ALL FOR ONE.
start date: 05.07.24
an original barbie inspired applyfic.
actually did the GIFs myself this time
since lu taught me & i'm super cool

THE NEW DAWN.
❛women as musketeers, monsieur. have
you ever heard anything more amusing?❜

17th Century France, the golden era for the Musketeers of Paris. Their job was complex and admired, carrying incredibly important responsibilities on their shoulders - defend the Crown and protect the people of France. A widely coveted position, yet a dangerous one.

Some people long to threaten the royal family, in fact, some are of royal blood themselves. The Musketeers could never be more important than now, and yet, they refuse to allow women into their ranks. Women who have an inside voice in the palace, capable of preventing these schemes.

These aspiring Musketeers might be the last chance at saving Paris. All for one, and one for all.

THE PLOT.
❛i'd kick your ass any day of the week. that
thing in your pants is just an extra target.❜

One young French woman has always wanted to be a musketeer-her father was, and it's been a lifelong dream of hers. Her biggest dream. Not realising just how hard the journey would be, she sets off with what little money she has and moves to Paris, hoping to use a letter from her late father to join the musketeers. When she arrives, she finds that the world isn't yet ready to grow and learn, and she's turned down, laughed at. It doesn't help that she lacks all formal training and ends up falling flat on her back in front of the musketeers.

Having had her dreams shattered, stuck in Paris with no way of earning a living, she finds herself getting a job in the castle when they're hiring for servants who will help to clean the castle and do manual labour. Hey, it's no musketeer glamour, but she'll get her own lodgings, and she has nowhere else to go-at least staying in the castle is something. Learning to now give up on her dreams, she settles in at her new job.

But all hope isn't lost just yet. At this new job of hers, she meets four other young women, and while she initially struggles to find her place amongst them, they quickly connect once their shared dream of becoming musketeers is realised. So they can't be musketeers, but that won't stop them from imagining what it would be like to save the Crown Prince from a deadly plot on his life, or something like that. Only, while messing around, they're spotted by who they initially assumed to be a weak and unassuming old maid. The truth? She knows a well-kept secret: a hidden training room in the castle, and it just so happens, she was a fighter back in her day.

Seeing the potential in the girls, the Madame trains them, which becomes all too useful when they uncover a plot against both the Crown Prince and his brother. Initially, the musketeers doubt them, and they decide to take matters into their own hands, but soon, the two groups decide to combine their forces and set old prejudices aside once they discover the plot is all too real. The problem? Its conspirators are smart, and one of them is a cousin to the Princes herself. The other? A musketeer.

One step closer to becoming musketeers, one step closer to the death of two royals. It's a race against the clock.

THE INFORMATION.
❛i'll be honest, mademoiselle, you wield a
sword well. my boys could learn a thing or
two from you.❜

A few things to note before applying! First, if it wasn't clear already, there will be strong themes of sexism/prejudice here, because that's the reason women weren't allowed to become musketeers in the first place. If that makes you uncomfortable, that's totally fine, I wouldn't recommend applying. We obviously do not support it here either!! The whole point of the plot is to prove why those attitudes were wrong, and it's a learning curve for a lot of the characters, living in a time where that was (wrongfully) the norm. We're going to try to be as historically accurate as possible here, apart from a few exceptions that I'll be explaining below.

One of the elements where I'm going to disregard historical accuracy freely is in regards to race, because if I was realistic in that aspect, this would unfortunately either have an all white cast or would be a much darker plot. So woo for no racism! When it comes to sexuality, I'll leave it up to you guys. I don't really want to go the full 'it's a crime you'll be severely punished for because France is Catholic' historically accurate route, but you can let me know if you'd rather it be at least taboo for a more realistic depiction, or if you'd like it to be treated the same as race.

It will be set in the early 1600s in Paris, although your characters can be from anywhere in France (ethnically they can also be different in terms of where they were born, or where their ancestors came from). I wouldn't recommend kpop faceclaims or anything like that though, or really any faceclaim that doesn't fit the general aesthetic of this genre. I won't be using GIFs so a faceclaim doesn't need to have GIFs, but actors/actresses are preferred, and models are acceptable if the pictures fit! I wouldn't recommend Instagram FCs, it's not an absolute no, but the material shouldn't be too modern. I'd recommend looking at actors from historical films/series, names like Luke Pasqualino, Ben Barnes, Alexandra Dowling, Merve Boluğur, etc. Turkish hsitorical dramas are pretty good for this as well!

It's up to you whether the characters have accents. The thing is, since the book will be written in English, it might feel strange to envisage them speaking English in a very heavy French accent. For example, in a lot of films/series, and even the original Barbie film, they disregard this and characters just have American or English accents. But I'm leaving it up to you! They gave Viveca in the Barbie film a more French accent, so I think it could be something like that, where some characters have the French accent and others don't. I would like if the characters all had French surnames, unless there's an outstanding reason why they don't! French first names are also preferred, unless there's a reason their parents/guardian named them differently.

The age range for characters will be 20-29, a pretty broad range, and this will apply to all the slots except for the Princes, who will have set ages because one is older and one is younger, so it would need to make sense. Now in terms of the actual setting for the story, it will be similar to what you see in the Barbie film, courtyards, town-like, not very industrial. Don't worry if you haven't seen the film, although I do recommend watching, just because it's a good watch. The plot given above has it all covered in terms of what you need to know!

THE RULES.
❛make something positive of how they
underestimate you. show them what
they're dealing with.❜

ONE.
Pretty self-explanatory, but don't be rude to others. Don't harass people either or make them feel uncomfortable, and if you're going to write about a topic that is likely to be triggering, then include warnings and handle them with care! Password one is to tag 2+ people.

TWO.
Detail is always preferred, and only Google Docs forms will be accepted! They're just easier to read and organise. I don't plan on making a blank form template, but do let me know if that's something people would use, and if so i'll put one up, probably tomorrow.

THREE.
If your character is accepted, try to be active! Activity will influence if a form is accepted. I appreciate of course that people have their own lives and have things going on, but don't just disappear! There will be a Discord server created for plotting and for (later) connections, but that won't be for a while. Password two is your favourite French name.

FOUR.
Do stick to the role descriptions! If you've applied for LTS, know that the roles won't be anywhere near as detailed, so there's a lot more flexibility. Roles shouldn't take too long after this is posted, since I've got all the graphics done. The form will probably be out shortly thereafter. The deadline won't be until September 10th, so you have plenty of time. Just publishing this now so people can work at their own pace.

FIVE.
Make realistic characters, I don't want to see any character who's perfect in every way/overpowered or who's just boring to write. They should be coherent, and unlike with LTS, feel free to go dark and with the backstories, even if this is a Barbie inspired applyfic. It won't be quite as lighthearted as the film, it'll be more similar to your average historical drama. Just don't go overkill, that's all. Also keep in mind this isn't a romance-centred applyfic, even if there is an option for romance.

SIX.
Be warned that the cast will be decided on writeability and which character I think flows best with the plot. When it comes to stuff like face claims, diversity is encouraged and while I won't be giving FC reccs for every slot (it'd take hours), feel free to contact me if you'd like some suggested recommendations. Keep in mind what was said earlier about face claim requirements!

SEVEN.
In regards to form detail, since the deadline is super long, I'd expect a decent amount of detail, but nothing crazy at all. Anything minimum 3k words and above is perfectly acceptable, it's really more about the quality at the end of the day. Just explain what needs explaining, and as long as the character comes across well, that's great.

EIGHT.
Don't hesitate to contact me if you need something or if you have a question! Given Wattpad has gotten rid of DMs, you can contact me on my Discord (daemos__). The final password is your favourite book trope/genre of all time, it doesn't have to be romantic.

⚔︎ PASSWORDS

⚔︎ QUESTIONS