Dan and Mab's Furry Adventures

Dan and Mab's Furry Adventures
The DMFA logo, © Amber Panyko, 2005
Author(s)	Amber Williams
Website	http://www.missmab.com
Update schedule	Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays
Launch date	1999
Genre	Fantasy
Rating(s)

Dan and Mab's Furry Adventures (or DMFA) is a furry web comic by Amber Williams. It is divided into arcs (subplots) of variable length. It updates three times a week, normally on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. The first five arcs are in black and white. Starting in the middle of the sixth arc, the comic has been in color. The comic is partially based off of the online game Furcadia and several of the main characters are based off of the artist's friends there.

DMFA was a runner-up in the 2005 Web Cartoonists' Choice Awards for Outstanding Anthropomorphic Comic.

In September 2005 the comic's site was hacked. The title was replaced with "Some Stupid Webcomic" and most of the homepage links were redirected to http://www.cvrpg.com/ . On September 21 the site was restored with a new layout and it was revealed that the "hacking" had been a prank by Amber and her brother Mike.

The comic as a whole is rated PG, although the Abel's Story arc (starting on 15 October 2005) is rated NC-14. The DMFA Radio Project, founded in July 2005, provides an unofficial voiced version of much of the comic.

Origins of DMFA

DMFA began in 1998, when Amber promised a shrine of sorts on Furcadia to anyone who could find a particular song for her. When a friend who went by the name of Daniel Ti'Fiona found the song in question, Amber made good on her promise and created the shrine. As a joke, she added a sign proclaiming "Coming soon: the Misadventures of Daniel Ti'Fiona, the comic!" However, Daniel took this seriously and continually prodded her to actually start the comic until she finally gave in, posting the first comic in 1999.

Initially featuring Daniel and Miss Mab, the cast of the comic soon expanded, including both friends of Amber's on Furcadia and characters of her own creation. Later on in 1999, the comic fell into a hiatus for about a year. Amber resumed comic production in 2000, and the comic has been updating steadily ever since.

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Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

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Plot

The comic's arcs revolve around the adventures and misadventures of the cast. Most of these exploits are whimsical and humorous, sometimes parodying aspects of popular culture. Most events occur in a fictional land called Furrae; specifically, in an inn/pub called Lost Lake (based off of the real Lost Lake in Furcadia).

Characters

Main Characters

Daniel Ti'Fiona

A retired feline adventurer, Daniel is one of the main characters of the comic. He loves ale and has a strong fascination for Amazons. It has been revealed that Dan is an incubus. Currently, he is struggling to come to terms with his 'cubi heritage at the Succubus and Incubus Academy (SAIA) with the 'assistance' of Abel and Fa'lina. He resides in the basement of his sister's tavern and inn, Lost Lake.

Miss Mab

Mab is a feline fae. Usually a whimsical, happy-go-lucky character, Mab has a penchant for hugging anything and everything within reach. In fact, she possesses a list of "Things to Hug." However, don't get her angry. She once blew up an entire glen when aggravated. Apparently thousands of years old, Mab used to live in a distant Fae kingdom, although she left for unknown reasons. She has been unable to order seafood after witnessing her parents destroy a restaurant while arguing over what to order.

Pipclideous Dominiscus

Simply nicknamed 'Pip,' he is a golden drake owned by Miss Mab. Easily angered and quite fierce, Pip will often attack anyone that comes within lunging distance, with biting as his preferred method of attack. He especially targets Dan and photographers. He seems very protective of Mab and will attack anyone that makes any advances at her.

Jyrras Gianna

A kangaroo rat/kangaroo mix, Jyrras is one of the most brilliant inventors in all of Furrae. He is rather shy and dislikes attention. Most notably, he has an aversion to being called "cute." As a result, he wears glasses (although he doesn't need them) to create a nerdy visage rather than a cute one. He is credited with inventing "patches," devices that use both technology and magic to alter the users' physical appearance.

Lorenda Soulstealer

Lorenda is a cow/demon-mare hybrid. As such, she is carnivorous, a trait rarely seen in bovines. Since she is half-demon, she has had a hard time keeping a job. She used to work at Twink Territories, a haven for powergamers and godmoders everywhere until she met Jyrras, who offered her a place to shack up in return for not devouring him. She currently lives with him near Lost Lake.

Wildy-san

A boisterous and devious ferret, Wildy is small compared to the rest of the cast but she is quite fierce at times, perhaps rivaled only by Pip. With a sharp tongue and a tactless demeanor, she is unafraid to speak her mind. However, she is very protective of her friends and is very open with them. She lives in an apartment away from Lost Lake, yet spends most of her time at Lost Lake.

Alexsi Ti'Fiona

Daniel's half-sister and fellow feline, Alexsi runs the tavern and inn known as Lost Lake. Unlike Dan, she does not possess a 'cubi heritage (Alexsi's father remarried after her biological mother's death). She is quite often seen with a comically oversized mallet (inherited from her mother) which she uses to forcibly eject unruly tavern patrons or inn customers.

Merlitz Meshaiko

Yet another feline cast member, Merlitz is a practicing fire mage. Currently working as Alexsi's bodyguard, over the years he has become attached to the rest of the Lost Lake denizens. Many consider him the straight man of the cast. He had dated Aaryanna, a succubus, but the couple broke up when Aaryanna accepted a professorship at SAIA.

Pyroduck

Nobody knows much about Pyroduck, although he has revealed himself as a time-traveler. He is perhaps best known for making witty comments about the occurrences at the inn, often breaking the fourth wall in the process. Sometimes he will disappear into the countryside to explore, dropping by Lost Lake to offer his quips and comments at exactly the right time. It has been revealed that he is a dragon.

Azlan

An adventurer as well as a vulpine fae, Azlan is fun-loving and quite silly at times. Many of his appearances serve as comic relief. Azlan quickly learned that very few adventurers would take a fae seriously, so he uses a patch to alter his wings' appearance and hide his fae antennae. Azlan often tells stories of the exploits of his wife Neni, who appears to cause chaos wherever she goes. He carries around a "squeeky koala of doom," a gift from Neni.

Aaryanna

Merlitz encountered Aaryanna during one of the cast's many adventures. A feline succubus, Aaryanna graduated from the Succubus and Incubus Academy (SAIA) roughly 25 years ago and since then has been seeking her favorite teacher, Destania, who left SAIA on an assignment and never returned. A phoenix oracle led her to believe that Daniel had killed Destania and she set out in search for Dan. A short fight ensued, but Mab forced the two to talk things out. During her stay at Lost Lake, she attempted to tutor Dan in the ways of the 'cubi, much to his dismay. She has an affinity for toast and recently became SAIA's new professor of pain and torture.

See also: Aaryanna's LiveJournal, Musings of a Cubi...

Abel

Like Dan, Abel is a feline incubus. Unlike Dan, Abel has fully embraced his cubi heritage and is one of the top students at SAIA, although he has filled his schedule with menial classes such as grass growing and tennis. Abel has been banned from the SAIA library due to the "Library Incident." (Much like the "Noodle Incident" of Calvin and Hobbes fame, it has never been described yet it has been referenced on occasion.) He has also been hell for the rooming assigners, who have to find him new roommates as often as once a semester. He also seems to have a grudge against dragons, but this might be related to all 'cubi. Abel has also been assigned to Dan as his 'cubi tutor. While showing a dissatisfaction in leaving SAIA and being a tutor, Abel does seem to genuinely for Dan's well-being.

Secondary Characters

Kria Soulstealer

A demon-mare and Lorenda's mother, Kria could be termed the stereotypical demon, as she believes that might makes right, and that the meek shall not inherit the earth. Before she discovered that she was pregnant with Lorenda, Kria devoured her husband after she discovered him cheating on her. Her daughter being her one soft spot, Kria tries her best to maintain her relationship with Lorenda, despite her daughter's continuing association with those... lessers.

Biggs-san

Wildy's brother, Biggs is the ruler of Twink Territories. Like all ferrets, Biggs is diminuitive in size but is a fearsome ruler. He has a long rivalry with Wildy, and several encounters ended violently... most with Wildy emerging triumphant.

The Basement Rats

Dan's roommates, the four rats have never been seen outside of the basement, yet contain a good deal of street smarts. Their names are unknown, except for the female, Photophie. The dark grey one has never been noticed awake. Although they refer to each other as "Bro" and "Sis," only Photophie and the light grey male are actually related.

Matilda Kissriss

A female Mythos, Matilda owns a small magical homes and knick-knack store. Some speculate that she is attracted to Daniel, citing the fact that she gave Dan an expensive sword for free and seemed to flirt with him as evidence.

Dark Pegasus

A demonic pegasus, Dark Pegasus was one of Dan's most erstwhile foes. In their most recent encounter, where Dark Pegasus attempted to overthrow the kingdom of H-ann and resurrect a dark god for the third time, he and Dan engaged in a fight to the death. Dark Pegasus was vanquished once again and Dan banished his soul by means of an ancient ritual. ("Bad Pegasus! No come back to life! Stay dead! No cookie!!!")

Aliyka

A phoenix (but not the flaming type) and a natural arbitrator, Aliyka is an odd combination of adventurer and peace advocate. Therefore, she is usually hired as a messenger rather than an adventurer.

Fa'lina

A canine succubus with a love for muffins, Fa'lina is the headmistress of SAIA, which she founded several thousand years ago.

Deathbringer

The result of one of Jyrras' experiments. A bit of magical energy reacted with some bubblegum Jyrras was chewing to form a pink, rabbit-shaped, sentient bubblegum-being. In an ill-advised move, Jyrras allowed her to pick her own name. She chose "Deathbringer" since it sounded cool. Most simply call her "Deebs."

Edward Ti'Fiona

The previous owner of Lost Lake, Edward is Alexsi and Dan's father. He protected an injured Destania when a band of adventurers at the tavern threatened to kill the succubus, knowing full well that he risked his life in doing so. However, Edward and Destania fell in love, married, and had a baby boy named Daniel.

Destania

A former professor at SAIA, Destania left SAIA on an assignment. She had been attacked during the assignment and stumbled upon Lost Lake. The rest is history.

Fi

A Warp-Aci, a magically created creature, that is currently "owned" by Dan. Originally created by Fa'lina, but when Pip chased him into a portal-bearing sword, the connection with Fa'lina was broken. Instead of having Fa'lina dispose of Fi, Dan took up ownership of him. As with all Warp-Aci, he can teleport, or create warps in the dimensional fabric of space, and is Dan's main way of getting back to SAIA.

The Mows

Although not really characters in their own right, the mows still must be mentioned for sake of authenticity. Mows appear to have been created accidentally during an insane experiment by two of Jyrras' assistants in his absence (as documented in strip #363). Mows are practically indestructible, although generally harmless. They appear to feed on organic material, chiefly cloth. Their one weapon is the ability to latch onto something and buzz their wings quickly, effectively simulating the feeling of that limb falling asleep.

Non-canon

These characters are not a part of the DMFA canon, but they do appear in the comic.

Amber M. Panyko

Based off of the real Amber but exaggerated in several respects, she usually appears in the comics answering "Questions from the Readers" or providing a little deus ex machina to wrap up a plot. The "Questions from the Readers" comics are considered non-canon.

Fluffy D. Funni

A character from a comic Amber began in 6th grade (which she eventually abandoned), Fluffy was resurrected out of a need for some kind of sidekick that didn't violate copyrights in the aforementioned Amber appearances in the comic.

References

• Tangents review, May 15, 2005.
• Tangents review of Abel's Story, February 8, 2006.
• Female Comic Collective review, September 26 2006.

See also

• The DMFA Wiki

External links

• DMFA
• DMFA forum
• Mab's Land The site where Amber hosts her non-DMFA related artwork.