If you have applied to join maryrenaultfics and haven't received a response...erm...you prolly have! You just may not have seen it.

trueriver and I generally respond to membership requests within a day or two of receiving them. We are currently up-to-date in responses but still have requests pending as we are waiting for a response from you.

If you have applied to MRF, you have been sent, via the contact info you provide on your Profile page, either a welcome message or a request for more information. The latter reads as follows:

( From our Profile... )

We suspect some of the prospective Members in the queue just haven't seen the PM. So - if you've asked to join, and haven't heard from us, it's likely we're actually just waiting to hear back. If you think you've been missed, or missed your opportunity to respond, feel free to reapply, or to contact us through LJ PM, comment here, or email.

This has been asked a couple of times now, which makes me wonder if there are others out there who would like to join MRF, but are unsure of LJ procedures. We'd hate to lose a Reader just because they weren't sure where to click, so Thank you! to those of you who were brave enough to ask.

( Joining MRF )

maryrenaultfics is currently operating as a friends-locked, or Members-only, community. You can find a brief discussion on our reasons for making the change here. As stated, this change is as likely to remain permanent as to be only temporary, so if you're a regular visitor to the comm, but haven't yet become a Member, we invite you to join us!

Hello to all non-members-but-possibly-interested-in-becoming one...

You will notice that, due to the issues discussed in our previous post, maryrenaultfics is currently a members-only community. You may also notice the decidedly spooooky banner! This is to advertise our 2010 maryrenaultfics Spooky Story Challenge! If you’d like to join us in writing, reading, commenting or just enjoying all the community has to offer, we invite you to apply for membership!

Just a quick follow-up comment on the FB/Tw discussion post here.

Thank you!

The feedback we've been receiving is exactly the information we'd hoped for. If you've already commented, Yippee you! If you're gathering your thoughts in preparation, then Yippee you, too! If you're considering commenting, please know that we're very interested in how any change will affect you. New Members and Non-Member Readers, this would be a great time to start being heard. Long-Term Members...come on! You know how to do it...it's the SUBMIT button down at the bottom of the page....

'Hanging unspoken between them, and clearly understood, were the words, “Your move.”'

More than anything we appreciate the support we receive whenever we make a move on the community. Even for those members who don’t agree with us it is obvious you share the concerns and values of the community. Right now we are weighing the sustainability of any locked community against the privacy of the current members.

We are uncomfortable with the direction LJ seems to be taking, unable to predict how they will finally address the privacy issue and wonder how you feel about it. Some of you have journals which are true journals and some of you use them just as a reading journal. We would be interested in hearing from each and every one of you as to your future plans. Has the Facebook/Twitter issue changed the face of LJ for you? If MRF stayed on LJ and you moved to Dreamwidth or another blogging site, would you be willing to return to LJ to participate in MRF? Conversely, if MRF moved, would you be willing to open an account elsewhere (eg using a Dreamwidth account or Open ID to participate in comm activities)?

(Edit: Just to stop any panics... as we understand it, DW provides invitations to all members of a community which migrates there. Thank you to all the members who have already offered invites to others who don't have DW accounts.)

We would also really be interested in how you found MRF, how long it was before you joined and what finally made you join. If you encountered us today with all the posts prior to this one open, but anything going forward locked, would the flocking discourage you from applying for membership?

As expected, we're seeing more membership requests than usual. We're getting to them as quickly as possible, so please be patient.

TR and I have, for quite a while now, tried to follow each membership request response with a PM - usually a welcome and a short explanation of the conditions of your membership. A number of the most recent requests have been from users who have the message feature disabled. If your journal does not accept PMs, then all you'll receive is a notification from LJ, telling you that we've acted. If you have any questions regarding your admission to MRF, please feel free to contact one of us through PM or email.

Welcome!

In about 5 minutes from, erm, now, trueriver and I will be f-locking maryrenaultfics. Going forward, all posts will be viewable only by logged in, LJ account holders who have been admitted as members of the community. This is a change that we've been considering for a while now, and was hastened by LJ's recent decision to enable crossposting to Facebook and Twitter. trueriver's concern has always been that MRF remain as accessible and welcoming to potential new members as it was when the two of us found our home here. The privacy and safety of our current members, though, remains paramount, and we're simply not comfortable with the decision to link our community with other social networking sites.

The change to Member's Only is as likely to remain permanent as to be temporary. We're still on holiday, and need some time to familiarise ourselves with the crossposting procedures. LJ seems to be approaching this with what has apparently become their SOP - implementing major changes with minor forethought. What we've seen so far doesn't look heartening.

We very much regret being forced to close the comm to our regular visitors who don't have an LJ account. We know a few of you have supported the community for years, and we value your participation. Be assured we're considering options to keep the page accessible.

We encourage all our readers to share your thoughts and concerns in this thread.

EDIT: The default security level for MRF is now Members (friends) Only. We ask that you respect our request to keep all comments and posts f-locked. Posts edited to circumvent the security level will be deleted.

Title: Swim
Author: True River
Book: The Charioteer
Rating: general
Disclaimer: I don’t own these characters and make no profit from them.
Notes: Writtten for the MRF 2010 Summer Fic Challenge, prompt "swim". Quote taken from The Tempest Act II, Scene I

He found it was what he needed after all.

posted at mapmakerfic

Title: Making Waves
Author: Greer Watson
Books: The Last of the Wine, The Persian Boy; (implied) The Mask of Apollo, Fire from Heaven, Funeral Games
Characters: the Secretary, Arete, Thalia, Charis, Alexias, Alexander IV, Alexander the Great, assorted philosophers and warriors
Disclaimer: none of these characters is mine
Length: 1108 words
Rating: PG
Author’s Note: This ITOWverse story has been written for the maryrenaultfics 2010 Summer Challenge (prompt: “swim”)


Arete had tried on some clothes—reassured that it was all in the privacy of another woman’s rooms, though still a little scandalized by the show of leg. However, she refused to borrow anything, not even underwear. Instead, she put her πέπλος back on, girding it round her. When the Secretary suggested that the cloth seemed far too heavy for the hot day, Arete reminded her of the weather back home, and reached for her ΐμάτιον. It rather resembled an overly colourful horse blanket, thought the Secretary, as Arete began draping and pinning it. ( Read more... )

Title: Muddy Waters
Author: Greer Watson
Books: The Last of the Wine, The Mask of Apollo, Funeral Games
Characters: Aristotle, Phaedo, Sokrates, Ptolemy, Lysis, Alexias, the Secretary, Thalia, Alexander the Great, Alexander IV, Arete
Disclaimer: none of these characters is mine
Length: 1252 words
Rating: PG
Author’s Note: This ITOWverse story has been written for the maryrenaultfics 2010 Summer Challenge (prompt: “swim”)

He prodded the muddy bank with a stick. Something swiftly buried itself out of sight; and the hole seeped full of water. It would, Aristotle thought, have been so much easier when the Companions were boys, and he could put them to the gathering of specimens. Still, needs must. He took off his sandals, hitched up the skirt of his χιτών, and stepped into the wet, feeling muck squelch up between his toes. Did something wriggle? He bent over, ignoring the creaking in his knees, not noticing as his hem trailed in the water. ( Read more... )

Title: Water under the Bridge
Author: Greer Watson
Book: The Last of the Wine, The Charioteer
Characters: Alexander IV, Laurie Odell, Charles Fosticue, Alexias, Thalia
Disclaimer: none of these characters is mine
Length: 520 words
Rating: PG
Author’s Note: This ITOWverse story has been written for the maryrenaultfics 2010 Summer Challenge (prompt: “swim”)


On another day, he might have headed for the clubhouse, hoping to find his father and spend time with the Companions—youngest of the chosen few. Today, though, novelty beckoned in the sun; and, avoiding the women and children, Alexander bypassed the pond to explore the unfamiliar stream. ( Read more... )

Title: Deep Water
Author: Greer Watson
Book: The Last of the Wine
Characters: Arete, Thalia, Alexias, Charis, the Secretary
Disclaimer: none of these characters is mine
Length: 464 words
Rating: PG
Author’s Note: This ITOWverse story has been written for the maryrenaultfics 2010 Summer Challenge (prompt: “swim”)


At first, Arete had been grateful to have another woman whom she could join by the pond. They sat—well apart from the men under the willow—spinning and sewing, and chatting as they kept an eye on the little girls. If she felt slightly envious of Thalia’s large brood (especially the boys in the water and the baby boy who chuckled at her feet), Arete knew that it was the gods’ will how many were born, and how many lived. Thalia was not the only woman in Athens with more children than her own one precious duckling—and it was nice for Charis to have other girls to play with in the warm summer sun.

( Read more... )

Title: Out of his Depth
Author: Greer Watson
Book: Funeral Games
Characters: Alexander IV
Disclaimer: none of these characters is mine
Length: 464 words
Rating: PG
Author’s Note: This ITOWverse story has been written for the maryrenaultfics 2010 Summer Challenge (prompt: “swim”)

He was a very little boy; but he had been a King before he was even born—and it was not something you could forget. (No one ever let him forget.) He was the hope of the Persians, and not a few of the Macedonians for his father’s sake; and factions swam around him before he was old enough to understand what they were. He grew up breathing intrigue as easily as air; and he knew his mother to be hated. It gave him something in common with the father who had died before his birth.

( Read more... )

Title: High and Dry
Author: Greer Watson
Book: The Last of the Wine
Characters: the Secretary, Thalia, Alexias
Disclaimer: none of these characters is mine
Length: 529 words
Rating: PG
Author’s Note: This ITOWverse story has been written for the maryrenaultfics 2010 Summer Challenge (prompt: “swim”)

The Secretary spent the morning in the Library, browsing the latest stories posted to the community by its members.( Read more... )