writing dumpster

(Whoops. You can see the point where this got out of hand and also the point where I gave up again lol. I didn’t edit this so if there’s any mistakes, shhhh. hopefully the formatting stays. i’ll clean this up and post it on ao3 later…. maybe…)

Noe one day having a casual business meeting with some rich person or other. Not someone in the know about the secret organization but either still helpful to have in their back pocket or helpful to Noe’s own business. They chat for a while and it goes to talk about family. The person mentions that they have a kid in their late teens/early twenties who’s playing the lead role in some sort of performance later tonight. Noe mentions he has a younger sister who knows a couple things about ballet. He keeps it vague, more implying that she has an interest rather than being a dancer herself. Audrey mentioned it offhandedly and since neither of them believe Chloe is good at anything other than being a puppet, he doesn’t want to risk saying she can dance if she’s not even good at it.

The person invites Noe to said performance, saying he can bring his sister along and she could talk to the performers backstage afterwards. Noe naturally agrees because fostering good relationships is part of business. He doesn’t even have to do anything besides watch people perform to make a good impression. Plus, Chloe didn’t have anything scheduled today. He’ll tell her to keep quiet about being a dancer if she did any dancing herself.

He texts her that they’ll be going somewhere tonight as he’s being driven back home. It’s not too long of a ride but Chloe is usually quick to respond to texts. He gets home and a servant tells her she’s in one of the rooms allotted to her. He has a few rooms himself but he never bothered to know what Chloe did with hers. He finds her doing ballet. There was no acknowledgement when he entered, so she either didn’t notice his presence or was purposely ignoring him.

She had a look of concentration that he had never seen on her before. Though he was reluctant to praise Chloe in any form, he had to admit (relucatantly) that she did every task that was given to her with one hundred percent of what little ability she had. Her dancing felt different from that. It felt flawless, like she wasn’t even trying.

Noe thought to throw her a bone and clapped once she had stopped dancing.

“Change of plans for today,” he started, “we’re going to a ballet performance tonight.”

“A ballet performance?”

“A business partner of mine has a daughter that’s doing her debut performance tonight and he invited us to see it.”

“Us..?”

“Yes, he said I should bring my younger sister along. This is a very important partnership so be on your best behavior. Be ready by seven.”

Chloe nodded and Noe left her to her own devices, stopping by the door on his way out.

“Try not to mention that you do ballet, I have no interest in being the mediator if you say something ridiculous.”

🐝🐝🐝

It turns out that Noe didn’t need to be keeping such a close eye on Chloe. He was honestly surprised that she was quiet for most of the event, only speaking when she was spoken to and commenting when appropriate. Still, he decided to sit between her and his business partner just in case. She had a habit of letting her feelings show on her face.

Noe had obviously seen a few ballet performances in his life. He doesn’t know much about it but the dancers were always graceful and looked like they knew what they were doing. Not to say that it wasn’t the case here, but he couldn’t help but think it was pretty lackluster compared to the dance Chloe did when she was dancing alone earlier.

Noe cast a sideways glance at her. Chloe was watching the performance closely, her expression rarely changing. Rather than the awe or admiration that he expected, Noe saw the same type of concentration he saw on her face earlier. He wondered what it was she could be thinking about with that kind of focus.

His business partner invited them both backstage after the performance. The introductions were brief and his daughter asked them if they enjoyed the show. Noe, naturally, politely praised her dancing skills. A response that was eagerly accepted by both her and her dad. Chloe, on the other hand, had more to say.

“Your recovery after your misstep in the final act was impressive.” She said. Noe quickly looked at her, about to step in.

“Oh! Thank you.” the ballerina said.

“I didn’t notice you making any mistakes.” her father said.

“It was very minor, a beat off but she recovered quickly enough. I don’t think anyone who doesn’t know ballet noticed. I can see why you were chosen as the principal dancer for this performance.”

Noe stood to the side as his sister and the ballerina chatted about ballet. Some of the other dancers also joined in on the conversation at some point.

“Well it seems like she’s enjoying herself.” his business partner commented. “I will be busy for the next few days but I will have my secretary call you by the end of the week to finalize the contract details.

“Glad to hear it.” Noe smiled and shook his hand.

🐝🐝🐝

They stayed longer than expected. It was near midnight when they said their goodbyes. Noe sent a message to his mother once they got in the car.

Noe: I’ve secured the deal, we’re set to sign a contract by the end of the week.

Audrey: Excellent! Of course you would be the one to convince him.

Noe: He’s a family man. It was easy. All I had to do was bring Chloe to his daughter’s ballet performance.

Audrey: She didn’t make a fool out of you, did she?

Noe: They were impressed with her actually.

Audrey: People have lowered their standards far too much these days. The least she could do is not embarass herself after using my money on dance equipment.

Noe looks at Chloe, who was blankly staring out the window.

“You seem to know a lot about ballet.” He couldn’t help but comment after seeing his mother’s message.

“Not really.” Chloe mumbles, “Anyone can pick up stuff about their hobbies.”

“How long?”

“Eight years,” she says around a yawn, “give or take.”

‘Eight years? She’s been dancing for half her life.’

“Nothing impressive. Just doing it for exercise at this point.”

“It wasn’t just exercise before?” Noe couldn’t help but ask. Though, knowing their mother, he could hazard a guess.

Chloe was leaning her head against the door, eyes closed. “Was the principal dancer at ballet school for a while.”

“And then?”

“Had a private ballet tutor for a few years. Then I was just practicing on my own until I left Paris.”

“You never mentioned being a dancer.”

Chloe just let out a hum. “It’s not that impressive. I wouldn’t call myself a dancer. Just a hobbyist.” Another yawn. “Wake me up when we get home.”

Noe stays silent for a minute, going over the day’s events. He ignores his mother’s message and sends one to his assistant instead.

Noe: I am applying my sister for ballet lessons. Have a list of the best ballet schools and companies ready by noon tomorrow. Note down which ones are accepting new applicants at all levels.

Chloe would survive the rejection, she was used to failure at this point. Noe, on the other hand, wasn’t sure what he would do if she managed to succeed.

-

Yes yes yes!

So like

When Audrey first tells Noé about Chloé being in ballet, it’s done with such off handed and demeaning energy that he just. Assumes. 

Assumes Chloé’s ballet classes are just something for her to do. Or something she’s being a brat about and insisting on trying despite being absolute ass. Surely, with this level of dismissal, she couldn’t actually be good. It’s just a waste of money. Surely if he asked Chloé to preform, she’d make a big show and flop around before demanding applause! 

But no. Chloé is at the level one would expect when one says ‘talented child who has been in classes most of her life’. Maybe a little under where she could be, given she wasn’t encouraged or given true opportunities and even when a teacher offered her a bigger chance she turned it down believing she wasn’t yet perfect enough to deserve it. 

🐝🐝🐝

Zoé glares at Ray, who’s holding his phone up to show her the video he has of her back in New York. She isn’t proud of who she was before but she was taking steps to move forward as a person. The video wasn't really a threat, she had already told her friends that she was a bully, but it made her feel both guilty and nervous regardless.

“Zoé!” a voice calls from behind Ray. “How long did you plan on keeping me waiting?”

Zoé and Ray turn to see Chloé, eyes focused solely on her sister. “You tell me to come see you and you make me wait?" Chloé walks into the room, "I have things to do, you know. I had to clear my schedule for today and you know how much I hate taking the train.”

“Who are you-?!” Ray demands. Chloé looks at him in disbelief.

“I’m sorry,” Chloé says with apparent disgust as she gave him a once over, “Are you speaking? To me? Ew.”

Chloé turns to Zoé, “You need to pick better people to surround yourself. I refuse to let people say my sister associates with,” She threw another disgusted glance at Ray, “people like him. Whatever it is you're doing with this loser, hurry up. Brother dearest,” Chloé rolls her eyes at the nickname, “is waiting for me to get back. You and I have better things to do.”

“Do you know who I am??”

“Do you have amnesia or something? I'm not a phone book. Go to a doctor.” Chloé cringes as she looks him up and down again, “You might have more going on than just memory problems.”

The phone in Ray’s hand catches Chloé’s attention, causing her to scowl at it. With no hesitation, she closes the distance between herself and Ray, grabbing the phone and holding it up to show Zoé.

“You look hideous. How could you let someone take a video of you looking like that?”

Chloé gracefully dodges and deflects Ray's pathetic attempts at getting his phone back. She quickly sends the video to her phone, deletes the sent message on Ray’s phone, then deletes the video.

“I knew it was a bad idea to let a woman with no mayoral experience be in charge of the city. They're letting gross nobodies in now.” Chloé tosses the phone back to Ray, who stumbles trying to catch it, and taps at her phone as she walks away, muttering. “I can't believe I left London to visit this dumpster of a school.”

Ray stood there, mouth slightly open, for a moment before coming to his senses. “Come back here!”

“I'd rather not.”

“I'll tell everyone what you did!” Ray yells.

“No one is going to believe you!” Chloé yells back.

Zoé stifles a laugh as she shoves him aside to follow her sister.

Bonus:

Ray angrily walked up to Zoé the following morning, catching the attention of her friends as well as those standing around the courtyard.

“Do you think I would let you and your sister get away with what happened yesterday??” He says, loudly, using his phone to point at Zoé. “Messing someone's phone is a crime!”

“Ray….” Zoé says, feigning confusion. “I have no idea what you're talking about… You're holding your phone right now…”

“You-!” Ray takes a step forward.

“Hey! Leave her alone!” Alya butts in, getting between Ray and Zoé.

The others chime in in Zoé’s defense, bystanders whispering among themselves.

Ray looks around and notices the attention they were getting. He decides to withdraw for now, heading to class and muttering something about “getting back at her” as he walks away with his cronies.

“Did he just say ‘brother’…?” Kim asks no one in particular.

“What was that about..?” Alya asks Zoé.

“Dunno.” Zoé shrugs, “We never got along back in New York, so maybe he's trying to pick a fight? He's always been kinda weird.”

“Does he even know who Chloé is?” Juleka asks.

“Probably. She's pretty infamous. Not sure why he would bring her up…”

“Maybe to cause negative association?” Max suggests, “If people associate you with someone as negative as Chloé they might have a bad impression of you, too.”

The group starts offering other theories, most of them similar to what Max suggested. Zoé was content to listen to them further the misunderstanding and make Ray look worse.

Adrien and Sabrina both look at each other then at Zoé. She gives both of them a quick smile before going back to looking confused like everyone else. She had better tell them the whole story in the group chat later.

Had an au that I was tossing around in my head and the thought that I had for that was something along the lines of like, when they were in elementary school, Marinette tried her hardest to be friends with everyone but Chloe at that point had already learned she doesn't have to be friends with people if she doesn't want to (which is a good lesson in general) and she was standoff-ish but not mean mean. Plus she had things she was busy with since Emilie was already sick at that point and Chloe wanted to be there for both Emilie and Adrien, so she didn't wanna waste time thinking about school related stuff when her aunt seemed like she was dying. And Marinette tried way too hard to befriend Chloe because small things like people disliking her give her anxiety since she lacked (and still does to some degree) the emotional resiliance to move on from someone not wanting to have anything to do wit her. So Marinette tried to be super friendly, talk to her every day, offer her free things from the bakery. Meanwhile on Chloe's side she's being bothered by this girl, who keeps trying to talk to her about uninteresting topics and offer her food without asking if she even liked that food/have any allergies. So one day Chloe tells Marinette that she's annoying and to leave her alone. And it made Marinette sad and also made everyone else turn against Chloe because those other kids also don't understand Chloe doesn't have to be friends with Marinette, but also the teachers who are all "we should be friends, we should all be nice together" types* punish Chloe for setting boundaries. Messy all around and no one is helping the situation. Hence why Chloe doesn't like Marinette or any teacher because of course they would pick the teachers pets and give wrong life lessons because they refuse to tell students the reality of society.

(Once had a teacher scold me for telling another student that something I was discussing with my friend was none of her business and to this day I'm still like "who the fuck do you think you are, telling me I have to involve this person in something that didn't involve her originally?")

YEAH YEAH YEAH LIKE

I think Marinette having someone who doesn't like her would feel like some kind of personal failing, either of herself or the other person.

Because she is so friendly and likable and while that's nice she's not going to vibe with everyone. But as someone like that, especially with that black/white mentality, someone not liking her feels like she's doing something 'wrong'.

Yeah yeah yeah like.

Now I don't want to make this a victim blame thing because Marinette didn't deserve bullying

BUT

While Chloé is mean to everyone, she has specific beef with Marinette and I wonder what that is.

Could it have been something petty like the movie version where it was a total accidental sleight? Possibly Mari is clumsy af and could accidental humiliate someone.

https://www.tumblr.com/princess-of-the-corner/801527789117390848/do-you-think-jaune-jack-lukloe-would-be-the

idk if this matches these posts exactly or if it even fits in Jaune Jack specifically but recently I've been thinking about Lukloe in a sort of… romantic-leaning queerplatonic relationship because like.

Chloe might have had a crush on Adrien at some point in their childhood but I think she could have gotten over it by the time canon starts and she's just trying her best to stay friends with him because she's got abandonment issues. And I think ultimately she realizes she doesn't fully understand what having romantic feelings actually feels like cause the one guy she did sort of like was kind of performative in a sense and if she had anything romantic-ish with Sabrina, it wasn't healthy. Plus it seemed like she cared more about staying friends with Adrien anyways. We headcanon that she's the one that helped him enroll so she expected to be able to spend more time with him since Gabriel doesn't seem to like her and she hates having to make an appointment to see her childhood friend. And the reason she probably lashes out at people is because as soon as Adrien gets to know more people, he like leaves her basically immediately and even threatens their friendship in favor of these other people that have honestly been ostricizing Chloe since the beginning. Especially since we see that Chloe does make an effort and does remember things about him and understands his feelings, probably more than the class ever could, cause she left that message on his phone on Emilie's death anniversary but Felix deleted it.

Luka on the otherhand has had friends and romantic relationships but since it's difficult for him to set boundaries, there's always some aspect to them that feels lacking because it's kind of like, people hurt him because he lets them. It's one of those self-inflicted cycles because he cares about other people way too much sometimes. And he's never really had someone to be like "hey, stop hurting yourself" who also doesn't hurt him even when he's okay with it. And it's not like Chloe seemed romantically inclined anyway so he's not thinking of her romantically, especially since they're both dealing with shit.

But the main thing with them is they're both like, different forms of clingy. Chloe is definitely touch starved and likes physical affection, even with friends, and Luka.. isn't touch starved neccesssarily but he certainly could use more hugs than he's been getting. So Chloe shows physical affection to her friends and it's not weird if she hugs Luka or leans on his shoulder to take a short nap on the subway or if Luka does the same things or if he's using her lap as a pillow after she finally convinces him to vent and start complaining about the people he cares about (you can still love people and find things they do irritating). Nothing strange about cuddling with your friend who's touch starved and overly dramatic because she needs multiple hugs per day or else she'll DIE kind of thing.

Yeah yeah yeah my thoughts on the Chloé/Adrien crush is like

It was a very young and childish crush. Adrien is her best friend who is the opposite gender so ofc they'll get married! But as they mature and understand the concept of romance better, it's.... whatever the rich people equivalent of 'getting married for the tax benefits' is.

And yeah she lashes out at people trying to befriend him/tries to keep him to herself, because she fears that if he does he'll leave her. Which sucks both because she's right but also damn this relationship is fucked in some ways.

But she does legitimately care about him and about his happiness. And I need to pull out the 'video message during the Felix episode' more often because THAT TOO.

Also yeah on the flipside with Luka of just. Like his relationship with Marinette for example. He was way too cool of her being clearly not over Adrien. And it took a long time for him to confront her about how she kept bailing on their dates.

Luka is surprised that Chloe is actually independent and capable of daily life things. It's not that he has that kind of negative opinion of her, he just has the like, general assumption that people who usually have things like maids and butlers can't really do things on their own so they pay other people to do things for them. The thing is that Chloe's always kind of been a latchkey kid. Jean stopped being her primary babysitter as she got older and he got moved to work in other parts of the hotel. She doesn't know how to cook or clean very well but that's kind of typical of teenagers anyways, so other than that she's pretty much average compared to her peers when it comes to taking care of herself.

A lot of things about Chloe surprise Luka if I'm being honest. I like to believe he tries to not have biased opinions on people he's never met personally but all he's heard about her from his friends have all been generally negative and his indirect experience has been when she was akumatized. Every new thing he learns is painting a completely different picture from what he's heard. The ballet, the multiple languages, the fact that she gets along great with Fang, etc. I think the most surprising is that after he learns that she's got issues, he kind of expected to become her therapist just like how he was with literally everyone back home but she just… doesn't do that? And whether she actually has a therapist or she decided she was just gonna punch her feelings out, she's not using him like that. Sure she might rant about things or talk about her feelings but it's in the same way that you would confide in a friend or use them as a rubber duck to figure things out yourself. Chloe's slowly learning how to not look to other people for all of her validation and that includes her friends too.

Luka will sometimes also use her as a rubber duck when he's doing his online assignments. But sometimes if he's doing something like math, he'll explain the problem and Chloe will just like, solve it and then walk him through her thought process. This doesn't happen all the time, just when it's things that are like, one level up from/connected to things she already learned in school. She just knows a lot of random things that she's picked up from the people who stayed and worked at the hotel.

(https://yarrayora.tumblr.com/post/722067510765174784/acerago-for-adults-good-kids-and-convenient) This comic is how I generally think about Luka but I think Chloe would also think about him this way because she finds out that he's been treated similarly to her when it comes to the miraculous happenings despite being on Ladybug's good side, but also how people sometimes use him as a shoulder to cry on without really considering his feelings in return. (This isn't to salt on the other characters but sometimes they get so wrapped up in their own problems that they fail to consider other people's feelings. Marinette is especially guilty of this.) She tells him he's allowed to be his own person and could stand to be a bit more selfish. She also gets angry about the whole "getting kicked out of the country" thing on his behalf. Very "he asked for no pickles" type shit.

Ohoho!

Yeah like. Chloé doesn't do well at cooking or laundry, but she knows how to organize her own schedule and remember to get food without structured timing and get herself to class on time. Cleaning is a tossup because she can organize her belongings fine, but doesn't really know how to work a broom or how often to dust.

Honestly yeah he like. Barely knew Chloé they never even really met. But things said about her informed a bias because while he knows others are biased he doesn't calculate them being outright /wrong/.

Then yeah the whole therapist thing is just. Sure she'll vent and ask his advice but she's not as leaning on him. And part of that is certainly her just. Not wanting to talk about things or lean on anyone. But it's good to not be the sole guy that everyone goes to advice for(even if he's chill with doing it)

Also yeah Chloé and the like- She just clicks onto learning things really quick so he'll use her as the rubber duck and she's like 'oh yeah you gotta-' because it clicked faster for her on how to do it.

YEAH YEAH YEAH NO I

I have had Thoughts™ about Noé actually seeing how good Chloé actually is at things and how Audrey never saw that for some reason and it just. Breaks his reality a touch?

Like if Audrey is wrong about this what else is she wrong about?

(Whoops. You can see the point where this got out of hand and also the point where I gave up again lol. I didn’t edit this so if there’s any mistakes, shhhh. hopefully the formatting stays. i’ll clean this up and post it on ao3 later…. maybe…)

Noe one day having a casual business meeting with some rich person or other. Not someone in the know about the secret organization but either still helpful to have in their back pocket or helpful to Noe’s own business. They chat for a while and it goes to talk about family. The person mentions that they have a kid in their late teens/early twenties who’s playing the lead role in some sort of performance later tonight. Noe mentions he has a younger sister who knows a couple things about ballet. He keeps it vague, more implying that she has an interest rather than being a dancer herself. Audrey mentioned it offhandedly and since neither of them believe Chloe is good at anything other than being a puppet, he doesn’t want to risk saying she can dance if she’s not even good at it.

The person invites Noe to said performance, saying he can bring his sister along and she could talk to the performers backstage afterwards. Noe naturally agrees because fostering good relationships is part of business. He doesn’t even have to do anything besides watch people perform to make a good impression. Plus, Chloe didn’t have anything scheduled today. He’ll tell her to keep quiet about being a dancer if she did any dancing herself.

He texts her that they’ll be going somewhere tonight as he’s being driven back home. It’s not too long of a ride but Chloe is usually quick to respond to texts. He gets home and a servant tells her she’s in one of the rooms allotted to her. He has a few rooms himself but he never bothered to know what Chloe did with hers. He finds her doing ballet. There was no acknowledgement when he entered, so she either didn’t notice his presence or was purposely ignoring him.

She had a look of concentration that he had never seen on her before. Though he was reluctant to praise Chloe in any form, he had to admit (relucatantly) that she did every task that was given to her with one hundred percent of what little ability she had. Her dancing felt different from that. It felt flawless, like she wasn’t even trying.

Noe thought to throw her a bone and clapped once she had stopped dancing.

“Change of plans for today,” he started, “we’re going to a ballet performance tonight.”

“A ballet performance?”

“A business partner of mine has a daughter that’s doing her debut performance tonight and he invited us to see it.”

“Us..?”

“Yes, he said I should bring my younger sister along. This is a very important partnership so be on your best behavior. Be ready by seven.”

Chloe nodded and Noe left her to her own devices, stopping by the door on his way out.

“Try not to mention that you do ballet, I have no interest in being the mediator if you say something ridiculous.”

🐝🐝🐝

It turns out that Noe didn’t need to be keeping such a close eye on Chloe. He was honestly surprised that she was quiet for most of the event, only speaking when she was spoken to and commenting when appropriate. Still, he decided to sit between her and his business partner just in case. She had a habit of letting her feelings show on her face.

Noe had obviously seen a few ballet performances in his life. He doesn’t know much about it but the dancers were always graceful and looked like they knew what they were doing. Not to say that it wasn’t the case here, but he couldn’t help but think it was pretty lackluster compared to the dance Chloe did when she was dancing alone earlier.

Noe cast a sideways glance at her. Chloe was watching the performance closely, her expression rarely changing. Rather than the awe or admiration that he expected, Noe saw the same type of concentration he saw on her face earlier. He wondered what it was she could be thinking about with that kind of focus.

His business partner invited them both backstage after the performance. The introductions were brief and his daughter asked them if they enjoyed the show. Noe, naturally, politely praised her dancing skills. A response that was eagerly accepted by both her and her dad. Chloe, on the other hand, had more to say.

“Your recovery after your misstep in the final act was impressive.” She said. Noe quickly looked at her, about to step in.

“Oh! Thank you.” the ballerina said.

“I didn’t notice you making any mistakes.” her father said.

“It was very minor, a beat off but she recovered quickly enough. I don’t think anyone who doesn’t know ballet noticed. I can see why you were chosen as the principal dancer for this performance.”

Noe stood to the side as his sister and the ballerina chatted about ballet. Some of the other dancers also joined in on the conversation at some point.

“Well it seems like she’s enjoying herself.” his business partner commented. “I will be busy for the next few days but I will have my secretary call you by the end of the week to finalize the contract details.

“Glad to hear it.” Noe smiled and shook his hand.

🐝🐝🐝

They stayed longer than expected. It was near midnight when they said their goodbyes. Noe sent a message to his mother once they got in the car.

Noe: I’ve secured the deal, we’re set to sign a contract by the end of the week.

Audrey: Excellent! Of course you would be the one to convince him.

Noe: He’s a family man. It was easy. All I had to do was bring Chloe to his daughter’s ballet performance.

Audrey: She didn’t make a fool out of you, did she?

Noe: They were impressed with her actually.

Audrey: People have lowered their standards far too much these days. The least she could do is not embarass herself after using my money on dance equipment.

Noe looks at Chloe, who was blankly staring out the window.

“You seem to know a lot about ballet.” He couldn’t help but comment after seeing his mother’s message.

“Not really.” Chloe mumbles, “Anyone can pick up stuff about their hobbies.”

“How long?”

“Eight years,” she says around a yawn, “give or take.”

‘Eight years? She’s been dancing for half her life.’

“Nothing impressive. Just doing it for exercise at this point.”

“It wasn’t just exercise before?” Noe couldn’t help but ask. Though, knowing their mother, he could hazard a guess.

Chloe was leaning her head against the door, eyes closed. “Was the principal dancer at ballet school for a while.”

“And then?”

“Had a private ballet tutor for a few years. Then I was just practicing on my own until I left Paris.”

“You never mentioned being a dancer.”

Chloe just let out a hum. “It’s not that impressive. I wouldn’t call myself a dancer. Just a hobbyist.” Another yawn. “Wake me up when we get home.”

Noe stays silent for a minute, going over the day’s events. He ignores his mother’s message and sends one to his assistant instead.

Noe: I am applying my sister for ballet lessons. Have a list of the best ballet schools and companies ready by noon tomorrow. Note down which ones are accepting new applicants at all levels.

Chloe would survive the rejection, she was used to failure at this point. Noe, on the other hand, wasn’t sure what he would do if she managed to succeed.

-

Yes yes yes!

So like

When Audrey first tells Noé about Chloé being in ballet, it’s done with such off handed and demeaning energy that he just. Assumes. 

Assumes Chloé’s ballet classes are just something for her to do. Or something she’s being a brat about and insisting on trying despite being absolute ass. Surely, with this level of dismissal, she couldn’t actually be good. It’s just a waste of money. Surely if he asked Chloé to preform, she’d make a big show and flop around before demanding applause! 

But no. Chloé is at the level one would expect when one says ‘talented child who has been in classes most of her life’. Maybe a little under where she could be, given she wasn’t encouraged or given true opportunities and even when a teacher offered her a bigger chance she turned it down believing she wasn’t yet perfect enough to deserve it. 

Zoé knew what he meant. While she didn't try to connect with her sister, it sounds like Adrien had been distancing himself from Chloé. She wasn't sure if it was intentional or not. She wouldn't have blamed him if he purposely kept his distance, but it would have sucked if he did it unintentionally and Chloé didn't know why he suddenly just stopped talking to her; especially after the heartfelt video she sent him. Chloé had been extremely volitile by the time she left Paris. It wouldn't be a surprise if she answered any messages or calls with vitriol.

"So.. I guess that means we should talk to someone else about it?" Zoé asked.

"Maybe? I'm not sure who we could talk to about this…"

"Yeah… People don't like Chloé… Whenever I try to bring her up around people they kind of just… tell me to forget about her." Zoé admits. "I get where they're coming from… but I think they go too far sometimes. I barely bring up her name and someone immediately mentions they're glad she's gone. Again, I get it. I felt that way, too. But now she's living with our mom, who we know is terrible… It feels like too much."

Adrien lets out a hum of understanding. He sees where Zoé is coming from. He's having similar mixed feelings about his own family at the moment. His dad wasn't the best and he's still trying to reconcile the image of his dad being some kind of self-sacrificing hero with the same dad that had locked him in a white room in London. Rather than dwell on tumultuous family relationships, Adrien decided to lead the conversation into some sort of direction.

"Hm.. What about Sabrina?" He suggests.

Zoé grimaced.

"I tried talking to her too; when I was too afraid to talk to you first. She either changed the subject or ran away." She admits. "We could [try to talk to her together], or we can [find someone else]?"

Zoé took a deep breath and started running to the Agreste manor. The last time she had been there had been the end-of-the-year pool party. It looked more imposing now, in the quiet of night.

It was only after she found a hidden place to detransform and had already rang the doorbell that she realizes she should have sent Adrien a message ahead of time. She considers running away before the crackling of the gate intercom comes to life.

"Zoé..?" Adrien's quiet, confused voice asks. "Is everything okay? What are you doing here?"

'Too late to go back now.' She thinks before speaking, "Hi.. -um, there's actually something I wanted to ask you. Can I come in?"

Zoé's question was met with silence and she had to repeatedly tell herself to not immediately run away.

"Sure! I'll buzz you in."

Zoé waited until she was past the gate to let out a sigh of relief. She wasn't really sure what to expect. Adrien being willing to hear her out was the most she expected. After weeks of beating around the bush while being scared of other people's reactions, Zoé didn't know what to expect but vitriol (understandable) or avoidance (also understandable). Adrien was nice but she wouldn't hold it against him if he didn't want to talk about Chloé.

Adrien was waiting by the front door for her.

"Thanks..." Zoé mumbled as she walked in.

"No worries," Adrien said. "So, what's up?"

Zoé felt a little dot of pressure on her side that she knew was Pollen giving her silent support. 'Here goes nothing.'

"Uh.. I wanted to ask you a question about Chloé…"

"Oh." Adrien looked at her as if he was trying to figure out what she was thinking.

'Ah, shit.' That one word had Zoé backpedaling, hard. "I- I mean you don't have to talk about her if you don't want to. I just thought I'd ask you since you've known her the longest even if you're not friends anymore, yanno? Again, no pressure. I can leave if you want me to…."

"Wait-" Adrien, "No no, it's fine. It's just… you never took an interest in Chloé before… is all.."

Zoé couldn't help but grimace before looking away. He wasn't wrong. She had been constantly thinking about Chloé over the past several weeks and had had several existential crisises already. It was obvious in hindsight that her sister needed help and, while she wasn't necessarily the kind of help Chloé needed, the least she could have done was not abandon her like that.

"Yeah… I've just been thinking alot about her recently…"

"What brought this on?"

"Ah.." Zoé took out the phone from her pocket. "I found this in the hotel's Lost & Found a few weeks ago. I was going to factory reset it and use it for something else but… it wasn't locked and I ended up going through it. I didn't know it was Chloé's until I saw some of the videos she recorded."

Adrien wasn't sure where she was going with this. "Did you want my help returning it to her..?"

"Um. No actually. I.." Zoé took a deep breath. "One of the videos I saw by accident was one she sent to you. I didn't mean to pry but she was talking about your mom and… you don't have to tell me about what you talked to her about that but it just made me realize that I didn't even try to get to know her…"

Adrien looked even more confused and Zoé felt her nerves bubbling up again. "Like I said, you don't have to tell me anything…"

"It's not you, I just.. I don't remember getting a video like that?"

this kind of turned into an AU where Fury just didn't happen whoops ... but also ignore the fact that the events Pollen is talking about might not be what happened in canon it's been a while....

Zoé learning about Audrey's family in Paris through magazine articles, news shorts on YouTube, and general google search results before she gets there. She already has bad experiences with snobby rich people back in New York so she comes to Paris with an already biased opinion against her half-sister.

Chloé is naturally obnoxious and self-centered, even when she's trying to help. She tried to help Zoé by telling her how things work in Paris, but because she's socially stunted after all those years of acting like Audrey, Chloé ended up saying her genuine concerns as standoffish commands.

Zoé latched onto the first instance of confirmation bias, and only kept acknowledging opinions that further made her feel in the right when she told Chloé off multiple times and kept her silence when Chloé got kicked out of Paris.

Then Zoé got frustrated by how helpless she felt as a civilian. She felt powerful as Kitty Noire. She felt powerful as Vesperia. She didn't feel powerful when she had to sit there and let her bullies get away with messing with her friends. She talks to Ladybug, then vents to Pollen about how even Ladybug just wants her to be a bystander.

Maybe Pollen tries to help her calm down. Maybe she calls Zoé "My Queen" despite the fact that Zoe doesn't like it when she's called that. Maybe Zoé says something a little mean and is taken aback, then gives a wry laugh, telling Pollen, "God, I sound like Chloé."

Pollen looks at her confused. "Do you?"

It's Zoé's turn to be confused. "Yeah? It sounds like something she would say. She'd probably just go after people who annoy her."

"Chloé would never!"

"Pollen, she's not here to hurt you anymore. You don't have to pretend... Actually, Pollen, whatever order Chloé gave you, I order you to go against it. Break free from it."

"She never gave me such an order."

"She didn't give you any orders?"

"I have only ever recieved one order from her."

"Just one? What was it?"

"She told me to stop speaking while she was making a deal with Hawkmoth for the release of your parents."

"Wait.. What??"

I can't easily find a clip of it but for very succinct tl;dr of how I want to portray this dynamic specifically can be seen in the first season of the Umbrella Academy live action series. Allison (Number Three) as an adult grows up and gets married to a regular guy named Patrick and has a daughter named Claire. Allison has, to quote the wiki, the "ability to influence events by prefacing any statement with "I heard a rumor.""

The unfortunate thing is that she has grown up as a child hero using this power and has gotten kind of reliant on it (in my opinion), so when she becomes a mother and her daughter misbehaves or becomes difficult to deal with she gets incredibly frustrated and, despite her better judgement, Allison calms her down by influencing her with her ability. Unfortunately, Patrick accidentally witnesses this and becomes horrified enough that he divorces her and takes full custody of their daughter. Allison in that specific depiction of her flaws is how I wanted to portray Emilie.

Behind the Scenes time!

My go-to Emilie-Chloé dynamic is that Emilie does love Chloé, but Chloé exposes an unfortunate truth that people (in-universe) often overlook when it comes to Emilie: she is just not meant to be a parent.

Not to say that she needed to be the Perfect Parent, no one is and there's no one-size-fits-all way of raising kids, but you can tell she shouldn't have been a parent.

While Emilie is kind and loving, she is also incredibly selfish, biased, lacks patience, and is prone to favoritism and projection. You can see it when she runs away from her horrible family, leaving her twin sister to be the sacrificial lamb to their father's traditionalism. She parallels Marinette in that sense, but much worse. Emilie hated her family and how suffocating it was. She was desperate for her imagined Happily Ever After with her Prince Charming, who is simultaneously the first and only love of her life AND another form of rebellion against her father.

Gabi Grassette is the antithesis of what her father considered a Good Man. Not even the inability to have biological kids stood in the way of what she wanted. She used the peacock willingly, unlike Amelie who knew nothing or was forced to, and she kept the amoks with her at all times. She would rather have a magically created, ideal, perfect doll of a child because it fit that Happily Ever After.

I think Adrien in general, on his own, is a good person. However, him being a senti makes you wonder if, as a child, he was kind and perfect and listened and behaved because of his actual personality or if it was be cause his parents had a hand in it by giving him commands, regardless of whether they did it on purpose or on accident (as we saw with Felix in s6, you 100% can give accidental commands, without any intent).

In contrast, Chloe is a regular child, with regular needs and reactions. What works for Adrien, amok or not, will not work with Chloe. And Emilie hates the frustration that comes with having to deal with an actual child, and a ""problem child"" at that. It doesn't help that by this point, Emilie got everything she wanted: A loving husband, the perfect child, a lot of money, fame, and best of all: no shitty father to tell her what to do or how to live her life. Chloe, though a child, has consistently placed cracks in Emilie's perfectly controlled life. Truthfully, any regular child would have done that, not just Chloe, but Chloe is special in that she does whatever she wants and cares very little for the opinions of those around her except for a select few.

Essentially, Chloe is the same type of person as Emilie. And Emilie doesn't realize it, because she's the Adult and has consistently been told that she's a Good and Kind Person, while Chloe is a Stubborn and Bratty Child. It's easy for adults to fall prey to the same fallacy and treat children as subhuman and expect them to be subservient. Sit quiety. Follow the rules. I'm older than you so you have to do as I say because I said so. Emilie learned parenting from her parents whether she wanted to or not.

OHO