Since being brought into the house by the Black Gods, Joe has been struggling to leave his past behind. It seems as though wherever he goes, his clan trauma follows him. He can’t shake their disapproval, and the feeling that he is somehow a failure. He has never been able to make them proud, and on some level, he has stopped trying. After so much disappointment, Joe has resigned himself to being a loser. He no longer cares how people treat him because he doesn’t care how he treats himself. There is no space for someone like him in a functional society, and he does not expect to be seen or heard by anyone. He only hopes to get by without too much trouble. But the Black Gods have convinced Joe that there is more to him than he thinks. They see potential, some kind of redeeming spark that makes the boy special. Joe is not sure what the spark is or if he feels it himself, but he is willing to try.