Fic Recs - Autism, Selective Mutism (Kozume Kenma)
Hello!! @barbed-wire-fence asked for recommendations since I try to read all the ones in these categories, so I thought I’d finally go off and make a somewhat comprehensive list from my bookmarks...
jsyk these are almost all Kuroken, and I don’t usually share explicit stuff though I have one labeled E here (I made a note or two below authors that have other great fics rated as such!!) Lastly I included some fics that more loosely fit just bc I like them,,, see: social anxiety / depression / curses ... <3 happy reading :)
Cat Burglar by dgalerab (Rated T)
Summary: Kenma has somehow been roped into robbing the world's most boring politician (except it turns out he's not all that boring at all).
^^ I love everything by dgalerab . MUCH neurodivergent Kenma!! Their x-men AU *chef’s kiss* ;; 10k words
no regrets, just love by Sunryo (Rated T)
Summary: Kenma doesn't talk, he never did. Everyone seems to have a problem with that; except for one person.
Or the fic where Kenma is selectively mute and Kuroo is the only one who tries to understand him.
^^ neurodiversity, mute Kenma, ft. asexual Kuroo! light angst / mentions of past abuse ;; Incomplete, 5k words
What It Takes To Say by FusionFollower (Rated T)
Summary: Kenma's hardly ever said a word to anyone, much less Kuroo.
But it didn't matter. Kuroo didn't need Kenma to speak to him, they had other ways of communicating, and Kuroo would love him no matter what.
But that didn't stop Kenma from trying.
^^ selectively mute kenma, fluff ;; 1k words
Wordless Conversations by Princex_N (Rated G) wc 1052
Summary: Fukunaga's introduction to the Nekoma team was slightly different than most's.
^^ Autistic Kenma + Fukunaga, nonverbal communication ;; 1k words
Haikyuu Oneshots by Hoziest (Rated G)
Chapter 1: The Little Things (Like Apple Pie) - Kuroken
Summary: That nd feeling when you want to eat but can't find anything Good.
^^ multiple chapters of autistic kenma :) fluff, hurt/comfort, meltdowns
achievement hunter by MementoVivere (Rated: G)
Summary: If everyone is different, then no one needs to be normal.
^^ Autistic Kenma ;; 1k words
Ground Me by Yrindor (Rated T)
Summary: There are a lot of reasons Kenma likes Kuroo. Near the top of the list is that Kuroo doesn't care that he's not "normal," and Kuroo doesn't want him to pretend to be either.
^^ Autistic Kenma, sensory overload, hurt/comfort ;; 2k words
Butterfly Knives by star_child (Rated E)
Summary: Kenma falls in love with a street fighter.
After a lot of drunk nights, texts regarding the chewiness of Chris Pine, and the manifestation of one (1) worst fear, the fighter falls in love with him too.
^^ only explicit fic I’ll share here but I love this one sm ;; 30k words
The Only Difference Between Roommates And Worst Enemies Is Press Coverage by alpacameron (Rated T)
Summary: Kuroo Tetsurou and Bokuto Koutarou are two upcoming university students searching for apartments with relatively low rent and absolutely no infestation of any kind of insect or rodent. However, they were not expecting a snake.
^^ selectively mute + trans kenma ;; krkn are not together but Kuroo is fiercely loyal to him <3 REALLY funny moments. Kenma ft. in Chapters 6, 8, 20-22
Don't Mention It' by pushupindrag
Summary: Kenma has a meltdown at work, and Kuroo comes to help him through it.
^^ where can I find me a Kuroo >.< 5k words
Take Me Home by miyaji_08 (Rated T)
Summary: Where Oikawa and Akaashi run a magic cafe, Bokuto and Kuroo are familiars, and everyone is cursed.
(Kenma just wishes they would all get together already)
^^ one of the latest ones I've read !! very interesting concept! mutism is the side effect of a curse and krkn aren’t together together but they still have their solid bond. ;_; 20k words
The Epic Highs and Lows of Raising A Child by just_a_hungry_author (Rated: G)
Summary: College was turning into a picture perfect experience for Kuroo Tetsurou.
He has a fairly successful volleyball career, he was renting an on-campus apartment with his best friend (and said best friend's boyfriend), and was somehow managing spectacular grades in his biochemistry major despite the crushing weight of procrastination and stress.
All in all, Kuroo was glad to say that college was exactly as he planned it to be... until his life got flipped upside down.
When Kuroo finds a child in an alleyway, he’s granted temporary custody while the police search for his parents.
It wouldn’t be too difficult, except this child is selective mute, shy, and clingy.
^^ I was hesitant to read Kenma as a child with guardian Kuroo but this was really sweet ,, 17k words
Up In The Air by star_child (Rated M)
Summary: The Sendai Genetics Lab is on its last legs of life.
For nine years, he survives the lab. For another eight, he survives the streets. At the age of seventeen, his life takes its third turn, finally for the better.
With the help of an eclectic array of souls, a mutant without a name discovers what it means to have a family.
^^ mute Kenma, sign language, abuse/neglect, exotic dancer ;; sci-fi AU, multi-chapter. really a whole world + kenma-centric af! 56k words
star_child has more great, DARK fics if you want to check them out <3
Kenma is not a hero. by daienkaixoxentei (rated T)
Summary: But somehow, against all odds, Kuroo always is.
^^ can be interpreted as Autistic Kenma, angst ;; 11k words
boy, make me believe by isshun (rated T)
Summary: Kuroo, Kenma — on the language of love they speak, and the road to recovery.
^^ an anxiety/depression fic, but quiet kenma with some work burnout ;; 3k words
Black by SuggestiveScribe (Rated G)
No Summary
^^ similar to the former;; depression fic with quiet Kenma...ending is :,,) 2k words
Blood In My Veins by kylar (Rated M)
Summary: In a last ditch attempt to finally find stability in his budding- attempting to bud- art career, Kuroo moves to inner Tokyo, where the streets are never quiet and there is always something happening. It's also a desperate run from a past that's thrown him into crippling depression and has nearly claimed his life on more than one occasion. He's determined to start new though, to hopefully push past the demons that lurk in the shadows. His closest friends, Bokuto and Akaashi, aid in his recovery where they can, but there's only so much they can do. Though help also appears unexpectedly from his reclusive, socially anxious neighbor, in the form of two scrawny cats, a developing video game, and late night- or rather early morning- talks. Kuroo lets himself get lost in the blissful distraction of it all, but he can only run for so long. His past is bound to catch up sooner rather than later.
^^ socially anxious neighbor Kenma, dark mental illness themes ;; I LOVE THIS DYNAMIC/TROPE SO MUCH. Incomplete, 66k words
Something New by an orphan_account (Rated M)
Summary: Kuroo would've never met Kenma if Daishou didn't finally grow a pair and decide to propose to his girlfriend. Then promptly panic and throw up on Kuroo's best leather Oxfords.
^^ similar dynamic to the previous :)
Art of Self-Sacrifice by foreveryoungins
Summary: “The progress of an artist is a continual self-sacrifice, a continual extinction of personality.” -T.S. Eliot
^^ social anxiety, depression, artist Kenma ;; 2k words
Yellow Eyes of a Stranger by AlyciaTremblay (Rated M)
Summary: Kenma and Kuroo were busy planning their lives together when Kenma gets into a horrible accident and loses all his memories.
When he finally awakes from his coma, Kenma struggles to make sense of everything that is going on. All these people are there to tell him who he is. But he feels like there are things they are keeping from him. There is this kind tall man there to take care of him. A man who tells him they've known each other their whole lives. But he has the eyes of a stranger.
^^ mutism as a part of a car accident ;; Incomplete, 9k words
That's all I have but feel free to add more♡♡♡
