madeline usher is actually great sapphic rep the more you think about it because who among us hasn’t found themselves in a messy situationship with the personification of death?

I see you girls

These are their inner thoughts during the city in the sea scene

What if I just become a house of usher account. Specifically Madeline and Verna because Jesus I have THOUGHTS. Is there any audience cause I have so much to share

If anybody has any suggestions, let me know ~ Will be adding regularly as I think of stuff.

fall of the house of usher episode 1 verna x madeline

Madeline and Verna, tfothou / Bug Like an Angel, Mitski

The Warrior and her Death

here's my little Poe-inspired contribution to the verna x madeline fandom because i'm feeling poetic and because i'm a bitch for metaphorizing everything i see through epic AUs. and if you like it, it's also on ao3

So then, in ruins of the world, a ruthless warrior comes forth: an ancient sword is tame and quiet, well-fed on what was once desired, but useless now.

No shame or crown. The golden helmet's flying down, revealing hair, an ashen mane, that winds are tangling with rain.

'You win,' she says. Her bitter voice is all like cracking on the walls. 'I'm old, and grey, and soon to die; you win. From you, I shall not hide.'

A joyous laughter springs with flowers that only bloom in deathly hours.

'I didn't know we were at war,' says she, whomafter, there's no' more, and gently strokes the ashen hair away from eyes, touch light as air.

'Old! what a courage there must be to call you old in front of me. As new as stars. I watched you burning the brightest gold - with pain, with yearning - and here you are at last, my love.

Be not afraid, but look above: between the dying and the falling the stars live but a single moment, but how you lived!

I've missed you, child, as beautiful, and strong, and wild as I remember you. Come near. Where there is love, there's never fear.'

A touch again, of gentle passion, warmth on a cheek, as though confession, a breath as sweet as songs of larks, and in-between, it all grows dark.

And so, among the paling flowers, the warrior remains for hours, for days and decades neverending; her sword and helmet rusting, fainting,

yet nothing touches withered lips blessed with a smile, and deathly kiss.

warning - flashing

The fall of the house of usher edit !

that scene with verna and madeline talking in the old house was great, but it would’ve been perfect if they kissed again. the sexual tension between them was insane + i just wanted to see carla gugino kiss another woman.

verna calling madeline “cleopatra” hits differently when you realize she probably knew cleopatra herself.

fall of the house of usher is making me feel so many things right now

44 years ago today verna and madeline had their first kiss

Madeline Usher and Daisy Buchanan

: an essay no one asked for

—————————————-

The connection between the characters Daisy Buchanan and Madeline Usher may not be the most significant imagery in Mike Flanagan’s The Fall Of The House Of Usher, however, it may have been a key insight into Madeline’s mentality.

Daisy Buchanan comes from F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, which was published in 1925, and Madeline Usher was originally from an Edgar Allen Poe’s short story The Fall Of The House Of Usher which inspired Mike Flanagan’s limited television series by the same name in 2023. The version being analyzed is the latter addition of Madeline. In the television series, one of the first appearances of young Madeline Usher is her dressed as Daisy Buchanan. Her twin brother, Roderick Usher is dressed as Jay Gatsby.

The scene is 1979, New Year's night and both twins take a seat at a bar. The curious bartender will later be revealed as Verna (an anagram for ‘Raven’ and a subject for its own essay entirely) and Madeline is laying out a plan, specifically to and not with, her brother; they are laying out an alibi.

The twins have just gotten away with the murder of Fortunato CEO Rufus Wilmot Griswold. Madeline gave him sherry laced with cyanide and seduced him into the basement, which was still in construction. She walks away from him, saying he can have her if he can get to her, but the poison kicks in and he struggles to walk, collapsing on the floor. Madeline taunts him, calling him a “big strong man.” Before this encounter, there had been a business meeting where Griswold refused to listen to Madeline, blatantly sexualizing, and telling her ‘not to fuck with him’. Every encounter between the two shows Griswold thinking he has the upper hand, however with Madeline being regarded as a genius by her brother and the audience, Griswold does not realize who is really in charge until she is laying out her plan for him while he is chained up behind a brick wall. Madeline gets away with murder.

Then at the bar, she is seen dancing and flirting with another man, returning to the bar and telling Roderick it's his turn to dance with someone. Roderick does not want to, and Madeline does not care, telling him that they need to build an alibi. He listens, and Madeline ends up having a conversation with Verna.

While there are many incidents and examples of Madeline’s genius, this is about her connection to Daisy Buchanan, and that she does all of this (minus the business meeting) dressed as Daisy Buchanan. At the end of Gatsby, Daisy gets away with murder, never being caught because she is an ‘innocent woman’ and this is all Madeline was seen as by Griswold. Throughout the series Madeline has an open distaste for men, saying “Men are as stupid as they are simple” in a future conversation with her oldest niece Tamerlane Usher. Madeline went into the situation knowing she would be underestimated and sexualized by Griswold, and her costume perfectly reflects that.

Aside from false perceptions, there is also the point of philosophy. Daisy says “I hope she’ll be a fool- that's the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool.” Madeline is anything but a fool, and time and time again she demonstrates that she is constantly aware of her surroundings. For example, in a conversation with her brother, they talk about a foster home they had been in, and how Madeline had befriended their foster mother, who practically tortured them. This alliance gave Madeline access to important documents and she was able to ruin the foster mother's life. Madeline is anything but a fool. Furthermore, in the conversation she has with Tamerlane, it seems like she has at least some sort of faith in her oldest niece; she does not want Tamerlane to be a fool, she wants her to be a savior of Fortunato Pharmaceuticals. Her other nieces, Victorine LaFourcade and Camille L’Espanya are both extremely smart as well. Camille in particular consumes knowledge voraciously, using it to benefit her in her family. This thirst for knowledge does end with her gruesome death via chimpanzee, but Camille doesn't seem to regret this.

As for Lenore Usher, Madeline’s only great niece, she is aware of how horrible her family is, with this awareness growing as the series continues. She questions people, especially her father, in both legal matters and about her mother’s care. The Usher women who had Madeline as an influence in their lives were certainly not fools. This is all to say that while that quote may be a reflection of Daisy's outlook and an insight into her beliefs, it is the inverse of what Madeline sees. Madeline sees women as superior, agreeing with Verna when she says “Women are the natural leaders of the species.”

On New Year, 1979, Roderick was dressed as Jay Gatsby as previously mentioned. The twins’ classic couple costume might even hint at the roles they play in each other's lives- or rather Madeline in his. Madeline is the planner, this is evident from the beginning. In her own words “If it was our birthday he would forget to eat cake unless I took a bite first.” Roderick needs Madeline to lead him, to mother him, even. The comparison is in no way sexual or romantic of course, but it could highlight who they became in each other's eyes. Roderick saw Madeline as a leader, a strong woman to follow, even if he didn't realize it. In contrast, Madeline had times when she saw Roderick as she saw all men- something to be managed.

It's unclear if Mike Flanagan thought too deeply into the comparison but that does not stifle its relevance to Madeline Usher’s character. Daisy Buchanan represents how the world perceived her, at least for a time, the opposite of how she saw life, and who she became in her brother’s life. In conclusion, understanding Daisy's relationship with Madeline is key to understanding Madeline Usher, “a queen without a crown.”

Fic: "Among Any Option"

read on AO3

Fandom: The Fall of the House of Usher (TV 2023)

Rating: T

Category: F/F

Relationship(s): Madeline Usher/Verna

Summary: "What do you think, Madeline? A kiss or a kill?"