Clay Puppington

Clay presents himself as an affable, charming Christian man, but this facade hides a self-destructive, hateful, callous, misogynistic, and deeply depressed abuser. His twisted childhood, miserable marriage, and dependency on alcohol have left him incapable of recognizing his own mistakes or dealing with life's realities responsibly. He is the Mayor of Moralton.

Attention-Seeking: Clay craves attention, whether positive or negative, and is willing to hurt or manipulate others to get it.

Warped View of Love: Due to his abusive and distant father, Clay views abuse as a sign of love and carries this warped view into adulthood. He cares for his son Orel more as an extension of himself, emphasizing obedience and molding him into a miniature version of himself.

Narcissistic Traits: Clay refuses to admit when he is wrong, swings between emotions, puts up false personalities to gain affection, fears rejection, and is incapable of caring for others unless they are useful to him. He has a grandiose self-image to mask his true toxic nature.

Hobbies: Drinking, hunting in the forest.

Relationships: Marriage: Clay's marriage is a facade, known to everyone except Orel. He avoids his family due to his repressed lack of confidence and self-hatred, preferring to brood and drink in his study or at a bar if he's lonely. Father-Son Dynamic: Clay's relationship with Orel mirrors the abusive pattern he experienced with his father. He disciplines Orel harshly, not out of love, but to maintain his authority and avoid embarrassment.

His mom smothered and coddled him as a child, until she died, which Clay blames his father for.

Arthur Puppington: His father.

Bloberta Puppington: Bloberta is Clay's wife, who is in an unhappy and unloving marriage as Clay would constantly drink or often reminds himself that he still hates his wife. There are very rare moments when they are civil to one another. When Orel mentions his father drinking, Bloberta states that his drinking only shows his true nature. Ironically, although he and Bloberta hate one another, they are deeply possessive of one another. As he was angry by the thought of her sleeping with Dr. Potterswheel and Bloberta was frantic to hide the handkerchief she took from Clay.

Coach Danielle Stopframe: They are close friends and drinking buddies, although Coach Stopframe would like something more from their relationship. Clay is unaware of Stopframe's affair with Bloberta, despite the fact the affair occurred simply as a means of Stopframe getting close to Clay. He encourages Clay's alcoholism in the hopes that it will lower his inhibitions, unaware of the destructive effects it causes within Clay. Clay is seemingly aware of the infatuation and sometimes flirts with him publicly and often seeks attention from Stopframe.

Orel Puppington: He is Clay's only biological son. Because of his selfishness, Clay shows no real love for Orel and instead treats him like work. When it comes to love, he never really says it to him. He once said, "I love you enough". He felt no guilt that Orel basically stated he didn't feel relaxed at his own home. He was more jealous that Stopframe wanted to be nice to Orel.

Shapey: He dislikes Shapey because he's not his biological son and sometimes sits in his study looking at pictures of possible fathers. He usually just pushes them away from him or gives them something to play with, so they would leave him alone.