#just has me in my tanuma & sensei bff feelings again

[coquelicoq]

#but anyways. AND THIS IS kind of how nyanko handles natsume's anxieties throughout the series isnt it!!!! #by reminding him of his responsibilities which is a move that u might assume could very easily freak him out More!! #but they know him enough to know that itll help ground him instead!!! tanumas picked up on it!!! hes so people smart!!! augh!! (via @joelletwo)

ugh you're so right this is such a sensei move and tanuma noticed! he pays attention! he puts in the effort to understand natsume!!!

[ID from alt: A page from chapter 100 of the Natsume's Book of Friends manga. Natsume and Tanuma are in a field talking about Nyanko-sensei. Tanuma says, "He only bumped into a tree, right? No outside forces." Natsume says, "Yeah, and staying out all night isn't anything new either. But this shard…it feels weird, but it feels the same as Nyanko sensei…this shard…it breathes the same as Nyanko sensei…" Natsume is holding a shard of pottery. Tanuma watches Natsume, who's shivering. He says, "All right…first, let's calm down, Natsume. If something happened to sensei…we have to keep it together." He emphasizes the "we". Natsume looks at him, eyes wide, then closes his eyes and exhales. /end ID]

tanuma sees natsume spiraling and knows the exact thing to say to help him. natsume doesn't need to hear that it's gonna be all right...he needs to be taken seriously, he needs to be reminded that people are relying on him, and he needs to be given a way to help. those are the things that will break natsume out of the spiral and give him the ability to move forward.

and tanuma perfectly walks the line between the two extremes here - he neither plays into natsume's worst fears (he says "IF something happened to sensei", after giving reasons why it's unlikely) nor does he pooh-pooh natsume's concerns. he says yeah that would be serious, if that's what happened, so let's take it seriously, but let's not lose our heads.

and of course "hey chill out bro" has worked approximately never to calm down a freaked-out person, but "sensei needs us" is 100% guaranteed to flip the protective switch inside of natsume that allows him to function under distress. idk it's just the best possible way to help natsume in this scenario. tanuma knows him so well.