#a lot of the Ivypool hate just reeks of victim blaming

[peppermintbarrk]

As the #1 ivypool enjoyer I am the first to admit that she is a truly Awful sister to Dovewing and mentor to Twigbranch... but consider that these things make her a More Interesting character...

She's not this untouchable, perfect "not like other girls" girlboss that so many people want her to be... she is Deeply insecure, traumatized, and projects her insecurities onto both her sister and apprentice, and suffers the consequences for it by pushing her sister away to the point where the two will most likely never have a relationship again.

I LOVE Ivypool, and I love Dovewing too. Dovewing is a victim of StarClan and Ivypool is a victim of the Dark Forest. Dovewing had no choice in the matter and while everyone likes to scream that Ivypool CHOSE to train the DF (which she did, initially), y'all forget that she was essentially groomed by Hawkfrost and once she was in, she felt stuck and also watched anyone who dared question Hawkfrost or the DF in general get slaughtered.

Ivypool was insecure to begin with. The DF and Hawkfrost used her insecurity and by the time OOtS and AVoS roll around, she hasn't worked through her trauma. She projects ALL of her insecurities onto Dove and Twig, is generally an awful sister and mentor, and pushes them both away. She is her own worst enemy.

She's not a bad character, or even a bad cat, like half the fandom wants her to be. She's incredibly flawed, and this makes her far more interesting than the 'girlboss' the other half of the fandom wants her to be.

Ugh I just love Ivypool and Dovewing and their tragic relationship