Cordelia Chopper

"The thing about hearts? Just because a person has one doesn't mean they know how to use it. Sometimes your moral compass is better without one, but I'm not losing either anytime soon."

- Cora's card-quote Cordelia Chopper, preferably known as Cora, is the daughter of the Tin Woodman from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and its sequels. Technically speaking, while she's royalty due to her father ruling the West as a figurehead 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), preferably without the whole your-ax-chop-your-limbs-and-you-gain-tin-prosthetics/go-on-an-adventure-while-some-magic-user-takes-over-your-dad's-land bit.

Admittedly, if there really is no other choice, then she'd intentionally take on the role with as much apprehension as any person who fears the loss of their humanity. Not to say that she doesn't respect her tin father sentience, but he can't seem to comprehend these days how temporary physical pain and dealing with an ex-significant other would inflict both physical and emotional trauma on a person in question, even upon gaining a "superior" tin body.

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

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

Personality
Cordelia is a blunt yet compassionate girl known for her casual, confident, if oddly flippant demeanor. Being something of a tossup, opinions of her are at times a bit polarizing: depending on the person, she is either viewed as too "heartless" in the eyes of others, or Cora actually turns out to be a pinch too considerate, perhaps because instead of in spite of being a tin man's daughter. Is she a shameless and headstrong snark who'll defend her pride, standing her ground in a blunt and reactive manner? Or perhaps she's an assertive, yet affable teen whose directness is the byproduct of a concerned and socially active soul.

To be honest, even Cora herself isn't too sure. Whether seen as heartless or heart-filled, many students tend to believe she's tough and unfazed by the problems she faces, or that she has no troubles to deal with in the first place. It's often the little things that get to her, however: do people like her for who she is as a person, or is it simply out of the importance of her destiny? Would she get the same recognition and respect had the Tin Woodman not adopted her? And why does an already famous tale such as The Wonderful Wizard of Oz even need to be retold in the first place?

Little by little, all of these questions have eaten up at her. With Raven Queen's refusal to pledge, they're more important to her than ever.

Well, there's one thing for sure. By definition Cora is by far a heart-filled enigma whose strong ego easily hides the sensitivity she tries so hard (and often fails) to guard. Sure, she may not always think before speaking her mind, but this girl will nonetheless take a stand for anybody she suspects an injustice has been directed upon. All in all it's safe to say that she sports a heart of gold under the tin armor that she wears.

Appearance
Although she doesn't hail from Munchkinland, Cora, like a few notable Ozians, is rather short at 4'5". Her build is of a curvy musculature, and her arms are notably toned, and while certain events have left her easy to bruise under layers of chainmaille and armor, the girl tries to make up for it with surprising strength and speed.

She has scarlet red hair and dark brown complexion. The former is shoulder-length when straightened and worn with her usual headgear, but its natural texture is thick and coiled. For the latter, her skin tone in particular is a warm, deep sienna hue. Gillikin violet eyes dawn the girl's round face, and due to their sensitivity she often brings along a set of green-lensed, steampunk glasses/goggles when deal with bright lights.

Without the nickel-plated tin disks that normally cover the ears, she lacks ear cartilage around her earlobes, this being the result of "luckily" surviving (and barely managing to escape from) a particularly nasty Kalidah attack. She has scars caused by large claw marks from the event, physical ones including those around her ears, sides of her head, arms (meticulously covered by metallic jewelry, armor, and vambraces), and trailing her legs. When uncovered, more observant folks may notice burn scars around her forearms that seem just about as old (if not less) as her claw-related injuries; she'll hastily brush them off as accidents from her metalsmithing hobby (via soldering guns and other heated implements). She's often seen wearing various ear-covering circlets, crowns, and other headpieces that include fashionably functional discs for her ear-having benefit.

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 within the book itself:

Nick Chopper, a normal Ozian man from a line of woodmen, fell in love with a lovely Munchkin lass named Nimmie Amee. The maiden promised that she'd marry him once he'd 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. Visiting the Wicked Witch of The East, the woman and Witch struck a deal. Two sheep and a cow were given in exchange for a means to prevent the marriage. Nick's ax was enchanted, 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. In time the ax struck his torso, and the tinsmith just so happened to come across him that day. The man replaced what was left of Nick's former body, thus taking on the tin form he has to this day.

Because the tinsmith never replaced his physical heart, Nick Chopper thought that he couldn't feel love, losing the desire he had for Nimmie. But he nonetheless kept 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 until a girl and a living scarecrow met his acquaintance, using his 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 was given a velvet-made "heart" stuffed with sawdust, and he ruled over Winkie Country (the west portion of Oz) after the Wicked Witch of the West was defeated.

Despite any and all adventures thereafter, 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
Cordelia, unlike her father and similar to her sister Nikole, is neither a Munchkinlander nor actually made of tin. It was Nikole whose namesake was based off of her dad's, as Cora was adopted after her.

When Cora was still an infant, she was discovered by Nick one evening wrapped in a blanket, presumably abandoned near the Tottenhot village south-east of Winkie and Quadling territory. The Tin Woodman, who had intended to meet with Glinda to discuss trading routes at the time, decided to stop by the village that night in search of the unnamed child's guardians.

The villagers stopped their leisurely activities upon the site of the peculiar Tin Emperor with the parentless newborn. Surprisingly enough, none of them claimed her as their child, or let alone knew where she came from. As the village was not very big, was an odd case that puzzled both Nick and denizens alike. 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 of the Tin Woodman’s adoption on three conditions: ensure the safely of their Ozian peoples 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 as a result of destiny.

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

Cora's Backstory
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, though, he latter knew that she was different from her peers. Most Ozinites were born in the same place and remained there, going on about their live-and-let-live lifestyle. Cora, meanwhile, theoretically lived in three different worlds: one with the Tottenhots, another with mainstream Ozian society, and life at the Tin Palace, learning the ways of her proud father and preparing for her destiny. Along with being the younger of the two, she and her sister were often pitted against each other by Nick's subjects over who would rule Winkie Country: Nikole for being the oldest and landing via earth-storm in Munchkinland, and Cora for actually being born in the Land of Oz. Differing opinions from Ozinites have run rampant since Cora's adoption, but wasn't until after the result of a certain scar-bearing Kalidah attack when their pressure had much impact.

The attack happened when she was thirteen, a time when the girl frequented Ku-Klip's cabin (Nick Chopper's tinsmith). He was a family friend that taught her the tools of his trade, and upon arriving at the Munchkin wood by the Yellow Brick Road one day, the beast roamed away from the more formidable parts of the forest in a less than stable mood. It was by an unlikely (and unlucky) chance that they ran into each other, and the unarmored and unprepared teen hadn't foreseen the creature's attempts to lash out at her. She (barely) managed to escape and after a series of sprints arrived Ku-Klip's workshop, Cora passing out as he frantically let her in. He managed to treat her wounds while unconscious and and molded a pair removable tin ears with a few measurements, and with the help of nearby inhabitants he was able to return the Winkie princess home at her father's tin palace.

Further along in her rehabilitation, Cordelia noticed how quite a few Winkies began to fixate on her. Unusual being the youngest, but she loved the attention and for a while just went with it. But she began to notice that most, if not all of her subjects, seemed solely interested in her prosthetics, and even servants at Nick's castle were left enamored and fascinated by Cora's tin ears, deterring her healed scars while showing excitement about her so-called tinnification. For many in Oz, her metallic parts were seen as a sign that she deserved her inherit her father's throne, and it was obvious that her future title was the only thing that mattered to them.

Once Upon a Sheltered Life, a natural-haired redhead thought that people with hearts admired her as a person; it was at that moment when she realized how her status played a role in way others saw her. For the first time in her life, Cora felt alone.

For a while the teen isolated herself. She wouldn't leave her room aside from lessons, meals, and time spent in the royal castle workshop where tin was 'smithed, entering only when the tinsmiths weren't around. Long-sleeved shirts, trousers, and ankle-length skirts replaced breathable tank tops, mid-length shorts, and skorts. She barely went outside, and stopped visiting Jack Pumpkinhead and the Scarecrow like she used to. Family and friends alike grew worried, but on the day they planned to confront her troubled behavior? She left the workshop that afternoon wearing laudrons (shoulder armor), a tasset, and other tin armor accessories with a spark of enthusiasm that Nick hadn't seen from her since the day before the attack. It was almost as though Cora returned to her old self, albeit more frank and some added spunk to her overall attitude.

She rarely wears shorts still, but short sleeves (usually) ensue with the addition of intentionally placed vambraces and tin jewelry. Whether completely decked in armor or wearing a bare minimum of metallic accents, Cordelia, for one reason or another, is always seen wearing some kind of tin panoply. When Nick asked why, she proclaimed that she wanted to make him proud; in reality, it's the only security blanket she has. The events of her past are one of many reasons why Cora is a Rebel: she'd rather be respected and have her differences be accepted and celebrated, rather than feeling as though the only reason why she isn't looked down upon is due to being the daughter of a famous Ozian figurehead.

Meanwhile, whispers from local Munchkinlanders recall sightings of a taller, gray-haired man with a curled mustache who lingered further down the Yellow Brick on the day of the Kalidah attack. Why the being wandered off from its course of habitat (and how Cora got away without a fatal blow in spite of its exceptionally statuesque size) is still a mystery, but some believe this mysterious person to have played a role in its unusual behavior.

Family
Despite Cora's struggles, the Choppers are otherwise a small yet tight-knit family, living comfortably in the Tin Palace. Of course, with the girls being made of flesh, both siblings' bedrooms are, to an extent, exceptions when it comes to their father's all-tin-all-the-time house decor. While they sometimes clash as siblings do, Cora and Nikole are as close as any two sisters can be.

Upon admission to Ever After High, Milton Grimm initially requested that only one of Nick's daughters apply to the school. The metal-man however, not pleased with the arrangement/determined not to hurt his daughters' pride, insisted that they go together. After meeting upon meeting and one too many back-and-forth inter-realm travels, the Headmaster realized that the Tin Soldier, Captain Fyter, never raised a heir of his own. Nikole and Cordelia were both allowed on campus under the condition that one would take Nick's destiny and the other would take Fyter's. To Milton's irritation, neither the Tin Woodman, Cora, or Niki have insisted on which roles they plan to take. While both siblings take pride in their dad and respect the Tin Soldier, neither sister wants to fully pledge their allegiance to a role that will severely and painfully alter their appearance over some Munchkin boy they can barely even tolerate.

There is also another notable source of conflict: Nick Chopper heavily buys into the possibility that Oz will cease to exist if there is even one person who cannot play a given role in the story (and stories, by possible extension). It's mostly out of this hidden fear than actively wanting to pressure his daughters, but be can be rather "thoughtless" due to assuming that his daughters are willing to take up the title(s) of Tin Wood(wo)man and Tin Soldier. Perhaps one could say that he's a bit "heartless" on the subject as well, as he never really considered his daughters' feelings on the matter. Afraid of making her family relations strained, Cora has yet to come out about being a Rebel to him.

Friends
Barley, the next Scarecrow of Oz, met Cora after literally crashing into her upon arriving at school via wishing well teleportation (as described in the Ever After High novels). The odd duo managed to become friends despite the crash-and-meet, Cora being amused by his quirky mannerisms and Barley in general being an extreme people-person in general. Ever since what happened on Legacy Day, however, there's been an elephant in the room. Barley looks forward to getting brains and going on many Ozian adventures; Cora doesn't want to go through the mess of pretending to like some jerk from Munchkinland and losing her heart because of it. She also fears the fate of her dad, since the future Wicked Witch of the West would have to dethrone him in order to rule the Winkies. Because she and her sister could potentially inherit a very important role, both or them rebelling causes a lot of friction between her and Royally aligned Ozians.

In terms of non-Ozian students, she befriended Griselle Damgaard, the daughter of The Ugly Duckling and a Swan Maiden, after shooing away her duckling cousins. The girl initially brushed Cora off, mentioning that she (Grisey) could have easily done the same without help. Yet the tin man's daughter kept turning up in her vicinity despite the other girl's irk, until she was convinced in time that Cordelia didn't just defend her out of pity, but out of genuine concern unrelated to her story. Their friendship includes bouts of banter mixed in with legitimate vitriolic spats, but little does the next Ugly Duckling know, Cora may or may not harbor some feelings for her.

Romance
As noted, part of her destiny involves being in a relationship with the offspring of Nimmie Amee and Chopfyt, who in this case is an adolescent boy named Nemo Amee. While the future union would be short-lived due to the interference of the next Wicked Witch of the East, Cora doesn't look forward to it one bit. She hates his guts and finds no appeal in his utter laziness and sense of entitlement towards her and her sister. Cordelia lacks a strong preference for men anyway, and Nemo doesn't particularly respect her romantic leanings.

As of current, she holds a slight crush on Griselle and has yet to admit it. Under the assumption that she's either straight or doesn't want her orientation to be outed, Cora is reluctant to ask her out.

Pet
Cora has taken notice of a small yellow butterfly named Henley that is sometimes seen following her around. He's her creature companion (as according to book canon, all students receive one), having come forth during the Land Of Oz's own Animal Calling. While she doesn't consider Henley a pet (she sees all animals as equals, as they are in Oz in general), Cora very much enjoys his company.

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, lining its golden brim with an amber jewel that has a four-pointed star decal that rises just above the middle of her hairline. On its sides covering her ears are detachable tin ear-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 and her dark, tin chainmaille tunic with metallic strips fastened around her waist is a simple orange tank top. 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-striped 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 rainy days, making for some particularly awkward moments where she couldn't move from the waist up.

Legacy Day
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Thronecoming
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Fanfics, Journal Entrees and Other Appearances

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

Quotes
"Look. If you see the haysack moping around, be gentle. Like, don’t poke him around and shit. And I swear if you ask him what’s wrong with his bird I will personally make sure you shoot for the moon before you even graduate."

- Cora upon showing consern for the next Scarecrow of Oz while threatening a moon-prince. "...(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. :<

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

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

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 was 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 (to an extent) fittingly reflects her persona. It's also fitting due to the fact that the future Wicked Witch of the West would have to overthrow the Chopper family in order to rule the West, which happens to both Lear and Shakespeare-Cordelia in question (to say the least).
 * 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 other 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 therefore justly applies to the titles that other royal families have on their own kingdoms, empires, and so forth, for the exception of more tyrannical governments. 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 an abdication.
 * When she was still just a nursery rhyme, Cora once found her father's special whistle used to summon the Queen of the Field Mice and her subjects. She loved the sound of it and was enthralled that she could summon adorable, furry playmates at will with it, though the Queen in question wasn't too amused. To steer his daughter away from irking the Field Mice all the more, he arranged for her flute lessons under the guidance of a member of the Tin Cornet Band. She's not too attached to the instrument these days, but she plays it in both Band and Muse-ic class and isn't half bad at it.
 * Even without her basic attire, Cora, more often than not, will incorporate some form of steampunk, armor, and/or metallic accents in her attire. Occasionally pinches of art nouveau will show up in her look, especially when it comes to her ear-covering head pieces/crowns.

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 representation, but it is what it is and I am willing to learn from his mistakes.

Also, something to keep in mind: after the second Oz book, Baum narrates the series from the perspective that he's retelling what Dorothy has told him about her and her friends' adventures in Oz. With that information, I'm making the interpretation that Baum had gotten certain tidbits and information wrong, and included his own biased and racialized opinions when depicting the Tottenhots in particular. Since there are plenty aspects of Ozian 'lore that tend to contradict itself anyway (Baum's worldbuilding pretty out there, to put it lightly), the likelihood isn't that far off from canon. If you have any critique or concerns about how I'm tackling this problematic aspect of Oz, feel free to comment/discuss with me and I'll be open to fix what I can.