History Characters / Opal

The characters from Jack Stauber's ''OPAL''

** [[spoiler: Her mom is a neglectful drunk that only views Claire as a tool to make herself feel better and uses her as a therapist of sorts for herself.]]
* BreakTheCutie: She went through a house full of horribly disturbing people to help someone that was crying in the attic, only to realize that [[spoiler: it was really her crying the whole time, and that the horrible people were her neglecting family members.]]

* HairOfGoldHeartOfGold: She has blond hair and ventures to the house across the street solely to find and comfort whoever the crying she keeps hearing is coming from. [[spoiler: Granted, the one crying was her, but it's the thought that counts.]]

* LivingEmotionalCrutch: Opal is mistaken for one by multiple members of the family using Claire as one. [[spoiler: The ending, which reveals the two are one and the same, further uses imagery to point out that she functions as this for every member of her family: her blind grandfather relies on her to bring him cigarettes and support his unhealthy lifestyle, as his revealed eyes turn into her head, her father needs her to favorably compare himself to, so his mirror becomes her face, and her substance-abusing mother is the most direct example as her pills turn into Claire.]]

->''“Y'know, it's evil to help people who don't need help [[spoiler:Claire]].”''

->''“Hey! Just gonna walk by without saying hello?”''

---> ''God is in my Skin!''
---> ''Crafting the world its next new savior!''

* {{Irony}}: He often talks about himself as if he were a child or teenager, something still small and growing, and not a full-grown man with a wife and child. Bonus points for saying these things with a straight face ''to'' a child, [[spoiler: his own neglected child in fact]].

[[folder: The Mother]]
[[quoteright:112:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/4o75whix.png]]
->''“Our adversaries are in denial...”''

[[folder: Opal's Family]]

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ojy6okxa_6.png][[/labelnote]]]]
->''“We see you Opal, your troubles are miles away.
->We see you Opal, and in our eyes you'll stay!”''
-> -Opal's family singing to her at the beginning and end of the short.

Opal's family. They adore her and see her for who she is. [[spoiler: Unfortunately, they're all part of a fantasy Claire created to escape her abusive and neglectful family, and only physically exist on a billboard for ''Opal's Burgers'' across the street.]]

* CreepyGood: With how off-putting they are and the way they insist Opal shouldn't pay attention to the crying coming from the house across the street, you might think they have something sinister going on underneath the surface. [[spoiler: Depending on how you look at it, they don't. They're Opal's/Claire's escape mechanism from her horrible home life in the real world, so of course they'd try to keep her happy and safe from the realization that her actual life sucks.]]
* DysfunctionalFamily: Averted, they're pretty much a run of the mill family. [[spoiler: Justified, because it's a fantasy created by Claire to escape her abusive family.]]

* GoodParents: Opal's mother and father are very loving and kind, always supporting and encouraging their daughter. [[spoiler: In stark contrast to Opal's/Claire's ''actual'' parents, who view her as someone to vent their frustrations to at best.]]
* ThousandYardStare: Their eyes are always wide open and they stare unflinchingly at Opal as they interact with her. [[spoiler: This might be because the people on the billboard they're based on always have their eyes wide open as well.]]

[[caption-width-right:150:[[labelnote:Click here for his actual appearance]]\\

[[caption-width-right:150:[[labelnote:Click here for their true appearance]]\\

** [[spoiler:Her grandfather is blind and a cigarrete addict (implied to be suffering from COPD), tells Claire that "it's evil to help people who don't need help", and fails to even recognize his own granddaughter.]]

* BloodFromTheMouth: Coughs up blood at one point and wipes it away.

* SmokingIsNotCool: He's a heavy smoker and is an unpleasant man to be around, and that's not even bringing up the implied health issues he has from it.

* TheScream: He screams when he falls from his recliner while trying to grab Opal[[spoiler:/Claire.]]

---> ''Cracking the world it's next new savior!''
* CampStraight: He's a VERY flamboyant man, as far as wearing makeup. But he's married to a woman, and other than his flamboyancy, there's no sign of him being anything other than straght.
* ItsAllAboutMe: He makes most conversations with his daughter about him and his appearance.
* {{Manchild}}: He refers to himself as a "Small, growing thing" to Opal[[spoiler:/Claire]], an ''[[{{Irony}} actual child]]''.

* NightmareFace: He's shown to have one in a split-second shot.
* SelfHarm: Is heavily implied to do this to himself in the belief that it's "fixing his appearance".

* TheAlcoholic: She's a really heavy drinker.

* AbusiveParents: She grabs Opal's[[spoiler:/Claire's]] ankle, possibly in an attempt to beat her so she could prove her point about Opal[[spoiler:/Claire]] being "powerful".

* CreepyGood: With how off-putting they are and the way they insist Opal shouldn't pay attention to the crying coming from the house across the street, you might think they have something sinsiter going on underneath the surface. [[spoiler: Depending on how you look at it, they don't. They're Opal's/Claire's escape mechanism from her horrible home life in the real world, so of course they'd try to keep her happy and safe from the realization that her actual life sucks.]]

* {{Escapism}}: [[spoiler:Claire created them to be this for her]]

[[/folder]]

* AmbiguousDisorder: The way she is regarding [[spoiler:her abusive real family and her fake family, along with her Opal alter ego,]] she may be developing Dissociative Identity Disorder.

* TheScream: She has a ''big'' one at the end when she realizes that [[she's actually the abused Claire]].

* {{Manchild}}: He refers to himself as a "Small, growing thing" to Opal[[spoiler:/Claire]], an ''[[{{Irony actual child}}]]''.

* {{Manchild}}: He refers to himself as a "Small, growing thing" to Opal[[spoiler:/Claire]], an ''{{Irony actual child}}''.

* {{Manchild}}: He refers to himself as a "Small, growing thing" to Opal[[spoiler:/Claire]], an ''actual child''.

* {{Manchild}}: He refers to himself as a "Small, growing thing" to Opal[[spoiler:/Claire]], an [[Irony ''actual child'']].

* {{Manchild}}: He refers to himself as a "Small, growing thing" to Opal[[spoiler:/Claire]], an {{Irony ''actual child''}}.

* {{Manchild}}: He refers to himself as a "Small, growing thing" to Opal[[spoiler:/Claire]], an ''actual child.''

[[caption-width-right:150:[[labelnote:Click here for their [[spoiler:billboard appearance]]]]\\

[[caption-width-right:150:[[labelnote:Click here for their billboard appearance]]\\

* {{Escapism}}: [[Spoiler:Claire created them to be this for her]]

* {Escapism}: [[Spoiler:Claire created them to be this for her]]

Opal's family. They adore her and see her for who she is. [[spoiler: Unfortunately, they're all part of a fantasy Claire created to escape her abusive and neglectful family, and only physically exist on a billboard for ''Opal's Burgers'' across the street.

We see you Opal, and in our eyes you'll stay!”''