ITOWverse

The ITOWverse is a shared metafictional universe that was created by the members of the maryrenaultfics LiveJournal community as a place "free from physical constraint",http://community.livejournal.com/maryrenaultfics/303756.html that can be visited by any character from any book by Mary Renault, or any work of fan fiction based on her work, as well as members of the maryrenaultfics community. At the heart of the ITOWverse is the Community clubhouse.
A paper on the ITOWverse, "Interfictional Dimensions: The “In Their Own Words” Project of Mary Renault LiveJournal Fandom", was given at the ICFA 33 in March 2012, and subsequently posted to maryrenaultfics in a f-locked post. In 2021, it was crossposted to the RenaultX Dreamwidth community in an open post."Paper at ICFA 33, March 2012 - "Interfictional Dimensions"", posted on 11 May 2021 by the author, Greer Watson. It includes the full text of the paper and the introduction that was posted to maryrenaultfics, as well as having its own introductory material. The original post to maryrenaultfics (made on 29 March 2012) is no longer on LiveJournal, and seems to have been deleted.
The moderators of the community have compiled an index to all the ITOWverse stories. One must be a member of the community to access this index, although the stories themselves may be accessed by non-members.
==History==
The official story of the ITOWverse begins with In Their Own Words, a community project in the maryrenaultfics community in 2008. However, the germ of the idea actually was born several years earlier when my_cnnr and trueriver (later to become moderators of the community) first began to discuss—as a running private joke—what the characters of Mary Renault's novels would say about the activities of the members of the maryrenaultfics community, if they themselves were to hang around together discussing the fans.Drawn from the contents of a f-locked post on my_cnnr's blog in answer to a question about the origins of the ITOWverse.
===In Their Own Words===
In Their Own Words was inspired by a publicity "interview" done by jgraeme2007 (a member of the community who is a professional writer) with a character in his books.The interview, "Jake Riordan from the Adrien English Mysteries", appeared 16 January 2008 as part of an ‘In their own words’ series on Alex Beecroft's blog, and ostensibly featured an interview with the character Jake Riordan from Josh Lanyon's Adrien English mystery series. A second interview, "Adrien English, Interviewed by Josh Lanyon", ostensibly with the hero of the series, was posted on 22 August 2008. On 4 February 2008, the moderators unveiled the idea of similar meta-interviews, and invited members to pose questions to any character in Renault's novels.Starting post of the In Their Own Words project in maryrenaultfics Questions presented by the community were then posted for a different character or group of characters each week; and members were invited to answer the questions "in character". In Their Own Words sparked interest in minor characters and generated a certain amount of fanfiction.
As the In Their Own Words project progressed, not only did the interviews became more free-form, but the moderators decided that some sort of introduction was needed for each post. To do this, they initially wrote brief scenarios in which the previous interviewee left the scene and the next was ushered in. However, looked at logically, this meant that characters were accumulating off-scene. Therefore, drawing on their personal jokes about the characters hanging out together, they started to write longer introductions, evolving the setting into a Community clubhouse where the various characters were being entertained at a barbecue while waiting to be interviewed. The character of the Interviewer also developed as she observed and interacted with the characters.
All this became known as the ITOWverse.
===In Their Own Words Interviews===
The interviews in order of appearance:
* RalphRalph Lanyon: In His Own Words post on maryrenaultfics, 10 February 2008. Accessed 19 July 2010.
* LaurieLaurie Odell: In His Own Words post on maryrenaultfics, 17 February 2008. Accessed 19 July 2010.
* AlexanderAlexander: In His Own Words post on maryrenaultfics, 24 February 2008. Accessed 19 July 2010.
* BunnyBunny: In His Own Words post on maryrenaultfics, 2 March 2008. Accessed 19 July 2010.
* LysisLysis: In His Own Words post on maryrenaultfics, 9 March 2008. Accessed 19 July 2010.
* BagoasBagoas: In His Own Words post on maryrenaultfics, 16 March 2008. Accessed 19 July 2010.
* Lucy and OliveLucy and Olive: In Their Own Words post on maryrenaultfics, 27 March 2008. Accessed 19 July 2010.
* HephaistionHephaistion: In His Own Words post on maryrenaultfics, 6 April 2008. Accessed 19 July 2010.
* Alec, Sandy, Nurse Adrian, Miss HaliburtonAlec, Sandy, Nurse Adrian, and Miss Haliburton: In Their Own Words post on maryrenaultfics, 13 April 2008. Accessed 19 July 2010.
* Andrew, Dave, Derek, Reg and WillisIn Their Own Words post on maryrenaultfics, 24 April 2008. Accessed 19 July 2010.
* Leo, Mic, Vivian, HilaryIn Their Own Words: The Contemporary Novels post on maryrenaultfics, 4 May 2008. Accessed 19 July 2010.
* Phaedo, Simonides, Harmodios and Aristogeiton, Hippias, Nikeratos and ThettalosIn their Own Words: The Ancient Greece Novels post on maryrenaultfics, 4 May 2008. Accessed 19 July 2010.
* Treviss, Neames, Madge, Carter, Hazell, Major FergusonIn Their Own Words: The Charioteer post on maryrenaultfics, 4 May 2008. Accessed 19 July 2010.
* BarnesBarnes: In His Own Words post on maryrenaultfics, 25 May 2008. Accessed 19 July 2010.
In addition, the fans writing the interviews began to realise that some of the characters, if kept within character, would not answer all the questions if posed by an Interviewer (who was effectively a stranger); but they might reveal the answers when talking to a friend. This led to an "As Overheard" thread in which characters spoke with one another. "As Overheard" Amongst others, this included gems such as "Charles Dishes on Laurie",Charles Dishes on Laurie comment thread started by weavinghugo on maryrenaultfics, 5 May 2008. Accessed 26 July 2010.Charles Still Dishing on Laurie comment thread started by weavinghugo on maryrenaultfics, 5 May 2008. Accessed 26 July 2010. "Making Change" (Lucy and Olive),Making Change comment by fawatson on maryrenaultfics, 10 May 2008. Accessed 26 July 2010. and its sequelsThe Penny Drops comment by fawatson on maryrenaultfics, 10 May 2008 Accessed 08 August 2010.
Twopenny-Halfpenny comment by fawatson on maryrenaultfics, 10 May 2008 Accessed 08 August 2010.A Few Pennies Short of a Shilling comment by fawatson on maryrenaultfics, 10 May 2008 Accessed 08 August 2010. "Cleaning Up after the Barbeque" (Alec and Sandy - after the interview),Cleaning Up after the Barbeque comment by fawatson on maryrenaultfics, 18 May 2008. Accessed 26 July 2010.Cleaning up after the Barbeque Part Two comment by fawatson on maryrenaultfics, 18 May 2008. Accessed 26 July 2010.Cleaning up after the Barbeque Part Three comment by fawatson on maryrenaultfics, 18 May 2008. Accessed 26 July 2010.Cleaning up after the Barbeque (part four) comment by fawatson on maryrenaultfics, 18 May 2008. Accessed 26 July 2010. "The Straikes Mull Proprieties",The Straikes Mull Proprieties, Part One comment by greerwatson on maryrenaultfics, 20 May 2008. Accessed 26 July 2010.The Straikes Mulls Proprieties, Part Two comment by greerwatson on maryrenaultfics, 20 May 2008. Accessed 26 July 2010. " A Meeting of Minds" (Straike and Neames),A Meeting of Minds comment by greerwatson on maryrenaultfics, 20 May 2008. Accessed 26 July 2010.A Meeting of Minds Part Two comment by greerwatson on maryrenaultfics, 20 May 2008. Accessed 26 July 2010. "In the Actors Studio",In the Actors' Studio comment thread started by fawatson on maryrenaultfics, 5 June 2008. Accessed 26 July 2010.] and "Reunion" (Michael and Laurie).Reunion comment by fawatson on maryrenaultfics, 15 June 2008. Accessed 26 July 2010.Reunion (Part Two) comment thread started by fawatson on maryrenaultfics, 15 June 2008. Accessed 26 July 2010
The posts for the In Their Own Words project were largely made by one of the moderators, my_cnnr; and members' own contributions were made as comments. In 2014, as she was winding down the maryrenaultfics community, my_cnnr chose to lock many of the posts to members only. It should be noted, therefore, that originally all were open posts.
===In Their Own Words: Five Years On===
In 2009, the ITOWverse was expanded with a second project, Five Years On (5YO), celebrating the fifth anniversary of the maryrenaultfics community.
In April, a small group of heavy contributors to the community were asked to prepare advance "invitations" to characters of their choice in the form of short fics describing how that character received the invitation. Historical research combined with ingenuity: a few received their invitations posthumously;"Five Years On: Bim", "Five Years On: Michael" and the "characters" invited included Alexander the Great's horse,"Five Years On: Boukephalos" and assorted dogs drawn into the ITOWverse by the Pied Piper."Five Years On: Friends and Companions" In addition, a long-term (and much respected) community member who had died a few months before was honoured by becoming a character in the ITOWverse ("The Secretary"). The entire collection of pre-written invitations was then posted to the community, one by one on a daily schedule from 3 May to 11 June 2009.Five Years On posts on maryrenaultfics Special banners were created to decorate the series.
On 15 May, the community at large were invited to prepare their own contributions to the festivities, to be posted after all the "invitations" were out.post on maryrenaultfics 14 June 2009 09:17 pm In addition, a multi-part set of "invitation" stories about the baking of a giant fruit cake prompted the moderators to suggest that community members bake their own celebratory cakes and post photographs of them.The "Five Years On" Great Cake Challenge post on maryrenaultics 24 May 2009 08:16 am This "bake-off" was posted on 11 June, also with a special banner.Bake Off and Pot Luck Supper on maryrenaultfics Community members' own stories of the actual 5YO festivities were posted thereafter, from 12 June to 24 August.Five Years On posts on maryrenaultfics
Additional characters who had not appeared the previous year were either interviewed, or were 'overheard'. These included: Olympias;Human Interest post by toujours_nigel on maryrenaultfics, 13 June 2009. Accessed 26 July 2010.ITOW - Overheard: Wives and Mothers post by fawatson on maryrenaultfics, 18 June 2009. Accessed 26 July 2010.5YO:ITOW - Overheard: Wives and Mothers (Part Two) post by fawatson on maryrenaultfics, 29 June 2009. Accessed 26 July 2010. King Philip of Macedon;ITOW - The Interviewer Makes Some Progress post by fawatson on maryrenaultfics, 16 June 2009. Accessed 26 July 2010.ITOW: The Interview with Philip of Macedon Continues... post by fawatson on maryrenaultfics, 18 June 2009. Accessed 26 July 2010.ITOW: Interview with Philip of Macedon (Part 3) post by fawatson on maryrenaultfics, 20 June 2009. Accessed 26 July 2010. Hippolyta;5YO:ITOW - Overheard: Wives and Mothers (Part Two) post by fawatson on maryrenaultfics, 29 June 2009. Accessed 26 July 2010. Ptolemy;5YO: In Their Own Words - Interview with Ptolemy (Part One) post by fawatson on maryrenaultfics, 13 July 2009. Accessed 26 July 2010.5YO: In Their Own Words - Interview with Ptolemy (Part Two) post by fawatson on maryrenaultfics, 24 August 2010. Accessed 26 July 2010. Oromedon;ITOW (5Y) - The Other Persian Boy post by greerwatson on maryrenaultfics, 18 June 2009. Accessed 26 July 2010.ITOW (5Y) - More from the Other Persian Boy post by greerwatson on maryrenaultfics, 29 June 2009. Accessed 26 July 2010. Sisygambis;5YO:ITOW - Overheard: Wives and Mothers (Part Two) post by fawatson on maryrenaultfics, 29 June 2009. Accessed 26 July 2010.5YO: In Their Own Words - Interview with Sisygambis, Stateira and Drypetis post by fawatson on maryrenaultfics, 24 August 2009. Accessed 26 July 2010. Stateira and Drypetis;5YO: In Their Own Words - Interview with Sisygambis, Stateira and Drypetis post by fawatson on maryrenaultfics, 24 August 2009. Accessed 26 July 2010. Raymond.5YO: ITOW - Overheard: Raymond and Laurie post by fawatson on maryrenaultfics, 5 July 2009. Accessed 26 July 2010.
Minor discrepancies in original Renault books led to humorous contributions about Raymond5YO: ITOW - Raymond post by fawatson on maryrenaultfics, 21 June 2009. Accessed 26 July 2010. and Alexander's hair5YO Fic Event: From Dawn till Dusk post by fawatson on maryrenaultfics, 12 June 2009. Accessed 26 July 2010. and, subsequently, icons of Alexander's eyes.
===In Their Own Words: Miscellany===
Even before the 5YO series, the ITOWverse had been revisited: in 2008, the character Michael Odell (a reporter) ostensibly wrote a lead story in the fictional Renault Times Lead story in the Renault Times posted by my_cnnr to maryrenaultfics on 20 July 2008 Accessed 28 August 2010 to announce the completion of the character glossaries. Periodically thereafter, standalone ficlets set in the ITOWverse have been posted to the community, providng a vehicle for marking community events, as various characters at the Clubhouse remark on the community's activities. Thus, in 2009 Hephaistion, Alexander, The Iliad in Six Words posted by fawatson to maryrenaultfics on 12 February 2009 Accessed 28 August 2010 and Simonides To Cut of Not to Cut posted by fawatson to marenaultfics on 14 February 2009 Accessed on 28 August 2010 actively involved themselves in the Six Word Novel Challenge, and in 2009, Lucy followed the poll about which book should be chosen for the next chapter-by-chapter discussion. In 2010 Simonides 'assisted' community members to write poetry for World Poetry Day, while The Secretary dealt with an unwelcome character. Also in 2010, the story "Greatest Regrets" marked the decision to members-lock the community.
Besides these standalone commentary stories, there have been several series of connected stories. Again, these have been written by individual writers rather than being community activities.
===In Their Own Words: Christmas 2009===
Shortly before Christmas, two members of the community (sisters greerwatson/Greer Watson and fawatson/Florence A. Watson) were asked by the moderators if they would write something in the ITOWverse as a Christmas gift to the community. This was posted from 21 December 2009 to 6 January 2010, and comprised 24 linked posts (plus "Christmas Plans", a story for Yuletide)."Christmas at the Clubhouse" posts on maryrenaultfics"Christmas Plans" by fawatson for trueriver on Yuletide.
===In Their Own Words: The Lost Man Booker Prize===
In 2010 considerable excitement was generated amongst fans when Fire from Heaven was nominatedThe Booker Prize - 'Lost' Classics of the 1970s post by grondfic on maryrenaultfics, 1 February 2010. Accessed 27 July 2010. and then shortlistedMore about the Lost Booker Thing: FFH shortlisted post by queen_ypolita on maryrenaultfics, 25 March 2010. Accessed 27 July 2010. for the Lost Man Booker Prize.The Lost Man Booker Prize announced, 1 February 2010. Accessed 27 July 2010. The book did not win but the contest was closely watched by fans, and both the contest and its aftermath generated fanfic by fawatson that was set in the ITOWverse."The Blue and the Grey" "Commiserations at the Clubhouse"
===In Their Own Words: The Summer 2010 "Swim" Challenge===
In response to the Summer 2010 Challenge on maryrenaultfics, to the prompt "swim", greerwatson wrote "In the Swim of Things....", In the Swim of Things posted by greerwatson to maryrenaultfics on 24 August 2010 Accessed 28 August 2010 in which Alexander the Great leaves the clubhouse for a walk during which various and assorted characters were seen swimming (though, notably, not Alexander, who was canonically described as a non-swimmer). She was then inspired to expand this into an eight-part series that, centring on the mysterious appearance of a pond in the grounds of the Clubhouse, raised issues of the nature of the ITOWverse, the self-awareness of the characters, and cultural differences between Ancient and modern. (The series is indexed here in The Collected ITOWverse.)
===In Their Own Words: Autumn 2010===
In Autumn 2010, another series of linked ITOW ficlets by greerwatson and fawatson marked the Halloween, Guy Fawkes, and American Thanksgiving celebrations at the clubhouse. (This series is members-locked on LJ, but is indexed here in The Collected ITOWverse.)
===In Their Own Words: Jack o' Lantern 2011===
In Autumn 2011, another series of linked ITOW ficlets arose from the Jack-o-Lantern challenge. This arose spontaneously as greerwatson posted an initial ficlet on 29/10/2011 in which Alec Deacon and Sandy Reid discussed the challenge, brought to their attention through a Renault Times article. The ficlet was originally intended as a stand-alone. However essayel responded with another - complementary - ficlet (posted on 29/10/2011) which expanded on the idea of characters reading about the pumpkin challenge. At her sister's suggestion, fawatson then responded to round off the series by posting four more ficlets (on 13/11/2011 and 20/11/2011) using the pumpkins and Renault Times themes, and linking the whole (as suggested in essayel's ficlet) to Thesmophoria (a harvest festival held in Ancient Athens). (This series is members-locked on LJ, but is indexed here in The Collected ITOWverse.)
===In Their Own Words: Yuletide 2011===
In December 2011, a Yuletide Madness story was written in the ITOWverse by fawatson. This gift for queen_ypolita incorporated the unused Renault-verse prompts into a tongue-in-cheek story. For details see "Madness!".
==Format==
The original concept of In Their Own Words was interpreted by most writers as a Q&A, to a greater or lesser degree written as a dialogue. The moderators' introductions, however, included prose material closer to stage directions, and should therefore be considered to have been written in something closer to the format of a stage play. Many installments of the "Overheard" thread, especially when following the interaction of multiple characters, also use a play format.
When the Five Years On project began, however, most of the "invitations" were written as prose ficlets. The subsequent 5YO posts themselves took a variety of forms—prose, play, and dialogue—depending on the preference of the individual writer and the nature of the piece.
The Christmas at the Clubhouse series was written in prose; and most of the individual ITOWverse stories have also been in prose.
Until 2010, "Lead story by Michael Odell in the Renault Times" was the only entry to mimic a newspaper story. However, in September, during the furore about LiveJournal's decision to include links to Facebook and Twitter (and ensuing debate whether or not the maryrenaulfics community should move lock, stock and barrel to Dreamwidth), Ralph and Laurie were seen reading a copy of the Renault Times. Soon thereafter, the news article format was used to announce the development of Renault wiki pages on Fanlore, and in November 2010 the Bonfire Night celebrations at the clubhouse were reported in a newspaper article.
==Evolution of the ITOWverse==
The original In Their Own Words concept was very simple: answers to questions which were either directly linked to characterisation or filling in missing scenes. However, it logically evolved the ITOWverse—a place where these questions could be asked. The ITOWverse has not remained static. Over the next few years, there was a gradual transformation, in terms of the type of story, the setting for the characters, and the ‘inhabitants’ of the ITOWverse. This evolution can also be linked to changes in format (see above).
===Themes===
When the In Their Own Words series began, the focus was on elucidating "from the horse's mouth" (so to speak) the backstory, motivations, off-scene actions, and post-novel activities of the canonical characters in Renault's novels. This continued in the 5YO project the following year, since there were a number of characters that had not been interviewed first time round.
As the Overheard Thread of the In Their Own Words project evolved, the scope of the investigation expanded as characters—especially the Ancient Greeks—reacted towards cultural changes between their day and the modern era, especially in the areas of poetry"Simonides and Poetry" Part One and Part Two posts by fawatson to maryrenaultfics on 1 June 2008] accessed 10 September 2010."Technical Support" post by fawatson to maryrenaultfics on 6 June 2008 accessed on 10 September 2010."Simonides' Second Interview" Part One, Part Two and Part Three, post made by fawatson to maryrenaultfics on 14 June 2008 accessed 10 September 2010. and drama."Poets' Corner" post by fawatson to maryrenaultfics on 4 June 2008 accessed 10 September 2010."In the Actors' Studio" post by fawatson to maryrenaulfics on 5 June 2008 accessed 10 September 2010."Nikeratos and Thettalos" Part One, Two, Three, Four, and Five, made by fawatson to maryrenaultfics on 21 June 2008 accessed 10 September 2010. This continued as a major theme in the Summer 2010 "Swim" Challenge mini-series, much of which focused on cultural differences between the Ancient Greek characters and the Secretary, a modern American. Ancient/Modern cultural differences also featured in both the Christmas at the Clubhouse series, and the Autumn 2010 series. In addition, these latter expanded the theme of cultural comparisons to investigate differences between the modern American and mid-twentieth century British cultures.
In another development, the characters began to act independently of the interviews. The climax of the In Their Own Words series was "Dedication and Sacrifice", which described a performance of Euripides' The Trojan Women, largely arranged by the characters. This was attended by—among others—Mary Renault herself, and the moderators of the maryrenaultfics community."Dedication and Sacrifice", multiple posts by fawatson to maryrenaulfics on 7 June 2008, accessed 10 September 2010. Particularly in the works of fawatson, other community members have been worked into a variety of subsequent posts, during the 5YO Project and since, though usually in minor roles.
Since, by the conclusion of the In Their Own Words project, it was explicit that Renault's characters are well aware of maryrenaultfics, minor ITOWverse stories are sometimes inspired by challenges and other community activities. Typically in such posts, the characters comment on the community members, occasionally by name.
As it became explicit that the characters were aware of their fictional status (and regarded "the Author" highly),"On Writing" post by fawatson to maryrenaultfics on 22 June 2010 accessed 10 September 2010. questions could be raised of the extent of their knowledge of events later in their own books, in other books, or in future history. Later posts, in 5YO and since, have sometimes touched on these issues, exploring the ITOWverse itself from a meta perspective.
===Setting===
When the original In Their Own Words project began, no particular setting was envisaged for the interviews. Soon, though, it emerged that a ‘reading room’ was the location in which the Interviewer grilled each of her subjects in turn. Shortly thereafter, this room was described as part of a ‘clubhouse’, complete with grounds where characters were evidently located before and after meeting with the Interviewer.
As the ‘Overheard’ thread developed, it became apparent that the geography of the ITOWverse needed to be elaborated so that the characters could have a place out of earshot of the Interviewer in which to be overheard by the community. They also needed to be doing something (other than hanging around waiting to be interviewed) to give them the opportunity to chat together. The grounds of the clubhouse were therefore expanded; additional internal rooms were added; and the characters were described as attending a celebratory barbecue.
With the Five Years On Celebrations in 2009, both building and grounds became explicitly mutable. Locations mentioned in the novels began to appear (for example, the river Indus—down which Alexander travelled during his Indian campaign—complete with elephants and camels); and community members on scene realized that the river had not previously been part of the ITOWverse, but arrived with the characters from that part of The Persian Boy. The Indus disappeared sometime after the celebrations. However, a pond emerged the following summer, draining away via a stream that followed much the same route."In the Swim of Things" by greerwatson, posted to maryrenaultfics 24 August 2010, accessed 10 September 2010.
The practice of shifting settings from the novels into ITOWverse continued with the Christmas 2009-10 series, when characters from North Face and The Friendly Young Ladies went climbing on hills mentioned in the books."From Heaven Above to Earth I Come" by fawatson posted to maryrenaultfics on 31 December 2009, accessed 10 September 2010. However the mutability of the clubhouse and its grounds is more often generic. No specifically named theatre, drill field, fountain, or bathhouse has been ‘moved’ from any novel (though the novels clearly mention such facilities); but all have turned up in the ITOWverse at one time or another. Like the river, some have since disappeared.
The mutability of the exterior grounds is continued within, as rooms are added as needed. For example, a great hall was used for group Christmas celebrations; and there is a very popular library, a music room for Simonides, and a suite of rooms for Alexander the Great. In particular, the addition of an original character, the Secretary, as a permanent resident required that the Clubhouse be provided with living quarters. She is often seen, not only in the library, but also in the kitchen—itself one of the more mutable rooms, since it is sensitive to the presence of any of the mid-twentieth century housekeepers who might be visiting from Renault's modern novels, and alters its equipment to suit the person using it.
The mutability of time within the ITOWverse became evident in 2010 with greerwatson’s summer seriesDucks to water posted by greerwatson to maryrenaultfics on 31st August 2010 Accessed 4th September 2010Winter of Her Discontent posted by greerwatson to mary renaultfics on 1st September 2010 Accessed 4th September 2010 High and Dry posted by greerwatson to maryrenaultfics on 1st September 2010 Acessed 4th September 2010 Out of his Depth posted by greerwatson to maryrenaultfics on 2nd September 2010 Accessed 4th September 2010
===Inhabitants of ITOWverse===
When the In Their Own Words project first began in 2008, the only characters who participated in the Q&As were those who had been pre-selected by members of the community posting questions to be asked of them. However, as the project progressed, several community members thought of additional characters they would like to write about. Some of these were interviewed (e.g. Sokrates, Neames). Others were written into group scenes (e.g. Xenophon).
In the initial posts, there was no evidence that any interviewee was aware of being a character in a novel. However, by the end of the original In Their Own Words series, a few characters had started to display an awareness of their dual reality/fictionality (e.g. Shared Vision). As well, there was some minor interaction between the characters and members of the maryrenaultfics community (e.g. the moderators and rubynye). Furthermore, in a series of posts by fawatson (notably in part of Phaedo's Interview), some of the characters took the initiative in themselves bringing people into the ITOWverse: both characters who had been mentioned in the books (e.g. Perikles) and non-named characters (e.g. the Spartan army).
Characters also started to use their own initiative, and Ancients and Moderns began to interact. The celebrations were also extended when the characters decided to hold a performance (with the assistance of well-known entertainers) to which the moderators were invited ( Dedication and Sacrifice). With this, the convention was established that—besides members of the maryrenaultfics community—real people could be written into visits to the ITOWverse if invited, but only if they were dead.
By 2009, it was well-established that characters would act on their own initiative, were aware of the activities of the maryrenaultfics community, would interact with characters from other novels 'at will', and would interact with community members within the ITOWverse. This first began in standalone posts (see Miscellany section above); but developed as community members started to visit the clubhouse grounds (e.g. One Last Bit of Silliness). With the Five Year Celebrations, original characters (e.g. Laurie's fanonical dog, Patch, who was seen being taken for a walk along with the canonical Gyp), or other aspects of fan discussion (e.g. hulamoth’s frog), began to be included in the ITOWverse, interacting freely with characters from canon. The Five Year Celebrations also established a convention that while some characters came and went between novel and clubhouse, some seemed almost permanent fixtures; the latter included many of the unnamed characters (e.g. the army and slaves).
In the climax to the Autumn series of 2010, for the first time, the characters reached out of the ITOWverse into the real world (albeit, of course, through the agency of the author, fawatson), as Simonides employed LiveJournal's e-mail capacity to contact members of maryrenaultfics and invite them to attend a Thanksgiving feast that the characters were holding in honour of the Secretary. Those members of the community who responded, either by return e-mail or in a LiveJournal post (members-locked),"In Their Own Words - R.S.V.P. Thanksgiving", members-locked LiveJournal post made 24th November 2010 (accessed 1 December 2010). were then written into the climactic story, "Feast" (members-locked),"In Their Own Words: Feast", members-locked LiveJournal post made 26th November 2010 (accessed 1 December 2010). as attending guests.
==Original Characters==
Although the majority of characters encountered in the ITOWverse come from one or another of Mary Renault's novels, it was not long before a handful of original characters were created.
===Ava Avocado===
The radio interviewer, "Ava Avocado", was invented by Laura Mason for her principal contribution to the very first posted interview, that of Ralph Lanyon. Host of Lovelorn and Lost, Ava is a brash American who is recording the interview in London for her listeners back home. She is interviewing Ralph because he is a war hero. Although she tries to run roughshod over his natural disinclination to "tell all", her interview technique is rendered harmless by the fact that from start to end, she assumes Ralph to be straight.Post made to maryrenaultfics by lorie945 on 10 February 2008 (accessed 19 July 2010). Ava's character is mentioned in the Interviewer's 5YO invitation,http://community.livejournal.com/maryrenaultfics/270573.html and she reappeared briefly in the article announcing the fanlore wiki pages about Mary Renault fandom.
===the Interviewer===
The existence of an interviewer was implicit in a number of contributions to the first ITOW post about Ralph. While some members simply listed the questions that had been suggested and provided short answers to all of them, others cherry-picked the ones that interested them, and followed up on the answers with a more naturalistic interview in which there was clearly "someone" asking the questions. However, it was not until the second week (when Laurie Odell was being interviewed) that the moderators began to add introductory sections to the posts. It was in these that, for the first time, the Interviewer (with a capital "I") started to emerge as a character in her own right.
In some ways, she is a watered down version of Ava Avocado—a little less inclined to go for the throat, but utterly unaware of the potential havoc her questions might wreak in mixed company. She knows the sexual preferences and romantic entanglements of the characters, at least in outline; however, not all the characters visiting the ITOWverse for interviews are equally in the know—a situation fraught with dramatic potential should she inadvertently "out" someone. Derek, a minor supporting character from The Charioteer did try to point this out, but to little effect.In "Derek's turn" posted by greerwatson on 17 May 2008 (accessed 19 July 2009).
===the Editor===
As the first interviews proceeded, characters got the impression that the Interviewer was writing a magazine article. Magazines have editors; so the Interviewer's 5YO invitation was written as a new assignment.The Editor makes an appearance in the Five Years On: The Interviewer snippet (by fawatson), 10 May 2009. Accessed 25 August 2010. Her Editor is a superficially congenial man who immediately pulls rank if he feels his authority is questioned. Whereas the Interviewer appreciates the breadth of interest the maryrenaultfics community has in Renault's characters, the Editor is firmly convinced that he knows better.
===the Secretary===
Unlike Renault's characters, who are free to come and go between the ITOWverse and their own books, the Secretary—who was introduced in a 5YO "invitation" story—is a permanent resident. With her advent, the clubhouse therefore had perforce to expand to include bedrooms and a kitchen. However, the Secretary is most often found in the library. A woman of great resourcefulness, she is capable of contacting any character from any book, regardless of the contrivances necessary, and organizes and supervises celebrations of all sizes.
==Banners==
When the mods suggested that people come up with questions for interviews with the characters, My_Cnnr came up with an illustration for the top of the page. However, this only appeared on a few initial posts. and the first interview (with Ralph Lanyon). Thereafter, even though My_Cnnr was the one who made all the posts (to which members simply posted the interviews as comments), she didn't use the illustration. Instead, she accompanied the posts with a userpic that she based on the same design.
==References==
Category:Mary Renault
Category:Maryrenaultfics LiveJournal Community
Category:Fiction Writing
Category:Collaboration
Category:Shared Universes
Category:2008 Fanworks
Category:2009 Fanworks
Category:2008 Meta
Category:2009 Meta