#I liked Manacled too btw and that gave me very unrealistic expectations for dark fics within the fandom lol

[ecoterrorist-katara]

spent a month reading Dra/mione fanfiction because so many people say it’s basically Zutara in a different font and I just??? Disagree??? Like I loved many Dra/mione fics I’ve read but it’s just…not like Zutara?

The enemies-to-lovers dynamics are super different because ATLA already handed us enemies-to-friends on a silver platter. The backstory and motivations of Zuko are extremely well-established whereas every fic has a somewhat different Draco. Katara and Hermione are quite different people too, though I think they’re more similar to each other than Zuko and Draco (and ofc the “under appreciated girl who bails out her friends” role is a big enough part of their arcs that it can override other dissimilarities). And no offence to my beloved ZK, but they’re not the most cerebral couple and they don’t have the “finally my intellectual equal” dynamic that I really like about fanon Dra/mione.

Dra/mione has way more of the romance novel dark fantasy dynamic that Zutara antis like to accuse Zutara of. And to be clear, good for Dramione shippers bc I support the female gaze. I’d actually say that Dra/mione is way more straight female gaze than ZK. With some Dra/mione fics, I get the feeling that I’d enjoy them more if I were more attracted to men. That’s a thought I’ve only rarely had about Zutara fics.

Anyway there are wonderfully talented authors who write for both ships, but I just think the comparison is a bit overblown. Enemies-to-lovers between morally incorrect boy x morally correct girl is a tried and true combination (notice I didn’t say bad boy x good girl, because ironically the biggest commonalities between Draco and Zuko is that they’re squares who want to maintain the status quo and please their dads, while Hermione and Katara are rabblerousers who would do unhinged things to get what they want) but there are many nuances beyond that. And if you’re a Zutara shipper getting into Dra/mione, it’s very possible that you’ll love half of the fics you read and be disproportionately squicked out by the other half (like me!).

I think Dra/mione fics can feature what a lot of antis accuse Zutara of being (oppressor x oppressed, dark and intriguing and toxic and passionate, self-insert wish fulfillment). What I appreciate about Dra/mione shippers, though, is how much they just don’t give a fuck. They like what they like, they don’t feel the need to apologize for liking a fantasy dynamic even if it’s sometimes toxic, and they will use Dra/mione fics to thirst after Draco Malfoy. I can’t really relate to these motivations, but I respect them, you know? Women should do what they want!