Why do so many people draw her as crying during this scene? When the idea is that her emotions have been frozen and she's just an obedient pawn for us to control after how much she's been brainwashed?

I cant speak for others, but I take it as what it feels like to be fully overwhelmed by your traumas and emotions you suppress only for it to be used against you to manipulate you by others and the pain of that comes out through tears.

But that's just my personal take on it.. Doesn't mean it's canon or anything of the like.. Just how my mind interpreted my playthrough of the game.

Noelle is always the quiet one pushed aside, and the trauma of what happened to her sister haunts her.. so I feel everything she bottles up overwhelms her especially when its used against her in a manipulative way.