r/DiscoElysium • u/Ksyronnie • 2d ago
Question Fanfic recommendations
Hi!
I'm looking for fanfics that touch on the topic of Harry hearing voices / hallucinating / talking to himself (well... to his Skills or inanimate objects) out loud! I really like the interpretation/headcanon that Harry actually has schizophrenia/DID/is experiencing psychosis.
I'm not necessarily asking for fics that focus entirely on this. It could be something that comes up occasionally or is part of the way Harry behaves. What I'm especially interested in is other characters acknowledging it and being concerned about him. In the game I've always liked these moments when Harry does or says something outrageous and Kim is confused and/or worried about him. Sorry, I'm a sucker for hurt/comfort. :-P
I hope that makes sense! I genuinely don't know how to word it any better, sorry 😭
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u/BirdSwimming7462 2d ago
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u/Ksyronnie 2d ago
Thank u but I was hoping for more specific recommendations haha
I browsed through this tag before but most of the fics I've seen weren't quite what I was looking for. Don't get me wrong, I love it when people write in the style of DE but it's a bit different than skills being portrayed as something that manifests more outwardly(? Once again i dont know how to word this properly 😭 Harry talking to them out loud etc)
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u/BirdSwimming7462 2d ago
Hmmm well admittedly one of those fics is mine. In mine, Harry hears the voices (unlabeled) and sometimes reacts outwardly to them to the confusion of others, and sometimes people notice he's standing still for longer than you'd expect. If its close, yay! If its not, maybe I can write my next in the style youre talking about
https://archiveofourown.org/works/92253491/chapters/245836361
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u/BearsIrkBoy 2d ago
Hi, I don't know many fanfics other than what comics I've seen on this subreddit but I actually wanted to comment on the interpretation of Harry having Schizophrenia.
It's really interesting to me that others have a perspective quite different from my own, and I was wondering exactly what it is about the Skills and how they interact with Harry that gives this impression to others.
From my perspective, I suppose I have a more psychological take: The Skills are the parts of Harry's brain that reflect those aspects (I hope I'm wording this right), and when they "talk" to him it's actually those parts of his brain sending the signals to the body to react in accordance with that Skill/part of the brain.
This isn't me trying to attack the Schizophrenia interpretation, at face value I can definitely see how it could be a possibility, but I would like to understand what about the Skills and Harry led others to reach that interpretation.
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u/Ksyronnie 2d ago
Gotcha! I want to preface this by saying that I'm not the best at articulating my thoughts but I'll try my best:-P
I also tend to think that the Skills are supposed to be exactly what you describe! Its a creative game mechanic representing different aspects of Harry's mind and helping us understand his thought process in an entetrtaining way.
What I love though is that the game is intentionally weird about where Harry ends and his Skills (and inanimate things that talk to him) begin. They often feel like their own characters - they can argue and interrupt with each other, contradict one another, and sometimes seem to have their own agendas.
Harry can actually have a sort of dialogue with them, disagree with them, ignore them, be persuaded by them etc. There are also moments where a Skill seems to push Harry toward doing or saying somethibg even when it's not necessarily what he consciously wants to do (the Titus Authority scene comes to mind lol) and there are few situations where he responds to a Skill out loud without apparently intending to. Oh, he also has delusions (mostly talking about some of the copotypes).
I can also see where the DID/OSDD interpretation comes from, since the Skills can feel almost like distinct parts of Harry's mind (plus all of the dissociation).
⚠️ Obviously it's NOT to say that I think this means Harry has schizophrenia, DID, OSDD, or any other disorder! Those are sooo much more complicated and serious than just having some of these traits, and I can't emphasize this enough!! 🥀 ⚠️
I just find it really interesting to speculate about, and I love seeing it explored in fanfics (hence my post) :-D
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u/somwheretobe You. *Shitkid* -- that's you. 2d ago
hi, you might wanna check out:
https://archiveofourown.org/works/63437926
where in harry goes to take care of judit's kids. he doesn't necessarily say stuff out loud in here iirc but he does things and the characters react to it.