application ♉ zodion
✖ CHARACTER:
Name: Cordelia Chase.
Canon: Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Angel: The Series.
PB/Image: Charisma Carpenter.
Info links: here @ Buffy wiki and here @ wiki.
Canon Point: End of Angel 1x10: “Parting Gifts”.
Gender: Female.
Age: 19. (The episode takes place in 1999-2000).
Birthdate/Sign:
18 May 1981 / Taurus
Cordelia is materialistic. If she could be described in one word, that would be it. She’s obsessed with clothes and appearances (appreciates beauty) to the point where she comes off shallow. She’s insensitive with her insults and her blunt attitude, going as far as saying what she thinks, the consequences and people’s feelings be damned, as seen whenever she has a go at Buffy when the latter is at her weakest.
She’s self-indulgent and easily embarrassed, especially when it comes to her reputation. She was embarrassed to be seen with Xander until she outgrew her vain self. She’s resourceful when she wants to be, going as far as looking up books for monsters and ways out of trouble. She’s dependable, as she stood by Xander even when he spoke of Buffy and Willow in a way that made Cordelia visibly roll her eyes, perhaps in jealousy. She is incredibly loyal. Regardless of the bad blood between them, Cordelia came through for the Scoobies on graduation day. She still remains tentative friends with them all, despite breaking up with Xander. She was only a member of the Scoobies because she was “Xander’s girlfriend”, but she still remained a constant in their lives and day-to-day vampire slayings. She’s wealthy, literally, coming from a wealthy family.
She’s determined-to succeed, to dislike Buffy, to survive-and can be quite kind at times, although, one needs to dig incredibly deep for the latter. She’s trustworthy. Despite everything, Cordelia didn’t tell anyone of Buffy’s Slayer title, even after her break-up with Xander.
In L.A., Cordelia demonstrated her business skills while trying to open up Angel Investigations. In season one, she’s stuck in a rut in regards to winning a breakthrough role in acting. She’s stubborn, determined to make L.A. work for her and hit success.
Tattoo: Taurus. As big as a twenty cent piece on the front hip, right hand side.
Suitability: N/A.
Power:
Visions. (Or really intense headaches).
Cordelia is given the gift of visions from Doyle in 1x09 of Angel and discovers it in 1x10. Essentially, visions are the ability to see the future. In Angel's context, it is a psychic link to the Powers That Be (or the mods of their world). They consist of vague images, sounds, and sometimes scents. These visions cause a great deal of pain to the user, especially Cordelia, who is human. The visions were intended for demons or half-demons, who could handle the pain. They occur at random. Cordelia doesn’t have to be asleep or be triggered by touching anything in particular in order to get one. They occur at any time, any place. She first discovered she had this gift during an audition for an acting role. Cordelia experiences an incredibly intense headache and is in pain whenever she receives them.
In Zodion, there will be a variety of limitations put upon these visions to avoid godmodding and ruining any potential events for the mods. I want to give Cordelia visions since it has cemented her position as a significant player in Angel Investigations in canon, and it gives her responsibility, something that will force her to mature. However, in Zodion, it’ll be incredibly limited.
In the beginning, Cordelia will only experience incredibly intense headaches without any recollection of any images or sounds from the vision. It'll be as though she didn't have a vision at all. She’ll get them at random. Since she won’t be able to remember any images she saw, she won’t be able to act upon it or do anything to prevent any future events in Zodion. It’ll just be an intense headache of blurriness that hits her at any time.
As her power grows, she'll still have intense headaches, but she'll be able to see blurs of colour, never an actual image.
She is gradually given actual visions (or images she can remember), perhaps of those who might need to worship (who are coming up to their fourth week), and possibly given visions of foreshadowing character events (not mod events). She will not receive any visions regarding Big Events By The Twelve. Only small, mundane things like worship, who is going to open a business tomorrow, etc. The pain of these visions will still be there once she actually sees images.
Personality:
“I think it. I say it. It’s my way.”
Cordelia is honest.
Many comment on Cordelia’s lack of tact, finding it as somewhat of a turn-off when she states situations as they are. She comes off insensitive when she does, although, Cordelia doesn’t mean harm most of the time. She views being honest as beneficial and doesn’t see the gain in beating around the bush or not telling it how it is. She is confident in what she says and says it without fear. She is who she is without fear. What you see is what you get. Cordelia doesn’t hide who she is behind words or not saying how she feels. She says it and she means it. She doesn’t soften the blow, even when someone is in an incredibly vulnerable state.
In the beginning, Queen C, ruler of the “Cordettes”, embodied the characteristics of the spoilt, rich girl. Status was important to her, as well as what others think of her. She took joy in ridiculing the “losers” of Sunnydale. Behind all that, Cordelia is simply just trying to fit in. She’s being the person she believes is expected of her; incredibly popular, always looking her best, and is never seen with the likes of Xander Harris. Cordelia even knows that she does this, and tells Buffy as much, stating she can be among so many people, yet still be alone. None of her friends really know the real Cordelia, something that Cordelia can be blamed for as she doesn’t trust her “Cordettes” to like her for who she truly is, and instead presents a stock character that these girls would approve of. This is demonstrated when her family goes bankrupt and she kept it a secret, not using her friends as a support system during this difficult time. It’s also an example of how Cordelia never really fit into the setting of Sunnydale, and foreshadowed her move to L.A. where she found her purpose.
She cares quite a bit about clothes and looking beautiful to the point where she will care about her hair or outfit over someone else’s well-being. Cordelia is privileged, coming from a rich family, and finds it difficult to pick herself up again when her family went bankrupt. In L.A., she tells Angel she’s living in a condo, while she’s truly living in a rundown apartment. She places significance on wealth, thinking it gives her power and status above those she once deemed “losers”. She still believes she has an image to uphold in L.A., and this is eventually broken down by Francis Allen Doyle who says it’s okay to live in a mess. Cordelia is slowly learning that wealth isn’t what impresses people, it’s her as a person.
By dating Xander Harris, someone dubbed as “uncool” by her crowd, Cordelia was encouraged to shed her shallowness and evolve. And evolve she did. She dated Xander in secret, not wanting her image to be tarnished by his “lameass” reputation. Eventually, their relationship was exposed to the Scooby Gang and Cordelia’s friends. Initially, she did care about what her friends thought of her and broke up with Xander rather harshly, but after a spell gone wrong on Xander’s behalf-and through his demonstration that he cared about her-Cordelia took him back (as he did her) and started to date him in public. When the “Cordettes” started to tease Xander and Cordelia’s relationship, she stood up to them and said, “I’ll date whoever the hell I wanna date. No matter how lame he is.”
Regardless of how lame Xander was, Cordelia expressed that she could-and quite possibly did-love him to Buffy. Xander betrayed her by having an affair with Willow, in which Cordelia was visible upset in discovering. During this time, Cordelia struggled to reintegrate herself into her old friendship group. Her struggle can be seen as her friends punishing her and her popularity declining, but the truth was, Cordelia had outgrown her friends and their shallow beliefs. Despite thinking popularity was everything, Cordelia’s time of playing an active role in the Scooby Gang changed her for the better.
Post-Xander, Cordelia stopped getting involved in the adventures of the Scooby Gang. She was only involved because she was “Xander’s girlfriend”. She had no real connection with any of them and lost them when she lost Xander. This began to show how Cordelia no longer fit into the world of Sunnydale. She no longer fit in with the “Cordettes” because she had outgrown her shallowness and she no longer fit in with the Scoobies due to how hurt she was and her lack of a substantial relationship with any of them.
Cordelia is empathetic when the situation calls for it. She comes off hard and uncaring, but there’s a particular moment when Buffy returned to Sunnydale after a summer of silence and Xander and Willow were verbally attacking Buffy for her decision. Cordelia stuck up for her, despite disliking her, and tried to calm the situation by stating Buffy’s point of view.
After graduation, Cordelia moved to L.A. to pursue a career in acting. She no longer belonged in Sunnydale with the Scooby Gang, as she was no longer a part of it, and joined Angel with “helping the hopeless”. Cordelia began to invest herself in Angel Investigations without really knowing it, going so far as to invent their “helping the hopeless” slogan and creating business cards. Being in L.A. continues to challenge Cordelia to grow up and shed the significance she places on privilege, getting used to things not happening the way she wants them to. L.A. has shown her independence. She’s living by herself and trying to take care of herself without her family’s money. She’s still dependent on status, though, she’s slowly shedding this perception as Angel and Doyle continue to challenge her.
She has a black and white view, especially on demons. At first, she doesn’t believe that they are good. Doyle challenges this perception, befriending her first and reluctantly revealing his true identity. Cordelia accepts him, regardless of her view that demons equal bad. After his death, Cordelia was left devastated. Cordelia is loyal, especially when she gets to know someone first. She’s also a good friend to have; she sticks up for Buffy and continues to put herself in danger, as seen during her time with the Scoobies and her alliance with Angel.
Doyle left her with a parting gift, however. With their first and final kiss, he gave her his visions. Cordelia, someone with no responsibility or investment in actually “helping the hopeless” except for assisting Angel and possibly getting paid, now has an active role in Angel Investigations. She used the job as a way to pass the time before she won her hit role in a television production or movie. As someone who was simply labelled the ‘damsel in distress’ in Sunnydale, Cordelia became an official contributing member of Angel Investigations. And with this gift, Cordelia decided to accept the visions (post-canon point) and accept the fight she never wanted any part in previously as her own. She’s a fighter and stays with the cause for her friends. She can’t see herself outside of it.
It’s hard to get to know Cordelia for the self-centred, shallow person she displays, but when one digs deep, they find someone loyal, caring and strong underneath.
✖ SAMPLES:
"Zodion" First-Person Network Entry:
( voice post )
[ Cordelia had meant to hit the video button, but instead, hit audio. She doesn’t sound happy at all. ]
If this is someone’s idea of a joke, you’re going to have to wait, oh, eternity for me to laugh. This isn’t funny, for you dumbasses out there.
[ A pause. She really expected an answer, a rise to her bait. If this were Xander, he’d be spewing out insults to her even before she finished her last word. She sighs and, if anyone could see her, she’d be rolling her eyes right now in annoyance. ]
Okay, let’s skip the part where I pretend I have no idea what’s going on and I cry for some brawny, muscley man to come save me. Or Buffy. She’s burly enough.
[ Right, losing the point here. Cordelia sighs and starts speaking slowly. ] Whatever. Zodion Twelve. I’m going to say this really slowly so you don’t miss anything. I do not care about your cosmos ... whatever that is. All I care about is knowing where my expensive shoes are. These feet were not made for walking barefoot through some creepy forest. And getting back to Angel and Wesley. I was enjoying my scrambled eggs, f.y.i!
[ Okay, just ignore her. She crosses her arms over her chest, not that anyone can see it, but she’s getting even more annoyed than before. She’s hungry, dammit! After the ordeal she went through-and losing Doyle, yet not really losing him at the same time-she really just wants to sit back in a nice, hot bath and not have a brain splitting headache. But instead, she gets this. ]
And you’re a complete dumbass if you think I’m going to worship. You can shove your kink somewhere else. What ever happened to just asking a girl out?
[ Cordelia has kicked ass. She even kicked a demon in the groin earlier! This will not scare her. Except, she’s totally scared. ] You know, I have a badass vampire-and a rogue demon hunter-looking for me. They are so going to kick your ass once they know I’m missing!
And they will know. They probably know right now and will commence the ass kicking any minute. [She’s so proud of her boys. Well. Okay, proud is a bit of an overstatement. Where the hell are they?
A grumble, an annoyed sigh, and the feed cuts out. ]
"Zodionlogs" Third-Person Prose Entry:
One moment, Cordelia was enjoying a nice meal of scrambled eggs with Broody and British, and the next-
“Great, I get kidnapped, auctioned off, saved, and end the ordeal by having a nice breakfast sitting in front of me, only to be zapped away before I can even try the eggs on toast!? ” Cordelia had fallen down during her quick transportation from 1999 Los Angeles to Zodion and was currently picking herself up and brushing the dirt off her legs. “Ugh.” She looked around and saw bright colours and nature. A hell of a lot of nature and no Angel or Wesley in sight. Looking behind her, she didn’t see Angel’s apartment at all or Wesley’s ridiculously ugly bags that contained his personal things. Another “Ugh” and a disgusted look on her face, upturned lip and frown, as she surveyed her surroundings, not liking what she saw at all.
This could only mean one thing.
“Please don’t tell me I’m dead,” she whined. She was really enjoying those eggs, too! Being kidnapped and auctioned off did a lot to a girl. It made her incredibly hungry.
She honestly could never win.
Looking around, she spotted the altar. Giving it a once-over-though she couldn’t really see anything for she was far away-she quickly did a pro and cons list in her head. Well, it was the only thing in this place that wasn’t a plant or possible bug. And it looked like it may have something on it to help her.
Cordelia started walking, peeling off one of her shoes as it was broken, and hobbled over to the altar. As she approached, she noticed a box sitting on it. Good, this would help. A box was a box in any universe, wasn’t it? Besides, she wasn’t going to ignore the one possible clue as to where the heck she was and why Angel, at least, wasn’t with her.
Stepping over the shallow pool, Cordelia felt a burning on the front of her hip, on the right hand side. Before she could even utter an Ow, the waters rose. Cordelia’s eyes widened, and she started to panic. It took her a moment to notice that her hip had been marked with the sign that always sat beside her horoscope in gossip magazines. Taurus. She frowned, trying to get a closer look in the water.
And before she could even commit it to memory, the water vanished.
Cordelia stood, dumbstruck, at the memory of her sign on her hip. It was there, right? The water had reflected it, like a mirror, for some strange reason. And it was-her hands were on her hip, as though trying to feel the bump of the sign, but all she felt was her dress move beneath her fingers.
At least she wasn’t stripped naked permanently.
She opened the box with slightly shaking fingers. Unimpressed with what lay in it, Cordelia picked up the letter and read it.
- Dearest Cordelia Chase,
It is our great pleasure and honor to welcome you to Zodion. For your honesty, you have been chosen from among all the times and galaxies to aid us.
There is naught else we can share, for it is not yet the time for such things to be revealed. Know only that we are twelve of great power. You will find that if you think of us, our names will be known to you and so too will the task you have been entrusted with become clear.
Go forth, we implore you, and worship. The fate of the cosmos depends on it.
~The Twelve
♈ ♉ ♊ ♋ ♌ ♍ ♎ ♏ ♐ ♑ ♒ ♓
For one thing, she wanted to show this letter off to Giles. Someone appreciated her lack of tact. He never seemed to, always reprimanding her for hurting anyone’s feelings whenever she said what she thought.
Cordelia stood with her eyes and mouth wide, eyebrows raised to her hairline, as she reread it over and over again. It was nothing like she’d come across in Sunnydale or Los Angeles. And Los Angeles looked normal! And how did they-? But she wasn’t a Slayer! Okay, so, she was a seer. Sort of. But it wasn’t like that was an official thing! It was only temporary. As soon as she could find a way to remove them, she would. Her skull would like a break from the pain of the visions.
Heart thumping in her chest, Cordelia inhaled deeply, trying to calm down. At least, back home, she was always with somebody. Giles, Buffy, Xander, Willow, even Wesley, or Angel, and now ... she was all alone. What was she supposed to do? Why would these Twelve even want her? The Scooby Gang hardly did.
“Okay,” she looked around the Luminar, searching for somebody. “Practical joke way over, guys.” Yet she was alone.
Cordelia’s hands gripped the letter tightly. She picked up her communication device and hit her fingers all over it. Whoever was in charge here, they knew her. Narrowing her eyes, she glared around the Luminar, “I’m not-this isn’t funny! Watching me? When I find you, I’m going to kick your ass so hard.” It would’ve sound more threatening if her voice wasn’t shaking.