My Sibling The Mythical Being! discussion

(This will be my first topic post. Hope you like it. :))

Ivy and Olivia have a lot in common, but they're also very different! Which twin do you most identify with, and why? How strongly do you identify with said character? Or is there another MSTV character who is more like you?

Remember, this is in the NON-spoiler category, so please be careful to keep this thread spoiler-free.

I believe Sienna Mercer has said she based the character Olivia off of herself. As for me, I've always related to Ivy a little better. I'm highly interested in the goth subculture, vampire lore fascinates me, and I tend to be more reserved, like Ivy. A lot of the things she and her friends say make me smile. So for me, Ivy Vega.

I'm more like Ivy, similarly to the reasons you mentioned above! I'm quite shy and I'm interested in Gothic and vampire things. I feel like Olivia is much more outgoing and perky than I am. When my friend and I were a lot younger, we would often pretend to be Ivy and Olivia - she was always Olivia and I was always Ivy!

Aww. That's cute, Fran. I'm glad to know there's another Ivy in the group, lol. :)

I think I'm like both Olivia and Ivy.
I'm kinda shy which is like Ivy but I'm perky sometimes with my friends which is like Olivia.

Aww. That's so cool, Fran! Must've been fun.

I've thought about this quite a bit and I think I'm probably more Olivia. Although I do feel I can relate to both of them a lot. I'm more like Olivia in the fact that I like being positive and optimistic, and I'm also definitely one that needs to be doing something, and feel like I'm getting stuff done, which I feel might be more Olivia-like, whereas Ivy would be more relaxed. She has more of a 'not really bothered' kind of attitude I think!

I do think I'm like Ivy too because I'm quite reserved and I have quite a dark sense of humour and stuff. I don't know, maybe I'm an Ivy-ish person with an Olivia-ish outlook on it. Yeah, I like that. :D

Maybe we should think Olivianess and Ivyness as more of a spectrum. I mean, I used to be a cheerleader and enjoyed it quite a bit, as well as a vegetarian, so that means I'm not 100% Ivy, but about 80% Ivy and 20% Olivia.

This is a hard question. Great discussion though!

I think on balance I'm more like Olivia. I'm a vegetarian, I like sports, I'm quite cheerful and I can be outgoing (I guess?). However I am quite laid-back which (like Daisy said) I feel is a more Ivy-ish trait. I'm probably 60% Olivia and 40% Ivy. I think.

Ooh, that's hard putting it into percentages. Maybe I'm 65% Olivia and 35% Ivy? Or 70-30? Argh, I don't know! Too hard!

Other characters I think I'm like are Camilla, for sure, because we are both total book (and other stuff) nerds, and Riley (from MBTW), in the way that we both like being busy, although I don't think I'd ever take it quite to her extreme! Also perhaps there's a bit of Rebecca in me, because I love nature and animals.

So I guess I'm more 30% Camilla, 27% Olivia, 20% Ivy, 15% Riley and 8% Rebecca... I think.

Here's a question for you: Which character do you like more, Ivy or Olivia?

I, for one, know that I could never choose. They are so different and so great in their individual ways that I feel it's just pointless to pick a favourite (lol, undermining my own question). It's like choosing between two of your best friends: you like them for different reasons because they're different people, you don't like one of them more.

I just wanted to bring up this question because it struck me how rare this surely is - for a series to have two different protagonists and for me to not like one over the other. I'm guessing lots of my fellow fans feel the same way - they like each of twins equally. I feel like usually in books everyone has one favourite character, that person they really connect with and love seeing featured. And especially in a longer series, you'd expect as the characters change, readers might go off one and grow to prefer the other. But I, personally, have never experienced that with this series. Maybe at some points in the later books I've liked the representation of one of the twins over the other, but when it comes down to the core traits of who I believe these characters truly are, I honestly love them both with all my heart. If this isn't a show of how realistic and well-crafted Sienna Mercer's characters are, I don't know what is.

I want to know what all of you think on this subject. Do you like Ivy and Olivia equally? Why do you think that is? How rare is that for you?

Don't mind me, I'm just here marveling at how different I was almost three years ago. Outgoing? Laid-back? Okaaaay. Also flashbacks to when I was so into sports, that for years I would only wear football shirts. Literally I wore one to an award ceremony once. Like seriously come on Soph. xD Go me though for sticking to who I was at the time and not changing for others, lol.

As for your question Daisy, I go back and forth every book about who I like most. Can I just cheat and say Sophia and Camilla? You are so right that the characters and relationships in MSTV are so well written. There's things about both Ivy and Olivia that I love and can relate to.

Daisy wrote: "It's like choosing between two of your best friends: you like them for different reasons because they're different people, you don't like one of them more."

That says it all. Same reason I can't pick a favourite book, or a favourite song.

LOL, I remember that - you literally accepted the winner's cup in a football shirt (and the competition had nothing to do with football)!