askthetraversers

[askthetraversers]

Gay??????????

Kit: (looks over at Max) ... You couldn't tell already?

[askthetraversers]

Can I use crypto currency to pay for a ticket

Kai-Ming: Preferably not. It isn't a very reliable method of transaction, and... You know, we need all the help we can get. Starving artists, that sort of thing.

[askthetraversers]

How do you feel about the newsboy strike of 1899????

Ernie: Gee, there was a strike? An' I missed it? Please tell me it weren't in Manhattan, I'll never hear the end'uh it from the fellas.

[askthetraversers]

Wait, if you guys are the SECOND most renowned time travelling circus- who’s the first?

Deni: Honestly? No idea, bud. Kai-Ming always tells us to be on our A-game so that we can become number one, but she never has really told us who our competition is. I don't think she likes talking about it.

[askthetraversers]

HEY BUSTER, theoretically, could you throw your voice to get the cops off your tail? In an entirely hypothetical scenario of course

Buster: Huh. I've never really thought 'bout it, or learned how t'do it or nothin'. Prob'ly would be wise. Thanks fer the idea. I'll let ya know how it goes.

[askthetraversers]

Main Character Mega-Post!

Official character sketches can be found here. This will be added onto as our incredible circus grows and changes. Information on our performers is below the cut!

Kai-Ming Dong (she/they) — Ringmaster, co-animal trainer 

Year: 1935

Age: 24

Used to be a contortionist as well, but lost right leg just below the knee in an accident with an elephant

Kai-Ming means “open-minded”, Dong means “mentor” (both names of Chinese origin)

John “Johnny” Rutherford (he/him) — Co-animal trainer, head lasso performer, Ringmaster’s assistant

Year: 1859

Age: 27

Runaway slave from a plantation in southern Alabama

John means “graced by God” (Hebrew origin)

The origin of the Rutherford name is thought to have been the Old English "rother" meaning “cattle” and "ford", “a river crossing.” (wikipedia.com)

Odette de Muter (she/her) — Head Shapeshifter

Year: 1791

Age: 18

Former French aristocrat; Ex-ballet dancer who somehow got cursed or smth with shapeshifting powers. No one’s really sure, not even Odette herself.

Odette means “wealthy” (also inspired by Swan Lake), de Muter is the infinitive “to mutate” (both names of French origin).

Buster Reuter (he/it) — Head Ventriloquist

Year: 1952

Age: 15

Identifies (tells everyone) as British, but is half-German and has gotten a lot of crap for it

Buster isn’t his real name (no one knows his real name), but it means “full of wisecracks” (English origin); Reuter is a German surname meaning “highwayman” or “thief”.

Katherine “Kit” (she/it) and Maxine “Max” (she/they) Chatterton — Head clowns/trampoliners

Year: 1922

Ages: 21 and 22

Not legally married (was illegal at the time), but have matching promise rings

Max is a Pierrot; Kit is a stereotypical, colorful clown; Sunshine + Grumpy trope because I can

Katherine means “pure” (Greek origin); Maxine means “greatest” (Latin/Scottish origin)

Chatterton — English: habitational name from Chadderton in Lancashire which is early recorded the form Chaterton possibly from a Celtic hill name Cadeir (from cadeir ‘chair’) + Old English tūn ‘settlement’. (ancestry.com)

Yesenia Kanaan (she/they) — Head tightrope walker

Year: 2019

Age: 22

Beaten by .01 point in the tryouts for Women’s Gymnastics in the 2016 Olympic Trials; disappeared three years later 

Yesenia means “flower”; Kanaan means “beauty” (both names of Arabic origin)

Ernest “Ernie” Aldritch (he/they/it) — Head Contortionist

Year: 1896

Age: 14

Newsboy from Lower Manhattan who performed part-time at local theatres and bowery shows

Ernest means “vigor” (German origin); Aldritch means “wise” (Old English origin)

Denise “Deni” Campbell (they/them) — Head Puppeteer

Year: 1968

Age: 17

NONBINARY REP MY BELOVED! Also somehow related to Jim Henson because I say so

Denise is a feminine name with both French and Greek origins. A feminine version of Dennis, this name translates to “follower of Dionysius.” In Greek mythology, Dionysus, aka Bacchus, is known as the god of wine, fruit, and vegetation. (thebump.com)

The name Campbell is primarily a gender-neutral name of Scottish origin that means Beautiful Field. From the Latin De Bello Campo meaning "from the beautiful field." Could also be from a Scottish/Gaelic nickname (cam béul) meaning "crooked or sassy mouth." (babynames.com)