is saying, ‘But Arthur had dress robes!’ Sure he did. As a Ministry worker, he probably had to own a set for various events. And if you think that any spares hadn’t been scavenged by Bill or Percy by this point, you're kidding yourself. Also, while Ron is tall, he’s 14. Arthur is also tall, and even if thin he would be broader, so even on the off chance Ron got it, he would look like he was playing dress up in Daddy’s worn out robes. Not the look he was going for, and yes, he would have complained. Let’s also take into consideration that Ron would be holding them hostage for months, and as a 14 year old boy, there’s a better than good chance that he would ruin them, or wad them up and lose them, all in all not a really good decision. But she bought Harry nice robes! Yeah. She did. With HIS money. Which meant that she was able to buy it in a shop that wouldn't have anything really bad looking in it anyway. And no, she couldn't have used the money to buy something for Ron. That’s a misappropriation of funds, and it’s a big no-no when you're managing money for a minor and can come back as a lovely lawsuit years later. I get it, Harry wouldn't have done that, but I think I can safely say we’ve all been hurt by someone who ‘wouldn't have done that.’ I think the robes have been pretty much covered, so let’s move to her reaction when he complained. Do you honestly think that Molly didn't wish she could buy nicer things for all her children? Of course she did. She would’ve loved to have taken him shopping for robes for his first ball. And when you can't do things like that for your loved ones, you get frustrated a defensive, and complaints feel like an attack. But Ron didn't just complain. He complained in front of Harry. A guest. He pointed out their lack of money in a way that would not only be embarrassing to Molly, but to Harry as well--he was clearly uncomfortable in the book. Not only was a guest in her house made to feel uncomfortable, but he was also made to feel guilty over his own robes--he was robbed of his own chance to take pleasure in something that with his family, he had always been denied. He was made to feel like having something nice was something he should be ashamed of. And honestly, no mother would want her own child to make another feel like that. Ron should have gone to her privately to talk about it. Now, the Weasley kids are short tempered and sassy, and they didn't lick it up off the ground. Molly snapped and said something over the top, like any of them would have. And I know that those of you considering being mothers out there think that you'll be a wittier, more empowered June Cleaver, cooly dispensing wisdom and solving every problem perfectly, but you won't. That isn't a criticism or an insult, just a basic fact of human nature. At some point you're going to screw up royally, and I hope to heaven that people show you a bit more mercy and understanding than some have shown for Molly. And finally, let’s not forget Ron. Did he try to solve things himself? There was nothing to stop him doing some research into the subject. Did he? No. Did he ask for help? He didn't ask his family. He didn't ask Harry or Hermione. He didn't ask McGonagall. He shoved his problem in a trunk and ignored it, and then was mad when someone else hadn't solved it for him. And honestly, if you look at his character development, that’s so perfect! What does Ron do emotionally when he has problems? He represses them instead of confronting head on and dealing with them, until it gets out of control and explodes. Really, I think it’s a good illustration of where he was as a person, and how differently he would have handled the situation three to four years later.