#listen this was supposed to be a cursed thing about inosuke in a fursuit head

[cure-icy-writes]

demon slayer modern au idea

everyone in the main cast is autistic, this is not negotiable

tanjirou’s got the hypersensitive sense of smell, zenitsu’s always wearing noise cancelling headphones, inosuke is so sensitive to textures that he will take his shirt off at any given moment 

nezuko is nonverbal and requires a decent amount of support to function outside of the house; she communicates via a combination of ASL and a communication tablet depending on her coordination that day. She’s got an adorable collection of chewelry, and usually has something in her mouth.

zenitsu is. head over heels in love with nezuko, and in this case they actually have quite a bit in common. he can communicate just as well with her without taking his headphones off, and he’s been trying to learn ASL in order to flirt with her. She just gently corrects his signing and smiles. Tanjirou, watching this happen, decides to just wait for zenitsu to figure out he has to directly state his intent. nezuko, for her part, quite enjoys zenitsu’s company, and likes having someone besides her brother to sign with. she’s not quite sure why he keeps practicing the “i love you” sign when he’s clearly mastered that one and is moving on to more advanced vocabulary, but she’s going to wait and see what that’s all about once he has other ways to say it.

Inosuke is brash, blunt, arrogant, and keeps people at a distance because it’s better than anyone pitying him. He stole his boar’s head from a high school sports mascot when he was a kid, and has a reputation for being impossible to sneak up on. Zenitsu is shy, desperate, flinging himself onto anyone who shows him the slightest sign of affection and flinching at loud noises. Tanjirou is distant, friendly to everyone he passes but always reluctant to come too close, wrinkling his nose at the invitations he receives. Nezuko is a little shadow, made of quiet gestures and collected words and small moments of kindness. They find each other on the edges, leaning against walls outside a throbbing party and running from the train that comes into town on sundays and walking along the sidewalk past sunset. It’s an unlikely group of friends, but it’s theirs.

zenitsu shares a favorite song of his with nezuko, and she closes her eyes, swaying slightly. thank you for sharing a piece of your heart with me. it was calm and pretty, she says. she reaches out and pats his head, her favorite way to show affection, and he leans into the touch like a cat. your kindness is beautiful, he tells her.

tanjirou meets zenitsu stumbling blearily out of the supermarket after a spill in the produce aisle. somehow both of them recognize their pain in each other, and sit side by side on the grassy strip that borders the parking lot. Zenitsu offers a spare set of earplugs to Tanjirou, who just shakes his head. He wraps his scarf round and round until the clamor of people and food and raw juice is gone, and all he can smell is home and clean laundry and nezuko. Tanjirou opens his mouth to say something, and finds his words have deserted him. He scribbles a note on his phone and shows it to zenitsu: my name is tanjirou. what’s yours?

inosuke is running, running, not sure what he’s running from, away from the city, when he senses someone. There, with dark red hair and a sad smile, is a boy leaning against a tree. “Where are you going?” the boy asks him curiously. Inosuke snorts. “Away from people.” The boy nods; he isn’t staring at the boar’s head like most people do when they try to make eye contact. That’s good. “I know the feeling. I want to be around people, but they’re so overwhelming.” Despite himself, Inosuke sits down next to him. “Let’s be away from people together.”