a group au verse based on the novel
& the hulu show “the handmaid’s tale”.
You remember years ago when you were free, you actually had a life. You had a say in things. You ignored the uprising. You thought nothing would happen. And guess what? You were wrong.
The United States of America is gone and in its’ place is a Christian fundamentalist regime focused on violence and the oppression of women. Everything you know is gone. You are stuck here in this patriarchal society and it is absolute hell- don’t let anyone hear you say that. In the Republic of Gilead, the Bible is the truth. It must be followed and you must follow it, to do otherwise will get you killed or sent to the Colonies, which is a death sentence in itself.
Even the highest ranking members of society are not truly safe from death.
The Rules
#1. Please understand that this is going to be a highly triggering verse. There will be mentions of rape, abuse, violence, and other triggering topics. It is preferred that muns be over the age of 18.
#2. No OOC drama, plain and simple. IC drama is totally fine.
#3. This is a mutli-fandom verse and OCs are welcome! Canon characters from the show and novel are also welcome! If your character is a supernatural being, please make sure they are human for this verse.
#4. Duplicate faceclaims will not be accepted. The only exception to this rule is if both muns agree that their muses will be twins.
#5. Make sure you review all the links provided at the end of the post that lead to the fanmade wiki pages. They provide great information on the social classes and how the Republic of Gilead works.
#6. Once you are accepted, please make a post that contains the little application below and your muse’s biography, please have the biography be more than 2 paragraphs and contain information on how they got into their current situation. Juicy details are appreciated!! Tag your post (and all of your verse related posts) as #gileadgroupverse.
#7. Even though this verse will be filled with super serious topics, us muns can still have fun and be goofy! Go ahead and get to know each other, don’t be shy. A group Discord might be set up for OOC chatting, it just depends on what the opinions are regarding that sort of thing.
#8. Let me know if you have any questions!
The Application
(use the submit box to send the application in!)
The application is very simple, use the small paragraph below and fill in the items in brackets [ ]. Keep the brackets in place, just replace the items inside! The list of social classes and households are at the end of this post, use those to guide you.
I will message you when you are accepted and then you can post a longer biography in the tag #gileadgroupverse. I will put these little paras in this post to keep track of the muses, the paras may be edited slightly for easier reading and will include links to the muse’s full bio.
[Muse name] is [##] years old and looks an awful lot like [faceclaim]. They are a [social class] and part of the [household name] household. This muse is played by [mun alias] who is [##] years old and goes by [she/he/they/it/etc] pronouns. They are in the [EST/PST/etc] time zone.
The Muses
[Charlotte Baker] is [27] years old and looks an awful lot like [Tatiana Maslany]. She is the [Wife of Commander Baker]. This muse is played by [Effie] who is [19] years old and goes by [she/her] pronouns. She is in the [EST] time zone.
[Helena/Ofglen] is [27] years old and looks an awful lot like [Tatiana Maslany]. She is the [Handmaid] for the [Commander Glen Baker] household. This muse is played by [Emily/Marley] who is [31] years old and goes by [she/her] pronouns. They are in the [CST] time zone.
[Serena Joy] is [35] years old and looks an awful lot like [Yvonne Strahvoski]. She is the [Wife of Commander Waterford]. This muse is played by [Vicky] who is [22] years old and goes by [she/her] pronouns. They are in the [GMT] time zone.
[Kennedy King] is [19] years old and looks an awful lot like [Candice Accola]. They are a [handmaid] and part of the [Winchester] household. This muse is played by [Adria] who is [27] years old and goes by [she/her] pronouns. They are in the [CST] time zone.
The Socioeconomic Classes of the Republic
The men, of course, have the ability to become the highest ranking members of Gilead. They have three classes, all of them better than the women’s. The men’s classes include the following:
The Guardians: peacekeepers, guards, and servants.
The Angels: soldiers of Gilead’s army.
The Commanders: the highest ranking class, they are lawmakers and politicians.
The women are much less fortunate, though they have more classes.
The Econowives: wives of the poor and lowest ranked men of the Republic.
The Handmaids: the most important class but they are treated the worst. They bear children for the Commanders and their Wives.
The Marthas: servants for the high-ranking families.
The Aunts: the women responsible for training, punishing, and even executing Handmaids. They run the Rachel and Leah Center where the Handmaids are train and sometimes live.
The Wives: the highest class for women, they are married to the Commanders.
The Households
(more will be added as necessary)
Commander Fred Waterford
Wife: Serena Joy
Handmaid:
Marthas:
Guardians:
Commander Glen Baker
Wife: Charlotte Baker
Handmaid: Helena/Ofglen
Marthas:
Guardians:
Commander Winchester
Wife:
Handmaid: Kennedy King
Marthas:
Guardians:
Commander Zachary Williams
Wife:
Handmaid:
Marthas:
Guardians:
Commander Peter Caine
Wife:
Handmaid:
Marthas:
Guardians:
The Rachel and Leah Center
(the Aunts and Handmaids who are in training/have no assignment live here)
Aunts:
Handmaids:
"I’m so glad I have someone to go through those nine months for me. My body wouldn’t be able to handle it.” Charlotte let out an anxious laugh, her head dipped down so her gaze could focus on the teacup she was holding. She pursed her lips for a moment, staring into the tea that she couldn’t let go to waste even though she wasn’t that thirsty. Nothing could go to waste, even in a well to-do household. “I just hope it won’t take too long, I can’t wait to hold my little baby and raise them. One thing I don’t understand is why some Wives let their Marthas raise the children. Raising children is so rewarding!”
[Charlotte Baker] is [27] years old and looks an awful lot like [Tatiana Maslany]. She is the [Wife of Commander Baker]. This muse is played by [Effie] who is [19] years old and goes by [she/her] pronouns. She is in the [EST] time zone.
(Her backstory has been edited from the original that I posted a day or so ago, this one makes her a clone like in the Orphan Black canon.)
Charlotte Bowles Baker is the product of a US government led, confidential project to combat the growing infertility crisis. Charlotte and her three sisters are clones, she was the first and eldest of the sisters. All of the information related to the project and the cloning of human beings was destroyed during the uprising and no further attempts have been made. When she was a few weeks old, she was given to a loving scientist named Doctor Marion Bowles, who became her adoptive mother. Charlotte’s childhood was a happy one, her mother doted upon her and spent as much time with her as she could when she wasn’t working. Throughout her childhood, she had always been told that she was special and when she was six years old, her mother decided it was time to tell her the truth about her biological parents- or lack thereof. This revelation didn’t change her very much but now instead of longing for siblings, she longed to meet them wherever they were. Other than her health issues (described below), Charlotte went through high school and college without a hitch.
A few months before the rebellion, she met an intelligent, kind lawyer named Glen Baker. They became friends and talked to each other often. When the United States was destroyed, she discovered that Baker was a high ranking member of the Sons of Jacob and subsequently became a high ranking member of the Republic of Gilead. After a long round of discussions between Charlotte and her mother, Charlotte decided to marry Baker in an effort to secure their safety. She became Charlotte Baker, Commander Baker’s loving wife, and they have been together ever since.
After receiving two different Handmaids, neither of them successful, the Baker household received an unusual one. Helena aka Ofglen. Helena is one of the clones produced by the US government at the same time as Charlotte. Helena and Charlotte use the story that they are long lost twin sisters to hide their true identity as clones in fear that they may be persecuted. Although the arrangement is odd, Charlotte is happy to finally be united with one of her sisters and hopes to stay in contact with her for much longer.
Charlotte was born with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome which makes her joints very unstable and prone to popping out of place at any given time. She will have this condition, caused by a spontaneous genetic mutation, for the rest of her life. Her left leg has dealt with the most joint related incidents and up until the rise of Gilead, she wore a leg brace to help her walk. Now that Gilead has taken over and medical services are few and far between, she no longer has a leg brace (they only last for so long). Charlotte has to be very careful when walking and some days she uses a cane to help her along. At parties, she tends to lean on her husband’s arm. She also has an immune deficiency which makes her prone to infections and illnesses. As much as she hates being sick, sometimes it’s nice to have other Wives come over and care for her. It gives her something to look forward to.
