Cat-Tale 55: I Believe in Harvey Dent

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Chris Dee	Cat-Tale 55: I Believe in Harvey Dent		Lead	[-]
Posts: 770 02/22/08 10:38	Tags : None Sooner or later, everyone has to face the past It's February 22, you know what that means. The Prologue is now available on the Cat-Tales website and at FanFiction.net --Chris Dee Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. Superpowers corrupts - superbly. --Identity Element
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SteelBlaidd		#1	[url]	[-]
Posts: 58 02/22/08 12:23	Well.... Ouch. Poor Harvey, he don't get no respect. This will be rough. He needs a real girlfriend. A compliment not an opposite. Liked the Selina Eddie bits. Bruce is getting sooo domestic. One of these days he's realy going to have to retiree from one of his jobs. "If ever you find yor self looking down the wong end of an arrow. Hope that it's an evil man. a good man will kill you with hardly a word." - Sam Vimes
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BenRG	I Believe...	#2	[url]	[-]
Posts: 294 02/22/08 13:39	It is only a prologue, so there isn't much to go on yet but there is still a lot of interesting stuff in this opening. Firstly, poor Bruce is losing his edge! Or, more specifically, he is losing his monomania on the Mission. Ah, such is the price of having a life rather than living in Crime Alley next to his parents' corpses. No doubt this will make criminals' lives painful in Gotham for the next few weeks. No doubt a part of him will want to blame Selina. However, it should be noted that it was she who spotted that he was running late. Most importantly, though, we have the first indication of what this story will be about. It is the moment that we have all been waiting for since Jason Blood used his mystic mojo to 'cure' Harvey of Two Face. You see, Jason's conjuring trick changed nothing - the personality issues that created Two Face were still there and still unresolved. If Harvey is to be truely free of his past, he must face it, and must face Two Face, his own dark side. Only time (and this story) will tell if he is able to break free of his own past or whether it will consume and, ultimately, destroy him. I'm sure my fellow reviewers will agree that Two Face was the most self-destructive of the Rogue Alphas. A successful suicide next to a scratched-side-up coin was always a serious possibility. That aside, I think that the Rogues are misinterpreting Harvey's absence. Have any of them bothered to keep in touch? After all, Harvey got Eddie that double date, didn't he? I think that the problem is that Harvey has been so determined to get away from his past, and the Rogues are so sure that they have nothing to say to a 'reformed' ex-Rogue, that they are all avoiding each other and blaming the other. As for Bruce... well, I have already mentioned the 'monomania' bit. I wonder if Harvey will take up politics to prove that he has not entirely gone straight. BTW: What if Ozzie can't take up the reins again? What if Selina is stuck with the Vault? Let's face it, she is nicer and fairer than Ozzie ever could be, especially to the bar staff. So much to look forward to! BenRG's Rating: 7/10 ~~~~ They call me BenRG* But... I don't know why... ~~~*~
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Letomo	Some thoughts.	#3	[url]	[-]
Posts: 22 02/22/08 18:27	I seem to recall there was a second Two-Face in the 'Post' a while back. What is that has happened? Or even someone trying to cash in on the reputation of Harvey? Not to mention, he used to visit a restaurant where horrid facial injuries weren't uncommon. What if he is seeing something like that, and applying his own concerns on top? As an aside, we haven't heard anything from Dick's Agency in a while. Since Catwoman is part owner, is it still a going concern? Does he get customers? How do older establishments, like F&F feel about him?
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Random Equinox		#4	[url]	[-]
Posts: 276 02/22/08 19:46	Well, well, fourth reply. Even number composed of two times two...damnit. Sorry, Harvey. The very first line brought Loeb's The Long Halloween to mind. It seems fitting, as both his work, Chris's latest work and the ongoing ARG revolve around Harvey Dent. I think the prologue provided yet another example of how Bruce/Batman has grown over the various Cat-Tales. He's starting to find balance between his different roles, both civilian and superhero. His losing track of time suggests that he hasn't found that balance yet: but that only means he still has room to grow. Selina seems to be settling into her role as Queen of the Underworld. I am curious to see what'll happen when Ozzy gets released. How long will it take him to re-build the Iceberg? How will he "steal back" Sly, Raven and the others (they might be happy with a less pretentious and fairer boss)? How will he and Selina arrange the "transition" from the Vault back to the Iceberg? While Selina seems quite willing to give back the reins, it remains to be seen whether she (or Bruce) have thought out how this will work. Heck, what if both establishments remain? Boy, that would be one heck of a pickle! As for Harvey, while it's possible someone's pulling a cruel joke on him (mundane, magical, or otherwise), BenRG's assessment seems much more likely, and more in tune with Chris's past treatment of plots and characters. Jason's changes were literally skin-deep: while it seemed to remove the mask of Two-Face, it may have replaced it with a more subtle facade, one that's only now rising to the surface. The worst thing is, Harvey has no system of support. He's no longer considered a Rogue, and he's tried so hard to move away from those aspects of his life. As a result, he doesn't feel comfortable sharing his burdens with his former colleagues and they don't feel comfortable looking him up. Same goes for Bruce and Selina. While it's nice being alone (because alone = one, which isn't two), such solitude rarely helps solve the problems he's facing. If anything, his lack of friends or support system will exacerbate them. Right now, Harvey's "friends" are thinking that they really ought to look him up... soon... one of these days. They'd better get a move on that. Otherwise, Harvey may suffer the same fate as his DCU counterpart in TLH. In the past, I've always looked forward to the next chapter of Cat-Tales with anticipation, excitement and/or suspense. This may be the first time I'm feeling a sense of foreboding and dread.
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stephensmat2		#5	[url]	[-]
Posts: 1166 02/22/08 19:57	I liked the... I guess the word is "Disconnected" feeling that Selina got. Catwoman stopped stealing and nobody realized it. If anybody ever does, she'll be labeled with the "Reformed" stamp, and they'll be toasting her one day. Another "Bat-Friend" no longer part of the nightlife, no matter what they know, or what they do with their time. The Rogues have left Harvey in the dust, as have the heroes, as has Selina, as has most of the Cat-Tales series, and all for the same reason. Harvey Dent, as a singular, simply isn't one of them any more. Oswald gets out in a week, Ivy's just been released, the mob wants an audience with Gatta Colerone, and Harvey's having trouble finding a condo. Hmmm. Where do the major players focus their attention I wonder? You wanted out Harvey, you got it. The thing is, Darth Duplicity was your way into half your Christmas Card list, and the other half he's taken hostage at one point or another. Including Bruce. Bruce is seen by the Rogues as a "Regular Civilian Guy" but he's with catty, so as Harvey once put it, he's "Part of the Family Now." Harvey was one of the Family's charter members, but now he's fallen from the ranks, become a neutral, left the nightlife, a voluntary defector, a moment of silence while Riddler writes the eulogy. What will he say about Catty I wonder? ** "There we none who could shoot up a Marocini warehouse like Harvey..." "Eddie, he's NOT dead!" "And Selina, none more fitting for spandex, none who could handle the Bat..." "Eddie, I'M NOT DEAD EITHER!" **** You wanted out Harvey, you got it. Welcome to the first day of the rest of your life. Unless he comes back, and if Harv is getting lonely enough, well... he's never had to look far to find someone to talk to before... Do we still Believe in Harvey Dent?
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SteelBlaidd		#6	[url]	[-]
Posts: 58 02/22/08 22:52	Edit: replaced deleted text. I liked the... I guess the word is "Disconnected" feeling that Selina got. Catwoman stopped stealing and nobody realized it. If anybody ever does, she'll be labeled with the "Reformed" stamp, and they'll be toasting her one day. Another "Bat-Friend" no longer part of the nightlife, no matter what they know, or what they do with their time. Among the people who haven't been indulging in larcenous behavior much recently, Eddie hasn't really seriously stolen anything since his trip to Metropolis. "If ever you find yor self looking down the wong end of an arrow. Hope that it's an evil man. a good man will kill you with hardly a word." - Sam Vimes Last Edited By: SteelBlaidd 02/24/08 21:42. Edited 1 time.
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Fett One.gothampm		#7	[url]	[-]
Posts: 48 02/25/08 00:47	Looks like Harvey is finally going to deal with the psychological aspects of Twoface, which is probably long over due. I just hope at the end of this, he doesn't turn back into Twoface. Right now it seems there are more directions to go in with Harvey trying to rebuild his life than there are with Twoface committing crime, after crime, after crime, after crime.
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Jarissa Paxton		#8	[url]	[-]
Posts: 545 02/26/08 02:16	My sensible, veteran reader forebrain is reminding all of me to sit quietly and not jump to any conclusions here: we have foreshadowing aplenty, but there's not anywhere near enough narrowing of the possibilities for me to make any guesses as to where the story might be going. My highly exuberant ex-military brat side, however, is busy taptaptapping away: Dear Mr. Dent (sir): Your first option of a buyer's agent for the real estate world is a flaming idiot. Fire her, sir; fire her curtly and succinctly, and with no regrets! Does she really think the owners of those apartment buildings, the ones that intrigue you, actually live in them? I assure you that they do not! I may be a hippie, but even I know better than that. Apartment living is for those who do not care for the burdens of residential real estate ownership, while those who do enjoy the perquisites accompanied by taxes, insurance, health code inspectors, fire code inspectors, utility negotiations, yearly weather-wear maintenance, accounting, and checking up on the current honesty of one's on-site property managers and maintenance men -- these are people who do not, by and large, lower themselves to the daily chore of hearing one's neighbors' racket through walls, floors, and ceiling. They live in single homes, or on yachts, or perhaps down at Martha's Vineyard. They are not going to care if your history suggests that you might receive the occasional social call from Gotham's more legendary citizens, because they're no more likely to pay de-greening expenses as part of their monthly maintenance and upkeep with you as a tenant than they are with any other member of Society. And if you can satisfy the sole potentially valid concern -- that of insurance premium hikes -- simply by getting your own renter's insurance, a task I'm sure any man as well-educated in legal matters as yourself has already assumed to be a natural and unquestionable part of the renting experience -- why, any fool would realize that your building of residence will be on the top ten list of places least likely to experience any unfortunate Rogue activity. You know all their little ways, and they know your marvelous and famed skill at correcting any faux pas. In fact, once they think about it for a bit, I'd be surprised if the actual property management companies weren't competing to offer you space, in return for a friendly consultation as to how they could make themselves less inviting to a Rogue crime spree! In short, politely pass Sylvia the Nitwit a "thank you for your time, and I wish you well in the future" drop-dead letter, and get yourself an interview with someone who actually understands Gotham properly. Maybe Mr. Kittlemeyer has a grand-niece or -nephew in the real estate business? Your servant, Jarissa Paxton P.S.: Maybe you could start yourself a little "when I feel like working" consulting business, teaching would-be Gothamites how to deal with "The Law, The Rogues, And You"? Ignore her. She's out of her mind, and she just had two doughnuts for the first time in over a year. I expect the sugar crash to hit any se^H^H CARRIER LOST I'm one of those people who "hear" every letter of each word as I read them, and how they shape one another; so, yes, I'm going to totally miss a reasonable point if it's discussing makeup instead of knaves. Not that there aren't some hilarious correlations! Anyway, please be patient with me on this.
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Nodrogs		#9	[url]	[-]
Posts: 225 02/26/08 10:45	Well, politics would definately give Harvey Dent something to do, instead of just loafing arround spending Two Face's money. As for the Iceberg crew staying out of Penguin's clutches, the chief problem is that the Iceber, while hosting many illegal activities, was a legal nightclub while the Safehouse is not. While it could become a legitimate operation, it would require considerable effort... especially since I imagine Sly navigating the legal maze to be quite complex (I'm sure Penguin, when doing so, resorted to bribary)... say, Complex enough he asks Harvey for help and Harvey, disgusted with the complex legal morass he finds, is inspired to take on the city to champion 'The little guys' such as Sly. This could be a way to bring Harvey back into the graces of the crime world... and to further legitimize Edward Nygma. Eddie, with his intelect, would no doubt make an excelent recruit for Harvey's campaign, perhaps developing the advertising program (as long as he gets some helpful criticism. Eddie: "Presenting your new slogan: 'FYT: Trade over oven, hog!'" Harvey: "Um..." Selina: "Eddie, I believe we talked about you taking those pills."
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Letomo		#10	[url]	[-]
Posts: 22 02/26/08 18:39	I just had a question. Is Sly paying rent to Harvey for the club? Wouldn't that be a good way for him to make some income? Legitimate income, at that! Also, Harvey is house sitting for a naighbour of Jason Blood, and to my experience, you don't need to pay rent when house sitting [though, this could be different]. So, he could be all income, and little outgo right now.
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Penny for Thoughts		#11	[url]	[-]
Posts: 40 02/28/08 20:12	Until Harvey's "friends" pay him a visit (they better!), maybe Harvey should pick up a hobby or something. Building model train sets or something.
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NathanPerry.gothampm		#12	[url]	[-]
Posts: 388 02/29/08 02:43 Gothamite	There's always collecting coins? ...what?
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JabberwockyPie		#13	[url]	[-]
Posts: 53 03/07/08 00:16	Oh poor Harvey. He doesn't have much of a support system.
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Chris Dee		#14	[url]	[-]
Posts: 770 03/08/08 09:18	It's Cat-Tales Anniversary, So we have something new: It's I Believe in Harvey Dent Chapter 2 On the Cat-Tales website, and FFnet. --Chris Dee Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. Superpowers corrupts - superbly. --Identity Element
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Letomo	Good or bad? Flip a coin!	#15	[url]	[-]
Posts: 22 03/08/08 09:20	The little clues are [purposelly, I'm sure] ambivalent enough, it could be Harvey, or it could be a copycat. Hmmm, thinking of the worst possible take on this story - a copycat that injuries Harvey, such that he returns to TwoFace by the end of the story? Or a sleep-walking Harvey, since Two Face was just repressed, not actually cured. Otherwise, I liked it. Advanced the plot, while not answering a single question. Though, I do wonder at what point Selina picked up on Sly's tricks. Also, has she thought of giving some of that money to Harvey? His place, after all!
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BenRG	Chapter 2 - Second Thoughts	#16	[url]	[-]
Posts: 294 03/08/08 13:00	Wow! A worthy second chapter that really makes the story burst into life. Firstly, I loved the bit of Cat-mythology. My mother was a bit of an ancient Egypt affectionado during her younger years and she got a chuckle at reading the story of the Cat-priests of Bubastis. She also agreed that a cat would only ever answer back, no matter what language you use, if he or she wanted to. Poor Selina's dilemma about what to do with her cut from the Vault customers was nicely written too. You have a talent for getting in Selina's head and I could see her sitting there fretting over this. It is interesting that she was worried about doing something that could be defined as showing 'remorse'. Of course, her entire changing her life since moving in with Bruce could be called 'remorse' from a different angle, but it is pointless going there because feline logic is basically incomprehensible to us poor naked chimps. Nonetheless, I have to say that it is very, very cat for her to listen to Bruce's tale of Harvey maybe going bad and then calmly return to her own problems because, after all, that is the only issue that really matters. The confrontation with Two-Face was well written. It was cinematic and dramatic - you could have been reading the 3x4 grid on the page or watching it on the screen. As Bruce says, there is no way to be sure one way or another whether this is Harvey having slipped back into Two-Face. Yes, he acted like him and had some of the same mannerisms and speech patterns. However, anyone who had studied Two-Face at Arkham or The Iceberg could have immitated him accurately. I admit that I am leaning towards the 'amnesiac MPD' solution. Yes it is Harvey, but he and Two-Face are no longer sharing a brain at the same time. Sometimes he's Harvey, other times he's Two-Face and 'never the twain shall meet' as the poet said. However, we will just have to wait and see. You have been able to completely fool me before and I have no doubt you will do so again. A great chapter. I can't wait for more. BenRG's Rating: 8.5/10 P.S. and possible spoiler [+] P.S.: I will put my money where my mouth is now and say that Selina will donate her unwelcome funds to Harvey's campaign to be mayor (or whatever he is running for). It is a suitably feline irony to use the proceeds from crime to fund the even greater crime that is local politics. It will be yet another element of the consolidation of the Wayne/Kyle power bloc over Gotham if they have the new mayor in their pockets ~~~~ They call me BenRG* But... I don't know why... ~~~*~
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Random Equinox		#17	[url]	[-]
Posts: 276 03/08/08 17:51	First, the Cat-mythology rocked. I'm not sure about giving up on the ability of two-foots to understand the complexities of the Rules According to Felines. Back then, maybe. Now, all you need is to borrow the Bat-Computer, constantly update every 24 hours, make the necessary links and citations... oh, who am I kidding? So Selina finally found out about Sly's converting the Vault's take into monetary goodness and hiding it in plain sight. I enjoyed seeing Selina's internal dilemna. On the one hand, keeping it or letting it lie around for some crook or rogue to swipe would be extremely negligent and irresponsible. On the other hand, she doesn't want to do anything that would look like she's truly "reformed" and "embraced the path of righteousness". Having said that, I must disagree with her knee-jerk reaction against anything that would benefit the East End. Yes, that screams of the Post. But there must be tons of people and businesses in that area who are on hard times and had nothing to do with the whole "goggles" debacle. It seems unfair to penalize them for the decisions of the Post. Spoiler [+] I think it might be nice if all that moolah was earmarked to improving Gotham, even if that includes the East End. Heck, what better way to tweak the noses of the Post than to turn the East End from something to be ashamed of into something to be proud of? Batman sure didn't come out on top this round. You could argue that "Two-Face" was clearly well prepared. However, the possibility that he, or "they", had returned was enough of a distraction. The debate between Bruce and Alfred was spot-on. No matter how much Bruce/Batman tried, Alfred was right: concussion first, logs later; the analysis of the Detective was a feeble grasping at straws; and there is simply an insufficient amount of evidence to make a conclusion. Granted, one must presume innocence before being proven guilty, but that doesn't mean you can skew the facts to support a desired and pre-determined outcome. While we're on the subject of Alfred, I wonder what would happen if Alfred spent a day with the JLA. Keep things operating smoothly, offer sage advice, and keep various individuals from getting carried away... Once again, Selina and Bruce mirrored each other: both tried to pussy-foot (sorry) their way around asking something they didn't want to ask, and then ultimately had no choice but to quit beating around the bush and just say it. Or, in Selina's case, decided "Screw it. Let's just get this over with." I like BenRG's MPD theory. That would be much more interesting, and create a more satisfying Cat-Tales, then some copycat running around. Looking forward to Chapter 3!
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stephensmat2		#18	[url]	[-]
Posts: 1166 03/09/08 07:17	The first point that I would make is: Selina's grim deathgrip on not doing things the Batman's way? Wake up kitten that line's behind you now. Charity? Well, it's not that I have anything against orphans per se, (it's just that Miller wrote this book...) Keep it? Eh, too much like making a profit of crime, (but not my crime) Tell the Bat? (Eh, not as fun now that I live here) Tip him off? (Eh, too much like crimefighting.) These justifications are getting kinda thin, given that you've been using them in a lot of decision making processes lately. Selina, you've done a lot of crimefighting lately. After Ivy greened batman, you officially switched sides. World's Finest, Plus Luthor, Plus helping track info on Vaniel, plus deciding what to do with the money, plus helping Batman with his Matches Malone and the Queen of the Underworld Routine, plus... I'm probably forgetting a few things... The, (Appropriately) Second point to make? It's Harvey. I know, at this point the odds are Fifty-Fifty, that it's Harvey, but my gut tells me it is. All involved players have spoken to how Tuesday the 22nd is Harvey's Day, why wouldn't Two Face choose this moment? Because this isn't unprecedented. The last few stories/chapters... Harvey accidentally hits the wrong elevator button. He's absentmindedly fingering coins and making 'two' references... This is that moment when the forces of evil have gathered on All Hallow's Eve, and made their move as the planets align in the favor of darkness. Hope you enjoyed the Peace Harvey, because as of now, you're back at work. Half of you anyway. Fifty-Fifty. But don't despair, you've got an 'in' with the new Queen of the Underworld, and as luck would have it, the first day you're back on the job, Bruce and Selina finally deign to notice your existence again. Fifty-Fifty Harv. It's only gonna be half bad Harvey, he's only gonna make you do bad things half the time. Fifty-Fifty Harv.
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fangirl1001		#19	[url]	[-]
Posts: 64 03/09/08 11:32	I also loved the cat history, and got a real chuckle out of the closing line about the persians giving the priest other things to worry about, and really liked how it segued into Selina's current dilemma. My guess is its going to be like "who gets Selina's apartment?" with a constant list throughout the story, and then a final twist at the end. As far as Harvey goes, I think someone is messing with him, but I can't quess who or why. But someone definilty wants to drive Harvey back into insane roguedom. Evil Overlord's List Rule 42: "When I capture the hero, I will make sure I also get his dog, monkey, ferret, or whatever sickeningly cute little animal capable of untying ropes and filching keys happens to follow him around."
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CK Dexter		#20	[url]	[-]
Posts: 3 03/11/08 12:57	Hello all! A newbie jumping in head first here. I've been enjoying these Cat-Tales on FF.net for a couple months now and thought I'd join in at your official site. This is the first story I've read that hasn't already been completed by the time I got to it and I must say I've become rather spoiled. This waiting for the next chapter thing sucks! Oh well, I'll just have to deal with it. I understand that Batman is a detective and must account for all possibilities regarding this Two-Face character, but I was still pleasantly surprised that his first thoughts upon the encounter were not "I knew it! Kitten was wrong to hope - magic always bites me on the ass!" (Probably not how he'd phrase it, but you get the gist) It's either a testament to his development in this Cat-Tales universe or the result of the concussion. I hope it's the former! I also enjoyed the cat history very much. I have my very own version of Apekteina Pontiki looking at me right in the face as I type this. He's giving me that "you've been on long enough" look. I guess that's my cue to say thanks for all these wonderful stories and I look forward to many more.
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Cat-Tale 55: I Believe in Harvey Dent

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