Cordelia Chopper

"The thing about hearts? Just because a person has one doesn't mean they know how to use it."

- Cora's card-quote Cordelia Chopper, preferrably known as Cora, is the daughter of the Tin Woodman from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and its sequels. Technically speaking, while Cora is royalty due to her father ruling the West after a certain Wicked Witch was defeated --- not to say that all royalty are Royals, of course --- she considers herself a Rebel. She would be more than happy to rule the Winkies and succeed the throne on her own (or alongside her sister, Nikole), just without the whole potential falling-in-love-with-some-random-guy-and-getting-chopped-up-and-going-on-some-pointless-adventure-thing-while-some-evil-magic-user-takes-over-her-father's-land bit.

Besides: In her opinion, she'd rather there be a story about her, here sister and their dad kicking the behind of the future Wicked Witch of The West as said Witch attempts (and fails) to seize the land.

Portrayal
her English voice actress would be oops-I'm-still-deciding-please-pay-no-attention-to-the-artist-behind-the-curtainthank-you-very-much~

Live action-wise, Adelayo Adedayo of the British television show Some Girls would very much befit her.

Personality
Casual and outwardly confident, Cordelia walks a fine line between showing concern and feigning indifference. She is something of a heart-filled enigma, considering that her frank, if sometimes snarky demeanor gives off an air of flippant, lighthearted pride. Brash at times, she's snide and standoffish towards those who've earned a spot on her bad side.

When push comes to shove, however, she isn't one to shy away her compassion: Deflecting bullies, calling out injustice, even helping out a stranger who's down on their luck. The girl knows painfully well how it feels to be an underdog, and while she may be more shameless than her tenderhearted dad, Cora sports a heart of gold under the armor that she wears, pun intended.

Appearance
Although she doesn't hail from Munchkinland, Cora, like many Ozians, is rather short. Her slender arms are notably toned due to years of experience under the art of proper ax-wielding, and while exceptionally prone to bruising without her layers of chain maille and armor, she tries to make up for it with her surprising strength and speed.

Her scarlet, near shoulder-length hair has an interesting tenancy to defy gravity, and she uses hair gel to make the ends slightly curl as though they were snarling flames. Bright violet eyes dawn Cora's heart-shaped face, with such and the rest of her body bearing a warm, dark brown complexion.

Basic Summary
We all know the tale, or at least so it seems: A little girl from Kansas gets swept away to a magical land and goes to seek the titular Wizard, meeting three quirky companions while defeating not one, but two Wicked Witches all by accident. Of course, including plenty of differences between the books and a certain renown film, there is plenty more to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz than the owner of this character needs to describe. That being said, there is a notable backstory surrounding the Tin Woodman's origins:

Nick Chopper, a man coming from a long line of woodmen, was a Munchkin man who fell in love with a lovely lass named Nimmie Amee. Their feelings were mutual, and the maiden promised that she'd marry him once he had earned enough money to provide a house for the two of them. Miss Amee, however, was the servant of a cruel old woman who didn't want her to marry, preferring to be waited on by the girl in question. Visiting the Wicked Witch of The East, the crone made a deal: To trade in two sheep and a cow, all in exchange for the Witch to prevent the marriage. Nick's ax was enchanted as a result, and whenever he'd begin to chop wood for the supplies? The ax would "miss" its target and slice off one of his limbs. One by one, he'd go to a tinsmith to replace each body part with a metallic substitute: One for each leg, arm, and even his head. Eventually the ax struck his torso, and so that was replaced by tin as well.

As he then lacked a physical heart Nick Chopper thought that he could no feel love, thus losing what love he had for Nimmie Amee. But he nonetheless, without care for care for marriage, kept on building until the house was finished, only to to get caught in the rain one night and rust in place. He remained in the same position for a year, right up until a quirky little girl and and a living scarecrow met his acquaintance, using an oil can to make his joints run smoothly again. When he learned of their ongoing journey to Oz, he joined his new companions to help obtain the love he once lost. Eventually, after many trials in their ongoing adventures, he ruled over Winkie Country after the Wicked Witch of the West was defeated.

Despite any and all adventured thereafter, however, he never did remarry the love of his life, although he did try to once. Have a nifty link to Wikipedia's article on the Tin Woodman for more information.

How Cora Ties Into It
Cora, unlike their dear father and similar to her Winkie sister, she is neither a Munchkinlander nor actually made of tin. It is expected that, once they graduate, one of them will reenact the heartbreak he went through in order to take the appearance of his metallic form. However, neither of them know just  who  is destined to take his place, for a certain violet-haired girl defied her destiny before either of them could pledge.

Having been adopted sometime after her sister, it was Nikole whose namesake was based on that of her father’s. As an infant, Cora was discovered one evening wrapped in blankets made of animal skins, presumably abandoned near the Tottenhot village south-east of Winkie and Quadling territory, in front of the mountains separating the West and South of Oz. The Tin Woodman upon finding her, who had intended to meet with Glinda to discuss trading routes at the time, stopped by the village at night in search of the unnamed infant's guardians.

The villagers had stopped their leisurely activities upon the site of the peculiar Emperor with the parentless newborn. However, none of them once claimed her as their child, let alone knew where she came from, an odd case as the village was not all that big. Even their leader and ambassador hadn’t been aware of her existence until then. When no claimed her as their own, the Tin Woodman didn’t have the heart to leave the little one without a family, and so decided to raise her as his own.

Since the girl appeared in their likeness, the leader only approved for the Tin Woodman’s adoption on one condition: Ensure the safely of their Ozian race and their rights to the land in which they control, maintain good ties between the child and the village, and to not push aside her roots just because of who she  might  turn out to be.

Nick, being a fair ruler and father both, kept this promise ever since that fateful night.

In General
The Tin Woodman, between Nikole and Cora, has always made a point in expressing that both of them have an equal chance in taking his place. Even at a young age, however, Cora always knew that she was different from her peers. While most Ozinites were born in the same place and remained there, going on about their live-and-let-live lifestyle, the girl, metaphorically, lives in three different worlds: One with the Tottenhots, the place of her discovery and where she makes semi-frequent visits due to her father’s promise. Another with mainstream Ozian society as a whole, being less secluded under Ozma's allegiance than her village of origin. And finally? Living within the Tin Palace, learning the ways of her kindly father and fulfilling royal duties as a potential heir to the throne.

It wasn't until her adolescence in life that Cora realized just why the Tottenhots were documented in a bias, extremely prejudiced manner by L. Frank Baum, especially at a time where racial caricatures and less than flattering portrayals of marginalized groups were accepted without qualms. It was also around that time where she knew, in spite supposedly being an equal, why some Ozians would rather another Munchkin like her sister (who in reality a mortal from China, but since she wound up in Munchkinland via after high winds from an earth-storm wound up in Oz, she's considered one of them) rule the West after the next Wicked Witch's defeat. With her Ozian race living on the fringes, Cora's existence was seen as an anomaly.

Over the years she has grown somewhat reluctant about showing her insecurities over the subject, especially towards non-Ozians and those who wouldn't know any better. As a result, this is her personal reason for joining the Rebel cause: She'd rather be respected based on her character while having her differences be accepted and celebrated, rather than feel pressured into filling her father's metallic shoes as a means of earning the respect she should be given.

Family
The Choppers are a small yet tight-knit family, living comfortably in the Tin Palace. Of course, the girls being made of flesh and not likely to easily adjust to sleeping on metal mattresses, both siblings' bedrooms are exceptions when it comes to their father's all-tin-all-the-time house decor. Although they sometimes clash as siblings do, Cora and her sister close as any two sisters can be.

Friends
First and foremost: The children of the villagers from a certain part of Oz. A well established relationship between her father and the Tottenhots has well benefited Cora, being respected among them as equals and vise-versa. Along with her semi-frequent visits (which have understandingly decreased since attending a certain boarding school), she keeps well in touch with the students whose homes dwell near her place of discovery that attend Ever After High.

As for Barley, the next Scarecrow of Oz, they met when he literally crashed into her while arriving as school using a mirror portal, a heirloom owned by the family of one of the Munchkin farmers who made him. The odd duo have been friends ever since, Cora being amused by his quirky mannerisms and Barley, well, honestly he's just a people person and his sometimes literal mindedness makes him immune to her snark.

Ever since a certain happening during Legacy Day, however, an elephant in the room has appeared in their relationship: While Barley is looking forward to getting brains and meeting a strew of interesting people through the retelling of Baum's books, Cora doesn't see the point in in it. At all. Her dad being dethroned only for Niki or her to get it back with the help of some random hick from Kansas? Losing her heart and every other organic limb on her body? Not appealing.

Romance
Other than bearing the occasional, though fading crush on many a passing lass, she isn't a hopeless romantic nor one to throw herself at whatever random student that comes her way. While not closed off to the idea of being in a relationship, Cora is one to take it slow.

Opon the possibility of falling in love with the son of Nimmie Amee and Chopfyt --- the latter being a man who was, by no exaggeration, constructed by a tinsmith using the leftover body parts of Nick Chopper and the former Munchkin soldier Captain Fyter --- Cora just can't. She'd rather follow her heart, as cheesy as it sounds, and her heart, at least for the most part, roots for the other team.

Pet and Other Animals
Cora has taken notice of a small yellow butterfly named Henley that is sometimes seen following her around. He's her creature companion (the butterfly told her his gender before leaving home of course, as all animals can talk while in Oz), having come forth during the Land Of Oz's own Animal Calling. While she doesn't consider Henley a pet (she considers animals as equals, as they are in Oz in general), Cora very much enjoys his company.

On a non-"pet" related subject: Cora has a notable fear of wolves. It had developed during a brief, though frightening encounter with one as a child, having strayed from her father during a trip outside of Oz to the village surrounded by the Dark Forest. It didn't attack her when she saw it peeking from the fringes of the path, but the sight of it along with the vague threat it have given was enough for her into catching up with her dad and sister. She prefers pretending that she doesn't have to slaughter 40 brainwashed wolves in her tale assuming she gets the role, and in spite of her fear she actually feels guilty over possibly having to rid herself of animals unwillingly under the next Witch's control.

Basic
She wears a truncated, homemade tin hennin (headdress) with a handle to its left and a slimmer, spout-like opening for her hair. A striped yellow ribbon loops under her chin and headpiece, and lining its golden brim is an amber jewel with a four-pointed star decal that rises just above the middle of her hairline. On its sides covering her ears are detachable tin disks with a golden heart design that serve as a hidden fastener for a pair of square-shaped, green-tinted glasses that she can slide on or click back onto her hat when needed.

Underneath a pair of tin laudrons (armor protecting the shoulders) and her dark, tin chainmaille tunic with metallic strips tied together around her waist is a simple orange tanktop. On her arms are gold-trimmed tin couters (elbow guards) and tin vambraces, along with an armlet on her right and a thick, gold and tin bangle over a layer of fur around her left wrist. She wears an assortment of gold and tin rings on her fingers. Over her pair of yellow-stripedk knickerbockers is a metallic tasset with an oil can design etched of each side, attached to a leather belt with an ax-shaped fastener. Tin greaves (shin guards) are attached to a pair of otherwise metallic, high-heeled boots tinted in gold and ruby red paint.

Although the tin items mentioned are plated in nickel for protection from rain and the elements, nickel can in fact rust outside of Oz (and nickel from Oz is especially prone to such). Therefore Cora has to oil certain armored accessories, particularly her couters. They, her laudrons, and chainmaille have rusted on more than one occasion on especially rainy days, making for some particularly awkward moments where she couldn't move her waist and arms.

Fanfics, Journal Entrees and Other Appearances

 * The Road to Oz Ain't Paved in Gold
 * And more to come~

Quotes
"I know like isn't a comma now shuttup."

- Cora being a strong, independent Ozian who don't care about your comma usage.

"...(un)fortunately he saved C.J.'s life. Dude was one dig away from getting his exoskeleton smashed like a pumpkin carriage when it spoils after midnight."

- Upon being saddened that a certain Wogglebug's son wasn't taught a valuable lesson. :<

"Remember the last bit where I said Barley didn't sound the same? He still doesn't here. I don't know why but it's just jarring when he's not all cheery and happy and stuff. Like when he's happy, he's /happy/. And when he's confused or sad, he's /really/ confused or sad."

- While showing concern for a certain bffa~

Trivia/Notes

 * The name Cordelia is associated with the latin term cordis or cor, rather fittingly meaning "heart". It is also the name of the youngest daughter of King Lear, who is exiled when, after seeing through her sisters' false pledges love to their father, quaintly yet honestly expressed her dedication to him. As Cora's frankness tends to go against the tide and she happens to the youngest of her family, the name fittingly reflects her persona.
 * Like those of her specific Ozian race, Cora is supposed to be nocturnal. Her father once tried to have her adjust to a normal sleeping schedule, but it was, regretfully, an unsuccessful endeavor that didn't help her internal clock one bit. However, Cora complrimises her sleeping habits at school: she takes her classes later than other students around the early-mid afternoon, has a lunch/sleeping/hangout break, then attends specialized evening courses to finish up the "day".
 * The yellow butterfly in her "Pets" section is a reference to The Patchwork Girl of Oz, where the Tin Woodman refuses to let Ojo the Unlucky to clip off a yellow butterfly's wings to use in a transformation spell that would have freed his father from his stone statue prison. Ozma ends up freeing Ojo's dad instead which technically rendered the whole expedition pointless, but that's Oz for you.
 * The one thing that Cora and some Rebels may butt heads on is the girl's strong attachment to her father's absolute monarchy. She believes that only the Choppers and those who are most trusted by her family should have any right to Winkie Country at all, and that the same threfire justly applies to the titles that other royal families have on their own kingdoms, empires, and so forth, for the exception of more tyrannical kingdoms. If someone wants to siege anyone's throne at all, then she firmly believes that they better have earned the privilege first --- otherwise, royalty should be completely entitled to their rank unless a ruler is shown to be an unjust to the people they serve, therefore requiring a abdication.

Disclaimer
The Tottenhots first appear in The Patchwork Girl of Oz by L. Frank Baum. With the name of the Tottenhots alone unfortunately being an pun on an outdated and particularly derogatory term, I very much ensure you that I’m doing my best in pulling off having Cora’s association with a controversial grouping in the series, all while dealing with them accordingly and appropriately as to make her a well developed character, rather than that of a racist caricature as they were formerly written as. If only Baum was ahead of his time when it came to racial representation of actual human beings, but it is what it is and I am willing to learn from his mistakes.