#hari harsh

[marauders4evr]

An excerpt from Reputation:

[Context: In high school, Jack tried to protect Hari from a bigot, and said bigot threw him off the roof. Ten years later, the bigot is an influencer-superhero, Jack is a wheelchair-using supervillain (who cleans Al's bar for a bed in the basement), and Hari is a pediatric oncologist. When the bigot upsets kids with cancer by implying that disabled people can't be superheroes, Jack steals his Super identity, while using medical tape and sheer queer confidence to make his wheelchair fly. The two other characters are Tally, a teleporting teenager, and Vex, one of her partners, who also works at the bar.]

"You caught me," Jack croaked.

"I almost didn't!" Hari screamed, trembling so much that Jack nearly fell again. "I can't believe you thought that you could make your wheelchair fly with two strands of seemingly-infinite medical tape!"

"I can't believe you caught me," Jack said, still unable to raise his voice beyond an awed whisper. "I'm so proud of you. I love you. I-"

He froze, his words sinking in, the volume rising up: "Haha, okay, good to see you! I'm just going to go!"

He pushed himself out of Hari's arms, which was always going to be unfortunate, but was made even more so by the fact that they were still flying.

This time, when Jack started to fall, it was Tally who saved him. She teleported over, seized the front of his shirt, and popped them both to the nearest rooftop. In doing so, she unintentionally pulled him right from his wheelchair, causing Hari to dive after the mobility aid.

Kneeling on the cold service, Jack said, "Thanks, Tally. Um, actually, could you just teleport me right out of this situation?"

"Uh, yeah, sure?"

A millisecond later, Jack found himself kneeling on a familiar floor, Al blinking down at him. "Welcome! And only three hours late for your shift! But, no, seriously, are you okay? Where's your wheelchair?"

Before he could respond, Tally popped in. She gave Vex a kiss, before giving Jack the bad news: "I was going to bring your wheelchair, but Hari's holding onto it. Like, holding it hostage. He said they were a package deal, because you two, 'need to talk about That'."

"Oh my god!" Vex cackled. "Jack, marry this guy!"

"Would if I could," Jack said, accepting Al's help, as he stood up.

Tally popped a little closer, to ensure that he could stand. "So, do you want me to bring him here so that you two can talk, or-?"

"Nope!"

"What about your wheelchair?"

"I don't need my wheelchair!"

"What do you mean you don't need your whee-?" Vex broke off as Jack casually walked across the bar. "Holy shit, do you actually not need your wheelchair?"

"He's an ambulatory wheelchair-user," Al said, warily watching his employee, "but he can only walk for a few feet-and down he goes."

"Do I get the chair?" Tally asked, prompting her girlfriend to shrug.

"Nah," Al decided. "I'm pretty sure Jack thinks that lying in pain on my yet-to-be-cleaned floor is less painful than talking to Hari."

---

I know Jack's pain. Not the 'nearly falling to your death because you wanted to make your wheelchair fly with medical tape and queer confidence' part, the-come to think of it, I envy Jack's pain.

[marauders4evr]

An excerpt from Reputation, in which I remind you all that I (a disabled writer) am writing disabled characters, not morals:

[Context: Jack, 28, wheelchair-user, 'supervillain', was paralyzed by his bully-turned-'superhero', steals said bully's identity to help kids at the hospital, is in love with his former classmate, Dr. Hari Harsh, and is a surrogate brother to Cattie.]

"Your boyfriend's mad at me," Cattie spat.

Jack paused in the doorway of the hospital room, eventually wheeling in. "Yeah, well, he's mad at me, too. You're not special."

She snorted. "I told him how I wished my foster parents had cancer."

"Oh, he is having a night," Jack said, his mouth quivering, as he skidded his palms against his wheels. "How'd he respond?"

"'I can't deal with this right now,'" mimicked the teenager. "Then he had Rhonda take my vitals. What's his problem?"

"We just got into a huge argument, because I thought Metal Butt—the superhero who paralyzed me—had paralyzed himself."

She stared at him before saying, "That would have been hilarious!"

"It would have been hilarious, right?!" Jack exclaimed, unabashedly seeking validation from the fourteen-year-old.

"He would have deserved it."

"No, no, Hari made it pretty clear that disabilities and illnesses should never be seen as punishments."

"The nondisabled doctor made that clear, huh?"

Jack pressed his lips together, unwilling to admit that his response had been near-identical. "I think he's right about this one, Cat."

"Oh, please, you're so in love with him, you'd say he was right, if he said you could walk."

"I'm an ambulatory wheelchair-user, so he would be right," Jack said, before admitting, "He's also right about this...kinda."

She perked up at that. "'Kinda?'"

"It is wrong about to think that someone 'deserves' to be disabled."

"But?" Cattie eagerly prompted.

"But, god, I wish that, for once in his privileged life, that bigoted bully would have personally experienced the consequences of his actions."

She took over the singular brain cell: "Because why is it always us?"

"Why is it never them?"

"Why do we have to go through this, while they're going on vacation?"

"And living in their gigantic mansions?"

"And not having to worry about how to pay for their organs?"

"And not having to worry about being bullied; hell, being the bullies."

Cattie wiped her eyes before saying, "And they're out there, thinking, 'My life is great, I'm so glad I'm not like those poor sick cripples.'"

"So, why can't we think—" Jack started, only for Cattie to harmonize: "'I wish they were like us.'"

"I wish they were." Curling up, as much as one could in a hospital bed, Cattie said, "And I don't care if Hari's mad at me. What's he gonna do, give me even more cancer?"

Jack burst out laughing. "Nah, he wouldn't use that as a punishment; he wouldn't think that is a punishment!"

She clung onto the gallows humor tighter than her stuffed fish: "'You know how we can get Hari to understand what we're going through?"

"We're not paralyzing my boyfriend!"

"Jeez, fine, we'll just give him cancer!" She smirked as he tried to protest through his wheezes. "It would be a teachable moment! He would be an inspiration! He could help the hospital get more money by posing in those commercials with the violins; okay, I'm done."

---

As am I.

[marauders4evr]

An excerpt from Reputation that requires no context:

"Glossing over the logistics of how you managed to throw your wheelchair," Al cried, "why would you throw it at the bar's window?"

Jack was too embarrassed to answer.

"In all fairness, he was aiming for my head," Destiny said with a grin. "We were sparring, mistakes were made, wheelchairs were thrown, windows were shattered. Do you really have to cancel his date night?"

"Especially when his date didn't throw the wheelchair?" Hari put in, his grin indicating that he was trying to cheer his partner up.

Jack appreciated the attempt but it didn't work. His shame caused his superability to flare, until he was thinking of every mistake he had ever made, from the first time he had inconveniently cried. He only snapped out of it when he heard Vex and Tally giggling; the teenagers quieted when they realized that everyone was looking at them.

"Are you laughing because Jack's in trouble?" Al asked.

"No! Well, um, sort of, but-" Tally teleported over to give Jack a hug. "We're not laughing at you, we promise."

"No, we're laughing at you, Al," Vex said with a smirk. "We're laughing at the fact that you're grounding him."

"I-I-hang on-"

"Takes the 'bar fam' thing to a whole'nother level," Vex teased.

"He's not grounded!"

Hari stepped forward, slinging an arm around Jack's shoulders. "Well, great, if he's not grounded, then we can go on our date!"

"No, no!" Al was doing his best to maintain his frown. "This is a punishment from an employer to an employee, after said employee broke his employer's window by throwing his wheelchair!"

"Do you know what that sounds like to me?" Sampson said, wrapping his arm around Destiny. "Disability-based discrimination."

Destiny cackled, relying on her partner to hold her up, while she hit Al with her forearm crutch. "Or are you discriminating by cancelling Jack's date because he's queer? I gotta say, if that's the case, then as a trans woman, I wouldn't feel safe going to the bar of such a bigot."

Vex jumped back in: "'And as a trans girl, the thought of my employer stopping a queer date is, like, worthy of a civil lawsuit."

"Do not sue, Al!" Jack exclaimed. "And don't set the mob on him, either! Yeah, I know that look, and you're not calling your dad." He waited for Vex to agree, however reluctantly, before continuing, "I appreciate it, sweetie, but I broke the window, and I have to accept the punishment. Responsibility and shit."

"Thank you, Jack," Al said.

The others groaned, Tally trying one more approach, "Okay, what about the fact that the dude's a literal superhero who's helping kids with cancer? Does that count for anything?"

"Nope, we don't do inspiration porn around here."

"Well, I've got nothing."

"And, apparently, neither does Hari," Vex said, her temper flaring. "Aren't you gonna defend your partner?"

"Oh, happily," said the doctor. "I was just waiting for you all to say your bit before I destroyed Al, leaving you with nothing left to roast."

"No, no, no!" Jack stood up, trying to restrain him. "Do not destroy the man who's given me a job and a home for the past seven years!"

"Sorry, darling, but there's too much on the line." Hari kissed him before saying, "So, we can agree that Jack broke the window. Can we also agree it was an action taken with little guidance or counselling?"

"Oh, you are not-" Al started.

"Yeah, he is," Jack mumbled, pressing his face into Hari's shoulder.

"If only he had gotten that guidance and counselling when he was younger," Hari continued. "If only our guidance counsellor had stayed at our high school instead of leaving to take over his father's bar."

A beat of silence. Then two. Then three.

"Yeah, all right." Al sighed. "Enjoy your date."

"WE WON!"

---

Their date is a trip to the hardware store for window repair supplies.

[marauders4evr]

Had some awkward conversations, today, so here's an excerpt from Reputation wherein characters also have an awkward conversation:

[Jack, 28, wheelchair-user, 'supervillain', loves Dr. Hari Harsh, is a surrogate brother to Cattie and other patients, stole the identity of his bully who ranted that 'broken people' can't be superheroes]

"Hey, Mr. Marvelous, can you have sex?"

Jack paused midway through drawing a turkey on a latex glove. Across the hospital room, Hari had also frozen, despite the heat pouring from his face. Summoning the same courage it took to fly via a wheelchair and an unbelievable amount of medical tape, Jack answered Cattie's question: "Why? Is your doctor asking?"

"You wish!" She smirked. "Okay, who taught you how to have sex?"

"Destiny?" Jack asked, matching Hari's snort with a shrug.

"Your ex?" asked the teenager, sliding from her bed to her wheelchair. "Is he the one with the cool forearm crutches?"

"She's the one with the cool forearm crutches, yeah."

"So, she can have sex, too?" Cattie thoughtfully hummed, before crashing her wheelchair into his, taking the turkey-glove. "Ha!"

"Cattie, why are you talking about this?" Hari wondered. "Also, if you destroy Jack's turkey, I'm not going to cure cancer, after all."

Cattie burst out laughing, briefly pausing to use her oxygen tank. She then used the same tank to inflate the glove, turning it into a mini turkey balloon. "I just wanted to know-wait, Jack, you didn't fall off a roof 'til you were older, right?"

"Yes, thank you for that memory."

"So, did you go to sex ed, when you were my age?"

"Yeah." Jack grimaced. "Falling off the roof was less painful."

"But you got to go!" She bopped the glove. "You were, like, allowed?"

"You're acting like there's a special invitation?"

"Yeah, well, I didn't get the invite." She was quiet for a moment, the returning glove bouncing off her scalp. "Look, I know you guys don't want to talk about this, and I don't want to talk to you about this, either, but I want to talk to someone. All the eighth graders went to sex ed but when my tutor came to the hospital, she told me I didn't need to worry about that stuff, 'cause I'm probably gonna be asexual."

"What's wrong with being ace?" Jack asked. "Juniper Johnson's ace and she's an awesome wheelchair-using superhero."

"You're an awesome wheelchair-using superhero," Cattie said, ignoring his protests. "And you're gay. And Minnie's an awesome wheelchair-using superhero and she's bi. Like, there are all sorts of things I could be? So, why'd my tutor think I'd be one thing?"

"If I was a betting man, and since I'm affiliated with the mob, I technically am," Jack said, "I'd say it's another day, another ableist."

"Yeah! Wait, what?"

"I'll talk to your tutor," Hari promised. "I'll tell her you want the same sex-ed opportunities that the students in your class are getting."

She perked up. "Thanks."

"You know it's going to be cringy, right?" Jack warned.

"Yeah, but, I mean, you're cringy, and I like being around you."

"Good point."

---

I should have had my conversations holding a turkey-glove...

[marauders4evr]

An excerpt from Reputation to end this long Tuesday:

"Whoever said you can't use medical tape and queer confidence to make a wheelchair fly—" Jack broke off with a yelp, as he crashed down to the floor of the hospital room, having barely made it through the doorway. "—was probably right, but I'm still going to keep trying."

Cattie's snort was in dissonance with the nurses' laughter. The three women walked past the room, sparing only a passing glance to the people inside. Jack, who was still sprawled out on the floor, called, "Oh, sure, laugh at the crippled superhero, you ableists!"

"If they're laughing at you, they're not laughing at us," Cattie said.

He paused before rolling over onto his stomach, so that he could face the preteen. "Wait, I was joking about the 'ableists' thing; do they really laugh at you?"

"Oh, yeah, all the time." She slid to the edge of the bed, pulling a popsicle out from his overturned wheelchair. "You said they used to bully you in high school, right?"

"Everyone used to bully me, I was very bully-able," he said, "But, yeah. 'Figures a bunch of mean girls would grow up to be mean nurses." Propping his chin on his knuckles, he said, "Okay, push your call button. Hold it down. No, like, really hold it down. Don't let go."

Within seconds, the first nurse had raced in, nearly tripping over Jack. Then the second. Then the third. All of them stared at the button-holding girl, whose smile only stretched when Hari came rushing into the room. "What's going on? Cattie, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she said, letting go. "Jack isn't, but, like, when is he ever?"

Jack conceded the point, trying not to flush as Hari helped him back into his wheelchair. The flush eventually came when the other man asked, "Why are you always on the floor?"

"Why are you always in my dreams?" Jack shot back, before turning to the trio of nurses. "And why are you laughing at these kids?"

"What?" Hari exclaimed.

"You're always in my dreams, Hari, keep up."

The first nurse spoke up: "We-we were just laughing at a joke."

"What was the joke? Knock knock. Who's there? Oncology?"

"That's exactly how Hari told me I had lung cancer," Cattie chimed in, causing the doctor in question to burst out laughing.

Jack's mouth twitched, but he maintained the same demeanor that he used against unruly barflies. "Here's a fun fact everyone seems to be forgetting: I'm actually a supervillain. I'm just pretending to be a superhero to cheer up these kids."

"Which is exactly what a superhero does," Hari put in.

"Nah, I could never be a superhero. I can be a supervillain, though. The kind of supervillain who does supervillain-y shit. And if I ever hear you laughing at any of these children, I will go so supervillain-y on your asses!" Jack paused before amending his scream to a hospitable: "Not literally; I fully respect your personal boundaries."

The trio hurried away.

"Okay, that was hot," Hari said.

"Ew, gross, it wasn't hot," Cattie snarked. "But it was kinda cool. So, what are you gonna do to them?"

"Huh?" Jack blinked. "Oh, no idea. My supervillain-y-ness is mostly related to theft, tax fraud, and an implied affiliation with the mob."

"Do you know what 'implied' means?" Hari asked.

"Do you know what 'lame' means?" Cattie asked.

Addressing the preteen, Jack said, "I think the term is 'disabled'."

"I-no-wait, I was trying to insult you."

"Ah, gotcha. Well, in that case, let's hope Hari can actually cure you. That way, you can grow up to be a nurse."

---

The supervillain-iest supervillain to ever supervillain.

[marauders4evr]

An excerpt from Reputation:

[Context: Jack, 28, wheelchair-user, has an eidetic memory, cleans Al's bar for a bed in the basement, loves Dr. Hari Harsh, stole the identity of a 'superhero' (his old bully) after the bigot ranted that 'broken people' can't be superheroes, to help kids with cancer.]

"Hari's cheating on you!"

Jack, Hari, and the various patrons in the bar spoke as one: "What?"

"It's true," Marvin said, his smirk touching either ear. "He's cheating on you with that bastard who stole my identity. You know, that rainbow-covered weirdo who somehow flies using medical tape? My contacts told me they've been making out all over the city."

A beat of silence stretched into a melody, before Jack spun his wheelchair around. "Hari, how could you?"

"In my defense," Hari drolly said, "wheelchairs are an aphrodisiac."

Jack did his best to keep a straight face, a feat that was impossible for multiple reasons. It was Al who saved the superhero by coming around the counter, pulling him into a hug. While Jack shrieked with laughter, in the bar-owner's apron, Al shouted, "Oh, now, look, you've made my janitor cry!"

Marvin seemed pleased with this development. Jack pulled back with a wail: "Was his wheelchair bigger than mine?"

"No," Hari said, "but he can wheel faster."

Only someone with the lowest perception roll could have mistaken Jack's snort for a sob. Marvin had thrown his dice in the trash. "I'm sorry, Jack, I guess Hari never loved you."

Jack actually froze at that, only melting when his partner said, "Candidly, Marvin, when that handsome superhero introduced himself as Mr. Marvelous, I thought I was going down on you."

The bully stumbled backwards, trying to put as much distance between himself and the doctor as possible. When Hari winked and said, "It's not too late for us to be together, you know", Marvin actually fled the bar, laughter ringing in his wake.

Jack was able to expertly multitask by cleaning the counter and kissing his partner. When they finally pulled apart, he teased, "If you cheated on me with Mr. Marvelous, can I cheat on you with Dr. Fruitfly? Because he is hot! Or will you dig your keys into the side of my wheelchair and carve your name into the cushion?"

"Oh, no, I would never do that," Hari said. "I told you, the wheelchair's an aphrodisiac!"

---

The target age of this book is...yes.

[marauders4evr]

I'll grant you that there is no logical way that Jack can make his wheelchair fly using nothing but medical tape and believing in himself, but I'll also grant you this excerpt from Reputation:

"We live in a world of disabilities and superabilities," Jack cried. "I say, that's a perfect reason to fly!"

He had seized the doctor's scrubs, reluctantly letting the fabric slip through his fingers, as Hari backed away. "I'm sorry, I can't."

With that, Hari whirled around, clearly wanting to say something else, eventually descending the fire escape that clung to the side of the hospital. By the time he made it to the alleyway, Jack was waiting for him, having lowered his wheelchair via two strands of tape. "You know, going down a staircase is a cheap way to avoid a cripple."

"Wha-? Oh!" The heat pouring from Hari's face could have rivalled the pyrokinetic kid who hung out at the bar. "No, I'm sorry, I didn't-"

"Shh, Hari, I know." Jack adjusted the tape dispensers so that the chair flew upwards, making them eye-level. "Stop acting like you've done something wrong! You're not the wrong one in this relationship or-um-whatever this is. You're the doctor. You're the superhero."

"And you're the one who I couldn't save."

"I don't need you to save me, I need you to fly with me!"

Hari looked away, his attention drawn to the silver strips stretching the length of the hospital. Smiling at the sheer absurdity, he asked, "Where exactly does the medical tape come from?"

"Same place the music does, darling," Jack said, cupping his face.

---

Same place the music does.

[marauders4evr]

Have an excerpt from Reputation:

[Jack, 28, wheelchair-user, 'supervillain', loves Dr. Hari Harsh, stole the 'superhero' identity of his former bully who ranted that 'broken people' can't be superheroes, visits the kids at the hospital,]

"I wish I had cancer!"

Jack froze, the unknown child's declaration stopping his wheelchair in ways that stairs could only dream. On the other side of the office, Hari was burying his face in his hands. Jack's own face was hidden behind the sticker-covered ski mask; this provided a marginal amount of cushioning when the child leapt right on top of him, causing them both to fall to the ground. He managed to save the girl and the cup of coffee he had been holding, though he was sure that his spine would hate him even more than it already had.

His eardrums also weren't a fan of the situation, as the girl screamed: "MR. MARVELOUS!"

"Yep, that's me," Jack wheezed.

Over her parents repeated apologies, the girl asked, "Did I hurt you?"

"It's okay, I already have the wheelchair." Jack passed the child to her mother, climbing back into said chair. "What's your name, sweetie?"

Her name seemed to be a string of giggles as the child practically flew from her mother's arms into Jack's. "I can't believe it's you! I've always wanted to meet you! That's why I wish I had cancer!"

"Mmhm, mmhm," Jack said. "Quick question: what?"

"You visit my brother, Tommy," she said, with the seriousness that only a six-year-old could muster. "You used to come visit my school, but now you only visit sick kids. If I'm sick, you'll have to visit me."

"Oh no, no, no, sweetie, that's not-nope." Smothering his panic and his desire to be back in prison wherein things were marginally simpler, Jack said, "You don't want to be...here."

"Yes, I do," huffed the girl. "I can live in the hospital with you."

"I don't-" Jack started, before drawing from his memories. "Listen, a hospital ain't exactly a mansion, sweetie. Living here can be very lonely and very scary. That's why I visit your brother and the other kids. So that they're not scared. And that's why I stopped visiting your school. 'Cause brave kids like you aren't scared, right?"

She chewed on her lip before conceding: "I guess not."

"But, hey, if you visit your brother then you'll get to see me!"

"Then he won't be as scared!' She brightened. "And neither will you!"

"And neither of us will be alone," Jack agreed. "That said, right now, I need to be alone with Dr. Harsh, okay?"

"Are you gonna kiss him?" She suddenly donned a smirk. "Tommy told me that you like him and that you should marry him."

"Okay, get out," Jack said, practically shoving her and her parents into the hospital corridor. He rested his forehead against the wood before spinning around to face the doctor. "I brought you coffee!"

"Thanks," Hari said, his smile warmer than the drink. "And thank you for what you said to Lottie. Nice improv."

"Improv?"

"When you said that living here can be lonely and scary."

"...You think I was making that up?" asked the disabled man.

---

Yeah, both of us were drawing from our memories, on that one.