#chloebrina

So, I decided to put this out as a general idea/prompt that anyone is welcome to take and do their own version of. I'd really appreciate if people write fics like this one, cause I want to read them.

After his father's death, Adrien would be sent to live with distant relatives- the Waynes. And I know he has an aunt and grandparents, but none of them really seem to care for him that much, so this happens-

I'd like to think that Adrien gets the option to choose who he stays with, he'd rather go be with people he doesn't know that well and a new place, so he could have a Fresh Start.Because let's face it, as much as he 'loved' his dad, he was still neglected. He'd be finally free.

And I don't like the fact that Lila gets to be as big of a threat as she is. So Maybe she waits a while before attacking, to lure the good guys into a false sense of security, and Chat powers up to fly to paris for every akuma and gets caught hero-ing that way

Or Lila gets caught really early on and is not a threat anymore, and this is because ladybug and her team are just that strong, and when they defeat her, they didnt need chat noir. Which could be why he leaves to go to Gotham. (this would be very convenient for a non-plot-focussed, found family hurt/comfort fic)

This could be any iteration of the Batman-verse, there could be the teen titans, there could not, there could be all the robins and batgirls, there could not, it's up to us, really.

(I'm thinking this could happen in the Lego Batman Movie universe, because that way, I can sneak in my favorite otp, batjokes, but that's in my opinion)

Anyways, I really want to disregard canon for this and give chloe her redemption too. Like- she did not deserve that. Her dad gets redemption, but she doesnt??? Hello??? Like What??? (And Since I ship her with Sabrina, they could reconcile, and end up together?)

Maybe she and her mom are in Gotham now for some reason, and with adrien there, they begin to reconcile and become friends. (Maybe Bruce adopts her from her neglective mom too? ) they become kind of like siblings, or maybe if someone ships it (I dont), ends up with Adrien.

Maybe Chloe becomes a robin? Or a batgirl? Or a different hero, but still- a hero. That is something that has proven to be a way to make her a better person. She has that potential, and by regaining so much of what she lost, she could be so much more.

That way, I could do both of them right.

Oh, that’s a tough one.

Setting aside my personal preferences and trying to be as objective as possible, I think they would be:

-Adrinette in its four variations: Yes, I know, a huge surprise, but you only have to watch the movie (or "Oblivio") to realize the problem lies with the canon version.

-Alyanette: Thanks to how the show has treated her as a confidante, advisor, and successor, Alya became the most significant relationship for Marinette in the canon, sometimes even more so than Adrien himself.

-Ivan and Mylène: The advantage of being such minor characters is that you avoid the drama and awkward situations that plague the main couples.

-Julerose: Same as above, but LGBTQ+ edition.

-Chloebrina: The civilian antagonist and her right-hand woman, even the problematic ones deserve love and happiness. Also it just works. It made so much sense, not for nothing we got Zoebrina in canon.

Chloé this, Chloé that, "Redemption started?", "Redemption interrupted?", "Redemption cancelled?". The discussion is getting old. What I haven't seen enough yet is how the show did Sabrina really dirty, by giving her the worst thing of all: A conscience.

The early parts of the show toyed a lot with how exactly Chloé and her relation to Sabrina works, which was clearly not well established when the first episode came out (hell, they didn't even seem to know who Max and Kim were yet, they only had their character models). Sabrina's deal is easy enough in the abstract, but difficult to pin down in the early episodes: Is she more meek or mean? More of a victim or more of a bully? Does she share Chloé's values whole-heartedly, opportunistically, or is she pressured into it? Does she have scruples or is she just a coward? Those are all elements in her character to some extent, but the exact mixture did not really solidify until she got an episode to shine and be away from Chloé, in Evilstrator.

That episode did the fairly obvious plot of Marinette going, "you can stand up to your bully instead of doing their homework for them!", and then showed us how Sabrina reacted. And the reaction was: Sabrina is every bit as unhinged as Chloé, just in completely different ways, and their dysfunctional relationship might just be the only one in which either of them can function.

This choice is not fully unproblematic, but ultimately okay in my book. I think die-hard Sabrina stans might call this character assassination, but I don't think there are any die-hard Sabrina stans. I feel like I should become one just to even out the numbers. Anyway, the choice clearly telegraphs that the show is not interested in long-running redemption arcs, which, you know, fair enough, it is designed for six-year-old French kids after all. (Yes, season 2 and 3 looked rather different here, but that's later)

The show did not exactly use Sabrina consistently after that, but for a while, they leaned into it. Early Sabrina was often mean, materialistic, codependent (I don't actually know what that word means I'm just guessing) and toxic in her own way. She broke into Marinette's room, helped steal Marinette's designs, lie and cheat for Chloé.

And then that was basically it. The show mostly forgot about her. She was an appendage to Chloé, usually frightened and a bit incompetent, but not much more. When Chloé showed signs of a bit of a hint of a redemption arc, Sabrina was not part of it. When Chloé gained a sister for, I actually don't know (I still maintain that "replacement bee" makes no sense for anything but selling merch), and there were hints that this might be relevant to her story, Sabrina wasn't there.

What did happen in the moments we saw Sabrina was that Sabrina got more meek, more scared of Chloé, and less mean. There were no more hints of her playing superheroes with Chloé and being at least somewhat of a friend, and also none of the meanness of Miraculer, one of the worst Akuma names in the show. Instead she was now in a closet doing Chloé's homework.

As she becomes less effective, she becomes more sympathetic, with some moments e.g. in the New York special, until she finally becomes Miss Hound. At this point we have basically the exact same thing that Evilstrator rejected: Sabrina is really just an oppressed underling who is too scared to tell Chloé to stop, instead of someone with at least some of her own ideas that happen to overlap with Chloé's in all the worst ways.

This all comes to a head in confrontation, when Sabrina's defining character trait is suddenly, out of nowhere, that as a police officer's daughter, she hates lying and stealing and hates that Chloé makes her do it. Since when!? Sabrina, weren't you around for Darkblade!?

Sabrina breaks off her friendship with Chloé and is now officially a good girl. And that sucks.

Old Sabrina had a certain edge to her. She made sense as an Akuma threat on her own, and even as a threat to Chloé as Vanisher and Miraculer. Now, she's only an Akuma effectively when Chloé tells her to, and she stopped listening to Chloé anyway. Her personality is now strictly: A good girl. Not like Chloé.

Ironically, in her emancipation, she has lost almost everything that made her unique, and become entirely defined by Chloé in every way. She's her own person, but with barely any personality traits except "not like Chloé anymore". No hobbies, no meaningful relationships with anyone, she's just there, and nice now I guess.

There are so much more interesting things you could have done with a mean Sabrina, which we know for sure because the show already did some.

But that's really part of a wider issue: When people talk about Chloé, they mostly forget Sabrina, and Sabrina isn't interesting enough to stand on her own. The ideas of a Chloé redemption throughout season 2, 3 and in some form 4 focused on Chloé's relationship with Ladybug, Marinette, a bit Adrien, Audrey, and a bit Zoé. Chloé's super-duper villain arc in season 5 focused on her relationship with Lila. Sabrina, who has been here from day one, who has the longest and most complex relationship with Chloé out of any character, is not a part of it at all.

I think that sucks. I think Sabrina has more potential, but in particular I think Chloé is more interesting if we include Sabrina in the discussion as well. Their relationship is something deeply weird and unique, and any Chloé redemption that brushes it off leaves a lot of very tasty crumbs on the table. It sucks that it ended like that. Yes, Sabrina is now redeemed, but as a result of that, she's boring, and isn't that much worse than being evil?

As they say, why do you need guys when you have girls?

Sabrina X Chloe

Lila X Chloe

Juleka X Rose

Sabrina X Zoe

Explicit Chlobrina (though this chapter is tame). Written for the @mlbigbang.

Marinette’s life had taken her many strange and unexpected places. The top of the Eiffel Tower, the sewers below the Eiffel Tower, the superhero shenanigans of New York and Shanghai, the moon, parallel dimensions, you name it. Still, the current thing was definitely in the top five: Sitting in a small café across from Chloé Bourgeois, who was telling her about the sex she’d had with Sabrina last night. “Okay, first of all, this doesn’t happen from just accidentally brushing against a part, whatever that’s supposed to mean”, she whispered at Chloé. “And second, why did you invite me here? Why not Adrien, or Zoé, anyone?” “I specifically need the opinion of someone who isn’t them”, said Chloé dismissively. If she had heard the remark about the ‘accident’, she had chosen to ignore it. “An observer who won’t go all mushy and emotions on me. Someone who won’t spare my feelings and won’t try to push me into their idea of a fairytale romance. You hate me, so that should be fine.” Marinette sighed. “I don’t hate you, Chloé. Not anymore. It’s-“ “Yes, yes, I know”, said Chloé dismissively. “Let’s stop talking about you and focus on the important part, which is me. As you know, I am not gay. I decided that back when I was thirteen, and I stuck with it ever since.” “That’s not really a thing you decide like that…”, began Marinette, but Chloé cut her off. “I’ve heard that, but I’m different. I have plans, and in them, I’m not gay. For example I am going to marry Adrien, that is my destiny.” “Chloé”, growled Marinette. “You know that Adrien and I are married? Have been for two years now? We’re expecting our first child.” She pointed to her round belly. Chloé looked back, confused. “What does that have to do with anything?” “Erm…” Marinette had no idea how to respond to that.

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