Poison Ivy/Harley Quinn

Poison Ivy/Harley Quinn is the femslash pairing of Pamela Isley and Harleen Quinzel in the DC Universe fandom. Harley and Poison Ivy first met in Batman: The Animated Series in 1993 and fans were initially drawn to the pairing because of their close friendship in canon. 
Over the years, animated series and comic series have often relied on subtext to imply that Harley and Ivy are in a romantic relationship. Initially fans only had examples of word of god confirmation from DC writers, but later Harley/Ivy became canonically romantic in many DC universes. In 2020, Harley and Ivy had their first on screen kiss in the Harley Quinn animated series - incidentally, this happened on the same day Catradora went canon.
They are the most popular femslash pairing in the DC Comics and DCAU sections of the fandom, and the pairing also finds great popularity in DC franchises where they have not appeared together yet, like the DCEU. 
==Canon==
Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn's friendship first began in the Batman: The Animated Series and was later included inside canon DC Comics comicsverse. A romantic relationship between the two had been teased at several points in the comics, with creator and BTAS writer Paul Dini providing Word of God confirmation.Some fans consider Harlivy canon due to the words of the writer, Paul Dini stating it was. See: .DC Comics: Harley Quinn & Poison Ivy Are Girlfriends “Without Monogamy” 
Their relationship went canon in 2013, with the Harley Quinn comic series, in which Harley refers to Ivy as her “hot girlfriend". But it wasn't until Harley Quinn #25, in 2017, that the two finally shared their first kiss. Since then, the comicsverse has continued to explicitly show a romantic relationship between Harley and Ivy with the two marrying in Las Vegas during DC's Injustice: Year Zero series.Harley Quinn & Poison Ivy Are Officially Married in DC's Injustice
In 2019, both characters appeared in the Harley Quinn animated series, which included Harley and Ivy's first on-screen romantic relationship in the second season.
==Fandom==
Harley/Ivy is one of the more popular femslash pairings in the Batman/DC Comics fandoms. The ship first found popularity in the early 1990s, when Harley and Ivy became friends in Batman: The Animated Series and fans saw their potential as a couple.Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy: An Oral History of the Beginning of a Beautiful Friendship by Ethan Alter, yahoo.com Some fans also point to "Holiday Knights", the first episode of The New Batman Adventures, as the jumping off point for this ship. In the animated series that aired in 1997, Harley and Ivy were shown to share a bedroom with just one bed.Harley's Haven, Harley & Ivy, accessed 30th August 2021.
The subtext was rapidly becoming text, and as Harley was introduced into the comicsverse, there was often discussions around whether the pairing was considered canon or not. Over time this became less necessary as their relationship, within comicsverse at least, moved away from subtext and into plain old text. 
Some fans wanted the relationship to be supported, and were very happy with these developments, as they feel Harlivy is much healthier than Joker/Harley Quinn. The fan interpretation of Harley and the Joker's relationship has generally shifted into being seen as abusive rather than played for laughs as it was in its inception. This has sometimes lead to push-back from Joker/Harley fans who find their relationship to be iconic and fundamental to Harley's character.
In 2020, Harley/Ivy became canon in season 2 of the Harley Quinn animated series, much to the delight of shippers. Gifs and screengrabs from the season finale were widely shared on Tumblr and Twitter. Harlivy is the most popular pairing in that fandom, but the fandom remains small.
In August 2021, Bridget Regan was cast to play Pamela in the CW series Batwoman. Almost immediately, fans were quick to imagine the idea of the newly announced CW's Poison Ivy with the already established DCEU's Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), despite them existing in different universes. 
===Common Tropes & Storylines===
*Alternative Universe: AUs often involve alternate first meetings for these two. This includes stories where these characters are not super-villains, or Harleen met Pamela before the Joker. Flower Shop AUs have also becoming more common, given Ivy's love of plants.
*Harley leaving the Joker: Many works include Joker's abusive relationship with Harley. In these works Pamela sometimes rescues a near dead Harley, or provides a safe harbor for her friend while hiding what she believes to be unrequited feelings. Many works are Hurt Comfort, as Ivy helps Harley get over the Joker. Sometimes Harley's decision to leave the Joker is because she is pregnant, and Ivy supports her during her pregnancy. 
*Arkham Asylum: Many works are set when these two were both at Arkham Asylum. In most works they are both patients, and sometimes roommates, but a small number of works focus on Dr. Harleen Quinzel's interactions with Ivy. Escaping from Arkham is also a common trope. 
*Domestic AU: There are domestic fics focused on their lives together, but also works featuring these two at their most villainous.
*Friends to Lovers: their friendship deepening into a romantic relationship, these stories may have been more popular before they became canon 
*Sex Pollen: unlike stories in greater Batman fandom when Ivy uses sex pollen as a weapon, in Ivy/Harley fics it is usually used as a way to experiment or enhance their relationship
*Hyenas: Bud and Lou, Harley's hyenas, occasionally appear in fanworks, usually as their domestic pets, every so often there are also hyena pups 
*Threesome or Poly: fairly rare, but when a third character is added to the mix it is usually another woman, the most common choice being their friend Selina Kyle (Catwoman)
*Crossovers: usually within the greater DC universe, however there is a small amount of crossovers with Miraculous Ladybug, or Harley and Ivy visiting the MCU. Harry Potter crossovers sometimes show Ivy as Lily Potter or a close relative, with Ivy and Harley acting as Harry's parents.
==Fanworks==
===Fanfiction===
* Reap What You Sow by Allaine. An AU spin-off from Chris Dee's Cat Tales (Catwoman series).
* Saturday Morning by livia
* What Love Is by Semerket 
* Mad Love: A New Beginning by AmberZ10 
* The Heartbreak Wait by seriousfic 
* Impetus by Starlightify 
* Across The Way by N7agentbartowski 
===Fan Art===
* Ivy + Harley by lenadrofranci
* Poison Ivy x Harley Quinn by Autumn-Sacura
* Harley and Ivy by vinroc
* Harley kissing Ivy by leeahd
* Harley Quinn y Poison Ivy by Manawua
* Ivy Quinn by nicolehansche
* WANTED: Pam and Harley by jeftoon01
* Tangled Vines by moishpain
* Harley Quinn And Poison Ivy: mermaid fun & under water kitten's by Pronon1990
* Harley and Ivy 2 by LinART (NSFW)
* PoisonxHarley by JulietEssence
* this is the only explanation for harley’s terrible shirt by zoinkysdraws
* <3 by erinkkavanagh
===Graphics and Gif Sets===
* by sinrosetros
===Vids===
* Harley and Ivy
* When I Grow Up
* "I Kissed a Girl"
===Meta===
* Favorite DC Couple: The Case for Harley and Ivy
* Harley Quinn and Ivy Go Canon in the new 52?
* Femslash Friday: Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn
* Harley and Ivy: Pretty Abusive Too, Actually!
===Recs===
* Top 5 harley/ivy by harleylovesivy
* A list of Harley/Ivy fics compiled by dcfic_index on Livejournal
* Harley/Ivy at dc_slash_index on Livejournal
==Example Art Gallery==
File:Harley quinn poison ivy by manawua.jpg|Harley Quinn y Poison Ivy by Manawua (2007), this piece based on their look in the DCAU
File:Make love not war harley quinn and poison ivy by samarasketch.jpg|Make Love, Not War - Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy by samarasketch (2019)
File:Harley Quinn & Poison Ivy by Victoria Higata.jpg|Harley Quinn & Poison Ivy by Victoria Higata (2022).
==Archives and Communities==
* Pamela/Harleen works tagged at AO3
* Harley/vy works at FFN (Batman)
* Harley/Ivy works at FFN (Batman the Animated Series)
===Deviantart===
Deviantart search: Harley/Poison Ivy
* HarleyIvy
===Tumblr===
Tumblr tags: Harley x Ivy, Ivy x Harley, Harlivy
* Fuck Yeah Harley and Ivy 
* Harley loves Ivy
* Harlivy Haven
===LiveJournal===
* Harley/Ivy at Bats Femslash LJ Community
* harley_ivy
* harley_and_ivy
==Resources==
* Poison Ivy & Harley Quinn information at Harley Quinn.com
==Further Reading==
* by Daniel Mallory Ortberg, the-toast.net
* by Samantha Puc, geekd-out.com
==References==
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