Dutch Ovens and Drama: Petty Revenge in a Renaissance Faire RV
On the road with a band of leatherworkers, life is part medieval fantasy and part high-stakes craft business. But beneath the jolly exterior of the Renaissance faire circuit, tempers can get as heated as a blacksmith’s forge—especially when boundaries are repeatedly crossed. Today, we dive into a tale of petty revenge that’s almost as satisfying as a perfectly stitched leather jerkin. Spoiler: It involves a Dutch oven, a greasy mattress, and the sweet taste of comeuppance.
If you’ve ever worked in close quarters, you know that respecting each other’s space is vital for harmony (and sanity). But what happens when one stubborn partner just can’t keep his greasy paws to himself? Let’s unravel this Renaissance RV drama that Reddit can’t stop talking about.
The Setup: Living, Crafting, and Clashing in a Renaissance RV
Imagine this: You and your crafty comrades travel from faire to faire in a massive RV, your home doubling as a workshop. Your livelihood depends on delicate, expensive industrial leather sewing machines—machines so persnickety that even a misplaced sneeze could put them out of commission. So, naturally, strict rules are in place: no one touches the machines or their tables without permission. Simple, right?
Not for one particular partner. As u/RovingFrog (the original storyteller) describes, this guy had a knack for ignoring the “no touch” rule, piling his stuff—sometimes literally heaping it—onto these precious workspaces. And the pièce de résistance? An all-cast-iron, non-enameled Dutch oven, cleaned, oiled, and left smack on the sewing tables, ready to transfer its greasy essence to both leather and livelihoods. The chaos didn’t stop there: each time, the machines had to be scrubbed and recalibrated, threatening production and income.
The Boiling Point: When Polite Doesn’t Work
You’d think a few polite reminders would solve the problem, especially considering how fiercely this partner guarded his own territory. (Classic double standard, anyone?) But, as one top commenter, u/Lazy-Two8387, quipped, “As you might expect, this was not the only manifestation of his penchant for being an asshole.”
Three strikes, and u/RovingFrog had enough. Tired of playing the nice guy while scrubbing oil off work surfaces, they decided to serve up some poetic justice. The next time the Dutch oven appeared, it wasn’t left on the sewing table. Oh no—it found a new home: under the covers of the offending partner’s bed, half on the mattress, half on the pillow, soaking oil and cooking grease into every fiber. Bedtime suddenly became a late-night laundry marathon, complete with an “enormous fit” from the boundary-breaker.
As u/RovingFrog deadpanned, “The area was clear, so it must be ok for me to put stuff there.” Touché!
The Community Reacts: Applause, Laughter, and Calls for More Tea
Reddit’s r/PettyRevenge crowd adored the story, with over 1,600 upvotes and a chorus of support for the greasy justice. The top comment, echoing the collective thirst for more drama, begged for additional tales of the partner’s antics. Others, like u/KeggyFulabier, fantasized about taking the revenge further: “I would have cleaned every scrap of baked on oil off that thing and ‘fix’ the problem.” The idea of a freshly sandblasted Dutch oven split the crowd between glee and horror, with u/kjbtetrick noting, “That might also be a war crime. But would be categorized appropriately as nuclear revenge.”
Practical leatherworkers also chimed in. u/megangaygan, a fellow industrial sewing machine owner, sympathized: “I have 5 or so industrial myself, and they are all BEASTS that could survive the apocalypse. I’d throw hands if someone put an oily pot on the bed or any of my work surfaces though. Heads would roll!” OP even shared their current machine lineup: “At the time, we were using antique machines. They were great, but they would fall out of time or parts would break if we even looked at them wrong. We’re running a few Juki DNU-1541, a Cobra 20 and a Cobra 4 that stays in the home workshop for really heavy stuff.”
And for those worried about the fate of the Dutch oven, OP reassured everyone: “I would never! Then I would have been worthy of petty revenge!” (Renaissance faire folks, after all, know the value of a good cast iron pot.)
Lessons from the Faire: Boundaries, Justice, and a Dash of Drama
So, what can we learn from a Dutch oven and a disgruntled leatherworker? First, boundaries matter—especially when you’re living and working in a rolling shoebox. Respecting others’ tools and spaces isn’t just about politeness; it’s about survival. Second, sometimes a little creative petty revenge is the only currency certain people understand (and, as Reddit proved, it makes for a cracking good story).
Redditors had no shortage of ideas for alternate punishments—one suggested trading the Dutch oven to the local blacksmith for new tools, another imagined a “Double Dutch Oven” scenario. But the overwhelming consensus was clear: the punishment fit the crime, and peace (not to mention clean sewing tables) was restored.
As for the partner? He never repeated his mistake—and was soon out of the business altogether. To quote u/shafiqa03: “Well done. Glad you got rid of that jerk.”
Conclusion: Your Turn—Share Your Own Petty Revenges!
Renaissance faire life is colorful, communal, and occasionally chaotic. Whether you’re a leatherworker, a fairgoer, or someone who’s ever lived with a chronic boundary-crosser, you’ve probably dreamed of your own moment of petty justice. What would you have done with the Dutch oven? Have you ever served up a slice of poetic revenge (with or without extra grease)?
Tell us your tales in the comments below—and, if you spot u/RovingFrog at a faire near you, maybe don’t put anything on their sewing tables. Just saying.
(And yes, the Bristol, Georgia, Michigan, and Las Vegas faires are all worth a visit—just keep it drama-free… or at least entertaining!)
Original Reddit Post: Be respectful of others