Rambling about Zoé's character and how I'd write her. This is a long post trying to make Zoé more interesting FOR ME to write.
I'm a ML fic writer, I've been so since 2016 (if some of you speak Spanish I can send you some, I still write for this show but don't post it online anymore). I must admit I acknowledge most of the characters I write are ooc-ish, I try to stay true to their canon selves but I just cannot prevent myself from adding my personal touch. That and I don't want anything related to canon!Adrien. So for example I tend to make Marinette an introvert (she's still got amazing speech skills and loves her friends), in the "I like being alone as much as I like being with my adored friends, sometimes I need to recharge", or make Adrien more shy than he actually is (he being perfect and social doesn't make sense to me dhejhdjdkskw); based on Marinette having not many childhood friends, being good at keeping things to herself and Adrien being homeschooled and sometimes implied to be socially awkward.
So I've been thinking, what can I do with Zoé to make her more interesting but not, you know, an entire different character?
Canon-wise, she is sweeeet, very sweet, so good, sacrifices herself, loves her oh-so-awful sister no matter what, knows a lot about social interactions and acting and well, is amazingly good at acting (the way she switched her personality to piss off Banana), and was bullied.
What I dislike is how this along with the Chloé character arc, makes her a Mary Sue, or something similar. And, overall, she doesn't seem fun to write. Marinette and Lila, for example, are very fun characters to write, with Marinette being so creative and having amazing leadership skills in contrast to her overall clumsyness (and being anxious, which is something I relate to); and Lila being a colorful character with an interesting thought process (if written correctly and not in the canon way xd). Whereas Zoé's personality is "good Chloé with some good Lila".
Her acting part is the most interesting thing but it can clash with Lila's lying (and the fact that many of us already headcanon her as getting interested in acting). Imagine writing Lila, Zoé and Fei, three characters associated with lying/acting, in the same fic lmao. They're basically the chaotic, neutral, lawful meme.
I'd keep the acting thing and the "believes in Chloé" thing, to have someone contrast with Marinette (RIGHTFULLY) giving up with some people.
What I'd probably do is make her scared of making new friends because all the people she's had liked her for being a people pleaser, so having her be scared of this happening again kind of makes sense to me. So she's a good person but doesn't open up as fast and instead acts as a foil to Lila's making lots of friends fast but in a fake way. She would definitely not trust people that easily and we'd have to wait some more for Vesperia to appear. Because idk, it's just so weird having Marinette give a Miraculous to someone so new.
However, I do love the idea of her being more on the rebellious side, being the black sheep of the family. Her making Chloé believe she's a mean girl while doing the actual opposite is canon so it doesn't feel too ooc. Perhaps having a mother who'd like her to be this mean person while probably neglecting her, made her the total opposite?
A good-hearted rebellious girl who has two clashing wishes: one, to be a people pleaser (because of wanting Audrey's love) and two, to not give a fuck (because everyone turned against her the moment she was sincere). This would let us see some character growth (Zoé understanding her family is toxic, that she doesn't need to try and please them, and that there are healthy people she can be with).
So yeah, I'd make her hate her parents in secret, but not Chloé because she acknowledges she's abused too and has a somewhat soft spot for her. She'd feel the need to coddle her tho, and I feel it'd be interesting having her understand Chloé needs to be helped and called out at the same time. So we could still have the "I love you Chloé" but not give off the message that you must love your family even when they're toxic. Zoé really wants Chloé to become better but she'd have to understand that Chloé needs to be called out too. Idk I think it would be an interesting dynamic. Sometimes you want someone to become better and it becomes unhealthy for you too.
The difference with Lila would be that Lila lies for fun, to have attention, to have people love her; whereas Zoé doesn't outright lie, she totally acts and is more on the "I omit the truth, I don't create a new truth" side. Lila doesn't actually care if someone hates her as long as it's just one person who doesn't screw up her stories, whereas Zoé is a people pleaser by nature —she wants to be liked too, but not because she needs attention, and she feels bad when someone dislikes her. This way we'd have two characters showing us different sides of the "I want to be liked" trope.
And maybe the "I'm a rich kid who hates being rich and would rather not be rich/give the money to something important" can work with her too, but idk I don't really like writing rich people whjfjfhdjdw.
