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[alwaysabat]

[Unknown site tag] ;; ORACLE

"We Gordons have been known to be suicidally stubborn." Full Name: Barbara Ilene Gordon Nickname(s)|Alias(s): Babs, Barb, Barbie doll, Red, Junior (family only) | Amy Beddoes Codename: Oracle; Batgirl (formerly) DOB | Age: September 23 | 29 Place of Birth: Warren, Ohio Race/Nationality: Human | Caucasian Marital Status: Single Occupation: Cyber Vigilante | Librarian (former) Associations: Birds of Prey; Bat Family; Justice League of America; Seven Soldiers of Victory (formerly); Suicide Squad (formerly) Canon: DC Comics, Pre-New 52 Canon Point: Before leaving Gotham in the Birds of Prey comic. Biography Blessed with a quick wit and a thirst for knowledge, Barbara Gordon is a true daughter of Gotham. Growing up in a metropolis of both sparkling wealth and crime-ridden slums, from a young age Barbara found herself surrounded by contrasts. Born to Roger and Thelma Gordon in late January 1979 - Barbara was raised in Warren, Ohio. At the age of four her mother was killed in an automobile accident, leaving Barbara in the sole care of her father. After a time - unable to cope with his wife's death - Roger began to drink, and by the time his daughter was ten had become an alcoholic. Refusing to get help - despite his daughter’s pleas - Roger Gordon died on the operating table of the local hospital after falling from a ladder while intoxicated. Roger's death left Barbara in the custody of her father's brother - James Gordon, a police captain in Gotham City, New Jersey. Despite all that had happened, Gotham City held an intrigue for the young girl. Over the years her father had been drinking, Barbara and her best friend Marcy had been fascinated by superheroes - creating new heroes, pretending to be them - thus when it became clear she was moving, Marcie gave her - as a going-away present - a plush they had made of one of their creations, called simply "Batgirl." The girls had looked up everything they could about Gotham's local hero: the names of his gadgets, how they worked, fighting styles, the works - information Barbara stored away easily with her photographic memory, information that would become useful in the future. Gotham City and her new family were quite a change from life back in Ohio, but she found herself adjusting to it, and finding that life with the Gordons was better than she had expected. Eventually they adopted her and she fit in so well that one would have thought she'd been born to them in the first place. Her aunt and new mother's name was also Barbara - thus to stem confusion the younger Barbara went by Babs instead - sometimes "Junior." While the family was there for her, her new father turned into one of the greatest staples in her life. A police captain, he would bring case files home with him, storing them in the small office he kept in the back of the apartment. At the age of 13, Barbara would sneak in to look at the files - seeing them as puzzles that could be finished if the pieces were fit together correctly; unfortunately it was not to her uncle's liking, so instead of going about it the obvious way, she would sneak into the office by night after everyone was asleep to read them... And then one night he nearly caught her - it was a night that would change her life - the night she found out her dad worked with Gotham's Dark Knight - Batman. While Jim Gordon didn't know Barbara was there, Batman did - warning her in a note he'd dropped not to get caught because Gordon would get angry. After that Barbara began preparing. Martial arts, city plans, track and gymnastics, Barbara pushed herself to the limit, not just in athletics but also academically. By the time she'd reached high school she was already two years ahead of others her age - having skipped two grades in lower school. She joined the Gotham Central High School gymnastics and track teams - the only freshman running track - and found that she was not only out performing her female classmates on the track, she was beating the boys. By the time she was a junior she'd started attracting attention and realized that she could not become a hero if she became well known - it was this that the training had been for, she wanted to be a hero, not for any high and lofty goals or for revenge, just to make Gotham a safer place - the fact that her father - now the Gotham City Police Commissioner - refused to allow her to become a cop only pushed her towards it more. Working from the idea that she needed to get out of the spotlight, in her junior year of high school - at the age of 15 - Barbara "suffered" a "ripped tendon" which took her off the track team. She began taking private instruction in martial arts from her sensei and her grades started to slip from her prior A's to average grades. She retooled her wardrobe - going for a more conservative look to blend in and be overlooked - and at the age of sixteen she graduated from Gotham Central High. Two years later her mother would file for divorce from her father and move away - taking her younger brother with her. After graduation, Barbara enrolled at Gotham State University (GSU) and was one of the youngest members of the freshman class. Having gotten a work-study position her freshman year at the university library, Barbara spent her second freshman semester and entire sophomore year abroad. Having received a scholarship, she studied library and computer sciences in London, Paris and Madrid before returning home and breezing through her bachelor’s and master's degrees. Post-grad life was not as difficult as she thought it might be as the job offers started coming in. With her father once again refusing to allow her to go to the Police Academy, Barbara (who had become her father's unofficial partner when he brought home cases) took a job as Head Reference Librarian at the Gotham City Library, and largely forgot all about being a super-hero. But that would not last long... One very fortuitous night, at a costume party, chose to base her costume on the hero she and Marcy had created - one that was fitting for Gotham; she made a female version of Batman's costume and planned to go as Batgirl. Unfortunately (or fortunately as you might look at it), this party was crashed by one of Gotham's many roaming criminals... Not even thinking Barbara's self defense and gymnastics training seemed to take over as she protected some of her friends from the goons and kept them at bay until the police arrived... and that's when she realized it. And Batgirl was born... It wasn't an easy job at first - taking on the heights of Gotham skyscrapers by night and working at the library by day, but in taking down several small gangs on her own she soon caught the attention of Batman and his young partner Robin. She was young, headstrong and good at what she was doing - and despite the attempts by the Bat to dissuade her from her nightly activities, the lesson just didn't take. It wasn't long before her identity - which she had purposely kept from the Dynamic Duo - was unraveled by the master detective. The reveal wasn't as surprising as some would have thought. Having proven herself through her solo work, Barbara became part of the team - the "bat family" if you would. Eventually Batman (Bruce Wayne) and Robin had a falling out which led to the much younger Dick Grayson (Robin I and one of Barbara's on-again-off-again boyfriend) taking up the mantle of Nightwing, spending more time with the Titans and eventually leaving Gotham for Blüdhaven - Gotham's sister city. Barbara stayed behind. Batman eventually took on another young man to the mantle of Robin - Jason Todd's death hit everyone very hard and not soon after there would be even more. It was some time before Batman took on another apprentice, a young man by the name of Tim Drake who had a knack for detective work. Realizing that her place in the world of super-powered heroes was minimal, for a time Barbara retired the mantle of Batgirl, but unfortunately this retirement would be permanent. A victim of a vendetta against her father, Barbara was paralyzed and assaulted at the hands of the Joker. Her spine severed and her body broken, in the aftermath of the attack, she fell into deep depression, grief stricken it took her months to get out of it. She left Gotham for a time - training with Richard Dragon - honing her martial arts abilities (using escrima sticks), upper body strength and targeting skills with both firearms and batarangs as well as weapons skills. She focused herself on her mental abilities - her computer skills. Her aptitude for and training in information sciences provided her with tremendous skills that could be deployed to fight crime. In a world increasingly centered on technology and information, she possessed a genius-level intellect; photographic memory; deep knowledge of computers and electronics; expert skills as a hacker; and graduate training in library sciences. All these things she put to use as an information broker for heroes under the new mantel of Oracle. Since taking up her new mantle, things have progressed to the point where she has become a key member of the JLA, not just the Bat clan. When the Quake hit Gotham, she took in a group of children - one of whom was Cassandra Cain. She has taken on the role of mentoring the newest Batgirl (Cassandra) while keeping up her own duties, keeping her thumb in many different pies. She is a member - and co-founder - of the superhero team known collectively as the Birds of Prey, consisting of Oracle herself, Black Canary (Dinah Lance), Huntress (Helena Bertenelli), and several others - including the associate membership of Ted Kord - Blue Beetle II (before his death), Savant (more like forced repentance) and Aleksandr Creote (Savant's right hand man). Appearance Always tall for her age, Barbara Gordon has her mother's red hair and her father's hazel eyes. She is 5 feet, 8 and a half inches tall - but one could not tell that from her height sitting down. Her hair comes down below her shoulders and is generally left down unless she has decided otherwise and doesn't wear much makeup. She is thin, but not extensively so - given that she has been in a wheelchair for years, she has successfully toned her upper body strength to more than it was previously on training and swinging from building to building alone. Barbara's body hosts an assortment of scars ranging from healed bullet and knife wounds to cuts that just didn't heal right, among these are several longs scars across her abdomen from a run-in with the Penguin and his umbrella blades. She has a tattoo of an intricately designed rose with thorns on the back of her right shoulder - a souvenir from an all too successful weekend with her college best friend Jamie Larkin - and wears a tiny silver bat symbol on a chain around her neck, right next to her Saint Michael's medal. The charm is worn in honor of her father (and herself to a degree): although she is long lapsed where religion is concerned, she decided long ago that Saint Michael - the patron saint of police officers - was - by extension - the patron saint of vigilantes as well. She does not wear it out of faith in god, she wears it out of habit and out of faith in herself and those who are in her profession. Personality Hero support. The unknown voice on the end of your ear piece. The Oracle of Gotham City. Barbara Gordon has never believed that the circumstances of one’s situation are an indicator of what one can or cannot do. It is an idea that she has held to for almost three decades, as the tide of life have thrown her to and fro. Anyone who knows Barbara can tell you that she is a force to be reckoned with. A strong woman, both in will and physical prowess, she has a good heart and a sense of purpose that never wavers, not in the face of trouble, tragedy or disaster. The same person will tell you that Barbara is stubborn as the day is long, dedicated to her work (whatever work they think that is) and that she can’t help but to poke fun at New Yorkers who think their city is tough (they clearly have never been to Gotham). Barbara is a young woman who – like her fellow Bats – is no stranger to the darker places of the human condition. Beyond seeing it first hand during her time as Batgirl, the forcible stripping of her own mask by the Joker’s bullet left her at the bottom of a dark well, one which she only slowly started to crawl from with help. Having her wings clipped was arguably the most difficult thing she had ever had to go through – the literal shattering of a life that she had created for herself. Batgirl was no good to anyone if she couldn’t fly, couldn’t fight… couldn’t walk. But she refused to let that be the end of her story, managing to push through the despair, loss, mourning and darkness with an eventual fortitude that has led Bruce on several occasions to refer to her as the strongest person he knows. She has refused let herself become another casualty of the war on crime. She has refused to become a victim and instead has – through no small effort - recreated herself yet again in her own image. Instead of being out on the front lines herself she has been forced to take another role, one which she has fully embraced, directed from the sidelines and supplying whatever information is necessary to keep those she works with and those she loves safe. And it must be said that there is nothing Barbara wouldn’t do for those she loves. She has a strong sense of loyalty, and is a person who has constantly put her faith and her person into the hands of the other members of the Bat Family, and for all that time both have never been betrayed. Admittedly this isn’t something she would every say aloud, except to maybe Alfred – or Bruce if he really is in need of a reality check – but her faith in her family and those heroes she supports has never faltered and in fact has been returned in greater amount than she could have ever imagined. As far as her relationships with the rest of the Bat family and with her father are concerned, the complexities of wearing a mask are varied and numerous. Whether the mask is literal or an avatar on a computer, there are things that often get lost in the shuffle. Since becoming involved with the Bats, Barbara has had to consistently and constantly lie to her father – now her only blood relative that she talks to (her younger brother and mother are estranged, and it doesn’t help that her younger brother is something of a psychopath…). While she has become good at it, she has always had conflicting feelings about it, more so since her crippling and assault at the hands of the Joker – largely because of the immense guilt her father felt as a result (given that the attack was aimed to make him suffer!). Where the rest of the bats are concerned it’s been written about many times: Her relationship with Dick Grayson (which is ALWAYS complicated), her sisterly surrogacy to Tim Drake and Jason Todd, the way she looks at Alfred like a second father and most importantly, the change in her relationship with Bruce – which has gone from student-mentor to equals. She is the moral center of the family and someone that Bruce listens to, which is good because she is not afraid to give him a reality check or yell at him if he’s gone too far. Barbara does everything she can to keep them grounded and organized, going so far as to take over as leader during the No Man’s Land debacle – and it was a debacle – when Bruce disappeared for a time and Gotham was cut off from the rest of the United States (literally) and left for dead. Her relationship with Dinah Lance aka the Black Canary is like sisters and she treats the Birds of Prey – her own little group – like family… She has had her heart broken many time and has had to mourn for more people than she would like to admit, but every one of them is remembered well – especially certain somebodys. It is important to note that Barbara is something of a workaholic. On many occasions she has had to be bodily removed from her work station and ordered to bed because she has insisted – and I quote – that she “isn’t done!” But just as she doesn’t put up with BS from Bruce or Dick, they are not afraid of calling her on hers… Which is good, because a Gordon never quits, not even after the last man falls. Likes: Computers, hacking, research, control, jigsaw puzzles, mind teasers, Margaritas, Japanese food, spy novels, challenges Dislikes: The Joker, crime, Jello, hospitals, the smell of lavender (it gives her headaches) Hobbies: Computer programming, mentoring superheroes, training, crossword puzzles Habits: Barbara has a tendency to chew on pen tops and the backs of pens, her lower lip, when she's not giving orders, she's usually has no recourse but to watch from the sidelines (not even the sidelines, from far away from the sidelines), nerves get to her sometimes. She keeps to a rigorous training schedule for herself. Phobias: Being alone - completely and totally alone, the way she felt after her father (Roger Gordon) died. Bees. Relationships Family: - Roger C. Gordon [father/deceased] - Thelma Gordon (nee Thomas) [mother/deceased] - James 'Jim' Worthington Gordon, Police Commissioner, Gotham City [uncle|father (adopted)] - Barbara Eileen Gordon (nee Kean) [aunt|mother (adopted)/estranged] - James 'Jimmy' Gordon Jr. [cousin|brother (adopted)/estranged] Friends/Allies: - Bruce Wayne, BATMAN - Dick Grayson, NIGHTWING - Tim Wayne (Drake), ROBIN III - Jason Todd, RED HOOD - Cassandra Cain, BATGIRL II - Alfred Pennyworth - Jean Paul Valley, AZRAEL - Ted Kord, BLUE BEETLE II* [deceased] - Dinah Lance, BLACK CANARY II* - Helena Bertinelli, HUNTRESS* - Zinda Blake, LADY BLACKHAWK* - Brian Durlin, SAVANT* - Aleksandr Creote* - Jason Bard, Private Investigator - Dr. Leslie Tompkins, Doctor - Karen Starr, POWER GIRL (acquaintance [former partner])* - Sandra Wu-San, LADY SHIVA (alias JADE CANARY) (associate by debt - Black Canary)* -Zatanna Zatara -Jason Blood/Etrigan - The Justice League (SUPERMAN, WONDER WOMAN, FLASH, HAWKGIRL, THE MARTIAN MANHUNTER, GREEN LANTERN), plus assorted associate members - The Heroes of the DCU (she's an information broker to many of them) (* denotes Birds of Prey organization) Romantic: - Dick Grayson, NIGHTWING [ex] - Jason Bard, Private Investigator [ex] - Ted Kord, BLUE BEETLE [ex boyfriend - sort of; deceased] Enemies: - The Joker (unknown) - The Calculator (Noah Kuttler) - Blockbuster (Marc Desmond) - Brainiac - Firefly (Garfield Lynns) - Killer Moth (Cameron Van Cleer) - Harley Quinn (Dr. Harleen Quinzel) - Two Face (Harvey Dent) - Poision Ivy (Dr. Pamela Isley) - The Scarecrow (Dr. Jonathan Crane) - Catwoman (Selina Kyle) - The Riddler (Edward Nygma) - The Penguin (Oswald Cobblepot) OOC Name: Abby Age: 28 Email: kidlings2@aol.com AIM/Plurk: nycradiochick Timezone: EST Journal: alwaysabat PB: Amanda Righetti/Comic icons Samples: Mognet: So I think I’m finally managing to find my way around. Getting a new wheelchair was… Wait. Alfred are you writing this down? … Oh. Okay then. I’m looking for a physical therapist. It’s an odd request, but upon arriving I had feeling in my legs. Feeling that… I haven’t had in ten years. I don’t know if it’s this place, but I’d been assured that I’d never walk again and now this seems like an actual possibility. Not something I ever thought would happen again. Please let me know. Third Person: Barbara Gordon and the Winter Soldier – WS tries to take down Oracle Playing Barbara Gordon @ New Alliance @IJ Barbara Gordon - J'ohn J'onzz conversation - set during Oracle's tenure as a full JLA member, narrative Crystallis Moogle Name: Alfred Moogle Gender: Male First Job: Programmer Second Job: Limit Break: Digitization: If Barbara is at extremely low health, the Oracle mask will appear on her face and she will instantly become digitized into the nearest computer or piece of mechanical equipment, taking it over. If there is a magitech suit nearby, she can jump into the suit and take it over and continue fighting. disclaimer I am not Barbara Gordon/Oracle nor am I Amanda Righetti. I own no rights to either, nor am I affiliated with either. Melodies of Life is just a non-profit roleplaying game for entertainment purposes only. Profile survey was made by Jammer and tweaked slightly by Irish (who also made the character header).