Spiders in the Mist: An Arachnid Love Story by Maggie Honeybite

Fanwork Notes

1) This insane little fic actually began as a Live Journal meme, and was wholly inspired by Tehta's lovely and hilarious Ecthelion/Glorfindel story, "Flawed and Fair." 

This is the excerpt that got the spider plot bunny biting:

"The rest of the battle was a blur. Ecthelion wandered around, sword in hand, cutting at shapes as they became increasingly visible, and hence increasingly disgusting. Dawn came, every bit as welcome as his occasional glimpses of Glorfindel -- still fighting, still alive. The new light revealed that most of the remaining spiders were in far worse shape. He wondered briefly if any of them had experienced an unnatural desire for another spider, or for an orc perhaps, but he walked around stabbing them anyway." (Chapter Five of F&F, "The Incident")

2) You might have noticed that Helob and Morliant bear little resemblance to Tolkien's giant spiders.  Here is a description of Shelob from "Shelob's Lair" in "The Two Towers":  "Most like a spider she was, but huger than the great hunting beasts, and more terrible than they because of the evil purpose in her remorseless eyes.  [...]  Great horns she had, and behind her short stalk-like neck was her huge swollen body, a vast bloated bag, swaying and sagging between her legs; its great bulk was black, blotched with livid marks, but the belly underneath was pale and luminous and gave forth a stench."  I prefer to portray my Helob and Morliant as more attractive:  more like actual spiders, only bigger.  Hey, this is an AU:  I'm allowed.

3) If you're curious about spider anatomy and mating habits, the Internet is *full* of interesting tidbits, believe me.  Suffice it to say that spiders generally have eight legs, eight eyes and two pedipalps, which look like little arms but are actually sexual organs.  When they mate, the male uses his pedipalps to insert sperm into the female's reproductive opening.  As for two boy spiders getting it on, well... I got creative.  The love scene in this story is certainly not based on scientific fact.

4) Yes, Captain Ungwe is named after a tengwa.  The one that, aptly, translates as "spider's web."

5) As usual, I owe a debt of gratitude to my wonderful beta, Tehta, without whom I would no doubt be mired in plot holes and excess adjectives.  

Fanwork Information

Summary: On a mission to the Valley of Dreadful Death, two giant spiders encounter adventure, tackle moral issues and find love. Inspired by Tehta's "Flawed and Fair." AU, humour, giant spider slash. Major Characters: Original Male Character(s) Major Relationships: Artwork Type: No artwork type listed Genre: Adventure, Drama, Erotica, Humor, Romance, Slash Challenges: Rating: General Warnings: Sexual Content (Mild)
Chapters: 1	Word Count: 8, 963
Posted on 23 May 2022	Updated on 23 May 2022
This fanwork is complete.