Time.

Time.

I’m at home alone with COVID, which is giving me time to naval-gaze and empty my inbox. In that inbox, I discovered that my friend Alex Gorosh (director of my series RoadFood) sent me this little documentary short on the topic of time.

For some reason, the unfathomable magnitude of space and time has always been a great source of comfort to me. I remember feeling miserable as a teenager and looking up at the stars of the night sky and taking great comfort in the fact that I was just a speck on this tiny blue planet in an ever-expanding universe of quintillions of planets. Looking up at the night sky on a clear night in New England as a kid I could see faint glow of the milky way—hundreds of billions of stars so distant they ceased to be points of light, but together they added up to a dusty smudge of luminosity across the sky—and all of the stars the Milky Way are in our own galaxy! And there are hundreds of billions of stars in hundreds of billions of other galaxies in this universe. To my high school mind all of this comforted me, because how could my little problems ever feel big when held up to the enormity of everything.

I always remember being soothed by the vastness of the universe, but when I was 40, I read “Annals of the Former World,” a tome on geology by John McPhee. The book beautifully illustrated the great expanse of geologic time, which so often exceeds the limits of our comprehension with this simple quote, “Consider the Earth’s history as the old measure of the English yard, the distance from the king’s nose to the tip of his outstretched hand. One stroke of a nail file on his middle finger erases human history.”

When I remember to remember, this too comforts me. The infinitesimally-small-smallness of my troubles helps them fade into nothing. Watching these few minutes on Youtube this morning, it was comforting to see that I am not alone in this perspective on our blink of time in this world. 

https://youtu.be/nOVvEbH2GC0

It happens to be my birthday. Usually I try not to make a thing about it, but I realized that I do want something for my birthday…

I would love it if you would  contribute to this de-mining effort to help save Ukrainian civilians. It’s a pressing and super impactful way to spend a few dollars. Donate for Ukraine to make me happy for my birthday?

Thanks. 

bit.ly/DemineUkraine

Chapters: 2/2 Fandom: Gotham Knights (TV 2023) Rating: Mature Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Relationships: Fugue Harvey Dent/Harvey Dent, Fugue Harvey Dent/Rebecca March, Harvey Dent/Rebecca March, Harvey Dent & Duela Dent, Fugue Harvey Dent & Duela Dent, Fugue Harvey Dent/Jane Doe Characters: Fugue Harvey Dent, 賦格哈維, Harvey Dent, 哈維．丹特, Two-Face, Two Face, 雙面人 - Character, Rebecca March, 蕾貝卡．馬奇, Duela Dent, 杜埃拉．丹特, Jane Doe, 簡．多伊, The Court of Owls, 貓頭鷹法庭 Additional Tags: CW Gotham Knights, Gotham Knights, 哥譚騎士, batbrats, ZaddyDent, Save Gotham Knights, dc, The CW, Fanfic, Mental Health Issues, Past Child Abuse, Canonical Child Abuse, Canon Compliant Series: Part 2 of CW Gotham Knights Fanfics Summary:

My head canon of what happened in Harvey's mind when he decided to unleash his dark side in S01E13. Harvey's character setting is based on the CW "Gotham Knights", and the DC comic "The Eye of the Beholder".

Closing his eyes and listening to himself humming Mozart's Fantasia in D Minor, Harvey felt that Duela's anxious and desperate call seemed to be getting farther and farther away from him, and the whole world was spinning and dragging him into the bottomless darkness-- the basement of his brain which was resembled to his former D.A.'s office.

Thank you for this heartwarming reply! I do developed an interest in Harvey’s stories after Misha decided to portray this role. So I’m doing my research via reading DC comics and watching YouTube videos of Two-Face to try to get a better understanding of Harvey. It’s my pleasure to have you as my guide on this fascinating quest. :) To show my admiration toward this character, I made some fanvids and wrote two fanfics (”In the Basement” and “The Man in the Mirror”) for Harvey, his alter ego and Gotham Knights if you’re interested. I tried my best not to be OOC, and based my stories on the foundation of the show and canon DC comics, that’s why this background research is so important to me.  I’m definitely gonna read your recommendations, there’s so much I need to learn and I’m excited for this exploration. Thank you and love you! :)

Hi, I want to read some DC comics about how Harvey transformed from former DA to the criminal mastermind who ruled half of Gotham's Underworld (against the Penguin). I've already read/seen: Two-Face: A Celebration of 75 Years Batman: The Long Halloween Batman: Dark Victory (1999) Batman '89 Batman: The Animated Series Batman: The Audio Adventures

Any other reading recommendations? Thanks a lot for your help. :)

So you're looking for origin stories, or at least ones that shed more light on Two-Face's origin? Well first off, I'm glad you read the 75th Anniversary collection, because that has three of my very favorites: the original Harvey Kent trilogy from 1942-43, the Grace Dent story from Secret Origins Special (1989), and "Eye of the Beholder" from Batman Annual #14 (1990).

Besides those, and the ones you've listed, here are a few others to check out. Some are great, some are mixed bags, and some are downright lousy.

First and foremost, I STRONGLY recommend the 1989 Batman newspaper comic strip, which I loved so much that I posted the whole two-year saga on its own tumblr account. You can start from the very beginning right here, but keep in mind that Harvey's storyline--which runs all the way to the very last strip--doesn't really start until the second arc.

Next, Batman: Dual to the Death by Geary Gravel is a YA novelization of the BTAS origin, seamlessly combined with the two-part Batgirl origin episodes. It improves on both the animated versions in small but crucial ways, and it's highly recommended for BTAS fans. Unfortunately, it's pretty hard to find.

On a similar note, Peter David's movie novelization of Batman Forever can be found more easily, either in used book form or on the Internet Archive, and it's absolutely worth reading. I love the movie of Batman Forever, but it's objectively a terrible take on Harvey. The novelization adds SO MUCH, including an original prequel scene with D.A. Harvey Dent, and his ending is far more satisfying.

Cartoon Network's CGI animated series Beware the Batman (2013) also features a series-long origin arc for Harvey Dent, but it's one of the worst takes I've ever seen on the character. He's a petty, selfish, ambitious little prick, an absolute scumbag, completely devoid of depth or tragedy. Thankfully, few have seen this arc, since the majority of Harvey's episodes were never aired after the series was cancelled, but they're all available to watch for those morbidly curious to see just how badly someone can screw up Harvey as a character.

"The Big Burn" from Batman and Robin, vol 2 #24-28 (2014), also collected in B&R volume 5. After the huge DC reboot, this was Harvey new origin, which tried some very different things with him. A VERY mixed bag, but one that ended in a hugely exciting way that makes the whole thing worth reading. Follow it up with its sequel, "Ugly Heart," from Detective Comics #1020-1024, collected in Detective Comics Vol 5: Joker War.

Finally, watch the entirety of the recently-released/cancelled CW series Gotham Knights, with Misha Collins performing a surprisingly rich, interesting, and flawed Harvey Dent origin arc. The show got a lot of shit, some of it undeserved, but Collins' Harvey was an intriguing surprise, and I fear nothing we see from Harvey in any Reevesverse media will bring half as much care and interest to Harvey as GK did, for better or worse. All 13 episodes can be watched for free on CW Seed, region permitting.

EDIT: Oh right also the Telltale Batman video game! I haven't actually played that yet because I know enough about what happens and the illusion of meaningful choice indicative of Telltale games that I just don't feel like putting myself through that. People seem to like it a lot, though! I just... don't put me in a position of choosing to save either Harvey or Selina if you're just going to cheat and have him go evil anyway.

Light (Fanvid) Lyrics Translation

光明　歌詞英翻中

將自己剪輯的影片，歌詞翻譯成中文，歡迎指正，Enjoy~ :)

—–

1 00:03:06,627 --> 00:03:11,944 ♪ 希望這些詞句能成為 ♪

♪ May these words be the first ♪

2 00:03:11,944 --> 00:03:17,366 ♪ 妳最初聽到的話語 ♪

♪ To find your ears ♪

3 00:03:17,366 --> 00:03:22,996 ♪ 這世界比太陽更明亮 ♪

♪ The world is brighter than the sun ♪

4 00:03:22,996 --> 00:03:29,356 ♪ 因為此刻有妳在這裡 ♪

♪ Now that you're here ♪

5 00:03:29,356 --> 00:03:40,442 ♪ 雖然妳的眼睛會需要些時間來適應 ♪

♪ Though your eyes will need some time to adjust ♪

6 00:03:40,442 --> 00:03:52,988 ♪ 這環繞我們令人眩目的光明 ♪

♪ To the overwhelming light surrounding us ♪

7 00:03:52,988 --> 00:03:56,046 ♪ 我會給妳我所有的一切 ♪

♪ I'll give you everything I have ♪

8 00:03:56,046 --> 00:03:59,279 ♪ 我會教妳我所知的一切 ♪

♪ I'll teach you everything I know ♪

9 00:03:59,279 --> 00:04:04,318 ♪ 我發誓我會做得更好 ♪

♪ I promise I'll do better ♪

10 00:04:04,318 --> 00:04:06,751 ♪ 我會永遠緊緊擁抱妳 ♪

♪ I will always hold you close ♪

11 00:04:06,751 --> 00:04:10,330 ♪ 但我會學著放手讓妳走 ♪

♪ But I will learn to let you go ♪

12 00:04:10,330 --> 00:04:15,369 ♪ 我發誓我會做得更好 ♪

♪ I promise I'll do better ♪

13 00:04:15,369 --> 00:04:17,872 ♪ 我會軟化每個稜角 ♪

♪ I will soften every edge ♪

14 00:04:17,872 --> 00:04:23,224 ♪ 我會讓世界保持最佳狀態 ♪

♪ I'll hold the world to its best ♪

15 00:04:23,224 --> 00:04:26,108 ♪ 而且我會做得更好 ♪

♪ And I'll do better ♪

16 00:04:26,108 --> 00:04:28,958 ♪ 以我剩下的每次心跳 ♪

♪ With every heartbeat I have left ♪

17 00:04:28,958 --> 00:04:33,963 ♪ 我會守護妳的每次呼吸 ♪

♪ I will defend your every breath ♪

18 00:04:33,963 --> 00:04:40,809 ♪ 而且我會做得更好 ♪

♪ And I'll do better ♪

19 00:04:40,809 --> 00:04:44,215 ♪ 因為妳是被愛著的 ♪

♪ 'Cause you are loved ♪

20 00:04:44,215 --> 00:04:52,173 ♪ 妳被愛得遠勝於妳所知 ♪

♪ You are loved more than you know ♪

21 00:04:52,173 --> 00:04:57,769 ♪ 我在此立誓以我所有的日子 ♪

♪ I hereby pledge all of my days ♪

22 00:04:57,769 --> 00:05:04,685 ♪ 來證明確實如此 ♪

♪ To prove it so ♪

23 00:05:04,685 --> 00:05:15,528 ♪ 雖然妳的心太過年輕而不明白 ♪

♪ Though your heart is far too young to realize ♪

24 00:05:15,528 --> 00:05:28,734 ♪ 妳內在蘊藏著無可想像的光明 ♪

♪ The unimaginable light you hold inside ♪

25 00:05:28,734 --> 00:05:31,862 ♪ 我會給妳我所有的一切 ♪

♪ I'll give you everything I have ♪

26 00:05:31,862 --> 00:05:35,268 ♪ 我會教妳我所知的一切 ♪

♪ I'll teach you everything I know ♪

27 00:05:35,268 --> 00:05:40,655 ♪ 我發誓我會做得更好 ♪

♪ I promise I'll do better ♪

28 00:05:40,655 --> 00:05:43,261 ♪ 我會永遠緊緊擁抱妳 ♪

♪ I will always hold you close ♪

29 00:05:43,261 --> 00:05:46,563 ♪ 但我會學著放手讓妳走 ♪

♪ But I will learn to let you go ♪

30 00:05:46,563 --> 00:05:52,019 ♪ 我發誓我會做得更好 ♪

♪ I promise I'll do better ♪

31 00:05:52,019 --> 00:05:54,834 ♪ 我會重新排列群星 ♪

♪ I will rearrange the stars ♪

32 00:05:54,834 --> 00:05:58,101 ♪ 將它們拉下凡塵到妳所在之地 ♪

♪ Pull 'em down to where you are ♪

33 00:05:58,101 --> 00:06:03,314 ♪ 我發誓　我會做得更好 ♪

♪ I promise, I'll do better ♪

34 00:06:03,314 --> 00:06:05,920 ♪ 以我剩下的每次心跳 ♪

♪ With every heartbeat I have left ♪

35 00:06:05,920 --> 00:06:09,257 ♪ 我會守護妳的每次呼吸 ♪

♪ I'll defend your every breath ♪

36 00:06:09,257 --> 00:06:14,296 ♪ 我發誓我會做得更好 ♪

♪ I promise I'll do better ♪

37 00:06:14,296 --> 00:06:17,111 ♪ 我會軟化每個稜角 ♪

♪ I will soften every edge ♪

38 00:06:17,111 --> 00:06:21,768 ♪ 我會讓世界保持最佳狀態 ♪

♪ Hold the world to its best ♪

39 00:06:21,768 --> 00:06:25,591 ♪ 我發誓我會做得更好 ♪

♪ I promise I'll do better ♪

40 00:06:25,591 --> 00:06:27,954 ♪ 以我剩下的每次心跳 ♪

♪ With every heartbeat I have left ♪

41 00:06:27,954 --> 00:06:36,816 ♪ 我會守護妳的每次呼吸 ♪

♪ I'll defend your every breath ♪

—–

BGM: Sleeping At Last - Light

https://youtu.be/lJbscoDctuU