Tulip Olsen

**Overview**
Synopsis
Gallery
Quotes

* Current
* Debut
* Pilot

**Tulip Olsen** is the main protagonist of *Infinity Train* Book One. She is 12 years old in the series' pilot, and in the series she is 13 years old. Tulip is a former passenger on the Infinity Train, searching for a way home with One-One and Atticus, until the Season One finale episode "The Engine," where she returns back home after bidding her friends farewell.

## Appearance

Tulip's design resembles that of a typical schoolgirl. She has very pale skin and a thin build, giving her a frail physique. She has long red hair tied in a ponytail by a green scrunchie. She also has some hair combed over her forehead and just above her eyebrows that makes it look like she has bangs, which is held with a yellow hair-clip on the right side of her head. Adorning her face is a pair of elliptically shaped glasses that rest atop her nose with no visible bridge between the lenses, making it have an appearance of the infinity symbol (∞).

Throughout the first season Tulip wears a green hooded sweatshirt that has brown patches on the elbows with a white shirt underneath. She also wears a light gray miniskirt that matches her boots, and dark gray tights that stop around her ankles. Tulip carries a brown backpack that contains both items she packed for game design camp and things she picked up on the Infinity Train. Items include, the camp's brochure, a donut holer, a pencil, a red notebook, a Swiss army knife, and a toothbrush. Tulip often removes certain items from her outfit through the season as well, for example she only wears her gray headband for the first episode and occasionally uses her winter gloves whenever she deems it is necessary. As a passenger Tulip's neon green glowing number stamped on her right hand palm. Her starting number is 115.

In the last episode of season one, seven months after getting off the train, Tulip downs a new look. Her ponytail is now at shoulder length, she wears a red varsity jacket over a burgundy hoodie, and navy blue jeans.

## Personality

Tulip is intelligent for her age, with the show's creator, Owen Dennis, stating that she has, "advanced twelve-year-old logic." She is easily frustrated, getting very annoyed (in some cases, enraged) when things don't go her way. Though she has her bouts of selfishness, she is not averse in giving a helping hand when the situation is dire. A large portion of Tulip's selfish nature comes from her obsessive want to escape the train; decipher what the number on her hand means; and return to her normal life. Often times, Tulip will turn her head on a situation which won't further her in her goals, making her seem very tunnel-visioned.

"Tulip is a logical person, so she says things logically and tries to make sense of her world in a way that feels logical. That’s why she’s the perfect foil for the train. The train doesn’t make sense, so if you want conflict in your story then the best character to have to interact with something that is completely illogical and doesn’t make sense is someone who is logical and wants things to make sense. She doesn’t know everything, but she certainly knows words that are outside her peer group." —Owen Dennis

Tulip normally refers to her pencil and notebook for important things, as she likes to keep the information there. This was shown when Atticus was telling her how to open a door.

Tulip is also shown to be quite athletic, being able to overcome many physically challenging obstacles in different cars with ease. She is agile, flexible, and has incredible stamina to run long and continuous distances between the train cars.

## History

```
*To read all the appearances of Tulip visit the synopsis article.*

```

### Early Life

Tulip was born as the only child of Andy and Megan Olsen in North Branch, Minnesota. When Tulip was born she had a breathing complication. However, she ended up making a full recovery, something that her mom described as “bouncing back like a perennial flower”. This, in turn, is why her mother named her Tulip.

At a young age, she asked her mother if she could try eating raw onion and Megan, humoring her daughter, gave her one believing she would not like it. She did not like it at first but did not want to admit it, and out of pure spite she forced herself to continue eating them until she actually acquired a taste for raw onions.

In her early childhood, she enjoyed going on road trips with her parents as they sang and jammed in the car. However, over time it became clear that her parents had a falling out and seemed to hardly get along. One instance took place at DolphinWorld, where they argued about who should have taken Tulip to the optometrist (as she was having a hard time watching the show from the middle of the crowd seats). The fights became so common that Tulip would wake up to check on her dad when he had to sleep on the couch.

### Legacy

Despite her absence in subsequent books, Tulip's time on the Infinity Train has sent ripples throughout it. Through Tulip, Atticus met Aloysius, forging an alliance between Corginia and the turtles of the Unfinished Car. Her reflection, Lake, began her own journey, eventually becoming the first ever denizen to leave the Infinity Train. Thanks to Tulip's actions, One-One was restored as the rightful conductor, sparking a one-sided civil war with The Apex until Grace Monroe disbanded the organization after Simon’s death. Amelia was also encouraged to begin her own path of redemption, prompting her to help One-One undo the damages she had done and meeting Hazel along the way.

## Relationships

### Megan and Andy Olsen

Tulip loves her parents, however she is annoyed by their constant fighting. In "The Cat's Car" she is forced to confront a memory of them together as she is physically ashamed of demonizing them over their divorce and that it was her inability to accept them caused her to wind up in the train in the first place. By "The Engine" Tulip has fixed her bond with her parents as everything turns out for the better.

### One-One

Tulip met One-One while passing through freight cars. They overall have a good relationship, with One-One accompanying her across the train. Owen states that One-One, and its dual personalities, are there to balance out Tulip's own mood.

### Atticus

Though initially apathetic to Atticus, she eventually warms up to him, even going out of her way to help him, and his people, in their plight. She even showed concern for him, shouting his name, when the Steward flicked Atticus towards a rock wall, exposing her location to the Steward. Throughout her story, Atticus becomes a true companion for Tulip to the point that she mourns for him after he becomes a Ghom.

Later in "The Engine" she is determined to turned Atticus back normal which Tulip successfully did as she and Atticus playfully reunited while giving him his crown and sadly bids farewell to him as Atticus tells her that he’ll remember her, following obtaining her exit.

### Mikayla

Tulip enjoys spending time with her friend. In "The Grid Car" both Mikayla and Tulip share a conversation following another day at school where the former joked on how the latter would stink up the entire camp with her "onion breath", how she feels on playing her videogames, and how she'll fare while her best friend is gone when they reach Megan's Residence. It was here Mikayla ask about Tulip's parents situation, unaware that she becomes insensitive as a result, as Tulip explains that she has to go. She is never seen again after this and it is unknown if she ever learns about Tulip's adventure in the train.

### Lake

With Lake being Tulip's reflection, they've essentially done everything together. In "The Chrome Car", Tulip discovers that her reflection is alive, and brings her into the prime world. Shortly after escaping the flecs, the two then go their separate ways. Tulip is shown to be very accepting of Lake wanting to be her own person. It is unknown if she will ever meet Lake on Earth, since they are now located and/or inhabited in different states (Lake in Arizona and Tulip in Minnesota).

## Trivia

* Tulip's starting number in the third episode of season one "The Corgi Car" is different from her number in the pilot episode. In "The Corgi Car" Tulip begins the episode with 109 and ends with 101. In the pilot Tulip has 53 in the beginning and ends with 49.
* Tulip's design has been changed for Season 1 of the show, to be easier to storyboard. It was kept simple so she could be drawn in multiple angles with ease.
* The flower Tulip is named after is meant to represent perfect love. Orange tulips are associated with fascination, energy, enthusiasm, and desire.
* Infinity Train creator, Owen Dennis, previously said on his Tumblr blog that Tulip's full name was Tulip Beetleguise Van Helsing. This was later confirmed by the episode one credits to be a joke, and her true name is Tulip Olsen. No middle name has been confirmed.
	+ Van Helsing is a direct reference to Abraham Van Helsing, the main protagonist of *Dracula* who was also a knowledgeable bookworm who encounters supernatural elements.
	+ Beetleguise references the star, the movie Beetlejuice was titled after, also about a protagonist encountering supernatural elements.
	+ Dennis may also have said this surname as an allusion to Tulip not having a reflection at the end of her arc, as one of the most common traits of vampires is not having a reflection.
	+ Tulip's surname, Olsen, is Norwegian in origin. In the real world, her home state of Minnesota has the highest concentration of Norwegian-Americans in the United States.

* In the podcast *Origin Story* Owen Dennis stated he had a hard time figuring out who Tulip would be as a person until women programmers from Google came to Cartoon Network to give a talk about how they think and their feelings. From that talk he realized that a logical character would be the perfect contrast to the unpredictable world on the train.
* Tulip has a habit of grabbing the straps of her backpack occasionally.
* Tulip is left-handed.
* She no longer has a reflection, as she freed her reflection from the mirror world in "The Chrome Car".
* In a Twitter Q&A for San Diego Comic-Con 2020, Dennis made a **non-canon** statement that she had "died on a boat" as a facetious joke to various users, because he was avoiding questions about characters whose stories were finished. Following the series' conclusion, he revealed one of *Infinity Train*'s later seasons would have included an appearance by an older Tulip.
* Her original outfit resembles the one worn by Frankie Foster in *Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends*.

## Gallery

*Click here to view this page's gallery.*

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "She's 12, so like advanced 12 year old logic." - Owen Dennis
2. ↑ Star Tribute: Can you spot the Minnesota references in Cartoon Network's 'Infinity Train'?
3. ↑ "I just kinda liked it. It was easy for me to draw from different angles, which was something I needed for my shot choices." - Dennis
4. ↑ "Her last name is Van Helsing. Tulip Beetleguise Van Helsing." – Dennis
5. ↑ Owen Dennis on Twitter: No, that's a mistake, it's Van Helsing. They must have bought the wrong bear.
6. ↑ Origin Story Podcast: Owen Dennis (Infinity Train) on Making Cartoons for Everyone (Timestamp: 18:18 - 20:00)

**Tulip Olsen** • One/One-One • Atticus • Jesse Cosay • Lake/Mirror Tulip • Alan Dracula • Grace Monroe • Hazel • Tuba • Ryan Akagi • Min-Gi Park • Kez

**Antagonists**
The Cat • Amelia Hughes/The Conductor • Steward • Ghoms • Mirror Police (Agent Sieve • Special Agent Mace) • Marcel • The Apex (Simon Laurent) • Bug Cowboys (Caterpillar Sheriff/Judge Morpho • Beetle Bailiff • Grasshopper • Mantis) • Pig Baby/Pig Toddler • Docent • Morgan

**Minor Characters**
Andy Olsen • Megan Olsen • Mikayla • Mirror People (Mirror Atticus • Mirror One • Mirror Medics) • Giant • Greige • Khaki Bottoms • Nancy • Randall • Pencil People • Tiny Wizards • Mildred the Tyrannosaur • Turtle People (Aloysius) • Alrick Timmens • Ben Greene • Nathan Cosay • Terrance • Sashay • Porters • Lucy • Chandelier • Octopus People • Cubey Denizens (Driveway) • Origami Birds • Parka Denizens • Judge Morpho • Cow Creamer • Nigel • Paco • Brando • Spiceman • Beehive • Morgan