Poison Ivy/Harley Quinn - Are They . . . or Will They Ever?

Possibly the best example of femslash subtext in comic books, Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn have been the ultimate case of "are they/aren't they" in DC Comics since their first partnership in Batman: the Animated Series. Ivy dislikes people in general, and Harley is most famous for her obsessive love for the Joker - yet theirs is a lasting friendship, and a romance that has been hinted at (and if you've seen that T-shirt, more than hinted at) for fifteen years. We'll discuss the evolution of Harley and Ivy as characters, how that's made their appeal as a couple stronger, some of the allusions to a romantic pairing we've seen over the years, and the ultimate challenge for Harley/Ivy fanfic authors - if Ivy can never get Harley away from the Joker for good, how can we?