The local faire was as usual a nice time. I made a...
Glad you had a good time. I’d like to see that guide. The folks I buy from are ones I’ve known for years and definitely don’t do that. But there have been rumblings about retirement, so I may need someone else in the next couple of years.
Some of it is difficult. The usual telltales crop up if you look though - way too much plain but oddly remarkable garbage mixed in behind a more casual crop of biker stuff. I’m in the ass western end of Pennsylvania so there is a lot of biker redneck stuff that sneaks into any public festival here. I would think a ren faire would weed it out easier, but still. Pittsburtucky once you get beyond the rivers.
So, okay. First of all, honestly people, if they’re mixing biker stuff with viking stuff, that should be your first clue to look closely. If you see any of the following, consider carefully:
- iron cross bullshit. Easy tell. Always vaguely smart enough to not add the swastika in but it’s still plainly the iron cross. Usually filed with the biker skulls and some edgy eagleland shit so it doesn’t stand out, and at the ren faire they (usually) don’t flash confederate openly with the redneck bait. You end up standing there for a moment before you realize what you’re looking at.
- If they’re catering to the viking crowd at all, it’s typically just Odin. Maybe two or three of the traditional hammer emblems, but no, usually it’s Odin shit. Of that, look specifically for headshots of Odin with no logos - especially if it’s really edgelord-looking. The Sons (sometimes Soldiers) of Odin think they’re clever. That’s the fucknut group infiltrating around here. Also they keep stealing the Sons of Anarchy aesthetic, which just pisses me off.
Sometimes they’ll only have the Valknut (the nested triangles) out, which in itself hasn’t been ruined as a symbol, but by god, they’re trying. I know of at least one regular metalworker (Pepi) that tours the fairs that has a valknut and a hammer always on retail, but they’re multi-faith and also have other things available. Make sure they’re actually repping other parts of Asatru or even other faiths in general. That’s not perfect, but it helps.
- watch their damn tattoos. Sometimes they’re smart with what’s on display, but it’s hot and they’re in bodices and shit, and they cannot help themselves. Once I only caught someone out with a HFFH peeking and an almost generic set of Futhark runes. Put together... yeah, he was a slime-o.
- watch their footwear. Ren faires require solid foot gear if you’re going to work a booth all day, but there’s a lot of options available for that that fit into the gig. If the leather/metalworker you’re looking is still somehow wearing the shitkicker curbstomper special over his cheap leggings and a bad leather tunic ... well...
(seriously, this booth is literally that stupid. I CAN TELL THEY’RE MARTENS, YOU KNOB)
- Look for a ‘special’ section of the booth. Here’s the 50/50. If it’s a quality non-racist leatherwork vendor, they may have a few somewhat kinkier pieces back here they’ll let you tour - damn good bodices, a few good collars, NSFW toys etc. If it’s a questionable booth, you’ll realize they’ve got their whips and cat tails out front but still have a section hidden For Some Reason... Yeah. They... might have some shit back there. Use judgment.
- Trust your instincts. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve gone into a booth, gotten a ‘vibe’ (I’m a small blonde white woman, so they don’t go target-acquisition when I enter, but I can still detect The Vibe) and spoke to someone later that was like ‘yeaaaaah.... about that guy......’
- Other rennies know. If you see a booth where no other rennies ever visit to make small talk or anything, STRONG ODDS they are fucknuckles and you should avoid. Sometimes it gets busy, etc, but there should always be someone floating by eventually to give a friendly nod. If they don’t, yikes.
