#harvey may be quiet but he's definitely stern and ready to bat for alex

[not-poignant]

i was on my annual reread of the The Wind that Cuts the Night when i saw that you're writitng new sw fic on oh!my!god!!!!! i'm so obsessed with it!!!!! it's been on my mind nonstop for three days! I love how different it it from previous one, i'm in love with all of your characterisations of Alex!

I was curious, is there a chance of Haley giving Sebatian a shovel talk? As much as i would love for Alex to find his footing and stand up for himself, I also don't really see him as the one who would bring up how much Sebastian used to/still hurts him sometimes and Haley standing up for him is just a very satysfying thing to think of haha

Yes I'm writing a new Stardew Valley fic! It makes me so happy. :D

It's so awesome that you still read The Wind that Cuts the Night as well. I can't tell you how often I confuse titles between Wind and Stain, because they both have exactly the same amount of syllables, and a similar structure, so I'm cursed to always get them both confused.

As for Haley and Sebastian, it's possible she might, but if she ever does we won't get to see it, because this is an Alex POV story.

I also think Haley would be careful. She's very aware that Sebastian has been bullied by Alex (even though Sebastian has also been a bully), and she's also aware of how the town perceives her, though she gets frustrated with being stereotyped as kind of like... this pretty, bitchy girl. But she'd be aware of it, and she'd be aware of how Sebastian might view that as well.

I don't know if she'd give him a really intense shovel talk so much as just...talk to him. I think she's maturing pretty well, and shovel talks aren't an especially mature thing to do, because 'if you hurt him, I'll kill you' is an extremely immature way of simply saying 'I'm someone who genuinely cares for him, and I want to hold you to the same standard, and that means not hurting him intentionally in any way.'

So while I think it's nice to imagine someone being like 'if you hurt him, I'll kill you' (or some version of that), and defending Alex, I think Haley would be careful how she broached the conversation, and ultimately be pretty sensitive / aware and be able to read the room. She might simply point out that Sebastian can do damage easily, verbally, to people like Alex, and that he should stay aware of that.