Sandbox / Housepets King Milton

Housepets! by Rick Griffin

Tropes: A to L | M to Z

Main Character Page | Cats | Dogs (Tarot) (King Milton) | Other Animals | Humans | Denizens of Heaven

Due to this character being a Walking Spoiler, all spoilers up to Heaven's Not Enough are unmarked.

King Milton (Pembroke Welsh Corgi) / Joel Zechariah Robinson (Human)

Heaven's not enough.

^{Click here to see Joel Robinson} "You're exactly the same as they are. Animals."

Joel Zechariah Robinson is introduced at first as a well-intentioned animal rights activist with an ironic grudge against domesticated pets, who gets arrested for the kidnapping of Fox Lindberg. His story would have ended there, had it not been for a recently-freed Pete taking interest in him. Turning him into a dog and spiriting him away under the guise of teaching him to appreciate life, Pete attempts to mold him into an avatar who can defeat Dragon's forces and serve as his chesspiece in the Cosmic Game.

Now King (And eventually, King Milton), he tries to adjust to his new lot, all the while rebelling against Celestials and Heaven alike for stealing his free will and grappling with the question of which name and species are truly his own.

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A-L

• Affectionate Nickname: From Sasha: Kingy.
• Affluent Ascetic: It's implied Keene's allowance to him is far more money than he knows what to do with, but he continues to live with his wife in Wolf House, even after animals and humans finally begin to approach true equality and he could theoretically leave. When he takes Bailey to the movies, they go to a rundown and disgusting neighborhood joint with only four rows of seats.
• Always Save the Girl: At their wedding, King privately vows to move Heaven and Earth for Bailey, and ends up taking that rather literally. He stares down the closest thing Housepets shows to God, tricks both sides of the Cosmic Game into stalemate, and risks prison to make sure she doesn't suffer under Pete's thumb like he did.
• Amazon Chaser: The girl he goes for is a Southern Belle who's spent her life working on a farm, and holds considerable strength despite rarely showing it. She's also twice his size, but that's not exactly uncommon.
• Ambiguous Criminal History: He alludes to having been to prison at least once before the arrest that leads him to Pete. Said crimes are never mentioned, but likely serve as motivation to leave his human life behind.
• Ambiguously Bi: After spending the entire arc shooing off Sasha's affections, the final strip of Be Mine features Kevin sleeping with him and Bailey in the same position as Sasha previously did, with his arm over King cuddling him affectionately. King's response is to stare at the ceiling and heavily blush, although it's unclear if this is attraction as it was with Sasha or just discomfort.
• Animal Lover: Downplayed as a human. According to him, he genuinely likes animals, but hates humans owning them, and a part of him refuses to look at pets as equals. This changes when he becomes a dog himself.
• Appropriated Appellation: After choosing life as a dog over life as a human, King keeps the name Pete gave him and rejects Joel entirely.
• Attractive Bent Species: King, who had been involuntarily changed from a human known as Joel to a Welsh Corgi, is said by Fox, to have the potential to "be a real ladykiller". Later, said changed character is seen hitting on several female canine characters, albeit under the influence of orange soda. Duchess refers to him as "mouth-frothingly adorable". Later he finds himself attracted to Fox's cousin Bailey, and needs to remind himself "Don't go native!"
• Awesomeness by Analysis: Subtly. By watching Pete and toeing the line over the course of several months while in his captivity, he takes notes on what the God is and is not allowed to do. From this he deduces that he himself is being used as a pawn in a Cosmic Chess Game, and a few of the rules.
• Babies Ever After: The below mentioned Happily Ever After comes with three puppies, Rook, Ace, and Olive.
• Barred from the Afterlife: After Pete transforms him and before he makes the decision to stay as a dog, Sabrina explains that his soul is in limbo due to a problem during his Forced Transformation. As he's technically neither a dog nor a human, he can't enter either Species-Specific Afterlife. Later entries in the comic would Retcon this slightly by showing all species allowed into the same Heaven.
• Become a Real Boy: For a while, becoming human again is his greatest wish. He eventually grows past this, realizing his life with a wife and friends is much better than his life as an escaped convict and failed activist.
• Berserk Button: Given how rough the cosmic game was for him, after it ends he reacts very negatively to any suggestion that he do anything involved with it again.
  Bailey: Then if we're so hard up (trying to find a babysitter), why not ask the kitsu-
  King: Don't say it don't even think it. He sees.
  Bailey: Hon, do you need a lie down?
  King: Yes, always.
• Big Damn Heroes: King arrives in Australia just in time to break up the fight between Sabrina and Bailey, which his wife presumably would have lost given her severe lack of experience.
• Big Guy, Little Guy: Given King's height, he's the Little Guy to a lot of people. One Big Guy who stands out is Miles, a large and muscular wolf he lives and holds a friendship with.
• Bigotry Exception: He initially considers dogs to be simple-minded and stupid, even after becoming King. The first two exceptions he makes are to Sasha (Whom he sympathizes with for having an abusive owner like him) and Fox (Who's a lot more mature than the rest and genuinely kind to King). Of course, this falls apart as he warms up to dogs and eventually marries one.
• Breaking the Cycle of Bad Parenting: While it's unclear if they were ever abusive to him specifically, King's parents' abusiveness is integral to the direction his life ended up taking. When he becomes a father himself, he treats his children with nothing but love.
• Bully Magnet: He's barely spent a week in Babylon Gardens before Bino sours his reputation on dogs yet again, and when he visits Fox's extended family he's repeatedly picked on by rowdy human children.
• Can't Hold His Liquor: Or orange soda, in this case. One drink has him dancing on the table, waving his collar around and calling for everyone to get naked.
• Curtains Match the Window: As Joel, his hair and eyes are both brown.
• The Chain of Harm: The single good point Pete had about his life is the cycle of abuse he participates in. His parents abused their pets, who abused him, and as an adult he takes out his frustrations on other pets (although notably he draws the line at actually hurting them, somewhat averting this).
• Character Development: As a human, Joel refuses to see animals on the same level as him despite their being equally sapient. Without realizing the irony, he later argues with Bailey because he thinks she should be more indignant about being treated as lesser by her family.
• Character Narrator: One of the few characters who gets narration text boxes on multiple occasions, such as at the beginning of The Unbearable Lightness of Being A Dog.
• Character Title: The arc The King And I and the spinoff prose story All The King's Men are named after him.
• Chess Motifs: Quite obviously associated with the King piece, which he even wears on his collar.
• Chick Magnet: Fox says King has potential to be such. Given that female dogs as varied as Bailey, Duchess (who considers herself above most male dogs), and Sasha have found him sexually attractive, he’s got a point. The one obvious aversion is Tarot, who bluntly turns him down by revealing she knows he's human, which sobers him up instantly.
• The Chosen One: As Pete's avatar, destined to fight for him against the forces of Dragon. Noticeably, Pete never says he needs to protect the Earth, which Tarot's responsibilities do include.
• Christianity is Catholic: King seems to belive in purgatory which is almost exclusively a Catholic belief.
• Civilized Animal: As a human-turned-dog, he rejects a lot of typical canine behavior. He repeatedly wards off others from sniffing his butt, and as a parent refuses to give his child a tongue bath.
• Contrasting Sequel Main Character: Peanut and Grape, the main characters of the first years of Housepets, were largely upbeat and comedic characters who got into grounded antics within their home and neighborhood. King not only brings in an air of cynicism, but much more serious stakes and a grander setting with the Cosmic Chess Game.
• Cosmic Plaything: After finding out about the astral D&D game, he can't help but feel like a pawn being manipulated in a supernatural chess game he has no control over.
• The Cynic: King refuses to believe things are gonna turn out well for him, and unfortunately for a good chunk of his life, he's completely right. This verges on Flat-Earth Atheist at points, since when he enters Heaven he's so cynical he refuses to even let himself enjoy its true bliss and happiness.
• Dark and Troubled Past: His childhood is largely vague, with the sole exception of the memory he recounts to Fox in their first meeting; Emancipating his dog and cat from his abusive parents, and getting subsequently abused out on the streets by them. He alludes to a criminal history once or twice after that, which is implied to be the reason he has to work with PETA over more respectable animal rights groups.
• Dark Secret: His being Joel Robinson, and holding a close friendship with someone he kidnapped in his past life.
• Deadpan Snarker: As with Tarot, the avatar on the other side of The Game, he frequently finds something to comment blithely on in every situation.
• Death Amnesia: Averted. He's shown to remember the experience of being in Heaven far better than Fox (And later, Breel) when they return to Earth.
• Deceased Parents Are the Best: Averted. We find out in Heaven's Not Enough that both of his parents are dead (Although it's implied his father might not have gone to Heaven), but the only memory he recounts of them is their abusing his pets and possibly himself.
• Defrosting Ice Queen: His relationship with Bailey significantly warms him up from his initial hateful personality, and teaches him to enjoy life more.
• Determinator: When it comes to freeing Bailey from Pete, King travels all the way to Australia, stands up to multiple Gods and calls them out, and finally gives up on his human life entirely.
• Deuteragonist: Is usually regarded as Housepets' second protagonist next to Peanut, and appears with him (alongside a friend each, Fox and Grape) on one version of the comic logo.
• Didn't Think This Through: He tries to call Pete's bluff about only giving him a year more to decide whether or not he would become his avatar, pointing out that Pete doesn't need him. Which is correct; Pete can take his wife instead.
• Did You Just Flip Off Cthulhu?: King doesn't have much respect for gods, ironically, since he's implied to be Catholic.
  • When he meets the benevolent Bahamut, King screams in his face for allowing Pete and Dragon to run rampant on Earth and stealing his free will. Bahamut allows this to a point before eventually refusing to take it anymore, reminding King of his place.
  • When Pete realizes he's going to lose The Game, he turns massive and demands King attack Tarot, even snatching his Fate off his neck to turn him human again. King calmly stands up and presses a finger to Pete's beak, flippantly and steadfastly refusing.
• Does Not Like Magic: Tarot's clairvoyance puts him off to her, and he's got bad history with nearly every other magic(k) user he knows, with exception to perhaps Sabrina.
• Dog Food Diet: A non-poverty example. King mentions in All The King's Men that other pets are usually allowed to eat human food as well, but Pete specifically forces him into a diet of dog food to toy with him.
• Dogs Are Dumb: The notable aversion alongside Tarot, since he used to be a human. He looks down on dogs in general for their naivety and optimism initially.
• Dog Stereotype: A small dog with a short temper, like many of his breed are stereotyped as.
• Dude, Where's My Reward?: Immediately after confronting Pete and ending The Game, Joel approaches Kitsune and demands the boon he's earned. Said boon ends up being the choice between a human or dog life.
• Earn Your Happy Ending: To earn his happily married life with Bailey, he needs to stand up to forces far beyond his comprehension and make them blink multiple times over.
• Easily Forgiven: Fox forgives him after a quick thrashing when he finds out who King used to be, and nobody else in the series comments on feeling betrayed. Granted, King spent quite a long time building a good reputation for himself before his secret came out.
• The Eeyore: He's easily the most pessimistic dog out of the cast besides Tiger. Not surprising given all he’s gone through between the species change, sad background, and insensitively manipulative treatment by Pete.
• Establishing Character Moment: He's introduced in tandem with his coworker at PETA, bickering over their methods and pointing out the flaws in their plan of kidnapping a pet, but going along with it anyway. This tells the reader that he's going to be an Only Sane Man, and Even Evil Has Standards.
• Expert Consultant: Considered one by the K9PD on animal transformations, and he's brought in to talk with Marion after they hear his story.
• Extreme Omnivore: While adapting to dog life, he takes a liking to the dog food Pete feeds him in an attempt to spite him. While it's suggested his new biology may be part of it, he also explains he ate the stuff once as a kid.
• Eye Colour Change: It's subtle, but his eyes are brown as Joel and silver as King.
• Face Framed in Shadow: As with all humans, his first appearance features him in a dark van that deliberately hides his facial features.
• The Faceless: For a bit in his very first appearance, as with all human characters. The first clue that he's going to be important is when he turns to the camera and reveals his face plainly.
• Fake Relationship: Briefly engages in one with Duchess to win a dog pageant.
• Fantastic Legal Weirdness: His citizenship and legal owner bounces back and forth a few times, as a human-turned-dog. The ECP gives him a place to live at Wolf House and makes Keene (A ferret) his legal owner, but later gives him individual rights like marrying and working. By the end of the comic, everything seems to be mostly smoothed out as animals and humans are both approaching equal ground.
• Fantastic Racism: As a human, he's rather torn on pets; he derisively calls them animals, but continues trying to help them in what he sees as benevolence despite his grudge. His joining an Animal Wrongs Group isn't on purpose, and he comes to hate their methods even as he's working for them.
• The Farmer and the Viper: For saving his pets from his abusive parents as a child, he's rewarded by being abused by them himself. This scarred him early in life, and while he continues trying to help animals as an adult, he makes it clear he doesn't enjoy interacting with pets.
• Fish out of Water: King has some trouble adapting to life as a dog, which Pete fondly enjoys teasing him with while owning him.
• Fool for Love: His encounter with Bailey is one of the earliest moments his cynicism fails him, and she gives him a reason to genuinely love his life.
• Forced from Their Home: In a rather unconventional way, since the home he had with Pete disappears after he finds out about The Game. He's moved into Wolf House overnight, and stays there for the rest of the comic.
• Forced into Evil: Joel doesn't realize he's joined an Animal Wrongs Group until he's forced to kidnap a dog, and at that point it's too late to back out.
• Forced to Watch: Bino's goons hold him down and very nearly break the watch representing his Fate in front of him.
• Forced Transformation: Pete transforms him into a dog against his will to be an avatar in The Game.
• Freudian Excuse: As a child, Joel Robinson fled his home with his pets to escape their abuse. After only a few nights, his pets became just as abusive to him as his parents had been to them. What happened is unclear, but it left him with a trust issues for animals afterwards.
• Fun Size: Due to his size, a lot of people consider him cute. Lucretia's motherly instincts even lead to her treating him like one of her puppies, forcing him into a hug by the fire.
• Furry Ear Dissonance: For a Pembroke Welsh Corgi, his ears are disproportionately large, each being the size of his head. We never see another member of his breed to confirm if this is part of the style or unique to him.
• Foil: To Tarot. Both are the temperamental Only Sane Man, and both are avatars for their respective side of the Cosmic Game. However, King is openly rebellious and contemptuous of Pete, while Tarot stays loyal and hides her resentment for Dragon. King doesn't hesitate to show his frustration and anger, while Tarot tries to remain The Stoic, although isn't always perfect. Tarot understands the rules of Magic(k) and how the Celestials operate, and frequently works under their rules, whereas King learned about The Masquerade far more recently and tends to get annoyed by its needless complexities. All of this and their respective histories have led to a bitter relationship between the two, even despite their teaming up to end The Game initially.
• Geek: Played Dungeons N Dragons in college, and eagerly accepts a proposition from Joey to play with his group.
• Genre Savvy: An interesting case with King is that he's genre savvy enough to figure out the things Pete is going to do with him. He just doesn't know when to keep his mouth shut. He figures out that he's being used as a chesspiece and a few of The Game's rules, but when he tries to use them to his advantage against Pete, it fails spectacularly.
• "Get Out of Jail Free" Card: Albiet by someone who is far from a good guy. Pete springs Joel from prison for his own means and turns him into a dog, making it impossible for anyone to ever track him down again.
• Gleeful and Grumpy Pairing:
  • Due to his Pet the Dog moment with her early in the strip, he often finds himself caring for Sasha to get her away from her abusive owner. Sasha is a ditzy Manic Pixie Dream Girl, a stark contrast to King's cynical outlook on life.
  • Another with his wife Bailey, who tends to be much more cheerful. The two balance each other out after marriage, with King becoming happier in general in their relationship.
• Going Native: Appears to gradually have become more comfortable with his new canine form, to the point of marrying Bailey and having children.
• Good Costume Switch: In Heaven's Not Enough, having been turned back to human by Pete, Joel is forced to wear a disguise to leave Wolf House. The outfit he chooses is a grey hoodie and robin's egg blue bandana, perfectly matching Bailey's bandana and fur color to show he is dedicating himself to rescuing her and completing his Heel–Face Turn.
• Happily Ever After: After The Game ends, King and Bailey's love life is essentially relegated to Romantic Comedy plotlines, and they're gently brushed aside to allow for new protagonists like Marion.
• Happily Married: Gets married to Bailey at the end of the "King and I" story arc, and given its depiction, it’s a happy union. Eventually gets promoted to a father of three.
• Harmful to Minors: Abused by his (presumably more mature) dog and cat as a child, after running away from his parents with them. How he got away from them and back home, if he did, is never stated.
• Headbutting Heroes: With Tarot. Long after The Game ends, the two continue to be on bad terms, to the point he won't even entertain the idea of letting her sit his kids.
  "Hey Tarot, statue's in the closet. I'll be waiting across the block, so if you need anything, don't."
• Heel–Face Turn: The earliest and most prominent. Joel Robinson is a wanted criminal and kidnapper. King is a loving father, husband, and friend.
• Helicopter Parenting: Some elements of this. He fawns over his puppies excessively early on, but slowly comes to shed these traits after allowing Peanut to babysit them goes well.
• Heroic Dog: Albeit a Knight in Sour Armor who generally tries to avoid adventures in stark contrast to Tarot.
• Heroic Resolve: Despite seemingly being beaten effortlessly by Pete and abandoned in human form, he travels to Heaven and Australia in quick succession and fights hard to get Bailey back.
• Heroic Self-Deprecation: King has let it slip a few times that he doesn't think highly of himself. Even when he was still Joel, he fully recognized and acknowledged that PETA did many amoral things, and that kidnapping and trying to kill Fox was wrong. He mentally refers to himself as a loser at one point (also suggesting that he's thought this about himself for a while), and when he proposes to Bailey, he tearfully admits that he has several flaws and makes mistakes, and that he doesn't really think that she'll say yes. She does anyway.
• Heroic Vow: On the day of his wedding and during the Big Damn Kiss, King silently swears to Bailey that 'Whatever the cost, I will move Heaven and Earth for you'.
• Humanity Ensues: When he finally gets used to being a dog, starts a relationship with Bailey, and begins to find joy in life again, Pete kicks him one final time by taking his wife away and turning him human again.
• Human Pet: Quite literally. King's treatment under Pete raises some frightening questions about how other pets may be treated by abusive owners, and he in fact bonds with Sasha over their shared mistreatment at the hands of 'higher' species.
• Hypocrisy Nod: When King lays into Bahamut for letting Pete's actions go unpunished, Bahamut rightly responds that King is also getting off scot-free for his earlier crimes. Fortunately, by this point King has become a much better person, and is willing to sacrifice that freedom for Bailey's sake.
  "I'd still rather get everything I ever wanted and not worry about this morality crap."
• I Choose to Stay: Given the choice by Kitsune of a human life (with his criminal record expunged, given a comfortable life, and even the ones who know him as King forgetting him), or a dog life with Bailey and an unsure future. He of course, chooses the latter.
• I Just Want to Be Free: Initially, this and being returned to humanity are King's greatest wishes. He gets the former, but not the latter.
• Internal Reveal: He ends up having to confess about his past as a human to both Bailey and Fox in succession as a result of Pete's scheming against him.
• Interspecies Adoption: Legally, he's owned by Keene Milton after Pete abandons him, hence his last name.
• It Sucks to Be the Chosen One: King is nothing but rebellious against Pete, refusing to fight for him or really do anything for him. In punishment, Pete ruins his life a second time by taking away his wife.
• Jade-Colored Glasses: Being introduced to the World of Weirdness that is the Housepets cosmos, he quickly grows jaded and derisive towards Celestials. He can't even bring himself to enjoy Heaven either of the times he visits, convinced it couldn't possibly be as good as it seems.
• Just Woke Up That Way:
  • Pete turns King back into Joel in his sleep, leaving him unable to leave his room undisguised.
  • And then again, returning from Heaven he wakes up in his bed as a dog again.
• Karma Houdini: Despite making amends with the victim, King never does see legal repurcussion for kidnapping a sapient being from his home.
• Karmic Nod: When the secret about his being Joel comes out, he willingly takes all his lumps from the people he deceived. This includes being thoroughly beaten by Fox before his forgiveness.
• Karmic Transformation: In a case of karmic justice, Joel, the guy from PETA, gets turned into King, a dog. With the way the initial plotline unfolds, it almost acts as a deconstruction of It's a Wonderful Plot. Unfortunately, this example is invoked by Pete for his own purposes.
• Kidnapped by the Call: Pete comes to him while he's waiting to go to prison and forces him into his transformation under the guise of It's a Wonderful Plot. Initially, Pete goes along with the excuse that this is to teach him a life lesson, but eventually stops bothering and lets his selfishness show.
• Knight in Sour Armor: King holds a very cynical view of the universe and its inhabitants, but will go to great lengths to protect his friends and family.
• Lazy Bum: Downplayed, but it's there. He refuses to get a job or even try looking for one, even after everyone else in Wolf House makes a concentrated effort to. Instead, he's content to mooch off Keene's money for as long as he possibly can.
• Legacy of the Chosen: Averted. Tarot is Dragon's 150th avatar, but since Pete spent millennia trapped in the desert and unable to gain followers, its implied King may actually be his first and last.
• Liminal Being: As a result of Pete screwing up the transformation on a metaphysical level, Sabrina reveals to King that his soul is neither fully human nor canine. Because of this confusion, his soul is destined for limbo until he decides on one, which ends up being the latter.
• Literal Transformative Experience: His turn from Joel into King taught him a simpler way of life, a more optimistic view of things, and gave him friends and a family at that.
• Love at First Sight: The second King sees Bailey, she's surrounded with pink hearts and tinted in a rosy shader in his eyes. He manages to avoid Gibberish of Love, but is still pretty stunned.
• Love Redeems: His love for Bailey is the last step in his Heel–Face Turn that leads to him heroically confronting Pete and defeating him.

M-Y

• Married Animals: With Bailey. They both admit that pet marriages are a contentious issue, but with the backing of Keene Milton they manage to set a precedent and get broadcast on television as a landmark in animal rights.
• Marry for Love: His marriage to Bailey, whom he comes to love after initially meeting her as Fox's cousin.
• The Masquerade Will Kill Your Dating Life: King's marriage with Bailey is strained only a year after it happens thanks to Pete's meddling, and he needs to go to great lengths to protect her from him. Thankfully, things calm down after this, and he's able to raise children happily with her.
• Meaningful Rename: Although not by his choice. Pete renames him King, perhaps seeing him as his greatest asset in The Game as the king piece is in Chess. Of course, King turns this around by locking both sides of The Game in checkmate.
• Meaningful Name:
  • In a chess sense, he wears a collar with a King piece around his neck. In the Cosmic Game, he checkmates both Pete and Dragon by putting them in a state where neither can win, and both must forefeit.
  • In a rulership sense, he becomes a patriarch to his family after turning into a dog and leaving his human life behind.
  • Zechariah comes from a biblical priest, who served under King Herod and was visited by the Angel Gabriel to be told his wife would give birth to a servant of God. He doubted the Angel, and so was struck mute as punishment. If intentional, this could reflect on King's frequent doubt in the Celestial influences in his life, always assuming the worst of them after his experience with Pete.
  • And Robinson, of course, comes from Mrs. Robinson; Not so much the character in the The Graduate, but the religious elements of the song by Simon & Garfunkel. Pete specifically quotes 'Heaven has a place for those who pray' to him.
• The Mind Is a Plaything of the Body: He considers this after falling hard for Bailey. He's convinced at first that his attraction to her is a result of his new body's failings, and that he needs to ignore it for the hope of returning to a human body. Of course, he eventually gives in and marries her.
• Motive Rant: When he's caught by police, Joel goes into a tirade about his Freudian Excuse that serves to exposit his backstory (or at least, part of it).
• Muggle in Mage Custody: Pete keeps him in glorified slavery as a pet, controlling everything he does either physically or supernaturally. As a result, King bears nothing but animosity towards the God and ends up conspiring against him.
• Muggle with a Degree in Magic: King's knowledge of transformation magic(k) and Celestials is called upon in My Life As A Teenage Squirrel to aid Marion and the K9PD.
• Mysterious Past: The events between being kidnapped by his pets as a child and joining PETA as an adult are unclear. In his first appearance, he admits that he only joined said group because it was the one animal rights group that would let him join with passing a background check, implying he had some things to hide. How he got away from his pets after fleeing and becoming their captor is also unclear, but presumably he was able to return to his parents since he went to college.
• The Napoleon: Subverted. He’s short, but he isn't a mean character (though he gets irritated easily enough). Bino even lampshades this in one comic.
• Nay-Theist: King distrusts Gods in general, up to and including the completely benevolent Cerberus. Pete was abusive to him, Kitsune enjoys toying with him, and he sees Bahamut as a useless Loser Deity, so he tries to avoid even thinking about them in general after The Game.
• Noble Bigot: As a human, despite seeing animals as inherently inferior to him, he still makes efforts at activism. It's only his criminal history that forces him to make a rather poor choice in organizations to join.
• Non-Action Protagonist: King holds none of Tarot's combat prowess, but luckily manages to avoid actually being engaged in a fight by Pete. Instead, he defeats both sides of The Game by conspiring and refusing to bend to intimidation.
• Non-Action Snarker: In The Game, since he never actually does any fighting for Pete, unlike Tarot does for Dragon.
• Not Afraid of You Anymore: Heaven's Not Enough features him finally standing up to Pete once and for all when the god crosses his last line, staring him in the eyes and refusing to fight Tarot.
• Noticing the Fourth Wall: King makes a cameo in the Amazon reviews for Housepets! Hope They Don't Get Eaten, realizing the implications of a book containing events from his life being sold to the public.
  "What th—is this ME? This is . . . this is showing everything! What kind of sick joke is this?!"
• Not So Above It All: As with Tarot, he participates in one or two of Peanut's Imaginates seemingly just for fun.
• Oblivious Transformation: When initially turned into King, he's too busy talking to notice it, even as he correctly predicts what the process is going to be.
• Odd Friendship:
  • With Miles, the hulking patriarch of the Wolf Pack. After spending several years living in the same house together, King seems to be a confidante of sorts to Miles, as they tell him about the problems he's facing with his family and invites him and Bailey on a camping trip together.
  • King seems to be on good terms with Zach if All's Fair is any indication. He confides in the rabbit his worries about Bailey's pregnancy and his own insecurities. Presumably, the two bonded over both coming to Babylon Gardens at the same time and being a Fish out of Water in different ways..
• Official Couple: One of the most prominent in the story with Bailey, next to Tarot and Peanut.
• Oh, Crap!: Upon realizing Tarot knows his secret.
• Old Shame: His work with PETA, and especially kidnapping Fox Lindberg.
• Only Sane Man: Like Tarot, he holds human-level intelligence, which frequently clashes with the simpler minds around him.
• Open Secret: By the time of several years after The Game ended, King having been a human is largely well known and uncommented on. Miles assures him he's already aware after King regales a story from his human years without thinking, although he seems to be under the impression it was some sort of surgery that changed him.
• Open the Iris: Upon seeing Bailey dive underwater for his watch, the color of his eyes completely disappears and leaves only a larger pupil.
• Opposites Attract: Cynical and easily angered, tied with Bailey's all-loving compassion and patience.
• The Paladin: Pete transforms Joel/King into a crusader-warrior style being in the celestials' game of Universes & Unrealities to further his ambitions.
• Panicky Expectant Father: Once he learns Bailey is pregnant, he enters full on panic mode and needs to be calmed down. This only gets worse once he finds out Bailey's water broke while he was asleep, and he rushes over in a fit of dread to make sure he gets to see his children.
• Parents as People: A protagonist upgraded to parent, King's interactions with his kids reflect on his growth over time and Breaking the Cycle of Bad Parenting.
• Perpetual Frowner: Initially. Once he marries Bailey and has children, he begins smiling much more frequently.
• Pet the Dog: Despite initially blowing her off, once he realizes Sasha is out in the cold with nowhere to go, he elects to stay with her. She remembers this one, and the two later become on-again-off-again friends.
• The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: Despite being Pete's avatar, he certainly never does anything to benefit him. King spends his time with the god doing absolutely nothing, up until Pete leaves him entirely and takes his house with him. Then, Pete comes back to him on the day of his wedding and concedes that he couldn't convince King to fight for him, despite having never actually asked that.
• Powered by a Forsaken Child: As Pete explains it, a Dark Paladin must be kept in constant discontent. This is why King was abused and enslaved by Pete, and why the universe continues to make King miserable up until The Game itself is brought to an end. King is quite literally not allowed to be happy until he takes Heaven by the throat and forces his own happiness.
• Properly Paranoid: Even years after it happened, trauma from being a Cosmic Plaything and Human Pet for gods lingers. Bailey almost bringing up Kitsune's name is enough to send him into paranoid shivers, terrified Kitsune might still be watching and toying with him; which, considering Kitsune is omnipotent, is a very real fear.
• Rage Against the Heavens: When he's allowed to meet Bahamut face to face, he releases all of his anger, screaming at him for his Obstructive Code of Conduct and allowing The Game to rob King of his free will. In general, much of his arc revolves around him throwing off the influences of Celestials in his life and demanding he get to live for himself.
• Rags to Riches: Downplayed. King mentions that he and his past pets grew up poor in All The King's Men. As an adult, he's given frequent and generous checks by the millionaire Milton ferrets.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: The passionate, stubborn, and headstrong avatar to Tarot's calm and crafty avatar.
• Reformed Criminal: From kidnapping Fox Lindberg to befriending him, courtesy of his Literal Transformative Experience.
• Refusal of the Call:
  • When Tarot tells him his life is in danger, his first response is to shut the door on her.
  • He outright laughs at Kitsune for thinking he might be willing to go on another supernatural adventure in Heckraiser.
• A Rotten Time to Revert: Is reverted to human by Pete while sleeping in Wolf House, surrounded by pets and animals who know him as King, while his face is currently connected to a wanted criminal.
• Savvy Guy, Energetic Girl: With both Sasha and Bailey in equal measure, since his personality is far from the happy-go-lucky dogs are usually associated with in this universe.
• Saying Too Much: Twice while keeping his past under wraps he accidentally lets some details slip. To Joey he mentions having played D&D in college (Which he corrects to playing with a collie) and to Duchess he mentioned knowing what a high school dance looks like (Which he explains he saw in a movie).
• Screw Destiny: King is told by Bahamut that certain things, like the Cosmic Game, must be permitted. Despite this he goes out of his way to conspire with Tarot against it, and eventually brings it down.
• Secret-Keeper: He keeps his human past and Sabrina and Fido's forbidden relationship under wraps for as long as he can. Both of these become open by the time the arcs involving Universes and Unrealities came to the conclusion.
• Secular Hero: Averted; Joel is implied to have been religious before becoming King, believing his punishment under Pete may have been Purgatory for him and joining Bailey and Fox in prayer at their dinner. Given his experience with Heaven and gods after, his faith status is unclear.
• Seduction-Proof Marriage: Averted. He admits to himself he still has a crush on Sasha after marrying Bailey, and her being the Shameless Fanservice Girl doesn't help. He still successfully manages to set boundaries with her and avoids unfaithfulness, even if Bailey understands his situation.
• Sheathe Your Sword: How he defeats Pete and Dragon. The Game's rules require both avatars to be willing to fight, which Bailey is after taking over for him because she thinks she has no choice. King, Bailey, and Tarot all agree to completely cease fighting, meaning neither side can progress. Kitsune gives each god a few minutes to convince their avatars to keep going, which both fail.
• Shed the Family Name: While he never comments on it, he's given the last name of Milton after being legally adopted by Keene, and keeps it for the rest of his life.
• Shorter Means Smarter: One of the most mature and intelligent dogs in Babylon Gardens next to Tarot.
• Sickeningly Sweethearts: Especially after marriage. At one point in Save The Date, he feels the need to repeat the same 'hot dog' Pun about Bailey twice to the vendor they get their snacks from.
• Significant Wardrobe Shift: The above mentioned Good Costume Switch; The disguise he wears to go to Australia perfectly matches Bailey's fur and bandana colors, symbolically connecting him to her.
• Sink or Swim Fatherhood: King gets a few months to prepare, but Bailey forgets to tell him she's pregnant at first, and several strips with him immediately post-birth feature him struggling to keep up with three children.
• Sir Swears-a-Lot: The only character in the comic that gets the word "censored" on some of the things he says. Sometimes gets creative with it. In one comic, Bailey washes his mouth out with soap for swearing in front of the puppies after stepping on a toy. Despite this, he's not a casual swearer — he apparently just can't find a better way to emphasize a situation other than being censored.
• The Snark Knight: A result of his checkered past and awful life that only really begins to turn around after meeting Bailey.
• Soul Jar: Briefly comes into a possession of a watch which represents his fate manifest, having been nearly stolen by Pete. Naturally, he goes to great lengths to make sure it gets back to Heaven unharmed, and at one point it becomes tied to his ability to change forms.
• Sour Outside, Sad Inside: His short temper hides the fact that his experience with Pete and Dark and Troubled Past genuinely scarred him.
• Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: With Tarot when they team up to end The Game, since they both have a strained history as opposing avatars. The fact that their first ever encounter featured him drunkenly trying to hit on her certainly didn't help. This tense relationship persists for quite a few years; When King needs someone to babysit his kids much later, neither he nor Tarot try to volunteer her, despite her being a perfect candidate.
• There Are No Therapists: After meeting Marion, King immediately suggests getting him therapy for his Forced Transformation, citing that he himself could have really used one after his experiences with Pete.
• Tiny Guy, Huge Girl: The tiny guy to Bailey's huge girl.
• Token Houseguest: This to the Wolf Pack, as he becomes the first person moved in with them by the ECP and goes on to be a close family friend of theirs.
• Tongue-Tied: For a while after he becomes King, he's magic(k)ally barred from saying his human name; every attempt just corrects it to King. At some point this wears off, or Pete just stops bothering to maintain it.
• Took a Level in Kindness: While never completely amoral or malicious, Joel tended to be a Jerk with a Heart of Jerk who certainly deserved his prison sentence. Pete busting him and giving him a life as a dog gave him a new perspective, and he comes to be kinder and less hateful over the course of several years.
• Turning Back Human: As punishment for not succumbing to his will, Pete takes Bailey as his avatar instead and turns King back into a human while sleeping in his bed.
• Unfazed Everyman: In part due to his cynicism and in part due to just rolling with the punches, King learns a lot about the universe with no loss of sanity. He takes the existence of Celestials, Heaven, and magic(k) in stride, only angry about how he's being used by them, although his being religious may have something to do with it.
• Used to Be a Sweet Kid: Joel had two dogs and a cat that he very much loved when he was a kid, but his parents were abusive towards them. Eventually they ran away and took him with them, but on the streets they quickly turned on him and ultimately abandoned him. Hence, his initial aversion to pets in general.
• Voluntary Shapeshifting: Temporary gains the ability to switch between his human form and his dog form at will within the “Heaven's Not Enough” arc simply by wearing his watch-like fate around his neck whether he wants to be a dog. (He only voluntary took it off once. To show Keene he was telling the truth).
• Walking Spoiler: It's very difficult to bring up King without revealing the early plot beat of him being turned from a human, or his long history of starring in Wham Episodes.
• We Help the Helpless: Joel's activism came in part from growing up with abused pets, and even despite their betrayal of him he still feels a drive to aid other abused animals.
• Welcomed to the Masquerade: Once he becomes a dog, Pete makes a halfhearted effort to hide the existence of the Cosmic Game from him. This fails pretty pathetically, and once he sees Dragon, Kitsune sees no reason to keep him out of the loop anymore. Shortly after he's let in on the existence of souls and Heaven too, and all bets are off.
• What You Are in the Dark: Having stormed out of the GODC party and declared his hatred of dogs, King encounters Sasha out on the street away from everyone else. He chooses to spend the night with her so she doesn't have to go back to her abusive owner. Even Pete acknowledges this shows his character improving.
• Wig, Dress, Accent: To disguise himself after being turned back into Joel by Pete, he throws on a hoodie, glasses, and a facemask.
• Wrong Genre Savvy: King believes at first that Pete is putting him through a Literal Transformative Experience, and that his abuse is trying to teach him a lesson to be kinder to animals. He rejects this at first, but after meeting Sasha comes to genuinely make an effort, and even Pete admits he's trying. Unfortunately, this is where the bombshell is dropped; Pete doesn't actually care if he learns a lesson or not.
• You Are Better Than You Think You Are: Hand in hand with his Heroic Self-Deprecation. Bailey and Fox assure him on different occasions that he deserves the good things in his life, having fought hard and changed for the better to get them.

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