About Nendo's Thoughts (theory?)
Nendo is "stupid" ... but he actually isn't just "so stupid that he doesn't think [at all]" (contrary to what most of the fandom seems to believe?)
He just thinks incredibly fast! you could argue that maybe he's rather the impulsive type who doesn't really stop to speculate before saying things, he just says them. Saiki calls him "freakishly idiotic" but Saiki is biased and unreliable as a narrator sometimes. (Taking Saiki at his word 100% is the first step to misunderstanding the whole manga, imo)
My theory is that Nendo is simply very laid back. He's no overthinker, and maybe he's not a thinker in general. He just does whatever he feels like doing, and this is evident in the way he acts. Saiki on the contrary is a guy who spends most of the manga:
Obsessed over "being normal" as a standard to achieve (Overthinking!)
Obfuscating things for the audience, to the point where he convinces himself of things that aren't true to protect his ego (And maybe his privacy, but that's a whole different matter worth analyzing on its own.) (Overthinking it!)
Being too busy saving people in his day to day life, and also repeating the same year on loop for about 4(?) years to save the country (Definitely something he has carefully thought about on many occassions, on top of being stressful as hell.)
Nendo is the complete opposite of this. He's a chill guy who doesn't appear to have many worries in life. Saiki explains that in this universe people actually think faster and thus can have entire internal monologues while something is happening. Maybe Nendo is just an exceptionally fast thinker on top of being easy-going.
To put it another way: Saiki has lived a life of near-constant stress since forever. (Given that he has growing powers to control, a dogshit obsessive brother, a country to save, and a reputation to uphold... and his eternal obsession with being a Normal Boy despite being everything but.)
Saiki's overthinking has always been first and foremost a survival tool for him. Thinking is something he values highly. So of course he'd see someone so unbothered and carefree who doesn't have readable thoughts as stupid. Nendo just lives life as-is with no inner monologue. Saiki sees this as lesser, but that is just Saiki's personal opinion.
TLDR: My theory is that it is highly likely that Nendo DOES THINK, he just does it VERY FAST because he's IMPULSIVE and GENERALLY UNBOTHERED BY LIFE, which is the complete opposite of Saiki's MO. Saiki always carefully thinks over everything he does to keep a facade of normalcy and to keep the people around him safe. So Saiki calling him a huge idiot with no thoughts might be inaccurate. He could just be a regular guy with below-average book smarts who happens to personally piss Saiki off because of how different they are.
stormborns
origamiaround
turnnoffyourmind
discoholicmusic
yousharknotpass
baratheonpilled
pixelskylines
