UPS Features

Cul De Sac

Cul de Sac character sheet

"If you lived there you'd be home by now."

by Richard Thompson

Alice Otterloop

Alice Otterloop

Alice Otterloop is 4 years old. Height, 3 feet, 1 inch; bite radius, 2.5 inches; reach, everything in sight. A creature of pure and indomitable will, an irresistible force, she's otherwise a pretty sweet little kid. Alice attends the Blisshaven Preschool, where she struggles with issues such as naptime, speaking out of turn and remembering what a triangle looks like.

Petey Otterloop

Petey Otterloop

Petey Otterloop is 8 years old. Somewhat timid and reserved, he's an immovable object, though there are passions raging beneath his diffident surface. Named King of the Picky Eaters by his mother, who should know. Petey tested as "gifted but not really talented," which doesn't constrain his somewhat gloomy imagination. He also plays the oboe with more enthusiasm than skill, as you might expect.

Mr. Danders

Mr. Danders

Mr. Danders is the classroom guinea pig at Blisshaven Preschool. A lifetime spent in academia — steeped in the drone of storytime, the scratch of crayons on paper and the nodding heads of tiny, weary scholars -- has made him pedantic and pompous out of all proportion to his size. He figures it's high time he was addressed as "Dr." Danders. Still, he means well, and he's a favorite sounding board for the kids at Blisshaven, even if he's no help whatsoever.

Peter

Peter "Dad" Otterloop

Peter "Dad" Otterloop gets into his tiny car almost every day and drives to work. He's Assistant Director of Pamphlets at the U.S. Department of Consumption, Office of Consumer Complaints, whatever that is. Mostly he's baffled by things, Alice and Petey not being the least of them.

Madeline

Madeline "Mom" Otterloop

Madeline "Mom" Otterloop drives a van of a color so neutral, it doesn't occur in nature. She's capable of doing a million things simultaneously, about five of them well. She's blessed with a volatile sense of humor and a laugh so loud and contagious that it makes Petey withdraw his head fully into his shirt collar in a blaze of embarrassment.

Miss Bliss

Miss Bliss

Miss Bliss is faculty, administration, custodian, groundskeeper and head dietitian at Blisshaven Preschool. She has a huge, compelling belief in the Potential for Greatness of Children Through Enrichment and Education -- though children, in the flesh and en masse, unnerve her. Also, she's dating a banjo player.