King's early arc from an outside perspective is horrifying

[GingaDensetsuAleu]

Have you ever considered King's arc from the perspectige of someone who didn't know what was going on? Particularly Fox. From Fox's point of view, here's King's arc:

- Fox spots a new dog sitting in the snow, looking miserable, and approaches him to invite him to play. He immediately acts skittish.
- New dog admits he hasn't had fun or played in a while and Fox's approach was a nice change among lots of life changing events.
- Fox invites the new dog to a Christmas party, since he's arrived two weeks before Christmas. He immediately gets picked on by the neighborhood bully (at the time, someone Fox considered a friend), screams profanities at the entire party, and disappears overnight.
- Fox finds him, half-frozen, on the sidewalk the next morning. It's pretty clear he hasn't been home.

**This next part happens during the All the King's Men short story and does not appear in the comic itself.**
- a few days after the dog's club party, Fox finds King hanging out on his front porch and brings him inside to another party.
- King makes a beeline for the food table, acting like he hasn't eaten in days. He immediately stops eating and starts acting terrified as soon as he realizes the party is for the K9 officers, to the point where Fox has to pull him aside into another room to calm him down, then literally drag him screaming back into the party.
-they play a party game, during which King confesses a complete lack of certain normal dog behaviors, then makes up a ridiculous lie to try to cover it.
-Fox and Fido get together to wrap a present for King, then Fox catches him trying to sneak out of the party.
- Fox and King take a walk and King further admits he doesn't know much about dog etiquette. They meet up with Sasha, and they teach him.
- King freezes up out of nowhere and makes them hide. He's so scared that Fox can hear his heartbeat from several feet away. King's owner approaches and demands King be home in ten minutes. He repeats himself until King acknowledges. Even Sasha doesn't like the guy, and Sasha likes EVERYBODY.
-Fox gives King his present, a box of dog biscuits. King acts like it's the first nice thing that's ever been done for him.

Fast forward seven months.
- Fox invites King to a barbeque. King says he'll be there, but doesn't show, so Fox goes to King's house to check up on him.
-Fox arrives just in time to watch King fall down the stairs in a carrier.
- They go to the party and King gets BLASTED on orange soda, then disappears.
-the next thing Fox knows, the K9s find King passed out in the woods and the wolves show up to take King home with them
-the next morning, King comes out of Wolf House with a bald spot on his cheek and BEGS Keene to grant him asylum if his owner (that apparently locked King in a carrier and then ran for the hills and left him to die) should come back.

Fox must have thought King was being HORRIBLY ABUSED under Pete's care, which... fair. Kind of.

[Amazee Dayzee]

Pete only abused King in order to break him so he could get him to agree to be his avatar in the game. He knew that he wouldn't comply with him unless he promised to turn him back which Peter either couldn't or wouldn't do. Also he didn't leave King to die. He locked him in the crate to prevent him from going to a party but couldn't come back because he was dragged back to Heaven to stand trial for what he did. Though Lord knows how more horrible Pete would have become if Heaven allowed him to continue on to destroy him mentally.

[CunningFox]

Well, what was really going on wasn't exactly innocent either.

[GingaDensetsuAleu]

Also he didn't leave King to die. He locked him in the crate to prevent him from going to a party but couldn't come back because he was dragged back to Heaven to stand trial for what he did.

Well, WE know that, but Fox didn't. All Fox knew was King was in the kennel, and Pete was never seen again.

[NHWestoN]

Over the course of the long narrative, things didn't end terribly well for any of the Celestials involved in the Game ... nor the Infernals, for that matter.

[GingaDensetsuAleu]

Over the course of the long narrative, things didn't end terribly well for any of the Celestials involved in the Game ... nor the Infernals, for that matter.

I dunno, Negabreel seems pretty happy

[D-Rock]

Pete only abused King in order to break him so he could get him to agree to be his avatar in the game. He knew that he wouldn't comply with him unless he promised to turn him back which Peter either couldn't or wouldn't do. Also he didn't leave King to die. He locked him in the crate to prevent him from going to a party but couldn't come back because he was dragged back to Heaven to stand trial for what he did. Though Lord knows how more horrible Pete would have become if Heaven allowed him to continue on to destroy him mentally.

Should be noted that Pete was making King miserable because his class, Dark Paladin, gained power through their misery. King had “implied consent” when he first met Pete on becoming his Avatar, which was wisely thrown out when Dragon brought in Kitsune.

[GingaDensetsuAleu]

Pete is the reason King's personality type is "self-depricating ball of panic" to this day despite a decade of Bailey trying to help him get over it. And it only took him 8 months.

[Amazee Dayzee]

I don't think that King will ever truly get over all of it. It makes me wonder if he was this neurotic back when he was Joel.

[GingaDensetsuAleu]

Considering Joel was blindsided by PETA being bad I'm gonna go with "no, he wasn't."

[Amazee Dayzee]

I said him being neurotic not bad and he never really did turn bad. He was tricked by PETA and thought he was doing a good thing. Plus I am pretty sure he MUST have been somewhat as all the trauma he endured probably did leave its mark. You aren't gonna get out of being kidnapped and then abandoned by your pets without some mental damage.