Linked Universe Fanfictions

A man with imperial ambitions takes a child with a prodigious talent under his wing. He uses the child for his own ends while showing the child favor. He slowly instills within the child the belief that they are the best, that their talent makes them superior to others, and that being treated as the same as others of lesser talent, and being expected to follow the same rules as those lesser people is an insult and an unfair imposition. He plants the idea in this child that only he truly sees this child’s value, and all the other people who might care for this child are just holding them back and keeping them down, trying to make them live like lesser mortals. The child becomes more and more isolated and relies more and more on the man. until the fear and strain take their toll and they break spectacularly and fight a losing battle against one of those less talented people, a brother who loves them, and who is forced to take them down.

Who am I talking about? Azula, or Anakin Skywalker?

While I was working on the posts about how Ursa and Iroh are not to blame for Azula’s problems, it really struck me that many people severely underestimate the corrosive effects of someone like Ozai’s favoritism, and how abusive that favoritism is to the favored. But most people in the Star Wars fandom acknowledge how instrumental Palpatine’s poisoned kindness is in luring Anakin into his web and into becoming Darth Vader.

Anakin and Azula are very different characters, but Ozai and Palpatine are in fact a lot alike, and they share deep similarities in how they treat and groom their chosen favorite, and the subtle yet profoundly destructive abuse they subject them to. And much as with Anakin Skywalker, it’s a mistake to think that what Ozai does to Azula isn’t abuse and isn’t horrifically damaging simply because it looks less painful than what he does to Zuko.

she frustrates him

Me, everyday 😂

who thought it was a solid plan to put Anakin in charge of thousands of impressionable 12-year-olds honestly i ask you

Italy bros with curly hair because reasons

I am officially late for my antisocial appointment.

Babey boy, babey,,,

Au is @linkeduniverse

my absolute fav

glitch is a gem

The First Lady's Library

Abigail Powers started life as a schoolmistress in New York state, and eventually married one of her pupils – future US president Millard Fillmore. The couple, though never rich, acquired a private library of over 4,000 books which was astonishing for the time.  Though Abigail stopped teaching after the birth of their first child, and Millard’s election to the New York state legislature, she never lost her love for learning. Her husband always made sure to buy her a few new books during his travels to cities like Albany, New York, and Washington. So when Abigail moved into the White House, she was horrified to discover that the executive mansion housed not a single book. No library for the president? An outrage.

She got Congress to give the Fillmores $2,000 to start a collection for a presidential library, and Abigail personally supervised the purchase of each item. Maps, reference works, histories, even some novels made their way to the White House’s second-floor parlor, which became the official White House library. The finishing touch was a piano, which Abigail had taught herself to play. Though the room has changed (from the second floor parlor to the ground floor) the White House library is still the most famous legacy of Abigail Powers Fillmore, the First Lady who loved to learn.