AHOY THERE!

this website is an archive for the completed portions of my WIP original project, Rum Red.feel free to take a look around!

Rum Red is a musical comic about pirate duo Babs and Lochy solving the murder mystery of their rival crew's cabin boy!

♥ created by Fleur and Fern ♥

character bios

jump to:🍷 main characters 🍷☠️ the Hippocampus crew ☠️🩸 the murderer 🩸 (wip)🌊 other characters 🌊 (wip)

main characters

BABS

LOCHY

TIMMY

BUBBLES

SAZZANA

24Babs is excitable, thrill-seeking and a little bit too loud, but has an unshakable moral compass and a keen gut instinct.she also has a rich passion for musical theatre and will readily dive into a role, a song number or an improv session.3 and 1/2 years ago, she formed The Loch's Nest crew with her best buddy, Lochy.

25Lochy would much rather bird-watch than be a pirate.he's an aspiring poet, but hardly gets the time to compose when he's busy trying to make a living on the seas.he's snarky and dry, but his sense of humour shines through when he's comfortable.his strongheadedness keeps him from being the voice of reason.

24Timmy - the murder victim.a zesty and bubbly boy, with a smile as bright as the Sun and a temper like a fuse.when he wasn't doodling, snacking on bananas (and abandoning the peels) or hanging upside-down from the rigging, he would be handing out fresh lemon juice to the crew to ward off the scurvy.

51Bubbles is as grouchy as they come.years of serving as the Hippocampus' Captain has worn him down, and things rarely go according to plan with his crew, so herbal teas are how he (just barely) keeps himself calm.he'll talk a big game, but his soft side isn't hard to spot if you know where to look. (hint: it's in his plushie collection.)

49Sazzana is the Hippocampus' co-Captain and ceaseless motivator.her fascination with nonviolent communication makes her an excellent problem solver, and she easily garners warmth and respect.as a pirate diplomat, she represents anarchy in a shiny collared suit. but honestly? she could do with a nap.

the Hippocampus crew

SLY

JIN

KENNY

30Sly is a diviner and healer.she uses... illegal herbs to enter a trance state, traverse higher dimensions and commune with the ocean, so she's rarely "fully present" for anything that's happening.she towers above the crew, both figuratively and literally - any decision they make gets run by her and her cards, first. she's not very romantic, so she flirts with Jin primarily by teasing her.

28if you could describe Jin in one word, it would be "diva." in two, "the kindest."her room is stuffed with glittery dresses and fluffy scarves, and she makes cameo appearances in high fashion magazines. but behind the glamour, she's a born worrier, and sometimes her stress manifests as tension headaches.she's in a longterm relationship with Sly.

23Kenny is the crew's First Mate, though they wonder why they gave him that role when he mostly coops himself up with a thick chemistry book or stays up until 3am slaving over his lab.he shares a medical role with Sly, but specializes in first-aid and potion remedies. his thick, hazy goggles make him prone to slamming into doors like a bird.sarcasm is his default language, but he rarely recognizes it from anyone else.

JHERALD

GRINGLE

LACEY

BEAVIS

39the newest to the crew, Jherald is... a bit of a mystery to the rest. he's a diehard literary fanatic and a pureblooded 'fair-enough'-er.his extensive internal trivia is... questionable at best - as are his fantastical stories about his adventures past. still, though, he's a decent guy, and good to have around.just don't ask him what he's reading if you aren't ready for a 3-hour answer.

42anyone who's ever met Gringle would agree that he's a nervous wreck of a man.it's astonishing that he's as remarkable of a chef as he is - considering that his hands have a constant jitter.his past entanglement with the mob has him constantly looking over his shoulder, but the Hippocampus have given him safe refuge. he cherishes them more than garlic and onions.

26Lacey is a riot. she's finely attuned with many an instrument, especially the guitar, and is constantly banging out the tunes with her half-brother, Beavis.before they joined the crew, they were a travelling, 2-man theatre troupe.if there's fun to be had or chaos to make, she's all in -- but at the end of the day, she prizes rest and relaxation above all else.

26 (+ 1/2)Beavis grew from a timid, fretful, prickly young boy into a laid-back, softspoken, sweet-tempered gentleman.his heart overflows with affection for the ocean's natural beauty, and his ponderful nature leaves him contemplating life's mysteries around the clock.he channels his sensitive spirit into rousing soliloquies and haunting flute solos.

(WIP)

♥ created by Fleur and Fern ♥

plot summary

Rum Red is a MURDER MYSTERY! with PIRATES!it's a COMEDY with themes of COSMIC HORROR, ROMANTICISM and SHADOW WORK.and accompanying every single chapter, there's a MUSICAL NUMBER in the form of an animatic!in it you’ll meet BABS, a rough n’ spunky lass learning to be a pirate on the high seas, along with her co-captain LOCHY, who inevitably gets dragged into all her disastrous excursions.one day, they’re rousing up one of their usual tussels aboard THE HIPPOCAMPUS - their rival crew and one of the most powerful and notorious pirate vessels on the seas - when something HORRIBLE happens.TIMMY, the crew’s cabin boy and trusty lemon juice distributor, as well as Babs and Lochy's only friend amongst a crew of enemies...…IS MURDERED!!!!!!!…forcing the co-captains of the Hippocampus, grouchy old man BUBBLES and levelheaded pep talker SAZZANA, to reluctantly request their most irritating rivals’ assistance in solving the case.but all is not as it seems. because there’s no sign of an outside intruder OR a stowaway! leaving the suspects down to the 11 crewmembers who were on board at the time of the murder……and when questioned, everyone agrees: even if Timmy was… a little bit much sometimes, NO ONE in their crew would ever have done something so violent and cruel as to MURDER one of their own!!!.........would they?and why?

♥ created by Fleur and Fern ♥

chapter arr-chive

book 1

CH2:
THE REUNION

CH3:
THE BREAKOUT

CH4:
THE BLACKSMITH

CH5:
THE SHIPWRECK

  • nongraphic character death, some blood

  • mentions of throat trauma

  • mild alcohol consumption

  • mentions of psychoactive (mind altering) substances

  • occasional swears in dialogue

  • minor family conflict

  • mild alcohol consumption

  • discussion of psychoactive (mind altering) substances

  • allusions to a fictional police force

  • slight suggestive dialogue (page 38)

  • mild unreality horror (page 49)

  • occasional swears in dialogue

  • discussion of death by throat trauma

  • alcohol(ism) mention and slight suggestive reference (in animatic)

  • occasional swears in dialogue

  • depiction of dead body

  • verbal abuse, threat of physical abuse (slides 221-231)

tips for reading:book mode
better for desktop
● might take a moment for the doc to fully load!
● use arrow keys or buttons to navigate
● pages may 'blink' as they load in - take care if photosensitive
● use the pen tool to doodle on the pages if you'd like, lolscroll mode
better for mobile
● pages might take a bit longer to load but they'll be bigger & better quality!
● when you get to the animatic prompt, you can find the right video in the youtube playlist linked through the 'animatics' button at the top of the pagecontent warnings
this story is intended for a mature audience, but please take care at any age, and be aware at some points in the story, there will be:● occasional swearing in dialogue
● mild violence in fight scenes
● discussions/pictures of alcohol and psychoactive (mind altering) substances
● allusions to/implications of alcoholism, mental health struggles (including trauma and suicide ideation), and physical abuse

progress tracker!

completed (comic)completed (thumbs)draftedscripted
chapters 1, 2, 3, 4chapter 5chapters 6, 7, 8, 9, 10chapters 11, 12, 13

♥ created by Fleur and Fern ♥