Russie Babbles: The Royal Flush [Conceptualization]

Good evening, Darlings, and happy Easter/happy Sunday to you all! I hope you guys have had a lovely week. <3

So this post pretty much closes up the second week of the Graduation Celebration. Gosh - to think we only have 18 days left until the very end of it; two more projects and a wildcard week to go! Stick around until the end for full enjoyment, yes? ^_^

For this week's conceptualization post, I'll be discussing my Sophomore year project, the Royal Flush. As per usual, the read more link is down there should you wish to carry on. 

With that, let's go down the tree hole and travel to Cardios~

Back in my Sophomore year, I was an intense fan of the anime Axis Powers Hetalia (APH). In a nutshell, APH focused on world history with the main characters being the personified nations. *nods* Within the APH verse, there were already a lot of Alternate Universes (AUs) present. Two of these were the human AU and the Cardverse AU.

The human AU came from the human names given by the creator of APH, Mr. Hidekaz Himaruya. He assigned human names to the nations in the scenario that they would mingle with their citizens and such. Imaginations ran wild and finally, the human AU spread like wildfire.

Next, the Cardverse AU. Said creator usually releases art books containing various drawings of the characters. One of these art books, Arte Stella, showcased the characters dressed as royals. Interestingly enough, it seemed to feature four different attire: red hearts, blue spades, orange diamonds and green clovers. (Yes. Clovers > Clubs)

With that, the fandom grew wild and gave birth to the Cardverse AU, which I happily participated in back in Sophomore year. During the time wherein I planned RF, I recall 0% OC involvement. I also recall that the plot was different; the Kings would actually have to search for the Queens themselves.

However, as I tested the plot more, I found myself unable to commit to it. In truth, I didn't see myself as the type to write multi-chapter with 100% canon characters. With that, I decided to scrap the initial plot, make a new one, and construct four different female OCs.

Creating them wasn't hard as I used my close friends as a basis. Once I got their simplest traits, I attempted to flesh them out into their own character instead of copies of my friends. With a little help from the archetypes, I was able to do just that~

The first version of RF was divided into a hella lot of arcs; I originally planned for 30 chapters and was able to write 21 until the project went on hold due to academics. After a hella long time, it was put on hiatus. Now, I'm thinking of bringing it back. Since last year, I've been working on revamping it. A lot changed, particularly the shift from using the APH characters to my very own.

Royal Flush V01	Royal Flush V02
Rianne Naven	Astrid Young
Elly la Cruz	Karina Lestrange
Reese la Paz	Cassidy Arc
Tricia Amor	Robelle Florence
Ludwig Beilschmidt	Nicholas Gilbert
Arthur Kirkland	Arthur James
Francis Bonnefoy	Jacques Amadour
Antonio Carriedo	Alberto Felipe
Gilbert Beilschmidt	Frederick Gilbert
Alfred Jones	Alexander Nevada
Wang Yao	Xian Long
Lovino Vargas	Franco Benenati
Ivan Braginski	Dmitri Fluschen

Based on the above table, one can still say that the characters of the newer RF still maintain their roots of their old versions – this is especially evident in the characters of Arthur James as well as Nicholas and Frederick Gilbert.

Of course, the table doesn’t showcase all characters – I only decided to include those who would be appearing frequently. Plus, I want to avoid spoilers. *winkwink*

Basically, the plot of the Royal Flush tells of four girls who somehow find themselves in the strange land of Cardios. After nearly being assaulted by a Joker (Cardios’ own branch of criminal outcasts), Alexander Nevada saves them and brings them back to the land of Gorlassar. With this, they are taken into Arthur James’ care.

Things, however, aren’t as grand as they seem. The four find themselves scattered amongst the four Kingdoms – Gorlassar, Raleigh, Xanthos and Khloris – while shady negotiations are hidden by glitz and the so-called ‘friendships’ are used as a front.

Something odd is happening in Cardios, and they must put a stop to it before the four Kings use them as pawns just for the purpose of keeping their throne.

There you have it – the best way I can tell the plot without spoiling too much. :D

Just like my plans for the Eternal Flame Series, I really want to resurrect this project and post it on this blog. I have so many plans for RF – and in all honesty, I didn’t really change the plot of the newer version. I mildly tweaked some parts here and there, but if you were there during the old RF, you’ll see that there wasn’t too many changes at all.

That’s all for tonight’s Conceptualization post, Darlings! <3 I’ll see you on the third week of the Graduation Celebration – and let me tell you, things are going to be a little less romance-oriented from here on…