She’d been born in Azerbaijan (then part of the U.S.S.R.). Her own two daughters were born there, too. Her husband, Ivan, works as a Soviet rocket scientist. She herself is a respected school administrator in Baku, Azerbaijan, and a proud member of the Communist Party.

But ethnically, she’s Armenian. And in the eyes of many, that makes her an outsider.

Nothing new there, either. She’d been used to the occasional side-eye, the derogatory remark, the infrequent burst of ethnic tension. As long as Moscow was in charge, those issues felt minor.

But in 1988, Moscow’s power wanes. The Soviet Union is fraying at its edges. And many former countries—or would-be countries—now strain at the seams, reaching for independence.

And in Azerbaijan, Violetta and her family don’t feel at home anymore—all because they’re Armenian.

Bricks shatter the windows of Armenian businesses. People carry signs promising death to Armenians. The school closes its doors to the Petrosyan girls—a sympathetic teacher telling Violetta that they’re simply not safe at the school anymore.

But it’s only when the shooting begins—executions of Armenians right in the streets—that the Petrosyans flee, running straight into Russia proper. There they hope for another chance at home.

But they find a cold welcome in Volvograd, Russia. Housing is dismal. Jobs are scarce—at least for Armenians. The only hint of friendliness they find is inside a ramshackle church, and that’s hardly a suitable refuge for the secular Petrosyans.

Sure, Violetta and Ivan have a place to stay in Volvograd. The apartment comes with walls, a roof—even heat sometimes. And if they need a bathroom, well, it’s just down the hall.

But a home? They’re still looking.

The post Between Borders appeared first on Plugged In.

That “saturation” part means Chris works with a maintenance crew that goes so far down in the ocean’s dangerous depths—sometimes as deep as 1000 feet down to maintain miles of fuel pipes that run along the ocean floor—that he must be treated with pressurized gas before each lengthy dive.

Of course, it’s the dangerous side of things that make Morag consistently worry. Does he really have to risk his life repeatedly in the crushing depths just to make a living? Couldn’t he find something on the dry, sunny surface that he could do?

Chris kisses his bride-to-be and laughs off her fears. “It’s just like going into outer space, except in the opposite direction,” he chuckles.

After a beat, she replies “Is that supposed to reassure me?”

Let’s face it, Morag has a point.

Even though it’s all becoming second nature to young Chris—after all, he works with an experienced, dedicated crew—accidents do happen. And sometimes storms at sea create unpredictable problems for the ship far above on the water’s surface.

Sometimes the thick umbilical cables that connect the divers to oxygen and diving bell communications can tangle or even snap. Sometimes the power goes out, and the ocean floor becomes a pit of ink-black nothingness.

And sometimes all of those things happen at once, leaving a stranded diver with nothing but minutes of oxygen in his diving suit’s emergency back-up.

That’s when an entire crew must do all they can to fight the ocean, fight the storms, fight the failures, and desperately try to save an endangered crewmate.

In this case, that endangered soul is a guy named Chris.

The post Last Breath appeared first on Plugged In.

Hey, lots of kids are like that, right? But in Ne Zha’s case, the results can be … bad.

See, Ne Zha is a demon, and not just any run-of-the-mill, dime-a-dozen Chinese demon, either. He’s part and product of the Demon Orb, and as such he’s incredibly powerful and destructive. Why, if left to his own demonic nature, he just might be so destructive as to threaten heaven and earth themselves. So the orb was slated for destruction by the Supreme Lord, Yuanshi Tianzun. And what the Supreme Lord says, the Supreme Lord does.

But through a series of adventures and surprising relationships (as chronicled in 2019’s Ne Zha), Ne Zha saved his parents and his hometown of Chentang Pass. And thanks to help from his enemy-turned-friend, Ao Bing (a reincarnation of something called the Spirit Pearl and the son of a very important dragon), Ne Zha even staved off the Supreme Lord’s destructive curse. The only downside? He and Ao Bing lost their corporeal bodies. Bummer.

But as Ne Zha 2 opens, good news! Master Taiyi Zhenren uses (and exhausts) his sacred lotus to regenerate both Ne Zha and Ao Bing.

Bad news. Chentang Pass is soon under threat again: Ao Guang, Ao Bing’s very important dragon father, believes his son died in the last movie, so he unleashes a few other dragon rulers from their lava-y locale, which are ushered into the fray by the demonic Shen Gongbao. Before Ne Zha and Ao Bing can truly get their bodies back, they must defend the town—and Ao Bing’s corporeal form is quickly destroyed. (Naturally, Ao Guang feels just terrible about this strange turn of events.)

But more good news! Ao Bing’s spirit doesn’t need to dissipate forever! Taiyi says that Ne Zha can host the spirit of Ao Bing for seven days. During that time, if Ne Zha can pass three trials and become one of the immortals, he can claim a potion that will restore the sacred lotus and, thus, give Ao Bing another shot at having a real-life body again.

But more bad news. Demons aren’t allowed to perform these trials. In fact, the trials are all about fighting demons—something that gods and immortals love to do. And if anyone detects Ne Zha’s true nature during these trials—inescapable if he fights as Ne Zha—he’ll certainly get booted out of heaven.

The only solution: Ao Bing’s spirit must take over Ne Zha’s body during these critical trials. And he can only do that if Ne Zha knocks himself out somehow.

Follow all that?

Well, in truth, we learn all of that within, like, the first 15 minutes of the movie, and then things get much more confusing. But in short, Ne Zha—the spirit of Ao Bing in tow—and Taiyi mount a flying pig and fly to heaven to embark on a series of spectacular adventures. And perhaps they’ll right a few long-festering wrongs along the way, too.

The post Ne Zha 2 appeared first on Plugged In.

Tectonic plates heave and push, birthing mountains in their wake. Foundations crack and buckle. Women and men bruise and bleed, fall and fail. We break so often that the word itself fills many a cliché. Bad break. Break a leg. Break my way.

To be human is to be broken. But some are more broken than others.

Austin knows plenty about bad breaks. He and the emergency room staff are on a first-name basis. Born with osteogenesis imperfecta, otherwise known as brittle-bone disease, the 13-year-old boy has had far more breaks than birthdays.

Oh, and he’s on the autism spectrum, too.

“Some kids who have autism can’t talk,” Austin tells us. “But I sure can!” And he’s not kidding. He’ll spend 15 minutes telling you why ice cream is just the best. He’ll quote practically an entire movie if the mood strikes. His zest for everything is unbridled. And while parents Scott and Teresa appreciate his enthusiasm, it can be a little—well, actually, a lot—exhausting.

Scott feels the pressure especially keenly. Every time he turns around, it seems, Austin takes a tumble that requires another rush to the emergency room. He struggles to connect to his always-full-bore son. “I feel like I’m failing every day,” he admits. “And the harder I try, the worse I do.”

He leans on his two buds to make the journey a little easier.

One is Joe, his easygoing sidekick who’s been with him since Scott was a kid. Sure, he’s an imaginary friend, but hey, at least it’s someone to talk with.

The other? Alcohol. A glass or two or seven really takes the edge off, y’know? He’ll drink a little with dinner. He might tell Teresa he’s working late while whittling away an hour or two at the local bar. And business trips? Those are the best. All his colleagues are pretty impressed with how he can drink steadily ‘til 2 a.m. and still make a dynamite business presentation at 8. Well, they’re impressed right up until Scott loses his job, that is.

We’re all broken. Austin has broken dozens of bones, each of which has knitted together quite nicely. But some breaks are harder to see, and harder to heal.

And sometimes the hardest part is knowing you’re broken at all.

[Warning: Spoilers are contained in the following sections.]

The post The Unbreakable Boy appeared first on Plugged In.

But for Lauren, high school graduation only serves as a reminder of the day her foster parent left her to sleep on the street.

Lauren isn’t sure where to go. She has no food or money—and none of her high school friends are willing to let her stay with them. She spends that night at a homeless encampment. As far as Lauren can see, she has no friends and no family. She is utterly alone.

But she’s not alone. Because with her at the camp are people like Jimmy, a young man with a heart for meeting the needs of everyone in the camp. There’s Harris, the elderly veteran who sells his paintings to provide for and protect the group. And we meet people like Violet and Dora: the former teaches Lauren how to adjust to her new life, while the latter provides something like motherly comfort.

Together, they care for each other, even as others would look to rob them or think of them as little more than litter that city hall needs to remove.

So while Lauren doesn’t have a roof over her head, for the first time in many, many years, she begins to feel as if she truly has a family.

The post No Address appeared first on Plugged In.

Unfortunately, they’re also running from the law.

The three fugitives broke free from a chain gang and hightailed it away from their shotgun-toting captors as quickly as they could. And not just for freedom’s sake: The trio is after the spoils of a robbery committed by the fast-talking Everett before he got sent to the farm. The total sum of that heist? One million dollars. Well, technically, a million point two. That’s no insignificant sum of money, especially in the Depression-era South.

But why the rush? (After all, Pete only had two weeks left on his sentence.)

Turns out, the state government plans to flood the valley housing Everett’s treasure in just a few short days. If they’re to get their reward, they’ll have to make it there before the valley is swallowed up by 9,000 hectares of water. No small task, considering they’re still chained to each other.

So, with the authorities nipping at their heels, Everett, Pete and Delmar set off on an odyssey across the forests, fields and towns of 1930s Mississippi; a long and winding road that they’re sure will lead them to their fortune.

Though the fortune they find may be much different than they expect.

The post O Brother, Where Art Thou? appeared first on Plugged In.

So, seeing Ross in that newly elected position is, well, unexpected. As was Ross’ personal request for Sam to slip into his vibranium-laced Captain America suit to take on an important mission.

However, since the signing of the Sokovia Accords, Sam’s Captain America is one of the only superheroes the government can call upon. So Sam Wilson upholds his duty.

Oh, but that isn’t the only surprise in store. Because after Sam follows through and obtains what turns out to be a package of mysterious but vital international importance, Ross invites Sam to a public gathering and a personal audience at the White House.

They aren’t chums! But Sam decides to step away from past grievances and show up anyway. Of course, he also decides to use the public view of the White House meeting to help his friend Isaiah Bradley.

Isaiah is one of the supersoldiers who was experimented on by the US government way back when. The man even wore the uniform of Captain America for a while. But then he was framed and thrown into prison for 30 years. Sam is determined to bring Isaiah with him and to force everyone to recognize that this giant of a man was wronged.

Ross says Isaiah’s attendance is fine.

And indeed, Sam and Isaiah’s joint appearance at the White House event gets the news reporters buzzing. Not only that, but Ross pulls Sam in and hits him with an unexpected broadside: He wants him to start up the Avengers again. “The world needs those heroes. It needs them now!” Ross declares.

Sam is shocked. Is it possible? Can he do it?

Just about the time Sam is whispering the news to Isaiah and making plans in his head, however, something goes terribly wrong. Isaiah and five other men at the White House event suddenly go berserk and try to assassinate the president.

It’s insane, crazy. And after Isaiah runs, throwing people around like matchsticks and smashing through a White House window, Sam stops him. And … Isaiah has no memory of the event.

So, it looks like Sam will have to put the Avenger’s rebuild on the back burner. Instead, he has a mystery to solve and a friend to help. He’ll have to not only be a shield-carrying hero, but a detective, too.

Meanwhile, President Ross is beginning to look a little red around the collar. What’s that all about?

The post Captain America: Brave New World appeared first on Plugged In.

The two had a few drinks, and as the evening turned into a late night, they began to argue.

The inebriated Kendall chose to walk home in the rain.

And according to Faith Killebrew, the prosecuting attorney, that’s when James followed her, mercilessly beat her to death and dumped her body over a bridge railing.

It seems an open-and-shut case.

Except, as Juror #2, Justin Kemp, listens to the facts, he becomes increasingly less sure that James is guilty. In fact, Justin is pretty sure that James didn’t kill Kendall.

Justin’s pretty sure he did.

The post Juror #2 appeared first on Plugged In.

Sure, the bomb was—well, pretty bad. It’s not like the United States could just shrug off a nuclear blast off the coast of Los Angeles. But it’s not like the radiation was going to make its way to Arkansas, right?

But when the blackouts started hitting the rest of the country, well, the rest of the country knew it was trouble. Soon, the nation was in utter chaos: Video games were unplayable. Instagram was inaccessible. And if you owned a Tesla—well, heaven help you. And, of course, it marked the end of Plugged In as we know it.

But what marked the end of so many things proved to be the beginning of so many others.

And that new beginning began at Homestead.

Homestead was started by Ian Ross, an obviously fabulously wealthy guy who owned an estate somewhere in the Rockies. Ian and his family—wife, Jenna; and daughter, Gracie—lived what seemed to be a fairly comfortable life up there in their gated settlement, where for years perhaps their biggest worry was just how much it would cost to heat a 20,000 square-foot mansion.

But when the lights went out, Ian was prepared. He wasn’t just a wealthy man-about-town; he was a committed survivalist: grain stored in warehouses; generators humming around the property; enough guns to arm a couple of platoons.

He’s got the people to carry those guns, too. And when things go south, Ian calls in Jeff Ericksson, a former special ops leader, and his crack squad of mercenaries.  They’ll secure and guard the Ross compound from the chaos that’s coming.

But will it be enough? If this crisis is less a momentary blip and more the beginning of a dystopian nightmare, will Ian’s iron gate and Jeff’s iron will be enough to keep the chaos from sweeping inside? And even if Homestead does hold—at what cost?

“This might be the most prepared location in the Rockies,” Jeff tells Ian—not as  a compliment, but a warning. “Everyone’s going to want in. And I mean everyone.”

Soon enough, the hungry start hanging out by Homestead’s gate. Government officials ask why Homestead isn’t sharing. Ian has the people inside his compound to think about: his family. The people who bought into Ian’s plans. They come first, Ian firmly believes.

But what about the people outside the gates? Can he just watch them die?

The post Homestead appeared first on Plugged In.

Claressa Shields has the fire inside … but her dream to become an Olympic gold medalist in boxing won’t be easy.

When Claressa first expressed an interest in boxing, everyone told her, “No.” Girls don’t box, they’d say. It’s a man’s sport.

Claressa refused to listen. Instead, she showed up at the gym every day. That a feat in and of itself, since she lived some distance away and didn’t have any transportation beyond her own two feet. And she kept practicing until Jason Crutchfield, the volunteer boxing coach, finally agreed to teach her.

It’s been a long and arduous journey. Along the way, Claressa gets kicked out of her mother’s house. She goes through a tough breakup with her boyfriend and longtime sparring partner to focus on her task. Her younger sister gets pregnant.  And her absentee father shows up to stir the pot.

But all of her hard work is finally going to pay off. Claressa just needs to win her next few fights in Shanghai, China, and she’ll qualify for the 2012 Olympics in London.

Unfortunately, as Claressa soon learns, if you want your dreams to come true, it may not be enough just to be the best.

The post The Fire Inside appeared first on Plugged In.