patron saint of chaos

additive edit from rbs n replies: also ppl with discolored teeth, and broken/damaged/decaying teeth, and missing/no teeth

How does society accommodate (or fail to accommodate) someone like a harpy who doesn't have hands? What about nagas and lizardmen who get sluggish if it's too cold in the office? How does a nocturnal creature deal with almost everything being closed when they're normally active? And that's not even getting into dietary restrictions, color blindness, sensitivities to light, sound, or smell, finding clothes that work with an irregular body plan...

One of the ideas I've had kicking around for a while is exploring life from the perspective of a wolf spider drider (or arachne, or whatever term you'd like to use for a monster that's human from the waist up and spider from the waist down). The standard drider is always based on the generic "black widow" type web spinner, because that's what you see in D&D. A wolf spider version seemed like a chance to explore some new ground, focusing on a spider species that doesn't spin webs but also isn't a tarantula or jumping spider (the other two spider types that are heavily represented). There's just one little problem.

I'm terrified of spiders.

Intellectually I find them fascinating, but if I see a picture of a spider (particularly a large spider) I instantly freak out. Interestingly, tauric spider monsters like driders are usually fine for me. The illustrated or animated aspect likely keeps them from triggering my arachnophobia. This makes them a fun way for me to engage with spiders without throwing my phone across the room.

Unfortunately, I can't do any actual research on spiders without immediately getting bombarded with pictures of them. Trying to work around that ended up being such a hassle I eventually gave up. I still like the idea, however, so I wanted to try a new tactic: outsourcing!

I'm positive Tumblr has a significant number of people who are super into spiders or spider facts. Hit me with your most interesting facts about wolf spiders, and I'll spin them all into a character/species profile for inspiration or entertainment! I'm interested in both their physiology and their behavior. General spider facts are also acceptable, though I'd prefer we stick to facts relevant to wolf spiders.

Feel free to make suggestions of how a particular trait might translate to our hypothetical spider/human creature, if that's fun for you!

Brought to you by a spider cryptid!

Clothing/Fashion:

Leg warmers make you feel like you have hairy spider legs! If you don't have those, fuzzy socks and gloves work too! And if you don't have those either? Grow out your leg hair, homie.

Wear a pair of sunglasses as a head accessory to imply having more than 2 eyes! I suggest red or black for the effect, but it's awesome to have them in your fav color :)

Depending on the type of spider you are, you can include patterns like stripes in your outfits!

Spiders are quiet and sneaky. A pair of soft slippers can act as your silent little spider pawz!

Gothic fashion is often associated with spiders, but don't worry if it's not for you!

Fake vampire teeth >>>>>>>>

If you can get piercings, angel fangs and snake bites are cool options to consider, but there's also a huge variety of other jewelry you can express yourself with, be it spider-related or not!

As cliché as it is, yes, you can also make a half-mask. Pinterest has a few cool examples if you need inspo

Webbing:

Learning to knit or crochet can simulate making a web. Even sewing can do that, in my opinion

String curtains on doors or windows! You can even diy them!

Paper crafts and origami may not exactly resemble webs, but there's no reason not to associate it with that! Connect with your inner miniature architect!

Spiders like to keep their webs nice, clean and functional. Don't think of it as "cleaning your room/house", you're tidying up your beautiful web.

Have a blanket/duvet you can wrap yourself in to feel comfy, it doesn't even have to have a web print or anything, all it has to do is keep you nice and warm and make you feel at home! You can ofc make your own if you know how to do that.

Set up decorative web, like the Halloween decoration ones, or make your own with wool/yarn you can find in any craft store! If you don't have that, even paper will do! (Caution: artificial spider webs are dangerous to outside animals. They can get trapped in them and it can be fatal. They're also not biodegradable and so they're awful for the environment. If you're gonna use them, please keep them inside.)

Diet:

Edible bugs are a thing, but if you're grossed out by them or can't have them for whatever reason, worm gummies and nuts can do the trick!

It's common for spiders to eat their own web. Cotton candy is a good choice texture-vise, although there's tutorials for sugar spider webs. If you aren't super into sugary things, meat floss or thin noodles are great too!

Hide snacks in your room if you can! Spiders wrap up their prey when they plan on eating it later. There's also foods that are wrapped up in things, like burritos, so you can feel like you're eating your wrapped up prey!

Other tips:

You could make yourself a cool pillow fort or, if you can afford it, buy a small inside tent so you have a cozy dark place to crawl into

Nesting with pillows, blankets, plushies or whatever else you have. It's fun to do this in your fort/tent or on a bunk bed if you have one.

Go on runs or participate in a sport if you're able! Lots of spiders are pretty fast and some are even ambush predators. You gotta get some enrichment fr.

Go climbing/hiking (or go on the playground if you're young enough not to get weird looks idk) if you have climbing urges :>

That's pretty much all I have! These are very mixed tips for very different kinds of spiders, not all of them make webs and not all of them are hairy, etc, etc. I just see very little spider therian content these days and ik you're out there so I hope this post is helpful to you!!

Note: You DON'T have to do these things as a spider kin. These are species affirmation tips that MIGHT help you feel more connected to your 'type or eliminate some species dysphoria and are completely optional.

(I'M NOT TAKING ANY MORE REQUESTS!!)

we are all friends :-)