◨ 3 | video ◧ (cw: references to self-harm)

[indentcision]

[ While the video switches on, there's something of a hesitation before the man holding the communicator actually lifts it to show more than the chest of the pinstripe suit he's wearing.

Finally, Harvey raises it up to his face: the familiar (to some, not all) bisection of scarring is plain to see, the handsome right side with its one alert blue eye and thick coif of hair a stark contrast to the savage red burns that have razed the left side, and kept the hair there white and deadened. His expression is a neutral mask for a long, weighted span of moments, before his eyebrow lowers down over his good eye. ]

My name is Harvey Dent. Some of you may know me already -- I'm a Public Defender in Heropa, former District Attorney of Gotham City. While that may seem neither here nor there, it brings me to my next point. No... my entire point.

[ He falls briefly quiet again, then gestures to his face. The elephant in the room, as it were. ]

Masks off. Don't be alarmed; everything's fine... before anyone decides to jump to conclusions.

This is me -- a face of justice broken down and left for dead. Someone that once believed in cleaning his city of corruption, but now... no, since, I realized that had been my first mistake all along. What the world needs is balance, not saving -- if it can't be right it can still be fair.

That's still my priority. I'm not going to hide it any longer, regardless of who still wants to call me crazy for it; that's why I undid my facial reconstruction, to prove that I'm serious. To make it clear that as a lawyer, balance of consequence is as important as balance of representation.

So no, I'm not resigning. I'm not c-- [ He stops short and laughs briefly, seeming to change his mind about that sentence, and there's an off-screen metallic clinking sort of sound. ] Where justice is concerned, an impartial voice is more necessary than you'd think. Such a heated subject, as of late.

[ He smiles in a calm-but-uneven way, as much as his mangled lips will allow, and holds a business card up to the camera; it shows the business address for his practice, as well as his phone number. 'Walk-ins welcome!' it reads amiably. ]

Remember: That's Harvey.

Harvey Dent.

Comments

1/2

[slightlyoffchilt]

[Oh my god.]

[slightlyoffchilt]

Why can't people refrain from so literally manifesting metaphors?

[His dinner, Harvey, you are inspiring it to rise.]

video;

[brushoff]

[ Dorian's obviously filming this from a hotel room. And...he can't help but wrinkle his nose a bit as he looks at Harvey. ]

Good Lord, you're hideous.

video;

[indentcision]

[ Harvey grins. ]

Skin deep. Vanity's just a weight around the ankles, you know that?

voice; id reads robin

[performance]

[ What's that expression? When it rains, it pours? Is fifteen too young to start going grey? He'd thought Dent was supposed to be one of the ones who was behaving himself here. ]

Interesting timing for that speech, Mr. Dent.

VIDEO.

[indentcision]

[ He notes that ID with interest, but doesn't comment on it. ]

Chance can be funny that way. One person sees falling dominoes, while another just sees a mess that needs cleaning. Is either more right than the other?

[mightthinkthat]

[ He finds this unfairly funny. ]

I'm sure your clients will find this vision enormously comforting in their hour of need.

[indentcision]

[ And undoubtedly for all the wrong reasons. Probably. ]

In their hour of need, every person needs something. If you doubt me, you don't need me.

video;

[kingpawn]

[ Wait a second. Wait. Isn't this Hank's friend? Oh god. His face! Oh god. It makes him think of Gus. ]

I guess....it's good to see you're doing well.

[ Is he, though? Is he really? ]

video;

[indentcision]

You don't sound convinced.

[ Harvey stares forward and blinks once; his right side looks calm, almost understanding. ]

But thank you anyway.

video;

[textualhealing]

Ah, the duality of the legal system. [So amused by himself.]

video;

[indentcision]

Necessary good, necessary evil.

[ But Harvey's totally serious tho. ]

At least up to a point. Just the nature of the business, isn't it, Winger?

video;

[itistolaugh]

Oh, you. [ Said like self-mutilation is just him being a silly ol' goose. ] Well, it had a good run! Rest in peace, half of Harv's face.

video;

[indentcision]

That run ended years ago; this was all only borrowed time.

[ He shrugs it off. ]

video

[quaerit]

[ God, that's horrific.

It's also a fairly extreme way of making a point. Gansey does not look as though he feels uncomfortable, but his face is serious, verging on stony.

He's straight-shouldered, and firmly polite. ]

Forgive me, Mr Dent, but you don't sound particularly impartial. Surely, the consideration of what is either fair or right is not for those in the legal profession to decide. That would be a matter for Judge and jury; your role is to represent, not adjudicate.

Don't you think that your clients, prospective or otherwise, might be concerned that your personal objectives will influence your treatment of their cases?

video

[indentcision]

[ He shakes his head, sitting back in his office chair and smirking forward. ]

I see the concern, but you misunderstand my point. I argue for what my clients deserve; my job is to exercise their rights to the fullest without judgement. Preferably without judgement. I influence the sentence, but I don't choose it.

[ Idly, he balances a coin on its edge against his desk. Even taking his own role outside a courtroom -- though Harvey isn't bringing that up, far too irrelevant to the point he brings up today -- he'd argue that it's the coin that adjudicates, not him. ]

But all cases treated equal isn't always a popular sentiment regardless.

video;

[angelfire]

Well look at you. A face even a mother couldn't love, but then what's wrong with that? Getting down with your bad self.

[ He's riveted by this whole thing, to be honest. Still, moving on... ]

I have a question: prosecution or defense?

video;

[indentcision]

I was a prosecutor before. Defense now. There's something to be said about seeing things from both sides of the courtroom.

[ Should he comment on the rest? It seems baiting, and Harvey isn't sure his threshold there yet. This is a new sort of compromise for him; both sides, working "together"... well, for now. ]

Just myself. Didn't say anything about bad or good.

[andaway]

[Clark might have had... a slight moment of panic at seeing Two-Face on the network. He'd known Harvey had been around but he'd decided that since he seemed to not have reached the point of mental break down he wasn't going to go overboard with keeping an eye on him. For a moment he thinks that had been a mistake. But the more Harvey talks the more his shoulders relax.]

That was... [He hesitates for a moment, not able to find the right word. Finally he settles on:] Brave. Good luck, Harvey.

[indentcision]

[ That's... unexpected, really, though not unappreciated. Rare is the time when Harvey is ever met with unironic support rather than suspicion, even if that support is more often than not qualified in some way. But who can blame a person for that?

It's nice to be listened to. ]

This was about truth, not bravery -- though sometimes you do need one to get the other. [ A beat, then: ] Appreciate it, Mr. Kent. Good luck's hard to come by, harder to keep.

Audio | Private

[followorders]

[Locus has seen worse in a the Great War and in his time in the mercenary business, so the unveiling does little to detract him from the important thing. He's a lawyer who might possibly work with someone like him, so he contacts him.]

Are you a lawyer by trade, or did they assign you the job when you arrived?

[Locus has no interest in some half-rate lawyer.]

Audio | Private

[indentcision]

By trade -- I was a lawyer long before I showed up in this place.

[ He pauses, expression remaining neutral. ]

You need help with something in particular?

[earnedmystripes]

[It is taking so much willpower not to freak out about your face, Harvey. Appreciate ur notfriend's restraint here.]

....What kind of balance are you talking about?

[indentcision]

[ Harvey just stares at him blankly for a long, silent moment, before the right eye finally breaks the stare with a blink. Or is it a wink, considering...? ]

Wasn't I clear? [ His tone seems almost sincere in its confusion. ] Life can't be fair the way people want it to; the rich will always steal from the poor and the corrupt will always have power over the innocent. This is how society wants it.

Chance is an outlying factor. The outlying factor. Life's own sort of balance, in other words.

[darwinatrix]

Interesting.

And you believe yourself mentally stable enough to carry out your tasks? [If she's alarmed by his appearance, she doesn't show it.]

[indentcision]

[ His eyebrow raises, though his expression doesn't change much otherwise. ]

Why shouldn't I?

llllllaaaate but i love you, video

[rathercommon]

[ Kitty's voice is a little unsteady. A little nervous. ]

Um...How did you...undo the surgery, Mr Dent?

VIDEO.

[indentcision]

[ Harvey looks into the camera calmly, blinking once -- then twice -- with his one good eye before he exhales, slowly. Why are so many people focused on the details of process, honestly? ]

With a razor blade. How else?

[text]

[perturbator]

an honest lawyer probably isn't what people want for defense

what do you want to balance exactly

VOICE.

[indentcision]

If people don't want me then they don't need me. There's other lawyers out there.

Fate. Opportunity. Do you know-- [ He pauses, considering how to communicate his point the most efficiently and clearly. Since everyone always has such trouble understanding, for some odd reason. ] How many factors there are to work for or against a person in the eyes of the law? Those factors help determine how their fate will be judged, and usually not equally, I'd add.

I can't cancel all that out by myself. But what I can do I will do, as a priority.

[enigmaestro]

You know what this means, don't you?

[indentcision]

I'm sure no matter how I answer that, you're going to tell me anyway.