#rsd and a tendency to be emotionally distant is one of my prevalent traits from my adhd im working on too

[shadow-travel]

people that say nico overreacts or has no reason to leave camp are so clearly neurotypical

will said something like that in blood of olympus, yes, but it was more “we actually do like you, everything is in your head” (a little more angrier because he’s like in the middle of battle and literally arguing with octavian) instead of “you dont have a single reason to feel that way and you’re too sensitive”

a little lesson for you all on adhd: rejection sensitivity disorder is a symptom (that cannot exist outside of other mental disorders) that makes it hard for us to read other people. we are extremely sensitive any time an interaction doesn’t go exactly like we thought it would, we’re always suspicious of hidden motives, and social rejection in any shape or form, no matter how small, hits us hard and shuts us down. nico canonly has adhd. put the pieces together

will told nico there were people at camp who like him and who want to get to know him (he could literally be talking about himself if you put that with the clueless “i just delivered a baby” flirting and lou ellen’s “you’re nico right? we’ve heard a lot about you”). this is not will being mean. will knows nico will not listen unless he is stubborn and aggravating and direct. there is no telling nico to do things nicely and expecting him to listen. wills also already been direct with him before that line- from stopping him from shadow-travel and offering alternatives to giving him that gum so nico regains strength. learning how to listen to people and how to get out that “dark brooding cloud” of his is how he grows as a character.

will telling nico he’s misreading people is not him being mean. he is being direct because of the situation at hand (his home is deadass being destroyed come on) and because if he isn’t nico won’t listen. and he wants nico to start connecting with other people. nico’s rsd from his adhd is severe and he is not overreacting, his brain legitimately is making him believe the worst.